The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-08-01
THE SUNDAY SCH00l
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENT!
FOR AUGUST s
Enbject: Josiah's Good Reign. II. Chron
xxxiyv 1-ls-Golden Text, Eccl. xii.
1--Mesnory Verses, S-CoinmenSnr,
on The Days Lesson.

+ tnNJecI; Josian's Good Reign. II. Cbron
xxxiv., 1-1s-Golden Text, Eccl. xii.
1-Mesnory Verses, 1-s-C Commentary
on The Days Lesson.
!. Josiah's character US. /. q. I
Josiah The fifteenth king of Juday
4 tnot counting Athalah. the usurper}S
4 son Of Anon and Jedidah. He wan
married at the age of thirteen to We
budah- 2 sDid-right" lie grew upil
4 into a noble life in spite Of the worst
4 Influences Of an immoral and idola,
! trous court and the example Of an ido6
atrOus father In the sight. etc. H1
was right not only outwardly befor6.
men, but in his heart before Cod
Ways of David . The eharae Ter off
David was the standard by WI eli thu
sacred historians were in the labit 81
trying his successors q King IL: Az
Kings IA: 8; IS: 8; Chron. rs. i 2&
p. David was regarded as the rnQ6y.s
king Il Kings IA: s; 10; 81. The W. 81
of David which are here particularly
referred 10 were those into Which N
was led by his religious character a1l
zeal. Ills father" His ancestor
Turned not aside" R W Thu
I phrase implies an undertaking obS
dience to all the commandments.
H. Idolatrous images destroyed
81.
3. Eighth year. When he wa
| sixteen years old. Began to seek
! 1t is quite wonderful to see this youn
man in the midst of the temptations OF
an idolatrous and corrupt court. begin#
| at the first dawning Of his manhood
to serve the Lord with all his heart
Those dwelling under unfavorablo in
fiuences should take courage. sBegaiY
! to purge The condition OF things-in1
/ judah and Jerusalem at the time oil
! Josiah's conversion was most deplOr-
able. For nearly seventy years idol
airy had prevailed. n the twelfth
year of his reign, and the twentietF
year OF his age. Josiah set oat in ear
| nest to destroy the idolatry of his king
dom. In Kings %: the date given
4 is the eighteenth year of his reign.
"High places. It was the practice OF
the heather to erect affairs for their
idoIatrous worship on the tops of hills
or mountains, supposing they Werc
nearer heaven. Grooves THE Ash
erin"
/ 4. "They brake down. etc The
temple was cleansed Of idols, the mol
ten images idol affairs and Asherim
were ground to powder and their dust
sprinkled oh the graves of their wor-
shippers in the kings presence. 5.
Burnt the bones" This was predict
! ed Of Josiah more than 500 years be-
! fore this time Il Kings 10: l. p. The
bones of the idolatrous priests, with
| the one exception Of the prophet OF
Bethel (see l Kings 10: l, 30; 2 Kings
%: 1913, We're disentombed and
burned upon their own affairs
6. I'm the cities etc. The northern
/ kingdom was now under the AssyriaD
i government, but the remnant Of Israel
maintained close relations with Judah
and looked to them as their natural
protectors. Josiah used his influence
and what power he had in removing
the idols from the land OF Israel. The
| Assyrians probably did not trouble
themselves about his religious proceed
ings Assur-bani-pal, King Of Assyria,
left his kingdom in such n disturbed
state that his hold on Palestine re-
Taxed, ana thus opportunity was given
to Josiah for his reforms With theirS
mattocks.' In thor ruins r. v.
Josiah overthrow idolatry in the cities
named, which were many Of them in
ruins
III. The temple repaired Tvs. 8-13). ,
s. Eighteenth year" When he was
twenty-six years old. This was the
year in which the great work begun
six years before was carried fully out.
'Purged." The purging OF the temple
had PROBABLY been the first work From
purginG he proceeded to repairs, and
these had Evidently been carried on
for some considerable time before this
particular occasion. ''Shaphan."
Called scribe in . Kings %: 3. "Maa-
| seiah" Not elsewhere mentioned
Recorder" An officer of high rank in
the Jewish state, exercising the func
tons not simply Of an annalist OF
maker OF records, but of chancellor or
president Of the privy council. His
title has reference to his office as adj
wiser of the king. Repair the house,
1 The first work was to clear away the
impediments and purge out the evils
4 that had gathered in and about the
house of the Lord. 8. "Hilkiah." Son
\ Of Shallum and grandson of Zadok q
Chron. g. II, 13). Delivered the
money" The temple had not been re-
paired since the time of Joash, 200 or
more years before this, and it was no
doubt in a bad condition. Tie arrange
ment for receiving money appears to
have been the same as that adopted by
4 J0ash q Kings IL: 9-12), when a chest
was placed in the temple into which
the people put their offerings. Lee
vites-had gathered The money WAS
! collected, not merely at the temple, butt
also by collectors who visited all parts
of Judah and Israel for the purposesof
soliciting contributions This work ap4 3
pears to have been done we'll and thor
/, oughly 10. The money was placed in
the hands of the overseers and they
paid it to the workmen.
H. ITO floor the houses" ITO make
beams for the houses" r. Y. BY 1.-THE
] houses" we are to understand the
houses and chambers of the priests in
the temple and its courts.
1S. In this verse we are told sof the
/ Leyites there were scribes, and Off
GERS, and porters.p Here we have come
to a new order of things An order OF
scribes. forming a distinct division Of
/ the Levitical body. has been instituted.
When Hezekiah employed men to copy
the uncollected proverbs of Solomon
| prov. %: y. class Of scribes must
| have been instituted. 1t is probably to
/ the rise of this class that we are in
! dcbted for the preservation of SO many
prophecies of Hezekiah's time.
Italian Laborer Murdered.
A human body, or portions Of it, was
! found on the tracks of the Northerin