Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read 2 Chronicles 35 and Malachi 3 today. This devotional is about 2 Chronicles 35. Then Josiah kept the Passover to the Lord in Jerusalem, and the Passover lamb was slaughtered on the fourteenth day of the first month. He appointed the priests to their duties and encouraged them in the service of the house of the Lord. To the Levites, who taught all Israel and were holy to the Lord, Josiah said, Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon, son of David, king of Israel. It is not to be carried around on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and his people Israel. Prepare yourselves by families in your divisions, according to the instructions written by David, king of Israel, and Solomon his son. Moreover, stand in the holy place by the divisions of the families of your kinsmen, the lay people, and by the divisions of the families of the Levites. Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves, and make preparations for your fellow countrymen to carry out the word of the Lord given by Moses. From his own flocks and herds, Josiah contributed 30,000 lambs and goats, plus 3,000 bulls for the Passover offerings for all the people who were present. His officials also contributed willingly to the people and priests and Levites. Hilkiah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, the chief officials of the house of God, gave the priests 2,600 Passover offerings and 300 bowls. Additionally, Cananiah and his brothers Shemaiah and Nethanel, as well as Hashebiah, Jeil, and Jezebad, officers of the Levites, contributed to the Levites 5,000 Passover offerings and 500 bulls. So the service was prepared. The priests stood in their places, and the Levites in their divisions, according to the king's command. and they slaughtered the Passover lambs, while the priests splattered the blood handed to them, and the Levites skinned the animals. They set aside the burnt offerings to be given to the divisions of the families of the people to offer to the Lord, as it is written in the book of Moses. And they did the same with the bulls. They roasted the Passover animals on the fire according to the regulation, and they boiled the other holy offerings in pots, kettles, and bowls, and quickly brought them to all the people. Afterward they made preparations for themselves and for the priests, since the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were offering up burnt offerings and fat until nightfall. So the Levites made preparations for themselves and for the priests, the descendants of Aaron. The singers, the descendants of Asaph, were at their stations according to the command of David, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, the king's seer. And the gatekeepers at each gate did not need to leave their posts, because their fellow Levites made preparations for them. So on that day, the entire service of the Lord was carried out for celebrating the Passover, and offering burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord, according to the command of King Josiah. The Israelites who were present also observed the Passover at that time, as well as the feast of unleavened bread for seven days. No such Passover had been observed in Israel since the days of Samuel the prophet. None of the kings of Israel ever observed a Passover like the one that Josiah observed with the priests, the Levites, all Judah, the Israelites who were present, and the people of Jerusalem. In the 18th year of Josiah's reign, this Passover was observed. After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt marched up to fight at Carchemish by the Euphrates, and Josiah went out to confront him. But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, What is the issue between you and me, O king of Judah? I have not come against you today, but I am fighting another dynasty, and God has told me to hurry, so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you." Josiah, however, did not turn away from him. Instead, in order to engage him in battle, he disguised himself. He did not listen to Necho's words from the mouth of God, but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo. There the archers shot King Josiah, who said to his servants, Take me away, for I am badly wounded. So his servants took him out of his chariot, put him in his second chariot, and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. And Josiah was buried in the tomb of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. Then Jeremiah lamented over Josiah, and to this day all the male and female singers recite laments over Josiah. They established them as a statute for Israel, and indeed they are written in the book of laments. As for the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his deeds of loving devotion according to what is written in the law of the Lord, His acts from beginning to end, they are indeed written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. This is God's word. Josiah was the last great king of Judah, and he ruled for a long time, over 30 years. During his reign, the idolatry that plagued both Israel and Judah for generations gave way, officially at least, to the true worship of the true God. Even the Passover feast was celebrated regularly, which, according to verse 18 in the NIV, had not been observed like this in Israel since the days of the prophet Samuel. So Josiah was a godly man, a good king, and someone the people in his kingdom actually loved, a rare thing indeed. Verse 24 says that after he died, all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. Again, that's verse 24 in the NIV. In every measurable way then, Josiah lived a successful life. But his life ended much sooner than it should have. Yes, he reigned for 31 years according to chapter 34 verse 1. But he started his reign at age 8. So he died when he was 39 years old. His life could have been much longer. And so could the kingdom and spiritual renewal he led. What ended things so prematurely? An unwise battle against Egypt, according to verse 20, that's what. Egypt was not coming to attack Judah, and Pharaoh Necho warned Josiah not to attack, as we saw in verse 21. Necho even stated that God himself was sending the message of non-aggression. The writer of 2 Chronicles agreed that Necho's message was from God, In verse 22b, the writer of 2 Chronicles wrote, He would not listen to what Necho had said at God's command, but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo. Again, that's verse 22b in the NIV. Josiah's attack was unwise and unnecessary because the Egyptians were not after him or his people. He died prematurely then because of his own foolishness. Though he was a godly man, he was still a man, and human, and humans make bad decisions sometimes. Josiah's bad decision was personally and nationally costly. God did not stop him from making it, even though Josiah was a godly man. Christians assume sometimes that being in Christ protects us from foolish decisions. I had a man tell me once, when you're a Christian, things just go better. That's a nice idea, but not always or necessarily true. The Bible does promise benefits for meditating on God's Word. We can see that in Psalm 1-3 and Joshua 1-8. And it also promises benefits for obeying God's Word, as we could see if we looked at James 1-25. but loving and serving God does not give you full immunity from making bad decisions or feeling the consequences of those decisions as we see in today's text in verses 20 through 24. Foolish is the person who assumes he has immunity or worse, blames God when that person's foolish decisions turn out poorly. Are you making any decisions in your life where you are acting unwisely, even against good advice? And you're doing it because you expect God will insure you from bad decisions. Change your mind and learn from foolish Josiah's tragic example to become godly and wise in how you live your life. Think about that today. Think about any decisions that are going on in your life and I'll see you next time. May God bless you. Hope you have a great day today.