The commandment of the Lord to the people of Israel spoken through Moses to love Him with all their hearts, souls and strength was given straight after this premise: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). Before hearing and obeying any commandment from the LORD, it is important to know who is speaking, hence the premise. God is one and He is the one speaking. In laying out these commandments, God wanted His people to know that these were not just rules that were randomly selected or written for the sake of rules but that He, the LORD, the creator of the universe, the one who made His people and saved them out of the land of Egypt set out these specific instructions for their good and for His glory. Indeed, the reason for obeying the commandments is so that the people of Israel would have success in the land the LORD was giving them and multiply greatly (Deuteronomy 6:2-3). This is why God’s commandments should never be looked at as burdens or chores or punishment but rather means by which the LORD is wanting to bless us and do us good. Far too often I have quoted the commandment to love the LORD with all your heart, soul and might but it can still remain very broad. Today, I would like to look at an ancient King who applied that commandment well in the hopes of giving us practical tips on what that commandment looks like once lived out.
The ancient King I would like to discuss today is none other than Josiah. Josiah became king of Judah at eight years old and he reigned for a total of thirty-one years in Jerusalem. That is a long reign he had and what an early start he had in life! It is evident that he did not have the typical eight years old lifestyle, he was certainly not playing with his friends outside. Very early, he had to learn the ropes of kingship. I would like to believe that at eight years old, he relied heavily on the counsel of his trusted advisors and probably the queen mother as well. The Bible tells us that Josiah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the way of David his father, not turning aside to the right or to the left (2 Kings 22:2). This statement alone is impressive. When you read later in the chapter, you see that Josiah had a made a covenant to the LORD before the people to “walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant…” (2 Kings 23:3). This covenant was made as a result of the book of the Law of God being found in the Temple and the word of God spoken through the prophetess Huldah. Indeed, in the eighteenth year of his reign, king Josiah was made aware of the Book of the Law found in the temple of God during the preliminary repair work he had ordered in the Temple. Little did Josiah know that the work ordered would take a different turn of events! When Josiah heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes and commanded his trusted counsel consisting of the high-priest, the secretary, and the king’s servants to “Go, inquire of the LORD” on his behalf and on the people’s behalf concerning the words he had just read. We can assume that whatever word was spoken, it was not good. The outcome was disastrous for Judah, it is clear that the king understood right away that the LORD was against Judah. When the inquiry through the word of the prophetess came confirming what he had read, that is when Josiah gathered the people and made the covenant mentioned above. There was something different about Josiah as a king, first, he had a desire to repair the Temple in a land where the Temple of God was desecrated. The worship of the LORD was no longer done properly in the Temple. It seems this should have been the first thing to attempt to repair. I believe that is why the LORD made sure the Book of the Law was found so that priorities would be set straight. Following this covenant, Josiah really took matters into his hand, he applied his heart to knowing the Law. He made some big reforms, beginning by cleansing the Temple and “purging the evil from among them”. First, Josiah removed all the vessels that were made for Baal, Asherah and the host of heaven and burned them all. Second, he deposed the priests of these false deities that were ordained by previous kings of Judah. Third, he removed the Asherah from the house of the LORD and burned it outside Jerusalem. Fourth, he broke down the houses of male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the LORD. Fifth, he put away the mediums and necromancers and the household gods and the idols in the land. Sixth, he broke down the high places. Seventh, Josiah celebrated the Passover and not any. It is said to be the greatest Passover celebrated since the time of Samuel the Prophet. In this celebration, Josiah displayed extreme generosity, giving out thirty thousand flock and three thousand bulls from his own possession to be slaughtered for the occasion. You can read more about all his reforms in 2 Kings 23. These reforms that king Josiah made show the depth of Judah’s corruption. It is almost unbelievable to think that in the house of the LORD you had all those immoral activities happening. How did the people of Judah, the people of God end up this way? How is it that they followed suit in the steps of their brothers from the northern kingdom even after many warnings from the LORD? If you read the many kings that came before Josiah you will notice that the kings who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord never did it to the fullest like Josiah. There is always a mention of “but the high places were not taken away” which means the people were continuing to sacrifice in those places despite the changes done by those kings. However, in the case of Josiah, it is very clear that he walked in the path of David his father and during David’s reign, there was no idolatry found in the land (at least, none recorded), the Law of God was well upheld then. You can see that the reforms Josiah put in place were extremely comprehensive. No stone was left unturned. Now this is how a king should use his authority! He made the changes from the top and it escalated down to the people. Josiah took the faults of the people upon himself, he felt responsible for the sin of the people, that is why he grieved and humbled himself before the LORD. Again, this is how a real king ought to govern. Josiah knew he was an example so he had to obey the rules too. One observation to point out in Josiah’s reforms is that Josiah was not making these changes to flatter the LORD or change his mind because the sentence was already clear from the LORD, he would punish Judah severely (2 Kings 22:20), rather Josiah was making good on his promises to keep the covenant he made with the LORD to love him with all his heart, soul and might and to perform the words of his covenant. From Josiah’s reforms, what is clear is that loving the LORD with all our heart, soul and strength translates to action. Josiah applied the word of God; he ensured the commandments of God were obeyed when it came to the house of the LORD. He ensured, true worship was reinstated in the Temple and by extension in the land. I do not know how long it took him but I know it was not an overnight task. Josiah was diligent in this work and kept at it until his time came to go.
In reading the story of Josiah, it is easy to dismiss it because not many of us are in a position of authority like he was, and not many of us have this influence. However, we should not miss the simple truth that Josiah teaches us through his life about what it means to love the Lord your God with your heart, mind and strength. That is, this type of love requires action. It is not a superficial love and the actions are not from the sky, they are daily mundane actions that seek to obey the word of the LORD in our life, in our context and in our nation. Like Josiah, we can start by reading the word of the LORD and repenting of any sins the LORD points out or reveals to us, then we can begin to obey his commandments by making concrete steps for change. Truth be told, as John told us in his epistle, loving the LORD, means keeping his commandments which are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). Therefore, let us hold fast to the word of God and return to Him quickly in humility and fasting whenever we are convicted in order to have that “new heart” created in us that David prayed in Psalm 51. Now is the time for action, would you not delay any longer?
A Word Aptly Spoken 