2 Kings Chapter 22,23 & 2 Chronicles 34-35
Opening Prayer
Father God, as we open Your Word to 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35, quiet our hearts and open our eyes. Speak to us through the story of Josiah—through the rediscovery of Your Word, the courage to repent, and the call to wholehearted reform. Let the same Spirit that moved in that young king stir us today. Expose anything in us that resists Your truth, and give us willing hearts to obey what we hear. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Looking Back
Recall of 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33
In 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33 we watched the long, dark reign of Manasseh, who filled Judah with idolatry, child sacrifice, and violence until the nation was more corrupt than the peoples God had driven out before them. Yet Chronicles alone records the stunning grace that followed: after Manasseh was taken captive to Babylon, he humbled himself, prayed, and was restored to his throne, where he then tried to undo the damage he had caused. His son Amon, however, refused that path of repentance and was assassinated after only two years, leaving the throne to the eight-year-old Josiah.
Introduction
Now we turn to 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35, where the young king Josiah seeks the Lord, rediscovers the long-lost Book of the Law, and leads Judah in sweeping reforms and a Passover unlike any since the days of Samuel.
Scripture NKJV
II Kings 22
Josiah Reigns in Judah
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
3 Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the house of the Lord, saying: 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. 5 And let them deliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the Lord; let them give it to those who are in the house of the Lord doing the work, to repair the damages of the house— 6 to carpenters and builders and masons—and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house. 7 However there need be no accounting made with them of the money delivered into their hand, because they deal faithfully.”
8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 So Shaphan the scribe went to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “Your servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of those who do the work, who oversee the house of the Lord.” 10 Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
11 Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 12 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Achbor the son of Michaiah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.”
14 So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke with her. 15 Then she said to them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 16 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants—all the words of the book which the king of Judah has read— 17 because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath shall be aroused against this place and shall not be quenched.’ ” ’ 18 But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— 19 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord. 20 “Surely, therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.
II Kings 23
Josiah Restores True Worship
1 Now the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 2 The king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord.
3 Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven; and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven. 6 And he brought out the wooden image from the house of the Lord, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to ashes, and threw its ashes on the graves of the common people. 7 Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image. 8 And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; also he broke down the high places at the gates which were at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were to the left of the city gate. 9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren.
10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech. 11 Then he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 The altars that were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron. 13 Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the people of Ammon. 14 And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images, and filled their places with the bones of men.
15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image. 16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that were there on the mountain. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. 17 Then he said, “What gravestone is this that I see?”
So the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.”
18 And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.
19 Now Josiah also took away all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger; and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel. 20 He executed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned men’s bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.
21 Then the king commanded all the people, saying, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 Such a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the Lord in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.
Impending Judgment on Judah
26 Nevertheless the Lord did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath, with which His anger was aroused against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him. 27 And the Lord said, “I will also remove Judah from My sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’ ”
Josiah Dies in Battle
28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 29 In his days Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt went to the aid of the king of Assyria, to the River Euphrates; and King Josiah went against him. And Pharaoh Necho killed him at Megiddo when he confronted him. 30 Then his servants moved his body in a chariot from Megiddo, brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, anointed him, and made him king in his father’s place.
The Reign and Captivity of Jehoahaz
31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 Now Pharaoh Necho put him in prison at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem; and he imposed on the land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 34 Then Pharaoh Necho made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in place of his father Josiah, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. And Pharaoh took Jehoahaz and went to Egypt, and he died there.
Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah
35 So Jehoiakim gave the silver and gold to Pharaoh; but he taxed the land to give money according to the command of Pharaoh; he exacted the silver and gold from the people of the land, from every one according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Necho. 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebudah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.
II Chronicles 34
Josiah Reigns in Judah
1 Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images. 4 They broke down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and the incense altars which were above them he cut down; and the wooden images, the carved images, and the molded images he broke in pieces, and made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And so he did in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, as far as Naphtali and all around, with axes. 7 When he had broken down the altars and the wooden images, had beaten the carved images into powder, and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law
8 In the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God. 9 When they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites who kept the doors had gathered from the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, from all the remnant of Israel, from all Judah and Benjamin, and which they had brought back to Jerusalem. 10 Then they put it in the hand of the foremen who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they gave it to the workmen who worked in the house of the Lord, to repair and restore the house. 11 They gave it to the craftsmen and builders to buy hewn stone and timber for beams, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. 12 And the men did the work faithfully. Their overseers were Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to supervise. Others of the Levites, all of whom were skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over the burden bearers and were overseers of all who did work in any kind of service. And some of the Levites were scribes, officers, and gatekeepers.
14 Now when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 16 So Shaphan carried the book to the king, bringing the king word, saying, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 17 And they have gathered the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king.
19 Thus it happened, when the king heard the words of the Law, that he tore his clothes. 20 Then the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for those who are left in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do according to all that is written in this book.”
22 So Hilkiah and those the king had appointed went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe. (She dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter.) And they spoke to her to that effect.
23 Then she answered them, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Tell the man who sent you to Me, 24 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will bring calamity on this place and on its inhabitants, all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah, 25 because they have forsaken Me and burned incense to other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands. Therefore My wrath will be poured out on this place, and not be quenched.’ ” ’ 26 But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Concerning the words which you have heard— 27 because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and you humbled yourself before Me, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you,” says the Lord. 28 “Surely I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; and your eyes shall not see all the calamity which I will bring on this place and its inhabitants.” ’ ” So they brought back word to the king.
Josiah Restores True Worship
29 Then the king sent and gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. 30 The king went up to the house of the Lord, with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—the priests and the Levites, and all the people, great and small. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord. 31 Then the king stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. 32 And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. 33 Thus Josiah removed all the abominations from all the country that belonged to the children of Israel, and made all who were present in Israel diligently serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers.
II Chronicles 35
Josiah Keeps the Passover
1 Now Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 And he set the priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service of the house of the Lord. 3 Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord: “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves according to your fathers’ houses, according to your divisions, following the written instruction of David king of Israel and the written instruction of Solomon his son. 5 And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites. 6 So slaughter the Passover offerings, consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.”
7 Then Josiah gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s possessions. 8 And his leaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle. 9 Also Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle.
10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their places, and the Levites in their divisions, according to the king’s command. 11 And they slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests sprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle. 13 Also they roasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people. 14 Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15 And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.
16 So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. 17 And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.
Josiah Dies in Battle
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. 21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.” 22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.
23 And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.” 24 His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
25 Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah. And to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments.
26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the Lord, 27 and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
What it all means
Explanation of 2 Kings Chapter 22
2 Kings 22 introduces the reign of King Josiah and centers on one of the most pivotal moments in Judah’s history: the rediscovery of the Book of the Law.
Verses 1–2: Josiah’s Character
Josiah became king at eight years old and reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. Scripture’s summary of his life is simple and powerful: “He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.” Unlike his father Amon and grandfather Manasseh, Josiah’s heart was set on obedience from the beginning.
Verses 3–7: Repairing the Temple
In the eighteenth year of his reign (when Josiah was about twenty-six), he ordered the repair of the temple. Money that had been collected from the people was given to the workmen. The text notes that the workers were so trustworthy that no accounting was required of them. This quiet detail shows both the spiritual hunger already stirring in Judah and the integrity God was raising up around the young king.
Verses 8–10: The Book Is Found
While the temple was being repaired, Hilkiah the high priest discovered “the Book of the Law.” Most scholars believe this was either the entire Torah or at least the book of Deuteronomy. Hilkiah gave it to Shaphan the scribe, who read it and then brought it to the king, reading it aloud before him.
The Book had been lost—ignored and buried inside the very house of God for decades during the idolatrous reigns of Manasseh and Amon.
Verses 11–13: Josiah’s Response
When Josiah heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes—a sign of deep grief and repentance. He immediately recognized the gap between God’s commands and Judah’s practice. He understood that the nation’s long disobedience had provoked the Lord’s anger. His first action was not public reform but personal brokenness and a desperate desire to know the Lord’s will. He sent a delegation to “inquire of the Lord” concerning the words of the book.
Verses 14–20: Huldah’s Prophecy
The officials went to Huldah the prophetess. Her message had two parts:
Judgment is certain. Because the people had forsaken the Lord and burned incense to other gods, disaster was coming upon Jerusalem and its people—exactly as written in the Book.
Mercy for Josiah. Because the king’s heart was tender, he humbled himself, tore his clothes, and wept before the Lord, God promised that the judgment would not fall during his lifetime. Josiah would die in peace.
Key Themes
God’s Word still has power even after long neglect.
True revival begins with a soft, responsive heart.
Personal humility before God precedes national reform.
God honors genuine repentance even when the larger consequences of sin remain.
Chapter 22 ends with the Word rediscovered and the king’s heart broken. Chapter 23 will show what that brokenness produces: sweeping reform and a Passover celebration unlike any in generations.
Explanation of 2 Kings Chapter 23
2 Kings 23 records the sweeping reforms that followed Josiah’s discovery of the Book of the Law and the nation’s covenant renewal. It is one of the most thorough accounts of spiritual cleansing in the Old Testament—yet it also ends with a sober reminder that even the greatest reform cannot erase the consequences of long-standing national sin.
Verses 1–3: Covenant Renewal
Josiah gathered all the elders, priests, prophets, and people of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple. He read the entire Book of the Covenant aloud to them. Then the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord “to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments… with all his heart and all his soul.” All the people joined in the covenant. The rediscovered Word moved from private conviction to public commitment.
Verses 4–14: Cleansing Judah and Jerusalem
Josiah ordered a complete purge of idolatry:
He removed and burned the vessels made for Baal, Asherah, and the host of heaven.
He deposed the idolatrous priests.
He brought the Asherah pole out of the temple, burned it, and beat it to dust.
He tore down the houses of the male cult prostitutes inside the temple courts.
He defiled the high places throughout Judah, including Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom (where children had been sacrificed to Molech).
He removed the horses dedicated to the sun and burned the sun chariots.
He pulled down the altars Manasseh had built in the temple courts and the high places Solomon had built for foreign gods on the Mount of Olives.
Every visible trace of false worship in and around Jerusalem was destroyed.
Verses 15–20: Reform Reaches the Northern Territory
Josiah traveled north into the former kingdom of Israel and destroyed the altar at Bethel—the very altar Jeroboam had set up centuries earlier. This fulfilled the prophecy spoken by the man of God in 1 Kings 13. He burned human bones on the altar to defile it permanently and cleared the high places throughout Samaria, killing the remaining idolatrous priests.
Verses 21–23: The Great Passover
Josiah commanded the people to keep the Passover “as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” The text states that no Passover like it had been kept since the days of the judges (or the days of Samuel). The rediscovered Word restored not only purity of worship but the joyful remembrance of God’s redemption.
Verses 24–25: Complete Obedience
Josiah also removed mediums, necromancers, household gods, and idols. Scripture’s final assessment is striking: “Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.”
Verses 26–27: Judgment Still Stands
Despite Josiah’s wholehearted reforms, the Lord’s fierce anger was not turned away. Because of the accumulated sins of Manasseh, God still determined to remove Judah from His presence. Reformation, even the best of it, cannot cancel the consequences of persistent national rebellion.
Verses 28–30: Josiah’s Death
Josiah went out to confront Pharaoh Neco of Egypt at Megiddo and was killed in battle. His servants brought his body back to Jerusalem for burial. The godly king who had brought such renewal died relatively young, and the downward spiral of Judah resumed almost immediately.
Verses 31–37: The Next Kings
Jehoahaz (Shallum) reigned only three months before Pharaoh Neco removed him and placed Jehoiakim on the throne. Jehoiakim did evil in the sight of the Lord, and the nation continued its slide toward exile.
Key Themes
True reform is thorough—it confronts both public and private idolatry.
God’s Word, when taken seriously, produces both repentance and joyful obedience.
Even the most sincere national revival cannot erase the long-term consequences of unrepented sin.
A single generation of wholehearted obedience is precious, yet it does not guarantee the faithfulness of the next.
Chapter 23 shows us both the beauty of a heart fully turned toward God and the sobering reality that judgment delayed is not judgment canceled.
Explore the Book of the Law (Found in 2 Kings 22:8 and 2 Chronicles 34:14–15)
When Hilkiah the high priest found “the Book of the Law” in the temple, he recovered far more than an old scroll. He recovered the living voice of God that had been silenced in Judah for decades.
What Was the Book of the Law?
Scripture simply calls it “the Book of the Law” (2 Kings 22:8) and, more fully, “the Book of the Law of the Lord given through Moses” (2 Chronicles 34:14). Most careful readers understand this to be the Torah—the Law of Moses—or at least a major portion of it, especially the book of Deuteronomy.
The reforms Josiah immediately enacted match the concerns of Deuteronomy almost point for point:
Centralized worship at the place God chose (Deuteronomy 12)
The destruction of high places and pagan altars
The proper celebration of Passover (Deuteronomy 16)
Warnings against child sacrifice, mediums, and foreign gods
The call to love the Lord with all one’s heart, soul, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5)—the very language used to describe Josiah in 2 Kings 23:25
Whether the scroll contained the entire Pentateuch or primarily Deuteronomy, it was the authoritative Word God had given through Moses, long neglected and nearly forgotten.
Why Had It Been Lost?
During the long, dark reigns of Manasseh and Amon, the temple itself had become a center of idolatry. Baal and Asherah symbols stood inside the house of the Lord. In that spiritual climate, the Book of the Law was not destroyed by enemies—it was simply ignored, set aside, and eventually buried under the rubble of neglect. God’s Word can be lost even inside God’s house when the people stop valuing it.
What Did the Book Contain That Shocked Josiah?
When the words were read aloud, Josiah tore his clothes. The Book confronted the nation with:
Clear commands they had broken
Covenant curses for disobedience (especially those in Deuteronomy 28)
The absolute demand for exclusive loyalty to the Lord
The call to wholehearted love and obedience
Josiah suddenly saw the vast distance between God’s standard and Judah’s actual life. The Book did not merely inform him—it judged him and the nation.
The Power of a Rediscovered Word
The discovery of the Book of the Law shows us several lasting truths:
God’s Word retains its authority even after long neglect. It does not lose power because people ignore it.
True reform begins when the Word is heard and taken seriously. Josiah’s reforms did not start with a political strategy; they started with a broken heart before Scripture.
The Word exposes and heals. It revealed sin, called for repentance, and then guided the practical steps of cleansing and restoration.
A soft heart is the proper response. God particularly noted that Josiah’s heart was tender and that he humbled himself when he heard the words.
For Reflection
The Book of the Law was not new in Josiah’s day—it was newly heard. The same can happen with us. Portions of Scripture we have owned for years can suddenly pierce us when the Holy Spirit makes them alive again.
Ask yourself: Is there any part of God’s Word I have allowed to become familiar but powerless? Where might the Lord be wanting to “rediscover” His truth in my life right now?
The rediscovery of the Book of the Law turned a young king’s private grief into a nationwide movement of repentance and renewal. That same Word is still living and active today.
Explanation of 2 Chronicles Chapter 34
2 Chronicles 34 gives the parallel account of King Josiah’s reign, with special attention to his early spiritual hunger, the rediscovery of the Book of the Law, and the covenant renewal that followed. While 2 Kings focuses more on the intensity of the later reforms, Chronicles highlights the longer process of Josiah’s heart turning toward God.
Verses 1–2: Josiah’s Character
Josiah became king at eight years old and reigned thirty-one years. The chronicler’s summary is almost identical to Kings: he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, walked in the ways of David his father, and did not turn aside to the right or to the left. From the beginning, Scripture presents him as a king whose life was marked by steady obedience.
Verses 3–7: Early Seeking and Early Reforms
Chronicles uniquely records that Josiah’s spiritual turning began years before the Book of the Law was found:
In the eighth year of his reign (when he was sixteen), he “began to seek the God of David his father.”
In the twelfth year (when he was twenty), he began a systematic purge of high places, Asherim, carved images, and metal idols throughout Judah and Jerusalem.
He extended these reforms into the former northern territories—Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali—tearing down altars, crushing idols, and scattering the dust of the images over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.
These early actions show that God was already at work in Josiah’s heart long before the dramatic discovery in the temple.
Verses 8–13: Repairing the Temple
In the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah ordered the repair of the house of the Lord. The money collected was faithfully used by the workmen. Levites skilled in music and oversight supervised the project. The chronicler emphasizes order, integrity, and the proper role of the Levites in the work.
Verses 14–21: The Book Is Found
While the temple was being cleaned and repaired, Hilkiah the priest found “the Book of the Law of the Lord given through Moses.” He gave it to Shaphan the scribe, who read it before the king. When Josiah heard the words, he tore his clothes and immediately sent a delegation to inquire of the Lord, recognizing that the nation’s long disobedience had kindled God’s wrath.
Verses 22–28: Huldah’s Prophecy
The officials went to Huldah the prophetess. Her message was the same as in Kings: disaster was decreed against Judah and Jerusalem because of their idolatry and refusal to listen to God’s words. Yet because Josiah’s heart was tender and he had humbled himself, torn his clothes, and wept before the Lord, the judgment would not fall during his lifetime. He would be gathered to his grave in peace.
Verses 29–33: Covenant Renewal and Ongoing Faithfulness
Josiah gathered all the elders and people of Judah and Jerusalem. He read the Book of the Covenant aloud to them and made a covenant before the Lord to walk after Him and keep His commandments with all his heart and soul. He required all who were present in Israel to stand to the covenant.
Josiah then removed all the abominations from the territories belonging to the people of Israel and made everyone in Israel serve the Lord their God. The chapter closes with a remarkable statement: “All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.”
Key Emphases in Chronicles
Josiah’s personal seeking of God began years before the Book was found.
The reforms started earlier and reached farther north than Kings emphasizes.
The people’s faithfulness lasted throughout Josiah’s lifetime—a note of hope the chronicler is careful to include.
Main Themes
God often begins a work of renewal in a single responsive heart long before public revival is visible.
The rediscovery of God’s Word brings both deep conviction and clear direction.
True covenant renewal involves both the leader and the people standing together under the authority of Scripture.
Even in a time of coming judgment, God notices and honors a tender, obedient heart.
2 Chronicles 34 shows us a king who sought the Lord early, responded to the Word with humility, and led his people into renewed faithfulness for as long as he lived.
Explanation of 2 Chronicles Chapter 35
2 Chronicles 35 focuses on two major events in the final years of Josiah’s life: the great Passover celebration and his tragic death at Megiddo. The chronicler gives far more attention to the Passover than the parallel account in 2 Kings, presenting it as the high point of Josiah’s reforms.
Verses 1–19: The Great Passover
In the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem. This was not a small or hurried observance—it was carefully organized according to the Law of Moses.
Josiah himself provided 30,000 lambs and young goats, plus 3,000 cattle, from his own possessions for the people who were present.
His officials, the leaders of the temple, and the chiefs of the Levites also gave generously.
The priests and Levites were arranged in their proper divisions. The Levites were told to prepare themselves and to help the people according to the instructions given through Moses and David.
The Passover lambs were slaughtered, the blood was handled by the priests, and the burnt offerings were presented exactly as prescribed.
The singers (sons of Asaph) were in their places, as commanded by David, and the gatekeepers remained at their posts.
The chronicler’s evaluation is striking: “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 Josiah kept…” (v. 18).
This Passover was the joyful climax of the rediscovery of the Book of the Law. What began with torn clothes and trembling before God’s Word ended with a nationwide celebration of redemption carried out with care, generosity, and obedience.
Verses 20–24: Josiah’s Death at Megiddo
After all these acts of faithfulness, Josiah went out to confront Pharaoh Neco of Egypt, who was marching toward Carchemish on the Euphrates. Neco sent messengers warning Josiah not to interfere, claiming that God had commanded him to hurry and that opposing him would bring disaster.
Josiah refused to listen. He disguised himself and entered the battle. Archers wounded him severely. His servants took him out of the chariot, placed him in a second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.
Verses 25–27: National Mourning and Legacy
Jeremiah the prophet composed lamentations for Josiah, and these became a regular practice of mourning in Israel. The chronicler notes that the rest of Josiah’s deeds—his good deeds according to what was written in the Law, and his acts from beginning to end—are recorded in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.
Key Themes
Obedience produces joyful worship. The detailed, generous, and orderly Passover shows what happens when God’s Word is taken seriously and applied with care.
Even godly people can make costly mistakes. Josiah’s decision to fight Neco, despite a warning that claimed divine authority, led to his early death. The text does not explain his reasoning, but it honestly records the tragic result.
A faithful life leaves a lasting impact. The depth of national mourning and Jeremiah’s lament show how deeply Josiah’s leadership had touched the people.
Reformation has limits. Even the greatest Passover and the most thorough reforms could not permanently turn the nation back. Judgment was still coming, as Huldah had prophesied.
2 Chronicles 35 leaves us with both a high point of worship and a sobering ending. Josiah’s life reminds us that wholehearted obedience brings great blessing—yet it also warns us that even sincere servants of God must remain careful to listen for the Lord’s direction in every decision.
Explore Josiah’s Religious Reforms (2 Kings 23 & 2 Chronicles 34–35)
Josiah’s reforms stand as one of the most thorough spiritual cleansings in Israel’s history. They were not a partial cleanup or a political adjustment—they were a determined effort to bring the nation back under the authority of God’s Word after decades of deep idolatry.
The Heart Behind the Reforms
The reforms did not begin with a royal strategy. They began with a torn heart. When the Book of the Law was read to Josiah, he recognized how far Judah had fallen. His first response was personal grief and humility. Only then did the public work of reform begin. True change started with the king’s own submission to Scripture.
Chronicles also shows that God had been preparing Josiah earlier. At age sixteen he began seeking the Lord, and by age twenty he had already started removing high places and idols. The discovery of the Book intensified and directed what was already stirring in his heart.
What the Reforms Included
1. Cleansing the Temple Josiah removed every object connected to Baal, Asherah, and the worship of the stars. The Asherah pole that had stood inside the Lord’s house was dragged out, burned, and beaten to dust. He tore down the altars Manasseh had built in the temple courts and destroyed the housing of cult prostitutes that had operated within the sacred precincts.
2. Destroying the High Places He defiled and demolished the high places throughout Judah—from Geba to Beersheba. He even went into the former northern kingdom and tore down the altar at Bethel, fulfilling the prophecy spoken against it nearly 300 years earlier (1 Kings 13). High places that Solomon had built for foreign gods on the Mount of Olives were also destroyed.
3. Ending Detestable Practices
Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom, where children had been sacrificed to Molech, was defiled so no one could ever use it again.
The horses and chariots dedicated to the sun were removed and burned.
Mediums, spiritists, household gods, and idols were swept away.
4. Removing Unfaithful Religious Leaders Idolatrous priests were deposed. Those who had burned incense on the high places were put out of service. Josiah refused to allow spiritual leadership to remain in the hands of those who had led the people astray.
5. Restoring True Worship The climax of the reforms was the great Passover celebrated according to the Book of the Covenant. It was carefully organized, generously supplied, and more complete than any Passover since the days of Samuel. The rediscovered Word did not only tear down false worship—it rebuilt true worship.
6. National Covenant Renewal Josiah gathered the people, read the Book aloud, and led them in renewing the covenant to follow the Lord with all their heart and soul. The reforms were not merely the king’s project; the people stood together under the authority of God’s Word.
The Scope of the Work
Josiah’s reforms reached farther than most earlier attempts. He did not stop at Jerusalem. He pressed into the territories of the old northern kingdom, treating the entire land as under the Lord’s claim. The chronicler notes that throughout Josiah’s lifetime the people did not turn away from following the Lord.
The Limits of the Reforms
Even this remarkable work could not undo the accumulated guilt of Manasseh’s reign. Huldah’s prophecy remained true: judgment was still coming. Reformation, no matter how thorough, cannot cancel the consequences of long-term national rebellion. After Josiah’s death, the nation quickly returned to evil under his sons.
Lasting Lessons
Real reform is driven by the authority of God’s Word, not by human enthusiasm alone.
It must be both personal and public—beginning in the heart and extending to every area of life.
It requires courage to confront entrenched idolatry, even when that idolatry has become culturally accepted.
Even the best reforms in one generation do not guarantee faithfulness in the next. Each generation must respond to God’s Word for itself.
Josiah’s reforms show us what can happen when a leader (and a people) take Scripture seriously enough to tear down whatever stands against it and rebuild worship according to its pattern. The same Word that confronted Judah still confronts us today—and still calls for the same wholehearted response.
Affirmations
2 Kings 22:2 “I will do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. I will walk in the ways of David and will not turn aside to the right or to the left.” This calls me to a steady, undivided obedience. It reminds me that a faithful life is not made of occasional strong moments but of a consistent direction of the heart that refuses to compromise.
2 Chronicles 34:3 “In the days of my youth I will begin to seek the God of David my father.” This shows that seeking God is not limited by age or position. It encourages me to turn toward the Lord now, knowing that early hunger for Him prepares the way for deeper obedience later.
2 Kings 22:11 “When I hear the words of the Book of the Law, I will tear my heart open before the Lord.” This teaches me the right response to Scripture. God’s Word is not meant only to inform me—it is meant to confront and humble me so that real change can begin.
2 Kings 22:19 / 2 Chronicles 34:27 “Because my heart is tender and I humble myself before the Lord, He hears me.” This reveals what God notices most: not my strength or performance, but a soft and responsive heart. Tenderness before Him invites His mercy and attention.
2 Kings 23:3 “I will stand and make a covenant before the Lord to walk after Him and keep His commandments with all my heart and all my soul.” This moves faith from private conviction into public commitment. It calls me to whole-life loyalty—holding nothing back from the Lord.
2 Kings 23:25 “I will turn to the Lord with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my strength, according to all the Law of God.” This defines true devotion. Half-hearted following is not enough. God desires my full affection, my full will, and my full energy given to Him.
2 Chronicles 34:33 “All my days I will not turn away from following the Lord, the God of my fathers.” This points to lifelong faithfulness. It challenges me to keep walking with God not only in moments of strong feeling or public reform, but through every ordinary day that follows.
Closing Summary
Today we walked with King Josiah through one of the most hopeful and sobering chapters in Judah’s history. We saw a young king whose heart was already seeking the Lord begin to tear down the high places. Then, in the eighteenth year of his reign, the long-lost Book of the Law was found in the temple. When its words were read, Josiah tore his clothes in grief and humility. From that brokenness flowed sweeping reforms, the removal of idolatry, the renewal of the covenant, and a Passover celebration greater than any since the days of Samuel. Yet even this remarkable revival could not erase the consequences of Manasseh’s sins. Judgment was still coming. Josiah’s life reminds us that God’s Word still has power to pierce, to humble, and to reform—and that a tender, obedient heart is precious in the Lord’s sight, even in days of national decline.
Thank you for joining this study of the Bible in chronological order. It is a gift to walk through these pages together, letting the stories of real people and a faithful God shape our own hearts. May the same Word that confronted and renewed Josiah continue to do its work in us. I love you.
Special thanks are given to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, for the gift of writing and the privilege of sharing this Bible Study. His guidance and blessings have made this work possible, and it is with a grateful heart that can share my study with you. I hope you find it informational and helpful in your spiritual journey. I am asking that you open your hearts and minds to accept the word of Christ into your hearts and accept His word to transform your life in positive ways. This is the first part of my online Christian Bookstore Fellowship and I do accept donations that will further my mission to have a Bookstore in our community, a place where we can sit down face to face and enjoy this Bible Study over open and honest conversation. I will continue this online Study as well to complete the entire year. Thank you for following The Mustard Seed Christian Bookstore Fellowship & Café online Bible Study.
This Bible study is written with inspiration and wisdom from the Holy Spirit, Scripture from the Holy Bible (NIV), NKJV Life Application Study Bible, analytical support and help in organizing and presentation from Grok AI (which examines multiple sources online) and writing assistance with drafting and editing from Microsoft Co-Pilot.
