Introduction

2 Kings 23 records the most thorough religious reformation in Israel's history—and its ultimate futility against accumulated sin. Josiah goes further than any predecessor: reading the covenant to the people, destroying idolatrous priests and sites, removing mediums and household gods, celebrating an unprecedented Passover. Yet the narrator notes: "Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath." Josiah's death at Megiddo signals the end of hope.

Covenant Renewal (Verses 1-3)

[1-3] The king gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem—priests, prophets, all the people great and small—to the house of the LORD. He read to them "all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD." Standing by the pillar, the king made a covenant before the LORD "to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul." All the people joined the covenant.

Josiah's Reforms (Verses 4-20)

[4-7] The king commanded Hilkiah and the priests to bring out of the temple all the vessels made for Baal, Asherah, and the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem and carried the ashes to Bethel. He deposed the idolatrous priests who made offerings to Baal, to the sun, moon, constellations, and host of heaven. He brought out the Asherah from the temple, burned it at the Kidron, beat it to dust, and threw the dust on common graves. He broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes.

[8-9] He brought all the priests from Judah's cities and defiled the high places where they had made offerings. He broke down the high places at the gates. The priests of the high places did not come to the LORD's altar but ate unleavened bread among their brothers.

[10-14] He defiled Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, so no one could burn a son or daughter as an offering to Molech. He removed the horses dedicated to the sun at the temple entrance and burned the sun chariots. He broke down altars on the roof (Ahaz's altars) and those Manasseh had made in the temple courts. He broke the pillars, cut down the Asherim, and filled their places with human bones. He demolished the altar at Bethel and burned the high place Jeroboam had built—fulfilling the prophecy of the man of God (1 Kings 13:2">1 Kings 13:2). He burned bones from the tombs on the altar, defiling it.

[15-20] This fulfilled the prophecy "which the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things." Josiah saw the man of God's tomb; they did not disturb his bones. He also removed all the shrines of the high places in Samaria's cities that Israel's kings had made, doing exactly as at Bethel. He slaughtered the priests of the high places on the altars and burned human bones on them.

The Passover (Verses 21-23)

[21-23] The king commanded all the people: "Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant." No such Passover had been kept "since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah." In Josiah's eighteenth year this Passover was kept to the LORD in Jerusalem.

Summary and Judgment Unchanged (Verses 24-27)

[24] Josiah also put away the mediums, necromancers, household gods, idols, and all abominations "that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD."

[25] "Before him there was no king like him, who 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, nor did any like him arise after him."

[26-27] "Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. And the LORD said, 'I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel.'" Josiah's reforms could delay but not cancel judgment.

Josiah's Death (Verses 28-30)

[28-30] The rest of Josiah's acts were written in the chronicles. Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went to the Euphrates to join the king of Assyria. Josiah went to meet him, and Neco killed him at Megiddo. His servants brought his body in a chariot to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. The people took Jehoahaz, anointed him, and made him king.

Judah's Final Kings Begin (Verses 31-37)

[31-35] Jehoahaz reigned three months. "He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD." Pharaoh Neco imprisoned him and put his brother Eliakim on the throne, changing his name to Jehoiakim. Neco exacted tribute from Judah. Jehoahaz was taken to Egypt, where he died.

[36-37] Jehoiakim was twenty-five when he began to reign, ruling eleven years. "He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done." Josiah's death inaugurated Judah's final slide.

Key Takeaways

• Wholehearted reform is possible: Josiah held nothing back.
• Prophecy is fulfilled precisely: Jeroboam's altar destruction happened as foretold 300 years earlier.
• Some judgments are irrevocable: Even Josiah could not cancel Manasseh's earned wrath.
• Death does not respect righteousness: Judah's best king died in battle.
• Next generations may reject reforms: Josiah's sons immediately reverted to evil.

Reflection Questions

1. What made Josiah's reforms more thorough than any predecessor's?
2. Why couldn't Josiah's reforms avert judgment? What does this teach about accumulated sin?
3. How does the fulfillment of the 300-year-old prophecy about Bethel's altar affect you?
4. Why do you think Josiah's sons so quickly abandoned his reforms?