What historical events led to the neglect of Passover before 2 Kings 23:22? Founding Of The Passover And Its Central Requirement Passover was instituted at the Exodus (Exodus 12:1-14) as a perpetual statute centered on the slaughter of the lamb, the blood-marked doorposts, and the sacred meal celebrated “as a memorial…and a lasting ordinance for the generations to come” (v. 14). Forty years later, Israel renewed the celebration in the Promised Land at Gilgal (Joshua 5:10-12). Deuteronomy subsequently tied the feast to the one God-chosen sanctuary (Deuteronomy 16:1-8), making centralized worship in Jerusalem essential for full obedience. Tribal Fragmentation During The Judges After Joshua’s death, “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25), and priestly instruction faltered. Passover requires an unblemished lamb, a sanctified priesthood, and nation-wide convergence; none of that could endure amid repeated Midianite and Philistine oppressions. Though households may have kept vestiges privately, the national, temple-centered observance envisioned by Deuteronomy virtually disappeared. Early Monarchy—Solomon To Rehoboam: Centrality Endangered Solomon initially exalted the temple (1 Kings 8), yet late-life syncretism (1 Kings 11:1-8) diluted exclusive Yahweh worship. Rehoboam’s heavy taxation fractured the kingdom (1 Kings 12), weakening Jerusalem’s draw and leaving the Passover without its required national focus. The Northern Secession Under Jeroboam I (931 Bc) Jeroboam erected golden calves at Bethel and Dan, inventing rival festivals “in the month he devised in his own heart” (1 Kings 12:32). Northern pilgrims stopped visiting the Jerusalem temple, breaking the tri-annual pilgrimage pattern (Exodus 23:14-17). Two-thirds of Israel’s tribes were now cut off from lawful Passover worship for the next two centuries. Idolatry, High Places, And Temple Neglect In Judah Even in Judah, many kings “failed to remove the high places” (e.g., 1 Kings 15:14; 2 Kings 12:3), so the populace sacrificed locally rather than at Passover in Jerusalem. The temple treasury was stripped repeatedly (Shishak, 925 BC; Jehoash of Israel, 798 BC; Tiglath-Pileser III, 734 BC), disrupting priestly infrastructure and the supply of sacrificial animals. Athaliah’S Usurpation (841-835 Bc) Queen Athaliah murdered royal seed, looted temple vessels for Baal (2 Chronicles 24:7), and halted lawful worship. Joash repaired the building (2 Kings 12), yet Scripture records no state-sponsored Passover during his reign. Assyrian Pressure And Theological Syncretism The northern exile (722 BC) scattered Israelites and introduced imported deities (2 Kings 17:24-33). Surviving Judeans adopted Assyrian astral worship (2 Kings 17:16; 21:3-5). With cultic calendars now flushed with foreign rites, Passover lost cultural prominence. Ahaz’S Altar To Damascus (732-716 Bc) King Ahaz shuttered the temple doors, fashioned a new bronze altar patterned after Syrian design, and sacrificed unlawfully (2 Kings 16:10-18; 2 Chronicles 28:24). Temple services ceased; priests were reassigned; Passover lapsed. Manasseh’S Fifty-Five-Year Apostasy (697-642 Bc) Manasseh built altars in both temple courts, practiced child sacrifice, and filled Jerusalem with innocent blood (2 Kings 21:1-9, 16). Half a century of state-sponsored paganism erased collective memory of the feast. Even after his late repentance (2 Chronicles 33:12-16), the societal infrastructure for Passover remained devastated. Hezekiah’S Partial Restoration (715-686 Bc) Hezekiah reopened the temple and held an extraordinary Passover in the second month (2 Chronicles 30). Yet many northern exiles scoffed (v. 10), and participation was limited. Successors quickly reversed reforms; therefore, Hezekiah’s Passover did not create a lasting pattern. Amon’S Two-Year Return To Idolatry (642-640 Bc) King Amon “walked in all the ways of his father Manasseh” (2 Kings 21:20-22), further embedding pagan altars and aborting any move toward biblical feasts. Discovery Of The Torah Scroll Under Josiah (640-609 Bc) In Josiah’s eighteenth year, Hilkiah found “the Book of the Law” in temple repairs (2 Kings 22:8). The king tore his robes, convened national covenant renewal, destroyed idolatrous sites from Geba to Beersheba, and commanded a Passover whose like “had not been observed since the days of the judges who led Israel, nor throughout all the days of the kings of Israel or of Judah” (2 Kings 23:22; cf. 2 Chronicles 35:18). Summary Of Historical Catalysts For Passover Neglect 1. Decentralization and civil fragmentation after Joshua. 2. Tribal idolatry and lack of priestly leadership during the Judges. 3. Division of the monarchy, severing northern tribes from Jerusalem. 4. Successive waves of high-place worship promoted by both Israelite and Judean kings. 5. Temple plundering and closure, especially under Athaliah, Ahaz, and Manasseh. 6. Foreign political domination introducing syncretistic deities. 7. Cultural amnesia fostered by half-century apostasy until Josiah’s Torah rediscovery. Covenantal Implications Neglect of Passover signaled deeper covenant breach. By restoring it, Josiah re-anchored Israel to the redeeming Exodus narrative—a picture ultimately fulfilled in “Christ, our Passover lamb” (1 Corinthians 5:7). The historical lapses warn modern readers against drifting from God-ordained worship and highlight the necessity of continual scriptural rediscovery. |
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