The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1895-10-04
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL,
LESSON !, FOURTH QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, OCT. 8.


Org Verses. II. ~. iS- Golden Text.
jude. u. i8-Commsntary by the Rev.
n. NJ. Stesrns.
I, 2. "Ye have not obeyed My voice.
Why have ye done thiss'' The summary OF
the Book of Judges Is found I'm Acts kill,
30, "And after that He gave them judges,
about the space OF 450 years, until Samuel
the prophet" Also in Ps. cvi, "a, 35, 40,
They did not destroy the nations con-
corning whom the Lord commanded them,
but were mingled among the heather, and
learned their works. Therefore was the
wrath of the Lord kindled against His peo-
pie, insomuch that He abhorred His own
inheritance. His commands were plain,
but they were disobedient, and thus they
hindercd Him from showing Himself
strong on their behalf Oh Chron. xvi, 81.
At least six times In Judges 1 it is said
that different tribes did not drive out tho
inhabitants; hence the visit of this angel
of the Lord to show them their sin, and IL
possible, turn them to tho Lord. All the
history Of Israel Is just picture of tho
general character of believers at tho pres
emit time and in all ages and contrast
with the character of Him who Is Gods
Only Begotten. He could say, II delight
to do Thy will, o my God" 81 do always
those things that please Him" FPS. xl, s.
John viii, 29).
g. "They shall DO as thorns in your sides,
and their gods shall be a snare unto you"
The only way for those who would follow
! Jesus Is to "Deny self and take up tho
cross" "Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world" Yet many
who say they arc trying to live a Christian
life, ask IL they cannot read good novel
occasionally, and once in awhile attend the
theater and dance just little, etc.? They
| say, "We must have relaxation and recrea-
ton, and where shall we find it!''
a. "The people lifted up their voice and
wept." They were, as people, much Civ
en- to murmuring and rebelling and weep
ing. How much sorrow there Is in their
weeping because they cannot have their
| own way, or how much real sorrow for
| sin only God could tell. There Is a way of
fullness of joy which you will find in John
XIV, IL; 1 John l. 4; Rom. XIV, 49, but It
can only be found in complete separation
to God asd to Him who gave up all for us
3. "And they called the name of that
place Bochim, and they sacrificed there
unto the Lord" Bochim signifies 1.-THE
wecpers" and is found only here and in
verso l. Israel's days of weeping are not
yet over, but the time will come when in
Jerusalem the voice of weeping and crying
shall be heard no more lisa. XIV, 19). Then
shall they truly receive Him who is the
only sacrifice for SIM even tho Lord Jesus
Christ, their Messiah Czech. kin 10; xiii, /;
| lisa. TX, 20, 2D.
6, z. "And the people served the Lord all
the days of joshua We now turn back
to the last days of Joshua and are remind
| oil Of hoo ,,,I iii, N
| farewell address, in which he showed the
impossibility of serving the Lord unless
they meant it with the whole heart All
service must be in sincerity and in truth;
all worship must be in spirit and in truth;
all must be unto the Lord, with single
eye to His glory (Joshua xiii, IA John iv
"a; Col. iii, 90, 24). Some helpful words on
service are also found in l Thess. ii, 4;
Gal. /, 10, Not as pleasing men, but God
who trieth our hearts, IF l yet pleased
men, / should not be the servant of
| Christ" The people in Joshua's day serv-
ed in sincerity and possessed and enjoyed
the land, and the Lord who gave them the
land. So shall we enjoy the Lord and all
the riches of His grace II we will serve In
sincerity and truth.
8. And Joshua, the son OF Nun, the
servant of the Lord, died, being an hun
dred and ten years old. This verse and
tho next arc almost identical with Joshua
xiv, 90 80, and the Holy Spirit does not
repeat without a reason. He says, "Ye
shall know that L have not done without
cause all that have done" (Ezck. xiv, 23).
What better epitaph could any one have
than, "a servant of the Lord" Consider
the beginnings Of the New Testament epis-
ties and see how the writers delighted in
this title.
Q. "And they buried him in the border
of his inheritance in Timnath-heres" He
having gone out to be- with God, where he
has been we'll and happy ever since, they
laid his body away till the resurrection.
Death is an enemy which holds on to the
bodies of the saints as long as possible, but
he cannot harm the soul, for when he
touches the body he only sets the soul free
to be with God.
10. Another generation which knew
not the Lord, nor yet the works which He
had done for Israel" This makes us think
of "the new king that knew not Joseph, I"
and of tho one who said II know not the
Lord, neither will let Israel go' (Ex 1,
8; v, p. There il a difference between
knowing about tho Lord and knowing tho
Lord. These people certainly knew about
Him and His wonderful works, but had
they known Him they would have trusted
and served Him (Sce John xvii, -.
IL. And the children Of Israel did evil in
the sight of the Lord and served Baalim. {"
Baal means lord or master and Is often
used In the plural as here. Baal and Ash
toreth were the chief male and female
deities OF the Phenicians and Canaanites
lisa. XVI, ID, might sum up all idolatry,
80 Lord our God, other lords beside Thee
have had dominion over u.s." Many of us
must make the same confession, and 1t is
well for us when we can add, But by
Thee only will we make mention of Thy
name"
IL. and they forsook the Lord God. :"
Sec also verse 49, and chapter vi, 10, 13
The prophets have much to say about Is
, rael forsaking God. jeremiah expresses 1t
forcibly in chapter ii, IL, when the Lord
by his mouth says, My people have COM
mittcd two evils; they have forsaken Me,
the fountain Of living waters and hewed
them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can
, hold no water The contrast to forsaking
Is to "cleave unto the Lord" (Deut. XXX,
10, 90; Joshua xiii, s.; Acts xi, 23). A
knowledge of the Lord and of His great
love TO US will lead us To cleave unto Him
| - Il A.