2 Chronicles 36:22-23
English Standard Version
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The Proclamation of Cyrus
22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.’”

I mentioned a bit last time how important these two short verses are.  Why not end where we did last time with the fulfillment of the prophecy about the LORD's wrath being poured out on them and the destruction of Jerusalem and all Judah with it?  There is good reason for the people to still hope, and that is the prophecy of Jeremiah that told them that this time of bondage would only last 70 years, a prophecy in the book of Isaiah (if you remember, Isaiah had been a priest and prophet in Judah long before this and is not around anymore, so the LORD told him the name of Cyrus in Isaiah 44 and 45 long before Cyrus even lived) and another prophecy in the book of Daniel (the Seventy Sevens) that this proclamation wouldn't just be the beginning of the time of the people to head home and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple (see the books of Ezra and Nehemiah), but that it was the beginning of the countdown for when they should start looking for the Messiah to appear.  There would be exactly 490 "prophetic years" (360 days--12 months of 30 days each) between the proclamation and when Messiah was "cut off."  Well, obviously He'd have to appear before He would be "cut off" and the wise men knew to look for His star to appear because of the words of Baalam in the book of Numbers.  Also, Simeon and Anna who were full of the Holy Spirit knew to expect Him to appear around that time and were in the Temple daily awaiting His arrival.  The rest of the world though mostly missed it.

Look at how the LORD turns the hearts of these foreign kings just like he said he could do in Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever He will."  We see that the LORD still has His agents at work to accomplish His perfect will and pleasure.  Many times, they are Jews, sometimes they are Gentiles.  The LORD has always been about the business of redeeming His people from every tribe tongue and nation to Himself, and it sounds to me like we can expect King Cyrus to be among the Old Testament saints that will be in the New Heaven and the New Earth with us--that's not for me to judge, but his proclamation certainly makes it sound that way.  While not in this passage, we also heard a lot about King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in the previous passages and I think we see his salvation story in the book of Daniel and together God uses these two kings, along with the King Ahasuerus from the book of Esther to change the hearts of many of pagan people who lived in the areas that we might now call the Middle East.  Certainly, the groundwork has been laid for people of these regions to know the name of the LORD and to be exposed to the word of His prophets, to be exposed to His Law, and to know in part His plan of salvation for all peoples through the one that would be called Messiah in Hebrew or Christ in Greek.

Cyrus was not the Christ himself--though he was an Old Testament prophetic type of Christ--a person that gives a glimpse at the kind of things that Messiah will ultimately do perfectly.  He was God's agent, even though he was not Jewish.  That's important, and he loved the LORD and the people of the LORD, and the LORD blessed Him and His people for this because of the Abrahamic Covenant.  That's important too.  It is unlikely that Cyrus understood his place in history, and it's also unlikely that he knew the prophecy of Isaiah and was trying to fulfill it (imagine his pagan parents having to know the prophecy and choose his name intentionally and condition him to know his purpose was to fulfill the prophecy spoken by the God of a foreign land whose people would become slaves at the hands of the Babylonians and that meant that somehow the Medes and Persians would have to overthrow Babylon so that Cyrus might become king and fulfill this prophecy.  That's a preposterous notion, yet there are people that think like this not only about Cyrus, but about Jesus.  The prophecies are there to point to the fact that God has known the plan all along and that things are going according to His plan, not that we are to read them and try and make them happen.  This will be an important distinction as we start to get into reading the Prophets soon.  When the LORD speaks of the future, it's no different than Him speaking of the past of the present.  Because He is the "I AM" and ever-present (there is no linear time for Him, He sees everything as if it is right now), then telling His servants exactly what will happen and when it will happen when it accomplishes His purposes to do so is no difficult thing for Him.  Therefore, we can trust in the prophetic words of the Bible as if they are things that have already happened and are therefore certain to happen just as the LORD said.

With this in mind we have great hope moving forward from this ending that seemed rather dark because we know that the LORD's people will return to the Land, we know that Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and even more importantly, we know that the Davidic Covenant will be fulfilled, and Messiah will appear--and we even have some idea when we should expect Him to show up.  Maybe now you get some idea how Jesus came "in the fullness of time" (at just the right time) and why Jesus spoke to the religious leaders like if they knew their Old Testament Scriptures as well as they claimed they did, they should have had no problem identifying Him for who He was--King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Son of God, Son of Man, and Savior of the World, just to name a few!

2 Chronicles 36:17-21
English Standard Version
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Jerusalem Captured and Burned
17 Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. He gave them all into his hand. 18 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 And they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem and burned all its palaces with fire and destroyed all its precious vessels. 20 He took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, 21 to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.

The "king of the Chaldeans" that the LORD brought up against Judah and Jerusalem was probably the king of the Babylonian empire, though Chaldea was province of the Babylonian empire.  Since King Nebuchadnezzar was Chaldean and his officers and nobles were probably of his people and were also Chaldeans, then it makes sense that he might be looked at as the "king of the Chaldeans" while still being king over the entire empire that was made up of other people groups too.  The region of Chaldea was close to Babylon to the south and east and is often mentioned in the Bible in connection with Babylon to mean the entire Babylonian empire because the Chaldeans were definitely the most powerful group of Babylonians and probably the most numerous until the time of Darius/Cyrus when the Medes and Persians took over.

So, the Babylonians who have raided Jerusalem in small ways before to take some of the best people and best things from the treasuries back to Babylon are now going into all-out war with Jerusalem and Judah, and the LORD has directed Babylon to do so.  The Babylonians would have no compassion on the young or old--all of them were taken captive.  All the treasures and vessels of worship in the house of the LORD were taken and brought back to Babylon, and they burned down the Temple and broke down the walls of Jerusalem and burned down all the "palaces" (literally "paneled houses" that we might call "mansions" for the rich, powerful, and famous people--not just palaces for royalty).  They took all of the royal treasury that remained and all the treasures of the people.  Nothing of value remained in all the Land, and it was intentionally left in disrepair so that people would "wag their heads" at the people of Judah and Jerusalem and say, "The LORD did this to them" (because they turned to idols and stirred up His wrath with many abominations).

Though not mentioned here, the Edomites and other neighbors of the people of Judah captured any who tried to escape and turned them over to the Babylonians for the bounties that were put on their heads, and some of these people even joined in the battle against Jerusalem and Judah.  The LORD would judge Babylon, Edom, and all the other peoples who engaged in such conduct, but for now he is using these people to judge Judah and Jerusalem.  The fact that Babylon and Edom are helping the LORD accomplish His plans for His people will not excuse their bad actions--a theme that we'll see throughout the Bible that God can be Sovreign and yet still hold men personally accountable for their actions as He does not cause or will people to sin, but He can use even their sinful decisions to accomplish His good will and pleasure.

The 70 years of Babylonian captivity is summed up this way to give us hope and daylight at the end of the tunnel, "And they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years."  So, we are looking for and expecting something to happen when the Persians take over, and we're expecting to read about that happening at the end of the 70 years that Jeremiah prophesied about.  If we read the prophets closely, we'll even see that their deliverer would be named Cyrus, and that was prophesied long before Cyrus was ever born.  So, we've reached another point that seems like a good ending point for the book--we have some hope now, but we're not done yet.  God is going to have the author write the history all the way out until Cyrus's decree because it is not just an important historical event, but an extremely important prophetic event.  Did you know that the LORD told his people exactly how long it would be between Cyrus's decree and the day that Jesus would die on the cross to be the real Savior for His people? Maybe this helps us understand why the books of Kings and Chronicles will end with this decree that keeps us looking forward to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords--Jesus, the Messiah!

2 Chronicles 36:1-16
English Standard Version

Judah's Decline
36 The people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and made him king in his father's place in Jerusalem. 2 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. 3 Then the king of Egypt deposed him in Jerusalem and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. 4 And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But Neco took Jehoahaz his brother and carried him to Egypt.

5 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. 6 Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and bound him in chains to take him to Babylon. 7 Nebuchadnezzar also carried part of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon and put them in his palace in Babylon. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and the abominations that he did, and what was found against him, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah. And Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place.

9 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem. He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 10 In the spring of the year King Nebuchadnezzar sent and brought him to Babylon, with the precious vessels of the house of the LORD, and made his brother Zedekiah king over Judah and Jerusalem.

11 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. 12 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. 13 He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God. He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD, the God of Israel. 14 All the officers of the priests and the people likewise were exceedingly unfaithful, following all the abominations of the nations. And they polluted the house of the LORD that he had made holy in Jerusalem.

​15 The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling place. 16 But they kept mocking the messengers of God, despising his words and scoffing at his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD rose against his people, until there was no remedy.

The moral decline of this backsliding people started almost immediately after the death of Josiah.  The people took Jehoahaz, the 23-year-old son of Josiah, and made him king in Jerusalem.  His reign was short-lived--only three months.  Why such a short time?  Because Pharoah Necro, the king of Egypt that we just read about that was responsible for Josiah's death, required that the king and the people pay tribute since he had conquered them in battle.  The king of Egypt put in place what is called a vassal king, choosing Eliakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, to be king over Judah, and Pharoah Necro changed Eliakim's name to Jehoiakim.  He also carried Jehoahaz off to Egypt as a prisoner.

​Jehoiakim was Jehoahaz's older brother by 2 years, being 25 when he assumed the throne--apparently the people had passed over him in selecting one of Josiah's sons to reign in his place, and probably for good reason.  After he had reigned 11 years in Judah, he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and the LORD let Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon take Jehoiakim captive, and Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the vessels from the LORD's Temple with him when he captured Jehoiakim (remember one of the kings was proud and showed the king of Babylon all the treasures of the king's treasuries, its storehouses and even the storerooms of the Temple?  This is the result of that foolish decision as the Babylonians had long coveted the wealth of the people of Judah).  We can find more about the reign of Jehoiakim and the evil things he did in the book of the Kings of Israel and Judah (the book of 2 Kings), and his son Jehoiachin was made king in his place.

Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king.  I think the king of Babylon hopes a younger king will be more likely to be molded into the image of the culture of Babylon and make a better vassal king.  However, three months and ten days later, he did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD and the LORD caused Nebuchadnezzar to take him captive and carry him off to Babylon, along with more of the items from the Temple's treasuries.    Nebuchadnezzar then made Zedekiah (Jehoiachin's uncle) king in Jehoiachin's place.

Zedekiah was f21 years old when he was made king and reigned in Jerusalem for 11 years.  He did great evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not humble himself to listen to the warnings given by Jeremiah the prophet.  His pride got the better of him as he rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar (not a very smart move to rebel against the world's super-power at that time).  Nebuchadnezzar had made Zedekiah swear allegiance to the LORD (we see some of Nebuchadnezzar's transformation in the book of Daniel), but Zedekiah refused to submit to the LORD.  Even the priests became unfaithful to the LORD, and they once again set up all kinds of idols in the Temple and polluted it with pagan worship practices.

The LORD continued to send these kings and the people of Judah messengers to call the kings and the people to repentance, but they would not listen--they hardened their hearts and stiffened their necks.  They mocked the prophets, scoffed at them, and Jesus tells us in the New Testament that they even beat them and put them to death for preaching the word of the LORD to them.  They wanted nothing to do with God and supposed by killing the messenger they could avoid the coming judgment that was prophesied, but judgment was coming and was more certain now than ever because the people would not repent.  "The wrath of God was on His people, and there was no remedy."  Those are some tragic words and would be a terrible place to end the story, but thankfully we have a couple more passages before the end of the book, and we will end on a note of hope and promise--even in the midst of captivity, the LORD will raise up a "savior" for his people that will point to the greater Savior--the Messiah, the Christ that would one day come and set His people free not only from their physical bondage, but their spiritual bondage.

2 Chronicles 35:20-27
English Standard Version
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Josiah Killed in Battle
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Neco king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to meet him. 21 But he sent envoys to him, saying, “What have we to do with each other, king of Judah? I am not coming against you this day, but against the house with which I am at war. And God has commanded me to hurry. Cease opposing God, who is with me, lest he destroy you.” 22 Nevertheless, Josiah did not turn away from him, but disguised himself in order to fight with him. He did not listen to the words of Neco from the mouth of God, but came to fight in the plain of Megiddo. 23 And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am badly wounded.” 24 So his servants took him out of the chariot and carried him in his second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem. And he died and was buried in the tombs of his fathers. All Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. 25 Jeremiah also uttered a lament for Josiah; and all the singing men and singing women have spoken of Josiah in their laments to this day. They made these a rule in Israel; behold, they are written in the Laments. 26 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his good deeds according to what is written in the Law of the LORD, 27 and his acts, first and last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

We have been waiting for this day to come ever since the prophecy that was given to Josiah and the people that the LORD's judgment would come after Josiah's death.  We didn't know how he would die, but today we learn that Josia died in battle against the king of Egypt.  Necro, king of Egypt, sent messengers to Josiah saying that he didn't want to fight with Judah--he was there to help bring the LORD's judgment against the king of Assyria (and Necro believed that it was the LORD who called him into battle against Assyria to punish them for the wicked things they had done).

Josiah would not listen to Pharoah Necro's messengers, and he continued with the army to go to war against Egypt that day.  In fact, he disguised himself in battle to try to make it harder for them to assassinate him (he would be an easy target if he was in his royal robes and had a crown on his head).  But the archers of the Egyptian army shot King Josiah so that he had to leave the field fo battle telling his men, "Take me away, for I am badly wounded."

They transferred him to another chariot (probably a faster one) and took him back to Jerusalem where he died and was buried.  At his death there was a great time of mourning by all the people and led by Jeremiah the prophet (see the book of Lamentations to see how Jeremiah mourned over these historical events).  While we read much about Josiah here, we can gather a few additional details by cross-referencing with the book of 2 Kings, but the important point here in this passage is that everything is happening as God said according to God's timetable.  The people have not escaped punishment, even by last-minute revival, for the LORD knows their hearts.  The people will be removed from the Land for 70 years to let it have its Sabbath rest that it never received, and the wrath of the LORD will be poured out on Judah (as it was on Israel) in the following chapters because Judah did not listed to the prophets sent to Israel nor did they watch how the LORD dealt with the idolatrous kings and people of Israel when he let them go into captivity to Assyria.  Instead, they became just like their brothers and sisters to the north so that the LORD would cast them out of the Land as well and let them once again live in captivity for a time, but this will almost lead to "second Exodus" for the people--as we see stories like the story of Esther that happened around this time.  Even in the midst of judgment, the LORD is working for the good of His people.

2 Chronicles 35:1-19
English Standard Version

Josiah Keeps the Passover
35 Josiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem. And they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 He appointed the priests to their offices and encouraged them in the service of the house of the LORD. 3 And he said to the Levites who taught all Israel and who were holy to the LORD, “Put the holy ark in the house that Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. You need not carry it on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your God and his people Israel. 4 Prepare yourselves according to your fathers' houses by your divisions, as prescribed in the writing of David king of Israel and the document of Solomon his son. 5 And stand in the Holy Place according to the groupings of the fathers' houses of your brothers the lay people, and according to the division of the Levites by fathers' household. 6 And slaughter the Passover lamb, and consecrate yourselves, and prepare for your brothers, to do according to the word of the LORD by Moses.”

7 Then Josiah contributed to the lay people, as Passover offerings for all who were present, lambs and young goats from the flock to the number of 30,000, and 3,000 bulls; these were from the king's possessions. 8 And his officials contributed willingly to the people, to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officers of the house of God, gave to the priests for the Passover offerings 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 bulls. 9 Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethanel his brothers, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, the chiefs of the Levites, gave to the Levites for the Passover offerings 5,000 lambs and young goats and 500 bulls.

10 When the service had been prepared for, the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their divisions according to the king's command. 11 And they slaughtered the Passover lamb, and the priests threw the blood that they received from them while the Levites flayed the sacrifices. 12 And they set aside the burnt offerings that they might distribute them according to the groupings of the fathers' houses of the lay people, to offer to the LORD, as it is written in the Book of Moses. And so they did with the bulls. 13 And they roasted the Passover lamb with fire according to the rule; and they boiled the holy offerings in pots, in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the lay people. 14 And afterward they prepared for themselves and for the priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron, were offering the burnt offerings and the fat parts until night; so the Levites prepared for themselves and for the priests, the sons of Aaron. 15 The singers, the sons of Asaph, were in their place according to the command of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the gatekeepers were at each gate. They did not need to depart from their service, for their brothers the Levites prepared for them.

16 So all the service of the LORD was prepared that day, to keep the Passover and to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD, according to the command of King Josiah. 17 And the people of Israel who were present kept the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days. 18 No Passover like it had been kept in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel had kept such a Passover as was kept by Josiah, and the priests and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel who were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept.

In reading the Law, Josiah realized that they needed to keep the Passover, so they did so on the prescribed day--the fourteenth day of the first month.  He followed the example of the previous kings and celebrated it in Jerusalem at the Temple.  He made sure the priests and Levites were consecrated before the event so that they could make the appropriate sacrifices and eat the Passover meal.

I don't understand his instructions to the priests to move the Ark of the Covenant into the Temple and then telling them to not worry about carrying it on their shoulders--they were not to touch the Ark with their hands, but maybe they simply used the poles to carry it without putting the poles on their shoulders.  I'm really not sure.  Honestly, that doesn't make sense to me if I'm being honest.

He then divided the priests and Levites up into their divisions as David and Solomon had prescribed, and he commanded them to kill the Passover lamb for themselves and then be ready to slaughter the Passover lambs for the people who were not consecrated.

Many of the lay people did not have their own lambs or bulls to use as sacrifices that do, so Josiah made an offering of 30,000 lambs and goats from his flocks and 3,000 bulls to be used for the sacrifices that day.  Other government officials did likewise and together they also supplied 2,600 Passover lambs and 300 bulls.  The chiefs of the Levites also contributed 5,000 lambs and goats and 500 bulls.  Everyone who came without a sacrifice of their own flock or herd had one available to them because of these gifts from the leaders of the people so that everyone could celebrate the LORD's Passover, and no one would be cut off for refusing to celebrate it.

As before, there were so many sacrifices to be made that all the priests and all the Levites had to work together to make these sacrifices all day long to try to get them all done before the sun set.  They not only killed and flayed the sacrifices, but they roasted the Passover lambs and goats so that they could be distributed to the people to eat the LORD's Passover meal together.  Any of the regular offerings that were to be eaten by the priests, they boiled the meat in the pots as was commanded in the Law, and the priests had to eat those offerings to take the sin and guilt of the people upon themselves.  The singers, musicians, and gatekeepers also remained at their posts until all the sacrifices had been offered.

Everyone then celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread together for the next week (Passover was the evening before this Feast and was seen kind of as a "kick off" for the Feast of Unleavened Bread).  This was the first time since the death of the prophet Samuel (a long time ago during the time of King Saul, before there was ever a Temple) that that all the LORD's people had gathered together in one place (back then, it was the Tabernacle) to participate in the LORD's Passover.  None of the kings of Israel, not even David Solomon or any of the good kings of Judah, had been careful to keep this commandment in the way Josiah had been.  So it was that in the eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, he and the priests, and the Levites, and the people of the LORD kept the Passover.  This is a good sign, but is it enough to stay the wrath of God which was just prophesied last time?  We'll start to see the answer to that question next time.

2 Chronicles 34:8-21
English Standard Version

The Book of the Law Found
8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God. 9 They came to Hilkiah the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the house of God, which the Levites, the keepers of the threshold, had collected from Manasseh and Ephraim and from all the remnant of Israel and from all Judah and Benjamin and from the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 And they gave it to the workmen who were working in the house of the LORD. And the workmen who were working in the house of the LORD gave it for repairing and restoring the house. 11 They gave it to the carpenters and the builders to buy quarried stone, and timber for binders and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had let go to ruin. 12 And the men did the work faithfully. Over them were set Jahath and Obadiah the Levites, of the sons of Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to have oversight. The Levites, all who were skillful with instruments of music, 13 were over the burden-bearers and directed all who did work in every kind of service, and some of the Levites were scribes and officials and gatekeepers.

14 While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given through Moses. 15 Then Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan. 16 Shaphan brought the book to the king, and further reported to the king, “All that was committed to your servants they are doing. 17 They have emptied out the money that was found in the house of the LORD and have given it into the hand of the overseers and the workmen.” 18 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it before the king.

19 And when the king heard the words of the Law, he tore his clothes. 20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, Ahikam the son of Shaphan, Abdon the son of Micah, Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 21 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me and for those who are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out on us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do according to all that is written in this book.”

Once again, we see God using both a young king and a priest to bring about reforms.  While Josiah has been ridding the Land of idols and the priests and false prophets of these false gods, the true priests have been cleansing the Temple (with the support of two of the king's officials.  They were there to help record the offerings that were made to the Temple and that the money was being used for its upkeep and repair.  At the same time the Levites were once again given their assignments and they consecrated themselves to the LORD.

In the process of repairing the Temple, the high priest found the Book of the Law (the book of Deuteronomy).  Because the king was to have his own personal copy of this book sitting by him at all times, the high priest told the officials to tell the king that he had found the Book of the Law.  Everything that was happening was reported to the king and when it was reported that Hilkiah had found the Book of the Law, they immediately started to read from it for the king.

When the king heard the words of the book (probably referring to not only its commands, but its associated blessings and curses), he tore his clothes--a sign of grief, mourning, and sometimes repentance.  The king would rarely tear his clothes because they would be so expensive.  The king told the high priest to go in before the LORD to inquire what the king and the people of Judah were to do--likely the king got to the part at the end of the book where the LORD laid out their future and it ended in being sent off into Exile, and they were very close to that time.  Josiah knew that the people deserved the LORD's wrath for the unrepentant sin they had been committing for generations and generations.  They had not been faithful to the LORD or His covenant that He had made with them.  They were Law-breakers and anyone who read from the Book of the Law knew it.

2 Chronicles 34:1-7
English Standard Version
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Josiah Reigns in Judah
34 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. 4 And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, 7 he broke down the altars and beat the Asherim and the images into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

Josiah was young when he became king (for the king's servants had assassinated his father because of how evil he was) and the LORD allowed Josiah to reign in Jerusalem for 31 years.  He was a good king doing what was right in the eyes of the LORD, not turning aside to the right or the left form what the LORD had commanded in His Law (that doesn't mean he was perfect, but it means that he personally obeyed the Law and enforced it justly).

​At the age of 16, he started to seek after the LORD, and at the age of 20, he started destroying all the idols in the Land.  Unlike his grandfather, he actually destroyed the idols--smashing them to pieces, burning them with fire, and scattering the dust and ash over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them.  He also killed all the priests of these false gods and goddesses and burned them and their bones and scattered them on the graves of those who sacrificed to them.  

He also purged and cleansed the regions of Manasseh and Ephraim and Simeon as far as Naphtali (he went far into the northern kingdom of Israel) and when he had finished his campaign, he returned to Jerusalem and reigned there.  We'll see some more about his reign over the next several journal entries.