Imagine a religion with solid structure, hierarchical systems, priests, believers, rules, worshipping centre, and all associated activities like prayers, sacrifices, rituals, traditions and everything, yet missing its Sacred Scriptures? A church without bible?! Ridiculous, isn’t it? Surprisingly, a similar, though not identical, situation existed in the Jerusalem Temple when King Josiah became the king of Judah.
The temple was bustling with activity. But, the temple itself was in dire need of repairs. So, the king ordered the funds collected for the maintenance of the temple to be used for its restoration. When the temple authorities checked the treasury, they found a copy of the Book of Deuteronomy which is part of the Torah (The scholars still debate about what exactly the nature of the book discovered from the temple treasury. But, the narrative in 2 Kings as it stands in our Bible, affirms that the book discovered was a sacred book with great religious significance). What surprises is that for one or the other reason, a sacred book was either deliberately concealed from public use or was inadvertently forgotten in the treasury, effectively barring it from being used by the people. Yet, despite the absence of this sacred book, the religion was thriving! It proves that the growth and expansion of a religion is no sure sign that the religion is functioning according to the will of God.
When King Josiah read this book, he was appalled by the sheer contrast between what was divinely prescribed in the book and the current state of affairs in Judah. Distressed, he sought guidance from Prophetess Huldah and enquired whether all the punishments threatened to the people of Judah on account of their disobedience to what God had prescribed in the book will transpire or not. That time Prophet Jeremiah was also active, but the king made his enquiry only to the Prophetess Huldah, possibly because she hoped for a more compassionate response from Prophetess Huldah, as she was a woman. Prophetess Huldah, however, did not even address the king with his royal titles and confirmed that Judah would suffer severe punishment from God. However, she added that King Josiah would die peacefully and would not witness all these in his life time. To her mind, the reason why God would exempt Josiah from witnessing the horrors Judah would encounter is the king’s tender heart and humility. A humble king with a tender heart is spared by God from the aftermaths of the sins of the people.
What King Josiah did after hearing the words of doom from Prophetess Huldah is remarkable. Although she foretold doom for Israel, King Josiah did not think it useless to initiate any religious reforms. He was intent on true reforms although his kingdom would not be spared from divine wrath. He initiated the reforms not with any personal or egoistic goals, but purely out of his zeal for God’s honour. He envisaged the reforms not according to his personal agenda, but according to the letter and spirit of the Word of God. So, he convened the assembly of the people and read the text in the presence of all the people and ordered sweeping reforms in view of the stipulations of Yahweh found in the book. He ordered the destruction of all high places’ altars and sanctuaries where sacrifices and prayers were offered to pagan deities.
Even today, many religious and spiritual leaders try to make several reforms in their respective religions. However, the question is about the motives behind the reforms. Some might initiate reforms with personal agendas. But, reforms of King Josiah illustrate the form of true reform. True reform of the religion involves a going back to the Scriptures, and purging every aspect of religion in the light of the Word of God. Only a leader with a “tender heart,” a heart that is penitent and open to God, can bring about successful reform. One with hard heart will neither hearken to the Word of God nor to the words of the people of God. When religious leaders harden their heart, they would not realize the depths of spiritual nought they have fallen into. Sad to say, they would not even recognize the fact that they are living their life and leading their people without the light of the Word of God. It bodes ill, if the spiritual leaders become complacent with the paraphernalia of religion and neglect its core values.
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