2 Chronicles 34:32
And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
Josiah first took his own stand in his place and entered into covenant before the Lord to follow after Him and to keep His commandments and testimonies and statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, and then he caused all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to that same covenant. The inhabitants of Jerusalem joined that covenant and acted according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers, pledging themselves to keep His commandments. The work was done well and held throughout his lifetime, for idolatry was put down and seemingly uprooted, the temple was prepared and reopened with the sacrificial offerings re-established, abominations were removed from all the lands of Israel, all who were present were made to serve the Lord, and all his days they did not depart from following Him.
Coming after the reading of the law, this standing to the covenant was an expression of deep repentance and return to the Lord. It shows the reformation required when God's law reveals wrongdoing. Their response stands as a model calling for wholehearted return to God with no compromise with evil.