Biblical Principles of Reformation

October 31 is designated as Reformation Day……appropriate that we give some consideration to the subject of reformation.

We will do so by considering the life and ministry of one of the great reformers of the Bible, King Josiah.

We will first look at 2 Kings 22: 1-23 and then a parallel passage in 2 Chronicles chapters 34 & 35.

These two passage have a different organizing principle….but they have the same basic emphasis.

They emphasize five things about the life and ministry of Josiah.
Both passages give us an overview of the life, the moral impact and nature of his life and ministry.

You will find him described as a righteous man….whose life consisted in doing what was right in the eyes of God.

We also find that he walked in all the ways of David his father.

In the exercise of his mediatorial office as king…he turned not aside to the right hand of to the left.

It is noted that at the age of 16……he began to seek the Lord with all his heart.

It was at the age of 20 that he actually began to implement certain reforms…..which consisted in purging the house of Jehovah and the land of Judah of the idols which his predecessors had established.

It is significant to note that 2 Kings emphasizes what took place in the 18th year of his reign…..and places it first because it constituted the central and climatic crucial contribution of his life and mministry.

What significant thing happened?

It was the discovery of the book of the law.