The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1902-08-29
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson in the International Series
for August 81, 19O2--The
Brazen Serpent
THE LESSON TEXT.
Numbers. d .1-q

2. And Israel vowed vow unto the Lord
and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this
people into my hand, then l will utterly
destroy their cities
8. And the Lord hearkened to the voice
of Israel, and delivered up the Guarantees
and they utterly destroyed them and their
cities and he called the name Of the place
Hormah.
A. And they journeyed from Mount Hor
by the way Of the Red sea, TO compass the
land of Edom: and the soul of the people
was much discouraged because Of the way.
s. And the people spake against God, and
against Moses, Wherefore have We 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.
6. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among
the people, and they bit the people, and
mueh 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 a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole
and it shall come to pass, that every one
that is bitten, when he looketh upon it,
shall live.
8. And Moses made a serpent of brass,
and put it upon a pole, and it came pass,
that If a serpent had bitten any man, when
he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
GOLDEN TEXT.-And ms Moses Hfted
up the serpent in the wilderness
even SO must the SON of man be lifted
up; that yvhosOever beIievetf in Him
should not perish, but have eternal
life.-John 3:14, 10.
OUTLINE OF SCRIPTURE SECTION.
Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Mum, xvi
Budding of Aaron's rod ........ Num-. xvii.
Sin of Moses and Aaron. Num-, 201-13.
Nelusal Oh Edom Num-, 20:14-2l.
Death OF Aaron ............... Num-, POPPED
Bitten by serpents. ............. Mum, q :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 cowardly to fight
found graves in it's solitudes. Dur
ing that time the people led a nomad-
lc 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
Israeites stayed near Kadesh-barnea
for 3S years, living the life of nomads,
with no permanent settlements, but
roaming far and wide with their cat
flo n thn pnIn114n 10 10
ably the tabernacle was not moved
during all that time, but continued
to be the center of the theoeratic
government. The movement of Ko-
rah is another indication of the gem
eral 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 a
guarantee of the Divine appointment
of Aaron to the priesthood. 1t pro-
duced the desired effect, and, as II:
10, 10 show, inundated the people.
The subsection of the people was Sc
cured by fear.
The Sin of Moses and Aaron.-20: 1
refers to the gathering of the peo-
pie, preparatory to moving on the
promised land. Kadesh is a 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 tar
BOGlLlOLl
for the conquest.
Bitten by Serpents.- 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
a religious sanction to the overthrow
of a city BY it nothing could be
kept for spoil, but everything. wheth-
er living or inaninate, had to be de-
stroyed or sacrificed to God 1t was
a 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.
But the murmuring was unreasonable
after all the wonderful deliverances
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).
spear Points.
Success is not salvation, but saliva
ton is success.
Sorrow may be but the shadow Of
God drawing near.
He who will not obey in the dark
cannot lead in the light.
Care is the stumbling block in the
pathway of happiness.