2 Kings 23:21, commentary and pictures

The king commanded all the people to keep the Passover to the Lord their God as written in the book of the covenant, in obedience to the Lord's commandments. It followed the removal of idolatry and the restoration of the long-neglected services of worship, and was celebrated with rejoicing as no Passover since the days of the judges seven centuries before. It belonged to the temporal reformation and revival that followed the discovery of the book of the law in the repair of the Lord's house, when the Bible was read to the people and brought them from indifference to feel the nation's sin unto repentance. The book of the covenant is the written law of Moses with its ordinances, the typical ceremonial law of types and shadows foreshadowing the gospel, distinct from the covenant on the tables of stone containing the ten commandments as the moral law. Josiah's thorough cleansing of at least ten forms of idolatry fulfilled the prophecy spoken to Jeroboam by the man of God, and provides the pattern for a new reformation to confront the evils of the present day.

Josiah's Passover Command

The king commanded all the people to keep the Passover to the Lord their God as written in the book of the covenant, and the command stands as evidence that Josiah obeyed the Lord's commandments. The keeping was done in accordance with the recovered law. Josiah's reign was the last time a king in Jerusalem kept the Lord's statutes.

The Passover followed the removal of idolatry and the restoration of the long-neglected services of Jewish worship. It was celebrated with rejoicing. It was an unparalleled Passover, unlike any held since the days of the judges seven centuries earlier.

It belonged to the temporal reformation of Judah that followed the discovery of the book of the law during repair of the Lord's house. That discovery was followed by Huldah's declaration of the book's threatenings against the place and the people, with comfort and peace to the humble king. It belonged to a revival in which the Bible was read to the people and the work of reform followed. The reading brought them to feel the nation's sin, turning them from indifference toward repentance and reformation.

It belonged to a bright period in Judah's history under a devoted and zealous reformer. Yet he could not stop Judah's decline. After his reign the people could no longer keep the release year or Jubilee.

Book of the Covenant

The book of the covenant named in the command is the written law of Moses in a book, with its ordinances. It prescribed the keeping of the Passover, and the king's command directed the people to observe it exactly as written there. That written law contained the Jewish ordinances, including rites that foreshadowed the gospel and were abolished at Christ's death.

It is the typical, ceremonial law of types and shadows given through Moses. As such it concerned the statutes and judgments delivered through Moses, with the typical system to take full effect when Israel entered Canaan.

The book held the terms and ordinances of the agreement between God and Israel, embracing the mutual agreement and the ordinances of the Jewish religion. It is distinct from the covenant on the tables of stone, which contained the ten commandments as the moral law written on stone.

Prophecy and Reformation Pattern

Josiah's work in this chapter fulfilled what the Lord had declared through the man of God who spoke to Jeroboam. The command to keep the Passover stands in the brief record of the greatest reformation in Hebrew history, when at least ten forms of idolatry and iniquity polluting the Temple and the people were confronted: worship of Baal and Astarte, Asherah abominations, sodomites, Tophet or Moloch, Chemosh of Moab, Milcom of Ammon, calf worship at Bethel, consulting familiar spirits, and offering incense in high places. Every existing relic of idolatry was destroyed, idol altars and sites were defiled, and priests of Jehovah who had corrupted His worship were degraded.

Images and places of idolatrous worship connected with the sun, moon, and constellations were destroyed in Judah during his reign. All the furniture in the Lord's house dedicated to Baal worship was burned, the horses dedicated to the sun kept by the gate of the temple were removed, the chariots devoted to the sun were burned, and the great image of Baal at the entrance of the house was pulled down and destroyed. This thorough cleansing provides the pattern for a new reformation to confront the evils of the present day.