2 Kings 22–23

So Josiah, a child of eight years, found himself on the throne of David. Around him were the piled-up evils and errors of his father and his grandfather — yes, and forms of corruption brought in by no less a person than Solomon himself.

It is startling to read: "Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign." This was surely not as it should be. Every nation needs strong and sound leadership to hold evil down and let righteousness prevail. What could a child of eight do with a turbulent people? They were far advanced in wickedness, and near to overwhelming judgment. What follows will show that the Lord had mercy on the child, and also on the nation. His name means "Given of Jehovah." Such a devoted and conscientious king was a priceless gift to the people of Judah at a critical moment. Through him the Lord made one last tender appeal to His straying people before He drove them out of the land.

Scoffers may long have asked, "Where is the promise of the coming of this prince, this child of the house of David, named Josiah?" Generation after generation passed, and no prince of that name appeared. Even the righteous may have questioned in their minds. They may have wondered whether God had forgotten, or doubted whether the prophecy was really true. Did Jedidah (beloved) know of this prophecy when she named her firstborn? Or Adaiah (Jah has adorned)? They were from the town of Bozkath, a swell of ground. At last the time had come for the one the prophet had spoken of to arise. The prophecy was now fulfilled — as all God's word must be.

The early sign of godliness in Josiah makes us stop. His father, as we have seen, was a very wicked man. Of his mother we know nothing except that she was "Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath." So where did the child Josiah get spiritual instruction? From his grandfather Manasseh, undoubtedly.

Whatever may have been the case with these favourable or unfavourable influences, grace alone explains the characters of Hezekiah and of Josiah. The last kings of Judah prove this: they were ungodly despite their Jewish mothers and their godly father.

After him comes a truly godly prince — Josiah — younger, too, than either. He was not too young to serve the Lord.

Josiah did wonderful things for God in a very hard time. Why? (1) He sought the Lord with all his heart. (2) He was determined to obey the written Word of God in every detail. (3) He worked hard to throw away everything that clashed with God's law, both from himself and from everyone he could influence. Given these conditions in any place, we might see great things yet, so gracious is our God.

"Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign." This tells a tale about the condition and ways of God's people... Such things ought not to have been. They were the sad fruit of sin and folly — the humbling proof of Judah's departure from the LORD. But God was above it all. We would never have expected to find a child of eight on the throne of David. Yet that child could find his sure resource in the God of his fathers... His youth and inexperience only gave an occasion to display divine grace, and to show the value and the power of the Word of God.

It is a great matter, while the heart is still tender, to have it impressed with the fear of the LORD. That fear taught this young man to know what was "right," and to hold to it with unswerving purpose. There is great force and value in the words, "He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD." It was not what was right in his own eyes, nor in the eyes of the people, nor in the eyes of those who had gone before him. It was simply what was right in the eyes of the LORD. This is the solid foundation of all right action... We may do many things out of fear of man, many things by force of habit, many things because of the influences around us. But we can never do what is truly right in the eyes of the LORD until our hearts are brought to understand the fear of His holy name.

God traces Hezekiah's faithfulness back to the example given by David. That is all the more remarkable because it is not said of the kings before him. Jotham did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, following all that his father Uzziah had done. Uzziah followed all that his father Amaziah had done. Amaziah followed all that Joash his father had done. The Word of God makes the same remarks about Josiah as about Hezekiah. This confirms that these two kings returned to what was there at the beginning. You cannot today call a revival a true revival if it does not have this character.

He walked in the ways of David, the first of Israel's godly kings (v.2). In the same way, we today should take our instructions from the first days of Christianity, not from men who have followed through the years.

How we long for this plain decision! It is priceless at all times, but especially in a day of laxity and easy tolerance... It brings great peace of mind. A wavering man is never peaceful; he is always tossed about. "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." He tries to please everybody, and in the end pleases nobody. The decided man, by contrast, is the one who feels he has "only One to please."

There is no mention of any spiritual helper for Josiah, as there was for Joash more than a century earlier. Joash had his godly uncle Jehoiada with him for many years. With Josiah there was probably more direct dealing with God. This would account for his sturdy faith and his amazing energy in service for God. But whether it were Joash or Josiah, or the present writer and his readers, all is grace. Every scrap of good that has ever been seen in any of us is the work of the Holy Spirit.

He was the last king in Judah to have a good record. This shows us that even when the condition of the people has sunk to a low ebb, there may still be bright exceptions to the general trend.

The various periods in Josiah's life are very strongly marked. In the eighth year of his reign, he began to seek the God of David his father. In the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem. And in the eighteenth year, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, with the governor of the city and the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.

In all this we can see the progress that always comes from a real purpose of heart to serve the Lord... We may be surrounded by the most hostile influences, as Josiah was in his day. But a devoted heart, an earnest spirit, and a fixed purpose will, through grace, lift us above it all. They will enable us to press on from stage to stage along the path of true discipleship.

Until now the work had been destroying idols and clearing away everything connected with idolatry. Now he had time to repair the damage done to the house of God. It was not enough to destroy what was false. The worship of the LORD had to be set up again, and that meant restoring His house. What pleasure it must have given the Lord to see this son of David so full of zeal for His house! Here was a faint foreshadowing of Him who could say, "Zeal for your house will consume me."

The first thing we are told about him here is that he began by caring for the Lord's house. He repaired its broken places, counting on the men put in charge of the work to be faithful. This is one of the distinctive signs of a revival in the last times. God's house takes on an entirely new importance to believers, and its ruined state draws out their concern... This is not a matter of rebuilding the ruined temple from scratch. It is a matter of repairing its broken places, faithfully bringing the material needed, and adding cedar wood and cut stone that please the God who built the house.

In this great work of recovery the king had the governor of the city and the recorder with him. They in turn brought the people in. Manasseh, Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel joined with all Judah and Benjamin in providing the means to repair God's house. How good it is today, as it was then, when all God's people care about the house of God and have the privilege of giving to it.

This zeal for the house of God has an immediate and most important result. Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, "I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD" (v. 8). If Josiah had not set his heart on restoring the temple, the book of the law kept there (2 Chr. 34:15) would never have come to light again. This is the special character of Josiah's revival... During the reigns before his, the Holy Scriptures had been neglected and as good as forgotten. In this revival they suddenly take their place of importance again.

But when we are in the path of duty, we are in the place of blessing... How strange that the book of the law of the LORD had to be found! So it was. And people wonder how men in Christendom could have departed from the word of God, and forgotten it, for so long.

Here the first thing we are told about him is that he began by taking care of the Lord's house. He repaired its broken parts, and he counted on the faithfulness of the men given this work. This is one of the distinctive signs of a revival in the last times. God's house takes on a completely new importance to believers. Its ruined state draws out their concern.

Josiah set about repairing the house of God in his 18th year, at the age of 26 (v.3). He had sent messengers to Manasseh and Ephraim, as well as to Judah and Benjamin, to collect money for repairing the house. The house had fallen into a degraded state through the abuse of Josiah's father and grandfather.

The money went to those doing the work, the overseers in the house of the Lord — carpenters, builders and masons — to buy timber and cut stone to repair the house (vv. 4-6). No one required them to give any accounting of how the money was spent, for they were trusted to deal faithfully. This is a lovely characteristic of a true revival among the people of God, not a humanly planned revival, though it did begin with the godly exercise of the young king, whose faith proved an effective example to others.

A question will arise here. Is this how God wants things done all the time? Should the example of these people of long ago be our pattern today? The answer is no. The times of Joash and of Josiah were exceptional. In each reign a great spiritual revival was in progress. After many years of grave sin the people — or at least a remnant of them — were turning back to their God. Their hearts and consciences were alive to His holy will. So precautions against fraud were hardly necessary.

This zeal for the house of God has an immediate and most important result. Hilkiah the high priest tells Shaphan the scribe that he has found the book of the law in the house of the LORD (v. 8). If Josiah had not set his heart on restoring the temple, the book of the law kept there (2 Chron. 34:15) would never have come to light again... In this revival the Holy Scriptures take their place of importance again. The earlier reigns had neglected them and all but forgotten them.

But when we are in the path of duty we are in the place of blessing.

Concern for His house and its due order is always precious in the eyes of God. Ever since Pentecost in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit came down from heaven, the house of God has not been a physical building like the temple in Jerusalem. It is a spiritual building, made up of living stones — men and women who share in eternal life through grace. Paul tells Timothy plainly what the house of God is now: the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. God delights to live among the people He has redeemed, whether Israel or Christians. But He insists on purity and order. Oh, that we all may be as zealous as the young king Josiah, that God may be glorified in His own house!

Chapter 22 of 2 Kings begins with Josiah's initiative in repairing the house of God. This took place in his 18th year, when he was 26 (v.3). He had sent messengers to Manasseh and Ephraim, as well as Judah and Benjamin, to collect money to repair the house. It had fallen into a degraded state through the abuse of Josiah's father and grandfather.

The order Josiah followed teaches us something. First, he cleansed the land and the temple. Next, he "repaired the house of the LORD his God." Then he felt ready to call the people together to keep the feast.

Now Josiah sends Shaphan the scribe to ask Hilkiah the high priest to count the money they had received. The high priest is to give it to those doing the work, who were overseers in the house of the LORD. It goes on to carpenters, builders and masons, to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house (vv.4-6). But no one required them to account for the way the money was spent. They were trusted to deal faithfully. This is a lovely characteristic of a true revival among the people of God.

The Holy Spirit's record impresses us. In Josiah's day the men were so conscientious that no one kept account of the money spent, and the amount must have been considerable. Scripture uses the word "faithfully" in two ways. First, "the men did the work faithfully" (2 Chronicles 34:12). Second, no one audited the money handed to them, "because they dealt faithfully" (2 Kings 22:7). Such men are worthy of imitation. They gave no mere "eye-service as people-pleasers." They worked "in singleness of heart, fearing God" (Colossians 3:22).

Let us return to the statement that no one audited the men who handled the money, "because they dealt faithfully." ... A question will arise here. Is this how God wants things done all the time? Should these people of long ago be the pattern for us to follow today? The answer is "No." The times of Joash and of Josiah were exceptional. In each reign a great spiritual revival was going on. After many years of grave wrongdoing the people — or at least a remnant of them — were turning back to their God. Their hearts and consciences were engaged with His holy will. So guards against fraud were hardly needed.

The first thing we are told of him here is that he began by caring for the Lord's house. He repaired its breaches, counting on the faithfulness of the men charged with this work. This is one of the distinctive signs of a revival in the last times. God's house takes on an entirely new importance to believers, and its ruined state draws out their concern. ... The work is not to rebuild the ruined temple from scratch. It is to repair its breaches and faithfully bring the material needed.

This zeal for the house of God has an immediate and most important result. "And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD" (v. 8). The book of the law was kept in the temple (2 Chronicles 34:15). If Josiah had not had the restoration of the temple at heart, it would not have come to light again.

This is in no way a matter of rebuilding the ruined temple from scratch. It is a matter of repairing its broken places, of faithfully bringing the material needed, of adding to this building cedar wood and cut stone that please God, who had built the house. In the same way, at this time of the end, the Christian who knows his calling will not add wood, hay, and stubble to the house. He will bring to it what is suitable for the house of God — living stones, shaped by the Holy Spirit in the quarry of the world, cut by the Master.

The condition of the temple was deplorable when Josiah moved to fit it out again for the worship of God. The wicked kings before him despised everything that belonged to God, and they had done great damage to the sacred building. But willing hands and devoted hearts soon put things right. We learn from 2 Chronicles 34:8-13 that the carpenters, the masons and their overseers worked together warmly and in harmony.

This was clearly a large project. The godless kings before Josiah were guilty of destroying a great deal of what was not their own property, but God's.

No one required them to give any account of how the money was spent, because they were trusted to deal faithfully. This is a lovely mark of a true revival among the people of God. It was not a revival planned by men, though it did begin with the young king's godly concern, and his faith proved an effective example to others.

Should the example of these people of long ago be the pattern for us to follow today? The answer is No. The times of Joash and of Josiah were exceptional. In each reign a great spiritual revival was going on. After many years of grave sin the people, or at least a remnant of them, were turning back to their God. Their hearts and consciences were stirred about His holy will. Since that was so, precautions against fraud were hardly necessary.

The repair of the temple went ahead quickly. The work seems to have begun in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, and the Passover was kept the same year. Yet the Passover was a spring feast, fixed to the month Abib. In Hezekiah's time the feast had to be put off for a month, because neither the temple nor the people were ready. But Josiah and his people "slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month" (2 Chronicles 35:1), following the original divine order. This proves that the workmen put their hearts into the work of getting the house ready for the LORD their God. It is written in Ecclesiastes 9:10, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." In Colossians 3:23 even slaves are told, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."

If Josiah had not had the restoration of the temple at heart, the book of the law, which was kept there (2 Chronicles 34:15), would not have come to light again. This is the special character of Josiah's revival... During the reigns before him the Holy Scriptures had been neglected and forgotten. In this revival they suddenly take their place of importance again.

Now Josiah sends Shaphan the scribe to ask Hilkiah the high priest to count the money they had received. Hilkiah is to give it to those doing the work, the overseers in the house of the Lord — to carpenters, builders and masons — to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. But, interestingly, no one required them to give any accounting of how the money was spent. They were depended on to deal faithfully. This is a lovely mark of a true revival among the people of God. It was not a revival planned by men, though it did begin with the godly exercise of the young king. His faith proved an effective example to others.

We return to the statement that there was no reckoning with the men who handled the money "because they dealt faithfully." … It is noticeable that the same thing is said of the workmen in the days of Joash and Jehoiada (2 Kings 12:15; 2 Kings 22:7). The question naturally arises: "Is this how God would have things done all the time? Should the example of these people of long ago be the pattern for us to follow today?" The answer is "No." The times of Joash and of Josiah were exceptional. In each reign a great spiritual revival was in progress. After many years of serious sin, the people — or at least some of them — were turning back to their God. Their hearts and consciences were awake to His holy will. So guards against fraud were hardly necessary.

The Holy Spirit's record impresses us. In Josiah's day the men were so conscientious that no one kept an account of the money spent. The amount must have been considerable. The word "faithfully" is used in two ways: (1) "the men did the work faithfully" (2 Chron. 34:12); and (2) "there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully" (2 Kings 22:7). Such men are worthy of imitation. Theirs was no mere "eye-service, as people-pleasers"; they worked "with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord" (Col. 3:22). … Perhaps in nothing are God's children so often unfaithful as in the stewardship of money.

The first thing we are told of him here is that he began by taking care of the Lord's house. He repaired its breaches, counting on the faithfulness of those charged with this work. This is one of the distinctive signs of a revival in the last times. God's house takes on an entirely new importance to believers, and its ruined state draws out their concern. … This is in no way a matter of rebuilding the ruined temple from scratch. It means repairing its breaches and faithfully bringing the material needed.

So we conclude that God wants His people to keep orderly accounts, both on their own and together. We should keep our own books so that the tax inspector, if he has to examine them, can see at a glance that we are honourable people. The books of believers who gather together should be so ordered that everything is above reproach. Once more we remind ourselves that Josiah's labourers "dealt faithfully" — both in their work and in their handling of the people's money. The Holy Spirit says in 1 Cor. 4:2, "it is required of stewards that they be found faithful."

Josiah had the restoration of the temple at heart. Without that, the book of the law, which was kept there, would never have come to light again. In this revival the Holy Scriptures, neglected and forgotten during the reigns before him, suddenly take their place of importance again. This was the great blessing of the revival called the Reformation. God's providence brought the Bible out of hiding and put it before everyone, and it shone out at once with the brightest light.

God had commanded in Deuteronomy 17:18-19 that the king of Israel was to write out a copy of the law for himself and learn it well. Yet Josiah did not even know that such a book existed. Manasseh and Amon had no doubt ignored God's Word completely. So when Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the house of God, it was a total surprise to him and to Josiah. The high priest should have known the law, but it took Josiah's faith to wake him up.

The fact that it had been lost was a sad sign of Israel's condition. But wicked people see nothing attractive in the word of God, and we can well understand that it was not wanted in the days of Manasseh and Amon. These kings who ruled before Josiah were wicked men, and no doubt they were glad to have the law of the LORD forgotten.

Huldah's answer makes it plain that the book found was not only Deuteronomy, which some ask us to believe was written at about that time. It contained more than we have in that last book of the five books of Moses. It really was what it was called: "the Book of the Law of the LORD given through Moses" (2 Chronicles 34:14).

Shaphan did the wise thing, for a Bible left unread is useless to anyone. This man's son became a leader in idolatry (Ezekiel 8:11). It is clear that the Word of God had no power over him.

God was faithful. The man whose heart was set on keeping the word of the LORD found the law through His servant Hilkiah, the high priest. "When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes." He had a tender conscience. There is nothing more important in its place. What is the good of knowledge if there is no conscience? It seems to me that to grow in knowledge of the truth, without simplicity in carrying it out, turns knowledge into a curse, not a blessing... Far better to be simple and use rightly the little that we know than to grow in knowledge without matching faithfulness.

Notice that the marvellous increase to the revival came from the word of the LORD being discovered, read, received and acted on... So it is safe to say that there cannot be any revival of lasting benefit which is not controlled by the Word of God.

Bibles are plentiful and cheap. Yet in some homes they may sit only on the top shelf, as dusty as the precious book that Hilkiah found in the Temple!

The first thing we learn of him here is that he began by taking care of the Lord's house. He repaired its broken places, counting on the faithfulness of the men given this work. This is one of the distinctive signs of a revival in the last times. God's house takes on a whole new importance to believers, and its ruined state draws out their concern.

Interestingly, no one required them to account for the way they spent the money. People simply relied on them to deal faithfully. This is a lovely mark of a true revival among the people of God. Men did not plan it, though it did begin with the godly concern of the young king. His faith proved an effective example to others.

The Holy Spirit's record impresses us. In Josiah's day the men were so careful that no one kept any account of the money spent, and the amount must have been considerable. The word "faithfully" appears in two ways: (1) "the men did the work faithfully" (2 Chron. 34:12); and (2) "there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully" (2 Kings 22:7). Such men are worthy of imitation. Theirs was no mere "eye-service as men pleasers"; they worked "in singleness of heart fearing God" (Col. 3:22).

The question will arise: "Is this how God wants things done all the time? Should the example of these people of long ago be the pattern for us to follow today?" The answer is "No." The times of Joash and of Josiah were exceptional. In each reign a great spiritual revival was going on. After many years of serious sin the people — or at least a remnant of them — were turning back to their God. Their hearts and consciences were deeply stirred about His holy will. So precautions against fraud were hardly necessary.

We should keep our own books so that the tax inspector, if he ever examines them, can see at a glance that we are honourable men. And believers who gather together should order their books so that everything is above reproach.

He says nothing of the newly found treasure yet. It may not have been a treasure in his eyes. Like many today, he was more taken up with "workmen" and "money" than with God's book. God has "magnified" that book, not merely above all Christian work or missionary enterprise (though these have their place), but "above all His name." Shaphan did not despise the book. Yet, like many a modern scribe, he had not yet realized the importance of that blessed book. Money, overseers and workmen all come first. Then at last: "Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book" — only a book!

If Josiah had not had the restoration of the temple at heart, the book of the law, which was kept there (2 Chr. 34:15), would not have come to light again. This is the special character of Josiah's revival... Earlier reigns had neglected the Holy Scriptures and all but forgotten them. In this revival they suddenly take their place of importance again.

He says nothing about the new-found treasure yet. Perhaps it was not a treasure in his eyes. Like many people today, he was more taken up with "workmen" and "money" than with God's book. God has "magnified" that book, not just above all Christian work or missionary effort (though these have their place), but "above all His name." Shaphan did not despise the book. But like many a scribe today, he had not yet realized how important that precious book is. Then — after "money," and "overseers," and "workmen," have all been mentioned — comes the report: "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book" — only a book!

Hilkiah reported his great discovery to Shaphan the scribe: "I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it" (2 Kings 22:8). Shaphan did wisely, for a Bible no one reads is useless to anybody.

If Josiah had not cared about restoring the temple, the book of the law, which was kept there (2 Chr. 34:15), would not have come to light again. This is the special character of Josiah's revival... In this revival the Holy Scriptures suddenly take their place of importance again, after being neglected and forgotten during the reigns before him. This was the great blessing attached to the revival called the Reformation. God's providence brought the Bible out of hiding and put it within reach of everyone, and at once it shone out with the brightest splendour.

Josiah heard the words of the book of the law, and his heart was tender; but he had no idea of a new book or a new law. It was the book of the law that was found. In the long reign of Manasseh it had been utterly neglected; but he speaks of it as no new thing.

It was a great moment in the spiritual history of Josiah when his Secretary of State brought in the book of the law and read it before him... Josiah had never seen the sacred scroll before, and he had never heard it read. How different from us! We have the complete Word of God, and we may read it as often as we wish!

Bibles are plentiful and cheap. But in some homes they may sit only on the top shelf, as dusty as the precious book Hilkiah found in the temple!

"The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Heb. 4:12.) That is what it proved to be for Josiah... We commend him to present-day critics, who, alas! rend the Bible instead of their clothes... If we treat it as an ordinary book, an ordinary book it will remain to us.

The prophet gives special mention to Jaazaniah, the son of Shaphan. Shaphan was the scribe who received the book of the law from Hilkiah the high priest and read it before King Josiah (2 Kings 22:8-11; Jer. 39:14). The son of this God-fearing scribe was the leader of the idol worshippers.

Even here the law had been lost all this time, and it was a great discovery to find it. God was faithful, and the man who had a heart to observe the word of Jehovah found the law through His servant Hilkiah, the high priest. "When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes." He had a tender conscience. There is nothing more important in its place; for what is the good of knowledge if there is not a conscience? ... The moment you divorce the truth from conscience, the state of the soul is even worse. It is far better to use the little we know simply and rightly than to grow in knowledge without matching faithfulness.

Josiah heard the words of the book of the law, and his heart was tender; but he had no idea of a new book or a new law. It was the book of the law that was found. In the long reign of Manasseh it had been utterly neglected; but he speaks of it as no new thing.

When zeal for God's house and obedience to the Scriptures go together, the Scriptures become, as it were, a completely new revelation. Things already known to be of God certainly do not lose their importance. But a light bursts out that astonishes and impresses people, as if it had been completely unknown until then. And it touches consciences most deeply.

Josiah had no question at all in his mind about whether the words Shaphan had read in his hearing were genuine. We do not read of his asking, "How am I to know that this is the Word of God?" No. He trembled at it. He bowed before it. It struck him down. He tore his garments. He did not presume to sit in judgement on the Word of God, but, as was right, he allowed the Word to judge him.

It is one thing to judge our surroundings by the Word, and quite another to judge ourselves. Now Josiah began with himself. He tore his own clothes before he ever called others to listen to the weighty words of the law. That was true self-judgment under their searching power.

God valued Josiah's attitude. In answer to his anxious question He said: "because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words ... and you have humbled yourself before Me and have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD" (2 Chronicles 34:26-27). The heart of man is naturally hard towards God. ... In contrast with this, Josiah's heart was impressionable — a gracious work of the Holy Spirit of God, without doubt. Jeremiah 23:29 compares the divine Word to a hammer: "Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" ... His heart was already tender.

Josiah had good reason to tear his clothes when he read what lay in store for Israel if they forsook their God and turned to idols. Yet how great the contrast between Josiah's attitude and that of his son Jehoiakim. When Jehoiakim heard the words written on Jeremiah's scroll, he cut it with his penknife and threw it into the fire.

It is a very serious thing for anyone — man, woman or child — to stand in the searching light of God's Word. That Word judges everything. It makes no terms with the flesh or the world. It cuts up by the root everything within us and around us that is not according to God... It is one thing to judge our surroundings by the Word, and it is quite another thing to judge ourselves. Now Josiah began with himself. Before he ever called on others to listen to the weighty words of the law, he tore his own clothes, in true self-judgment beneath their searching power.

How profoundly serious was the effect on the godly king Josiah when he heard the Word of God! In a spirit of deep self-judgment he tore his clothes. Then he commanded five men, including Hilkiah and Shaphan, to go and inquire of the Lord for him and for the small number left in Israel and Judah. For he recognised that Israel was under the great wrath of God because their fathers had not kept the Word of the Lord. He did not try to explain it away. He faced the truth of Scripture head on. He wanted to know just how God was now going to deal with his nation.

And now who will interpret this Word for us? This Word says we have brought His displeasure on ourselves. So how are we to "inquire of Jehovah" about what we should do? The prophet alone, the representative of the Spirit of Christ, can interpret it for us. Josiah does not turn to Shaphan the secretary for this, or even to Hilkiah the high priest. He seeks to be brought into direct relationship with the Word.

But the course Josiah adopted arrests our attention. He sent a delegation of five leading men in his realm to consult Huldah the prophetess as to what Jehovah wanted done. The leader of the delegation was Hilkiah the High Priest! The religious head of the nation sent by the king to a woman for counsel! Why was this?... At a much later date it was said, "The priest's lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger of Jehovah of Hosts" (Mal. 2:7). Here the high privileges and the spiritual distinction of the priesthood stand out clearly. Their special nearness to God should fit them to be His mouthpiece to the people.

Son of Shaphan the scribe, and one of those sent by Josiah to Huldah the prophetess to inquire of the Lord about the book of the law that had been found. He also served under Jehoiakim and shielded Jeremiah from death when he prophesied against the nation.

Shaphan did wisely, for a Bible unread is useless to anybody. This man's son became a leader in idolatry (Ezek. 8:11). Over him the Word of God evidently had no power.

Josiah heard the words of the book of the law, and his heart was tender; but he had no idea of a new book or a new law. What they found was the book of the law. During Manasseh's long reign it lay completely neglected, but he speaks of it as nothing new. "Great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book."

If Josiah had not had the restoration of the temple at heart, the book of the law, which was kept there, would not have come to light again. This is the special character of Josiah's revival... under Josiah we find what amounts to a totally new revelation of the written Word.

In deep self-judgment he tore his clothes. Then he commanded five men, including Hilkiah and Shaphan, to go and inquire of the Lord for him and for the small number left in Israel and Judah. For he recognized that Israel was under the great wrath of God because their fathers had not kept the Word of the Lord. He did not try to explain it away. He faced the truth that Scripture declared, and he wanted to know how God would now deal with his nation.

No wonder Josiah tore his clothes when he read what lay in store for Israel if they abandoned their God and turned to idols. Yet how great the contrast between Josiah's attitude and that of his son Jehoiakim. When Jehoiakim heard the words written in Jeremiah's scroll, he cut it with his penknife and threw it into the fire.

And now who will interpret this Word for us? How are we to "inquire of the LORD" about what we should do? This Word shows that we have brought His displeasure on ourselves. Only the prophet, the representative of the Spirit of Christ, can interpret it for us. Josiah does not turn to Shaphan the scribe for this, or even to Hilkiah the high priest. He seeks direct contact with the Word itself... In Josiah's time, in these days of revival but of deep weakness, we find a prophetess in Jerusalem. The Spirit of Christ speaks through her to confirm all the words of the book the king had read.

Josiah might have thought the case hopeless. Nothing, he might have reasoned, could hold back the flood of wrath and judgment about to roll over Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Any move of his must prove useless. The divine purpose was settled, the decree had gone out, and he had only to stand by and let things run their course. But Josiah did not reason like that... He did not give himself up to a destructive fatalism. With a broken spirit and an earnest heart he threw himself on God, confessing his own sins and the sins of his people. Then, sure of his own deliverance, he set himself to seek the deliverance of others too.

Josiah felt Israel's grievous disobedience over nine centuries so deeply. How should we feel as we look back over our own history in the nineteen centuries since Pentecost? What a record of departure from the Word of God! Are our hearts tender? Do we know anything of holy trembling at the Word of God?

And now, who will interpret this Word for us? This Word shows that we have brought God's displeasure on ourselves. How then are we to "inquire of the LORD" about what we should do? Only the prophet can interpret it for us, for he represents the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11). Josiah does not turn to Shaphan the scribe for this, or even to Hilkiah the high priest. He seeks direct contact with the Word. There were many prophets in the days of wicked Manasseh. In Josiah's time, days of revival but of deep weakness, we find a prophetess at Jerusalem. Prophets were not lacking in Judah, but work handed to a woman marks decline, just as with Deborah in the book of Judges. Like Deborah, Huldah does not seek a public ministry, as the false prophetesses of our day do. She uses her gift in the place appointed to her.

Things were low. But the grace of God was unfailing and abundant. Josiah was so broken down that he was ready to take God's mind from whatever channel brought it to him. This was morally lovely. To nature's eye, it might seem very humiliating for a king of Judah to turn to a woman for counsel. But that woman held the mind of God, and for a humble and contrite spirit like Josiah's that was quite enough.

Huldah was a faithful woman. She told Josiah's servants the plain, uncompromising truth from God. She confirmed what Josiah had read in scripture: a dreadful judgment would fall on Jerusalem. It expressed the fierce anger of the Lord against their wickedness.

All this only repeated and confirmed what the king of Judah had already heard with an open and attentive ear. But now it came with fresh force, emphasis, and interest, as a direct personal message to himself. That earnest sentence gave it added weight: "Tell the man who sent you to me."

The message comes in two parts. The first part opens with 'tell the man'. It says the judgment will come and can no longer be turned aside. The second part speaks to 'the king of Judah'. It reassures Josiah that God had accepted his humbling of himself and would not bring the judgment in Josiah's day.

But although the above is true, we must never lose sight of the sovereignty of God. He works as He pleases, and gives no account of His matters. This is even more so when everything is in confusion among His people. Why the LORD chose to speak through Huldah to the king and to the high priest is known to Himself alone. Jeremiah was already in His service, for he began his prophetic ministry in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign (Jer. 1:2), and the book of the law was not found until five years later. Yet the LORD spoke through Huldah on this occasion, and not through Jeremiah!

Josiah might have thought the case hopeless. He might have thought that nothing could turn back the mighty tide of wrath and judgment about to roll over Jerusalem and the land of Israel. He might have thought that any move of his was useless — that God's purpose was settled, the decree gone out, and that he had only to stand by and let things take their course. But Josiah did not reason this way. He bowed before the divine testimony. He humbled himself, tore his clothes, and wept. God took notice of this.

Huldah was a faithful woman who told Josiah's servants the plain, uncompromising truth from God: the Lord would bring disaster on this place and on its people, "because they have forsaken Me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands. Therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched" (vv.16-17). Huldah confirmed what Josiah had read in scripture, that a dreadful judgment would fall on Jerusalem.

Ruin was waiting for the nation. Its cup of sin had been filling up for centuries. Manasseh's defiance of Jehovah's Word and his extreme evil made the cup overflow… They had provoked their God to anger "since the day their fathers came out of Egypt." So the evil was persistent and beyond remedy… Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 are two of the most terrible chapters in the Word of God. In them God set out, before Israel entered the land, what must follow if they rebelled against Him. It was probably those very chapters that so alarmed Josiah and made him tear his clothes and weep before God.

In Josiah's time, in these days of revival but of deep weakness, we find a prophetess at Jerusalem. Prophets were not lacking in Judah (2 Kings 23:2). But work given to a woman marks decline, just as with Deborah in the book of Judges. Like Deborah, Huldah is a servant of Jehovah. She does not try to exercise a public ministry like the false prophetesses of our day. She uses her gift in the place appointed to her… But the Spirit of Christ speaks through this woman, to confirm "all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read" (v. 16).

To human eyes it might seem very humbling for a king of Judah to turn to a woman for counsel. But that woman was the keeper of the mind of God, and this was quite enough for a humble and contrite spirit like Josiah's… It did not matter how the voice of God reached his ear. He was ready to hear and obey.

Did the piety of Josiah turn away the wrath of God from Judah? No. Josiah "turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might" (2 Kings 23:25). Yet verse 26 adds: "Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of His great wrath, by which His anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him."

Because his heart was tender, he had humbled himself before the Lord when he heard the Word of God. He had torn his clothes in self-judgment and had wept before the Lord. So the Lord took full account of his repentance (vv.18-20). For this reason the Lord assured Josiah that he himself would die before Judah's solemn calamity came. This may remind us of Isaiah 57:1: "The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity."

Josiah had good reason to tear his clothes when he read what was in store for Israel if they forsook their God and turned to idols. Yet what a contrast between Josiah and his son Jehoiakim! When Jehoiakim heard the words written in Jeremiah's scroll, he cut it with his penknife and threw it into the fire (Jer. 36:23).

Huldah was a faithful woman who told Josiah's servants the plain, uncompromising truth from God... She only confirmed what Josiah had read in Scripture: a dreadful judgment would fall on Jerusalem. It would express the fierce anger of the Lord against their wickedness.

Josiah does not turn to Shaphan the scribe for this, or even to Hilkijah the high priest. He seeks to be put into direct relationship with the Word... But the Spirit of Christ speaks through this woman. She confirms "all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read" (v. 16), and at the same time reassures Josiah about his own future.

Yet God had told Josiah that His wrath was aroused against Judah because of all their iniquity, and that wrath would not be quenched... Josiah's faithfulness had only delayed the judgment during his own reign. Manasseh turned to God in his later years, but the evil he had done was enormous, and it had defiled Judah deeply. God's grace may triumph over man's sin and save him from eternal judgment. Yet God's government still calls for the judgment of whatever evil has been done... Jerusalem, God's centre, and God's house there would be cast off, even though God had established His name in it.

Royal power had brought about a great reformation. But it left the hearts of most of the people untouched... So why could God not rest in the improved outward state of the kingdom of Judah in Josiah's day? He looked beneath the surface. He looked for reality, for tenderness of conscience, for a heart subject to His word. He did not find them... God will never be satisfied with anything less than thoroughness.

The first part starts with "tell the man". It states that the judgement will come and can no longer be turned aside. The second part speaks to "the king of Judah". It reassures Josiah that God had accepted his humiliation and would not bring the judgement in Josiah's day.

So the Lord assured Josiah that death would take him away before Judah's solemn calamity came. This may remind us of Isaiah 57:1: "The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity." How often God takes a godly person away before some great trouble that would be most painful for him to watch!

And here is an important lesson for our own times. Reformations and revivals cannot keep back the decreed judgments of God. Many think that great waves of reformation and revival prove the world is getting better, and that only good lies ahead for this age... Reformation-revival movements are evidences, too, that the threatened judgment is not far away. As the end approaches God warns us and His Spirit presses home the truth once more to awaken the consciences of men.

The reading of "the book" prompted a deep twofold reaction. Josiah tore his clothes and he inquired of the Lord. The word of God brings about repentance and dependence. The message comes in two parts. The first part begins with "tell the man" and states that the judgement will come and nothing can turn it aside any more. The second part speaks to "the king of Judah" and reassures Josiah that God had accepted his humiliation and would not bring the judgement in Josiah's day.

And now who will interpret this Word for us? How are we to "inquire of the LORD" about what we should do? This Word shows that we have brought His displeasure on ourselves. Only the prophet, the representative of the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11), can interpret it for us. Josiah does not turn to Shaphan the scribe for this, or even to Hilkiah the high priest; he seeks direct contact with the Word itself... But the Spirit of Christ speaks through Huldah, this servant of Jehovah, to confirm "all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read" (v. 16), and at the same time to reassure Josiah about his own future.

God greatly valued the devotion of individual souls, above all in days of abounding evil. Should not both writer and reader aim to have a heart always tender and humble before God? Josiah's personal devotion was of immeasurable value to the nation. God had promised him that the judgements would not fall while he lived.

God had regard to the king's deep humiliation... To humble himself was, in fact, the only thing needed. This marked Josiah, and it always marks the faithful remnant in the middle of evil... Today you can recognize the hearts of the faithful by the humiliation they feel at the state of things. Josiah's heart was very sensitive to this; he tore his clothes and wept.

Josiah learned that nothing could revoke the sentence pronounced against Jerusalem and Judah. God did promise him personal exemption. It was then that he humbled himself still further before the Lord, and set about promoting a reformation with no parallel until then in the nation's history. The judgments could not be averted, and they were not. But God fully owned Josiah's repentance. The reformation God used him to bring about was a bright testimony for God on the very eve of the nation's overthrow. Oh for something of his spirit!

It teaches us the immense value, in God's estimation, of deep personal exercise of soul and a broken heart. Josiah might have thought the case hopeless. He might have said that nothing could turn back the great tide of wrath and judgement about to roll over the city of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. He might have said that any movement of his must prove useless, that God's purpose was settled, the decree had gone out, and that he had only to stand by and let things take their course. But Josiah did not reason like that. He bowed before God's testimony. He humbled himself, tore his clothes, and wept. God took notice of this. Josiah's tears of repentance were precious to Jehovah. The dreadful judgement had to run its course, yet the penitent escaped. And not only did he escape himself, he became the honoured instrument in the Lord's hand of delivering others too.

The heart of man is naturally hard in relation to God. Note the Apostle's words in Eph. 4:18: "They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart." In His parable of the Sower, the Lord Jesus spoke of the good seed of the Word falling on the hard path (Matt. 13:4). What ground could be harder, or less likely to bear fruit? Josiah's heart was different: it could be moved. That was surely a gracious work of the Holy Spirit of God. Jer. 23:29 compares God's Word to a hammer: "Is not My word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" The Philippian jailer needed that hammer when Paul and Silas first dealt with him. King Josiah did not. His heart was already tender.

Josiah had no doubt at all that the words Shaphan read aloud to him were genuine and true. We do not read of him asking, "How am I to know that this is the Word of God?" No. He trembled at it. He bowed before it. It struck him down. He tore his clothes. He did not dare to sit in judgement on the Word of God. As was right and proper, he let the Word judge him.

If man is to judge Scripture, then Scripture is not the Word of God at all. But if Scripture really is the Word of God, then it must judge man. And so it is, and so it does… It holds up the only true mirror, and in it a man sees himself exactly as he is. This is why man does not like Scripture. He cannot bear it. He tries to set it aside… Men do not trouble themselves so much to discover and point out flaws and discrepancies in Homer or Herodotus, Aristotle or Shakespeare.

He did not rush out first to attack the errors of other people. No. He first tore his own clothes, as a man fully humbled and self-judged. Then he called his people together, so that they too might hear the same powerful testimony and take the same ground of self-judgment and brokenness. This, he felt, was the only true road to blessing.

Josiah might have thought the case hopeless. Nothing could stop the great tide of wrath and judgement about to roll over Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Any move of his must prove useless. God's purpose was settled, the sentence had gone out, and he had only to stand by and let things take their course. But Josiah did not reason like this… God took notice. Josiah's tears of repentance were precious to the LORD. The dreadful judgement still had to run its course, yet the man who repented escaped. And he did not only escape himself. He became the honoured instrument in the Lord's hand for delivering others too.

God valued the godliness of individual people, above all in days when evil was everywhere. Should not both writer and reader aim to keep a heart that is always tender and humble before God? Josiah's own godliness was worth more to the nation than anyone could measure. God had promised him that the judgements would not fall while he lived… Oh, why did he not walk with care, knowing that so much depended on his life?

Josiah might have thought the case hopeless. He could have said that nothing would turn back the great tide of wrath and judgment about to roll over the city of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. He could have said that any move of his must prove useless, that God's purpose was settled and the decree gone out, and that he had only to stand by and let things take their course. But Josiah did not reason this way. No; he bowed before God's testimony. He humbled himself, tore his clothes, and wept. God took knowledge of this. Josiah's penitential tears were precious to the Lord, and though the dreadful judgment had to take its course, the penitent escaped.

The piety of Josiah had delayed the divine judgment, but the sin of his sons brought it on swiftly.

People may neglect Scripture, but no one can break it. The Lord answers Josiah that he himself, because his heart was tender and he trembled at the word, will be gathered to his fathers in peace and will not see the evil. But the curses read out of the book will certainly take hold.

Because the Lord had taken full account of his repentance, He assured Josiah that death would take him away before Judah's solemn calamity... How often God takes away a godly person before some great trouble that would be most painful for him to witness!

If the godly are taken away it is a solemn sign that judgment is about to fall... So it has always been in the history of the world. As one has said: "When Lots are taken out of Sodom, it signals a shower of wrath. Methuselah was taken away a year before the flood. When Noahs are taken into their arks, we may conclude that a deluge is coming. God gathers His harvest before the world's storm. He calls labourers home before the dark night comes on."

As to further detail of God's government, look at the case of Josiah. He fell by the hand of Pharaoh Neco, although the Lord had said, "You shall be gathered to your grave in peace." But God took him away from the evil to come. The circumstances were painful, for it seems he should have listened to Pharaoh. Josiah was chastened personally, but he did not see, as Daniel did, all that came upon Jerusalem: what a sparing from sorrow that was!

Mercy took him away from the evil to come; but there was judgment in the way it happened, while the judgment that fell on the guilty city was unmixed.

Josiah, warned by the Lord, knew perfectly well that his work would not stop the course of judgment. He also knew that he would be gathered to his fathers before the evil came, and that his eyes would not see it. But he had only one thought... he was pressed to honour Him in the ruin of Israel, in the very place where He had been so dishonoured.

He had God's promise that the judgments would not be poured out while he lived. He was twenty-six when Huldah spoke... Oh, why did he not walk carefully, knowing that so much depended on his life? Why did he, at thirty-nine, plunge into a quarrel that did not concern him, and risk — yes, sacrifice — his precious life?

Josiah did not sit down in despair because of the serious things which Huldah made known to him. The judgments would not fall just yet. In the meantime, the energetic young king would do all he could to lead the people back into "the old paths." It is never too late to obey the Word of God.

Josiah was a man thoroughly in earnest. He felt the power of truth in his own soul. He could not rest content until he gathered the people around him, so that the light which had shone on him might shine on them too. He did not, he could not, rest in the promise that he would be gathered to his grave in peace, and that his eyes would not see the evil that was coming on Jerusalem... No, he thought of others, he felt for the people around him.

Josiah was king in Judah, and so he stood for all the people. He realised it was his responsibility to bring them all in to hear the Word of God. Beginning with the elders, he called the people to the house of the Lord. So elders, priests, prophets and ordinary people were gathered (vv.1-2).

He recognized something that is often overlooked: God's word applies to everyone. He also saw that everything God has written is of equal importance in its place, and equally to be obeyed... God's word spoke to him as king on his throne, but it spoke just as much to the humblest of his subjects.

What marks the spiritual revival under Josiah, as we have seen, is the importance of God's house on earth — the place where the Lord makes His name dwell — and the importance of the book of the covenant. Let us not hesitate to repeat: in the times in which we live these two things always characterize a true revival.

"And the king went up to the house of the LORD... And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD." What a delight for God and the angels to watch! What a thrill it would be to read in the newspapers that kings and presidents were calling mass meetings in their capitals to read the people the badly neglected Word of God! They would point out, with all seriousness, the things the people had got wrong, and urge them to come back humbly to their God.

There can be no question that it was real in the king himself. But if we read the opening chapters of Jeremiah, we find that the people's devotion was only skin-deep. They did not return to the LORD with their whole heart, but in pretense (Jer. 3:10).

Josiah was a man thoroughly in earnest. He felt the power of truth in his own soul. He could not rest until he had gathered the people around him, so that the light which had shone on him might shine on them too. He did not, he could not, rest in this: he would go to his grave in peace, and his own eyes would not see the evil that was coming on Jerusalem. No, he thought of others. He felt for the people around him. His own escape rested on his true repentance and humbling under the mighty hand of God. So he would use that same Word, which had worked with such power in his own heart, to lead others to the same repentance and humbling.

Being king in Judah and therefore the representative of all the people, Josiah realised his responsibility of involving them all in hearing the Word of God. Beginning with the elders, he called the people to the house of the Lord. So elders, priests, prophets and the common people were gathered. There Josiah himself read all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which would include the five books of Moses.

Josiah convened a great national gathering in Jerusalem. Elders, priests, Levites, prophets, and a crowd of people small and great responded. The plural word prophets should be noted. Clearly other men besides Jeremiah were active in the land for God, yet He chose to speak through Huldah! We are quite unable to interpret every detail of the ways of God, but we want to be subject to His perfect wisdom.

This book of the covenant included the covenant of Sinai. It also included the one made in the plain of Moab — that is to say, all the words of Deuteronomy. It applied exactly to the people's condition as it now was. God had described that condition beforehand in this book. Deuteronomy spoke above all of obedience. God had redeemed this people from Egypt, and their blessing or cursing now depended on obedience to the Word.

All the words of the law suggests a considerable amount of reading. The meeting was therefore a long one. What a contrast to the short sermons that are barely tolerated today! This is all the more sad, because we now have the complete Word of God. It reveals all His wonderful purposes of grace and glory, and they find their centre in Christ. Why are we satisfied with so little of the spiritual wealth that is within our reach?

What marks the spiritual revival under Josiah, as we have seen, is the importance of two things. One is God's house on earth, the place where the Lord causes His name to dwell. The other is the book of the covenant. Let us not hesitate to repeat it: in the times in which we live these two things always mark a true revival.

On the young king's part this was all real, no doubt, but one has only to read the earlier part of Jeremiah's prophecy to see how insincere it was with the mass of the people.

This book of the covenant included the covenant of Sinai. It also included the one made in the plain of Moab — that is, all the words of Deuteronomy. It applied exactly to the people's state as it now was, and God had described that state beforehand in this book. Deuteronomy spoke above all of obedience. God had redeemed this people from Egypt, and the book made their blessing or cursing depend on obedience to the Word.

This is excellent. An ounce of example is worth more than a ton of instruction. Joshua, in his final address to Israel, spoke in the same way: "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). Paul urged Timothy to "set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12).

On the young king's part this was all real, no doubt. But read the earlier part of Jeremiah's prophecy, and you see how hypocritical it was with most of the people. They had eagerly entered into covenants with the Lord before. The outcome was always the same — breakdown, and a wider departure from God than ever before.

Josiah went beyond stating his own intention; he made everyone present in Jerusalem and Benjamin join in the covenant. The king meant well, but how little he understood how changeable the human heart is! It was the old sad story of Sinai repeated. They had never learned the depths of their own evil, nor the holiness of God. At the burning mountain "all the people answered together and said, 'All that the LORD has spoken we will do'" (Exodus 19:8)… But outward correctness will not do for God. Jeremiah's sad pages tell us how little the people's hearts loved the will of God.

This covenant rested on the law. That is why people broke it as quickly as they broke the covenant of Sinai, and every other covenant made on the same terms. But these covenants give man a chance to learn in depth what the flesh is. That is why the law, as an obligation, is necessary.

Despite that, those who are faithful hold a moral restraint over souls, even over souls that are in fact far from God. In 2 Chronicles 34:33 we see that Josiah made everyone present in Israel serve the LORD their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the LORD, the God of their fathers. It is in this way that all the people here enter into the covenant.

Josiah is not satisfied with escaping the judgement himself. If there was grace for him there must be grace for others. He made "all the people great and small" hear the word. The king made a covenant to walk after the Lord "with all his heart" and "all his soul," and caused all to stand to it. We do not enter into a covenant with God. But we can have "steadfast purpose" and "remain faithful to the Lord" (Acts 11:23). We trust not in self but in His grace.

If anyone wants a correct idea of the practical state of things in Josiah's day, let him think over 2 Kings 23. The record is perfectly appalling. There were vessels made for Baal in the temple of the Lord. There were idolatrous priests burning incense in the high places, in the cities of Judah, and in Jerusalem. They burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven.

At this time there was energy of faith, chiefly in Josiah, to get rid of the idolatry introduced by Josiah's fathers, Manasseh and Amon. Josiah gave orders to Hilkiah the high priest, to the priests under him, and to the doorkeepers. They were to bring out of the temple all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and other false gods.

We have already noticed that Josiah purged the temple before he repaired it (2 Chronicles 34:8). This appalling list of abominations was still in the house where the Lord had set His name. It suggests that the first purging was not very thorough. But the second purging cleared every vile thing out. Why was the second purging more thorough than the first? Because the Book of the law had come to light between the two movements. The King, at least, now saw the hideousness of things people had long tolerated.

All the mischief, all the corruption and confusion, all the shame and dishonour, all the reproach and blasphemy — it all began with neglect of the Word of God... It mattered little to Josiah that these things were old, or that the fathers of the Jewish nation stood behind them. Nor was he moved by the thought that people might see these altars and high places, these groves and images, as proof of a large heart, a broad mind, and a generous spirit.

Energetic action must follow when the heart is going out towards God and His Word. "I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments" (Psalm 119:60). Some believers today may stay in unscriptural associations because no one has set the Word of God before them about these things. Evil is no less evil when people fail to see its true character through inattention to the teaching of Scripture. But once the Word is brought to bear, God expects prompt action from His saints.

Josiah cleanses Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel completely, as far as his arm could reach, in his zeal for God and for God alone. In the fields of Kidron he burns all the objects that had piled up in the temple for the worship of Baal, Astarte, and the stars. He carries their dust to Bethel, the original site of Jeroboam's idolatry.

It was indeed a triumphant moment, but we need to be reminded of three things that led to such an achievement. First, Josiah thought of the house of the Lord. Second, he obeyed the word of the Lord. Last, he put away all that was evil... Without these three things, the passover would have been worthless in God's eyes, however solemnly people kept it.

Reader, think about this! Only consider kings of Judah, successors of David, ordaining priests to burn incense to Baal! Remember too what each of these kings of Judah was responsible to do. He had to write out his own copy of the book of the law. He was to keep it beside him and read it all the days of his life, so that he would learn to fear the Lord his God, keep all the words of this law and these statutes, and do them (See Deut. 17:18-19). How far they had strayed from the words of that law, when they could set about ordaining priests to burn incense to false gods!

Zephaniah names "the Chemarim" — that is, idolatrous priests, mentioned elsewhere only in 2 Kings 23:5 and Hosea 10:5 — alongside "the priests." What made this idolatry so offensive was the joining of the idols of the nations with Jehovah. To be a plain, outright idolater was not nearly so evil. The worse thing is to show that you know the true God and yet put false gods on a level with Him.

The Hebrew word is mazzaloth. It is thought to refer to the twelve signs or constellations of the Zodiac, as the margin shows. The Israelites worshipped these, along with the sun, moon, and "all the host of heaven." 2 Kings 23:5. The word occurs nowhere else.

If they lifted their eyes to heaven, above the level of creatures on earth, they were to look higher still. They were to look above the sun, moon and stars to the One who created all these things, instead of worshipping these visible works of God's hands… God has created these wonderful heavenly bodies. But they are there only to turn our attention to their unseen Maker.

But there was much more to do in cleansing Judah from the overflowing tide of idolatry that had invaded the land. Josiah removed the idolatrous priests from the high places in the cities of Judah, and all those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon and to the constellations of stars in the whole heaven (v.5). Judah had multiplied her gods beyond measure. A wooden image had been put in the house of the Lord, just as many churches introduce images that look nice but are an insult to the Lord Jesus.

The house where Jehovah had set His name still held this appalling list of detestable things. That suggests the first cleansing was not very thorough. But the second cleansing cleared every vile thing out. Why did the second go deeper than the first? Because the book of the law had come to light between the two efforts. Now the King, at least, saw how hideous these long-tolerated things really were.

God enabled him to take his stand on the unchangeable truth of God. By that perfect standard he tested all the errors and evils he found around him, and he rejected them all. Josiah felt that there was no reason to go on for a single hour with anything contrary to the mind of Jehovah. He was right before God to feel it. It did not matter to him the weight of a feather — nor should it to anyone — who had first started the error or evil. It was enough for him that it was error and evil… It was not a question of Josiah versus Solomon, but of truth versus error.

asherah, asherath. The word "grove" suggests a row of trees. But that cannot be the meaning, since people set up groves "under every green tree" (1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 17:10). Manasseh set a carved image of the grove that he had made in the temple (2 Kings 21:7). Josiah removed it, burned it, and ground it to powder (2 Kings 23:6). This was doubtless made of metal, but the groves were of wood, as we learn from the fact that they were cut down and burned (Judges 6:25-26; 2 Kings 23:14-15). They are always associated with idols and images, and Judges 3:7 speaks of them being served along with the Baals.

Scripture makes a point of noting that "he brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD … and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust." "The grove" appears to have been an image of Astarte. Imagine such a horror standing in the house of Jehovah! God had once said of that house that His eyes and His heart would be there always (2 Chron. 7:16). How low Israel had fallen, that such a thing stood in the most sacred spot on earth!

This is the valley, or wide dry riverbed, between the east of Jerusalem and the west of the Mount of Olives… In Old Testament times people treated it as a defiled place. Asa burned his mother's idol there (1 Kings 15:13). Josiah also burned the symbols of idolatry there (2 Kings 23:4, 6, 12). From 2 Kings 23:6 and Jeremiah 31:40 it appears to have been the common burial ground.

A wooden image had been put in the house of the LORD, just as many churches introduce images that look nice but are an insult to the Lord Jesus. Josiah burned the image at the brook Kidron and threw the ashes on graves (v.6), signifying that the idolatry was worthy only of the corruption of death.

Our devoted young king was able to "grind into dust, and beat into powder" an enormous pile of error. All of it had its origin in the gross neglect of this most precious sentence: "IT IS WRITTEN." It mattered little to Josiah that all these things could boast of age, and the authority of the fathers of the Jewish nation.

The appalling things still left in the house where Jehovah had set His name suggest that the first cleansing was not thorough. The second cleansing cleared every vile thing out. But why was the second cleansing more thorough than the first? Because the Book of the law had come to light between the two. The ugliness of things people had long tolerated was now clear, at least to the King.

The record makes a point of saying that "he brought the Asherah out of the house of the LORD ... and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust" (2 Kings 23:6). The Asherah, which older translations call "the grove," appears to have been an image of Astarte. Imagine such a horror standing in the house of the LORD! Of that house He once said that His eyes and His heart would be there always (2 Chron. 7:16). Next to the temple stood the houses of the male cult prostitutes! Horror upon horror; how low Israel had fallen, to have such depravity in the most sacred spot on earth! The history of Christendom has been just as fearful.

Few serious readers, I think, will agree with the notion that this word means a holy woman or seer. Far more probable is the ordinary view, which takes it as a "consecration" to the corrupt Astarte, or Venus, of early and later idolatry. … The masculine form of the word occurs in Deut. 23:17; 1 Kings 14:24; 2 Kings 23:7; Job 36:14. Can it be argued that holy men, or seers, are intended here? They are forms of the same word, and the idea of holiness, or consecration, of course runs through both. … Terrible to say, prostitution was an almost universal element of heathen sanctity!

On the whole it seems most probable that the groves were wooden symbols of a goddess. They took the form of images or pillars, or plain tree trunks set in the earth. In 2 Kings 23:7 we read that women wove "hangings" for the groves. The word really means "houses" or "tents." So these coverings enclosed the groves, probably for impure purposes, since immorality went almost always with idolatry.

"The account of Josiah's later reformation shows both the extent and the shameless immorality of the idolatry now common (2 Kings 23:4-8). Earlier kings had brought in practices of their own. But one thing must have been the work of Manasseh. He placed a class of priests, probably in the outer court of the temple, whose unnatural vice combined a kind of madness with the deepest moral degradation. Beside them, and in fellowship with them, he placed priestesses of Astarte."

Look with the prophet through the hole in the wall, into the rooms full of images in the idol's temple. See the almost unbelievable horrors pictured there; human corruption in its lowest forms. You say, how could a people think that was religious worship? Dear friends, it is just what all men do. They turn away from God as He has revealed Himself to us in Christ. They make a god of their own imagination. They give free rein to the desires of their own hearts. That is why there is so much corruption in the name of religion. It should make us tremble to think that if you or I leave the path of obedience to God, and begin to serve a god of our own imagining, God will give us up to the desires of our own corrupt hearts.

No one ever rooted out idolatry as thoroughly as Josiah did, right across the land of Israel. He killed all the priests, burned their bones on their altars, and then destroyed the altars themselves, grinding them to powder. Such thoroughness God loves. The Corinthian believers were very slow to deal with wickedness in the assembly. Yet they were active in avenging their personal wrongs, even taking one another to the world's courts (1 Cor. 5:6).

We are speaking of the high places used for worship, which seemed to be everywhere in the Lord's land… The time soon came, sadly, when Israel chose high places for themselves. Some of these were for idolatrous worship, and some for the worship of the Lord. But all the high places were offensive in His sight, whatever the motives of those who set them up. They were the expression of creative self-will, of hearts not subject to His commandments.

The high place was, we might say, a kind of necessity, brought in by the failure and disordered state of the people at large… They were not always connected with idolatry. In fact, at the beginning they were devoted to the true worship of God. To some extent they were places where He Himself in grace recognised the need and met with His people, though not according to the order He Himself had provided. Later on, however, He established His centre. He placed His name at Jerusalem, and the temple of His glory was there. From that time the worship of the high places was direct disobedience to His will.

Clearly man is not to determine his own ways as a worshipper. Willingness in worship is right; wilfulness destroys it all… We are to worship "in spirit" — that is most true — in the grace and liberty of the Holy Spirit given to us. But we are to worship "in truth" also, according to God's revelation of Himself and of His worship. The keeping up of groves and high places in Israel was always the witness that the people had not properly prepared their hearts to seek the Lord God of Israel. He is the only true God, and He had set His name at Jerusalem.

The energetic Josiah cleared away all the high places, and he brought away from them all the priests who had burned incense on them. But they had disobeyed the Word of the Lord, so they could not carry out priestly duties in Jerusalem. "The priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers" (2 Kings 23:8-9). Even unfaithful men must not be left to starve!

It is clear they had no energy of faith to break completely with the idolatry they were used to. Yet they ate unleavened bread among their brothers (v.9). Was this not a way of covering their sin with a show of religious zeal? For the unleavened bread stands for separation from evil, but the show without the reality of separation is hypocrisy.

Josiah, in firm decision for the Lord, brought all the priests from the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, making the places unusable, from Geba to Beersheba, not a short distance.

The king also goes through all the cities of Israel, destroying the temples of the high places. He shows no pity to their idolatrous priests, whom he puts to death. By then the Assyrians had carried the people away, so the influence of these priests seemed to be gone. He acts in view of a future restoration, and his heart, fervent in the service of the Lord, is set on it.

What we have seen is enough to show the fearful lengths to which even the people of God may go. They need only turn aside, in the smallest measure, from the authority of Holy Scripture… The moment a man departs a hair's breadth from Scripture, there is no accounting for the monstrous extravagance into which he may rush.

He puts down the Chemarim — the priests set up by the kings of Judah to burn incense before false gods… He gathers together the priests who, under a repentant Manasseh, had gone on offering sacrifices to the Lord on the high places (2 Chron. 33:17). He does not treat them like the Chemarim, but he does not allow them to go up to the altar of the LORD at Jerusalem.

The Word alone must govern God's people in all matters of worship. The LORD would choose His own centre, and His people must come there with their burnt offerings and sacrifices… All the high places were offensive in His sight, whatever the motives of those who set them up. They expressed self-will — hearts not subject to His commandments… Josiah cleared away all the high places, and he brought away from them all the priests who had burned incense on them. But they had disobeyed the Word of the LORD, so they were not allowed to carry out priestly duties in Jerusalem… Even unfaithful men must not be left to starve! Should we not learn from all this that God expects His Word to be obeyed by His people? Or is it possible that some choose for themselves where and how they will worship and serve their God?

This religion had left idolatry behind, yet it had dared to despise the only gathering centre for the people. So all fellowship with it is firmly broken off. There is instruction here for our own day. This act of Josiah's shows us that a true revival cannot be joined to worship offered away from the Lord's Table, the only gathering centre for His own.

All the same, Josiah acknowledges the right of these priests to eat "unleavened bread among their brothers" (v. 9). The Lord had consecrated these men, and their personal holiness is fully recognised. But for the present, if not for ever, they are not allowed to serve in Israel's worship.

The priests of the high places lost their occupation, but they did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem. They clearly had no energy of faith to break completely with the idolatry they were used to, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers (v.9). Was this not an attempt to cover their sin with a show of religious zeal? For the unleavened bread stands for separation from evil. But a show without the reality of separation is hypocrisy.

The Levites, apart from the family of Zadok, are given the guard and the service of the house, but are kept out of the priestly office. In the government of God they are shut out from this higher place because of their previous history. They had followed the people into idolatry. Instead of resisting the evil that was coming in, they became a stumbling block that led others into sin… God calls the past to account. In His ways of holy government such departure from His revealed and known will must be remembered in judgment, though those subject to it are personally safe.

Here is that most inhuman rite, in which parents were so blinded by Satan that they gave their children as sacrifices to Molech or Moloch, and probably Malcham or Milcom. It was the guardian god of the Ammonites. From Jeremiah 19:5 it appears that Baal was worshipped in this way. Some have reasoned about "passing through the fire," here and elsewhere, so as to deny that they burned their children. But this seems a kindly attempt to soften the reality of the wickedness. It was the fullest, though not the only, profanation of the name of Israel's God. The Lord accepted a sheep or an ox, or even a much smaller sacrifice; Satan, under these names, demanded their sons.

People called this a sacrifice. But it did not come from unselfish love for Molech. It came from the selfish evil of wanting to get rid of a child... Molech was an image with its arms outstretched, and people would place their children in its arms while a fire was lit beneath. Then, with drums and noisy music, the cries of the child were drowned out as it was burned to death. So this religious wickedness made the torture and murder of an unwanted child look holy.

Topheth stood in these gardens, where the valleys of Hinnom and Kidron meet. Its name meant "the spitting out," or place of abomination. There an Ahaz, a Manasseh, and an Amon sacrificed their sons and daughters to Baal-Moloch, and burned incense to foul idols. Hinnom meant "moaning," and its name Gehinnom (valley of Hinnom — Gehenna) was rightly taken as the name for the place of final suffering.

Josiah also defiled Topheth, where idol worshippers offered their children to Molech by fire (v.10). How can people feel spiritual zeal while doing such disgusting things? But they are totally deceived by Satan.

The idol was a hideous ox-headed human figure of Moloch. It stood in the valley until less than thirty years before the Chaldeans destroyed Jerusalem. Then the good king Josiah swept away the idol and everything that went with it, and defiled the place so that it could never again be used for that frightful worship. But the horrors of the past had printed themselves so deeply on people's minds that from then on the spot bore the name Tophet — the abomination, the place to be spat upon.

The Valley of Hinnom was the refuse dump outside Jerusalem. Fires always burned there, and maggots never stopped their work. People knew it as Gehenna. On the Lord's lips this word became a picture of the home of the lost that fits all too well. Truly hell will be the great refuse heap of eternity. There everything that is beyond correction will be kept apart from the good, and will lie forever under the judgment of God. This terrible fact reaches us from the lips of Him who loved sinful men and wept over them.

The king's power brought about a great reformation, but it left the hearts of most people untouched... But why could God not rest in the outwardly improved state of the kingdom of Judah in Josiah's day? He looked beneath the surface. He looked for reality, for tenderness of conscience, for a heart subject to His word — and He did not find them. God will never be satisfied with anything short of thoroughness.

The horses which the kings of Judah have given to the sun stand stabled at the entrance of the house of the Lord, while the ark of the Lord has been cast out of the sanctuary.

The record gives special mention to the pile of abominations which Josiah's predecessors of David's royal line had set up in and near Jerusalem… But worse still! We are not surprised at the terrible deeds of men like Ahaz and Manasseh. But one of the greatest of Israel's royal offenders was Solomon, the man who built the temple of the Lord, and whose prayer at its dedication seemed to anticipate every evil and danger that might arise!… Yet godly kings like Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah left all this untouched! Neglect of the Word of God is the only possible explanation of this.

Before Israel entered the land, the Lord made a rule for the time when the people would have a king: "when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law… And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God" (Deut. 17:18-20). Suppose each ruler in Israel had obeyed this instruction. Suppose each had prepared his own copy of the law and had read in it all the days of his life. Then the formidable array of evils Josiah had to deal with would never have existed. Nor would the original of God's holy law have lain buried under rubbish, so that finding it was a real discovery!

He took away the "horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain… and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire."… He seems to have had few sympathizers, or supporters, in his reforms, and supervised some of the work himself. A king's command cannot produce genuine repentance, but he did all that lay in his power, and did not permit a single visible trace of idolatry to remain in his realm.

We should not marvel at the kings of other nations burning incense to Baal, ordaining idolatrous priests, and worshipping the host of heaven. But these were kings of Judah, the sons and successors of David, children of Abraham. They had access to the book of the law of God, and they were responsible to make that book the subject of their deep and constant study. When we see such men falling under the power of dark and degrading superstition, it sounds a warning voice in our ears. We cannot safely refuse to give heed… "Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come." (1 Cor. 10:11)

But worse is still to come, because of both the place and the people engaged in worshipping the sun, the great object of ancient star-worship and later of Persian idolatry. "And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east." The prophet notes their number, which matches the courses of the priesthood and the high priest. Their backs were toward the Lord's temple, and their faces toward the east.

On the roof there were altars made by the kings of Judah, certainly an insult to God whose altar outside and that inside the temple both spoke of Christ. Other altars expose men's desire to have other gods. Beside these Manasseh had made altars in the two courts of the house of the Lord. All of these Josiah broke down and pulverised, throwing their dust into the brook Kidron.

Before Israel entered the land the Lord decreed that once the people had a king, "he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law... And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God" (Deuteronomy 17:18-20). Suppose each ruler in Israel had obeyed this instruction. Suppose each had prepared his own copy of the law, and had read it all the days of his life. Then the huge mass of evils which Josiah had to deal with would never have existed. God's holy law itself would never have ended up buried under rubbish, so that finding it was a real discovery!

Amon had re-established all that Manasseh had abolished at the time of his repentance. Josiah, in his zeal for God and for God alone... completely cleanses Jerusalem, Judah, and Israel, as far as his arm could reach.

He demolished the idols which he had erected, and the altars which were consecrated to them, and sought to bring the people back from the wrong way in which he had driven them; a difficult work and necessarily incomplete!

In Old Testament times people treated it as a defiled place. Asa burnt his mother's idol there. 1 Kings 15:13. Josiah also burnt there the symbols of idolatry. 2 Kings 23:4, 6, 12; and from 2 Kings 23:6 and Jeremiah 31:40 it would appear to have been the common burial ground.

Nowhere was idolatry ever rooted out as thoroughly as Josiah rooted it out across the whole land of Israel... He destroyed the altars themselves, reducing them to powder. Such thoroughness God loves. The Corinthian believers were very slow to deal with wickedness in the assembly. Yet they were quick to avenge their personal wrongs, even taking one another into the world's courts.

First, the house of the Lord had been thought of; second, the word of the Lord had been obeyed; and last, all that was evil had been put away... For us the Lord's supper has taken the place of the passover. But can we remember the Lord in His death just as we please, however we please, in any fashion we like?

Josiah also defiled other high places east of Jerusalem and south of the Mount of Olives. The hill is called the mount of Corruption because Solomon had corrupted it. He built high places on it for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites and Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites (v.13). Josiah cared about God's approval, and what offended God had to be destroyed.

The moment a man departs from Scripture, even by a hair's breadth, there is no telling what monstrous extremes he may rush into. We may wonder how a man like Solomon could ever be led to build high places for Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Milcom, the abominations of Sidon, Moab and Ammon. But it is easy to see how it happened. First he disobeyed the Word of his Lord by going to those nations for wives. From there he fell easily into the deeper error of adopting their worship.

He very likely took the attitude of broad-minded people today. He thought it right to tolerate every religion, and even to support evil religions, because that was what his wives preferred. His unbelief in building these high places was a shameful contradiction of his faith in building the temple! In building the temple he stressed the supreme authority of the living God. In building the high places he was guilty of challenging God's authority!

One of the greatest of Israel's royal sinners was Solomon — the man who built the temple of the LORD, and whose prayer at its dedication seemed to anticipate every evil and danger that might arise! Josiah defiled the high places east of Jerusalem that Solomon had built for Ashtoreth, Chemosh and Milcom. Yet godly kings like Asa, Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah left all of it standing! Neglect of the Word of God is the only possible explanation of this.

God had not only given warnings and clear instructions in the Law; He had also appeared to Solomon in person twice and commanded him not to go after other gods. Wife after wife seems to have persuaded him to build a high place for her idol. Before long these high places defiled the hill east of Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, and they stayed there 350 years, until the reign of Josiah.

People might have said to Josiah, when he broke down the high places Solomon had built: Who are you to set yourself up against Solomon, and against what a great man like him established? But it was not a question of Josiah versus Solomon. It was a question of God versus error.

Suppose every ruler in Israel had obeyed this command. Suppose each one had written out his own copy of the law and read it all the days of his life. Then the huge mass of evils that Josiah had to deal with would never have existed. And the original of God's holy law would never have lain buried under rubbish, so that finding it was a real discovery!

We tolerate things in ourselves, and we take things over from our fathers without question. We would judge and abandon those things if we knew the Scriptures better, and if the Scriptures had supreme authority over our souls.

On the whole it seems most probable that they were wooden symbols of a goddess. They took the form of images or pillars, or were simply tree-stems set in the ground… The many references to the idols, images, and groves show how far Israel had departed from the living God and fallen into idolatry.

We can well imagine people objecting to Josiah. They would say that these high places were long established, and had the dignity of King Solomon's approval. But Josiah cared about God's approval, and whatever offended God had to be destroyed. Josiah also broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images and filled their places with the bones of men (v.14). This may refer to those who defended the idolatry and suffered death for this.

We are not surprised at the terrible deeds of men like Ahaz and Manasseh. But one of the greatest of Israel's royal sinners was Solomon. He built the temple of the LORD, and his prayer at its dedication seemed to foresee every evil and danger that might arise!… Yet godly kings like Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah left all this untouched! Neglect of the Word of God is the only possible explanation of this.

There must be separation from the evil that led to their departure from the Lord. Idolatry must be judged and "put away." This is more than a protest against evil; it involves dealing with the evil. We are often willing to protest against evil, while shrinking from dealing with it. We may plead that it is difficult. We may fear the result. We shrink from any shame it may bring. So, under one excuse and another, we dodge our plain responsibility.

No one ever wiped out idolatry as thoroughly as Josiah did, right across the land of Israel. He killed all the priests, burnt their bones on their altars, and then destroyed the altars themselves, grinding them to powder. Such thoroughness God loves. The Corinthian believers were very slow to deal with wickedness in the assembly. Yet they were active in avenging their personal wrongs, even taking one another into the world's courts (1 Cor. 5:6). The Lord Jesus will carry out a world-wide clearance at His appearing.

In this day we are not called upon to be image-breakers. It is not our duty to go round with axes and hammers and destroy images and other things which we know to be hateful to God. The Lord Jesus will deal with all this when He shows Himself from heaven in Kingdom-power and majesty. Our present duty has two parts. First, to get our own souls right by testing all our ways and associations by the written Word. Second, to use our influence to help others return to the "old paths" (Jeremiah 6:16).

The king's power brought about a great reformation. But it left the hearts of most of the people untouched… So why could God not rest in the improved outward state of the kingdom of Judah in Josiah's day? He looked beneath the surface. He looked for reality, for a tender conscience, for a heart that bowed to His word. He did not find them… Nothing less than thoroughness will ever satisfy God.

Bethel was only 12 miles from Jerusalem. Jeroboam had taken it in his rebellion against Rehoboam, but of course the ten tribes had no authority left in Israel. So Josiah broke down the altar and the high place that Jeroboam had set up. He crushed the high place to powder and burned the wooden image there (v.15). He also saw graves on the mountain, clearly the graves of people who had joined in the worship at the high place. He had the bones taken from the graves and burned on the altar. This fulfilled the prophecy of the man of God who had come to Jeroboam while he stood at his idolatrous altar (1 Kings 13:1-2).

Jeroboam stands out in the Old Testament as the great division maker. Under him the great mass of God's people, ten of the twelve tribes, broke away from God's centre at that time. Like a funeral bell, the sad words the Spirit uses to mark this man out are repeated again and again: "Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin." In one chapter alone they come four times (2 Kings 15:9, 18, 24, 28). There is something appalling about it. This special way of speaking shows how terrible his sin is in God's sight, and every true heart feels how awful it is. Personal sins are bad enough, but to turn away God's people from the centre which He has set up — what could be worse?

The man of God cries out against the altar (1 Kings 13:2), not against the idol. For a man to imagine that he can replace God's altar is more hateful in God's eyes than anything else he can do. God's altar is the only one, and He has said so openly to all. Believers have just one altar, Christ, the Lamb of God (Heb. 13:10). God will judge wicked men who want to set up another altar beside His own. A worship set up by man cannot last forever; God's judgment will fall on it.

Now this is prophecy. Why make a difficulty about it? If God is God, if He really is the "I am," it is easy for Him to speak about men and their doings centuries in advance, if He chooses to do so. We live for a day, and can only speak of things happening in front of our eyes. Tomorrow is completely unknown. This prophecy is very precise, because it names the man who would destroy Jeroboam's altar. In the same way the Lord named Cyrus hundreds of years before his birth (Isa. 45:1).

Scoffers long may have asked, "Where is the promise of this coming prince, this child of the house of David, named Josiah?" And as generation after generation passed, and no prince of that name appeared, even the righteous may have questioned in their minds and wondered if God had forgotten, or doubted if the prophecy were really true… and at last the time had come when he should rise of whom the prophet had spoken; and the prophecy was now fulfilled — as all God's word must be.

Nowhere was idolatry ever rooted out as thoroughly as Josiah rooted it out across the whole land of Israel. He killed all the priests, burned their bones on their altars, and then destroyed the altars themselves, grinding them to powder. God loves such thoroughness… The Lord Jesus will make a world-wide clearance at His appearing.

Finally, the king goes through all the cities of Israel and destroys the temples of the high places. He shows no pity to their idolatrous priests, and wipes them out. Yet by all appearances these priests had already lost their influence, since the Assyrians had carried the people away. He acts with a future restoration in view, and his heart, burning to serve the Lord, is set on it.

The man of God cries against the altar (1 Kings 13:2), not against the idol. For man to imagine that he can replace God's altar is more hateful in God's eyes than anything else he can do. God's altar is unique; this He has proclaimed before all. Believers have but one altar, Christ, the Lamb of God (Heb. 13:10). God will judge wicked men who want to set up another altar alongside His own. A worship instituted by man cannot last forever; divine judgment shall fall upon it... But God will not destroy it without at the same time putting the priests of this profane religion to death upon their own altar.

Now this is prophecy. Why make a difficulty about it? If God is God, if He is indeed the "I am," He can easily speak about men and their doings centuries in advance, if He chooses to. We, creatures of a day, can only speak of things happening before our eyes. Tomorrow is quite unknown. This prophecy is very precise in that the man who would destroy Jeroboam's altar is named. In the same way the LORD named Cyrus hundreds of years before his birth (Isa. 45:1).

So the prophecy came true, the one the man of God from Judah had spoken more than three hundred years earlier (1 Kings 13:2). The prophecy may have been forgotten, and unbelievers may have laughed at the idea of its fulfilment. But when God's time came He saw to the literal fulfilment of His own Word. It is so today. Rationalists scoff at the Word of God. Others treat the Bible's predictions as symbols only, and do not believe God will ever fulfil them.

The memory of it lingered in the district, and the people recognised the fulfilment of the words of the man of God in the terrible doings of Josiah.

Nowhere was idolatry ever rooted out as thoroughly as Josiah rooted it out across the whole land of Israel. He killed all the priests and burned their bones on their altars. Then he destroyed the altars themselves, grinding them to powder. Such thoroughness God loves... The Lord Jesus will carry out a world-wide clearance when He appears. "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:41-42).

We are allowed to see this. God in His holiness may have to chasten His people for their failure and unfaithfulness. Even then He does not unrighteously forget any work or labour of love shown toward His Name. So, three hundred and fifty years after these events, Josiah carries out the word of the LORD given through the man of God. He burns the bones of the false prophets. But he spares the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah, and of the old prophet of Bethel. Through their unfaithfulness, the people of God may come under His chastening. But through the faithfulness of God they will not share in the judgment that overtakes the world.

When looking around the graves in Bethel, one in particular attracted Josiah's attention… A remarkable story is here recalled. The men of Bethel were speaking of a visit to their city three and a half centuries earlier. The memory of it lingered in the district, and the people recognised the fulfilment of the words of the man of God in the terrible things Josiah was doing.

Seeing another gravestone, he asked about the person buried there, and was told this was the grave of the man of God who had prophesied of what Josiah had just done (v.17). So his grave was left unmolested.

It proves, however, that after at least three hundred years the prophecy of the prophet from Judah was still fresh in people's minds. God lets none of His words fall to the ground. He also takes care that, one way or another, the people involved keep those words in memory. The inscription on the man of God's tomb would no doubt help to keep the event from being forgotten.

The king of Judah must have been strengthened in heart and encouraged when he found that God had spoken of him by name 350 years earlier. God had appointed him to do the very work he was busy with (2 Kings 23:17). This settled his soul in the confidence that he was God's servant, with his work planned out for him.

However, he spares the tomb of the man of God who had spoken these things. Whatever this man's unfaithfulness had been, Josiah recognizes what he had done for God. He spares the bones of the prophet from Samaria too — the man who caused his fall, but who had humbled himself for his mistake. In the same way, every true Christian heart recognizes what men of God in past times have done to serve Him. It respects their work, even when failure marred it and made it lose its power or spoiled its result.

Still, we are allowed to see this. If God, in His holiness, has to discipline His people for their failure and unfaithfulness, He is not unrighteous. He does not forget any work or labour of love shown toward His Name… Through their unfaithfulness, God's people may come under His discipline. But through the faithfulness of God, they will not share the judgment that falls on the world.

An older believer can become a spent force. Should we not guard against this? Old age does not always bring more spirituality… The old prophet — a man God could seemingly no longer use — trapped a younger man and ruined him. Younger men today must not overlook this danger. Respect for age and experience is good. But our only authority for action, in any area of life, is the Word of God. "A fellow believer advised me," or "an angel spoke to me," will not sound well at the judgment seat of Christ.

With the tender heart that marked him, Josiah should have gained from the story. But sadly, a few years later his own life — so valuable to the nation — ended in shame. Like the man of God, he stepped off the path of full obedience to the Word of the Lord.

It proves that after at least three centuries, the prophecy of the prophet from Judah was still fresh in people's minds. God lets none of His words fall to the ground. He also makes sure that, in some way, the people they concern still remember them. The inscription on the man of God's tomb would no doubt help to keep the event from being forgotten. How awed and encouraged King Josiah must have felt! God had named him and appointed him for this work, so many generations before.

Seeing another gravestone, he asked who was buried there. They told him this was the grave of the man of God who had prophesied what Josiah had just done. So his grave was left undisturbed. This also covered the bones of the prophet who lived in Bethel. This verse tells us he had come from Samaria. He had buried the first prophet in his own grave and told his sons to bury him there too.

If God, in His holiness, has to chasten His people for their failure and unfaithfulness, He is still not unrighteous to forget any work or labour of love shown toward His Name. Through their unfaithfulness, the people of God may come under His chastening; but through the faithfulness of God they will not share in the judgment that overtakes the world.

The Lord comes to carry out through Josiah the judgment He had pronounced through the man of God. The power of His hand makes good the declarations of His Spirit, and the day of the world's doom arrives. At that moment the hand of God respects the old prophet just as it respects the man of God. Josiah saves the tomb of these men. He keeps their bones from the punishing burning he was giving all the others found in that unclean place around the altar at Bethel.

He spares the tomb of the man of God who had pronounced these things. Whatever this man's unfaithfulness had been, Josiah recognises what he had done for God. He also spares the bones of the prophet of Samaria. That prophet caused his fall, but he had humbled himself for his error. In this way every true Christian heart acknowledges what men of God in the past have done to serve Him. It respects their work, even where failures marred it and robbed it of power or spoiled its result.

It is possible for an older believer to become a spent force; should we not guard against this? Growing older does not always mean growing more spiritual... The old prophet — a man God apparently could no longer use — trapped a younger man and ruined him. Younger people today must not overlook this danger. Respect for age and experience is good; but our only authority for action in any area of life is the Word of God. "Another believer advised me," or "an angel spoke to me," will not sound well at the judgment seat of Christ.

Starting at his very doors, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of everything connected with idolatry. Then he carried this cleansing work on into the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and cut down all the idols throughout the land of Israel. With God-given wisdom the young king realised that he must remove every trace of idolatry — not from his own kingdom only, but from the whole inheritance of God, which the kings of Israel had defiled.

Josiah, like Hezekiah and Elijah, recognised the unity of the twelve tribes. He acted on the truth of it, even though the state of things was deeply depressing and humiliating. He acted on the unchanging truth of God, not on the actual state of God's people. He carried his work of reform into all the cities that belonged to Israel.

The time soon came, sadly, when Israel chose high places for themselves. Some of these were for idolatrous worship, and some for the worship of Jehovah. But every high place offended Him, whatever the motives of those who set it up. They expressed self-will — hearts that were not subject to His commandments.

It may surprise some that Josiah could act so freely in northern Palestine. For about a hundred years it had been a province of the kingdom of Assyria. The explanation is that Assyria was declining; its day was drawing to a close.

…colonists from Babylon and other provinces, who brought with them their heathen gods. From that time the land which Jehovah loved held a strange mixture — Israelites and Gentiles, paganism and Judaism. What confusion as the result of disobedience to God!

God restores his soul before he dies. He seals his brother's testimony against the altar of Bethel with his own, and extends that testimony to all the high places in the cities of Samaria. Whatever our unfaithfulness may be, God will not leave Himself without a witness. The weakest, the most guilty among us may become its bearer, if he repents.

Josiah's purging of the land extended to all the cities of Samaria. From these he took away all the shrines of the high places introduced by the kings of Israel. He executed all the priests of the high places, and defiled their altars by burning men's bones on them. So, as far as it was possible, Josiah completely cleansed the land of Israel from their idolatry. We would expect the faith of this young king to so influence his son that he would follow his father's steps. But sadly Jehoahaz went back to the same evil the previous kings of Judah had been guilty of.

The account of the cleansing of Judah and Jerusalem from all the detestable things (verses 4-20) shows the terrible depths of filth and wickedness the people who still claimed to be God's had sunk into. Every immoral practice tied to the worship of Baal and Asherah, and much else, flourished in the land.

Josiah sends men to destroy every visible trace of idolatry, both in Judah and in the cities of Manasseh… Why should Josiah interfere with people who were foreigners to Israel? It was enough for Josiah to know that these foreigners were living in God's land, and the land had to be purged.

God lets none of His words fall to the ground. He also makes sure that they stay in the memory of the people they concern… How awed and encouraged Josiah the king must have felt, to know that God had named him and appointed him for this work so many generations before. He saw how exactly the prophecy of the man of God came true. So he and all his people would be sure that the prophecies of Huldah and Jeremiah against themselves would come true in the same way.

More than three hundred years before Josiah was born, king Jeroboam stood burning incense at his idolatrous altar at Bethel. A man of God from Judah cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: "O altar, altar, thus says the LORD: 'Behold, a child shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you'" (1 Kings 13:1-2). This prophecy came true to the letter, as 2 Kings 23:15-18 shows. God can name His servants long years before they are born, as in the case of Josiah. And this is the God who has chosen us in Christ "before the foundation of the world" (Eph. 1:4).

Idolatry was never stamped out anywhere as completely as Josiah stamped it out across the whole land of Israel. He killed all the priests. He burned their bones on their altars. Then he destroyed the altars themselves, grinding them to powder. God loves that kind of thoroughness… The Lord Jesus will carry out a world-wide clearance at His appearing. "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:41-42).

The good work began with the judgment of what was evil in God's sight. They firmly cleared Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the sacred groves, and the carved and cast images, and they broke down the altars of the Baals… They had cleansed themselves of what dishonoured the LORD. They had gone back to what was there from the beginning, "the law of the LORD by Moses." Then they kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem.

He executed all the priests of the high places and defiled their altars by burning men's bones on them (v.20). So, as far as it was possible, Josiah completely cleansed the land of Israel from their idolatry. You would expect the faith of this young king to shape his son, so that he would follow his father's steps. Sadly, Jehoahaz went back to the same evil the kings of Judah before him had been guilty of.

We have just spoken of the two great principles that mark revival in the end times: a break with the idol worship of the world or of its religious traditions, and a return to the Holy Scriptures. The celebration of the Passover follows these two things, and comes as a result of them.

But Josiah's energy was not limited to getting rid of evil. Verses 21-23 show the positive side of his faith. He commanded all the people to keep the Passover to the Lord, following God's directions in the Book of the Covenant. The Passover looked back to Israel's rescue from Egypt. It also looked ahead to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on Calvary.

The account in our book is very short, but it is marked by an important phrase: "as it is written in this Book of the Covenant" (v. 21)... Under Josiah the written Word, wonderfully preserved and found again in the temple, takes on far greater importance. Nothing belonging to this memorial was to be done without the Word... Everything was done "according to the commandment of king Josiah". That is to say, the man God used in this revival had the good sense to tell the people to do nothing, and to order nothing, except what agreed with Scripture.

God's word had taken hold of the king's heart and mind. This made him set aside everything that did not agree with it. He let nothing of his own thoughts, or of the thoughts of others, push into what God had commanded for His worship. And he did this in days of great weakness, just before the final stroke of God's judgment was about to fall.

Because it was given to a redeemed and circumcised people, the memorial became the symbol of the unity of the people of God. So the Passover was both the remembrance of redemption and the proclamation of the unity of the people.

So the further we go into the history of the ruin of the people of God, the more the Passover matters to the faithful, and the more the state of soul that fits it matters too. And, strikingly, the sign of the unity of the people becomes more important as the ruin scatters the people more and more.

What did Josiah do? He had the book of the law read. He did not lower the standard because of the state of things. He acted on the Word of God. That was his standard, and he kept the Passover in the first month. The result: there had not been such a Passover since the days of Samuel.

The Lord had warned Josiah. He knew very well that this would not stop the course of judgment. He also knew that he would die before the disaster came... but he had only one thought. The dishonour done to the Lord and to His worship humbled him deeply. He was pressed to honour Him in the middle of Israel's ruin, in the very place where He had been so dishonoured.

On the night Jesus was betrayed, the Lord's Supper took the place of the Jewish Passover as a memorial. It is served, and the Lord's Table is set, for His redeemed people and for them alone. His death is proclaimed there until He returns. At the same time this table is a rallying centre for the people of God. It proclaims the unity of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:17), even at a time when everything appears to contradict this truth...

Under Josiah the written Word takes on far greater importance. It had been wonderfully preserved, and it was found again in the temple. Nothing connected with this memorial should be done without the Word. They were to prepare it "according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon." They were to present the sacrifice "according to the word of the LORD by Moses." They were to roast it with fire "according to the rule." Each man took his place in singing and praise "according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer." And all of it was done "according to the command of King Josiah." That is, the man God used in this revival had the wisdom to order nothing except what agreed with Scripture.

One thing made this Passover different from all that had gone before. Both king and people kept the Word of the LORD with care. The failures and shortcomings of earlier days did not shape things now. Hezekiah kept the Passover in the second month; Josiah kept it in the first. In Hezekiah's day the purification of the people and the sanctuary was only partial. Josiah made sure it was thorough and complete. The LORD in His grace pardoned the irregularities in Hezekiah's reign. But since then the book of the law had come into fresh prominence, and Josiah wanted every one of its requirements kept with care.

Such a Passover had not been kept since the days of Joshua. Now this proves that if we are only faithful to God, He will show His power for us. Josiah's case clearly illustrates the words "Those who honour Me I will honour." Think how low the nation had sunk. Then consider that they kept a Passover greater than anything known before, even at the height of the nation's glory. How encouraging for us!

It was given to a redeemed and circumcised people, and so this memorial became the symbol of the unity of the people of God. The Passover was two things at once: the remembrance of redemption and the proclamation of the unity of the people.

At the Lord's Table His death is proclaimed until He returns. This table is also a rallying centre for the people of God. It proclaims the unity of the body of Christ, even at a time when everything seems to contradict this truth.

When we set out for a meeting, is the main thought in our minds that we are going to meet the Lord? Or are we just attending a religious service? We may be truly scriptural in what we do, as the priests and Pharisees were in our Lord's day. Even so, we can give no pleasure to the heart of God.

It was like the last flicker of the lamp which God had lit among His people in the house of David. The lamp was soon put out in the darkness of the nation that did not know God. Those who had been His people came under the judgment expressed by the word Lo-ammi (Not-my-people). But this only made room later for the display of His infinite grace towards the one, and His unchangeable faithfulness to the others.

Josiah's Passover was kept in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he was twenty-six years old. Cleaning out the land and the temple took a long time. The king was right to feel that the LORD must be worshipped in pure surroundings... In Josiah's day the land was full of detestable things — not only the idols themselves, but also the filthy practices that always go with idolatry. Clearing it all away seems to have taken eight years of hard work... The order Josiah followed teaches us something. First he cleansed the land and the temple. Next he "repaired the house of the LORD his God." Then he felt ready to call the people together to keep the feast.

Two great principles mark revival in the end times: breaking with the idolatry of the world or of its religious traditions, and returning to the Holy Scriptures. The celebration of the Passover follows these two facts, and comes as a result of them.

What a remarkable testimony! Hezekiah's Passover carries us back to the brilliant reign of Solomon, but here we have something brighter still. What gave Josiah's Passover such glory? We believe it was this: the feast was the fruit of holy and reverent obedience to the Word of God at a time when ruin and corruption, error and confusion were everywhere. The dark background of the nation's condition made the working of faith in an obedient and devoted heart stand out.

What made this Passover different from every one before it was that both king and people carefully obeyed the Word of the LORD... The failures and shortcomings of earlier days did not set the pattern now. Hezekiah kept the Passover in the second month; but Josiah kept it in the first. In Hezekiah's day the cleansing of the people and the sanctuary was only partial. Josiah made sure that this cleansing was thorough and complete.

Because it was given to a redeemed and circumcised people, the memorial became the symbol of the unity of the people of God. So the Passover was at once the remembrance of redemption and the announcement of the unity of the people.

So the further we go into the history of the ruin of the people of God, the more the Passover matters to the faithful, along with the state of heart that fits it. Strikingly, the sign of the people's unity grows more important the more the ruin scatters them.

In Josiah's day the nation was broken, and Gentile powers had carried large numbers of the people away from the land. Only a remnant was left. Yet the LORD treasured the sight of them gathering at that late moment in the nation's history, putting themselves once more, in their danger and need, under the shelter of the blood of the lamb.

Josiah wanted to keep a Passover to the LORD. This was Israel's great foundation feast. Under the shelter of the blood of the lamb, the people were spared the judgement that fell on the Egyptians. God wanted a grateful people to keep it in remembrance for ever... The Passover lamb pictured Christ: "For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7). The Lord's Supper differs a little from the Passover. It is not simply a memorial of a great deliverance, but a remembrance of the Person who won that deliverance for us. "Do this in remembrance of me," were our Lord's words (Luke 22:19).

The Lord has given His faithful servant a remarkable commendation. He notices everything in His people that comes from Himself and is done for Himself.

Right to the end of his life, Josiah put into practice the principles he had drawn from the Scriptures. There was no king like him, before or after. That was not because of his own merit or his own righteousness. It was because the Word of God, mixed with faith in his heart, had become part of the man himself.

What distinguished Josiah was his carefulness to observe the law of Moses, the book of which had been discovered in the temple; trust in the Lord had characterised Hezekiah; and in these respective characteristics they are both unequalled as to their walk.

Evidently Hezekiah is on higher ground than Josiah… He is noted for his trust in the Lord (2 Kings 18:5), that is, he took the ground of grace. Josiah took rather the ground of law.

Josiah was able to do wonderful things for God in a very hard time. First, he sought the Lord with all his heart. Second, he was determined to obey the written Word of God in every detail. Third, he worked hard to throw out of his own life, and out of everything he had influence over, all that did not agree with God's law. Where these things are found in any place, we might see great things yet, so gracious is our God.

This illustrates what the devoted energy of faith on the part of one man can accomplish… In the days of Josiah the Lord told Jeremiah, "Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense" (Jer. 3:10). Josiah had turned to God with his whole heart, but not so with the people generally. They could (and did) easily go in the opposite direction when Josiah died.

Josiah's faithfulness had only delayed the judgment during his own reign… Though God's grace may triumph over man's sin to save him from eternal judgment, yet God's government requires the judgment of whatever evil has been done.

Add to this his splendid character in 2 Kings 23:25, and we have a word-portrait of a devout, zealous, humble-minded, tenderhearted servant of God — up to a certain point in his life. Then, like an alarm bell, come three short words with a dark meaning: "After all this." They bring us without warning to a collapse. It is a sad one, and full of tremendous warning for believers today.

The nation's cup of guilt had been filling up for centuries. Manasseh's defiance of the Lord's Word and his excessive evil had made the cup overflow.

Did the faithfulness of some men who feared God restore the unity of the kingdoms of Israel and of Judah? Did it throw down the golden calves? Did it identify the Israelites with the temple and altar of God? Never. Did the piety of Josiah turn away the wrath of God from Judah? No.

The introduction of the Anointed has changed everything. He it is, the King, who became responsible for maintaining order among the people, who governed them, who judged them, and whose conduct determined, so to speak, the judgment God passed on His people.

In this, God often acts towards masses, on the general result which the whole presents in His sight… Sometimes the sin of a chief person, who draws others after him, but who himself is the most guilty, brings judgment upon his descendants and upon his people.

Manasseh turned to God in his later years, yet the evil he had been guilty of was enormous, and it had defiled Judah deeply. God's grace may triumph over man's sin and save him from eternal judgment. Even so, God's government calls for the judgment of whatever evil has been done.

For although Josiah was a godly king, the reformation of the people was only outward, as we shall see. So the anguish of one who saw things with God was all the greater because of this appearance of piety.

But why could God not rest in the improved outward state of the kingdom of Judah in Josiah's day? He looked beneath the surface. He looked for reality, for a tender conscience, for a heart subject to His Word. He did not find them… God will never be satisfied with anything short of thoroughness.

Josiah, warned by the Lord, knew full well that in doing this he would not stop the course of judgment… but he had only one thought. He felt the dishonour done to the Lord and His worship with the deepest humiliation. So he was pressed to honour Him in the middle of Israel's ruin, in the very place where He had been so dishonoured.

Josiah did not sit down in despair because of the serious things Huldah made known to him… It is never too late to obey the Word of God.

The nation's cup of sin had been filling up for centuries. Manasseh's defiance of the LORD's Word, and his extreme evil, made the cup overflow. In 2 Kings 21:10-15 we have a summary of the LORD's messages to that wicked king. He had gone beyond the Amorites in sin. So the LORD was bringing such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who heard of it would tingle. The LORD would wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. He would forsake His people and make them a prey and a spoil to all their enemies. They had provoked their God to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt. It was persistent and hopeless evil.

Royal power brought about a great reformation, but it left the hearts of most of the people untouched. It was the last effort of the Spirit of God to restore the people as a nation... But why could God not rest in the improved outward state of Judah in Josiah's day? He looked beneath the surface. He looked for reality, for tender consciences, for hearts that bowed to His word. He did not find them. The "devotion of your youth" and "love as a bride" were missing. God will never be satisfied with anything short of thoroughness.

Josiah's faithfulness had only delayed the judgment during his own reign. Manasseh had turned to God in his later years, but the evil he had been guilty of was enormous, and it had deeply defiled Judah. God's grace may triumph over man's sin and save him from eternal judgment. Yet God's government still judges whatever evil was done. So God would remove Judah from their land, just as He had allowed Israel to be removed.

Jerusalem was the place which He had chosen, the temple the place where He had put His name. The ark of the covenant of the God of the whole earth was there. The family of David was there — a family chosen to maintain His relationship with His people. So were the Urim and the Thummim, the means of receiving light and direction from God through the priesthood. Judah had sinned. And the family of David, on whose conduct everything depended, had failed in faithfulness too. There was no remedy, and God must reject Judah as He had rejected Israel.

But how could He keep them there, and so approve the sin that existed? That would have been worse still, and God carries out the judgment He had pronounced on His people. The house of God is destroyed, the family of David is led into captivity, and the times of the Gentiles begin. By the authority of the God of heaven, rule over the world passes into the hands of the Gentiles.

Already, at the moment of leaving Jerusalem, He announced the deliverance and the blessing. He had done the same before driving Adam and Eve out of Eden. His words were: "I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel" (Ezekiel 11:17).

In various places reference is made to books which contain more about the life of the king in question, and the writer may have based his accounts on them. Reference is made, for example, to the book of the Acts of Solomon (1 Kings 11:41), then several times to the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel and to the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. The author of the books of Kings was able to use these "references" under the guidance of the Holy Spirit while writing his God-inspired work.

The writer of Kings always drew his material from state records, it seems. Examples are "the book of the acts of Solomon" and "the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Judah." Chronicles includes more of the writings of individual people, or selections from them. These include "Samuel the seer," "Nathan the prophet," "Gad the seer," the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and the visions of Iddo the seer.

The Chronicles record gives prominence to the notable Passover which Josiah held in Jerusalem, while Kings mentions it only in passing. But Kings deals at great length with his energetic purging of the land from its idolatries, from Dan to Beersheba, and Chronicles hardly notices it.

To the end of his career Josiah put into practice the principles he had drawn from the Scriptures. There was no king like him, either before or after him. That was not due to his personal merit or his righteousness. It was because the Word of God, mixed with faith in his heart, had become part of who he was.

The Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath against Judah. Josiah's faithfulness had only delayed the judgment during his own reign. Manasseh turned to God in his later years. Even so, the evil he had been guilty of was enormous, and it had deeply defiled Judah. God's grace may triumph over man's sin and save him from eternal judgment. Yet God's government still judges whatever evil has been done.

Josiah was the last good king to sit on the throne of David, "till He comes whose right it is." He was also the last whose body found a resting place among the kings, in "the tombs of his fathers."

This is a remarkable commendation the Lord has given to His faithful servant. He takes notice of everything in His people that is of Himself and for Himself.

The time had come, as prophecy said, for the power of Assyria to be broken. That power had pressed hard on all the nations. Now it must give place to the worldwide empire of Babylon. Neco goes up with an Egyptian army against the king of Assyria. Josiah sides with Assyria against Pharaoh, something God had never commanded him to do. Why should he prop up the crumbling power of Israel's cruel enemy? Prophecy had told him that Assyria's final ruin was near. Had God sent him to put world events right, or to take a hand in them?

Amazing words! Does it strike Christian readers as strange that God should speak through a pagan king to one of His own choicest servants? The Holy Spirit adds His own comment on Pharaoh's message: Josiah "did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God." Here is a remarkable example of the sovereignty of God. He works and speaks through anyone He pleases.

A few years earlier Josiah had a sensitive conscience about the will of God. When the book of the law was read to him, he knew it was God's voice and obeyed it. Why did he not recognise that same voice speaking through Pharaoh Neco? How easy it is for any of us to sink into spiritual dullness! Then God's voice fails to move us, even when it rings out clearly through some chosen messenger or passage of Scripture.

When a believer stops watching himself, his old sinful nature feeds on the very blessings God has given. A heart lifted up with pride both deafens and blinds. We may refuse to listen to the voice of God. But no disguise can get us out from under His eye, and no shelter will save us. Like godless Ahab, Josiah pretended to be someone else. And like Ahab, he is struck down by an arrow sent from Him who sees through every disguise.

Megiddo was the scene of a great victory when Barak and Deborah moved in faith against the Canaanites, for God was with them (Judges 5:19). Now Megiddo was the scene of a crushing defeat, for God was not with Josiah in his foolish venture.

In this matter Josiah did not ask the Lord: it was his own eagerness that led him to stand against Pharaoh Neco. The God of battles, Who guided the arrow that gave Ahab his death-wound, controlled the archers who killed Josiah. Mercy took him away from the evil to come (Isa. 57:1). But there was judgment in the way he died, and on the guilty city that judgment fell with no mercy mixed in.

So God records our goodness as well as our badness. Our first deeds, done when love was fresh and warm, are not wiped out by any sad last deeds. God remembers everything and gives it His own value. "The LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed" (1 Sam. 2:3). Not "counted," as if quantity were everything with God, but "weighed"; quality is the chief thing with Him.

Chronicles tells us that right after the death of Josiah, the people of the land took Jehoahaz (which means "Jehovah holds up") and made him king. He was not the LORD's choice, but the people's choice. He was not the eldest son and therefore the action of the people was an unlawful and a lawless one.

Did not the people's choice of a king show what was in their own hearts? It seems plain that even in the later days of Josiah they had turned away in heart from following the Lord their God.

Jehoahaz only reigned for three months, but he did not follow his father's steps... Even though his reign was short, what an opportunity he missed. If he had been faithful like his father, the divine record would have given his name something of the true fame of Josiah.

We can hardly suppose that the decision to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord was a sudden one. It surely points to evil influences at work even in the royal household before Josiah died... Godly Josiah's presence had kept the evil in check. But it was clearly there in the hearts of the people, and in the hearts of the royal princes, ready to take control whenever the opportunity came.

Ezekiel 19:1-4 compares him to a young lion who "learned to catch prey; he devoured men." This is the only hint Scripture gives about the character of his sin. He was probably guilty of deeds of violence.

Under Josiah's reign God showed all His favour. The Lord filled the hearts of the people with blessing and joy. None of it bears fruit in this king's successors. The people chose Jehoahaz and proclaimed him king in his father's place. He "did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done." He is linked not to Josiah, but to his unbelieving and idolatrous fathers. He is not counted in the line of faith. You cannot have Josiah or Abraham as your father without producing fruits fit for repentance.

From now on, mothers who come from among the people of God have no influence. Either there is no longer an ear to hear them, or they themselves share in the ruin. Hamutal was the wife of Josiah and the mother of Jehoahaz. She was the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah, and apparently of the priestly line. Her son reigns only three months. Yet he finds time to do evil, and by his conduct toward God to contradict what Josiah had established.

Whatever those good or bad influences may have been, grace alone explains the characters of Hezekiah and of Josiah. The last kings of Judah prove it. They were ungodly despite their Jewish mothers and their godly father.

His mother's name was Hamutal (delight), the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah... He and Zedekiah, the last of Judah's nineteen kings, were born of the same mother (2 Kings 24:18). Jeremiah 22:11 calls him, tellingly, Shallum (to whom it is repaid). The royal genealogy of Judah registers him under this name (1 Chronicles 3:15). Matthew 1 leaves his name out from among those of our Lord's ancestors.

Under Josiah's reign God showed great favour. The Lord filled the hearts of the people with blessing and joy. None of it bears fruit in the kings who came after him. The people chose Jehoahaz and proclaimed him king in his father's place, and he "did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done" (v. 32). He is linked not to Josiah, but to his unbelieving and idolatrous fathers, and he is not numbered in the line of faith. You cannot have Josiah or Abraham as your father and produce no fruit fitting repentance… Jehoahaz reigns only three months, and yet finds time to do evil and, by his conduct toward God, to contradict what Josiah had established.

There is no such thing as succession in grace. The son of the most faithful father needs to be born again as well as the most degraded of mankind. This is written clearly on many a page of the word of God. "You must be born again."

Let no one suppose that we mean to teach that grace is hereditary, or that we can, by any act or system of training, make Christians of our children. No! nothing of the kind. Grace is sovereign. The children of Christian parents must be born of water and of the Spirit, just like everyone else, before they can see or enter the kingdom of God.

The decision to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord was hardly a sudden one. It certainly suggests that evil influences were at work in the royal household even before Josiah died… The presence of godly Josiah had kept the evil in check. But it was plainly there in the hearts of the people, and in the hearts of the royal princes, ready to take control whenever the chance came.

The regular succession to the throne of Judah ceased with the much-mourned Josiah. Jehoahaz was not the eldest son of the late king. Johanan and Jehoiakim were both older than he was (1 Chronicles 3:15). The people made him king by popular choice: it was the preference of the crowd, not the appointment of God… In Jeremiah 22:11 he is given the telling name Shallum, which means "to whom it is repaid". The royal genealogy of Judah records him under that name (1 Chronicles 3:15). Matthew 1 leaves his name out of the list of our Lord's ancestors.

He is compared in Ezekiel 19:1-4 to a young lion: "he learned to catch prey; he devoured men." This is the only hint given to us about the character of his sin. Josephus says of him that he was a godless man, and impure in the way he lived. He was probably guilty of acts of violence.

Jehoahaz reigned only three months, and he did not follow his father's steps. It is written about him: "he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done" (2 Kings 23:32). Even though his reign was short, what an opportunity he missed. Had he been faithful like his father, his name would have come down to us in the divine record with something of the true fame of Josiah.

Yet Judah was allowed to have a king, but a king of Pharaoh's choice. Eliakim was also a son of Josiah, but evidently one easier for Pharaoh to handle. Pharaoh changed his name to Jehoiakim. When Pharaoh returned to Egypt he took Jehoahaz with him, and Jehoahaz died there. He had become king at age 23 and reigned only three months. So he was a younger brother of Eliakim, who was 25 when he took the throne. It was the people who made Jehoahaz king, no doubt because they preferred him to his older brother. But Pharaoh reversed the people's decision.

Eliakim means "God will raise up"; Jehoiakim means "Jehovah will raise up." Why he changed the name is not clear, but it was at least an act of authority. Giving names is a mark of lordship. So Nebuchadnezzar gave new names to Daniel and his three friends when he took them into his service (Dan. 1:7). He also changed Mattaniah's name to Zedekiah when he set him on Judah's shaky throne. What humiliating details! How low God's chosen people had fallen after centuries of persistent sin against Jehovah! The land was meant to be the centre of God's rule. Now it lay at the mercy of rival Gentile powers.

Then the king of Egypt took the oldest son of Josiah, Eliakim, changed his name to Jehoiakim and made him King over Judah. Jehoiakim means "Jehovah raises up." He probably chose this name to impress the people. He reigned eleven years. It was a most disastrous time and the beginning of the end.

He never returned from Egypt. Jehoahaz — the name means "Jehovah-seized" — had seized the throne that was not his by right. In turn Necho, God's instrument, seized him and carried him off to a land of exile. There he found a grave, far from the tombs of his fathers.

Pharaoh Necho takes revenge on Jehoahaz for the opposition of Josiah. Josiah had unwisely backed the Assyrian king by trying to block the march of the Egyptian army. Bound with chains, Jehoahaz is led to Egypt and dies there. Pharaoh pays no attention to this kingship set up by the people… Necho takes Eliakim, the son of Josiah, and makes him king "in the place of Josiah his father," changing his name to Jehoiakim. Eliakim becomes the servant of the king of Egypt and pays him tribute. He gives Pharaoh the gold and silver he collects through taxes.

Josiah's last act in opposing Pharaoh Necho gave that ruler the chance to interfere in Israel's affairs. But the Lord used it to discipline the king and His wayward people.

Pharaoh Necho held the Holy Land for a short time; then Nebuchadnezzar took it from him. Necho was not to be the head of the Gentiles, however much he may have wanted it. He Who sits on the throne above does as He pleases in the affairs of men.

Josiah was the last independent king of David's family. Jechoniah was the one actually carried away, and he marks the turning point. Josiah is named as the last king who had any free place in Israel. Jehoahaz reigned three months and was then carried into Egypt, and Judah never raised its head again.

Pharaoh appointed Jehoiakim king over Judah. Jehoiakim was clearly subservient to Pharaoh in everything. He taxed the people of the land to pay the tribute of gold and silver that Pharaoh required. But he was not at all subservient to the Lord. Instead he did the same evil his fathers had done, men like Amon and Manasseh. That evil involved the worship of idols and the oppression of the people.

Pharaoh takes no account of this royalty established by the people... Necho takes Eliakim, the son of Josiah, and makes him king "instead of Josiah his father." He changes his name to Jehoiakim. This man becomes a servant of the king of Egypt and pays him tribute. He gives Pharaoh the gold and silver that he gathers up through taxes.

Pharaoh Necho laid upon Judah a heavy war indemnity, which Jehoiakim was obliged to raise... That was not enough for the suffering people to bear. Jehoiakim also forced them to build palaces for himself without wages. Evil as the people were, the Lord resented this tyrannical cruelty. "Woe to him," said He in His indignation. The Lord loves to see a shepherd leading the flock, but Jehoiakim was a wolf, ravaging the sheep... The moral grandeur of Israel and of David's royal house was gone. But Jehoiakim still wanted to put on a show of wealth. God's people today should beware. Do not keep up outward appearances when spiritual power has gone. God wants reality at all times.

Jehoiakim was of most unlovely character — treacherous, revengeful and bloodthirsty. He was several years older than Jehoahaz, and was not born of the same mother. "And his mother's name was Zebudah (gainfulness), the daughter of Pedaiah of Ramah." That name promised no good for her son. And so it turned out... The people had slighted him by choosing his younger half-brother. So he would make no effort to ease the people's burdens; he would increase them instead. He was in no way under obligation to them; and having behind him the power of Egypt, he had little to fear from them.

The king of Egypt set up another son of Josiah and changed his name from Eliakim to Jehoiakim. But Nebuchadnezzar bound the guilty king in chains and carried him to Babylon... Who of the kings had lived with less conscience? Who had died with more shame? No lamentation for him, but a donkey's burial — that is, base exposure — beyond the gates of Jerusalem. For the innocent blood he shed, the Lord would not pardon.

When Pharaoh removed Jehoahaz from the throne, he put his elder brother Eliakim there instead, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. The first name means "God is setting up," the second "Jah sets up." The king did not live up to either name. It was not the Lord who had set him on his throne. It was the king of Egypt, and Jehoiakim was under him.

The reason for this change of name is not clear, but it was at any rate an exercise of authority. The giving of names is a mark of lordship... How humiliating these details are! How low the chosen people had now fallen as the fruit of centuries of persistent transgression against Jehovah!

Jehoiakim had a thoroughly unpleasant character — treacherous, vengeful, and bloodthirsty. He was several years older than Jehoahaz, and he had a different mother. Her name was Zebudah, which means "gainfulness." That name promised nothing good for her son, and so it turned out. He taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh... The people had passed him over and chosen his younger half-brother. So he would make no effort to ease their burdens; he would rather increase them.

He reigned eleven years. It was a most disastrous time and the beginning of the end. At that time God's mighty prophets were warning the people and delivering their great messages: Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Habakkuk, Zephaniah and also Urijah.

As if the taxes were not enough for the suffering people to bear, Jehoiakim forced them to build palaces for himself without wages. Evil as the people were, Jehovah resented this tyrannical cruelty... Jehovah loves to see a shepherd leading the flock, but Jehoiakim was a wolf, ravaging the sheep. God Himself points out the contrast between this monster and his father in Jer. 22:13-17. "He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him. Is not this to know me? declares the LORD." ... The moral greatness of Israel and of David's royal house was gone. Jehoiakim still made a show of wealth and splendour. Let God's people today beware of trying to keep up outward appearances when spiritual power has gone. God wants reality at all times.

Jehoiakim was two years older than Jehoahaz, so he would have known more about his father's reign. Yet his father's godly life left no mark on this wilful son. Could he really not have known what his father did when they read the book of the law to him? Josiah heard the words of the book found in the house of the Lord, and he tore his clothes...

There is no such thing as succession in grace. The son of the most faithful father needs to be born again as well as the most degraded of mankind.

Josiah tore his garments, but Jehoiakim did the opposite. He heard three or four columns read out, then cut them off with a knife and threw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the whole scroll had burned. The foolish, irreverent king could cut the scroll, but he could not set aside the divine judgments written on it. He never imagined that millions of people around the world would read those very words, and his wicked act, thousands of years after his death.

When Pharaoh deposed Jehoahaz, he put his elder brother Eliakim on the throne, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. Eliakim means "God is setting up," and Jehoiakim means "Jah sets up." The king did not live up to either name. It was not the Lord who had set him on his throne. It was the king of Egypt, and Jehoiakim was subject to him.

Pharaoh had appointed him king over Judah, and Jehoiakim clearly obeyed Pharaoh in full. He taxed the people of the land to pay the tribute of gold and silver that Pharaoh required. But he was not obedient to the Lord at all. Instead he took up the same evil his fathers had done — Amon, Manasseh and others — which involved the worship of idols and the oppression of the people.

Josiah's reforming work gave way to a return of the old idolatry. As in earlier reigns, it came with the complete moral collapse of the people. And this was true not only of the people, high and low, but of the priests and prophets just as much. The voices of the prophets Jeremiah, Urijah and Habakkuk rose all the louder. But their warnings were either ignored and scorned, or brought persecution and martyrdom on them. The land grew poor while the king lived in luxury and built splendid palaces.

The great crisis in the nation's history comes in the days of Jehoiakim. It could not have come sooner. Under Josiah, there was an outward restraint of evil. The piety of the king affected the nation and brought God's blessing on it. But when his son Jehoiakim was on the throne, there was no moral ground among the people for the favour of God.

How different Jehoiakim's attitude was to the words of Jeremiah's scroll, which announced again the judgment coming on His unfaithful people. Josiah had torn his garments. Jehoiakim, once three or four pages had been read, cut the scroll with a knife and threw it into the fire on the hearth, until the whole scroll was burned up. The foolish and profane king could cut the scroll, but he could not set aside the divine judgments written on it. Little did he think that the very words of the scroll, and his wicked action, would be read by millions of people around the world thousands of years after he was dead.

Josiah's sons were all wicked men, and we wonder why. He had only three sons, and all of them wicked! Yet the father was an unusually godly man, and had deep reverence for the Word of God! Is it possible that Josiah's public work, with its journeys into every corner of the land to remove evil, led to neglect of the family? Everyone who feels called to a travelling ministry today should weigh that question carefully. Children are a great responsibility that God entrusts to us.

The king of Babylon was not the only one who carried out God's judgment on the profane Jehoiakim, for the Lord sent bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites and Ammonites against him. This divine judgment was not only for the sins of Jehoiakim, but for the sins of earlier generations. The piety of Josiah had delayed the divine judgment, but the impiety of his sons brought it on swiftly.