Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1902-08-09
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lessen In the international series
for August 10, 19O2-Temper-
ance Lesson.
THE LESSON TEXT.
neviticus 1o:1-11N


Qeviticus 10:1-11.)
]. And Nadab and Abihu. the sons OF
Aaron, took either of them his censor,
and put fire therein, and put incense
thereon, and offered strange fire before
the Lord, which He commanded them
not
2. And there went out fire from the
Lord. and devoured them, and they died
3. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This
Is 1t that the Lord spake, saying, VIII
be sancdfed in them that come nigh me.
ana before all the people I will be glori-
fed. And Aaron held his peace.
4. And Moses called Mishael and Eliza
phan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of
Aaron. and said unto them, Come near,
carry your brethren from befoFs the
sanctuary out of the camp.
5. So they went near, and carried them
In their coats out of the camp; as Moses
6. And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto
Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, I'm
cover not your heads, neither rend your
clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come
upon all the people; but let your breth-
rem, the whole house of Israel. bewail
the burning which the Lord hath kindled.
z. And ye shall not go out from the
door of the tabernacle of the congrega-
ton, lest We die: for the amounting oil
of the Lord is upon you. And they did
according to the word of Moses.
8. And the Lord spake unto Aaron, say
ing,
| y
| thou, nor thy sons with thee, when ye go
into the tabernacle of the congregation,
| lest We die: it shall be a statute for ever
! throughout your generations:
10. And that ye may put difference be-
| tween holy and unholy, and between
Ii. And that We may teach the children
| of Israel all the statutes which the Lord
hath spoken unto them by the hand of
GOLDEN TEXT.-Let us watch and
| he. zRhRr-1 :6
OUTLINE OF SCRIPTURE SECTION.
The proclamation. ......,........Lev. 1O;l1SS-
The prohibition......... Josh.
TIME.-B. c. 1880.
PLACE.-Sinai.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
Strange Fire.-If God were to be
honOred and reverenced by His peo-
pie, it was essential that the forms
of approach to Him should be strict
ly regarded; otherwise their concep-
ton of Him would be greatly low
cred. It is quite probable that Nadab
and Abihu were under the influence
of wine or they would, not have of
fered strange fire.
Profaning theAltar.-The strange
fire was fire kindled in some irregu-
lar manner or taken from some I'M
hallowed source. The offense seems
slight, but as showing a lack of rev.
erence for Jehovah it was very grave
The sin was one of the heart. Wor-
ship that is not reverent is a mock
cry. "Sanctifed" in this place means
recognized as holy" not ''made
holy"
The Burning Bewailed.-Then mel
upon whom Moses called to bury the
L. I,
ably elderly men. They took the bod
les without special preparation to a
place outside the camp. The priests
were forbidden the usual signs OF
mourning-dishevele hair and torn
clothing-because they had died by
reason of Jehovah's judgment on
their sin. Do we not sometimes la
ment and perhaps rebel against Gods
decisions when we should bow in 81
ience as Aaron did? terrible ca
lamity had befallen the house O
Aaron because of irreverence and dis
obedience, but irreverence and dis
obedience generally begin at home
and the fault is too often with the
parents. Yet who will say that the
fathers punishment was not greater
than that of his sons?
The Prohibition.-'The command t.
abstain from wine and strong drinl
is thought by some, on account of it!
insertion here, to hint that Nadal
and Abihu were intoxicated whe1
they brought strange fire, but this
is very uncertain indeed. There i:
nothing uncertain, however, about
the command itself, which, with the
| - Z,
clearest passages in the Bible in it:
teaching of abstinence. The reason!
given are absolutely free from the
fanaticism which sometimes in the
past has made it seem that the worst
foes of the temperance cause were
they of its own household. There
is grain of truth in the saying thai
ga large part of the business of the
wise is to counterfeit the efforts Of
the good" The priests were forbid
den strong drink because JehovaI
wanted men, strong, -clear-eyed, self
respecting men, to stand before him
The religion of Jehovah was to be
the religion of purity, self-respect
manhood and womanhood. The first
suggestion of a debased priesthood
such as was common in other re
ligions, had to be met in a way tc
prevent its appearing again. Forty
seven American railroads discrimi
nate against persons who drink-be
cause they want to employ men
Most great business enterprises dc
the same thing, and for the same rea
son. The doors that young men who
drink close upon themselves by theiI
own free act should not be forgot.
ten. The opportunities they lose, the
confidence they forfeit, the manhood
they are willing to risk, should make
drinking in any form appear a very
poor proposition to any sane man
TO make the most of himself is q
duty that every man owes to himself
his country and his God.