3-3 Josiah, An Obedient King

 

Good morning everyone. Our Christian leadership characteristic for the month is OBEDIENCE.

 

Our slogan is OBEY ALL THE WAY.

 

Our memory verse this week is Genesis 18:19, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

 

I hope the 2-part study on Noah building the ark was helpful in your daily studies. The study we begin today will also be a two-part study. Our study today is from the record of 2 Kings 22:1-23:30 and from 2 Chronicles 34:1-35:27. It is the record of one of the most faithful kings Judah or Israel ever had. His name was Josiah. He ruled during the Mosaic dispensation in the 10^th Bible time period of Judah Alone. He ruled for 31 years. The northern kingdom of Israel had fallen to the Assyrians in 721 B.C. Only the southern kingdom of Judah was still standing. Four kings and 23 years after Josiah’s reign, Judah was destined to fall into the hands of the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. It was only Josiah’s faithfulness to God that kept it from happening in his reign (2 Kgs. 22:18-20). I know that Josiah is a great example of obedience because it was God who said there was “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…” (2 Kgs. 23:25). When we keep in mind that God described David “as a man after God’s own heart,” we realize the depth of devotion and faithfulness that Josiah must have had. Josiah truly did obey all the way.  Let’s look at some lessons from his life.

 

1. His mother greatly influenced his obedience to God. His mother’s name was Jedidah. A young man of eight does not know about God without being taught. Nor does he gain an understanding of the importance of obedience to God without being taught diligently to obey both his elders and God. It is easy to grow up wicked. If parents always take the path of ease in raising their child, sinful living is the natural result for the children. Proverbs 22:15 tells us that “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child…” Again, Prov. 29:15, says that a “child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” Josiah was no such child. He was a child taught, guided and corrected by a wise mother (definitely not his father in this case). He brings to mind the commendation Paul gave to the mother and grandmother of Timothy in 2 Tim. 1:5. Parents, it does take study, work and example to raise our children to be full of faith and obedience.  It is the hard way of parenting while they are with you. But it is worth it, for you will be blessed to see the results in the adulthood and eternity of your faithful children.

 

2. Josiah accepted his own accountability to God at age 16. There has always been much discussion about the age of accountability. Under patriarchal and Mosiac law, it seems that parents were largely responsible for the actions of their children until they reached the age of twenty. Only those who had been under the age of twenty were allowed to enter the promised land after the wilderness wandering (Ex. 14:22-32), indicating that they had no say in the choice not to enter the land. Job was the family priest for his grown children (Job 1:4-5). Having said that, there are a number of cases of young men who took on exceptional spiritual responsibility at a relatively young age. Josiah, here at the age of 16 takes ownership of his faith and his kingdom. Jehoash took the throne at age 7 and was faithful to God for almost 40 years. Jesus was fully aware of his responsibility to serve God at the age of 12.  All of this shows that children mature and make commitments at various ages. Anyone who has read about Timothy, in the book Graduation to Glory cannot doubt his accountability when he was less than 12 years. I have occasionally met some very spiritually aware young men and women who were not yet teens. I know this, young people, you should live your life so that your attitudes and actions let “no one despise thy youth” (1 Tim. 4:12). Like Josiah, you should “Remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth” (Eccl. 12:1). Youth is not an excuse for disobedience. It is a time to take charge of your spiritual growth.

 

3. Josiah used his influence to help others obey. Paul said in Rom. 14:7, “None of us liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself.” Righteous Abel and many other faithful long since dead and buried are still influencing men to obey God (Heb. 11:4-12:4). Josiah did not try to serve God in secret. He did not leave other men alone to worship and serve as they pleased. He was unashamed to let it be known that he wanted to know what God said (2 Kgs. 23:2). After finding out what God said, he did everything within his power to get the citizens of kingdom to obey the Lord. He did not have to do these things, but he took the stand of a leader. He understood that when you drop a pebble in a pond, the ripples move the water until they have influenced the entire pond. He first made a covenant to follow God and the scripture also says that, “all the people stood to the covenant” (2 Kgs. 23:3). Friends, most people are followers. In a way, that is unfortunate because such folks are easily swayed by the charisma of a leader and not necessarily by what is right or wrong. If people are to obey, they need obedient leaders. They need men who will boldly and confidently stand in the gap and say, “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:5).
4. Josiah found the truth because he had an honest desire to honor and follow God.
5. He accepted God’s word as the authoritative standard.
6. Josiah followed the law and restored the true worship of God.
7. His obedience included fighting against sin in the land.

 

We will finish this lesson about Josiah tomorrow. May I encourage you to obey all the way.

  

Mike Glenn