Who was king Josiah?
- 2 Kings 23:25 tells us he was a wise king who “turned to the Lord with all his heart, soul and strength, in accordance with the law of Moses”.
What made Josiah so wise?
- 2 Kings 22:2 says “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 the left”
What did Josiah accomplish?
- He renovated the Temple and made worship a priority
- He rediscovered and read the Scriptures – and obeyed them!
- He removed idols and evil practices from the land.
- He restored the Passover and celebrated God’s redeeming love.
22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. 2 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.
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 make him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Make them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And make these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord – 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also make 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 honest in their dealings.’
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.
23:1 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets – all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord – to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.