2 Chronicles 35:20 - Meaning and Application

It had been thirteen years since Josiah’s famous Passover and his death. We may hope that things went well in his kingdom during that time, that he prospered, and that true religion flourished. Yet Scripture gives us no pleasing report of those years, because the people were still not turned from their love of sin, and God had not turned from the heat of his anger.

The next news we hear about Josiah is tragic. He was cut off in the middle of his life and usefulness, before he was even forty years old. We already had this sad account in 2 Kings 23:29, 2 Kings 23:30, but here it is told in a little more detail. What appears here is more blame on Josiah, and more praise for the people, than we might have expected.

Josiah was a very good ruler, but he must also be blamed for his rashness and self-confidence in going to war against the king of Egypt without good reason or a clear call. It was bad enough, as 2 Kings shows, that he got involved in a quarrel that was not his own. Here it looks worse, because the king of Egypt had sent messengers to warn him against this attack (2 Chronicles 35:21).

The king of Egypt, Necho, argued with Josiah on three grounds. First, he appealed to justice. He said he meant no harm to Josiah, so it was unfair, against common fairness and the law between nations, for Josiah to attack him. Even a righteous man should not expect success if he joins an unjust cause, because God does not show favoritism. See Proverbs 3:30; Proverbs 25:8.

Second, he appealed to religion. He said, “God is with me. In fact, he commanded me to hurry, so if you stop me, you are interfering with God.” We should not assume he was merely pretending, as Sennacherib did in a similar case (2 Kings 18:25), because the text says here that Necho’s words came from the mouth of God (2 Chronicles 35:22). So we must think that God had somehow made his will known, either through a dream, a strong inner impulse Necho had reason to believe was from God, or through Jeremiah or another prophet.

Third, he appealed to policy and prudence. He warned Josiah, “He will destroy you.” In other words, it was dangerous to fight against one who had a stronger army, a better cause, and God on his side.

This was not in anger against Josiah, whose heart was right with the Lord his God. Rather, it was in wrath against a hypocritical nation that did not deserve so good a king. Josiah became so blinded that he would not listen to these fair arguments and stop his march. He refused to turn back, went in person, and fought the Egyptian army in the plain of Megiddo (2 Chronicles 35:22).

Even if Josiah doubted that the king of Egypt truly had a command from God, once Necho claimed such a command, Josiah should have asked God first before going out against him. His failure to do that was his great fault, and it brought fatal results. In this matter, he did not walk in the ways of David his father, for David would have asked the Lord, “Shall I go up? Will you deliver them into my hand?” How can we expect to prosper if we do not acknowledge God in our plans?

The people were very wicked, yet they deserve much praise for mourning Josiah’s death as they did. I am not surprised that Jeremiah lamented him, since he was the weeping prophet and clearly saw the complete ruin of his country coming after this good king’s death. But it is surprising to find that all Judah and Jerusalem, that dull and stubborn people, mourned for him (2 Chronicles 35:24).

They arranged for singing men and singing women to lead the mourning, so that the grief would spread through the kingdom. They even made this a fixed practice in Israel, so the sad songs written for this event would be learned and sung by people of all kinds. They also made sure the memory of it would last, because these laments were included among the state poems and written in Lamentations.

This showed, first, that they had some respect for their good king. Even if they did not fully follow his godly reforms, they still deeply honored him. Useful and godly people will be seen clearly in the consciences of even those who refuse to follow their example. Many who will not live by serious godliness themselves still cannot help speaking well of it in others.

Perhaps some mourned Josiah after he was dead who had not thanked God for him while he was alive. Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron while they were with them and even spoke of stoning them, yet when they died, they mourned for them for many days. We are often taught the value of blessings only when we lose them, even though we did not prize them as we should while we had them.

Second, their mourning showed that they felt some of their own danger now that Josiah was gone. Jeremiah likely told them about the trouble they should now expect, since the one who had protected them had been taken away. So far they believed his warning that they grieved for the death of the one who had been their defense.

Many people can more easily be moved to cry over troubles coming on them than to turn from sin and stop those troubles by reforming their lives. They will shed tears over judgment, but they will not give up their sins. But godly sorrow leads to repentance, and that repentance leads to salvation.