A TEENAGE KING

Passage: 2 Chronicles 34:1-13

Key verse: 3a

NIV

Josiah’s Reforms(A)(B)(C)

34 Josiah(D) was eight years old when he became king,(E) and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David,(F) not turning aside to the right or to the left.

3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God(G) of his father David. In his twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. 4 Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down; he cut to pieces the incense altars that were above them, and smashed the Asherah poles(H) and the idols. These he broke to pieces and scattered over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.(I) 5 He burned(J) the bones of the priests on their altars, and so he purged Judah and Jerusalem. 6 In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, 7 he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder(K) and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

8 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

9 They went to Hilkiah(L) the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the gatekeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 Then they entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple. 11 They also gave money(M) to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.(N)

12 The workers labored faithfully.(O) Over them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The Levites—all who were skilled in playing musical instruments—(P) 13 had charge of the laborers(Q) and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and gatekeepers.

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Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Josiah Reigns in Judah

34 (A)Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the (B)Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. 4 And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the (C)incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the (D)Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and (E)scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 (F)He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And in the (G)cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins[a] all around, 7 he broke down the altars and beat the (H)Asherim and the images (I)into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

The Book of the Law Found

8 (J)Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the (K)governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, (L)the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9 They came to (M)Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from (N)Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord. And the workmen who were working in the house of the Lord gave it for repairing and restoring the house. 11 They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for binders and (O)beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. 12 And the men did the work faithfully. Over them were set Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to have oversight. (P)The Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over (Q)the burden-bearers and directed all who did work in every kind of service, and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

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Footnotes
  1. 2 Chronicles 34:6 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

1. Josiah sought God in his youth (1-7)

When King Josiah was 16, he began to seek the God of David. He declared war on all forms of idolatry and personally supervised the work of tearing down, burning and destroying the idols, images and altars of pagan gods. Josiah discovered that God hates compromise.

2. Josiah repairs the temple (8-13)

When King Josiah was 24, he decided to repair the temple of God. He sent responsible officers with the necessary funds to do the work. The high priest and the Levites supervised the workmen from job to job. The Levites were Josiah's hands and feet in carrying out his reforms. They were shepherds and Bible teachers. They worked with their hands. They were also secretaries, scribes and doorkeepers. And all the Levites were musicians. What joyful work this must have been!

Prayer: Lord, raise up men who seek you in their youth. Use hard-working young men to turn our nation back to you.

One Word: Seek God while you are young