News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-10-18
THE |. S. S. LESSON.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
OCTOBER Fl.


Lesson Text: The tStones of Memo
rial" Josh. iv., 1O-24-GOld-
en- Text, Josh. iv., % Com
mentary on Lesson.
In the first chapter of this book we saw
| Joshua encouraged; in the second, the lwC
| spies received and prOte cted by Rahab, ana
| bringing to Joshua further encouragement
| in the third the preparations for the crossing
| of the Jordon and the actual passing over;
| and now in the fourth we have a more fllI
| account of the passing over, with the details
| concerning the twelve stones. in some OF
| our hymns we sing about Jordan as II II
| were a syml oil of death, and as II canaan
represented heaven; but very little thought
| would show us that the fact that in Canaan
there were many enemies to he subdued ana
| much fighting to be done, proves that 1t was
not a symbol of heaven. nor the Jor,
dan a symbol of death. The land
! Canaan, the good land flowing with milk
| and honey is a symbol of the rest and VIC
| tory of faith which it is the privilege OF
| every believer to enjoy here in this present
world. Jordan signifies the river of Judg-
ment; the twelve stones in the midst or
Jordan with the waters of the river iowlng
over them ". 81 seem to speak of the sins OF
twelve stones from the midst of the river
carried up to The place in the land where
they first lodged ". s. seem to speak OF Jud@-
ment past and resurrection accompnshed
and the application 10 the believer IS, II you
would enjoy the rest and victory Of faith, see
yourself Us dead with Christ, yOar Judgment
for sin passed, and risen with Christ and
seated with Him in the Heavenlies (Eph.
ii 40
TO- 1.-THE priests which bore the ark stool
INN
finished that the Lord commanded Joshua"
Anything unfinished is impossible with God,
and all that He has purpoSed shall IN due
time be fully accomplished. Jesus said be-
fore He was crucified: u have finished the
work which Thou gavest Ne to do" and one
of His last words on the cross was: 1T Is
finished John xvii, 4; xix 3D.l All that
the Father has given bin snail come to Him;
all Israel shall be saved; all the earth shall
be filed W tn His glory; the works of the
devil shall all be destroyed, the Kingdom
shall come and the will of God be done on
ear tn as in heaven. =,
"The people hasted and passed over" The
COlIlIns.uds OF God ought to be obeyed cheer
fully and very promptly; 1t IS not for US to
say tomorrow, or time enough, but to-day is
the word both for sinner and saint.
IL. ''All the people were clean passed over. "
What rest it should give our souls when we
remember that though now s. imperfect He
will perfect that which concerneth all His
people and present us faultless before the
presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
and not one thing shall fail of all He has
undertaken to do: all shall Ee accomplished
II b Forty thousand prepared for war
passed over before thu Lord unto battle"
These were of the two and half tribes who
received their inheritance in the days OF
Moses on the east of Jordan; but they had
agreed not to en- Joy their inheritance till they
had helped their brethren to cast out the
enemies on the west side Mum. xxi, 1925,
and only when the land was possessed and
the enemy subdued did they return to enjoy
their possessions. Josh. xxi, 49, As be-
levers are expected to be one with all
our brethren in Christ. armed with the whole
armor of God. resisting and conquerlng our
common adversaries, the world the tlesh and
the devil.
IA. 1.-The Lord magnified Joshua in the
sight of all Israel" He was the Lords rep
resentative and as the people moved for
ward at his command and saw the mighty
power of the Lord through him, they had to
confess that the God of Moses was with
Joshua, and so they feared or reverenced
him as they did Moses, and the Lord magni-
fed Joshua by working through him. God
has magnifed His son Jesus, and will mag
nifty Him before all nations, for "all kings
shall fall down before Him, all nations shall
serve Him" If we determine that Christ
shall be magnifed in us and Weld ourselves
to Him accordingly, He will magnify us here
by working i'll us His mighty works. and at
HE coming by making us just like Himself.
Is, 10. Command the priests that they
come up out of Jordan, " and this at the com
mand of the Lord to Joshua. How strange
it seems that they were not left to their own
judgment as to when and how 60 do some
things, but no, everything must be at the
comm and of the Lord. One of the strangest
things to me in all the Bible is that the Lord
Jesus himself was commanded by the Father
what to say, and the Father who dwe!t in
Him did His work. John xii, 40; xiv, 1OD
Ills. THE waters of Jordan returned
unto their place and flowed over all his banks
as before" Not until the feet of the priests
were up on tie dry land did the waters re-
turn to their place. Most thoroughly AMI
perfectly does God do all things and at the
right time and in the best way; it is Just
glorious to trust and obey Him. How sad it
would have been for any who had not has
tened to pass over, but delaying to obey
should have been cut of by the returning
waters. How sal it will be for those who
when the Bridegroom comes, shall be shut
out from the marriage because not ready.
10. The people came up out of Jordan on
the tenth day of the first month" This was
the day on which the passover Lamb was
chosen lex xii, -, and as they kept the pass
over on the fourteenth day ". lO), they
must have selected the lambs on the very day
on which they came up out Cf JCr an, their
first day in the prom sed land. This is the
third passover of which we have any account.
Note the truths for the believer: Redemption
from bondage by the Lamb lex. xiii; The
(Num. ix.), and the rest of the promised land
is in the Lamb; al things in Christ, nothing
apart from II m; Jesus, our wisdom, right
eousness, specification and redemption.
90 "Ihose twelve stoneS.n In addition to
the lessons from the twelve stones to which
we have already referred the faithful among
them would often think of the Shepherd,
the stone of Israeli (CIen. Xix, 2D; and the
twelve precious stones ever borne upon the
shoulders and breast of the High Priest
Il 70 Of
ness to Sod, and His love for, AMI care of
them.
21-2&. LET your children know If in
Christian homes to-day the children never
hear father or mother speak of the
wOndrous love and dOingS of Him who died
on Calvary for us; if we have nothing to ay
about our joy because He has redeemed Us,
having forgiven us all our sins; nor of the
many ways in which He has delivered us in
answer to prayer; il we do not manifest that
He is to us living bright reality, our most
intimate and confidential friend, how can we
expect our children to enquire after Him or
learn to know Him? If He is a stranger to
us, how can He reasonably be anything but a
stranger to thenl
"a. That all the people of the earth might
know the hand of the Lord, that it is
mig hty.' First at home, and then to the ends
of he earth; among all nations beginning at
Jerusalem; in Jerusalem, in all JudRa, and
in Samaria and unto the uttermOst part of
the earth Luke xiv. Al; Acts j., s.. Such is
still the command, and He whose eyes are
as flame Of fire is searching us in reference
to these tn ngs. If we are redeemed by the
precious blood of Christ, we are here on the
earth for two reasons viz: That we may
become tried stones, fitted for our places in
the building which is being builfed upon
Him who Is the tried stone, the precious
corner stone; and also that day by day, at
home and abroad, we may be such wit essas
unto Him, His love, His salvation and His
mighty works, that we may thus win others
to Him AMI hasten the completion of His
elect church, that 50, the times of the Gent les
being fulfilled, He may restore to their own
land His ancient people, ard that Israel may
blossom and bul and fill the face of the earth
with fruit Lesson Tg,D,g