Read 2 Kings 22
The Book of the Law Found
22 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord— 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes. 12 He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 13 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”
14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.
15 She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ 18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 19 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse and be laid waste—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”
So they took her answer back to the king.
Go Deeper
Following the assassination of King Amon, his father, Josiah assumed the throne at the age of eight (!) years old. If the thought of an eight-year-old ruling the land that you live in makes you nervous, you wouldn’t be alone. After 18 years on the throne, he ordered that repairs be made to the temple. Once the restoration project began, something happened that changed the trajectory of Josiah’s reign: He encountered the Book of the Law of the Lord.
According to Deuteronomy 31:24-27, there should have been a copy of the Law in the temple near the ark of the covenant. This book may have been there all along, and King Josiah just hadn’t seen it. It’s also likely that it had been buried or misplaced. Either way, let’s re-read what verse 11 says: “When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.” Remember, this book was the closest thing to the scriptures they would have had back then. These were God’s commandments and instructions that He had given to Moses. As soon as Josiah heard God’s Word, he realized just how far away they had drifted from God’s original intentions. It pierced his heart, and his response was one of lament and grief; so, he instantly threw himself into repentance.
God meets Josiah’s repentant heart with grace and mercy. He saw Josiah’s humility and decided to hold off on the judgment that was headed their way. God meets our own disobedience and straying from His Word with grace and mercy each time we respond with repentance. When we turn from sin and (like Josiah) say “no more”, we see the heart of a loving Father who cares for his children. This is such a powerful picture of what happens when we take sin seriously! We have an opportunity to use God’s Word (from Genesis to Revelation) as a mirror into our own lives and see how God wants to transform our hearts into ones that look more like His.
Questions
- What stands out most to you in this passage about Josiah’s repentance?
- When was the last time that, by coming face-to-face with God’s Word, you realized you needed to repent?
- Where have you drifted from God’s original intentions over time? How has sin crept into your own life? Take some time today to repent and humble yourself before God like Josiah did.
By the Way
Deuteronomy 31:9-13 says that the Law was to be read publicly every seven years during the Feast of Tabernacles. While we don’t know how often it was actually read, there are instances of it being recorded in scripture. In 2 Chronicles 34:30 we are told that the Law was read publicly during King Josiah’s reign.
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5 responses to “2 Kings 22”
10 ” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
Wow! To be king and yet to be humble enough to sit and be read to from the book. To listen to it and be instructed by it as well as moved by it, may I approach God’s word like Josiah!
We know that he was from a very disfuntional family, so how did this happen at 8 years of age?
2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
BUT GOD
Hearing the word of God is super important, Moses law was not followed for many years but when Josiah heard with his ears he actually Shema, heard with obedience to follow and do.
11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his robes.
When Josiah heard the written word, he didnt make excuses but instead he repented. He renewed the covenant, pledging himself and his people to follow the Lord “with all his heart and all his soul” (2 Ch 34:31).
BUT GOD
Life is about choices. You can raise a child in the way he should go but he has the choice to follow or not follow. But he also will reap the consequence of his actions.
BUT GOD
God shows up in the repentance no matterr the age, 8-100. I pray that the “prodical son” will change his choice and come back to following God no matter what the age he is.
BUT YOU GOD!! are so great, amazing, worthy of blessing, honor and praise. God thank You for Your Holy Word and how hearing, reading, seeing and gaining some comprehension makes it come to life. God thank You for opening the eyes of my understanding for what You would have me do each day in all the minutes of this day. God thank You for the shema hearing, the love goggles to see Your people and the right words to speak. God thank You for today in Jesus name amen.
WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
“Josiah… renewed the covenant, pledging himself and his people to follow the Lord with all his heart and all his soul.”
I love this point, Amy!
This verse in The Message reads, “The king stood by his pillar and before God solemnly committed himself to the covenant: to follow God believingly and obediently; to follow his instructions, heart and soul, on what to believe and do; to confirm with his life the entire covenant, all that was written in the book.”
-2 Chonicles 34:31
This passage is both descriptive and instructive:
Stand before God.
Commit to the covenant.
Follow God, believing and obeying.
Follow God’s instructions wholeheartedly—in belief and action.
Confirm the covenant with his life.
Such is Josiah’s response to this “long overdue” encounter with the Word of God.
What might my life look like if I receive and respond to God’s word EVERY DAY?
There are 3 characters in this chapter with distinct qualities worth remembering:
•Josiah-he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, not turning aside to the left or the right.
•Supervisors of the workers-were honest in their dealings
•Huldah-a court prophetess who spoke boldly and truthfully on behalf of God
As we read God’s word, may it inspire us to be faithful stewards of all he’s entrusted to us, to love him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.
Kingdom Construction: God Meets Us in the Middle of the Work
What struck me first in this chapter is that Josiah “walked in the way of David his father.” At first I thought, how could he even do that? How would Josiah have known David’s example so clearly?
Then I looked it up — there were about a thousand years between their reigns. A thousand! I find it amazing that Josiah even knew David’s name, much less felt such a deep connection that he shaped his whole kingship after him.
And then I noticed the timing. Josiah became king at age 8. Eighteen years later, at just 26, he sets out to restore the temple. What happened in that long in-between stretch? Nearly a generation passed before this turning point came. Something was being formed in him during those years.
And then there’s the scale of what he took on. This wasn’t a casual project. Restoring the temple was a massive, costly rebuild — the kind of “institutional construction” that is never insignificant. And it was while Josiah was doing this hard, faithful work that the Book of the Law was discovered. He didn’t set out looking for a grand spiritual moment. He was about the Lord’s business, and that’s when God’s Word came crashing into his story.
That sequence undoes me. A king across a millennium inspires Josiah. Years of quiet preparation shape him. Then in the thick of obedience, God’s Word breaks through and everything changes.
I can’t help but ask: am I willing to serve faithfully in the “in-between” years, to take on the heavy work in front of me, and to let God’s Word disrupt me right there in the middle of it all?