Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-08-30
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
lesson In the International Series
for August 81, 19O2-The
Brazen Serpent.
THE LESSON TEXT.
Mnmharr 1f.1AN

i. And when King Arad the Canaanite.
which dwelt in the south, heard tell that
Israel came by the way OF the spies; then
he fought against Israel, and took some OF
them prisoners.
2 And Israel vowed a VOW unto the Lord,
and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this
people into my hand. then I will utterly
destroy their cities.
g. And the Lord hearkened TO the voice
of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites;
and they utterly destroyed them and their
cities; and he called the name Of the place
Hormah.
l. And they journeyed from Mount Hor
by the way of the Rec. sea, to compass the
land of Edom: and the soul of the people
was much discouraged because of the way.
5. And the people spake against God, and
against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought
US up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?
for there is no bread, neither is there any
water; and our soul loatheth this light
bread.
the people. and they bit the people; and
much people of Israel died
z. Therefore the people came to Moses,
and said, We have sinned, for we have
spoken against the Lord, and against thee;
pray unto the Lord, that He take away the
serpents from US. And Moses prayed for
the people
s. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make
thee fiery serpent, and set it upon pole:
and it shall come to pass, that every one
that is bitten, when he looketh upon it,
shall live.
9. And Moses made a serpent of brass
and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass,
that II a serpent had bitten any man, when
he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
GOLDEN TEXT.-And as Moses lifted
up the serpent in the wilderness,
even SO must the Son of man be lifted
up; that whatsoever believeth in Him
should not perish, but have eternal
Iife.-JOhn 3;14, 10.
OUTLINE OF SCRIPTURE SECTION.
Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Mum, xvi.
Budding of Aaron's rod 10000. Num-, xvii
Sin of Moses and Aaron. Mum, 20:1-13
Refusal of Edom ..............N Mum, 20:14-21-
Death o. Aaron ...........,... Mum, 20:22-29.
Bitten by serpents. Mum, 21:1-9.
TIME.-B. c. 1471 and 1852.
PLACE.--Meribah, Kadesh Mount Hor,
and The Arabah.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
The Wilderness Life.-The sentence
| of the Lord was carried out, and for
40 years in all, the Israelites wan
dered in the wilderness. The genera
ton that was too cowardIy to fight
found graves in its solitudes. Dur
ing that time the people led nomad-
ic shepherd life, with headquarters at
Kadesh-barnea. Two incidents only
are recorded which appear to belong
to that period. Now we are to see
what was the temper of the new gen
| Grafton.
Korah, Dathan and Abiram. - The
Israelites stayed near Kadesh-barnea
for 38 years, living the life of nomads,
with no permanent settlements, but
roaming far and wide with their cat
tie, as the Bedouin do to-day. Prob
ably the tabernacle was not moved
during all that time, but continued
| to be the center of the theocratic
| government. The movement of Ko-
| rah is another indication of the gen
era1 feeling that the government of
Moses was autocratic rather than
| theocratic. Discipline had to be
| maintained at any cost or the people
would fall apart into scattered and
| helpless groups, and never be able to
| conquer Canaan. Against the severity
of the punishment the people protest
| ed, blaming Moses and thus showing
that the spirit of rebellion was not
| dead,
Budding of Aaron's Rod.-The Incl
dent recorded here is intended as
guarantee of the Divine appointment
of Aaron to the priesthood. 1t pro-
duced the desired effect, and, as It:
| IL, IS show, intimidated the people.
The subsection of the people was Sc
| cured by fear.
The Sin of Moses and Aaron.-2o:1
refers to the gathering of the peo-
pie, preparatory to moving on the
promised land. Kadesh is we'll
watered neighborhoOd, but the dis
trict in which it stands is arid, and
the people would have to travel long
before reaching a suitable water,sup-
ply. The sin of Moses and Aaron is
somewhat obscure, some suppOsing it
to have been impatient anger. others
| finding it in an attempt to take to
| themselves the credit for the miracle.
Refusal of Edom - The hope of
| Moses was for peaceful passage
through Edom, but the Edomites
| made so curt refusal and so strong
show of resistance that the people
had to go about, thus gaining a far
more advantageous military position
for the conquest.
Bitten by Serpcnts.-The Canaanite
king who attacked Israel did not need
to cross Edom. He thought the peO-
pie intended to come by way of his
territory, and attacked them in the
hope of preventing such movement.
Utter destruction or devotion" was
religious sanction to the overthrow
of city. BY it nothing could be
kept for spoil, but everything, wheth-
er living or inanimate, had to be de-
stroved or sacrificed to God. It was
+ brutal and bloody method of war
fare. The journey around Edom was
rough and difficult, and it is no Won
der that the people were discouraged.
III
after all the wonderful deliveSances
that had preceded it. Christ Himself
was familiar with this passage, and
drew from it one of the illustrations
with which His marvellous discourses
abounded (John 3:14)-