Lesson 8 November 14-20 Josiah's Reforms

Memory Text: “Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him” (2 Kings 23:25, NKJV).

Parents know just how hard it is to see their children, especially when they are older and out of the parents' control, make choices that they know will hurt them. Of course, this heartache doesn't apply only to parents and children: Who hasn't at some point seen friends or relatives or anyone make choices that you knew would be detrimental to them? This is an unfortunate aspect of what it means to have free will. Free will, especially moral free will, means nothing if we don't have the freedom to make wrong choices. A “free” being who can choose only the right is not truly free, or even truly moral.

Thus, much of Scripture is the story of God warning His people about not making wrong choices. This has been a major part of what the book of Jeremiah is about, too: the pleadings of God, who respects free choice and free will, to His chosen nation.And though, unfortunately, most of the stories are not good, this week we will get to see a glimmer of hope; that is, we see one of the few kings who, using free will, chose to do what “was right in the eyes of the Lord.”

Sunday November 15The Reigns of Manasseh and Amon

However much we like to talk about objectivity, about viewing things as they really are, as human beings we are hopelessly subjective. WE SEE THE WORLD NOT SO MUCH AS THE WORLD REALLY IS, BUT AS WE REALLY ARE. And because we are fallen and corrupted beings, this corruption is going to impact our perceptions and interpretation of the world around us. How else, for instance, can we explain someone like King Manasseh of Judah (about 686-643 bc), especially those early years of his terrible apostasy? One can hardly imagine how he justified in his own mind the horrific abominations he allowed to flourish in Judah.Read 2 Chronicles 33:1-25.2Ch 33:1  Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem:1. Manasseh. Chapter 33 deals with the reigns of Manasseh (vs. 1–20) and Amon (vs. 21–25) and is parallel to 2 Kings 21. The order and contents of both chapters are similar, but there are a number of differences. Kings includes (1) the names of the two queen mothers, (2) Manasseh’s shedding of innocent blood, (3) the words of warning from the

Lord, and (4) the detail concerning the burial place of Amon. There are important additions in Chronicles, including (1) the account of Manasseh’s captivity, (2) his repentance and return to Judah, (3) his building activities, (4) his efforts against idolatry and his restoration of the worship of the Lord, and (5) the records of his reign found in “the sayings of the seers” (v. 19). Verses 11–19 constitute a section that is almost entirely new. The reign of Manasseh is important in the history of Judah in that it witnessed a revival of heathen worship and a severe persecution of innocent worshipers of Jehovah.1

2Ch 33:2  But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD , like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.2Ch 33:3  For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.2Ch 33:4  Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever.2Ch 33:5  And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD.2Ch 33:6  And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.Witchcraft. Manasseh resorted to satanic agencies, employing various types of divination, necromancy, and sorcery, whereby the powers of evil made known their will and directed the nation’s affairs.2Ch 33:7  And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever:2Ch 33:8  Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the ordinances by the hand of Moses.2Ch 33:9  So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel.

8. Remove the foot of Israel. This verse clearly indicates that Israel’s inheritance of the land of Canaan was conditional upon obedience to the laws that God had given through His servant Moses (see Jer. 18:7–10).

9. Worse than the heathen. The heathen peoples who originally inhabited the land of Canaan were destroyed before Israel because of their iniquities, but now the professed people of God went further into sin than the heathen around them.2

1 Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1977). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 3, p. 304). Review and Herald Publishing Association.

Manasseh's Repentance2Ch 33:10  And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken.2Ch 33:11  Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon.2Ch 33:12  And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers,2Ch 33:13  And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God.

Carried him to Babylon. Babylonia was part of the Assyrian Empire, and a number of Assyrian kings with the title of king of Babylon reigned over it as well as over their own nation of Assyria (see Vol. II, pp. 61, 156, 157). It was thus that an Assyrian king could take a king of Judah captive to Babylon rather than to Nineveh. The king who took Manasseh to Babylon could have been either Esarhaddon, who ruled Assyria and Babylon throughout his reign, or Ashurbanipal, who took the title for a short time, although during most of his reign Babylon was governed by a separate king under Assyrian supervision.

13. Prayed unto him. The Lord is kind and merciful, ready to forgive those who call upon Him in sincerity of heart.

2Ch 33:14  Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in at the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah.2Ch 33:15  And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city.

14. He built a wall. The construction of such a wall could indicate either (1) a change of attitude on the part of Manasseh toward his Assyrian overlord and preparations for revolt, or (2) preparations made, as Assyria’s vassal, for defense against Egypt. The latter part of Ashurbanipal’s reign was beset by many invasions and revolts, for Assyria was approaching its doom. If Manasseh’s strengthening of the fortifications extended from the west side of Gihon (on the east of Jerusalem), to the Fish Gate (on the north), and on to make a circuit of Ophel (the northern part of the southeastern hill), the work probably included much of the entire wall. Uzziah, Jotham, and Hezekiah had previously done considerable work on various parts of the wall of Jerusalem (chs. 26:9; 27:3; 32:5).

15. The idol. This seems to have been the Asherah that Manasseh himself had placed in the Temple (see 2 Chron. 33:7; cf. 2 Kings 21:7). It must be that the idol was restored by his son Amon (see v. 22), for his grandson Josiah removed “the grove” (Asherah) from the Temple and burned it at the brook Kidron (2 Kings 23:6).3

2 Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1977). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 3, p. 304). Review and Herald Publishing Association.

2Ch 33:16  And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to serve the LORD God of Israel.2Ch 33:17  Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only.

Their God only. The high places were not necessarily centers for the worship of idols, for Jehovah was also worshiped at such places (see on ch. 17:6). God had commanded the Israelites when they entered Canaan to destroy the heathen high places (Num. 33:52) and to offer their sacrifices to God only in “the place which the Lord your God shall choose” as His habitation (Deut. 12:2–14). Yet during the unsettled conditions when a central sanctuary was not available, sacrifices offered at local altars were allowed. Samuel offered sacrifice at a “high place” that was evidently not idolatrous, and God commissioned him to offer a local sacrifice at Bethlehem (see 1 Sam. 9:12; 16:2). The danger in permitting such worship in high places was that the Israelites often took over the old Canaanite shrines, and thus were subjected to constant temptations to idolatry and to the abominations practiced at such places by the pagans.

However, even after the establishment of the Temple service the high places remained, and were still used up to the time of Hezekiah (see on 2 Kings 18:4; 2 Chron. 31:1). The people continued to worship God at these places even when they did not also worship idols (see on 1 Kings 3:2, 3; 2 Kings 12:3). Hezekiah removed these high places, but after his death they were restored by Manasseh, first for heathen rites (v. 3), then later for the worship of Jehovah.

2Ch 33:18  Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel.2Ch 33:19  His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers.2Ch 33:20  So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead.Amon's Reign and Death2Ch 33:21  Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem.2Ch 33:22  But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;2Ch 33:23  And humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more.2Ch 33:24  And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house.

3 Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1977). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 3, p. 305). Review and Herald Publishing Association.

2Ch 33:25  But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead. What does this story tell us about just how corrupt king Manasseh was? MY POSSIBLE ANSWER: His corruption was of the type that it degraded the nation and brought on the displeasure of God. The depth of it is seen in his setting himself up in open opposition to what god wanted. More important, what does this teach us about the willingness of God to forgive? POSSIBLE ANSWER: It’s amazing that God would forgive him of murder, sacrilege, blatant disobedience, idolatry and idol worship as in placing himself above God.

No question, being hauled off to Babylon with hooks and bronze fetters was certain to get a man to rethink his life. Nevertheless, the text is clear: Manasseh truly repented of his ways and, when restored to the throne, sought to repair the damage that he had done. Unfortunately, the damage was greater than he might have imagined.

“But this repentance, remarkable though it was, came too late to save the kingdom from the corrupting influence of years of idolatrous practices. Many had stumbled and fallen, never again to rise.”-Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 383. And, even more unfortunately, among those who had been terribly impacted by Manasseh's apostasy was his son, Amon, who took the throne after his father died and who “did evil in the sight of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done; for Amon sacrificed to all the carved images which his father Manasseh had made, and served them” (2 Chron. 33:22, NKJV). Worse, unlike his father, Amon never repented of his ways.Who doesn't know personally the terrible consequences that can come even from sin that has been forgiven? POSSIBLE ANSWER: So sad and so true. What promises can you claim for the victory over sin? POSSIBLE ANSWER: Lord’s prayer in Matthew 9. 1 John 1:9 Why not claim them now before the sin brings its doleful consequences? POSSIBLE ANSWER: Yes. True. I will stop right now, think and claim them for myself.

Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 381 - 386.Chapter 32 - Manasseh and Josiah

The kingdom of Judah, prosperous throughout the times of Hezekiah, was once more brought low during the long years of Manasseh's wicked reign, when paganism was revived, and many of the people were led into idolatry. "Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen." 2 Chronicles 33:9. The glorious light of former generations was followed by the darkness of superstition and error. Gross evils sprang up and flourished--tyranny, oppression, hatred of all that is good. Justice was

perverted; violence prevailed.Yet those evil times were not without witnesses for God and the

right. The trying experiences through which Judah had safely passed during Hezekiah's reign had developed, in the hearts of many, a sturdiness of character that now served as a bulwark against the prevailing iniquity. Their testimony in behalf of truth and righteousness aroused the anger of Manasseh and his associates in authority, who endeavored to establish themselves in evil-doing by silencing every voice of disapproval. "Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another." 2 Kings 21:16.

One of the first to fall was Isaiah, who for over half a century had stood Judah as the appointed messenger of Jehovah. "Others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." Hebrews 11:36-38.

Some of those who suffered persecution during Manasseh's reign were commissioned to bear special messages of reproof and of judgment. The king of Judah, the prophets declared, "hath done wickedly above all . . . which were before him." Because of this wickedness, his kingdom was nearing a crisis; soon the inhabitants of the land were to be carried captive to Babylon, there to become "a prey and a spoil to all their enemies." 2 Kings 21:11,14. But the Lord would not utterly forsake those who in a strange land should acknowledge Him as their Ruler; they might suffer great tribulation, yet He would bring deliverance to them in His appointed time and way. Those who should put their trust wholly in Him would find a sure refuge.

Faithfully the prophets continued their warnings and their exhortations; fearlessly they spoke to Manasseh and to his people; but the messages were scorned; backsliding Judah would not heed. As an earnest of what would befall the people should they continue impenitent, the Lord permitted their king to be captured by a band of Assyrian soldiers, who "bound him with fetters, and carried him to Babylon," their temporary capital. This affliction brought the king to his senses; "he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed unto Him: and He was entreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord He was God." 2 Chronicles 33:11-13. But this repentance, remarkable though it was, came too late to save the kingdom from the corrupting influence of years of idolatrous practices. Many had stumbled and fallen, never again to rise.

Among those whose life experience had been shaped beyond

recall by the fatal apostasy of Manasseh, was his own son, who came to the throne at the age of twenty-two. Of King Amon it is written: "He walked in all the way that his father walked in, and served the idols that his father served, and worshiped them: and he forsook the Lord God of his fathers" (2 Kings 21:21, 22); he "humbled not himself before the Lord, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more." The wicked king was not permitted to reign long. In the midst of his daring impiety, only two years from the time he ascended the throne, he was slain in the palace by his own servants; and "the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead." 2 Chronicles 33:23, 25.

With the accession of Josiah to the throne, where he was to rule for thirty-one years, those who had maintained the purity of their faith began to hope that the downward course of the kingdom was checked; for the new king, though only eight years old, feared God, and from the very beginning "he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." 2 Kings 22:2. Born of a wicked king, beset with temptations to follow in his father's steps, and with few counselors to encourage him in the right way, Josiah nevertheless was true to the God of Israel. Warned by the errors of past generations, he chose to do right, instead of descending to the low level of sin and degradation to which his father and his grandfather had fallen. He "turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." As one who was to occupy a position of trust, he resolved to obey the instruction that had been given for the guidance of Israel's rulers, and his obedience made it possible for God to use him as a vessel unto honor.

At the time Josiah began to rule, and for many years before, the truehearted in Judah were questioning whether God's promises to ancient Israel could ever be fulfilled. From a human point of view the divine purpose for the chosen nation seemed almost impossible of accomplishment. The apostasy of former centuries had gathered strength with the passing years; ten of the tribes had been scattered among the heathen; only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin remained, and even these now seemed on the verge of moral and national ruin. The prophets had begun to foretell the utter destruction of their fair city, where stood the temple built by Solomon, and where all their earthly hopes of national greatness had centered.

Could it be that God was about to turn aside from His avowed purpose of bringing deliverance to those who should put their trust in Him? In the face of the long-continued persecution of the righteous, and of the apparent prosperity of the wicked, could those who had remained true to God hope for better days?

These anxious questionings were voiced by the prophet Habakkuk. Viewing the situation of the faithful in his day, he expressed the burden of his heart in the inquiry: "O Lord, how long shall I cry, and

Thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save! Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention. Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth." Habakkuk 1:2-4.

God answered the cry of His loyal children. Through His chosen mouthpiece He revealed His determination to bring chastisement upon the nation that had turned from Him to serve the gods of the heathen. Within the lifetime of some who were even then making inquiry regarding the future, He would miraculously shape the affairs of the ruling nations of earth and bring the Babylonians into the ascendancy. These Chaldeans, "terrible and dreadful," were to fall suddenly upon the land of Judah as a divinely appointed scourge. Verse 7. The princes of Judah and the fairest of the people were to be carried captive to Babylon; the Judean cities and villages and the cultivated fields were to be laid waste; nothing was to be spared.

Monday November 16 A New KingA preacher once said, “Be careful what you pray for. You just might get it.” Israel had asked for and longed for a king, just like the nations around them. They got what they asked for, and so much of Israelite history after the era of the judges was the story of how these kings corrupted themselves on the throne and, as a result, corrupted the nation as well.Nevertheless, there were always exceptions, such as King Josiah, who ascended the throne in 639 b.c. and ruled until 608 b.c. (31 Years)What was the context in which the new king had come to the throne? (See 2 Chron. 33:25.) But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his stead.

Slew all them.

Manasseh apparently did his best to undo the evil he had wrought in Jerusalem. So far as the idols and other symbols of idolatry were concerned, it was comparatively easy to take them away. But notwithstanding all his endeavors, the people still sacrificed in high places; and his son Amon perpetuated the memory of his father’s sins, making no effort to repeat his repentance and tears. Though Manasseh commanded Judah to serve the Lord, the people continued to worship amid the impure and degrading associations to which he had accustomed them.It is easier to scatter thistle-down than gather it up. There are great

thistle tracts in Australia, which would never have arisen but for the careless act of a Scotch settler, who imported from his native land one specimen of the national emblem. Take care of your influence. It is easier to set stones rolling than to stop them. It is recorded of a dean of St. Paul’s in London, that he was never seen to smile, because in his early life he had written verses of a sensual character, the circulation of which he was unable to arrest.

POSSIBLE ANSWER: The fact that the people slew them all indicates a general reaction of the common people against the conspirators and may reflect an attitude of quiet and contented vassalage (People in a subordinate position to another) on the part of the populace toward Assyria.

The record here does not give the closing formula usually used to indicate the close of a reign. For the customary statement see 2 Kings 21:25, 26.

Though democracy is supposed to be rulership by the people, it generally wasn't conceived of functioning as it did in this case. Nevertheless, the people made their will known, and it was done according to their will. POSSIBLE ANSWER (Continued): The young king came to the throne at a time of great turmoil, apostasy, and violence, even at the highest levels of government. Seeing what was going on, many faithful in the land had wondered whether God's promises to ancient Israel could ever be fulfilled. “From a human point of view the divine purpose for the chosen nation seemed almost impossible of accomplishment.”-Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 384.The anxiety of the faithful ones was expressed in the words of the prophet Habakkuk. Read Habakkuk 1:2-4. O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save!Hab 1:3  Why dost thou shew me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? for spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.Hab 1:4  Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.

2. How long. The prophet was greatly distressed on account of his people’s sinfulness and the results certain to follow. From the language he employs it seems that Habakkuk had brought his perplexity to God for some time, and yet God did “not hear,” that is, He apparently did nothing to stop the evils in Judah. Habakkuk implies he is more interested in righteousness and justice than God appears to be.

Violence. Heb. chamas, wrongs in general, not necessarily involving the infliction of

bodily harm upon another, as the English word “violence” suggests. 3. Spoiling. Heb. shod, “violence,” or “devestation,” often referring to destruction caused by plundering.

Violence. See on v. 2. The last clause of v. 3 in the LXX reads, “Judgment has gone against me, and the judge receives a reward.”

4. Law. Heb. torah (see on Deut. 31:9; Prov. 3:1). Slacked. Heb. pug, “to grow numb.” The prophet attributed the paralyzing of the law’s effectiveness among the inhabitants of Judah to God’s failure to stop this iniquity. For “slacked” the LXX has “frustrated.” However, the Hebrew reading of the Masoretic text is confirmed by the reading of the Hebrew text quoted in the recently discovered Habakkuk Commentary of the Dead Sea scrolls (see p. 1047). Compass. To surround with evil intent (see Ps. 22:12, 13). As a result the righteous are victimized by the wicked, and “judgment” is wrested and perverted in its relation to them. Judgment. Or, “justice.”

What is the prophet saying? POSSIBLE ANSWER: The prophet turns to Jehovah in an agony of expostulation and entreaty. He is asking how long will he have to cry out to Him about the violence in the land and because of God’s apparent nonresponse, the righteous are victimized by the wicked, and “judgment” is wrested and perverted in its relation to them.

Unfortunately, the answer to the problems of iniquity, violence, strife, and lawlessness would come, but from the north, from the Babylonians, whom God would use to bring judgment upon His wayward people. As we have seen all along, it didn't have to be that way; however, because of their refusal to repent, they faced the punishment that their sins brought upon them.From a human point of view, how often does “the divine purpose” seem from a human point of view to be impossible to accomplish? POSSIBLE ANSWER: All to often because of our limited time on earth and lack of foresight or wisdom. What does this tell us about how we need to reach out in faith beyond what we see or fully understand? POSSIBLE ANSWER: It tells us that we need to constantly look to God for wisdom and insight. We need to exercise greater faith in His promises/Him and not look at circumstances or the conditions that surround us.

Tuesday November 17 Josiah on the Throne“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he

reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left” (2 Kings 22:1-2). Considering the context of Josiah coming to the throne, what is

so remarkable about these texts? POSSIBLE ANSWER: What is remarkable about Josiah’s coming to the throne is that he follows a line of leaders that did everything but that which was pleasing to God. He did not have a good role model...nor was the environment one that was conducive to patterning after God’s government.

The Bible doesn't give us any explanation for this remarkable young man who, considering the circumstances, was most likely destined to be as corrupt and wicked as his father before him. That, however, wasn't the case. For whatever reasons, he chose a different course, and that was to have a positive, though ultimately limited, impact on the nation.

Second Kings 22:1-20 mentions what Josiah did in regard to the temple. From the dedication of the temple by Solomon, long centuries had passed until Josiah's reforms (622 b.c.). The kings had not really taken care of the temple. Time had eroded the building, which had once been beautiful. The young king saw that the temple was no longer suitable for worship due to long years of neglect.What did Josiah do when he discovered the temple was in such disrepair? 2 Kings 22:3-7.And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the LORD, saying,

3. The eighteenth year. Josiah began his work of reform in the 12th year of his reign, purging Judah of its high places, groves, and images (2 Chron. 34:3). Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry in Josiah’s 13th year (Jer. 1:2). Five years later Josiah began his work of repair on the Temple.2Ki 22:4  Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people:Have gathered. Evidently a collection for the repair of the Temple had been in progress for some time. In the time of Joash a similar collection was taken up (2 Kings 12:9, 10). The money was gathered from Ephraim and Manasseh as well as from Judah and Benjamin (2 Chron. 34:9).2Ki 22:5  And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the LORD: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the LORD, to repair the breaches of the house,2Ki 22:6  Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.2Ki 22:7  Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully. POSSIBLE ANSWER: Today we would say that the king

sent his minister of finance to the high priest and asked him to plan and oversee the materials and labor required to renovate the temple.

They did not have to account for the money with which they were entrusted because they were acting faithfully. For whatever reasons, Josiah showed trust in them, and as far as the record shows, that trust was honored.Refurbishing the temple is fine, but in the end, what really is crucial for a true revival and reformation? (See Phil. 2:3-8 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4  Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.)

7. Made himself of no reputation. Literally, “emptied Himself.” This emptying was voluntary (see on John 10:17, 18). It was not possible for Christ to retain all the tokens of divinity and still accomplish the incarnation. The outworking of this emptying is detailed in the remainder of Phil. 2:7 and in v. 8. See Vol. V, p. 918.

Humbled. Gr. tapeinoō, “to abase,” “to humble,” related to tapeinophrosunē (see on v. 3). This is not the same as “emptied Himself” (v. 7), but is part of that emptying, and shows one of the ways in which the self-emptying manifested itself. The ultimate form of this voluntary humiliation is disclosed in the remainder of the verse.

Obedient. That is, to God. See on Rom. 5:18, 19; Heb. 5:8.Unto death. Jesus’ obedience was rendered to the extent of laying down His life. It

was humiliation indeed for God to become man; and then, being man, to die a shameful; death on the cross. As Isaac had been willingly subject to his father when told that he was the victim to be placed on the altar, so Christ, who might have turned back from the cross, submitted, willingly, to die for sinful men.

Christ’s obedience was of the same nature as ours must be. It was “in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3) that Christ rendered this obedience. He was man, subject to the same desires to preserve His life as we are. He was tempted by Satan, but overcame the devil by the power of the Holy Spirit, even as we may do. He exercised no power in His own behalf that we may not employ. See on Heb. 4:15; see DA 119, 729, 734.

POSSIBLE ANSWER: One’s humbling himself before God and being obedient to His will so that the Holy Spirit can inspire, convert and empower them.

Wednesday November 18 The Book of the LawThe renovation of the sanctuary, long the center of Israelite worship, was important, but renovation of a building wasn't all that was needed. The most beautiful and elaborate structure, though designed to help

worshipers sense something of the power and grandeur of the Lord, in and of itself isn't enough to evoke piety among the people. History is replete with the sad stories of people who one minute were “worshiping” in some beautiful church somewhere, and the next minute were walking out and committing an atrocity, which was perhaps even instigated by what they learned inside that beautiful structure.What happened during the renovation of the temple? POSSIBLE ANSWER: They found the book of the Law.... maybe, the first 4 books of the Old Testament. What is the powerful significance of Josiah's reaction to those events? 2 Kings 22:8-11.

8. Book of the law. See on 2 Chron. 34:14.9. Have gathered. Literally, “poured out.” That is, from the chest containing the

money (see 2 Kings 12:9–11).11. Rent his clothes. Josiah was deeply stirred as Shaphan read to him the Lord’s

messages from the ancient, sacred volume. He understood clearly that the path of disobedience would bring a terrible curse upon the nation, but that obedience would bring blessing, life, and prosperity. 4

POSSIBLE ANSWER: The significance of his consternation is in demonstrating a sincere heart. His heart was softened by the Holy Spirit as he realized that the path of right, virtue and dedication of the true God was deviated from. More than that he demonstrated what the nation as a whole should have demonstrated all along.

They found the “Book of the Law.” The Bible doesn't specify which of Moses' writings were found. It was probably found buried in the walls somewhere in the temple.Read 2 Kings 22:12-20. What was Huldah's message from God to the people and to King Josiah?

12. Ahikam. The friend and protector of Jeremiah (Jer. 26:24), the father of Gedaliah, governor of Judea after Nebuchadnezzar’s capture of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:22).

13. Enquire of the Lord. The emissaries consisted of a number of Josiah’s most trusted servants. The king sensed the seriousness of the issues at stake. Knowing how far the people had wandered from the paths of righteousness and to what extent they had forsaken the Lord, he knew the extreme dangers that faced the nation. He determined to do everything in his power to save his people.

14. Huldah the prophetess. A number of prophets were active during the reign of Josiah. Jeremiah was already engaged in his important work (Jer. 1:2). Habakkuk and Zephaniah also prophesied during the reign of Josiah (Zeph. 1:1; PK 384, 385, 389). No

4 Nichol, F. D. (Ed.). (1976). The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Vol. 2, p. 973). Review and Herald Publishing Association.

reason is given as to why Huldah was selected for the present interview. Among the prophetesses mentioned in the Bible are Miriam (Ex. 15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4), Noadiah (Neh. 6:14), Anna (Luke 2:36), and the four daughters of Philip (Acts 21:8, 9).

Keeper of the wardrobe. Shallum, the husband of Huldah, had charge of either the vestments of the priests in the Temple or the royal wardrobe. Either office would make him a personage of some importance.

College. Heb. mishneh. Literally, “second,” that is, “second part” or “second quarter.” The reference is probably to the new or outer city—the expansion of Jerusalem to the north of the old city, which had been enclosed by the wall of Manasseh (2 Chron. 33:14; cf. Zeph. 1:10, where mishneh is translated “second”). According to Neh. 3:9, 12, there were two “half” parts of Jerusalem. The translation “college” is the rendering of the Targums, which take mishneh in the sense of the later Mishnah, “instruction,” from the idea “to repeat,” hence “to teach” and “to learn.”

16. I will bring evil. The nation was doomed because of its iniquity. The people had so long followed a course of iniquity that they had become hardened in their sins. Their senses were so deadened that wrong appeared right and evil was preferred before good. Under such conditions the ruin of the nation could not be averted by a temporary reform.

All the words. That is, the doom foretold in Lev. 26:16–39 and Deut. 28:15–68.17. My wrath shall be kindled. See Deut. 29:25–28. As the wrath of God fell upon

the chosen people and resulted in the destruction of the nation, so judgments will fall with equal force upon the impenitent at the end of the world (Rev. 14:18, 19; 15:7, 8; 16:1–21; PK 389).

Not be quenched. God’s wrath had been kindled like a fire that was not to be quenched. Once kindled, that fire was to burn until the nation had been consumed (see 2 Kings 23:26, 27; Jer. 4:4; 15:1–9; Eze. 15:2–8). The judgment pronounced on Manasseh (2 Kings 21:12–15) was repeated to Josiah, since, apparently, no effort at reform would now save the guilty nation. This was the awful truth that Huldah revealed, and that soon became the outstanding burden of Jeremiah. The sentence of condemnation had been given.

19. Tender. Humility and tenderness of heart are among the outstanding Christian graces. The tender heart of Josiah caused him to respond to the influences of God’s Holy Spirit and to be deeply moved by the sins of the people that were bringing so much of woe and distress.

20. In peace. There are times when even death is a blessing. In mercy God would allow Josiah to go to his grave before Judah was involved in final ruin. Josiah himself was slain in battle (ch. 23:29), but his death spared him from witnessing the terrible calamity a few years later.

POSSIBLE ANSWER: The nation was doomed because of its iniquity. The people had so long followed a course of iniquity that they had become hardened in their sins. Their senses were so deadened that wrong appeared right and evil was preferred before good. Under such conditions the ruin of the nation could not be averted by a temporary reform. God’s wrath had been kindled like a fire that was not to be quenched. Once kindled, that fire was to burn until the nation had been consumed (see 2 Kings 23:26, 27; Jer. 4:4; 15:1–9; Eze. 15:2–8). The judgment pronounced on Manasseh (2 Kings 21:12–15) was repeated to Josiah, since,

apparently, no effort at reform would now save the guilty nation. This was the awful truth that Huldah revealed, and that soon became the outstanding burden of Jeremiah. The sentence of condemnation had been given. What should these words say to us? POSSIBLE ANSWER: It should say to us that the same thing can happen to us if we too become hardened in our sins... evidenced by non-responsive to God in departing from His path of righteousness.

Huldah transmitted the same message Jeremiah had already prophesied several times. The people who had turned away from God had dug their own grave through their deeds, and they were going to reap the consequences. Josiah never would see the trouble and die in peace. (relatively, in that he died in battle without seeing the terrible devastation that was prophecied)

“Through Huldah the Lord sent Josiah word that Jerusalem's ruin could not be averted. Even should the people now humble themselves before God, they could not escape their punishment. So long had their senses been deadened by wrongdoing that, if judgment should not come upon them, they would soon return to the same sinful course. 'Tell the man that sent you to me,' the prophetess declared, 'Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: because they have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore My wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.' Verses 15-17.”-Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 399.

Ellen G. White,Prophets and Kings, p. 396 – 402.

In former years the king had not been indifferent to the prevailing idolatry. "In the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young," he had consecrated himself fully to the service of God. Four years later, at the age of twenty, he had made an earnest effort to remove temptation from his subjects by purging "Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images." "They brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem." 2 Chronicles 34:3-5.

Not content with doing thorough work in the land of Judah, the youthful ruler had extended his efforts to the portions of Palestine

formerly occupied by the ten tribes of Israel, only a feeble remnant of which now remained. "So did he," the record reads, "in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali." Not until he had traversed the length and breadth of this region of ruined homes, and "had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel," did he return to Jerusalem. Verses 6,7.

Thus Josiah, from his earliest manhood, had endeavored to take advantage of his position as king to exalt to principles of God's holy law. And now, while Shaphan the scribe was reading to him out of the book of the law, the king discerned in this volume a treasure of knowledge, a powerful ally, in the work of reform he so much desired to see wrought in the land. He resolved to walk in the light of its counsels, and also to do all in his power to acquaint his people with its teachings and to lead them, if possible, to cultivate reverence and love for the law of heaven.

But was it possible to bring about the needed reform? Israel had almost reached the limit of divine forbearance; soon God would arise to punish those who had brought dishonor upon His name. Already the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people. Overwhelmed with sorrow and dismay, Josiah rent his garments and bowed before God in agony of spirit, seeking pardon for the sins of an impenitent nation.

At that time the prophetess Huldah was living in Jerusalem, near the temple. The mind of the king, filled with anxious foreboding, reverted to her, and he determined to inquire of the Lord through this chosen messenger to learn, if possible, whether by any means within his power he might save erring Judah, now on the verge of ruin.

The gravity of the situation and the respect in which he held the prophetess led him to choose as his messengers to her the first men of the kingdom. "Go ye," he bade them, "inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us." 2 Kings 22:13.

Through Huldah the Lord sent Josiah word that Jerusalem's ruin could not be averted. Even should the people now humble themselves before God, they could not escape their punishment. So long had their senses been deadened by wrongdoing that, if judgment should not come upon them, they would soon return to the same sinful course. "Tell the man that sent you to me," the prophetess declared, "Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: because they have forsaken Me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might

provoke Me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore My wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched." Verses 15-17.

But because the king had humbled his heart before God, the Lord would acknowledge his promptness in seeking forgiveness and mercy. To him was sent the message: "Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place." Verses 19, 20.

The king must leave with God the events of the future; he could not alter the eternal decrees of Jehovah. But in announcing the retributive judgments of Heaven, the Lord had not withdrawn opportunity for repentance and reformation; and Josiah, discerning in this a willingness on the part of God to temper His judgments with mercy, determined to do all in his power to bring about decided reforms. He arranged at once for a great convocation, to which were invited the elders and magistrates in Jerusalem and Judah, together with the common people. These, with the priests and Levites, met the king in the court of the temple.

To this vast assembly the king himself read "all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord." 2 Kings 23:2. The royal reader was deeply affected, and he delivered his message with the pathos of a broken heart. His hearers were profoundly moved. The intensity of feeling revealed in the countenance of the king, the solemnity of the message itself, the warning of judgments impending--all these had their effect, and many determined to join with the king in seeking forgiveness.

Josiah now proposed that those highest in authority unite with the people in solemnly covenanting before God to co-operate with one another in an effort to institute decided changes. "The king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book." The response was more hearty than the king had dared hope for: "All the people stood to the covenant." Verse 3.In the reformation that followed, the king turned his attention to the destruction of every vestige of idolatry that remained. So long had the inhabitants of the land followed the customs of the surrounding nations in bowing down to images of wood and stone, that it seemed almost beyond the power of man to remove every trace of these evils. But Josiah persevered in his effort to cleanse the land. Sternly he

met idolatry by slaying "all the priests of the high places;" "moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord." Verses 20, 24.

In the days of the rending of the kingdom, centuries before, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, in bold defiance of the God whom Israel had served, was endeavoring to turn the hearts of the people away from the services of the temple in Jerusalem to new forms of worship, he had set up an unconsecrated altar at Bethel. During the dedication of this altar, where many in years to come were to be seduced into idolatrous practices, there had suddenly appeared a man of God from Judea, with words of condemnation for the sacrilegious proceedings. He had "cried against the altar," declaring: "O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee." 1 Kings 13:2. This announcement had been accompanied by a sign that the word spoken was of the Lord.Three centuries had passed. During the reformation wrought by Josiah, the king found himself in Bethel, where stood this ancient altar. The prophecy uttered so many years before in the presence of Jeroboam, was now to be literally fulfilled.

Thursday November 19 Josiah's ReformsDespite the forewarning of doom, Josiah was still determined to do what was “right in the eyes of the Lord.” Maybe disaster couldn't be averted, “but in announcing the retributive judgments of Heaven, the Lord had not withdrawn opportunity for repentance and reformation; and Josiah, discerning in this a willingness on the part of God to temper His judgments with mercy, determined to do all in his power to bring about decided reforms.”-Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 400.Read 2 Kings 23:1-28. And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.2Ki 23:2  And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD.2Ki 23:3  And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.2Ki 23:4  And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the

priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Bethel.2Ki 23:5  And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.2Ki 23:6  And he brought out the grove from the house of the LORD, without Jerusalem, unto the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron, and stamped it small to powder, and cast the powder thereof upon the graves of the children of the people.2Ki 23:7  And he brake down the houses of the sodomites, that were by the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the grove.2Ki 23:8  And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba, and brake down the high places of the gates that were in the entering in of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on a man's left hand at the gate of the city.2Ki 23:9  Nevertheless the priests of the high places came not up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they did eat of the unleavened bread among their brethren.2Ki 23:10  And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.2Ki 23:11  And he took away the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun, at the entering in of the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathanmelech the chamberlain, which was in the suburbs, and burned the chariots of the sun with fire.2Ki 23:12  And the altars that were on the top of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, did the king beat down, and brake them down from thence, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron.2Ki 23:13  And the high places that were before Jerusalem, which were on the right hand of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had builded for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Zidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the children of Ammon, did the king defile.2Ki 23:14  And he brake in pieces the images, and cut down the groves, and filled their places with the bones of men.2Ki 23:15  Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made,

both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.2Ki 23:16  And as Josiah turned himself, he spied the sepulchres that were there in the mount, and sent, and took the bones out of the sepulchres, and burned them upon the altar, and polluted it, according to the word of the LORD which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words.2Ki 23:17  Then he said, What title is that that I see? And the men of the city told him, It is the sepulchre of the man of God, which came from Judah, and proclaimed these things that thou hast done against the altar of Bethel.2Ki 23:18  And he said, Let him alone; let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.2Ki 23:19  And all the houses also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the LORD to anger, Josiah took away, and did to them according to all the acts that he had done in Bethel.2Ki 23:20  And he slew all the priests of the high places that were there upon the altars, and burned men's bones upon them, and returned to Jerusalem.Josiah Restores the Passover2Ki 23:21  And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.2Ki 23:22  Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;2Ki 23:23  But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem.2Ki 23:24  Moreover the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images, and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD.2Ki 23:25  And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.2Ki 23:26  Notwithstanding the LORD turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath, wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked him withal.2Ki 23:27  And the LORD said, I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be

there.Josiah's Death in Battle2Ki 23:28  Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? What was the essence of the reform that the faithful king sought to bring to his corrupted nation? POSSIBLE ANSWER: The essence of the reform involved

What do these acts tell us about just how bad things had become in the chosen nation? POSSIBLE ANSWER: they tell us that

Josiah gathered all the people in Jerusalem in order to renew their covenant with God. The recently found Book of the Law was read, and then they made the vow to follow the God of Israel.

The king did not execute this work by himself, but asked those who had spiritual responsibilities to do what was needed. As an example, throughout the centuries, different objects-statues and symbols that popularized foreign worship in Israel-had been gathered into the temple. Sometimes they had been part of the conditions of peace, imposed upon the nation; sometimes kings had exhibited them in order to signify their pacification, a sign of surrender. Whatever the reasons, they did not belong there, and Josiah ordered them removed and destroyed.Also, the Passover celebration during Josiah's reform did not take place only within the family households, as had been the custom before, but now the whole nation celebrated it together. Its symbolic message for the people was that they had left the old era behind them, and that they had now entered a new time in which they vowed to serve the true God, who led them out of Egypt, who provided a home for the tribes as He had promised, and who was with them in their everyday lives.

The significance in celebrating the national Passover was to start something new because (ideally, anyway) all the old things had come to an end. What should the symbolism of the Passover mean to us now, as Seventh-day Adventists? (See 1 Corinthians 5:7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.) POSSIBLE ANSWER: The symbolism of the Passover should serve as a constant reminder that God is willing to pass over our sins and failures as we repent and exercise faith that leads to obedience to Him. Jesus is our Passover.

Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 396 - 402 .Josiah Restores True Worship

2 Kings 23:1 Now the king sent them to gather all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem to him. 2 The king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem - the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant which had been found in the house of the Lord.3 Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, the priests of the second order, and the doorkeepers, to bring out of the temple of the Lord all the articles that were made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven;and he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 Then he removed the idolatrous priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the places all around Jerusalem, and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven.6 And he brought out the wooden image from the house of the Lord, to the Brook Kidron outside Jerusalem, burned it at the Brook Kidron and ground it to ashes, and threw its ashes on the graves of the common people. 7 Then he tore down the ritual booths of the perverted persons that were in the house of theLord, where the women wove hangings for the wooden image. 8 And he brought all the priests from the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had burned incense, from Geba to Beersheba; also he broke down the high places at the gates which were at the entrance of the Gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were to the left of the city gate. 9 Nevertheless the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brethren.10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech.11 Then he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the chamber of Nathan-Melech, the officer who was in the court; and he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 The altars that were on the roof, the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord, the king broke down and pulverized there, and threw their dust into the Brook Kidron. 13 Then the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the abomination of the Moabites, and for Milcom the abomination of the

people of Ammon. 14 And he broke in pieces the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images, and filled their places with the bones of men.15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he broke down; and he burned the high place and crushed it to powder, and burned the wooden image. 16 As Josiah turned, he saw the tombs that werethere on the mountain. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar, and defiled it according to the word of the Lord which the man of God proclaimed, who proclaimed these words. 17 Then he said, “What gravestone is this that I see?”So the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and proclaimed these things which you have done against the altar of Bethel.”18 And he said, “Let him alone; let no one move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came from Samaria.19 Now Josiah also took away all the shrines of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which the kings of Israel had made to provoke the Lord to anger; and he did to them according to all the deeds he had done in Bethel.20 He executed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned mens bones on them; and he returned to Jerusalem.21 Then the king commanded all the people, saying, “Keep the Passover to the Lord your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 Such a Passover surely had never been held since the days of the judges who judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was held before the Lord in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover Josiah put away those who consulted mediums and spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. 25 Now before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses; nor after him did any arise like him.

Friday November 20 Further Thought:

As the lesson stated, the depth of corruption that had befallen Israel can be seen in the kind of reforms that Josiah had to undertake. How, though, could the nation have fallen so far? In one sense, the answer is easy: it's because humanity has fallen so far. Just how far humanity has degraded was revealed in a famous experiment conducted at Yale

University in the 1960s.Participants were brought in arbitrarily through newspaper ads and told that they were to administer electric shocks to people tied down to chairs in another room. The switches that administered the shocks were marked from “Slight Shock” to “Danger: Severe Shock,” including two more ominously marked “XXX.” Participants were told to administer the shocks according to the orders of the scientist leading the experiment. As they did, the participants would hear the people in the other room scream and plead for mercy. In reality, the people in the other room were just acting: they were not getting shocked at all. The point of the study was to see how far these “normal” participants would go in inflicting what they thought was pain on those whom they didn't know, simply because they had been ordered to do it. The results were frightening. Though many participants got anxious, distraught, and even angry, that didn't stop a stunning 65 percent from administering the severest “shocks” to these people, believing that they were truly hurting them. “Ordinary people,” wrote the scientist who conducted the experiment, “simply doing their jobs, and without any particular hostility on their part, can become agents in a terrible destructive process.” How many “ordinary” people have done terrible things through history, or even today? Too many have, for sure. Why? Christians know the answer. We are sinners, plain and simple.

Discussion Questions:1 What does the story of Josiah's reform tell us about the importance

of the Word of God in our lives?2 A valid question could be raised now: If it were too late to avoid the

coming catastrophe, why the call for repentance and revival and reformation? What was the purpose of it all? What answer would you give? In what ways might the reason be found in how such a revival would impact the people individually, as opposed to the nation as a whole?

============= God’s Saving Hand—Part 1

Wesley Banda pastored several villages in Malawi. The family lived in a two-room house. Because the area had no electricity, Mrs. Banda prepared the family meals outside over an open fire.

One evening after dinner Mrs. Banda returned to her fire to prepare the morning meal of sadza (a thick porridge of cornmeal). Her husband sat in the family’s front room, working on some papers. The children sat quietly in the room waiting for family devotions, but 5-year-old Joshua had fallen asleep on the mat at his father’s feet.

As Pastor Banda lit the paraffin lamp, their only source of light, the flame sputtered, and he noticed the lamp was running low on fuel. He fetched the paraffin and began refilling the tank. But unknown to him, the paraffin was contaminated with a small amount of gasoline. As he poured the fuel into the lamp’s reservoir the fumes caught fire,

and the lamp exploded in his hands.Instinctively Pastor Banda threw the lamp across the room, but his clothes had caught fire. Mrs. Banda heard the explosion and looked up to see her husband run out the door, his clothes aflame. She immediately threw a pan of water onto his burning clothes while he rolled on the ground. Soon the fire was out.The children ran out of the house, screaming, “Fire! Fire!” The burning fuel had set the front room ablaze. In the excitement, nobody noticed that little Joshua was missing. Moments later Mrs. Banda looked at the doorway and saw Joshua crawling out of the house; his clothes were burning. She shrieked and grabbed her youngest child and dropped him into a pan of water. The fire hissed and went out, but Joshua was terribly burned.

The neighbors dashed out of their houses to see what had happened. They rushed to put out the fire, but most of the family’s belongings were destroyed. Their village had no clinic or hospital, so a neighbor ran to the house of a farmer who had a car. They banged on his door and begged for his immediate help. He rushed over to drive the Bandas to the nearest hospital. Even so, it was nearly midnight when the family entered the hospital emergency room. It had been more than four hours since the explosion.The doctors shook their heads as they looked at the burns that the pastor and his son had suffered. Pastor Banda’s burns were serious, but little Joshua was even more seriously injured. Terrible burns covered his legs, stomach, and chest. Every movement brought screams of pain from the little boy. Even while they worked to save father and son some of the doctors tried to prepare the family for the likelihood that Joshua wouldn’t survive.

“We’re doing everything we can for your son,” the doctor said gently. “But he is so badly burned that it would be a blessing if he died.”

“No!” Mrs. Banda said firmly. “God has saved his life. Do what you must, but God will save my son.”

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. email: info@adventistmission.org    website: www.adventistmission.org