The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-11-05
THE SABBATH SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR NOVEMBER 9.


xiv, IA-25-GoId"n Text. Josh. xiv.
1S-Memory Verses, IL, 11-commen'
tary on the Days Lesson.
Il. Now therefore" In view OF the
fact that Jehovah has brought You forth
with such a mighty hand. Fear the
Lord" Reverence the Lord and walk
carefully before Him. Think OF His maics.
ty and respect His authority, and relnem-
Der that His eye is ever upon you. Always
make Him the object Of all your worship.
Serve Him" Perform His will; obey His
commandments. In sincerity and IN
truth" Without hypocrisy. The Latin
word from which. out sincerity comes
denotes "honey without wax, nnm,xed
purity. The Greek word is considered by
some to be founded on the idea Of some.
thing held up in the rays OF the sun, and
proved to be without speck or flaw. Put
away the gods" Il would seem from these
words tha. there were some among them
who privately kept the images or gods
which had belonged to their forefathers.
The gods which their forcfathers wor-
SHIPPED were Q) the gods Of the Cha!dcans:
They worshiped fire, light and the sun, and
made gods to them. f2) The images wor'
SHIPPED by the Egyptians which were tho
ape. serpents. vegetables. etc. The Inhan-
;tants of Canaan also worshipcd idols,
which would become a snare to Israel un'
less they nut away all heather worship.
Joshua saw that they could not be sincere
in divine worship and use idols. 'On the
other side of the food" Beyond the
river" r. v. That is. bevond the Eu.
pirates. in Mesopotamia and IN Ur, whence
Abraham came.
or inexpcdient. Choose you" etc. Lake
Elijah on Carmel Il Kings Is: ?D. Joshua
calls upon the people to at once decide as
to whom they would serve. They had been
them in secret, while openly PROCESSING to
serve God. II was high time for this to
cease. The whole hope Of the nation de-
pended upon a whole. hearted service OF Je-
hoyab. There was no good reason for
them 10 defer the matter single moment.
"As for me and my house" Joshua is out
spoken. His decision was made many
years before this. He also resolves for his
family, his children and servants and such
M were under his care and influence and
protection.
l6. "The people answered" All the pco::
ME "responded to his call by loud ant:
hearty declarations of their determined
faithfuiness to their covenant with Jeho-
yah.s Whatever had been their sins they
were no. ready to forsake the service o!
God. They reply with irmness, leaving nc
room for doubt. Joshua did everything
possible to confirm their decision and to
render it enduring. He caused them to re-
peat it three times Tvs. l6, q. 24 each
time in stronger terms and in clearer light
Nor was it in vain. for it lasted for whole
generation. as long as the pee people PIC lived VINO
II, IS. For the Lord our God: etc
The people ground their promises OF hdel,
ity for the future on the dealings OF God
with them the past: ]. Their deliver.
anee @ from Egypt. 2. The great sign,
wrought in that land. 3. Their preserva'
tions in the wilderness. 4. The expulsion
Of the Amorites. Therefore will We also. y
Joshua would not be permitted to stand
alone in his choice. for they were OF the
same mind, and would claim the same God
with him.
10. Eye cannot serve the Lord" ie
cannot in your own strength, while still
rlinging to your idolatry and with hearts
unregenerated. "An holy God" He is
holy in His character. and will not allow
His people to be defiled by any impure
worship. "He is jealous Cod. He IS al
together unlike the gods OF the nations
ar:,und, and il they would serve Him they
must make Him the highest object OF their
love and devotion. "Will not forgive-your
sins" Rather, will not pass by your sins as
if taking no notice OF them. He will no:
tolerate sin. The explanation is that while
God n iorriving to the truly pcnitent, He
vigorously Furnishes all incorrigib.e sinners.
90 Then He will turn" God Is unai'
terablv fixed in His attitude toward sin, to-
ward the reDentant sinner and toward the
righteous. He never changes, but as we
change He assumes different attitudes to-
ward us, as we put ourselves in different
relations TO Him. See Jer. is: I-lh. do
you hurt" etc. They could not denv Gods
goodness to them. but He made law and
il they transgresscd the wrath OF God
would certainly fail upon them. They
fixed their own punishment.
81. I'VE will serve the Lord They ur'
derstood ,Joshua's meaning, and declare
they will not cause God to turn and do
them hurt. Whatever He requires at their
hand thev pledge themselves to Re obe'
dent. They promise 10 put from among
thcm anything that hinders God from hav'
ing their best affections. >,
%. witnesses against yourselves.
They had decided and publicly promised
10 obey. accepting the conditions OF bless
incs for obedience and punishment for dig
obedience. Their conscience will DC their
witness. Judge and executioner. Another
witness was the written word ". 26), and
third Wis a great stone set up as nonu'
ment ". 27). which would constantly re-
mind them OF their promise.
o. Put away" etc. Prove your inten'
tions at once Begin the work OF reforma.
tion before Jour hearts harden against
your promise Let :he heart incline TO-
ward God. and the acts of the life will har'
monize with the divine will.
q. will we serve and obey The
Thought Of prompt action did not change
them, but only settled their minds more
fully. The better they understood the
more determined were they to obey.
25. Joshua made n covenant" A cove.
nant had been concluded by God on Sinai
with Israel and so,emnly ratified. Ex. 70:
%. This covenant Moses had renewed in
the field Of Moab. Deut. @: ]. Joshua
who had been present at the ratification
of both the previous covenants. rcncws II
now, and doubtless with august ceremonies.