When a nation has more than 48 thousand recorded youth crimes in one year, by 10 to 17 year olds, it is an understatement to say we’ve got problems. The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded that figure for the 2023 calendar year. As I put this Blog together there’s more stabbing attacks by teenagers in both Melbourne and Sydney. In my previous Blog I mentioned in that context the violent times in the nation of Judah around 600BC – and the boy-king Josiah.
Josiah became king at the tender age of eight – a child king. But a good king… a good king living in bad times. As Josiah saw all the problems of his day he couldn’t very well say what many people say these days: The government ought to fix it! He was the government. But Josiah took the approach that the government indeed ought to do something about it. And as king he did. But it was a formidable task. How does an eight-year old king turn a nation around from social anarchy? That’s a big ask. And it’s interesting that for the first 17 years of Josiah’s reign little seemed to happen.
The turning point came in the 18th year of Josiah’s reign. So this king is a mere 26 years old. Still wet behind the ears! And the event that changed things was the rediscovery of the Bible. Well, at least… the part of it we call The Law of Moses.
It’s as King Josiah and his advisors read ‘The Bible’ that they see their society in the light of that Bible. And it kicks off the most radical and profound reformation of society recorded anywhere in Scripture. They stop tolerating the intolerable. The religion that led his grandfather to bring a human child sacrifice is done away with. Bizarre beliefs that led to bizarre behaviour were outlawed. Instead Josiah brings back the religion of the Bible… the worship of the God who gave Moses the law from Mount Sinai… the religion that has the coming of Messiah Jesus at the very heart of it.
Josiah re-established the Law of Moses so that moral values were again on the agenda. Law and order again became important issues. The bloodshed and violence of the previous period were dealt with. No doubt these moves were not popular with many people… they were hard decisions. I suppose they were possible because Josiah didn’t have to face the polls every 4 years. But in any case he did the hard work of doing something about his troubled society. Despite opposition he worked successfully for the reformation of society. And that’s the point. King Josiah was successful… society was changed for the better. However, it only happened as the Bible was again given its rightful place in society.
The telling things about king Josiah is that in the long term his people came to love him. As time went by people began to see that his policies made a difference. Peace was restored… the tide of violence was stemmed. Josiah reigned for 31 years… and they stood out as 31 good years for the nation of Judah. When Josiah died in battle the people lost a well-loved king. The Bible specifically records the widespread lament at his death. King Josiah was lamented because he made a difference. He gave the people of Israel hope and a future. Especially as by his reforms he pointed them again to the coming Messiah Jesus. And so he gave people a positive vision of who they were as God’s people.
So is this just an interesting bit of ancient history? Nice to read… but a little irrelevant for our day and age? Not at all! If we fast-forward to modern times the parallels are painfully obvious. Too often over the centuries western society has deteriorated into social anarchy and moral chaos. But then the Bible and its message of hope in Jesus Christ resurface again and make a difference. Perhaps the best example of that is England at the time of Wesley and Whitefield. Their age was a troubled age with serious social problems. In France the social problems led to the French Revolution and the guillotine. England was spared that fate because the message of the Bible was rediscovered. And through the preaching of Whitefield and Wesley society was changed for the better. There was a reformation of society that saved the country from revolution. That good news of Jesus is still what our society needs today.
John Westendorp