While not much is recorded about Huldah the prophetess, the information that exists speaks of an outstanding woman of faith and integrity.
Historical background
In order to appreciate her faithfulness, we must review the political and religious context of her time In the eighteenth year of Judah’s king Josiah, she was the accepted mouthpiece for the word of God The ten tribes had already been carried captive by the Assyrians Josiah had been reigning over Judah since a child of eight after his evil and idolatrous father, Amon, had been assassinated in the second year of his reign Josiah’s grandfather, Manasseh, was responsible for bringing back the worship of Baal, Molech, Ashtoreth, the host of heaven, witchcraft and all ungodly practices He made his sons pass through the fire and corrupted the temple of God While Manasseh repented, his iniquities had become part of the people’s culture and were quickly restored by Amon.
In the midst of all this wickedness, somebody was influencing Josiah for good It would appear the most powerful force for good at the time was Huldah When the book of the law was found, Josiah ordered the priests to inquire of the Lord They went straight to Huldah for God’s word.
The prophetess
In II Chronicles 34 3 we read that Josiah, while a teenager, “began to seek after the God of David his father” The Hebrew word for “seek” is darash which means to “diligently inquire and search” This total commitment to God caused him to take bold action by destroying the idols in the land We can readily imagine that Huldah supported Josiah in his efforts and was excited, relieved and full of thanksgiving to see the corrupt worship being destroyed.
When Josiah turned to repairing the temple, a section of the law was found The king sat in shocked silence as he heard the words of God being read From Josiah’s reaction, the section was possibly Deuteronomy 27 and 28, and he heard in detail the curses that were to come upon his people.
He was so moved that he “rent his clothes” Despite having the high priest and the top counselors right there, Josiah sent them to someone else to inquire of the Lord They went straight to Huldah King and counselors surely must have had many experiences with Huldah’s role as a mouthpiece of God and had great respect for her.
Huldah and Shallum, her husband, lived in the very heart of Jerusalem close to the temple Most of the religious establishment living in this area had been corrupted by the pervasive idolatry of past years, but not Huldah.
The prophecy
When the delegation arrived from the king, Huldah immediately answered them with the word of the Lord God of Israel Reading II Chronicles 34 23-29 we note how often she answered with, “Thus saith the Lord” There was no doubt she spoke as a true prophetess chosen by God to enlighten those who would listen.
Huldah confirmed the scroll con-tamed the words of God, which were going to be fulfilled Josiah, on the other hand, would be spared the judgments because he had humbled himself before God.
The reaction
Having received these powerful and terrible words from Huldah, Josiah was encouraged to even greater efforts at reform He held the most solemn Passover (only the fifth mention of the Passover being kept) and further cleansed the land of any remaining idolatrous worship.
Later, just as Huldah had said, he died before seeing the outpouring of God’s judgments upon the land.
Summary of Huldah
Huldah was a woman of great spiritual distinction, a light that burned brightly in a dark place She was the vehicle by which the great God of Israel kept His word alive m that degenerate age and she was used by Him to guide a king Huldah stands as an example of the importance of being faithful in spite of be-mg surrounded by a society of evil and idolatry When her great moment came, she was ready to be used by God to great effect m His service.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One