The Covenant with the Lord
v1 The king called together all the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem. v2 He went to the Lord’s temple with the priests and the prophets. All the people in Judah and Jerusalem also came. Both the rich people and the poor people came. In front of them all, the king read the entire book that contained the covenant. That was the book that the chief priest had found in the Lord’s temple. v3 The king stood by the royal column and he made a covenant with the Lord. He promised to serve the Lord. He promised to obey all the Lord’s commands, rules, and laws. He promised to obey them with all his heart and soul. He promised to obey the orders that the covenant in the book contained. All the people promised to do that as well.
Commentary
King Josiah read to the people the book that contained the law. They all promised God that they would obey his laws.
The King Gave Orders
v4 The king gave orders to the chief priest Hilkiah and his assistant priests. And there were guards on duty at the entrance. The king gave orders to them also. The king told all those men to remove certain objects from the Lord’s temple. Those were all the objects that people used in order to worship Baal, Asherah (a female god) and the stars. The king burned them near the Kidron valley outside Jerusalem. And he took the ashes to Bethel. v5 He removed the priests that burned incense to false gods. Previous kings of Judah had appointed them to burn incense on the altars that were on the hills in Judah. That included the altars near Jerusalem.
Those were the priests that burned incense to give honor to Baal. They also burned incense to the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars. v6 He took the image of the female god Asherah out of the Lord’s temple. He took it to the Kidron valley outside Jerusalem. He burned it there. And he turned its ashes into dust. He scattered that dust over the public ground where people buried dead people. v7 He destroyed the places in the Lord’s temple where the male prostitutes (people that give their bodies for sex) lived. [Also in those places, women made clothes for the worship of Asherah.]
v8 He brought all the priests from the towns in Judah. He destroyed the places where people worshipped on the hills. He destroyed them from Geba to Beersheba. The priests had burned incense in those places. He broke down the places where people worshipped at the gates. He did so at the gate that Joshua, the city’s ruler, had built. That is on the left side of the city’s main gate. v9 However, the priests from those places did not serve at the Lord’s altar (in the temple) in Jerusalem. But those priests ate the bread without yeast (a substance that makes bread rise) with the other priests.
Commentary
In verses 4-9, the writer uses the word ‘he’ many times. It is not clear from the Hebrew (the original language of this book) whom ‘he’ means there. Maybe it means King Josiah or maybe it means Hilkiah the priest. Or perhaps the king ordered someone else to do those things.
People used various objects to worship the false god called Baal. And they were even worshipping Baal in the Lord’s temple. King Josiah ordered Hilkiah, the other priests, and the guards to remove those things. He (the king or maybe Hilkiah) burned them in the Kidron valley and he took the ashes to Bethel. At Bethel, people first worshipped the bull’s image that the former king, Jeroboam, had made out of gold. But those ashes would make that place unclean. So nobody could use it for worship again. And the priests at the places where people worshipped on the high hills could not continue to do their work. He removed those priests, who had burned incense to Baal, the sun, the moon, and the stars.
In the temple, there had been an image of the female god called Asherah. Josiah burned that image. He scattered its ashes over people’s graves. That act showed that the image of Asherah was unclean. Nobody could worship it. There were men who gave their bodies for sex to worship Baal. This was a very wicked thing to do. So it was very terrible that these men lived at the Lord’s temple. But Josiah would not allow this to continue. He destroyed those men’s homes. He also destroyed the places where women made clothes. People used those clothes when they worshipped Asherah.
Josiah destroyed the places where people worshipped on the hills, all the way from Geba to Beersheba. Geba was in the north and Beersheba was in the south. He brought back to Jerusalem all the priests that had been at the high places. He did not allow them to serve at the altar in Jerusalem. But he allowed them to live with the priests in Jerusalem. And he allowed them to have a share of those priests’ food.
Topheth Is Destroyed
v10 He (probably King Josiah) destroyed Topheth, the place where people worshipped in the valley called Ben Hinnom. So nobody would be able to use it to sacrifice a son or daughter to Molech. v11 He removed the horses. The kings of Judah had used them to worship the sun. He also burned the chariots that people used in that worship. People kept the horses near the entrance to the Lord’s temple. The horses were in the area near the room of Nathan-Melech, an important official.
v12 Josiah pulled down the altars at the palace too. Judah’s kings had built them on the roof above King Ahaz’s room. He also pulled down the altars in the two yards at the Lord’s temple. King Manasseh had built those. King Josiah removed them from there and he broke them in pieces. He threw the pieces into the Kidron valley. v13 The king also destroyed the places where people worshipped near Jerusalem. Those places were east from Jerusalem. They were on the south side of a certain hill. It was called the hill of wicked behavior.
Israel’s king Solomon had built those altars for people to worship false gods. Those were gods that should cause disgust. They included Astarte. Astarte was the female god that the people in Sidon worshipped. And they included Chemosh. Chemosh was the god that the people in Moab worshipped. Those gods also included Molech. Molech was the god that the people in Ammon worshipped. v14 Josiah broke the holy stones and he cut down the images of the female god Asherah. Then he covered the area with human bones.
v15 Josiah even destroyed the altar at Bethel. He destroyed the place where people worshipped there. Nebat’s son Jeroboam, who caused Israel to sin, had made that place and its altar. Josiah burned the place where people worshipped. He turned its ashes into dust. He also burned the image of the female god Asherah. v16 Then Josiah looked round. And he saw the graves on the side of the hill. He removed the bones from them. He burned them on the altar to make it unclean. The prophet had declared the message from God that this would happen. So his prophecy became true.
v17 Then the king asked, ‘Whose grave is this?’
The people from the city replied, ‘It is the grave of the prophet who came from Judah. He prophesied against the altar at Bethel. He said that you would do these things here.’
v18 ‘Leave it alone,’ said Josiah. ‘Do not move his bones.’ So nobody moved his bones. And nobody moved the bones of the prophet that came from Samaria.
v19 In Samaria too, Josiah removed the places where people worshipped on the hills. Israel’s kings had built those places in the towns in Samaria. They had made the Lord angry because of that. Josiah did to those places what he had done in Bethel. v20 He killed on the altars all the priests that led worship on the high hills. He burned human bones on every altar. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
Commentary
In verses 10-11, we are not sure exactly who ‘he’ was. Maybe the king did those things himself or maybe he ordered someone to do them.
In this passage, King Josiah continued to destroy the altars of false religions. He began in Judah, where of course he ruled (verses 10-14). But then he went north of the border into the country which was previously called Israel (verses 15-20). This was after Assyria had destroyed Israel. So Assyria probably ruled Bethel and Samaria. But Josiah still went there to destroy the altars of these religions.
Topheth means the place where people burn something. It was in the valley called Ben Hinnom. That valley is near Jerusalem. King Josiah made Topheth unclean. Then people could not burn their children there as a sacrifice to Molech. Molech was the god that the people in Ammon worshipped. In order to worship him, people burned their children in the fire. Afterwards, Ben Hinnom became a place to bury dead people (Jeremiah 7:32).
In Jerusalem city, Josiah removed horses from the entrance to the temple. They pulled chariots in processions to give honor to the sun. Josiah burned the chariots. People had kept those near Nathan-Melech’s room. At the palace, Josiah burned down altars that Judah’s kings had put on the roof. He also destroyed the altars in the open yards at the temple. Manasseh had put them there. But Josiah broke them in pieces. Then he threw the pieces into the valley called Kidron. So nobody would ever use those altars again.
People had also worshipped on the high hills that were east from Jerusalem. King Josiah made those places unclean also. Solomon (an early king) had built altars there to give honor to the false gods called Astarte, Chemosh, and Molech. He had done that to please his wives (1 Kings 11:5-8). Josiah broke the holy stones and he destroyed the images of Asherah. He scattered human bones over the places so that people would not worship there again.
Then Josiah left the country that he ruled. He went north into the country that had formerly belonged to Israel. The army from Assyria had forced most of Israel’s inhabitants to leave their homes. So most of the people who were now living in Israel were foreigners. Josiah was very bold when he destroyed altars outside his own country. He knew that those altars had been the cause of great sin in Judah as well as Israel. He did everything possible to end those wicked religions.
At Bethel, Josiah destroyed the altar that another previous king, Nebat’s son Jeroboam, had made. Josiah burned the place where people worshipped there. He turned it into dust. He also burned the image of Asherah.
Then Josiah saw the graves where people had buried some priests. Those priests had worshipped idols. Josiah removed the bones from the graves and he burned them on the altar. So the prophet’s message became true (1 Kings 13:1-2).
People still remembered the story about that prophet. It was 300 years since that prophet came to Bethel. Another prophet had given him an impressive grave near the altar that he opposed. And that other prophet’s grave was next to it (1 Kings 13:31). When Josiah saw those graves, he asked about them. And the local inhabitants told him the astonishing story in 1 Kings chapter 13. It would have surprised Josiah to hear about this. Long before Josiah’s birth, God had declared what Josiah would do. And God even mentioned Josiah by name in that ancient *prophecy (1 Kings 13:2).
Of course, when Josiah heard about the prophecy, he did not destroy the graves of either prophet. He respected these holy men who, so long before, had spoken God’s message.
Then Josiah destroyed all the places where people worshipped in Samaria’s towns. Those were the ones that the kings of Israel had built. Josiah killed all the priests that used those altars for worship. Those priests belonged to wicked religions. If Josiah had allowed them to live, they would re-establish their religions. And then the people would continue to follow those religions, which had caused so much trouble.
Long afterwards, Paul explained how such religions cause wicked behavior. First, people refuse to worship the real God. Then they start to worship the images of things that God created. Then people begin to care only about themselves, their emotions, and their desires. So, people prefer to carry on behavior that is very wicked. Their wicked desires control them. And in the end, they love to do every wicked thing (Romans 1:21-31). The religion in Judah and Israel had become this most wicked sort of religion. Josiah had to act in a powerful manner to stop it.
But although Josiah killed the priests in verse 20, he did not kill the ones in verse 9. That is because the priests in verse 9 worshipped the real God. They did not worship at the correct place, however. They worshipped on the hills, instead of at the temple in Jerusalem. Josiah did not allow them to continue to worship on the hills. But they were from Levi’s tribe, like the priests in the temple. And Josiah allowed them to eat the sacred food with the other priests.
v21 Then Josiah ordered all the people: ‘Celebrate the Passover in order to give honor to the Lord, your God. Follow the instructions in this book that contains the covenant.’
v22 There had been no similar Passover since the time when the judges led the nation. No kings of Judah or Israel had celebrated a Passover like it. v23 The people celebrated the Passover to give honor to the Lord in Jerusalem. That was in the 18th year of Josiah’s rule.
Commentary
Many centuries earlier, when Moses was the Jews’ leader, they were slaves in Egypt. But God freed them by his great power. The Passover was a special *festival in which they celebrated those events. The Jews cooked a lamb (young sheep) over a fire, without water. Then they ate the meat from it and they ate plants with a bitter taste. They also ate bread without yeast. (Yeast is a substance that makes bread rise.)
The way in which Josiah celebrated the Passover was a special one. Very many people came to Jerusalem and they celebrated the Passover together. They obeyed the laws of the festival completely. (Look at Deuteronomy 16:1-8.)
Then came the festival of bread without yeast (a substance that makes bread rise). That started immediately on the next day after the Passover. It lasted for seven days. During all that time, the people ate bread without yeast. It reminded them that they had to leave Egypt quickly. They had to leave so quickly that their bread had no time to rise.
Paul explained the meaning of these festivals in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. ‘God has offered Christ as a sacrifice for us. So Christ is like the lamb (young sheep) for our Passover. Let us celebrate the festival.’ Paul was explaining that Christians should always behave in a holy way. Even as Jews should not use yeast during the Passover, Christians should not carry on any wicked behavior. (Yeast is the substance that makes bread rise. But Paul used it as a word picture for sin). Christians should please God at all times, not just during the Passover. So Christians should give their entire lives to God.
Josiah's Good Deeds
v24 Josiah removed the people that practiced magic. He also removed the people who tried to contact dead people. He removed the images of gods that people kept in their homes. Josiah also removed the idols in Judah and Jerusalem. And he removed all the other things there that caused disgust. He did that to obey the law in the book. Hilkiah the priest had found that book in the Lord’s temple. v25 No other king before Josiah served the Lord as he did. Nor did any other king after him. He served the Lord with all his heart, soul, and strength. Josiah obeyed all the law that God gave to Moses.
v26 But the Lord did not stop his fierce anger towards the people in Judah. God was so angry because Manasseh had done very many evil things. v27 So the Lord said this: ‘I will do to Judah as I did to Israel. I will force the people to leave Judah, even as I forced the people to leave Israel. I will refuse to accept Jerusalem, the city that I chose. I will also refuse to accept the temple, although I said about it: “I will be present there.” ’
v28 You can read about the other events during Josiah’s rule. And you can read about all the other things that he did. They are in the book that contains the history of Judah’s kings.
v29 While Josiah was king, Pharaoh [Egypt’s king] Neco went to the Euphrates river. He did so to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah went to fight against Neco. Neco killed him in a battle at Megiddo. v30 Josiah’s servants brought his body in a chariot from Megiddo to Jerusalem. They buried him in his own grave. Then the people in Judah chose Jehoahaz, son of Josiah. They *anointed Jehoahaz. They made him king after his father.
Commentary
There were some people in Judah who tried to contact dead people. And there were some people who used magic. God’s law does not allow those practices (Deuteronomy 18:10-11), so Josiah opposed them. He would not allow those people to continue to live in Judah. Josiah also removed idols that people kept in their homes. He tried to obey completely the laws in the book that Hilkiah had found. No king before Josiah obeyed the Lord completely as he did. Nor did anyone that became king after him. Josiah served the Lord with all his heart, mind, and strength. But God was still angry. He only postponed his punishment because of what Josiah had done.
Soon after Josiah’s death, the people would start to do the same sins again. God intended to take the people in Judah and Jerusalem away from their country. He would do it as a punishment. He had already done that with Israel.
Jeremiah started his work as a prophet during Josiah’s rule. Like Huldah (2 Kings 22:15-17), Jeremiah always insisted that God’s punishment against Judah would definitely happen. Jeremiah would be pleased to see the good laws that Josiah made in Judah (Jeremiah 22:15-16). But Jeremiah would know that those changes would only have a temporary effect. It was true that Josiah served God with all his heart, soul, and strength. But it seems that the inhabitants of Judah did not have the same, sincere attitudes (Jeremiah 3:10).
Soon after Josiah’s death, they would start their wicked behavior again. By means of Jeremiah, God says this: ‘Find one honest person, who speaks the truth. If there is even one such person, I will forgive the people in the city.’ (Jeremiah 5:1). Even the best laws cannot change people’s attitudes. Even the best king cannot change the secret desires of people’s hearts.
The story about Josiah ends with his death. He died in battle. He was afraid that perhaps an army from Egypt might attack Judah. So Josiah went to fight against the king of Egypt. But the king of Egypt urged Josiah not to fight. Egypt’s king said that God had told him to warn Josiah about that. But Josiah would not listen to the message that God gave to Egypt’s king (2 Chronicles 35:20-22). So Josiah started a battle. And in that battle, Josiah died. A disaster would happen in Judah. But Josiah did not see it, because he had already died.
Jehoahaz’s Rule as King of Judah
v31 Jehoahaz was 23 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 3 months. His mother was Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah. She was from Libnah. v32 Jehoahaz sinned against the Lord, as his ancestors had done. v33 Pharaoh (Egypt’s king) Neco put him in chains at Riblah. That was in the region called Hamath. So then Jehoahaz did not rule in Jerusalem. Neco made the people in *Judah pay a tax. The tax was three and a half tons of silver and 75 pounds (about 34 kilos) of gold.
v34 Pharaoh Neco made Josiah’s son Eliakim king after his father Josiah. Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Neco took Jehoahaz to Egypt and Jehoahaz died there. v35 Jehoiakim gave to Pharaoh Neco the silver and gold that he demanded. Jehoiakim taxed the people in proportion to their wealth. So he took the silver and gold from them.
The people chose Jehoahaz, Josiah’s youngest son, as king. (Jehoahaz’s grandfather was not Jeremiah the prophet. Jeremiah the prophet was from Anathoth. He was not from Libnah. And he was not married – Jeremiah 16:2.) The people thought that Jehoahaz would oppose the king of Egypt. His older brother would not do that. But the Pharaoh (Egypt’s king) Neco captured Jehoahaz. Neco demanded that the people in Judah should pay large amounts of tax. Jehoahaz died in Egypt. Ezekiel wrote a sad song about him (Ezekiel 19:1-4)
Commentary
Then Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim king of Judah. Eliakim was Josiah’s older son. Pharaoh Neco changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Perhaps Neco did that to show that he had power over Judah’s king. So Jehoiakim had to make the people pay those large amounts of tax. He ruled for 11 years and he sinned against the Lord.
Jehoiakim’s Rule as King of Judah
v36 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother’s name was Zebidah, daughter of Pedaiah. She was from Rumah. v37 Jehoiakim sinned against the Lord, as his ancestors had done.
Jehoiakim was among the worst kings of Judah. Jeremiah 22:13-14 seems to describe a large, expensive palace that he built. But he dealt with his builders as if they were slaves. He forced them to work without pay. He also killed the prophet Uriah, who had prophesied against him (Jeremiah 26:20-23).
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