#513 Josiah and Bones

Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant.

4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.[a] 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts.[b] And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, he pulled down and broke in pieces[c]and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men.

15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned,[d] reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the Lord that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted[e]these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Josiah Restores the Passover

21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 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 the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 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, 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, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, 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 In his days 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 Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place.
Jehoahaz's Reign and Captivity

31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents[f] of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco.
Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah

36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done.2 Kings 23 ESV

The king is so taken by what he has read, so deeply moved by the words of God and also so convicted of his position, that he does not hide these things, but rather makes them known. For what are his own words compared to these, and what good is a king who withholds or "shields" his people from the truth? He takes it upon himself to read to everyone, and then states his allegiance and determination to follow what is written. The people are moved and follow his example. Here he has already been promised, in the preceding chapter, that he will not see the captivity, but that God's judgement is still imminent. Yet, he purposes to do not only what is right by his own house, but also that which is within his power to perform as king. He does not ride it out, watch the clock or collapse in despair. Yes, we know the day of Lord is coming. Yes, I am a Christian and I want the Lord to return quickly, but as I live and breathe the air of this world, I shall want to do it in a way that honors my Savior. Martin Luther said it well, 

I still live here now, so I go to work, I go and vote, I pray, I teach my children and love my enemy, hoping that he will one day be my brother. I plant that seed and water it, no longer in fear of God's judgment for that is already set, but rather in hope of His glory. This is a wonderful thing that they walk into this covenant together. It is a thing that cannot be forced, as I have come to find out, that before I go out, before I open my mouth, I must first remove my foot and hop down from the soap box beneath the other foot. You are not so fit to speak to men if you have not first spoken to God on their behalf. We should pray to see days like this, where God's Spirit is poured out in such a way, where whole nations mourn their sin, and seek the face of God. Reformation starts in the heart, regeneration proceeds faith, it is the work of the Holy Spirit. Create in me a clean heart oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.

The first thing they have is the reading of God's word, then the sharing of God's word. They make a covenant to simply obey what they have found in this word, to reform the kingdom.

1. It starts first with the temple, in our day the church. He has the priest remove the vessels that don't belong there. Take down your idols. Remove those doctrines that are based in your idolatry, out those priest then and preachers now, who would lead men and women astray. Return to the word of God, in humility ask for wisdom, repent of your apostasy. Do not water down what is God's word, your opinion does not matter. He has said everything with a purpose, and needed no counsel from any man, so all I want to know is what is that Author's intent. 
2. He so thoroughly destroys all foolishness, as to grind it to dust, and he spreads it over the dead, to show that it is a dead work, and it is now defiled as it defiled those who followed it. 

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Titus 2: 7 & 8

3. He removes the temple prostitutes and the places they performed what some suppose to be their sexual offerings or rituals, behind the woven hangings. In dark times these things come about, every sort of perversion, and the church that should be the guard and voice against such, is often shamefully silent or grossly engaged. If your preaching does not make me at times uncomfortable, then you are probably not called to that pulpit. Love is not silent, nor can it be dishonest. It does not put itself first. The people here have so long been without light and leadership that they probably have incorporated all these gods into their religion and think that it is good. Maybe, as I have read some speculations, they think that God is so much like them, that Asherah is his wife and some of these others are His children. It is not so far off to find men in such delusion, as I look at the idol some have made of Mary, the mother of Jesus. 

4. He took down all the high places, for what is man that he can decide where or when he shall find God? Who is an island to them self, or who does not need the fellowship that God has commanded? 

5. He removed the horses that were sculpted in honor of the sun. Though it is truly magnificent and we recognize the need of it's light to the days, the seasons, and the growth of plants, but it is created by God and not of itself, it serves us to His glory. 

6. He defiled Topheth so that the people would no longer offer their children to Molech. So many today, even in the church, refuse to look at that genocide which is so blatantly in their face. It is more important to us to be accepted, to tout issues that are made up and built upon sensuality, to say you are pro choice while all the while playing god, taking away the choice of those who cannot yet speak for themselves. We offer up much innocent blood, every day, yet have the audacity to say it is because we care. We despise the old and murder the young, both are in our way.

7. He took bones out of the tombs and defiled the false altars, but when he came to the one tomb he stopped and asked, "what is that monument I see?" See Blog on 1 Kings 13

And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord, and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 2 Then he cried out against the altar 2by the word of the Lord, and said, “O altar, altar! Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a child, Josiah by name, shall be born to the house of David; and on you he shall sacrifice the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and men’s bones shall be burned on you.’ ” 1 Kings 13: 1 & 2

8. He returns the people to the keeping of the Passover, to remember the captivity, their redemption by God's will and good pleasure. As one writer so faithfully puts it, it had been so long since it's observance that it would be like the church forgetting to take communion or the Lord's supper, which are a continual reminder of Christ's redemption of us on the cross. It is important that we come together, and it is without exception that all these things were written from Genesis onward, to proclaim the love of Christ. 

No king before or after him turned to God in such a way, what a mighty testimony, a life that was surely not wasted, invested in eternity. Though there was a great reformation, it would not last and the day of God's judgment was ever drawing near. Josiah is sadly killed by Pharaoh Neco, and I will probably dig deeper into that when I come to Chronicles. 

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 Peter 3: 14-18