2 Chronicles 34 Study Notes: Josiah’s Reform and the Rediscovered Law
Josiah seeks God as a young king and purges idols from Judah and the northern lands. During temple repairs Hilkiah finds Moses’ Law, the king grieves, and the prophetess Huldah announces judgment, with mercy for the humbled king. Josiah reads the covenant to the nation and leads everyone to renew it.
General
True or False: As long as Josiah reigned, the people kept following the LORD without straying.
Answer: True
This is true. Josiah cleared every detestable idol from the Israelite territories and made all the Israelites worship the LORD, and as long as he lived they kept following their ancestors’ God without straying (34:33). A faithful leader shaped the whole nation. Israel had likewise served the LORD all through Joshua’s lifetime (Joshua 24:31), and Joash did right only as long as his godly guardian Jehoiada lived (24:2). Their faithfulness lasted as long as Josiah lived.
- 2 Chronicles 34:33 (BSB)“And Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required everyone in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.”Josiah removes the abominations and leads Israel to serve the LORD for the rest of his reign.
- Joshua 24:31 (BSB)“Israel had served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced all the works that the LORD had done for Israel.”Israel likewise served the LORD throughout Joshua’s lifetime.
- 2 Chronicles 24:2 (BSB)“And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.”Joash’s faithfulness lasted only as long as the priest Jehoiada lived.
Theological
True or False: The chapter closes by saying Israel kept following the LORD without straying for the rest of Josiah’s reign.
Answer: True
This is true. Josiah removed every abomination from the Israelite lands and made everyone in Israel serve the LORD; for the rest of his life they did not stray from their ancestors’ God (34:33). The people’s faithfulness is bounded by the king’s lifetime, as it was in Joshua’s generation (Joshua 24:31) and under Jehoiada’s guidance of Joash (24:2), anticipating the swift decline that chapter 36 records after Josiah’s death.
- 2 Chronicles 34:33 (BSB)“And Josiah removed all the abominations from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required everyone in Israel to serve the LORD their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.”Josiah removes the abominations and leads Israel to serve the LORD for the rest of his reign.
- Joshua 24:31 (BSB)“Israel had served the LORD throughout the days of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced all the works that the LORD had done for Israel.”Israel likewise served the LORD throughout Joshua’s lifetime.
- 2 Chronicles 24:2 (BSB)“And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.”Joash’s faithfulness lasted only as long as the priest Jehoiada lived.
General
While the money was being brought out of the temple, what did Hilkiah the priest find (2 Chronicles 34:14)?
Answer: The scroll of God’s Law that He gave through Moses
As the temple money was being brought out, Hilkiah the high priest came upon the book of God’s Law, given through Moses (34:14). He handed it to Shaphan the scribe, a royal official, who reported on the repairs and then read the book aloud to the king (34:15-18). Moses had ordered this book to be kept next to the ark of the covenant (the sacred chest in the temple) as a witness against Israel (Deuteronomy 31:24-26), and Israel’s king was supposed to read it all his life (Deuteronomy 17:18-19). God’s Law, given through Moses, is perfect and makes people wise (Psalm 19:7).
- 2 Chronicles 34:14 (BSB)“While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses.”Hilkiah finds the Book of the Law while the temple money is brought out.
- Deuteronomy 31:24-26 (BSB)“When Moses had finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD: “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.”Moses had ordered the Book of the Law to be kept beside the ark as a witness.
- Deuteronomy 17:18-19 (BSB)“When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes.”Israel’s king was meant to have a copy of the Law and read it all his life.
- Psalm 19:7 (BSB)“The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.”God’s Law is perfect and makes the simple wise.
Theological
What did Hilkiah discover during the temple repairs, according to 2 Chronicles 34:14?
Answer: The scroll of God’s Law that He gave through Moses
Hilkiah came upon a written copy of the LORD’s Law, His instruction given through Moses (34:14), and Shaphan then read it aloud to the king (34:18). The Law had been entrusted to Israel as a covenant witness, laid beside the ark (Deuteronomy 31:24-26), and the king was charged to keep his own copy and read it throughout his life (Deuteronomy 17:18-19). The recovery of God’s perfect Law (Psalm 19:7) becomes the turning point of Josiah’s reign.
- 2 Chronicles 34:14 (BSB)“While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given by Moses.”Hilkiah finds the Book of the Law while the temple money is brought out.
- Deuteronomy 31:24-26 (BSB)“When Moses had finished writing in a book the words of this law from beginning to end, he gave this command to the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD: “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.”Moses had ordered the Book of the Law to be kept beside the ark as a witness.
- Deuteronomy 17:18-19 (BSB)“When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes.”Israel’s king was meant to have a copy of the Law and read it all his life.
- Psalm 19:7 (BSB)“The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.”God’s Law is perfect and makes the simple wise.
General
Standing by the pillar, what did Josiah commit himself to in the covenant he made before the LORD (2 Chronicles 34:31)?
Answer: To walk with the LORD wholeheartedly and obey His Law
Standing by the pillar, Josiah pledged in the LORD’s presence to walk after Him and obey everything He had commanded, wholeheartedly and with his whole being, doing what the book required (34:31). He then had all present from Jerusalem and Benjamin stand with him in agreement, and Jerusalem’s people lived by God’s covenant (34:32). His commitment echoes the great command to love the LORD with one’s whole heart and soul (Deuteronomy 6:5), and it follows earlier covenant renewals under Joshua (Joshua 24:24-25) and King Asa (15:12).
- 2 Chronicles 34:31-32 (BSB)“So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book. Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand in agreement to it. So all the people of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.”Josiah makes a covenant before the LORD and has the people stand in agreement to it.
- Deuteronomy 6:5 (BSB)“And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”The Law called Israel to love the LORD with all the heart and soul.
- 2 Chronicles 15:12 (BSB)“Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.”Under Asa the people likewise covenanted to seek the LORD with heart and soul.
- Joshua 24:24-25 (BSB)“So the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey His voice.” On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance.”Joshua led the people in a covenant to serve the LORD and obey Him.
Theological
What did Josiah pledge in the covenant he made before the LORD by the pillar (2 Chronicles 34:31-32)?
Answer: To walk with the LORD wholeheartedly and obey His Law
Josiah covenanted in the LORD’s presence to walk after Him and keep all His commands wholeheartedly, carrying out what the book required (34:31), and he had all present from Jerusalem and Benjamin stand to it (34:32). The pledge is the whole-souled love of Deuteronomy 6:5, and it stands in the line of covenant renewals under Joshua (Joshua 24:24-25) and Asa (15:12). Such renewal is the fruit of hearing God’s word with a humbled heart.
- 2 Chronicles 34:31-32 (BSB)“So the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD to follow the LORD and to keep His commandments, decrees, and statutes with all his heart and all his soul, and to carry out the words of the covenant that were written in this book. Then he had everyone in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand in agreement to it. So all the people of Jerusalem carried out the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.”Josiah makes a covenant before the LORD and has the people stand in agreement to it.
- Deuteronomy 6:5 (BSB)“And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”The Law called Israel to love the LORD with all the heart and soul.
- 2 Chronicles 15:12 (BSB)“Then they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.”Under Asa the people likewise covenanted to seek the LORD with heart and soul.
- Joshua 24:24-25 (BSB)“So the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and obey His voice.” On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance.”Joshua led the people in a covenant to serve the LORD and obey Him.
General
According to the prophetess Huldah, why would the LORD bring calamity on Jerusalem and its people (2 Chronicles 34:24-25)?
Answer: Because they had abandoned the LORD for false gods
Josiah’s officials went to Huldah, a prophetess (someone who spoke God’s message) living in Jerusalem (34:22). She gave the LORD’s answer: He would bring disaster on the city and its inhabitants, just as the curses in the book had warned, because they had abandoned Him and offered incense to false gods, provoking Him by idols they had made (34:24-25). His anger would not be put out. This was what God had warned since Solomon’s day (7:19-20) and even since Moses (Deuteronomy 31:17).
- 2 Chronicles 34:24-25 (BSB)“that this is what the LORD says: I am about to bring calamity on this place and on its people, according to all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah, because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out upon this place and will not be quenched.’”Huldah announces calamity on Jerusalem according to the curses in the book, and gives the reason.
- 2 Chronicles 7:19-20 (BSB)“But if you turn away and forsake the statutes and commandments I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot Israel from the soil I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.”God had warned Solomon that forsaking Him for other gods would bring uprooting and the loss of the temple.
- Deuteronomy 31:17 (BSB)“On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’”Moses foretold that God’s anger would bring disaster on a people who turned to other gods.
Theological
What reason did Huldah give for the calamity the LORD was about to bring on Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 34:24-25)?
Answer: Because they had abandoned the LORD for false gods
Huldah’s oracle confirms the covenant curses: disaster on Jerusalem matching everything threatened in the book, because the people had abandoned the LORD, offered incense to false gods and provoked Him with idols of their own making; His anger would not be extinguished (34:24-25). The judgment is the covenant sanction God had set before Solomon (7:19-20) and Moses (Deuteronomy 31:17). God’s wrath is His just response to idolatry, announced long beforehand.
- 2 Chronicles 34:24-25 (BSB)“that this is what the LORD says: I am about to bring calamity on this place and on its people, according to all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah, because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out upon this place and will not be quenched.’”Huldah announces calamity on Jerusalem according to the curses in the book, and gives the reason.
- 2 Chronicles 7:19-20 (BSB)“But if you turn away and forsake the statutes and commandments I have set before you, and if you go off to serve and worship other gods, then I will uproot Israel from the soil I have given them, and I will banish from My presence this temple I have sanctified for My Name. I will make it an object of scorn and ridicule among all the peoples.”God had warned Solomon that forsaking Him for other gods would bring uprooting and the loss of the temple.
- Deuteronomy 31:17 (BSB)“On that day My anger will burn against them, and I will abandon them and hide My face from them, so that they will be consumed, and many troubles and afflictions will befall them. On that day they will say, ‘Have not these disasters come upon us because our God is no longer with us?’”Moses foretold that God’s anger would bring disaster on a people who turned to other gods.
General
In his eighth year as king, when he was still a youth, what did Josiah begin to do (2 Chronicles 34:3)?
Answer: He started seeking the God his forefather David served
Josiah became king as a boy, and in his eighth year on the throne, while still a youth, he began seeking the God whom his forefather David had served (34:3). To seek God means to turn to Him, look to Him and want to know and follow Him. Only after that did he start cleansing the land of idols, so his reforms grew out of a heart that first sought the LORD. Scripture calls people to remember their Creator in their youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1), and Scripture promises that those who seek the LORD will find Him (15:2; Jeremiah 29:13).
- 2 Chronicles 34:3 (BSB)“In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his father David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images.”While still young, Josiah begins to seek God and later starts cleansing the land.
- Ecclesiastes 12:1 (BSB)“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,””Scripture urges people to remember their Creator while they are young.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 (BSB)“So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”Earlier in the book a prophet promised that those who seek the LORD will find Him.
- Jeremiah 29:13 (BSB)“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”God promises to be found by those who search for Him wholeheartedly.
Theological
According to 2 Chronicles 34:3, what did Josiah begin as a youth, in his eighth year as king?
Answer: He started seeking the God his forefather David served
Chronicles marks the start of Josiah’s devotion before his public reforms: in his eighth regnal year, while still a youth, he began seeking David’s God (34:3), and only afterward did he begin purging Judah and Jerusalem. Seeking the LORD is one of the book’s central themes, tied to the promise that those who seek Him find Him (15:2; Jeremiah 29:13). Josiah’s early turning to God fits Scripture’s call to remember one’s Creator in youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1), and his reforms are the fruit of that seeking.
- 2 Chronicles 34:3 (BSB)“In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, Josiah began to seek the God of his father David, and in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherah poles, the carved idols, and the cast images.”While still young, Josiah begins to seek God and later starts cleansing the land.
- Ecclesiastes 12:1 (BSB)“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of adversity come and the years approach of which you will say, “I find no pleasure in them,””Scripture urges people to remember their Creator while they are young.
- 2 Chronicles 15:2 (BSB)“So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”Earlier in the book a prophet promised that those who seek the LORD will find Him.
- Jeremiah 29:13 (BSB)“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”God promises to be found by those who search for Him wholeheartedly.
General
True or False: Huldah said that because Josiah humbled himself, the calamity on Jerusalem would be called off.
Answer: False
This is false. The mercy shown to Josiah was personal: he would not live to see the disaster (34:28). But the LORD said His anger against Jerusalem would not be put out (34:25), and the calamity was still coming on the city and its people. Chapter 36 records it arriving after later generations refused every warning, when God’s anger rose past any cure and the temple was burned and the people taken to Babylon (36:16, 19-20).
- 2 Chronicles 34:25 (BSB)“because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out upon this place and will not be quenched.’”The LORD says His wrath on Jerusalem will not be quenched.
- 2 Chronicles 34:28 (BSB)“‘Now I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place and on its people.’” So they brought her answer back to the king.”Josiah is spared from seeing the calamity, which will still come on Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 36:16 (BSB)“But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.”Later the LORD’s wrath against His people is stirred up beyond remedy.
- 2 Chronicles 36:19-20 (BSB)“Then the Chaldeans set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the palaces and destroyed every article of value. Those who escaped the sword were carried by Nebuchadnezzar into exile in Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.”The calamity Huldah announced arrives when the temple is burned and the people are exiled.
Theological
True or False: According to Huldah, Josiah’s humility caused the LORD to cancel the judgment on Jerusalem.
Answer: False
This is false. Huldah distinguishes the king from the city. Josiah would be spared from seeing the calamity (34:28), but God’s anger against Jerusalem would not be extinguished (34:25). The decree stands and is carried out in chapter 36, when His anger rises past any cure and the temple and city fall (36:16, 19-20). Josiah’s humility brought mercy to him without reversing the judgment on the nation’s long idolatry.
- 2 Chronicles 34:25 (BSB)“because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. My wrath will be poured out upon this place and will not be quenched.’”The LORD says His wrath on Jerusalem will not be quenched.
- 2 Chronicles 34:28 (BSB)“‘Now I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place and on its people.’” So they brought her answer back to the king.”Josiah is spared from seeing the calamity, which will still come on Jerusalem.
- 2 Chronicles 36:16 (BSB)“But they mocked the messengers of God, despising His words and scoffing at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD against His people was stirred up beyond remedy.”Later the LORD’s wrath against His people is stirred up beyond remedy.
- 2 Chronicles 36:19-20 (BSB)“Then the Chaldeans set fire to the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem. They burned down all the palaces and destroyed every article of value. Those who escaped the sword were carried by Nebuchadnezzar into exile in Babylon, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power.”The calamity Huldah announced arrives when the temple is burned and the people are exiled.
General
After hearing the book read, why did Josiah say the LORD’s anger against them was so great (2 Chronicles 34:21)?
Answer: Because the ancestors had failed to obey what the book required
As the Law was read to him, the king tore his clothes, a sign of grief and alarm (34:19). He sent Hilkiah and others to ask the LORD about the book, saying that God’s anger against them was great because their ancestors had not obeyed His word or done what the book commanded (34:21). Josiah understood that the book’s warnings were real. The Law had said that disobedience would bring curses on Israel (Deuteronomy 28:15), and that the LORD’s anger would bring every curse the book contained on a people who abandoned His covenant (Deuteronomy 29:25-27).
- 2 Chronicles 34:19 (BSB)“When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes”Hearing the Law read, the king tears his clothes.
- 2 Chronicles 34:21 (BSB)““Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah concerning the words in the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that has been poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD by doing all that is written in this book.””Josiah sends men to inquire of the LORD, confessing that wrath has come on account of the fathers’ disobedience.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (BSB)“If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”The Law warned that curses would come on Israel if they did not obey God’s commands.
- Deuteronomy 29:25-27 (BSB)“And the people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went and served other gods, and they worshiped gods they had not known—gods that the LORD had not given to them. Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against this land, and He brought upon it every curse written in this book.”Moses foretold that the LORD’s anger would bring every curse in the book on a land that abandoned His covenant.
Theological
What reason did Josiah give for the greatness of the LORD’s anger against Judah (2 Chronicles 34:21)?
Answer: Because the ancestors had failed to obey what the book required
Josiah’s torn clothes (34:19) show that he received the Law as God’s living word and its sanctions as real. He confessed that God’s anger against Judah was great because earlier generations had not obeyed what the book required (34:21). The covenant curses of Deuteronomy had warned exactly this (Deuteronomy 28:15; 29:25-27). Josiah does not excuse his people; he owns the covenant guilt of the generations before him and seeks the LORD’s answer about it.
- 2 Chronicles 34:19 (BSB)“When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes”Hearing the Law read, the king tears his clothes.
- 2 Chronicles 34:21 (BSB)““Go and inquire of the LORD for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah concerning the words in the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that has been poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD by doing all that is written in this book.””Josiah sends men to inquire of the LORD, confessing that wrath has come on account of the fathers’ disobedience.
- Deuteronomy 28:15 (BSB)“If, however, you do not obey the LORD your God by carefully following all His commandments and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:”The Law warned that curses would come on Israel if they did not obey God’s commands.
- Deuteronomy 29:25-27 (BSB)“And the people will answer, ‘It is because they abandoned the covenant of the LORD, the God of their fathers, which He made with them when He brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went and served other gods, and they worshiped gods they had not known—gods that the LORD had not given to them. Therefore the anger of the LORD burned against this land, and He brought upon it every curse written in this book.”Moses foretold that the LORD’s anger would bring every curse in the book on a land that abandoned His covenant.
General
After hearing Huldah’s answer, what did Josiah do with the newly found book (2 Chronicles 34:29-30)?
Answer: He read it aloud himself to everyone, from least to greatest
Josiah summoned the elders and went to the temple with the citizens of Judah and the capital, the priests and Levites, everyone from the least to the greatest. There he personally read aloud the entire covenant book that had turned up in the temple (34:29-30). A covenant is a binding agreement; here it means the terms God had given Israel. Moses had commanded that the Law be read publicly to all Israel, children included, so they would come to revere the LORD and carefully obey His law (Deuteronomy 31:11-12). Josiah followed the pattern of Sinai, where Moses read the covenant book to the people (Exodus 24:7), and Ezra later did the same (Nehemiah 8:3).
- 2 Chronicles 34:30 (BSB)“And he went up to the house of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites—all the people great and small—and in their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.”Josiah gathers everyone at the temple and reads the Book of the Covenant in their hearing.
- Deuteronomy 31:11-12 (BSB)“when all Israel comes before the LORD your God at the place He will choose, you are to read this law in the hearing of all Israel. Assemble the people—men, women, children, and the foreigners within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and to follow carefully all the words of this law.”Moses commanded that the Law be read in the hearing of all Israel, including children.
- Exodus 24:7 (BSB)“Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.””At Sinai Moses read the Book of the Covenant to the people.
- Nehemiah 8:3 (BSB)“So Ezra read it aloud from daybreak until noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate, in front of the men and women and those who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.”Later Ezra read the Law aloud to the whole assembly.
Theological
How did Josiah make the newly found book known to the nation (2 Chronicles 34:29-30)?
Answer: He read it aloud himself to everyone, from least to greatest
Josiah gathered the elders, priests, Levites and the whole population from the least to the greatest at the temple and personally read the entire covenant book aloud to them (34:29-30). The public reading obeyed the Mosaic command to read the Law before all Israel (Deuteronomy 31:11-12) and echoes the reading of the covenant book at Sinai (Exodus 24:7); Ezra would do likewise after the return (Nehemiah 8:3). Covenant renewal begins with God’s word heard by the whole community.
- 2 Chronicles 34:30 (BSB)“And he went up to the house of the LORD with all the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the Levites—all the people great and small—and in their hearing he read all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD.”Josiah gathers everyone at the temple and reads the Book of the Covenant in their hearing.
- Deuteronomy 31:11-12 (BSB)“when all Israel comes before the LORD your God at the place He will choose, you are to read this law in the hearing of all Israel. Assemble the people—men, women, children, and the foreigners within your gates—so that they may listen and learn to fear the LORD your God and to follow carefully all the words of this law.”Moses commanded that the Law be read in the hearing of all Israel, including children.
- Exodus 24:7 (BSB)“Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people, who replied, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.””At Sinai Moses read the Book of the Covenant to the people.
- Nehemiah 8:3 (BSB)“So Ezra read it aloud from daybreak until noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate, in front of the men and women and those who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.”Later Ezra read the Law aloud to the whole assembly.
General
True or False: Josiah’s campaign against idols stayed inside the borders of Judah and the capital.
Answer: False
This is false. Josiah first purified Judah and Jerusalem. He had the altars of Baal (a false god of Canaan) torn down, smashed the Asherah poles (wooden objects used in the worship of a goddess) and the idols, ground them up, and even burned the idol priests’ bones on their own altars (34:3-5). Then he carried the same work beyond Judah into the towns of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon and on to Naphtali, across Israel’s territory, before going back to Jerusalem (34:6-7). He was doing what the Law of Moses had commanded about false worship (Deuteronomy 12:3; 7:5).
- 2 Chronicles 34:6-7 (BSB)“Josiah did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them. He tore down the altars and Asherah poles, crushed the idols to powder, and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.”Josiah carries the cleansing beyond Judah to the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon and Naphtali.
- Deuteronomy 12:3 (BSB)“Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.”The Law told Israel to destroy the altars and Asherah poles of false worship.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 (BSB)“Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.”Moses gave the same command to tear down altars and burn idols.
Theological
True or False: Josiah confined his purge of idolatry to Judah and the capital.
Answer: False
This is false. After purging high places, Asherah poles and images from Judah and Jerusalem, and burning the idolatrous priests’ bones upon those same altars (34:3-5), Josiah extended the purge into the territories of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon and Naphtali, across the whole territory of Israel (34:6-7). His reform obeyed the Mosaic commands to destroy every altar and image of false worship (Deuteronomy 12:3; 7:5), reaching the whole land and not only the capital.
- 2 Chronicles 34:6-7 (BSB)“Josiah did the same in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them. He tore down the altars and Asherah poles, crushed the idols to powder, and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.”Josiah carries the cleansing beyond Judah to the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon and Naphtali.
- Deuteronomy 12:3 (BSB)“Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.”The Law told Israel to destroy the altars and Asherah poles of false worship.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 (BSB)“Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.”Moses gave the same command to tear down altars and burn idols.
General
How does 2 Chronicles 34:12 describe the men who repaired the temple?
Answer: They carried out the work with faithfulness
In Josiah’s eighteenth year he sent officials to repair the temple. The money that the Levite doorkeepers had gathered from Manasseh, Ephraim, the rest of Israel, Judah, Benjamin and Jerusalem was handed to the supervisors, who paid the craftsmen for stone and timber (34:8-11). The men did their work faithfully, with Levites overseeing them (34:12). Scripture prizes this kind of trustworthiness in anyone given a task (1 Corinthians 4:2; Luke 16:10), and the parallel account in Kings notes that the men were trusted with the money because they worked with integrity (2 Kings 22:7).
- 2 Chronicles 34:12 (BSB)“And the men did the work faithfully. The Levites overseeing them were Jahath and Obadiah, descendants of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descendants of Kohath. Other Levites, all skilled with musical instruments,”The workmen labor faithfully under Levite overseers.
- 1 Corinthians 4:2 (BSB)“Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”Paul says those entrusted with something must be found faithful.
- Luke 16:10 (BSB)“Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”Jesus teaches that faithfulness in small things shows faithfulness in large ones.
- 2 Kings 22:7 (BSB)“But they need not account for the money put into their hands, since they work with integrity.””The parallel account says no accounting was asked of these men because of their integrity.
Theological
What does 2 Chronicles 34:12 say about the men who carried out the temple repairs?
Answer: They carried out the work with faithfulness
The repairs were funded by gifts the Levite gatekeepers had gathered from the remnant of the north as well as Judah and Benjamin (34:9), and the work was carried out faithfully under Levite supervision (34:12). Stewardship of what belongs to God is measured by faithfulness (1 Corinthians 4:2; Luke 16:10). The parallel in Kings adds that the men were not required to give an account of the money, since they worked with integrity (2 Kings 22:7).
- 2 Chronicles 34:12 (BSB)“And the men did the work faithfully. The Levites overseeing them were Jahath and Obadiah, descendants of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descendants of Kohath. Other Levites, all skilled with musical instruments,”The workmen labor faithfully under Levite overseers.
- 1 Corinthians 4:2 (BSB)“Now it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”Paul says those entrusted with something must be found faithful.
- Luke 16:10 (BSB)“Whoever is faithful with very little will also be faithful with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”Jesus teaches that faithfulness in small things shows faithfulness in large ones.
- 2 Kings 22:7 (BSB)“But they need not account for the money put into their hands, since they work with integrity.””The parallel account says no accounting was asked of these men because of their integrity.
General
Why did the LORD say through Huldah that Josiah would not see the coming calamity (2 Chronicles 34:27-28)?
Answer: Because he had a tender heart and humbled himself
Huldah had a separate word for the king. Because Josiah had a tender heart and humbled himself before God on hearing His words, tearing his clothes and weeping, the LORD said He had heard him (34:27). Josiah would be gathered to his fathers and go to his grave in peace, and he would not live to see the disaster God would bring on Jerusalem (34:28). God values exactly this response to His word: a humble heart that trembles at what He says (Isaiah 66:2). He does not despise a broken and repentant heart (Psalm 51:17), and He lifts up those who humble themselves before Him (James 4:10).
- 2 Chronicles 34:27-28 (BSB)“because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its people, and because you have humbled yourself before Me and have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard you,’ declares the LORD. ‘Now I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place and on its people.’” So they brought her answer back to the king.”Huldah gives the LORD’s word to Josiah personally: He has heard him and will spare him from seeing the calamity.
- Isaiah 66:2 (BSB)“Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.”The LORD esteems the one who is humble and contrite and trembles at His word.
- Psalm 51:17 (BSB)“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”God does not despise a broken and contrite heart.
- James 4:10 (BSB)“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”Those who humble themselves before the Lord are lifted up by Him.
Theological
On what basis did the LORD promise that Josiah would not see the calamity (2 Chronicles 34:27-28)?
Answer: Because he had a tender heart and humbled himself
The LORD’s word to Josiah rests on his response to the Law: his heart was tender, he humbled himself, tore his clothes and wept in God’s presence, and the LORD heard him (34:27). He would be gathered to his grave in peace and would not see the disaster on Jerusalem (34:28). Humbling oneself before God and finding mercy is a repeated theme of Chronicles, and it matches the LORD’s regard for the contrite who tremble at His word (Isaiah 66:2; Psalm 51:17) and His promise to exalt the humble (James 4:10).
- 2 Chronicles 34:27-28 (BSB)“because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its people, and because you have humbled yourself before Me and have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I have heard you,’ declares the LORD. ‘Now I will indeed gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace. Your eyes will not see all the calamity that I will bring on this place and on its people.’” So they brought her answer back to the king.”Huldah gives the LORD’s word to Josiah personally: He has heard him and will spare him from seeing the calamity.
- Isaiah 66:2 (BSB)“Has not My hand made all these things? And so they came into being,” declares the LORD. “This is the one I will esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, who trembles at My word.”The LORD esteems the one who is humble and contrite and trembles at His word.
- Psalm 51:17 (BSB)“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”God does not despise a broken and contrite heart.
- James 4:10 (BSB)“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”Those who humble themselves before the Lord are lifted up by Him.