2Ch 34:1-7 | Clarke | STEP | Josiah reigns thirty-one years; destroys idolatry in Judah, as also in Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and even to Naphtali, . He begins to repair the temple, and collects money for the purpose, and employs workmen, . Hilkiah the priest finds the book of the law in the temple, which is read by Shaphan before the king, . He is greatly troubled, and consults Huldah the prophetess, . Her exhortation, and message to the king, . He causes it to be read to the elders of Judah, and they make a covenant with God, , . Josiah reforms every abomination, and the people serve God all his days, .

2 Chronicles 34:1-7

Introduction

Josiah reigns thirty-one years; destroys idolatry in Judah, as also in Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and even to Naphtali, 2Chr 34:1-7. He begins to repair the temple, and collects money for the purpose, and employs workmen, 2Chr 34:8-13. Hilkiah the priest finds the book of the law in the temple, which is read by Shaphan before the king, 2Chr 34:14-19. He is greatly troubled, and consults Huldah the prophetess, 2Chr 34:20-22. Her exhortation, and message to the king, 2Chr 34:23-28. He causes it to be read to the elders of Judah, and they make a covenant with God, 2Chr 34:29, 2Chr 34:32. Josiah reforms every abomination, and the people serve God all his days, 2Chr 34:33. Verse 2

He declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left - He never swerved from God and truth; he never omitted what he knew to be his duty to God and his kingdom; he carried on his reformation with a steady hand; timidity did not prevent him from going far enough; and zeal did not lead him beyond due bounds. He walked in the golden mean, and his moderation was known unto all men. He went neither to the right nor to the left, he looked inward, looked forward, and looked upward. Reader, let the conduct of this pious youth be thy exemplar through life. Verse 4

The altars of Baalim - How often have these been broken down, and how soon set up again! We see that the religion of a land is as the religion of its king. If the king were idolatrous, up went the altars, on them were placed the statues, and the smoke of incense ascended in ceaseless clouds to the honor of that which is vanity, and nothing to the world; on the other hand, when the king was truly religious, down went the idolatrous altars, broken in pieces were the images, and the sacrificial smoke ascended only to the true God: in all these cases the people were as one man with the king. Verse 5

He burnt the bones of the priests - כומריא kumeraiya, the kemarim, says the Targum. See this word explained, 2Kgs 23:5 (note). Verse 6

The cities of Manasseh - Even those who were under the government of the Israelitish king permitted their idols and places of idolatry to be hewn down and destroyed: after the truth was declared and acknowledged, the spade and the axe were employed to complete the reformation.