King- Jehoshapat,
Hezekiah and Josiah
A.
Jehoshapat
(873 – 837 B.C.E.):
Jehoshapat, the son of King Asa, became
the King of Judah. During his reign Judah was more stable.
1.
Religious
Reform:
Jehoshapat, like
his father, was a Yahweh worshipper and subdued the pagan tendencies in the
kingdom. As a result, the cult of Baal could not grow during his reign. He also
removed the Asherah shrines. In addition to that he formed a team of his
officials, some Levites and 2 priests who toured the land, and taught the law
of the LORD to the population.
2.
Judicial
Reform:
Jehoshapat was a
just and able king. He aimed to normalise the judicial procedure, to root out
injustice and also to provide adequate machinery for the appeal of disputed
cases. Therefore he appointed judges and installed them in key cities. He also
set up the Court of Appeals in Jerusalem which was presided over by the chief
priest for religious matters and the commander of Judah for civil matters.
3.
Administrative
Reform:
At the beginning
of his reign itself, he placed his forces in all the fortified cities of Judah
and also embarked into border fortifications, especially on the border with
Israel. Jehoshaphat's leadership was so effective, and God's blessing so rich,
that internal peace and military security became the rule. The Philistines paid
tribute to him while the Arabians brought rams and goats.
B.
Hezekiah
Hezekiah, the son of King Ahaz,
succeeded him as king of Judah. At that time Judah was under the submissive
rule of Assyria.
1.
Religious
Reform:
Even though
Hezekiah couldn’t reject the Assyrian Gods that were in Judah for fear of
Assyrian reaction, he did initiate positive reforms. He stopped the foreign
practices that his father King Ahaz had introduced. Also various cult objects
such as the bronze snake made by Moses, which were associated with Yahwism were
also destroyed. He attempted to stop the pagan practices that used to take
place in the local shrines of Yahweh but was not completely successful. He also
persuaded the people of the northern state to turn back to worshipping Yahweh. His
intent in doing this was with the hope that through religious unification and
the reactivation of the national shrine at Jerusalem, political unification and
independence would follow.
2.
Social
Reform:
Hezekiah also
undertook various social reforms especially the economic abuses in Judah
influenced by criticisms from prophets like Micah and Isaiah. In order to curb
dishonesty in trade and in the collection of taxes he introduced standardised
weights and measures. A system of guilds was also introduced to protect the
craftsmen from exploitation. Thus he took measures to curtail rampant social
exploitation and bring about general prosperity.
3.
Political
Reform:
Hezekiah desired
to free Judah from the Assyrian rule. He also attempted to bring the northern
state together so as to revolt against Assyria but it was unsuccessful. When
Sennacherib became the king of Assyria, Hezekiah refused to pay tribute and
took steps to defend his independence. He
made 2 major attempts to overthrow the Assyrian control over Judah but was
unsuccessful.
4.
Assryian
Domination:
The Assryians
were very powerful during the reign of their emperor Sargon II and later his
son Sennacherib. They kept a watch on Hezekiah’s attempts to rejoin the
northern kingdom and foiled that plan. Even though there was a confederacy of
Egypt, Tyre, Babylon and other nations, they were able to quell these revolts
and keep them under control including Judah.
C.
Josiah
Josiah was crowned the king of Judah
when he was 8 years old.
1.
Religious
Reform:
From his 12th
year of his reign Josiah began to terminate all foreign cults and idolatrous
practices. Josiah had started temple repairs wherein in the 18th
year, he found ‘the book of the law’. He made the elders to read it and enter
into a covenant before Yahweh to obey it. Thus he purged out Assryian cult
objects, solar and astral cults, native pagan cults, their practitioners
including eunuch priests and prostitutes of both sexes were killed. He also
suppressed the practice of magic and sorcery. He closed the local shrines of
Yahweh and centralised all public worship in Jerusalem temple. He even invited
the rural priests to become part of the temple clergy.
2.
Political
Reform:
In around 629
B.C.E. Josiah started acquiring sizeable portions of the northern Israel. He also had control over the port city of Joppa.
However Assyria at this time had become weak and was not able to interfere.
3.
Reassertion
Policy of Hezekiah:
Josiah followed
the law book in undertaking the reforms. Similarities can be seen in his style
of reforms and that of Hezekiah’s. Just as Hezekiah reversed Ahaz, similarily
Josiah reversed Mannaseh. Hezekiah had attempted to overthrow the Assyrian
cultic practices so as to bring in a sense of religious as well as political
independence and also political unification of northern state with Judah.
Josiah attempted the same policy and was successful to some extent. Thus
similar to Hezekiah, Josiah’s reforms implied an aspect of nationalism.
4.
Prophetic
Movement:
2 prophets
instrumental in their ministry in this period were Zephaniah and Jeremiah. They
asserted that the nation was under judgement and would face the wrath of Yahweh
if it did not repent, thus preparing the ground for reform. Zephaniah denounced
the cultic and ethical sins that were brought in by Manasseh’s policy and urged
the nation that repentance was the only way. Jeremiah on the other hand, used
Hosea’s message and attacked the practice of idolatory practice in Judah and
urged repentance or to face destruction.
5.
Other
Reforms:
Josiah also
reorganised his military on account of Judah’s independence and acquisition of
new territories. He also brought changes in the overall administrative system.
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