Josiah and Ezra Read the Scriptures to the People

Purpose: We can know that reading and following the counsel of the scriptures brings joy.

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Do you remember what the first lessons of this course were about?
It can be hard for us to remember information that we learned a long time ago.

It is easy to forget things that we aren’t constantly reminded of.

Important information should be studied and reviewed continually so that we do not forget it.

These books contain Heavenly Father’s words to us.
Diligent daily study of the scriptures will help us remember and keep his commandments.
In this lesson they will learn about the people of Judah at two different historical times: during the reign of King Josiah (about 640 B.C.) and the time of Nehemiah and Ezra (about 450 B.C.) (B.C. means before the birth of Christ). Both groups of people had lost the book of the law—the scriptures the Lord gave to them through Moses—so they forgot the commandments and did not obey them.

A brief review of history:  

726 Hezekiah (prophets: Isaiah)   Hezekiah was righteous.  His city was saved from the Assyrians when the Lord sent a plague to kill thousands of their soldiers. The Assyrians just went home. 

721 Northern Kingdom carried off 

642 Amon (prophets: Nahum? )  Wicked

640 BC  Josiah  Righteous

(prophets: Nahum, Huldah the prophetess, Jeremiah)

King Josiah -- About 640 B.C. 

What kind of person was King Josiah?

2 Kings 22:2

•  1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.
   2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left.

King David was not his literal father, but his forefather, a great-great-great + grandfather.

 2 Kings 23:25.

 25 And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him.

 Note: The David mentioned in 2 Kings 22:2 is King David, who was Josiah’s forefather, not his literal father. Josiah’s father was Amon.) Explain that Josiah’s father was a wicked king who was killed by his servants when Josiah was eight years old. Josiah inherited the throne, and he was a righteous king.

• • 2 Kings 22:3–10—While repairing the temple, Hilkiah finds the book of the law. (Note: Book of the law and book of the covenant are descriptive terms for the scriptures at that time.)
• 3 ¶And it came to pass in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying,
   4 Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may sum the silver which is brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the door have gathered of the people:
   5 And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the Lord, to repair the breaches of the house,
   6 Unto carpenters, and builders, and masons, and to buy timber and hewn stone to repair the house.
   7 Howbeit there was no reckoning made with them of the money that was delivered into their hand, because they dealt faithfully.
   8 ¶And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
   9 And Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, Thy servants have gathered the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of them that do the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord.
   10 And Shaphan the scribe shewed the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath delivered me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king.
• •  2 Kings 22:11–13—Josiah sorrows because of the wickedness of the people.
•  11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
   12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Michaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asahiah a servant of the king’s, saying,
   13 Go ye, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us.
• •  2 Kings 22:14–20—Huldah prophesies the desolation of the wicked but promises that Josiah will be blessed.
•  14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.
   15 ¶And she said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell the man that sent you to me,
   16 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read:
   17 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 my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched.
   18 But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard;
   19 Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.
   20 Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place. And they brought the king word again.
• •  2 Kings 23:1–4, 21–25—Josiah reads the book of the law to the people; they make covenants and stop their idolatry.
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•  1 And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
   2 And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant
  

  

  which was found in the house of the Lord.
   3 ¶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, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.
  
  
  

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      Psalm 19: 8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure,enlightening the eyes. . . . 
      Psalm  19:10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
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  4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el.
•  1 And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
   2 And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.
   3 ¶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 alltheir soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.
   4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and thekeepers of the door, to bring forth out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels that were made for Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of heaven: and he burned them without Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, and carried the ashes of them unto Beth-el.
• 609 Jehoahaz  (prophets: Obadiah?)     Wicked
  
  
  609  Jehoiakim  (prophets:  Daniel carried captive)   Wicked
  
  
  598  Jehoiachin (prophets: Habakkuk)  Wicked
    
  598 Zedikiah  (prophets:  Ezekiel)   Wicked -- Also called Mattaniah.  Father of Mulek (Book of Mormon)
  
  
  587  Capture of Jerusalem    The Prophet Jeremiah had prophesied about this.  He said that Judah would be captured and carried off.  A few were left behind -- generally the weakest.  They would be held captive in another land for 70 years. 
  
  
  He also told them not to fight - to surrender to the Babylonians, and there would not be bloodshed. 
  
  
  The Temple is totally destroyed, as is the wall around Jerusalem. 
  
  
  
  
  458 BC  Ezra -- a scribe -- brought back part of the exiles from captivity -- instructed to rebuild the temple.  
  
  
  444 Nehemiah  -- Cup Bearer King  Artaxerxes  

  Nehemiah obtained a royal commission authorizing him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

  
  

  Ezra and Nehemiah reintroduced the scriptures to the people. 
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• • Nehemiah 8:1–12—Ezra reads and interprets the law of Moses. The people rejoice.
•  1 And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded to Israel.
   2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.
   3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive unto the book of the law.
   4 And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
   5 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
   6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.
   7 Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
   8 So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
   9 ¶And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the Lord your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
   10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.
   11 So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be ye grieved.
   12 And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them.
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charades 

1. a.  Driving to a gas station and putting fuel in the gas tank of an automobile.
2. b.  Eating dinner.
3. c. Planting and watering a plant.
4. d.  Reading the scriptures.

An object needs fuel so that it will have the energy to keep going. Just as a car, a plant, or our physical bodies need fuel or food for energy, our spirit needs to be fed so that it too can be healthy. 

How often should we think of the scriptures?  

 6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.