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

A few days back I commented on how King Hezekiah deserves the high esteem in which we generally hold him, but my favorite king of Judah is Josiah.  Today’s passage tells us that, “ He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.”  He ordered the repair and cleansing of the temple.  When the repair began, the priests found a copy of the Book of the Law and brought it to him.  When Josiah read the Book of the Law he realized that the people had badly broken their covenant with God and feared the consequences.  He inquired of God about what he had learned, and God answered that His anger would indeed fall upon the people of Judah.  Nevertheless, Josiah destroyed all of the idols throughout the land, even into the land which had answered to the kings of Samaria.  He cleansed the land of idolatry and got the people to renew the covenant which God had made with their ancestors.  He did all of this despite knowing that it would not stop the destruction which God had promised His people if they violated their covenant with Him.  Josiah did all of this solely for the reward of being faithful to God.  We too should recognize that the greatest reward for serving God is that we get to do God’s will.

I use 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.

Josiah is probably my favorite of the kings of Judah.  He was eight years old when he was put on the throne after his father was assassinated by some of his officials.  Josiah’s father and grandfather had done great evil as king, but Josiah “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David,…”  When those he had set to renovating the temple found and brought to him the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes and sent an inquiry to a prophetess as to what he should do.  Josiah recognized that the people of Judah, including himself, had violated the covenant which God had made with them.  God responded that disaster would surely come, but not in Josiah’s lifetime.  Josiah then dedicated himself to eradicating the evil in the land.  Josiah’s reforms were extensive, and they extended throughout all of Israel, not just the part we know as Judah.  It is here where the writer lists the various forms of idolatry which Josiah eliminated from the land that we can a true picture of the extent of the evil committed by his predecessors.  Perhaps the biggest lesson we learn from Josiah is that no sooner had he died then the people reverted to the idolatry and sin which had preceded his reign.  That should remind us that each generation must choose for themselves if they will do good or evil.

I use 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.

Josiah may be my favorite king of Judah.  He used the power of his office to turn the people of Israel away from idol worship and evil practices and towards God.  He did this not for political power or for wealth, but because it was the right thing to do.  Josiah shows us that just because someone has evil parents, does not mean they will be evil (to be fair, perhaps Josiah’s mother was a good woman and contributed to his dedication to God).  Josiah’s father had been an evil king, perhaps the worst of the kings over any of Israel and Judah.  However, this passage also shows us that having a righteous ruler is not enough to save a people.  While evil rulers led the people to sin, and good rulers led them to serve God, the people still need to choose for themselves who they will serve.  As soon as Josiah had died he was succeeded by his sons and grandsons, none of whom followed in his footsteps.  Josiah knew that his actions would not be enough, but he still did the best that he could and strove to lead people to God.  Let us strive to do likewise.  It is never too late for people to turn to God, even if it is too late for the nation to do so.  I am not saying that it is too late for any nation today to turn to God, but even if it is, we should still make the effort to get people to turn to Him.

I use 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.

I have always admired King Josiah’s faith.  When he heard what was written in the Book of the Law and realized how badly the people of Israel had failed to follow God’s commands his first response was to tear his clothes in grief and send messengers to inquire of God what he should do.  Then, after learning that nothing he could do would turn aside God’s judgement against Judah, he called the people to rededicate themselves to worshiping God.  He followed that up by systematically destroying the idols, and places of idol worship, throughout both the Kingdom of Judah and the lands which had been part of the Kingdom of Israel.  Finally, he called the people of Israel to celebrate the Passover in full accordance with God’s commands.  The writer tells us that this celebration was unlike any previous Passover celebration in the Land of Israel.  Throughout his life, King Josiah strove to bring the people back to God.  Unfortunately, it was not enough and as soon as he died the people returned to their idolatry.

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