Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1890-02-22
SUNDAY SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
FEBRUARY %.
Lesson Text: sThe Temptation of
jesus Luke iv., t-13- Golden Text:
Heb IT., documentary on
the Less son

1. aAnd Jesus. being full of the Holy
Ghost, returned from Jordan This lesson
seems to follow Immediately the last one,
which told us of the baptism OF Jesus by
John in Jordan, and OF the descent OF tne
Holy Spirit upon Him in the form of dove.
We might, with much profit, stop to speak OF
the Jordan divided for the millions OF Israel
to pass over into the promised land, when the
Ark-type of the same Lord JesHs-stood Id
the midst on the priests shoulders TILL every
one had passed over; divided again for EilJah
and Elisha and a third time for Elisha; but
both the Ark of the Covenant and the priests
who bare it, Elijah and Elisha, and all the
prophets, as well as all the Bible and the his
tory contained in it, Joint us to Him whom,
in this lesson, we see returning from Jordan,
filled with the Spirit If the 14th verse OF
the chapter was included in our lesson, we
would then say that the lesson begins and
ends with a record of Jesus returning from
certain places filled with the Spirit, first to
be tried and then to minister; and if we are
not willing to be filed with the Spirit for
trial, can we expect that God will fill us with
His spirit for servlceg
/, z. s'And was led by the spirit into the
wilderness, being forty days tempted OF the
devil" We have seen the Boly Spirit in the
birth of Christ and at His baptism, and now
we see Him filling the leading Christ; and,
working miracles, offering Himself sacri-
flee, or rising from the dead, it is the Spirit
in Him that does it all.
'tAnd in those DAYS He did eat nothing;
and when they were ended, He afterward
hungered" The forty days fast reminds US
of the HASTINGS of the two men who after
wards appeared with Him on the Mount OF
TRANSPORTATION OF Moses it is written, in
reference to both periods of forty days and
nights when he was in the mount with tod,
that he did neither eat bread nor drink
water Deut. tx, 9, 1Sl, and of Elijah it IS
written that he went in the strength OF that
meal (which the angel had prepared forty
days and forty nights unto Horeb the Mount
- God Il. Kings xix. s.. There Is no doubt
more i'll the forty days fast of these won
derful three than we have yet seen or shall
see till the kingdom comes; but we shall do
well day by day to see no man save Jesus
only Matt. xvii, s..
8. 'tIf Thou be the Son of God, command
this stone that it be made bread" The fa-
ther of lies insinuates that perhaps He is not
the Son of God, but only mere man, just
poor carpenter from Nazareth, making pre-
tensions of being some great one, and that
He had better return to His humble home or
else give some token of His power. 1t is
poor thing for the Son of God to be hungry
when he can, by word, turn stones into
bread Let Him satisfy His hunger. Does
not the reader Of he or she be Christian
recognize in this tempter the same one who
has often whispered to you: IF you were
child of God would He let you want for this
or that which you certainly need? Can He
really love you as you think He does and
deny you the very necessaries of life, or keep
from you this little gratifcation? Thus the
tempter of Eve and of Christ still seeks to
overcome the children of God by leading
them to question the love of God or to doubt
that they are His children.
4. ut is written that man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word of God"
This is the reply of Christ to the tempter
The outward indications were that God had
failed him. but Jesus places the word ofGod
against all other evidences and rests un-
moved on what is written. Believing is bet
ter than seeing.
81. ''If Thou therefore wilt worship me,
all shall be Thinen The statements of these
verses that the devil took Him to an high
mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms
of the world in a moment of time, cannot be
understood or explained by us, but can bere-
ceived on the authority of the Holy Spirit,
who, through the servant of God, wrote
these things, and implicitly believed. The
full power of the devil we are not familiar
with NOR do we want to be), nor is it fully re-
vealed. Jesus elsewhere calls him the prince
of this world, and Paul speaks of him as the
prince of the power of the air and the god of
this world. while John, in Revelation, speaks
of a time when the devil will give to Anti
christ that which in our lesson he offered to
Christ: so that his boast in his temptation
does not seem to have been altogether vain
one. This world is the Lords by creation; He
gaveit TO Adam, but Adam, by his sin, gave
the devil claim to 1t which he has not failed to
make use of, and it is true to-day that THE
whole world lieth in the evil one' Il joan ",
10, r. W. This statement is true not only of
heathendom, but also of Christendom, and,
in some measure of the Christian church. If
the manifest works of the devil indicate his
property, then that which he does not con-
troll is a small section of earth and small
number of people. But Daniel saw in vision
the kingdom and dominion under the whole
heaven given to the Son of Man and to the
saints of the Most High dan. vii. H. IA,
81, and this temptation was TO obtain by
short cut and apart from suffering that which
in due time will be all His. (See Rev xi
Is, 1Sl.
g. ''Get thee behind me, Satan; for it is writ
ten, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God,
and Him only shalt thou serve" Again Jesus
is victor. and the sword of the Spirit is the
successful weapon. The Word of God is more
to Jesus than ali the glory of all the kingdoms
of this world and eagerness TODD the will of
God crowds out all else.
Gil. III Thou be the Son of God cast thy
self down from hence" The conflict is now
in Jerusalem, the Holy City, and, on pin
nacle of the temple, and in presenting this
temptation the adversary also seeks to WELD
the sword of the Spirit, but he did as so many
do to-day, quoted only the part of the passage
which seemed to suit his purpose, emitting
that which would have condemned him. The
words quoted are given in the Psalm Cps. xci.,
9-19 as the result of making the Lord, the
Most High, ones Refuge and Habtation To
Il faI
ceasing to abide under the shadow of the Al
mighty, or to make the Most High ones habi-
tation, and therefore, the conditions being
broken, the promise would be forfeited.
Abiding in Christ and in the love of God we
need fear no evil, but are perfectly safe in
His keeping.
70. land Jesus, answering, said unto
him, 1t is said Thou shall not tempt tae
Lord thy God" Again the sword of the
Spirit flashes, and this time it is word
from Deut. vi, 16, the context of which is:
''Ye shall diligently keep the command
ments of the Lord your God, i + and
thou shalt do that which is right and good in
the sight of the Lord" If we would not be
guilty of tempting the Lord, let us keep His
comma ndments and do right in His sight.
listening to any otaer voice but His, even to
the voice of the best of men, we are apt to be
led astray.
49, 'And when the devil had ended all the
temptation, he departed from Him Tor sea-
son." Matthew and Mark add that angels
came and ministered unto Him. Although
no human eyes witnessed this conflict, vino
can tell what hosts of angels, good and bad,
were present the bad in full sympathy with
their leader and eager for his victory, the
good in full sympathy with Christ. but com
PEELED to stand aside till the enemy was van
pushed. With joyful hearts they now re-
fresh Him as victorious. He accepts their
cheerful ministry; while satan an his fol-
lowers retire to plan some new device where
by they may perchance obtain a victory over
this Holy One of God. And now we ars in
daily conflict with this same adversary
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers,
against the world rulers of darkness,
against the spiritual hosts of wicSejness in
the heavenly places."-Lesson Helper.