The King who dug up corpses gave me hope. Here's why.

Why did King Josiah dig up dead bodies and burn them on altars? And why was this the thing that gave me hope after reading about all the evil kings?

I've been stuck in 1st and 2nd Kings for months.

Reading about king after king who "did evil in the sight of the Lord." Watching God's people make the same mistakes over and over. Seeing kingdoms fall apart because leaders kept choosing themselves over God.

By the time I got to the end of the books, I was exhausted. Frustrated. Starting to wonder if anyone could actually follow God faithfully.

Then I met Josiah.

And the first thing this young king did that caught my attention? He dug up dead bodies and burned them on altars.

I know that sounds horrifying. But when you understand what it meant in his culture, you realize why this was the most brilliant spiritual warfare move in the entire Bible.

This wasn't just destruction. This was making sure his enemies could never come back.

Here's this 26-year-old king who doesn't just tear down the false worship in his kingdom. He makes it permanently unusable. Forever. No take-backs.

For the first time in months of reading Kings, I had hope.

Finally, here was someone who wasn't playing games with sin.

The 8-Year-Old King

Josiah became king when he was 8 years old.

Eight.

Most kids that age are learning to tie their shoes. Josiah was learning to run a kingdom.

His father, King Amon, had been murdered by his own servants after just two years on the throne. Amon was evil. He worshipped idols and led the people away from God.

So when little Josiah took over, he inherited a mess. A kingdom full of false gods, corrupt priests, and people who had forgotten what it meant to follow the real God.

But instead of waiting until he grew up to fix things, Josiah got to work.

In a book full of failed kings, Josiah stands out like a lighthouse in a storm.

The Book That Changed Everything

While the workers were cleaning out the temple, something amazing happened.

High priest Hilkiah found a scroll hidden in the rubble. It was the Book of the Law - God's actual words that had been lost for who knows how long.

Hilkiah gave it to Shaphan the secretary. Shaphan read it. Then Shaphan read it to King Josiah.

When Josiah heard God's words, he tore his clothes in grief.

He realized how far his people had wandered from God. How many years they had been breaking God's laws without even knowing it.

The book had been right there in God's house the whole time. But it was buried under years of neglect and junk.

Sometimes we have to clean house before we can find God's Word again.

The Massive Destruction Project

Once Josiah read the Law, he went on a rampage. But not the bad kind. The good kind.

He systematically destroyed every single thing in his kingdom that dishonored God.

Let me give you the numbers, because they're staggering:

Altars destroyed: At least a dozen different types mentioned

• Altars on the palace roof

• Altars in the temple courtyards

• Altars to Ashtoreth (goddess of the Sidonians)

• Altars to Chemosh (god of Moab)

• Altars to Molech (god of the Ammonites)

• The altar at Bethel (built by Jeroboam 300+ years earlier)

• All the shrine altars from Geba to Beersheba

• All the shrine altars in Samaria

But destroying them wasn't enough. Josiah wanted to make sure they could never be used again.

Why Spreading Ashes Was the Ultimate Insult

Here's what Josiah did that was really shocking. After he destroyed the altars, he dug up human bones from nearby graves and burned them on the altars.

To us, that sounds gross. To people back then, it was the ultimate way to ruin something forever.

In ancient Israel, touching a dead body made you "unclean" for seven days. Dead bodies were the most spiritually polluting thing you could encounter.

By burning human bones on these altars, Josiah was making them permanently unclean. No one would ever worship there again.

It was like putting up a giant sign that said: "CONDEMNED FOREVER. DO NOT USE."

He even killed the false priests on their own altars and burned their bones there too.

Josiah wasn't playing games. When he decided to clean house, he meant it.

What Altars Do You Need to Destroy?

This is where the story gets personal.

Josiah looked at his kingdom and asked: "What here is competing with God for my people's attention?"

Then he destroyed it. All of it. No matter how old it was, how expensive it was, or how many people liked it.

I had to ask myself the same question: What in my life is competing with God for my attention?

Maybe for you it's:

• Your phone that you check more than you read your Bible

• Work that you think about more than you think about God

• Money that you trust more than you trust God

• Relationships that pull you away from God instead of toward Him

• Habits that make you feel good but don't honor God

• Entertainment that fills your mind with things that don't please God

Josiah's example is clear: If it's competing with God, it has to go.

The Hard Truth About Spiritual Cleanup

Here's what Josiah teaches us about tearing down our altars:

It has to be total. Josiah didn't just damage the altars. He pulverized them, scattered the pieces, and burned bones on them. Half-measures don't work.

It has to be personal. Nobody forced Josiah to do this. He chose to do it because he loved God more than he loved the approval of people.

It has to be immediate. Once Josiah read God's Word, he didn't wait. He didn't make a plan for next year. He started destroying things right away.

It might look extreme to others. People probably thought Josiah was going too far. But Josiah cared more about what God thought than what people thought.

The Question That Changes Everything

Josiah was 8 when he became king. But he was 16 when he started seeking God seriously. And he was 26 when he found the Book of the Law and went on his destruction spree.

He could have waited. He could have made excuses. He could have gone slow.

Instead, he read God's Word and immediately started tearing down everything that competed with God.

After months of reading about kings who chose wrong, here was a king who chose right. Not just once, but consistently for 31 years.

Josiah gives me hope that we don't have to repeat the same failures over and over.

What altars in your life need to be destroyed today?

Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not when you're "ready."

Today.

Because the longer you wait, the stronger those altars get. The more they take over your life. The harder they become to tear down.

Josiah shows us that spiritual cleanup isn't optional. It's necessary.

And it's never too early to start.

In a book full of tragic endings, Josiah reminds us that faithful endings are still possible.

Reflection Questions

• What in your life do you turn to for comfort, security, or meaning besides God?

• If you had to destroy one thing today that competes with God for your attention, what would it be?

• What would "burning bones on the altar" look like in your situation - how could you make sure you never go back to that false god?

• Like Josiah, what would it look like for you to not just tear down the bad but build up the good in your spiritual life?

Building Something New

Speaking of tearing down altars and building something better...

I'm putting together a community for independent artists and creatives who are tired of the "starving artist" myth. Not just music marketing tips, but real business systems - the same strategies I've used to build multiple ventures, specifically for creatives.

If you're an artist who wants to turn your creativity into a sustainable life, I'd love to hear from you.

Just reply with "INTERESTED" if this sounds like something you'd want to be part of.

I'm still figuring out exactly what this will look like, but I want to build it with the right people from the start.

That’s it for today

keep JOY, live Disciplined