which up to this time had always stood in the Temple and the high places. Whatever temporary success attended this measure, it was deeply resented by the mass of the people, who did not distinguish between Jehovah and the bull or other image which represented him to their eyes. Like the destruction of altars in the reign of Edward VI., this reform led to a violent reaction. Manasseh began his reign with the popular measure of restoring the banished idols, and all the lower forms of worship against which the prophets, from Amos to Isaiah, had protested. The high places recovered their licentious rites. The wasteful splendour of sacrifice was renewed. The necromancy which Isaiah condemned burst out in new vigour, and the land was filled with wizards. Human sacrifice was revived, and the valley of Hinnom echoed with the cries of children cast into the flames. Not content with debasing the religion of Jehovah, the king introduced the worship of various foreign gods. All the deities of the neighbouring countries had shrines in Jerusalem and even the Temple was invaded by the chariot and horses of the sun. Naturally there was some resistance to the changes: but it was ruthlessly crushed. Manasseh, we are told,' shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to the other.' One of the first victims of his cruelty was the great prophet whose teaching set such an inconveniently high standard for kings. Isaiah's teaching was suppressed; his disciples scattered and silenced; and every attempt was made to destroy his writings. For seventy years idolatry was triumphant. Not till the eighteenth year of Josiah was it challenged but then there came a change which was singularly dramatic and complete. In the course of repairing the Temple, Hilkiah the high priest found (as he said) a copy of the Law, which he presented to the king. The book of Deuteronomy (or rather chapters 12-28, for the rest was added later) worked a revolution in Josiah's mind: and, supported by a new party of reformers, he devoted himself to abolishing the abuses which it condemned, and to carrying out its ordinances. The history of his reign, as we read it, is nothing more than the record of this great reformation. : How did all this come to pass ? The real cause was the spirit of Isaiah, which lived on in his disciples and in the torn fragments of his prophecies. In the darkest days of idolatrous tyranny there were still some faithful souls who treasured Isaiah's writings and inherited his faith, and waited patiently for the dawn of a happier time. They were not content merely to wait, but actively engaged in forging a weapon with which, when occasion offered, they might strike down the abuses of the time. That weapon was the book of Deuteronomy, which then began with chapter 12 and ended with chapter 28. was a bold and original thought, to convert a nation by means of a book. But theirs was a literary age, in which the influence of a book might be immense. They had faith in their principles, and vast patience and literary skill. They were justified by the event for scarcely ever has a single book produced such an effect upon the life of a nation. It Let us consider what they had to do, and how they did it. Being true reformers, they did not wish merely to restore the religion of the past century by destroying abuses, but to purify it in accordance with the teaching of the great prophets, especially of Isaiah. So they could not merely urge men to obey the old Law which had been for The gotten. The book of the Law, as it then existed, contained only a few chapters of the book of Exodus. It was adapted for a purely agricultural people, such as Israel had been in the time of the Judges, without a central government or a central place of worship. old Law took for granted the worship of the high places, in which had always stood the images of Jehovah, and sometimes of other gods. Idolatry_could not be abolished without abolishing the high places: for the Temple at Jerusalem was the only shrine where Jehovah had ever been worshipped without an image. Now many of the high places were richly endowed, like modern churches, and the priests were wealthy and powerful. If the high places were closed, and their revenues taken, what was to become of the priests? The problem was something like that which Henry VIII. had to face when he disestablished the monasteries. Then, again, the ritual of the Temple worship had grown beyond anything provided for by the old Law. had become both elaborate and corrupt, and must be regulated. A new and more spiritual Law must condemn what was immoral or mischievous, but retain all that was edifying or at least harmless. The more conservative the new order was, the more likely it was to enlist the best of the people on the side of reform. Above all, the new Law must insist upon justice and righteousness, as the prophets understood those words. It Without going into detail, we may point out how the main provisions of the book of Deuteronomy met these various requirements. First of all, the Temple was made the only place of worship. The high places were closed, and their revenues (apparently) confiscated. But their priests were provided for by being all attached to the Temple, serving in turns, and being paid from the Temple revenues, now much increased. So the idolatrous worship was stopped, and the priests saved from poverty, and from the temptation to head a revolt. the same time all the rules of sacrifice and other ritual were revised to suit new conditions. And the Moral Law, as affecting persons and property, was raised to a higher level and adapted to the changes which time had wrought in the social order. At But what authority was sufficient to introduce changes so radical, which affected so many people's interests and prejudices? The king had almost absolute power: if he were persuaded, the battle was half won. But in a question of religion there must be some authority behind the king: and that could only be the authority of Moses. Plainly the book must be written in the name of Moses. This was quite in accordance with ancient ways of thinking. Each nation held that its original lawgiver had provided for all possible events. The Roman lawyers, for instance, for a thousand years, managed to interpret the twelve tables' so as to meet the needs of an ever-growing empire. In the same way each new reform of the Law, all through the history of Israel, was ascribed to Moses: for it seemed a pious duty to assume that all the highest truth came from him. So conscience and custom allowed the authors of Deuteronomy to claim the authority of Moses for their work. When at last the opportunity came, the book was presented to the king as the book of the Law' and the king, when he opened it, found that all its ordinances were ascribed to Moses. After his death there Josiah's reforms were by no means final. were reactions: so that Jeremiah and Ezekiel have still to protest against the old evil. But the Law of Deuteronomy remained as a standard of doctrine and practice for all the nobler spirits: and during the Exile it took complete hold upon the minds of the people. Never, after the Return, do we hear of high places, or the worship of images, or the acknowledgment of any god besides Jehovah. [NOTE. The view stated above is held by the majority of scholars, and appears to me the most probable. But since this was written Professor Kennett has given some very plausible reasons for supposing that Deuteronomy was composed about a hundred years later (Deuteronomy and the Decalogue. Cambridge University Press, 1920).] 7. an Asherah was a sacred post erected near the altar in every high place, whether Israelite or Canaanite. Though not an image, it seems to have been in some way an object of worship. See 1 Kings 16. 32. 11. the host of heaven. Babylon was the centre of the worship of sun and moon and stars. The Israelites learned it from the Assyrians. the two courts. These words are probably a late addition, for Solomon's Temple had only one court. The second Temple had two. 13. augury, etc. See Deut. 18. 10. appointed. That is, he authorised these practices, which had hitherto been forbidden. 14. them that had familiar spirits, i.e. the mediums of modern spiritualism. 19. slept with his fathers, i.e. died a natural death. 20. Uzza is perhaps a corruption of Uzziah. It was an innovation for the king to be buried in the palace garden. Previous kings were buried in the city of David.' 37. he did that which was right. This remark really applies only to the latter part of his reign, after the reforms of the eighteenth year. 40. in the eighteenth year. Why not sooner? Partly because Josiah was very young when he came to the throne, but chiefly because Judah was in such great distress and danger. For some years (630-623 ?) Syria was overrun by the nomad Scythians. They are thus described in Rawlinson's Ancient Monarchies : 'Pouring through the passes of the Caucasus, horde after horde of Scythians blackened the rich plains of the South. On they came like a flight of locusts, countless, irresistible; finding the land before them a garden, and leaving it behind them a howling wilderness. Neither age nor sex would be spared. The inhabitants of the open country and of the villages, if they did not make their escape to high mountain-tops or other strongholds, would be ruthlessly massacred by the invaders, or, at best, forced to become their slaves. The crops would be consumed, the herds swept off or destroyed, the villages and homesteads burnt, the whole country made a scene of desolation. The tide then swept on. Wandering from district to district, plundering everywhere, settling nowhere, the clouds of horse passed over Mesopotamia, the force of the invasion becoming weaker as it spread itself, until in Syria it reached its term by the policy of the Egyptian king, Psammetichus.' The land of Judah, however, was not actually overrun. The invaders preferred to march through the Philistine plain, which was more fertile, and much easier for their countless horses. Some of Jeremiah's early prophecies refer to this invasion. See Lesson LXXI. 43. the high priest. This term was not in use before the Exile: but the principal priest at Jerusalem was called simply 'the priest.' 53. the scribe, i.e. the king's secretary. 69. our fathers have not hearkened. Clearly he understood it to be the original Law of Moses. 78. the words of the book, i.e. the threats which are contained in the book. See Deut. 28, which was the end of the book in its original form. 92. in peace. in battle. This promise was not fulfilled: for Josiah was killed · 100. the book of the covenant, as in Exod. 24. 7, means the book in which the Law was written. So in Deut. 9. 9 we have the tables of the covenant.' 101. the pillar, probably one of the two great pillars Jachin and Boaz. See Lesson LI. 139, 140 (Vol. II.). made a covenant. No doubt there was the usual sacrifice-with which every covenant was solemnised. See Lessons IV. and xvii. (Vol. I.). 107. the priests of the second order is probably a mistake for the second priest, who is again mentioned in 2 Kings 25. 18. 109. the Asherah evidently means a goddess, the consort of Baal. It may be a mistake for Astarte : but there are other places where Asherah seems to be used as a proper name. See Dict., ASHÉRAH. At this point begins the series of reforms which correspond to ordinances in the book of Deuteronomy. Here is the list : 112. idolatrous priests put down, Deut. 13. 1-6. 117. idols destroyed, Deut. 12. 3, 7. 5. 120. priests of Jehovah brought to Jerusalem, Deut. 18. 6-8. 128. Topheth defiled, Deut. 18. 10. 134. idolatrous altars destroyed, Deut. 12. 2. 139. idolatrous high places defiled, Deut. 12. 3. 144. pillars and Asherah destroyed, Deut. 16. 21, 22. 150. keep the passover, Deut. 16. 1-6. 156. familiar spirits, etc., put away, Deut. 18. 10-12. 112. the idolatrous priests. The Hebrew word so translated is usually applied (e.g. Hosea 10. 3) to the priests of the high places, who sacrificed to the calves. But here it is also applied to those who served foreign gods. 119. the graves of the bodies would defile them. common people, where contact with dead See Lesson LXXIII. 93. 120. he brought all the priests. The priests who had officiated in the high places were now attached to the Temple. It was intended that they should hold the same rank with the original Temple priests. But the vested interests of the latter were too strong. The newcomers came not up to the altar; that is, they were not allowed to sacrifice, but only to do minor work. Gradually they were formed into an inferior class, distinguished by the name of Levites. After the return from the Exile the distinction was fully established: and it is taken for granted in the later Law. See Dict., LEVITES. 123. high place of the satyrs. Satyrs were goat-like demons (see Isa. 13. 21). There was a shrine where they were worshipped. 127. they did eat unleavened bread among their brethren, i.e. they received maintenance from the Temple funds, being recognised as (in some sense) brethren of the superior priests. 128. Topheth (fireplace) was probably the place where human sacrifices were burned. It seems likely that Isa. 30. 33 is a sort of description of it. For some account of human sacrifice in Israel, see the introduction to Lesson v. (Vol. I. p. 258). 129. Hinnom. See Dict., JERUSALEM. 131. had given to the sun, or had set up for the sun. The Sun-god was represented by the Babylonians, as by the Greeks, as riding in a chariot drawn by horses. It seems uncertain whether the horses were alive and stabled in the Temple, or made of bronze and set up' with the chariot. 139. before Jerusalem, i.e. east of Jerusalem. on the right hand, i.e. on the southern slope of the Mount of Olives. This slope was called the mount of corruption because of the heathen temples which Solomon placed there (1 Kings 11. 7). 146. Beth-el was just outside the boundaries of Judah: but as there was now no kingdom of Israel, Josiah could extend his influence. 152. such a passover. The rules for the Passover in Deuteronomy are very much the same as in the earliest Law, except in one point. Hitherto each family had celebrated the feast in its own home: they might not celebrate it except at Jerusalem. That was so great a change that the historian naturally draws attention to it. 157. teraphim. See the Dictionary. now 166. Neco king of Egypt had made an alliance in 609 with Cyaxares king of Media and Nabopolassar king of Babylon to attack Assyria, which had grown weak, and had been almost ruined by the inroads of the Scythians. He marched with a large army to join them, following the usual route-along the coast to the plain of Sharon, then through the pass which comes out into the plain of Esdraelon near Megiddo. Having defeated Josiah, and seized the suzerainty of Palestine, he proceeded to conquer northern Syria. Meanwhile his allies had overrun Assyria and taken Nineveh. So when he reached the Euphrates and claimed a share of the spoil he was told he was too late. In 605 Nebuchadrezzar, the son and successor of Nabopolassar, defeated Neco at Carchemish and drove him back to Egypt. 172. Josiah would not turn. Josiah was the first king of Judah who was loyal to Assyria. All his predecessors had been ready to join Egypt when there was a chance. 175 Megiddo was in the south-west corner of the plain. See Map VII. No doubt Josiah counted on defeating the Egyptian vanguard while the rest of the army was still in the pass. If it be asked by what authority Josiah advanced so far beyond his own boundaries, we can |