The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1906-01-06

N~AoSAJ 40 AC ctSS " De DeSl. Inc
sons of Levi" The ministers O. re-
ligion.
.. He now enumerates some of the
sins from which the people must be
cleansed.
6. For l Am the Lord" Jehovah,
the self existing, eternal being, as the
very name implies. Il change not"
etc. I will keep my covenant with my
people, and therefore will refine and
save them. They shall not be utterly
destroyed They may be assured that
the troubles God suffers to come upon
them are a purifying, not a destroying,
process, as in the case of hardened
sinners.
The Second Condition of Enjoying
the Better Times-A Return to the
Sincere Service of God.-vs. TIP. Put
ting away sin is never enough. The
mere cutting off one bad habit or an
otter, although essential, never by it.
self makes a good community or a
good man.
z. Even from the days of your
fathers" Through all their past his
tory there had been tendency to turn
away from mine ordinances" the re-
ligious service Of God, and the worship
represented by the temple and its serv-
ices. Return unto me-" To my serv-
ice, to my law, to my love. wherein
shall we return?" They did not real
ize how far away they were. Their
conscience had become dulled. Then
follows his answer by another quesl
tion, spoken in establishment and in
dignation.
s. Wherein have we robbed thee?
In tithes and offerings" The tithes
were a tenth part of their income and
increase of property orchards, vine
yards, cattle. These corresponded to
our taxes for the poor, for education
and for the support of ministers and
churches (Lev. 27:30-33; Deut. 14:2S,
29).
8. "Ye are cursed with curse"
(See Deut. 2S.) They had expected to
gain for themselves by so much as
they withheld from God The arith-
metic was plain, IF l add to my store
the grain, instead of carrying 1t to the
temple storehouse, | must have so
much more wealth for myself" But
they left God out of the calculation,
and, in fact, they were poorer instead
of richer. They lost Gods favor; they
lost his presence and blessing; a curse
rested upon them for the promised
tithes which they had withheld. From
v. 10 we learn that drought was upon
the land; from V. IL that the locust
had destroyed their crops and the
mildew their fruits. A similar expert
ence befell the nation in Joel's time,
and for the same reasons (Joel la, s.
12).
10. Bring ye all the tithes into the
storehouse." The chambers which sur
rounded the temple on three sides.
These had been so empty that in Nehe-
miah's absence one of them had been
fitted up for the abode of the heather
Tobiah (Neh. 1898; 1859, IL, 13).
"And prove me-" Even if you are poor
and may have to deny yourselves, put
me to the test, and see if my way is
not better than yours. Yours at the
best has been a failure. If you have
doubts as to my way, you can easily
solve them by the test of fact. IF
Will not open you the windows of
heaven" "a poetical and proverbial
expression, signifying a great Down
pouring which is fancifully ascribed to
the opening of windows in the sky
| (Gen. I'll; Kings 7:2) u. E. Todd.
f, Pour you out" Empty out as il
God meant that he would empty forth
his vast reservoir of blessings -
! Cowles. There is evidently allusion to
copious rain; and the choice of mag
cry plainly implies that the land had
been suffering from a severe drought !"
Todd.
IL. Il will rebuke." Warn off, pre-
vent from coming. "The devourer. I"
Literally, eater; that is, any insect,
especially the locust, that would de-
your the fruits OF the Plump
tire. God in many ways can control
these pests.
12. "All nations shall call you bless
ed" Happy. So great will be your
prosperity and happiness that the fame
thereof will extend to all nations, as in
Solomons time. "A delightsome land I"
A lovely place to live in, a paradise.
The Heart of the Lesson.
The principles which Malachi ap-
piled to the Jews twenty-three cen
turies ago apply to us to-day. God
sends the same message to us as indi-
viduals, as families and as nations.
There is no other way than those de-
scribed here to true success and pros
| perity.
Be purified from all dross of sin, as
gold is purified by the fire. Accept OF
all discipline, of all failures, of all out
ward evils as means Of refining from
all sins and wrongs Of every kind
Keep up to its highest degree inter
est in religious things; in the Sabbath
as Gods 1.-THE of our time, in church
buildings and services as the best and
worthiest things in any community, in
all things that pertain to the Sunday
school and religious education. in mis-
sions of all kinds, home and foreign. in