2 Chronicles 35
Best Passover in 400 years
Josiah resurrects Passover
2 Kings 23:21-23 1Josiah celebrated Passover [1] at the next opportunity. Passover comes once a year, starting on the fifteenth day of the first month on the Hebrew calendar. [2] But on the fourteenth, people slaughtered the Passover lambs for the next day’s family meals.
2Josiah assigned priests to various ministries at the Temple. Then he encouraged them about the work ahead. King’s instructions to Levite associates of priests
3As for their Levite associates who had the job of transporting the Box of the Law, [3] he told them,
“You don’t have to do that anymore. Put the holy chest inside the Temple that King David’s son Solomon built. You no longer have to tote it on your shoulders from one place to another. From now on, you’re free to serve the LORD and the people in other ways.
4Get yourselves organized by your family groups and follow the written instructions of our former kings, David and his son Solomon. [4] 5Take your place at the Temple. Set up in your family groups—one group representing each clan of Levite associates. We’ll need a group of you for each family that comes for Passover.
6Spiritually purify yourselves and prepare yourselves for the work. [5] Slaughter the Passover lambs [6] and prepare them for the people who brought them. When you do this, carefully follow the instructions that the LORD gave Moses.” Josiah brings the meat
7Josiah donated, from his own livestock, 300 bulls and 30,000 sheep and goats for Levites to use as Passover sacrifices.
8Some of his top officials donated livestock as well.
Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel led the priests. And they donated to the priests 300 bulls and 2,600 lambs and grown sheep.
9Levite leaders were Conaniah, his two brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, along with Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad. They gave the Levites 500 bulls and 5,000 sheep and goats. Temple slaughterhouse
10Priests and Levites took their posts at the Temple, just as the king had directed. Everything at the Temple was ready to begin sacrificing Passover lambs.
11Levites started slaughtering the lambs. Then priests splashed some blood from each lamb on the altar, while Levites began skinning the animals. 12Levites cut away parts of the lamb meat that family groups of clans would burn together in a sacrifice to honor the LORD, as the laws of Moses required. [7] They did the same with the bulls.
13Then Levites barbecued the lambs over a fire, as the law ordered. But when it came to the sacred parts intended as offerings, they boiled [8] them in pots and pans. When the roasted lambs were cooked, Levites quickly brought them to the families to eat.
14After Levites had served all the families who came for the Passover meal, they slaughtered lambs for the priests and for themselves. Levites did all the work on this because priests were busy from morning until night, burning the sacrifices and the offerings of fat.
15Long ago, King David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet organized the Temple music ministry. So, the Passover musicians took their positions, as instructed. The Temple guards were able to stay on duty by the gates into the Temple courtyard because Levites prepared Passover lambs for them, too.
16So, the people working together were able to celebrate Passover and offer sacrifices at the Temple altar, just as King Josiah had ordered. 17The people who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover also observed the weeklong Festival of Yeast-free Bread. [9]
18There hadn’t been a full-meal-deal Passover celebration like this since the time of the prophet Samuel—before Israel had a king. Not a single king in all of Israel’s history celebrated a Passover as magnificently as Josiah did. Everyone was there: priests, Levites, citizens of Jerusalem, and the scattered people of Judah and Israel.
19Josiah celebrated this first Passover 18 years into his reign. Josiah dies in battle
2 Kings 23:28-30 20Later, after Josiah finished all the repair work on the Temple, Egypt’s King Neco led his army on a march north, through Israel. They were on their way to fight a battle at the town of Carchemish, [10] near the Euphrates River. Josiah went out to stop him.
21Neco sent a courier with this message for Josiah. “What are you doing? This isn’t about you, the king of Judah. I’m not here to fight with you. I’m headed to war. And God said I need to hurry. Don’t get in God’s way. If you do, he’ll take you down.”
22Josiah wouldn’t listen. Instead, he changed out of his royal clothes and disguised himself as a common soldier so he could join the battle. He ignored the words God had given Neco. He engaged the Egyptian army in the plains below the fortress of Megiddo. [11]
23Egyptian archers hit Josiah. He told the men with him, “Get me out of here! I’m hit! It’s bad!”
24They moved him from his war chariot to another chariot and rushed him back to Jerusalem, where he died. The people buried him where his ancestors were buried. People of Jerusalem and throughout Judah mourned his death. Songs sung blue for Josiah
25Jeremiah wrote the blues for Josiah—songs of laments that became a tradition people still practice today. [12] All the singers, men and women alike, honored his memory with the music. And it’s still the custom. The songs are written in The Book of Funeral Songs. 
Footnotes
135:1The Hebrew word for “Passover” is pesach (PAY sock). It’s an observance best known for a meal today called a seder (SAY dur), which means “order.” That’s a reference to the fact that the Passover meal is eaten as a meticulously detailed ritual of reading, remembering, and prayer. The word “Passover” comes from the story of God or one of his angels killing the Egyptian firstborn, but “passing over” Hebrew homes with animal blood on the doorframes. Passover comes in the spring, March or April. On the ancient Jewish calendar, people called it Nisan, the first month of the year. That’s around Eastertime. Jesus went to Jerusalem to observe Passover when he was arrested and crucified.
235:1Israelites followed a lunar calendar, with every month starting at the first tiny crescent after the new moon. A new moon is when the moon is hidden behind earth’s shadow for one day. The sun, moon, and earth are aligned, with earth in the middle.
335:3The Box of the Law was also called the Ark of the Covenant. It was a wooden chest plated with gold all over. Inside that chest was a golden jar with some manna, Aaron’s almond wood staff that budded, and stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments. Covering the chest was a lid with figures representing glorious celestial beings called cherubim. This was the place where God’s people found forgiveness (Exodus 25:10-22; Hebrews 9:4-5). It was lost to history, perhaps stolen by invaders such as the Assyrians from what is now northern Iraq or the Babylonians of southern Iraq who leveled Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC.
435:4See 1 Chronicles 24; 28:19-21; 2 Chronicles 8:14).
535:6Ritual purification involved bathing, washing clothes, abstinence from sex, and offering a sacrifice to atone for sins (Numbers 8). And there was a waiting period for anyone who had touched something ritually unclean, like a dead animal or a corpse, or if they had sexual relations (Exodus 19:15; Leviticus 15).
635:6Originally, the person who brought the Passover lamb killed it (Deuteronomy 16:5-6; Exodus 12:3-6, 21). Josiah, instead, followed a tradition that King Hezekiah started out of necessity. Too many people came ritually unclean. So he mobilized the Levites to slaughter the animals (2 Chronicles 30:17).
735:12It’s unclear which laws the writer is talking about. One guess is the peace offering, since some fat of that offering was burned on the altar (Leviticus 3).
835:13They had to “boil away the blood” (Leviticus 6:28). They weren’t allowed to eat meat with blood in it. The blood of a sacrifice belonged to God. “Blood is what brings a body to life. I’ve given you blood to use exclusively on the altar. It atones for your sin—it gets rid of your guilt so you can stay on good terms with the LORD. Blood is the price of your sin. So I’m saying if you’re an Israelite, don’t eat anything with blood in it” (Leviticus 17:11-12).
935:17Often called “Feast of Unleavened Bread.” Observant Jews eat a large cracker-like bread called matzo. The day the week-long observance begins is the 15th of the month, according to Leviticus 23:6. “For seven days, don’t eat any bread with yeast in it. Eat only bread made without yeast. … Do this in the first month of the year because that’s the month you came out of Egypt” (Exodus 23:15).
1035:20Carchemish is a town on the border of what is now Syria and Turkey. See note about the Battle at Megiddo, (35:22).
1135:22This battle took place in 610 BC at the Megiddo fortress, about 55 miles (90 km) north of Jerusalem, a 2-3-day trip. That’s where a mountain pass opens into the sprawling Jezreel Valley. Neco’s army came up from the south along the Mediterranean seacoast, apparently hoping to peacefully travel through the region and then reinforce Assyrians who had been run out of their own country (2 Chronicles 35:25). Coalition forces of Babylonians and Medes, from what are now southern Iraq and Iran, overran the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, today’s Mosul, in northern Iraq. Babylonians intended to finish off the Assyrians, which happened later, in the Battle of Carchemish (605 BC). Why Josiah decided to turn his army into a speed bump is unknown. Perhaps he felt the Babylonian team needed his support. They didn’t. Neco ran over the speed bump and continued north, where the Egyptians then attempted to help Assyrians capture the city of Haran. He went home disappointed. On his way home, through Judah, he stopped to settle the score by demanding wealth and the right to pick Judah’s next king.
1235:25Jeremiah was quite the poet. He wrote what sounds like the lyrics for many songs preserved in the Bible book of Jeremiah. But there’s nothing in the prophetic book that reads like the lyrics of a blues song lamenting the death of Josiah. The prophet certainly wrote respectfully about the king, describing him as honest and godly (Jeremiah 22:15-16). And he told the people not to weep for the dead king, a good man, but to weep for his no-good son and successor, King Jehoahaz (Jeremiah 22:10). But there is nothing like the funeral song David wrote for his good friend Jonathan, who died in the Battle of Mount Gilboa. David’s song is known as “The Song of the Bow” (2 Samuel 1:17-27). “Israel’s glory lies dead on the hills, for our mighty warriors have fallen” (verse 19).
Discussion Questions
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Maps/Guides
Josiah's Battle of MegiddoJezreel Valley up close
Empires of Assyria, Babylon, PersiaVideos
2Josiah assigned priests to various ministries at the Temple. Then he encouraged them about the work ahead.
King’s instructions to Levite associates of priests
3As for their Levite associates who had the job of transporting the Box of the Law, [3] he told them,“You don’t have to do that anymore. Put the holy chest inside the Temple that King David’s son Solomon built. You no longer have to tote it on your shoulders from one place to another. From now on, you’re free to serve the LORD and the people in other ways.
6Spiritually purify yourselves and prepare yourselves for the work. [5] Slaughter the Passover lambs [6] and prepare them for the people who brought them. When you do this, carefully follow the instructions that the LORD gave Moses.”
Josiah brings the meat
7Josiah donated, from his own livestock, 300 bulls and 30,000 sheep and goats for Levites to use as Passover sacrifices.8Some of his top officials donated livestock as well.
Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel led the priests. And they donated to the priests 300 bulls and 2,600 lambs and grown sheep.
9Levite leaders were Conaniah, his two brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, along with Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad. They gave the Levites 500 bulls and 5,000 sheep and goats.
Temple slaughterhouse
10Priests and Levites took their posts at the Temple, just as the king had directed. Everything at the Temple was ready to begin sacrificing Passover lambs.11Levites started slaughtering the lambs. Then priests splashed some blood from each lamb on the altar, while Levites began skinning the animals. 12Levites cut away parts of the lamb meat that family groups of clans would burn together in a sacrifice to honor the LORD, as the laws of Moses required. [7] They did the same with the bulls.
13Then Levites barbecued the lambs over a fire, as the law ordered. But when it came to the sacred parts intended as offerings, they boiled [8] them in pots and pans. When the roasted lambs were cooked, Levites quickly brought them to the families to eat.
14After Levites had served all the families who came for the Passover meal, they slaughtered lambs for the priests and for themselves. Levites did all the work on this because priests were busy from morning until night, burning the sacrifices and the offerings of fat.
15Long ago, King David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet organized the Temple music ministry. So, the Passover musicians took their positions, as instructed. The Temple guards were able to stay on duty by the gates into the Temple courtyard because Levites prepared Passover lambs for them, too.
16So, the people working together were able to celebrate Passover and offer sacrifices at the Temple altar, just as King Josiah had ordered. 17The people who had come to Jerusalem for the Passover also observed the weeklong Festival of Yeast-free Bread. [9]
18There hadn’t been a full-meal-deal Passover celebration like this since the time of the prophet Samuel—before Israel had a king. Not a single king in all of Israel’s history celebrated a Passover as magnificently as Josiah did. Everyone was there: priests, Levites, citizens of Jerusalem, and the scattered people of Judah and Israel.
19Josiah celebrated this first Passover 18 years into his reign.
Josiah dies in battle
2 Kings 23:28-30 20Later, after Josiah finished all the repair work on the Temple, Egypt’s King Neco led his army on a march north, through Israel. They were on their way to fight a battle at the town of Carchemish, [10] near the Euphrates River. Josiah went out to stop him.
21Neco sent a courier with this message for Josiah. “What are you doing? This isn’t about you, the king of Judah. I’m not here to fight with you. I’m headed to war. And God said I need to hurry. Don’t get in God’s way. If you do, he’ll take you down.”
22Josiah wouldn’t listen. Instead, he changed out of his royal clothes and disguised himself as a common soldier so he could join the battle. He ignored the words God had given Neco. He engaged the Egyptian army in the plains below the fortress of Megiddo. [11]
23Egyptian archers hit Josiah. He told the men with him, “Get me out of here! I’m hit! It’s bad!”
24They moved him from his war chariot to another chariot and rushed him back to Jerusalem, where he died. The people buried him where his ancestors were buried. People of Jerusalem and throughout Judah mourned his death. Songs sung blue for Josiah
25Jeremiah wrote the blues for Josiah—songs of laments that became a tradition people still practice today. [12] All the singers, men and women alike, honored his memory with the music. And it’s still the custom. The songs are written in The Book of Funeral Songs. Footnotes
135:1The Hebrew word for “Passover” is pesach (PAY sock). It’s an observance best known for a meal today called a seder (SAY dur), which means “order.” That’s a reference to the fact that the Passover meal is eaten as a meticulously detailed ritual of reading, remembering, and prayer. The word “Passover” comes from the story of God or one of his angels killing the Egyptian firstborn, but “passing over” Hebrew homes with animal blood on the doorframes. Passover comes in the spring, March or April. On the ancient Jewish calendar, people called it Nisan, the first month of the year. That’s around Eastertime. Jesus went to Jerusalem to observe Passover when he was arrested and crucified.
235:1Israelites followed a lunar calendar, with every month starting at the first tiny crescent after the new moon. A new moon is when the moon is hidden behind earth’s shadow for one day. The sun, moon, and earth are aligned, with earth in the middle.
335:3The Box of the Law was also called the Ark of the Covenant. It was a wooden chest plated with gold all over. Inside that chest was a golden jar with some manna, Aaron’s almond wood staff that budded, and stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments. Covering the chest was a lid with figures representing glorious celestial beings called cherubim. This was the place where God’s people found forgiveness (Exodus 25:10-22; Hebrews 9:4-5). It was lost to history, perhaps stolen by invaders such as the Assyrians from what is now northern Iraq or the Babylonians of southern Iraq who leveled Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC.
435:4See 1 Chronicles 24; 28:19-21; 2 Chronicles 8:14).
535:6Ritual purification involved bathing, washing clothes, abstinence from sex, and offering a sacrifice to atone for sins (Numbers 8). And there was a waiting period for anyone who had touched something ritually unclean, like a dead animal or a corpse, or if they had sexual relations (Exodus 19:15; Leviticus 15).
635:6Originally, the person who brought the Passover lamb killed it (Deuteronomy 16:5-6; Exodus 12:3-6, 21). Josiah, instead, followed a tradition that King Hezekiah started out of necessity. Too many people came ritually unclean. So he mobilized the Levites to slaughter the animals (2 Chronicles 30:17).
735:12It’s unclear which laws the writer is talking about. One guess is the peace offering, since some fat of that offering was burned on the altar (Leviticus 3).
835:13They had to “boil away the blood” (Leviticus 6:28). They weren’t allowed to eat meat with blood in it. The blood of a sacrifice belonged to God. “Blood is what brings a body to life. I’ve given you blood to use exclusively on the altar. It atones for your sin—it gets rid of your guilt so you can stay on good terms with the LORD. Blood is the price of your sin. So I’m saying if you’re an Israelite, don’t eat anything with blood in it” (Leviticus 17:11-12).
935:17Often called “Feast of Unleavened Bread.” Observant Jews eat a large cracker-like bread called matzo. The day the week-long observance begins is the 15th of the month, according to Leviticus 23:6. “For seven days, don’t eat any bread with yeast in it. Eat only bread made without yeast. … Do this in the first month of the year because that’s the month you came out of Egypt” (Exodus 23:15).
1035:20Carchemish is a town on the border of what is now Syria and Turkey. See note about the Battle at Megiddo, (35:22).
1135:22This battle took place in 610 BC at the Megiddo fortress, about 55 miles (90 km) north of Jerusalem, a 2-3-day trip. That’s where a mountain pass opens into the sprawling Jezreel Valley. Neco’s army came up from the south along the Mediterranean seacoast, apparently hoping to peacefully travel through the region and then reinforce Assyrians who had been run out of their own country (2 Chronicles 35:25). Coalition forces of Babylonians and Medes, from what are now southern Iraq and Iran, overran the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, today’s Mosul, in northern Iraq. Babylonians intended to finish off the Assyrians, which happened later, in the Battle of Carchemish (605 BC). Why Josiah decided to turn his army into a speed bump is unknown. Perhaps he felt the Babylonian team needed his support. They didn’t. Neco ran over the speed bump and continued north, where the Egyptians then attempted to help Assyrians capture the city of Haran. He went home disappointed. On his way home, through Judah, he stopped to settle the score by demanding wealth and the right to pick Judah’s next king.
1235:25Jeremiah was quite the poet. He wrote what sounds like the lyrics for many songs preserved in the Bible book of Jeremiah. But there’s nothing in the prophetic book that reads like the lyrics of a blues song lamenting the death of Josiah. The prophet certainly wrote respectfully about the king, describing him as honest and godly (Jeremiah 22:15-16). And he told the people not to weep for the dead king, a good man, but to weep for his no-good son and successor, King Jehoahaz (Jeremiah 22:10). But there is nothing like the funeral song David wrote for his good friend Jonathan, who died in the Battle of Mount Gilboa. David’s song is known as “The Song of the Bow” (2 Samuel 1:17-27). “Israel’s glory lies dead on the hills, for our mighty warriors have fallen” (verse 19).
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
Maps/Guides
Josiah's Battle of MegiddoJezreel Valley up closeEmpires of Assyria, Babylon, PersiaVideos
21Neco sent a courier with this message for Josiah. “What are you doing? This isn’t about you, the king of Judah. I’m not here to fight with you. I’m headed to war. And God said I need to hurry. Don’t get in God’s way. If you do, he’ll take you down.”
22Josiah wouldn’t listen. Instead, he changed out of his royal clothes and disguised himself as a common soldier so he could join the battle. He ignored the words God had given Neco. He engaged the Egyptian army in the plains below the fortress of Megiddo. [11]
23Egyptian archers hit Josiah. He told the men with him, “Get me out of here! I’m hit! It’s bad!”
24They moved him from his war chariot to another chariot and rushed him back to Jerusalem, where he died. The people buried him where his ancestors were buried. People of Jerusalem and throughout Judah mourned his death.
Songs sung blue for Josiah
25Jeremiah wrote the blues for Josiah—songs of laments that became a tradition people still practice today. [12] All the singers, men and women alike, honored his memory with the music. And it’s still the custom. The songs are written in The Book of Funeral Songs.Footnotes
The Hebrew word for “Passover” is pesach (PAY sock). It’s an observance best known for a meal today called a seder (SAY dur), which means “order.” That’s a reference to the fact that the Passover meal is eaten as a meticulously detailed ritual of reading, remembering, and prayer. The word “Passover” comes from the story of God or one of his angels killing the Egyptian firstborn, but “passing over” Hebrew homes with animal blood on the doorframes. Passover comes in the spring, March or April. On the ancient Jewish calendar, people called it Nisan, the first month of the year. That’s around Eastertime. Jesus went to Jerusalem to observe Passover when he was arrested and crucified.
Israelites followed a lunar calendar, with every month starting at the first tiny crescent after the new moon. A new moon is when the moon is hidden behind earth’s shadow for one day. The sun, moon, and earth are aligned, with earth in the middle.
The Box of the Law was also called the Ark of the Covenant. It was a wooden chest plated with gold all over. Inside that chest was a golden jar with some manna, Aaron’s almond wood staff that budded, and stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments. Covering the chest was a lid with figures representing glorious celestial beings called cherubim. This was the place where God’s people found forgiveness (Exodus 25:10-22; Hebrews 9:4-5). It was lost to history, perhaps stolen by invaders such as the Assyrians from what is now northern Iraq or the Babylonians of southern Iraq who leveled Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BC.
See 1 Chronicles 24; 28:19-21; 2 Chronicles 8:14).
Ritual purification involved bathing, washing clothes, abstinence from sex, and offering a sacrifice to atone for sins (Numbers 8). And there was a waiting period for anyone who had touched something ritually unclean, like a dead animal or a corpse, or if they had sexual relations (Exodus 19:15; Leviticus 15).
Originally, the person who brought the Passover lamb killed it (Deuteronomy 16:5-6; Exodus 12:3-6, 21). Josiah, instead, followed a tradition that King Hezekiah started out of necessity. Too many people came ritually unclean. So he mobilized the Levites to slaughter the animals (2 Chronicles 30:17).
It’s unclear which laws the writer is talking about. One guess is the peace offering, since some fat of that offering was burned on the altar (Leviticus 3).
They had to “boil away the blood” (Leviticus 6:28). They weren’t allowed to eat meat with blood in it. The blood of a sacrifice belonged to God. “Blood is what brings a body to life. I’ve given you blood to use exclusively on the altar. It atones for your sin—it gets rid of your guilt so you can stay on good terms with the LORD. Blood is the price of your sin. So I’m saying if you’re an Israelite, don’t eat anything with blood in it” (Leviticus 17:11-12).
Often called “Feast of Unleavened Bread.” Observant Jews eat a large cracker-like bread called matzo. The day the week-long observance begins is the 15th of the month, according to Leviticus 23:6. “For seven days, don’t eat any bread with yeast in it. Eat only bread made without yeast. … Do this in the first month of the year because that’s the month you came out of Egypt” (Exodus 23:15).
Carchemish is a town on the border of what is now Syria and Turkey. See note about the Battle at Megiddo, (35:22).
This battle took place in 610 BC at the Megiddo fortress, about 55 miles (90 km) north of Jerusalem, a 2-3-day trip. That’s where a mountain pass opens into the sprawling Jezreel Valley. Neco’s army came up from the south along the Mediterranean seacoast, apparently hoping to peacefully travel through the region and then reinforce Assyrians who had been run out of their own country (2 Chronicles 35:25). Coalition forces of Babylonians and Medes, from what are now southern Iraq and Iran, overran the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, today’s Mosul, in northern Iraq. Babylonians intended to finish off the Assyrians, which happened later, in the Battle of Carchemish (605 BC). Why Josiah decided to turn his army into a speed bump is unknown. Perhaps he felt the Babylonian team needed his support. They didn’t. Neco ran over the speed bump and continued north, where the Egyptians then attempted to help Assyrians capture the city of Haran. He went home disappointed. On his way home, through Judah, he stopped to settle the score by demanding wealth and the right to pick Judah’s next king.
Jeremiah was quite the poet. He wrote what sounds like the lyrics for many songs preserved in the Bible book of Jeremiah. But there’s nothing in the prophetic book that reads like the lyrics of a blues song lamenting the death of Josiah. The prophet certainly wrote respectfully about the king, describing him as honest and godly (Jeremiah 22:15-16). And he told the people not to weep for the dead king, a good man, but to weep for his no-good son and successor, King Jehoahaz (Jeremiah 22:10). But there is nothing like the funeral song David wrote for his good friend Jonathan, who died in the Battle of Mount Gilboa. David’s song is known as “The Song of the Bow” (2 Samuel 1:17-27). “Israel’s glory lies dead on the hills, for our mighty warriors have fallen” (verse 19).
Discussion Questions
- Sorry, there are currently no questions for this chapter.
Maps/Guides
Videos
