Wholeheartedly for God

Commentary on 2 Chronicles 34

Khen Lim





King Josiah being revealed the rediscovered scroll by Shaphan the scribe (Image source: sothlansing.org)

The prophet Jeremiah wrote in 2 Kings 23:25, pronouncing Josiah as a king unlike any other before and none since because he ‘turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses.’

Josiah ascended to the throne in the southern kingdom of Judah aged eight, inheriting it from his father, Amon, who was assassinated. Prior to that, his infamous grandfather, Manasseh, ruled for fifty-five years in what was widely known as the worst and most hated in its history largely because of his abominable obeisance to Baal and Asherah and other agricultural gods as well as child sacrifices. 

In the thirty years of his rule, Josiah did many wonderful things to right what had gone wrong before him. He did right before God and walked straight (2 Chr 34:2). He broke the stranglehold of idol worship in the land (vv3-7). He set right a Temple in disrepair (v8). Above all, it was during his reign that the Lost Laws were discovered (v14) that had been forgotten and swept aside during his grandfather’s time. 

From that point alone, Josiah led his people to realise their sins and repented (vv18-21), made a covenant with God (vv31-32) that led to the revival of the land.

In my much younger days in an era without smartphones or GPS, we had the annual editions of the excellent Melway Street Directory that all of us in Melbourne could not do without. The directory had beautifully laid out – and deadly accurate – maps of every square inch of the metropolitan city including its outermost areas all the way to Werribee on the west, Philip Island to the south-east and Pakenham to the far outer-east. 

The directory even included very useful maps for when we toured regionally or interstate. It was so incredibly handy that no car in Melbourne was without one in their gloveboxes. With the directory, we could never get lost and without a doubt, we would always be able to get home safely, provided we have enough gas in the tank of course! In short, the Melway was literally our best guide to get to the right places on time every time, using the shortest possible routes.

Of course in this day and age, Melway has gone online and continue to be relevant for all motorists not just in Melbourne but other cities throughout Australia as well. But it doesn’t hold a wick to how indispensable it was in book form back then when technologies were at best fairly basic. 

And so the other day while springcleaning at home, I stumbled across a 1995 edition complete with its standard-issue plastic cover. It still looked good. After dusting it off, I flicked through the pages and reminisced over those vintage days. Some of the pages had scribbles that brought back instant memories. There were scraps of papers sandwiched in between some of those pages, containing interesting notes that made me smile and remember fondly.

Just as I found the street directory such a joy upon rediscovering it, it is easy to imagine how Josiah would have felt when a scroll of an early version of the Book of Deuteronomy (‘Second Law’ in Greek) was discovered by Hilkiah the high priest who then passed it on to Shaphan the scribe who then delivered it to the king. And from the totemic symbol, Josiah announced his covenant with God to keep the Law. 

He then set his scholars to retell the ancient stories of their forefathers, the history of the Judaeans, the mythical Patriarchs, the redoubtable David and Solomon and the origins of Jerusalem. In all, this discovery set the path to not only the creation of the Bible but also the true development of Judaism founded on the first five Mosaic books.

With a background dominated by the grandfather’s vileness, Josiah set about to change things. 2 Kings 21:16 tells us that Manasseh shed enough innocent blood to line Jerusalem from one end to the other. His own father, Amon, was not much better although thankfully he lasted only two years before he could wreak as much damage. 

With this heritage, Josiah turned the nation completely around and guided his people back to God. In doing so, he ‘did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord’ (14:2) by tearing down all the idols and burned them in the Kidron Valley, expelling the male prostitutes from the Temple, smashing the child-roasters of the Valley of Hell and then sending the idolatrous priests to their death before grinding their bones on their altars.

But the big news was the discovery of the scroll that shocked him because he realised that none of his people had been following any of the laws.  Because of his humility and penitence upon uncovering the scroll, God took it easy with Josiah; otherwise he and everyone else in the land would have been punished. A grateful and relieved Josiah then called for a meeting in the Temple in Jerusalem from which he read from the scroll to all who were assembled there. 

Although this would have likely gone on for more than just a day (considering the reading was of not one but five Mosaic books), the purpose was for all his people to appreciate the burden upon them to right their mistakes and to amend their lives. Josiah then made a covenant with God to comply with His laws and commandments as laid out in the scroll and to ensure that his people would do the same.

Despite the discovery of the scroll, how did Josiah find it in him to turn things around? What gave him the motivation to go for wholesale change? How did he get this sense of urgency to right what was wrong and to do it so quickly? Was it because of God’s threat to act out His punishment? Or was it something else?

It’s a simple answer. Josiah simply chose to devote himself wholeheartedly to God. No divided loyalties. No distractions. It’s all or nothing for Josiah. It was complete obedience acted fully enthusiastically. To devote himself wholeheartedly means to hold back nothing, to be devoted in its entirety and with all his heart.

This is the real stuff. There is no pretending. It is fervent and not tepid. Complete, not partial. Josiah was single-minded in his pursuit of God. This means he brokered neither compromise nor excuses. He probably viewed this as his one and last opportunity to do something right for God. 

In Matthew 22:36-38, one of the teachers of the Law asked, “Rabbi, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” In answering, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5, saying, “Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” In other words, God views this as the foremost command, the kernel of all His commandments. If we can’t get this right, God cannot be at the centre of our lives no matter what we say. It wouldn’t then matter what we do because it won’t make an iota of difference to God. Without love, we’re nothing.

What lessons can we learn from a good and praiseworthy king like Josiah? As Christians, what are our important priorities?

Firstly, put God first. Once Josiah knew where the nation had gone wrong all these many years, he changed direction big time. He prioritised his and his people’s lives by putting God first in their minds, in their daily lives and in all that they do. Nothing would drive a wedge between them and their relationship and worship of the one true God.

Secondly, make God’s will our will. In other words, surrender to Him and offer ourselves up as a vessel for God to use. Dispense with our selfishness and reshape our lives to be inclusive of God. Follow Jesus who said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38).

Thirdly, drop our pride and arrogance. If we know we’re actually worthless sinners, we’d soon now our pride is for nothing. James 4:6 says, “God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Pride is the bulwark of sin and God detests it (Proverbs 6:17).

In Josiah’s actions, the prophet Jeremiah’s words come alive: “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Josiah’s example sets for us a resonating reminder of this wonderful promise. He certainly heard God’s calling to set things right and to lead the land to revival. He truly sought His will in not just his but also his people’s lives, knowing that He would respond. 

And He did.