Josiah began to seek the Lord as “a boy” and grew to be a man that in 2 Chronicles 34:7 “broke down the altars … in all the land of Israel”. Then he commanded the high priest to 2 Kings 22:4-5 “to repair the breach of the temple”. During this time, there was a priesthood, there had been a cleansing from idolatry, but what the king didn’t know is they had lost the Torah, they had lost their knowledge of the covenant. When this revelation came to him by the reading of God’s promises, blessing and curse, in 2 Kings 22:11 “he tore his clothes”. And the Lord replied in 2 Kings 22:19–20 “because you have a responsive heart, and you humbled yourself … I have also heard”. Josiah had peace, destruction was delayed, until the end of his reign.
Repair the Breach of the Temple
2 Kings 22:3–7
We read in 2 Kings 22:2 that king Josiah “did right in the eyes of Yahweh” and in 2 Chronicles 34:3 “while he was still a boy, he began to seek the God of David his ancestor. And in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem” and in 2 Chronicles 34:7 “he broke down the altars … in all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem”.
On his return, in 2 Kings 22:3 “in the eighteenth year of King Josiah”, when he was about twenty six, “the king sent word”. It wasn’t the high priest who initiated, and it wasn’t the people of the land that initiated, it was through the head of the natural government that the Lord was working.
The message from the king was in 2 Kings 22:4-5 ““Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and let them count the money … let them give it into the hand of those appointed doers of the work … to repair the breach of the temple”. This money that was collected was for the priests and Levites, who were the keepers of the temple service to the also for the widows, orphans, and strangers in the land, (what we might call a benevolence fund). But if we read carefully, these funds were accumulating from the time of Manasseh so there was a surplus. The distribution was to be to “those appointed doers of the work at the temple of Yahweh” and then “Let them give it to the doers of the work who are at the temple”.
Inquire of Yahweh Concerning the Words
2 Kings 22:8–13
As the high priest gathered the money from the temple storage, the found a scroll and in 2 Kings 22:8 “Hilkiah gave the scroll to Shaphan and he read it”. During this time there was a priesthood, there was a temple, there were workers in the temple for the temple service, but they had lost the Torah. They were operating out of their traditions as best they knew them and in
2 Kings 22:11 “When the king heard the words of the scroll of the Torah, he tore his clothes”.
It was clear to the king that in 2 Kings 22:13 “because our ancestors did not listen to the words of this scroll” they had broken the covenant. Now it is also clear that they had prophets operating among them because in the king says, also in 2 Kings 22:13 “Go, inquire of Yahweh for me and for the people and for all of Judah concerning the words of this scroll”. But it is also clear that the had a form of religion without an understanding of the basis of their relationship with God. How many are there today that have yet to understand that you must be born again as it says in
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless someone is born from above, he is not able to see the kingdom of God.”
Because You Have a Responsive Heart
2 Kings 22:14–20
They went to a woman, in 2 Kings 22:14 “Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum … the keeper of the robes. Now she was living in Jerusalem in the second district”. It was often the case that prophets were recognized, but held a lower social station than king or priest. She is the wife of “the keeper of the robes”, not a particularly high position, and living with her husband in the second district, not in the kings court. Even so, ““They went to the prophet Huldah,” and not to Jeremiah, even though he was already well known … maybe because this woman surpassed him with the power of her gift of prophecy”.1
In fact, “She was held in such veneration that Jewish writers say she and Jehoiada the priest were the only persons not of the house of David (2 Ch 24:15, 16) who were ever buried in Jerusalem”.2
But more important than the prophetess, is the message in 2 Kings 22:19–20 “because you have a responsive heart, and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard how I spoke against this place … and you have torn your clothes and wept before my face, I have also heard, declares Yahweh. 20 Therefore … you shall be gathered to your tombs in peace. Your eyes will not see all of the disaster that I am bringing onto this place.’ ” ’ ”
Just as the children of Israel had wandered forty years in the wilderness because of their unbelief, her, the anger of the Lord was delayed through the thirty one year reign of one that had a responsive heart. The Lord does hear and responds to our intercession.
All That Was Put Into the Hand of Your Servants They Are Doing
2 Chronicles 34:8–18
Your Eyes Will Not See Any of the Disaster
2 Chronicles 34:19–33
Study Verses
- 2 Kings 22:3–7 Repair the Breach of the Temple
- 2 Kings 22:8–13 Inquire of Yahweh Concerning the Words
- 2 Kings 22:14–20 Because You Have a Responsive Heart
Today’s Reading
- 2 Kings 22:3-20
- 2 Chronicles 34:8-33
References
- 1. Conti, M., & Pilara, G. (Eds.). (2008). 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (p. 230). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
- 2. Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 246). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.