God has given us a history of the lives of two men, both kings of Judah, which stand out in sharp contrast. These two men were father and son, and each reigned in the last days of the kingdom of Judah. The glory of the kingdom had faded from what it was in those bright days during the reign of King Solomon. Failure had come in among the people and also in their kings. Idolatry had been introduced and the nation had departed from God but He was not unmindful of His failing people, so that we read:
“And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because He had compassion on His people, and on His dwelling place: but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised His words, and misused His prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against His people, till there was no remedy.” 2 Chronicles 36:15-1615And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: 16But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy. (2 Chronicles 36:15‑16).
The picture was indeed dark and dreary for the kingdom of Judah; the ten tribes who had set up their own kingdom had already been carried away by the Assyrians.
Their earlier captivity was the result of the judgment of God for their iniquity, and now the shadow of judgment was hanging over the kingdom that young King Josiah was anointed to reign over. He was but eight years old when his father died and he was placed on the throne. This was indeed a young and tender age at which to begin to reign, and especially so when one considers the character of the day—evil abounding on every hand and the judgment of God about to break over the guilty nation.
This boy-king had also a bad background; his father and his grandfather had been very wicked kings. His grandfather, Manasseh, had been one of the worst. Therefore it is very comforting to find that Josiah reversed the trend, for of him we read:
Next we read that in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, when he was twenty-six years old, he became much interested in the house of the Lord that had fallen into a state of disrepair through neglect and abuse while idolatry flourished. He gave orders to have this building repaired. Now in the process of cleaning and repairing the house of the Lord, a book was found. As we might expect, this “book of the law” had been forgotten and lost during the years of wickedness, but now it came to light when the things of the Lord were sought. The Word of God was the very thing that was needed by this youthful and pious king. The long-lost book was soon to be read before him.
“And Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.” Verse 10. Now carefully note the effect of the Word of God on Josiah.
“And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.” Verse 11.
The solemn pronouncements that judgment would come if they turned away from their God and went after other gods had been written many years before. These warnings were “sharper than any two-edged sword” on the heart of Josiah and he rent his clothes. The Word of God had a powerful effect on his soul. How good it is when the Word of God is respected and feared! “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” It is indeed sad when His words are treated lightly and have little power over us. This was not so with King Josiah; he was one of whom it could be said,
The king then sent messengers to Hulda the prophetess to inquire through her from God concerning the words that had been read before him. God sent this answer:
“Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: because they have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore My wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched. But to the king of Judah ... thus shall ye say to him ... because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place ... and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.” 2 Kings 22:16-2016Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: 17Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched. 18But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard; 19Because 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. 20Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again. (2 Kings 22:16‑20).
Thus we see that the road to blessing is through repentance before God. The men of Nineveh proved this to be true and so have thousands from that day to this, but His Word must be believed and feared. If God has spoken, I am to listen diligently to what He has said. Josiah proved that
Sad, sad indeed is the contrast with this godly king’s son, Jehoiakim. He was living in a day still closer to the judgment than Josiah his father. He did not, however, fear the Lord as his father did, nor walk in the same steps; but God, still patient and gracious, sent a special warning to Jehoiakim through His servant Jeremiah. The prophet had Baruch write out in a book all the warnings from God and sent him to read the book to the people. After a time the book, or scroll, reached the guilty king and it was read before him as the “book of the law” had been read before his father some years before. But there was “no fear of God before his eyes,” for we read,
“And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll; but he would not hear them.” Jeremiah 36:23-2523And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. 24Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words. 25Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them. (Jeremiah 36:23‑25).
Thereupon the Lord sent a further word to him, that the judgment would surely come and that his dead body would be cast out to the heat in the day and the frost at night. Poor vain man! None ever hardened himself against God and prospered. Refusing to hear the Word of God read, or even burning it, would not for one moment hold back the avalanche of judgment; in fact, such action will only hasten the inevitable. Sad, sad it is to see a young man of godly parentage pursue such a willful course to certain destruction. And yet it is not uncommon today to see children of Christian parents deliberately and willfully turn their backs on their fathers’ God. Surely this history furnished us by God should be a solemn warning to all such.