Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Chronicles 34-36.

Josiah became king when he was eight years old.  His father was a wicked king who was assassinated by some of his court officials.  The people rose up and killed those who plotted against King Amon and made Josiah king (which suggests that those who killed Amon were attempting to usurp the throne in much the same way that Queen Athaliah had done some years earlier).  When Josiah was sixteen he began to seek God.  As part of his efforts to serve God, Josiah destroyed the altars to Baal and the Asherah poles erected throughout the land.  He went so far as to desecrate the places where offerings had been made to these idols.  He did not limit himself to the areas which we consider part of the Kingdom of Judah, but extended his cleansing to all of the land of Israel.  When he was twenty-six, he gave orders to repair the temple.  He used money which had been collected from all of Israel (the passage specifically mentions Ephraim and Manasseh in addition to Judah), which suggests that his religious reforms enjoyed support from people throughout the entire land of Israel.  So, while Josiah used his power as king of Judah to destroy idolatry throughout all of Israel, he enjoyed the support of the people outside of his domain in doing so.  By taking a strong stand for God, Josiah inspired many to also seek God.

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