Hello, this is Father Paul, and I'm glad we're
taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year. Today's reading is from 2 Chronicles
chapters 35 and 36. Chapter 35 Now Josiah kept
a Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and he slaughtered
the Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the
first month. And he set the priests in their
duties and encouraged them for the service of
the house of the Lord. Then he said to the Levites,
who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord.
Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon,
the son of David, king of Israel, built. It shall
no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now
serve the Lord your God and his people Israel.
Prepare yourselves according to your father's
houses, according to your divisions, following
the written instruction of David, king of Israel,
and the written instruction of Solomon his son.
And stand in the holy place according to the
divisions of the fathers' houses of your brethren,
the lay people, and according to the division
of the fathers' house of the Levites. So slaughter
the Passover offerings, consecrate yourselves,
and prepare them for your brethren, that they
may do according to the word of the Lord by the
hand of Moses. Then Josiah gave the lay people
lambs and young goats from the flock, all for
Passover offerings for all who were present,
to the number of thirty thousand. As well as
3 ,000 cattle, these were from the king's possessions,
and his leaders gave willingly to the people,
to the priests, and to the Levites. Hilkiah,
Zechariah, and Jael, rulers of the house of God,
gave to the priests for the Passover offerings
2 ,600 from the flock and 300 cattle. Also Kunaniah,
his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, and Hashabiah
and Jael, and Josabath, chief of the Levites,
gave to the Levites for Passover offerings five
thousand from the flock and five hundred cattle.
So the service was prepared, and the priests
stood in their places, and the Levites in their
divisions, according to the king's command. And
they slaughtered the Passover offerings, and
the priests sprinkled the blood with their hands,
while the Levites skinned the animals. Then they
removed the burnt offerings that they might give
them to the divisions of the fathers' houses
of the lay people, to offer to the Lord, as it
is written in the book of Moses. And so they
did with the cattle. Also they roasted the Passover
offerings with fire according to the ordinance.
But the other holy offerings they boiled in pots,
in cauldrons, and in pans, and divided them quickly
among all the lay people. Then afterward they
prepared portions for themselves and for the
priests, because the priests, the sons of Aaron,
were busy in offering burnt offerings and fat
until night. Therefore the Levites prepared portions
for themselves and for the priests, the sons
of Aaron. And the singers, the sons of Asaph,
were in their places, according to the command
of David, Asaph, Haman, and Jedusun, the king's
seer. Also the gatekeepers were at each gate.
They did not have to leave their position, because
their brethren, the Levites, prepared portions
for them. So all the service of the Lord was
prepared the same day to keep the Passover and
to offer burnt offerings on the altar of the
Lord, according to the command of King Josiah.
and the children of Israel who were present kept
the Passover at that time in a feast of unleavened
bread for seven days. There had been no Passover
kept in Israel like that since the days of Samuel
the prophet, and none of the kings of Israel
had kept such a Passover as Josiah kept with
the priests and the Levites, all Judah and Israel
who were present and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
In the 18th year of the reign of Josiah, this
Passover was kept. After all this, when Josiah
had prepared the temple, Necho, king of Egypt,
came up to fight against Carshimish by the Euphrates,
and Josiah went out against him. But he sent
messengers to him, saying, What have I to do
with you, king of Judah? I have not come against
you this day, but against the house with which
I have war. For God commanded me to make haste.
Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me,
lest he destroy you. Nevertheless, Josiah would
not turn his face from him, but disguised himself
so that he might fight with him, and did not
heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God.
So he came to fight in the valley of Megiddo.
And the archers shot King Josiah. And the king
said to his servants, Take me away, for I am
severely wounded. His servants therefore took
him out of that chariot and put him in the second
chariot that he had, and they brought him to
Jerusalem. So he died and was buried in one of
the tombs of his fathers. mourned for josiah
jeremiah also lamented for josiah and to this
day all the singing men and singing women speak
of josiah in their lamentations they made it
a custom in israel and indeed they are written
in the laments now the rest of the acts of josiah
and his goodness according to what was written
in the law of the lord and his deeds from first
to last indeed they are written in the book of
the kings of israel and judah chapter 36 Then
the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son
of Josiah, and made him king in his father's
place in Jerusalem. Jehoahaz was twenty -three
years old when he became king, and he reigned
three months in Jerusalem. Now the king of Egypt
deposed him at Jerusalem, and he imposed on the
land a tribute of one hundred talents of silver
and a talent of gold. Then the king of Egypt
made Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim king over Judah
and Jerusalem, and changed his name to Jehoiakim.
And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother and carried
him off to Egypt. Jehoiakim was 25 years old
when he became king and he reigned 11 years in
Jerusalem and he did evil in the sight of the
Lord his God. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came up against him and bound him in bronze fetters
to carry him off to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also
carried off some of the articles from the house
of the Lord to Babylon and put them in his temple
at Babylon. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim,
the abominations which he did, and what was found
against him, indeed they are written in the book
of the kings of Israel and Judah. Then Jehoiakim,
his son, reigned in his place. Jehoiakim was
eight years old when he became king, and he reigned
in Jerusalem three months and ten days, and he
did evil in the sight of the Lord. At the turn
of the year, King Nebuchadnezzar summoned him
and took him to Babylon with the costly articles
from the house of the Lord and made Zedekiah,
Jehoiakim's brother, king over Judah and Jerusalem.
Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king
and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. He did
evil in the sight of the Lord his God and did
not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet,
who spoke from the mouth of the Lord. And he
also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who
had made him swear an oath by God, But he stiffened
his neck and hardened his heart against turning
to the Lord God of Israel. Moreover, all the
leaders of the priests and the people transgressed
more and more, according to all the abominations
of the nations, and defiled the house of the
Lord which he had consecrated in Jerusalem. And
the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to
them by his messengers, rising up early and sending
them, because he had compassion on his people
and on his dwelling place. But they mocked the
messengers of God, despised his words, and scoffed
at his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord
arose against his people, till there was no remedy.
Therefore he brought against them the king of
the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with
the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and
had no compassion on young men or virgin, on
the aged or the weak. He gave them all into his
hand, and all the articles from the house of
God, great and small. the treasures of the house
of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and
of his leaders, all these he took to Babylon.
Then they burned the house of God, broke down
the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces
with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions.
And those who escaped from the sword he carried
away to Babylon, where they became servants to
him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom
of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by
the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed
her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate, she
kept Sabbath to fulfill seventy years. Now in
the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that
the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah
might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in
writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia,
all the kingdoms of the earth, the Lord God of
heaven has given me. And he has commanded me
to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in
Judah, who is among you of all his people. May
the Lord his God be with him and let him go up.
I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as
I did. And I look forward to seeing you again
tomorrow to continue on our journey. God bless
you and have a great day.