Following God to the Fullest: Leadership Lessons from Josiah

By:  Dale Weckbacher

2 Chronicles 35:18

No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

(ESV)

2 Chronicles 34-35 records the account of the reign of Judah’s King Josiah.  While most of us think of David or Solomon when thinking of Kings of Judah or Israel, King Josiah had a major impact on Judah as a leader doing what was right in the Lord’s sight (2Chronicles 34:2).  In our modern age of leaders and celebrities behaving inappropriately, we can learn much from looking at how Josiah led Judah and is recorded in history, for eternity, as a leader doing right in the Lord’s sight.

Since Josiah was only eight when becoming King of Judah, we can rule out age as a requirement for Godly leadership (2 Chronicles 34:1).  Eight years into his reign at sixteen scripture tells us that Josiah began to seek God (2 Chronicles 34:3).  Four years after beginning to seek the Lord, Josiah goes to work cleansing Judah and Jerusalem of their articles of pagan worship (2 Chronicles 34:7).  Godly leadership must begin with the removal of everything pointing to ungodliness in the nation.  Individually we must also remove the ungodliness in our lives for God commands us not to have any other gods in our lives (Exodus 20:3).  Scripture also tells us to not seek conformity to the world’s method of thinking but to allow God and His Word to transform our minds (Romans 12:2). 

The next phase of the transformational reign of Josiah is the restoration of worship.  In the Old Testament, those worshiping God were to do so at the Temple in Jerusalem.  However, in the time of Josiah the Temple was in total disrepair and in need of restoration.  Six years after the beginning of cleansing the land of pagan worship, the Temple restoration program began (2 Chronicles 34:8).  We will all worship something in our lives so just removing the idols we may worship (i.e. wealth, pleasure, career, etc.) without replacing them with worship of our creator will result in more or even worse idolatry.  Since under the New Testament, we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, we must work like Josiah to insure our Temple is a place bring glory to God our creator. 

The third phase of the transformation came because of the discovery of the Book of the Law in the Temple (2 Chronicles 2:14).  After hearing the words of this book, we see Josiah tear his clothes as a demonstration of repentance for the sins of the nation (2 Chronicles 34:19).  Josiah ordered Hikiah, Ahikam, Abdon, Shaphan, and his servant Asaiah to inquire of the Lord regarding the great sins of Judah and Israel.  The prophetess Huldah informed them of the pending disaster coming to the nation due to their sin, but that God would honor the repentance of Josiah by insuring he would not live to see this destruction (2 Chronicles 34:22-28). 

The final phase was restoration of observance of the Passover (2 Chronicles 35:1-19).  This represents a public demonstration and celebration of how God saved His people.  The Passover observance is a reminder for God’s people of the miraculous deliverance of God’s people from their Egyptian bondage. 

Within the process of the reformation of Judah during the reign of Josiah, we find the message of the Gospel for it tells us,

1)      We must receive forgiveness from sin (Ephesians2:8) – Difficult as this may appear, this is the easy part for Jesus did all the work on the cross.  As John 3:16 reminds us, salvation comes from believing with a reward of eternal life. 

2)      We must make God the object of our worship (Matthew 6:21) – What we value in our heart becomes the object of our worship.  Just as Josiah began restoration of the Temple, the place of worship for the people of God after removal of the pagan places of worship, we too must discipline ourselves through the practice of spiritual disciplines as a means of preventing ourselves from falling back into idolatry.  (1) 

3)      Humble service to God (James 1:21) – As people of God, God calls us to live lives set apart for service to our God.  This does not mean we must necessarily abandon our jobs to become full-time ministers but instead a dedication to serve God in whatever situation we find ourselves.  This occurs as we allow the double-edged sword of the Word of God to work on our hearts (Hebrews 4:12). 

4)      Publicly declare our faith (Romans 10:9-10) – Most evangelical churches, encourage new converts to Christianity make a public declaration of their faith through water baptism.  Like the celebration of Passover by Josiah, water baptism symbolizes our deliverance from sin through the death burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Perhaps you are reading this and have never heard the message of the Gospel or have heard the message many time and rejected it.  If you are reading this and find yourself in one of these situations, I urge you to pray with me now

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

I now urge everyone to follow through on their cleansing of their lives from sin by making God the object of your worship through the practice of spiritual disciplines.  (1)  I then encourage everyone to find a place of service unto God.  Finally, and most importantly, follow through on your commitment through water baptism. 

May God bless everyone reading this post.

1. Daniels, Dharius. 5 Spiritual Disciplines that Will Change Your Life. www.crosswalk.com. [Online] Crosswalk.com, January 9, 2015. [Cited: December 3, 2017.] https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/5-spiritual-disciplines-that-will-change-your-life.html.