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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
June 1924
than bring th a t holy thing— the ark— in. The fatal m is tak e of th e elders and the false sons of Eli, was th e imagin ation th a t form s of religion w ithout its sp irit could save an individual or a nation. Phylacteries on th e forehead and hands, creeds in the memory, a p rin ted Bible next th e heart, a certificate of church membership, a repetition of prayers, will help no one except so far as they aid a tru e spiritual life. No one can have the rew ards of faith w ithout th e faith, or the blessings of righteousness w ithout righteous ness.—Peloubet. 5:2 He was represented under a monstrous combina tion of a hum an head, breast, and arms, joined to the belly and tail of a fish. The captured ark was placed in the tem ple of Dagon, rig h t before th is image of the idol.— J . F . & B. 5:5 “Unto this day.” The usage continued in practice at the time when th is history was w ritten-^-probably in the la ter years of Samuel’s life.— J . P . & B. 7:2 Why the ark was not brought to Shiloh is not stated, bu t only th a t it remained in the city before-named twenty years. I t would appear from 2 Sam. 6 , and 1 Chron. 13, th a t it remained th ere longer, bu t th a t period had elapsed when th e event of th is chapter began.-—Gray. 7:3 “A sh taro th” was a goddess of th e Sidonians, whose worship was popular in other lands, and which th e Greeks and Romans knew by the name “A starte.” The worship was licentiousness under the guise of religion.— Gray. 7:6 This refers to a public meeting ifor th e observance of religious ceremonies, one of which was fasting, and an other the pouring out of w ater before the Lord as a tok en .o f th e ir need of purification of which it was an em blem.—Gray. 7 :8 The ch aracter and importance of th e n ational con vention at Mizpeh were fully appreciated by the Philistines. They discerned in it the rising sp irit or religious patriotism among the Israelites th a t was prepared to throw off the yoke of th eir demonation; and anxious to crush it a t the first, they made a sudden incursion while the Israelites were in the m idst of th e ir solemn celebration.— J . P . &. B. 7:10 (Isa. 65:24) God showed th a t it was Samuel’s prayer and sacrifice th a t He had respect to, and hereby let Israel know th a t as in a form er engagement With th e P h il istines He had ju stly chastised th e ir presumptuous confi dence in the presence of the ;ark , so now he graciously ac cepted th e ir humble dependence upon th e prayer of faith, from th e mouth and h ea rt of a pious prophet.—Rev. J . G. Butler. 7:12 Every Christian can say this, whether his life has been one of seeming defeat or of victory, of sorrow or of joy. This is the most blessed function of memory, to bind all our lives to God as we look backward. If we are tru e to him, a t the end of th e way we can w rite Ebenezer over th e whole. Helped—bu t only “ h ith erto !!’ for all Jehovah’s help is only “ h ith e rto ”— from day to day and from place to place— not unconditionally, nop wholly, nor once for all, irrespective of our bearing.— Edersheim . 7:13 The revival of religion was the beginning of a new era of prosperity , grow th and power.— Selected. .
were woefully defeated, E li’s sons slain, and th e A rk cap tured. When E li heard all th e news of the battle, he fell back ward off his seat breaking h is neck. (Give details.) These wicked sons brough t all th is trouble upon th e ir old father. Impress upon th e children th a t ho child can act wickedly w ithout bringing trouble of some kind upon father. The Philistines carried the A rk into th e house of Dagon. (Give details carefully.) Wherever the A rk was sent by them d isaster followed. No one can take anything th a t belongs to God arid not be punished. In a little while they found it was the best thing to send th e A rk back. (Tell how .) By and by the A rk was brought to th e house of Abinadab. The Jews were having a hard tim e and Samuel told them why. They must pu t away th eir idols and serve th e tru e God, if they wanted His blessing. They obeyed Samuel and God gave them victory over th e ir enemies: Every one of us have enemies to fight th a t are as bad, if not worse, than the Philistines. They could only kill the body, bu t our enemies will kill our souls, unless we give our h earts to Jesus, and let Him help fight these ene mies. The people of Israel were trying to conquer enemies on the outside, when th e ir own h earts and lives were full of sin, so they failed in th eir battles. We too will fail in our battle against tem ptation, if we are doing wrong in secret, I know some men and women today who are trying to get the prohibition laws kept, who are drinking on the sly themselves:! I know some men and women, boys and girls, who are trying to get others to do rig h t and become Christians, when they are doing wrong things in secret. It will not do. If we w ant to lead others to Jesus we ourselves m ust try to live as Jesus would have us live. You know what Jesus said, about seeing g reat fau lts in others, when we are so full of fau lts ourselves. Had Israel obeyed Sam uel’s teaching, and served God faithfully, they would have always conquered th e ir enemies, Memory Verse: James 1:22.
JUNE 15, 1924 LIFE OF SAUL 1 Samuel, Chapters 8-1 2
Golden Text: “ God forbid th a t I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you,; but I will teach you the good and the rig h t way.” 1 Samuel 12:23. In trodu ction : Our lesson embraces, five chapters, bu t th e main points may be considered by a study of Chapters 9 and 11. An outline of the life of Saul may be viewed under th e follow ing heads:
ELEMENTARY K ate H. Haus
Eli was chief p riest when Samuel was brought to live, in the Temple. He had two sons who Were very wicked. They obeyed n either th eir fath er or God, and E li could not make them obey. For th a t reason God said He would
( 1 ) 1’'Selected by God, 9 :1 ; 2:17. (2) Separated by God, 10:17-27. (3) Serving Israel, Chs. 9-15. (4) Snared by Satan, 13:9-15:9. (5) Set Aside by God, 15:10-31.
p u n i s h them , and bring trouble to th eir father. , The Philistines came upon the Jews arid conquered them in battle. Now E li’s twb sons bad the care of th e Ark. (Question as to what th e children remember about th e Ark, who it. rep re sents and refresh th e ir mem ories. ) The Jews decided to bring
It is nearly fifty years since th e lad, Samuel, was called, and now he is getting old. The a rk has fallen into the hands of the Philistines. Samuel judged in th e N orthern districts and had placed his two sons, Joel ( “ Jehovah is my God” ) and Abiah ( “ Jehovah is my LESSON F a th e r” ) as judges in the Southern dis- EXPOSITION trict. T. C. H orton The sons were well named b u t pioorly trained. E li’s sons should have been an example to Samuel, bu t they were not. Samuel’s two sons
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the Ark into the camp so as, to save them from , th e ir ene mies as if it was the A rk and not God, th a t saved. They
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