The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-03-04
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
MARCH 1.
Lesson Text: "The shunammite1
Son." 2 Kings iv., 26-37-
Golden Text: John ", FL
-Commentary. ssg.ze :.

in last weeks lesson, another miracle in con-
nection with water is recorded in chapter
iii. In the beginning Of chapter w.. we have
the record OF miracle in connection with
oil; and these three miracles Of the spring
healed, the bitches filled and the oil multi
Elisha on behalf Of the perishing. the troubled
and the needy. The God Of Elisha Is our
God, and Of Him it is written, my God
shall supply ali your need" phil. w.. 49,
25. $50 she went and came unto the man
of God to Mount Carmel" Our lesson be.
gins in the midst Of the story Of this woman
who dwelt at Shunem, a village few miles
south Of Mount Tabor and southeast from
Mount Carmel. She is called a great woman
Tvs. s., and she had prepared a room in her
house for Elisha where he might rest and
feel at home when passing that way. She
had no children, but God gave her son for
her kindness to His servant. One day, when
the child had grown he went out to the field
to his father, was taken Ill, carried home to
his mother, sat on her knees till noon and
then died. She laid him on the prophets
bed and made haste to reach che prophet
with the tidings. Notice the title given to
Elisha eight times in this story; seven times,
''Man Of God" and once "Holy Man Of God. q
1t Is also applied to Elijah, and in Kings
xiii. is used at least fourteen times Of another
piOpuoU We dE6 6iUueT' Ineu anu WOIIleu OI
God or Of the world. What SAYS our daily
life?
%. "Run now, pray thee. to meet her;
and say unto her, Is it we'll with theegsg The
man Of God saw her afar off and thus COM
manded his servant to meet her and make
inquiry for the health Of herself, her hus-!
band and her child.
''And she answered, It is we'll" The SOUL
in which the Prince Of Peace rules shall have
peace at all times, even in tribulation lisa.
L., q, :; XVI, 8; Jer. xxx, IL; John xvi,
81. "And when she came to the man OF
God to the hill, she caught him blythe feetsYs
SO did the women to Jesus on the: mofning
of His resurrection Matt. xviii, 81. Anoth-
er woman one day washed His feet with her
tears, wiped them with her hair, kissed them
and anointed them with ointment QIuke Wig
LET her alone; for her soul Is vexed with
in her, and the Lord hath hid 1t from me.n
Gehazi would have thrust her away. as did
the disciples Of Jesus many time (Matt.
xiv, IS; xv., %; xix, 49,; Gehazi had 50 H.
tie Of the spirit Of his master, the disciplss
SO little Of the Spirit Of Christ. And what
shall we say Of ourselves? -T7;---
2s. Then she said, Did desire a, son Of
my lord? Did not say, Do not deceiyemeM
Her words to Elisha when he promised her
q son are found 10 verse 16. Her words now
seem to say, better for me never to have had
this child than to have received him for only
these few years. Although she said, sit is
peace" her soul was evidently bitter within
her.
90. "Then he said to Genazi, Gird up thy
loins and take my staff in thine hand and
go thy way, and lay my staff upon the face
of the child" The prophet seems to under
kLo& !, a ~; te o,,d
words he sends his servant. Better il te had
at once done as Elijah did In similar case
q Kings xvii, 2p. If the disciples Of Jesus
could not cast out the demon from the boy
Matt xvii, 19, 2W, much less could GehaI
with the prophets staff do anything for
this dead child. Gehazi could obey strictly
his masters orders, but he had not enough
of the spirit Of his master to do his masters
WORK. ..-s ........-... ~
80. "And the mother of the child said, As
the Lord hveth, and as thy soul liveth, Twill
not leave thee" Thus did Elisha say to Eli
jah three different times, aud he is now re-
minded Of his own earnest desire to obtain g
blessing. God says, "Ye shall seek Ne and
find Me when ye shall search for Me with all
your heart" Jer. XIX, 1S). Much Of our
praying is too formal to obtain anything
from God, who regards the heart and the
hearts desire rather than the words which
we use.
81. "And Gehazi passed on before them,
and laid the staff upon the face OF the child.
but there was neither voice nor hearing ls
is one thing to hold the truth and quite an
other to be held by it The prophets staff In
the hand of Gehazi was very unlike the pres
ence of the prophet himself.
house, behold the child was dead and laid
upon his bed" The child was in the prophets
bed (vs.. 2D-a use OF it that the woman
never dreamed Of when she prepared it for
Elisha. When we are blessing others we
are often unconsciously preparing resting
place for our own SORROWS comfort for
ourselves in time of trouble. The child was
dead. We must believe that all who are not
born from above are dead in sins and that
nothing but the voice OF God can give them
life Eph. H., S; John W.. 25.
SO. Ho went In therefore, and shut the
door upon them twain, and prayed unto the
Lord.n It is no formal servant and staff
business now, but hand to hand and heart to
heart work with the dead child and the Iv-
ing God. Now he does as Elijah did. be
sees and realizes thai the child is dead, and
he prepares to take hold of God with as much
earnestness as when he sought the double
portion Of Elijah's spirit. Nothing under
the sun is before him now but this dead
child. He has but one aim, one object; one
desire; and that is that the child shall live.
"a. 'And he went up. and lay upon tho
child, and put his mouth upon his mouth,
and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands
upon his hands" The child in the prophefs
bed may suggest that the children must %
placed in the warmest sympathies OF our
hearts, and that our beds must witness our,
cries, Our mouths must utter childrens
words, our eyes see as children see and our
hands take hold as chiidren's hands; in other
words we must make ourselves one with tne
children whom We would save.
.And he stretched himself upon the child,
and tho flesh of the child waved warm"
Spurgeon says that there is no stretching
that IS harder than to stretch ones self to 9
child. When we do this, however, in honest
reliance upon God, there will surely be re-
Spouse, the flesh of the child will wax
warm.
35. Then he returned and walked in the
house to and fro; and went up and stretched
himself upon him" Not in moment, nor
in a day does the fullness Of life come. We
must take as cur motto: Patient contmu-
ance in we'll doing" Rom H., q, and remem-
ber that In due season we shall reap II we
faint not' lGal. vi, 81. And the child
sueezsd seven times, and the child opened
his eyes," so we must not rest TILL there Is
very manifest life. We must cover tne CHI
dren with our compassion. take them 70 our
hearts work with them and pray for them,
in wholehearted reliance upon God, until
they can say: Il see Jesus as my own dear
Saviour
80. $50 he called her, and when she was
come in unto him, he said Take up thy
SON" Elisha called his servant and Gehazi
called the woman, and thus Elisha spake to
her. She was not deceived, but only tried.
God is able to raise up even from the dead
81. Then she went in, and fell at his
feet and bowed herself to the ground, and
took up her son and went out" Her soul Is
no longer vexed within her, but full OF graft,
tude and alteration. Our souls snail De Iuu
- tsNSx.a-aa-z;.s in that dav when in the