Josiah, the Child King

When Josiah was thrust onto the throne of Judah at eight years old, he found himself ruling a severely divided land. One faction worshiped Baal, Molech and a host of other Canaanite deities, while the other remained faithful to Yahweh, the God of the Hebrew people whose temple was the crowning jewel of his capital city of Jerusalem. In this novelized version of his story, we see Josiah the boy growing into Josiah the man, dealing with political intrigue and threats from the Assyrian empire and others, as well as forecasts of doom from the ever-abrasive prophet Jeremiah. Josiah chooses Yahweh and goes on a campaign to cleanse the land and repair the temple, and as the repairs progress, workers discover the long-lost Law of Moses in the temple.

As he seeks to reform an entire nation, Josiah experiences love, loss of a child, betrayal by friends, and, ultimately, the consequences of bad choices. Yet, through all of it, his heart remains true to his God. He stands as an example of courage, faithfulness and humility. Although this story is novelized, it seeks to be faithful to the biblical accounts in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. So enjoy the tale of Josiah, the boy king and the last good king of Judah.