King Josiah
2 Chronicles 34:1-35:27

Josiah Rules in Judah

2 Chronicles 35:1-13

• Josiah was eight years old when he became king and reigned for thirty-one years. (v. 1)
• Josiah was a good king. (v. 2)
• Josiah was by all accounts one of the successes of the Judean monarchy.
• When he was still young, Josiah began to seek the Lord. (v. 3)
• Josiah removed the pagan shrines. (v. 3-7)
• Josiah wanted to make sure the same mistakes of reverting back to idol worship would not happen again, so he burnt the pagan shrines down to the ground. Josiah extended his reforms throughout Judah and Israel. Remember that Israel has already been defeated by Assyria and most of the Israelites are exiled in captivity.
• In the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah began repairs of the Temple. (v. 8-11)
• Historians regard Josiah's reformations as the most significant in Judah's history of the monarchy. The Chronicler downplays this in favor of Hezekiah's reforms. This is understandable, and in many ways, Josiah's reforms can be seen as an attempt to reinstitute Hezikiah's reforms. In other ways, Josiah's reforms surpasses Hezikiah's reforms - Josiah completely destroys the shrines and the reforms extended farther in Israel, e.g.
• The Chronicler is turning his attention to a view of a united kingdom because his ideal is a 12-tribe Israel.
• The workers served faithfully. (v .12-13)
• Even with captivity imminent, the Lord sends revival to Judah.

Hilkiah Discovers God's Law

2 Chronicles 34:14-28

• Hilkiah discovered the Book of the Law. (v. 14-15)
• The Book of the Law that Hilkiah found was probably the book of Deuteronomy that had been lost during the reigns of the evil kings. This account is also recorded in 2 Kings 22:8-13.
• Shaphan took the scroll to the king and read it to him. (v. 16-18)
• Every major or minor revival of true faith has involved a rediscovery of the teaching of the Word of God.
• When Josiah heard what the law said, he ripped his clothes in despair. (v.19)
• We should all be as unhappy with sin in our lives as Josiah was.
• Josiah instructed the priests to go to the Temple and pray on behalf of the nation. (v. 20-21)
• Hilkiah and the other men went to consult with the prophet Huldah. (v. 22)
• Huldah reports that the word of the Lord is that the curses written in the scroll will come true - the city and the people will be destroyed because of the people's previous idolatry. (v. 23-25)
• Huldah further reports that because of Josiah's repentance on behalf of the nation, the promised despair will not be visited upon Jerusalem during Josiah's lifetime. (v. 26-28)

Josiah's Religious Reforms

2 Chronicles 34:29-33

• The king gathered all the people to Jerusalem and read to them the book of the Covenant. (v. 29-30)
• The king and all the people pledged to obey the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll. (v. 31-32)
• An unused Bible is as useless as a lost one. We cannot know God's will for us if we don't read his Word.
• Throughout the rest of Josiah's lifetime, the people did not turn from the Lord. (v. 33)

Josiah Celebrates Passover

2 Chronicles 35:1-19

• Josiah announced that the Passover would be celebrated in Jerusalem on the appointed day. (v. 1)
• Josiah instructed the Levites to take their positions in the Temple service as David had prescribed. (v. 2-6)
• Because the Ark is now stationary and the Levites need not move it from place to place, Josiah tells the Levites that they are free to pick up additional responsibilities.
• Josiah contributed from his personal property the lambs and goats for the people's Passover offering. (v. 7)
• The officials also contributed for the Passover sacrifices. (v. 8-9)
• The Levites prepared the Passover offerings and meal for the gathered people. (v. 10-13)
• The Passover ordinances were carried out to the letter.
• Afterward, the Levites prepared a meal for themselves and the priests. (v. 14-15)
• Josiah's Passover celebration is reported to be the greatest Passover any of the kings of Israel held. He involved all the priests and Levites and all the people from Jerusalem, and people from all over Judah and Israel. (v. 16-19)

Josiah Dies in Battle

2 Chronicles 35:20-27

• Josiah went out to fight the king of Egypt. (v. 20)
• King Neco of Egypt tells Josiah that he does not want to fight him. (v. 21)
• Josiah refused to listen to Neco and went into battle, where he was wounded. (v. 22-23)
• Josiah died in Jerusalem from the wounds he received in battle. (v. 24)
• Jeremiah wrote sad songs that were played at Josiah. "The Book of Laments" mentioned here is not the same as "Lamentations." (v. 25)