Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1895-07-26
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON ", THIRD QUARTER, IN.
TERNATIONAL SERIES, JULY %.

DRY Verses, 80, 3f-Golden Text, Mum.
X. 2O-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 iourneying unto the place of
which the Lord said. will give it to you
come thou with us and we will do thee
good, for the Lord hath spoken good con-
corning Israel" They had been encamped
at IIoreb 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, IL
80. just fifty days later the cloud lifted
and they journeyed from Sinai (Num. X, II,
12) in the order described in this chapter
Raguel, or Ruel, or Jethro (IIX. H. Is; iii, y
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 as in
Elk. vi, 6-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. X, 26), and because of
it had forsaken all his prospects in Egypt
Being fully persuaded of the good things
awaiting Israel, he would fain have Hobab
to enjoy them too. Have we this spirit?
80 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 he
would be better off with his own people. 1t
is difficult for many TO esteem the reproach
of Christ greater riches than the visible
treasures of this world. The young man
whom Jesus tcld to sell all that he had, and
take up the cross and follow Him, went
away grieved because he had great pos
sessions. Jesus and His suiteungs now,
with glory hereafter, is 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 he said, Leave us not, | pray
thee, forasmuch as thou knoWest how we
are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou
mayest be to Us instead of eyes Moses is
now seeking good from Ilobab instead of,
as a moment ago, offering him good from
God. In this Moses is surely wrong. 1t
looks as if for the moment he was forget
ting God, and His cloud. and His unerring
guidance. So unstable is man even at his
best. Wethink of Simon Peter one moment
CV''i097iliH uI'O Jesus "''7 ulc NH'i7'' 'ue
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, 10, 20. How we do need to
pray, set watch, o Lord before my
mouth; keep the door OF my lips"
81. And 1t shall be If thou go with us,
yea 1t snail 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,
~, The glory which thou gavest me, |
have given them" Again he said, All
things that the Father hath are mine"
/ (John XVI, 10. And again it is written
"All are yours, and ye are Chrst's, and
| Christ is Gods" Il Cor. iii, 23). Now
since God is willing togive His grace and
| glory to every one who will come to Him