2 Chronicles 34 NLT
You were sorry and humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this city and its people. You humbled yourself and tore your clothing in despair and wept before me in repentance. And I have indeed heard you, says the Lord. So I will not send the promised disaster until after you have died and been buried in peace. You yourself will not see the disaster I am going to bring on this city and its people… So Josiah removed all detestable idols from the entire land of Israel and required everyone to worship the Lord their God. And throughout the rest of his lifetime, they did not turn away from the Lord, the God of their ancestors. (27-28, 33)
I have always been intrigued by Josiah, the boy king who sought the Lord when he was 8 years old. That in itself is remarkable, but what is truly amazing is that his father had been one of the more wicked kings and so it was not as if he was following in the family’s footsteps. His story is one of a boy who is used by God to bring about one of the most incredible revivals in all of history. However, as the text above states, even his great reforms were not enough to stop the judgment of God from the nation of Judah. Justice was postponed by his actions, but in the end, the people still reaped what they had sowed.
To me, the encouraging thing here is that even after Josiah discovers judgment will still come to the people of God after his reign, he continues the reforms. I have thought about that a lot. He had instituted so many reforms and brought about amazing change even before the book of the Law was discovered in the temple. When the Law is read to him, Josiah is broken and cries out to God. God answers that He has heard Josiah’s prayers and seen his repentance, so disaster would not come until after he is gone. Yet, even after hearing that devastating news, Josiah continues to remove idols and purify the people of God. He wasn’t trying to bargain with God or hope He would change His mind—he was just doing what he knew was right.
It makes me think of our call to do evangelism, plant churches, and fulfill the Great Commission. When we read the bible we know that things in this world will grow steadily worse and that the end is near. We know that judgment is coming and eventually, there will be a reckoning. We also know that for those of us who are in Christ, we will escape that judgment. However, like Josiah, knowing that you are safe doesn’t permit you to relax in doing what is right. We have a job to do and people need to hear the gospel message before it’s too late. The certainty of judgment and forgiveness we have in Christ should spur us to even greater works. Now is not the time to coast through until the end; now is the time to put your hand to the plow like never before.
