Lessons from King Josiah

I heard a really really good message in church last week. I took some notes, and I thought I would share them with you. You can listen to the original message over HERE!

2 Chronicles 34:1-3

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign,

and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.

And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD,

and walked in the ways of David his father,

and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young,

 he began to seek after the God of David his father:

and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places,

and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.

Even though Josiah was only 8 years old when he became king, he did what was right, and served GOD. How many 8 years olds do we know who would do the same?

When he was only 16 {he was 8 when he began to rule, and now it’s the 8^th year of his reign; 8+8=16} he began to seek after God. He began to study and find out what God wanted him to do.

Josiah may not have had the word of God. We will see later that someone finds a copy of it, but his response to the discovery kind of implicates that he may have never read it, or perhaps did not have a complete copy.

Instead, he followed what he knew was right… He knew that his “father” David had followed and served the LORD, so he patterned his ways after David’s.

When he was 20{the 12^th year of his reign} he began to put what he had learned into practice, by destroying the evil idols and high places.

Why did he begin acting on what he knew was right when he was 20? Why didn’t he just put it into practice right away?

Numbers 14:28-30

Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD,

as ye have spoken in mine ears, so will I do to you:

Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness;

and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number,

 from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me,

Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein,

save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

At age 20 we become accountable to God for the choices we make. We are responsible for making our own decisions. We are then considered adults, and should not rely on anyone else to make our life changing decisions. It is our responsibility.

Not only did Josiah tear down the idols and high places, but he also started re-building the temple of GOD. He replaced the bad with good.

While they were working on rebuilding the temple, the men find a book of the law.

2 Chronicles 34:14-19

And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD,

 Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses. 

And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe,

 I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.

 And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.

And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying,

All that was committed to thy servants, they do it. 

And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the LORD,

and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen. 

Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying,

Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book.

And Shaphan read it before the king. 

And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.

Because of Josiah’s reaction, I think it is safe to say that he probably was not familiar with this book. Probably Josiah did not have a copy of all of the previous written books. Since he knew about David, and David serving the Lord, we can assume that he had some of the BOOK, or some sort of record.

When Shaphan read the Book to Josiah, he realized that the people have not been serving the LORD. He realized that he needed to work even harder to lead the people back to GOD!

*Be active right now by seeking the LORD. Even if you are only 8 you can be learning God’s word, so that when you are 16 you can stand up for what is right, and when you are 20 you can step out and make a difference!