The Boy King Josiah: A Bedtime Story

Part 1

Lily, Ben, and Sam were spending another afternoon at their grandparents’ house. After their last adventure in the attic, they couldn’t wait to go back and see what else they might find. As they climbed the stairs, they wondered what new surprises awaited them.

"I wonder if the old book is still there," Ben said as they reached the top of the stairs.

"I hope so!" Lily replied, excitement in her voice.

Sure enough, the old, dusty book was still sitting on the wooden table where they had left it. The leather cover looked just as worn, and the pages were yellowed with age. Ben carefully opened the book, and just like before, a soft, golden light began to glow from the pages.

"Here we go again!" Sam exclaimed, as the light wrapped around them, and the attic began to spin.

When the spinning stopped, they found themselves in a grand but ancient-looking palace. The walls were made of stone, and everything looked old and very important.

"Where are we now?" Lily asked, looking around.

Ben’s eyes widened as he realized where they might be. "I think we’re in Jerusalem… and that over there… that’s the palace of the king!"

As they looked closer, they noticed something surprising. Sitting on the throne was a boy who looked no older than Ben. He wore a crown on his head and a royal robe, but there was something different about him. The boy was deep in thought, and the people around him seemed to respect him a lot, even though he was just a child.

"That must be Josiah," Ben whispered, "the boy who became king when he was only eight years old!"

Part 2

Josiah was indeed very young, but he was also very wise. He wanted to be a good king, one who followed God with all his heart. Josiah knew that the people of Judah hadn’t been following God’s laws, and this made him sad. He wanted to bring his people back to God, but he wasn’t sure how.

One day, as Josiah was thinking about how to help his people, something amazing happened. One of the priests who worked in the temple found a very old scroll. It was the Book of the Law, the special instructions God had given to Moses many years ago, but everyone had forgotten about it.

Lily, Ben, and Sam watched as the priest hurried to bring the scroll to Josiah. The young king listened carefully as the priest read the words of the scroll out loud. Josiah’s face grew serious as he heard the words of God’s laws and realized how far the people had strayed from them.

"Oh no," Lily whispered. "They weren’t following God’s rules."

"What’s Josiah going to do?" Sam asked, his eyes wide with concern.

Josiah stood up from his throne, his heart full of determination. "We have to change!" he declared. "We need to follow God’s laws and make things right again."

The children watched in awe as Josiah gathered all the people of Judah together. He read the Book of the Law to them, and the people realized they had been doing wrong. Josiah led them in renewing their promise to follow God. He also ordered that all the idols and false gods be removed from the land. The people worked together to clean up the temple and make it a place where they could worship God properly again.

"Wow, Josiah is really brave," Ben said, impressed by the young king’s courage.

"Yeah," Lily agreed. "Even though he was just a kid, he knew what was right and did it."

As the children continued to watch, they saw how the people of Judah began to change. They started following God’s laws again, and the whole kingdom became a better place because of Josiah’s leadership. Even though he was young, Josiah made a big difference because he listened to God and led his people back to Him.

Suddenly, the golden light returned, gently lifting Lily, Ben, and Sam off the ground. They felt the now-familiar spinning sensation as the light carried them back to the attic. When the light faded, they were back in their grandparents’ house, the old book still open in front of them.

"Josiah was just a kid like us," Sam said, still amazed by what they had seen. "But he was a king!"

"And he did what was right, even when it was hard," Ben added.

Lily smiled, feeling inspired. "It shows that no matter how young we are, we can still do great things for God."

The children knew they had learned something special from Josiah’s story. As they left the attic and went back downstairs, they thought about how they could follow Josiah’s example—by listening to God and doing what was right, no matter what.

And that night, as they drifted off to sleep, they dreamed of kings, ancient scrolls, and the courage to follow God’s path, just like King Josiah.

The End