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Jeremiah Our Goal T o read the book of Jeremiah, is to take a journey, a spiritual journey that goes back and forth from the lowest depths of human depravity to the heights and grandeur and majesty of the Lord— the Lord who, from those heights, cries out to all of us: Mi-yittan that such a heart would be in you!

Jeremiah Contents 1 The Prophetic Calling of Jeremiah 2 The Crisis Within and Without 3 The Last Five Kings of Judah 4 Rebuke and Retribution 5 More Woes for the Prophet 6 Symbolic Acts 7 The Crisis Continues 8 Josiah’s Reform 9 Jeremiah’s Yoke 10 The Destruction of Jerusalem 11 The Covenant 12 Back to Egypt 13 Lessons From Jeremiah

Jeremiah Lesson 8, November 21 Jeremiah Lesson 8, November 21 Josiah’s Reforms

Key Text 2 Kings 23:25 NKJV “ N ow before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.”

Josiah’s Reforms Quick Look 1. Josiah on the Throne (2 Kings 22:1, 2) 2. Josiah and the Book of the Law (2 Kings 22:8-13) 3. Josiah’s Revival (2 Kings 23:3-21)

Josiah’s Reforms Initial Words M uch of Scripture is the story of God warning His people about not making wrong choices. This has been a major part of the book of Jeremiah: the pleadings of God, who respects free will, to His chosen nation. We see one of the few kings who, using free will, chose to do what “was right in the sight of the Lord.”

Josiah’s Reforms 1. Josiah on the Throne 2 Kings 22:1, 2 NKJV “ J osiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah.... And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.”

1. Josiah on the Throne The Reigns of Mannasseh and Amon H ow can we explain King Manasseh’s early years of terrible apostasy? the abominations he allowed to flourish in Judah? Being hauled off to Babylon with nose hooks and bronze fetters, Manasseh truly repented of his ways and, when restored to the throne, sought to repair the damage that he had done.

1. Josiah on the Throne The Reigns of Mannasseh and Amon Unfortunately, the damage was greater than he might have imagined. Even more unfortunate, among those who had been terribly impacted by Manasseh’s apostasy was his son, Amon, who “did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done.” Worse, unlike his father, Amon never repented of his ways.

1. Josiah on the Throne A New King The young king came to the throne at a time of great turmoil, apostasy, and violence, even at the highest levels of government. “From a human point of view the divine purpose for the chosen nation seemed almost impossible of accomplishment.”—Prophets and Kings 384.

1. Josiah on the Throne A New King From the dedication of the temple by Solomon, the kings had not really taken care of the temple. Time had eroded the building, which had once been beautiful. The young king saw that the temple was no longer suitable for worship as a result of long years of neglect.

Josiah’s Reforms 2. Josiah and the Book of the Law 2 Kings 22:8-13 NKJV “ H ilkiah the high priest said..., ‘I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.’... Shaphan the scribe showed the king...read it before the king. Then the king commanded..., ‘Go inquire of the Lord...concerning the words of the book...for great is the wrath of the Lord...against us....’ ”

2. Josiah and the Book of the Law Message From God T he renovation of the temple, was important, but renovation of a building wasn’t all that was needed. The most beautiful and elaborate structure, though designed to help worshipers sense something of the power and grandeur of the Lord, in and of itself isn’t enough to evoke piety among the people.

2. Josiah and the Book of the Law Message From God “The Lord sent Josiah word that Jerusalem’s ruin could not be averted. Even should the people now humble themselves before God, they could not escape their punishment. So long had their senses been deadened by wrongdoing that, if judgment should not come...they would soon return to the same sinful course.” —Prophets and Kings 399.

Josiah’s Reforms 3. Josiah’s Revival 2 Kings 23:3-21 NKJV “ T he king...made a covenant before the Lord.... And the king commanded... to bring out of the temple all the articles that were made for Baal.... Removed the idolatrous priests.... Took away all the shrines of the high places.... Commanded all the people...‘Keep the Passover to the Lord....’ ”

3. Josiah’s Revival Determined to do Right “ I n announcing the retributive judgments of Heaven, the Lord had not withdrawn opportunity for repentance and reformation; and Josiah, discerning in this a willingness on the part of God to temper His judgments with mercy, determined to do all in his power to bring about decided reforms.” —Prophets and Kings 400.

3. Josiah’s Revival Determined to do Right Josiah gathered all the people in Jerusalem in order to renew their covenant with God. The Book of the Law was read, and then they made the vow to follow the God of Israel. Statues and symbols that popularized foreign worship in Israel—had been gathered into the temple. Josiah ordered them removed and destroyed.

3. Josiah’s Revival Determined to do Right The Passover celebration during Josiah’s reform did not take place only within the family households, as had been the custom before, but now the whole nation celebrated it together. Its symbolic message was that they had left the old era and that they had now entered a new time in which they vowed to serve the true God.

Josiah’s Reforms Final Words W ho hasn’t seen anyone make choices that you knew would be detrimental to them? This is an unfortunate aspect of what it means to have free will. Free will, moral free will, means nothing if we don’t have the freedom to make wrong choices. A “free” being who can choose only the right is not truly free, or even truly moral.