Speaker 1: Imagine an eight year old boy suddenly thrust onto a throne,
Speaker 1: surrounded by corruption, idolatry, and the darkest spiritual chaos his
Speaker 1: nation had ever known. The Temple of God lay in ruins,
Speaker 1: forgotten and filled with debris. Pagan altars dotted every hillside.
Speaker 1: Child's sacrifice had become commonplace in the valley below Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: This wasn't just any kingdom in crisis. This was Judah,
Speaker 1: God's chosen people, who had fallen so far that divine
Speaker 1: judgment seemed inevitable and inescapable. Yet in the midst of
Speaker 1: this overwhelming darkness, something extraordinary was about to happen. This
Speaker 1: child king would grow to become the most passionate reformer
Speaker 1: Israel had ever seen, a ruler so devoted to God
Speaker 1: that the Bible itself declares no king before or after
Speaker 1: him would ever match his wholehearted dedication. He would discover
Speaker 1: a lost sacred book that would shake an entire nation.
Speaker 1: He would celebrate the greatest part over since the time
Speaker 1: of the Prophets. But his story would end in a
Speaker 1: mysterious and tragic decision on a battlefield where he should
Speaker 1: never have been. This is the complete story of Josiah,
Speaker 1: the boy who became Judah's greatest king, and the man
Speaker 1: whose legacy would outlive the very kingdom he fought to save.
Speaker 1: To understand Josiah's story, we need to step back and
Speaker 1: see what Judah looked like before he was born. The
Speaker 1: kingdom was living through its darkest spiritual nightmare under King Manasseh,
Speaker 1: Josiah's grandfather. This wasn't just a phase of disobedience. It
Speaker 1: was a complete abandonment of everything God had called his
Speaker 1: people to be. Manasse ruled for fifty five years, and
Speaker 1: during that time he systematically dismantled the worship of the
Speaker 1: True God and replaced it with every kind of evil
Speaker 1: practice imaginable. Second Kings, Chapter twenty one, verse two tells
Speaker 1: us plainly he did evil in the eyes of the Lord,
Speaker 1: following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had
Speaker 1: driven out before the Israelites. But what exactly did that mean?
Speaker 1: Manassa rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had destroyed.
Speaker 1: He erected altars to Baal and made a shaerer pole,
Speaker 1: just like Ahab, king of Israel, had done generations before.
Speaker 1: He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them.
Speaker 1: The King of God's chosen people was literally looking up
Speaker 1: at the stars and moon and worshiping creation instead of
Speaker 1: the Creator. It got worse. Second Kings twenty one, Verse
Speaker 1: four record something almost unbelievable. He built altars in the
Speaker 1: temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said,
Speaker 1: in Jerusalem, I will put my name. Manasi didn't just
Speaker 1: allow idle worship in random places. He brought it right
Speaker 1: into God's house. In both courts of the temple, he
Speaker 1: built altars to the starry hosts. The very place where
Speaker 1: God's presence was supposed to dwell became a center for
Speaker 1: worshiping false gods. Then came the most horrifying practice of all.
Speaker 1: Verse six describes how Manassa sacrificed his own son in
Speaker 1: the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists.
Speaker 1: The valley of ben Hinham, just outside Jerusalem, became a
Speaker 1: place where parents would burn their children as offerings to
Speaker 1: the god Mollich. The screams of innocent children filled the
Speaker 1: air while their own fathers and mothers watched, believing this
Speaker 1: would bring them favor from worthless idols made of wood
Speaker 1: and stone. Manassa also shed so much innocent blood that
Speaker 1: he filled Jerusalem from end to end. Any One who
Speaker 1: spoke out against his evil practices or remained faithful to
Speaker 1: the Lord was killed. The streets of the Holy City
Speaker 1: ran red with the blood of the righteous. Second Chronicles
Speaker 1: thirty three, verse nine sums up the tragedy perfectly. But
Speaker 1: Manassa led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so
Speaker 1: that they did more evil than the nations the Lord
Speaker 1: had destroyed before the Israelites. Think about that statement. God
Speaker 1: had driven out the Canaanites because of their wickedness, and
Speaker 1: now his own people were acting even worse than those
Speaker 1: pagan nations had been. This was the spiritual climate that
Speaker 1: would shape the world. Josiah would be born into a
Speaker 1: kingdom that had forgotten its God, a people drowning in darkness,
Speaker 1: and a future that looked absolutely hopeless. After fifty five
Speaker 1: long years, manasse finally died and was buried in his
Speaker 1: palace garden. For a brief moment, there might have been
Speaker 1: hope that things would change. Perhaps his son Aimon would
Speaker 1: see the error of his father's ways and turn the
Speaker 1: nation back to God. But that hope died quickly. A
Speaker 1: Yemen was twenty two years old when he became king
Speaker 1: and second Kings twenty one, Verse twenty tells us exactly
Speaker 1: what kind of ruler he would be. He did evil
Speaker 1: in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasse
Speaker 1: had done, there would be no repentance, no reform, no
Speaker 1: return to the ways of the Lord. Verse twenty one
Speaker 1: makes it even clearer. He followed completely the ways of
Speaker 1: his father, worshiping the idols his father had worshiped and
Speaker 1: bowing down to them. Aimon didn't just continue his father's policies,
Speaker 1: he embraced them completely. Every altar to bow that Manassa
Speaker 1: had built remained standing, Every asherapole stayed in place. The
Speaker 1: high places continued to operate. The temple of the Lord
Speaker 1: remained defiled with pagan altars. But there was one critical
Speaker 1: difference between father and son that the Bible makes sure
Speaker 1: to point out. Second Chronicles thirty three, verse twenty three
Speaker 1: record lords, but unlike his father Manassa, he did not
Speaker 1: humble himself before the Lord Ammon increased his guilt. You see,
Speaker 1: late in Manassa's life, something remarkable had happened. After being
Speaker 1: taken captive to Babylon. Manasse had humbled himself before God,
Speaker 1: repented of his sins and was restored to his throne.
Speaker 1: Second Chronicles thirty three describes how he removed the foreign
Speaker 1: gods from the temple and tried to undo some of
Speaker 1: the damage he had caused. It was too little, too
Speaker 1: late to save the nation from judgment, but at least
Speaker 1: Manassa had recognized his evil and turned back to God.
Speaker 1: Before he died. Amon knew this story. He had watched
Speaker 1: his father's transformation. He had seen genuine repentance and heard
Speaker 1: about God's mercy, but he chose to ignore it all.
Speaker 1: He looked at his father's fifty five years of evil
Speaker 1: and decided that's what he wanted to follow, not the
Speaker 1: humble repentance at the end. So Judah continued its downward spiral.
Speaker 1: The brief reign of Armon, only two years, according to
Speaker 1: Second Kings twenty one, verse nineteen, would be marked by
Speaker 1: the same darkness that had characterized most of Manasse's rule.
Speaker 1: The idols remained, the innocent blood continued to flow, the
Speaker 1: temple stayed defiled, and in the royal palace, a young
Speaker 1: boy named Josiah was growing up watching everything unfold around him.
Speaker 1: He was being raised in the most corrupt environment imaginable,
Speaker 1: surrounded by people who had turned their backs on the
Speaker 1: God of their fathers. No one could have predicted what
Speaker 1: this child would one day become. Amon's reign came to
Speaker 1: a sudden and violent end. After just two years on
Speaker 1: the throne. Something happened that shook the entire kingdom. Second
Speaker 1: King's twenty one verse twenty three records the shocking event.
Speaker 1: Amon's officials conspired against him him and assassinated the king
Speaker 1: in his palace. This wasn't an attack from outside enemies
Speaker 1: or a rebellion from the common people. This was an
Speaker 1: inside job, a betrayal from the very people closest to
Speaker 1: the king. His own officials, the men who served him daily,
Speaker 1: who had access to the royal chambers, who were supposed
Speaker 1: to protect and support him, turned against him and killed
Speaker 1: him in his own house. The Bible doesn't tell us
Speaker 1: exactly why they did it or who these conspirators were.
Speaker 1: We don't know their names or their specific motivations, but
Speaker 1: we can piece together some reasonable ideas. Perhaps they were
Speaker 1: tired of the moral decay that was destroying the nation.
Speaker 1: Maybe they feared that Amon's wickedness would bring God's judgment
Speaker 1: down on everyone, or possibly there were political reasons. Will
Speaker 1: never fully understand. What we do know is that pallace
Speaker 1: conspiracies like this were relatively rare in Judah. Unlike the
Speaker 1: Northern Kingdom of Evers Israel, where kings were regularly overthrown
Speaker 1: and assassinated, the Southern Kingdom of Judah had maintained a
Speaker 1: fairly stable line of succession through David's descendants. For royal
Speaker 1: officials to actually murder their king showed just how desperate
Speaker 1: and chaotic things had become. The assassination created immediate chaos.
Speaker 1: Who would rule now? Amon had a son, but he
Speaker 1: was only eight years old, far too young to defend
Speaker 1: himself or claim the throne through strength. The conspirators who
Speaker 1: had killed Amon might have had their own plans for
Speaker 1: who should rule. Perhaps they wanted to install a puppet
Speaker 1: king they could control, or maybe they intended to end
Speaker 1: David's dynasty altogether and start something new. But they didn't
Speaker 1: get the chance to find out. The power vacuum they
Speaker 1: had created wouldn't last long. The people of Judah, not
Speaker 1: the nobility, not the priests, not the wealthy elite, but
Speaker 1: the common people of the land were about to make
Speaker 1: a decision would change everything. The eight year old boy
Speaker 1: in the palace, the grandson of the wicked Manassa and
Speaker 1: the son of the murdered Amon, was about to become king,
Speaker 1: and no one, absolutely no one could have predicted what
Speaker 1: would happen next. What happened next shows us something powerful
Speaker 1: about the common people of Judah. They had endured fifty
Speaker 1: seven years of wicked kings, fifty five under Manassa and
Speaker 1: two under Amon. They had watched their nations spiral into darkness.
Speaker 1: They had seen the temple defiled, an innocent blood shed
Speaker 1: in the streets, but they weren't ready to give up
Speaker 1: on David's dynasty or God's promises. Second Kings twenty one,
Speaker 1: Verse twenty four tells us what they did. Then. The
Speaker 1: people of the land killed all who had plotted against
Speaker 1: King Amon, and they made Josiah his son, king in
Speaker 1: his place. This wasn't the decision of priests or prophets
Speaker 1: or government officials. This was the people themselves rising up
Speaker 1: and taking action. They executed every single person who had
Speaker 1: been part of the conspiracy to kill Ammon. It didn't
Speaker 1: matter what the conspirator's reasons might have been, or whether
Speaker 1: they thought they were doing something good for the nation.
Speaker 1: The people of the land made a clear statement, you
Speaker 1: don't murder the lord's anointed king and get away with it.
Speaker 1: But even more importantly, they deliberately placed Josiah on the throne.
Speaker 1: This eight year old child became king not because he
Speaker 1: seized power or because he was the obvious choice in
Speaker 1: a time of stability. He became king because the common
Speaker 1: people wanted him there. They chose to continue the line
Speaker 1: of David to maintain the covenant promises God had made
Speaker 1: to their ancestors. Think about what an act of faith
Speaker 1: this was. They could have looked at the previous two
Speaker 1: generations and decided that David's line was cursed. They could
Speaker 1: have said Mona so was evil. Amon was evil, so
Speaker 1: Josiah will probably be evil too. They could have supported
Speaker 1: a different family or a different tribe, or even asked
Speaker 1: for help from Egypt or as Syria. But they didn't
Speaker 1: do any of that. Instead, they looked at this child
Speaker 1: and decided to give him a chance. They put their
Speaker 1: hope in the possibility that maybe, just maybe this young
Speaker 1: boy would be different from his father and grandfather. They
Speaker 1: remembered that God had promised David's descendants would rule in
Speaker 1: Jerusalem forever, and they acted on that faith. Second Chronicles
Speaker 1: thirty four, verse one confirms the people's choice. Josiah was
Speaker 1: eight years old when he became king, and he reigned
Speaker 1: in Jerusalem thirty one years. That long reign thirty one
Speaker 1: years would prove that the people's faith wasn't misplaced. But
Speaker 1: at that moment, when they crowned an eight year old child,
Speaker 1: they were simply trusting that God hadn't abandoned his head
Speaker 1: promises or his people. The boy King Josiah stood before them,
Speaker 1: wearing a crown that was probably too big for his head,
Speaker 1: facing responsibilities no child should have to carry. He was
Speaker 1: surrounded by corruption, raised in evil, with every reason to
Speaker 1: follow the path of his father and grandfather. But the
Speaker 1: people had made their choice. Now every one would wait
Speaker 1: to see what kind of king this child would become.
Speaker 1: Picture Josiah's world for a moment. He was eight years old,
Speaker 1: still a child by any measure, Suddenly sitting on a
Speaker 1: throne and wearing a crown. All around him stood the
Speaker 1: same officials, priests, and advisers who had served his wicked
Speaker 1: father and grandfather. These were people who had spent decades
Speaker 1: bowing to bail, consulting mediums and spiritists, and filling Jerusalem
Speaker 1: with idols and bloodshed. The palace itself would have been
Speaker 1: filled with reminders of the evil that had ruled there.
Speaker 1: Perhaps there were statues of false gods in the corridors.
Speaker 1: Maybe some of the officials still wore amulets dedicated to
Speaker 1: pagan deities. The very people who were supposed to teach
Speaker 1: Josiah how to be a king had learned their craft
Speaker 1: under two of the most wicked rulers in Judah's history.
Speaker 1: And beyond the palace walls, the entire city lay steeped
Speaker 1: in idolatry. If young Josiah looked out from his windows,
Speaker 1: he might have seen smoke rising from the high places
Speaker 1: where people were still making offerings to false gods. The
Speaker 1: Temple of the Lord, the place where God's name was
Speaker 1: supposed to dwell, sat neglected and defiled, filled with altars.
Speaker 1: To the starry hosts that his grandfather had built. In
Speaker 1: the valley of ben Hinham. Just outside the city, the
Speaker 1: fires of Moleek might still have been burning, the screams
Speaker 1: of children being sacrificed to this demon. God might have
Speaker 1: echoed up to the palace on certain nights. This wasn't
Speaker 1: ancient history for Josiah. This was his present reality, happening
Speaker 1: during his own childhood reign. Every tradition, every custom, every
Speaker 1: normal part of daily life in Jerusalem was corrupted by
Speaker 1: decades of turning away from the true God. The people
Speaker 1: around Josiah had grown up thinking this was normal. They
Speaker 1: had forgotten what it meant to truly worship the Lord.
Speaker 1: They had forgotten the Law of Moses. They had forgotten
Speaker 1: the covenant their ancestors had made with God at Mount Sinai.
Speaker 1: Josiah had no godly father to guide him. Amon had
Speaker 1: been wicked until his last day. He had no godly
Speaker 1: grandfather to learn from. Manassa's late life repentance had been real,
Speaker 1: but he had died when Josiah was very young. If
Speaker 1: the boy remembered him at all, the child king had
Speaker 1: no obvious mentor no clear example of righteousness to follow.
Speaker 1: Think about how easy it would have been for Josiah
Speaker 1: to simply go along with everything around him. He was
Speaker 1: just a child. The adults in his life, the ones
Speaker 1: with power and experience, could have shaped him into anything
Speaker 1: they wanted. They could have taught him to worship bail,
Speaker 1: to consult mediums, to follow the ways of his father
Speaker 1: and grandfather, And who could have blamed an eight year
Speaker 1: old boy for following the only examples he knew. But
Speaker 1: something was different about this child, somehow, despite the corruption
Speaker 1: surrounding him, despite having no obvious Godly influence in his life,
Speaker 1: despite being raised in the most spiritually dark environment imaginable,
Speaker 1: Josiah's heart was turning in a different direction. The Bible
Speaker 1: will later describe him as doing what was right in
Speaker 1: the eyes of the Lord, walking in the ways of
Speaker 1: David his father, not turning aside to the right or
Speaker 1: to the left. How does that happen? How does a
Speaker 1: child raised in such darkness show any signs of light?
Speaker 1: The only answer is that God himself was working in
Speaker 1: Josiah's heart, preparing him for something extraordinary. The boy King
Speaker 1: might not have understood it yet, but he was being
Speaker 1: shaped for a purpose that would impact his entire generation
Speaker 1: and beyond. The Bible gives us a crucial detail about
Speaker 1: Josiah's early years that helps us understand what made him different.
Speaker 1: Second King's twenty two, Verse two tells us he did
Speaker 1: what was right in the eyes of the Lord and
Speaker 1: followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning
Speaker 1: aside to the right or to the left. Now, notice
Speaker 1: something important, the verse says his father David, not his
Speaker 1: actual father Ammon or his grandfather Manasseh. Josiah wasn't following
Speaker 1: the examples right in front of him. Instead, he was
Speaker 1: looking back generations to David, the king, who had lived
Speaker 1: and died over three hundred years before Josiah was born.
Speaker 1: How did an eight year old boy even know about David.
Speaker 1: Some one must have told him the stories. Perhaps there
Speaker 1: were a few faithful servants in the palace who remembered
Speaker 1: the old ways. Maybe there were scrolls or records that
Speaker 1: Josiah discovered and read, or possibly his mother Jedidah, whose
Speaker 1: name is mentioned in Second Kings twenty two, verse one,
Speaker 1: taught him about his ancestor David and the covenant God
Speaker 1: had made with him. We don't know exactly how it happened,
Speaker 1: but somehow, young Josiah learned that there was a different
Speaker 1: way to be king. He learned that his great great
Speaker 1: great grandfather David had loved the Lord with all his heart.
Speaker 1: He learned about the promises God had made and the
Speaker 1: blessings that came from following God's ways. And here's what's remarkable.
Speaker 1: Josiah didn't just learn these stories as interesting history. He
Speaker 1: took them personally. He made a choice, even as a child,
Speaker 1: to pattern his life after David rather than after the
Speaker 1: men he actually knew. He chose light over darkness, truth
Speaker 1: over the comfortable lies every one around him was living.
Speaker 1: Second Chronicles thirty four, verse two repeats this same truth.
Speaker 1: He did what was right in the eyes of the
Speaker 1: Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not
Speaker 1: turning aside to the right or to the left. That phrase,
Speaker 1: not turning aside to the right or to the left
Speaker 1: is significant. It means Josiah was consistent. He didn't compromise.
Speaker 1: He didn't say, well, I'll follow God in these areas,
Speaker 1: but keep these pagan practices over here. He committed himself completely.
Speaker 1: This consistency must have been visible even in Josiah's childhood.
Speaker 1: The people around him would have noticed that this boy
Speaker 1: king was different. When his officials suggested he participate in
Speaker 1: the worship of Baal like his father had done, he refused.
Speaker 1: When the court customs included consulting mediums or making offerings
Speaker 1: to the starry hosts. He wouldn't do it when everyone
Speaker 1: else was bowing to idols. He stood apart. Think about
Speaker 1: how much courage that took. Josiah wasn't a grown man
Speaker 1: with an army at his command. He was a child
Speaker 1: king who could have been easily manipulated or controlled if
Speaker 1: his officials had wanted to. They probably could have ignored
Speaker 1: him or worked around him. But something about Josiah's character,
Speaker 1: his firmness, his conviction, his clear sense that he served
Speaker 1: a higher authority than the people around him, must have
Speaker 1: commanded respect, even at such a young age. The Bible
Speaker 1: doesn't give us stories of specific incidents from these early years.
Speaker 1: We don't know the exact moments when Josiah had to
Speaker 1: stand firm or the times he resisted pressure to compromise.
Speaker 1: But we know that throughout his childhood and teenage years,
Speaker 1: he was building a reputation as some one who genuinely
Speaker 1: loved the Lord and refused to follow the wickedness of
Speaker 1: the previous generations. These early signs of character were just
Speaker 1: the beginning. They showed that God had indeed placed his
Speaker 1: hand on this young king and was preparing him for
Speaker 1: something far greater than any one could have imagined. While
Speaker 1: Josiah was growing up in the palace, God was doing
Speaker 1: something else in Judah. He was raising up prophets who
Speaker 1: would speak his word to the nation. These men would
Speaker 1: create a spiritual atmosphere that would both challenge and encourage
Speaker 1: the young king as he matured. The prophet Zephoniah began
Speaker 1: his ministry during Josiah's reign. The very first verse of
Speaker 1: the Book of Zephaniah tells us the word of the
Speaker 1: Lord that came to Zephaniah, son of Kushi, the son
Speaker 1: of Gadaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah,
Speaker 1: during the reign of Josiah, son of Amon, king of Judah.
Speaker 1: This means that at some point during Josiah's childhood or
Speaker 1: teenage years, Zephaniah was actively prophesying in Jerusalem. What was
Speaker 1: Zephaniah saying? His message was intense and urgent. He warned
Speaker 1: about the great day of the Lord that was coming,
Speaker 1: a day of wrath, distress, anguish, trouble, and darkness. In
Speaker 1: Chapter one, verse four, he specifically addressed the idolatry that
Speaker 1: filled Jerusalem. I will stretch out my hand against Judah
Speaker 1: and against all who live in Jerusalem. I will destroy
Speaker 1: every remnant of bale worship in this place, the very
Speaker 1: names of the idolatrous priests. Zephaniah called out the people
Speaker 1: who worshiped the starry hosts on their rooftops, who bowed
Speaker 1: down and swore by both the Lord and by the
Speaker 1: god Molik, and who turned back from following the Lord.
Speaker 1: His words painted a vivid picture of exactly the kind
Speaker 1: of spiritual corruption that had marked Manassa's reign and continued
Speaker 1: under Aimon. But zeph Andiah's message wasn't all doom and judgment.
Speaker 1: He also spoke words of hope. In chapter two, verse three,
Speaker 1: he urged seek the Lord, all, you humble of the land,
Speaker 1: you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility.
Speaker 1: Perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the
Speaker 1: Lord's anger. That word seek must have resonated with young Josiah.
Speaker 1: Here was a prophet saying that it was still possible
Speaker 1: to seek the Lord, to find him, to turn away
Speaker 1: from the wickedness that surrounded them. The call to seek
Speaker 1: righteousness and humility aligned perfectly with the path Josiah was
Speaker 1: already choosing to follow. Then there was Jeremiah, who would
Speaker 1: become one of the greatest prophets in Israel's history. Jeremiah one,
Speaker 1: verse two tells us the word of the Lord came
Speaker 1: to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah,
Speaker 1: son of Amon, King of Judah. Means Jeremiah began prophesying
Speaker 1: when Josiah was about twenty one years old. Jeremiah's call
Speaker 1: from God was powerful and clear. In Chapter one, verses
Speaker 1: nine and ten, the Lord said to him, I have
Speaker 1: put my words in your mouth. See to day I
Speaker 1: appoint you over nations and kingdoms, to uproot and tear down,
Speaker 1: to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant. Both
Speaker 1: of these prophets were speaking God's truth in a time
Speaker 1: when truth was rare. They weren't afraid to call out
Speaker 1: sin and warn of judgment. They reminded people of the
Speaker 1: covenant their ancestors had made with God and how far
Speaker 1: Judah had fallen from it. Their voices cut through the
Speaker 1: comfortable lies and spiritual darkness that had settled over the nation.
Speaker 1: For Josiah, these prophetic voices would have been confirmation that
Speaker 1: he wasn't alone or crazy for wanting to follow the Lord.
Speaker 1: Here were other people, respected men of God who saw
Speaker 1: things the way he did. They understood that Judah's idolatry
Speaker 1: was serious. They believed that returning to the Lord was
Speaker 1: urgent and necessary. They offered a vision of what faithfulness
Speaker 1: to God could look like. The prophets also provided something
Speaker 1: Josiah desperately needed, direct access to God's current word for
Speaker 1: the nation. David had been dead for over three hundred years,
Speaker 1: the Law of Moses had been given even longer ago.
Speaker 1: But through prophets like Zephaniah and Jeremiah, Josiah could hear
Speaker 1: what God was saying right now, in his own time,
Speaker 1: about the specific situations Judah was facing. This prophetic atmosphere
Speaker 1: helped shape the spiritual climate in which Josiah would eventually
Speaker 1: launch his great reforms. The king and the prophets worked together,
Speaker 1: each fulfilling their role in calling the nation back to God.
Speaker 1: Josiah had the political power to make changes, while the
Speaker 1: prophets had the spiritual authority to explain why those changes mattered.
Speaker 1: Everything we've discussed so far was leading to one pivotal
Speaker 1: moment that would define Josiah's entire life. And reign. Second
Speaker 1: Chronicles thirty four, verse three records this turning point. In
Speaker 1: the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young,
Speaker 1: he began to seek the God of his father David.
Speaker 1: Let's do the math here. Josiah became king at age eight.
Speaker 1: The eighth year of his reign means he was now
Speaker 1: sixteen years old. Still young, still technically a teenager by
Speaker 1: our modern understanding, but old enough to make serious, independent
Speaker 1: decisions about his life and faith. Up until this point,
Speaker 1: Josiah had been doing what was right, refusing to participate
Speaker 1: in idolatry, not following the ways of his father and grandfather.
Speaker 1: But now something shifted. He moved from passive resistance to
Speaker 1: active pursuit. He didn't just avoid evil anymore, he began
Speaker 1: actively making God. That word seek is important. It implies intention, effort, desire,
Speaker 1: and pursuit. Josiah wasn't content to simply maintain the status
Speaker 1: quo or keep himself personally pure while the nation continued
Speaker 1: in darkness. He wanted more. He wanted to actually know God,
Speaker 1: to understand his ways, to discover what it meant to
Speaker 1: truly follow him. Think about what this meant practically for
Speaker 1: a sixteen year old king. He was probably asking questions,
Speaker 1: demanding to see any records or scrolls that mentioned the
Speaker 1: Lord and his commands. He was likely spending time in prayer,
Speaker 1: calling out to the God of his ancestor, David, even
Speaker 1: though he had never heard God's audible voice or seen
Speaker 1: a miracle with his own eyes. He was seeking someone
Speaker 1: he couldn't see, following teachings that had been neglected for decades,
Speaker 1: pursuing a relationship with a God that most people around
Speaker 1: him had forgotten or abandoned. This took real faith. This
Speaker 1: took courage. This took a hunger for truth that couldn't
Speaker 1: be satisfied by the empty rituals and powerless idols that
Speaker 1: filled Jerusalem. Josiah wasn't seeking just any God. He was
Speaker 1: seeking the God of his father, David. Specifically. He had
Speaker 1: learned enough about David to know that this king had
Speaker 1: experienced something real with God, a genuine relationship, not just
Speaker 1: religious duty. David had written psalms praising the Lord. David
Speaker 1: had danced before the Ark of the Covenant. David had
Speaker 1: made mistakes, but always came back to God with a
Speaker 1: repentant heart. That's the kind of faith Josiah wanted for himself.
Speaker 1: This decision to seek God at age sixteen would set
Speaker 1: the course for everything that followed. It was the foundation
Speaker 1: that would support the massive reforms Josiah would launch just
Speaker 1: four years later. It was the route that would produce
Speaker 1: fruit in every area of his life and reign. Here's
Speaker 1: something beautiful to notice. Josiah didn't wait until he was older,
Speaker 1: more experienced, or more powerful to start seeking God. He
Speaker 1: didn't say, I'll get serious about this when i'm thirty,
Speaker 1: or let me establish my political authority first then I'll
Speaker 1: focus on spiritual things. No, while he was still young,
Speaker 1: while he still had his whole life ahead of him,
Speaker 1: he made the choice to pursue God with all his heart.
Speaker 1: This is what made Josiah different from every other king
Speaker 1: before or after him. It wasn't just that he did
Speaker 1: the right things or made good political decisions. It was
Speaker 1: that his heart genuinely belonged to the Lord. He wasn't
Speaker 1: performing religious duties to look good or maintain tradition. He
Speaker 1: was actually personally passionately seeking to know and follow the
Speaker 1: God of Israel. And God who sees the heart was
Speaker 1: what this young king. He saw Josiah's sincerity, his hunger,
Speaker 1: his desire for truth, and he was about to use
Speaker 1: this sixteen year old boy to shake an entire nation
Speaker 1: and demonstrate what wholehearted devotion to him could accomplish. The
Speaker 1: stage was set. The boy king, who had grown up
Speaker 1: surrounded by darkness, had chosen to walk in the light.
Speaker 1: The child, who had every excuse to follow evil, had
Speaker 1: decided to pursue righteousness instead. Josiah's seeking heart was about
Speaker 1: to lead him into actions that would transform Judah in
Speaker 1: ways no one could have predicted. For years had passed
Speaker 1: since Josiah began seeking the God of David. Now, at
Speaker 1: age twenty, the young king was ready to take action.
Speaker 1: Second Chronicles thirty four, Verse three continues, in the twelfth
Speaker 1: year of his reign, he began to purge Judah and
Speaker 1: Jerusalem of high places, a share, poles, and idols. This
Speaker 1: wasn't a gentle reform or a gradual suggestion. The word
Speaker 1: purge means a complete, thorough cleansing. Josiah wasn't asking people
Speaker 1: to maybe consider changing their ways. He was actively destroying
Speaker 1: every trace of idle worship he could find. The high
Speaker 1: places were the first target. These were worship sites scattered
Speaker 1: across hilltops and elevated areas throughout Judah, where people made
Speaker 1: sacrifices to various gods. Some of these high places had
Speaker 1: stood for generations, becoming familiar landmarks that people passed every day.
Speaker 1: Now Josiah ordered them torn down, every single one. Then
Speaker 1: came the Ashera poles. These were wooden objects or carved
Speaker 1: images representing the goddess Ashera, often placed near altars. They
Speaker 1: stood in groves and sacred spaces, and people had bowed
Speaker 1: to them for decades. Josiah's workers cut them down and
Speaker 1: broke them into pieces. Second Chronicles thirty four, verse four
Speaker 1: gives us more detail about what happened under his direction.
Speaker 1: The altars of the bales were torn down. He cut
Speaker 1: to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and
Speaker 1: smashed the asher of poles and the idols. These he
Speaker 1: broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those
Speaker 1: who had sacrificed to them. Notice that Josiah didn't just
Speaker 1: remove these objects and store them somewhere. He completely destroyed them,
Speaker 1: broke them into pieces, ground them into dust. He wanted
Speaker 1: to make sure they could never be used for worship again.
Speaker 1: And then, in a powerful symbolic act. He scattered the
Speaker 1: dust over the graves of the people who had worshiped
Speaker 1: these false gods. It was his way of showing that
Speaker 1: both the idols and those who served them were dead
Speaker 1: and finished. Josiah was personally involved in this work, the
Speaker 1: verse says, under his direction, meaning he wasn't delegating this
Speaker 1: to others and staying safely in his palace. He was
Speaker 1: there overseeing the destruction, making sure the job was done completely.
Speaker 1: For a twenty year old king to take such bold,
Speaker 1: aggressive action showed incredible courage and conviction. Think about the
Speaker 1: resistance he must have faced. These idols and high places
Speaker 1: represented decades of tradition. There were people, probably powerful, influential
Speaker 1: people who had vested interests in maintaining idle worship. But
Speaker 1: the young king didn't back down. He had spent four
Speaker 1: years seeking God, learning his ways, understanding what he required.
Speaker 1: Now Josiah knew with absolute certainty that these idols had
Speaker 1: to go. Second Chronicles thirty four, Verse five adds another
Speaker 1: shocking detail. He burned the bones of the priests on
Speaker 1: their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. The
Speaker 1: bones of dead priest beasts were dug up and burned
Speaker 1: on the very altars where they had once served false gods.
Speaker 1: This was Josiah's way of defiling these pagan worship sites
Speaker 1: so completely that no one would ever want to use
Speaker 1: them again. But Josiah didn't stop at the borders of
Speaker 1: his own kingdom. Something remarkable was happening in the world
Speaker 1: around him that gave him an opportunity no king of
Speaker 1: Judah had enjoyed in generations. The mighty Assyrian Empire, which
Speaker 1: had dominated the region for decades, was collapsing. This created
Speaker 1: a vacuum that Josiah was quick to fill. The territories
Speaker 1: that had once belonged to the Northern Kingdom. Areas that
Speaker 1: should have been part of Israel but had been under
Speaker 1: foreign control for generations, were now vulnerable and accessible. Second
Speaker 1: Chronicles thirty four, verse six tells us what Josiah did
Speaker 1: in the towns of manasse Ephraim and Simeon, as far
Speaker 1: as Naftali, and in the ruins around them. He tore
Speaker 1: down the altars and the Ashera poles, and crushed the
Speaker 1: idols to powder and cut to pieces all the incense
Speaker 1: altars throughout Israel. Look at that list of territories Manasseh,
Speaker 1: Ephraim Simeon all the way to Naftali in the far north.
Speaker 1: These were tribal lands from the old United Kingdom of Israel,
Speaker 1: areas that hadn't been under the control of a Davidic
Speaker 1: king in over two hundred years. Josiah was essentially reclaiming
Speaker 1: the entire Promised land and purging it of idolatry. He
Speaker 1: went to the ruins places that had been destroyed when
Speaker 1: Assyria conquered the north. Even in these abandoned, broken down areas,
Speaker 1: there were still altars and idols that people were using.
Speaker 1: Josiah made sure they were all destroyed. Verse seven continues.
Speaker 1: He tore down the altars and the ashera poles, and
Speaker 1: crushed the idols to powder, and cut to pieces all
Speaker 1: the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: The phrase throughout Israel is significant. Josiah wasn't thinking of
Speaker 1: himself as just the King of Judah. In his mind
Speaker 1: and heart, he was king over all of God's people,
Speaker 1: both north and south. He was working to restore what
Speaker 1: sin and idolatry had broken apart. Imagine the scope of
Speaker 1: this project. Josiah and his workers traveled from town to town,
Speaker 1: village to village, climbing hills and entering valleys, searching out
Speaker 1: every place where false gods were worshiped. They swung hammers
Speaker 1: and axes, breaking stone altars, chopping down wooden poles, grinding
Speaker 1: carved images into dust. The work must have taken months,
Speaker 1: maybe even years, but Josiah was committed to being thorough.
Speaker 1: Josiah's reformation wasn't just about destroying objects. It was also
Speaker 1: about dealing with the people who had led the nation
Speaker 1: into idolatry, the priests who served at these pagan altars
Speaker 1: and shrines. Second Kings twenty tie three, Verse five describes
Speaker 1: part of what Josiah did. He did away with the
Speaker 1: idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn
Speaker 1: incense on the high places of the towns of Judah
Speaker 1: and on those around Jerusalem. Those who burned incense to
Speaker 1: bale to the Sun and moon, to the constellations, and
Speaker 1: to all the starry hosts. These weren't true priests of
Speaker 1: the Lord who had gone astray. These were men specifically
Speaker 1: appointed by previous kings, probably Manassa and Amen, to serve
Speaker 1: false gods. They had made their living leading people in
Speaker 1: worship of Baal, the Sun, the moon, the stars, and
Speaker 1: various other deities. Now Josiah removed them from their positions.
Speaker 1: But Josiah went even further with some of these false
Speaker 1: religious leaders. Second Kings twenty three, verse twenty records something
Speaker 1: that happened when Josiah went to Bethel in the north.
Speaker 1: Josiah slaughtered all the priests of those high places on
Speaker 1: the altars and burned human bones on them. This was
Speaker 1: serious judgment. The priests who had led people to worship
Speaker 1: false gods were executed on the very altars where they
Speaker 1: had served. Their own places of worship became the sights
Speaker 1: of their punishment. Then, just as he had done in Judah,
Speaker 1: Josiah burned human bones on these altars to defile them permanently.
Speaker 1: There's also an important detail about what happened at Bethel. Specifically,
Speaker 1: this was the site where Jeroboam, the first king of
Speaker 1: the Northern Kingdom, had set up a golden calf hundreds
Speaker 1: of years earlier. Second Kings twenty three, verse fifteen describes
Speaker 1: what Josiah did there. Even the altar at Bethel, the
Speaker 1: high place made by Jeroboam, son of Nibat, who had
Speaker 1: caused Israel to sin. Even that altar and high place
Speaker 1: he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it
Speaker 1: to powder, and burned the ashera pole also. But here's
Speaker 1: where something amazing happened. Three hundred years earlier, a prophet
Speaker 1: had come to Jeroboam's altar and delivered a specific prophecy.
Speaker 1: First Kings thirteen, verse two records what he said. He
Speaker 1: cried out against the altar by the word of the
Speaker 1: Lord Altar Altar. This is what the Lord says, A
Speaker 1: son named Josiah will be born to the House of
Speaker 1: David on you. He will sacrifice the priests of the
Speaker 1: high places who make offerings here, and human bones will
Speaker 1: be burned on you. Think about that. Three centuries before
Speaker 1: Josiah was born, God had announced his name and described
Speaker 1: exactly what he would do at this specific location. The
Speaker 1: prophecy had been waiting all those years to be fulfilled,
Speaker 1: and now, in Josiah's own time, he was acting out
Speaker 1: word for word what God had predicted. Second Kings twenty three,
Speaker 1: verse sixteen continues the story. Then Josiah looked around, and
Speaker 1: when he saw the tombs that were there on the hillside.
Speaker 1: He had the bones removed from them and burned on
Speaker 1: the altar to defile it. In a accordance with the
Speaker 1: word of the Lord proclaimed by the Man of God
Speaker 1: who foretold these things. Josiah was literally fulfilling ancient prophecy
Speaker 1: without even knowing it. At first, he was simply doing
Speaker 1: what he believed was right, destroying idolatry and defiling pagan altars.
Speaker 1: But God had known all along that this moment would come.
Speaker 1: After years of purging idolatry from the land, Josiah turned
Speaker 1: his attention to something that had been neglected for decades,
Speaker 1: the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. This wasn't just
Speaker 1: any building. This was the house that Solomon had built,
Speaker 1: the place where God's presence was supposed to dwell among
Speaker 1: his people. Second Chronicles thirty four, verse eight tells us
Speaker 1: when this happened in the eighteenth year of his reign.
Speaker 1: To purify the land and the temple, he sent Schaffon's
Speaker 1: son of Azalea, and Marsiah, the ruler of the city,
Speaker 1: with Joah, son of Johar'z the recorder, to repair the
Speaker 1: Temple of the Lord his God. Josiah was now twenty
Speaker 1: six years old. He had been purging idolatry from the
Speaker 1: land for six years. Now it was time to restore
Speaker 1: the center of true worship. Josiah sent three trusted officials
Speaker 1: to oversee the project. Schaffen the secretary, Massiah the city ruler,
Speaker 1: and Joah the recorder. These weren't construction workers themselves. They
Speaker 1: were administrators who would manage the project, handle the finances,
Speaker 1: and make sure everything was done properly. Verse nine describes
Speaker 1: what they did. They went to Hilkia, the high priest,
Speaker 1: and gave him the money that had been brought into
Speaker 1: the Temple of God, which the Levites who were the
Speaker 1: gate keepers, had collected from the people of Manassa Ephraim
Speaker 1: and the entire remnant of Israel, and from all the
Speaker 1: people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: Notice that money came from all over, not just from Judah,
Speaker 1: but also from the northern territories that Josiah had brought
Speaker 1: under his influence. The people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the
Speaker 1: other northern tribes contributed to the restoration of the temple
Speaker 1: in Jerusalem. This showed that Josiah's vision of a reunited
Speaker 1: Israel was becoming reality. Verses ten and eleven explain how
Speaker 1: the money was used. Then they entrusted it to the
Speaker 1: men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord's temple.
Speaker 1: These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple.
Speaker 1: They also gave money to the carpenters and builders to
Speaker 1: purchase dressed stone and timber for joists and beams for
Speaker 1: the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to
Speaker 1: fall into ruin, the temple wasn't just dirty or messy,
Speaker 1: it was actually falling apart. The phrase allowed to fall
Speaker 1: into ruin tells us that previous kings had simply ignored
Speaker 1: the deteriorating condition of God's house. Now carpenters and builders
Speaker 1: were hired to do the necessary work. They needed dressed
Speaker 1: stone and timber for joists and beams. This was major
Speaker 1: construction work, not just a quick cleaning job. Verse twelve
Speaker 1: tells us about the workers. The workers labored faithfully over
Speaker 1: them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended
Speaker 1: from Marari and Zechariah and Mushullam descended from Kohath. The
Speaker 1: Levites all who were skilled in playing musical instruments, had
Speaker 1: charge of the laborers and supervised all the workers from
Speaker 1: job to job. The work was supervised by Levites who
Speaker 1: understood the sacred nature of the temple. This restoration project
Speaker 1: was more than just fixing a building. It was a
Speaker 1: statement about priorities. While the restoration work was going on,
Speaker 1: something happened that no one expected. Hilkiah, the High Priest,
Speaker 1: was working in the temple, probably sorting through debris and
Speaker 1: organizing items that had been neglected for years, when he
Speaker 1: made an incredible discovery. Second King's twenty two, Verse eight
Speaker 1: records the moment. Hilkiah the High Priest said to Chaffan,
Speaker 1: the Secretary, I have found the Book of the Law
Speaker 1: in the temple of the Lord. He gave it to Chaffan,
Speaker 1: who read it. The Book of the Law. This was
Speaker 1: the written word of God, the Covenant documents that described
Speaker 1: how Israel was supposed to live the commands God had
Speaker 1: given at Mount Sinai, and it had been lost. Think
Speaker 1: about that, for a moment, the Word of God had
Speaker 1: been so thoroughly neglected during the reigns of Manasseh and
Speaker 1: Amon that it had simply disappeared. However, it happened the
Speaker 1: Book of the Law had been missing for years, probably decades,
Speaker 1: and now during Josiah's restoration project, it had been found again.
Speaker 1: Hilkiah gave the scroll to Chaffen, the Secretary. Chaffon read it,
Speaker 1: and what he read must have stunned him. Here was
Speaker 1: the actual covenant between God and Israel, the detailed commands
Speaker 1: about how they were supposed to worship, the blessings for
Speaker 1: obedience and the curses for disobedience. Chaffon understood the significance
Speaker 1: this needed to go directly to the king, So Chaffon
Speaker 1: took the scroll and brought it to Josiah. Second Kings
Speaker 1: twenty two. Verse nine tells us what happened next. Then
Speaker 1: Chaffen the secretary went to the king and reported to him,
Speaker 1: your officials have paid out the money that was in
Speaker 1: the temple of the Lord and have intrusted it to
Speaker 1: the workers and supervisors at the temple. Chaffon started with
Speaker 1: his regular report about the restoration project, but then came
Speaker 1: verse ten. Then Chaffon the secretary informed the King, Hilkia,
Speaker 1: the priest has given me a book, and Chaffon read
Speaker 1: from it in the presence of the king. Imagine the scene.
Speaker 1: King Josiah, now twenty six years old, sitting in his
Speaker 1: palace receiving reports. Then Chaffon begins to read from this
Speaker 1: newly discovered scroll. The words are ancient but powerful, direct,
Speaker 1: but penetrating. As Chaffon reads, Josiah hears about the covenant
Speaker 1: his ancestors made with God. He hears about the commands
Speaker 1: to worship the Lord alone, to tear down idols, to
Speaker 1: keep the Sabbath. He hears about the blessings that come
Speaker 1: from obedience. But then Chaffon reads the curses that come
Speaker 1: from disobedience. In Deuteronomy twenty eight, starting at verse fifteen,
Speaker 1: the consequences are laid out. However, if you do not
Speaker 1: obey the Lord your God, and do not carefully follow
Speaker 1: all his commands and decrees, I am giving you to day,
Speaker 1: all these curses will come on you and overtake you.
Speaker 1: The curses include defeat by enemies, diseases, drought, failed crops,
Speaker 1: and ultimately exile from the land. As Chaffon continues reading,
Speaker 1: Josiah realizes something horrifying. Everything described in these curses sounds
Speaker 1: exactly like what Judah deserves. Second Kings twenty two, Verse
Speaker 1: eleven captures Josiah's immediate reaction when the king heard the
Speaker 1: words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.
Speaker 1: Tearing one's robes was a sign of deep grief and
Speaker 1: distress in ancient Israel. It was what people did when
Speaker 1: they heard terrible news or faced unbearable tragedy. Josiah wasn't
Speaker 1: just mildly concerned or slightly worried. He was devastated. Why
Speaker 1: did he respond so strongly, because as he listened to
Speaker 1: Schafan read, Josiah understood something that perhaps no one else
Speaker 1: in Judah fully grasped at that moment. The Law wasn't
Speaker 1: just old rules or interesting history. It was an actual
Speaker 1: binding covenant between God and Israel, and that covenant had
Speaker 1: been thoroughly, repeatedly, systematically violated for decades. Josiah had been
Speaker 1: working hard for years to purge idolatry from the land.
Speaker 1: He thought he was making good progress. The altars were
Speaker 1: coming down, the asherapoles were being destroyed, the priests of
Speaker 1: Baal had been removed. But now hearing the actual words
Speaker 1: of God's Law, he realized how much deeper the problem
Speaker 1: went and how serious the consequences could be. The curses
Speaker 1: described in the Law weren't just threats. They were promises
Speaker 1: of what would happen if Israel broke the covenant. And
Speaker 1: Israel had broken it in every possible way, the nation
Speaker 1: deserved judgment. Second Chronicles thirty four, verse nineteen confirms his
Speaker 1: reaction when the king heard the words of the law,
Speaker 1: he tore his robes. Both accounts emphasized this same response
Speaker 1: because it showed Josiah's heart. He didn't make excuses or
Speaker 1: try to minimize the problem. Verse twenty one in Second
Speaker 1: Kings twenty two shows us what Josiah did next, Go
Speaker 1: and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people,
Speaker 1: and for all Judah, about what is written in this
Speaker 1: book that has been found. Great is the Lord's anger
Speaker 1: that burns against us, because those who have gone before
Speaker 1: us have not obeyed the words of this book. They
Speaker 1: have not acted in accordance with all that is written
Speaker 1: there concerning us. Josiah immediately sent his officials to inquire
Speaker 1: of the Lord. He wanted to know what God was thinking,
Speaker 1: what he was planning to do, whether there was any
Speaker 1: hope of avoiding the judgment described in the law. He
Speaker 1: mentioned great anger he could sense from what he'd heard
Speaker 1: that God had every right to be furious with Judah.
Speaker 1: Notice that Josiah took responsibility not just for himself, but
Speaker 1: for the entire nation. He said, for me, and for
Speaker 1: the people, and for all Judah. He understood that as
Speaker 1: king he represented everyone. Josiah sent five men on this
Speaker 1: crucial mission, Hilkiah, the priest, ahikam Akbor Chaffan, and Asiah.
Speaker 1: Second Kings twenty two, Verse fourteen tells us where they went. Hilkiah,
Speaker 1: the priest, ahikam Akbor Chaffan, and Asiah went to speak
Speaker 1: to the prophet Hulda, who was the wife of Shalam,
Speaker 1: son of Tokva, the son of hahas keeper of the wardrobe.
Speaker 1: She lived in Jerusalem in the New Quarter. They went
Speaker 1: to a prophet named Hulda. The officials found her and
Speaker 1: explained why they had come. They showed her the Book
Speaker 1: of the Law that had been found and told her
Speaker 1: about the king's deep concern. When the officials came to
Speaker 1: Hulda with their urgent question about the Book of the Law,
Speaker 1: she gave them a message directly from the Lord. Her
Speaker 1: words were both sobering and hopeful, containing hard truth mixed
Speaker 1: with unexpected grace. Second Kings twenty two. Verse fifteen begins
Speaker 1: her response. She said to them, this is what the Lord,
Speaker 1: the God of Israel, says, tell the man who sent
Speaker 1: you to me. The notice that she spoke with authority,
Speaker 1: introducing her words as coming from the Lord himself. This
Speaker 1: wasn't her personal opinion, this was divine revelation. Verses sixteen
Speaker 1: and seventeen contained the difficult part of her message. This
Speaker 1: is what the Lord says, I am going to bring
Speaker 1: disaster on this place and its people, according to everything
Speaker 1: written in the book the King of Judah has read.
Speaker 1: Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other
Speaker 1: gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their
Speaker 1: hands have made, my anger will burn against this place
Speaker 1: and will not be quenched. The verdict was clear and unavoidable.
Speaker 1: Disaster was coming to Judah and Jerusalem. The curses described
Speaker 1: in the Book of the Law, the ones that had
Speaker 1: made Josiah tear his robes in grief, were going to happen.
Speaker 1: God's anger against the nation's long history of idolatry would
Speaker 1: not be turned away. Hulda specified the reason, because they
Speaker 1: have forsaken me. That's the heart of the issue. The
Speaker 1: people hadn't just made some mistakes, they had actively forsaken God,
Speaker 1: deliberately turning away from him to worship other gods. The
Speaker 1: phrase will not be quenched is particularly sobering. It means
Speaker 1: that judgment couldn't be stopped or reversed. Too much damage
Speaker 1: had been done over too many years. The consequences were
Speaker 1: now fixed and certain. But then Hulda's message took a
Speaker 1: surprising turn. In verses eighteen through twenty, she gave a
Speaker 1: specific word for King Josiah himself. Tell the King of Judah,
Speaker 1: who sent you to inquire of the Lord. This is
Speaker 1: what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the
Speaker 1: words you heard. Because your heart was responsive and you
Speaker 1: humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I
Speaker 1: have spoken against this place and its people, that they
Speaker 1: would become a curse and be laid waste. And because
Speaker 1: you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I
Speaker 1: have heard you, declares the Lord. God had noticed Josiah's response.
Speaker 1: He had seen the torn robes, heard the weeping, observed
Speaker 1: the humble and responsive heart. The king's genuine grief and
Speaker 1: sincere concern had not gone unnoticed in heaven and because
Speaker 1: of Josiah's heart, God made a promise. Therefore, I will
Speaker 1: gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried
Speaker 1: in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster
Speaker 1: I am going to bring on this place. This was
Speaker 1: a mercy specifically for Josiah. The disaster would still come.
Speaker 1: That hadn't changed. The judgment on Judah was still certain,
Speaker 1: but Josiah himself would not live to see it. He
Speaker 1: would die and be buried in peace. Before the catastrophe struck.
Speaker 1: The officials returned to Josiah and reported everything Hulda had said.
Speaker 1: The message was bittersweet. On one hand, the nation's fate
Speaker 1: was sealed. On the other hand, Josiah's own tender heart
Speaker 1: had moved God to show him personal mercy. After hearing
Speaker 1: Hulda's prophecy, Josiah made a decision that would define the
Speaker 1: rest of his reign. He would call the entire nation
Speaker 1: together for a solemn covenant renewal ceremony. If judgment was coming,
Speaker 1: then at least this generation would know God's word and
Speaker 1: have the chance to respond to it properly. Second Kings
Speaker 1: twenty three, Verse one tells us what happened then the
Speaker 1: King called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: This wasn't a small private meeting. Josiah summoned the leaders
Speaker 1: from every town and village to come to the capital city.
Speaker 1: Verse two describes the gathering. He went up to the
Speaker 1: Temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the
Speaker 1: inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets, all the
Speaker 1: people from the least to the greatest. He read in
Speaker 1: their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant,
Speaker 1: which had been found in the Temple of the Lord.
Speaker 1: Everyone came from the greatest to the least, from priests
Speaker 1: and prophets to ordinary citizens, rich and poor, powerful and weak,
Speaker 1: young and old. All gathered at the temple to hear
Speaker 1: God's word, and Josiah himself read the Book of the
Speaker 1: Covenant to them. The king didn't delegate this task to
Speaker 1: a priest or scribe. He personally stood before his people
Speaker 1: and read God's word aloud so everyone could hear it.
Speaker 1: Imagine the scene. Thousands of people gathered in and around
Speaker 1: the temple courts, completely silent as their king's voice carried
Speaker 1: the ancient words of Moses across the assembly. He read
Speaker 1: all of it not selected portions or favorite parts, but
Speaker 1: all the words of the Book of the Covenant. The
Speaker 1: people heard the commands about worshiping God alone, the instructions
Speaker 1: for the festivals, the laws about justice and mercy, the
Speaker 1: blessings for obedience, and yes, the curses for disobedience. For
Speaker 1: many people in that crowd, this was probably the first
Speaker 1: time they had ever heard God's actual word. Remember, the
Speaker 1: Book of the Law had been lost. The previous two
Speaker 1: generations had grown up without access to scripture. Now finally
Speaker 1: they were hearing truth. Second King's twenty three, Verse three
Speaker 1: describes what Josiah did next. The King stood by the
Speaker 1: pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord,
Speaker 1: to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes, and
Speaker 1: decrees with all his heart and all his soul, Thus
Speaker 1: confirming the words of the Covenant written in this book.
Speaker 1: Josiah stood in a prominent position by the pillar where
Speaker 1: everyone could see and hear him, and made a public commitment.
Speaker 1: He renewed the covenant on behalf of the nation, pledging
Speaker 1: to follow them Lord with complete devotion. Notice the phrase
Speaker 1: with all his heart and all his soul. This was total,
Speaker 1: wholehearted commitment. Then came the crucial moment. Then all the
Speaker 1: people pledged themselves to the covenant. Everyone present joined Josiah
Speaker 1: in this commitment. They stood together and said yes to
Speaker 1: God's word, yes to his commands, yes to renewing their
Speaker 1: relationship with him as his covenant people. Second Chronicles thirty four,
Speaker 1: verse thirty two tells us then he had everyone in
Speaker 1: Jerusalem and Benjamin pledged themselves to it. The people of
Speaker 1: Jerusalem did this in accordance with the Covenant of God,
Speaker 1: the God of their ancestors. This was a moment of
Speaker 1: national repentance and recommitment after decades of rebellion, after years
Speaker 1: of worshiping false gods, the people of Judah stood together
Speaker 1: and said they would follow the Lord again. Josiah didn't
Speaker 1: stop with just a verbal comdmitment. Second Chronicles thirty four,
Speaker 1: verse thirty three describes the follow up. Josiah removed all
Speaker 1: the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites,
Speaker 1: and he had all who were present in Israel serve
Speaker 1: the Lord, their God, as long as he lived. They
Speaker 1: did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of
Speaker 1: their ancestors. The Covenant renewal led to action. Any remaining
Speaker 1: idols were removed. The people didn't just promise to serve God,
Speaker 1: they actually did it, and the verse tells us this
Speaker 1: continued as long as he lived. Throughout the rest of
Speaker 1: Josiah's reign, the people maintained their commitment to follow the Lord.
Speaker 1: This covenant ceremony was Josiah's way of giving his generation
Speaker 1: a fresh start. Yes, judgment was still coming because of
Speaker 1: the sins of previous generations, but at least his own
Speaker 1: generation would know God's word, would have the opportunity to
Speaker 1: respond to it, and would experience what it meant to
Speaker 1: live in covenant relationship with the Lord. After renewing the
Speaker 1: covenant with the entire nation, Josiah turned his attention to
Speaker 1: something that hadn't been properly celebrated in generations, the Passover.
Speaker 1: This was the feast that commemorated Israel's deliverance from Egypt,
Speaker 1: when the Angel of Death passed over the houses marked
Speaker 1: with Lamb's blood. Second Chronicles thirty five, Verse one tells
Speaker 1: us what Josiah did. Josiah celebrated the Passover to the
Speaker 1: Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover Lamb was slaughtered on
Speaker 1: the fourteenth day of the first month. He was determined
Speaker 1: to celebrate this feast exactly as God had commanded in
Speaker 1: the Law. Verse two continues. He appointed the priests to
Speaker 1: their duties and encouraged them in the service of the
Speaker 1: Lord's temple. Josiah made sure everyone knew their role. The
Speaker 1: priests needed to be read to perform their sacred duties properly. Then,
Speaker 1: in verses three through six, Josiah gave specific instructions to
Speaker 1: the Levites. He said, to the Levites who instructed all
Speaker 1: Israel and who had been consecrated to the Lord, put
Speaker 1: the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon's son of David,
Speaker 1: King of Israel built. It is not to be carried
Speaker 1: about on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord, your God
Speaker 1: and his people Israel. Prepare yourselves by families in your
Speaker 1: divisions according to the instructions written by David, King of
Speaker 1: Israel and by his son Solomon. Josiah was organizing everything
Speaker 1: according to the instructions in God's word. He wanted this
Speaker 1: passover to be done right, following the pattern that David
Speaker 1: and Solomon had established. But Josiah didn't just organize the celebration.
Speaker 1: He funded it personally. Verse seven records his incredible generosity.
Speaker 1: Josiah provided for all the lay people who were there
Speaker 1: a total of thirty thousand lambs and goats for the
Speaker 1: passover offerings, and also three thousand cattle, all from the
Speaker 1: king's own possessions. Think about that number. Thirty thousand lambs
Speaker 1: and goats plus three thousand cattle. This wasn't a small
Speaker 1: feast for the royal family. This was provision for the
Speaker 1: entire nation. Josiah was using his own wealth to make
Speaker 1: sure everyone could participate. Verse eight tells us that the
Speaker 1: officials also contributed. His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people,
Speaker 1: and the priests and levites Hilkia, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the
Speaker 1: officials in charge of God's temple, gave the priests twenty
Speaker 1: six hundred passover offerings and three hundred cattle. The leaders
Speaker 1: followed Josiah's example. When they saw their king giving so generously,
Speaker 1: they wanted to participate. Two Verses ten through fifteen describe
Speaker 1: how the celebration unfolded. The service was arranged and the
Speaker 1: priests stood in their places, with the levites in their
Speaker 1: divisions as the king had ordered the passover. Lambs were slaughtered,
Speaker 1: and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed
Speaker 1: to them, while the Levites skinned the animals. Everything was
Speaker 1: done in order, with care and attention to detail. The
Speaker 1: priests and Levites worked tirelessly. The musicians were playing and singing.
Speaker 1: The entire celebration followed the pattern God had established. Then
Speaker 1: comes one of the most remarkable statements in all of scripture.
Speaker 1: Verses eighteen tells us the Passover had not been observed
Speaker 1: like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel,
Speaker 1: and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated
Speaker 1: such a passover as did Josiah with the priests, the Levites,
Speaker 1: and all Judah and Israel who were there with the
Speaker 1: people of Jerusalem. Not since the days of Samuel, hundreds
Speaker 1: of year years earlier, had there been a passover like
Speaker 1: this one. Not David, not Solomon, not Hezekiah. This was
Speaker 1: the greatest Passover celebration in generations. Verse nineteen gives us
Speaker 1: the specific timing. This passover was celebrated in the eighteenth
Speaker 1: year of Josiah's reign, the same year the Book of
Speaker 1: the Law was found under Josiah's leadership, Judah experienced a
Speaker 1: complete transformation. This wasn't just surface level changes. The entire
Speaker 1: spiritual landscape of the nation had shifted. Second Kings twenty three,
Speaker 1: Verse twenty four describes the extent of Josiah's reforms. Furthermore,
Speaker 1: Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods,
Speaker 1: the idols, and all the other detestable things seen in
Speaker 1: Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements
Speaker 1: of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest,
Speaker 1: had discovered in the temper of the Lord. Mediums and
Speaker 1: spiritists were people who claimed to communicate with the dead
Speaker 1: or predict the future through supernatural means. These practices had
Speaker 1: been common under Manasseh and a mon Now Josiah removed
Speaker 1: every single one of them. Household gods, small idols that
Speaker 1: people kept in their homes were all destroyed. The verse
Speaker 1: tells us why to fulfill the requirements of the law.
Speaker 1: He wasn't making up his own rules. He was simply
Speaker 1: doing what God had commanded in his word. The transformation
Speaker 1: affected every day life throughout the nation. People who had
Speaker 1: grown up consulting mediums now turned to the Lord in prayer.
Speaker 1: Homes that had been filled with idols were cleansed. Second
Speaker 1: Kings twenty three. Verse four tells us the King ordered Hilcaia,
Speaker 1: the high priest, the priests next in rank, and the
Speaker 1: door keepers to remove from the Temple of the Lord
Speaker 1: all the articles made for bale and Ourshera, and all
Speaker 1: all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in
Speaker 1: the fields of the Kidrun Valley, and took the ashes
Speaker 1: to Bethel. Even items that had been stored in the
Speaker 1: temple were taken out and burned. Verse six continues he
Speaker 1: took the asherapole from the Temple of the Lord to
Speaker 1: the Kidrun Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it. There. He
Speaker 1: ground it to powder and scattered the dust over the
Speaker 1: graves of the common people. Verse seven describes another change.
Speaker 1: He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine
Speaker 1: prostitutes that were in the Temple of the Lord, the
Speaker 1: quarters where women did weaving for Asherah. There had been
Speaker 1: rooms in the temple complex where people practiced ritual prostitution.
Speaker 1: Josiah destroyed these quarters completely. Verse ten records he desecrated Topheth,
Speaker 1: which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnam, so no
Speaker 1: one could use it to sacrifice their son or daughter
Speaker 1: in the fire. To Molek Topheth was the place where
Speaker 1: children had been burned alive. Josiah made sure it could
Speaker 1: never be used for that horrible purpose. Again, the transformation
Speaker 1: extended beyond just removing evil things. The people were actually
Speaker 1: serving the Lord. Second Chronicles thirty four, verse thirty three
Speaker 1: had told us, as long as he lived, they did
Speaker 1: not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
Speaker 1: For the entire rest of Josiah's reign, the people remained faithful.
Speaker 1: There were no rebellions, no returns to idolatry. The nation
Speaker 1: that had been drowning in spiritual darkness was now walking
Speaker 1: in the light. The Bible itself pauses to make an
Speaker 1: assessment of Josiah that places him above every other king
Speaker 1: in Israel's history. Second Kings twenty three, verse twenty five
Speaker 1: contains one of the highest compliments ever given to any
Speaker 1: human being in scripture. Neither before nor after Josiah was
Speaker 1: there a king like him who turned to the Lord
Speaker 1: as he did with all his heart and with all
Speaker 1: his soul, and with all his strength. In accordance with
Speaker 1: all the law of Moses. Let's break down what this
Speaker 1: verse is saying. First, neither before nor after means in
Speaker 1: all of Israel's history, from Saul to the end of
Speaker 1: the monarchy, there was no king like Josiah, Not David,
Speaker 1: who was called a man after God's own heart, not
Speaker 1: Solomon who built the temple, not Hezekiah, who also brought reform.
Speaker 1: Josiah stood alone. Second, noticed the phrase turned to the
Speaker 1: Lord as he did. The word turned implies a complete
Speaker 1: change of direction, a total commitment. Third, the verse says
Speaker 1: he did this with all his heart, and with all
Speaker 1: his soul, and with all his strength. These words come
Speaker 1: directly from Deuteronomy six, verse five, which says, love the
Speaker 1: Lord your God, with all your heart and with all
Speaker 1: your soul, and with all your strength. This is the
Speaker 1: greatest commandment, and Josiah actually lived it out. His heart,
Speaker 1: his emotions, his desires, his will belonged to God. His soul,
Speaker 1: his very being, his identity was devoted to God. His strength,
Speaker 1: his energy, his resources, his power as king was used
Speaker 1: for God. There was nothing held back. Forth. It says
Speaker 1: he did this in accordance with all the law of Moses,
Speaker 1: Josiah didn't pick and choose which commands to follow. He
Speaker 1: submitted himself to all of God's word. This is what
Speaker 1: made Josiah incomparable. Other kings had done good things, some
Speaker 1: had trusted God in specific situations, but no one else
Speaker 1: had given themselves so completely to following the Lord. Second
Speaker 1: Kings twenty two, verse two had described him earlier. He
Speaker 1: did what was right in the eyes of the Lord
Speaker 1: and followed completely the ways of his father David, not
Speaker 1: turning aside to the right or to the left. That
Speaker 1: phrase not turning aside to the right or to the
Speaker 1: left shows consistency and steadfastness. Think about what this means.
Speaker 1: Josiah became king at age eight in the most corrupt
Speaker 1: environment imaginable. He had every excuse to fail, but he didn't.
Speaker 1: From his teenage years when he began seeking God, through
Speaker 1: his twenties when he purged the land, into his thirties
Speaker 1: when he discovered the law, Josiah never wavered. The phrase
Speaker 1: in the eyes of the Lord is important too. Josiah
Speaker 1: wasn't trying to look good in people's eyes. He cared
Speaker 1: about what God thought. His standard was God's word, not
Speaker 1: popular opinion. This is why Josiah is held up as incomparable.
Speaker 1: He showed what wholehearted devotion to God actually looks like.
Speaker 1: But even with all of jo Josiah's reforms, even with
Speaker 1: his incomparable devotion, there was a sobering reality that couldn't
Speaker 1: be ignored. The damage done by previous generations was too severe.
Speaker 1: Second King's twenty three, verse twenty six tells us, nevertheless,
Speaker 1: the Lord did not turn away from the heat of
Speaker 1: his fierce anger which burned against Judah, because of all
Speaker 1: that Manassa had done to arouse his anger. That word,
Speaker 1: nevertheless is heartbreaking. Despite everything Josiah had accomplished, despite his
Speaker 1: pure heart and complete obedience, despite the nation's repentance, God's
Speaker 1: anger was not turned away. The verse specifically mentions Manassa
Speaker 1: his fifty five years of evil had provoked God's anger
Speaker 1: to such a degree that even Josiah's reforms couldn't reverse
Speaker 1: the judgment. Verse twenty seven makes God's decision clear. So
Speaker 1: the Lord said, I will remove Judah also from my
Speaker 1: presence as I removed Israel, and I will reject Jerusalem,
Speaker 1: the city I chose, and this temple about which I said,
Speaker 1: my name shall be there This is a devastating pronouncement.
Speaker 1: God was going to do to Judah what he had
Speaker 1: done to the Northern Kingdom, remove them through exile. The
Speaker 1: city he chose, Jerusalem would be rejected, the temple would
Speaker 1: be destroyed. Remember what the prophet Hulda had said in
Speaker 1: Second Kings twenty two, verses sixteen and seventeen. This is
Speaker 1: what the Lord says, I am going to bring disaster
Speaker 1: on this place and its people, according to everything written
Speaker 1: in the book the King of Judah has read. Because
Speaker 1: they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods
Speaker 1: and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands
Speaker 1: have made, my anger will burn against this place and
Speaker 1: will not be quenched. Will not be quenched meant exactly
Speaker 1: what it said. The judgment was coming and couldn't be stopped.
Speaker 1: This reveals something about God's justice. He doesn't ignore sin
Speaker 1: just because people repent. Later, Manassa had filled Jerusalem with
Speaker 1: innocent blood. He had led an entire generation into the
Speaker 1: worst kinds of idolatry. Those actions had consequences. Josiah's generation
Speaker 1: was better than Manassa's. They had heard God's word and
Speaker 1: renewed the Covenant, but they were still living with the
Speaker 1: consequences of what had come before. The verse says God's
Speaker 1: anger burned because of all that Manassa had done. It
Speaker 1: wasn't because of Josiah, he was blameless. It was the
Speaker 1: accumulated guilt of the previous generation that demanded justice. The
Speaker 1: final chapter of Josiah's life began with events far beyond
Speaker 1: Judah's borders. Major powers were shifting in the ancient Near East.
Speaker 1: Second Chronicles thirty five, Verse twenty sets the scene after
Speaker 1: all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho,
Speaker 1: King of Egypt, went up to fight at Carcamish on
Speaker 1: the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle.
Speaker 1: Pharaoh Necho of Egypt was leading his army north toward Carcamish.
Speaker 1: He was going to fight against Babylon. To get there,
Speaker 1: his army had to pass through territory that Josiah controlled.
Speaker 1: Egypt and Judah weren't enemies. Neko wasn't coming to attack Jerusalem.
Speaker 1: He was simply passing through on his way to fight
Speaker 1: someone else. The smart move would have been to stay
Speaker 1: out of it, but Josiah made a different choice. The
Speaker 1: verse says Josiah marched out to meet him in battle.
Speaker 1: He decided to intercept the Egyptian army. Why would Josiah
Speaker 1: do this, The Bible doesn't tell us his exact reasoning.
Speaker 1: Perhaps he saw Egypt as a threat, maybe he had
Speaker 1: an alliance with Babylon, or possibly he believed it was
Speaker 1: his duty to control what happened in the land. Whatever
Speaker 1: his reasoning, it led to a confrontation, and Nekko sent
Speaker 1: messengers with an urgent warning. Second Chronicles thirty five, verse
Speaker 1: twenty one records what Neko said. But Neko sent messengers
Speaker 1: to him, saying, what quarrel is there, King of Judah,
Speaker 1: between you and me. It is not you I am
Speaker 1: attacking at this time, but the house with which I
Speaker 1: am at war. God has told me to hurry, So
Speaker 1: stop opposing God who is with me, or he will
Speaker 1: destroy you. Neko was claiming that God had told him
Speaker 1: to hurry to Carchamish. He was saying, I'm not your enemy.
Speaker 1: Don't get involved. If you oppose me, your opposing God.
Speaker 1: It seems strange that God would speak to a pagan pharaoh,
Speaker 1: but God had spoken to Pharaoh through dreams in Joseph's time,
Speaker 1: he can communicate with any one he chooses. The question
Speaker 1: is did Josiah believe Necho's message? Second Chronicles thirty five,
Speaker 1: Verse twenty two tells us Josiah's response. Josiah, however, would
Speaker 1: not turn away from him, but disguised himself to engage
Speaker 1: him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho
Speaker 1: had said at God's command, but went to fight him
Speaker 1: on the plane of Megido. This is one of the
Speaker 1: most puzzling decisions in Josiah's entire life. Here was a
Speaker 1: king who had spent his whole reign listening to God's
Speaker 1: word and obeying it completely, and yet when Pharaoh Necho
Speaker 1: said God has told me, Josiah refused to listen. The
Speaker 1: verse specifically says he would not listen to what Necho
Speaker 1: had said at God's command. This means Necho's message really
Speaker 1: was from God, and Josiah rejected it. Why we don't
Speaker 1: know for certain. Maybe Josiah couldn't imagine God speaking through
Speaker 1: a pagan pharaoh. Maybe he thought Necho was lying, Maybe
Speaker 1: he was so convinced his cause was right that he
Speaker 1: didn't consider he might be wrong. Or perhaps Josiah thought
Speaker 1: that because God had promised him he would die in peace,
Speaker 1: nothing could harm him. Whatever the reason, Josiah made his decision,
Speaker 1: and notice what he did. He disguised himself. Second Kings
Speaker 1: twenty three, verse twenty nine mentions while Josiah was King,
Speaker 1: Pharaoh Necho, king of Egypt, went up to the Euphrates
Speaker 1: River to help the King of Assyria. King Josiah marched
Speaker 1: out to meet him in battle, but Necho faced him
Speaker 1: and killed him. At Megido, Josiah dressed like a common soldier,
Speaker 1: probably hoping to avoid being targeted. This is similar to
Speaker 1: what King Ahab had done when he went into battle.
Speaker 1: He disguised himself, thinking it would protect him, but it
Speaker 1: didn't work. The decision to go to Megido was fatal.
Speaker 1: Josiah was choosing to fight a battle he didn't need
Speaker 1: to fight against an enemy who had warned him to
Speaker 1: stay away, in opposition to what God had commanded through Neko.
Speaker 1: This wasn't deliberate rebellion like Manassa's, but it was still disobedience.
Speaker 1: It was refusing to listen when God spoke, and it
Speaker 1: reveals something sobering. Even the best of people can make
Speaker 1: terrible decisions, even those devoted to God can have blind spots.
Speaker 1: Even the incomparable King Josiah could get it wrong when
Speaker 1: it mattered most. The plain of Megido became the location
Speaker 1: of Josiah's final moments. This valley had been the site
Speaker 1: of many battles throughout history. Now it would witness the
Speaker 1: fall of Judah's greatest king. Second Chronicles thirty five, Verse
Speaker 1: twenty three describes what happened. Archers shot King Josiah, and
Speaker 1: he told his officers, take me away. I am badly wounded.
Speaker 1: In the chaos of battle, Egyptian archers fired their arrows.
Speaker 1: One of those arrows struck Josiah. Despite his disguise, he
Speaker 1: was hit. The wound was serious. Josiah immediately knew it
Speaker 1: was bad. He called out to his officers to get
Speaker 1: him out of the battle. Verse twenty four continues, So
Speaker 1: they took him out of his chariot, put him in
Speaker 1: his other chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died.
Speaker 1: He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and
Speaker 1: all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. His officers rushed
Speaker 1: to help. They pulled him from his war chariot and
Speaker 1: transferred him to another chariot. Then they began the journey
Speaker 1: back to Jerusalem. It must have been an agonizing trip.
Speaker 1: The road from Megiddo to Jerusalem was long. Josiah was
Speaker 1: bleeding in pain, possibly drifting in and out of consciousness,
Speaker 1: but they didn't make it in time. The verse simply
Speaker 1: says brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. Whether he
Speaker 1: died during the journey or shortly after arriving, we don't know.
Speaker 1: But Josiah was dead at age thirty nine. He had
Speaker 1: reigned for thirty one years. He had transformed a nation.
Speaker 1: He had celebrated the greatest passover since the Judges. He
Speaker 1: had been called incomparable for his devotion to God, and
Speaker 1: now he was gone, killed in a battle that never
Speaker 1: should have happened. The prophecy from Hulda had said he
Speaker 1: would be buried in peace, that his eyes would not
Speaker 1: see the disaster. In one sense, this was fulfilled. He
Speaker 1: did die before the Babylonian invasion. He was buried in
Speaker 1: the royal tombs, but his death was anything but peaceful
Speaker 1: in the physical sense. He died violently on a battlefield.
Speaker 1: Perhaps peace meant he would die in his own land
Speaker 1: rather than in exile, or that he would be buried
Speaker 1: with honor. Still there's tragedy here. A good king, a
Speaker 1: godly king, the best king Judah ever had, was dead,
Speaker 1: and he was dead because he had made one fatal decision.
Speaker 1: The death of Josiah created a wave of grief throughout
Speaker 1: the entire nation. This wasn't just the loss of a
Speaker 1: political leader. This was the loss of the man who
Speaker 1: had saved them from spiritual darkness. Second Chronicles thirty five,
Speaker 1: verse twenty four had mentioned all Judah and Jerusalem mourned
Speaker 1: for him. The grief was universal. Everyone felt the loss.
Speaker 1: Verse twenty five tells us more. Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah,
Speaker 1: and to this day, all the male and female singers
Speaker 1: commemorate Josiah in the laments. These became a tradition in
Speaker 1: Israel and are written in the laments. The prophet Jeremiah
Speaker 1: wrote songs of mourning for Josiah. These weren't just sad songs.
Speaker 1: They were formal laments that captured the tragedy of losing
Speaker 1: such a righteous king, and these laments became a tradition
Speaker 1: years later. Generations later, people were still singing about Josiah
Speaker 1: and mourning his death. The fact that both male and
Speaker 1: female singers performed these laments shows how deeply the entire
Speaker 1: community was affected. Josiah's death wasn't something people got over
Speaker 1: quickly or forgot easily. Second King's twenty three, verse twenty
Speaker 1: eight ads as for the other events of Josiah's reign
Speaker 1: and all he did, are they not written in the
Speaker 1: book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah. There
Speaker 1: was more to Josiah's story than could be recorded in scripture.
Speaker 1: The official records contained additional details about his accomplishments, but
Speaker 1: what we do have is enough. We know that Josiah
Speaker 1: sought God at age sixteen. We know he purged idolatry
Speaker 1: at age twenty. We know he restored the temple and
Speaker 1: discovered God's law at age twenty six. We know he
Speaker 1: celebrated an incomparable passover and renewed the Covenant. We know
Speaker 1: he was the most devoted king Israel ever had. And
Speaker 1: we know that at age thirty nine, he died at Megido,
Speaker 1: cut down by Egyptian arrows in a battle he shouldn't
Speaker 1: have fought. Second King's twenty three, verse thirty concludes Josiah's
Speaker 1: servants brought his body in a chariot from Megido to
Speaker 1: Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the
Speaker 1: people of the land took jehoahas son of Josiah and
Speaker 1: anointed him and made him king in place of his father.
Speaker 1: The people buried their king with honor. Then they had
Speaker 1: to face the future without him. They anointed his son,
Speaker 1: jehoahas as the next king, but things would never be
Speaker 1: the same. Josiah had been the light in Judah's darkness,
Speaker 1: the reformer who turned a nation back to God, the
Speaker 1: king who loved the Lord with all his heart and
Speaker 1: soul and strength. Now he was gone, and the darkness
Speaker 1: would soon return. If this story has impacted you, if
Speaker 1: you've been inspired by Josiah's unwavering commitment to the Lord,
Speaker 1: please subscribe to our channel so you won't miss more
Speaker 1: biblical stories that bring Scripture to life. Hit that like
Speaker 1: button and share this video with your friends, family, and
Speaker 1: church community. These ancient stories still speak to us to day,
Speaker 1: and someone in your life needs to hear about the
Speaker 1: boy king who changed a nation. Leave a comment below
Speaker 1: telling us what struck you most about Josiah's story. Was
Speaker 1: it his courage? At such a young age, his incomparable devotion,
Speaker 1: the tragedy of his final decision. We'd love to hear
Speaker 1: your thoughts. Thank you for watching and made Josiah's example
Speaker 1: inspire you to seek God with all your heart, all
Speaker 1: your soul, and all your strength.