The MAJOR & MINOR Prophets - The 16 Writing Prophets Of The Hebrew Canon

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Eight years old Sixteen years old Twenty years old

Began to reign in Jerusalem

638 B.C. 630 B.C. 626 B.C. 620 B.C.

Eighth year of his reign, began to seek the LORD

Twelfth year of reign, began to purge Jerusalem, the first reform Eighteenth year of reign, began to repair the temple, found the Book and celebrated the Passover (2 Kg 22:3) 7KLUWLHWK \HDU RI UHLJQ KH ³ORVW KLV OLI e in a futile attempt to prevent Pharaoh Necho from aiding Assyria in its dying struggles DJDLQVW ULVLQJ %DE\ORQ ´ 2

Twenty-six years old

Thirty-eight years old

608 B.C.

Consider for a moment the following background of Josiah:

The Reign of Josiah. To understand Josiah and his reign, the reader needs to check out the record left in 2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 34-35. -RVLDK·V IDWKHU , King Amon, and his grandfather, King Manasseh, were both evil men EXW *RG ZDV SDUWLFXODUO\ DQJU\ ´EHFDXVH RI DOO the provocations with which Manas VHK KDG SURYRNHG KLPµ .LQJV 3 Miraculously, Josiah came to the throne at the age of eight, and began realizing the horrible, spiritual condition of his country. Undoubtedly, a select group of influential, spiritual men ² probably including the prophets Jeremiah and Zephaniah 4 and the high priest Hilkiah (as well as the memory of his great-great grandfather, the famous good King Hezekiah) influenced him to emulate King David and discard the idolatrous ways of his father and grandfather. ´+H]HNLDK DQG -RVLDK ZHUH WKH two kings of Judah who made the greatest effort to purify worship from its pagan elements, making it conform to the Law RI 0RVHV µ 5 ´-RVLDK ZDV HLJKW \HDUV ROG ZKHQ KH EHFDPH NLQJ DQG KH UHLJQHG WKLUW\ -one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young [sixteen years old] , he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and -HUXVDOHP RI WKH KLJK SODFHV WKH ZRRGHQ LPDJHV WKH FDUYHG LPDJHV DQG PROGHG LPDJHVµ &KURQ -3). :KHQ .LQJ -RVLDK ZDV RQO\ VL[WHHQ ´KH EHJDQ WR VHHN WKH *RG RI KLV IDWKHU 'DYLG DQG LQ the twelfth year [when he was twenty] he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the mold HG LPDJHVµ &K 34:3). The Book and the Prophetess. A momentous discovery was made and a heart-chilling prophecy given when the young king was twenty-six years old. Josiah had initiated the repair of the PXFK QHJOHFWHG 7HPSOH DQG ´+LO kiah the priest found [during the renovation] the book of WKH /DZ RI WKH /25' JLYHQ E\ 0RVHVµ &K :KHQ WKH ZRUGV RI WKH /25' ZHUH UHDG WR him, Josiah dispatched Hilkiah and four trusted associates to visit Huldah, the prophetess, to see 2 Jack P. Lewis, The Minor Prophets, p. 47. 3 2 Ch 33:9 ²³6R 0DQDVVHK VHGXFHG -XGDK DQG WKH LQKDELWDQWV RI -HUXVDOHP WR GR PRUH HYLO WKDQ WKH QDWLRQV ZKRP WKH /25' KDG GHVWUR\HG EHIRUH WKH FKLOGUHQ RI ,VUDHO ´ 4 ³-HUHPLDK SURSKHVLHG GXULQJ WKLV UHLJQ &K -HU DV GLG +DEDNNXN =HSKDQLDK =HSK DQG 1DKXP ´ The MacArthur Study Bible, p. 633. 5 The Apologetics Study Bible (Holman), p. 1369.

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