The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-10-18
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR OCTOBER ~.


I. The foundation Of the temple laid
Tvs. 1913. 10. "The builders" Jes-
hua and Zerubbabel as managers, with
the people as workmen. The people
did all they could during the winter in
making preparations for building the
temple, for great labor must have been
required in clearing the ground for the
foundation as we'll as in providing ma
terials. In a little more than year
after they left Babylon, Zerubbabel
and Joshua having appointed the
priests and the Levites to attend to
their courses, laid the foundation.
The Joshua of verse 9 is not the high
prizes: of verse 2, but another-a Levite
mentioned in chapter 2:40. priests
in their apparel" The elegant and
beautiful official robes used by the
priests in their celebrations, especially
the blue and scarlet and purple robes
with gold and gems of the high priests
and others, described in Exodus 39.
Priesthood was an ordinance peculiar
to Israel with trumpets." For sum-
moning assemblies and joyful an
nouncements. ''The Levites." God
chose the, descendants of Levi for the
service of His tabernacle and temple.
In the wilderness they encamped
around it as guardians, and in moving
conveyed it from place to place. =
II. "They sang together by course"
Sang alternately, or responstvely; one
party saying, 1.-THE Lord is good" and
the other responding, For His mercy
endureth forever" "All the people
shouted" "Those who had known
only the misery of having no temple
at all praised the Lord with shouts Of
joy when they saw. the foundation
laid, for to. them this was as life from
the dead" II. "Many-ancient men
wept." To them it was the day Of
small things (Zech. 4:1O- The new
house. in comparison with the old one,
was las nothing" (Hag. 2:3). The
temple would not be overlaid with
gold, as Solomon's, nor surrounded
with such magnificent buildings. The
ark, the tables, the mercy seat We're
lost. No visible glory would appear in
the holy place. There we're no an
swers by Urim and Thummim. There
was no fire from heaven. 13. "Could
not discern" This mixture> Of sorrow
and joy is a representation Of this
world; some are bathing in rivers OF
Joy, while others are drowned in
foods Of tears.
II. A tempting offer Tvs. 1, p. /.
1.-THE adversaries." These were the
Samaritans and different nations with
which the kings Of Assyria had peo-
pied the land of Israel when they had
;oI soin ir1h O n
into captivity. See verse 9. Doubt
less they were envious Of the favor
shown them by Cyrus, the king of
Persia. The worst enemies judah and
BENJAMIN had were those that said
they were Jews and were not (Rev:
3:9). ~
2. "Let us build with you" This
people no doubt were desirous Of par
taking of the privileges granted to the
Jews by the king Of Persia. Hearing
that the temple was being built they
were aware that it would be a fatal
blow to their superstition, and there
fore they set themselves to oppose 1t.
But as they had not power to do 1t
openly and by force they endeavored
to do it secretly and by cunning. They
offered their services, that by this they
might pry into their counsels, find
some matter of accusation against
them, and thereby retard the work
while they pretended to further it.
1--WE seek your God" The religion of
the Samaritans was mixture Of idol
airy, superstition and ignorance; far
worse at this time than it was when
our Lord Himself declared that they
knew not what they worshiped. The
Samaritans were neither Israelites by
birth, nor yet true proslytes. "Since
the days of Esar-haddon." King of
Assyria and Babylon. He is the only
Assyrlan king who reigned at Babylon.
History tells us that he took a large
number of people from Palestine to
dwell in Babylon, and placed a large
number Of Babylonians in Palestine in
their place. Those Assyrian settlers
intermarried with the remnant OF
Israelite women, and their descend
ants, a mongrel race, went under the
name of Samaritans.
III. A positive reply ". 81. 8. "Ye
have nothing to do with u.s." We can.
not acknowledge you as worshipers OF
the true God, and cannot participate
with you in anything that relates to
His worship. No compromise meas
ures could be considered. Zerubbabel
and his associates saw that to enter
into an alliance with these semi-heath-
en- would mean the breaking down OF
the Jewish institutions and relapse
into idolatry. "We-will build" Thus
was q great peril averted. They
saved a nation, for the time, at any
rate, from the danger Of having their
religion corrupted and adulterated by
intermiXture with form of, belief and
practice which was altogether of an
! inferior type. =
w. The work delayed Tvs. 4, 81. 4.
weakened the hands" This opposi.
ton is supposed to have begun soon
after the foundation was laid. During
the remainder of the reign Of Cyrus
about five years, they did not openly
oppose a work he had commanded, but
discouraged the people and perhaps in.
tercepted their materials for building,
and by bribing counseiors to oppose
their application to the ministers OF
CYRUS for supplies or protection they
greatly ebstructed the design. This
would be more easily done, rs 1t Is
probable that Daniel died about this
time dan. G:25-2SJ.
5. Until the reign of Darius" This
king began to reign 3. c. 522. Peru,is.
sion was given. TO complete the build
ing in 8. c. $40.
Mustache Moro Than Yard Long.
be-, ,ix,t,