Kingdom of Judah · reigned around 640-609 BC
Josiah in the Bible
The king who rediscovered the Word. Name meaning: “The LORD supports” (probable meaning of the Hebrew Yoshiyahu)
Grandson of the wicked Manasseh, Josiah becomes king of Judah at the age of eight and begins to seek God as a teenager. When the book of the law is found in the temple, he humbles himself, renews the covenant, purges the land of idolatry, and celebrates a Passover like no other. Scripture says that no king ever turned to the LORD with all his heart as he did (2 Kgs 23:25).
Key moments
- Announced by name about three centuries in advance 1 Kings 13:2
- Becomes king of Judah at eight 2 Kings 22:1
- Begins to seek the God of David at about sixteen 2 Chronicles 34:3
- Hilkiah finds the book of the law in the temple 2 Kings 22:8
- Tears his clothes on hearing the law 2 Kings 22:11
- Renews the covenant before all the people 2 Kings 23:3
- Celebrates a Passover like none since Samuel 2 Chronicles 35:18
- Mortally wounded at Megiddo facing Necho 2 Chronicles 35:22–24
Strengths
- Early devotion
- Humility before the Word
- Reforming zeal
- Justice for the poor
Weaknesses
At Megiddo, he didn’t heed the warning God sent him through Necho and plunged into a war that wasn’t his own; that decision cost him his life (2 Chr 35:21-22). His reform, as sincere as it was, did not change the people’s hearts at a deep level (Jer 3:10).
Lessons for today
- It is never too early to seek God: Josiah did so at about sixteen, despite an idolatrous father and grandfather (2 Chr 34:3).
- God’s Word, read and taken seriously, reforms a life: let it touch our own hearts before we try to reform others (2 Kgs 22:11, 19).
- Knowing God also means practicing justice and defending the cause of the poor and needy (Jer 22:15-16).
- Even a godly man must consult God before every decision: a single initiative not submitted to him can be fatal (2 Chr 35:22).
And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.
Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.
People around Josiah
- Amon and Manasseh — His father and grandfather, idolatrous kings
- Hilkiah — The high priest who found the book of the law
- Huldah — The prophetess consulted after the book was found
- Jeremiah — A prophet called during his reign, author of a lament over him
- Necho — The Pharaoh of Egypt who defeated him at Megiddo
- Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah — Sons who reigned after him and did evil
Stories with Josiah
Quiz: how well do you know Josiah?
How old was Josiah when he became king of Judah?
The account of his reign opens this way: “Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign.” 2 Kings 22:1
What did the high priest Hilkiah find in the temple?
Hilkiah told Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.” 2 Kings 22:8
How did Josiah react when he heard the book of the law read aloud?
“When the king had heard the words of the book of the law, … he rent his clothes.” It was Jehoiakim who would later burn a scroll of Jeremiah’s. 2 Kings 22:11
There are many more questions like these in Bible Academy, each with its explanation and verse. Start your free trial.