The Yale expositor., 1909-03-05
Philip and
the Ethiopian
Sunday School Lesson for March 7, 1909
Specially Arranged for This Paper

LESSON TEXT.-Acts. s:2s-Ss. Memory
verses 29-31.
GOLDEN TEXT.-Search the Scrip
lures; for i'm them We think We have eter-
nal life: and they are they which testify
OF me-John 5:39.
TIME.-Summer of A. ID. SO or g. Soon
after the last lesson.
PLACE-Where the road from Samaria
TO GAIA crosses or joins the road from
Jerusalem to GAIA; In the uncultivated
region southwest OF Jerusalem, toward
the old Philistine country.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
VS.. 81, %. "A man of Ethiopia" A
general term for the lands south OF
Egypt. But from the name OF Queen
Candace it was probably Meroe,
country which lay on the right bank OF
the Nile from its junction with the
Atbara, as far as Khartoum, and
thence to the east of the blue Nile to
the Abyssinian mountains. "Of great
authority" A man of power, of wide
influence, prince.
v. %. WAS returning" Guided by
Providence at exactly the right time.
Read" twas reading). "Esaias."
Greek form of Isaiah. He was reading
aloud as was the custom, so that
Philip was able to hear 1t. 1t was a
pleasant and profitable custom on long
journeys.
Reading Aloud. 1.-THE great Jewish
teachers insisted, in many instances,
upon their scholars reading aloud
10 he a~nnrinnno nTnha hlV
OF many, when l say that utterance
aloud Is often a very powerful aid to
mental retentiveness," says Joseph
Parker. 1t is more than this, reading
aloud helps us to understand the
meaning of the Word. For in order TO
read we'll we must understand every
shade of the meaning, or we will mis-
interpret Gods Word. A monotonous,
sing-song, woodeny. or artificial read
ing, such as we often hear, comes
very near to being a crime. for II de-
prives the Word of its natural mean
ing, and makes the hearers inatten-
tive, or repels them from the Word.
Those who wish to know the truth
take great pains and spare no ex-
pense to obtain it.
Young people often say that it is
hard to become interested in reading
the Scriptures. But If anyone reads
them in order to find out what to do.
and what to believe, he will, of neces-
sity, find deep interest in the study,
as one finds a map interesting when
he is planning a journey, or a chart
when he is crossing the ocean.
God is no respecter of persons.
Twice Africans are brought to our no.
tice-here, and when Simon the Cy-
renian helped Jesus to bear his cross.
"As for the nationality of the ETH
opian," says Farrar, at must be borne
In mind that even Moses himself had
once married an Ethiopian wife"
We can meet God and learn his will
in the desert places of life, as Moses
saw the burning bush, and Elijah
heard the voice of God in the lonely
places of Horeb. and Paul spent three
years in the deserts of Arabia.
1t is good to use every spare oppor-
tunity in studying and meditating on
the Word of God. What we do with
our spare moments often determines
our characters even more than our
daily labors do.
The books we choose and are IA
miliar with, like our chosen friends,
mold our characters and guide our
destiny.
V. 20. Then the Spirit said" The
Spirit speaks not only to our feelings,
but to our judgment and conscience.
Whoever is perfectly willing to obey
the voice of the Spirit will be guided
Alright. Prejudices, unwillingness to
obey, past training or failure of train
ing, in so far as we allow them to ex-
ert an influence, will lead us astray:
as iron near the compass on a ship
will defect the guiding magnetic
needle. Join myself to this chariot"
An excellent illustration is found in
Pilgrims Progress" where Christian
is wandering around in doubt, and
meeting Evangelist is directed to the
right way.
V. 35. "Then Philip began
at the same Scripture" Which was
fulfilled in Jesus, and has been full.
filled I'm no other. And preached"
announced the glad tidlngs of Jesus.
Philip showed the strange and mar.
velous correspondence between the
many descriptions of the Messiah in
the prophets and the then well-known
life OF Jesus OF Nazareth.
The Progress of a Soul Into the
Kingdom. Compare with Bunyan's
Pilgrims Progress as far as the Pal
ace Beautiful, whence he was sent
forth clothed in Christian armor.
1. He was deeply in earnest, and
went on long, dangerous, and costly
Journey to find the true religion.
2. He did this against many infiu-
ences that held him back
3. He went to the religious people
and meetings where he thought he
could learn about the true God and his
service.
4. He read the Bible carefully to
learn the way