Locations & Times

How old was Josiah when he became king? (8 years old)

How did God help Josiah be brave? (He read the Bible to people.)

Who can help you be brave? (God)

Read: 2 Kings 22-23
How was King Josiah brave? He was just a boy when he turned his entire kingdom back towards the heart of God. Josiah became a king when he was eight years old, and early into his reign a priest discovered the Book of the Law inside the temple. Upon reading it, Josiah realized that God’s people were living in outright rebellion. They had altars set up to tons of other gods and were living in direct disobedience to everything God had commanded them within that book.

Josiah tore his clothes and repented. For the next 18 years, he set out to turn all of his kingdom back towards the LORD. King Josiah burned altars and set fire to the bones of false prophets. He destroyed anything and everything that was not in line with the one, true God. The Bible tells us that, “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.

It took incredible courage for a young boy king to lead an entire nation in repentance. Josiah’s peacemaking involved destruction, but it did not stop him from making things right. Josiah understood that in order to follow God wholeheartedly, he would have to embark on a full-on war effort. He did, and God honored him for it.

God commands us to follow him; heart, soul, mind, strength (Mark 12:33), and this kind of obedience doesn’t come without effort. Just like in Josiah’s kingdom, there are areas of outright rebellion in our own lives. It could be a long and painful war effort to repent and turn back to God’s heart. Peacemaking isn’t always a peaceful process, but we are not alone. Jesus is with us in every step, and he promises this to us (Matthew 28:20). Brave obedience might come at a cost, but it is always worth it. God is faithful, and that is our hope as we walk in obedience.

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness,” Lamentations 3:21-23.

When in your life has obedience or repentance come at a cost? How have you seen God’s goodness in the midst of that process?

How has repentance deepened your understanding of grace?

Jesus with us changes everything. How does that promise give you courage to obey?