2 Chronicles 35:24

2Ch 35:24 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, and he died, and was buried in [one of] the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

Ver. 24. His servants therefore took him.] They forsook him not in his extremity, and last agony; as our Edward III’s servants did him; all but one poor priest, who called upon him, now dying, to remember his Saviour and to ask mercy for his offences: whereupon he showed all signs of contrition, and at his last breath expressed the name of Jesus. {a}

And they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died.] See 2Ki 23:30. He repented at his death, no doubt, of his rashness. As did also Curiensis, a godly Dutch divine, who held it unlawful to forbear to visit the infected with the pestilence; but when this good pastor, being too venturous, had got the plague, and was nigh to death, he cried out, O utinam Zanchii consilium secutus essem! O that I had taken Zanchius my colleague’s counsel, which was to forbear visiting such as were so visited!

And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.] As great cause they had; greater than the Thebans had for their Epaminondas, or the Romans for their Augustus. Who when he died, we feared, saith Paterculus, that all would have been nought with us. And did not our fathers fear the like when that peerless Queen Elizabeth died? When Louis XII left the world, such a turn of things fell out in France, saith Budaeus, that he who erst seemed to touch heaven with his finger, now lay grovelling on the ground, as if he had been thunderstruck. Think the same of this sad state, all whose happiness died with their good king Josiah.

{a} Dan. Hist., 260.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ch_35:24-25

His servants therefore took him out of that chariot.

The lamentation for Josiah

I. The nature and quality of the lamentation.

1. Extensively. All Judah and Jerusalem.

2. Intensively. Bitter lamentation.

3. Protensively. Of long duration, an ordinance in Israel.

II. The cause and ground of it. The loss of a good leader whose life had been useful.

III. Doctrine. That faithful, active, and public-spirited men in the Church of God should not be laid in their graves without great lamentations. In replication I will show--

1. Negatively. On what account the death of good men is not to be lamented.

2. Positively. The true grounds and causes of such lamentation.

(1) Because so much of the Spirit of God as dwelt in them, when amongst us, is now recalled and gathered up from this lower world. As it is a real loss to a company when any merchant withdraws a great stock he had running in trade, out of the bank; so certainly it is a great loss to the Church of God, when the precious gifts and graces of the Spirit, dwelling in the saints, are drawn out by death.

(2) Because thereby a breach is made to let in the judgments of God upon the remnant that is left.

(3) The beauty and ornaments of the places they lived in are defaced and removed by their death.

(4) Because the propagation of religion is obstructed in the places from whence they are removed.

(5) The consideration of the time in which good men die aggravates the loss, if it falls out,--

(a) In a declining state of religion.

(b) When the numbers of the godly are thinned and lessened.

(c) When the spring and succession of good men is obstructed.

(6) When we consider what influence our sins and provocations have had upon those judgments and calamities. I look upon every good man, as a good book, lent by its owners for another to read, and transcribe the excellent notions and golden passages that are in it for his own benefit, that they may return with him when the owner shall call for his book again. But in case this excellent book shall be thrown into a corner, and no use made of it, it justly provokes the owner to take it away in displeasure.

Application. This reproves--

1. The worst of men, such as secretly rejoice at the removal of such men.

2. The insensibleness of good men, who are apt too slightly to pass over such tremendous strokes of. God (Isa_57:1).

3. The very best of men, who though they do bewail and lament the loss of such men, yet they do not lament it in the due manner. (John Flavel.)

The death and burial of Josiah

1. That the best of men may err in judgment and in act.

2. The danger of undertaking any work without asking counsel of the Lord.

3. How universal is the reign of death.

4. That we should be cautious how we attribute sudden and violent death to the vengeance of the Most High.

5. That it is not wrong to mourn for the dead. (J. S. Wilkins, B.A.)

The death of Josiah

I. What the people of God did upon the death of Josiah.

1. There was a general mourning for him.

2. The prophet Jeremiah made a particular office for it.

3. This office was used among others upon the day of lamentation.

4. This use was established by a law upon Israel, which was observed till the end of the Babylonian Captivity.

II. The reasons of their doing it.

1. Because it was caused by their sins.

2. Because it was a punishment for their sins. (Bishop W. Lloyd.)

A nations tears

Why does the Jewish nation now weep over Josiah? The reasons are:

I. The great national loss which the event involved. Josiah was a prince--

1. Of a reflective nature. His mind was in the quest of the highest truth.

2. Of a tender spirit.

3. Of reformative disposition.

II. The sad memory of the moral cause of the calamity.

III. The terribly distressing mystery associated with the dispensation. Josiah was the most useful man of his age; yet he dies at thirty-nine. Mystery though it be, it teaches us--

1. That Heavens government is no respecter of persons.

2. The irresistibility of death.

3. That there is nothing on this fleeting earth on which we should set our hearts.

4. That there must be an after life. (Homilist.)

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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Ch 35:24. And put him in the second chariot — It was the custom of war, in former times, for great officers to have led horses with them in battle, that if one failed they might mount another. And, in like manner, we may presume, that when it became a fashion to fight in chariots, all great commanders had an empty one following them, to which they might betake themselves, if any mischief befell the other. They brought him to Jerusalem, and he died — Bishop Sherlock observes, that Josiah had so good a character in Scripture, that both Jews and Christians have been at a loss to account for his unfortunate end. The learned Dr. Prideaux endeavours to justify his conduct in opposing the passage of the king of Egypt, because it was a service due to the king of Assyria, to whom Josiah was a vassal. “Be it so,” says Dr. Dodd, “yet his duty to the king of Assyria could not dissolve his dependance on a higher Master. He went to war as vassal of the king of Assyria, but did he ask counsel of God as king of Judah? Or was he attended to the war with such forces only as the kings of Judah might lawfully use? That he had chariots and horsemen, appears plainly from this account of his death. That this was the true or only cause of his misfortune, I dare not affirm; for I have no express authority to support me in affirming it: but this I see, that he was found in the day of battle, not with the equipage of a king of Judah, but surrounded with forces which the law of his God had forbidden him to trust to, and which had often proved a strength fatal to his ancestors.” See Bishop Sherlock’s Dissertation on the Use and Intent of Prophecy, at the end.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The people so much lamented the loss of this good king, that after when there was any great lamentation this was spoken of as a proverb, read Zech. 12:11.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

took him out of that chariot, and put him in the second chariot--the carriage he had for ordinary use, and which would be more comfortable for the royal sufferer than the war chariot. The death of this good king was the subject of universal and lasting regret.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 24. The second chariot] Perhaps this means no more than that they took Josiah out of his own chariot and put him into another, either for secrecy, or because his own had been disabled. The chariot into which he was put might have been that of the officer or aid-de-camp who attended his master to the war. 2Kg 22:20.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(24) That chariot.—The (war) chariot.

Put him.—Made him ride.

Brought him to Jerusalem, and he died.—2Ki_23:30 says: “And his servants made him ride dead (or dying) from Megiddo.’ Even if it be not permissible to render mêth “dying,” we cannot agree with the suggestion of Thenius that the account of Chronicles is simply an arbitrary alteration of the older narrative for the sake of literary effect. The divergence proves that the chronicler had special sources of information at his command.

The second chariot was no doubt a more comfortable one, reserved in case of such an emergency.

In one of the sepulchres.—Omit one of. Kings, “in his own sepulchre,” which would be a chamber among those of his immediate ancestors, Manasseh and Amon. (See 2Ki_21:18.)

Mourned.—Were mourning.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

24. His servants therefore took him out of that chariot] R.V. So his servants took him out of the chariot.

the second chariot] War chariots were small, with (apparently) only standing room for their occupants; see the illustrations of Egyptian and Assyrian chariots given in Smith’s Bib. Dict. s.v. This “second chariot” was probably of a larger kind, suitable for travelling.

in one of the sepulchres] R.V. in the sepulchres.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah,.... Composed a lamentation for him, which is now lost; for what is said in Lam 4:20 respects Zedekiah, and not Josiah:

and all the singing men, and all the singing women, spake of Josiah in their lamentations unto this day; who were made use of on mournful occasions, as the "preficae" among the Romans, see Jer 9:17 these in their mournful ditties used to make mention of his name, and the disaster that befell him:

and made them an ordinance in Israel; an annual constitution, as the Targum calls it, appointing a solemn mourning for him once a year, which Jarchi says was on the ninth of Ab or July:

and, behold, they are written in the lamentations; not of Jeremiah; though the Targum is,

"lo, they are written in the book which Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah, concerning the lamentations,''but respect a collection of lamentations on various subjects then in being, but since lost.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The fate of Josiah was unprecedented. No king of Judah had, up to this time, fallen in battle. None had left his land at the mercy of a foreign conqueror. Hence, the extraordinary character of the mourning (compare Zec 12:11-14).

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

After the manner of kings, is not in Hebrew, &c. H. --- Curtius (iv.) informs us, that the Persian monarch had always a horse behind his chariot, to be ready in case of any accident.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

And he died. If the form of words used in the parallel, 2Ki_23:30, be followed, Josiah was dead before they reached Jerusalem. And all mourned for Josiah. We still find no note whatever of blame attributed to Josiah, and the general mourning (Zec_12:11) appears to have been most genuine.

Vers. 24, 25.

An early sunset.

That very good men may make very great mistakes we hardly need to be told; unfortunately, we have all too many illustrations of that fact. The text provides us with a very melancholy instance. What had Josiah to do with this contest between the kings of Egypt and Assyria? Was his heart, too, "lifted up," that he thought himself and his people more than a match for the disciplined hosts of Egypt? Had he been attacked, and had he cast himself on God as Hezekiah did when Sennacherib appeared against him, then he might have hoped confidently for victory. But to contest with a great world-power on worldly principles was a supreme and a fatal error. He paid the penalty of his folly with his life. His sun went down while it was yet day." So passed, needlessly and unfortunately, one of the best and boldest spirits that occupied the throne of Judah. Regarding his death as that of one early removed from the scenes of earthly activity, we are naturally affected by

I ITS EXTREME SADNESS. We are not surprised to read of so demonstrative and so fervent-natured a people as the Jews were, that "all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah;" nor that Jeremiah uttered his prophet"s plaint concerning him. It was a time for profound sorrow; and even passionate grief might, under such circumstances, be excused. For the nation had not merely lost its chief; it had lost an invaluable leader, a king who was leading in the paths of righteousness and therefore of prosperity. There must come occasions to the country, to the Church, to the city, to the family, when one man"s death will be felt to be a calamity. Very wise is that community, sacred or secular, national or domestic, that recognizes this fact and provides against it; that secures such resources, material or spiritual, that when such a blow comes everything will not be lost; that when its best is taken it has still much in reserve; that it is not dependent for the maintenance of its liberty, or its security, or its vigorous existence on anything so precarious as one human being"s life.

II ITS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Why did God not interpose to prevent Josiah from throwing his life away? Why did he let darkness come down at noon, and put an end to this bright and useful day? Why does he not now intervene between us and the death we speak of as premature? Why does he permit the young statesmen to overtax his strength and die in his prime; the young minister to commit himself to the treacherous tide and be drowned in the very fulness of his powers and the midst of his usefulness; the young missionary to expose his life to the savages who pierce him with the poisoned spear? We ask such questions, wondering, if not complaining, at the Divine inaction. But we might very justly and more properly ask ourselves another question What right have we to expect that God will give to any man a particular term of earthly life that we may choose for him? Has he promised to confer any one length of days on his servants? Is not the gift of every added day a prolongation of his goodness and his mercy? Ought we not, rather than complain, to bless him for the number of years he does bestow a number which is greater than our deserving? Would it be really wise or kind of our heavenly Father if he were always interposing to prevent us from suffering the natural consequences of our error or our negligence, because we were right at heart with him? Would that be the way to discipline, to purify, to perfect his children? No! when God lets death

Descend in sudden night On manhood"s middle day,

he is not unrighteous, nor is he really unwise or unkind. Get down far enough, and we stand on the rock of righteousness and wisdom and love. We may look at

III ALLEVIATING ASPECTS OF IT. No doubt, when Josiah found that he was "sore wounded," and that he could not recover, he would grieve more or less, as Hezekiah did. But as he confronted death he would become reconciled to the will of God, and he would, probably, have some hope concerning himself for the future, and would entrust his country to the care of God. But we have a much larger measure of alleviation than Josiah had. For there has visited us and spoken to us that Divine One who is the Resurrection and the Life indeed. And in the light of his revealing truth, and in the hope of his gracious promise, we look upon death as introducing us into another part of the kingdom of God another and a better; a sphere from which sin is shut out; and not only sin, but weariness and disappointment and sorrow; a sphere that will be ever brightening and broadening as added years reveal in us and to us "enlarged and liberated powers. C.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

into his second chariot for it was customary for the king to ride on two chariots; he rode mainly on the first, but if necessary, he would ride on the second. The first one went before them, and when he was stricken, they put him into the second chariot.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.