Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1896-07-15
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
International Lessea for July 10. ieee-
The Ark Bronghs 90 JerasAiem-s sam.


GOLDEN TENT. - o Lord OF hosts
blessed Is the man that trusteth in Thee
/ -Psa. A:i2
THE SECTION includes simply the In.
| cioent OF the text. together with what
| David did for tho development OF the re-
hgious services OF the nation. The parallel
passage is Chron- Is Is. l6 The psalm
| Chron. 1916. which David gave to be sung
| Psalm los; Ills. and VS.. e3-2s I'm Psalm Sc:
the concluding verses I'm Psalm 1854. a.,
fS Psalm "a sung as the ark entered
the city Psalm 1S2 expresses David's de-
| sire Tor place or worship. i Chroniclee
1855 and 25:i-7 describe the organization of
the service OF song.
TIME.-B c. 1862 six or seven years after
| David became king over all Israel.
| PLACE.-The ark was brought to Jerusa-
lem from kirjath-jearim, IL miles west OF
| that city In the valley OF Sorek which leads
up from the Philistine country toward
LESSON NorEa
1. The Ark ut Kirjath- jearim.-Fo
40 years the ark, the central point of re-
Hgious worship, had lain in partial neg.
lect, away from the Mosaic tabernacle
at Shiloh. The sons OF Eli had carried
the ark from Shiloh into battle against
the Philistines. The Philistines cap.
tured II, but were not allowed TO retain
IT. Ii was finally sent up the Sorek val
ley as far as Kirjath-jearim. where Il
had remained ever since. The neglect
of the ark and its separation from its
place I'm 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.
III. The Ark on the Way TO Zion.-vs.
is. After consultation with his leaders.
| David nm IA, 90
men, representatives of the whole PEG.
pie. They came as far as from Shihor,
so miles south of GAIA, and from Hemath
in Lebanon, $50 miles north of Jerusn-
lem. The restoration was a 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 Kirjath-iearim.
And they set the nrk Of God upon
new cart:" probably from remem.
brance of the way IL was brought from
the Philistines; but il should he remem-
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. Tho 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 IL and keep Il
from falling. "And God smote him
there" The error consisted in touch
ing the ark, which, ms the symbol OF
Gods presence q Sam. i:1O, none
could look ut (Num. ago; Sam. GID.
much less lay hold OF, without peril of
life. The reasons for the severity of
the punishment were % that it grew
out of n procedure which was i'm direct
violation of an express statute. David
and those in care of the ark should have
known this law. (2) Possibly Uzzah's
long familiarity with the ark had bred
carelessness and irreverence for the
sacred symbol. (3) Uzzah stood in "a
representative position. What he did
was public, in the sight of all the peo-
pie. 1t was needful at the outset to
prove To the people the necessity of ex.
act obedience, and hence of careful
study OF Gods law. "And David was
afraid of the Lord that day" He had
rcjoiced greatly In his zeal, but had not
been reverent enough. II was well for
him to be afraid for time.
1t is not uncommon, even in our ow;i
day, to do good things in bad way,
and right things in awrong way.
III. The Ark in the House OF Obed-
edom.-Vs. 10, II. $50 David would not
remove the ark of the Lord" He feared
lest he might make some other mistak ?.
and that il would be best first to learn
all about duty. He therefore carried il
into the house OF Obed-edom "And the
Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his
household" 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 Zion.-V. 12.
And it was told King David" etc: The
fact that God blessed the place where
the ark was, Dressed David with the
truth that, wfhle IL was dangerous TO
disobey God, yet IL was the greatest
blessing possible 20 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-cdom into
the city Of David with gladncss." a
fuller description Of this festival pre-
cession is given in Chronicles, chap
ters Is and 1G. II was the greatest day
NJ David's life It's significance in his
career is marked by his own precmi-
nent position-conqueror poet. mu-
stefan, priest in one. IL was felt 10 he
turning point in the history Of the
nation. Stanley says that David was
on that day the founder, not Of freedom
only, but Of empire; not Of religion
only, but OF church and common
wealth.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.
We need TO be taught lesson Of rev
erence.. There il such thing as godly