The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1915-11-05

bAv&s-AA ~VE. S6s
The time Of this lesson was about
S7S p. c.. and It follows within Q few
years last Sundays lesson. Inaugu-
rated ~ king and instructed By .
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.
I. .letharoy, v. 4, 8. ~ Its cause.
We should read in this connection III
Chron. "a. From the two 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-
ters OF the rulers Of the nation; (b)i
to b 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 (b) upon the lives of the people
of the kingdom. (3) The cure. Joash
Instituted great reforms In Judah and
In these Jehoiada the priest ". - 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 OI Chron. 2~4:15-26).
In this lesson we have. however. .
suggestion of what Is needed to cure
religious lethargy. (a) A vision OF
the real condition Of affairs ". 2;
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 {
account. It's no easy task to un-
dertake q reformation and restoration
such az this: witness Moses, Luther.
Wesley and Cary. These priests had
aided him to gain his throne and
doubtless had had . part in his boy
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. 24:6. g.. Such work also de-
mands (c) systematic effort and Civ
ing. Joash placed himself among Is
rael's best kings by undertaking the
restoration of the temple and won =
place alongside Of HeSekiah and Jo-
siah. Modern churches are not, strict
ly speaking. = 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 q temple" l Cor. 8:
16; 6:19) and both the body and
church buildings alike should be kept
In proper condition.
u. liberality, W. Sis. The plan to
have the priests gather funds for tho
repairs was Scriptural. (Exod. Is:
2-8) God does not look upon the
measure but upon the motive Of
gifts III Cor. 8:12). The priests did
not hasten the matter" SO the king
took it into his W hands ". 81.
In this remissness Jehoiada, as the
chief priest. is held accountable for
all ". y.
We have in this story q 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. CD
All were to participate voluntarily.
out Of their abundance III Chron.
24:10). systematically and faithfully.
(3) The results were q house repaired
III Chron. 2l:12), beautiful III Chron.
24:13) with the worship restored III
Chron. 24:14). 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
Of hat temple was . testimony to the
truth Of God and had In II . spiritual
suggestion and prophecy. AZ . whole.
It suggested that God dwelt In the
midst OF his people. Tho Don Of
Athaliah (Joash's grandmother) had
70 conducted themselves % to cause
Il to need repairing (I Chron. 24:7).
| When We turn to II Chron. 24:8-l4 and
read the record Of the restoration Of
| the temple, We discover: (1) Each
had its part in the work. (2) Each
did . perfect" work. .. E., did his
task faithfully, fully and to . finish.
| (3) Each did an orderly work, I'm his
state" None sought to supplant or
defraud others In the work assigned.
a. Each did q strong work. It was
strengthened" and not q trihing work:
as men-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
provements! There was great Joy in
the hearts of both princes and people
as they brought and wrought. We
rob ourselves by u Withholding. for
where your treasure is. there will
your heart be also"
There II sound philosophy In
Proverbs 11:24. rs. That class. church
or individual that liveth unto itself
win soon die. It may have . name
that In great In the earth but that
name win not abide. In giving We