mh_parser/vol_split/14 - 2Chronicles/Chapter 34.xml

<div2 id="iiCh.xxxv" n="xxxv" next="iiCh.xxxvi" prev="iiCh.xxxiv" progress="88.25%" title="Chapter XXXIV">
<h2 id="iiCh.xxxv-p0.1">S E C O N D   C H R O N I C L E
S</h2>
<h3 id="iiCh.xxxv-p0.2">CHAP. XXXIV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="iiCh.xxxv-p1">Before we see Judah and Jerusalem ruined we shall
yet see some glorious years, while good Josiah sits at the helm. By
his pious endeavours for reformation God tried them yet once more;
if they had known in this their day, the day of their visitation,
the things that belonged to their peace and improved them, their
ruin might have been prevented. But after this reign they were
hidden from their eyes, and the next reigns brought an utter
desolation upon them. In this chapter we have, I. A general account
of Josiah's character, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.1-2Chr.34.2" parsed="|2Chr|34|1|34|2" passage="2Ch 34:1,2">ver. 1,
2</scripRef>. II. His zeal to root out idolatry, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.3-2Chr.34.7" parsed="|2Chr|34|3|34|7" passage="2Ch 34:3-7">ver. 3-7</scripRef>. III. His care to repair the
temple, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.8-2Chr.34.13" parsed="|2Chr|34|8|34|13" passage="2Ch 34:8-13">ver. 8-13</scripRef>. IV.
The finding of the book of the law and the good use made of it,
<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.14-2Chr.34.28" parsed="|2Chr|34|14|34|28" passage="2Ch 34:14-28">ver. 14-28</scripRef>. V. The
public reading of the law to the people and their renewing their
covenant with God thereupon, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.29-2Chr.34.33" parsed="|2Chr|34|29|34|33" passage="2Ch 34:29-33">ver.
29-33</scripRef>. Much of this we had <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.22.1-2Kgs.22.20" parsed="|2Kgs|22|1|22|20" passage="2Ki 22:1-20">2 Kings xxii.</scripRef></p>
<scripCom id="iiCh.xxxv-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34" parsed="|2Chr|34|0|0|0" passage="2Ch 34" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="iiCh.xxxv-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.1-2Chr.34.7" parsed="|2Chr|34|1|34|7" passage="2Ch 34:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Chr.34.1-2Chr.34.7">
<h4 id="iiCh.xxxv-p1.9">The Reign of Josiah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p1.10">b. c.</span> 623.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iiCh.xxxv-p2">1 Josiah <i>was</i> eight years old when he
began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.
  2 And he did <i>that which was</i> right in the sight of the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p2.1">Lord</span>, and walked in the ways of
David his father, and declined <i>neither</i> to the right hand,
nor to the left.   3 For in the eighth year of his reign,
while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his
father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and
Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved
images, and the molten images.   4 And they brake down the
altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that <i>were</i>
on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved
images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust
<i>of them,</i> and strowed <i>it</i> upon the graves of them that
had sacrificed unto them.   5 And he burnt the bones of the
priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.  
6 And <i>so did he</i> in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and
Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.  
7 And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had
beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols
throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiCh.xxxv-p3">Concerning Josiah we are here told, 1. That
he came to the crown when he was very young, only eight years old
(yet his infancy did not debar him from his right), and he reigned
<i>thirty-one years</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.1" parsed="|2Chr|34|1|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:1"><i>v.</i>
1</scripRef>), a considerable time. I fear, however, that in the
beginning of his reign things went much as they had done in his
father's time, because, being a child, he must have left the
management of them to others; so that it was not till his twelfth
year, which goes far in the number of his years, that the
reformation began, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.3" parsed="|2Chr|34|3|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>. He could not, as Hezekiah did, fall about it
immediately. 2. That he reigned very well (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.2" parsed="|2Chr|34|2|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), approved himself to God, trod
in the steps of David, and did not decline either <i>to the right
hand of to the left:</i> for there are errors on both hands. 3.
That while he was young, about sixteen years old, he <i>began to
seek after God,</i> <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.3" parsed="|2Chr|34|3|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:3"><i>v.</i>
3</scripRef>. We have reason to think he had not so good an
education as Manasseh had (it is well if those about him did not
endeavour to corrupt and debauch him); yet he thus sought God when
he was young. It is the duty and interest of young people, and will
particularly be the honour of young gentlemen, as soon as they come
to years of understanding, to <i>begin to seek God;</i> for those
that seek him early shall find him. 4. That in the twelfth year of
his reign, when it is probable he took the administration of the
government entirely into his own hands, he <i>began to purge his
kingdom from the remains of idolatry;</i> he destroyed the high
places, groves, images, altars, all the utensils of idolatry,
<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.3-2Chr.34.4" parsed="|2Chr|34|3|34|4" passage="2Ch 34:3,4"><i>v.</i> 3, 4</scripRef>. He not
only cast them out as Manasseh did, but broke them to pieces, and
made dust of them. This destruction of idolatry is here said to be
in his twelfth year, but it was said (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.23.23" parsed="|2Kgs|23|23|0|0" passage="2Ki 23:23">2 Kings xxiii. 23</scripRef>) to be in his eighteenth
year. Something was probably done towards it in his twelfth year;
then he began to purge out idolatry, but that good work met with
opposition, so that it was not thoroughly done till they had found
the book of the law six years afterwards. But here the whole work
is laid together briefly which was much more largely and
particularly related in the <i>Kings.</i> His zeal carried him out
to do this, not only in Judah and Jerusalem, but in the cities of
Israel too, as far as he had any influence upon them.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iiCh.xxxv-p0.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.8-2Chr.34.13" parsed="|2Chr|34|8|34|13" passage="2Ch 34:8-13" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Chr.34.8-2Chr.34.13">
<p class="passage" id="iiCh.xxxv-p4">8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when
he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of
Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of
Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p4.1">Lord</span> his God.   9 And when they came to
Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought
into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had
gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the
remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned
to Jerusalem.   10 And they put <i>it</i> in the hand of the
workmen that had the oversight of the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p4.2">Lord</span>, and they gave it to the workmen that
wrought in the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p4.3">Lord</span>, to
repair and amend the house:   11 Even to the artificers and
builders gave they <i>it,</i> to buy hewn stone, and timber for
couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had
destroyed.   12 And the men did the work faithfully: and the
overseers of them <i>were</i> Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of
the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the
Kohathites, to set <i>it</i> forward; and <i>other of</i> the
Levites, all that could skill of instruments of music.   13
Also <i>they were</i> over the bearers of burdens, and <i>were</i>
overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service:
and of the Levites <i>there were</i> scribes, and officers, and
porters.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiCh.xxxv-p5">Here, 1. Orders are given by the king for
the repair of the temple, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.8" parsed="|2Chr|34|8|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:8"><i>v.</i>
8</scripRef>. When he had purged the house of the corruptions of it
he began to fit it up for the services that were to be performed in
it. Thus we must do by the spiritual temple of the heart, get it
cleansed from the pollutions of sin, and then renewed, so as to be
transformed into the image of God. Josiah, in this order, calls God
<i>the Lord his God.</i> Those that truly love God will <i>love the
habitation of his house.</i> 2. Care is taken about it, effectual
care. The Levites went about the country and gathered money towards
it, which was returned to the three trustees mentioned, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.8" parsed="|2Chr|34|8|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. They brought it to
Hilkiah the high priest (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.9" parsed="|2Chr|34|9|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>), and he and they put it into the hands of workmen,
both overseers and labourers, who undertook to do it by the great,
as we say, or <i>in the gross,</i> <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.10-2Chr.34.11" parsed="|2Chr|34|10|34|11" passage="2Ch 34:10,11"><i>v.</i> 10, 11</scripRef>. It is observed that the
workmen were industrious and honest: They <i>did the work
faithfully</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.12" parsed="|2Chr|34|12|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:12"><i>v.</i>
12</scripRef>); and workmen are not completely faithful if they are
not both careful and diligent, for a confidence is reposed in them
that they will be so. It is also intimated that the overseers were
ingenious; for it is said that all those were employed to inspect
this work who were skilful in <i>instruments of music;</i> not that
their skill in music could be of any use in architecture, but it
was an evidence that they were men of sense and ingenuity, and
particularly that their genius lay towards the mathematics, which
qualified them very much for this trust. Witty men are then wise
men when they employ their wit in doing good, in helping their
friends, and, as they have opportunity, in serving the public.
Observe, in this work, how God dispenses his gifts variously; here
were some that were <i>bearers of burdens,</i> cut out for bodily
labour and fit to work. Here were others (made <i>meliori luto—of
finer materials</i>) that had skill in music, and they were
<i>overseers of those that laboured,</i> and scribes and officers.
The former were the hands: these were the heads. They had need of
one another, and the work needed both. Let not the overseers of the
work despise the bearers of burdens, nor let those that work in the
service grudge at those whose office it is to direct; but let each
esteem and serve the other in love, and let God have the glory and
the church the benefit of the different gifts and dispositions of
both.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iiCh.xxxv-p0.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.14-2Chr.34.28" parsed="|2Chr|34|14|34|28" passage="2Ch 34:14-28" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Chr.34.14-2Chr.34.28">
<p class="passage" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6">14 And when they brought out the money that was
brought into the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.1">Lord</span>,
Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.2">Lord</span> <i>given</i> by Moses.   15 And
Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the
book of the law in the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.3">Lord</span>. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.
  16 And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the
king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy
servants, they do <i>it.</i>   17 And they have gathered
together the money that was found in the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.4">Lord</span>, and have delivered it into the hand of the
overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.   18 Then Shaphan
the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me
a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.   19 And it came
to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent
his clothes.   20 And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam
the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the
scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying,   21 Go,
enquire of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.5">Lord</span> for me, and for
them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of
the book that is found: for great <i>is</i> the wrath of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.6">Lord</span> that is poured out upon us, because
our fathers have not kept the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.7">Lord</span>, to do after all that is written in this
book.   22 And Hilkiah, and <i>they</i> that the king <i>had
appointed,</i> went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum
the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now
she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to
that <i>effect.</i>   23 And she answered them, Thus saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.8">Lord</span> God of Israel, Tell ye the man
that sent you to me,   24 Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.9">Lord</span>, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place,
and upon the inhabitants thereof, <i>even</i> all the curses that
are written in the book which they have read before the king of
Judah:   25 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned
incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with
all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured
out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.   26 And as
for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.10">Lord</span>, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.11">Lord</span> God of Israel <i>concerning</i>
the words which thou hast heard;   27 Because thine heart was
tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou
heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants
thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy
clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard <i>thee</i> also,
saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p6.12">Lord</span>.   28 Behold, I
will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy
grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I
will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same.
So they brought the king word again.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiCh.xxxv-p7">This whole paragraph we had, just as it is
here related, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.22.8-2Kgs.22.20" parsed="|2Kgs|22|8|22|20" passage="2Ki 22:8-20">2 Kings xxii.
8-20</scripRef>, and have nothing to add here to what was there
observed. But, 1. We may hence take occasion to bless God that we
have plenty of Bibles, and that they are, or may be, in all
hands,—that the book of the law and gospel is not lost, is not
scarce,—that, in this sense, the <i>word of the Lord</i> is not
<i>precious.</i> Bibles are jewels, but, thanks be to God, they are
not rarities. The fountain of the waters of life is not a spring
shut up or a fountain sealed, but the streams of it, in all places,
<i>make glad the city of our God. Usus communis aquarum—These
waters flow for general use.</i> What a great deal shall we have to
answer for if the great things of God's law, being thus made
common, should be accounted by us as strange things! 2. We may
hence learn, whenever we read or hear the word of God, to affect
our hearts with it, and to get them possessed with a holy fear of
that wrath of God which is there revealed against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men, as Josiah's tender heart was. When he
heard the words of the law he <i>rent his clothes</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.19" parsed="|2Chr|34|19|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>), and God was well
pleased with his doing so, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.27" parsed="|2Chr|34|27|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:27"><i>v.</i>
27</scripRef>. Were the things contained in the scripture new to
us, as they were here to Josiah, surely they would make deeper
impressions upon us than commonly they do; but they are not the
less weighty, and therefore should not be the less considered by
us, for their being well known. Rend the heart therefore, not the
garments. 3. We are here directed when we are under convictions of
sin, and apprehensions of divine wrath, to enquire of the Lord; so
Josiah did, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.21" parsed="|2Chr|34|21|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>.
It concerns us to ask (as they did, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p7.5" osisRef="Bible:Acts.2.37" parsed="|Acts|2|37|0|0" passage="Ac 2:37">Acts ii. 37</scripRef>), <i>Men and brethren, what shall
we do?</i> and more particularly (as the jailor), <i>What must I do
to be saved?</i> <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p7.6" osisRef="Bible:Acts.16.30" parsed="|Acts|16|30|0|0" passage="Ac 16:30">Acts xvi.
30</scripRef>. <i>If you will</i> thus <i>enquire, enquire</i>
(<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p7.7" osisRef="Bible:Isa.21.12" parsed="|Isa|21|12|0|0" passage="Isa 21:12">Isa. xxi. 12</scripRef>); and,
blessed be God, we have the lively oracles to which to apply with
these enquiries. 4. We are here warned of the ruin that sin brings
upon nations and kingdoms. Those that forsake God bring evil upon
themselves (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p7.8" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.24-2Chr.34.25" parsed="|2Chr|34|24|34|25" passage="2Ch 34:24,25"><i>v.</i> 24,
25</scripRef>), and kindle a fire <i>which shall not be
quenched.</i> Such will the fire of God's wrath be when the decree
has gone forth against those that obstinately and impenitently
persist in their wicked ways. 5. We are here encouraged to humble
ourselves before God and seek unto him, as Josiah did. If we cannot
prevail thereby to turn away God's wrath from our land, yet we
shall deliver our own souls, <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p7.9" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.27-2Chr.34.28" parsed="|2Chr|34|27|34|28" passage="2Ch 34:27,28"><i>v.</i> 27, 28</scripRef>. And good people are
here taught to be so far from fearing death as to welcome it rather
when it <i>takes them away from the evil to come.</i> See how the
property of it is altered by making it the matter of a promise:
<i>Thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace,</i> housed in that
ark, as Noah, when a deluge is coming.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iiCh.xxxv-p0.5" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.29-2Chr.34.33" parsed="|2Chr|34|29|34|33" passage="2Ch 34:29-33" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Chr.34.29-2Chr.34.33">
<p class="passage" id="iiCh.xxxv-p8">29 Then the king sent and gathered together all
the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.   30 And the king went up
into the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p8.1">Lord</span>, and all
the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the
priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and
he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant
that was found in the house of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p8.2">Lord</span>.   31 And the king stood in his place,
and made a covenant before the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p8.3">Lord</span>,
to walk after the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p8.4">Lord</span>, and to keep
his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all
his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the
covenant which are written in this book.   32 And he caused
all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand <i>to
it.</i> And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the
covenant of God, the God of their fathers.   33 And Josiah
took away all the abominations out of all the countries that
<i>pertained</i> to the children of Israel, and made all that were
present in Israel to serve, <i>even</i> to serve the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p8.5">Lord</span> their God. <i>And</i> all his days they
departed not from following the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiCh.xxxv-p8.6">Lord</span>, the God of their fathers.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiCh.xxxv-p9">We have here an account of the further
advances which Josiah made towards the reformation of his kingdom
upon the hearing of the law read and the receipt of the message God
sent him by the prophetess. Happy the people that had such a king;
for here we find that, 1. They were well taught. He did not go
about to force them to do their duty, till he had first instructed
them in it. He called all the people together, great and small,
young and old, rich and poor, high and low. <i>He that hath ears to
hear, let him hear</i> the words of <i>the book of the
covenant;</i> for they are all concerned in those words. To put an
honour upon the service, and to engage attention the more, though
there were priests and Levites present, the king himself read the
book to the people (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.30" parsed="|2Chr|34|30|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:30"><i>v.</i>
30</scripRef>), and he read it, no doubt, in such a manner as to
show that he was himself affected with it, which would be a means
of affecting the hearers. 2. They were well fixed. The articles of
agreement between God and Israel being read, that they might
intelligently covenant with God, both king and people with great
solemnity did as it were subscribe the articles. The king in his
place covenanted to keep God's commandments with all his heart and
soul, according to what was <i>written in the book</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.31" parsed="|2Chr|34|31|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>), and urged the people
to declare their consent likewise to this covenant, and solemnly to
promise that they would faithfully perform, fulfil, and keep, all
and every thing that was on their part to be done, according to
this covenant: this they did; they could not for shame do
otherwise. He caused <i>all that were present</i> to <i>stand to
it</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.32" parsed="|2Chr|34|32|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:32"><i>v.</i> 32</scripRef>), and
made them all <i>to serve, even to serve the Lord their God</i>
(<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p9.4" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.33" parsed="|2Chr|34|33|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:33"><i>v.</i> 33</scripRef>), to do it
and to <i>make a business</i> of it. He did all he could to bring
them to it—<i>to serve, even to serve;</i> the repetition denotes
that this was the only thing his heart was set on; he aimed at
nothing else in what he did but to engage them to God and their
duty. 3. They were well tended, were honest with good looking to.
<i>All his days they departed not from following the Lord;</i> he
kept them, with much ado, from running into idolatry again. <i>All
his days</i> were days of restraint upon them; but this intimated
that there was in them a <i>bent to backslide,</i> a strong
inclination to idolatry. Many of them wanted nothing but to have
him out of the way, and then they would have their high places and
their images up again. And therefore we find that <i>in the days of
Josiah</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p9.5" osisRef="Bible:Jer.3.6" parsed="|Jer|3|6|0|0" passage="Jer 3:6">Jer. iii. 6</scripRef>) God
charged it upon treacherous Judah that she <i>had not returned to
him with all her heart, but feignedly</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p9.6" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.10" parsed="|2Chr|34|10|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), nay, had <i>played the
harlot</i> (<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p9.7" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.8" parsed="|2Chr|34|8|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>)
and thereby had even <i>justified backsliding Israel,</i> <scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p9.8" osisRef="Bible:2Chr.34.11" parsed="|2Chr|34|11|0|0" passage="2Ch 34:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. In the twenty-third
year of this reign, four or five years after this, they had <i>gone
on to provoke God to anger with the works of their hands</i>
(<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p9.9" osisRef="Bible:Jer.25.3-Jer.25.7" parsed="|Jer|25|3|25|7" passage="Jer 25:3-7">Jer. xxv. 3-7</scripRef>); and,
which is very observable, it is from the beginning of Josiah's
reformation, his twelfth or thirteenth year, that <i>the iniquity
of the house of Judah,</i> which brought ruin upon them, and which
the prophet was to bear lying on his right side, was dated
(<scripRef id="iiCh.xxxv-p9.10" osisRef="Bible:Ezek.4.6" parsed="|Ezek|4|6|0|0" passage="Eze 4:6">Ezek. iv. 6</scripRef>), for thence to
the destruction of Jerusalem was just forty years. Josiah was
sincere in what he did, but the generality of the people were
averse to it and hankered after their idols still; so that the
reformation, though well designed and well prosecuted by the
prince, had little or no effect upon the people. It was with
reluctancy that they parted with their idols; still they were in
heart joined to them, and wished for them again. This God saw, and
therefore from that time, when one would have thought the
foundations had been laid for a perpetual security and peace, from
that very time did the decree go forth for their destruction.
Nothing hastens the ruin of a people nor ripens them for it more
than the baffling of hopeful attempts for reformation and a
hypocritical return to God. <i>Be not deceived, God is not
mocked.</i></p>
</div></div2>