The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1915-05-28
LESSON FOR MAY 80
sRINos Ark 70 JERvsALEM

- f.
LESsoN TExr-u Samuel S:l,-ls ana
Psalm n. (study all Of chapter 81
GOLDEN TEXT WA glad when they
said unto me.>Let us go unto the
Of the Lord.-Psalm I'LL
This event probably occurred B. G.
1043, In the twenty-second rear OF
David's reign. II would be r good
plan to assign TO various pupils such
subjects as: I'd What the ark was
and how it. came to be lost; (b)
Where It had been since the days OF
Joshua: (c) What occurred to It while
In possession OF the Philistines; (d)i
Who was Obed-edom? te) Ussiah? (fl
Michal? CD How Jerusalem came to
be the seat Of government.
l.. The Ark Recovered, w. is. David
realized that while God was the
God Of ell the tribes. sstill there was
no visible religious center: there was
the consequent danger Of confound-
ing the local place OF worship with
that of some local Baal (god) and the
possible breaking up Of the national
reliance upon Jehovah. Where Kir-
jath-jearim was Is not definitely
known, but perhaps 1t was eight or
ten miles west Of Jerusalem. The ark
had lodged here for perhaps seventy
years. David and they that were with
him followed the example of the Phil
istines Il Sam. 6:1-18) in their mode
OF transferring the ark rather than to
have it carried upon the shoulders OF
the priests Gosh. $3.50. Preceded by
David and the house Of Israel" 1. e..
leaders Of the people and all others
present, they began the return jour-
ney from the house Of Abinadab.
u. The Ark Retarded, w. eli.
They had reached one of the open
places used as a threshing floor when
the oxen slipped and the a r was
shaken. Uzziah, one of the two into
whose charge 1t had been placed. laid
hold Of the ark to keep 1t from fall
ing. Why was he slain therefore? We
have already suggested the reason.
How to carry the ark was plainly writ
ten (Num. 4:5-12; 7:9). Neglect OF
Gods. word gets many w~ellmeaning
people into trouble, along with their
friends, also. The ark was the sym
boil of Gods presence, and men had
to be taught to revere his holy name
and his glorious presence (see last
clause ". p. Uzziah's sin was the sin
Of irreverence. He seems not to
have sensed the invisible God in his
visible abode. The result struck ter
ror into the heart Of David and Tho
people, and the ark was left In the
| house of Obed of Edom for q period
of three months. David's improved
n1m-sp ~~oxynA fna1v,~o
~. The Ark Restored, w. 9-19.
David. by thus abandoning the ark.
seems to have resented the judgment
Of God, yet he must have realized
that God had sufficient cause for his
acts. The ark is a type of Christ.
who is Emmanuel. God with US. The
ark contained the law Of God, as
Christ enshrined the will of his Fa-
Their. Over the law was the blood
sprinkled mercy seal where God met
his people Eek. 25:1S-22). In Christ
we find our mercy seat where we
meet God. Though this ark brought
judgment to Uzziah it brought bless
ing t o Obed-edom ". 12). Even so
Christ brings judgment or joy accord
ing to our treatment of him. Obed-
edom so piously cared for the ark that
both he and his household were rich
ly blessed. If Christ is really in our
hearts we will be blessed, and Christ
abideth forever. 1t has been suggest
ed that Obed-edom was only a heather
by descent, a Gittite ". II. e chap
ter 1919. but he welcomed the pres
ence of God In his home. The hap
pehings in his house were quickly
noised abroad. and soon David's fear
and pique gave way to soy" ". IL
R. W. for this time David brought
up the ark into the city of Jerusalem
in the God-appointed way, accom-.
panied by sacrifices and dancing. This
dancing was not of a kind to find fault
with, MOI was it merely a demonstra'
ton designed to attract attention. To
say that the presence of God, or OF
the Holy Spirit. depends upon some
sort Of physical emotion, holy jump
Ing, frances, and the like, is untrue
for it is not in accord with the teach
ing of. the Bible. Note this dancing
was before the Lord" Most modern
dances seem to be advanced by Satan
as the results SO well demonstrate
Whenever any emotion is evidenced
in connection with religion. someon
is ready tt raise an objection. In
this case the objection came from
David's own household. Michal evi
denced her fathers disposition o
: churlishness, and in her reproach o
David evidently forgot Saul's lack o
!, dignity when he lay naked amons tn
prophets Il Samuel 1920.
w. The Psalm Of Praise, Ps. "a
In the Jewish synagogue this psalm
. is recited at the carrying back Of tn
book of the law to it's shrine, and il
the Greek church at the consecratio
: of the church. The twenty-secon'
psalm presents the suffering Savior
!. the t~wenty1third presents the rise
Savior as the shepherd caring for an
leading his sheep, and the twenty
fourth tells of the reigning, glorifie
Lord. The whole earth is Jehovah
". u and no incident better teache
s the converse. VIZ, that he is o O
. the earth and not a mere tribal deity
He founded and Established" !
and all the fullness," and they tina