II BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE I will not fail thee. Joshua seems to have been faint-hearted at the enormity of the undertaking before him. He had to learn the lesson that Bayard Taylor beautifully expresses: In my own hands my want and weakness are, Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard? questions the prophet Isaiah. The everlasting God, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint. The Source of Strength. Only when thine arm In sense of weakness reaches forth to God, Wilt thou be strong to suffer and to do. Plumptre. There are Varieties of Courage. Dr. Wilfred T. Grenfell says that Lieutenant Hobson's willingness to blow himself up for his country at the entrance of Santiago Harbor never seemed anything unusual to him, nor did General Gordon's readiness to go and die, if necessary, for the Soudan seem to him anything but simply the climax of opportunity of a soldier's life. But there was a moment when he was a young man which required more courage than he had at command. He had but recently made the great decision to accept the faith of Jesus Christ and to follow him through life. The speaker at an evening meeting called for those to stand up who were not ashamed to be called followers of Christ. "I sat glued to my seat," Dr. Grenfell tells us. "In the presence of my college comrades to stand up and say I was willing to follow Christ, knowing how vague was my vision of what that could involve, was more than I could do. Suddenly, from a long row of sailor boys, all dressed alike in the uniform of the naval training ship, one boy stood up. The fellowship of pluck, of what seemed to me real courage, was exactly what I needed. My chains were broken and I got up, a step I can never be sufficiently grateful for, no, not to my dying day." The Strongest Man that ever Lived. K'ang Yu Wei, the Chinese reformer, who had to flee for his life from Peking in 1898, was once asked what seemed to him the most striking quality in Jesus. "His courage," he replied-"the manliness which could so quietly and dauntlessly face the hatred of so many of his fellow-countrymen, the fierce enmity of the proud Pharisees, and, above all, the certainty of death, and of the outward failure of his mission; the courage which undertook a work so constructive, the valor which could make, and could ask from others, such large sacrifices." The Source of Jesus' Strength. Strength everywhere depends on nourishment. Without food all physical powers presently decay. Physical vigor is everywhere maintained by entirely natural processes. Jesus saw that the special tasks to which he was called would put particular strain upon the spiritual nature and that therefore, he must have nourishment for the soul. What was this food? "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me." It is a very simple statement, and its meaning is readily grasped. Obedience is clearly the thing to which reference is made. This is the food-the meat on which he fed. The obedience of Jesus was complete. He was absolutely committed to the service of his Father. If men will do as he, they may develop all the strength they need. From a Sermon by Dr. Willis P. Odell. III MEDITATE ON GOD'S Law The Condition attending the Promise. I will not fail thee nor forsake thee, had been God's promise to Joshua, and then came the condition that Joshua on his part must fulfill: Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do Quarter November 23 according to all the law; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left; this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate thereon day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein. Such meditation on the Law as is here required means far more than merely reading the Law, or even committing the Law to memory: it means dwelling upon its words till he knew and obeyed them as the will of God. The Book of the Law was Joshua's Bible. Our Bible is far larger and better, and we know far more about God's will because Christ has interpreted it for us. Do we meditate upon our Bible? Do we turn from it to the right or left? One who was Hungry for the Word of God. When an Israelite, after the close of his earthly pilgrimage, shall stand at the bar of Heavenly Judgment, and on being asked, "Why hast thou neglected to study the Torah?" shall reply. "Because I was poor," he will be met with the retort, "Wast thou then poorer than Hillel?" That student's wages were but half a dinar a day, of which small sum he gave one-half to the porter of the college for the right of admission. One day he had earned nothing. As he could not hand the janitor the customary gratuity, Hillel clambered to the roof of the college, pressed down his ear to the sky-light so as not to miss a single syllable of the "words of the living God" expounded by Shenaidah and Abtalion. It was a short Friday afternoon in the mid-winter month of Tebeth. There was a heavy snowstorm. The next day, when the Sabbath morn had dawned, Shenaiah said to his colleague, "Brother Abtalion, usually in the early morning the hall is flooded with light: today it is exceptionally_dark." They looked up and saw the figure of a man athwart the sky-light. They immediately mounted to the roof, swept away the mass of snow that had covered the student to a depth of three cubits, tenderly brought down his almost inanimate form, and, notwithstanding that it was the Day of Rest, prepared a hot bath, kindled a fire, and so saved Hillel's life. Rabbi Hyamson, in The Oral Law. Meditation leads to Belief. George Bowen was a young man and a skeptic. Through the influence of a friend he was led to read the Bible, which he frankly admired but as frankly did not believe. Then one night he said aloud in his room: "If there is a God that notices the desire of men, I only wish that he would make known to me his will, and I shall feel it my highest privilege to do it at whatever cost." At once the thought came, "How foolish to suppose that God will occupy himself with our desires!" Two or three days later he took home with him by mistake from the public library Paley's "Evidences of Christianity." When he discovered his mistake he threw it down, then took it up again and glanced at the first sentence. Becoming interested he read on until he was so afraid of being convinced that he went away into the country to put it from his mind. He returned resolved to give it a second more careful reading. When about half-way through the book he offered the prayer, "Help thou mine unbelief." When he had finished the book his doubts were gone; he was convinced of the truth of the Scriptures. He turned to the Bible itself, and day after day he shut himself up in his room and read it, till he found that he was a sinner, that he needed a Savior; that a Savior was offered him. He gave himself up unreservedly to God's will, and some years later he became a missionary in India. Where they have no Word of God on which to meditate. Stating the case for missions in Latin America, Dr. R. E. Speer observes:-"It is safe to say that not one person out of one hundred in South America would ever have seen a Bible but for the Protestant missionary movement. The priests themselves are ignorant of it. A few ecclesiastics, like the one Roman Catholic cardinal in South America, who was formerly an archbishop in Brazil, have written approvingly of the circulation of the Bible in Portuguese, but nothing has been done by the Church to promote the circulation in Spanish, which is the language of two-thirds of South America. The circulation of the Bible in South America is still dependent upon the Bible societies and the Protestant missionaries. If it were not for them, the people of South America would today be without the Bible. Is it wrong to give it to them? Must we justify a movement without which forty million people would be ignorant of the Bible?" SENTENCE SERMONS The great Craftsman can always find another tooi, sharpened and ready to his hand. R. M. Gautrey. The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide. Ps. 37.31. Apply thyself wholly to the text; apply the text wholly to thyself. Bengel Quit you like men, be strong, and the exercise of your strength today will give you more strength tomorrow. Gladstone. THE LESSON'S MEANINGS FOR US "For all you know, God has set his heart on you to appoint you a captain of his army, or to make you a standard-bearer in the legions of his cross. He chooses those who by diligence in well-doing have deepened their capacity for wider service and a more extended usefulness." Moses my servant is dead; now therefore arise. Service awaits every one, and he best honors his dead who arises and takes up his task with resolute heart, strong in the faith that God will not forsake him. Make it the first morning business of your life to understand some portion of the Bible clearly; and your daily business to obey it in all that you do understand. Ruskin. I know not where his islands lift Their fronded palms in air; I only know I cannot drift Beyond his love and care. Whittier. Of individuals it is true as of nations, that no human person is indispensable to the working out of one's life mission. In Dr. Babcock's beautiful words: How good it is that, though new chapters go on with our life's story, and people drop out whom we have loved, and incidents change so that it seems quite like another tale, yet the real plot is spiritual and eternal. SUBJECTS FOR BIBLE CLASS DISCUSSION 1. The difficult task of succeeding to the work of a great leader. 2. Strong men needed today. WORK TO BE ASSIGNED FOR THE NEXT LESSON Questions to look up. 1. When had Joshua been almost stoned to death because he urged the Israelites to advance into Canaan? 2. What explanations of the means used by God to afford a passage across the Jordan River are given? (Clipping, 17, p. 437.) 3. Tell the story of how Don Basilio accomplished the impossible. (Clipping, p. 441.) 4. Describe the Jordan River. (Clipping, p. 439.) 5. Draw an outline map of Palestine and locate Jericho and the place of the crossing of the Jordan. 6. What memorial of the passage of the Jordan was erected? (Chapter 4.) 7. Read the 114th Psalm. Questions to think about. 1. What famous advice of Cromwell's did Joshua now put into practice? (Trust in God and keep your powder dry.) 2. Describe the crossing of the Red Sea. (Lesson VII, Third Quarter). 3. Why had not the Israelites entered Canaan thirty-eight years earlier? (Lesson III of this Quarter.) 4. What does "This day will I begin to magnify thee," verse 7, mean? 5. Why was the ark called "the Ark of the covenant"? 6. Why might the priests have hesitated to step into the Jordan? 7. What was the reason for the appointing of twelve men, verse 12? (Chapter IV.) 8. What time of year was it, according to verse 15? Note Book Work. In your Biography of Joshua write Part III, Joshua Moses' Successor. LESSON IX-NOVEMBER 30 CROSSING THE JORDAN Golden Text Fear thou not, for I am with thee. Isa. 41.10 HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS-M. Josh. 3.7-17. Crossing the Jordan. T. Ps. 114. Israel's Deliverance. W. Josh. 4:1-14. A Memorial Forever. T. Josh. 4.15-24. The Waters Return. F. Ps. 107.1-16. God's Lovingkindness. S. Ps. 107.17-32. God's Mighty Works. S. Ps. 107.33-43. God's Providences. STUDY Josh. 3.1-17; Ps. 114 READ Josh. 3 and 4 COMMIT Josh. 3.12, 13 7 And Jehovah said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. 8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, ye shall stand still in the Jordan. 9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of Jehovah your God. 10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Hivite, and the Perizzite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Jebusite. II Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, for every tribe a man. 13 And it shall come to pass, when the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of Jehovah, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand in one heap. 14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, the priests that bare the ark of the covenant being before the people; 15 and when they that bare the ark were come unto the Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (for the Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest), 16 that the waters which came down from above stood, and rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those that went down toward the sea of Arabah, even the Salt Sea, were wholly cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. 17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of Jehovah stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel passed over on dry ground, until all the nation were passed clean over the Jordan. WORDS AND PHRASES EXPLAINED Lesson Outline. I. The Removal from Shittim to the Jordan, I. II. The Order for Crossing the Jordan, 2-6. III. Divine Directions, 7-8. IV. Joshua's Address to the People, 9-13. V. The Crossing, 14-17. VI. The Memorial Stones, 4.1-24. 7. This day will I begin to magnify thee. Joshua, as God's instrument, would receive recognition and honor as the leader of the people. Compare Dt. 2.25. See the fulfillment of the promise in Josh. 4.14. 8-9. The ark of the covenant. It contained the Ten Commandments, received at Sinai when the great covenant was made with God.-The children of Israel, Their officers. 10. "The seven nations mentioned here form a rhetorical list, found frequently in the Old Testament (Dt. 7.1; 9.1; 11.3; 20: 17; Ex. 13.5; 23. 23). They embrace the inhabitants of the land small and great. Some, as the Perizzites, and Girgashites, cannot be very definitely located" (Matthews). 12. Twelve men. One from each tribe. The purpose of this is shown in 4.1-7. 13. "Was there a landslide similar to that which completely stopped up the river on Dec. 8, 1267, as many suggest? See p. 438. Did Joshua, from information derived from the spies who had crossed and recrossed in their trip to Jericho, lead the people across by means of a ford? No hint is given. And much as accurate details might gratify scientific curiosity, they are not necessary here to support the religious certainty that the hand of Jehovah led his people across" (Matthews). What ailed thee, O thou sea that thou fleddest? thou Jordan, that thou wast driven back? Tremble, thou earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob. 15. The Jordan overfloweth all its banks all the time of harvest. About the spring equinox, the passover season, the melting snow on the mountains causes the Jordan to overflow its banks. See p. 439. An Egyptian Ark. From an Ancient 16. Rose up in one heap, a great way off, at Adam. See p. 439.-Off. Another reading is off from, RVm. SUGGESTIVE THOUGHTS FROM HELPFUL WRITERS 7. This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel. Greal duties thrust upon a true man bring him face to face with his own littleness. Joshua, at the head of his nation, following in the steps of the mighty Moses, could well have shrunk from his task had not the Lord said to him, "This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel." How came the great change about? Partly through growth in the man himself and a strengthening of all his powers, but mostly, we may believe, through a change in the people's view of him. The once-hated scout of Kadesh-Barnea was now the trusted commander of an army. So, too, in modern life does the Holy Spirit work to magnify and glorify the children of God. What though you feel unworthy of the love and praise of your people, or your class, pastor or teacher? God knows, and he is magnifying you in the sight of others, in order that he may accomplish the more through you. What though your life seems far below your profession? Abide in Christ, and he can work wonders through the magnified impression of himself in you. Faith removes mountains by first reducing them to mole-hills, but love triumphs by first casting a halo of glory about its object. We need to pray, "Lord, strengthen me this day," but we ought also to pray, "Lord, magnify and glorify thy servant this day in the sight of his fellows, to the end that Christ may be exalted, and his alone be the praise and honor." W. F. Turnbull. in The Examiner. 16. The means by which the Jordan was made passable for the Israelites at the time of a freshet (verse 15) is understood in two ways. "The outstretched arm of God was even more visibly shown than in the crossing of the Red Sea," says Doctor W. S. Blaikie, "for in that case a natural cause, the strong east wind, contributed something to the effect, while in this case no secondary cause was employed, the drying up of the channel being due solely to miracle." Professor Charles Foster Kent thus voices the other view: "Cut off above, the waters below flowed down to the Salt Sea, leaving the Jordan bed empty. This version strongly suggests a landslide, which temporarily danimed the waters of the river until they again broke away the barrier and came rushing down, overflowing the banks as before. The name of the city, Adam (Red earth), supports the conclusion that this unusual phenonemon took place way |