Josiah, the Boy King - Part 1

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left. (2 Kings 22:1-2 ESV). My recollections of childhood are a bit sketchy. There are lots of reasons for that, not the least of which is it was a VERY long time ago! However, I do remember being eight years old and attending Sacred Heart Parochial Elementary in Galveston, Texas. Sister John Edwards was my teacher that year. She was probably no more than 5’6” tall, though she looked at least seven feet tall to me! Several incidents stick out vividly in my mind. One when I was in church was particularly painful. We were required to attend morning chapel services and as a young boy of eight, the last thing on my mind was being inside and in church on a bright sunny day. On one of those particularly beautiful days, I began to plot with one of my friends how we would spend recess that day and I felt the sharp sting of rebuke on the back of my neck. It was in the form of a ruler applied efficiently right on the nape of my neck. How I kept from yelling is still a minor miracle. That was normal. Being a king of a great nation at eight years old is not, yet that was the age of Josiah, who actually turned out to be one of the best kings Judah ever had. What was his secret? His father and grandfather did evil in the eyes of the Lord. They did not follow the ways of God. You might say Josiah was not raised in a Godly home. Yet, he made a decision to follow the Lord. His parents didn’t influence him, and he wasn’t old enough to have been greatly influenced by education or life experience. So, he must have simply, by faith, decided that God’s way would be his way. How old are you? Are you more mature than most eight year olds? I hope so! Do you have the fortitude to say, “as for me and my household, we are going to serve the Lord” and then do it? Josiah probably wasn’t the brightest or the most mature, but he had something at eight years of age that you and I need to have. He had a steadfast dependence on the Lord. As we look at this great Biblical character over the next few days, let's consider how wise he really was in his decision to follow the Lord. Take it from a child-king, God’s way is best!