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Chronicles 35 reminds me of the purpose of the Law of Moses. God
desires a personal relationship with each of us, but God is perfect
and Holy and we are not. Most people live with a false sense of
their own goodness. We say things like “I am a good person”.
The Law was given to provide God’s standard of perfection. As
Galatians 3:24 explains, “The
law was our tutor to
bring us
to Christ, that we might be justified by faith“.
The Law is good but, “no
one is justified before God by the law”
(Galatians 3:11). Sadly, some people feel the need to add their own
criteria in
addition to
faith in Christ. And worse, they hold others to their own
self-imposed standards. Never let anyone kill your joy by disguising
God’s promise of hope with the burden of good works. Obligation
destroys faith. The chapter begins with King Josiah still reading
God’s Word and implementing reformation in the land. “Josiah
celebrated the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover
lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. He
appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the
service of the Lord’s temple“.
The king was simply following what he read in the Word.
King
Josiah made new discoveries as he continued reading God’s Word.
His life, the temple, and everything around him became less
cluttered. “Put
the sacred ark in the temple… Prepare yourselves by families in
your divisions, according to the directions written by David king of
Israel“.
He followed the commandments to celebrate the Passover, “Slaughter
the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs for
your fellow countrymen, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses“.
Everyone was working together and everything was organized, “The
service was arranged and the priests stood in their places with the
Levites in their divisions as the king had ordered“.
The Passover required the blood of the lamb to cover the sins of the
people. It was a reminder of how the People of God were saved from
death by believing God’s promise while in captivity in Egypt. “The
Passover lambs were slaughtered, and the priests sprinkled the blood
handed to them, while the Levites skinned the animals“.
Passover is a celebration of God’s faithfulness and, “none
of the kings of Israel had ever celebrated such a Passover as did
Josiah“.
As
the chapter ends, we read, “After
Josiah had set the temple in order”
the king of Egypt went up to fight against the Assyrians. To fill in
the background, earlier in his reign, King Josiah made an alliance
with the king of Assyria because he did not trust God’s promise of
protection. Now he was forced to defend Assyria. The Egyptian king
said, “What
quarrel is there between you and me, O king of Judah?”
The Egyptian added, “Stop
opposing God, who is with me, or He will destroy you“.
This is what can happen to us. If you can’t trust that you are
forgiven by faith alone in Christ alone, you might be tempted to add
more “good works” to make yourself feel more righteous. The
busier we become with trying to do good, the harder it is to hear the
leading of the Holy Spirit. Note the result, “Josiah,
however, would not turn away from him, but disguised himself to
engage him in battle. He would not listen… but went to fight him on
the plain of Megiddo“.
Josiah was shot by archers and died from those wounds. If you are
bogged down with obligation, perhaps it is time to be still and
listen?