2 Kings chapter 22. The reign
of Josiah is recorded for us here in chapter 22 and chapter
23. Basically is a unit, one unit,
but we're going to just take up chapter 22 tonight. So I'll
begin reading in verse 1. Josiah was eight years old when
he became king, and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother's
name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in
the sight of the Lord and walked in all the ways of his father
David. He did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
Now it came to pass in the eighteenth year of King Josiah that the
king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of
Meshulam, to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah
the high priest, that he may count the money which has been
brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have
gathered from the people. and let them deliver it into
the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the
house of the Lord. Let them give it to those who
are in the house of the Lord doing the work, to repair the
damages of the house, to carpenters and builders and masons, and
to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. However,
there need be no accounting made with them of the money delivered
into their hand, because they deal faithfully. Then Hilkiah
the high priest 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 and he read it. So Shaphan the scribe went
to the king, bringing the king word saying, your servants have
gathered the money that was found in the house and have delivered
it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the
house of the Lord. And Shaphan the scribe showed
the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. And
Shaphan read it before the king. Now it happened when the king
heard the words of the book of the law that he tore his clothes. Then the king commanded Hilkiah
the priest, Ahicham the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Micaiah,
Shaphan the scribe, and Esaiah a servant of the king, saying,
Go inquire of the Lord for me, for the people, and for all Judah,
concerning the words of this book that has been found. For
great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because
our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according
to all that is written concerning us. So Hilkiah the priest, Ahicham,
Achbor, Shaphan, and Desiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the
wife of Shalom, the son of Tikvah, the son of Horus, keeper of the
wardrobe. She dwelt in Jerusalem in the
second quarter. And they spoke with her. Then
she said to them, Thus says the Lord God of Israel, Tell the
man who sent you to me. Thus says the Lord, Behold, I
will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the
words of the book which the king of Judah has read, 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 shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched. 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, because your heart
was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard
what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants,
that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your
clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, says the Lord.
Surely, therefore, 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. So
they brought back word to the king. Amen. Well, we have seen
the destruction of the Northern Kingdom, the dissolution of the
Northern Kingdom recorded in 2 Kings chapter 17 for their
sin against God, their breach of the covenant. And we are presently
witnessing the destruction of the southern kingdom. Now, in
the midst of this, God, in His mercy and grace, nevertheless
sends a Josiah. He follows up a 55-year reign
of Manasseh and then a two-year reign of Ammon, both ungodly
apostate, wicked, wretches, God then sends Josiah and brings
something of a reprieve in the nation. Now, Josiah reigned from
640 to 609 BC. And as I've mentioned, we see
that Hezekiah had an ungodly son, and we see that an ungodly
man, Amen, had a godly son. And so it's very difficult to
predict what sort of a man is going to be born out of a particular
family. So the calling for all of us
is to be faithful, to prayerfully bring up our children in the
training and admonition of the Lord, and to continually and
constantly point them to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. As I've mentioned, we see a couple
instances where judgment is promised to the nation of Judah. If you
look back at 2 Kings chapter 20, remember when Hezekiah entertained
those envoys from Babylon, Isaiah the prophet in chapter 20 at
verse 16 says, Here are the word of the Lord. Behold, the days
are coming when all that is in your house and what your fathers
have accumulated until this day shall be carried to Babylon.
Nothing shall be left, says the Lord, and they shall take away
some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget,
and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. And then, under the reign or
in the reign of Manasseh, the Lord again promises that there
will be judgment upon Judah. But nevertheless, the fact is,
Josiah's a good and godly king and brings a temporary state
of execution to the nation of Judah. So we'll look first at
the summary of the reign of Josiah in verses 1 and 2, and then secondly,
the discovery of the book of the law. But note first, in chapter
22, verse 1, Josiah was 8 years old when he became king. Now,
this had been prophesied about 300 years earlier. For those
who have been with us since 1 Kings, 1 Kings chapter 13, the message
of the man of God predicts the coming of Josiah specifically. In 1 Kings 13.1, it says, Behold,
a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the
Lord, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 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 burn, or he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places
who burn incense on you, and men's bones shall be burned on
you." So we see the faithfulness and the steadiness and the veracity
and truthfulness of God's Word. About 300 years prior to Josiah,
there was that prophecy concerning Josiah. And then in chapter 23,
specifically at verse 16, we see the fulfillment there. As
Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were on the mountain, and
he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them.
on the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the
Lord, which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words."
So that blessed reality that what God speaks is true, and
what God promises does in fact come to pass. And so Josiah here
is eight years old when he occupies the throne. Matthew Henry tells
us, or he relates, Solomon says, Woe unto thee, O land, when thy
king is a child, but happy are thee, O land, when thy king is
such a child. So Josiah is a good gift to the
nation at this particular time. So we're given his age, we're
given his mother's name. And then in verse two, we have
a summary statement similar to how in chapter 18, verses one
to eight, function in terms of Hezekiah. Well, when we read
here in verse 2 that he did what was right in the sight of the
Lord and that he walked in all the ways of his father David,
that does give us a great summary statement concerning godly Josiah. And with reference to his rightness in the sight of
the Lord, he joins several other kings from Judah. Esau in 1 Kings
15, Jehoshaphat in 1 Kings 22, Joash in 2 Kings 12, Amaziah in 2 Kings 14, Azariah
also known as Uzziah in 2 Kings 15, Jotham in 2 Kings 15, and
then again Hezekiah in 2 Kings 18. So all of these kings of
Judah were distinguished as having done what was right in the sight
of the Lord. But as it goes on and tells us
that he walked in all the ways of his father David, that's a
lot more narrower in terms of men who had that particular prestige. He joins Asa, 1 Kings 15, and
Hezekiah, 2 Kings 18. So the number of men that walked
as David walked were only these three, and Josiah is certainly
one of them. Now, notice as well, in verse
2, it says he walked in all the ways of his father David, he
did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. That's probably
a nod to Deuteronomy 17 and the stipulation for the king that
they were not to turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
I think in some sense the author is presenting to us Josiah as
a second Moses. Certainly, he is David-like in
terms of his commitment with reference to kingship. Hezekiah
was David-like as well, but these connections to Moses throughout
2 Kings 22 indicate to us that Josiah is being favorably compared
to Moses in terms of law and obedience and covenant-keeping
and faithfulness. So the religious summary here
is quite brief, but we do see that it's quite full. It doesn't
have to go on and give us a whole host of details when it tells
us that he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and
he walked in all the ways of his father David. Now, the text
doesn't go into this, but other portions of scripture and extra-biblical
literature kind of sheds the light on what's going on politically. World politics, this is Paul
House, shifted during Josiah's tenure. Asher Banipal's death,
he was a king in Assyria, in 627, left Assyria with a leadership
struggle that cost them control of Babylon in 626 BC. Now you might say, why is all
of this important? Because these were Israel or
Judah's enemies, and it was Assyria that ultimately carried away
the northern tribes, And it's going to be Babylon that ultimately
carries away the southern tribes. So it gives us a bit of hope,
consciousness, or knowledge of the current political situation
facing these men at that particular time. And so there was a leadership
struggle that cost them control of Babylon in 626. From that
year forward, the Babylonians and their allies, the Medes,
pressed Assyria. Nineveh fell in 612 BC, despite
the help of Egypt. And by 604, I think, BC, Assyria
was finished. Thus, Josiah rules during years
in which Assyria fades, but also those in which Babylon is not
yet ready to rule as far west as Judah, and in a time when
Egypt does not yet attempt to rule the smaller nations north
of the border. So basically, Judah at this particular
time under Josiah not only experiences religious reform and God's blessing
because he is in fact a good and godly king, but there's also
political stability at that particular time as well. that has been afforded
because of the various things going on around Judah. Now let's look at this discovery
of the Book of the Law. This is the bulk, obviously,
and it sets the stage for what follows in chapter 23. Note in
the first place the priest's discovery. The priest's discovery
in verses 3 to 10. Now, Josiah wants to repair the
temple of the Lord. And in this regard, he is very
consistent with his fathers before him, the godly ones to be sure,
And he wants to make sure that the house of the Lord, having
suffered under the hands of godless Manasseh and Amen, remember Manasseh
turned it into a place where Asherah was present in the house
of the Lord and where Baal was present and where the host of
heaven was worshipped also in the temple of the Lord. So it
was certainly in disrepair religiously, but no doubt it was in disrepair
in terms of just you know, mechanics and whatnot. So Josiah orders
that they go and fix the temple. And so we notice that this is
precisely what happens. And in the midst of this, we
see that Hilkiah, the high priest, finds the book of the law. Now
this is the most intriguing section of scripture and there's been
a lot written about this. I should tell you, it's not very
edifying information or material, but I should tell you there is
a competing theory as to what is going on in this particular
chapter. Some suggest that there was no
book of Moses. Some suggest that Deuteronomy
was actually composed at this particular time. They say that
Deuteronomy was not written by Moses back when, but it was composed
in this 7th century particular situation. Now, there's a whole
lot of sort of atheistic or secularistic or humanistic assumptions that
go into this particular procedure, but they simply suggest that
Hilkiah, perhaps, and the other priests at the time composed
this book and it helped further the religious reform in Judah
at this particular time. That's not what happened. It
was the book of Deuteronomy, primarily written by Moses. That's the identity here of the
book of the law. And we'll see that as we move
on in just a moment. But if we compare this with 2
Chronicles, in 2 Chronicles chapters 34 and 35, we'll note that Josiah,
because look at verse 3, it came to pass in the 18th year of King
Josiah. That's of his reign. So he's
26. Well, he'd already come to know
the Lord prior. In fact, turn to 2 Chronicles
34. 2 Chronicles 34. For just a moment, so you can
see, it wasn't necessarily that nothing happened until his 18th
year of reign. Note 2 Chronicles 34.3. Great text to share with our
children. and our young people. For in the eighth year of his
reign, so he would have been 16, 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. So you see, he was already on
this pathway to reform, so that in the 18th year, when he sends
these men to fix the temple of the Lord, that's a natural outflow. He's already engaged in the beginnings
of reformation within Judah, and so he dispatches these men
to go and fix the temple. And as I said, while they are
searching, or while they are repairing, he finds the book
of the law. Notice in verse eight. essentially
what you have in verses 4 to 7 is duplicated material from
chapter 12 that was a specific procedure. The collection, the
money, pay the men that are actually working to rebuild or to fix
and repair the temple. They don't work for free even
on the house of the Lord. These men, the labor, is worthy
of his wages, and that is precisely what's in view here. And then
note verse 8, Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe,
I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. Now, the identification of the
book, some suggest it's the entirety of the Pentateuch. I think probably
it's the book of Deuteronomy, and especially the section that
is read to Josiah and that is interpreted by Huldah, the prophetess,
is probably the last section of the book of Deuteronomy, specifically
chapter 28, 15 to 68. That's the curses of the covenant. Because that is precisely how
Josiah, or what Josiah responds to. He realizes that we have
violated God, he realizes that the wrath of the Lord is against
us, and as a result of that, we need help. That's why he calls
out for the prophetess Holda, or specifically, he asks his
servants to inquire of the Lord, and they fetch Holda. So when
all the prophetess comes, basically what she says is precisely what
we find in Deuteronomy 28. The nation has gone a-whoring
from God. The nation has engaged in idolatry. They have been unfaithful. They
have broken covenant. And as a result, God is going
to bring judgment to bear upon them. Calamity will be their
portion and lot, and that is precisely what's happening. Within
the Pentateuch itself, only Deuteronomy is referred to as the book of
the law. Deuteronomy 28, 61, 29, 21, chapter
30, verse 10, chapter 31, verse 26. Now, if some say, well, how does
Josiah know to start these reforms when there was no book of the
law? Well, there was probably some understanding of the law
that was still extant among the nation of Judah. Remember, it
wasn't the case that every single one of them was defective or
apostatized from God. As well, we can't believe that
the book of the law was gone in the entirety of 1 and 2 Kings.
Proven makes this observation. He says, the impression throughout
Kings has been that it, the book of the law, was available to
the various rulers of Israel and Judah. They did not conform
themselves to its laws by chance, nor did they fail to do so through
their ignorance. Their success and failure in
keeping the law had to do rather with their will. The problem
was that they were disobedient to the book of the law. Thus
Solomon is charged with keeping the law of Moses, 1 Kings 2. Jehu is criticized for not keeping
it with all his heart, 2 Kings 10. Amaziah is commended for
acting in accordance with it in chapter 14. And the Israelites
in general are condemned for ignoring it in 2 Kings 17. As
recently as 2 Kings 18, Hezekiah has been commended for keeping
this law, verse 6 of chapter 18, after a description of a
religious reform that clearly recalls Deuteronomy 12. There
is no reason to think then that the loss or concealment of the
book is being presented as anything other than a recent event occurring
during the long reign of the apostate Manasseh. So again,
it's probably that 57 year period where Manasseh and Ammon were
in charge. And so now the book of the law
has been discovered, and we see that the book is read to Josiah. The end of verse 10, Shaphan
read it before the king. Notice that they didn't say,
wow, this is a great document from antiquity. Let's put it
in the museum. This is a great document from
antiquity. Let's pawn it. Let's sell it
on eBay. Let's try to fetch a pretty penny.
No, they used the Book of the Law. It had been absent. It is
now present. It's time to open the Book of
the Law and to read it. One of the things I mused on
today as I was reflecting upon this section of scripture is
just how intensely practical it is for the people of God in
the 21st century. Remember in 2 Kings chapter 19,
you can turn there for just a moment, specifically in chapter 19 verses
14 to 19, what are we instructed in by way of example with reference
to Hezekiah? how we ought to go to the throne
of grace, how we ought to pray before our God. Notice we address
God with adoration, with praise, with worship. Verse 15, O Lord
God of Israel, the one who dwells between the cherubim, you are
God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven
and earth. I hope that all of us would take
this to heart and that our prayer lives would reflect such praise
and worship and adoration to the living God. He then sets
before God a specific petition. Incline your ear, O Lord, and
hear. Open your eyes, O Lord, and see.
And hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach
the living God. Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria
have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their
gods into the fire. For they were not gods, but the
work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed
them. Now therefore, O Lord our God,
I pray, save us from His hand, that all the kingdoms of the
earth may know that You are the Lord God. you alone. So I think this is very practical
instruction with reference to prayer in the Christian life.
You know what the practical instruction with reference to the Christian
life in chapter 22 is? Read your Bible. Listen to the Book of the Law. Do not neglect that which God
has given. It is for us. It is for our use. It is for our utilization. It
is for our contemplation. It is for our reflection. And
it is for our marching orders. It is given to us to call us
to a particular lifestyle in service of our great King. Matthew
Henry said, the book of the law is not laid up in the king's
cabinet as a piece of antiquity, a rarity to be admired, but it
is read before the king. Those put the truest honor upon
their Bibles that study them and converse with them daily.
feed on that bread and walk by that light. Men of honor and
business must look upon an acquaintance with God's Word to be their best
business and honor." That was beautiful. I thought he nailed
it very clearly with reference to 10b. Shaphan read it before
the king. Now notice the king's response. He is caught to the heart. He
is convicted. There is humility. He trembles
before the word of the living and true God. Verse 11, now it
happened. When the king heard the words
of the book of the law, that he tore his clothes. Again, this
is an external sign. of an internal disposition. This is an external emblem or
symbol of what God is doing in the heart of this young king.
Gil says, this tearing of the clothes as expressive of the
rending of his heart and of his humiliation and sorrow for the
sins he and his people were guilty of. He doesn't just blame the
people, he says us. Josiah owns his sin, and that's
always the mark of a humble penitent. They don't try to, you know,
distance themselves, or they don't try to say, well, it wasn't
me, or, you know, everybody does that sort of thing. No, they
see themselves as guilty before the living and true God. The
only way of response is brokenness and repentance before this holy
God. This is what marks Josiah, and
this is why I hope we all love him. This is why I hope that
everybody who names their kid Josiah, names their kid Josiah. Because this man demonstrates
what is good and right about biblical religion. He humbles
himself under the mighty hand of God. He submits himself to
God. He is the poster child for what
James says in James chapter 4, verses 7 to 10, as he counsels
the Christian church on coming back to God Most High. Lament. and mourn and weep. Let your
laughter be turned to tears and your joy to sorrow. This is precisely
what the king does with reference to this reception of the word. So he then commands his servants
to go and inquire of the Lord. Notice in verse 12, Then the
king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahicham the son of Shaphan, Achbor
the son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Esaiah a servant
of the king, saying, Go inquire of the Lord for me, for the people,
and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has
been found. He's got the book of the law,
but he still wants, or rather he wants in addition to the book
of the law, the prophetic interpretation. He wants the clarity. He wants
the prophet of God to come and to make known to him what God's
word, with reference to Judah in this particular setting, is.
And then note why he makes this request. He says, for great is
the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us. Let no one
ever tell you that the fear of God or the wrath of God isn't
a great motivator. It most certainly is. Now, there
are some sinners that are wooed to Christ by the thought of the
love of Christ. There are some sinners that hear
of grace and kindness and mercy and their heart melts and they
come flocking to the Lord Jesus. Others need the threatenings
of Sinai, the thundering of the law, and the fierceness and the
holiness of God's wrath. That is not a bad motivator. It is perfectly legit, perfectly
righteous, and that is what Josiah is manifesting in this particular
instance. I want you to inquire of the
Lord, why? Because God is angry with Judah. If ever there is a time to seek
the Lord, it is when it is perceived that the Lord is angry with us. For great is the wrath of the
Lord that is aroused against us, notice, because our fathers
have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to
all that is written concerning us. So he says, we live in apostate
days. We live in a time that has been
inundated with both manasseh and amen. Specifically, his father
and his grandfather basically drove the southern tribes right
into the laps of idols. And he sees this as a great necessity,
and so he wants them to fetch out the prophet of God to speak
the truth of God to Josiah in this particular situation. Now
notice the prophetic interpretation in verses 14 to 20. So Hilkiah
the priest, Ahichum, Achbor, Shaphan, and Esaiah went to Huldah
the prophetess. Now Jeremiah lived at this particular
time as did Zephaniah. And the older commentators say,
why didn't they go after Jeremiah or Zephaniah? Modern commentators
don't typically tend to ask that question, but I think it is a
legit question. I mean, we are far more familiar
with Jeremiah and with Zephaniah than we are with Huldah. Why
would they have gone to Huldah the prophetess? Well, probably
proximity and already having known her. Jeremiah was not in
Jerusalem, neither was Zephaniah. Huldah was a dweller in Jerusalem. No doubt they already knew this
particular prophetess and they wanted to make haste because
King Josiah wanted an answer basically right now to this particular
situation facing Judah in terms of God's wrath. Now there are
a few instances in the Old Testament where there are prophetesses.
I don't know how to say that. Prophetesses. Women prophets. There you go. Exodus 15-20, Miriam. Judges 4-4, Deborah. Here in
the parallel in 2 Chronicles 34, Huldah. And then Nehemiah
6-14, Noah-Diah. Now only Noah-Diah is spoken
of unfavorably. Isaiah 8.3 also says prophetess,
but it's probably a reference to the prophet Isaiah's wife. Not because she was an actual
prophet or engaged in prophecy, but rather because she was married
to the prophet Isaiah. So in this particular instance,
they go to Huldah, she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter,
according to verse 14, and they spoke with her. Now, note her
interpretation with reference to this particular situation.
In the first place, she says, yes, certainly there is judgment
coming on Judah. Imagine that. You want to know
the prophetic word, you have heard the book of the law, no
doubt Deuteronomy 28. I mean, it's been a long time
since we were in Deuteronomy 28, but if you remember that,
or if you've read it recently in your Bible reading, it really
is a terrifying chapter. We might add to that Leviticus
26, it functions in the same way. Two chapters about blessings
and cursings. Blessings if you do what you're
supposed to in the land, curses if you do what you're not supposed
to in the land. And some of the stuff that is
spelled out there in Deuteronomy 28 is terrifying, and I can understand
why Josiah would want to inquire of the Lord immediately in terms
of the particular situation they find themselves in. But she says,
yes, there is judgment coming. Notice in verse 15, she said
to them, thus says the Lord God of Israel, tell the man who sent
you to me, thus says the Lord, behold, I will bring calamity
on this place and on its inhabitants, all the words of the book which
the king of Judah has read. You see, the promise is certain,
the promise is real, the promise is true. Just as surely as Josiah
was prophesied to reign by name 300 years previously, so Judah
is prophesied to fall. And that is a certain specific
judgment that will come upon them. Note the reason in verse
17. And again, this isn't surprising. We've already been getting foreshadows
of this. It's very similar in parallel
to what we read in 2 Kings 17 with reference to the Northern
Kingdom. Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other
gods. You see, you cannot be an idolater
and a friend of God." And I think James 4 specifically, it sounds
as if he has a lot of these particular passages in his mind as he is
upbraiding the Christian church for engaging in the same sorts
of sins. This idea of not being faithful
to the God who has saved us by grace through faith in Jesus
Christ. Not being faithful in this context to the God who led
them out of Egypt by his power and his might, and then planted
them in the land that he gave to them by promise to Abraham,
and then they just abandon him. They just reject him. They turn
to Baal. They turn to Asherah. They turn
to Molech. They engage in all the sorts
of things that the Canaanites around them had done. Brethren,
we need to listen to 1 John 5 21. We need to hear the way that
holy apostle ends that first epistle, When Israel went into the Promised
Land, they probably didn't go consciously thinking, wow, we
can't wait to get there so we can bow to Baal, we can bow to
Asherah, we can feed our children to Molech. They probably didn't
consciously think that. They failed to dispossess the
land of the Canaanites. They engaged in political policy
with them, social interaction, and ultimately religious worship.
They wanted a bit of Yahweh, they wanted a bit of Baal, and
it didn't take long for all of Baal to consume that. Idolatry
is a terrible thing, and we need to resist it at every uprising. This is why David was a man after
God's own heart. This is why David is the standard
in Israel for godly kings. Yes, he sinned. Yes, he was imperfect. Yes, he was unrighteous. Yes,
he engaged in adultery and murder, but his heart was never divided
from God. He never went a-whoring from
God in terms of idolatry. That is God's arch enemy. If
you entertain idols in your heart, whether it be Baal, or Moloch,
or Asherah, or money, or prestige, or whatever it is, get it out
of there. Learn from Israel first, and
then from Judah secondly, because this is the reason why, ultimately,
Babylon would conquer Jerusalem. 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 shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched. It is a certain judgment. The
reason is clear. It is specified here by the prophetess. But notice, even in the midst
of this, there is mercy for at least one. Davis says the prophet
basically first says, there is no hope. Second, there is some
mercy. I mean, isn't this God's way?
He testifies concerning judgment, and then in the midst of that,
nevertheless, there is mercy to be had. There is no hope.
Second, there is some mercy. So judgment is certain, but judgment
is delayed. Disaster is on the way, but disaster
is not yet, thanks to the repentance of one man. Because of godly
Josiah, it, I don't want to say bought them some time, but basically,
that's what happened. And that's precisely what Huldah
says in verse 18. 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, Now notice in verse
19, because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before
the Lord, when you heard what I spoke against this place and
against its inhabitants. Don't you just love that? You
know how many times as the people of God were found out in sin,
and that's exactly not our response? Well, what do you mean I did
that? What do you mean I sinned? What do you mean I'm not perfect? What do you mean I'm not an angel? We get so defensive. Brethren, that has to stop. You know, Psalm 51, when David
confesses his sin, always look at that Psalm as if David is
right next to God, indicting David. He goes to God's side
to point the finger at himself. There's nowhere to hide. There's
no denial. David actually committed adultery. He actually committed murder.
When the prophet gives him the story, and David gets all upset,
and then Nathan says, Thou art the man. After that pleading
by God to David, he said, I have sinned against Yahweh. Some people
probably think he got off easy. Well, that's all you got to do
is say, I have sinned against Yahweh. Do you understand what
that means? He didn't say, well, you know,
it was the people around me. It was Bathsheba's fault. If
Bathsheba hadn't been bathing naked, I would have never entered
into that sin. That's how, more often than not,
we deal with sin. Well, the woman who now has given
me, the husband that's terrible. It's because of him. It's because
of her. It's because of the church. It's because of my upbringing.
It's because of, you know, Justin Trudeau. It's never just me and
God. You see, God sees honesty. God sees Josiah. And God says, because your heart
was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard
what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants.
You see, brethren, if you really know your Bible, and you really
know your heart, if someone ever says to you, you know, I think
you're in sin, the last conceivable response that you should ever
give is, who, me? If you knew the tiniest bit,
I mean, stand in line, take a number. I mean, there's a whole host
of people out there that can tell you about my sin. Me, right
at the front of the line. Why is it that we're that way?
Why is it that we don't just humble ourselves before God? What does Solomon tell us in
Proverbs 28, 13? He who covers his transgression will not prosper,
and yet what do we continually do? We try to cover our transgression.
I don't want anybody to know. I don't want anybody to see.
I don't want anybody to think. I don't want anybody to have
this ill view of me. Man, if we actually dealt honestly and
openly about such things, I'm not saying we have public confession
meetings and, you know, tell us your deepest darkest secret.
I'm not suggesting that at all. But he who covers his transgressions
shall not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes it will
find mercy." That's true with God. I like to think it's true
with the people of God. You know, when a husband or a
wife are having dealings and difficulties and one sins against
the other, don't say, but it's your fault, it's his fault, it's
their fault, it's everybody's fault, but it's not my fault.
Confess it, forsake it, and you'll find mercy. My experience with
the people of God typically is that they're pretty willing and
ready to forgive. I mean, aren't we commanded to
forgive even as God in Christ forgave us? Isn't that an ethic
that is built into us as the people of God? If we are bloodbots,
are we not willing to extend mercy and forgiveness to others?
I remember being a pretty new Christian and being in a Bible
study in a particular church setting, and there was this discussion
about forgiveness, and a woman who professed saving faith in
Christ said, I will never forgive that particular man. Now again,
I'd only been a Christian for a couple of months, but it just
didn't jive with me. I just didn't get it. What do
you mean? You've been forgiven, but you're not going to forgive.
Now, again, I think there's some mitigating circumstances. If
somebody's unrepentant, I think there's ways to deal with that
particular situation. But a spirit that is unwilling
to forgive arguably has never known the forgiveness of Christ.
Does that make sense? Yes? Forgive even as God in Christ
forgave you. So why is it all the time that
we want to hide our idols and hide our pets? Again, I'm not
saying come to church on Sunday. We're going to have an open mic.
Everybody come on up and tell us your worst, deepest, darkest
secrets. But man, I'd like to think with husbands and wives,
we could talk to each other. With close friends, we could
talk to each other. You know, brethren, there is that reality
that God looks upon this sort of a thing. Because your heart
was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard
what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants,
that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your
clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, says the Lord.
In other words, you heard the desolation and calamity I was
going to bring. You humbled yourself at the thought
of that, And I heard you. I heard you in your longings.
I heard you in your aspirations. I heard you in your desires.
And as a result, Josiah, I'm going to stay the execution upon
the nation, and I'm going to be extremely merciful to you.
Notice in verse 20, Surely therefore, 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."
So they brought back word to the king. Now, just chapter 23
and verse 29 tells us that he dies on the battlefield. He dies
in Megiddo. Now, some might say, well, that
doesn't seem like a very peaceful death. I think the end of the
verse explains what God means. I will gather you to your fathers,
you shall be gathered to your grave in peace. What's the peace? Not the fact that he's going
to die in the battlefield. The peace is, and your eyes shall
not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place. The
peace is Judah's. The peace is Jerusalem's. The
peace is that the nation is going to still stand, even when Josiah
is slain on the battlefield in Megiddo. Matthew Poole says,
in a time of public peace and the tranquility of the kingdom.
Proven says, it is not the manner of Josiah's death that is in
view here, but its timing. He will die before the terrible
events prophesied in chapter 21 and chapter 22 come to pass,
while Judah and Jerusalem still no peace rather than the sword. So you see, God, on the one hand,
through the prophet Huldah, says there is no hope. And on the
other hand, he says, there is a glimmer of mercy for both Josiah
and Judah, because Judah, you're going to be spared at least for
a time, though the judgment and the certainty of punishment is
real. Well, in conclusion, I think
there's a few lessons that we need to bring home. First, the
mercy of God in this passage. I mean, the passage is just,
you know, riddled with God's mercy. In the first place, the
providential finding of the book of the law. Now, the fact that
it wasn't in its place is probably easy to explain. When Manasseh's
in there redecorating with Baal and Asherah furniture, I'm sure
that that Book of the Law was one of those things that might
even provoke such a godless man to bring a bit of conviction.
So it got lost somewhere. It got hidden behind a rock somewhere. But God directs Totiah to find
this book of the law. Matthew Henry again says, it
is a sign that God has mercy in store for a people when He
magnifies His law among them and makes that honorable and
furnishes them with means for the increase of Scripture knowledge. I think that's a beautiful thing.
I don't know that we always appreciate what a mercy it is that we have
the Word of God. Turn to the prophet Amos for
just a moment. Amos chapter 8. This is the context
of the prophecy here. Amos, obviously, prophesying
in the north, not too long before the destruction of the north
via Assyria. And one of the things, one of
the promised judgments that would come upon them, notice in chapter
8, verse 11, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God,
that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
They shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east. They
shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall
not find it." You see, brethren, this is a judgment from God when
we don't have Bibles, when we don't have sermons, when we don't
have good churches, when we don't have all of this data that relates
to us the glory of our great triune God. Now, if we have all
those things but we don't use them, then it's essentially saying
we prefer famine. We prefer to not have the good
gifts that you have given to us because we're not using them. We're not going to read them.
We're not going to study them. We're certainly not going to
find churches where they're primary and emphasized and preached properly. We want to find churches that
tickle our ears make us feel all warm and fuzzy. Brethren,
if we have all those benefits and we don't avail ourselves
of those benefits, we are a people that are preferring famine over
the riches and the goodness that God gives. As well, we see God's
mercy in the gracious provision of prophets and the prophetess
in Judah. Praise God that when Josiah wants
to inquire of the Lord, there's someone to whom he can inquire
of the Lord. Praise God that he didn't remove
the prophetic testimony and witness from Judah in spite of their
rebellion. Again, when people tell you,
oh, the Old Testament, it's all full of wrath and judgment and
fury, look at the amount of sin that was sinned against God,
and look at the amount of time it took for God to bring final
judgment upon these people. I mean, if you were God, would
you have watched them do this sort of thing this long? Would
you have borne with them all this time? Would you have sent
Elijah, and then Elisha, and then the rest of the prophets
to see them only continually rejected, and resisted, and killed,
and destroyed, and, you know, Manasseh's purge? You would have
wiped them out and obliterated them. And yet, God preserves
the prophetic word through the prophet. The peace given to Josiah,
that's the mercy of God. You see that? I mean, it's just
wonderful because you have humbled yourself, because you actually
care, because you actually are concerned about the situation
of offending a holy God, both by yourself and the nation. I'm
going to give you mercy. And then the provision of Josiah
to the nation. I mean, brethren, a good and
godly king is a great benefit to a people, because if that
doesn't pop out at you, I think we can all agree and nod our
heads and say yay and amen to the reality that a bad and ungodly
king is certainly not profitable to a people. but a godly one. Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a reproach to any people." You see, brethren, Josiah
was a great blessing for the people of Judah in that day.
Secondly, I think we learn by way of Josiah, and perhaps a
couple other scriptures, the proper response to the Word of
God. The proper response to the Word
of God. It's not indifference. It's not boredom. It's not rolling
the eyes. It's not looking at the watch. It's not, I can't
wait. Wait till it's over because I got burgers at home on Sunday
morning and I just can't wait to eat. I mean, if that's our
attitude and disposition, I'm not suggesting that at 12.30
your stomach's roaring. You might give a thought to food,
but if you're consumed with your burger rather than the truth
of God's word, The prophet Isaiah or God through the prophet Isaiah
says this in chapter 66 verse 2, but on this one will I look
on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit and who trembles at my
word. That's Josiah in this very passage. He's humble, he's of a contrite
spirit, he trembles at the word. Now, we see the external sign
accompanying the internal humility here. We see him tear his clothes. This is indicative of the fact
that his heart has been rent by the word and power of God.
We need to be careful, however, of just engaging in the external
and leaving the heart untouched. Joel 2.13, so rend your heart
and not your garments, return to the Lord your God for he is
gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness,
and he relents from doing harm. Rend your heart, not your garments.
Rending the garments is a perfectly acceptable expression of one's
humility before a holy God. But if you're only rending the
garments and the heart is untouched, forget it. You know, this was
the problem in Malachi's day. How did they go worship? They
went to worship because they were supposed to. They went to
worship in terms of externalism. They would take the worst of
their flock, they would steal animals on the way to the temple,
and they would offer those up as sacrifices. Now that's pretty
pathetic, isn't it? I mean, the whole idea of, you
know, here's your flock, here's your best, and you're going to
go to the back of the flock and grab the mangiest, and the lame
and the blind and the one that, you know, lost every fight it's
ever been in with other goats. And you're going to schlep that
to the temple and present that as your sacrifice? You know,
the very word sacrifice infers or implies that it costs us something. You know, if it's something you're
going to throw away anyway, it's not a sacrifice. And then just
to step it up, they actually stole sacrifice on the way to
the temple. Imagine, you're on your way to
the temple on a Sabbath day and your kid says, Dad, we forgot
a goat. Oh, that's all right. We'll just steal one on the way.
Again, that's not sacrifice. Sacrifice pinches. Sacrifice hurts. Sacrifice is
a sacrifice. That's why it's called sacrifice,
you see? Sacrifice with reference to Christ
meant the giving of his life. Sacrifice for us means, you know,
giving the best goat, the best lamb, certainly not stealing
one on the way to the temple on the Sabbath day. So we want
to make sure that we're not engaged only in externalism, but rather
the internal heart disposition. With reference to the proper
response to the Word of God, we ought to appreciate the close
connection between chapters 22 and 23. What Josiah is affected
by, or rather what Josiah experiences in chapter 22, furthers the cause
of reformation. In other words, there are practical
fruits from or consequences of a man humbling himself under
the mighty hand of God and being lifted up. If you look at chapter
23, and the Lord willing we'll look at this in detail next week,
there is covenant renewal in verses 1 to 3, the reformation
of worship in verses 4 to 20, the observance of Passover in
verses 21 to 23, the eradication of idolatry and witchcraft according
to verse 24, and he is ultimately commended by the Lord. Those
are the practical fruits of having received the Word of God. You
see, if we properly receive the Word of God, we will be doers
of that Word. That's precisely what James says. And that should cause us to reflect
upon the New Testament emphasis. Just a couple of passages and
then we close with reference to the proper response to the
Word of God. Matthew 13. Matthew 13, we're
running out of time, so I'll just read. Verse 23, in the parable
of the sower, he who received seed on the good ground is he
who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and
produces some a hundredfold, some 60, some 30. So the one
soil type that receives the word and does it is the believer.
Everybody else is a fake, a hypocrite, apostate, whatever they may be,
a hardened unbeliever, apostate, a hypocrite, those riddled with
carnal anxiety, and riches. It's only the believer who receives
the word, and he hears the word, he understands it, and then he
bears fruit and produces, just like Josiah, receives the word,
and then he engages in covenant renewal, he reforms the worship
in Judah, he engages in Passover, he eradicates the nation with
reference to idolatry and witchcraft, and the Lord God Most High commends
him for his faithfulness. As well, notice in Hebrews 2,
and there are probably a whole host of passages we could go
to. I'm just taking a couple samples with reference to the
proper reception of God's Word. Notice in Hebrews 2, Therefore
we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard,
lest we drift away. I don't know that we sufficiently
understand this whole idea of apostasy. That's what's being
addressed in the book of Hebrews. When you get to Hebrews 6 and
Hebrews 10, and it speaks of, you know, this impossibility
to renew one under repentance. You know, a lot of sensitive
saints go, wow, I wonder if that's me. If you're wondering that,
it's probably not you. Apostates don't read Hebrews
6 and 10 and get affected. Apostates don't read the New
Testament and say, man, I really feel bad about the way I sinned
against... Apostates don't care. Apostates
are beyond that. Apostates are persons that are
apostate. They have defected. They have
departed. They have left a profession of faith in the living and true
God. But in terms of apostasy, I don't think it is the case
that persons go to bed on Sunday night after a fulfilling day
of worship on a Sunday and wake up on Monday morning and apostate.
I really don't think that's how it goes. I think it's a drifting
away. In other words, it starts off
little to begin. It starts off when we don't watch,
and we don't pray, and we don't read our Bible, and we allow
things into our lives that perhaps at one time we wouldn't have
allowed. You know, we open the door to a bit of this and to
a bit of that. And we neglect church, or we
neglect the means that God has ordained for our good. So it's
not the case you go to bed on a Sunday night and you wake up
on a Monday morning an apostate. It's probably the case that you
start to drift away, and you don't seek the face of God, and
you don't seek to renew repentance. And before you know it, you're
an apostate. And I think that's the language
suggested here by the author. Therefore, we must give the more
earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.
Notice that contrast. If we are not giving the more
earnest heed to the things we have heard, the consequence is
we're going to drift away. There's only one of two options
here, brethren. We either give heed to the Word
or we drift away. There's no sort of comfortable
in-between where, well, we don't really give heed to the Word,
but we're not really drifting away. If we're not giving heed to the
Word, then we are drifting away. Now, by God's grace, hopefully,
we stop that drift and we renew repentance and we go back to
God and we do those things that James bids us. Notice in James
1. James 1, 19, So then, my beloved
brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow
to wrath, for the wrath of men does not produce the righteousness
of God. I mean, right there, that's a beautiful statement
concerning our proper response to the Word of God, this whole
idea of slowness to speak and quickness to hear. That would
go a long way in our lives if we, you know, use our ears twice
as much as we use our tongue. After all, God did give us two
ears and only one tongue. We are designed to listen more
than we talk. Why is it that we buck the system
and talk more than we listen? Why is it the case? Well, I know
why it's the case, because of sin. But notice in verse 21,
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and
receive with Josiannes the implanted word. Isn't that what Josiah
was? Meek, humble, lowly, tender-hearted. Receive with meekness the implanted
word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word,
and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. You see, brethren,
this is Josiah religion in new covenant setting, pressed upon
the people of God. And then, of course, chapter
4, verses 7 to 10. Therefore, submit to God, resist
the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he
will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners,
and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let
your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up. So you see, this is the disposition
exemplified by Josiah and one that the people of God today
ought to imbibe. Spurgeon, in his comments with
reference to Mark chapter 4, the parable of the sower. You've
all heard me say this before, but it's one of those things
that we could probably all commit to memory and do well with. He
says, It is your wisdom to know what God says. Hear well. God's teaching deserves the deepest
attention. It will repay the best consideration. Hear often. Waste no Sabbath
nor any one of its services. Use weekday lectures and prayer
meetings. Hear better. You will grow the
holier thereby. You will find heavenly joy by
hearing with faith. Amen. Well, hopefully we learned
that from Josiah and these New Testament passages, and we will
bring both ears to the word of the living God. Well, let's pray.
Our Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for
your graciousness in the midst of apostasy and in the midst
of rebellion against you. After 57 years of Manasseh and
Ammon, you nevertheless sent Josiah and you humbled that man
under your mighty hand and you lifted him up and you used him
powerfully. God, help us to be this kind
of a man, this kind of a woman in our current situation. Give
us grace to respond properly to the Word. Give us grace to
be in the Word. Give us grace to receive it with
glad hearts and to put it into practice and to be doers of the
Word. Go with us now. Watch over us
in the remainder of this week. Give us strength for our work. Give us love in our families. Above all, give us devotion to
Christ Most High. And we pray in his most blessed
name. Amen.
