Josiah Could Not Save Judah: 2 Kings 23:25-27

“The LORD said, “I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have chosen, and the temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there’” (2 Kg. 23:27, NASB).

On Wednesday January 6, 2021 the U.S. congress certifies that Joe Biden is the President-elect of the United States of America. Also, the victories of Rev. Raphael Warnock over Kelly Loeffler and Jon Ossoff over David Perdue in the State of Georgia gives the democrats and republicans fifty seats each in the U.S. senate. In the event of a tie on any legislation vice president Kamala Harris will cast the deciding vote. This means that the democrats hold the majority in both houses of congress, the House of Representatives and the House of Senate. Now, the democrats control both the congress and the presidency of the United States government. There is no reason that President Joe Biden will not be able to push through almost any legislation that he desires. He is in position to carry out his promise to unite the country and make significant progress in solving America’s most pressing problems. Yet, I am optimistically cautious. Why are you concerned you may ask? It is because in all that is taking place in our country, there seems to me to be a lack of asking the question, “What is God doing?” In this article I want to talk about Josiah king of Judah. He is not able to save Judah in spite of the many good things that he does.

We have an account of Josiah’s reign in Judah in 2 Kings 22:1-23:27 and 2 Chronicles 34:1-35:7. This article will follow the story as written in 2 Chronicles. A brief summarized description of his reign and the reign of other kings is given. “Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. He did right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David and did not turn aside to the right or to the left” (2 Ch. 34:1-2, NASB). The first thing that we should notice is that it is God that determines what is right; not the people or the government. Josiah does not determine what is right and he does not follow the opinions of the people.

Josiah is given the book of the Law (34:14-21). When Josiah hears the words of the Law, he is enraged (v.19). He seeks the words of the prophetess Huldah. Huldah confirms the words in the book of the Law and it is not good news. “She said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, thus says the LORD, “Behold, I am bring evil on this place and on its inhabitants , even all the curses written in the book which they have read in the presence of the king of Judah” (34:23-24, NASB). The evil that will come upon Judah will not take place during Josiah’s lifetime (vv. 26-28).

After receiving the warnings that he receives from the book of the Law and the prophetess Huldah, Josiah institutes many reforms. He has already torn down the places of idol worship (34:3-7). He repairs the temple (vv. 8-13) where the book of the Law is found by Hilkiah the priest (v. 14). He makes a covenant with the Lord, and he leads the people to stand with him in the covenant (vv. 31-32). Josiah celebrates the Passover (35:1-18). He follows all the commands of the Lord that tell everything that is to be done. He follows every detail. “There had not been celebrated a Passover like it in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet; nor had any of the kings of Israel celebrated such a Passover as Josiah did with the priests, the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (34:18, NASB). Can you imagine the excitement and jubilation of the people at this time? Were the people thinking that everything will be well with them? Judah has experienced fifty-five years of a horrible reign of King Manasseh (33:1-20). The Lord speaks to Manasseh, and he turns to the Lord. He removes the foreign gods and idols from the temple (v.15). “He set up the altar of the LORD and sacrificed in the high places, although only to the LORD their God” (v. 16).

The reign of Manasseh, Judah’s most wicked king is completed. His son Amon becomes king, and He reigns in Jerusalem for two years (33:20-25), and “He did evil in the sight of the LORD as Manasseh his father had done, and Amon scarified to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and he served them” (v. 22). This is what I want us to understand. Manasseh reigned for fifty-five years. At the end of his reign, Manasseh turns to the Lord. However, he does not remove completely all the worship places of the idol gods. His good deeds do not influence his son to do what is right in the sight of the Lord. You see, Amon is indoctrinated in the evil ways that he sees his father doing for the majority of his life. The worship of idols is what Amon knows, and these are the gods that he serves. Question: Do you think that the departure of Donald J. Trump from the presidency will change the ways of his loyal followers? Now, let us return to our story of Josiah.

Josiah celebrates the Passover, but this is not the end of the story. Let us continue reading the story and we will learn that the Lord keeps his promise to Josiah not to bring evil on Judah in his day. At the same time, God is working in ways that will surely cause evil to come upon Judah just as it said in the book of the Law. Let us read what takes place. “After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt came up to make war at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to engage him” (35:20, NASB).

The Assyrians are in power, but they are being challenged by Neco and the Egyptians. Neco warns Josiah not to get involved. Josiah disguises himself and makes war with Neco. Josiah is wounded in the battle (35:23). He is taken by his servants back to Jerusalem where he dies, and he is buried in the tombs of his fathers (v. 24). Does Josiah save Judah? We can see that Josiah has a good reign in which he does what is right in the sight of the Lord. He removes idolatry from the public square, and he leads the people to worship the Lord. Is this enough to stay the hand of the Lord who intends to bring evil upon Judah? Do Josiah’s public reforms really change the hearts of the people?

You see, this is the question before America today. January 20, 2021 will be the end of the presidency of Donald J. Trump and the beginning of the presidency of Joe Biden. Will Biden be able to unite America and preserve its democracy? What is God doing? What does God have to say about all the good intentions and plans that President Joe Biden is able to institute in America?

The reforms instituted by Josiah do not stay the hand of the Lord that brings evil upon Judah. In 2 Chronicles 36:1-21 Neco takes control of Jerusalem. The Babylonians defeat Egypt and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon takes control. 2 Chronicles 36:11-21 tells us the story of Zedekiah who reigns for eleven years, and he does evil in the sight of the Lord. Zedekiah refuses to hear the words of the prophet Jeremiah (v. 12) and he rebels against King Nebuchadnezzar. The priests and all the people are unfaithful and the follow the abominations of the nations and defile the house of the Lord (36:14). “But they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy” (v. 16). As we continue reading we learn that the evil stated in the book of the Law comes upon Judah. “Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hands” (36:17, NASB).

The writer of the books of the Kings and the Chronicles teaches us that evil leaders can lead evil people; and thus, they are responsible for the evil works of those that they lead. There, however, is another lesson that we need to learn. Evil leaders are not the reasons that our hearts are evil. Throughout the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles there are both good kings and bad kings that reign in Judah. It is the people that continue to practice evil regardless of who is king. Thus, the changing of the kings does not change the hearts of the people. The king is responsible for the policies instituted for the public square, but the Lord sends His messengers to speak to all the people. It is up to you and me to obey the Lord regardless of the policies of government leaders.

Josiah could not save Judah, and we are to be warned that God determines the fall of Judah. Donald J. Trump is leaving the office of the President of the United States, and Joe Biden will be sworn into office on January 20, 2021. We are hopeful that things will be better, but we have no guarantee. It is up to the American people to hear and obey the words of the Lord. While we anticipate good things, we are to be aware that God determines the outcome.