Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1895-10-03
NUMBER 8
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON 4, FOURTH QUARTER. INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, OCT. Q.

Text Of tine Lesson. Judg. Ii. I-12, 1G-AIem-
ory Verses. n, IL, 16- Golden Text,
Judg. Ii, 1G-Commentary by the Rev.
ID. VI. stearns-
l, 2. ''Ye have not obeyed Ny voice.
Why have ye done this2' The summary Of
the Book d Judges Is found in Acts xiii,
9Oi And after that He gave them judges,
about the space Of $50 years, until Samuel
the prophet. " Also in Ps. cyi, "a, 30, 40,
They did not destroy the natiqls con-
corning whom the Lord commanded them,
but were mingled among the heathen, and
learned their works Therefore was the
wrath ~ the Lord kindled againsb Hill peo-
pie, insomuch that He abhorred His own
Inheritance. His commands were plain,
but they were disobpdient, and thus they
hindered Him from shewing Himself
strong on their behalf III Chron. xvi. O..
At least six times in Judges 1 it L. said
that different tribes did not drive out the
inhabitants; hence the visit Of this angel
Of the Lord to show them their sin, and if
possible, turn them to the Lord All the
history Of Israel IL just picture of the
general character OF believers at the pres
ent time and in all ages, and a contrast
with the character Of Him who IL Gods
Only Begotten He could say, II delight
to do Thy will, 0 my God. . Il do always
those things that please Him" CPs. XII, y;
John viii, 2g)
3. They shall be as thorns in your sides.
and their gods shall be snare unto you n
The only way for those who would follow
Jesus il to Deny self and take I'D the
cross l." Love not the world, neither the
things that are in the world Yet many
who say they are trying to live Christian
life, ask if they cannot read good novel
occasionally, and once in awhile attend the
theater and dance just little, etc2 They
say, We must have relaxation and recrea-
tion, and where shall we find itg'i
4. The people lifted up their voice and
wept- They were, "a people much Civ
en- to murmuring and rebelIing 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 il a way Of
fullness Of joy which you will find in John
xvr III John /, Al Rom. XIV, I9, but it
can only be found in complete separation
to God and 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 'fthe
weepers" }" and is found only here and in
verse I. Israel's days of weeping are not
yet over, but the time viii come when in
Jerusalem the voice Of weeping and crying
shall be heard no more lisa. Ixv, 19) Then
shall they truly receive Him who IA the
only sacrifice for sin, even the Lord Jesus
Christ, their Messiah (Zech xii, 10; xiii, 1;
Isa- Tx, 20, 2I).
2, 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
ed Of his heart searching and soul stirring
farewell address, in which he showed the
impossibility Of serving the Lord unless
they meant it with the whole heart All
service must be lii sincerity and in truth;
all worship must De in spirit and in truth;
all must be "untO the Lord, - with a single
! eye to His glory (Joshua xiii IA; John iv,
"a; Col lii, 23, 24) Some helpful words On
service are also found in l Thess. H. 4;
Gal i, 10, Not as pleasing men, but God
who trieth our hearts. " '4If I VET pleased
men, I should not be the servant of
Christ" The people in Joshuais 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 if we will serve in
sincerity and truth.
s. And Joshua, the son OF Nun, the
servant Of the Lord, died, being an hun
dred and ten years old. This verse and
the next are almost identical with Joshua
xiv, 20, 30, and the Holy Spirit does not
repeat without reason. He says, 'fYe
shall know that have not done without
cause all that Il have done (Ezek- xiv 25).
What better epitaph could any one have
A ~ar1Nf n
the beginnings az the New Testament epis-
tles and see how the writer's delighted in
this title.
8. 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 well and happy ever since, they
laid his body away till the resurrection.
Death l. an enemy which holds On to tho
bodies of the saints rs long as possible, bus
he cannot harm the soul, for when hi
touches The body he only sets the soul free
to be with God.
10. Another generation which knew
not the Lord, nor vet the works which He
had done for Israel " This makes us think
Of ''the new king that knew not JOSEPH"
and of the one who said i know not the
Lord, neither will let Israel goi' ok. i,
8; v, 2). There il difference between
knowing about the Lord and knowing the
Lord These people certainly knew about
Him and His wonderful works, butt had
they known Him they would have trusted
and served Him (See John xvii, 81.
IL. "And the children of Israel did evil in
the sight of the Lord and served Baalimr
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 Phnnicians and Canaanires.
Isa. xvi, 13, might sum up all idolatry,
10 Lord our God other lords beside Thee
have had dominion over us. Many OF Us
must make the same confession, and it is
well for US when we can add, But by
Thee only will W. make mention Of Thy
name.
12 "And they forsOok the Lord God"
See also verse 13, and chapter vi, 10, 13.
The prophets have much to say about T.
rael forsaking God jeremiah expresses it
forcibly in chapter ii, IS, when the Lord
by his mouth says, My people have com
mitted two evils; they have forsaken Me,
the fountain Of living waters, and hewed
them out cistcrns, broken cisterns, that can
hold no water The contrast to farsaking
l. 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 Es viii lead IT, to clcave unto Him
with purpose of heart. Tho only way l. To
q Be flied with the Spirit, then We Will
not forsakc Him.
is. Nevertheless the Lord raised up
judges which delivered them out Of the
hand Of those that spoiled them. Many
times did Fe deliver them, hut they pro
voked Him with their counsel and were
brought low for their iniquity Neverthe-
less He regarded their affliction when He
heard their cry (Ps. cvi, 4s, 4+l. The story
Of the book Of Judges Is that Of disobedi-
ence foliowes: by oppression, then weeping
and penitencr. then dclivurance and rest
until they diSnbeyed again. 1T makes us
think Of Rom. iii, and makes US long for
the rest and victory Of Rom. viii Let us
be willing and obedicnt.
Commercial FertfIixnrm.