Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1895-07-27

LEsSoH ~. THIRD QUARTER, IN
,TERNATioNAL SERIES. JULY %.

<. 80 Commentary by the Rev. ID. NJ.
'stearns.
90 And Moses said unto Hobab. the son
OF Raguel the Midianite, Moses father-in-
law. We are loErneying unto the place of
which the Lord said. / will give 1t 70 You:
come then with US. and we will do thee
good, for the Lord hath spoken good con-
cerning Israel" They had been encamped
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 lEx XII. IL.
so. just fifty DAYS later the cloud lifted
and they journeyed from Sinai (Num. X, II,
Ial in the order described in this chapter
Raguel or Ruel. or Jethro lex ii. is; iii. -
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 81 his shepherd life. Truly the Lord
bad spoken good concerning Israel, as in
Elk vi, G-S, that wondrous sevenfold, II
will beginning and ending with II, Je-
hovah." Moses believed the word of the
Lord. He had respect unto the recompense
Of the reward (Heb. ri, 26), and because of
il had forsaken all his prospects in Egypt
Being fully persuaded of the good things
awaiting Israel, he would fain have Hobab
TO anjoy them too Have we this spirits
80 And he said unto him, will not GO
but l viii depart TO my own land and 10
my kindred" lIobab saw no such prospect
as opened up 10 the mind of Moses. and as
far as appearances went he felt that lie
would be- better of with his own people. IL
Is difficult for many To esteem the reproach
Of Christ greater riches than the visible
treasures OF this world The young man
whom Jesus told TO sell all that he had, and
take up the cross and follow Him, went
away grieved because he had great pus-
sessions. Jesus and His suffenngs now,
with glory hereafter, is the programme for
the Christian. If we prefer the world aud
its pleasures now. we must not complain
il we lose the kingdom hereafter.
81. And he said, Leave us not | pray
thee, forasmuch as thou knowest now we
are TO eneamp in the wilderness, and thou
mayest be to us instead OF eyes" Moses is
now seeking good from Hobab instead Of
as moment ago. offering him good from
God In this Moses is surely wrong 1t
looks n IL for the moment he was forget
ting God, and His cloud. and His unerring
guidance So unstable is man even at his
best We think of Simon Peter one moment
confessing that Jesus was the Christ, the
Gun VI NIG LIVING Notis anu tic HCAb dtNiiiH
as satan's mouthpiece TO tempt the Lord
To pity Himself and turn from the cross
(Math. xvi, 10, 80. How we do need to
pray, 'Set watch, O Lord, before my
mouth; keep the door Of my lips"
30. And it shall be if thou go 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" Again he said, "All
things that the Father hath are mine. !"
(John xvi, l5). And again it is written
"All are yours, and We are Christ's, and
Christ is Gods" Il 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 or
nothing TO make it known to the millions
who are still in heather darknessi
49, 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 themi Yet we are apt to do this
very thing-we do forget so soon. Three
days is very suggestive of resurrection, as
Il, ba 81 If A br0h o
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
q Cor. XIV, 1919. But since He died and
rose again aud ever liveth, 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
Gifted and risen with Him, and seated with
Him in the heavenlies (Eph. ii, 40. Ceas-
ing from our own works, we rest in His
finished work (lIab. iv, 3, l0), and wherever
He pitches our tent He Is our rest.
"a. And the cloud of the 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 eek. xiii, 81; xiv, 10, 20, 24-2S
Nun. tx, 1928; X, 81; xiv, 14), in fact, all
that they needed for all the journey In
the New Testament story we think of the
cloud on the Mount of Transformation, 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 he will never leave us nor
forsake us; that he will instruct us in the
way in which we should go; that He will
hold our hand and help us, and that He will
perfect that which concerneth us (Math.
xviii, 90; Heb. xiii, 5; Ps. xxi, s; Isa.
xii, 10; Ps. cxxxviii, s.. The comfort of all
this comes by simply believing it.
81. And it came to pass when the ark
set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord,
and let thine enemies be scattered, aud let
them that hate thee flee before thee !"
David, by the spirit, afterward embodied
this in at least two of the psalms (Ps-
xviii, 1, 2; Ps. cxxxii, 81. In Joshua iii, 10.
the ark Is called 1.-THE ark of the Lord, the
lord of all the earth" Whe.: the PEOPLE
relied upon God who dwelt between the
cherubim, their enemies fed before them,
but when they relied upon the ark (which
was only the symbol Of His prescncel then
their enemies obtained the victory Il Sam.
il 3, ID Ifwervly upon anything hus upon
the Lord Himself, we viii not have peace or