News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-07-11
THE |. S. S. LESSON.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
JULY II.
Lesson Text: 'The Sorrowful Death
of Eli" Sam. w., 1-13-GOlden
Text: 1 Sam, iii, 1S-
Commentary.

/
of Eli, Sam. w., 1-13-Golden
Text: 1 Sam, ill.,, 1S-
Commentary.
1. 'The word of Samuel came to all Israel"
| That is the word of the Lord through Samuel,
for he, as the Lords prophet, would speak
the Lords message Nag. l., 49,; and thus all
Israel would know through him the will of
| the Lord In studying any portion of the
history of Israel we must remember that
| they were chosen by God from among all the
nations of the earth and placed in that good
land in order that He through them might
make Himself namc and be magnified by
them in the Dyes of all the nations Gil Sam.
! vii, %; | Chr. xvii, 81; lisa. xiii, ~, He
showing in every way that He had made
them a peculiar people unto Himself lex
xix, 81. Israel went out against the Philis-
tines to battle" TWAS during forty years
! oppression of Israel by the Philistines that
| Samson was enabled by the Spirit of God to
| do his mighty works, and it was by the Phil
! isfines that Israel was defeated when Saul
and his sons were slain; if we judge from |
| Sam xvii, &c, As, we are to look upon them
as defers of tho living God, the God of
Israel over whom true Israelites should al
ways have the victory. Deut. xviii, ~
3. "ISrael was snlitten before tho Philis-
tines" This indicates that God was not with
I
would have been certain; lone should chase
thousand and two put ten thousand to
flight He had promised to fight for them
when He sent them forth (Deut. j. 80; iii,
25; xxi, 30, so that this going out against
the enemy and this defeat was not the result
of Gods leading. When they were defeated
Mt Al it was because of sin in the camp, and
the sin which Eli knew and did not put away
may have been partly the cause of this de
feat; but our next lesson will tell us that they
had as nation forsalen God CHAP. vii, 81,
and this Judgment reminds us that ''the hand
of our God is upon all them for good that seek
Him; but His power and His wrath is against
all them that forsake Him. Ezra viii. 22.)
8. Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of
the Lord; 1t may save u.s." They
did not look to the Lord to save their, they
were not at this time worshiping Him. but
idols, and they speak of this holy vessel as if
it were an idol which perhaps may have
more power than the other idols which they
worshiped; but their iniquities had separated
between them and God and their sins had hid
His face from them lisa. hx., 2; Jer. ", 80.
4. $50 the people sent to Shiloh, that they
might bring from thence the ark of the cove
nant of the Lord of Hosts, which dwelloth
between the cherubilp" Thus they add sin
to sin and are so blinded that they see not the
enormity of this sin. Consider the signifi-
canoe 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
year and never without the blood of the
sacrifice, IMPLYING the blood of Jesus Christ;
consider also the expression 'dwelleth between
the cherubimn found here for the first time,
and only seven times in all Scripture QI Sam.
vi, 2; II Kings xix, IS; l Chr. xiii, 6; Ps.
Xxx, /; xcix., l; lisa. xxxvii., 16); carrying
us back to Elk. XIV, % 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. "All Israel shouted with great shout"
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 a shout because the
Lord was i'll their midst and the work was
for His glory, but this was simply the shout
of Israel without reference to the glory of
God; it may have been a louder shout than
on the other occasions, but it was all noise
with no power to it.
60. God is come into the camp" When
the Philistines heard the shout, and under
stood the cause of it, they were afraid, sup
posing the ark was Israels God as Dagon
was theirs, but although they trembIe at the
possible results, remembering what they had
heard of the wonders in Egypt and in the
wilderness, they are ready TO make trial of
the power of their god against Israels God
and urge their soldiers to be strong and quit
themselves like men, least they become SER
wants to the Hebrews. 1t is not to be Won
God of Israel nor His mighty power, when
Israel knew not their own God nor relied
upon Him. Had He indeed come into the
camp of Israel that would have settled the
matter.
TO- Israel was smitten; there
fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen." Is
rael was chosen to rely upon God that He
might shew forth His power, and whenever
she failed to do SO her d0feat was sure. Two
things were required of her; that she should
hal
dience to her God magnify His name. The
same two things are required now of every
IL. The ark Of Goa Was taken;
the two sons of Eli were slainn The next
two chapters tell of the journeyings of the ark
in the land of Philistines, and how the hand
of the Lord was against the people wherever
it rested until they were glad to return it to
Israel with an offering. God will see to His
own glory and will care for His own ark
even if His people despise Him and the enemy
seem for a time to prosper.
12-17. eli sat upon a seat by the wayside,
watching, for his heart trembled for the ark
f God" Only twice outside of these first four
chapters Of l Samuel DOVE find the name of
Eli in the Bible CHAP, xiv, 3; Kings, Ii,
81, 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.
The glory of Israel was not the house of
Eli, of which four died that day, nor even the
ltSeil. pItClDuS HOlN VESSEL bllSu3h AZ "oo,
but God Himself, the Lord of Hosts the God
of Israel, whom no Philistine could touch,
and whom the death of all the priests and
prophets that ever lived could not affect.
Let US fix our eyes upon Jesus, rely wholly
upon Him. keep His commandments, magni-
~ His name, seek His glory, and losing sight
of self, or church, or denomination, except in
so far as they may honor Him, seek with tho
whole heart aud all our might TO hasten the
completion of His church and the coming OF
His Kingdom.
IS. s'VVhen he made mention of the ark of
Cod /" = he died' The man of BenJ1-
min who brought the tiding5 from the field
Of battle broke them TO Eli as gently rs pos
sible rcaorying the worst for the last
Israel is ilcd, 3 3 a great slaughter,
Il . = thy two sons are dead, = tue
ark Of God is takcn;' but it is too much for
The oil man, and whom il is mentioned that
fhc ark is gone be fails backward and dies;
ard now the car; of all Israel arc tingiiIif be
cause Of the Judgments of the Lord upon the
house of Eli, on account of sin tolerated III
highula Chap. ill.,, 1l-lN. What shall
a. DC like when tho Lord cometh QUITO Ills
place 10 punish The inhabitants of the Garth
Tor their iniquiiy' Is}. XVI, 2l, and how
would you atild should Hc come today