My Thoughts on Josiah as a Great Reformer Who Failed to Raise Good Sons
The final godly king of the earthly Davidic Dynasty was Josiah. We could read of the cycle from David down to Jehoiakim to how the kings acted. When we think about it - only a few of the kings ever repented or ever did great. Some kings had a good start but a bad end like Joash the boy-king and Uzziah who later died as a leper. Other kings in David's lineage were just plain wicked like Jehoram, Ahaziah, Ahaz, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Zedekiah, and Jehoiachin (Josiah's grandson). A similar pattern can be seen with Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah (righteous reformers), Jehoram and Manasseh (sons who countered the reforms of their fathers though Manasseh repented), Ahaziah and Ammon (two wicked kings that didn't rule long), and Joash and Josiah (both made king at a very young age). Sadly, Josiah would be the last righteous king in the earthly Davidic Dynasty.
What do we read of Josiah? 1st Kings 13:2 says that Josiah will one day rise. 2nd Kings 22-23 and 2nd Chronicles 33-35 tells us of Josiah as a righteous king. We can read in the introduction of both books that Josiah did what was right and walked in the ways of David his ancestor. We can really see that he was resolved not to be like his father Ammon and learned from the mistakes of his grandfather Manasseh. Instead, he decided to be like his great-grandfather Hezekiah. Josiah's influence over the kingdom brought a period of great revival for Judah. So great was his influence that he broke down all the idols that led the people astray. Josiah even went as far as to finally break the idolatrous temple that was set up by Jeroboam and restored by Jehu. Josiah held so great a Passover celebration that he's well commended in both 2nd Kings and 2nd Chronicles. His influence in Jerusalem and Judah was so great that when he died of recklessness - he was greatly mourned for. Jeremiah wrote a lament for him as well.
However, we read of the disappointing failure of Josiah - he never left a good heir for his throne. We can read how Jeremiah's time was occupied by Josiah's rotten sons. Jehoahaz sat only three months. We had Jehoiakim and then Jehoiachin or Jeconiah. We can read of the encounter in Jeremiah 22 that none of his sons may sit on the throne of Judah. No sooner, another wicked son of Josiah named Zedekiah occupied the throne. It's a shame that none of Josiah's sons were commended. What could have caused Josiah's great failure? We have to know David was a great king but didn't raise most of his children properly. Just think about how Amnon raped his own half-sister Tamar, Absalom was a rebel, and Adonijah tried to assume the throne meant for Solomon. David didn't do well as a father except for Solomon. David can be described as a poor, passive parent to most of his children. Josiah may have also committed the same mistake too.
The big mistake that most of David's descendants failed was in parenting and raising the right son. Just think Solomon also failed to raise Rehoboam to be a wise ruler. Jehoshaphat failed to raise Jehoram properly and even handpicked Athaliah for a daughter-in-law. Jotham allowing the people to enter the Temple corruptly may be why Ahaz was the why he was. Hezekiah may have also failed to direct Manasseh in the right way. Manasseh's repentance did little to sway Ammon away from wickedness. Josiah may have been too busy leading the nation to the greatest revival that he forgot about his own family. Josiah failed as a leader in his house if he never had any good successors to occupy the throne. Inevitably, it led to the Babylonian Captivity as a result. For a great king, Josiah was certainly a failure as a parent and must be a lesson to learn also on what not to do as a father or a mother.
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