The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1901-11-29
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON TX. FOURTH QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, DEC. I.
Text Of the Lesson. Ex. III, liz.
Memory Verses. o-I2-Golden Text,
Ex. iii. 12-Commcntary Prepared
by the Rev. ID. M. Stearns.


%, 80, Moses was now so years of age,
having spent 40 years in Egypt and 40
years with Jethro as shepherd His shep-
herd life reminds us Of Abel and Jacob,
David and other shepherds of the Bible,
each OF whom in some way suggests to us
the Good Great Chief Shepherd John
X, IL. Ii Heb. xiii 20; Pet. V, ~, who
saves us, works in us His will and will
reward us az His appearing. The shep-
herd life is OF necessity lonely life,
life apart from the world and its ways
and gives great opportunity for fellow
ship with God. Horeb is again called the
mountain of God in | Kings xix, :, in
connection with Elijah's visit TO it, 1t is
mentioned in Nal. iv, 1, as the place
where God gave Moses the law, the stat
utes and judgments and in FIX. xix is
called Sinai. In verse - of our lesson
God told Moses that after he had brought
the people out of Egypt they would serve
God upon that mountain. In Elk. xvii, q,
we read that there Jehovah gave them
water from the rock that they might
drink. The events associated with Horeb
and Sinai give most profitable Bible
study, as do all the mountain stories of
the Bible, such as Carmel, Olvet, etc,
. And the angel of the Lord appear
ed unto him with fame of fire out Of the
midst of q BUSH" The Lord our God
is consuming fire, jealous God Deut.
iv, pa. He desires His people wholly for
Himself that He may bless them to the
full. He consumes in His people only
that which hinders their true happiness.
They, like the bush. are rot consumed
any more than Daniels friends were con
sumed in the furnace, which burned only
their bonds and set them free to walk
with the Son of God. The phrase in the
blessing upon Joseph, the good will OF
Him that dwelt in the bush" Deut.
xxXiii 16), may suggest that Joseph, like
others who have come through great trib-
ulation, are burning bush saints, never
consumed because God is in them lisa.
xiii, ], -.
9, 1. when the Lord saw that be
turned aside TO see God called unto him
out Of the midst of the bush and said,
Moses, Moses" Observe the double call
in Gen. xxi, IL, and | Sam. iii. 10, to
Abraham and Samuel. Joseph told Pha-
raoh that doubled meant established by
or prepared of God teen. XII, 81 and
margin). We think of the Loid's -
double amens Of Johns gospel and OF
the special attention we should give them.
If Moses had not turned aside TO see,
| think what he might have missed.
D. Put off thy shoes from off thy feet,
for the place whereon thou standest is
holy ground" Compare the same in
struction in Joshua V, -, which. | think,
is found only in these two places-to
| Moses as he was about TO lead Israel out
of Egypt and to Joshua as be was about
to lead them into the promised land. To
tread upon a place meant that the place
was given 20 that person lJoshua /, -.
So when person sold piece of land he
took off his shoe and gave il TO the pur-
chaser ruth iv. -. 1t seems 10 me that
God says TO Moses and Joshua in these
words something to this effect: This
whole matter is Nine not yours. | will
see it through. You come with Me and
rely upon Me.
q. Moses hid his face, for he was
afraid TO look upon God" a deep sense
of unworthiness is an accompaniment Of
a revelation Of God (Job xiii. ,, &; lisa.
vi. 3; Dan. X, :; Luke V, 3; Rev. i, 10.
God revealed Himself to Moses as the
God Of Abraham. Isaac and Jacob. the
God not Of the dead. but of the living
(Math. xxi, 32). He told Moses TO say
TO Israel, Il am hath sent me unto you"
Verse IA; | am that | am. he is Jeho-
yah who changes not; Jesus Christ the
same yesterday, today and forever tMal.
lii. 6; Heb. xiii 81. Men pass away from
earth and great changes come, but He
continues, and every purpose Of His shall
be performed at His appointed time.
Z, :. Il have surely seen and have
heard. for | know their sorrows. and
am come down 10 deliver them and to
| hri
fully the whole of these two verses, that
which He sees and hears and knows and
that which He will do for His names
sake Every child of God may take COM
fort from these assurances: Whatever be
your sorrows or your circumstances He
sees and hears and knows, and if He
permits hard things TO continue it is be-
cause the best time for His deliverance
has not yet come. "As for God His way
is perfect, and He maketh our way per-
feet" FPS. xviii, 80. 80, and He will new
er be too late in anything that He does,
but we need patience and must be con-
tent with John to learn the significance
Of the kingdom and patience Of Jesus
Christ (Heb. X, sc; Rev. i, 81.
y, 10. Come now. therefore, and | will
send thee unto Pharaoh that thou mayest
bring forth My people," God had just
said that He would do it, and now He
Tvs Moses will do II, for He will do it
} In and through Moses, and this is the
lesson we are so slow to learn-that "it is
God who worketh in us, both to will and
to do of His good pleasure" phil. ii. 10;
Heb. Kill, 21. He worketh all things ac-
cording to the counsel of His own will
(Eph. |, III, and faith just allows God to
work and quietly abides with Him for
His pleasure. What an honor is confer
red upon US when He selects any one of
US TO work through.
IL, - Certainly l will be with thee.
i have sent thee" Moses did not under
stand. He has his shoes on at once and
asks, WHO am l that l should go unto
Pharaoh and that / should bring forth
the children Of IsraelW See him also In
Mum. xi. %; Xxx, 10, and you see at
glance that his shoes are on. He Is
I thinking Of himself, not Of God. The
three signs given him, as recorded in the
beginning of the next chapter. should
have shown him his Importance and the
power Of God, yet we hear him Directing
and refusing, although God said. 81 will