Josiah by Name

The Story

After Solomon died, the kingdom split in two. Jeroboam, king of the northern tribes, didn’t want his people traveling to Jerusalem to worship. So he set up golden calves and built his own altar at Bethel.

One day, as Jeroboam stood at that altar burning incense, a man of God came from Judah and cried out against it. “O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD.” A child will be born in the house of David, Josiah by name. He will burn the bones of these false priests on you.

As a sign, the prophet said, this altar will split apart and the ashes will pour out.

Jeroboam stretched out his hand and shouted, “Lay hold on him.” Instantly his hand dried up, and he couldn’t pull it back. The altar split, and the ashes poured out, just as the man of God had said.

Then about three hundred years passed.

A king named Josiah came to the throne in Jerusalem. As a young man, he set out to clean the land of idols. He went north to Bethel, tore down Jeroboam’s altar, and saw the tombs on the hillside. He had the bones taken out and burned on the altar, exactly as the man of God had proclaimed three centuries before.

Reflection