Discovering God’s Word Anew
A Bible Study on
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
Deuteronomistic History
Joshua
2 Kings
• Entrance into Canaan
• Covenant making
• Land given
• Exile in Babylon
• Covenant breaking
• Land taken away
 history with a theological agenda
 written during exile in Babylon:
How did we lose God’s gift of the land?
 governed by perspective of Deuteronomy
Josiah
•
king of Judah 640 – 609 BCE
622 BCE: 18th year of Josiah’s reign
722 BCE: Assyria destroys northern kingdom of Israel
587 BCE: Babylon conquers Judah → temple destroyed,
people taken into exile
How well do the kings lead Israel in covenant-keeping?
 Only Hezekiah and Josiah get good grades!
Manasseh
•
•
king of Judah for 55 years
evil reputation
“I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such evil that the
ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. . . . I will wipe
Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside
down. . . . Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he
had filled Jerusalem from one end to another.” (2 Kg 21:11ff)
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;
you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether
in the form of anything that is in heaven above,
or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth. You shall not bow down
to them or worship them” (Deut 5:6-9a).
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out
of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;
you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether
in the form of anything that is in heaven above,
or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the
water under the earth. You shall not bow down
to them or worship them” (Deut 5:6-9a).
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
A.
Introduction of Josiah (22:1-2)
• “He did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way
of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.”
B.
Josiah orders money from the temple treasury to be given to workers for
repairs of the temple (22:3-7)
C.
The book of the law is found and read (22:8-13)
• Hilkiah, the high priest → Shaphan, the secretary → Josiah, the king
D.
The prophetess Huldah is consulted (22:14-20)
• Words regarding Jerusalem (vv. 16-17)
• Words regarding King Josiah (vv. 18-20)
E.
The king gathers the nation for a renewal of the covenant (23:1-3)
F.
Josiah takes action against the idolatry of the nation (23:4-20)
Interlude: The tomb of the “man of God” who predicted these things
is not disturbed (vv. 16-18)
G.
Josiah leads the nation in observance of the Passover (23:21-23)
H.
Evaluation of Josiah and God’s verdict against Judah (23:24-27)
I.
The death of Josiah (23:28-30)
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
A. Introduction of Josiah (22:1-2)
“He did what was right in the sight of the
Lord, and walked in all the way of his father
David; he did not turn aside to the right or to
the left.” (v. 2)
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
B. Josiah orders money from the temple
treasury to be given to workers for
repairs of the temple (22:3-7)
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
C. The book of the law is found and read
(22:8-13)
Hilkiah, the high priest →
Shaphan, the secretary →
Josiah, the king
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
D. The prophetess Huldah is consulted (22:14-20)
• Words regarding Jerusalem (vv. 16-17)
Consequence . . . Cause
• Words regarding King Josiah (vv. 18-20)
Cause . . . Consequence
2 Kings 22:15-20
15She declared to them,
"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me,
16 Thus says the LORD, I will indeed bring disaster on this place and on its
inhabitants – all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17
Because they have abandoned me and have made offerings to other gods, so
that they have provoked me to anger with all the work of their hands,
therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be
quenched.
18But as to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you
say to him,
Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have
heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before
the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place, and against its
inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and because
you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, says
the LORD. 20 Therefore, I will gather you to your ancestors, and you shall be
gathered to your grave in peace; your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I
will bring on this place."
2 Kings 22:15-20
15She declared to them,
"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me,
16 Thus says the LORD, I will indeed bring disaster on this place and on its
inhabitants – all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17
Because they have abandoned me and have made offerings to other gods, so
that they have provoked me to anger with all the work of their hands,
therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be
quenched.
18But as to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you
say to him,
Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have
heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before
the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place, and against its
inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and because
you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, says
the LORD. 20 Therefore, I will gather you to your ancestors, and you shall be
gathered to your grave in peace; your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I
will bring on this place."
2 Kings 22:15-20
15She declared to them,
"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me,
16 Thus says the LORD, I will indeed bring disaster on this place and on its
inhabitants – all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17
Because they have abandoned me and have made offerings to other gods, so
that they have provoked me to anger with all the work of their hands,
therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be
quenched.
18But as to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you
say to him,
Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have
heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before
the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place, and against its
inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and because
you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, says
the LORD. 20 Therefore, I will gather you to your ancestors, and you shall be
gathered to your grave in peace; your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I
will bring on this place."
D.
The prophetess Huldah is consulted (22:14-20)
[ Words regarding Jerusalem (vv. 16-17) ]
15She
declared to them,
“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Tell the man who sent you to me,
16
Thus says the LORD,
I will indeed bring disaster on this place and on its inhabitants
What
– all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read.
17
Because they have abandoned me and have made offerings to other gods,
so that they have provoked me to anger with all the work of their hands, Why
therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place,
and it will not be quenched.
D. The prophetess Huldah is consulted (22:14-20)
[Words regarding King Josiah (vv. 18-20)]
18
But as to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD,
thus shall you say to him
Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:
Regarding the words that you have heard,
19
Why
because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD,
when you heard how I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants,
that they should become a desolation and a curse,
and because you have torn your clothes and wept before me,
What
I also have heard you, says the LORD.
Therefore, I will gather you to your ancestors,
and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace;
your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring on this place."
20
Josiah’s Reform Initiatives
1. Covenant renewal ceremony for nation
2. Purging of Canaanite worship
3. Passover celebration
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
E.
The king gathers the nation for a renewal of
the covenant (23:1-3)
2 Kings 23:1-3
1 Then
the king directed that all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem should
be gathered to him.
2 The king went up to the house of the LORD,
and with him went all the people of Judah, all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both
small and great;
he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant
that had been found in the house of the LORD.
3 The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD,
to follow the LORD, keeping his commandments, his decrees, and his
statutes, with all his heart and all his soul,
to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book.
All the people joined in the covenant.
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
F.
Josiah takes action against the idolatry of the
nation (23:4-20)
•
•
•
•
Burned sacred vessels made for Baal and Asherah
Deposed priests who made offerings to foreign gods
Destroyed dwellings of male prostitutes
Burned images of gods, beat remnants to dust, and threw
them on graves
• Tore down altars, high places, sacred poles
• Desecrated worship sites with unclean bones
• And on and on and on . . . . .
2 Kings 23:12-15
12 The altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the
kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in
the two courts of the house of the LORD, he pulled down from there
and broke in pieces, and threw the rubble into the Wadi Kidron. 13
The king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the
south of the Mount of Destruction, which King Solomon of Israel
had built for Astarte the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh
the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the
Ammonites. 14 He broke the pillars in pieces, cut down the sacred
poles, and covered the sites with human bones. 15 Moreover, the
altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam son of Nebat,
who caused Israel to sin – he pulled down that altar along with the
high place. He burned the high place, crushing it to dust; he also
burned the sacred pole.
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
F.
Josiah takes action against the idolatry of the nation
(23:4-20)
Interlude: The tomb of the “man of God”
who predicted these things is not disturbed
(vv. 16-18)
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
G.
Josiah leads the nation in observance of the
Passover (23:21-23)
• a “remember who you are” event
2 Kings 22:1 – 23:30
H.
Evaluation of Josiah and God’s verdict against Judah
(23:24-27)
• No king like Josiah, who turned to the Lord with all his
heart, soul, and might
• Divine wrath and judgment on Judah
I.
The death of Josiah (23:28-30)
So What?
1. Disaster falls on nation despite an individual’s
repentance; sin has consequences
2. Josiah is faithful despite no guarantee of outcome
• The future is not set in stone; God may relent
• Obedience and righteousness does not depend
on reward
3. The temptation to idolatry is subtle and seductive
So What?
4. The people of God have a corporate identity,
shaped by Scripture, rituals, and covenants.
5. God’s word makes a compelling claim on God’s
people.
Being attentive to the claims of Scripture requires:
a. Openness and receptivity
b. Interpretation and discernment in community
c. A lived response, both personal and corporate