2 Kings 22:1 - Meaning and Application

About Josiah, we are told, first, that he was very young when he began to reign, only eight years old (2 Kings 22:1). Solomon says, “Woe to you, land, when your king is a child,” but there is also a good kind of child-king, and Josiah was one. Josiah, because he was young, had not yet taken in the bad example of his father and grandfather. He soon saw their sins, and God gave him grace to learn from them. Compare this with Ezekiel 18:14 and the verses that follow.

Second, he did what was right in the sight of the Lord (2 Kings 22:2). Here we see the power of God’s free grace, meaning God’s undeserved favor. The father was passed by and left to perish in his sin, but the son became a chosen vessel, a person God used for his purposes. Josiah was born to a wicked father, had no godly training, and had little good example around him. Many around him no doubt urged him to follow his father’s path, and few gave him wise counsel. Even so, God’s grace made him a great saint, cut him off from the wild olive tree and grafted him into the good olive tree (Romans 11:24). Nothing is too hard for that grace to do. He walked in a good way and did not turn aside to the right hand or the left. There are dangers on both sides, but God kept him in the right path, so he fell into neither superstition nor open irreverence.

Third, he took care to repair the temple. He did this in the eighteenth year of his reign (2 Kings 22:3; compare 2 Chronicles 34:8). He had begun to seek the Lord earlier (2 Chronicles 34:3), but the work of reform likely moved slowly and met strong resistance. So he may not have been able to carry out what he wanted until his power was firmly established. The years wasted in our youth should stir us to serve God with even greater energy once we are grown. Since we began late, we must work hard.

Josiah sent Shaphan, the royal secretary, to Hilkiah, the high priest, to receive an account of the money gathered by the doorkeepers for this work (2 Kings 22:4). This seems to have been much like the way Joash had raised money before (2 Kings 12:9). When people gave a little at a time, the burden was hardly felt, and because the gift was voluntary, no one complained. Josiah then ordered that this money be used to repair the temple (2 Kings 22:5, 2 Kings 22:6). The workers seem to have done their task so faithfully that no accounting was made with them (2 Kings 22:7). This praises the workers, who had earned a reputation for honesty. Yet I am not sure it praises those who hired them, since it would still have been wise to keep account of the money.

Fourth, while the temple was being repaired, the book of the law was found and brought to the king (2 Kings 22:8, 2 Kings 22:10). Some think this was the original manuscript of the five books of Moses, written by Moses himself. Others think it was an old and reliable copy. Most likely, it was the book Moses had ordered to be placed beside the ark in the most holy place (Deuteronomy 31:24 and following).

This book had been lost or at least hidden from view. Perhaps it had been carelessly misplaced and forgotten, like some people throw away their Bibles. Or perhaps idolatrous kings, or those acting for them, had hidden it away, unable to burn it but hoping it would never be seen again. Or maybe faithful people had carefully stored it to keep it from enemies. Whoever preserved it, we should see God’s hand in it. If this was the only true copy of the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, then it had come very close to being lost forever. We should thank God for the providence, his careful ruling over events, by which Hilkiah found it when he was not even looking for it (Isaiah 65:1). If the holy Scriptures were not from God, they would not still be here today. God’s care for the Bible is a strong sign that he values it.

Whether or not this was the only true copy, it seems that its contents were new to both the king and the high priest, because when the king heard it read, he tore his clothes. It is likely that the command for the king to write his own copy of the law, and the command for the law to be read publicly every seventh year (Deuteronomy 17:18; Deuteronomy 31:10-11), had been neglected for a long time. When the appointed means of keeping religion alive are neglected, religion itself soon declines. On the other hand, if the book of the law was really missing, it is hard to say by what rule Josiah had been doing what was right in the Lord’s sight, or how the priests and people kept up their worship. I think the people had settled for summaries of the law, like abridged law books. The priests may have given them these to avoid the work of copying the full book and to spare the people from reading all of it. Such summaries likely left out whatever they wanted, especially the promises and warnings in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 and following. Those were the parts of the law that moved Josiah so deeply (2 Kings 22:13), and they were new to him.

No summary or collection from the Bible, however useful, can give or preserve knowledge of God and his will as well as the Bible itself. It is no surprise that the people were so corrupt when the book of the law was so rare among them. Where that vision is lacking, the people perish. Those who wanted to lead them into sin no doubt used every trick they could to get that book out of their hands. The church of Rome could not keep images in use except by forbidding Scripture.

This was a great sign of God’s favor, and a sign of good to Josiah and his people, that the book of the law was brought to light just in time to guide and strengthen the reform Josiah had begun. It is a sign that God still has mercy for a people when he makes his law honored among them and gives them means to grow in Scripture knowledge. The translation of Scripture into ordinary languages was the glory, strength, and joy of the Reformation from Popery. It is also worth noticing that they were engaged in a good work, repairing the temple, when they found the book of the law.

Those who do their duty according to the light they have will receive more light. “To everyone who has, more will be given.” The book of the law was a rich reward for all the care and expense spent on repairing the temple.

Hilkiah the priest was greatly pleased by the discovery. He said to Shaphan, “Share my joy, for I have found the book of the law. I have found it,” as one might say with great delight, “that priceless treasure.” He saw it as the most valuable jewel in the king’s crown. He wanted Shaphan to take it to the king and read it aloud before him.

Josiah was walking in the way of David, his ancestor, and if he was truly like David, he would love the book of the law and welcome it. It would be his joy and his guide.