In the Old Testament, you will find many prophets and some prophetess. These were people God gave messages to so they in turn could tell others. They were God’s spokesperson. The princess we are learning about today was a prophetess. Huldah is only spoken of two times in the Bible, yet she was an important person in the kingdom of God. The first mention of her is in II Kings 22:14. She serves in the temple during the reign of King Josiah. Josiah was only 8 years old when he became King, yet his desire was to follow God. In II Kings 22:2, it says Josiah “did that which was right in the sight of the LORD.” His own father did not follow God, but he chose to obey God.
King Josiah dedicated himself to rebuilding the temple of the Lord. I have often wondered why this young king had such a desire. The kings before him were ungodly and had taken Israel down a pathway to idolatrous worship. However, God always has a remnant of people that have stayed the course. Our princess Huldah was one of those.
Josiah ordered the temple of God to be repaired. He told the secretary of the house Meshullam to go to the priest and count all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord and then give it to the workers that are to repair the house of the Lord.
II Kings 22:3-5 “In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the LORD, saying, Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the LORD, repairing the house”
During the repair of the temple, the book of the law was found by the Hilkiah the priest. Upon giving it to Shaphan, he read it and told the king what had been discovered. When Josiah heard the words, he tore his clothes. He was ashamed of the sin of the people of God and fearful of the consequences upon them. In verse 13, Josiah sends the priest and his servants to ask the Lord for him and the people what the future held. After hearing the reading, he realized how sinful the nation of Israel had become.
II Kings 22:13 “Go ye, enquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.”
In verse 14 our princess for today enters the scene. She was chosen by God to be a prophetess. God used her to instruct them, to reveal to them the mind of God. God will always have a witness, and this time it was Huldah. She was the wife of Shallum, who had a prominent position in the King’s court. She and her husband would have had a great influence on the king because they were in his service from his beginning. He was only 8 years old when he became king. She must have been well respected because the king sent five important men to inquire of her what God had revealed to her.
II Kings 22:14 “So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.”
She tells them that God will bring evil upon them. Because they had left the God of Israel and worshiped false gods, God was provoked to anger. The sentence He gave them was the pouring out of His wrath. This was a horrible message to bring to God’s people, but it was not hers to determine the message, but to reveal it to them.
II Kings 22:15-17 “And she said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.”
After telling them about the judgment of God that was to come, she gives them the good news. Because of Josiah being a man that was tender-hearted and humble before the Lord, God would withhold the judgment until after his death. In verse 20 she states that “thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place.”
II Kings 22:20 “Behold, therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.”
What can we learn from this princess of God? We find she had stayed true to God. In a time when God’s people had turned away from Him, she did not. God used her to deliver the truth of His word, even though it would mean giving them news that would not be welcomed. Our message today is not a welcomed one because we bear the same message of the wrath of God on those who will not turn to Him. Yet, we are to share this urgent message with everyone. There is coming a time when this world will be destroyed and only those who have trusted in Jesus will escape. Are you revealing the truth as princess Huldah did? Do you care about the souls of men enough to be different and step out in obedience? Can God count on you?
