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LESSON FOR THE THIRD SABBATH IN MARCH

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Tuesday, March 10, 1885.

FromThe Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 62, No. 10. Whole No. 1605.

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LESSON FOR THE THIRD SABBATH IN MARCH.

By C. C. L.

(See Instructor of March 11, 1885.)

ANALYSIS OF THE LESSON.

The Inheritance of the Saints.

Definitions of Terms.
MEEK: “Mild of temper; not easily provoked or irritated; given to forbearance under injuries; soft, gentle, yielding. Specifically, submissive to the divine will; patient and gentle from moral and religious motives.”
HEIR: “One who is entitled, either by birth, adoption, or special promise, to succeed to the possession of any property.”
INHERITANCE: “That which is or may be inherited; a permanent or valuable possession or blessing; a possession received by gift, or without purchase.”
SAINT: “A person sanctified; a holy or godly person; one eminent for piety and virtue.”
DOMINION: “That which is governed; territory over which authority is exercised.”
Promised to the meek.
They shall inherit the earth. Matt. 5:5.
Heirs of the kingdom. Jas. 2:5.
Theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt. 5:3.
Examples of meekness:—
(a) CHRIST: “When he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not.” 1 Pet. 2:21–23.
(b) MOSES: “The man Moses was very meek.” Num. 12:3.
Duty of professed heirs of the kingdom:—
They ought to walk as Christ walked. 1 John 2:6.
Obtained how and when.
HOW: Through much tribulation. Acts 14:22.
WHEN: Relatively, after the wicked are destroyed. “Thou shalt diligently consider his place [that of the wicked], and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth.” Ps. 37:10, 11.
The First Dominion.
The earth is God’s by creation. Ps. 24:1.
He has the right to give it to whom he will. Jer. 27:4, 5.
He gave it originally to man. Gen. 1:26–28.
Man’s dominion extended over all the earth. “Let them have dominion . . . over all the earth.” Gen. 1:26. “Over every living thing.” Ver. 27. Over the works of God’s hands. Ps. 8:6.
When man received the dominion, he was upright (“God made man upright.” Eccl. 7:29); and the dominion was perfect. Everything he had made was very good. Gen. 1:31.
When man regains the dominion, he will serve and obey God (“All dominions shall serve and obey him.” Dan. 7:27); and his obedience will be perfect. “Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.” Matt. 6:10.
In order that the restored dominion may be free from sin, the wicked will be destroyed (Ps. 37:9, 10), the chaff will be burned. Matt. 13:40, 42.
The Dominion Lost through Sin.
Since the dominion with which God intrusted man must be free from sin (Dan. 7:27; Matt. 6:10), he could hope to retain it only so long as he refrained from sin.
Sin is disobedience to the commands of God. Man was tested upon the point of obedience. “Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat.” Gen. 2:17.
3. Man disobeyed God (Gen. 3:6), thus forfeiting his right to the dominion, and was driven from the garden of Eden. Gen. 3:24.
4. It was that old serpent, the Devil (Rev. 20: 2), who deceived man, and caused his fall. Gen. 3:12, 13.
5. Man, being overcome by Satan, became the servant of Satan (2 Pet. 2:19) and of sin. Rom. 6:16.
6. Man forfeited his right to the dominion to Satan, his overcomer, who thus became the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:3, 4), the arch-deceiver of the race, the usurper of the dominion given to Adam.
7. Though usurper of the dominion, and god of this world, Satan’s power is not absolute, but only permitted for a time. Dan. 4:32; Jer. 27:4, 5.
The foregoing analysis of the three lessons under review may be helpful to some in aiding them to gain and hold the attention of their pupils, by placing the whole subject, so far as it has been discussed, before the mind in such a manner that the logical dependence of each important thought will be seen, and the appropriate niche into which each text fits will appear.
The review lesson ought to be the most interesting of the series; yet that in many cases it is not so, the indifferent air of the scholars and the discouraged look of the teacher do abundantly testify. The expression frequently heard, “It is only a review,” betrays the fact that the importance of the review is not fully understood by the speaker, and that he considers it a sort of necessary evil inflicted upon the Sabbath-schools by the lesson committee, which for good manners’ sake he will endure with the best grace he can command, and get through with as soon as possible. C. C. L.