2 Chronicles 35:3

_AND SAID UNTO THE LEVITES THAT TAUGHT ALL ISRAEL, WHICH WERE HOLY UNTO THE LORD, PUT THE HOLY ARK IN THE HOUSE WHICH SOLOMON THE SON OF DAVID KING OF ISRAEL DID BUILD; IT SHALL NOT BE A BURDEN UPON YOUR_ _ SHOULDERS: SERVE NOW THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIS PEOPLE ISRAEL,_ Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon ... did build. The ark was placed in the temple by Solomon (1 Kings 8:1), where it remained until the idolatrous kings of Israel profaned the temple, when it was carried by the priests, in their pious zeal, from place to place, to be preserved from pollution. King Josiah caused it to be replaced in the temple. The Levites, the ministers or instructors of the people in all matters pertaining to the divine worship, were commanded (2 Chronicles 35:3) to 'put the holy ark i

1-19 The destruction Josiah made of idolatry, was more largely related in the book of Kings. His solemnizing the passover is related here. The Lord's supper resembles the passover more than any other of the Jewish festivals; and the due observance of that ordinance, is a proof of growing piety and devotion. God alone can truly make our hearts holy, and prepare them for his holy services; but there are duties belonging to us, in doing which we obtain this blessing from the Lord....

Verse 2 Chronicles 35:3. _PUT THE HOLY ARK IN THE HOUSE_] It is likely that the priests had secured this when they found that the idolatrous kings were determined to destroy every thing that might lead the people to the worship of the true God. And now, as all appears to be well established, the ark is ordered to be put into its _own place_. For an ample account of this passover and the reformation that was then made, see on 2 Kings 23:1, c., and the places marked in the margin....

PUT THE HOLY ARK ETC - The ark of the covenant may have been temporarily removed from the holy of holies while Josiah effected necessary repairs. IT SHALL NOT BE A BURDEN UPON YOUR SHOULDERS - The removing and replacing the ark Josiah means “shall not henceforth be your duty. The ark shall remain undisturbed in the holy of holies. You shall return to your old employments, to the service of God and the instruction of the people.”...

EXPOSITION This chapter of twenty-seven Verses, occupied with the account of Josiah's great Passover (2 Chronicles 35:1), and his death in the battle of Megiddo, waged by Necho King of Egypt with "Carchemish by Euphrates" (2 Chronicles 35:20-14), is paralleled by the ten verses of 2 Kings 23:21-12. 2 CHRONICLES 35:1 THEY KILLED THE PASSOVER ON THE FOURTEENTH … OF THE FIRST MONTH;_ i.e. _on the day appointed originally (Exodus 12:6

AND SAID UNTO THE LEVITES THAT TAUGHT ALL ISRAEL,.... Whose business it was to go through the several tribes, and instruct them in the knowledge of God, his word and worship, statutes and ordinances. In an ancient MS. mentioned by Junius, it is read, "who prepared for all Israel the holy things", c. WHICH WERE HOLY UNTO THE LORD who were consecrated to the name of the Lord, as the Targum, dedicated to his worship and service; or it may signify the holy things they taught or prepared: THESE PUT THE HOLY ARK IN THE HOUSE WHICH SOLOMON THE SON OF DAVID KING OF ISRAEL DID BUILD; which some think was removed from thence by Amon, and an idol put in its room, which is the greater trespass he is said to be guilty of, 2 Chronicles 33:23 others, that it was privately removed by the high priest in idolatrous times, and laid up in some secret place for

CHAPTER 35 THE KEEPING OF THE PASSOVER AND JOSIAH'S DEATH _ 1. The Passover kept (2 Chronicles 35:1)_ 2. The death of Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:20) In the eighteenth year of his reign, Josiah, like his great-grandfather Hezekiah, kept the Passover. No doubt the reading of the law had made this feast once more an urgent necessity. Moreover they had made a solemn covenant “to walk after the LORD, to keep His commandments, His testimonies and His statutes, and to perform the words of the covenant written in the book.” Therefore in the appointed time, on the fourteenth day of the first month, they kept the memorial feast, the last before the house of Judah was carried into captivity. (Hezekiah's Passover was kept in the second month. See...

2 Chronicles 34:1 to 2 Chronicles 35:27. THE REIGN OF JOSIAH. See notes on 2 Kings 22, 2 Kings 23:1, which form the basis of the Chronicler's account; but he has made many alterations in accordance with his general tendencies. One important difference between the two accounts is that, according to the Chronicler, Josiah's Reformation takes place before the finding of the book of the Law, an obviously illogical sequence; but the Chronicler desires to emphasize Josiah's piety even in his tender years. The description of the celebration of the Passover (2 Chronicles 35:1) is far fuller than that given in...

THAT TAUGHT ALL ISRAEL. This was the great and special duty of the priests and Levites. But they neglected it for their ritual, as too many priests have done from that day to this. See notes on Deuteronomy 33:10; Deuteronomy 17:11, &c. ALL ISRAEL. Not Judah only. HOLY. See note on Exodus 3:5. PUT THE HOLY ARK. It had probably been removed during the reparation of the Temple. THE HOLY ARK. the Sanctuary's Ark. See note on Exodus 25:22 and 1 Chronicles 13:3. GOD. Hebrew

_that taught all Israel_ Cp. Nehemiah 8:7; Nehemiah 8:9; also (perhaps) 2 Chronicles 30:22, A.V....