The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 135, Zedekiah King Of Judah, Part Three

In Thursday's study we learned that Zedekiah doesn't listen to the warnings of the prophets. He doesn't listen to their pleas to repent and he doesn't listen to their advice not to rebel against the man who placed him on the throne of Judah. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon deposed Zedekiah's nephew, Jehoiachin, and took him captive to Babylon and then installed Zedekiah (formerly named Mattaniah) as king in his place. But he is a vassal king, operating under the authority of Babylon, and must pay tribute to the nation of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar made him take an oath of allegiance to Babylon and Zedekiah made this oath in the name of the God of Israel. 

In the book of Ezekiel we find a reference to Nebuchadnezzar's carrying off of Jehoiachin, his placing of Zedekiah on the throne of Judah, Zedekiah's taking of an oath of allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar, and Zedekiah's breaking of that oath. The following verses are part of a message the Lord gave to the people through the prophet Ezekiel. "Then the word of the Lord came to me: 'Say to this rebellious people, 'Do you not know what these things mean?' Say to them: 'The king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and carried off her king and her nobles, bringing them back with him to Babylon. Then he took a member of the royal family and made a treaty with him, putting him under oath. He also carried away the leading men of the land, so that the kingdom would be brought low, unable to rise again, surviving only by keeping his treaty. But the king rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?'" (Ezekiel 17:11-15)

Why does Zedekiah break his treaty with Nebuchadnezzar? For one thing, an oath taken in the name of the God of Israel is meaningless to Zedekiah. He is an idolatrous sinner like several of his predecessors were. Nebuchadnezzar forced him to take an oath in the name of the God of Israel because the Lord is the "official deity", if you will, of Zedekiah's nation. Nebuchadnezzar probably does not realize how little Zedekiah cares about the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar does not understand that Zedekiah doesn't feel bound by an oath taken in the name of the Lord. The king of Babylon insisted that Zedekiah make his oath in the name he assumes he reveres above all others but, in my opinion, Zedekiah would have been more likely to keep an oath made in the name of one of the Canaanite deities whose images he has set up in Judah. 

Another reason Zedekiah rebels against Nebuchadnezzar is that he and the people are listening to the words of false prophets and unwise counselors because these men are telling them what they want to hear. These men are promising them success if they rebel against Babylon while the Lord's true prophets are warning them of defeat if they rebel. When we reach the books of the prophets we will find the Lord's prophets advising the king and the people that their only hope is to turn away from idols and to submit to the oath made in the Lord's name to the king of Babylon. If widescale repentance had taken place, the Lord would have held off the coming calamity, at least in the generation we are studying. If Zedekiah had kept his word to Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian army wouldn't come to lay siege to and cause the fall of Jerusalem, which is what is going to happen. The prophet Jeremiah, like the prophet Ezekiel, warns that rebelling against Nebuchadnezzar is not wise, saying: "If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed." (Jeremiah 32:5b) Jeremiah will also say of Pharaoh Hophra, to whom Zedekiah sends for help: "This is what the Lord says: 'I am going to deliver Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who want to kill him.'" (Jeremiah 44:30a) 

But the king and most of the people do not listen to the prophets of the Lord because they want to keep living in sin and they want to be free of Babylon. If they had learned to submit to the authority of Babylon, perhaps in those unhappy circumstances they might have learned to submit to the Lord, and if they had learned to submit to the Lord's authority and had given their hearts to Him, He would have saved them from their enemy. Earlier in the Bible He promised the people that no enemy would ever be able to defeat them if they were faithful and obedient to Him. By contrast, He also stated that they would not be able to stand against their enemies if they were not faithful and obedient to Him. 

A third reason Zedekiah breaks the treaty is that he thinks the Egyptians and the Phoenicians, who have allied themselves with each other and with several smaller nations, have a good chance of fighting back against the Babylonians. Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt is now part of a coalition of nations that plans to march against the Babylonian army. Hophra (known as Wahibre Haaibre to the Egyptians and as Apries to the Greeks) is the grandson of Necho II, who we met earlier on the pages of the Bible. As the passage from the book of Ezekiel stated, Zedekiah sends envoys to Egypt to ally himself with Pharaoh and to ask for his help against the Babylonians. The king of Judah cannot mount an effective defense against the Babylonian army but, combined with the army of Egypt and the army of Phoenicia and and the armies of various other territories, there is a fighting chance for all of them together to reduce the threat of this growing world power. 

Pharaoh Hophra, whose late father Pharaoh Psammetichus II had already been friendly with Zedekiah and had been encouraging Zedekiah to revolt against Nebuchadnezzar and join forces with Egypt, will try to come to Zedekiah's aid. Zedekiah has stopped paying the required tribute to Nebuchadnezzar and Nebuchadnezzar is laying siege to Jerusalem in response to Zedekiah's defection. Hophra sends his forces eastward and Nebuchadnezzar will be obliged to cease his current attack on Jerusalem in order to deal with the threat of the Egyptian army. But, as Jeremiah and Ezekiel and other prophets warned, the attempt to get out from under Babylonian domination will not succeed. 

In the coming days, as we study the fall of Jerusalem and Judah, we will need to delve deep into the ancient history of several nations in order to get a full picture of the major change-up of powers that is taking place. The map of the ancient world is rapidly changing at this time in regard to which territories are subject to which nations. Kingdoms are on the rise and kingdoms are collapsing. The northern kingdom of Israel has already fallen to Babylon. Around a hundred years later, Assyria has fallen to Babylon. Babylon is on the rise while Judah and Egypt and many other nations are on the decline. But none of these things is happening outside of the Lord's control and outside of His permission. All of these things are part of His plan, as the prophet Daniel will say while he is a captive in Babylon: "Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others." (Daniel 2:20-21a) 

The kingdom of the Lord is the only kingdom that will stand forever. The leaders of the nations on earth may think things are under their control but they are actually just playing their parts in the Lord's plans. On the pages of the Bible we see kingdoms rising and kingdoms falling. These things are happening according to the Lord's will, not according to man's will, and even the massively powerful kingdom of Babylon will, in its own turn, fall to another rising world power. Then that world power will be conquered, and then the next world power will be conquered, and so on until the Lord's kingdom comes on earth and then, "His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey Him." (Daniel 7:7b)

I am about to leave on vacation for a week so we will temporarily leave off our study of the kings until Sunday, July 2nd. While I'm gone I plan to do some reading for the background study of the passages we're looking at so I can get a clearer picture of the historical times of this era before we recommence our study where we left off. Until then I wish you a blessed week in our Lord!

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 134, Zedekiah King Of Judah, Part Two

Zedekiah is the king whom Nebuchadnezzar placed on the throne of Judah to serve him and pay him the tribute he demanded. Zedekiah is not a son of the royal household of Judah but is an uncle of Jehoachin, whom Nebuchadnezzar deposed. At first this new king keeps the vow of allegiance he made in the name of God to Nebuchadnezzar but later he begins to listen to false prophets and unwise advisors and decides to ally himself with the king of Egypt. The authors of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles don't give us a description of how and why he rebelled but, when we arrive at the book of Jeremiah, the prophet will explain to us that he himself warned Zedekiah that his bid for independence would not be successful but that Zedekiah preferred to listen to the false prophets who were predicting success.

When we left off our study yesterday we had learned that Zedekiah was stiff-necked and hard-hearted toward the Lord and that many of the people in Judah at that time were the same way, including some of the priests and the top officials. The author of 2 Chronicles said they became "more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord". They are engaging in every abominable practice of the heathen nations around them (likely including the worship of Molek, which involved human sacrifice) and had yet again placed pagan objects in the temple. During this era the Lord is calling prophets to cry out to the king and to the people to repent and change their ways but these pleas are falling on deaf ears. The Lord told the people before He ever brought them into the promised land that if they would remain faithful to Him, no enemy could defeat them, and yet the recurring invasions by the Babylonians has not caused them to take His words to heart and realize that the reason for their trouble is their sin. 

Because there is no widescale acknowledgement of sin as there has been on several prior occasions in our study of the kings of Judah, and because the Lord knows everyone's heart and knows there will not be a significant repentance among the populace anytime soon, He does what He said long ago that He would do if the people turned away from Him. "It was because of the Lord's anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end He thrust them from His presence." (2 Kings 24:20a) In Deuteronomy 28 the Lord clearly explained the blessings that lay in store for obedience and He outlined the curses that lay in store for disobedience. He warned them that if they turned to the gods of the nations, He would remove them from the land just as He removed the nations that previously inhabited it: "You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess." (Deuteronomy 28:63b) 

But before Zedekiah listens to lying prophets and before he follows their advice to rebel against the king of Babylon, the Lord sends prophets to him and to the nation time and time again. "The Lord, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through His messengers again and again, because He had pity on His people and on His dwelling place." (2 Chronicles 36:15) Of course the Lord knows who will listen to the prophets and who will not, and it appears as if the majority did not listen, but His righteousness compels Him to urge them to repent anyway. Have you ever tried to talk to someone about the harm they're doing to themselves? Have you ever felt from the outset that they weren't going to listen to you but you could not just sit back and remain silent? We feel like it's our duty to try even when we know our pleas are going to fall on deaf ears. The Lord knows that the majority of the people won't listen to what He has to say but He cares about them and feels He has a duty to try anyway. None of them will ever be able to say He didn't give them an opportunity to repent. 

"But they mocked God's messengers, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against His people and there was no remedy." (2 Chronicles 36:16) Their sins have reached a tipping point. The sins of the northern kingdom of Israel reached a tipping point a little over a hundred years earlier; this is why the Lord allowed the northern kingdom to fall to Assyria. Now He is going to allow the southern kingdom of Judah to fall to Babylon. Later, in the New Testament, we will find the sins of the earth's inhabitants reaching a tipping point in the book of Revelation. When the sins spill over, the cup of wrath is poured out on the earth in Revelation just as we find it being poured out in the Old Testament on Israel, on Judah, and on the pagan nations of the ancient world. The only thing in the Scriptures that holds back the cup of wrath is repentance; where there is no repentance, there is no "remedy", as the author of 2 Chronicles phrases it. The Lord is indeed merciful. He does have pity on mankind. He offers a means of salvation. But if a person does not acknowledge that he or she is a sinner, and if that person does not repent of sins, and if that person does not accept the Lord's means of salvation, then we must conclude today's study session with the solemn words of the Apostle Paul: "How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3a)

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 133, Zedekiah King Of Judah, Part One

In Tuesday's study King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took Jehoiachin, the king of Judah who surrendered to him, captive to Babylon and placed Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, on the throne as a vassal king. He changed Mattaniah's name to Zedekiah. Both of these names are Hebrew names and it is not clear whether Nebuchadnezzar chose the change of name or simply insisted that it be changed as a demonstration of his authority over the king of Judah. The original name meant "gift of God" and the new name means "the Lord is righteous". Whether or not Nebuchadnezzar chose this name, we are going to see the Lord carrying out righteous judgment during King Zedekiah's reign. He will be an evil man, like several of his predecessors, and will refuse to repent and turn to the Lord. A large number of the citizens of his kingdom will be of the same mindset as he is.  

In addition of taking away some members of the royal family and top officials, Nebuchadnezzar also carried off many of the treasures of Jerusalem and all but the poorest and least-skilled and least-educated citizens of Jerusalem. Zedekiah's kingdom has been heavily reduced, not only in Jerusalem but throughout the Negev by the Babylonian army. Babylon will largely destroy the nation of Judah but will do it in several stages. We have already seen two episodes in which Nebuchadnezzar took many citizens to Babylon. We will study a third deportation later on in the Old Testament. 

Zedekiah, though he is the deposed Jehoiachin's uncle, is only three years older than the exiled king. "Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done." (2 Kings 24:18-19) His grandfather Jeremiah was not the prophet Jeremiah, who was from Anathoth and not from Libnah. The author of 2 Kings compares Zedekiah's wickedness to that of Jehoiakim, perhaps because his predecessor Jehoiachin was only king for three months. Jehoiakim was king for eleven years which is the same length as the reign of Zedekiah. This means both Jehoiakim and Zedekiah have the same amount of time in which to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. 

The author of 2 Chronicles adds this information: "He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke the word of the Lord. He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God's name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. Furthermore, all the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the Lord, which He had consecrated in Jerusalem." (2 Chronicles 36:11-14)

Zedekiah is an idolater like so many of his family members have been. Since the death of Josiah who loved the Lord and who made many religious reforms, there has not been a godly king on the throne of Judah. The kings since him have done whatever they pleased and the people have done whatever they pleased. There are people in Judah who are still faithful to the Lord, as we will see when we arrive at the books of the prophets, but the nation as a whole has fallen into such widescale idolatry that the Lord is going to allow the nation to completely fall to the enemy. The time has come when no more reprieves will be given. We are about to begin the portions of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles that deal with the fulfillment of the prophecies against Judah and Jerusalem.

I plan to post the Bible study on Thursday and Friday and then I will be leaving on vacation. So we will be taking a break from Saturday, June 24th until Sunday, July 2nd. I plan for us to pick up where we left off on that Sunday morning.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 132, Jehoachin King Of Judah, Part Two

The nation of Judah is at odds with the rising world power of Babylon. Formerly, Judah became subject to Pharaoh Necho II of Egypt when Jehoiachin's grandfather, King Josiah, opposed the Egyptian forces at Megiddo when they marched through on their way to assist the king of Assyria against the attacking Babylonians. Necho's troops delivered a mortal wound to Josiah, who died upon his return to Jerusalem. The people took his youngest son, Jehoahaz, and made him king but as Necho returned from Syria he took Jehoahaz into custody and deposed him; Jehoahaz may have opposed him with his troops like Josiah did. Necho placed Eliakim, Jehoahaz's older brother, on the throne of Judah as a vassal king and renamed him Jehoiakim and levied heavy tribute against Judah.

The Babylonians were on a quest to conquer all the territories of the Levant so when Nebuchadnezzar's forces came up against Jerusalem, King Jehoiakim swore his allegiance to Nebuchadnezzar to prevent the destruction of the city. He remained a vassal king of Babylon for three years until Nebuchadnezzar's attempted invasion of Egypt failed, at which point he and other kings of the region rebelled. But the Babylonians teamed up with several smaller nations and came against the king of Judah again, resulting in Jehoahaz losing his life in circumstances that are not explained to us in the Bible or in the Babylonian chronicles. His son Jehoachin then became king at the age of eighteen, which is where we left off in yesterday's study after being told he did evil in the eyes of the Lord just as some of his forefathers did.

The historical information contained in the Bible and in the chronicles of the Babylonians tells us that Nebuchadnezzar conquered the nation of Judah in at least three separate steps. In today's passage we find him coming against the nation again by laying siege to the city of Jerusalem. "At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem and laid siege to it, and Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city while his officers were besieging it. Jehoiachin king of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him." (2 Kings 24:10-12a) 

During Nebuchadnezzar's first foray into the nation of Judah he was handed some members of the royal family to hold as hostages as proof that tribute would continue being paid to him. But Jehoiakim rebelled against him anyway and the ancient historian Josephus claimed that Nebuchadnezzar attacked the nation again during the reign of Jehoiachin because he thought Jehoiachin would rebel against him just as his father did. It may even be that Jehoiachin actually was planning to rebel but we don't know. Jehoiachin surrenders to him as does the Queen Mother, Nehushta, with whom the ancient rabbis say Jehoiachin was in an incestuous relationship. Many other high-ranking people of the royal cabinet also surrender to Nebuchadnezzar and are taken into his custody. "In the eighth year of the reign of the king of Babylon, he took Jehoiachin prisoner." (2 Kings 24:12b)

"As the Lord had declared, Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the temple of the Lord and from the royal palace, and cut up the gold articles that Solomon king of Israel had made for the temple of the Lord." (2 Kings 24:13) The late King Jehoiakim had already given Nebuchadnezzar some valuable items from the royal treasury and from the temple and now Nebuchadnezzar takes more. This was predicted by the prophet Isaiah who warned the late King Hezekiah that showing the visiting Babylonians all the treasures of the royal household and the temple was a mistake. Hezekiah was eager to ally himself with the Babylonians against the Assyrians instead of trusting in the Lord who had already miraculously delivered Jerusalem from a siege of the Assyrians and who had already miraculously healed Hezekiah of a deadly infection. So the Lord sent Isaiah to him to tell him that a day was coming in which the Babylonians would return to carry off the treasures of the kingdom and that the Babylonians would carry off some of Hezekiah's own descendants. We find this coming true in our text today.

The author of 2 Kings says of King Nebuchadnezzar: "He carried all Jerusalem into exile: all the officers and fighting men, and all the skilled workers and artisans---a total of ten thousand. Only the poorest people of the land were left. Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin captive to Babylon. He also took from Jerusalem to Babylon the king's mother, his wives, his officials and the prominent people of the land. The king of Babylon also deported to Babylon the entire force of seven thousand fighting men, strong and fit for war, and a thousand skilled workers and artisans. He made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah." (2 Kings 24:14-17) The Babylonians previously took other members of the royal family and now they take not only some members of the royal family and the royal cabinet but they also take the majority of the citizens of the city of Jerusalem. Later there will be another widescale deportation of the citizens of Judah. 

Zedekiah, the uncle of Jehoiachin, is now king and he is basically a puppet king serving at the pleasure of Nebuchadnezzar. He has not learned anything from the fate of the previous kings in regard to his need to humble himself before the Lord and to urge all the people to do likewise. He will be just as wicked of a man as his predecessors and will not listen to anything the prophets have to say.

 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 131, Jehoiachin King Of Judah, Part One

Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim is now king of Judah. But the Bible didn't tell us any details about the death of Jehoiakim. The last thing we read about him in 2 Chronicles was that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon. Does this mean that Jehoiakim was deposed by Nebuchadnezzar and taken captive to Babylon in a similar manner to how Jehoahaz was deposed by Pharaoh Necho and taken to Egypt until his death? The author of 2 Kings simply says, "Jehoiakim rested with his ancestors. And Jehoichin his son succeeded him as king." (2 Kings 24:6) 

The way this is worded indicates that Jehoiakim's death and his son's ascension to the throne happened at the same time, so we don't know whether Nebuchadnezzar ever followed through on his intention to take Jehoiakim captive to Babylon or whether Jehoiakim died as a result of something that happened during the Babylonian army's siege of Jerusalem. The ancient historian Flavius Josephus says that the king was killed during the siege of Jerusalem and that his body was thrown over the wall. Does this mean that the soldiers of Babylon killed him for some reason after putting shackles on him as ordered by Nebuchadnezzar? Does this mean he was housed inside Jerusalem until his planned deportation to Babylon but was killed by Babylonian soldiers or even by his own people and thrown outside the gates? 

In the book of Jeremiah there is a prophecy that Jehoiakim's body would be treated dishonorably: "He will have the burial of a donkey---dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem". (Jeremiah 22:19) Although we don't know the exact time and manner and place of the king's death, it seems clear that he did die---that he was not merely deposed and taken to a foreign land where he lived for a number of years in captivity. Some scholars believe that Jeremiah's prophecy means that Jehoiakim's body wasn't retrieved for a proper burial but the author of 2 Kings says, "Jehoiakim rested with his ancestors", which is a common Old Testament way of telling us someone died and in most cases it means they were buried or placed inside a tomb. Sometimes the location of a king's interment is given to us and sometimes it is not. This could mean he was buried at the same location as many of the other kings of Judah but it may be he was never buried at all. I can only assume that these details were likely included in the books of the annals of the kings---the book that is frequently referenced in the Bible but that has disappeared over the ages---and that the authors of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles didn't include that information here. 

Jehoiakim's rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar has been a mistake. He thought it was proof of weakness when the Babylonian forces failed in their attempt to invade Egypt and he transferred his allegiance back to Pharaoh, thinking Pharaoh would come out fighting and be victorious in pushing the Babylonians back. But although the border of Egypt remains secure at this time, the king of Egypt is pretty much encapsulated there, having lost a large swath of his territory outside the nation to Nebuchadnezzar. "The king of Egypt did not march out from his own country again, because the king of Babylon had taken all his territory, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Euphrates River." (2 Kings 24:7) 

The new king of Judah is a young king. He is also a wicked king, like his father, and his reign will be short. "Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan; she was from Jerusalem. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father had done." (2 Kings 24:8-9) The author of 2 Chronicles is more precise about the length of his reign and states that he was king of Judah for three months and ten days. He, like the author of 2 Kings, makes it known to us that Jehoachin was evil but does not provide any examples of the evil acts he committed. (2 Chronicles 36:9) Since we know his father sinned in the same manner as his predecessors (meaning he was an idolater), I believe Jehoiachin rejected the Lord and served idolas.

A very harsh prophecy will be pronounced against Jehoiachin in the book of Jeremiah and in that prophecy the Lord says that both King Jehoiachin and his mother, Nehushta, will be taken prisoner to Babylon. This will indeed happen as we continue on in our study of this king tomorrow. 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 130, Jehoiakim King Of Judah, Part Three

In our last study session we learned that King Jehoiakim of Judah rebelled against paying tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, as did several other vassal states, when Nebuchadnezzar had to leave off his campaign to conquer the territories of the Levant in order to rush home to secure his right to the crown upon his father's death. Perhaps because Nebuchadnezzar's attentions were divided now between being both the king and the leader of the army, his role as general of the army wasn't as successful for the first third of his reign as it had been while he was concentrating only on the army while his father was still alive. His attempted invasion of Egypt was a disaster and this led Jehoiakim and several other leaders to think Egypt was going to end up back on top. Jehoakim transferred his allegiance back to Pharaoh, believing this would be the winning side, but this was an error in judgment. Nebuchadnezzar came back and laid siege to Jerusalem.

The authors of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles don't provide us with many details of Jehoiakim's downfall except to say: "The Lord sent Babylonian, Aramean, Moabite and Ammonite raiders against him to destroy Judah, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by His servants the prophets." (2 Kings 24:2) And: "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked him and bound him with bronze shackles to take him to Babylon." (2 Chronicles 36:6) 

Nebuchadnezzar's army was made up of a mixture of nations. His soldiers weren't just men of Babylon but were also from Syria, Moab, and Ammon. These people believed Babylon was the nation with which to ally themselves at this time, plus it was common for ancient kings to hire mercenaries to go out with their armies. The people of Syria, Moab, and Ammon wanted to be on the winning side and some of them may have been paid to join up with Babylon. Not only that, but these nations certainly felt no love for the nation of Judah and were probably eager to attack it. 

The Lord is going to allow Judah to be conquered because idolatry has grown so rampant, which is an issue we will study in more detail when we arrive at the books of the prophets. We will study Nebuchadnezzar's attacks on Judah in more detail then too.

Jehoiakim himself is an idolatrous man, for we were told he did evil in the eyes of the Lord after the manner of his predecessors. His father Josiah was a godly man but his grandfather Amon and his great-grandfather Manasseh were two of the most wicked kings of Judah where idolatry and crimes against humanity were concerned. Manasseh did repent near the end of his life but the damage done by his state-sponsored idolatrous religious system had already been done; countless individuals had wholeheartedly followed him into idolatry. His son and successor, Amon, was not interested in his father's conversion and religious reforms and he undid those reforms when he came to the throne. This revived the people's interest in pagan practices. Although Amon's son Josiah outlawed public idolatry during his reign and removed the pagan altars and images from the land, a great deal of the individuals clung to idolatry in their hearts. As soon as Josiah died his first successor, Jehoahaz, openly practiced idolatry. Pharaoh Necho II deposed him and replaced him with his brother Eliakim who he renamed Jehoiakim but Jehoiakim wasn't any better of a man than Jehoahaz. Everyone is doing whatever they please at this time. Those who love the Lord are still being faithful to the Lord but they are in the minority.

The downward spiral the nation is experiencing at this time was begun on a very large scale by Manasseh and that's why, even though he repented, he's credited with playing a big part in the coming disaster. "Surely these things happened to Judah according to the Lord's command, in order to remove them from His presence because of the sins of Manasseh and all he had done, including the shedding of innocent blood. For he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to forgive." (2 Kings 24:3-4) 

I don't think the author is saying that Manasseh's conversion wasn't real or that the Lord didn't hear and accept his prayer of repentance. But the crimes that were committed in Judah must be avenged by a holy God. Manasseh sacrificed some of his children to the heathen deity Molek and his actions encouraged an untold number of people to do the same. This innocent blood cries out to the Lord from the ground, as did the blood of Abel who was murdered by his brother. (Genesis 4:10) Manasseh indeed appears to have genuinely repented but the same cannot be said for everyone. His son Amon rejected the Lord and clung to the heathen idols Manasseh formerly worshiped. Many of the people throughout the land did the same. Josiah did everything he could to turn the nation back to the Lord and I think his efforts must have borne some fruit but there were those who could not be persuaded to avoid idolatry---not even his own sons! Immediately upon his death, his sons openly engaged in and encouraged the worship of heathen gods. No doubt sacrifices to Molek resumed. The Lord's judgment is about to fall on the nation for this and I think that what the author means when he says "the Lord was not willing to forgive" is that the Lord was not going to withhold judgment any longer. He gave the people a wonderful opportunity to repent and prevent their nation from falling when He raised up Josiah to be king over them for thirty-one years. Had the majority of the citizens given their hearts to the Lord and remained faithful to Him, the calamity we are now studying would not have had to happen. But they did not and now the time is up. There won't be any more reprieves. Judgment is going to be poured out. The Lord is not going to forget all the innocent blood that has been shed. There is no forgiveness where there is no repentance. 

The Bible doesn't describe for us all the wicked things Jehoiakim himself did but simply says this: "The other events of Jehoiakim's reign, the detestable things he did and all that was found against him, are written in the books of the kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son succeeded him as king." (2 Chronicles 36:8) Rabbinic tradition has it that he engaged in a number of incestuous relationships with women of his family, including his own mother! It is said he also had an affair with his step-mother and with a daughter-in-law as well. Although he was not related to those two women by blood, such relationships were forbidden by the law the Lord gave to the people through Moses. We do not know whether any of these women consented to sleeping with him or whether he forced them. Another tradition about him is that, if he saw and fancied any particular woman, he would order her husband killed so he could take the woman into his harem. Aside from these sexual sins, I would not be surprised to know that he (like some of his forefathers) made human sacrifices to Molek. And in the book of Jeremiah we will find out about some other things Jehoiakim did, including burning a scroll containing the word of God in the fireplace at the palace, which was done to show his utter disdain for the Lord---much like if a person today publicly renounced the Lord and threw the Holy Bible onto a bonfire.

Things are not going to get any better after Jehoiakim is removed from the throne of Judah because his son will also do evil in the eyes of the Lord. 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 129, Jehoiakim King Of Judah, Part Two

Josiah's son King Jehoahaz was deposed by Pharaoh Necho II after reigning only three months and was taken captive to Egypt, where he remained until his death. Necho appointed Jehoahaz's older brother, Eliakim, king of Judah in his place and changed his name to Jehoiakim. 

During this time period the king of Egypt was working with the king of Assyria to push back against the westward advance of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Previously in our study of the kings, while Necho was marching toward Harran to help the king of Assyria against the Babylonians, King Josiah of Judah opposed him and was killed in battle. Necho's efforts at Harran were unsuccessful and on his way back he took King Jehoahaz captive at Riblah, perhaps because Jehoahaz came out to oppose him. The Bible, however, provides no explanation for this event and neither do any of the surviving records of Necho's reign. After taking the king of Judah into his custody, Necho placed Jehoahaz's brother on the throne as a puppet king under the authority of Egypt. Heavy tribute was imposed on Judah, which Jehoiakim obediently paid by taxing all the people. 

Jehoiakim and the nation of Judah remained subject to Egypt for several years until Necho led an attack against the Babylonians at Carchemish. The Babylonians, who were led by Nebuchadnezzar the army general and crown prince, delivered a crushing defeat to the king of Egypt. Nebuchadnezzar and his army then pursued the Egyptian army as they fled down to the Sinai. On his way back, Nebuchadnezzar turned his attention to Jerusalem, which lay along the route, because Jerusalem was a vassal state of Egypt. He began to lay siege to Jerusalem but Jehoiakim prevented the fall of the city by pledging his allegiance to Babylon and by handing over to Nebuchadnezzar funds from the royal treasury, valuable items from the temple, and some members of the royal family for Nebuchadnezzar to hold as hostages to ensure that the king would keep his word to him.

The author of 2 Kings provides very few details about this but later in the Bible, when we get to the books of the prophets, we will be learning much more about Nebuchadnezzar's interactions with the nation of Judah. As we begin 2 Kings 24 the author refers to Nebuchadnezzar as "king of Babylon" although, when Nebuchadnezzar first subjugates the nation of Judah, his father Nabopolassar is still king of Babylon. "During Jehoiakim's reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years." (2 Kings 24:1a)

Nabopolassar is near the end of his life when his son makes Judah subject to Babylon. While Nebuchadnezzar was busy subduing all the territories that were vassal states of Egypt, he got word that his father had died. He had to hastily leave off his military campaign and rush home to secure the throne. He was approximately five hundred miles away from his father's palace at the time and this posed the very real threat that a usurper, along with a group of supporters, might charge the palace and gain control of it and declare the usurper king. Or there was the chance of the people bringing a candidate forward and declaring him king. Or there was the possibility that a close relative in the royal family would declare himself Nabopolassar's successor. Nebuchadnezzar was too far away to quash any sort of rebellion so he immediately heads home and must have traveled day and night in order to reach the capital city in two weeks.

Nebuchadnezzar, now king of Babylon, spends the first third of his reign with activities to secure his position as king and with carrying out military exploits. Some of these exploits are unsuccessful, such as an attempted invasion of Egypt. This encouraged some of his vassal states to view him as too weak to enforce their required tribute, so they began to rebel against him. King Jehoiakim is one of those kings who seizes the opportunity to withhold tribute and to transfer his allegiance back to the nation of Egypt, for at this time it appears as if Egypt may regain the upper hand in the region and I am sure he wants to be on the winning side. He likely expects that things will not go well for him if Egypt regains control of the Levant and if it looks to Pharaoh that he is a loyal subject of Nebuchadnezzar. "But then he turned against Nebuchadnezzar and rebelled." (2 Kings 24:1b) 

However, Jehoiakim is betting on the wrong horse when he re-allies himself with Egypt. Pharaoh's successful pushback of Nebuchadnezzar's forces will be short-lived and Jehoiakim will find himself taken prisoner to Babylon. 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 128, Jehoiakim King Of Judah, Part One

In Wednesday's study Pharaoh Necho II deposed King Jehoahaz of Judah, taking him prisoner to Egypt where he remained until his death. Necho placed Jehoahaz's older brother Eliakim on the throne, changing his name to Jehoiakim and forcing him to pay tribute to Egypt, thereby making Jehoiakim a puppet king and the nation of Judah a vassal state of Egypt.

It was customary in ancient times for conquering rulers to change the names of the puppet kings of their vassal states. They also changed the names of the people they took captive from conquered territories. This was done to establish the conquering king's authority over the people and the change in name often reflected the religious beliefs of the conquering king. We will see examples of that later in the Old Testament when the king of Babylon conquers Judah and renames the captives in the names of his own gods. In the case of Eliakim/Jehoiakim, however, his change of name does not involve a reference to a foreign god. Eliakim meant "God will establish/God will raise up" and Jehoiakim means "Jah (Yahweh) will establish". This has caused some scholars to conclude that Necho did not actually choose the replacement name but merely insisted on a change of name to drive home the point that the king of Judah is now subject to him. 

Jehoiakim is not a godly man whom we would expect to choose a name that reflects faith in the God of Israel but perhaps he chose his replacement name simply because it had the same meaning as his original name. The Bible does not indicate that he held the God of Israel in reverence; quite the contrary. "Jehoakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah; she was from Rumah. And he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done." (2 Kings 23:36-37, 2 Chronicles 36:5) In comparing him to his predecessors the authors are comparing him to his idolatrous predecessors. He, like his brother Jehoahaz, reverted back to the ways of some of their forefathers instead of being faithful to the Lord like their father Josiah. 

It's interesting to note that King Jehoakim's mother is not the same woman as his brother Jehoahaz's mother. We don't know whether Josiah had more than one wife or whether, since Jehoakim was older than Jehoahaz, his mother died quite young (perhaps in childbirth) and Josiah remarried soon after her death. Josiah was a godly man but even the godly kings of Judah and Israel usually had more than one wife. The Lord warned the kings in Deuteronomy 17:17 that they weren't to take "many" wives because these wives would lead the kings' hearts away from God. This was primarily because taking "many" wives would include taking many foreign concubines who worshiped pagan deities. But it was never the Lord's best plan for marriage for there to be more than one husband or one wife in it. He clearly demonstrated His best plan for marriage when He joined together Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. We have previously discussed the primary reasons that ancient kings usually took more than one wife, such as for the purpose of making political alliances and for the purpose of ensuring the continuation of their royal lineage, for infant mortality rates and maternal mortality rates were very high in those times. The more sons a king could have, the more likelihood that at least one of them would survive to adulthood to eventually succeed his father as king. 

Assyria has been the reigning world power for some time and it was Assyria that invaded and conquered the northern kingdom of Israel. But Assyria is on the decline and Babylon has made repeated successful attacks on it, desiring to get out from under the control of Assyria. Several times in the Old Testament we have found the fall of Judah foretold but the nation that will cause the fall will not be Assyria but Babylon. Jehoiakim began his reign as a subject of the nation of Egypt but, as Babylon gains control over former world powers such as Egypt and Assyria, Jehoiakim finds himself subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. "During Jehoiakim's reign, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded the land, and Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years." (2 Kings 24:1a)

As we continue our study of the reign of King Jehoakim we will take a look at the political and historical events that led to him becoming subject to and eventually taken captive by the king of Babylon. 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 127, King Jehoahaz Of Judah, Part Two

Upon the death of King Josiah, the people took his youngest son and made him king in Josiah's place. This son was formerly named Shallum but took the throne name of Jehoahaz at his coronation. 

As we discussed yesterday, we don't know why the people selected Josiah's fourth-born son to succeed him as king. Possibly this was Josiah's preference which he had already made known prior to his death. We learned in yesterday's study that Jehoahaz is an idolater, and on the one hand we wouldn't expect Josiah to want an idolatrous king for the nation, but on the other hand it may be that all of his sons turned out to be idolaters in spite of his godly influence. His son Eliakim certainly was as we will soon find out. But it could be that Josiah had not named a successor since he was still a relatively young man when he met his death. The people may have chosen Jehoahaz because his political views lined up more with his father's than his brothers' views did. But we will still study yet another potential motive for the people's choice farther down the page. 

Jehoahaz only reigns for three months because Pharaoh Necho II deposes him. "Pharaoh Necho put him in chains at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold." (2 Kings 23:33, 2 Chronicles 36:3) You'll recall that Josiah died because he opposed Necho when Necho was marching up to aid the king of Assyria against the Babylonians. Necho told Josiah not to engage him in battle but he did so at Megiddo, resulting in Josiah being mortally wounded and dying soon after being taken back to Jerusalem. Necho continued on to provide assistance to the Assyrian king but was defeated at Harran and forced to retreat. On his way back toward Egypt, he removes Jehoahaz as king of Judah.

Exactly how and why Necho did this is not recorded on the pages of the Bible or on any known annals of the kings of Egypt. Some scholars speculate that Jehoahaz intended to avenge his father's death and that he may have ambushed Necho and his troops on their way back from Harran. These same scholars propose that Jehoahaz's desire for vengeance is what caused the people to place him on the throne, saying that perhaps his older and more mature brothers were not as quick-tempered and not as eager to make war with Egypt. If the people wanted Josiah avenged (and it's understandable that they mourned deeply for this godly man who was cut down in his prime) they may have felt Jehoahaz was the best man for the job.

A clue that perhaps Jehoahaz did launch an attack against the Egyptian troops is that Necho took him into custody at Riblah. Riblah lay along Necho's route back to Egypt. Jehoahaz's presence along this route indicates to me that a military conflict took place there between his forces and the forces of Necho. Necho did not come and drag Jehoahaz out of his palace at Jerusalem; Jehoahaz was in the land of Hamath (in Syria) which lay over two hundred miles from Jerusalem. The battle must have gone badly for the king of Judah because he was captured and held temporarily at Riblah and then he was taken on to Egypt where he remained until his death. The people who had placed him on the throne must have longed for his return because the Lord told the prophet Jeremiah to tell the people that Jehoahaz would not be restored to his throne but would perish in Egypt. In the book of Jeremiah we find Jehoahaz called by his birth name of Shallum. "For this is what the Lord says about Shallum son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: 'He will never return. He will die in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.'" (Jeremiah 22:11-12)

Necho will install a puppet king in Judah who will pay the tribute he demands. This puppet king will be one of Jehoahaz's brothers, Eliakim, and I can think of a couple of reasons why the king of Egypt did things this way. First, there seems to be some evidence that Jehoahaz wanted to avenge his father and perhaps had launched an attack on Necho's life. Jehoahaz could not be trusted as a puppet king of Pharaoh, not only because he wanted Pharaoh dead but also because he was likely to refuse to pay tribute to him, which would have led to the Egyptian king becoming further embroiled in military conflicts while attempting to force the king and the people to submit to him. Necho has already experienced a defeat in his attempt to aid Assyria against the rising world power of Babylon and I'm sure he would like to avoid a long drawn-out siege of Jerusalem. 

Second, if it's true that Jehoahaz was the most hotheaded of Josiah's sons, it may be that Eliakim was the most willing to agree to the foreign king's demands. A possible motive for this is that Eliakim may have felt he was the rightful king of Judah and was willing to pay tribute to Egypt in order to become king of Judah. Eliakim was Josiah's second born son and Jehoahaz was Josiah's fourth born son, giving Eliakim more of a claim to the throne by birth order. We know nothing about the eldest brother, Johanan, and I think there's a good chance he is already deceased by this time because the only time he is ever mentioned in the Bible is in 1 Chronicles when Josiah's sons are listed by birth order. If Johanan is no longer living, then Eliakim would naturally have seen himself as the crown prince of Judah and would not have been happy that the people declared his youngest brother king when Josiah died. Necho would naturally consider him the rightful heir as well and it behooved him to place a son of the royal family on the throne instead of trying to install a foreign king or a man of Judah who was not a direct descendant of Josiah. The people would have revolted if he had done that. 

"Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah and changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz and carried him off to Egypt, where he died. Jehoiakim paid Pharaoh Necho the silver and gold he demanded. In order to do so, he taxed the land and exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land according to his assessments." (2 Kings 23:34-35, 2 Chronicles 36:4)

Jehoiakim will not be a better man, spiritually speaking, than Jehoahaz was. As we move on tomorrow to begin studying his reign, we will be told that he "did evil in the eyes of the Lord". 

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 126, Jehoahaz King Of Judah, Part One

As we closed yesterday's study we found King Josiah perishing of the wounds he sustained in battle with the troops of Pharaoh Necho. Necho II (also known as Nechau or Neco) was the successor to his father, Necho I, who had been a staunch ally of King Ashurbanipal of Assyria. After Ashurbanipal's death, the nation of Assyria began to go into decline. Babylon, which had been formerly conquered by Assyria, was expanding its empire and pushing back against Assyrian domination. Necho II, like his father, was loyal to Assyria, which is why he marched out to assist the current king, Ashuruballit. Ashuruballit had fled the now-destroyed Assyrian capital of Nineveh to rule in exile from Carchemish. But he was not safe there either, for the Babylonians began attacking Carchemish as well.

In yesterday's passage Pharaoh Necho II was on his way to give military aid at Carchemish when Josiah and his army came out to oppose him because Josiah's great-grandfather, Hezekiah, had made an alliance with Babylon and the kings of Judah had remained loyal to the Babylonians since that day. Necho warned Josiah to leave him alone, declaring that he was on a mission from God. He said that if Josiah got in his way he would lose his life.

We discussed whether or not Necho really did receive his marching orders from God or whether he was using the name of Israel's God in order to persuade Josiah to back down. The text from yesterday indicated that the Lord was at least behind the warning for Josiah to back down so he wouldn't lose his life, but Josiah pressed the attack and was mortally wounded in battle. He was rushed back to Jerusalem but perished upon his arrival there. Had he listened to Necho's warning, not engaging the Egyptian king's troops in battle, I believe it would have delayed the fall of Judah for a time. The Lord had told Josiah that the nation would fall but He also promised him that it would not happen during his lifetime. As long as the godly Josiah was on the throne of Judah, the nation remained secure. But now he is dead and his son Jehoahaz will be declared king by the people. Though Jehoahaz was raised by a godly man, he is a very wicked man. 

"And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and made him king in Jerusalem in place of his father." (2 Chronicles 26:1) Jehoahaz's given name at birth appears to have been "Shallum" according to the genealogy of the kings provided in 1 Chronicles 3 and according to Jeremiah 22:11, so the name of "Jehoahaz" must have been his throne name. The author of 1 Chronicles makes it clear that he was not Josiah's eldest son but was in fact his fourth-born son. Why, then, did the people choose him to succeed Josiah? 

The Bible gives us no clue as to the people's reason for proclaiming him king. Bible scholars and historians speculate that either he had made himself far more popular and visible to the public than his three elder brothers or that his political views lined up with those of Josiah more than did the views of his brothers. I'd like to propose a third theory which is that Josiah may have made it known that it was his preference for Shallum to succeed him. This would have made Shallum the crown prince of Judah in spite of not being the firstborn. Although it was common in most ancient cultures for the eldest son to succeed his father, this was not an official law in most nations. It was usually up to the father's discretion to choose which son he wanted to succeed him. If Shallum was Josiah's preferred successor, we must ask ourselves why, considering he is not a godly young man. But Josiah wouldn't be the first king of the Bible to show favoritism to a son who doesn't share his love for the Lord.

Whatever the reasoning behind proclaiming Shallum (now Jehoahaz) as king, his reign will be extremely short. "Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah." (2 Kings 23:31) The Jeremiah mentioned here is not the prophet Jeremiah, for the prophet Jeremiah was from Anathoth. For further proof that Jehoahaz's mother was not the daughter of Jeremiah, Jeremiah never married (see Jeremiah 16:1-4). Jeremiah was not likely to have fathered any children outside the bonds of holy matrimony so even if we didn't know he was from Anathoth and not from Libnah, he cannot be the father of Jehoahaz's mother.

Something has gone very wrong with Jehoahaz, spiritually speaking, and we do not know why. "He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, just as his predecessors had done." (2 Kings 23:32) Some of Jehoahaz's predecessors were idolaters. His grandfather, King Amon, was a very idolatrous man. His great-grandfather, Manasseh, was also a very idolatrous man until the final years of his life. Jehoahaz reverts back to the ways of these men instead of following the ways of his godly father.

We do not know why Jehoahaz goes astray like this but we probably all know people who did their best to raise their children to love the Lord and yet they have a grown child who despises the Lord and who enjoys living in sin. It's the duty of godly mothers and fathers to teach their children about the Lord and to demonstrate godly living in front of their children. But no one can control the heart and mind of another person. A child might have to live by godly rules while living in their parents' household but if that child has no desire to know the Lord then he or she may reject Him at adulthood. I feel certain Josiah did his best to bring his children up in the right way. The Bible makes it clear that he set a wonderful example for the people of Judah to follow. I do not think Josiah is to blame for how Jehoahaz turned out. 

The wicked Jehoahaz won't sit on the throne of Judah for long. In our next study session we will read of the political/military conditions that are going to lead to him being taken captive by the king of Egypt.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 125, Josiah King Of Judah, Part Twelve

You'll recall that the prophetess Huldah said that the Lord would bring judgment on Judah but not during the lifetime of Josiah. At this news, Josiah immediately read the Book of the Law to the people and professed his intention to live by it and urged them to do the same, with large numbers of the people committing themselves to living by the Lord's laws. We talked about how we didn't know whether Josiah hoped such a wide-scale revival would break out that the Lord would never have to bring the prophecy to pass or whether he only sought to delay it coming to pass for as long as possible. We will soon see that a delay is all that was achieved but that's no small thing, considering how rampant idolatry was during the reigns of Josiah's father and grandfather. Spiritual conditions were better in Judah during Josiah's reign because he was a godly king but spiritual conditions will begin to deteriorate immediately after his death. This is why the author of 2 Kings says what he says in the text below.

"Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of His fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to arouse His anger. So the Lord said, 'I will remove Judah also from My presence as I removed Israel, and I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, 'My name shall be there.'" (2 Kings 23:26-27) Some of the people in the land responded correctly to Josiah's call to repent but some of them are still clinging to the idolatrous practices that were introduced and encouraged by King Manasseh.  Right now they can't openly serve pagan gods but at the first opportunity they will---and that opportunity isn't far away because Josiah's successors will do evil in the eyes of the Lord. Because the Lord knows all things, He can judge things that are going to happen in the future. He is angry with what Manasseh did and with what some of the people are still doing and He is angry about what will be done in the future. This is why He can state that judgment will certainly fall. 

We are not told much about the remainder of Josiah's reign. He held the first Passover in his eighteenth year as king and we were previously told that he reigned for thirty-one years. The authors of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles both skip ahead now to his death. The author of 2 Kings doesn't provide many details about this event, saying only, "While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went up to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah marched out to meet him in battle, but Necho faced him and killed him at Megiddo." (2 Kings 23:29)

In the spring of 609 BC the king of Egypt, Necho II, led an army out to come to the aid of the Assyrians, with whom he had allied himself against Babylon. The Babylonian forces, combined with the army of the Medes, had attacked and destroyed the Assyrian capital of Nineveh and killed the king of Assyria. The now-dead king's successor was forced to flee to Carchemish where he set up a government in exile. On his way to Carchemish, Necho will meet up with King Josiah who marches out with his forces in an attempt to stop his progress. Josiah attempts to stop him because, since the days when Josiah's great-grandfather Hezekiah made an alliance with the Babylonians, the kings of Judah have apparently remained in an alliance with the kings of Babylon against their common enemy of Assyria. But Josiah's attempt to stop the forces of Egypt will result in his death.

When Necho hears that Josiah is coming out in battle array against him, he tries to dissuade him. "But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, 'What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or He will destroy you.'" (2 Chronicles 35:21) Did the Lord really speak to this idolatrous king? Later in today's text the author affirms this to be so. We should not be surprised by that because we know that the Lord does speak to sinners. If He did not, then there would be no hope for anyone to be saved. 

The Lord promised that Judah would not fall during Josiah's lifetime but Josiah's life is about to end because he does not stop to consult the Lord to make certain whether or not he should press the attack against the Egyptian forces. "Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God's command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo. Archers shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, 'Take me away; I am badly wounded.' So they took him out of his chariot, put him in his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him." (2 Chronicles 35:22-24) The men remove him from his war chariot, the small type of chariot in which there was room only for two men (the driver and the archer) to stand up in, and transfer him into what may have been his royal chariot which afforded him enough room to lie down in. He is mortally wounded and dies upon his arrival back in Jerusalem.

"Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers commemorate Josiah in the laments. These became a tradition in Israel and are written in the laments. The other events of Josiah's reign and his acts of devotion in accordance with what is written in the Law of the Lord---all the events, from beginning to end, are written in the books of the kings of Israel and Judah." (2 Chronicles 35:25-27) These books of the annals of the kings have been lost to time, as we've noted before. We no longer possess these additional records of the days of the kings. 

If Josiah had listened to Necho and had not pressed the attack, he might have lived much longer and the nation of Judah might have endured much longer. But the prophecies about the fall of Judah will soon come to pass now that Josiah is dead. Necho and his ally, the king of Assyria, will not be successful against the army of Babylon. Babylon will become the dominant superpower of the era and the prophecy Isaiah spoke to King Hezekiah of Judah will come true. Isaiah warned him that the Babylonians will come and take away all the treasures that Hezekiah showed the officials of the king of Babylon of his day. The Babylonians will take away the descendants of King Hezekiah, along with thousands upon thousands of the citizens of Judah. This prophecy will come true because the Lord said that if Judah persisted in idolatry He would allow the nation to fall just as He allowed the northern kingdom of Israel to fall. If Josiah had not been a godly man who encouraged so many of his subjects to repent, the Lord might have already allowed the Babylonians to gain enough power to overthrow Assyria and then begin attacking other nations such as Judah. But now Josiah is dead and his son and his grandson will be evil and idolatrous kings. The people of Judah will participate in more and more idolatry. The end of the nation is near.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 124, Josiah King Of Judah, Part Eleven

In our last study session we found Josiah calling the people together to celebrate Passover. Presumably, Passover had not been observed since the reign of his great-grandfather Hezekiah. We have not seen the holiday mentioned since then and we can be certain that Josiah's wicked father, Amon, never observed Passover during his short two years as king. It also does not appear as if Josiah's grandfather, Manasseh, ever celebrated it. Manasseh did repent of idolatry near the end of his life and the Scriptures indicate he gave his heart fully to the Lord, but the Scriptures don't say anything about him celebrating Passover.

We have already looked at the first half of the portion of 2 Chronicles 35 dealing with this Passover celebration. The king and his top officials, who were all wealthy men, generously supplied thousands of Passover lambs and also goats and cattle for the people who were pouring into Jerusalem for the holiday. Because of this generosity, no hardship was placed on anyone who was too poor to afford a Passover lamb at this time or who was too poor to provide food for their families while they were on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. We don't know how much notice the people were given that a Passover celebration was going to take place and Josiah doesn't want anyone left out who wants to attend. By the time the next Passover rolls around, the people will have had a year to prepare for it. 

This next portion of Scripture involves some details about the sacrifices, and although it pains the heart of animal lovers like me and like many of you, the Lord allowed animals to be the "stand ins" for mankind during the ages before the perfect and holy sacrifice---the Lord Jesus Christ---gave Himself on our behalf. If the Lord had not provided some sort of stand in, He would have had to destroy mankind instead. I love animals dearly and I am very concerned about their welfare but when reading the Bible we have to keep in mind that the Lord considers humans to be the pinnacle of His creation. He placed humans at the top of the creation pyramid, for lack of a better analogy at the moment, and everything else He created was created to help and sustain humans. Man is the only creature the Lord created that fell from grace, and since the animal kingdom didn't rebel against the Lord, the blood of animal sacrifices on our behalf was considered by Him to be acceptable temporarily for our atonement and for averting judgment from us. But those sacrifices had to be made year after year until the permanent sacrifice came and I am grateful to be living in the age of grace where I can look to what the Lord Jesus Christ did for me on the cross. Whenever we read of the animal sacrifices in the Bible, it helps me to deal with the thought of it by thinking about how thankful we can be that we no longer have to do that anymore.

"The service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the Levites in their divisions as the king had ordered. The Passover lambs were slaughtered, and the priests splashed against the altar the blood handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals. They set aside the burnt offerings to give them to the subdivisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. They did the same with the cattle. They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed, and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people. After this, they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fat portions until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the Aaronic priests." (2 chronicles 35:10-14) 

I'll repeat something I've said before during our study of the Old Testament regarding animal sacrifices: I don't think it was the Lord's intention for anyone to ever feel comfortable about these sacrifices. The bringer of the sacrifice was to place his hand on the head of the animal to signify the symbolic transference of his sins to the animal. Placing his hand on the animal signified that the animal was standing in for him. I believe this also acknowledged that if not for the Lord's allowance of these stand ins, the person himself would have to answer for his own sins---would have no means of being cleansed of his sins. The person offered the animal in the full awareness that the death of the animal was the person's fault. In this same way, we are each responsible for the death of Christ, for if none of us had ever sinned, He would not have had to give His life to redeem us. We have each taken part in His death, but because He loved us so much that He was willing to do anything it took to save us, we will also take part in His life! We will spend eternity with Him and He will share with us the glorious riches of His inheritance from the Father. 

No one is excluded from the Passover service in Chapter 35, just as no one is excluded who wants to know the Lord. King Josiah makes certain there is plenty for everyone who attends. The visitors to Jerusalem are provided for, the inhabitants of Jerusalem are provided for, those who have traveled from the northern kingdom of Israel are provided for, and everyone who works to make the Passover a success is provided for. "The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, were in the places prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun the king's seer. The gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made the preparations for them." (2 Chronicles 35:15) Many people are busy working during this celebration but great care is taken to make certain they get to participate even while they are being diligent with their duties.

"So at that time the entire service of the Lord was carried out for the celebration of the Passover and the offering of burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, as King Josiah had ordered. The Israelites who were present celebrated the Passover at that time and observed the Festival of Unleavened Bread for seven days. The Passover had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah, with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem. This Passover was celebrated in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign." (2 Chronicles 35:16-19) The author of 2 Kings does not go into much detail about this Passover except to say, "Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem." (2 Kings 23:22-23)

The author of 2 Kings goes on to say these good things about King Josiah: "Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did---with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses." (2 Kings 23:24-25) In the New Testament we will find the Lord Jesus Christ saying that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all one's heart and soul and strength and mind. Josiah kept this commandment. He was not a perfect man (no human being has ever been perfect except for Jesus) but his heart was right with the Lord. He spent the first eight years of his life living under the authority of an exceedingly wicked and idolatrous father but he made the choice to give his heart and life fully to the one true God. Because of this, the author of 2 Kings can say such beautiful words about him. Because of Josiah's love for the Lord, these beautiful words about him are forever recorded on the pages of the Holy Bible.

Josiah is twenty-six years old as we close this portion of our study of his reign. The authors of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles won't say much about the years between this first Passover and his death. He will reign over Judah for thirty-one years, but because he was so young when he ascended to the throne, this means he will die at the still-youthful age of only thirty-nine. In tomorrow's session we will study his death on the battlefield.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 123, Josiah King Of Judah, Part Ten

In the eighteenth year of King Josiah's reign, the Book of the Law was found where it had been hidden in the temple. After hearing the words of the book, Josiah and many of the people reconfirmed their covenant with the Lord and then Josiah undertook many religious reforms throughout Judah and even on into the northern kingdom of Israel. Now he is back in Jerusalem and calls everyone together to celebrate Passover.

"The king gave the order to all the people: 'Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.' Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed. But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem." (2 Kings 23:21-23) We've seen some large Passover celebrations held before but Josiah observes the occasion on a larger scale than anyone before him ever has. The author of 2 Chronicles adds extra details about this Passover. The last time we heard of Passover being observed was during the reign of Josiah's great-grandfather Hezekiah.

"Josiah celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the Lord's temple. He said to the Levites, who instructed all Israel and who had been consecrated to the Lord: 'Put the sacred ark in the temple that Solomon son of David king of Israel built. It is not to be carried about on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the instructions written by David king of Israel and by his son Solomon.'" (2 Chronicles 35:1-4) 

Apparently during the wicked reigns of King Amon and King Manasseh, the ark had been removed from its proper place, perhaps to protect it just as presumably the Book of the Law had been hidden to protect it. Ancient tradition has it that it had been housed at the home of Shallum, the husband of the prophetess Huldah whom Josiah's top officials consulted earlier in our study this week. We don't know any of this for certain, however; we only know that the ark must not have been in the temple (or at least not in the Most Holy Place within the temple) at this time or else Josiah would not be telling the priests to put it where it belongs.

He continues giving instructions: "Stand in the holy place with a group of Levites for each subdivision of the families of your fellow Israelites, the lay people. Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs for your fellow Israelites, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses. His officials also contributed voluntarily to the people and the priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel, the officials in charge of God's temple, gave the priests twenty-six hundred Passover offerings and three hundred cattle. Also Konaniah along with Shemaiah and Nethanel, his brothers, and Hashabiah, Jeiel and Jozabad, the leaders of the Levites, provided five thousand Passover offerings and five hundred head of cattle for the Levites." (2 Chronicles 35:5-9) 

The Lord gave Moses the instructions for observing Passover each year and Josiah is directing the proceedings from these instructions. The instructions stated that a lamb was to be prepared for every household and the king and his top officials (who are wealthy) make certain every household has a lamb. Everyone is able to participate whether they can afford a lamb or not. This makes sense because it doesn't seem apparent, from the text, how much advance notice the people were given that Josiah was going to observe Passover. They have not been observing it for decades, as far as we can tell, and Josiah doesn't want to place any hardship on them. By the time the next Passover rolls around they will have had a year to prepare for it.

In tomorrow's text we will study the second half of this portion of Scripture regarding the first Passover held during King Josiah's reign.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 122, Josiah King Of Judah, Part Nine

Today we continue looking at Josiah's religious reforms and we find a prophecy fulfilled that was made about him long ago.

"Even the altar at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin---even that altar and high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole also." (2 Kings 23:15) We have seen Josiah cleansing the temple and Jerusalem and other cities of Judah of idolatrous objects. Now we find him going into the northern kingdom of Israel---now fallen to Assyria---and tearing down the religious center of worship set up by the late King Jeroboam I. 

You'll recall that when Jeroboam became the first king of the ten northern tribes, he set up a golden calf at Bethel and he set up a golden calf at Dan. He ordered his people to bring their offerings and sacrifices to those altars because he didn't want any of his subjects traveling to the temple in Jerusalem for fear they might transfer their allegiance from him to King Rehoboam of Judah. He made the religious site at Bethel the primary religious site because it was closest to his palace and it was where he made his own offerings and sacrifices. In verse 15 above Josiah tears down this high place of Jeroboam's.

In 1 Kings we found Jeroboam at the altar in Bethel, preparing to make his offering, when an unnamed prophet from Judah came and made this pronouncement against the sinful altar: "Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: 'A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.'" (1 Kings 13:2) The prophet foretold---three hundred years before Josiah was born---that Josiah would come and desecrate the sinful altar of Jeroboam. 

Jeroboam must have thought there was no way such a thing could come to pass. Why would a king of Israel allow a king from Judah to come and do such a thing? Wouldn't the forces of the king of Israel prevent such a thing from happening? But in our text today, three centuries later, there is no king or army of Israel present to prevent this from happening. 

Assyria has conquered Israel and is in the process of deporting most of the Israelites and resettling the land with conquered people from other nations. The Assyrian presence in the region of Bethel is either too weak to prevent Josiah and his forces from desecrating the religious site or the Assyrians couldn't care less if the king of Judah comes and carries out actions that the Assyrians may have viewed as a religious dispute between the northern and southern kingdoms. The Assyrians could hardly be expected to care about or defend the altars of foreign gods. As long as the king of Judah and his men are doing nothing but tearing down Israelite altars and digging up the bones of dead Israelites (which we will find taking place momentarily), the Assyrians are not alarmed. Only if Josiah had launched an attack on the Assyrians or on the people they were bringing into Israel would they have responded with force.

"Then Josiah looked around, and when he saw the tombs that were there on the hillside, he had the bones removed from them and burned on the altar to defile it, in accordance with the word of the Lord proclaimed by the man of God who foretold these things." (2 Kings 23:16) Just as the man of God said, bones were burned on Jeroboam's sinful altar in order to defile it from further use. Was Josiah aware of this prophecy? It does not appear so, for when he spots a particular tombstone he asks who is buried there and the story of the man of God is told to him. 

"The king asked, 'What is that tombstone I see?' The people of the city said, 'It marks the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and pronounced against the altar of Bethel the very things you have done to it.' 'Leave it alone,' he said. 'Don't let anyone disturb his bones.' So they spared his bones and those of the prophet who had come from Samaria." (2 Kings 23:17-18) 

In 1 Kings 13 the man of God from Judah made a mistake on his way home. An elderly prophet of Samaria (the capitol city of the northern kingdom) told him a lie and convinced him to go back with his house with him for supper, in contradiction to what the Lord had previously told the man of Judah. The Lord had strictly ordered the man of Judah not to eat or drink anything while in the northern kingdom. But the old prophet deceived him by claiming the Lord changed His mind and sent word that the two men were to eat together that day, so the younger man went home with him for supper, after which he was killed by a lion on his way home to Judah. Upon hearing this news, the elderly prophet of Samaria ordered the younger prophet's body placed in his own tomb and he commanded his sons that when he himself died they were to place his own remains by the younger prophet's. When Josiah asks whose tomb this is, the people of Bethel inform him that it contains the bones of the prophet from Judah who spoke of him and the bones of the old prophet from Samaria. Josiah tells them to leave this tomb undisturbed.

I do not believe Josiah had any inkling that anyone had ever prophesied anything about him. If he had ever heard of this prophecy I think he would have wanted to know more about the man of God from Judah. I think he would have wanted to know where the man was buried. I do not believe he would have been ignorant of whose tomb this was when he saw it. I also do not believe that anyone in Josiah's family did anything to cause the prophecy to come true. His idolatrous father Amon would certainly not have chosen a name for him that had been mentioned in a godly prophecy. When his name was chosen for him, it was chosen without any knowledge that it had ever been involved in a prophecy about the altar at Bethel. Josiah himself did not know about his link with the altar at Bethel until he had already torn the altar down.

As he fulfills the remainder of the prophecy, we do not know whether he had originally intended to slaughter the idolatrous priests of the northern kingdom. But the prophecy certainly gives him permission to do so now. "Just as he had done at Bethel, Josiah removed all the shrines at the high places that the kings of Israel had built in the towns of Samaria and that had aroused the Lord's anger. Josiah slaughtered all the priests of those high places on the altars and burned human bones on them. Then he went back to Jerusalem." (2 Kings 23:19-20) 

The man of God from Judah had predicted that Josiah would sacrifice the priests of the high places and burn their bones on the sinful altars. As we close our study session for today we find Josiah doing just that. Not only did the Lord give him permission through the prophecy to execute these priests, but the word of God from even farther back in the Old Testament gave him permission to do this. The law that the Lord gave to the people through Moses said that a priest or prophet or any citizen of the nation who spoke in the name of other gods was to be put to death. Engaging in occult practices was a capital offense. Encouraging others to serve heathen gods was a capital offense. Making offerings and sacrifices to other gods was a capital offense. Josiah is obeying the law of God when he executes the idolatrous priests of Israel. 

In tomorrow's text we will find him back in Jerusalem to celebrate Passover.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 121, Josiah King Of Judah, Part Eight

Josiah continues to carry out religious reforms after he and the people have rededicated themselves to the covenant of the Lord. He began by having everything removed from inside the temple that had anything to do with idolatry and now he branches out from there.

"Josiah brought all the priests from the towns of Judah and desecrated the high places, from Geba to Beersheba, where the priests had burned incense. He broke down the gateway at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua, the city governor, which was on the left of the city gate. Although the priests of the high places did not serve at the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, they ate unleavened bread with their fellow priests." (2 Kings 23:8-9) Josiah desecrates the high places from border to border.

"He desecrated Topheth, which was in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, so no one could use it to sacrifice their son or daughter in the fire to Molek." (2 Kings 23:10) Josiah's grandfather, King Manasseh, sacrificed some of his own children to Molek. The author of 2 Kings stated that he sacrificed his son and the author of 2 Chronicles used the plural word "children", indicating that in addition to sacrificing a son he also sacrificed one or more daughters. 

It's interesting to note that the Greek word later used in reference to the valley where the sacrifices took place---"Gehenna"---is the word used by Jesus in the New Testament as a euphemism for "hell". By His day the area was used as a landfill and all manner of unclean refuse was dumped there. Fires burned to reduce the waste to ashes. Maggots crawled in the rotting food and in the remains of dead farm animals. This is why, when referring to the place of eternal torment as "Gehenna", the Lord Jesus said it was a place where worms never die and fires are never quenched. (Mark 9:48) 

Does this mean that hell is a place of fire and brimstone and crawling maggots? We don't know whether Jesus was speaking literally or figuratively. Some scholars believe He was using the word "Gehenna" to indicate a place of destruction, waste, and utter hopelessness---not necessarily that the occupants of hell are going to be tormented by flames for all eternity. On the other hand, in His parable of the poor beggar and the rich man, the rich man who rejected God all his life said, "I am in agony in this fire." (Luke 16:24b) We don't know the exact nature of hell but we know enough about it that we should want to avoid going there! Even if there are no physical feelings of torment, being separated for all eternity from the goodness and mercy of our Creator should be enough to keep us from ever wanting to experience it.

Some of the idolatrous kings of Judah had dedicated horses to a god of the sun. These horses were corralled near the temple entrance. Josiah moves them from that location and burns the chariots, which I assume had idolatrous images carved or painted on them. "He removed from the entrance to the temple of the Lord the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun. They were in the court near the room of an official named Nathan-Melek. Josiah then burned the chariots dedicated to the sun." (2 Kings 23:11) 

"He pulled down the altars the kings of Judah had erected on the roof near the upper room of Ahaz, and the altars Manasseh had built in the two courts of the temple of the Lord. He removed them from there, smashed them to pieces and threw the rubble into the Kidron Valley. The king also desecrated the high places that were east of Jerusalem on the south of the Hill of Corruption---the ones Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth and the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molek the detestable god of the people of Ammon. Josiah smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles and covered the sites with human bones." (2 Kings 23:12-14) The sinful altars Solomon built for his pagan wives were still standing, perhaps because the people still held Solomon in high esteem, but allowing these altars to remain had caused people to use them for abominable heathen religious practices. Josiah tears these sites down and scatters bones on them to defile the sites.

Tomorrow he continues to expand outward with his reforms as he travels to the chief religious site in the northern kingdom of Israel to desecrate the sinful altar at Bethel.

The Kings Of Israel And Judah. Day 120, Josiah King Of Judah, Part Seven

After hearing the words of the Book of the Law, King Josiah pledged himself to the covenant with the Lord, as did a large number of the people. Now he carries out further religious reforms.

"The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the temple of the Lord all the articles made for Baal and Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took the ashes to Bethel. He did away with the idolatrous priests appointed by the kings of Judah to burn incense on the high places of the towns of Judah and on those around Jerusalem---those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and moon, to the constellations and to all the starry hosts." (2 Kings 23:4-5) Many scholars believe that the "idolatrous priests" mentioned here were an order of priests set up and supported by the kings of Judah who had been idolaters. These priests have been making offerings to pagan gods at various hilltop altars throughout the land. Something similar happened in the northern kingdom of Israel when King Jeroboam I appointed priests who were not of the tribe of Levi to serve at the sinful religious sites he set up at Dan and at Bethel.

"He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder and scattered the dust over the graves of the common people." (2 Kings 23:6) Josiah's grandfather Manasseh had erected an Asherah pole in the temple but later, after his conversion, he removed it. The author of 2 Chronicles stated that he cast it and his other idolatrous images out of the city. (2 Chronicles 33:15) The Bible does not say that Manasseh destroyed the Asherah pole and I can only assume that his son, King Amon, either brought the same Asherah pole back to the temple or fashioned his own Asherah pole for the temple. It must still have been there when Josiah ascended to the throne at the age of eight. It must still have been at the temple until Josiah's eighteenth year as king when the reforms in our text are taking place. 

Why does he scatter the ashes of the Asherah pole on the graves of the common people? From my background study it does not appear as if Josiah intended any disrespect to the people buried there but that he intended to desecrate the ashes of the idolatrous images. Contact with a dead body and contact with anything that had touched a dead body rendered a person ceremonially unclean, as we learned earlier in the Old Testament when we studied the laws the Lord gave to the people through Moses. Certain rituals had to take place in order to restore ceremonial cleanliness of a person who had handled a dead body, but these rituals (removing the clothes that had been worn while handling the body, bathing, putting on clean clothes, waiting until sundown to take part in social or religious activities) could not be performed with ashes. It may be that many other cultures (even though they were pagan cultures) believed that anything that came in contact with a dead body was rendered unclean. So what Josiah is doing is making the ashes of the Asherah pole unusable for any religious purposes by scattering them across graves. If he had simply burned the pole and dumped the ashes in a pile somewhere outside the city, it's likely that some of the adherents of the cult of Asherah would have come and scooped up portions of the ashes so they could take them home and continue carrying out their sinful religious practices in private. Now the ashes have been desecrated and they cannot do this.

Some pagan religions used what were called "shrine prostitutes" and next we find Josiah ordering the destruction of the quarters where this type of thing was taking place in Jerusalem. In some cultures the shrine prostitutes were all females but other cultures used both female and male prostitutes. "He also tore down the quarters of the male shrine prostitutes that were in the temple of the Lord, the quarters where women did weaving for Asherah." (2 Kings 23:7) It is believed that these women of the cult of Asherah were weaving the tent coverings for the booths in which the sexual rituals were taking place. So although these women may or may not have taken place in the immoral physical acts, they were contributing to immorality by giving it their approval in the form of weaving the tapestries for the curtains behind which those physical acts took place. It's difficult for us to understand why, during the reign of Josiah, an area of the temple complex was being used for what basically amounts to a pagan brothel. Did he not understand what was actually going on behind those curtains? Did he not know, until he heard the words of the Book of the Law, how much the Lord hated these practices and how sinful it was to mix idolatrous rituals with the true worship of the Lord? 

I will tell you my own personal theory; whether or not it is correct I cannot say. The Bible told us that Josiah set his heart on the Lord from a very young age, but it does not say that he received correct Scriptural instruction during his first eighteen years as king. I think he thought a lot about the Lord and talked to the Lord and tried to do what seemed best. But I think the same things could be said of him that the Apostle Paul said about many of the Israelites of his day: "I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness." (Romans 10:2-3) I believe that from a very young age King Josiah had a zeal for the Lord. But his zeal wasn't based on very much knowledge of the Lord and that was mostly the fault of his predecessors who brought so much sin into the land that the priests had had to hide the Book of the Law, likely to keep it from being desecrated or destroyed. 

Josiah ascended to the throne right after two of the most wicked kings of Judah had done a lot of spiritual damage to the nation. He was born into an era where there were still many hilltop altars dotting the land and although a large number of these were not idolatrous in the strictest sense of the word, they were locations where people were worshiping the Lord as each of them saw fit---a customized religion, if you will, that suited each of their personal beliefs and personal preferences. These people were seeking to establish their own righteousness, to quote the Apostle Paul, and they had gone astray to varying degrees. As a result, Josiah himself has been developing his relationship with the Lord without the benefit of the Book of the Law until now. He has been feeling his way along, one step at a time, in a "dark ages" type of era. Without the book he could not know as much about the Lord as he needed and wanted to know. His heart was in the right place but without the law he didn't have a clear idea about how the Lord felt about various situations. Josiah may have already felt quite uncomfortable with a lot of the things going on at the temple and in the nation but without the Book of the Law to back him up, he may have found himself in a difficult position to defend his reasons for ordering the removal of all these things. I am sure he would have been met with a great deal of resistance from some of the people in high positions who were happy with the status quo and who wanted things to remain as they were. But with the Book of the Law in hand---the book by which their theocratic government was founded in the first place---any opponents of Josiah's reforms don't have a firm foundation upon which to stand against him.

Join us tomorrow as we continue studying the widespread reforms Josiah is able to make now that he knows the Lord and the Lord's law are on his side.