# Josiah’s Reforms - The Book of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles

An episode of [Kids Bible in a Year with Julia Jeffress Sadler](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1696638708), 5 Jan 2024, 13 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f8ddd7fd-69c6-48d0-804f-b4d6010c327c/8ba93eb3-360f-408a-87ba-b4d6018960b4/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=14e8ed60-20b2-4d5c-a832-b4d6010c3283

Join Julia Jeffress Sadler as she takes us on an incredible adventure in Episode 125. Witness Josiah's vigorous efforts as he destroys altars and idols throughout the land, including the notorious altar at Bethel. His actions fulfill a prophecy, marking a significant moment in Judah's history. The episode reaches a climax with Josiah organizing a grand Passover celebration, unmatched in its scale and devotion. Despite his reforms, we learn that Judah's fate is sealed due to past transgressions. The story concludes with Josiah's untimely death in a battle against the Egyptian Pharaoh, an event that deeply affects the nation and the prophet Jeremiah. Sign up to receive Kids Bible in a Year devotionals in your inbox every weekday: https://www.kidsbibleinayear.com/ Get ready to experience the Bible designed specifically for children with the official KidsBibleinaYear.com podcast, led by Julia Jeffress Sadler. This captivating audio series presents the age-old wisdom of the Bible in an engaging format that will captivate your kids. Each episode Julia translates biblical teachings into real-life applications, making Bible comprehension a breeze for young minds. And if you want more Christian resources and content, you can download the Pray.com app. Pray.com is the digital destination for faith, offering over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime Bible stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible. For more resources on how to live a successful Christian life, visit Julia Jeffress Sadler's website at https://ptv.org/julia/. This episode is sponsored by Little Passports. Visit LittlePassports.com/blessed and use promo code BLESSED to receive 20% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: There was no king like him before him, who turned
[0:04] Speaker 1: to the Lord with all his heart, and with all
[0:07] Speaker 1: his soul, and with all his might, according to all
[0:11] Speaker 1: the law of Moses. And there was none like him
[0:15] Speaker 1: who arose after him. 2 Kings 23 25 Dear Guide,
[0:22] Speaker 1: Thank you that the Bible is filled with stories that
[0:24] Speaker 1: teach us how we can love you with our whole hearts.
[0:28] Speaker 1: Please use King Josiah's story today to help us learn
[0:32] Speaker 1: how we can show everybody just how great you are.
[0:37] Speaker 1: We're so thankful that you love us so much. We
[0:39] Speaker 1: love you too. In Jesus' name we pray.
[0:42] Speaker 2: Amen.
[0:44] Speaker 3: Thank you for praying with us today. The Kids Bible
[0:47] Speaker 3: in a Year podcast is sponsored by Little Passports, delivering
[0:51] Speaker 3: monthly activity kit subscriptions that help kids explore the world,
[0:55] Speaker 3: cultivate curiosity, and discover new interests. with hands-on crafts and
[0:59] Speaker 3: activities in cooking, science, crafts, and more, all with a
[1:03] Speaker 3: unique cultural twist. Visit littlepassports.com slash blessed to learn more
[1:08] Speaker 3: and save 20% with code BLESSED.
[1:18] Speaker 2: Josiah's Reforms In our last story, Josiah became king of Judah,
[1:24] Speaker 2: and he fixed the temple, discovered the law, and had
[1:28] Speaker 2: the law read aloud. In this story, Josiah will make
[1:33] Speaker 2: many reforms, cleanse the idols, and properly celebrate Passover. But
[1:38] Speaker 2: the Pharaoh of Egypt will also come and attack. As
[1:43] Speaker 2: inspired by 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.
[1:50] Speaker 1: Hi there, it's Joya Sadler with the Kids Bible in
[1:53] Speaker 1: a Year podcast. I'm so glad you're here today. In
[1:56] Speaker 1: this story, we get to hear what made King Josiah
[2:00] Speaker 1: so brave and so different from many of Judah's kings
[2:04] Speaker 1: and what makes you a lot like him. Let's dig
[2:08] Speaker 1: in and find out.
[2:12] Speaker 2: King Josiah and the people of the city looked and
[2:15] Speaker 2: saw all the evil that was in the land. They
[2:18] Speaker 2: decided to once again begin following the laws of God.
[2:23] Speaker 2: Josiah went to the temple of God. and took out
[2:26] Speaker 2: all the altars and idols that had been built up
[2:28] Speaker 2: for the gods of the land. The people also ran
[2:31] Speaker 2: through the city and destroyed all the evil things within
[2:35] Speaker 2: the city, like the idols and the altars.
[2:38] Speaker 1: They burned it all.
[2:40] Speaker 2: Once the city had been cleansed, King Josiah oversaw all
[2:44] Speaker 2: the changes going on throughout the city. He made sure
[2:47] Speaker 2: that the idol worship was destroyed. He made sure all
[2:50] Speaker 2: the altars were torn down. He then went through all
[2:54] Speaker 2: the land of Israel and did the same. He found
[2:57] Speaker 2: the areas that were used to worship the other gods,
[3:00] Speaker 2: like the temples and altars, and destroyed them so they
[3:04] Speaker 2: could never be used again to turn away from God.
[3:08] Speaker 2: He went to the altar at the city of Bethel
[3:12] Speaker 2: that was built by King Jeroboam and completely destroyed all
[3:16] Speaker 2: that was around it. The king saw and noticed some
[3:20] Speaker 2: graves near the altar. So he had his men grab
[3:23] Speaker 2: some of the bones from the grave and burnt them
[3:26] Speaker 2: on top of the altar at Bethel. He did this
[3:29] Speaker 2: so the altar would no longer be used to worship
[3:32] Speaker 2: other gods. Then Josiah looked around and noticed a monument
[3:37] Speaker 2: near the altar. He asked his people, What is this
[3:41] Speaker 2: monument for? They responded saying, That monument marks the grave
[3:46] Speaker 2: of the prophet that was sent here by God. That
[3:49] Speaker 2: prophet was here when King Jeroboam dedicated this altar to
[3:52] Speaker 2: his idols to be used for the worship of the
[3:55] Speaker 2: golden calves. The prophet spoke from God, telling them about
[4:00] Speaker 2: what you just did. He told them that one day
[4:03] Speaker 2: you would come and burn these bones on top of
[4:06] Speaker 2: this altar and turn the people back to him. Josiah
[4:11] Speaker 2: then said, Okay, please do not mess with that grave
[4:15] Speaker 2: and do not touch the bones. Let's go back to
[4:18] Speaker 2: our city. They all did as he said and went
[4:22] Speaker 2: back to their city. When they got back, King Josiah
[4:26] Speaker 2: organized a large Passover feast to celebrate the cleansing of
[4:29] Speaker 2: the land. This feast was like no other feast had
[4:33] Speaker 2: ever been before. The king and other rich men of
[4:36] Speaker 2: the city gave to everyone so everyone could make a
[4:39] Speaker 2: sacrifice to God and worship him. In all the kings
[4:44] Speaker 2: that had ever ruled over this nation, There was never
[4:47] Speaker 2: a king as good as King Josiah. He always loved
[4:51] Speaker 2: God and served him with all that he had. He
[4:55] Speaker 2: always followed God's commands. But this did not change the
[4:58] Speaker 2: judgment that God was going to bring upon the people.
[5:02] Speaker 2: Even though they got rid of the idols and altars,
[5:05] Speaker 2: there was still a lot of evil in the land.
[5:08] Speaker 2: God still planned to have the city destroyed and the
[5:11] Speaker 2: people taken away from the land. But because of Josiah,
[5:15] Speaker 2: God did not allow it to happen until after Josiah
[5:19] Speaker 2: had passed away. 31 years after the start of King
[5:23] Speaker 2: Josiah's reign, the Pharaoh of Egypt marched his army past
[5:27] Speaker 2: the city ruled by Josiah. Josiah thought that Egypt was
[5:31] Speaker 2: coming to attack them, so he led his army out
[5:34] Speaker 2: to meet them. The Pharaoh tried telling Josiah that he
[5:37] Speaker 2: was just passing by and did not want to fight them.
[5:41] Speaker 2: The Pharaoh was on his way to fight another city.
[5:44] Speaker 2: Pharaoh said to Josiah, If you try to fight my army,
[5:48] Speaker 2: God will use us to destroy you. Don't get in
[5:52] Speaker 2: our way. Josiah did not listen to the warnings God
[5:55] Speaker 2: was trying to give him, and instead, his army attacked
[6:00] Speaker 2: the Pharaoh's army. Josiah himself went into battle disguised as
[6:04] Speaker 2: a soldier because he did not want them to know
[6:07] Speaker 2: he was king. While he was out fighting, an arrow
[6:11] Speaker 2: hit him, causing him to fall back into his chariot
[6:14] Speaker 2: The servants that were watching over him carried him back
[6:18] Speaker 2: into the city, and he died there. All of the
[6:21] Speaker 2: people in the city cried over the death of this
[6:24] Speaker 2: great king. The prophet Jeremiah also cried when the king died.
[6:30] Speaker 2: He wrote a song in his honor, and it was
[6:33] Speaker 2: sung at his funeral.
[6:40] Speaker 1: King Josiah was a wonderful king, wasn't he? The Bible
[6:44] Speaker 1: says that no other king followed God with all his heart, soul,
[6:48] Speaker 1: and strength the way King Josiah did. And do you
[6:52] Speaker 1: know what else was so special about Josiah? He became
[6:57] Speaker 1: king when he was only eight years old. I'll bet
[7:00] Speaker 1: that's not far from how old you are. That means
[7:04] Speaker 1: the king who honored God best out of all the
[7:07] Speaker 1: kings of Israel and Judah was around your age when
[7:12] Speaker 1: he started leading people. and helping them to love God. Wow!
[7:18] Speaker 1: That proves you don't have to be a grown-up, have
[7:21] Speaker 1: special training, or know every little thing about the Bible
[7:25] Speaker 1: before you can start helping others love God. You can
[7:29] Speaker 1: do it right now. In fact, you can start today. How?
[7:35] Speaker 1: Like King Josiah, you can read your Bible to learn
[7:38] Speaker 1: more about God's promises. And like King Josiah, you can
[7:43] Speaker 1: start to share what you learn with others. And most
[7:47] Speaker 1: of all, like King Josiah, you can choose to obey God,
[7:52] Speaker 1: even when it means being brave or different from everyone else.
[7:56] Speaker 1: Do you remember what made King Josiah so different? Let's
[8:01] Speaker 1: look back at the entire story of God's people to
[8:04] Speaker 1: find out. When God rescued the Israelites from Egypt, he
[8:07] Speaker 1: brought them to a mountain called Mount Sinai. There he
[8:11] Speaker 1: made a special promise called a covenant that if they
[8:15] Speaker 1: followed him, obeyed his rules, and didn't worship other gods
[8:19] Speaker 1: or idols, they would be his special people forever. God
[8:24] Speaker 1: would protect them, live with them, and lead them to
[8:28] Speaker 1: a beautiful, wonderful land that would be their home forever.
[8:33] Speaker 1: More than that, he would bless all the people in
[8:36] Speaker 1: the whole wide world through them. Now, if God's people
[8:41] Speaker 1: chose to disobey his laws or worship other gods or
[8:44] Speaker 1: worthless idols, then they would have to leave their beautiful,
[8:48] Speaker 1: wonderful land. You see, God loves his people very much
[8:52] Speaker 1: and made his rules to help them stay safe and healthy.
[8:57] Speaker 1: Obeying God's rules makes people happier than anything else. But
[9:02] Speaker 1: worshiping worthless idols makes them sadder than anything else because
[9:07] Speaker 1: those gods meant nothing hurting themselves and hurting each other.
[9:12] Speaker 1: So from the very beginning, God's people knew that obeying
[9:16] Speaker 1: him would make them happy and give them a beautiful,
[9:20] Speaker 1: wonderful home with him. And they also knew that disobeying
[9:24] Speaker 1: God would make them sad and take them away from
[9:28] Speaker 1: their beautiful, wonderful home. At Mount Sinai, all the people said, yes, God,
[9:34] Speaker 1: we promise to obey you. But did they obey God?
[9:39] Speaker 2: No.
[9:40] Speaker 1: In every generation, from the judges to the golden age
[9:43] Speaker 1: of King Solomon to the time of the two kingdoms,
[9:47] Speaker 1: Israel and Judah, God's people ignored his good, healthy laws
[9:52] Speaker 1: and instead worshipped fake gods in wicked, wicked ways. Even
[9:58] Speaker 1: though it hurt them. even though it made God angry
[10:01] Speaker 1: and very, very sad. And as you know, God always
[10:05] Speaker 1: keeps his promises, even the ones about discipline. But when
[10:10] Speaker 1: King Josiah found the book of God's law and read
[10:14] Speaker 1: everything that happened on Mount Sinai, he said, Yes, God,
[10:18] Speaker 1: I do promise to obey you. And he did. That
[10:23] Speaker 1: brave king said, all right, everybody, no more worshiping false
[10:27] Speaker 1: gods at all. And Josiah tore down every place in
[10:32] Speaker 1: the whole country where people were disobeying God. He ground
[10:36] Speaker 1: the worthless idols into dust. He got rid of the
[10:40] Speaker 1: priests who were teaching the people bad practices, wicked practices.
[10:45] Speaker 1: Then he threw the best Passover celebration that had ever
[10:49] Speaker 1: been celebrated in the history of Israel. King Josiah was
[10:54] Speaker 1: brave because he stood up to all the people who
[10:57] Speaker 1: worshipped worthless idols. And he was different because he worshipped
[11:02] Speaker 1: the Lord with all his heart, all his soul, and
[11:06] Speaker 1: all his strength. And he helped other people worship God too.
[11:11] Speaker 1: So how will you be like King Josiah today? I'm
[11:15] Speaker 1: so happy you joined me for our story. Come back
[11:18] Speaker 1: next time to hear how even though Josiah's obedience caused
[11:22] Speaker 1: God to wait to discipline his people, Judah's wickedness would
[11:27] Speaker 1: eventually be dealt with. And remember, the Bible is the
[11:31] Speaker 1: best story ever told. It's God's story to you. And
[11:36] Speaker 1: it's all true. Love our podcast? Subscribe to the latest
[11:40] Speaker 1: episodes and help kids and parents explore God's Word with
[11:44] Speaker 1: Kids Bible in a Year. Thanks for listening to Pray.com's
[11:48] Speaker 1: Kids Bible in a Year. For more inspiring stories and
[11:52] Speaker 1: wisdom to last a lifetime, download the Pray.com app for
[11:56] Speaker 1: free today. Thanks for listening to Kids Bible in a Year.
[12:08] Speaker 1: I want to invite our adult listeners to check out
[12:11] Speaker 1: my other show, Unapologetic, God's Truth on Today's Topics. It's unfiltered, important, inspiring,
[12:19] Speaker 1: and we have awesome conversations and amazing guests such as
[12:23] Speaker 1: Candice Cameron Bray, Vice President Mike Pence, Dr. Robert Jeffress,
[12:28] Speaker 1: Shannon Bream, Maddie Pruitt, and so many others. We are
[12:33] Speaker 1: helping you have conversations, that empower you to have bold
[12:38] Speaker 1: faith in a broken world. You'll be excited, inspired, and
[12:42] Speaker 1: encouraged in your faith as you check out Unapologetic. Remember
[12:46] Speaker 1: that you can tune in wherever you get your podcasts
[12:49] Speaker 1: and on Pray.com.

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.