2 Chronicles 35:1 - Meaning and Application

Josiah’s destruction of idols and idolatry is described more fully in Kings, but this chapter only mentions it briefly in the previous chapter (v. 33). Here, the writer gives much more detail about Josiah’s great Passover, which is touched on in (2 Kings 23:21). Of all the feasts in the ceremonial law, the Passover was the chief one. It began with Israel’s escape from Egypt, and it reached its close in the night when Christ was betrayed.

When Hezekiah and Josiah, these two great reformers, celebrated the Passover, religion was revived in their day. The Lord’s Supper is the closest New Testament picture of the Passover. When churches keep that ordinance rightly, it helps both the beauty of the church and the godliness of individual Christians. Religion cannot flourish when that Passover is ignored or poorly observed. Bring it back, and make a serious matter of that moving and binding ordinance, and other reforms may follow too.

In Hezekiah’s Passover account, the people showed great zeal and deep feeling. Here, we see less of that spirit. The people seem to have joined in more because the king wanted it than because they were eager themselves (2 Chronicles 35:17, 18). They took some pride in the outward form of religion, but little joy in its power. Still, even if the people lacked inner devotion, the leaders and ministers did their duty and made sure the outward service was done with proper reverence.

First, the king encouraged and directed the priests and Levites to do their work in this solemn service. He may have seen them slow, careless, or unwilling to move beyond their usual habits. When ministers are like that, it is proper for magistrates to stir them up to duty. “Say to Archippus, Take heed to your ministry” (Colossians 4:17). Josiah handled the clergy in several ways here.

He brought them back to the duties assigned by the law of Moses (2 Chronicles 35:6) and by the order set by David and Solomon (2 Chronicles 35:4). He put them in their proper place and charge (2 Chronicles 35:2). He did not invent new work or force a new method on them. Instead, he called them back to what had already been established. Their duties were written down, so they were to arrange themselves according to the divisions of their families (2 Chronicles 35:5). Our rule is also settled in the written word, and magistrates should see that ministers walk according to it and do their duty.

He also ordered the ark to be put in its place. It seems it had been moved from its proper location, perhaps by wicked kings who made room for idols, or by Hezekiah when repairs were being done on the temple. Whatever the reason, Josiah told the Levites to put the ark in the house (2 Chronicles 35:3), and not carry it from place to place as they may have done earlier, thinking to justify it by the practice before the temple was built. Since the priests were freed from that burden, they were now to be careful in other services connected with the ark.

Josiah also charged them to serve God and his people Israel (2 Chronicles 35:3). Ministers must see themselves as servants both of Christ and of his church for his sake (2 Corinthians 4:5). They must labor faithfully for the glory and honor of God and for the good of his people. Paul calls himself “a servant of God” (Titus 1:1). Ministers are not to rule over people’s faith, but to help their holiness and joy. By God’s strength, there is no real conflict between those two duties.

He also told them to sanctify themselves and prepare their brothers (2 Chronicles 35:6). A minister’s work must begin at home. They must first make themselves holy, turning from sin, separating from the world, and giving themselves to God. But it must not stop there. They must also help prepare others by warning, teaching, urging, encouraging, and comforting them. The preparing of the heart is from the Lord, but ministers are to be his instruments.

Finally, he encouraged them in the service (2 Chronicles 35:2). He spoke kindly to them, as Hezekiah did before him (2 Chronicles 30:22). He promised them his support. Those we call to duty, we should also encourage. Most people respond more readily to encouragement than to threats.

Next, the king and the princes, following his example, gave generously for the cost of the Passover. These ceremonial services were costly, and that may have been one reason they had been neglected. People were not zealous enough to spend on them, and they were not eager for them now either.

Josiah paid from his own wealth for the Passover lambs and the other sacrifices used during the seven days of the feast. He gave 30,000 lambs for the Passover offerings, which the worshipers were to eat, and 3,000 bulls (2 Chronicles 35:7) for the sacrifices during the following seven days. Those who are serious about religion should make it as easy as possible for others to do what is right. And when God sows generously, he expects a generous harvest in return. It seems likely that many in the congregation had not brought what was needed, so if Josiah had not supplied it, God’s work would have stopped.

The chief priests, who were men of wealth, also helped cover the priests’ expenses, just as Josiah had done for the people. The princes (2 Chronicles 35:8), meaning the chief priests, the leaders of the holy tribe and the rulers of God’s house, bore the priests’ charges. Some of the rich and important Levites also supplied cattle, both large and small, for the offerings (2 Chronicles 35:9). For those who sincerely want to do their duty, God’s providence sometimes raises up friends to support them in ways they never expected.

The priests and Levites carried out their work very willingly (2 Chronicles 35:10). They killed the Passover lambs in the temple court, the priests sprinkled the blood on the altar, and the Levites skinned the animals. Then they gave the meat to the people by their families (2 Chronicles 35:11, 12), with no fewer than ten and no more than twenty people to each lamb. The people took it to their rooms, roasted it, and ate it according to God’s command (2 Chronicles 35:13).

For the other thanksgiving sacrifices, the meat was boiled according to the law for peace offerings and quickly divided among the people. This let them share the meal as a sign of their joy in the atonement, that is, the payment for sin, and their reconciliation with God through it. The priests and Levites also took care to honor God by eating the Passover themselves (2 Chronicles 35:14).

Ministers should not think that caring for other people’s souls excuses them from caring for their own. Neither should they think that public worship takes the place of prayer and devotion in their homes and private lives. The Levites prepared the meal for themselves and for the priests, because the priests were fully taken up all day with the altar service. So the Levites made sure the food was ready by supper time, so the priests would not have to prepare their lamb when it was time to eat. From this, ministers should learn to help one another and support one another’s work, like brothers and fellow servants of the same Master.

The singers and gatekeepers also stayed in their places and carried out their duties (2 Chronicles 35:15). The singers, with their holy songs and music, expressed the congregation’s joy and stirred it up, making the service pleasant. The gatekeepers at the doors watched carefully so nothing would come in to defile or disturb the assembly, and so no one would slip away before the service ended. While they were busy with this, their brother Levites prepared the Passover lambs for them.

The whole service was carried out with great care, exactly according to the law (2 Chronicles 35:16, 2 Chronicles 35:17). Because of that, no Passover since Samuel’s time had been like it (2 Chronicles 35:18), since Hezekiah’s Passover had several irregularities. Bishop Patrick also notes that this Passover surpassed those of the earlier kings in another way. Josiah was far less wealthy than David, Solomon, and Jehoshaphat, yet he provided the whole assembly with animals for sacrifice, both for the Passover and the thanksgiving offerings, at his own expense. No king before him had done more.