And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem. Josiah sent messengers throughout the land, and convened all the principal men in it at Jerusalem. read more
And the king went up into the house of the Lord ,.... To the temple, from his palace: and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him : they met him there: and the priests, and the prophets ; the prophets Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Uriah, who, though they might not be at Jerusalem when the book of the law was found, yet, upon this message of the king's, might come up thither from the countries where they were; the Targum interprets the word "scribes": and some... read more
And the king stood by a pillar ,.... As the manner of kings was, 2 Kings 11:14 and is thought to be the brasen scaffold erected by Solomon, on which he stood at the dedication of the temple, and now Josiah at the reading of the law, 2 Chronicles 6:13 , it is said to be his place, 2 Chronicles 34:31 ; see Gill on 2 Kings 11:14 . and made a covenant before the Lord : agreed and promised in the presence of God, both he and his people: to walk after the Lord : the worship of the... read more
The king went up into the house of the Lord - Here is another very singular circumstance. The high priest, scribes, priest, and prophets, are gathered together, with all the elders of the people, and the king himself reads the book of the covenant which had been lately found! It is strange that either the high priest, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, or some other of the prophets, who were certainly there present, did not read the sacred book! It is likely that the king considered... read more
Stood by a pillar - He stood, העמוד על al haammud , "upon the stairs or pulpit." This is what is called the brazen scaffold or pulpit which Solomon made, and on which the kings were accustomed to stand when they addressed the people. See 2 Chronicles 6:13 , and the parallel places. Made a covenant - This was expressed, In general. To walk after Jehovah; to have no gods besides him. To take his law for the regulation of their conduct. In particular. To bend their... read more
And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem ; i.e. all the elders of Jerusalem and of the rest of Judah. (On the important position held by "the elders" in the undivided kingdom, see 1 Kings 8:1 , and the comment ad loc .; and on their position in the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, see 1 Kings 20:7 , 1 Kings 20:8 ; 1 Kings 21:8 , 1 Kings 21:11 ; 2 Kings 10:1 , etc.) read more
Josiah ' s renewal of the covenant . The first care of Josiah, on receiving Huldah's message, which stamped the book found as the true "book of the covenant," was to call together a great assembly of the nation, which should be sufficiently representative of it, and renew the covenant between God and his people made originally at Horeb ( Exodus 19:5-8 ; Exodus 24:3-8 ), which it was apparent, by the words of the book, that he and his people had broken. His proceedings may be fitly... read more
Standing to the covenant. With a heart stirred up to intense zeal for God by the words which he had heard read out of the newly found book—the precious "book of the Law," thrust into temporary oblivion by his wicked grandfather and father—Josiah felt that a greet act of national repentance and national profession of faith was called for; and summoning "the men of Judah" by their representatives, and all the whole mass of the people of Jerusalem, he proceeded to call upon them to "stand to... read more
Josiah's great reformation. The narrative of Josiah's reforms contained in this chapter incorporates several particulars which, if the Book of Chronicles is to be regarded as giving the true chronology, belong to an earlier period. It is next to incredible that, after Jehovah's worship had been regularly established, such scandals as the prostitution alluded to in 2 Kings 23:7 , and the horses and chariots of the sun in 2 Kings 23:11 , should have Been allowed to continue. The narrative... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 23:1-3
Josiah had received a message from God that there was no preventing the ruin of Jerusalem, but that he should deliver only his own soul; yet he did not therefore sit down in despair, and resolve to do nothing for his country because he could not do all he would. No, he would do his duty, and then leave the event to God. A public reformation was the thing resolved on; if any thing could prevent the threatened ruin it must be that; and here we have the preparations for that reformation. 1. He... read more