Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1888-11-02
DEFEAT AT All.
LESSON v, FOURTH QUARTER, IN
TERNArlONAL SERIES, NOV. q.

Text of the Lesson. Josh. vii, I-1a-Com-
nit Versus 1O-12-Golden Text, Ps.
cxix, 30-Commentary by Rev. d. NJ.
stearns.
CONDENSED from Lesson Helper Quarterly, by
tisher.l
The promises of God are generally con-
ditioned upon obedience and separation from
sin on our part There shall not any man
be able to stand before thee all the days Of
thy life" was the promise to Joshua Il, D.,
but the conditions wero faith and obedience
on his part Il, 60.
l. 1.-THE children of Israel committed
trespass in the accused thing" The city
and all in 1t had been accused, or devoted to
utter destruction (vi, IL, margin, compared
with v. 81. where utterly destroyed" is the
same word, and see also l Sam. XIV, 81 Zach.
xiv, 11), and the people had been forbidden
to take for themselves anything OF
the accursed or devoted city. How
fearful is the sin of disobedience, and
how far reaching the effects of sin. One man
sees, covets and takes that which he had been
forbidden to touch, ". 21) and the result is
that the whole nation suffers because of a
broken law through his sin. In the Garden
of Eden there was only one tree which Adam
and Eve were forbidden to touch, but the
tempter came, and Eve saw and coveted and
took and did eat; and gave also unto her
husband with her and he did eat; and to this
day the result is manifest.
@ "Ai and Bethel" These names carry
us back some five hundred years to the
time when Abram first entered the
land and having pitched his tent between
Bethel and All, he builded an altar unto
the Lord Gen. xii, g.; xiii, g. having
All the heap of ruins behind him, and
Bethel the house of Cod before him. At
Bethel, as Jacob left his home, fleeing from
Esau, God appeared to him in vision, and
there he erected and anointed pillar; and
twenty years later, as he returned with his
wives and children, God appeared to him
again at the same place, calling his name Is
rael, and confirming to him the covenant.
3. LET not all the people go up for they
are but few" Such was the advice Of the
men sent to view the country, but they had
not the mind of God, for his command was
take all the people of war with thee"
| viii, y. 1t was wretched self confidence, for
getfulness of God and making light Of diff
culties. 1t will not do to make too much nor
too little of the enemy; we must not be anx-
ious nor discouraged, neither should we be
careless or boastful; but having on the whole
armor of God, we must ever be watchful,
and especially when the occasion seems a
little one. "Uzziah was marvelously helped
till he was strong; but when he was strong
his heart was lifted up to his destruction"
Oh Chr. xvi ID, 49,
4. "They fed before the men Of Al"
This was not according to the prom
Use that one should chase a thou
sand and two put ten thousand to
d.~l% ls,.A A.
their own; they were unmindful of their
Rock, and pulled up by the victory at Jeri-
cho, as if their arm had done it.
5. 1.-THE hearts of the people melted and
became as water" And yet it was not a
very great defeat they had only lost thirty
six men, and there was an army of over
GOO, 900 ready for war. Why was this trem-
bling of heart and this great and seemingly
uncalled for fearl 1t was all through failing
to see the Lord and hear His voice. He sent
Il faintness into their hearts, and the sound of
q shaken leaf chased them Lev xvi, 81 So
there was sin in the camp, and it was uncon-
fessed; not only the sin of self confidence and
lack of reliance upon the Lord, but the sin of
Achan was troubling all Israel.
8. Joshua rent his clothes and fell to the
earth upon his face before the ark" This
was new experience to him as the leader OF
Israel and to humble himself before God
was the right thing to do; but who can tel
what the result might have been if Joshua
and the elders of Israel had done this before
setting out to attack Al! Where was
the man with the drawn sword, the
captain of the Lords host, all this time
Had he made mistake or failed them, OIL
been defeatedl No, He was simply left out
and they had gone without him, and He hac
let them do it,
T. "Alas o Lord God, wherefore has
thouf'- In this and the next two verses W,
have Joshuas prayer. He begins littl'
hastily and impatiently, for God had no
brought them over Jordan to destroy then
or to deliver them to the Amorites; bu
rather to deliver the Amorites unto then
and give them all that good land. We ar
apt to say that God has brought us into thi
or that trial, when we have brought it upol
ourselves by disobedience or by failing Il
follow Him. VISIONS ways are ways o
pleasantness, and all her paths are peace
8. 80, Lord, what shall l say when Israe
turneth their backs before their enemiesY
There is more Of a right spirit in this utter
ance, and would to God that we were NOR
troubled than we seem to be when Christian
are overcome instead Of being overcomers
o. "What wilt Thou do unto Thy grea
uhiuef VOsHuu suSBeotS tue possibility y
their name as a nation being cut off from tn
earth and identifying them with Him, h
asks this question. God had chosen Israel t
make Him name. Il Chron. xvii, 2l.) Tn
queen of Sheba came TO Solomon because sh
heard of his me concerning tho name o
the Lord. Il Kings x, L. SO we should re
member that we are chosen TO bear Hi
name, and in all things glorify Him. (Act
tx Is; | Peter ii, 0; iv, Ill
l0-1l. Get thee up; Israel hath sinned.
There is time to pray and time to act
time to confess sin, and time to rise an
search out and put away sin. Joshua kne'
not the cause of Israers failure, he went i
humiliation and prayer to Him who is pei
feet in knowledge, and now that God has n
vealed the matter to him, it is time for hiI
to rise ard put away the sin from Israel
IL. This then was the cause of Israels fai
ure and they could not stand before thei
enemies, much less subdue them, nor woul
the Lord be with them any more except tn
, accused thing be taken away and the accul
, sed person be destroyed. So the tribes ar
| broaipht hefore him Drohablv nv their head,