Josiah the Reformer and Revivalist

Koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Visiting Professor

Department of Liberal Education

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

The book of Chronicles was written by the Holy Spirit and Exilic scribes who cut and paste from the sources of Israel in a historical, religious, and reliable historiographical fashion. One needs to know about the Scissors of the Holy Spirit dealing with history. The Holy Spirit does not just dump masses of data in a search engine. As a Divine Editor, He cuts from the total life of a person, only certain recorded anecdotes which form in turn a part of a large book or volumes regarding a person. Selectively cutting the periscopes these pieces of history is then seamed together to form one wholesome total that is reliable, secure, safe and helpful for salvation. The history of Josiah is dealt with in 2 Chronicles.

           Josiah was born in 648 BCE. When he was 8 years old in 640 BCE, he became king. Quite a young age to be king but normally such kings were but puppet kings of some group or priests. For 8 years these priests did their best to raise him in a believing environment. When Josiah was 16 years of age in 632 BCE he felt a deep urge to do something for God. But how? He realized that he lacked knowledge about God so he enrolled for Bible courses in Israel of that time and for four years he studied the Word of God. He graduated with his biblical BTh in 628 BCE and at that time he felt that he is ready to do big things for God. As a king he started to sweep with a new and strong broom. Garbage and sins in public must be removed. Israel was to be a remnant and a believing remnant and if they are to fulfill God’s calling for them, they had to clean the country of all pluralism, heathen influences, cults and occults. And that is what he did: religious purging. We do not read that he killed people in the purging. We read that he destroyed all images, statues, buildings dedicated to the Phoenician and Aramaic gods. It took him 6 years to accomplish this purging task and by 622 BCE, he was finished. It is no easy task to undo pluralism, secularism, remove public sins.

           In the year 622 BCE, he changed gears and felt that they should head for further reform and revival (2 Chronicles 34:8). It was the 18^th year of his reign. He felt the urge to repair the house of the Lord. He placed temple building expenses boxes at the gates of the house of God and people collected from the whole country for this building project. Then he took the money (2 Chronicles 34:9) and he gave it to the workmen, carpenters.

           It was at that point when the money was brought out for the work that Hilkiah made an archeological discovery that we dream of making today: He found not the ark of God but the book of Moses! The news spread fast and it was reported to Josiah. This was the year 622 BCE. It was a find comparing to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947. When they brought the book to Josiah, he asked Shaphan the scribe to read from it. Shaphan read (2 Chronicles 34:18).

           The theologian Josiah recognized the words as God through Moses and the excitement was just too much for him and he jumped up and tore his kingly robe, fashion designed for him by a famous fashion designer of Israel, to pieces (2 Chronicles 34:19). Josiah was 24 but who says a young man of 24 cannot be faithful to God, cannot be a ruler who is faithful to God, cannot tear to pieces his expensive fashionable clothes by hearing the true and real words of Moses, 826-820 years after it was written!

           The reading form the book of Deuteronomy was overwhelming to him. The ancestors did not follow the Lord and great is their wrath awaiting them. But, Josiah was concerned about his own life and those still living with him. They are responsible for their own lives not the lives of the dead. Worshipping ancestors are useless since they know nothing and do not exist elsewhere. So Josiah’s heart was touched by the Holy Spirit and the reading of Shaphan and he asked that a research team must investigate what it says for him. If someone can approach God to ask His advice he was willing to follow. And this willingness to let God speak, the young Josiah did at the age of 24. Golf did not attrack him, game rooms and computer games did not distract him, sports did not take his time, hanging out with friends did not occupy most of his leisure time: he wanted to know the Lord and what the Lord wants to say to him. Period. After six years of populist entertainment purged that was filled and connected with cults and occults, demons, monsters, war language, militaristic games, gambling, sexual overtones, bad practices, chronic sins no different than in our own day and age, Josiah had only one mind: tell me what God wants and I will do it.

           So they went and found the prophetess, not EGW but Huldah and she preached a sermon to them as to what he should do. It was still the year 622 BCE. She gave a very nice sermon in 2 Chronicles 34:23-28.

           Then Josiah decided that he should go to church. He went to the house of the Lord. The building had no marmer steps, elevator, golden doorknobs, tinted and colorfull windows, softpad seats, airconditioner, filled with 24 year olds, his own age! No, it was the opposite. Religion was in him not outside of him. Therefore it does not matter what he found at church, it was already inside of him. Josiah went to the house of the Lord (2 Chronicles 34:29). They read the book of the covenant and the people made a covenant with God. With all their heart and with all their souls they will do the words of the covenant written in this book of Moses.

           Josiah made all Israelites to serve the Lord. One must keep in mind that they all had the same religion, were the same race, the same language and the same God. Forcing all to follow God was an inhouse reform. It was not forcing foreigners to join their religion. Forcing to worship is never a method of God. But, forcing to get rid of sins and problems that create sins and objects of sins are things the ruler can work on. After the house is swept clean it is still a free choice whether they want to worship God or not. Everyone in those days wanted to join in since there are enormous blessing for people when they follow God. All of them needed God.

           Josiah also celebrated the Passover and it is described in 2 Chronicles 35. It is a long description of the event in that year 622 BCE but suddenly the Holy Spirit took the scissors and cut the anecdote in verse 19. Then the Holy Spirit wanted to finish the life of Josiah and how it came about. From the year 622 BCE, the Holy Spirit scrolled down the biographical source of Josiah beyond 13 years of silence to the year 609 BCE in the month Elul of that year.

           In the year 609 BCE it is recorded in 2 Chronicles 35:20 “After all this. . .” This “after” is a long “after” of 13 years.

           In brief the Pharaoh of Egypt, Necho II came up to Megiddo and Josiah lost his life. Jeremiah was so grieved by this that he chanted a lament for Josiah’s death in 609 BCE. Josiah became a populist song on the lips of male and female singers.

           A reformer and revivalist can be young.