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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Tuesday, 21 October 2025:
2 Kings 22:1-2 — Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
Amid the long spiritual darkness of Judah under Manasseh and Amon, Josiah’s reign dawned as a miracle of grace. The Scripture’s introduction to him is simple yet profound: he “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.” The detail about his mother, Jedidah, again highlights the biblical pattern of godly parental influence. In an age of corruption, God raised up a child through whom He would call a nation to repentance. Josiah’s devotion is measured by his steadfast obedience — he did not waver or compromise. Like David, his heart was wholly given to the Lord. His life shows that righteousness is not the inheritance of an environment but the result of a yielded heart. Even in a polluted culture, faithfulness can flourish when one truly seeks God. As Philippians 2:15 reminds believers, “That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.”
“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign….” In American politics there is much debate as to whether a person is equipped for the job (as there should be), but often what is more important is who that person surrounds themselves with for counsel and guidance. As an eight-year-old, Josiah was not equipped for the job, but he was surrounded by godly administrators and counsellors. Again, note that the first counsellor mentioned in 2 Kings 22 is his mother. Parents are critical to the success of their children. We will see later that Josiah slips a bit when he does not listen to sound, godly counsel.
2 Kings 22:3-7 — In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the LORD, saying, “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the LORD, repairing the house…. But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.”
Josiah’s zeal for the Lord was proven through action, not merely sentiment. He began not with political reform, but with worship reform, repairing the temple of God that had been neglected and defiled by idolatry. His concern was for the restoration of right worship. The care with which funds were gathered and distributed, entrusted to honest men, reflects the integrity of leadership that flows from reverence for God. Josiah demonstrates that revival begins not in the palace but in the house of the Lord, and that true spiritual reform must start with the rebuilding of what sin has decayed. This pattern echoes in 1 Peter 4:17: “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God.” Before a nation can turn, the people of God must first repair the ruins of their own worship.
2 Kings 22:2 – And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.
Josiah’s life stood in sharp contrast to the moral confusion that defined the time of the Judges, when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6; 21:25). To do what is right in the eyes of the LORD means to measure righteousness not by personal opinion, cultural norms, or human reason, but by divine revelation through God’s written word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Josiah’s unwavering obedience — he “did not turn aside to the right or to the left” — signified complete devotion to God’s Word, rather than the shifting ethics of man. Those who do what is right in their own eyes often believe themselves virtuous, but self-defined morality inevitably leads away from God. Proverbs 14:12 warns, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”
Scripture repeatedly reminds us that God alone defines what is good and evil. Isaiah 55:8-9 declares, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The world celebrates self-determined truth, yet true wisdom begins not with self-confidence but with submission. Proverbs 9:10 teaches, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” Likewise, Proverbs 1:7 adds, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
The Apostle Paul echoed this eternal truth in 1 Corinthians 3:19: “For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.” To walk rightly before the Lord, as Josiah did, requires the humility to distrust one’s own understanding and the faith to follow God’s Word without deviation. As Proverbs 3:5-6 commands, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Josiah’s life demonstrates the difference between the wisdom of man, which exalts self, and the wisdom of God, which exalts obedience to Him. Where the people of Judges followed their instincts and reaped chaos, Josiah followed the Word and restored order. His faithfulness is a living testimony that righteousness is never found in doing what seems right to us but only in doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord. What is right in our own eyes is not the same as what is right in God’s eyes. We must choose to do what is right in God’s eyes.
2 Kings 22:8-10 — And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. Then Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money… and have given it into the hand of the workmen….” Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
This moment marks one of the most defining rediscoveries in all of Scripture. The Word of God, long forgotten and buried beneath the neglect of generations, was suddenly brought to light. This shows how easily truth can be lost when worship decays. The “Book of the Law” likely referred to Deuteronomy, the covenant charter that called Israel to love and obey the Lord wholeheartedly. For decades, the people lived by religion without revelation — ritual without relationship. Josiah’s response would reveal the difference between those who hear the Word and those who tremble at it. As Amos 8:11 had warned, “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land — not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.” Judah had lived through that famine until this discovery reopened the well.
2 Kings 22:11-13 — When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest… “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
Josiah’s reaction exposes a heart soft to God’s Word. He tore his clothes, not as a performance, but from genuine grief. The king was broken over national sin and personal responsibility. He saw the Word not as distant history but as living truth that demanded repentance. Josiah models what true revival always begins with: a rediscovery of God’s Word that breaks the heart and humbles the soul. He did not excuse the failures of his fathers; instead, he owned the guilt of his generation. His plea, “Go, inquire of the LORD for me,” mirrors the contrite heart of Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Revival begins with responsibility.
“When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law….” God’s people must study God’s word as a first priority. God’s word is the primary instrument used by God to speak to God’s people. The Holy Spirit uses God’s word to convict the hearts of His people and to show them what they cannot understand through mere intellect. When we don’t prioritize daily, diligent Bible study, we will lose the leading of the Holy Spirit and will drift into sin.
“Great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” Generations suffer when their ancestors do not obey ALL that is written in God’s word. Jesus’ answer for world peace was to have his disciples, “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” There is no substitute for obedience.
2 Kings 22:13 — “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
Josiah did not take sin against God lightly.
2 Kings 22:14-20 — So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess… And she said to them.., “Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book… because they have forsaken me…. But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD… because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD… your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.”
Through the prophetess Huldah, God confirmed both His impending judgment and His mercy toward Josiah. The Lord’s justice demanded that Judah’s sin be punished; generations of rebellion could not be erased by one man’s repentance. Yet God honored Josiah’s humility and granted him peace in his days. This passage reveals the paradox of divine justice and mercy — both perfect and unchanging. The same Word that brings wrath on the unrepentant brings grace to the humble. God’s promises stand: “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2). Even when judgment is inevitable, repentance still brings mercy.
2 Kings 18-20 — But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.’” And they brought back word to the king.
Revival involves a return to God’s word, Spirit-led conviction, and genuine repentance. Josiah wanted to honor God by repairing the temple. However, it wasn’t until he humbly read God’s word that he was truly convicted of the depth of his sins and the sins of the people against God. Unlike the “scoffer” described in Proverbs, Josiah does not reject the Spirit’s rebuke but rather responds with a “penitent heart.” Interestingly, when Josiah and his “priest” want to get a deeper understanding of what they read, they know exactly where to go – to “Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe.” (2 Kings 22:14) Not much of Huldah is recorded in the Bible, but we know two things: one, in a time when the nation had walked away from God and could no longer hear God’s word, Huldah stood out as faithful and godly; second, Huldah was in a relatively prominent position as the wife of the keeper of the king’s wardrobe. Notice also that when Josiah wanted to understand God’s word he did not seek out the prophet Jeremiah who preached in the streets. This may be because Huldah was known, accessible, acceptable, and non-threatening. Also, it wasn’t the official priest, the appointed religious leader who knew God’s true word – it was the woman Huldah who had genuine relationship with God. Huldah, however, did not sugar-coat God’s word but rather delivered it straight. Are you the one who stands out in your community as holy and powerfully used by God? When someone needs to understand the deeper meaning of God’s word, do they automatically think of you and go to you? Are you fulfilling your role as an Ambassador for Christ and as a priest?
- 2 Corinthians 5:20 — Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
- 1 Peter 2:9 — But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 21 October 2025: Rediscover the Word of God as Josiah did, not merely as a book of history or principles for living but as the living voice of the Lord that reveals both sin and salvation, the voice of the Lord which reveals Jesus, the Way, Truth, and Life. Let the Word draw you deeper into a personal relationship with Jesus, and let it break and then build you up in Christlike character. Ask God to expose the ruins of your heart that need repair and to rekindle reverence for His truth and a passion for oneness with Him. Revival begins wherever the Word is honored again. Don’t be content to live in a culture that has lost the Book — find it, read it, and respond to it, again, not just for obedience and blessing but for love of Him which is the only way to real obedience and which is the ultimate blessing. As James 1:22 urges, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
Pray: “Heavenly Father, thank You for the example of Josiah, whose heart trembled at Your Word and whose obedience brought renewal to a nation. Forgive us for the times we have let Your Word grow dusty and neglected in our lives. Restore in us a holy fear of You and a renewed hunger for Your truth. Awaken our hearts to hear, obey, and delight in Your commands. May Your Spirit bring reformation first within us, that through us You might bring light to a dark generation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
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