The book of the Law is discovered
1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to govern, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jeru salem. His mother was Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.
2 He did everything that was right in the eyes of Yahweh, and followed in the footsteps of David, his father, without turning aside either to the right or to the left.
3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent his secretary Sha phan, son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the House of Yahweh, saying,
4 “Go up to the high priest Hilkiah and give him the amount of money which the people offer for the House of Yahweh, and that which the gatekeepers have collected, and when these have been smelted down,
5 let them turn it over to those in charge of the House of Yahweh.
6 It shall be given to those carpenters and construction workers who do the repairs of the House. In the same way, they shall buy the wood and stones needed for the repair of the House.
7 But do not ask from them any account of the money, for they are honorable men.”
8 At that moment Hilkiah, the high priest, said to Shaphan, the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the House of Yahweh.” And he entrusted the Book to Shaphan who read it.
9 Then Sha phan went to the king and said, “We have gathered the money in the House, and this has been turned over to the care takers of the House to make the repairs.”
10 And Shaphan added, “The priest Hilkiah has turned over a book to me.” And Shaphan read the book to the king.
11 When the king heard the contents of the book, he tore his clothes and
12 com manded Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, the secretary Sha phan, and Asaiah, his minister, to do the follow ing,
13 “Go and consult Yah weh about the threats in this book which you have found. Consult him for me, for the peo ple and for the whole of Judah, since our fathers did not listen to what this book says nor to its ordinances. This is why the anger of Yahweh is ready to burn against us.”
14 The priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Sha phan and Asaiah went to consult the prophetess Huldah, wife of Shallum, son of Tikva, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the new city.
15 She answered them,
16 “You will say to the one who sent you to me: This is what Yahweh says: I shall bring evil upon this place and upon its inhabitants according to all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read,
17 for this people have abandoned me and they have burned incense in honor of other gods. Because of all they have done, I am angry about this place, and the fire of my anger will not be quenched.
18 You shall deliver this answer to the king of Judah, who has sent you to consult Yahweh: Yahweh, the God of Israel says this – The warn ings in this book shall not reach you,
19 for your heart has been touched and you have done pe nance in the presence of Yahweh when you heard what I have said against this place and its inhabitants, that this place shall be desolate and cursed. You have torn your garments and wept before me, and I have heard you, says Yahweh.
20 Therefore, you shall join your fathers; you shall die and be buried in peace, without seeing any of the evils I shall send against this place.”
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Comments 2 Kings, Chapter 22
• 22.1 Josiah followed in the footsteps of David, his father. In the last days of the kingdom of Judah, a king “like David” dedicates himself to renewal of the faith and Yahweh’s Covenant, to the reconquest of his ancestors’ territories.
Following the death of the kings who persecuted them, the faithful slowly awaken. In 622 B.C. the accidental discovery of the “Law” shakes the kingdom.
I have found the Book of the Law in the House of Yahweh. During the previous kingdoms, the sacred books had been forgotten or hidden. What was discovered was certainly most of Genesis, Exodus and Deuteronomy. This last book had been brought by the Levites and the priests who had come from the north when Samaria fell. It insisted on fidelity to the Cove nant, declaring without hesitation that it was a matter of life or death for the people of God.
We can see the impact of the sacred word. From then on, Josiah (who was then twenty-six years old) focuses on shaping his life, and that of his people, according to the demands of the Law. He realizes that the Lord’s protection is the only thing that can save his people from the great powers. The description of all that had to be destroyed gives us an idea of the wave of paganism which had invaded every aspect of life in Manasseh’s days.