Who was King Josiah?

Understanding 2 Kings 23:25

Josiah is the Bible's great reformer king — a young ruler who inherited a spiritually bankrupt nation and single-handedly turned it back to God. His story is both inspiring and tragic, because despite his faithfulness, the judgment he delayed could not ultimately be prevented.

Background: the worst kings in history

To appreciate Josiah, you must understand what came before him. His grandfather Manasseh was the most evil king in Judah's history — reigning 55 years, longer than any other king. Manasseh rebuilt the pagan high places his father Hezekiah had destroyed, erected altars to Baal, set up an Asherah pole in the temple, practiced sorcery and divination, and 'shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end' (2 Kings 21:16). Tradition says he sawed the prophet Isaiah in half (Hebrews 11:37).

Manasseh's son Amon continued his father's wickedness but was assassinated after just two years. The 'people of the land' killed the conspirators and placed eight-year-old Josiah on the throne (2 Kings 21:23-24).

Early reforms (age 16-20)

2 Chronicles 34:3 provides a timeline the Kings account doesn't: 'In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David.' At sixteen, Josiah began pursuing God. By twenty, he was actively purging Judah of pagan worship — destroying high places, Asherah poles, carved and cast idols. He even extended his reforms into the former northern kingdom of Israel, demolishing the altar at Bethel that Jeroboam I had built three centuries earlier.

A fascinating detail: 1 Kings 13:2 records an unnamed prophet declaring over Jeroboam's altar: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places.' This prophecy, made roughly 300 years earlier, named Josiah specifically — one of the Bible's most remarkable predictive prophecies.

The Book of the Law discovered (age 26)

In his eighteenth year as king (age 26), Josiah ordered temple repairs. During the renovation, the high priest Hilkiah found 'the Book of the Law' — likely Deuteronomy or possibly the entire Torah — which had been lost or hidden during Manasseh's long reign of apostasy.

When the book was read to Josiah, he tore his robes in anguish (2 Kings 22:11) — a sign of deep grief and repentance. He realized how far Judah had strayed from God's commands. He sent a delegation to the prophetess Huldah, who delivered a devastating oracle: God's judgment on Judah was certain because of Manasseh's sins. But because Josiah's heart was 'responsive' and he 'humbled himself before the Lord,' the disaster would not come in his lifetime (2 Kings 22:19-20).

The great reformation

Josiah's response to the Book of the Law was immediate and total:

1. Covenant renewal: He gathered all the people and read the entire Book of the Law, then renewed the covenant 'to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul' (2 Kings 23:3)

2. Temple cleansed: Removed all articles for Baal, Asherah, and astral worship from the temple and burned them

3. Pagan priests deposed: Removed priests appointed by previous kings to burn incense at high places

4. Asherah pole destroyed: Burned the Asherah pole from the temple at the Kidron Valley

5. Male shrine prostitutes evicted: Tore down the quarters of male shrine prostitutes within the temple complex

6. Child sacrifice ended: Desecrated Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom 'so no one could use it to sacrifice their son or daughter in the fire to Molek' (2 Kings 23:10)

7. Astral worship abolished: Removed horses dedicated to the sun at the temple entrance and burned sun chariots

8. Bethel altar destroyed: Fulfilled the 300-year-old prophecy by demolishing Jeroboam's altar and burning bones on it

9. Passover restored: Celebrated Passover 'as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.' The text notes: 'Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed' (2 Kings 23:22)

10. Mediums and spiritists expelled: Eliminated all occult practitioners

The assessment

2 Kings gives Josiah the highest praise of any king: 'Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did — with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses' (2 Kings 23:25). Not David. Not Hezekiah. Josiah.

Tragic death

Despite this praise, Josiah's death was sudden and seemingly senseless. In 609 BC, Pharaoh Necho II of Egypt marched north to assist Assyria against Babylon at Carchemish. Josiah intercepted him at Megiddo — why he opposed Egypt is debated, but he may have been allied with Babylon or trying to prevent Egyptian forces from crossing his territory.

Necho sent messengers: 'What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me?... God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you' (2 Chronicles 35:21). Josiah 'would not listen' and disguised himself for battle. He was struck by archers and died. He was 39 years old.

All Judah mourned. The prophet Jeremiah composed laments for him (2 Chronicles 35:25). Within 23 years of his death, Jerusalem and the temple he had restored would be destroyed by Babylon.

Why it matters

Josiah's story teaches that one faithful leader can change a nation's direction — but cannot change a nation's heart by decree alone. His reforms were external; when he died, the people quickly returned to their old ways. This is precisely why the new covenant was needed: not better kings enforcing better laws, but God writing His law 'on their hearts' (Jeremiah 31:33). Josiah represents the best the old covenant could produce — and it still wasn't enough.