# Josiah Celebrates the Passover. (2 Chronicles 35: 1-35)

An episode of [The Bible Journey Daily Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1570210433), 30 Sep 2026, 32 min.

Audio: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1728449/episodes/19820484-josiah-celebrates-the-passover-2-chronicles-35-1-35.mp3

Send us Fan Mail This Podcast is part of season 23 of a project to complete an in-depth study of the entire Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. Episode Notes: Have you ever heard stories of believers who walked faithfully with the Lord for decades only to stumble badly right at the end of their lives? It’s heart-breaking when it happens. And when you read the historical books of the Old Testament, you discover that even some of the most outstanding leaders were not immune to this tragic pattern. One of the most striking examples is King Josiah, the king of Judah we have been studying. If ever a king seemed destined to finish well, it was Josiah. And yet, right at the end, his unbelief led to a premature death. A moment of misjudgment occurred. A decision made outside the will of God, and the life of one of Judah’s greatest kings was cut short. What happened? How could a man so faithful fall so suddenly, and what does his story teach us about finishing well? Join me in 2 Chronicles chapter 35, where we’ll walk through Josiah’s final days, days filled with devotion, worship, courage, and ultimately, a tragic misstep that reminds us that no believer, no matter how faithful, is beyond the need for continual dependence on the Lord. Support the show This podcast is entirely the work of Jeremy R. McCandless... Follow and support me as an independent podcast creator on Patreon. Jeremy McCandless | Creating Podcasts and Bible Study Resources | Patreon To receive my weekly newsletter and keep up to date with all five of my podcasts, subscribe at: Jeremy McCandless | Substack Check out my other Podcasts. My History of the Christian Church: https://thehistoryofthechristianchurch.buzzsprout.com The L.I.F.E. Podcast: Philosophy and current trends in the Arts and Entertainment. https://the-living-in-faith-everyday-podcast.buzzsprout.com The Renewed Mind Podcast. My Psychology and Mental Health Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568891 The Classic Literature Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568906 To visit my Author page on Amazon and view my entire back catalogue of books on both Amazon and Kindle, and now also on Audible, Visit: Amazon.com: Jeremy R Mccandless: books, biography, latest update

## Transcript

[0:14] SPEAKER_00: Have you ever heard stories of believers who walk faithfully with the Lord for decades only to stumble badly right at the end of their lives?
[0:22] SPEAKER_00: It's heartbreaking when that happens.
[0:24] SPEAKER_00: And when you read the historical books of the Old Testament, you discover that even some of the most outstanding leaders were not immune to this tragic pattern.
[0:33] SPEAKER_00: One of the most striking examples is Josiah, the king of Judah, who we've been studying recently.
[0:40] SPEAKER_00: Josiah pretty much lived an exemplary life.
[0:43] SPEAKER_00: He sought the Lord early on, he led sweeping reforms, he was the one who restored worship in Judah.
[0:50] SPEAKER_00: He recovered the Word of God and he humbled himself before the Word, and because of that he postponed the judgment of God.
[0:58] SPEAKER_00: If ever a king seemed destined to finish well, it was Josiah.
[1:03] SPEAKER_00: And yet, right at the end, his belief led to a premature death.
[1:09] SPEAKER_00: A moment of misjudgment occurred, a decision made outside the will of God, and the life of one of Judah's greatest kings was cut short.
[1:18] SPEAKER_00: What happened?
[1:19] SPEAKER_00: How could a man so faithful fall so suddenly?
[1:23] SPEAKER_00: And what does this story teach us today about finishing well?
[1:27] SPEAKER_00: Well, join with me today in 2 Chronicles chapter 35, where we walk through Josiah's final days.
[1:36] SPEAKER_00: Days filled with devotion, worship, courage, and ultimately a tragic misstep that reminds us that no believer, no matter how faithful, is beyond the need for continual dependence on the Lord.
[1:51] SPEAKER_00: Welcome to today's episode of the Bible Journey Daily Podcast.
[2:15] SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's begin.
[2:18] SPEAKER_00: We're going to see Josiah's Passover in the first twelve verses of this chapter, and it is a model of ordered worship.
[2:27] SPEAKER_00: We begin in verse 1, where the chapter opens with a description of his Passover celebration, one of the most carefully organized and spiritually significant Passovers we see in all of Israel's history.
[2:41] SPEAKER_00: It says, Josiah kept a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lambs on the 14th day of the first month.
[2:50] SPEAKER_00: So this takes place in Josiah's 18th year of his reign.
[2:55] SPEAKER_00: So when he's 26 years old, the same year he completed the repair of the temples.
[3:00] SPEAKER_00: Just as Hezekiah done before him, Josiah led the people in observing the Passover, which is of course the greatest feast of Israel, the one that commemorates their redemption from Egypt.
[3:12] SPEAKER_00: Josiah's reforms were not merely structural or political, they were deeply spiritual.
[3:17] SPEAKER_00: And the Passover was the centerpiece of that renewal.
[3:21] SPEAKER_00: The text continues, He set the priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service of the house of the Lord.
[3:29] SPEAKER_00: So Josiah personally instructs the priests and the Levites concerning their responsibilities and all this.
[3:35] SPEAKER_00: He didn't simply command them, he is also seen to encourage them.
[3:39] SPEAKER_00: He strengthened their hands for the work.
[3:42] SPEAKER_00: Verse 3 They put the holy ark in the house which Solomon built.
[3:46] SPEAKER_00: It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders.
[3:49] SPEAKER_00: This is fascinating.
[3:50] SPEAKER_00: This means the ark must have been removed from the temple at some point.
[3:54] SPEAKER_00: Why?
[3:54] SPEAKER_00: Well, there are several possibilities.
[3:56] SPEAKER_00: The priests may have moved it to protect it from being profaned for a time.
[4:01] SPEAKER_00: Manasseh or another adulterous king may have ordered its renewal.
[4:06] SPEAKER_00: Josiah himself may have relocated it temporary during the temple repairs.
[4:12] SPEAKER_00: We don't really know, but whatever the reason, Josiah now commands that the ark be restored to its rightful place.
[4:18] SPEAKER_00: The days of carrying it from place to place, as in the wilderness, were now over, because the temple was rebuilt, the worship was restored, and the ark now belonged in the Holy of Holies.
[4:31] SPEAKER_00: Verse 4 Prepare yourselves according to your fathers' houses, and follow the written instructions of David and Solomon.
[4:39] SPEAKER_00: So Josiah calls the Levites back to the ancient order established by David and reaffirmed by Solomon.
[4:46] SPEAKER_00: They were to divide themselves according to their families, their clans, take up their stations, and serve in the temple as according to Scripture.
[4:55] SPEAKER_00: Verse 6 Slaughter the Passover offerings, consecrate yourselves, and prepare them for your brethren.
[5:02] SPEAKER_00: So the Levites were to consecrate themselves and to slaughter the Passover lamb to prepare them for the people.
[5:08] SPEAKER_00: They were to carry out every detail according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.
[5:15] SPEAKER_00: So Josiah is restoring worship not by innovation, but by returning to Scripture.
[5:21] SPEAKER_00: We then see Josiah provide for the people in verses 7 through 9.
[5:26] SPEAKER_00: Josiah gave the lay people, lambs and young goats, 30,000 from the flock and 3,000 cattle.
[5:34] SPEAKER_00: Now, because the land had become impoverished at this point, caused by the Assyrian oppression, Josiah provides most of the animals needed for this feast.
[5:43] SPEAKER_00: Now other leaders contributed what they could, but Josiah's generosity is seen to stand out here.
[5:50] SPEAKER_00: Hezekiah had once given 7,000 sheep and a hundred bulls in his day, but Josiah gives 30,000 lambs and goats plus 3,000 cattle.
[6:01] SPEAKER_00: This is demonstrating extraordinary generosity.
[6:06] SPEAKER_00: Verse 8 and 9 enlists the contributions of the officials, the priests, the Levites, the leading men of Judah who give generously to support the worship of the Lord.
[6:16] SPEAKER_00: The chief priests follow their fellow priests, 2,600 Passover offerings and 300 cattles.
[6:23] SPEAKER_00: The head of the Levites give 5,000 Passover offerings and 500 cattle.
[6:29] SPEAKER_00: So Josiah's leadership and his generosity inspires generosity in others.
[6:35] SPEAKER_00: His devotion is stirring the whole nation, and his example is moving others to give sacrificially.
[6:42] SPEAKER_00: Then in verse 10 we see the Passover begin.
[6:45] SPEAKER_00: The service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their divisions, according to the king's commandments.
[6:53] SPEAKER_00: Everything was ready, the divisions were set, the priests were consecrated, the Levites were organized, the ark was restored, and the offerings were prepared.
[7:03] SPEAKER_00: Now the Passover can begin.
[7:05] SPEAKER_00: Verse 11.
[7:06] SPEAKER_00: They slaughtered the Passover offerings, and the priests sprinkled the blood while the Levites skinned the animals.
[7:12] SPEAKER_00: So the Levites slaughter the lambs, the priests sprinkle the blood on the great altar, and the Levites prepare the animals for consumption.
[7:21] SPEAKER_00: This is a sort of picture of worship in motion.
[7:24] SPEAKER_00: Scripture-based, reverent, joyful worship.
[7:29] SPEAKER_00: It continues.
[7:38] SPEAKER_00: So the burnt offerings that were not used for the Passover meal were distributed to the people along with the cattle.
[7:45] SPEAKER_00: Everything it was done, it tells us, as written in the book of Moses.
[7:49] SPEAKER_00: So there's nothing wrong going on here.
[7:52] SPEAKER_00: Josiah's Passover is not merely a ritual, it is actually being positioned as a return to biblical worship, as written in the book of Moses, a return to covenant faithfulness and a return to the heart of Israel's identity.
[8:10] SPEAKER_00: Then it says they roasted the Passover offering with fire according to the ordinance, but the other whole holy offerings they boiled in pots, cauldrons, and pans, and divided them quickly among all the people.
[8:23] SPEAKER_00: So, so far so good.
[8:26] SPEAKER_00: The Passover lambs were roasted exactly as commanded.
[8:29] SPEAKER_00: That's in Exodus 12 and Deuteronomy 16.
[8:32] SPEAKER_00: You find out about that.
[8:34] SPEAKER_00: About that, the other offerings, those not part of the Passover meals of the Passover meal were boiled and distributed quickly so that everyone could participate.
[8:44] SPEAKER_00: And afterwards the Levites prepare then prepare portions for themselves and for the priests.
[8:50] SPEAKER_00: Well, why?
[8:51] SPEAKER_00: Because the priests at that point were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of offerings.
[8:56] SPEAKER_00: They were busy offering burnt offerings in fat until nightfall, so the Levites stood in to prepare food for them when they'd finished.
[9:05] SPEAKER_00: Only the lambs and goats were used for the Passover itself.
[9:09] SPEAKER_00: The cattle were used for thanks offerings and fellowship offerings, it tells us.
[9:14] SPEAKER_00: Verse 15 continues, the singers were in their place according to the commandment of David, and the gatekeepers were at each gate.
[9:22] SPEAKER_00: So good.
[9:23] SPEAKER_00: The musicians are in place as well.
[9:25] SPEAKER_00: The gatekeepers were stationed, the Levites were serving, the priests were sacrificing.
[9:30] SPEAKER_00: Everyone has been shown here to be exactly where they're supposed to be, and the worship is ordered, reverent, joyful, and scriptural.
[9:41] SPEAKER_00: So they all attend to the sacrificial meal, so that the singers and the gatekeepers could remain at their posts.
[9:47] SPEAKER_00: Another one, no one was pulled away from their ministry to serve and worship.
[9:52] SPEAKER_00: Verse 16 says, So all the service of the Lord was prepared the same day according to the commandment of King Josiah.
[10:00] SPEAKER_00: So everything is done according to Scripture.
[10:03] SPEAKER_00: Everything is done as instructed and given to Moses, everything is done according to the template, the pattern established by David, and everything is done under Joshua's command.
[10:16] SPEAKER_00: This is probably a picture of the worship of the nation at its finest.
[10:22] SPEAKER_00: Verse 17 says the children of Israel kept the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days.
[10:29] SPEAKER_00: Now that's right and proper too, because Passover always flowed into the seventh day in the feast of unloved bread, and Joshua is leading the nation through the entire series of festivals here.
[10:41] SPEAKER_00: In verse 18, it then says, There has been no Passover kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel the prophet.
[10:48] SPEAKER_00: So this is extraordinary.
[10:50] SPEAKER_00: In that sentence, it's telling us that not even David, Solomon, or Hezekiah held a Passover quite like this, the one that Josiah held.
[10:59] SPEAKER_00: This Passover was more thorough than Hezekiah's, more scriptural than many before, and more heartfelt than the grand but hurried celebrations that took place under some of the earlier kings.
[11:12] SPEAKER_00: It wasn't necessarily the largest Passover that ever been held.
[11:17] SPEAKER_00: It maybe wasn't the most extravagant, but what we've been told here is that it was the most pleasing to the Lord, because the worship was pure, ordered, and sincere.
[11:28] SPEAKER_00: Everything recorded for us from verse 8 to verse 19, from chapter 34, verse 8, all the way through to verse 35, 19, happened, all of these events have happened all within the year when Josiah was twenty-six years old.
[11:44] SPEAKER_00: But then at this point forward the narrative shifts.
[11:48] SPEAKER_00: The passing of Josiah is seen, and a lifetime of faith we will see is followed by a moment of fatal misjudgment.
[11:56] SPEAKER_00: Verse 20.
[11:57] SPEAKER_00: After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco, king of Egypt, came up to fight against the king of Assyria by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out against him.
[12:10] SPEAKER_00: So after this detailed years description, thirteen years passed in silence.
[12:15] SPEAKER_00: Nothing is recorded about Josiah's reign during that time.
[12:18] SPEAKER_00: Then we're told at 39 years old, Josiah makes a fateful decision.
[12:24] SPEAKER_00: You see, Egypt was marching north to assist Assyria against Babylon.
[12:29] SPEAKER_00: Assyria was collapsing, and Nineveh itself had fallen in 612 BC.
[12:35] SPEAKER_00: The Babylonians were rising rapidly, and Egypt feared Babylon more than the Assyrians, so this pharaoh called Neko marched through Palestine to help Assyria hold the line at the Euphrates.
[12:48] SPEAKER_00: And Josiah favored Babylon and he wanted to stop Egypt, so he went out to try and intercept this Pharaoh, Neco and his army.
[12:56] SPEAKER_00: Verse 21 then tells us, but he sent messengers to him, saying, What have I to do with you, King of Judah?
[13:03] SPEAKER_00: I am not coming against you this day, for God commanded me to make haste.
[13:07] SPEAKER_00: Refrain from meddling with God who is with me, lest he destroy you.
[13:12] SPEAKER_00: Now this is an astonishing verse.
[13:15] SPEAKER_00: What's going on here?
[13:16] SPEAKER_00: A pagan king, Pharaoh, Necto, claims that God has commanded him, and he warns Joshua not to interfere, and he tells Joshua that if he resists, God will destroy him.
[13:29] SPEAKER_00: Now normally we would dismiss such a statement as political propaganda, but the chronic tells us something well shocking here.
[13:37] SPEAKER_00: Josiah did not listen to the word listen to the word of Neco from the mouth of the Lord.
[13:44] SPEAKER_00: So God is apparently speaking through a pagan king here, not in order to save Egypt or to bless this Pharaoh Neco, but to manoeuvre Egypt into Babylonian's path so that Babylon could destroy both Egypt and Assyria, thereby fulfilling God's plan for Judas, chastening.
[14:03] SPEAKER_00: And Joshua refuses to listen.
[14:06] SPEAKER_00: Instead he disguises himself, and we see him go out to battle.
[14:10] SPEAKER_00: And then he's fatally wounded.
[14:12] SPEAKER_00: It's not saying Josiah didn't lose his salvation, but he did die prematurely because he acted outside the will of God.
[14:20] SPEAKER_00: So a lifetime of faithfulness ends in a moment of fatal misjudgment.
[14:25] SPEAKER_00: The passage then continues with a sobering statement.
[14:28] SPEAKER_00: Nevertheless, Josiah would not turn his face from him but disguised himself so he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Neko from the mouth of God.
[14:39] SPEAKER_00: So like I said, Josiah refused to believe the warning, even though the message was explicitly said to be from the mouth of God.
[14:48] SPEAKER_00: And therein lies the heart of this tragedy.
[14:51] SPEAKER_00: Josiah, who had spent his entire life listening to the word of God, responding to the word of God, obeying the word of God, but now at the very end he rejects the word of God.
[15:01] SPEAKER_00: And the painful irony is he rejects it because the message comes through a foreign king.
[15:07] SPEAKER_00: Now, one commentary I read noted that the chronicler includes this event precisely because Josiah came closer to that Davidic idea of a king than any other since Solomon.
[15:20] SPEAKER_00: He was, in a sense, the best of the best, the brightest light in an overall dark age, the most faithful king Judah had seen.
[15:28] SPEAKER_00: Well, certainly for centuries, yet even he stumbled, even he disobeyed, and even he didn't finish well.
[15:35] SPEAKER_00: And this is why his reign did not continue any longer than this point of failure.
[15:41] SPEAKER_00: But the true son of David, the one who never failed, was still to come.
[15:45] SPEAKER_00: You see, when the Messiah returns, he will win the final battle on the very same ground where Josiah fell, and the plain of Medigo, later called Armageddon, will later be called Armageddon.
[15:57] SPEAKER_00: I'm sure that place and phrase and name is familiar to you now.
[16:03] SPEAKER_00: You see, Josiah could not really imagine that God's hand was behind this Egyptian king and what he was doing.
[16:09] SPEAKER_00: But his key mistake was not that he didn't listen or listened without caution.
[16:15] SPEAKER_00: His key mistake was that he did not inquire of the Lord about this.
[16:19] SPEAKER_00: He didn't pause, we don't see him pray, we don't see him seek counsel, he simply acted, and his impulsive act meant he acted wrongly.
[16:29] SPEAKER_00: And then verse 23 tells us the archer shot King Josiah, and he said to his servants, Take me away, for I am severely wounded.
[16:40] SPEAKER_00: So Josiah was struck down by archers with a random arrow, it seems, and it caused a wound that could not be healed.
[16:47] SPEAKER_00: And he's taken away by chariot, and then placed on a second chariot, and then brought back to Jerusalem.
[16:54] SPEAKER_00: And there he is died, and we're told he was buried with his father, and we are told that all Judah and Jerusalem mourn deeply, not surprisingly.
[17:03] SPEAKER_00: Now, this is now the year 609, and Josiah has interrupted Egypt's advance towards Babylon, but he paid for it with his life.
[17:13] SPEAKER_00: And then verse 25 contains what is called Jeremiah's lament.
[17:18] SPEAKER_00: Jeremiah, sometimes actually called the weeping prophet, composes laments for Josiah's death.
[17:24] SPEAKER_00: The singers, both men and women, continue to sing these laments for generations.
[17:29] SPEAKER_00: It becomes a sort of custom in Israel.
[17:31] SPEAKER_00: Now the laments mentioned here are not the laments we see in the Book of Lamentations, but they at that time were well known, deeply loved, and it was loved, and it would seem long remembered.
[17:43] SPEAKER_00: So Josiah's death shocks the nation and it singles the beginning of the end for them.
[17:49] SPEAKER_00: Those who understood the word of the Lord knew that the divine wrath of God was now imminent because God had tarried, delayed because of Josiah.
[17:59] SPEAKER_00: Josiah had been the last bright light before the darkness of the exile.
[18:04] SPEAKER_00: And then the chronicle writer concludes, verse 26 and 27, and so and says, Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his goodness according to what was written in the law of Moses, they are all written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
[18:21] SPEAKER_00: So Josiah was a man of the word of God.
[18:25] SPEAKER_00: He lived by the law of the Lord.
[18:27] SPEAKER_00: He judged the cause of the poor and the needy.
[18:29] SPEAKER_00: He knew God, he sought God early, and he obeyed the wisdom and the revelation that he received from God.
[18:36] SPEAKER_00: And Jeremiah 22, verse 16, writing of him, says, He judged the cause of the poor and needy, then it was well, was not this knowing me, said the Lord.
[18:47] SPEAKER_00: So Josiah knew the Lord, he knew God, and he turned to the Lord many times in his life, and he did so with all his heart, and no king before him or after ever really matched his devotion, and yet still he died prematurely because he refused or ignored a word from the Lord.
[19:06] SPEAKER_00: So what are we to make from this story?
[19:09] SPEAKER_00: Well, I think the lesson is clear.
[19:11] SPEAKER_00: Josiah honored the Lord by keeping the Passover according to the law of Moses.
[19:15] SPEAKER_00: He restored the worship, he revived the nation, he led with integrity and he obeyed Scripture, but he did not believe the word of the Lord when it came through a foreign king, and as a result he died prematurely.
[19:28] SPEAKER_00: This is another example of the immediate retribution of sin, and that is a theme that we've sadly seen repeatedly in this book of two Chronicles, and one Chronicles as well.
[19:40] SPEAKER_00: Josiah joins the list of kings who began well but ended poorly.
[19:45] SPEAKER_00: Asa, Joash, Uzziah, and now Josiah.
[19:50] SPEAKER_00: He was the only reforming king to receive a direct warning before his fatal mistake.
[19:56] SPEAKER_00: He sensed a military threat, but the key thing is he acted without seeking the Lord and the message that was given to him.
[20:03] SPEAKER_00: Now over Kings and Chronicles we have now witnessed thirty-nine kings, thirty-nine accounts of the divided kingdom, and out of those thirty-nine kings, only six are declared to have followed the Lord.
[20:18] SPEAKER_00: So this is one situation where you don't want to follow the majority.
[20:23] SPEAKER_00: Josiah's story is a case of unbelievable unbelief right at the end.
[20:28] SPEAKER_00: He was a man who trusted God all his life but failed to trust him in that one crucial final moment, and that moment cost him his life.
[20:37] SPEAKER_00: So what's the application about all this for us?
[20:41] SPEAKER_00: Well, ultimately, of course, it's about finishing well.
[20:44] SPEAKER_00: But let me finish with a New Testament reflection and application on Josiah's life.
[20:49] SPEAKER_00: Josiah's story is one of the most sobering in all scripture.
[20:53] SPEAKER_00: This was a man we know who walked faithfully, a man who led, obeyed the word of Lord, and obeyed wholeheartedly.
[21:01] SPEAKER_00: And he was the one who restored worship, revived the nation of Judah, and indeed we're told he postponed the judgment of God.
[21:09] SPEAKER_00: And yet, in one moment at the end of his life, he stepped outside the will of God.
[21:14] SPEAKER_00: It is ultimately a story of unbelief at the end.
[21:18] SPEAKER_00: But not because Josiah never believed, but because he stopped believing at the one moment when belief mattered most.
[21:25] SPEAKER_00: And the New Testament gives us parallels that help us understand this.
[21:30] SPEAKER_00: The most powerful is probably Peter's final night before the crucifixion.
[21:36] SPEAKER_00: Think of it.
[21:37] SPEAKER_00: Peter.
[21:38] SPEAKER_00: Peter, the one who walked with Jesus for three years, the one who witnessed his miracles, and the one who confessed Christ as the Son of God when asked.
[21:48] SPEAKER_00: He even walked on water himself, for goodness sake.
[21:51] SPEAKER_00: He preached the kingdom, he healed the sick, he cast out demons.
[21:54] SPEAKER_00: He was really part of the inner circle.
[21:58] SPEAKER_00: If ever there was a disciple who Seemed destined to finish well, surely it was Peter.
[22:03] SPEAKER_00: And yet, on the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter denied him three times.
[22:09] SPEAKER_00: Three times.
[22:11] SPEAKER_00: Just like Josiah, Peter's failure did not erase his past faith, it didn't undo his salvation, and neither did it cancel his calling.
[22:20] SPEAKER_00: But it did show him and us something vital that even the strongest believers can feel when they stop listening to the Word of God.
[22:29] SPEAKER_00: Josiah stopped listening, Peter stopped listening, and both fell.
[22:35] SPEAKER_00: Now Paul also comments and gives us a New Testament principle of this Josiah principle, if I can call it that.
[22:42] SPEAKER_00: In this statement, when he writes in 1 Corinthians 10, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.
[22:50] SPEAKER_00: Josiah clearly stood faithfully, he stood courageously at times, he stood obediently, but he stopped taking heed.
[22:58] SPEAKER_00: He stopped listening.
[23:00] SPEAKER_00: He stopped inquiring of God.
[23:02] SPEAKER_00: He stopped seeking the Lord and he fell.
[23:05] SPEAKER_00: So Paul's warning that given here in Corinthians is not for weak believers, it's actually a warning for strong ones.
[23:13] SPEAKER_00: The one who thinks he stands strong, the one who assumes he's safe, the one who believes that he has got beyond failing.
[23:20] SPEAKER_00: And Josiah is meant to remind us that no one is beyond the need for continual dependence of God.
[23:27] SPEAKER_00: Now that writer to the Hebrews also says on this principle, let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking on to Jesus.
[23:35] SPEAKER_00: Now Josiah could have been said to run that race well.
[23:39] SPEAKER_00: He ran faithfully and with zeal and he ran his whole life with devotion.
[23:44] SPEAKER_00: But when he stopped looking on to the Lord at the end, and he did that because he looked to his own judgment and he acted on his own impulse.
[23:52] SPEAKER_00: He trusted his own instincts, and because of that he stumbled literally at the finishing line.
[23:58] SPEAKER_00: So Hebrews again here reminds us that the Christian life is not a sprint, it's a marathon.
[24:05] SPEAKER_00: It's not just about how you begin.
[24:07] SPEAKER_00: In fact, it's certainly not how you begin that matters most.
[24:11] SPEAKER_00: It's how you run the race and how you finish.
[24:14] SPEAKER_00: Josiah's story is not a story of condemnation.
[24:18] SPEAKER_00: Nothing in it positions that way.
[24:21] SPEAKER_00: It is a story that is meant to stand as a warning but also as a comfort.
[24:25] SPEAKER_00: Because Paul also, in response to this, says if we are faithless, he still remains faithful when he wrote to Timothy in his second letter.
[24:35] SPEAKER_00: Josiah's failure did not erase God's faithfulness.
[24:38] SPEAKER_00: Josiah's misstep did not undo God's mercy, that had already been granted, and Josiah's unbelief did not cancel God's covenant relationship with him and his people, but he did die prematurely.
[24:52] SPEAKER_00: He died loved, he died forgiven, he died faithful in the eyes of God, even though he failed at the last hurdle in the eyes of men.
[25:00] SPEAKER_00: His failure was real, but God's faithfulness was greater than that failure.
[25:06] SPEAKER_00: So what do we learn from Josiah today?
[25:09] SPEAKER_00: Well, I think five clear things.
[25:12] SPEAKER_00: A, a life of obedience does not guarantee a faithful finish.
[25:17] SPEAKER_00: We must walk humbly, daily, and dependently in order to finish the race well.
[25:23] SPEAKER_00: Secondly, even the strongest believers can feel, and they feel when they stop listening to the word of God.
[25:29] SPEAKER_00: We must continue to inquire of the Lord in every decision we make daily.
[25:35] SPEAKER_00: Thirdly, God sometimes speaks through unexpected voices.
[25:39] SPEAKER_00: Now Josiah refused this word from a foreign king, but it was a word from God, and we need to listen sometimes to the voices of common sense no matter where they come from.
[25:51] SPEAKER_00: And fourth, finishing well requires living in a state of continual dependence, not relying on our past faithfulness.
[26:01] SPEAKER_00: Yesterday's obedience does not replace today's need for discernment.
[26:06] SPEAKER_00: And finally, failure will never erase God's faithfulness.
[26:11] SPEAKER_00: Joshua died prematurely indeed, but it actually says he died in peace.
[26:16] SPEAKER_00: Now, my final word today is in light of all this, is I believe ultimately it's a calling us to look to the greater Josiah.
[26:25] SPEAKER_00: Josiah was a great king, but he was not a perfect king.
[26:28] SPEAKER_00: He was faithful, but he wasn't perfect.
[26:31] SPEAKER_00: He was devoted, but he wasn't divine himself.
[26:34] SPEAKER_00: He was obedient, but he was not omniscient.
[26:37] SPEAKER_00: He was a reformer, but he could never be the Redeemer Himself.
[26:41] SPEAKER_00: And the chronicler is trying to leave us longing for an even greater king who is still to come.
[26:47] SPEAKER_00: One who never fails, never stumbles, never misjudges any situations, never obeys the will of the Father, and never stops listening, never stops trusting and seeking his Father.
[27:00] SPEAKER_00: Not just a king who finishes well, but a king who one day will finish perfectly and a king who will finish triumphantly.
[27:09] SPEAKER_00: And that king is Jesus.
[27:12] SPEAKER_00: Josiah is actually pointing to him.
[27:15] SPEAKER_00: And Josiah's failure reminds us that we need him still.
[27:19] SPEAKER_00: Josiah's death anticipates the one whose death brings life.
[27:24] SPEAKER_00: Josiah ultimately died because he stopped listening, but Jesus died because he never stopped listening to the will of God and obeying.
[27:32] SPEAKER_00: Josiah died prematurely, but Jesus died purposefully.
[27:38] SPEAKER_00: Josiah died in a battle, but Jesus died to win the battle that we all have to face in life, the battle with sin.
[27:46] SPEAKER_00: And even geographically, Josiah died in this place called Megado, and Jesus, we know from the New Testament, will return to that very place and win the final victory one day.
[27:58] SPEAKER_00: Josiah's story ends in unbelievable unbelief considering the life he's lived.
[28:04] SPEAKER_00: But Jesus' story ends in unbelievable grace.
[28:09] SPEAKER_00: Thanks be to him that we all can benefit from that still.
[28:15] SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me today.
[28:48] SPEAKER_00: A story that is sobering, one of the most sobering in all of Scripture.
[28:54] SPEAKER_00: And yet, Josiah reminds us that faithfulness is a lifelong calling.
[28:59] SPEAKER_00: It's not meant to be a season.
[29:02] SPEAKER_00: It also reminds us that obedience must be renewed daily, not assumed, not ever assumed, because even the strongest believer must keep listening, keep seeking, and keep depending on the Lord.
[29:16] SPEAKER_00: And yet Josiah also reminds us of something else, something that can be profoundly comforting.
[29:22] SPEAKER_00: That even when we fail, God remains faithful.
[29:25] SPEAKER_00: Even when we stumble, his mercy does not end, and even when our story falters, his story continues.
[29:32] SPEAKER_00: Josiah died prematurely, that's for sure, but he died known by God, and he died as a man who nearly for all his days walked in the light of the Lord.
[29:43] SPEAKER_00: But his death will mark a turning point.
[29:45] SPEAKER_00: With Josiah gone, the bright light of Judah's monarchy is now extinguished, and the nation will now slide rapidly towards complete collapse, and the warnings of the prophets that come again and again will be ignored.
[29:58] SPEAKER_00: The kings who follow him will be weak, corrupt, foolish, or all of those things, and the judgment that Josiah postponed will now finally fall.
[30:09] SPEAKER_00: Now the next chapter we're doing tomorrow is 2 Chronicles 36, and it is one of the most solemn chapters in all of the Old Testament.
[30:18] SPEAKER_00: It is the story and account of a nation that would not listen, a people who would not repent, and a kingdom that is finally torn down stone by stone, and it is the story of what happens when all is destroyed.
[30:32] SPEAKER_00: And yet, even there, God is not finished.
[30:35] SPEAKER_00: Even in the destruction, we will find he is still working, even when they're in exile, he remains faithful, even in their judgment, he is preparing them for redemption again.
[30:46] SPEAKER_00: So I do hope you'll join me next time as we conclude this series through One and Two Chronicles with our final episode, which asks, What happens when all appears to be destroyed?
[31:00] SPEAKER_00: Now it's going to be a hard chapter to finish on, but a necessary one.
[31:04] SPEAKER_00: And it sets the stage for the hope that follows.
[31:08] SPEAKER_00: And that hope will follow, where after a couple of days of bonus episodes, I'll return with a new series going back into the New Testament to see how that hope is followed on.
[31:22] SPEAKER_00: So until then, may the Lord keep you listening to Him, keep you seeking Him, and keep you walking in His grace.
[31:31] SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being with me today.
[31:33] SPEAKER_00: Bye bye for now.

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