Our Bible Band | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Mountain View, California · Jun 3, 1908

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 34, No. 23.

Our Bible Band.

Schedule for Week Ending June 13, 1908.

Sunday June 7 1 Chron. 20, 21 Proverbs 5 Monday " 8 " 22, 23 " 6 Tuesday " 9 " 24, 25 " 7 Wednesday " 10 " 26, 27 " 8 Thursday " 11 " 28, 29 " 9 Friday " 12 2 Chron. 1, 2 " 10 Sabbath " 13 " 3 - 6 " 11

Suggestive Notes.

It will be seen by the careful reader that Chronicles gives much more of detail concerning Judah than Israel; while Kings gives more particulars of Israel's history than of Judah's. The term by which Chronicles is known is "That which was omitted." Of course in giving the things omitted, it must also note the other connections. It therefore gives us many details not given in Kings.

Chapters 20-22 present before us incidents in the life of David. Chapter 21, recording his great sin in numbering Israel, shows us that it was Satan who led him to do it, in order that the seed might be destroyed. Altho he was not to build the temple of the Lord, David early began to gather material for that purpose. In the twenty-second chapter he tells us what he had gathered in his affliction for that purpose. The gold talent was worth in American money from $27,000 to $32,800; the silver talent, from $1,600 to $1,900. Taking the lowest estimate, and David provided in gold $81,000,000; in silver, $11,200,000; a total of the vast sum of more than ninety-two million dollars. This was in perfect harmony with his thought that the "house which should be builded for the Lord must be great and magnificent."

Chapters 25 to 27 have to do with the arrangements of the services of the temple and the affairs of the kingdom. Chapter 28 is the instruction which David gave concerning the building of the house to the people and to Solomon. Chapter 29 records the additional gifts that were bestowed by the princes and others. If our readers wish to learn how many dollars it all amounted to, they can multiply the number of talents of gold by 27,000, and the talents of silver by 1,600. The product will be dollars. The last part of chapter 29 shows that there were documents and writings which have not come down to us, but out of which doubtless some of the records of Chronicles and Kings were gathered; the history of Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer.

Second Chronicles 1 to 6 have to do with Solomon's building of the temple, and its dedication. His wise prayer, God's answer, and Solomon's riches are recorded in the first chapter; the division of men and their plans for work in the second chapter; the description of the house in the third chapter; of the vessels and the appurtenances of the temple in the fourth, as well as the arrangement of the singers. The sixth chapter is the wonderfully comprehensive dedicatory prayer. Note that the prayer is made not simply for the people of Israel, but for the foreigner, "the stranger that is not of Thy people Israel."

Proverbs 5 to 11 need no particular comment. They are filled with splendid counsel. We once heard an old farmer who was a Bible believer tho not a Christian say that all his maxims of business and farming he gathered from the book of Proverbs; and he was a prosperous man. Chapter 8 is usually taken as having reference to Christ; others consider that it is the personification of wisdom. There are expressions, however, that would seem to refer to our Lord, as for instance, "while as yet He had not made the earth" (Verse 26); yet that would be just as true of wisdom personified, and that, of course, is what God is. How many men would have been saved from destruction if they had but followed the faithful warnings which God has given us in this intensely practical book!