23:1-27

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Extent of Josiah’s reforms (2Ki 23:1-27)

Josiah was not discouraged by the prophecy of judgment on Judah. Rather he intensified his efforts to change his people. His greater reformation would now begin. To gain the cooperation of all the leading citizens, he explained to them the contents of the book on which he was basing his reforms, and invited them to join with him in renewing the covenant with God (2Ki 23:1-3).

With uncompromising zeal, Josiah removed all idolatrous priests and destroyed all shrines and sacred objects associated with other gods, whether in Judah or in former Israel. After the removal of the country shrines, he centralized Judah’s worship in Jerusalem where it could be properly supervised. Although most priests came to live in Jerusalem, some refused (2Ki 23:4-14; 2 Chron 34:6-7).

At Bethel he burnt the bones of the false prophets on their altar and then destroyed it, as foretold by a godly prophet of an earlier era. But he was careful not to damage the tomb where the bones of the godly prophet lay (2Ki 23:15-20; cf. 1 Kings 13:1-3,29-32).

On the positive side, Josiah re-established the worship of Yahweh by keeping the Passover.

The festival had added significance at this time, as it symbolized a fresh deliverance from bondage (2Ki 23:21-23; for details of this Passover see 2 Chron 35:1-19).

He also ordered the removal of all private household gods, and prohibited all forms of spiritism and fortune telling. Apart from Hezekiah, Josiah was the only king of Judah to receive unqualified praise from the writer of Kings (2Ki 23:24-25; cf. 2Ki 18:5).

Nevertheless, Josiah’s reforms were not enough to remove the idolatrous ideas deeply rooted in the minds of the people. Few were genuinely converted, and God did not remove his earlier sentence of judgment (2Ki 23:26-27).

Warnings from Jeremiah

Jeremiah was from a priestly family, but God called him to be a prophet. His prophetic work began about 627 BC, during the reforms of Josiah (Jer 1:1-2; cf. 2 Chron 34:3,8).

But Jeremiah says little about the reforms. This was no doubt because he saw there had been no basic change in the hearts of the people, and therefore the changes in the external forms of the religion would have no lasting effect.

Although Jeremiah did not discourage the zealous king from the good work he was doing, he pointed out to the people that if they did not change their behaviour and attitudes, they would not escape God’s judgment (Jer 11:15; 14:12).

After the death of Josiah, Jeremiah’s warnings became more urgent. He assured the people of Judah that because of their persistent rebellion against God, they would be taken captive to Babylon (Jer 21:2-7).

Jeremiah became a prominent national figure during the time of Judah’s later kings, and his ministry lasted till after the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BC.

He was violently opposed by leaders and common people alike, and on occasions imprisoned (Jer 20:1-6; 26:1-11; 28:1-17; 37:1-21; 38:1-28). The significance of Jeremiah and his protests will become clear as the story moves on.

Nahum and the destruction of the Assyrians

While Josiah was reigning in Judah, great changes were occurring among the more powerful countries of the region. Most important of these changes was the decline of Assyria and the rise of Babylon. This was foreseen by the prophet Nahum, whose short book is wholly concerned with the destruction of the Assyrian capital Nineveh and the end of Assyrian power (Nahum 1:1-2; 2:8).

Nahum rejoiced that at last a fitting divine judgment was going to fall on such an arrogant and brutal oppressor (Nahum 2:13; 3:1,7,18-19).