2 Kings 22 (continued)

Looking at the meaning of names may seem random but we have to remember we are dealing with the most sophisticated minds in the universe, the Father and Son. There is economy and depth incorporated in the way they convey information. Scholars will say there are "leaps of logic" in this method. I believe this is a form of pondering, (as the scriptures counsel us to do.) So lets throw more spaghetti against the wall and see if anything sticks.

Another key figure in 2 Kings 22 is the High Priest of the Aaronic Priesthood named Hilkiah. His name means "God is my portion; according to others, the Lord is gentleness." (Cruden's Concordance, pg.580)

The name Hilkiah is interesting and we might spend time trying to link its relevance to the story but what we are after is information about the gathering of Israel so we dispense with that effort for now.

Our two key players in this story are Josiah and Hilkiah. Josiah is king of Judah and Hilkiah, the High Priest. The work they do together is relevant to the gathering of Israel because it follows a Priesthood pattern that reoccurs throughout the Old Testament and Book of Mormon. In chapter 21 Judah is led to false worship of heathen (Gentile) Gods by their brethren from the tribe of Manasseh. Amon was king of Judah and a group of conspirators slew him and Josiah, his son assumes the throne of Judah.

Unlike his father, Josiah "..., did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." (2 Kings 22:2) Note that this passage refers to Josiah's father as "David" and not Amon. Those who sat on the throne of Judah were of the lineage of David and those who did so righteously were noted as David's posterity.

Josiah sought to reclaim Judah from worshiping false gods and restoring Judah to their covenant relationship with the Lord. This process is repeated throughout the Old Testament with various descendants of David. The situation mirrors the scattered state of Israel from which they must be gathered. Judah had turned from God and began to worship false gods. When reading Josiah's account of restoration we are reading a script/template/pattern or outline for the manner in which Israel gathers in the last days. The pattern is repeated in Isaiah twice and exemplifies the manner in which the scattered of Israel will gather in the last days. One reason this pattern is frequently overlooked is because church scholars have not been able to explain how this process meshes with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Conventional wisdom in the Church keeps scholars on the defensive to the extent they are fearful of defending the Church against accusations from critics they become blinded to the doctrinal harmony that exists in this scenario. This scenario plays out harmoniously with the restored Church without assuming the restored Church must fail or fall for this hypothesis to be valid. Harmony and reconciliation is found in the order of the Priesthood. Israel must rely on the Aaronic Priesthood to "prepare the way" for receiving the Temple ordinances (which are Melchizedek.) The Aaronic covenant in the law of Moses is the schoolmaster that leads Israel to Christ initially. It provides Israel with a Aaronic covenant umbrella of safety temporally and vicarious representation before the Lord. (Galatians 3:24) While Israel gathers and prepares under this covenant, Israel will only find personal representation when they are led to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which holds the keys for the Melchizedek Priesthood and exaltation. Now we need to focus on the pattern followed by Josiah in restoring Israel to their covenant relationship with the Lord, their God.

The first act by Josiah is to instruct his High Priest, Hilkiah to take the silver from the Temple stores and pay craftsman to repair the Temple. Josiah required no "reckoning" of the money because his Aaronic High Priest and Levitical priests were trusted, faithful men. We will see in other examples this is not always the case and there were times when the king had to cleanse Levite priests as mentioned in the prophecy of Malachi 3:1-3. Preparing the Temple for true worship is the first step in restoring Israel to their covenant relationship with God. The ordinances and sacrifices at this time were purely Aaronic because the Lord withdrew the Melchizedek Priesthood when he withdrew Moses. (D&C 84:24-26) We will examine the steps that follow in the next post.