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Signs of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 37.

THE BOYHOOD OF JESUS
Earlier text: THE PEACE PROPOSAL OF THE CZAR

REFORMATION UNDER ASA

Lesson I.—Sunday, October 2, 1898.

REFORMATION UNDER ASA.

Lesson Scripture, 2 Chron. 14: 2-12, R.V.
2 “And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God; for he took away the strange altars, and the high places, and brake down the pillars, and hewed down the Asherim; and commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun-images; and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah; for the land was quiet, and he had no war in those years; because the Lord had given him rest. For he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars; the land is yet before us, because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. And Asa had an army that bare bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand; all these were mighty men of valor. And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and he came unto Mareshah. Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, there is none beside Thee to help, between the mighty and him that hath no strength; help us, O Lord our God; for we rely on Thee, and in Thy name are we come against this multitude. O Lord, Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee. So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.”
Golden Text: “Help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on Thee.” Verse 11.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) What is said of Asa’s conduct? V. 2. (2) What position did Asa occupy? Note 1. (3) In what has his zeal for the true God manifested? V. 3. Note 2. (4) How did he command his people? V. 4. Note 3. (5) What did he do in the cities? What was the result of this action? V. 5. (6) What did he do while the land was at rest? Who had given them rest? V. 6. Note 4. (7) How extensive were the defenses built by Asa and his people? How had they been enabled to do this work? V. 7. Note 5. (8) What is said of Asa’s army? V. 8. Note 6. (9) Who afterward came against them? What is said of his army? V. 9. (10) Where was the battle fought? V. 10. (11) To whom did Asa look for victory? What was his cry? V. 11. Note 7. (12) What was the result of the battle? V. 12.

NOTES.

1. Asa was the third king of Judah, being the grandson of Rehoboam, in whose reign the division of the kingdom was consummated.
2. “High places.”—It was a custom among all the heathen nations to build altars on the tops of hills (Num. 22:41), and the backsliding Israelites fell into the practise (1 Sam. 9:12; 1 Kings 14:23). It was forbidden by the law of Moses (Deut. 12:11-14; Lev. 26:30), but it continued, even in Judah, until the reformation under Josiah (2 Kings 34:3-7, 33). Pillars.—Margin, “obelisks,” images connected with licentious sun-worship. Asherim.—The probable wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah, the female divinity of sun-worship.
3. “Commanded Judah to seek the Lord.”—We understand by this that he taught the people, using force only in destroying the tokens of idolatry. He also used the influence of a good example. A parallel expression is that of the Lord concerning Abraham: “I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord.” Gen. 18:19. A sinful people can not be made to give true service to the Lord by arbitrary command. A heart filled with the Spirit will gladly obey the commandments of God, but “the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Rom. 8:7.
4. “The Lord had given him rest.”—This shows that the Lord could control by His power the outward acts of the enemies of His people. He could restrain them or He could let them loose, according to the conduct of His people. So God could now compel an outward obedience to His law, if He chose to do so; but it is not His plan to make hypocrites. The Gospel of Christ is designed to take a people for His name out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. But it seeks “whosoever will” voluntarily give themselves to Him in spite of all opposition. But “all the wicked [those who will not accept salvation] will God destroy.”
5. Timely precaution.—Asa had anticipated trouble, and prepared for it during ten years of peace and prosperity. There is a time of trouble ahead of the people of this world,—“a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time.” Dan. 12:1. The same verse shows that it is in connection with the coming of the Lord. Shall we not then use the intervening time, as Asa did, in making due preparation?
6. Bucklers were very long shields, covering nearly the whole person, in distinction from ordinary shields, which were smaller and lighter.
7. “Asa cried unto the Lord.”—He had done all he could, but his hope was in God. The opposing army numbered about twice as many men as his own, which added to his realization of his need. But numbers do not count when the Lord comes into the contest. His power is not limited; “with many, or with them that have no power,” it is all the same to Him. The sure way to be on the strong side, or on the right side, is to be on the side of God.

Isaac’s Marriage

Lesson I.—Sabbath, October 1, 1898.

Isaac’s Marriage.

Lesson Scripture, Genesis 24, R.V.

Note 1.—This, it will be noticed, is a topical lesson, and not a series of questions on the text. The student will form his own questions. We have not space to print this long chapter in this department; but we are persuaded that the SIGNS readers all have Bibles.
I. PRELIMINARY:
1. Abraham blessed. (a) In age. (b) In all things. Verse 1.
2. The oath. (a) With whom. Verse 2. (b) By whom. Verse 3. (c) What it was. Verses 6, 8. (d) The condition. Verses 5, 8. (e) The confirmation. Verses 2, 9.
3. Encouragement. Verse 7.
II. DEPARTURE OF SERVANT:
1. Preparation. Verse 10.
2. To what country and city. Verse 10.
III. AT THE WELL.
1. Where and at what time of day. Verse 11.
2. Prayer. Verses 12–14.
3. Meeting with Rebecca. (a) Her lineage. Verse 15. (b) Her beauty. Verse 16. (c) Her character. Verses 16–20. (d) The servant’s reflections, and conversation with Rebecca. Verses 21–25.
4. Thanksgiving. Verses 26, 27.
IV. AT THE HOUSE:
1. First information. Verse 28.
2. Invitation, or welcome. Verses 29–31.
3. Hospitality. Verses 32, 33.
4. Servant’s speech. (a) Abraham’s prosperity. Verses 34, 35. (b) The sole heir. Verse 36. (c) The oath. Verses 37–41. (d) At the well. Verses 42–48. (See note.) (e) The important question. Verse 49.
5. The way prospered. (a) The consent. Verses 50, 51. (b) Worship. Verse 52. (c) Presents. Verse 53. (d) Haste. Verse 54. (e) Rebecca consulted. Verses 55–58.
6. The departure. (a) Who. Verses 59, 61. (b) The blessing. Verse 60.
Side Helps.—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” pages 171–176; “Spirit of Prophecy,” vol. 1, pp. 101–105; Geikie’s “Hours with the Bible,” vol. 1, pp. 405–413.
Note 2.—Notice that Abraham’s servant’s prayer was of the heart—true prayer, a prayer which received an immediate answer. “Prayer is the opening of the heart to God as to a friend. Not that it is necessary, in order to make known to God what we are, but in order to enable us to receive Him.”
“Every prayer which is sent up in faith from an honest heart, will be heard of God and answered; and the one that sent up the petition will have the blessing when he needs it most, and it will often exceed his expectations. Not a prayer of a true saint is lost if sent up in faith, from an honest heart.”

Additional Study.

1. What in the life of Isaac reveals the truthfulness of the statement of the Lord concerning Abraham, in Gen. 18:19? What in the life of Eliezer?
2. Who really selected a wife for Isaac? Through what agencies?
3. Why did not Abraham wish Isaac ever to go back to the country of his kindred? Why did Abraham leave home and kindred?
4. What should precede and what follow every important act of ours?—Prayer, thanksgiving.
5. Of whom was the servant’s first thought? His last? Where did he keep self?
6. What lessons are there in this chapter for parents? For children?
7. Who besides Eliezer doubtless prayed for his success? What lesson in this for us?
8. How is the faith of Abraham, of Isaac, of Eliezer, and the others, manifested in this chapter? How are we to show our faith in the Lord’s guidance? Can a servant of God believe in mere chance?
9. Who accompanied Eliezer? Who accompanies us?
10. What characteristics of Abraham, of his servant, of Rebecca, of Laban, and of Isaac, are brought to light in this chapter?
11. How old was Isaac when he took Rebecca to wife? Gen. 25:20. How long after Sarah’s death? Gen. 17:17; 23:1.
12. Look up the following subjects,—oath, marriage, wife, camels, damsel, pitcher, bracelets, ring, jewels, nurse, Laban, Rebecca, Mesopotamia, Haran.
13. Note the order of consent to the marriage on the part of Bethuel’s family. What is the present order?

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TEACHING TRUTH

By Mary Wood Allen

By Mary Wood Allen, M. D.
National Lecturer W. C. T. U.
A little brochure brimful of helpful suggestions to parents who wish to teach their children the truth in regard to the mystery of life.
Price, 25c. . .
PACIFIC PRESS PUB. CO. Oakland, Cal.

FAMILY WORSHIP.

By Mrs. C. D. M. Williams

Is it possible that any follower of Christ can doubt the wisdom of calling the family together twice a day to worship the Lord—to read from His Word, to ask pardon for sin, and to thank Him for His goodness and mercy, and to ask Him to guide and direct and care for his household? For ourselves it might be that secret prayer only and private study of His Word will be profitable; but how about the family growing up around us?
Two meals a day of the bread of life are more essential for spiritual growth than the two or three meals that we take daily to nourish our physical bodies; and how much more important is this spiritual advancement than the physical development of bone and muscle!
We sometimes hear lack of time given as the excuse for omitting family prayers; but where is the family so hurried with work that they give up their daily food for lack of time to eat? Yet it would be as consistent to deny ourselves food and expect to have strength to labor, as to deny ourselves this means of grace and then expect the Lord to complete the work of grace in our hearts.
Dear brother, you, as the priest of your house, can not afford to neglect this duty any longer. Perhaps you have often thought of it, and felt you ought to have daily worship, and wished you had commenced years ago. Would to God you had—but neglected duty should not be left longer. We can not have close communion with our heavenly Father while we wilfully commit one sin, and many sins of omission are as grievous in the sight of God as sins of commission.
There is a religious education, a spiritual culture, we give our children through family worship which they can attain in no other way. Few parents can talk daily with all of their children on their hope and trust in the Lord, and impress them with the sacred truth, as the reading of the Word and a few moments spent in simple, earnest prayer will do. Let each child learn to take part while very young. A prayer, if of one or two sentences only, may be lisped by the little ones. Teach them to ask in faith for exactly what they want; and let us with wisdom from on high lead them to desire salvation and the Christian graces. Let us not weary the children with long prayers, but reserve them for our private devotions, that this may be a season of solemn pleasure to them.
Let us teach each child to close its eyes during prayers, always and everywhere, in the family circle of prayer, when the blessing is asked at the table, and at church. If any one doubts the necessity of this, let him listen to a few prayers with eyes open, then with eyes closed. How many children and young people in the house of worship seem to have no idea that they are in the presence of the Lord—on their knees, to be sure, but with irreverent countenances, and wide-open eyes gazing around the room with idle curiosity!
Let me emphasize this point, that it be the habit of our children to reverently close their eyes in prayer.
Dear sister, your husband may not be with you in the Lord. Before God you are the priest of your household. Neglect not your sacred duty. Perhaps your husband is not willing that your children shall be brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; he may even seek to annoy and hinder you. Then you have all the more responsibility; for their welfare, their hope for the future, rests heavily on you. Be faithful to the God-given trust. We can never run away from duty. The longer a cross is neglected, the harder it is to take it up and bear it; but the longer carried, the lighter it grows. And this cross, the communion of all with God, becomes our daily strength and pleasure.
Little children have tender, loving hearts, and early learn to trust in the Lord. Let us teach them line upon line and precept upon precept, that as they grow older they shall not wander away, enticed by the pleasures of this world,—lost because left unguarded by daily prayer and watchfulness—lost because a father or mother was too nearly indifferent to their salvation. Our prayers will not avail for our children unless we do our duty by them. The promise is, “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
We are told of God’s commandments:—
“And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”
MRS. C. D. M. WILLIAMS.
Phœnix, Ariz.

NATURE'S MEANING.

By Frances E. Bolton

“It takes the ideal to lift a hair’s weight of the dust of the actual,” says Mrs. Browning. The earthly shadow should always be associated with the heavenly substance. All nature is a parable, an art gallery, a poem of symbolism, a story told by metaphor, and the whole story is summed up in the text, “God is love.”
“The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.”
To study nature simply to know when, what, and how to plant in order to reap a harvest for our material wants, is to fail of the finest of the wheat, and the sweetest of the honey. This kind of study of nature leaves men selfish and sordid. It does not bring them in touch with God, but rather turns them into misers, who hoard up the material gold, and never find the true treasure. Such nature students are meager in mind, poor and calloused in soul, empty of spiritual power. “Having eyes they see not.”
Such nature students are pathetic pictures of soul want. While they rise early, and toil late, coming daily in contact with nature, yet their only thought is of how many potatoes to a hill, how many grains of corn to a planting, and so many bushels to the acre of the harvesting. The clouds are studied for rain, and the sunshine for utility. Their hands are calloused, their forms bowed down, their faces seamed with lines of care, their thoughts have narrowed to ruts, and their souls have become dwarfed, or are as undeveloped buds that have never bloomed, but drop stunted from the branch, withered and scentless. Their companions think life means simply brewing and baking and burden. Their boys slouch into the father’s gait, drop into his meager conversational habits, and unless the young life in them bursts up as new wine, and carries them into the meaning of things, the face of nature will never be more to them than potato hills and corn fields.
Never anything more?—Well, maybe; for God speaks to the young soul, and breathes so through nature that some of His rare spiritual meaning percolates through the crust of life’s hardest materialism, and finds crevices through which to pour suggestion. But to a greater or less extent we are all under the curse of materialism. Every day we hear from our own lips and from the lips of others that which savors not of the spiritual and eternal, but of the fleeting and temporal. Tho around us lies the open glory of God, the mysteries of redemption, yet we stand as those who are blind, and spend our time and talents in discussing some bit of gossip, dwarfing our minds, and encasing them more firmly in the crust of materialism, shutting our hearts away from the fine music of God’s creation. Tho nature’s orchestra plays a million strings, the soul that should hear, and sing, withdraws into a shell, and crawls as a snail.
“Awake, my soul, in joyful lays, And sing thy great Redeemer’s praise.”
FRANCES E. BOLTON.

HEALTH “DON’TS”

Don’t neglect your house drains, nor the drainage about your house. The first condition of family health is a dry and sweet atmosphere. With dry walls, a dry cellar, and drains that carry off refuse without letting in foul gases, half the battle for good health is won.
Don’t let your wells or springs be infected by drainage or from other causes. Pure drinking water is indispensable for health at home or anywhere.
Don’t keep the sun out of your living and sleeping-rooms. Sunlight is absolutely necessary for a right condition of the atmosphere that we breathe and for our bodily well being.
Don’t sleep in the same flannels that you wear during the day.
Don’t wear thin socks or light-soled shoes in cold or wet weather.
Don’t catch cold. Catching cold is much more preventable than is generally supposed. A person in good physical condition is not liable to colds, and will not fall a victim to them unless he is grossly careless. Keep the feet warm and dry, the head cool, the bowels and chest well protected; avoid exposure with an empty stomach; take care not to cool off too rapidly when heated; keep out of draughts; wear flannels; and with the exercise of a little common sense in various emergencies, colds will be rare. If colds were a penal offense, we should soon find a way to prevent them.—Phrenological Journal.

THE TWO STREETS.

By Nixon Waterman

Two streets there are in many towns, A fool one and a fair; In one the sweetest peace abounds, In one a dark despair. In one the light of love is shed, In one grief’s bitter tear; The name of one of these is “Bread,” The name of one is “Beer.”
In Bread Street there are busy men, And happy homes and wives; In Beer Street the degraded den, And sad and broken lives. In Bread Street Plenty sings her song And Labor chants his rhyme; In Beer Street want is joined with wrong, And idleness with crime.
O men and mothers, strive to do The most you can to make The children shun the ones who brew, But love the ones who bake! There is a street their feet should tread, And one their feet should fear,— The name of one of these is “Bread,” The name of one is “Beer.”
—Nixon Waterman, in The Voice.

HOW MONKEYS ARE CAUGHT.

IN capturing monkeys, it is said that their curiosity is the thing that makes them an easy prey. Nearly all the monkeys that we see in this country come from Gorgona, a little village situated a short distance from the Panama Railroad.
The inhabitants of this district are mostly native negroes, for few white men could bear the climate. The whole region is marshy and covered with tropical vegetation. At night there arises a thick vapor, laden with fever, which hangs over the woods like a cloud.
This region of the woods is the paradise of the monkeys. They travel in troops, led by an older monkey. When the people receive information that the “traveling monkey troops” are near the village, they go to the woods in crowds to chase them.
Their plan is very simple. They cut a hole in a coconut large enough for a monkey’s paw to enter. The nut is then hollowed out and a piece of sugar is placed in it. A piece of string is then fastened to it, and it is placed in the road of the approaching monkeys.
It is well known that monkeys are very inquisitive. When they see the coconut in the grass, they hurry to examine it. It does not take them long to find out that the inner part contains a piece of sugar. One of the boldest and greediest sticks a paw into the nut to get the sugar, and grasps it as firmly as he can. But his fist is so large that he can not draw it out of the hole again with the sugar, to which he holds fast, cost what it may.
The natives now pull the string until nut and monkey arrive in the vicinity of their ambuscade. In the meantime, the other monkeys wonder what is the matter with their comrade. They hurry to see where he is being pulled to with his paw in the coconut. They crowd around him, chattering and gesticulating, and the natives, who have a large net ready, cast it over them, and before they know it all are prisoners. They are sold to the employees of the Panama Railroad, and reach the North American markets through commercial dealers.—Anon.

NO RUM TOWN WANTED.

SOME time ago a man met a company of capitalists who were anxious to locate a large plant near Boston. He was very anxious to induce them to come to his city. He said he knew a town a few miles from Boston, with splendid water, first-class railway connections, cheap, abundant labor, low-priced land and plenty of it.
The capitalists were interested at once and said that was just what they were looking for. “What is the name of the town?” they asked. On hearing the name, they exclaimed, “Why, that is the name of that rum town, isn’t it?” “Well, yes, we do have saloons there.” “No, sir,” was the reply; “none of it for us. Our factory goes where there are no saloons. We would rather pay higher wages and have poorer accommodations, for we’d more than save the difference in sober workingmen. Besides, out of twenty-five towns and cities immediately around Boston, your tax rate is the highest of all. No rum town for us.”—Temperance Cause.

BACKBONE

WHEN you see a fellow-mortal Without fixed or fearless views, Hanging on the skirts of others, Walking in their cast-off shoes, Bowing low to wealth or favor, With abject uncovered head, Ready to retreat or waver, Willing to be drove or led, Walk yourself with firmer bearing, Throw your moral shoulders back, Show your spine has nerve and marrow, Just the things which his must lack.
A stronger word Was never heard In sense and tone Than this—Backbone.
—Anon.

DIET IN THE ARMY.

By Felix L. Oswald

THE salt pork of the United States mess represents fat in its most objectionable form—worse in many respects than the ghee, or clarified butter, which Hindu travelers carry in bottles till it becomes too rancid even for the stoicism of Brahman ascetics. Our government does issue sugar, but only on the condition that its servants in uniform consent to swallow it in a cup of coffee. “Straight,” or in a glass of water, with a few drops of lemon juice, it would be a better complement of dry bread than pork, but administered with a dose of caffein poison, the possible blessing becomes a curse; the net result of the prescription is an injury to the recipient, especially under circumstances constituting per se a severe test of the nervous organism.—Felix L. Oswald, M.D., in Good Health.

HOW THE SALOON HELPS BUSINESS.

At Hamilton, Ohio, one pay day, a student of social phenomena witnessed a transaction of very great significance, which shows how the saloon helps business. As the employees approached the cashier’s desk he observed that one of them was accompanied by the collector of a saloon, to whom he authorized the cashier to pay the amount due, according to the bill. The cashier obeyed instructions, paid to the collector the amount of his claim, and the employee the balance of his wages for that week. After the saloon-keeper’s claim had been met, the workingman received five cents. Our “student,” curious to know more of his life, went to his home, and learned that his wife was then engaged upon the third washing for that week.—Selected.

Trusting Men and Making Mistakes

THE man who trusts men will make fewer mistakes than he who distrusts them.—Cavour.

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