The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1894-01-25
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
international Lesson for January 25, 1894
Gods Covenant with Noah Gen. 9;s


and IL shall be for a token and q covenant be-
tween me and the earth.-Gcn, 9;la
THE sEcTIoN OF THE HISTORY includes chap
tors to 8: 81. =, o. The ark us type q Pet,
3.2O III Christ the door John l0:T). 1.-The
door was shut lAlath. 25:i0). Noah saved by
faith (Ilcb. ll:7). The dangers to which sin
ncrs ure exposed (Math 25:4i, 40: Tbess
10,
1tiB-A According to the common chronology
the limo OF this lesson was in the year OF the
world A. NJ (anno mundil 1855 or B. 'C..23lS, just
ut Tic close of the flood; over fifteen centu-
ries since our last lesson 1t is well to under
sand that these dates are not settled, but are
helpful for all practical purposes
PLACE Where Noah li,ed before tho flood
is unknown, but probably somewhere in the re-
zion Of tic Euphrates, perhaps near it's mouth,
as in the ChalGean account, when Surippah,
near the mouth of the Euphrates was con-
cucro in the sixteenth century, b. c., or carl
icr, it Is called in the record the city OF the
ari;. The ark rested somewhere on the noun
tains tf Ararat, which extend through Armc.
MA to the southwest. 1t is not the high peak
now called Ararat. but the mountsinors region
known as Ararat.
TIE TWO DoCUMENTs.-Acc to the
view OF the higher criticism there are In
these chapters two separate stories OF
tho flood, worked together into one account by
the editor of Genesis. These can be seen in
different kinds of type in Bacons Genesis Of
Genesis, or Bissclls Genesis printed in coors
Or II one will mark on the margin Of his Bible
the following verses with blue pencil for the
| Jchovistic or Prophetic story, and the remain
| ing verses with red pencil for the Elohstic or
Pricstly story he can read easily the supposed
| Two accounts. Mark with blue 61S; 7:1-5, 7.l0
l2 last part of TO- last part Of II, % s3 8; last
part of ., and first of g. Gig, last part Of 49, 20
| o.; 9.lS-27
But note that these contradictions are not in
the Bible narrative, but are the creation Of the
tta fI,ar ads NAV
| perfectly harmonious
LESSON NOTES.
The Good Man in 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 a
preacher of righteousness e Pet. 9: 5)
| 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-
!
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.
The ark was not ship, but huge
oblong box, four hundred and fifty
feet long, seventy-five broad, and for
ty-five deep if a cubit equals eighteen
inches), not larger than some of our
great steamships. The ark was built
of gopher wood, probably cypress, a
tall, straight evergreen tree. This
wood is almost incorruptible, and fre-
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 ~, i. e., eleven
hundred years, had in that period suf-
fered no decay. The ark was made
watertight by 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 hui
man population of the world. In every
branch of the human family traditions
| of the event are found. But this would
not imply the covering Of the whole
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 fear at every rain that it might
be the beginning of another flood.
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
time be destroyed?
BEACON LIGHTS FROM THE DELUGE.
The Danger of Sin.-1. The tendency
of mankind without the gospel is to
grow worse and worse.
When men are SO bad that all in1iu.
ences to make them better are in vain
then God let's destruction come upon
them.
They can blame only themselves for
| N1a,., ,ss-I.,