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Josiah - Jehoiakim's Father

Pastor Bill Farrow

Daniel 1:1

[1] In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it.

(Verse 1) - All of these events happen, or begin happen in the third year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah.  It is profitable to think about both Josiah and Jehoiakim for a moment before we go on.  We saw that, while the Northern Kingdom had no godly Kings, the Southern did manage to have several. One of those was King Josiah. His personal name meaning, “Yahweh heals.” He was Judah's king from about 640-609 B.C. [Chart of Josiah's Life] He succeeded his father Amon, an idolatrous king, who ruled for only two years before being murdered by his servants (2 Kings 21:19-23; 2 Chron. 33:21-24). Josiah became king at the age of eight due to the wishes of “the people of the land” who put his father's assassins to death (2 Kings 21:24). Josiah's reign was one of the longest in Judah's history and lasted for thirty-one years (2 Kings 22:1; 2 Chron. 34:1).

The Book of 2 Chronicles reveals much about the early years of Josiah. In his eighth year as king he began to seek the God of David (34:3). Josiah initiated a religious purge of Jerusalem, Judah, and surrounding areas during his twelfth year on the throne (34:3-7). This purge included tearing down the high places, the Asherah, and the altars to Baal. The high places were essentially Canaanite worship centers that had been taken over by Israel. The Asherah were cult objects associated with the worship of Baal, the fertility god of Canaan. [Chart of false gods]

In his eighteenth year as king an unexpected event turned his energies in new directions. A “Book of the Law” was discovered while repairs were being made on the Temple. Hilkiah, the high priest, found the book and gave it to Shaphan, the scribe, who in turn read it to King Josiah. Upon hearing the message of the book, Josiah tore his clothes, a sign of repentance, and humbled himself before God. Josiah was assured that the promised destruction would not come in his time (2 Kings 22:8-20; 2 Chron. 34:15-28). The reading of this book prompted Josiah to instigate the most far-reaching religious reforms in Israel's history.

What was this “Book of the Law” and when was it written? Most scholars believe that this book included at least the core of our present Book of Deuteronomy, either chapters 5-26 or 12-26. A major thrust of the Book of Deuteronomy was to call the nation Israel to exclusive loyalty to Yahweh. Perhaps a thrust such as this inspired Josiah's revival.

The Bible is silent about the remaining years of Josiah until his death. On the international scene during those years Assyria's [The political scene at the time] power was waning, and Babylon's was on the rise. Assyria had aligned itself with Egypt against Babylon. Pharoah Neco's troops were passing through territory north of Judah en route to join forces with Assyria. Josiah's army blocked the movement of Egyptian troops at Megiddo. In the battle that followed Josiah was mortally wounded (2 Kings 23:29). His body was taken to Jerusalem where he was buried. There was great mourning for him throughout the land (2 Chron. 35:24-25). Though only thirty-nine when he died, Josiah was remembered as Judah's greatest king (2 Kings 23:25):

“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 the Law of Moses” (NIV).

The example of Josiah's godliness in an ungodly culture is a powerful one.  Israel could hardly have been more decadent than they had become under Amon and yet Josiah was able, by his example and diligence in his reforms, to bring a measure of godliness to Judah and to stay the hand of God's judgment in the land for a time, but only for a time.  The example could hardly be more apt for our own culture today.  We, also, have strayed as a nation from the path upon which God placed us.  Certainly, we are not a chosen nation in the same sense that Israel was chosen, but we can certainly see that God did a powerful work in bringing our nation to existence and in preserving it through the early years.  Yet, we have chosen to turn our backs on Him and go our own way.  Could it be that, if our national leadership would follow the example of Josiah and bring the kinds of reforms that Josiah brought, God would send repentance and revival to our land?  I fear we will never know for sure…

I need to pray for my leaders, that God would cause them to bring us, as a nation, back to the foundation upon which our nation was founded!