The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1962-06-29
A People In Peril
Lesson for July 1, 1862

grams We like to see,-cCn-
ditioned to hair-breadth escapes.
The hero must not have too
easy a time of it. He must bare
ly squeak through. But it must
be an escape: the ending has to
be a happy one, with the cav
airy or Superman or Dick
Tracy or Perry Mason or some
body triumphing again.
In real life it doesn't always
work like that. There are genu-
inc tragedies, there are unhappy
endings. what ought to come out
on top doesn't always do this.
The Bible stories we are going
to have a chance to study dur
ing the next five weeks are
stories Of a people in peril. But
the people either did not see
their danger. or if they saw it
they did not do what was neces-
sary to save the situation: and
so the people persisted.
People who think of the Bible
as a book of comfort only, must
prepare for a shock when read
ing this part Of the Old Tesla
ment. This is the tale, not of a
narrow escape but of a narrow
failure 70 escape.
4 Young Leader
King Josiah was a young man
on the throne and he wanted to
do what was right. The prophets
told him. and it was quite true,
that unless the nation turned to
God it would be destroyed.
Josiah knew what that meant;
it meant getting rid of the
swarm of idols, false Gods,
whose shrines were everywhere
in the land. So he got rid of
them. He took a courageous
, stand for the true God. But the
nation went right on the down
ward slide, and the final crash
turned out to be only a few
years away.
Why was this? What did King
Josiah do that was wrong? The
truth seems to be that he did
nothing particularly wrong; but
he was acting alone. No one
backed him up. He did not per-
suade anyone else to his point
Of view. He destroyed the "high
places, pagan shrines and
altars) and he compelled all
citizens to worship at Jerusa-
lem. But it was reform from the
top down; there was nothing
popular about it. We can see
how this works in our own coun-
try. A president may urge much
needed reforms, he may have
a sensitive social conscience;
but unless there is something
contagious about his idealism or
his conscience. he remains a
lone voice crying in a wilder
ness.
When a man is sick, some
times the best thing for him is
a shot in the arm. But this is
an emergency measure. It
would be far better if the man
had been living wisely, building
up his health by wise habits of
eating, exercise, and so IN.
Joslah's reform. sincere as he
was, amounted to no more than
was. amounted to no more than
a sort OF shot in the arm. The dis
ease OF Goddlessness was deep
seated. It was not to be rooted
out by a mere change in the place
where God was to be worshipped.
1t was to be cured by a king tel
ing the people to worship the
one true God, and to make sure
they did this, destroying their
idols. The revival, so called. of
Josiah. would have been more
effective if the people had
thrown away their idols them
selves. True goodness, true re-
llglon, never can be command
ed. 1t must come from within.
Too Little, Too Late
Certain kinds of illness can
be cured by diet. Apples, for
example. are excellent helps in
the cure of some conditions. But
one slice Of apple a day is not
going to help a man who needs
IldIl a oozen; and furthermore.
II the mans illness has pro
crossed far enough, a whole
bushel Of apples won't help him.
They are plenty, but they are
loo late. When tuberculosis
strikes, complete rest is the
road to cure, if cure is possible
But to rest five minutes after
each meal is too little; while if
the patients condition is ignored
until he is in "St. Peters Ward"
at deaths very door, resting all
day and night will not do a hit
OF good; it is now too late. So
in the days of Josiah, so MANY
a time since, a nation has gone
down to ruin not for lack of
good prescriptions but because
the nation did what was right
too little and too late.
Who is most to blame for