The Return of Jedidah

Josiah's reign is unusual as the King of Judah is as it interrupts Judah's slide to destruction with its all-time best king. Taking the throne at age eight, he began to seek the Lord from a young age (2^nd Chronicles 34:3). He clears the land of idols, restores the worship practices found in the Book of the Law, and sets the Temple in order. Where did this devotion to God come from?

Well, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t from his father Amon. He was an evil king that was deposed by his own servants. His grandfather Manasseh another boy-king broke as bad as one could get, the idolatry and child sacrifice that Josiah would eliminate in his reign were started by Manasseh.

If it wasn’t from his fathers, it might have been from His mother Jedidah. We know little about her but her name, it however might be a clue. Her name means “beloved of the Lord”. It is the feminine version of the name that God gave to Solomon in 2^nd Samuel 12:24-25. The name was to show he was loved by God. What better way could a mother live up to that name than to show her child how to love the Lord.

In 2^nd Timothy Paul tells Timothy “ that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation …” and of his faith “which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice”. Mothers and grandmothers can build a faithful future for their children by instilling in them a love of God and his word.

The world may not be where we want it to be but if we teach our children from an early age to love and listen to God, we might just be able to change the course.

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