Josiah was the first ruler who turned to jehovah with all his heart. According to the bible, king josiah then changed his form of leadership. I determined, in a mood which i can only describe as a fit of ill temper, to publish the book of the law, and then get rid of it for ever. Explain that book of the law was another name for the scriptures.
The book of kings relates how a law of moses was discovered in the temple during the reign of king josiah r. Hilkiah speaks of it as the book of the law a book long lost, now found, and at once recognized. The problem lies in explaining the order of events in 2 kings 2223. Davies, josiah and the law book in good kings and bad kings. It was a great instance of gods favour, that the book of the law was thus seasonably brought to light, to direct and quicken that blessed reformation, which joash had begun.
Josiah did not need the word of god explained the word of. To his partisans, josiah is a hero and the last, best hope to. Weekly shabbat teachings from matthew nolan of torah to the tribes. So shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work. It was while the cleanup crew was going through the rubble, that they came upon the book of the law and brought it to josiah, 2 kings 22. When he ordered the temple of the lord cleaned and repaired, the high priest found the book of the law that had been lost and forgotten. The book of the law was the first five books of the bible, also know as the mosaic law because it was written by moses or the pentateuch. This type of restoration is yet needed in the late twentieth century. And hilkiah gave the book to shaphan, and he read it. What was the book of the law that was found in the temple. He was unable to soften the hearts of the people of. After hilkiah brought the book of the law to king josiah, and the prophetess, huldah, explained its significance, he destroyed all the articles in the temple that were made for baal and asherah. Say, reading the bible is good, but we have to go a step further and do what it says. Finding the lost book sermon by john lowe, 2 kings 22.
The book that grieved josiah reformed bible studies. His history is one that offers christians some of the greatest encouragement they will ever find in the bible. The book of the law was found when we take the time to examine biblical history, it is not difficult to find that through the ages man has always failed god. A book of the law was known to have been once in existence. It seems that gods word had been missing for a long period of. It was the temple copy which, had been laid deuteronomy 31. The roll certainly contained deuteronomy and perhaps all.
The copy found was the complete, standard, authoritative copy. The young josiah and the book of the law the childrens. The book of the law found josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in jerusalem thirtyone years. Gods care of the bible, is a plain proof of his interest in it. Understanding habakkuk by understanding his context read. The reasons why this happens can be attributed to many things, but i would say that what modern society has in common with all. Hilkiah speaks of it as the book of the law a book long lost, now found, and at. Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirtyone years in jerusalem. The different event of josiahs early succession from that of manasseh, must be ascribed to the distinguishing grace of god. Because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the lord when you heard what i spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before me, i also have heard you, says the. Gods book is a light that shows you many sign posts to direct you along the right paths. Moreover, josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of judah and in jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that hilkiah the priest found in the house of the lord.
Gods care of the bible plainly shows his interest in it. Book of the law and book of the covenant are descriptive terms for the scriptures at that time. What did hilkiah, the high priest, find in the temple when it was being repaired. I was still obsessed by the idea that secrecy was necessary to a magical document, that publication would destroy its importance. A skeptical note on the document discovered in the temple under. The evidence is very strong that the book of the law referred to was deuteronomy, and the measures taken by josiah are quite in harmony with this view. To josiah the book was evidently, as to hilkiah, in some sort a discovery. Unlike his evil grandfather and father, king josiah tried to lead the people of judah back to god. Josiah did not establish a new religion, he simply found the rejected religion of god and restored gods people to faithful keeping of the commandments. The first revelation of the law in anything like a perfect form is found in the book of deuteronomy.
Law of moses definition and meaning bible dictionary. In repairing the temple, the book of the law was found, and brought to the king. Just two years later, when josiah was 18, he began to repair the house of the lord. According to rabbinic interpretation, huldah said to the messengers of king. A book of the law was found in the temple, which was being.
And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes. But imagine trying to find a single artifact in a large building that. In the process of restoring the temple, the high priest hilkiah found the book of the. The book of the law that was supposedly found in the temple during the seventhcenturybce reign of king josiah is believed to have been an early version of the book of deuteronomy, placed. The discovered book and the legitimation of josiahs reform jstor. Was the book of the law lost for a long time that king josiah never saw it.
King josiah finds the scrolls part 1 the presbyterian. Shaphan comes to the king and announces that hilkiah has found a book and read it to josiah. Josiah hearing the book of the law 1873 the hebrew bible states that the priest hilkiah found a book of the law in the temple during the early stages of josiahs temple renovation. The same kind of book is in mind when you read in rev. It was during this time that hilkiah discovered the book of the law. Josiahs good reign, his care for repairing the temple.
He ordered the taxes to be used to rebuild the temple. Josiah was one of the good kings of judah and during his rein a great discovery was made. We make a covenant before the lord to keep all his commandments written in the book of the law. With joy, shaphan brought the book to the king and read it. It seems, this book of the law was lost and missing. Because josiah was a righteous king, he tore his clothes in repentance upon hearing the lost book read aloud v. Josiahs good reign, his care for repairing the temple, the book of the law found.
Hilkiah, who was the high priest during the time when the temple was being rebuilt, announced to shaphan the scribe, i have found the book of the law in the house. What did josiah have destroyed when he found the book of. In one respect, however, it seems to have been impossible or impracticable to carry out the deuteronomic law. Josiah, an old believer and a soldier at the very outset of his career, is swept up into the conflict of his people against the swarming messiahist faction. This book is mostly identified as an early version of the book of deuteronomy, perhaps chapters 526 and chapter 28. Our lesson focuses upon one of the great heroes of the old testament. What happened to the book of the law in the time of josiah. In the 18th year of the his reign, king josiah began the reconstruction of the temple in jerusalem.
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