Josiah Finds God's Book

Josiah was only EIGHT years old when he became king. That's like a third grader! But even as a kid, Josiah loved God and wanted to do right.

When Josiah grew up, he decided to fix God's temple. It had been ignored for years and years. He sent workers to repair it.

While they were working, the high priest found something amazing hidden in the temple. It was a scroll—the Book of the Law that God gave to Moses! No one had read it in a very long time. The people had forgotten what God said!

A servant brought the scroll to King Josiah and read it out loud. As Josiah listened, he was shocked! The book told what God expected from His people—but they hadn't been obeying ANY of it! They had been worshiping fake gods and doing terrible things.

Josiah was so upset that he tore his royal robes. 'We are in BIG trouble!' he said. 'Our parents and grandparents didn't follow God's rules! Go ask God what we should do!'

A prophetess named Huldah gave them God's message. 'Yes, punishment is coming because of all the bad things that happened. But because Josiah was humble and cried when he heard My words, he will be protected.'

King Josiah gathered EVERYONE—from the most important people to the regular folks. He read the whole Book of the Law out loud to them. Then he made a promise before God to follow ALL of it with his whole heart.

The people promised too!

Josiah cleaned up the whole country. He got rid of all the idols and fake god stuff. He celebrated Passover the right way—something that hadn't happened in hundreds of years!

The Bible says there was never a king like Josiah who loved God with ALL his heart, ALL his soul, and ALL his strength. And it started with reading God's Word!