HULDAH - A PROPHETESS, WHO HAD AN INNER PEACE,
A CONFIDENCE IN WHO SHE WAS IN GOD, AND WAS FAITHFUL TO WHAT GOD CALLED HER TO
DO
Introduction
Huldah is not a high profile character of the
bible such as Miriam or Deborah, but God used this woman to bear testimony and
deliver a message from Him to the High Priest and to the King. This message for
a time changed her whole nation's religious consciousness and practice and
re-ignited their love for God.
Huldah's story can be read in 2 Kings
22.
What do we know about this woman Huldah?
We know her story is not very long in the
bible but by listening to what God is telling us about this woman, and through
the part she played in changing her nation's religious habits, we can be
encouraged, strengthened, changed and grow more and more to the glory of God.
We know that she was married to Shallum, who
was the keeper of the King's wardrobe, and that she lived in the 2nd Quarter of
Jerusalem, probably a suburb. The Hebrew word for this suburb was Mishneh,
meaning 'a place of repetition'. Education was primarily an oral thing at this
time, and repetition would have been the way things were taught, so we can
assume that Huldah was a teacher.
The High Priest and the delegation from the
King must have had confidence in Huldah, and known that she was a woman of God,
that she had a knowledge and understanding of God's laws, and could be trusted
to bring the word of God.
How can we learn lessons today from this
woman, who lived in Old Testament times?
- Huldah had an inner peace
- she was confident in God
- she was faithful in what God asked her to do.
Huldah had an inner peace
She was
in a right relationship with God; we know this as He used her to give His
message to King Josiah, and she was also in right relationships with others.
What is this inner peace, how can we
achieve it?
Inner peace is a sense of wholeness, of
well-being, that comes through a right relationship with God. When we trust
him, when we obey Him, when we let Him have control of our lives, we receive an
inner peace.
What can rob us of this inner
peace?
Not listening to God - Isaiah 48:17-18
We need to listen to God, to be attentive to what he is teaching us. He
knows what is right for us, sometimes we don't understand what is happening to
us. "Why is this happening Lord? Why can't I do this Lord?" He is a God of
grace, He allows us to grumble, but if we want to find inner peace, then we
have to follow His ways.
Not being in right relationship with
others, can rob us of our peace
Hebrews 12:14, Colossians 3:15
How
can we have a peace if we are always in dispute with others? Living in peace
does not mean that as Christians we all have the same opinions, the same
ideals, but we can learn to live with each other, respect each other; not
compromising our beliefs as Christians, but realising God has made us all
different.
When we are fearful, anxious or troubled
we can lose our peace
We can allow worry to damage our health. It
can cause the object of our worries to consume our thoughts. It can disrupt
productivity, it can negatively affect the way we treat others, and it can
reduce our ability to trust God.
Phil. 4:7, John 14:27
We can find
peace in God when we walk in His Spirit. He will protect our hearts and minds
from worry, fear and anxiety. He will give us a confidence to trust in life.
The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is a
deep and lasting peace, not a worldly peace, which usually means no form of
conflict in our lives. The peace the Holy Spirit offers us is the assurance
that in any circumstance we are going through, if we have Jesus' peace, we have
no need to fear the past, the present or the future.
Huldah was confident in God
Huldah
knew who she was in God and that gave her confidence. We are not told, but I
believe she was a woman who knew the scriptures and spent a lot of time in
prayer. The people around her knew she was a woman of God, a woman God used to
speak through - she was a prophetess. When she was asked to speak to the Lord,
she confidently spoke with God and relayed his word.
Are you confident in God? Confidence in God
is not a virtue but an inner strength and determination inspired by God. It is
not a self-confidence because that would be a false security. Deut.
31:7-8.
Do you know who you are? You are a child of
the living God. Romans 8:16-17. God has given us the means to stand
confident in Him. Eph. 6:10-17.
Huldah was faithful to God
Huldah
was faithful to God. She gave the word from the Lord not knowing what reaction
she would get. She trusted God and by being faithful she changed the religious
ways of a nation, and brought them back to God. When we think of faithfulness
we usually think of God's faithfulness to us, but we must be faithful in what
God has called us to. God's faithfulness to us, challenges us to be steadfast
in our loyalty and our unwavering trust in Him.
It's not always easy to do the things God has
asked us to do, and sometimes we have push through circumstances in our lives -
Matt. 16:24-27, but there is a reward for the followers of Jesus:
Rev. 2:10 "Do not be afraid of what
you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison
to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to
the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (NIV)
Huldah was a woman with an inward peace, a
confidence in who she was in God and she was faithful in what God called her to
do. Are you a woman with Huldah's heart?
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