The National tribune., 1885-11-12
SUNDAY MEDITATION.

Practical Duties Taught by Study of the Inter.
national SUNDAY School Lesson Appointed for
Nov. ss.-s HI, IS lie. and Chr, 23:1.2.
Zone reading these notes should first carefully
study the paragraph from the Holy Scriptures as
indicated above.
We now reach the reign of Hezekiah, son of
Ahaz and Abb. Since Elishas death, the affairs
of both the Kingdom of Judah and that of
Israel have gone awry-sln has prevailed, idol
airy has gained ground. About FIVE years be-
fore our lesson, ri b. c., Shamaneser, King of
Assyria, took the inhabitants of the Kingdom
OF Israel captiyes and carried them Off into diff
ferent cities of Assyria and Medea. He replaced
them by Eastern captives, outlaws, men of the
lower orders. 1t was held each land had its own
gods, and so ShalmaneSer ordered a Jewish
priest to dwell among the people who occupied
the old territory of the Kingdom of Israel.
Nevertheless idolatry in various degrees pre-
vailed all through the northern part of PaleS-
tine
Hezekiah began to rule at the age of % years.
His capital was Jerusalem. He was a most
commendable King, reminding one of David
himself. He was thorough reformer, the
Israelitish icOnocast. He lost no time. AT
once, on assuming the government he set to
work righting things relating to religion and
morals. His father had ordered the doors of
the temple to be shut. Hezekiah commanded
them to be opened Immediately. His father
removed the altar from the temple and had one
built in its place, associated with Syrian ideas
and idOlatry. The son forced such altar out of
the temple and placed back the original. He
ordered the temple to be thoroughly purged
and cleansed. Sacrifices again smoked musical
instruments were tuned, and again the temple
resounded with song. For q good while the
Passover had been omitted. At Hezekiah's
command it was resumed. Heather worship,
or mongrel Jewish devotion, was seen and heard
in groves on hills. At such points affairs had
been erected and images or idol statues put up.
All such were broken to pieces and the groves
cut down. (Read Chr, Chaps %, 80, 81
That was very bold stretch of iconOclasm
when Hezekiah went so far as to destroy the
brazen serpent But God never directed it
should be preserved. 1t was natural it should
be held in much veneration on account OF its
associations We recall the terrible condition
of the Israelitcs in the wilderness (Nu., 21:7-
81, when they were being bitten by fiery SER
penis and We're dying by hundreds. At the
direction OF God Moses made of brass an image
like serpent and placed it high up on a pole.
They who had faith to believe God would cure
such as looked upon the brazen serpent and
therefore looked, were restored That was
1451 3. O., or $50 before our lesson. For seven
centuries the relic was kept, and probably
without harm, till the idoatrous ideas of Ahab's
family began to influence even the Kingdom
of Judah. For a century, more or less, the
brazen serpent had been looked on as an object
of worship and had received devotional acts
along with incense. Determined to sweep
away all false worship, Hezekiah demanded
the brazen serpent to be ground to powder and
scattered by the breezes. lest even particles
should be seized and worshiped. Each place
favored by simply fragment would posi-
bly, become a shrine of idolatry. Hezekiah was
the more thorough from the fact the Egyptians
and Babylonians were worshipers of serpents-
ophiolaters. When travellers, while at Milan
are shown in st. Ambrose Church. as a relic, the
entire brazen serpent which Moses raised on a
pole in the wilderness, they will be the more
wonder-struck if they have forgotten the
18th chapter Of the second book of Kings
Many illusions continue because people are not
familiar with bible history.
HeZekiahs mother was daughter of Zacha-
riah. Many hold that priest was the faithful
witness" mentioned by the Prophet Isaiah.
(S:2.) Others think he was the man so favored
with spiritual insi ght, and alluded to by the
evangelic Prophet Qs, 1861 We are to ac-
count for the great contrast in moral character
between Ahaz and Hezekiah, father and son.
May not the secret be in maternal carer
Let us to the practical suggestions
l. Mothers may take courage. They can
even neutralize the evil influence of fathers.
What they do for children is never lost. When
the boy becomes King he yet feels the power of
the nursery. What Mrs. Julia Ward Howe
says as general principle proved reality in the
case of Hezeliah, to wit: The lullaby will
lose none of its sweetness when the voice ac-
customed to it shall carry the claims of child
hood into the councils of the Nation"
2. Young men need not be discouraged be-
cause parents are evil. Each stands for himself
Ahaz, the father of Hezekiah was hardly sur
passed in wickedness by any King, while the
son outstripped almost all the Kings in integ-
rity and devoutneSs.
when the merits of the Kings" says Dean
Stanley, were summed up after the fall of the
monarchy, Hezekiah was by deliberate judg-
ment, put at the very top"
3. Oppose idolatry. Let nothing crowd out
or mOnOpolize worship due to God. Love no
one, no thing, in precedence of our Heavenly
Father. Never allow anything between you
and your Maker. Have no images of the Deity.
Church history shows the danger of such. The
ignorant, in special will find it difficult to pass
from generation of a picture to devotions due
the Original. The very analysis requisite
freezes the heartiness of worship. The first
commandment forbids our worshiping any other
being than jehovah. The second command
ment prohibits our VI rshiping even the true
God by representations in paint stone, or what
not. God is a Spirit, and calls for spiritual
attentions. Idolatry in a thousand forms pre-
sents itself to-day. In the words of Cowper,
let each pray:
The dearest idol l have known
Whateer that idol be,
Help me to tear it from thy throne,
And worship only thee
4. Obey God. That was shameful treatment
which God received from the Israelites. ". I20
They would not even hear him, much less do
what he ordered. They paid dearly for their
and insults Their capital was
forced to yield to a terrible siege. A heather
King made them all prisoners, drove them from
their land, and scattered them all over Assyria
and Medea. The captivity of the 10 tribes
never ceased. They are yet wanderers. His |
tory cannot fix them. God is the same to-day
as then. You cannot sin without paying the |
The fate of the Lost Tribes should
men tempted to evil. The law of
retributiOn is as true as that of gravity, and |
with reason, for both laws were enacted by the |
same Being
5. Trust God. (V.5. Read Ps. 46)
He that hath made his refuge God, |
Shall find most secure abode;
Shall walk all day beneath the shade,
And there ut night shall rest his head.
God can save to the uttermost He is able to |
perform all his promises; able to succor the /
tempted; able to do exceeding abundantly |
above all we ask or even think.
A Loud Call