And in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he purged the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the chronicler, to repair the house of Jehovah his God.
Josiah has spent years tearing down idols. Only now, in the eighteenth year of his reign, does he turn to the building itself. Why did the repair wait so long, and what came to light once the work began?
Here the king turns to the damage that idolatry left behind.
Up to 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 begin again, and for that His house had to be restored. What pleasure it must have given the Lord to see this son of David's zeal for His house. That zeal is a faint foreshadowing of Him who could say, "Zeal for your house will consume me."
Josiah cleansed the land and the house before he began the repairs. One writer finds a lesson in that order.
The king rightly felt that the Lord must be worshipped in pure surroundings… In Josiah's day the land was full of detestable things. There were the idols themselves, and also the filthy practices that always go with idolatry. Clearing all this away seems to have taken eight years of energetic action. Josiah would not smooth over any evil if he could prevent it. But he could not look into the hearts of the people, where in many cases the evils were still loved. Josiah's order of work is instructive. First he purged the land and the temple. Next he "repaired the house of the Lord his God." Then he felt ready to call the people together to keep the feast.
Another writer draws out what this shift of attention set in motion.
A new phase in Josiah's life: the eighteenth year. After six years of cleaning up, his interest turned to the house of the Lord (separation comes before worship)… Had Josiah's interest not turned to the house of the Lord, the events that followed would never have happened.
The verse says repair, not rebuild. One writer shows what that difference means for believers now.
The first thing we are told about him here is this: he began by taking care of the Lord's house. He repaired its breaches, counting on the faithfulness of the men charged with the work. This is one of the distinctive signs of a revival in the last times. God's house takes on an entirely new importance to believers, and its ruined state draws out their concern… The task is not to build the ruined temple all over again. It is to repair its breaches, to bring the necessary material faithfully, and to add to this building cedar wood and hewn stone that please God, who had built the house.
Josiah does not do this alone. He sends three men, and the money for the work comes from far beyond his own borders.
In this great work of recovery the king had the governor of the city and the recorder with him. 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 today, as it was then, when all God's people care about the house of God and have the privilege of contributing to it.
The work needed more than builders.
The work was varied, yet they did it in unity. They needed scribes to keep things in order, and gatekeepers to see that only what ought to be in was let in.
One writer ties everything that came next to this change of direction.
…Had Josiah's interest not turned to the house of the Lord, the events that followed would never have happened.
The repairs themselves led to a discovery in the temple.
There is amazing vigour in this young king… And God shows him a remarkable mercy. It was there that Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of the Lord given to Moses… The king hears of it. His conscience is the remarkable thing about this good king: when he hears the words of the Lord, he tears his clothes. Had he not been godly? Had he not been faithful? Yes — but he forgot what lay behind and pressed on toward what lay ahead. He did not think of the good he had done, but of the evil that, sadly, was still around him, and of the good he had not yet done.
- Seek — Josiah sought God first, then purged the land, and only in his eighteenth year turned to repairs.
- Purge — clearing out what is false comes first, because the Lord must be worshipped in pure surroundings.
- Repair — the call is not to build a new house but to mend the breaches of the existing one with material that suits it.
- Share — the king sends others, and the people north and south supply the means. Different jobs, one work.
- Press on — the repairs are where the lost book of the law came to light, and Josiah still pressed on toward the good he had not yet done.
And they came to Hilkijah the high priest, and they delivered [to them] the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin, and of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Levites at the temple doors collect money and hand it to the high priest to repair a neglected building. Two questions follow: why does Josiah turn to repairs at this moment, and why do the givers include northern tribes as well as Judah?
Josiah had already pulled down what was false. One writer notes that tearing down was never the whole task.
Until now the work had been destroying idols and cleansing away everything connected with idolatry. But 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 Jehovah had to be set up again, and for that His house had to be restored.
The money bought stone, timber and flooring. One writer describes the state of the building when Josiah began.
Levites were sent throughout the land to collect the money needed for this work... They gave it to the craftsmen and builders, to buy hewn stone, and timber for joists, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. And the men did the work faithfully. Manasseh had been restored himself, but he did not have the energy — or perhaps the influence — to do this work. Everything must have been in a ruined state when the young Josiah began his work of restoration.
Another writer points out whose property those kings had been destroying.
This was clearly a large project. The godless kings before Josiah were guilty of destroying a great deal of what was not their own property, but God's.
The verse names northern tribes alongside Judah. One writer asks what that mix shows about the twelve tribes.
Nothing could be more striking than this passage about what happened one hundred years after Israel was deported... There is no mistaking this verse. It refers to Manasseh, Ephraim, all the remnant of Israel, and all Judah and Benjamin. It shows that the twelve tribes had largely blended together, though the ten tribes were no doubt still distinct from the two.
Another writer notes who joined the king in paying for the work.
In this great work of recovery the king had the governor of the city and the recorder with him. 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 to repair God's house. How good it is today, as it was then, when all the people of God care about the house of God and have the privilege of giving to it.
The parallel record in 2 Kings says no account was demanded of the men who spent this money. Commentators differ on how far that should be copied. One sees it as a natural fruit of genuine revival:
They were not required to give any account of how the money was spent, because they were trusted to deal faithfully. This is a lovely mark of a true revival among the people of God. It was not a revival planned by men, though it did begin with the godly exercise of the young king, whose faith proved an effective example to others.
Another writer asks whether this should be our normal practice:
The question will arise: "Is this how God wants 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... Hearts and consciences were exercised about His holy will. So precautions against fraud were hardly necessary.
The money went in to mend a building. The work turned up something else — a book. One writer links the two.
Hilkiah the priest "found" the book. How long had it been lost (since the early days of Manasseh?)? The interest in the house of God led to the discovery of the book. Mere cleansing would never have achieved this.
- Cleansing — the idols went first. But tearing down what is false is only half the work.
- House — earlier kings had wrecked the building. What they destroyed was never theirs, but God's.
- Giving — north and south both gave. Every one of God's people had a share in the repairs.
- Trust — no one audited the workmen. One writer calls this the fruit of real revival; another warns that such times were exceptional, not a rule for us.
- Book — Josiah cared about the house of God, and the lost book turned up. Cleansing alone would never have found it.
And they gave [it] into the hand of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of Jehovah; and they gave it to the workmen who wrought in the house of Jehovah to reinstate and repair the house
Money collected across the land finally reached the men repairing the temple. This verse follows it from the overseers into the hands of the workers, and it raises two questions: why was so much repair needed, and why did the king hand the cash over without any checks?
Josiah did not begin with repairs. He spent years tearing down idols first.
Cleansing the land and the house had taken some years. Now, in "the eighteenth year of his reign," at the age of twenty-six, good king Josiah's zeal for Jehovah was as strong as ever. Up to now the work had been destroying idols and clearing 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 Jehovah had to be re-established, and for that His house had to be restored.
The money paid for materials as well as labour. One writer also names who caused the damage.
Those who oversaw the materials needed for the house of God used this money to hire workmen to repair the house. They also used it for craftsmen and builders, to buy cut stone and timber for beams and for the floor of the house (v. 10). This was clearly a large project, because the ungodly kings before Josiah had destroyed a great deal of what was not their own property, but God's.
The record names who supplied the money, and the list runs wider than Judah.
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 today, as it was then, when all God's people care about the house of God and have the privilege of contributing to it. Few have the great devotion of the poor widow of Mark 12:41-44, who gave her all to support God's house. But we can all help to maintain God's testimony in His house in some small way.
One writer draws attention to how the money was then handled.
The workers were not required to give any account of how the money was spent, because they were relied on to deal faithfully. This is a lovely mark of a true revival among the people of God.
One writer warns against turning this into a general rule.
The question will arise: "Should the example of these people 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. 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 stirred by His holy will. So there was little need for safeguards against fraud.
The verse names workers and overseers. The verses around it name more.
Many did the actual work, and some had the oversight. They were marked by working "faithfully" at what they were given to do. Levites, scribes, officers and gatekeepers all had their part to play. The overseers are named, and there is mention too of those skilled with musical instruments (verses 10-13). If there was faithfulness, there was also happiness in the work of the Lord.
One writer sees Josiah's starting point as a lesson for believers.
The first thing we are told of him here is that he began by taking care of the Lord's house. He repaired its damaged places, counting on the faithfulness of those charged with the work. This is one of the distinctive signs of a revival in the last times. God's house takes on an entirely new importance to believers, and its ruined state draws out their concern... This is in no way a matter of rebuilding the ruined temple from scratch. It is a matter of repairing its damaged places and faithfully bringing the material needed.
- Clear first. Idols came down before timber went up. Destroying what is false is only half the work; restoring true worship is the other half.
- Count the damage. The size of the repair showed the size of the neglect. Earlier kings had wrecked property that belonged to God, not to them.
- Give together. The money came from tribes right across the land, so that every one of God's people had a share in His house.
- Trust the hands. Nobody audited the workers, because they dealt faithfully. Writers note that such times were exceptional, not a rule for us today.
- Work faithfully. Overseers, builders, gatekeepers and musicians each had a part. The same care for God's house marks a real revival today.
they gave [it] to the carpenters and the builders, to buy hewn stone, and timber for the joists, and to floor the houses that the kings of Judah had destroyed.
This verse reads like a builder's bill: money for the temple buys stone and timber to mend God's house. It raises two questions — how did the house fall into ruin, and what does it take to put it right?
The list of materials shows how bad things had become. One commentator ties the size of the job to the kings who ruled before Josiah:
Clearly this was a large project, for the ungodly kings before Josiah were guilty of destroying a great deal of what was not their own property, but God's.
Another writer notes that an earlier king, Manasseh, had left the ruin untouched:
Manasseh himself had been restored, but he did not have the energy — or perhaps the influence — to do this work. Everything must have been in a ruined state when the young Josiah began his work of restoration.
Josiah had already spent years destroying idols. Now the work changes from tearing down to building up:
Up to 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 Jehovah had to be set up again, and for that His house had to be restored. What pleasure there must have been for the Lord to see this son of David's zeal for His house! It was a faint foreshadowing of Him who could say, "Zeal for your house will consume me."
The stone and timber mend a house that already stands. One commentator draws a lesson from that for believers today:
This is in no way a matter of rebuilding the ruined temple from scratch. It is a matter of repairing its broken places, of faithfully bringing the material needed, of adding cedar wood and hewn stone that please God, who had built the house. In the same way, in this time of the end, the Christian who knows his calling will not add wood, hay, and stubble to the house. He will bring what suits the house of God — living stones, cut out by the Holy Spirit in the quarry of the world, shaped by the Master.
The money passed to the builders with no audit behind it. One writer sees in that a mark of something real:
But no one required them to give any accounting of the way the money was spent, because they were trusted to deal faithfully. This is a lovely characteristic of a true revival among the people of God.
Another writer adds a caution. Those years were not the normal pattern:
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. After many years of serious wrongdoing the people, or at least a remnant of them, were turning back to their God. Hearts and consciences were exercised about His holy will. Because of this, safeguards against fraud were hardly necessary.
The verse names two trades working side by side. One writer notes the atmosphere among them:
The Temple was in a terrible state when Josiah moved to refit it for divine worship. Willing hands and devoted hearts quickly put things right. From 2 Chronicles 34:8-13 we gather that the carpenters and masons and their overseers got on well together.
The building work was not the climax of the story; it was the doorway to it:
If Josiah had not cared about restoring the temple, 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… The Holy Scriptures had been neglected and as good as forgotten during the reigns before his. In this revival they suddenly take their place of importance again.
- Ruin. The stone and timber show the damage. Earlier kings had destroyed what belonged to God, not to them.
- Repair. Josiah does not build something new. He mends the broken places with material that pleases the God who built the house.
- Restore. Pulling down what was false was only half the work. Worship had to start again, and for that the house had to be fit for use.
- Reliance. The money went to the builders with no audit. They were trusted to deal faithfully — the mark of a real revival, not a rule for normal times.
- Reward. Because Josiah cared about the house, the long-forgotten book of the law came back to light.
And the men did the work faithfully. And over them were appointed Jahath and Obadiah, Levites, of the children of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the children of the Kohathites, for the oversight; and all these Levites were skilled in instruments of music.
Josiah's men are repairing a temple that earlier kings had wrecked. In the middle of a plain list of names and trades, God pauses to call their work faithful — so why does He note ordinary labour, and what makes it count?
The same word turns up in another record of these repairs. There, no one checked what happened to the money.
We are impressed with the Holy Spirit's record that in Josiah's day the men were so conscientious that no account was kept of the money spent, and the amount must have been considerable. The word "faithfully" is used in two ways: (1) "the men did the work faithfully" (2 Chron. 34:12); and (2) "no accounting was asked from them for the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully" (2 Kings 22:7). Such men are worth imitating. Theirs was no mere "eye-service as people-pleasers"; they worked "with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord" (Col. 3:22).
One commentator ties that trust to the moment. It was an unusual time of return to God, when hearts and consciences were already stirred, so guards against fraud were hardly needed. He adds that this is not the normal pattern to copy: God is a God of order, and He wants care taken with money.
The verse does not just say the work was done. It names the four Levites who supervised it: Jahath, Obadiah, Zechariah and Meshullam.
Josiah's influence was good, for the men did the work faithfully (v. 12). The names of those who supervised the work are recorded in verse 12. So God highly commends those who are true builders, and surely no less today if we care about building up the saints of God, and so build the assembly.
The verse ends with music. Levites skilled with instruments are counted among these workers.
There were many who did the actual work, and some had the oversight. They were marked by working "faithfully" in what was given them to do. If there was faithfulness, there was also happiness in the work of the Lord. The musicians brought out the praises of those engaged in this blessed service for the God of Israel.
Leslie Grant reads the same detail as a picture of something else:
Levites are mentioned here as skilled with musical instruments. This is a symbol of skill in ministering the Word of God, for the refreshment and encouragement of the saints. They may have played their instruments while the men were working. That pictures servants willing to help those serving in practical matters, by ministering the Word of God to them.
Around the named overseers stand burden bearers, scribes, officers and gatekeepers.
There were overseers set over the burden bearers too. How good for us if we are burden bearers. But we need instruction on how to do such good work. Also some of the Levites were scribes, officers and gatekeepers (v. 13). Though there was diversity in the work, it was done in unity. Scribes were needed to keep things orderly; gatekeepers made sure that only what belonged inside was let in.
The speed of the repairs is treated as evidence of the workers' hearts.
The repairing of the Temple was carried through very quickly… The Passover was a spring feast, fixed to the first month. In Hezekiah's day it had to be put off by a month, because neither the temple nor the people were ready (2 Chron. 30:13-15). But Josiah and his people "kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month" (2 Chron. 35:1), according to the original divine order (Ex. 12:18). This proves that the workmen put their hearts into the work of getting the house ready for the Lord their God. It is written in Eccles. 9:10, "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might." In Col. 3:23, even slaves are told, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."
- Faithful. God gives these workers one word: faithful. It showed in work done well, and in money no one had to check.
- Named. Faithful work is not anonymous. God recorded the supervisors' names. He still commends those who build up His people today.
- Hearty. They worked fast and hard. The house was ready in time for the feast, which proves they put their hearts into it.
- Varied. Faithfulness takes many shapes: burden bearers, scribes, officers, gatekeepers. The jobs differed, but the work was one.
- Glad. Faithfulness ends in song. The musicians played while the work went on, so gladness marked the service, not just duty.
They were also over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that worked in any manner of service. And of the Levites were the scribes, and officers, and doorkeepers.
King Josiah set out to repair a temple in a sad state, and the money and the workmen were now in place. This verse stops to name the jobs held by the Levites, the men who served at the temple. Why does Scripture keep a list of ordinary job titles?
This one verse names several jobs on a single building site. One commentator finds both variety and unity in the list, and he applies each job to the Church today.
There were overseers set over the burden bearers also. How good for us if we are burden bearers. But we need instruction as to how to do such good work. Also some of the Levites were scribes, officers and gatekeepers (v. 13). The work was varied, yet they did it in unity. Scribes were needed to keep things in order. Gatekeepers were needed to see that only what ought to be inside was let in. The Church of God needs all of this today, though there are no such official posts now, and no one is to take any special place for this.
Some Levites here were put in charge of others. What was it like to work under them?
The condition of the Temple was deplorable when Josiah moved to refit it for worship. The kings before him despised everything that was of God, and they had done great damage to the sacred building. But willing hands and devoted hearts soon put things right, as we have seen. We gather from 2 Chron. 34:8-13 that the carpenters and masons and their overseers got on well together. These verses make pleasant reading. They remind us how happily Boaz and his harvest-men worked together (Ruth 2:4). What lessons these records contain for all who would please God in these turbulent days!
One word in the record covers both the work these men did and the way they handled the money. The quotations below follow an older English translation.
The Holy Spirit's record impresses us. In Josiah's day the men were so conscientious that no one kept account of the money spent, and the amount must have been large. The record uses the word "faithfully" in two ways: (1) "the men did the work faithfully" (2 Chron. 34:12); and (2) "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 worthy of imitation. Theirs was no mere "eye-service as men pleasers"; they worked "in singleness of heart fearing God" (Col. 3:22).
Gatekeepers appear at the end of the list, and the job has two sides. It is not only about refusing entry.
The doorkeepers had charge of all the gates of the temple. They had to be able to drive back any move against the house of God. They had to watch with constant energy, so that no defiled person entered the courts of the Lord. But they also had to keep the doors open, so that no priest who had the right to enter the temple was kept out.
The same commentator applies this guarding to the Church today, and notes that few people thank you for it.
Such work may not be appreciated by many, but we must not ignore it on this account. We always need discernment as to what should be allowed in and what must be refused entry. If the enemy once gets in, even in a small way, he will use that to gain more ground and corrupt the Christian testimony.
Another writer takes in the whole list of workers, and finds more in it than duty.
Many did the actual work, and some had the oversight. All of them were marked by working "faithfully" at what was given them to do. Levites, scribes, officers and gatekeepers all had their part to play. The overseers are named, and there is mention too of those who were skilled with musical instruments (verses 10-13). If there was faithfulness, there was also happiness in the work of the Lord. The musicians brought out the praises of those who were engaged in this blessed service for the God of Israel.
- Many hands. One verse names four kinds of work: carrying, supervising, recording, guarding.
- One work. The jobs differ, yet the work was done in unity, not rivalry. Even burden bearers need instruction to do their part well.
- Trusted hands. The men did the work faithfully and handled the money faithfully, so no one asked them to account for what they spent.
- Friendly ranks. Overseers and craftsmen got on well together — pleasant reading for anyone who wants to please God at work.
- Guarded doors. The gatekeeper's task cuts both ways: keep out what defiles, and never shut out those who have the right to come in.
And when they brought out the money that had been brought into the house of Jehovah, Hilkijah the priest found the book of the law of Jehovah by Moses.
Josiah was repairing the temple when Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law inside it. A king of Judah had grown up without knowing that book existed — so how does God's Word get lost, and what happens when it comes back to light?
The book was not found in a foreign land or a ruined city. It sat in the temple — the one place that should have honoured it — and no one missed it.
However, in the course of doing the repair work, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord, given by Moses. How sad that no one gave the book a place of honour! Instead it lay hidden away in the house of God! (v. 14). That book said that whoever ruled as king over Israel should write out a copy of this law and read it all the days of his life (Deut. 17:18-19). But by the time Josiah took the throne, he did not even know that this book existed! Who was to blame for this? No doubt both earlier kings and priests.
The loss says something about the years before Josiah. It was not that the Word had been destroyed — it had been ignored until it was effectively gone.
How sorry a reflection on the earlier condition in Judah — the Word of God had been lost! Now it was recovered!
The verse ties this book to Moses. Was the scroll in Hilkiah's hands a later copy, or the one Moses wrote himself?
When Moses had finished the first five books of the Bible, he directed that they be put at the side of the ark (Deut. 31:24, 26). Was this the very copy that Hilkiah the high priest found seven hundred and fifty years later, among the rubbish in the temple (2 Kings 22:8)? Or was it a copy made from the original by one of the early kings (Deut. 17:18)? We believe it was the very copy of the law written by the hand of Moses (2 Chron. 34:14).
Josiah was not searching for a lost book. He was caring for God's house, and the Word surfaced in the course of that work.
Josiah's zeal for the house of God brought a result at once, and a most important one. If he 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 completely new revelation of the written Word.
Josiah's earlier years had already been spent clearing out idols. That alone did not produce the discovery.
The interest in the house of God led to the discovery of the book. Mere cleansing would never have achieved this.
Shaphan read the book aloud to the king. Josiah did not weigh it; it weighed him.
Josiah had no doubt at all that the words Shaphan read aloud to him were genuine and authentic. We do not read of his asking, "How am I to know that this is the Word of God?" No; he trembled at it. He bowed before it. It struck him down. He tore his garments. He did not presume to sit in judgement on the Word of God, but, as was right and fitting, he allowed the Word to judge him.
And the light fell first on himself, before he turned it on anyone else.
It is one thing to judge our surroundings by the Word, and it is quite another thing to judge ourselves. Now Josiah began with himself. Before he called on others to listen to the weighty words of the law, he tore his own clothes. That was true self-judgment under their searching power.
Josiah is one name on a longer list.
If a revival is genuine, it will show itself in the discovery of the Scriptures (Josiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and others). It is not that people could not have known the Scriptures before; neglect had made them forget.
- Lost — The book sat in the temple, hidden away and stripped of honour. A king of Judah grew up not knowing it existed.
- Neglected — Earlier kings and priests carried the blame. The law told the king to write out his own copy and read it all his life. That had stopped.
- Found — Josiah was repairing God's house, not hunting for Scripture. Cleansing alone had not brought the book to light; care for the house did.
- Received — Josiah never asked whether the scroll was authentic. He let it judge him, and he tore his clothes before calling anyone else to listen.
- Repeated — Commentators see the same pattern in every real revival: Scripture forgotten through neglect, then found again.
Then Hilkijah spoke and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. And Hilkijah gave the book to Shaphan.
Workmen were repairing the neglected temple when the high priest found a scroll no one knew was there. Commentators press two questions here. How did God's own book get lost inside God's own house? And what brought it back to light?
The find was a shock to everyone involved, including the men whose job it was to know the law. One writer traces the loss to the two kings before Josiah, and notes the reversal: the king had to wake the priest.
God had commanded in Deuteronomy 17:18-19 that the king of Israel was to write out a copy of the law for himself and learn it well. Yet Josiah did not even know that such a book existed. No doubt Manasseh and Amon had ignored God's Word completely. So when Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the house of God, it was a total surprise to him and to Josiah. The high priest should have known the law, but it took Josiah's faith to wake him up.
Josiah set out to repair the temple, not to find a book. Because he cared about the house of God, the book stored there came to light.
This zeal for the house of God has an immediate and most important result… If Josiah had not had the restoration of the temple at heart, the book of the law, kept there (2 Chr. 34:15), would not have come to light again. This is the special character of Josiah's revival… In this revival the Holy Scriptures take their place of importance again. The earlier reigns had neglected and forgotten them.
Two things were happening at once, and only one of them uncovered the book.
The interest in the house of God led to the discovery of the book. Mere cleansing would never have achieved this.
Some have argued that the book was only Deuteronomy, written not long before Josiah's day. One commentator answers from Huldah, the prophetess whose reply to the king pointed back to words found in Leviticus.
We are told that the book read before the king predicted the destruction of Jerusalem, above all because of idolatry… Deuteronomy 28 predicted the sorrows the people would suffer for their sins. But Leviticus 26:31-32 states plainly what Deuteronomy 28:52 only hints at — the destruction of their cities and of their sanctuaries, and that above all because of their idol worship. Huldah's answer makes it plain that the book found was not only Deuteronomy, a work which some ask us to believe was written about that time. It contained more than we have in that last of the five books of Moses.
Hilkiah did not keep his discovery. He gave the book to Shaphan, and Shaphan read it.
Shaphan did wisely, for a Bible unread is useless to anybody. Shaphan's son became a leader in idolatry (Ezek. 8:11). Clearly the Word of God had no power over him.
One writer calls this the great fact of Josiah's whole life.
Here, then, we have 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 God's revelation in, first upon Josiah's conscience, and second, upon 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… Now Josiah began with himself. He did not first call others to listen to the weighty words of the law. He tore his own clothes, in true self-judgment beneath their searching power.
The revival grew after the book came to light, and one writer draws a rule from the order of it.
Notice that the remarkable growth of the revival came after the word of the Lord was found, read, received and acted on… So it is safe to say that no revival of lasting benefit can happen unless the Word of God controls it. In evangelical circles there is often much stir. Yet the Scriptures do not receive their rightful place as the Word of God, which is living and dynamic.
- Lost. The book sat inside the temple the whole time. Two godless reigns left the king ignorant of a book he was told to copy out, and the high priest surprised by a law he should have known.
- Found. Care for God's house uncovered it. Cleansing alone would never have achieved that.
- Given. Hilkiah handed the book on, and Shaphan read it. A Bible left unread is useless — Shaphan's own son grew up to lead people into idolatry.
- Judged. The full light of God's revelation reached Josiah's conscience before it reached the nation. He tore his own clothes before he called anyone else to listen.
- Renewed. Found, read, received, acted on — that is the order. No revival lasts unless the Word governs it.
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.
And it came to pass when the king heard the words of the law, that he rent his garments.
During repairs to the temple, workers found a copy of the law of the Lord — in God's own house all along, but long forgotten. Shaphan read it aloud, Josiah tore his clothes, and this verse shows us the heart behind that response.
The law itself had required every king of Israel to own a copy and read it — yet this king was hearing it for the first time.
How sad that no one gave the book a place of honor! Instead it lay hidden in the house of God. That book said that whoever ruled as king over Israel should write out a copy of this law for himself and read it all the days of his life (Deut. 17:18-19). But by the time Josiah took the throne, he did not even know that this book existed! Who was to blame for this? No doubt both earlier kings and priests.
Why did the book come to light in Josiah's day and not before?
If Josiah had not cared about restoring the temple, the book of the law, which was kept there (2 Chr. 34:15), would never have come to light again... In this revival the Holy Scriptures — neglected and all but forgotten during the reigns before him — suddenly take their place of importance again.
Tearing his clothes was not theatre. Josiah bowed to what he had heard, without first asking it to prove itself.
Here we have a tender conscience bowing under the action of the Word of God... Josiah had no doubt at all that the words Shaphan read in his hearing were genuine and authentic. We do not read of him asking, "How am I to know that this is the Word of God?" No; he trembled at it; he bowed before it; he was struck down under it; he tore his clothes. He did not dare to sit in judgment on the Word of God. Instead, as was right and proper, he let the Word judge him.
Why does the Bible meet so much resistance?
Scripture is the Word of God, and it judges man thoroughly. It lays bare the very roots of his nature — it opens up the foundations of his moral being. It holds up before him the only faithful mirror in which he can see himself perfectly reflected. This is the reason why man does not like Scripture — cannot bear it — seeks to set it aside.
There are two ways to use the Word. Josiah chose the harder one first.
It is one thing to judge our surroundings by the Word, and it is quite another thing to judge ourselves. Now Josiah began with himself. Before he ever called others to listen to the weighty words of the law, he tore his own clothes, in true self-judgment under their searching power.
The torn robe led straight to an order. Josiah wanted to know where his nation now stood with God.
In a spirit of deep self-judgment he tore his clothes. Then he ordered five men, including Hilkiah and Shaphan, to go and ask the Lord for him and for the small number left in Israel and Judah. He saw that Israel lay under the great wrath of God, because their fathers had not kept the Word of the Lord. He did not try to explain it away. He faced the truth declared in Scripture, and wanted to know just how God was now going to deal with his nation.
God's own answer named the torn clothes.
"Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words... and humbled yourself before Me and tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you, says the Lord" (2 Chron. 34:26-27). The heart of man is naturally hard in relation to God... In contrast, Josiah's heart was open and responsive — surely a gracious work of the Holy Spirit of God.
Josiah's own son later faced a scroll of God's words and chose the opposite.
No wonder Josiah tore his clothes when he read what lay in store for Israel if they abandoned their God and turned to idols. Yet what a contrast between Josiah's response and that of his son Jehoiakim. When Jehoiakim heard the words written in Jeremiah's scroll, he cut it up with his penknife and threw it into the fire (Jer. 36:23).
- Lost — Earlier kings and priests left the book of the law hidden in God's house, so a king who should have read it daily had never heard it.
- Found — It came to light because Josiah cared about God's house; zeal for the house led to recovery of the Word.
- Torn — His clothes tore because he let the Word judge him rather than sitting in judgement on it.
- Tender — God said He heard Josiah because his heart was tender and humbled. Commentators trace that tenderness to God's Spirit, not to human nature.
- Or burned — The same Word met his son Jehoiakim, who cut it up and burned it; every hearer lands on one side or the other.
And the king commanded Hilkijah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying,
Josiah has just heard the book of the law read aloud. His first move is not a decree but a question: he sends five men — the high priest, the court scribe, the king's own servant and two others — to find out what God has to say about it.
The command came from a man already broken by what he had heard.
Here we have a tender conscience bowing under the action of the Word of God. This was one special charm in the character of Josiah. He was, in truth, a man of a humble and contrite spirit, who trembled at the Word of God... Josiah never doubted that the words Shaphan had read in his hearing were genuine. We do not read of his asking, "How am I to know that this is the Word of God?" No. He trembled at it; he bowed before it; it struck him down; he tore his clothes. He did not dare to judge the Word of God, but, as was right, he allowed the Word to judge him.
The same choice faces every reader: judge the Bible, or let it judge you.
If man is to judge Scripture, then Scripture is not the Word of God at all; but if Scripture is in very truth the Word of God, then it must judge man... It lays bare the very roots of his nature — it opens up the foundations of his moral being. It holds up before him the only faithful mirror in which he can see himself perfectly reflected. This is the reason why man does not like Scripture — cannot bear it — seeks to set it aside.
Grief alone changes nothing. Josiah turned his into an errand — and not for himself only.
In a spirit of deep self-judgment he tore his clothes. Then he commanded five men, including Hilkiah and Shaphan, to go and inquire of the Lord for him and for the small number left in Israel and Judah. For he recognised that Israel was under the great wrath of God because their fathers had not kept the Word of the Lord (vv. 20-21). He did not try to explain it away. He faced the truth declared in Scripture head-on. He wanted to know just how God was now going to deal with his nation.
Josiah was already a faithful king. Did that record make the errand unnecessary?
The king hears of it. As I have said, his conscience is the remarkable part of this good king. When he hears the words of the Lord, he tears his clothes. Had he not been pious? Had he not been faithful? Yes, but he forgot the things that were behind, and he pressed toward those that were before. He did not think of the good that he had done. He thought of the evil that, sadly, was still around him, and of the good that he had not done and that still lay before him.
Josiah had a high priest and a scribe at hand. He did not ask them for the answer; he sent them out for it.
And now who will interpret this Word for us? How are we to "inquire of the Lord" about what we are to do, knowing that according to this Word we have brought His displeasure on ourselves? The prophet alone, the representative of the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11), can interpret it for us. Josiah does not turn to Shaphan the scribe for this, or even to Hilkiah the high priest; he seeks direct relationship with the Word.
The errand led to a woman, which was humbling in itself.
To the natural eye it might seem very humiliating for a king of Judah to turn to a woman for counsel. But that woman held the mind of God. This was quite enough for a humble and contrite spirit like Josiah's. He had proved so far that his one great desire was to know and do the will of God. So it did not matter what channel the voice of God came through — he was ready to hear and obey.
Josiah's son heard God's word too, and reached for a knife.
Well might Josiah tear his clothes on reading what lay in store for Israel for forsaking their God and turning to idols. Yet how great the contrast between the attitude of Josiah and that of his son Jehoiakim. When Jehoiakim heard the words written in Jeremiah's scroll, he cut it with his penknife and threw it into the fire (Jer. 36:23).
- Hear — Josiah never asked whether the book was genuine; he let it judge him instead of judging it.
- Bow — Scripture is a mirror that exposes the roots of our nature. That is why people want it set aside.
- Ask — self-judgment did not stop at torn clothes. It became a command to five men: find out how God will now deal with this nation.
- Include — he asked for himself and for the few left. His own past faithfulness did not excuse him from asking.
- Obey — he took God's answer from whatever channel carried it, even a humbling one. His son heard God's word and burned it.
Go, inquire of Jehovah for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book which is found; for great is the wrath of Jehovah that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of Jehovah, to do according to all that is written in this book.
Josiah has just heard the long-lost book of the law read aloud. His first move is not to defend his reforms. He sends five men to ask God what the book means for him and for his people. Three things stand together in this verse: a king who accepts what Scripture says, a nation he names as guilty, and a wrath he does not explain away.
Hearing the book read aloud cut Josiah to the heart. One writer sets his response beside the way some people treat that same Word.
The Word of God pierced him through and through... What a striking contrast! Josiah had a contrite heart, a conscience awake before God, and torn clothes, and he bowed under the mighty working of the Word of God. Our modern sceptics and unbelievers dare, with shocking boldness, to sit in judgement on that very same Word.
The message was worse than the king expected, and his reaction shows what he did with the discomfort.
In a spirit of deep self-judgment he tore his clothes. Then he commanded five men, including Hilkiah and Shaphan, to go and enquire of the Lord for him and for the small number left in Israel and Judah. He recognised that Israel was under the great wrath of God, because their fathers had not kept the Word of the Lord. He did not try to explain it away. He faced the truth stated in Scripture head-on, and he wanted to know how God would now deal with his nation.
He says the wrath is poured out "upon us," though the failure he names belongs to the generation before him. His own good record did not soften the blow.
The king hears of it. As I have said, his conscience is the remarkable thing about this good king. When he hears the words of the Lord, he tears his clothes. Had he not been pious? Had he not been faithful? Yes, but he forgot the things that were behind, and he pressed toward those that were before. He did not think of the good he had done. He thought of the evil that, sadly, was still around him, and of the good he had not done that still lay ahead of him.
The request covers "those who are left in Israel and in Judah" — everyone still standing after the collapse of the northern tribes. Commenting on the parallel account in 2 Kings, one writer draws out why that matters.
Notice he enquired not only for himself, but for the people and for all Judah. He recognised what people often overlook: God's word applies to everyone. He also saw that all God has written is of equal importance in its place, and is to be obeyed just as much... There is no part we can leave out, no command we may disobey, no truth we may treat as unimportant.
Josiah wanted an answer from God Himself. One writer points to where it came from, and where ours comes from now.
The king's messengers knew who had the mind of God. They went to Huldah the prophetess, and she said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel." How good it was that the Lord had His servant who could speak His word to the devout king! In the same way, He had His interpreter ready for the Ethiopian official who wanted to know who the prophet Isaiah was speaking about. Now the word of God is complete, and the Spirit of God is with us and in us. So we can come to Him at any time to know His mind and will for every situation in life.
The answer that came back spared the king without cancelling the sentence on the nation.
Scripture may be neglected, but it cannot be broken. The Lord answers Josiah that he himself, because his tender heart trembled at the word, will go to his fathers in peace and will not see the evil. But the curses read out of the book will surely take hold.
- Found — A long-neglected book is read to the king, and its words at once put him on trial.
- Felt — Josiah's torn clothes show a conscience that bowed instead of arguing. His good record gave him no shelter.
- Confessed — He does not say "they" of his fathers but "us," accepting that the wrath on the nation is a wrath he stands under.
- Enquired — He asks for himself and for everyone left. The word binds the king and the humblest subject alike.
- Answered — God replies through Huldah. Judgment on the nation stands. He spares the king who trembled. The word holds.
And Hilkijah and they that the king [had appointed] went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokehath, son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter [of the town]; and they spoke with her to that effect.
Josiah has just heard the rediscovered book of the law read aloud. To learn what God will do, he sends his highest officials — the high priest among them — not to a famous prophet, but to Huldah, a woman married to the man who kept the royal robes.
The detail matters. One writer reads it as a sign of how low things had fallen — and of grace working anyway:
Here, too, we are struck that a woman filled the prophetic office. It tells a tale. Things were low. But the grace of God was unfailing and abundant. Josiah was so completely broken down that he was ready to receive the message of the mind of God through whatever channel it reached him.
Another writer asks who could interpret the newly found book for Josiah. His answer explains why the king passed by both the scribe and the high priest:
Only the prophet, who represents the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11), can interpret this Word for us. Josiah does not turn to Shaphan the scribe for this, or even to Hilkiah the high priest. He wants to be brought into direct contact with the Word. In Josiah's time — days of revival but of deep weakness — we find a prophetess at Jerusalem. It was not that Judah had no prophets (2 Kings 23:2). But work entrusted to a woman is a mark of decline, just as it was with Deborah in the book of Judges. Like Deborah, Huldah, this servant of Jehovah, does not try to take up a public ministry, as the false prophetesses of our own day do. She uses her gift in the place appointed for her.
Notice who led that delegation. The high priest came to ask a question, not to answer one.
The leader of the delegation was Hilkiah the High Priest! The religious head of the nation, sent by the king to a woman for advice! Why was this?... "For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts" (Mal. 2:7). Here the high privileges and the spiritual standing of the priesthood stand out... Yet Josiah sent the High Priest with others to learn the mind of God from a prophetess!
The same writer draws a wider principle:
But God never rebuilds an order of things that has failed in the hands of men. In His great grace He goes on to something better. Everything in which man has proved so incapable will be seen in perfection in Christ, on the day He is revealed.
Commentators differ. One leaves the question open:
Why they did not ask Jeremiah, or Zephaniah (who lived at the same time as Josiah, Jer. 1:3; Zeph. 1:1), is uncertain. Anathoth, Jeremiah's birthplace, was only three miles from Jerusalem, and so within easy reach. But both prophets may have been too young at the time for the nation to consult them.
Another points out that Jeremiah was already at work, and leaves the choice with God:
Why Jehovah chose to speak through Huldah to the King and to the High Priest, He alone knows. Jeremiah was already in His service, for he began his prophetic ministry in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign (Jer. 1:2), and the book of the law was not found until five years later. Yet Jehovah spoke through Huldah on that occasion.
The verse places her in the Second Quarter of Jerusalem. Readers have taken that word in two ways:
The Hebrew word means 'second part,' as the margin shows at 2 Kings 22:14 and 2 Chr. 34:22. It may refer to a part of the city where there was a school. The Rabbis trace it to a word meaning 'to teach,' so 'the school' of the prophets.
Her answer came in two parts:
Huldah is the instrument to make known the Lord's mind. Her message has two parts. The first opens with 'tell the man'. It says the judgement will come and nothing can turn it aside now. The second speaks to 'the king of Judah'. It reassures Josiah that God had accepted his humiliation and would not bring the judgement in Josiah's day.
The writer quoted earlier draws the lesson for us:
We can be sure that here lies the true secret of divine guidance. "He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way" (Ps. 25:9). If there were more of this blessed spirit of meekness among us, there would be less confusion, less controversy, and less arguing about words that does no good.
- Low. A woman in the prophet's place shows how far the nation had sunk — the same signal as Deborah in the book of Judges.
- Grace. Weakness did not silence God. He kept speaking, and His grace was "unfailing and abundant" when the usual channels had failed.
- Set aside. The high priest came to ask, not to answer. God never rebuilds an order that has failed in men's hands; He goes on to something better in Christ.
- Meek. Josiah cared that the word was God's, not who carried it. Commentators call such meekness the true secret of guidance.
- Answered. Huldah used her gift in the place given her. Her message settled both halves: judgement for the nation, mercy for the king who humbled himself.
And she said to them, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel Tell the man that sent you to me,
Josiah had just heard the rediscovered law read aloud, and he sent men to ask God what would happen to a nation that had ignored it. The answer came through Huldah, a woman in Jerusalem, and it named the king simply "the man who sent you."
Huldah's answer begins here. Writers first notice who God chose to speak through.
We are struck that a woman filled the prophetic office. It surely tells a tale. Things were low. But the grace of God was unfailing and abundant, and Josiah was so completely broken down that he was ready to receive the mind of God through whatever channel it might reach him. It might seem very humiliating, to nature's view, for a king of Judah to turn to a woman for counsel. But that woman held the mind of God, and for a humble and contrite spirit like Josiah's that was quite enough.
The text gives no reason why God chose her. One writer points out that a well-known prophet was already serving at the time.
Still, we must never lose sight of the sovereignty of God. He works as He pleases, and gives no account of His matters. This is especially true when everything is in confusion among His people. Why the Lord chose to speak through Huldah to the king, and to the high priest, is known to Himself alone. Jeremiah was already in His service, for he began his prophetic ministry in the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign (Jer. 1:2), and the book of the law was not found until five years later. Yet the Lord spoke through Huldah on the occasion we are dealing with, and not through Jeremiah!
Josiah had already heard the curses read out. Her word added nothing new. It confirmed them, and it left the nation no way out.
She gave them God's answer faithfully: He would bring calamity upon Israel, all the curses written in the book Josiah had heard read. God gives the reason plainly: "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" (vv. 24-25). Not even the exceptional faithfulness of Josiah could avert this judgment.
Yet a repeated word is not a wasted word. The same truth struck harder when it came back as a message to him personally.
All this was only the solemn repeating and confirming of what the king of Judah had already heard with an open and attentive ear. But it came with fresh force, emphasis, and interest, as a direct personal message to himself. It came enforced and heightened by that earnest sentence, "Tell the man who sent you to me."
The wording shifts partway through her reply. Verse 23 says "the man"; verse 26 says "the king of Judah." That change marks off two halves of the message.
Huldah is the instrument to make known the Lord's mind (exercising this gift in the sphere given to her). Her message has two parts. The first part opens with "tell the man." It states that the judgement will come and cannot be averted any more. The second part speaks to "the king of Judah." It reassures Josiah that God had accepted his humiliation and would not bring the judgement in Josiah's day.
Josiah's servants had to travel to one house in Jerusalem to hear "Thus says the LORD." One writer contrasts that with what believers have now.
The king's messengers knew who had the mind of God. They went to Huldah the prophetess, who said to them, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel" (2 Chr. 34:23). How good it was that the Lord had His servant to speak His word to the devout king! In the same way He had His interpreter ready for the Ethiopian eunuch, who wanted to know who the prophet Isaiah was speaking about (Acts 8:27-35). The word of God is now complete, and the Spirit of God is with us and in us. So we can come to Him at all times to know His mind and will for every occasion and circumstance of life.
- Low state. A woman held the prophetic office — a sign of how far things had fallen. Yet grace still spoke.
- Sovereign choice. Jeremiah was already prophesying, yet God used Huldah. Commentators leave the reason with God alone.
- Meek ears. Josiah was broken enough to take God's word from any channel, and so he got his answer.
- Confirmed, not softened. Huldah added nothing to the curses Josiah had heard. His faithfulness could not cancel the judgment — only delay it past his lifetime.
- Personal address. "Tell the man" carries judgment for the nation. "The king of Judah" carries mercy for one humbled heart.
Thus saith Jehovah Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah.
Josiah had just led a great reform, and then he heard the lost book of the law read aloud. He sent men to ask God what it meant, and the answer came back through Huldah the prophetess: disaster, and every curse written in that book.
The messenger says as much about the times as the message does. Judah had sunk so low that a woman held the prophet's office, and the king did not mind.
It strikes us here, too, that a woman held the prophetic office. It surely tells a tale. Things were low. But the grace of God was unfailing and abundant, and Josiah was so broken down that he was ready to receive God's mind through whatever channel it reached him. This was morally lovely. To nature's view it might seem very humiliating for a king of Judah to turn to a woman for counsel. But that woman held the mind of God, and that was quite enough for a humble and contrite spirit like Josiah's.
The curses were not new threats. They stood in a book the nation had lost for decades.
It was, no doubt, the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses — either the original, as written by Moses, or the temple copy (Deut. 31:26), used in days gone by at the coronation of their kings (see Deut. 17:18; 2 Chron. 23:11). No one knows how long it had been lost; probably since the beginning of Manasseh's reign at least.
Losing the book had not weakened it. Josiah's answer held both a mercy for him and a fixed sentence for the city.
Scripture may be neglected, but it cannot be broken. The Lord answers Josiah that the curses read out of the book will certainly take hold. Josiah himself has a tender heart and trembles at the word, so he will go to his fathers in peace and will not see the evil.
One sin stands behind this sentence, and behind every judgment before it.
My readers may have noticed something in Scripture. Every time God showed His displeasure with Israel, down to the point we have traced in their history, the main cause was idolatry... Israel was meant to be a standing witness against idolatry, and a witness to the unity of the true God — Jehovah — who had chosen to call them His people and to call Himself their God. When they became hardened idolaters themselves, what was left but that God should give them up to judgment and desolation, as He did?
Josiah's own faithfulness was exceptional. It still did not change the verdict.
She faithfully gave them God's answer: He would bring calamity upon Israel, all the curses written in the book Josiah had heard read. The reason is plain: "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" (vv. 24-25). Not even the exceptional faithfulness of Josiah could avert this judgment.
Something was missing in the reform, and God said what it was. The change reached what people did, not what they loved.
The king's power had brought about a great reformation, but it left the hearts of the people mostly untouched... But why could not God rest in the outwardly improved state of the kingdom of Judah in Josiah's day? He looked beneath the surface. He looked for reality, for tenderness of conscience, for a heart subject to His word; and He found none. "The kindness of your youth, the love of your engagement," were missing. Nothing less than thoroughness will ever satisfy God.
The same word that announced this judgment had already broken the king. Not everyone answers it that way.
What a striking contrast! Josiah had a contrite heart, an awakened conscience, and torn garments, and he bowed down under the mighty working of the Word of God. Our modern skeptics and unbelievers do the opposite: with shocking boldness they dare to sit in judgement on that very same Word. Oh that men would be wise in time, and bow their hearts and consciences in reverent submission to the Word of the living God.
- Written — The disaster is nothing new. It is the curses already written in the book of Moses, lost for a generation and read aloud again to Josiah.
- Unbroken — Scripture can be neglected, but it cannot be broken. Years out of sight did not soften one line of it.
- Named — God gives the reason: they left Him for other gods. Idolatry lies behind almost every judgment that ever fell on this people.
- Unaverted — One man's exceptional faithfulness could not cancel the judgment. The nation's change was outward only.
- Personal — God did answer one tender heart. The word that sentenced the city was the word Josiah bowed under, and the call is to bow now, in time.
Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my fury shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.
Josiah had torn his clothes when the book was read aloud to him. He sent men to ask God what it meant for him and for the people. God's answer came back through the prophetess Huldah, and it begins here. It opens with a charge and a sentence, not with comfort. It also raises the hardest question of Josiah's reign: why could even his faithfulness not turn the judgement back?
God gives His reason before He gives the sentence. He names two charges: they abandoned Him, and they made offerings to other gods.
She faithfully gave the men God's answer. He would bring disaster on Israel — all the curses written in the book Josiah had heard read. God gives the reason plainly... Not even Josiah's exceptional faithfulness could turn this judgment aside.
The phrase is not a general word for bad behaviour. It carries a settled meaning across the Old Testament.
"The works of their hands"... is a phrase used only of pagan idolatry (Isaiah 2:8; Jeremiah 1:16; Deuteronomy 4:28; Psalm 115:4-7).
But hands are only the visible end of it. The root goes deeper than carved wood and metal.
The root of all idolatry is self-will; it is making a god of our own. It starts with self and fashions a god, not necessarily out of silver, and not necessarily with our hands... there is a tool more cunning and skilful than the hands, and that is the intellect of man. Wherever self takes the place of the will of God, you will find the human mind busy making a god to please itself. And it does this in the name of the Lord, in the name of the true God.
The wrath here is not a sudden reaction to one generation. Judah's guilt had a long history, and one earlier king weighs heaviest in it.
The first part of the message spoke of the ruin coming on the nation. Its cup of sin had been filling up for centuries. Manasseh's defiance of the Lord's Word, and his excessive evil, had made the cup overflow... So it was persistent and hopeless evil.
Josiah's faithfulness was real. Yet "will not be quenched" means what it says. An earlier king of Judah, Hezekiah, had already met the same limit.
Hezekiah had it in his heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, so that His fierce anger might turn away. But the sentence was already decreed. Neither Hezekiah's piety nor Josiah's could turn aside the judgement about to fall on Judah and Jerusalem. The most they gained was a delay.
Huldah's reply comes in two parts, and the change of address matters.
The first part begins with "tell the man." It states that the judgement will come and cannot be turned aside any more. The second part speaks to "the king of Judah." It reassures Josiah that God had accepted his humbling of himself, and would not bring the judgement in Josiah's day.
A settled sentence could have left Josiah doing nothing. It did not.
Josiah might have thought the case hopeless. He might have said that nothing could turn back the tide of wrath and judgement about to roll over Jerusalem and the land. He might have said that any move of his must prove useless, that the purpose was settled and the decree gone out, and that he had only to stand by and let things take their course. But Josiah did not reason like that... He humbled himself, tore his clothes, and wept. God took notice of this. Josiah's tears of repentance were precious to the Lord. The dreadful judgement still had to take its course, yet the penitent man escaped. And he did not only escape himself; he became the honoured instrument in the Lord's hand for delivering others as well. He did not give in to the harmful belief that nothing could be done. Instead, with a broken spirit and an earnest heart, he cast himself on God, confessing his own sins and the sins of his people.
- Cause. God gives the reason before the sentence: they forsook Him and made offerings to other gods. The judgement is explained, never arbitrary.
- Cup. The wrath answers evil that had been filling up for centuries. Manasseh made the cup overflow.
- Craft. "The works of their hands" is the language of idolatry. Its root is self-will — a god of our own making, often set up in the true God's name.
- Ceiling. Josiah's reform, like Hezekiah's, reached a limit. The sentence stood; the most it won was a delay.
- Contrition. What the reform could not cancel, a tender heart could still meet. Josiah refused to give up, wept, and escaped — and God used him to deliver others. Repentance stays open even when the sentence is fixed.
But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus shall ye say to him Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel touching the words which thou hast heard
God's reply to Josiah comes in two halves. First a word about the doomed city, then a word for the king himself, who had "sent you to inquire of the LORD." Why does God answer one man personally just after announcing that judgment on his nation still stands?
One writer sums up what God's Word produces, then marks off the two parts of Huldah's reply by the way each one begins.
The word of God brings about repentance and dependence. Huldah is the instrument who makes the Lord's mind known (using this gift in the sphere given to her). The message has two parts. The first begins with "tell the man." It says the judgement will come and can no longer be turned aside. The second speaks to "the king of Judah." It reassures Josiah that God had accepted his humiliation and would not bring the judgement in Josiah's day.
One writer asks who can interpret God's Word for us, and notes whom Josiah passed over.
And now who will interpret this Word for us? How do we "inquire of the LORD" about what we should do, when this Word tells us we have brought His displeasure on ourselves? The prophet alone, the representative of the Spirit of Christ (1 Peter 1:11), can interpret it for us. Josiah does not turn to Shaphan the scribe for this, or even to Hilkiah the high priest. He wants to be brought into direct contact with the Word.
The answer came through a woman at a time when the nation had sunk low, and the king raised no objection.
Here, too, we are struck that a woman held the prophetic office. It surely tells a tale. Things were low. But the grace of God was unfailing and abundant, and Josiah was so completely broken that he was ready to receive God's mind through whatever channel it reached him. This was morally lovely. To human eyes it might look very humiliating for a king of Judah to turn to a woman for counsel. But that woman held the mind of God. For a humble and contrite spirit like Josiah's, that was quite enough.
The same writer draws out the principle behind it, that God's guidance follows a certain kind of heart:
We may rest assured that here lies the true secret of divine guidance. "He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way." (Ps. 25:9) Were there more of this blessed spirit of meekness among us, there would be less confusion, less controversy, less striving about words to no profit.
God's message points back to the words Josiah had heard read aloud, and his response to that reading marks him out.
Here we have a tender conscience bowing under the action of the Word of God. This was one special charm in the character of Josiah… Josiah had no doubt at all that the words Shaphan had read aloud to him were genuine and truly from God. We do not read of his asking, "How am I to know that this is the Word of God?" No. He trembled at it. He bowed before it. It struck him down. He tore his garments. He did not presume to sit in judgement upon the Word of God, but, as was right, he allowed the Word to judge him.
The sentence on Jerusalem stood. Yet Josiah refused to treat a settled decree as a reason to do nothing.
It teaches us how much God values deep personal searching of soul and a broken heart. Josiah might have thought the case hopeless. He might have thought that nothing could turn aside the great tide of wrath and judgement about to roll over the city of Jerusalem and the land of Israel… and that, in short, he had only to stand by and let things take their course. But Josiah did not reason like that… He humbled himself, tore his clothes, and wept. God took knowledge of this. Josiah's tears of repentance were precious to the Lord. The dreadful judgement still had to take its course, yet the man who repented escaped. And he did not only escape himself. He became the honoured instrument in the Lord's hand to deliver others too.
Josiah had to send messengers across the city to find someone who could speak for God.
The messengers of the king knew who had the mind of God, and they went to Huldah the prophetess, who said to them, "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel" (2 Chr. 34:23). How good it was that the Lord had His servant ready to speak His word to the devout king! In the same way He had His interpreter ready for the Ethiopian official who wanted to know who the prophet Isaiah was speaking about (Acts 8:27-35). The word of God is now complete, and the Spirit of God is with us and in us. So we can come to Him at any time to know His mind and will for every situation in life.
- Heard — Josiah treated the words read to him as God's own, and let them judge him instead of judging them.
- Humbled — Broken in heart, he took God's mind through any channel, even one the world would call beneath a king.
- Inquired — He did not stop at grief; he sought direct contact with the Word to know what to do next.
- Heard by God — The message singles him out: the nation's sentence stands, yet God answers the one who repents.
- Helped others — His own escape was not the end: the Lord used him to deliver others too.
Because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy garments and weep before me, I also have heard [thee], saith Jehovah.
God had already announced judgment on Jerusalem, and nothing Josiah did could call it back. Yet He sent the king a personal message through the prophetess Huldah, and the reason He gives for hearing him is the state of his heart: tender, humbled, weeping.
The verse names tenderness as the reason God listened. One writer points out that this is not how hearts naturally are, and traces where Josiah's came from.
The heart of man is naturally hard toward God. The Apostle writes in Ephesians 4:18 that people are "alienated from the life of God… due to their hardness of heart." The Lord Jesus, in His parable of the Sower, spoke of the good seed of the Word falling along the path (Matthew 13:4). What could be harder, or less likely to be productive? In contrast with this, Josiah's heart was impressionable — surely the gracious work of the Holy Spirit of God. Jeremiah 23:29 compares the divine Word to a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. The Philippian jailer needed the hammer when Paul and Silas first dealt with him: not so King Josiah. His heart was already tender.
God had just told Josiah the sentence would fall anyway. He could have decided that grief was pointless.
Josiah might have thought the case hopeless. He could have reasoned that nothing would hold back the mighty tide of wrath and judgment about to roll over the city of Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Any move of his must prove useless; the divine purpose was settled and the decree had gone out. In short, he had only to stand by and let things take their course. But Josiah did not reason that way. No; he bowed before the divine testimony. He humbled himself, tore his clothes, and wept. God took knowledge of this. Josiah's tears of repentance were precious to the Lord. The terrible judgment had to run its course, yet the penitent escaped… He did not give himself over to a harmful fatalism. With a broken spirit and an earnest heart he cast himself upon God, confessing his own sins and the sins of his people.
God's answer reached beyond Josiah himself. Another writer compares him with an earlier king who also humbled himself.
Through Huldah the king learned that there was no turning back of the divine judgment. But God had taken account of his tender heart, of his repentance and his weeping, and the judgment would not take place in his day. God, in His mercy, delayed the judgment because of the faithfulness of good king Josiah. Hezekiah also delayed the coming judgment when he "humbled himself for the pride of his heart" (2 Chronicles 32:26). Yet Hezekiah's answer does not compare with Josiah's. Hezekiah seemed more concerned with himself. Of the judgment his folly would bring on his house he said, "The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good… if there will be peace and security in my days" (2 Kings 20:19).
The same writer treats these words as the foundation of everything Josiah later did.
Here we have the moral basis of Josiah's remarkable career, and there was certainly nothing of presumption in it. A contrite heart, weeping eyes, and torn garments do not go with presumption or self-confidence. No; they are the precious results of the Word of God acting on the heart and conscience, leading to a life of deep personal devotion.
Mackintosh applies this to anyone who wants others to feel what they have felt.
It is impossible for a man to feel the weight and seriousness of truth and not seek to bring others under its action. A man may hold a quantity of truth in the mind — hold it on the surface, hold it in a merely theoretical way. But this has no practical effect… we may be sure that the best way to make others feel deeply is to feel deeply ourselves.
Fereday turns the verse into a question for the reader.
Josiah felt the weight of Israel's disobedience through nine centuries. How should we feel as we look back over our own history in the nineteen centuries since Pentecost? What a record of departure from the Word of God! And what is the condition of things around us at this moment? Are our hearts tender? Do we know anything of holy trembling at the Word of God?
- Softened first. Hearts are hard toward God by nature. Josiah's tenderness was the Spirit's work before it was his own.
- Softened, so he bowed. Told the sentence stood, he refused fatalism and wept anyway — and God took knowledge of it.
- He bowed, so God heard. Tenderness, not achievement, is the reason given; his grief bought a delay for the whole nation.
- God heard, so others gain. Truth held only in the mind moves no one. Truth that is felt carries.
- The same question stands. Josiah trembled at the Word of God. The test now is whether our hearts still do.
Behold, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof. And they brought the king word again.
God's reply through the prophetess Huldah falls into two parts. He will bring disaster on the city and its people. But He has a separate word for the king who wept over the book of the law: not rescue from death, but shelter from what is coming. So what does "peace" mean for a man who later fell in battle?
God's reason for hearing Josiah is his heart, not his reforms. One writer shows how rare that softness is, and where it came from:
The human heart is hard toward God by nature. Note the Apostle's words in Ephesians 4:18: "They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart." ... Josiah's heart was different. It was easily moved — a gracious work of the Holy Spirit of God. Jeremiah 23:29 compares God's Word to a hammer: "Is not My word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" The Philippian jailer needed the hammer when Paul and Silas first had to do with him: not so King Josiah. His heart was already tender.
Huldah had just told Josiah that nothing could turn back the judgment on Jerusalem. He could have concluded that tears were pointless.
Josiah might have thought the case hopeless. He could have said that nothing would turn back the great tide of wrath and judgment about to roll over Jerusalem and the land of Israel. Any move of his must prove useless. God's purpose was settled, the decree had gone out, and he had only to stand by and let things take their course. But Josiah did not reason that way. He bowed before the divine testimony. He humbled himself, tore his clothes, and wept. God took notice of this. Josiah's tears of repentance were precious to the Lord. The dreadful judgment still had to run its course, but the penitent escaped.
The mercy is stated as something he will never see. One writer reads it alongside a line in Isaiah:
Josiah's heart was tender. He humbled himself before God at the words of the book of the law, tore his clothes and wept before Him. So the Lord responded kindly. He would let Josiah die before the threatened judgment fell on Judah, so that he would not see all the disaster that Judah's sin brought on. Isaiah describes the same thing: "The righteous man perishes, and no one lays it to heart; devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from calamity."
What comforts the king costs the kingdom:
The people did not deserve such a godly ruler. Their wickedness, despite the outward reform, called for judgment. So the righteous man was taken away from the evil to come. Seen this way, it was a mercy to the man himself. But for the nation, as people would see it, it was a terrible loss.
Josiah later died at Pharaoh Necho's hand. One writer holds together both the promise and the way Josiah died:
For another detail of God's government, look at the case of Josiah. He fell by the hand of Pharaoh Necho, even though God had said, "You shall be gathered to your grave in peace." But he was taken from the evil to come. The circumstances were painful, for it seems he should have listened to Pharaoh. God disciplined Josiah himself, yet Josiah did not see, as Daniel did, all that came upon Jerusalem. What a sparing from sorrow that was!
That promise also put a weight on Josiah's own life:
God had promised him that the judgments would not fall while he lived. He was twenty-six years old when Huldah spoke. Humanly speaking, many years of rule lay before him. Oh, why did he not walk carefully, knowing that so much depended on his life?
Knowing he would be spared did not make Josiah passive. One writer applies this to us:
Josiah heard that nothing could reverse the sentence against Jerusalem and Judah, and that he himself would be spared. That is when he humbled himself still further before the Lord. He set about a reformation with no parallel until then in the nation's history. ... Our comfort is not the promise of being gathered to the grave in peace, but the hope of being gathered to meet the Lord in the air. Yet surely the effect of such a hope is not to make the heart indifferent to the dishonour cast on Christ's name.
- Tender — God points to the heart, not the achievement, as His reason for hearing. A heart soft under His Word is His own work in a person.
- Heard — God never reversed the sentence on Jerusalem, yet He counted one man's tears. The judgment ran its course, and God still heard the penitent.
- Spared — the gift is what his eyes will never see, the pattern of the righteous taken away before the evil arrives.
- Costly — one man's shelter was the nation's loss; his life was the only thing standing between Judah and the outpouring, so his careless risk against Pharaoh cost far more than it looked.
- Stirred — knowing he would be spared, Josiah humbled himself further and pressed the reform on. A hope of rescue that leaves the heart cold to God's dishonour has missed the point.
And the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
Josiah has just heard the newly found book read aloud. God's answer came back through the prophetess Huldah: judgment is coming on Judah, but not in his lifetime — so his first act is to summon the nation's leaders.
The message from Huldah promised Josiah personal escape. He refused to settle there.
Josiah was a man thoroughly in earnest. He felt the power of truth in his own soul. He could not rest until he had gathered the people around him, so that the light which had shone on him might shine on them too. He could not rest in what was promised to him. He would go to his grave in peace. His eyes would not see the evil coming on Jerusalem. He would escape the terrible tide of judgement about to roll over the land. No, he thought of others, he felt for the people around him.
The verse names the elders first, and that order reflects the king's own place in the nation.
Josiah was king in Judah, so he represented all the people. He realised it was his responsibility to involve them all in hearing the Word of God. Beginning with the elders, he called the people to the house of the Lord. So he gathered the elders, the priests, the prophets and the common people. There Josiah himself read all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which would include the five books of Moses.
Josiah did not know how the crowd would react, and he acted anyway.
Whether or not they were all affected by this as he was, he considered it necessary that all the people should hear God's Word. This was the basis of any relationship with God.
Huldah's message was serious news about coming judgment. Josiah got to work instead of giving up.
Josiah did not sit down in despair because of the serious things which Huldah made known to him. The judgements would not fall just yet. Meanwhile the energetic young king would do his utmost to lead the people back into "the old paths." It is never too late to obey the Word of God.
One writer pictures what it would look like if leaders today did the same.
What a thrill of joy we would feel if we could read in the newspapers that kings and presidents were calling mass meetings in their capitals! Imagine them reading the badly neglected Word of God to the crowds. Imagine them pointing out, with all earnestness and seriousness, the things in which the people have gone astray, and calling them to return humbly to their God! This would produce far better results than the anxious talks of statesmen. They look for formulas that will bring about the appearance of peace for a while.
The assembly was not a meeting of officials only. Rank made no difference to who had to hear.
When Josiah heard the word of the Lord through Huldah, he sent and gathered the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. He called in the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. Then he read to them all the words of the book of the covenant found in the house of the Lord. All who were available heard that day the word of God from the lips of their king.
The energy of one believing man changed a whole country. The same writer is also honest about how deep the change went.
This shows what the devoted energy of faith in one man can do. He was a leader whose influence was great, though the eventual results among the people were not good. In the days of Josiah the Lord told Jeremiah, "Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense." Josiah had turned to God with his whole heart. Most of the people had not. They could — and did — easily go in the opposite direction when Josiah died.
- Heard. Josiah felt the power of truth in his own soul. The summons in this verse is what that conviction did next.
- Shared. His own escape from judgment was not enough for him. He wanted the light that shone on him to shine on the people around him.
- Gathered. As king he represented the whole nation. He began with the elders and widened the circle until everyone within reach had heard the book read.
- Acted. Judgment was coming anyway. He worked on regardless, because it is never too late to obey God's Word.
- Limited. One man's faith reformed a nation on the surface. But the Lord told Jeremiah that the people returned only in pretense, and they turned back as soon as Josiah died.
And the king went up into the house of Jehovah, and all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small; and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the house of Jehovah.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before Jehovah, to walk after Jehovah, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that are written in this book.
The book of the law had just turned up in the temple, and Josiah read it aloud to the whole nation. He then does more than command them: he takes a stand himself, and the chapter asks whether a public promise can hold a people's heart.
Josiah had read the law to the crowd. Then he bound himself to it in front of them. One writer draws the lesson from that order:
This is excellent. An ounce of example is worth more than a ton of precept. Joshua, in his final address to Israel, spoke in the same way: "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). Paul urged Timothy to "set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12). When the Lord Jesus was on earth the Jewish people had many teachers — scribes and Pharisees — whose teaching was good, but their own lives were bad. "So do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice" (Matthew 23:3). Let us above all things be real! God forbid that we should proclaim to others truths we do not know the power of in our own souls.
God had already told Josiah that he would escape the coming judgment. He could have rested there. He did not:
Josiah was a man thoroughly in earnest. He felt the power of truth in his own soul. He could not rest satisfied until he gathered the people around him, so that the light which had shone on him might shine on them too. He did not, and could not, rest in his own escape. He was to be gathered to his grave in peace. His eyes were not to see the evil coming on Jerusalem. He was to escape the terrible tide of judgment about to roll over the land. No, he thought of others, he felt for the people around him.
The agreement Josiah made was not a new arrangement. It was the old law of Moses taken up again by a nation that had already broken it, and commentators are candid about how little hope it carried:
He then made a covenant before the Lord, requiring all the people to ratify it. This was simply a renewal of the covenant of law, even though they had broken that law. Was there really any hope they would now keep it? No, but it was the only basis of blessing that God had given them at the time, and they were still responsible. God was allowing them every opportunity to change if it had been possible.
Another writer argues these covenants served a purpose that had nothing to do with succeeding:
This covenant was based on the law. That is why the people broke it as quickly as the covenant of Sinai, and as quickly as any other covenant made on the same terms. But these covenants give man an occasion to learn in depth what the flesh is. This is why the law, as an obligation, is necessary.
The words "with all his heart and all his soul" are true of Josiah. With the mass of the people it was a different matter:
On the young king's part this was all real, no doubt. But you only have to read the earlier part of Jeremiah's prophecy to see how hypocritical it was with the mass of the people. They had eagerly entered into covenants with the Lord before. The outcome was always the same — breakdown, and a wider departure from God than ever before.
A Christian is not called to copy Josiah by signing terms with God. What carries over is the devotion, not the agreement:
The king made a covenant to walk after the Lord "with all his heart" and "all his soul," and he made them all pledge themselves to it. We do not enter into a covenant with God. But we can "remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose" (Acts 11), not trusting in self but in His grace.
What Josiah's covenant could never do, God promises to do Himself:
A happy day is not far off. When the LORD establishes His new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, He will write His law in their very hearts. This means new birth; then the will of God will be their real delight.
- Heart first. Josiah asked the people for nothing he had not promised himself first. Example outweighs instruction.
- Heart shared. God told him he would escape the coming judgment. He refused to keep that light to himself and gathered the whole nation to hear.
- Heart tested. The covenant was the old law renewed. It was the only ground of blessing then available, and it taught man what the flesh is.
- Heart divided. The king meant every word; with the mass of the people it was hypocrisy, and such covenants had always ended in breakdown.
- Heart given. Christians make no covenant with God. They remain faithful to Him with steadfast purpose, and God promises a day when He writes His law inside the heart itself.
And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand [to it]. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
Josiah has read the law of the Lord aloud to the whole nation and pledged himself to keep it. Now he binds everyone with him to that same covenant — but what can one leader's zeal produce in other people, and how real is it?
Josiah knew the coming judgment would not fall in his lifetime. That relief did not stop with him.
Josiah was a man thoroughly in earnest. He felt the power of truth in his own soul. He could not rest until he had gathered the people around him, so that the light which had shone on him might shine on them too. He did not, he could not, rest in this: he was to go to his grave in peace, and his eyes were not to see the evil coming upon Jerusalem. No, he thought of others; he felt for the people around him. His own escape rested on his true repentance and humbling under the mighty hand of God. So he would use that same Word, which had worked so strongly in his own heart, to lead others to the same repentance and humbling.
Josiah declared his own intention before he asked anything of the crowd.
Josiah not only read the law of the Lord to the people, he also declared his own intention to obey it. "The king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after 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." This is excellent. An ounce of example is worth more than a ton of instruction.
The commitment was not a new arrangement. It was the old one, taken up again by a people who had already broken it.
He then made a covenant before the Lord, requiring all the people to ratify it (vv. 31-32). This was simply a renewal of the covenant of law, even though they had already broken that law. Was there really any hope they would now keep it? No, but it was the only basis of blessing God had given them at the time, and they were still responsible. God was allowing them every opportunity to change if it had been possible.
Here the king's zeal outran his understanding of the human heart.
Josiah's earnest zeal went further than telling the people his own intentions. He made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin stand to it. The king meant well, but how little he understood how changeable the human heart is! Other godly kings before him had made the people speak good resolutions before God. But how quickly they went back to wallowing in the mire! Yet Josiah's subjects voiced no hesitation. It was the old sad story of Sinai repeated. They had never learned the depths of their own evil, or the holiness of God. At the burning mountain all the people answered together, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." While Josiah lived, the people's behaviour was outwardly correct. But outward correctness will not do for God. Jeremiah's sad pages tell us how little the people's hearts loved the will of God.
Commentators read the people's obedience differently. Josiah could not see what we now see about human weakness, and God still gave these years a good record.
The good king brought the people into a covenant with God that day with the very best of motives. But he could not know, as we now know, how impossible it is for man in the flesh to walk after the Lord and keep His commandments with all his heart. They did not understand the weakness of their flesh. Yet it could still be written, "all his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers." God took account of the desires of the king's heart, and of those of a people who followed him.
Believers are not brought into a covenant like this one, but something takes its place.
The king made a covenant to walk after the Lord "with all his heart" and "all his soul," and he "caused all… to stand to it." We do not enter into a covenant with God. But we can have "purpose of heart" and "cleave to the Lord" (Acts 11), not trusting in self but in His grace.
- Word first. Josiah read the law of the Lord to the whole nation before he asked anything of anyone.
- Self first. He bound himself before he bound the nation; example outweighs instruction.
- Others next. His own escape was not enough. He worked to lead others to the same repentance.
- Stand, but on what? They stood to the law they had already broken. It was still the only ground of blessing God had given them.
- Standing needs strength. Their outward obedience lasted as long as the king did. Purpose of heart and clinging to the Lord take the place of a pledge, and the strength for it is His grace, not ours.
And Josiah removed all the abominations out of all the countries that belonged to the children of Israel, and made to serve all that were found in Israel, -- to serve Jehovah their God all his days they did not depart from following Jehovah, the God of their fathers.
This verse is the high point of Josiah's reforms. He sweeps the abominations out of every territory belonging to Israel and puts the people to the service of the LORD. For the rest of his life, they hold that course. Two questions follow. How far did one man's faith reach? And how deep did the people's obedience really go?
Josiah knew his own escape was secure. What he did with that knowledge is the first lesson here.
Josiah was a man thoroughly in earnest. He felt the power of truth in his own soul. He could not rest until he gathered the people around him, so that the light which had shone on him might shine on them too. He did not, he could not, rest in this: he was to be gathered to his grave in peace. His eyes were not to see the evil coming on Jerusalem. He was to escape the terrible flood of judgement about to roll over the land. No, he thought of others, he felt for the people around him.
The verse does not say Judah. It speaks of the territories that belonged to the children of Israel — a nation long since broken apart. Josiah worked on a map that no longer existed.
Josiah, like Hezekiah and Elijah, recognised the unity of the twelve tribes. He acted on that truth even when the state of things was deeply depressing and humiliating. He acted according to the unchanging truth of God, and not according to the practical state of God's people. He carried his reforming work into all the cities that belonged to Israel. And in speaking to the Levites, he charged them, at the opening of that marvellous day, to serve the Lord and His people Israel. Get hold of that point. He charges the Levites that they were to serve Jehovah, and not His people Judah, but "His people Israel."
The same writer asks what faith builds on, and sets Josiah beside others who acted the same way:
Did Elijah build on appearances when he built his altar of twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob? Did king Hezekiah build on appearances when he gave that fine command that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel? Did Josiah build on appearances when he carried his reforming work into all the countries that belonged to the children of Israel? Surely not. They built on the faithful Word of the God of Israel.
"All his days they did not turn away" sounds like total success. Commentators read it next to Jeremiah, who was prophesying in these very years.
The King meant well, but he hardly understood how changeable the human heart is! Other godly kings before him had made the people utter good resolutions before God. But how soon they returned to wallowing in the mire… While Josiah lived the people's behaviour was outwardly correct. But outward correctness will not do for God; Jeremiah's sad pages tell us how little the people's hearts loved the will of God.
The verse measures the reform by the length of Josiah's life — and that phrase cuts both ways.
This illustrates what the devoted energy of faith on the part of one man can do. He was a leader whose influence was great, though the eventual results among the people were not good. In the days of Josiah the Lord told Jeremiah, "her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense" (Jer. 3:10). Josiah had turned to God with his whole heart, but not so with the people generally. They could — and did — easily go in the opposite direction when Josiah died.
This was not a failure peculiar to Josiah. Another writer sees the same pattern again and again:
Men serve the Lord as long as the power of God in His servants turns their hearts to Himself. This holds whether these are judges or kings — Moses, Joshua, or David… Once the leader is gone, the mass relapses into departure from the living God.
- Received. Josiah knew he himself would escape the coming judgement. That assurance made him more concerned for others, not less.
- Released. He gathered the people around him, so that the light which had shone on him would shine on them too.
- Reached. His work went into every territory belonging to Israel, not just his own kingdom. His faith acted on God's word about the twelve tribes, not on appearances.
- Restrained. The people's obedience was real in behaviour but not in heart. Jeremiah, prophesying in these same years, said Judah returned only in pretense.
- Relapsed. The reform lasted exactly as long as the reformer. One man's devoted faith can hold a nation's course, but it cannot change a nation's heart.