(33) And Josiah took away all the abominations.--Of idolatry.

Out of all the countries . . . Israel.--Out of the territories of the Ten Tribes. The statement glances back to 2Chronicles 34:6, and summarises the account of the abolition of heathenish worships, which follows here in 2Kings 23:4-20.

And made . . . to serve, even to serve.--And made to serve . . . so as to serve; a unique phrase. The style of the verse is the chronicler's.

All his days they departed not.--The king's will secured an outward conformity to the legitimate cultus, and open idolatry was for the time being a peril too serious to be thought of. But the unreality of these reformations by royal mandate is proved by the relapse which immediately followed upon the death of Josiah. The moral corruption which at this epoch was preying upon the vitals of the nation, and hurrying it swiftly to destruction, is revealed in the pathetic pages of the prophet Jeremiah. (See Jeremiah 11:1-23; Jeremiah 13:27; Jeremiah 16:20; Jeremiah 17:1-2, &c.)

Verse 33. - The parallel (2 Kings 23:4-20) gives some succinct account of Josiah's removal of abominations, here glanced at so briefly.

34:1-33 Josiah's good reign in Judah. - As the years of infancy cannot be useful to our fellow-creatures, our earliest youth should be dedicated to God, that we may not waste any of the remaining short space of life. Happy and wise are those who seek the Lord and prepare for usefulness at an early age, when others are pursuing sinful pleasures, contracting bad habits, and forming ruinous connexions. Who can express the anguish prevented by early piety, and its blessed effects? Diligent self-examination and watchfulness will convince us of the deceitfulness and wickedness of our own hearts, and the sinfulness of our lives. We are here encouraged to humble ourselves before God, and to seek unto him, as Josiah did. And believers are here taught, not to fear death, but to welcome it, when it takes them away from the evil to come. Nothing hastens the ruin of a people, nor ripens them for it, more than their disregard of the attempts made for their reformation. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. The current and tide of affections only turns at the command of Him who raises up those that are dead in trespasses and sins. We behold peculiar loveliness, in the grace the Lord bestows on those, who in tender years seek to know and to love the Saviour. Hath Jesus, the Day-spring from on high, visited you? Can you trace your knowledge of this light and life of man, like Josiah, from your youth? Oh the unspeakable happiness of becoming acquainted with Jesus from our earliest years!And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel,.... All their idols, as related in 2 Kings 23:4, &c.

and made all that were present in Israel to serve, even to serve the Lord their God; by his edicts, and by his example:

and all his days they departed not from following the Lord God of their fathers; not publicly and universally; otherwise there were great declensions and corruptions among them, as the prophecies of Jeremiah and Zephaniah show.