Lifetime of Faithfulness

I love the stories of the Bible, and I particularly enjoy sharing those stories with kids. One of my favorite kind of stories to share with girls and boys is one where they can personally relate to the person in the story because of their age. We all have a favorite: David and Goliath, Timothy being raised by his mother and grandmother, the young boy who brought his lunch to Jesus, David and Goliath, or Joseph and his brothers. When the story focuses on a child, it’s exciting to watch little faces light up and connect to the story.  

A favorite of mine is the story of Josiah, the boy king. You can read about Josiah’s leadership in 2 Chronicles 34–35. One of the best parts of Josiah’s story is that he was only eight years old when he ascended the throne of Judah. While studying the story of Josiah, I read some interesting things about Josiah’s life that can lead us to see why a lifetime of faithfulness is God’s desire for us. 

Josiah was not raised in a household of role models. His grandfather and father almost brought Judah to a breaking point. While Josiah didn’t have good role models in his family, he did have a spiritual mentor. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 34:3 that Josiah, at the age of 16, began to seek the God of his ancestor David. Though the Bible doesn’t give us details, Josiah had some focused spiritual training from someone in the kingdom.  

Faithfulness characterized Josiah’s life from an early age. By the time he was an adult, Josiah commanded the temple be repaired after his grandfather had desecrated it. Josiah’s scribe found the book of the law, and Josiah completely transformed his nation. Josiah’s faithfulness didn’t stop there. Josiah knew the book was important and sent word to a prophetess to interpret its meaning. God told Josiah that the kingdom of Judah would soon cease to exist. But because Josiah had been faithful to God, God would bless Josiah and his kingdom while he was alive.  

Josiah’s ability to transition his nation back to true, God-honoring worship could not correct the damage Josiah’s grandfather had done. Even though Josiah experienced the blessing of God during his lifetime, he knew that consequences for sin would be coming. Josiah never stopped worshiping God, and God was faithful to Josiah. After Josiah died, the nation very quickly slipped back into pagan worship, and the inhabitants of Judah were taken to Babylon.  

As leaders, faithfulness to God in all that we do is a valuable lesson we can learn from Josiah. As you lead boys and girls, help them to also understand the importance of a life lived in faithfulness.