And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord ,.... In the affair of religious worship especially, as well as in other things: and walked in all the ways of David his father ; in his religious ways, in which he never departed from his God: and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left ; but kept an even, constant, path of worship and duty, according to the law of God. read more
GENERAL CHARACTER OF JOSIAH 'S REIGN . His repair of the temple . The writer begins his account of Josiah's reign with the usual brief summary, giving his age at his accession, the length of his reign, his mother's name and birthplace ( 2 Kings 22:1 ), and the general character of his rule ( 2 Kings 22:2 ). He then proceeds to mention some circumstances connected with the repair of the temple, which Josiah had taken in hand ( 2 Kings 22:3-7 ). read more
Josiah: the temple again repaired. The reign of Josiah affords another example of the law of action and reaction in national life. Dr. R. Payne Smith says, "The nation itself had gradually swung round, as nations now do, and had begun to be as dissatisfied with Baal and Moloch as their fathers had been with Jehovah" ('Introduction to Jeremiah'); and Dean Stanley remarks, "The popular election which placed Josiah on the throne, of itself marks some strong change of public feeling". It is... read more
A righteous branch from a wicked root. Josiah is the most astonishing instance that is contained in Scripture of goodness springing up, and attaining high perfection under the most extraordinarily unfavorable circumstances. Josiah was— I. THE SON OF AN EXTRAORDINARILY WICKED FATHER . Amon, Josiah's father, did evil in the sight of the Lord to an extent scarcely equaled even by any of the Israelite monarchs. "He forsook the Lord God of his fathers" ( 2 Kings 21:22 ), and... read more
ACCESSION OF JOSIAH . REPAIR OF THE TEMPLE . RECOVERY OF THE BOOK OF THE LAW . read more
A monarch of rare virtue, and a God of retributive justice. "Josiah was eight years old," etc. There are two subjects in this chapter that arrest our attention, and which are fertile with suggestions. I. A MONARCH OF RARE VIRTUE . "Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem," etc. In this monarch we discover four distinguished merits. 1. Religiousness of action . "He did that which was right in the sight of the... read more
And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in an the way of David his father. This is a stronger expression than any which has been used of any previous king of Judah except Hezekiah, and indicates a very high degree of approval. The son of Sirach says of Josiah, "The remembrance of Josias is like the composition of the perfume that is made by the art of the apothecary: it is sweet as honey in all mouths, and as music at a banquet of wine. He behaved himself... read more
2 Kings 22:1-2. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign Being young, he had not received any bad impressions from the example of his father and grandfather, but soon saw their errors, and God gave him grace to take warning by them. He saw his father’s sins, and considered, and did not the like, Ezekiel 18:14. He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord See the power of divine grace! Although he was born of a wicked father, had neither had a good education given him,... read more
Josiah repairs the temple (22:1-20)Included in Josiah’s reformation was a project for extensive repairs to the temple, which had been damaged during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon (22:1-7). By this time Assyrian power had weakened considerably, which enabled Josiah to carry out his reformation program without interference from outside. He even extended his power into the conquered territory of the former northern kingdom (see 23:15,19; 2 Chronicles 34:6-7).During the fifty-seven years when... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 22:1-10
Concerning Josiah we are here told, I. That he was very young when he began to reign (2 Kgs. 22:1), only eight years old. Solomon says, Woe unto thee, O land! when thy king is a child; but happy art thou, O land! when thy king is such a child. Our English Israel had once a king that was such a child, Edward VI. Josiah, being young, had not received any bad impressions from the example of his father and grandfather, but soon saw their errors, and God gave his grace to take warning by them. See... read more