2 Chronicles 35: 1 – 27
Avoid other people’s affairs
35 Now Josiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 And he set the priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service of the house of the LORD. 3 Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to the LORD: “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves according to your fathers’ houses, according to your divisions, following the written instruction of David king of Israel and the written instruction of Solomon his son. 5 And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites. 6 So slaughter the Passover offerings, consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.” 7 Then Josiah gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s possessions. 8 And his leaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle. 9 Also Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle. 10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their places, and the Levites in their divisions, according to the king’s command. 11 And they slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests sprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites skinned the animals. 12 Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the LORD, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle. 13 Also they roasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people. 14 Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15 And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also the gatekeepers were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them. 16 So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the command of King Josiah. 17 And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18 There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept. 20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. 21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.” 22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him but disguised himself so that he might fight with him and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So, he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo. 23 And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.” 24 His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So, he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah. And to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed, they are written in the Laments. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the LORD, 27 and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
Helping others and being involved with other people’s lives can be important. As human beings we have a natural instinct to socialize and be compassionate and support the ones closest to us, but when is it time to stay out of the way, mind our own business and not let ourselves focus too much on the affairs of other people.
There is a fine line between being there for someone and putting your two cents in on every issue that’s not your concern.
These following points may be signs you’re too involved in other people’s affairs.
1. The only thing you ever talk about is other people
When the only thing you ever must contribute to a conversation is a rumor, opinion, gossip or story about someone else, it’s a pretty clear indicator you’re too involved in other people’s affairs.
2. Your own affairs are not addressed
You’re probably too wrapped up in other people’s affairs if your own affairs are not being addressed. If your ignoring situations at home or at work, or even your own relationships because you’re too invested in others, this can become a major problem real fast.
3. People tell you to mind your business
This one kind of jumps right out at you. If people must tell you frequently to worry about yourself, what they probably need you to understand is that you are spending too much time worrying about what is going on in the lives and situations of others.
4. You give advice without being asked
When someone is discussing something with you or others, and you always feel the need to put your two cents in on every story or give advice on how people should handle their lives without them asking for your help, you are probably too involved in other people’s affairs.
5. People become co-dependent on you to solve problems
When other people rely on you it is not always a bad thing, and often shows good character to be dependable. However, if other people are unable to manage on a regular basis without your consent then you are probably too involved in their affairs.
6. You over-think and obsess about situations that don’t involve you
Finding yourself stressing over the things other people are going through that have nothing to do with you as an individual is not healthy. If you are obsessing and imagining scenarios about someone else’s life, you probably need to spend a little less time involved in their life.
7. You get upset on behalf of other people
If a friend of family member is upset, it’s only natural that we instinctively defend them or support them. But going to the extreme and getting upset and irrational on behalf of someone, especially if they are much less affected by the situation, means you are too much involved in that person’s affairs.
8. You get upset when people don’t handle situations how you want
In your head you might develop your own plans and designs expecting someone to handle a situation or issue a certain way and they may take care of it themselves with a different plan of action. If you take it personally or over-react to that ‘change of plans’ then take a moment to stop and worry less about them and more about you.
9. You constantly keep tabs on people through social media
Can’t log off Facebook for fear of missing out on someone’s status? I’m pretty sure that you’ may be too involved in other people’s affairs.
We have been studying the life of Josiah. He was a good king but failed at the end of his life by getting involved in the affairs of others. In fact, this error was so bad that it cost him his life.
Our study today begins with king Josiah calling on the priests and Levites to prepare to carry out their duties about it in accordance with the guidance given by David and Solomon, while he and his princes provided large numbers of animals for the sacrifices. The Passover was accordingly killed and roasted, and all those in attendance partook and celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Nothing like it had been seen in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet.
35 Now Josiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month.
We now learn that Josiah observed a Passover to YHWH in Jerusalem. It was one of the three main feasts of the Israelite year. This Passover was observed in the eighteenth year of his reign (verse 19), which was the year in which the Law Book was discovered. The fourteenth day of the first month (Nisan/Abib) was, of course, the correct date for killing the Passover as shown in Exodus 12. 1, 6.
2 And he set the priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service of the house of the LORD.
This ‘setting the priests in their offices’ might be suggesting that no previous Passover had been attempted during Josiah’s reign, possibly because up to this point the Temple had not been seen as purified. Now, however, the priests were ‘set in their offices’ (appointed to their duties) so that the regular priestly service of the House of YHWH could once more go ahead without hindrance. And Josiah sought to encourage them in their ministries.
3 Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to the LORD: “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and His people Israel.
The mention of the words ‘put the HOLY Ark in the House’, may indicate that the Ark had been removed during the reigns of Manasseh and Amon, and needed to be restored to the Temple. Or that it had been moved whilst the Holiest Place was being renovated.
4 Prepare yourselves according to your fathers’ houses, according to your divisions, following the written instruction of David king of Israel and the written instruction of Solomon his son.
But as with the priests in verse 2 the special emphasis is on their being ready to fulfil their duties at the Passover. So he now tells them to prepare themselves, dividing up according to their fathers’ houses (Kohathites, Merarites, Gershomites, etc) by their courses (the different groups into which they were then split up) in accordance with what king David and his son Solomon had written (1 Chronicles 23-26). This dividing into groups was so that they might take their correct positions in the holy place (the inner court of the Temple) in order to kill the Passover. All was to be highly organized as it had to be with the multiplicity of sacrifices to be offered.
5 And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of your brethren the lay people, and according to the division of the father’s house of the Levites.
For organizing the offering of the Passover sacrifices the people were divided up into ‘fathers’ houses’ (sub-clans) and each of these sub-clans was then allocated a portion of a Levite sub-clan who would act on their behalf. Each Levite would ‘stand in the holy place’ (the inner court) in the place allotted to him, so that the family heads allotted to him could find him there. It seems that at this stage the Levites acted on behalf of each family to prepare their lamb for sacrifice and to slaughter it, before bringing the blood to the priests to present at the altar. Initially the family head had slaughtered the animal (Deuteronomy 16.5-6; Exodus 12.3-6, 21). This change may have been to speed up a process which had become very cumbersome with the large numbers of animals to be offered, or it may have been because the offerings themselves had not been supplied by the families (see following). In Hezekiah’s time it had been because many of the offeror’s were not ritually clean, and the practice may simply have continued.
6 So slaughter the Passover offerings, consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.”
Then when the time came the Levites were to slaughter the Passover lambs on behalf of the people, and then wash themselves clean of the blood (sanctify themselves) prior to offering the blood in a basin to the priests. The Passover lamb would meanwhile have been flayed and skinned by the Levites, and its fat and entrails removed before being handed back to the family head to take away for the Passover feast (prepare for your brothers). At some stage the family representative would take the fat and entrails to the priests to be burned on the altar as a kind of ‘burnt offering’. It will be apparent that the planning and organization of all this for such a large number of people was a huge task.
Animals for the Passover were donated by Josiah, his ‘princes’, the rulers of the house of God (the chief priests) and the chiefs of the Levites. These would not only be for the Passover, but also for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They would be extra to any animals brought by the people themselves and would ensure that no one was without. The emphasis is on the abounding generosity of the leaders of the people as an indication of wholehearted support for the new covenant.
7 Then Josiah gave the lay people lambs and young goats from the flock, all for Passover offerings for all who were present, to the number of thirty thousand, as well as three thousand cattle; these were from the king’s possessions.
Josiah, from his own royal farms, provided thirty thousand lambs and kids for Passover sacrifices, together with three thousand bullocks for consumption during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Working based on family groups of ten (a conservative figure) would provide Passover offerings for 300,000 plus people. We must remember, however, that many families may also have brought their own Passover lambs.
8 And his leaders gave willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings two thousand six hundred from the flock, and three hundred cattle.
No details of what the princes gave is provided, although in Hezekiah’s day they gave more than the king (30.24). But theirs were seemingly not Passover offerings. Freewill offerings would be for eating.
Provision of Passover offerings for the priests was made by the ‘rulers of the house of God’, the chief priests. They supplied 2,600 lambs and kids, and 300 oxen. At an estimated two to three eligible priests to a family unit this would indicate about 6,000 plus eligible priests. The continual provision of names suggests that the Chronicler had a reliable contemporary source.
9 Also Conaniah, his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle.
Provision of Passover offerings for the Levites was made by the chief Levites, whose names are given. In Hezekiah’s day the chief Levite was also called Conaniah with Shimei as his brother (31.12). This is evidence of the fact that grandfathers and grandsons were regularly given the same or similar names. This is also evidenced in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The chief Levites provided 5,000 lambs and kids for Passover offerings for the Levites. There were seemingly roughly twice as many in Levitical families as in Priestly families. They also provided 500 oxen for the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Again, the numbers are probably round numbers.
10 So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their places, and the Levites in their divisions, according to the king’s command.
So, all was made ready for ministering the Passover. The priests took up their places near the altar, and the Levites stationed themselves to be ready to deal with the Passover offerings and to contact the heads of the families for whom they had been given responsibility.
11 And they slaughtered the Passover offerings; and the priests sprinkled the blood with their hands, while the Levites skinned the animals.
Then the Levites killed and flayed the offerings, and took their blood in basins to the priests, who sprinkled the blood on the altar.
12 Then they removed the burnt offerings that they might give them to the divisions of the fathers’ houses of the lay people, to offer to the LORD, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the cattle.
At the same time the Levites removed the fat and entrails from the offerings, and gave them to the family representatives, who in turn gave them to the priests so that they could burn them on the altar as a gift to YHWH. All was done ‘as it is written in the Book of Moses’ where fat and entrails must always be offered to YHWH.
13 Also they roasted the Passover offerings with fire according to the ordinance; but the other holy offerings they boiled in pots, in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly among all the lay people.
Having been killed, and their blood sprinkled on the altar, the Passover lambs and kids were roasted with fire in accordance with the Mosaic ordinance (Exodus 12.8-9; Deuteronomy 16.7, which should be translated ‘roast’. ‘Bashal’ can mean either roast or boil). Even though all had been made ready, and large numbers of priests and Levites would be involved, this would take some considerable time, and the roasting and distribution to 30.000 people had to be done ready for that night. The killing of the Passover lambs and the sprinkling of their blood on the altar would, of course, take precedence to other offerings, and the whole process had to run smoothly as priest after priest came to sprinkle blood on the altar.
The holy offerings were presumably the bullocks and oxen which would be offered as thanksgiving offerings once the Passover offerings were complete. The Passover lambs had to be eaten that night, the remainder of the offerings would not be required until the following day on the first day of Unleavened Bread and subsequently. Thus, the second part of the verse referred to the week that followed Passover during which bullocks and oxen were offered, boiled in pots cauldrons and pans. On Passover night, and through the week, all carcasses were returned quickly to the multitude of people as soon as they were ready. The emphasis on ‘quickly’ probably has in mind the ‘haste’ of the first Passover night (Exodus 12.11).
14 Then afterward they prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared portions for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron.
Once the Levites had delivered the Passover lambs to all the people they then prepared for themselves and for the priests, for having completed the sprinkling of the blood the priests had next to burn the fat and entrails on the altar, something which took them until nightfall. Thus, they had no time for anything else. The Levites therefore saw both to their own needs and the needs of the priests.
15 And the singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their places, according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun the king’s seer. Also, the gatekeepers were at each gate; they did not have to leave their position, because their brethren the Levites prepared portions for them.
Meanwhile during this whole process the musicians (singers) of the sons of Asaph had been singing praises to God and playing on their instruments, as had previously been commanded in David’s day by David and the three leaders of the courses of singers, Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun The gatekeepers also had maintained their posts at every gate of the Temple in order to ensure that only those eligible could enter. So, the Levites also prepared the Passover for these.
16 So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the command of King Josiah.
This verse now summarizes what had happened on Passover day. Everything necessary was ‘prepared’ on the same day (indeed on the same afternoon), the observance of the Passover by the slaying of the lambs, their flaying and skinning, and the offering of their blood, and the offering on the altar of the fat and entrails as a burnt offering to YHWH. And all in accordance with the commandment of King Josiah. It all followed from his reading of the Law Book.
17 And the children of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.
So the children of Israel who were present in Jerusalem at that time observed the Passover and the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread as their forefathers had in the past. The good days, the days of obedience, were back.
18 There had been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet; and none of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept, with the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
The account ends with the claim that no Passover like the one here kept in ‘Israel’ had been observed since the days of Samuel (2 Kings says since the days of the judges’). No ‘king of Israel’ (that is either of Israel or of Judah) had kept such a Passover as Josiah had kept, along with the priests, the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, together with the inhabitants of Jerusalem. It was a Passover that strictly followed the Law, in other words before kings got involved and started ‘improving’ it. (Hezekiah’s had been outstanding (30.26) but it had not strictly followed the Law).
19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.
In the period between 622 BC when the great Passover was held, and 609 BC when Josiah died, huge changes had been taking place in the world around which had left Judah/Israel unmolested. Assyria was on its last legs before the onslaught of Babylon, Media and their allies. Nineveh had been destroyed by the Medes in 612 BC and, driven by the Babylonians, the Assyrians had retreated southwards to Carchemish, having been thrust out of Haran, to make a last desperate stand. Their only hope was for assistance from that other great power Egypt which had earlier liberated itself from Assyrian domination and had become a power under Pharaoh Neco II.
Hearing of their plight Pharah Neco set off to aid the Assyrians, not for their sake but because he recognized that they could act as a buffer against a rampant Babylon, and that meanwhile land was there for the taking. But when news of this reached Josiah he gathered his army and opposed Neco’s advance northwards at Megiddo. We are not told his exact reasons for doing so. It may have been:
• 1) Because he feared an Egyptian invasion if Egypt and Assyria successfully formed a strong alliance, and feared Egypt’s acquisitiveness. Judah might well be next. Josiah may well have seen a successful alliance between Egypt and Assyria as a real threat to Judah in the future, a greater threat even than Babylon, and as something therefore that had to be prevented at all costs.
• 2) Because he still saw Assyria as a threat and wanted to prevent them from being delivered by Egypt from the Babylonians whom he did not see as so great a threat. The weakness of the argument is that if he recognized that Babylon were likely to defeat Assyria, he must have known how weak Assyria was, and how strong Babylon, thus being a greater threat.
• 3) Because he was in touch with Babylon who had sought his aid in preventing reinforcements reaching Carchemish. Given the fact that Judah had seemingly dealt with Babylon under both Hezekiah and Manasseh, it may well have been that he was approached by Babylon to prevent Egypt intervention occurring, with promises of an alliance in the future. It would certainly explain his precipitate action.
However, if he had been trusting God to keep Judah secure he would have left an Egypt that was not invading Judah to its own devices. So, by marching against the Egyptian army, which was not invading Judah, he was demonstrating his lack of faith in God to preserve Judah. It may also be that he had sinned by entering a foreign alliance. Both were things for which he would have been condemned by the prophets.
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him.
The point may well be that his action in going out against Neco contradicted his action in restoring the Temple. The one asserted his trust in God. The other demonstrated lack of trust and political expediency.
21 But he sent messengers to him, saying, “What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you.”
When Pharaoh, hurrying to the aid of Assyria, saw the large Judean army in front of him in the plain of Megiddo prepared for battle, he was annoyed. He recognized that it was causing a delay that he could not afford. So, he sent ambassadors to seek to talk Josiah out of his ‘madness’, pointing out that he had no hostile intentions against Judah. Rather he was at war with Babylon. And God had commanded him to make haste. Thus, he suggested, Josiah should beware of meddling in affairs which were none of his, but were the direct concern of God, lest God destroy him.
It was not uncommon in those days for an enemy to suggest that the opposition’s God was on his side. It was a regular feature of Assyrian strategy (e.g. 2 Kings 18.25). Thus, his vague ‘God’ was intended to give that impression to Josiah. It as a warning which should have been heeded. So, like all the good kings before him, Josiah failed in the end.
22 Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him but disguised himself so that he might fight with him and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So, he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo.
Pharaoh Neco’s words as ‘from the mouth of God’, meant the God of Israel. God can sometimes use a godless man to get over His message (John 11.51-52). His view was that if Josiah’s heart had been open to God he would have heeded the warning as from God. But Josiah was dead set on his course, and his mind was closed. Nevertheless, presumably because he thought that Pharaoh would tell his men to make a target of him, Josiah disguised himself before going into battle. This was further evidence of his lack of faith, and it was putting him on a par with the godless Ahab who had behaved similarly and came to the same end (18.29). Like Ahab he thought that he could avoid God’s judgment coming on him, and like Ahab he would discover that he was wrong. It was a sad end to a godly reign.
23 And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.”
In the same way as Ahab Josiah found himself the victim of the archers, but here ‘the archers shot at King Josiah’, whereas in the account concerning Ahab ‘a certain man drew his bow at a venture’ (18.33). The stories are sufficiently dissimilar for them not simply to be duplicates. Here the Chronicler stresses the direct intent of God (the archers did not realize that they were aiming at King Josiah). Josiah’s death was not an accident but the consequence of his refusal to listen to God.
The king then called on his servants to carry him away from the battle because he was sorely wounded. Unlike King Ahab he did not seek to convince his troops that he was still in control of the battle (19.34). It was another failure on his part. Once a man begins the downward slide the slide continues.
24 His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So, he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.
The transfer to ‘the second chariot’ was probably because the first was a war chariot and therefore more restricted. The second was more for transport and had more room in it. Their hope was that they could make him more comfortable. But according to 2 Kings 23.30 he died almost immediately, and they brought his dead body to Jerusalem, which was where he should have stayed in the first place. Had he done so he would still have been alive and well.
He was honored in his death. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. They had cause to mourn. His death would soon be followed by Jerusalem’s loss of independence. The good days were over, just as God had warned.
25 Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah. And to this day all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a custom in Israel; and indeed, they are written in the Laments.
The mourning over his death was widespread and long. Jeremiah the prophet lamented his death. The singing men and women also lamented his death, and composed laments in his memory which were sung ‘to this day’ and those laments were made ‘an ordinance in Israel ‘This emphasis on the great laments which followed Josiah’s death stress how much he was loved and how much he would be missed. But most probably did not appreciate that from this time on things would only get worse and worse.
26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness, according to what was written in the Law of the LORD, 27 and his deeds from first to last, indeed they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
Special mention is made, in speaking of ‘his acts’ of the good deeds he had performed about what was written in the Law of YHWH. It was he who had reintroduced the things written in that Law to the nation. And this, together with others of his acts, were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, which was probably the official court history.
