Since Josiah was eight years old when his father died at age 22, he must have been born when Amon was only 14. It was very common both in the ancient Near East generally and in Israel for kings to marry very young and to father children when they were early teenagers.132
The years Josiah ruled were 640-609 B.C., 31 years. During his reign Ninevah, the capital of Assyria, fell in 612 B.C., as did the Assyrian Empire in 609 B.C., to Babylon. Thus world leadership passed from Assyria to Babylon during Josiah's reign.133
Josiah was one of Judah's best kings. He was one of the reformers who followed David's good example (v. 2) all his life.
Josiah began to seek Yahweh when he was 16 years old and began initiating religious reforms when he was 20 (2 Chron. 34:3-7). His reforms were more extensive than those of any of his predecessors. One of them was the repair of Solomon's temple (v. 5; cf. 12:4-16). He began this project when he was 26.
". . . Josiah rules during years in which Assyria fades but also those in which Babylon is not yet ready to rule as far west as Judah and in a time when Egypt does not yet attempt to rule the smaller nations north of the border. Judah thereby gets a rest from its constant role as political football."134
It seems probable that Manasseh or Amon had destroyed existing copies of Israel's covenant constitution since there is every reason to believe that Hezekiah knew the Mosaic Law (cf. chs. 18-20). This would not have been difficult because in ancient times there were few copies of even official documents. Josiah's shock at hearing the Law read points to the fact that people had been unfamiliar with it for a long time. Verse 13 is especially helpful in understanding Josiah's perception of and response to God's will. He was a genuinely humble man who trembled at the Word of the Lord. Josiah made monotheism the official theology again, but it is hard to say how many of the people abandoned other gods. The prophets who wrote then bewailed the lack of true godliness in the nation.
Other prophets beside Huldah lived in and around Jerusalem at this time: Jeremiah (Jer. 1:1), Zephaniah (Zeph. 1:1), and perhaps Nahum and Habakkuk. Nevertheless for reasons unexplained in the text the king sought this prophetess in her residence in Jerusalem's Second Quarter (v. 14; i.e., the southern, lower part of the city topographically). His willingness to seek guidance from a woman demonstrates Josiah's humility. God would judge Judah, but He would spare Josiah because he humbled himself under Yahweh's authority (v. 19). The king would die in peace (v. 20). His death in 609 B.C. was four years before King Nebuchadnezzar's first attack on Jerusalem in 605 B.C.
Josiah died in battle (vv. 29-30). The promise of his dying in peace therefore probably means that he would die before God ended the peace of Jerusalem by bringing Nebuchadnezzar against it. Some commentators have taken the promise as referring to the fact that Josiah evidently died at peace with God.135
Josiah did not wait for the completion of the temple renovation before he assembled the people and personally read some parts of the Mosaic Law to them (23:2). Perhaps he read the portions that dealt with God's covenant with Israel (i.e., Lev. 26; Deut. 28-30) or perhaps Deuteronomy 12-26 or 5-30.136He then rededicated himself to Yahweh, and the people renewed their commitment to the covenant as a nation (v. 3; cf. 2:3; Exod. 19:8; Josh. 24:21-24).
Putting the ashes that burning the relics connected with Baal worship created on the Bethel altar would have made it unclean (v. 4). Evidently Josiah scattered more ashes on the graves of the common people because they had been idolaters (v. 6). Male prostitutes had apparently been living in the side rooms of the temple (v. 7). The king excluded the Levitical priests who had offered sacrifices on the high places from serving at the rededicated altar. Nevertheless he permitted them to eat the unleavened bread the worshippers brought to the temple (v. 9; cf. Lev. 6:9 10, 16). Topheth was the place where child sacrifice had taken place (v. 10; cf. 16:3; Josh. 15:8). The people had also used horses and chariots to honor the sun (v. 11). This was a common practice in the ancient Near East.137The Mount of Destruction was the southern hill of the Mount of Olives, later known as the Hill of Corruption (cf. 1 Kings 11:5, 7).
Josiah finally destroyed Jeroboam's altar at Bethel (v. 15) and desecrated the site. The young prophet from Judah had predicted Josiah's actions back in Jeroboam's day (v. 16; cf. 1 Kings 13:2-3). The king even extended his purges into Israelite territory (vv. 19-20).
Josiah also replaced pagan worship with revived Yahweh worship. He conducted his Passover celebration with more attention to the Law than anyone had done since the days of the judges. Teraphim (v. 24) were household gods that some people thought were oracles and sources of prosperity. Josiah was Judah's most careful king regarding the Mosaic Covenant (v. 25). Hezekiah was remarkable for his trust in Yahweh (18:5), and Josiah excelled in obedience to Yahweh.
Notice that in the sequence of reforms that the writer narrated the discovery of the Law (22:8-13) that took place during the repairing of the temple (22:3-7) led to the other reforms. This order is another indication of the writer's purpose. He emphasized the centrality of the Law in Israel's life.138
The king seems to have preferred Babylon to Assyria. When Egyptian armies moved up the Mediterranean coast to join Assyria in resisting Babylonian advance westward, Josiah intercepted Pharaoh Neco II (619-595 B.C.) at Mediggo and tried to stop him. Unfortunately for Judah the Egyptians killed Josiah there in 609 B.C. Egypt continued north, united with Assyria, and met Babylon at Carchemish on the upper Euphrates River. There Babylon defeated the allies and broke the domination of the Assyrian Empire over the ancient Near Eastern world. The Battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C. was one of the most important in ancient Near Eastern history for this reason.139
Josiah was a strong influence for righteousness in his day and a very capable ruler. The success of his far-reaching reforms indicates his ability to overcome much popular opinion that must have opposed his convictions. His influence for good extended even into the fallen territory of Israel.140Unfortunately he died prematurely as a result of his unwise decision to challenge Pharaoh Neco (cf. 2 Chron. 35:20-27).
