This is our third and final message from II Chronicles. The writer chronicles the successes and failures of the kings of Judah as this little nation careens toward moral and spiritual failure and eventual extinction when Jerusalem falls and the Jews are carried off into exile.
The list records what the kings did, but more important than their political accomplishments is whether or not they were obedient to God.
• Rehoboam: Abandoned God’s law.
• Abijah : Relied on the Lord.
• Asa: Did right in God’s sight.
• Jehoshaphat: Did right in God’s sight.
• Jehoram: Did evil in the sight of the Lord.
• Ahaziah: Did evil in the sight of the Lord.
• Athaliah: Did evil in the sight of the Lord. .
• Joash: Did right in God’s sight.
• Amaziah: Did right in God’s sight. .
• Uzziah: Did right until he became proud.
• Jotham: Did right in God’s sight.
• Ahaz: Did evil in the sight of the Lord.
• Hezekiah: Did right in God’s sight.
• Manasseh: Did evil, but repented.
• Amon: Did evil in the sight of the Lord.
• Josiah: Did right in God’s sight.
• Jehoahaz: (Three months)
• Jehoiakim: Did evil in the sight of the Lord.
• Jehoiachin: Did evil in the sight of the Lord.
• Zedekiah: Did evil. Did not humble himself.
Note that there were eight who did right in the sight of God. That was not the case for even one of the kings of Israel. Even so, because of pride and evil, Judah eventually fails spiritually and falls politically.
All is not lost, though. In the background we can hear the steady beat of God’s purposes being played out. As you read the Chronicles, you can’t help but observe how powerful God is. The armies may fight, but God decides the battle. Other gods may vie for loyalty, but the Lord is “greater than all gods” (II Chron. 2:5). The people may sin, but God offers forgiveness and healing. God not only brings judgment, He makes grace available as well.
As we read in 7:14. “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” We find echoes of this verse in several of the stories.
For example, in Chapter 26 we read about King Uzziah who started out as king at age 16 and he did some things right. But, eventually, he became well-known for his successes and his successes went to his head. The Bible says he became proud. He did not humble himself. As a result, he was afflicted with a terrible disease and died a leper.
We find another example in Chapter 33 where we read about King Manasseh, who became king at age 12, and lasted 55 years. The Bible tells us that Manasseh did much evil in the sight of the Lord. However, when the Lord brought punishment upon him through the nation of Assyria who carted him off to Babylon, we read in v. 12, “While he was in distress he entreated the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. He prayed to him and God heard his plea and restored him again to Jerusalem. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.” God was at work and Manasseh finally recognized it.
Then we get to Chapter 34 and we read about Josiah who became king when he was 8 years old. This time we read that he did what was right in the sight of the Lord. What did he do right? For one thing, at the age of 16 “he began to seek the God of his ancestor David” and when he turned 20 he went throughout the country and destroyed the altars to false gods, beat the images into powder, and demolished all the incense altars in the land.
Young people, are you beginning to seek God, to learn who he is and what his purpose is for you? Whether you are 8, 12, or 16, it is not too early to begin to seriously consider what God wants to accomplish in your life. Read the Bible. Talk with your Sunday school teachers. Pray to God for guidance.
And for the rest of us, young or old, are we as decisive as Josiah was at age 20 to put out of our lives all of those things that keep us from following and obeying God? You may have things in your house or in your schedule that you need to cut out so that you can be faithful to God. Are you willing to do that?
Eventually, Josiah got around to repairing the temple. It had fallen into disuse and needed to be restored. They had let it go to ruin, says 34:11. So Josiah ordered carpenters and masons and others to make the repairs. And we read that “The people did the work faithfully.” It wasn’t just the king or the priest, but the people; it was everyone’s job. The same is true with the church. This past week a frustrated pastor sent us an email, asking, Where did attitudes like, “It’s the Pastor’s job to get new people into the church," come from? I believe they came from a time in our culture when that seemed adequate! When churches had 200 people, there was little perceived need for evangelism, and folks were just expected to attend church. All the church did was to make sure there was enough worship space for people to come to church. I believe these attitudes must change!
The attitude of those who repaired the temple in Josiah’s day was that it was everyone’s job. Do you do the work of the Lord faithfully, fully, and completely? Or do you hang back when there is work to do, hoping someone else will volunteer? Are you one of God’s faithful workers?
Then we come to a fascinating part of this story. It’s hard to imagine, but Josiah had evidently never heard or seen God’s word. Somewhere, somehow the law of God had gotten lost and Josiah didn’t even seem to know about it. But while they were repairing the temple, the priest found a copy of the law of Moses, probably the book of Deuteronomy. They brought it to the king and read the words of God’s law to him. How did Josiah respond? Verse 19 says When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes. That means he was upset. He was grieving. Why? Check out the words in Deuteronomy 29:18-20.
King Josiah was beside himself. As he listened to those words, he realized that he had not humbled himself before God. His ancestors had not humbled themselves before God. His citizens had not humbled themselves before God. Would God, therefore, destroy him and his people as this book said? Josiah sent a committee to ask a prophet of the Lord about this book. This prophet was named Huldah.
All we know from the Bible about Huldah is that she was the wife of Shallum, who was in charge of the king’s wardrobe. We don’t know much about her family, but just from what she says, we find out some important things about her. The king’s representatives must have known about her and had confidence in her. They knew they could trust her to bring them the word of God. And in this unusual situation, God helped her find her voice, and her words helped change the life of the king and the course of the nation.
To be God’s spokesperson, it doesn’t matter whether you are young or old, male or female. What does matter is that God has called you to be his messenger. Huldah was one who knew that God was speaking through her. When the king’s men came to her, she didn’t stutter, sputter, or stammer. Verse 23 says “She declared to them, “Thus says the Lord….” She knew where she stood with God and God used her to convey His message to King Josiah.
1. Huldah knew the word of God and was able to say what it meant. These men knew she was versed in God’s law. She knew the discipline of reading and meditating on it. She kept her attention focused on God and God directed her. As Isaiah 48:17 says, I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go. She humbled herself before God. She was no doubt a woman of prayer. She kept her heart open to hear what God was saying. And God called her out to be his appointed prophet just as he called the prophet Amos and others who were not well known. These men went to her because they knew of her faith and trust in God. Henry Blackaby writes, When our prayer is God-centered, God reveals himself and his heart for all to see. That is the position Hulda came from. Where do you stand when it seems everybody around you has lost their way? Do you have that inner sense of wholeness, that well-being that comes from God? Do you live with a sense of God’s purpose in your life? Does God’s word light your path and illuminate your way?
2.. Huldah was able to speak clearly and boldly to the king. One would think that she would have been scared to go before the king and speak as she did. After all, as we learned last Sunday, Micaiah went to prison for speaking God’s message to the king. Now it’s her turn. She doesn’t use fancy language. In v. 23 she doesn’t refer to the king as royal ruler or your majesty. Instead she says, “Tell the man who sent you.” The king was, after all, human, a man like other men, but she knew that God was king and it was to Him she should bow. Hulda was willing to be God’s mouthpiece in a potentially dangerous situation. Jesus told his disciples that trying times will come. In Luke 21, Jesus said that when they drag you before kings and governors, “I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to contradict.” Huldah spoke to the king with courage. You may not have to speak to political leaders, but you may find it necessary to declare where you stand to your boss or to your peers. It requires courage to be faithful. God will be with you even as he was with Huldah and He will help you speak up if your commitment is clear.
3.. Huldah had a deep concern for God’s people. Somehow she stayed connected with the worship activities of God’s people. She had God’s people at heart. And she was grieved that her ancestors, the king, and everyone around her no longer cared about the promises and the covenant they had made with God. Deep within she felt the pain of a mother whose child had wandered off. She agonized over the direction God’s people had taken. They had forsaken God, and they were unwilling to repent. As a result, they were separated from God and from his people. When Micaiah spoke to the king, he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd.” Maybe she had the same picture in her mind. Shepherds agonize over wandering sheep and so do pastors of congregations.
Huldah could only tell the king that these people would receive the judgment of God. She knew that the reason God had called out Abraham and had chosen the people of Israel was to demonstrate his love to the world. And he wanted them to be a light to the world. That was their mission. But they had become distracted and they failed. Brothers & sisters, as God’s people in this congregation, no matter what happens, good or bad, let’s not get distracted from the mission God has given us. God wants us not only to reach out to others, but to build a strong community of faith from within. Remember that it is God’s work we are doing.
4..Huldah’s message had an impact. We read that as a result of Huldah’s words the king and all the people in Jerusalem returned to God. In this story we see a sign of God’s grace in verses 27 & 28. It is not often that you hear of a king who turns from arrogance, humbles himself, and repents, but Josiah did. And immediately following, we see that not just the king, but all who were present in Jerusalem renewed their covenant with God. Count the ALLs in verses 29-33 to see how completely and fully people gave of themselves. And then they gathered for a worship service the likes of which had not been seen since the days of the prophet Samuel. Throughout these events we can hear the steady beat of God’s purposes being played out. God is greater than all our sin. He is able to forgive. God is greater than all our brokenness. He is able to heal. He makes his grace available to us. And he rejoices when we humble ourselves, pray, seek his face, and turn from our wicked ways. We have his promise that He will hear from heaven, and will forgive our sin and heal our land.” May it be so for us.
