But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.” – 2 Chronicles 35:21

Today’s Scripture Reading (April 11, 2020): 2 Chronicles 35

I worry that sometimes we miss the voice of God because it echoes from an unfamiliar place, or with an unusual message. Part of the struggle is that many “Christian Theologians” seem to come to us with a message of fear. They encourage us to take up arms against the (fill in the blank) agenda that is dominating our time. The message is preached repeatedly until we come to believe that the word truly is from God. And it is not that God does not issue his corrections. He does, but his voice is lost in the turmoil of all that we are being taught to fear.

Most of our Christian “Hot Button” topics would seem to fall into this category. We give controversial societal issues a pride of place that they simply do not deserve. And behind the scenes, God continues to issue his commands to us. But they do not match the message of fear. Go and love. Go, take care of the poor and the oppressed, welcome the stranger, and offer assistance to the least of these. But his voice is lost in the tsunami of Christians who are warning us that we need to be afraid; very afraid.

The story of the end of the reign of Josiah takes place in a time of political upheaval around  Judea. Assyria, by this time, was in a state of decline, and Babylon was on the rise. And it is against this backdrop that the Egyptian Empire tries to push back and find its place in the political hierarchy. Egypt’s problem was that to reach either Assyria or Babylon, the Egyptian army was forced to move through Judah.

So, in the spring of 609 B.C.E., Necho II personally led a large Egyptian army north in an attempt to prop up the failing Assyrian Empire against the emerging Babylonians. Necho was the new king of Egypt following the death of his father, Psamtik I. He had no conflict with Judah, but Josiah decided to deny the Egyptians passage through his realm. The refusal of the Judean King would not stop Necho from attempting to become a more significant player in the Middle East, a process that began with Psamtik, who won Egypt their independence from Assyria during his reign.

The author of Chronicles clearly indicates that Josiah was warned and that Necho indicated that his conflict was not with Judah; it was with Babylon. Necho even told Josiah that the instruction for Egypt to move north came from Josiah’s God. Necho believed that Josiah needed to step aside because opposing Egypt at this moment was equivalent to opposing the God of Judah. But Josiah missed the message.

And it is not surprising that he missed it; the message came from such an unexpected place. If Jeremiah had spoken the message, maybe Josiah would have heard the words and lived. But why would God use an Egyptian Pharaoh to get a message to Josiah? It didn’t make sense, and yet it was the truth.

And so, the life of a very good king ends in an act of disobedience because he missed the voice of God. The story is a warning for all who try to hear God’s voice in the middle of our daily lives, and amid all the fear that seems to surround us.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Chronicles 36

Personal Note: Happy Birthday to my sister, Cheri.