Passaic City record., 1893-01-07
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
JANUARY 8.
Lesson Text: "Rebuilding the Tenn.
pie" Ezra iii. 1-t3-Golden Text:
Ezra lii. 11-Commentary.

We need to bear in mind that the kew II
this book seems to be ssThe House of th,
Lord" mentioned fifty times The seconc
chapter gives the num5erns of the nearly
10000 who at this tirna returned to Jeru.
salem. Verses 81 60 fell of some whose
names could not be found on the register,
and they had to be cast out, suggesting to
us the necessity of having our names in the
Book of Life luke x, 90; Rev. xx., 15).
Verses 6S, 6J tell of those who offered freely
after their ability, and is suggestive of
Math. x, s: Acts Xxx, 35; IL Cor viii, IL.
j. 'sThe people gathered themselves to-
gether as ons man to Jerusalem" When in
after years the church, which is the temple
of God, began to be built at Pentecost, it is
said, ssThey were all with one accord in one
place. tActs H., u.
2. sAnd builded the altar of the Lord of
Israel" The patriarchs had no building
called temple or tabernacle, but they had
their altars and offerings. symbols of atone
ment, for without sacrifice sinful man cam
not draw near to God. See Lev xvii, IL;
Heb. tx, 22, as proofs of the necessity of the
shedding blood. As to the altars, see Gen.
viii, 20: xii, z, s; xiii. A, 16 It is evident
from this verse that these people had no
doubt as to wrote Pentateuch. 1t will be
well for us to be like them.
g. And they offered burnt offerings
thereon unto the Lord" This stands first
among all the offerings in the law, and is
the Oldest kind mentioned in the Word LEV.
l., 4; Gen. viii, 20: Job j., 81. Among the
many offerings of Lev. j. to vii. this, the
first. seems suggestive of the sacrifice of
Christ as fully meeting all the requirements
of God.
4. ''They kept also the feast of taber-
nacles." The first verse says that it was in
the seventh month that they set up the altar.
By referring to Lev. xiii, in which is found
full accoun. Of all the feasts of the Lord.
it will be seen at verse % and onward that
in this month there were three conyocations,
trumpets, atonement and tabernacles, be-
ginning on the 1st, 10th and 10Th days of the
month.
offered freewill offering unto the Lord
The Importance and the necessity of a will
ing offering is seen in connection with the
building of the tabernacle and temple lex.
XIV. 2; xxxv., 5, 81. %, 80; I Chron. xxx,
G. 9, ~ When any one brought burnt
offering he was to offer it of his own volun-
tary will LEV j., b. It is written of Jesus
that He said, my meet is to do the will Of
Him that sent Me, and to finish His work
John iv., 81. As to His life He said. 81
lay it down of Myself" John T., 18). AS to
us it is written, .'Whosoever will,n ssIf any
man will" REV. xxi, II; John vii, III.
6. ''Irom the first day of the seventh
month began they to offer burnt offerings
unto the Lord" The outward and visible
national history Of Israel began when they
were redeemed from Egypt by the mighty
power of God and the blood of the passover
lamb (Ex. xii, /. p.
z "Masons. carpenters. them of Zidon
and of Tyre according to the grant of Cyrus,
king of Persia" Many months seem to have
passed by without any attempt to build the
temple, but now they begin and Jews and
GentiIes take part in providing the material.
s. ITO set forward the work of the house
of the Lord" It was for this they came to
Jerusalem. and now it is the second month
of the second year. at least seven months
after their arrival. How slow we are in the
Lords work. 1t would take time to get cedar
from Lebanon, but that was not needed for
the foundation, and verse 6 says the founda-
tion was not laid. Some of us are tried by
slow people, but think of the patience of the
Lord-over 1900 years since He left the COM
mand to preach the Gospel to every creature,
and hundreds of millions still in heathen
darkness Ill Thess. ill.,. 5, margin)
9. ITO set forward the workmen in the
house of God. Z" The work will not go for
ward without the workInen. When God cre-
ated the world He spake and it was done
but in the redemption of Israel, and in the
gathering out of the church, while the
power is all His, He sees fit to manifest that
power through human instruments. He
asks, 'sWho will go for us?' and yet when
we 60 ''it is God who worketh' (lsa. vi. s:
Phil. H., 13).
10. $50 praise the Lord after the ordi-
nance of David. king of Israel" This the
priests and Levites were to do with trumpets
and cymbals as the builders laid the founda-
tion Of the temple When the foundations Of
the earth were laid the morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God shouted for
Joy Job xxxviii., 4, n. When Jesus was
born in Bethlehem the angels sang, 'sGlory
to God in the highest" luke IL, 13, 14).
When the headstone of all the work IS
brought forth it shall be with shoutings,
crying Grace, Grace unto it tZech. iy., o..
IL. ssAnd they sang together by course,
and all the people shouted with a great
Shout All in order, and yet most heartily.
God is not the author Of confusion, and He
will have all things done decenty and in
order Il Cor. xiv, SO, 4o). Neither is He the
author of half hearted work or negligent
work, See Jer. j., 10, margin; Isa. xii. g..
Cursed be he that doeth the work of the
Lord negligently. ''Cry out and shout, thou
inhabitant of Zion, for great is the Holy
One of Israel in the midst of thee"
12. 'Many wept with loud voice, and
many shouted aloud for joy Those who
were old men and had seen the glory of the
former house wept as they thought of it and
now beheld the desolation: while Others
shouted for Joy at the thought of temple
of the Lord being builded. Does the inter
est you have in the welfare of the Lords
house make you either laugh or weep? Do
you sigh and cry because of the abomina-
tions done in the land? Or is it nothing to
your tEzek. TX, 4; Sam. j., 12. Does the
glory to be revealed cause you to rejoice
even in tribulation because you are par
taker of that glory, and therefore rfectly
willing to be a partaker of His sufferings
Rom. viii. IS; Pet. iv., 13)?
13. THE people could not discern the noise
Of the shout OF joy from the noise of weep
ing" There shall be no such mixture in
the new Jerusalem. nor In the Jerusalem on
earth restored. Read lisa. k, 1922; Rev.
xxi, IA. The best days are yet to come,
both for Israel and the church and the
whole creation. The estoration from
Babylon. and even the great redemption
from Egypt. shall be as nothing compared
| with Israel's future restoration and glory.
! See Jer. XVII. IA, Is: xxiii., 5-S. Then shall
| the ends of the earth see the salvation Of
| the Lord and the whole earth be filed with
| His glory. Let the question be, "What am
| doing to set forward the work and the
| workmen?' Lesson Helper.