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2 Cor. 5:19). . The City of Refuge was for the manslayer who killed another “unwittingly and unawares.’.’ In this the Gospel goes far beyond even the merciful provisions of the law; for our Refuge is for every offender who will flee to it (Jno. 3:16; Acts 10:43). In this as in everything else the law had only “a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things’’ (Heb. 10:1, 4; 9:10-13, 15). But this is a very literal application of this provision to Israel. Israel killed Jesus Christ, God’s Son. But God deals with Israel as unwitting manslayer and not as a mur derer (Luke 23:34; Acts 3:17). There is also a sense in which God deals in mercy with all sin committed in unbe lief as if done in ignorance (1 Tim. 1:13). . But it is dif ferent with the sin that one does not through error or through weakness but of deliberate preference and choice and conscious and stubborn rebellion against God (Heb. 10:26, 27). The offender must himself “flee” to the ap pointed city, and we must ourselves flee to Christ. He is appointed for us but we must go to Him. It was necessary that the manslayer use all diligence and speed in getting to the eity, else he might be overtaken by “the avenger of blood” and slain (Isa. 55:6; Prov. 27:1; 29:1).—Torrey,
and looked to Him in faith, we would be forgiven our sin and saved eternally (John 3:14, 15). (Dwell strongly on this lesson.) Again, men would kill another by accident, or on pur pose, so God provided a way of escape for the murderer, if he choose to take it. If a man killed another, any of the dead man’s friends might kill him,—if he could catch him, —before he had had a trial to see if the killing was wilful or not. God told Moses to set aside six cities for refuge. These were to be within easy reach of any man who should kill another. If he could reach one of those cities before the dead man’s relatives caught him, he was safe until he had a trial; if proved innocent, he was freed; if guilty, he was executed. Just what those cities were to an innocent man, Christ •is to guilty men. We have all killed our hopes of heaven by sin. If we flee to Christ, He will pardon us, and protect us from Satan’s power forever. No one is safe from Satan and everlasting death until they take refuge in Christ (Ps. 62:7). (Don’t try to take all three of these lessons, if your time is short. You cannot do justice to more than one of these lessons in a half hour, so take the one you can best teach, Christ is our Rock, Brazen Serpent, Refuge. If all the class are Christians, teach about the Rock; where many of the class are unsaved use the Brazen Serpent.) Golden Text: “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dis mayed; for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9. OUTLINE: (1) The Commission of Joshua, Chapters 1, 2. (2) The Crossing of Jordan, and the Memorial Stones, Chapters 3, 4. (3) The Captain of the Host, Chapter 5. INTRODUCTION: The first five chapters of Joshua have been selected as the foundation for the history of Israel in the Land. The teacher should read the whole book and select the outstand ing chapters and incidents for the scholars to read. Do not forget that one of the main pur- LESSON poses of these lessons is to secure the pu- EXPOSITION pil’s interest by insistent stressing of the T. C. Horton importance of reading the Scripture, not only the portion assigned for each lesson, but the connecting chapters. Notice, too, that this is the first of the four lessons in the Fifth Period—Joshua to Judges—as outlined in the “Bird’s-Eye View of the Old Testainent” which is designed to be used in connection with this series of lessons. If the pupil will commit to memory the “Principal Persons, Places, Events, etc.” of each period as the lessons are be ing studied, it will be invaluable to them in all their future Bible study. In the book of Joshua we have a wonderful historic ac count of God’s plan for His chosen people; the choice of a permanent home for them; the plan for its conquest; the conditions governing the division of the land among the tribes; the designation of the “Cities of Refuge,” and Jo shua’s farewell counsel and last charge to the people. Our lesson is confined to the first five chapters which contain some very practical and helpful lessons. APRIL 6 , 1924 THE CONQUEST OF CANAAN Joshua, Chapters 1-5
ELEMENTARY Kate H. Haus
As the Jews traveled on to Canaan, the priests were told to put a blue border on their gown, to remind them and the people that they were God’s chosen ones; and ought to keep themselves separated from the heathen about them.
In spite of God’s lov ing c a r e for them, they often forgot His goodness, a n d sinned against Him. Along their march, they came to a place where there was no water. They gathered around Moses and Aaron, complain
ing against them, because of no water. Moses and Aaron took the matter to God in prayer. God told Moses to take his rod, gather the people together, and he and Aaron were to go to the great rock near, strike it in God’s name and water would come, Moses and Aaron gathered the people, and went to the rock, with the rod. Moses lifted up his hand, hit the rock twice and plenty of water came. But Moses did not give God the credit. He and Aaron took the credit to themselves (Num. 20:10). Because of that sin, Moses and Aaron were not allowed to enter Canaan. Aaron died soon after. That Rock stood for Christ smitten for us, and God should have had all the credit (1 Cor. 10:4). After Aaron’s death, there came a time again, when the people spoke against God, as well as Moses, because they were tired of manna, and wanted meat to eat. God pun ished them, by sending fiery serpents among them that killed very many of them. This frightened them. They begged Moses to tell God they were sorry, and pray God to take the serpents away. So Moses prayed for them. God put them to a test. He told Moses to make a serpent of brass, set it up on a pole, where all could see it. Then if any one who had been bitten by the serpent was really sorry, all that one had to do was to believe in God, look at the serpent, and be healed. Many who were bitten and dying, believed God, looked at the brass serpent, and were healed. Those who did not believe God, and would not look died. Looking at the brass serpent did not save them, but doing as God said healed them. This lesson taught them, that when Jesus came He would be lifted up on the cross for our sin, and if we believed in Him as our Savior,
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