The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-12-05

the house Of the forest of Lebanon. Hav-
Ing effected league with Hiram. King
of Tyre. he was able to secure the latter'T
ASSISTANCE IN providing the necessary ma
terial. Thirty thousand men in three sec
lions were sent into the forest to prepare
timber. which was floated down by sea
and then carried across the country. The
prodigious undertaking was completed in
loOa, or ten years after his fathers death.
The holy vessels provided by David were
carried Into the temple. q Kings vii. 6l)
Then came the dedication.
ASSEMBLY-(VeTses and q As noted
In the lesson pertaining to the beginning
OF So!omon's reign, SO here the people
were invited to participate in the exer-
cises consecrating the Lords house; This
was in full harmony with the spirit Of
Israeli monarchy and theocracy resting
on the popular favor. although established
by divine decree. The elders of Israel,
recognizing the patriarchal element GIx.
", 80, the heads of tribes, representing
the federation principle Numb. xiii. p,
and the chief Of the fathers. those who
had rank and honor, these all came to-
gether at Jerusalem upon the summons
Of the King. large and imposing assem-
bly,: To them was assigned the privilege
of bringing the ark of the covenant from
where David had deposited it thirty years
before. OH Sam. vi, I'D That ark had
been four centuries in possession of Is
rael, the most sacred thing among them,
because of what 1t represented, the very
center Of the nations hopes,
REMoVALa-.Verses and ~ There
was prescribed manner of handling
sacred things, and II any other manner
were adopted certain death would be Wis
tied upon the transgressor. All this was
arranged in the Mosaic statutes. The sons
Of Kohath only were permitted to bear
the ark. (Numb. ~, 15) 1t will be re-
membered that for failure to observe the
regulations in David's. time some, lost
f1nfn n VI g
fore. probable that on the occasion men
toned In our last lesson the removal was
conducted with utmost regard to all de,
tailed regulations. The priests came and
lifted the sacred chest and bore 1t on. fol-
lowed by the elders and others who had
been called to sanction and witness the
ceremony. The procession advanced from
Mount Zion. the western elevation. called
'the City of David" where David had
his residence, across slight depression,
to the eastern elevation, called Mount
Moriah, on which Solomon's temple stood.
The distance was not great. Well-pre-
pared streets there were along which the
passage was effected. 1t was virtually
transfer from one part of Jerusalem to
another.
OFFERINGS-Verses and 6.) In this
act of removing the ark Solomon had the
example Of his father to guide him. It IS
evident that he made himself familiar
with what occurred when the removal
was made from the house Of Obed-edom.
As on that occasion David sacrificed Oh
Sam. vi. 13 oxen and fatlings. so Solomon
did in like manner when the transfer was
made from Mount Zion to the temple on
Mount Moriah. Only in the latter case
the offerings were more numerous-the
number of animals could not be told.
The greater the number the more Impress
i've was the ceremony. There were differ
ent kinds Of offerings. Some Of them were
self-dedicatory. designed as an act of con-
secration, some were eucharistic, COM
tanning an expression of thanksgiv-
ing; and some were expiatory, hav-
ing the quality of making atonement
for sin. QIeb. tx, 22.) 1t Is probable that
all kinds of offerings were made that day
and that men sought forgiveness, gave
themselves to God, and, withal, were
thankful for the blessings granted to the
nation.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES 6. Z, 81 The ark