seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Chronicles 34:14 While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses. 15 Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan.
16 Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to him: “Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them. 17 They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers.” 18 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.
19 When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes. 20 He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Abdon son of Micah,[a] Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: 21 “Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”
22 Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him(b) went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath,[c] the son of Hasrah,[d]keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.
23 She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 24 ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people—all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. 25 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that their hands have made,[e] my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.’26 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 27 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. 28 Now I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.’”
So they took her answer back to the king.
29 Then the king called together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 He went up to the temple of the Lord with the people of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests and the Levites—all the people from the least to the greatest. He read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant, which had been found in the temple of the Lord. 31 The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book.
32 Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin pledge themselves to it; the people of Jerusalem did this in accordance with the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors.
33 Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors.
a. 2 Chronicles 34:20 Also called Akbor son of Micaiah
b. 2 Chronicles 34:22 One Hebrew manuscript, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts do not have had sent with him.
c. 2 Chronicles 34:22 Also called Tikvah
d. 2 Chronicles 34:22 Also called Harhas
e. 2 Chronicles 34:25 Or by everything they have done
Huldah and her old man ran the local uniform supply franchise. They were tailors, apparently because they were called the "keepers of the wardrobe".
As the story goes [IMHO] teenage king Josiah was having the Temple cleaned out and refurbished. The Temple had fallen into ill repair. Josiah had a box put at the entrance of the Temple so people could share a love offering to rehab the temple. The Rehab had started and that's when they found the book [well it would have been a scroll or a container of scrolls]. They didn't know what it was... they didn't remember it existed.... they had been doing what was normal. They were all "good people" going about the day.
When they took the book to Josiah.... it was recognized as the law.... a law they had been ignoring.
I'm going to let the blueletterbible.org commentary go from here.....
It is perhaps more especially in times of crisis that God raises up godly women to be His interpreters. He can count upon their weakness; they can give Him His place.
"So Hilkiah, and they that the king had commanded, went to Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter); and they communed with her."
As wife of the keeper of the wardrobe it is very probable that Huldah's earthly talents lay in the way of needlework, and that there was nothing at all extraordinary about her usual life; but men of God were conscious that the Lord was with her, that He spoke to her and through her, and that she understood Him. They could not be in her presence without being brought nearer to God; woman as she was, she was a true Levite. (Deu 10:8.) Nothing is told us of her pedigree or of any other thing whatsoever regarding her but that a king, a high priest, and a learned scribe could get nearer to God through her than by any other means. This speaks much for the saintliness of this woman. This tells a tale which the greatest eloquence could not tell. Huldah must have been a woman of prayer, leading, perhaps, a very retired life, but a life the power of which told upon all who were round about her.
This is the result of Josiah's pleas to the people. It's from the easy English site.Josiah took all the leaders, the priests and the Levites to the temple. Also, the people from Judah and from Jerusalem went with him. He read to them the book of the LORD’s law. That book contained the promise that the LORD had made with Israel. Then Josiah promised to obey all the commands, rules and laws that were in the book.
Josiah told all the people to promise to obey the LORD’s promise as well. And the people promised to do so.
Josiah removed the images of gods that remained in Judah and Israel. There were still things in the temple for Baal, Asherah and the stars in the sky. He ordered the priests to take all these things and to burn them. He broke down the altars on all the high places for worship. He destroyed the altar in Bethel that Jeroboam had made. He killed the priests of the false gods. And many other deeds he did to remove all the things for worship of false gods (2 Kings 23:4-20).
He ordered the people to serve the LORD. And while he lived, the people obeyed the God of their ancestors. But the change in them was not a real change of heart and of mind. After the death of Josiah, the people soon turned to false gods again.
