2 Chronicles 35:20–27

Read the passage.

Despite all the good he did and the faithfulness he displayed, Josiah’s reign ends because he did not listen to the word of the Lord. This period of time is well-studied in history because it involves the rise and fall of world powers and great empires. The Babylonians have thrown off the rule of the Assyrians and are in the process of beating them back into irrelevancy. Neco, seeing an opportunity to make Egypt ascendant again, moves his armies north through Judah in order to fight the Babylonians at Carchemish. Josiah, for reasons unknown, send his army out to harass, delay, or stop Neco if they can.

Neco does something extraordinary in response. In the middle of trying to use diplomacy to get Josiah to let his army march north, he claims that it is God’s will that they do this, and Josiah is opposing God Himself by trying to stop the Egyptians. Neco was a foreign, pagan king. We would not expect him to care what the Lord’s will was, and one might say Neco is just trying to use an argument that would persuade a pious adversary. However, the Chronicler confirms that what Neco said was “from the mouth of God”. (v. 22) Neco knew, somehow, that it was God’s will for him to go fight the Babyonians at Carchemish. (He probably did not know that it was also God’s will for him to be completely defeated there.)

Josiah did not heed the warning and fought against Neco anyway. He took a deadly wound in the battle and died at Jerusalem where he was buried. All the people mourned for their king, including Jeremiah who made a lament for him. The book of Lamentations is mostly concerned with the fall of Jerusalem some twenty years later, but it may be that some parts of it were written earlier for this event.

Help us heed Your words so that we may obey You.