2 Kings 22:1-20 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 2 Kings 22:1-20. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
2 Kings 22:1-20 (NIV)
1 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 walked in all 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 acting faithfully.”
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, Acbor 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 our fathers 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, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophetess Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.
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 provoked me to 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 accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD.
20 Therefore I will gather you to your fathers, 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.
On verses 1-20: At just eight years old Josiah becomes king of Judah. At age 26, Josiah leads a campaign to repair the temple of the Lord. As the temple is being repaired, workers in the temple recover an old Book of the Law, which most likely contained the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Pentateuch. (Some scholars say that during the reign of Josiah’s father King Manasseh, Manasseh tried to destroy all copies of the Pentateuch, and this one copy may have been the only one left.)
As Josiah reads this Book of the Law, his heart is moved. In an act of repentance and mourning, Josiah tears his robes and weeps. Josiah realizes that his nation is incurring the wrath of God because they and their ancestors have not lived in accordance with God’s commands found in this book.
So Josiah inquires of the Lord by seeking the advice of Huldah, a prophetess. Huldah informs Josiah that, just as Josiah suspected, disaster is awaiting the people of Judah because they have turned to worship other gods and disobeyed God’s commands. Huldah also tells Josiah that because Josiah humbled himself in response to God’s Word, tearing his robes and weeping in God’s presence, his generation would not see the disaster that would come to the people of Judah in their lifetime.
What can we learn from this? God honours those whose hearts are soft and responsive to God’s Word. Just as the hearing of God’s Word moved Josiah to action — tearing his clothes, weeping and seeking godly advice — may we have hearts that are soft and responsive to God’s Word. May nothing impact our hearts more than God’s Word, and may we long for nothing more than we long for God’s Word.
Father, I pray that my heart would always be soft and responsive toward Your Word. May nothing impact my heart more than Your Word, and may I long for nothing more than I long for Your Word. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
