Scraping the Bottom of the Barrel
When Josiah was king of Judah, Hilkiah the priest discovered the book of the law of the Lord, which had been given to Moses, in the Temple. Hilkiah then gave the scrolls to Shaphan, the scribe, who read from them in the presence of the king. This was the first time that Josiah had heard the Law of the Lord, and he was pretty shaken. He tore his clothes (a sign of great emotional distress), and issued the following command:
2 Chronicles 34:21
“Go, inquire of the Lord for me and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book which has been found; for the wrath of the Lord which has poured out on us is great, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to act in accordance with everything that is written in this book.”
The men went to Huldah, the prophetess, the wife of Shallum, keeper of the wardrobe. Huldah lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter. Many have asked, Why did the men go to Huldah when Jeremiah was alive at the time and was functioning as a prophet of the One True God?
Some commentaries say that Huldah was consulted because she was nearby—she lived in Jerusalem.
Others say that Josiah probably knew about her because her husband, Shallum, worked in the palace as the keeper of the wardrobe, so she was a known entity.
Still others imagine that Huldah was a recognized expert in the Torah, which is why she was consulted.
The most common view is that Huldah was consulted because women are perceived as more compassionate than men, and Josiah was hoping to receive a gentle response from God.
But perhaps the most outrageous view is that in choosing Huldah, God was scraping the bottom of the barrel, so to speak, because the only person He could find to deliver His message was a lowly woman. Such thinking purports that God prefers to work with men, but when that isn’t available, He will resort to second best, women.
The Scriptures don’t tell us why Huldah was consulted; however, they do tell us that she delivered a message for the One True God. It was not a pleasant, soft message (2 Chr 34:23-28).
Huldah foretold of Judah’s pending destruction and captivity because of the people’s disobedience. However, this would not happen during Josiah’s lifetime. Because of Josiah’s humility, he would die in peace and not witness Judah’s devastation. Josiah accepted the words from Huldah as words from God.
In contrast, we read in 2 Chronicles 36:12 about a later king, Zedekiah, who “did evil in the sight of the Lord; he did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet who spoke for the Lord.”
While some waste time wondering why God chose a prophetess, Huldah, rather than Jeremiah to deliver His message, the better question is, how should people respond to the words of a prophet or prophetess of the One True God?
When a prophet or prophetess speaks for the One True God, their words are to be believed, accepted with humility, and acted upon.
Relatively speaking, the messenger isn’t important. The message is.
