The Globe-republican., 1894-01-26
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
International Lesson for January -. 1894
Gods Covenant With Noah-Gen. 0:0
III.
Especially A->anged from Peioubet's Notes.l
GOLDEN TEXT do set my bow in the cloud
and II shall be for token and q covenant b.
tween me and the earth--Gen S:la
TIE SECTION OF THE HISTORY includes chap
tcrS TO 8. ga. 5. The ark as = type Il Pet.
3:so. FL Christ the door John lO:7). The
door was shut (Math 25:lO) Noah saved BY
faith (aeb. ll:7. TIE dangers TO which sin
ners are exposed (Math 25:4L 46; Thess
l:g.
TIMK-According to the common chronology
the time OF this lesson was in the year Of the
world A NJ (anno mundi) l65& or b C. 23sa. Just
at the close of the food; over fifteen centu-
ries since our last lesson 1t is well TO under
stand that these dates are not settled. but arc
helpful for all practical purposes
PLACK-Where Noah lived before the dood
Is unknown. but probably somewhere In the re-
gion Of the Euparstes. perhaps near its mouth.
IS In the Chaldean account when Surippah.
near the mouth Of the Euphrates, was con-
quered in the sixteenth century. b @, or earl
Ter, II Is called in the record the city Of tho
ark. The ark rested somewhere on the noun.
tains Of Ararat which extend through Arme
mia to the southwest 1t Is not the high peak
now called Ararat but the mountainous region
known as Ararat
THE TWO DoCUNENTs-Accordlng to the
view Of the higher criticism there are IN
these chapters two separate stories OF
the food, worked together into one account by
the editor Of Genesis These can be seen in
different kinds Of type in Bacon's Genesis Of
Genesis, or Bssells Genesis printed In colors
Or If one will mark on the margin Of his Bible
the following verses with q blue pencil for the
IphOviStfc P-0nnefic and remain.
ing verses with a red pencil for the Elohistic or
Priestly story he can read easily the supposed
two accounts. Mark with blue 6:1-S: 7:I-S 40,
IL, last part Of l6, last part OF L. - 3D. 8: last
part Of 9, and first of 6-ls last part Of lS %
%; 9:lS-2.
the Bible narrative, but are the creation Of the
critics. AS put together by the editor they are
perfectly harmonious
LESSON NOTES.
The Good Man in a Bad World
Noah, the great-grandson of Enoch,
also walked with God. He was holy,
virtuous, pious man. in a world running
itself with wickedness. His was not
merely passive goodness. He did not
hide himself from the world. He was
preacher of righteousness e Pet. 3: 81.
He used his utmost power to save his
fellowmen. 1t is not probable that he
was popular with men, but he was in
favor with God. This man was the
means by which God saved the race.
The Ark.-God warned the people
one hundred and twenty years before
hand that food would come and de-
stroy the people on account of their
wickedness. And Noah was com
manded to build great ark for the
salvation of himself and family. and
doubtless for any others who would
believe and repent.
Tie ark was not ship, but huge
ublong box, four hundred and h-ty
feet long, seventy-five broad, and for
ty-five deep Gf a cubit equals eighteen
inches). not larger than some of our
great steamships. The ark was built
Of gopher wood, probably cypress,
tall, straight evergreen tree. This
wood is almost incorruptible, and fire.
quently employed in the construction
of temples. bridges and even ships. 1t
is said that the gates of st. Peters
church at Rome made Of this woody
which lasted from the time of Con.
stantine to Eugene w., i. e., eleven
hundred years, had in that period suf-
fered no decay. The ark was made
watertight by a covering of asphalt
which abounded in Assyria. Ark
building, where the vessel is pitched
without and within with pitch, may
still be seen upon the Tigris. in the old
region of the flood.
The Animals Preserved in the Ark
The method of speaking of the animals
that were taken into The ark, "clean
and unclean," implies that chiefly
those which were useful to man were
preserved, and that no wild animals
(carnivora) were taken into the ark;
SO that there is no difficulty from the
great number of different species Of
animal life existing in the world.
The Deluge, It's Extent.-There is
every reason to believe that this catas-
trophe was co-eXtensive With the hu-
man population of the world. In every
branch of the human family traditions
Of the event are found. But this would
round world. ''All the earth" fire.
quently means in the Bible ''all the
region" ''all the land" the home of
the race. We still use the words in the
same sense. 1t is probable also that
the crimes and violence of the previous
age had greatly diminished the popu-
lation. and that they would have ut
terly exterminated the race. had not
God in this way saved out some good
seed from their destruction.
The Covenant with Noah.-At the
end of the year the waters had so dried
up that Noah and his family could dis
embark from the ark which rested on
the highlands of Armenia far north of
the original habitat of man.
The Great Fear.-When Noah and
his family first began again to make
their homes on the land, there would
be a fear at every rain that it might
be the beginning of another food.
This would interfere not only with
their comfort but with their progress
What was the use of building houses
or cultivating fields that might at any