The Spectator. (Ozark, Ark.) 1911-1916, 1915-09-21


lesson Is aptly chosen, for the kingli
est quality or virtue passed by any
king Is to be obedient. The servant
who truly serves is obedient. The
motto of the king of England is "Ich
dien"-I serve.
Gen. r. e. Lee once said that for
him the greatest word in the English
language is the word obey" We read
Of our master that he learned obedi-
ence by the things he suffered" (Heb.
$50 and he taught that 'if We love
me. keep obey my commandments"
(John 14:15).
The lessons for the past quarter
cover an approximate period of about
125 years beginning probably B. C.
1924 (Beecher). In them there are pre-
sented nine rulers; David, Solomon,
Rehoboam. Jeroboam, Asa, Ahab and
Jezebel from within, and two from
without Israel, the Queen of Sheba and
Ben-hadad, king Of Syria. There are
also five prophets mentioned, Nathan,
Ahiah, Azariah, Obed and Elijah. 1t
might be we'll for teachers to dis
tribute blank pieces of paper and ask
the scholars to write a brief outline
of the outstanding facts regarding
these rulers, also Of Nathan and Elijah,
though the last will more properly
come later as there are yet several
lessons about that great prophet.
These kings can be classified as good
and bad, though the greatest Of them
all (David) suffered most terrible
fall. From these lessons the great
facts OF sin, grace, prayer. the word of
God. faith. salvation and unbelief are
all to be emphasized.
For the older classes most inter
esting study can be made of the de-
velopment Of Gods people materially
and the religious development also.
as well as study of the causes for
the division Of the kingdom.
The tendency In both Kingdoms was
downward towards the destruction of
the northern one and the captivity and
impoverishment of the southern.
A good method of review would be
to take up each of the different char
acters and give a summary of his life
and of its effect upon the nation. 1t
will be profitable to answer such ques-
tions as: What do the events of the
past quarter teach us about the char
acter of God? What great teachings
have we had presented on the subject
of prayer? What peculiar manifesto
lions have been seen in the develop
ment of sin? In this quarters lessons
what emphasis has been made relative
to the word of God? What moral du-
ties and obligations have been empha-
sized? II a good crayon artist is avail
able prepare on the blackboard II cir
Giles, five above. five below, and one at
each end of rectangle. In this last
place the Golden Text for the day and
in each of the circles. beginning in the
upper left hand corner. either sketch
or some other suggestion of each OF
the several lessons. A tree for Absa
lom's death. queen in the second, a
man in prayer in the third. temple
in the fourth and so on. Do not try to
be too ornate and leave much to the
Another suggestion for use upon the
blackboard would be to draw two
panels or columns on either end of the
board and connect the tops by an arch.
Divide the arch into five divisions and
in the top, the keystone of the arch.
place the name of good King Asa, to
the left Absalom and Adonijah, and to
the right Elijah and Ahab. On the left
panel write The Word of God" and
on its capstone David" On the right
panel write, obedience" and on the
capstone Solomon" Then under
meath the arch and between the panels
first the names of the remaining chief
characters belonging to Israel. and be-
low, but separate. those from without
whose names have been considered
during the past quarter. This arrange
ment of names might be so made as to
call attention to the separated king
doms of Israel and Judah. using the
arch for the names of the characters
affecting the kingdom before its di-
vision.
Again the board may be ruled into
two columns, one TO contain the names
of the chief persons" and the other
the chief facts" Divided according
to lessons they will be about as fol-
lows: Chief persons l, David. Joab.
Abiskai. Absalom: 2 David, Bath
sheba. Zadok, Nathan. Solomon, Adoni-
jah: 3 and 4, Solomon: S, Solomon.
Queen of Sheba: 6. Rehoboam. old and
young men: 7. Jeroboam: s. Azariah.
Asa: 3. Elijah. Ahab and the widow OF
Zarephath; 10. Elijah and prophets Of
Baal; IL. Elijah and God; ~. Ben
hadad. Ahab, young men.
Chief Facts-1, failure; 2. anoint-
ing; 3, choice; 4. prayer; 5. wisdom.
6. division; z. sin: s. reform; 3. provi-
dence: 10. testing; IL. discourage
ment: IL. defeat. Thus by careful and
prayerful preparation review of each
lesson can briefly but probably be
presented.