arations for so long a journey; then the journey must have taken four or five months. They reached Jerusalem May or June, 537, and had settled in their cities and farms by the seventh month, Tishri (October), 537 B.C. The Journey. "If we may trust later traditions, the setting out of the Captivity' for Palestine was joyous in the extreme. (Read Psa. 126.) An escort of one thousand cavalry accompanied them, for protection against the desert Arabs, then, as now, given to plunder, and they started to the music of tabrets and flutes (Esdras 52)." — Geikie. "Forth from the gates of Babylon they rode, to the sound of joyous music a band of horsemen playing on flutes and tabrets, accompanied by their own two hundred minstrel slaves, and one hundred and twenty-eight singers of the temple (Ezra 2:41, 65), responding to the Prophet's voice, as they quitted the shade of the gigantic walls and found themselves in the open desert beyond. 'Go ye out of Babylon. Flee from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The Eternal hath redeemed his servant Jacob' (Isa. 48 20, 21). It was like the procession of the Vestal Virgins, with the sacred fire in their hands, in their retreat from Rome; like Eneas with his household gods from Troy." Stanley. The few rich among them indulged in the luxury of horses, or of mules. The aged, the children, and the delicate women rode on camels. Ten leaders, under Zerubbabel and Jeshua, twelve in all, perhaps in touching allusion to the original number of the Tribes, marshalled the host in as many divisions. Even the rank and file were descended from the flower of the nation. "The burst of joy was such as has no parallel in the sacred volume; it is, indeed, the Revival, the Second Birth, the Second Exodus of the nation." Stanley. Women Traveling on Camels. THE TEMPLE REBUILT AND DEDICATED. Ezra 3:8-13; 6: 14-18. MEMORIZE Ezra 6:14, 15. GOLDEN TEXT. - Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise. Ps. 100: 4. THE TEACHER AND HIS CLASS. "What America needs more than railway extension and Western irrigation and low tariff and a bigger wheat crop and a merchant marine and a new navy is revival of piety, the kind mother and father used to have piety that counted Let us begin our lesson to-day by quoting some words printed in the Wall Street Journal of New York, a few years ago, on America's Need. LEARN BY HEART. PLAN OF THE LESSON. it good business to stop for daily family SUBJECT: The story_of_the First I. THE EXILES SETTLED IN THEIR II. THEY BEGAN PUBLIC RELIGIOUS "What is this thing we are worship- IV. ping but a vain repetition of what decayed nations fell down and worshipped just before their light went out?" This is the teaching of our lesson today, which we should keep in mind all through our study and discussion. THE ROUND TABLE. FOR RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION. THE NEW AND DELAY FOR 15 V. THE TEMPLE BUILT AND DEDI- THE TEACHER'S LIBRARY. On Haggai and Zechariah, the prophets who urged the completion of the Temple, see Geo. Adam Smith's The Book of the Twelve Prophets in the Expositor's Bible. J. R. Miller's Devotional Hours with the Bible, vol. 4. J. Denham Smith's The Prophet of Glory. Meyer's The Prophet of Hope. Professor Dods' Visions of a Prophet. Whittier's Poems, " Our State." The Book of Esdras in the Apocrypha is admirable piece of fiction "concerning Zerubbabel before Darius. Herodotus gives us information concerning Darius. Poems, by Francis Hodgson, "When the Second Why they began religious services at the beginning of Temple's Height." their new life. I. THE EXILES GETTING SETTLED IN THEIR OLD PALESTINE HOME. In our last lesson the exiles from Babylon had reached their Palestine country, and Jerusalem and its vicinity, probably in May or June of B.C. 537. The first business of the returned exiles was of course to provide some kind of dwellings for themselves and their families. They accordingly settled in the small cities surrounding Jerusalem, perhaps repairing the houses and walls that had been ruined by the besieging armies years before, or contenting themselves with huts or tents. The territory they controlled was of course small, and hemmed in on all sides. "The list of towns," says Geikie, "named by Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 2 : 23, 28, 34; Neh. 7: 25-36) as the first homes of their brethren, includes only Bethlehem on the south, while on the north their territory did not extend beyond the narrow limits of Benjamin." They found the city in ruins, as it had lain for 50 years since its complete destruction by Nebuchadnezzar. The immediate vicinity seems to have been restored to them, but on every side the heathen or the mongrel population had encroached. "Trees were growing wild on the Mountain of the House, and the jackals prowled among heaps of shattered masonry. Crumbling stone-work and charred timbers marked the site of palaces and towers, and choked the streets. The city walls and gates were levelled with the ground." Hunter. The summer was thus spent not only in establishing their homes, but also in cultivating their farms and gardens, and gathering their harvests to support them during the following winter. II. THEY BEGAN PUBLIC RELIGIOUS SERVICES AS SOON AS WAS POSSIBLE. It was at the beginning of the seventh month (of the sacred year), Tisri = October, the month of the Feast of Tabernacles, their regular Thanksgiving festival, which began on the 15th and ended with the Solemn Assembly on the 22d. They arranged for the religious life which was the very heart of the nation's existence, and the central motive and inspiration of the Return. It would require years to build the Temple. It was not wise to wait for that. It was essential that all needful helps to devotion and religion and righteousness should be provided immediately, to sustain them in the work to be done amid opposition and temptations which were to try their souls as gold is tried in the fire. Therefore the religious life was strengthened cultured in four ways: and 1. An altar of burnt sacrifices was built on the old foundations, the highest crag of Mount Moriah, the central height of the Temple, over which, to-day, stands the well-known " Dome of the Rock. "This rude, square structure of unhewn stone was the most elevated and conspicuFrom an old print. ous object in the Temple.". Professor Rebuilding the Temple. Adeney. 2. Henceforth morning and evening the sacrificial fires ascended before all the people, an aid to worship, to consecration, to the assurance of forgiveness, to prayer and communion with God. These continued till the types were fulfilled in Christ. 3. They began to celebrate the great annual religious festivals, which unified the nation, and were an essential element of the national life. The Feast of Tabernacles, the great national Thanksgiving day, belonged to this season of the year, and, doubtless, was celebrated, as in later days, with waving torches, with bands of music, with singing of hymns, and songs of praise. 4. The other religious service was the freewill offering of money and material for the Temple and its services. Free gifts are always the best gifts. The giver then goes with the gift. The heart is enlarged. The feelings of gratitude and loyalty to God are strengthened. Hilarious Giving. "God loveth a cheerful giver.' Have you studied the precise import of the word translated 'cheerful' ? It came to me with wonderful force a few 38. Now in the second year of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of the LORD. 9. Then stood Jeshua with his sons and his brethren, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, together, to set forward the workmen in the house of God: the sons of Henadad, with their sons and their brethren the Levites. days since as I was reading my Greek Testament. The word is hilaron. There is no mistaking its import. God loves a whole-souled hilarious' giver, one who gives freely, joyously, believing in the cause. Pres. Merrill E. Gates. The Altar signifies devotion, consecration, service, sacrifice, prayer. The family altar should be set up at the first in every family, and the service of worship should be regular day by day. Religion is the soul of a nation and the fountain of its prosperity. That which inspires new and pure motives, that which awakes the soul, and also guides and controls men, that which gives them something worthy to live for, cannot but control the destiny of a nation. Carlyle says that" in every sense, a man's religion is the chief fact with regard to him.. A man's, or a nation of men's." III. FOUNDATIONS OF THE NEW TEMPLE LAID, AND DEDICATED WITH GREAT JOY, 3:8-13. In the second year. second month. May, B.C. 536, seven months after establishing religious services, and a year after the Return. Zerubbabel, the civil ruler. Jeshua, the high priest, the religious ruler. The two authorities united in this service. The Levites attended to the secular duties of the Temple worship, while the priests performed the spiritual services; as in our churches we have laymen for the secular duties, and pastors for the religious work. Both are to be consecrated men. From twenty years old. Young men in the prime of life. To set forward (Am. R., to have the oversight of.") So the apostle John says, I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one (1 John 214). To have the oversight of the work of the LORD. "These Levites must be understood as having the oversight only as regards the religious use of the structure, sacrifices, the laws of holiness, etc. They can hardly have had the ability or responsibility of seeing to the building, carpentering, etc. as such." -New Century Bible. But verse 9 states that the Levites were to set forward (Am. R., " to have the oversight of ") the workmen in the house of God. They knew best the old Temple, and all that belonged to it. High Priest. Many a church building and Sunday school room is far from being as useful as it might be, because the architects and builders did not consult the ministers and Sunday school officers who used the buildings and knew what was needed. One of the most beautiful and costly chapels I have ever seen is so built that many of the students cannot hear the words spoken from the platform. The Foundations completed. 10. When the builders laid the foundation of the temple, when the foundation was finished (v. II) at least so far as to show its size and form and quality. 10. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, they set the priests in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, to praise the LORD, after the ordinance of David king of Israel. II. And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. The Celebration. As often with us in laying the corner-stone of church or cathedral, there was a great celebration. Priests in their apparel. The elegant and beautiful 1. Timbrel. 2. Cymbals. Musical instruments of the Jews. 5. Psaltery. 3. Cornet. 4. Harp. (See official robes used by the priests R., 11. Sang together by course (Am. R., sang one to another ") responsively. The verb very probably means that the chant of praise was responded to with a great burst of chorus, vocal and instrumental, the substance of which was some well-known refrain, as Because He is good; for His mercy (Am. R., "loving-kindness") endureth for ever. Psalm 24 is an excellent example, when David brought up the ark to Mt. Zion with singing and dancing and musical instruments (2 Sam. 6). The Use of Music in God's Service. There is a wonderful power in music, and every atom of it should be used in God's service. The church has scarcely begun to use this power in its fulness. Some object to responsive singing; some have opposed putting an orchestra in the Sunday-school, as if these were modern novelties, instead of 3000 years old. These old saints used every kind of instrument, every method of singing, solos, responses, choruses, marching songs, refrains, everything that would give wings and inspiration to the service of song. Shouts of joy and the noise of weeping, over the same event. II. And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, completed ready for the Temple to be built upon it. These were the younger people, and all under 60 years old, for it was full 50 years since the former Temple was destroyed, B.C. 586. Those who had known only the exile conditions sang Hallelujahs, because (1) It was an unspeakable joy to have a temple at all. It meant the saving of the nation; it meant the returning favor of God. It was an infinite contrast to the templeless exiles and to the ruins around them. (2) It was the beginning of better things. It was a movement in the right direction. There was no limit to the religious life and the blessings that would flow from it. "The chastisement of the exile was passed, and the long-suffering mercy of God was again smiling out on the chastened people. With little accomplished as yet, the people already saw the temple in their mind's eye, with its massive walls, its cedar chambers, its adornment of gold and richly dyed hangings." Expositor's Bible. They dreamed dreams, and saw visions of the Temple as it was five centuries later, "Alone and isolated in its grandeur stood the Temple Mount. Terrace upon terrace its courts rose, till high above the city, within the enclosure of marble cloisters, the temple itself stood out, a mass of snowy marble and of gold, glittering in the sunlight |