2 Chronicles 34: 1 – 33
Amazing Discovery
34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD AND walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. 4 They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with axes. 7 When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. 8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God. 9 When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem. 10 Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the LORD, to repair and restore the house. 11 They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. 12 And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. And some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers. 14 Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 16 So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 17 And they have gathered the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. 19 Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.” 22 So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect. 23 Then she answered them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 24 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah, 25 because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ ” ’ 26 But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— 27 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the LORD. 28 “Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’So, they brought back word to the king. 29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 The king went up to the house of the LORD, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD. 31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the LORD their God. All his days they did not depart from following the LORD God of their fathers.
Sometimes you catch a TV or internet news program that highlights someone’s amazing discovery.
Everyone loves a rags to riches story, but for some unsuspecting people, proverbial "rags" actually ended up being worth millions — and they almost didn't realize it.
Take for instance an innocent gardener while working in his backyard happened to notice something sticking out of the ground. It was a rusty canister, and when he opened it he discovered it was full of well-preserved $20 gold coins dating back to the 1890’s.
The coins were evaluated and restored and estimated to be worth over ten million dollars. Now that is a person who has a green thumb.
A Michigan man discovered that the 22-pound rock he'd used as a doorstop for over 30 years was actually a meteorite.
The man, who has chosen to remain unnamed, said he obtained the meteorite in 1998 after purchasing a farm. The previous owner told him the rock was a meteorite from sometime in the 1930s and gave it to him along with the property.
The he man brought the meteorite to Central Michigan University to be examined by geology experts. Weighing in at 22 pounds and made of 88.5% iron and 11.5% nickel, the meteorite is estimated to be worth $100,000.
When a financial analyst bought an old painting at a flea market for $4 in 1989, he had no idea that an old copy of the Declaration of Independence was nestled behind a tear in the canvas: He had stumbled upon one of 500 official copies from the first printing in 1776. Auction house Sotheby's sold it in 1991 for $2.42 million — an unprecedented figure.
Nine times out of 10, the most interesting thing you'll find in an old barn is a pile of hay — but when two men stumbled upon a 100-year-old barn in rural France, they became the exception to the rule.
Serendipitous doesn't even begin to cover it: The barn was full of $18 million worth of classic cars that a man had stored away for safekeeping — and then promptly forgot about.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history when they became the first people to step foot on the moon in 1969. During their time there they collected various samples in a bag — which NASA accidentally auctioned off to a suburban Chicago woman name for a mere $995 in 2016.
Despite NASA's attempts to reclaim the priceless artifact from the Apollo 11 mission, the bag of moon dust was successfully sold for $1.8 million at a Sotheby's auction in New York City in 2017.
When a Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, resident (who goes by "Renoir Girl") found an old painting in a $6.90 box of trinkets at a flea market, she took it home and repurposed the ornate gold frame, storing the actual painting in her attic.
Years later, after decluttering her house, Renoir Girl's mother persuaded her to book an evaluation appointment for the discarded painting an auction house. That was lucky, because the painting was confirmed to be a circa 1879 original by famous French impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir, valued between $75,000 and $100,000.
The owner of a painting called "Magnolias on Gold Velvet Cloth" by 19th-century American painter Martin Johnson Heade originally bought it — along with some furniture — for "next to nothing" and would have remained ignorant of the painting's value had he not played a board game about art called Masterpiece that featured a similar print.
Before his discovery, the owner had hung the still life over a hole in his wall; in 1999, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston paid him $1.25 million for it.
A $2, 4-by-5 inch photo was found in a cardboard box at a junk shop in Fresno, California, in 2010 turned out to be worth $5 million, according to a California company that confirmed it was one of only two certified images of the notorious bandit Billy the Kid.
Kagin's, a firm specializing in Western Americana and rare coins, said the photo depicts Billy the Kid — born Henry McCarty — and various members of his Lincoln County Regulators gang "playing a leisurely game of croquet alongside friends, family, and lovers in the late summer of 1878." Only two confirmed photos of Billy the Kid exist.
Another man was browsing eBay in July 2017 when he came across a photo that he thought looked remarkably like Jesse James, a famous American outlaw.
He purchased the photo for about $10 and brought it to 19th-century photo expert who confirmed that the photo depicts Jesse James at around age 14. The photo is estimated to be worth more than $2 million.
Today, we are going to witness another amazing discovery. Sadly, it was something that should not have been a rare find. It was a copy of God’s Holy Word – The Pentateuch or first five books of the bible.
As with the accession of Hezekiah following Ahaz, so now with the accession of Josiah following Manasseh and Amon, there was a huge policy change. Reigns which had majored on idolatry were followed by reigns which brought Judah/Israel nominally back to YHWH. But whilst in the case of Hezekiah there had still been hope for the long distant future, until he made a great error with the Babylonian ambassadors, in the case of Josiah there was no such hope for the future. It is made clear that the coming judgment of exile could only be delayed, not prevented (verse 28). And humanly speaking it was due to Josiah that it was even delayed. But like Hezekiah he also failed in the end.
The underlying reason for YHWH being unwilling to do more than delay judgment is made apparent over time. It was because the people over whom they ruled, while they outwardly responded willingly to the reforms of both Hezekiah and Josiah, were still idolatrous deep at heart. There was little real protest among the people when these two kings were followed by idolatrous kings who blatantly propagated idolatry, with the consequence that Jeremiah at length found himself standing alone in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 5.1-5).
The reign of Josiah in Chronicles parallels to quite some extent the reign of Hezekiah. It commences with the restoration of the Temple, followed by the organization of the Temple ministry, and it comes to its climax in the observance of the Passover. Both reigns then falter when the kings become involved in external affairs.
Coming to the throne at eight years old Josiah would have been under the guidance of ministers who would act in his name.
The regents who guided him were probably appointed by the people of the land who made him king. It is significant that they did not turn the nation back to YHWH. It suggests that idolatry still prevailed in the land. The assassins of Amon may well therefore have been people loyal to the God of Israel, Yahweh, whose hopes of reform were stamped on by the people of the land.
It was no doubt from this point that he did what was right in the eyes of YHWH, walking in the ways of his father David, although not as yet being able to interfere in Temple affairs. He was the only king of whom it was said that he did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. He was seen as a true heir of the house of David. But once he was twenty he took the reins of kingship in his own hands and began his reforms. 2 Kings has this happening in his 26th year, but the writer there was focusing on the discovery of the Law book, and that would certainly not have occurred unless repairs to the Temple had already begun.
34 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD AND walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
Once he was able to influence affairs Josiah ‘did what was right in the eyes of YHWH’. This phrase indicated that he wholly followed YHWH and destroyed all connections with idolatry. Like Hezekiah he walked in the ways of his father David. He was wholly loyal to YHWH. And uniquely it is said of him that he did not veer off to the right hand or to the left. His way was straight, and without deviation. And yet such had been the sin of Judah that even he was unable to do more than delay God’s judgment for a time. Judah had sinned too deeply.
3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images.
In his eighth year, that is when he was sixteen, he ‘began to seek after the God of David his father’. He had at last come to an age when he could make his own stand. He tried to do away with all the idols which gripped the hearts of the people of Judah, and even of his own governors, and in his own worship demonstrated loyalty to YHWH. He was not yet able to exert his authority on the whole people.
But as soon as he was twenty, and therefore fully matured (and of fighting age) he began his sole rule, and immediately began the process of removing idolatry from the land. He began to purge both Judah and Jerusalem of the high places at which the people sacrificed to Baal and Asherah, destroyed the images of Asherah found in the high places, and removed the graven (wooden) images and molten (metal) images of Baal, Molech and the hosts of heaven. It was a process which would take some time. There were a multiplicity of high places throughout the mountains of Israel, as well as artificial high places in the cities, each hosting its own Baal and Asherah and having its own altars. But Josiah, full of worship for YHWH, was determined to get rid of them all.
4 They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
He did not just leave it to others. He made sure that he was present when they broke down the altars of the Baals, and hewed down the sun-images which towered above them, probably on the roofs of buildings. He also broke in pieces the Asherah images, and the graven and molten images of Baal, Molech and others, making dust of them and strewing them on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. The aim was to defile the graves of prominent idol worshippers of the past. Josiah wanted the people to be aware of the horrors of idolatry, and to let them see how powerless their gods were to help themselves.
5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
The bones of the priests who had served the idols were disinterred and burned on the idolatrous altars (2 Kings 23.16) thus rendering them unclean and defiled. This was preparatory to breaking down these very altars. This was Josiah’s method of ensuring that they would not be used again.
This even raises the question as to whether living priests were executed and dealt with in the same way, and in view of 2 Kings 10.18. it may well have been so.
6 And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with axes.
And he did the same throughout the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, even as far as Naphtali, to the altars that were in their shrines. This serves to demonstrate that these areas were no longer under Assyria’s tight control. Assyria was reaching the end of its predominance.
7 When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.
What he had done in Judah and Jerusalem he did throughout all the land of Israel. He broke down the altars, beat the Asherah images and the graven images into powder, and hewed down the sun-images so that none were left. And then he returned to Jerusalem. The process may well have taken several years. But at last the land was clean.
It is a reminder to us that we too should be assiduous in seeking out the idols that control our lives, and similarly disposing of them.
Having sought to rid the land of idolatry Josiah now turned his attention to the Temple which was in a state of neglect. It was a very old building and had previously been restored by Joash and Hezekiah. But since then it had fifty years of neglect. So calling together his chief minister he sent them to the Temple to supervise its restoration. The Levites had meanwhile arranged for the gathering of money for the purpose from every part of Josiah’s kingdom and even from Israelites beyond its boundaries. This was delivered into the hands of the Levite builders who diligently set about the task of restoration.
8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
Having purged the land and the house of God of all idolatrous associations, Josiah now turned his attention to the Temple which was clearly in a sad state of disrepair. He called to him three important ministers, Shaphan the Scribe (chief Secretary of State), Maaseiah the governor of Jerusalem and Joab the Recorder (finance minister). He saw it as no light matter. These were given the oversight of the repairing of the Temple and he dispatched them to arrange with the Temple authorities for the completion of the work.
It was a process which had taken a good number of years, going on since the twelfth year of Josiah’s reign, and this is quite probable for the grip of idolatry had been powerful, and the sites which had to be dealt with were numerous. It was a task which both Asa and Jehoshaphat had attempted, but with limited success. Every mountain top and hill top had its own idolatrous shrine. And meanwhile the kingdom had to be ruled.
‘Shaphan the son of Azaliah.’ His name means rock badger. He was one of Josiah’s staunchest supporters in the work of reform and was described as ‘the Scribe’ (verse 15), an important governmental position, possibly equivalent to Secretary of State. It was he who, on discovery of the Law Book, took it to Josiah and read it to him. He produced a noble family. His son Ahikam would later befriend and seek to protect Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26.24), while another son, Elasah was one of the two men entrusted with a letter to the captives in Babylon by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 29.3). It was in a room in the Temple courts belonging to a third son, Gemariah, that Baruch read out the scroll of Jeremiah, and Gemariah later with others sought to prevent King Jehoiakim from burning it (Jeremiah 36.10, 25), and was almost certainly one of the princes who urged Baruch and Jeremiah to hide from the king’s anger. Gedaliah, the later governor of Judah, who was assassinated by discontents, was his grandson (Jeremiah 39.14).
9 When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem.
These three came to Hilkiah, the High Priest, who as High Priest, would be called on to ensure that the work was carried out properly (it was on holy ground), and brought with them the ‘silver’ (tokens of wealth) which the Levites had gathered throughout the land and beyond, from Manasseh, Ephraim, the remnant of Israel, Judah, Benjamin and Jerusalem. Manasseh and Ephraim had, of course, been part of Northern Israel, but had come under the authority of the kings of Judah.
The silver that was gathered had possibly been stored in the king’s treasury as it had seemingly not been put under the control of the Levites. This would be quite normal in terms of the age when kings and religious authorities both had their function within the cult. The silver collected for restoring the Temple would have to be kept separate from silver to which the Levites were due. It would of course have been carried to the Temple by bearers, who may be the ‘they’ referred to in verse 10. It was presumably a large amount of ‘silver’ (wealth).
10 Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the LORD, to repair and restore the house. 11 They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
This silver was then handed over to the ‘workmen who had oversight over the House of YHWH’. These would be comprised of both Levites and priests. The work had to be done on holy ground, and they would have to arrange for the work within the Sanctuary to be carried out by qualified Levites. We do not know whether such work would be limited to priests, who alone normally had access to the Holy Place.
These ‘overseers’ then passed the money on to the carpenters and builders who would also be Levites and who would have responsibility for the actual work. They in turn used it to obtain the necessary materials. They bought hewn stone and timber.
12 And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skillful with instruments of music,
All who were involved were Levites who did their work faithfully in order that the work might proceed at speed (‘to set if forward’), and we are informed of the names of their overseers who were Merarites and Kohathites, being descended from Levi.
13 were over the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. And some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers.
The Levite overseers were also over the bearers of burdens, who would be non-Levites employed for bringing the materials to the Temple site. The bearers of burdens probably foreigners who had been introduced into the Temple to do the menial work and had had allocated to them special quarters in Jerusalem near the Temple. And the chief overseers with all efficiency ensured that the work went forward smoothly, keeping all involved busy at their work. There were also other Levite overseers in the form of scribes (secretaries), officers and gatekeepers. So the work was well planned, well supervised, and proceeded speedily.
A sign of how bad things had got spiritually was that the Book Of The Law Of YHWH was lying undiscovered and forgotten in one of the Temple chambers, only seemingly to be discovered when the silver was stored in the Temple and an old unused room was opened up for that purpose. There had presumably once been other copies in the Temple, but they may well have been destroyed by fervent idolaters. Indeed, it may well be that these had been hidden in this little used room by someone eager to hide them from those who would destroy them. They would not, of course, have been required for general worship. Temple procedures were well known to those who had remained faithful to YHWH, along with the traditions built on them, and the general requirements of the covenant were familiar to most from childhood, and no doubt in many families were still taught to their children. But the Book of the Law itself had seemingly been neglected for some years. There would have been no requirement to read it out to the people in the years preceding Josiah, and copies had clearly had not been used for some time. Either no one knew where copies of it were kept, or they had forgotten where they were.
But once copies of it had been discovered a copy of it was carried to the king as a discovery of immense importance. The room may in the past have been used as a Scriptorium for the copying of the Scriptures, and simply neglected through the times when idolatry was rampant, or it may have been a hiding place from those who sought to destroy them.
14 Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses.
The discovery was seemingly made when ‘the money was brought out’ to be handed over to the workmen. This suggests that those who had stored the silver had not taken any notice of the old jars or chests containing the scrolls but had simply piled the silver around them. They had seemingly not been interested in the contents of the chests. It was Hilkiah, who, while the room was being emptied, investigated the old jars or chests, presumably to ensure that they contained no silver. Instead he found what was worth its weight in gold. For he discovered that they contained copies of the Book of the Law of YHWH as given by Moses. There is no reason to doubt that it contained the whole five books of the Law.
15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.
Excited over his discovery Hilkiah went quickly to Shaphan the Scribe, who was the king’s representative, and told him what he had found. ‘I have found the Book of the Law (of YHWH) in the House of YHWH’. It is quite possible that previous attempts to find them had failed. Hilkiah then handed over responsibility for the scrolls to Shaphan.
16 So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing.
Shaphan ‘carried the book to the king’ to show him what had been discovered and did it in the course of his regular reports. For at the same time he informed the king that his requirements were being fulfilled, and that his servants were urgently carrying out the tasks which he had committed to them.
17 And they have gathered the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.”
For he also reported to the king that the silver which had been stored in the Temple for the purposes of the restoration had all been passed on to those responsible for the work, who had supplied it to the operatives. The work was going on speedily.
Shaphan brought the Book of the Law to the king explaining that it had been brought to him by Hilkiah, and he would almost certainly have explained the details concerning the discovery of the Book. The king then asked him to read to him from it. Learning from it of the curses that lay over Judah and Jerusalem because of their past disobedience to YHWH he was deeply convicted, and tore his clothes in anguish, fearing the wrath of YHWH. This was clearly the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Then he sent to Huldah his representatives to the prophetess so that she could prophesy concerning the Book and its contents.
Huldah’s reply was that God’s wrath was indeed levelled at Judah and Jerusalem because of what their past behavior had been, but that because of Josiah’s piety and repentance it would not occur while Josiah reigned.
18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
Shaphan undoubtedly came to the king with the full story about the discovery of the Book of the Law of YHWH and explained that it had been brought to him by no less a person than Hilkiah the High Priest. Josiah was clearly impressed and asked Shaphan to read to him from the Book. It seems probable that the part that he chose to read came from the Book of Deuteronomy. It would seem a wise choice in that Deuteronomy was written in speech form and was therefore easily digestible. Furthermore he may well have seen it as a good summary of the whole Law. But the choice was clearly also under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, for the words which Josiah heard, as he learned about the curses of YHWH that would rest on His people if they went after idolatry had a huge effect on the king.
19 Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes.
On hearing the words of the Law Josiah was deeply convicted and tore his clothes in anguish. YHWH had caused his heart to be deeply moved. He recognized the awful consequences which were due to Judah and Jerusalem because of their blatant idolatry. And his heart also was torn.
The fact that Josiah reacted so violently to what was read tells us a good deal about him. It suggests not only that his heart was fully given to YHWH, but that he was also deeply grieved at the idolatry that he had by now almost eradicated and recognized its heinous nature. The reading of the Book of the Law confirmed his view. It brought home to him its fully deserved consequences. He was overcome at the awfulness of what his people had been doing, and the grief that it had caused to YHWH, The God of All the earth.
20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.”
Then Josiah called five of his chief ministers and commanded them to go and enquire of YHWH through the prophetess. Hilkiah we know already as High Priest. Shaphan the Scribe is also known to us. Also included were Shaphan’s son, Ahikam, who would later befriend and seek to protect Jeremiah (Jeremiah 26.24), Abdon the son of Micah (or Micaiah, not the prophet), who is called Achbor in 2 Kings 22.12, and Asaiah, a chief minister of the king (the king’s servant).
Josiah had taken to heart what he had read. And he called on the five to ‘enquire of YHWH’ through the prophetess Huldah about what the future of Judah and the remnants of Israel might now be. For he had come to recognise that they had incurred the wrath of YHWH because of their continual idolatrous behavior and refusal to obey God’s word. And something told him that that wrath was hanging over them now, ready to be outpoured. It had been a moment of illumination by the Spirit.
22 So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.
So, the five did as the king commanded and went as a deputation of leading statesmen to Huldah the prophetess. She was clearly a prominent figure in Jerusalem and the wife of an important man, Shallum, who was the ‘keeper of the wardrobe’. This may signify that he had responsibility for the preservation and maintenance of the priestly and Levitical garments, or that he had responsibility for the king’s wardrobe. This close connection either with the Temple or with the palace might explain why she was consulted instead of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1.2). But she would not have been unless she had a reputation for successful prophecy.
They informed her about the discovery of the Book of the Law, and the effect that it had had on the king and consulted her about what the future of Judah and Jerusalem might be. Was he right to be so concerned?
23 Then she answered them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me,
Her reply was in good prophetic mode, ‘thus says YHWH, the God of Israel’ (not of Judah only). And she told them to tell Josiah what now follows. They were a word to him from YHWH.
24 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah, 25 because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore, My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’
Her message was basically that Josiah was right to be concerned, and that God had now finally determined to bring Judah/Israel to account. He was going to bring evil on Jerusalem of a kind unknown before. And nothing could prevent it.
The message comes as something of a shock in the light of Josiah’s religious zeal. We might have expected YHWH to express His pleasure at what Josiah had done and assure him that because of his zeal for YHWH and his concern for YHWH’s honor, all would be well. But He did not. His message was stark and unyielding, and brought out that Judah’s disastrous end was now fixed and determine. It made clear that YHWH’s wrath hung like a dark cloud over Judah because they had turned away from Him despite all that He had done for them, and that nothing could now avert it, not even the actions of Josiah. Time and again Judah had forsaken Him. They had burned incense to other gods, and had thus provoked Him to anger, and this was in the face of the fact that He had warned them what would happen if they did so.
Indeed, His warnings had been accompanied by curses, curses which were written in the Book that Josiah had read and were soon to be fulfilled (Deuteronomy 11.28; 28.14). But they had not listened despite the many opportunities of repentance that He had given them again and again. Rather after each period of repentance they had plunged even more deeply into idolatry. But now the offer of mercy and compassion was coming to an end. He would soon be bringing evil on them, because they had been sinful for so long and so deeply that nothing could quench His wrath. Their doom was determined, and nothing could prevent it. It is a reminder that in spite of His goodness God’s mercy is not limitless.
These words make clear that it had been God’s determined purpose that Josiah should read this Book and discover what was coming on Judah. This was why the Book had been discovered at this juncture. It was because He had wanted Josiah and Judah to know that His patience of long centuries had come to an end, so that even the repentance and revival of Josiah’s day could no longer avert it. It might delay it for a time but the end was inevitable because of Judah’s continual sins, sins which He knew would continue whatever Josiah did. It was a message that was designed to shock, and even bring some to repentance and salvation. But it was also YHWH’s last warning to His people of the hopeless situation that they were in, a warning echoed in the prophecy of Jeremiah. Whatever they did now their doom was certain.
26 But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard—
There was, however, one glimmer of light in a dark horizon, and that was that Josiah’s love and zeal for YHWH had brought some respite. YHWH thus had a message for the king of Judah whose heart had been so moved that he had sent to ‘enquire of Him’. Again, it was guaranteed by the words, ‘thus says YHWH the God of Israel’ (note again the all-inclusive term Israel). And it was as follows.
27 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the LORD.
Because Josiah’s heart had been responsive towards Him, so that he had humbled himself before God when he had learned of the fate that awaited Judah and its inhabitants and had demonstrated his anguish by tearing his clothes and weeping before Him, YHWH had also heard him. For his sake YHWH’s wrath would be delayed until after his death.
28 “Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’So, they brought back word to the king.
For Josiah could be assured of this, that he himself would be gathered to his fathers ‘in peace’ so that his eyes would not see the evil which YHWH would bring on Jerusalem and Judah, and on its inhabitants. It should be noted that the words ‘in peace’ referred to the evil that was coming on Judah and Jerusalem, the direct invasion of Judah, the taking of Jerusalem and the exile of its people. That would not be visited until after his death. (It would in fact be his own choice that he sought to war with Egypt and thus met a violent death. God was not to blame for that).
The five-man delegation then returned to Josiah and informed him of what they had been told.
Because of the discovery of the Book of the Covenant of YHWH the king summoned together the whole of Judah and Benjamin, along with all their elders, the priests and the Levites. This may have been with the celebrating of the Passover in mind (35.1-19), or it may have been for another feast, but his aim was in order for them to hear the Book of the Covenant read out. According to the Law of Moses this should have been done every seven years at the Feast of Tabernacles (Deuteronomy 31.10-13), so that this was a kind of catch up operation.
The king then took his stand in his allotted place in the Temple courtyard and made a covenant with YHWH that he would fully observe all God’s requirements as stated in the Law with all his heart and with all his soul. He then called on all the people to do the same, which, speaking ideally, they did from this time on. And he then further extended the outreach by removing all traces of idolatry from the parts of Northern Israel over whom he now held sway and calling on their people to do the same. Therefore, they all followed YHWH until the day Josiah died. We do not now for sure how far his influence reached, or whether it amounted to full rule, but it was certainly made possible by the fact that the Assyrians were now fighting on all sides to try and preserve their empire.
29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
Initially the king gathered together ‘all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem’. It would be they who passed on to their sub-tribes and clans the instructions of the king. In view of verse 32 we can also probably add ‘the elders of Benjamin’. These ‘elders’ were the leaders of the people and may well have made up a large part of ‘the people of the land’ who had put Josiah on his throne.
30 The king went up to the house of the LORD, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD.
Then having instructed the elders the king went up to the house of YHWH, where he was joined by ‘all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem’. We note how often the two are distinguished. Jerusalem saw itself as belonging directly to the king, and therefore not as a part of Judah or of Benjamin, although ruling both. Along with them were the priests and Levites, ‘and all the people both great and small’, the latter being a ‘catch all’ phrase. 2 Kings refers to ‘the priests and the prophets’, but it is very probable that the Levites had prophetic functions.
Then the king read to them all the words of the Book of the Covenant of YHWH which had been found in the house of YHWH. Whether in his enthusiasm he did all the reading himself, or whether he entrusted some or all the reading to others we are not told. It would certainly have been an exhausting task. Whichever way it was the king would be very attentive to the words. To him it was a supreme moment. It was vital to him that all the people respond.
31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow the LORD, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book.
The words having been read out in full, the kings stood at ‘the king’s station’ (23.13) and solemnly before them all made a covenant ‘before (in the presence of) YHWH’, that he would keep ‘His commandments and his testimonies and his statutes’ (Deuteronomy 6.17) with all his heart and with all his soul, performing all the words of the covenant which was written in the Book.
32 And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So, the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
Then he caused all who were ‘found in Jerusalem and Benjamin’ to stand as an acknowledgement of their submission to the covenant. .And from then on the inhabitants of Jerusalem walked in accordance with the covenant of the God of their fathers, at least officially. We do not know how far the hearts of all were genuinely moved, but none would dare to say ‘no’ to the king. It would have been treason. Human nature being what it is, however, we can be sure that not all were full of enthusiasm for this new venture.
33 Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the LORD their God. All his days they did not depart from following the LORD God of their fathers.
He incorporated all Israelites in the territory of the former Northern kingdom into his reforms. He purged their idols from among them and caused them to serve YHWH their God (the God of Israel) with heart and soul. And for all his days the whole of Israel, as well as Judah and Benjamin, ‘did not depart from following YHWH, the God of their fathers’ (knowing humankind we would add, ‘with reservations’). Secret idolatry would almost certainly have been carried on in secret sanctuaries in the mountains. But outwardly at least, no one knew of it. The king’s word was seen as law. But it becomes clear later that in the main their heart was not in it.
