The best king Judah ever had dies in a battle he had no reason to be in, against a man who told him to go home.
The strangest part is where the warning came from. Chronicles says the words that Josiah refused to hear were God’s, and they arrived in the mouth of a foreign Pharaoh.
The Story of the Death of Josiah
After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish by Euphrates. The fight was not with Judah. Necho was marching north on his own business, and his road ran past Josiah’s border.
Josiah went out against him anyway. Necho sent ambassadors ahead with a message that reads less like a threat than a plea: what have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war.
Then the line that makes this story hard. For God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not. The Egyptian king tells the king of Judah that God is on the other side of this one.
Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. The disguise is a detail worth sitting with: he knew enough to hide who he was.
And the archers shot at king Josiah. He said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded. They took him out of that chariot and put him in the second chariot that he had, and brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers.
And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. Jeremiah lamented for him, and the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations, and made them an ordinance in Israel. The king who had torn his clothes over a book was buried by a country that had learned to grieve properly, largely because he taught them to.
Key Verses
“Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Charchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him” 2 Chronicles 35:20
“I come not against thee this day … forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me” 2 Chronicles 35:21
“Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself” 2 Chronicles 35:22
“The archers shot at king Josiah” 2 Chronicles 35:23
“His servants carried him in a chariot dead from Megiddo” 2 Kings 23:30
“Jeremiah lamented for Josiah” 2 Chronicles 35:25
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
What the Story of the Death of Josiah Teaches Us
This is the same man who heard the book of the law and tore his clothes, who pulled down shrines that had stood since Solomon. Being right for thirty-one years did not make him right on the last day. A good record is not a substitute for asking.
The warning came through Necho, a foreign king with his own reasons. Chronicles is blunt that the words were from the mouth of God, which means Josiah dismissed a true thing because of who was saying it. That is an ordinary way to go wrong, and it is easier to see in someone else.
He disguised himself before riding in. Whatever else that tells us, it tells us he had already weighed the risk. The account never says why he went – no motive is offered, no strategy explained – and the silence is part of the point.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How did Josiah die?
He was shot by archers in the valley of Megiddo after riding out against Necho king of Egypt. His servants moved him from his chariot into a second chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers.
Why did Josiah fight Necho?
The text never says. Necho was marching north to fight at Charchemish by the Euphrates and told Josiah the quarrel was not with him. Josiah went out against him anyway, and no reason is given.
Did God really warn Josiah through Pharaoh?
2 Chronicles 35 says so directly. Necho’s message included the words, forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, and the account adds that Josiah hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God.
Why did Josiah disguise himself?
The passage says he disguised himself that he might fight, but does not explain further. It does show he understood the danger before he rode in.
Who mourned for Josiah?
All Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah lamented for him, and the singing men and singing women spoke of him in their lamentations, which were made an ordinance in Israel.