T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S terror, when the trumpet shall sound, the elements shall be ablaze, the heavens pass away with a great noise and the Lord shall descend with a shout?—Hall. Gideon and His Three Hundred. Judges 7:1-21. , Memory Verse: “ If God is for us, who is against us?” Rom. 8:31. Approach,: Use sand table or black board for illustration. If Sand table use toothpicks and represent the army of Mid'ian asleep, with three distinct groups for Gideon’s BEGINNERS 300. It will add to AND PRIMARY the interest to have Mabel L. Merrill the two armies of different c o l o r toothpicks, using a match for Gideon. Lesson Story: How many of you like to help others do things? That is fine. Can you tell me a Bible story of someone who helped another? (Re view last week’s story, permitting the children to tell it so far as possible, and aid them if necessary.) Now the chil dren of Israel remembered this wonder ful time when God sent Deborah to help, and they knew God had helped them to win the battle over their enemies, but after a number of years had passed and many of the older people had died, the people of Israel again forgot God, and another strong people who were enemies of Israel came into their land and de stroyed their crops and stole their cat tle so Israel suffered very much and they prayed unto God for help. Now when I tell you the name of the man whom God called to go and help Israel some of you wiil remember the story for it is a story that we just love to hear again and again. God sent word to a man named Gideon and told him He would help him to destroy the enemies that were troubling Israel, so Gideon
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Every man in his proper place makes an irresistible army.— Sel. There is a place for every _Christian and every Christian should be in his place.— Cook. Trumpet-pitclicrs-lamps. The trumpet is a symbol of the Gospel (1 Thess. 1 :8), and the Gospel is a sounding forth both of warning and of good news. The empty pitcher is a symbol of self-empti ness, the earthen vessel being a symbol of our earthly body, our human life (2 Cor. 4 :7). The lighted lamp is the Word of God (Ps. 119:105), and in the pitcher it is the picture of thé Word of God in the heart and life. (Ps. 119:11.) ,—Haldemanl The light must be inside before it can shine outside. The human pitcher is to be broken that the light may shine. Self must be denied that the Spirit may be revealed.— Cook. These were very simple preparations and very foolish to the worldly wise. (Is.155:8, 9; 1 Cor. 1:18-25.)— Eliott. v. 18. Sword of the Lord and of Gideon. The sword of the Lord is all in all to the success of the sword of Gideon, yet the sword of Gideon must be employed.—Henry. v. 19. Break the pitchers. The pitcher was not to be spared in the ad vance but the lamp was to be held forth (Phil. 2:16).— Sum Bible. v. 20. Blew trumpets, brake pitch-' ers, held lamps. Three ways were con trived to strike terror upon the enemy: (1) A great noise. Every man must blow his trumpet in the most terrible manner and clatter an earthen pitcher to pieces — probably each dashed his pitcher to the next man’s, which would make a great crash. (2) With a great blaze. The torches were hid in the pitchers till they came to the camp, then being all taken out of a sudden, would .make a glaring show. ( 3) A great shout. “ The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.”— Henry. These methods are typical of the great day coming. Who shall be able to stand before the last
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