The Dermott news., 1917-12-27

GOLDEN TExT-with Jehovah there Is
/ loving kindness. and with him Is plenteoua
redemption.-Ps. 1907.
The lessons of the past year are the
only ones In the six years course which
are divided between the Old and the
| New Testament; therefore, ut the
close OF this year we will review only
| the last two quarters. emphasizing the
| fourth which has just been completed.
| Like Moses on Mount Nebo, let US
| glance over the whole period Of the
monarchy and note the progress and
development OF the Jewish people. The
! Jewish race is the marvel of all times,
a nation without country. scattered
and peeled, chastised and driven from
sea to sea. even slain in large num-
/ bers: yet possessed of vitality which
has caused them to endure through
the centuries. Their contribution to
the civilization of the world has been
Unreasonable. There Is no walk or
rank In life, in politics, literature, art.
science. business, religion, or any 9TH
er realm where they have not made
their impress and rendered their con-
tribution. Any movement which seeks
TO promote their welfare and to
! strengthen the bonds of sympathy
which preserve race feelings, deserves
the aid of all patriotic, liberty loving.
/ God fearing people. for the Jews are
still Gods chosen heritage.
/ The united kingdom with Its three
kings. Saul, David and Solomon, last
ed from about 100 Il. c. to 9S3 (Mee-
/ cher), period of 100 years. Then be-
gins the divided kingdom-Judah and
/ Israel side by side. double expert
ment In the progress of the kingdom OF
! God This period extended from about
! $50 b. G. to approximately 723, or TIL
p. c. Judah had a territory of about
! 3,400 square miles: Israel 9,400. Ju-
i dah's capital was Jerusalem; In which
was the temple: Israels capital was
/ Samaria, while Il had two centers of
/ false worship. Judah was more shell
/ tered than Israel from close contact
with heathenism, especially politically
I and religiously. Judah had one dyn-
+ aSty of rulers: eleven kings and one
+ queen, all of them from the house Of
+
j longing 10 nine different families or
j dynastieS. Judah had several very
good kings md there were marked re-
vivalS of religion of prosperity and OF
deterioration of varying degrees,
though resisted from time to time and
+ helped along moral and religious lines
through the work Of Elijah and elisha
the prophets. The final period OF
events of this past quarter have refer
ence to Judah alone from the days OF
Hezekiah, b. C. TO. to the time of tho
/ destruction Of the city and the temple
/ being destroyed $50 r. c.. and lastly
we have the period of the exile from
! the first captivity in COS b. G. TO the
/ restoration and the new temple being
erected $40 h. c. This was a period
OF great discipline and sitting as like
unto wheat or OF a purifying fire.
The return from exile and the new
spiritual nation, dates from about $50
to the close of Bible history. say 400
years before the coming of Christ. A
map should be used, and the scholars
ought to be familiar with the contem-
Noraneous secular history. There are
several particular lessons we ought to
! learn from this history.
| First: Every failure, every moral
wrong, every fall into idolatry. every
diminution Of power for good IL the
result OF separation from Coda
departure from the ways Of God and
righteousness. 1t also shows us that
Gods constant solicitude that the Jews
should be kept separate from heathen-
ism and idolatry, had In II the best
interests of his own people and could
only lead to those blessings which he
had prepared for his particular people.
| Secondly: The overthrow Of Israel
is directly attributed to its complete
abandonment to idolatry. Beginning
with false worship and a dependence
upon men, there was the introduction
of idolatry and a development Of evil
which led to rapid decline, the in
PRODUCTION Of revolutions and the final
extinguishment of the kingdom.
AS to judah, II finally was brought
into captivity because that was the
only way that God could purge the ma
ton from the siA of idolatry. They
God, that the word of God must be
obeyed. and that their safety lay in
the faith which they placed In his
| promises. The leaders Of this period
were Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah,
heroic men, men of great conservation
and power; also, Esther. the heroine.
The prophets Of this period are Dam
lei. Isaiah. Haggai. Zechariah. Malachi.
Notice how each and every one aided
the cause of righteousness.
There are two great heroes Of the
return, Ezra and Nehemiah. Take up
the actions Of each and show how he
proved his heroism. A good method
Of receiving the past quarter will bo
to summarize the teachings which GEN.
ter about these two great men. Tho
period Of the return II the one that
we should emphasize, showing how q