Biblical Conversation(s)

This episode explores the biblical story of King Josiah (2 Kings 22-23). There are two powerful puzzles related to this story. 1) Why was the prophetess Huldah so negative and depressingly unhopeful? Jeremiah was prophesying great hope and salvation predicated on obedience at this same time! (Jer 7). Secondly, if Josiah was so pious (and he was!), why didn't God protect him in battle? Here, Josiah could hardly been a more pious and godly leader. He did his level best to follow the Torah laws by destroying all the idolatrous paraphernalia in Judah and establishing a Passover ceremony for the whole nation according to biblical law. And these laws promise blessings and prosperity to those who keep them (see Lev 26 and Deut 28). Yet Josiah, the great and godly king, went into battle and was promptly killed. The paradigm of divine retribution on parade in the Old Testament is clearly not working. So the whole notion of divine retribution is a paradigm in crisis and increasingly biblical writers question and reject