Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1915-09-15
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON FOR SEPT. 10
SECURED EXCLUSIVELY BY THE
BANNER FOR ITS MANY
READERS
ACCORDING TO THE
INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Text of the Lesson, Kings Xxx, 1921.
Memory Verses, IL, 12-GOlden
Text, Hos. Nv, 1l-COmmentary
Prepared by Rev. ID. M. Stearns.

ness Of Ben-hadad and the thirty-two
kings who are said To have helped him
all of whom were drinking themselves
drunk in the pavilions VERSES II, 10,
and were thus more easily overcome
by the small army of Israel. In our
own day railroad and other corpora
tons are learning that men who are
given TO strong drink cannot be relied
upon and that it Is not the part of wis
dom to employ Them. no matter how
efficient they may be. Not only does
such sin and folly take away the heart
or understanding as in the golden text.
but il is apt 10 become most filthy and
beastly and has been known To affect
even priests and prophets Qsa. xviii,
Z. -. 1t is utterly selfish and sensual
and turns the heart away from the
Lord Qsa. V. IL. II, 20-23) Neither
drunkards nor any other unrighteous
people can inherit the kingdom of God,
but there is forgiveness and salvation
for all sinners who truly turn TO the
Lord and honestly receive the Lord
Jesus Christ IL Cor. vi. Old. The con
trast to being drunk with wine is to
be filled with the Spirit (Eph. V. 49,.
and this is the privilege of all believers.
The insanity of drunkenness, with
its Unsuitable selfishness and cruel APP
preparation of the prosperity of Others
Is seen In the demands of Ben hadad
upon Ahab for his silver and gold
wives and children and everything
pleasant In his home and the homes of
his servants oversees 10, and yet strong
drink has done and is doing just that
in numberless homes today. When the
Lord is rejected and any other ruler
installed ii Is always a matter of take,
take. take all that one has q Sam. viii,
1913. How great the contrast to God.
who giveth life and health and all
things, who gave His only begotten
Son, and in Him life eternal and glory
and all things freely (Acts xvii. %;
John Iii. IS; X, 2S; xviii %; Rom. viii.
32. How desperately wicked and
cruel the devil must be to blind people
to the love OF God, who giveth all
things. that he may take all they have
for time and eternity QI Cor. iv, 3, A..
There is something more and deeper
and farreaching in this lesson chapter
than the story OF drunken Ben-hadad.
whom God had appointed to utter de-
struction (verse 42) because OF his
sins. Ahab, king of Israel, was about as
bad as man could be, under the influ-
ence of his wicked wife, Jezebel, and
yet for IsraePs sake, but chiefly for His
own great names sake, for Israel was
His people, though in rebellion against
Him, He gave Ahab victory over Ben
hadad and his associates twice, al
though Israels forces were like two
little flocks of kids, while the Syrians
fill ID the country Verse 27). He did
this that Ahab might know Him as the
true God instead of Baal, whom he
worshiped to please his wife verses
13, 80. BY this great goodness He
would Impossible lead Ahab TO repent
ance, for He Is not willing that any
should perish Rom. ii. 4 III Pet. i'll. 81.
Three times in this lesson the Lord
sent special messengers to Ahab. twice
TO encourages him and once to reprove
him Oversees IL, %. $50. At the first
victory Israel slew the Syrians with a
great slaughter but they came again,
saying, We were, defeated because the
gods OF Israel are' the gods Of the hills;
therefore we will fight against them in
the plain and surely overcome them.
Because they talked thus the Lord
said by His second messenger that He
would deliver this great multitude OF
Syriams into Ahab's hands, and so Isra-
el slew 100000 footmen of the Syrians
I'm one. day, and a wall fell upon 1900
more and killed them, but Ben-hadad
made his escape and hid in an inner
chamber Oversees 2S-30.
The king of Syria's servants planned
a scheme by which they might learn
If Ahab wasfinclined to be merciful to
him and spare him. Ahab called him
my brother" and said, go ye, bring
him." so they met and made a cove
nant one with the other Oversees 31-34).
This led to the Lords sending third
messenger with a reproof for Ahab be-
cause he had spared Ben-hadad, and
"the king of Israel went to his house
heavy and displeased Cverse 43). We
are reminded of Saul sparing Agag
and also the best of the sheep and
oxen, and also of the Lords message
by Samuel, Behold, to obey is better
than sacrifice" q Sam. XIV, 8, 22).
In last weeks lesson we saw Jezebel
possessed by the devil, and now we
see two men with the same trouble,
Ben-hadad and Ahab, and yet the Lord
would have used Ahab had he been
willing, but he preferred a compromise
with the king of Syria rather than
faithfulness To the God of Israel who
had given him two such, wonderful
victories. SO IL is still; the mighty
God, the God of Jacob, is ready TO
hold strongly with all whose hearts
are whole toward Him Oh Chron. xvi,
8, margin), but many professed serv-
ants of thetLord prefer to be friendly
with some iBen-mdad rather than be
faithful tosGod and rebuke their sin.
"RuSy hpratand fharps' (yersp 4OO with