True Worship Restoration: Josiah's Template [2 Kgs.22:1-2]
- Olusegun Emosu
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 12 hours ago
Text: "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 from the right hand or to the left." (2 Kgs.22:1-2).
INTRODUCTION:
Worship in biblical contexts, (with particular reference to the Old Testament), means reverence. It is the adoration given to the Supreme Being- the Creator. In the Old Testament days, it was a means of acknowledging His supremacy over the created order. This was expressed through prayers, communal liturgy, and living a life of holiness. It was physically demonstrated in gathering of worshippers in the Temple and other designated places of worship with God as the Unifying Factor. The altar was the centre of attraction, where the power of God was believed to be resident. Both the buildings and all altar fixtures were held in high sanctity.
However, by the time young Josiah took over the reins of affairs in Judah, it was a different ball game entirely. Before then, true worship had become a thing of the past! The atmosphere had been bedeviled by plurality of non-functioning and dead gods. He inherited a polytheistic religious atmosphere with a wide array of pantheon of gods, dominating the nation of Judah. God was not particularly favorably disposed to this unwelcoming situation. A change was necessary to save the nation of Judah. Josaih, a complete opposite of his father, Amon, [ a devout and die-hard idol worshipper] , in his days, was on time to salvage the situation, with all vigor and determination.
THE GREAT DISCOVERY:
The discovery of the Book of the Law, indicting the nation of their straying away from the true worship, with consequences to this audacity, was the roadmap and an eye-opener for Josiah, to make an immediate and a marked decision. From that moment, he took bold steps to overhaul the polluted spiritual atmosphere, "then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, i have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD" (2 Kgs.22:8). He pursued this revolution with much gusto, with the utmost desire to not only totally annihilate the disgusting atmosphere, rather, to also entrench, in the hearts of Judahites, the right template to worshipping the true God. He also did enforce the stamping away of the foreign gods, not before carrying along the priests, the prophets and all the people. He equally ensured paying allegiance to the Book of the Covenant, as a people, was important to heralding the impending turn-around. Invariably, the entire nation subscribed to the king's wish.
PHASES OF ELIMINATIONS:
Josiah wasted no time to in executing the change he desired to see. He did not do the overhaul in one fell swoop. He rather was systematic and methodical with the process and carried out the new order in phases . And the intensity with which he did the cleaning left no doubt that he was intentional in acting the mind of God. He started by instructing all the articles made for Baal be removed from the temple of the LORD. All the king-ordained idolatrous priests that anchored these unholy hours and activities, were deposed with royal fiat! They exited their ungodly offices with the wooden images, that were promptly burned. All ritual booths of the perverted persons were exterminated. The effrontery of the nation to use the house of the LORD as storage for wooden image, ritual booths, and the likes, was out of this world, "...and he brought out the wooden image...the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of the LORD." (2 Kgs. 23: 6 & 7 ).
The abominations that plagued these years of "unGodly" gods were appalling! They were years people made their male and female children passed through fire. Nothing could be more horrible than this. Horses and other animals dedicated to the sun were brought down. The high places dedicated to Ashtoreth by Solomon were reduced to rubbles, alongside the sacred pillars and wooden images. The whole sanitation exercise carried out by Josiah was all embracing. He did not forget to ensure the demolition of the altar at Bethel- an uncomplimentary initiative of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, a man credited with unenviable accolade as the man "who made Israel to sin" (2 Kgs.13:11).
EXCEPTION TO THE OVERHAUL:
As the radar of the overhaul span through the land, it did not fail to capture exemptions in the process. Such was the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah, [ the young prophet ] , in the days of Jeroboam, to prophesy at Bethel. Years before this unprecedented royal revolution, the young prophet had prophesied, even before Josiah was born. He said, "O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD, behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall be burned on you." (1 Kgs. 13: 2). Much as the overhaul was divinely ordained , the sincerity of the man of God, [ the young prophet ] , spoke for him, even in death. His, was a royal pardon, for his tomb and bones to be left untouched. Hence, Josiah instructed, "let him alone; let no one move his bones." (2 Kgs. 23: 18). This speaks to us that even in a state of divine destruction, God exempts some people by reason of divine benevolence. An example was the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah- a massive destruction that exempted Lot and his two daughters. For Josiah, it was a thorough cleansing of the land that did not spare the lives of all priests found guilty of doing abominable deeds such as burning men's bones on the altar. Josiah did exactly what he was born, and commissioned to do.
A NEW LEASE OF LIFE:
Having completed this part of the overhauling project, Josiah then turned around to balance the equation. Since the land of Judah had been eradicated of all the abominable gods, objects, emblems, spiritists, household gods and idols, altars, priests and priestesses, as well as those who consulted mediums, to leave no room for vacuum, he did the needful to establish a model for the true form of worship. He instituted the Passover and reiterated the need to observe it in strict adherence with what was contained in the Book of the Law, found in the house of the LORD. Also, for once, this particular Passover embraced people from the Northern and Southern kingdoms, signifying a united people.
SIDEBAR:
The discovery of the Book of the Law, indicting the nation of their straying away from the true worship, with consequences to this audacity, was the roadmap and an eye-opener for Josiah, to make an immediate and a marked decision.
Josiah wasted no time in executing the change he desired to see. He did not do the overhaul in one fell swoop. He was rather systematic and methodical with the process and carried out the new order in phases .
He instituted the Passover and reiterated the need to keep it in strict observance with what was contained in the Book of the Law, found in the house of the LORD.
The boldness and ruggedness with which he carried out this task that cleansed all the anomalies his fathers committed , was unrivaled, even in the entire history of Israel, from the days of Moses.
COMMENDATION:
Josiah, undoubtedly, in this divine adventure, did blaze the trail. With God backing him, and not minding whose ox was gored, he did all he did. He earned himself more than an accolade. The boldness and ruggedness with which he carried out this task that cleansed all the anomalies his fathers committed , was unrivaled, even in the entire history of Israel, from the days of Moses. He was as such commended as a king that stood tall among others, "now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him." (2 Kgs. 23: 25). His, was a template good enough to archive for the right and true worship.
PRAYER OF SALVATION:
Peradventure, you want to accept the LORD as your Savior, please, pray thus: LORD JESUS, I repent, confess, and forsake all my sins and surrender my life to You. From this day, I accept You as my LORD and Savior. Wash me clean with Your blood and accept me as Your child. Amen!
PRAYERS:
LORD, make me a true and sincere worshipper in Your house, all the days of my life.
LORD, give me the grace to influence the true worship in my generation, as You used Josiah.
LORD, make me the change agent in the spiritual atmosphere in my generation.
LORD, help the entire body of Christ to pursue holiness all through the years. Amen!
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