2 Kings 22:1-7 - Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 31 years. His mother's name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the LORD. He said: "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the LORD, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair the temple of the LORD - the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple. But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully."
I wonder who was regent while Josiah was still so young. Perhaps it was Hilkiah the priest. That would certainly help explain why he turned out to be a good king. (He didn't learn it from his father Amon.)
It is only 10 chapters later in the book of 2 Kings, but it is over 250 years later when we hear of Josiah doing the same type of repair and maintenance work on the temple that his predecessor Joash had done centuries before. For a bit of perspective on this, consider what was happening in the world around A.D. 1750! The U.S. wasn't even a country as such yet. Here we read of Josiah fixing up a building that, for the second time at least, had fallen into major disrepair. At least it was still standing. I wonder how many centuries-old buildings anyone considers worth repairing today.
I wonder what the full job description of the king's secretary was.
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