This weeks readings take us through the reign of Josiah, who was one of Judah’s best kings. He made a very noble attempt at bringing the people of Judah and Israel back to the Lord. Jeremiah prophesied during Josiah’s reign and his words reveal that the national restoration to the Lord was very shallow at best. Josiah was sincere, but the people by in large were not.
It’s like the kid whose mother tells him, “Sit down or I’ll spank you!” The kid sits down and then says to his mom, “I may be sitting down on the outside, but inside I’m still standing up.”
Jeremiah’s message makes it clear that while Josiah made Judah and Israel renew the covenant on the outside, inside most of them were still captivated by sin and rebellion against God.
True and lasting national repentance was Josiah’s aim, but the results were short lived. Jeremiah shows us that sometimes hard hearts must be broken by punishment before they can be healed by God’s grace.
Before we go any further let’s zoom out and look at the landscape of this historical setting. Who is Josiah anyway? Well, he’s one of the last kings of Judah, before the Babylonians came and ran roughshod over Judah, destroyed the temple of Solomon, and led multitudes of Judah’s people into captivity.
When Josiah was born, his grandfather, Manasseh was king. Manasseh had been the most wicked, ungodly king in Judah, but late in his reign the Assyrians came and took him with hooks to Babylon. There, in his distress, he repented and prayed and God brought him back to Jerusalem where he finished his reign. Upon returning he actually commanded Judah to worship the Lord and attempted a restoration. 2 Chron. 33:10-17 tells the story. I wonder what influence this may have had on his grandson, Josiah? It failed to take root in Manasseh’s son and Josiah’s dad, Amon. Well, by the time Josiah was in kindergarten, his grandfather died and his dad, Amon became king. He only reigned 3 years. Amon returned to practicing the wickedness and idol worship of his youth. He must have brought back all the idols Manasseh had taken away. Before long some of his servants rose up and killed him. Josiah is in about the second grade when this happened. The people went after and killed Amon’s assassins and made Josiah king! He’s only eight years old! His grandfather is dead and his father has been murdered. What must have gone on in Josiah’s mind? Who will lead him? What kind of influences will shape his reign?
One thing is for sure, someone has to take charge of the nation while the king grows up, and it may have been Shaphan, a Levite and the governor of the city. Or perhaps Hilkiah the high priest. We see a lot about Shaphan and his sons here and later. From all we know he was a very good man who used his influence to bring God’s people to repentance and restoration. Whoever influenced Josiah, we know this: he became the most godly, faithful king Judah had ever seen. 2 Kings 23:25 says: Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.
Wow! That’s quite a description! This man is a rare find among the kings! He found himself in a period of unparalleled idolatry and in the midst of it stood up for the Lord. Because of Josiah’s response to God’s law, God postponed his judgment against the entire nation of Judah. King Josiah listened to the word of the Lord and humbled himself and obeyed.
His reign is recorded in the books of 2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chron. 34-35.
Today, let’s survey Josiah’s life and discover what lessons God can teach us through his faithfulness.
Turn with me to 2 Chron. 34:1
Josiah began to reign as king at eight years old.
How many of you are eight years old or younger? Raise your hands. Can you imagine being a ruler over a whole nation? What would you do first?
We don’t know what Josiah did for the next eight years, but look at verse 3 For in the eighth year of his reign while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David. That wording here is interesting to me for several reasons.
Josiah was 16 years old here. God’s word makes a point here saying: while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father David. Did you get that last line? He began to seek the God of his father David. Not the gods of his father Amon or grandfather Manasseh, but the one true and living God, and he started this when he was 16!
What are most 16 year old boys interested in? Girls, cars, sports, music, entertainment, fun, etc. Right? Could Josiah have pursued these things? Sure! He’s the king! He may have already been given a few wives by this point, I don’t know. But I know that the word of God says he began to seek God, the God of his father, David. Was this just a passing fad? Sometimes young people get caught up in a religious fad. Maybe a crisis hits or their friends influence them to look into religious matters. The best example I can think of is 9-11 when so many heads were turned to God… for a little while. But it seems to have passed for most.
This story of Josiah has a personal attraction to me. I was 16 when I decided to commit my life to Jesus Christ. I had always gone to church. My parents saw to that. But to me, God and Jesus were mostly just a religious Bible reality. The Holy Spirit was a total stranger. I could answer Bible questions about the church and plan of salvation, and knew lots of Bible stories and had a fondness for several Bible characters and had memorized lots of Bible verses. I had no real desire to go to heaven and be with God, but I knew for sure that I didn’t want to go to hell. The most real image in my faith was that of hell. Wow. Looking back I’m sure that fear of hell was a greater motivating factor in my life than love of God.
But when I turned 16 something began to happen to me. Jesus Christ broke through to me and God’s love and sacrifice for me caught hold somewhere in my heart and began to reform my mind. I thank God that it was a lasting change. The fear of God’s wrath is still real to me, but his mercy is just as real. I know from His word that God desires all to be saved. 1 Tim 2: 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave Himself a ransom for all,
Back to Josiah.
At 16 Josiah began to seek God and four years later he began to take action and purge out the idols in Judah and Israel.
Listen to 2 Chronicles 34: 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images.
4 They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
6 And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with axes.
7 When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.
8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
Do you think this was a popular thing to do? I am sure that many loved him, while many more hated him for it. Josiah went public with his faith. He didn’t hide his religion from others. To Josiah, this was no private matter to keep just between him and God. No way!
He removed the idols and repaired the house of God.
I like that. Don’t you? It all began when he started seeking God in his youth at 16 years old. Then, when he was 20 years old, he took it to the next level and began removing all the idol worship in Judah and even up in Israel. It was a big job! There were so many high places and idols in all the cities that Jeremiah said, 2:28 Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.
When Josiah was 26 he started restoring the temple. It was then, while they were restoring the temple that Hilkiah found the book of the Law. Listen to 2 Kings 22: 3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said:
4 "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people.
5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD--
6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.
7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully."
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD." He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.
9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: "Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the LORD and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple."
10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.
God’s law reveals God’s will as well as God’s wrath against sin. The Law of God shows the path of righteousness and pronounces God’s blessings on the righteous, but it also reveals the way of wickedness and pronounces God’s curse upon the sinner. Josiah realized when he heard the Law just how terrible their condition was before God. He was horrified. And for good reason! He knew Israel’s idolatry. He believed God’s word. He took it personally!
He immediately issued the order. 13 "Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us."
14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.
15 She said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me,
16 ’This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read.
17 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’
18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, ’This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:
19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD.
20 Therefore I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’" So they took her answer back to the king.
Do you know what Josiah did when he heard this? He called the people together, had them hear the Law of God and renewed the covenant of God with them. Then he gave the rest of his life to following God’s will and the cause of restoring God’s people back to God. God stayed the hand of judgment against Judah until Josiah died.
Right after Josiah died, what do you think the people did? Kings Chronicles and Jeremiah tell the rest of the story.
Who is the Josiah in your life, encouraging you to keep your covenant with God. If you don’t have one, you need to seek one out. We all need relationships that help keep us on track. Josiah leaned on Shaphan, Hilkiah and others.
Seek the Lord, remove the idols, restore the worship, renew the covenant, and Remain faithful.
