Week 22 2 Chronicles 34-35
Here’s what I found about Josiah:
He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his ancestor David. He did not turn aside from doing what was right.
He followed the pattern of Hezekiah and made a clean sweep in getting rid of the religious practices that his dad loved.
He repaired and renovated the Temple (he restored what earlier kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin).
The Passover had been cancelled so he got it restarted.
The “Book of the Law of the Lord” had been lost somewhere along the line and when it was recovered Josiah was stunned to see that Judah was pretty much totally non-compliant. So he had the book publicly read and he vowed to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands…and he promised to obey all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll.
He personally – and publicly – pledged to obey the covenant and he required everyone to worship the Lord their God. And the changes lasted: throughout the rest of his lifetime, Judah did not turn away from the Lord.
The Chronicles Evaluation: never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since.
It’s pretty hard to beat that.
Note: quotes from 2 Chronicles 34:2 11 31 33 & 2 Kings 23:25 (NLT)