Respond to the Book

2 Chronicles 34, “Respond to the Book!”

One of the passions shared between my wife, my daughter, and myself is our love of reading. We don’t always enjoy the same books, but each of us (in our own ways) love getting swept up for hours at a time, lost in novels that often take us to different lands and different adventures. My father also had a great passion for reading, and I lost count the number of times I would find him in his chair, legs crossed, reading a book.

Of course, not all books are created equal. Some are dry to the point of being impossible to read; others are fluff without substance (and sometimes, without morality!) not being worth the read. But there is one that stands above the rest: the Bible. This Book of books is not only worth the time and effort to read, it is a book in which we should live. This is a Book we should read daily, repeatedly, knowing that God will always speak to us from its pages. As Jesus said during His own wilderness temptation (quoting Deuteronomy), “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God,” (Mt 4:4).

As valuable as the Bible is, is it just a book that we should read? Should we treat it like our favorite novel, enjoying our time in it, then setting aside to go on with our day? Of course not…this is a book to read and to obey. Our interaction with the word of God is not only to read it, but to respond to it. This is a book that demands a response.

King Josiah of Judah understood this principle. When he was suddenly faced with the word of God, he understood an immediate need to respond to what he heard, turning back to God in repentance and faith. Moreover, he knew he needed to lead his nation in doing the same. He couldn’t just hear the word of God and do nothing; he had to respond.

Contextually, the Chronicler is coming near the end of his history of Israel and Judah. Ever since the split between the kingdoms, the southern kingdom of Judah had been on a roller coaster ride. Whereas all the kings of the north were evil idolaters, the southern kings ranged between totally depraved to mostly good (though none was perfect). Following the fall of the northern kingdom to Assyria, the southern kingdom experienced the full range of the proverbial roller coaster all in one king: Manasseh. His reign began with him being the worst of the worst. The Chronicler wrote of Manasseh that he did more evil than all the nations that the Lord had previously destroyed before Israel (33:9). Then, the miraculous happened: Manasseh was humbled and came to a point of sincere repentance and faith. He spent the rest of his life trying to undo the evil he once enjoyed and promoted.

Manasseh died in honor after a long 55-year reign and was followed by his son Amon who went straight back to those previous sins of paganism. In contrast to the lengthy reign of his father, Amon had only two years on the throne when he was suddenly cut down by the people of his land. Interestingly, the Chronicler does not describe his death by using the word that would commonly be translated “murder,” but rather describes it as a more generic killing. Apparently, the nation saw the death as justified, being a righteous execution, Amon having earned the death penalty that was given him.

Of course, following the death of one king is the rise of another. In this case, it posed a challenge. As our text shows, Amon’s son Josiah was only eight years old at the time of his father’s death. As it turned out, it was to Josiah’s advantage as he did not have the evil influence of his father around. Instead, Josiah’s heart turned to the Lord…which eventually led him to the word of the Lord. And when Josiah heard the words of God from the Bible, his life was forever changed…exactly as it ought to have been.

May we be more than just hearers of the word; may we be those who respond to God’s word! God’s word demands a response of faith. Let us give it to Him!

2 Chronicles 34

• Josiah’s initial reforms (1-7).

1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

1. At only eight years of age, Josiah was a young king! Of course, this was an act of necessity, as his father Amon was only 24 when he was executed by the people of the land. Being of such a young age, it was doubtful that Josiah exercised full kingly authority as a pre-teen. Most likely, the high priest (Hilkiah?) or other competent royal advisors served as stewards until Josiah came of age.
2. He reigned for 31 years, which seems like a lengthy reign…until we put it into perspective of his ascension to the throne at age 8. Josiah was thus only 39 when he died, still relatively young in terms of our own culture. Considering the battles that ancient kings were known to participate, a death at age 39 is not terribly outside the average.
3. Notably, Josiah was a good king. “He did what was right in the sight of the LORD,” having the same description as other various good kings of Judah. What causes Josiah to stand out from the rest of the crowd is the faithful king to whom he was compared: not his own immediate family, but according to “his father David.” This is something the Chronicler says of very few kings: only Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, and Josiah. David was the standard of a king who sought the Lord with all his heart. David wasn’t perfect (who is?); but he was a worshipper who desired to live for his Lord. Very few of his descendants followed his example. Others inherited his throne, but not his zeal for God.

3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images.

1. Although Josiah ascended to the throne at age 8, it was at age 16 that his faith became his own. That was when “he began to seek” the Lord. Prior to that point, he might have mirrored the prayers and acts of the adults caring for him, but at some point he could no longer rely on the faith of his mother and counselors. He needed his own faith in God (just like each of us!).
2. At age 20, Josiah put his personal faith into practice, taking action against the idolatry rampant throughout the land. He believed in the Lord, seeking the Lord. That was good…but as king, it was his responsibility to help others in his land seek the Lord as well. That meant he needed to take away the various stumbling blocks. (And there were a lot of them!)

4 They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.

1. Although his grandfather Manasseh had cleaned up much of his mess, he hadn’t gotten rid of all of the evil he initially instituted in the land. Additionally, Amon redoubled his own efforts in idolatry, even though he only had two years in which to do it. What’s more, it is apparent that the people readily agreed to it. After all, there wouldn’t be so many false images in the land if the people weren’t going to them for worship.
2. What did Josiah do regarding these things? He didn’t just remove the idols; he destroyed them to the point of mimicking Moses with the golden calf, making dust of these things. (Only, Josiah didn’t make anyone drink it!) He left behind nothing that might be reused again in paganism.
3. When Josiah burned the bones of the idolatrous priests on their false altars, this was a fulfillment of prophecy made centuries earlier during the reign of Jeroboam I of Israel. After the rebellion against Rehoboam son of Solomon and the division of the kingdom into north and south, the new King Jeroboam feared that his new subjects might give their loyalty back to the house of David when returning to Jerusalem for their semi-annual feasts and worship. So, Jeroboam fashioned two golden calves, placing one towards his southern border in Bethel and the other toward his northern border in Dan, demanding that the 10 northern tribes offer their worship at either one of the two idols. This this, God sent a prophet to Jeroboam, proclaiming judgment. 1 Kings 13:2, “Then he cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’ ”” In 1 Kings 13:3, a sign was also proclaimed, saying how the hearers could know the prophecy would be fulfilled: the false altar would split. Sure enough, the altar split that very day in the presence of the prophet, and the word from God was confirmed. Its fulfillment came ~300 years later when the specific king named by the prophet burned men’s bones exactly where the prophet said they would be burned.
   1. Never doubt the word of God! We might not always understand the timing of prophetic fulfillment, but we can be sure that true prophecy is always fulfilled.

6 And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with axes. 7 When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

6. Don’t miss the mention of the northern tribes. Although this was implied with Josiah’s fulfillment of prophecy in v5, burning the bones of the idolatrous priests on the false altars built by Jeroboam, it becomes explicit in v6. Remember that the empire of Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel nearly a century prior. The northern kings are gone, thus the old divisions are (mostly) gone. Josiah now acts in his role as the Davidic king that he is: king of all Israel. He ventured into the northern lands, even crossing the Jordan river to the remnants of the Israeli/Samaritan kingdom, taking away the various pagan altars and images throughout the territory.

• Discovery of the Book (8-18).

8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.

1. At age 26, with the major work of cleansing the land of idolatry completed, Josiah turned his attention to the temple, calling important men to the task. Was this delegated? Yes, but the king was right there in Jerusalem to receive regular reports, giving his own supervision.
2. As to the progression of first removing the idolatry, then repairing the temple, this is wisdom. We are all going to worship something, even if it is the wrong thing. Josiah removed the existing idolatry, but the people might easily replace it with something new. By restoring the temple, Josiah ensured that the nation could worship God in truth, rather than returning to deception.

9 When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem.

1. Of note is the fact that money had indeed been brought to the temple. Whatever happened in the past resulting in disrepair, people now gave of their own finances to ensure the temple’s restoration. On what basis the money was received, we aren’t told. Perhaps it came from a nationwide collection of the tithe (even extending into the northern tribes), but it also could have simply been received over time. In any case, the funds that had come to the temple had been treated faithfully, without abuse from either the king or the Levites. It went exactly into the hands of those who needed it…

10 Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the LORD; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the LORD, to repair and restore the house. 11 They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.

1. All the money collected from the nation was the budget for the repair work, basically being 100% designated for ‘building project.’ The priests didn’t receive any of these funds (although normally they would indeed receive the tithe); the workers did, which they used to purchase materials and (likely) pay for labor.
2. In this, don’t miss the tidbit that states why all the repairs were necessary: the kings of Judah tore up the house of God. “…the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.” The temple did not lie in disrepair because of invading armies from the outside. In this case, the enemy was from within. The Davidic kings – the Messianic kings – the kings that had the responsibility for leading their nation in the proper worship of God, were the very kings that “destroyed” the temple of God. It is a tragic commentary on the history of the kings. They truly failed in their responsibility.

12 And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. And some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers.

1. To note that the craftsmen did the work “faithfully,” not only speaks of the quality of their work, but the faithfulness of their stewardship. 2 Kings 22:7 describes how the workers had proven themselves so trustworthy that no special efforts needed to be made for their accounting. The money that was delivered to them would surely be used well. (Would that every Christian worker (be it a tradesman or executive) would have similar reputations!)
2. Interestingly, the Levites are not said to have done the work (because these were skillsets they did not have), but they did oversee the work. Ultimately, the Levites had responsibility for all that went on at the temple grounds. This included more than singing and slaughtering animals in sacrifice; it involved supervision of the repair project. Of course, all this work was ministry. Whatever we do for the Lord is service…literally, it is ministry.

14 Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan.

1. In the process of all this repair and restoration work, as money was being moved from treasury chest to treasury chest, Hilkiah the priest ran across a (likely dust-covered) scroll that, upon opening, he immediately recognized as part of the Bible. The English word “bible” is the rendering of the Greek biblos (βίβλος) which simply means “book.” Our “Holy Bible” is the “Holy Book,” our ‘Book’ being a collection of 66 books given to holy men as God breathed out His word upon them. It is the Book of books, the premier Book of all the books of the earth, the most attested Book in all history, which stands head and shoulders above the rest. When Hilkiah found “the Book of the Law of the LORD,” he had (in some measure) found the Bible (or, at least a part of it).
2. As wonderful as it was for the Book to be found, how tragic it was that it was lost! Technically, it wasn’t really lost (because it was found in the temple…the very place we would expect to find the Bible); it was all but abandoned through disuse. It had become ‘optional’ for worship, so much so that even in times of great revival (such as the end of Manasseh’s life and the start of Josiah’s reign) that no one thought to even open up the Book of the Law and read from it. If nothing else, it demonstrates that even in their ‘good’ periods of history, the kings and priests of Judah relied almost entirely upon tradition, rather than the word of God.
   1. This is often where the battle takes place among the church. How important is the Bible to our relationship with God, our worship of God? It ought to be essential! It often isn’t. Some churches rely almost entirely upon tradition, relegating the Bible to optional status (if not thinking of it as irrelevant).
   2. The Bible is not optional! It is the final rule of authority within the church. Why? Because God is the final authority in the church. Obviously, the Bible is not God and we do not worship the printed word on paper, as if we have a new idolatrous image in our books. But the content of the Bible is God’s word. When we put the church above the Bible, we set the opinions of men above the counsel of God. May it never be! The church must always recognize God as supreme in His church. Fundamental to this is by using the Bible as our supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice. 
3. Regarding the disuse of the Book in Judah’s history at the time, it raises a question: Had all knowledge of the Bible been lost? Not at all, and we can know this for several reasons: (1) The book in question is described as “the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses,” which isn’t necessarily a designation for the entire Bible. It might have been only the Pentateuch, or (more likely) just the book of Deuteronomy. In the context of the chapter, it is clear that Josiah comes under conviction of the covenant law; not the histories of Genesis, the psalms of David, etc. (2) Just because one copy of the physical writing was ‘lost,’ does not mean that every copy was. Granted, it seems to have fallen out of use, and surely there were not many copies lying around. But there was doubtless more than one manuscript of Deuteronomy in Jerusalem (if not elsewhere in the land). (3) We cannot overlook the ancient capacity for memory. Oral tradition was highly valued. Although it seems impossible today for someone to commit entire books of Scripture to memory, it was not terribly unusual for people of ancient times. Consider the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey, attributed to the Greek poet Homer. Although it is thought to have been composed in the 8^th century BC (earlier than Josiah!), it was transmitted orally through various performances for generations. Even today, it is common for Muslims to memorize the entire Koran. Can people memorize entire books of the Bible? Yes. It may not be practiced, but it is possible to be done.
   1. The bottom line: God will never let His word disappear! No matter what happens in this world, His Scripture will endure in some fashion, just like there will always be a remnant who believes it.

16 So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 17 And they have gathered the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.”

1. Remember who Shaphan was (v15a): a scribe. Hilkiah the priest found this Book of the Law and placed it into the hands of the scribe, and it was as if he had never seen it before. What was the scribe doing, if he did not have for himself a copy of the Bible? (Or, at least this one book?) The Bible ought to have been his work! Tragically, Shaphan seems to have been totally unfamiliar with it. As a scribe, Shaphan certainly had some official duty in his service to the king. Perhaps he kept the royal records, even including all the documentation that pertained to the temple. No doubt, it was in important work. Of more importance was the work he should have attended as a scribe: keeping records of, and making copies of the word of God. …
2. In any case, Shaphan takes this precious Book to the king, but before he said a word about it, he gave his regular progress report. “Here are all the things going on at the temple. Such and such is being done – the schedule is proceeding according to design, etc.” It was all fairly routine (and perhaps boring). But there was a bombshell coming…

18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.

1. The Chronicler records this so casually, as if Shaphan said, “By the way…we found a book you might be interested in.” It wasn’t just any book; it was the Book! They found the most important of all books, the Book that was the governing document for the kingdom of Israel. Especially if the book in question was Deuteronomy…there could not have been a more important book for the king to know and to have. In fact, kings were supposed to make their own personal copies of the book of Deuteronomy: Deuteronomy 17:18–19, “(18) “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. (19) And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes.” God wanted His kings to know His word! It was so important to Him that He commanded that each man make his own personal copy of Deuteronomy (the encapsulation of the Mosaic/national covenant). It was one thing for the king to have the book read to him; it was another if he went through the painstaking process to copy it letter-for-letter, word-for-word. That would ensure the kings spent real time in the book, processing everything it contained. We have no record if any of the kings ever did it. Yet, if any king might have obeyed this command, it would have been Josiah…especially after discovering this book for the first time!
   1. There is nothing ‘casual’ about the word of God! That isn’t to say there aren’t parts that are more engaging than others. Each of us gloss over the genealogies and other family histories. We often get lost in the various prophecies concerning ancient nations that no longer exist today. But this is no normal book…it is not something that can be ignored or treated with indifference. It is the very word of God. We should value it as such!

• Response to the Book (19-28)

19 Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes.

1. This was the right response! Who knows how far Shaphan got in his reading, before King Josiah fell under deep conviction? It wouldn’t have taken long. If it was Deuteronomy, Chapter 1 does not end before there is a record of how God condemned the nation for their sin against Him, refusing to enter the Promised Land. Even if Shaphan turned to Chapter 6, the command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength would have pierced Josiah, as he knew well that his nation had long abandoned the Lord, ‘loving’ Him half-heartedly (at best). Thus, Josiah grieved over his own sins and the sins of his nation, and he rent his clothes in a visual display of his sorrow.
2. This is what the law of God is meant to do! The law is supposed to show us our sin, with the resulting judgment we deserve. The law never justifies us; it only shows us our need for Jesus. So, when we read the law of God and get cut to the heart, it is a good thing…that is exactly what brings us to the point of changing our mind and heart to seek the Lord. As Paul told the Corinthians, it is godly sorrow that produces repentance leading to salvation (2 Cor 7:10). When the word of God brings that conviction and godly sorrow it is a good thing! That is exactly what we need to drive us to the feet of Jesus.

20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

1. Josiah rightly understood that his nation deserved judgment. He didn’t know how much time they had left. Remember, he was well aware that God already brought His judgment upon the northern tribes nearly a century prior. Surely, God was not ignorant of the sins of the southern kingdom. Their own countdown to judgment was ticking away.
2. What did he fear? The great wrath of God. God’s wrath is We likely have no idea just how great it is. If we did, we would all likely do things very differently.
3. Why was God’s wrath coming upon them? Because they did not “do according to all that is written in this book.” They failed to keep the covenant. Not just part of the covenant; all of it. Of course, to fail in one part is to fail in all (Jas 2:10). But the people of Israel and Judah had broken God’s law repeatedly and without remorse. No doubt, God’s wrath was just around the corner.
   1. How much time does our own nation have remaining? We don’t know…but we surely deserve God’s wrath as much as did ancient Israel and Judah! Granted, we do not have a national covenant with God along the lines of the kingdom, but there is no question we as a people have sinned against God in major ways.

22 So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.

1. Why go to “Huldah the prophetess” as opposed to anyone else? We don’t know. If was not because there were no male prophets in the land. Jeremiah’s ministry had begun years earlier during the reign of Josiah (Jer 1:2), and Zephaniah was probably already active as well (Zeph 1:1). And these are just two prophets whose writings we have. Surely there were other prophets who either did not write, or their writings were not preserved by the Holy Spirit. If there were male prophets available, why did the king’s delegation seek the word of the Lord through a woman? It is impossible to say for certain, and we need to be careful when attributing a motive. After all, God blessed this and gave this woman a prophecy. Apparently, God had previously given Huldah several prophecies if she was already known as a prophetess. Moreover, this wasn’t the only time in history (whether the Old or the New Testaments) that God gave the gift of prophecy to women. – Perhaps the main reason this becomes a sticking point for some is that they equate the gift of prophecy with preaching, and thus with pastoring/eldership. Although the Bible is clear that the offices of overseer (bishop) and elder (the offices most associated with pastoring) are reserved for certain called men within the church, the gift of prophecy has no such restriction. For that matter, neither are the spiritual gifts of giving, hospitality, healing, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, or any of the other spiritual gifts specifically set aside for one sex or the other. These are gifts that God bestows upon whom He wants to bestow when He wants to bestow them. Whether it comes to men or women is irrelevant; the essential issue is that it must be given by God. (Which is why all purported prophecy is to be tested, for not every claim to prophecy is actually prophecy.)
2. As to Huldah’s husband Shallum, he is described as a “keeper of the wardrobe,” probably referring to the maintenance of the priestly garments. There were undoubtedly a limited number of aprons, ephods, etc., so Shallum served as a kind of ministerial quartermaster, keeping track of the various items.
   1. It underscores the idea that there is more to ministry than preaching and singing. All kinds of skills and services are needed for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God. Whatever your skillset, it can be used for the Lord!

23 Then she answered them, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 24 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah, 25 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.’ ” ’

1. The first word from God to Josiah: wrath indeed was coming. All that the king feared was true. The nation had sinned against God, repeatedly breaking the covenant, so all the curses that were contained in the covenant would come upon them. — Notably, this goes hand-in-hand with the concurrent ministry of Jeremiah. God repeatedly told Jeremiah not to pray for his people (Jer 7:16, 11:4, 14:11), at least in terms of escape from judgment, because by this point God had already determined His wrath upon them. They had gone too far not to receive judgment. If God did not judge them (if there was no outlet for His wrath), then God would be unjust, for justice must be done.
2. In Huldah’s word from God, why would the curses come? Two reasons are specifically given. (1) The people ‘forsook’ God through idolatry. (2) They ‘provoked’ God through their wickedness. On the one hand, they abandoned the God of their covenant, looking to all their false idols. On the other hand, they angered God through their many acts of evil. Idolatry was one sin, but it wasn’t their only sin. But put it together, and it earned them the fullness of the wrath of God.
   1. Again, our nation surely faces similar judgment for similar reasons. We also have forsaken the Lord, our once Judeo-Christian nation (at least, nominally) having abandoned the God of the Bible for atheism, paganism, and hedonism (self-worship). We too have engaged in terrible wickedness…things that would have made pagan nations of the past blush with shame. Without question, our nation deserves the great wrath of God poured out upon us.
   2. This is all the more reason for us (as the church) to preach Christ! Maybe as in ancient Nineveh after the preaching of Jonah, there will be some who symbolically tear their garments in grief and repentance, turning in faith to Jesus who offers them grace. God has not (yet) told us not to pray for our people. May we intercede for them fervently!

26 But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard—27 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the LORD. 28 “Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.

1. The second word from God to Josiah: God’s wrath would be postponed. God ensured the king would die before any of this came to pass. Why? Because of Josiah’s own tender heart, humble repentance, and sincere grief over sin. God had seen Josiah’s own personal sorrow for his nation, seeing Josiah’s grief (rightly) as an act of intercession. And God honored it. (This is different from Jeremiah in that God’s judgment was not being removed; it was just postponed in Josiah’s day.)
   1. Far better than the work of Josiah, we have the work of Jesus as our intercessor! The King of Israel humbled Himself on our behalf, and truly the wrath of God towards us was postponed. More yet, the wrath of God was transferred away from us onto Jesus Himself. Jesus is not only our Intercessor; He is our Propitiation, forever satisfying the wrath of God in our place! (Believe!)
2. The good news for Josiah was that although God’s wrath would indeed come to Judah, Josiah wouldn’t live to see it. Historically, we know this to be true. Josiah died in the year 608BC, while the Babylonian captivity did not begin until 586BC, twenty-two years later. It was perhaps one of the only times when the pronouncement of one’s death was good news!
   1. Just because God promised Josiah that he would be “gathered to [his] grave in peace,” did not preclude a battlefield death, which Josiah experienced when fighting against Egypt (35:23-24). Rather, Huldah’s word of God to Josiah specified the kind of peace that God promised: “your eyes shall not see all the calamity…” God promised Josiah he wouldn’t live to see the overthrow of Jerusalem. Even a battlefield death is peaceful, compared with the outpouring of the wrath of God!

• Response of the people (29-33).

29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 The king went up to the house of the LORD, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the LORD.

1. The king gathered all the leaders, all the nation, all the priests and Levites. Every section of society was represented in this national convocation. Once the group was gathered, the king tried to give them the same experience he had when Shaphan read the book to him. The king now read the book to the entire nation. They needed to hear what he had heard. They needed the same opportunity to come to the same conviction of sin, so they too could turn to the Lord in humble faith and repentance.
2. Who needs the word of God? Bible study does not belong solely to pastors and elders. It doesn’t belong only to ‘super’ Christians. It belongs to the whole church. We might not all study it in the same way to the same end, but we all need the same Bible. The same word of God has been given to all of us, and we all need to hear/read it.
   1. Let us stop with the excuses when it comes to the Bible! Whether you read a verse a day or a chapter a day, it doesn’t matter. Whether you read through the entire Bible in a year, or you’re still working on your first journey through the Bible over the last several years…it doesn’t matter. What matters is (1) you read it, (2) you believe it, and (3) you apply it. This isn’t something that belongs only to pastors; it belongs to all of God’s children through Jesus Christ.

31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the LORD, to follow 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. 32 And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.

1. Don’t miss that it began with the king. Josiah made a personal covenant commitment to the Lord. He set the example for his nation, but more than doing it as a public example of his leadership, he did it out of the sincerity of his heart. Josiah wanted to follow the Lord, so he made a public commitment that he would follow the Lord.
   1. There is no commitment like a public commitment! This is one reason why new converts need to tell other people of their faith in Christ. This is one reason why the church gathers for public baptism. It announces to all the congregation your faith in Jesus, which makes you accountable to the entire congregation. 
2. Additionally, Josiah gave the opportunity to the people to do the same. The king could make his own public commitment for himself; he couldn’t do it for anyone else. But a commitment needed to be made, and he gave people the opportunity. Each one had to decide for him/herself. They needed to take a stand on one side of the fence or the other.
   1. This hasn’t changed through the ages. No one can sit on the fence regarding Jesus. We are either for Him or we are against Him. We either believe in Him as our Lord, embracing His love and grace; or we reject Him as Lord, choosing to rebel against God. Neutrality is not an option. We must take a stand. 

33 Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the LORD their God. All his days they did not depart from following the LORD God of their fathers.

1. Summary account of all that Josiah did to this point. It was in the process of removing those abominations that he began repairing the temple, discovered the book of the law, and called the people in Israel to diligently serve the Lord.
2. Thankfully, the faithfulness to God that began that day continued throughout the rest of the days of Josiah’s reign. (Sadly, it did not long outlast him!)

Conclusion:

As tragic as it was for the Bible to have fallen in such disuse, how wonderful it was to be re-discovered and put into practice! When Josiah set his heart to follow the Lord, it inevitably led him to the word of the Lord. And once Josiah heard that, he couldn’t help but respond. Having a heart soft to God, his heart was easily pricked by God’s word, and that did two things. (1) It caused Josiah to want to follow God even more; (2) It inspired Josiah to lead his nation to the same place.

God’s word will do the same for us. The more we read it, the better we will get to know our Lord Jesus. Might we more clearly see our sin? Sure…but that’s a good thing! We cannot change the things of which we are ignorant – we cannot repent from that which we are not aware. Praise God for the conviction that comes to our hearts through His word! That is how He continues to mold us and shape us into the people He wants us to be. And as that happens, the more we will want it to happen. The more closely we follow Jesus, the more we will want to follow Jesus.

And similarly with Josiah, it will want us to help others do the same. Remember that not only did Josiah set an example for his people; he called them to make their own commitment to the Lord God. It might be said that Josiah’s experience in the Bible made him a better evangelist. It is no different with us. The more we get to know God through His word, the more we will want others to know Him in the same way. The more we are amazed by Jesus’ grace, the more we want other people to experience His grace. Do you want to grow in your zeal for sharing the gospel? Do you want to get past your fear of telling others about Jesus? Get into the Bible! The more time you spend with Christ, it is inevitable that you will spend more time sharing Christ.