The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1917-10-13
INTERNATIONAL
NNDNSGIOOL
LESSON
(By REV. y. b. FlTZWATER, d. Dr.
Teacher of English Bible in the Moody
Bible Institute OF ChiCago)
Copyright, 1917, Western Newspaper Union.l
LESSON FOR OCTOBER a.
RETURNING FROM CAPTIVITY

LESSON TExT-Ezra /.
GOLDEN TEXT-The Lord hath done
great things for US; whereof we are glad,
Psalms 1868.
Israel went into captivity because Of
her sins. The time of her disciplinary
process was about to end, as its pur-
pose was now accomplished namely,
the cure of Israel's idolatry. Ever
since the B%abylonlan captivity the He
brew people have been w%orshipers Of
the one God. Monotheism has stood
forth as q vital characteristic. The
main reason for the Jews maintenance
of racial identity in spite of their ma
tional dislocation and the breaking up
of their social ties, is the unity of their
faith, around the one God. o
/. The Proclamation Of Cyrus (vv.
La.
~ The Time Of ". y. The first
year of Cyrus; that is the first year
after his conquest Of Babylon.
(2) How 1t Was Brought About w.
~. The Lord stirred up his spirit.
The Lord often uses very unlikely
agents in the accomplishment of his
purposes. There is nothing too hard
for him. He can readily use q heather
king to accomplish his purpose. He
can find a way of approach to any
heart. Likely Daniel was the agent
used to bring the matter to the kings
attention. Daniel was still the infiu-
entail prime minister Of Babylon.
From his study of the prophecies Of
! Toror,fnh fTor Or 10. Too Ak 4 ann-
pare Daniel 9:2), he knew that the
time was near for the return of the
people to their wi land, so he likely
brought the matter to the attention of
the king and persuaded him to thus
favor his people.
(3) It's Contents wv. 2-4).
(a) A confession of the true Goo
wv. 2, 81.
He acknowledges him to be the GOD
of heaven, the Most High, the Supreme
God, a God of goodness. He declared,
"He has given me all the kingdoms Of
the EARTH" and that God had with au-
thority laid upon him the charge Of
building him q house at Jerusalem.
(b) A Generous Permission to Israel
". 81. All who desired to go up to
Jerusalem and build the Lords house
were permitted to go. He ever com
manded the blessing of the Lord to be
upon them.
(c) A Positive Cooperation ". A..
None were obliged to go up, but a pos
tive obligation was laid upon those
who did not go up to render assistance
to those who did. They were to aid
in the building of the house of God by
giving money, beasts and goods. 1t
was more than q free-will offering, an
obligation in addition thereto. The OBJ
legation was even wider than the peo-
pie Of Israel. The heather were asked
to render aid.
II. Response to the Proclamation Of
Cyrus wv. 3, g..
~ By Israel ". 81. Strange to say
the decree of Cyrus was not met with
great enthusiasm. Only a small num-
Der, chiefly from Judah and Benjamin,
returned ". o.. For most of them II
meant giving up business interests, for
they had settled down to the regular
callings Of life. Besides the sacri-
fee of business interests it involved
great risks as to the future. The en-
tire company, including servants, was
about fifty thousand (2:64). OF this
company we note the following divt-
sions; first, chiefs Of the fathers OF
Judah and Benjamin, that is magis-
t~rates; second, priests, and Levites,
leaders in religion; third, skillful ar
t~ificers, head workmep.
(2) BY Their NeighbOrs ". 81. This
response was apparently more hearty
than that of the Jews themselves,
Their neighbors gave freely of gold, sill
yer, beasts and goods. God had not
only graciously disposed the heart Of
Cyrus toward his people, but theS
found peculiar favor from their neigh
bors, so that their wants were abund.
antly supplied.
III. Restoration of the Sacred Yes
sells wv. 7-11). These vessels had been
carried away to Babylon many years
before. Little did Nebuchadnezzar re-
alize that he would put into safe keep
ing the vessels which would be needed
at this time. They were carefully num-
bered and turned over to the proper
officers. Except for their desecratioD
in Belshazzar's feast, they were none
the worst for having been carried away
These were brought up to Jerusalem
from Babylon.
Poverty.