Bible in 90 Days - Day 28

I finished reading 2 Kings today, covering chapters 16 through 25. Sometime I want to go back and make a list of all the kings to see if there is a pattern for which ones are evil and which ones follow the Lord. I did notice that some of the kings who were most on fire for the Lord had children who turned out very evil. I guess there are no guarantees in parenting.

I loved reading the story of Josiah. He became king at eight years of age. Even though he was so young when he ascended the throne, he did that which was right in the sight of God and followed the example of David.

I'm guessing the law had been lost for awhile, or else the priests and king wouldn't have made such a big deal over a copy being found. Little wonder kings weren't able to follow God when they didn't have a copy of His law and never bothered asking for His guidance! When Josiah reads a copy of the law, he tore his clothes in a realization of what the people had been doing against God. He petitions God in an attempt to spare them from the results of their disobedience. God told Josiah that the people had to be punished, but He tells Josiah:

Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.

Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again
2 Kings 22:19-20.

It's too bad that the children of Israel didn't repent with Josiah, as they might have received a reprieve from their sentence. Unfortunately, the text says that Josiah was the one who repented because of what the people had done. As a result, God waited to punish the people until after Josiah's death, so that Josiah could reign in peace.

This is such a great eulogy for a righteous king:

And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him
2 Kings 23:25.