The Red Cloud chief., 1912-08-29
LESSON FOR SEPT. I.
DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST


LESSON TEXT-Nfark 6:1t-s9.
GOLDEN TEXT--"Be thou faithful unto
death. and will glve thee tho crown Of
lfe."-ltev. 2.i0.
Tho story of Hamlet and BanQuo's
ghost IL no more vivid or dramatic
than the story of the tragedy Of John
the Baptist.
"And King Herod heard of him."
"A. OF course iierod would hear OF
the rising young cousin OF John who
was creating such n stir throughout
Galilee. His coarse, sinful. licentious,
heart cringed at the rebuke Of such o
life OF purity. one that performed so
many good deeds, one who was con
stantly ministering to others as con-
trasted with the life OF Herod. who
only ministered to his own selfish
lusts. Small wonder no should ex'
claim, 1T is John whom beheaded."
and one can hear In fancy the rising
tide of terror that surged through his
heart as he must have screamed, "He
Is risen from tho dead!" The first
three verses Of tho lesson are a vivid
picture of how the fame Of this young
Galilean affected the conscience
stricken and guilty-hcarted usurpet
upon the throne.
Who was this Herod? In the FIRST
place, he was guilty Of the sin OF in
cest, for he had married the wife Of
his brother Philip, who was still liv'
ing. From verse eighteen Of the les
son we learn further that the bold and
courageous John had rebuked him oi
this evil and as a result Herod had
cast him into prison. and though he
may have desired, yet. he did not ns
yet dare to take his life. Added tc
this Is the anger Of sinful woman
John a Just Man.
This procipitated a war which re
suited in the overthrow and utter
loss OF the army belonging to the
father OF Herod's lawful wife. Why
did Herod hesitate to comply with oil
that Herodias desired? Verse 20 tells
us. because John :"was just man and
an holy" Righteousness Is often q
mans surest safeguard. Herod waa
not altogether devoid OF conscience ns
we have already seen. and this ID
further evidence of that fact. Verso
20 adds that when Herod heard him
he was "perplexcd and heard him
gladly" We believe that Herod was
seeking some sort Of a recanting upon
the part OF John. that he was glad
(anxious) to hear from his lips some
sort OF statement that would Justify
his liberation and was perplexed over
tho persistence of John, who. though
in prison, never for one moment low
cred his standard OF divine righteous.
ness, nor trimmed his sails 30 as to
catch the wind of Herod's popular
favor. That this was Johns attitude
and that 1t was known to Herodias 10
evident from the beginning Of the
verse 81. "and when convenient day
was come" Herodias was all too
ready and willing to seize her oppor.
tunity.
To evidence her depths Of depravity
and also her anxiety. note that Hero
dias was willing to sacrifice the mod
csty Of her own daughter to gain her
end. The use Of the word herself
'. % r. ". is evidence that It was
nm unusual thing for this daughter Of
q queen thus to exhibit herself.
Now note the oath Of tho liquor and
iust.drunken king. What an appalling
request. What q terrible consequence
What lengths men will 60 to "keep
their word" given thoughtlessly or ut
tered In the heat of passion. This ID
one Of the blacklist pictures Of his
tory. A lust-driven. licentious poten.
tate. q rebuked but vindictive queen.
slave Of these same passions.
Not Real Sorrow.
The child of the home thrust forth
before the gaze Of the court to help SO.
cure the ends OF murderous mother.
A godly. fearless saint who had a great
message from a great God. and with.
out hating, hesitancy or compromise
continued to deliver that message till
stricken down In the midst Of an orgy
of passion. Herod's sorrow was not
unto repentance" ". 26) but rather
that Of guilty conscience.
We need now to return again to the
first verse of the lesson and we can
we'll believe It must have been sad
wall, "He Is risen" ". 1G). History
tells us Herod lost his kingdom and
that he and Herodias died In exile.
Let us turn from this awful picture
and look at John. How different. Thus
dies he who was the greatest born OF
a woman. Thus died one who dared
to rebuke evil in high places. Ono
who would not compromise to Gavc
his life. and one who was faithful unto
death (see the Golden Text. Can we
hesitate to believe that John received
his crown?
A suggested outline for this lesson
is as follows:
I. A TerrorStrieken conscionce-
v. 1@1e-
/. Jesus name spread abroad. v. II.
2. Men sought to explain Jesus. ".