"Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast, which was in the seventh month.

"And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.

"And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.

"Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.

"And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:

"For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.

"And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is

unto this day.

"There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt" (2 Chron. v. 2-10).

There it remained until Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar, when the temple was destroyed and the ark lost.

There is an old Jewish tradition, that Jeremiah put it into a place of safety, where it will remain till the restoration of Israel. You can read it in the book of Maccabees :

"It is also found in the records, that Jeremy the prophet commanded them that were carried away to take of the fire, as it hath been signified:

"And how that the prophet, having given them the law, charged them not to forget the commandments of the Lord, and that they should not err in their minds, when they see images of silver and gold, with their ornaments. "And with other such speeches exhorted he them, that the law should not depart from their hearts.

"It was also contained in the same writing, that the prophet, being warned of God, commanded the tabernacle and the ark to go with him, as he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God.

"And when Jeremy came thither, he found an hollow cave, wherein he laid the tabernacle, and the ark, and the altar of incense, and so stopped the door.

"And some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it.

"Which when Jeremy perceived, he blamed them, saying, As for that place, it shall be unknown until the time that God gather his people again together, and receive them unto mercy.

"Then shall the Lord shew them these things, and the glory of the Lord shall appear, and the cloud also, as it was shewed under Moses, and as when Solomon desired that the place might be honourably sanctified" (2 Macc. ii. 1-8). Rev. Canon Ridgway.

QUESTIONS.

Of what was the ark made? How large was it? Where was it made? When? By whose orders? With what was it covered? Where did they come from? Why was it called the mercy-seat? What was in it? What was in front? Where was it placed? Who carried it? What effect had it on the Jordan? Where was it put in the land of Canaan? How was it lost? What happened there? What did the Philistines do with it? Where was it taken to? What right thing did the people do? What wrong thing did they do? Where was it twenty years? Who fetched it from thence? Where did he put it? Where did it rest three months? Why? Who were to carry it? Where did Solomon put it? What became of it?

HOSPITALITY.

IN the Holy Land, where there are few people living, and where there are plenty of robbers roaming about, ready to stop a traveller, take all he has, and strip him of his clothes; and where there are plenty of wild beasts ready to fall on him and his ass when they are asleep at night, and make a feast on their bones, he needs a strong place of shelter, where he may turn in and be safe for the

When Abram came from Haran, he and all his people lived in tents, and all the people they found in Palestine lived in tents too, moving about with their cattle from

one place to another, as they found grass for them to eat. The chief man of each of these tribes was bound to take any traveller into his tent, give him his meals, and shelter him; but he was also bound to take care that no harm happened to him. He must defend him with his life, if anybody came to attack the stranger.

You will remember that once, when Abram was sat at his tent door under the great oak at Mamre, he saw three strangers coming past, and he asked them to stay and rest at his tent, and they did. He fetched them some cold water to wash the dust off their feet and cool them, as they lay down under the shade of the tree; and he killed a calf and gave it to his man to cook, while Sarah baked some cakes on the hearth, and he spread these

out under the tree, with some butter and milk, and he stood by and waited upon them. So Abram taught us what a hospitable man would do to strangers in the daytime. He would give them

1. Shelter from the heat.

2. Water to wash their feet.

3. Meat and drink.

And he had his reward, for the three travellers were three angels, and one of them was the Lord himself, who gave Abraham his blessing. So St. Paul tells us "not to be forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares" (Heb. xiii. 2).

I daresay some of you remember our Saviour once was invited by a rich Pharisee to go and rest and refresh himself in his house in the middle of the day; but he did not treat him as Abraham treated those three angels, for when Christ was sat down and saw the Pharisee was not pleased because a woman was shewing respect to him, He said, "Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee: Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss (no welcome); but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment" (Luke vii. 44-46). So the poor woman was more hospitable than the rich Pharisee.

But when people began to live in towns and build houses, then the chief man in the town was bound to take the stranger in, if no one else invited him. Two of those three angels that rested at Abraham's tent, you know, went on to Sodom that night, and Lot was sitting at the gate of the city as they came in at even.

And he rose to meet them, and saluted them, and said, "Turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early and go on your ways.

"And they said, Nay, but we will abide in the street all night.

"And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned

in unto him, and entered into his house, and he made them a feast" (Gen. xix. 2, 3).

But it was known these two men were come into Lot's house, and Sodom was a very wicked place, and all the people came out of every quarter of the city and surrounded the house, and wanted these men to be brought out and given up to them.

Now that would have been a great disgrace to Lot: he was bound to protect his visitors with his own life. And it would have been a great disgrace to the people, if they had injured any man who was a traveller and came to ask anybody's hospitality; but they were very wicked, and they pressed sore upon Lot, and came near to break the door.

Then the angels pulled Lot into the house and shut the door, and smote the men that were at the door with blindness; and that night it rained down fire and brimstone from heaven, and Sodom was destroyed.

So there was another case, where a Levite and his concubine and his servant were travelling from Bethlehem to Mount Ephraim, and they started late in the after

noon.

As they passed Jerusalem the servant wanted to stay all night there, but his master would not, because they were heathens, and were not friendly to the Israelites, who had conquered the land; and he pushed on, and came to Gibeah (about an hour and a half farther on his road) just as it got dark. But no one asked him to come "into his house to lodging," and "he sat him down in a street,” till an old man came from his work out of the field; and the old man came from Mount Ephraim too, the same as the Levite, but he was living then at Gibeah.

And when he saw a "wayfaring man in the street of the city," he asked him where he came from and where he was going; and he told him he came from Bethlehem, and he was going to Shiloh, and that no man received him to house. He had all he wanted except lodging, for he had "both straw and provender for the asses, and bread and wine for himself, his wife, and his servant" (Jud. xix. 17).

So the old man gave him the welcome, "Peace be with thee!" and brought him into his house, and took all