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2. "The children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord" (v. 11). On seven particular occasions, God’s peo ple turned away from the Lord. After each period of apostasy the Israelites found themselves In bondage and af fliction In their affliction they cried unto the Lord, and the Lord always showed His mercy by raising up a deliverer to deliver them. The Book of Judges shows the perversity of the human heart. 3. "Nevertheless the Lord raised up Judges, which delivered them".(v. 16). The word ‘‘delivered” comes from the Hebrew verb which means “ to save.” From the same root Comes the word "Joshua,” meaning "Saviour.” The Greek form of the word is “ Jesus.” The work o f the'fourteen judges points forward to the perfect Deliverer, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Study the per fection of His work in i Corinthians 1 : 10 . Golden Text Illustration P roverbs 14:34 On the coast of Norway is a light house where a keeper lived with his two children. One day he went to the distant shore for provisions. A storm arose, and he was unable to return. The time for lighting the lamp came, and ilary, the elder child, said to her little brother, “We must light the lamp, Willie.” "How can we?” asked Willie. "We are not big enough.” , Mary pulled up a chair and tried to reach the lamp in the great reflec tor; it was too high. Groping down the stairs, she ascended again with a small oil lamp in her hand. “I can hold this up,” she said to her little brother. She climbed on the chair again, but still the reflector was just beyond her reach. ' "Get down,” said Willie, “ I know what we can do.”' She jumped down, and he stretched his little body across the chair. "Stand on me,” he said. She stood on the little fellow as he lay across the chair. She raised the lamp high, and its light shone far out across the water. "Does it hurt .you, W illie?” "O f course it hurts,” he called back* “ but keep the light burning.” Are we keeping the light of God’s love turning in the world, even though it hurts us?— Five Thousand Best Mod ern Illustrations, by. Hallock. Like Uncle Caleb J udges 2:1-19; 3:1-11 MEMORY VERSE: "Trust in the Lord, and do good” (Psa. 37:3). AIM: To show that trusting the Lord Jesus brings happiness.
empty. Sketch a window on the front of the envelope, covering the middle area where the hidden heart is lo cated.) J,ESSON: In Joshua'2, we are intro duced to Rahab, a very sinful woman. I will make a slit in the heart repre senting Rahab, and run this black rib bon through it, to represent the sin that was in her heart. There was something besides sin in Rahab’s heart. As strange as it may seem, We are told that she had faith. And God always honors faith. Rahab believed the reports regarding the help God had given the children of Israel, the things which the,spies told her, and, the promises regarding her deliverance. We will let this envelope remind us of Rahab’s house. You will notice that there is a window drawn on the envelope. The spies told her that, they would deliver her, when the city was captured, if she would bind the scarlet line in her window- The scarlet cord reminds us of Christ, the Saviour of sinners. We will make a slit in the envelope, and run the ribbon through and out the window. She was told to remain in the house, in order to be delivered. We will put this heart with the ribbon of sin In the envelope and seal it, to show how Rahab remained in her house. When the day finally came for Jericho to fall, Rahab was rescued. We shall cut off the end of the envelope, and see what happened. [Blow the envelope open, and take the heart from behind the partition.] See, her sin is .gone, and instead we find the red ribbon which speaks of the cleansing blood of Christ.-
A P P R O A C H : Sometimes we hear, “That boy is just like his father!” If the father is a fine m a n, everyone is glad that the son is like him. LESSON STORY: Caleb was a strong, g o o d ma n w h o trusted God. And there was someone n. It was a young iel, Caleb’s nephew.
5 -Division who Was like man, named C
It was hard for Othniel to live for God, for the Lord’s people all around him, who should have been trusting the Lord, just as he was, were forget ting Him, and were even worshiping other gods that have no power at all. (Read 2:12.) How sad the heavenly Father must have been when He saw so many of the people sinning like this! But He loved them very much, and Wanted them to do right; so He gave them leaders, called “judges,” to help them. Othniel was ohe of those lead ers. The Lord was with him, as He had been with his Uncle Caleb. The Word of God says that while Othniel was trusting God, and leading the peo ple to do that, “the land had rest forty years” (3:11). What a happy time that must have been! It is always a happy time when we “ trust in the Lord, and do good” (Memory Verse). Object Lesson R ahab ’ s R escue OBJECTS: Two unused correspond ence envelopes, two white paper hearts, a narrow black ribbon, a nar row white ribbon, and a pair of scis sors. (Cut down both sides and across the bottom of one envelope. Discard the irregular half, and keep the com plete side that bears the flap. Insert this side ahd flap in the uncut en velope with the gummed portion in the normal position. This will make a partition in the envelope. Hide one of the hearts in the middle of the en velope, behind the partition. Paste lightly over a very small area, to pre vent the heart’s slipping. Stick the flaps together. This gives the en velope the appearance of being Judges 4:1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord, when Ehud was dead. 2 And the Lord sold, them Into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned Irt Hazor; the captain of whose host was Sis* era, which dwelt in Harosheth of the Gen tiles. 3 And thè children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he had nine hundred chariots of Iron; and twenty years he mightily op pressed the children of Israel. 4 And Deborah, a propnetess, the wife of Là pidoth;, she Judged Israel at that time. 5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah» between Ramah and Bethel In
JULY 23, 1944 W O M A N ’S PART IN N AT IO N A L LIFE J udges 4 a n d .5
mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for Judgment. 6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto- him, Hath not the Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thou sand men. of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun? ■7 And I will draw unto thee, to the river Kishon, Sisera the 'captain of Jabin’s army» with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand. 8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.. 9 And she .said; I will surely g o . with thee: notwithstanding the Journey that thdu
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