2 Kings 22:1-20

The Last Kings of *Israel and *Judah

Book of 2 Kings

Philip Smith

Chapter 22

Josiah’s rule as king of *Judah

v1 Josiah was 8 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 31 years. His mother’s name was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah. She was from Bozkath. v2 Josiah pleased the *Lord in everything that he did. He behaved in the same way as his *ancestor David had done. Josiah obeyed all God’s laws.

v3 In the 18^th year when Josiah was ruling, he sent Shaphan the *secretary to the *Lord’s *temple. Shaphan was Azaliah’s son and he was also Meshullam’s grandson. v4 Josiah said, ‘Go to Hilkiah, the chief priest, and tell him this. “Get the money ready that people have brought into the *Lord’s *temple. That is what the priests on duty have collected from the people. v5 Tell those priests to give the money to the men that control the work in the *temple. Those men must pay the workers who are repairing the *Lord’s *temple. v6 Those workers include those men that work with wood. They include the builders. And they also include those men that work with stone. Those men must also buy wood and stone to repair the *temple. v7 They are honest men. So they do not need to tell us how they have spent the money.” ’

v8 Hilkiah, the chief priest, told this to Shaphan the *secretary. ‘In the *Lord’s *temple, I have found the book that contains the law.’ He handed the book to Shaphan, who read it. v9 Then Shaphan the *secretary gave this report to the king. ‘Your servants have taken the money that was in the *Lord’s *temple. They have given it to the men that control the work at the *temple.’ v10 Then Shaphan the *secretary told the king, ‘Hilkiah the priest has handed a book to me.’ And Shaphan read it to the king.

Josiah became king when he was 8 years old. He ruled for 31 years, from 640 to 609 *B.C.. He pleased God and he obeyed God’s laws. In 2 Chronicles 34:3, we learn this. When Josiah was 16 years old, he began to *worship the *Lord. After that, Josiah began to destroy the places where people *worshipped other gods. He did that when he was 20 years old. He destroyed the *altars where people *worshipped *Baal. And Josiah destroyed the images of Asherah (the female god).

Josiah began to repair the *temple when he was 26 years old. Josiah collected money for the *temple. He did it by the same method that Joash had used earlier. The people that used the money during Josiah’s rule were honest. And the work to repair the *temple began at once.

While people were repairing the *temple, Hilkiah, the chief priest, found a book there. It was the book that contained the law. Many people believe that it was the Book of Deuteronomy. Probably Josiah already knew something about God’s laws. But the book had a powerful effect on Josiah. Deuteronomy chapter 28 warns about God’s punishment if people do not obey God’s law. Such passages upset Josiah greatly.

The Bible is God’s message to men and women. Whenever people rediscover the Bible, it has a powerful effect on their lives. It urges them to trust God, and to obey him completely. It warns them that they must not neglect God. It is the most important book in the world.

It may astonish us today that the priests had actually lost the Bible! At that time, people had to write each copy by hand. And not many people could read or write. So there were few copies. And evil kings had ruled *Judah for a long time. During Manasseh’s and Amon’s rules, people *worshipped false gods in the *temple. People had new gods to *worship, so they put the old books away. Many years passed, and people forgot about the old books. But when the work began in the *temple, the chief priest found this book. Immediately, he realised its importance, so he sent it to the king. Other books of the Bible existed at this time too. Perhaps the chief priest discovered those books later. But it was this first book that upset Josiah.

Josiah did not have a complete Bible. He only had a small part. But he realised that it was extremely important. He listened to it. And then he acted because of its message. Today there is a complete Bible in very many languages. And across the world, Christians are working to translate it into the languages that have no Bible. But today, even when people can read it, many people still neglect it. ‘God wants to rescue us. We certainly will not escape if we neglect his message’ (Hebrews 2:3).

v11 When the king heard the words from the book, he tore his clothes. He was very sad. v12 He gave this order to Hilkiah the priest. The order was also for Shaphan’s son Ahikam and Micaiah’s son Acbor. And the order was also for Shaphan the *secretary and Asaiah the king’s servant. v13 The king said, ‘Go and ask the *Lord on behalf of *Judah’s people and myself. What must we do about what the writer teaches in the book? The *Lord is angry with us. Our *ancestors have not obeyed what the writer teaches in the book. They have not done what its writer orders us to do.’

v14 The king said that to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah. They went and they spoke to a female *prophet, Huldah. She lived in the new district in Jerusalem. Her husband was Shallum. He was the son of Tikvah and he was also the grandson of Harhas. Shallum looked after the clothes in the *temple.

v15 Huldah told this to those men. ‘The *Lord, the God of *Israel, says this. “Tell this to the man that sent you to me. v16 I will bring *disaster to Jerusalem and I will punish its people. I will do those things even as the writer says in the book. v17 They have stopped *worshipping me. They have burned *incense to give honour to other gods. The people have made me very angry because of their *idols. My anger is so great that nothing can stop it.” v18 The king of *Judah sent you to ask the *Lord what to do. Say this to him. “The *Lord, the God of *Israel, says this about the words that you heard: v19 You heard what I said about this place and its people. I said that I would destroy this place. I said that I would punish its people. But you *repented. You became humble in front of the *Lord. You tore your clothes and you wept. I have heard you, says the *Lord. v20 So when you die, people will bury you in *peace. You will not see that *disaster happen. It will not happen when you are alive.” ’ So the men told Josiah about Huldah’s answer.

When King Josiah heard about the book, he was very sad. He asked his officials to discover what God wanted him to do. Josiah realised that God was very angry with the people in *Judah. They had not obeyed God’s laws. Josiah wanted to do something so that God would not still be angry with them. Josiah wanted to hear what he should do about that. The officials went to talk to Huldah, a female *prophet. It seems that her husband was well-known. He had an important job, perhaps in the *temple as our translation says, or perhaps in the palace. And maybe that is how the officials knew about Huldah.

Huldah told Josiah that God would destroy Jerusalem. And God would punish its people. The people had made him very angry because they had *worshipped *idols. Their evil deeds had become so severe that they could not avoid punishment.

However, Huldah promised Josiah that he would not see that *disaster. It would not happen during his life. That was because he had become humble towards God. Those people that are afraid of God’s anger are least likely to suffer it.

We learn from the Bible how God wants us to behave. 2 Timothy 3:15-17 tells us that the Bible is God’s message to us. Like Josiah, we need to read God’s message. We also need to discover what it means. Then we must obey what God tells us to do in it.

Like Josiah, we too live in an age when God’s punishment is certain (2 Peter 3:10-11). God will not allow evil governments to rule this world always. He will end their power. That is certain and nothing can prevent it. (See Revelation chapter 18.) God would not be a fair judge if he did not act to punish *sin.

But although God’s punishment is certain, we do not have to suffer that punishment. Like Josiah, we can be humble in front of God. We can *repent and we can choose to trust God. Jesus himself suffered the punishment on behalf of those people who will trust him. And in the end, the people who trust God will live in his new heaven and new earth (2 Peter 3:13).

As God promised, Josiah did not see the *disaster. But he did not live a long life. As we shall see in 2 Kings 23:29, Josiah died in an unnecessary battle. At that time, he was foolish. And he did not ask God what he (Josiah) should do.

But Josiah was not foolish when he received Huldah’s message. He was completely loyal to God. Josiah knew that he could not prevent *disaster in *Judah. But he could still do many good things. He could stop the *worship of *idols. He could teach God’s law to the people. He himself could obey God. And he could try to persuade everyone else in *Judah to do the same things.

Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
Judah ~ one of the tribes in the nation called Israel; the southern part of that kingdom after it divided.
tribe ~ a group of people that share the same ancestors, language, and customs.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
Lord ~ the name of God. We use this word to translate two different words in the original language. One word means ‘He is always God.’ The other word means ‘master’.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
secretary ~ a person that makes arrangements for an important person. The secretary writes letters on behalf of that person.
temple ~ the building that King Solomon built in Jerusalem, and the area that surrounded it. It was the most important place for the worship of the real God. We also use the word ‘temple’ to mean the house of a false god.
worship ~ to praise God (or a false god); to give honour to God (or a false god) by sacrifice, prayer, song or action.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
worship ~ to praise God (or a false god); to give honour to God (or a false god) by sacrifice, prayer, song or action.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
altar ~ a table where people offer gifts or sacrifices to God, or to a false god.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
Baal ~ a false god.
prophet ~ a person that gives a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God (or from a false god) that someone speaks; what someone says will happen in the future.
disaster ~ an event that makes people suffer very greatly. It may cause great damage and death.
incense ~ a substance that gives a pleasant smell when people burn it. Some people use it to show honour to God (or to a false god).
idol ~ the image of a god to whom people give honour.
repent ~ to feel sorry because of sin and to stop that wrong behaviour. To decide to do what God wants.
sin ~ an action that is wrong or wicked, which is against God’s moral law; something that is against a law in a religion.
peace ~ the absence of war; a situation when people and groups are friendly towards each other; when it is quiet; a calm and content attitude.
sin ~ an action that is wrong or wicked, which is against God’s moral law; something that is against a law in a religion.