El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-09-10
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON xI, THIRD QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, SEPT. ~.

Text of the Lesson. Amos VI 1-s CTem-
perance Lesson) Memory Verses, SO.
Golden Text. lisa. xviii. 7-Commentary
by the Rev. ID. M. Stearns-
l. Come and lot us return unto the
Lord, for He hath torn and He will heal
us; He hath smitten and He will bind us
up" The topic of this lesson is Sinful
indulgence and It is assigned as the
quarterly temperance lesson. 1t is possible
that the committee meant the first eight
verses of chapter vii, for there is a reference
in verse to bottles of wine. But I'VE shall
in our meditation upon these verses con-
slider the book as whole and thus gather
what we can of the mind of the Lord.
Hosea in Israel was contemporary with
Isaiah in Judah, as will appear by COM
pairing lisa. i, l, with Hos. j. 1. The great
sin of both Judah and Israel was that of
turning away from the Lord, as is simply
stated in Jer., ii, 13, and Gods constant
cry to them was that they should turn to
Him again. See Jer. iii, 1, T. IL, IA, %;
iv, 1, etc. This Hosea urges them to do
in the first verse of our lesson, identifying
himself with them in their sins, as did all
the prophets, typifying our Lord Jesus,
who took our sins upon Him that he
might save us. See Dan. tx, 5, 6, 8, etc,
and III Cor. V, 81; Pet. ii, "a.
2. after two days will He revive us, in
the third day He will raise up, and we
shall live in His sight" All prophecy is
full of a glorious future for Israel when
their sins shall be blotted out. and they
shall be a righteous nation before God in
the midst of the earth lisa. TX, 81; .Ier.
xxi, 33, 34). In Eek. xxxvii, ~, 13, and
Dan. xii, l, 2, this restoration of Israel is
associated with resurrection. 1t is posi-
l..s &c lO..l lrnfT
back to Isaac being given back to A bra
ham ON the third day, looking forward
to the resurrection of Christ on the third
day and to the restoration of Israel two
days or 1000 years after their scattering.
Note also the references to the third day
in the life and in the teaching of our Lord
and take as a constant prayer THAT 1
may know Him and the power of His res
direction" (Phil. iii, 10).
3. "Then shall we know if we follow on
to know the Lord; His going forth is pre-
pared as the morning" 1t is written in
John vii, IL, eff any man will do His
will he shall know" There must be a
forgetting and n pressing ON if we would
know Him phil. iii, 49,. Israel grew
weary of Him and of His teachings and
guidings and they left off to take heed to
the Lord, forgot His law, joined them
selves TO idols and dealt treacherously
against the Lord chapters iv, 8, 10; V, 1, -.
All intemperance in meat or drink or in
the pleasures occupations of life is due
to a lack of the knowledge of God His
coming in glory, which is doubtless in
cluded in His going forth as the morn
ing is the purifying hope of John iii, B.
4. 80 Ephraim, what shall 1 do unto
thee? O Jndah, what shall do unto thee?
For your goodness is as morning cloud
and as the early dew it goeth away.
Ephraim stands for Israel, the ten tribes.
God tried every way TO win them, but
their piety was transient a morning
cloud dispersed by the rising sun (xiii, 81.
They cried unto the Lord, even howled
upon their beds, but it was not with their
heart, and when they assembled them
selves, apparently to worship God, it was
really for corn and wine or, in other words,
to eat and drink for their own pleasure
(ohapter vii, Ia. They did not know that
the Lord gave them their corn and wine
and silver and gold which they used upon
Baal.
8. Therefore have hewed them by the
prophets; 1 have slain them by the words
of my mouth, and Thy judgments are as
the light that goeth forth" They consid
cred not that all their doings were before
Gods face (vii, p, and that He saw their
divided heart *, %. Through the proph
cts by His word, which is like a fire and
hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces
(Jer. xiii, 800. He had sought to break
their pride and their rebellion, but their
doings would not suffer them to turn unto
their God Chapter V, 4, margin). Many
know what they ought to do and know of
Gods love to them and claims upon them,
but they stop their ears and harden their
hearts and prefer their pleasures of sin for
a season. They will not believe that as
they sow SO shall they reap, and they that
sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind
(chapter viii,7).
q. For desired mercy and not sacrifice
and the knowledge of God more than burnt
Offering" Sacrifice was instituted when
God in mercy gave to man redemption
garments (Ger. iii, 21), thus foreshadow
ing the sacrifice on Calvary wherein was
manifest the great love of God TO sinners.
God desires not sacrifice, Tor the blood of
bulls and goats cannot take away sin (Ps.
xl, q; Ii, 10; Heb. tx, 12). He does not
ask gifts nor relig ious favors from those
who fancy themselves righteous, but He
desires to give redemption freely, by the
sacrifice of Himself, to all who viii receive
Him. When we learn to know God and
His love and His way, we never think to
offer Him anything to win His favor or
in any way propitiate Him, but accepting
His Precipitation, Jesus Christ our Lord,
we yield ourselves to Him, living and
will sacrifice, bought by His blood.
z. "But they, like Adam (margin), have
transgressed the covenant; there have
they dealt treacherously against me-" On
Gods part all is pcrfCct-periect love and
grace and faithfulness for the undeserying.
The break and the failure are always upon
mans part. Yet God changes not; He
abideth faithful and is ever the same Nal.
iii, 81. Although they were guilty of all
manner of sin recorded in the next
chapter and elsewhere, yet His cry to
them was, so Israel, return unto the
Lord thV God. / will heal their hack slid
ing; will love them freely" (chapter xiv,
J, -.
8. "Gilead is n city of them that work
iniquity, and is polluted with blood"
Gilead was noted for its spices (Gen.
xxxvii, 25; Jer. viii, 22), but now it was
anything but a pleasant odor to God Even
the priests were full of iniquity, stated
in the next verse, and yet they sought to
cover up their iniquity by their sacrifices