King Josiah, transformer of Judah
Recently I was studying for an upcoming women’s bible study with my church. Some of the verses I read had to do with personal revival. As I read 2 Kings 22, the account of Josiah as the youngest king in Judah, I was struck by his youth and all that he accomplished as a king. During the process of restoring the temple, the Book of the Law was found and subsequently read to King Josiah. Upon hearing the Word of God, Josiah responded in such a way that the Lord allowed him and his generation to escape judgment.
2 Kings 22:19 states:
"Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard you," says the Lord.
As I looked closely at the above verse, I noted four things that caused King Josiah to gain favor with the Lord for his generation.
First, verse 19 states Josiah’s heart was tender. This word in the Hebrew means to be soft, or weak. His heart was not fallow ground, but good soil for the Word of God to penetrate, which led to Josiah humbling himself before the Lord. He recognized his own error and the previous generation’s refusal to obey the Lord. Perhaps he was thinking about the outcome for his generation if he refused to obey God, or he could have had the Fear of the Lord instilled in his heart at the hearing of the Book of the Law. Whatever happened in Josiah’s heart, he responded in a right way to the Lord.
Tearing of the clothes signifies deep grief, which is followed by weeping. When I recognize that I have been very wrong about something (call it conviction), it is usually followed by grief. I recall a time when the Lord spoke to my own heart about my behavior in a situation when all I could see is the wrong someone else had done and caused me deep pain. When the Lord made it clear to me that even though I was in pain, I was still responsible for my own actions, I truly grieved over what I had done. I believe this is similar to Josiah’s response in this situation – He was convicted and wept.
What followed Josiah’s conviction and repentance brought revival to the land. Here are some of the results of revival:
- Renewal of the covenant between Judah and the Lord
- Elimination of idolatry of all kinds, such as elimination of prostitution, astrology, sacrificing of children, and corruption of all kinds
- Restoration of Levitical priests
- Destruction of pagan temples
- Restoration of Passover
In fact, the land at that time sounds a lot like our nation today. We too suffer from broken covenants. We cannot help but look around and see idolatrous practices today much in the same way as Josiah’s generation. Prostitution abounds, and people worship the stars through astrology. This nation’s sacrifice of some 44 million children through abortion is horrendous. Corruption reigns at every level in government and the private sector. Paganism is the new religion today for many.
What Josiah did was to transform society. He led as a king and took down those things that dishonored the Lord and brought restoration, glory and honor to the people and to God.
We too are kings and priests to our God (Rev 1:6). We each have a sphere of influence that we are responsible to before the Lord (2 Cor 10:13-16). Our job is not unlike Josiah's. If he was faithful in what the Lord called him to do, can we not do anything less? I am reminded of this verse in Galatians 6:9:
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.