The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1889-07-11
ELS SORR0WFUL DEATH.
LESSON II, THIRD QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, JULY IL.

mit to Memory Verses I7-1S-GoIden
Text. i Sam. Iii, Is-Commentary by
the Rev. ID. NJ. stearps.
[Cornpiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly by per-
mission Of II. S. Hoffpan, publisher, Phiadel-
phia-l
When Samuel told to Eli the message from
the Lord the attitude of his heart towards
God is made manifest in his reply: 'It is the
Lord; let Him do what seemeth Him good"
His meek submission is commendable, but
prompt and decisive dealings with his sons
would have been better.
l. ''The word of Samuel came to all Israeli
That is the word of the Lord through Samuel,
for he, as the Lords prophet, would speak
the Lords message (Hag i, 49,; and thus all.
Israel would know through him the will of
the Lord.
2. Israel was snitten before the Philis-
tines This indicates that God was not with
them, for had He been in their midst victory
would have been certain; lone should chase
a thousand and two put ten thousand to
flight" He had promised to fight for them
when He sent them forth Deut i; 30 iii, %;
xxxii, so, so that this going out against the
enemy and this defeat was not the result of
Gods leading
S. 'Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of
the Lord;+ 1t may save U.s." tThey did
not look to the Lord to save them, they were
not at this time worshiping Him, but idols,
and they speak of this holy yavessel as if it
were an idol which perhaps may have more
power than the other idols which they wor
SHIPPED; but their iniquities had separated
between them and God, and their sins had
hid His face from them.
4. 80 the people sent to Shiloh, that they
might bring from thence the ark of the cove
nant of the Lord of Hosts, which dwelleth
between the cherubim." Thus they add sin
to sin and are so blinded that they see not the
enorTnity of this sin. Consider the signif-
cance of this holy vessel, mentioned eleven
times in this chapter, and that its place in
the tabernacle was in the Holy of Holes into
which the High Priest alone entered but once
a year and never without the blood of the
sacrifice, typifying the blood of Jesus Christ;
consider also theexpression ''dweleth between
the cherubim" found here for the first time,
and only seven times in all Scripture I'll Sam
vi, 2; II Kings xix, Is; Chr. xiii G; Ps. Xxx
1; xcix, L; lsa. xxxvii, lGj carrying us back
to Ex. XIV, 49, where we find its origin The
Lord of Hosts Will be entreated by, and do
great things for, every penitent heart that
humbly seeks Him, but when such blind and
blasphemous hands approach Him they can
only expect His wrath.
5. GAN Israel shouted with great shout u
1t was not like the great shout when the walls
of Jericho fell, or when the foundation of the
second temple was laid Josh. vi, 20; Ezra iii
lib, for then it was shout because tho
Lord was in their midst and the work was
for His glory, but this was simply the shout
of Israel without reference to the glo-y of
God; it may have been u louder shout than
on the other occasions, but it was all noise
with no power to it.
90 "God is come into the camp.n When
the Philistnes heard the shout. and under
stood the cause of it, they were afraid, sup
posing the ark was Israel's God as Dagon was
theirs but although they tremble at the pos
sible results, remembering what they had
heard Of the wonders in Egypt and in tho
wilderness, they are ready to make trial
of the power of their god against Is
rael's God and urge their soldiers to
be strong and quit themselves like
men, lest they become servants to the He
brews 1t is not to be wondered at that the
Philistines knew not the God of Israel nor His
mighty power, when Israel knew not their
own God nor relied upon Him.
TO- "Israel was smitten; there
fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.n Is
rael was chosen to rely upon God that He
might show forth His power, and whenever
she failed to do so her defeat was sure. Two
things were required of her; that she should
be Holy and by implicit reliance upon, and
obedience to her God magnify His name.
The same two things are required now of
every Christian and of every church.
H. "The ark Of God was taken; =
the two sons of Eli were slain" The next
two chapters tell of the journeyings OF the
ark in the land of the Philistines, and how
the hand of the Lord was against the people
wherever it rested until they were glad to re-
turn it to Israel with an Offering.
Elf. eli sat upon a scat by the wayside,
watching, for his heart trembed for the ark
of Cod" Only twice outside of these first
four chapters of / Samuel do we find the
name of Eli III the Bible (chap. xiv, 81;
Kings, ii, "a, yet he lived TO be 9S years old
and judged Israel forty years. He does not
seem to have walked very closely with God
or to have been very intimate with Him. for
the only two special messages which we read
of God giving to him were not direct but
through others, as in last weeks lesson,
through the child Samuel, and in chap. ii, 81,
through u iIltu Ol oOi "ilOSc Hhulc Is DOU
mentioned And as we see him In these
verses watching and tremblingly waiting for
tRlings from the army, his heart, like the
hearts of the people, seems to be more upon
the ark and its safety than upon God and His
glory, as if a minister should now say or
think that if his church, or even denomina-
tion, should go to smash, the cause
Of Christ would perish. The same
thought seems to have been III the
heart Of the wife of Phinehas who died that
same day lamenting the death of her father
in-law and her husband, and that the ark of
| God was taken, saying ''1he glory is depart
cd from Israeli She and her father-in-law
were wonderfully interested in the ark and
| its safety all at once while it seems to have
neither troubled nor benefited them mitch
while it was in its place in the Holy of Holes;
| and that the holy vessel should fall into the
| hands of the Philistines seems to have been
| in their sight u far more grievous thing than
| that Hophni and Phinehas should daily break
| the holy commandments of God, written by
| His own finger on the tablets of stone con
| tanned in the ark. The glory of Israel was not
| the house of Eli Of which four died that day,
nor even the ark itself, precious holy vessel
| though it was; bnt God Himself, the Lord of
| Hosts, the God of Israel, whom 10 Pbiiistine
| could touch. and whom the death OF all the
| priests and prophets that ever lived could not
| affect. Let us iix om eyes upon Jesus, rely
| wholly upon Him, keep Ills commandments,
magnify His name, seek His glory, and losing
sight of self or church or denomination, ex-
cept in so far as they may honor Him,
seek with the whole heart and all our might
| To hasten the completion of His church and
| the coming OF His kingdom.
| Is. "Nhen he made mention of the ark OF
| God he died. The man of Benja.
min who brought the tidings from the field
of battle broke them to Eli as gently as pos
| sible, reServing the worst for the last
Israel is fled, q great slaughter
thy two sons are dead, the
ark OF God is taken;' but it is too much for
| the old man, and when it is mentioned that
the ark is gone be falls backward and dies;
and now the ears of ali Israel are tingling be-
cause 0f the judgments OF the Lord upon the
| house VI Eli, on account of sin