Are you a Josiah?

A reflection on 2 Chronicles 34-35 >In short: King at 8. Seeking God at 16. Because Josiah surrendered, God showed mercy..

Who was Josiah? Josiah became king at eight years old. His father, Amon, had ruled badly and was killed by his own people. Few children have had a harder start. Yet this boy brought about a change that no other king had.

What did he do?

• At 16: he began to seek the God of David (34:3)
• Four years later: he cleansed the land of idols and the altars of Baal
• Then: he turned to the temple and began cleaning it

Josiah understood that his success depended on seeking the true God, not the kingdom or the riches of his land. The book that was found While the temple was being cleaned, the Book of the Law of Moses was found (34:14). It is like finding a Bible while cleaning a church. Josiah knew it had not been found in his father’s or grandfather’s days. He understood that God had a plan in revealing it now.

He asked God what it meant

Josiah wanted to know what the Lord was saying to him, so he went to the prophetess Huldah (34:22).She told him the Lord was angry with the people. But because Josiah had surrendered himself to the Lord, the Lord promised to show mercy (34:26).

When a child of God steps into the gap, mercy follows.

The Passover and the ark

Josiah led a Passover unlike any since the days of Samuel (35:18). After him, no such Passover was celebrated, because Judah was taken into captivity in Babylon. In 35:3, the Levites were told to put the holy ark in its place so that it would no longer be a burden on their shoulders. This is how the Lord speaks to us too. The moment we begin to feel the ark of the Lord as a burden, he may ask us to set it down, and that can lead us into slavery.

Yet the ark that protected us will be used again if there is at least one Josiah.

Three things to remember

• Purifying: cleanse the land and the temple.
• Word: Hold on to the word of GOD
• Worship: serve the living God all our days.

If the word of the Lord is hidden by the world and its resources, Satan can get a foothold in our land.

Reflect

• What is crowding out God’s word in my life right now?
• Do I treat what God has given me as a privilege or as a burden?

Can you be the next Josiah?