Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-07-09
rHe SUNDAY scHooL.
international Lesson for July 10. 1896
The Ark Brought 20 Jerusalem-2 Sam
ueI 6:I-I2.
ARRANGED from Peloubet's Notes.l


ARRANGED from Peloubets Nctes.l
GOLDEN TEXT. 30 Lord of hosts.
blessed is the man that trusteth in Thee.
| -Psa s4:12.
THE SECTION includes simply the in
cfdent of the text, together with what
David did for the development OF the re-
/ ligious services of the nation. The parallel
passage is ] Chroil Is, IS, 1G The psalm
/ Chron. 1886 which David gave 70 be sung
on the occasion, reappeSrs-Ns. S-22 in
Psalm fQ5: 1-15, and Us, 1888 in Psalm So
/ the concluding verses In Psalm 1861, =,
IS Psalm q surg as the ark entered
/ the city Psalm l22 expresses Davia's d =
sire for a place of worship. / Chronicles
23.5 and 25:1-7 describe the organization OF
/ the service OF song
TIAIIs.-B. c. I042, six or seven years after
/ DaviG became king over all Israel.
PLAGE.-The ark was brought TO Jernsa-
/ lem from Nir5ath- jear5gl, II miles west Of
that city in the valley OF sorek. winch leads
LESSON NOTES
|. The Ark at Kirjath-je arim.-For
10 years the ark, the central point Of re-
/ ligious worship had lain in partial neg
leet. away from the Mosaic tabernacle
at Shiloh. TIE sons OF Eli had carried
the ark from Shiloh into battle against
the Philistines. The Piilistines cap
tured it, but were not allowed to retain
it. 1t was finally sent up the Sorek val
ley as far as Kirjath- jearim, where it
had remained ever since. The neglect
of the ark and its separation from its
place in the tabernacle at Shiloh, with
one high priest following Saul and an
other David, shows to what low and
divided state religion had fallen in
Israel under Saul.
IL. The Ark on the Way to Zion.-Vs.
Is. After consultation with his leaders,
David gathered together 10000 chosen
men, representatives of the whole peo-
pie. They came as far as from Shihor,
so miles south of GAIA, and from Hemath
in Lebanon. $50 miles north of Jerusa-
lem. The restoration was national act,
and served to bring the people Of all the
| tribes closer to each other than ever be-
fore. "Baale" in the tent is an ancient
name for rjath-jearim
And they set the ark of God upon a
new Cart" probably from a remem-
brance of the way it was brought from
the Philistines; but it should be remem-
J bered that these Philistines could have
had no knowledge of the law "And
David and all the house of Israel played
before the Lord on all manner Of instru-
ments." Observe that in this catalogue
of instruments there were some which
only the skilled performers could play
on, such as the harp and lutte; while
others could be used by any willing
hand; so that David's exhortation could
be carried out: "Let all the people
praise Thee"
We come now to the study of the sin
of Uzzah. The roads in Palestine are
very rough, being mostly only paths for
walking, or riding on the back of an
animal. The ark was on the point of
being thrown off the cart. Uzzah put
forth his hand to steady it and keep il
from falling. "And God smote him
there" The error consisted in touch
ing the ark, which. as the symbol of
Gods presence q Sam. 4:17), none
could look at (Num. APO; Sam. 6 19).
much less lay hold of, without peril of
life. The reasons for the severity of
the punishment were t1) that it grew
nut of procedure which was in direct
violation of an express statute. David
and those in care of the ark should have
known this law. 60 Possibly Uzzah's
long familiarity with the ark had bred
carelessness and irreverence for the
sacred symbol. CD Uzzah stood in q
representative position. What he did
was public, in the sight Of all the peo-
pie. II was needful at the outset to
prove to the people the. necessity Of eM-
act obedience, and hence of careful
study of Gods law '.And David v rs
afraid of the Lord that day" lie Lad
rejoiced greatly in his zeal, but hid not
| been reverent enough. 1t was well for
him to be afraid for a time.
1t is not uncommon. even in ouro own
day, to do good things in bad way,
and right things in wrong way.
III. The Ark in the House of Obed-
edom.-Vs. 10, IL. $50 David would not
remove the ark of the Lord" He feared
lest he might make some other mistake,
and that it would be best first to learn
all about duty. He therefore carried it
into the house of Obed-edom. And the
Lord blessed Obed-edom, and all his
households" This would show to all
Israel that the ark itself brought bless
ing, not death. The death came from
disobedience, not from the ark.
". The Ark on Mount Ziou.-V. 10.
"And it was told King David ETC.: The
fact that God blessed the place where
the ark was, impressed David with the
truth that, while it was dangerous to
disobey God, yet it was the greatest
blessing possible to have near him the
ark of God, and His manifest presence.
So David assembled the tribes once
more, the most eminent priests, the
flower of the army, the princes and dig
nitaries, and brought up the ark OF
God from the house of Obed-edom into
the city of David with gladness." A
fuller description of this festival pre-
aession is given in Chronicles, chap
ters - and 16. 1t was the greatest day
Of David's life Its significance in his
| rareer is marked by his own preemi-