Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1915-09-29
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON FOR OCT. 3
SECURED EXCLUSIVELY BY THE
BANNER FOR ITS MANY
READERS
ACCORDING TO THE
INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Text OF the Lesson, Kings XXI, H.
20. Memory Verses, l7-l9-Gold-
en- Text, Mum. XXXII. 23-COm-
mentary Prepared by Rev. ID. NJ.
Stearns.

ny ttNs Ne W.
Stearns.
Anab and Naboth side by side on
earth, the rich and the poor, meet to-
| gether, but there is hereafter, as de-
scribed in Luke xvi, and the rich here
are sometimes awfully poor, and
worse than poor. when they leave this
world. 1t Is certainly pitiful phase
OF sinful human nature when such as
Ahab desire also poor mans all and
act like Il spoiled child when they can
not get Ii. He was heavy and dis
pleased when reproved by the Lord
for compromising with Ben-hadad. ana
now he Is the same because he cannot
have Naboths vineyard, ana he went
| to bed. turned away his face and
would not eat Xxx. ~; xxi. IA. Many
a man in Naboth's place would have
been afraid 10 displease such one as
| Ahab. but NabOth feared the Lord and
| evidently remembered that the land
was His and was not to pass from
| tribe 10 tribe LEV. XIV, %; Mum.
xxxvi, ~, ana he would rather dis
please Altab ut any cost than displease
the Lord. Such whole hearted people
for God are greatly needed-those who
Will never bow to any. however
mighty, II thus they can glorify God
The fear of man always bringeth
snare. We must live In the fear Of the
Lord always.
Jezebel, on learning what allied her
husband, urged him to remember that
he was the king, that he should arise
| and eat and be merry and she would
give him Naboth's vineyard oversees
90. The people who give what does
not belong TO them. no matter who
suffers by II, are still TO be found on
neutrality-suspicious., proud, selfish, the
earth Is mine; what right have you on
1t? There are also plenty to do their
bidding, no matter what 1t is, whether
TO Cypress and ruin a man or his fam
fly or business or even TO take a mans
life, as did these vassals OF Jezebel
Oversees $40. Some one has said that
II the servants OF Christ were as ready
to serve Him as the servants Of the
devil are to serve him many things
would be different all around.
1t seems to us strange that the Lord
should permit the devil to afflict and
kill His people, but He told His disci-
pies that they would be put out OF the
synagogue and even killed for His sake
and that they must not be afraid to be
killed John XVI, /. .: Matt. X, 2SD. In
the very next chapter we see a faith
full servant of the Lord, Micaiah the
son Of Imlah, put in prison and fed on
bread and water because he spoke the
Lords message and feared no mans
frown and sought no mans favor (xxii.
3, IA, %, 2Sl. The time will come, aft
ter the church Is taken away, when
the saints then on earth, converts after
the rapture, the redeemed of Rev. vii. |
the great tribulation saints, shall suf
fer terribly at the hands OF the serv
ants OF the devil dan. vii, 81. %; Rev. |
Xiii, So. but their victory Is seen In
Rev. XIV. while the torment Of those
who prefer life and the favor Of man !
is seen in Rev. xiv, OIL.
Word was brought by the murderers
TO the murderess that Naboth was
dead, stoned TO death. like Stephen and |
know the God OF Naboth. who ever |
liveth and cares for His own. though |
He often allows that which looks like |
evil TO come to them 1t stands for
ever true that all things work togeth-
er for good to them that love God
Rom. viii, 2S). Ahab went TO take |
possession of Naboth's vineyard. but |
an awful message came TO him from
the Lord by the mouth OF Elijah con-
corning both himself and his wife.
"Thus saith the Lord, In the place
where dogs licked the blood of Naboth
shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine"
and "The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the
wall Of Jezreel'' verses 10, 23). See
the fulfillment of both Of these predic-
tons in xxi. SO, and III Kings TX, 10,
20, 30-37. There Is a reaping for all
sowing both here and hereafter, for
whatsoever a man soweth that shall
he also reap" and they that have
sown the wind shall reap the whirl-
wind" gal. vi, Z, 8; Hos. viii, q.
Ahab called Elijah his enemy Verse
20), but 1t was Ahab who was the enc
by OF Elijah and of the Lord, for he
had sold himself to the devil TO work
evil In the sight of the Lord, being
stirred up to do so by his wicked wife.
Jezebel oversees 20. 25). He said to Eli
jah, Hast thou found me?' And Eli
jah said, II have found thee" (verse
20). This reminds us OF the words In
Mum. xxi. %. Re sure your sin will
find you out" and also of Matt x, 20. 1
There is nothing covered that shall
not be revealed and hid that shall not
be known" oh. the revealings Of that
day. when there may be many works
Of even Christians burned up because
of self q Cor. iii. 11-15). Ii looks as II
Ahab might have been a different man
but for his wicked wife And oh, how
gracious the Lord was TO himl He
knew him thoroughly. and yet when