April 1924
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
236
THE THEME of Judges is,— “Failure in Canaan and De liverance through Grace.” DIVISIONS of the Book: (1) Ch. 1 to 3:6, Introduction. (2) 3:7 to Ch. 16, Historical Events. (3) Ch. 17 to Ch. 21, Fragmentary Narratives. The succession of events as related is in order until the close of Samson’s career,-^-then, broken. LESSON The death of Joshua left Israel without EXPOSITION a visible head. No successor was appoint- T. C. Horton ed as Joshua was appointed to succeed Moses. Under Joshua, Israel was mighty and enjoyed the noblest period in her history. Joshua’s character made a deep impression. After his death came decline and dissensions. In the period of the Judges there was no central govern ment. Each tribe preserved its own independence. There was national apostasy and moral degeneracy. There were seven apostasies, seven servitudes and seven deliverances. There were thirteen judges in all, mostly military lead ers. The character of the times may be summed up as fol lows: Idolatry, rash vows, lawlelessness, crime, persistence in evilES-the faithfulness of God through it all. THE KEY to the Book is found in 21:25: “In those days there was no king;,every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” The key thought is anarchy, and this is always the spirit of man in his relation to God and m a n - individual standards, indifference to others. Note the order of events,— apostasy, punishment, re pentance, mercy, deliverance,^—for nearly 500 years. OUTLINE OF LESSON (1 ) Deborah the Prophetess, 4:4, 5. (2) Deliverance Promised, vs.; 6, 7. (3 ) Decision of Barak, vs. 8, 9. (4) Destruction of Sisera, vs. 10-16. (1) DEBORAH THE PROPHETESS, “And Deborah,_ a prophetess***judged Israel.” v. 4. “Deborah” means “Bee.” She was the wife of Lapidoth (meaning “torch” ), of the tribe of Ephraim. Deborah was a prophetess, as was Miriam (Ex. 15:20) and Huldah (2 Ki. 22:14) and Noadiah (Neh. 6 :14 ). She was given in answer to Israel’s prayer (v. 3/). Whom God judges fit is best fitted to be judge. God has His own way of dis tributing gifts, but there is room for all. Deborah judged Israel. Evidently there were no men in Israel who could take sides with God in judgment, so God raised up a woman. She was God’s prophetess— God’s mouthpiece for Israel. Through her God made known His will to the people. Under a palm tree she sat and her people recognized her authority by coming to her. God had commanded Israel in times of need to go to the judges (Deut. 17:8) Barak was the commander of the army, but he took his commands from the judge, “Barak” means “lightning.” He moved swiftly. Deborah was a woman of courage and of fa ith .. She had her instructions from God (Josh. 1:9) ‘‘H ave not I commanded thee? Be strong: and o f a good cour a g e ; be not afraid, neither be thou dism ayed; for the Lord thy God is w ith thee whithersoever thou goest.” If we can take these words into our own hearts, and be lieve them it will greatly strengthen us for our work. Deborah summoned Barak and gave him her orders, minutely and in detail. The place where the army was to be mobilized was Mount Tabor. The number of men who were to compose the army was 10,000. (2) DELIVERANCE PROMISED, vs. 6, 7, “I will de liver him into thy hands.” v. 7.
ELEMENTARY Kate H. Haus
After Jericho and Ai were conquered, Joshua built an altar to God, and offered sacrifice unto God. He also had read to the people all the law of Moses, so they "all might know God’s law. After this service of worship, the people
af Gibeon heard what mighty victories had been given the Jews, so they pretended to be very poor people living a long way off, coming to Joshua to make a league of peace with him, so they would not be de stroyed as were Jeri
- REFUGEE------
cho and Ai. (Read chapter 9). The league was made and these people became the servants of the Jews. Five kings of other nations near, gathered to fight Joshua. God told him not to fear, as He would fight for them, which He did through a terrible hailstorm. (Chapter 10). , At the.command of Joshua inthat battle, the sun and moon stood still,until thevictory was complete. All the kings that tried to conquer Joshua failed, because God fought for him. After their enemies were conquered the land was divided among the Jews by Joshua. Each tribe getting their share. Caleb received the part he wanted for his faithful service to God. (Chapter 14). Among other things, God had made special arrangements for any who might accidently kill another, by setting aside six cities of refuge, three on each side Jordan, so the one who did the killing would be safe from the avenger, if he ran into one of these cities, until he was tried, and found innocent or guilty. (Chapter 20.) The lessons we may learn from these chapters are these: God will see to it that each one w ill get his place in the heavenly land, if he serves God, and surrenders to Jesus and becomes a Soldier of the cross. Again, God provides a refuge for the sinner, where he will be safe from the hand of Satan, not only for a short time, but for all eternity. Heaven is the home of every child of God, and Jesus is the Refuge of every sinner who wishes to escape the clutch of Satan. Again, this is a good opportunity to show that nothing we can do will save us from getting the wages of sin, except as we take refuge in Christ as our Saviour. In Christ none can hurt us, and sin cannot overcome us, for Satan cannot get at any who are hid in Christ. With Christ as our Captain, we can conquer every foe. Name the foes children have to fight, such as temper, lying, the stealing of the teacher’s time from others by misconduct at school, and similar sins. The children will name all sorts for you if you ask them to do so. We need to teach the spiritual lessons gained from these chapters, by using the facts as illustrations of everyday sins.
MAY 4, 1924 DEBORAH AND BARAK Judges, Chapters 1-5
Golden Text: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life;' of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1. We are to have four lessons under the “Sixth Period— Judges to Saul” (Bird’s-eye View of Old Testament). Three of these lessons will be from the Book of Judges and one from the Book of Ruth.
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