The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1894-06-01
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
international Lesson for June =, 1904
Tho Passover lnstttuted - Exodus 4


international Lesson for June =. 1907
Tho Passover instituted - Exodus lat
tia.
Especially Arranged from Pcloubets Nofcsl
GOLDEN TEx-. Christ our Passover Is sac.
rinced for us II Cor 5:Z
THE SECTION OF HISTORY. = Chaps II
and IL
TIME-B G. 1891. Q, the full moon OF Abb
talso called Nlsan), tho latter part OF March or
early In April Good Friday and Easter come
at The same time OF the year and are movable
feasts, the exact time 81 which is calculated IN
the same way tho Passover. tBrugsch and
Others think the date was about IL q. 1900
PLACE The land Of Goshen. in Egypt Tho
wady Tumial beginning near lsmailia. on tho
Suez canal and extending westward about
eighty miles Marrow at the eastern end, IL
gradually widens toward the west II was one
OF the most beautiful districts OF Egypt.
PHARAOH was probably Menephtah. son OF
Ranescs IL
CONFIRMATION. Striking TO say. monu;
ment confirms the fact that Menephtah during
HIS lifetime lost his eldest son, who bore the
same name as himself This prince. associated
with him on the throne compare 1850 IS CON-
nemoratcd on "A colossal statue OF his father
now In the museum at Berlin He Is the son
whom Mcnephtah loves, who draws toward min
his fathers heart, the royal scribe. the singer,
the chief Of the archers, the Prince Menephtah,
the blessed, c.. the departed
LESSON NOTES.
Pharaoh Hardens His Heart.-Tor
nine months plague after plague falls
successfully upon the Egyptians with
terrible severity, and yet Pharaoh's
heart is hardened. In other places it
is said that God hardened Pharaoh's
heart. In what way? Much light is
thrown upon this question by an at
tentivc study of the narrative.
L. Three words are used in the
original. all tran slated harden"
equivalent to make hard" heavy"
firm
o Harden is used nineteen times in
this account. in which it is said eleven
times that God hardened Pharaoh's
heart, three times that he hardened it
himself, and five times simply the fact
that il was hardened, and all these
words of the original are used in each
case.
3. In the narrative of what actually
took place, it is not till after the sixth
plague and the seventh use of the
word, that it is said that the Lord
hardened his heart, and only after the
eighth plague is the agency exclusively
ascribed to God.
Submission now would have meant
prudence. not penitence; and il was
against prudence, not penitence, that
he was hardened because he had re-
sisted evidence, experience, and even
the testimony of his own magicians.'
1t only means that for him the last five
plaques were not disciplinary. but
wholly penal. "Callousncss was fol-
lowed by infatuation, Us even the pa
gans felt that whom God wills to ruin
lie first drives mad. Chadwick.
4. God did precisely the same things
that he had been doing all along with
the express design of making Pharaoh
let the people go. THE revolving idea
that God sends Ills Holy Spirit to hearts
with the express design Of hardening
them finds no warrant in the Scrip
lures. The Office Of the Holy Spirit is
to soften and win the soul. johnson.
.'God did to Pharaoh exactly what He
in the beginning did TO Mos9s, and for
the same purpose. "-Robinson.
5. Everything God did was right and
good. and this good was used as the
occasion for Pharaoh to harden his
heart. 1t is the same to-day.
6. God made the natural laws under
which Pharaoh acted. and by lnisusing
which his heart was hardened. Every
act of resistance and disobedience al
ways hardens the heart.
z. When Pharaoh had hardened his
own heart, SO that there was no posi-
BILE hope Of his yielding obedience,
then God, by His providence. by natural
Law, perhaps by the withdrawal Of
special influences. let him go or in his
and blind course TO his
and punishment Of Pharaoh's harden
ing his own heart God never hardcns
q willing and obedicnt heart.
The Birthday OF the Nation.--vcrses
l.. :. Now began a new era and epoch
in the history Of Israel. IL was like
the motto on the reverse Of the United
States seal "a new order of the ages"
1t was the birthday of the nation and
needed n special commcmoration.
Anniversary days. Q) The change
of the year marked the great impor-
tance of the events it concentrated.
(2) II brought TO mind every year tho
great truths and lessons of the events.
Through the constant observance of
this ordinance, their literature, their
religion, their character as people,
were largely nodded; and, in an age
when books were almost unknown, the
constant representation Of this first
great scene in their history served all
the purposcs which to-day are answered
by our childrcn's histories and our pub
lie schools. Rev William Taylor.
(3) II pointed them to God, as the
source of their national life and hope.
(4) II ever reminded them OF the priv
ilege and duty ofbeginning anew their
lives, of making new era, a new epoch.
(5) For like reasons II Is well for us
TO commemorate the great days Of our
lives, birthdays, wedding-days, con-
versions. II is we'll to commemorate
the great days of the nation and Of the
church of Christ
The Institution Of the Passover.
8-i1. The Hebrew Pesach Greek,
Pascha) and the English Passover have
exactly the same meaning-to pass
over" or sparc-and they are derived
from the fact, mentioned in V. 10, that
the destroying angel would pass over
all houses wherein was the blood OF