The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1915-09-30

GOLDEN TExT-Be sure your sin vii,
ind you out.-Num. AN
Ahab disobeyed God and failed 10
follow up his victory over Ben. Hadad
(ch. 20: $3.50. Thereupon one of the
prophets resorted to a plan whereby
Ahab was rebuked and also received
a message that sent him to his house
heavy and displeased" ". 43). All OF
this needs to be borne In mind when
we study Ahab's course OF action re-
lated In this lesson. Learn by heart
the tenth commandment: also Luke
1915.
!. The Schemes Of Men. w. tile.
Ahsb had been king for twenty years
tB. c. 906D. Jezreel was his summer
capital. about twenty miles northwe<
OF Samaria. The chief actors In Oh. !
tragedy were Nsboth. a weil-to-do citi-
Gen; Ahab. . petulant monarch to
whom Nsboth refuses to sell his vine
yard: Jezebei. the Lady Macbeth OF
Ahab's court; elders and mobiles OF
Jezreel. willing tools In the transac.
ton: false Witnesses. eIecutioner, and
Elijah the servant Of God. who con-
fronted the monarch in his newly
gained possession. Ahab was con
stantly In conflict with the purposes
OF God and with his Word. Naboth
had no right to sell his vineyard tsee
Numbers 1851; Lev. 1928: also EIek.
+s:i0 and sturdily stood out for his
81 sNy Nah Ia
were rigid. but at the same time wise
and beneficial Instead OF yielding to
Gods law Ahab sulks like q petted
child ". u and thus again runs coun-
ter TO Gods Word tsee tenth com.
mandmenp. Al this iuncture JeIebei.
his wife. appeals to his pride and
power as the king ". ~. and oflers
to procure the coveted possession. The
methods OF mankind whereby vast pos
sessions are accumulated do not al.
ways bear investigation; murder and
rapine. broken hearts and shortened
lives. weakened bodies and stunted
children can largely be traced to the
sin or covetousness. against which We
all need to be on guard lake i2:1s:
Eph. 5:5). The FIRST sinner was covet-
Gus tGen. $50. so also were the
chosen people OF God Gosh. 7;2). and
Il was this that caused the first dis
sension among Christian believers
tActs b:l-s. Jerebel most graciousiy
gave Ahab that which belonged to
others; how free We all can be with
the property Of others! She also
cloaked her designs with the mantle
OF religion ts-l3).
u. The Sentence Of God. w. f7-2o.
The dead Naboth was happier than his
neighbors OF Jerreel. the king and
queen or any OF the other evil par
Elephants. Ahab began by breaking
the first commandment Il Kings i6 81.
Deut SD and thus laid the ground
work OF the whole train OF evil for
which he and his household and his
reign are famous. The elders readily
obeyed the word OF Jezebel and Ahab
profited thereby. but now he was to
hear the Word OF God and II was not
TO be 30 welcome Recently we saw
Elijah set aside following his flight
from Jezebel but ne 10 not entirely
beyond use and God now gave him a
new commission. ono more task in
with his old opponent.
There is nothing indicating cowardice
In Elijah's bold challenge OF Ahab and
there is also a suggestion OF a guilty
In Ahabs exclamation.
Hast thou found me. o mine enemy"
" 20)? Ahab had gone down to the
vineyard OF Naboth" ". l6) to enjoy
the pleasure OF possessing his ill-got.
ten treasure only to hear again his
word of doom (ch. 20:42; 2l-i9). II
was a poor exchange Ahab made
MARK SGD. n throne and his life In
exchange for the carrying out OF his
own will and the possession of a vine
yard. In that exact spot where Ma
both had been foully stoned the dogs
would lick up the blood OF the king.
As is usually the case. the guilty sin.
her called the righteous servant -.
God his enemy" yet had Aha
Dbeyed the Word OF Jehovah as SO
frequently spoken by Elijah hs would
have discovered him to be his true
and best friend. not his enemy. Ahab's
sin had found him out Golden Text.
Mum. 32:23D.
~. The Summary. Covetousness is
not the mere desire for things we do
not possess. but a deep longing which
Is willing to do wrong. to injure 9TH
ers. to profit by the evil deeds OF 9th
ers In order to come into possession.
covetousness seeks to gain at the CT.
pense OF higher and better things: II
Is the extreme opposite OF the spirit
of him who gave ALL"
The greatest danger Of our land and
he chief source OF sin Is covetousness.
The source and fountain OF covet-
BUSINESS is selfshness. Hence the one
and only cure Ii In a changed heart,
'ne consecrated TO God and devoted
70 the service Of others.
Love God, obey his Word, strive
With all our ransomed powers to build
ip and advance his kingdom and
will vanish as mist be-
or the summer sun.
Covetousness is Unsuitable, II 10
never satisfied.