Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-09-13
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.
Lesson xl, September IL, 1888.
THEME; THE SMITTEN RocK.-Num. 20


49,
Then came the children of Israel, even
the whole congregation, into the desert of
Yin in tho frat month; and the people abode
in kadeeh; and Miriam died there, and was
buried there. ,. And there was no water
for the congregation and they gathered
themselves together against Moses and
against Aaron. 3. And the people ohode
with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God
that we had died when our brethren died
before tho Lord. 4. And why have ye
brought up the congregation of the Lord in
to this wilderness, that we and our cattle
should die therel 5. And wherefore have We
made us To come up out of Egypt, TO bring
us into this evil place 1t is no place OF seed,
or of figs, or Of vines, or of pomegranates;
neither is there any water to drink. q. And
Moses aud Aaron went from the presence
of the assembly unto the door of the taber-
nacle of the congregation; and they fell up
on their faces and the glory of the Lord
appeared unto them. z. And the Lord
spake unto Moses, saying, s. Take the rod,
and gather thou the assembly together, thou
and Aaron thy brother, and speak We unto
the rock before their eyes; and IL shall give
forth to them water out of the rock so thou
shalt give the congregation and their beasts
drink. ?. And Moses took the rod from be-
fore the Lord, as he commanded him. 10.
And Moses and Aaron gathered the congre-
cation together before the rock, and said
unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we
fetch you water out of this rockl II. And
Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod
he smote the rock twice; and the water
came out abundantly, and the congregation
drank, and thoir beasts also. IL. And tho
Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because
We believed me not, TO sanctify me in the
eyes of the children of Israel, therefore We
shall not bring this congregation unto the
land which have given them. Ii. This rs
the water of Meribah; because the children
of Israel strove with the Lord, and he was
sanctihed in them.
GOLDEN TExT.-They drank of that
spiritual Rock that followed them; and
that Rock was Christi Cor 1914.
The place of the lesson is Kadesh Barnea
which seams to have been the central sta
ton during the intervening thirty-seven
and a half years which elapsed between
last weeks lesson and the present one. The
six intervening chapters contain records OF
the ambition of Korah, Dathan and Adrian.
their revolt and punishment and the bud
ding of AaroH's rod.
AS whole the years were seasons of
apostasy and neglect Of the tabernacle and
its service:
because they despised my judgments
and walked not in my statutes; but polluted
my Sabbaths; l would not bring them into
the land which had given them" Ezekiel
20:11-23). "Ye have ploughed wickedness,
We have reaped iniquity; We have eaten the
fruit of lies because thou ddst trust in
thy way in the multitude Of thy mighty
men" Hosea Ky.
LESSON NOTES.
V. |. Then came the children Of Israel
into the desert of Yin anC abode in Kadesh.
Vain attempts had been made at intervals
TO go into Canaan, but the cloud by day and
fire by night went not before them The
God-appointed opportunity had been re-
iected, Israel therefore were scattered over
the desert with their fiocks, maintaining
more or less close relation and communion
ton with Kadesh, whore remained Moses
and remnants of the tribes with the taber-
nacle. Moved by invisible influence or the
call of Moses, Israel convened again on the
10th anniversary of their departure from
Egypt for new start. The years had been
marked by disappointment and death.
Miriam, about 100 years Of age one of their
leaders, had died and was buried. [Euse-
bus 1854 $40 A d. says that Miriam's
tomb was TO be seen near Kadesh in his
time Aaron at 1913 years of age was only
a month this side the grave, and Moses at
100 years was near his end, dying some
eleven months later. Never did future
by the natural eye.
" g There was no water for the congre-
CATION While there are large springs at
Kadesh, the supply varies in abundance
with the season, and for solarge company
congregated in one locality, the inconven-
fences of supply, with limited quantity,
must have been great. Again the people
were not in happy mood; their fathers
graves were scattered through the wilder
ness. They had expected to find habita-
ton, abiding place, ere this, but they were
still in suspense The memory of their
dead, and their aged leader failing in
strength were factors in the universal dis
couragement which found voice in the
words: ''Would God we had died with
Korah, Dathan and Abiram." The discom-
fort of the present is again compared with
the former life In Egypt. Past pleasures
are magnified when viewed through the
lens of present unhappiness.
" g. And Moses and Aaron went into
the door of the tabernacle, and fell upon
their faces. They might have retaliated in
burning words, relating in detail the many
transgressions and disobediences of Israel
which were causes leading not only TO the
suffering of the congregation, but their own.
They pursued wiser course, however,
seeking divine wisdom and grace in the
sanctuary. God was the only source of
help, and he did not fail them, but appeared
in added glory and brilliancy from the
cloud.
THE SIN OF MOSES.
VS. Take the rod and gather thou the
assembly. The rod with which Moses had
performed wonders in Egypt and at Rephi-
dim, Was laid up with the sacred things of
the tabernacle. Moses now brings it forth
from 'before the Lord as he commanded"
The Lord said "Go forward, show them the
rod and quiet their murmurings." Moses
went forward, but addressed the people
and in his impotence struck the rock he
should "show the rod" not strike with It,
He should have spoken" TO the rock, not
the people. There is great difference be-
tween partial obedience and full obedience
Furthermore, Moses addressed the assem-
bly, in very unbecoming words "Hear now
We rebels; must we fetch you water out of
this rockl" How bombastic the language,
how unlike the meek and obedient Moses.
He spoke the truth when he called them
''rebels." He had called them so before,
but in meekness and sorrow. He now spoke
in anger, which was culpable.
Had he spoken to the rock, water would
have gushed forth, and thus God would
have been glorified by inanimate nature; a
reproof to Israel whose hearts were harder
and whose spirit was less yielding than
stone.
Moses and Aaron doubtless hoped in the
coming together of this new generation,
to fiud q more docile and spiritually mind
ed people; they expected better things of
them. They were disappointed, 1t was the
slanderous abuse and fault-fnding of their
forefathers repeated. Some believe that
Moses question was put in the form Of
n