Today, we will begin looking at the book of Zephaniah. Verse 1 tells us when Zephaniah prophesied: “in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.” Josiah was the last good king that Judah had. 2 Kings 22:1 tells us that he was only 8 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 31 years. Verse 2 describes him this way: “he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.”
Folks, this shows us that we cannot judge someone’s leadership based solely on his/her age. A person has to have integrity and courage to stand up and be counted on God’s side. Sad to say, too many of our elected officials have neither integrity nor courage to stand up and be counted on God’s side. The only reason they want their position is to attain power, wealth, and popularity.
Someone might argue that it was because Josiah’s family were righteous people and produced these qualities in him. Manasseh, his grandfather, was the most ungodly wicked king that Judah ever had. Josiah’s father, Amon, is described this way, “He walked in all the way in which his father walked and served the idols that his father served.”
Josiah is proof that you cannot judge children by looking at their parents. The verse that causes so many faithful Christian parents to feel guilty is Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” These parents do their best to pass on their love of God and their faith to their children, and the children reject their teaching and chase after the world. Folks, let’s help each other raise up children like Josiah who are dedicated to doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD. Our nation desperately needs a leader.