Josiah, His Heart Torn before the Word of God

While the temple was being repaired, the Book of the Law was found, and as its words were read aloud, Josiah tore his clothes and wept. He did not lay the blame on his fathers but counted himself among those under God’s wrath, and though he already knew judgment was coming, he sent men to inquire once more of God’s will.

That the Word had to be found at all shows how long it had lain buried in dust within the temple. The people held fast to the assurance that the temple stood among them, while the Word that belonged at the center of their lives was nowhere to be seen. To be pierced and unsettled before the Word is nothing strange; it is the response of a spirit that is still alive.

The prophetess Huldah declares that the judgment on all Judah would not be withdrawn, yet God had heard the tears of one man, Josiah. God looks not for the flawless but for a broken spirit. Wherever there is even one person whose heart is torn in this way, whether in a home, a church, or a nation, God will not forsake that place.