The Young King
In this edition of the magazine I have decided to tell you a story from the Bible. I expect some of you think the Bible is a bit "dry", and not as exciting as some of your other story books. Perhaps this is because you haven't really tried to like it. The Bible is God's word, boys and girls, and we should really try to read it as often as we can, for its pages tell us many things. Most important of all, in the Bible, God tells us about Jesus Christ His Son, and how we can know Him as our Saviour.
This Bible story is about a young King, and what he thought of God's Word. The king's name was Josiah, and he was King of Judah. Because he was only eight years old and too young to rule the land himself, the High Priest, who was named Hilkiah, governed until Josiah had reached the age of sixteen.
During this time, the King began to seek to know more about God. He sought the Lord, and he did what was right. He discovered that God's "House" – the Temple of the Lord – was being misused. One king had even set up an alter to his idol, Baal. Josiah declared that the Temple must be repaired and cleaned out. So the heathen idols were taken out and burned, and the Temple put in order so that the people could worship God there.
While all this was going on, the High Priest cleaned the rooms of the Temple. There, hidden away – perhaps in a cupboard or in a drawer – he found a strange "scroll." (A scroll, boys and girls, is an old fashioned kind of book that was used years ago – like the one at the top of the page.) It did not take Hilkiah long to recognise this scroll as the Book of the Law of God – the commandments that God had given to Moses – and which the people were to observe in order to please God. It was their Bible.
How excited Hilkiah was. He called to Shaphan the Scribe, "I have found the Book of the Law of God in the house of the Lord." The High Priest then gave the precious Book to Shaphan, who took it to Josiah the King. Josiah, too, became excited. He of course, had never read from the Book. "Read to me from the Book," he told Shaphan. Shaphan read about God's promises to bless the people if they served Him faithfully; and then, he read about God's promises to punish the people if they disobeyed Him and worshipped idols.
How worried Josiah became. His people had disobeyed God. The King tore his clothes and wept sorely. Josiah told Hilkiah the High Priest – "Go and ask the Lord about the words in the book, for I am sure our punishment will be great, because our fathers have not kept the Word of the Lord." Hilkiah went to Huldah the prophetess, who said, "God will indeed punish those who break his laws, but because Josiah has humbled his heart, and wept before God for the sins of his people, God will not let the people be punished while Josiah lives."
Josiah did not forget the words of God's Law. Soon, messengers were sent throughout the whole land, calling the people to come to Jerusalem. There, Josiah read to them from the wonderful Book that had been found in the Temple. That day, the King promised to keep the Law of God and to serve Him with all his heart. He commanded the people to make the same promise, and they obeyed him, and prayed to God for forgiveness.
Wasn't Josiah a good King, boys and girls? And remember, he was just young – the same age as some of you – when he first began to trust God, and learn more about Him and His truth.
You will find this story in 2nd chronicles chapter 34. I trust you will read it again from the Bible, and find courage and strength from God to promise, just as Josiah did, to serve the Lord with all your heart.