2 Chronicles 35 Study Notes: Josiah’s Great Passover and Death
Josiah holds a great Passover in Jerusalem, with Levites preparing the offerings for priests, singers and gatekeepers and the king giving animals from his own herds. Later he ignores a warning God sent through Egypt’s king Neco, is fatally wounded at Megiddo, and is mourned by Jeremiah and all Judah.
General
After telling the Levites to set the holy ark within Solomon’s temple, what did Josiah say they should now do (2 Chronicles 35:3)?
Answer: Serve both their God and Israel, His people
In the wilderness the Levites had carried the holy objects from place to place (Numbers 4:15), and David had said that once God settled His people in Jerusalem the Levites would be done with carrying the tabernacle and its articles (1 Chronicles 23:25-26). Josiah told the Levites, Israel’s teachers, to set the holy ark, the sacred chest of the covenant, within Solomon’s temple; they no longer had to bear it on their shoulders. Instead they were to serve their God and serve Israel, His people (35:3). Serving God and serving His people go together, as the New Testament also teaches (1 Peter 4:10).
- 2 Chronicles 35:3 (BSB)“To the Levites who taught all Israel and were holy to the LORD, Josiah said: “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. It is not to be carried around on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.”Josiah has the ark put in the temple and turns the Levites to serving God and His people.
- 1 Chronicles 23:25-26 (BSB)“For David had said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever. So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.””David had said that, with the LORD dwelling in Jerusalem, the Levites would no longer need to carry the tabernacle and its articles.
- Numbers 4:15 (BSB)“When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.”In the wilderness the Levite clan of Kohath carried the holy objects.
- 1 Peter 4:10 (BSB)“As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.”God’s people are to use His gifts in serving one another.
Theological
What new task did Josiah give the Levites once the ark no longer had to be carried on their shoulders (2 Chronicles 35:3)?
Answer: Serve both their God and Israel, His people
With the ark placed in Solomon’s temple, the Levites’ old burden of carrying it (Numbers 4:15) was over, as David had anticipated (1 Chronicles 23:25-26). Josiah redirected their labor: they were to serve the LORD and serve Israel, His people (35:3), which in this chapter means preparing the Passover for the people, the priests, the singers and the gatekeepers. Service of God is expressed in service to His people, a pattern the New Testament applies to every believer’s gifts (1 Peter 4:10).
- 2 Chronicles 35:3 (BSB)“To the Levites who taught all Israel and were holy to the LORD, Josiah said: “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. It is not to be carried around on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.”Josiah has the ark put in the temple and turns the Levites to serving God and His people.
- 1 Chronicles 23:25-26 (BSB)“For David had said, “The LORD, the God of Israel, has given rest to His people and has come to dwell in Jerusalem forever. So now the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the articles for its service.””David had said that, with the LORD dwelling in Jerusalem, the Levites would no longer need to carry the tabernacle and its articles.
- Numbers 4:15 (BSB)“When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy objects, or they will die. These are the transportation duties of the Kohathites regarding the Tent of Meeting.”In the wilderness the Levite clan of Kohath carried the holy objects.
- 1 Peter 4:10 (BSB)“As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another.”God’s people are to use His gifts in serving one another.
General
True or False: The closing summary of Josiah’s reign describes his deeds as acts of loving devotion in line with the LORD’s Law.
Answer: True
This is true. The chapter ends by referring to the rest of Josiah’s acts and his acts of loving devotion, done as the LORD’s Law directed, recorded from first to last in the royal records of Judah and Israel (35:26-27). His reign is summed up by faithful love toward God, shaped by God’s word. The parallel account in Kings says that no king before or after him matched Josiah’s wholehearted turning to the LORD (2 Kings 23:25). God calls His people to exactly this: justice, mercy and walking humbly with Him (Micah 6:8).
- 2 Chronicles 35:26-27 (BSB)“As for the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of loving devotion according to what is written in the Law of the LORD— his acts from beginning to end—they are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.”The closing summary of Josiah’s reign speaks of his loving devotion according to the Law.
- 2 Kings 23:25 (BSB)“Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses.”The parallel account says no king before or after turned to the LORD as Josiah did.
- Micah 6:8 (BSB)“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”The LORD requires justice, mercy and a humble walk with Him.
Theological
True or False: Josiah’s reign closes with a reference to his loving devotion in keeping with the LORD’s Law.
Answer: True
This is true. The regnal summary speaks of Josiah’s acts and his loving devotion in accordance with God’s Law, written from first to last in the royal records of Judah and Israel (35:26-27). The final verdict on his reign is covenant faithfulness under God’s word. Kings likewise says no king before or after matched Josiah’s wholehearted turning to the LORD (2 Kings 23:25), the covenant life God requires (Micah 6:8).
- 2 Chronicles 35:26-27 (BSB)“As for the rest of the acts of Josiah and his deeds of loving devotion according to what is written in the Law of the LORD— his acts from beginning to end—they are indeed written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.”The closing summary of Josiah’s reign speaks of his loving devotion according to the Law.
- 2 Kings 23:25 (BSB)“Neither before nor after Josiah was there any king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, according to all the Law of Moses.”The parallel account says no king before or after turned to the LORD as Josiah did.
- Micah 6:8 (BSB)“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”The LORD requires justice, mercy and a humble walk with Him.
General
After Josiah died, which prophet is named as lamenting over him (2 Chronicles 35:25)?
Answer: Jeremiah, who later spoke God’s word to Zedekiah
Archers shot Josiah at Megiddo. He told his servants to take him away because he was badly wounded, and they moved him to another chariot and carried him back to Jerusalem; there he died (35:23-24). He was buried in his fathers’ tomb, and the whole nation mourned him (35:24). Jeremiah the prophet, whose ministry had begun in Josiah’s reign (Jeremiah 1:1-2), lamented over him. Singers, both men and women, kept reciting laments for Josiah, the practice became a statute in Israel, and the laments were recorded in a written collection of laments (35:25). Israel had honored a fallen king this way before, when David’s mourning song over Saul and Jonathan was taught and written down (2 Samuel 1:17-18).
- 2 Chronicles 35:23-25 (BSB)“There the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded!” So his servants took him out of his chariot, put him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. And Josiah was buried in the tomb of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers recite laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments.”Josiah is wounded, dies in Jerusalem, is mourned by all Judah, and Jeremiah laments him.
- Jeremiah 1:1-2 (BSB)“These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah,”Jeremiah’s ministry began during Josiah’s reign.
- 2 Samuel 1:17-18 (BSB)“Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, and he ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the Song of the Bow. It is written in the Book of Jashar:”David’s mourning song over Saul and Jonathan was also taught to Judah and written down.
Theological
Which prophet does 2 Chronicles 35:25 name as lamenting Josiah?
Answer: Jeremiah, who later spoke God’s word to Zedekiah
Struck by archers, Josiah was carried from the battle in another chariot back to Jerusalem; there he died and was buried among his fathers amid national mourning (35:23-24). Jeremiah, whose prophetic ministry began under Josiah (Jeremiah 1:1-2), lamented him, and the singers’ laments over Josiah became a statute in Israel, recorded in a written collection of laments (35:25), much as David’s mourning song over Saul and Jonathan had been taught and preserved (2 Samuel 1:17-18).
- 2 Chronicles 35:23-25 (BSB)“There the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded!” So his servants took him out of his chariot, put him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. And Josiah was buried in the tomb of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers recite laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the Book of Laments.”Josiah is wounded, dies in Jerusalem, is mourned by all Judah, and Jeremiah laments him.
- Jeremiah 1:1-2 (BSB)“These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah,”Jeremiah’s ministry began during Josiah’s reign.
- 2 Samuel 1:17-18 (BSB)“Then David took up this lament for Saul and his son Jonathan, and he ordered that the sons of Judah be taught the Song of the Bow. It is written in the Book of Jashar:”David’s mourning song over Saul and Jonathan was also taught to Judah and written down.
General
True or False: Josiah made the people supply all the Passover animals and gave none himself.
Answer: False
This is false. Josiah supplied lambs, young goats and bulls out of his own livestock for everyone present (35:7). His officials also gave freely to the people, the priests and the Levites, and the temple’s chief officials and the Levite leaders gave animals for the priests and Levites (35:8-9). The king led by giving generously, and others followed. God delights in a cheerful, willing giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). In David’s day too, the people had rejoiced when their leaders gave freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD (1 Chronicles 29:9).
- 2 Chronicles 35:7-8 (BSB)“From his own flocks and herds Josiah contributed 30,000 lambs and goats plus 3,000 bulls for the Passover offerings for all the people who were present. His officials also contributed willingly to the people and priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officials of the house of God, gave the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and 300 bulls.”Josiah gives animals from his own herds, and his officials give willingly.
- 2 Corinthians 9:7 (BSB)“Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.”God loves a cheerful giver who gives freely.
- 1 Chronicles 29:9 (BSB)“And the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given to the LORD freely and wholeheartedly. And King David also rejoiced greatly.”In David’s day the people rejoiced when their leaders gave freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD.
Theological
True or False: Josiah required the people to provide every Passover animal and contributed nothing from his own herds.
Answer: False
This is false. Josiah gave out of his own livestock for everyone present (35:7), and his officials contributed freely to the people, priests and Levites, while temple and Levite leaders provided for the clergy (35:8-9). Royal generosity set the tone for willing giving throughout the assembly, as when Israel’s leaders gave freely and wholeheartedly in David’s day (1 Chronicles 29:9), the kind of free-hearted giving God delights in (2 Corinthians 9:7).
- 2 Chronicles 35:7-8 (BSB)“From his own flocks and herds Josiah contributed 30,000 lambs and goats plus 3,000 bulls for the Passover offerings for all the people who were present. His officials also contributed willingly to the people and priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officials of the house of God, gave the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and 300 bulls.”Josiah gives animals from his own herds, and his officials give willingly.
- 2 Corinthians 9:7 (BSB)“Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.”God loves a cheerful giver who gives freely.
- 1 Chronicles 29:9 (BSB)“And the people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given to the LORD freely and wholeheartedly. And King David also rejoiced greatly.”In David’s day the people rejoiced when their leaders gave freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD.
General
Why did the gatekeepers not have to step away from their stations during Josiah’s Passover (2 Chronicles 35:15)?
Answer: Their fellow Levites prepared their portions for them
The priests were busy presenting offerings until night fell, so the Levites prepared the Passover both for themselves and the priests (35:14). The singers kept their positions, and the gatekeepers did not have to leave their gates, since other Levites prepared their portions for them (35:15). Everyone could keep doing their assigned work because others took care of their needs. The New Testament calls believers to this kind of care, carrying one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:2) and looking out for others’ interests and not only their own (Philippians 2:4).
- 2 Chronicles 35:14-15 (BSB)“Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering up burnt offerings and fat until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. And the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made preparations for them.”The Levites prepare for the priests, and their fellow Levites prepare for the singers and gatekeepers.
- Galatians 6:2 (BSB)“Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”Believers are to carry one another’s burdens.
- Philippians 2:4 (BSB)“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”Believers are to look to the interests of others as well as their own.
Theological
Why could the gatekeepers stay at their gates during Josiah’s Passover (2 Chronicles 35:15)?
Answer: Their fellow Levites prepared their portions for them
Because the priests were occupied with the offerings until nightfall, the Levites prepared for them as well as for themselves (35:14), the singers stood at their stations, and the gatekeepers did not have to leave their gates, since other Levites prepared their portions for them (35:15). The feast ran on mutual service, each group freeing the others to fulfill their calling, the pattern of burden-bearing and regard for others that the New Testament commends (Galatians 6:2; Philippians 2:4).
- 2 Chronicles 35:14-15 (BSB)“Afterward, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering up burnt offerings and fat until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. And the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made preparations for them.”The Levites prepare for the priests, and their fellow Levites prepare for the singers and gatekeepers.
- Galatians 6:2 (BSB)“Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”Believers are to carry one another’s burdens.
- Philippians 2:4 (BSB)“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”Believers are to look to the interests of others as well as their own.
General
When Josiah marched out against Neco, Egypt’s king, what reason did Neco give for Josiah to stand aside (2 Chronicles 35:21)?
Answer: God had told him to hurry and was on his side
After the temple had been set in order, Neco advanced toward Carchemish on the Euphrates for battle, and Josiah set out against him (35:20). Neco sent messengers saying his quarrel was not with Josiah but with another royal house. God had told him to hurry, he said, so Josiah should cease resisting God, who was with Neco, or God would destroy him (35:21). Scripture teaches that the LORD rules over the hearts and plans of every king, foreign ones included (Proverbs 21:1), and that He can use a pagan empire to carry out His purposes (Isaiah 10:5-6).
- 2 Chronicles 35:20-21 (BSB)“After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt marched up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him. But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What is the issue between you and me, O king of Judah? I have not come against you today, but I am fighting another dynasty, and God has told me to hurry. So stop opposing God, who is with me, or He will destroy you!””Neco marches toward Carchemish and sends messengers urging Josiah not to oppose him.
- Proverbs 21:1 (BSB)“The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.”The LORD directs a king’s heart wherever He pleases.
- Isaiah 10:5-6 (BSB)“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.”God could send a pagan empire as the instrument of His purposes.
Theological
On what grounds did Neco urge Josiah not to oppose him (2 Chronicles 35:21)?
Answer: God had told him to hurry and was on his side
Neco disclaimed any quarrel with Judah; his war was with another royal house, and God had commanded him to make haste. Josiah should therefore cease opposing the God who was with Neco, lest God destroy him (35:20-21). That a pagan king could carry a true word about God’s purpose reflects the LORD’s sovereignty over the hearts of kings (Proverbs 21:1) and His use of foreign powers as instruments of His purposes (Isaiah 10:5-6).
- 2 Chronicles 35:20-21 (BSB)“After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Neco king of Egypt marched up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him. But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What is the issue between you and me, O king of Judah? I have not come against you today, but I am fighting another dynasty, and God has told me to hurry. So stop opposing God, who is with me, or He will destroy you!””Neco marches toward Carchemish and sends messengers urging Josiah not to oppose him.
- Proverbs 21:1 (BSB)“The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.”The LORD directs a king’s heart wherever He pleases.
- Isaiah 10:5-6 (BSB)“Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath. I will send him against a godless nation; I will dispatch him against a people destined for My rage, to take spoils and seize plunder, and to trample them down like clay in the streets.”God could send a pagan empire as the instrument of His purposes.
General
According to 2 Chronicles 35:18, how long had it been since Israel kept a Passover like Josiah’s?
Answer: Since the time of the prophet Samuel
No Passover like this one had been kept in Israel since Samuel the prophet’s time, and none of Israel’s kings had ever kept one like it, involving priests and Levites, Judah, Israelites who were there, and Jerusalem’s residents (35:17-18). God had given the Passover as a lasting memorial feast for every generation (Exodus 12:14). The New Testament shows that it pointed ahead to Jesus, whom Paul names as the Passover lamb of believers, now sacrificed (1 Corinthians 5:7).
- 2 Chronicles 35:18 (BSB)“No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem.”Josiah’s Passover is said to be unmatched since Samuel’s day.
- Exodus 12:14 (BSB)“And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.”God made the Passover a lasting memorial feast for every generation.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7 (BSB)“Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”Paul calls Christ our Passover lamb who has been sacrificed.
Theological
According to 2 Chronicles 35:18, Israel had kept no Passover like Josiah’s since when?
Answer: Since the time of the prophet Samuel
Josiah’s Passover is called unmatched since Samuel’s day; no king of Israel had kept one like it, involving priests and Levites, Judah, northern Israelites who came, and Jerusalem’s inhabitants (35:17-18). The feast was a perpetual memorial of the exodus (Exodus 12:14), and the New Testament identifies its fulfillment in Christ, the true Passover lamb, already sacrificed for believers (1 Corinthians 5:7).
- 2 Chronicles 35:18 (BSB)“No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem.”Josiah’s Passover is said to be unmatched since Samuel’s day.
- Exodus 12:14 (BSB)“And this day will be a memorial for you, and you are to celebrate it as a feast to the LORD, as a permanent statute for the generations to come.”God made the Passover a lasting memorial feast for every generation.
- 1 Corinthians 5:7 (BSB)“Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.”Paul calls Christ our Passover lamb who has been sacrificed.
General
According to 2 Chronicles 35:6, what were the Levites’ Passover preparations meant to carry out?
Answer: What the LORD had commanded Israel through Moses
The Passover was Israel’s yearly feast remembering how God rescued His people from slavery in Egypt. Josiah kept it in Jerusalem, killing the lambs in the first month on the very date the Law set (35:1; Exodus 12:6). He told the Levites (the tribe set apart to assist in worship) to consecrate themselves and get everything ready so that the people could do what God had commanded through Moses (35:6). The lambs were cooked over the fire as the regulation required (35:13; Exodus 12:8-9), and they did it at the place God had chosen for His Name (Deuteronomy 16:5-6).
- 2 Chronicles 35:1 (BSB)“Then Josiah kept the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.”Josiah keeps the Passover in Jerusalem on the day the Law appointed.
- 2 Chronicles 35:6 (BSB)“Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your fellow countrymen to carry out the word of the LORD given by Moses.””Josiah tells the Levites to prepare the Passover so as to do what the LORD commanded through Moses.
- Exodus 12:6 (BSB)“You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.”The Law set the fourteenth day of the month for slaughtering the Passover animals.
- Exodus 12:8-9 (BSB)“They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of the meat raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over the fire—its head and legs and inner parts.”The Passover meat was to be roasted over the fire.
- Deuteronomy 16:5-6 (BSB)“You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you. You must only offer the Passover sacrifice at the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name. Do this in the evening as the sun sets, at the same time you departed from Egypt.”The Passover was to be sacrificed at the place God chose for His Name.
Theological
What did Josiah say the Levites’ Passover preparations were to fulfill (2 Chronicles 35:6)?
Answer: What the LORD had commanded Israel through Moses
Josiah’s Passover is marked throughout by conformity to Scripture: the date the Law appointed (35:1; Exodus 12:6), Levites consecrated and preparing so that the people could carry out God’s command through Moses (35:6), the animals roasted according to the ordinance (35:13; Exodus 12:8-9), and the feast held at the place of God’s Name (Deuteronomy 16:5-6). The reform that began with the rediscovered Law now shapes Israel’s worship by that Law.
- 2 Chronicles 35:1 (BSB)“Then Josiah kept the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.”Josiah keeps the Passover in Jerusalem on the day the Law appointed.
- 2 Chronicles 35:6 (BSB)“Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your fellow countrymen to carry out the word of the LORD given by Moses.””Josiah tells the Levites to prepare the Passover so as to do what the LORD commanded through Moses.
- Exodus 12:6 (BSB)“You must keep it until the fourteenth day of the month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight.”The Law set the fourteenth day of the month for slaughtering the Passover animals.
- Exodus 12:8-9 (BSB)“They are to eat the meat that night, roasted over the fire, along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of the meat raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over the fire—its head and legs and inner parts.”The Passover meat was to be roasted over the fire.
- Deuteronomy 16:5-6 (BSB)“You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you. You must only offer the Passover sacrifice at the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name. Do this in the evening as the sun sets, at the same time you departed from Egypt.”The Passover was to be sacrificed at the place God chose for His Name.
General
How does 2 Chronicles 35:22 describe the words of Neco that Josiah did not heed?
Answer: As a message that had really come from God
Josiah did not turn back. He disguised himself in order to fight and went into battle at Megiddo. He paid no heed to what Neco had said, though those words had come from God Himself (35:22). So the warning was not mere bluster; God had truly spoken through this foreign king. God had made His plans known to a pagan ruler before, as when He showed Pharaoh His coming plans (Genesis 41:25). People make many plans, but it is the LORD’s purpose that stands (Proverbs 19:21).
- 2 Chronicles 35:22 (BSB)“Josiah, however, did not turn away from him; instead, in order to engage him in battle, he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco’s words from the mouth of God, but went to fight him on the Plain of Megiddo.”Josiah disguises himself and fights at Megiddo, not listening to the words God had spoken through Neco.
- Genesis 41:25 (BSB)“At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.”God had revealed His plans to a pagan ruler before, in Pharaoh’s dreams.
- Proverbs 19:21 (BSB)“Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.”Many plans fill a person’s heart, but the LORD’s purpose prevails.
Theological
How does 2 Chronicles 35:22 characterize the words of Neco that Josiah refused to heed?
Answer: As a message that had really come from God
Josiah would not turn aside; he disguised himself and engaged Neco at Megiddo, and he did not heed what Neco spoke, though those words had come from God (35:22). God’s word came through an unlikely messenger, as when He disclosed His purpose to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:25), and His counsel prevails over human plans (Proverbs 19:21).
- 2 Chronicles 35:22 (BSB)“Josiah, however, did not turn away from him; instead, in order to engage him in battle, he disguised himself. He did not listen to Neco’s words from the mouth of God, but went to fight him on the Plain of Megiddo.”Josiah disguises himself and fights at Megiddo, not listening to the words God had spoken through Neco.
- Genesis 41:25 (BSB)“At this, Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do.”God had revealed His plans to a pagan ruler before, in Pharaoh’s dreams.
- Proverbs 19:21 (BSB)“Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.”Many plans fill a person’s heart, but the LORD’s purpose prevails.