The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-02-18
ELiJAH.s SUCCESSOR.



february -, 1901.
Especially Arranged from g 8. Cuarteriy.l
LDssoH TExT-s Kings 1:i2s2.
GOLDEN TExT-Not By might nor BY power,
but BY Ny Spirit saith the Lord Of Hosts
CENTRAL Tsurs-Tns workers dia but tho
work goes ou.
Tmi-B. c. spassO. Immediately after tho
lAst lesson.
PLAc1-0ilead beyond Jordan, end Jericho.
CrRcuAsrANcHs-Elishs had accompanied
Elijah ACROSS Jordan, and wss with him when
he,wss taken up In . whiriwind N Heaven
Elijah had promised that II Elisha saw him
when he assembled. his request for fitness TO DO
his successor would be granted.
HELPS OVER HARD PLACIs.-t2. Saw ~"
Elitah's ascension. MY fathers" showing tho
tender and loving side Of Eliish's nature. Tho
chariot Of Isrsel" the chariotry, or army OF
chariots. Elijah was the true defender OF his
country. So ton righteous would have saved
Sodom. Rent them" An Oriental token OF
grief. II Where Is the Lord God Of Eliiah:"
prayer that COO would wnyk through him es
He hod Gone through Elijah, ~ sign thai God
would mako hira his successor. l6 Fifty
strong men," Of the sons Of tho prophets. Tho
search would be long. arduous and dangercuq
Eye shall not send:" because he knew II would
b useless II, Found him not;" they expect
cd 10 Hnd his body, but II was changed into
glorious body. 10. '"The situation is pleasant"
Jericho Was In most beautiful situation. It
had lately boon rebuilt, after lying long cent
uries in ruin Il Kings is:S&) +The water 10
naught;" old English for bad" 10. "A new
cruse:" dish, bowl; not the original word
translated ''cruse" In Kings 1919. 81. Cast
the salt In" salt was . symbol Of purifying.
But salt In the spring would make 1t worse, II
any thing. Nor could little salt permanently
AFFECT large spring like this. Tho healing OF
the spring was miracle. II wss typo OF
Elisha's work.
LESSON COMMENTS.
When the binding scene Of the char
lot Of fire, and the horses Of flame, had
passed away, and Elisha looked around
him, he began to realize that his master
had really been taken away from him.
But lying on the ground was the man.
tie of the great prophet, the very same
one that Elijah had cast over Elisha'a
shoulders when he appointed him a
prophet in Israel Il Kings 1910. This
seems to have been accepted by him as
sign that Elijah's promise was to be
made good, for, picking up the mantle,
he at once ventured to try his power.
The Jordan had again resumed its
course, after its parting by Elijah, and
the first miraculous act Of the new
prophet was the same as the last of the
old seer. "Where is the Lord God OF
Elijah?" he exclaims, as he strikes the
waters OF the river. This is done not
in unbelief, or even in doubt, but in full
confidence that he is to have an answer
similar to that which had been granted
to his predecessor. The result that he
desired followed, and he too passed over
dry shod.
The sons Of the prophets saw it all,
and realized that he had become the
leader among them in Israel. To him
they did honor. Then in the text fol
lows the story Of the healing Of the
waters, miracle Of great benefit to al
in that section Of the country.
As in the lessons that are to. follow
we shall have abundant opportunity tx
study about the character of Elisha, We
may this week well turn our attention
to the way in which Gods work in thil
world is carried on. We in our blind
ness often are tempted to think thai
upon the life of one man depends thu
prosperity Of any good cause. This is
mistake. Men may come and men ma,
go, but Gods cause goes on forever
The whole story Of revelation prove
this, as also the whole of profane his
tory. If the father of the faithful dies
God will care for Isaac his son, an
even when Joseph, the great protecto
Of his people in strange land, lies o
his death-bed, he says: 81 die, but Go
will surely visit you and bring you OF
of this land" Joseph would have mad
famous leader for the children of l.
rael, but God was not at his wits en-
how to bring them out because Josep
was dead. So too, when Nose
was called away, the natural ma
would have said: ''Moses is dead; no,
therefore there is no use in trying
get into the land. and we had bette
turn back" But God said: ''Moses m
servant is dead. Now therefore arise
60 over this Jordan, thou and all thi
people," So when Elijah goes, Elish
comes, and the truth prospers, and tn
kingdom of God suffers no real loss.
was expedient even for our blesse
Master to go, for when he went tn
Holy Spirit came and carried on tn
work that he had left incomplete. God
work in this world covers great reache
Of time and vast outlines of plan, an
to the accomplishment of it no on
human life is necessary. When Abr'
ham Lincoln lay on his death-bed, tn
Nation wondered how it could
brought through the war. At last til
martyr President passed away, and 6
Garfield addressed the multitude
Wall street, he began thus: "Abrahal
Lincoln is dead, but God lives still
This was a true saying, and many hui
dreds Of times the church has had
learn that God is not bound by time
places, or men.
We know but little of the sesons of tn
prophets who stood to view afar of
but we do know that they knew enoug
to recognize and at once to follow TIL
new leader. This was wise on the
part. Oh, that some Of our Sunda,
school scholars were as wise as the,
Who does not know that often whe
one minister, or teacher, or superintel
dent resigns, there are those who sa,
"Well, it's no use, we are not going
like the new man, and we may as we
resign at once" Did you ever me,
any such person? Did you ever spes
, | ynxn H.