2 Kings 23:1-27

2 Kings 23:1-27

After recovering the Book of the Law, Josiah set forth some major reforms in the nation of Judah. He began to reverse many of the laws that had his father and grandfather had set. For instance, he and his servants cleaned out the Temple before the people of Judah. They removed any idols that had been made for other gods and had them burned. They also tore down all of the high places (any place of worship that had been built for the worship of other gods) and deposed any priest that “worked” at these places. Anything that had been dedicated to anything but God alone was removed from the nation of Judah. Any practice that went against the Law, the commands of God, was condemned (such as male cult prostitutions).


Josiah did not stop with Judah. Although Israel had already been destroyed at this point, there was still evidence of how they had disobeyed God. There were still some people (from various nations in the area) living in the land. Josiah tore down all of the high places, destroyed all of the idols, and sacrificed all the men who were serving as priests at these false places of worship. He brought reform the land that had formally been Israel as well.

Upon his return to Judah, Josiah also reinstituted the Passover. The Passover was one of the top celebrations for the Israelites. It reminded them of how God had rescued their ancestors from the hands of Egyptians. It was a yearly celebration that reminded them of God’s faithfulness, that they could trust God. Yet for some reason, they had grown slack in celebrating the Passover. In fact, 2 Kings 23 states that the Passover had not been celebrated in this way since the time of the Judges. Josiah reminded the Judahites of God’s faithfulness as he reinstituted this great celebration.

Despite all of the reform that Josiah was able to bring to Judah, God was still going to destroy them. Now, my first reaction to this is, “That’s not fair!” But, God keeps His promises, whether it is for our benefit or not. Yes, Judah had returned to God during Josiah’s reign. But for the last several kings, they had been slowly drifting from God. They had fallen into the ways of the Israelites, and they were going to have suffer the same consequences. God promised that their destruction and exile would be their fate. However, due to their obedience, God was willing to wait. In a response to their obedience, God was not going to respond through judgment. He held back His anger for the nation of Judah and accepted their honest praise and obedience. Yet, God knew that there would be a day when they would fall back into the ways of sin, and when that day came, judgment would follow.

Matt