The Red Cloud chief., 1913-11-20

GOl.DEN TEXT-"Be strong ana OF
good courage" Joshua 1:9.
Now 1t came to pass ". ~. Thinga
do not happen in the kingdom Of God,
they come to pass" This world, ma
tions. families or individuals were not
set In motion by creator who has
gone of neglectful of his creatures,
nor has he left them to blind fate
or infiexible law. Attention is also
drawn to the time, after the death
of Moses"
The call was clear and unquestion.
ed. for the Lord "spake." Our high.
est responsibility IL to that call which
comes from the highest source Of au.
thority. This call came In the time of
great need. Israel is without a lead.
er. Then follow the first words Of
Jehovah to this newly chosen leader
". p and which constitute his
charge, Moses my servant is dead.
now, therefore arise" This suggests
prayerful attitude on the part Of
Joshua, but in no way 10 II to be con.
strued that Moses was q hindrance
to this forward march Of the people Of
God. Rather. that Moses work was
completed and on the basis Of his
work an advance was to be made.
Obedience 70 Law.
The conditions laid upon Joshua
were: ~ Confidence due to this prom
ise Of the presence Of Jehovah ". 81.
The personal pronoun "I'' is used
seven times in these nine verses a.
though God would make confidence
doubly assured. But confidence alone
was not enough, hence the necessity
OF courage" ". g.. Strength is due
to confidence and quietness. Isa. 30:
Is, but courage Is the active principle
which is the evidence of our strength
and courage. Conquest was not alone
conditioned upon courage ". g., but
also upon the sure foundation of the
word and oath Of Jehovah. But
strength and courage are maintained
by obedience to law whether 1t be
physical. civil or spiritual, hence the
words Of verse Z. the possession Of
this land depended upon absolute un.
fiinching, invariable adherence and OBJ
servance OF the law, (which Moses my
servant commanded"
Confidence and Authority.
But Jehovah never leaves his own
". 81, Matt. $500, nor does he leave
man to blind fate or fortuitous cir
cumstances. Therefore we read In
verse s the counsel of Jehovah as to
the method whereby Joshua and Is-
rael may prosper" ". y or according
to the margin do wisely" viz. they
shall mediate upon the books Of the
law. This verse Is enough for the
entire class session. The leader. be
he preacher or teacher, who has any
doubt about the word Of God. or
stands dumb before the empty tomb
had better seek a new vocation for
he is the apostle Of dying, disinte.
grating class or church and a decad
ent faith. The origin of man, the
mystery Of life the destiny Of the
soul, demands the voice Of confidence
and authority not of uncertainty and
doubt. True prosperity and wisdom
are conditioned upon our taking the
word Of God as the man of our coun
sci, the light of our path, our daily
meditation. The definite result oi
such a course is set before Joshua
and In addition he was promised the
companIonshIp ". 81 Of Jehovah every
step Of the way. 1t is interesting in
this connection ~ remember thai
Joshua was associated with Moses In
the first experience Of war in the his
tory Of this young nation.
Conclusion. The greatest lesson be
fore US at this time Is that of eontlnu
ity OF the purposes Of God. As grea,
and important as Moses has been dur
ing his 40 years of leadership. yet hi
was not necessary. The instrument
of divine deliverance. direction anS
discipline. yea. the voice of God to Ia
rael, the receiver of their complaint
and of their confessions, yet now HI
has been removed. What q tremen
dous blank he must have left. Ye
Israel Is to go forward. there Is to b.
no halting in its. progress. God ha,
been training men for 40 years, ont
of whose faith failed not at the sigh
OF the giants. one who had fellowship
with the old and is now to face tn
new. We recall the words Of JohI
Wesley, inscribed upon his memo
rial tablet In Westminster abbey, "G0'
buries his workmen, but carries OF
his work." Each individual In tn
long succession of leaders has his aE
pointed task, and as he 10 loyal CON
pletes that task thereby preparing tn
way for q new leader. The abidin
principles that condition each man
success are loyalty and obedience.
The Golden Text 10 In substanc
thrice repeated. First. Joshua was t
be strong and of good courage bs
cause OF the work ahead Of him ". g.
second. he was to be strong and coul
ageous In the observance Of the law
and lastly he was to be strong an
courageous In order to avoid the pei
ils of fear and dismay which wer