2 Chronicles 35:20–26

These words mark an epoch in the inspired record of the life of Josiah, king of Judah. They show the close of a career of brilliant usefulness. They also show the start of a course of self-will leading to defeat, disaster and death.

Thirteen years pass without any mention made of them. They speak of the long quiet years when principles are being tested. No great work of idol-breaking. No excitement from new discoveries of truth. No great spiritual crises to stir the emotions, such as the wonderful Passover and the service of voluntary self-dedication. Only a calm period, a testing time — the long and eventful years of maintenance, of holding fast to known truth and position.

The nations of the earth are like broken pieces of pottery, and they are quarrelling among themselves. Why is the Lord's anointed mixing himself up in their quarrel, unless he has a word from the Lord telling him to? Does he have such a word? No; but the very opposite.

It was a fair warning, and Josiah should certainly have heeded it. Necho came against Assyria, and had no quarrel with Josiah. He came by sea on this expedition, and landed at Accho. So he was not even on Josiah's territory when that king marched his forces against him — and the blame was his own.

The rule of the Gentile nations soon began, and will only end when the Lord appears. But Josiah, in this matter, did not enquire of the Lord. It was his own eagerness that led him to stand against Pharaoh Necho. He disguised himself, as if he sensed that he would die. Faith in God would have made that disguise needless. He did not even have the faith of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was helping Ahab, yet he would not go into battle without enquiring of the prophet of the Lord, and he went in his royal robes. Jehoshaphat was preserved; Josiah was slain. The God of battles, Who guided the arrow that gave Ahab his death-wound, controlled the archers that killed Josiah. Mercy took him away from the evil to come.

How solemnly instructive this is. How does it happen that the ear that was so attentive a moment ago is now deaf to the voice of God? We are told about another godly king, Uzziah, that "he was marvelously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction" (ESV; an older translation reads "his heart was lifted up"). We may see Josiah's case as something like it. In a believer who stops watching, the flesh grows fat on the very blessings God gives. A lifted-up heart both deafens and blinds. We may refuse to listen to the voice of God. But no disguise can get us out from under His eye, and no shelter will help us.

It is a serious thing for a child of God to persist in doing his own will. Josiah went to Megiddo when he ought to have stayed at Jerusalem, and the archers shot him, and he died. Jonah went to Tarshish when he ought to have gone to Nineveh, and he was thrown into the deep. Paul persisted in going to Jerusalem though the Spirit told him not to, and he fell into the hands of the Romans. Now, all these were true, earnest, devoted servants of God. But they failed in these things. God overruled their failure for blessing, and yet they still had to reap the fruit of their failure.

Josiah had a remarkable warning addressed to him — by the king of Egypt himself! ... Amazing words! Does it seem strange to Christian readers that God would speak through a pagan king to one of His own best servants? The Holy Spirit adds His own comment to Pharaoh's message: "Josiah ... did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God." Here is a remarkable example of the sovereignty of God: He works and speaks through whomever He pleases.

God may speak to believers through any agency, and we should be awake to discern whether it may be God speaking even through an unbeliever. At the very least, Neco's words ought to have made Josiah pause and consider what God's will was in this matter.

The sense there is not at all "stop leaning on God." As our English version rightly puts it, the sense is "stop meddling with God." It is a question of context, not of Hebrew.

The believer who acts on his own, apart from the will of the Lord, meddles with God. He leaves the place of true usefulness — perhaps thinking he is doing good work — and, like king Josiah, he is bound to disguise himself. "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall."

Did Josiah ask counsel of the LORD? Was the good man guided by the LORD when he went out against Neco, who did not intend to attack Judah? The evidence is conclusive that Josiah acted of himself and was not directed by the LORD. The Egyptian king rebuked him. Neco had not come against Judah. God had commanded him to hurry and fight against Assyria. Josiah should have known what the prophets had announced about Assyria and its overthrow ... Perhaps pride played an important part here too. It would have greatly humbled him to give up his uncalled-for warfare.

"He disguised himself." Why do this, if he was sure he was acting for God? Why wear a mask, if he was walking the path God appointed? ... Josiah had no command to fight at Megiddo, and so he could not count on divine protection. "He disguised himself," but that did not shield him from the enemy's arrow.

We are told about another godly king, Uzziah, that "he was marvelously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction," and we may regard Josiah's case as somewhat parallel. Through a lack of watchfulness, the flesh in a believer will grow fat on the very blessings God gives. And a lifted-up heart both deafens and blinds.

It is true that there are voices around us that lure us. Even in religious circles men tell lies while pretending to be sincere, and "many false prophets have gone out into the world" ... But the soul that walks humbly with God, with a heart subject to His Word, will readily tell the difference between His voice and the voice of the deceiver.

Josiah had been set apart from all the course of this world to serve the Lord, he and his people, and we see him meddling in politics! He does not have to wait long for the result: the world punishes us for intervening in its affairs. ... From the moment he entered on this path, Josiah lost his ability to discern the mind of the Lord, and he could no longer recognize the word of His mouth.

Most gladly would we linger over the brilliant and stirring scene in the opening verses of 2 Chronicles 35, but we must bring this paper to an end, and we shall only glance very quickly at the solemn and warning close of Josiah's history. It stands in sad and painful contrast with all the rest of his most interesting career, and sounds a note of warning in our ears that we are bound to take seriously.

Amazing words! Does it strike Christian readers as strange that God should speak through a pagan king to one of His own choicest servants? The Holy Spirit adds His own comment to Pharaoh's message: "Josiah … did not listen to the words of Necho from the mouth of God." This is a remarkable example of the sovereignty of God. He works and speaks through whomever He pleases.

God may speak to believers through any agency. We should be awake to discern whether it may be God speaking even through an unbeliever. At the very least, Necho's words should have made Josiah pause. He ought to have weighed God's will in this matter.

Josiah a few years earlier had a sensitive conscience about the will of God. When the book of the law was read before him, he quietly recognised the divine voice and obeyed it. Why did he not recognise the same voice speaking to him through Pharaoh Necho? How easy it is for any of us to fall into a state of spiritual dullness! Then the voice of God fails to move us, even when it sounds out clearly through some chosen instrument or passage of Scripture.

As long as Josiah walked in the light of God's revelation, his path was lit by the bright beams of God's face. But then he tried to act for himself, and to travel off the straight and narrow way of simple obedience. At that moment dark and heavy clouds gathered around him, and the course that had opened in sunshine ended in gloom. … "He disguised himself." Why do this, if he was conscious of acting for God? Why wear a mask, if he was walking the path God appointed? … We can count on God to the fullest extent if we are walking in His way. But we have no security at all if we try to travel off the line God has drawn. Josiah had no command to fight at Megiddo, and so he could not count on divine protection. "He disguised himself," but that did not shield him from the enemy's arrow.

Josiah takes the Assyrian's side against Pharaoh, something God had in no way commanded him to do. What did he have to do with propping up the tottering structure of this power, Israel's cruel enemy? … Was he commissioned by God to correct world affairs or to lend his support in them? … Josiah had been set apart from all the course of this world to serve the Lord, he and his people. Yet we see him meddling in politics! He does not have to wait long for the result: the world punishes us for interfering in its affairs.

It is a serious thing for a child of God to persist in doing his own will. Josiah went to Megiddo when he should have stayed at Jerusalem, and the archers shot him, and he died. Jonah went to Tarshish when he should have gone to Nineveh, and he was thrown into the sea. Paul insisted on going to Jerusalem though the Spirit told him not to, and he fell into the hands of the Romans. Now, all these were true, earnest, devoted servants of God. But they failed in these things. God overruled their failure for blessing, yet they still had to reap the fruit of it.

The people were completely unworthy of such a godly ruler. Despite the outward reformation, their wickedness called loudly for judgment. So the righteous was taken away from the evil to come. Seen from this angle it was a mercy to the man himself; but to the nation, humanly speaking, it was a terrible disaster.

"He disguised himself." Why do this, if he was conscious of acting for God? Why wear a mask, if walking the path God has appointed? ... We can count on God to the fullest extent if we are walking in His way. But we have no security at all if we try to travel off the line God has appointed. Josiah had no command to fight at Megiddo, and so he could not count on divine protection. "He disguised himself," but that did not shield him from the enemy's arrow.

But Josiah, in this matter, did not enquire of the Lord: it was his own eagerness that led him to stand against Pharaoh Necho. And as if he had a feeling that he would die, he disguised himself, which was not needed if he had faith in God. He did not even have the faith of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat was supporting and helping Ahab. Even so, he would not go to battle without asking the prophet of the Lord. And he went into battle wearing his royal robes. Jehoshaphat was preserved; Josiah was slain. The God of battles, who guided the arrow that gave Ahab his death-wound, controlled the archers that slew Josiah.

A chance arrow struck Ahab despite his disguise, guided no doubt by the God of Judgement. Something similar happened to Josiah. "And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, 'Take me away, for I am badly wounded'" (2 Chron. 35:23). His servants lifted him out of his fighting chariot and put him into another; but sadly, he was soon dead! Megiddo was the scene of a great victory when Barak and Deborah moved in faith against the Canaanites, for God was with them (Judges 5:19). Now Megiddo was the scene of a crushing defeat, for God was not with Josiah in his foolish venture.

Necho came against Assyria, and had no quarrel with Josiah. ... Josiah should also have known a proverb "copied by the men of Hezekiah." It says: "Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears" (Prov. 26:17). ... It was not of faith — otherwise why "disguise" himself? There is no record of any prayer before the battle. The records of so many of his godly ancestors do show such prayer. This rash act of Josiah seems hard to explain. ... And God, who is the God of peace and righteousness, would not preserve him, as He had Jehoshaphat.

There is another way, too, to look at Josiah's early end. The people were completely unworthy of such a godly ruler. Their wickedness, despite outward reform, cried out for judgment. So the righteous was taken away from the evil to come. Seen this way, it was a mercy to the man himself. For the nation, humanly speaking, it was a terrible disaster.

It is a serious thing for a child of God to persist in doing his own will. Josiah went to Megiddo when he ought to have stayed at Jerusalem, and the archers shot him, and he died. Jonah went to Tarshish when he ought to have gone to Nineveh, and he was thrown into the deep. Paul insisted on going to Jerusalem though the Spirit told him not to, and he fell into the hands of the Romans. Now, all these were true, earnest, devoted servants of God. But they failed in these things. God overruled their failure for blessing, yet they still had to reap the fruit of their failure, for "our God is a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29).

The Holy Spirit does not expand on it, but He has recorded it for our learning. It is always His way to give us men as they were. He writes the history of their "deeds, first and last" — good and bad — one as well as another. He tells us of Josiah's piety at the "first," and of his wilfulness at the "last." He shows us that as long as Josiah walked in the light of divine revelation, his path was lit up by the bright beams of God's face. But then he tried to act for himself — to walk by the light of his own eyes, off the straight and narrow way of simple obedience. At that moment dark and heavy clouds gathered around him, and the course that had opened in sunshine ended in gloom. Josiah went against Necho without any command from God. Indeed, he went in direct opposition to words spoken "from the mouth of God." He meddled with strife that did not belong to him, and he reaped the consequences.

He disguised himself, which proves that he had no good conscience about the matter. We are not surprised that Ahab wore a disguise on the battlefield, while shamefully urging his friend Jehoshaphat to expose himself in his royal robes. Ahab knew that God's sentence of judgement hung over his head (1 Kings 22:30), and he would escape it if he could. But Josiah should have known better. The God who has revealed Himself so fully to us in the person of His Son is not served by underhand methods at any time. In everything we do, whether in the world or in the church, let everything bear the full light of day.

He had not even the faith of Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat supported and helped Ahab, yet he would not go into battle without enquiring of the prophet of the Lord, and he went wearing his royal robes. Jehoshaphat was preserved; Josiah was slain. The God of battles guided the arrow that gave Ahab his death-wound. That same God controlled the archers who killed Josiah. Mercy took him away from the evil to come (Isa. 57:1); but there was judgment in the way it happened, and that judgment fell on the guilty city unmixed.

A striking example of this was seen somewhat later when God-fearing Josiah was taken away so that his eyes might not see the disasters that were coming. It could then be said of him that "he shall enter into peace."

In truth the death of this king was the sunset of the kingdom of Judah. A few gleams of light may have lingered afterwards in Jehovah's mercy. But these soon faded into utter night, for both kings and people were deaf to the pleadings of the prophets. It seems the people grasped at once what Josiah's death meant… It was therefore a true national sorrow. The Holy Spirit here points back to it, to illustrate the mourning that will follow when their crucified and glorified Messiah is revealed to their hearts.

Josiah set himself with his whole heart and soul to bring worshippers of carved images back to the living and true God. He was a bright and shining light, and the people were willing for a time to walk in his light. "All his days" they did not turn away from following the Lord. Yet at heart, according to the Lord's own declaration, they were still idolaters. They walked in the light of Josiah, not in the light of the Lord. They lived on the breath of Josiah, not on the words that came out of the mouth of God. They thought to live under the shadow of Josiah, not under the shadow of the Almighty.

"All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah" (2 Chron. 35:24). They might well mourn, for the disaster in the valley of Megiddo was the end of the Kingdom of Judah. The crash had to come, for Jehovah had spoken of it years before. But it is sad that the folly of one of the brightest saints who ever lived should have hastened it! This thought should take every last trace of self-confidence out of us. We are poor stewards of God at best! Only His grace can keep us right for a single hour.

Josiah's death hit Jeremiah and all the people hard, and they lamented greatly. Well they might. His reign had been like a shining light in the middle of Israel's darkness, and that darkness closed in again fast after his death. In fact, the laments of the singing men and women became a regular memorial of Josiah (v. 25).

Do not confuse these "lamentations" with Jeremiah's book "Lamentations." That book was written over the fall of Jerusalem, and so it came after it.

The death of the godly Josiah (2 Chron. 35:24-25) was what directly prompted these songs of unmatched feeling, for Israel's last hope died with this godly king.

Real mourning grows out of sympathy for a neighbour, but it became twisted into shallow professionalism. Lamenting sank into an art, and some won a reputation for their skill (Amos 5:16). Mourning women stood ready to come and take up a wailing for the dead (Jer. 9:17-18), sometimes in songs of mourning (2 Chron. 35:25). The Lord was always tender and gracious to the distressed and afflicted, yet He rebuked this show of hollow grief at the house of the ruler whose daughter had died. He said to the hired mourners, "Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping."

It was with his whole heart and soul that Josiah set himself to work to bring worshippers of carved images back to the living and true God. He was a bright and shining light, and the people were willing for a season to walk in his light. "All his days" they did not turn away from following the Lord. Yet at heart, according to the Lord's own declaration, they were idolaters still. They walked in the light of Josiah, not in the light of the Lord. They lived on the breath of Josiah, not on the words that came out of the mouth of God. They thought to live under the shadow of Josiah, not under the shadow of the Almighty.

The death of this monarch was the sunset of the kingdom of Judah… The people seem to have sensed at once what Josiah's death meant. We read that "all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah… and made them an ordinance in Israel." So it was a true national sorrow. The Holy Spirit points back to it here to illustrate the mourning that will follow when their crucified and glorified Messiah is revealed to their hearts.