Scripture: 2 Chronicles 35:1-7, 16-25 (NKJV)
1 Now Josiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the
Passover lambs on the fourteenth day of the first month. 2 And he set the
priests in their duties and encouraged them for the service of the house of the
LORD. 3 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. 4 Prepare yourselves according to your
fathers’ houses, according to your divisions, following the written instruction
of David king of Israel and the written instruction of Solomon his son. 5 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 father’s
house of the Levites. 6 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.” 7 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 three thousand
cattle; these were from the king’s possessions.
16 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. 17 And the children of Israel who were present kept
the Passover at that time, and the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days. 18
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. 19 In the eighteenth year of the reign of
Josiah this Passover was kept.
20 After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt
came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out
against him. 21 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.” 22 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. 23 And the archers shot King Josiah; and the
king said to his servants, “Take me away, for I am severely wounded.” 24 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. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned
for Josiah. 25 Jeremiah also lamented for Josiah. And to this day all the
singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They
made it a custom in Israel; and indeed they are written in the Laments.
Devotion
What the Lord requires, the Lord provides. In Exodus 12:3 the Lord commands
that every man shall take a lamb from his own flock to be His family’s Passover
Lamb. In the days of Josiah, when the Passover had become a thing of distant
history, Josiah reestablished the Passover amongst God’s people and did so at
His own expense (verse 7). What the Lord required, a lamb in this instance, the
Lord provided through Josiah. This is a picture of how our Lord deals with us.
We cannot afford the sacrifice for our sins. The ransom for the life of man is
too great for any sinner to accomplish. In sheer grace and mercy, the Lord
provides a Passover Lamb for us, our Lord Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins
and rescue us from the bondage of Satan and sin.
Having made atonement for our sins, the Lord then requires faith as that which
apprehends the blessings Christ earned on the Cross as our Passover Lamb. Once
again, we cannot create faith in our heart or conjure up trust in Christ’s
merit and atonement. But praise be to God, that which He requires He freely
bestows on us! He works faith in our hearts through the means of grace, giving
us Christ’s merits and giving the means to possess those merits for our
salvation.
We pray: Dear Father, thank You for the merits of Jesus, which You bestow upon
us through faith. Keep us always in this faith that we may possess the merits
of Jesus as our own, through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
The Lutheran Herald is a publication of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of
North America. These daily devotions are authored by the bishop, pastors, and
deacons of the diocese. Daily posts are provided by The Reverend Jeffrey A.
Ahonen.
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