Even though he was a better king than his father Amon and grandfather Manasseh, who both were evil, when Josiah heard the Book being read to him, he made changes first to his personal life. He was very distraught when Hilkiah the high priest read the Book -- so much so that he tore his robes which was a sign of great distress and mourning. He knew his standard of being good did not measure up to the Lord’s standards. Then Josiah read the Book to the people of Israel and began to get rid of all the idol worship that existed both in God’s Temple and throughout Israel (chapter 23).
Israel and its people would now follow the One True God and worship only God Himself. Josiah had influence over the Israelites. Position wise, he was the King and personally, that influence continued because Josiah was willing to become a standard of what it meant to truly follow God. He held to the standard regardless of what ...
