The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-03-02
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
The Downfall of Judah-Jer. 80: 1-10-
Memory Verses G-S.
Especially Arranged from S. S. QUARTERLY
LESSON FOR MARCH6 1892


LESSON FOR MARCH6 1899.
GOLDEN TEXT.-Behold, your house is left
unto you desolate. Matt 1888.
CENTRAL TRUTH.-Tho way Of the trans.
gressors Is hard.
TME.--Jerusalem destroyed in the summer
of B. C. $50.
PLAcE-Jcrusalem; Ribah seventy-nve
miles north OF Damascus; Babylon.
RULERS. -Zedekiah, twenty first and last
king OF Judah, q son OF Josiah; Nebuohadnez-
Ear, king of Babylon.
PROPHETS. Jeremiah, in Jerusalem (627-
5s9); Ezekiel, in Babylonia C59S-573) Daniel
in Babylon (60s536); Obadiah (5S5).
PARALLEL ACCoUNTs.-Jer. 5s:4-l0; Chron.
36:ll-2l; Kings 25l-i9.
BIBLICAL LITERATURE OF THE PERIOD
Jer. chaps. 2i-29, 1888, IS, 49, Psalms seventy.
four and seventy-nine give pictures of the siege.
Obadiah belongs to the early part of the cap
tivity Jeremiah's Book OF Lamentations"
consists of Eve poems or dirges written about
this captivity. Four Of them are alphabetical
poems, the twenty-five stanZas commencing
with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet They
are supposed TO have been written in the
Grotto Of jeremiah, on the west side of Jerusa-
lem.
HELPS OVER HARD Places. I'm the ninth
year." BIC. $50 THE tenth month" "Tibeth,"
which extends from about the middle Of De-
cember to the middle Of January. 2. Eleventh
year. %. fourth month, the ninth day" about
July /, $50, year and a half after the siege be-
gan. 1.-THE city was broken up:" the walls
were broken through, and the city surrendered.
8 in the middle gate:n between the upper
and lower city. "Rabsaris:" a high Assyrian
title belonging to the previous name Sarse-
chin the Rabsaris. So Rab-mag, high priest,
or chief of the sorcerers, belongs to Nergal-
sharezer who was the Rab.mag a. Gate be-
twixt the two wallis of the valley Of the
Tyropean, between Zion and the temple hill.
The Assyrians came in from the north; the
king fed to the south. THE way OF the plain:"
over Olipet to Jericho to the plain OF the
Jordan. 5. "Riblah:" where as q center
Nebuchadnezzar was conducting the siege Of
Tyre as well as Jerusalem. g. Slew sons"
as the last sight he should ever behold Z.
Put out Zedekiah'S eyes" Thus fulfilled two
remarkable prophecies: one by Ezekiel az: To-
49, that King Zedekiah should be led into
Babylon captive, should live there and there
die, and yet he should never see the city; the
other by jeremiah (3235), that Zedekah
should speak with Nebuchadnezzar mouth to
mouth, and see his eyes. 9. Fell away" de-
serted from the city to the Chaldeans.
LESSON COMMENT.
Nine months ago we had this same
lesson. AS suggestion, which may
add some freshness to it, would give
the following outline:
Call to mind two great professions.
The first of these / see is marching out
of Egypt. Moses is the great leader,
and the faces of all the people are radiant
with Joy and high anticipation. Therei lisa
look of triumph on their countenances,
and they are laden with the spoil of their
enemies, which they have had given to
them, SO glad were their previous cap
tors to have them leave the land. Pres
emily see this procession fall into dire
straits, by reason of their adversaries.
Pharaoh is after them with his hosts,
and they see no way out of their diff
culties. Then theycry to the Lord, and
are delivered with a mighty deliyerance,
and that without striking blow in
their own defense. On the further side
of the Red sea they gather, while their
prosecutors are struggling in. the wa
tiers, and at last Pharaoh's hosts are no
more; for the floods have gone over
them, and the horse and his rider have
forever persisted in the sea. Then they
sing, and with song and dance pro-
claim their great victory, and ascribe
the praise TO the God of their fathers.
This was a grand sequel to such tri
umph, and was prophetic of a very
great future. What may not such a
people do, with God as their shield, anc
with the God of their fathers 'as theil
buckler? Truly, if ever a nation had {
grand beginning, this was that people
The second procession is vast con
trast to this one that we have just beer
considering. Again vast throng. o
people, but in their countenances there
is no sign of triumph. With downcas
countenances they march forth, hu
there is no song of deliyerance in thei
mouths, and no arm of the Almighty i
stretched out for their deliverance. TIL,
clank of the chains is the only masi,
that greets the ear, and the cry Of de
spair the only sound that escapes thei
| lips. Their king is taken to face hi
conqueror, and when he sees him he il
greeted with derision. His two SONS ar,
slain before his eyes, and then he is b,
refinement of cruelty blinded himself
After this brief pause in the awfu
march, it is resumed, and for thausant
miles the weary eyi!cs drag their wa,
to land of captivity and of shame
What a contrast between the two pic
lures! What pair of oil-painting
these scenes might suggest, full of les
sons for nations as well as for individ
nals!
Now all these things happened t.
them for ensamples, and they are writ
ten for chr admonition upon whom tn
ends of the world are come. Where
fore let him that thinketh he standetl
take heed lest he fall" Cor. 10: II, IL
In these two pictures we see set fort
the plans of mercy that God has for Iii
people, and the perverse way in whic]
they mar those plans. - Rev. A. 1
Schaufler, D. D.
LESSONS FROM rHE CAPTURE OF JEErsA
| LEM.
l. God put every hindrauce possibl
in the way OF their sin and destruction
prophets, warnings, mercies, time 70
repentance, vision of the end,
.. ~ Tho punishment comes slowl
at first, in smaller measures, in orde
to give opportunity for repentance. e
1t is accompanied by earnest warnin
and entronties. (SA 1t is intended
save men from sin. (i) There is, there
fore, because God IS love, no escape, e,
cept by repeuting and forsakiug sin. 4
But God is waiting to confer His bles: