What events would cause you to change your behavior? A poor medical diagnosis? A life-threatening accident? Challenging events have a way of making us stop and reassess our priorities. Many times we see spiritual change prompted by a crisis.

Josiah, having heard the words of the prophetess Huldah, set out to clean house completely. The lengths to which he went are detailed for us and serve as a reminder of what true repentance looks like. First, he gathered the nation and as a community they made a covenant with God. Second, he purged the land of its idols. Like an alcoholic who removes every tempting beverage from his home, Josiah set out to completely eradicate anything that would draw the nation away from the Lord. In addition to these things, he removed those who were leading the people astray (v. 6). Finally, he desecrated the locations where idol worship took place (v. 8). Notice some of the wicked practices, including child sacrifice, that Josiah obliterated with these decisive actions (v. 10). He “smashed the sacred stones” (v. 14).

To fill the void left behind by this cleansing, Josiah returned Israel to celebrating the Passover, restoring things Israel had lost. More than just a trivial holiday, Passover was commanded by the Lord as part of the covenant. This feast remembered the power of God in delivering Israel from bondage in Egypt. Yet, the nation had not celebrated this event this way since the days of the Judges (v. 22).

We could make the case that the failure to celebrate Passover hastened their spiritual decline. It was not enough for Josiah to cleanse Judah from service to other gods, he needed to fill the vacuum by returning them to the worship of the true God.

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