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Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Wednesday, 22 October 2025:
2 Kings 23:1-3 — Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, 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 that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.
This is one of the most significant spiritual reformations in Israel’s history. After discovering the long-lost Book of the Law, Josiah doesn’t merely reform the outward rituals of worship; he renews the covenant relationship between God and His people. He personally leads the nation in repentance and recommitment, showing that true revival begins with the heart of the leader humbling himself under the authority of God’s Word. Someone once said, “Leaders know the way and show the way.” May we have more leaders who would know and show the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Jesus.
By reading “all the words of the Book of the Covenant,” Josiah re-centers the nation around divine revelation rather than human tradition. His promise to follow the Lord “with all his heart and all his soul” echoes the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:5) and anticipates Jesus’ summary of the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37). The people’s agreement signifies corporate accountability: faith that is personal but never private.
2 Kings 23:4-14 — And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem…
Josiah’s zeal for God expresses itself in decisive, uncompromising action. He does not negotiate with idolatry; he eradicates it. The idols are not merely removed but destroyed and desecrated — turned to ash. His reforms reach beyond the temple, throughout Judah, even into former northern territories. This shows a deep theological truth: repentance is not complete until sin is confronted and purged. In the same way, Jesus teaches that if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off (Matthew 5:30), a call for radical separation from evil. Josiah’s actions fulfill the spirit of Deuteronomy 13:17, which commands that anything associated with idolatry be completely removed so that God’s fierce anger may turn away. True reformation begins not with compromise but with cleansing.
2 Kings 23:10-11 — And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.
Josiah destroys the very place where child sacrifice had been practiced, a horrifying symbol of spiritual and moral corruption. The Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) later becomes the word Jesus uses for hell (Mark 9:43), illustrating how sin leads to destruction. What once was a center of demonic worship becomes a prophetic image of divine judgment. Josiah’s defilement of Topheth is both a moral statement and a spiritual victory, an act of reclaiming sacred space for the Lord. God abhors idolatry not simply because it offends Him, but because it dehumanizes us, twisting worship into cruelty.
2 Kings 23:13, 14 — And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.
Josiah made a covenant before the Lord, “to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul.” His first step was to “put away all filthiness.” (James 1:21)
We cannot experience the fullness of joy and blessings in our relationship with God while we continue to hang onto sins which are detestable to the One we love. Josiah had to dig deep to remove the idolatry around him which was deeply rooted in Israel’s history and included national high places for idol worship. These high places, built around the same time as the Temple, were by now as much a part of Judah’s national identity as anything else, built by their hero, Solomon, the wisest man of their day, the son of David! Yet, they had to go, likely much to the dismay of many.
As Christians, fidelity may require that we remove things or change things that have always been a part of our lives but that do not meet God’s standard. Looking at our lives from God’s perspective and His standard will most certainly demand massive change in our lives. We may have to get rid of sins which have become old companions or which we have even attached to our personal identity – “That’s just who I am.” The change may come at a tremendous personal cost. However, our love for God demands it. It takes great faith to change what has always been there. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)
2 Kings 23:15-20 — Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned….
Josiah’s reform extends north to Bethel, the heart of Jeroboam’s rebellion centuries earlier. In tearing down the altar there, Josiah fulfills a prophecy made over 300 years before by the “man of God” in 1 Kings 13:2. God’s Word never fails; His promises outlast kings and kingdoms. This act shows that God’s plan of redemption and judgment moves steadily forward through time, often unseen but unstoppable. Josiah’s obedience becomes the instrument by which an ancient word of judgment finds its fulfillment, reminding us that the obedience of one generation can complete what God spoke long before.
2 Kings 23:21-23 — And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel…
The rediscovery of God’s Word leads not only to repentance but to worship. The Passover, the remembrance of God’s deliverance from Egypt, is restored to its rightful place at the center of national and spiritual life. The people who had forgotten God’s law now celebrate His mercy. Josiah’s Passover is described as unparalleled since the time of the judges, underscoring both its magnitude and the depth of previous neglect. This is a picture of revival in its purest form: repentance leading to renewal, obedience leading to joy.
2 Kings 23:24-25 — Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods… Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.
This statement places Josiah among the most faithful of all Israel’s kings. His obedience was not partial or political but wholehearted and personal. He modeled the Shema, loving God with heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:5). His reforms were comprehensive, purifying not just the nation’s public worship but its private practices. Even so, Josiah’s faithfulness could not undo the cumulative consequences of Judah’s centuries of rebellion, as the next verses reveal.
What might be your “household gods,” those close and personal, perhaps private thoughts, attitudes, practices, relationships or things in your life which detract from your holiness and hinder your relationship with God? Today is the day to remove them. As you seek to clean house, don’t ignore those “respectable” inconspicuous sins like jealousy, anger, judgementalism, selfishness, and pride, which are just as deadly as the so-called “big” sins widely considered unacceptable (Consider reading the Book, Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges). Don’t let anything stand which is unacceptable before the Lord, even if it has always been there.
- Joshua 24:23 — He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.”
- Hebrews 12:1, 2 — Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
- 1 Samuel 15:23 — For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.
- Colossians 3:5 — Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
- Ezekiel 14:3 — Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them?
- Psalm 66:18 — If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened….
2 Kings 23:26-27 — Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah… “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel.”
Even the greatest human reformation cannot erase divine judgment when a people’s heart remains unchanged. Josiah’s revival was real but not permanent; it could restrain sin but not regenerate the nation. Only Christ could accomplish that. The story reminds us that external reform without internal renewal is insufficient. Salvation must come not through the law or leadership, but through grace. As Paul wrote, “By works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight” (Romans 3:20). Josiah’s life points forward to the need for a greater King, one who would not just cleanse a temple but purify hearts (Hebrews 10:16–17).
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 22 October 2025: Follow Josiah’s example by letting the Word of God expose and expel every idol from your life. True revival begins with the rediscovery of God’s Word and leads to the destruction of anything that competes with His place in your heart. Don’t settle for partial obedience or private compromise; surrender fully to the Lord with all your heart, soul, and might. Renew your covenant with Him today by reading His Word aloud, confessing sin, and replacing every “high place” of pride, pleasure, or fear with humble worship.
Pray: “Lord God, teach me to do what is right in Your eyes and not my own. Let my heart be as Josiah’s — tender to Your Word, quick to repent, and bold to act. Expose every idol that competes with Your Lordship and give me the courage to tear it down completely. Restore in me the joy of my salvation and renew a steadfast spirit within me. May my obedience spring from love, not duty, and my worship from reverence, not routine. I give You all my heart, all my soul, and all my might. Let my life be a living covenant of faithfulness to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
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