35:1 Josiah observed a Passover festival for the Lord in Jerusalem. They slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 

 

Manasseh outlawed the Passover. It most likely had not been celebrated in over 60 years. 

 

35:2 He appointed the priests to fulfill their duties and encouraged them to carry out their service in the Lord’s temple. 

 

Since the Word of God had been found, the stipulations of the Passover rituals were passed on to retrain the priests.

 

35:3 He told the Levites, who instructed all Israel about things consecrated to the Lord, “Place the holy ark in the temple which King Solomon son of David of Israel built. Don’t carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel! 

 

After King Manasseh shut down temple worship and destroyed the Scriptures, the faithful priests most likely removed the ark of the covenant and hid it from Manasseh. Manasseh placed a satanic idol in its place. Fifty years later, King Josiah asked the priests to move the ark back into the Holy of Holies in the temple. He reminded them not to carry it improperly, because Josiah had studied what happened to Uzzah in the lost scroll that had been found. Since this historical incident of Uzzah was found in 2 Kings, this verse is tremendous evidence that the lost scrolls contained all of the Old Testament written up to the time of King Josiah.

 

35:4 Prepare yourselves by your families according to your divisions, as instructed by King David of Israel and his son Solomon. 35:5 Stand in the sanctuary and, together with the Levites, represent the family divisions of your countrymen.

 

This information came from the lost scrolls. Since David established these family divisions late in his monarchy before his death, this is more evidence that the lost scrolls contained all of the inspired books written up to the time of Josiah.

 

35:6 Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your countrymen to do what the Lord commanded through Moses.” 

 

The Passover lamb pointed to the Messiah. John the Baptist introduced King Jesus not as the Messianic King, but as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

 

35:7 From his own royal flocks and herds, Josiah supplied the people with 30,000 lambs and goats for the Passover sacrifice, as well as 3,000 cattle.

 

The family was to slay and eat its own Passover lamb. This bloody ritual was a graphic object lesson of the atonement. On this special Passover, the king generously provided all of the lambs for all of the families of Judah. How many politicians would lead this type of revival today?

 

35:8 His officials also willingly contributed to the people, priests, and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the leaders of God’s temple, supplied 2,600 Passover sacrifices and 300 cattle. 

 

The government leaders and priests also contributed to the people. King Josiah led a tremendous revival in which even the national leaders were willing to give to the poor.

 

35:9 Konaniah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, along with Hashabiah, Jeiel, and Jozabad, the officials of the Levites, supplied the Levites with 5,000 Passover sacrifices and 500 cattle. 

 

The Levitical leaders also supplied the people with sacrifices.

 

35:10 Preparations were made, and the priests stood at their posts and the Levites in their divisions as prescribed by the king. 

 

This was a national barbecue where the entire nation of Judah was invited. It took a tremendous amount of organization to make this celebration a success. There is no known nation in history who ever had this type of religious feast.

 

35:11 They slaughtered the Passover lambs and the priests splashed the blood, while the Levites skinned the animals. 

 

These sacrifices of the lambs were a graphic and gory object lesson which looked to the atonement of Christ.

 

35:12 They reserved the burnt offerings and the cattle for the family divisions of the people to present to the Lord, as prescribed in the scroll of Moses.

 

The lost scroll had been studied carefully for this long overdue Passover.

 

35:13 They cooked the Passover sacrifices over the open fire as prescribed and cooked the consecrated offerings in pots, kettles, and pans. They quickly served them to all the people.

 

This Passover was a family celebration which looked forward to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

35:14 Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering burnt sacrifices and fat portions until evening. The Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. 

 

The Mosaic Law allowed the priests and their families to share in the offerings.

 

35:15 The musicians, the descendants of Asaph, manned their posts, as prescribed by David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s prophet. The guards at the various gates did not need to leave their posts, for their fellow Levites made preparations for them. 

 

The music of Israel was messianic. The songs looked to the Messiah. David and Asaph wrote most of the music. The Book of Psalms was some of the songs of Israel. David organized the education of the musicians. 

 

This is another verse which destroys the JEDP Documentary Hypothesis of the liberal scholars. The liberal scholars are attempting to deceive those who are not grounded in the Scriptures. Most skeptics place their faith in other human skeptics rather than the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God.

 

35:16 So all the preparations for the Lord’s service were made that day, as the Passover was observed and the burnt sacrifices were offered on the altar of the Lord, as prescribed by King Josiah. 

 

The Passover was carried out as per the instructions of the Mosaic Law which were found in the lost scroll.

 

35:17 So the Israelites who were present observed the Passover at that time, as well as the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 

 

The seven-day spring feast looked forward to the first coming of the Messiah. Jesus was crucified on Passover, buried on The Feast of Unleavened Bread, and resurrected on Passover. The Holy Spirit came fifty days later on Pentecost. 

 

The fall feasts look forward to the second coming of the Messiah. Jesus will rapture the Church on the Feast of Trumpets. The Jews will recognize their Messiah on the Day of Atonement. Christ will return on the Feast of Tabernacles and establish the Millennial Kingdom.

 

35:18 A Passover like this had not been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had observed a Passover like the one celebrated by Josiah, the priests, the Levites, all the people of Judah and Israel who were there, and the residents of Jerusalem. 

 

This was the greatest Passover celebrated in over 500 years.

 

35:19 This Passover was observed in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign. 

 

By the time King Josiah was 26 years old, he had repaired the temple, eliminated the false altars, rediscovered the Law, and celebrated the greatest Passover in the last 500 years. Josiah would die thirteen years later, causing the people to return to their pagan ways.

 

35:20 After Josiah had done all this for the temple, King Necho of Egypt marched up to do battle at Carchemish on the Euphrates River. Josiah marched out to oppose him. 

 

The Assyrians were dwindling in power. The Babylonians were the up and coming world power. The Babylonians had already defeated the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh. The remaining Assyrian soldiers allied with Egypt at Carchemish. Babylon was sending an army to Carchemish to finish off the Assyrians and Egyptians. Archaeologists have excavated a clay tablet which described the details of this battle. The clay tablet is called the “Nebuchadnezzar Chronicle.” This ancient tablet described the final defeat of Assyria as well as the decisive rout of Egypt.

 

Joash decided to align with Babylon against Israel’s old enemies of Egypt and Assyria. However, this was not Israel’s battle. Joash was commanded not to enter the battle.

 

35:21 Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “Why are you opposing me, O king of Judah? I am not attacking you today, but the kingdom with which I am at war. God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God, who is with me, or else he will destroy you.”

 

Pharaoh Necho of Egypt warned Josiah that God was with him.

 

35:22 But Josiah did not turn back from him; he disguised himself for battle. He did not take seriously the words of Necho which he had received from God; he went to fight him in the Plain of Megiddo.

 

Jehovah warned Josiah through a pagan Gentile king. Josiah should have personally asked Jehovah for permission to enter this battle. King David never lost a battle, because he always asked God first and attacked second.

 

35:23 Archers shot King Josiah; the king ordered his servants, “Take me out of this chariot, for I am seriously wounded.” 

 

King Josiah was a good king, but he was still human. Like all humans, he makes mistakes. Josiah was injured seriously by an archer in a war that he should not have been involved.

 

35:24 So his servants took him out of the chariot, put him in another chariot that he owned, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors; all the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned Josiah. 

 

This mourning of King Josiah was so great that the post-exilic prophet Zechariah later compared Israel’s future mourning to the mourning of the Messiah’s second coming. Josiah was the greatest king since David. Josiah was slain in the valley of Megiddo, which is Armageddon.

 

35:25 Jeremiah composed laments for Josiah which all the male and female singers use to mourn Josiah to this very day. It has become customary in Israel to sing these; they are recorded in the Book of Laments. 

 

This was the first specific reference to the prophet Jeremiah. Other prophets during this time period were Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah. Most of the writing prophets appeared directly before the Babylonian Captivity. They were giving Judah plenty of notice of what was about to happen to them. This “Book of Laments” is not the same Book of Lamentations written by Jeremiah. The Book of Laments has been lost to this day.

 

35:26 The rest of the events of Josiah’s reign, including the faithful acts he did in obedience to what is written in the law of the Lord 27 and his accomplishments, from start to finish, are recorded in the Scroll of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

 

This book has been lost to this day. Josiah is dead. There will be no more good kings of Judah. This revival was Judah’s last and final chance to turn to the Lord.