Josiah Celebrates The Passover

Josiah even went beyond David in his efforts to serve God, according to II Kings 23:25.  “And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.”    He had taken the trouble to learn what God’s commandments were and to obey them.  He clearly loved God, and as John 14:21 states, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”  Because he had demonstrated his love, God manifested his love toward Josiah, promising him peace in his country. 

One of Israel’s biggest problems was a failure to appreciate what God had done for them.  In Psalm 106, David described how they had repeatedly experienced his blessings but as Psalm 106:13 states, “They soon forgat his works; they waited not for his counsel:”  The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread were intended to remind Israel of how God had delivered them from Egypt and destroyed their enemies at the Red Sea.  Unfortunately many times it was celebrated as just another holiday, with no real thought as to what it meant.  As a result, it was not taken seriously, and many times was not celebrated at all.  Loving God as he did, Josiah took celebrating the Passover very seriously, as II Chronicles 35:1-6 tells us. 

“Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.  And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD, And said unto the Levites that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel, And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son.  And stand in the holy place according to the divisions of the families of the fathers of your brethren the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites.  So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.”

Josiah made a special point of the priests and Levites following the instructions God had given about the Passover.  Because they had been serving the Lord throughout his reign, he did not have to delay the Passover until the next month as they had done in Hezekiah’s day, to allow the priests to sanctify themselves.  II Chronicles 35:7-17 describes the celebration. 

“And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king's substance.  And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen.  Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for passover offerings five thousand small cattle, and five hundred oxen.

So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king's commandment.  And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them.  And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen.  And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people.  And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and for the priests the sons of Aaron.

And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king's seer; and the porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for them.  So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the commandment of king Josiah.  And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days.”

Josiah set the example, giving thirty thousand of his own sheep and three thousand young bulls for the sacrifices.  Others followed his example, giving another seven thousand sheep and eight hundred oxen for sacrifices for the people, and the priests made sure the people were satisfied before fixing their own.  The Passover had not been celebrated with such meaning and excitement since Samuel’s time, nhearly five hundred years before, according to II Chronicles 35:18-19. 

“And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.  In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept.”

Josiah had been raised by a wicked father, who died when he was only eight.  Despite that, he went on to serve God more than any king before or after him, and as a result, Israel served God during his reign more than they ever had in almost a thousand years of their history.    Every one of the other kings had had the same opportunity.  Today we have the same opportunity, and it it is our choice whether we serve God or not.