April 1924
T H E
K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
231
The central principle which this lesson illustrates is stated by Paul in 1 Cor. 1:23-29. The evils of the world can never be overcome by human means and worldly weap ons. The real conquering has always been by spiritual forces; by God himself using his people, who are to pro claim the Gospel, touch the consciences, inspire the feelings set an example, produce a new atmosphere.-—Ibid.
APRIL 20, 1924 ACHAN AND AI Joshua, Chapters 7 and 8
Golden Text: “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.” Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particu lar.” 1 Cor. 12:26, 27. Theme: The Development of Sin and the Destiny of the Sinner. Outline: (1 ) The Disobedience of Sin. (2) The Deceitfulness and Danger of Sin. (3) The Discovery and Doom of the Sinner. (4) The Defeat of the Enemy, and Dedication of the Altar. Introduction: Here is an intensely interesting lesson. Following the great triumph of Israel over Jericho, flushed with victory and assuming the credit for themselves, they were lifted up in their pride and suffered as people must always suffer. Pride always precedes a fall. LESSON The story contains some exceedingly in- EXPOSITION teresting and instructive lessons which T. C. Horton will afford every teacher an opportunity to test their own lives and convey to the scholars searching truths so much needed by us all. (1) THE DISOBEDIENCE OF SIN. “All the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron were consecrated unto the Lord” 6:19. The command of God had been given to the people by Moses (6:18, 19, 24) concerning the spoil in the capture of the city. All was to go into the treasury of the Lord, and all the people were to be slain, excepting Rahab and her house. The command was from Jehovah and was very definite. “Sin is the transgression of the law.” “By the law is the knowledge of sin.” The people were all informed and knew God’s order. The gold and silver and all the rest of the treasures belonged to God, and for any man to take it for himself was robbery. Robbing God is a heinous sin, yet how many of us are robbers. Israel robbed God of His tithes. So do Christians. We rob Him of His glory by failure to do what He commands. The bodies of believers are His temple, yet how often He is robbed of His glory by the violation of physical laws in the use of our bodies. One is a robber who eats too much, sleeps too much, trifles too much time away, and who fails to keep the body under and in the best condition for God’s service. Let us ask ourselves the question “Am I a robber?” Where are the family altars? Where is the incense of prayer and praise by which God is glorified? Where? (2) THE DECEITFULNESS AND DANGER OF SIN. “When I saw— I coveted— and took.” 7:21. Note the progressive stages of sin. The temptation came through the eye. “When I saw the spoil.” He let his eye rest upon it. There are some advantages in being blind. It saves some from temptation. The eye is the window of the soul. It looks out to lust, and here is the beginning of sin and sorrow. The eye is designed to bring us blessing and pleasure and all legitimate delights. “He coveted.” The beautiful garment appealed to him. He began to view it as his own— desired to possess it. Then the silver and gold looked good to him. He could build a house with it when they were settled in the land! He
M l ELEMENTARY Kate H. Haus
Joshua came near to Jericho to look it over and see how he might conquer it. As he did so, the Captain of the hosts of the Lord appeared to him with a sword in his hand. Joshua was told to take off his shoes, as he was standing
sn h o l y g r o u n d . Joshua did so, falling on his face in worship, to h e a r w h a t God would say .through His captain. Jericho had shut its gates against Israel, and felt itself safe. The Cap tain said, “God has given Jericho and all
OUR l ERi rHO
in it, to you. This is how you are to conquer it. Seven priests with trumpets shall go first, then the Ark, and then some of your soldiers in front of the Ark, and some behind it; and the priests shall blow with the trumpets, and you shall march around the city, once, and go back to camp. This you shall do six days. The seventh day, march around the city seven times, and the last time the priests shall blow the trumpets with a long blast, the peo ple shall shout with a great shout, and the walls of Jericho will fall flat, and you can easily conquer it. Not a man shall whisper while you march, nor shout till you say so.” (Describe carefully.) If they obeyed these instructions,'"the city would be theirs. They obeyed, and the city was conquered. Rahab was saved and all in the house with her, as the spies had promised. The rest of the city was completely destroyed, and burned, while all its treasures were saved and put in the Lord's treasury. This taught the people that we have all sorts of enemies shut up within our hearts, that need to be conquered. (Mark 7:21-23). If we seek God’s help, listen to His counsel, we will soon know how to conquer them. Many times we want to make a great noise about things that go wrong, when we ought to keep quiet and let God have His way. We talk about how to control our temper, keep from lying, cheating, and all sorts of wrong doing, instead of just holding our tongue, when tempted, and quietly praying for strength to keep still and do God’s will. Satan puts all sorts of Jerichos in our way, and makes us believe we cannot conquer, and many times we believe him, get discouraged, and even quit trying to conquer. Let us always remember that Jesus, the Captain of the Lord’s hosts is on our side to help us fight, and He will let us know when we ought to shout and when to keep still. When we conquer, there are many treasures we will have to show, such as the fruits of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, gentleness, long-suffering, goodness, meekness, temperance, patience. All these treasures are ours, when we conquer our Jerichos as God directs us. Memory Verse: Phil. 4:8, 13.
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