2 Chronicles 34

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

Good King Josiah of Judah

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The right attitude towards the will of God brings confirmation from the Word of God.

  2. The right response to the Word of God brings conversion to the way of God.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. Let's not limit the way of the Lord.

QUESTIONS

  1. Why is it easy to confuse King Josiah and King Joash?

  2. When did Josiah's revival, the greatest revival in the kingdom of Judah, take place?

  3. Review some of the highlights of Josiah's reign.

  4. Where had all the Scripture gone so that only one copy was available, which was hidden in the Temple?

  5. Why did Josiah tear his clothes (verse 19)?

ANSWERS

  1. Joash and Josiah were boy kings, good kings who brought a measure of reform to Judah. But Joash reigned about 200 years before Josiah.

  2. Josiah's revival is dated at 621 BC.

  3. When Josiah was 16 years old, he had a heart for the Lord and wanted to do God's will (verse 2). When he was 19 years old, he began his reform in Jerusalem (verses 3-4). When Josiah was 25 years old, he began a major repair project of the Temple of the Lord.

  4. There were not a lot of copies of the Law and other written portions of the Old Testament to begin with, because each copy had to be painstakingly written by hand. Then, during the reigns of wicked kings Manasseh and Amon, the copies of Scripture that were available were destroyed.

  5. When the Word of God was read and understood, Josiah tore his clothes as a sign of repentance for himself and the nation. He recognized how far short of God's way the nation had fallen.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. Are we willing to do God's will? Or do we only want God to confirm what we want to do? Take time to evaluate this question.

  2. Review 2 Chronicles 34:23-28. Although Josiah knew that he would personally escape the coming judgment, this did not stop his right response of full commitment to see that the nation was reformed and converted to the way of God. What character qualities does it take for a leader to see the good of his nation beyond himself?

CHALLENGE

  1. When you came to know the Word of God and began to follow the Way of God, what effect did it have on your lifestyle? Do you need to renew your commitment to let God's Word change you?

KEY VERSES

  • "Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses." 2 Chronicles 34:14

  • "Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book." 2 Chronicles 34:31

2 Chronicles, Old Testament, TalksRon Reid2 Chronicles 34