Both the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom had good and bad kings, although the North were mostly (if not all) bad, and the South were mostly good. Of course, they were never intended to have kings in the first place. When the people demanded a king, God told them in no uncertain terms that he, the Lord, was their King. God even warned them of serious repercussions if they continued to insist on having their way. And the narrative of the Old Testament describes an unimaginable litany of terrible punishments God visited upon his people. 

Josiah comes into power and institutes 12 reforms to rid the land of the pagan worship and practices. A couple of lessons come to mind. One is that sin has consequences. Actually, it may be better to say unrepentant sinners will not get by without punishment. But then there’s the second lesson. No matter how bad the sin, a broken and contrite heart grieving and repenting can and will be forgiven by the grace of God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. King Josiah interceded for the people and their fellowship with Almighty God was restored. I’m a sinner too, saved by grace, and daily my flesh fights against the Spirit but King Jesus gives me the victory!

“Everything is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him” (C.S. Lewis).

Rev. Harold Hazen, Fort Wayne, Ind.