Josiah Part 2

Josiah was not supposed to have fought in this war. It was not his business.

2 Chronicles 35:21 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.

We’ve already established that God was communicating with Josiah through this Egyptian king, Necho. God specifically told Josiah that Necho had no war with him. Josiah decided to go fight anyway, even going so far as to disguise himself.

2 Chronicles 35:22 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.

Josiah was disguised, no doubt so that he wouldn’t easily be taken as a trophy by the enemy. It didn’t work, of course, because no one can hide from the God of the universe, who searches and finds all.

Zechariah 4:10 For who hath despised the day of small things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel [with] those seven; they [are] the eyes of the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth.

Disguising then is synonymous with hiding. The same Hebrew root rendered by the King James translation of the Bible as forms of the verb to disguise is also rendered as forms of the verbs to search or to hide.

Genesis 31:35 And she said to her father, Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee; for the custom of women is upon me. And he searched <02664>, but found not the images.
Genesis 44:12 And he searched <02664>, and began at the eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
1 Samuel 23:23 See therefore, and take knowledge of all the lurking places where he hideth himself, and come ye again to me with the certainty, and I will go with you: and it shall come to pass, if he be in the land, that I will search < 02664> him out throughout all the thousands of Judah.
1 Kings 20:6 Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search <02664> thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.
2 Kings 10:23 And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search <02664>, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers of Baal only.

Putting on a convincing disguise causes someone to expect something in particular to search for it. It’s hiding; it’s disguised. It can be seen how often this is tied to deception. In Josiah’s case, it was self-deception and an attempt to deceive others to protect himself. He took it upon himself to fight a war that was not his to fight, regardless of how noble the cause may have been. It was simply none of his business, and God Himself told him to stay out of it. On top of that, he tried to pretend he was not the king so that he could have his cake and eat it too, fighting in a battle that was none of his business and taking unsavory measures to minimize personal risk. This was also done by king Ahab.

2 Chronicles 18:29 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle.

Ahab was also killed, and God emphasizes the bloody nature of this king’s death.

1 Kings 22:35 And the battle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot.

Ahab didn’t have a good track record of service to the LORD. Josiah did. Yet, they died in a very similar way under very similar circumstances. I submit that at the end of his life, Josiah became as cocky as Ahab was. I also submit that Ahab was one of those who knew the master’s will but did it not, which can be seen in some of his actions as king and the way that he spoke to the prophet Micaiah.

1 Kings 22:16 And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but [that which is] true in the name of the LORD?

God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:33). True believers and hypocrites are subject to punishment because true believers are capable of the same pride, though most of a true believer’s life is spent in humility. The difference is that a true believer is destined for eternal life in heaven with God, and a hypocrite is not. It can also be seen that a true believer is just as capable of the same underhanded and selfish tactics that a hypocrite uses to get his or her way. This is scary to learn, firstly because the thought of committing sin is upsetting to a believer, and secondly because the consequences can be so awful here in this world. Still, and again, Josiah’s pride is covered by the blood of the Lamb of God, and he was not in danger of paying for his own sin. I further submit that this is why God did emphasize the bloodshed in Ahab’s death but not in Josiah’s death.

None of us is immune to sin, particularly the sin of pride. That’s the message that I take away from this part of the study.

“For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” (Romans 7:14-21 AV)