Two Men in Their Twenties - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2026

All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah.
2 Chronicles 35:24-25

Two Men in Their Twenties
Jeremiah and Josiah were contemporaries, and we can infer that they were probably close in age. The Lord called Jeremiah as a prophet when he was still young. In that same year, Josiah, who became king at age eight, had been reigning for thirteen years and thus was twenty-one years old (Jer. 1:2-8; 2 Chr. 34:1). Although we do not know Jeremiah's precise age, it is not a stretch of the imagination to assume that they lived through their twenties at about the same time.

There is something very touching about this. Josiah had been faithful since he was young, seeking the Lord and purging the land of idols. At age twenty-six, he ordered repairs in the temple, which led to the discovery of the Book of the Law and ultimately to one of the greatest Passover celebrations ever observed (2 Chr. 35:18). During this revival, however, Jeremiah was speaking words of judgment and calling the people to repentance. He later described his ministry as rising early and speaking to people who had never really listened (Jer. 25:3).

It can be difficult to stay the course God sets before us. Jeremiah himself wished for a different message and once even tried to stop speaking, but he could not hold back (20:7-9). He sorrowed while he spoke, yet he continued his service. As he and Josiah aged into their thirties, something happened. Josiah's heart was lifted up, it seems, and he interfered with a battle that was not his. He attacked the Egyptian army, disregarding the voice of God, and died in battle (2 Chr. 35:20-24). By contrast, Jeremiah's mournful yet faithful service continued for another thirty years or more.

The lesson for us is that past years of devotion do not create spiritual infallibility. Like Jeremiah, let us stay the course, even if it seems cheerless, for the Lord remains with us.

Stephen Campbell