NOTES for Ch2 35:1-27
An unprecedented Passover is being celebrated in the land of Judah, marking the people's return to the Lord. The detailed description of the feast is heartening: it seems that, together with worship in the Temple, normal life is finally being restored.
Festal services are indispensable; without them, a visible expression of faith is impossible. Unfortunately, the correct performance of all the required rites does not yet guarantee that those who observe them are ready to listen to the Lord and follow Him. A striking example appears here as well: when tension arose in relations with Egypt, Josiah failed to hear God's will.
The Bible's testimony that God can speak not only through a priest or prophet called from among the sons of the people with whom He made the Covenant, but also through someone far from genuine knowledge of God—in this case, through Pharaoh, a pagan ruler—is astonishing. Yet all people were created by the Lord; He does not cease to care for any nation or deprive it of His light. Thus the sun shines on both the evil and the good.