The Arvada enterprise., 1917-12-27
LESSON FOR DECEMBER 80

LESSON FOR DECEMBER 80
REvIEW-oop's REpEEMlNo
LOVE.
LESSON TEXT-Read Psalms Ia: 1:A
GOLDEN TEXT-With Jehovah there 10
loving kindness. and With him 10 plenteous
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, at 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,
q 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 tn three
kings. Saul. David and Solomon, last
ed from about 100 B. @. to 8e3 (Mee-
cher). a 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
8e2 B. G. to approximately 728. or 721
B. G. Judah had a territory Of about
800 square miles: Israel 600. Ju-
dah's capital was Jerusalem in which
was the temple; Israel's capital was
Samarla, while It had two centers Of
false worshlp. Judah was moro shell
tered than Israel from close contact
with heathenism. especially politically
and religiously. Judah had one dyn.
asty Of rulers; eleven kings and one
queen, all Of them from the house Of
David. Israel had nineteen kings. be-
longing 10 nine different families or
dynasties. Judah had several very
good kings, and 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
eace to Judah alone from the days OF
Hesekiah. B. @. re. to the time Of the
destruction Of the city and the temple
being destroyed $50 b. c.. and lastly
we have the period Of the exile from
the hrst captivity In COS b. G. to the
restoration and the new temple being
erected SIG b. g. This was a period
Of great discipline and sitting a. like
unto wheat or Of q purifying dre.
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 coutem-
poraneous 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
dIm!nution Of power for good II the
result OF . separation from 0od.-a
departure from the ways Of God and
3od's constant solicitude that the Jews
should b kept separate from heather.
ism and idolatry. had In II the best
interests Of his own people and could
only lead to those blessings which he
lad prepared for his particular people.
Secondly: The overthrow Of Israel
Il directly attributed to its complete
abandonment to idolatry. Beginning
with false worship and q dependence
upoa men, there was the Introduction
Of idolatry and . development Of evil
which led to Z rnpld decline. the In.
PRODUCTION Of revolutions and the anal
extinguishment Of the kingdom.
A ~ Judah. II finally was brought
into captivity because that was the
only way that God could purge the M.
tion from the sin Of idoiatry. They
must be taught that there II but one
God. TINT the word Of God must b
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 consecrntion
and power: also. Esther. the heroine.
The prophets Of this period are Dan.
lei. Isaiah. Haggai. zschariah. Malachi.
Notice bow each and every one ajdsd
the cause Of rigistsousnesa.
There are two great heroes Of the
return. Ezra and Nehemiah. Take up
the actions Of each and show how no