2 Chronicles 34:1-33
1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.
2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.
3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.
4 And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images,a that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them.
5 And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
6 And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocksb round about.
7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.
8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
9 And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.
10 And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and amend the house:
11 Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floorc the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
12 And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick.
13 Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters.
14 And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given byd Moses.
15 And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.
16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it.
17 And they have gathered togethere the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.
18 Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
19 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.
20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdonf the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying,
21 Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book.
22 And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah,g keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect.
23 And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,
24 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah:
25 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.
26 And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard;
27 Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD.
28 Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again.
29 Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
30 And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, greath and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD.
31 And the king stood in his place, 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 with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.
32 And he caused all that were presenti in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
33 And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were presentj in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.
2 Chronicles: God desires loyal people
The *Kingdom called Judah
2 Chronicles Chapter s 10 to 36
Ian Mackervoy
Chapter 34
Josiah *turns to God and he repairs the *temple – 2 Chronicles 34:1-13
v1 Josiah was 8 years old when he became king. And he ruled for 31 years in Jerusalem. v2 He did what was right in the opinion of the *LORD. He lived as his *ancestor David had lived. And he did not *turn from that right way.
v3 In his 8th year as king, he began to serve the God of his *ancestor David. He was still young. Then in his 12th year as king, he began to remove the false gods from Judah and from Jerusalem. He removed the places where people *worshipped those gods. He removed the *Asherah poles and the other wooden and metal images of the gods. v4 The people tore down the *altars for the Baal gods as Josiah directed them. Then Josiah cut down the *incense *altars that were above the Baal *altars. He broke up the *Asherah poles and the wooden and metal images of the gods. And he beat them until they were just powder. He scattered the powder over the graves of those who had *sacrificed to these gods. v5 He burned the bones of their priests on their *altars. So, Josiah removed the *worship of false gods from Judah and from Jerusalem. v6 He did the same things in the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon all the way to Naphtali. And he did the same in all the old holy places that were round them. v7 Josiah broke down the *altars and the *Asherah poles and he beat the images of the gods into powder. He cut down all the *incense *altars in all of *Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.
v8 In his 18th year as king, Josiah had removed these evil things from the country. And he had removed them from the *LORD’s *temple. Then he sent three of his officials to repair the *temple of the *LORD his God. These officials were Shaphan the son of Azaliah, Maaseiah the city leader and Joah the son of Joahaz. He kept the records.
v9 The *Levites who guarded the doors of the *temple had gathered money from the people. The *tribes of Manasseh, Ephraim, Judah, Benjamin and those who remained in *Israel gave money to these *Levites. Also, the people who lived in Jerusalem gave some of their money to them. They brought this money into the *LORD’s *temple. The three officials came to the chief priest, Hilkiah and they gave the money to him. v10 They gave the money to the men who were responsible for the buildings of the *LORD’s *temple. These men gave money to the workers. And they worked to build again and to repair the *temple. v11 The men gave money to those who worked with wood. They gave money to the builders to buy stone ready for use and wood. The wood was to support the walls and for beams. They needed those things because the kings of Judah had neglected the buildings of the *temple.
v12 The men did their work well. Jahath, Obadiah, Zechariah and Meshullam directed them in their work. Jahath and Obadiah were *descendants of Merari. Zechariah and Meshullam were *descendants of Kohath. All 4 of them were *Levites and they were skilled musicians. v13 Also, they directed the workers who carried loads and all the other workers. Some of the *Levites worked as secretaries, officers and guards at the gates.
Verses 1-2 Unlike his father, Josiah was a good king over Judah. He was 8 years old in 640 *BC when he began to rule. He ruled for 31 years and he died in 609 *BC. He was the best king in Judah since the days of David. And he was loyal to the *LORD all of his life.
Verses 3-7 The power of the people from Assyria was becoming less. Their control over the region was not as strong as it had been. They had trouble from Babylon and from Egypt. The *kingdoms to the north attacked Assyria. Among those *kingdoms were the people from Media. Media is now part of Iran. Also, there were the people called Cimmerians and Scythians. Then there were internal problems. King Osnappar died in about 627 *BC. And two of his sons struggled to be king. In this time of trouble, the people from Assyria could not control what happened in the smaller countries. So, Josiah could rule as a free king and he could remove the gods of Assyria and the other gods.
In 632 *BC, when Josiah had been king for less than 8 years, he was only 15 years of age. At that time, he began to serve the *LORD, the God of his *ancestor David. Then 4 years later, in 628 *BC, he started to remove the false gods from his *kingdom. He removed the high places where the people *worshipped the gods. He removed the images of gods and the *Asherah poles.
Josiah led the people to destroy the *altars of the Baal gods and to destroy the *incense *altars. He broke the images and the *Asherah poles until they were just powder. He put the powder on the graves of those who had *worshipped those gods. Before he destroyed the *altars, he burned the bones of the priests of the gods on them.
Because of the weakness of the control of Assyria’s army, Josiah moved into territory that had been *Israel. He went to the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon all the way to Naphtali. Naphtali was in the north of *Israel. So, he destroyed the images and *altars of the false gods in all *Israel.
Verses 8-13 It took Josiah about 6 years to remove and to destroy the false gods. This does not mean that they completed the task. They had done the main work. But there was a need to continue to destroy false gods.
Then Josiah decided to repair the *temple. He sent three men to organise this task. The last main repairs to the *temple had been during the rule of Joash. That was about 200 years earlier.
They went to Hilkiah the chief priest. The people had brought money to the *temple for this purpose. So, the three men told him to get that money from the *Levites (2 Kings 22:4). It seems that the three officials went with Hilkiah. They took the money from the *Levites and they gave it to Hilkiah. Then, with Hilkiah, they gave the money to the men who were responsible to manage the work.
These managers employed the workers and the workers bought all the materials for the work. Nobody asked how the workers had used the money. That was because all the workers were honest (2 Kings 22:7).
The 4 managers who directed the work were *Levites. They were from two of the families of the sons of Levi. Those two families were Merari and Kohath. They were all skilled musicians. They managed the workers and the workers worked well.
The book of the law – 2 Chronicles 34:14-33
v14 The *Levites brought out the money that was in the *LORD’s *temple. As they were doing that, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the *LORD’s law. The *LORD had given them this law by Moses. v15 Hilkiah said to Shaphan, the royal secretary, ‘I have found the book of the law in the *LORD’s *temple.’ Then he gave the book to Shaphan.
v16 Shaphan took the book to the king. He reported to the king, ‘Your officers are doing all that you told them to do. v17 They paid out the money that was in the *LORD’s *temple. They gave it to the managers and to the workers.’ v18 Then Shaphan, the royal secretary told the king, ‘Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.’ And Shaphan read to the king from the book.
v19 When the king heard the words of the law, he tore his clothes. v20 Then the king gave orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam, Abdon, Shaphan and Asaiah. (Ahikam was a son of Shaphan. Abdon was a son of Micah. Shaphan was the royal secretary. And Asaiah was a royal official.) This is what he told them to do: v21 ‘Go to the *LORD for me and for those who remain in *Israel and Judah. Ask him about the words in the book that you found. The *LORD is very angry with us, because our *ancestors did not obey the *LORD’s laws. They did not do what is in this book.’
v22 So, Hilkiah and those that the king sent with him went to talk to Huldah, the lady *prophet. She was the wife of Shallum, son of Tokhath. Tokhath was the son of Hasrah. Hasrah was responsible for the king’s clothes. Huldah lived in Jerusalem, in the new area of the city.
v23 She replied to them. ‘The *LORD, the God of *Israel, says this. Tell this to the man who sent you to me. v24 “The *LORD says, ‘I will cause *disaster for this place and for its people. The king of Judah heard all that was in the book. I will do all those punishments that are in that book. v25 The people in Judah *turned from me and they burned *incense to other gods. They made me angry by all the evil things that they made. I will pour my anger on this place and nobody will be able to stop it.’ ” v26 Speak to the king of Judah who sent you to ask the *LORD. Say, “The *LORD, the God of *Israel says this about the words that you heard. v27 ‘When you heard my words against this place and its people, you were sorry. You *repented of the things that you and the people had done. You were not proud in front of me. You tore your clothes and you wept. That is why I have heard you’, says the *LORD. v28 ‘Therefore, I will let you die in peace and they will bury you with your *ancestors. You will not see all the *disaster that I will cause for this place and for the people here.’ ” ’ So, they took her answer back to the king.
v29 Then the king gathered all the leaders of Judah and of Jerusalem together. v30 He went up to the *LORD’s *temple. The people from Judah and from Jerusalem went with him. Also, the priests and the *Levites went with them. All the people from the most important to the least important were there. He read to them all the words in the book that they had found in the *LORD’s *temple. That book contained the promise that the *LORD made with the *Israelites. v31 The king stood by his column and he made an agreement in front of the *LORD. He promised to follow the *LORD and to obey his commands, rules and laws. He promised with all his heart and *soul to obey the words of the promise that was in the book.
v32 Then he made all the people in Jerusalem and Benjamin promise to obey the *LORD’s promise. So, the people in Jerusalem obeyed the promise of God, the God of their *ancestors.
v33 Josiah removed all the awful images of gods from all the country of the *Israelites. He made all the people in *Israel serve the *LORD their God. As long as he lived, they followed the *LORD God of their *ancestors.
Verses 14-17 The *Levites gave the money to Hilkiah and to the managers for the work of repair. At that time, in 622 *BC, Hilkiah found a book. It was the book of the *LORD’s law. The book contained the laws that the *LORD had given to Moses.
We are not sure what that book was. It seems that it was at least the book of Deuteronomy. But it may have included parts of Exodus and Leviticus. This book should have been with God’s *ark in the most holy place (Deuteronomy 31:26). At this time, the *ark had not been in its proper place (35:3). So, the book was not where it should have been.
Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, the royal secretary. Shaphan reported to the king that the work of repair had started. Then he showed the book to the king. And he read to the king from that book.
Verses 19-21 Josiah heard what the law of the *LORD said. He knew that this was God’s word. And it shook him. He realised how much he and his *ancestors had *sinned against God. He understood that the *LORD was angry with his people. Josiah was so sorry that he tore his clothes. He *repented of his *sin and he wept.
This book probably included what we call Deuteronomy. In that book, there are punishments for those who did not obey God (Deuteronomy 28:45). This would have upset Josiah.
Then Josiah gave orders to Hilkiah the chief priest, Shaphan the royal secretary and two other men. He sent them to ask God about the book. They went on behalf of Josiah, on behalf of Judah and on behalf of those who remained in *Israel. He was worried for all the 12 *tribes and not just for Judah.
Verses 22-28 Hilkiah and those with him went to talk with Huldah. She was a *prophet who lived in a new area of Jerusalem. She told them what the *LORD had to say to Josiah. Josiah’s actions were too late to stop the punishment of the *LORD on the people in Judah and in *Israel. The people were guilty. They had not been loyal to God. They had *worshipped false gods. And so God was angry with them. Now nobody could stop the *disasters that would come.
The *LORD saw the good reaction of Josiah. He saw that Josiah was not proud. Josiah *repented and he was sorry. So, the *LORD promised to delay the *disasters until after the death of Josiah.
Verses 29-33 Josiah took all the leaders, the priests and the *Levites to the *temple. Also, the people from Judah and from Jerusalem went with him. He read to them the book of the *LORD’s law. That book contained the promise that the *LORD had made with *Israel. Then Josiah promised to obey all the commands, rules and laws that were in the book.
Josiah told all the people to promise to obey the *LORD’s promise as well. And the people promised to do so.
Benjamin was the *tribe that joined with Judah to form the *kingdom called Judah. We think that ‘Jerusalem and Benjamin’ means the whole *kingdom called Judah.
Josiah removed the images of gods that remained in Judah and *Israel. There were still things in the *temple for Baal, *Asherah and the stars in the sky. He ordered the priests to take all these things and to burn them. He broke down the *altars on all the high places for *worship. He destroyed the *altar in Bethel that Jeroboam had made. He killed the priests of the false gods. And many other deeds he did to remove all the things for *worship of false gods (2 Kings 23:4-20).
He ordered the people to serve the *LORD. And while he lived, the people obeyed the God of their *ancestors. But the change in them was not a real change of heart and of mind. After the death of Josiah, the people soon *turned to false gods again.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
turn ~ to decide to support someone. Or, to decide to oppose someone. If a person ‘turns away from God’, that person decides not to be loyal to God. If a person ‘turns to God’, that person decides to be loyal to God.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
ancestors ~ people in history that your family has come from.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Asherah ~ a female god.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
incense ~ something that gives a sweet smell when it burns. The priests burned it when they praised God in the temple.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
sacrifice ~ something that people give to God. If it was an animal, the priests would burn all or part of it on an altar. That was to say thank you to God, or to ask him to forgive. God made Jesus to be a sacrifice because of our sins. To sacrifice is to give a sacrifice.
altar ~ the special table that someone made out of stone or wood or metal; on it they burnt animals or they offered other gifts to God or to false gods.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
Levite ~ a person who belongs to the tribe of Levi.
tribe ~ the *Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of *Israel.
tribe ~ the *Israelites were divided into the 12 families of the sons of Jacob. These families are the 12 tribes of *Israel.
descendant ~ a future member of a family or of a nation.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
kingdom ~ the place or territory where a king rules; or, the people that a king rules over.
prophet ~ person who speaks on behalf of God. He or she can sometimes say what will happen in the future. Some prophets worshipped false gods. So, not all prophets spoke words from God.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
disaster ~ when something very bad happens.
repent ~ to change the mind; to turn away from sin and to turn to God.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.
turn ~ to decide to support someone. Or, to decide to oppose someone. If a person ‘turns away from God’, that person decides not to be loyal to God. If a person ‘turns to God’, that person decides to be loyal to God.
soul ~ a part of a person that we cannot see. Our soul is in us while we are alive. It continues to live after we die.
ark ~ the ark of the LORD or the ark of God; the Bible also calls it the ark of God’s special promise. It was a wooden box with gold all over the outside and the inside. It had two gold cherubim on the top. (see Exodus 25:10-22.) The *Israelites kept the ark in the most holy place, first in the LORD’s tent and then in the temple.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It means that God has always been.
lord ~ someone with authority such as the king.
cherubim ~ special angels.
temple ~ a special building for the worship of God or of other gods. The Jews had one in Jerusalem for the worship of the real God.
angel ~ a messenger. God made angels to serve him and to take his messages.
worship ~ to praise God and to give thanks to him; to show honour to God and to say that we love him very much. But some people worship false gods instead of the real God.
Jews ~ another name for the *Israelites.
sin ~ sin is the wrong things that we do. To sin is to do wrong, bad or evil deeds and not to obey God. Those who sin are sinners.