Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Kings
Chapter 22: I Have Found the Book of the Law
Out of the household of Judah's worst kings comes Josiah, who at eight begins to reign and does right, turning neither to the right hand nor the left. As he repairs the neglected temple, a lost treasure is uncovered, the Book of the Law, and when it is read the young king rends his clothes in holy grief. The word of God, long forgotten, awakens a reformation, and the prophetess Huldah confirms both coming judgment and mercy to a tender heart.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Kings chapter 22. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Josiah Repairs the Temple (2 Kings 22:1-7)
Young Josiah does right without wavering and sets about repairing the house of the LORD.
He Turned Not Aside to the Right Hand or to the Left
"Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left. And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people: And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the LORD, to repair the breaches of the house, Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully."
Word Study
"turned not aside to the right hand or to the left," Hebrew idiom for undeviating obedience. Josiah is one of the brightest lights in all the kings of Judah, and remarkably he came from the household of the two worst, Manasseh and Amon. He "did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." That phrase, drawn from the law's charge to kings (Deuteronomy 17:20; Joshua 1:7), describes a life of straight, unwavering obedience, neither adding to God's way nor subtracting from it, neither excess nor compromise. Beginning to reign at eight, and seeking God early (2 Chronicles 34:3 says he sought God at sixteen and began purging idols at twenty), Josiah shows that youth is no barrier to wholehearted devotion; "let no man despise thy youth" (1 Timothy 4:12). Like Joash before him (chapter 12), Josiah set about repairing the neglected "breaches of the house" of the LORD, which had fallen into decay under Manasseh and Amon. And again the beautiful commendation appears: "there was no reckoning made with them... because they dealt faithfully." The workmen were so trustworthy they needed no audit. A reforming king surrounded himself with faithful men, and the restoration of God's house was carried out with integrity. Josiah's straight-walking obedience is the mark of a heart wholly set on God, and it is exactly in the course of this faithful work that God's greatest gift to his reign, the recovery of His word, will come to light.
Explanation
Josiah became king at eight years old and reigned thirty-one years, doing what was right and following David's example without deviation. In the eighteenth year of his reign he sent his scribe Shaphan to the high priest Hilkiah to arrange for the money collected at the temple to be given to the workmen, carpenters, builders, and masons, to repair the temple's disrepair, buying timber and stone. As in Joash's day, the overseers of the work were so honest that no accounting was required of them. Josiah's reign of straight obedience and his care to restore the house of God set the stage for the great discovery that follows.
Gospel Focus
Josiah teaches that youth and heritage need not determine our path. He came from the household of Judah's most wicked kings, yet became one of its most godly, proof that grace can break the darkest chain and that each person may choose the LORD regardless of upbringing. And his youth was no obstacle; he sought God early and served Him wholeheartedly. "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth" (Ecclesiastes 12:1); God delights in those who seek Him early and walk straight, turning "not aside to the right hand or to the left." That undeviating obedience is the pattern for us: not the excess of adding to God's word, nor the compromise of falling short of it, but a straight walk in His way. And Josiah's care for God's house, with faithful men who needed no audit, models the integrity that should mark all who handle holy things. But the deepest lesson waits in the next verses: this faithful king, doing right by the light he had, was about to be given far more light through the recovery of God's word. Those who walk faithfully in the truth they know, God leads into fuller truth. Seek Him early, walk straight, deal faithfully, and God will give you more of Himself and His word.
The Book of the Law (2 Kings 22:8-13)
The Book of the Law is found in the temple, and when it is read the king rends his clothes.
When the King Had Heard the Words of the Book
"And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD. And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king's, saying, Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us."
Word Study
"I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD," and "he rent his clothes." The great turning point of Josiah's reign, and one of the pivotal moments of the Old Testament, is the discovery of "the book of the law" (likely the book of Deuteronomy, or the Pentateuch) during the temple repairs. That it had to be "found" is itself a stunning indictment: under Manasseh and Amon the very Scriptures had been so neglected that the word of God was lost in the house of God. A nation can drift so far that it forgets the Bible it possesses. When Shaphan read it before the king, "when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes." Here is the right response to the word of God: not indifference, not mere curiosity, but a broken and trembling heart. Josiah heard the law's warnings and grasped at once "great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened." The word of God, when truly heard, convicts, humbles, and moves to action. Josiah did not shrug off the ancient words as irrelevant to his enlightened day; he recognized them as living and binding, and immediately sought to "enquire of the LORD" about them. This is what a genuine encounter with Scripture does: it exposes our sin, awakens holy fear, and drives us to God. The rediscovery of the word sparked the greatest reformation in Judah's history (chapter 23). Where the word of God is lost, religion decays; where it is found and heard with a tender heart, revival begins. "The entrance of thy words giveth light" (Psalm 119:130).
Explanation
During the temple repairs, Hilkiah the high priest found "the book of the law" in the house of the LORD, evidently long neglected and lost. He gave it to Shaphan the scribe, who read it and then reported to the king, mentioning the book and reading it aloud before him. When Josiah heard the words of the law, with its warnings and demands, he tore his clothes in grief and alarm, realizing how far the nation had fallen from God's commands and how great was God's kindled wrath. He at once sent his officials to inquire of the LORD on behalf of himself and all Judah, deeply concerned that their fathers had not obeyed the words now recovered.
Gospel Focus
The finding of the lost Book of the Law is one of Scripture's great lessons on the power and place of God's word. That the Bible could be lost in the temple itself is a sobering picture of how a people, even a religious people, can drift into ignorance of the very word they possess. Many today own Bibles that gather dust; the word is present but not heard. And see the effect when it is truly heard: Josiah "rent his clothes." The word of God, when it lands on a tender heart, convicts, humbles, and moves us; "is not my word like as a fire?... and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" (Jeremiah 23:29); "the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword" (Hebrews 4:12). The right response to Scripture is not indifference or mere study but a broken heart that trembles at what God says and hastens to obey; "to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word" (Isaiah 66:2). Josiah's whole reformation flowed from a rediscovered, humbly received word. So it is always: revival begins when the church recovers and truly hears the Scriptures. Do not let the Book gather dust. Read it, hear it, tremble at it, and obey it, and let its entrance give light and spark renewal in your own heart and beyond.
The Word of Huldah (2 Kings 22:14-20)
Huldah confirms the coming judgment, but promises mercy to the king whose heart was tender.
Because Thine Heart Was Tender
"So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her. And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched. But to the king of Judah which sent you to enquire of the LORD, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard; Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again."
Word Study
"because thine heart was tender," Hebrew rakh (רַךְ), soft, tender, responsive. The king's messengers go to "Huldah the prophetess", one of the few named women prophets in Scripture (with Miriam, Deborah, and Anna), showing that God raised up and spoke through faithful women; that Hilkiah the high priest and the king's officials sought her word marks her recognized standing. Her message has two parts. To the nation: the judgment written in the book will surely come, "I will bring evil upon this place... my wrath... shall not be quenched", for their idolatry has filled the cup, and even Josiah's reforms could not now avert the exile Manasseh's sins had sealed. But to the king personally, a word of mercy: "Because thine heart was tender (rakh), and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD... and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee." God takes note of a tender, humbled heart. Josiah would be gathered to his grave "in peace" and not see the coming disaster. Here is a precious truth: what God most values is not outward power or achievement but a heart that is soft toward Him, that trembles at His word, humbles itself, and weeps over sin. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51:17). The same word that pronounced doom on the hard-hearted nation pronounced peace on the tender-hearted king. Judgment and mercy flow from the same word of God, and which we receive depends on the state of the heart that hears it. God still looks for the tender heart, and still hears it.
Explanation
Josiah's officials went to Huldah the prophetess, who lived in Jerusalem, to inquire of the LORD. She confirmed that God would indeed bring on Jerusalem all the disaster written in the book, because the people had forsaken Him for idols, and His wrath would not be quenched. But she gave the king a personal word of mercy: because his heart was tender and he had humbled himself, wept, and torn his clothes when he heard God's word, God had heard him, and he would die in peace and not witness the coming judgment. The officials brought this word back to Josiah. The nation's doom was certain, but the godly king was granted grace because of his responsive, humble heart.
Gospel Focus
Huldah's word reveals what God prizes above all: a tender heart. "Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself... and wept before me; I also have heard thee." The same word of God that fell as unquenchable wrath on a hardened nation fell as tender mercy on a humbled king, and the difference was the condition of the heart. God is not chiefly impressed by our reforms, achievements, or power, but by a heart soft toward Him, one that trembles at His word, grieves over sin, and humbles itself. "The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart" (Psalm 34:18); "a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." This is deeply encouraging: you may not be able to undo all the consequences of sin, in your life or your world, but a tender, humbled heart is never despised by God; He hears it, as He heard Josiah. And it is deeply searching: the peril is a hard heart that hears the word unmoved. The gospel calls for exactly the response Josiah gave, to hear God's word, tremble at it, humble ourselves, and turn. God has promised, "a new heart also will I give you... and I will take away the stony heart... and I will give you an heart of flesh" (Ezekiel 36:26). Ask Him for a tender heart, receive His word with brokenness and faith, and know that He hears the contrite. Judgment or mercy from the same word depends on the heart; may yours be tender.
Chapter in Review
Second Kings 22 brings a bright dawn after the darkness of Manasseh and Amon. From that wicked household God raises Josiah, who begins to reign at eight and does right, walking straight in the way of David, turning "not aside to the right hand or to the left." As he faithfully repairs the neglected temple, the great discovery is made: the lost Book of the Law is found in the house of the LORD, a stunning sign of how far the nation had drifted from the very word it possessed. When it is read, the tender-hearted king rends his clothes in holy grief and hastens to inquire of the LORD. Through Huldah the prophetess God confirms that the judgment written in the book will surely come upon the idolatrous nation, but grants mercy to Josiah personally, "because thine heart was tender." The chapter teaches that grace can raise a godly life from an ungodly house, that revival begins when God's word is recovered and heard with a broken heart, and that God prizes and hears a tender, humbled heart above all.
Key Takeaways
- Grace can rise from a dark heritage. Josiah came from Judah's worst kings yet became one of its best; choose the LORD whatever your upbringing.
- Walk straight, turning neither right nor left. Undeviating obedience, neither excess nor compromise, marks a heart set on God.
- Do not let the word be lost. The Bible was neglected in the temple itself; possess the word, but also hear and heed it.
- The right response to Scripture is a broken heart. Josiah rent his clothes; God's word convicts, humbles, and moves the tender heart.
- God prizes and hears a tender heart. The same word was wrath to the hardened nation and mercy to the humbled king.
Questions for Reflection
- Whatever your heritage, have you chosen to walk in the way of the LORD for yourself?
- Do you walk straight in God's way, or turn aside by adding to it or falling short of it?
- Is the Bible you own truly heard and heeded, or has it gathered dust like the lost book?
- When you hear God's word, is your heart tender and moved, or unmoved and hard?
- Will you ask God for the tender, humbled heart He never despises?
References
- Scripture: 2 Kings 22:1-20, King James Version.
- Cross-references: Deuteronomy 17:20; Joshua 1:7; 2 Chronicles 34; Psalm 34:18; 51:17; 119:130; Ecclesiastes 12:1; Isaiah 66:2; Jeremiah 23:29; Ezekiel 36:26; 1 Timothy 4:12; Hebrews 4:12.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for rakh and the idiom of turning aside; historical background of the Book of the Law and Huldah the prophetess.