Josiah's Reform: A Royal Cleanup That Couldn't Stop the Collapse

As I read through 2 Kings 22-23 and 2 Chronicles 32-33, one thing that caught my attention was King Josiah's sweeping reforms. He tears down idols, removes pagan shrines, restores the temple, and reinstitutes the celebration of Passover. All of this follows the discovery of a forgotten scroll during temple repairs—the Book of the Law. It seems like a moment of national reckoning.

The Gold Standard of Kings?

What stands out is the intensity and thoroughness of Josiah's efforts. 2 Kings 23:25 (NLT) says, "Never before had there been a king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and soul and strength, obeying all the laws of Moses. And there has never been a king like him since." That’s a remarkable statement. It paints Josiah as a once-in-history kind of leader. And yet, not long after his death, the nation slips back into its old patterns, and exile eventually comes.

Good Intentions, Bad Timing?

So I find myself wondering: How do we make sense of that? If someone puts everything into doing what seems right—clearing out corruption, re-centering a community, trying to return to some sort of foundational truth—and it still doesn’t change the final outcome, what does that mean?

It’s tempting to want a story like this to end differently. To see reform rewarded and legacy carried on. But that’s not what happens. Instead, Josiah's death is abrupt, and his sons don't follow in his footsteps. It’s almost as if the reforms were surface-level—enforced from the top but not absorbed by the people. Or maybe the momentum of history was already too strong.

I also think about how often societies try to fix things through rules or structure or leadership. Sometimes those efforts are genuine and thorough, like Josiah’s. But is deep change possible without a broader shift in mindset or values? Or do we just end up circling back to the same problems once the leader is gone?

The Limits of Doing Everything Right

Josiah seems sincere. His actions are bold and costly. But in the end, Judah's fate is sealed. Maybe that says something about timing, or about how fragile reform can be when it isn't shared collectively.

Josiah does everything right—at least as far as the text describes. But maybe change, especially lasting change, is more complicated than doing all the right things. Maybe it's not just about reforming systems, but about something slower, harder to measure, and much more difficult to lead.