Virginia gazette. [volume] (Williamsburg, Va.) 1893-192?, 1905-10-21
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR OCTOBER n.
subjects Rebuilding the Temple. Errs
fii.. 10 80 ~. 5-Goid.a Text. 4. Cor.
III, is-w-mory Verses. 10. it-Cosn-
tnentsry On the Days Lesson


did all they could during the winter in /
making preparations Tor building the |
temple. for great labor must have been /
required In clearing the ground FOR the /
| fOun1at ton as well "a In providing MAJ /
/ terials In little more than year I
after they left Babylon. Zerubbabel /
and Joshua having appointed the |
priests and the Levites 20 attend 90 /
/ their courses laid the foundation.
| The Joshua OF verse . is not the high !
prizes OF verse ,. but anothcr-a Levite !
Y mentioned I'm chapter 80. Priests /
i I'm their apparel" The elegant and /
I beautiful official robes used by the
priests an their celebrations. especially
the blue and scarlet and purple robes
with gold and gems CT the high priests
and others, described in Exodus 80.
Priesthood was an ordinance peculiar
To- Israel with trumpcts" For sum-
moning assemblies and joyful an
nouncements. The Levues." God
/ chose the descendants OF Levi for the
| service OF His tabernacle and temple.
In the wilderness they eacamped
! around IL as guardians. and I'm moving
conveyed &c from place 90 place.
I II. They sang together by course
I Sang alternately. or rCsDOnsi vcly. one
par;y saying. The Lord is good" and
he other responding. For His mercy
] y
shouted" Those who had known
only the misery OF having no temple
az an praised the Lord with shouts OF
Joy when they saw the foundation
laid for 20 them this was IS life from
the dead" u. Many men
went" To them it was the day OF
small things (Zech. 4.1O. The new
house. in comparison with the old one.
was las nothing CHae 2,3l. The
temple would not be overiaic with
gold as Soiomon's. nor surrounded
with such magnificent buildings. The
ark. the tables. the mercy seat were
lost so visible glory would appear i'm
che holy place. There We're no au-
swers by Trim and Thummim. There
was no fire from heaven. 13. Could
not discern" This mixture OF sorrow
and Joy is q representation ~ this
world. some are bathing iu rivers OF
Joy. while others are drowned in
Foods OF tears.
H. a tempting offer t~s. 7. % I.
"Ihe advcrsarieS" These were the
Samaritans and different nations with
which the kings OF As~yria had peo-
Piled the land OF Israel when they had
carried the original inhabitants away
, into captivity. See verse O. Doubt
less they were cnvious OF the favor
/ shown them 10y Cyrus the king OF
Persia. The worst enemies Judah and
Benjamin had were those that said
they were Jews and We're not Qtev.
3.9l.
p Let us build with YOU" This
, people no doubt were DESTROYS OF par
taking OF the privileges granted 90 the
Jews by the king OF Persia. Hearing
that the temple was being built they
were aware that it would be a fatal
blow 20 their superstition and there
g / fore they set themselves 10 oppose it.
But as they had not power To Go lt
openly and by force they endeavo-cd
Co DO 10 secretly and 10y cunning. They
p offered their services. that hy this they
5 might pry into their counsels. lind
, some matter of accusation against
them. ana thereby retard the work
while they pretended 10 further a.
"Wc seek your God The religion of
the SamarItans was q mixture OF idol
/ airy. superstition and ignorance. fai
z worse at this time than it was when
L our Lord Himself declared that they
knew not what they worshipei Th,
b Samaritans were neither Israelltes by
. birth. nor yet true prosiytes "Sinc,
the days OF Esar-haddOn." King of
ASSyra and Babylon He is the Ouly
Assyrian king who reicned at Babylon
History tells us that he took larg,
number OF people from Palestine {,
dwell in Babylon. and placed a largl
o number OF BabylOnians i'm Palestine II
$ thcir place. Those ASSyrian settler
y intermarrled with tl remnant o
4 I-raelite womeE and their descend
e. ants. mOngreI race. went under III
q name o. Samaritans.
., III. \ positive reply ". 81. s. "Y
= have nothing 20 do with US" We can
- not acknowledge you as wOrshiperS O
the true God. and cannot participat
with yOU in anything that relates Z
IL ! His worship. No compromise meas
urcs could be considered Zcrubbab,
and his associates saw that % ente
into an alliance with these semi-heatl
on would mean the breaking down q
a. the Jewish institutions and a relaps
into idOlatry. "We-will build" Thu
ID was great peril ayerted. The
" / saved q nation FOR the time. az an
] rate. from the danger OF having the
~ religion corrupted and adulterated b
- iltermixture with form OF belief an
practice which was altogether OF 4
inferior type.
CT ~. The work delayed Tvs. 4. -.
r. Weakened the hands" This OppOs
Us ton is supposed to have begun 500
II after the foundation was laid. Durin
ut the remainder OF the reign OF Cyru
TO about ave years. they did NOT Openl
% oppose work he had commanded. Ia
oi-coura ged the people and perhaps Il
tcrcepted their materials for building
ne and by briblng cOunselOrs TO Opp0s
as their application 10 the ministers
Cyrus for supplies or protection the
St greatly ObStructed the design. Tn
Of would be more easily done. as IL
IN probable that Daniel died about III
n time dan. 6:2J-2S).