2 Kings 22-23, King Josiah Brings Restoration to Judah

These chapters give a fascinating account of King Josiah, the last godly king to reign before the Babylonians destroyed Judah and carried them off to exile. He was, in some ways, the last hurrah for Judah.  One final glimpse of restoration before destruction would come.  His story is one of redemption and courage as he goes to the greatest lengths to bring honor and glory to God among people living in the depths of darkness.

Taking the throne at the age of 8, Josiah inherited a kingdom consumed with idol worship and all kinds of evil established by his father, Amon, and his grandfather, Manasseh.   But at age 16, he began to seek and serve the Lord and eventually became a king who did right in the sight of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left (2 Kings 22:2).

Josiah took four significant actions to restore glory to God in his reign as king.

First, he repaired the house of the Lord, which had been damaged from years of neglect.  It had been nearly a century since the temple had last been repaired, which shows that the hearts of the Israelites had been far from the Lord.  In the process of cleaning out the temple, someone came across the book of the law, which was likely the book of Deuteronomy.  When Josiah's scribe read him the words of the law, his heart broke as he realized both the extent of their sin and disobedience and the judgement they deserved as a result.  He tore his robe in an act of deep conviction and repentance.  A prophet then confirmed that yes, God would destroy the land of Judah because of they had forsaken Him for the sake of other gods.  But because Josiah's heart was responsive and he humbled himself before the Lord, he would spare Josiah from personally experiencing the disaster.

Following his repentance, Josiah gathered the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets - all the people from the least to the greatest (2 Kings 23:2) and read the entire book of the law out loud to them.  He then renewed the covenant to the Lord.  This was the second significant action that Josiah took to restore glory to God.  As he stood before the people who had gathered, he declared  that he would follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul.  The people also pledged to keep this covenant as well.

With this new awakening to God's law, Josiah became a man on a mission.  The third significant action he took to restore glory to God was to completely wipe out every idol in the land.  The words used in verses 4 through 20 powerfully convey his fierce desire to eradicate every false god.

removed. burned. ground to powder. tore down. desecrated. broke down. smashed to pieces. cut down. demolished. defiled. slaughtered. 

His anger was righteous, his actions honorable.  He did not hold back in his determination to defend the glory of God and to exalt Him as the God of Judah.

Finally, after every idol had been wiped out, King Josiah commanded the people to celebrate the Passover as it was written in the book of the law.  God had originally commanded His people to celebrate the Passover annually, but this celebration had been neglected for hundreds of years.  Celebrating the Passover reminded the people of who God is and what He had done, of his love and faithfulness and of his glory and power.  It set their hearts back on Him and restored glory to God in their land.

Unfortunately, the life that was breathed back into the land of Judah through all of these reforms was short lived.  Josiah would die in battle, the two kings who succeeded him would do evil in the sight of the Lord and not many years later, Babylon would come and destroy Judah.  But, 2 Kings 23:25 tells us,

Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did - with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.

Josiah is a picture of what can happen when a heart is transformed to fully love God.  He fiercely pursued the name and honor of the Lord with unrestrained vision and passion.  He was a man of conviction and action who went to the greatest lengths to restore God's glory in his land.  May we be spurred on by Josiah's story.  May we have a fire that burns within us to pursue God's glory at any cost, going to the greatest lengths to defend His name and His honor.  And may God receive glory in our neighborhoods, our cities, our country and our world.  In Him alone is blessing, peace, restoration and redemption.