March 29, 2009 – April 4, 2009
Key Text
“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.” II Kings 23:3.
Study Help: “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 1038, 1039; Prophets and Kings, 392–406.
Introduction
“The whole congregation of Israel entered into a solemn covenant to keep the commandments of Jehovah. This is our work today.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 1038.
1 What had the Lord promised to ancient Israel if they would be faithful to Him? Exodus 19:5, 6. What was their responsibility toward the heathen nations? Malachi 1:11.
Note: “God, in His infinite wisdom, chose Israel as the depositary of priceless treasures of truth for all nations. He gave them His law as the standard of the character they were to develop before the world, before angels, and before the unfallen worlds. They were to reveal to the world the laws of the government of heaven. By precept and example they were to bear a decided testimony for the truth. The glory of God, His majesty and power, were to be revealed in all their prosperity. They were to be a kingdom of priests and princes. God furnished them with every facility for becoming the greatest nation on the earth.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 1180, 1181.
2 What great evil provoked God’s displeasure against Israel? I Kings 11:7–10; Jeremiah 32:32–35. What warnings are given for these last days?
Note: “Children are not to be trained to be the devotees of society. They are not to be sacrificed to Molech, but they are to become members of the Lord’s family. Parents are to be filled with the compassion of Christ, that they may work for the salvation of the souls that are placed under their influence. They are not to have their minds all engrossed in the fashions and practices of the world. They are not to educate their children to attend parties and concerts and dances, to have and attend feasts, because after this manner the Gentiles walk.” Child Guidance, 181.
3 What were God’s truehearted people doing amidst this wickedness? Habakkuk 1:2–4.
Note: “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?” Prophets and Kings, 384, 385.
4 Whom did God use while King Josiah did the work of reformation? Jeremiah 1:2. What is recorded about King Josiah? II Kings 22:1, 2.
Note: “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. … 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.” Prophets and Kings, 384.
5 At the beginning of Josiah’s reformation, what was providentially found in the temple? II Kings 22:8–10.
Note: “[The prophesied] reform movement, by which threatened judgments were averted for a season, was brought about in a wholly unexpected manner through the discovery and study of a portion of Holy Scripture that for many years had been strangely misplaced and lost. …
“The long-lost manuscript was found in the temple by Hilkiah, the high priest, while the building was undergoing extensive repairs in harmony with King Josiah’s plan for the preservation of the sacred structure.” Prophets and Kings, 392, 393.
6 How did Josiah react when he heard about the content of the long-lost manuscript, and how did the Lord answer the king? II Kings 22:11–20.
Note: “When Josiah heard the words of warning and condemnation because Israel had trampled upon the precepts of heaven, he humbled himself. He wept before the Lord. He made a thorough work of repentance and reformation, and God accepted his efforts. The whole congregation of Israel entered into a solemn covenant to keep the commandments of Jehovah. This is our work today. We must repent of the past evil of our doings, and seek God with all our hearts. We must believe that God means just what He says, and make no compromise with evil in any way. We should greatly humble ourselves before God, and consider any loss preferable to the loss of His favor.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 1038.
7 After receiving an answer from the Lord, what did Josiah immediately do? II Kings 23:1–14.
Note: “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. …
“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.” Prophets and Kings, 400, 401.
8 What prophecy about Josiah, uttered three centuries before, did he literally fulfill? I Kings 13:1, 2; II Kings 23:15–20.
Note: “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.” Prophets and Kings, 402.
9 What important service was re-established to increase faith and unity among God’s people? II Chronicles 35:1, 16–19.
Note: “Josiah had read to priests and people the Book of the law found in the side of the ark in the house of God. His sensitive conscience was deeply stirred as he saw how far the people had departed from the requirements of the covenant they had made with God.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 1038.
“The king sought further to establish the faith of Judah in the God of their fathers by holding a great Passover feast, in harmony with the provisions made in the book of the law. Preparation was made by those having the sacred services in charge, and on the great day of the feast, offerings were freely made. ‘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.’ II Kings 23:22.” Prophets and Kings, 405.
10 Apart from his good work, what serious mistake did King Josiah make that brought his life to a sudden end? II Chronicles 35:20–24. What should we learn from this?
Note: “Because Josiah died in battle, who will charge God with denying His word that Josiah should go to his grave in peace? The Lord did not give orders for Josiah to make war on the king of Egypt. When the Lord gave the king of Egypt orders that the time had come to serve Him by warfare, and the ambassadors told Josiah not to make war on Necho, no doubt Josiah congratulated himself that no word from the Lord had come directly to him. To turn back with his army would have been humiliating, so he went on. And because of this, he was killed in battle, a battle that he should not have had anything to do with. The man who had been so greatly honored by the Lord, did not honor the word of God. The Lord had spoken in his favor, predicted good things for him; and Josiah became self-confident, and failed to heed the warning. He went against the word of God, choosing to follow his own way, and God could not shield him from the consequences of his act.
“In this our day men choose to follow their own desires and their own will. Can we be surprised that there is so much spiritual blindness?” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 2, 1039, 1040.
Additional Reading
“Many who are seeking a preparation for the Lord’s work think it essential to accumulate large volumes of historical and theological writings. They suppose that the study of these works will be a great advantage to them in learning how to reach the people. This is an error. As I see shelves piled with these books, some of them rarely looked into, I think: Why spend money for that which is not bread? The sixth chapter of John tells us more than can be found in such works. Christ says: ‘I am the Bread of Life.’ ‘The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.’ John 6:35, 63.
“There is a study of history that is not to be condemned. Sacred history was one of the studies in the schools of the prophets. In the record of His dealings with the nations were traced the footsteps of Jehovah. So today we are to consider the dealings of God with the nations of the earth. We are to see in history the fulfillment of prophecy, to study the workings of Providence in the great reformatory movements, and to understand the progress of events in the marshalling of the nations for the final conflict of the great controversy.
“But too often the motive of those who study these many books is not so much to obtain food for mind or soul. It is an ambition to become acquainted with philosophers and theologians, a desire to present Christianity to the people in learned terms and propositions.
“ ‘Learn of Me,’ said the greatest Teacher the world ever knew. ‘Take My yoke upon you, learn My meekness and lowliness.’ [Matthew 11:29.] Your intellectual pride will not aid in the work of communicating with souls that are perishing for want of the bread of life. In your study of these books you are allowing them to take the place, in mind and heart, of the practical lessons you should be learning from the Great Teacher. With the results of this study the people are not fed. Very little of the study and research which is so wearying to the mind furnishes anything that will make one a successful laborer for souls.
“Men and women who spend their lives in humble, commonplace work need words as simple as Christ gave in His lessons, words that are easily understood. The Saviour came ‘to preach the gospel to the poor.’ [Luke 4:18.] And it is written that ‘the common people heard Him gladly.’ [Mark 12:37.] Those who are teaching the truth for this time need a deeper insight into the lessons He has given.
“The words of the living God are the highest of all education. The studied phrases designed to please the taste of the supposed-to-be refined fall short of the mark. Those who minister to the people need to eat the bread of life. This will give them spiritual strength; then they will be prepared to minister to all classes of people. The piety, the spiritual energy of the church is sustained by feeding on the bread that came down from heaven. At the feet of Jesus we are to learn the simplicity of true godliness.” Testimonies, vol. 8, 307, 308.
©2005 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.