Read 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34 at Bible Gateway.
The Hebrew paragraph divisions:
2 Kin 22:1-2 {p} Josiah reigned 32 years + his mother + he did what was right in the eyes of YHVH
2 Kin 22:3-23:30 {p} The acts of Josiah …
2 Chr 34:1-7 {p} Josiah’s reign: he sought YHVH/ purged Judah, Jerusalem, all Israel of idolatry
2 Chr 34:8-11 {s} 18th year of Josiah: he began the repair + restoration of the temple
2 Chr 34:12-23 {s} The high priest found the Book of the Law of Moses/ it was read to Josiah, his repentance
2 Chr 34:24-26a {s} YHVH: All the curses written in this book shall come upon Judah + Jerusalem
2 Chr 34:26b-28 {s} YHVH: Because Josiah humbled himself, his eyes will not see it + he will go to his grave in peace
2 Chr 34:29-33 {s} Book of the Law read to the people/ renewed covenant to serve YHVH, all the days of King Josiah
It was the humbling of Manasseh’s heart before the LORD that called forth His mercy on him, just as it did also for Josiah (2 Chr 33:12, 34:27):
For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isa 57:15
We have read many proofs throughout the history of the Old Testament that reveals the God of the Old Testament is the God of forgiveness, mercy, and grace, not a God of wrath, vengeance, judgment, and anger. His restoration of Manasseh, after Manasseh had sinned so greatly, more than any of the other kings of Judah, is further proof.
The long reign of Manasseh and his son was so full of neglect of the LORD and all His service, that even the priests who served during the reign of Josiah had never seen the Book of the Law before. When they found it and read it to Josiah, they themselves were hearing it also for the first time.
It reminds me of Martin Luther, a German monk who was part of the Augustine order during the 1500s. The word of God was so neglected, that after he had been a monk for a number of years already, he found a Bible in the back of the university library, thick with dust. It was the first Bible he had ever seen in his life, as well as any of the other monks in his order. Reading it set a match to a fuse of revival, called the Reformation, just as Josiah reading the Book of the Law for the first time, set a match to a fuse of revival.
Many today are reading the Book of the Law for the first time, with a heart attitude of obedience as the LORD reveals the written Torah to Ephraim and the Living Torah to Judah. This match set to the fuse of revival, I believe, will dwarf every other revival in history, before the return of the Lord Jesus Christ!
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