2 Chronicles 34:8
Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
The repair of the house of the Lord and the reformation that grew out of it belong to the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, after he had purged the land and the house or temple. For that work Josiah sent officials to oversee the repair. The silver gathered at the temple funded the mending of its breaches and the supplying of building materials, and those doing the work handled the money faithfully. The way for the reformation was prepared by the silent yet powerful influence of the prophets' messages regarding the Babylonian captivity.
The repair provided the setting in which the long-lost book of the law — a portion of Holy Scripture strangely misplaced and lost for many years — was found, and its discovery and study unexpectedly brought about the reform. The occasion involved reading of the law followed by a deep work of repentance and return to the Lord. That reformation averted threatened judgments for a season. It exemplifies the kind of response John expected his God-given message to produce.