Josiah, Josiah. The boy king. The eight year old with more sense in him than the legions of men before him. I guess what strikes me most is that in spite of not even having the book of the covenant in his possession, Josiah still manages to do right in the eyes of God. He did a clean sweep of the idolatry and the false religions, and walked in the ways of David...unwaveringly.
How did he do that? Was it just the example left by David? And probably Hezekiah? Was this history and tradition Josiah's "book of the law?" If so, it's a pretty amazing example of being an example. Etc.
For those who say the Bible, especially the OT is too phallocentric, here is Huldah (a pretty name!) the third prophetess since Miriam and Deborah. And that's just who was mentioned by name. I can only assume there were more.
When the book is eventually found during refurbishing the temple, and is read to Josiah, he tears his robes. He is humble. Me? I would probably instantly swell with pride at how well I was doing without said book. Instead, Josiah is heartbroken for the people. And he understands what God will do to those who haven't kept His commands. It's all right there. There's no way around it. Josiah's knowledge of God was deep enough to the point that he knew God would keep His end of the deal. I imagine that Josiah was even more distraught over knowing that the people he loved and served would endure the coming judgments, while Josiah would be buried in peace.
And disaster, as we know, is coming.
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