The King Consults the Lord’s Prophetess

But was it possible to bring about the needed reform? Israel had almost reached the limit of God’s patience. Overwhelmed with sorrow and dismay, Josiah bowed before God in agony of spirit, seeking pardon for the sins of an unrepentant nation.RR 142.5

At that time the prophetess Huldah was living in Jerusalem near the temple. The king determined to inquire of the Lord through her whether there was anything he could do to save erring Judah, now on the verge of ruin.RR 142.6

He held the prophetess in high respect, so he chose the leaders of the kingdom as his messengers to her: “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found.” 2 Kings 22:13.RR 143.1

Through Huldah the Lord sent Josiah word that he could not prevent Jerusalem’s ruin. The people could not escape their punishment. Their senses had been deadened by wrongdoing for so long that, if judgment did not come, they would soon return to the same sinful course. “Tell the man that sent you to me,” the prophetess declared,“Thus says the Lord,‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. ... My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’” Verses 15-17.RR 143.2

But because the king had humbled his heart before God, he also received this message: “‘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 Lord. ‘Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.’” Verses 19, 20.RR 143.3

The king must leave the events of the future with God. But the Lord had not withdrawn opportunity for repentance and reformation, and Josiah determined to do all in his power to bring about definite reforms. He arranged at once for a great gathering, to which he invited the elders, magistrates, and common people.RR 143.4

To this vast assembly the king himself read “all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord.” 2 Kings 23:2. The royal reader was deeply affected, and he delivered his message with the pathos of a broken heart. His hearers were profoundly moved. The intensity of feeling that the king’s face revealed, the solemnity of the message itself, the warning of impending judgments—all these had their effect. Many determined to join the king in seeking forgiveness.RR 143.5

Josiah now proposed that those highest in authority unite with the people in a solemn covenant before God to make major changes. The response was greater than the king had dared hope for: “All the people took a stand for the covenant.” Verse 3.RR 143.6

They had followed the customs of the surrounding nations for so long in bowing down to images that it seemed almost beyond human power to remove every trace of these evils. But Josiah persevered in his effort to cleanse the land. See verses 20, 24.RR 143.7