2 Chronicles 35:20-27

2 Chronicles 35:20-27

[20] After  all this, when Josiah  had prepared  the temple,  Necho  king  of Egypt  came up  to fight  against Carchemish  by Euphrates:  and Josiah  went out  against  [21] But he sent  ambassadors  to him, saying,  What have I to do with thee, thou king  of Judah?  I come not against thee this day,  but against the house  wherewith I have war:  for God  commanded  me to make haste:  forbear  thee from meddling with God,  who is with me, that he destroy  thee not. [22] Nevertheless Josiah  would not turn  his face  from him, but disguised  himself, that he might fight  with him, and hearkened  not unto the words  of Necho  from the mouth  of God,  and came  to fight  in the valley  of Megiddo.  [23] And the archers  at king  Josiah;  and the king  said  to his servants,  Have me away;  for I am sore  wounded.  [24] His servants  therefore took  him out of that chariot,  and put  him in the second  chariot  him to Jerusalem,  and he died,  and was buried  in one of the sepulchres  of his fathers.  And all Judah  and Jerusalem  mourned  for Josiah.  [25] And Jeremiah  lamented  for Josiah:  and all the singing men  spake  of Josiah  in their lamentations  to this day,  and made  them an ordinance  in Israel:  and, behold, they are written  in the lamentations.  [26] Now the rest  of the acts  of Josiah,  and his goodness,  according to that which was written  in the law  of the LORD,  [27] And his deeds,  first  and last,  behold, they are written  in the book  of the kings  of Israel  and Judah. 

What does 2 Chronicles 35:20-27 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Josiah died at Megiddo, in609 B.C, when he interrupted Pharaoh Neco"s military advance against the Babylonians.
"Fearing the advance of the Babylonians, Pharaoh Neco and the Egyptian army were on their way to assist the Assyrians. Josiah, who apparently was an ally of the Babylonians (or at least an opponent of the Assyrians), attempted to impede the march of Neco." [1]
This is similar to what Ahab had done years earlier, when he and Jehoshaphat had opposed the Arameans at Ramoth-gilead (cf. ch18). Quite clearly Pharaoh"s word to Josiah to turn back was from the Lord ( 2 Chronicles 35:22). Probably the writer included this event in his narrative because Josiah came closer to the Davidic ideal than any other king since Solomon. Yet Hebrews , too, was disobedient to God. Thus David"s greatest Son was yet to come. When He comes back to the earth He will win the battle that will be raging at the very place where Josiah died: the Plain of Megiddo (i.e, Armageddon, lit. the mountain of Megiddo). [2]
"He [3] was a shepherd whose flock never really accepted or understood him, though his concern was for its own welfare . . ." [4]
Josiah"s death is another example of immediate retribution for sin, of which we have seen many in Chronicles. He is one more king who began well but ended up doing something wrong (cf. Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah). He was not the only king to hear a warning before his tragic military error (cf. 2 Chronicles 11:1-4; 2 Chronicles 18:16-22; 1 Samuel 28:19). Like the other reforming kings (Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah), he sensed a military threat by an external enemy after enacting his religious reforms. [5]