The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-11-11

| Judah was necessarily for time under
| tho guidance OF seniors. Jehoida, the
| high priest, who conducted him 10 office.
| was clrefIl ut the very outset TO give Il
| religious direction to the reign. In order
to do that he made n covenant In two
forms. He first solemn!zed an agreement
the king and people on the other. He then
made a strong compact with the King a
one party and the people the other party.
This double pledge to be the Lord was
followed by a destruction OF the house
OF Baal then standing In Jerusalem ana
of the priest who mnistercd there Joasn
was next escorted 10 the palace which
A,hallah had SO recently vacated The
| historian ,l,rusts In at this point the COM
mcnt that the king did right in the sight
Of the Lord, during the forty years o.
his reign. and that he faithfully followed
tho instructions delivered 70 him by the
high priest. That made judah n thee
cracy. and Joash was numbered with
Jchoshaphat and ASA. as p!ou 81, ruler r.
recorded Of the young kings doings !, Is
his order to repair the temple While
| confined there he may have observed Its
dilapidated condition. the result Of the mo, nc
xiv: y and Ahazlah, both OF whom IA,
vorcd Baal The covenant which he had
taken required that every facility Should
be furnished for public worship, more
important then than now. uleb. X: ~
The money needed to meet these repairs
was ordered to be taken from three
SOurCcS-uTSt, H. me tUUl5S "lliS!t pS'''D'n,'
dedicated to the service Of God: second,
the free-will offerings OF strangers pass.
ing through Jcrusalem third. the half
shekel which the males We're obilgcd, u 10
pay from the age Of twenty years iEX.S
xxx: 49, for the redemption OF their
souls. All these sources had been m
some measure open. and It Is proh;anl
that the whole amount. could It be had'
would be ample for the purpose.
DELAY.-Wcrsc g. The order Of the
king was explicit and urgent. Haste wa was
enjoincd,, that the house might De a }ve dS
not know when the order was given, out
after Joash had been on the throne TWEEN,
ty-three years. when he must have ne ,,a,
not done why this surprising. delay!
The fault must have been wholly win
the priests as the task was committed %
them and they hnd every Ky 1nc, y dis dis
charge Of the duty. Moreover, as they,
moro than any other class, were inter-
csted, they had every motive TO operas
with the king, who had determin itaan 70 az
signed for this neglect. The priests and
Lcvhes were supported out Of ne same
funds. which may not hh We % nt Ken also also,
or they may have regarded, thelr o M
comfort more than the condition or ne
Lords house. It ts probable tn M, hns
much zeal. PIous inactivity brings little
to pass and accompllshes noth'hs III
REbuKE,.lYerscs Z, s. II e snrprI Is,
his diIatory subordinates. he did not
dspay those auntes wh enha sese he ee had
confidence In the man who was over me
religious Affairs Of the Kingdom whom m,
he had known all his NE; and hes ,nmni q
he was aroused to action, by what in
fuencc is not recorded. Jehoidn.. the one
TO whom no had given commands N w, he
rs' nlnee wSn e' Nine tNq rchuKe was aa
clear ti'ir'n igh, q q Chr. xxiy: s. i appears
that the Levtes had not been 'n Cs rvs, 20
ga.licr M or to set IN motion the measures
for gathering from Judah and Lerusnientt
what was required. Tho, commandment
on the subject OF revenue Gsx. xXS; 49,
1G). had been neglected during the re-
liGious dcclensson; Jehoida mad iiot re,
stored these Wha ar ha nld come rw Mods w. nT
collecting tho revenue was tncreIope su ~,
pended by the king and new MODE '''7
= HF;'rIER1NG-(verses and 1o) Tho
kings new directions to Jehoda awaken
ed him to the necessity Of immediate "a, AZ
lion, and he set about the N, work york., Win !,
r pIace e 't chron Ky xxiv: s. Io) chest
was prepared with q hole m the 70,
posted posted and this was set at the gate of
The temple, a ,nroclnmntion was Then n y r.
q Inc kinsdom calling io the nesn nsspe wd 10
| hearty and generous. q display of pa
rIo,sn ana pey not Gbra milk, !ha o in the fhe
chest was soon filed and .emptied N the
kings office, returned and again hll,SH,
and so repeatedly e Chron, SXy: ~,
So the money came, enough for he p,M-
Pose. Tho total was carefully put away
! in bags ny officers appointed for the
purpose. the amount being, only, e, ealc ~
priests priests Who had been tie recipients and
eusodlans were Wholly rsleas $, from m
direct from the neople to the treasury.
FXTERloR-(ye II and ~ i ap,
penrs that during tho years of neglect
dhe TEMPLE had fallen into decay, ! ,. It's
condition was deplorable and shocking,
The house Of Raal had been maintained.
and the worship there had been re gu, y,
The worship Of llahoyah had gone 70 ruin
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