The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1898-10-16
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON III. FouRTH QUARTER. INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES. OCT. 10.

Memory Verses, 0-11-GOlden Text, II
ChrOn. xxxiv, lS-COmmentary By the
Rev. ID. nj. steArns.
4. "And it came to pass after this that
Joash was minded to repair the house OF
the Lord. After the death Of Jehoshaphat,
who did right In the sight OF the Lord (II
Chron. xx, S2), the story is sad one Of
unbelIef and rebellion until Joash at the
age of and under the guidance Of Jehoiada
the priest began to do right In tho sight Of
the Lord oversees 1-Sl. 1t may have been
30 years or moro after the denth of Jehosha-
phat that the temple, SO long neglected,
began again to be honored. The neglect
of tho temple meant the neglect of God.
s. "Gather of all Israel money to repair
the house of your God from year to year
and see that ye hasten the matter" 1t is
interesting to note that the neglected
house of the Lord was a safe hiding place
for the child Joash for six years QI Kings
xi, 81. What a comment upon the disuse
of Gods dwelling place in the midst Of
Israel and their utter forgetfulness OF Godi
This compulsory attempt to raise the mon
ey for repairs Is very much like the way
most Christians act now, but 1t is not the
Lord way. The Leyite5 probably under
stood this and therefore were slow to obey
the kings command.
6. "The collection Of Moses. the servant
of tho Lord, and of the congregation Of
Israel for the tabernacle of witness" The
king called for Jehoiada and asked why
the Levites had not been required to bring
this in. The answer of Jehoiada is not
given. Prayer is more powerful than ar
gument and possibly priests and LeVites
gave themselves to prayer. In Ex. XXX, IL
16, there is the record Of the ransom or
atonement money which oyery man gaTe
when enrolled in the army of Israel, but
this money was used to build the taber-
naole (Ex. xxxviii, 25-2S). In Deut. xvi,
16, II, there is a record of an offering free
ly given when the people came to JerUsn
lem to worship the Lord, and this, think,
would be the proper Offering for the re-
pairs. Notice that this was brought to
the temple.
z. "The sons of Athaliah, that wicked
woman. had broken up tho house of God,
and also all tho dedicated things of the
house of the Lord did they bestow upon
Baalm." Is there any danger of our taking
things that belong to God and, like that
wicked woman and her sons, giving them
to Baal? Let Baal stand for all ether lords
except the Lord Jesus Christ; then if hon
our God other lords beside thee have had
dominion over u.s. lisa. XVI, 13). What
ever Is given to self or the world of that
which belongs to the Lord is like taking
from the Lord to give to BGal.
s. "They made n chest and set 1t with
out at the gate of the house of tho Lord. :"
In III Kings xii, =, it Is said to have been
placed beside the altar on the right side as
one cOmeth into the house of the Lord.
By comparing the two verses we see that
1t was done by .Jehoiada, the priest, at the
kings commandment The altar suggests
the sacrifice, Gods love to Us. the cost Of
our redemption, the lovo of Christ which
constraineth US to yield all we are and
have cheerfnlIy to Him. Giving is easy
when we consider Him who so loved us
that He gave Himself for u.s. What can
we give compared with His gift9
9. "And they made n proclamation
through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring
in to the Lord tho collection" This Is
wholly different from sending out the
priests to gather 1t (verse 81. This is the
Lords way, the other is man S way. When
the tabernacle was to be built, proclama-
tion was made that all who were willing
might bring their offerings, and the results
was that so much came in that Moses had
to command the people to stop bringing
(Ex. xxxv, 80; xxxvi, 8, y. It was the
Same willing spirit that provided for the
temple Il Chron. xxx, -. believe that
if people were taught tho privilege of Civ
ing because of Gods great gift to them
they would today give as freely as in tho
days of Moses and of David. l have seen
it and know it and have heard of the same
spirit in other parishes, where the efforts
to raiso money wero set aside and the peO-
pie permitted to give willingly.
10. And all the princes and all the
people rejoiced and brought in and cast
into the chest until they had made an
end" David prepared for the temple with
all his might. because he had set his afrec-
ton to the house of his God, and when the
people gave he said, Who am ], and what
is my people that we should be able to
offer so willingly after this sort, for all
things come of Thee and of Thine own have
we given Thee" Il Chron. xxx, 2, 3, 14).
! There is that scattoreth and yet increaseth.
Every man, according as he purposeth in
his heart, SO let him give-not grudging-
ly or Of necessity, for God lovcth cheer
full giver "a hilarious giver) prov. xi,
"a; II Cor. tx, y.
IL. "Thus they did day by day and
gathered money in abundance. When the
chest was full, they counted it and put it
up In bags and put the chest in its place
again. Compare II Kings xii, 10. 1t was
SO easy to thus gather it. No one was
asked to give. All gave as they were led.
and no one IL Jw but the Lord who gave
much or little. Doubtless then, as when
long afterward He sat over against the
treasury, many who were poor gave more
in proportion than some of the rich. In
the day OF the rewards each one shall be
recompensed according to his works (Rev
xii, 12), and He who reads the heart will
reward righteously.
IL. "And the king aud Jehoiada gave it
to such as did the work of the service of
the house of the Lord. " The money is first
provided, and then the work is carried on.
When the Lord would send His servants,
Joseph and Mary, down to Egypt, He first
provided tho gold that was necessary
through the wise men who came from the