Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1895-07-25
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON ~, THIRD QUARTER, IN
TERNATiONAL SERIES, JULY %.

ory Verses, 80. "a Golden Text. Mum.
<, es-commentary BY the Rev. d. M.
stearns.
%. And Moses said unto Hobab, the son
Of Raguel the Midianite, Moses father-in-
law, We are journeying unto the place Of
which the Lord said, will give 1t to you;
come thou with us, and we will do thee
good, for the Lord hath spoken good con
cerning Israeli They had been eneamped
at Horeb many months. On the first day
Of the first month of the second year The
tabernacle was erected and accepted BY
God and filed with His glory (Ex. xl, II,
S4). just fifty days later the cloud lifted,
and they jouneyed from Sinai (Num. Y, II,
~ in the order described in this chapter.
Raguel. or Ruel, Or Jethro (Ex ii. is; fiji, D
was the father Of Zipporah, Moses wife
Hobab is here said to be his son and was
probably an intimate friend Of Moses in the
days Of his shepherd life Truly the Lord
had spoken good concerning Israel, az il
Elk. vi, Chs, that wondrous sevenfold, III
will, \ beginning and ending With III, Je-
hoyah." Moses believed the word Of the
Lord. He had respect unto the recompense
Of the reward tHeb. XII, 26). and because Of
it had forsaken ali his prospects in Egypt.
Being fully persuaded of the good things
awaiting Israel, be would fain nave Hobab
to enjoy them too Have we this spirft2
30. And he said unto him, will not 20.
but will depart to my own land and to
my kindred" Hobab SAW no such prospect
as opened up to the mind Of Moses, and as
far as appearances went he felt that be
would be better off with his own people. 1t
is difficult for many to esteem the reproaeh
Of Christ greater riches than the visible
treasures Of this world. The young man
whom Jesus told to sell all that BE had. and
take up the cross and follow Him, went
away grieved because he had great pos
sessions. Jesus and His suiferings now.
with glory hereafter, j. the programme for
the Christian. If we prefer the world and
its pleasures now, we must not complain
if we lose the kingdom hereafter.
81. And be said, Leave US not, l pray
thee, forasmuch as thou knowest now we
are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou
mayest be to Us instead Of eyes, Moses il
now seeking good from Hobab instead Of,
as moment ago, Offering him good from
God In this Moses is surely wrong. It
looks as if for the moment he was forget
ting God, and His cloud and His unerrinp
guidance. 50 unstable IL man even AZ his
best. Wethink Of Simon Peter one moment
confessing that Jesus was the Christ, the
Son of the Living God, and the next acting
as satan's mOuthpiece to tempt the Lord
to pity Himself and turn from the cross
(Math. xvi, 16, 23). How we do need to
pray, "Set watch, 0 Lord, before my
mouth; keep the door Of my lips"
81. And it shall be if thou 90 with us,
yea, it shall be, that what goodness the
Lord shall do unto us the same will we do
unto thee Moses now talks more cor
rectly, for we are fully authorized to offer
all the riches of Gods grace and glory to
all who will accept Him through Jesus
Christ but we are not expected to seek any
help or guidance from those who are not
His AS to offering to others the same
goodness He bestows upon US, we remember
that Jesus said in His prayer John xvii,
22), The glory which thou gavest me,
have given them-n Again he said, ''All
things that the Father hath are mineD
(John xvi, 10. And again it il written
"All are yours, and ye are Christ's, and
Christ is Gods" q Cor. iii, 23). Now
since God is willing to give His grace and
glory to every one who will come To Him
through Jesus Christ, what must He think
of US who know this, and yet do little OF
nothing to make it known to the millions
who are still in heather darkness?
33. "And they departed from the Mount
Of the Lord three days Journey, and the
ark of the covenant of the Lord went be-
fore them in the three days journey, to
search out resting place for them" This
was surely better than the eyes or the wis
dom Of Hobab. How could Moses seem to
forget that God had led them and would
still lead them? Yet we are apt to do this
very thing-we do forget 50 soon Three
days is very suggestive of resurrection, as
in the story Of Abraham and Isaac, Jonah,
our Lord Jesus, etc. God would have us
rest in Jesus crucified and risen. If He be
not risen, there is no salvation for any one
Il Cor XIV, 14-18) But since He died and
rose again and ever liyeth, He becomes a
resting place for all who receive Him. This
rest becomes a glorious reality when We,
having accepted Him, see ourselves as cru
CITED and risen with Him, and seated with
Him in the heayenlies (Eph. ii, 40. Ceas-
ing from our own works, we rest in His
finished work (Hab iv. 3, l0), and wherever
He pitches our tent He l. our rest.
34. And the cloud Of tile Lord was upon
them by day when they went out OF the
camp" The cloud was the visible symbol
of the Lords presence with them, and He
by it was their guide, their light, their
shield, their avenger, their oracle, their
covering tEx. xiii, 21; xiv, 10, 20, 24-28
Mum. tx, 1873; X, 81; xiv, a. in fact, all
that they needed for all the journey. In
the New Testament story we think Of the
cloud on the Mount Of Transfiuration, the
cloud that received Him as He assembled
from Olivet and the clouds with which He
will come again. If we are truly His, we
have the assurance that He is with us all
the days; that be will never leave US nor
forsake us; that he will instruct u in the
way in which we should 90; that He will
hold our hand and help US, and that He will
perfect that which concerneth US (Math.
xviii, 90; Heb. xiii, 3; Ps. xxi, s; Isa
xii, lS; Ps- cxxxviii, 81. The comfort of all
this comes by simply believing it.
35. And it came to pass, when the ark
set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord,
and let thine enemies be scattered. and let
them that hate thee flee before thee
David, by the spirit, afterward embodied
this In at least two Of the psalms CPs.
xviii, 1, 2; Ps. cxxxii, 81. InJoshua iii, 13,
the ark is called 1.-THE ark Of the Lord, the
Lord of all the earth.n When the people
relied upon God who dwelt between the
eherubim, their enemies fed before them,
but when they relied upon the ark (which
was only the symbol Of His presence) then
their enemies obtained the victory u sam.
iv. 8, ID. five rely upon anything but upon
the Lord. Himself. we will not have peace or
victory.
S6 And when it rested, he said, Return,
o Lord, unto the many thousands Of Is
rael. = Thus, whether ON the march or at
rest, the great reality of IsraeI's life was
Jehovah in their midst. In proportion as
they realized this and acted accordingly.
they prospered, but when they forgot Him
they failed. 1t is 80 with US He says, ''Lo,
/ am with you always, and when we be-
lieve, and thus realize His presence, and
count on Him, we have joy and peace and
victory, but when We forget His presence
we fail
Hot Weather and Hard Times
"James, are you cooking dinnerf'
'sYes, sir; the cabbage j. boiling In the
mill pond, the eggs frying in the sand and