Based on 2 Kings 22 (New King James Version)
“Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the Lord, saying: ‘Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. And let them deliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the Lord; let them give it to those who are in the house of the Lord doing the work, to repair the damages of the house—to carpenters and builders and masons—and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. However there need be no accounting made with them of the money delivered into their hand, because they deal faithfully.’ Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, ‘I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.’ And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, ‘Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord.’ Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, ‘Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.’ And Shaphan read it before the king. Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, ‘Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.’ So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke with her. Then she said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, ‘Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read—because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’ ’ ’ But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Concerning the words which you have heard—because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,’ says the Lord. ‘Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.’ ’ ’ So they brought back word to the king.
One of the first things we could see is that the people were in a bad state, and in such a bad state that they did not even have the word of God in their hands. If we see just slightly before Josiah’s history, we would see that his father did what was wrong before the eyes of the Lord, and that he walked in the ways of the nations that surrounded them. Evil had grown so much that God became weary of the people, and He was about to end everything. But what is amazing is that a young boy gained concern over the things of God, this Josiah had a sensitive heart to God and he took the things of God into consideration, and through that, he found God's Word and mercy. He took the Lord seriously.
We should see for a moment the determination of this young king. Let us think about his background and about how people like to think today. If we speak about this young man psychologically, he had all kinds of reasons to not look for God. His father did evil before the Lord, so he had a bad example. His father was murdered. And after the tragedy (or God's punishment), the people took this boy of eight years and make him king. In addition, the entire nation was in spiritual decadence and doing what was evil before God. So then, psychologically speaking, what reason would Josiah have had to do something completely different seeing the bad example of his father and the entire nation that was corrupted, and to find himself being a child in this situation? There was nothing. He could have been filled with a hunger to avenge his father’s death. He could have let himself be led by the people, because how could a child face an entire nation? If we talk about bullying, don't you think that the people would have tried to control this boy to make him do whatever they wanted? He was a boy! But despite everything being against Josiah from looking for God and looking to please him, he did not allow himself to be influenced. His influence was not his past nor his environment. So then, we see that if a person desires within themselves to do what is right, they can do it, despite whatever happened in their past and despite their environment. So, we see that this so-called psychology is false as we examine this 8-year-old boy. We can conclude that every person has the power to choose to do whatever they want, whether they want to look for God or reject God. This is what the Word says, and what Josiah must have read when he found the Word of God: “But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. ‘See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.” Deuteronomy 30:14-18. The right to choose can be seen very clearly, and Josiah chose to look for God's favor.
And so, we can conclude that bad parents being a bad example, along with society and the environment can be an influence. They can be factors. And of course, what can we say about the devil and his dark forces that are always on the prowl, whispering their garbage into our ears, tempting us with what we see? That is undeniable. But they are only factors. None of that can force a person to do anything. Not even God forces anyone because He wants everything to be based on love, and love is all about choice. Furthermore, God tests our faith and love, and He allows for trials, temptation, and even tribulation to happen to see if our love for Him is true. No matter what, no matter what factors there may be, every human being finally chooses to do what they want to do. And this Josiah chose to look to do God's will, especially when he was confronted with the Word of God. He took God seriously. So then, are you choosing to take God seriously or not? Lord bless! John