seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Kings 22:1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed completely the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord— 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
3 In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the Lord— 6 the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. 7 But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”
8 Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.
This is from the easy English site.
Josiah became king when he was 8 years old. He ruled for 31 years, from 640 to 609 B.C.. He pleased God and he obeyed God’s laws. In 2 Chronicles 34:3, we learn this. When Josiah was 16 years old, he began to worship the Lord. After that, Josiah began to destroy the places where people worshipped other gods. He did that when he was 20 years old. He destroyed the altars where people worshipped Baal. And Josiah destroyed the images of Asherah (the female god).
Josiah began to repair the temple when he was 26 years old. Josiah collected money for the temple. He did it by the same method that Joash had used earlier. The people that used the money during Josiah’s rule were honest. And the work to repair the temple began at once.
While people were repairing the temple, Hilkiah, the chief priest, found a book there. It was the book that contained the law. Many people believe that it was the Book of Deuteronomy. Probably Josiah already knew something about God’s laws. But the book had a powerful effect on Josiah. Deuteronomy chapter 28 warns about God’s punishment if people do not obey God’s law. Such passages upset Josiah greatly.
The Bible is God’s message to men and women. Whenever people rediscover the Bible, it has a powerful effect on their lives. It urges them to trust God, and to obey him completely. It warns them that they must not neglect God. It is the most important book in the world.
It may astonish us today that the priests had actually lost the Bible! At that time, people had to write each copy by hand. And not many people could read or write. So there were few copies. And evil kings had ruled Judah for a long time. During Manasseh’s and Amon’s rules, people worshipped false gods in the temple. People had new gods to worship, so they put the old books away. Many years passed, and people forgot about the old books. But when the work began in the temple, the chief priest found this book. Immediately, he realised its importance, so he sent it to the king. Other books of the Bible existed at this time too. Perhaps the chief priest discovered those books later. But it was this first book that upset Josiah.
Josiah did not have a complete Bible. He only had a small part. But he realised that it was extremely important. He listened to it. And then he acted because of its message. Today there is a complete Bible in very many languages. And across the world, Christians are working to translate it into the languages that have no Bible. But today, even when people can read it, many people still neglect it. ‘God wants to rescue us. We certainly will not escape if we neglect his message’ (Hebrews 2:3).
Josiah began to repair the temple when he was 26 years old. Josiah collected money for the temple. He did it by the same method that Joash had used earlier. The people that used the money during Josiah’s rule were honest. And the work to repair the temple began at once.
While people were repairing the temple, Hilkiah, the chief priest, found a book there. It was the book that contained the law. Many people believe that it was the Book of Deuteronomy. Probably Josiah already knew something about God’s laws. But the book had a powerful effect on Josiah. Deuteronomy chapter 28 warns about God’s punishment if people do not obey God’s law. Such passages upset Josiah greatly.
The Bible is God’s message to men and women. Whenever people rediscover the Bible, it has a powerful effect on their lives. It urges them to trust God, and to obey him completely. It warns them that they must not neglect God. It is the most important book in the world.
It may astonish us today that the priests had actually lost the Bible! At that time, people had to write each copy by hand. And not many people could read or write. So there were few copies. And evil kings had ruled Judah for a long time. During Manasseh’s and Amon’s rules, people worshipped false gods in the temple. People had new gods to worship, so they put the old books away. Many years passed, and people forgot about the old books. But when the work began in the temple, the chief priest found this book. Immediately, he realised its importance, so he sent it to the king. Other books of the Bible existed at this time too. Perhaps the chief priest discovered those books later. But it was this first book that upset Josiah.
Josiah did not have a complete Bible. He only had a small part. But he realised that it was extremely important. He listened to it. And then he acted because of its message. Today there is a complete Bible in very many languages. And across the world, Christians are working to translate it into the languages that have no Bible. But today, even when people can read it, many people still neglect it. ‘God wants to rescue us. We certainly will not escape if we neglect his message’ (Hebrews 2:3).
Yep... the commentary got preachy. The third grader kid who was appointed king over Judah turned out to be a pretty sharp cookie. He repaired the Temple, trusted workers, and relied on his priests. Good Job there kiddo! Right?
I grabbed these few quotes from blueletterbible.org.
And he read it: It seems remarkable that this was even worthy of mention ? that the high priest found the word of God and a scribe read it. Yet the word of God was so neglected in those days that this was worthy of mention.
Shaphan read it before the king: Here the word of God spreads. It had been forgotten and regarded as nothing more than an old, dusty book. Now it was found, read, and spread. We should expect some measure of spiritual revival and renewal to follow.
Shaphan simply told the king, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." "Shaphan did not despise the book, but he had not yet, like many a modern scribe, realized the importance of that blessed volume. Then - after 'money,' and 'overseers,' and 'workmen,' have all been mentioned - 'then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book' - only a book!" (Knapp)
Shaphan read it before the king: Here the word of God spreads. It had been forgotten and regarded as nothing more than an old, dusty book. Now it was found, read, and spread. We should expect some measure of spiritual revival and renewal to follow.
This note comes from the same quote.... I consider it off topic but it's interesting none the less.
"It is interesting to note the popularity of animal names for persons in this period. 'Shaphan' means 'rock badger' and 'Achbor' means 'mouse.' 'Huldah' the name of the prophetess introduced in the next section, means 'mole.'" (Dilday)
Josiah is a good guy... now he has the use of one of the books of the Bible. It's got some really boring stuff in it... It's been posted online here.... I didn't think I'd finish it.... but it got finished..... so it's easy to imagine the change the book of Deuteronomy had on Josiah, king of Judah. I have to remember, David was Josiah's great great what ever grandfather.... and Josiah will be the great great what ever grandfather of Jesus. Now the great great what ever grandfather of Jesus the Messiah, has found the book of law that is believed to have been written by Moses!
I wonder... if the archaeologists today found the old book of Deuteronomy... would it make the evening news or would it be shuffled into a lost documentary on PBS?
