The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1915-11-06
INTERNATIONAL
SUNDGYSOOOL
LESSON
LESSON FOR NOVEMBER 7
JoAsA REPAIRS THE TEMPLE.
By e. o. SELLERS, Acting Director Of
the Sunday School Course, the Moody
Bible Institute, ChicagoD

giver.-II Cor. 9;7.
The time Of this lesson was about
S7S B. c., and 1t 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
priestly class with regard to the house
of God. He set himself to arouse great
liberality and to repair the temple.
l.. .Lethargy, v. a, g.. % Its cause.
We should read in this connection II
Chron. "a. From the W accounts
and the previous history of the ma
ton we conclude that the condition
of the temple was due, (a) to the
weak and frequently vicious charac-
tiers of the rulers of the nation; (b)
to the evil companions of both princes
and 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 OBJ upon the lives of the people
of the kingdom. (3) The cure. Joash
instituted great reforms in Judah and
in these Jehoiada the priest ". p 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
back to the evil practices of his prede-
cessors and his reign ended in an
eclipse of evil III Chron. 24:15-26).
In this lesson we have, however, a
suggestion of what is needed to cure
religious lethargy. (a) A vision of
the real condition of affairs ". Z;
also II Chron. 24;7). Joash saw the
resultant ruin of the temple after
Is 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 I'M
dertake a reformation and restoration
such as this; witness Moses, Luther,
Wesley and Cary. These priests had
aided him to gain his throne and
hOubbACSo hdu hau q Pdll III us pOy-
hood training. Joash had inaugu-
rated certain reforms before he be-
gan this task which suggests tie Sec
ond need of (b) persistence (see I
Chron. 24:5, g.. Such work also de-
mands (c) systematic effort and CIV
ing. Joash placed himself among Is
raers best kings by undertaking the
rnctnrotiOn nf tho fn~n1a aud NJ q
place alongside of Hesekiah and Jo-
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 a temple" l Cor. 8:
16; GID and both the body and
church buildings alike should be Kept
in proper condition.
II. LiberaIity, VS.. 9-15. The plan to
have the priests gather funds for the
repairs was Scriptural. tExod 25:
2-S) God does not look upon the
measure but upon the motive of our
gifts QI Cor. S:12). The priests did
not hasten the matter so the king
took it into his own hands ". 81.
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. ~ 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 I'll Chron.
24:10), systematically and faithfully.
(3) The results were a house repaired
QI Chron. 2f:12), beautiful I'll Chron.
24:13) with the worship restored I'll
Chron. 24:14). Joash seems to have
laid great emphasis upon the 'taber-
nacle of witness" (24:6) and we need
to recall hat each and every part
of that temple was a testimony to the
truth of God and had in it a spiritual
suggestion and prophecy. AS a whole.
1t suggested that God dwelt In the
midst of his people. The ons of
Athaliah (Joash's grandmother had
so conducted themselves as to cause
1t to need repairing I'll Chron. PAID.
When we turn to ii Chron. PASTA and
read the record of the restoration of
the temple, we discover: ~ Each
had its part in the work. (2) Each
did a perfect work, e. g. did his
task faithfully, fully and to a finish.
(3) Each did an orderly work. lin his
state" None sought to supplant or
defraud others in the work assigned.
% Each did a strong work. 1t was
strengthened" and not a trifiing work
as m~en-pleasers or for the moment.
(5) Each worked economically be-
cause when all bills were paid, money
was returned to the treasury.
What a marked contrast with mod
ern methods of conducting public i'm
provementsl There was great Joy In
the hearts of both princes and people
as they brought and wrought. We
rob ourselves by our Withholding. for
where your treasure is. there wiz
your heart be also"
There is sound philosophy In
Proverbs 11:24, rs. That class. church
or individual that liveth unto itself
will soon die. 1t may have a name
that is great in the earth but that
name will not abide. In giving we
get; in serving. we increase. Here lie
also a suggestion how to raise church