Lessons From a King

“Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.” II Kings, 22:1-2 NIV

“In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols, and cast images.”  2 Chronicles 34:3 NIV

I have been reading about King Josiah this past week in my read-through-the-Bible plan. II Kings, Chapter 22 tells us that Josiah was only 8 years old when he became King of Judah, after the assassination of his father, King Amon. Right off the bat, verse 2 states plainly that Josiah “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD…” This is very surprising if you know his family background. Josiah’s father, Amon, and his grandfather, Manasseh, who were kings before him, could have easily received awards for being the evilest kings EVER.  They worshiped only pagan idols and led the nation of Judah far away from Jehovah God. But then, along comes little Josiah.

At first, I asked myself how Josiah could have even known about the LORD. After all, Judah was a pagan nation; Josiah’s father or grandfather would not have taught him about the LORD. Most likely, as a young child, Josiah would have been exposed to paganism more than anything else. In 2 Chronicles 34:3, we are told that Josiah had begun to serve the LORD faithfully during the eighth year of his reign, which would have been the age of sixteen. From age eight to sixteen, he sought the one true God, and I suspect that his mother, Jedidah, may have been instrumental in teaching him about Jehovah God instead of the many false gods to whom he was exposed. When he was 20 years old, Josiah began to purge the high places of anything related to pagan idols and practices, which included the pagan priests. Certainly, he had conviction enough to want to turn his people back to the LORD God. He sought, and succeeded, to align the religious practices of Judah with the Book of the Law of the LORD God that had been handed down to his forefathers.

Despite his challenging upbringing, Josiah chose a different path and devoted himself to God at an early age. Of course, we know that God’s hand was in this from the beginning. There is no doubt that His plan for this young boy began the moment he was conceived in his mother’s womb. Perhaps there was a remnant who didn’t believe in the pagan society and prayed for a king to lead them out of their dreadfully dark spiritual wilderness. Whatever the case, God surely placed the desire in Josiah’s heart to seek Him further and to grow in His faith. Because of Josiah’s devotion to God and his willingness to bring Judah back to God, he stands out as one of the godliest kings in Judah’s history. Though he lived in dark times, he wholeheartedly sought the LORD and led his people to do the same. In His gracious nature, God responded by blessing Josiah with peace, spiritual renewal, and success.

Last week, I related Josiah’s story to two dear friends who have unsaved loved ones. These two consistently pray for the salvation of their children and grandchildren. Due to the children’s non-belief, the grandchildren are hearing nothing about God or faith in Christ. They are being taught away from having a relationship with Jesus. My encouraging words to these dear friends were that it doesn’t matter what our circumstances are when we are young–what we have lived through, or how spiritually dark our homes were–we do not serve a distant God. He is more than able to help anyone rise above their circumstances. Of course, the picture would look much better if the parents were believers. But God is not limited only to believers. He is always at work in the hearts of young and old alike. We must have hope and keep praying for those who don’t know Jesus–those who have never been taught one thing about God’s Holy Word, the Bible. Nothing is impossible with God. We must stay faithful in believing that those we love will one day come to know Jesus as Savior.

As it was for King Josiah, I have heard many testimonies of mighty men and women of God who grew up in difficult circumstances and had never heard of Jesus. But something happened where their hearts were made ready to find Jesus, often in some unconventional way. Many speak of their generational line where they had a praying mother or grandmother. Even in some Middle Eastern countries, we hear accounts of Jesus coming in dreams and other unconventional ways to those who are steeped in false religions and have never heard about Jesus as Savior. We must never forget that God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, seeks out the lost. Nothing is impossible for Him, nor is anyone beyond His hand of mercy and compassion. He is the only God who pursues His creation so that we might become His children through faith in Jesus Christ. What a gift we have been given!

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, I am so thankful that Your Word comes alive when we read it. Your power, love, and mercy are remarkable and will never compare to anything we find outside of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Thank You for reminding us that our circumstances never hamper You from knocking on our heart’s door and that You desire to bring good out of those dark times we have experienced. We are thankful that You are always waiting for us to seek You through Jesus Christ and that all things are possible with You. Please help us to stand strong and never waver in our faith as King Josiah did. I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.