Josiah and the Transforming Power of God’s Word

Perhaps you have participated in the annual practice of “spring cleaning.” After the winter season, you go through your house and belongings, clear out the clutter, and tidy up. It’s common during these cleanups to find things that we forgot all about. As a father of two sons, ages 10 and 11, I can testify that they find all sorts of old treasures when they clean through the geological layers of belongings in their rooms! Toys and keepsakes long forgotten become engaging once again.

Something similar happened during the 18th year of the reign of Judah’s king, Josiah. As Josiah’s officers were cleaning and repairing the neglected temple of God, they found something that sparked a spiritual revival in the nation.

Josiah’s Faithfulness in a Spiritually Broken Culture

Most of the kings who reigned in Jerusalem after David were wicked leaders, but Josiah was a noteworthy exception. It might seem that the odds were stacked against Josiah. After all, both his father and grandfather (Amon and Manasseh) had been evil leaders, and Josiah became king of Jerusalem when he was only 8 years old. That certainly seems like a recipe for disaster! Yet God used Josiah as a good leader who re-established proper worship and rid Judah of idolatry.

In the 18th year of his reign, Josiah sent his secretary, Shaphan, to the temple to tell the high priest Hilkiah to restore the neglected house of God. Carpenters, builders, and masons set to work. In the process, Hilkiah said to Shaphan, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the LORD” (2 Kings 22:8).

Imagine that: God’s ways had been so neglected by the kings and leaders of Jerusalem that the Book of God’s Law had been lost and forgotten! It would be like finding a Bible in some forgotten closet of a church—a sad testimony to years of ignoring God and his Word.

When the Book of God’s Law was read to King Josiah, he tore his robes (see 2 Kings 22:11). The words pierced his heart, and he knew immediately that the people of Judah had not been living according to God’s will. Josiah sent Hilkiah, Shaphan, and his officers to speak to the prophet Huldah about the discovery of God’s Law so she could give them a deeper understanding of God’s will (see 2 Kings 22:14–20). Even when most of the country had all but forgotten about God, God still had at least one faithful prophet who knew and trusted him and who could point the people to God’s truth.

Josiah Seeks to Lead the Nation in a Spiritual Revival

Josiah then led Judah to renew its covenant with God. Finding God’s Law sparked a national revival! Josiah himself read the words of the book to the people, and the people pledged themselves to the covenant (see 2 Kings 23:3).

Josiah ordered that the idols and items made for false gods be removed from the temple and destroyed. He did away with the false priests who had been appointed by the kings that went before him. He desecrated the “high places” where idol worship had taken place (2 Kings 23:5). It was a national cleanup: Josiah did everything he could to abolish all vestiges of idolatry from Judah. Josiah’s cleanup campaign even extended beyond Judah’s borders and into the northern kingdom of Israel (see 2 Kings 23:15–21).

Josiah then ordered the greatest Passover celebration the nation had ever experienced (see 2 Kings 23:22). Proper worship of God was restored. This was a central aspect of covenant renewal, and this covenant renewal event marked the first occasion since Joshua’s time that the Passover was celebrated as a national festival with government officials involved.

Everything Josiah did, he did in accordance with what he read in God’s Law (see 2 Kings 23:24). In a stunning and wonderful summary of Josiah’s reform efforts in Judah, the Bible says: “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses” (2 Kings 23:25).

Sadly, Josiah’s efforts were not enough to save Judah from its evil and sin. Though his reign was a spiritual high point, too much evil had infected the nation. Josiah’s own reign also ended in disappointment, on the battlefield against Egypt (see 2 Kings 23:29). The four final kings who reigned after Josiah, ending with Judah’s final king Zedekiah, were all moral and spiritual failures.

What Josiah’s Story Teaches Us

Even though Josiah’s story is a good moment in an otherwise tragic story, we can still take a great deal of encouragement from this righteous king. For one thing, he did not go along with the evil of his family, modeled by his father and grandfather. Josiah chose God’s way rather than the wicked practices he was raised with. God’s children in this world need to stand firm in obedience to God and not go along with social pressures to do evil, whether those pressures come from within or outside our families.

Josiah’s testimony also reminds us of the radical transforming power of God’s Word. Hearing the words of God’s Law read aloud transformed Josiah, and in turn, reformed the nation of Judah. The role God’s Book of the Law played during Josiah’s reign is a picture of what we read in Hebrews 4:12: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Where have you witnessed the transforming power of the Bible? The same God who brought transformation to Judah through his Word transforms and changes both us and our communities through that same Word today!

For Reflection

As you read and reflect upon Josiah’s story, ask yourself: Have you left God’s Word out of your life for a while? Do you need to rediscover its power and transforming grace? Take the opportunity this week to rediscover the wonder of God’s Word. Let the gospel message you find in it transform your heart. Reaffirm your covenant relationship with God. Praise God for the grace and truth his Word will give you!

Adapted from the study material from the NIV Application Bible based on the NIV Application Commentary series.