{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_31791/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_31791","id":"gutenberg_31791","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/31791","summary":null,"tags":["Bible -- Study and teaching","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Teaching & Education","Sunday schools"],"text":"Produced by Juliet Sutherland and the Online Distributed\nProofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                         TRAINING THE TEACHER\n\n                                  BY\n\n                        A. F. Schauffler, D.D.\n                    Antoinette Abernethy Lamoreaux\n                   Martin G. Brumbaugh, Ph.D., LL.D.\n                           Marion Lawrance\n\n\n                      Supplementary chapters by\n                          Charles A. Oliver\n                       Ira Maurice Price, Ph.D.\n\n\n              Approved as a First Standard Course by the\n                       Committee on Education,\n               International Sunday School Association\n\n\n                   THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TIMES COMPANY\n                             PHILADELPHIA\n\n\n                           COPYRIGHT, 1908,\n                  BY THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TIMES COMPANY\n              ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL, LONDON, 1908\n\n                         ALL RIGHTS RESERVED\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n     ORGANIZING AND CONDUCTING A TEACHER-TRAINING CLASS        5\n       CHARLES A. OLIVER\n\n  1. THE BOOK                                                 11\n       A. F. SCHAUFFLER, D.D.\n\n     HOW THE BIBLE CAME TO US                                123\n       IRA MAURICE PRICE, PH.D.\n\n     THE GIST OF THE BOOKS                                   129\n       COMPILED\n\n  2. THE PUPIL                                               139\n       ANTOINETTE ABERNETHY LAMOREAUX\n\n  3. THE TEACHER                                             181\n       MARTIN G. BRUMBAUGH, PH.D., LL.D.\n\n  4. THE SCHOOL                                              219\n       MARION LAWRANCE\n\n     APPENDIX\n       TEACHING HINTS                                        259\n       PAUL'S JOURNEYS                                       266\n       THE TWELVE TRIBES, MAP                                270\n       ASSYRIA AND CANAAN, MAP                               270\n       EXODUS AND WANDERINGS, MAP                            271\n\n\n\n\nOrganizing and Conducting the Teacher-training Class\n\nCHARLES A. OLIVER\n\n    Teacher-Training Superintendent Pennsylvania\n    State Sabbath School Association.\n\n\n#Teacher-training Needed.#--No more serious problem faces the\nSunday-school to-day than the question of securing more teachers and\nbetter teaching. We owe it to those who are called to teach the Word\nto see that means of thorough preparation be brought within their\nreach. The best teachers will welcome a better training for Christ's\nservice and many good people who have not found their place in the\nwork of the church will gladly engage in Sunday-school teaching after\nthey have been specially instructed in the Bible and in the principles\nof teaching.\n\nThis book provides the essential elements for the teacher-training\ncourse in four sections: (1) The Bible material which is the basis for\nall Sunday-school instruction, under the title of \"The Book,\" by Dr.\nSchauffler. (2) A study of the working of the mind at various ages and\nunder differing conditions (a brief study of psychology), under the\ntitle of \"The Pupil,\" by Mrs. Lamoreaux. (3) A study of teaching\nprinciples and the application of these principles (a brief study of\npedagogy), under the title of \"The Teacher,\" by Dr. Brumbaugh. (4) A\nstudy of the place in which this instruction should be given, that is,\n\"The School,\" by Mr. Lawrance. Additional material for instruction\nwill be found in the chapter \"How the Bible came to Us\" by Professor\nIra Maurice Price, and \"The Gist of the Books.\"\n\n#Starting a Class.#--(1) No better beginning can be made than a\nprayerful conference between the pastor and the Sunday-school\nsuperintendent to determine the need and possibilities of\nteacher-training within the local school. (2) The nearest\nrepresentative of organized Sunday-school work in your county or\nState will gladly furnish you with printed matter pointing out the\nteacher-training plans in successful use in your denomination.\n(3) Select your text-book and familiarize yourself with it. (4) Call\nthe teachers and officers together. Have a half-hour social feature,\nto be followed with an earnest address on the need and the plan of\nteacher-training. Teach a sample lesson from the text-book. Endeavor\nin that meeting to secure at least a few persons who will agree to\nenter a class and will promise to do personal work to secure other\nmembers. But do not make the mistake of requiring a large class before\nbeginning. A leader and two or more students will constitute a class.\n\n#Who Should Enter the Class?#--Two general plans are now in operation.\nOne provides for a training class for _present teachers_. This class\nshould meet at a convenient time during the week to follow the course\nin a teacher-training text-book. A whole evening could profitably be\ngiven to class work. If this is not feasible the class may meet for\nstudy at the time of the weekly teachers'-meeting or before or after\nthe mid-week prayer service.\n\nA second plan provides for the training of _prospective teachers_, and\nthis may be done in a class meeting at the time of the regular school\nsession. These should be found in the senior and adult departments of\nthe school and should be sixteen years of age or older. The most\npromising young people in the school should be sought for membership\nin this class. If possible, a separate room should be provided so that\nthe time of the closing exercises of the school could be added to the\nlesson period of the class. This will enable the class to devote ten\nminutes to a brief study of the spiritual teachings of the general\nBible lesson for the day and yet leave a half-hour or more for the\ntraining lesson.\n\nIt should not be overlooked that if a class for present teachers\nis established, the officers of the school will find the course\ninvaluable and parents will secure very helpful instruction in the\ncare and nurture of young children.\n\n#Making the Class a Success.#--It is possible for one student to\nfollow a teacher-training course alone, but it is very desirable for\ntwo or more to join and take the course in class. Several persons\nmeeting for conference will bring better results than the same persons\nstudying individually. The class should have a leader who is a\nsympathetic, patient, tactful Christian man or woman, who will\ninspire the members to continue in their work, and who will see\nthat every session of the class is a conference and not a lecture.\nIndifferent work should be discouraged. The members of the class are\nmore likely to continue to the end of the course if they have the\nconsciousness of mastering the work. The question and answer method\nshould be emphasized, and the entire period of the class should be\ngiven at frequent intervals to reviews. Illuminating essays and talks\nmay be brought into the class, but these should be brief, and should\ndeal in a simple way with side-lights on the lesson assigned for that\nperiod.\n\nIt is very desirable that the class should be enrolled with the\ndenominational teacher-training department and with the State Sunday\nSchool Association. This enrolment will furnish the officers of these\norganizations with information which will enable them to keep in touch\nwith the class and to send from time to time helpful and inspirational\nsuggestions. The enrolment of the class will also cause the members to\nfeel the importance of the course and will strengthen the sense of\nobligation to do thorough work.\n\nThe official examinations are of the greatest importance, and should\nbe taken by every member of the class. These examination tests\nintensify interest, and help to hold the class together until the end\nof the course.\n\nGreat encouragement will be given to the members of the class if\npublic recognition is made of their work from time to time. Brief\nwords spoken in public commending the work which is being done will\noften tide some faltering member over the crisis of hesitation.\nThe denominational Sunday-school leaders and officers of organized\nSunday-school work frequently may be called upon to lend encouragement\nby their helpful presence at some public function of the class.\n\nThe diploma issued by the denominations or by the International Sunday\nSchool Association is a fitting recognition of work done, and gives\nthe student a place in the enlarging fellowship of trained teachers.\nAlumni Associations are being formed in the States with annual\nreunions. Graduating exercises should be provided, and these should\nbe impressive and dignified services that will show to the church and\ncommunity the emphasis the Sunday-school is placing on high grade\nwork.\n\nThe Sunday School Times Company does not offer any certificates or\ndiplomas, nor does it conduct any teacher-training classes. All this\nis carried on by the denominations, or through the agency of the State\nSunday School Associations.\n\n\n\n\nTHE BOOK\n\nA. F. SCHAUFFLER, D.D.\n\n\n                                                                PAGE\n      The Bible                                                   11\n\n  LESSON (OLD TESTAMENT)\n   1. The Old Testament Division                                  14\n   2. From Creation to Abraham                                    19\n   3. From Abraham to Jacob                                       23\n   4. Joseph                                                      28\n   5. Moses                                                       33\n   6. Joshua to Samson                                            39\n   7. Saul to Solomon                                             44\n   8. Rehoboam to Hoshea                                          49\n   9. Abijam to Zedekiah                                          54\n  10. Elijah                                                      59\n  11. Return from Captivity                                       64\n\n  (NEW TESTAMENT)\n   1. New Testament Division                                      71\n   2. The Life of Jesus--Thirty Years of Preparation              76\n   3. The Year of Obscurity                                       82\n   4. The Year of Popularity                                      88\n   5. The Year of Opposition                                      94\n   6. The Closing Week                                           100\n   7. The Forty Days                                             106\n   8. The Early Church                                           110\n   9. The Life of Paul                                           116\n\n      How the Bible Came to Us                                   123\n        Ira Maurice Price, Ph.D.\n\n      The Gist of the Books                                      129\n        Compiled\n\n\n\n\nTeaching Hints\n\n\n    Leaders of classes, and individuals pursuing these studies\n    apart from classes, are urged to read the chapter entitled\n    \"Teaching Hints,\" on page 259, before beginning this section\n\n\n\n\nThe Bible\n\n\n#1. Methods of Bible Study.#--Microscopic study of the Bible is the\nstudy of smaller portions, such as single verses, or parts of\nchapters. Many sermons adopt this method. It is good for many\npurposes. But it fails to give the larger views of Bible history that\nthe teacher needs for effective work. The telescopic method takes in\nlarge sections of the Word, and considers them in their relation to\nthe whole of revelation. This is the method that will be adopted in\nthese studies.\n\n  [Illustration:\n  4000   3500  3000  2500   2000  1500   1000       500\n    |            |            |   _\\|/_    |  _\\|/_     _\\|/_\n    |            |            |     |      |   EE         |\n    -------------------------------------------------------\n           |           |    _\\|/_   |                |\n    A      J     E     N      A     M      S         Z    C]\n\n#2. To assist in the study# of a general survey of Bible history, we\ngive as a memory outline above a chart of the centuries between Adam\nand Christ. We use in this the chronology in our Bibles, not because\nit is correct, but because scholars have not yet agreed on a better,\nespecially for the ages before Abraham.\n\nAll the names are well-known but that of Jared, and his is put in\nmerely to mark the close of the first half-millennium. Memorize these\nnames so that you can reproduce the chart without looking at the book.\nThis exercise of memory will enable you to locate the chief events of\nBible history roughly in their appropriate chronological environment.\nAre you reading about any event in the wanderings of Israel? Of course\nyou are between the letters M. and S. Is it a story of Elijah that you\nare studying? Then the event must lie between the letters S. and Z. Or\nis it the biography of Nehemiah that forms your lesson? Then it must\nlie to the right of the letter Z.\n\n#3. One peculiarity of the Bible narrative# is that at times it is\nquite diffuse, and covers much space on the sacred page, while at\nother times it is most highly condensed. For example, the first twelve\nchapters of Genesis cover over 2000 years at the lowest computation.\nAll the rest of Genesis (thirty-eight chapters) covers the lives of\nfour men, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. The first chapter of\nExodus covers centuries while all the rest of Exodus, all of\nLeviticus, all of Numbers and all of Deuteronomy cover only forty\nyears. Surely there must be some good reason for this. Again, two\nchapters in Matthew and two in Luke cover thirty years of our Lord's\nlife, while all the rest of the four Gospels cover only three and a\nhalf years.\n\n#4. Another peculiarity# of the Word is that the miraculous element is\nvery unevenly distributed. At times miracles abound, and at other\ntimes they are but few in number. In the first eleven chapters of\nGenesis, covering more than 2000 years, there are few miracles,\noutside of those of the creation. But in the period after that,\ncovered by the four great Patriarchs, we find more miracles than\nbefore.\n\nDuring the Mosaic period, beginning with Exodus 2, we find that\nmiracles begin to multiply as never before. For instance, God fed his\npeople for forty years (except on the Sabbath) with manna. Again, in\nthe times of Elijah and Elisha, the narrative amplifies, and the\nmiracles multiply. And once more when we come to the Messianic period,\nas exemplified in the story of Christ, the narrative becomes fourfold,\nand the miracles multiply as never before. What is the reason for this\namplification of narrative and simultaneous multiplication of the\nmiraculous? It is because these periods were exceptionally\nsignificant. In them God was trying to teach men lessons of peculiar\nimportance. So he led the writers to tell the story more in full, and\nhe himself emphasized the teaching by his own Divine interposition.\n\n#5. In the Patriarchal period# God was calling out him who was to be\nthe founder of that people which was to preserve God's law through the\nages, and from whom at last was to come Jesus, the Redeemer of the\nworld. This was a most important period, and one with which we might\nwell become acquainted.\n\n#6. In the Mosaic period# God was bringing out his people from bondage\nand was giving to them laws that were to shape their national life\nfor all time. He was also giving to them a typology in high priest,\ntabernacle, and sacrifice that was to lead them in the way of truth\nuntil, in the fulness of the time, he was to come who was the\nfulfilment of both law and type, Jesus of Nazareth, the Lamb of\nGod, and the Son of God.\n\n#7. In the period of Elijah# and his great pupil, Elisha, God was\nmaking a great effort to call back to himself Israel, or the Northern\nKingdom, which had been led into gross idolatry by Jeroboam, and later\nby Ahab.\n\n#8. In the Messianic period# God was fulfilling all that he had\npromised from the beginning as to a Redeemer who was to come. He who\nhad spoken to the fathers through the prophets, and the various types,\nwas now to speak to men through the person of his Son. Good reason\nthen why, at the four periods to which we have called attention, God\nshould provide that the narrative should be more full than at other\ntimes, and that simultaneously there should be the marked intervention\nof the miraculous, to prove that God was truly speaking to men, and\ngiving them divine directions as to how to act, and what to believe.\n\n#9. It follows, then,# that there are four periods to which we should\npay especial attention, as being of unusual importance, and these are\nthe Patriarchal period, the Mosaic period, the period of Elijah and\nElisha, and the period of the Messiah. If the student be well posted\nas to the occurrences during these periods, and their teaching, he\nwill have at least a good working outline of the whole of the Bible\nhistory in its most important developments. To emphasize these periods\nwe have added on the chart in the Memory Outline the dots that will be\nseen, multiplying them at each period somewhat in proportion to the\nmultiplication of the miraculous element in the narrative.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhat two ways are there of studying the Bible?\n\nWhat advantage is there for our purposes in the second method?\n\nGive the nine names that divide the Old Testament times into periods\nof five centuries each.\n\nWhat chronological peculiarity do we find in the Bible narrative?\n\nGive some examples of this. (Pick out other instances of this\nyourself.)\n\nWhat peculiarity do we find in the distribution of the miracles?\n\nName the four periods in which the narrative amplifies and at the same\ntime the miracles multiply.\n\n\n\n\nLesson 1\n\nThe Old Testament Division\n\n\nPRINCIPAL EVENTS\n\n    #Prelude.#--The story of creation (Gen. 1, 2). God was the\n    author of all and no idolatry was to be permitted.\n\n    #First Period.#--Adam, the first man; sinned and fell (Gen.\n    3).\n\n    #Second Period.#--Noah, the head of a family, saved in the\n    ark from a devastating flood; a new beginning for the human\n    race, followed by another failure (Gen. 6, 7, 8). The tower\n    of Babel (Gen. 11:4). Confusion of tongues (Gen. 11:5-9).\n\n    #Third Period.#--The chosen family, under Abraham, broadens\n    to tribal life. The descent to Egypt (Gen. 46). Prosperity\n    (Gen. 47:11), followed by oppression (Exod. 1:8-22). Moses\n    the deliverer (Exod. 3:1-11). The march out of Egypt (Exod.\n    12). Legislation at Mount Sinai (Exod. 20). Entry into Canaan\n    (Josh. 1-4). Times of the Judges. (Judg. 1 to 21).\n\n    #Fourth Period.#--Three kings in all Israel--Saul, David,\n    Solomon (1 Sam. 10 to 1 Kings 12). The divided kingdom.\n\n    #Fifth Period.#--The captivity (2 Kings 25). The return. Ezra\n    and Nehemiah.\n\n    #Leading Names.#--First and Second periods--Adam, Noah; Third\n    period--Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel;\n    Fourth period--Saul, David, Hezekiah, Josiah, Elijah, Elisha,\n    Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea; Fifth period--Zerubbabel,\n    Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.\n\n#TIME.#--From an unknown time to about 400 B. C.\n\n#LANDS.#--Armenia, Chaldea, Palestine, Egypt, Persia.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--The Old Testament begins with a statement of\nthe creation; tells of the introduction of man, \"made in the image of\nGod;\" records the downfall of man and God's many efforts to redeem\nhim; recites the incidents of God's dealings with chosen individuals,\nselected families and a particular nation; continues with this nation\nseparated into two parts and held captive by a foreign power, and\ncloses with the return of a part of Judah. With the entrance of sin\ncame the promise of salvation through one who should come out of the\nchosen (Jewish) nation.\n\n\nThe Old Testament Preview\n\n    NOTE.--The Chronology used throughout is based on\n    \"The Dated Events of the Old Testament,\"\n    by Willis Judson Beecher.\n\n#1. Two Great Divisions.#--In biblical history here are two great\ndivisions, that of the Old Testament and that of the New Testament. It\nis well to have clear outlines in our minds with regard to the great\noutstanding characteristics of these periods. In making these\ndivisions into the periods that follow we have no \"Thus saith the\nLord\" for our guidance, but use the best common sense that we have.\nOthers might make a different division, but we give that below as at\nthe least suggestive.\n\n#2. Prelude.#--The great prelude of creation. Here we are told that\nall things find their origin in God. This teaching is in\ncontradistinction to the claim that matter is eternal. It also denies\nthe doctrine that the world was made by chance. It places the\nbeginning of all things seen in the power of One who is from eternity\nto eternity. This satisfies the cravings of the human heart as no\nother teaching does.\n\n#3. First Period.--Adam to Noah.# Here we have the first stage in the\ndrama of human history. In it we find the beginnings of the human\nrace, of sin, and of redemption. Three most important beginnings. It\nis covered by Genesis 2 to 5 inclusive. It is marked by total failure\non the part of man. \"Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart\nwas only evil continually\" (Gen. 6:5). Man proved himself recreant to\nGod's holy law.\n\n#4. Second Period.--Noah to Abraham.# Chapters 6 to 12. God makes a\nnew beginning with the family of Noah. But, as before, man proves\nhimself disobedient and faithless to his God. We find a great\ncivilization, but little godliness. For the second time man proves a\nfailure, so far as obedience to God's law is concerned. Man in his\npride says, \"Come, let us build,\" while God on his part says, \"Come,\nlet us confound\" (Gen. 11:4 and 7).\n\nBut little space is given in the Bible to these two periods, for they\nare in reality preliminary to the third, which is of vastly more\nimportance than the two put together.\n\n#5. Third Period.--Abraham to Kings.# Genesis 12 through to 1 Samuel\n9. This is a most important period. Here God changes his method of\ntreating man. From henceforth he will chiefly communicate truth to\nmankind through a chosen family and nation. Not that no man outside of\nthis circle can know God's will, but that especially through Abraham\nand his seed God chooses to make his will known, until, in the fulness\nof time, Jesus, the son of Abraham according to the flesh, shall come\nand reveal clearly God's love and redemption to men.\n\nIn this section we have the story of the patriarchal family, first\ncoming out of Ur of the Chaldees, and living for a while in Canaan.\nThen they go down to Egypt, and at last are oppressed. After being\nwelded together in the furnace of affliction they are brought out with\na mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and in the wilderness they\nreceive the law of God through their great leader, Moses. Here too\nthey learn the way of acceptable worship, and are prepared for entry\ninto the Land of Promise. Then follows the conquest of the land under\nMoses' successor, Joshua. Now comes the period of the Judges, when God\nrules his people directly through these divinely called men. This is\neasily seen to be a most important period. All this time Israel only\nis monotheistic (believing in one God), but all the other nations of\nthe earth are grossly idolatrous. During this period we see that so\nlong as God's chosen people obey him they prosper, while as soon as\nthey disobey disasters begin to multiply.\n\nIn this period, too, was given that legislation which has been the\nfoundation of all the legislation of civilized nations from that time\nto this. Here also we have the foundations of that system of types\nthat culminated in Jesus, great David's greater Son. Sacrifice, high\npriest, tabernacle, here have their origin or their development. In\nall the history of the world up to that time there was no period so\nfraught with blessings for mankind as was this period.\n\n#6. Fourth Period.--Kings to captivity.# 1 Samuel 9 to 2 Kings 25.\nThis may be divided into two parts:\n\n(1) The united monarchy. This lasted one hundred and twenty years, and\nhad three kings, Saul, David, Solomon. Saul brought something of order\nout of national chaos. David carried this still farther and made\nIsrael truly a great nation. Solomon, however, through too much luxury\nand many political alliances, sowed the seeds of national decay.\n\n(2) Now comes the division of the monarchy, brought on by the folly of\nRehoboam, Solomon's son. Because of his refusal to lighten the heavy\ntaxes, ten tribes revolted and established a kingdom under Jeroboam.\nEver after this they were known as Israel, also called by us the\nNorthern Kingdom. The Kingdom of Judah is also known as the Southern\nKingdom.\n\nIsrael, or the _Northern Kingdom_ went from the worship of the golden\ncalves to that of Baal, and continued on the downward course until\nthey went into captivity. They had only one good king, named Jehu, and\nhe was none too good.\n\nJudah, or the _Southern Kingdom_ fared somewhat better, though even\nhere there was much idolatry. At last Judah too went into captivity,\non account of its sin. It is most suggestive to compare the triumphant\nentry of Israel into the land, and its shameful exit in chains and\ntears. It was all brought about through abandoning the God of Abraham.\nThere are some in modern days who claim that Israel had naturally a\nmonotheistic tendency, and on that account slowly worked its way out\nof polytheism into monotheism. The writer does not so read the\nhistory, but finds that Israel had an inveterate tendency to\npolytheism, and that God only cured it of this sin through the sorrows\nof the captivity.\n\n#7. Fifth Period.--Captivity and return.# Read Ezra and Nehemiah.\nThis is not a period of great glory, like that of Solomon's reign. But\nit is a period most remarkable on account of the fact that Judah was\nnow strictly monotheistic, and from that day to this, over two\nthousand years, it has remained so. In the furnace fires of captivity\nGod cured his people once and forever of their besetting sin,\nidolatry. This is a most remarkable fact, for the nations into which\nthey went as captives were themselves totally idolatrous.\n\nIn this period comes the building of the second temple, the reform\nunder Ezra, and the building of the walls of Jerusalem, under\nNehemiah.\n\n#8.# Now the story closes for four centuries and does not open until\nthe New Testament times (with which we shall deal later on) begin.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nInto what two great divisions is the Bible divided?\n\nGive the theme of the Prelude to the Old Testament.\n\nGive the extent of the first period.\n\nWhat was its outcome?\n\nGive the extent of the second period.\n\nIn what moral condition did its termination find mankind?\n\nFrom whom to whom did the third period reach?\n\nWhat change in God's method of revelation did the third period\nmanifest?\n\nWith what family did God begin now to deal more specifically?\n\nWhere did family life merge into national life?\n\nWhat two important phases of divine revelation did this period\ninclude?\n\nGive the limits of the fourth period.\n\nGive the two divisions of period four.\n\nGive the cause of the division of the United Kingdom.\n\nWhat was the course of history in the Northern Kingdom?\n\nWhat course did history take in the Southern Kingdom?\n\nGive the two prominent features of period five.\n\nWhat marked change had come over Judah between the captivity and the\nreturn?\n\nGive the great names that are prominent in the several periods into\nwhich we have divided the Old Testament times.\n\n\n\n\nLesson 2\n\nFrom Creation to Abraham\n\nOld Testament Division--Prelude, First Period, Second Period\n\n\nPRINCIPAL EVENTS\n\nPrelude.\n\n    #Account of the Creation.#--The creation days: Light (Gen.\n    1:3-5); firmament (1:6-8); land and water separated,\n    vegetation (1:9-13); heavenly bodies--sun, moon, stars\n    (1:14-19); fish, birds and animals (1:19-25); man (1:26-31).\n\nFirst Period.\n\n    #Creation of Man.#--Man made in God's image (Gen. 1:27);\n    creation of Eve (Gen. 2:21, 22). Entrance of sin and the fall\n    (3:1-6); Cain, son of Adam and Eve, killed his brother Abel\n    (4:3-8).\n\nSecond Period.\n\n    #The Flood.#--The prevalence of wickedness (Gen. 6:5) caused\n    God to destroy the population of the world by flood, with the\n    exception of Noah, his family, and selected animals (Gen.\n    6-8). God made a covenant with Noah not to destroy the people\n    again by flood (9:8-17)\n\n    #The Tower of Babel.#--The wickedness in the heart of men\n    found expression in the building of the great tower of Babel,\n    and the punishment therefor was the confusion of tongues\n    (11:1-9).\n\n#TIME.#--From an unknown time to 1928 B. C.\n\n#PLACES.#--Garden of Eden, Western Asia, Babylon.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--The creative period marks God as the\nsupreme author of the universe and of its inhabitants; sinless at\nfirst, man falls, and begins the battle with evil which shall cease\nonly with the ultimate complete triumph of Christ, the Redeemer. The\nflood marks the first of a series of tremendous efforts to save the\nworld from the thraldom of sin.\n\n\nBefore the Chosen Family\n\n#9. Prelude.#--This is the beginning of all things, and well suits the\ncravings of the human mind. It says, \"In the beginning God created.\"\nThis beginning does not go as far back as that of John 1:1, for that\nantedates creation and points to a beginning before God created. That\nis, John sweeps back to that beginning when as yet there was none but\nGod. If this statement of Genesis 1:1 is compared with creation myths\nas found among other nations, it will at once be seen to be far\ngrander and more in accord with our best thoughts of the divine\nactivity. Unbelief may say, \"In the beginning matter,\" or \"in the\nbeginning force,\" but that does not satisfy the human heart as do the\nwords of the sacred writer.\n\n#In this beginning# we see the origin of all things. Genesis means\n\"beginnings,\" and in this book we find the beginnings of matter, of\nvegetable life, of animal life, of man, of sin, of sacrifice, of\nmaterial civilization, of the Covenant People, and of Redemption.\nTruly a wonderful book. Well has it been said that \"_Genesis enfolds\nall that the rest of the Bible unfolds._\" In this book we find the\ngerm of all that is to follow. If we would know the inner significance\nof all that we find in Genesis we must look to Revelation.\n\n#10. Period One.--Adam to Noah.# Here comes the story of the creation\nof man. Innocent he was at the first, but in the trial to which he is\nbrought, man fails, and disobeys. As sinner, he now hides from the\nface of God, and has to be sought out by his heavenly Father. Sin\ncreated a barrier between God the Holy One and man the sinner. Then it\nis that God begins his work of redemption, and in Genesis 3:15 we see\nthe first promise of that redemption that is to be fulfilled in Jesus\nin later days. In this period we see the first sacrifice, and in it,\ntoo, we come across the full fruitage of hatred, which culminated in\nmurder. Man proves to be a sad failure, and the record is that God\nlooks down from heaven to see how man is acting. \"And Jehovah saw that\nthe wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every\nimagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually\"\n(Gen. 6:5). From that day to this, man when left to himself reproduces\nthis picture, as may be seen in those lands where there is no light of\nthe gospel of the grace of God.\n\n#The chief characters# of this period are Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel,\nEnoch, who \"walked with God: and he was not; for God took him,\" Noah\nand his three sons--Shem, Ham, and Japheth.\n\n#11. Period Two.#--This lasts from #Noah to Abraham#. God blots out\nthe human race as it then existed and begins it anew. So far, all that\nwe know of the human race lived in the Euphrates valley, and all\nmodern research confirms the Bible statement with regard to this. It\nneed not be maintained that the flood was universal, in the sense that\nit covered the whole world, as we now know it. All that is needful to\nbelieve is that the \"known world\" was subject to a devastating flood\nthat caused the human race to perish, with the exception of Noah and\nhis family. Warned by God Noah builds the ark, and embarks in it. The\nrains descend and the fountains of the great deep are broken up, and\nthe land is submerged. In due time, the rains cease, and the floods\ndry up, and Noah sends out first a raven, which returns not. Then he\nsends out a dove, which comes back to the ark, not finding any\nresting-place. In seven days he sends out another dove, which returns\nbringing an olive-leaf in her mouth. The third time he sends forth a\ndove, which returns not. Then in due time Noah goes forth from the\nark, which had rested on Mount Ararat in Armenia.\n\n#12.# Now follows the beautiful story of the sacrifice that Noah\noffers, and the promise of God never again to send a deluge on the\nearth. This promise is confirmed by the symbol of the rainbow. Of\ncourse there had been rainbows before this, but this time God takes\nthe rainbow and makes it a symbol of his mercy to sinful man.\n\n#13. The Tower of Babel.#--In this period we there is a great advance\nin civilization, as may be seen by a careful reading of Genesis\n10:1-32. Cities are built and nations are founded by the descendants\nof the Patriarch Noah. But the evil tendency of the human heart again\nshows itself, and the pride of man's achievement fills the heart of\nthe descendants of Noah. Then comes the story of the tower of Babel,\nand in this we read most significantly, \"And they said, Come, let us\nbuild.\" To this God's reply is \"Come, let us confound.\" Man's pride is\nto be abased, and put to confusion. So the human race is scattered\nabroad and its cherished plans are broken up. For the second time, man\nis seen to be a failure, and there is call for another way of dealing\nwith the race if the truth is to be preserved. This third beginning is\nto be found in Period Three, with which our next lesson will deal.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nState how the Gospel of John has a sweep farther back even than\nGenesis 1:1.\n\nWhat beginnings may we find in the book of Genesis?\n\nHow does man act toward God, as soon as he transgresses his law?\n\nWhere do we find the beginning of the story of redemption?\n\nGive the names of the chief actors in this first period of Bible\nhistory.\n\nGive the divine estimate of the moral condition of man before the\nflood.\n\nWhere does the Bible place the story of the beginnings of the human\nrace?\n\nGive the story of the building of the ark and of the flood.\n\nIn the second period, what may we say of civilization? How did its\nmagnitude show itself?\n\nGive the record of the scattering of the human race.\n\nWas the second trial of man any more successful than the first,\nregarded from the religious standpoint?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 3\n\nFrom Abraham to Jacob\n\nOld Testament Division--Third Period\n\n\nLEADING PERSONS\n\n    #Abraham.#--Lived in Ur of the Chaldees. Called by God to\n    leave country and home and kindred to go to Canaan, the\n    promised land (Gen. 12:1 to 25:11).\n\n    #Isaac.#--Son of Abraham (Gen. 21). Proposed as a sacrifice\n    (Gen. 22:1-19). Married Rebekah (Gen. 24).\n\n    #Esau.#--Son of Isaac. Sold his birthright to his brother\n    (Gen. 25:27-34).\n\n    #Jacob.#--Son of Isaac. By a trick secured his father's\n    parting blessing, to which Esau was entitled (Gen. 27:1-45).\n    Journeyed in search of a wife, and married (Gen. 28:10 to\n    31:16). Returned and was forgiven by Esau (Gen. 31:17 to\n    33:20). His name changed to Israel and he became the father\n    of the Jewish nation (Gen. 35:9-15). Had twelve sons, who\n    become the heads of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Gen.\n    35:23-27).\n\n#TIME.#--1928 B. C. to the birth of Joseph, 1752 B. C.\n\n#PLACES.#--Ur of Chaldees, Canaan, Egypt.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--With Abraham God began a course of dealings\nwith man which continued for about two thousand years. Setting apart\nAbraham with his family was really the beginning of the chosen nation,\nalthough the national life did not begin until after the escape from\nEgypt (see Lesson 5).\n\n\nAbraham, the Father of the Faithful\n\n#14. The Bible Deals Largely in Biographies.#--If you know well the\nstories of the great Patriarchs, you know the best part of Genesis.\nAgain, if you know the stories of Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Samuel,\nDavid, you will have mastered most of the history of Israel from\nExodus through 2 Samuel. This is the reason why in these lessons we\ndeal so largely with Bible biographies.\n\n#15. Abraham.#--Abraham was one of the greatest men in all history. He\nwas the founder of that people through whom we have received all of\nthe Bible, excepting only what Luke, the beloved Physician, has given\nus. This of itself is no small distinction. But more. He is the great\nprogenitor of him whom we know as the Messiah and the world's\nRedeemer.\n\n#16. Abraham and his Call.#--The call came to him in his home in Ur of\nthe Chaldees. Exactly in what way it came we are not told. It may have\nbeen an inward call, such as believers to this day have at times. Bear\nin mind that Abraham's ancestors were idolaters, and that the land in\nwhich he lived was totally idolatrous.\n\nThis call was twofold. It was a call \"out of,\" and a call \"in to.\" Out\nof home and family and religious antecedent. In to a new environment\ngeographically, socially, religiously.\n\nThis call he obeyed at once, and forth he went, not knowing his\nultimate destination. At Haran he paused until the death of his\nfather. Then on he went. How he knew what direction to take we are not\ntold. It may have been that he pushed forward as the migrating bird\npushes ahead, driven by a kind of inward impulse, blindly but surely.\nThis at least is my idea.\n\n#17. Abraham and the Land.#--At last Abraham comes to Shechem, and\nthere for the first time God tells him that this is the land of which\nhe had spoken. There, for the first time in that land, an altar was\nraised to the true God. From that day to this, and to the end of time,\nthat land and the Chosen People have been and will be identified.\n\n#18. Abraham and Egypt.#--Driven by famine, the Patriarch goes down to\nEgypt. There is no record that he was divinely guided in this, and\nfrom the fact that there he gets into trouble, and that God does not\nappear to him at all in Egypt, we may infer that this was not any part\nof the divine plan. God does not appear to his servant again until he\nreturns to the Land, and builds his altar \"where it was at the first\"\n(Gen. 13:1-18).\n\n#19. Abraham and Lot.#--Lot was Abraham's nephew. His character\ndiffers widely from that of his uncle. Mark, in his dealings with his\ngreedy nephew, the grandeur of the Patriarch's character. As the land\ncannot \"bear\" the two sets of flocks, Abraham gives Lot the first\nchoice of the land, and declares that he will take what Lot leaves.\nThis is not after the manner of the \"natural man.\" Decency would have\nled Lot to decline his uncle's generous offer. But Lot was not decent,\nand so seized all that he could. In the end this led to Lot's ruin. It\nis most suggestive to note the steps in Lot's career. First he pitched\nhis tent \"towards\" Sodom. Then we find him \"in\" Sodom. Then he sits in\n\"the gate\" of Sodom--that is, he has become a prominent man in that\naccursed city. Soon we see him involved in the overthrow of Sodom by\nthe four kings. Still he returns to that city, after his rescue by his\nuncle. And at last he has to escape from its final ruin, penniless. We\nread in 2 Peter 2:7 that Lot was vexed with the wicked life of the\nSodomites. It has always seemed a pity that he was not sufficiently\nvexed to get out from the city, bag and baggage, long before he did.\n\nAgain look at Abraham when he had gained the victory over the kings as\ntold in Genesis 14. How grandly he stands, refusing to touch what\ncomes from Sodom from a thread to a shoe latchet. By the laws of war\nin that time all the \"loot\" was his. But he would not touch it. Bear\nin mind that this was 2000 years before the Golden Rule was given, yet\nhere we have a man exemplifying it grandly. What a contrast between\nAbraham and some of the troops in modern sieges, where they have\nseized all that they could lay their hands on. This was nearly 2000\nyears after Jesus uttered the Golden Rule. Who was more truly\nChrist-like, Abraham 2000 years B. C. or we, 2000 years A. D.?\n\n#20. Abraham and Hagar.#--The Patriarch was not a perfect man. He\nsinned in Egypt (Gen. 12:10-20), and again, as told in Genesis\n20:1-16. Again, his faith in God's promise that he should have a son\nseems to have grown dim. So he yields to Sarah's suggestion, and takes\nHagar. (Gen. 16). In judging him for this, bear in mind that he had\nnot the light that came in later days, through the further revelation\nof God's will. Then Ishmael was born. It is most suggestive that from\nIshmael, who was not a \"child of faith,\" sprang in later days Muhammad\nthe great antagonist of Jesus Christ, who came from Abraham through\nIsaac, the \"child of faith.\"\n\n#21. Abraham and Isaac.#--To understand the command of God in relation\nto the sacrifice of Isaac, we must bear in mind the customs of those\ndays in Canaan. As we now know, through excavations in that land,\nhuman sacrifices were common. Remembering this, my own impression is\nthat God intended to teach his servant two things by this command.\nFirst, that all human sacrifices were abhorrent to God; and second,\nthat his obedience must be unquestioning. God never intended that\nIsaac should be sacrificed. This is apparent from the whole narrative.\nHis command was a \"test\" of the utter obedience of the Patriarch. This\ntest Abraham met grandly. He was willing to trust God to the last,\nthough he could not see the reason why. Then God showed him that his\nson was not to be sacrificed, and provided in Isaac's place a ram for\nan offering.\n\nThe story of procuring a wife for Isaac is truly oriental in its\nsetting. But bear in mind, it was accompanied with prayer. Though it\nis not in accord with Western methods of courtship, it turned out\nquite as well as many modern marriages made after the custom of\ntwentieth century \"society.\"\n\n#22. Abraham and Sodom.#--Here again we have this man in a grand\nlight. He pleads for Sodom, and that, in spite of its utter\nworthlessness. But there are not in all of Sodom twenty righteous men\nto be found. Lot's family even, merely scoff at him, and refuse to\nbelieve his warning. It is most suggestive in this connection, that\n\"God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the\noverthrow.\" (Gen. 19:29.) Lot's best asset in his life was not his\nreal estate in Sodom, but his godly uncle far from that wicked city.\nJust so the best asset that any modern city has, is not its stocks and\nbonds, or real estate, but the truly godly people who live in its\nmidst.\n\n#23. Abraham and Machpelah.#--There are two places in Canaan most\nintimately associated with Abraham. These are Shechem, where he first\nlearned that he was in \"the Land\" at last, and Machpelah, where he\nlaid Sarah to rest and where he himself was buried. Here also were\nburied Isaac, Jacob, Rebekah, and Leah. (See Gen. 25:9, 49:30, and\n50:13.) It would not be very surprising if some day we were to recover\ntheir bodies from that historic burying-place. Stranger things have\nhappened.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nIn what does the Bible deal largely?\n\nGive the names of the great characters of the Old Testament up to\nDavid.\n\nIn what two respects was Abraham one of the greatest men of history?\n\nIn what respect was the call of Abraham a twofold call?\n\nWhat was the religious environment of the Patriarch in his home?\n\nWhere did Abraham first know that he was in \"the Land\"?\n\nWhat did he there \"raise\" at once?\n\nWhat makes us think that God did not direct Abraham to go to Egypt?\n\nWhat characteristics did the Patriarch show in his relations with Lot?\n\nHow did Abraham's faith show somewhat of an eclipse in the matter of\nHagar?\n\nWho was one of Ishmael's descendants, and what does this suggest?\n\nTo whom did Lot owe his deliverance from Sodom at its overthrow?\n\nWho were buried in the Cave of Machpelah?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 4\n\nJoseph\n\nOld Testament Division--Third Period (Continued)\n\n\nLEADING PERSON\n\n    #Joseph.#--Son of Jacob. A favorite son (Gen. 37:3) and a\n    dreamer (Gen. 37:5-11). Hated by his brothers and sold into\n    Egypt (Gen. 37:12-28). A slave, but honored; then cast into\n    prison (Gen. 39:1-20). By interpreting a dream of Pharaoh he\n    was brought into high honor, and became Pharaoh's prime\n    minister (Gen. 40:1 to 41:45). Stored up grain in Egypt to\n    provide for a famine; relieved the needs of his brothers, who\n    journeyed to Egypt in search of food; finally invited his\n    father's family to live in Egypt (Gen. 42:1 to 47:12).\n\n    #Other Persons.#--Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Potiphar, an\n    officer of Pharaoh, owner of Joseph the slave. The butler and\n    the baker of Pharaoh, confined in prison while Joseph was\n    there, and the indirect means of Joseph's exaltation. Jacob,\n    Joseph's father; and Joseph's brothers who sold him into\n    Egypt.\n\n#TIME.#--1752 B. C. to 1643 B. C.\n\n#PLACES.#--Dothan, in Palestine. Egypt.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--As a result of Joseph's invitation to his\nfather and brothers, with their family, to come to Egypt and partake\nof his bounty, the Hebrew nation, through its leader, was transplanted\nto Egypt. Their sojourn as a people lasted many years; and brought\nthem into subjection to the Egyptian monarch (Exod. 1:8-14).\n\n\nJoseph--Prisoner and Prime Minister\n\nHere we have a wonderful character. The life of Joseph may be divided\ninto two parts. First, his humiliation. Second, his exaltation.\n\n#24. Joseph's Humiliation.#--Genesis 37, 39, and 40. We see him first\nas his father's favorite, unwisely made conspicuous by the dress that\nhis doting father gave him. This arouses his brothers' envy. This envy\nwas further intensified when Joseph told them the dreams that he had,\nwhich plainly foretold his exaltation, but which made them angry. Even\nhis father seems to have balked at the second dream (Gen. 37:10). Now\ncomes the cruel plot of the heartless brothers, planned at Dothan,\nthough, through the providence of God, not fully carried out. Their\ndefinite purpose is to put him out of the way, \"and we shall see what\nwill become of his dreams.\"\n\n25. Here then we have a clear statement of God's plans and men's plans\nwith regard to this seventeen-year-old lad. God proposes to make him\nmighty in deeds for the welfare of God's people. Men propose to put\nhim to death. These two plans cannot both be carried into effect.\nWhich is to prevail? The story is a fascinating unrolling of the\ndivine plan and the complete thwarting of the human plan.\n\n#26. Joseph the Slave.#--The brothers change their plan, and sell\nJoseph to traveling Midianites. These take him to Egypt, and sell him\nto Potiphar, an officer in Pharaoh's court. Note here his fidelity in\nall things, so that he becomes really the overseer in Potiphar's house\n(Gen. 39:6). Instead of resenting his purchase by Potiphar, he takes\nthings most patiently, and does his duty bravely.\n\n#27. Joseph in Prison.#--Once more, through no fault of his own,\nJoseph suffers further degradation. To prison he goes. We said\n\"through no fault of his own.\" This is an understatement, for it was\non account of his fidelity to his master that he was shamefully\ntraduced, and so sent to jail. Yet even here his spirit of loyalty to\nduty did not desert him. Again we find him trusted and put in charge\nof all prison matters. (Gen. 39:22, 23.) But what has become all this\ntime of God's plans for Joseph? Are they to be thwarted? Nay, wait\nuntil the fulness of time, and then note how God's plans ripen, and\nare fully perfected. In the meantime note Joseph's wonderfully sweet\nspirit. See how he notices the sad countenances of butler and baker in\nprison. Note how he sympathizes with them, and tries to help them.\nHere again, as in the case of Abraham, we see the exemplification of\nthe Golden Rule, long before it was uttered. Had Joseph been like some\nmodern men, he would have taken vengeance on the butler and baker,\nthey being Egyptians. He would have said, \"These Egyptians have\nenslaved and imprisoned me for no fault of mine. Now is my chance, and\nI will pay them back.\" But no such bitter thoughts seem to have\nentered his pure mind. In the meantime note his steadfast faith in God\nand his persistent loyalty to duty, however hard that might be.\n\n#28. Joseph's Exaltation.#--This came with a leap. The story is\nfamiliar. But in studying the lesson, let the student not fail to read\nit once more, most carefully. If it seem somewhat incredible that\nPharaoh should make a prime minister out of a prisoner at one stroke,\nbear in mind that in the East they do not do things in Western\nfashion. Even to this day\n\n  \"East is East, and West is West,\n  And never the two shall meet.\"\n\nThe writer during his boyhood knew of a case illustrating Eastern\nmethods, which took place when he was living in his home in\nConstantinople. The Sultan had a dentist. One day while his dentist\nwas off hunting, the Sultan got a toothache. He sent for his dentist,\nbut could not get him. His courtiers then got hold of a poor dentist\nwho could hardly make his living. He went to the palace and extracted\nthe offending molar. At once the Sultan deposed his regular dentist,\nput this man in his place, created him a pasha, or peer of the realm,\ngave him a large stipend, and a palace in the city and another in the\ncountry. Thus at one stroke the man passed from obscurity to\nprominence, and from poverty to wealth. This is the manner of the\nEast.\n\nNow we begin to see God's plans working out manifestly. Yet all this\ntime his brothers think that their plans have succeeded and that the\n\"dreamer's\" career is ended. No, the \"dreamer's\" career has just\nbegun.\n\n#29. The Seven Years of Plenty.#--Now follow years of great activity,\nand of much honor for the former prisoner. Up and down the land he\ngoes and gathers grain in untold quantities. As he goes they all cry,\n\"Bow the knee,\" and prostrate themselves in the dust before him. At\nseventeen years of age he was sold by his brothers. For thirteen years\nhe was slave, or prisoner. Now for seven years he is prime minister.\nYet all the time Jacob thinks that his boy is dead. How little did the\nold Patriarch suspect that during all these weary years God was\nworking out his blessed plans for his people.\n\n#30. The Seven Years of Famine.#--Once more Joseph and his brothers\nstand face to face. The last they saw of him was when they heard his\nbitter cry, and turned a deaf ear to his entreaty. Twenty years have\nmade a great change in him and they do not recognize him. His\ntreatment of them may seem harsh, but he knew what kind of natures\ntheirs were, and that to do them good he must first humiliate them.\nOut of kindness he was stern. To mend them and their ways he must\nfirst break them.\n\n#31. Israel in Egypt.#--God had told Abraham that his seed must go\ndown to Egypt, and now comes the fulfilment of that prophecy (Gen.\n15:13-15). During the life of Joseph all went well with the sons of\nJacob. They had the best of the land, and dwelt in peace. God's plans\nhave been carried out to the minutest details, and the plans of\nevil-minded men have miscarried. God has caused even the wrath of man\nto praise him, and the remainder he has restrained. Joseph's brethren\nare content to bow before him, and even Jacob sees that his words of\nGenesis 37:10 were not wise. The wisdom of man is seen to be folly,\nand it has been proved that \"the foolishness of God is wiser than\nmen.\" (1 Cor. 1:25.)\n\n#32. Joseph's Faith.#--On his death-bed Joseph takes an oath of his\npeople saying that God will surely visit his people and bring them in\ndue time to the land promised to Abraham. He charges them to remember\nhis body when they march out, and take it with them, and lay it away\nin its final resting-place in the Land of Promise. Many years pass.\nLiberty is exchanged for oppression. The bitter cry of the people\nrises to God. All this time the body of Joseph (doubtless embalmed) is\nnot finally buried. His real funeral has not yet taken place. This is\nthe longest delayed funeral on record. Then at last comes the Exodus,\nand lo, they remember that oath that Joseph took of them, years\nbefore, and out with them goes his body. For forty years they carry it\nwith them, and only then they lay it away in the Land of Promise. (See\nGen. 50:24-26. Exod. 13:19, and Josh. 24:32.)\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nInto what two sections may we divide Joseph's life?\n\nWhy were his brethren envious of him?\n\nWhat further intensified their hatred?\n\nGive the plan of God and the plans of men with regard to Joseph.\n\nWhat action did Joseph's brethren finally take with regard to him?\n\nInto whose household did the lad come in Egypt?\n\nWhat signs have we that in all this Joseph did not lose his faith in\nGod, or lose his convictions as to duty?\n\nHow did Joseph's exaltation come so suddenly?\n\nGive an illustration of this from modern Eastern life.\n\nHow long was it between the sale of Joseph and the first appearance of\nhis brethren to buy corn?\n\nWhy did Joseph treat his brothers as he did when they first came to\nhim?\n\nWhat remarkable proof have we of Joseph's steadfast faith in God's\npromise?\n\nWhat two most peculiar facts may be noted with regard to Joseph's\nbody?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 5\n\nMoses\n\nOld Testament Division--Third Period (Continued)\n\n\nLEADING PERSONS\n\n    #Moses.#--Son of Amram and Jochebed (Exod. 6:20). Adopted by\n    Pharaoh's daughter (Exod. 2:1-10). Took the part of the\n    oppressed and had to flee (Exod. 2:11-14). Shepherd for forty\n    years and married (Exod. 2:21). Called to deliver his people,\n    but was timid (Exod. 3:1-10). Had various contests with\n    Pharaoh (Exod. 5 to 12). Led people out of Egypt triumphantly\n    (Exod. 14). Received the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20). Built\n    the Tabernacle (Exod. 25). Led the people to the borders of\n    the Promised Land, but was turned back on account of their\n    sins (Num. 13:1 to 14:34). Died on Mount Nebo (Deut. 34).\n    Reappeared on Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:3).\n\n    #Aaron.#--Brother of Moses. Made high priest (Exod. 28 and\n    29). Sinned in the matter of the golden calf (Exod. 32). Died\n    on Mount Hor (Deut. 10:6).\n\n#TIME.#--1578 B. C. to 1458 B. C.\n\n#PLACES.#--Egypt and Sinaitic Peninsula, then east of the Jordan\nvalley.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--The \"going out\" of the Hebrews from Egypt\nmarked the beginning of their national life, and laws were given\ngoverning their relation to God and to each other. The breaking of\nGod's laws cost the nation forty years of wilderness wandering before\nthey entered their \"promised land.\"\n\n\nMoses--Leader and Legislator\n\n#33.# By far the greatest man in Old Testament history is Moses. In\npoint of moral uplift, no man in all the world, until Christ, can be\ncompared with him. His life divides itself into three equal sections--\n\n  (1) Life at Pharaoh's court.--Forty years.\n  (2) Life as shepherd in the desert.--Forty years.\n  (3) Life in the desert as leader of God's people.--Forty years.\n\n#34. Life at Pharaoh's court.#--Moses was born at the time of Israel's\ngreatest oppression, when, as a measure of self-defense, Pharaoh had\nordered all Hebrew male children to be cast into the Nile. Hence the\nHebrew proverb, \"When the tale of bricks is doubled, then comes\nMoses.\" As in the case of Joseph, we see at once the collision between\nGod's plan and that of earth's greatest monarch. God's plan was that\nMoses must live; Pharaoh's plan, that Moses must die. Again we see the\nsuccessful issue of God's plan, and the overthrow of the human plan.\nIn carrying out his plan, God makes use of a mother's wit, a sister's\nfidelity, a woman's curiosity, and a baby's tears. For all this read\ncarefully Exodus 2:1-10. These are the minute links in the chain of\nGod's providence which, welded together, restore that babe to his\nmother's arms in less than twenty-four hours, now with the shield of\nroyalty protecting him. Had any one of these links broken, Moses' fate\nmight have been sealed.\n\n#35.# As illustrating these links, in a different sphere, read the\nfollowing: Professor Darwin tells that he noticed that pansies would\nnot grow wild near English villages, but would grow far away from\nthem. Investigation revealed that in English villages dogs go at\nlarge. Where dogs go at large, cats must stay at home; where cats stay\nat home, field-mice abound; where field-mice abound, bumblebees' nests\nare destroyed; where bumblebees' nests are destroyed, there in no\nfertilization of pollen. Therefore, where there are dogs, there are no\nwild pansies. Apply this to the case in hand. No mother's wit, no ark\nof bulrushes; no ark no sister's watch-care, and no chance to arouse\nthe curiosity of the princess. Therefore, no discovery of the babe\nweeping. Consequently, no saving of the future deliverer of his\npeople. Thus God worked through natural agencies to thwart the decree\nof Pharaoh. During these forty years Moses enjoyed all the educational\nadvantages of the most civilized nation of that day. So he was\nprepared by the king himself to deliver the Hebrews from his control.\n\n#36. Life as Shepherd in the Desert.#--Moses' life at court came to a\nsudden end, through his patriotic effort to deliver one of his race\nfrom the cruelty of an Egyptian. As a result he had to flee for his\nlife, as even Pharaoh could not defend him for slaying one of the\nruling race for cruelty to a mere slave. For forty years we find him\non the Sinaitic peninsula, herding sheep. These must have been years\nof deep thought. Often he must have wondered why God had given him\nsuch deliverance, only to let him languish in the desert while at the\nsame time his people, whom he might have helped, were ground down\nunder the heel of the taskmaster. At the same time these years of\nsolitude must have been rich in opportunity for meditation and\ncommunion upward. The city is not the best place for deep thought.\nElijah was no city man, neither was John the Baptist. In solitude\nthese men learned much that the city never could teach them.\n\n#37. Life as a Leader of God's People in the Desert.#--His life of\nsolitude came to a sudden close, when God called to him out of the\nmidst of the burning bush, and bade him return to Egypt and deliver\nhis people. At first Moses begged to be excused, for he doubtless well\nremembered that because of his effort to deliver _one_ Hebrew, he had\nbeen an exile for forty years. How then could he succeed in delivering\n_a nation_? But on God's promise to be with him, he and his brother\nAaron undertook the task.\n\n#38.# Here we note the collision between God's plan and that of the\nking. God's plan is, Let my people go. Pharaoh's plan is, they shall\nstay right here. So the battle was joined. Note that Pharaoh, as a\nresult of the consecutive plagues, relents and tries compromises. For\nthese read carefully the story of the plagues, noting especially these\npassages: Exodus 8:8, 15, 25, 32; Exodus 9:28, 35; Exodus 10:11, 20,\n24, 28. And at last, when his pride is utterly broken, comes Exodus\n12:31.\n\n#39.# Then came that night, much to be observed, on which Israel\nmarched out in triumph, while Egypt mourned, and Pharaoh repented ever\nresisting the divine command. To this day all Jews observe that great\nnight, called the night of the Passover.\n\n#40.# Under the crags of Mount Sinai, Moses spent one year with his\npeople. That was a most significant year, as there he received the ten\ncommandments, and the instructions as to the building of the\nTabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. There, too, he received\ndirections as to the sacrifices that were to be typical of that great\nsacrifice on Mount Calvary, hundreds of years later. There, too, he\nhad his bitter experience with his people in the matter of the worship\nof the golden calf; a presage of much that was to follow in the\nhistory of that wonderful but stiffnecked people as they continued\ntheir journeys through the wilderness.\n\n#41.# Mark in the life of this wonderful man the incredible contrast\nbetween his highest and his lowest moods. In his agony over the\nidolatry of his people while he was on the Mount receiving the ten\ncommandments, Moses pleads with God for them, and even goes so far as\nto beg that, if need be, his own name might be blotted out of God's\nbook. If he or the people must perish, let it be he, and not the\npeople. This is most noble, and reminds one of what Paul later on\nsaid, in the same strain (Rom. 9:1-3). Yet later on Moses yields to\nincomprehensible murmuring, when the people have again transgressed.\n\"Moses was displeased. And Moses said unto Jehovah--Have I conceived\nall this people?... that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy\nbosom?... I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is\ntoo heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee,\nout of hand\" (Num. 11:10-15). Is this the same man who speaks in the\nmatter of the golden calf, as we saw above? And in this extraordinary\nfall we learn a lesson of humility and self-distrust. \"Let him that\nthinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.\"\n\n#42.# At last, after forty years of wandering, Israel is on the\nborders of the Land of Promise, but on account of his unadvised\nspeech, Moses is not permitted to enter. On Mount Nebo he dies, alone,\nand there God lays his body away until the great resurrection day.\n\n#43.# But again we see Moses. This time not outside of the Land of\nPromise, but in the midst of it. On the Mount of Transfiguration he\nappears, and this time with Israel's great prophet, Elijah, and with\nIsrael's Messiah. There they talk of the death so soon to be\naccomplished in Jerusalem. Then he and the prophet return to the\nspirit world.\n\n#44.# Yet once more Moses is brought to our attention. On the Isle of\nPatmos, John in vision sees and hears much of what goes on in the\neternal world of bliss. And lo, he hears the ransomed sing the song of\nMoses and the Lamb (Rev. 15:3). To this man is given the privilege\naccorded to none other of the sons of men, to have his name coupled\nwith that of the Son of God in the glad songs of heaven. Truly a\nprivilege so exalted that we cannot possibly magnify it too much!\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nInto what three divisions does Moses' life fall?\n\nState the plan of God and man in relation to this babe.\n\nGive the links in the carrying out of God's plan, on the birth of the\nchild.\n\nWhat illustration is given to make these links more clear?\n\nWhat event terminated Moses' life at court?\n\nHow long did his desert life as shepherd last?\n\nWhat brought this period of his life to its close?\n\nGive again the conflict between the plan of God and that of Pharaoh\nwith regard to the people.\n\nGive the various attempts at compromise on the part of Pharaoh.\n\nWhere did Israel spend the first year after the Exodus?\n\nWhat two great revelations did Moses receive at Sinai?\n\nGive the two instances of Moses' action that are apparently\ncontradictory to each other.\n\nWhere did Moses die?\n\nWhy could he not enter the Land of Promise?\n\nWhere do we next meet him?\n\nGive the final mention of this man in the Word.\n\n\nTest Questions for Review\n\nIntroduction to Lesson 5\n\n1. Give the reasons why the following periods are important.\nPatriarchal; Mosaic; of Elijah and Elisha; of the Messiah.\n\n2. Name the four periods in which the narrative amplifies and miracles\nmultiply.\n\n3. Give the extent of the first, second, and third periods.\n\n4. Give two divisions of period four.\n\n5. What was the cause of the division of the United Kingdom?\n\n6. Give the names of the chief actors in the first period of Bible\nhistory.\n\n7. Name the great characters of the Old Testament up to David.\n\n8. Who were buried in the Cave of Machpelah?\n\n9. Into what two sections may we divide Joseph's life?\n\n10. Into whose household did Joseph go in Egypt?\n\n11. What two peculiar facts may be noted with regard to Joseph's body?\n\n12. State the three divisions of Moses' life.\n\n13. Where did Israel spend the first year after the Exodus?\n\n14. What two great revelations did Moses receive at Sinai?\n\n15. Where did Moses die?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 6\n\nJoshua to Samson\n\nOld Testament Division--Third Period (Concluded)\n\n\n    #Conquest of Canaan.#--Joshua became leader (Josh. 1:2).\n    Received command from God (Josh. 1:6-9). Victory at Jericho\n    (Josh. 6), followed by defeat at Ai (Josh. 7). Central\n    Palestine conquered, and a great assemblage held at Shechem\n    (Josh. 8:30-35). Southern and northern Palestine partially\n    conquered (Josh. 10:1 to 11). Joshua's farewell (Josh. 23 to\n    24:27) and death (Josh. 24:29-33).\n\n    #Israel under Judges.#--Othniel delivered the people from\n    Mesopotamia (Judg. 3:5-11). Ehud delivered from Moab (Judg.\n    3:12-30). Deborah and Barak delivered from Canaanites (Judg.\n    4:1 to 5:31). Terrible oppression under the Midianites,\n    delivery by Gideon (Judg. 6:1 to 7:25). Jephthah delivered\n    from Philistines and Ammonites (Judg. 10:6 to 12:7). Samson\n    delivered from Philistines (Judg. 13:1 to 16:31).\n\n#TIME.#--1458 B. C. to Samuel, 1121 B. C.\n\n#PLACES.#--Palestine.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--The Jewish nation under Joshua achieved\nsuccess just so long as they obeyed fully the commands of God. The\nJudges, as leaders, were direct representatives of God--who was the\nactual head of the nation--and so far as God's laws were strictly\nobeyed, the nation prospered.\n\n\nJoshua and the Judges\n\n#45. Joshua Becomes Leader.#--At the death of Moses we see Israel on\nthe east side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho. Joshua succeeds Moses\nas leader. To him comes God's command, \"Moses, my servant, is dead;\nnow therefore arise, go over this Jordan.\" (Josh. 1:2.) Note here no\nsign of discouragement. Moses may be dead, but God still lives, and\nwill work through Joshua as well as through Moses. Notice in the\norders given by God to Joshua that no mention at all is made of sword,\nspear, or bow, but only of obedience. This is emphasized again and\nagain and rightly, for in obedience to God's law lay Israel's hope\n(read Josh. 1:6-9).\n\n#46.# Now follows the contest for the possession of the land. Jericho\nis taken, but at Ai defeat is experienced, on account of disobedience.\nSo Israel learns a costly but salutary lesson. Then follows the\nconquest of the central part of Palestine, ending at Shechem. Next in\nturn came southern Palestine, and then the northern part of the land\n(Josh. 10:1 to 11). Yet at the close of Joshua's life, not all of the\nland had been taken possession of. Still the heathen tribes held on in\nvarious places; and, indeed, they were not thoroughly subdued until\nthe time of David.\n\n#47. Reading the Laws of Moses.#--Worthy of note was the great\nassemblage at Shechem, between the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim, in\nthe very center of the land, where the law of Moses was read, with its\nblessings and curses, to all the people (Josh. 8:30-35). Noteworthy\nalso is the final address of the aged Joshua to his people, at\nShechem, beseeching them to obey the law of Moses, recorded in chapter\n24.\n\n#48. The Period of the Judges.#--After the death of Joshua, the people\nseem to have become more or less disorganized. The tribes ruled\nthemselves--at times well, and at times ill. During the times of the\nJudges the general trend of their history was as follows: Israel would\nfall into sin, and then as a punishment God allowed their foes whom\nthey had spared to rule over them. Then in due time Israel would\n\"lament after the Lord,\" that is, repent and call on the God of their\nfathers for deliverance. Then God would allow them respite, and by the\nhand of some one of the judges, whom he raised up, would give them\ndeliverance (see Judg. 2:11-18). The chronology of the book of Judges\nis not very clear, and it is most probable that there were times when\nthe \"oppression\" was not felt over all the land, but was only\nsectional. Just the lines for a right chronology are uncertain.\n\n#49. Comparison of Periods of Oppression and Deliverance.#--Now if we\ndesire in a general way to judge as to the proportion of godliness as\ncompared with idolatry, that prevailed in these times, we can do so by\nadding up the years of \"oppression\" and those of deliverance. This\nwill afford us a rough criterion as to the way in which Israel obeyed\nand disobeyed their God. For remember that the \"oppressions\" were the\nresult of disobedience, while the \"deliverances\" were the result of\ntrue repentance. Worked out in this way, we have the following\nstatement, in which the name stands for the country to which the\npeople were in temporary bondage:\n\n  Mesopotamia, bondage 8 years,--rest 32 years.\n  Moab, bondage 18 years,--rest 22 years.\n  Canaan, bondage 20 years,--rest 20 years.\n  Midian, bondage 7 years,--rest 32 years.\n  Philistia and Ammon, bondage 18 years,--rest 7, 10, and 8 years.\n  Philistia, bondage 40 years,--rest 20 years.\n\nAdding all these up, we find that the people were in bondage in whole\nor in part for 111 years, while they had \"rest\" as the result of their\nrepentance for 151 years. Without pressing this mathematical\ncalculation too far, we must nevertheless conclude that for more than\nhalf the time the nation at large obeyed God fairly well.\n\n#50. Great Leaders among the Judges.#--Deborah and Barak, who, by\ntheir combined forces drove out the oppressors of Canaan, under Jabin\ntheir king. This man had mightily oppressed the people, he having nine\nhundred chariots of iron, against which poor Israel could bring no\ncorresponding force. Yet when the Lord's time came, he was able to\noverthrow the armies of Jabin, through the courage and combination of\nthe two persons named. Then the land had rest for forty years. (For a\nwonderful setting of the song of triumph that Deborah and Barak sang,\nlet the student turn to Professor Moulton's \"Literary Study of the\nBible,\" pp. 133-142.)\n\n#51.# After this came the terrible oppression of the Midianites, who,\nwith their camels, their flocks, and herds came on the land like\ngrasshoppers, and ate up everything. Fortunately this oppression\nlasted only for seven years, otherwise there would have been nothing\nleft. The deliverance from the hosts of Midian came through Gideon,\nwhose three hundred men with torches and trumpets wrought havoc among\nthe Midianite army. What the three hundred at Thermopylae were to\nGreece, that this three hundred were to the people of Israel.\n\n#52.# Another terrible experience of Israel was that which came to\nthem in connection with their oldtime foes, the Philistines and the\nAmmonites. Study the story as told in Judges 10:6-18, together with\nthe narrative of their deliverance under Jephthah. Here the student\nwill see clearly set forth the cause of the \"oppression,\" verses 6-9,\nand the cause of the deliverance, verses 10-18. Jephthah was a rude\nman of his times, but then we must realize that rude times call for\nviolent men.\n\n#53.# The only other case to which attention is called here that of\nthe longest of all the periods of oppression,--the second under the\nPhilistines, which lasted forty years. Here it was Samson who was to\ndeliver the people from the iron hand of the Philistines, and it took\nthe iron hand of a Samson to do the work.\n\n#54. Not a Time of National Unity.#--During all these many years, the\ngovernment of the people was largely that of the tribal leaders. There\nwas not the national unity that we saw in the days of their two great\nleaders, Moses and Joshua. Nor was there the same unity of action that\ncame later on under the kings. But none the less, the great need of\nthe people during these years was not so much political as religious.\nHad they only obeyed the commands of God as given to Moses, and as\nreiterated by the angel of the Lord to Joshua, God would not have\npermitted them to be ground under the heel of their oppressors as they\nwere. We fail to read the story aright unless we seize the truth that\nrighteousness exalts a people, while sin is a reproach to any nation.\nThis truth has its modern as well as its ancient application.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhere was Israel at the time of the death of Moses?\n\nWhom did God appoint to be Moses' successor?\n\nWhat peculiarity was there in God's directions to Joshua?\n\nIn what order were the different parts of the land conquered?\n\nTell of the great assembly at Shechem.\n\nWhat was the general trend of the history of Israel during the times\nof the Judges?\n\nWhat was the cause of each period of \"oppression\"?\n\nWhat was the cause of each \"deliverance\"?\n\nGive the proportion of the years of \"oppression\" and those of \"rest.\"\n\nGive the first two leaders named as deliverers.\n\nWho brought relief from the oppression of Midian?\n\nWho delivered the people from the first Philistine bondage?\n\nWho did the same thing in the case of the second Philistine bondage?\n\nWhat was the condition of the people politically during the period of\nthe rule of the Judges?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 7\n\nSaul to Solomon\n\nOld Testament Division--Fourth Period\n\n\nLEADING PERSONS\n\n    #Samuel.#--The connecting link between the times of the\n    Judges and of the kings (1 Sam. 1-8).\n\n    #Saul.#--First king, who made a good beginning (1 Sam.\n    10:1-27). He united the people, breaking down factions.\n    Spurned Samuel's advice (1 Sam. 15:1-35). He became jealous\n    of David, and angered at his own son, Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:8\n    to 19:11). Rejected by God as king (1 Sam. 15). Killed in\n    battle at Gilboa (1 Sam. 31:1-13).\n\n    #David.#--A shepherd boy, noted for bravery (1 Sam. 16-31).\n    Chosen king and ruled over Judah seven years (2 Sam. 2). Then\n    became king over all Israel, and greatly enlarged the\n    nation's borders. Made Jerusalem the capital (2 Sam. 5:6-9).\n    A great religious leader and composer of Psalms. Sinned\n    against Uriah (2 Sam. 11:1 to 12:14). His son Absalom\n    rebelled (2 Sam. 15 to 18).\n\n    #Solomon.#--Son of David. Began his reign with a wise choice\n    (1 Kings 3). Built the Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 5).\n    Sinned in his marriages (1 Kings 11). He was noted for his\n    great wisdom and riches. He lived in luxury, the people were\n    heavily taxed, and the outward prosperity was accompanied by\n    inward spiritual decay. See Samuel's warning in 1 Samuel\n    8:1-18.\n\n    #Other Persons.#--Goliath, the Philistine giant, whom David\n    slew.--Jonathan, Saul's son, a great friend of David.\n\n#PLACES.#--Mizpeh, Socoh, Gilboa, Jerusalem.\n\n#TIME.#--1121 B. C. to 983 B. C.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--David's reign as king brought the people to\nthe place of their greatest national success, and David's reign and\nthat of Solomon were politically the best in all Israel's history.\nDavid was signally honored in becoming an ancestor of Mary, the mother\nof Jesus.\n\n\nThe United Kingdom. Saul, David, Solomon\n\n#55. Israel Asks for a King.#--Ostensibly because Samuel's sons were\nworthless men, but also and largely because they wished to be \"like\nthe nations around them,\" Israel asked the prophet Samuel to appoint a\nking over them. This Samuel was reluctant to do. But commanded by God\nto acquiesce, he anointed Saul, the son of Kish, to be king over\nIsrael. That God did not consider the change from government by judges\nto government by kings to be an improvement, is apparent from his\nsaying, \"they have rejected me, that I should not be king over them\"\n(1 Sam. 8:7).\n\n#56. The First King, Saul.#--Saul found the nation somewhat\ndisorganized, and split into many factions. His task was to unite the\npeople, so that they could show a bold and successful front against\ntheir foes. Prominent among these foes were the Philistines, who lived\non the southwest of Israel, and who were a courageous and persistent\nfolk. In all this work Saul was somewhat successful. He began well,\nbut before very long, owing to self-will, he swerved aside from the\nadvice of the aged Samuel. During his reign the great war with the\nPhilistines took place in which Goliath and David figured so\ndramatically (1 Sam. 17).\n\n#57.# Saul's evil disposition grew worse and worse, showing itself in\nhis twice-repeated effort to kill David and his one effort to kill his\nown son Jonathan for his friendship for David (see 1 Sam. 18:10, 11;\n19:10; 20:32, 33). On account of his distinct disobedience to God's\ncommand, and his hypocrisy, God rejected him from being king (1 Sam.\n15). Still Saul continued to rule for some years. Then came the end\nwhen, in battle with his old foes, the Philistines, Saul and his sons\nfell, near Mount Gilboa (1 Sam. 31). He ruled about forty years, and\nwas a sad instance of a man who began well, who had a superb counselor\nin Samuel, but who, through self-will and disobedience, perished at\nlast most miserably.\n\n#58. David Becomes King.#--After the death of Saul, Judah turned to\nDavid as its rightful leader and king. He was therefore anointed at\nHebron as king of Judah. Seven years later the remainder of the tribes\ncame to him and asked him to rule over them. This he did, and in this\nway he was king over _all_ Israel for thirty-three years. His\nremarkable character and executive ability soon showed itself. His\nreign was most successful, and he enlarged the bounds of the kingdom\nto their utmost extent. It extended from the Red Sea and Egypt to the\nEuphrates, as promised by God (Gen. 15:18 and Josh. 1:4). He captured\nJerusalem and made it the political and the religious capital of the\nnation (2 Sam. 5:6-9). Thither he brought up the Ark of the Covenant,\nand here he established the worship of Jehovah. He organized the whole\nof the ritual of worship, and formed choirs of singers to make a glad\nnoise unto the Lord. Everywhere he brought order out of chaos, and\nmade the name of Israel one to be feared by the surrounding nations.\nThus to the Israelite both of his day and of subsequent centuries he\nbecame their ideal king.\n\n#59.# His later life was saddened by his own sin in the matter of\nUriah and Bathsheba, where he erred most grievously. In recalling this\nsin, and in condemning the king for it, we must also bear in mind his\ntrue repentance, and also recognize that in his time there was no king\nwho would have thought it worth while to give a second thought to the\nwhole matter (see 2 Sam. 11:1-12:14).\n\n#60. The Rebellion of Absalom.#--The end of David's life was further\nembittered by the rebellion of his favorite son, Absalom. This nearly\nbrought David to a violent death. Only the indomitable spirit that the\nking possessed, together with the ability of his chief general Joab,\nsaved the day (2 Sam. 15-18). David was Israel's sweet singer. He\ncomposed many Psalms, which have come down to us as specimens of his\npoetic ability. (The writer is, of course, aware that some modern\ncritics deny that any of the Psalms are by David, but he has never\nseen any conclusive proof of this.)\n\n#61.# In general, until his later years, when too much prosperity had\ndulled his spiritual life, David's character was singularly pure and\nunselfish. His dealings with Saul while the latter was seeking his\nlife show a most chivalrous spirit, in that twice he spared his\nenemy's life when he had him in his power (1 Sam. 24:1-22; 26:1-25).\nIn his friendship for Jonathan he shows an affection which,\nreciprocated by Jonathan, constitutes one of the classic friendships\nof history. Taken all in all, and remembering the times in which he\nlived, David was perhaps the finest king that the world ever saw.\n\n#62. Solomon.#--On David's death his son Solomon ascended the throne.\nBathsheba was his mother. He began his reign well. When God gave him\nhis choice between riches and wisdom, he chose the latter (1 Kings\n3:5-15). He it was who carried out David's plan for a \"magnifical\"\ntemple in Jerusalem, where he built the most splendid temple that the\nworld had so far seen. His prayer at the dedication of the temple is a\nmost remarkable one (1 Kings 8). His fame spread through the world,\nand on one occasion the Queen of Sheba, in Arabia, journeyed over one\nthousand miles to make him a visit. Her astonishment at what she saw\nand heard in Jerusalem is told in 1 Kings 10. In amazement she cries\nout, \"Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes\nhad seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and\nprosperity exceed the fame which I heard.\"\n\n#63.# But alas! Solomon did not continue as well as he began. To\nenhance his glory and extend his political power, he made alliances\nwith idolatrous sovereigns. He married the daughter of Pharaoh, and\nbesides this had multitudes of wives, who led his heart astray (1\nKings 11:1-8). God's warning, given in the same chapter, seems to have\nbeen disregarded.\n\n#64. Samuel's Warnings come True.#--In Solomon all the warnings of\nSamuel as to what would come on the nation if they persisted in their\nchoice of a king were fulfilled (1 Sam. 8:1-18). He also disregarded\nwhat God had said through the mouth of Moses, as recorded in\nDeuteronomy 17:14-20. He multiplied taxes to such a degree that the\npeople were not able to bear them. His court life was most luxurious\nand enervating, and the demands of his wives for all manner of\nindulgences were continuous. In this way, though there was much\noutward prosperity, the seeds of decay were sown with prodigal hands.\nOf course the end of such a policy could be only disaster, though the\nking in his mad search after power and luxury failed to see the\napproaching storm. However wise he may have been, as shown in his\nproverbs, he lacked that practical wisdom which begins in the fear of\nGod. He went steadily down hill, and only his fame, and his reputation\nas being the son of David, saved him from overthrow. But immediately\non his death the consequences of his misrule showed themselves in a\nmost pronounced way, in the disruption of the kingdom. Like Saul and\nDavid, he also ruled over Israel for forty years.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhat ostensible reason did the Israelites give for asking for a king?\n\nWhat other and truer reason did they urge?\n\nWhat had God to say about this request of the people?\n\nWhat good did Saul accomplish?\n\nWhy was Saul rejected by God from being king?\n\nHow did Saul come to his end?\n\nOver what tribe did David rule alone for seven years?\n\nGive the boundaries of David's kingdom at its largest.\n\nWhat did David do for the establishment of religion, and in what city?\n\nInto what bitter sin did David fall?\n\nWhat great sorrow came to David toward the close of his life?\n\nIn general, what may we say of David's religious life at the beginning\nand the close of his career?\n\nHow did Solomon begin his reign?\n\nWhat noted building did he erect in Jerusalem?\n\nIn what way did Solomon sin in his alliances with other kings?\n\nWhere had God given directions as to what course of action any king of\nhis people should pursue?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 8\n\nRehoboam to Hoshea\n\nOld Testament Division--Fourth Period (Continued)\n\n\nLEADING PERSONS\n\n    #Rehoboam.#--Ascended the throne on death of Solomon, his\n    father. Rejected wise counsel and angered his subjects (1\n    Kings 12:1-20).\n\nIsrael, the Northern Kingdom.\n\n    #Jeroboam I.#--Set up as king by the ten tribes in revolt\n    (Israel, or the Northern Kingdom), erected two golden calves\n    for worship (1 Kings 12:25-33).\n\n    #Ahab.#--Followed Omri as ruler of Northern Kingdom (1 Kings\n    16:28). Married Jezebel, who established a heathen worship (1\n    Kings 16:31).\n\n    #Elijah and Elisha.#--Prophets of God, sent to stay the\n    wickedness of the Northern Kingdom. Elijah enters remarkable\n    contest with Ahab (1 Kings 17:1 to 18:46. See also 1 Kings\n    21). For elaboration of this story see Lesson 10.\n\n    #Jehu.#--Ruler of the nation; tried to abolish Baal worship\n    (2 Kings 9, 10). His reforms partially successful. His son\n    Jehoahaz continued in gross idolatry (2 Kings 13:2-9).\n\n    #Jeroboam II.#--Ruler of the Northern Kingdom. His reign\n    marked by great outward prosperity, but continued inward\n    decay (2 Kings 14:24). The time of the prophecy of Amos (read\n    the whole book) and of Hosea.\n\n    #Hoshea.#--Last of the kings. Samaria captured by the King\n    of Assyria, and Israel taken captive. Read 2 Kings 17:1-41.\n\n    #Shalmaneser.#--The Assyrian king.\n\n#TIME.#--982 B. C. to 718 B. C.\n\n#PLACES.#--Shechem, Bethel, Dan, Mt. Carmel, Jezreel, Horeb, Samaria,\nCherith, Zarephath.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--God's unceasing efforts to save his people\nfrom their sins are marked by the sending of prophets, like Elijah and\nElisha, at a time when wicked kings had led the people into abominable\nidolatry.\n\n\nThe Divided Kingdom. Israel, or the Northern Kingdom\n\n#65. Rehoboam Becomes King.#--After the death of Solomon his son\nRehoboam ascended the throne. At once there came to him a delegation\nheaded by Jeroboam, asking for relief from the intolerable taxation\nthat Solomon had levied. Rehoboam, guided by the foolish counsel of\nhis hot-headed young men, replied roughly, saying, \"my little finger\nis thicker than my father's loins\" (1 Kings 12:1-20). At once the men\nof Israel revolted, and set up Jeroboam to be their king. From that\ntime on, to the end, the kingdom was divided, and many times the one\npart was antagonistic to the other.\n\n#66. The Northern Kingdom.#--Jeroboam as its first king, fearing that\nif the religion of the two peoples remained substantially the same,\nand if his people went regularly to Jerusalem, the capital of the\nSouthern Kingdom, to worship, they would be alienated from him,\ndevised a system of calf worship, and set up two golden calves, the\none at Bethel, just over the border of Judah, and the other at Dan, in\nthe extreme north of his domain. To these two centers of worship he\ninvited his people to resort, in order to keep them from assembling\nwith the men of Judah in Jerusalem. \"It is too much for you,\" he said,\n\"to go so far as to Jerusalem; behold your gods right in your midst\"\n(1 Kings 12:25-33). All this he did in utter defiance of God's\ncommand, \"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,\" and in\nspite of the bitter experience of Israel in the wilderness in the\nmatter of the golden calf that Aaron made.\n\n#67.# This action on the part of Jeroboam \"set the pace\" for the\nNorthern Kingdom, and from that day to the end of their history the\nland was full of gross idolatry. Not that all the men of the Northern\nKingdom refused to follow Jehovah, for this was not the case, but the\nrulers were leaders in one form or another of idolatry.\n\n#68. Ahab and Jezebel.#--In 925 B. C. Ahab ascended the throne of the\nNorthern Kingdom. He married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, king of\nthe Sidonians, a most masterful and wicked woman. She led her husband\nto establish the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, nature divinities,\nwhose worship was connected with most abhorrent practises. Not only\nso, but between them they did their best to root out all those who\npersisted in the worship of the God of Abraham. They persecuted the\nsons of the prophets, and put them to the sword. It was now no longer\nsafe to try, even in secret, to worship the God of truth.\n\n#69. Elijah and Elisha.#--It was just at this time that God in his\nmercy sent two very great prophets to Israel to try to win them back\nto their allegiance to the God of Moses and the Patriarchs. This, the\nstudent will remember, was one of those periods which was mentioned in\nthe introduction, in which the narrative is amplified and the miracle\nmultiplied, as betokening that the period was of great importance.\nElijah and his successor, Elisha, did their best to stay the downward\ntendency of their people, but quite largely in vain. For a while it\nseemed as though there was to be some real reformation. But it did not\nlast long, and soon the people, led astray by their rulers, lapsed\ninto idolatry once more.\n\n#70. Jehu.#--The one bright spot in all this sad story of the decline\nof the Northern Kingdom is found in the story of Jehu, 891 B. C. (2\nKings 9, 10.) He dealt drastically with the worshipers of Baal, and\ntried his best to put a final stop to all Baal worship. He ruled about\ntwenty-eight years. His son Jehoahaz continued the sin of calf\nworship, and led his people once more into the downward path.\n\n#71.# Under #Jeroboam the Second# the Northern Kingdom attained much\noutward prosperity, but its spiritual life did not improve at all.\nMen became greedy of gain, and worldliness and sin of gross\ndescription gained the upper hand. It was possibly during this reign\nthat God sent the prophet Amos to bear witness against the sins of the\nrulers and people. At this point read the prophecy of Amos, and try to\nrealize how earnestly he pleaded with the men of Israel to return to\nthe worship of the God of their fathers. But it was all in vain.\nIsrael was joined to his idols.\n\n#72. Hosea#, too, comes at about this same time, and he did his best\nto win Israel back from their apostasy. He has well been called the\n\"pleading prophet,\" for his tenderness is most touching. Yet all in\nvain were his pleas. Israel would have none of them.\n\n#73. Hoshea, Last of the Kings.#--At last the Divine patience seems to\nhave been exhausted, and God gave the Northern Kingdom over into the\nhands of its enemies, and they were marched off into captivity. Hoshea\nis the last of the kings of Israel, and during his rule the King of\nAssyria captured Samaria, and led the people off into a strange land.\nHere let the student carefully read 2 Kings 17:1-41 to see the resume\nthat the sacred writer gives of the reasons for the final catastrophe\nthat befell Israel. It was on account of their sins that they were\nsuffered to experience these dire disasters.\n\n#74.# In the place of the deported people, the Assyrians, in\naccordance with the customs of those days, placed peoples from alien\nlands in their stead. In this manner the population of Samaria became\nmuch mixed, and the false worship of these idolatrous peoples became\nthe religion of the land of the Patriarchs in its northern portion.\nThis will account for the hostility between Jew and Samaritan which we\nfind in the days of Nehemiah, and even as late as the times of our\nLord.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhat led to the disruption of the United Kingdom?\n\nWho was chosen king over Israel, or the Northern Kingdom?\n\nOf what was Jeroboam afraid at this time?\n\nWhat did he do to hold his people from possible allegiance with\nJudah?\n\nWhere were the golden calves set up?\n\nWhom did Ahab marry?\n\nWhat innovation in matters religious did Jezebel introduce?\n\nHow did she treat those who desired to worship Jehovah?\n\nWhat two great prophets did God send to Israel at this time?\n\nWas the mission of Elijah and his successor permanently effective?\n\nHow did the kingdom fare under Jeroboam II?\n\nWas religion any better off for this prosperity?\n\nName two prophets whom God sent at this time to try to win his people\nback to himself.\n\nWere these two prophets successful?\n\nUnder what king was Israel at last carried into captivity?\n\nWho were placed in the land of Israel to take the place of the\ndeported captives?\n\nWhat was the result of this mingling of races and religions?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 9\n\nAbijam to Zedekiah\n\nOld Testament Division--Fourth Period (Continued)\n\n\nLEADING PERSONS\n\n    #Abijam.#--Son of Rehoboam. Reigned three years (1 Kings\n    15:1-8).\n\n    #Asa.#--Son of Abijam. Reigned forty-one years (1 Kings\n    15:9-24). Made some effort as a reformer.\n\n    #Jehoshaphat.#--Son of Asa. Brought Judah great success (2\n    Chron. 17:1 to 20:37).\n\n    #Jehoram.#--Did evil like unto Ahab (2 Chron. 21:6). Ahaziah\n    followed (2 Chron. 22:4) and was succeeded by Queen Athaliah,\n    worse than her predecessors (2 Chron. 22:10 to 23:15).\n\n    #Joash# was a very good ruler; he began his reign at seven\n    years of age. Repaired the Temple (2 Chron. 24:1-27).\n\n    #Amaziah, Uzziah, Jotham.#--Not remarkable in any way (2\n    Chron. 25:1 to 27:9).\n\n    #Ahaz.#--An evil king; caused his children to pass through\n    the fire to idols (2 Chron. 28:3).\n\n    #Hezekiah# was the best king so far (2 Chron. 29:1 to 32:33).\n    Isaiah was influential and the Passover was restored.\n\n    #Manasseh# was the worst king in many ways, putting an idol\n    in the Holy of Holies (2 Chron. 33:1-20; 2 Kings 21:1-18).\n\n    #Josiah# was a good ruler, beginning at eight years of age.\n    The Temple was repaired, the Law was read, and reform was\n    established (2 Kings 22:1 to 23:30).\n\n    #Zedekiah.#--After Josiah's reign matters grew worse until\n    under Zedekiah captivity came (2 Kings 25:1-21).\n\n    #Outside Nations# that played their part in this catastrophe\n    were Assyria, Babylon, Syria, Egypt.\n\n#TIME.#--966 B. C. to 588 B. C.\n\n#PLACES.#--Judah, Jerusalem, Babylonia.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--The influence of leadership is shown in a\nmarked degree in the history of Judah; \"like king, like people.\" It\nwas many times demonstrated that one good man could turn the whole\nnation God-ward. At last, as in the case of Israel, Judah is given\ninto captivity.\n\n\nThe Divided Kingdom. Judah, the Southern Kingdom\n\n#75. The Kingdom of Judah# lasted one hundred and thirty years longer\nthan that of Israel. This was largely owing to the greater loyalty of\nJudah to the law of God. Nevertheless even under the rule of Rehoboam,\ntheir first king, Judah showed an evil tendency to depart from the law\nof God (1 Kings 14:21-24). There is no record, however, that Rehoboam\nofficially tried to influence the people toward idolatry, as did\nJeroboam. Probably the very fact that the temple was in the capital of\nJudah held him and the people, in some measure at least, to the right\nmanner of worship. Abijam, Rehoboam's son, followed in the footsteps\nof his father. But his son, Asa, was a much better man, and he made\nefforts at reform. Though he was not sufficiently radical in his work,\nhe was a great improvement on his predecessors.\n\n#76.# Under #Jehoshaphat# Judah reached the height of her power. \"He\nwalked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto the\nBaalim\" (2 Chron. 17 to 20:37. Also 1 Kings 22:41-50).\n\n#77.# Once more, under #Joash#, Judah enjoyed a sovereign who had in\nhim much of godliness. He repaired the temple and did much to restore\nthe true worship of God.\n\n#78.# After a period of varying vicissitudes we find Ahaz on the\nthrone of Judah. He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,\nand caused his son to pass through the fire, i. e., he sacrificed him\nto heathen idols. He introduced calf worship, and set up \"high\nplaces,\" for false worship on every hill and under every green tree (2\nKings 16:1-4). Had it not been that his son Hezekiah was more godly\nthan he, the doom of Judah might have been much hastened. During his\nreign Israel was carried captive.\n\n#79.# Under #Hezekiah#, however, we see great reforms going on. He\nremoved the high places, cut down the groves, and even brake in pieces\nthe brazen serpent that Moses had made, for to it the people had been\noffering incense (2 Kings 18:1-8). He was the best of all the kings of\nJudah, and had his successors followed in his footsteps, there need\nhave been no captivity of Judah to record. In his reign it was that\nGod gave Judah signal deliverance from the hosts of Sennacherib.\n\n#80.# Alas! that so godly a king should have been followed by so\nworthless a man as his son #Manasseh#. He was perhaps the very worst\nof all the kings of Judah. Now we see the high places rebuilt, and\nidolatrous altars to Baal established. But more than this. He went\nfarther than any before him, in that he took the Ark of the Covenant\nout of the Most Holy Place, and put there a graven image. So the\nrecord says that Manasseh did more to seduce the people to sin than\nall the nations whom the Lord removed to make place for his people.\nTruly a dreadful record for one who sat on the throne of David.\n\n#81.# Once more the people have respite, however, for #Josiah#,\nManasseh's grandson, was a very different type. He was only eight\nyears old when he began to reign, but he tried to do that which was\nright in the sight of God. The deserted temple was repaired, the law\nwas discovered and studied, the Covenant was publicly renewed, the\nidol in the Most Holy Place was taken away, and burned with fire, and\nthe high places were largely destroyed. Moreover, he broke down the\naltar at Bethel that Jeroboam had originally erected. He\nre-established the celebration of the feast of the Passover, which had\nlong been neglected. His efforts at reform were extended even to the\ndominions of the Northern Kingdom, though with no permanent effect\n(see for all this 2 Chron. 34, 35, and 2 Kings 22:1 to 23:28).\n\n#82.# From the time of the death of Josiah, the downward tendency of\nJudah was steadfast. At last the end, long delayed through the mercy\nof God, came, and under Jehoiachin the overthrow was complete, and\nunder his son Jehoiakim Judah was marched off in captivity to the land\nof Babylon. Thus sadly was fulfilled all that God had warned his\npeople of, and the day of retribution came just as predicted.\n\n#83. Other Nations.#--In all this sad drama of course outside nations\nplayed a prominent part. Assyria, Babylon, Syria, Egypt, all come into\nview. But none of them could have wrought the havoc that they did had\nit not been for the recreant part that Israel on the north and Judah\non the south played. He who brought them all out of Egypt with a\nmighty hand and an outstretched arm could and would have delivered\nthem from all their foes had they been loyal to him. All the blessings\nof Deuteronomy 28:1-14 might have been theirs had they only hearkened\nto the commandments of God by the mouth of his servant Moses. But as\nit was, all the dreadful curses of Deuteronomy 28:15-68 (be sure to\nread these passages) came on them, and all on account of their\nidolatry and vileness.\n\n#84. Isaiah and Jeremiah.#--Nor did the kings and people sin thus\ngrievously because they had no prophets to warn them. Just as God sent\nElijah, Elisha, Amos, and Hosea to warn and woo the Northern Kingdom,\nso he sent the great Isaiah and Jeremiah to warn the men of the\nSouthern Kingdom. Plainer warnings, grander promises, better counsels\nthan these prophets gave, have never been uttered by human lips. For\nabout sixty years, beginning in the reign of Uzziah, Isaiah pleaded\nwith the nation. He lived and prophesied during the reigns of Uzziah,\nJotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, and all through these days he was faithful\nto his mission. Sometimes he was heeded, and sometimes he was scoffed\nat, but ever and always he was faithful. So too was Jeremiah, whom\nnothing could turn from the integrity of his course. For the most part\nmocked at, traduced and ridiculed by the leaders, these men were\nhelpless, for the minds and hearts of rulers and people were set on\nmischief. But though hand joined in hand, evil was sure not to go\nunpunished, and so the end came.\n\n#85. Captivity.#--What a contrast between Israel marching triumphantly\ninto the land, and Israel (and later on, Judah) marching out of the\nland in chains and humiliation! Through faith they conquered Jericho,\nand through lack of faith they themselves were at last conquered, and\ntaken off into a land of shame and sorrow.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nHow long did the Kingdom of Judah last?\n\nHow much longer did it last than the Kingdom of Israel?\n\nWhat reason may we assign for this?\n\nUnder what king did Judah reach the maximum of her power?\n\nName the next king who ruled the nation in the fear of God.\n\nHow did Ahaz provoke the Lord to anger especially?\n\nWho was probably the best of all the kings of Judah?\n\nHow did the son of Hezekiah act when he came to the throne?\n\nWhat particularly evil deed did he do in connection with the temple?\n\nUnder what king did Judah enjoy great reforms?\n\nHow far did Josiah try to extend his reforms?\n\nName some of the nations who opposed Israel and Judah?\n\nWould these nations have succeeded had God's people been loyal to him?\n\nGive the names of two great prophets of Judah.\n\nHow long did Isaiah continue to prophesy?\n\nMention the contrast between God's people marching in to and out of\nthe land.\n\nWhat was the cause of their final disaster?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 10\n\nElijah.\n\nOld Testament Division--Fourth Period (Concluded)\n\n\nLEADING PERSONS\n\n    Ahab and Jezebel, and Ahaziah, rulers; Elijah and Elisha,\n    prophets. See Lesson 8.\n\n    #Notable Events# in the life of Elijah. Challenged Ahab (1\n    Kings 17:1). Sought solitude at Cherith (1 Kings 17:2-7).\n    Dwelt with the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-24). Entered\n    great contest with prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:1-40).\n    Offered a prayer for rain (1 Kings 18:41-46). Took flight in\n    despondency to Beersheba (1 Kings 19:1-8). Received\n    revelation from God at Horeb (1 Kings 19:9-21). Rebuked Ahab\n    and Jezebel for unlawfully taking Naboth's vineyard (1 Kings\n    21:1-29). Declared judgment upon Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:1-18).\n    Carried from earth in a chariot of fire, his prophet's mantle\n    falling upon Elisha (2 Kings 2:1-18). Reappears on the Mount\n    of Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36).\n\n#TIME.#--925 B. C. to 900 B. C.\n\n#PLACES.#--Samaria, Brook Cherith, Zarephath, Mt. Carmel, Beersheba,\nHoreb, Mt. of Transfiguration.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--The contest of true religion with heathen\nbeliefs is brought to a sharp focus in Elijah's time; and the\nbattle-line there drawn so sharply has ever been a challenge for\nChristian courage in later days.\n\n\nElijah, the Great Speaking Prophet\n\n#86. Elijah's Mission.#--All the prophets spoke, though some of them\nwrote as well, like Isaiah and others. We call Elijah a speaking\nprophet because we have but one record (2 Chron. 21:12-15) of anything\nthat he wrote. Elijah was sent by God to the Northern Kingdom at the\ntime of Ahab and Jezebel, to try and stay the tide of idolatry that\nwas threatening to overwhelm the land. Ahab and Jezebel had\nestablished the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, two nature divinities\nof the heathen world. To turn back this tendency God sent this man of\nthe desert. Of his early life we know nothing. He appears before us\nsuddenly, as a man in the full tide of life. He was from Gilead, and a\nman of action, most emphatically. To get a good idea of the man, we\nmay set him forth as seen in six notable scenes.\n\n#87. First Scene:# Elijah and Ahab.--This is where he meets the king,\nand announces that as the God of Israel lives, there shall not be dew\nor rain in all the land, excepting at the word of the prophet. Note\nhere the significant nature of this challenge. The two divinities that\nthe people were now forced to worship were supposed to preside over\nthe processes of nature. Just in their realm of influence, therefore,\nElijah challenges them, and claims that his God has given to him power\nover the forces of nature, such as neither Baal nor Ashtoreth\npossessed. Then Elijah disappears, no one knows whither.\n\n#88.# Now follows the fulfilment of his prediction. The season for the\nearly and for the latter rain comes and goes, and still there is no\nrain. Probably some said, \"This is unusual, but of course things will\neven up next year, and we shall have an abundance of rain.\" But the\nnext year came and went, and still the heavens were as brass. Ahab now\ntries to discover this man who holds the key of the heaven, that he\nmay force him to unlock the clouds. But in vain. The third year comes\nand goes, and still there is no rain, while the land is dry and\nparched, and even the king finds it hard to get food for his horses.\nAt the same time there are some who call attention to the most\nunwonted fact that not only has there been no rain, but that even the\ndew has not been seen for three years.\n\n#89. Second Scene.#--Now comes the second encounter between the\nprophet and the enraged monarch. Most dramatic is this brief\ninterview, in which Ahab charges Elijah with troubling Israel, and\nElijah throws the charge back in his teeth. Then comes the further\nchallenge on the part of the prophet to the priests of these two\nnature divinities, to test their power on Mount Carmel. The scene\nthere is too familiar to need detailed description. Suffice it to\nremind the student that Baal's priests were powerless to make good\ntheir claim that their gods held control over the forces of nature.\nElijah, however, proves that Jehovah is the God of nature, and holds\nall things in his hands, for his prayer is answered by fire, and the\nsacrifice is consumed, with the wood and the water and the very dust\nthat lay around so abundantly. Now comes the confession of the people\nthat Jehovah and not Baal is the true God. Then comes the rain at\nElijah's petition, and the second great scene in the life of this man\ncloses.\n\n#90. Third Scene.#--Very different is this from either of the two\nothers. We see this man sitting discouraged under a juniper tree, and\nasking God to take away his life, as he is not better than his\nfathers. Is this the same hero whom we saw standing in all his triumph\nbefore the king? Yes, the same. How then account for the difference in\nhis mien? Probably because of the reaction that came after the\nexciting contest with the priests of Baal, and the consciousness that\nhe had not won as great a victory for Jehovah as he had anticipated.\nFor as soon as the prophets of Baal had been slain, Jezebel, instead\nof yielding, had sent word to Elijah that she would kill him within\ntwenty-four hours. It was this apparent failure that most probably\ndiscouraged the prophet, so that all his work seemed to him to have\ncome to naught. Note now how God comforts his servant, how he\nministers to his body, by food and rest, and to his mind by assuring\nhim that he is wrong in thinking that he only remains as a true\nworshiper of Jehovah. Furthermore, God sends him to Horeb, where Moses\nlearned so many lessons in things divine, and there God speaks to\nElijah and gives him further work to do, so that when the prophet\ncomes forth from his communion with God, he is again the stern man of\nduty that he was before. (Three great men learned much at Horeb:\nMoses, Elijah, and Paul the Apostle, for when he went to Arabia, it\nwas probably Horeb to which he journeyed.)\n\n#91. Fourth Scene.#--Again Elijah and Ahab are face to face. Ahab has\ncoveted the vineyard of Naboth, to make out of it a garden of herbs.\nNaboth, as was his right, would not part with the inheritance of his\nfathers. Ahab does not dare use violence to secure possession. But\nJezebel has no such scruples. With bribery and perjury, she soon has\npoor Naboth convicted of blasphemy, and stoned to death. Then his\nestate passing to the crown, she tells her husband to arise and take\npossession. Just as Ahab reaches the vineyard, lo! Elijah confronts\nhim. The prophet was the last man whom the conscience-stricken king\ndesired to see, particularly at that very moment. \"Hast thou found me,\nO mine enemy?\" he exclaims, in horror. Then comes the righteous\nprophet's stern denunciation of the guilty king, and so the interview\ncloses.\n\n#92. Fifth Scene.#--Now we are in the country east of the Jordan. Two\nmen are journeying together, and we recognize them as Elijah and his\nsuccessor Elisha. Suddenly there comes a supernatural rushing of what\nseem to be chariots and horses of fire. The elder of the two is caught\nup, and carried into heaven, while the younger, in amazement and awe,\ncries out, \"My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the\nhorsemen thereof!\" As suddenly as Elijah came to the scenes of his\nactivity, so suddenly did he disappear.\n\n#93. Sixth Scene.#--More quiet than any of the others is this scene.\nWe are now on the Mount of Transfiguration. The Master is there, and\nthree of his disciples. Suddenly there appear two others in glory with\nthe Master. They are the great lawgiver, Moses, and the great prophet,\nElijah. They are talking with Jesus of his death which was now soon to\ntake place in Jerusalem. Then, the conversation having come to a\nclose, the two visitors from the other world disappear, and the Master\nis left alone with his astonished disciples.\n\n#94.# Stern, with the fear of God before his eyes, and no fear of man\nin his heart, stands this man of God, Elijah. A benediction to Israel\nGod meant him to be, but alas! Israel rejected him, as it did the\nother prophets whom God in his mercy sent, and so Israel pushed on to\nits own final ruin. For the material used in this sketch look at 1\nKings 17, 18, 19, 21, and 2 Kings 2.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhat divinities was Israel worshiping at the time that Elijah\nappeared?\n\nWhat relationship to nature were these two divinities supposed to\nhold?\n\nGive the first scene in the life of this prophet.\n\nWhat significance was there in his challenge?\n\nGive the second scene with Ahab. Where did the contest between Elijah\nand the prophets of Baal take place?\n\nWhat was the significance of this scene?\n\nWhere next do we see Elijah?\n\nWhat probably was the cause of his discouragement?\n\nHow does God deal with his servant at this time?\n\nWhere does Elijah now go, and what effect does his communion with God\nhave on his spirit?\n\nGive scene four.\n\nTell the story of Naboth and his vineyard.\n\nWhere next do we find the great prophet?\n\nWho was Elijah's successor?\n\nWhat is the last scene in the experience of Elijah that we find in the\nBible?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 11\n\nReturn from Captivity\n\nOld Testament Division--Fifth Period\n\n\nLEADING EVENTS AND PERSONS\n\n    #Return from Captivity.#--After seventy years, Cyrus, king of\n    Persia, allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild\n    the Temple under Zerubbabel (Ezra 1:1-11). Altar set up once\n    more (Ezra 3:1-7). The Temple begun (Ezra 3:8, and following\n    passages). The prophets Haggai and Zechariah encouraged the\n    people (see books under their names).\n\n    #Sixty years# elapsed of which we know nothing.\n\n    #Ezra goes# to Jerusalem to institute reforms, such as\n    prohibiting mixed marriages of Jews with other nations (Ezra\n    7:1 to 9:15). He interpreted the law (Neh. 8:1-18) and\n    celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles.\n\n    #Nehemiah#, cup-bearer to Artaxerxes, the king. Became\n    solicitous for the city of Jerusalem and its broken walls,\n    prayed for guidance, and was rewarded by the king's\n    assistance (Neh. 1:1 to 2:8). Opposed by Sanballat (Neh.\n    2:19, 20; 4:1-8; 6:1-14). A great popular religious festival\n    was held (Neh. 8:1-18). Judah was set apart from strangers\n    (Neh. 9:1-38; 13:1-3). The law of the Sabbath was enforced\n    (Neh. 13:15-22).\n\n#TIME.#--538 B. C. to about 400 B. C.\n\n#PLACES.#--Babylon, Jerusalem.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--The return to Jerusalem and the institution\nof reforms were events of tremendous import to the Jews, and the\nfaithfulness of a few men was given high recognition. The rebuilding\nof the Temple and reconstruction of the city walls looked forward\nthrough four centuries to the fitting setting for the scene of the\ncoming Messiah.\n\n\nThe Captivity and the Return\n\n#95. Condition During Captivity.#--The captivity of Judah lasted\nseventy years, dating from the first captivity under Jehoiakim, 605\nB. C., when among others Daniel was taken captive. The lot of the\ncaptives in Babylon was bad enough, but it was not by any means as\nsevere as the bondage in Egypt. Quite a number of the captives, such\nas Daniel, Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, occupied positions of great trust and\nemolument. Still, by the rivers of Babylon, Judah did mourn and weep,\nas her people thought of Jerusalem and its vanished glories.\n\n#96. The Return.#--The seventy years having been completed God stirred\nup the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, and he issued a decree\nallowing all Jews who so desired to return to their own land. He also\ngave them many vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadrezzar had\ntaken from the Temple, that they might use them in the new house of\nGod which they were to build. Zerubbabel led the caravan from Babylon\nto Jerusalem. Arrived in Jerusalem, they began their work by erecting\nthe altar first. This was right, as the altar was the foundation of\nall the temple services. Altars existed long before temples had been\nbuilt. For a while the building of the temple was interrupted by the\nfoes of Judah, but at last it was completed, the people being\nencouraged by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. So they dedicated the\ntemple with much joy, and restored the sacrifices as Moses, the man of\nGod, had commanded. For all of this see Ezra 1-6 and the books of\nHaggai and Zechariah.\n\n#97. Ezra.#--Now comes a period of about 60 years, in which we have no\nknowledge of the condition of affairs in Jerusalem. At last, however,\nEzra, the scribe, goes up to the Holy City, and with him a number of\npatriotic Jews. The work of Zerubbabel was the rebuilding of the\ntemple. That of Ezra was emphatically the reformation of religion\namong those who were in Judah and Jerusalem. There was much danger\nthat through intermarriages with the people of the land the Jews would\nagain abandon the religion of their fathers. A large part of Ezra's\neffort was aimed against this evil. The people declared their\nwillingness to do as Ezra dictated, and so the danger from this\ndirection was for the time being avoided.\n\n#98. Nehemiah.#--Soon after this we come to the story of Nehemiah. He\nwas cupbearer to Artaxerxes, a position of much ease and wealth. But\nthe welfare of Jerusalem lay near his heart, and he made it his\nbusiness to know how matters were progressing in that city. Certain of\nhis brethren at one time brought him evil tidings from there. In\nconsequence he betook himself to prayer that God would give him such\nfavor in the eyes of the king that he would allow him to go to\nJerusalem and build the walls that had been thrown down. In those days\na city without walls was in a pitiful condition, exposed to the\nassaults of all its foes. For four months Nehemiah prayed without any\nvisible answer. Then it came at last in a moment. One day at the table\nthe king noticed that the face of his cupbearer was sad. \"Why is thy\ncountenance sad?\" he inquired. Then Nehemiah (after an instant of\nsilent prayer) told the king all that was in his heart. At once the\npermission was given him for which he had waited and prayed for four\nmonths. So off he started as soon as possible.\n\n#99. Nehemiah's Prayer.#--Note just here the nature of Nehemiah's\nprayer. It was not like so many modern prayers, one for _ease_. No, it\nwas a prayer for opportunity to make _sacrifice_ and bear _heavy\nburdens_ for the sake of Jerusalem. If all the church were in this day\nto pray for an opportunity to bear burdens and make sacrifices, what\ndo you think the effect would be on the advance of the kingdom of God\non earth?\n\nNo sooner did Nehemiah reach Jerusalem than he inspected the walls to\nsee exactly the condition in which they were. Then he assembled the\nrulers and told them of his plans, and heartened them for the work. He\ndivided the work among the families, thus giving each one a specific\ntask, and encouraging the spirit of true rivalry. \"To every man his\nwork,\" seems to have been his excellent motto. So the people got to\nwork with enthusiasm.\n\n#100. Opposition.#--Of course there was no lack of opposition, for all\ngood causes have opponents. But none of these things in any way moved\nthis grand man from his purpose, or abated in any degree his\nenthusiasm. With sword in one hand and trowel in the other the people\npushed the work forward, while over all Nehemiah watched with\nunceasing care. His vigilance is apparent from the fact that for\nnearly two months he never put off his clothes. So in fifty-two days\nthe work was completed, and the people's hearts were filled with joy.\nUnder his rule was gathered what has sometimes been called the first\nSunday-school on record (Neh. 8). He knew that it was on account of\nthe ignorance of the people of the Word that they fell so easily into\nsin. So he gathered them all together, and Ezra read and explained the\nlaw of Moses in their hearing. In this connection, too, they\ncelebrated the feast of tabernacles, in commemoration of the\nwanderings of Israel in the wilderness.\n\n#101.# Ever watchful of the spiritual welfare of his people, Nehemiah\ninstituted reforms in the matter of Sabbath-keeping, and of usury, and\nof idolatrous intermarriages with the people of the land. His labors\nnever ceased, for he seems to have realized that \"eternal vigilance\"\nwas the price of true godliness, in the midst of idolatrous\nsurroundings.\n\n#102. Results of the Captivity.#--In this matter of the captivity, the\nmost important thing for us to bear in mind is that the people were\ncured by their experience of all forms of idolatry. Up to that time\nthis had been their besetting sin, into which they were ever falling.\nFrom the time of the captivity and return onward to the present day\nthe Jew has been a strict monotheist. Though scattered to the ends of\nthe earth, never again has he fallen into this pit of iniquity and\nthis slough of despond. This is a most remarkable fact.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nHow long did the captivity of Judah last?\n\nGive the three most prominent names of those who had to do with the\nreturn and the subsequent reforms.\n\nWho first led the Jews up out of Babylon?\n\nWhat was the chief work of Zerubbabel?\n\nHow did he begin the building of the temple?\n\nName the two prophets who encouraged the people in this work\n\nHow long a period is there between Zerubbabel and Ezra?\n\nWhat was Ezra's chief work in Jerusalem?\n\nWhat was Nehemiah's position at the court of Artaxerxes?\n\nFor what in reality was Nehemiah praying?\n\nHow long was his prayer unanswered?\n\nHow long was Nehemiah in building the walls?\n\nWhat illustration is given of his fidelity to this work?\n\nWhat other reforms did Nehemiah strive to inaugurate?\n\nWhat is the most noticeable thing about the religious life of Judah\nduring and after the captivity?\n\n\nText Questions for Review\n\nLessons 6 to 11\n\n1. In what order were the various parts of the land of Canaan\nconquered?\n\n2. What was the cause of each period of oppression in the time of the\nJudges?\n\n3. Who brought relief from the oppression of Midian?\n\n4. What was the political condition of the people in the time of the\nJudges?\n\n5. What reasons did the Israelites offer for wanting a king?\n\n6. Give instances of Saul's hatred toward David.\n\n7. Over what tribe did David rule alone for seven years?\n\n8. Give the boundaries of David's kingdom at its height.\n\n9. What noted building did Solomon erect in Jerusalem?\n\n10. Why were the people finally dissatisfied with the king?\n\n11. When the United Kingdom was divided, who was chosen king over the\nNorthern Kingdom?\n\n12. Name the Northern and the Southern Kingdom.\n\n13. What king tried to restore the worship of Jehovah?\n\n14. Name two prophets of the time of Jeroboam II.\n\n15. Under what king was Israel carried into captivity?\n\n16. Which lasted longer, the kingdom of Israel or of Judah? How much\nlonger? Why?\n\n17. Under what kings did Judah have great reforms?\n\n18. Name two great prophets of Judah.\n\n19. Describe and locate the contest between Elijah and the prophets of\nBaal.\n\n20. Tell the story of Naboth and his vineyard.\n\n21. How long did the captivity of Judah last?\n\n22. Name the three most prominent persons that had to do with the\nreturn.\n\n23. What was Zerubbabel's great work?\n\n24. What two prophets encouraged the work?\n\n25. What was Ezra's work in Jerusalem? Nehemiah's?\n\n\n\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nLesson 1\n\nNew Testament Division\n\n\nPRINCIPAL EVENTS\n\n    #Interval# between the Old and the New Testament--four\n    hundred years of silence. Governmentally, this period was\n    divided between Persian, Greek, Maccabean, and Roman rule.\n\n    #Prelude# of angelic ministration. Message to Zacharias (Luke\n    1:5-20). Annunciation to Mary (Luke 1:26-38). Angelic chorus\n    on Bethlehem's plains to shepherds (Luke 2:1-18). Warning to\n    Joseph to flee from Herod (Matt. 2:13). The first thirty\n    years of the life of Jesus are referred to but slightly in\n    the Bible.\n\n    #First Period.#--Six months of preaching by the \"forerunner,\"\n    John the Baptist (Matt. 3:1-13; also parallel passages).\n\n    #Second Period.#--The entire life of Jesus, from the baptism\n    at Jordan to the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.\n    (See entire Gospel narrative.)\n\n    #Third Period.#--From Pentecost, the outpouring of the Spirit\n    and admission into the church of three thousand in one day\n    (Acts 2:1-40). Gentiles admitted to the church (Acts\n    10:1-48). The first persecution (Acts 5:17-40). The martyrdom\n    of Stephen (Acts 6, 7).\n\n    #Fourth Period.#--The time of the Gentiles--the period in\n    which we now live (Rom. 11:25; Luke 21:24).\n\n    #Fifth Period.#--Will begin with \"the lifting of the veil\"\n    from the eyes of Israel (2 Cor. 3:15, 16). The close of this\n    period will be a time of great blessing (Rom. 11:15).\n\n    #The end# will witness the final triumph of the religion of\n    the Messiah over Jew and Gentile.\n\n#TIME.#--About 400 B. C. to present time.\n\n#PLACES.#--Palestine and Egypt; for the Third Period see later maps.\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--The New Testament marks the change from the\nold dispensation of priests as mediators, to the new, when \"Jesus\nChrist became the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only,\nbut for those of the whole world!\"\n\n\nThe New Testament Preview\n\n#103. Interval.#--Between the close of the Old Testament Period and\nthe opening of that of the New Testament there is an interval of four\ncenturies of silence.\n\n#104. Prelude.#--This is largely angelic in character. To Zacharias\ncomes the message of the birth of the forerunner. Then follows the\nangelic annunciation to Mary herself. This in turn is followed by the\nangelic message to the shepherds and the heavenly chorus on\nBethlehem's plain. Heaven stoops to earth to announce its glad\ntidings. A new creation is heralded, better and grander even than that\nof the opening chapters of Genesis. One or two events are then\nrecorded in the early life of the Holy Child, and then there is\nsilence for thirty years. It is as though the prelude should end all.\nBut no, the story will not end with mere prelude. It will go on its\ncourse till the very last act.\n\n#105. First Period.#--_From John to Jesus._ Suddenly John the Baptist\nbreaks on our vision, for his short but decisive part. His message is\ntwofold, and is comprised in the words \"Repent,\" \"Prepare.\" For six\nshort months this fiery preacher calls the nation to prepare for what\nGod has in store for it. Multitudes gather and hearken. Then comes\nJesus from Nazareth, and John almost in one breath calls him \"Son of\nGod\" and \"Lamb of God.\" Two apparently irreconcilable titles, for the\none means power and exaltation, and the other sacrifice and\nhumiliation. How these two titles were to blend in one character will\nbe seen in the following acts of the Divine dealing with men.\n\n#106. Second Period.#--_From Jordan to the Mount of Olives._ Three and\na half years was this in duration. Short as compared with any one of\nthe Old Testament stories, but far more significant, and more full of\nthe Divine revelation of God's mercy and justice. Now miracles\nmultiply as never before, for now, as never before, the Divine comes\ndown to man and holds communion with him. Now truth is made clear as\nno patriarch or prophet ever saw it. Truly in this period, \"Great was\nthe mystery of godliness; he who was manifested in the flesh.\" With\nthis period we shall deal more in detail later on in these lessons, so\nwe make but brief allusion to it in this place. Suffice it to say that\nnot in all the history of this world were there ever three years and a\nhalf so filled with benediction for mankind as were these of the\nsecond period.\n\n#107. Third Period.#--_From Pentecost to the Turning to the Gentiles._\nPentecost was the birthtime of the Christian Church. No Pentecost, no\nActs of the Apostles. No Acts of the Apostles, no Christian Church. In\nthat case the world of to-day would be heathen, Muhammadan and Jewish.\nAt Pentecost more were brought to an acceptance of Jesus as the\nMessiah than Jesus himself had won in his whole active ministry. About\nfive hundred would seem to have been the number of believers after our\nLord's resurrection. Now in one day Peter wins and baptizes three\nthousand. Thence onward the number of believers grows, till it numbers\nthousands and thousands. But all these are yet Jews, or else\nproselytes. The next step in this third period is the official opening\nof the door to the Gentile world. This took place at Caesarea, and to\nPeter was given the joy and privilege of admitting Gentiles without\ntheir first becoming Jews. Through Pentecost and the experience at\nCaesarea was in large measure fulfilled to Peter the \"promise of the\nkeys\" (Matt. 16:19), for he it was who received the Jews at Pentecost\ninto the church, and he too it was who opened the door of the church\nto the Gentile world. How great this portion of Period Three, and how\nsignificant to us, is apparent as soon as we realize that but for the\nadvance in Caesarea we in this day would first have to become Jews\nbefore we could be members of the living church. Had the Jews been\nwilling to receive the Nazarene as their Messiah, there is no telling\nwhat sweeping measure of blessing they might not have received.\nCertain it is that their history from that day to this would have been\nvery different from what it has been. Their rulers cried, \"We have no\nking but Caesar,\" and from that time many of their people have had few\nto rule over them but Czars, Sultans, Emperors, and hostile rulers.\n\n#108. Fourth Period.#--_The Times of the Gentiles. In this period we\nnow are._ Here it behooves one to speak guardedly, for opinions\ndiffer. The writer gives his interpretation of what the Word says.\nWhen the Jews refused to receive Jesus as their Messiah, the Apostles\nplainly said, \"We turn to the Gentiles\" (Acts 13:46). On account of\ntheir hardness of heart, blindness came to Israel, and a veil fell\nbefore their eyes. \"A hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until\nthe fulness of the Gentiles be come in\" (Rom. 11:25). Our Lord alludes\nto this same truth when he predicts that Jerusalem shall be trodden\ndown of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled\n(Luke 21:24). That Jerusalem from the days of Titus to the present day\nhas been thus trodden under foot of the Gentile world is only too\nmanifest to all who know its sad history.\n\nIn this period our lot is cast, and thus we become actors in the great\nDivine drama of the New Testament. Solemn thought, and one calculated\nto make us feel the serious nature of our responsibility.\n\n#109. Fifth Period.#--This is yet to come. It will begin with the\n\"lifting of the veil\" from the eyes of Israel. When that is to begin\nwe know not, and it is neither safe nor wise to venture any guess. But\nthat it will come in due time is as sure as that all the other\npredictions of Old and New Testament have had their commencement and\ntheir close. It will be a great day, for, as the Apostle Paul says,\n\"if the casting away of them [Israel] is the reconciling of the world,\nwhat shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?\" (Rom.\n11:15). That will be a day of vast ingathering into the kingdom of\nGod, and then Jesus shall see of the travail of his soul and be\nsatisfied.\n\n#110. Then Comes the End.#--Jew and Gentile will then be one, and the\nfinal triumph of the Redeemer will be ushered in. Then the ransomed\nand redeemed of the Lord shall unite in singing praises to him who has\nloved them and bought them, and has brought them home to glory. (There\nare differences of opinion as to the last two periods in this New\nTestament story. Let the student go to the law and the testimony, as\nreferred to above, and decide for himself whether the writer is upheld\nin his laying out of these two great periods.)\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nHow long an interval of silence is there between the Old and the New\nTestament times?\n\nGive the prelude to the New Testament Period.\n\nIn what does the first period consist?\n\nHow long does the first period last?\n\nGive the title of the second period.\n\nHow long did this period continue?\n\nWhat is the third period called?\n\nInto what two divisions may this period be divided?\n\nWhat was the significance of the admission of the Gentiles to the\nchurch?\n\nGive the fourth period.\n\nName the fifth period.\n\nWhat Scripture is there in support of these two periods?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 2\n\nThe Life of Jesus--Thirty Years of Preparation\n\nNew Testament Division--Second Period\n\n\n    #The Life of Jesus# may be considered under five subdivisions:\n    Silence, Obscurity, Popularity, Opposition, The Passion Week.\n\n    #Thirty Years of Silence.#--The Bible narrative tells but\n    little of these early years; but one public utterance of\n    Jesus is referred to until he was thirty years of age.\n\n    #NOTE.--The harmony of the four Gospels used in the following\n    chapters is not intended to be memorized. It is placed here\n    in order to familiarize the pupil with its use, and to afford\n    a ready means to locate the events in the Life of Jesus.#\n\n  -----------------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------\n           EVENTS              | MATTHEW |  MARK  |  LUKE   |  JOHN\n  -----------------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------\n  Introduction.                |  ...    |   1:1  |  1:1-4  | 1:1-18\n                               |         |        |         |\n  The Genealogies.             | 1:1-17  |  ...   | 3:23-38 |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  Appearance of an Angel to    |         |        |         |\n  Zacharias.                   |  ...    |  ...   | 1:5-25  |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  An Angel Appears to Mary,    |         |        |         |\n  Annunciation.                |  ...    |  ...   | 1:26-38 |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  Mary Visits Elisabeth.       |  ...    |  ...   | 1:39-56 |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  Birth of John the Baptist.   |  ...    |  ...   | 1:57-80 |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  An Angel Appears to Joseph.  | 1:18-25 |        |         |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  The Birth of Jesus, etc.     |  ...    |  ...   | 2:1-21  |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  Presentation in the Temple   |         |        |         |\n  (1, 2).                      |  ...    |  ...   | 2:22-38 |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  Visit of the Magi.           | 2:1-12  |        |         |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  Flight into Egypt, etc. (3). | 2:13-18 |        |         |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  Return to Nazareth (4).      | 2:19-23 |  ...   | 2:39,40 |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  Jesus Goes to the Passover   |         |        |         |\n  (5, 6).                      |  ...    |  ...   | 2:41-52 |\n                               |         |        |         |\n  Ministry of John the Baptist.| 3:1-12  |  1:2-8 | 3:1-18  |\n  -----------------------------+---------+--------+---------+-------\n\n  (The harmony reproduced here is taken from Professor Riddle's\n  Outline Harmony of the Gospels; and the Journey Maps are\n  reproduced from Arnold's Chart of Christ's Journeyings and\n  Chart of Paul's Journeyings.)\n\n#TIME.#--5 B. C. to A. D. 26.\n\n#PLACES.#--Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Egypt, Nazareth.\n\n  [Illustration: PERIOD OF PREPARATION\n  Copyright, 1898, BY JOHN D. WATTLES & CO.\n\n  The figures attached to the journeys refer to events\n  mentioned in the first column on the opposite page. A\n  method for using these Journey maps is suggested in\n  the section entitled Teaching Hints, in the Appendix.]\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--The fulfilment of prophecy is strikingly\nshown in the events surrounding the coming of Christ and the\npreparation for his ministry; and the preaching of John the Baptist\nepitomized the message which Jesus was about to proclaim.\n\n\nThe Incomparable Life\n\n#111. The Thirty Years of Silence.#--To these years the Gospels give\nsmall space. Only Matthew and Luke make any mention of them, and these\ngive to them only four chapters. All the rest of the Gospels are\ndevoted to the three and a half years of the Lord's active ministry.\n\n#112.# Take, now, first what we _know_ of this early life. It was\nlived in Nazareth, in Galilee. Nazareth was a town where caravans\nrested on their journeys between Damascus and Egypt. It was a rough\ntown, as we may infer by the remark of Nathanael, \"Can any good thing\ncome out of Nazareth?\" (John 1:46). His home was that of a workingman,\nas Joseph was a carpenter. It was therefore the home of a poor man.\nDoubtless he himself followed for all those years of silence, the\ntrade of his reputed father. So Jesus was truly a workingman himself.\nHis mother was exceptionally godly, as we see by her wonderful\noutburst of song in Luke 1:46-55. This song is fairly saturated with\nthe spirit of the old prophets. Joseph also gives signs of his fear of\nthe Lord during these early years in more ways than one. Thus we may\nbe sure that the \"atmosphere\" of that home was conducive to godliness.\nHe was taught the Scriptures from his youth. This is apparent from his\ngreat familiarity with them, shown in his later years. To this we\nshall refer later.\n\n#113. His Early Education.#--Of course he was taught to read and\nwrite, as every Jewish boy was. He also had the advantage of frequent\nvisits to Jerusalem, for the visit referred to by Luke, at twelve\nyears of age, was only the first of a long series of such visits. No\ndoubt after that first visit he went up to the Holy City every year to\nthe feast. A lad of his type of mind would not let such an opportunity\npass without taking advantage of it each time that it came. So much we\nmay say we practically know about these thirty years. But there is\nmuch that we may legitimately _infer_, and when guardedly used,\ninference is a legitimate source of knowledge. If you will let me go\ninto a man's library, I may be able to infer with much accuracy the\ncalling of that man. If the majority of the books are medical or\nlegal, I infer that the man is a doctor or a lawyer. If the majority\nof the books that are worn are light fiction, my inference is of a\ntotally different nature. If, to change the illustration, I go to the\nhome of a lady, and in the afternoon find that I can write my name in\nthe dust on the polished piano-lid, I infer somewhat about the\nhousekeeper in whose home I am.\n\n#114.# Making, then, reverent use of inference, what may we learn\nabout these thirty years of our Lord's life, and of the influences\nthat were at work all that time? Who were his teachers? For, bear in\nmind, that at the time of Jesus' entry into his public ministry, he\ncame as a full-fledged man, who was prepared for his life's work.\n\n#115. Nature Taught Him.#--Nature is God's first book, and if man had\nnot sinned, he would have needed no other. To Jesus, nature was an\nopen volume, and he read it in all its spiritual significance. While\nother boys saw only that which was outward, he saw that which was\ninward and had spiritual meaning. To him the lily spoke of his\nFather's care, the leaven that he saw in his mother's house spoke to\nhim of the way in which the kingdom of God grew in this world. The\nmustard seed was an illustration of the growth of truth. Many of his\nmost simple and precious teachings were drawn thus from nature.\nSparrows, seed and tares, fig-tree, salt, and many other objects of\nnature told him of things unseen.\n\n#116. Men Taught Him.#--He doubtless mingled much with them in\nNazareth, and it is not hard to imagine the boy going to the\ncamping-place of the passing caravans, and listening to the tales that\nthe men from far countries had to tell. The stories that he afterward\nmade use of were in many cases doubtless gathered from such sources.\nBut he made them illustrate things unseen and spiritual. Look at his\nparables, and see how true this may easily be. The ten virgins may\nwell have been a story that he heard, and of which he made such solemn\nuse in his ministry. Is it unnatural to suppose that in these\ngatherings of men he may have heard some one tell of a pearl merchant\nand his fortune in finding a peculiarly valuable pearl? In due time he\nused this story to illustrate the wisdom of staking all on one\nsuperlative venture. Look at his parables, and see how he made use of\nthe interests of men in making clear the things pertaining to the\nkingdom of God. The sower, the lost silver, the prodigal son, children\nin the market-place, the rich fool, the vineyard and the\nlaborers--these and many more show how richly the relationships of men\nwith their fellow-men instructed him.\n\n#117. The Bible Taught Him.#--He was most familiar with its teachings,\nand knew how to use them on the spot, without reference to commentary\nor concordance. We find in his sayings reference to, or quotations\nfrom, the following books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus,\nLeviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, 1 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 2\nChronicles, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel,\nJonah, Joel, Hosea, Micah, Zechariah, and Malachi--22 in all. Had all\nthe utterances of our Lord been given to us, I doubt not that we\nshould have found that he quoted from every book of the Old Testament.\nFor bear in mind that we have only a very small part of what our Lord\nsaid preserved for us. His recorded words are only 38,422, or the\nequivalent of ten short sermons. But for three years he was speaking\nincessantly.\n\n#118. Prayer Taught Him.#--His habit of spending all night in prayer\nwas not one acquired of a sudden. No doubt he spent many a night in\nprayer while he was still at the carpenter's trade. But the\nprayer-habit is one calculated to shed much light on things that lay\nhold on eternal truth. All spiritual seers are men of much prayer.\n\n#119. Finally, His Visits to Jerusalem Taught Him.#--Not in vain did\nhe go at least 18 times to that city before his public ministry began.\nIt was in this way that he saw the formality of the Pharisaic party,\nand the self-seeking of scribe and chief priest. So when he denounced\nthem so fiercely in later times, he did it not out of an experience of\nday before yesterday, but out of years of observation. Such were some\nof the influences that surrounded him, and the teachers that prepared\nhim during those thirty years of silence for his great work. Thus,\nwhen the fulness of time came, he stepped forth full armed for the\ncontest with the powers of darkness.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhere were Christ's thirty years of silence spent?\n\nWhat was our Lord's trade?\n\nWhat can we say of the religious life of his mother and of his father?\n\nIn what way is inference a legitimate ground of knowledge?\n\nWhat is the first of the teachers of our Lord during that time that is\nmentioned?\n\nGive the second of his teachers.\n\nWhat else did he have as teacher?\n\nIllustrate each of these somewhat in detail.\n\nWhat else taught him?\n\nWhat is the last of these teachers mentioned?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 3\n\nThe Year of Obscurity\n\nNew Testament Division--Second Period\n\n\n    #Religious Life# of the time was marked by absence of\n    idolatry, by the presence of numerous synagogues and of\n    reverence for the Scriptures.\n\n    #Government# was that of a foreign nation--Rome.\n\n  ---------------------+------------+----------+-----------+--------\n         EVENTS        |   MATTHEW  |   MARK   |    LUKE   |  JOHN\n  ---------------------+------------+----------+-----------+--------\n                       |            |          |           |\n  Baptism of Jesus.    |  3:13-17   |   1:9-11 |  3:21-23  |\n                       |            |          |           |\n  The Wilderness.      |            |          |           |\n  Temptation of Jesus  |   4:1-11   |  1:12,13 |   4:1-13  |\n  (1, 2).              |            |          |           |\n                       |            |          |           |\n  The Witness of John, |    ...     |   ...    |    ...    | 1:19-51\n  etc.                 |            |          |           |\n                       |            |          |           |\n  Cana. The First      |            |          |           |\n  Miracle. Capernaum   |    ...     |   ...    |    ...    |  2:1-12\n  (3, 4).              |            |          |           |\n                       |            |          |           |\n  Jerusalem. First     |            |          |           |\n  Cleansing of the     |    ...     |   ...    |    ...    | 2:13 to\n  Temple, etc. (5).    |            |          |           |    3:21\n                       |            |          |           |\n  Ministry in Judea.   |            |          |           |\n  Witness of the       |    ...     |   ...    |    ...    | 3:22-36\n  Baptist.             |            |          |           |\n                       |            |          |           |\n  Imprisonment of John |            |          |           |\n  the Baptist. Jesus   |  14:3-5;   | 6:17-20; | 3:19,20;  |   4:1-3\n  leaves Judea, etc.   |     4:12   |     1:14 |     4:14  |\n                       |            |          |           |\n  Jacob's Well.        |            |          |           |\n  Discourse with       |            |          |           |\n  Samaritan Woman,     |            |          |           |\n  etc. (6).            |    ...     |   ...    |    ...    |  4:4-42\n  ---------------------+------------+----------+-----------+--------\n\n#TIME.#--A. D. 26 to A. D. 27.\n\n#PLACES.#--Wilderness of Judea, Bethany beyond Jordan, Cana, Sychar,\nJerusalem, Judea.\n\n  [Illustration: JUDEAN MINISTRY\n  Copyright, 1898, BY JOHN D. WATTLES & CO.\n\n  The figures attached to the journeys refer to events\n  mentioned in the first column on the opposite page.]\n\n\nThe Incomparable Life (Continued)\n\n#120. The Year of Obscurity.#--Before examining this at all, it will\nbe well to consider the state of national life into which the life of\nthe Master was projected. It was not like that which we have seen\nprevailed so constantly before the captivity, for there was now among\nJews no idolatry of any kind to be found. This was a great gain.\nMoreover, it was a national life under subjection to a foreign and\nGentile power. With this power the Lord had to reckon, of course. Once\nmore there was great reverence for the written Word, which was now\nmore full than it ever had been, for the Old Testament, as we have it,\nwas all in existence. There was to be found in every Jewish town the\nsynagogue, where the law was read and expounded. This institution was\nan outgrowth of the captivity experience, and was most valuable. But,\nalas! there was also much of formality, especially among the religious\nleaders. They had so added to or explained the written law that it had\nbecome void through the traditions of men. Much religiosity, but\nlittle true religion, was to be found. Yet among the lowly there was\nstill true religion, as shown by such persons as Zacharias and\nElisabeth, Joseph and Mary, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Into a national\nlife such as is here very briefly indicated, Jesus came forth.\n\n#121. The Baptism.#--He is introduced to us in this year, first at his\nbaptism (Matt. 3:13). Here we have our first foreshadowing of the\nTrinity, for here the Son stands, praying, while at the same time the\nFather's approving voice is heard, and the Holy Spirit descends and\nrests on the Son.\n\n#122. The Temptation.#--This is at once followed by the forty days of\ntemptation in the wilderness. Of this experience we are given but\nthree specific instances. These seem to be typical of all the rest,\nand relate to: 1. Unlawful use of his miraculous power for himself. 2.\nDramatic display of his power as Messiah. 3. Absolute turning from his\nlife-purpose for the sake of self-aggrandizement. All these, it is\nworthy of note, are resisted, by the use of the written Word, which in\nJesus' hands is a mighty sword. The fundamental reason for this\nassault on the part of Satan may be found in the undoubted fact that\nthe Adversary knew that Jesus had come to this world to destroy his\nworks. Demons knew who Jesus was long before men did. On that account\nthe great assault was made, for if Jesus could be stumbled into sin,\nthen he could not be Saviour, since he himself would need to be saved.\nHad Jesus yielded in the wilderness, Calvary would not have been of\nany avail.\n\n#123. The First Disciples.#--During this first year Jesus gained many\ndisciples, though he himself did not, like John the Baptist, baptize\nthem. This he left to his chosen disciples. This shows that the\npopularity of the Baptist had at this time already begun to wane, as\nhe himself predicted that it would. Not many miracles are recorded\nduring this period, though we know that the one in Cana of Galilee was\nthe first of a series. The gathering of disciples, who later became\napostles, begins in this year. In one day the record indicates that he\ngained six of these (John 1:35-51).\n\n#124. The Cleansing of the Temple.#--A most dramatic event in this\nyear is his first cleansing of the Temple. The extortion practised in\nthe court of the Temple filled him with indignation and he drove out\nthe money changers, and dealers in cattle and doves, declaring that\nhis Father's house was a house of prayer, while they had made it a den\nof thieves. This drew on him the antagonism of the rulers under whose\nfostering care, or at least through whose negligence, these abuses had\ngrown up. This antagonism never ceased until they had worked on him\ntheir will on Calvary.\n\n#125. Interview with Nicodemus.#--It was during this first year that\nwe have two most remarkable dialogues of our Lord. The first is that\nwith the ruler Nicodemus. At this interview either John the evangelist\nmust have been present, or else Jesus or Nicodemus must have told John\nwhat was said. In this dialogue occurs the most significant sentence\nthat the world has ever heard, having within twenty-four words more of\nDivine truth than any other similar number of words ever\nuttered,--John 3:16. In this verse, as Dr. Arthur T. Pierson puts it,\nwe have five couplets:\n\n1. God the Father and the Son, as the originators of salvation.\n\n2. The Divine action, \"loved,\" and \"gave.\"\n\n3. Those toward whom this action was directed. \"The world,\" and to\nmake it personal, \"whosoever.\"\n\n4. The condition on which the Divine gift may be had. \"Believe,\" and\ntherefore \"have.\"\n\n5. That for which all this action is taken, \"not perish,\" but have\n\"everlasting life.\"\n\n#126. The Woman of Samaria.#--In this year too, at its close, comes\nthe interview with the woman at Jacob's well, in Samaria. It is well\nworth noticing that to a woman, and she a Samaritan woman, Jesus\npoured out truth as prodigally as he did to Nicodemus, a ruler of his\nown nation. The result of this interview was the adherence of a large\nnumber of Samaritans to the Master. All the above story of this first\nyear of our Lord's public ministry we learn only from the Gospel of\nJohn, each of the other evangelists beginning his story with the\nGalilean ministry.\n\n#127.# Note that our Lord's whole public life is condensed into three\nand a half short years. Yet what a wonderful work he accomplished in\nthat period! The active life of Alexander the Great was thirteen\nyears, and that of Napoleon twenty-three years. In those years these\ntwo men wrought wonders. But their empire has long since passed away.\nThe empire of the Master is to-day wider than ever, and the work of\nthose three years and a half will never cease to be felt. This is\nbecause he was more than mere man, and brought to his task super-human\npower and knowledge.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nState the condition of Palestine religiously at the time of our Lord's\nentry into public life.\n\nWhat was the value of the synagogue?\n\nGive the first event of the year in question.\n\nOf what doctrine do we see the foreshadowing at Christ's baptism?\n\nGive the threefold nature of the temptations of which we have record.\n\nWhat reason may we assign for the attempt of Satan to draw Christ to\nsin?\n\nWith whom did Jesus have a most significant interview in Jerusalem?\n\nGive the five couplets in John 3:16.\n\nWith whom did Jesus have another interview at Jacob's well?\n\nWhat was the result of that interview?\n\nWhat is there significant in the brevity of our Lord's public life as\ncompared with that of Alexander or Napoleon?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 4\n\nThe Year of Popularity\n\nNew Testament Division--Second Period (Continued)\n\n\n  ------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+--------\n          EVENTS          |  MATTHEW  |   MARK   |   LUKE   |  JOHN\n  ------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+--------\n  Public Teaching in      |      4:17 | 1:14, 15 | 4:14, 15 | 4:43-45\n  Galilee.                |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Cana. Healing of the    |       ... |      ... |      ... | 4:46-54\n  Nobleman's Son (1).     |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Rejection at            |   4:13-16 |      ... |  4:16-31 |\n  Nazareth (2).           |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Sea of Galilee. Call of |   4:18-22 |  1:16-20 |   5:1-11 |\n  the Fishermen, etc. (3).|           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Healing of Peter's      |   8:14-17 |  1:21-34 |  4:31-41 |\n  Wife's Mother, of a     |           |          |          |\n  Demoniac, etc.          |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Preaching Tour through  |   4:23-25 |  1:35-39 |  4:42-44 |\n  Galilee (4).            |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Healing of a Leper.     |    8:2-4  |  1:40-45 |  5:12-16 |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Healing of a Paralytic, |    9:2-9  |   2:1-14 |  5:17-28 |\n  etc.                    |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Jerusalem. Healing of   |       ... |      ... |      ... |  5:1-47\n  Infirm Man, etc. (5, 6).|           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Sabbath Controversies,  |   12:1-14 | 2:23 to  |   6:1-11 |\n  etc.                    |           |      3:6 |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Multitudes Gather by    |  12:15-21 |   3:7-12 |  6:17-19 |\n  the Sea.                |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Galilee. Choice of the  |    10:2-4 |  3:13-19 |  6:12-16 |\n  Twelve (7).             |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Sermon on the Mount.    |5:1 to 8:1 |      ... |  6:20-49 |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Capernaum. Healing of   |    8:5-13 |      ... |   7:1-10 |\n  Centurion's Servant (8).|           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Nain. Raising of the    |       ... |      ... |  7:11-17 |\n  Widow's Son (9).        |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  John the Baptist Sends  |   11:2-19 |      ... |  7:18-35 |\n  Messengers to Jesus.    |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Discourse of Jesus      |  11:20-30 |          |          |\n  about his Mighty Works. |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Our Lord Anointed by a  |       ... |      ... |  7:36-50 |\n  Woman.                  |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Second Circuit in       |       ... |      ... |    8:1-3 |\n  Galilee (10).           |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Healing of a Demoniac,  |  12:22-50 |  3:20-35 | 11:14-36;|\n  etc.                    |           |          |  8:19-21 |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Woes against the        |       ... |      ... | 11:37 to |\n  Pharisees, etc.         |           |          |     13:9 |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Parable of the Sower,   |   13:1-53 |   4:1-34 |   8:4-18 |\n  etc.                    |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Voyage across the Lake. |   8:18-27 |  4:35-41 | 8:22-25; |\n  Tempest Stilled (11).   |           |          |  9:57-62 |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Demoniacs  near Gadara. |   8:28 to |   5:1-21 |  8:26-40 |\n  Recrossing the Lake     |       9:1 |          |          |\n  (12).                   |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Feast of Matthew, etc.  |   9:10-34 | 2:15-22; | 5:29-39; |\n                          |           |  5:22-43 |  8:41-56 |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Second Rejection at     |  13:54-58 |    6:1-6 |          |\n  Nazareth (13).          |           |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Another Circuit in      |  9:35-38; |   6:6-13 |    9:1-6 |\n  Galilee; the Twelve     |  10:1, 5, |          |          |\n  Sent Forth (14).        |   to 11:1 |          |          |\n                          |           |          |          |\n  Herod's Dread of Jesus. |  14:1, 2, | 6:14-16, |    9:7-9 |\n                          |      6-12 |    21-29 |          |\n  ------------------------+-----------+----------+----------+--------\n\n#TIME.#--A. D. 28 to A. D. 29.\n\n#PLACES.#--Capernaum, Galilee, Jerusalem, Nain, Gadara, Nazareth.\n\n  [Illustration: GALILEAN MINISTRY\n  Copyright, 1898, BY JOHN D. WATTLES & CO.\n\n  The figures attached to the journeys refer to events\n  mentioned in the first column on the opposite page.]\n\n\nThe Incomparable Life (Continued)\n\n#128. The Year of Popularity.#--This was spent in Galilee. The\nGalileans had heard of his fame from those of their number who had\nseen him in Jerusalem, so it required but a few deeds of might to\narouse them to the highest pitch of enthusiasm. His activity during\nthis year may be studied with relation, first, to his miracles, and\nsecond, to his teaching.\n\n#129. His Miracles Multiplied.#--These were multiplied beyond any\nprevious precedent. They sprang from him as sparks spring from the\nred-hot iron of the blacksmith under the hammer. There must have been\nsingle days when he wrought hundreds of miracles. Take that Sabbath\nday in Capernaum as an example. In the morning in the synagogue he\nhealed a demoniac. In the later part of the day he healed Peter's\nmother-in-law. Then, as the sun was setting, there came to him all in\nthat city that had maladies of any kind, and he healed them all. A\nwonderful day that, for Capernaum. No wonder that later on he referred\nto that city as exalted to heaven. His miraculous power manifested\nitself over disease of every kind. No malady was unreachable by him.\nThe three characteristics of his healing ministry were, first, it was\ninstantaneous--there was no period of convalescence. Deathly sick one\nmoment--perfectly well the next; this was the history of each patient.\n(One exception there is to this, and that is of the man who needed two\ntouches to cure his blindness (Mark 8:24.) Was the man's faith at\nfault?) Second, it was perfect--there were no signs of weakness left\nand no relapses. How unlike the frequent experience under even the\nbest of modern physicians! In the third place, it was all _without\nmoney or price_.\n\n#130. His Power# was equally great over death. He called, and Lazarus\ncame forth; he took the dead maiden by the hand and she arose. He\nspoke to the young man on his bier and he responded. His power\nextended to the spirit world, for he commanded evil spirits to come\nout of men, and they obeyed. Nature obeyed his voice, as when he spoke\nto the winds and the waves and they were hushed. Man, nature, and the\nspirit world all recognized his power and yielded swift obedience. No\nwonder that his popularity was immense under these circumstances. It\nwould not be possible to exaggerate the exciting scenes through which\nhe passed during this year. Men thronged around him so violently, and\ncrushed together to see and hear him so vehemently, that many were\nthrown down and trampled on. Wild cries must have come from the masses\nof people who so excitedly pressed near to him. They actually broke up\nthe roof of one house so as to get into his presence the patient for\nwhom they craved his services. He had not time so much as to eat in\npeace, as they gave him no respite (Mark 6:31).\n\n#131. His Miracles as Lessons.#--All these miracles of his were in\nreality also object-lessons to lead men to an apprehension of things\ninvisible and spiritual. If he healed a man born blind, it was to make\nmen see that they needed spiritual sight. If he touched the deaf man's\nears and made him hear, what was this but an object-lesson showing\nthat they woefully needed spiritual hearing? And if he raised the\ndead, this, too, was to teach a great spiritual truth, namely, that\nhe was the resurrection and the life.\n\n#132.# In all this wonderful life we are glad to note how much of\nhappiness must have come to the Master as he saw the sick made\ninstantly well. At the same time his gift of healing sometimes brought\nto him exquisite sorrow, as in the case of the ten lepers, nine of\nwhom did not think it worth their while to go back to say, \"Thank\nyou.\" It was at this time in his ministry that the Master began to bid\nmen whom he helped hold their peace, for there was really danger that\nthe excited throngs would develop into uncontrollable mobs, and that\nthe Roman government would find it necessary to interfere.\n\n#133. His Teaching# was apparently less important than were his\nmiracles, though it was really more important. If we could have only\nthe miracles, or the teaching, we would at once take the teaching. The\nmiracles were chiefly temporary in their effect, while the influence\nof the teaching is eternal. In view of the fact that, as noted in\nLesson 2, we have so few of his words recorded, we may well wonder at\ntheir power. As he said, \"the words that I have spoken unto you are\nspirit, and are life\" (John 6:63).\n\n#134.# His teaching was characterized by its #boldness#. He taught\nthem as one who had authority, for he knew by inward experience the\ntruth of all that he uttered. The Scribes were more like parrots, for\nthey repeated the opinions of those who had gone before them, and had\nno true vision of things spiritual. Jesus, on the other hand, did not\nhesitate to quote passages from Moses, and set them aside, on his own\nauthority. He had larger vision than had the great lawgiver, and he\nwas well aware of that fact. \"Ye have heard that it hath been\nsaid--but I say unto you,\" such was his confident manner of teaching.\nAnd the results of his teaching have fully substantiated his claim.\n\n#135.# In his teaching he was #infinitely tender# with confessed sin,\nbut at the same time he was equally stern against professed holiness.\nNo more terrible words have ever been spoken than those of the Master\nagainst the Scribes and Pharisees, on account of their hypocrisy. To\nread them with any adequate conception of the occasion is to feel\nalmost terrified at their vehemence. On the other hand, no zephyr was\never more gentle than were his words to those who felt their sin and\nwished to abandon it.\n\n#136.# In his teaching he #made much use of parable#, for this was in\nreality a picture, and he knew that pictures convey truth and are\nremembered longer than any other form of speech. What an array of\npictures his parables have hung in the galleries of our memories!\nProdigal Son, Good Samaritan, Ten Virgins, Lost Sheep, Unjust\nJudge--what are these but pictures that we cherish, and from which we\ngain eternal truths of the most precious nature?\n\n#137.# His teaching for the most part revolved around the idea of #the\nKingdom of God on Earth, and Himself as its Center#. Let the student\nlook up all the parables of the Kingdom and he will realize the truth\nof this statement. The reason why even his nearest disciples\nmisunderstood him so, and thought that this kingdom was to be like\nthat of David, was that they did not put the emphasis in the right\nplace. They thought of \"The _kingdom_ of God,\" while he thought of\n\"The Kingdom of _God_.\" There is a great difference between these two\nforms of emphasis. The one led them to ask for places on his right and\nleft in his kingdom; the other emphasized the truth that the Kingdom\nof God is within you. Thus in the midst of great excitement, this\nyear of popularity was spent. Tours through Galilee were like\ntriumphal processions, and the throngs were never weary of crowding on\nhim and the disciples. Alas! that the people should not have better\nappreciated the inwardness of his mission, but should have taken in\nonly that which was temporal and not eternal!\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhat is the second year of our Lord's life called?\n\nWhere was it for the most part spent?\n\nWhat two chief characteristics marked this year?\n\nOver what did the Master show his power?\n\nName the peculiarities of his healings.\n\nOf what may the miracles be said to be object-lessons?\n\nWhich was more truly important--his miracles or his teaching? Why?\n\nWhat two characteristics did his teaching possess?\n\nWhy did he make so much use of the parable?\n\nAround what thought did most of the Lord's teaching revolve?\n\nWhy did the disciples so misunderstand him?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 5\n\nThe Year of Opposition\n\nNew Testament Division--Second Period (Continued)\n\n\n  -----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+---------\n          EVENTS         |  MATTHEW  |   MARK   |   LUKE   |   JOHN\n  -----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+---------\n  Sea of Galilee. Return |           |          |          |\n  of the Twelve, etc.    |  14:13-21 |  6:30-44 |  9:10-17 |  6:1-14\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Jesus Walks upon the   |  14:22-36 |  6:45-56 |   ...    | 6:15-21\n  Water.                 |           |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Discourses, etc.       |   15:1-20 |   7:1-23 |   ...    | 6:22-71\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Northward Journey.     |           |          |          |\n  Region of Tyre and     |           |          |          |\n  Sidon (1, 2).          |  15:21-28 |  7:24-30 |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Return to Eastern Side |           |  7:31 to |          |\n  of the Lake, etc. (3). |  15:29-38 |      8:9 |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  The Lake Crossed. A    |  15:39 to |          |          |\n  Sign from Heaven       |      16:4 |  8:10-13 |          |\n  Demanded (4).          |           |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  The Lake Recrossed.    |           |          |          |\n  The Leaven of the      |  16:5-12  |  8:14-21 |          |\n  Pharisees (4).         |           |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  A Blind Man Healed. On |           |          |          |\n  Way to Bethsaida (4).  |    ...    |  8:22-26 |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  The Confession of      |  16:13-38 |  8:27 to |  9:18-27 |\n  Peter, etc.            |           |      9:1 |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Mount Hermon. The      |           |          |          |\n  Transfiguration (5).   |   17:1-13 |   9:2-13 |  9:28-36 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Healing of the         |  17:14-20 |  9:14-29 |  9:37-43 |\n  Demoniac Boy.          |           |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Prediction of Death    |           |          |          |\n  and Resurrection.      | 17:22, 23 |  9:30-32 |  9:43-45 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Arrival at Capernaum,  |  17:24 to |  9:33-50 |  9:46-50 |\n  etc. (6).              |     18:35 |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Jerusalem. Jesus       |           |          |          |\n  attends the Feast of   |    ...    |    ...   |   ...    |  7:1 to\n  Tabernacles (7, 8).    |           |          |          |    8:59\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Return to and Final    |           |          |          |\n  Departure from Galilee |           |          |          |\n  (9).                   |   19:1, 2 |     10:1 |  9:51-56 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Mission of the         |    ...    |    ...   |  10:1-37 |\n  Seventy, etc.          |           |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Bethany. Visit to      |           |          |          |\n  Martha and Mary (10).  |    ...    |    ...   | 10:38-42 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Healing of a Man Born  |           |          |          |  9:1 to\n  Blind, etc.            |    ...    |    ...   |   ...    |   10:21\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Jerusalem. Jesus at the|           |          |          |\n  Feast of Dedication.   |    ...    |    ...   |   ...    | 10:22-42\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Retirement to Perea.   |           |          | 11:1-13; |\n  Discourses, Parables,  |    ...    |    ...   | 13:10 to |\n  etc. (11).             |           |          |    17:10 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Bethany. Raising of    |           |          |          |\n  Lazarus (12, 13).      |    ...    |    ...   |   ...    | 11:1-46\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Withdrawal to Ephraim  |    ...    |    ...   |   ...    | 11:47-54\n  (14).                  |           |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Samaria. Healing of    |           |          |          |\n  the Ten Lepers (15).   |    ...    |    ...   | 17:11-19 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Discourses, etc.       |   19:2 to |  10:2-45 | 17:20 to |\n                         |     20:28 |          |   18:34  |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Near Jericho. Healing  |           |          |          |\n  of Blind Men (16).     |  20:29-34 | 10:46-52 | 18:35-43 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Jericho. Visit to      |           |          |          |\n  Zaccheus, etc.         |    ...    |    ...   |  19:1-28 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Bethany. Anointing by  |   26:6-13 |   14:3-9 |   ...    | 11:55 to\n  Mary (16).             |           |          |          |    12:11\n  -----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------\n\n#TIME.#--A. D. 29 to A. D. 30.\n\n#PLACES.#--Capernaum, Tyre and Sidon, Decapolis, Caesarea Philippi,\nMt. Hermon, Galilee, Jerusalem, Eastern Bethsaida.\n\n  [Illustration: PEREAN MINISTRY\n  Copyright, 1898, BY JOHN D. WATTLES & CO.\n\n  The figures attached to the journeys refer to events\n  mentioned in the first column on the opposite page.]\n\n\nThe Incomparable Life (Continued)\n\n#138. The Year of Opposition.#--Our Lord's year of popularity waned\nmuch after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand. This\nmiracle stirred the people to the very height of enthusiasm. Now, they\nthought, we have one who is worthy to be our king. So intense was this\nconviction that they wanted on the spot to proclaim him king, and\nraise the standard of revolt against Rome (John 6:15). Even the\ndisciples seem to have been infected with this mad thought, for he\n\"constrained\" them to go away (Matt. 14:22). On the day following,\nhowever, the multitudes found him again, and tried to persuade him to\nrepeat the miracle of feeding. This he refused to do. He tried to make\nthem understand that he had better bread for them, even the bread of\nlife. But what they really wanted was only bakers' bread. They thought\nthat if Moses fed the people for forty years for nothing, their\nMessiah should do even better than that. So, when he refused to be to\nthem a \"commissariat department,\" they at once forsook him. \"Many\" of\nhis disciples \"went back\" at that time. For all of this read John\n6:22-71. At this moment it was that Peter comes so grandly to the\nfront and makes his confession. When we see Peter later on denying his\nMaster, let us bear in mind his bold stand taken at this juncture.\n\n#139. Opposed by the Pharisees.#--During all this year of popularity\nthe Pharisees were dogging the footsteps of the Master, as spies\ndog the criminal. Of these Pharisees there were at this time, in\nPalestine, about 6000. They were the ecclesiastical leaders of the\npeople, and this makes their opposition all the more ghastly. They,\nwho should have led the people aright, led them astray. The grounds\nof their opposition were manifold. Among others were the following:\n\n(1) They opposed him because of their _own intense pride_. They were\nthose who sought glory one of another, and so they could not believe\nin him (John 5:44). His aims and theirs were so widely apart that they\ncould not even understand him. To them the glory that cometh from God\nhad no attractiveness. So they opposed him who was meek and lowly.\n\n(2) They opposed him on account of _his humble origin_. He was only a\ncarpenter's son, and so to them was of no account. Had they made due\ninvestigation, they would have found that he came of the line of\nDavid, their great king. But they did nothing of the sort (Matt.\n13:55-58). It was an offense to them that he came from among the\nlowly, and not from some of the aristocratic families of the land. His\nlack of training in the schools seems to have nettled them, so that\nthey exclaimed in disgusted surprise, \"How knoweth this man letters,\nhaving never learned?\" (John 7:15.)\n\n(3) They opposed him bitterly, on account of _the company that he\nkept_. In contempt they said, \"This man receiveth sinners, and eateth\nwith them\" (Luke 15:2). And they continually complained that he was a\nfriend of hated publicans and sinners. They could not understand at\nall that the very grandeur of his mission consisted just in this, that\nhe came to call sinners to repentance. Their complaint, as given in\nLuke 15:2, called forth from him three of the grandest parables that\nwe have, namely, those of the lost silver, the lost sheep, and the\nlost son. Especially were they angered because he had taken into the\nnumber of his disciples the hated Matthew, the tax-gatherer.\n\n(4) They opposed him again because of his _failure to observe the\nSabbath_ in the manner prescribed by themselves. They had made the day\none of weariness to the flesh, and had passed by deeds of mercy and\nhelpfulness. So when he healed the man at the Pool of Bethesda and the\nman born blind, on the Sabbath, they took counsel how they might\ndestroy him. While they themselves would pull out a sheep or an ox\nfrom the pit on the Sabbath, they criticized him for healing men on\nthat day. This brought forth from him stern condemnation, which, of\ncourse, did not mollify their feelings toward him.\n\n(5) Furthermore, they opposed him because he _declined to observe_\ncertain minute regulations of the law concerning washing of hands and\nthe like. These regulations they had laid on men's shoulders, but\nthey were not at all Divine ordinances. This is why he said, in his\ndenunciation of them, \"they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be\nborne, and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves will not\nmove them with their finger\" (Matt. 23:4). (Read the whole of Matt.\n23, and you will understand better who and what these men were who\nwere opposing the Master.) Once more, they opposed him because he had\nmade such friends of the common people and had not in any way bowed\ndown to them, as the leaders of the people. The common people heard\nhim gladly, and that angered them. \"This multitude who knoweth not the\nlaw are cursed\" (John 7:49). They were furious because the whole world\nseemed to have gone after him, while they themselves were left in the\nbackground. This was galling to their innate pride.\n\n(6) What made their opposition all the worse was that though they\ncould not deny his miracles, they went so far as to ascribe them to\nthe agency of Satan. \"He hath a demon, and is mad: why hear ye him?\"\nis what they exclaimed (John 10:20). The Pharisees said, \"By the\nprince of the demons casteth he out demons\" (Matt. 9:34). So they\ndared to ascribe to demoniac possession the deeds of him in whom the\nSpirit dwelt without measure. It was this ascribing to the spirit of\ndarkness of the works of the Holy Spirit that brought forth from the\nMaster his statement concerning the unpardonable sin. It really\nconsisted in ascribing to the Holy Spirit the works of the prince of\ndarkness.\n\n#140. Away from the Crowds.#--After the miracle of the feeding of the\nfive thousand, the Master was mostly in out of the way places, such as\nCaesarea Philippi, Decapolis, and the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. He\nfeared lest the Galileans, if he wrought more miracles among them,\nwould raise insurrection, and so bring on him the power of the Roman\ngovernment. This would have ruined his mission to this earth. For\nabout six months after the miracle of the five thousand he tarried in\nGalilee and its immediate vicinity before he started on his final\njourney to Jerusalem. It was during these six months that the\ntransfiguration took place.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhat event closes the year of popularity?\n\nWhat action did the people wish to take in consequence of the miracle\nof the feeding of the five thousand?\n\nWhat sign have we that even the disciples were infected with this\nspirit?\n\nWhat did the people wish Jesus to do on the following day?\n\nWhen he declined what did the people do?\n\nAll this time, what was the attitude of the Pharisees?\n\nHow many of these men were there at this time in Palestine?\n\nGive the first ground of their opposition to him.\n\nGive the second ground of their opposition.\n\nGive the third ground.\n\nGive the fourth and the fifth ground assigned for their opposition.\n\nTo what did they ascribe his power of working miracles?\n\nWhere did the Master stay for the next six months?\n\nWhat marked event took place during these six months?\n\n\nTest Questions for Review\n\nLessons 1 to 5\n\n1. How long an interval of silence between Old and New Testament?\n\n2. Give the limits of each of the five periods of New Testament\nhistory.\n\n3. How may the life of Christ be divided?\n\n4. What was the threefold nature of Jesus' temptation?\n\n5. What is meant by the year of obscurity?\n\n6. With whom did Jesus have a most noteworthy interview in Jerusalem?\n\n7. What is the second year of Christ's life called?\n\n8. Where was it for the most part spent?\n\n9. Why did Jesus use parables so much?\n\n10. Around what thought did most of his teachings revolve?\n\n11. What were the five grounds given for the opposition of the\nPharisees?\n\n12. Where did the Master stay for six months after the year of\npopularity?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 6\n\nThe Closing Week\n\nNew Testament Division--Second Period (Continued)\n\n\n  -----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------\n          EVENTS         |  MATTHEW  |   MARK   |   LUKE   |   JOHN\n  -----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------\n  Triumphal Entry into   |   21:1-11 |  11:1-11 | 19:29-44 | 12:12-19\n  Jerusalem.             |           |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Cursing of the Fig     | 21:18, 19 | 11:12-14 |          |\n  Tree.                  |           |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Second Cleansing of the|  21:12-17 | 11:15-19 | 19:45-48;|\n  Temple, etc.           |           |          | 21:37, 38|\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Fig Tree Withered Away.|  21:20-22 | 11:20-25 |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Discourses, etc.       |  21:23 to | 11:27 to |  20:1-47 |\n                         |     23:39 |    12:40 |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  The Widow's Two Mites. |    ...    | 12:41-44 |   21:1-4 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Greeks Seek to See     |    ...    |   ...    |   ...    | 12:20-36\n  Jesus.                 |           |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Unbelief of the Jews.  |    ...    |   ...    |   ...    | 12:37-50\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Prediction of the      |           |          |          |\n  Destruction of the     |           |          |          |\n  Temple.                |   24:1, 2 |  13:1, 2 |  21:5, 6 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Discourses, Parables,  |   24:3 to |  13:3-37 |  21:7-36 |\n  etc.                   |     25:46 |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Conspiracy between the |   26:1-5, | 14:1, 2, |   22:1-6 |\n  Rulers and Judas.      |     14-16 |   10, 11 |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  The Last Supper.       |  26:17-35 | 14:12-31 |  22:7-38 | 13:1 to\n                         |           |          |          |   17:26\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Departure to           |    26:30, |   14:26, |    22:39 |    18:1\n  Gethsemane.            |     31-35 |    27-31 |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Agony, Betrayal, etc.  |  26:36-56 | 14:32-52 | 22:40-53 | 18:2-12\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Jerusalem. Hearing     |    ...    |   ...    |   ...    |    18:13,\n  before Annas.          |           |          |          | 14, 19-24\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Night Trial before     |  26:57-68 | 14:53-65 |   22:54, |\n  Caiaphas.              |           |          |    63-65 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Three Denials of Peter.|  26:69-75 | 14:66-72 | 22:55-62 | 18:15-18,\n                         |           |          |          |     25-27\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Formal Condemnation by |           |          |          |\n  the Sanhedrin; Jesus   |   27:1, 2 |     15:1 | 22:66 to |   18:28\n  led to Pilate.         |           |          |     23:1 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Remorse and Suicide of |           |          |          |\n  Judas.                 |   27:3-10 |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Trial before Pilate.   |  27:11-14 |   15:2-5 |   23:2-5 | 18:29-38\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Jesus before Herod.    |           |          |  23:6-12 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Condemned by Pilate.   |  27:15-30 |  15:6-19 | 23:13-25 |  18:39 to\n                         |           |          |          |     19:16\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Jesus Led Away to be   |  27:31-34 | 15:20-23 | 23:26-33 | 19:16, 17\n  Crucified.             |           |          |          |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Calvary. The           |  27:35-38 | 15:24-28 |   23:33, | 19:18-24\n  Crucifixion.           |           |          |   34, 38 |\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Jesus on the Cross.    |  27:39-56 | 15:29-41 | 23:35-49 | 19:25-30\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Burial of Jesus.       |  27:57-61 | 15:42-47 | 23:50-56 | 19:31-42\n                         |           |          |          |\n  Guard at the Sepulcher.|  27:62-66 |          |          |\n  -----------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------\n\n#TIME.#--A. D. 30.\n\n#PLACES.#--Bethany, Jerusalem.\n\n  [Illustration: MAP OF JERUSALEM AND VICINITY.\n  Copyright, 1898, BY JOHN D. WATTLES & CO.\n\n  With the Temple as a center a circle is drawn every\n  quarter mile, to assist in determining distances.]\n\n\nThe Incomparable Life (Continued)\n\n#141. The Passion Week.#--Our Lord arrived at Bethany on his last\njourney to Jerusalem on Friday before the Passover. On the following\nSunday came the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Reckoning from that\nday to the day of his resurrection, we have eight days. How important\nthese days were in the minds of the evangelists may be seen from the\namount of space they give to the narrative of these days. To the three\nyears and more of his public ministry, the four evangelists give in\nall 55 chapters. But to the eight days spoken of, they give 30\nchapters. It is most significant that had they told the story of his\npublic ministry in as great detail, it would have occupied over 4000\nchapters. This may be seen in part in the accompanying chart.\n\n  |                  3-1/2 years                   |    8 days   |\n  |                  55 chapters                   | 30 chapters |\n  +------------------------------------------------+-------------+\n\n#142.# _Bear in mind_ that the ecclesiastics had by this time\ndetermined on his death. But they did not want that to take place on\nthe feast day, lest there should be an uproar among the people, who\nbelieved on him. That is, they were afraid of a rescue (Matt. 26:5).\nYet it did come on the feast day. The reasons for this are as follows:\n\n(1) His triumphal entry. The jubilation among the people angered them.\nThey perceived that the people welcomed him, and that they prevailed\nagainst him not at all. Of course this was stinging to their pride,\nand they feared the outcome of this popular enthusiasm.\n\n(2) They were further angered by their failure to discomfit him in\nargument in the very presence of the multitude. Their effort to\nentangle him in his talk, as shown in Matthew 22:15-46, was a total\nfailure, and they knew that the people rejoiced at their discomfiture.\nThis was most galling to their pride as religious leaders of the\nnation. Add to this the terrific denunciation that Jesus poured forth\non them, as told in Matthew 23:1-39, and bear in mind that this was in\nthe presence of all the people, and you have an explanation of the\nresentment on their part.\n\n(3) Just about at this juncture Judas came with his offer, which to\nthem must have seemed most timely. He knew where he could find the\nMaster when the people would be absent, and they relied on their\ninfluence with Pilate to carry their scheme through swiftly, so that\nthere would be no chance of any rescue. So, with this combination of\ncircumstances, they determined to go ahead in spite of the fact of the\napproaching Passover.\n\n#143. The Trial.#--This was twofold. In the first place, it was an\necclesiastical trial. It was before Annas (informal), then before\nCaiaphas, and the Sanhedrin. Here the charges were all ecclesiastical.\nThey were that he had spoken against the temple; that he had broken\nthe Sabbath, and that he was guilty of blasphemy in calling himself\nthe Son of God. These charges they could not prove, but that made no\ndifference, for the issue was already determined in their minds. So\nthey condemned him to death. But they had no power under the Roman\ngovernment to inflict the death penalty. So they had to take him\nbefore the Roman Governor. This brings us to the second trial. This\nwas political. Here the charges were entirely different from those on\nwhich they had condemned him to death. Now they charged him with\nforbidding to pay taxes, and with setting himself up to be a king, in\nrivalry with Caesar. All this was false, and they knew it, but they\ncared nothing for that, so long as they could persuade Pilate to give\nthem the desired verdict. Pilate repeatedly declared him innocent, as\ndid also Herod, to whom Pilate sent him. But the ecclesiastics would\ntake nothing but his death as their right. So at last Pilate weakly\nyielded, and gave sentence as they desired.\n\n#144. The scene at the cross# surpasses all description. Note who were\nthere. Gentiles were there in the form of Roman soldiers. Jews were\nthere in the persons of the ecclesiastics, who reviled on the cross\nhim who for so long had gone about doing good. Even at this time they\nbore witness to his power, crying out, \"He saved others; himself he\ncannot save.\" Had they put it, \"He saved others, himself he _will not_\nsave,\" they would have been strictly within the truth. For he could\nhave saved himself, since it lay within his power to call for twelve\nlegions of angels, and they would have responded at once. Then where\nwould the chief priests or even the Roman soldiers have been?\n\n#145.# There, too, were _the Apostles_, who were filled with despair\nat the fate of him who they had hoped would redeem Israel. Now their\nhope perished, and they gave way to dark despair. All his\nacquaintances from Galilee were there, the women beating their breasts\nfor sorrow. Criminals were there as his companions in agony and shame.\nYes, the scene at the cross was the most dramatic that the world had\never seen. For the time, the powers of darkness seem to have\ntriumphed, and the best man in the world was nailed to the accursed\ncross.\n\n#146. The Penitent Robber.#--Yet even here a sudden ray of light\ndivine breaks the darkness, and in the penitent robber we have the\nmost wonderful record of the triumph of faith that the world has ever\nseen. How he was led out into the light of faith just at the moment\nthat the faith of all others was eclipsed we cannot tell, but the fact\nremains. Note, all, even the Apostles, had given up faith in Jesus as\nthe Messiah. But just at this moment, like the sun bursting through\nthe dark thunder-cloud, we see the faith of this robber emerge,\nresplendent, for he recognized in the crucified man next him his\n\"Lord.\" He also recognizes in him a king, for he speaks to him\nconcerning his kingdom, to which he is about to go. More than this.\nThe robber believes that it will be well with him in the next world if\nhis dying companion in pain remembers him, and he also believes that\nhe will be willing to remember him. What a most wonderful exhibition\nof faith this was, under the circumstances. At the moment when the\npowers of darkness were most triumphant the power of the Holy Spirit\nwas also most clearly shown. And in response to all this faith comes\nthe reassuring reply, \"To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise.\"\n\n#147.# At the cross, too, we may see the epitome of all men in their\nrelation to sin and death, for while all three of the victims that day\nwere brought to the cross by sin, they stood in very different\nrelationships to sin. See, all died because of sin. But the impenitent\nrobber died _in_ his sin. On the other hand, the penitent robber that\nday died _to_ sin. Jesus could do neither of these things, for he had\nno sin. But that day he died _for_ sin. This truth is set forth in the\naccompanying diagram, and is most suggestive. None but Jesus can die\nfor sin, but all sinners must either die in sin or die to sin.\n\n  [Illustration:      HE DIED\n                  IN    FOR    TO\n                __|__  __|__  __|__\n                  |      |      |\n                  |      |      |\n                  |      |      |\n                        SIN]\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhen did our Lord arrive at Bethany?\n\nHow do we know that the events of these eight days were of the utmost\nimportance in the minds of the evangelists?\n\nWhy did the ecclesiastics not want to put Jesus to death on the feast\nday?\n\nGive the first reason why his death came on a feast day.\n\nGive the second reason for this.\n\nGive the third reason for this action.\n\nState in what respect the trial of Jesus was twofold.\n\nWhat were the charges in the ecclesiastical trial?\n\nWhat were the charges in the political trial?\n\nWhat was the verdict of both Pilate and Herod about Jesus?\n\nState in detail who were present at the crucifixion.\n\nGive the story of the wonderful triumph of faith on the part of the\npenitent robber.\n\nWhat was the relationship of the three crucified men to sin?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 7\n\nThe Forty Days\n\nNew Testament Division--Second Period (Concluded)\n\n\n  ---------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------\n          EVENTS       |  MATTHEW  |   MARK   |   LUKE   |   JOHN\n  ---------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------\n  The Resurrection     |           |          |          |\n  Morning. Women Visit |           |          |          |\n  the Sepulcher.       |    28:1-8 |   16:1-8 |  24:1-11 |   20:1, 2\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Peter and John Visit |           |          |          |\n  the Sepulcher.       |    ...    |   ...    |    24:12 |   20:3-10\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Appearance to Mary   |           |          |          |\n  Magdalene.           |    ...    |  16:9-11 |   ...    |  20:11-18\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Second Appearance.   |  28:9, 10 |          |          |\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Report of the Guard. |  28:11-15 |          |          |\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Appearance to Peter; |    1 Cor. |   16:12, |          |\n  Walk to Emmaus.      |      15:5 |       13 | 24:13-35 |\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Appearance to Ten    |           |          |          |\n  Disciples.           |    ...    | 16:14-18 | 24:36-43 |  20:19-25\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Appearance to Eleven |           |          |          |\n  Disciples.           |    ...    |   ...    |   ...    |  20:26-29\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Sea of Galilee.      |           |          |          |\n  Appearance to Seven  |           |          |          |\n  Disciples.           |     28:16 |   ...    |   ...    |   21:1-24\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Appearance to Many   |           |   1 Cor. |          |\n  Disciples.           |  28:16-20 |     15:6 |          |\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Final Appearance;    |      Acts |   16:19, |          |\n  Ascension.           |    1:3-12 |       20 | 24:44-53 |\n                       |           |          |          |\n  Conclusion.          |    ...    |   ...    |   ...    |    20:30,\n                       |           |          |          | 31; 21:25\n  ---------------------+-----------+----------+----------+----------\n\n#TIME.#--A. D. 30.\n\n#PLACES.#--Jerusalem, Galilee, Mt. of Olives.\n\n\nThe Incomparable Life (Concluded)\n\n#148. The Forty Days.#--As it is unfortunately customary on the part\nof certain modern critics to deny the physical resurrection of our\nLord, and to maintain that all that we know about him after his\nresurrection is that he was alive, it seems needful to give a whole\nlesson to these forty days. The critics above referred to claim that\nthe disciples of Jesus _expected_ his physical resurrection, and,\nbeing ignorant and unlearned, they were easily deceived by the reports\nof the women. In reply to this unwarranted claim the following truths\nmust be insisted on.\n\n#149.# _First truth._ The disciples never expected Jesus _to die_,\nleast of all on the cross. Indeed, the general expectation was that\nthe Messiah must abide forever (John 12:34). So when he spoke of his\ndeath, they did not even understand what he meant. (See Mark 9:32;\nLuke 9:45; Luke 18:34.) At one time when Jesus spoke of all this,\nPeter even ventured to rebuke him (Matt. 16:22).\n\n#150.# _Second truth._ From the above it is most apparent that they\nnever _even thought_ of a resurrection (see Mark 9:10). When they saw\nhim die, and knew from the physical signs of the blood and water that\nhe was dead, they at once gave up all hope in him as the expected\nMessiah. This is apparent from the remark of the two to the Master as\nthey were going to Emmaus (Luke 24:21). Their remark implies that now\nthey had given up any such hope. But more than this. Had they thought\nof any resurrection, would they not have remained near the garden\nwhere his body was laid? Surely John and the Master's mother would not\nhave abandoned that garden for Jerusalem. Nor would they have prepared\nspices for his final entombment had they had any reasonable hope of\nhis resurrection. What took the women to the tomb on that Easter\nmorning was not any remotest hope that they might find him alive, but\nonly the completion of plans for his final burial. All this is\napparent from the unvarnished narrative of all of the evangelists.\nRightly read, the narrative reveals the one fact that they had not the\nleast hope that they would ever see him alive in this world.\n\n#151.# _Third truth._ When the tomb was found empty on that Easter\nmorning, even that did not awaken any thought that the Lord had risen.\nThis is proved by the whole story of Mary on that day (John 20). All\nher thought was, where is _the body_? Even when Jesus appeared to\nMary, she did not recognize him at first, so far was it from her\nthought that he could be living. And when the women reported to the\ndisciples that they had seen him alive, their words seemed to the\nApostles as \"idle talk\" (Luke 24:11). So when Peter and John ran to\nthe tomb and found not his body, they simply believed that it had been\ntaken away by some one, and not at all that he had risen from the\ndead, for as yet they knew not the truth that he must rise (John\n20:9).\n\n#152.# _Fourth truth._ When the women were convinced that the Lord was\nreally risen, still the men remained unconvinced. The two on their way\nto Emmaus did not recognize him, for they never thought that it could\nbe he. Peter seems to have been convinced when the Lord appeared to\nhim, but in that upper chamber, when they all (excepting Thomas) saw\nhim, still they would not believe that it was really he, but thought\nthat they saw a spirit (Luke 24:36-40). It took physical demonstration\nto prove to these men that he was really in their presence. No, they\nwere not the \"credulous\" men that the critics would have us believe.\n\n#153.# _Fifth truth._ But as yet Thomas would not believe, and a whole\nweek of arguing on the part of the other disciples did not move him.\nIt took the personal appearance of the Master himself to convince\nThomas that the others had not been deceived (John 20:24-29). All this\nis proof positive that the critics are wrong in this matter and that\nthe evangelists are telling the simple truth about the physical\nresurrection of our blessed Lord.\n\n#154.# _Sixth truth._ If the body had not risen, but was still in the\ngrave, it would have been easy for the Jews to disprove the story of\nthe physical resurrection. All they would have had to do was to say,\n\"Here we have the body, and to talk of resurrection under these\ncircumstances is absurd.\" The concocted falsehood (Matt. 28:11-15)\nshows that the body was not in the grave. But for the disciples to\nsteal it while the Roman soldiers were on guard was absolutely\nimpossible. This is why money had to be given to the soldiers, and\nthey made sure that Pilate would be \"fixed\" also, and so the soldiers\nbe saved from punishment.\n\n#155. The Conclusion.#--No, the arguments offered to convince us that\nJesus' body did not rise are all based on unbelief, and buttressed by\nfalse presentation of the whole case. To all these we simply respond,\n\"Now IS Christ risen from the dead.\"\n\nThe appearances of the Master, given in their order, so far as we can\narrange it, are as follows:\n\n1. To Mary at the tomb (John 20:11-18).\n\n2. To the women as they were returning from the empty tomb (Matt.\n28:9).\n\n3. To Peter (Luke 24:34).\n\n4. To the two walking to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-33).\n\n5. To the ten in the upper chamber (Luke 24:36-48).\n\n6. To the eleven in the upper chamber (John 20:26-29).\n\n7. To James (1 Cor. 15:7).\n\n8. To the seven, at the Sea of Galilee (John 21:1-25).\n\n9. To the five hundred brethren in a mountain in Galilee (1 Cor.\n15:6).\n\n10. To the Apostles in Jerusalem (Acts 1).\n\nTo these may be added his appearances to Paul, to Stephen, and to John\non the Isle of Patmos.\n\n#156. The Ascension.#--At last we come to the final scene. We are on\nthe Mount of Olives. He is there, and with him the eleven. As he\nblesses them, lo, he begins to ascend. In rapt amazement they gaze on\nhis disappearing figure. Then a cloud intervenes, and he is lost to\ntheir sight. Still they gaze, hoping once more to see him, when they\nare aware that two strangers are with them. These men say to them that\nthis same Jesus will return again in like manner as they have just\nseen him go. Satisfied with this message, they return to Jerusalem,\nthere to tarry until they be endued with that power of which the\nMaster had just spoken to them. How this power came and the results of\nits coming we shall see in the lesson on the Acts of the Apostles.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhat explanation of the resurrection of the Lord do some critics give?\n\nIn reply to this false contention, give the first truth.\n\nGive the second truth.\n\nGive the third truth.\n\nGive the fourth truth.\n\nGive the fifth truth.\n\nGive the sixth truth.\n\nMention in their order the various appearances of our Lord to his\ndisciples.\n\nWhat other appearances may we add to these?\n\nDescribe the final ascent on the Mount of Olives.\n\nAfter his ascension, where did the Apostles go?\n\nFor what did they then wait in the city of Jerusalem?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 8\n\nThe Early Church\n\nNew Testament Division--Third and Fourth Periods\n\n\n    #The Pivotal Events of the Book of Acts.#--Pentecost--the\n    bestowal of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-47). The healing power\n    given, as well as spiritual power (Acts 3:1-11; Acts\n    5:12-16). Persecution came to the disciples (Acts 4:1-22;\n    Acts 5:18). The great persecution (Acts 6:1 to 7:60). The\n    conversion of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:1-22; Acts 22:1-21; Acts\n    26:1-20). The gospel given to the Gentiles (Acts 10:3 to\n    11:48). Missionary work organized (Acts 13:1-3). The Council\n    at Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-31). The gospel crossed from Asia to\n    Europe (Acts 16:9). The first preaching at Philippi (Acts\n    16:14, 15.) Lydia the first convert. (The life of Paul is\n    treated more fully in the next lesson.)\n\n#TIME.#--A. D. 30 to A. D. 51.\n\n#PLACES.#--Jerusalem, Damascus, Caesarea, Tarsus and Cilicia, Troas,\nPhilippi.\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--Here the gospel ceases to be local in\ncharacter and becomes universal--held no longer by national or\ngeographical boundaries.\n\n\nDevelopment of the Early Church\n\n#157. Importance of the Book.#--The Acts of the Apostles is the most\nimportant book in the New Testament, for if we were to lose one of the\nGospels, we should still have three left, and if we lost one epistle,\nthe others would still be ours. But if we had no \"Acts,\" we should be\nleft with no story of the ascension, (except Luke 24:51) and the next\nrecord would be Paul's letter to the Thessalonians. The whole story of\nPentecost, and the spread of the Gospel, would be lacking, and,\nindeed, we should know nothing of the writer of the above-named\nepistle, nor how he came to write to the church in Thessalonica. We\nshould have absolutely nothing to bridge over the gap between the\nascension and this letter.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n#158.# In the Acts there are six pivotal events, on which all the rest\nof the story turns. Master these, and the whole story is clear. These\nevents we give as follows:\n\n(1) _Pentecost._ This means power. It is suggestive that the Greek\nword translated power (Acts 1:8) is the one from which our word\ndynamite comes. Bear in mind the situation at the ascension. Here were\nfishermen and common individuals, to whom was committed the carrying\nof the gospel to all the world, yet they had neither education, nor\nwealth, nor social position, nor political influence. What an\nimpossible task! What they needed, therefore, more than anything else,\nwas power from above. It was this that Pentecost gave them, and that,\ntoo, in such measure that Peter won, in one day, more disciples for\nhis Master than the Master himself had won in three and a half years.\nThus the church was founded, and before long numbered in Jerusalem\nover ten thousand persons.\n\n(2) _Persecution._ At first persecution might seem to be a disaster to\nthe church. As a matter of fact, it was a great blessing. There was\ndanger that the believers in Jerusalem would forget that they were\ntold to \"begin\" at Jerusalem, but were to go to Judea and Samaria, and\nas far as the ends of the earth. Up to the time of the persecution\nthat arose about Stephen there is no sign that the church did anything\noutside of the City of David. So, in the providence of God, the cloud\nof persecution broke on them and they were scattered abroad. Most\nfortunate it is that then they did their duty, for we read that the\ndisciples (except the Apostles who stayed in Jerusalem), went\neverywhere \"preaching the Word\" (Acts 8:1-4). This event marked the\nbeginning of that spread of the gospel that has never ceased from that\nday to this, and never will cease, until the final victory is won.\nThrough persecution it was that God stirred up the disciples, and\nforced them to do work that they seem, in their great joy over the\ntruth, to have neglected.\n\n(3) _The conversion of Saul._ By far the most dangerous enemy of the\ninfant church was Saul of Tarsus. How he worked, and how the church\nfeared him, we shall see more in detail in our next lesson. Suffice it\nto say here that had he continued in his first course, the whole\nhistory of the spread of the Gospel would have been very different\nfrom what it was. From the standpoint of the truth of God, next to\nMoses, Paul was the greatest man who has ever lived. To have him on\nthe side of the truth, instead of against it, was a great thing for\nthe church of that day and for the church since that day. That which\nis of the utmost importance in the conversion of Saul is the fact that\nJesus himself appeared to him, and in this way gave him, as it were,\nthe Master's own sanction to act as one of the Apostles. As a matter\nof fact, the two most important miracles of the New Testament are the\nresurrection of the Lord and the conversion of Saul of Tarsus.\n\n(4) _The tearing down of the middle wall of partition._ This took\nplace in Caesarea, and to Peter was given the great privilege of\ntearing this wall down. What was this wall? (Eph. 2:14.) It was one\ndivinely built centuries before. Up to the experience at Caesarea (Acts\n10) no Gentile might come into the church of God, excepting by way of\nthe Gate of the Proselyte. He must submit to Jewish ordinances and\ncustoms before he could be one of the Covenant People. The Apostles\nthemselves had no thought that the Gentiles ever could come into the\nchurch excepting in the usual way. Without circumcision, they believed\nno man could be acceptable to God. Now the time had come when this\n\"middle wall\" must come down, and to Peter was given the high\nprivilege of accomplishing this task. But to convince Peter that the\ncommand was of Divine origin, it was needful for God to perform a\ndouble miracle, the like of which had never been seen. Therefore to\nPeter on the housetop at Joppa, and to Cornelius the centurion, in\nCaesarea, God gave a vision, and when the two visions were brought\ntogether, they were found to match exactly. Then when the Holy Spirit\ncame to the men at Cornelius' house, Peter was convinced that the\nmiddle wall was down, and that to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews\nthe door was open on condition of faith in the Messiah. In this event\nand that of the church on the day of Pentecost, when Peter opened the\ndoor of the church to 3000 Jews, we see, in part at least (and in\nlarge part), the fulfilment of \"the power of the keys\" (Matt. 16:19).\nTo exaggerate the importance of this breaking down of the middle wall\nis not possible, for had not that been done, we in this day would\nstill have to become Jews before we could be members of God's church\non earth. This action by Peter was afterward endorsed by the Council\nat Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-31), at which the apostle rehearsed his\nexperiences in Caesarea.\n\n(5) _The organizing of missionary work by the church._ This was done\nin Antioch, as seen in Acts 13:1-3. In this action, guided by the Holy\nSpirit, the church at Antioch became the pioneer church in missionary\nlabor. It is worth noting that the Holy Spirit chose for this\nmissionary work, not the inferior members of the church, but their\nvery best men. What an example to the church of later days! To this\nday we need not the lesser lights for missionary work, but the great\nlights of the church. Let the lesser lights burn at home, but the\ngreat lights be sent into the outer darkness to illuminate that. This\nis the Divine plan.\n\n(6) _The crossing of the gospel from Asia to Europe._ This took place\nfrom Troas to Philippi. It was in accord with the Divine plan (Acts\n16:9). This army of invasion consisted of only four men, Paul, Silas,\nTimothy, and Luke. A feeble force, as viewed from the merely human\nstandpoint; but a potent force viewed from the Divine position. The\nstory is one of the most fascinating in all history. Noteworthy it is\nthat in Europe the first two converts were women--Lydia was the first,\nand the poor woman possessed of a spirit of divination the second\n(Acts 16). This woman was under the control of a syndicate of men, who\nmade gain from her misfortune. In these two cases we see a kind of\nprophecy of the work that the gospel does for womankind. All other\nreligions degrade woman. Only the Christian religion puts her where\nGod originally placed her, by man's side, as his helpmate.\n\nAlas! soon half of this army of invasion finds itself in prison on\naccount of its beneficent work. Yet even here they make a conquest,\nand before morning the jailor, who put them in the inner prison, is\nhimself a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ. An army with such a\nspirit as Paul and Silas had is practically invincible. Thus, the\ngospel started on its westward way, destined in due time to reach\nthese western shores, then as yet unknown to the eastern world.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhy is the Acts of the Apostles the most important book in the New\nTestament?\n\nName the first of the six pivotal events recorded in the Acts.\n\nTo what danger was the early church exposed?\n\nAbout how many members did the church in Jerusalem have before the\npersecution broke out?\n\nName the second pivotal event in the Acts.\n\nHow did the scattered disciples show their great loyalty to the truth?\n\nGive the third pivotal event in the Acts.\n\nWhat fact in the conversion of Saul is of the utmost importance?\n\nGive the fourth pivotal event.\n\nWhat was this middle wall of partition?\n\nWhat was there remarkable in the miracles that God wrought to convince\nPeter that he was to tear the wall down?\n\nName the fifth pivotal event in the Acts.\n\nWhat kind of men did the Holy Spirit choose for missionaries?\n\nGive the sixth pivotal event in the Acts.\n\nWhat significance is there in the first conversions in Europe?\n\nWhat notable victory did Paul and Silas gain in prison?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 9\n\nThe Life of Paul\n\nNew Testament Division--Third Period (Concluded)\n\n\nPRINCIPAL EVENTS\n\n    #His Early Life.#--Born (as Saul) at Tarsus, in Cilicia (Acts\n    22:3), the date of his birth not being known. His trade was\n    that of tentmaking (Acts 18:3), and this he found useful\n    later (1 Cor. 4:12). He was educated under Gamaliel, a noted\n    Rabbi (Acts 22:3; 5:34).\n\n    #His First Appearance# in the gospel story is at the stoning\n    of Stephen (Acts 8:3) and he became an active persecutor of\n    Christians (Acts 9:1; 26:10, 11; 9:13).\n\n    #His Conversion# took place on the road to Damascus (Acts\n    9:1-22; 22:3-13; 26:9-18). He went to Arabia (Gal. 1:15-17)\n    and worked in Syria and Cilicia (Gal. 1:21). He was brought\n    by Barnabas to Antioch (Acts 11:25, 26) and remained there a\n    year.\n\n    #His First Missionary Journey# began at Antioch (Acts 13:1-3)\n    and is described in Acts 13 to Acts 15:35, when a return to\n    Antioch was made. He was stoned at Lystra (Acts 14:8-19) and\n    made a number of disciples (Acts 14:20-24).\n\n    #His Second Missionary Journey# began at Antioch, where he\n    and Barnabas disagreed (Acts 15:36-40) and is recorded in\n    Acts 15 to 18:22. Timothy joined him (Acts 16:1-3), he heard\n    the call of need from Macedonia; crossing to Europe (Acts\n    16:8-10) he planted churches (Acts 17:1-9; 18:1-17) and again\n    returned to Antioch.\n\n    #His Third Missionary Journey# began at Antioch, and is\n    recorded in Acts 18:23 to Acts 21:26. It included a stay of\n    three months in Greece, and ended at Jerusalem, where he made\n    a report of his Gentile ministry (Acts 21:15-26).\n\n    #His Voyage to Rome# began with arrest in Jerusalem (Acts\n    21:27-36). A plot to kill Paul failed (Acts 23:12-14). He\n    was sent to Caesarea and appeared before the Roman rulers\n    (Acts 24, 25, 26), remaining there over two years (Acts\n    24:27). He suffered shipwreck (Acts 27:1-44), but reached\n    Rome at last (Acts 28:1-31).\n\n    #His Sufferings# are outlined in 2 Corinthians 11:25-28.\n\n#TIME.#--About A. D. 2 to A. D. 63.\n\n#PLACES.#--Tarsus, Jerusalem, Arabia, Damascus, Antioch, Cyprus,\nPerga, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Malta, Galatia,\nTroas, Corinth, Athens, Caesarea, Rome. (Details of Paul's journeys\nare given in the Appendix.)\n\n#SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.#--Paul bequeathed to his Christian posterity\nthe record of a life unreservedly consecrated to service and a series\nof letters which set forth the philosophy of Christian belief in a\nmanner that for simplicity and depth has never been surpassed.\n\n  [Illustration]\n\n\nPaul--Persecutor and Preacher\n\n#159. His Birthplace.#--Saul was born in Tarsus in Cilicia, which was\none of the university cities of that day. Unlike John the Baptist,\ntherefore, Saul was a city-bred man, and this urban influence is seen\nin the illustrations of truth that he loves to use. They deal largely\nwith city life. The influence, too, of a city is apparent in his\nmental make-up, for no one like Saul could be brought up in a\nuniversity town without feeling the influence of his environment.\n\n#160. His Age.#--Exactly when he was born is not known. But all seem\nto agree that it was about the same time as our Lord, so that when\nJesus was playing in the streets of Nazareth, Saul may have been\nplaying in the streets of Tarsus. His parents evidently intended that\nhe should be a rabbi, but before he went to Jerusalem, there to\ncontinue his studies, they had him learn the trade of a tentmaker\n(Acts 18:3). This trade was most useful to him in later days (1 Cor.\n4:12). In Jerusalem he was under the instruction of a noted teacher\nnamed Gamaliel, (Acts 5:34), and Saul names him as his teacher in Acts\n22:3.\n\n#161. He comes before us first# in the stoning of Stephen, where he\ncares for the garments of those who did the actual stoning of the\nfirst martyr. Then for a while he stands to the forefront in the\nbitter persecution of the new and hated sect of the Nazarene. For the\nfearful work that he did in Jerusalem read Acts 8:3, and Acts 9:1; for\nsimilar work done elsewhere also Acts 26:10, 11. How widely he was\nsoon known as a ruthless persecutor we learn from Acts 9:13. On\naccount of all this he was the most feared man in the world by all\nbelievers.\n\n#162. His miraculous conversion# took place on the way to Damascus on\nan errand of persecution. Of this we have one narrative given by Luke,\nand two given by the Apostle himself. (Acts 9:1-22; Acts 22:3-13; Acts\n26:9-18). From the moment of his conversion, Saul was a changed man.\nThat which he hated before he now loved, and for the sake of his newly\nfound Master he was willing to suffer all the persecutions that he\nhimself had up to that time meted out to others. As a consequence of\nhis preaching in Damascus he was obliged to flee, and he went at once\nto Arabia (Gal. 1:15-17), where many think that he spent three years\nin the vicinity of Mount Sinai, where Moses and Elijah had learned so\nmuch. It may be also that before he comes to the front in the story\ntold by Luke, he was in Syria and Cilicia, as mentioned in Galatians\n1:21.\n\n#163. In connection with the revival in Antioch#, he is introduced by\nBarnabas, who went to Tarsus and got him to aid him in his work (Acts\n11:25, 26). Here the Apostle remained for about one year, doing grand\nwork for the church in that place. As we have seen in our lesson on\nthe Acts, this was the church which organized the first missionary\nwork, and sent Paul and Barnabas as their missionaries to other\ncities. Here begins #Paul's first missionary journey# (Acts 13:2). In\nall his work Paul aimed at cities, for he knew that there he could\nfind men, and these were what he sought. This first journey took him\nto Cyprus, Perga, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, and back\nthrough Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, to Attalia, and back to Antioch in\nSyria. Let the scholar read the story as told in Acts 13 and 14. In\nLystra it was that he and Barnabas were first deified--thought to be\ngods,--and not long after nearly killed by the inhabitants of that\ncity. In Malta later on he was first taken for a murderer, and then\nlater on deified. Paul is the only man in all the Bible history who\nhad such varied experiences.\n\n#164. In his second missionary journey# he started once more from\nAntioch, and together with Silas made a tour of the cities touched in\nhis first journey. Then they went into Galatia, and so on to Troas.\nHere it was that the vision of the man of Macedonia came to Paul, and\nthe result was that they crossed over to Europe. In our last lesson we\nsaw this army of four start on their journey across the Hellespont,\nthey being destined to bring to Europe the gospel of the grace of God.\nFor the narrative of this journey let the scholar look up carefully\nActs 15:36 to 18:22. In this tour he remained for a year and a half at\nCorinth. The place where he found the least persecution was Athens,\nand there too he found the least real seriousness. The Athenians seem\nto have cared too little about religion to take the trouble to\npersecute.\n\n#165. The third missionary journey begins in# Acts 18:23, and the\nchief episode of this journey is that which took place in Ephesus\n(Acts 19, 20). In this city Paul remained for two years (Acts 19:10).\nHere was kindled the most remarkable bonfire that the world had ever\nseen, it being made up of books of incantation, that the idolaters\nwere now willing to consign to the flames.\n\n#166. Paul's journey to Rome# really begins at Jerusalem, whither he\nhad gone to take alms to his fellow-countrymen who were in distress.\nHere he was set upon and arrested, and then taken to Caesarea, where he\nappeared before Festus, Felix, and Agrippa. Here he was delayed for\nmore than two years. Then he was sent to Rome on trial for his life.\nIn this voyage the great shipwreck occurred. (For further details of\nthis wonderful life, the scholar is referred to Dr. Stalker's Life of\nPaul, a most wonderful and brief setting forth of the main incidents\nof the life of the Apostle.)\n\n#167.# In all this story of Paul's labors and sufferings there are\ngreat gaps. This is seen as soon as we compare his life, as given in\nthe Acts, with one statement of his to the Corinthians, as given in 2\nCorinthians 11:25-28. Put in parallel columns, so as to bring them\nout, the record is as follows:\n\n       #Paul's Story#                      #Luke's Story#\n\n  Five times whipped by Jews.       Not one mentioned.\n\n  Thrice scourged by Romans.        Only one mentioned.\n\n  Thrice shipwrecked.               Not mentioned, for the shipwreck\n                                    given in Acts was subsequent\n                                    to those named.\n\n  A night and a day in the deep.    Not mentioned.\n\n#168. A Triumphant Life.#--Therefore, Paul was bound to the\nwhipping-post _eight times_, and suffered shipwreck _four times_,\nwhile once he clung to wreckage for twenty-four hours before he could\nget to land. Yet in spite of all this he could exclaim, \"Wherefore I\ntake pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in\npersecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak,\nthen am I strong\" (2 Cor. 12:10). And in spite of all that he suffered\nhe could also cry out: \"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am,\ntherein to be content\" (Phil. 4:11). It seems to us that if the\nApostle had been asked, \"Where did you learn this truly wonderful\nlesson?\" he might have replied, \"The whipping-post was my academy, and\nmobs with clenched fists and paving-stones were my professors.\nFastings and perils in the deep were my college, and my midnight\nvigils were kept in the inner prison. Weariness and pain were my\ntext-books, and kings and rulers my lecturers. Chained soldiers were\nmy room-mates, a thorn in the flesh was my monitor, and Christ the\ncrucified was Head-master.\"\n\n#169.# All agree that at last Paul suffered martyrdom in Rome, by\nbeing beheaded. So ended the life of the most useful man of that day,\nand the great leader in work among the Gentiles.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\nWhere was Saul born?\n\nWhat distinguished Tarsus at that day?\n\nWhat trade did Saul learn, and how was it useful to him in after-life?\n\nWhen does he first come before us as a historical character?\n\nWhat kind of a life did he live after the martyrdom of Stephen?\n\nGive an account of his conversion.\n\nWhere did he go from Damascus at once on his conversion?\n\nGive the outline of his first missionary journey.\n\nWhat remarkable experience did he have at Lystra?\n\nGive the tour of his second missionary journey.\n\nWhat was the principal city in which he wrought on his third journey?\n\nGive an account of his sufferings as given in his letter to the\nCorinthians compared with Luke's narrative.\n\nWhere did Paul suffer martyrdom, and in what way?\n\n\nTest Questions for Review\n\nLessons 6 to 9\n\n1. What were the charges in the ecclesiastical trial of Jesus?\n\n2. What in the political trial?\n\n3. Name the persons who were present at the crucifixion.\n\n4. Give the six truths concerning the resurrection.\n\n5. Mention in their order the various appearances of Jesus to his\ndisciples.\n\n6. What other appearances may be added to these?\n\n7. Describe the Ascension.\n\n8. What are the six pivotal events recorded in Acts?\n\n9. What fact in Saul's conversion is of the utmost importance?\n\n10. What victory did Paul and Silas gain in prison?\n\n11. Give the outline of Paul's first missionary journey.\n\n12. Of his second.\n\n13. Where did Paul suffer martyrdom and how?\n\n\n\n\nHow the Bible Came to Us\n\nBY IRA MAURICE PRICE, PH. D.\n\n    Professor of the Semitic Languages and Literatures in the\n    University of Chicago.\n\n\n#1.# The English Bible is the Bible of the English-speaking world. It\nis used in several editions or translations. The most prominent of\nthese are the Authorized, or King James Version (of 1611), and the\nRevised Version (of 1881-5), and the American Standard Revision (of\n1901). The recent revisions are supplied with marginal references and\nnotes, both to parallel and to explanatory texts. In addition to these\ncitations we find frequent references to the Heb(rew), Sept(uagint),\nVulg(ate), and Syr(iac) readings. That is to say, the translators of\nthe English Bible refer the reader to some variant reading in one of\nthe great Bibles of the ancient world, for some valuable explanation\nof, or variant from, the reading found on the page of the Bible being\nread. In other words, we see by the margins of our English Bible, that\nthere are many old Bibles in different languages which scholars must\nstudy if they give us the best that can be produced.\n\n#2.# Every one who can read the Bible in English must recognize the\nfact that our Bible is only a translation from the language in which\nthe books of both Testaments were originally written. The original\nlanguage of the Old Testament is Hebrew with a few sections appearing\nin the Aramaic tongue; and the New Testament is Greek. Any translator\nwho wishes to give us an English Bible that will be closest to the\nmeaning intended by the original writers, must translate out of those\ntwo languages. If any of us has ever attempted to translate a\nlanguage, he knows how difficult it is to transfer the exact thought\nof one tongue into another.\n\n#3.# The Hebrew language of the Old Testament is full of\npicture-thoughts. It is simple in construction, and has a very small\nnumber of words in actual use. It was the language of the Hebrew\npeoples during the time of their national existence, but degenerated\ninto Aramaic some time after their return from the exile. The\ntremendous expressive power of the language is seen in the great\nsermons of the prophets, especially Isaiah, and in the poetry of Job\nand the Psalms.\n\n#4.# The founding and the growth of Alexandria under Greek influence\nled to an epoch in the history of the Bible. Facilities for trade and\nother reasons made this city attractive to the Jews. Greek, however,\nwas the prevailing language of the community. Early in the third\ncentury B. C. the proportion of Greek-speaking Jews became so large\nthat there was a call for their Scriptures in their adopted tongue. To\nsupply this religious need of the Jews, the Hebrew Bible was\ntranslated (about 280-130 B. C.) into the Greek language. This Greek\nBible contained all the books of the Hebrew Bible, and several other\nsmall books now called \"the Apocrypha.\"\n\n#5.# This Greek Bible, now called the Septuagint (\"Seventy\"), so named\nbecause it was thought to have been translated from the Hebrew by\n\"seventy\" men, became the Bible of the Old Testament for the\nGreek-speaking world. In the time of our Lord it was largely used by\nthe New Testament writers. It was quoted by them, and especially by\nPaul, almost everywhere. It was the Bible of the early Christian\nchurch until the conquest of Rome and the Latin tongue required a\ntranslation into Latin. These early Latin translations of the Old\nTestament were all made from the Septuagint. There were also some\nscholars in the church who, not being satisfied with the translation\nof the Septuagint, made translations of their own. These were of some\nvalue to scholars, such as that most famous of all Biblical students,\nOrigen (186-254 A. D.) who were trying to construct the best Greek\ntext of the Bible.\n\n#6.# The many and differing Latin translations that were current in\nthe second, third, and fourth centuries led Jerome, a fully equipped\nand competent scholar, to translate the whole Bible from the original\nlanguages into good idiomatic Latin (384-405). His translation\ndiffered so much from those versions in general use that it was\nsharply and bitterly criticized by the less scholarly and more hostile\nenemies of progress. But the faithfulness of his translation to the\noriginal text commended it to the most thoughtful men of the Christian\nchurch, and before many centuries it became the Bible of the\nLatin-speaking and Latin-using world. That was the Bible adopted by\nthe Council of Trent, April 8, 1546, as the official Bible of the\nRoman Catholic Church. With the exception of the Psalms, which is\nsimply a revision of an old Latin Psalter, and the apocryphal books\nincluded in the collection, this is Jerome's translation, made\n384-405, which was so drastically condemned when it first appeared.\n\n#7.# In northern Syria there was a body of Christians who used the\nSyrian language. Somewhere in the second century they made, or had\nmade for them, a translation of the Bible to aid them in their\nChristian growth. The translation from Hebrew Old Testament into\nSyriac was a translation from one sister tongue into another, and was\nthus quite freely rendered. If one should to-day translate from Dutch\ninto German, he would feel free to vary from the literal if thereby he\nthought he could help bring out the meaning of the original language.\nThis Syriac translation, while a beautiful piece of work, was most too\nfreely done to be of much value to scholars who are to-day trying to\nfind out what the text could have been from which it was made. There\nare none of the Latin Bible apocryphal books in the Syriac version.\n\n#8.# These facts show us that the early Christian church in Egypt,\nPalestine, Syria, Asia Minor, and Europe used the Bible mainly in\nthree versions, viz.: Septuagint Greek, Latin Vulgate, and the\nSyriac--all valuable, prominent texts. Of Greek texts there were\nseveral translations current among different branches of the early\nchurch.\n\n#9.# When the peoples on the outskirts of civilization became\nChristianized they also were provided with the Scriptures, translated\ninto their tongues from one of the three or four great versions of\nthat day. Thus we have the Bible in Arabic, Ethiopic, Armenian,\nGothic, Slavonic and a lot of other border languages.\n\n#10.# The Bible was introduced into England very early in the\nChristian centuries, and it was one of the Latin versions current in\nthe Western world. This was succeeded by the Vulgate Latin. Preachers\nand teachers were obliged to interpret this in the language of the\nnative peoples. Some fragments of these interpretations, paraphrases,\nand translations remain to the present day, preserved in the\nAnglo-Saxon or early English tongue. In the fourteenth century,\nWycliffe (1320-1384) gave us the first English Bible, translated, not\nfrom the original Hebrew and Greek, but from the Latin Vulgate,--a\ntranslation of a translation. This was received with slight favor by\nthe churchmen of that day.\n\n#11.# Not until the sixteenth century do we have an English Bible\ntranslated out of the original languages of the Bible. After great\nopposition and severe trial Tyndale succeeded in printing in Germany\nand distributing in England an English New Testament translated from\nthe Greek. But his books were confiscated, and burned in London by the\nchurch officials. Remaining on the continent and prosecuting his\ntranslation of the Old Testament he was finally kidnapped, imprisoned,\nstrangled, and burned at the stake October 6, 1536--all because he\ntranslated the Bible into English so that the common people could read\nit. Within one year after his martyrdom his translation was published\nunder another name by royal authority, the authority of Henry VIII.\nFor several years English Bibles flowed from the presses of England\nand the continent in several editions, most prominent of which were\n\"Matthew's,\" Coverdale's, and the Great Bible. A revulsion against\nProtestantism cut off Cromwell's head and gave Bible-popularity a\nsetback. Edward VI (1547-3) espoused the cause of the Protestants,\nwhile Mary Tudor (1553-8) burned at the stake many of the best men of\nthe times, such as Ridley, Latimer, and John Rogers. In the reign of\nQueen Elizabeth (1558-1603) Bible translation and publication, both\nProtestant and Catholic, made rapid progress. There were published the\nGeneva version (1560), the Bishops' Bible (1568), and the Rheims New\nTestament (Roman Catholic, 1582). Of all these the Geneva Bible became\nthe most popular.\n\n#12.# Early in the reign of James I (1603-25) a movement was set on\nfoot to provide a new and better English translation of the Bible.\nMost of the eminent Biblical scholars of England set to work and\nproduced in 1611 the Authorized Version of the Bible; it is a model of\ngood English and a very faithful translation of the original texts\nknown at that time.\n\n#13.# Between 1611, the date of appearance of the Authorized Version,\nand 1870, the date of the beginning of a revision, a period of more\nthan 250 years, scholars found a large number of very valuable\nmanuscripts of the Bible, older and nearer the lost originals than any\nhitherto known. The English language, too, in that space of time, had\nchanged in some important particulars. During this same period,\nseveral private attempts were made to give us a new and better\ntranslation than the Authorized Version. Several works were produced\non the added new material of the new manuscripts now known to\nscholars. In fact, there was agitation toward a new translation on the\ngrounds of the better Hebrew and Greek texts now at hand, of the more\nthorough and comprehensive scholarship available, and of the obsolete\nlanguage of the Authorized Version.\n\n#14.# In 1870 steps were taken toward revision, and before many years\nboth a British and American Revision Committee, made up of many of the\nleading British and American Biblical scholars, were at work. After\nten years of most conscientious and careful effort the Revised Version\nof the New Testament appeared in 1881, and four years later, in 1885,\nthe Old Testament appeared--thus completing a translation on the basis\nof the best manuscripts now known to the scholarly world.\n\n#15.# The American Revision Committee, not as conservative as the\nBritish in the retention of old terms, words and phrases, carefully\nrevised the Revised Version and issued in 1901 The American Standard\nRevised Version--the best edition of the Bible in the English\nlanguage.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What are the three most prominent of the editions of the Bible in\nEnglish?\n\n2. What are the two original languages of the Old Testament? The\noriginal language of the New Testament?\n\n3. What is a special characteristic of the Hebrew language?\n\n4. What is meant by the Septuagint?\n\n5. Who was the great translator of the Bible into Latin? By what\nchurch was it officially adopted?\n\n6. Into what language akin to Hebrew was the Bible translated, and\nthrough the agency of what people?\n\n7. What versions were mainly in use in the early Christian church?\n\n8. Who gave us the first English Bible, and when?\n\n9. Who first translated the Bible into English from the original Bible\nlanguages?\n\n10. Tell the story of Tyndale's version.\n\n11. What other editions were prominent at about that time?\n\n12. What gave Bible popularity a setback?\n\n13. What Bibles were published during the reign of Queen Elizabeth?\n\n14. In whose reign and by whom was the Authorized Version produced?\n\n15. Why was a revision deemed necessary?\n\n16. In what year did the Revised Version of the New Testament appear?\nThe Old Testament revision?\n\n17. What body of men prepared the Revision?\n\n18. Who prepared the American Standard Revised Version, and in general\nhow does it differ from the Revised Version?\n\n\n\n\nThe Gist of the Books\n\n\nThe Old Testament--The Pentateuch\n\n    #Genesis#\n\n    The book of beginnings--the creation; the fall of man; the\n    beginnings of the chosen people.\n\n    #Exodus#\n\n    The story of the _going out_ of the chosen people from Egypt\n    to Canaan, with an account of God's dealings with his people\n    in guiding them into national life.\n\n    #Leviticus#\n\n    Laws and ceremonies of the tabernacle for the priestly tribe\n    of Levi, as a guide in their service.\n\n    #Numbers#\n\n    The book of the numbering of the people on two occasions--(1)\n    At Sinai, in the second year of the wanderings; (2) On the\n    Jordan, in the fortieth year. Containing the story of the\n    wanderings, from Sinai to the countries east of the Jordan.\n\n    #Deuteronomy#\n\n    The repetition of the Law, to the people who had been born in\n    the wilderness, as applied to the coming life in Canaan;\n    appointment of Joshua to succeed Moses; the account of the\n    death of Moses.\n\n\nHistorical Books\n\n    #Joshua#\n\n    The story of the Conquest of Canaan; distribution of the\n    land; locating tabernacle at Shiloh; and death of Joshua.\n\n    #Judges#\n\n    The story of Israel's political and religious decline after\n    Joshua's death. \"There was no king in Israel; every man did\n    that which was right in his own eyes.\" A history of the\n    Judges from death of Joshua.\n\n    #Ruth#\n\n    The link connecting the period of the Judges with the\n    Monarchy, giving David's genealogy, and furnishing many\n    instances of faith, and of the bringing of good out of evil.\n\n    #1 and 2 Samuel#\n\n    A continuation of the history of the Judges, telling of Eli\n    and Samuel, and the story of Saul's anointing and reign, and\n    the rise and reign of David.\n\n    #1 and 2 Kings#\n\n    The history of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah from the\n    death of David to the captivity. The story of the conflict\n    between Jehovah and Baal. The life-stories of Elijah and\n    Elisha.\n\n    #1 and 2 Chronicles#\n\n    Giving matter supplementary to the preceding books; the\n    temple ritual under David and Solomon; restoration of church\n    and nation after captivity.\n\n    #Ezra#\n\n    The return of the captives under Zerubbabel; the rebuilding\n    of the temple; the second return of captives in time of\n    Artaxerxes Longimanus and Ezra's reformation of the people.\n\n    #Nehemiah#\n\n    The rebuilding of the city walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah;\n    reforms, civil and religious; restoration of Temple services;\n    re-enacting of Mosaic law.\n\n    #Esther#\n\n    An episode in the history of the Israelites who remained in\n    captivity, showing the overruling power of Providence.\n\n\nPoetical Books\n\n    #Job#\n\n    The story of Job's sufferings and patient endurance; the\n    wisdom and power of God in dealing with him; his closing days\n    of peace and prosperity.\n\n    #Psalms#\n\n    A compilation of songs of praise and devotion, used\n    especially in the public worship of Jehovah.\n\n    #Proverbs#\n\n    A manual of practical rules of life setting wisdom over\n    against folly--principally the work of Solomon.\n\n    #Ecclesiastes#\n\n    The story of a search for happiness in the things of the\n    world, concluding with the emptiness of everything but the\n    doing of God's will.\n\n    #Song of Solomon#\n\n    There are three principal views concerning the Song of\n    Solomon or Song of Songs: (1) As a spiritual allegory,\n    teaching God's love for Israel; (2) As an allegory with\n    Christ as the Lover and his church as the beloved; (3) As the\n    story of Solomon's love for the Shulamite.\n\n\nThe Prophetical Books\n\n\n_The Major Prophets_\n\n    #Isaiah#\n\n    Prophecies against Jerusalem; a forecast of Messianic days;\n    the relation of the Jewish nation to its enemies; the\n    disappearance of national distinctions, and the great future\n    of the church.\n\n    #Jeremiah#\n\n    Warnings to the Jews; a survey of all nations; a promise of\n    return from exile; prophecies regarding Egypt.\n\n    #Lamentations#\n\n    A pathetic ode, expressing Jeremiah's grief over the\n    destruction of Jerusalem and its Temple, and the miseries of\n    slavery and famine.\n\n    #Ezekiel#\n\n    Prophecies before and after the destruction of Jerusalem,\n    exhorting to repentance; pronouncing God's judgment on the\n    surrounding nations; and visions of the final glory of God's\n    people in a new Jerusalem.\n\n    #Daniel#\n\n    The story of Daniel in Babylon, and particularly noteworthy\n    because of its Messianic predictions.\n\n\n_The Minor Prophets_\n\n    #Hosea#\n\n    Points out the unfaithfulness of Israel; the necessity for\n    punishment; the final restoration of Israel.\n\n    #Joel#\n\n    A prophetical description of locusts, drought, and invasion,\n    with exhortation to fasting, prayer, and repentance; a\n    promise of blessing; a warning of the destruction of\n    Jerusalem; a foretelling of the founding of Messiah's\n    Kingdom.\n\n    #Amos#\n\n    Denounces sins of nations around Israel and Judah; describes\n    the state of the two kingdoms, and pictures the coming of the\n    Messiah and restoration of the people.\n\n    #Obadiah#\n\n    Predicts annihilation of Edom, and contrasts it with the\n    future restoration of Israel, who are to possess Edom and\n    Philistia, and enjoy the promises of the Messiah.\n\n    #Jonah#\n\n    The story of Jonah's mission to the Ninevites, his\n    wilfulness, and God's love for the nations.\n\n    #Micah#\n\n    Depicts the fall of Israel and Judah; the better things to\n    come; foretells invasions of Sennacherib and Shalmaneser, the\n    dispersion of Israel, destruction of Jerusalem and Assyria,\n    and the birthplace and kingdom of Christ.\n\n    #Nahum#\n\n    A _consoler_ from Jehovah, foretelling the downfall of\n    Assyria, and repeating Jonah's denunciations of Assyria.\n\n    #Habakkuk#\n\n    Foretells destruction of the Chaldeans; utters song of praise\n    for the power and mercy of Jehovah, with confidence in his\n    mercy on his people.\n\n    #Zephaniah#\n\n    Prophetic warnings against Judah, and the Baal and Moloch\n    worship, ending with reproofs to Jerusalem, and promise of\n    final restoration.\n\n    #Haggai#\n\n    An arousement of the people to support Zerubbabel and Joshua\n    (the high priest) in building the Temple.\n\n    #Zechariah#\n\n    Encourages the Jews to push on in building the Temple;\n    foreshadows national history and the coming of the Messiah.\n\n    #Malachi#\n\n    Reproves the profanation of the priests in the New Temple,\n    and foretells the appearance of the Messiah to purify the\n    Temple.\n\n\nThe New Testament--Historical Books\n\n    #Matthew#\n\n    The nature of the Kingdom of Heaven; the miracles to\n    illustrate Jesus' teachings; the opposition of Pharisees;\n    Jesus as the kingly Messiah.\n\n    #Mark#\n\n    Emphasizes the deeds of Christ, the mighty Saviour.\n\n    #Luke#\n\n    Sets forth the redemptive character of Christ.\n\n    #John#\n\n    Emphasizes the deity of Christ.\n\n    #Acts#\n\n    The history of the founding and extending of the Christian\n    Church--under Peter and Paul.\n\n\nThe Epistles--Pauline\n\n    #Romans#\n\n    The summary of God's dealings with mankind, from first\n    adoption to sonship, showing sinfulness of human race; the\n    way of salvation; the Christian's duty and privileges; the\n    development of truth; personal messages.\n\n    #1 and 2 Corinthians#\n\n    (1) The church as it was at that time; reproof of the\n    factional spirit; intercourse with heathen; words about the\n    Lord's supper; resurrection of the dead. (2) The model\n    pastor; thankfulness for the removal of evils against which\n    Paul had written in the first letter; indignation at the\n    arrogance of his opponents.\n\n    #Galatians#\n\n    The \"magna charta of Christian liberty.\" Contains details of\n    Paul's life. Salvation impossible through works of the law.\n    Brief outline of plan of salvation as given in Romans. Its\n    argument makes Christianity not a Jewish sect but a world\n    religion.\n\n    #Ephesians#\n\n    On the Ideal Church. Written to strengthen those who had left\n    heathenism, contrasting their present higher life with the\n    former degradation.\n\n    #Philippians#\n\n    On the Ideal Christian. Written during Paul's first\n    imprisonment in Rome--a letter of grateful affection, of joy\n    over the Philippian Christians, and comment upon his\n    imprisonment and prospects.\n\n    #Colossians#\n\n    On the Ideal Saviour. The supremacy of Christ as the source\n    of all spiritual blessings; the stimulus of Paul's own\n    example in pressing on to the truth; a warning against false\n    teachings; the effect of sharing in Christ's resurrection.\n\n    #1 and 2 Thessalonians#\n\n    (1) Gratitude for their acceptance of the Gospel; the glories\n    of resurrection and of the transformed body; (2) To correct\n    an impression that the resurrection was near at hand;\n    exhortations to perseverance, and appeals for the prayers of\n    the Thessalonians.\n\n    #1 and 2 Timothy#\n\n    To counteract the Judaizing influence at work against Paul's\n    views of Christianity, and to encourage Timothy in his\n    duties, with directions as to public worship, and friendly\n    counsel to Timothy.\n\n    #Titus#\n\n    Advice as to the course to pursue in helping the church in\n    Crete to overcome degenerate state; church organization,\n    qualification of elders, suppression of false teachers;\n    personal words to Titus; the importance of good works.\n\n    #Philemon#\n\n    A letter of reconciliation on behalf of Philemon's converted\n    slave Onesimus, by whom the letter was taken to Philemon.\n\n    #Hebrews#\n\n    Showing the superiority of the Christian over the Jewish\n    dispensation, because its Author is superior to Moses;\n    because the Old Covenant was incomplete; and warnings against\n    relapses into Judaism.\n\n\nThe Epistles--General\n\n    #James#\n\n    An Epistle of Faith. Addressed to Jewish Christians, on\n    sincerity and patience; against hypocrisy, self-deceit,\n    adulation of the rich, and contempt of the poor; on ruling\n    the tongue; on false charity; and warning against trying to\n    serve God and Mammon.\n\n    #1 Peter#\n\n    The first of two Epistles of Hope. As to earthly trials; a\n    holy life; duty as citizens, slaves, husbands, wives; pastors\n    and their duties.\n\n    #2 Peter#\n\n    Perseverance in faith and good works; punishment of the\n    impenitent; certainty of the Second Advent.\n\n    #1 John#\n\n    The first of three Epistles of Love. A doctrinal discourse,\n    especially to Gentiles in Asia Minor, aiming to show the true\n    doctrine as to the Person of Christ, and communion with him\n    as necessary to a holy life, and intended to confirm them in\n    their faith.\n\n    #2 John#\n\n    \"To the elect lady\" (of whom nothing certain is known) and\n    her children--an exhortation to love, faith, godliness, and a\n    warning against false teachers.\n\n    #3 John#\n\n    To Gaius, of whom nothing certain is known, commending him\n    for hospitality and piety, warning him against Diotrephes,\n    and asking his help for Demetrius.\n\n    #Jude#\n\n    Remarkable for an otherwise unrecorded saying of Enoch (v.\n    14). Warns against false teachers. Cites examples of\n    impenitence, and affirms certainty of judgment and punishment\n    of the wicked.\n\n\nProphetical\n\n    #Revelation#\n\n    The only prophetical book of the New Testament. The visions\n    of John the Apostle on the Isle of Patmos, in his old age.\n\n\n\n\nTHE PUPIL\n\nANTOINETTE ABERNETHY LAMOREAUX\n\n\n  LESSON                                          PAGE\n   1. Knowing the Pupil                            139\n   2. The Beginners Age--Three to Six              143\n   3. Beginners Age (concluded)                    147\n   4. The Primary Age--Six to Nine                 151\n   5. Junior Age--Nine to Twelve                   155\n   6. Junior Age (concluded)                       159\n   7. The Intermediate Age--Twelve to Sixteen      163\n   8. The Intermediate Age (concluded)             167\n   9. The Senior Age--Sixteen to Maturity          171\n  10. Maturity                                     175\n\n\n\n\nTeaching Hints\n\n\n    Leaders of classes, and individuals pursuing these studies\n    apart from classes, are urged to read the chapter entitled\n    \"Teaching Hints,\" on page 259, before beginning this\n    section\n\n\n\n\nLesson 1\n\nKnowing the Pupil\n\n\n#1.# There never was a time when so many people were students of human\nlife as to-day. Professional men, business men, politicians,\neducators, parents, indeed the whole thinking world has apparently\nmatriculated in a college of life. What is it, how does it develop,\nhow may it be influenced, how led to action? These are typical\nquestions to which answers are sought. There would be no value in this\nstudy were it not for the fact that life, like all other of God's\ncreations, is under law, and the laws are unchangeable and universal.\nCertain causes will always produce certain results under normal\nconditions.\n\n#2.# Since these laws of life may be known, two conclusions follow:\nfirst, results which are desired in a life can be intelligently\nplanned for; second, haphazard, ignorant work with a life becomes\nculpable in proportion to the issues at stake and the opportunity for\nacquiring skill in the work.\n\n#3. Why the Sunday-school Teacher should know the Pupil.#--Next to\nfathers and mothers, the duty of understanding life is laid most\nimperatively upon Sunday-school teachers. Four unanswerable arguments\npresent themselves as proof.\n\n(1) _The issues are the most vital in the world._ The case the lawyer\nseeks to win is important, but the case the teacher seeks to win\ninvolves character, not reputation, and the outcome is eternal.\n\n(2) _A mistake with a life cannot be wholly rectified._ There is a\nbest time for each phase of work with a life--a time to form habits\nand store memory, a time to shape ideals and to crystallize life\npurposes, a time to broaden sympathies and to lead to service; if this\nbest time be passed, the results, if obtainable at all later, come\nwith greater effort and with less success.\n\n(3) _The time is short._ Measured on the dial, an hour in a week or a\nlifetime out of an eternity is too brief to allow of one wasted\nmoment, one experimental or ignorant touch upon a soul. But measured\nby the duration of a given opportunity the time is shorter still.\nConditions in the life are constantly changing, never to return in\nthe same way again. What is done in \"buying up the opportunity,\" must\nbe done quickly.\n\n(4) _Success is largely conditioned upon obedience to God's laws._\nOnly the Holy Spirit can make spiritual work effective, but he always\noperates in accordance with God's laws. There are conditions between\nthe teacher and God which must be met before he can work, and\nconditions between the teacher and the pupil. These conditions or laws\nare not hidden and mysterious, but may be definitely known, and in\nproportion as they are obeyed will God have access to the soul of the\npupil.\n\n#4. What the Teacher Should Know about the Pupil.#--Every teacher owes\nto God and to the life he seeks to touch a twofold knowledge: first, a\nknowledge of the general laws in all life, and second, a knowledge of\nthe individual life of each pupil.\n\n(1) _General knowledge._ Since the purpose of this study of the pupil\nis to afford a general knowledge of life, four preliminary statements\nwill suffice in this connection.\n\n    (a) Life is constantly changing. This change is evident in\n    growth or increase in size and development or increase in\n    power. It occurs not only in the body but the soul as well,\n    or that part of life which is not physical, and is a result\n    of nourishing food and proper exercise. The Sunday-school has\n    recognized this fact of change by its division of the life of\n    the pupil into six periods, Beginners, Primary, Junior,\n    Intermediate, Senior, and Adult. These periods mark different\n    stages in development.\n\n    (b) Each period has certain predominant characteristics and\n    out of these characteristics arise definite opportunities and\n    needs. To meet these opportunities and needs is the goal of\n    work for each period. The final goal of developed Christian\n    character can be attained only through reaching the goal of\n    each period.\n\n    (c) Development is gradual, constant and progressive. The\n    soul comes into the world containing infinite but undeveloped\n    possibilities. The unfolding is gradual and constant as the\n    possibilities are called out by the needs of the life. There\n    is also an order in unfolding. The soul develops power for\n    simple mental processes first and for the complex later:\n    interest in self first and in others later; consciousness of\n    the natural first, the spiritual later. The teacher who knows\n    God's order, obeys his laws and waits his time is the teacher\n    whose seed sowing is reaped in the hundredfold harvest.\n\n    (d) It is impossible to ignore the physical and mental side\n    of the pupil and be successful in spiritual work with him.\n    The lesson cannot reach the soul save by way of physical\n    senses and a physical brain and mental processes identical\n    with those necessary in apprehending a history lesson. The\n    Holy Spirit applies the truth to the life but he has only so\n    much to apply as has been received into the mind. Therefore\n    pure air and bodily comfort, acute senses and obedience to\n    the laws of the mind are as surely linked with spiritual work\n    as prayer.\n\n(2) _Specific knowledge._ Though all lives possess the same general\ncharacteristics and are under the same general laws, no two lives are\nidentical. Some unfold more rapidly than others, some have larger\ncapacity and more latent possibilities than others and all are in\ndiffering circumstances. It is this variation that makes\nindividuality, and the more perfect the adaptation of the teacher's\nwork to the individual the greater the teacher's success.\n\nAgain, each life is immeasurably influenced by its environment. No\nteacher can understand a pupil without knowing what has entered into\nhis life. \"I am a part of all that I have met.\" The home and the daily\nsurroundings are the explanation of what the pupil is and an index to\nwhat he needs. This specific knowledge can come only through close\npersonal observation and sympathetic intimacy with the pupil. In this\nintimacy is revealed the pathway to the heart, as it winds through\nambitions and interests and love. Unless the teacher find this path to\nthe tender, responsive place whose gateway each soul keeps for itself,\nthe seed must fall on the stony ground where germination is\nimpossible.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. Since laws of life are known, what two conclusions follow?\n\n2. Give four reasons why the Sunday-school teacher should know the\npupil.\n\n3. What twofold knowledge about the pupil should the teacher have?\n\n4. How has the Sunday-school recognized the changing life of the\npupil?\n\n5. Give three characteristics of development.\n\n6. How may specific knowledge of the pupil be gained by the teacher?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 2\n\nThe Beginners Age, Three to Six\n\n\n#5. General Characteristics#\n\n(1) _Absorption._ The Beginners period, together with the Primary,\nJunior, and Intermediate periods, is pre-eminently the absorptive time\nof life. As the possibilities of the soul begin to awaken, curiosity,\nimitation, imagination, feeling and all the manifold expressions of\nits power, they require food and exercise just as the body requires\nthem to develop strength. Hence these years of most rapid development\nare the years of greatest hunger, physical and mental, of greatest\ncapacity to receive and assimilate, and of greatest activity.\n\n(2) _Rounded development._ These periods are also the years of rounded\ndevelopment. Every part of the body is growing and every power of the\nsoul. While development is not perfectly symmetrical and balanced, as\nfor example, feeling developing strength before reason, imagination\nbefore self-control, it is nevertheless all-sided and requires in\nconsequence nourishment and activity in every part.\n\nConditions change as maturity approaches and development becomes more\nand more narrowed to a special line. The muscles of the blacksmith's\narm increase in strength, the fingers of the violinist grow more\nflexible, the imagination of the poet more beautiful, the analytic\npower of the lawyer more keen, until physical and mental power begin\nto break; but, outside of the specialty, growth and development\npractically cease because of the cessation of nourishment and activity\non other sides.\n\n\n#6. Special Characteristics#\n\n(1) _Restlessness_. This is the most restless period of all the\nSunday-school life. A surplus of activity is generated in the body,\nand it must be expended if the child is to be in a healthy condition,\nas well as in a normal, happy mental state.\n\nBut the outgo of this activity should do more than merely reduce\npressure, as the escape of steam from a safety valve. It is a law of\nlife that we both understand and retain most thoroughly the thing we\ndo. This abounding activity is God's great provision for enabling the\nchild to make his own that which he is receiving through his senses.\nIt is handling and eating the apple that makes him understand what it\nis. It is playing that he is the father or the Sunday-school teacher,\nperforming the act of helpfulness and love that enables him to enter\ninto the meaning of these relations and duties of life.\n\nThe problem of the Sunday-school teacher then is not \"How can I keep\nthe child still,\" but \"How can I make this activity teach the child;\"\nfor, re-emphasizing the thought, \"The child understands and remembers\nthe action far better than the admonition.\"\n\n(2) _Imitation._ The activity of this period is distinctly imitative.\nJust as the child must learn to form letters by copying them before he\ncan develop an individual style of writing, so he must learn right\naction by imitating it before he can be independent and original.\nEvery time a child imitates an action he understands its meaning\nbetter, he fixes it more securely in memory and he also makes its\nrepetition so much the easier.\n\nIt is important, therefore, to note what he naturally imitates. In\nthis period it is some definite act, not the spirit nor life of the\nactor. He does not aspire to resemble the character of the teacher,\nbut he does try to speak and move and look as she does. As the action\nis performed, the life unconsciously but surely becomes like the one\nwho is imitated.\n\n(3) _Curiosity._ Because the child has everything to learn God has\nmade him want to learn everything. As physical hunger arouses an\neffort to supply the need for physical food, so mental hunger or\ncuriosity arouses an effort to supply mental food. It is most active\nin the period of greatest absorption, when the life must store for\nfuture use. There are two points in relation to curiosity which it is\nimportant for the Sunday-school teacher to remember.\n\n    (a) Its field of operation, or that toward which it is\n    directed. Curiosity is selective, going out only toward those\n    things in which the life is interested. In this period the\n    child's interests are in activities in Nature and everyday\n    life and in the things about him; but he desires to know\n    only the simplest facts concerning them. What the object is,\n    where it came from, and what it will do, usually satisfy his\n    curiosity regarding it. The teacher, therefore, is guided in\n    the selection of what shall be given the child in a lesson.\n\n    (b) Its channels of operation or that through which it acts.\n    The channels through which curiosity reaches out for\n    knowledge and brings back the results of its search are the\n    senses. Every waking moment finds them taking in sensations\n    which are carried to the brain through the nervous system.\n    The more perfect the senses in their working the more correct\n    the message they bring. Failure to learn and inattention are\n    usually caused by some defect in the senses or other part of\n    the body.\n\n    While an adult can arrive at new ideas through other ideas,\n    the child must receive practically all his ideas through his\n    senses. This guides the teacher as to the method of\n    presenting the lesson.\n\n(4) _Fancy._ This is the early form of imagination, unleashed and\nuntrammeled, which transforms objects, gives soul to inanimate things\nand creates for the child his own beautiful play world.\n\n(5) _Self-interest._ The beginner himself is the center of his little\nworld. His thinking and his feeling revolve around his own\npersonality, and his own advantage is the thing he constantly seeks.\nThis is God's order of development. The consideration for others will\nfollow later, but even now the child may be led into loving, unselfish\nacts through imitation and personal influence.\n\n(6) _Faith._ Perhaps the better term in the beginning would be\ncredulity, for faith is confidence which has a basis in knowledge, and\nknowledge does not necessarily enter into a child's belief. Anything\nan older person tells him is accepted unquestioningly, no matter of\nwhat sort it may be.\n\nThis means a great responsibility and an unequaled opportunity in the\nmatter of religious instruction. The stories of God's power and the\nlove of Jesus Christ are absorbed into the life, neither proof nor\nexplanation being necessary nor indeed comprehensible. As the stories\nmultiply in the home and the Sunday-school that which was credulity at\nfirst becomes genuine faith. The child does not reason that God will\ndo because he has done, but a feeling of the Divine strength and love\ngrips him and out of this feeling grows loving confidence in the One\nwho first loved him. If a child passes through the Beginners\ndepartment without this response, his teacher has been out of touch\nwith her Lord.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What are the age limits of the Beginners period?\n\n2. What are the general characteristics of the Beginners Age?\n\n3. What are some of the characteristics of these years of absorption?\n\n4. What is meant by rounded development?\n\n5. Name six special characteristics of the Beginners Age.\n\n6. What is the purpose of a child's abounding activity?\n\n7. What is gained by a child when he imitates an action?\n\n8. What two points about a child's curiosity is it important for a\nteacher to know?\n\n9. Who is the center of the little child's world?\n\n10. By what means is true faith developed in a child?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 3\n\nBeginners Age (Concluded)\n\n\n#7. Opportunities of the Beginners Age.#--(1) _Shaping character\nthrough influence._ There are two ways of touching a life--the one\nthrough definite instruction, which must be understood to avail\nanything; the other through unconscious influence which is felt, not\nnecessarily comprehended. The mind of the beginner is awake and\nactive, but he can grasp little instruction beyond simplest facts\nabout concrete things. Right and wrong, unselfishness, love, all the\nabstract standards and principles of life, he cannot comprehend\nintellectually, but he absorbs the influences that go out from them,\nand what is felt is always more powerful than that which lodges only\nin the head. During the first six years of life the child is\npeculiarly sensitive to every influence that comes to him out of his\nenvironment, and these,--not instruction,--determine what he shall be.\nNo amount of teaching upon the subject of flowers and birds and trees\ncan arouse the joy and gratitude which a drive through the country on\na glorious spring morning awakens. No number of lessons upon\nself-control will make the impression upon the heart which the sight\nof it in another makes. The child cannot understand the nature and\nnecessity of reverence, but he will feel it, if that be the influence\nof the Sunday-school hour.\n\n(2) _Shaping character through imitation._ The actions in this period\nwhich result from instruction are few compared to those which come\nfrom the instinct of imitation; therefore what the teacher is unable\nto do through precept she can accomplish through the power of example\nand story.\n\n(3) _Imparting simple spiritual truths._ These must be truths with\nwhose earthly likenesses the child is familiar. This will make\npossible stories of God's power as Creator, his love and care as\nHeavenly Father, stories of Jesus as the loving Friend and Helper of\nlittle children, and the necessity of obedience to his commands.\n\n#8. Needs of the Beginners Age.#--If the opportunities of this period\nare to be realized, four things are necessary:\n\n(1) _A Christlike teacher._ While influences go out from\neverything,--people, circumstances, conditions, even inanimate,\nsenseless things,--a human life radiates the strongest influence. It\nhas a twofold effect upon a little child: he not only feels the\ninfluence, but it also moves him to imitate the person. He may forget\nthe lesson, he may not have comprehended it at all, but he has\nabsorbed the teacher during the hour and he will try to reproduce what\nshe has said and done even to her very tone, expression, and manner.\nIf his model be a gentle voice or a loving word, the very act of\nimitating it makes him gentler and more tender, and what exhortation\nmay not secure, influence and imitation will bring. Therefore a\nteacher will do her strongest work with a beginner by being like Jesus\nChrist.\n\n(2) _A suggestive atmosphere._ Atmosphere represents the sum total of\nall the influences at a given time. The soft music of the organ, the\ndim light, the stillness, the attitude of prayer, all create an\natmosphere to which reverence and worship are the natural response. In\nconfusion and bustle, with loud voice and impatient movement on the\npart of the teacher, there could be only restlessness and irreverence\nand inattention on the part of the child. The atmosphere must suggest\nto the pupil that which the teacher desires from him, be he beginner\nor adult, for feeling and action are more influenced by atmosphere\nthan admonition. The greatest work for the hour will have been\naccomplished if the child shall feel that the Lord was in that place,\nthough he knew it not, intellectually.\n\n(3) _Right direction of activity._ The activity of the child may\nprevent his receiving any benefit from the instruction, or it may be\nthe most effective means for fastening impressions. It is such a\nconstant and prominent factor in the problem of the hour's work that\nthe teacher must plan beforehand just how it shall be directed. In\naddition to opportunities for general movement, such as rising for\nsongs, or marching, every thought given to the child should have some\naction immediately connected with it as far as possible, both to help\nhim remember it and make it easier for succeeding actions to follow.\nFor example if the lesson is upon helpfulness, each child should be\nled into doing something for his neighbor before he leaves. A prayer\nattitude should accompany prayer. As this is the rhythmic period,\nmotions which the children themselves suggest may accompany the songs.\nThe results of directing the activity into helpful channels will be\nfound in better memory of the lesson and in the starting of right\nhabits of action.\n\n(4) _An imitable activity in the lesson._ In simplest facts set forth\nin a story of a person, not in exhortation, the lesson must make vivid\nand attractive an activity which the child can imitate. The more\nrealistic the portrayal, the more surely will the child attempt to\nreproduce it.\n\n#9. Difficulties in the Beginners Age.#--The difficulties of this\nperiod arise largely from the child's immaturity and are to be\novercome by adaptation of methods and instruction.\n\n(1) _Restlessness and lack of self-control, making sustained attention\nimpossible._ A program consisting of brief exercises, varied in\ncharacter, full of interest, and permitting frequent movement, will\nmeet this condition.\n\n(2) _Limited experience and scanty store of ideas._ This necessitates\ncareful selection of teaching material, that spiritual truth outside\nthe child's comprehension be not forced upon him, since he can grasp\nonly that which is like something that he knows.\n\n(3) _A limited vocabulary._ This calls for watchful care in language,\nparticularly lest a familiar word be used in a sense unfamiliar to the\nchild.\n\n(4) _A conflicting home atmosphere._ When the child absorbs influences\nthat lack Jesus Christ during seven days in the week, only a teacher\nfilled with Divine life and power can effect counter-conditions more\npowerful in the brief time of her contact.\n\n#10. Results to be Expected in the Beginners Age.#--Summing up the\nresults already suggested, the work in the Beginners department will\nmake its impress upon the feelings of the child, primarily. He will\nhave learned some truths about the Heavenly Father, and his Son Jesus\nChrist, and there is an intellectual value in these. But this value\ncannot compare with that of the love and trust which come\nunconsciously, yet really, into his soul, if the teacher has done her\nwork with God.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. In what two ways may life be touched?\n\n2. Give illustrations of what is known as \"unconscious influence.\"\n\n3. What methods accomplish more than precepts with Beginners?\n\n4. What spiritual truths can be taught in this period?\n\n5. Name four needs of the Beginners Age.\n\n6. What is meant by \"atmosphere\"? How utilized?\n\n7. How may the child's activity be given the right direction?\n\n8. Name four difficulties in the Beginners period.\n\n9. How may restlessness be overcome?\n\n10. What special care is needed in the teacher's choice of words?\n\n11. What are some of the results to be expected in the Beginners Age?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 4\n\nThe Primary Age--Six to Nine\n\n\n#11. General Characteristics of the Primary Age.#--The Beginner is\neasily traced in the Primary child, but more developed and stronger.\nTwo general characteristics may be specially mentioned:\n\n(1) _Broader interests._ Curiosity is increasingly active concerning\nthings with which the senses come in contact, yet the child in the\nPrimary period is able to reach beyond that which he can see or\nhandle. He cares nothing for abstractions like missions, or\npatriotism, or temperance, but his interest is genuine in the people\nand actions back of the abstraction. It is a law of the soul that\ninterest in a certain thing will extend to other things related to it.\nThis makes it possible for the teacher to take the child far into the\nfield of knowledge, provided the starting-point be something in which\nthe child is naturally interested.\n\n(2) _Greater mental power._ While the child does not reason as an\nadult, he enjoys thinking for himself. The Primary teacher who gives\nhim predigested lessons, tells him everything in the picture, asks no\nquestions, and does not lead him on to arrive at any conclusions for\nhimself, not only fails to obtain results that are possible, but\nreally retards the child's development. Personal effort must precede\nincrease of strength in soul as well as body.\n\n#12. Special Characteristics of the Primary Age.#\n\n(1) _Physical activity._ In place of the restlessness of the preceding\nperiod, activity directed toward more definite ends appears. It is\nvery important that the activity be expended rightly, since its use in\nevery action strengthens some one of the rapidly forming habits.\n\n(2) _Power of perception._ This is the ability of the mind to\nunderstand the sensations which senses and nerves send to the brain,\nor to interpret their meaning; as, for example, to know that the round\nyellow ball is an orange, or to recognize the different details in a\npicture. Perception grows constantly more quick and active as the\nchild's store of knowledge increases. Two things must be remembered:\n(_a_) the teacher must be sure that the first idea of anything is the\ncorrect one, for it will be eradicated with difficulty, and upon it\nall future thinking in that line will be based; (_b_) since each\nsensation produces an idea embodying itself, and it is on these ideas\nthat the soul is nourished, character must grow in quality like its\nfood. \"Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.\"\n\n(3) _Memory._ The mind has greater power to retain that which is given\nto it than in the preceding period, though it holds these facts\ndisconnectedly rather than related into systematic knowledge, as they\nwill be later. But this power of retention must not be abused through\nstoring memory with a quantity of useless material. That which is\nimpressed upon the plastic, non-resisting cells of the child's brain\nought to have some immediate meaning and value for the life at a time\nwhen the intellectual and spiritual needs are so many.\n\n(4) _Imagination._ This is the power of the mind to make living and\nreal that which is not present to the senses. It is one of the most\nstriking characteristics of the Primary period and one of the most\nimportant as well. The imagination works only with concrete things in\nchildhood, making new objects out of the old, making the story and the\nmental picture as real as the tangible experience, making Jesus an\nactual present Helper and Friend. Later it will work with abstract\nideas and ideals of life formed from the pictures it has cherished.\n\n#13. Opportunities of the Primary Age.#\n\n(1) _Character building through the mental picture._ Abstract ideas\nabout which the mind reasons do not have power over the soul of the\nchild. It is the vivid picture which imagination holds that arouses\nthe feeling and impels the action. So great is the power of the\npicture that the teacher need not exhort and admonish concerning what\nought to be done. She only need set forth the action in a story that\nappeals, and imagination will do the rest. While very many of these\npictures come unconsciously to the child from his environment, it is\nthe privilege of the teacher definitely and carefully to provide the\nhighest type of mental picture through the well-selected story, in\norder to secure the finest action.\n\n(2) _Increased knowledge of Bible facts._ The lesson may contain more\nthan in the earlier period, because the child's interest in details\nhas increased and he has greater power of attention. It is important\nto note, however, in what the increase may consist. It is not in the\nnumber of truths presented in the lesson, but in the number of details\nconcerning the one truth for which the lesson stands. Since the mind\nhas developed new power to hold the impressions which are made upon\nit, Scripture verses containing fundamental truths, like God's love\nand care, the duty of love toward him and others, and the necessity of\nobedience may be given, with explanation, for memorizing.\n\n(3) _Service prompted through imitation and personal influence._ The\nactivity should even now be tracing pathways in the brain that shall\nmean life habits of loving service for others. There is this\ndifference, however, between service in childhood and later. The\nmotives must now be supplied and strengthened by others; later the\npromptings will come from within.\n\n#14. Needs of the Primary Age.#--In addition to the needs mentioned in\nthe Beginners period, and which still obtain, there are two to be\nespecially borne in mind.\n\n(1) _The absolute necessity of knowing how to make spiritual truth\nlive in story form._ The child can receive it in no other way, and\nthere is therefore no substitute for a rightly prepared story given by\na spiritually prepared teacher.\n\n(2) _The necessity for the child to learn obedience in the use of his\nactivity._ This is to be secured not by force, but because the one to\nwhom it is to be rendered wins it through love and the power of\npersonality.\n\n#15. Difficulties in the Primary Age.#--There will still be\ndifficulties in attention and in confining the instruction to that\nwhich the child can really grasp, but the greatest difficulty will\ncenter about the activity. Yet the whole problem will be solved with\nno harsh question of discipline if the child is kept constantly busy\nwith that in which he is interested.\n\n#16. Results to be Expected in the Primary Age.#--If the teacher has\nmet her opportunity, there will be growing love to Jesus Christ, the\nbeginning of service for him, and deep down in the soul of the child\nan increasing store of material out of which life ideals are to be\nfashioned in the days to come.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. Name two general characteristics of the Primary Age. What years are\nincluded?\n\n2. How are the child's broader interests shown?\n\n3. What method of teaching can hinder the child's growing mental\npower?\n\n4. Name four special characteristics of the Primary Age.\n\n5. What is meant by power of perception? Illustrate it.\n\n6. How may memory be abused?\n\n7. What is imagination?\n\n8. Name three opportunities of the Primary Age.\n\n9. What does a well-defined mental picture lead to in the child's\nmind?\n\n10. Why may a lesson contain more than in the Beginners period?\n\n11. How does the source of motives toward service differ in childhood\nas compared with later life?\n\n12. Name two needs of the Primary Age.\n\n13. Name some of the difficulties.\n\n14. What results may be expected?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 5\n\nJunior Age--Nine to Twelve\n\n\n#17. General Characteristics.#--A broad survey of this period reveals\nthe fact that in a peculiar way God is preparing life for entrance\nupon the larger opportunities and responsibilities of maturity. There\nis new physical strength, new intellectual vigor, greater power of\nabsorption and assimilation, a wider diffusion of interest. The\ncuriosity of earlier years becomes a real spirit of investigation\nalong lines of interest, and questioning, not alone to find out facts,\nbut also foundations of belief begins to appear. The individuality of\neach child stands out more distinctly and emphasizes itself in two\nmarked ways--first, the desire for prominence, and, second, an\nindependence of spirit and action. Yet, with all this independence,\nthe boys and girls are easily dealt with if authority is administered\nby one whose personality has commanded respect and love.\n\n#18. Specific Characteristics.#\n\n(1) _Energy,--physical and mental._ Though this has already been\nreferred to in a general way, it must have special mention as one of\nthe most marked and important features of the Junior period. Physical\nvigor is apparent in the force of bodily movements so trying to\nsensitive nerves--God's provision for the excess of nervous activity.\nIt also appears in the type of games belonging to this period and the\nintensity with which they are played. The new mental power is evident\nin the ability to perform more difficult and complex mental tasks, to\nreason more clearly, and to attend more closely.\n\n(2) _Development of the social instinct._ These years mark the rapid\ndevelopment of insistent and insatiable desire for close companionship\nwith others. There are no standards of attainment nor social\ndistinctions according to which friends are chosen. The \"gang\" or the\nclub is based entirely on kinship of spirit among those of the same\nage and sex. Often geographical lines enter in, and the boys of a\ncertain street or district will band together, and not uncommonly be\nthe sworn enemies of other gangs for no more valid reason than love\nof contest, growing out of the instinct of rivalry. But this martial\naspect of gang life is not a characteristic of all the social tendency\nof the period. There is a drawing of child to child for peaceable\npurposes, the joy of common sympathies and interests and the fun of\nexpeditions and good times together. This social awakening is God's\nplan for leading the life into larger relationships preparatory to\ntaking its place in the world. What the companionship is in its\ninfluence upon character and ideals is the serious question for the\nhome and the Sunday-school teacher.\n\n(3) _Hero-worship._ This is pre-eminently the hero-worshiping period,\nwith all that means in incentive to effort, in patterns of life, in\nimitation, in character-building. In mature years, the ideal of life\nis either a composite from many lives or, if it be one individual, a\ndissected individual, certain qualities picked out for admiration and\nemulation,--and over the rest, a mantle of charity. This analysis of\ncharacter and discrimination is possible only to an intelligent and\ndeveloped life. The child accepts his hero in his entirety. Whatever\nhe does is right and is the goal of effort in imitation.\n\nThe physical element enters largely into the ideal of this period\nbecause of the prominence of the physical in the child's life, and,\nunhappily, physical and moral strength are not always balanced. Too\nmuch of the literature written to supply the ravenous desire of this\nage for reading portrays physical strength in criminal and in\ndaredevil molds, and the moral side of the ideal is not only unfed,\nbut perverted. The Sunday-school teacher must help the home at this\npoint to supply the boys and girls, through books and living\npersonality, with all the elements of worthy and imitable ideals,\nsince the task of finally shaping these ideals lies in the years just\nbeyond.\n\n(4) _Memory in the height of its power._ The broader the\nresponsibilities to be assumed, the greater the demand upon the soul's\nresources to meet them. Just at the threshold of a larger life, the\nmind comes into its greatest power of retention. During the years from\nabout nine to fifteen, conditions never to return so favorably make\npossible the fullest, broadest, and more accurate storing of the mind.\nThe exact wording of a passage of Scripture is as easy to secure as\nthe general sense of its meaning. Whole chapters do not tax the pupil\nbeyond his mental ability. The mechanical, literal side of\ninstruction, which deals with maps and names and facts about the Word,\nwritten and incarnate, should now be given. Held tenaciously and\nexactly in memory, they will reveal the spiritual treasure they\ncontain to the larger spiritual vision of the next period. The careful\nselection and explanation of that which is to be memorized, so\nnecessary in the preceding period, is not as necessary during these\nyears. The enlarged experience of the child will make some meaning\ninhere in everything which is brought to him, so that it is not the\ndead weight it would have been earlier. Yet an abundant supply of\nfood, intellectual and spiritual, for the present needs of an active,\ninvestigating, and tempted life must not be overlooked in eagerness to\nstore for the future.\n\n(5) _Habit formation._ The two physical conditions necessary for habit\nformation, easily impressed brain cells, and activity making these\nimpressions, are at their best during this period. Every time an act\nis performed, a nervous force passes through the brain, stimulating\nnerves and muscles to action, and leaving the trace of its passage.\nEach repetition of the action deepens the tracing, until little\npathways are established, and the nervous force follows these\nnaturally and involuntarily. Sooner than is realized the pathway is so\ndeep that only by effort can a given thought or nervous stimulus\nexpress itself in any other way than by passing through the accustomed\nchannels out into the old action,--and this is habit.\n\nThe early stages are easy, usually unconscious, but any change when\nthe path is deep and the cells hardened means greatest effort, and\noften unavailing struggle with self. The drunkard who in his sober\nmoments implores the saloon-keeper to refuse him liquor, no matter how\nhe may plead for it later, reveals the fact that habit or the tendency\nto follow the old brain paths may become stronger than desire and will\nand all outer human influence and incentives combined. Therefore the\nhabit-forming period, when pathways may be traced in any direction,\nbecomes one of the most responsible and wonderful of the life.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What are some of the general characteristics of the Junior Age? The\nyears included?\n\n2. Name five specific characteristics of the Junior Age.\n\n3. How does energy show itself at this time?\n\n4. What are some of the signs of the social instinct?\n\n5. What is the great purpose of that instinct?\n\n6. How may hero-worship be used by the teachers?\n\n7. What teaching material is peculiarly well suited to the\nmemory-activity of this period?\n\n8. What is the process by which habit is created?\n\n\nTest Questions for Review\n\nLessons 1 to 5\n\n1. Give several reasons why it is important for the Sunday-school\nteacher to know the pupil.\n\n2. How may the teacher best come to know the pupil?\n\n3. What are the special characteristics of children of the Beginners\nage?\n\n4. How would you develop true faith in a child?\n\n5. What is the difference between influence and precept? Illustrate\nboth.\n\n6. How would you guide a child's activity in the right direction?\n\n7. What results may properly be looked for in the Beginners age?\n\n8. What general difference is there between children of the Beginners\nand the Primary age?\n\n9. Describe and illustrate perception, memory, and imagination.\n\n10. What is the difference between children's and grown people's\nmotives for service?\n\n11. Mention several characteristics of the Junior age.\n\n12. What is the social instinct, and how does it show itself?\n\n13. What sort of teaching material is well adapted to the Junior age?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 6\n\nJunior Age (Concluded)\n\n\n#19. Opportunities of the Junior Age.#--No period offers opportunities\nbearing more directly and openly upon the formation of character than\nthe Junior period, when manhood- and womanhood-to-be are so rapidly\ndetermining. Out of these opportunities five may be selected as most\nsignificant:\n\n(1) _The opportunity to gain spiritual ends through social means._ The\nmore a teacher can enter into the fun-loving, companionship-craving\nside of the pupil's heart, the greater his power over that life for\ndistinctly spiritual things. It is after the party or the picnic or\nthe tramp together that the personal message can be spoken.\n\n(2) _The opportunity to arouse and to guide the pupil's effort through\nheroic ideals._ Sermonizing on what they should do is practically\nvalueless with boys and girls of this age, for considerations of duty\nweigh little until the larger moral consciousness of the next period.\nFurthermore, they live but for the day, and do not appreciate the\nrelationship between present action and future character. What they\nmay do later as a result of their own convictions and understanding,\nthey may be inspired to do now through the hero who has aroused their\nadmiration and desire of imitation.\n\n(3) _The opportunity to establish right habits of life._ The pathways\nof service through which the Christian life ought to express itself\nmust be definitely and painstakingly traced in this period and the\nnext. Motives for the action may not be the highest, and must often be\nsupplied by another. For example, the daily Bible reading that ought\nto be prompted by real love for the Word later may now be done for\nlove of the teacher--or because the promise was given, but in any\nevent it is leaving its indelible impress--and making the \"Quiet Hour\"\nmore assured in the future.\n\n(4) _The opportunity to build Bible knowledge into character._\nImpressions are necessary and effective in their place, but something\nmore definite is needed for stability of character. The opportunity\nof supplementing impressions with facts is the one offered by this\nGolden Memory period. Two points should be noted:\n\n/#\n     (_a_) The mind is growing in its power to associate facts.\n     The association of events around a person or a place is\n     easily made now, and toward the end of the period sequences\n     of time and cause and effect are grasped.\n\n     (_b_) The Holy Spirit can bring to the remembrance only that\n     which has been in the mind. Therefore the teacher who stores\n     the memory at this time with Scripture passages makes it\n     possible for God to speak to the heart in later years.\n#/\n\n(5) _The opportunity to lead to open confession of Jesus Christ._ This\nis not to force, it is not to play upon the child's emotions, and lead\nhim to do that which has no foundation in a consciousness of his own\nrelation to Christ, but something is radically wrong in the home and\nsomething lacking in the teacher's work, if the boys and girls do not\nreally love the Lord Jesus in this period. They do not understand it\nall, but the essentials of a Christian life they may have,--love,\nfaith, penitence for wrongdoing, and the desire to serve Christ. Their\nexperience cannot be that of an adult, for they have not his insight.\nBut just as surely as the love and caress of the child is precious and\nacceptable to a mother even before there can be any comprehension on\nhis part of the sacrificial character of mother-love, so is child-love\nprecious and accepted with the Master even before the child grasps the\ngreat spiritual contents.\n\n#20. Needs of the Junior Age.#\n\n(1) _The presentation of Christianity as something to do rather than\nto be._ The boys and girls do not live in inner experiences in these\nyears, but in outward, energetic action; therefore, what they may do\nfor Jesus Christ and others needs emphasis. This presentation also\nincludes a Christ who appeals to boyhood and girlhood, the\nwonder-worker of Mark, the God-Man of Matthew and Luke, and the\nvictorious King of Revelation.\n\n(2) _Opportunities for service._ These must be carefully devised by\nthe teacher, with the twofold purpose of giving immediate expression\nto the desire to do something and leading to the formation of habits\nof Christian activity.\n\n(3) _Christian heroes._ The teacher ought to be a Christian hero\nhimself. Out of missionary literature, out of the lives of great men\nwho have lived, out of Bible characters, heroes must be multiplied.\nThe Sunday-school lessons ought to be hero studies, not sermons.\nHeroic literature ought to be put into the hands of the\nchildren--either directly or through indirect suggestion in some\ncuriosity-arousing reference to the story. This means the most\neffective type of instruction during all the week as well as Sunday.\n\n(4) _A lesson requiring work on the part of the pupil._ Telling a\nJunior class primary stories will deplete it in numbers and weaken it\nin strength. Assigned work to be prepared at home, questions,\nnote-books, map-making, anything to stimulate and utilize the activity\nof mind and body through interest, not compulsion, is the great\nnecessity of the lesson hour.\n\n#21. Difficulties of the Junior Age.#--Three difficulties may be\nencountered.\n\n(1) _A misdirected energy._ Energy means finest growth and development\nif it is under direction and control, but devastation otherwise. The\nkey to the situation is in the teacher's personality, plus a plan for\nthe hour's work, appealing to interest and calling for constant\nactivity, either mental or physical, on the part of the pupil.\n\n(2) _Evil associates._ The teacher cannot guard the child through the\nseven days of a week; often the home does not, and in this new social\ninterest there is a danger from evil associates. Better pastoral work\nby the teacher, a closer co-operation with the home, and\nsubstitutive--not prohibitive--measures avail much in meeting this\ndifficulty.\n\n(3) _The enticement of bad literature._ This period and the next are\nthe time of greatest hunger for reading and there is a real danger\nfrom the temptations of pernicious books. Satan has emissaries on the\nschool-grounds and in the candy store, and boys and girls are his\nshining marks. The substitutive measures here again are the only wise\nand effective ones.\n\n#22. Results to be Expected in the Junior Age.#--The results of work\nin this period ought to appear in an increase in Bible knowledge, the\nstrengthening of right habits and manly ideals of life, and back of\nit all the warm love of boyhood and girlhood for the Lord Jesus\nChrist.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. How may spiritual ends best be gained?\n\n2. How may the pupil's efforts in right doing be aroused?\n\n3. What is needed in this period in addition to impressions?\n\n4. What essentials of the Christian life may the pupils readily have\nat this period?\n\n5. What aspect of Christianity appeals most to pupils of this age?\n\n6. What method of teaching should be substituted for story telling?\n\n7. What three difficulties may be encountered in the Junior Age?\n\n8. What results may be expected?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 7\n\nThe Intermediate Age--Twelve to Sixteen\n\n\n#23. General Character of the Period of Adolescence.#--The\nIntermediate age ushers in a time known as adolescence, including the\nyears approximately from twelve to twenty-four, during which life\npasses from childhood to maturity. The period is marked by the\ndevelopment of new physical powers, new emotions, new ideals and\nconceptions of life, and a new spiritual consciousness. The change\nfrom the old life to the new, from the narrow to the broad, from\ninterests selfish and small to interests as far-reaching as the world\nand eternity, is often accompanied by more or less upheaval in the\nsoul and this period of re-adjustment may be a time of \"storm and\nstress.\"\n\nTwo facts out of the many suggest the critical nature of adolescence:\n\n(1) During these years the pupil is most susceptible to the power of\ninfluence. It does not touch his life simply as an impression, but as\nan impelling, determining force inciting him to action.\n\n(2) Life rarely changes in its tendencies and character after full\nmaturity has come. There is a physical reason for this in the\nhardening of the brain which fixes the pathways of habit and renders\nnew lines of thought and action difficult. Therefore, in all\nprobability as life emerges from adolescence will it enter eternity.\n\n#24. General Characteristics of the Intermediate Age.#--Many of the\ncharacteristics of the Junior age are still evident, though modified\nby fuller development. Physical energy has increased and the mind has\ngreater power, especially in its ability to reason. No disillusioning\nhas come to destroy the old hero-worship, but with even more intensity\neach life clings to that one who embodies its aspirations. The hunger\nfor general reading reaches its climax in this period, to be succeeded\nby specialized interest in lines determined by the taste of the\nindividual.\n\nLacking still the self-control of manhood, breaking from the old life\nand dimly apprehending as yet the meaning of the new, under the\ndomination of impulse and influence as well as of dawning conviction,\nthe Intermediate age offers particularly trying problems with its\ngreat opportunities.\n\n#25. Special Characteristics of the Intermediate Age.#\n\n(1) _The functioning of new physical powers._ This is one of the most\nsignificant changes in the Intermediate period, because of its\nphysical effects and its reflex influence upon the mental and\nemotional life. Severe temptations often have to be met, questioning\nand unwise introspection, and the teacher ought to be a confidential\nfriend as well as instructor.\n\n(2) _A condition of instability and easy excitation._ The nervous\nsystem is abnormally sensitive and quickly disturbed. The mind is\nkeyed to vigorous, intense, and often unbalanced thought, but it is in\nthe feelings that the lack of poise is most manifest. Whether the\nteacher can assign causes or not, he is conscious that the emotions\nare a veritable tinder-box, easily kindled into a great fire by a very\nlittle matter. Superlatives, slang, and the highest pitches of\nenthusiasm are common experience, and because action and reaction are\nequal and opposite, periods of depression corresponding to those of\nexhilaration are almost inevitable.\n\n(3) _A new personal consciousness._ There are several marked evidences\nof its existence.\n\n    (a) Care for appearance. In the beginning of this period,\n    what others think is a matter of supreme indifference, but it\n    is not long before a desire to appear well manifests itself.\n    Solicitude as to one's personal looks is supplemented by\n    anxiety over the condition of the home, the standing of the\n    family, the social position and dress of the companions.\n    Naturally, judgment of others is based on outward appearance\n    rather than on real worth of character.\n\n    (b) Desire for appreciation. An intense longing is\n    experienced to have talents, accomplishments, wits,\n    efforts--everything which pertains to self valued at par or\n    above. For this cause there is frequent public parade of\n    wares, as in the case of the smart youth or the girl who\n    draws attention to herself by loud talking and laughter. The\n    same longing works self-consciousness, embarrassment, and\n    awkwardness in others who feel themselves deficient, neither\n    class as yet apprehending the truth that character, not\n    external show, wins the truest meed of praise from the world.\n\n    (c) A sense of approaching manhood and womanhood. This makes\n    the life sensitive beyond expression to reproof or criticism,\n    particularly in public. It also explains the restlessness and\n    desire to enter at once upon the life-work.\n\n(4) _Increasing Social Appetite._ The boy who said in answer to a\nremonstrance over his presence in the billiard hall and bowling alley,\n\"A fellow has got to have fun somewhere,\" voiced the sentiment of all\nhis confreres in the Intermediate period. The desire for good times is\nparamount, and its right indisputable in the conception of the young\npeople. The delight in healthy outdoor sports continues with the\nathletically inclined, and ought to be fostered as a safety valve for\nsurplus energy, a diverter of self-centered thought, and a tonic for\nexcitable nerves. In the latter part of this period, however, the love\nof fun gives place to a love of functions, either the helpful sort of\nsocial commingling or the danger-filled type, marked by late hours,\nexcitement, and overwrought imagination. This transition comes from a\ngrowing mutual attraction between the sexes which has succeeded the\nrepulsion evident in the early part of the period.\n\n(5) _The Development of the Altruistic Feelings._ Though these\nfeelings are not unknown to childhood, their vigorous development does\nnot begin until the Intermediate period. The pupil now experiences an\nimpulse from within to sacrifice for others and make his life a source\nof blessing. The new sense of God and his claims intensifies and\nvitalizes the desires. Unselfishness appears, interest in the welfare\nof others as well as self, and willingness to do for them even at\npersonal cost. These are the feelings that make it possible to say\n\"Brother,\" and to love the neighbor as one's self. They can come only\nas the meaning of life is better understood. They can remain only as\nthey are given constant expression in action.\n\n(6) _A Spiritual Awakening._ Even though the pupil may be a genuine\nChristian, there comes to him at this time a larger consciousness of\nGod and the soul's relation to him, and with it a call to full\nsurrender. Whereas the childhood relation to God was based on\nfeeling, there is now the element of will-power which must ratify by\ndeliberate choice that which love has prompted. If the pupil is not a\nChristian, this awakening comes as God's call to accept Jesus Christ\nas Saviour and crown him Lord of the life as well. If the call is not\nheeded now, its tones grow less and less distinct, until, in the\nstrident cries of the world, they may be silenced forever.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What is meant by adolescence?\n\n2. What is the general character of the period?\n\n3. What two facts indicate the critical nature of this period?\n\n4. What six special characteristics mark this period?\n\n5. What two signs of personal consciousness?\n\n6. What desire is paramount at this time?\n\n7. What is meant by altruistic feelings? Describe their development.\n\n8. What new element now enters in to affect the relation to God?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 8\n\nThe Intermediate Age (Concluded)\n\n\n#26. Opportunities of the Intermediate Age.#--There is a significant\ndifference in the purpose of the opportunities presented during\nchildhood and during adolescence. If they were to be summed up in\nkey-words, that for childhood would be absorption; for adolescence,\nadjustment.\n\nThe opportunities of childhood converge toward supplying the soul with\nmaterial needful for growth--influences, impressions, and a mass of\nfacts more or less unconnected in the beginning. But this is only the\nfirst step in character building. These materials must be arranged,\nfacts must be related to one another, and the life must be related to\nother lives in real interest, sympathy, and service. This process of\nrelating fact to fact, life to life, and each soul anew to God is the\nparamount task of adolescence, even though absorption continues with\nalmost unabated strength.\n\nAnalyzing the opportunities which are presented to the Intermediate\nteacher in this new adjustment of life, three stand out prominently:\n\n(1) _The opportunity to foster high ideals._ Whether it be consciously\ndefined or not, every one has that toward which ambitions and effort\ngo forth, and this ideal determines what character shall be. No one\ncan give an ideal to another, as a book is handed over, for it is a\npersonal thing, to be fashioned by each soul for itself out of that\nwhich it has absorbed through the years.\n\nIt is in the transition from childhood to maturity that every life\ndecides what (for it) seems most worth while, and to this ideal makes\nsurrender of thought, desire, and effort. Is not God's gracious\npurpose evident, in that this is the time when life is most easily\ninfluenced?\n\n(2) _Opportunity to develop self-reliance._ A life cannot count for\nGod and for others unless it can make decisions and meet tests by\nitself. The power to do this comes only through effort to do it.\nDuring the Intermediate age, the young people may be more and more\nthrown upon their own resources, permitted to decide matters for\nthemselves, learning wiser judgment through mistakes as well as\nsuccesses. One of the most serious errors on the part of the teacher\nlies at this very point, dictating instead of suggesting, choosing for\nthe pupil instead of allowing him to choose, thinking for him instead\nof stimulating every power of his soul to rise to a personal solution\nof the problem in hand. If strength and independence of character do\nnot come in these years of adjustment, the probabilities are that life\nwill always be weak and vacillating.\n\n(3) _The opportunity to strengthen the altruistic feeling or \"love for\nthe other.\"_--In the broadening and deepening experience of\nadolescence such conceptions as love, suffering, sacrifice, and\nsurrender reveal a new meaning and strange force of attraction. No\nopportunity comparable to the one presented in this awakening ever\nreturns, as the soul, with life before it, stands at the divergence of\nthe paths, one leading toward God and service, the other away from him\ninto self, and deliberate, decisive choice to be made.\n\nIf through the influence of the Holy Spirit the pathway of service be\nchosen, two laws of God tend to make it permanent; (a) The law of\ngrowth and development. If the feelings have proper nourishment,\n_i. e._, something to arouse them, and are given expression in action,\nthey will just as surely grow strong as a well-nourished, vigorous\nbody, and obviously, the stronger the feelings of loving interest, the\nmore assured is the life of service. (b) The law of habit. A feeling\nwill become habitual if continually indulged and expressed, and it is\nduring adolescence that habits are permanently fixed.\n\n#27. Needs of the Intermediate Age.#--The needs of this period are of\ntwo sorts--important and imperative. It is exceedingly important that\nthe pupil be treated with consideration, respect, and appreciation,\nthat he be given good literature, that he be guarded and guided in his\nsocial life. It is imperative, however, that he be established in the\nright relation to God and to his neighbor at this time of new\nconsciousness of these relationships. Four things will definitely\nfurther this supreme end:\n\n(1) _The teacher with the vision of what may be done._ If he is not\ndisobedient to the vision, it will lead him to close fellowship with\nGod and the pupil, for two things are evident,--he cannot lead the\npupil unless he is in sympathetic touch with him, nor can he lead him\nto any higher place than he himself occupies. If he be in vital\nrelation with God and live with the pupil in his ambitions,\ndiscouragements, successes, temptations, the most dynamic external\nforce that can operate in this period will be his to wield, namely, a\nspiritual personal influence.\n\n(2) _Definite decisions._ The danger-point in this crisis lies in\npermitting these newly awakened feelings to be dissipated without\ndecision and action. If this occurs they weaken, the impulse to take\nthe right stand lessens, and irresolution finally becomes the tacit\nchoice of the self-seeking life.\n\n(3) _Definite responsibilities._ A life of service is made up of\ndefinite servings. The beauty and duty of loving sacrifice appeal to\nthe emotions, but a concrete thing to be done calls the will into\naction. To every pupil should be given definite tasks both in the\nclass itself and in the church, in order to arouse effort and make the\nthought of service habitual.\n\n(4) _Definite objects of benevolence._ The teachers of the\nIntermediate age can almost determine when the world shall be given to\nJesus Christ. At no time can a permanent interest in missionary\nenterprises and philanthropies at home be so easily launched as now if\nthe subjects considered be concrete, enthusiastically presented on a\nbasis of facts, and followed by definite response in gift, prayer, or\nservice.\n\n#28. Difficulties in the Intermediate Age.#\n\n(1) Lack of mental balance and consequent instability of conduct.\n\n(2) The fascination of the social world and the growing interest of\neach sex in the other.\n\n(3) The half-way position between childhood and maturity which retains\nthe immaturity of childhood, but feels the selfhood of the man.\n\n(4) The attraction of the external rather than of intrinsic worth. In\nthis is the key to many of the problems. What appears to advantage\nallures, even if it be not the best. This gives superficial standards\nof measuring people and things and easily opens the way to harmful\ninfluences at the critical time when ideals and life purposes are\nforming. The teacher himself is the most important factor in the\nsolution of these problems, not by any attempt to force, but by a\npatient, suggestive, and inspiring touch upon the pupil's life.\n\n#29. Results to be Expected.#--The pupil ought to leave this period in\nthe right attitude toward God and toward his neighbor. To render this\nattitude strong and unchangeable is the work of the next period.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What is a keyword for the opportunities of the Intermediate Age?\nExplain its application.\n\n2. Name three important opportunities of this age.\n\n3. What serious error may the teacher commit in this period in\nimpairing the pupil's self-reliance?\n\n4. Name four needs of the Intermediate age.\n\n5. What is the danger-point in bringing a pupil to definite decisions?\n\n6. What great responsibility as to benevolences rests upon the\nteacher?\n\n7. Name four difficulties of the Intermediate Age.\n\n8. What results may be expected?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 9\n\nThe Senior Age--Sixteen to Maturity\n\n\n#30. General Characteristics of the Senior Age.#--The Senior age\nincludes the two periods technically known as middle adolescence, from\nabout sixteen to eighteen, and later adolescence, from eighteen to\nfull maturity, about twenty-four. Of these, the earlier period is the\nclimax of the \"tempest-tossed\" years. The later period witnesses the\nfinal adjustment of the pupil to life and its problems. These years\nare marked by uncertainty because the pupil does not understand\nhimself, by emotional upheaval connected with the development of the\ndeeper feelings of the soul, and by a struggle between the old ideal\nof selfishness and the new ideal of service.\n\n#31. Special Characteristics of the Senior Age.#\n\n(1) _Continued development of the higher feelings._ The power of the\nsoul to feel for others, appearing in the Intermediate age, has grown\nstronger if properly nurtured. In addition there comes a new love for\nthe beauties of Nature and a reverence for her laws, a love of the\narts and the great causes that men espouse. There is the thrill of\nawakening love between man and woman. Highest of all, the soul is now\nable to give response to the right simply because it is the right.\nDuty has real meaning and conviction becomes a motive power.\n\nAs the large vision of what life may be dawns upon the soul, unbounded\nenthusiasm and courage possess it. There are no heights too dizzy to\nbe reached, no obstacles too difficult to overcome. But enthusiasm\noften alternates with depression and self-distrust, leading to\nindifference, apathy, or recklessness. This is the explanation of the\nvacillating conduct almost universal during the early part of this\nperiod.\n\nA critical spirit toward others is common, as merciless scrutiny\nreveals how far the majority come from the high standards of life so\nnewly appreciated. The frank openness of childhood has been succeeded\nby a tendency to shut the deeper thoughts and feelings away from\nothers, and while there is an unspeakable longing to share problems\nand perplexities, the veil is not easily drawn aside.\n\n(2) _The rapid development of the reasoning power of the mind._ This\ncrowning expression of the intellectual power of the mind has not been\nwanting before, but it comes to full flower in this period. In the\nfirst delight of being able to see inner relationships, to argue, to\nrelate cause and effect, reason is given the place of honor and\neverything must pass in review before it. This very often precipitates\na conflict between reason and faith through failure to see that a\nthing is not necessarily opposed to reason even if it cannot be\nunderstood by reason; and a period of doubt in religious matters may\nensue.\n\n(3) _Maturing of the will power._ This makes possible self-control,\ngives power to act independent of the impulse and influence which\nalways determines a child's actions, power to hold steadily to a\ncertain course even against strong opposition. This is the kingly\npossession of the soul with which Almighty God has chosen to leave\nfreedom. But the soul tends to act as it has formed the habit of\nacting through the years under the direction of others. In the light\nof this fact, the importance of the earlier work of the teacher is\nemphasized.\n\n#32. Opportunities of the Senior Age.#--The opportunities discussed in\nthe Intermediate age still obtain in this period, but to them may be\nadded three peculiarly favorable at this time.\n\n(1) _The opportunity to give help in choice of life vocation._ The\nchoice of that place where each shall invest his life is one of the\nmost serious and complex problems that the pupil has to meet. Loving\nand sympathetic counsel often stimulates a young man or woman to\naspire in the choice instead of settling down into easy mediocrity.\nThe call of the ministry, the mission field, settlement work, every\nvocation involving the setting aside of selfish ambitions, is most\nloudly heard at this time, and often a word is sufficient to turn the\ndecision in that direction.\n\n(2) _To strengthen foundations of faith._ The questioning of this\nperiod makes it possible to ground belief in the verities of the\nChristian religion. Faith need not be blind. God gives a reasonable\nbasis for all he asks us to accept. The careful study of facts which\nare the starting-point of faith will help the doubting soul to trust\nbeyond the point of sight, and enable him to give a reason for the\nhope that is in him.\n\n(3) _To establish broad interests._ If the pupil is narrow and\ncircumscribed in his thought at this time, the fault lies in large\nmeasure at the teacher's door, for every impulse is to stretch in\ninterest to the farthest limit in every direction. There will never\nagain be such an opportunity to establish the world-wide interests\nbegun in the Intermediate age, for life settles in a groove in\nadulthood and new interests do not readily appeal.\n\n#33. Needs of the Senior Age.#\n\n(1) _The influence of lives that will bear the test._ In this\ndoubting, critical period of life, the daily life of others is the\nunanswerable argument for or against the power of the gospel. If for\nno other reason than to establish the faith of her young people, the\nchurch ought to walk in white.\n\n(2) _Sympathy and confidence toward the pupil._ Some one has said that\nthe word \"hunger\" will express the period of adolescence, and for\nnothing is the pupil so hungry as to be understood, appreciated, and\ntrusted. The teacher is privileged to live into the life of the pupil\nat every point, and be the sympathetic friend who shall help him to\nwork out his high calling in Christ Jesus.\n\n#34. Difficulties of the Senior Age.#--The very things that constitute\nthe strength of this period present many of its difficulties. The\ngreater mental power coming with increased reason and will is apt to\ngive rise to self-sufficiency and the doubt already mentioned.\nOpinions are readily and dogmatically launched, and to reverse them\nwounds pride. Advice may be secretly welcomed and outwardly scorned.\nThis is the period when there is danger that wisdom may perish if the\nyouth meet an untimely end. But far more dangerous is the tendency\ntoward the sowing of wild oats which is so often evident. A certain\nrecklessness easily grows out of the disturbed emotional nature and\nexcesses lie not far beyond. For all of these difficulties, faith and\nprayer, an attitude of helpfulness at every point, and the love that\nnever fails, afford the only solution.\n\n#35. Results to be Expected.#--As the pupil emerges from the period of\ndevelopment into maturity, he ought to be \"strong in the grace that is\nin Christ Jesus,\" with interest and love as broad as that of his\nMaster, and \"thoroughly furnished unto every good work.\"\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What are the general characteristics of the Senior Age? The years\nincluded?\n\n2. Name three special characteristics.\n\n3. How would you explain vacillating conduct during the early part of\nthis period?\n\n4. Name three opportunities of the Senior Age.\n\n5. How may doubters be helped in this period?\n\n6. What are two special needs of this period?\n\n7. The chief difficulties?\n\n8. What the results to be expected?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 10\n\nMaturity.\n\n\nThe limited space of a single chapter permits only a suggestive\ndiscussion of this important period, so often neglected in the study\nof the pupil.\n\n#36. General Survey.#--(1) _Keyword, \"Service.\"_ As childhood's task\nis absorption, and the task of youth adjustment, so the task of\nmaturity is service. That which has been taken in must be given out\nagain, enriched and enlarged by its stay in the soul. This is \"the\nlast of life for which the first was made,\" and to fail here means to\nmiss the meaning of living.\n\nAll the factors necessary for service are now ready. Experience and\nstudy have supplied something to give, mental discipline and\nunimpaired physical strength supply the power for service, the broad\noutlook reveals the need and place of service, and the soul's\nawakening toward God and the neighbor have supplied the motives for\nservice.\n\n(2) _Physical and mental power at the height._ Waste and repair in\nbodily tissues are balanced during the prime of life. If development\nhas been normal, the will is resolute, and judgment and reason are\ndominating and wise, for experience has given large data from which to\ndraw conclusions. While the \"Golden Age of Memory\" is far in the past,\nthe power of retaining new knowledge through the old is strong. To\nenter upon unfamiliar lines of thought, however, at this time and\nachieve any mastery is a mark of genius at least for hard work. The\nsoul has capacity now for the highest feelings that can stir the heart\nof man, yet the character of those it really experiences is determined\nby what life has been feeding upon. The love, joy, and peace which\ngive glory to maturity and old age grow alone out of thought upon true\nand pure and lovely things and those of good report.\n\n(3) _Development specialized, not general._ Out of the many calls and\nlines of interest, each life has made choice of one or more, according\nto taste and circumstances. Along these lines growth and development\nproceed. It is not that life could not continue the many-sided\nexpansion of adolescence, but growth demands nourishment, development\ndemands activity. The need for the expert, the multiplicity of cares\nand the force of habit make it difficult to \"keep up\" along many\navenues.\n\n(4) _Time of achievement._ Achievement may or may not be that service\nwhich manhood owes. The purpose in the task determines that. To souls\nespecially endowed and favorably environed come the riches of\nintellectual research, of creation in the arts, of successes in the\nbusiness world. To the many, achievement means only struggle here, but\nwaiting treasures laid up with God.\n\n(5) _Time of soul hunger._ The teacher of men and women always faces\nhungry hearts. If the soul has not found satisfaction in God, the\npangs of starvation are inevitably there. If the soul does know God,\nthere is unspeakable longing for a clearer revelation and a deeper\nconsciousness that in the midst of life's weakness and aspiring\n\n  \"God's goodness flows around our incompleteness,\n  Round our restlessness His rest.\"\n\n#37. Opportunities Presented in Maturity.#--But three great\nopportunities out of the many can be suggested:\n\n(1) _The opportunity to be somebody's ideal._ Every successful life is\nthe pattern for some eager, ambitious boy or girl. Did not Paul's\nexhortation to Timothy look toward this as well, when he besought him\nto \"be an ensample in word, in manner of life, in love, in faith, in\npurity\"?\n\n(2) _The opportunity to count for the kingdom._ There are two lines of\nChristian work which call loudly to-day to men and women--personal\nevangelism and the missionary enterprise. These are the doors most\nimperative for the soul in possession of power, experience, and\nresources to enter. Beyond these doors lies the solution of every one\nof the world's problems.\n\n(3) _The opportunity to grasp the doctrines of Christianity._ The\nrelation of truth to truth cannot come until the mind can deal with\nthe abstract. The little child grasps some of the facts of\nChristianity, but the adult mind has the power to deal with infinite\nreaches of truth, interdependent and self-illuminating. This is the\n\"solid food for full-grown men.\"\n\n#38. Needs of Maturity.#--(1) _Adequate spiritual nourishment._\n\nThe time of disillusionment has come, much of the optimism and\nbuoyancy of youth have gone. Life is found to be a struggle even with\nits victories, and responsibilities and sorrows weigh. The teaching\nmust present a Saviour and a salvation sufficient for great heart\nneeds. It is for the deep things of God that life's experiences have\nmade mature souls hungry, and there is pathos in the superficial dole\nmeted out by so many teachers--superficial because they themselves\nhave never lived \"down deep.\"\n\n(2) _The broad outlook._ To busy men and burdened women, the class\nought to be a place of vision. Absorbed in one's tiny corner through\nsix toiling days, the seventh should give opportunity to lift up the\neyes and look on fields glorious in their incoming harvest. There is\nrefreshment and inspiration and incentive now in the news from China\nand Japan and the islands of the sea. The teacher must bring the\nworld-view to the class if he believes that world service is God's\nthought for manhood.\n\n(3) _Emphasis on personal responsibility._ This is the pivotal point\nupon which a life of service turns, and it ought to be the focal point\nof teaching. Long enough has stress been laid on the conditions in the\nworld and what ought to be done. The need now is for a prophet to say,\n\"Thou art the man!\"\n\n#39. Difficulties.#\n\n(1) _Pre-occupied soil._ \"The cares of the world and the deceitfulness\nof riches choke the word and it becomes unfruitful.\"\n\n(2) _Fixedness of habit._ Life's attitude is settled in thought,\nfeeling, and will, and a change is possible only through the Spirit\nwho can make all things new.\n\n(3) _The sin of idolatry._ Every life that has not put God first now\nworships at the shrine of a self-elevated idol, the tangible\nexpression of its ideal. To dethrone it from love and substitute Jesus\nChrist shakes to the foundations.\n\n(4) _Weakness of spiritual aspirations._ It is a law of the feelings\nthat repression instead of expression weakens a feeling and tends to\nits destruction. If the life has refused to act upon its impulses\ntoward God through the years, the task of making the feeling strong\nenough to lead into action now is one beyond the power of the teacher.\nIt must be done by God, who \"is able to raise up even from the dead.\"\n\n#40. Results to be Expected.#--As life nears its meridian and the west\ngrows clearer, it ought to be with unveiled face and character\nchanging into His likeness in beauty, love, and self-surrendered\nservice.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What is the keyword of maturity?\n\n2. Name four characteristics.\n\n3. For what has the soul special capacity at this time?\n\n4. What special opportunities are presented by maturity?\n\n5. What are three needs of maturity?\n\n6. What must definitely mark the teaching?\n\n7. What three difficulties appear?\n\n8. What results are to be expected?\n\n\nTest Questions for Review\n\nLessons 6 to 10\n\n1. What essentials of the Christian life may a Junior readily have?\n\n2. How may we stimulate a Junior's efforts in right-doing?\n\n3. What results may we look for in this age?\n\n4. Explain the period of adolescence.\n\n5. What are the signs of personal consciousness at this time?\n\n6. What affects the adolescent's relation to God?\n\n7. What important opportunities has the Intermediate age?\n\n8. What must be guarded against in urging decision at this time?\n\n9. What years are included in the Senior age?\n\n10. Why are doubts to be expected in this age?\n\n11. What results should be aimed at with Seniors?\n\n12. What is meant by \"maturity\"?\n\n13. What is the goal for this age?\n\nNOTE.--A helpful treatment of the whole subject of child nature is\nfound in Mrs. Lamoreaux's book \"The Unfolding Life.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE TEACHER\n\nMARTIN G. BRUMBAUGH, Ph.D., LL.D.\n\n\n  LESSON                                                    PAGE\n   1. What the Teacher Should Be                             181\n   2. What the Teacher Should Know                           184\n   3. What the Teacher Should Do                             187\n   4. What the Pupil Should Do                               190\n   5. What Teaching Is                                       193\n   6. What an Educational Principle Is                       198\n   7. What an Educational Method Is                          201\n   8. What the Concrete Means in Teaching                    205\n   9. What Instruction, Drill, and Examination Can Do        209\n  10. What Will-Training Leads To                            212\n\n\n\n\nTeaching Hints\n\n\n    Leaders of classes, and individuals pursuing these studies\n    apart from classes, are urged to read the chapter entitled\n    \"Teaching Hints,\" on page 259, before beginning this section\n\n\n\n\nLesson 1\n\nWhat the Teacher Should Be\n\n\n#1. The Value of Character.#--We teach more by what we are than by\nwhat we know. Emerson once said, \"What you are thunders so loud I\ncannot hear what you say.\" Everywhere the character of the teacher is\ncounted a vital part of his equipment. Even in secular schools the\nteacher is required to possess a good moral character. How much more\nshould we demand high moral and spiritual standards of the teacher in\nthe Sunday-school! But mere goodness is not enough. We must demand, in\naddition to personal worth, certain other salient qualities in the\nperson who stands before childhood as a teacher of God's truth.\n\n#2. Training Always Needed.#--There is a common notion that teachers\nlike poets are born, not made. This is fallacious for two reasons: (a)\nwe do not know till we try whether or not we can teach; (b) we do know\nnow that the greater number of teachers are made by training and not\nby inherited qualities. Then, too, we are told that born teachers need\nno training, that they can teach without preparation. This notion is\nfalse, because the best native power may be made better by proper\ntraining. We call a doctor who has had no training in medicine a\n\"quack,\" and it is not too much to say the same of untrained teachers.\nHence all of us will be the better fitted for our work in the\nSunday-school if we have in addition to our native powers such added\npower as prayer and training assuredly give.\n\n#3. A Living Example.#--The teacher should be not only a professing\nChristian, but a living example of the kind of life we want every\nchild to live. It is unfortunate to place the destiny of a human soul\nin the care and under the directing thought of a teacher who neither\nbelieves nor lives a consistent Christian life. The teacher should be\n_kindly considerate_ of his pupils[.] No amount of fine teaching power\ncan compensate for the lack of such kindly concern for the welfare of\nhis pupils as will best lead them to crave in their own lives the same\ncourteous and considerate qualities. He should also be perfectly\n_sincere_ and _frank_. There can be no such thing as \"playing a part\"\nin the presence of children. They discern with an intuition that is as\ncertain as logic the sincerity or insincerity of the teacher. It is a\nmistake to flatter, to scold, to threaten or to cajole pupils. These\nare the marks of poor teaching. A perfectly frank teacher will never\ncheapen his sacred opportunity by any trick or device that has the\nring of insincerity.\n\n#4. Enthusiasm.#--The teacher should be an _enthusiast_. I had the\ngood fortune to hear Bishop Phillips Brooks speak to a great body of\nmen in Boston. There was in his whole manner such sincerity and\nenthusiasm as to carry conviction to each one in his audience. He had\na good thing. He believed in it with his whole heart. He was\nenthusiastic in its praise. He had tested it and found it good. He\nwanted others to share the same splendid good. His address left an\nimpression that years cannot dim. His enthusiasm made him a great\nteacher. This does not mean that one should speak in a loud tone, in\nhigh-pitched voice, with vehement manner and gesture. These are marks\nof weakness, not of strength. But it does mean that one should be\nconfident of the worth of his message and anxious to impress its worth\nupon others. Enthusiasm is born of sincere conviction in the\ncorrectness of the thing one aims to teach.\n\n#5. Directness.#--Much of all that is best in teaching is the result\nof a mastery of the theme in such way as to make all the statements\nand questions of the teacher _clear and direct_. One must consider his\nlanguage carefully. To the child in the class words may mean quite a\ndifferent thing from what they mean to the teacher. One must have the\npupils' point of view, and then make all his teaching so pointed, so\nspecific, that the meaning must be clear.\n\n#6. Alert Insight.#--The teacher must be _alert_ and _aggressive_,\ndiscerning the favorable moment to say great truths; with his thoughts\nmore upon his pupils than upon his text. Otherwise his power to govern\nis weakened and the interest of his pupils is lessened if not wholly\nlost. To accomplish the best things one must know in advance the scope\nand purpose of the lesson, and watch for the moment when, with\ninterest at its height, he will best succeed in reaching the deepest\nfountains of purpose in the soul of the pupil. This quality of\ninsight in the teacher's equipment will put the class upon a basis of\nwork. The pupils will quickly realize that the teacher is imbued with\na purpose; that he proceeds in a business-like way to accomplish a\nresult which is seen to be of value. The very directness of the\nteacher is an asset of great significance. This always appeals to\nyoung persons. They like a lesson that is full of snap and action.\nThey will not long abide a dull and dreary dragging over a subject--be\nit ever so fruitful in guidance.\n\n#7. Love.#--The teacher must be a sincere _lover of childhood_ and _of\nthe Master_. In the final chapter of the great Gospel by John, Jesus\nexamines Peter and indicates the basis of great teaching power. It is\nwell to study this narrative carefully. Picture Peter, at the dawn,\nweary and disheartened, coming from his fishless quest. The Master\nmeets him and asks him but one question, but he asks that question\nthree times, and each time he follows Peter's reply with the command\n\"Feed.\" The lesson is plain--he that loves most feeds best, and the\nmeasure of one's power to teach the truth of God to his children is\nthe measure of one's love for the Master Teacher. Where there is no\nlove there can be no great teaching.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What should be counted a vital part of the teacher's equipment?\n\n2. Is it true that teachers are \"born,\" not \"made\"? Give two reasons\nfor your answer.\n\n3. Name two ways in which a teacher can be a living example.\n\n4. What are some of the evidences of a teacher's enthusiasm?\n\n5. Whose point of view must the teacher take?\n\n6. What manner and method in teaching do pupils like?\n\n7. What is the measure of one's power to teach the truth of God to His\nchildren?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 2\n\nWhat the Teacher Should Know\n\n\n#8. He Must Have, before He Can Give.#--We can give only what we\npossess. This law holds throughout. Peter understood this when he made\nthe memorable reply to the beggar's request for alms: \"Silver and gold\nhave I none; but such as I have give I thee.\" It follows that whatever\nwe wish the pupil to know the teacher should also know, and he should\nknow more than he can hope to teach.\n\n#9. He Should Know His Bible.#--What do we wish the pupil to learn?\nAnswering this will answer in part the question, What should the\nteacher know? Manifestly, then, the teacher should be familiar with\nthe Bible. How very fragmentary and unsatisfactory our knowledge of\nthe great Book is until we have studied it in a definite and\nsystematic way--in the way we study our history or our geography. The\nteacher should at least know the salient features of the incomparable\nText and should have well fixed in memory many of the great utterances\nthat lie like flecks of gold upon its sunny pages.\n\n#10. Clear and Related Knowledge.#--But the teacher should know in a\nmore connected and also in a more detailed way the truths of the Book.\nThe pupil's knowledge should be _clear_, by which one means that he\nshould know a thing and not some other thing in its stead; and a\nteacher's knowledge should be not only clear but _related_, by which\none means that he should know a thing in its relation to all other\nthings with which it is vitally connected. This makes for system in\nknowledge, and gives the teacher the power to teach each fact with its\ndue emphasis, no more and no less. Some writers on education call this\nkind of knowing _apperception_, by which they mean seeing a thing in\nits proper system and in its due relations. To say that Jesus was born\nin Bethlehem, that he lived in Nazareth, that he was crucified on\nCalvary, and that he arose from the dead on the third day, as he said\nhe would, is clear knowledge. To see Jesus as the fulfilment of\nprophecy, as the promised King, as the leader of his people, as a\nteacher with more than human insight, as the founder of a church, and\nas the pattern and perfection of all endeavor, is _related_ knowledge;\nit is seeing Jesus as part of a great system of purpose that swept\ninto time by the will of God.\n\n#11.# It is well also for the teacher to possess #adequate# knowledge;\nhe should be able to separate a fact into its parts; that is, analyze\nit. This analytic power makes for vivid teaching but it is a power\nthat the pupil in his early years cannot acquire. Only the mature mind\nis analytic, and the teacher who knows how to analyze a fact or a\nlesson knows the secret of proportion in teaching, the power to know\nwhat to make emphatic, what to make subordinate. It is a poor teacher\nwho is unable to distinguish between a vital element and a non-vital\nelement.\n\n#12. Related Subjects.#--The teacher should also know such related\nsubjects as will best enable him to make clear each point under\ntreatment in the lesson. A teacher should have a working knowledge of\nbiblical geography and of sacred antiquities. He should know how to\nuse a concordance, how to work up cross-references, how to interpret\npeculiar idioms, and in general how to use the text of the Bible in\nthe most effective manner. He should know the general principles of\norganization pursued in a modern Sunday-school, together with the\noutlines of the history of the church, and should have a general\nknowledge of the translations of the Bible into the English language.\n\n#13. Thinking Principles.#--In addition to the subject-matter, the\nteacher should know something of the laws of thought, and the best way\nto use knowledge as an agency in _forming_ these laws of thought. All\nthese laws are scheduled in any elementary treatise on psychology, and\nthe best method of using knowledge to train the soul is set forth in\nany good treatise on pedagogy. Thus to a knowledge of the\nsubject-matter the teacher must add a knowledge of psychology and of\npedagogy. Scholarship alone is not the test of a good teacher.\n\n#14.# If one reflects for a time upon his own methods of acquiring\nknowledge, he will begin to understand the operations of the human\nsoul. When one reads that knowledge enters the soul only through the\nspecial senses, or that ideas may be recalled by memory, it is of the\nutmost importance that he should ask himself the question: What do\nthese statements mean? An illustration will help to answer this\nquestion: I know that fire will burn my hand; the knowledge of this\nfact entered my consciousness through the sense of touch, and my\nmemory recalls it.\n\n#15. Teaching Principles.#--When the laws of soul growth are fairly\nwell understood, it is time to investigate the principles of pedagogy,\nthe laws that govern the teacher in the act of using knowledge to\noccasion activity in the soul of a learner. For the laws of teaching\nrest upon the laws of the soul. We cannot know how to proceed in the\nteaching process until we know how the soul acts under given\nconditions.\n\n#16.# This act of teaching is a vastly significant one. It results in\nchanging the viewpoint of the pupil's life. It should produce in his\nsoul new knowledge, or power, or skill, or all of these combined.\nConsider well, teacher, what this means. How the child is taught\ndetermines in no small way how he will in the years to come regard his\nfellow-man, his country, his church, his own duty, and his loyalty to\nall that makes for progress in the life that is hid with Christ in\nGod.\n\n#17.# There are certain educational principles of great value to the\nteacher. Consider what it means to adapt knowledge to the capacity of\nthe learner, or what it means to secure interest in the learner, or\nwhat it means to proceed from the simple to the complex in teaching,\nand you will begin to understand something of the power of right\nactivities in the recitation.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What is the pre-requisite for giving?\n\n2. What is the least the teacher must know about the Bible?\n\n3. In what way should the teacher's knowledge of the Book be superior\nto the pupil's?\n\n4. What does _apperception_ mean? Illustrate the word.\n\n5. Give instances of the kind of _related_ knowledge that the teacher\nshould have.\n\n6. By what means does knowledge enter the soul?\n\n7. What should the act of teaching produce in the soul of the pupil?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 3\n\nWhat the Teacher Should Do\n\n\n#18.# The teacher must have a #purpose#, must see the end of the\nteaching process, and the way to that end. Then he should endeavor in\nthe best way to reach that goal. The goal is to _achieve in the pupil\nthe highest type of religious conduct_: not a religious feeling nor a\nreligious thought system; but feeling and thought crystallized into\ncharacter, the standard coin of the soul. All the efforts of the\nteacher must be directed to the attainment of this purpose. Otherwise\nthe recitation will be aimless and the result failure.\n\n#19.# The teacher must have a #plan# of procedure in advance of the\nrecitation. This plan he should map out carefully, and then on his\nknees ask God if it is the best plan. To plan carefully and then to\nexecute skilfully is the prime test of teaching. This plan must\ninclude a study of each pupil as well as a study of each lesson. It is\nat this point that so many teachers go wrong. They seem to think that\na knowledge of the lesson is the only preparation required. They\noverlook the fact that it is vastly more important _to know the pupil\nthan it is to know the lesson_. Those that know the subject-matter\nonly are scholars, not teachers. Those that add to their knowledge of\nthe subject-matter a clear insight into the operations of their\npupils' minds and also comprehend the fine art of fitting knowledge to\nthe capacity of the learner, are the only real teachers.\n\n#20.# The teacher must be #ready to change his plan# if it does not\nmeet the conditions that arise in the class; but this is a critical\nprocedure, and only the wise teacher may follow it with success. The\nteacher must not allow pupils to lead him into by-paths. Here tact and\nskill are of use in leading the class to the teacher's will and to the\nteacher's plan. The teacher's will must be supreme in it all. I have\nseen great opportunities lost absolutely because a weak teacher\nallowed the lesson to drift at the caprice of a pupil instead of\nfollowing a well-conceived plan. A group of boys once told me that\nthey did not need to prepare the Sunday-school lesson because they\nalways asked the teacher some questions at the opening of the\nrecitation, and the teacher took the entire time to discuss the\nquestions. The pupils, the while, sat in their places smiling at the\nweakness of a teacher who lacked the discernment necessary to be\nmaster of the situation. The time given to the legitimate work of\ninstruction is all too brief to be wasted in any such senseless ways.\n\n#21.# The teacher must be alert and #lead the recitation#. This\nquality of leadership challenges interest and carries the pupil with a\nsweep of enthusiasm to the end. To lead most wisely is so to direct\nthe current of thought as if it were not directed. The highest art in\nteaching is to conceal that art, to guide by suggestion and not by\ncommand.\n\n#22.# The teacher will strive to secure a major part of the\n#discussion from the pupil#. He will know when not to talk. It must\nnot be forgotten that it is the thing the teacher causes the pupil to\ndo, not the thing the teacher does in the presence of the pupil, that\nis most significant. Many a class is talked into mental stupor and\nspiritual indifference. A garrulous teacher is an abomination.\n\n#23.# A wise teacher will #work for his pupils#. His aim will be\nsteadily to aid them out of class as well as in class. I know a\nteacher who meets his class occasionally for a social hour in an\ninformal way. The boys of that class are enthusiastic believers in\ntheir teacher and in the power of practical Christian fellowship. Look\ninto the Elder Brother movement, the value of an organized class, and\nkindred movements that give the teacher the power to direct conduct in\nthe pupil. Here you will find the key to many successful avenues of\nusefulness to the pupil. The significance of all this lies in the\ngeneral value of a teacher who by word and by deed makes easy the way\nof the pupil to the Master.\n\n#24.# A good teacher will know when #to commend# and when not to\ncommend. He will not open himself to the criticism that his praise is\noverdue; nor will he, on the other hand, constantly scold and complain\nand nag his pupils. He will insist upon order and industry and will\nlabor assiduously to arouse enthusiasm in the class. He will\nconstantly endeavor to see things from the pupils' point of view and\nsympathize with the pupils' plan of thought. He will not forget that\nhe was once a child, and he will steadily pray for that wise charity\nthat knows the difference between childish caprice and youthful\nviciousness. He will not seriously regard the former; he will not fail\nto check and rebuke the latter.\n\n#25.# A wise teacher will #aim at a few things# and bend his energies\nto achieve them. He will not dissipate his power by undertaking to do\ntoo many things. He will fix upon some dominant purpose and cause it\nto run like a thread of gold throughout the recitation. I once heard a\npreacher begin his discourse with the Garden of Eden and end it with\nthe New Jerusalem. He said so many things in an unrelated way that his\neffort was wholly wasted. It is a mark of weakness to engage in mental\nsauntering. The wise teacher will hold a thought before his pupils\nuntil, like a jewel, it flashes light from every facet. He will also\nuse the best things done by some one pupil to stimulate like results\nin others. Above all, a consecrated teacher will not grow weary in\nwell doing, for he should have an unflinching faith in God, in his\npupil, and in the power of his teaching to produce Christian\ncharacter.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What is the teacher's goal?\n\n2. At what point in the teaching plan do many teachers go wrong?\n\n3. Who must lead in the teaching process--teachers or pupils? Why?\n\n4. What is the highest art in teaching?\n\n5. Who should do most of the talking--pupils or teacher?\n\n6. Why should a teacher work with pupils out of the class hour as well\nas in it?\n\n7. What should be the teacher's attitude toward caprice or toward\nviciousness?\n\n8. Should the teacher aim at a few things or many? Why?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 4\n\nWhat the Pupil Should Do\n\n\n#26. The Pupil's Part.#--The part the pupil takes in the act of\nlearning is all-important. The success of the recitation is in a large\ndegree conditioned by the attitude of the pupil. He must be organized\nand directed by the teacher for the process of instruction. What the\npupil will do in the recitation is conditioned upon the skill and\npower of the teacher. When the pupil fails to do what he should do the\nfault usually lies with the teacher. The pupil does that which the\nteacher stimulates him to do.\n\n#27.# The pupil should approach the recitation _willingly and gladly_.\nThe pupil who is in class against his will is a difficult pupil to\nteach, and it is doubtful whether or not any lasting good results from\nenforced attendance. Parents should not overlook this fact, and\nteachers will find here a hint of unusual significance. This willing,\njoyous approach to the lesson is conditioned upon at least four\nthings: (a) the preparation of the lesson by the pupil in advance; (b)\nthe absence of other appeals more enticing to the interest of the\npupils; (c) the quality of teaching power and skill exercised by the\nteacher; (d) the spirit of good-will and of kindly concern that rules\nthe school as a whole.\n\n#28. The Pupil's Preparation.#--From the smaller pupils no formal\npreparation can be demanded in advance. But for all, the lesson should\nbe read, either by the pupil or by some one in the home, prior to the\ntime of the recitation. It is a good plan to indicate briefly the week\npreceding just what leading ideas and incidents the pupils should\nmaster before the recitation occurs. There are many indirect acts that\nthe pupil may perform during the week that may fittingly be regarded\nas preparation for the lesson; such as visits to the sick, efforts to\nbring new members to the class, incidents of the week which made a\nmarked impression for good, and kindred matters. These can all be\ntouched upon by the teacher by judicious questioning, and in this way,\nat the opening of the recitation, lead each pupil to make some\nstatement of a good done. This will promote the moral atmosphere so\nvital to successful interpretation of the lesson.\n\n#29. Divided Interests.#--Many times the pupil comes reluctantly to\nthe Sunday-school because his interests lie for that hour elsewhere.\nIf the parents go on a pleasure trip, it is unfair to compel the child\nto forfeit the same opportunity. Wise parents will show the more\nexcellent way by themselves accompanying their children to the\nSunday-school. My own father never led his boys to the silent recesses\nof the mountain brooks to see God's wonder world until after we had\nreturned from the Sunday-school. To enjoy the former we were\nunconsciously encouraged to attend the latter. The so-called \"liberal\"\nSabbath is the foe of the Sunday-school, and all friends of the best\nthings should oppose the lessening of the power that wins childhood\nfor the Master through regular attendance upon his school.\n\n#30.# When pupils dislike the teacher because he is weak or rude or\npetulant or unprepared to teach, it is difficult to keep these pupils\nin regular attendance. Each teacher should constantly ask himself, How\nmay I personally add to the attractiveness of the Sunday-school?\nCareful inquiry and close supervision of the classes by the\nsuperintendent should compel good teaching or a prompt change of\nteachers. It is useless to expect pupils to love the Sunday-school\nwell enough to endure a worthless teacher. How often pupils grow weary\nin attendance because the teacher has no power to woo the young spirit\nto the fountains of love and light! On the other hand, how gladly and\nhow regularly children turn to the Sunday-school when a great-hearted\nand warm-spirited teacher is always there to welcome and to nourish\nthem!\n\n#31.# There is a marvelous attractive power in a well-organized\nschool. When the spirit that rules in it and the organization that\nguides it are so wisely fostered as to create in the school an\natmosphere of genuine stimulation the pupil will find it easy to come\ngladly, to say with the Psalmist, \"I was glad when they said unto me,\nlet us go unto the house of Jehovah.\"\n\n#32. Reverence.#--In the recitation proper, the pupil should be helped\nto be reverent, well-behaved, and actively absorbed in the lesson. He\nshould be shown the gains of complying promptly and cheerfully with\nthe requests of his teacher; the King's business must be conducted\nwith decency and dispatch. He should develop a quickening concern for\nthe welfare of his classmates and foster a wholesome support to the\nclass as an organization. It is not always the lesson taught but the\nspirit that rules during the lesson that wins the young spirit to\nadoration and service.\n\n#33. Regularity and Promptness.#--The early acquisition of the habits\nof regularity and promptness in attendance are virtues of no mean\nmoment in the life of the learner. Whatever may be legitimately done\nto promote these habits is worthily done. An essential part of the\ndiscipline of life lies in acquiring dependable habits. It is the\nsystematic attendance upon the Sunday-school that at last leads the\npupil to say again, \"I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto\nthe house of Jehovah.\" Some unique and valuable exercise at the\nopening of the recitation, occupying but a minute or two of time, will\noften prove of great value. I have headed this chapter, \"What the\npupil should do,\" because it is not what the pupil thinks, nor what he\nsays, that is of greatest moment. It is his conduct in the class and\nhis conduct during the week in home, in school, in play, that tests\nmost directly the value of the teaching he receives. The focus of\nteacher concern is not what the pupil learns, but what the pupil does;\nnot thought, but conduct; not theory, but practise; not ideas, but\nacts; not ability to answer questions, but ability to live a clean,\nsweet, quiet Christian life. All teaching that falls short of this\ngoal is unworthy teaching. The supreme test of teaching, laid down by\nthe Master, is that we should do the will of our Father that is in\nheaven.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. Whose fault is it, generally, if the pupil fails to do what he\nought in the class?\n\n2. What four things help to the pupil's willing approach to the\nlesson?\n\n3. In what ways may a pupil prepare for the lesson period?\n\n4. How may the pupil be spared a division of interest?\n\n5. What should be the pupil's attitude and bearing during the\nrecitation?\n\n6. What should be the real focus of the teacher's concern about the\npupil?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 5\n\nWhat Teaching Is\n\n\n#34. Teaching Defined.#--The Sunday-school teacher as much as any\nother teacher should understand clearly what teaching is. Teaching is\nnot telling, and no amount of talking to the pupil can be considered\nas teaching. Teaching is not determined by anything that happens\noutside the pupil, but by the action of the pupil's soul upon the\nthings that are presented to it through the senses. _Teaching may be\ndefined as causing a human soul to know._\n\n#35.# Everything outside the learner may be considered his teacher. We\nare taught in the broadest sense by the spirit of God's universe\nexpressed in terms of order and law. We are taught in a more\nrestricted sense by our immediate environment, and especially by the\npeople whose lives come in close contact with our own. In the most\nrestricted sense we are taught by a trained mind, and this trained\nmind belongs to a person called a teacher. The process of teaching may\nbe considered as the act of bringing into the consciousness of the\nlearner the knowledge already in the consciousness of the teacher. We\ncannot teach what we do not know. Teaching ends when the pupil knows\nall that the teacher knows.\n\n#36. Impression and Expression.#--When I say that I know a certain\nthing, I mean that my soul possesses that thing and knows that it\npossesses it; this is _consciousness_. The teaching act completes\nitself when the learner is able to express in language or otherwise to\nthe satisfaction of the teacher the facts in consciousness. In other\nwords, the soul is not fully educated until it has reached the point\nof expression.\n\n#37.# It will be seen from this that teaching is possible only when\nthe soul is actively seeking new knowledge. This attempt of the soul\nto seek new knowledge causes it, for one reason or another, to focus\nitself upon some one object of thought to the exclusion of all other\nobjects of thought. _This act is called attention._ When the will\ndirects the attention it is called _voluntary_ attention. When some\nother agency than the will directs the attention it is called\n_involuntary_ attention.\n\n#38. Securing Attention.#--The greatest art in teaching is to secure\nattention. The highest form of attention is voluntary attention. The\nyoung child does not possess sufficient will-power to control\nattention; consequently in the early grades some other agent than a\ncommand of the will must hold attention. This other agent in a general\nway may be characterized as _interest_. In other words, the young\nchild's interests hold his attention, and the thing in which he takes\nthe greatest interest will easiest attract his attention.\n\n#39.# There are certain well-known principles underlying the interest\nof the child. First, his curiosity; second, novelty, or\nunexpectedness; third, imitativeness; fourth, illustrations based upon\nhis experience. The teacher cannot be too careful to consider what is\nof interest to a child. We cannot measure the interests of a child by\nthe interests of an adult. Here the study of child nature is the only\nsafe and adequate guidance.\n\n#40. How Knowledge Reaches the Soul.#--There are but five gateways to\nthe soul of a child, called the senses:--Seeing, hearing, touching,\ntasting, smelling. There are no other channels of approach. Whatever\nincreases the breadth of this sense-approach in a subject of study\nincreases the interest of the learner in that subject. If I tell a\nchild about a _ball_, I utilize his sense of hearing; if I show him a\nball, at the same time I describe it, I utilize seeing and hearing; if\nI hand him a ball, as I describe it, I utilize touching, seeing, and\nhearing. A single fact reaching consciousness through the senses and\nrecognized in consciousness is called a percept or a particular\nnotion. It is sometimes called an idea. The soul in giving expression\nto an idea uses a word or some other sign for the idea. Thus words are\nthe signs of ideas.\n\n#41.# When other facts of a similar character reach consciousness, and\nare identified there with the first percept, the percept becomes a\nconcept, general notion or general idea, just as the percept is an\nindividual idea; that is, the percept stands for one object\napprehended in consciousness; the concept stands for a group of\nsimilar objects under one name apprehended in consciousness. All the\ncommon nouns are concepts just as all proper nouns are percepts. For\nexample, in the sentence, \"Washington was a brave man,\" it is plain\nthat \"Washington\" is a particular idea or percept and \"man\" is a\ngeneral idea or concept.\n\n#42. Judgment and Reasoning.#--The aim of the teacher is, first, to\nsecure clear percepts, and then rapidly to change these percepts into\nconcepts, which is only another way of saying that good teaching\nrelates the things in the soul in such a way as to give the child the\nfewest possible terms with which to carry the largest possible number\nof particular facts. Concepts are the shorthand of the soul's\nlanguage. When these concepts are compared and their agreement or\ndisagreement noted the soul is forming judgments. When these judgments\nare expressed in language the soul is forming sentences. When these\njudgments are compared and their agreement or disagreement noted, the\nsoul is reasoning. Sentences are the signs of judgments or reasons,\njust as words are the signs of percepts or concepts. Thus the percept\nfirst comes; the percept grows into the concept; the concept into the\njudgment; the judgment into reasoning; and these are the four steps in\nthe process of knowing. They are the tools of thought. Teaching must\nbe a training in the use of these tools.\n\n#43. Memory# is of little use unless it is simply the power to hold\nthings clearly understood by the soul. It is not good teaching to\nburden the memory with masses of things not clearly perceived and\nconceived, although it may be at the beginning not at all\nobjectionable to commit to memory certain great utterances from the\nBible and other standard literature, even when the meaning is not\nclearly and fully apprehended. But at the earliest time possible these\nshould be analyzed and the meaning worked into forms of clear\nknowledge.\n\n#44. Imagination.#--Imagination is the power of the soul to work up\ninto new combinations the things in memory. Memory keeps things as the\nsoul got them through the senses. The products of memory have a basis\nin experience. The products of imagination have no such basis in\nexperience. Imagination is the creator of new products. It cares not\nfor facts, but works after its own fancy. It is a more dangerous\npower because more free. To curb it at the outset is necessary. To\nallow it free range is to open the way for statements from the child\nthat often alarm the parent or teacher. But when once the moral sense\nis awakened and governs imagination the latter becomes the agency that\ncreates all art and enriches all life.\n\n#45.# Teaching aims to develop by appropriate exercise all these\npowers of the soul. What the pupil learns is not so important as what\npower he gains in the control and use of his thinking processes under\nthe guidance of a skilful teacher.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What is teaching?\n\n2. When does teaching end?\n\n3. What is consciousness?\n\n4. What marks the completion of the teaching act?\n\n5. What is attention? Voluntary? Involuntary?\n\n6. What will most easily attract the attention of a young child?\n\n7. State four principles underlying the child's interest?\n\n8. Name the gateways to the soul.\n\n9. What is a percept?\n\n10. What is a concept?\n\n11. State the four steps in the process of knowing.\n\n12. When is memory of most use?\n\n13. What is imagination?\n\n\nTest Questions for Review\n\nLessons 1 to 5\n\n1. What point of view must the teacher take?\n\n2. Is it true that teachers are \"born\" not \"made\"?\n\n3. What does apperception mean?\n\n4. By what means does knowledge enter the soul?\n\n5. What is the teacher's goal?\n\n6. What is the highest art in teaching?\n\n7. What four things help to the pupil's approach to the lesson?\n\n8. What should be the teacher's real concern about the pupil?\n\n9. What is teaching?\n\n10. What is attention? Voluntary? Involuntary?\n\n11. State four principles underlying the child's interest.\n\n12. Name the gateway to the soul.\n\n\n\n\nLesson 6\n\nWhat an Educational Principle Is\n\n\n#46. Laws of the Soul.#--Everything in this world behaves in a certain\nway under certain conditions. All the things in God's great, good\nworld operate in harmony with some force or power that is always\npresent and that always does or causes to be done the same thing. When\nonce we have discovered this power and stated in a formula how it\nbehaves we have a law. The soul is no exception to this general\nstatement. It behaves, under similar conditions, in the same way. When\nonce we have discovered how the soul acts and formulate its methods of\naction we have a law of the soul.\n\n#47.# From these laws of the soul we may also learn how to make the\nsoul grow in a certain desired way. We can also discover the laws in\nthe materials which we use to cause growth in the soul. These laws\nbecome the guide to all good teaching. They are here called\neducational laws or principles.\n\n#48. Educational Principles.#--Thus it will be seen that educational\nprinciples rest upon the laws of the soul. They tell us in brief and\nclear statements what should govern us in teaching a growing soul. If\none turns to any treatise on pedagogy he will find there a statement\nof these laws. Of course, these will be found to vary somewhat because\nno one is quite certain that the last facts concerning the soul are\nknown.\n\n#49.# But the important thing is not, after all, what one finds in the\nbooks, but what one is finally led to accept as his own guiding\nprinciples. It is of the utmost importance that one should have\ncertain general principles of education as standards by which to test\nhis own teaching. A ship without a compass sails a no less aimless or\ndangerous course than does a teacher without pedagogic guidance. What\nthe compass is to the ship, educational principles are to the teacher.\nThus educational principles aid in achieving the end or purpose of the\neducational process; which end is, according to Spencer, \"to live\ncompletely,\" or, as we usually say, to fit each one to live in the\nexercise of all the power God made it possible for him to enjoy. To\nrealize this end teaching must proceed according to law.\n\n#50.# The first law to be noted is that #the subject matter presented\nto a growing soul must be adapted to the capacity of the learner#.\nThis law is so self-evident that we unconsciously observe it. We do\nnot give the same kind of lessons to a child in the primary grade that\nwe should and do give to the pupil in the adult Bible class. The whole\nsignificance of graded exercises is based upon this fundamental\nprinciple. This law rests upon the generally accepted fact that the\ndifferent powers of the soul change their relative activity during the\nyears of growth.\n\n#51.# The second principle is equally important: #There is a natural\norder in which the powers of the soul should be exercised.# This order\nis the order of their activity. The earliest power to become\neducationally active is sensation, the last is reason, and hence we\ncan phrase this law in the maxim \"from sense to reason.\" Different\nwriters state the same thing in the following way: observation before\nreasoning; the concrete before the abstract; sense knowledge before\nthought knowledge; facts before definitions; processes before rules;\nthe particular before the general; the simple before the complex; from\nthe known to the next related unknown. All these maxims may be traced\nto the same law of the soul, and they may all be summed up in the\nmaxim, _teaching must proceed from things to symbols_, since the\nsenses deal with things and reason deals with symbols. No wise teacher\nwill pass this law by until its full significance is understood. Jesus\nwas a masterful teacher. He observed this law frequently. Note the\nexamples in the Gospels, using the incident at Jacob's well as an\nexample. AEsop's fables are all built upon the principle here laid\ndown, as are the numerous fairy tales by the Grimms, Andersen, and\nothers.\n\n#52.# Since the soul grows only by its own activity a third law\narises: #Knowledge can be acquired only by occasioning the proper\nactivity in the soul of the pupil.# It is always important to keep in\nmind that it is not what the teacher thinks and does, but what he\ncauses the pupil to think and do, that makes for knowledge. The best\nteaching secures the best mental activity on the part of the pupil.\n\n#53.# Just what the proper activity is may be seen by a consideration\nof a fourth principle: #First presentations of new knowledge must be\nmade objectively in all grades of the school.# Ideas cannot be taught\nthrough words. They can be taught through objects, and the ideas can\nthen be named. The name is the word. This law may be stated as \"ideas\nbefore words.\" It stands as a protest against abstract and formal\nteaching. It demands that knowledge shall be fitted to the nature of\nthe soul's growth. The child that for the first time was shown a\ngrowing fern in a vase and called it \"a pot of green feathers\" was on\nthe right track. He will in due time acquire the right word. His idea\nis clear. It follows also that _the only words in which knowledge can\nbe presented to the soul are words that name known things_.\n\n#54.# These and many other principles are the basis of the whole\nteaching process. Happy that child whose teacher has thought his way\nthrough these essential laws and observes them in all the activities\nof the recitation. No teacher can grow in power or skill without\nmastering the meaning of these laws, which may be called the alphabet\nof the teacher's preparation. These laws the teacher should always\nhave in mind as guidance. They are not to be announced to the pupil.\nJesus always followed great educational principles, but he never\nannounced these to his disciples. When you say \"That is a good\nlesson,\" you mean that the lesson is in harmony with laws of teaching\nyou know to be good. There is no other basis of judging the worth of a\nteacher.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What is meant by a law of the soul?\n\n2. Why are educational principles needed?\n\n3. What is the first law as to the subject matter of teaching? The\nsecond?\n\n4. What is the earliest power that becomes educationally active?\n\n5. What maxim sums up the order in which the soul-powers should be\nexercised?\n\n6. State the third law of the soul. The fourth. Illustrate.\n\n\n\n\nLesson 7\n\nWhat an Educational Method Is\n\n\n#55. Applying Principles.#--When the teacher puts an educational\nprinciple to work in the act of teaching he uses a method. A method is\na principle applied, put into operation. Principles make up one's\neducational theory; methods make up one's educational practise. It is\nas important to have a good method as it is to have a good law. The\nway a law is applied is a method. When we agreed that it would be a\ngood thing to teach scientific temperance to our children we announced\na principle. To apply this led to the use of the school. Teaching in\nthe school the subject of scientific temperance became a method. We\nmight have chosen the home, the church, or any other agency.\n\n#56.# One's method is often the test of one's principle. If I say that\nrepetition makes for clear knowledge I announce a law or principle.\nThe test of the law is the way the soul acts under repetition. Does\nthe learner gain in clearness of knowledge by repetition? If so, the\nlaw is true. If not, the law is not true.\n\n#57. Kinds of Methods.#--Methods are of two kinds: _general_ and\n_special_. A general method may be followed in teaching all the\ndifferent subjects that make up a course of study. A special method is\nfollowed in teaching one particular subject or a part of a subject. A\ndevice is merely a temporary resort to some special act to accomplish\nan immediate result. Methods, general and special, may be used again\nand again. A device rarely can be repeated, since the same conditions\nmay never again arise.\n\n#58. Analytic and Synthetic Method.#--A lesson, like a jack-knife, is\nmade up of a number of parts. We may begin the recitation by\npresenting first the object or lesson as a whole and follow with a\nstudy of the parts; this is the _analytic method_. Or we may begin the\nrecitation by presenting first the parts, one at a time, and follow\nwith a study of the object as a whole. This is the _synthetic method_\nin teaching. These two general methods are usually combined in a\ncomplete lesson. That is to say, we usually consider first the whole\nthought, then analyze it into its several parts, and when each part\nis understood, we combine by synthesis the parts into the general\nthought. If, for example, we begin by citing the golden text, and then\nanalyze the lesson to find the parts that illustrate the meaning in\nthe golden text, and finally combine these parts into a fuller\nunderstanding of the golden text, the process is analytico-synthetic.\nThe purpose of this thought exercise is to enlarge the learner's\ncomprehension of the general truth in the lesson. In the earlier years\nteaching should be largely synthetic; in later years, analytic. A\nstudy of the growth of the powers of the soul will show why this is\nso.\n\n#59. Inductive and Deductive Method.#--When once the mind is trained\nto analyze fairly well it is possible to use another set of general\nmethods. In reasoning we may begin with particular facts, with simple\nsensations, with the individual notions based upon concrete\nexperience, and rise step by step to a general law. If we pursue this\nplan in the recitation, we use the _inductive method_ in teaching. If\nwe pursue the opposite order, beginning with some general law or\nprinciple and proceed by reasoning to special or particular facts, we\nuse the _deductive method_ in teaching. The parable of the sower is a\ngood example of inductive teaching. The seventh chapter of Matthew\ncontains a number of excellent examples of deductive teaching. Note\ncarefully the method by which Jesus makes plain the words, \"Beware of\nfalse prophets.\" These general methods are followed always in one\norder or another by every good teacher.\n\n#60.# The recitation also affords opportunity for the exercise of\nspecial methods. We may or we may not ask _questions_. We may or we\nmay not assign _topics_, we may or we may not draw _pictures_ on a\nblackboard. We may or we may not ask pupils to _consult the text_ of\nthe lesson in reciting the same. These facts suggest methods that the\nwise teacher will consider carefully.\n\n#61. Questioning.#--If the teacher asks and requires the pupils to\nanswer a series of questions he is using the _question method_. It is\na good method because it compels the pupils to think and to give\nexpression in proper language to their thoughts. It is vastly better\nthan telling, for telling things to pupils is not teaching, since it\nfails to cause the pupil's mind to act in any creative way. It is a\nmuch abused method because many questions that an unwise teacher asks\ndo not lead by synthesis to a common general truth or law. It is to be\nnoted that the simplest form of questioning seeks only to obtain in\nanswer a statement of fact, as when one asks how many miles it is from\nJerusalem to Jericho, or who betrayed Jesus, or any similar question\nthat calls for a statement of fact. A better question is one that sets\nall the currents of thought aflow, that causes one to stop, think,\nweigh, ponder, deliberate, before framing an answer. A careful study\nof Jesus' method of asking questions is of the utmost value in\nmastering the fine art of teaching by the question method. In Luke 9\nJesus asks the question, \"Who do the multitudes say that I am?\" After\nthe disciples had reported all the guesses of the people, he asked,\n\"But who say ye that I am?\" This question went to the heart of the\nsubject of his identity. It forced from Peter a great declaration.\nWise questioning always touches the very center of discussion and\ncrystallizes thought.\n\n#62.# For more advanced classes it is a good plan to assign in advance\ncertain subjects to be recited by the pupil in the recitation. When\nthis is done, the teacher uses the _topical method_. It requires a\nmaximum of effort and should not be used with young pupils. It is an\nexcellent method in the Bible classes.\n\n#63. Illustrations.#--If the teacher uses objects, pictures, or\ndrawings to make meaningful his language in teaching, he is using the\n_illustrated method_. This is especially valuable in the primary\ngrades. The one necessary caution is that the objects, pictures, or\ndrawings shall be wisely selected, and that in their use special care\nbe taken that the interest of the pupils is focused upon the thought\nor fact to be taught and not upon the illustration.\n\n#64.# If the teacher allows the pupils to consult the text while\nreciting, his method is likely to produce little permanent good. To\nfix the lesson in memory, to lay aside all books, to face the anxious\nand earnest teacher, is to secure the best results. Of course, there\nare times when the text is to be studied and when it is necessary to\nrefer to the printed lesson, but a wise teacher will remember that\nwhen soul looks into soul the greatest possible good comes from\nteaching.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What is meant by a teaching method?\n\n2. What is meant by the _analytic_ method?\n\n3. The _synthetic_ method?\n\n4. What is meant by the _inductive_ method?\n\n5. The _deductive_ method?\n\n6. Why is the _question_ method a good one?\n\n7. Why is mere telling not teaching?\n\n8. What kind of question is better than that which merely draws out a\nfact?\n\n9. What is the topical method, and with what pupils should it be used?\n\n10. What is the gain in using illustrations? What the danger?\n\n11. Should the lesson text be consulted by the pupil when reciting?\nWhy?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 8\n\nWhat the Concrete Means in Teaching\n\n\n#65. Value of the Concrete.#--The world is made up of concrete things;\nthat is, things which can be recognized by the senses. The first\nimpressions the soul gets of this world are concrete. We call them\nindividual or perceptual notions. The soul compares, classifies,\ngeneralizes these concrete notions into general or conceptual notions.\nThese thought products are abstract. But all knowledge begins in these\nindividual notions and hence all first presentations of a new lesson\nor a new object of thought must be in the concrete. The richer and\nmore varied the concrete data, the more valuable is the mental result\nin abstract thought. When an abstract notion is presented to a class\nit is of no educational value unless it can be referred back in the\nmind of each pupil to some concrete experience in his own past. The\nteacher, knowing this, will always aim to interpret general truths,\nwhich are abstract, into terms of experience, which are concrete. When\nDavid wishes to express the thirst of his soul for God he says, \"As\nthe hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after\nthee, O God.\" To a people familiar with Palestine and the habits of\nthe hart this language at once made vividly real, in a concrete image,\nthe great longing the pure soul has for its Creator.\n\n#66.# All the tentacles of the soul seem to find in the concrete thing\ngreat sources of nourishment. Note the crowds that throng the\nzoological gardens, the flower expositions, the picture galleries, the\nmuseums of one sort or another, to see the potency of the concrete as\na great teaching power. Explore a boy's pocket to learn what the\nconcrete is worth. Why all these \"scraps,\" broken glass, rusty nails,\nold knives, buttons, peculiar pebbles, colored strings, parts of a\nwatch or clock, odd sticks, bits of chewing gum, ends of pencils,\nbroken buckles, speckled beans, colored papers, bits of fur, and other\nthings that he treasures? Because in a most potential way they are\nnutrition to his yearning soul. One will never fathom the real depths\nof the concrete as teaching data until he can appreciate why the son\nof a President of the United States gladly traded rare exotic flowers\nfrom the White House conservatory for the discarded paper caps of\ncommon milk bottles.\n\n#67.# The trouble we all experience is to discover just what concrete\nthing the general statement figures in the soul of the child. When our\npupils read\n\n  \"Up from the meadows rich with corn,\n  Clear in the cool September morn,\"\n\nwhat does it mean to them? Instance a poor child whose life is pent\nwithin the narrow walls of a city tenement, one who has never seen the\npark, much less the great, grand farms of the country; what can even\nthis simple language of Whittier's figure to that child? Do you not\nsee that first of all the needed thing in teaching is to bring new\nthoughts into terms of old thoughts, to interpret the new by the old,\nto translate all abstract truth into terms of conduct and into terms\nof real concrete experience. If then the pupil's personal experience\nis meager, how very difficult it is to teach him, and how very\nimportant it is that we should be wise enough to supply the concrete\ndata necessary to make meaningful our teaching.\n\n#68. Tools for the Teacher.#--The agencies at the teacher's disposal\nare objects, pictures, drawing, and stories. These demand extended\nstudy. Do you have a collection of objects and of pictures for\nteaching purposes? These are your tools. Be sure you carry a goodly\nstore of them. Select them with care and use them with caution. If you\ncannot draw beautiful pictures, do not worry. But be sure you can,\nwith a few strokes of the crayon, make concrete the thought you wish\nto emphasize. This power is of immeasurable value and the training of\nevery teacher should include lessons in simple graphic illustration.\n\n#69. Stories.#--But above all else, as equipment to teach, can you\ntell a story? The story is an abstract truth dressed in concrete\ngarments. When Jesus was asked to define the word _neighbor_ he might\nhave answered in some such definition as may be found in any\ndictionary. He was too wise a teacher to do that. He immediately\ntranslated the meaning of neighbor into the concrete story of the\ngood Samaritan and gave us an example of the loftiest teaching power\nthe world has ever known. Every parable is an example of great skill\nin teaching the abstract by means of the concrete. Go over the series\nand note in how many ways the Kingdom of heaven is concreted into\nterms of the common experience of the people Jesus taught.\n\n#70.# A good story, well told, at once attracts marked attention. The\npupil unconsciously turns to a concrete incident and from that obtains\nthe richest nutrition for his spirit. But the story must be well told.\nIt must contain abundant elements of specific detail and must be\npacked with incidents that thrill with action. The old Mother Goose\nrhymes are excellent examples of stories full of action, and, as a\nresult, of interest. The child personifies all things, that he may\nfind in them the elements of life, of action, of things in the process\nof doing. If you will spend an hour with a boy who is riding a stick\nthat is to him a horse, or a girl who is playing with a rag-doll, you\nwill learn the method and value of action in the concrete materials of\ninstruction.\n\n#71. Rhyme and Song.#--If to the story is added the attractive appeal\nof rhythm, rhyme, and song the concrete materials of teaching become\nalmost ideal. It is a good thing to conclude a well-told story with a\nshort, simple poem and a song, both of which should relate to the same\ntruth the story sets forth in the concrete. Through story, rhyme, and\nsong the growing soul climbs most surely and securely to the lofty and\nilluminating vistas of God's universal laws. Maxims, precepts,\nproverbs, mottoes, laws, become meaningful and potential only when the\nsoul moulds these mass motives of guidance from the plastic and\nsuggestive data of a rich and varied contact with concrete experiences\nand things. \"I am the vine,\" \"I am the good shepherd,\" \"I am the way,\"\ncontain the very essence of all great method in the art of building a\nsoul for the Kingdom of God and of service.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. Give an illustration of a \"concrete notion\"?\n\n2. What may be learned by the study of a boy's pocket?\n\n3. By what means should we bring new thoughts to the pupil?\n\n4. What are four tools at the teacher's disposal?\n\n5. What constitutes a \"good story\"?\n\n6. What appeal may well be added to the story?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 9\n\nWhat Instruction, Drill, and Examination Can Do\n\n\n#72.# The two processes at work in every good recitation are #teaching\nand learning#. The first of these processes is the work of the\nteacher; the latter is the work of the pupil. Learning includes study\nproper and practise in the use of knowledge learned. The learning\nprocess should, of course, be directed by the teacher.\n\n#73. Teaching#, the work of the teacher, includes three distinct\nelements or parts: _instruction_, _drill_, _examination_. These may at\ntimes be supplemented by a fourth teaching process of considerable\nimportance, _review_. Every good class exercise is made up of these\nelements. In certain cases the amount of time devoted to one or to the\nother of these varies greatly. No fixed law can be set. The judgment\nof the teacher, the condition of the class, the immediate purpose of\nthe particular lesson, combine to make the relative value of these\nelements vary from one recitation to another. We can, however, study\nthe purpose or function of each and arrive at some fairly adequate\nguidance.\n\n#74. Instruction# is the process through which the teacher aims to\nassist the pupil in the acquisition of knowledge or power, or both. It\nmay take the form of written or of oral instruction. Written\ninstruction has to do with the mastery of the printed page. To know\nhow to obtain knowledge from the printed page is an important end of\ninstruction. \"Understandest thou what thou readest?\" is a question\nthat goes to the heart of good written instruction. Oral instruction\nis the act of the living teacher in stimulating the pupil to know. It\nhas three phases--_objective_, _indirect_, and _direct_.\n\n#75.# _Objective instruction_ is the presentation to the eye or other\nsense of the pupil, by means of objects or pictures, some concrete\nthing which will aid the pupil to gain clear knowledge. We have\nalready considered the value of this form of concrete instruction.\n\n#76.# _Indirect instruction_ is the process of recalling, through\nmemory, past objective experiences and causing the mind to discern\ntheir likeness or unlikeness, their relations one to another, and to\nexpress a conclusion that the teacher does not first announce. In\nindirect instruction the learner is led to express his own past\nknowledge and, by comparing one fact with another, to arrive for\nhimself at new knowledge. This is a most difficult but a most valuable\ntype of instruction. It makes the pupil an explorer after truth and it\nshould result in making him a discoverer of truth. The joy of original\ndiscovery possesses the soul of the successful pupil, who is taught by\nthis indirect or suggestion method of instruction.\n\n#77.# _Direct instruction_ is the communication of facts by the\nteacher through oral language to the pupil. The pupil in this type of\nlearning follows the statements of the teacher and sees for himself\nthe truth of the facts presented and the conclusion reached. The\ndanger of direct teaching lies in the fact that the teacher may fail\nto arouse in the pupil a current of thought corresponding to his own.\nIn this case there is no resulting knowledge in the soul of the\nlearner; and, instead, there is likely to be confusion or disorder in\nthe class. This is a common phenomenon in classes that are so\nunfortunate as to have poor teachers. The law underlying all oral\nteaching is as follows: _Do not tell the pupil directly what he may be\nreasonably expected to observe or discern for himself._\n\n#78. Drill# is the process through which the teacher aims to assist\nthe pupil in the acquisition of power and skill. The new truth, when\nfirst apprehended by the pupil, must be made so familiar to the\nlearner that he can promptly and easily recall the new truth or\nknowledge. Drill is the agency that accomplishes this result. Note how\noften a boy or girl repeats some new sentence or word or game in order\nto fix its easy recall. Many teachers think repetition deadens\ninterest. But without repetition Comenius rightly declares we do not\nknow solidly. Repetition is nature's way of developing strength. It is\nof prime importance that every new truth be drilled until it is as\nfamiliar to the learner as old knowledge. Then it becomes easy of\nrecall and ready for use. The wise teacher will avoid the abuse of the\ndrill by so varying the exercise as to secure a maximum of interest,\nfor interest is the basis of pleasure, and the soul does not easily\nretain knowledge that is not pleasurable.\n\n#79. Examination# is the process through which the teacher aims to\ntest the result of instruction and learning. Its value is twofold: it\nadds to the learner's knowledge by the preparation he makes for the\nexamination, and it gives the teacher a means of measuring the results\nobtained through instruction and drill. If the examination tests only\nknowledge gained by direct teaching, it is of little value. If, on the\ncontrary, the questions are so phrased as to cause the pupil to think\nhis way out of things known into some newer and higher order of\nknowledge, it is a valuable exercise. Usually before examinations are\ngiven the teacher and pupils join in a _review_.\n\n#80.# The #review# is an invaluable teaching agency when it results in\nsuch a reorganization of unrelated or partly related facts of\nknowledge as to give the pupil a clearer and surer grasp upon the\nrelative value of the facts previously acquired. A drill fixes a given\nfact more securely or solidly in the soul; a review organizes these\ndrilled facts into new systems and wider classifications. It is seeing\nthe old once more, but seeing it from a new point of vantage; just as\na man climbing a tower with windows at stated points sees in each case\nall that he saw before, but sees it in a new setting, sees it as part\nof a larger scene, and sees it finally as a part of a mighty whole.\nWisely conducted, the review establishes proportion in the knowledge\nset in the soul and leads finally and directly to the fact that all\ntruth is at last one truth; all life at last one life; all parts at\nlast one great infinite unity, whose name is God.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What two processes are at work in every good recitation?\n\n2. What four elements does teaching include?\n\n3. What are the three phases of oral instruction?\n\n4. Define each of these three phases.\n\n5. What law underlies all oral teaching?\n\n6. What is meant by drill?\n\n7. Define examination. What is its twofold value?\n\n8. When is a review valuable?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 10\n\nWhat Will-training Leads To\n\n\n#81.# The soul by #thinking, feeling, and willing# completes its round\nof activities. It is not a three-parted power, each part doing one and\nonly one of these things; but it is a single power, capable of doing\nin turn all these things. The soul _thinking_ is at work in an\nintellectual process. The soul _feeling_ is at work in an emotional\nprocess. The soul _willing_ is at work in a volitional process. These\nthree processes are so inter-related that it is not easy to separate\nthem at any given time, and yet a bit of reflection upon how the soul\ndoes operate will make fairly clear these distinct processes. A child\nthat has not been made unnatural by arbitrary training always follows\nits emotions and its thoughts by action. The inference from this is\nsignificant. The soul untrammeled always translates thought and\nfeeling into action. This is only another way of saying that all\nintellectual and emotional products are under the direction of the\nwill. _The will is the power of the soul that resolves to do, that\ncauses us to act._ The will uses thought and feeling in much the same\nway that a sailor uses compass and rudder to guide a vessel in the\nright course.\n\n#82. The First Step, Obedience.#--At the beginning the feeling and\nthought elements are so numerous and so complex that the will is\nunable rightly to organize all this data into guidance. Hence the\nchild must be guided by a will that has, through experience, acquired\nthis power. The will of the parent and of the teacher is at the outset\nthe effective guide, and the one necessity for the welfare of the\nchild is obedience. Gradually the child finds his way through the maze\nof things his intellect and his sensibilities have retained, and then\nhe becomes self-directive. His own will has asserted itself. He is now\nable and should be free to direct his own actions. When he does this\nhis difficulties will not disappear. At times, he will find his will\nat a loss to give the guidance he knows he should have. Then, by all\nmeans, it is important that he should willingly surrender his finite\nwill to the infinite will, his imperfect guidance to the perfect\nguidance; and he shall thus find his complete freedom of action in\nfull surrender to the will of Almighty God.\n\n#83.# In this first stage, when parent and teacher are motive and will\nto him, the child needs to be guided with the utmost care. _There must\nbe reasonableness in the guidance._ Caprice, anger, impatience,\narbitrariness, and severity are the methods of weaklings and cowards.\nFrom all such the child should be freed. Consistency, kindness,\npatience, reasonableness, and moderation are the methods of strong,\nsuccessful teachers. If you utter a command, see to it that the child\nobeys. Nothing is quite so deadly in the realm of the will as the fact\nthat the pupil knows that his teacher threatens, commands, talks--but\nnever acts. If you really do not intend to enforce obedience, do not\nutter the command. If you do not intend to compel obedience, do not\nassume the role of guide and teacher. How many children come into\ncaprice instead of regulated conduct because they have from infancy\nlived in a realm of caprice, of confusion, and of disorder; a realm\nthat moved by no law and hence set no law of guidance in the soul of\nthe child.\n\n#84. The Aim of Teaching is Right Living.#--We err when we assume that\nintellectual endeavor will inevitably lead to right conduct. Nothing\nis more obvious than the fact that our conduct is far below the plane\nof our thought. We _know_ vastly better than we _do_ the things that\nare right and true. Nor do we quite understand the function of good\nteaching if we neglect to cultivate the feeling powers of the soul. It\nis my conviction that we act more nearly in harmony with our feelings\nthan our thoughts. If, then, conduct, right action, or character is\nthe end of all true teaching; if, as Jesus taught, it is not what we\nknow, nor yet what we feel, but what we do, that makes life worth\nwhile, it is of the utmost importance that we should so train the\nfeeling life as well as the thought life as to prepossess the soul to\nright conduct. But the feelings are intensely concrete. Whence arises\nagain the value of concrete teaching as a method in will training.\n\n#85. Self-control.#--Aim to bring the pupil speedily into the exercise\nof his own will, into self-regulated conduct. Nothing will so surely\nnegative good instruction as to deny to the pupil the freedom to\nexercise his own will as soon as that will has become sufficiently\npowerful and reasonable to be an adequate agency to direct the pupil's\nconduct. Many teachers and parents insist upon guiding the pupil long\nafter he is capable of self-direction. Here, of course, is the\ncritical moment in the pupil's life, and only the most careful study\nof the pupil and constant prayer for Divine assistance will insure the\nwisest procedure. When a boy has acquired self-control it is always a\nmistake to treat him as you would a small child. His self-respect is\ninvolved in his desire to do things in the way his own will\ndetermines. To ignore this fact is to predispose the boy to rebellion\nagainst his teacher; and perhaps against all constituted\nauthority--human and divine.\n\n#86. Teach What to do, Rather than What not to do.#--Above all, do not\nbuild a negative code in the soul of a child. It is not what he is\nrestrained from doing, but what he is constantly encouraged to do that\nmakes for right will training. The great power of Jesus as a teacher\nlies in his steadfast ability to teach the world what to do, how to\nact, right conduct in the midst of complex conditions. A negative code\nstops all endeavor, a positive code sets the soul aglow with the\nconsciousness of things done, of processes initiated and completed, of\nstruggles with wrong successfully ended, of progress from weakness to\nstrength, from human error to Divine truth.\n\n#87.# The end of all endeavor is to do the will of God, and the goal\nof all teaching is to equip a human soul to live in joyous accord with\nthe infinite wisdom. \"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall\nmake you free.\"\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. In what three ways does the soul round out its activities?\n\n2. What is meant by the will?\n\n3. What should be the effective guide for the child at first?\n\n4. Name five elements that characterize the methods of strong\nteachers.\n\n5. Why are some children capricious rather than obedient?\n\n6. What is the aim of teaching?\n\n7. What mistake will most surely negative good instruction?\n\n8. What is Jesus' great power as a teacher?\n\n9. What is the goal of all teaching?\n\n\nText Questions for Review\n\nLessons 6 to 10\n\n1. What is meant by a law of the soul?\n\n2. What is the first law as to the subject matter of teaching?\n\n3. What is the earliest power that becomes educationally active?\n\n4. What is meant by the inductive method?\n\n5. Why is mere telling not teaching?\n\n6. What is the gain, and what the danger, in using illustrations?\n\n7. Illustrate what is meant by a concrete notion.\n\n8. What are four tools at the teacher's disposal?\n\n9. What constitutes a good story?\n\n10. What two processes are at work in every good recitation?\n\n11. What are the three phases of oral instruction?\n\n12. When is a review valuable?\n\n13. What is meant by the will?\n\n14. Name five elements that characterize good teaching?\n\n15. What is Jesus' great power as a teacher?\n\nNOTE.--This entire subject has been more fully discussed by Dr.\nBrumbaugh in his book \"The Making of a Teacher.\"\n\n\n\n\nTHE SCHOOL\n\nMARION LAWRANCE\n\n\n  LESSON                                          PAGE\n   1. The Sunday-school                            219\n   2. The Sunday-school Equipped                   224\n   3. The Sunday-school Organized                  228\n   4. The Sunday-school Organized (concluded)      232\n   5. The Sunday-school in Session                 236\n   6. The Sunday-school Teacher                    240\n   7. The Workers' Meeting                         244\n   8. Sunday-school Finance                        248\n   9. The Sunday-school and Missions               251\n  10. Organized Adult Classes                      255\n\n\n\n\nTeaching Hints\n\n\n    Leaders of classes, and individuals pursuing these studies\n    apart from classes, are urged to read the chapter entitled\n    \"Teaching Hints,\" on page 259, before beginning this section\n\n\n\n\nLesson 1\n\nThe Sunday-school\n\n\n#1.# The Sunday-school is the Bible-studying and teaching service of\nthe church. It is a _church service_. All the members of the church\nshould be connected with it. It should be under the care and control\nof the church. Its purpose is to present the Word of God, by the hand\nof competent living teachers, to every man, woman and child, for the\npurpose of leading them to Christ, developing their Christian\ncharacters, and training them for service.\n\n#2. The Earliest Schools.#[A]--Schools for the study of God's Word\nseem to have existed as far back as the time of Abraham. In Moses'\nday, schools were maintained for the religious training of the young.\nThese schools were numerous also in Ezra's time. Jesus no doubt\nattended such a school in his boyhood days. The schools of his time\nresembled the modern Sunday-school in some of their methods. There\nwere elementary schools for children, and senior schools for both\nchildren and adults. These latter schools were connected with the\nsynagogue. It was through these schools, chiefly, that the Christian\nchurch was extended and built up.\n\n#3. The Raikes Movement.#[A]--The first seventeen centuries of the\nChristian era witnessed, for the most part, a general decline in the\nchurch and in Christian activity. During all this period, the church's\nlife increased or waned in proportion as it attended to or neglected\nthe religious instruction of the young. The seventeenth century, and\nmuch of the eighteenth century were dark days for the church. It was\ntoward the close of this period that God saw fit to connect the name\nof Robert Raikes with the Sunday-school movement of the world. While\nhe was probably not the founder of the first Sunday-school, his name\nis nevertheless inseparably connected with the beginnings of the\nmodern Sunday-school. In the city of Gloucester, England, July, 1780,\nthis man--the editor and proprietor of the Gloucester Journal--started\nhis first Sunday-school, in the kitchen of a dwelling-house. This room\nwas eleven feet long, eight feet wide, six and a half feet high. \"The\nchildren were to come soon after ten in the morning and stay till\ntwelve. They were to go home and stay till one, and after reading a\nlesson, they were to be conducted to church. After church, they were\nto be employed in repeating the catechism till half past five, and\nthen to be dismissed with an injunction to go home without making a\nnoise; and by no means to play in the street.\" Four women were\nemployed as teachers in this school, at a shilling a day. The early\nRaikes schools were not connected with the church in any way.\n\n    [A] The statements in these paragraphs are taken in\n    substance from \"YALE LECTURES ON THE SUNDAY SCHOOL\"\n    (Trumbull).\n\n#4. Sunday-school Extension.#--Sunday-schools soon became very\npopular, and spread over Great Britain and into Europe. Sunday-schools\nare known to have existed in the United States as early as 1786, and\nprobably much earlier than that (even in 1674). They found congenial\nsoil in the Western Hemisphere, and multiplied rapidly. There are now\nmore than a quarter of a million Sunday-schools in the world,\nenrolling more than twenty-five millions of people. More than one-half\nof this vast army is in North America.\n\n#5. The Sunday School Union of London.#--This organization was\neffected in 1803 in Surrey Chapel, London, and is the oldest\nexpression of organized Sunday-school work. It is local only in name.\nIts auxiliaries are to be found in all parts of the United Kingdom,\nContinental Europe and the various dependencies of Great Britain. It\nholds valuable properties in London, conducts an extensive printing\nestablishment, and maintains a large corps of workers as secretaries,\ncolporteurs, etc., not only in Great Britain but on the Continent, in\nIndia and elsewhere.\n\n#6. The American Sunday School Union.#--The earliest Sunday-school\norganizations in North America were a Sunday School Union in New York\nCity in 1816, another in Boston the same year, and still another in\nPhiladelphia in 1817. These were combined in 1824 into a national\nsociety known as The American Sunday School Union. This society,\nthrough its large corps of missionaries, plants new Sunday-schools,\nespecially on the frontier. It conducts a large publishing\nestablishment at its headquarters in Philadelphia, and has done and is\ndoing a great work.\n\n#7. The National Sunday School Convention.#--The first national\ninterdenominational convention in the United States was held in the\ncity of New York in 1832. Delegates were present from fourteen states\nand four territories. A second convention was held in the city of\nPhiladelphia, the following year, 1833. Not until 1859 was the third\nconvention held, and this one also in the city of Philadelphia. In\n1869, in Newark, N. J., may be said to have begun the present series\nof great conventions in our country, for they have been held\ntriennially from that time until the present. The fourth and last\nstrictly national convention was held in the city of Indianapolis in\n1872. Here the International System of Uniform Lessons had its birth.\nThe International Lessons went into use January, 1873. They are\nselected by a committee appointed by the International Convention,\nco-operating with a similar committee appointed by the Sunday School\nUnion of London. It was decided that the next convention should be\ninternational in character, and include the Dominion of Canada.\n\n#8. International Sunday School Movement.#--International conventions\nhave been held triennially since 1875.\n\nThe International Sunday School Association administers its affairs\nthrough an Executive Committee of nearly one hundred men, representing\nevery state, province, territory and country in and belonging to North\nAmerica. In its main Association, and through its auxiliaries, it\nemploys a large number of Sunday-school workers in its various\ndepartments. It is supported by the voluntary offerings of\nSunday-schools and individuals. Under its auspices are held annually\nabout sixteen thousand Sunday-school conventions, the purpose of which\nis to give information, stimulation, and education along all lines of\nSunday-school work.\n\n#9. Auxiliary Associations.#--The various states, provinces,\nterritories and countries of North America maintain associations\nauxiliary to the International Sunday School Association. The oldest\nexisting organization is that of the Province of Quebec, which has\nbeen in continual operation since 1836. The states and provinces, for\nthe most part, maintain annual conventions. Auxiliary to these\nauxiliaries are the associations of the counties or next smaller\npolitical divisions. In the thickly settled portions of the country,\nstill smaller organizations are effected in the townships and cities.\n\n#10. The World's Sunday School Association.#--The First World's Sunday\nSchool Convention was held in the city of London, England, in 1889,\nabout two hundred and fifty delegates attending from North America.\nThe Second World's Convention was held in connection with the Seventh\nInternational Convention at St. Louis, Missouri, in 1893. The Third\nWorld's Convention was held again in London in 1898. Three hundred\ndelegates were present from North America. The Fourth World's\nConvention was held in Jerusalem, Palestine, in 1904. Over eight\nhundred delegates attended from North America, and nearly five hundred\nfrom Great Britain, traveling in chartered steamships. The World's\nFifth Sunday School Convention was held in the city of Rome, Italy, in\n1907, with over eleven hundred delegates. And there the World's Sunday\nSchool Association was organized, to hold conventions, gather\nstatistics, and to co-operate with other organizations in increasing\nthe efficiency of Sunday-schools throughout the world. The World's\nSixth Sunday School Convention is to be held in Washington, D. C.,\n1910.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What is the Sunday-school?\n\n2. Give instances of the earliest schools for the study of God's Word.\n\n3. Describe what is known as the Raikes movement.\n\n4. How early are Sunday-schools known to have existed on our\ncontinent?\n\n5. How many Sunday-schools in the world to-day?\n\n6. What proportion of these are in America?\n\n7. What is the Sunday School Union of London?\n\n8. What is the American Sunday School Union?\n\n9. Where and when were the four National Sunday-school Conventions\nheld?\n\n10. When and where did the International Lessons have their origin?\nWhen put into use?\n\n11. How many International Conventions have been held?\n\n12. By whom are the International Lessons selected?\n\n13. What is the work of the International Sunday School Association?\n\n14. Describe its system of Auxiliary Associations.\n\n15. What is the World's Sunday School Association?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 2\n\nThe Sunday-school Equipped\n\n\n#11. Buildings.#--A discussion of Sunday-school buildings properly\ncomes under the head of equipment, but as that is a large topic by\nitself, it is not our purpose to consider it here but to confine\nourselves to those features of equipment which may be used in any\nbuilding. The buildings should be made with the needs and conveniences\nof the Sunday-school in mind. The department rooms and class rooms are\nbut expressions of this idea. The school deserves as good a room as\nthe preaching service, and one as thoroughly adapted to its uses.\nDepartment rooms and class rooms can often be temporarily arranged by\nthe use of curtains or screens, in a building where no regular\npartitions have been provided.\n\n#12. Seating.#--Chairs are better than pews. They should be\ncomfortable, and adapted to the size of the pupils who are to use\nthem. No one can sit quietly very long unless his feet can rest\nsquarely on the floor. If the room is not carpeted, the chair legs\nshould have rubber tips.\n\n#13. Tables.#--Such of the officers as need to use desks or tables\nshould have tables of their own, so that all of their books, blanks,\nand supplies may be kept in proper order. Class tables are very\ndesirable. They need not be very large. Each table should have a\ndrawer or box in it for the song-books and other property of the\nclass. This economizes time and saves confusion, as nothing will need\nto be distributed.\n\n#14. Class Boxes.#--Where it is impossible to use class tables, a\nclass box is next in value. It should contain the song-books and\neverything else belonging to the class, and should be kept in a given\nplace where some member of the class can secure it before the school,\nand replace it after the school is closed.\n\n#15. Blackboards.#--It is impossible to overestimate the value of\nblackboards in Sunday-school work when rightly used. There ought to be\none in the main school, and one in every department room. It would be\nwell, also, if there were a small blackboard in every class room. It\ncan be used for so many purposes, such as reviewing the lesson,\nannouncing hymns or displaying reports. The revolving blackboard is\nthe best for general use, and the most ornamental. Square crayons of\nhalf an inch, or one inch, in size are better than the ordinary round\nschool crayon. Simple work is better than elaborate work. Anybody can\nuse a blackboard to advantage, whether he can draw or not.\n\n#16. Maps.#--If a school can have but one map, let it be the map of\nPalestine. Then add the following maps, in the order named: Bible\nLands; a second map of Palestine,--one for Old Testament and one for\nNew Testament; Paul's missionary journeys; a missionary map of the\nworld; a missionary map of the denomination. A sand map is good for\nuse in the later elementary grades, but should not wholly displace the\nwall map.\n\n#17. Charts.#--Many helpful charts are now prepared for Sunday-school\nuse; charts of the life of Christ, charts for missionary purposes and\ntemperance teaching, charts with choice passages of Scripture and\nhymns.\n\n#18. Libraries.#--If possible, have two libraries, one for teachers,\none for scholars. A teachers' library should contain Bible-study helps\nand books for Sunday-school workers, which treat of special phases of\nSunday-school work. The scholars' library should be properly\nclassified so that the members of all departments will feel an equal\ninterest in it.\n\n#19. Missionary Curios.#--Material aid in creating missionary interest\nwill be secured by showing woods, stones, plants, flowers, clothing,\nand birds from the various foreign fields, and by the use of pictures\nand models of their buildings, which reveal the customs of the lands\nunder consideration. These things are abundant, and are comparatively\ninexpensive.\n\n#20. Flags and Banners.#--Every school should have the flag of the\nnation displayed at each session. Many schools use the Christian flag,\nalso, made of white silk with a blue field and red cross. The\n\"Conquest Flag\" is also popular. Banners for Star Classes, Excelsior\nClasses, Honor Classes, etc., are desirable if properly used.\nConsiderable school spirit may be cultivated by having school colors\nembodied in a pennant, which is always displayed when the school is in\nsession.\n\n#21. Objects.#--Many objects are now prepared that are valuable in\nSunday-school work, such as building blocks, models of the Tabernacle,\nglobes, and birthday banks.\n\n#22. Bibles and Music Books.#--Every member of the school who is old\nenough to read should bring his own Bible. Nevertheless, it is well to\nhave a supply of school Bibles, as they should be used in the school\ninstead of lesson helps. Select a good music book, and get plenty of\ncopies. If every member has a book, the singing and the order will be\nbetter. Hymn banners and song rolls are useful adjuncts.\n\n#23. Pictures.#--Choice pictures are not only beautiful, but valuable\nin many ways. The walls of the Sunday-school room, and especially of\nthe elementary departments, should be well decorated with choice\ninexpensive pictures, illustrating various Bible scenes; there may\nalso be miscellaneous pictures of an equally elevating and refining\ncharacter.\n\n#24. Stereopticon.#--Here and there a school is able to have a\nstereopticon or magic lantern. This instrument is becoming more\npopular every day. If properly used, a stereopticon is very helpful in\nSunday-school work.\n\n#25. Lesson Helps.#--Supply yourselves with plenty of lesson helps for\nofficers, teachers, and scholars. Get the very best, but _leave them\nat home on Sunday_.\n\n#26. Records and Printing.#--Records that are worth keeping, at all,\nare worth keeping well, and in well-made books. All printing should be\nwell done or not done at all. Business houses are judged by their\nprinting; Sunday-schools likewise. Use good paper, occasionally\ncolored inks, and let all the printing be neat and tasteful.\n\n#27. Bells.#--Bells are useful, if not used too much. Do not use a\ngong. A small tea bell is large enough for an ordinary room. The less\nnoise the superintendent makes, the less noise the scholars will make.\n\n#28. Equipment for Hand-Work.#--This comparatively new feature of\nSunday-school work is rapidly gaining favor. It is usually the most\nsuccessful in the Junior Department, though it is used extensively in\nboth the Primary and Intermediate departments. In this brief\nparagraph, we can but mention some of the phases of hand-work, as\nfollows:--The sand map; the pulp map; map drawing; written lesson\noutlines; cutting and pasting pictures in blank books (with or without\nwriting), treating of the current lessons, or missionary lands and\nthemes; sewing; modeling Oriental objects in clay, pulp, etc., etc.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. When there are no separate rooms for departments, what may be done?\n\n2. Name some of the requisites in the most satisfactory seating.\n\n3. Name two important articles of class promotion.\n\n4. What are some of the uses of a blackboard?\n\n5. State what maps are needed in the school.\n\n6. What kind of books should a teacher's library contain?\n\n7. Suggest ways of creating missionary interest.\n\n8. What banners and objects would be valuable?\n\n9. Who should bring Bibles to the school?\n\n10. What is the proper place for lesson helps on Sunday?\n\n11. What are some of the things needed for hand-work in the school?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 3\n\nThe Sunday-school Organized\n\n\n#29.# A Sunday-school is organized for work when (1) the official\npositions are filled; (2) there are teachers for all the classes; (3)\nthe scholars are properly enrolled and classified; (4) and it has\nintelligently set itself thoroughly to accomplish, in a definite way,\nthat for which a Sunday-school stands.\n\n#30. Enrolment.#--The name of every member of the school should be\nenrolled either in a book or by the card system. The enrolment should\nshow not only name and address, but date of entry, birthday, date of\npromotion from one department to another, date of uniting with the\nchurch, date and cause of leaving the school; date of death, if\nnecessary.\n\n#31. Classification (or Grading).#--Classification consists in placing\nthe scholars in such departments and classes as will secure for them\nand for the whole school the best results in the best manner. This\nwill require that the scholars be advanced from one department to\nanother at proper intervals, in order to meet their changing needs.\n\n#32. Departments.#--Every Sunday-school should be divided into\ndepartments. Three or four departments are possible in the smallest\nschools, and more are desirable in larger ones. It is usually possible\nto maintain the following departments in an ordinary school:\n\n    (1) _The Cradle Roll_, for children too small to attend the\n    regular sessions. These are usually under three years of age.\n\n    (2) _The Beginners_, for children from three to six.\n\n    (3) _The Primary_, for children from six to nine.\n\n    (4) _The Junior_, for children from nine to eleven or twelve.\n\n    (5) _The Intermediate_, for boys and girls from twelve to\n    fifteen or sixteen. (In some schools, a Senior Department,\n    coming between the Intermediate and the Adult, is\n    recognized.)\n\n    (6) _Adult_, for all over fifteen or sixteen.\n\n    (7) _The Home Department_, for those who cannot attend, but\n    who will study the lessons each week.\n\n    (8) _The Teacher-Training Department_, for those who are\n    preparing to become teachers.\n\nIn many schools of several hundred or more, the Adult Department\nindicated above is divided into a Young Men's Department, a Young\nWomen's Department, and a Senior Department of classes of either sex.\n\nAn educational test may be required for promotion with honors from one\ndepartment to the other; but transfer (without honors) may be made\nupon the age basis. Without departments there can be no thorough\ngrading.\n\n#33. Departmental Organization.#--Each department should have some\norganization within itself, at least a superintendent in general\ncharge. The superintendent of the department determines in what\nclasses new scholars shall be enrolled, and carries into effect the\nplans of work outlined by the cabinet or the superintendent of the\nSunday-school. The teachers should be especially adapted to the work\nof the department, and should remain in that department as long as\nthey can do their best work there.\n\n#34. Classification (or Grading.)#--Proper classification cannot be\nmaintained unless some one especially appointed for this purpose gives\nit careful attention every Sunday. Neither teachers nor scholars\nshould be allowed to bring new members into their classes without the\nconsent of the officer in charge of the classification, nor should new\nscholars be permitted to join whatever class they wish, regardless of\nproper classification. Eternal vigilance is the price of grading. The\nsuperintendent of classification will determine to what department the\nnew scholar belongs, and his word should be final.\n\n#35. Promotions.#--There comes a time when a scholar ceases to belong\nin one department, and belongs in another. Promotions should be made\nregularly, and at a public service. All members of the school up to\nand including the intermediate scholars should be promoted at the same\ntime, changing seats, as far as possible.\n\n#36. Records.#--The general records of the school should be well kept,\nin ink, in a good book adapted to the purpose. There should be annual,\nquarterly, and weekly reports which should be comparative and\ncomplete.\n\n\nOfficers and their Duties\n\n#37.# The officers will vary in number and work, according to the size\nof the school and the character of its organization. Certain officers,\nhowever, are needed, no matter how large or small the school may be.\nMany schools are under-officered; it is oftener so than otherwise. Not\nall of the officers we shall name here could be profitably used in a\nsmall school, and yet each of them is important.\n\n#38. The Pastor.#--Since the Sunday-school is a church service, the\npastor not only has privileges there, but has responsibilities as\nwell. His chief responsibility lies in the directing of the teaching,\nfor the pastor of a church is as responsible for the teaching that is\ndone in his Sunday-school as for the teaching that is done from his\npulpit. This determines largely his place of greatest opportunity--the\nselecting of material for the teacher-training class, and helping to\nselect and appoint the teachers in all departments of the school. He\nshould not act as superintendent, if it can be avoided, neither should\nhe usually teach a class, except as a substitute teacher. He should\nattend the school regularly, and have a vital part in the program of\nevery session.\n\n#39. The Superintendent.#--The superintendent should be regarded as a\nchurch officer, and, except in union and mission Sunday-schools,\nshould be elected by the church to which the Sunday-school belongs, in\nthe same manner as other church officers are elected. He should have\ngeneral charge of the Sunday-school, and be regarded as its executive\nhead. He should have sole authority to appoint all of the other\nofficers of the school: such appointment to be confirmed either by the\nchurch or some body representing it, such as a Sunday-school Board or\nteachers' meeting. He should have a voice in the appointing of the\nteachers in all departments. During the school session he should study\nthe school, seeking to discover the weak places and how to strengthen\nthem.\n\n#40. The Assistant Superintendent.#--The assistant superintendent\nshould take charge of the school in the superintendent's absence, and\nshould also have specific duties to perform in every regular session.\nThese duties will be determined by the size and requirements of the\nschool, and the efficiency of the other officers.\n\n#41. The Secretary.#--The name of this officer indicates his duties.\nHis reports should be neatly kept in ink, in a book prepared for the\npurpose. They should be comprehensive and comparative, so that it may\nbe determined at a glance whether the school is growing or not. He\nshould make reports weekly, quarterly, and annually.\n\n#42. The Treasurer.#--The duties of this officer are likewise\nindicated by his name. He should be more, however, than the custodian\nof funds. He should endeavor to increase the offerings to the proper\namount. He will pay out money only upon orders properly placed in his\nhands.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. Name four conditions that mark the organized Sunday-school.\n\n2. What facts should enrolment show?\n\n3. What is meant by grading?\n\n4. Name the principal departments into which a school may be divided.\n\n5. What officer should receive and locate new scholars?\n\n6. What are some of the factors in wise promotion of school members?\n\n7. State the pastor's chief responsibility for the school.\n\n8. What are the duties of the superintendent?\n\n9. The Assistant Superintendent?\n\n10. What are the secretary's duties?\n\n11. The treasurer's?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 4\n\nThe Sunday-school Organized (Concluded)\n\n\n#43. The Superintendent of Classification.#--This office may be filled\nby one of the assistant superintendents, but in a school of one\nhundred or more, it is well to have a separate officer. His duty will\nbe to classify the new scholars, first ascertaining by personal\ninvestigation the department in which the new scholar belongs. This is\na most important office, and cannot be neglected a single Sunday\nwithout detriment to the grading of the school.\n\n#44. The Librarian.#--This officer should have charge of the library\nor libraries and of all supplies. New books should have his approval\nbefore being added to the library. He should properly classify the\nbooks, so that those in each department may know which are best\nadapted to their needs. It would be well, if possible, to give him\ncontrol of a library fund, with authority to add one or two books at a\ntime as the funds will allow. All such books should be announced from\nthe platform on the day they are placed in the library. A library\nmaintained in this way will always be fresh, and never lose its\ninterest.\n\n#45. The Birthday Secretary.#--This officer takes charge of the\nbirthday contributions of the members. Each member of the school may\nbe asked to contribute on his birthday as many pennies as he is years\nold, or as much more as he may choose. The money thus gathered may be\nused for benevolent and missionary purposes and become the means of\ncreating considerable interest.\n\n#46. The Substitute Teacher Secretary.#--This officer should see that\nclasses whose teachers are temporarily absent are supplied with\nteachers. Having secured a list of names of those who will substitute,\nhe should send notices each Monday to those who are pledged for the\nfollowing Sunday, notifying them that their date is at hand, and\nasking them also to attend the Workers' Meeting that week.\n\n#47. The Biographer.#--Some schools call this officer the Historian.\nHe keeps in a book, or by the card system, permanent records of all\nthe members, with date of entering the school and other items of\ninterest, such as date of promotion, of joining church, removals,\ndeaths, etc. Where this work is properly done, the records become\nexceedingly interesting and valuable.\n\n#48. The Door Men.#--A door man should be placed in charge of each\ndoor entering the building, or opening from one room into another.\nThese door men should know just when the doors may be opened for\npeople to pass without interfering with the school. They should be in\ntheir place before the school begins, allowing none to enter the room\nwhen their entrance would disturb the services. They should pay\nspecial attention to strangers and visitors, and prevent boisterous\nconduct or talking about the doors.\n\n#49. The Ushers.#--Every school should have at least one usher, and as\nmany more as are needed. In a school of three hundred or over, several\nushers can be used profitably. They should be in their places early,\nto pay proper attention to visitors, and to see that they do not\noccupy seats intended for regular scholars. They can also look after\nnew scholars as they enter, and see that they are directed to the\nSuperintendent of Classification.\n\n#50. The Courtesy Committee.#--This committee will be needed chiefly\nin larger schools. Its purpose is to make visitors welcome, and show\nthem every courtesy that is possible. The Courtesy Committee relieves\nthe superintendent and other officers of this particular duty, thus\nenabling such officers to do those things for which they are\nresponsible. Visitors greatly appreciate this attention, and will go\naway with a good impression of the school. A Guest Book may be kept,\nto secure the names of visitors.\n\n#51. The Missionary Secretary.#--Every Sunday-school ought to be a\nmissionary society. The Missionary Secretary will endeavor to\ncultivate missionary interest and spirit in the school. He can do this\nby securing a proper distribution of missionary literature, by helping\nto prepare missionary programs and concerts, by keeping in touch with\nthose phases of mission work supported by the school, or church or\ndenomination, and reporting from time to time. He will have charge of\nthe missionary maps, charts, and curios.\n\n#52. The Temperance Secretary.#--This officer should endeavor to\ncultivate the spirit of temperance and good citizenship. If temperance\npledges are used in the school, it would be well for him to keep a\nrecord of them, and to enter the names permanently in a book,\nreporting from time to time how many names he has. He can aid the\nsuperintendent, also, by helping to prepare temperance concerts, and\nby introducing various appropriate features into the program on\nTemperance Sunday.\n\n#53. The Superintendent's Aides.#--These are usually boys, twelve to\nsixteen years of age, who are hands and feet for the superintendent.\nThey prepare the platform and room for the school service, put the\nblackboard into place, adjust the hymn-board and the flags, if they\nare used. They may also distribute the hymn-books and Bibles.\n\n#54. The Messenger Cadets.#--These are usually boys of the Junior\nDepartment, and their chief business is to carry messages to\nabsentees, flowers to the sick, or messages to any one, for the\nsuperintendent or pastor. Under the direction of the Home Department\nSuperintendent they may deliver the quarterlies and other supplies.\nThey should be in charge of a man who understands boys and loves to\nwork with them.\n\n#55. The Sunshine Band.#--This is usually made up of girls of the\nJunior age, who visit the sick, carry them flowers, sing and read to\nthem, and minister to them in every way they can. They should be in\ncharge of a woman appointed for this work.\n\n#56. The Department Superintendents.#--These should be looked upon as\nofficers of the Sunday-school. Each superintendent is expected to\npreside in his own department, with as much care as if it were the\nentire school; to preserve the grading provided for by the\nsuperintendent of classification; to endeavor to keep the classes as\nnearly uniform in size as possible; and to cultivate a department life\nand interest.\n\n#57. The Superintendent's Cabinet.#--All of the officers named above,\nand the Chairmen of all the committees named above, constitute the\nSuperintendent's Cabinet. Nothing should be presented to the teachers\nor to the school as a whole until it has first been decided upon by\nthe Cabinet. The Cabinet should have regular meetings, perhaps once a\nmonth.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What are the duties of a superintendent of classification?\n\n2. Of the librarian?\n\n3. How can a Birthday Secretary be utilized?\n\n4. How may substitute teachers be secured?\n\n5. In what ways can door-men render service?\n\n6. What may ushers do?\n\n7. Through what officers may missionary work be emphasized, and how?\nTemperance work?\n\n8. What is meant by Superintendent's aides? Messenger Cadets? The\nSunshine Band?\n\n9. How may a Superintendent's Cabinet help the school?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 5\n\nThe Sunday-school in Session\n\n\n#58.# The Sunday-school session is not the Sunday-school, for the same\nreason that a church service is not the church. The session begins,\ncarries out a certain program, and closes. The Sunday-school continues\nthroughout the week. Much previous planning and preparation are\nessential to the success of any Sunday-school session.\n\n#59. Time.#--The most convenient hour is the best hour. Having\ndiscovered that hour, hold to it the year round. Frequent changes will\nbring disaster. Every hour has its advantages and disadvantages. The\nmorning hour is usually attended by more tardiness of teachers and\nscholars, but all are fresher. The noon hour will suffer less from\ntardiness and will have a larger attendance of adults. Discipline will\nbe more of a problem, especially if the school is continued far beyond\nthe dinner time. The afternoon hour has the following advantages: (1)\nThe school does not precede nor follow another service, which is\ndetrimental to both. (2) A completely rounded program can be carried\nout because the time will be longer. (3) There is opportunity for\nafter-meetings, if desired. Many of the best schools are held in the\nafternoon. There are the following disadvantages, however: (1) It\nbreaks in upon the Sunday afternoon home life. (2) It prevents the\nmembers from working in mission schools, etc. (3) It may interfere\nwith the attendance at the night services.\n\n#60. Length of Session.#--The usual session is one hour long, but this\nis too short to secure the best results. An hour and a quarter is\nbetter, and is long enough for a morning or noon school. Under good\nmanagement, an afternoon school can use an hour and a half to\nadvantage.\n\n#61. Program.#--The superintendent should have a written program, and\nknow his ground every step of the way. The pastor and chorister should\nhave copies. So also should every individual participant. The passing\nfrom one feature of the program to the next should be done quickly,\nand, so far as possible, without announcement.\n\n#62. How to Begin.#--Be ready. Insist that all officers and teachers\nshall be ready. Begin exactly on time. Do not wait for anything nor\nanybody. Be sure all understand the signal for beginning. Give the\nsignal once, _never oftener_. Wait for silence. Do not begin without\nit.\n\n#63. Signals.#--Use the bell sparingly, if at all. For certain signals\nthe bell may be desirable, but never to secure order. A chord on the\npiano is better than a bell. Piano signals should be arranged so that\na signal given in a certain way always means the same thing. The\nsuperintendent's rising in his place, or, if standing, simply raising\nhis hand, should be signal enough to secure the attention of any\nschool. It will be, if the school is properly trained, and so seated\nas to be able to see a signal.\n\n#64. Music.#--An orchestra is good, but should not be too large for\nthe room. A piano is better than an ordinary organ because of its\ndistinct tones. The next best instrument to add is a violin for a\nsmall room and a cornet for a large one. Do not consume too much time\nwith instrumental music in the session. The orchestra can give an\noverture at the opening, a number while classes reassemble after the\nteaching period, and a postlude at the close. That is sufficient. The\nsuperintendent should select the hymns, in conference with the\nchorister. Some of them should be appropriate to the lesson of the\nday. Use one or two old church hymns at each session. Select a good\nbook, and have plenty of copies. The best results cannot be secured\nwhere even two sing from the same book. The hymn numbers should be\nplaced on the blackboard or hymn-board, before the opening, in plain\nsight of all.\n\n#65. Prayers.#--Sunday-school prayers should never be long, and those\nwho pray aloud should keep the children in mind. All the rest will\nfollow. Two or three short prayers at different times are better than\none long prayer.\n\n#66. Memorizing Scripture.#--Every school should repeat some Scripture\nfrom memory every Sunday. Select the verses carefully, and not too\nmany of them. A few verses thoroughly memorized are better than many\nimperfectly learned.\n\n#67. Lesson Study.#--The lesson study period should be the heart of\nthe session. It should never have less than thirty minutes. Hold this\nperiod sacred to the teachers, without interruption of any kind. No\nvisiting of classes by officers at this time should be permitted. The\nnecessary business of the session should be conducted during the\nopening and closing services. Do not distribute books nor papers to\nthe classes until the close of school--certainly not during the\nteaching period.\n\n#68. Review.#--The superintendent should not review the entire lesson;\nhe should mention only that part of it which enables him to fix the\npersonal application he has in mind for the school that day. The\nblackboard will help if properly used.\n\n#69. Reports.#--Reports should be few, and very short, never in\ndetail. Calling the roll of officers and teachers is a waste of time.\nTo give the number present, the number absent, the offering for the\nday, the missionary collection, and the names of the sick is usually\nsufficient, except in cases of emergency, such as deaths or funerals.\n\n#70. Announcements.#--The fewer announcements the better. Those that\nmust be made should be brief, plain, striking. Do not call them\n\"announcements.\" Work them in, one at a time, as comments on the\nprogram in hand. The announcement that you have an announcement to\nmake is an announcement wasted, and time wasted, too. Never take the\ntime of all to make an announcement that concerns but a few. Do not\nfall into set forms. Announcements may be interesting and instructive,\nbut usually they are not so. They should be made a study.\n\n#71. How to Close.#--The lesson review or application should be\nfollowed by a short prayer. Then sing a sweet, familiar hymn bearing\nupon the truth you have tried to impress, the school remaining seated.\nThen the benediction, school still seated. Then a moment of silent\nprayer, followed by the piano or orchestra softly playing the music\nthat has just been sung. Let this be the signal for dismissal.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of the various\nhours for Sunday-school session?\n\n2. What are some of the details to look out for in beginning a\nsession?\n\n3. Name a signal that is better than a bell.\n\n4. State how you would plan to secure good singing.\n\n5. What should not be allowed during the lesson period?\n\n6. Outline a good plan for the closing service.\n\n\nTest Questions for Review\n\nLessons 1 to 5\n\n1. What is the purpose of the Sunday-school?\n\n2. How many Sunday-schools in the world to-day?\n\n3. Suggest ways of creating missionary interest in the school.\n\n4. What are some of the requisites for hand-work in the school?\n\n5. Give four conditions that mark the organized Sunday-school.\n\n6. What is meant by grading?\n\n7. Name the principal departments into which a school may be divided.\n\n8. When and where did the International Lessons have their origin?\n\n9. By whom are the International Lessons selected?\n\n10. What is the work of the International Sunday School Association?\n\n11. What is the World's Sunday School Association?\n\n12. How may substitute teachers be secured?\n\n13. What is meant by Messenger Cadets?\n\n14. What are special points to look out for in beginning a session?\n\n15. How would you plan to secure good singing?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 6\n\nThe Sunday-school Teacher\n\n\n#72. The Teacher's Office.#--Next to the minister of the gospel, the\nSunday-school teacher occupies the highest office in Christian\nservice. The central and most important feature of every Sunday-school\nsession is the Bible-teaching period. All the other exercises of the\nschool should be so arranged as to make the teaching period as\neffective as possible. The teachers do the teaching; hence the\nimportance of the office. The character of the teacher and the\nefficiency of the teaching usually determine the efficiency of the\nschool; like teacher, like school.\n\n#73. The Teacher in Prospect.#--Probably the greatest problem in\nSunday-school work, at present, is that of securing a sufficient\nnumber of good teachers. The only solution of this problem is for\nevery school to have at least one teacher-training class each year.\nAny school which sets itself definitely to the task of training its\nown teachers, from its own ranks, for its own classes, will reduce the\nteacher problem to a minimum. Such a class should be composed of young\nmen and women between the ages of sixteen and thirty, specially chosen\nby the pastor and superintendent because of their interest in the work\nand apparent fitness for it. The class should be taught by the best\nteacher obtainable, though he need not be an expert. It should meet at\nthe church, at the regular Sunday-school hour, thus solving the\ndifficulty as to time and place. Substitute teachers should never be\ndrawn from this class. A teacher's diploma should be issued to each\nstudent completing the course and passing the required examination.\n\n#74. The Teacher Trained.#--Many who are now teaching desire to take a\nteacher-training course. Difficult though it is to maintain a class\nfor such workers, it can be done. Evidently it cannot meet at the\nSunday-school hour, as the teachers are already occupied. A full\nweek-night is preferable, if it can be had; if not, it may come before\nor after the Workers' Meeting or prayer-meeting, though this\narrangement is always more or less detrimental to both meetings.\nInterdenominational training-classes are much better than none, but\nthe training-class in the local church is the ideal, and should be\nmaintained wherever it is possible. When it is impossible to attend a\nteacher-training class, or there is none, individuals may take a\ncourse alone, and this is often done.\n\n#75. The Teacher Chosen.#--The teacher should be chosen and appointed\nby the proper authority representing the church and the Sunday-school.\nThe committee for appointing teachers should be composed of three\npersons: the pastor of the church, the superintendent of the\nSunday-school, and the superintendent of the department where the\nteacher is to teach. If there is a separate superintendent of teachers\nin the Sunday-school, he may represent the superintendent of the\nschool in this capacity. No one should be set over any class as\nteacher whose appointment is not satisfactory to the three persons\nnamed above.\n\n#76. The Teacher Installed.#--The Sunday-school is a church service,\nhence the teacher should be properly recognized by the church. It is\ndesirable that all the officers and teachers should be assembled and\ninstalled in their offices for the coming year with fitting exercises,\nat a regular service of the church. Such a service as this dignifies\nthe office of the Sunday-school teacher, places upon him the\napprobation of the church, and makes him feel that his work is\nappreciated. The installation service should be in charge of the\npastor of the church, and the officers and teachers should be seated\nin a body. Appropriate exercises for such a service have been\narranged, and may be easily secured from the denominational publishing\nhouses.\n\n#77. The Teacher Protected.#--During the general opening and closing\nexercises of the Sunday-school session the superintendent is in\ncharge. But during the teaching period the teacher outranks everybody\nelse, and is entitled to the full time set apart for teaching without\nany interruption. The officers of the school should not be allowed to\ndisturb the classes in any way. The making of the class reports,\ngathering of the offering, and similar matters, should be attended to\nbefore the recitation begins, and in such a manner as to make the\nleast interference with the class work. It is a sin to disturb a class\nunnecessarily after the teaching has begun.\n\n#78. The Teacher Between Sundays.#--The wise teacher will regard the\nintervening week between two sessions of the school as the time of his\ngreatest opportunity. He will review in his mind the experiences of\nthe previous Sunday, endeavoring to learn therefrom how to improve his\nwork in the future. He will give himself diligently to the preparation\nof his lesson and to the visiting of the absent, and will be\nespecially careful to call upon the sick members of his class. He will\nattend the Workers' Meeting, and avail himself of every opportunity\nfor improvement. He will seek personal interviews with those of his\nscholars who have been troublesome in the matter of discipline, and\nwill talk individually with all the members of his class in order to\nwin them to Christ. He will identify himself with the International\nReading Circle, as a member of which he pledges to read at least one\ngood Sunday-school book each year, and thus keep in touch with the\nSunday-school movements of the world.\n\n#79. The Teacher's Aim.#--The teacher should aim, first of all, to win\nthe confidence and esteem of his scholars. Until this is done little\nelse is possible, because there can be no effective teaching without\nco-operation. He should give his scholars faithful and efficient\ninstruction in the Word of God. The lesson itself should be taught\neach Sunday, and not allowed to be brushed aside by the discussion of\nany other topic, though other topics may be used to introduce or\nillustrate the lesson. He should endeavor to lead his scholars to an\nacceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour. This is oftener\naccomplished by a personal interview than in the class. He should aim\nto lead his scholars into membership in the local church. He should\naim, by careful training and instruction, to build his scholars up\ninto strong Christian characters, and to fit them for the duties of\ncivic and religious life. Let him remember that his work is for\neternity.\n\n#80. The Teacher's Reward.#--The teacher receives much of his reward\nas he goes along, but not all of it. The privilege of being associated\nwith the Great Teacher, and laboring in obedience to his command; the\njoy of leading souls to Jesus Christ, and sending them out into the\nworld as witnesses for him; the consciousness of growing power in\nservice because of work well done; the companionship of kindred\nspirits engaged in the same great work--these are surely rewards\nenough. But there is another reward when the work is done. It is God's\n\"Well done\" to the faithful.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. What should be the most important feature of every Sunday-school\nsession?\n\n2. What is the solution of the problem of getting teachers?\n\n3. Who should be in a teacher-training class?\n\n4. Who should choose the teachers?\n\n5. In what special way may the teacher be recognized by the church?\n\n6. What may the teacher accomplish between Sundays?\n\n7. What do you regard as the teacher's proper aims?\n\n8. What is the teacher's reward?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 7\n\nThe Workers' Meeting\n\n\n#81.# The meeting which is commonly called the Teachers'-Meeting we\nprefer to call the Workers' Meeting, because it should be as helpful\nto the officers as to the teachers. It is impossible to overestimate\nthe value of a properly conducted Workers' Meeting, and yet it is\ndifficult to maintain one. A Sunday-school without a Workers' Meeting\nis a collection of classes, and not a school at all, strictly\nspeaking. A helpful Workers' Meeting maintained regularly every week\nguarantees a good Sunday-school. It is a thermometer accurately\nindicating the true condition of the school. To the tired worker it is\na refreshing port-of-call between the two continents of Sunday; to the\ndiscouraged, it is a heart stimulant; to the over-busy, it is a\nstorehouse filled with what they need, and ready for their use. To all\nwho are willing to pay the price of the best work, it is a necessity.\n\n#82. Leadership.#--The superintendent should preside. It is his\nmeeting. The program should be in his hands, and of his making. He\nshould not teach the lesson unless he is the best qualified person to\ndo it. He should have a special message for the workers at each\nmeeting, bearing upon some phase of the work.\n\n#83. Equipment.#--All who attend should have their own Bibles. Tablets\nand pencils should either be brought from home or be furnished by the\nschool. There should be a good blackboard at hand, also the necessary\nmaps and charts for lesson study. A teachers' library is very\nimportant, and the librarian should be present, so that the workers\nmay take home the books if they desire. Models of the tabernacle with\nits furniture, the temple, an Oriental house, etc., will be helpful.\nLeaflets on various phases of the work, for distribution, may\nprofitably be used from time to time.\n\n#84. Who Should Attend.#--Certainly the pastor. The teachers are his\nbest helpers; the Sunday-school is the whitest part of his great\nfield. He cannot afford not to be in vital touch with the workers of\nthe Sunday-school. He may or may not be the best person to teach the\nlesson. All the officers of the school should be there, for the\ndetails of their official duties will be discussed from time to time.\nOf course the teachers will be there, and the substitute teachers who\nare to act on the following Sunday. It would be well also for the\nprospective teachers or the members of the training class to be\npresent, if possible. Some schools require the attendance of the\nteachers upon this meeting.\n\n#85.# #The purpose of the meeting# is to study the school, to plan for\nthe school work, to create Sunday-school enthusiasm; to disseminate\nSunday-school intelligence; to maintain a vital relation to the great\nSunday-school movements of the day; to show how to teach the lesson\nfor the following Sunday. It is to help, instruct, encourage, and\nequip the officers and teachers at every point, and in every way.\n\n#86. Time and Place.#--If possible, devote an evening to it, late in\nthe week and at the church. Settle upon one night and stick to it.\nThose who are absent will always know exactly when and where the next\nmeeting will be held. No more important meeting is ever held at the\nchurch than this, and it ought to have the right of way one night in\nthe week. It is a short-sighted policy on the part of any church to\ndeny this.\n\n#87. Methods of Lesson Work.#--The Workers' Meeting is not a Bible\nclass. To conduct it as one will usually kill it. A good Workers'\nMeeting presupposes previous preparation of the lesson on the part of\nthe teachers. They do not come there to study the lesson. Other things\nbeing equal, that Workers' Meeting is the best which, under wise\nleadership, has the largest number of participants. It should be\nconducted on the catechetical rather than the lecture plan. The method\nof presenting the lesson should have more consideration than the\nsubject-matter. The \"Angle Method\" of conducting the lesson periods of\na Workers' Meeting is very popular, and is explained by the following,\nwhich may be printed on cards, and handed a week in advance to ten\npersons, each of whom is asked to be prepared on a given \"Angle.\"\n\n#Angle No. 1--Approach.#\n\n    Give subject of last lesson, brief intervening history, time,\n    place, and circumstances leading to this lesson.\n\n    Let the lesson text be read at this point.\n\n#Angle No. 2--The Lesson Story.#\n\n    Give the lesson story in your own words.\n\n#Angle No. 3--Analysis.#\n\n    Give one or more simple working outlines for studying and\n    teaching this lesson. Use the blackboard if convenient.\n\n#Angle No. 4--Biography.#\n\n    Give the names of persons, classes, and nations mentioned or\n    referred to in the lesson.\n\n#Angle No. 5--Orientalisms.#\n\n    Give any Oriental customs or manners peculiar to this lesson.\n\n#Angle No. 6--Central Truth.#\n\n    Give the central truth of the lesson and your reason for its\n    choice.\n\n#Angle No. 7--First Step.#\n\n    Give a good way to introduce this lesson so as to secure\n    attention from the start.\n\n#Angle No. 8--Primary.#\n\n    Give the features of this lesson which are best adapted to\n    small children.\n\n#Angle No. 9--Illustrations.#\n\n    Give a few incidents or facts that will serve as\n    illustrations.\n\n#Angle No. 10--Practical Lessons.#\n\n    Give the most practical lessons in personally applying the\n    truths of this lesson.\n\nThe leader should be prepared on all the \"Angles,\" so that he can take\nthe place of any one who is absent.\n\n#88. Program.#--Begin with a bright, earnest, tender devotional\nservice of ten minutes, remembering in prayer any who may be sick, and\nspecial cases of interest mentioned by those present. Then devote\nfifteen or twenty minutes, according to the need, to some feature of\nthe school work previously decided upon. It may be a discussion of\nfinances, led by the treasurer, or of the records, led by the\nsecretary, or of grading, led by the superintendent of classification,\nor a consideration of a given department, led by the superintendent of\nthat department. Follow this with thirty or thirty-five minutes in the\nconsideration of the lesson. Then devote about ten minutes to messages\nor suggestions from the pastor or superintendent, or both, closing\nwith a five-minute service of prayer and song. The service can be\nmade to come within an hour, by shortening some of the items named\nabove. At the close of the Workers' Meeting, spend a few minutes in\nsocial intercourse. A Workers' Meeting conducted after this manner\nwill be a veritable dynamo of power for the Sunday-school, and none\nwho can attend will willingly remain away.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. State some of the gains in having a Workers' Meeting.\n\n2. Who should lead that meeting?\n\n3. What equipment is needed for it?\n\n4. Who should attend it?\n\n5. Describe the \"Angle Method\" of lesson study at the Workers'\nMeeting.\n\n6. Outline a suggested program for such a meeting.\n\n\n\n\nLesson 8\n\nSunday-school Finance\n\n\n#89. Christian giving is Christian worship.# No test of Christian\ncharacter is so accurate or severe as the motive and method of giving.\nGiving is a Christian grace, and the Sunday-school is the best place\nto cultivate it. The Sunday-school should be the \"West Point\" of the\nchurch, in this as in other things. Since the Sunday-school is a\nchurch service, the church is evidently responsible for its\nmaintenance and support. It does not follow, however, that the church\nshould pour into the Sunday-school all the money it needs, nor that\nthe Sunday-school should give away all the money it raises.\n\n#90. The Financial Board.#--There is in many a church, and should be\nin every one, a board having the special care of the finances of the\nSunday-school. This board should be composed of certain officials in\nboth the church and the Sunday-school, so that their action may be\nwise and intelligent. Certainly the pastor, superintendent, church\ntreasurer, and school treasurer should be members of this board. They\nshould be empowered to carry out the financial policy of the school,\ndirect in all matters of financial detail, audit all bills, and see\nthat these are promptly paid, so the good credit of the school may be\nmaintained.\n\n#91. The Budget.#--At the beginning of each year a carefully prepared\nbudget should be presented by the Financial Board, indicating how much\nmoney the school will be asked to raise, and what proportion of it\nshould be used for benevolences, church support, school expenses, etc.\nA liberal allowance should be made for unexpected expenditures that\ncannot be foreseen. The budget should be printed, so that each member\nmay have a copy. If satisfactory, the budget may be accepted by the\nschool, by vote, as an indication of its loyalty to the board and to\nthe church.\n\n#92. Right Motives in Giving.#--All giving should be \"as unto the\nLord.\" The scholars should be taught that we are all stewards, and\nthat everything we have belongs to God. Sunday-schools properly\nimbued with right motives in giving to-day mean churches aflame with\nfinancial and spiritual power to-morrow. When the motive is right,\ngiving is a means of Christian growth. Love is the only worthy motive;\ngiving is the test of love. You can give without loving, but you\ncannot love without giving; God _so loved_ the World that he _gave_\nhis only son. Without love, there is no joy in giving. Without joy in\ngiving, we cannot please him; \"God loveth a cheerful giver.\" No deeper\njoy ever comes to the Christian heart than the joy of right giving.\nJesus said, \"It is more blessed to give than to receive.\" Every\nSunday-school should be taught this truth, and taught why it is truth.\n\n#93. Right Methods in Giving.#--Every member of the school should be\nasked to contribute a certain amount regularly each Sunday, making up\nthe same in cases of absence. This amount should be decided upon by\nthe scholar in conference with his parents or the teacher, unless the\nscholar earns his own money. Avoid spasmodic efforts in raising money.\nIn the end, the effect on the school is not good, and the results are\nnot satisfactory. Every member should be urged to give something, no\nmatter how small. The sum given should be in proportion to the ability\nto give, and not gauged by what others do. One of the safest\nfoundations that can be laid for the development of Christian\ncharacter and a happy life is to fix in youth the habit of regular,\nsystematic, intelligent giving. Small, dated envelopes for each\nscholar, one for each Sunday, stating the purpose for which the money\nis used, generally insure larger offerings and greater satisfaction to\nthe givers. Do not gather the offering during the singing or during\nany other feature of the service. Dignify it by giving it a place and\ntime. Offer a prayer over it before passing it to the treasury.\n\n#94. How to Use the Money.#--The larger share of the money contributed\nby a Sunday-school ought, if possible, to be devoted to missionary\nwork and benevolences. A certain proportion of the money should be\npassed over to the church treasury, so that every member of the school\nmay know that he is helping to support the church, and feel that the\nchurch's pastor is his pastor. A certain portion of the money should\nbe used for the expenses of the school. This will teach economy and\nindependence. The proper division of these funds will not be the same\nin all cases, but should be determined by the Financial Board, in view\nof the local conditions and needs.\n\n#95. Records and Reports.#--No account should be kept of the money\ngiven by any member, but only of the fact of giving. Thus may be\navoided the appeal to the pride of the well-to-do, and the envy of the\nvery poor. The report for each Sunday should show how many givers and\nhow many omitters there are in each department or class and in the\nwhole school. Mentioning the departments or classes having no omitters\nwill stimulate other departments and classes to seek that distinction.\nA blackboard properly ruled so that nothing need be done but put in\nthe figures, can be made to show this in a manner that will not be\nforgotten, and it will be a good object-lesson to the whole school.\nFrequent reports should be made to the entire school as to the use\nthat is made of the money. Printed statements should be issued, if\npossible, with full, detailed report of all funds received and\nexpended, which the scholars may take home to their parents. The more\nthoroughly the school and the home are kept informed as to these\nfinancial operations, the more generous and intelligent will be the\ngiving.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. How should the Financial Board be made up, and what are its duties?\n\n2. What is the true motive for giving?\n\n3. Name some right methods in giving.\n\n4. What use should be made of Sunday-school contributions?\n\n5. What facts should the Treasurer's weekly report include?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 9\n\nThe Sunday-school and Missions\n\n\n#96.# \"It is the whole business of the church, and it is the business\nof the whole church, to carry the whole Gospel to the whole world as\nspeedily as possible.\" Missionary work is not _one_ of the features of\nchurch activity; it is _the_ one all-important work of every church,\nevery Sunday-school, every Christian. Without intelligent missionary\ninterest there can be little spiritual power. Every Sunday-school\nshould be, in fact, a missionary organization, and set itself to\ndefinite, far-reaching missionary tasks.\n\n#97. Missionary Secretary.#--Every Sunday-school should have a\nMissionary Secretary. He should be deeply interested in missions, and\nas thoroughly informed as possible. He should bring to the school from\ntime to time the latest missionary intelligence, especially from those\nfields in which the denomination, the church, and the school are most\ninterested. He will select the missionary books for the scholars' and\nthe teachers' library. He should co-operate with the other officers\nand teachers in creating and maintaining a missionary atmosphere in\nthe school.\n\n#98. Missionary Committee.#--If the school is large, a Missionary\nCommittee will be useful. It should be under the general direction of\nthe Missionary Secretary, and should consist of one person from each\ndepartment of the school. This will insure that all departments are\nbrought into vital touch with the missionary activities of the school.\nSuch a committee will be most helpful in arranging missionary\nprograms, selecting members for the mission study classes, planning\nthe entire missionary instruction of the school, and attending to the\nproper distribution of missionary periodicals and literature. This\ncommittee may also assist in securing a missionary training of the\nteachers in the teacher-training classes.\n\n#99. Missionary Libraries.#--Some of the choice, bright, interesting\nmissionary books which are now very abundant should be in every\nSunday-school library. If selections are properly made, the books will\nbe sought for and eagerly read by the boys and girls. There should\nalso be in the teachers' library some special missionary books dealing\nwith methods (see Appendix), and the teachers should be urged to read\nthem.\n\n#100. Missionary Equipment.#--Splendid missionary maps, charts,\npictures, and curios are now abundant and inexpensive. They may be\nsecured from denominational publishing houses. Every school should\nhave a supply, and they should be in the care of the Missionary\nSecretary. Large charts and maps may be made by the scholars under the\ndirection of the Missionary Committee. Secure, if possible, a\nmissionary map of the world, and a map showing the missionary\nactivities of the denomination. Charts showing the relative strength\nand growth of the Christian religion as compared with other religions\nin all parts of the world are effective. A cabinet of missionary\ncurios is most desirable.\n\n#101. Mission Study Class.#--There should be at least one mission\nstudy class in every school. It is usually possible. Such classes need\nnot continue all the year. Ten meetings of one hour each, for ten\nsuccessive weeks, will enable any class that applies itself to the\nwork to complete one of the elementary text-books relating to\nmissions. The meetings should be held on a week-night, and they should\nnot be obliged to divide the evening with any other meeting. The\navailable time in the Sunday-school session is not long enough unless\ndouble the number of lessons are used, and this is not always\npracticable. The class should be composed only of those young people\nwho are deeply interested, or want to become interested, in missions.\nFive to ten members are enough for a good class. The leader should be\nan enthusiast who is not afraid to work. Such a class maintained for a\nfew years will create a missionary interest in any school that will\nreveal itself in larger offerings, and probably in volunteers for the\nmissionary field.\n\n#102. Missionary Room.#--If there is an available room in the church,\nit would be well to set it apart as the Missionary Room. Here will be\nfound the missionary library, periodicals, maps, charts, and curios,\nproperly displayed and cared for. It may be a class-room, if no other\nroom is to be had. The Missionary Secretary will have a table or desk\nhere, and it will serve as his office. It will furnish a good place\nfor the mission study class, and will be the center of all the\nmissionary activities of the school.\n\n#103. Missionary Sunday.#--Missionary instruction should be given in\nconnection with every lesson that will permit of it. Once a month,\nhowever, there should be special missionary exercises, whether the\nparticular lesson lends itself to missionary treatment or not. Five or\nten minutes' time during the opening or closing exercises can be\nprofitably arranged for by the Missionary Secretary with appropriate\nmusic, missionary selections, recent items from the field, map drill,\nand display of charts and curios. Or, some of the elementary outlines\nof missionary study now available may be taught from the platform or\ntaken up in the classes.\n\n#104. Missionary Concerts.#--A properly arranged missionary concert is\ninteresting and instructive. Usually it is best to confine each\nconcert to a given missionary field. Display a map of the field. Have\nparticipants dressed to represent the natives. Appropriate music,\nrecitations, facts from the field, and a short missionary address by\nthe pastor or by a returned missionary will make an excellent program.\nSecure from your denominational publishing house leaflets giving facts\nabout the field under consideration, and distribute them to the\naudience. Once a quarter is none too often for a missionary concert.\n\n#105. Denominational Boards.#--Every Sunday-school should contribute\nregularly and generously to its own denominational benevolences.\nContribute to one benevolence at a time, and let this one be\ndefinitely explained, so that the giving may be intelligent. Every\nschool ought to be familiar with the great missionary movements of the\nworld, and especially of its own denomination.\n\n#106. Specific Objects.#--More interest can be created and more money\nraised for a specific than for a general object, and done more\nquickly. Denominational boards, recognizing this, have provided to\nmeet it by enabling churches, schools, and individuals to contribute\nto a specific purpose, under the general direction of a given board.\nShares to the extent of the donor's contribution are assigned in a\nparticular station, the donor thus having a share in the entire work\nof the station. This is known as the \"Station Plan\" of giving.\n\n#107. Reflex Influence.#--No church, school, nor Christian can honor\nthe Master by endeavoring to carry out his last command without\nreceiving a great blessing. The power and effectiveness of a local\nschool in its own work are usually in proportion to its interest in\nthe world-wide Kingdom. If it will \"make a little cake\" for others\nfirst, it will have all it needs at home. This rule is without\nexception.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. Repeat the quoted sentence at the beginning of paragraph 96.\n\n2. What are the duties of the missionary secretary?\n\n3. Of the missionary committee?\n\n4. What missionary equipment is desirable?\n\n5. State how a mission-study class may be conducted.\n\n6. What plan may well be used for a Missionary Sunday?\n\n7. For a Missionary concert?\n\n8. What is usually the measure of the power of the local school?\n\n\n\n\nLesson 10\n\nOrganized Adult Classes\n\n\n#108.# Organized classes have existed in small numbers here and there\nfor many years; not until recently, however, has the attention of the\nSunday-school world been especially attracted to them. When once their\nvalue became recognized the idea spread rapidly, and the organized\nadult class is now one of the most prominent features of Sunday-school\nwork almost everywhere.\n\n#109. Organization.#--Elaborate organization will not be needed,\nexcept in very large classes. It is best to organize men's classes and\nwomen's classes separately. Call together by announcement and\ninvitation those who are interested in forming a class, for\nconference. Furnish them with the leaflets on organized classes\nfurnished by the denomination or by the International Sunday School\nAssociation. Explain the method and purpose of class organization.\nEndeavor to secure a definite number of charter members to begin with.\nAdopt the suggested International constitution, or some other if\nbetter suited to the needs of the class; or appoint a committee to\ndraft the sort of a constitution desired. Secure the International\nCertificate of Recognition, which should be framed and hung upon the\nwalls of the class-room. It will be well to make the organization\nconform to the standard set up by the International Sunday School\nAssociation, and outlined in their leaflets.\n\n#110. Purpose.#--The real purpose of class organization is to make the\nclass more effective in those things for which a Sunday-school class\nexists. Genuine, faithful Bible study for the purpose of leading men\nand women to Christ, developing Christian character, training for\nservice, securing their membership in the church, and setting them to\nwork, is the business of the class. Everything else must contribute to\nthis. With this as the goal, any wisely conducted class will succeed;\nbut if anything else overshadows this, true success is impossible.\nThoroughly organized classes will solve the problem of holding men\nand women in the Sunday-school, and are doing it continually.\n\n#111. Officers and Their Duties.#--Elect a president, vice-president,\nsecretary, and treasurer, whose duties will be those usually performed\nby such officers. The president will preside, not only at all class\nmeetings, but at the regular Sunday session of the class as well. The\nmost important officer to choose is the teacher. Select the very best\nteacher obtainable, and one, if possible, who is well known and liked\nby the class. The teacher and president should be ex-officio members\nof all committees. Other officers may be chosen as they are needed.\n\n#112. Committees.#--Appoint but few committees to start with, and\nothers as the need arises.\n\nThe Executive Committee may consist of the general officers of the\nclass and the chairmen of the various standing committees.\n\nThe Membership Committee will seek to secure new members, look up the\nabsentees, and visit the sick. As the class grows in size, part of\nthis work may be assigned to special committees.\n\nThe Devotional Committee will have in charge the devotional services\nof the class on Sundays and at other meetings.\n\nThe Social Committee will welcome and introduce new members and\nvisitors; it will also seek to cultivate the social side of the class,\nproviding such gatherings and entertainments as may be approved.\n\nThe growing needs of the class will suggest special committees from\ntime to time.\n\n#113. Name.#--There is inspiration in a good name. It may be the name\nof some prominent person in the denomination or community, but it is\nbetter not to use the name of any one still living. Or the name may\nhave the charm of secrecy--a word or initials--with a significance\nknown only to the class. Whatever name is adopted, make much of it.\nLet it be prominent on all the class printing. Many classes adopt\n\"colors,\" and decorate their class-room with them; some choose a class\nflower, to be worn on special occasions. Class stationery and whatever\nelse will tend to cultivate a class spirit is desirable.\n\n#114. Class Meetings.#--There should be regular meetings of the\nclass, at least quarterly. The social committee will usually arrange\nfor these meetings, but occasionally another committee should be in\ncharge, as the literary or athletic committee. The great occasion of\nthe year will be the annual meeting, when a special effort should be\nmade to secure the presence of all members, past and present. The\nelection of officers, a banquet, a fine program, and a glad reunion\nwill be its customary features.\n\n#115. Relation to the School.#--The organized class should be a part\nof the Sunday-school with which it is connected. It will be better if\nduring the opening or closing service the members of the class can sit\nwith the school. Their relation to the school should be the same as\nthat of any other class. Class spirit is good, but school spirit is\nbetter. They should use the regular Bible lesson. Nearly all classes\nwhich have turned aside from the Bible lessons have gone down. They\nshould contribute to the regular school fund, and comply with all the\nrequirements of the school. The influence of large organized classes\nupon the boys and girls, thus emphasizing loyalty to the school, is\nvery great.\n\n#116. Relation to the Community.#--Organized classes are now combined\nin a regular department of the organized or International\nSunday-school work. Each organized class should co-operate with others\nin extending and improving organized class work and methods. Delegates\nshould be sent from the class to conventions and conferences, and make\nreport to the class upon their return. The International emblem, a\nsmall red button or pin with a white center, will enable members of\norganized classes to recognize each other when they meet. Much helpful\nliterature for organized classes is now in print, in the form of\nperiodicals, lesson helps, and books for teachers, officers, and\nscholars.\n\n#117. Benefits.#--A class spirit is fostered. The class becomes a\nworking force and unit. The organized class has something definite to\ndo. It sets every member to work. It helps to hold the big boys and\ngirls in the school. It interests men and women in the study of the\nBible and in the church. It furnishes workers for the church and\nSunday-school, teachers for mission schools, speakers and singers for\nevangelistic meetings upon the street and elsewhere. It gives\nstrength and dignity to the school. It adds largely to the school's\nfinancial resources. Organization carries many a class over the dead\ncenter of discouragement, or the weakening influence of being without\na teacher. A well-organized class will grow, for a time at least,\nwhether it has a teacher or not.\n\n\nTest Questions\n\n1. Explain a method for organizing an adult class.\n\n2. What is the purpose of such organization?\n\n3. What officers does an organized class need?\n\n4. What committees?\n\n5. What are the advantages of a name for the class?\n\n6. What is the right relation of such a class to the school?\n\n7. To the community?\n\n8. State the benefits of an organized class.\n\n\nText Questions for Review\n\nLessons 6 to 10\n\n1. What should be the most important feature of the Sunday-school\nsession?\n\n2. Who should be in a teacher-training class?\n\n3. What may the teacher accomplish between Sundays?\n\n4. What is a Workers' Meeting?\n\n5. What is the \"Angle Method\" of study at that meeting?\n\n6. What are the duties of the financial board?\n\n7. How may a mission-study class be conducted?\n\n8. What is usually the measure of a school's power?\n\n9. How may an Adult Class be organized?\n\n10. State the benefits of an organized class.\n\nNOTE.--This entire subject is fully and helpfully discussed by Mr.\nLawrance in his book \"How to Conduct a Sunday School.\"\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX\n\n\n\n\nTeaching Hints\n\n\n#Two years of time# preferably should be allowed for the completion of\nthese lessons. The International Association will grant a diploma upon\nthe completion of the First Standard Course, provided at least one\nstudy year has been spent in pursuing the fifty lessons.\n\nIf the book is studied by a normal class, meeting at the time of the\nregular lesson period on Sunday, only a half-hour will usually be\navailable; and in this case at least one hundred half-hour periods,\nextending over two teaching years, should be used for the fifty\nlessons. If full hour periods are available, the course may be\ncompleted within one year of fifty lesson periods.\n\n\nThe Book\n\nAlthough the numbered lessons begin with the story of Adam on page 14,\nthere are two chapters which may be used as preliminary material, if\nthe leader chooses. One of these is \"How the Bible Came to Us,\" by\nProfessor Price, on page 123. There are fifteen numbered paragraphs in\nthis chapter; if there are at least fifteen members in the class, a\nprofitable hour could be spent by assigning a paragraph to a member,\nseveral days ahead, with the understanding that each one was to read\nthe entire chapter, but to be specially prepared in his assigned\nparagraph. At the time of the lesson hour pencil and paper could be\nsupplied to each member of the class. Then beginning with paragraph 1,\nall books closed, the assigned member could state from memory the\ncontents of the paragraph, while all the others silently write down\nwrong statements or omissions--these to be brought out later.\n\n#The chapter on the Bible#, page 11, should also precede the numbered\nlessons. The chart given is easily remembered and each member might\nreproduce this chart from memory and tell something of each of the\nseveral periods enumerated.\n\n#The Lessons on the Book.#--It will be seen that each lesson is\ncomposed of several parts: (a) The historical outline, which is placed\nfirst; (b) the geographical work, in a statement of places and an\noutline map; (c) a paragraph designated \"Significance of Events\"; (d)\nthe story of the period briefly retold in simple language. Note the\nfollowing suggestions:\n\n(a) _The Historical Outline._--These outlines, taken altogether,\nconstitute a complete statement of the essentials of Bible history.\nThey are the framework upon which may be built as elaborate a Bible\nstory as one may wish. The outlines may well be used for memory work\nand in question drills and reviews.\n\n(b) _The Geographical Work._--In most of the chapters the maps are so\nsimply drawn that they may be used for geography drill, each student\nbeing asked to draw (without tracing) the simple map connected with\nthe lesson, and locate the places mentioned.\n\n(c) _Significance of Events._--These paragraphs, taken together, form\na concise story of the progress of redemption and revelation, and\nstate the spiritual teaching of each period. The essentials of these\nstatements may be memorized, but students should be required to\nexpress the thought in their own language.\n\n(d) _The Retold Bible Story._--Emphasis upon the memorizing of the\nother three parts of the lesson should not prove an excuse for passing\nby the Bible narrative here given. Without this the other work may\nprove dry and uninteresting--a task. The student who reads and rereads\nthe narrative with care will find his memory work in the other\nportions invested with a vitality that will otherwise be missing. The\nnarrative section will furnish abundant material for brief debates,\ninformal discussions, assigned papers on special topics, and many\nother helpful methods. Bible study of historical facts in rigid\noutline may be made as dry as dust. Bible study aglow with human\ninterest and enthusiastically pursued by diversified methods may be\nmade the most interesting study that can be undertaken.\n\n#Using the Blackboard.#--The blackboard may be used with great profit\nas an aid in reviewing a lesson, either at the close of a teaching\nperiod, at the beginning of a period following a lesson assigned for\nhome study, or at intervals in the course after covering several\nlessons. No special blackboard outlines are offered in this book; it\nis urged that each leader shall construct his own blackboard review\nfrom the historical outlines at the beginning of each lesson on the\nBible. Such a blackboard review should be accompanied by questions\nand answers. Here is an illustration of the blackboard use of the\noutlines of Lesson 1, The Book, page 14, _after the entire lesson has\nbeen carefully studied and with all books closed_.\n\n_Leader._--What are the great divisions of the Bible?\n\n_Answer._--Old Testament and New Testament.\n\n(Here may follow a drill on the Books of the Old Testament in their\norder.)\n\n_Leader._--We will begin with the study of _The Old Testament\nDivision_ (write).\n\n_Leader._--How may this be divided?\n\n_Answer._--Into a prelude and five periods.\n\n_Leader._--What does the prelude tell about? (Write _Prelude_.)\n\n_Answer._--_Story of creation_ (write).\n\n_Leader._--Where do we read about it?\n\n_Answer._--_Genesis 1, 2_ (write).\n\n_Leader._--Where do all things have their origin?\n\n_Answer._--In God.\n\n_Leader._--What does the first period tell about? (Write _First\nPeriod_.)\n\n_Answer._--The creation of _Adam_ (write).\n\n_Leader._--What \"beginnings\" do we see in this period?\n\n_Answer._--_The beginning of the human race, sin, and redemption_\n(write).\n\n_Leader._--Where is this told about?\n\n_Answer._--_Genesis 3_ (write).\n\n_Leader._--Who is the leading person of the second period? (Write\n_Second Period_.)\n\n_Answer._--_Noah_ (write).\n\n_Leader._--What event is chronicled in connection with Noah?\n\n_Answer._--_The flood_ (write).\n\n_Leader._--What great structure was built in this period?\n\n_Answer._--_The tower of Babel_ (write).\n\n_Leader._--What punishment came to the people for building this tower?\n\n_Answer._--_Confusion of tongues_ (write)\n\n_Leader._--Where do we read about this period?\n\n_Answer._--_Genesis 6-11_ (write).\n\nThis method may be followed in the case of each of the Bible lessons.\nThe blackboard outline for the entire first lesson would appear about\nas follows, after being built up step by step:\n\n\nThe Old Testament Division\n\n  _Prelude._--Story of Creation (Genesis 1, 2)\n\n  _First Period_--Adam\n                                   {Human race\n                  The beginning of {Sin\n                                   {Redemption\n\n  _Second Period_--Noah--the flood\n                   Tower of Babel--confusion of tongues\n                    (Genesis 6-11)\n\n  _Third Period_--Abraham--chosen family\n                  Egypt--prosperity--oppression\n                  Moses--Exodus\n                         Journeys\n                         Canaan\n                  Judges\n                    (Genesis 12 to Judges 1:21)\n\n  _Fourth Period_--Saul--David--Solomon\n                    (1 Sam. 10 to 1 Kings 12)\n\n  _Fifth Period_--Captivity--return\n                  Ezra, Nehemiah\n                    (2 Kings 25)\n\nEach leader will thus be enabled to use the blackboard in his own way,\nbasing the drill on the outline material at the beginning of each\nchapter; this blackboard review will be brought to the students with a\nfreshness not secured when suggested outlines are printed with each\nlesson.\n\n#Familiarity with maps# should be encouraged at every point. The\nleader may accustom the class to the question, \"Where is that place?\"\nnearly every time a town or locality is named. The average beginner in\nBible study is afraid of a map; the more familiar he becomes with\nthese maps, the more confidence he will have in his own Bible\nknowledge.\n\n#The New Testament Section.#--In the several chapters beginning on\npage 71 the historical outline consists of a harmony of the Gospels.\nIt is not intended that the student shall memorize this harmony; but\nthe ability to reproduce from memory the journey map published in\nconnection with each section of the harmony would give the student a\nvery helpful grasp on the order of events in the life of Christ. The\nuse of a journey map as a basis for telling the story of a chosen\nperiod will fix events and geographical location in mind at the same\ntime.\n\n\nThe Pupil\n\nThe lessons on The Pupil enter a field of study with which the average\nteacher is perhaps less familiar than with the Bible section. Hence\nthe leader will do well to begin slowly and to allow plenty of time\nfor discussion in the class. Professional teachers who have studied\nthe science of psychology may be very helpful in occasional talks to\nthe class, provided you are assured in advance that they will not\nconfuse the students by the use of technical terms. Such talks from\noutsiders should be brief, and confined to one phase of the subject,\nand time should be allowed for questions by the students and informal\ndiscussion.\n\nStudents should be encouraged to find their own illustrations for\ncertain well-defined statements. Take, for instance, the paragraph\n_Imitation_ under numbered paragraph 6, on page 144. One or more\nstudents may be asked to bring illustrations of this statement from\ntheir own home or Sunday-school experience in a given week. One will\ntell how he saw a neighbor's boy try to keep step with his father\nwhile on a walk. Another will describe the actions of a little girl\nshe saw dressed in her mother's skirt--actions plainly imitative of\nthe mother herself. Illustrations like these observed and reported by\nthe students themselves will greatly aid in the study of the section,\nand will be much more valuable than illustrations ordinarily furnished\nin the text. The leader is urged, however, to challenge any\nillustration which misses the point or gives a wrong impression.\n\n#Bringing the Teaching to a Focus.#--In some cases the superintendent\nof the department which includes the age under discussion (as, for\ninstance, The Beginners Department), whether a member of the class or\nnot, may be invited to tell in from five to ten minutes how far he or\nshe is able to meet the _opportunities_, supply the _needs_, overcome\nthe _difficulties_, and realize the _results_ so clearly stated by\nMrs. Lamoreaux in the closing paragraphs of each chapter. This would\ngive the whole lesson a local setting and application.\n\n\nThe Teacher\n\nThe remarks in the first paragraph of the section under The Pupil,\njust preceding, apply equally here. Outside help is desirable, but\nsimplicity in treatment must be maintained. Profound knowledge of a\nsubject does not insure ability to restate that knowledge in simple\nterms. Better not have the profound knowledge displayed if it is going\nto leave the students in confusion.\n\nThe principle of home-made illustrations referred to above applies\nequally well to the section on The Teacher.\n\nIt is safe to say that each adult student in the class will remember\nteachers who have excelled in the points enumerated by Dr. Brumbaugh.\nThe student should be encouraged to take a statement like that found\nin paragraph 4, page 182, and say to himself: \"Which of my teachers\nwas notably enthusiastic? How did this enthusiasm impress me? How did\nit help him in teaching great truths?\" These observations may\nfrequently need to be made quietly to the student's self. But they\nwill greatly help him to master the laws of teaching.\n\n\nThe School\n\nHere is a section dealing with a concrete subject, and illustrations\nwill be within the range of vision of every one who is associated with\nSunday-school work. At the very outset there may be found those who\nwill take exception to many of the suggestions made, because they are\ndeemed to be impracticable in \"our school.\" This attitude should be\nfirmly but patiently overcome. If discussion proves that the thing\nsuggested is undesirable, or that a better method may prevail, that is\na point worth making. But the argument that a thing is desirable but\n\"impossible\" should have no footing in a teacher-training class. Let\nthe motto be, \"If it ought to be, it can be.\"\n\nThe teacher may be inclined to skip a paragraph like that on The\nSecretary. \"Of what interest is that to me?\" she may ask. The answer\nis simple: No one is equipped to be a teacher who doesn't know the\nschool as a whole; and no one knows the school as a whole who doesn't\nknow it in its several essential parts. Only when the teacher knows\nthe secretary's duties, for instance, is that teacher prepared to see\nhow careful he should be in meeting his obligations to the secretary\nin the line of the latter's official work. Each teacher should be\nencouraged to study executive problems, such as those relating to the\nsuperintendent and other officers, as if they were his own; and at\nleast he should discover his part as a teacher in helping the\nexecutive officers to make the school a success.\n\nIn many localities sections of the class may visit other schools and\nreport back to the class upon the features in which these schools\nexcel. This offers a practical laboratory method for the concrete\nteaching of these lessons. Of course, such visits should be made with\nthe knowledge and consent of the superintendent of the school visited;\nand at such times and in such manner that the work of the school will\nnot be disturbed. Teachers of regular classes will greatly profit by\nan occasional trip to another school; it is time gained rather than\nlost.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nTeacher-training superintendents find a marked tendency in some\nclasses to discontinue the work after the section on The Bible has\nbeen covered. It is a false notion that a knowledge of the Bible is\nthe only thing necessary for Sunday-school teachers. Leaders should\nenthusiastically carry their classes past this common \"dead-point\"\nover into the sections on The Pupil, The Teacher, and The School; this\nspecial effort to arouse enthusiastic interest in what is to come\nafter the Bible course will often prevent students from dropping out\nof the class.\n\nIn all the work \"make haste slowly.\" It is more important to get the\nwork done well than it is to get it done in a given time.\n\n\n\n\nCharts of Paul's Journeyings\n\n  From \"A Chart of Paul's Journeyings,\" Arnold,\n  Published by The Sunday School Times Co.\n\n\n  [Illustration: First Journey\n  Copyright, 1897, BY JOHN D. WATTLES & CO.]\n\nFirst Journey\n\n      Antioch. Paul and Barnabas commissioned (Acts 13:1-3).\n   1. Seleucia. Embarked (Acts 13:4).\n   2. Salamis. Preached in synagogues (Acts 13:5).\n   3. Paphos. The sorcerer (Acts 13:6-12).\n   4. Perga. John Mark returned (Acts 13:13).\n   5. Antioch of Pisidia. Preaching and persecution (Acts 13:14-50).\n   6. Iconium. Strife (Acts 13:51 to 14:7).\n   7. Lystra. Paul stoned (Acts 14:8-19).\n   8. Derbe. Made many disciples (Acts 14:20, 21).\n   9. Lystra.        }\n  10. Iconium.       } Confirmed disciples (Acts 14:21-24).\n  11, 12. Antioch.   }\n  13. Perga. Spoke the Word (Acts 14:25).\n  14. Attalia. Embarked (Acts 14:25).\n  15, 16. Antioch. Reported their work (Acts 14:26-28).\n  17. Jerusalem. Council (Acts 15:1-29).\n  18. Antioch. Tarried, preaching (Acts 15:30-35).\n\n\n  [Illustration: Second Journey\n  Copyright, 1897, BY JOHN D. WATTLES & CO.]\n\nSecond Journey\n\n      Antioch. Paul and Barnabas disagree (Acts 15:36-40).\n   1. Syria and Cilicia. Confirming churches (Acts 15:41).\n   2. Derbe and Lystra. Timothy accompanies (Acts 16:1-3).\n   3, 4. Iconium, Antioch. Delivering decrees (Acts 16:2, 4, 5).\n   5. Galatia, Phrygia, Mysia, Troas (Acts 16:6-8).\n      Troas. Macedonian call (Acts 16:8-10).\n   6. Samothrace, Neapolis (Acts 16:11).\n   7. Philippi. Lydia; the jailer (Acts 16:12-40).\n   8, 9. Amphipolis, Apollonia (Acts 17:1).\n  10. Thessalonica. Church planted (Acts 17:1-9).\n  11. Beroea. Preaching, strife (Acts 17:10-14).\n  12. Athens. Address on Mars' Hill (Acts 17:15-34).\n  13. Corinth. Church planted, Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:1-17).\n  14. Ephesus. Left Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:18-21).\n  15. Caesarea. Landed (Acts 18:22).\n  16. Jerusalem. Saluted the church (Acts 18:22).\n  17. Antioch. Spent some time (Acts 18:22, 23).\n\n\n  [Illustration: Third Journey\n  Copyright, 1897, BY JOHN D. WATTLES & CO.]\n\nThird Journey\n\n       Antioch. Departed from (Acts 18:23).\n  1-5. Galatia, Phrygia, Ephesus. Stablishing disciples (Acts 18:23).\n       Ephesus. Apollos, Tyrannus, Demetrius (Acts 18:24 to 19:41).\n    6. Troas (2 Cor. 2:12, 13).\n  7-13. Macedonia, Greece. Gave exhortation (Acts 20:1, 2).\n        Greece. Spent three months (Acts 20:3).\n  14-18. Philippi. Set sail (Acts 20:4-6).\n   19. Troas. Eutychus restored (Acts 20:6-12).\n   20. Assos. Took in Paul (Acts 20:13, 14).\n   21. Mitylene, Chios, Samos, Miletus (Acts 20:14, 15).\n       Miletus. Visit of Ephesian elders (Acts 20:15-38).\n   22, 23. Cos, Rhodes, Patara, Cyprus, Tyre (Acts 21:1-3).\n      Tyre. Tarried seven days (Acts 21:3-6)\n   24. Ptolemais. Abode one day (Acts 21:7).\n   25. Caesarea. Virgin prophets, Agabus (Acts 21:8-14).\n   26. Jerusalem. Report of Paul's Gentile ministry (Acts 21:15-26).\n\n\n  [Illustration: Voyage to Rome\n  Copyright, 1897, BY JOHN D. WATTLES & CO.]\n\nVoyage to Rome\n\n        Jerusalem. Paul's arrest (Acts 21:27-36).\n        Jerusalem. Address in the Hebrew language (Acts 21:37 to\n            22:29).\n        Jerusalem. Address before the sanhedrin (Acts 22:30 to 23:11).\n        Jerusalem. Plot of the Jews (Acts 23:12-32).\n     1. Caesarea. Examination before Felix (Acts 23:33 to 24:23).\n        Caesarea. Before Felix and Drusilla (Acts 24:24-27).\n        Caesarea. Before Festus, appeal to Caesar (Acts 25:1-12).\n        Caesarea. Before Agrippa and Bernice (Acts 25:13 to 26:32).\n   2-5. Sidon, Cyprus, Myra, Cnidus, Crete (Acts 27:1-13).\n     6. Sea of Adria, Melita. Shipwreck (Acts 27:14-44).\n        Melita. Rescue, miracles by Paul (Acts 28:1-11).\n     7. Syracuse. Tarried three days (Acts 28:12).\n  8, 9. Rhegium, Puteoli. Found brethren (Acts 28:13, 14).\n  10, 11. Appii Forum, Three Taverns. Met by brethren from Rome\n            (Acts 28:15).\n    12. Rome. Conference with Jews (Acts 28:16-29).\n        Rome. Preaching in own hired house (Acts 28:30, 31).\n\n\n  [Illustration: ASSYRIA AND CANAAN]\n\n\n  [Illustration: THE TWELVE TRIBES]\n\n\n  [Illustration: THE EXODUS AND WANDERINGS]\n\n\n  [Illustration: THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN KINGDOMS]\n\n\n\n\nTRANSCRIBER'S NOTES\n\n1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_.\n\n2. Passages in bold are indicated by #bold#.\n\n3. Images have been moved from the middle of a paragraph to the\nclosest paragraph break.\n\n4. Some of the obvious punctuation errors have been corrected, for\nexample, added missing period at the end of a paragraph.\n\n5. The word Beroea uses an oe ligature in the original.\n\n6. The following misprints have been corrected:\n    \"Peninusla\" corrected to \"Peninsula\" (page 33)\n    \"wofully\" corrected to \"woefully\" (page 91)\n    \"ocuntries\" corrected to \"countries\" (page 129)\n    \"ittle\" corrected to \"little\" (page 146)\n    \"ather\" corrected to \"rather\" (page 164)\n    \"tast\" corrected to \"last\" (page 211)\n\n7. Other than the corrections listed above, printer's inconsistencies\nin spelling, hyphenation, and ligature usage have been retained.","title":"Training the Teacher","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":79599}