2 Chronicles 35 starts on a high note with King Josiah reimplementing the Passover in Judah. We’re told in the Chronicler’s typical extensive detail about all the preparations, and all the ways the priests and Levites were involved. We’re also told no Passover had been celebrated like this in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. Josiah’s love for the LORD and for the rituals of his faith set him apart among all the kings of Israel and Judah. Unfortunately, the chapter ends with King Josiah going out against King Neco of Egypt. Neco warned Josiah to go back to his home, that his fight was not with Josiah. Nevertheless, Josiah dressed up in a disguise and went to battle. He was shot and mortally wounded. His servants took him back to Jerusalem where he died. The people mourned the loss of this great king who had served the LORD faithfully.
2 Chronicles 36 tells us after Josiah died, the people put his son Jehoahaz in his place as king. He ruled only three months, and the king of Egypt came in and deposed him. He replaced Jehoahaz with his brother Eliakim. He changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Then he carried Jehoahaz off to exile in Egypt. After an eleven-year reign filled with evil in the eyes of the LORD, Jehoahaz was taken to exile in Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. He was replaced by his son, Jehoiachin. After a reign of only three months and ten days, Nebuchadnezzar carried him off to Babylon as well. He put Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s brother in his place as king. Zedekiah did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD and caused the people to do the same. He rebelled against Babylon and Nebuchaddnezzar came to Judah and destroyed it. He burned the Temple, the palace, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, and carried the people and spoils off to Babylon. The LORD caused this to happen because of the evil done not only by Zedekiah, but by many kings before him. We’re told the land would lie in “Sabbath” for seventy years. When King Cyrus of Persia became king, he established that the people of Judah could go back and rebuild the House of God in Jerusalem. Thus, 2 Chronicles ends with a ray of hope for the future of Judah and ultimately for Israel.
As we turn again to Matthew 2, we’re reminded of God’s hand on Jesus’ birth. Matthew tells us wise men came from the east to visit Jesus after His birth. They visited King Herod of Israel first, which gave him a heads up that a new “king” had been born. Herod pretended to want to worship Jesus and asked the wise men to return and tell him where they had found Jesus. But the wise men were warned in a dream this was a trick, so they returned home another way. When Herod realized he had been tricked, he sent soldiers to Bethlehem where Jesus had been born, and ordered the murder of all male children two years old and under. Thankfully, God had warned Joseph of this impending killing spree, and so had Mary and Jesus safely out of the country and into Egypt by the time it took place. After Herod died, Joseph returned to Israel with Mary and Joseph, but when Joseph heard Herod’s brother was reigning in his place, he took the family to Nazareth, which was far out of the center of things, and was less likely to raise any concerns from the king. The murder of the innocents offers us an example of the evil people do to one another in every generation. In this life, we will never be free of it, even when we follow Jesus. But we can be sure Jesus came to change that situation, so we will one day live with one another in peace in His eternal Kingdom.