Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / 2 Kings 23 (Part 2) Bible Study (Josiah & the Passover/Jehoahaz/Jehoiakim) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

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2 Kings 23 (Part 2) Bible Study (Josiah & the Passover/Jehoahaz/Jehoiakim) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

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Let's come to our Bibles now in Second Kings chapter 23.
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And as we turn there, I want to testify that the Lord encouraged
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my heart earlier this week in a very unique way that made me
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even more excited to prepare for the very passage that we'll be
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looking at. And before I even began
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examining this text, I stumbled upon a headline of a major
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secular news article that was titled The following
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Archaeologist discovered the fingerprint of a biblical figure
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from 2600 years ago. That's something you're going to
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click on. And so I did.
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And here was the summary of that report dated August 4th, 2025.
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Archaeologist found a clay seal with the signature of an
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individual whose name is found in the scriptures and the type
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of seal it was and the writing on it more specifically showed
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that it dated during the first Temple period again 2020, 600
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years ago. And the most exciting part about
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that discovery was that expert believe that the name that was
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on that seal was the son of Asahiu, one of King Josiah's top
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officials. What is the name Asahi?
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You appear in the study of Second Kings, while I told you
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to turn to 2nd Kings 23. But look at chapter 22 verse 12
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very briefly. We looked at this not too long
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ago in Second Kings 2212. And the king commanded Hilkiah
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the priest, and Ahihai the son of Shafan, and Akbar the son of
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Micaiah and Shafan the secretary, and Asiah the King's
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servant, saying it's that last name underline that Asaya, the
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King's servant, isn't that amazing.
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I encourage you after the service to look up that article
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if you're interested in more details and the technical
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aspects of this amazing uncovering.
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But I mentioned it briefly at the outset of this study because
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when I read it earlier this week on Monday morning, it served as
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a providential nudge. A wonderful reminder of the
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authenticity of the scriptures and the reliability of what you
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and I love with all of our hearts.
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Now, I'm always encouraged to see people come here on Friday
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nights, but I am not certain of the different levels of faith
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that are represented here. And whatever the strength of
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your faith may be, know this what we've been devoted to week
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after week on Friday evenings, it's not.
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It's not us building our convictions or learning lessons
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from myths or allegorical stories.
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No, we have been immersing ourselves in God's truth that He
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has given us and has protected and preserved throughout the
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ages and has never failed to be confirmed and uncovered and
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realized in undeniable ways. And I praise the Lord for His
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ability to provide timely encouragement for our efforts
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and studying God's Word, especially in this book as we
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near its completion. That's right, we're almost
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finished this book, and that will be especially more real to
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us because we plan to finalize chapter 23 today.
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And while there is much that occurs in the rest of this
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chapter, there are three main events that are worth
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highlighting this evening. And these events also provide a
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wonderful way of organizing our observations and our
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reflections. And they are easily identifiable
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because they all start with the letter P, the Passover, the
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passing, and the progeny. We'll be looking together at the
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Passover that King Josiah charges the people of God to
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celebrate. Moreover, we will look at the
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passing of King Josiah, the report of his death, and
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finally, we will consider the progeny, the descendants of
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Josiah, and unfortunately, how disappointing they are.
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Shall we begin? We're looking at Second Kings
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23, verse 21, and we will read down to verse 23.
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And the king commanded all the people.
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Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in
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this book of the covenant. For no such Passover had been
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kept since the days of the judges who judge Israel, or
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during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of
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Judah. But in the 18th year of King
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Josiah, this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem.
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Let's pray. Well, we ask that you would help
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us, guide us, illumine our hearts, enlighten our eyes that
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we may behold the death of your wisdom, Jesus, who he is, what
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he has to offer us, what it means to follow Him.
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Lord, we want to know all that you have to say in this passage
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and we we rely on your help to discover it for ourselves.
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We give you thanks again for the eternal Word of God that is in
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our hands. In Jesus name we pray.
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Amen. Well, yet again we're being
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reminded that King Josiah's efforts to reform the land, the
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country, the nation has reached a new level in the 18th year of
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his reign. It was the word of God that was
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the driving force for King Josiah to cleanse the land of
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all its spiritual filth. And as effective and widespread
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as his efforts were, we learn here that it didn't cross 19
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verses where good you've been here, second cross been here.
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Second Chronicles 35. And while we will not look at
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every detail, we will look at key things that made this
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moment, this feast, so distinguishable.
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And through it we will learn the kind of worship that truly
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pleases the Lord. So turn with me to Second
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Chronicles 35, verse one. The Spirit expounds on this in
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19 verses, but we'll start here at the beginning.
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In Second Chronicles 35, verse one, we read Josiah kept a
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Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered
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the Passover lamb on the 14th day of the first month.
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So in this introduction alone, there are at least two things on
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worth underscoring #1 notice that Josiah kept the Passover to
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the Lord, to the Lord. This reinforces what we heard
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the past two weeks. The motive of Josiah's obedience
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to God? It was for God and for God
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alone. Everything that this man did was
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stimulated by his sincere ambition to bring pleasure to
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God, to honor God, to exalt the Lord.
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And this is even shown in the the following 2 verses of this
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chapter. Look more specifically at verse
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3. We read here that he commands
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the Levites to do what? To return the ark to its
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rightful place, to bring it back into the most holy place.
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Now why is he doing that? Before he does anything, before
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he places any Levite at any station, before he slaughters
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any animal, he wants to make sure that the ark is rightly
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positioned. Why?
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Because that ark is a symbol of God's earthly throne, and in
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Josiah's mind, he did not see it valuable or profitable to
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worship in the temple. If God is not seated where he's
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supposed to be seated, if God is not exalted, if he's not the
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center, why move forward with this feast?
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And so his priority at this moment was bring the ark and
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position it where God designated it to be, and everything would
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orbit around that. And this is yet another call to
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remembrance about our worship. Is it motivated for God?
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Is it to the Lord? Is it for his smile?
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Is it for his pleasure? That's the essence of worship.
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But more than that, we see something else in verse one and
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that is how the feast was performed at its designated
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time. Did you notice how we're told
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that it was celebrated on the 14th day of the first month?
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When I first read this I thought why mention it?
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Why mention it when God had already said that this is when
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it was supposed to be celebrated?
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It seems unnecessary. Seems redundant unless that many
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of the Passover's before this were not celebrated when God
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said it should be celebrated. That's precisely why it's being
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brought up. And the overarching lesson is
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that Josiah was extremely mindful of the details of God's
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Word. There is not one thing he was
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relaxed on. There was not one thing he
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wanted to miss. Anything that God had prescribed
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and mentioned, God wanted. Josiah wanted to honor and
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observe with all of his heart, even in the timing of the feast.
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And this is something that he longed to do and you see it
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throughout these verses. I mean, if you actually take the
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time to look at Second Chronicles 35, you just you find
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how meticulous and surgical Josiah was and we see it in one
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strong example. Just Scroll down again.
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We don't have the time to look at everything.
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Look at verse 13 and what the Holy Spirit says.
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After much organization happened, we read here and they
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roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule, and
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they boiled the holy offerings and pots and cauldrons and in
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pans and carried them quickly to all the lay people.
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I'm going to pause here and open it up for answers to this
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question. What stands out to you from this
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one verse? There should be things that
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stand out. We are students of the Hebrew
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Scriptures. What stands out to you about
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this commentary? Somebody said something.
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OK, The generosity. That's one thing that we will
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consider at a moment. According to the rule.
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Absolutely. That's emphasized over and over
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again. Anything else?
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What do they do to the lamb? They roasted it.
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Why is that important? Because when God had given His
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original decree about the Passover after slaughtering the
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lamb in Exodus 12/8, they were instructed to roast the lamb.
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Why? Because again, all of the
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Passover points to Christ, and people tend to just limit the
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understanding of the Passover to Christ being our Passover lamb
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in His sacrificial death. And it's a Tony work, yes, but
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when the lamb was roasted, that's a picture of Christ
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enduring the fury of God's wrath.
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And so they didn't skip this part.
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They didn't just slaughter the lamb and apply his blood.
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No, they even went to the point of roasting it.
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We see something else in this one verse.
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What else? This one's a little bit more
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difficult to pinpoint, but it's equally important.
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Look at it again. There's no rush.
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Very, very good. Did you hear it?
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Look at the last part and carry them quickly to all the lay
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people. Why is that important?
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Anybody have an idea? Well, because in Exodus 12,
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verse 11, listen to these words in this manner, You shall eat it
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with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your
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staff in your hand, and you shall eat it in haste.
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It is the Lord's Passover. Even the speed of the feast was
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honored by Josiah and his officials.
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They were to eat in haste. What's that a picture of?
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Well, it's a picture of many things.
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One of my favorite applications of this truth is that it speaks
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about the readiness and the willingness of the one who has
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tasted of Christ to flee out of Egypt, to escape slavery and
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bondage, to run into the wilderness, to worship the Lord
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in haste. Today is the day of salvation.
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That's the picture. So you see, every single
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ingredient and instruction points to an element of the
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gospel. And Josiah honored every part he
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could. The roasting of the lamb, eating
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it in haste. And when I meditated on Josiah
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zeal and discipline not to deviate in the slightest from
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God's word, I was reminded of Jesus words and what He expects
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of us as worshippers, as obedient servants to Him.
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This verse was opened to me many, many years ago and I
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praise God for it because it transformed the way I view God's
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word and the way I apply it to my life.
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This is worth turning to in Matthew 5 and look at verse 19.
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I pray that it makes an impact on your heart and even a greater
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impact than what it's done for me.
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Matthew 519. Jesus says, Therefore, whoever
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relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches
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others to do the same will be called least in the Kingdom of
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heaven. But whoever does them and
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teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven,
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not powerful. Whoever relaxes.
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What does it mean to relax something?
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Ah, it's not a big deal. I don't take it too seriously.
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I don't get too caught up in the minutiae of God's word, of his
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commands, of his instructions. Whoever relaxes one of these
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commandments, the least of these commandments, what did Jesus
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say? They'll be called the least in
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the Kingdom. I don't know about you.
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I don't want to be called least in the Kingdom.
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You can call me the least in this world all you want, but
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when it comes to the eternal Kingdom of the Son of David, if
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there's a way to be commended by God beyond this, I'm pursuing
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it. And one of the qualifications of
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knowing excellence in the eyes of God is by looking at every
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detail on His Word and saying this is God's Word.
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I'm not going to relax one element of it.
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But whoever does them, notice the emphasis here.
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Notice the priority. Whoever does them and teaches
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them. There are a lot of people who
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want to teach but not do. Whoever does them first and then
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teaches them will be called great.
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What is greatness in the eyes of Jesus?
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Those who look at every part of his word and say, God, by your
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grace and strength, help me honor the least of these
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commandments. Josiah was such a man.
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And I'm sure you can see how we can linger here for a while.
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But for the sake of time, let's consider one more trademark of
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this Passover. And somebody already alluded to
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it, and it is the radical willingness and sacrifice it
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took to carry it out. Second Chronicles 35, Look at
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verse 7. Very quickly then, Josiah
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contributed to the lay people as Passover offerings for all who
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are present, lambs and young goats from the flock to the
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number of 30,000 and 3000 bulls. These were from the King's
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possessions. This is remarkable.
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So Josiah doesn't just instruct the people to honor this feast,
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he helps them honor it. This is impressive generosity on
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the King's part, and though the amount of the donation is
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impressive, it's the reason why he is charitable that's more
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moving. It could be that many of these
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people couldn't afford to give at the Passover.
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And so Josiah saw this need and because of that, he did what he
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could from a personal level to help people encounter God.
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He didn't just enjoy this feast for himself.
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He sought to do what he could do to draw people to the Lord and
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allow the Lord to make himself known to the people.
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And here's what I took from this.
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What a change it would bring to our attitude in giving and our
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even even our experience in giving if we viewed it in a
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similar way. I want to encourage you and I
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want to encourage myself to view giving as a means to help people
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come into contact with Christ, to experience the Lord.
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I mean, is there any other way of knowing greater thrill in our
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giving than that mission, than that purpose?
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Here's Josiah reaching into his own possessions, his own
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resources, and doing what he can to ensure that as many people as
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possible can taste the lamb, can see their need for a Savior and
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praise God. Even this day and age, there are
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many ministries that are working very hard to do just that.
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And one of the ways that we can advance such a purpose is by
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doing what Josiah did, sacrificing, investing, thinking
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critically and eternally. How is it that I can help move
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forward the things of God? And what I love about Josiah is
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that his passionate priority was contagious.
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Look at verse 8 right after and his officials contributed
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willing to the people. Do you see that as soon as
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Josiah stepped out with his wholehearted commitment and
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radical worship, radical generosity, others saw and they
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said, we want to do it, sign us up.
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Is there any other need? You know, sometimes it just
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takes one person to step out and do something for the Lord to
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move others. And perhaps in your own circles,
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you're looking around, you're wondering why aren't people
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doing more, praying more, loving more, serving more, evangelizing
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more? Will you ever consider you
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stepping out and seeing what would happen out of your
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obedience? That's exactly what this man
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does. His officials followed him and
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it just became this infectious spirit.
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Whatever this this amazing sense of inclusiveness and we find it
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here in verse 18. I won't read it, but if there's
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one more thing we can say about this unique Passover is how a
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united Judah and Israel. In a manner that the nation had
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never experienced in a long, long time.
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We see there that Israel, whoever was left after this year
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in exile, joined Judah to celebrate this Passover.
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No wonder it stood out. If you want more reasons you
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have, you have the permission to study it further and look into
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it. But we must move forward and
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look at the passing. Let's come back to Second Kings
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23, the passing of King Josiah. We read the first 3 verses of
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the section. Let's read on in verse 24.
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Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and
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the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that
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were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might
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establish the words of the law that were written in the book
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that Hill Kai, the priest found in the House of the Lord before
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him. There was no king like him who
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turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and
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with all his might, according to all the law of Moses, nor did
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any like him arise after him. Still the Lord did not turn from
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the burning of his great wrath by which his anger was kindled
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against Judah because of all the provocations with which Manasseh
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had provoked him. And the Lord said, I will remove
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Judah also out of my sight as I've removed Israel, and I will
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cast off the city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the House
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of which I said my name shall be there.
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So Josiah's wonderful efforts did not change God's indictment
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against Jerusalem and Judah. He knew this already.
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Hold of the prophetess assured him that nothing would alter
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God's judgement and His wrath being poured out against his
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people. And we're being reminded of
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that. That is awesome as this Passover
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was. It did not change God's mind.
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It was sealed, and this is the main part now of the second
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element of our study, verse 28. Now the rest of the acts of
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Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of
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the Chronicles of the kings of Judah?
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In his days Pharaoh Nikko, king of Egypt, went up to the king of
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Assyria, to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him and
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Pharaoh Nikko killed him at Megiddo as soon as he saw him,
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and his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddon,
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brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb.
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And the people of the Atlantic Joaz, the son of Josiah, and
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anointed him and made him king in his father's place.
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Oh, how I had hoped that Josiah's story would have ended
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in that wonderful climax. Wouldn't a bit?
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Wouldn't have been refreshing to just simply read that Josiah led
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the people in exuberant praise, faithful worship, and then he
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died. That's not what we find.
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Instead, we find Josiah dying in a very questionable manner.
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There are a few questions you and I should have.
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The first one is why are we being told that the Pharaoh at
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the time was making his way to meet with the king of Assyria?
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Second, why did King Josiah feel the need to intervene and try to
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impede this Egyptian advancement?
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And lastly, why was he killed the moment that Pharaoh saw him?
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Where do you think we're going to find our answers?
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You're right. So let's go there.
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In Second Chronicles, we're told in far greater detail exactly
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why this happened. Chapter 35, verse 20.
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After all this, all what? The Passover after all that was
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done, all that was accomplished, all that was celebrated, when
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Josiah had prepared the temple, Nikko, king of Egypt, went to
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fight at Carcamish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out
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to meet him. But he sent envoys to him,
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saying, What have we to do with each other?
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King of Judah, I am not coming against you this day, but
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against the house with which I am at war, and God has commanded
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me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with
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me, lest he destroy you. Interesting.
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So we already have more light. Egypt was moving forward because
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they were on the move for war. This is what's taking place.
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But war with whom? If you just had Second Kings and
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Second Chronicles, you would think that he's going to war
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with Assyria. But when you look at Jeremiah in
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chapter 46, we discovered that Egypt was actually preparing to
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go to war with gas Babylon, which means that he was meeting
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with Assyria to make an alliance to come against the rising power
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of Babylon. That's what's happening here.
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So we answer that. But the following question is
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why is Josiah including himself in this?
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This has nothing to do with Judah.
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There is no mention here whatsoever, no hint that Egypt
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or Seer or Babylon have Judah on the radar, and yet he he feels
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compelled to interject himself and to try to hinder Egypt.
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No explanation is given. Could it be though, that Josiah
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is looking at these geopolitical shifts and remembering hold of
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the prophetess and her word about the coming judgement
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against Judah, is seeing all of this as preparation for that
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prophecy to come to pass? And for whatever reason at this
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point he wants to try to prevent it from happening?
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That's just speculation. It's just a thought to consider.
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Nothing is told, nothing is explained plainly, but whatever
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the reason was, Josiah believes that stepping in in this way
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would somehow benefit the Kingdom of Judah, when in
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reality it would lead to his own demise.
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There are a few important truths from this that we need to apply.
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The first thing is how we as believers need to be very
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careful involving ourselves in squabbles that do not directly
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involve us or God's Kingdom. The strongest example of this
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today is how many believers are investing most of their time and
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energy in things like cultural, political battles at the expense
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of them growing and investing in what truly matters, the gospel
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ministry, the Word of God. Now, I'm not suggesting at all
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that we should avoid or be passive from engaging in various
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aspects and spheres of society when opportunities arise to
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promote righteousness or to denounce wickedness.
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That's what I'm saying. I'm talking about those who
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identify more strongly, who are energized with greater thrill to
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a political party than the church, or coming to a point
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where they think that they should involve themselves in pop
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cultural scandals discussed on podcast instead of knowing the
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promises of God and prophecies in scripture.
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There are many Christians like this.
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In fact, we can even add this dimension.
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This is a wonderful example of being careful, of not getting
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ourselves sucked into trivial theological debates, Debates
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that are fruitless, UN Christ like, ego driven, unproductive.
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So many Christians are fighting the wrong battle.
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They're so preoccupied with things that don't truly matter.
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And Josiah is an example of that.
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He steps outside of where he's supposed to be and into an arena
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that is going to be dangerous for him.
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And I'm afraid there are many Christians who are doing the
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same to the detriment of their own spiritual vitality and
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growth, even to the tarnishing of their own testimonies.
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Josiah shows us that even the most righteous and Bible
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obsessed believers can get distracted and lose focus and
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what God tells us to keep our eyes on.
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The second thing to notice how we can lose our sensitivity to
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God's counsel. One of the most remarkable
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things about the verses we just read was that when Pharaoh
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learned that Josiah was on his way to actually fight against
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them, he warns him. And how does he warn him?
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God told me I'm supposed to do this, get out of the way.
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And Josiah, if you don't get out of the way, you're going to be
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destroyed. There's debate here.
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Is Pharaoh lying? Is Pharaoh saying that Yahweh is
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the one who spoke to him? Or is he claiming that one of
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his own deities gave him this Commission?
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The answer is actually in verse 22.
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Look at the first part, more in the middle.
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Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but
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disguised himself in order to fight with him.
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He did not listen to the words of Nico from the mouth of God.
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There's your answer. It was the real God, the true
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God, the only God that made this known to Pharaoh.
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And Pharaoh is telling Josiah. God told me to do this, so it
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must have been in the dream, or perhaps a prophetic word that he
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received. We're not given the explanation
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of how Pharaoh knew that God was the one who gave him this
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revelation, but the commentary is clear.
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God did tell him and Josiah chose to ignore him.
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And we can sympathize with Josiah.
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God told you Pharaoh, A Pagan king, to do this.
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However, there is something that Josiah could have done and
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should have done. The least that he could have
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done was take this very grave warning and bring it before the
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Lord. Was there a king who received
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more than one letter? More specifically, a threat from
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a foreign king who claimed to speak on behalf of God?
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Yes, Hezekiah, you remember that right?
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Where the Syrian king on more than one occasion tried to
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persuade him that God told them to surround Jerusalem and to
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ransack them. But what did Hezekiah do with
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those threats? He didn't fold them in his
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pocket. He went to the temple of the
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Lord and laid it before the feet of God and say, Lord, what's
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this all about? What am I supposed to do with
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this? And God gave him a word.
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Josiah does no such thing. Pharaoh says God told me to do
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this and it didn't matter to him.
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He didn't stop and think, He didn't receive counsel.
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Instead, we realized that he disguises himself and goes ahead
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anyway. This seems so out of character
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for a man who was known for his tender heart and wisdom.
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In fact, it's even more startling than you think.
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I want you to see something in verse 20 to verse 23 and tell me
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if it sounds familiar. Nevertheless, Josiah did not
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turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to
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fight with him. He did not listen to the words
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of Nico from the mouth of God, but came to fight in a plane of
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Megiddo, and The Archers shot King Josiah, and the king said
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to his servants, Take me away, for I am badly wounded.
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Does this sound familiar? Oh, I see a lot of heads
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nodding. What does it sound like?
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The way Ahab died in First Kings 22.
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Do you remember? Ahab received the prophetic word
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that if he were to go to battle, he was going to what?
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You're going to die? So what does he do?
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He disguises himself and once he's on the field, what
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happened? An arrow shot him.
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And once he was shot, what did he say?
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He made a request to the driver of the chariot.
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Take me back home. This is so intentional.
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What's the lesson that a man for most of his life who imitated
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the love and devotion of King David died the death similar to
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wicked King Ahab? If it hasn't registered yet,
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hopefully Josiah will convince us.
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It's not how you start, it's how you finish.
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And no matter how strong your start is, if you're not
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dependent on the Lord daily, even men of such caliber can end
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in unthinkable ways. If you ever heard of a minister,
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a ministry crashing and burning, a thought to yourself, how did
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that happen? Here's Josiah, one of the most
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renowned praised individuals in all of redemptive history.
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And the Holy Spirit portrays his end and mirrors it to King Ahab.
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May God keep us. May you cling to the Lord.
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May I cling to the Lord. This is amazing to witness.
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The artistry of the Bible is astounding.
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So we find here something about the passing.
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But there is one more thing I'd like to mention before we go to
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the final part of our study. As we're still processing the
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passing of King Josiah, look at the intensity of the lament for
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this man in verse 25, Second Chronicles 35, verse 25,
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Jeremiah also uttered A lament for Josiah.
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Pause. That says something about Josiah
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for this prophet who denounced most of the nation throughout
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his ministry, that when Josiah died, he lamented for him.
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Josiah was a truly godly man. He had a lapse of faith.
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He did not finish in the most exemplary way, but that did not
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disqualify his walk with God. Jeremiah was broken.
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He grieved. Can you imagine the sight of
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Jeremiah not just weeping over the sins of the people, but
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weeping over this man of God? He was raised up in the 13th
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year of his reign. I wonder what kind of
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conversations they had. I wonder how they encouraged one
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another. This signals to me that Jeremiah
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surely knew Josiah and he understood that Josiah was a
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true man of God, and he lamented when he died.
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But it wasn't just him. We go on and all the singing men
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and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this
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day. They made these a rule in
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Israel. Behold, they are written in the
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laments, a book that we don't have today.
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So the grief over Josiah, the words that were spilled over
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him, the accolades, the acknowledgments, they were
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recorded and kept. That's how monumental this man
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was. That's the kind of impact he
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made in this Kingdom. And here's the most remarkable
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thing. So great was this lament that
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Zechariah the prophet used it to reference a future brokenness
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that will come to the people of Israel.
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In Zechariah 12 we learn of a time, a time to come, when
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Israel will look on him whom they have pierced, and they will
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mourn after him as one mourns after an only child.
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They will realize that Jesus Christ is their Messiah, that
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they did indeed reject him and Pierce him and kill him, but in
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one moment the nation as a whole will turn to him, repent, and
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crown him as their Messiah. And here's a reference that is
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made in Zechariah 12/11. On that day, the morning in
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Jerusalem will be as great as the morning of Haddad Ramon in
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the plain of Megiddo. So whatever's happening here in
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Second Kings 23 and Second Chronicles 35 has an element of
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prophecy to it, and it encourages us yet again to see
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Josiah as some type of a Christ. We've touched on this throughout
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our study in Josiah's life. And here's yet another one.
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What we find here is just as Josiah was killed after leading
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Israel, one of the greatest Passovers, the Lord Jesus, was
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pierced after celebrating the fulfillment of the Passover.
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Is that right? However, Josiah is different in
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this way, inferior, far more inferior than Jesus.
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He celebrates the Passover, then he's killed.
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Jesus celebrates the Passover. The fulfillment of the Passover
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inaugurates the New covenant. He is killed.
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What's the difference? Josiah walks to his death
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because of disobedience and stubbornness.
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Jesus walks to his death because of selfless love and total
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submission to the will of God. That's the difference.
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Let your heart enlarge in tonight to see how these
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passages are perfumed with prophecy pointing to the
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substance Jesus. This is the passing.
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Let's look at the final thing. That's the progeny, which is
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another word for descendants. Let's come back to Second Kings
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23 and let's read from verse 31 down to verse 37.
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Joe Has was 23 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 3
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months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamotel,
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the daughter of Jeremiah of Libna.
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And he did what was evil in the side of the Lord according to
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all that his father's had done. And Pharaoh Nico put him in
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bonds at Ribla in the land of Hamas, that he might not reign
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in Jerusalem, and laid on a land a tribute of 100 talents of
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silver and a talent of gold. And Pharaoh Nikko made Eliakim
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the son of Josiah king, in the place of Josiah his father, and
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changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jowaz away, and he
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came to Egypt and died there. And Jehoiakim gave the silver
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and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money
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according to the command of Pharaoh.
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He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land
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from everyone, according to his assessment, to give it to
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Pharaoh. Nikko Jehoiakim was 25 years old
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when he began to reign, and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem.
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His mother name was Zebeda, the daughter of Padaya of Ruma.
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And he did what was evil in the side of the Lord, according to
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all that his father's had done. An unthinkable and tragic
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reversal just took place in the broader narrative.
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God's story, this crucial transition of power in the
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Kingdom of Judah is unlike anything that we've seen.
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Think about it this way. We just read how the king of
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Judah, including the northern part, all of Israel, celebrate
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the Passover. What's the Passover about?
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Recognizing and remembering their deliverance from bondage,
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from slavery, their original exodus.
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They commemorated that together. And once King Josiah dies and is
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replaced by his son, Pharaoh takes Josiah's successor and
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brings him back to Egypt. And then he takes Josiah's other
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son, places on the throne, gives him a new name, and then taxes
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him. And the people.
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What do you have here? In essence, the people of Israel
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going back to their bondage, to their original slavery, to who
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they were before God brought them out and made them a people.
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This is massive. This is the big picture.
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This is the overarching theme of this section.
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They're going back, and it's setting the stage for yet
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another massive turning point in God's grand story.
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But here's how we view it on a personal level.
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Why did Pharaoh, after just three months of Josiah's son
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becoming king in such a vicious way, arrest him, seize him,
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abduct him, and then supervise over the Kingdom of Judah?
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I think the best answer is the context that we just covered.
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Josiah poked the wrong bear. Josiah ignored God's word, made
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a move against Pharaoh, and it could be that Pharaoh, even
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after Josiah's death, thought that Josiah's descendants would
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potentially be a future threat. And so he acts early and he
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subdues them in this moment of transition and vulnerability.
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Here's what ran through my mind when I meditated on this earlier
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today. There are many here who aspire
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to be parents, many here who have become new parents.
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Wherever you are in that area of life, never forget Josiah's
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sobering example. A parent's willful disobedience,
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prayerless decisions, and hard headedness can even lead their
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children into bondage. Josiah's foolishness didn't just
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affect him, it affected his sons.
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Pharaoh didn't just go after Josiah, he went after his
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children. And I think there's a very
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practical illustration here that you and I, especially the men of
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this house, have to understand that your devotion to God does
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not just impact you. You can't do anything about
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that, by the way. It's inscribed in God's law.
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You're the head of the house. Your decisions or lack thereof,
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your walk with the Lord or lack thereof can have generational
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effect. Now, you can hear that and that
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scare you, or you can hear that and that excite you.
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And I hope it excites you because God has given us
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everything we need to be men of God.
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And that's what we find here, an unfortunate story of a man who
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was a remarkable king, but perhaps not the best dad.
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Oh, there's much more that we can say here, but I'll just end
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it on this point. We're never going to see a good
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king after Josiah. There will be a handful of kings
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after this, and it'll just be one big failure after another
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until the Lord brings Babylon to sweep up the place.
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And this will change our Bible study and a major way moving
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forward. We're not there yet.
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A cliffhanger, perhaps a couple of chapters left, but I think
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that's enough for us to meditate on.
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Let's pray and thank the Lord. Father, we've heard so much in a
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short amount of time. Thank you for these truths in
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the Passover, in the passing of this man, and even in the
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progeny of this king. Lord, what a great mistake it
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would be to hear these things and not use them to inspect our
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own hearts. Lord, we want to finish well.
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We've heard it over and over again in our study of kings, and
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there's a reason why you repeat it.
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Lord, help us not get involved in conflicts, battles,
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investments that you've not called us to will help us not
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lose our sensitivity to your counsel that when you speak, we
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would hear it. We would take heed that we would
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have enough discernment to see your providential interruptions.
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Oh Lord, we can't wait for the day when Israel will crown your
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Son Jesus as a Messiah. We pray for the nation of
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Israel. Help them, Lord, more
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importantly than anything else, we're not asking for political
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gain, military victories, We're not asking for any of that.
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We're asking for their eyes to be open to see the the gospel
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and how Christ is a fulfillment of what they are looking for.
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Well, we ask finally that we would see the joy of walking
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with you and that we would feel the weightiness of what it means
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to be your servant, especially if we are leaders in any
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capacity. Lord, give us the grace like
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Josiah in the beginning of this story, inspiring others to live
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for you, but help us do it where it matters most in the home and
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it for it to flow from there. Lord, with all that was said,
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help us retain it. Help us remember it, chain it
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around our hearts. We trust that you'll bring these
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things to remembrance and for that we say thank you.
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In Jesus name we pray, Amen and Amen.
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Why don't we stand and worship the Lord?
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Isn't his word wonderful? Oh, this is God's word.