Radically Josiah

We live in a world where people commonly make fantastic claims. Over and over we hear that something or someone is the best ever. As a sports fan, I’ve noticed that one week the commentators will all be proclaiming one basketball player the greatest ever; the very next week it will be a new player. So the fantastic claims of men and women don’t amount to much. However, when God makes an absolute claim, we can be assured it is true! And He makes one of these claims about Josiah.

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).

The Word of God tells us that there had never been a king like Josiah, who turned to God with all his heart, soul, and strength. No one had ever been as passionate, as devoted, as committed as he was, and God wanted everyone to know this. What was it about Josiah that made him so different from all those before and after him? Three quick areas of his life that help us understand what made him so excellent are the following:

1) Josiah was full of the fire of God. The name Josiah means “the fire of God.” From the age of 16 he began to earnestly seek God and God responded by filling him with the fire of the Holy Spirit.

2) Josiah tore up every idol. Josiah had no mercy on the idols in the land of Judah but viciously tore them down. He allowed no idolatry in his heart. We need to be purged of all idolatry as well, having no love of money, popularity, and natural things.

3) Josiah celebrated salvation. He held the biggest Passover celebration in Israel’s history, remembering God’s saving power. Do we celebrate the salvation God has given us by sharing it with our friends?

Let’s follow Josiah’s example. He brought great revival to his nation through his sold-out commitment to God. Let’s live crazily, hilariously, and radically like Josiah did. Our nation and generation can be changed!