He was just a young kid of 8 when he became king. Can you imagine? What were you doing at 8 years old? I’m sure he had minders and helpers, but that still is a lot.
What is even more remarkable is that at the age of 16 he diligently sought the Lord. He didn’t even have the book of the Law at the time as it had been lost. Yet he sought the Lord from what little he knew, primarily from his ancestor and hero, David.
When he looked at 16 years old at his kingdom he was in charge with and compared it to how David lived, he realized there was a grave disconnect. What his own father had done and how he ruled was evil. So Josiah set out to change that.
He shattered the Asherah poles and the Baals and even burned the bones of their priests. In some ways this was truly remarkable for a teenage young man filled with hormones as the attraction of the Asherahs and Baals were that they promised and invited sexual promiscuity. They gave an “excuse” to sin sexually. And here was this teenage boy, aware of their deceitful seduction, destroying that temptation.
Then 8 years later he realized it wasn’t just enough to remove evil, he needed to restore righteousness. So he tasked Hilkiah the priest and others to rebuilt the temple as a place of worship. They used the money that been given for the temple to do much work in making it a place of worship again as the Lord had said.
It was during that time that a dastardly discovery was made. The book of the Law of Moses was discovered. It had been shelved away, gathering dust and the covenants and desires of God totally neglected with it.
When Hilkiah realized what was in his possession, he brought it before Josiah. When Josiah read it, he was in such anguish at how far they had turned from the Lord that he ripped his clothes. Then he immediately sent the priests to go inquire of the Lord.
The priests then went to Huldah, the prophetess. She said thee Lord said that there would be great and terrible judgment come upon Israel, but it wouldn’t happen until after Josiah’s death as a gift of mercy to Josiah for repenting.
Josiah could have stopped there. The Lord had promised that he was going to be in a good place himself, and that he wouldn’t face the destruction to come. But Josiah cared for the people, even as a young 26 year old leader.
So he gathered the nation together and read the Word of the Lord. Then he had them renew the covenant with God and then lead the nation into following the Lord.
“Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following Yahweh, the God of their ancestors” (2 Chr 24:33).
It was incredible what he did. He came from an evil family, his father leading the people into unrighteousness. And when he became king at 7, he thought on the things of the Lord. At 16 years of age he instituted massive reform. At 26 he lead in reconstruction of the temple. Then later renewed the covenant with the Lord and lead the people to follow him in all His ways.
It’s easy to look upon the young and dismiss them as young. What do they know and how can they lead? They haven’t been tested yet. It’s easy to be zealous when you are a kid.
But never dismiss the young. Never underestimate what God has called them to do. It’s not about age it’s about commitment. And if it takes a teenager to institute reform, then so be it. Adults don’t always do things any better.
So champion the young people. Encourage them in their faith. Don’t treat them with less respect or that their faith isn’t meaningful.
And sometimes we need to listen to the young ones, and let them take part in leading. Young people throughout the world are doing amazing things in business, technology, communication and more. Let’s encourage it in churches as well.
