king of Judah, deserves particular mention on account of his
wisdom and piety, and some memorable events that occurred in the course
of his reign. He succeeded to the throne, upon the assassination of his
father Amon, at the age of eight years, B. C. 640; and at a period when
idolatry and wickedness, encouraged by his father’s profligate example,
very generally prevailed. Josiah, who manifested the influence of pious
and virtuous principles at a very early age, began, in his sixteenth
year, to project the reformation of the kingdom, and to adopt means for
restoring the worship of the true God. At the age of twenty years he
vigorously pursued the execution of the plans which he had meditated. He
began with abolishing idolatry, first at Jerusalem, and then through
different parts of the kingdom; destroying the altars which had been
erected, and the idols which had been the objects of veneration and
worship. He then proceeded, in his twenty-sixth year, to a complete
restoration of the worship of God, and the regular service of the
temple. While he was prosecuting this pious work, and repairing the
temple, which had been long neglected, and which had sunk into a state
of dilapidation, the book of the law, which had been concealed in the
temple, was happily discovered. This was, probably, a copy of the the
Pentateuch, which had been lodged there for security by some pious
priest in the reign of Ahaz or Manasseh. Josiah, desirous of averting
from himself and the kingdom threatened judgments, determined to adhere
to the directions of the law, in the business of reformation which he
had undertaken; and to observe the festivals enjoined by Moses, which
had been shamefully neglected. With this view he assembled all the
elders of the people in the temple at Jerusalem; and, having ascended
the throne, read the book of the Mosaic law, and then entered into a
solemn covenant to observe the statutes and ordinances which it
enjoined. To this covenant the whole assembly testified their consent.
The ark was restored to its proper place; the temple was purified;
idolatrous utensils were removed, and those appropriate to the worship
of God substituted in their room. After these preparations, the passover
was observed with singular zeal and magnificence. This took place in the
eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign: but, in pursuing his laudable plans
of reformation, he was resisted by the inveterate habits of the
Israelites; so that his zealous and persevering efforts were
ineffectual. Their degeneracy was so invincible, that the almighty
Sovereign was provoked to inflict upon them those calamities which were
denounced by the Prophet Zephaniah. In the thirty-second year of
Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh-Necho, king of Egypt, advanced with his army
against Carchemish, a city situated on the river Euphrates. He was
opposed by the king of Judah; so that a bloody battle ensued at Megiddo,
in which Josiah received a mortal wound, which terminated in his death,
after he had been conveyed to Jerusalem, in the thirty-ninth year of his
reign, B.C. 609. His death was greatly lamented by all his subjects; and
an elegy was written on the occasion by the Prophet Jeremiah, which is
not now extant, 2 Kings xxii, xxiii; 2 Chronicles xxxiv, xxxv.
wisdom and piety, and some memorable events that occurred in the course
of his reign. He succeeded to the throne, upon the assassination of his
father Amon, at the age of eight years, B. C. 640; and at a period when
idolatry and wickedness, encouraged by his father’s profligate example,
very generally prevailed. Josiah, who manifested the influence of pious
and virtuous principles at a very early age, began, in his sixteenth
year, to project the reformation of the kingdom, and to adopt means for
restoring the worship of the true God. At the age of twenty years he
vigorously pursued the execution of the plans which he had meditated. He
began with abolishing idolatry, first at Jerusalem, and then through
different parts of the kingdom; destroying the altars which had been
erected, and the idols which had been the objects of veneration and
worship. He then proceeded, in his twenty-sixth year, to a complete
restoration of the worship of God, and the regular service of the
temple. While he was prosecuting this pious work, and repairing the
temple, which had been long neglected, and which had sunk into a state
of dilapidation, the book of the law, which had been concealed in the
temple, was happily discovered. This was, probably, a copy of the the
Pentateuch, which had been lodged there for security by some pious
priest in the reign of Ahaz or Manasseh. Josiah, desirous of averting
from himself and the kingdom threatened judgments, determined to adhere
to the directions of the law, in the business of reformation which he
had undertaken; and to observe the festivals enjoined by Moses, which
had been shamefully neglected. With this view he assembled all the
elders of the people in the temple at Jerusalem; and, having ascended
the throne, read the book of the Mosaic law, and then entered into a
solemn covenant to observe the statutes and ordinances which it
enjoined. To this covenant the whole assembly testified their consent.
The ark was restored to its proper place; the temple was purified;
idolatrous utensils were removed, and those appropriate to the worship
of God substituted in their room. After these preparations, the passover
was observed with singular zeal and magnificence. This took place in the
eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign: but, in pursuing his laudable plans
of reformation, he was resisted by the inveterate habits of the
Israelites; so that his zealous and persevering efforts were
ineffectual. Their degeneracy was so invincible, that the almighty
Sovereign was provoked to inflict upon them those calamities which were
denounced by the Prophet Zephaniah. In the thirty-second year of
Josiah’s reign, Pharaoh-Necho, king of Egypt, advanced with his army
against Carchemish, a city situated on the river Euphrates. He was
opposed by the king of Judah; so that a bloody battle ensued at Megiddo,
in which Josiah received a mortal wound, which terminated in his death,
after he had been conveyed to Jerusalem, in the thirty-ninth year of his
reign, B.C. 609. His death was greatly lamented by all his subjects; and
an elegy was written on the occasion by the Prophet Jeremiah, which is
not now extant, 2 Kings xxii, xxiii; 2 Chronicles xxxiv, xxxv.