The Green Forest tribune., 1911-07-21
JOSIAH'S DEVOTION TOGOD Sunday School Lesson for July g, 1911 Specially Arranged for This Paper
LESSON TExT-II Chronicles 84:1-lo

So1bEN ItAl-' ESSI1eHlDST now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. Feel. 12:1.
 TIME-Josiah began to reign B. c. 63s. In the 345th year of Judah as a separate kingdom.
 He reigned a1 years, till B. c. cos. PLACE-Judah and Jerusalem. But his reforms extended over considerable part of the territory of the Northern Kingdom which had become extinct in 722-71S, 80 years before Josiah came to the throne.
 Josiah was the grandson of Man asseh, whose career We studied in our last lesson. He was born at Jerusa- lem, B. c. 646. His father was Anon, who followed the example of his fa- ther's earlier years. He reigned but two years, when he was murdered by his courtiers in his own palace. The people rose against the conspirators and made his eight-year-old son king in his place. Josiahs mother was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah. They belonged in Boscath, town near Lachish in southwestern Judah, in the plains toward the Mediterranean sea. While King Anon was an idolater, and his court was corrupt, it is possible that Josiah's mother kept the true faith.
 He began to reign when he was eight years old. Like his grandfather Manasseh, he must for several years have been guided, and his kingdom controlled by his mother or by prime ministers. The worshipers of Je-
 
 the palace, the wise and religious teachers of the true God and the true religion. So that for the first sixteen years of his life the young Josiah must have been under good influences, while he also would know of his fathers tragic death, and his grandfather's sins, sufferings, and repentance. And his ancestor, David, was ever before him as his ideal. his hero. his saint.
 About the time when Josiah was twenty years old, and in the twelfth year of his reign, when he had begun his reforms. there came an invading host from the far east like a cyclone, an overwhelming scourge. Jeremiah foretells them in vivid pictures. But Herodotus tells us who they were, the Scythians from the regions over Cau- casus, vast nameless hordes of men, who sweeping past Assyria, un, checked, poured upon Palestine. We can realize the event from our knowl- edge of the Mongol and Tartar inva- sions which in later centuries pursued the same path southwards. Living in the saddle, with no infantry nor chari- ots to delay them, these Centaurs swept on with a speed of Invasion hitherto unknown. In 630 they had crossed the Caucasus, by 626 they were on the borders of Egypt.
 The prophet, Jeremiah, describes in picturesque terms this invasion. '.The lion Is come up from his thieket; {" The destroyer of nations is on his way" Behold he cometh as clouds, and his chariot shall be as the whirI- wind;" Their quiver is an open sep ulcher, they are all mighty men," 'They are cruel and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men of war against thee."
 It is easy to see how this terrible invader, coming so near, just as Jo- siah was beginning his reforms, must have interfered with his plans.
 Josiah began his reformation in his twelfth year, but the invasion of the Scythians soon after this beginning interferred with the work. The say, age and cruel host came close to Judahs borders. Scattered bands may have entered the kingdom. Terror reigned. Defenses must be strength ened. Outsiders rushed to Jerusalem and the fortified cities. How far the reformations had progressed we do not know. But the chronicler having recorded the beginning simply goes on with the story, as is frequently done by historians.
 The restoration of the Temple was 1 intrusted to a committee of three | Shapan, the secretary of state; and Maaseiah, the governor of the city, 1 the mayor of Jerusalem; and Joah the recorder, the keeper of the rec OIQSy lAc AlolOI ldu. lt DulII by Solomon, was completed 390 years before. It was repaired by Joash 240 years before Josiah began his restora- tion. The ravages of time, with neg | lect and abuse during the sway of i idolatry must have rendered it sadly in need of repair. It was during these repairs that the Book of Law was | found.
 The work interrupted by the Scyth- ian hordes is now resumed with great ly increased intensity and enthusiasm, through the new consecration of king and people, due to the finding of the Book of the Law.
 The first condition of salvation for individuals or nations is the putting away of sin at any cost. The second is the building up of the good. He that confesseth and forsaketh shall find mercy.
 Ye Are the Temple of the Living God. What Repairs Does This Temple Need? Cleanse away the remains of selfishness, and cast out all "the works of the flesh" Set up the family altar, repair your study of Gods word. Re. new the love whose decline Is ex- pressed in the neglect of courtesies and services to man. Repair your ap- plication of the fruits of the spirit to business dealings and all departments of life. Repair your habits. Repair your temper. Cleanse your bodies from habits that lead to i'll health, and make your bodies perfect instruments