The Tupelo journal., 1905-08-04
JOSIAH'S
GOOD REIGN
Sunday School Lesson for Aug. 6. 1905
Specially Prepared for This Paper.
Specially Prepared for This Paper.

LESSON TEXT chron. s4:1-la. Mem
DRY verses 1-3.
GOLDEN OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES now thy
Creator in the days ot thy youth.
1871.
TIME-Josiah assembled the throne B G.
500. The critical years in his reign were
the eighth, twelfth and eighteenth.
PLACE Jerusalem, although the re-
forms extended throughout judah and the
coantry that had been the northern king
dom.
SCRIPTURE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
parentage: 2 Kings 22:1. Exaltation OF
David as a model king: v. 2; | Kings ia;
1853, s; 2 Kings l4:3; 1873: 22:2; 2 Chron. 2S:l.
Compare Josiah's Slaughter of the heather
priests with Elijah's q Kings 1S:40) and
Jehu's e Kings 10:1S-2s). Compare these
events with the prophecy Of | Kings 1872,
81. Note also 2 Kings 23:l6-1S. Compare
Josiah's reforms with those of Asa e
Chron. 14:1-O, Jehoshaphat q Chron. T:l-9).
Joash e Chron. 24:1-14), and Hezekiah q
Chron. 29-3l).
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
v. /. Eight years old !.
reign" He was under tutors and re-
gents until he reached the age Of Is
years.
V. 2. did that which was right"
No other king Of Judah has higher re-
nown for piety and religious zeal.
David his father" David was his
ancestor. Declined neither /.
left" He did not turn aside from
the straight path into either idolatry
or untempered zeal.
v. 8. Eighth veal Of his reign"
It is very wise indeed to seek God in
youth. Each day spent away from
Him gives us one day more to repent
Of, and weakens our desire to repent
and our power to turn unto righteous
ness. I'm the twelfth year" AS soon
as Josiah came of g he began to
show that he would be a true king
and a great reformer. The work. how
ever, could not be done in a day, but
was carried on throughout his reign.
v. 4. This verse gives a summary
of the work carried on throughout Jo-
siah's reign. "Baalim." Various
forms of the god Baal. Images"
Rev. Yer, Sun images" See 2 Kings
33:5-11. This form Of worship, like
the reverence paid to the heavenly
bodies, had doubtless been borrowed
from Assyria.
v. 5. Burnt the bones al
tars." This would, in the opinion of
all heather, as we'll as according to
the views of the Jews, so defle the
affairs that they could never again be
used.
v. 6. $50 did he unto
N%aphtali.' All these names designate
tribes who had belonged to the north
ern kingdom. That kingdom had been
overthrow a century before. and most
Of it's people deported. The few who
we're left in the land were evidently
encouraged by Josiah to look to him
as their king. Read of one incident in
/ Kings 1871, 2 and 2 Kings 23:15-20.
with their mattocks." (See Rev.
Ver.)
v. 7. When returned to
Jerusalem" King Josiah personally
supervised the matter, made a journey
through the land and saw that all was
done as he had ordered.
v. 8. when he had purged the
land" AS above described. And the
house. The temple also was cere-
monially purified. "S%haphan." This
man is called in the other record, the
kings scribe.
v. 9. They" The three officers
above named. "Hilkiah, the high
priest" A godly man and ancestor Of
Ezra ezra lid. They delivered
the money" etc. 1t seems quite prob
able that money for the work had
been collected. as in Joash's time q
Kings 12). by Levite collectors, who
went among the northern tribes, and
by the free-will offerings of those who
came to worship at the temple. The
Levites that kept the doors" The
tribe of Levi furnished the priests and
all the workers about the temple.
Some Of these very likely had in
charge a collection box which stood at
the door of the priests court. "They
returned" etc. Better in Rev. Yer.
v. 10. They" The officers who
had received the money from priests
and Levites. Put it in the hand"
Gave it to the overseers of the work,
to be expended, as it was needed, in
mending and repairing the temple, its
courts and it's furniture.
". IL. "Artiicers," etc. See Rev.
Yer. Carpenters and stone-masons
we're employed for the work which IS
described in 2 Kings as repairing the
breaches" This indicated that the
temple had suffered from rough usage
as we'll as from decay.
v. ~. "Overseers set it
forward The overseers, who also
were of the tribe Of Levi, guided the
work. We are told in the other rec
ord that they did the work so faith
fully that no reckoning was made with
them of the money.
v. 10. "Scribes." This word was
primarily used of "transcriber of the
law but in the present instance prob
ably refers to the clerks who kept an
account Of the work and the work
men.
Practical Points.
v. 2. 1t requires only the slightest
deviation to mar perfection. hence we
should beware CT the first nlisstep.-
Prov. 4:27.
v. 8. Early youth is the best time
to seek God,-Prov. 8:17.
v. 3. We should do all that we can
to annihilate the evils which infest our