Josiah's Reformation

During the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent Shaphan the scribe to the temple to oversee the distribution of silver for repairs. While at the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the high priest informed Shaphan that he had found the Book of the Law (2 Kings 22:8). Shaphan read the book and then brought it to Josiah, reading it aloud in the king's presence. Upon hearing the words of the book, Josiah tore his clothes and commanded a delegation to inquire of the Lord concerning the contents of the scroll, for he noted the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people because their fathers had not obeyed the words of the book (2 Kings 22:13).

The delegation, including Hilkiah and Shaphan, went to Huldah the prophetess in Jerusalem. Huldah delivered a message from the Lord, stating that disaster would be brought upon the place and its inhabitants as written in the book because they had burned incense to other gods. However, she noted that because Josiah's heart was tender and he humbled himself, he would be gathered to his grave in peace and his eyes would not see the coming evil (2 Kings 22:19-20). The king then gathered all the elders, priests, prophets, and people at the temple, where he read the Book of the Covenant and made a covenant before the Lord to keep his commandments.

Josiah proceeded to purge the land of idolatry, beginning in Jerusalem. He commanded Hilkiah and the priests to remove all vessels made for Baal, Asherah, and the host of heaven from the temple (2 Kings 23:4). He deposed the idolatrous priests, broke down the houses of the sodomites, and defiled Topheth to prevent child sacrifice. He also destroyed the high places that Solomon had built for Chemosh and Molech. The king extended these actions to Bethel, where he pulled down the altar Jeroboam had made. After these destructions, Josiah commanded the people to keep the Passover as prescribed in the Book of the Covenant, a celebration the text states had not been held in such a manner since the days of the judges (2 Kings 23:22).