2 Chronicles 35

Fun Fact - 35:18 - "Greatest Passover Celebration in Israel's history!" wow really?

Reflection (God of All) - 35:21
As the Assyrians were fighting against the Babylonians King Neco of Egypt allied with the Assyrians to help them keep control of their land.  King Josiah had beef with the Assyrians and since King Neco was off to help them out, Josiah thought he might participate in a little intervention.

verse 21 (CEV): "Neco sent the following message to Josiah: I'm not attacking you, king of Judah!! We're not even at war.  But God has told me to quickly attack my enemy.  God is on my side, so if you try to stop me, he will punish you."

As one reads the bible, one sees Israel as God's chosen people; all the more the tribe of Judah, since it is the tribe that God chose to keep the lineage of David, where Jesus would stem out from.  Not only this but Josiah had a pretty good record with God: "He followed the example of his ancestor David and always obeyed the Lord" (34:2 CEV)  He worshiped the Lord as David did at age 16, and at age 20 he destroyed the local shrines, sacred poles and altars for Baal, he burned the bones of pagan priests on the pagan altars so they would be unfit for use and outlawed pagan worship.  He even reinstated God's law when his high priest Hilkiah found the book and repaired the temple, he CELEBRATED THE GREATEST PASSOVER IN ISRAEL'S HISTORY.  One would think that with such a record like this, there is no doubt that God is on his side; and indeed God probably was.  But this does not mean that God is exclusive, it does not mean that only Josiah has power granted from the Lord; here we have Mr. Neco following the commands of the Lord, and God is blessing him just as much.  So much to the point that He let's Neco kill Josiah.  This just teaches that God is not exclusive: just like there is not one nation that "God belongs to", there is neither not one religion, not one culture or set of beliefs or person, that God can work through.  Every human being is his creation, and there is no label that defines who God helps and who He doesn't help.  Rid your pride and respect others and their beliefs, Do not let your "Holier than thou" attitude get in the way of recognizing who else can, inconsistently but surely, hear the word of God; their beliefs, no matter how inconsistent or unreasonable or paganish they may seem, may be what brings them closer to search for God.

2 Kings 3

2 Kings 3: 4-5

"Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams.  But when Ahab died the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel."

The "Mesha Stele" (a Moabite stone) was excavated in 1868 about 20 miles east of the dead sea in Jordan,

by Rev. Frederick Augustus Klein.

The stone is dated back to approximately 830 B.C. and is now kept in a museum in Paris.

On the stone is written King Mesha's own account of the rebellion mentioned in 2 Kings 3:4-5

and is as follows:

1. I am Mesha, son of KMSYT (Kemosh[-yat]), the king of Moab, the Di-
2. -bonite. My father was king of Moab thirty years, and I reign-
3. -ed after my father. And I built this high-place for Kemosh in QRH ("the citadel"), a high place of [sal-]
4. -vation because he saved me from all the kings (or "all the attackers"), and because let me be victorious over all my adversaries. Omr-
5. -i was king of Israel and he oppressed Moab for many days because Kemosh was angry with his
6. land. And his son replaced him; and he also said, "I will oppress Moab". In my days he spoke thus.
7. But I was victorious over him and his house. And Israel suffered everlasting destruction, And Omri had conquered the lan-
8. -d of Madaba, and he dwelt there during his reign and half the reign of his son, forty years. But Kemosh
9. returned it in my days. So I [re]built Baal Meon, and I the water reservoir in it. And I bu[ilt]
10. Qiryaten. The man of Gad had dwelt in Ataroth from of old; and the king of Israel
11. built Ataroth for him. But I fought against the city and took it. And I slew all the people [and]
12. the city became the property of Kemosh and Moab. And I carried from there the altar of/for its DVD ("its Davidic altar"?) and I
13. dragged it before Kemosh in Qerioit, and I settled in it men of Sharon m[en]
14. of Maharit. And Kemosh said to me, "Go! Seize Nebo against Israel." so I
15. proceeded by night and fought with it from the crack of dawn to midday, and I to-
16. -ok it and I slew all of them: seven thousand men and boys, and women and gi-
17. and maidens because I had dedicated it to Ashtar Kemosh I took [the ves-]
18. -sels of YHWH, and I dragged them before Kemosh. And the king of Israel had built
19. Yahaz, and he dwelt in it while he was fighting with me, but Kemosh drove him out before me. so
20. I took from Moab two hundred men, all his captains. And I brought them to Yahaz, And I seized it
21. in order to add (it) to Dibon. I (myself) have built the 'citadel', 'the wall(s) of the forest' and the wall
22. of the 'acropolis'. And I built its gates; And I built its towers. And
23. I built a royal palace; and I made the ramparts for the reservo[ir for] water in the mid-
24. -st of the city. But there was no cistern in the midst of the city, in the 'citadel,' so I said to all the people, "Make [for]
25. yourselves each man a cistern in his house". And I hewed the shaft for the 'citadel' with prisoner-
26. -s of Israel. I built Aroer, and I made the highway in the Arnon.
27. I built Beth-Bamot, because it was in ruins. I built Bezer, because it was
28. a ruin [with] the armed men of Dibon because all of Dibon was under orders and I ru-
29. -led [ove]r [the] hundreds in the towns which I have annexed to the land. And I bui-
30. -lt Medeba and Beth-Diblaten and Beth-Baal-Meon, and I carried there [my herdsmen]
31. [to herd] the small cattle of the land, and Horonain, in it dwelt the house of [D]VD...
32. [and] Kemosh [s]aid to me, "Go down, fight against Horonain". And I went down [and I fou-
33. -ght with the city and I took it and] Kemosh [re]turned it in my days. Then I went up from there te[n...]
34. [...a high] place of justice and I [...]