How does 2 Chronicles 35:1 connect to Exodus 12 and the original Passover? Context of Josiah’s Passover—2 Chronicles 35:1 “Then Josiah kept a Passover to the LORD in Jerusalem, and they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the first month.” The Original Passover Pattern—Exodus 12 • Exodus 12:3–6 sets the schedule: select the lamb on the 10th day, slaughter it on the 14th. • Exodus 12:14 calls the feast “a permanent statute.” • Exodus 12:21–27 details the household slaughter, the blood on the doorposts, and the memorial explanation to the children. Direct Parallels Between Josiah and Moses • Same date: “fourteenth day of the first month” (2 Chronicles 35:1; Exodus 12:6). • Same act: “slaughtered the Passover lamb.” • Same object: celebration “to the LORD,” underscoring covenant obedience. • Same purpose: memorial of deliverance—Egypt for Moses, impending judgment for Josiah’s generation (2 Chronicles 34:24-25). • Centralized worship: Deuteronomy 16:5-6 required the lamb to be slain “at the place the LORD will choose.” Josiah honors that by gathering all Judah to Jerusalem. • Comprehensive participation: officers, Levites, and laypeople unite (2 Chronicles 35:2-5), echoing “the whole assembly” of Israel in Exodus 12:6. Significance for Judah in Josiah’s Day • Covenant renewal: after purging idolatry (2 Chronicles 34:3-7), Josiah realigns the nation with the foundational redemption story. • Restoration of proper worship: compares with Hezekiah’s earlier revival (2 Chronicles 30) but follows the exact timing commanded in Exodus. • National protection: the original Passover shielded Israel from judgment; Josiah seeks the same mercy before the looming Babylonian threat (2 Chronicles 34:24-28). The Ongoing Passover Thread • Kings and prophets repeatedly look back to Exodus 12 as the gold standard (Numbers 9; 2 Kings 23:21-22). • The prophets use Passover imagery for future salvation (Jeremiah 31:31-34). • The New Testament identifies Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Josiah’s faithful celebration sits squarely in this unfolding line that stretches from Egypt to Calvary. Takeaway Josiah’s observance in 2 Chronicles 35:1 is not a nostalgic reenactment; it is a deliberate return to the precise commands first issued in Exodus 12. By matching the timing, manner, and purpose of the original Passover, Josiah affirms that the same covenant-keeping God who spared Israel in Egypt still stands ready to redeem a people who trust and obey Him. |
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