And Shaphan carried the book to the king. And moreover he brought the king word again saying, All that was committed to the hand of thy servants, they do;
Shaphan comes back from the temple with two things: a progress report on the repairs, and a book. What the report says about the workmen, and which item he mentions first, both matter.
Shaphan reports that the servants are doing everything given to them. Behind that report stand workers no one needed to check on:
The Holy Spirit's record impresses us. In Josiah's day the men were so conscientious that no one kept an account of the money spent. The amount must have been large. The word "faithfully" is used in two ways: "the men did the work faithfully" (2 Chron. 34:12); and "no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly" (2 Kings 22:7). Such men are worth imitating. Theirs was no mere "eye-service as people-pleasers"; they worked "in singleness of heart, fearing God" (Col. 3:22).
In older translations 2 Kings 22:7 ends "because they dealt faithfully" — the repeated word the writer points to. Still, the unchecked money is not a pattern to copy in every situation:
The times of Joash and of Josiah were exceptional. In each reign a great spiritual revival was in progress. After many years of serious wrongdoing the people — or at least a remnant of them — were turning back to their God. Their hearts and consciences were awake to His holy will. In that setting, there was little need for precautions against fraud.
The book reaches the king only because repairs were under way. Commentators tie that discovery to Josiah's care for the temple:
This zeal for the house of God has an immediate and most important result. Hilkiah the high priest tells Shaphan the secretary that he has found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD. If Josiah had not had the restoration of the temple at heart, the book of the law, which was kept there (2 Chr. 34:15), would not have come to light again. This is the special character of Josiah's revival. Under Josiah we find what amounts to a whole new revelation of the written Word — here, the books of Moses. The earlier reigns had neglected the Holy Scriptures and as good as forgotten them. In this revival they suddenly take their place of importance again.
The word "found" raises its own question:
Hilkiah the priest "found" the book. How long had it been lost? The interest in the house of God led to the discovery of the book. Mere cleansing would never have achieved this.
Shaphan is carrying the law of God, yet he opens his report with workmen and money. The book waits until verse 18:
He says nothing of the newly found treasure as yet. It may not have been a treasure in his eyes, perhaps. Like many today, he was more taken up with "workmen" and "money" than with God's book. God has "magnified" that book — not just above all Christian work or missionary enterprise, though these have their place, but "above all His name." Shaphan did not despise the book, but he had not yet realised the importance of that blessed volume. Then — after "money," and "overseers," and "workmen" have all been mentioned — "then Shaphan the secretary told the king, 'Hilkiah the priest has given me a book'" — only a book!
Once the book was in the room, the repair programme was no longer the main story:
Here is the great fact in the life of this most interesting man: the discovery, or recovery, of the book of the law. It let the full light of divine revelation in — first on Josiah's conscience, and then on the whole condition of things around him. It is a very serious thing for anyone — man, woman or child — to stand in the searching light of God's Word. That Word judges everything. It makes no terms with the flesh or the world.
- Faithfulness first. The men are doing all they were given to do — working "faithfully" and handling money so honestly that no one audited them.
- Not a formula. Writers warn that the unchecked money belonged to an exceptional time of revival. It is not a rule for running every work.
- Care uncovers. The book surfaced because Josiah had the house of God at heart. Clearing out idols alone would never have found it.
- Order reveals value. Shaphan leads with money, overseers and workmen. Only at the end does he mention "a book." The work can crowd out the Word.
- Light let in. Once the book reached Josiah, its searching light fell first on his own conscience, and then on everything around him.
and they have emptied out the money that was found in the house of Jehovah, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and into the hand of the workmen.
Josiah's officials came back from the temple with a report about money. That one line of accounting raises real questions: why the temple needed repairs at all, and why it mattered that the money reached the workmen's hands.
The repairs came at a set stage of the king's reign. One writer marks the order:
Cleansing the land and the house had taken some years. In "the eighteenth year of his reign," at the age of twenty-six, good king Josiah was as zealous for the Lord as ever. Until now the work had been destroying idols and cleansing away everything connected with idolatry. Now he had time to repair the damage done to the house of God. It was not enough to destroy what was false. The worship of the Lord had to be set up again, and for that His house must be restored.
Another writer shows what the money paid for, and who caused the damage:
The men in charge of the materials for the house of God used this money to hire workmen to repair the house. They also paid craftsmen and builders, and bought cut stone and timber for the beams and the floor. This was clearly a large project. The godless kings before Josiah had destroyed a great deal of what was not their own property, but God's.
Money given for God's house does not always reach the work. One writer points to priests who kept the gifts for themselves:
The priests were using for themselves the gifts they received from their acquaintances. They did have the right to live from the things offered at the altar. But their own interests came first in their hearts, ahead of the interests of the Lord and of His house. Their conduct showed it. They lived off their gifts, and the house of God kept its broken walls.
The money came from the people, and from more than one part of the nation:
In this great work of recovery the king had with him the governor of the city and the recorder. They in turn brought the people in. "Manasseh and Ephraim, and all the remnant of Israel" joined with "all Judah and Benjamin" in providing the means for repairing God's house. How good it is in this day, as in that day, when all the people of God care about the house of God and have the privilege of contributing to it.
The money went straight into the workmen's hands, and no one checked what they spent:
The Holy Spirit's record impresses us. In Josiah's day the men were so conscientious that no one kept an account of the money they spent, and the amount must have been large. The word "faithfully" is used in two ways: "the men did the work faithfully" (2 Chron. 34:12), and "there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully" (2 Kings 22:7). Such men are worth copying. They gave no mere "eye-service as men-pleasers"; they worked "in singleness of heart fearing God" (Colossians 3:22).
The writer quotes these verses from an older English translation, which repeats the one word "faithfully."
The relations among those handling the work matched the trust placed in them:
We gather from 2 Chronicles 34:8-13 that the relations between the carpenters and masons and their overseers were warm and harmonious. These verses make pleasant reading.
Should God's people today skip keeping accounts? One writer asks that question, then looks at what made the reigns of Joash and Josiah unusual:
We come back to the statement that there was no reckoning with the men who handled the money "because they dealt faithfully." A question naturally arises. Is this how God would have things done all the time? Should the example of these people of long ago be the pattern for us to follow today? The answer is "No." The times of Joash and of Josiah were exceptional. In each reign a great spiritual revival was going on. People's hearts and consciences were engaged with His holy will. Because of that, precautions against fraud were hardly necessary.
His conclusion is practical:
We conclude, then, that God wants His people to keep clear accounts, on their own and together. … Let us remind ourselves once more that Josiah's workers "dealt faithfully" — both in their work and in their handling of the people's money. The Holy Spirit says in 1 Corinthians 4:2, "it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful."
- Cleared, then rebuilt. Tearing down what is false was only half the job; the house had to be restored so that worship could begin again.
- Given, not kept. The gifts came from the whole people, Israel as well as Judah, and every giver had a share in the repair.
- Emptied out. Money held back leaves the walls broken. Money released reaches the work.
- Faithfully handled. The workmen needed no audit. One word covered both their work and their handling of money: faithful.
- Faithful still. Those days of revival were exceptional. What God still asks for is not a missing account book but a faithful steward.
And Shaphan the scribe informed the king saying, Hilkijah the priest has given me a book. And Shaphan read out of it before the king.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.