The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1915-11-04
INTERNATIONAL.
.SUNllllYSC[I(D0L
LESSON
By f. o. SELLERS, Acting Director OF
the Sunday School Course, the Moody
Bible Institute, Chicago.)
LESSON FOR NOVEMBER 7
JoAsH REPAIRS THE TEMPLE.

49, T'no TIE TEMPLE.
LESSON TExT-II Kings 12:4-15
| GOLDEN TEXT-God loyeth n cheerful
SiVer.-1I Cor. 9:7.
| Inc time OF this lesson was about
"1S Is. g., and it follows within 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
or God. He set himself to arouse great
i1peraiity and to repair the temple.
L. Letharsy, v. a, 8. Q) Its cause.
| we should read in this connection III
enron. "a. From the two accounts
ana the previous history Of the ma
Ilon we conclude that the condition
or the temple was due, (a) to the
weak and frequently vicious charac
ters Of the rulers Of the nation: (b)
10 the evil companions Of both princes
ana priests and (c) to the cupidity of
court and curate. (2) The result of
this lethargy regarding Gods cause
was evidenced (a) upon the temple,
and (b) upon the lives Of the people
OF the Kingdom. 60 The cure. Joash
instituted great reforms in Judah and
III these Jehoiada the priest ". q had
no small part. In this particular les
son the prince ". 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
PACK to the evil practices Of his prede-
cessors and his reign ended in an
eclipse of evil UI Chron. 24:15-26).
In this lesson we have, however, q
suggestion Of what is needed to cure
religious lethargy. (a) A vision of
the real condition Of affairs (v. 7:
also ii Chron. 24:7) Joash saw the
resultant ruin of the temple after
10 years Of misrule; he also saw
the misconduct of the priests and
did not hesitate to call them to
account. Tis no easy task to un-
dertake q 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 a 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 (b) persistence (see /
Chron. 24:5, g.. Such work also de.
mands (c) systematic effort and Civ.
ing. Joash placed himself among Is
raels best kings by undertaking the
restoration Of the temple and won a
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 tn
condition Of many Of our churches
would indicate great Indifference to
the cause Of the kingdom. Our bod.
les are indeed temple" I Cor. g.:
16; 6:19) and both the. body and
church buildings alike should be kept
In proper condition.
u. LiberaIity, vs. 9.15. The plan to
have the priests gather funds for the
repairs was ScriptAral (Exod. 25:
2-8) God does not look upon the
measure but upon the motive Of our
gifts GI Cor. 8:12). The priests did
not hasten the matter so the king
took 1t into his own hands ". o..
In this remissness Jehoiada, as the
chief priest, is held accountable for
all ". y.
We have in this story a rich sug
gestiOn as to Gods plan of Christian
giving. CD 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 or their abundance OI Chron,
24:1O, systematically and faithfully.
| (3) The results were a house repaired
| (lI Chron. 24:12). beautiful QI Chron.
| 24:13) with the worship restored UI
enron. PAID. Joash seems to have
laid great emphasis upon the "taber.
| nacle of witness" (24:6) and we need
to recall that each and every part
| or that temple was testimony to the
truth OF God and had in it spiritual
| suggestion and prophecy. AS a whole,
| 1t suggested that God dwelt in the
midst Of his people. The sons of
Athaliah (Joashs grandmother) had
| SO conducted themselves as to cause
| 1t to need repairing QI Chron. 24:D.
| When we turn to II Chron. 24:8.14 and
read the record Of the restoration Of
the temple, we discover: Cd Each
had it's part in the work. (2) Each
did a perfect work, e. g., did his
task faithfully, fully and to q finish.
(3) Each did an orderly work, "in his
state" None sought to supplant or
defraud others in tho work assigned.
! (4) Each did a strong work, it was
strengthened" and not triiling work
as men-plcasers or for the moment.
Try moro prayer and like Joash,
give the people q chance and there
will be no lack.
| Again, note that they dealt faith
fully" We need to exercise faithful