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2 Kings Chapter 23
Josiah's Reforms
- 2Kings 23:1 And the
king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah
and of Jerusalem.
- 2 And the king went
up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all
the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the
prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read
in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which
was found in the house of the LORD.
- 3 And the king stood
by a 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 their heart and all their soul, to perform
the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And
all the people stood to the covenant.
- 4 And the king
commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second
order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the
temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and
for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned
them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the
ashes of them unto Bethel.
- 5 And he put down
the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to
burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in
the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense
unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and
to all the host of heaven.
Josiah stopped all idolatry and stopped
the priests of Baal from worshiping idols in Judah. These priests
were not the Levitical priests but priests appointed by wicked
kings. They were worshiping idols in the temple of the Lord. Idolatry is so wicked because it led to the sacrificing of innocent
children. Evil begats more evil. This is more than just a loss of
freedom of religion. They did evil and shed innocent blood. Satan is
out to steal, kill and destroy our very lives and souls and he has
been that way since God created mankind. I don't know whether he is
jealous or just evil but he doesn't even care for those that follow
him. To abandon God and serve imatation gods are destructive and
leads to everylasting damnation.
-
2Kings 23:6 And he brought
out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem,
unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and
stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the
graves of the children of the people.
Groves were carved out images, not
regular trees like a grove of apple trees. It was used to worship
false gods and idols. It was ground to powder and spread upon the
graves of the children.
Women made weaved coverings for
Asherah. Sad that this was done by the house of the Lord. Sodomy and
other sexual sins that God condemns is against how God created us.
It leads to early death and disease plus other evil practices. Once
a society leaves the way God created us to live and they choose
instead to live according to their own imaginations and lusts, it is
doomed to destruction sooner or later. That day will come if the
society does not ever repent and return to God. Sexual sin
accompanies the worship of idols and false gods. Some even go so far
and to use and abuse innocent children.
Josiah is leading the way to repent and
return to God. Sad though that after his death, they depart from God
and do their own thing. Doing their own thing caused them to be
taken captive to Babylon. Without the protecting hand of God upon
any nation, the nation will fall eventually. Sexual sins will steal,
kill and destroy a nation. Once innocent children start getting
used, abused and killed, it is the beginning of the end if a nation
does not repent. God cannot allow sin to go on forever or suffering,
disease, and abuse will continue forever.
-
2Kings 23:8 And he brought
all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high
places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to
Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that were
in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the
city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.
The priests were defiled by idolatry
and using their services for the high places. Josiah put a stop to
that and brought them to Jerusalem where they could be held
accountable for what they did. It seems they were still supported by
their brethren although they had defiled themselves by serving the
false gods.
- 2Kings 23:9
Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the
altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the
unleavened bread among their brethren.
- 10 And he defiled
Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that
no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the
fire to Molech.
Why they had previously gotten so far
away from God that they would do this to children is hard to
understand. According to Romans chapter one, once a nation no longer
retains God in their knowledge, they open themselves up to all kings
of horrible evil. The children were offered to idols and drums were
beaten loud so that their cries were not heard. Josiah stopped this
practice when he was king. This type of stuff is why God allowed
Israel to take over the land of the Caananites to begin with. Yet
some of the wicked kings of Israel and a few of Judah got into this
type of worship themselves. So ugly and sad.
This is why I fear for the country I
live in. First in the name of science, they started teaching
evolution in public schools and moved away from teaching the
creation. By 1963, through the lawsuit of one woman with the help of
the ACLU, they ruled prayer and bible reading out of schools
callling it unconstitutional. About 10 years later abortion was
legalized in the first trimester of pregnancy. Later they began to
allow partial birth abortion. That became legal up until the birth
of the child. Next they started selling their body parts for
transplants and even allowed a live birth, then taking their organs. One
state allows abortion up to 28 days after a live birth.
That is no different then what the
healthen did except they use terms like a woman's right to choose to
make it sound justified and Democratic. Evil murder is what it
really is. When God was cast out of schools, everything else came
in. Drugs, violence, school shootings, confusion and more. Now they
have brainwashed kids into trying to change their gender by drugs or
surgeries. What is does is ruin their bodies for life. Their lives
are ruined. They cannot reproduce, they are on drugs, they are
depressed and some commit suicide.
- 2Kings 23:11 And he
took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the
sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber
of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and
burned the chariots of the sun with fire.
- 12 And the altars
that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the
kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made
in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat
down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them
into the brook Kidron.
- 13 And the high
places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand
of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had
builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for
Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the
abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.
Sad that Solomon allowed the influence
of the foreign women he married to cause him to start this stuff and
it spread to the other kings after him. It eventually led the nation
to split in two, the northern 10 tribes called Israel and the
southern tribes called Judah. Later Assyria takes over the nothern
kingdom and Babylon takes over the southern kingdom. This was
allowed by God because of their idolatry and evil practices. At
least during the time of Josiah the evil practices were stopped.
Bones of idolatrous men were taken from
their graves and burned along with the images as a sign of the evil
they brought to the nation of Judah.
- 2Kings 23:15
Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made,
both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the
high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the
grove.
- 16 And as Josiah
turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the
mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and
burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the
word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed
these words.
This was prophesied by a man of God who
confronted Jeroboam for his idolatry:
- 1Kings 13:1 And,
behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the
LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn
incense.
- 2 And he cried
against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar,
altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto
the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer
the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and
men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.
God even knew his name before he was born.
Awesome to think about.
- 2Kings 23:17 Then he
said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city
told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from
Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against
the altar of Bethel.
- 18 And he said, Let
him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones
alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.
The bones of the prophet that prophsied
these things, were left alone. Josiah didn't burn his bones with
those that committed idolatry. 1 Kings 13 tells of this 348 years
earlier.
- 2 Kings 23:19 And
all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities
of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the
LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to
all the acts that he had done in Bethel.
- 20 And he slew all
the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars,
and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah slew the priests of the high
places. This he did to take away the idolatry in the land and
restore the worship of God. It is so sad to see how easily people
can be deceived and turn from life unto death. Satan is out to
steal, kill and destroy human life and also rob them of eternal life
if possible. That is why Jesus came to save us out of this type of
mess and restore us to God thereby granting us salvation and eternal life.
"I humbly say to my Heavenly Father,
Thank you for making a way for us to be saved simply by faith in
Jesus our Christ. We can choose life instead of death, a new
beginning instead of being lost forever. Except for your grace and
mercy, we would have been partakers of this evil. Even so come again
Lord Jesus and set up your everlasting kingdom." DC
Josiah Restores the Passover
- 2Kings 23:21 And the
king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto
the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this
covenant.
- 22 Surely there was
not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that
judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor
of the kings of Judah;
- 23 But in the
eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden
to the LORD in Jerusalem.
- 24 Moreover the
workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images,
and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the
land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he
might perform the words of the law which were written in the
book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.
- 25 And like unto him
was there no king before him, that 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; neither after him arose there
any like him.
- 26 Notwithstanding
the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath,
wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all
the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.
- 27 And the LORD
said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have
removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I
have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be
there.
This was like a great revival movement
except it didn't change the mind of God concerning Judah at this
time. He blessed them because of Josiah's reforms but God sees the
hearts. He saw their what was inside. No doubt the people who were
keeping the Passover but had formerly served other gods and did evil
in the sight of God were not 100 percent with Josiah's reforms but
held the idolatry in their hearts.
We know from other scriptures that not
everyone follows the king. Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, the three
Hebrews that were friends with Daniel and a few others stayed true
to God even under wicked kings. Some go along to get along and do
whatever the king dictates. So God was still going to send judgment
after Josiah departed from this life into eternity. The kingdom of Judah is about
to serve 70 years of captivity to Babylon. The ones that did the
evil and went into idolatry will have passed away before the
captivity ends.
Josiah's Death in Battle
- 2Kings 23:28 Now the
rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
- 29 In his days
Pharaohnechoh king of Egypt went up against the king of Assyria
to the river Euphrates: and king Josiah went against him; and he
slew him at Megiddo, when he had seen him.
- 30 And his servants
carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo, and brought him to
Jerusalem, and buried him in his own sepulchre. And the people
of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him,
and made him king in his father's stead.
Why he went out to battle is not known.
There is more written about Josiah in the Chronicles. He was a good
king though but at least the take over from Babylon did not happen
when he was king.
Jehoahaz's Reign and Captivity
- 2Kings 23:31
Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. And his mother's name
was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
- 32 And he did that
which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that
his fathers had done.
The words, "his fathers" meant the ones
that did evil before Josiah. His mother was the daughter of Jeremiah
so we can assume that Jehoahaz knew better than to do evil. It is
sad that even when we do all the right things and raise our children
right, they still have to say yes or no to evil.
Usually when we train up a child, they
will eventurally turn back to the right way but there are exceptions
because we all have to make that choice ourselves. Salvation and
walking with God is a choice we make as individuals. That is why
many Christian religions do not baptize babies. No one is
automatically born into the kingdom of God. We make the choice to
folllow God when we reach the age of accountibility. That doesn't
mean babies are lost if they die before that time of course. God is
a just and righteous God, but when they reach the age where they can
be saved or lost, they have to make the decision on their own.
This king only reigned 3 months.
-
2Kings 23:33 And
Pharaohnechoh put him in bands at Riblah in the land of Hamath,
that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and put the land to a
tribute of an hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold.
Jeremiah mentions this in Jeremiah 22.
- Jeremiah 22:11
For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king
of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went
forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:
- 12 But he shall
die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall
see this land no more.
- 13 Woe unto him
that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by
wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and
giveth him not for his work;
- 14 That saith, I
will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him
out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with
vermilion.
- 15 Shalt thou
reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father
eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well
with him?
- 16 He judged the
cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not
this to know me? saith the LORD.
- 17 But thine
eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for
to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to
do it.
- 18 Therefore
thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king
of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother!
or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord!
or, Ah his glory!
- 19 He shall be
buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond
the gates of Jerusalem.
This prophecy in Jeremiah was for the
sons of Josiah that reigned after him. They did evil and did not
follow the righteousness of Josiah.
- 2Kings 23:34 And
Pharaohnechoh made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the room of
Josiah his father, and turned his name to Jehoiakim, and took
Jehoahaz away: and he came to Egypt, and died there.
- 35 And Jehoiakim
gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land
to give the money according to the commandment of Pharaoh: he
exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of
every one according to his taxation, to give it unto
Pharaohnechoh.
Pharaoh made another son king but he
really had no power. Pharoah even changed his name to Jehoiakim
instead of Eliakim. For some reason Pharoah took Jehoahaz away to
Egypt and he died there.
Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah
- 2Kings 23:36
Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign;
and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name
was Zebudah, the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.
- 37 And he did that
which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that
his fathers had done.
He was just a puppet king but he did
evil in the sight of the Lord so Jeremiah's prophecy applies to him
as well as his brother Jerhoahaz. No one will get by with evil in
the long run. Jeremiah spoke out against the kings that did evil
during that time. DC
2 Kings Chapter 24
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