Josiah Restores True Worship: 2 Chronicles 34:29-33
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2 Chronicles 34:29-33: King Josiah Leads a National Revival
He Had the Book Read Before the Entire Nation and Led the Israelites in Recommitting Their Lives to the Lord
29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
30 The king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord.
31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.
32 And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
33 Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers.
Worship as You Read: For God So Loved Song
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16 — the heart of the Gospel and the foundation of our faith. God's love for you is not distant, but personal, sacrificial, and eternal. Play this song and let it minister to your heart as you journey through God's Word today.
In 2 Chronicles 34:29-33, King Josiah leads a national religious revival by gathering all of Judah and Jerusalem to the Temple, reading the newly discovered Book of the Law, and renewing the covenant with God. He then purges the land of detestable idols.
The Book of the Covenant: What It Is and Why It Matters - Verse 30
In verse 30, The term Book of the Covenant refers to the book of the Law of the Lord (verse 14), the Pentateuch.
The Book of The Law Of The Lord
Hikiah's discovery of "the Book of the Law of the Lord" began a great revival in Israel (34:14). King Josiah's response to the book inspired him to initiate a reformation and refocus attention on Jerusalem as the center of worship (see 2 Kings 23:4-20). It was one of the nations greatest moments.
What was the "Book of the Law of the Lord"? The reforms that Josiah introduced reflect many of the themes of Deuteronomy, so it seems clear that Josiah's book must have included at least Deuteronomy. But the law that was given to Moses (see 34:14) technically includes the whole Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible (Exodus 24:4), and there seems no reason to doubt that this was the case in Josiah's day.
King Josiah's humble, obedient response to the book was and remains a model of how all people should respond to God's revealed Word.
Josiah listened to the Scripture, allowed it's words of truth to judge him, and humbly confessed that he had neglected God's commands (34:18,19). After learning more about it's truths (34:21), he shared the Scripture with others and led them in following it. He had the book read before the entire nation and led the Israelites in recommitting their lives to the Lord (34:49:33).
King Josiah Renews the Covenant With God (2 Chronicles 34:31-32)
In verse 31, very few of the kings of Judah promised to follow the Lord as Josiah did. After David, only Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah made such public commitments (see 23:3)
In verse 33, We know that Josiah's commitment to the Lord was real because he removed all the abominations. This included any and all idols that had been introduced by earlier kings.
All His Days They Did Not Depart From Following the Lord
Josiah renewed the covenant before God, pledging to obey His commands with all his heart and soul. He required the people to make the same pledge, and "all his days they did not depart from following the Lord"