The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-05-14
International
SunduySchoolLesson
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

For May 1s is, Victory Under Sam
uel.''-I Samuel 7:2-17.
A Hill, and 5000 Years.
Less han year ago I sood on he
highest eminence near Jerusalem, the
tower of the self-flaunting German
hespice on the Mount of olives, and
heard from the lips of a British staff
officer the story of the progress of
the army which captured Jerusalem
and drove the Turks out of Palestine
One of the strategic eminences first
taken by the British troops in the final
attack upon Jerusalem was point
about four miles to the northeast of
the citv called 'Nebi Saniwer' or
sProphet Samuel" the traditional
home of the king making prophet of
Israel.
Centuries seemed to telescope as I
gazed upon this pivotal eminenee. AL
lenby and Samuel seemed to be kin.
dred warriors of God; both battled
here for the banner of Jehovah.
Where Australian Light Horse cav
airy exhibited their proverbial dash
and courage-what a story their work
in Palestine makes!-the Prophet
Samuel, at the time of the present
Lesson, rallied the host of Israel to
the defeat of the Phillistines.
over the hill of Nebi Samwel Jeru-
salem first saw the conquering cav
airy of Allenby approach. Turnout
the centuries that hill has shaken to
the tread of hundreds of armies, por-
tentous with destiny; but few of its
victories have had more spiritual af-
finity than the triumph of the Israeli
ties under Samual and the success of
the British under Allenby. Turk and
Philistine both went down before war
riors animated by a great idea.
The Eternal Theater of Nations.
What a place-book is the Biblei
It's geography seems forever alive.
Today there is a new struggle under
way on the scenes of our Lesson
story; and Zionists and Syrians have
come into bloody conflict. The spir-
itual and ethical issues of the world
war are still at stake, and apparently
the final decision is to come within
the area of Bible Lands. 1t almost
seems as if God had called the nations
back to the theater of His great prov
licences in the past the place of His
greatest self-revelatins, there to de-
termine the fundamental questions of
political peace and Justice. Turkey,
which lies within the geographical
confines of the Bible, is the present
battle ground of the contending ideas
that govern nations. The transition
from the news columns of the press
the Sunday School Lesson is striking
ly easy nowadays.
So our first comment concerns the
importance of places in Bible-study.
A map may be more illuminating than
spiritual musings. Personally, 1 have
been porting over the maps in the back
of my Bible. and the wonderful battle
charts issued by the Egyptian Expedi-
tionary Force which conducted the
Palestine campaign: the two dovetail
enlightenfngly. There is such a thing
as a place providence. In the geo.
graphy of God, this little strip of land
along the eastern shore of the Med
iterranean called Palestine. with
which the European powers have of
late been playing battledore and shut
tlecock, seems destined to be forever
pivotal to the history of the race
Where Jehovah once marched before
the armies of the Israelites, and re-
yealed Himself in signs and wonders,
as we'll as by the words of prophets
and apostles and by the life of His
Son, there we may we'll write this is
a holy land" and lock for continuing
manifestations of His powers. Let no
person say that the story of long-ago
events in Palestine are dry" they
are part of a persisting providence,
which is today receiving new and un-
expected manifestations. The ma
tional and international issues which
have in our day set Syria into ferment
are not unrelated to the Message of
the Book we study.
Setting Right a Nation
One of wars many lessons is that
men should think in terms of nations.
Our western world has always been
far behind the older civilizations in
this respect; even the peasants of the
Near East talk more freely and in
diligently about the essential char
acteristics of great nations than do we
in North America. I have been
amazed at the shrewdness with which
orientals have appraised the qualities
of the powers. Public opinion in
creasingly deals with nations as units.
That such has always been the way
of God is made clear by the Old Tesla
ment.
Our present lesson treats of the re-
Mobilization of Israel as a nation. 1t
had disintegrated by assiniliating the
ways and worship of the surrounding
nation. By conformity to the world