Josiah is really trying hard, no doubt about it. And the people seem serious in their commitment. Trouble is, we’ve heard all this before, and it has never lasted.
The invasion of Jerusalem
Jeremiah 6:1-8
Rebellious Israel
Jeremiah 6:9-15
Israel’s rejection of God’s way
Jeremiah 6:16-21
Invasion from the north
Jeremiah 6:22-30
Josiah celebrates the Passover
2 Kings 23:21-23, 26-7, 2 Chronicles 35:1-19
Josiah’s further reforms
2 Kings 23:4-14
“Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14) Here’s the basic problem, as Jeremiah sees it. Israel’s leaders are putting sticking plasters on gaping wounds. No attempt is being made to seek justice, and meanwhile the armies are multiplying away to the north.
Is Jeremiah commenting on Josiah’s Passover? Calling it a sticking plaster? I don’t think so. I think the problem is that the local leaders, the priests and judges, are not following their king’s lead. A whole infrastructure of pagan worship had come into existence in Judah, and although Josiah desecrated their sites of worship, what happened to the unemployed priests? Did they just drift back to the Temple, not necessarily working there, but mixing with the Temple priests, and diluting their enthusiasm?
The invasion of Jerusalem
Jeremiah 6:1-8
Rebellious Israel
Jeremiah 6:9-15
Israel’s rejection of God’s way
Jeremiah 6:16-21
Invasion from the north
Jeremiah 6:22-30
Josiah celebrates the Passover
2 Kings 23:21-23, 26-7, 2 Chronicles 35:1-19
Josiah’s further reforms
2 Kings 23:4-14
“Peace, peace,’ they say, when there is no peace.” (Jeremiah 6:14) Here’s the basic problem, as Jeremiah sees it. Israel’s leaders are putting sticking plasters on gaping wounds. No attempt is being made to seek justice, and meanwhile the armies are multiplying away to the north.
Is Jeremiah commenting on Josiah’s Passover? Calling it a sticking plaster? I don’t think so. I think the problem is that the local leaders, the priests and judges, are not following their king’s lead. A whole infrastructure of pagan worship had come into existence in Judah, and although Josiah desecrated their sites of worship, what happened to the unemployed priests? Did they just drift back to the Temple, not necessarily working there, but mixing with the Temple priests, and diluting their enthusiasm?
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