I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Kings 22-25.

    Hezekiah is the king we most often look to when we discuss an example of a righteous king other than David, but I think that Josiah is an even better example. When Josiah reached his majority he ordered the Temple be restored. While cleaning the store rooms of the Temple, Hilkiah the high priest found a copy of the Book of the Law. When Josiah heard what was written in the Book of the Law his reaction was to ask all of his advisers to seek God’s guidance in what they should do. Josiah was horrified by how badly he and the people of Judah had failed to follow God’s commands. God’s response to Josiah’s humble repentance was that, while it was too late to avert the coming disaster, the promised disaster would not come until after Josiah was dead and buried.

    When Josiah received word that the disaster could not be averted he did not throw up his hands and do nothing. Instead, he recognized that doing God’s will was a benefit in and of itself. He dedicated himself to following all of God’s laws and commands. Further, he led the people to do the same. He even went further than any king who preceded him. Not only did he remove all of the things which had been used to worship idols from the Temple, he destroyed all of the pagan shrines throughout the entire land, including what was once the Northern Kingdom. Beyond that, he desecrated the areas around Jerusalem where previous generations had offered children to idols so that those places could never again be used for that purpose. He did this in the most practical way possible, he used it as a trash dump. Josiah dedicated himself to God with all of his heart, his soul, and his strength. He did all of this knowing that God was going to bring disaster upon Judah anyway. Josiah did what was right even though he knew it would not change anything in the long run. I strive to follow his example.