Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
The gathering took place after the book of the law was found, when Josiah responded to its warnings with a tender heart, humbling himself, tearing his clothes and weeping, and received the promise that because of this he would be gathered to his fathers and would not see the evil to come upon the place. He then sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, bringing the leaders of the people together to take part in the work of reform during his reign. That assembling of the leaders belonged to a good work done well, in which idolatry was put down, the temple was reopened, and the sacrificial offerings were re-established.
Together with the gathered elders, the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people great and small, he went up into the house of the Lord and read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant found in the house. In Josiah's day the reading of the law was a call for the people to return to the Lord, with the expectation that hearing God's law would lead to deep repentance and renewed faithfulness. Standing in his place, he made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord and to keep His commandments, testimonies and statutes with all his heart and soul to perform the words written in the book, and he caused all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it.
He took away all the abominations out of all the countries of Israel and made all who were present serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not depart from following the Lord, the God of their fathers. This faithfulness continued until he later failed to heed warning and died in a battle he should not have joined.
The gathering took place after the book of the law was found, when Josiah responded to its warnings with a tender heart, humbling himself, tearing his clothes and weeping, and received the promise that because of this he would be gathered to his fathers and would not see the evil to come upon the place. He then sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem, bringing the leaders of the people together to take part in the work of reform during his reign. That assembling of the leaders belonged to a good work done well, in which idolatry was put down, the temple was reopened, and the sacrificial offerings were re-established.
Together with the gathered elders, the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people great and small, he went up into the house of the Lord and read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant found in the house. In Josiah's day the reading of the law was a call for the people to return to the Lord, with the expectation that hearing God's law would lead to deep repentance and renewed faithfulness. Standing in his place, he made a covenant before the Lord to walk after the Lord and to keep His commandments, testimonies and statutes with all his heart and soul to perform the words written in the book, and he caused all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it.
He took away all the abominations out of all the countries of Israel and made all who were present serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not depart from following the Lord, the God of their fathers. This faithfulness continued until he later failed to heed warning and died in a battle he should not have joined.