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Texts -- 2 Chronicles 35:1-24 (NET)

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Josiah Observes the Passover
35:1 Josiah observed a Passover festival for the Lord in Jerusalem . They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month . 35:2 He appointed the priests to fulfill their duties and encouraged them to carry out their service in the Lord’s temple . 35:3 He told the Levites , who instructed all Israel about things consecrated to the Lord , “Place the holy ark in the temple which King Solomon son of David of Israel built . Don’t carry it on your shoulders . Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel ! 35:4 Prepare yourselves by your families according to your divisions , as instructed by King David of Israel and his son Solomon . 35:5 Stand in the sanctuary and, together with the Levites , represent the family divisions of your countrymen . 35:6 Slaughter the Passover lambs , consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your countrymen to do what the Lord commanded through Moses .” 35:7 From his own royal flocks and herds, Josiah supplied the people with 30,000 lambs and goats for the Passover sacrifice , as well as 3,000 cattle . 35:8 His officials also willingly contributed to the people , priests , and Levites . Hilkiah , Zechariah , and Jehiel , the leaders of God’s temple , supplied 2,600 Passover sacrifices and 300 cattle . 35:9 Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel , along with Hashabiah , Jeiel , and Jozabad , the officials of the Levites , supplied the Levites with 5,000 Passover sacrifices and 500 cattle . 35:10 Preparations were made , and the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions as prescribed by the king . 35:11 They slaughtered the Passover lambs and the priests splashed the blood, while the Levites skinned the animals. 35:12 They reserved the burnt offerings and the cattle for the family divisions of the people to present to the Lord , as prescribed in the scroll of Moses . 35:13 They cooked the Passover sacrifices over the open fire as prescribed and cooked the consecrated offerings in pots , kettles , and pans . They quickly served them to all the people . 35:14 Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests , because the priests , the descendants of Aaron , were offering burnt sacrifices and fat portions until evening . The Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests , the descendants of Aaron . 35:15 The musicians , the descendants of Asaph , manned their posts , as prescribed by David , Asaph , Heman , and Jeduthun the king’s prophet . The guards at the various gates did not need to leave their posts , for their fellow Levites made preparations for them. 35:16 So all the preparations for the Lord’s service were made that day , as the Passover was observed and the burnt sacrifices were offered on the altar of the Lord , as prescribed by King Josiah . 35:17 So the Israelites who were present observed the Passover at that time , as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days . 35:18 A Passover like this had not been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet . None of the kings of Israel had observed a Passover like the one celebrated by Josiah , the priests , the Levites , all the people of Judah and Israel who were there , and the residents of Jerusalem . 35:19 This Passover was observed in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign .
Josiah’s Reign Ends
35:20 After Josiah had done all this for the temple , King Necho of Egypt marched up to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River. Josiah marched out to oppose him. 35:21 Necho sent messengers to him, saying , “Why are you opposing me, O king of Judah ? I am not attacking you today , but the kingdom with which I am at war . God told me to hurry . Stop opposing God , who is with me, or else he will destroy you.” 35:22 But Josiah did not turn back from him; he disguised himself for battle . He did not take seriously the words of Necho which he had received from God ; he went to fight him in the Plain of Megiddo . 35:23 Archers shot King Josiah ; the king ordered his servants , “Take me out of this chariot, for I am seriously wounded .” 35:24 So his servants took him out of the chariot , put him in another chariot that he owned, and brought him to Jerusalem , where he died . He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors ; all the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned Josiah .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The point of connection of this section with what precedes is the sacrificial meals. Moses repeated here the instructions regarding those important feasts that included sacrificial meals that the people would eat at the taber...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • The king seems to have preferred Babylon to Assyria. When Egyptian armies moved up the Mediterranean coast to join Assyria in resisting Babylonian advance westward, Josiah intercepted Pharaoh Neco II (619-595 B.C.) at Mediggo...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. "An Interpretation of the Babylonian Exile: A Study of 2 Kings 20, Isaiah 38-39."Scottish Journal of Theology27:3:(August 1974):329-52.Albright, William F. The Archaeology of Palestine. 1949. Revised ed. Pel...
  • Even though 1 and 2 Chronicles give one continuous story the emphasis in 2 Chronicles is different from that in 1 Chronicles. In 1 Chronicles the emphasis is the importance of the temple in national life. However in 2 Chronic...
  • (Continued from notes on 1 Chronicles)III. The reign of Solomon chs. 1-9A. Solomon's wisdom and prosperity ch. 1B. The building of the temple 2:1-5:11. Preparations for building the temple ch. 22. The temple proper 3:1-93. Th...
  • "Following the restoration of the temple and its services in ch. 29, the emphasis now falls heavily upon Hezekiah's strenuous efforts to reunite in worship the hitherto separated peoples of the north and south."80Hezekiah wan...
  • As Hezekiah had done, Josiah led his people in observing the Passover, that greatest feast of Israel that commemorated her redemption from Egyptian slavery. Josiah's Passover was even greater than Hezekiah's that Hezekiah had...
  • Josiah died at Megiddo in 609 B.C. when he interrupted Pharaoh Neco's military advance against the Babylonians."Fearing the advance of the Babylonians, Pharaoh Neco and the Egyptian army were on their way to assist the Assyri...
  • Ackroyd, Peter R. I and II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah. London: SCM Press, 1973.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed., New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William F. The...
  • The texts of the individual psalms do not usually indicate who wrote them.1However some of the titles of the individual psalms do contain information about the writers.2This is the only really reliable information we have as ...
  • The biblical records of the times in which Jeremiah ministered are 2 Kings 21-25 and 2 Chronicles 33-36. His contemporary prophets were Zephaniah and Habakkuk before the Exile, and Ezekiel and Daniel after it began.King Manas...
  • 36:27-28 The Lord commanded Jeremiah to make another copy of the scroll that the king had burned (cf. 2 Kings 22:15-20).36:29 He was also to send a message from the Lord to the king. Jehoiakim had burned the first scroll beca...
  • In this pericope Micah responded to God's goodness, just reviewed, as the Israelites should have responded. His was the reasonable response in view of Yahweh's loyal love for His people (cf. Rom. 12:1-2).6:6 The prophet, for ...
  • The focus now changes from physical to spiritual deliverance (cf. Deut. 30:1-10).12:10 The Lord also promised to pour out on the Davidic rulers and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, representing all the Israelites, a spirit of re...
  • John's revelation continued to unfold future events as God revealed these to him in his vision. The scene John saw next was in heaven. The seventh trumpet judgment did not begin immediately (cf. 8:1-5), but John received info...
  • The final three bowl judgments all have political consequences.16:12 The problem that this judgment poses for earth-dwellers is not a result of the judgment itself but its consequences, namely, war. It does not inflict a plag...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • It took place on the fourteenth day of the first month, and probably, therefore, very soon after the dedication. They kept the feast, for the priests and Levites were purified together.' The zeal of the sacerdotal class in at...
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