Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left. -2 Kings 22:1-2
Have you ever wondered what might be said of you after you are gone? I thought about this last week as I was reading in 2 Kings. The lives of the Kings of Israel and Judah are summed up. Most of the time, it seems they are summarized as evil. Josiah was one of the few good kings. “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”
I don’t know about you, but my desire is that my life would be summarized like this. Josiah was good because he not only sought the Lord, he listened and obeyed. He destroyed the idols and places of worship of other gods that led the people astray. He led by example. Listening to the Word of God is important, but the act of listening to the Word is not complete until the truth sinks into our soul and we move forward in obedience. This is one of the ways we “grow up” in the Lord.