◄ 2 Kings 22:3 ►
Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the scribe, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the LORD, saying,
Study Bible
Now in the eighteenth year of his reign,

Josiah was about twenty-six years old, having begun to reign at eight after the assassination of Amon. The year was about 622 B.C. Although earlier reforms had begun, the restoration of the temple became the occasion for a decisive renewal of Judah’s covenant life.

2Ch 35:19 In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, this Passover…
2Ki 23:23 But in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign…

King Josiah

Josiah walked in faithfulness to the LORD unlike the kings immediately before him. His zeal for removing idolatry and restoring the worship of God fulfilled the earlier prophecy that a king named Josiah would act against the corrupt altar at Bethel (1 Kings 13:2).

2Ki 23:25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king…
2Ch 34:2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD…

sent the scribe, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam,

Shaphan served as a trusted royal official responsible for records and administration. His family remained influential in Judah, and several of his descendants later supported Jeremiah’s ministry during the nation’s final years (Jeremiah 26:24; 36:10; 39:14).

2Ch 34:8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign,…
Jer 36:10 From the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe,…

to the house of the LORD,

Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem had suffered neglect under ungodly rulers. Josiah’s concern for its repair showed that true reform involved more than removing idols; the people of Judah needed to return to the place God had appointed for worship, sacrifice, and covenant instruction.

2Ki 12:4 Then Joash said to the priests, “Collect all the money…
2Ch 29:3 In the first month of the first year of his reign,…

saying,

Josiah’s command would lead to the repair of the temple and the discovery of the Book of the Law. God used the recovered Scriptures to expose Judah’s sin, humble the king, and call the nation back to obedience.

2Ch 34:9-10 So they went to Hilkiah the high priest.…
2Ki 12:5 Let every priest receive it from his constituency,…

Persons / Places / Events
1. King Josiah
The king of Judah who began his reign at a young age and was known for his reforms and dedication to restoring the worship of Yahweh.

2. Shaphan
A scribe and a trusted official in King Josiah's court, tasked with overseeing the temple repairs.

3. Azaliah
The father of Shaphan, mentioned to establish Shaphan's lineage and credibility.

4. Meshullam
The grandfather of Shaphan, further establishing the family line.

5. The House of the LORD
Refers to the temple in Jerusalem, which was in need of repair and restoration during Josiah's reign.
Teaching Points
The Importance of Godly Leadership
Josiah's commitment to restoring the temple and worship of Yahweh demonstrates the impact of godly leadership on a nation. Leaders today should seek to honor God in their decisions and actions.

The Role of Scripture in Reformation
The rediscovery of the Book of the Law during Josiah's reign underscores the transformative power of God's Word. Believers should prioritize Scripture in their personal and communal lives to guide and reform their hearts and actions.

Faithful Stewardship of Resources
Josiah's initiative to repair the temple shows the importance of using resources wisely for God's glory. Christians are called to be good stewards of their time, talents, and treasures in service to the Lord.

Generational Faithfulness
The mention of Shaphan's lineage highlights the value of generational faithfulness. Families should strive to pass down a legacy of faith and service to future generations.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does King Josiah's leadership inspire you to influence your community or workplace for God?

2. In what ways can you prioritize the study and application of Scripture in your daily life, similar to the rediscovery of the Book of the Law?

3. What resources has God entrusted to you, and how can you use them to further His kingdom, as seen in the temple repairs?

4. How can you contribute to building a legacy of faith in your family or community, following the example of Shaphan's lineage?

5. Reflect on a time when a leader's actions positively impacted your spiritual journey. How can you emulate that influence in your own sphere of influence?
Connections to Other Scriptures
2 Chronicles 34
This chapter provides a parallel account of Josiah's reign and reforms, offering additional details about the temple restoration and the discovery of the Book of the Law.

Deuteronomy 31
This passage discusses the importance of the Book of the Law, which was rediscovered during Josiah's temple repairs, emphasizing the need for adherence to God's commandments.

Jeremiah 1
Jeremiah's prophetic ministry began during Josiah's reign, highlighting the spiritual climate and the need for reform in Judah.
Sermons
Josiah: the Temple Again RepairedJ. Orr 2 Kings 22:1-7
A Monarch of Rare Virtue, and a God of Retributive JusticeDavid Thomas, D. D.2 Kings 22:1-20
A Monarch of Rare Virtue, and a God of Retributive JusticeD. Thomas 2 Kings 22:1-20
Josiah and the Book of the LawMonday Club Sermons2 Kings 22:1-20
Josiah's ReformationAlex. Whyte, D. D.2 Kings 22:1-20
People
Achbor, Adaiah, Ahikam, Asahiah, Asaiah, Azaliah, David, Harhas, Hilkiah, Huldah, Jedidah, Josiah, Meshullam, Micaiah, Michaiah, Shallum, Shaphan, Tikvah
Places
Bozkath, Jerusalem, Second Quarter
Topics
Azaliah, Azali'ah, Eighteenth, Josiah, Josi'ah, Meshullam, Meshul'lam, Pass, Reign, Saying, Scribe, Secretary, Shaphan, Temple
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Kings 22:3-6

     5212   arts and crafts

2 Kings 22:3-7

     4366   stones
     5508   ruins
     5603   wages
     7467   temple, Solomon's
     8466   reformation

Library
The Rediscovered Law and Its Effects
'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. 9. 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. 10. And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"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."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

A Traveler's Note-Book
A tourist who roams for a brief while through some great country like England or Russia may jot down a few of the impressions which come home to him, making no pretense at completeness or symmetry of description. So, one who has journeyed like a hasty traveler over some passages in that vast tract of years which we describe as the classic and Christian civilizations, notes down in the following pages a few of the salient features that have impressed him. He has already prefaced this with a sort …
George S. Merriam—The Chief End of Man

Whether Determinate Things are Required for a Sacrament?
Objection 1: It seems that determinate things are not required for a sacrament. For sensible things are required in sacraments for the purpose of signification, as stated above [4343](A[4]). But nothing hinders the same thing being signified by divers sensible things: thus in Holy Scripture God is signified metaphorically, sometimes by a stone (2 Kings 22:2; Zech. 3:9; 1 Cor. 10:4; Apoc. 4:3); sometimes by a lion (Is. 31:4; Apoc. 5:5); sometimes by the sun (Is. 60:19,20; Mal. 4:2), or by something …
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Instrumentality of the Wicked Employed by God, While He Continues Free from Every Taint.
1. The carnal mind the source of the objections which are raised against the Providence of God. A primary objection, making a distinction between the permission and the will of God, refuted. Angels and men, good and bad, do nought but what has been decreed by God. This proved by examples. 2. All hidden movements directed to their end by the unseen but righteous instigation of God. Examples, with answers to objections. 3. These objections originate in a spirit of pride and blasphemy. Objection, that …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Medes and the Second Chaldaean Empire
THE FALL OF NINEVEH AND THE RISE OF THE CHALDAEAN AND MEDIAN EMPIRES--THE XXVIth EGYPTIAN DYNASTY: CYAXARES, ALYATTES, AND NEBUCHADREZZAR. The legendary history of the kings of Media and the first contact of the Medes with the Assyrians: the alleged Iranian migrations of the Avesta--Media-proper, its fauna and flora; Phraortes and the beginning of the Median empire--Persia proper and the Persians; conquest of Persia by the Medes--The last monuments of Assur-bani-pal: the library of Kouyunjik--Phraortes …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8

The First Blast of the Trumpet
The English Scholar's Library etc. No. 2. The First Blast of the Trumpet &c. 1558. The English Scholar's Library of Old and Modern Works. No. 2. The First Blast of the Trumpet &c. 1558. Edited by EDWARD ARBER, F.S.A., etc., LECTURER IN ENGLISH LITERATURE, ETC., UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON. SOUTHGATE, LONDON, N. 15 August 1878. No. 2. (All rights reserved.) CONTENTS. Bibliography vii-viii Introduction …
John Knox—The First Blast of the Trumpet

Why Should we not Believe These to be Angelic Operations through Dispensation of The...
16. Why should we not believe these to be angelic operations through dispensation of the providence of God, Who maketh good use of both good things and evil, according to the unsearchable depth of His judgments? whether thereby the minds of mortals be instructed, or whether deceived; whether consoled, or whether terrified: according as unto each one there is to be either a showing of mercy, or a taking of vengeance, by Him to Whom, not without a meaning, the Church doth sing "of mercy and of judgment." …
St. Augustine—On Care to Be Had for the Dead.

The Credibility of Scripture Sufficiently Proved in So Far as Natural Reason Admits.
1. Secondary helps to establish the credibility of Scripture. I. The arrangement of the sacred volume. II. Its dignity. III. Its truth. IV. Its simplicity. V. Its efficacy. 2. The majesty conspicuous in the writings of the Prophets. 3. Special proofs from the Old Testament. I. The antiquity of the Books of Moses. 4. This antiquity contrasted with the dreams of the Egyptians. II. The majesty of the Books of Moses. 5. The miracles and prophecies of Moses. A profane objection refuted. 6. Another profane …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Authorship of the Pentateuch.
The term Pentateuch is composed of the two Greek words, pente, five, and teuchos, which in later Alexandrine usage signified book. It denotes, therefore, the collection of five books; or, the five books of the law considered as a whole. 1. In our inquiries respecting the authorship of the Pentateuch, we begin with the undisputed fact that it existed in its present form in the days of Christ and his apostles, and had so existed from the time of Ezra. When the translators of the Greek version, …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Synagogues: their Origin, Structure and Outward Arrangements
It was a beautiful saying of Rabbi Jochanan (Jer. Ber. v. 1), that he who prays in his house surrounds and fortifies it, so to speak, with a wall of iron. Nevertheless, it seems immediately contradicted by what follows. For it is explained that this only holds good where a man is alone, but that where there is a community prayer should be offered in the synagogue. We can readily understand how, after the destruction of the Temple, and the cessation of its symbolical worship, the excessive value attached …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

The Greater Prophets.
1. We have already seen (Chap. 15, Nos. 11 and 12) that from Moses to Samuel the appearances of prophets were infrequent; that with Samuel and the prophetical school established by him there began a new era, in which the prophets were recognized as a distinct order of men in the Theocracy; and that the age of written prophecy did not begin till about the reign of Uzziah, some three centuries after Samuel. The Jewish division of the latter prophets--prophets in the more restricted sense of the …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Of the Power of Making Laws. The Cruelty of the Pope and his Adherents, in this Respect, in Tyrannically Oppressing and Destroying Souls.
1. The power of the Church in enacting laws. This made a source of human traditions. Impiety of these traditions. 2. Many of the Papistical traditions not only difficult, but impossible to be observed. 3. That the question may be more conveniently explained, nature of conscience must be defined. 4. Definition of conscience explained. Examples in illustration of the definition. 5. Paul's doctrine of submission to magistrates for conscience sake, gives no countenance to the Popish doctrine of the obligation …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

Of the Effects of those Prerogatives.
From these prerogatives there will arise to the elect in heaven, five notable effects:-- 1. They shall know God with a perfect knowledge (1 Cor. i. 10), so far as creatures can possibly comprehend the Creator. For there we shall see the Word, the Creator; and in the Word, all creatures that by the Word were created; so that we shall not need to learn (of the things which were made) the knowledge of him by whom all things were made. The most excellent creatures in this life, are but as a dark veil …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Meditations for one that is Like to Die.
If thy sickness be like to increase unto death, then meditate on three things:--First, How graciously God dealeth with thee. Secondly, From what evils death will free thee. Thirdly, What good death will bring unto thee. The first sort of Meditations are, to consider God's favourable dealing with thee. 1. Meditate that God uses this chastisement of thy body but as a medicine to cure thy soul, by drawing thee, who art sick in sin, to come by repentance unto Christ, thy physician, to have thy soul healed …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

Kings
The book[1] of Kings is strikingly unlike any modern historical narrative. Its comparative brevity, its curious perspective, and-with some brilliant exceptions--its relative monotony, are obvious to the most cursory perusal, and to understand these things is, in large measure, to understand the book. It covers a period of no less than four centuries. Beginning with the death of David and the accession of Solomon (1 Kings i., ii.) it traverses his reign with considerable fulness (1 Kings iii.-xi.), …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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