Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read 2 Kings 22, Zephaniah 2, and Proverbs 26, 1-16. This devotional is about 2 Kings 22. Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother's name was Jededah, daughter of Adaiah. She was from Bozkath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David. He did not turn aside to the right or to the left. Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the scribe Shephen, son of Azaliah, the son of Meshulam, to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the priest, and have him count the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord. which the doorkeepers have collected from the people, and let them deliver it into the hands of the supervisors of those doing the work on the house of the Lord, who in turn are to give it to the workmen repairing the damages to the house of the Lord, to the carpenters, builders, and masons, to buy timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. But they need not account for the money put into their hands, since they work with integrity. Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And he gave it to Shaphan who read it. And Shaphan the scribe went to the king and reported, your servants have paid out the money that was found in the temple and have put it into the hands of the workers and supervisors of the house of the Lord. Moreover, Shaphan the scribe told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book. and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes and commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahicham son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Esaiah the servant of the king, go and inquire of the Lord for me, for the people, and for all Judah concerning the words in this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book by doing all that is written about us. So Hilkiah the priest, Ahicham, Achbor, Shaphan, and Esaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shalem, son of Tikva, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem in the second district. And Huldah said to them, This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. Tell the man who sent you that this is what the Lord says. I am about to bring calamity on this place and on its people, according to all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read, because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be kindled against this place and will not be quenched. But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, tell him that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. As for the words that you heard, because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its people, that they would become a desolation and a curse. And because you have torn your clothes and wept over me, I have heard you, declares the Lord. Therefore, I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place." So they brought her answer back to the king. This is God's word. Josiah was 8 years old when he became king. When he was a mere 26 years old, however, according to verse 3, in the 18th year. But at that age, he supervised the renovation of Solomon's temple, according to verses 3 through 7. During that renovation, the book of the law was discovered. And that's a reference to Moses' law. But it's unclear whether that meant all five books of Moses or just one book, such as Exodus or Deuteronomy. What is clear is that God's word had been neglected. Whatever Josiah and any other observant person in Judah knew about God was known by oral tradition, not by direct instruction from God's written word, because that had gone missing. Having rediscovered God's word, however, the secretary, according to verse 8, and the king, according to verse 10, read it. The king immediately accepted the words he heard as God's word, according to verse 11. And the king realized that God had promised judgment for disobedience to this covenant, disobedience that was common throughout his kingdom. His response to the message in verse 13 was, This inquiry was to find out what the Lord's will was for the king and his people. In other words, He wanted to know, had the Lord already determined to bring judgment on them, or would he accept the king's repentance? Having consulted the prophet Huldah, as we saw in verse 14, God's people and the king learned that God had indeed willed judgment for Judah. We saw that in verses 16 and 17. However, Verses 18 and 19 tell us that Josiah's responsiveness to God's word would mean mercy for him and for the people during his life. Verse 19 in the NIV put it this way, because your heart was responsive. He therefore modeled for Judah and for anyone who follows God what walking with God looks like. We must read God's Word, not someone else's description or summary of God's Word, but the Word itself. That's what Josiah did when he recovered the Word of God. Then, we must believe that it is true and that it applies to us. And we must turn to God in repentance when we are convicted of disobedience to it. That's what the phrase, because your heart was responsive, means. It meant that Josiah heard God's word. He read it. He believed it was for him. He called out to God in repentance and asked for God's mercy. And that's exactly what God wants everyone who walks with him to do. I'm glad that you're reading or watching or listening to these devotionals. But are you reading the Bible passages first? Are you finding truth for yourself in these daily chapters from Scripture, in addition to the truth that I try to share with you in these devotionals every morning? Most importantly, are you doing anything about the truth that God is bringing to your attention from the Word? Take a few minutes to think and pray about that this morning, and I'll see you next time. May God bless you. Hope you have a great day today.