Lesson 3 The Last Five Kings of Judah October 10-16
Memory Text: “He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?” (Jeremiah 22:16, NIV).
Famed Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky spent four years in a Siberian prison in the 1800s for subversive political activities. Later, writing about his experiences, he talked about some of his fellow prisoners' utter lack of remorse for their terrible behavior. “In the course of several years, I never saw a sign of repentance among these people; not a trace of despondent brooding over their crimes, and the majority of them inwardly considered themselves absolutely in the right.”-Joseph Frank, Dostoevsky, the Years of Ordeal, 1850-1859, p. 95.
Dostoevsky could have been talking about, with the exception of Josiah, the five kings who ruled Judah during the ministry of Jeremiah. One after another, these men seemed totally unrepentant for their actions, even as it became clearer and clearer that their actions were bringing the calamities that the Lord, through Jeremiah, had warned would come.
It had never been God's intention to give Israel a king; by the end of this week's lesson, we will better understand why. We'll understand, too, the severe pressure that poor Jeremiah faced during much of his unappreciated ministry.
Sunday October 11 Under the Rule of Josiah
Josiah was the sixteenth king to rule in the Southern Kingdom (Judah); his dates were 640-609 b.c. He became king at the age of eight, after more than half a century of moral and spiritual decline under his father (Amon) and grandfather (Manasseh), two of the most evil kings in Judah. Josiah's reign lasted for thirty-one years. Unlike his ancestors, however, Josiah “did that which was right in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 22:2), despite an environment that worked against him.
“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.”-Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, p. 384.
Read2 Chronicles 34:1-33.Josiah Reigns in Judah 34:1Josiah [was] eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years.
34:2And he did [that which was] right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined [neither] to the right hand, nor to the left.
2. Neither to the right hand. See also 2 Kings 22:2. This is the only ruler concerning whom this statement is made. Thus Josiah fulfilled the specifications laid down by Moses for Israel’s future king (Deut. 17:20; cf. Deut. 5:32; 28:14).[1]
34:3For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of David his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images.
34:4And 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.
34:5And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
34:6And [so did he] in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.
34:7And when he 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, he returned to Jerusalem.
Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law 34:8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God.
34:9And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem.
34:10Andthey put [it] in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and amend the house:
34:11Even to the artificers and builders gave they [it], to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed.
34:12And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them [were] Jahath and Obadiah, the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set [it] forward; and [other of] the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of music.
34:13Also [they were] over the bearers of burdens, and [were] overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites [there were] scribes, and officers, and porters.
34:14And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD [given] by Moses.
14. Book of the law. During the apostasy that took place in the reign of Manasseh, the Temple copy of the book of the law had been lost sight of. Possibly it had been lost through indifference, or hidden by some faithful priest during Manasseh’s persecution (see 2 Kings 21:16).
34:15And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.
34:16And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do [it].
34:17And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen.
34:18Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
34:19And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes.
19. Rent his clothes. Josiah was deeply stirred as he listened to the word of the Lord. The law pointed out that only in the pathway of obedience would blessing be found, and that disobedience would bring desolation and ruin. Well did he know that his nation by its transgressions had brought itself face to face with doom.
34:20And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying,
34:21Go, inquire of the LORD 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 the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book.
34:22And Hilkiah, and [they] that the king [had appointed], WENT TO HULDAH THE PROPHETESS, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that [effect].
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 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.”[2]
34:23And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me,
34:24Thus saith the LORD, 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:
34:25Because 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 poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.
34:26And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel [concerning] the words which thou hast heard;
34:27Becausethine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard [thee] also, saith the LORD.
34:28Behold, 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 of the same. So they brought the king word again.
Josiah Restores True Worship 34:29Then the king sent and gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem.
34:30And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD.
34:31And the king stood in his place, 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 his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book.
34:32Andhe caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand [to it]. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers.
34:33And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that [pertained] to the children of Israel, and made all that were present in Israel to serve, [even] to serve the LORD their God. [And] all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.
What were the components of Josiah's reform, and why would they be central to any attempt at spiritual reformation, be it corporate or personal?MY POSSIBLE ANSWER:The components were… A.he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. B. brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that [were] on high above them, he cut down; C. 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. D. And he burnt the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. And [so did he] in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali. E. Repair of the temple. F. Worship of the true God and rededication to Him and His will. They would be central because one cannot attach him or herself to God except they let go of all other gods. Further, a person cannot get a clear picture of God while behold false images. The influence of everything and every person had to be negated if God was to have full control.
Josiah's reform consisted of two main components: First, it was getting rid, as much as possible, of anything and everything that smacked of idolatry. That is, he worked to remove the evil practices that had arisen in the nation.
But that was only the first step. An absence of evil or wrong practices doesn't automatically mean that good will follow. Second, after hearing the book of the law read to him, the king made a covenant before the Lord “to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book”(2 Chron. 34:31).
Ellen G. White, Prophets and Kings, pp. 381 - 385.
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.