Josiah the (Good) Boy King
- Due to the untimely murder of his father, Josiah has to take control of Judah when he's only 8 years old.
- But this kid knows what's up. After he's been on the throne for about 12 years he decides to take down those idols his father erected.
- About six years later, King Josiah decides to do some repairs to the Temple. While his men are dropping off the money, the high priest tells them he's just found a lost book of law that was written by Moses.
- This is big news.
- The men bring the book back to King Josiah and read it to him. When the king hears what the book has to say, he's shocked. The people haven't been following any of these laws.
- God lets Josiah know that he would have punished everyone for being so terrible. But he'll let it slide this time because the king was so humble and penitent when he found out about the book.
- King Josiah breathes a sigh of relief and calls a meeting in the Temple in Jerusalem.
- Josiah reads the book to everyone who assembles there. It sure looks like the book he's talking about is the Torah, otherwise known as the first five books of the Bible, so you can bet this reading takes a long time. (Some scholars think it was just the Book of Deuteronomy.)
- King Josiah promises to follow all the laws and commandments written in this book and he makes the people who are standing there promise to do it, too.
- Things go pretty smoothly for everyone because they worship God and follow his laws.