A Tender Heart in a Time of Wrath Text: 2 Kings 22:14-20
Introduction: When the Axe is Already Laid to the Root
We come now to a pivotal moment in the history of Judah. The nation is in a free fall, hurtling toward the judgment of exile that God had promised for generations. The covenant curses, written down centuries before by Moses, were not idle threats. They were the fixed consequences for covenant rebellion, as certain as gravity. The kings who preceded Josiah, men like Manasseh and Amon, had filled the land with high places, Asherah poles, and child sacrifice. They had so thoroughly corrupted the nation that the die was cast. Judgment was no longer a matter of 'if,' but 'when.' It was into this bleak landscape that the Word of God was rediscovered, and it fell upon the ears of a king with a tender heart.
This passage is a study in contrasts. We see the unquenchable, corporate wrath of God set against the personal, tender mercy of God. We see a nation that is past the point of no return, and a king who, by his personal repentance, is granted a personal reprieve. This is a hard but necessary truth for us to grasp. There are times when the corporate sins of a nation, a culture, or an institution become so deeply entrenched that judgment is inevitable. The ship is going down. But even as the vessel sinks, God is always looking for those with a tender heart, those who will tear their clothes and weep before Him. He saves individuals out of the wreck.
We are also confronted with the simple authority of God's Word spoken through His chosen vessel. The high priest and the king's top advisors, having found the book of the Law, do not form a committee to analyze its sociological implications. They do not debate its authenticity. They know it is God's Word, and they need to know what it means for them, right now. And so they go to Huldah the prophetess. It does not matter to them that she is a woman; what matters is that she has the word of the Lord. God raises up whomever He pleases to declare His truth, and when God speaks, wise men listen, regardless of the vessel.
This text forces us to ask hard questions of ourselves. Is our heart tender or calloused toward the Word of God? When we read the curses of the covenant, do we tremble, or do we yawn? And what does it mean to live faithfully in a generation that, like Josiah's, has already been given over to judgment? This is not an abstract theological exercise; this is where we live.
The Text
So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her. And she said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Say to the man who sent you to me, thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath is set aflame against this place, and it shall not be quenched.” ’ But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, because your heart was soft and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become an object of horror, and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares Yahweh. “Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.
(2 Kings 22:14-20 LSB)
An Unflinching Word from an Unlikely Prophet (vv. 14-15)
We begin with the delegation sent by the king.
"So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter); and they spoke to her. And she said to them, “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Say to the man who sent you to me...'" (2 Kings 22:14-15)
When King Josiah heard the words of the newly discovered Law, his response was immediate and visceral: he tore his clothes. He recognized that the words in that book were not ancient suggestions but the active, binding terms of the covenant his people had shattered. He knew the curses were not just ink on a scroll; they were a loaded gun pointed at Judah's head. So he sends his highest officials, the movers and shakers of Jerusalem, on an urgent mission: "Inquire of Yahweh."
And where do they go? To Huldah the prophetess. We are told Jeremiah and Zephaniah were likely prophesying at this time, yet the delegation goes to Huldah. The text offers no explanation, because none is needed. She was a recognized prophet of God, and her authority came not from her gender or her husband's position as keeper of the wardrobe, but from the simple fact that God spoke through her. This is a profound lesson in a generation obsessed with credentials and identity politics. God's authority rests in His Word, not in the packaging of the messenger. When God speaks, it doesn't matter if it's through a shepherd from Tekoa or a woman in the Second Quarter of Jerusalem. The only proper response is to listen.
Notice Huldah's opening. She does not offer her personal analysis or a word of gentle counsel. She speaks with the unvarnished authority of heaven: "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel." This is the prophetic formula. It removes all ambiguity. What follows is not Huldah's opinion; it is a direct message from the sovereign King. She then refers to Josiah simply as "the man who sent you to me." This is not disrespect; it is leveling. Before the Word of God, all men, even kings, are just men. They stand on level ground at the foot of the cross, and they stand on level ground before the throne of judgment.
The Unquenchable Wrath of God (vv. 16-17)
Huldah's message begins with the bad news, and it is absolutely uncompromising.
'thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am bringing evil on this place and on its inhabitants, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods that they might provoke Me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore My wrath is set aflame against this place, and it shall not be quenched.”' (2 Kings 22:16-17 LSB)
Let's be very clear about the language here. The word "evil" is the Hebrew word ra. It does not mean moral evil in this context, as though God were the author of sin. God is not. Rather, it means calamity, disaster, judgment. It is the same word used in passages like Isaiah 45:7, "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity." God is sovereign over all events, including the judgments that He brings upon a rebellious people. He is not a passive observer of history; He is its author. He is bringing this disaster.
And the reason is stated plainly: "Because they have forsaken Me." This is the root of all sin. It is covenantal treason. They turned their backs on the God who had redeemed them from Egypt and entered into a covenant with them. And what did they do? They "burned incense to other gods." Idolatry is never a small matter. It is spiritual adultery. It is giving the worship, allegiance, and affection that belong to the Creator to some created thing. As Deuteronomy makes clear, idolatry is the central trigger for the covenant curses. By doing this, they provoked God to anger "with all the work of their hands." Their idolatry was not a private, mental affair; it infected everything they did. Their culture, their politics, their family life, it was all stained with rebellion.
The consequence is terrifying: "My wrath is set aflame against this place, and it shall not be quenched." The time for warnings was over. The time for intercession to turn back the judgment had passed. The corporate sin had reached a tipping point. The fire of God's holy opposition to sin had been kindled, and it would burn until it had consumed the object of its wrath. This is a sobering reality. Nations and cultures can sin their way past a point of no return. While individual repentance is always possible, the fate of the collective can be sealed.
The Tender Mercy of God (vv. 18-19)
But then, the message pivots. After delivering the unalterable sentence upon the nation, God addresses the king personally.
"But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Regarding the words which you have heard, because your heart was soft and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become an object of horror, and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,” declares Yahweh.'" (2 Kings 22:18-19 LSB)
Here is the glorious contrast. The nation's fate is sealed, but the king's heart is seen. God's message to Josiah is one of profound personal comfort, and it is based entirely on the king's response to the Word of God. The central reason given is this: "because your heart was soft." The Hebrew word is rak, meaning tender or soft. This is the opposite of the "stiff neck" and "hard heart" that characterized the nation. A tender heart is a responsive heart. It's a heart that yields to the touch of God's Word. When the law was read, Josiah didn't make excuses. He didn't blame his fathers. He didn't try to explain it away. He was cut to the heart.
This tenderness led to humility. "You humbled yourself before Yahweh." True humility is seeing yourself as God sees you, and Josiah saw himself as the king of a condemned people, standing under the righteous curse of a holy God. This humility was then expressed outwardly. He "tore his clothes and wept before Me." This was not performative grief for public consumption. This was the genuine anguish of a man who trembled at God's Word. This is the man to whom God looks, the one who is "humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 66:2).
And God's response is beautiful: "I truly have heard you." In a world of noise, rebellion, and idolatrous clamor, the sound that pierces the heavens and arrests the attention of the Almighty is the sound of a broken man weeping in repentance. God hears that prayer. He always does.
A Reprieve, Not a Reversal (v. 20)
The mercy shown to Josiah is specific. It is not a reversal of the national judgment, but a personal stay of execution.
"“Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king." (2 Kings 22:20 LSB)
God promises Josiah that he will die "in peace" and will not have to witness the calamity coming upon Jerusalem. Now, we know from the end of the story that Josiah dies in battle against Pharaoh Neco. Some might see this as a contradiction, but it is not. The "peace" promised here is not the absence of a violent death, but peace from seeing the covenant curses fall. He would be gathered to his fathers, into the grave, before the final horror of the Babylonian siege, the destruction of the Temple, and the deportation of his people. He would be spared the sight of God's unquenchable wrath being poured out.
This is a mercy, but it is a bittersweet mercy. It highlights the principle that while our personal repentance can deliver our own souls, it cannot always turn back the tide of corporate judgment. Josiah's reforms were good and right and zealous. He cleansed the land of idols more thoroughly than any king before him. But it was too little, too late for the nation. The cancer was terminal. His righteousness delayed the judgment, but it could not avert it.
Conclusion: Tender Hearts in a Hardened Age
So what do we take from this? We live, as Josiah did, in a civilization that has turned its back on God. We have forsaken Him and burned incense to the modern gods of secularism, sexual autonomy, and materialism. The work of our hands stinks of rebellion. The covenant curses that are the bedrock of reality are being stored up against us. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, and it will not be quenched by our political solutions or our therapeutic platitudes.
In such a time, the call is not to despair, but to emulate Josiah. The call is for the people of God to have tender hearts. When we read the warnings in Scripture, do we weep? When we see the sin of our land, do we humble ourselves? Or have our hearts grown calloused from the constant exposure to outrage and decay?
God is not looking for a majority vote to enact His will. He is looking for a remnant with soft hearts. Josiah's repentance did not save Judah, but it saved Josiah. He was a light in a dark time, a righteous king in a doomed generation. And his tender response to the Word of God secured for him the promise that he would be brought to his grave in peace, spared the sight of the coming storm.
The ultimate fulfillment of this, of course, is found in Christ. He is the true King who humbled Himself, who wept over Jerusalem, and who absorbed the full, unquenchable wrath of God on the cross. He took the ra, the calamity, that we deserved. Because of His sacrifice, all who humble themselves and trust in Him are gathered into His death, so that our eyes will not see the ultimate evil of eternal judgment. We are brought into His kingdom in peace.
Therefore, let the Word of God fall on us. And let it find in us, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, not a heart of stone, but a heart of flesh. A tender heart. A humble heart. A weeping heart. For that is the heart that God hears, and that is the heart that God saves, even when the world around us is burning.