On top of destroying the high places and also removing all the
idols and Baal and Asherah, Josiah got rid of all the corrupt priests. Second
Kings 23:21-27 then said that he reinstituted the Passover as it was recorded
in the book of the covenant discovered in the temple. Sadly, this important
event to commemorate God’s deliverance of Israel from bondage was totally
forgotten, ignored, and disregarded. It was God Himself who in Exodus 12
instituted this memorial feast and instructed it to be celebrated yearly. The clear
instruction in Exodus 12:14 was “Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to
the Lord;
throughout your generation, you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance.” This
important event was only neglected, it was totally forgotten. Woefully, 2
Kings 23:22 said that the “Passover had not been
celebrated from the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days
of the kings of Israel and of the kings of Judah.” Now in the 18th year
of Josiah’s reign, it was observed to the Lord in Jerusalem.
Josiah also made another important move. He had all the mediums,
the spiritists, the teraphim, the idols, and all the abominations that
were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem removed. Verse 24 said that he
did it “…to confirm the words of the law which were written in the book
that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord.” Josiah
was the finest king that Israel and Judah ever had. Verse 25 said that among
the kings of both north and south of the nation, no other king before or after
him had turned to the Lord the way he did. He 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.” What a passion for God? This is one thing worthy of our
emulation.
Despite all that he had done, the seething anger and wrath of the Lord were not abated. What Josiah
had done could not avert God’s impending judgment for all the sins they had
committed. Many of the kings especially Manasseh had severely provoked the
wrath of God and it burnt fiercely against Judah. So God declared in
verse 27 saying, “I will remove Judah also from My sight, as I have
removed Israel. And I will cast off Jerusalem, this city which I have
chosen, and the temple of which I said, ‘My name shall be there.’”
It's a frightening thought to have God hardened His resolve
against us. Not even a good king like Josiah and all that he had done could
soothe God’s wrath against Judah. Here’s a warning that offending God will
always exact a price, there is nothing we can do humanly to
avoid it. Thankfully the Bible reveals that in Christ, God had graciously
provided us a way out of His wrath. Christ is our atoning sacrifice. It
is true that there is no other way or any other name given under heaven by whom
a person could be saved, except in the Lord Jesus. He is the way, the
truth, and the life. He is God's provided Passover lamb for the atonement of
our sin. In Him and Him alone can the wrath of God against us be averted. Let
us draw near to Him and gratefully live and love Him with our hearts, minds,
souls, and might.
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