What is the significance of Josiah's Passover?

[tonychanyt]

Hezekiah reinstated the Passover festival.

A few decades later, 2 Kings 23:

22 Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed.

Some decades later, Jerusalem fell.

The following is from Dottard:

There were two things that appear to have characterized this Passover recorded in 2 Kings 23 -

• It was observed with greater care and solemnity than any before it
• It was observed by more people than any before it

These can be judged by the extensive and thorough preparations made in order to celebrate this Passover including:

• The great Israelite covenant was restored and renewed (V1-3)
• the temple was clean up and the re-consecrated (V4)
• unworthy, unsuitable priests were banished from the temple (V5)
• idols, Asherah poles, and all pagan influences were removed from the city (V6)
• prostitution in the temple was banished (V7)
• Even pagan places of worship, high places, etc, were desecrated both inside and outside of Judah (V8-16) as far away as Samaria (V19, 20)
• mediums and spiritists were removed from all the land (V24)

The dedication of the ceremony can also be gauged by the following:

• The king encourage all to participate (V21)
• The king turned to the LORD with "with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength" [Compare Deut 6:5 - And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.]

Note the comments from the Pulpit commentary:

Verse 22. - Surely there was not holden such a Passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah. Such a Passover, one so numerously attended (2 Chronicles 35:18). and so exactly kept according to every ordinance of the Law of Moses (2 Chronicles 35:6), had not been celebrated during all the period of the judges, from Joshua to Samuel, nor under the kings of all Israel, Saul, David, and Solomon, nor under those of the separated kingdom of Judah, from Rehoboam to this year (the eighteenth) of Josiah.

 

[AlexB23]

2 Kings 23:

22 Neither in the days of the judges who led Israel nor in the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah had any such Passover been observed.

Some decades later, Jerusalem fell.

The following is from Dottard:

There were two things that appear to have characterized this Passover recorded in 2 Kings 23 -

It was observed with greater care and solemnity than any before it

It was observed by more people than any before it

These can be judged by the extensive and thorough preparations made in order to celebrate this Passover including:

The great Israelite covenant was restored and renewed (V1-3)

the temple was clean up and the re-consecrated (V4)

unworthy, unsuitable priests were banished from the temple (V5)

idols, Asherah poles, and all pagan influences were removed from the city (V6)

prostitution in the temple was banished (V7)

Even pagan places of worship, high places, etc, were desecrated both inside and outside of Judah (V8-16) as far away as Samaria (V19, 20)

mediums and spiritists were removed from all the land (V24)

The dedication of the ceremony can also be gauged by the following:

The king encourage all to participate (V21)

The king turned to the LORD with "with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength" [Compare Deut 6:5 - And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.]

Note the comments from the Pulpit commentary:

Verse 22. - Surely there was not holden such a Passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah. Such a Passover, one so numerously attended (2 Chronicles 35:18). and so exactly kept according to every ordinance of the Law of Moses (2 Chronicles 35:6), had not been celebrated during all the period of the judges, from Joshua to Samuel, nor under the kings of all Israel, Saul, David, and Solomon, nor under those of the separated kingdom of Judah, from Rehoboam to this year (the eighteenth) of Josiah.

Josiah's Passover, described in 2 Chronicles 35:1-19 and 2 Kings 23:21-23, was significant because it was one of the largest and most religiously meaningful Passovers recorded in the Bible.

Josiah was a king of Judah who reigned from around 640 to 609 BC. He became known for his efforts to reform the religious practices of his kingdom by purging them of idolatry and other non-biblical elements. During his reign, he discovered a scroll containing the Book of the Law (possibly an early version of Deuteronomy) in the temple, which led him to redouble his efforts at religious reform.

As part of these efforts, Josiah ordered the restoration of the Passover festival, which had not been properly observed since the time of the judges (circa 1000 BC). The celebration involved extensive preparations, including repairing the altar and gathering large numbers of animals for sacrifice. According to the biblical accounts, tens of thousands of lambs were slaughtered during this Passover, and priests and Levites played important roles in its observance.

The significance of Josiah's Passover lies primarily in its role as a symbolic high point in the history of ancient Israelite religion. By returning to what they saw as the original forms of worship prescribed by Moses and the Torah, Josiah and his followers sought to restore their society's spiritual health after centuries of decline into amalgamated practices that mixed pagan and Jewish beliefs and rituals. In doing so, they hoped to renew their covenant with God and ensure continued divine favor upon their nation.

In addition, Josiah's Passover serves as a historical marker indicating the state of Jewish religious practice just before the Babylonian Exile (which occurred about two decades later), when many Jews would be taken captive and dispersed throughout the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. This event marked a major turning point in Jewish history, leading eventually to the development of Rabbinic Judaism and the canonization of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible).

Sources:

Bible Outlines - 2 Chronicles 35:1 - 36:1 - Josiah's Passover Celebration and Tragic End

OBEDIENCE TO THE WORD OF GOD ELEVATES WORSHIP CELEBRATION WHILE DISOBEDIENCE EXPOSES ONE TO HARM

www.bibleoutlines.com

Josiah - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[a_ntv]

Well Josiah actually invented the modern Judaism, canceling the trace of the old way of praying, in particular of the Asherah cult (the cult of the female Queen), [ strongly supported also by archeology]

Not all were happy, see for example Jeremiah 44 "18 But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by the sword and by famine."

 

[tonychanyt]

Well Josiah actually invented the modern Judaism

reference?