In Josiah we see displayed one of the grand principles of Scripture, “that unto every one which hath shall be given” (Luke 19:26), and again, “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10). Josiah had begun well; we read that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Prov. 1:7. In the eighth year of his reign, at the age of sixteen, he began to seek after the God of David his father. Then in the twelfth year, when he was twenty, “he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem” of the idols, the groves, and the accumulated rubbish of generations, so hateful to God. Now in the eighteenth year of his reign he sends Shaphan, his scribe, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord. And it was while they were thus engaged that they discovered the book of the law which apparently had long been neglected and lost sight of. Also in this same year they kept the passover, another remarkable event, for it tells us that “there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept.”
As has been previously remarked there were two great revivals in the history of the last kings of Judah—one under Hezekiah, the other under Josiah. We learn that the special feature of Hezekiah’s reign was the celebration of the Passover, while in Josiah’s reign it was the reestablishment of the value and authority of the Word of God. God would instruct both the king and his people that His Word was the true and only guide in their worship of Himself and in the every day affairs of life as well. And He would have us, His people now, to learn this same precious lesson: that His Word is the infallible guide in everything that pertains to our Christian pathway. To the neglect of the Word of God can be traced the decay and ruin of Judah and Israel of old, and of the Church now. If we heed the word of God and seek grace to walk in it, it will bring light and happiness to our pathway. To refuse to bow to its claims can only end in sorrow and judgment. “Forever, O Lord, Thy word is settled in heaven.” “The Word of the Lord endureth forever.” (Psa. 119:89; 1 Peter 1:25.)
The discovery of the book of the law was an extraordinary event and had far-reaching effects. Hilkiah the priest gave it to Shaphan the scribe who carried it to Josiah; and read out of it to the King. When Josiah heard the words of the law, he rent his clothes — a sign of his great sorrow and distress of soul. It is lovely to see that Josiah had a tender conscience; he was one of those who tremble at the Word of God (Isa. 66:5). “The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12), and it pierced Josiah through and through. He saw that because they had not kept the words of the law, great wrath from the Lord was to be poured out upon them. So he sent Hilkiah, Shaphan and others, to inquire of the Lord, and they went to see Huldah, the prophetess. That God should use a woman to communicate His mind was humbling evidence indeed of the weakness in Judah, but whatever might be the means used, Josiah was prepared to hear and obey. We learn from Psalm 25:9, “The meek will He guide in judgment, and the meek will He teach His way.” God took note of Josiah’s tears, for he escaped the judgment that was soon to roll over the land, and he was used in the delivence of others also.
ML 01/11/1959