On That Day

Josiah was six years old when his grandfather, Manasseh, died. Manasseh’s reign as King of Judah was long and wicked, but he died a humble and repentant man. Josiah’s father, King Amon, “did not humble himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself, but this Amon incurred guilt more and more” (2 Ch. 33:23). Amon quickly and easily steered Judah back into idolatry. After only two years he was murdered, and eight-year-old Josiah became king in his place.

Only God knows why—perhaps he’d been told about his grandfather’s repentance—but when he was 16 Josiah “began to seek the God of David his Father” (2 Ch. 34:3). At age 20 he set about destroying every vestige of idolatry and false worship in Judah. At 26, he began restoring the temple. That was when Hilkiah, the high priest, found a copy of the book of the Law of Moses (2 Ch. 34:14). After 18 years as king and a full decade of seeking the LORD, Josiah was finally about to hear God’s written word for the very first time. 

And when the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes” (2 Ch. 34:19). “For great,” he realized, “is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book. (2 Ch. 34: 19, 21b). 

He sent word to Huldah, a prophetess, and she confirmed his fears. Judah was indeed doomed to disaster because of its centuries of sin, but God had a special word for Josiah: 

. . . because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you . . . (2 Ch. 34:27). 

Yes, the day of disaster was coming. God would not relent. But because Josiah humbled himself before God’s word, judgment would not fall during his lifetime. Josiah gathered his nation together, “great and small” (2 Ch. 34:30) and read God’s word to them. In front of the nation he vowed to keep the Law, and he made the people do the same. 

But Josiah had only 13 years left to live and to enforce their obedience. There would be no more godly kings. Judah’s judgment was less than 25 years away, and most of those who had taken Josiah’s vow, would live to see it. They needed to take responsibility for their own hearts toward God. So God sent Zephaniah to warn them:  “The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast” (Zeph. 1: 14).

If they “turned back from following the LORD” and did “not seek the LORD or inquire of him” (1:6), that day would come as a day of unspeakable horror. But for those who followed Josiah’s example, who sought God and humbled themselves before his word, there was hope:

Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
 Who do his just commands;
 Seek righteousness; seek humility;
 Perhaps you may be hidden
 On the day of  the anger of the LORD. (Zeph. 2:3)

God kept his word. A day of judgment did come for the people of Judah. They were taken away to Babylon, and Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. All that were left behind were “a people humble and lowly” (3:12, see also 2 Kgs 25:12). But it is clear that Zephaniah had more than just that day of exile in mind. 

The day of Judah’s judgment was only a shadow of the ultimate Day of the LORD. On that day He will gather all the world’s peoples for judgment (3:8-19). And just like Manasseh, and Josiah, and the people of Judah, on that day our fates will depend on our attitude toward the word of God and our obedience to it. 

Are you reading your Bible? Are you submitting your life to God’s Word?