Bible Timeline · About 622 BC

Josiah Finds the Book of the Law

Josiah became king of Judah at eight years old. In about 622 BC, workers repairing the temple found the Book of the Law, and Josiah led the last great revival before Babylon came. Jeremiah began to preach during his reign.

Read it in the Bible: 2 Kings 22-23 2 Chronicles 34-35 1 Kings 13:2 Jeremiah 1:2 Deuteronomy 6:5

About 622 BC, while workers were repairing the temple in Jerusalem, the high priest Hilkiah found a scroll. It was the Book of the Law, the Law of Moses, which had been lost or ignored for years. When it was read to King Josiah, he tore his clothes in grief, called the whole nation together, and led the biggest cleanup of idol worship in Judah's history. It was the last great revival before Babylon destroyed Jerusalem about 36 years later.

Who Was King Josiah?

Josiah became king of Judah about 640 BC, when he was only eight years old. His grandfather Manasseh was the worst king Judah ever had. He filled the temple with idols and even sacrificed his own son. Josiah's father, Amon, was just as bad and was murdered after two years. So a little boy ended up on the throne.

And he did what was right in the eyes of Yahweh and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left. 2 Kings 22:2

Josiah did not wait for the scroll to start seeking God. 2 Chronicles 34:3 says he began to seek God at about sixteen, and at about twenty he started tearing down idols. Some kids rebel against their godly parents. Josiah rebelled against his ungodly ones, which is the best kind of rebellion.

How Was the Book of the Law Lost?

It sounds strange that the Bible could be lost in the temple. But during Manasseh's long reign of 55 years, the true worship of Yahweh was pushed aside. Scrolls were handwritten and rare. Very few people owned any Scripture at all. A temple full of idols was not a place where anyone was reading Moses.

In Josiah's eighteenth year, about 622 BC, he sent money to repair the temple. During the work, Hilkiah made the discovery.

Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of Yahweh!” And he gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 2 Kings 22:8

What Was the Scroll Josiah Found?

The Bible calls it the Book of the Law and the Book of the Covenant. Most scholars think it was all or part of Deuteronomy. The curses Josiah heard, and the way he centered worship in one place and held a great Passover, match Deuteronomy closely.

Tradition says this was a copy of the law Moses had written and given to the priests, Deuteronomy 31:9, now rediscovered. Many modern scholars think much of Deuteronomy was written in the 600s BC, around Josiah's time, and that the find launched the reform. The Owner's Manual's introduction to Deuteronomy lays out both views. Either way, the scroll had real authority. The king heard it and trembled.

“Go and inquire of Yahweh for me, for the people, and for all Judah concerning the words in this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of Yahweh that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book by doing all that is written about us.” 2 Kings 22:13

What Did Huldah the Prophetess Say?

Josiah sent his officials to ask God what to do. They went to Huldah, a prophetess living in Jerusalem. Jeremiah and Zephaniah were around too, but they went to her. Her message was hard. Judgment was still coming because of all the years of idol worship. But because Josiah's heart was tender, it would not come in his lifetime.

because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its people, and because you have humbled yourself before Me and have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard you,’ declares Yahweh. 2 Chronicles 34:27

What Did Josiah Do After the Book Was Found?

Josiah did not just feel bad. He acted. He gathered all the people, from the greatest to the least, and read the whole book to them. Then he stood by a pillar in the temple and made a covenant with God, and all the people joined in.

Then came the great cleanup. Josiah:

Removed the objects made for Baal, Asherah and the stars from the temple and burned them.
Tore down the high places all over Judah where people worshiped other gods.
Destroyed Topheth, the place where children had been sacrificed to Molech.
Got rid of mediums and spiritists.
Went north into the old kingdom of Israel and pulled down Jeroboam's altar at Bethel.

That last one is remarkable. About three hundred years earlier, an unnamed prophet had stood at that very altar and said a king named Josiah would one day burn human bones on it, which you can read in 1 Kings 13:2. In 2 Kings 23:15 to 16, Josiah did exactly that.

Finally, Josiah held a Passover so big that 2 Chronicles 35:18 says nothing like it had happened since the days of Samuel.

Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to Yahweh with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses. 2 Kings 23:25

How Did Jeremiah Fit Into Josiah's Reign?

Jeremiah was called as a young man in Josiah's thirteenth year, about 627 BC, according to Jeremiah 1:2. Like Josiah, he felt too young for the job. God told him not to say he was only a child.

Jeremiah supported the reform, but he also saw that many people changed on the outside and not on the inside. Later he warned them not to trust in the temple building as a lucky charm in Jeremiah 7:4. When Josiah died, Jeremiah wrote laments for him, 2 Chronicles 35:25.

How Did Josiah Die?

In 609 BC, Pharaoh Neco of Egypt marched north to help the falling Assyrian empire fight Babylon. Josiah went out to stop him at Megiddo. Neco warned him to stay out of it, but Josiah went anyway and was shot by archers. He died at about 39 years old.

After Josiah, his sons and grandson ruled badly, and the revival faded fast. Within 23 years, Jerusalem fell. It is a sobering story. One godly leader can turn a nation for a season, but each generation has to choose God for itself.

What Does Josiah's Story Mean for You Today?

Josiah shows what happens when God's Word is found again. Revival in the Bible almost always starts with Scripture being read, heard and obeyed. A Bible sitting unread on a shelf is not that different from a scroll lost in the temple.

Josiah also appears in the family line of Jesus in Matthew 1:10 to 11. His heart was to love God with all his heart, soul and strength, the very words of Deuteronomy 6:5. Jesus called that the greatest commandment. What Josiah could only do for a few years, Jesus came to do in us for good, by writing God's law on our hearts as Jeremiah 31:33 promised.

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Questions People Ask

How old was Josiah when he became king?

Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah, about 640 BC. He reigned 31 years in Jerusalem, until he died in battle at Megiddo in 609 BC.

What book did Josiah find in the temple?

The Bible calls it the Book of the Law. Most scholars think it was all or part of Deuteronomy, because Josiah's reforms match that book so closely. Tradition sees it as a lost copy of the Law of Moses.

Who was Huldah in the Bible?

Huldah was a prophetess in Jerusalem during Josiah's reign. When the Book of the Law was found, Josiah's officials asked her what God would say. She said judgment would come on Judah, but not in Josiah's lifetime because he humbled himself.

Why did Josiah fight Pharaoh Neco?

In 609 BC Pharaoh Neco marched north to help Assyria against Babylon. Josiah went out to block him at Megiddo, perhaps hoping to keep Assyria from recovering. Neco warned him not to fight, but Josiah did and was killed.

Sources

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