Workers fixing up a long-neglected temple stumbled over a scroll that hadn't seen the light of day in years. The scroll contained the very words of God's law! When they read the scroll to the king, he was so horrified at the thought of how far his people had strayed that he ripped his royal robes to shreds in his grief.
The king was none other than Josiah, and the scroll's discovery led to a religious revival of sorts. His story is told in the Bible to show the value of rediscovering lost or forgotten words of God's choosing, especially if they can inspire a nation to change.
A Good King in a Bad Time
When Josiah came to the throne, he was only eight years old. His father, a previous king and ruler of Judah, had been murdered. For many years, his predecessors had engaged in idolatry, leaving the country full of pagan altars and temples. Even the Solomonic temple was in ruins, neglected, and forgotten. God's law had been ignored for so long that even the Book of the Law, containing all of His laws and rules, had been lost and forgotten.
However, Josiah was a good king, and unlike his fathers, he sought to serve God. Scripture tells us that he "did what was right in the eyes of the LORD" and "walked in the ways of his father David." Josiah started his cleaning campaign when he was still young, and he began removing pagan idols from the land. When he grew up, Josiah ordered the repair of the Temple of God and the reconstruction of its furnishings. It was during the restoration that workers discovered the Book of the Law, hidden away and undisturbed.
A Discovery in the Temple
While the workers were repairing the Temple, the high priest named Hilkiah discovered the scroll, containing the Book of the Law. The book had been lost and forgotten for long, and the entire nation had grown accustomed to living without it. An entire generation had passed since the scroll had been last seen, and most people had not even seen it. Hilkiah gave the book to the king's secretary, Shaphan, to read to Josiah. Josiah listened attentively, and it was then that he realized how far the nation had strayed from God's path. After listening to the scroll, he tore his royal robes in distress and grief. The king was so horrified at the thought of people living without God's law, going their own ways, and committing sins that not even the most grievous sins of disobedience warranted such punishments.
Josiah had the Temple repaired after years of neglect. Workers clearing the ruin found a scroll — the Book of God's Law, unread for so long that an entire generation had grown up without it.
Seeking God's Word
Josiah did not leave it there, however. After realizing the gravity of the situation and hearing what the book had to say, he sent his servants to ask the prophets of the Lord what they should do. They went to a prophetess named Huldah, who told them that because the people of Judah and Jerusalem had turned their backs on God and engaged in idolatry, the Lord would bring disaster upon the land, as written in the book. However, she noted that since Josiah had shown such compassion and had mourned before the Lord, the calamity would not occur during his time.
It was a sobering message, one that made Josiah realize that despite the nation's sins, he had done what was right before God and made his intentions known. Now he needed to do something about the people's sins. Josiah wanted to turn his people back to God, and it seems he was successful in doing so.
When the scroll's words were read aloud, Josiah tore his royal robes — the traditional sign of deep mourning. The king who had never heard God's law was broken by the weight of what had been forgotten.
A Nation Turns Back
Josiah called all the people of Judah to a great assembly and made them all hear the words of the Book of the Law. When he had finished reading, he spoke to them and made a covenant with the Lord. He spoke to them all, telling them to turn to God and keep His commandments, and they all pledged to do so. Then Josiah set out to do what he had pledged, turning the people of Judah back to God. He ordered the idols and their places of worship to be removed and destroyed. He had the corrupt priests removed from their posts and executed for their sins. He traveled to destroy an idol that had been worshipped for generations and even fulfilled an old prophecy concerning it. Josiah cleansed the land of all idolatry and other sins and ordered that the Passover be celebrated, just as the Book of the Law had stated. Scripture tells us that it had not been celebrated in this way for a long time, perhaps since the days of the Judges.
A King Like No Other
The Scripture tells us that no king before Josiah or after him was as godly or as devoted to the Lord as he. He served Him "with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might," and there was not a single part of him that was not wholly God's. He turned his whole life, the life of his nation, and the life of his people back to God. His whole being was devoted to the task.
Josiah's reign became one of the most prominent times of revival, as he led the people back to God. It appears that the nation had forgotten all about God's words, and the people lived their lives without regard for them. Even though Josiah could not prevent the judgment from coming upon the land, his righteousness and faith brought about a time of repentance and turned the nation back to God.
Josiah gathered every person in Judah and read the entire Book of the Law aloud to them. He then made a covenant before God, and the people pledged to follow it — the first time many had ever heard the words.
The Book They Had Forgotten
It is fascinating to read about the Book of the Law and its discovery. It makes one wonder what else is forgotten or neglected these days. A whole nation had been built around the words contained within the scroll, and it hardly seemed that they had been forgotten or neglected. The Book had been lost, and an entire nation had lived without it until Josiah's time. It is a sobering thought to realize what a community or a nation might neglect or abandon, forgetting the importance or even the existence of something vital to its well-being.
Most scholars believe that the book found in the temple by Hilkiah is the book of Deuteronomy or at least a part of it. The whole book contains Moses's speech to the people of Israel, which includes allusions to blessings for the children of Israel if they obey God and terrible curses that will befall them if they disobey Him. It is easy to imagine that Josiah must have been particularly horrified after hearing what he did from the book, especially since he was a pious and devout king. Whatever its content was, the scroll evidently had the power to affect an entire nation. It turned Josiah into a zealous king who turned his whole life, the life of his nation, and the life of his people back to God.
Why Josiah's Story Matters
The story of Josiah and the Book of the Law is a valuable one to remember. It tells us about the power of God's word and its ability to affect an entire nation. For years, the scroll had been neglected, and the people had lived their lives without regard for it. Once it was discovered and its words heard, it led to the king's repentance and the people's turning to God. The story shows the power of God's words and what they can achieve if they are internalized and remembered.
Josiah turned out to be a devout king who obeyed God's commands, and his story serves as an example to people everywhere. When the book was read, he knew he had to do something to change it. Josiah's story shows that there is always a way to make amends with what is right, especially if one lets God's words change one's ways.
