Day 83 Reading Schedule: 2 Chonicles 34-36, Ezra 1-2

2 Chronicles 34: Josiah's Religious Reform and the Book of the Law

[Overview]

Josiah, the 16th king of Judah, destroyed the idols that had been worshipped again during the reign of his predecessor, King Amon, initiated religious reform, restored the Passover feast, and brought prosperity. This chapter shows the first project that Josiah carried out after ascending to the throne, the movement to remove idols (verses 1-7), and the preparations and implementation of repairing the deteriorated temple of God (verses 8-13). It also consists of the discovery of the Book of the Law during the temple repair process and the advice of the prophetess Huldah regarding it (verses 14-28), and the reading of the discovered Book of the Law and the renewal of the covenant (verses 29-33).

[Explanation]

This chapter through 2 Chronicles 35 describe the reign of Josiah, the last of the three great kings of Judah. ​​The main content of this chapter is the religious reform carried out by Josiah, who succeeded Amon and became the 16th king of the southern kingdom of Judah. Josiah, who ascended to the throne at the young age of eight, devoted his life to religious reform and launched a great religious revival movement. He removed all idols in the country and rebuilt the temple. 

2 Chronicles 35: Josiah's Great Passover Ceremony

[Summary]

This chapter records the Passover festival, which was the core of Josiah's religious reform. In the battlefield, Josiah further spurred the reform movement based on the book of the law discovered during the temple repair process. As can be seen in this chapter, he played a role in spreading the faith of Jehovah throughout Judah by keeping the Passover holy, which is expressed as the pinnacle of religious reform. However, due to the invasion of King Necho of Egypt, his religious reform movement was not able to continue in the history of Israel and was interrupted in the middle. First, Josiah's command to observe Passover (verses 1-6), the preparation of the Passover sacrifice (verses 7-9), and the observance of Passover (verses 10-19) are recorded. Also mentioned are the invasion of Egypt, Josiah's death (verses 20-25), and the remaining history of Josiah (verses 26-27). 

[Explanation]

King Josiah, who was pushing for religious reform, observed Passover as part of his reform. This chapter describes the Passover ceremony and Josiah's death. In this book, the author describes King Josiah's Passover ceremony in much more detail than the parallel story in the Book of Kings. 

2 Chronicles 36: The Fall of the Southern Kingdom of Judah

[Summary]

This chapter records the splendid religious prosperity that rapidly declined after the death of King Josiah of Judah, and the eventual fall of Judah. ​​The four kings who succeeded Josiah, namely Josiah's three sons and one grandson, all suffered humiliation from foreign kings, and Judah met with the misfortune of being destroyed only 23 years after Josiah's death. This destruction of Judah was accelerated by the national crimes committed during the reigns of these four kings. First, Jehoahaz, who was deposed by Necho (verses 1-4), Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin, who were taken captive to Babylon (verses 5-10), and the rebellion of Zedekiah and the people are mentioned (verses 11-16). Also, the destruction of Judah (verses 17-21) and the decree of Cyrus, the king of Persia (verses 22-23) are recorded. 

[Explanation] 

The kings who ruled during the final days of the kingdom of Judah and their deeds are the main contents of this chapter. In this chapter, we see that after Josiah died in battle with King Necho of Egypt, the brilliant religious light rapidly dimmed and the southern kingdom of Judah eventually fell. This destruction of the kingdom of Judah was hastened by the national crimes committed during the reigns of the four kings. 

 Ezra 1: The Decree of Cyrus King of Persia

[Summary]

Because the Lord God moved the heart of Cyrus King of Persia, he not only allowed the captive Jewish people to return to their homeland, but also allowed them to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem (vv. 1-4). Thus, the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, the Levites, and some zealous people from other tribes were able to return to Jerusalem with many treasures, livestock, and the plundered temple vessels (vv. 5-11).

[Explanation]

The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one book, starting from the return from the Babylonian captivity and recording the work of reconstruction thereafter. This chapter clearly states that Israel was destroyed and restored according to God’s warning and prophecy, and clearly presents the fact that all human history proceeds within the sovereign providence of God. First, we can examine how Israel returned.

 Ezra 2: List of Returnees

[Overview]

This chapter introduces the list of the first returnees. It includes the names of the leaders (vv. 1-2), the family tree count of the returnees (vv. 3-20), the region count of the returnees (vv. 21-35), the priests (vv. 36-39), the Levites (vv. 40-42), the genealogy of the Nethinim (vv. 43-54), the genealogy of Solomon’s servants (vv. 55-58), those whose clans and genealogy are unclear (vv. 59-63), and finally the grand total (vv. 64-67), and describes many people joyfully offering gifts for the rebuilding of the temple (vv. 68-70).

[Explanation]

This chapter mainly records the list of those who returned to their homeland under the leadership of Zerubbabel. This type of list appears several times in this book and in the book of Nehemiah. The reason for presenting these lists is that their names and deeds may be recorded before God, just as those who will be saved are recorded (cf. Rev. 20:12).