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2 Kings 23 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Starting in Deuteronomy 17:14, God outlines the laws concerning Israel’s kings.
Be sure that the man you choose to be king is the one whom the LORD has chosen. He must be one of your own people; do not make a foreigner your king. 16 The king is not to have a large number of horses for his army, and he is not to send people to Egypt to buy horses, because the LORD has said that his people are never to return there. 17 The king is not to have many wives, because this would make him turn away from the LORD; and he is not to make himself rich with silver and gold.
18 When he becomes king, he is to have a copy of the book of God’s laws and teachings made from the original copy kept by the levitical priests. 19 He is to keep this book near him and read from it all his life, so that he will learn to honor the LORD and to obey faithfully everything that is commanded in it. 20 This will keep him from thinking that he is better than other Israelites and from disobeying the LORD’s commands in any way. Then he will reign for many years, and his descendants will rule Israel for many generations.
Deuteronomy 17:15-20 GNB
What’s interesting is, as Hank has mentioned, Josiah honored these laws better than any king Israel had seen. Scripture says there was no king like him. As Adam Clarke writes, “David was a greater but not a better man than Josiah.”
What caused this to take place? It was the power of God’s Word. As you can read in the Deuteronomy passage above, the king was to have a copy of this book of God’s laws and teachings at all times so that he would not be led astray. Once this book was brought to the forefront of the nation’s affairs, and really, the forefront of Josiah’s life, everything else fell into place. It was a domino effect. The Word spoke to the heart of Josiah and he led the nation boldly.
In thinking of our current generation, there is little difference. When we place the authority of the Bible as the foundation of our lives, which leads us to Jesus, we will honor God and lead others to serve Him. Yes, it’s really that simple. I think this is one of those old truths that absolutely still applies to us today.