The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1888-09-15
The SMiTTEN ROCK.
International Sunday-School Les
son for September 10, 1888.
The Children of Israel In the Desert
Again They Rail Against God
Moses at Gods Command Brings
Water from the Rock.
Especially arranged from S. S Quarterly

LESSON TEXT-Num. 20: l.l3.
GOLDEN TEXT-They drank Of that spirit
ual rock that followed them; and that rock
was Christ.
CENTRAL Truth Jesus Christ is the
Rock whence flows the living water for all
the thirsts of the soul
TINE March, April, BIC l452, BIZ years
after the last lesson. Compare Mum. ii;
20: |, %; and 33: IS.
PLACE-KadcshB aruea, near the south.
ern border of Canaan.
Moses REviEw-Deut. 3: 2".2S. See also
Ps. l05: Il; 1906: 80, 80.
A SIMILAR INCIDENT-EX. II: IL.
New TESTAMENT LIGuT-l Cor, 10: i-l3.
INTERVENING HIsToKY-We have now
come to the beginning of the 40th year after
the exodus. Little is said Of the interven-
ing 3113 years. But it was time of testing,
Of discipline, Of preparation for the prom
issd land.
HELPS OVER HARD PLAcEs-l Then came
the Th0le cOn0,t alton; who had been dis
persed over wide region for support dur
ing the long years First month: of the
fortieth year Of the exodus; Abb, includ-
ing parts Of our March and April compare
Mum. 30:l 80 ;3S, and Deut. ALI. Kadesh:
in the edge of I'm on one side, and Paran
on the other. Miriam: Moses older sister,
who watched him in the Nile. She must
have been about 1870 years old. 3. Chode.
strove, reproached bitterly. 9. The glory Of
the Lord appeared: probably in terrific flashes
from the cloud over the tabernacle. s. Take
| the rod: with which the former miracles had
been done. Spedt: not strike. 10. III ~ nop,
&c rebels Moses is angry, and seems 20 have
| felt hard because God gave water a. the UNI
worthy people, as Jonah complained that
Nineveh was not destroyed. Mast ,re: shall
we. 1t is right to bring water for those who
have rebelled against us and insulted uss
| H. Snote the rock: either in anger when
commanded only to speak, or in unbelief, as
| II the word would not be enough. l2. Be
cause We beiieyed not: the root of his sin was
unbelief. A larger trust would have ena-
bed him to hold his indignation. To sane
| tVy me: to honor me as a holy being. Sin in
one of Gods best servants dishonors God.
Ye shall not bring this congregation, etc. 1t
was necessary for God to show that He alb
horred all sin, by Furnishing it in His highest
servant. 10. Mer6dh: strife. Golden Tert:
Christ is the Rock, is the source Of living
water. The Rock, Christ, was Jehovah, who
led them all through the wilderness, and thus
| followed them. He, as The source Of supply,
never failed them.
CoMMENTs-Be Between the lesson for last
| Sunday and this, we must put an interval
of thirty-eight years. During that time the
| people had wandered in the desert, as God
had said they must, and all the generation
OF those who were twenty years old and
upward when they left Egypt had died.
This meant that at least one hundred and
fifty funerals had gone out of that camp
every day, during that whole time. Our
lesson finds them together in the wilder
ness at kadesh. Here they experience q
scarcity of water. This was a great priva-
ton to so vast a multitude. But instead Of
crying to God for deliverance, they again
took to murmuring and faultfinding They
tainted Moses with having brought them
into the desert to die of thirst. They even
went so far as to wish that they had died
when their brethren did. As usual, Moses
went to God in prayer, and God told him to
take his rod and speak to the rock, and
there should gush out an abundance Of
water. But Moses was very angry, and in
stead Of doing this, he scoldcd the people,
and struck the rock in his anger. Water
did gush forth in great abundance, but God
was dlspleased with His servant. In conse-
quence OF his sin, God told Moses that He
would not allow him TO enter the land of
promise. He might see it, but he was not
TO be allowed to enter it,
Let the teacher now ask the class what
kind of spirit we have often seen in the
peoplci The spirit Of murmuring and re-
pining Had they good cause for the exer-
else Of this spirit! No; for God had never
deserted them. If they had earnestly prayed,
and then received no answer, they might
then have had some cause to repinc. But
they always took to murmuring before they
had laid their troubles before God This
was the worst part of their conduct. How
was 1t that they SO soon fell To fault finding?
1t was because they soon forgot. Had they
used their memories better, they would not
have fallen into this SIN so often.
They should have remembered the past
That was full Of the mercics Of God. True,
they had not deserved these mercies. For
they had very often broken the law that
they themselves had SAID they would keep
Yet God in His mercy filed their cup to
overtiOWing with good things. Had they
begun TO count up their mercies,
they would have been astonished at
their great number. And If they had
remembered that they really deserved
none OF them, they would have realized that
God was very good God to them. ca
They should have remembered the present.
1t was of Gods merces that they were not
consumed. There they were in full health
and vigor, their long journey almost at an
end. The God who had brought them 80
far had not now deserted them. They had
but to cry TO Him To receive an answer of
peace. Had He not often delivered them, and
would He not do SO againi 90 They should
have remembered the future. For they
had the promise Of God that He would
bring them safely through And was not
His promise goodl 1t had always been
good in days gone by, and why not nowi
At all events, 1t i'll became them to muir
muir before they had tried Him and re-
ceived at His hand denial. If He had
then denied them, il would have been the
first time in all their history. Rev a. f.
ScIidu9ter.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS
/. The soul has many thirsts-for for
giveness, for higher life, for happiness,
for knowledge, for power, for everlasting
life.
2. The world can never satisfy the soul.
8. Jesus Christ is the living water. He
satisfies every thirst.
4. In trials we should not murmur and
rebel, but go to God in prayer.
s. Discouraged people magnify present