2 KINGS 22
Read 2 Kings 22:1-20
These were volatile days in the Middle East. The dominant political power in the area swayed between Assyria and Egypt, and now Babylon had come to the fore. And there was volatility in the ruling powers of Judah as well. After about half a century of rampant paganism under Manasseh and then his son Amon we get a swing to a very good king. Josiah is one of the eight kings of the southern kingdom who “did what is right in the eyes of the Lord”, but it is only he and Hezekiah who are mentioned in the same breath as the greatest king of the age, David.
After many years of neglect the Temple was repaired under Josiah. During the course of these repairs a book was discovered. It was given to the high priest Hilkiah, who read it and gave it to Josiah’s secretary Shaphan. These two obviously saw that the book was important and so Shaphan went to the king and read some of it to Josiah. When he heard what was on the pages of the book, Josiah tore his robes, which was the standard symbol of mourning and repentance. That was quite a reaction. What was this book that moved the king to such a state? Some people think that it may have been the Book of Deuteronomy – we don’t know, but it evidently contained instructions and laws from God; and Josiah noted that previous generations had not acted in accordance with these godly instructions. That is why he tore his robes.
He set up a five man commission to look into this book and to make enquiries of the Lord as to how to move forward with these instructions. Josiah recognised this book as being the word of the Lord and wanted to be in the right place with the Lord. Unlike his immediate predecessors, obeying God was important to Josiah, and we will see in the next chapter that he instituted sweeping reforms to be compliant with God’s word. God’s word has the power to convict people and to make them see the truth. That is why it is so important for Christians to speak out in a society that so often goes against God’s word. Often it is because of ignorance. Up to now, because of the evil kings Manasseh and Amon, the people did not have the opportunity to hear God’s word. And the same goes for our own society. For several generations now, church attendance has been declining. Generally, children don’t go to Sunday school and have no knowledge of the Bible. People go against God’s word often because they don’t know any better. They have never heard God’s word. ‘Faith comes by hearing’, said the apostle Paul (Romans 10:17), so it is important that people are given every opportunity to hear the word of God, and then they may be convicted of their sin.
The investigating committee consulted a prophetess to hear God’s own word on the subject. And the news was not good. The prophecy that God made in Manasseh’s time about the destruction of Jerusalem would stand, but as with Hezekiah, there would be a stay of execution. Because Josiah had been loyal to the Lord and had responded positively to the word discovered in this book found during renovations to the Temple, the disaster that would befall Jerusalem would not happen in his lifetime. Josiah would be spared seeing God’s terrible judgement on his people with own eyes.