2 Kings 22:20-23:3 (NIV) Therefore I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.'"
So they took her answer back to the king.
23:1 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 2 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the prophets — all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 3 The king stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord-to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book. Then all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.
NOTE: The prophetess clears Josiah because of his response to the word of God. He could have lived out his life with that assurance, but instead he takes action to obey God's word, and even more importantly to involve the people in renewing the covenant. Actually, this is a mistake that I think Hezekiah made. While Hezekiah took action, he may have failed to make the case to the people that they needed to take action. Consequently, the people never were really on-board, all too quickly abandoned Hezekiah's reforms when Manasseh comes on the scene. I think for teachers and leaders, this example impresses upon me the importance of application. I must always explore application to anything I teach. And when I lead spiritually, I must establish the foundation of my actions upon the word of God, and communicate that to those I am leading (at least in a spiritual sense). I'm not sure of the degree I can do that in the secular setting, or at least I must be very careful.
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