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Josiah
(From Forerunner Commentary)

It will be helpful to set the stage for Josiah's appearance in 639 BC. The northern ten tribes, Israel, are in captivity, having been conquered by Assyria about 80 years earlier during the reign of Judah's king Hezekiah. A good king who tried to follow God, Hezekiah rules for 29 years. His son Manasseh, however, is a very evil man. During his 55 years on the throne, he leads the people away from God, even to the extent of sacrificing children. Coming as it does after the 29 years of obedient leadership under Hezekiah, Manasseh's reign provides a clear contrast to the people. Though Manasseh exercises corrupt leadership, it appears the people willingly follow. In II Kings 21:9, God comments, "But they [the people] paid no attention [to God's laws], and Manasseh seduced them to do more evil than the nations whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel." Because of this, God says in verses 12 and 15, "Behold, I am bringing such calamity upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whoever hears of it, both his ears will tingle . . . because they have done evil in My sight and have provoked Me to anger. . . ." God prophesies severe punishment for Judah because He sees it is plain that the people themselves are corrupt, not just their king. After Manasseh's death, his son Amon rules for only two years, assassinated by his own servants. And so eight-year-old Josiah ascends to the throne of Judah. His story begins in II Kings 22:1, "Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem." Through the chronicler, God comments, "And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left." Mike Ford Josiah

2 Kings 22:1  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Obviously, at age 8, he is not handling the day-to-day matters of the kingdom. He holds the title of king, but he is more than likely being schooled and groomed by a regent. Part of that schooling is to teach him the ways of God. We do not know for sure who was responsible for this part of his education (it may have been Hilkiah, the high priest), but Josiah is receptive to it (II Chronicles 34:3-5). Mike Ford Josiah

2 Chronicles 33:1  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) Manasseh was the son of the second or third best king that Judah ever had. A list of the three best kings of Judah, hands down, begins with David, and he stands in a class of his own because every king is compared to him, even the good ones. He is the standard. Only three other kings are compared favorably to David: Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah. God seems to draw special attention to Josiah as having been the second best, with Hezekiah being the third, and Jehoshaphat the fourth. That is my own list, but it has sound biblical reasoning behind it. John W. Ritenbaugh Why Three Kings Are Missing From Matthew 1

Look up 'Josiah' in Nave's  

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