The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1893-02-24
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.


o,,,x TEXT Open Thou ;linc eyes. that
- behold woncrous things OF Thy law
Px iie'is
rrvr-Thc first day Of the seventh month. L
~. middle or last Of Scptcmbcr. A. ID. go
.,xot., two months after the arrival OF scherni'
Al in Jerusalem. and week si'er the eorlpie'
- ~ Inc walls on the :sh Of Elui. The sixth
,,,h August, Sc psembcrp. The Grst day os
-. .eventh mouth WAS September - IN is9s
- ,sq3 IL viii DC September H. and In 1894 octo-
TAR l.
prAc Jerusalem In the open square Of
Ouhel southeast ~ the temple are q. and near
nc watergafe. through WEIGH water "as
brought for use In the temple
rrr SECTION or HISTORY includes chapters
kio Chapter Is . repetition Of Ezra :. re-
sewing the FIRST coming Of the ancestors OF iha
p,~sert gene ration 10 Jerusalem Ia L. G 40.
ninety years before tsce Lesson -. as tAsis
ID repopul. ting Jerusalem and Of knowing who
we're the true Jews
LESSON NOTES.
RE Month Of Meetings. The walls Of
Jerusalem, though three or four miles
long. were finished in fifty-two days.
n week before the beginning OF tho
civil wear. or the seventh month, Tishri.
az the common Jewish year. This
month (Septcmber-Octobcr) included
three great festivals: (D The Feast of
Trumpets, ushering in the new year
and the new moon; te) the great Day OF
Atonement. the 10th of the month,
and f3l the Feast of Tabcrnaclcs, from
The 18th to the :lst, the Jewish Thanks
irving. In q calendar of the Jewish
year for ls9a-9s, prepared by q
Jewish rabbi. six fcasts are ASST yned TO
this month. while no other has more
than three In addition 10 these Nchc-
miah held another solemn meeting OF
confession and renewing the covenant
This month was largely given UP to re-
li-ious meetings. chiefly for the study
of Gods Word.
At this time be gan under Ezra a new
era Of Bible study We must remem-
Der that at this time there was no print
ing and no cheap paper; that copies of
the law were scarce and expensive
Even in A. u. lee in England it took
Tie wages of laboring man for thir-
teen years to buy bible. Probably
there were few copies in existence even
before the destruction of the temple.
and many Of these may have been de-
stroved. Ezra renewed the study Of the
Bible. inaugurated class of scribes,
for copying and teaching the Law. and
synagogue meetings for reading it, lie
had the law copied. and doubtless mod
er-ized so as to be understood by the
people, as the English Of Shakespeare
is modernized in all our ordinary copies.
The inner life of the people is far
more important than outward defenses-
The real walls of a city are the charac-
l.,r. - snh Tho
walls of Jerusalem would last but q
brief time. unless the people themselves
were renewed Hence this series Of
meetings was as important "a the build
ing OF the walls. and the task 10 be ac-
curnplished by them much harder
Massachusetts minister of the olden
time once told his people that it was
easier for God to create a world than to
renew their hearts. for he had no oppo-
sition in the creating.
A Sunday School eth Oiden Tine
Vers. 1. 2. This chapter should begin
with the last clause of the last verse OF
the previous chapter: ''And when the
seventh month was come" etc
The occasion was the celebration of
the ncw-r1oon feast of the seventh
month tchap 1881. The beginning Of
every month was ushcred in q sacred
festival: but this. the commencement
If the seventh month. was kept with
distinguished honor as The fcas; OF
,rumpets" lev. 1924. Trurapets were
blown everywhere, unless the feast fell
On the sabbath They proclaimed a
day Of rejoicing. like our Christmas
bells: they were public acknowledge
meut Of Jehovah Is king. {. summons
for the people To range themselves
under Ills banner; they were q cali tn
repentance: Rouse yc, rouse ye from
your slumbcr: awake. awake. from
your sleep. you who mind vanity"
Its ncgsbcrs. ...All the people gathered
themselves together rs one man" They
came from all the surrounding coun-
try The numbers present have been
v-riouslv estimated at from twenty
Thousand 10 City Thousand. The con-
grcgation was made up Of ''rncn and
women. ard all that could hear with
understanding tvcr. q. l. q. parents
brought those of their children who
were old enough 10 understand. They
were eager u learn their duty. for they
asked Ezra to bring the book Of tie
Lew.
Tie Ls1Ger. ''They spa,Se unto Ezra
tho scribc:'' (Scc Lesson NII-l This i
lie Lrst ncEticn Of Lzr:. in the present
book. and the FIRST proof that we have
had that he was contemporary with
Nehemiah. /; seems impossible that he
should have been in Jerusalem during
Tie events narrated in Nch- 20. ARD
have played no part in ,hcia Probably
he returned u The court of irtaycrxcs
soon after cfIcr,ing the reforms which
he relates in Lzra 10. and did not re-
visit Jerusalem till about the time vhcr
the walls were completed lfhc had thus
jus. returned after an absence cf mors
than ten years. it would he natural fol
The people TO request him TO resume thu
work " exposition Of the law t. which
nc had accustomed them on his formc
visit See Ezra .:i0. al).
III. Ttr; Book. '-I'hc book Of TIT
iaw;' The common nainc ~ the tv'
books Of Moses. or the pcntatcuch