Eighteenth Sunday.

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THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL.

FIRST READING.

"The journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor."—Judges 4:9.

WHEN the Israelites had come to live in the beautiful land that God had promised them, they ought to have loved and served Him, and thanked Him for all His goodness. But no! They liked worshipping false gods; and they made idols to pray to, cut out of wood and stone; and they learnt wicked ways.

Then God was angry with them; and He punished them by sending cruel nations to conquer them, to burn their houses, to steal their children, and drive away their cattle. Then they would be sorry, and pray to God again; and He had pity, and sent some brave man to defend them.

To-day we hear how sadly they were used by a fierce man named Sisera, who had nine hundred war chariots of iron to go into battle with. His people used to shoot at the Israelites at the wells when they came to draw water; and nobody dared to go along the high-roads, but only through the paths, for fear of being killed.

QUESTIONS.

1. How ought the Israelites to have behaved? 2. What had God given them? 3. Whom should they have worshipped? 4. But what did they worship? 5. How did God punish them? 6. What was the name of the cruel man who ill-used them? 7. How many chariots had Sisera?


SECOND READING.

"The Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman."—Judges 4:9.

AT last God spake to a good brave woman named Deborah, and told her to send for a man named Barak, who should lead the Israelites to fight with Sisera. She sent for Barak, and told him what God had said. But Barak was afraid to go alone. He said he must have Deborah with him. He ought to have known that, if God sent him, he was sure to be safe and to succeed.

Deborah told him that since he wished it she would go with him, but that the journey should not be to his honor, for the Lord would sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And it turned out as Deborah said. Barak won a great battle, and drove the enemies away, so that they did not hurt the children of Israel again for forty years. But he did not meet with Sisera in the battle, nor get the honor of killing him.

SISERA SLAIN BY JAEL.—Judges 4:22.

Sisera fled out of the battle, and was killed after all by a woman, whose name was Jael. Barak lost all the honor, because he would not do just as he was told, but was afraid without Deborah, just as if God could not help him better than Deborah could.

This morning's lesson told how Deborah and Barak conquered the cruel Sisera. This evening's lesson is the song that Deborah made to thank God for having given her the victory, and saved His people.

QUESTIONS.

1. Who was the holy woman that God raised up? 2. For whom did Deborah call? 3. What was Barak to do? 4. Who did Barak say must come with him? 5. Why was this wrong of Barak? 6. What happened in the fight? 7. Did Barak kill Sisera? 8. Who did kill Sisera? 9. Why was not Barak allowed to kill Sisera? 10. Whom ought he to have trusted to? 11. Who will always help us if we are not afraid to do as we are told?


THIRD READING.

"They chose new gods; then was war in the gates."—Judges 5:8.

THE Israelites never kept long from sinning and setting up idols; and, by-and-by, God let a set of robbers, called Midianites, come in and burn their crops and houses, drive away their cattle, and steal their children for slaves.

Then the Israelites were sorry, and prayed to God to save them. And God had pity on them, and sent His angel to a man named Gideon, to tell him that he was to fight for the Israelites.

A great many men came to Gideon; but the Israelites were to be shown that it was as easy for God to save them with few men as with many. So He bade Gideon send home all but three hundred men. And Gideon believed, and sent them home, and kept only the three hundred.

Then at night he took these men, and gave them each a trumpet, and an earthen pitcher, with a lamp inside the pitcher, so that the light could not be seen. He took a hundred with him, and sent the other two hundreds another way, creeping quietly along till they came to the place where the Midianites had set up their tents, and were all lying asleep among the cattle they had stolen.

GIDEON'S OFFERING BURNT BY FIRE FROM THE ROCK.—Judges 6:21.

There they lay, and never heard Gideon and his men coming till they were close to the camp, the three parties on three sides. Then, all of a sudden, everyone of the Israelites broke his pitcher and let his lamp shine, and blew his trumpet, and shouted, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!"

The Midianites were awakened out of their sleep to see the lamps on three sides of them in the dark, and hear the trumpets and the cries. They were very much frightened, and quite wild with fear. They all began to beat down one another, for they did not know friends from enemies. A great many were killed, and the rest fled away, leaving all that they had stolen behind them. And so God delivered the Israelites from the Midianites by the hand of Gideon, and gave them peace again as long as they would serve the Lord.

GIDEON'S VICTORY OVER THE MIDIANITES.—Judges 7:19-21.

QUESTIONS.

1. What made the Israelites meet with troubles? 2. Whom ought they to have worshipped? 3. But whom did they worship? 4. What happened then? 5. Who were the next people that ill-used them? 6. What did they do when they were punished? 7. Whom did God send to save them? 8. How many men was Gideon to have with him? 9. What did all the men carry? 10. Where did they go? 11. Into how many parties were they divided? 12. What did the Midianites hear? 13. What did they see? 14. What did they begin to do? 15. What became of those that were not killed? 16. Who had made Gideon able to beat them with so few men?


JEPHTHAH MEETING HIS DAUGHTER.—Judges 11:35.

SAMSON SLAYING A LION.—Judges 14:6.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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