Meditation on II Kings 22-23: King Josiah

Kings 22

vs. 2: He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord…. vs. 19 “Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people … and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord [to Josiah].” Kings 23

vs. 3: The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord – to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul…. vs. 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….

The books of first and second Kings are not for children. Full of murders, wars, and violence, these books are a lot like the annuls of politics of any other iron age people–despite the fact that Israel and Judah are supposed to be following God and being different. Most of the kings described in these books are violent men who don’t care about the God of Israel any more than they cared about the mice living in their palace’s kitchen.

At first glance, Josiah might seem like just another one of these. Just about everything written here about Josiah is bloody or violent. Kill that priest; defile this altar; scatter human bones; pulverize into dust and toss in the valley. He even came to power through violence: first, his father was assassinated, then the assassins were put to death (described in ch. 21).

But about Josiah’s love for God and his righteousness, the text is uncompromising: he was the best ever. Like David. Maybe better.

He was only eight when he became king–king of a Judah that had more idols than sandals. King of a Judah that sacrificed its sons and daughters to gods brought to them by foreign people. King of a Judah that worshipped the sun, instead of the God that had brought their forefathers out of Egypt and made them who they were. And yet, despite the fact that neither his father nor, apparently, very many other Israelites had known God, somehow Josiah found Him.

How, Lord? How did he hear your voice? Why, when his entire nation was paying attention to other voices, did he listen to you?

He must have had a strong, even unbreakable will. To at the age of eight, stand up against his parents’ tradition of ignoring God. To maybe stand against advisors, even friends, and stand for You instead. And then, to buck all of his people and destroy the places they held sacred, break their connection with the gods they had made bargains with at the price of their children and their souls. Just imagine the backlash. How strong-willed he must have been, to withstand that. For you.

He must have known you–personally. Could he hear your quiet whispers, like David had? What else would have made his devotion worth it? What besides that tender, soul-building communion could have made him so strong? You asked of him a tremendous, heroic thing. And he did it.

I want to be like him. To get rid of the things I build altars to that make you angry at me. To get rid of them with the same zeal, the same bull-headedness Josiah had. I want to hate the things you hate. I want to have the chance, the strength, the boldness to hold your opinion more precious than the opinions of others. I want to humble myself and yield to you and, with Josiah’s strength and courage, yield to nothing else.