How many of you have heard of Huldah in the Bible? She gave exhortation and hope to the Israelites during a very dark stretch of history. Evil foreign kings had invaded, and evil kings from their own people had ruled over the land. Some truly grotesque forms of idolatry were rampant in society; children were sacrificed to demonic ‘gods’; necromancy was practiced.
The previous two kings in Huldah’s lifetime had been incredibly immoral. One was said to have shed so much innocent blood that it “filled Jerusalem from one end to another” (see 2 Kings 21:16), and the other was such a nightmare that he only made it two years before he was assassinated by his own servants (see 2 Kings 21:19-23).
In the middle of all this, Huldah openly stood for the true God.
The law of God was found in the temple after having been lost of years, possibly generations. As soon as the new king realized what they’d unearthed, he immediately knew who to send for: Huldah.
“Those whom the king had sent went to Huldah the prophetess…and she said to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: “…Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book that was read before the king of Judah. Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods… But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him…[because]…you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the Lord” (2 Chronicles 34:22-27, ESV).
This woman unflinchingly proclaimed the truth, rebuked those who had reveled in sin, but offered a second chance to the genuinely repentant. Her words gave the young king who had inherited this broken, sin-riddled kingdom both the hope and motivation to enact reform and revival in their nation.
When we are willing to boldly stand for God’s Word, even for years without seeing positive change, God will use this for his glory and the benefit of others.