The Winslow mail., 1924-02-29
IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
Sll19ldaySchool =
' Lesson
(By REV. p. B. ETTZwATER, DID,,
Dean Of the Evening School. Moody
Bible Institute Of Chicago.)
90. 1894. Western Newspaper Unien.)
Lesson for March 2
THE REVIVAL UNDER SAMUEL

LESSON TEXT Sam. 1T
GOLDEN TExT-Prepare your haarts
unto the Lord and serve Him onlv-
I Sam. 7:3
PRIMARY ToPIC-God Calls tn. Boy
Samuel
JUNIOR ToPIC-The Victory at Ebe-
nexer.
INTERMEDIARY AND SENIOR TOP
1C-How Samuel Served His Nation
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP
lC-The Revival Under Samuel
Gross immortality and even anarchy
prevailed during the close of the period
OF the judges, as we see recorded In
the last chapters Of Judges Through
the ministry Of the last Judge, Samuel,
a brighter day dawned upon israel.
!. Features Of lsrss's History In
This Period.
L. A Demorali1ed Priesthood.
~ The priests were actuated by
greed q Sam. 2:12-17). 1t was Gods
Will that those who ministered at the
altar should live of the things Of the
altar. but they broke through the d.
vine revelations touching this matter
and were securing their selfish ends by
force
(2) The priests polluted the courts of
Gods house with the grossest immor-
ality Il Sam. 2:22). We thus see that
the condition of the nation was most
appalling. When Gods ministers are
actuated by greed and practice unciean-
ness, degradation and ruin rapidly fol-
low.
2. An Alienated People. The only
thing which separates people from God
is sin. The people who choose sin shall
be thus separated from COO.
3. A Cessation Of Divine Revelation
Il Sam. S:1). God was silent ('The
word Of God was precious In those
days, there was no open yision''). The
message from the Lord was a matter Of
memory.
II. God Calls Samuel Il Sam. 3:2-1O).
Samu&'s name means asked Of
God" He was given to Hannah IN an
swer to prayer. In asking God for this
son she vowed to dedicate him to the
Lord. Accordingly at an early age she
took him to the sanctuary and gave
him over to the charge of ELL Thus
in his tender years he minlstercd to
the Lord. The beautiful life Of Samuel
was In striking contrast to the 6egra-
dation Of the nation.
III. SamuePs First Prophetic Mes
sage Il Sam. 8 3:11-18).
Up to this time Samuel obeyed the
one who was over him, but the time
had now come when he must directly
hear and obey the Lord. The first mes
sage intrusted to him is most terrible
one. He hesitated to tell 1t to Fiji, but,
when pressed by him, he manifested
the true courage which was lying back
of his fear. He announced Il fearful
visitation upon Ellis house because of
the sins of his sons.
w. Samuel Established In the Pro-
phetlc offiee Il Sam. 3:192D.l
"And Samuel grew, and the Lord
was with him, and did let none OF his
words fall to the ground, and all Israel
from Dan even unto Beer-sheba knew
that Samuel was established to be c
prophet of the Lord"
v. Victory of Samuel q Sam. I'll
14.
l. Samuel Calls Israel to Repentance
wv. 1-4). Some twenty years have
now elapsed since Israel was humili-
ated by the Philistines. He asks the
people to turn to the Lord with all
their hearts, the proof of which would
be:
(1) To put away their own licentious
worship. This was really gross licen-
tiousneSs under the guise of religion.
(2) To direct their hearts unto the
Lord and serve Him only.
2. Israel Assembled at Mispeh wv.
s, 81. The purpose of this assembly
was the confession of their sins They
poured water before the Lord, thus
symbolizing their need Of cleansing and
the pouring out of their hearts In peni-
tence before the Lord. They tasted
and publicly confessed their sins
8. The Philistines Attack Israel ".
y. The assembly of Israel at MiZpeh
alarmed the Philistines. They inter
preted the gathering as a preparation
to attack them, SO they decided to at
tack first.
4. The Intercession OF Samuel (vv.
s, 81. Samuel accompanied his inter
cession with q burnt offering, showing
that he looked for acceptance in the
sacrifice Of another, even Christ.
s. The Victory Over the Philistines
wv. 10, 1D. This was the result OF
Gods interposition. "The Lord thun-
dered with a great thunder that day
and discounted them"
8. A Memorial Set Up wv. 12-14).
Samuel set up a stone between Mizpeh
and Shen and called 1t Ebenezer,
which means, Hitherto hath the Lord
helped u.s."