Anno Mundi 6050—December 1, 1921

VIEWS PROM 1'HF WATCH TOWER Christendom’s Need of Christianity Against Blood Atonement         ..

Armament Limitation Parley .........

A Zionist Drive .........................

"THE MAN OF GOD”.........................

How Qualified ....................

True Pio test ants          ...............

THE REVOLT OF JEROBOAM.............

"The Third Day” ................

Revenue Officer Stoned ..................

Defiance and Revolt ...............

A Self-Made High Priest.................

ELIJAH THE TISIIBITE.....................

in the Ravine               ........

Death of the Widow’s Son .......

“I will stand upon my watch and will set my foot upon the Tower, and will watch to see what He will t-ay unto me, and what answer I shall make to them that oppose me.”—Habakkuk 2 1.

Upon the earth disticss of nations with perplexity; the sea and the waves (the restless,, discontented) roaring; men’i hurts falling titan ter fear and for looking to the hings coming upon the earth (society); for the powers of the heavens (ecdesiastleis'm) shall be shaken. . . When ye see these things begin to come to pass, then know that the Kingdom of God Is at hand. Look up, life np your heads, rejoice, for your redemption draweth nigh—Matt. 24:38; Mark 13:29; Luke 21:25-31

THIS JOURNAL AND ITS SACRED MISSION

THIS Journal la one of the prime factors or Instruments in the system of Bible instruction, or "Seminary Extension”, now being presented in all parte of the civilized world by the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society, chartered A. D. 1884, "For the Promotion of Christian Knowledge”. It not only serves as a class room where Bible students may meet in the study of the divine Word but also as a channel of communication through which they may be reached with announcements of the Society’s conventions and of the coming of its traveling representatives, styled “Pilgrims”, and refreshed with reports of its conventions.

Our “Berean Lessons” are topical rehearsals or reviews of our Society’s published Studies most entertainingly arranged, and very helpful to all who would merit the only honorary degree which the Society accords, viz., Ferbi Dei Minister (V. D. M.), which translated Into English Is Minister of God's Word. Our treatment of the International Sunday School Lessons is specially for the older Bible students and teachers. By some this feature is considered Indispensable.

This journal stands firmly for the defense of the only true foundation of the Christian’s hope now being so generally repudiated —redemption through the precious blood of “the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom [a corresponding price, a substitute] for all”. (1 Peter 1'119; 1 Timothy 2:6) Building up on this sure foundation the gold, sliver and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3: Ills ; 2 Peter J: 6-11) of the Word of God, its further mission is to “make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery which. . .has been hid in God, ... to the intent that now might be made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God”—“which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed".—Ephesians 3:6-9,10.

It stands free from all parties, sects and creeds of men, while it seeks more and more to bring Its every utterance Into fullest subjection to the will of God In Christ, as expressed in the holy Scriptures. It is thus free to declare boldly whatsoever the Lord hath spoken—according to the divine wisdom granted unto us to understand his utterances. Its attitude Is not dogmatie, but confident; for we know whereof we affirm, treading with implicit faith npon the sure promises of God. It is held as a trust, to be used only in hie service; hence our decisions relative to what may and what may not appear In its columns must be according to our judgment of his good pleasure, the teaching of his Word, for the upbuilding of his people in grace and knowledge And we not only invite but urge our readers to prove all its utterances by the infallible Word to which reference is constantly made to facilitate such testing.

TO US THE SCRIPTURES CLEARLY TEACH

That the church is “the temple of the living God”, peculiarly "his workmanship”; that Its construction has been In progress throughout the gospel age—ever since Christ became the world’s Redeemer and the Chief Corner Stone of his temple, through which, when finished, God’s blessing shall come “to all people”, and they find access to him.—1 Corinthians 3:16, 17; Ephesians 2: 20-22; Genesis 28:14; Galatians 3 : 29.

That meantime the chiseling, shaping, and polishing of consecrated believers In Christ’s atonement for sin, progresses; and when the last of these “living stones”, "elect and precious,” shall have been made ready, the great -Master Workman will bring all together in the first resurrection , and the temple shall be filled with his glory, and be the meeting place between God and men throughout the Millennium.—Revelation 15 : 5-8.

That the basis of hope, for the church and the world, lies In the fact that “Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man,” “a ransom for all,” and will be "the Hue light which hghteth every man that cometh into the world”, “in due time”,— Hebrews 2:9.; John 1:9; 1 Timothy 2:5, 0.

That the hope of the church is that she may be like her Lord, "see him as he is," be “partakers of the divine nature’,' and share his glory as his joint-heir.—1 John 3.2; John 17.24; Romans 8:17; 2 Peter 1:4.

That the present mission of the church is the perfecting of the saints for the future work of service: to develop In herself every giace; to be God’s witness to the world; and to prepare to be kings and priests in the next age.—Ephesians 4:12; Matthew 24s 14 ; Revelation 1:6; 20:6.

That the hope for the world lies in the blessings of knowledge and opportunity to be brought to all by Christ’s Millennial kingdom, the restitution of all that was lost in Adam, to ail the willing and obedient, at the hands of their Redeemer and his glorified rhirmh. when all the wilfully wicked will be destroyed.—Acte 3; 19-23; Isaiah 36.

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Editorial Committee.* mijiq journal is published under the supervision of an editorial co .mittee, at least three of whom have read and approved as truf'r. each and every article appearing in these columns. The names of the editorial committee are: J. F. Rutherford, W. E Van Ai;p^,fRGH, F. H. Robison, G. H. Fisher, B. W. Brbnisen. Terms to the Lord Poor: AB Bible students who, by reason of old a^e or other infirmity or adversity,iare unable to pay-for this journal, will.be supplied free If they send • postal card each Jtfay stating their case and requesting such dto vision. Weare Dot only willing, but anxious, that all such be on our list continually and in touch with tbs Berean studies.

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HYMNS FOR FEBRUARY

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Monday _______	__	6	89	13	218	20 103	27	219
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After the close of the hymn the Bethel family listen, to the reading of "Mv Vow Unto the Lora”, then joins in prayer. At the breakfast table the Manna text is considered.

STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES

These Studies are recommended to students as veritable Bible keys, discussing topically every vital doctrine of the Bible. More t! m eleven million copies axe in circulation, in nineteen languages. Two sizes are Issued (in English only) . the regular maroon cloth, gold .-.tamped edition on dull finish paper (size 5"x7J*), and the maroon doth pocket edition on thin paper (else 4*x6fi*) ; both sizes me printed from the same plates, the difference being in the margins; both sizes are provided with an appendix of catechistic questions for convenient class use. Both editions uniform in price.

Series L 'The Divine Plan of the -Agen, giving outline of the <Jivine plan repealed in the Bible, relating to maxi’s redemption and restitution : 350 pages, plus indexes and appendixes, 75c. Magazine edition 20c Also procurable m Arabic, Armenian, Dane-Norwegian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hollandish. Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Roumanian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, and Ukrainian; .regular cloth style, price uniform with English                    '

Series II, The Time Is at Hand, treats of the manner and time of tiae Lordls seco..il coming, considering the Bible testimony on .this subject: 333 pages, 75c Obtainable m Dane-Norwegian. Finnish, German, Polish, and Swedish.

Series HL Thy Kingdom Come, considera prophecies which mark events connected with "the time of the end”, the glorification of die church and tile establishment of the Millennial kingdom; it also contains a chapter on the Great Pyramid of Egypt, showing its corroboration of certain Bible teachings: 380 pages, 75c. Furnished also in Dano-Norwegian, Finnish, German, Polish, and Swedish.

Series IV, The Battle of AraiBgfrtdoa. shows that the dissolution of the present order of things is in progress and that all of the human panaceas offered are valueless to avert the end predieted in the Bible. It contains a special and extended treatise on .our Lord’s great prophecy of Matthew 24 and also that of Zechariah 14:1 9 : 656 pages, S5c. Also in Dano-Norwegian, Finnish, Greek, German, and Swedish.

SERIES V, The Atonement Between God and Man, treats .an all Important subject, the center around which all features of divine grace revolve. This topic deserves the most careful consideration on the part of all true Christiana: 618 pages, 85c. Procurable likewise in Dano-Norwegian, Finnish, German, Greek, .and Swedish.

Sbribs VL The New Creation, deals with the creative week (Genaate -1. 2), and with the church. God’s new creation It examines the personnel, organisation, rites, ceremonies, obligations, and hopes appertaining to those called and accepted as members of the body of Christ; 730 pages, 88c. Supplied also in Dano-Norweginn, Fbmish, German, xma Swedish.

Sebabb VII, The Finished Myatery, consists of a versfe-by-verse explanation of the Bible books «f Revelation, Song at Solomon, .and Ezekiel: 608 pages, lllustMited, 85c. in cloth, 2Sc. in magazine edition—latter treats RevdaSini and Ezekiel only.

AND HERALD OF CHRISTS PRESENCE

VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER

FROM denim to silks; from ox-carts to limousines; from poverty to wealth—this is the experience of the last three generations. But the world is not one bit happier; and almost everyone will admit that the world is very much unhappier. The grasping disposition is observable in places where it would not be expected. For instance the following, published in the Philadelphia North American:

“Annapolis Royal, a sleepy, venerable, dignified, and historic city in Nova Scotia, the second oldest settlement on the North American continent, suffered a disastrous Ine a few weeks ago. The business center of the city was destroyed, along with many residences. But the fire was attended by incidents of more sinister significance than the destruction of property. For the occasion lifted the lid off an ugly phase of contemporary life to which we are usually blind During the conflagration, and immediately following it, when the noblest sentiments of neighborliness should have ruled, there was widespread looting of salvaged goods.

“Tins was no sudden outbreak of lawlessness by aliens; the men caught were of the old British breed, who settled the maritime provinces in the long ago. They typify a fact of the times; namely, that the spirit of disregard for law and right has eaten like a canker into the very heart of oak of our civilization. Dark and hidden forces of anarchy and crime burst out with alarming frequency in all sorts of unexpected places. What happened m staid old Annapolis Royal is close kin to what happened in Chicago and New York and San Francisco. The papers talk of a ‘crime \\ ave’, whereas they really mean something more than a wave— a rising tide of lawlessness which is menacing the whole world Russia and Great Britain, Germany and the United States, Japan and France all are being inundated by this perilous spirit.”

That this condition is prevalent throughout the whole structure of “Christendom” is understood by all careful Bible students, and occasionally by other observers. One of these is the Reverend Thomas B. Gregory, writing in the Arkansas Democrat:

CHRISTENDOM’S NEED OF CHRISTIANITY

“The Rev. Dr. Baxter P. Fullerton, of St. Louis, speaking the other day before the ‘World’s Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches’, at Pittsburgh, delivered himself of this tremendous statement: ‘The greatest problem before the agencies of the Christian church is to Christianize the church itself’.

“Dr. Fullerton is right, absolutely and unqualifiedly right, and in defending his position he can hold his ground against all possible opposition.

“To those who know history, the great outstanding fact Is none other than this, that our so-called ‘Christianity’ is not Christian if by Christian we mean the teachings laid down in the gospels by Jesus of Nazareth.

“Between the system of ritual and dogma known as Christianity, and the simple teachings of Jesus as recorded in the three little memoirs known as ‘Matthew’, ‘Mark,’ and ‘Luke,’ (saying nothing about John), there is as much difference as there is between Darkness and Light, Fiost and Sunshine, Falsehood and Truth.

“Not only are they radically different, but they are uncompromisingly antagonistic. If the Christianity of the creeds is true, the Christianity of the gospels is false; if the Christianity of the gospels is true, the Christianity of the creeds is false; for the two are as opposite to each other as are the centrifugal and centripetal forces in mechanics.

“If Jesus of Nazareth could come back to us He would undei stand our Christianity to about the same extent that the average man on the street understands Einstein’s doctrine of ‘Relativity’.

“If the men who made our historical Christianity had deliberately set out in cold blood and with malice aforethought to champion the very things that Jesus preached against, and to cry down the very things that He advocated and loved, they could not have more completely succeeded.”

Failure to discern between a church Christian and a Bible Christian has been a fruitful cause of error, and it is not yet done bearing fruit. Not only have Baptists had difficulty in their ranks (or more accurately among their commissioned officers) from those who discredit the Bible, but Methodists are having similar troubles, it seems. The San Antonio Express reports the doings of the West Texas Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, among which doings were extensive debates on the Conference’s attitude toward higher criticism in the Methodist schools of that state. A member of the faculty of the Southern Methodist University wrote a book on the Old Testament from the standpoint of a higher critic, which roused the feelings of such a large poition of the conference that a strong resolution was drawn up and presented by a group of laymen, headed by Judge M. A. Childers of Sinton. A part of the resolution reads:

“Your board of education has had under consideration the recent agitation tlnoughout the state on account of the charge of unsound teaching by a professor in one of four educational institutions. But as the president of said institution announced officially that this professor has tendered his resignation and which he advises will be accepted, therefore we do not think it wise to take further action in this particular case.

“Nevertheless we believe that this conference should express Itself in no uncertain terms on the principles involved and we therefore submit the following resolution :

“Whereas, Our church has always regarded the Holy Scriptures as the word of God, Inspired in that unique UI

sense in which no other literature, ancient, or modern, is Inspned, and that they are the one infallible, authoritative, and final revelation of divine truth to the world, and,

•‘Whereas, There have crept in among us unawares and found lodgment m many high places of influence in our church certain views and propaganda regarding the Scriptures, which, under the guise of modern scholarship, assails much ,of the historical and miraculous elements of the Bible; therefore,

“First, We wish to express our flrm faith in and allegiance to the Bible as the inspired Word of God as taught and earnestly contended for by our fathers in Methodism down through the years.

“Second, We do not believe that our holy Christianity has suffered or ever can suffer from the discovery of truth, and we wish it understood that we do not in the least degree discourage scholarship and extensive research. We welcome devout scholarship and investigation, but we repudiate that so-called scholarship which goes to the extent of assailing or calling m question the divine origin and integrity of the Holy Scriptures.”

The various dissenting bodies seem to have been called into being by the apostasy of the national churches. But apostasy has grown like weeds in those dissenting bodies themselves, and almost wholly because of failure to give heed to the Word of God. Constant testimony along this line is being still noted in the public press. A recent issue of the Tacoma News Tribune speaks:

AGAINST BLOOD ATONEMENT

“The statement made by Dr. Hawkins in a sermon Sunday, October 9, sets forth the belief that God demands no blood sacrifice for the redemption of man.

“ ‘Blood sacrifice is a common idea among primitive people,' he said. ‘The early Jews believed that the death of Christ was a price paid to an angry God to buy him off that he might not show his vengeance on his sinful people. A modern study of the Bible has clearly shown that Jesus never set forth any theory of blood atonement, but everywhere he emphasized the fact that men ought to be right with God by living right Ilves.’ ”

ARMAMENT LIMITATION PARLEY

All the eyes of Christendom are just now turned toward 'Washington because of the international parley on limitation of armaments; although varying sentiments lie at the bottom of the attention drawn. A clipping from the Cleveland Plain Dealer tells of an appeal to the Ohio Federation of Churches to pray for the success of the disarmament project. The Federal Council of Churches is likewise sending forth appeals for special services. Many of these people doubtless have a sincere desire to see the great burden of war preparations removed from the earth. But they do not realize the divine method of establishing peace.

A much saner view of the conference has been expressed in an editorial in the Farmer and Stockman-.

“In a statement to newspaper correspondents at the national capital, Secretary of State Hughes has taken pains to make plain the fact that the conference to be held November 11 is not to be a ‘disarmament' meeting, but a conference for the ‘limitation of armaments Undoubtedly, Gieat Britain will favor ‘limitation of armaments’, provided she is permitted to retain and maintain the largest navy in the world —which she contends is necessary to the protection of her Interests and possessions in the different parts of the earth. And no doubt, Japan will agree to any ‘limitation’ that will permit her to have as large a navy as the United States possesses. So, likewise, with France, and possibly with Italy and other countries. Secretary Hughes and his associates will likely assert the right of the United States to build a navy equal in size and strength to that of Great Britain, and they will probably contend for a limitation in naval construction by Great Britain and the United States to the present existing or planned strength of the British navy. Whether or not the representatives of the United States will take the position that Japan and other powers shall not be permitted to build navies equal in stiength to those of Great Britain and the United States remains to be seen ; and whether the powers other than Great Britain will support the United States in this view of just ‘limitation of armaments’ is a question.

“But the main thought is that none of the powers, and least of all, the United States, appear to be thinking of disarmament. The plain fact is—and nothing is to be gained by disguising it—that neither Great Britain, Japan, nor France, nor the administration at Washington, believes in or favors disarmament. Each and all want strong navies, each desiring a navy equal in strength to that of the others. They are not necessarily seeking wars, but each is affected by those motives and controlled by those policies that are sure to produce wars, always have produced wars, and always will. Each power is seeking, by force or a display of force, to extend not its trade or its commercial interests— for no government is supposed to be engaged in trade or commercial transactions on its own account—but to extend the financial, commercial, and trade interests of particular classes of its subjects or citizens in foreign countries, and especially in those weaker countries which are unable to protect themselves from exploitation by imperialistic nations such as England, France, Japan, and such as the United States appears to be rapidly becoming.

“I regret to say that I do not expect much real or far-reaching good to come out of this much-heralded conference, and I do not expect any good to come out of it if its deliberations and proceedings are to be cloaked with secrecy. Agreements may be leached by which competition in armament may be limited to some extent, but I do not expect any action that will eien tend in the direction of lessening or minimizing imperialistic exploitation of the weaker nations by the stronger. Quite the contrary

“The trouble is that our political rulers at Washington seem to have entirely lost sight of the fundamental principles of true Americanism, and to have become strangely enamored of the world-grabbing policies of the imperialistic nations—policies that ever have been the fruitful and Inevitable causes of wars. They appear to he hopelessly imbued with the idea that the office and function of our government, in all its foreign relations, is to back the business enterprises of our exploiting financiers in all parts of the earth, by force of arms if necessary, and to act as a sort of national collection agency, court and sheriff combined for the protection of the speculative investments of our financial magnates and commercial princes in foreign lands.

“Such policies require navies and armies and heavy taxation for their maintenance, and so long as our political rulers at Washington pursue and enforce such policies, it cannot be expected that they will in good faith seek ‘disarmament’ or favor any material lessening of taxation for military purposes. On the contrary, it is to be expected that they will do just what they are doing today—budding a navy for the protection of the exploiting inteiests and ‘talking limitation of armaments’. The United States government is not making the world safe for democracy’ these days; it is making it safe for plutocracy in general and for the American plutocracy in particular.”

A ZIONIST DRIVE

The Zionist news these days is rather meager. A recent dispatch from London conveys some information, however:

‘‘There are now barely 700,000 people in all Palestine, a population much less than that of Galilee alone In the time of Christ, says Sir Herbert Samuel, the British high commissioner there, in a report just made public.

‘‘Ten thousand immigrants arrived in Palestine in the seven months between September, 1020, and May, 1921, he reports.”

As a supplement to this item is the following, which shows that some movement is under way toward the assembling of funds for the needed developments in Palestine:

“Plans for raising $15,000,000 during the coming year for the rebuilding of Palestine and for the reception to be tendered the visiting delegates of the Zionist Organization of the World on November 11 were formulated yesterday at an all-day meeting held in the Board room of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. Prominent Zionists from all parts of the country attended the meeting, which took up most of the afternoon and evening.

“To raise the required quota for the United States the ancient Hebrew ‘Maaser’ or personal income tax will be instituted. This is an age-old custom whereby the Jews contribute ten percent of their income to the cause The system of raising funds in this manner was done in Germany recently with great success. In addition to this a nationwide drive will be instituted and contributions solicited from prominent Zionists throughout the country. It was the organizing body of the drive which met yesterday.”

It seems that the writers of the New Testament and of the Old are wrong—if the anti-Semitic writer in Mr. Ford’s Dearborn Independent has the right view of matters. It seems, also, that International Bible Students constitute a very doubtful asset to the communities in which they live—all judged, of course, from the standpoint of anti-Semitism, the anti-Jewish movement. A part of one article says:

“In all this work the Jewish Idea has the assistance of certain Christian sects who gloss over the inhumanity and Immorality of certain courses of actions by saying that ‘these are doubtless the means by which God Is giving the Jew his promised control of the world’. This is one form of the un-Biblical conception, the un-Scriptural teaching, that the Jews are God’s Chosen People.

“Of all the sects following this error, none is more active than the so-called ‘Russellites’, the followers of Pastor Russell, and oflicially known as the International Bible Students Association.

“It has been reported to The Dearborn Independent by numerous witnesses that Jewish interpreters at points of debarkation in Canada and the United States have circulated Russellite literature. The fact that a Jew would circulate any kind of Christian literature is sufficiently astonishing to cause inquiry. It is explained by the elaborate pro-Jewish propaganda which Russellism Is conducting.”

But, despite the smallish views of those who have no faith in God’s true purposes, we feel more honored in being counted in with that race of which Jesus and the apostles were members, than in being counted in with those who have prostituted the name of Christ for the sake of commerce and war and earthly power.

THE MAN OF GOD

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.’’ — £ Timothy 8:16, 11.

JUST before his death in Rome the apostle Paul wrote the above words to Timothy, his beloved colaborer and child in the faith. The inspiration of the Scriptures is a fact which is denied in its existence, in its universality, and in its plenitude. That is, some deny that there is any such thing at all; some deny that the whole of Scripture is inspired, admitting only certain parts so to be; while others, granting that the whole is inspired, deny that it is fully so, admitting it as regards the sense but not the words. It is not the purpose now to enter into this subject separately, but only sufficiently to show that the Apostle says what he appears to say, and that he means what he says.

The Apostle was here speaking of the Old Testament Scriptures, those Scriptures which Timothy had known “from a child”. (2 Timothy 3:15) Abundant evidence is available for the inspiration of the New Testament writings also, but those are not spoken of here. This statement about the inspiration of the Scriptures is like that of the apostle Peter: “No prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation;” that is to say, it was not the product¹ of the individual’s imagination, not the outgrowth of his own interpretation of events. And why is this so? The next verse goes on to explani to us: “For the prophecy came not in old tune by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the holy spirit”. (2 Peter 1: 20, 21) That is why it did not come of the prophets’ own sending forth. Ancient men of God were borne along by the holy spirit. And just as the wind in bearing along among the trees of the forest causes each tree to produce its own peculiar sound, making the aspen to rustle, the elm to moan, the oak to groan, and the ash to shriek, so the wind of the spirit, in bearing along through each writer, caused him to write divine truth in divine words (1 Corinthians 2:13), while it at the same time brought forth the peculiarity of each individual writer, and preserved what we are accustomed to call that writer’s personal style.

But to return to the passage in 2 Timothy. Various abortnc efforts have been made to nullify the plain teaching of this text. One of such efforts is in the Revised Version, which, often an advantage over the King James, is here a decided disadvantage. The Revised Version reads: "Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable/’ etc. This is not acceptable English, to say nothing of the Greek. In this case it is not necessary to know anything of the Greek language to be able to judge of the consistency of the rendering. Now the word “is” is admittedly wanting in the original, but that is nothing unusual. It is wanting in letter, but implied in sense. Fortunately there are many similar passages which plainly illustrate this point. The various forms of the verb to be are wanting in all of these following citations, and in each case the structure is followed by “and”.

Here are the passages:

Romans 7: 12

“The commandment is holy and just.” 1 Corinthians 11: 30 “Many are weak and sickly.”

2 Corinthians 10:10

“His letters are weighty and powerful.”

1 Timothy 1:15 ; 4:9

“Faithful is the saying and worthy of all acceptation.” 1 Timothy 2:8

“This is good and acceptable.”

1 Timothy 4: 4

"Every creature of God is good and nothing to be refused.” 2 Timothy 3:16

“All scripture is given-by-lnspiration-of-God² and is profitable.”

Hebrews 4:13

“All things are naked and opened.”

So much to establish the correctness of the passage as quoted at the head of this article.

The structure of the words is as follows:

A a All sci iptiue is given by inspiration of God, b and is profitable

B foi doctrine,

C for reproof,

C for correction,

B for instruction In righteousness, A a that the man of God may be perfect, ti thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

This structure shows in A and A those things connected with God, and in B 0 and C B those things connected with God’s Word.

The following explanatory key may be of help:

A a the divinely inspired Word of God b its profit

B positive: teaching what is right C negative: correcting what is wrong C negative: correcting what is wrong B positive: teaching what is right A a the divinely fitted man of God 6 his profit

In addition to the perfection of structure there is a figure of speech employed here which gives a certain emphasis. Without bothering about the technical names for these things, it is enough to say that sometimes no ands are used to join several nouns, or names of things or qualities in a sentence; sometimes there are many ands. When many ands are used it is to show us that we are to dwell on each thing or point mentioned. Each is of equal importance; there being no climax at the end. When no ands are used, it is to show us that we should not dwell on the seveial points enumerated; but we are hurried along to some climax which is the important thing in the passage. An example of the “many ands” figure of language may be seen by reference to 2 Timothy 4:17,18, and many other Scriptures. On the other hand, look at 2 Timothy 3:10 for an example of “no ands”.

“But thou hast fully known my doctrine,

—manner of life,

—purpose,

—faith,

—longsuffering,

—charity,

—patience,

—persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me

—at Antioch,

■—at Iconium, ■—at Lystra;

—what persecutions I endured :

BUT OUT THEM ALL THE LORD DELIVERED ME.”

Again, in our own text:

“All scripture Is given by Inspiration of God, and Is profitable

—for doctrine,

• — for reproof,

• — for correction,

• — for instruction in righteousness,

THAT THE MAN OF GOD MAY BE PERFECT, THOROUGHLY FURNISHED UNTO ALL GOOD WORKS.”

And before we go further it must be noted that the words for “perfect” and “thoroughly furnished” are cognate, or closely related words from the same root. Whatever the one is rendered, the other should be rendered similarly. If the one is made perfect, the other should be perfected. If the one is rendered fit, then the other should be rendered fitted. Perhaps this latter word is the more illuminative. It suggests the furnishing of a house, the preparing for war, or, better, the fitting out of a ship for a long voyage at sea. When a vessel is fitted out, everything must be thought of; every emergency must be provided for; every contingency must be considered. Storm and calm, cold and heat, accident and fire, war and peace; everything from the least conspicuous to the most evidently needful must be furnished. So the man who has the word of God hidden in his heart is thoroughly furnished and ready for any emergency — for prosperity or trouble, for friend or foe, for joy or sorrow, for defense or attack. Only such a one is prepared to meet the trials of life and fitted out for its emergencies.

The expression “the man of God” occurs in the New-Testament only in the epistles to Timothy. (1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 3:17) In each of those cases it is in connection with the Word of God. But the expression is frequently made use of in the Old Testament. It is first found in Deuteronomy 33:1: “This is the blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death”. The first occurrence of any word in the sacred writings is significant and usually gives a key to its meaning and teaching in other parts of Scripture. So here we find the expression connected with Moses; not with the blessing, but with the man. He is the first one who is definitely called “the man of God”.

But why was this expression used of Moses? The answer is that Moses was preeminently the prophet. To him Jehovah had said: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee”. (Deuteronomy 18:18) Although Jesus himself was the Prophet, yet by the divine description he was “like unto” Moses rather than Moses being like unto him, as one would naturally expect. Doubtless this is so stated in order to point Moses out clearly and cleanly as a type.

Moses was preeminently the prophet of the Old Testament; just as Noah was preeminently its preacher. Thus the first use of the expression, “the man of God”, identifies it with the thought of a prophet. Next: What is the meaning of the word prophet?

The common Hebrew -word for prophesy signifies to speak clearly, to bubble up, and then to issue forth. It was used of all formal announcements. The Greek word is practically the same as our English word prophet; prophet being merely a transliteration of the Greek word, or a spelling of it with the English letters. This word means literally to speak before, that is, to speak while before another. It was used prior to the New Testament times exclusively for those who officiated at the heathen oracles. The evil spirits who gave forth the utterances m those places spoke often in almost unintelligible jabberings, which the ordinary visitor could seldom make out. By way of getting the message to the inquirer, a spokesman stood before the curtain which hid the oracle from the people, and that spokesman professed to interpret what the oracle said. It is not the thought that the Lord adopted any of the devil’s ways and means and used them in the church, but rather that the devil made use of divine ways and means which had long before been established. We are merely getting at the meaning of the word in Greek.

In the New Testament the word prophet is used of a man who stands before God, of a man who speaks before him; and thus it is connected with “the man of God”. The word prophesy does not mean merely to foretell events, but to speak before, to speak for, to announce.

And where does the word prophet first occur in the Scriptures? Who was first called a prophet?

Perhaps many will be able to answer and say that Abraham was the first one called a prophet; and the appellation is given not by man but by God himself. In Genesis 20: 7 God says to Abinielech: “Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee”.

Where are the prophecies of Abraham? There are none, in the customary use of the term. But Abraham walked with God (Genesis 17:1), and witnessed for God. He was generally recognized as God's man by the men of his time, much as a servant is identified with his master. He lived, walked, and spoke before God; he acknowledged the constant oversight of Jehovah and his own constant responsibility to him.

It was in the same sense that John the Baptist waa a prophet. Our Lord bears testimony concerning him that he was “more than a prophet” (Matthew 11:9); he was “called the prophet of the Highest (Luke 1: 76); and in another place: “Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist”. (Luke 7:28) And yet, where are John’s prophecies ? There are none, as that word is generally used. But he was known and recognized as God’s man, ‘for all held John as a prophet’ (Matthew 21:26); he spoke for God, he reproved, rebuked, exhorted. In short, he was God's spokesman in the world, and hence he was truly a prophet.

When our Lord Jesus said to the woman at Jacob’s Well, “Go, call thy husband,” and revealed the fact that he understood her past as well as her present life, she responded: “Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet”. (John 4:19) He had not spoken of the future at all, but had looked at her present and back into her past. His words reproved her of sin, as the words of John had reproved Herod. (Luke 3: 19) ; thus by the same sign Jesus was marked as a prophet.

Another instructive illustration is found in Exodus 7:1. Here Jehovah, speaking to Moses of Aaron, says: “Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet?’. But in another place the same Hebrew word is used, and the same facts and circumstances are referred to, although a different word is used in the English translation: “He shall be thy spokesman".—Exodus 4:16.

That is the exact signification of the word. Spokesman is just what it means in both the Old Testament and the New. A prophet was a man who spoke for God, witnessed for God, was recognized by the people as a man whom God had called, whom God had qualified, whom God had sent forth to be his spokesman in the world. He was, therefore, a “man of God”.

HOW QUALIFIED?

To be a spokesman of another, certain qualifications are requisite. If a man were to appoint a deputation to wait upon a certain person or group of persons on his behalf he should have to appoint a spokesman; and he should have to see that his spokesman understood perfectly what he wanted him to say, that he understood the case, and that he would put it exactly as his authonzer wished it to be put. In other words, the spokesman would have to be instructed with words and would have to be filled with the spirit and enthusiasm pervading the one to be represented.

But how could a man be qualified to speak for God? If we turn to Numbers 11 we have God’s own answer to this question. The Lord had instructed Moses to appoint seventy men, who should assist him m bearing the burden of the people. God told him that he would put his spirit upon these helpers (verses 16, 17), and accordingly we read: “The Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease [1. e., it was no passing or temporary gift]. But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Mcdad; and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp, and there ran a young man and told Moses . . . and said, My Lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them.”

Hence, it is evident that a prophet was a man upon whom God had “put his spirit”, and whom he had thus taught what was to be said, in the witness for him.

Furthermore, a prophet was one to whom the Lord had made himself known: “Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him”. (Numbers 12:6) A prophet was also known as “a man of the spirit”.—Hosea 9:7, margin.

Again it is written: “Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets”. (Nehemiah 9:30; 2 Chronicles 36: 12) Hence it was the Lord who spake by his spokesmen, it was he who testified against his disobedient people, speaking by his spirit in his prophets.

He it was who said to Ezekiel: “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me”. (Ezekiel 3:17) It was Jehovah who said to Jeremiah: “Thou shalt stand before him, and if thou take forth the precious from the vile thou shalt be as my mouth”.—Jeremiah 15 :19.

The next point to be noted concerning the prophets is this, that there was no original provision for them under the law. Every other office was defined, and its duties were prescribed. The persons who were to perform those dihties were appointed, even down to those who carried the minutest parts of the Tabernacle, down to the hewers of wood and drawers of water for the service of the Lord. But there was no place named for the prophet. And if Israel had walked in the way of God’s commandments, if they had proven faithful to the trust committed to them, there would not have been any need for prophets to be raised up.

But the priestly party in that day did exactly what the priestly party in every day has done—whether in false religions or true. The fallen propensities of men have ever inclined to use the influence and position which religion has given, for selfish advantage. The priests of Israel were no exception. They forgot the end and soon became absorbed in the means. They were soon involved in controversies as to the right mode of dividing the sacrifices, and as to the performance of their various duties. Hence the prophets were raised up, and the shortcomings of the established religionists were the constant theme of their testimony. The written record refers to this more than once when it is said: “I will have mercy and not sacrifice”.—Hosea 6: 5,-6; Matthew 9:13; 12:7; 1 Samuel 15:22; Ecclesiastes 5 : 1, 2; Micah 6: 6, 8; Isaiah 1:11-20; Psalm 50 : 8, 9, 11,16; Genesis 6:20; 7:21; Amos 5 : 21, 22.

It was for this reason, then, that the prophets were raised up; and it was for this reason, too, that they were always specially regarded as the opponents of the priestly party. Those who will be faithful spokesmen for God must appear to be “against” man. It cannot be otherwise; because Jehovah’s thoughts are not man’s thoughts, nor are man’s ways like his ways.—Isa. 55: 8.

It is impossible, therefore, for anyone to be a faithful witness for God without appearing to be against man. This fact is clearly stated in the opening words of the prophecy of Jeremiah: “Thou, therefore, gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar and brazen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.”—Jeremiah 1: 17-19.

The prophets were never popular. And the above commission shows why they were not popular. What with speaking against the whole land, the kings, the princes, the priests, and the people, they would be just about as popular as a skunk at a garden party. The prophets must be men who would never shrink from danger; must never mind reproach; must never be too careful of their own. reputation; they could never swim with the stream; their path could never be easy and smooth; they could never court success nor look upon it as their end; they could not make popularity their aim. The measure of their success was the measure of their faithfulness before God, whom they served as his spokesmen. It would not do to measure their success by the way in which their testimony was received.

They could neither regard the “fear of man” nor seek and be swerved by the “praise of man”. They were distinctly men of God, God’s men; and they were to fear only him and seek only his approbation.

And now, this important link m this chain of testimony is: this is exactly our position here in this world today. In a sense the Bible is God’s prophet, for it contains the completed prophetic revelation for the present time. But we are witnesses for God in the measure that we have his Word. The last words of Jesus our Lord come echoing down the centuries, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me”. (Acts 1:8) When he had spoken these words he was immediately taken up to heaven, and received out of their sight. Thus his last instructions were: “Ye shall be witnesses unto me”. This shows that God’s people now are his spokesmen, during the time when he is silent. God is now silent, but the time is near when he will again speak from heaven.—Psalm 50 : 1-3; 83 : 1.

Note the emphasis which is laid upon this fact. When Paul was raised up and sent forth to be an apostle his commission was: “Thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard”. (Acts 22: 15) Again, this time by the Lord, it is said to him: “I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness". (Acts 26:16) Peter also spoke of himself as “an elder and a witness".—1 Peter 5: 6.

But there is only one who could be called “The Faithful Witness”. (Revelation 1:5) We may be witnesses, but only the Lord Jesus can be called unqualifiedly faithful. In this, as in all else, he has the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18) When Jesus stood before Pilate, he said: “To this end was 1 born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth”. And without stretching the facts we may say: For this end have we the new life as new creatures, and for this cause are we sent into the world, to bear witness unto the truth. This is our commission, our work, our office, our duty, to bear witness to the truth, to Jesus Christ who is the Truth, the living Word (John 14:6), and to that Word which is truth—the written Word.-—John 17:17.

We are to be witnesses unto him. That is to say, we are to be witnesses to a person; not merely to a creed, or to doctrines, or even to a system of Scripture interpretation, but to him, the living, crucified, risen, and coming-to-rule Savior. “Ye shall be witnesses unto me.”

The gospel is the good news about this Savior. We are not commissioned to adapt the gospel to every creature, but to preach it to every creature. (Matthew 28: 19) This witness is to be unchangeable; it is one witness for all countries, and for all ages, and for all conditions of men. Then the Lord goes on to define the spheres of this witness—three concentric circles. First of all was the innermost circle, “Jerusalem and all Judea”; that was the place where they-‘had the Scriptures and professed to know them. There was the Temple; and the people professed to draw nigh to God, though it was only with their lips and not with their hearts. This was the circle of piosity, religiousness. The next circle of witness was large enough to take in “Samaria”. Now it is written of the Samaritans that “they feared the Lord [Jehovah] and served their own gods”. (2 Kings 17:33) That is, they knew about Jehovah and his power but did not go up to Jerusalem to serve him, out of political reasons. This, then, was the circle of corrupt religion.

Then there was a wider sweep—“the uttermost part of the earth”. This was the realm of no religion or else of false religion. But observe that there was not one witness for one of these fields and another witness for another. No: it was the same witness for each; the same witness for the places steeped m religion, for the places of corrupt or faithless religion, and for the domains of false and no religion. “Ye shall be witnesses unto me."

Thank God, we have the same promise that Jeremiah had. The Lord promised to be with him, therefore he was not to fear kings, princes, priests, or people. They would try to kill him; they would put him in prison, and in the dungeon, as they did; but The Lord was with him, and delivered him’. (Jeremiah 1:19) That was the gracious promise. And do not present-day wit-nessers have the same promise from their Lord? They are commanded to go into all the world, preaching the good news to every creature and, “Lo, I am with you alway [all the days], even to the end of the world”— the consummation of the age.

TRUE PROTESTANTS

Strange to say, the very word which most nearly describes the work and position of the Lord’s people in the world is the word protestant. The first syllable “pro” is the same as the first syllable of the word prophet. It means before or for, just as does the prefix pro in the word prophet. Testes is the Latin word for witness, and testans signifies witnessing. The same elements are discernible in our words fesfify and testimony. Therefore a true protestant is one who witnesses for God. He protests for God and against whatever God has pointed out in his Word as evil and displeasing to him. The one who thus witnesses is God’s protestant, God’s prophet, God’s spokesman, God’s man, “the man of God”. He is not growling or grumbling out of personal crabbedness and dissatisfaction; rather, he protests or witnesses because he has the word or message of God, and, having that word, he is authorized to speak it. “He that hath my word, let him speak my word.”—Jer. 23: 28.

The one who protests against Rome and against nothing else may be doing so out of personal animosity. While that should not be forgotten, neither should anything be overlooked which stands against Christ’s perfect order.

Many names are cherished in Christendom; but they are not the divinely-given appellations. We call ourselves most easily “Christians”, but that is not the distinctive name of the Lord’s people. In the Scriptures they are called Christians only three times, but not by the Lord. Once we read that disciples “were called Christians first at Antioch” (Aets 11: 26); once the term is used as a reproach by Agrippa, “Thou wouldst fain make me a Christian” ''hets 26:28); and once when St. Peter exhorts those who suffer as Christians. (1 Peter 4: 16) This word was itself the basis of the charge against the early church and later the actual charge, the word used in the indictment. In the midst of the persecutions under Nero early believers were wont to hear the cry: “The Christians to the lions”. So, “if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed". It was the name of reproach and derision which waa given to God’s people by others.

But there are two words used in New Testament Gieek which are very similar in their meaning. One of them signifies io be a prophet; the other to be a witness — piophets and martyrs, spokesmen and witnesses. These taken together are used upwards of eighty times to describe God’s people of the grace dispensation. And both of these ideas are combined in the word prot-istant. This word does not date from the Eeformation. It is at least as old as the fourth century; for it is found in the Latin Vulgate of Jerome, which was the version made in the year 385 A. D. It stands today in every papal Latin Bible in 2 Chronicles 24: 19. “Yet he sent prophets to them to bring them again unto the Lord; and they testified against³ them; but they did not give ear.” The word for testified against is pi otestantes; in other words, 'they protested to them’. Thus the word protestant is identified with the old prophets of Jehovah who were sent to witness for him where so many were witnessing against him.

Now, as the last point, let us see how it is that this term is connected with the words, “the man of God”. “The man of God” was the people’s name for the heaven-sent and heaven-directed prophet in Old Testament times. Most other men were for themselves, but this one was for God, worked for him. All through the historical books this name is met with, used in a popular way. This is the meaning of the expression as we find it in the letters to Timothy.

Now we are prepared to understand why it is that this expression is used in connection with Timothy. JIow is anyone qualified to be God’s spokesman? If we are disposed to be faithful witnesses for God how shall we know what he would have us say? Where is the testimony that he would have us give ? Only in ths Word of Truth! That is why the expression “the man of God” is found connected with the declaration: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”. And why has God taken pains to inspire the Scriptures? Why is it that they are profitable? It is because God’s spokesman is to be thoroughly furnished, completely fitted out.

It is now seen how “the man of God” having the Scripture hidden in his heart is like a vessel equipped for every emergency. Only he, and he only, is fitted out and thoroughly furnished so as to be able to meet the dangers of these last days which are referred to in the foregoing verses of this chapter.—2 Tim. 3:1-9.

And why is the term “the man of God” used in connection with Timothy? Because he from his youth up had known the Scriptures. Only those who have them, who have learned them, and who have been assured of them(2 Timothy 3:14)are qualified to be God’s spokesmen, can know what God wishes them to say. If we are to be God’s witnesses now we must be acquainted with the teachings of God’s Word, so that others seeing and hearing us may take knowledge of us that we have been with Jesus, and may recognize us as men of God. Studying the books of men one can become a man of men, but only by studying the Book of God can one become a "man of God”. Of course, this is not disdaining any help from ethers who are likeminded toward God’s Word; for Timothy had the early help of his mother and grandmother, and the later help of the apostle Paul.

“It is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.” (1 Corinthians 4: 2) Faithfulness is the only standard which will be used to judge us when we stand before the seat of Christ to be reckoned with as his own servants. To no one will it be said, ’Well done, good and successful servant,’ but, “Well done, good and faithful servant”. Even this faithfulness cannot be so wise and flawless as was that of our Master; but he calls it faithfulness none the less.

To be popular is not our aim; to be successful is not our hope; we are not to be guided by visible results; we are called to be faithful in our testimony, regardless of, yes, in spite of results. If faithfulness is the guide of our conduct this will be true success.

The Apostle charges Timothy: “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these tilings, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ”. (1 Timothy 4:6) Whatever these things were, they were a test of Timothy’s ministry. What were they? They are found in the verses just preceding: “Now the spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seduemg spirits [deceiving spirits, evil angels] and doctrines of devils [“Ye shall not surely die” and “Ye shall be as gods”], speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats”

While all these principles are observable in the false Bomish religion of today, it would be a mistake to suppose that they are found nowhere else. To forbid anything which the Bible does not forbid, to command to abstain from anything which the Bible does not command, and to do these things as in the nature of religious ordinances, would be equally dangerous ground to that occupied by Rome.

To sum up the various links in this chain of evidence and testimony we find: (1) that “the man of God” was a prophet; (2) that the prophet was a spokesman; (3) that the office and duty of a spokesman was and is the duty of all whom God has called and sent; (4) that this duty has its necessary qualifications, which consist of the spirit of God and the Word of God.

To have the Scriptures of truth so hidden in our hearts that we may be faithful witnesses for God and against all that is causing the ecclesiastical, commercial, and political corruption of the present day is the worthiest ambition we can have. But to go through L e motions without the motives will be of no avail. A hatred of evil that does not have rootage in the fear of the Lord is not acceptable to him.—Proverbs 8:13.

THE REVOLT OF JEROBOAM

--January 1 — 1 Kings 12:1 —13: 6----

TWO KINGS WHO LOST THEIB OPPORTUNITIES —OPPOSING WISE COUNSEL — THE PUNISHMENT OF PBIDE-THE DIVIDED KINGDOM

— THE RELAPSE INTO IDOLATRY

“Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the eaith thou shalt not bow down

thyself unto them not serve them:'—Eiodus 20Ji.!>

WITH this lesson is commenced a nine-months course of study in the later leaders and prophets of the Jewish nation. The first quarter of this series deals with the northern kingdom of Israel, the ten tribes; the second quarter with the southern kingdom of Judah; and the third quarter with the exile and restoration.

Upon the death of Solomon Rehoboam his son came into the kingly power. Although Solomon had a thousand wives, he was not blessed with a numerous offspring. Only one son is ever mentioned. This son’s mother was an Ammonites?, and had influenced her royal spouse to build for her a temple to Moloch on Mount Olivet, facing the Temple. The many wise counsels of Proverbs were doubtless uttered in the first instance for the benefit of Solomon's son, who was seen by his father to be developing anything but wisdom. “A wise son maketh a glad father.” But the unwisdom of Rehoboam must have caused many a heavy hour to King Solomon.

Several months passed after Solomon’s death, and Rehoboam, possibly fearing to call the northern tribes to Jerusalem for his own installation as king, went himself with a retinue to Shechem, a historic place within the realms of Manasseh. Shechem had been In fact a national sanctuary (Joshua 24:1), the site of Abraham’s altar. It was likewise Jacob’s first home. It was where the tribes met. It was where Joseph was buried. It was where Ablmelech’s plot to gain control of the judgeship of all Israel was hatched. Later it fell to the degraded name of Svchar, drunkenness. (Isaiah 28:1-13) It was where Jesus talked with the woman at the well. Yet here alone in all the world is the paschal lamb still slain, in any official way. The long-standing envy of Ephraim against Judah (Isaiah 11:13), is thus still manifested by the Samaritan priests

Toward the latter end of Solomon’s reign, that monarch had taken note of one Jeroboam, an Ephraimite, and placed him over the levied workmen from the house of Joseph, 1. e., from Ephraim and Manasseh. While thus engaged as a structural foreman under King Solomon Jeroboam received word from Jehovah through his Prophet (1 Kings 11:31,32) to the effect that the twelve tribes should be torn asunder, and ten of them given to Jeroboam. When news of this prophecy reached the ears of Solomon, he set about to apprehend and kill the valiant Ephraimite. But that crafty one escaped to Egypt and remained there until Solomon’s death. During the months following he returned to his native hill country, just about in time for the intertribal meet at which Rehoboam expected to be proclaimed king.

Jeroboam headed a delegation to Rehoboam, ivlucli pie-sented a petition or formal request for a lightening of the royal exactions which Solomon had made. The people complained of two things, excessively laborious service, and a heavy taxation. Jeroboam himself had been the immediate cause of the heavy service, at least ovei Ephraim and Manasseh. (1 Kings 11:28) At first Solomon appears to have used no Israelite in drudgery. But later, when he had forsaken the God of Israel, he revived the Egyptian bondage and seems to have used the Israelites as slaves in connection with the extensive building operations in and around Jerusalem.

Since Jeroboam had divine assurance of receiving ten of the twelve tribes, the delegation expressed itself with considerable candor. They told Rehoboam that if he was willing to be a servant of the people, they, in turn, would serve Inin all the days. This is the constitutional idea of a king; he is the servant, but not the slave of the people. Every regal act of a just king is a service to his subjects. So has it seldom been among men ; but so it shall be when the true King comes in.

The way to insure the obedience of a people is to hold the reins of empire with a steady and impartial hand; let the people see that the king lives for them and not for himself, and they will both obey and love him. A mere show of force is not enough. Even astute worldly rulers have realized that unless they could command the respect and even love of their people, their power rested on a very slippery foundation.

“THE THIRD DAY”

When this proposal was made to Rehoboam, he did not answer at once, but hade the delegation return on the third day. Then the new king (of Judah, but not of the northern tribes) consulted with the old men who had been accustomed to give advice to his father. But this was merely a formality. Rehoboam was not honestly seeking competent counsel. He was merely looking for someone to tell him that his own views and sentiments were all right. Conceit and pride stood in the way and always stand in the way of wisdom

Not pleased with the advice of the old men, the king turned to the young men who had been his companions for years. It has long been the custom to bring up heirs apparent with others of their age, In order to stimulate the young princes to superior prowess and activity of mind. These young men knew what Rehoboam was looking for. They knew what they were expected to say, and said it. They were looking for political preferment and royal favors. They knew the advice of the old men was unpalatable; they knew that It seemed to the Inexperienced king like giving up his royal prerogatives; for what king did not do with his subjects just as he pleased? ‘Rehoboam, if you start off by yielding to these people’s demands, the first thing you know they will be running the kingdom Instead of you’—

So Rehoboam inclined to the advice given by the younger men, who seemed to him much more representative of the times than those members of a generation just about to die off. ‘Those old men may have been very well in their day, but these days you have to show people their place. I expect to make these northerners eat out of my hand.’

The young men were imbued with all the contempt for popular demands, and with all the pride and insolence of a narrow and exclusive aristocracy. They advised Rehoboam to “stand pat”, hold his ground, and answer the people stoutly, show them he was not to be trifled with, etc. Tell them: ‘As much as the thigh surpasses the little finger in thickness, so much does my power exceed that of my father’. They forgot that Rehoboam did not have his father’s w isdom and prestige; and they overlooked the fact that the people were merely waiting for the old king to die to take their stand.

On the third day the delegation returned. Note the difference between this descendant of David and the One who shall sit upon his throne for ever. Rehoboam had demanded the people come to him on the third day; whereupon he threatened them with a heavy yoke. Jesus came to the people on the third day with an assurance of his promise to give them an easy yoke.—Matthew 11: 29, 30; Acts 17; 31.

DEFIANCE AND REVOLT

The cause, or better, the turning away or the division, was of the Lord. The Lord did nothing to interfere with the hardness of Rehoboam's heart and with the folly of his decision Rehoboam soon found that there is a limit to the influence of brag and bluster. In his arrogant selfconfidence he mistook his own obstinacy for vigor. Then there was One whom he had overlooked altogether when he was seeking mhice He had not inquired of Jehovah.

The outcome of the second hearing was an expression of defiance and revolt from the representatives of the northern tribes In substance they said to Rehoboam: What portion have we with David’s house; why should we continue to ally ourselves with the son of Jesse? This title was used in contempt. Compare 1 Samuel 16: 18: 20: 31; 22 : 7-9; 25 • 10; 2 Samuel 20:1.

The cry went forth: “To your gods, O Israel!” This is one of the eighteen passages which were emended by textual experts after the captivity and made to read. “To your tents”. With the establishment of synagogues and the frequent reading of the Word, it -was esteemed improper to put befoie the minds of the ordinary hearers this suggestion of polytheism, or the worship of more than one God. The text was not intended to be mutilated for study purposes, however. The correct reading was preserved in the Mas-soretic, or marginal notes, which also acted in the capacity of a concordance All standard Hebrew manuscripts conlain this note By the change of two middle letters the word ‘gods' was made into ‘tents’, as was also done in 2 Samuel 20: I. (Compare 2 Chronicles 10:16) The sin was apostaey Horn Jehoiah’s worship in Jerusalem, and the root of It is found in these words. The attitude of the delegation was: ‘You Davidians go and worship your own gods; we -will take care of ourselves’.

Some of the northern tribes did dwell in Judah, probably out of religious motives. Here was a nucleus of true worshipers, which was constantly added to through succeeding years.(1 Kings 12:19; I Chronicles 9:3; 2 Chronicles 10:17; 11: 3,16,17 ; 15: 9; 16:1; 19:8; 23: 2 ; 30:1, 5,10.11; 31:6) Judah was thus always representative of “all Israel”. There was a steady increase in Judah caused by a constant emigration of believers from the northern tribes into Judah. At the time of our lesson Rehoboam could assemble. 180,000 men-at-arms (a strong drop from David’s 470,000—2 Samuel 24:9); Abijah (eighteen years later), 400,000; Asa (six years later), 580,000; Jehoshaphat (thirty-two years later), 1,160,000. On the other hand, with Israel Jeroboam could assemble 800,000 men, while Ahab’s army (llity-odd years afterward) was compared to “two little flocks of kids” (1 Kings 20:27) which could not stand against the Syrians. Jeroboam did not keep his part of the contract; therefore Jehovah was under no obligation to defend him or his.

REVENUE OFFICER STONED

Petulant at the bold-faced demands which had been made by the delegation led by Jeroboam, Rehoboam determined to test out the matter by sending his secretary of the treasury, Adoram,- to collect revenue, and possibly make levies of men for public service. The sending of Adoram to collect the taxes when the public mind was in such a state of fermentation was another proof of Rehoboam’s folly and incapacity to govern. Indignant at the master, the people stoned the servant, and thus Rehoboam came to realize that there was a full-fledged rebellion going, and for his own safety he had better retire in haste over the Manasslte and Ephraimite border and into friendly Benjamite territory. This he did.

Thus it was that Shechem, twice the scene of blood, was the stage of this unhappy division. Jesus, on the same spot, laid down the principle which will eventually bring harmony, the principle that neither In Jerusalem (as such) nor in the hills of Ephraim (as such) should Jehovah be worshiped, but in spirit and in truth.—John 4: 21.

Jeroboam, who knew all along that he was to be made king over the ten tribes, was now called upon by representatives of those families to take his office Only Judah remained under Rehoboam. One tribe is here put for, and includes, Simeon, Benjamin, and Levi, and others who joined later.—2 Chronicles 11:13 ; 15 : 9.

Once Rehoboam had gained Jerusalem, he made preparations to quell the rebellion ; but word from the Lord through the prophet Shemaiah deterred him from making any actual advance. Rehoboam was not distinguished for deference to Jehovah’s wishes, but in this case he was probably glad to have a good excuse for not moving against a much superior force, which had not only the advantage of numbers, but the advantage of being on its own ground.

The people of Judah were also doubtless glad; for the mass of mankind are always averse to war. Rarely indeed would nations ever rise up against each other, were they not instigated to it, or compelled by their i tilers.

While Rehoboam did not make an advance, he did proceed to strengthen his own fortifications, and build new ones, especially on the side toward Egypt, which country had sheltered Jeroboam and which might be his ally against Judah. In the northern tribes Jeroboam proceeded to rebuild or repair Shechem. This doubtless included increasing Its fortifications. (2 Chronicles 11:11) I’enuel, on the east of Jordan, was also rebuilt and strengthened.—Genesis 32: 30; Judges 8: 8.

THE WORKINGS OF FEAR

While thus engaged, Jerobonm na¹. doing some thinking and was seeking some counsel, “but not of Jehovah”.(Isaiah 30 1) The king “said in Ids heart” that if every male in the northern tubes went to Jerusalem three times a year as prescribed b.\ the Mosaic law, their fealty would be drawn away tioni him and he would sutler serious reverses. He would have been ashamed to speak these words aloud; foi they would reieal his own cowardice and lack of faith in God.

'1 he outcome of ins ponderings and his seekings of human counsel was that he made two golden calves; setting one up in Beth-el, which was near to the Benjamite border, and in the extreme south of his domain, and another in Dan, in the extienie north Beth-el had a religious atmosphere The Lord had appeared there tw ice to Jacob, and more recent religious gatherings had been held there by Samuel Dan, originally Laish, ivas also a place of religious associations, but connected with idolatry.—Judges 18:7-10, 27-29

Jeroboam invented a political religion, and instituted feasts in his own times, different from those appointed by the Lord: gave the people certain days of devotion, and pretended to them it would be both inconvenient and oppressive to go up to Jerusalem to worship Thus he founded his new religion on a lie; for Jerusalem was almost as near to half his nation as Beth-el, and this was not the real reason for the setting up of the golden calves. This was not the last time that religion was made a state engine to serve political purposes. It is strange that in pointing out his calves to the people he should use the same words which Aaron used when he made the golden calf in the wilderness! But there were no synagogues in those days, and the people’s Ideas of past history were vague, hearing it read only once in seven years.

Jeroboam was fresh from Egypt, where he had seen the worship of Apis, the sacred bull, kept at Memphis and also at Heliopolis. The thing that impressed Jeroboam about the Egyptian worship was that it worked. Anyway, Aaron had made a calf in a time of national crisis and had gotten along fairly well with It. ‘It can’t be as bad as those Judean clergy have made out. Why should I worry about the Jerusalem practices, when Jehovah has given me this kingdom? He gave me no new religion, so I am justified in doing the best I can to fix up one of my own.’

When the devil tries to get people to take up with Ills plans he always pretends to be working for the interests of the tempted. It was not ostensibly the worship of the new god which Jeroboam was setting up—oh no—, it was merely worshiping Jehovah in a new way. This, he implied, was the God of their fathers, only the ritual was conducted In different style, that was all. Jeroboam sought to clothe his calves with the glory of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt.

UNBELIEF AND SIN

Unbelief lay at the root of Jeroboam’s sin, as it lies at the root of all willful sin. (1 Kings 11:37,38) The king had no real cause for fear. Jehovah had promised him security in his kingdom, if he obeyed; but the little mite

ELIJAH’S BOLD PROPHECY — THE

"But seek ye first his kingdom, and 7ns i ighteousness; and

OUR last lesson dealt with the beginning of the reign of Jeroboam the first king of Israel. Today the scene is laid in the reign of Ahab, the eighth king of Israel. A brief survey of these seven kings and of the of power turned his head at once. God had given him the kingdom but he would have to resort to all kinds of expediency, to the basest opportunism, to hold that kingdom. How few there are that can keep balanced under the weight of power or authority, without counteracting chastisements and humiliations. Saul could not do. David could not do it. Solomon could not do it. Rehoboam could not do it; neither could Jeroboam

Since Jeroboam had made objects of worship, of course he had to go still further and make some priests. For these new political jobs he took the people indifferently as they came, and naturally the ne’er-do-wells, good-for-nothings, and baser sort were the first to apply. Any priests would do well enough for such gods. The Levites, for the most part, remained true to the Temple worship. But the sons of Jonathan, the grandson of Moses, were doubtless ready to act as priests, as they had already been doing at Dan.— Judges 18.30

Probably Jeroboam and those who worshiped with him argued that the calves were merely symbolic of Jehovah’s power. But the making of them was in direct violation of the Lord’s ordinance, as quoted at the head of this lesson. The thing grew into a very great and complex sin. It was the sin of idolatry; it was the sin of disobedience; it was the sin of schism, God having promised the political dnision, but not a different religion; and it was the sin of pride and personal ambition; it was the sin of unbelief; it was the sin of debasing example before the people, hence the twenty-one-times repeated stigma, “Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin”.—1 Kings 13:34; 14:16; 15:26, 30, 34; 16:2, 19, 26, etc.

A SELF-MADE HIGH PRIEST

Yes indeed, Jeroboam made himself high priest. The priest at Jerusalem was pro-Judah, and it would never do for Jeroboam to let his people come in contact with that crowd. He perceived that by taking the high priest’s position to himself and being both priest and king he would attach to his own person more of the reverence of the people This was exactly opposite to what God had stipulated The divine arrangement was so ordered as to put less power Into the hands of the rulers, and to keep their religion on a separate basis from their civil matters Heathen rulers did the same as Jeroboam, even going a step further and making themselves the supreme god of the land.

Evil is insidious, and every parting of the ways, every leaving of the divine path, signifies a separation from righteousness to a degree we are unable to estimate at the beginning. The only safe course to pursue is to trust in the Lord and to be glad for whatever his providences may mark out for us, and to refuse to have anything contrary to his will, however desirable it may be, however gratifying to human ambition. Ambition is a dangerous thing, especially in our present imperfect condition, where our judgments are sadly waiped from the fall, where our knowledge is so imperfect, and where Satan is sure to put light for darkness and daikness for light. Our ambitions must be curbed, must be brought into subjection to the will of God in Christ, if we would be on safe ground as new creatuies widow’s trust kew \rded.

all these things shall be added unto you.”—Matthew 6: S3. tlnee kings, ot Judah, whose leigiis were contemporary may be ilhinnnatne a« inspects the present lesson. ’

In Judah Rehoboam reigned seventeen years, during which time the Temple and palace were spoiled of great treasure by Shishak, king of Egypt; and Judah fought with Israel. Rehoboani was succeeded by Abijam, who sinned like his father and who reigned only three years. Then came Asa, who reigned forty-one years. He abolished idolatry; restored the worship of Jehovah; and defeated the Ethiopian Zerah, by God’s help. When Baasha invaded Benjamin Asa obtained the help of Ben-Hadad, king of Damascus, to drive him out. Asa was not so true to Jehovah in the last half of his reign as in the first.

While this history of Judah was anything but ideal, it nevertheless stands in marked contrast to the fitful happenings in Israel. For during these sixty years only three kings (and they all of one family) sat on the throne in Judah ; while in Israel’s troubled history seven kings and five dynasties had seen their day. It is a sad record of terror, assassination, suicide, and civil war. Now the eighth king, Ahab, was reigning in Israel and the fourth, Jehoshaphat, in Judah.

In Israel, then, were Jeroboam, who reigned twenty-two years; Nadab his son, who was murdered by his successor, having reigned only two years; Baasha, who followed Jeroboam’s idolatry and was threatened with disaster by the prophet Jehu, reigned twenty-four years; Elah, who in the midst of a drunken carouse was assassinated by Zimri, held the reins for two years; Zimri, who made Tirza his capital and set fire to it when he saw that Omri would take it, perishing in the flames, guided the affairs of state only seven days. Omri, who was a general made king by his army, held sway for twelve years in all, during which time Tibni, a rival claimant to the throne, fought against him for five years; Tibni was followed by half of Israel, but Oimi’s final seven years were so powerful that his influence was felt In surrounding nations. He was more wicked than his predecessors. Then comes Ahab the son of Omri, an evil king who reigned twenty-two years. Concerning him it is said: “And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made the Asherah; and Ahab did yet more to provoke Jehovah, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him”—no small notoriety! —1 Kings 16:31-33.

Ahab inclined to the worship of the Sldonian Venus, Ashtoreth or Astarte; for she was the goddess of lust. Jezebel inclined more to the worship of Baal the cruel and bloody bully, god of rapacious power, the devil’s own ideal. Jehovah had long before spoken about these things: “If ye turn aside and serve other gods, and worship them, then the Lord’s wrath shall be kindled against you; and he will shut up the heaven, that there be no rain”. (Deuteronomy 11:16, 17) Before this there had been idolatry In Israel, but there was no definite turning aside to worship other gods. They had worshiped Jehovah, nominally, but used idols to do It with.

THE MAN OF GOD

Suddenly there appears on the scene Elijah the Tishblte; like a Luther, yet more surely guided in his official acts and utterances than was that later mouthpiece of God. Elijah was one of the sojourners, pilgrim brethren, or itinerants, originally deriving from Gilead, to the east of Jordan, In the country of Gad. He was a picturesque character, bearing a highly significant name; for Elijah means ‘Jehovah my God’.

The first recorded utterance of this prophet, or man of God, was against Ahab, on account of his abominations which he had introduced into the land of Israel. "As Jehovah, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” These bold and solemn words begin with the form of oath prescribed by the law. (Deuteronomy 6:13; Jeremiah 4:2) To stand before God meant to serve him in the capacity of spokesman; to wait for his message, and then to tell it

There were heavy night mists in northern Palestine, which were very refreshing, even when the soil was unvlslted by regular rain. These special dews are referred to in the One Hundred Thirty-Third Psalm as “the dew of Hermon”. They were caused in part by the influence of the snows on the summit of Mount Hermon. But neither these night mists nor regular rain were to bless Israel for a period of at least three years. The word “years” in Hebrew is not dual but plural, and must mean at least three years. The New Testament (Luke 4:25; James 5:17,18) tells us the exact total length of time involved in the drought— three years and six months. The fair assumption is that when Elijah deliveied this message to Ahab there had been already six months without ram. The regular periods for rain were spring and fall. (Joel 2:23) And since there is some reason to compare this three-and-a-balf-year period with our Lord's ministry, the probabilities are that the appealmice of Elijah before Ahab was in the spring and that the drought ended in the spring, three years afterward.

Again the word of the Lord came to Elijah. He wa,. God’s messenger and spokesman. It was not, therefore, for him to agonize and try to produce a message; it was for him to wait until the message was given him. This time the Lord’s word did not call him to deeds of valor. He was to leave his words and allow them to produce whatever effect they would, neither waiting nor watching nor worrying about them. He was sent into retirement, to teach him humility. The Prophet was directed to journey eastward across Jordan and to hide himself in the ravine called Cherith, most likely in territory which was familiar to him. There, and there alone, he was to be supplied with the necessities of life. Nowhere else would do. Anywhere but In God’s appointed place he would have perished.

IN THE RAVINE

Elijah went and did according to the command of the Lord. Hiding in the ravine was not heroic or stirring work; but it was a part of his training for Carmel. It was there that he learned to trust God implicitly, and in that trust there is power.

The ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook. This is the first record we have of meat breakfasts and meat suppers, and it is probably an indication of the ordinary diet of the people at the time. Whatever view be held of the manner of feeding, one thing must never be lost sight of; and that is that it was by the Lord’s specific command. Omnipotence was the power behind the work.

The Hebrew word for ravens is ⁰R^eB'M. But ancient Hebrew had no vowel points, so that all that appears in the ancient manuscripts is RBM. It is worthj of note that the Hebrew word for Arabians is ^aR^eB’M. or, written Hebrew style, RBM. There is still another word with the same consonants, “RB'M. This last word signifies the inhabitants of Orbo. And one of the rabbinical works says concerning this place: “There is a town in the vicinity of Bethshan [Scythopolis] and its name is Orbo”. Eusebius Hieronymus, better known as Jerome, spent many years in Palestine studying the customs and language of the people and the geography of the land, that he might the more intelligently translate the Scriptures from Greek into Latin. He says on this passage: “The Orbim[or, as we would say, Orbtans], inhabitants of a town in the confines of the Arabs, gave nourishment to Elijah”. Perhaps those involved, whether Israelitish Orbians or others, were some of the seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal. (1 Kings 19: 18; Romans 11: 4) They would be most interested in the project of feeding God’s prophet and of keeping his hiding place a secret.

We do not at all question the Lord’s ability to use the raven, an unclean and abominable carrion bird (Leviticus 11:13-15), for the purposes required. But where the text admits of another Interpretation, It Is at least due our readers to give the facts In the case.

Elijah drank of the brook: but he drank of more than the. brook. He drank deep of the river of God’s peace and power For, while the water of the brook ran lower and lower, and Its pebbles finally glistened in the sunshine, Elijah’s trust did not give out. He was to wait there until the Lord instructed liim to move: and wait he did. Patience is an element of strength , petulance of weakness.

Finally the word of the Lord came to him again, this time directing liim to go to Zarephath, a town in Phoenicia, between Tyre and Sidon, but nearer the latter place There a certain widow was to sustain him, this time, also, by divine supervision and command.

ON TO ZAREPHATH

After a journey of some eighty-five miles, probably keeping to the east of Jordan and turning westward from Dan, Elijah came to the gate of the city of Sarepta, or Zarephath. No sooner had he readied the city gate than he beheld a widow gathering sticks. This is one of the nine widows mentioned in the Bible. But this woman was a Syro-Phcenician, a member of the same heathen race that had sent Baal worship into Israel Could it be that this was the woman meant? He would see. He called to her and said: “Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink”. From Deuteronomy 33 : 24, taken in connection with Joshua 19:24-28, ue learn that there was an abundance of oil In this district, but that water was scarce. Nevertheless, the widow proceeded to procure the water. Now Elijah would make doubly sure of the identity of the woman, so, as she was going, he called to her and said: “Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand”. She answered in words which show that she recognized him to be an Israelite. She said: “As Jehovah thy God llveth, I have not a cake, but [only] a handful of meal In a jar, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son; that we may eat it and die”.

The Prophet reassured the woman, though even with his reassurances she was subjected to a great test of faith. She probably did not have much knowledge of the true God, but she had the raw material of faith, a trustful disposition One cannot help comparing this Syro-Phoenician woman with one whom our Lord' blessed near to this same spot, and concerning whom he said “O woman, great is thy faith”. (Matthew 15:28) Singularly enough, this is the only event connected with Elijah which our Lord mentions.—Luke 4: 25, 26.

Phoenicia was dependent upon Israel for its grain supply; therefore the famine in Israel affected Zarephath. The same dependency existed during the time of the early church; for war between Herod and the Phoenicians was called off by the latter people because they discovered that their supplies could not be easily secured from other than Herodian territory.

The woman believed the statement of God’s prophet. She went and prepared some food for Elijah, and found that her store of meal and of oil did not diminish. She refused not to cooperate with divine grace, and divine favor was her reward. Dad she iefused, the little meal and oil would have been gone before sundown. Since she did not refuse, it lasted probably in the neighborhood of two years, and was sufficient for her and her son and Elijah.

DEATH OF THE WIDOW’S SON

During the course of the two years the widow’s son sickened and expired. Since she, in a sense, was the keeper <rf God’s prophet, we may be sure that her interests wore under divine supervision. Her son did not die without the notice and knowledge of Jehovah’s invisible agencies. Divine wisdom saw that a lesson for all time could be taught and a picture for eternity drawn by not Interfering with the illness of the lad.

Eagerly and anxiously the mother must have watched the last g.ispa ot her boy. And when he ceased to breathe, a suspicion winch had been casting a shadow in her mind lowered down upon her and she uiibuidened herself to the Prophet

“Ait thou coiiie unto me to bling my sm to remembrance and to slav mj son?” We will not pry too curiously with our imaginations to find out wh.it tins woman’s past sin was. that was thus brought sharply to her own remembrance by the death of her child. Sutlice it to say that she looked upon hei son’s death as a judgment.

Elijah’s words were few: “Give me thy son”. The Prophet carried the lad’s lifeless body into his own upper chamber, and laid him upon his own bed. He then cried to the Lord, telling him that the reproach of the thing would be upon Jehovah's own name, as well as upon that of his Prophet, if this evil were allowed to stand against the woman who had so faithfully served a servant of the Most High God. Then, like his pupil Elisha and like the apostle Paul in later time, Elijah sti etched himself upon the child and cried unto Jehovah, saying, “O Jehovah my God, I pray thee, let this child’s soul come into him again”

Jehovah was pleased to hear and answer the prayer of his Prophet, and the soul (nephesh) or animation of the lad returned. The result of life being given was to make the child a “living soul” again (Genesis 2-7) The cause must lie understood tn hannony with the effect. The effect was to bring to life the lad who had died.

Then Elijah lifted the child and brought him down out of his own room into the lower part of the house and delivered him to his mother, saying, “See, thj son liveth”. The result was that the woman acknowledged the truthfulness of Jehovah’s word, and the genuineness of Elijah as his Prophet. It was this Syro-Phceniclan woman’s son who was so miraculously dealt with, while it was the other Syro-Phoenlclan woman’s daughter.

The Jews have some uninspired history to the effect that this young lad was Jonah, that he was the attendant of Elijah on Mount Carmel, and that both the mother and the son became Jewish proselytes. The truth of this statement cannot be supported, but it is not unlikely, since Jonah did not display the usual rugged characteristics of Hebrew-born prophets.

PRAYER-MEETING TEXTS FOR JANUARY

January 4: BEGINNING OF CREATION ''The firstborn of every creature,”— Coloeslans 1:10,

January 11: THE SON OF GOD: "He , . . shall be called the Son of the HlghwL”— Luka 1:32.

January IS: THE WORD OF GOD: “His name la called the Word of God."— Revelation 19 13.

January 25: TUB WORD OF GOD: "The Word vu with [the] God. and the Word iu [a] God."—John 1:1.

ftiremational Bible Students Association Gasses

lectures and (Studies by Traveling brethren

BROTHER R. H. BARBER

Rluafleld. W Vs. .............. Dec 16 Greensboro, N C....... Dec 25, 26

I<nehburg, Va ............... ' 18 High Point, N. C....... Dec 27

Danville, Va ................... ’ 19 Liberty, N. C ............... ”28

Leatavllle, N. C. ....................... " 20 Durham, N C.................... Dec 29, 30

Winston Salem, N. C. ............Dee. 21-22 Balelfb, N. C. ...........................Jan 1, 2

Roanoke, Va. .     .. . Dec 12, 13 Dry Fork, Va. -..................... Dec,^-28

Hurt, Va .............. ”  14, 15 Danville, Va. ........................Dec  29, 30

Chatham, Va. ............ ”   16-18    Lynchburg, Va. .................... Jan. 1-8

Java, Va ........... ”  20,25    Keysville, * Va. .............. ” 4.5

Meadville, Va.................. Dec. 21 Richmond, Va. ......_{.............} ” 6-8

BROTHER T. E. BARKER

BROTHER J. A. BOHNET

BROTHER W. M. WISDOM

	BROTHER	M. L. HERR			BROTHER	L. F. ZINK
Boston, Mass ...	Dec 18	Mllfoid, Mass	Dec 23			Mmstrong, B C. .......
Waltham Mass ......	" 19	Attleboro, Mass	Dec 25, 26	Nelson, B C	Dec 15, 16		........Dee. 27
Concord Jc , Mass ...	” 20	Franklin, Mass	.;       Dec 27	Trail, B C	Dee 18	Kamloops, B. C...........	........ ”  29
Marlboro, Mass	" 21	Medway, Mass        ,	... .        ” 28	Penticton, B C	Dec 20, 21	Vancouver, B. C........	........... "  80
Framingham, Mass ...	. .   ”22	Woonsocket, R I.	........ ”  29	Kelowna, B C	Dec 22	Chilliwack, B C.........	........ Jan. 1
				Vcioon, B C	Dec 23, 25	Nanaimo, B C.......	............ "  8

BROTHER W.

Seattle, Wash                     Dec 14

Port Townsend, Wash

Wcn.ttcnvL Wash

Olympia, Wash

Chehalis, Wash               Dec 21, 22

H. PICKERING

Vancouver, Wash                Dec

Portland, Ore                 Dpc 25, 26

McMlniHille, (he                  Dec

Independence, Oie                  ”

Dallas, Oic                   Dec 29 30

¹

The word "is” In this text Is In the Greek & word menlag to spring froffl, to orlgtato.

²

These live words are all one m Greek, meaning, literally. God-breathed.

³

The Latin reads: ‘‘Miitebatque eh prophetas nt revertereatur ad Domlnum, quos lEO'FESTANTES, Dll audlre nolebant”.