2 Kings - Chapters 22-23a

The Amazing Bible. Book Club

In these two chapters we are looking at the reign of Josiah, the king of Judah. His father and grandfather both did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but Josiah was different. In his eighteenth year, he had his men to repair the temple. When they did that the high priest found a copy of the Book of the Law in the temple, and he told Shaphan the secretary who read it. He reported to the king about the updates of the temple restoration, and then he told the king about the book, and read it to him. When King Josiah heard the word, he tore his robes and had his men seek a word from the Lord, so they went to a prophetess, Huldah, who said that Jerusalem and Judah would be destroyed because of their idolatry and unfaithfulness to the Lord, but since the king responded in humility and tears, it would not happen in his lifetime. Even though the king's life was spared, that was not enough for King Josiah. He took down all the idols throughout the land, and he even went into the land of Israel and the old capital of Samaria and removed the idolatrous places and people from the land. After that he announced to the people, the words of the Book of the Covenant, and they renewed their covenant with the Lord. They then celebrated the Passover. Chapter 23:22 says, "Not since the days of the judges who let Israel, nor throughout the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah, had any such Passover been observed." Verse 25 of chapter 23 reads, "Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did - with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses" (Deut. 6:4-5).