“Bible Heroes: King Josiah” (Memory Verse Challenge: Psalm 86:5)

Kids,

Would you like to see a Bible Hero that you may never heard of before? You would? Then meet King Josiah!

Hero # 3: King Josiah

Josiah was eight years old when he became one of the kings of Israel. He searched to know how he could please God with his ruling, and when he turned 12 years old, he put an end to the idol worship that was going on in Jerusalem and in Judah. Idols were statues that were made of wood or metal. The people of Israel were bowing down to them instead of to God, which made Him very unhappy.

This is what the Baal statue looked like.

He ordered the statues of Baal to be removed and broken down. And when the work was done the people began to turn back to the true God, the One who loved and took care of them.

When King Josiah was 18 years old he sent skilled workman to repair the temple, which had been neglected for many years. And in that temple a priceless treasure was found. That treasure was an old book that Moses had written long ago. The book was hidden in a corner and discovered by a high priest named, Hilkiah. He showed it to the other priests and they read it. Then they showed it to King Josiah. The priest read the words and Josiah listened carefully. He had never heard the things that were written in this book before. When King Josiah heard these words he became so sad that he tore his clothes, because he realized that his people had broken all of God’s commandments.

King Josiah then called a great meeting of all the people both young and old. He read to them the words of the book that had been found in the temple. Then he stood up before his people and made a solemn promise to serve the Lord. The people also promised that they, too, would serve God.

Because he did what was right this young king led the nation of Israel back to God and His ways. Josiah had the power of faith, which made him believe that God would forgive his people for turning against Him to do wrong. And God, being so loving and kind, forgave Israel for all the bad things they did.

King Josiah may have known of this verse in Psalms:

New King James Version

This week as you memorize Psalm 86:5, thank God in prayer that He will forgive you when you do wrong, and that He will also help you to obey Him.

You can read about King Josiah in 2 Kings 22 and 23 in your Bible.