Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1891-03-13

NUN. SXXii, "o-tommentary by Rev.
u. VI. Stearns.
Compiled from Lesson Helper Quarterly w ncr.
mission of IL. S Hoffman, publisher, pfi!adel-
phia.l
10. Behold, now / know that there Is no
| God in all the earth but in Israel"
Thus spakc Nanman as, having returned
With all his company from Jordan. he
stood before the man of God and prayed
him TO accept a blessing in the form of
money and raimcnt.
16. "But he said, As the Lord livcth, be
fore whom | stand, will receive none.
And he urged him to take it; but he re.
fused"
Thus spakc and acted the man of God.
He was not rich in this worlds goods. and
! yet he turns away from riches when vol
! unfairly offered TO him, and apparently
| from grateful heart. How different from
most people! How different from the
church of today, which in the most ungod-
| " ways seeks to raise money for what il
called the Lords work!
II. Thy servant will henceforth offer
neither burnt Offering nor sacrifice unto
other gods, but unto the Lord"
Naanan seems truly to have turned
from Idols TO serve the living and truo
God Il Thess. i, 81, and he desires to take
| home with him some of the earth of the
Lords land tIlos. tx, y. that when he offers
sacrifice to the Lord he may do it literally
upon holy ground, though in a far country
tie did not understand the wors hin Of Tp-
hovah he did not know that God would
hear him from any soil Il Kings viii. ~.
40, but he seems sincere, and if any one
sincerely desires to know God lie will en-
tighten him. "Thcn snail we know if we
follow on to know the Lord" Hos. VII 81.
Is. when | bow down myself in the
house of Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy
servant in this thing"
~. And he said unto him, Go in peace -
This is the decision Of the man of God in
the matter, and thi, is his blessing See
in e ChrOn. Xxx, 1h-?O how the Lord par
doned His own people, and allowed them
TO eat the passover otherwise than as it
was written. Md observe that the atti-
tude of the heart toward God is more in
his sight than the outward form
20. But Gchazi, The servant of Elisha,
! the man of God. said = as the Lord
liveth will run after him and take some
what Of him
Here is an idolater indeed-an idolater
in Israel, an idolater in the house of holy
man of God, for covctousue,S il idoat ~
/ tCoi. iii, ~. Tie forgot that the law taught
to hate covctou~ucSS, and that Achan was
stoned and burned because Of his cove
tOusnesS 0tX xviii, II; Josh. vii. ID.
81. so Grhazi followed after Naaman."
When Elisha said "Go in peace, Naaman
DEPARTED but it seems that he went but a
little way ere this coyctous Gehazi overlook
| him. Living with one like Elisha how was
| it that he had not more of Elisha's spirit?
And when Naaman saw him running
after him he lighted down from the char
lot to meet him, and said, Is all we'll"
Or, as in the margin, is there peaces''
There was little peace in that coyetou4
soul, "Therc is no peace. saith the Lord,
unto the wicked lisa. Xviii. -: Wi. 2n.
'''rhe way of peace they know not" lisa.
| lviii, -.
o.. "And he said All is we'll My mas
ter hath sent me"
%. "And Naaman said, BE content, take
two talents"
His little scheme was working well.
Lying seemed to be a paying business. lie
| had only venturcd to ask for one talent IT
| silver and now two talents are pressed
| upon him, which, with some urging (l, he
| consents to receive. Some three thousand
dollars for one lie; many man Ia, lied
for even ten or five dollars or less. and
boys and girls have been known to lie for
very small amount.
2i And when he came to the tower
Margin, secret place he took them from.
their hand, and bestowed them in the
house; and he let the men go, and they de-
parted. -
He had no desire to make great display
OF his riches, at least not for the present.
He had that which he coveted. it was safely
in his possession and securely deposited,
and no one about the premises was any the
wiser, as he thought: and like the rich
fool of Luke xii, 10, he perhaps said to
himself, What n good time lean now have!
% "He went in and stood before his
master"
As if nothing had transpired worth men
tioning, as IL he were a very devoted and
faithful servant, as if he would say, MY
dear master, thou man OF God, what is thy
pleasure" We read in Eek XXXiii, 81, of
some who sit before the servant of God as
the people of God, and they hear His words
but they will not do them; for with their
mouth they show much love, but their
heart goeth after their covetousuessn
And Elisha said unto him, Whence
contest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy
servant went no whittier"
Lie upon lie. This is at least the third in
| this transaction. How hard the heart
grows! 1t is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked der xvii o. What
gulf has opened between him and his
master! Let some boy tell how he felt.
when, having spent the afternoon in some
forbidden place or way, he was asked at tho
tea table where he had been Let some
Christians say how they feel about prayer
when they have been doing what they know
God does not approve.
26. Went not mine heart with thee,
when the man turned again from his char
lot again to meet thee"
All, Gehazii he's got you now. Covet-
BUSINESS is bad thing, and lying won't
help it any. BE sure your sins will find
you out "A lying tongue is but for
moment (Num. XxNii, 30 Prov. Xii, 100.
Eve obtained and perhaps enjoyed with
Adam the forbidden fruit Achan OBJ
tanned and possessed the garments and the
gold Gehazi obtained and possessed the
coveted silver and raiment, but in no case
did these things bring peace. There can
not tie true enjoyment of anything uulaw-
fully Obtained. And even though not in
this life is the sin laid bare, there Is a day
rprninp " hen the ord ,vtll hr,rt, I;,,bt