The Raymer enterprise., 1915-11-04


siS B. C.. and ii follows within a few
years last Sundays lesson. Inaugu.
rated as king and instructed by a
faithful priest. yet Joash discovered
great lethargy on the part OF the
prlestly class with regard to the house
Of God. He set himself to arouse great
liberality and to repair the temple.
t. .letharsy. v. q. 8. III Its cause.
We should read in this connection II
Chron. "a. From .he two accounts
and the previous history OF the ma.
ton we conclude that the condition
oil the temple was due, ta) to the
weak and frequently vicious charac-
ters OF the rulers of the nation. fbl
10 the evil companions of both princes
and priests and tcI to the cupidity of
court and curate, l2J The result of
this lethargy regarding God S cause
was evidenced tal upon the temple,
and ibl upon the lives of the people
Of the kingdom. (3l The cure. Joash
instituted great reforms in Judah and
in these Jehoiada the priest ". y had
no small part In this particular les
son the prince w. y seems to lead
the priest. Unfortunately the godly
priest did not long survive the crown.
ing OF Joash and hence when he came
under other influences he soon went
back to the evil practices OF his prede-
cessofs and his reign ended in an
eclipse of evil I'll Chron. 24:15-26).
In this lesson we have. however. a
suggestion OF what is needed to cure
religious lethargy tal A vision OF
the real condition of affairs lv. Z;
also II Chron. 24:7l. Joash saw the
resultant ruin OF the temple after
10 years OF misruie: he also saw
the misconduct OF the priests and
did not hesitate to call them to
account, 'Tis no easy task to un.
dertake a reformation and restoration
such as this. witness Moses, Luther.
Wesley and Cary. These priests had
aided him to gain his throne and
doubtless had had part in his boy.
mood training. Joash had inaugu-
rated certain reforms before he be.
gan this task which suggests the sec.
ond need Of (bl persistence tsee l
thron. 2i:5. g.. Such work also de.
mands tc) systematic effort and Civ.
ing. Joash placed himself among Is.
raels best kings by undertaking the
restoration of the temple and won
place alongside of Hezekiah and 10.
siah. Modern churches are not, strict.
ly speaking. "a house of the Lord
such as the Jewish temple, yet the
condition of many Of our churches
would indicate great Indifference to
the cause of the kingdom. Our bod.
les are indeed temple" Cor. 3:
l6:s G:l9) and both the body and
church buildings alike should be kept
in proper condition.
II, Liberaiity, VS.. s.15. The plan to
nave the priests gather funds fer the
repairs was Scriptural tExod. 25:
2'Sl God does not look upon the
measure but upon the motive of our
gifts I'll Cor. SID. The priests did
not hasten the matter so the king
took 1t into his own hands ty. 81,
In this remissness Jehoiada, as the
chief priest. is held accountable for
all ". y.
We have in this story rich sug-
gestion as to Gods plan OF Christian
giving, % The object. 1t was dis.
tinctly for the glory of God and not
to outbid others or to wastefully use
the money for selfish purposes. (2)
All were to participate voluntarily,
out of their abundance III Chron.
2i:lol, Systematically and faithfully.
t3) The results were a house repaired
I'll Chron. 24:l2). beautiful (II Chron.
24:l3l with the worship restored III
Chron. 24:14l. Joash seems to have
laid great emphasis upon the "taber.
nacle OF witness t24:6) and we need
to recall that each and every part
OF that temple was testimony to the
truth OF God and had In II a spiritual
suggestion and prophecy. As a whole,
It suggested that God dwelt in the
midst OF his people. The sons of
Athaliah tJoash's grandmother) had
SO conducted themselves as to cause
II to need repairing I'll Chron. 24:D.
When We turn to II Chron PASTA and
read the record OF the restoration OF
the temple, we discover: ID Each
had its part in the work. (2) Each
did a perfect work, e. g., did his
task faithfully, fully and to a finish.
lS) Each did an orderly work, in his
state" None sought to supplant or
defraud Others in the work assigned.
t4) Each did strong work, it was
strengthened" and not trifiing work
as men-pleasers or for the moment.
Try more prayer and like Joash,
give the people chance and there
viii be no lack.
Again, note that they dealt faith.
fully" We need to exercise faithful.
ness in our relations to God and in
the use OF that which ne intrusts to
our stewardship.
Man and God alike will have con.
fdence in us according to the method