What I Noticed Today (2 Chronicles 34-36)
We’re closing out the book of 2 Chronicles today. The reign of Josiah, son of Amon.
2 Chronicles 34
There is one good king left, Josiah, son of Amon.
In verses 1-2, Josiah was only eight years old when he became king, and there is no advisor mentioned for him as there was for Joash. He reigned over Judah for 31 years (640-609 B.C.) from Jerusalem.
In verses 3-7, in Josiah’s eighth year when he was 16 years old, he decided to seek the Lord.
- When he was 20 years old, he began the process of removing the high places, Asherim, and idols out of Judah.
Note: 2 Chronicles 34:4-7 mention Josiah’s personal involvement in this cleansing four times.
In verses 8-13, in Josiah’s 18th year when he was 26 years old when he ordered the temple to be restored.
- Josiah sent Shaphan, Maaseiah, and Joah to repair the temple. They bought money that had been collected from the people to Hilkiah, the high priest.
- The money was given to the workers who completed the work of repairing the temple.
In verses 14-21, during the restoration, Hilkiah the high priest found a copy of the book of the Law given to Moses (probably a number of scrolls of the entire Pentateuch).
- Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, the secretary, and Shaphan read it to Josiah.
- When Josiah heard the words of the Lord, he tore his clothes (a sign of mourning/grief) and called for someone to inquire of the Lord concerning the Word of the Lord.
In verses 22-28, Hilkiah the high priest along with Ahikam, Shaphan, Abdon, and Asaiah went to the prophetess Huldah.
- Huldah, the prophetess, prophesied disaster for the kingdom, but not during Josiah’s lifetime because Josiah had humbled himself and wept before the Lord.
In verses 29-33, Josiah gathered together all the leaders, the priests, and the Levites and read the book of the Law to them.
- Josiah read the law to the people (probably Deuteronomy),
- Josiah made a personal covenant with the Lord at that time and encouraged all the people to join him.
- The people joined him in a covenant with God and then proceeded to remove all the idols from throughout the land, including Israel.
- Throughout the reign of Judah, the people did not turn aside from worshipping the Lord.
2 Chronicles 35
In verses 1-4, in Josiah’s 18th year when he was 26-years old Josiah instituted a Passover celebration and the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the fourteenth day of the first month.
In verses 5-19, He appointed the priests, the Levites, the musicians, and the gatekeepers to their specific roles.
- Every detail of the celebration was followed exactly as God had ordained.
Note: 2 Chronicles 35:18 says that no celebration had been kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel (400 years!).
In verses 20-27, Neco king of Egypt marched toward Carchemish (in Mesopotamia)
Note: Assyria, Babylon, and Egypt were the superpowers of the day. Egypt came out to battle with Babylon.
- Josiah decided to go out against Egypt. Pharaoh Neco told Josiah that he had no fight with the Judeans.
- Neco explained that God had told Pharaoh to fight the Babylonians, but Josiah did not listen to Neco’s warning.
- Josiah engaged in battle with Neco and was killed.
- Josiah was buried with his fathers, and all of Judah mourned his death.
Note: The author of Chronicles does not indicate that Josiah consulted with the Lord before going out to do battle with Egypt, or after he met with Neco, king of Egypt.
2 Chronicles 36
In verses 1-4, Josiah’s son, Jehoahaz was made king by the people but reigned only three months before Neco deposed him and brought him to Egypt.
- In his place, Neco made Josiah’s brother, Eliakim king in Judah.
- Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim.
In verses 5-8, Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king of Judah, and he reigned eleven years from Jerusalem.
- He was a bad king who did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
- Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, defeated Jehoiakim, bound him in chains and took him to Babylon.
In verses 9-10, Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, was made king when he was 18 years old and reigned just over three months when Nebuchadnezzar brought him to Babylon.
- He was a bad king who did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
- Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s brother king of Judah.
In verses 11-14, Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king of Judah and ruled eleven years from Jerusalem (597-586 B.C.).
- He was a bad king, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord.
- He refused to humble himself despite the prophet who spoke against him numerous times.
- During his reign, even the priests were unfaithful, polluting the house of the Lord.
In verses 15-21, this angered the Lord so greatly that he gave the people into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Chaldeans.
- The temple was stripped of all its riches, the walls of the city were broken down, and all the palaces were burned.
- All the people of Judah were taken captive and brought to Babylon (586 B.C.).
Note: All the great work of Josiah in restoring the people to worship God was short-lived. The kings that followed him were evil and refused to honor God. As a result, God allowed the people to be dispersed, losing the Promised Land, and fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah 25:11-14.
In verses 22-23, the decree of Cyrus king of Persia (559-530 B.C.).
- In his first year over Babylon (538 B.C.), Cyrus issued a proclamation asserting the Lord had appointed him to build a temple to the Lord in Jerusalem.
- All the people of the Lord who wished to do so were allowed to return to Jerusalem.
Some thoughts for additional consideration:
- It seems every king who started out good became prideful and made huge mistakes. The kings that started out bad were stubborn, refusing to humble themselves before the Lord and lost everything. The lessons of their history stand as a warning to leaders today.
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.
