"What's the Scoop on........Huldah?"

Arlene’s message for Tuesday’s Bible Study was aptly entitled Who in the World is Huldah? Although Huldah was unknown to all of us, Arlene taught many things about her that we could apply to our own lives.

We meet Huldah is 2 Kings 22.  She is a prophetess of the Lord during the reign of King Josiah.  King Josiah was the son of Amon and the grandson Manasseh.  When Josiah  became king of Judah he inherited a land overcome with idol worship and other practices that were detestable to the Lord. King Josiah did not follow the traditions of his fathers. “He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left“ (2 Kings 22:2).

In the 18^th year of King Josiah’s reign the Book of the Lord is discovered in the Temple and is brought to him.  After hearing the words of the book King Josiah is deeply convicted.  “"Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the LORD's anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us” ( 2 Kings 22:13).  He sends his officials, among them the high priest, to inquire of the Lord regarding the message. The men seek out Huldah, a prophetess of the Lord.

Arlene taught us five important things about Huldah.

First Thing : She was a Prophetess.

“Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Acbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophetess Huldah,” (2 Kings 22:14).

Arlene differentiated the role of the prophet in the Old Testament from that of the prophet in the New Testament.  In both Testaments,  prophecy was (and is) a gift given by God for the purpose of hearing what God was saying and then speaking it.  In the Old Testament it was primarily a foretelling.  This means to tell about an event before it took place. In the New Testament the role was primarily forthtelling.  This means to speak out.

In the Old Testament the words spoken by the prophet were usually not found in the written scriptures.  They were spoken by God directly to the prophet. These words were considered infallible.  In the New Testament the words of the prophet most often bring a challenge or encouragement.  These words can be fallible, as scripture shows.  Paul tells us not to despise prophecy but to test it. “Do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Thess. 5:19-20).  It should be noted that all prophecy must be in agreement with the authority of God’s written word.

Arlene pointed out that both Old Testament and New Testament prophecy are vital for correction and encouragement.  “He who prophecies edifies the church”  (1 Cor. 14:4b).

Second Thing : She was a teacher.

“She lived in Jerusalem in the Second District.”  (2 Kings 22:14).  According to Jewish tradition the Second district was called the University district.  Jewish tradition also tells us that Huldah was a teacher.  She, along with her husband, probably trained Josiah in the ways of the Lord when he was young and she probably had a school for women.

Third Thing : She had a good reputation.

“Go inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found.”  (2 Kings 22:13).  It was the High Priest who sought Huldah out.  She must have had a solid reputation as a faithful woman of God and was honored as such.  Arlene noted that Huldah’s contemporaries were Jeremiah and Zechariah yet the high priest went to her.  Like Huldah, we can have a reputation that causes others to seek us out and to have the favor of the Lord upon us. “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”” (Proverbs 3:3-4).  Huldah had that kind of favor.

Fourth Thing : She was a prophetess who was confident in her gift.

“This is what the LORD says”  (2 Kings 22:16).  Huldah spoke with boldness and confidence.  This shouldn’t be confused with pride.  When we are walking in the confidence of God we can accept the truth of scripture:  “apart from me you can do nothing” from John 15:5c  and  from Phil. 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ”.  Confidence is something that God has given us and we shouldn’t give people the power to take it away.  God tells us in Hebrews 10:35a “So do not throw away your confidence”.          

Fifth Thing : She operated in the power of the gift and not the power of the flesh.

“They took her answer back to the King.” (2 Kings 22:20 ).  Because of the power of the Holy Spirit behind Huldah’s words they were accepted and then acted upon.  We will not see God’s power working in us unless we step out of our comfort zone to do what we could never do without Him.  We need to walk in the gifts He has given us.

As a last point, and one Arlene didn’t even have in her notes but felt compelled to address, was centered on the proverbial gorilla in the room.  What do we do with this passage?

“This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched” (2 Kings 22:16-17, emphasis added). 

God  deals with groups and individuals.  While God was going to deal with his children for the abominations they committed he would also deal very differently with Josiah because of the attitude of repentance he displayed. “Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD. Therefore I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.'" So they took her answer back to the king” (2 Kings 22:19-20, emphasis added).

When King Josiah repented, God relented. Arlene brought us to Isaiah 48:9-11 which gives us insight into the Lord’s character regarding judgment.  “For my own name's sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to cut you off. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another” (Isaiah 48:9-11).

Arlene pointed out two things from this verse. 1) God chooses to refine us, not wipe us out.  He wants to transform us into beautiful vessels. 2) God does this because it is who He is.  By cutting us off, His name would be defiled because we are His. 

Going back to 2 Kings 22:16-17 (see above),  we can see why God was angry.  Although His children had forsaken His way, God’s desire was to bring them back to a place where they could experience his blessing, enjoy life, and demonstrate to the world how wonderful it is to be under God’s leadership.  God’s correction is always meant to bring us to a place of blessing.  All we need to do, like Josiah, is repent.  Not only did he repent, but the king instituted a religious reform in Judah that was the most sweeping ever during the time of the divided kingdom. 

To conclude, we may not all be Huldahs with a gift of prophecy, but we can all be like Josiah and have the same sweeping effect in our own sphere of influence.  We repent, He relents!  You need not be afraid of the gorilla in the room. 

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth” (Psalm 67:1-4).