RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF JUDAH

1. As already shown, the circumstances of Judah secured greater fidelity to Jehovah than prevailed in Israel. But here too, idolatry was practised. Reproof for idolatry is in most instances occasioned by the deeds of the kings, yet it is likely that it was practised by the people irrespective of the kings' attitude toward it. The people were treated as a nation, and the king was the representative of the people. At times there must have been many faithful to Jehovah when the king had forsaken him.

Of course the king could not enforce idol worship, but his example and influence must have been very potent in determining the conduct of the people. The work of the prophets cannot be overlooked in estimating the religious condition of Judah. Private persons may have heeded their warnings when the king would not. The difference between the religious conduct of two consecutive kings is at times remarkable. The summary statement that one was a good king, or was an evil king, is to be taken in a relative sense, not all their acts having the same religious character, yet these expressions determine whether a king should be classed with David, or with the kings of Israel.

2. Solomon and Ahaz were most influential in securing the apostasy of Judah. The former made idol worship extensive, popular, and magnificent. However much some may have opposed it, the glory of Solomon's name must have had great weight in leading others to overlook its wickedness. Ahaz combined with the introduction of the worship of other peoples a willful refusal to trust in the God of Judah, preferring rather to rely upon visible means of help. Manasseh was the incarnation of wickedness, but his influence over the people was probably not so great as that of Ahaz.

3. The kings most influential for good were Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah. The first three tended to check the idolatry of the people; the last two aroused the people to see how greatly they had sinned. The most important of these was Hezekiah, whose reforms, while they did not withstand the wickedness of his son, made the success of Josiah possible. All of these kings did some thing toward destroying images; Jehoshaphat taught the Law; Hezekiah and Josiah observed the Passover and destroyed the high places.

The high places were at first places where the Canaanites had worshiped their gods. The Israelites came to use these for the worship of Jehovah, and easily fell into the practice of worshiping other gods there as well. They were not always on heights. The term came to be applied to any place of idolatrous worship, though it might be in a valley.

4. The forms of idolatry introduced among the people of Judah included the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth from Phœnicia, Chemosh from Moab, Moloch from Ammon, the gods of Damascus, and the heavenly bodies. The worship of Baal, together with that of Ashtoreth, was most common. The word “groves ” so often mentioned, is better rendered the “Asherim,” wooden images set up in the worship of the goddess of the Phœnicians.

5. The prophets most influential during the period from the division of the tribes till the exile of Judah were Isaiah, Micah, and Jeremiah. The career of Isaiah came especially in the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah. He attempted to turn the former from his evil policy but failed, and he was largely instrumental in securing Hezekiah's firm refusal to yield to the demands of Assyria. His prophecies condemned the wickedness of his people; threatened them with the punishments that would come upon them, and also held out the hope that afterward there would be a righteous remnant who would enjoy the favor of Jehovah. He no doubt aided the people to remain faithful to Jehovah at the time of deep darkness, assuring them that light would come. Micah prophesied at the same time, and presented about the same theme. The work of Jeremiah occurred about the time that the punishment was at hand. His great work was to interpret the evils coming upon the people as the fulfillment of what had long before been threatened.

Habakkuk and Zephaniah also prophesied during this period. They are concerned about the punishment that is to come through the Babylonians. There may have been prophets who sought to improve the religious condition of their people whose words have not been recorded for us. The time of the greatest activity of the prophets was at the time of deepest distress and darkness among the people. God did not leave them without a witness against their evil doings, nor withhold from them the encouragement arising from a brighter prospect in the future. It is difficult to imagine what would have been the religious condition of the people of Judah if there had been no prophet sent to them.

6. It seems that during almost all this period the temple service was maintained. There were times, however, when the temple was closed, this being true in the reign of Ahaz and of Manasseh. At other times it might as well have been closed, for the service was merely formal and mingled with idolatry. Athaliah attempted to establish the worship of Baal, as her mother had done in Israel, but the priests continued the worship of Jehovah to some extent. No doubt the service was often, perhaps for the most part, little more than a form, relied upon as having some virtue in it, and regarded as a ground for securing the favor of Jehovah. Isaiah especially condemns this formal worship (Isa. 1:10-17)

The chief purpose of the elaborate system of worship appointed for the Israelites was to teach certain truths. God could be approached, but only after man had been reconciled to him. The sins of men were a barrier between themselves and God. There was but one way of access to God, and the one sanctuary with its single priesthood and its one system of sacrifices would make prominent this truth. It was for this that the formal worship of Jehovah was restricted to one place. It was not intended to teach that God was in the temple only, nor literally, but that he was their God, and was among them for defense and to secure holiness on their part. If they should worship Jehovah in many places it would obscure the doctrine of monotheism, that Jehovah was one and the only God, and it would make it more easy for them to fall into idolatry. Of course the sacrifices were also intended to aid the Israelites in worshiping Jehovah, but that was not the chief meaning of them. It is not true that these were appointed because the Israelites were in a state of religious childhood, and could not under stand religious truths unless given in symbols. These symbols were intended for all time. They are to teach us as well as the Israelites.

SUMMARY

1. Idolatry in Judah; the king representative of the people. Relation of king to people.

2. Solomon and Ahaz most influential for evil; chief policy of each.

3. Kings influential for good; work of these. Meaning of high places.

4. Forms of idolatry introduced into Judah.

5. Work of Isaiah and Micah, in the earlier period, and Jeremiah in the later. Purpose of each. Other prophets; when most active.

6. Continuance of Jehovah worship at the temple; formalism of this. Chief purpose of the Old Testament system of worship