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Commentary on 2 Kings 22 verses 11–20
We hear no more of the repairing of the temple: no doubt that good work went on well; but the book of the law that was found in it occupies us now, and well it may. It is not laid up in the king's cabinet as a piece of antiquity, a rarity to be admired, but it is read before the king. Those put the truest honour upon their Bibles that study them and converse with them daily, feed on that bread and walk by that light. Men of honour and business must look upon an acquaintance with God's word to be their best business and honour. Now here we have,
I. The impressions which the reading of the law made upon Josiah. He rent his clothes, as one ashamed of the sin of his people and afraid of the wrath of God; he had long thought the case of his kingdom bad, by reason of the idolatries and impieties that had been found among them, but he never thought it so bad as he perceived it to be by the book of the law now read to him. The rending of his clothes signified the rending of his heart for the dishonour done to God, and the ruin he saw coming upon his people.
II. The application he made to God hereupon: Go, enquire of the Lord for me, Kg2 22:13.
1.Two things we may suppose he desired to know: - "Enquire, (1.) What we shall do; what course we shall take to turn away God's wrath and prevent the judgments which our sins have deserved." Convictions of sin and wrath should put us upon this enquiry, What shall we do to be saved? Wherewithal shall we come before the Lord? If you will thus enquire, enquire quickly, before it be too late. (2.) "What we may expect and must provide for." He acknowledges, "Our fathers have not hearkened to the words of this book; if this be the rule of right, certainly our fathers have been much in the wrong." Now that the commandment came sin revived, and appeared sin; in the glass of the law, he saw the sins of his people more numerous and more heinous than he had before seen them, and more exceedingly sinful. He infers hence, "Certainly great is the wrath that is kindled against us; if this be the word of God, as no doubt it is, and he will be true to his word, as no doubt he will be, we are all undone. I never thought the threatenings of the law so severe, and the curses of the covenant so terrible, as now I find them to be; it is time to look about us if these be in force against us." Note, Those who are truly apprehensive of the weight of God's wrath cannot but be very solicitous to obtain his favour, and inquisitive how they may make their peace with him. Magistrates should enquire for their people, and study how to prevent the judgments of God that they see hanging over them.
2.This enquiry Josiah sent, (1.) By some of his great men, who are named Kg2 22:12, and again Kg2 22:14. Thus he put an honour upon the oracle, by employing those of the first rank to attend it. (2.) To Huldah the prophetess, Kg2 22:14. The spirit of prophecy, that inestimable treasure, was sometimes put not only into earthen vessels, but into the weaker vessels, that the excellency of the power might be of God. Miriam helped to lead Israel out of Egypt (Mic 6:4), Deborah judged them, and now Huldah instructed them in the mind of God, and her being a wife was no prejudice at all to her being a prophetess; marriage is honourable in all. It was a mercy to Jerusalem that when Bibles were scarce they had prophets, as afterwards, when prophecy ceased, that they had more Bibles; for God never leaves himself without witness, because he will leave sinners without excuse. Jeremiah and Zephaniah prophesied at this time, yet the king's messengers made Huldah their oracle, probably because her husband having a place at court (for he was keeper of the wardrobe) they had had more and longer acquaintance with her and greater assurances of her commission than of any other; they had, it is likely, consulted her upon other occasions, and had found that the word of God in her mouth was truth. She was near, for she dwelt at Jerusalem, in a place called Mishneh, the second rank of buildings from the royal palace. The Jews say that she prophesied among the women, the court ladies, being herself one of them, who it is probable had their apartments in that place. Happy the court that had a prophetess within the verge of it, and knew how to value her.
III. The answer he received from God to his enquiry. Huldah returned it not in the language of a courtier - "Pray give my humble service to his Majesty, and let him know that this is the message I have for him from the God of Israel;" but in the dialect of a prophetess, speaking from him before whom all stand upon the same level - Tell the man that sent you to me, Kg2 22:15. Even kings, though gods to us, are men to God, and shall so be dealt with; for with him there is no respect of persons.
1.She let him know what judgments God had in store for Judah and Jerusalem (Kg2 22:16, Kg2 22:17): My wrath shall be kindled against this place; and what is hell itself but the fire of God's wrath kindled against sinners? Observe, (1.) The degree and duration of it. It is so kindled that it shall not be quenched; the decree has gone forth; it is too late now to think of preventing it; the iniquity of Jerusalem shall not be purged with sacrifice or offering. Hell is unquenchable fire. (2.) The reference it has, [1.] To their sins: "They have committed them, as it were, with design, and on purpose to provoke me to anger. It is a fire of their own kindling; they would provoke me, and at length I am provoked." [2.] To God's threatenings: "The evil I bring is according to the words of the book which the king of Judah has read; the scripture is fulfilled in it. Those that would not be bound by the precept shall be bound by the penalty." God will be found no less terrible to impenitent sinners than his word makes him to be.
2.She let him know what mercy God had in store for him. (1.) Notice is taken of his great tenderness and concern for the glory of God and the welfare of his kingdom (Kg2 22:19): Thy heart was tender. Note, God will distinguish those that distinguish themselves. The generality of the people were hardened and their hearts unhumbled, so were the wicked kings his predecessors, but Josiah's heart was tender. He received the impressions of God's word, trembled at it and yielded to it; he was exceedingly grieved for the dishonour done to God by the sins of his fathers and of his people; he was afraid of the judgments of God, which he saw coming upon Jerusalem, and earnestly deprecated them. This is tenderness of heart, and thus he humbled himself before the Lord, and expressed these pious affections by rending his clothes and weeping before God, probably in his closet; but he that sees in secret says it was before him, and he heard it, and put every tear of tenderness into his bottle. Note, Those that most fear God's wrath are least likely to feel it. It should seem that those words (Lev 26:32) much affected Josiah, I will bring the land into desolation; for when he heard of the desolation and of the curse, that is, that God would forsake them and separate them to evil (for till it came to that they were neither desolate nor accursed), then he rent his clothes: the threatening went to his heart. (2.) A reprieve is granted till after his death (Kg2 22:20): I will gather thee to thy fathers. The saints then, no doubt, had a comfortable prospect of happiness on the other side death, else being gathered to their fathers would not have been so often made the matter of a promise as we find it was. Josiah could not prevail to prevent the judgment itself, but God promised him he should not live to see it, which (especially considering that he died in the midst of his days, before he was forty years old) would have been but a small reward for his eminent piety if there had not been another world in which he should be abundantly recompensed, Heb 11:16. When the righteous is taken away from the evil to come he enters into peace, Isa 57:1, Isa 57:2. This is promised to Josiah here: Thou shalt go to thy grave in peace, which refers not to the manner of his death (for he was killed in a battle), but to the time of it; it was a little before the captivity in Babylon, that great trouble, in comparison with which the rest were as nothing, so that he might be truly said to die in peace that did not live to share in that. He died in the love and favour of God, which secure such a peace as no circumstances of dying, no, not dying in the field of war, could alter the nature of, or break in upon.
How do we say that they have been advised who have died before the coming of the evils that followed their death, if after death they perceive whatever misfortunes befall the human life? Or is it that we are mistaken when we imagine that they are at rest when the restless life of the living concerns them? What is this, then, that God promised to the most devout king, Josiah, for a great reward, telling him that he would soon die in order that he might not see the evils that he was threatening to send on that place and that people? The words of God are these: "Thus says the Lord the God of Israel: My words, which you have heard and which you feared from my mouth when you heard what I said about this place and those who dwell in it, that it be forsaken and become a curse, and you rent your garments and wept in my sight, shall not come to pass, says the Lord of hosts. Behold I shall bring you to your fathers, and you shall be brought with peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evils that I bring upon this place and those who dwell in it." And Josiah, alarmed at the dire threats of God, wept and tore his garments and then was made secure by an early death from all future ills, because he would so rest in peace that he would not see those evils. The souls of the dead, then, are in a place where they do not see the things that go on and transpire in this mortal life. How, then, do they see their own graves or their own bodies, whether they are buried or lie exposed? How do they take part in the misery of the living, when either they are suffering their own evil deserts, if such they have merited, or they rest in peace, such as was promised to this Josiah? For there they undergo no evils either by enduring them themselves or by compassionate suffering for others, but they are liberated from all evils that when they lived here they endured for themselves and out of compassion for others.
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SUMMARY
In 2 Kings 22:20, the prophetess Huldah delivers a divine message to King Josiah, assuring him that because of his humble and repentant heart, he will be spared from witnessing the severe judgment and destruction that God is determined to bring upon Judah and Jerusalem. This verse highlights God's particular mercy toward individual righteousness even amidst impending national catastrophe, promising Josiah a peaceful end before the full onset of the "evil" destined for the land due to its pervasive idolatry and disobedience.
CONTEXT
Literary Context: This verse serves as the climax of Huldah's prophecy to King Josiah, following the momentous discovery of the Book of the Law in the Temple. Josiah's immediate and profound response to the Law's curses – tearing his clothes in deep contrition, as recorded in 2 Kings 22:11, and sending officials to inquire of the Lord – sets the stage for this divine word. Huldah's preceding message, found in 2 Kings 22:16-17, unequivocally declares God's wrath against Judah for their idolatry, promising to bring "evil" upon "this place." However, 2 Kings 22:18-19 then pivots to address Josiah personally, affirming God's recognition of his humble heart and repentance, which directly leads to the promise of peace in death found in verse 20. The final clause, "And they brought the king word again," concludes this prophetic encounter and transitions the narrative to Josiah's subsequent comprehensive reforms.
Historical & Cultural Context: King Josiah reigned over Judah from 640-609 BC, a period marked by the decline of the mighty Assyrian Empire, which had long dominated the Near East. This shifting geopolitical landscape allowed Josiah to assert greater independence and initiate sweeping religious reforms. For generations prior, Judah had been steeped in syncretistic worship and idolatry, with altars to Baal, Asherah, and other foreign deities prevalent, even within the Temple itself. Manasseh, Josiah's grandfather, had led the nation into profound apostasy, as detailed in 2 Kings 21:1-9, and Amon, his father, continued in this wickedness, as seen in 2 Kings 21:19-22. Josiah's discovery of the Law revealed the full extent of Judah's covenant violations and the impending divine judgment, a judgment that would ultimately culminate in the Babylonian exile just decades later, vividly recounted in 2 Kings 25. The promise of being "gathered unto thy fathers" was a common idiom for a peaceful death and burial with one's ancestors, a culturally significant marker of honor and a good end.
Key Themes: This verse powerfully encapsulates several key themes within 2 Kings and the broader Deuteronomistic History. Firstly, it underscores the Consequences of Covenant Disobedience, as the "evil" promised upon "this place" is a direct result of Judah's persistent idolatry and rejection of God's commands, echoing the curses outlined in Deuteronomy 28. Secondly, it highlights Divine Mercy and Individual Righteousness, demonstrating that while corporate sin brings corporate judgment, God extends profound grace to those who genuinely humble themselves and repent, as seen in Josiah's case. His personal piety is honored, and he is spared from the full trauma of national destruction. Thirdly, the theme of God's Faithfulness to His Word is evident; despite the seeming paradox of Josiah's death in battle, as recorded in 2 Kings 23:29-30, the prophecy of "peace" in death is fulfilled in that he did not live to witness the ultimate "evil" of Jerusalem's siege and destruction. Finally, it touches on the Nature of True Peace (Shalom), which is not merely the absence of conflict, but a holistic well-being and completeness, even in the context of death.
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
The verse employs several significant literary devices. The phrase "I will gather thee unto thy fathers" is a prominent Idiom, a common biblical expression for death and burial that carries connotations of a peaceful or honorable end, even if the literal circumstances of death might be violent. This creates a subtle Paradox or Divine Irony when contrasted with Josiah's actual death in battle at Megiddo (compare 2 Kings 23:29). The "peace" promised is not a tranquil passing, but a peace from the coming catastrophe, a divine shielding. The entire verse functions as a Prophecy, a direct divine declaration of future events, demonstrating God's foreknowledge and sovereign control over history. The explicit Contrast between Josiah's peaceful departure and the "evil" that will befall "this place" underscores God's justice and mercy, highlighting how individual righteousness can mitigate personal suffering even when corporate judgment is inevitable.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
2 Kings 22:20 profoundly illustrates God's nuanced justice and mercy, demonstrating that while corporate sin necessitates corporate judgment, God remains attentive to the heart of the individual. Josiah's sincere repentance and humility, a stark contrast to the persistent idolatry of his predecessors and the nation, moved God to grant him a unique reprieve. This divine act highlights that God's judgment is not indiscriminate; it is precise and takes into account the posture of the human heart. The promise of "peace" in death, even if the manner of death was violent, signifies God's ultimate protection of His faithful servants from the full trauma of His wrath against sin. This principle resonates throughout Scripture, affirming that God sees and responds to genuine contrition, offering solace and protection even amidst the direst circumstances.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
The message to Josiah in 2 Kings 22:20 offers profound encouragement and sobering warning for believers today. It reminds us that God deeply values a humble and repentant heart, responding with mercy even when the surrounding world is steeped in rebellion. Josiah's immediate and heartfelt response to God's Word, tearing his clothes and seeking divine counsel, stands as a timeless model for how we should react to the truth of Scripture, especially when it exposes our sin or the sin of our society. While we may not be spared from all earthly trials, this passage assures us that God can grant a profound "peace" that transcends circumstances, shielding our souls from the ultimate "evil" of His wrath. It prompts us to consider our own spiritual posture: are we genuinely contrite when confronted with God's standards? Do we trust in His sovereign protection and peace, even when the future seems uncertain or grim? Ultimately, this verse calls us to live lives of integrity and faithfulness, knowing that God sees our hearts and promises a peace that the world cannot give.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
How was Josiah gathered "in peace" if he died in battle at Megiddo?
Answer: The "peace" promised to Josiah in 2 Kings 22:20 does not refer to a tranquil, natural death, but rather to a death that would occur before the great national catastrophe of Jerusalem's destruction and the Babylonian exile. While Josiah did indeed die violently in battle against Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo, as recorded in 2 Kings 23:29, God's promise was fulfilled in that Josiah was spared the profound anguish and trauma of witnessing the siege, famine, destruction of the Temple, and the exile of his people. His "peace" was a peace from the ultimate "evil" that would befall "this place," allowing him to be gathered to his fathers without experiencing that horror.
What was the "evil" that God promised to bring upon "this place"?
Answer: The "evil" (Hebrew: ra') refers to the severe divine judgment and calamity that God was determined to bring upon Judah and Jerusalem due to their persistent idolatry, covenant unfaithfulness, and rejection of His commands. This "evil" would culminate in the Babylonian invasion, the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, the burning of the Temple, and the exile of the Jewish people to Babylon. Prophecies in books like Jeremiah and Lamentations vividly describe the horrors of this "evil," which Josiah was mercifully spared from witnessing.
Why did God spare Josiah but not the nation of Judah?
Answer: God spared Josiah because of his unique and profound humility, repentance, and genuine devotion to God. When he heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes and humbled himself before the Lord, acknowledging the nation's sin and seeking God's will, as described in 2 Kings 22:11-13. Huldah's prophecy explicitly states that because Josiah's heart was tender and he humbled himself, God heard him, as affirmed in 2 Kings 22:19. In contrast, the nation of Judah, despite Josiah's reforms, had largely returned to its idolatrous ways after his death, demonstrating a lack of genuine, widespread repentance. God's judgment on the nation was a just consequence of generations of corporate unfaithfulness, while His mercy to Josiah was a recognition of individual righteousness.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
The promise to Josiah in 2 Kings 22:20 foreshadows the ultimate peace and deliverance found in Jesus Christ. Josiah was spared from witnessing the "evil" of national destruction because of his personal righteousness and humility, a temporary reprieve from a physical calamity. In Christ, however, humanity is offered a far greater deliverance: salvation from the ultimate "evil" of sin's eternal consequences and God's righteous wrath. Jesus, the perfect and righteous King, did not escape the "evil" but willingly entered into it, bearing the full weight of humanity's sin and God's judgment on the cross, as prophesied in Isaiah 53:4-6. Through His sacrifice, He secures true and lasting "peace" (shalom) for all who believe, a peace with God that transcends all understanding (Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:7). While Josiah was gathered to his fathers in a grave, believers in Christ are gathered into an eternal inheritance, experiencing a peace that conquers death itself, assured of resurrection and a future free from all evil (John 14:27; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Josiah's story is a testament to God's mercy on the righteous, but Christ's story is the ultimate demonstration of God's mercy on the unrighteous, making them righteous through His perfect sacrifice.