Josiah Series

Josiah

When he became king, Josiah was eight years old, and he reigned for 37 years. Josiah was the last king before the exile. He destroyed all pagan idols and altars and insisted his people worship the one God.

Josiah was the 16th king of Judah. According to the Hebrew Bible, he instituted major religious reforms by removing official worship of gods other than Yahweh.

Born: 648 BC, Jerusalem

Died: 609 BC, Jerusalem

Reign: 640–609 BCE

Children: Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, Jehoahaz of Judah

Grandfathers: Manasseh of Judah, Adaiah

Parents: Amon of Judah, Jedidah

Grandchild: Jeconi

Josiah was the king of Judah from approximately 640 to 609 B.C. His reign in Jerusalem is discussed in 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35. Josiah was the son of King Amon and the grandson of King Manasseh—both of them were wicked kings of Judah. However, known as one of the world's youngest kings; he began his reign at age eight after his father was assassinated. A highlight of Josiah's reign was his rediscovery of the Law of the Lord.

Second Kings 22:2 introduces Josiah by saying, "And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in of David, his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or the left." In the eighteenth year of his reign, he raised money to repair the Temple, and during the repairs, the high priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Law. When Hilkiah read it to Josiah, the king tore his clothes, a sign of mourning and repentance (verse 11).

King Josiah called for a time of national repentance. The Law was read to the people of the land. A covenant was made between the people and the Lord: "The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. Moreover, all the people joined in the covenant" (2 Kings 23:3).

Many reforms followed. The Temple was cleansed from all objects of pagan worship, and the idolatrous high places in the land were demolished. Josiah restored the observance of the Passover (2 Kings 23:2–23) and removed mediums and witches from the land. Second Kings 23:25 records, "Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and soul and with all his might, according to Moses's Law, nor did any like him arise after him." God's wrath would later come upon Judah due to the evil King Manasseh had done (2 Kings 23:25), but the judgment was delayed because of Josiah's godly life and leadership (2 Kings 22:20).

Josiah died in battle against the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo. King Josiah was buried in Jerusalem in his tomb, and his son Jehoahaz took the role of king.

Much can be learned from Josiah's life that is positive. First, Josiah shows the influence a person can have from a very young age. Even children have enormous potential to live for God and to have a significant impact. Second, Josiah lived a fully committed and obedient life to God and was blessed. Third, Josiah appropriately responded to God's Word. By the time he became king, the Scriptures had long been neglected, and Josiah's heart was smitten by the failure of his people to honor God's Word. Josiah had Scripture read to the people and committed to living by it. "'Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken . . . I also have heard you,' declares the Lord" (2 Kings 22:19).

King Josiah of Judah (ruled 640–609 b.c.e.) is a figure of extraordinary importance in the history of ancient Israel and Judah. According to the biblical narrative, a Torah scroll was discovered during the renovation of the Jerusalem Temple in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign. This scroll, commonly identified as a form of Deuteronomy, became the basis of an ambitious program of religious reform and national restoration in which Josiah closed down all pagan worship sites throughout the land of Israel, centralized worship at the Jerusalem Temple, and attempted to reunite Israel and Judah as an independent monarchy under the rule of the royal house of David. The narratives concerning Josiah's reign have proved to be pivotal in discussion among biblical scholars insofar as they have provided the basis for reconstructing the history of the Israelite/Judean religion and the compositional history of much of the Hebrew Bible. This study reexamines the relevant biblical literature and the archeology evidence concerning the reign of King Josiah of Judah and its impact on ancient Judean thought. It argues that early forms of the book of Deuteronomy, the so-called Deuteronomistic History (Joshua; Judges; 1–2 Samuel; and 1–2 Kings), and much of the prophetic literature (Isaiah; Hosea; Amos; Micah; Jeremiah; Zephaniah; Nahum; cf. Habakkuk) were written or edited to support King Josiah's reform and to present him as the righteous Davidic monarch, who would realize the divine promise of security for the land and people of Israel. Following the tragic death of Josiah at the hands of the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho at Megiddo in 609 b.c.e., Josiah's program of religious reform and national restoration came to an end as Judah was subjugated first to Egypt and then to Babylon prior to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 587 b.c.e. The image of Josiah as a righteous Davidic monarch and his program nevertheless continued to influence Israelite/Judean expectations of restoration in the aftermath of the Babylonian exile.