In order to reach the battle ground, the Pharaoh Necho marched his horde across the terrain of Palestine. The story of what followed is familiar to every student of the Old Testament. In the thirty-fifth chapter of II Chronicles, beginning with the twentieth verse and ending with the twenty-seventh, this incidental tragedy is told. Josiah, who had taken the pledge of fidelity to Assur-bani-pal, gathered together his small army and sought to prevent this passage of the Egyptian army across his domain. It is recorded that Pharaoh sent his heralds to Josiah offering to leave the land of Palestine unmolested on condition that they gave him no opposition in his plans for battle. The pharaoh went so far as to claim that he was on the business of God. Although King Josiah had disguised himself in the common dress of a humble man-at-arms, he seems to have been recognized. The sharpshooters among the archers picked him as their target and he fell sorely wounded. He died after being taken to Jerusalem, and all of the people of Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him. Jeremiah the prophet deeply loved the godly king because of his fidelity to the law, and the fourth chapter of the Book of Lamentations contains part of the dirge of Jeremiah concerning the death of the king. In the meantime, hindered by the abortive attempt of the faithful Josiah to delay his passage, Necho swept on to the banks of the Euphrates where a notable battle was fought. The assault of Necho found the Assyrian monarch unprepared. The force that he had gathered at Charchemish was inadequate to defend his borders, and Assur-bani-pal was defeated. In the meantime, Jehoahaz had succeeded his father Josiah and was reigning at Jerusalem. The sway of the young king was short and ended tragically after ninety days. On his way home from his victory at Charchemish, the Pharaoh Necho deposed Jehoahaz because of his father’s conduct and put Eliakim on the throne. Thus the younger brother of Jehoahaz became king over Judah in his place. The Pharaoh changed the name of Eliakim to Jehoiakim and once more Judah became a vassal to the might and power of Egypt. The unfortunate Jehoahaz, laden with chains, was carried away to Sais. There he dragged out a miserable existence until death brought him a happy release from captivity and degradation. The Pharaoh Necho imposed upon Palestine a fine for their opposition which would be about the equivalent in our modern currency of $200,000. In considering the difference in purchasing power, however, that would be about $3,000,000 in our money. These incidents are either expressly stated or are referred to in many portions of Holy Writ. We first find them in the twenty-third chapter of II Kings. The twenty-sixth chapter of Jeremiah, verses twenty-one to twenty-three, contains a bleak record of the hardship and oppression that resulted when men of God were slain for speaking God’s Word concerning the events of this grim and dismal affair.