witted workman was found trying to stand nis fellow, who had fallen dead at his side, on his feet, and said "He seems to lack something Inside!" T h at was the trouble (vith Jehoash and his generation. And with- out t h at something, which we call "Christ In you the hope of glory," the most prom- ising youth, however auspicious his begin- nings, will come to no good In the end. of a young life. Jehoiada had trained Joash, now Joash rebukes Jehoiada for his failure to repair the house of the Lord. Young people are often a rebuke to their teachers. They learn their lessons, t a ke them to heart and go way beyond their teachers in faithfulness and loyalty to the Lord. " 'Tis true 'tis pity and pity 'tis 'tis true." The third lesson is t h at of the willing re- sponse of the people in driving gifts for God 's house. The chest was beside the altar. When the treasury box is placed beside the cross and gifts are made in the presence of the crucified Son of God, the true fol- lowers of the Lord will give willingly. Wh at we need now is not new methods or innova- tions, but the restoration of the breach. We need to return to the old paths of doc- trine and duty. Let there be voluntary and sacred gifts. L et chosen and faithful work- men do the work as unto God. (1) Nineveh; "the London of Its day;" "Wicked" (v. 2); "bloody;" "full of lies;" "whoredom;" "witchcraft" (Na. 3). (2) Is- raelite exclusiveness (Acts 22:21, 22); patri- otic repugnance to -the preservation of Nin- eveh whose prolonged career threatened the very existence of Israel; dread of the con- tempt of his co-patriots; all this, probably, led Jonah to deprecate the mission. (8) We need look no further than the cachelot whale for the "great fish" of the text. Fos- sil remains show t h at it then frequented the Mediterranean. Men have been swallowed by them. A man would go down "like a midge through a man's throat" (Sir Robt. Ander- son). A gate, to an Englishman's garden, through which carriages drive is the arch of a whale's Jaw. (4) According to the cap- tain of the whaler "Star of the East," vouched for by the editor of a leading Chi- cago daily, a seaman, J a m es Bartley, in the cruise of 1891, was a day and night In a whale's stomach, cut out, and resuscitated. The captain's widow denies the story, but solely on the ground t h at her husband never i !d her. He told others, who vouch for his veracity. (5) Twenty-four hours and a fraction would, according to Jewish Idio- matic reckoning, equal "three days and nights.'' as in the case of our Lord's term of burial. (6) "Cachelots eject the contents of the stomach in dying," says F r a nk Bul- len, an authority on the nature and habits of "Denizens of the Deep." (7) Whales are often stranded at ebb tide in reef or rock- formed basins. In such circumstances a whale could discharge the contents of his stomach onto a shoal or beach. (8) Whether Jonah was preserved alive or resurrected, the story does not say. (9) Jonah a prophet «lied with the phraseology and spirit of Scripture could utter his prayer, or psalm, IV. EXPLANATORY NOTES.
power he may be. (2) An Abraham; a Moses; a Joshua; a Samuel; a Jehoiada; take him away and the multitude collapses. (3) Jehoash himself lapsed into paganism; his prosperous kingdom fell with its treas- ures into the h a n ds of the Syrian: he suf- fered a shameful defeat by an inferior force; and a dreadful sickness smitten by Jehovah, or the enemy, and died by assassination; and w as buried without honor. A half- First, t h a t it pays to take the children of wicked parents and -train them for God. Joash had the blood of Ah ab and Jezebel in his veins, his f a t h er the king had walked in the w ay of the house of Ah ab and did evil In the house of the Lord, 2 Kings 8:27, b ut Jehoiada the priest put seven years of faithful ser- vice in educating Joash in the ways of God a nd the key to the successful p a rt of the young king's career is found in the words, "Joash did t h at which was right in the sight of the Lord." Many a young boy or girl handicapped by poor parentage and un- favorable environment may be saved for the service of the true God if only some good Jehoiada can be raised up to take them and care for t h em and instruct them in the things of God. Jehoiada was a Big Brother to Joash and his time and effort was well employed. The second lesson is the reflex influence Three lessons are prominent here. "JONAH" IS HISTORICAL. (1) Its author a historical character. H e was son of Amittai; his residence Gath H e p h e r; his calling t h at of a prophet; his period t h at of Jeroboam II (2 Kgs. 14:25) and, according to Hebrew tradition, earlier, viz., the days of Ahaziah of Judah, Joram of Israel, and Jehu. (2) No question of his- tory would be raised but for the "whale story," and if that relegates it t o the realm of fiction the accounts of our Lord's resur- rection, its antitype and more absurd to n a- ture, go with it. II. "JONAH" IS PROPHETIC. (1) It begins with the common prophetic formula, "The word of the Lord came," etc. (Jon. 1:1; Jer. 1:2; Ezek. 1:?; Hos. 1:1; Joel 1:1; Mic. 1:1; etc.) (2) It Is typ- ically prophetic throughout, being typical of Israel's calling, apostasy, dispersion, res- toration, evangelism to the heathen, and their final repentance; and, besides, of the burial and resurrection of the Lord, and the post-resurrection call of the heathen. III. "JONAH" IS A MARVELLOUS LIT- ERARY GEM, worthy its place amo ng di- vinely inspired writings. (1) Charles Read said, "Jonah is the most beautiful story ever written in so small a compass." Many tributes to its matchless style and b e a u ty have been paid by competent critics. The author's sincere and humble self-disclosers, the lofty conceptions of the divine majesty, justice, mercy and universality, all a t t e st worth and authenticity of the book. HEATHEN MISSIONS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. Lesson V.—The Book of Jonah.
PITH AND PIVOT.
Lesson for April 30, 1911
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