CELEBRATION OF THE PASSOVER

Passage: 2 Kings 23:21-30

Key verse: 25

NIV

21 The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover(A) to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.”(B) 22 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. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.(C)

24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists,(D) the household gods,(E) the idols and all the other detestable(F) 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. 25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned(G) 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.(H)

26 Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger,(I) which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh(J) had done to arouse his anger. 27 So the Lord said, “I will remove(K) Judah also from my presence(L) as I removed Israel, and I will reject(M) Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, ‘My Name shall be there.’[a]”

28 As for the other events of Josiah’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?

29 While Josiah was king, Pharaoh Necho(N) 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.(O) 30 Josiah’s servants brought his body in a chariot(P) from Megiddo to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in place of his father.

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Footnotes
  1. 2 Kings 23:27 1 Kings 8:29
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Josiah Restores the Passover

21 And the king commanded all the people, (A)“Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, (B)as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 (C)For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.

24 Moreover, Josiah put away (D)the mediums and the necromancers and (E)the household gods and (F)the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish (G)the words of the law that were written in the book (H)that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 (I)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.

26 Still the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, (J)because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the Lord said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, (K)as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, (L)and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.”

Josiah's Death 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 (M)In his days (N)Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at (O)Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30 (P)And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from (Q)Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. (R)And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway

King Josiah’s spiritual reformation continued to rid the nation of idolatrous practices. It was to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that had been discovered in the temple of the Lord (v. 24).

Not only did Josiah express his and his nation’s repentance by ridding the land of idolatrous practices, he also expressed his faith in God’s sovereign purpose for the nation by celebrating the Passover (Dt 16:1), which commemorated God’s deliverance of Israel from its slavery in Egypt. When the nation was in turmoil and foreign invasion was at the threshold, they needed a sense of God’s history, remembering what God had done for the nation in the past.

King Josiah turned to the LORD with all his heart, soul, and strength through repentance and faith. It was in accordance with all the Law of Moses (v.25).

His efforts for spiritual reformation could not turn the whole nation away from the looming disaster and judgment of God, and yet at least he himself did not see it happen during his life time (v. 26-30). God disciplined His people according to His sovereign purpose.

Prayer: Father, I and my people have committed the sin of idolatry, loving things of this world more than you. Forgive us our sins and help us put our trust in your love and sovereign purpose for us. Amen.

One Word: Repent and believe in the LORD