The Second Book of the Chronicles
2 Chronicles 35
Chapter XXXV · Vol. II, pp. 887–888
1 Josiah keepeth a most solemn passover. 20 He, provoking Pharaoh-necho, is slain at Megiddo. 25 Lamentations for Josiah. 26 His acts.
1 Moreover, Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD1 in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
1 The true character of a religious commemoration—not to flesh and blood, but 'to the Lord.'—C.
2 And he set the priests in their charges, and aencouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD;
a ch.30.22; 31.4. 1 Ch.22.13; 28.20.
3 And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel,2 which were holy unto the LORD, Putb the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build;3 it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: servec now the LORD your God, and his people Israel;
2 An important notice, implying the distribution of the Levites through all the tribes, and the office of teachers in which they were engaged. Still more important is their character as teachers; they were 'holy unto the Lord.'—C.
b ch.5.7. 1 Ch.23.26. It had been taken out of its place.
3 Had Amon removed it, as some think, to make room for an idol, it would most probably have been destroyed: had the priests, in idola-trous times, removed it for safety, the pious act would scarcely have been unnoticed. The conclusion therefore is, that it had been removed by Josiah, during the cleansing and repairs of the temple, and was now restored to its appointed place.—C.
4 And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon4 his son;
A.M. 3381. B.C. 623.
4 This interference of David and Solomon in the regulation of divine worship, does not sanction either kings or ecclesiastics to model God's service after their own imaginations. David and Solomon were both prophets of the Lord, and, in that character, and not in virtue of their office as kings, did they enact those pious and orderly forms which Josiah is now restoring.—C.
5 And stand in the holy place, according to the divisions of the families of the fathers5 of your brethren the people,6 and after the division of the families of the Levites;
5 Heb. the house of the fathers.
6 Heb. the sons of the people.
6 So kill the passover, and dsanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.
7 And Josiah egave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover-offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand,7 and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king's substance.
e ch.30.24. 1 Ch.22.14; 29.3,4. 1 Ki.8.63.
7 According to the Jewish calculation that not fewer than ten, nor more than twenty, were to join for one kid or lamb, the probable number at this solemnity would be 450,000.—C.
8 And fhis princes gave8 willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: gHilkiah, and Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests, for the passover-offerings, two thousand and six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen.
9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah, and Jeiel, and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, hgave unto the Levites, for passover-offerings, five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen.
10 So the service was prepared, and the priests istood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment.
i ch.30.16. 1 Ch.xxiii.-xxvi.; 6.31,32,48,49; 15.14-24; 16.4-6,37-42.
11 And they killed the passover,9 and the priests ksprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites lflayed them.
9 The people themselves might slay their own paschal lambs, and then present the blood to the priests, that they might sprinkle it before the altar; and the Levites flayed them, and made them ready for dressing.—Clarke.
k ch.29.22. He.9.21,22.
l ch.29.34. Mi.3.3.
12 And they mremoved the 1burnt-offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the nfamilies of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses: and so did they with the oxen.
m Le.3.4,10,11.
1 Of the burnt-offerings, neither priest nor people were to partake. They were wholly consumed by fire, Le. 1. 9, 13. These were accordingly removed, or set apart from the peace-offerings, freewill-offerings, or vow-offerings, Le. 7. 15, 16, of which the offerer was authorized to partake.—C.
13 And they oroasted the passover with fire, according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and pdivided them speedily among all the people.
14 And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron qwere busied in offering of burnt-offerings and the fat2 until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron.
15 And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place,3 according to the rcommandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer;4 and the porters swaited at every gate; they might not depart from their service;5 for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.
3 Heb. station.
r 1 Ch.25.1-31; 23.5; 6.31,32; 15.16-24; 16.5,41.
4 Or rather, 'seers,' for Asaph and Heman are also so designated at ch.29.30; 1 Ch. 25. 1, 5. This is also the reading of all the ancient versions (except the Chald.) and of a MS. of Kennicott.—J.
s 1 Ch.9.17,18; 26.14-19.
A.M. 3381. B.C. 623.
5 An admonitory note, worthy of all observance. For if a Jewish porter might not depart from his service, much less may a Christian minister give up to secularities, whether of amusement or profit, that time and those energies which are all due to the Lord. Mat.25.15.—C.
16 So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt-offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah.
17 And the children of Israel that were present6 keptt the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.
6 Heb. found.
t Ex.12.6-20; 13.6,7; 23.14. Le.23.5-8. De.16.1-8. Nu.28.14-25. ch.30.21. 1 Co.5.7,8.
18 And there uwas no passover like to that7 kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
u 2 Ki.23.22, with ch.30.26,27. So exactly observed.
7 The superiority of this passover lay, 1. In the number of sacrifices presented to the people, which was greater than David, Solomon, or Hezekiah had given. Hezekiah's offerings are specially enumerated, and they amounted but to 19,000 in all; those of Josiah to 41,000. 2. In the more perfect preparation of priests, Levites, and people, compare ver. 16 with 2 Ki. 23. 21, 22. 3. In the more perfect observance of the Mosaic order, ver. 13. 4. In the kindly dispositions whereby one class became servants to the other for the Lord's sake, ver. 14, 15. 2 Co. 4. 5. 5. In the spirit of deep devotion that pervaded all ranks.—C.
19 Inx the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.
x ver.1; ch.34.8. 2 Ki.23.23.
20 Aftery all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple,8 Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him.9
21 But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, Whatz have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against athe house wherewith I have war; for Godb commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not.
z 2 Sa.16.10. Jn.2.4. Mat.8.29.
a Heb. the house of my war, Is.36.10.
b 2 Ki.18.25. And it was Josiah's duty to obey, De.5.32.
22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but cdisguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from dthe mouth of God,1 and came to fight in the valley of eMegiddo.
c ch.18.29. 1 Ki.14.2. 1 Sa.21.12.
d ver.21. Jn.11.50,51.
1 Josiah cannot be accused of rashly entering upon an unjust war; for Necho was marching an army through his territory without leave, and about to attack the king of Babylon, from whom he must have held the northern parts of his kingdom, ch.34.6. Nor did Necho's ambassadors give any evidence that they had a divine command for their expedition, they merely assert it; and the expression, 'from the mouth of God' (Elohim) is not used in Scripture for a divine message, which is uniformly 'from the mouth of Jehovah.' See ch.36.12.—C.
23 And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore fwounded.
f Heb. made sick, 1 Ki.22.34. 2 Ki.8.29.
24 His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he gdied, and was buried in one of the sepulchres2 of his fathers: and hall Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.3
g 2 Ki.23.30. Ps.36.6. Ec.9.1,2; 8.14.
2 Heb. among the sepulchres.
h Zec.12.11.
3 The battle took place in the plain of Esdraelon, at or very close to the spot consecrated in national history by the great victory of Barak. It would seem that there was on the battle-field an ancient sanctuary of the two Syrian gods Hadad and Rimmon, and that the city of Megiddo was not far distant. We have no details of the battle. One melancholy event absorbs the attention of the sacred writer. Josiah disguised himself, as kings were then accustomed to do when entering battle. The Egyptian archers fired upon and mortally wounded him. He was put into another chariot, and driven rapidly off towards Jerusalem. But all was in vain. The good monarch died; and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.—P.
25 And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the isinging-men and the singing-women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the Lamentations.4
i Job 3.8. Ec.12.5. Je.9.17-21. Mi.1.8,9.
A.M. 3394. B.C. 610.
4 Not in the book called Lamentations of Jeremiah, but in some other of that name, used by the 'singing-men and singing-women,' and not included in the sacred canon.—C.
Notes
Reflections.—Alas! how often neither ministers nor people show due forwardness in observing the solemn ordinances of God! Yet much might be done for the excitement of others by one in high station, who so loves him that he grudges no expense nor labour in his service. And magistrates, by their example and zealous exertions, might effectually instigate and encourage even ministers to do their duty; yea, where many difficulties are in the way. No one ought to become a hypocrite for the sake of carnal advantage: but certainly such as appear sincere ought to meet with peculiar encouragement. Care should be taken, by all concerned, that none be deprived of God's ordinances on account of their poverty; and that none, by public service, injure his own soul's edification. But great labour and pains are necessary in reducing all ranks and things to due order in the observation of God's ordinances after they have been long neglected. The very best of men rarely leave the world without some visible blemish. How affecting it is to see this great man die in an unjust war, after he had received from God fair warning of his danger! But God in his sovereign wisdom often makes his people's sinful rashness the mean of their own happiness and of their survivors' misery. Many lament the loss of their mercies who never rightly improved them in the enjoyment; and grieve for the misery which they see coming on their nation, who will not take the proper methods of repentance to prevent it.