2Ki 23:30-34 | KingComments | STEP | At the end of his life Josiah also departed from the LORD. He had become stubborn. His authority became his trap. He is often a picture of the Lord Jesus, but he was not a perfect picture of Him. Josiah wanted to be part of the great world politics and was crushed between the superpowers Egypt and Assyria. He interfered in a fight that did not concern him and so he died. His death was not honorable. His burial was not honorable either. His burial was done by his servants. They brought his body to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb. Josiah is succeeded by his son Jehoahaz who was anointed king by the people of the land. Only Solomon and Jehoash are said to have been anointed king to take their place on the throne immediately after. In those cases, this was done to avoid any claim of others to the throne. That seemed to be the case here too. Jehoahaz was not the eldest son of Josiah. The eldest son was Joiakim. Solomon’s and Jehoash’s anointing was justified, Jehoahaz’s anointing seemed to have been preferred by the people because of his political position.

‏ 2 Kings 23:30-34

Death of Josiah

At the end of his life Josiah also departed from the LORD. He had become stubborn. His authority became his trap. He is often a picture of the Lord Jesus, but he was not a perfect picture of Him. Josiah wanted to be part of the great world politics and was crushed between the superpowers Egypt and Assyria. He interfered in a fight that did not concern him and so he died.

His death was not honorable. His burial was not honorable either. His burial was done by his servants. They brought his body to Jerusalem and buried him in his tomb. Josiah is succeeded by his son Jehoahaz who was anointed king by the people of the land.

Only Solomon and Jehoash are said to have been anointed king to take their place on the throne immediately after. In those cases, this was done to avoid any claim of others to the throne. That seemed to be the case here too. Jehoahaz was not the eldest son of Josiah. The eldest son was Joiakim. Solomon’s and Jehoash’s anointing was justified, Jehoahaz’s anointing seemed to have been preferred by the people because of his political position.

Jehoahaz King of Judah

From now on, until the end of the kingdom – a period of about twenty-two years – four kings are presented. During the time of these kings there are no more occasions bringing joy. The time of revivals like under Hezekiah and Josiah is over. None of the successors of Josiah is God-fearing.

The writer was very brief in his description of the kings who were about to come to power, before Judah was taken away into exile. Through the book of Jeremiah, however, we learn a lot about the downfall of the realm. There we find encounters between some of the four kings with the prophet Jeremiah, about whom there is not a single word here.

Jehoahaz was a bad king. He reigned only briefly. But just like other bad kings who had reigned for a short time, in those three months he proved what kind of king he was. Ezekiel compared him to a young lion (Eze 19:1-4). After three months, God’s judgment came upon him through Pharaoh, who was still the mighty ruler on the world stage. Pharaoh imprisoned him at Riblah, a city of priests. Thereby his kingship came to an end. Pharaoh Neco also imposed a fine on the land. God seemed to be on the side of Pharaoh and to reject the kings of Judah. It does not mean that they were more wicked than Pharaoh, but that they were much more responsible for their sin.

Pharaoh also showed his power over Judah by making Eliakim, a brother of Jehoahaz, king. Another proof of the power of Pharaoh is that he changed the name Eliakim to Jehoiakim. He did not make him king instead of Jehoahaz, but in the place of Josiah, his father. It is as if the whole kingship of Jehoahaz did not exist. It is possible that Jehoahaz pursued an anti-Egyptian policy and thereby aroused the anger of Pharaoh. It says it so explicitly, that Pharaoh imprisoned Jehoahaz “that he might not reign in Jerusalem”.