Huldah the Truth Teller

Prophets Faithfull to God's Covenant

Faithful Prophets
Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5) 

 

Huldah: Prophet of Wisdom

2 Kings 22:14-20
New International Version

14 Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum, son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

15 She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 ‘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. 17 Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,[a]my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ 18 Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: 19 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 a curse[b] and be laid waste—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. 20 Therefore, I will gather you to your ancestors, 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.

For Reflection

Some kings were good and others not so much! In the years before the Babylonian exile, the High Priest Hilkiah discovered the Torah, most importantly Deuteronomy. Because of the threats of being overrun by the bordering kingdoms, Josiah, who was already on a mission to remove the pagan cults that his father had encouraged, was moved by this coincidental find to rebuild the temple. He was a good king.

Despite the restoration of Jewish religious practices. Huldah, a woman, prophesized the decline of Judah. Guided by God, She scoured through the texts to reveal the inevitable doom. Josiah invited her counsel and was transformed by the interpretations.

The death of Josiah brought an end to the reform, and Josiah's sons encouraged the deterioration of obedience to the Torah. Judah was eventually overrun, and the faithful Jews escaped to Babylon.

Pray

Pray, to seed the truths of god's will for humanity.  Pray and have the courage to follow your spiritual convictions of love, grace, and justice.

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