2 Chronicles 35

In the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah this Passover was kept. After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by the Euphrates; and Josiah went out against him. But he sent messengers to him, saying, "What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I have not come against you this day, but against the house with which I have war; for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God, who is with me, lest He destroy you." Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him, and did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah; and the king said to his servants, "Take me away, for I am severely wounded." His servants therefore took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem. So he died, and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah.

(2Ch 35:19-24)

When I read this, I can’t help but be saddened by it. Josiah. He was a wonderful king, a powerful leader, and a Godly example. He had lived a life of submission to God and had transformed the nation in the process. We see him here at the end of his life, and he makes a tragically foolish mistake. Necho, the king of Egypt has come to fight Carchemish. It is a battle that has NOTHING TO DO with Josiah, Judah, or even Israel. God has not said a word about what to do, but Josiah doesn’t seem to care. We don’t read that he sought God, or even the counsel of others around him… it appears that he just decided this was a fight he wanted to get in on. Maybe his motives were pure… maybe he just wanted to save poor Carchemish from this bully. Regardless of motivation, we shouldn’t be doing anything unless we are led of the Lord. I think that Josiah forgot that only GOD can save, and he honestly thought HE could do something HIMSELF for Carchemish.

This is so important. You and I cannot save or help anyone. All we can do is offer them Jesus. If we aren’t careful, we can forget that APART FROM CHRIST WE CAN DO NOTHING. There are needs all around us. There are people hurting everywhere we look. One of the most important lessons we can learn is that WE CAN’T FIX THE WORLD OURSELVES. We need to learn to be faithful to do what GOD CALL US TO; nothing more, nothing less… just simply a servant following the masters orders.

This was Josiah’s downfall. He died because he made a decision that put him where he didn’t need to be. God gave him a warning, but he did not heed it. I find it interesting that it came from Necho, the enemy he was fighting. Maybe that is an indicator that Josiah had stopped listening to the Lord. Let’s learn from this situation, let’s be sure that we are always listening for the Lord’s voice, and always obeying when he speaks!