Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-03-18
SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson xIl.-FIrst Quarter, For
March 10, 1911.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

u tCStlDtVby AEulAGt WV Oh 1aS 10N
OF those who bear His name, but II
encourages the ungodly In their un
godliness, In II Chron4 xvi we read
that Asa. king Of Judah, was rebuked
by the Lord through Hanani the seer
because he relied upon Benhadad,
king OF Syria.
1t may have been that this fellow
ship Of Asa with him afterward en-
couraged Benhadad to III treat Ahab,
king Of Israel, as he did, first demand
ing Of him his silver and his gold and
his wives ana children and then
threatening to send his servants TO
search the houses Of the king and his
servants and take away all their de-
sirable things (verses B, o.. Ahab
seems 10 have borne the nrst demand
with wondrous submission, but the
second was too much, and Ahab by
the advice OF his elders so returned
answer to Benhadad. This drew from
him a great threat, to which Ahab re-
/ piled Ia these wordst let not him
that gtrdeth on hi. harness beast HIM
! self as he that putteth it off" verse III.
We cannot but be impressed with
the pains which God takes to win peo-
Pile to Him and to deliver them from
| the wrath to come, and we are amazed
to see Him working even on behalf OF
| such a one as Ahab. But it was all
for His great namesake that Ahab
might know Him as Jehovah oversees
30 40, nnr,ro vn Toh vvytt C7-G0.
and remember always ii Pet. ill, ..
What He has done for Israel In the
past and win yet do for them In the
future was and will be wholly for His
| names sake that He may be known
and trusted Geek. xxxvi. %; xxxvil,
%; xxxviii, %; xxx, 1920. Even
to this day He is wont to show Him.
self strong on behalf Of very unworthy
representatives If only He may be
known through them as the living
and true God, who loves to a and
is not willing that any should perish.
The great hindrance to Ills saving
and blessing people and showing Him
self strong ON their behalf Is their I'M
| willingness and unbelief. How often
He has had to say: "And We would
not" Isa xviii. u; xxx, is; Matt.
xiii, 81; John v, 40). MY people
would not hearken to My voice, and
Israel would none Of Me-" '9They be-
lieved not In God and trusted not In
His salvation" Cps. XXI, III xviii,
20.
Ahab's record lie, There was none
like unto Ahab, who did sell himself
to work wickedness I'm the sight Of the
Lord" chapters XXI, XIV. The only good
thing written Of him Is his penitenee.
which caused the Lord to delay Judg-
ment on him (xxi, 27-2a,. And Jet In
this lesson the Lord gave the Syrians
into his hand twice, though his people
were but few and the syrians a great
host He even caused a wall 30 fall
upon 27,0Oe Of the Syrians. Such a
manifestation Of the power Of God on
behalf of such as Ahab is most I'M
usual. We must think not Of Ahab.
but Of Israel as the people of God.
though In rebellion against Him, con-
corning whom He said: How shall /
give thee up, Ephraimf How shall l
deliver thee, IsraelT Clos. 1i, 81
80 Israel, thou hast destroyed thy
self, but In me Is thine helpr' 20
Israel. return unto the Lord thy Godl'
Hes. Kill, 8; xiv, ~
AS to the Syrians, who were at this
time overthrown, 1t Ia plain that
| drunkenness was one Of the sins of
their leaders, for Benhadad and his
thirty-two royal comrades were drink
ing themselves drunken oversees XII. 16)
even while they were boasting against
the God Of Israel. 1t was not sinful
Israel that they were talking against,
but the wonder working God OF Israel,
who counts all that is done to His
people, however unworthy they may
be, as done to Himself (Zech. II, 81
After the first defeat Of the Syrians
they said that the God Of Israel was
a God Of the hills, but not Of the val
leys, and for this they suffered theil
second defeat, though the children Of
Israel were like two little fiocks Of
kids, while the Syrians filed the coun
try oversees IS. %. The Lord loves
to show Himself strong on behalf o.
all who trust In Him QI Chron. XVI, o.
But proud, naughty, self sufficien
people will always be overthrown
There is nothing that develops the sell
In man like wine or strong drink. and
self or the carnal mind is that par
Of us that is incorrigibly bad and car
never be improved from. viii. q. Al
to the way In which wine or stronl
drink works-and some instances o
1t In the scriptures-the cases o
Noah, David and Uriah. Nabal, Elal
and others might be studied With prot
1t tGen. TX, 20, 81; II Sam. ri. 10;
Sam. XIV. SO; I Kings xvi, 81. TIL
record stands that drunknrds shall no
inherit the kingdom of God.
And even such guilty ones hav
been and may stiI1 be saved. The
there is that staggering and drunken
ness of unbelief always to be consid
cred in which neither wine nor stron
drink is at all in evidence lisa xxiz
9-l3). Sinners of all grades and kind
are all about us, whom God Is read
to save, and we do well to consids
whether while we are busy here an
there they get beyond our reac
Verse 40.
BIBLE STUDENTS ASSN.