May 1924
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Samson was a sign to Israel. His life was a sort of par able exhibiting in a strange but striking form what would have been Israel’s experience if they had been faithful. Like the nation of Israel Samson was consecrated to God. The remarkable thing in his life was that, while he Con tinued faithful in his consecration, he possessed wonderful bodily strength, but the moment the Nazarite vow was broken he became weak as other men. The nation was taught symbolically what wonderful strength would be theirs if they would be faithful to their covenant with Je hovah.—Prac. Com. As we dwell on the biographies of these judges, so re prehensible, and yet so used of God, we see the great dis tinction between a holy life and simply power for service. There are Christians seeking the latter who appear in different to the former, but for the individual in eternity it is the former that counts and not the latter. God may use any man, but it is only the holy man who seeks to do His will who pleases Him. Let our ambition be not to do great things so much as to be acceptable to Christ when He comes (2 Cor. 5 :9). Samson, like Jephthah, is honored for his faith in God (Heb. 11:32), and it was great, but he could never be honored for anything else.—Gray.
Some great lessons: We need to be watchful all the time against Satan; we need to keep close to Jesus; we can’t boast of our strength to resist temptation, for we have no strength in ourselves; we must not put ourselves in the way of temptation; we must not mix with evil companions, thinking we are strong enough to keep from sin when with them; when we are foolish and are led into sin, and truly repent, forsaking our sin, and seek pardon for Christ’s sake, we will get the pardon, but we often' have to suffer for our disobedience. Memory Verse: 1 John 1:9.
MAY 25, 1924 THE BOOK OF RUTH
Golden Text: “ Entreat me not to leave thee, or to re turn from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.” Ruth 1:16. OUTLINE:
(1) Ruth Choosing, Ch. 1. (2) Ruth Gleaning, Ch. 2. (3) Ruth Resting, Ch. 3. (4) Ruth Rewarded, Ch. 4. INTRODUCTION:
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ELEMENTARY Kate H. Haus
(Read all the chapters carefully). Israel had six judges after Gideon, when they again did evil in God’s sight. So they were delivered over to their enemies, the Philistines, for 40 years. God will punish disobedience. They suffered
The Book of Ruth is a typical prophecy, portraying the past, present and future of Israel. The key to the book is the word “ kinsman” (4:14) “ And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day w ithout a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.” It is a supplement to the book of LESSON Judges, and was, indeed, formerly a part EXPOSITION of it and included in every Hebrew canon. T. C. Horton The time of writing was after the birth of David, for he is mentioned twice and is an important personage in the eyes of the writer. The author was probably Samuel. The scene is domestic and dramatic. Here we have the hearth, the home, the field, the gate. The book may be easily divided as follows: (1) “ Many are the afflictions of the righteous,” Ch. 1. (2) “ The Lord delivereth from’ them all” (Chs. 2-4). The book of Judges is full of dark, dreary scenes, awful tragedies, wars and bloodshed, but the book of Ruth is like a landscape at eventide, depicting the quiet country domes tic life, the field, the courtship, the marriage. It exhibits the grace of God in the midst of evil and as sures us that God is interested in the family affairs of His people. The heroine is a Moabitess,—-a modest, faithful, strong, pure woman. The names are all significant. Elimelech (My God is king). Naomi (beautiful). Mahlon (song). Chilion (perfection). Ephrathah (the place of fruits). Bethlehem (house of prayer). Judah (praise). The Book of Ruth gives us the history of the backslider who chooses his own way and finds that it leads to want and woe. Seeking to save himself from woe, the backslider runs into judgment. There is a brief obituary for each of the three men, “ They died.” They journeyed from God’s people, joined with God’s enemies, and received judgment from God’s hands. (1) RUTH CHOOSING, Ch. 1. “Where thou goest I will go” 1:16. After the death of Elimelech and Mahlon and Chilion, Naomi came to herself and determined to return to her own home, for she had heard “ how that the Lord had vis ited His people in giving them bread.”
much under the Philistines, and they cried out to God for help, Among them was a man and his wife who obeyed God. One day the angel of the Lord canje to the wife and told her she should have a son, who would deliver Israel. Then He told her how this son was to be raised. The angel came again to her and her husband, and they worshipped God by offering a sacrifice, and as the smoke of
the sacrifice went up, the angel went back to heaven in the flame of the altar. Who was this angel of the Lord? When the boy was born, he was named Samson. (Ques tion as to what the children know of him. He slew the lion, carried away the gate of Gaza, fell in love with Deli lah; was made prisoner after his hair was cut; was blinded; made to grind in prison; when his hair grew, pulled down a great house over the heads of the feasting Philistines, killing more when he died, than when he lived.) Delilah stands for Satan. We can’t have anything to do with Satan and conquer. God wants us to keep as far away from him as we can. When he tempts us we need to pray to be delivered from his power. God will deliver us from Satan’s bands. New ropes stand for man’s strength. Men may think they have us bound by some evil, and we can’t get away, but God will help us to escape if we pray. Web and pin stand for the way we put ourselves in the way of sin, but when we find it out, earnest prayer to God will free us. Samson thought the secret of his strength lay in his hair, but it lay in his obedience to God. When Delilah put him to sleep she robbed him of his obedience to God. Satan often makes us careless, and then leads us into sin. Sin often bruises us so that we are blind for a time to God’s will. Even then God will give us renewed strength if we but cry to Him.
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