Questions From Readers

● What does 2 Kings 23:11 mean when it speaks of King Josiah’s causing the horses to cease entering the house of Jehovah?—T. M., United States.

The scripture at 2 Kings 23:11 reads: “Further, he caused the horses that the kings of Judah had given to the sun to cease from entering the house of Jehovah by the dining room of Nathan-melech the court official, which was in the porticoes, and the chariots of the sun he burned in the fire.” Ezekiel 8:16 (AS) reads: “And he brought me into the inner court of Jehovah’s house; and behold, at the door of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Jehovah, and their faces toward the east; and they were worshipping the sun toward the east.” This shows that the unfaithful Israelites polluted Jehovah’s temple by indulging in sun worship in it, and 2 Kings 23:11 indicates that horses were dedicated to the sun in connection with the sun worship that had been taken up. There were also chariots associated with these horses and these were stationed at the entrance of Jehovah’s holy temple. There were eating places or dining rooms in the temple and in contempt the unfaithful king of Judah caused the horses to enter the temple of Jehovah by the dining room of Nathan-melech, the court official. The Oriental people of those times considered horses sacred to the sun, but King Josiah abominated this practice and in his purging of Jehovah’s temple he took away the horses and burned their chariots with fire and permitted them to desecrate no more the house of Jehovah by associating sun worship with Jehovah’s pure worship.

● If a person has dedicated himself to Jehovah but arrives at the assembly late and does not hear the baptism talk and does not answer publicly the two questions there propounded, what should be done if this latecomer is immersed anyway?—M. K., United States.

If one arrives late for the discourse and does not answer the two questions, he may still have made an actual dedication of himself to Jehovah through Christ on the proper basis as is set forth in the two questions propounded to the baptism candidates. By his water baptism he has gone on record as having dedicated himself to God with a proper understanding of all that is involved therein, as comprehended in the two questions asked of the immersion candidates. However, such a one may not have satisfied the local service committee in this regard. Hence, before they enter the record of his water baptism upon his publisher’s report card they should assure themselves on this matter. In other words, they should call him before them and ask these questions and have them audibly answered in their presence. If the brother gives both answers in the affirmative, then the service committee will know that his understanding was proper at the time of his baptism and that it is valid. The committee may then conscientiously make a record of his water baptism as being binding and acceptable before Jehovah’s organization. But why be late at such an important occasion?

Exploring Part of the Exodus Route

After six years of exploration a noted archaeologist claims to have discovered a 150-mile stretch of the Exodus route, the route taken by the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land. The archaeologist is Dr. Nelson Glueck, president of the Hebrew Union College and the Jewish Institute of Religion. Reporting on Dr. Glueck’s discovery, the New York Mirror Magazine of April 6, 1958, said: “The area reaches from Kadesh-barnea to Hormath, just east of Beersheba. ‘The Israelites had to come this way,’ says Dr. Glueck. ‘West of this section, the region is mountainous, spotted with deep depressions, and waterless. To the east, it is all sand dune and desert and also devoid of water. The only route which would have provided sufficient water and grazing land is this one.’ . . . Does the discovery prove the Bible version? ‘If you accept the Bible,’ Dr. Glueck answered, ‘you don’t need archeology to prove it. But archeology has demonstrated that the Bible can be believed.’”