Josiah's reign (2 Kings 23; 2 Chronicles 35)

2 Kings 23 covers the details of Josiah's religious reforms in Judah.  It explains in detail how he went around destroying pagan altars, high places, shrines, and idols.  The details of these indicates what the people believed and the religious state of the country.

He also removed several things from the Lord's temple in Jerusalem.  In particular, he removed the quarters for the male and female shrine prostitutes and a chariot that was dedicated to the sun.

Numerous times, he would sprinkle human bones on pagan altars to defile them.  He also went to Bethel and smashed the shrine that Jeroboam I had set up.  This fulfilled the words of the prophet that had come from the south to warn Jeroboam, but then the prophet was later killed by a lion because another prophet tricked him into eating.  It was a strange story.

2 Chronicles 35 covers in detail the Passover that Josiah celebrates.  The Passover is large in scope and Josiah provides animals from his own private herds for the people to sacrifice.

Josiah's death provides an interesting question about whether the Bible contradicts itself.  Most of the details are consistent in both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles.  The Pharaoh of Egypt comes north with an army.  Josiah confronts him at Meggido, but the Pharaoh sends emissaries to tell Josiah to stand down for the Pharaoh just wants through to right another army.  Josiah's army attacks anyway and Josiah is struck by the arrow of an archer.

2 Kings and 2 Chronicles differ in what happens next.  2 Kings says that Josiah died at Meggido and his body was then transported to Jerusalem, where he was buried.  2 Chronicles 35 says that he was mortally wounded at Meggido and asked to be taken off in a chariot.  He was then transported in two separate chariots to Jerusalem, where he died.

In essence, the stories are the same.  He was struck at Meggido, dies at some point, and is buried in Jerusalem.  But where did he die?  Meggido or Jerusalem?  

I checked an apologetics explanation of this and in a nutshell, it says that 2 Chronicles provides the details while 2 Kings provides a summary.  Likewise, in common English today, we might say someone was killed in the back alley, but the person may have just been mortally wounded in the back alley and clinically died in the hospital.  It is a confusing set of details.  

Going back to the story, Meggido is 50 miles from Jerusalem.  So, if someone is mortally wounded at one, the likelihood of making it back to Jerusalem by chariot alive is low.

Josiah finds the Book of the Covenant (2 Chronicles 34; 2 Kings 22)

So, Jeremiah is prophesying about the oncoming invasion of Judah.  Meanwhile, something interesting happens to King Josiah.

Josiah begins his reign at the age of 8.  He walked with God and cleansed Judah of idols and Ashereth poles.

He ordered the repair of the temple in Jerusalem.  During the restoration, the Book of the Covenant that contained all the law written by Moses was found.  The book is then read aloud to King Josiah.  King Josiah hears all the law of the covenant and his response is to tear his clothes.     He knows the Law of Moses was neglected by his ancestors and this essentially freaks him out.

If we remember, Deuteronomy ended with blessings and curses if the Covenant is followed of ignored, respectively.  We do not know which part of the Law of Moses prompted Josiah's response, but I think it was the curses at the end of Deuteronomy for neglecting the Covenant.  As far as we can tell, Josiah was following the Law of Moses, but he is now aware that there will be an oncoming disaster because his ancestral kings did not.

He asks his servants to inquire of a local prophetess what God will do.  The answer is in line with both the curses of Deuteronomy and what Jeremiah is prophesying - an oncoming destruction.  However, because his response upon reading the law was humility before God, it will not happen in his lifetime.

2 Chronicles 34 then records that this prompted him to further purge the land of idols and get the people of Judah to renew the Covenant.

Manasseh and Amon, Kings of Judah (2 Kings 20; 2 Chronicles 33)

Manasseh

Manasseh was Hezekiah's son and he became king at age 12. He reigned for 55 years. He was an evil king, he set up pits for sorcery and necromancy. He sacrificed his children in the fire and put idols in God's temple. He did all this and reigned for 55 years? Usually, God cuts the kings off when they do that. The answer is found in 2 Chronicles, but 2 Kings makes no mention of the following story.

The king of Assyria came with his army and attacked Judah. He led away King Manasseh in chains to Babylon. While imprisoned, King Manasseh called upon God for deliverance. God brought him back from Babylon and through this, Manasseh knew that the Lord was the one true God. Manasseh then began a campaign to clean the country of idol worship. He cleaned the temple of idols and sacrificed to God. The people in the country responded well to this and although they kept sacrificing at the high places, they sacrificed to God at these locations.

King Manasseh also rebuilt large portions of the walls in Jerusalem and initiated public work projects for the country.

Amon

He eventually died and his son Amon became king. Amon only gets a few verses. He was a bad king and killed in a conspiracy. His son Josiah becomes king after his death.