MODELS OF IMPACT FROM YOUTH (3)

“JOSIAH was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem” – 2 Chronicles 34:1

Of the youngest kings in the Bible, Josiah was among the positive MODELS of IMPACT from YOUTH: “JOSIAH was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left” (2 Chr.34: 1-2). Josiah became king at eight, was sixteen when he began to seek the Lord, and twenty when he began to purify Judah. He did what was pleasing to the Lord “while he was still young.” Here, God used this young king to turn an entire nation back to Himself.

Names are often quite significant as they relate to the things of God. “Josiah,” meaning “Jehovah heals” sought God early in his youth and walked in the ways of his “Father David.” This qualified him as a reformer and his reign as the renaissance of Judah because before he came to the throne true worship of God had collapsed totally during the reign of his father, Ammon. Josiah sought God in his youth, and initiated significant religious reforms which led to an era of spiritual renewal. He strived to purify the worship of God and abolish idolatry. He began as a youth to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, groves, images, and other paraphernalia of idolatry (vv.3-7).

The repair and restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem was one of Josiah’s first assignments (vv.8-10). When the book of the Law was found in the temple by the high Priest, Hilkiah, and read, Josiah rent his clothes in repentance, having realized that they had transgressed as a people (vv.15-19). He embarked on immediate reforms: ordered the priest to bring out all the vessels made for Baal and Asherah to be burnt; deposed idolatrous priests whom Judah’s kings had ordained to burn incense in the high places (2 Kgs.23:5); demolished the houses of male cult prostitutes; restored the feast of Passover which had been neglected in Israel even from the time of the judges, and commanded the people to keep it (2 Chr.35;1-3; 2Kgs.23:21-27).

Moreover, Josiah covenanted to follow the Lord, His commandments, testimonies, and statutes wholly (2 Chr.34:31). He “removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers” (2Chr.34:33). In essence, Josiah’s initiatives and actions were a positive turning point in the history of the Kingdom of Judah. While God can use anyone of any age, He particularly still uses young people to lead and to bring change and positive impact.