Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

me."
in the wrongdoing. They were angry
and rebellious ready to try to turn the
people away from God again when
they
got a chance. Moses knew that these
leaders must go. He stood in the gate
of the camp and said, "Who is on the
Lord's side Come to
All the sons of Levi came and Moses
told them that God wanted them to slay
the men who were leading the people in
the worship of images. These trouble
makers had to die so that the nation
would not continue to be lead away from
God. Aaron had allowed the people to do
wrong but he had not persuaded them
to do it. Aaron was a Levite; he came to
God's side.
Through all of this sorrow Moses did
not lose his love for his people. He had
to punish them, yet he continued to love
them
just as mothers and fathers some
times need to punish their children
whom they love dearly. His love was so
great that he pleaded with God to for
give his people. He asked that if God
would not forgive them that he, Moses,
be blotted out with the people. What a
wonderful leader
a man of God who
was firm and just, who loved his people
so much that he was willing to sacri
fice his life for them. We think here of
Christ many years later He did give
His life for Christian people. Moses was
in many ways like Christ.
God's answer was that those who had
sinned must themselves be punished for
it. Yet he saved the nation and told
Moses to go on leading them, on their
journey to the promised land. Again
Moses climbed the mountain and re
ceived the tablets of stone
(the Ten
Commandments) showing God's forgiv
ing love.
In your notebooks, you might draw a
map of a Throughway (the Rightway,
of course). At the end could be a city;
give it a name
God."
it might be "Kingdom of
Leading from the Rightway
would be
ramps. Draw and name as many as you
can
"Telling Lies," "Cheating," etc.
In what ways was Moses like Christ
Why do you think that God called
Moses to the mountain top to talk with
him
If anyone in
the group has flown
above the clouds ask him or her to de
scribe it.
SABBATH SCHOOL LESSON
June 12, 1955
Rev. W. J. McBurney
(Lessons based on international Sunday School
Lessons; the International Bible Lessons for
Christian Teaching, copyrighted by the Inter
national Council of Religious Education.)
YOUNG KING JOSIAH
2 Chronicles 34; Nahum.
PRINTED 2 Chronicles 34:l-12a
332
MEMORY, Psalm 119:9 "Wherewithal
shall a young man cleanse his way By
taking heed thereto according to Thy
Word."
Amon followed his father Manasseh
to the throne at the age of 22.
probably
He
saw several years of his fath
er's idolatry. Evidently he was old
enough when his
father dumped the
idols to choose and keep the choicest
of them, the carved idols. Perhaps he
hid them. Or his father may have rea
soned that since he was just a child,
they would do no harm, and too bad to
disappoint him by taking the idols away.
Amon failed to respond to his father's
reformation.
Josiah did not follow the idolatries
of his father. Amon may have been too
busy to bother with his son, and that
would be to the son's advantage. Prob
ably Manasseh, failing to influence his
son Amon, took an interest in his grand
son Josiah until his death, when the
child was six. Lasting impressions can
be made on a child. Manasseh may have
surrounded the child with godly teach
ers who remained with him and helped
him in the management of the kingdom
in his youth. At the age of 8,
came to the throne.
Josiah
Josiah Prepares For His Work, Vs. 2, 3.
For 8 years, until Josiah was 16, he
would be in his studies, and the govern
ment would be administered by older
men. Then he became actively interest
ed in the affairs of his office. He "began
to seek after the God
father."
of David his
Then for four years until he
was 20, he got ready for his great work.
He did not rush into his work unpre
pared. His reign is marked by thorough
ness in everything he undertook.
It was a difficult time for any King
young or old. The early, idolatrous part
of Manasseh's reign, that could not have
been exceeded in wickedness, covered 30
or 40 years, and his reformation was not
complete. Then Amon, in two years,
led the people back into gross idolatry.
Josiah Begins His Reformation, vs. 3-7
Surely a child of eight is not cap
able of leading a nation. At the age of
sixteen, Josiah began to seek the "God
of David" as his guide in planning his
work. When he did take decided action,
the leaders that he called in council
were in sympathy with his program.
It is probable that between 16 and 20
years, he had been carefully selecting
wise leaders, and influencing those who
were already leaders in the nation. . He
did not rush into the work alone, but
made careful preparations to lead a
willing
tion.
people in a thorough reforma
Josiah's appeal touched the hearts of
the people. The purged Judah and Jeru
salem of all idols, and brake down the
altars and destroyed the idols. Some of
the choisest idols, carved images, were
those that Josiah's grandfather had
made and failed to destroy. Josiah did
a thorough job. He beat the idols into
dust and strewed them to mingle with
the dust of their worshipers. The chil
dren could never again play
idols.
Repairing the Damage Done
by Sin, vs. 8-11
A boy threw a
with those
stone and broke a
window. His father forgave him, but
required him to do as much work in
addition to his usual chores as would
earn money for the window. He should
learn, so far as possible, what sin costs.
Josiah put the people to work to repair
the damage. Not only the idolaters, but
all the people, innocent and guilty, must
share in the punishment for sin. A whole
family, a whole church, a whole school,
a whole nation suffers from the sin of
one of its members. There is a degree
in which all are responsible for the sin
of one. Truant and other officers would
be able to serve the law much better
if they had the intelligent co-operation
of all the citizens. School teachers would
have little trouble with discipline if
the parents did their duty. And it is
likely that those who had the least to
do with idols did the most of the work
of cleaning up
after them.
Faithful Work Under Honest
Leadership, vs. 9-12a
In the lesson of May 8, we studied a
similar reform under Joash (2 Chron.
24:4-14). These two reforms are very
similar in the zeal and faithfulness with
which they were carried on. Much
money had to be collected and spent.
There was no hint of wasting funds,
or padding pay
rolls. And this was a
national task. There are financial ty
coons, prominent in the church and in
charities, who scruple not to defraud
the public so long as they keep "with
in the Law." Of course, these men as
individuals, could be trusted. But they
act as corporations, which have no soul.
It is cheering to know that there are
many men in positions of trust who
are honest. Not too many
when they
bury their acts in large companies.
I heard a senator, in public address,
condemn federal development of water
for irrigation or power, on the ground
that it would corrupt the government.
He said it would turn all our senators
and representatives into grafters. I
wanted to ask him if that was the kind
of men that guard the interests of our
nation. He was in a position to know.
Also he was (indirectly) interested in
power. "Other People's
Money"
by
THE COVENANTER WITNESS