Second Kings chapter 22, beginning in verse one. This is the word of the living God. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adiah of Baskah. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. In the 18th year of King Josiah, The king sent Shefron, the son of Azaliah, son of Meshulam, the secretary to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah, the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people, and let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord repairing the house. that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons, and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly. And Okiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Ulkiah gave the book to Shiphon and he read it. And Shiphon the secretary came to the king and reported to the king, your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord. And Shiphon the secretary told the king, Ulkiah the priest has given me a book. And Shiphon read it before the king. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. When the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahicham the son of Shiphon, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shiphon the secretary, and Isaiah the king's servant, saying, Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah concerning the words of this book that have been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us. So Hekiah the priest, and Ahicham, and Achbor, and Shiphon, and Nessiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shalom, the son of Tikva, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. Now she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter, and they talked with her. And she said to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, Tell the man who sent you to me, Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read, because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands. Therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, regarding the words that you have heard, because your heart was penitent and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how he spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse. And you have torn your clothes and wept before me. I also have heard you, declares the Lord. Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place." And they brought back word to the king. Grass withers, and the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Brothers and sisters, we are nearing the end of our study together that began long ago in 1 Samuel. We are down to the last of the kings of Judah. Four chapters remain, including tonight's chapter. Two of those chapters focus our attention on one king, King Josiah, while the other two chapters focus on the final kings that lead to the exile. The exile was threatened, was promised so long ago in the narrative that we might find ourselves wondering, why has God taken so long? Why does his judgment tarry? Why did it not happen under Saul, David, Solomon, or any number of kings that came after them, particularly those that turned more and more away from the Lord? Even the length of our study together teaches us a lesson about our God, for He is a patient God. He waits long and provides time for repentance. To the prophet Ezekiel, he says in Ezekiel 33 in verse 11, say to them, as I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? In the New Testament, we find a counterpart to this, about God's patience, about why God tarries. Peter says in 2 Peter 3, in verse 9, the Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. In this way, then, God's mercy has been on display for us. His mercy on display, even as we have talked much about the judgment of God, the threat of it, and even the bringing of it, or the types and shadows that show that it's coming. We have seen God's mercy on display. We saw that even last week in chapter 21, in the context of the most wicked king over Judah, Manasseh. Remember how he had done what was evil, reenacting and reestablishing all of the wicked actions and worship of Israel, of Ahab, of the Amorites, of the Canaanites. He seemed to just stack them up one on top of another. Yet there was comfort even there in the life of Manasseh, for the Lord did not abandon him completely. Though he had cast off restraint, he called upon the Lord and he was delivered. Even as we near the exile, Manasseh's life provides hope looking forward. Hope looking forward that if God does not cast off completely Manasseh, but hears his prayer, then maybe it is the case that even as the Lord casts off Judah, that it won't be forever. And our chapter tonight is a big part of that hope. That God's Word is powerful. and accomplishes all that He promises. And that, after all, beloved, is why we have the history of redemption recorded for us. These are not so many stories woven together just for our entertainment, but rather they are laid out for us to show us one clear truth, that God is true, that God is faithful, and that He is the one who brings His Word to fulfillment. For it is his word that is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Even as God's word exposes our sin, it also shows us the way of mercy and grace. For the Word of God is not complete in the Old Testament, for it pushes forward into the New Testament, into the One who is the very Word of God, our Savior, Jesus Christ. And make no mistake, the hope that we place in the fulfillment of our salvation through the Word of God that is Christ Himself, it is grounded in the fulfillment of God's faithfulness to His Word, even in the Old Testament. The Word of God. It is a powerful Word. An active Word. A Word that in the Old Testament brings about creation. God spoke and everything came into being. Out of nothing, He made all things. It is the Word of God that governs all of creation. Maintains the very created order that we rely upon in the days and the seasons and the months and the years. that Word that gives life, that Word that restrains from evil, that heals and rescues, that has power to save. It is this Word of God that we give our attention to each and every week. So this evening we consider the Word of God, its power, as it's shown to us in this chapter. And we see first the power of God's Word to convict. Now again, we're entering back into the story. This is the story of Judah, that southern kingdom. After the division between the north and the south, the northern kingdom was taken away into exile, conquered by the Assyrians. The southern kingdom continued on. They are nearing the end, and yet, even here, we see God's mercy as He brings His Word back to their remembrance. God's Word has power to convict. We begin then with Josiah's reign. He was eight years old when he began to reign. One of the youngest kings to reign over Judah. Undoubtedly, he was surrounded by many who would give him counsel and help. But notice the way that his reign is summarized for us in these opening two verses. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the ways of David his father. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left. Remember who his father was. It wasn't Manasseh, actually. It was Ammon. Ammon, the son of Manasseh, killed after only two years of being king. But Josiah is a descendant of David, and so the author brings to our attention the covenant promises. Indeed, the summary of his reign hints at what is to come. For all the way back in the book of the law, Deuteronomy chapter 17, speaking of the king that would sit upon the throne, verses 18 to 20, it says, that when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law approved by the Levitical priests, and it shall be with him, and he shall read it in all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandments either to the right hand or to the left. So they may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children in Israel. Here at the very beginning then of Josiah's reign, we have a nod even to the very law, the book of the law that's going to be recovered, telling us who Josiah is and how it is that he walked before the Lord. Indeed, this comes by way of the recovery of the book. I call it Josiah's recovery because the priest's finding in the house of the Lord doesn't amount to anything at least official. It is odd that the high priest discovered it. Where was it all of this time? Hidden away, it seems. Perhaps under the reins of Manasseh and Ammon, just ignored, neglected. Maybe they had not gone through and done what they were supposed to do in transcribing a copy of the law for themselves under the care of the Levitical priests. But in Josiah's 18th year, And there he is, about 26 years old. He makes a command, an edict, a directive, that they would go and count the money that had continued to come in from the people, the various taxes and all of that, that were for the upkeep of the house of the Lord. The house had been in disrepair, it seems. And so they are instructed to go and to count the money and to give it into the hands of the workmen, the ones who have oversight, and to let them use it to repair the house of the Lord. Even though under Manasseh it had been the site of the false pagan worship, it had broken down. Perhaps it was they who gave attention to false worship. Perhaps it was that they gave so much attention to false worship that the structures for true worship were neglected completely. There's an echo here, though, of something that has happened before. Jehoash, under Jehoiada, did the very same thing. But that's not the most striking thing. It is striking, of course, that there's a desire to reinstitute faithful biblical worship under Josiah in his 18th year. And Alkiah makes known that he has found the book of the law. Now there are different ways to understand what this book of the law is. It's possible that it was the entirety of the Torah, that is the first five books, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. More likely though, it was that fifth book. That fifth book that was the second giving of the law that laid out everything that the king would need to know and understand in order to reign justly under God. This is the book of the covenant that the king of Israel was to have. His heart and his mind were to be shaped by God's word, but that had not happened in some time. It was lost, it seems, so lost that the priest discovered it when he was cleaning the temple. Perhaps this is what Amos, the prophet, spoke of. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord God, when I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east. They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. Matthew Henry comments here, he says, it is a sign that God has mercy in store for a people when He magnifies His law among them and makes that honorable and furnishes them with the means for the increase of Scripture knowledge. The translating of the Scriptures into vulgar tongues was the glory, strength, and joy of the Reformation. Indeed, recovery of the Word goes together with the Reformation of true worship. We'll see this in the next chapter. And so it's no wonder that this chapter was of such an encouragement to the reformers. John Calvin writes, he says, if it be inquired then by what things chiefly the Christian religion has a standing existence among us and maintains its truth, you'll be found that the following two not only occupy the principal place but comprehend under them all other parts and consequently the whole substance of Christianity. He says, first, the mode in which God is duly worshiped, and second, the source from which salvation is to be obtained. Of such centrality then was the worship, and with the worship, the recovery of the word that Calvin would say that this is the primary reason for the Reformation. As I said, we'll come to this more next week as Josiah will seek to reform worship in Judah and in Jerusalem. But note here how it is that God reveals to them his word, providing it for them, hidden away for some time, now exposed. But notice, it's not that the word of God is exposed. It's that Josiah recognizes the word of God exposes him. In verse 10, Shiphon the secretary told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. Now I'm not sure exactly why it's worded that way. It's almost as though to play it down. Hilkiah had said, it's the book of the law. Shiphon simply presents it as a book, but he reads it before the king. And we read in verse 11, when the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. Now think about everything that goes in to that one action, that one response. He must have faith. He must believe the word that he heard. He must believe that it is the word of the living God. He must believe that it is the inspired, inherent, and infallible word of God. He cannot sidestep it. He cannot say, that is a word from some previous generation that means nothing to me. No. He must believe that the word that God inspired and preserved and delivered to him that day was what he must believe. But also, the humility of Josiah. He was king. He had been king since he was eight. Prior to that, he had been a prince. He grew up in the palace. He was waited on hand and foot, everybody around him. But when he saw or heard the law of God, he saw how it judged him. He was humble. He was humble. You know how it is. You know how your own heart seems to want to run away from the word of God, to find a reason why you sin, to excuse yourself. No, Josiah saw and believed. He humbled himself. And he repented. This is what is signified in the tearing of his robes, the tearing of his clothes, those kingly garments that he would have worn. They meant nothing in that moment. His sin was exposed, the sin of the people exposed, the judgment of God made clear. He cast aside those royal robes as though to say, I have nothing in myself. What am I to do? so ashamed of the sin of his people and of his own sin, so afraid of the wrath of God that Josiah repents. The tearing then of the clothes signify the tearing of his heart for the dishonor that had been done to God. the ruin that he saw coming upon his people. For if it was Deuteronomy that was read, and I believe it was, it would include then all the covenant curses. And all you have to do is go back and read Deuteronomy 28 and 29 to understand just how severe those curses would be. For the curses that would come against Israel and Judah were just like, were meant to be, just as we've talked about in the past, the judgment that Israel brought upon the promised land, that is, the people who had disobeyed against God and had to be cast out. This kind of intrusion of judgment that points to a real and final judgment and the outpouring of the wrath of God in the same way that Sodom and Gomorrah would point to the outpouring of the wrath of God Josiah hears this and recognizes that it wasn't about other people. It was about him and his house. It was about the land of Judah. It was about Jerusalem, which means that the curses, the curses of Deuteronomy would fall upon the people, would fall upon Josiah. God's word is powerful to convict. But it's not just that, it's a word that's powerful to comfort. And this is our second point. Notice Josiah immediately recognizes, having torn his robes, having humbled himself and believed the Word of God. He commands the priest, he commands him to bring his entire entourage, and he says, go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us. His request, then, is immediately to seek out the word of God, not a word that is somehow different than the word before him, but rather because there were still prophets in the land to find out. Is it too late? Will all of these things come upon the people? God has been merciful. God has been patient. Is it time for judgment? Josiah understood that the word of God demanded of his people faithfulness. Josiah saw that the people were faithless. And he knew also that the word of God threatened judgment. Speaking to the first commandment in Deuteronomy as well as in Exodus, the command there is to not bow down and serve the idols. It says, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me. Though it was the word of God that cut his heart, he knew that what he needed most was, in fact, that word, the word of God. And so he sets out to find out what the Lord will say. And note in verse 14, they go to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shalom, the son of Tikva, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe, who lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter. There's a lot of questions that this raises, of course. Huldah is nowhere else referenced in the scriptures. We don't know much about her. We do know that in the Old Testament there were prophets as well as prophetesses at times, although it was very rare for there to be a prophetess. What this signifies, though, I believe, is that He essentially says, find the nearest person who can speak the Word of the Lord. So desperate was he to hear the word of God in that moment that he sends them out to find the nearest one. And what did they find out? They find out that what Josiah has heard, read in his presence is in fact true. God will bring disaster. All the words of the book that the king of Judah has read will come to pass. For they have forsaken me. God's wrath is kindled. Now it is true that there were other prophets at this time. Jeremiah was a prophet at this time. Zephaniah was a prophet at this time. And it is true that, as I said already, prophetesses are fewer in number. There are three actually listed in the Old Testament. But I believe this is signifying an urgency in what Josiah wants to know. And the response she gives is exactly what Josiah had feared. She let him know what judgments God had in store for Judah in Jerusalem. His wrath would be kindled. Now, we've talked already about God's patience, His mercy. But now here we have a good King. A good King who is ready to do what is right. We'll even see it next week. We can say in a sense it was too late. The Lord had declared the judgment to come. This is a hard word indeed. And yet Josiah's response that we come to next week is quite remarkable. For he hears these words, that the Lord's wrath will not be turned back, and he still goes out and roots out false religion. The Lord is worthy of right worship, even if his people are in the midst of judgment for their own sins. That is a hard lesson, but it is one that is good and right to understand. It is God who is worthy. It is not that God is worthy when my life is going well. It is not that God is worthy for worship when everything lines up just right. It's that He is worthy of our worship. Period. This is why we gather in the morning and the evening each Lord's Day, because our God is worthy. His name is to be praised. This is the command of Scripture. The judgment will come. The response that Josiah receives is undoubtedly not the one that he would want to hear, but it is the Word of God. But Josiah himself is given relief, isn't he, in verses 18 and following. She lets him know what mercy God has in store for him. because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord. When you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. The Lord hears our repentance. As the larger catechism 76 says, repentance unto life is a saving grace wrought in the heart of a sinner by the spirit and word of God, whereby out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also the filthiness and odiousness of his sins, and upon the apprehension of God's mercy in Christ to such as are penitent. The sinner so grieves for and hates his sins as that he turns from them all to God, purposing and endeavoring constantly to walk with him in all the ways of new obedience. Josiah understands something of this true repentance. And we see here, even now, how God hears his repentance. It is not too late, we can say. No judgment will come. It is not as though God is going to give everyone over to that eternal judgment. As the prophet Joel would say in Joel 2 verses 12 to 13, yet even now, declares the Lord. This is in the context Joel is speaking of the judgment that is sure to come upon Judah. Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Josiah's repentance then is heard. And perhaps what's of interest here is Josiah's promise from God that he will not see the destruction of Jerusalem. He will die before it comes to pass. God's word is powerful to convict. God's word is powerful to comfort. God's word is powerful then to complete what he promises. everything that God intends will come to pass. The grass withers and the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows on it. Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever, Isaiah says in Isaiah 40 verses seven and eight. Or in Isaiah 55, verses 10 and 11, for as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose. It shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. It cannot be overstated enough that this is the ground of our hope. that God's Word will complete what He has spoken. That's important. It's important to see that even the judgment that's going to come upon Judah is part of God keeping His Word. For if He keeps His Word here, we know He keeps His Word when He says that He will not cast off any who come to Him through Jesus Christ. It's easy to read the Old Testament and to think, oh, couldn't it have happened differently? Couldn't God have not gone through with the judgment? But if he had not, then he would be a liar. And God cannot lie. Well, God's word will complete what he intends it to complete, and Josiah's life itself is evidence of that. Even his birth is foretold. Through this, we would stretch all the way back in our memories to 1 Kings chapter 13. Back in when the kingdom split, when Rehoboam had taken the southern kingdom and Jeroboam had taken the northern kingdom. We read there in 1 Kings 13, in that moment as Jeroboam is standing by the altar to make offerings, a man of God comes from Judah by the word of the Lord to Bethel. We read there, the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, O altar, Thus says the Lord, behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah, by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you. Now you might say, that doesn't sound like what's happening here. Josiah has been born, Josiah by name, but what of this curse against the altar, the sacrificing of those who make sacrifices? To that I would say, come back next week. For this is the very reformation of worship that Josiah will undertake. What I want us to see here is that God said that Josiah would be born, and Josiah is born. And not only is his birth foretold, his death is foretold. And this is back in our passage in verse 20. Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace. And your eyes shall not see all the disaster that it will bring upon this place. And they brought back word to the king. This too will come to pass, just as the Lord declares it. It is a mercy to Josiah. 1 Isaiah 57 reminds us, the righteous man perishes and no one lays it to heart. Devout men are taken away while no one understands, for the righteous man is taken away from calamity. He enters into peace. They rest in their beds who walk in their uprightness. But the wicked are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up mire and dirt. There is no peace, says my God, for the wicked. Josiah's birth is foretold, Josiah's death is foretold, and will come to pass as we'll see in two weeks' time. But also, this matter is because of one greater than Josiah. You see, to recover the Book of the Law in Deuteronomy isn't just to find the legal requirements. It's not just to hear of the judgment that sin deserves. But it also recovers the promise of the Messiah who will save His people from their sins. For in Deuteronomy we read of the prophet like Moses. Deuteronomy 18 in verse 15, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers. It is to him you shall listen. Moses prophesied then about a future prophet whom God will raise up and God will declare, this is my beloved son. Listen to him. Deuteronomy speaks not just of curses, but also of blessings. But even in Deuteronomy, Moses knows that the people will rebel. God knows the people will rebel. How could they not? They are a stiff-necked people, even as we are. If it's just about hearing the law and learning to obey it, we are without hope. Deuteronomy 30, verses 1 to 3. When all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you. And return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey His voice and all that I command you today with all your heart and with all your soul. then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you. He will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. The author of Kings is inspired, yes, and so brilliant, laying out before us the realities of judgment, but also the seeds of hope, the reality that God will call them back to himself. And how will this happen? Deuteronomy 13 verse 6, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul that you may live. Deuteronomy will end with the promise that God will act to save his people. Yes, to gather them in from the exile, and yes, that will happen, but to act so decisively as to change the heart of his people For this is what the law reveals to us, beloved. He reveals our sin. It's not about just trying to do better tomorrow. If that were what it's about, then Josiah should have a much different ending, for he is faithful to the Lord. No, it's about the need that we have for redemption. that our God must save us. And in this we find the good news of His Word. For His Word is powerful to convict. His Word is powerful to comfort. His Word is powerful to complete the promise that He has made. This is what the story of Scripture goes on to teach us. For salvation is possible because of God's powerful Word, the Word made flesh, our Savior Jesus Christ. In the story we are reading, it might be too late for this particular generation of Judah, but Josiah shows us the way forward. Faith and repentance, looking to God's promise to be faithful to his word, to his powerful word, is able to convict and to comfort and to complete the redemption that he has promised. And this is why I paired it with Acts chapter 20. For the Apostle Paul is preparing to depart from Ephesus. He's going to leave them. He's going to go to Jerusalem. He knows he's going to be in prison. He has in mind this is probably going to be the end of his life. The Apostle Paul did a lot to teach the people, but in leaving them, what does he say? And now I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among those who are sanctified. Paul understood the word of God, its power to convict, to comfort, and to complete. May we also entrust ourselves to our God, who has shown us his true word, that he would continue to build up our faith as we trust in him. Let's pray.