Belding banner., 1915-01-20
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON FOR JAN. "a
SECURED EXCLUSIVELY BY THE
BANNER FOR ITS MANY
READERS
ACCORDING TO THE
INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Commentary Prepared In An Inter-
esting Way by Rev. ID. M.
Stearns


representative in the deliverance or
Israel at this time was made very
plain I'm our last lesson. Today's les
son and the chapter following tell of
the actual deliverance and that under
Gideon the country was in quietness
forty years tchapter viii. 2SI. In these
three chapters Gideon's name is men
toned thirty-nine times. but some
name OF God is used sixty times. In
all things He must be pre-eminent. 1t
is God who worketh: we are only in
struments Interesting references To
this great deliverance. with nm onward
look to greater deliverance by a
greater Deliverer, are found in lsa. tx
A.; X. 20. p: Ps. lxXXiii. ..
When the Spirit of the Lord clothed
Himself with Gideon and he blew the
trumpet $4,000 from several OF the
tribes were gathered unto him. which
seemed a very small number to go
against an army which was without
number and as grasshoppers for mul
titude Chapter vi. 5. 33-35) According
to Deut xXXii. so. they would. howev
er. be equal to 100000 Of the enemy
or even l60000.000. but the Lord said
TO Gideon. The people that are with
thee are too many for Me TO give the
Midianites into their hands. lest Israel
vaunt themselves against Me-" and so
all the fearful and afraid ones were
requested TO return home verses . 81
This was according TO the law In Deut.
Xxx, 8, and reduced Gideon's army to
| 10000.
am interested TO know what Gideon
thought when the Lord said The peo
pie are yet too many" or if he made
any remarks when he saw the 10000
dwindle down to only 300, but | shall
have to wait The lesson of II Chron
xiv. II. is strongly impressed upon me
Lord it Is nothing with Thee -
help. whether with many or with them
that have no power" AS then so now
God is seeking the whole hearted ones
whom He can use He is ready To say
all who will come TO Him and not will
ing that any should perish (Iohn vi
81: III Pet. ill., 81. but for service il Is
still true that Of the many who are
called few are willing To be His choice
ones. The cost of discipleship seems
too great luke xiv. 33l. If all the
fearful ones and the ease loving ones
in our churches were turned down
would there be only one in II hundred
ready to deny self utterly?
An interesting incident of encourage
ment for Gideon is found in verses
Ola. for. though listeners are not sup
| posed to hear any good of themselves.
this was certainly an exception. for
it was of the Lord. both the dream and
the Interpretation and the time Of tell
ing It. Now, try TO imagine Gideon's
! advance-three companies Of 100 each
and each man with a trumpet in one
hand and n concealed lamp in the 9th.
er. Was there ever anything so seem.
| ingly ridiculous in the annals of war.
fare? But He did it who uses things
| that are not to bring TO naught things
that are. He filed with food thousands
of hungry people by means of few
loaves and fishes which little boy
! had. He overthrow an army OF 1885.
600 by one angel His name is won.
] NNiAuA A-pph Oii AhI hhh hO ilht"ioI'
! As | do so shall We do" verse 10.
These are the Captains orders and to
us today the word is Follow Thou
Mer'
! Not worldly ways nor schemes of
any kind to draw or hold the people.
young or old. but just the clear note
of the gospel trumpet and the lamp of
a consistent Christian life. for the life
is the light. When the 800 lights shone
/ forth, and the trumpets sounded, and
/ the cry arose on the midnight air '"The
sword OF the Lord and of Gideon"
and every man stood In his place round.
about the camp, then the host Of the
enemy ran and cried and fled and slew
each other. and the Lord wrought the
victory verses 1929. It is still true
that the weapons of our warfare are
not cGrnal but mighty through God to
the pulling down of stronghods 0I Cor.
X, A..
There will always be faultfinders
| like the men of Ephraim, and we are
apt TO forget that soft answer turn
eth away wrath (chapter viii. 1-3; Prov.
XIV. IL. There are often ungrateful
] scoffeTs who need to be taught by
thorns and briers lchapter viii. 60. 16.
4 10, and there is rarely an Abigail to
plead for the fools who act thus fool
ishly u Sam. XIV. 10. IL. 23-3D. The
wisdom Of Gideon is seen in his say
ing to those who desired him to rule
over them. II will not rule over you;
- the Lord shall rule over you"
| viii. %. 23I The folly Of Gideon is
seen In his lending Israel to worship
an ephod instead OF the Living God,
who had spoken TO Israel by the Urim
and Thummim In the breastplate on
the ephod viii 24-27 Ex. xviii
6-15. 30).
Oh, the weakness and sinfulness OF
our poor humanity. and how necessary
the admonition. Let him that thinketh
he standeth take heed lest he fall"
Il Cor. K 12l So we learn again that