2 Kings Chapter 22

At a Glance

  • Chapter 22 centers on a reformer-king in Josiah.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • This chapter marks a high point in the Deuteronomistic chronology: a king awakens to God’s law and steers the nation back toward covenant fidelity.
  • - Discovery of Scripture as catalyst for reform.
  • - Obedience to the law as the path to blessing.

2 KINGS CHAPTER 22

Chapter Overview

Chapter 22 centers on a reformer-king in Josiah. At eight years old Josiah begins to reign, and by the eighteenth year, a significant discovery catalyzes a national renewal: Hilkiah the high priest finds the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD. The discovery triggers a chain of faithful actions: Shaphan the scribe reads the book to the king, the king tears his clothes in repentance, and a reform commission is set in motion to repair the temple and restore proper worship. The chapter emphasizes the seriousness of divine revelation—scripture found in the house of God reframes national memory and policy. The law becomes the lens through which the king and people measure their practices, aligning with the Deuteronomistic history’s insistence that obedience to the law is the path to blessing. The reform is sweeping: pay the workers who maintain the repairs, remove idolatrous artifacts, reinstate the Passover, and abolish practices that led Judah away from covenant fidelity. The chapter ends with a statement of Josiah’s righteousness, echoing the high standard of the line from David and signaling that renewal is possible even after long periods of spiritual drift.

Historical & Literary Context

This chapter marks a high point in the Deuteronomistic chronology: a king awakens to God’s law and steers the nation back toward covenant fidelity. The discovery motif is symbolic—scripture awakening a nation to repentance. The Josianic reform is extensively documented in Kings and parallel Chronicles, reflecting a sustained interest in how law and temple worship shape national identity. The narrative’s tempo shifts from discovery to decree to practice, illustrating the practical outworking of renewal.

Key Themes

- Discovery of Scripture as catalyst for reform

- Obedience to the law as the path to blessing

- Corporate repentance and obedience in worship

- The central role of temple worship in national life

- Renewal amid spiritual decline

Modern Application

Today, the chapter speaks to the transformative potential of engaging with Scripture and allowing it to reorder life—notably in worship, leadership, and community values. It invites believers to pursue a posture of humility before God’s Word, to audit practices against Scripture, and to mobilize resources for faithful worship and social justice that align with God’s commands. The Passover revival suggests the importance of ritual memory as a way to anchor identity in God’s deliverance. Leaders and laypeople alike are called to prioritize spiritual renewal over status, and to pursue reforms that restore ethical integrity, social concern, and devotion to the LORD.

- 2 Kings 23 (Josiah’s further reforms)

- 2 Chronicles 34-35 (Josiah’s reform and Passover renewal)

- Deuteronomy 6-8 (the centrality of the law and covenant renewal)

- Jeremiah 7 (warnings against hollow worship)

Recommended Personas

- Josiah (the reforming king)

- Ezra (renewal through the law and temple)

- Jesus (fulfillment of Scripture and renewal of worship)

- Moses (covenant law as guide for life)

Chapter Text

1

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.

2

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.

3

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,

4

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:

5

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,

6

Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.

7

Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.

8

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 priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.

11

And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.

12

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,

13

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.

14

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.

15

And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,

16

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:

17

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.

18

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;

19

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.

20

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.

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