2 Kings 23:1-30
Q.1. How did Josiah start the reformation of Israel? How did he show the genuineness of his Covenant with God? – (2 Kgs.23:1-14)
The king began the revival by calling an assembly of the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people both great and small – … and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord. 3 The king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to carry out the words of this covenant that were written in this book (2 Kgs.23:2-3). The people joined the king by entering into a Covenant relationship with the Lord (2 Kgs.23:3). Josiah immediately followed this vow with action. They removed all the offensive gods and practices of the surrounding nations, and even the evil that had been introduced by Solomon and Manasseh (2 Kgs.23:4-14).
Q.2. What was significant about Josiah’s destruction of Jeroboam’s centuries old religion? Why did he preserve the man of God’s grave? – (2 Kgs.23:15-18)
Josiah also smashed the altar of Jeroboam and burned the bones of the false prophets – … according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these things (2 Kgs.23:16). However, he preserved the monument on the grave of the man of God who had prophesied against Jeroboam’s golden calf worship. This was out of respect for his courage (2 Kgs.23:17-18 c.f. 1 Kgs. 13:1-2, 30-32).
Q.3. Why did Josiah reinstitute the Passover and remove occultists from Judah? Could his reforms reverse God’s pending judgment on Judah? Why? – (2 Kgs.23:21-27)
Josiah also reinstituted the Passover Feast that had been left forgotten for generations – Surely such a Passover had not been celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah (2 Kgs.23:22) (We should never forget the events surrounding our conversion. The church needs to keep hearing testimonies of God’s redemption in the lives of sinners.) Josiah was also careful to root out all the occult practices from the land, in order to observe all the words of the Covenant that they had rediscovered (2 Kgs.23:24). It was testified of Josiah – Before him there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him (2 Kgs.23:25). This epitaph is most encouraging when you consider all the evil examples that had preceded him. However, unfortunately it was too late to stave off the inevitable judgment of God because the land had been stained with blood, and the people had insulted Him with their idolatry (2 Kgs.23:26-27). Josiah died in battle against Pharaoh Neco at Megiddo (2 Kgs.23:29).