Bible Commentaries
2 Kings 22

Verses 1-20

Josiah repairs the temple (22:1-20)

Included in Josiah’s reformation was a project for extensive repairs to the temple, which had been damaged during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon (22:1-7). By this time Assyrian power had weakened considerably, which enabled Josiah to carry out his reformation program without interference from outside. He even extended his power into the conquered territory of the former northern kingdom (see 23:15,19; 2 Chronicles 34:6-7).

During the fifty-seven years when Manasseh and Amon reigned, a new generation had grown up in Judah who knew nothing of the law of God as given to Israel by Moses. When workers on the temple found some scrolls of this long-forgotten law, Josiah, on reading the scrolls, was shocked to learn how far Judah had turned away from God (8-13). He sent messengers to ask a prophet what to do, and received the reply that, despite his personal faith, Judah was doomed. But he could continue his reforming work, so that the judgment might be postponed to the reign of some future king (14-20).