The Beginning of Revival

INTRO

As we’ve worked through the book of 2 Kings, one theme seems to be common—most kings did evil in the sight of the Lord. Every once in a while, a king would be sprinkled into the mix that did good in God’s sight, but there weren’t many. In 2 Kings 21, Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, became king at the age of 12. According to verse 1, he was the most wicked king of them all. Things got so bad in Judah that when Manasseh’s son Amon became king, he was so wicked that his servants killed him and put Amon’s son Josiah on the throne as king (v. 26).

In total, there were 20 kings (including Queen Athaliah) over Judah. Of these 20, eight did good in God’s sight: Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah, and Josiah. These kings were pointing to the Surviving Seed.

TEACHING

2 Kings 22:1–2: Josiah was only eight years old when he became king and reigned 31 years. Josiah did what was right in the Lord’s sight and he walked in the ways of King David (vv. 1–2). Chapter 22 records Josiah’s good efforts for the Lord.

2 Kings 22: 3-7: The temple was repaired (vv. 3–7): In the 18 year of his reign (at age 26), Josiah sent his secretary to the temple to the high priest Hilkiah with instructions about repairing the damage King Ahaz had done to the temple (vv. 3–6). Josiah trusted Hilkiah to oversee the funds with no accounting because the workers worked with integrity (v. 7). Nelson’s Commentary describes Hilkiah as “a major figure in the revival of the true religion that young Josiah accomplished.”¹

2 Kings 22: 8-20: The Book of the Law was discovered (vv. 8–20): During the repair of the temple, the Book of the Law was found (v. 8). Nelson’s Commentary states the Book of the Law could have included “parts or all of the Pentateuch” and suggests it “may have been lost, set aside, or hidden during the wicked reigns of Manasseh and Amon.”²Constable states, “It seems probable that Manasseh or Amon had destroyed existing copies of Israel’s covenant constitution since there is every reason to believe that Hezekiah knew the Mosaic Law. This would not have been difficult because in ancient times there were few copies of even official documents.”³Hilkiah passed the Book of the Law to Josiah’s secretary Shaphan, who read it himself and then to Josiah (vv. 9–10).

Theologians like to discuss what part of the Book of the Law Shaphan read to Josiah. Many feel it must have been from the book of Deuteronomy, such as: how wicked the people of Israel had become (Deuteronomy 4—13); what Israel had not done that God had asked of them (Deuteronomy 14—18); or the warning of what God would do (Deuteronomy 27–30).⁴For Josiah, this was the first time he had heard Scripture, and it brought him into distress. He tore his clothes to show genuine remorse (v. 11).

Josiah desired a prophetic insight from the Lord, so he commissioned five men to go inquire of the Lord for him: Hilkiah the priest, his secretary Shaphan, Shaphan’s son Ahikam, Micaiah’s son Achbor, and Josiah’s servant Asaiah (vv. 12–13). Shaphan played a unique role in this, and his family (except for one son) had been involved in preserving and sharing God’s Word for many years (1 Kings 22:12-28; Jeremiah 26:16-24; 29:1-23; 36:11ff; Ezekiel 8:11–12).⁵The men went to the prophetess Huldah and explained what had happened (v. 14). Note that there were other prophetesses in Scripture, such as Miriam (Exodus 15:20) and Deborah (Judges 4:4).

Huldah delivered God’s message with prophetic clarity. The message was divided into two parts, each addressed to Josiah as “the man who sent you” (vv. 15–17) and “the king of Judah who sent you” (vv. 18–20). In verses 15–17, God said to tell the man who had sent them that He was about to bring disaster to Judah because of the people’s disobedience. Nelson’s Commentary suggests, “The threat of calamity for apostasy that the king heard may have been intended to reinforce the message of the parts of the Book of the Law that were found when the temple was being repaired and read to the king.”⁶

In verses 18–20, God said to tell the king that because he had humbled himself and shown genuine remorse when he heard the Book of the Law, no disaster would happen to Judah during his reign. Josiah was promised peace when he died.

CLOSING

Where is the revival in this chapter? It’s seen in the response of Josiah’s heart. It’s seen in embracing the Word of God. It’s seen in pursuing God’s direction. And it’s begun in humility to want to know more. Second Timothy 3:16–17 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” Josiah did all of this, with humbleness and humility, by embracing God’s Word (Psalm 119:105).