Deeper Commentary
2Ki 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; and he
reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the
daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath-
Josiah means 'foundation of Yah'. It's unlikely this was the name Amon
gave him, although a repentant Manasseh may have influenced it. However, at
no point did even kings like Amon and Manasseh formally deny Yahweh. They
worshipped Him, so they thought, through worshipping idols. So it is not
impossible that indeed this was Josiah's birth name. And from that we can
take yet another warning, to serve Yahweh with our whole hearts; and not
assume that our service of the flesh is serving Him.
2Ki 22:2 He did that which was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and walked in
all the way of David his father, and didn’t turn aside to the right hand or
to the left-
There
is a huge imputation of righteousness to human beings, reflected right
through Scripture. God sought them, the essence of their hearts, and was
prepared to overlook much ignorance and misunderstanding along the way.
Consider how good king Josiah is described as always doing what was right
before God, not turning aside to the right nor left- even though it was not
until the 18th year of his reign that he even discovered parts of
God’s law, which he had been ignorant of until then, because the scroll
containing them had been temporarily lost (2 Kings 22:2,11).
Josiah is described as having done "that which was right in the eyes of
Yahweh"- even though he was ignorant of part of God's word and law (2
Kings 22:2,10-13), not knowing
all
"that is enjoined us to do" (2 Kings 22:13 RVmg.), and not knowing all
that was in "the book of the covenant" (2 Kings 23:2). Full knowledge,
even of some quite important things, didn't stop Josiah from being
credited with doing what was right before God and not 'turning aside to
the right hand or to the left'. He was judged according to
how well he responded to that which he
did know. And this may be a helpful
window for us into how we should feel towards those who sincerely seek to
follow the Lord and yet with imperfect knowledge.
2Ki 22:3 It happened in the eighteenth year of king Josiah that the king
sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the
house of Yahweh, saying-
We wonder if Meshullam was a relative of Meshullemeth, the female form
of Meshullam, who was Josiah's grandmother (2 Kings 21:19). Shaphan was the
father of Ahikam (:12) and the Gemariah of Jer. 36:10-12) and the
grandfather of Gedaliah of Jer. 39:14; 40:5,9,11. Shaphan would have been
elderly, as 35 years later his grandson Gedaliah was set up as governor of
Judah by the Babylonians.
2Ki 22:4 Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the money which
is brought into the house of Yahweh, which the keepers of the threshold have
gathered of the people-
Hilkiah is well attested as the one who found the lost book of the law
(2 Kings 22:8), helped in Josiah's reforms (2 Kings 22:14-20) and arranged
the great Passover observance of 2 Chron. 35:1-19. But Hilkiah did all this
despite being the son of a High Priest called Shallum (1 Chron. 6:12,13),
whose name can mean 'bribe' (s.w. Mic. 7:3 about the corruption of the
priesthood). Perhaps this was what he was known for. But his son /
descendant rose above that bad background, as we can. The "scribe" or
historian was a senior advisor in the Hebrew court (2 Sam. 8:17; 2 Kings
18:18,37; 2 Chron. 34:8) because of the huge value attached to history in
the Hebrew mind, and as reflected in the Bible being largely history.
Advice on how to act was to be based upon historical, or as we would now
say, "Biblical", precedent.
2Ki 22:5 Let them deliver it into the hand of the workmen who have the
oversight of the house of Yahweh; and let them give it to the workmen who
are in the house of Yahweh, to repair the breaches of the house-
The half shekel temple tax was to be paid when a census was taken, and
it seems this is what he did. 2 Chron. 34:9 notes the generosity of the
people even in the northern tribes, as well as the Israelites living in
Judah ["the remnant of Israel"].
2Ki 22:6 to the carpenters, to the builders and to the masons, and for
buying timber and cut stone to repair the house-
2 Chron. 34:10 says this was because "the kings of Judah had destroyed"
the temple. The destruction of the temple by these kings may not have been
because they totally rejected Yahweh. The essence of their apostacy, as
ours, was to use the things of Yahweh for idolatry, to mix paganism and
the way of the flesh with Yahweh worship. So it is likely that when we
read of men like Manasseh building other temples or shrines to idols in
the vicinity of the temple, what happened was that they took the materials
from the temple structure and used them for the idol temples. For
materials like cut stone and timber were expensive and hard to source;
Solomon had spent huge effort in bringing them from far away to build
Yahweh's temple.
2Ki 22:7 However there was no accounting made with them of the money that
was delivered into their hand; for they dealt faithfully-
This is exactly the same as happened in 2 Kings 12:15. This may be in implied contrast to the priests and Levites who had
not done the work at that time, perhaps because of embezzlement of the funds. The money was delivered to these overseers directly from the
one who had received and counted in, and not via the priesthood.
2Ki 22:8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found
the book of the law in the house of Yahweh. Hilkiah delivered the book to
Shaphan, and he read it-
All spiritual endeavour leads to the Lord inviting us deeper into that
endeavour; thus it was as Barnabas and Paul went about their
ministering to the Lord that they were invited to go on a missionary
journey (Acts 13:2). Likewise it was as the Levites were in process
of collecting funds for repairing the temple, that they found the book of
the law- perhaps because they needed more space in which to store the
donations, and whilst making space they found the scroll.
In the process of being a deacon, faith is developed (1 Tim. 3:13). The
very process of service and obedience leads to greater faith in practice.
2Ki 22:9 Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word
again and said, Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in
the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the
oversight of the house of Yahweh-
There is an apparent parallel between money being found in the temple,
and the book of the law being found (2 Kings 22:8,9). The idea is that as
David often says in Ps. 119, Yahweh's law was the greatest treasure. So
much so that the Chronicles record focuses so much on the book of the law
being found that no mention is made of the money also found along with it.
Even in Kings, the discovery of the money is only mentioned in passing, as
if the greatest discovery was not wealth, but God's law. And that is an
abiding principle.
2Ki 22:10 Shaphan the scribe told the king saying, Hilkiah the priest has
delivered a book to me. Shaphan read it before the king-
This book was probably not the entire Pentateuch, but the curses for
disobedience in Dt. 28, for Josiah's response is appropriate to someone
who had just heard them read. But see on :5. Jer. 15:16 refers to this:
"Your words were found, and I did eat them... [they] were to me the joy
and the delight of my heart: for I am called by Your name, Yahweh".
Jeremiah rejoiced in those words of judgment. And as a result, “I am
called by Your name”- the language of a woman marrying and taking her
husband’s name (Is. 4:1). The word of God was his “joy [and] delight”- two
words used four times elsewhere in Jeremiah, and always in the context of
the joy of a wedding (Jer. 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; 33:11). Jeremiah saw his
prophetic task as actually a marriage to God, an inbreathing of His word
and being, to the point that he could say that he personally was “full of
the wrath / passion of God” (Jer. 6:11).
Jeremiah's lament that the people had no joy or delight in God's word
(Jer. 6:10) is the basis for this comment that when he found
God's words, they were his joy.
What was read were the curses for disobedience. The harder side of the Father and the Lord Jesus should actually serve as an attraction to the serious believer. Peter knew that if it really was the Lord Jesus out there on the water, then He would bid him walk on the water to Him. Peter knew his Lord, and the sort of things He would ask men to do- the very hardest things for them in their situation. He knew how Jesus could be a demanding Lord. Jeremiah “knew that this was the word of the Lord” when he was asked to do something so humanly senseless- to buy property when he was in prison, when the land was clearly about to be overrun by the Babylonians (Jer. 31:8). When Jeremiah had earlier found the curses for disobedience recorded in the book of the Law which had been lost, He 'ate them', those words of cursings were "the joy and rejoicing of my heart" - they so motivated him (Jer. 15:16 = 2 Chron. 34:18-21). When Ananias and Sapphira were slain by the Lord, fear came upon "as many as heard these things" .
2Ki 22:11 It happened, when the king had heard the words of the book of the
law, that he tore his clothes-
Although Josiah was personally innocent, he felt so passionately for
God's people. We too need to have hearts that bleed for others, and not be
solely concerned with our own standing before God. For our standing before
Him involves our attitudes to others and our concern for their salvation,
if we truly seek God's glory and not our own. See on :2.
2Ki 22:12 The king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of
Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah
the king’s servant saying-
We note Josiah didn't go to her himself. For the significance of
this, see on :15.
2Ki 22:13 Go inquire of Yahweh for me, and for the people, and for all
Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found; for great is the
wrath of Yahweh that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not
listened to the words of this book, to do according to all that which is
written concerning us-
"Poured out" in Chronicles is "kindled" in 2 Kings; the sense was that he realized
the wrath of God was kindled and was literally about to burn against them,
and so repentance must be immediate with no time to lose.
2Ki 22:14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went
to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son
of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the
second quarter); and they talked with her-
"The second quarter" may refer to a newer area of Jerusalem (Zeph.
1:10 RV), or as AV "the college", implying as a prophetess she had a kind
of Bible study centre. "Keeper of the wardrobe" may refer to the priestly
garments (cp. 2 Kings 10:22).
2Ki 22:15 She said to them, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the
man who sent you to Me-
We see here how Josiah had no direct vision from God. He
was dealing all the time through the prophetic word relayed to him, and
his obedience to it is the more commendable. Because it reflects his
humility to God's revealed word, in a way more impressive than if these
words had come directly to him. We are in his position, and should learn
from him.
2Ki 22:16 Thus says Yahweh, Behold, I will bring evil on this place and on
its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah
has read-
2 Chron. 34:24 adds: "even all the curses that are written in the
book which they have read before the king of Judah". The reference to
curses suggests that the scrolls discovered contained at least Dt. 28 and
Dt. 27:15-26.
2Ki 22:17 Because they have forsaken Me, and have burned incense to other
gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their
hands, therefore My wrath shall be kindled against this place, and it
shall not be quenched-
God can be grieved [s.w. 'provoke to anger']. He has emotions, and His
potential foreknowledge doesn't mean that these feelings are not
legitimate. They are presented as occurring in human time, as responses to
human behaviour. This is the degree to which He has accommodated Himself
to human time-space limits, in order to fully enter relationship and
experience with us. As He can limit His omnipotence, so God can limit His
omniscience, in order to feel and respond along with us.
Idolatrous Israel never consciously tried to provoke Yahweh to anger with their apostasy; the words of the prophets must have seemed to them a gross exaggeration. But this was really how God saw it (2 Chron. 34:25).
Although "it shall not be quenched", Josiah knew God well enough to try
to quench it, by getting all His people to make a from the heart
commitment to Him.
2Ki 22:18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Yahweh,
thus you shall tell him, Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: Concerning
the words which you have heard-
See on :15 for the significance of Josiah not receiving these words
directly.
2Ki 22:19 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before
Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its
inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and have
torn your clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard you, says Yahweh-
We see here the mutuality between God and man; He hears the man who
hears Him. We see the root of humility as being in having a heart / mind
sensitive to Him. But "tender heart" is the same phrase used for being
"faint hearted" in time of battle (Dt. 20:3; Is. 7:4; Jer. 51:46). It was
as if Josiah saw the judgment of God coming, as if it had come, and was
faint hearted before the soldiers he saw coming against him. And yet even
such a tender heart can be given by God (s.w. Job 23:16), for He can also
give attitudes of mind by His sovereign operation .
Josiah’s zealous reforms started with reading “the book of the
covenant” (2 Kings 23:2), probably the list of curses which were to come
for disobedience (2 Kings 22:19 = Lev. 26:31,32). In this sense Paul
used the terror of possible condemnation to persuade men (2 Cor. 5:11).
Interestingly, the very words which Jeremiah was tempted not to speak
forth, so stern was their message of judgment to come, were what had the
power to lead Israel to repentance (Jer. 26:2,3).
2Ki 22:20 Therefore behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall
be gathered to your grave in peace, neither shall your eyes see all the evil
which I will bring on this place’. They brought back this message to the
king-
There are times when God takes away the righteous from the evil of this life
(Is. 57:1- probably alluding to what God did to Joash, 2 Kings 22:20 cp.
23:29). There are other Biblical instances where the wicked have long life
and prosperity in this world. This is because the Bible presents the
ultimate judgment and reward of human life and faith as being at the last
day, and not right now.
This is a similar situation to the promise to Hezekiah and Ahab (1 Kings 21:29). It is as if God judged the entire weight of sin to be such that even Josiah's reformation could only delay and not remove the judgment for it. However, if the people had all repented in their hearts, rather than passively allowing a reformer like Josiah to remove the external evidence of idolatry, then surely the outcome could have been different. See on :31.
The reality was that Josiah died in battle, not in peace (2 Chron. 35:22-24). Yet he had been promised to be gathered to his grave in peace (2 Chron. 34:28). Here we have an example of God making a statement about the future which is conditional upon human behaviour. Thus He stated that Nineveh would be destroyed in 40 days; but it wasn't, because they repented. There is a gap between the pronouncement and its fulfilment, and in that gap our behaviour can change the outcome. We too must waste so many potential futures.
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