Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-11-05


fore him."-IIab. 2. 30
The lesson tells of the Temples dedi-
cation. 1t is found in /. Kings, 8: 54-63.
When fhe long task of building and dec
Grating the temple was completed, there
remained the important duty of trans
forming the stone and wood and precious
metals into a house of God. where he
could dwell. The dedication of building
so vast, 50 splendid, so significant in the
history of the people, could not but be
remarkable occasion. The vast assembly
that had met for the solemn dedlcatory
exercises must have filled the temple in
closure and have formed an imposing
spectacle. The priests brought the ark
from the tent on Mount Zion where it
had rested since the early part Of David's
reign. The other furnishings of the taber-
nacle. the holy vessels, the altar of burnt
offering and the other contents of the
ancient habitation of God, were brought
from Gideon and placed in the temple.
When the priests had put the ark. with
its sacred contents, in the holy of holes,
a cloud filed the whole house, that is. the
holy place as well as the holy of holes,
$50 that the priests could not stand to
minister because of the cloud, for the
the Lord" The address and prayer Of
Solomon, recorded in !. Kings, 8: 1903,
and in Ii. Chron., g: 1-42, should be care
fully studied and analysed. 1t seems
probable that this prayer as it appears in
the two books is from an ancient docu-
meni. dating perhaps from the time of
Solomon, though the prayer may have
been for time preserved by oral tradi-
h,f hai oil 70 nj
1t contains all the elements of true prayer
alteration. thanksgiving. confession,
petition. 1t presents conception of God
far in advance of that attributed by some
to the Solomonic age. Make an analysis
of il with view to discover a. the con-
ccp;ion of Gods beinG-as to extent of
power and knowledge; t2) the moral char
acter Of God as here presented-his rela-
tion to righteousness; CD the idea of
chosen people as here embodied, as COM
pared with that of the Mosaic age and of
the age of Isaiah. Comparing the results
with what we know of Solomon's times
from the contemporary history. decide
whether the theology of this prayer is 40
far in advance of Solomon's attainments
that we must attribute some of its phrases
To later century. This is n question
mot by guess work. Such study should
not he lightly undertaken, and will not of
course he suitable for younger classes;
hut for those who are beginning to think
seriously about the methods used by the
biblical writer's and prefer TO judge for
themselves when possible rather than ac-
cept without question the verdict OF
scholars on either side. the work will be
ifnl, 1o I .or inl oh m ha ON
il would involve the study of every book
in the Old Testament: and for that very
reason is good introduction to historical
study of the Bible.
Explanatory.
''From knecling on his knees with his
hands spread up to heaven this and
standing were the two attitudes used in
prayer in the Bible; lying PROSTATE on the
face expressed great humiliation. Sit
ting, with the hand over the eyes, would
have been regarded as an attitude of the
greatest disrespect.
''There hath not failed one word of all
his good promise:" Solomon might here
have rccounted. as Moses had done ac-
corling to the book Of Deuteronomy, the
many promises which had been fulfilled
all except the promise of a Messiah.
''As the matter shall require:" literally,
the thing of a day in its day. Daily pro-
vision for the needs of his people is Gods
promise; not merely a general providence,
but a continual and minute care.
THAT all the people of the earth may
know that the Lord is God:" whether
this refers 10 a conviction forced upon
m unwilling world by the manifestation
of Jehovah's power, or to a winning of
al 4 al.
Israel. Is the question. In either event it
is notable utterance.
LET your heart therefore be perfect:"
observing all the requirements of the
Lord, forgetting nothing.
'''rhe king and all Israel with him. a
sacrifice was followed by n feast; the
people therefore all participated both in
the act of Offering and in the consump-
ton of the flesh which remained.
''rhe king and all the children of Israel
dedicated the house of the Lord" it was
the act of all the people, though there had
been no special popular offering for the
building of the temple beyond the regu-
lar contributions. At a later time III.
Kings, II: ~ every one made free will
offering for repairs to the house of the
Lord.
Teaching Hints.
Bricks aud stone, stained glass and \
three-manual organ, do not make
church. any more than expensive furni-
ture makes home. The house must have
n house-mother and a house-father be-
fore it becomes home. The meeting
house must have the conservation afford
cd by the worship and service Of Chris
tian believers before it becomes a true
house of God. The formal dedication is
but the outward sign of sanctifying
that must come from the hearts of the
worshpers. Thanksgiving is the more
pointed, and therefore the more earnest
when particular blessings are recalled as
the fulillmcnt of particular promises.
This Is the reason that promise meet
ing" when heartily carried out. is one
Of the most helpful forms of Christian
conference. sa
In the colossal sacrifice that closed the
ceremonies. we can see nothing bcauti-
full. because .wd 'hasT passed beyond all
such forms of worship. The slaughter
of myriads of animals as n religious cere-
mony is foreign TO our ideas. but had its
place in the education of mankind To
teach men the awful nature of sin, and its
Inevitable connection with suffering, the
sacrifcial system common to many an
cient nations was chosen by God for
Israel. and by him regulated and restrain
cd. Human sacrifice is logically connect
ed with animal sacrifice and as a matter
of fact was practiced as a religious right
by several nations of the Semitic race:
but il was never permitted by God among
the Israeiites. The whole subject must
be studied historically and comparatively