Resurrection Life of Jesus Church

KING JOSIAH
Josiah was six years old when his grandfather died. His father, Amon, was raised by Kabbalistic tutors just like with Manasseh. However, Josiah did not receive the same twisted education. As a young boy, Josiah worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and we can see from his actions that he loved God.

He began to have a personal relationship with God at the age of 16, and when he was 20 and no longer under a regent, he decided to remove the idolatry in Judah.  2 Chronicles 34:1-3

REPAIRING THE TEMPLE
Four years later Josiah wanted to know how much money was kept in the temple coffers. He wanted funds to be given to the supervisor of the different craftsmen working on the temple ground. Josiah discovered there was no corruption by the high priest or the supervisor paying the workers; they were honest men whose integrity was not questioned. 2 Kings 22:3-7

TORAH SCROLL
Books like we have today did not exist. They had scrolls that were 19.5 inches tall and 124 feet long. Most modern-day synagogues have a set of Old Testament scrolls and the Jewish members consider the scrolls to be the most important part of the synagogue.

Hilkiah the high priest found a scroll in the temple that most likely contained the five books of Moses. He gave it to Shaphan, who read it in the temple in front of everyone. verse 8

It is possible that Hilkiah might have been an illiterate person. There were no public schools and the majority of the population was uneducated. There was a great need for professional people called scribes, who were trained to read and write. As a group, they possessed strong political power.

Shaphan sought out Josiah at the palace and told him that the finances of the temple were in good shape and showed the king the scroll that had been found. verses 9-10

POWER OF GOD’S WORD
Josiah was convicted when he heard the reading of God’s Word. He realized that Judah’s sins were great and the judgment of God was imminent. He wanted to find out what was going to happen. verses 11-13

The group of religious leaders realized this assignment required a prophet because it required communication with God and they sought out the prophetess Huldah. verse 14

A SHOCKING MESSAGE
God’s message through Huldah was filled with fire and brimstone. Fierce judgment was coming and it could not be prevented. verses 15-17

Yet there was a measure of grace for Josiah; the judgment would not occur during his lifetime because of his repentance. verses 18-20

DESPERATE CALL FOR REPENTENCE
Josiah was shaken and knew that it was a matter of life or death for Judah. He called for the leadership and for the people to gather at the temple complex to seek the Lord. A covenant was made to remove all idolatry. 2 Kings 23:1-3

A BRUTAL CLEANSING
Josiah was a vassal king of Assyria. This meant he was able to cleanse the land of Judah, and the northern kingdom, which was also controlled by Assyria.

This is the first time we have a more complete picture of the Kabbalistic worship that was taking place among the twelve tribes.

1. The first cleansing took place in the temple itself. verse 4

2. Josiah ordered the execution of all Levites who had served as priests at the high places. verse 5

3. A grove of trees had been cultivated in the temple complex and Josiah ordered it to be cut down and burned. verse 6

4. Josiah destroyed the bathhouses of the homosexuals that had been erected around the temple complex. verse 7

5. He summoned the Levitical priests and had them defile every high place in Judah. This took place from Geba in the north to Beersheba in the south. verse 8

6. The Levitical priests of the high places that repented were not executed, but they were not allowed to return to the temple complex in Jerusalem. They would be allowed to partake in the Passover from where they lived. verse 9

7. A specific site where children had been burned and sacrificed to Molech was utterly destroyed. verse 10

8. The altars of King Ahaz and King Manasseh were destroyed. verse 11

9. The altars of King Solomon were defiled and destroyed. verses 12-14

10. Josiah’s soldiers traveled north and destroyed the altar and high place at Bethel.  verse 15

11. They located skeletons of the men from Israel that had been buried around the high places and burnt their bones to further pollute the high places. verses 16-18

12. All high places in the north were destroyed. The priests were executed and their bones burnt to powder. verses 19-20

THE GREAT PASSOVER
Josiah was excited about the cleansing, and when the time for the Passover arrived, he went all out to make it the greatest Passover since the days of the prophet Samuel.  2 Chronicles 35:1-19

The Great Passover was held 18 years after Josiah became king. For the next 13 years he was preoccupied with serving the Lord and ever watchful that idolatry did not creep back into Judah. 2 Kings 23:23-25

BEWARE OF GOD’S ANGER
Mankind will never figure out how God thinks. When it comes to judgment, God and humanity have different thought patterns. Isaiah 55:8-9

Josiah is the poster boy for repentance and dealing with sin. He put in 31 years and was unlike the other kings of Israel and Judah; Josiah did not have building projects, he was not a warrior king, but loved the Lord and his life was devoted to cleansing the land from sin and restoring the temple complex. These actions did nothing to change the mind of God; Judah was spared in the days of Josiah, but judgment would come after his death. 2 Kings 23:26-27

God has warned humanity that he will visit the iniquities of the fathers to the fourth generation. Exodus 20:1-5

WAR IS COMING
Josiah was a vassal king of Assyria. Babylon challenged Assyria during Josiah’s 31st year as king and Pharaoh Necho of Egypt decided to assist Assyria. For some reason, Josiah chose to abandon Assyria and side with Babylon.

Josiah was not a warrior king, but he called up the army of Judah and led them north to intercept Pharaoh Necho at the city of Megiddo in northern Israel.

Necho did not want to fight the army from Judah and sent ambassadors to Josiah, urging him to return home. Through his emissaries, Necho stated that God had instructed him to destroy Babylon and Josiah should not defy God in this matter.  2 Chronicles 35:20-21

The Bible does not tell us whether Josiah sought the Lord in this matter or consulted with a prophet. Jeremiah lived in Jerusalem but Josiah did not seek him out.

Josiah stubbornly insisted on fighting and the battle began. The end result was that he was wounded despite the fact that he disguised himself. He was shot with an arrow in similar fashion to King Ahab of Israel some 220 years earlier. verses 22-25

SUMMARY
Josiah lived during an era when the superpowers of that time were slugging it out for control. During his 31 years of reign, he never knew which one of the superpowers – Assyria, Babylon or Egypt – would succeed. Babylon was the eventual winner.

Josiah trusted God in all matters except for politics. As a result, he died at the age of 39.

He was successful in pretty much everything but made a fatal mistake of taking action without consulting God first. This single blunder cost him his life. Proverbs 3:5-8

We are living in turbulent times and Christians need to seek the Lord in all matters – regardless how big or small. Do not cut your life short. Walk with God and lean upon Him for all things. Psalm 23:1-6