Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-09-29
INTERNATIONAL
SUNDMSNOOL
LESSON
CBy p. o. SELLERS, Acting Director of
the Sunday School Course OF the Moody
Bible Institute. Chicago)
Copyright, 1915. Western Newspaper Union.)
LESSON FOR OCTOBER |
PLOT THAT FAILED.
LESSON TExT-Acts %.

LESSON TExT-Acts g.
GOLDEN TExT-They shall fight
against thee; but they shall not prevail
against thee; for 1 am with thee. saith
Jehovah. to deliver thee.-Jer. 1:19.
The stirring events Of this lesson oc-
CURED In tho Castle Antonia and the
Sanhedrin hall, near the temple court
of Jerusalem; also in Caesarea, the
Roman capital of Judea, on the Medi-
teranean coast. in the year A. D. 81.
just at the close of Paul's third mis-
Hionary journey. The lesson pictures
two successive days Of strange adven-
lures In which Paul was concerned. a
narrow escape and the unexpected
providences used In his deliverance.
The day was inaugurated by Paurs
magic words II am a Roman citizen"
which caused the commander. Lysias,
10 release him from the threatened
scourging. and made him more than
ordinarily careful in his treatment OF
Paul.
!. Before the Elders (vv. 1-12). By
referring back to chapter 81, v. 13 we
find the charge which really underlay
all of Paul's trouble, his preaching in
the name OF the Lord Jesus Paurs
defense Is interesting. He gives us a
rehearsal Of his Christian life. laying
emphasis upon its blamelessness and
the fact that ne is not an apostate
Jew. The hign priest speaks to silence
him, but not gently. Although Paul
FOR moment seems TO give way to his
justifiable indignation, he quickly re-
veals his reverence for the rulers of
the people. He then divides the san
hedrin. Read carefully chapter % :6-7,
and compare with verses II and Is.
The sanhedrin could not explain this
testimony of Paul. and were seeking
TO put aside the whole question. An
interesting discussion would be to con-
slider the insult to Paul. Was his In
dignation right and rightly expressed7
Another question, the matter Of Paul's
apology. Just for what did he apollo
gize7 Is It ever wrong to speak evil
of rulersl These were indeed days of
stress and storm. Was Paul justified
Ia dividing the sanhedrin in order to
conquer their opposition to himf
Again. how God used these incidents
In the furtherance Of the gosped is a
suggestive lesson for us all. 1t has
been kinted that Ananias was not in
his priestly garments, and therefore
perhaps not readily recognized by
Paul. Paul may never have seen him,
as he was elected high priest after
Paul had left the council. 1t is inter-
esting to note that 1t Is not said that
anyone struck Paul or that Paul did
not apologize for his words or deny
them to be true. but only for their be-
Ing spoken to the high priest. Read
In this connection what Christ said to
the Pharisees (Matt. % :27). Paul ap-
ologized because he had broken the
law found in Exodus % :2S. In the
trial Of Christ one of the officers struck
Jesus with the palm Of his hand.
whereupon Jesus answered him, say
ing: "If have spoken evil, bear wit
ness of the evil, but II well, why smit-
est thou meT On the other hand,
when Jesus was ill-treated by the COM
mon soldires. he opened not his mouth,
Was Paul one ''whO was angry and
slnned not2" (See Eph. 4 :26). Our
danger Is not so much in the posses
sion Of a temper, but In our lack OF
controlling 1t.
u. The Plot and DelIverance (vv. u
BOY. Paul's prospect was not a pleas
ant one. In his darkness God appeared
to his faithful servant to cheer hin
". 11). Perhaps Paul was tempted tC
think he had made mistake In com
ing to Jerusalem over the protests o.
his friends, but evidently the Lore
heartily approved of his testlmon!
there. A dangerous conspiracy wa
forming against him. but God was, a
he always Is, beforehand with his com
fort and preparation for the crisis. w
have often speculated as to what be
came OF the forty men who entere,
into II (see v. 12)-whether they nc
tually lived up to their oath. II the
did. they must have died of starvation
They we're determined men, willing I
20 any length, and fancied they wer
doing the will of God. There Is n
more dangerous man than he who far
cies that he must be the judge as t
who are Gods friends and who are hi
foes, and that he is the appointed ex,
cutioner Of Gods judgment. The pic
was well laid. and seemed certain {
success, but It failed miserably. Use
Psalm 2:1-4; "a lilo; Isaiah Al 10
The wicked. who leave God out {
their plans, no matter how cunningl
they plot. are doomed to failure (Ron
s:31). These plotters cO-operated wit
the priest. Ecclesiastics have Ofte
descended to the lowest villainy. Me
are not murdered today, though the
regulations are often blasted by N
principled and hellishly impelled pr
fessed followers Of the lowly Naz
rene. Paul had friends In this cit
His nephew's discovery and revelatio
and the Gentle soldier, colonel, G
fered his deliverance. In the boy
heart there must have been great a
miration for the uncle. 1t would
well for teachers Of boys to have the
repeat in their own language this boy
story. Paul was not safe In Jerls
lem. The Roman governor recogniz
the nature Of the conspiracy, and L
desperate character Of the Jewish
natics, and therefore sent him under
strong guard to Caesarea, which W
reached after journew on horsebaC
lasting through the night and the f
lowing day.
tn. tad L..
al possession for every Christis
Again and again 1t has been point
out that II the first verse began, "T
Lord is a shepherd" 1t is not lilx,
that men and women and children 1
5000 years would have counted 1t 0
of their priceless possessions. I