The Sabbath-school lessons have been discontinued. The Lesson Quarterly may be obtained, containing three months' lessons and notes, for five cents. Address, Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal. The Sunday-school lessons will continue.
LESSON 7.—AUGUST 13.—JOSIAH AND THE BOOK OF THE LAW.
(14) "And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of Jehovah, Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law of Jehovah given by Moses. (15) And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan. (16) And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and moreover brought back word to the king, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they are doing. (17) And they have emptied out the money that was found in the house of Jehovah, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and into the hand of the workmen. (18) And Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read therein before the king. (19) And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes. (20) And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, (21) Go ye, inquire of Jehovah for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found; for great is the wrath of Jehovah that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of Jehovah, to do according unto all that is written in this book.
(22) "So Hilkiah, and they whom the king had commanded, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter); and they spake to her to that effect. (23) And she said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Tell ye the man that sent you unto me, (24) Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah. (25) 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 is My wrath poured out upon this place, and it shall not be quenched. (26) But unto the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of Jehovah, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: As touching the words which thou hast heard, (27) because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou hearest His words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and hast humbled thyself before Me, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me: I also have heard thee, saith Jehovah. (28) Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof. And they brought back word to the king."
Golden Text.—"I will not forget Thy Word." Ps. 119:16.
SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.
(1) On bringing out the money that had been put away in the temple for repairs, what did Hilkiah find? Verse 14. Note 1. (2) Then what did he say to Shaphan? What did he do with the book? Verse 15. (3) To whom did Shaphan carry the book? What did he report to the king? Verse 16. (4) What did Shaphan say had been done with the money? Verse 17. (5) What further report did he make? How was the king advised of the character of the contents of the book? Verse 18. (6) How was Josiah affected by the reading? Verse 19. Note 2. (7) To whom did the king then give commandment? Verse 20. (8) What did he command them to do? For what reason was this inquiry made? Verse 21. Note 3. (9) To whom did these men go to make inquiry of the Lord? Verse 22. Note 4. (10) In whose words did Huldah answer? Verse 23. (11) What was Jehovah's reply? Verse 24. (12) Why were such calamities brought upon the people? Verse 25. (13) To whom was a special message sent? Verse 26. (14) What was the character of this message? Verse 27. Note 5. (15) What promise did the message contain? To whom did the messengers then go? Verse 28.
NOTES.
1. This lesson is a continuation of the story of Josiah's reform work, which was considered last week. The question arises, How could such an important book as that of the law pertaining to the service of God be lost? On this point Greene says: "It must be remembered that when printing was unknown, there was a necessary dependence upon oral tradition to an extent which, in our time, is difficult to conceive. Such parts of the law as were remembered would be passed from lip to lip, and stored in memory. It was therefore easily to be let slip by a single apostate generation. The temple ritual, so far as it was observed, would be according to the traditions and habits of the sanctuary, the very priests becoming careless of the written code. There was a succession of kings in later days who assuredly would neglect the duty of transcribing the Sacred Roll, and even the better disposed, like Hezekiah, would find little or no time for such a task amid the harassing cares of the kingdom." And as late as the Reformation in Europe, even in the monasteries, the Bible was almost an unknown book. Luther was twenty years old before he ever saw a copy, altho he was preparing for the priesthood in "the church."
2. Even those who wanted to do right were blindly groping their way through the mazes of a perverted law, made so by neglect of its specific directions. They were dependent upon human memory, which was itself all the more defective because of the blighting influence of apostasy. It is evident, from the king's manifestation of sorrow and chagrin, that their efforts at religious service were far from the form and spirit required by the provisions laid down in the law.
3. God Is Particular.—There is a widespread notion in our own time that it matters not what we believe, or how we worship God, if we are only sincere. But Josiah and his fellow reformers admitted that, while they were earnestly endeavoring to serve God, His wrath was upon them, because of departure from His truth. Their fathers had departed from it, and the reformers had not yet found their way back. But with all our Bibles at the present time, and the many people who own them, and profess to believe them, and the "learned" men who comment upon the text, the perversion of the Word is about as prevalent as it was in Josiah's day. Ignorance of the Word as it is, is really appalling, and great is the extent of false doctrine and false worship based upon false interpretation.
4. Huldah, as were Miriam and Deborah, was a woman whom the Lord endowed with the spirit of prophecy. And she was one to whom even the priests and the king went to inquire of the Lord. It is well to remember that the Lord's promise is that in the "last days" He will pour out His spirit upon His servants and handmaidens, and "they shall prophesy." See Acts 2:17, 18. So the spirit of prophecy is still available for the church. But many will not believe these latter-day prophets, because of the prevalent error that the days of prophecy are past; and others will be carried away by false prophets, because of a perversion of this prophecy, and inability to distinguish the difference between the false and the true. See Matt. 24:23-28; 1 John 4:1-3; Isa. 8:20.
