Which book was found when the Temple was refurbished?

Answer 1

The King Josiah found the very "book of the law" (thought to be the Book of Deuteronomy, written by Moses"

FINDING THE BOOK OF THE LAW

7 The rule of Josiah was one of the most remarkable in the history of the Judean kingdom. What largely contributed to this was the written Word of God. Like Jehoshaphat, who ruled more than 250 years before him, Josiah had deep respect for that divine guide. Desiring to walk in the way of obedience to Jehovah, he instituted an intensive campaign to stamp out the abominable practice of idolatry that had eaten into the vitals of the nation during the reigns of his father and grandfather, Amon and Manasseh. Images were pulverized, the bones of Baal priests were burned on their altars and the altars pulled down. The sacred pole was pulled out of the temple and destroyed, as well as the chariots of the sun that had been used in sun worship. No longer would he permit the horses that were dedicated to the sun to enter the temple and defile it. Even the valley of Hinnom was made unusable for idolatrous practices by being made into a city dump.-2 Chron. 34:3-7; 2 Ki. 23:6, 10, 11.

8 In the eighteenth year of his reign when he was only twenty-five years of age Josiah ordered the temple of Jehovah to be repaired. Apparently major repairs had not been done on the temple since the days of Jehoash, over 200 years before the days of Josiah. During the fifty-five years that Josiah's grandfather, Manasseh, reigned and the two years that his father, Amon, ruled, the upkeep of the temple had been neglected, although it was used in the practice of idolatry for much of that period. It appears that some of the chambers or outer buildings of the temple had been ruined by idolatrous kings and needed to be rebuilt.-2 Chron. 34:8-11.

9 During the course of the repair work Hilkiah, the high priest, found the book of the Law that had been written by Moses. This was apparently the original copy that had been kept beside the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy of the temple. It may have been hidden during the time when idolatrous Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, was desecrating the temple with idols and persecuting the servants of Jehovah. According to Josephus, Manasseh killed many righteous men, including prophets. So intense was his wicked campaign that he is said to have filled Jerusalem with innocent blood. "There was also innocent blood that Manasseh shed in very great quantity, until he had filled Jerusalem from end to end." (2 Ki. 21:16) In view of this fanatical persecution, it seems reasonable to conclude that a faithful high priest took the law of God from its customary place beside the ark of the covenant and hid it for its own protection.

10 Hilkiah recognized the scroll as the law of God and considered his find of such great importance that he had Shaphan, the secretary of the house of Jehovah, take the manuscript to the king. What Josiah heard when Shaphan read the sacred book to him left him shocked and frightened. "It came about that as soon as the king heard the words of the book of the law, he immediately ripped his garments apart."-2 Ki. 22:8-11.

11 The scroll probably was the book of Deuteronomy, because that book contains dire warnings of what would happen to God's covenant people if they failed to obey the law of God. The warnings are in such striking detail that they could easily shock good King Josiah, especially when he was well aware of the idolatrous course the nation had taken. National disaster was a frightening prospect.

12 Since the law of God required the king to read the Word of God, you may wonder why Josiah was shocked by the reading of the warnings in this sacred book as if he were hearing them for the first time. It is very possible that he was. He may not have had a copy of God's Word to read. In view of the great number of Judean rulers who had been idolatrous, some fanatically so, such as Ahaz, Athaliah and Manasseh, it may well be that kings had left off the practice of having a personal copy of the law of God for regular reading. What Josiah knew about the law of God probably came to him by oral instruction from the Levites, who undoubtedly had copies in their possession. When at the age of fifteen "he started to search for the God of David his forefather," he must have gone to faithful Levites for instruction about the God of David. It is not likely that those who had been close to his idolatrous father, Amon, in the royal court could have taught him.-2 Chron. 34:3.

13 That several copies of God's Word did exist among the Levites at one time is indicated by the fact that in the days of Jehoshaphat the Levites took copies of the Law with them when going about the land on their teaching circuits. It is most unlikely that the wicked kings would have succeeded in destroying all existing copies. The very fact that Hilkiah recognized the book he found as the law of God indicates that he was familiar with God's Word, and this undoubtedly was due to the Levites of his day being possessors of a copy. What made Hilkiah's find so noteworthy in his mind was most likely due to the manuscript's being the original book by the hand of Moses.

14 Since Josiah's knowledge of the Word of God may not have come from personal study of the law of God but from what he was taught by the Levites, it is possible that what Shaphan read to him was heard by him for the first time. The frightful curses mentioned in the twenty-eighth chapter of Deuteronomy coupled with the fact that they were read from the original manuscript would certainly impress Josiah with their importance. By ripping his garments he revealed to what extent he was shaken by what he heard.

15 Josiah realized that Jehovah's anger was great against the nation for having ignored the divine Word and for disobediently doing everything God had told them not to do. Showing his great concern, he promptly dispatched a delegation of five persons to inquire of Jehovah through the prophetess Huldah. "Go, inquire of Jehovah in my own behalf and in behalf of the people and in behalf of all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is Jehovah's rage that has been set afire against us over the fact that our forefathers did not listen to the words of this book by doing according to all that is written concerning us." (2 Ki. 22:13) Through the prophetess, Jehovah confirmed everything that was written in the book. "This is what Jehovah has said, 'Here I am bringing calamity upon this place and upon its inhabitants, even all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read.'"-2 Ki. 22:16.

16 Because Josiah had manifested a good heart condition toward Jehovah and had done his utmost to follow the good guidance of Jehovah's Word, the curses of the book did not come in his day. It was more than twenty years after his death when they became a reality for that stiffnecked nation. Babylonian armies marched through the land of Judah pillaging and destroying. The beautiful temple Solomon had built and the city of Jerusalem were demolished, leaving them a heap of rubble. Most of the people who survived were marched away to distant Babylon as captives, just as the book of Deuteronomy foretold: "Jehovah will march you and your king whom you will set up over you to a nation whom you have not known, neither you nor your forefathers." (Deut. 28:36) All this came upon them because they had failed to study God's Word and follow its instructions.