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.