This week, we shall finish the study
of 2 Chronicles of the Old Testament.
33:14-20—After Manasseh’s Repentance
(1) See if you can recall what his most humiliating part of God’s discipline in the hands of the Assyrians was? (33:11)
(2) After his return to Jerusalem, what did he do to ensure the safety of the City of David? (v. 14) Was it a right move on his part? Why or why not?
(3) How did he show that he now “knew that the Lord is God”? (vv. 13, 15-16)
(4) Did his repentance have any effect on his people? Why or why not? (v. 17)
(5) What lesson(s) can you learn from the life of Manasseh?
33:21-25—King Amon of Judah
(6) Did the repentance of Manasseh have any effect on his son? Why or why not?
(7) What does the Bible point out as the difference between Amon and Manasseh? (v. 23)
(8) What does this comment imply?
(9) As much as Amon was a very wicked king, should his officials kill him? (v. 24) Why or why not?
(10) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“But unlike his father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord; Amon increased his guilt.” (2 Chr. 33:23)
We have learned that as great as the sins of Manasseh were, once he humbled himself and repented, he was totally forgiven. His repentance even had a profound effect on the people as “he told Judah to serve the Lord” (33:16), and it appeared that the people had followed the example of Manasseh and gotten rid of all idols. The only practice which was not according to the Law of Moses was the presentation of sacrifices at the high places which the Bible is quick to say that those sacrifices were “only to the Lord their God”, meaning they had truly returned to the Lord as “their God” (33:17).
Manasseh was then succeeded by his young son of 22 who did evil just as his father Manasseh had done before his repentance, the extent of which could be seen in this comment by the Chronicler, “Amon increased his guilt” (33:23). However, while pointing out the sins of Amon, the Chronicler adds, “But unlike is father Manasseh, he did not humble himself before the Lord” which fully reveals the heart of the Lord. As much as it obviously grieved the Lord to see him follow the evil footsteps of his father and presumably did far more wickedness than him, the Lord was still waiting for his repentance. Should he repent and humble himself before the Lord like his father, he would also receive complete forgiveness like his father did. This is how merciful and loving our God is—He is a God of the “second chance”.
(1) Josiah became the king of Judah at the age of 8, while Amon died at age 24 (see 33: 21):
a. How old was Amon when Josiah was born?
b. How old was his grandfather Manasseh? (Manasseh died at age 67; see 33:1)
c. Without reading the life of Josiah, what kind of a king would Josiah likely turn out to be? Why?
d. What kind of a king did he turn out to be? (v. 2)
(2) In the 8th year of Josiah’s reign, i.e. when he was 16 (v. 3):
a. We have no idea who was really in charge of the nation between his ages of 8-15, but when he turned 16, what made that year the decisive turning point of his life and that of the nation?
b. What might have accounted for this turning point in his life?
(3) In the 12th year of Josiah’s reign, i.e. he was 20 (vv. 4-7):
a. How long had he been seeking God?
b. What impact did his seeking God have on him?
c. How complete was his reform?
d. How did he desecrate those altars of the idols? Why? (v. 5)
e. How far reaching was his reform? (v. 6)
f. Did he simply give orders and send officials to these towns outside of Judah to tear down and crush all those idols? (v. 7)
g. What does this tell us about the heart of Josiah?
(4) In the 18th year of Josiah’s reign, i.e. he was 26 (vv. 8-13):
a. How long was the period between the getting rid of idol worship in the land and the repairing of the temple of the Lord? (v. 8)
b. What does this reveal about what appeared to be more urgent to Josiah?
c. Was he right? Why or why not?
d. What did Josiah’s reform mean to the coffer of the temple? (v. 9)
e. In a way, Josiah could have used his own money to contribute to the repairs of the temple. By waiting for some 6 years (then turning the people from idol worship back to the Lord), whose money was used to repair the temple? How meaningful was it? (vv. 10-13)
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the LORD his God.” (2 Chr. 34:8)
I have found the more precise chronological account of Josiah’s reform in 2 Chronicles very helpful in that, unlike the account in 2 Kings, it gives a stage-by-stage account of the reform. In others words, it shows us that such a spiritual revival was a process, not something that happened overnight. In particular, I am impressed with how Josiah chose to go ahead and get rid of all the idols in the land once he knew the heart of the Lord after four years of seeking (from age 16-20). It was only when the idols and their altars were very much destroyed, that he then proceeded to repair the temple of the Lord and made an effort to restore proper and regular worship.
I found it rather
puzzling at first, why Josiah did not put all his effort in restoring proper
and regular worship first. Then it
dawned on me: How could God and idols (and sins) exist side by side? — there would not be any genuine worship!!
This reminds me of a young pastor who called to seek my advice because one of his leaders in the church had asked him to pray for him because he had an affair with his secretary. I told this pastor that it was not the time to pray but to do what was right and necessary, which was for the man to either fire his secretary or leave the company himself. He could not use prayer as an excuse to procrastinate doing what he knew he ought to do.
(1) What is meant by having “found the Book of the Law in the temple”? (v. 14)
a. Where was it all these years?
b. How did they worship and teach the people without the Book of the Law up till then?
(2) What immediate impact did the hearing of the words of God in the Law have on the king? (v. 19) Why?
(3) Many Christians do not put much effort in reading the Bible itself:
a. How would they know how to follow the Lord and live their Christian lives?
b. What danger do they put themselves into?
(4) The king asked the priests to “inquire of the Lord” (v. 21).
a. Who were the well-known prophets serving at the time of Josiah? (see Jer. 1:2; Zeph. 1:1)
b. Why didn’t they go to them to inquire of the Lord?
(5) Who was the prophetess Huldah? (see v. 22 and also 2 Ki. 22:14)
a. Why didn’t they speak to Shallum instead of his wife?
b. What might this show us about the role of women in spiritual matters?
(6) Based on the words of the prophet (vv. 23-28), consider the following:
a. What caused the king to tear his robes and weep in God’s presence?
b. Would God carry out the “curse” declared by the Book of the Law? Why or why not?
(7) How did the king react to the words of the prophet? (vv. 29-32)
(8) How important was it that all the people, not just himself, would hear “all the words of the Book of the Covenant”? (v. 30)
(9) What lesson can we learn from this?
(10) What did the king ask the people to do in response to the hearing of the words of God? (vv. 31-32)
(11) How does it speak to the proper attitude toward reading and hearing the Word of God today?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“When the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his robes.” (2 Chr. 34:19)
It is interesting to note that while carrying out the king’s command to repair the temple, Hilkiah the high priest “found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord” (34:14). Some commentators opine that the High Priest must have other copies of the Law lying around the temple, and this was likely the original copy of the Law.
I do not think so, because
- The Bible does not say so; and
- It was obvious that both Shaphan the secretary and the king read the Book of the Law for the first time, meaning the Law had not been read at all at the temple prior to the discovery of this copy, whether it was the original copy written by Moses or not.
The impact of the reading of the Book of the Law was significant in that the king tore his robes immediately. It is likely that the king came across the passages in Deuteronomy 28 and also Leviticus 26 which contain the curses for disobedience to the commands of the Lord. In other words, prior to the reading of the Law itself, the king had a general sense of the requirements of the Lord, but it was based more on oral tradition and perhaps some other written documents like the often-mentioned “book of the annals of the kings of Judah” (2 Ki. 20:20) which honestly gave an account of the good and wicked deeds of each of the kings and the rewards and punishments by the Lord. But they are, strictly speaking, not the Word of God. Without the Word of God, the king could never truly know the commands of the Lord and, in times of crisis and temptation he would have nothing to turn to for strength and direction, let alone come to a genuine personal knowledge of the Lord.
There was a period of time that, for some reason, I was reading mostly devotional materials and prayers of great Christian writers and preachers. I found much comfort and peace through my reading, and yet there was a gnawing feeling within me that I should go back to the Word of God, the Bible. When I did, I found the reading of the Bible truly powerful. It gave me the certainty of what God actually was saying, and I experienced the piercing power of the Word (Hebrews 4:12), as well as His overwhelming comfort and peace. It reminds me that while God does use the writings and prayers of His saints to nurture and comfort me, they cannot replace my own reading and understanding of His Word.
(1) When did Josiah begin repairing the temple and when was the Book of the Law found? (34:8)
(2) The reading of the Law of Moses had led to Josiah’s tearing his robe and he made the people renew the covenant with the Lord (34:31). When did he follow the requirement of the Law in observing the Passover again after the lapse of many years? (35:1, 19)
(3) In re-establishing temple worship, and especially the celebration of the Passover, Josiah gave the following orders to the priests and the Levites (vv. 2-6):
a. Who were the Levites, in particular, that he spoke to? (v. 3)
b. Where was the sacred ark all these years?
c. Why did it have to be returned to the temple before any worship could commence?
d. What particular instruction did he give for the carrying of the ark and why? (v. 3 and 1 Chr. 13:9; 15:15)
e. What should they do before they could prepare the lambs for sacrifice? (v. 6)
(4) Setting an example (35:8-9)
a. Why set the first example in the giving of the sacrificial animals for the celebration of Passover?
b. What impact did the king’s example have on the leaders?
(5) The celebration (vv. 10-19)
a. What did the presentation of sacrifice involve?
b. What if they had gone ahead to do so without the discovery of the Book of the Law?
c. How well organized was this celebration? (vv. 15-16)
d. How meaningful was this celebration? (v. 18)
(6) What is the message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“Josiah celebrated the Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month.” (2 Chr. 35:1)
The reform under Josiah was not only drastic and complete, but I believe it was also carried out at lightning speed.
The Bible mentions that it was in his 18th year of his reign that Josiah sent his officials to urge the priest to get moving with the repairs or restoration of the temple of the Lord (2 Ki. 22:3; 2 Chr. 34:8), and it was in the process of this project that the Book of the Law was discovered, likely within a short period of time after the commencement of the project (2 Chr. 34:14).
The king quickly had the book read to him and he responded with repentance and grief, asking the priest and his officials to enquire of the Lord (2 Chr. 34:19ff).
The words from the prophetess moved him to gather the entire people to hear the reading of the Law and he led the people to pledge themselves to the observance of the Law (2 Chr. 34:29).
Now, the Bible says that the king gave order to celebrate the Passover (also in his 18th year of his reign, 2 Chr. 35:19), and we know that the Passover was observed on the 14th day of the 1st month (2 Chr. 35:1). If we interpret the Biblical account literally (which I do not see why we should not), it is likely that all the events preceding the Passover described above happened within the first two weeks of the 18th year, and the Passover was the first festival mandated by the Law in the year. Since they had just pledged to obey the Law, it would only be logical to think that they immediately put their pledge into action with the observance of the Passover.
According to the Chroniclers, no Passover had been observed “like this in Israel since the day of the prophet Samuel; and none of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did Josiah with the priests, the Levites and all Judah and Israel who were there with the people of Jerusalem” (2 Chr. 35:18). This highlights the fact that since the time of Samuel, i.e. the establishment of kingship, this celebration of Passover was the largest in scale with the king donating 30,000 lambs and goats and 3,000 cattle (versus Hezekiah’s 1,000 bulls and 7,000 lambs in 2 Chr. 30:24). What was more important was the fact that it marked the resumption of the temple worship of the Lord which involved some of the tribes in the north.
The unity and the universality of the celebration of the Passover was such a fitting act of confirming their covenant with the Lord in repentance, in remembering the salvation of the Lord, in recommitting themselves as the People of God and in acknowledging the Lord as their God!
Today, as we observe the Holy Communion, it is also a most fitting time for repentance and reaffirmation of our commitment as one united body of Christ, and in acknowledging the lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives.
The Death of Josiah
(1) With the reformation of Israel brought about by the godly Josiah, what kind of an ending to his reign might you have expected? Why?
(2) The event mentioned here is the famous Battle of Carchemish between the Egyptians and the Assyrians, initiated by the former whose troops needed to pass through the land of Palestine (vv. 20-24):
a. Why did Josiah think that he should intercept the powerful army of Egypt?
b. Does the Bible mention that Josiah had consulted the Lord or his prophets?
c. Did the powerful Egyptian king want to fight with Josiah?
d. Whose name did the Egyptian king invoke for his action? (v. 21)
e. Why do you think Josiah would not listen? (v. 22)
f. Why did Josiah choose to disguise himself in battle? (v. 22, see the example in 2 Chr. 18:28-31)
g. Did it work?
h. Why not?
i. What lesson can we learn from this incident?
(3) How did the prophet greet the death of Josiah and why? (v. 25)
(4) How did the people of Israel greet his death?
(5) While we no longer have the laments composed specifically for Josiah, what might you write as Josiah’s epitaph?
(6) What is the main message to you today, and how may you apply it to your life?
“Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command, but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo.” (2 Chr. 35:22)
With the biblical comment that “Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did” (2 Ki. 23:25), Josiah was likely the most godly king of Israel after David, and with the mentality of time, one would assume that he would die a “good death”. However, such was not the case. Josiah was killed in battle.
We have no idea why Josiah felt obliged to intercept Pharaoh Necho as he sought to “help the king of Assyria” (2 Ki. 23:29) in his effort to ally with the Assyrians to fight against the rising power of Babylon. But it is clear that Necho felt the presence of God and did so with what he perceived as the command of God. This he made clear to Josiah and the Bible affirms that “Necho had said at God’s command” (2 Chr. 35:22). The puzzling question is why Josiah didn't listen.
With what we are told in the Bible about Josiah’s godliness, we can safely assume that if Josiah knew that God had actually told Necho to “hurry up” and that his intervention amounted to “opposing God” (2 Chr. 35:21), he would definitely refrain from interfering with Necho. So the better question to ask is, “Why didn’t Josiah believe the words of Necho?”
We who consider ourselves as spiritual should know the answer. Necho was a pagan and not a God-fearer while Josiah was more than a God-fearer, he loved the Lord. Therefore, the natural question that Josiah had upon hearing the words of Necho was, “Why would God speak to you and not to me?” or “Why would God use you, one who does not even know Him, to speak to me?”.
The truth of the matter is, God can use anyone or anything He chooses to speak to His people, and I have experienced this myself.
The first summer after I obeyed God’s call to full-time ministry and began my seminary education, I found myself wanting to find a summer-job to supplement my income. Since I had had some connection with certain executives at the Head Office of a Motor Vehicle Manufacturer, I was hoping to land a summer job there. I happened to share this thought with a former college classmate who was not known to be a religious person. He sternly said, “Paul, do not look back!”.
While I was bothered that I was rebuked by someone whom I considered not capable of knowing God’s will, I knew deep in my heart that God had sent him to rebuke me. In a moment of humbleness, I instantly remember the incident of Necho and put away my pride and accepted the rebuke.
The Beginning of the End: Josiah marked the last of godly kings in Judah and the beginning of the end of the nation of Israel:
(1) Jehoahaz (vv. 1-4)
a. How old was Jehoahaz when he became king? (v. 2)
b. How old was Josiah when Jehoahaz was born? (Remember Josiah reigned for 31 years, since he was 8.)
c. What happened in the 8th year of Josiah’s reign? (i.e. when he was 16; 34:3)
d. In all of his 23 years, what did Jehoahaz witness in the life of his father and the nation?
e. What kind of a king did he turn out to be?
f. How long did he last as a king and what was his ending?
(2) Jehoiakim (vv. 5-8)
a. Who was Jehoiakim? (v. 4)
b. How old was he when he became king? (v. 5)
c. In what aspects was his life similar to those of his brother, Jehoahaz? (v. 5)
d. See Jeremiah 36 to get a sense of how he treated the warning from the Lord.
e. How did his reign end? (vv. 6-7; also see Dan. 1:1 and Note below)
(3) Jehoiachin (v. 9)
a. After successive wicked kings, Judah was nearing the end of its fate. Read the warning God gave to Jehoiachin through Jeremiah (see Jer. 22:24-30).
b. How did this warning come to pass? (v. 10)
(4) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
Note:
The third year of his reign marked the first deportation to Babylon, 604 B.C.; the second was in 597 B.C. during Jehoiachin’s reign and the last one was in 586 B.C. under Zedekiah’s reign.
“Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord his God.” (2 Chr. 36:5)
The radical reformation by Josiah did prove to be a futile effort as his successive sons appeared to be totally oblivious to the godly example and influence of their father. Since the accounts of 2 Chronicles are very brief about the deeds of these sons, allow me to supplement here, from the book of Jeremiah, with a more detailed summary of the reign of one of his sons, Jehoiakim, who was considered “Judah’s most evil king” next to Manasseh:
(1) He built a plush palace, with huge rooms, many windows, paneled throughout with fragrant cedar, and painted in a beautiful red. This he accomplished with forced slave labor while his own people were suffering (Jer. 22:13, 14).
(2) He was full of selfish greed and dishonesty (Jer. 22:17).
(3) He murdered the innocent, oppressed the poor and reigned with ruthlessness (Jer. 22:17).
(4) He butchered with a sword a godly and fearless prophet named Uriah, having him first tracked down in Egypt and brought back to Jerusalem (Jer. 26:23).
(5) He often attempted to silence the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 26:24; 36:19, 26).
(6) On one occasion he burned a scroll which contained the inspired writings and prophecies of Jeremiah. But this backfired, as the prophet rewrote all the king had burned and added a chilling prophecy against Jehoiakim (Jer. 36:22, 23, 27-32). (Source: Willmington’s Guide to the Bible, 162-3)
It is worth-noting that Jeremiah prophesied about Jehoiakim’s death in that he would not be mourned by his immediate family or his servants, and that “He will have the burial of a donkey—dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem" (Jer. 22:18-19).
The Fall of Jerusalem
(1) Who was Zedekiah? (v. 10)
(2) How old was he when he became king? (v. 11)
(3) What would he have witnessed before he was made king by Nebuchadnezzar?
(4) How did he treat Jeremiah and his messages? (v. 12 and Jer. 37 in particular)
(5) Since Zedekiah did not trust in God and had become a vassal king under Nebuchadnezzar:
a. Why did he choose to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar?
b. What influence did he have over the people, including the priests? (v. 14)
(6) Why did God, as late as it was, still keep sending prophets to the kings of Judah, and the people? (v. 15)
(7) How had they consistently responded to the words of the Lord? (v. 16)
(8) Was the fate of God’s people avoidable?
(9) What was the final outcome of their persistent rebellion against their God? (vv. 17-20)
(10) Why did the Bible say that upon their defeat and exile, “The land enjoyed its Sabbath rest”? (v. 21)
(11) Has God given up on them entirely? (vv. 21-22; see Jer. 25:9-12; 27:6-8; 29:10)
(12) How miraculous was the event of their return from exile under another foreign power? (v. 23)
(13) What important lesson(s) can you learn from the history of God’s people?
(14) How may you apply it to your life?
“He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him take an oath in God’s name. He became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the LORD, the God of Israel.” (2 Chr. 36:13)
Jeremiah provides us with further details about Zedekiah’s rebellion against Nebuchadnezzar. As Nebuchadnezzar surrounded the city of Jerusalem, we read in Jeremiah 21 that King Zedekiah enquired of the Lord through Jeremiah. The reply of the Lord was of three fold:
(1) Nebuchadnezzar was God’s instrument to fight against them, and if they choose to resist by holding on to the city, they would be struck down by a plague, and the king, his officials and those who survive the plague would be handed over to Nebuchadnezzar.
(2) However, if they surrender, their lives would be spared.
(3) The royal house of David (i.e. the king and the princes) should stop oppressing the people and administer justice.
I believe, the Lord was hoping that with this message the king might repent, and presumably he did and ordered the people to proclaim freedom for their slaves which they unfortunately reneged on fairly quickly (Jer. 34:8ff).
At the end, the king chose to resist “the whole army of Nebuchadnezzar”. One had to admire his determination because he was able to hold off the mighty army of Babylon for a good one and half years, until the famine was so severe that the only choice they had was to break out of the walls of the city and flee. Zedekiah was captured and his eyes were gouged (2 Ki. 25:4-7) and he died in prison (Jer. 52:11).
It is such a pity that Zedekiah had such great courage to fight against the powerful Nebuchadnezzar, but he did not have the same courage to submit to the will of God. Worse, by fighting against Nebuchadnezzar, he was in fact fighting against God. No one can fight against God and win!