2 Chronicles 35 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

2 Chronicles 35 Short Summary:

In 2 Chronicles 35, Josiah and the people of God observe the Passover Feast in Jerusalem. The end of the chapter documents the death of Josiah during a battle between Judah and Pharaoh Neco of Egypt.

2 Chronicles 35 Extended Summary

WHEN:

• Josiah reigned in Judah for 31 years. Estimated dates for his reign are 640-609 B.C.

KEY CHARACTERS:

• Josiah – The son of Amon and the next king of Judah.

• Priests and Levites – They played a big role in fulfilling Josiah’s order for the people to observe the Passover Feast in Jerusalem.

• Pharoah Neco – Leader of Egypt. He fought with Josiah on his way to fight the Assyrians at Carchemish.

• Jeremiah – A prophet of God and the author of the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations.

WHERE:

• Jerusalem – The capital of the Kingdom of Judah and the location of God’s Temple.

• Carchemish – A city on the Euphrates River about 380 miles (612 km) north of Jerusalem.

• Megiddo – Josiah fought with the Pharoah Neco on the plain of Megiddo.

OUTLINE:

• JOSIAH AND JUDAH OBSERVE THE PASSOVER FEAST (35:1-19):

  • As Hezekiah had before him (2 Chr 30), Josiah made sure the people of Judah observed the Passover Feast.

  • He organized the priests and set them to work in the Temple.

  • He ordered them to put the Ark of the Covenant back into the Temple, why it was removed we are not told.

  • Josiah gave the people 30,000 lambs and 3,000 bulls to use for their Passover sacrifices. The officials and chiefs of the Levites contributed several thousand more animals.

  • The Levities and priests sacrificed the animals at the Temple according to the law, and the people prepared their Passover lamb for the memorial meal.

  • “No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (35:18).

• JOSIAH IS KILLED FIGHTING PHARAOH NECO (35:20-27):

  • Pharaoh Neco of Egypt was moving his army north to Carchemish, most likely to fight with the Assyrian Empire.

  • Josiah and his army intercepted him and wanted to fight with him.

  • Neco sent messengers to Josiah to avoid the fight. Interestingly, he told Josiah that God wanted him to hurry on his way, and if Judah chose to fight him, they would be opposing God.

  • Josiah “did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God” but led his men into battle at Megiddo.

  • In the process of the battle, Josiah was shot by archers. He later died in Jerusalem.
    

APPLICATION:

• There are some earthly struggles that the people of God don’t need to involve themselves in.

• We don’t know what motivated Josiah to insist on this fight, maybe political loyalty or a hope to advance his nation, but he did it seemingly without God’s blessing.

• Josiah would have been better off remaining in Jerusalem, strengthening his people, and continuing his reforms.

• There is a lesson here for Christians. There are some fights, political and otherwise, that we shouldn’t be extinguishing ourselves in.

• There are a million battles we can get ourselves entangled in, but the majority of our energy and time need to be devoted to the Church and its direct mission. 2 Timothy 2:3-4 - Share in

• suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.