seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Kings 23:21 The king gave this order to all the people: “Celebrate the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.
24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. 25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.
24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. 25 Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.
There are a couple of things I do miss about church. I miss communion and I miss the music. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to the music. I like to open the hymnal and belt it out. I do miss communion.... guess I should capitalize it.... I miss the bread and grape juice. I miss those tiny little cups in that tray tinkling as it's passed along... Christian to Christian.... I miss the quiet.... the thinking... the prayer.... and without fail... I miss that one child who either cries out or says "mommy". I miss that.... about church. IMHO.... Josiah returned that to the church when he demanded that they should celebrate Passover just like it says in the Book of Law.
The commentary this morning is from the easy English site.
Many centuries earlier, when Moses was the Jews’ leader, they were slaves in Egypt. But God freed them by his great power. The Passover was a special festival in which they celebrated those events. The *ews cooked a lamb (young sheep) over a fire, without water. Then they ate the meat from it and they ate plants with a bitter taste. They also ate bread without yeast. (Yeast is a substance that makes bread rise.)
The way in which Josiah celebrated the Passover was a special one. Very many people came to Jerusalem and they celebrated the Passover together. They obeyed the laws of the festival completely. (Look at Deuteronomy 16:1-8.)
Then came the festival of bread without yeast (a substance that makes bread rise). That started immediately on the next day after the Passover. It lasted for seven days. During all that time, the people ate bread without yeast. It reminded them that they had to leave Egypt quickly. They had to leave so quickly that their bread had no time to rise.
There were some people in Judah who tried to contact dead people. And there were some people who used magic. God’s law does not allow those practices (Deuteronomy 18:10-11), so Josiah opposed them. He would not allow those people to continue to live in Judah. Josiah also removed idols that people kept in their homes. He tried to obey completely the laws in the book that Hilkiah had found. No king before Josiah obeyed the Lord completely as he did. Nor did anyone that became king after him. Josiah served the Lord with all his heart, mind and strength. But God was still angry. He only postponed his punishment because of what Josiah had done.
Soon after Josiah’s death, the people would start to do the same sins again. God intended to take the people in Judah and Jerusalem away from their country. He would do it as a punishment. He had already done that with Israel.
The way in which Josiah celebrated the Passover was a special one. Very many people came to Jerusalem and they celebrated the Passover together. They obeyed the laws of the festival completely. (Look at Deuteronomy 16:1-8.)
Then came the festival of bread without yeast (a substance that makes bread rise). That started immediately on the next day after the Passover. It lasted for seven days. During all that time, the people ate bread without yeast. It reminded them that they had to leave Egypt quickly. They had to leave so quickly that their bread had no time to rise.
There were some people in Judah who tried to contact dead people. And there were some people who used magic. God’s law does not allow those practices (Deuteronomy 18:10-11), so Josiah opposed them. He would not allow those people to continue to live in Judah. Josiah also removed idols that people kept in their homes. He tried to obey completely the laws in the book that Hilkiah had found. No king before Josiah obeyed the Lord completely as he did. Nor did anyone that became king after him. Josiah served the Lord with all his heart, mind and strength. But God was still angry. He only postponed his punishment because of what Josiah had done.
Soon after Josiah’s death, the people would start to do the same sins again. God intended to take the people in Judah and Jerusalem away from their country. He would do it as a punishment. He had already done that with Israel.
Can you imagine what would happen if the government decided it needed to come into our homes and take away our shiny objects?
Don't be afraid... we don't live in a theocracy. [now that's an oxymoron]
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