The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1895-07-26
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON ", THIRD QUARTER, IN
TERNATlONAL SERIES, JULY 20.
Text az the Lesson, Mum. Il, 29-36-Mem-
DRY Verses, 80. 34-Goiden Text, Mum.
Il. 29-Commentary by the Rev. ID. M.
Stearns.


Il. 2s-Commentary by the Rev. ID. M.
Stearns.
90 And Moses said unto Hobab the son
OF Raguel the Midianite, Moses father-in-
law, We are journeying unto the place of
which he Lord said. will give il 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 II oreb many months. On the first day
of the first month Of the second year the
tabernacle was erected and accepted by
God and filled with His glory (EX. xl II,
34). Just fifty days later the cloud lifted,
and they journeyed from Sinai (Num. X, IL,
l2) in the order described in this chapter.
Raguel. or Ruel, or Jethro (Ex ii, Is; ill.,; y
was the father of Zpporah, 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
Ex 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 (deb. XII, 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 enjoy them too. Have we this spiritS
80 And he said unto him, will not 90,
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 told 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 sufferings 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 Hobab instead Of,
as 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. We think of Simon Peter one moment
confessing that Jesus was the Christ, the
Son of the Living God, and the next acting
as satan's mouthpece To tempt the Lord
TO pity Himself and turn from the cross
(Math. xvi, l6 23). How we do need to
pray, set n watch, . Lord, before my
mouth; keep the door of my lips"
80. And il 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,
~, The glory which thou gavest me,
have given them" Again he said "All
things that the Father hath are mine. ."
John xvi, ~. And again it is 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 or
nothing to make it known to the millions
who are still in heather darkness?
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 them5 Yet we are apt to do This
very thing-we do forget so soon. Three
,lov - Iva IF ion ~
in the story of Abraham and Isaac, Jonah,
our Lord Jesus, etc. God would have us
rest in Jesus crucfied and risen. II He he
not risen, there is no salvation for any one
q Cor. XIV, 1913. But since He died and
rose again and 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. H. 40. Ceas-
ing from our own works, we rest in His
finished work (Hab. 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 (EX xiii, 81; xiv, ~, 90 24-2S;
Mum. tx, l5-23; X, "a; xiv, l4), 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 lie 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, 20; Heb xiii, 3; Ps xxi, s; Isa.
xii, l3; Ps cxxxviii, g. The comfort of all
this comes by simply believing it,
80. And il 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 F"
David, by the spirit, afterward embodied
! this in at least two of the psalms ops
/ xviii /, 9; Ps. cxxxii, 81. In Joshua iii, 10,
the ark is called the ark of the Lord, the
Lord of all the earth" When the people
relied upon God who dwelt between the
/ cherubim their enemies fled before thapn