Evening star., 1915-02-20

fought because they believed thai
taxation without representation was
tyranny. and they defeated the armies
that tried to force the colonies to pay
tribute. Israel had rallied her forces
10 meet the invaders who sought to
compel them TO pay tribute to the
Philistines without success.
During the darkest hours of the
revolutionary war Washington was
overheard praying near his headquar-
ters at Valley Forge for divine guild
ance and power The loss of the 1000
men brought the elders of Israel face
to face with the fact that in their
campaign they had neglected to he
hovah. for they had not been directed
by Samuel. as many might think from
the opening statement of the lesson,
whlch belongs to the lesson of last
week. 1or II was included in this chap
ter by an error of the scholar who di-
vided the Bible into chapters and
verses The aged Eli had not been
consulted nor. so far as the record
SHOWS, mad they sought to know the
VIII of the Lord, because as a people
they were far from God in character
ana ME The elders passed over their
own failure and tried, as most men
DO even today. to place the blame upon
the Lord when things go wrong with
thelr plans and programs because of
their immoral condition and char
acter. In their efforts to turn the tide
or the battle into a triumphant victory
the elders advised that the ark of God
be brought up from Shiloh and be car
RED in the line of battle, so as to Sc
cure success through the presence and
power of Jehovah.
The Ark in Battle.
This was the first time that the He
brews had resorted to such means to
win victory by the force of arms.
The use of the most important and
sacred object that the world has ever
seen as a leader in battle shows the
yielding Influences of idolatry in the
ire OF Israel Other people carried the
images of their gods into battle. nos
sioiy to secure their help or to rally
their forces around their standard, as
We seek to rally our men around the
nag or the republic.
The ark was the most significant and
original object of religious furniture
that the Hebrews possessed. II was a
chest made of acacia wood and con-
famed the two tables of the covenant,
from whence il was called the ARK
of the Covenant" 1t also contained the
tables of the law. from whence it was
called the ARK of the Testimony 1t
was something over four feet long and
about three feet wide and three feet
high. overlaid with gold with ring of
molding around the top. At each cor
ner near the top were gold rings for
the slaves that were used in carving
it The most important part was the
lid. or cover, upon which rested the
mercy seat. a solid gold plate, with two
gold cherubim or figures of angels at
each end, between which figures the
glory of the Lord rested.
The elders proposition was popular
one. although they had no authority or
right to bring the ark from Shiloh
without the consent of Eli, the high
priest. but they had no difficulty in
securing the cooperation of the two
sons of Eli, Tophni and Phineas, who
had no scruples in doing anything
contrary to the will of God if it met
with popular approval This visible
symbol of Gods presence with His peo-
pie would not bring them divine power
unless they came before God seeking
forgiveness for their iniquity and par
don for their sin.
The welcome that the ark received
showed how Israel. contaminated by
the people around them, and the i'm
morality of the two sons of Eli, had
become idolaters, for they made their
faith in the symbol of His presence to
be faith in Him and His power. Their
superstitious and irreverent use of the
symbol of His presence proves that
their religion was formal without any
spiritual vitality. They did not wor-
ship Jehovah as spiritual people
ought to worship a loving and living
God Their shout of welcome made the
earth tremble because they thought
that they had forced God upon their
side by bringing the ark into the bat
tle. and victory certainly would be
theirs
The mighty shout of Israel filed the
Philistines for time with fear. The
preseuce of the ark, when they learned