•£C 171921 
 
OTHER BOOKS BY PROFESSOR ROGERS 
 
 THE RELIGION OF BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 
 
 CUNEIFORM PARALLELS TO THE OLD TESTAMENT 
 
 A HISTORY OF BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA 
 
 THE RECOVERY OF THE ANCIENT ORIENT 
 
 GREAT CHARACTERS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 
 
A BOOK OF 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 For Public Reading in Churches 
 
 A LECTIONARY 
 
 Edited '•• 
 
 With Introduction and Notes ^<i^l^f-_^ 
 
 By . 
 ROBERT WILLIAM ROGERS 
 
 Ph.D. (Leipzig), S.T.D., LL.D. 
 
 Hon. Litt.D., University of Dublin 
 
 Professor in Drew Theological Seminary 
 
 VOLUME II 
 INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 
 
 THE ABINGDON PRESS 
 
 NEW YORK CINCINNATI 
 
Copyright, 1921, by 
 ROBERT WILLIAM ROGERS 
 
 Printed in the United States of America 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface 7 
 
 Introduction 13 
 
 I. First Sunday in Advent. Jeremiah 31. 10-14, 27-34. 37 
 
 II. Second Sunday in Advent. Micah 4. 1-7; 5. 2-4. . . 39 
 
 III. Third Sunday IX Advent. Isaiah 40. 1-17, 27-30.. 41 
 
 IV. Fourth Sunday in Advent. Isaiah 10. 33 — 11. 9 and 
 
 12. 1-6 43 
 
 V. Christmas Day. Isaiah 7. 10-14; 9. 2-7 46 
 
 VI. First Sunday After Christmas. Isaiah 32. 1-5; 35. 
 
 1-10 49 
 
 VII. Second Sunday After Christmas. Isaiah 42. 1-16. 51 
 
 VIII. First Sunday After Epiphany. Isaiah 44. 6-23 ... 53 
 
 IX. Second Sunday After Epiphany. Isaiah 55. 1-13. 55 
 
 X. Third Sunday After Epiphany. Hosea 11.1 — 12. 6 57 
 
 XI. Fourth Sunday After Epiphany. Amos 8 59 
 
 XII. Fifth Sunday After Epiphany. Ezekiel 33. 1-20 . . 62 
 
 XIII. Sixth Sunday After Epiphany. Ezekiel 34. 1-16, 
 
 25-31 64 
 
 XIV. Septuagesima Sunday. Genesis 1. 1 — 2. 3 66 
 
 XV. Sexagesima Sunday. Genesis 3 68 
 
 XVI. QuiNQUAGESiMA SuNDAY. Genesis 6. 5-8, 13-22; 7. 
 
 23, 24; 9. 8-17 71 
 
 XVII. First Sunday in Lent. Jeremiah 8. 4-22; 9. 1 73 
 
 XVIII. Second Sunday in Lent, Genesis 22. 1-19 75 
 
 XIX. Third Sunday in Lent. Genesis 37. 3-12, 17-35 ... 77 
 
 XX. Fourth Sunday in Lent. Exodus 3. 1-15 79 
 
 XXI. Fifth Sunday in Lent. Exodus 33. 7-23 82 
 
 XXII. Palm Sunday. Zechariah 8. 14-23; 9. 9, 10 84 
 
 XXIII. Good Friday. Isaiah 52. 13—53. 12 86 
 
 XXIV. Easter Day. Exodus 12. 1-14 89 
 
 XXV. First Sunday After Easter. Isaiah 52. 1-12 91 
 
 XXVI. Second Sunday After Easter. Exodus 16. 2-15. . 93 
 
 XXVII. Third Sunday After Easter. Deuteronomy 4. 1-20. 95 
 XXVIII. Fourth Sunday After Easter. Deuteronomy 6. 
 
 4-25 97 
 
 XXIX. Fifth Sunday After Easter. Deuteronomy 8. 2-20. 99 
 
 XXX. Sunday After Ascension Day. Deuteronomy 30.. 101 
 
 XXXI. Whitsunday. Joel 2. 21-32 103 
 
 XXXII. Trinity Sunday. Isaiah 6. 1-13 105 
 
 XXXIII. First Sunday After Trinity, Joshua 1. 1-17 107 
 
 XXXIV. Second Sunday After Trinity, Judges 4. 1-16, 23. 109 
 XXXV. Third Sunday After Trinity, 1 Samuel 1. 1-5, 
 
 9-28 112 
 
 XXXVI. Fourth Sunday After Trinity. 1 Samuel 3. 1—4. 1, 114 
 XXXVII, Fifth Sunday After Trinity. 1 Samuel 17. 1-4, 
 
 8-11, 32-37, 40-54 115 
 
 XXXVIII, Sixth Sunday After Trinity, 2 Samuel 12. 1-23. . 117 
 XXXIX. Seventh Sunday After Trinity. 2 Samuel 18. 1-15, 
 
 24-33 119 
 
 XL. Eighth Sunday After Trinity. 1 Chronicles 29. 
 
 1-20 121 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 XLI. Ninth Sunday After Trinity. 1 Kings 3. 4-15 .... 123 
 XLII. Tenth Sunday After Trinity. 1 Kings 6. 1, 38; 
 
 8. 12, 13, 22, 23, 27-40, 54-58 125 
 
 XLIII. Eleventh Sunday After Trinity. 1 Kings 10. 1-13. 128 
 
 XLIV. Twelfth Sunday After Trinity. 1 Kings 12 130 
 
 XLV. Thirteenth Sunday x\fter Trinity. 1 Kings 17. . . 132 
 XL VI. Fourteenth Sunday After Trinity. 1 Kings 18. 1, 
 
 2, 17-39 134 
 
 XL VII. Fifteenth Sunday After Trinity. 1 Kings 19. . . . 136 
 
 XLVIII. Sixteenth Sunday After Trinity. 2 Kings 5. 1-19. 139 
 XLIX. Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity. 2 Kings 6. 
 
 8-23 141 
 
 L. Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity. 2 Kings 22. 
 
 3-20 142 
 
 LI. Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity. Jeremiah 5. 
 
 1-6, 15-29 144 
 
 LII. Twentieth Sunday After Trinity. Jeremiah 7. 
 
 1-15 and 26. 7-16 146 
 
 LIII. Twenty-first Sunday After Trinity. Daniel 5 . . . 148 
 LIV. Twenty-second Sunday After Trinity. Proverbs 
 
 3. 1-20 151 
 
 LV. Twenty-third Sunday After Trinity. Proverbs 8. 
 
 1-21 153 
 
 LVI. Twenty-fourth Sunday After Trinity. Proverbs 
 
 31. 10-31 155 
 
 LVII. Twenty-fifth Sunday After Trinity. Job 5. 6-26. 157 
 
 LVIII. Twenty-sixth Sunday After Trinity. Job 28 ... . 159 
 LIX. Sunday Next Before Advent. Ecclesiastes 11. 1-4, 
 
 6-10; 12. 8, 13, 14 161 
 
 ALTERNATIVE LESSONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. First Sunday in Advent. Isaiah 1. 1-20 167 
 
 II. Second Sunday in Advent. Isaiah 5. 1-20 169 
 
 III. Third Sunday in Advent. Isaiah 25. 1-9 171 
 
 IV. Fourth Sunday in Advent. Zechariah 2 173 
 
 VIII. First Sunday After Epiphany. Isaiah 51. 1-16.. . 175 
 
 X. Third Sunday After Epiphany. Hosea 14. 1-9.. . . 177 
 
 XIII. Sixth Sunday After Epiphany. Micah 6. 1-8 179 
 
 XVII. First Sunday in Lent. Genesis 18 181 
 
 XXIV. Easter Day. Ezekiel 37. 1-14 184 
 
 XXVII. Third Sunday After Easter. Isaiah 60 186 
 
 XXXI. Whitsunday. Exodus 34. 1-10, 29-35 188 
 
 XLIV. Twelfth Sunday After Trinity. Habakkuk 2. 
 
 1-14 190 
 
 XL VI. Fourteenth Sunday After Trinity. Amos 5. 4-24. 193 
 L. Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity. Jonah 3. 
 
 1—4. 11 195 
 
 LIII. Twenty-first Sunday After Trinity. Ezekiel 14. 198 
 LIV. Twenty-second Sunday After Trinity. Nehemiah 
 
 8. 1-12 200 
 
 LVI. Twenty-fourth Sunday After Trinity. Haggai 2. 
 
 1-9 202 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The public reading of the Holy Scriptures has fallen 
 upon very sad days, in respect of the Old Testament, in 
 all churches which have no lectionary established and 
 commanded. The duties of a professorship, rather than 
 the care of a church, have for a third of a century carried 
 me on various errands of preaching, lecturing, attendance 
 upon committees or conventions into many Baptist, Con- 
 gregational, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. In 
 them all I have seldom found provision made for anything 
 like a regular reading of two lessons, one from the Old 
 and the other from the New Testament. In many a selec- 
 tion of the Psalter is read responsively, and then the New 
 Testament lesson, while the Law, the Prophets and the 
 Wise Men bring no word to common worship and instruc- 
 tion. If the preacher intends to preach from an Old Testa- 
 ment text, he may read the passage, or one related to it; 
 or if his text be from the New Testament, he may make 
 use of some Old Testament lesson which points toward 
 it or gives it some light or contrast. Apart from these or 
 other more or less related instances the reading of the Old 
 Testament in the ears of a worshiping congregation has 
 disappeared from among us, but for the few, here or there, 
 who love it and are deeply conscious that it has a living 
 message for to-day. 
 
 Wherever and whenever the Old Testament is read at 
 all the selection from it tends strongly, among these great 
 and powerful churches, toward the repetition of a few 
 favorite passages which run in a little round and very 
 largely in Isaiah. Beyond this the great deeps of the 
 divine story, or address of God to the souls of men, lie un- 
 explored, or but lightly traversed. So much is this true in 
 
OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 my experience that I used to say at times in my Old Testa- 
 ment lecture room that I had never heard a passage from 
 Jeremiah read in the public congregation. Then one day 
 one of my own students, preaching in the chapel, read 
 from the greatest of the prophets, having quietly remarked 
 to his fellows in advance that I should never be able to 
 say that again! The sense of humor has happily not de- 
 parted from theological students! 
 
 As the years went forward I found myself more and 
 more lamenting the neglect of the Old Testament, and as 
 far as my feeble voice could reach urging young men enter- 
 ing the ministry to find some way, each for himself, to 
 better the condition, to make the prophets, at least, vocal 
 once more. Perhaps it helped. I do not know. But I 
 kept turning it over in my mind seeking some way of en- 
 couragement and help until in 1912 I began to make a 
 little Old Testament lectionary, and only now is it finished 
 and very humbly and earnestly and imploringly offered 
 for any use little or much that few or many may find for it. 
 
 In the Introduction I have written a little sketch of 
 the story of the rise and development of lectionaries; I 
 would it might be read, for it should suggest that we 
 have made far less use of the Old Testament in these 
 days than our fathers, whether spiritually ours in Judaism 
 or more closely ours in Protestantism. I could not look 
 forward very hopefully toward the adoption of any scheme 
 of lessons for twice on Sunday, nor for lessons that were 
 very long. I have therefore made lessons for but one service, 
 but with a goodly selection beyond the ordinary year and 
 alternatives from which an evening lesson might be drawn 
 when occasion served. The lessons are arranged according 
 to the Church Year, but there is no special need so to use 
 them unless one wills. Very few are so closely attached 
 to any church season that they might not be quite appro- 
 priately read at any other season. If one would follow 
 
PREFACE 
 
 closely or slightly the Church Year, the calendar will make 
 it easy to find the day; if not, the lessons are numbered 
 simply, and the index will make it easy to find any one. 
 
 The choice of these lessons has been spread over years. 
 Some come from the old Church of England lessons, others 
 from the new plan of the same church, to which allusion 
 is made in the Introduction. Some come from John Wesley's 
 selection, others from the lectionaries of the churches of 
 Lutheranism both European and American; still others 
 have been suggested by selections made for literary quality 
 such as the beautiful one by Sir James George Frazer,^ 
 and perhaps a very few are personal. The list has suffered 
 many revisions, passages have gone in and been taken out, 
 some have been shortened and others lengthened. The 
 order has been bettered, and, alas! perhaps worsened, 
 while the list has lain for weeks or months before another 
 revision; but enthusiasm and interest never died out. 
 
 The text chosen is in the most part simply the Revised 
 Version, not the American Standard. It has been care- 
 fully compared with the Hebrew Text and then treated con- 
 servatively and tenderly but with the eye ever fixed on its 
 purpose. It is not for the study, but for public oral read- 
 ing. It ought not to have a strange, but a familiar sound, 
 yet, if possible, it should convey meaning to the ear, not 
 merely to the eye. Therefore, when sense demanded and 
 Hebrew permitted or required, I have changed a word or 
 altered a phrase; or when the Septuagint offered what seemed 
 a better sense, it has occasionally been followed, and in a 
 very few cases even a conjectural emendation adopted. 
 I hope this has all been done discreetly; it has surely been 
 done cautiously and advisedly. Let him who likes it not 
 change it with his pen before he reads. 
 
 If these lessons are to be of real use and value to God's 
 
 ^ Paasages from the Bible Chosen for Their Literary Beauty and Interest. 1895. 
 2nd Ed., 1909. 
 
10 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 people, they must be taken seriously and used after every 
 effort has been made to make intelligent practice of them. 
 No man will move a congregation to interest or give it 
 real instruction who is not instructed and interested him- 
 self. If it be well worth while to preach the word after 
 all possible preparation, it is siu*ely well worth while to read 
 with understanding from the Holy Scriptures. As a slight 
 help I have been so bold as to write a few words of intro- 
 duction and annotation for each lesson. They are offered 
 very modestly and with much hesitation. They make not 
 the slightest pretension of forming a Conunentary, and 
 there are no earthquaking discoveries in them. They may 
 be too slight to be of use — ^then pass them by and take 
 time and pains to consult the great commentaries. They 
 may contain suggestions as to date, authorship, or meaning 
 contrary to your views, dear Reader — then leave them 
 coldly alone and betake you to the text itself. Do not 
 permit them to spoil your hope of instructing the people 
 out of God's Word simply because man's comment has 
 seemed unwise, ill advised, unnecessary, or even foolish. 
 But in your own way and after your own general view of 
 the Scriptures as a whole make yourself familiar with the 
 lesson you are to read and then read it as though you thought 
 it was really a message from God through his servants 
 or an account of his dealing with them. Read weightily, 
 earnestly, at times with deep solemnity and God's people 
 will listen. How should one expect them to listen or to 
 care if the Bible be read, as I have sometimes heard it, as 
 though preacher or pastor cared nothing for it, and would 
 hasten swiftly over it? 
 
 Should you sometimes pause in the reading to give an 
 explanation or a word of exposition and enforcement? I 
 dare not answer that with any assurance. I have heard 
 Spurgeon do it with telling effect, with perfect taste and 
 quite evidently with profit. But it was not done by chance 
 
PREFACE 11 
 
 or in a passing whim. He had thought it out in advance, 
 and the congregation was prepared and expectant. It 
 was indeed a wonderful sight to see six thousand people 
 open their Bibles when the moment for reading had come, 
 and then find the place when he had announced the passage 
 to be read. He waited until the whisper of swiftly turned 
 pages had ceased, and then read and paused over a difficult 
 phrase and spoke when he thought it was needed. It was 
 wonderfully done. But he was a consummate master of 
 the art. If it be not very well done, perhaps 'twere better 
 left undone. 
 
 How should the lesson be introduced.? This also must 
 have a very doubtful answer. The committee which car- 
 ried out a Revision of the Lectionary of the Church of 
 England has a word in its report about this, which runs 
 thus: "We are of opinion that the reading of Lessons in 
 church would become more generally instructive if they 
 were prefaced by a brief Introduction; and that an Author- 
 ized Book of such Introductions might advantageously be 
 issued." This has not yet been done, but I should like to 
 venture a suggestion to the Reader that he sometimes try 
 to give a few words to an effort to prepare the people's 
 minds for the lesson which is to follow. But, again, it 
 were better left undone than done without thought and 
 care. Let us do honor to the Scriptures by the word with 
 which we introduce them, not dishonor them with some 
 lightly tossed word, cheaply bought, pointless and without 
 weight. Yet it were easier to omit than to make wise 
 comment before or during the reading and somebody should 
 be wisely daring and try it. 
 
 Finally, O thou that shall read to God's people out of 
 Holy Writ, dost thou miss here some great passage? I 
 should not wonder at that. Never mind. Use your lib- 
 erty which this book is not intended to abridge and read 
 what you will. I have meant only to help, but I plead 
 
12 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 in extenuation of faults and omissions that I have not 
 been hasty, for eight years have passed since the book was 
 begun, and much thought and time and care, aye, and labor 
 also have gone into it. May God bless the effort and the 
 result to the good of Christ's Church. 
 
 Robert W. Rogers. 
 The Bodleian Library, 
 Oxford, 
 October 25, 1920. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The practice of reading a portion of Holy Scripture as 
 a part of divine service in the Christian Church derives 
 from the synagogue of the Jews. Much in the early wor- 
 ship of Christians, in the ordering of services and in the 
 building of churches comes from the same source, but 
 nothing taken by Christianity from Judaism was so important 
 in itself and so far reaching in its influence as this. It has 
 been most justly said that "the custom of reading portions 
 of the Pentateuch at the synagogue on Sabbath and holy 
 days and at other stated times of the year, [was] an insti- 
 tution which made Judaism one of the most powerful fac- 
 tors of instruction and education of the world. Through it 
 the Torah became the property of the whole people of 
 Israel; and through it also the Gentiles were won for 
 Judaism; even the rise of Christianity and Islam was 
 made possible chiefly through the customary reading 
 from the Law and the Prophets."^ The meaning of 
 this is that the early Christians who came out of the 
 synagogue into the fellowship of Christ came instructed 
 in the Law and with ears attuned to the preaching of the 
 prophets, and their Christian teachers, who declared that 
 Christ was the fulfillment of the law and the Messiah of 
 the prophets, were speaking to men who had heard the 
 very words of the Law and the predictions of the prophets 
 read in their hearing and had carried away in mind and heart 
 many a phrase which made music in their ears as their 
 teachers declared that it was of Jesus that the prophet spake, 
 that it was toward him that the law was a schoolmaster. 
 
 How early the public reading of the Old Testament 
 began in Judaism is unknown. Josephus quite character- 
 
 ^Kohler, Kaufmann, Reading from the Law. Jewish Encyclopedia, vii, 647. 
 
 13 
 
14 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 istically ascribes it to Moses himself, saying, "The lawgiver 
 showed the Law to be the best and the most necessary 
 means of instruction by enjoining the people to assemble 
 not once or twice or frequently, but every week while ab- 
 staining from all other work in order to hear the Law and 
 learn it in a thorough manner — a thing which all other 
 lawgivers seem to have neglected."^ In this he was prob- 
 ably relying upon a biblical allusion which does not support 
 his sweeping statement, yet has an interest of its own, 
 *'And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of 
 every seven years, in the set time of the year of release, 
 in the feast of tabernacles, when all Israel is come to appear 
 before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose, 
 thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing" 
 (Deut. 31. 10, 11). This passage shows that by the time 
 of Josiah (B. C. 621), and perhaps as early as Hezekiah 
 (circa B. C. 700) it had become a practice among the Jews 
 to read publicly certain writings counted as of value for 
 religious instruction. What these were no one knows, 
 and it is hazardous to speculate. We are upon safer ground 
 when we come down to the period of Ezra-Nehemiah, when 
 Ezra brought from Babylon a roll of the Law and caused 
 it to be read publicly in the people's hearing (Neh. 8. 1-18). 
 This was but a single reading, not likely to have been re- 
 peated soon, nor have we the slightest clue as to when the 
 custom of regular reading may have been introduced, nor 
 where, nor by whom. Where fact is wanting conjecture 
 has been frequent and enthusiastic, and it has been as- 
 sumed, again on the basis of Deuteronomy (31. 10), that a 
 seven-year cycle of readings was devised, and that from 
 this two three-and-a-half-year cycles of readings were de- 
 vised. There would appear to be no sound reason for this 
 supposition, and the earliest known system divided the 
 Pentateuch into one hundred and fifty-five sections by 
 
 * Contra Apionem, ii, 17. 
 
INTRODUCTION 15 
 
 which the Law was read through in three years. This 
 was the Palestinian system and prevailed, apparently, until 
 the thirteenth Christian century. This was succeeded by 
 the division, now generally considered to be the normal 
 standard, by which the Pentateuch is divided into fifty- 
 three or fifty-four sections, by which the Law was read 
 through in one year. By the Sephardim, or Jews of Spain 
 and of the western countries generally, these sections of 
 the Law are called Parashah (plural, Parashiyyoth), while 
 the Ashkenazim, or Jews of Germany call each section a 
 Sidra (plural, Sidroth) and give the name "Parashah" to 
 the smaller portions read on festivals, or to one of the seven 
 subsections of the Sabbath-morning lesson. These sections, 
 thus appointed would seem very long to Christian congre- 
 gations. Thus, for example, the whole book of Genesis 
 is read in twelve Sabbaths, as follows: I. Gen. 1. 1 — 6. 8; 
 11. Gen. 6. 9—11. 32; III. Gen. 12. 1—17. 27; IV. Gen. 
 18. 1—22. 24; V. Gen. 23. 1—25. 18; VI. Gen. 25. 19—28. 9; 
 VII. Gen. 28. 10—32. 3; VIII. Gen. 32. 4—36. 43; IX. 
 Gen. 37. 1—40. 23; X. Gen. 41. 1—44. 17; XL Gen. 44. 
 18—47. 27; XII. Gen. 47. 28—50. 26. This may serve as 
 an example of the high importance attached by the Jewish 
 Church to the Law and indicate the passionate desire to 
 educate her people in the sacred law. To accomplish the 
 reading of such long passages it was necessary to give a 
 large part of the service to this one exercise, and in order 
 that the reading might never take place with a wearied 
 voice it became customary to divide each of these long 
 passages into seven sections, each to be read by one person. 
 The persons thus called to read were the seven elders who 
 sat upon the platform. Besides the Sabbath reading 
 chapters were selected for reading upon the various fast 
 and feast days, as, for example : 
 
 Passover: first day, Exod. 12. 21-51; 
 second day. Lev. 23. 1-44; 
 
16 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 Passover: third day (half holy day), Exod. 13. 1-16; 
 
 fourth day, Exod. 22. 24—23. 19; 
 
 fifth day, Exod. 34. 1-26; 
 
 sixth day. Num. 9. 1-14; 
 
 seventh day (holy day), Exod. 13. 17—15. 27; 
 
 eighth day, Deut. 15. 19—16. 17. 
 The Law was read always from a parchment roll, written 
 by hand upon calfskin or sheepskin with an ink most care- 
 fully and skillfully made from lampblack. The text was 
 Hebrew, without vowel points, accents, or any verse di- 
 visions, but with the Parashah (or Sidra) divisions marked 
 either by a new line, or by a space left blank in a line. This 
 roll or scroll was mounted upon rollers, then wrapped in 
 a white band and richly encased in a silk or velvet robe. 
 The rollers had usually tips elaborately ornamented with 
 silver. Three or more such rolls were in the possession of 
 every synagogue, and at the eastern end of the edifice 
 there was a cabinet in a recess in which the rolls were kept. 
 This was called the Hekal (Temple) or Kodesh (sanctuary) 
 and before it was suspended the Ner Tamid, a lamp kept 
 perpetually lighted. To give yet greater honor to the Law, 
 the sanctuary was opened with much ceremony, both 
 solemn and fitting. When that point in the service is 
 reached the Minister announces the names of those who 
 are to have the honor of bringing the Roll of the Law from 
 the Hekal or "Ark," whom he precedes thither, and the 
 congregation rises as he says: "Let thy priests be clothed 
 with righteousness, and thy pious ones shout for joy. For 
 thy servant David's sake, turn not away the face of thine 
 anointed.'* As the doors of the Ark are opened, the min- 
 ister chants: "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us 
 together exalt his name." As the sacred roll is borne to 
 the reading desk the congregation, still standing, repeats 
 a declaration of faith and joy beginning, "Exalt ye the 
 Lord our God, and worship at his footstool, for he is holy" 
 
INTRODUCTION 17 
 
 and continuing: "The Law which Moses commanded us, 
 is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob. It is a 
 tree of life to those who lay hold of it; and the supporters 
 thereof are happy. Its ways are pleasant ways and all 
 its paths are peace. Abundant peace have they who love 
 thy Law: and none shall obstruct them. The Lord will 
 give strength unto his people: the Lord will bless his people 
 with peace." Then when the Law has been divested of 
 its coverings, it is elevated by one of the bearers, who turns 
 it to the four sides from right to left, pausing at each, so 
 that all the congregation may see the writing, whereupon 
 they say: "And this is the Law which Moses set before 
 the children of Israel. The Law which Moses commanded 
 us is the inheritance of the congregation of Jacob." "The 
 way of God is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is 
 a shield to all those who trust in him."^ 
 
 After all this the readers read the lesson of the day. How 
 wonderful is the care of modern Judaism to honor the Law, 
 how anxious that all who attend the Sabbath service should 
 be made to feel that the word of God is central and para- 
 mount. Who shall say that the continuance of Jewish 
 faith, amid many temptations to forsake or forget or even 
 to pass to Christianity is not largely due to this honoring 
 of the Book, this serious effort to make every one attend 
 to its reading and to learn to honor it himself f 
 
 Splendid and wise and good as all this was in itself and 
 for its purposes, there still remained a great gap in the public 
 instruction of the people, and that was the absence of the 
 prophetical Scriptures, without which no fully rounded 
 view of the faith of Israel could possibly be presented. 
 To meet this need a scheme for the reading of selections 
 from the Prophets appeared in the synagogues, but at 
 
 ' The liturgical forms here quoted are taken from "The Book of Prayer and Order 
 of Service, according to the custom of Spanish and Portuguese Jews," edited and 
 revised by Moses Gaster. Oxford, 5661-1901; Vol. i, pp. 110, 111. 
 
18 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 what period it is no longer possible to learn. It has been 
 suggested that it originated in the time of Antiochus IV, 
 Epiphanes, whose persecution of the Jews (B. C. 168-165) 
 was supposed to have led to the reading of the Prophets 
 when he forbade the reading of the Law, but there is not 
 a scintilla of evidence to support the suggestion. It seems, 
 however, reasonably certain that the Prophets were read 
 before the Christian era, though the order and form may 
 not have been quite definitely fixed at so early a date. 
 
 The portion from the Prophets which was read on the 
 Sabbath after the reading of the Law is called Haphtarah 
 (conclusion), the plural of which is Haphtaroth. The 
 selection of appropriate passages was diflScult; and there 
 was no absolutely definite standard on which the selection 
 was based. Whenever it was possible to find some link 
 it was done. Thus, for example, when Section II of Genesis 
 was read (6. 9 — 11. 32) it was followed by Isaiah 54 because 
 of verse 9, which reads, "For this is as the waters of Noah 
 unto me : for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should 
 no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would 
 not be wroth with thee nor rebuke thee.'* The case here 
 was excellent, but often the appropriateness was very 
 shadowy, resting only upon a remote similarity of ideas 
 as when Section I, Gen. 1. 1 — 6. 8, was coupled with Isaiah 
 42. 5 — 43. 11 because of its first verse (5) which reads, 
 "Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, 
 and stretched them forth; he that spread abroad the earth 
 and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath 
 unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein." 
 A still more weak connection is to be found when the Law 
 passage Num. 1-4 is followed by Hos. 2. 1-22, solely be- 
 cause of one word in Hos. 2. 2. 
 
 The length of the Haphtaroth is much less than the length 
 of the passages from the law, being only from ten to fifty- 
 two verses, and the selection came to be definitely fixed 
 
INTRODUCTION 19 
 
 so that it was possible to provide for every synagogue a 
 list of the passages from the Law (Sidroth) and the corre- 
 sponding lesson from the Prophets (Haphtaroth). It is to 
 be remembered that the word "prophet" as used by the 
 Jews includes books which among Christians are com- 
 monly though erroneously called historical books. The 
 arrangement followed in the Hebrew Bible divides the 
 Scriptures into three classes — the Law, the Prophets, and 
 the writings (Heb., Kethuhim; Gr., Hagiographa). The 
 Prophets are subdivided into the Early Prophets (Joshua, 
 Judges, Samuel, and Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, 
 Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve, that is, the Minor 
 Prophets). This corresponds to a real difference in character 
 between the different books, and it is to be lamented that 
 the early English versions followed the arrangement of 
 the Vulgate, which depended upon the Septuagint. The 
 books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings are written 
 by prophetic hands and in the prophetic spirit and are 
 different in spirit from Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah, 
 which represent the interpretation of God's will and works 
 as the priests understood them. To classify Joshua, Judges, 
 Samuel, and Kings with the prophets is to recognize this 
 difference and make a proper use of it. With this in mind 
 we can understand the choice of the Haphtaroth, the selec- 
 tions from which are taken from Joshua, Judges, I and II 
 Samuel, I and II Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, 
 Amos, Jonah, Micah, Habakkuk, Zechariah, and Malachi. 
 The favorite book is Isaiah, which appears on fifteen of the 
 fifty-four Sabbaths. 
 
 It is believed that the selections of the Haphtaroth for 
 feast days may have been made as early as the second 
 century of the Christian era, but the definite selection for 
 Sabbaths came much later, for as late as the second cen- 
 tury the choice of a prophetic passage was still left to the 
 last of the readers of the Tor ah. In early times it was 
 
20 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 customary to follow the reading of the prophetic passage 
 with comment or an address. The classic instance is 
 narrated by Luke (4. 17ff.) in which Jesus having read the 
 lesson from Isa. 6L 1, 2 interpreted it, applying it to him- 
 self. In the Jewish Calendar of lessons as later arranged 
 this passage from Isaiah is not read, the passage which is 
 read beginning at 61. 10 (61. 10 — 63. 9) with which is read 
 from the Law Deut. 29. 10—30. 20. 
 
 The honor paid to the reading of the Law is hardly 
 equaled, in modern times, when the prophets are read, yet 
 have they also their praise in good measure. After the Law 
 has been read and the time has come to read the Haphtarah, 
 or lesson from the prophets, a blessing is pronounced in 
 these words: "Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God! King of 
 the universe; who hast chosen good prophets; and found 
 delight in their words, which were delivered in truth. 
 Blessed art thou, O Lord! who hast chosen the Law, thy 
 servant Moses, thy people Israel, and the true and righteous 
 prophets." And after the reading follow the words, "Our 
 Redeemer! the Lord of Hosts is his name, the Holy One 
 of Israel," and there follows a long prayer which is here set 
 down in part: "Blessed art thou, O Lord, our God! King of 
 the universe; Protector of all the worlds, who art righteous 
 in all generations; the faithful God, who promisest and 
 performest; speakest and accomplishest; for all thy words 
 are true and just. Faithful art thou, O Lord, our God! 
 and thy words are faithful; for not one of thy words shall 
 return back fruitless. . . . For the sake of the Law, the 
 worship, and the Prophets, and this Sabbath . . . blessed 
 be thy name in the mouth of every living creature, con- 
 tinually, and for evermore." 
 
 So down the ages, not in less but in greater measure, 
 has the Jewish Church honored the Holy Scriptures and 
 given them a place above all else in public worship. From 
 the synagogue the Christian Church learned to make the 
 
INTRODUCTION 21 
 
 reading of Scripture a part of divine service, and to this 
 we must turn to see, so far as scanty materials will permit, 
 how the Scriptures found a place and how in the course 
 of time an order for their reading was established, or how 
 in other branches or parts of the universal Christian Church 
 the order disappeared and the reading was left to choice 
 or even to caprice. 
 
 The earliest allusion to public reading of the Scriptures 
 in the Christian Church is found in the injunction laid upon 
 Timothy, "Till I come give heed to reading, to exhortation, 
 to teaching" (1 Tim. 4. 13). This command did not con- 
 cern his private but his public reading, as the words "ex- 
 hortation" and "teaching" make plain, and is further sup- 
 ported by the command, "Take heed to thyself and to thy 
 teaching. Continue in these things; for in doing this thou 
 shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee" (verse 
 16). There is no specification of that which was to be 
 read, but it was the Old Testament, upon which the Lord 
 himself had fed his soul, and upon which his church should 
 be nurtured both then and forever afterward. By the 
 side of the Old Testament lessons there were soon Chris- 
 tian documents to be read, as we are reminded in the com- 
 mand, "When this epistle hath been read among you, cause 
 that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and 
 that ye also read the epistle from Laodicea" (Col. 4. 16); 
 and again, "I adjure you by the Lord that this epistle be 
 read unto all the brethren" (1 Thess. 5. 27); and yet again 
 in the words, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that 
 hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things which 
 are written therein: for the time is at hand" (Rev. 1. 3). 
 Here we have the beginnings of the custom of public read- 
 ing of the Scriptures, but there is no hint of any order or 
 prescription about them. As the early church was much 
 busied with the effort to convince Jews of the Messiahship 
 of Jesus, we shall probably not go far astray if we surmise 
 
n OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 that the Messianic parts of the prophets would be those 
 chiefly used, and they for controversial purposes with the 
 Jews, or to establish Jewish Christians in the new faith. 
 
 When the second century is reached the custom of read- 
 ing lessons has become fixed, and Justin Martyr is able 
 to mention it as well known: **0n the day called Sunday 
 all who live in cities or in the country gather together to 
 one place, and the memoirs of the apostles, or the writings 
 of the prophets are read as long as time permits."* Within 
 half a century later TertuUian makes several references to 
 the reading of Scripture and the singing of Psalms,^ and 
 again of the reading of Scripture in the ordinary worship,^ 
 and still further of the reading of the Epistles,^ and in some 
 other passages makes allusion to the Prophets and Gospels. 
 There was then a steady progress toward a regular system 
 of reading, and in the first half of the third century Hip- 
 polytus gives this direction: "Let Presbyters, subdeacons, 
 and readers, and all the people assemble daily in the church 
 at time of cockcrow, and betake themselves to prayers, to 
 psalms, and to the reading of the Scriptures, according 
 to the command of the apostles; until I come attend to 
 reading."^ There is still no prescribing of what was to be 
 read, but in this same century the first traces of fixed lessons 
 are to be discerned. Origen^ gives the first known hint 
 when he says that the book of Job was read in Holy Week. 
 And John Cassian goes so far as to seek a heavenly sanction 
 (circa A. D. 380) for the order which he knew, saying, 
 * Throughout the whole of Egypt and the Thebaiad the 
 number of Psalms is fixed at twelve both at Vespers and 
 in the office of Nocturns, in such a way that at the close 
 
 * Apology, 1, 67. 
 " de Anima, 9 
 
 » Apol. 39. 
 
 ' de Praescript. Haeret., 36. 
 
 * Canon xxi. 
 
 » Commentaries on Job, lib. i. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 two lessons follow, one from the Old and the other from 
 the New Testament. And this arrangement, fixed ever so 
 long ago, has continued unbroken to the present day through- 
 out so many ages, in all the monasteries of those districts, 
 because it is said that it was no appointment of man's in- 
 vention, but was brought down from heaven to the fathers 
 by the ministry of an angel." ^'^ It is clear that there was 
 a fixed order for the use of the Psalms, and it seems here 
 to be implied that there was likewise a fixed order for other 
 books. However that may then have been in Africa, there 
 were certainly such lessons elsewhere, for Saint Basil the 
 Great ^^ mentions fixed lessons for certain occasions as taken 
 from Isaiah and Proverbs, while from Chrysostom^^ and 
 Augustine^^ we learn that Genesis was read in Lent, and 
 Job and Jonah in Passion Week. There was then a clear 
 tendency toward prescribing lessons for certain great periods 
 in the Church Year, but there must have still been large 
 liberty of choice during the rest of the year. 
 
 By the time when the Apostolical Constitutions was 
 written, probably by a Syrian Christian and perhaps as 
 early as A.D. 340 or as late as A. D. 380, we have a still 
 more plain declaration about the progress toward a definite 
 lectionary. The passage is so interesting in itself, that it 
 needs no apology for lengthened quotation. It is addressed 
 to the Bishop and begins: "When thou callest an assembly 
 of the Church, as one that is the Commander of a great 
 ship, appoint the Assemblies to be made with all possible 
 skill, charging the Deacons, as mariners, to prepare places 
 for the brethren, as for passengers, with all due care and 
 decency. And first let the building be long, with its head 
 to the east, with its vestries on both sides at the east end, 
 and so 'twill be like a ship. In the middle let the bishop's 
 
 ^"de caenob. inst., ii, 4. 
 »i Horn, xiii, de bapt. 
 1* Horn. Ixiii in Act. 
 "Tract vi in Joann. 
 
24 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 throne be placed; and on each side of him let the presbytery 
 sit down; and let the Deacons stand near at hand, in close 
 and small girt garments; for they are like the mariners 
 and managers of the ship: With regard to these, let the 
 laity sit on the other side, with all quietness and good order. 
 And let the women sit by themselves, they also keeping 
 silence. In the middle, let the reader stand upon some 
 high place; let him read the Books of Moses, of Joshua the 
 son of Nuriy of the Judges, and of the Kings and of the 
 Chronicles, and those written after the return from the 
 captivity; and besides these, the books of Job and of Solo- 
 mon, and of the sixteen prophets. But when there have 
 been two lessons severally read, let some other person sing 
 the hymns of David, and let the people join at the con- 
 clusions of the verses. Afterward let our Acts be read, and 
 the Epistles of Paul, our fellow worker, which he sent to the 
 Churches under the conduct of the Holy Spirit; and after- 
 ward let a Deacon or a Presbyter read the Gospels, both 
 those which Matthew and John have delivered to you, and 
 those which the fellow workers of Paul received and left 
 to you, Luke and Mark. And while the Gospel is read, 
 let all the Presbyters and Deacons, and all the people stand 
 up in great silence; for it is written. Be silent and hear, 
 O Israel. And again. But do thou stand there and hear. 
 In the next place, let the Presbyters, one by one, not all 
 together, exhort the people, and the Bishop in the last 
 place as being the commander."^^ 
 
 There is here no indication whether the lessons were 
 according to a fixed system or a free choice, but the in- 
 teresting and important matter is that two Old Testament 
 lessons were to be read, then the Psalms sung, and after 
 that came readings from the Epistles and then the Gospel, 
 
 "The Apostolical Constitutions ii, 57. For translation into English compare 
 William Whiston, Primitive Christianity Revived, Vol. ii, section xxviii, p. 260ff. 
 (London, 1711). 
 
INTRODUCTION 25 
 
 which even at that early date was to be heard by the whole 
 congregation standing. The influence of the example of 
 the synagogue is seen plainly in the double lesson from the 
 Old Testament, of which it may safely be surmised that 
 one was from the Law and the second from the Prophets. 
 When to these there are added passages from the Epistles 
 and Gospels there were sure signs of the formation of a 
 system to which was applied the technical term Pericope, 
 The word comes directly from the late Latin pericope, 
 meaning a section of a book, which derives from the Greek 
 word of the same form, the origin of which is from the 
 Greek peri, "around," and kope, "cutting." Used in the 
 sense of a scriptural passage, the word appears early, for 
 Justin Martyr^^ classifies under the word pericope, the 
 passages Isa. 42. 5-13; Jer. 11. 19; Isa. 33. 13-19 and Mic. 4. 
 1-7 — all these being from the Old Testament. 
 
 As the tendency toward a fixed system of lessons in- 
 creased and passages more or less suited to the portions 
 of the Church Year were chosen there grew up a custom 
 foreshadowed in the reference to exhortations by the Pres- 
 byters and bishops in the Apostolical Constitutions. This 
 was the reading of a homily or the preaching of a sermon 
 based upon the lessons which had been read, and as the 
 lesson for the day was called a Pericope, the method by 
 which the sermon was based on a verse or verses from the 
 appointed section was called a pericopic system of preach- 
 ing. Luther generally, if not always, followed this plan, 
 taking a passage, and commonly a long one, or at least 
 of considerable length, from the lesson of the day, and 
 usually from the Gospels or Epistles. This is still com- 
 monly the use on the Continent of Europe, and the influ- 
 ence of it is to be seen in the frequency with which clergy- 
 men of the Church of England and of the Episcopal Church 
 in America take a text from the Gospel or Epistle of the 
 
 "Dial. c. Tryph. c. 65, 72, 78, 110. 
 
^6 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 day. The system had a great disadvantage, it must be 
 admitted, for after a preacher had discoursed for several 
 years upon selections from the same lesson he was much 
 disposed to seek after novelty by some ingenious twist 
 or turn which a strict interpretation of the passage could 
 not justify. It had, however, a great compensating advan- 
 tage in that the preacher was forced to cover the whole 
 field of biblical teaching and was so prevented from slipping 
 into the constant iteration of fads or fancies of his own. 
 There is, then, something to be said for pericopic preaching, 
 and wise men might well consider whether the adoption 
 of it, with due allowance of divergence to suit some new 
 condition, were not a wise procedure. Indeed, in recent 
 times unless one had some system of one's own to which 
 general heed might be given, the various philanthropic 
 organizations would tend to occupy one Sunday after 
 another with multitudinous causes (Prison Day, Divorce 
 Day, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Red Cross Day, Near 
 East Relief, City Missions, Home Missions, Foreign Mis- 
 sions), and the whole glorious preaching of the Word in 
 its message of God and redemption would give way to 
 practical, legislative or eleemosynary agitation. Then the 
 minister or the preacher will turn reformer, and religion 
 lose the mystery and glory of God. 
 
 The earliest lectionaries of which a memory has been 
 preserved date from the middle of the fifth century, both 
 from France. The oldest is reported to have been made 
 by Claudianus Mamercus, and was arranged not for the 
 entire year but rather for the church festivals. It has 
 perished, and we know of it only by the scant allusion made 
 to its compiler after his death by Bishop ApoUinaris Si- 
 donius of Arverni, the modern Clermont." There is record 
 of another made A. D. 458 for the church at Massilia, the 
 
 " "Hie solemnibufl annuls paravit quae quo tempore lecta convenirent" (Epist. IV, 
 N. 11, MSL. T. 58). 
 
INTRODUCTION 27 
 
 modern Marseilles, by Musaeus, which was likewise made 
 only for the festivals, and has also perished. ^^ 
 
 The oldest lectionary still surviving was prepared in the 
 eighth Christian century, found at Luxeuil in Burgundy 
 and known generally as the Lectionarium Gallicanum which 
 provided lessons from the prophets one or more readings 
 for most of the church festivals preceded by headings such 
 as ''Lectio Libri Esaye Prophetae.^* From this time onward 
 lectionaries were numerous in all the churches, west and 
 east, Syrian as well as Latin, Armenian as well as Greek. 
 For this present purpose the most important lectionaries 
 are those of the western churches. The most far-reaching 
 of these is the lectionary of the Roman Church, whose 
 beginnings may certainly be traced as far back as the eleventh 
 century, from which there has come down the great lec- 
 tionary called variously Comes, or Liber Comitis or Liber 
 ComicuSy which began its readings with the first Sunday in 
 Advent, placing all the way through the year the emphasis 
 upon the Epistles and Gospels, yet substituting for the 
 Epistle an Old Testament passage on certain days. Thus 
 upon Epiphany Sunday Isaiah, chapter 60, was read instead 
 of the Epistle, and in the Passion Week Hosea, Genesis, 
 Exodus, Deuteronomy, and Jonah all found mention. 
 The passages read in this lectionary were very brief, and it 
 is not surprising that an attempt should be made to revise 
 its order and extend the length of the readings. This was 
 accomplished in the lectionary made by a renowned Fran- 
 ciscan, Francisco da Quignonez (Francis de Quinones), who 
 brought out in 1535 a Breviary with a revised form of lessons. 
 It was printed and widely used until 1558, when it was 
 suppressed by papal authority, and ceased to be printed. 
 It was exceedingly well done, and gave a wider and better 
 
 " "Musaeus, Massiliensis ecclesiae presbyter hortatu S. Venerii episcopi excerpsit 
 de Sanctis scripturis lectiones totius anni festivis diebus aptas, responsoria etiam 
 psalmorum capitula tempwribua et lectionibus apta." (Gennadius, De script, eccles. 
 c. 79, MSL. I, 58.) 
 
28 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 view of the Old Testament. It began with Isaiah at Advent, 
 followed by other Prophets, and the Wisdom books came 
 after Christmas, to be followed at Septuagesima by Genesis 
 and again by the Prophets until Easter. Later portions 
 of Exodus, Samuel, Kings, Daniel, Tobit, Judith, Esther, 
 and Job all made contributions to the knowledge of hearers. 
 It was a sore pity that after Francisco's death (died 540) 
 the book should have come under censure and finally to 
 suppression, but it was not possible to break off its influence. 
 Its principle of two lessons, one from the Old and the second 
 from the New, was destined to live on in the influence which 
 it exerted upon the lectionaries of the Anglican Church. 
 Cranmer had drawn up a Litany in 1544 and, influenced 
 chiefly by the Breviary of Francisco, in the First Book of 
 Common Prayer of the Church of England (1549) adopted 
 the scheme of two lessons, the one from the Old and the 
 other from the New Testament. Cranmer abandoned the 
 Church Year system and began his lessons with January 
 instead of with Advent, but made a great advance in the 
 length of the Old Testament lessons by which the greater 
 part of the canonical books and a lesser portion of the 
 Apocrypha were read through once a year. In the Prayer 
 Book of Elizabeth (1559) a return was made to the Ecclesi- 
 astical year and the lessons began with Advent. The 
 variations from this scheme of Lessons were very slight 
 until the Lectionary was revised in 1871, in which the 
 length of many lessons was much reduced, but the general 
 principles were retained. Criticism of this lectionary was 
 widespread, chiefly because of certain unfortunate be- 
 ginnings or endings of the New Testament lessons which 
 were believed to break the sense in unhappy fashion. An 
 attempt to introduce a better lectionary in 1878 failed, but 
 a great step forward is now in process in the Church of 
 England in a revision of the lectionary begun in 1913 and 
 published in 1917. This is the most elaborate lectionary 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 ever made. It not only provides lessons for Sundays, for 
 the great festivals and for certain outstanding Saints' days, 
 but also for every day in the week, and besides all this 
 gives in many cases alternatives. The principle followed 
 by the committee upon these points is thus declared: 
 
 (i.) First Lessons. — Following ancient precedent, we have set 
 down Isaiah for reading during Advent and until the second Sunday 
 after Epiphany, and for the remaining Sundays after Epiphany cer- 
 tain of the minor prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Micah). Again in 
 accordance with ancient precedent, we begin the reading of the Penta- 
 teuch on Septuagesima Sunday. The historical books follow, and 
 extend from the first Sunday after Trinity until the fourteenth. The 
 books of Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, are read from Evensong on the 
 fourteenth Sunday after Trinity to Evensong on the twenty-second. 
 Lessons from the book of Proverbs are assigned to the remaining 
 Sundays after Trinity. Special Lessons are chosen for the great 
 festivals, and also for the first Sunday after Easter and for the Sunday 
 next before Advent. 
 
 Influenced by a desire (a) to meet the needs of different types of 
 congregations, (6) to provide a certain amount of variation for suc- 
 cessive years, (c) to make it possible for congregations to hear in church 
 on Sunday selections from the less familiar parts of the Old Testa- 
 ment and from some books of the Apocrypha, we have provided 
 alternatives to the lessons taken from the Pentateuch, from the his- 
 torical books, and from the book of Proverbs. We have deliberately 
 refrained from providing alternative Lessons on Septuagesima (when 
 the story of creation is read), the fifth Sunday in Lent, Palm Sunday, 
 and Easter Day. We desire to put it on record that in this part of 
 our work we have gone on the assumption (which we earnestly hope 
 will be fulfilled) that the choice between alternative lessons will not 
 be made capriciously, but according to some definite principle or 
 plan.^^ 
 
 This splendid lectionary has not yet passed the long range 
 of constructive criticism and the test of time, but one may 
 
 18 Convocation of Canterbury, Report of Joint Committee. Society for Pro- 
 moting Christian Knowledge, 1917 [1917, No. 501]. The Committee was composed 
 of the following: 
 
 Bishop of Ely (Dr. Chase, Chmn.). Dean of Ely (Dr. Kirkpatrick). 
 
 Bishop of Norwich (Dr. Pollock). Chancellor Bernard. 
 
 Bishop of Oxford (Dr. Gore). Canon Dalton. 
 
 Bishop of Truro (Dr. Burrows). Canon Lake. 
 
 Dean of Westminster (Dr. Ryle). Canon A. W. Robinson. 
 
 Dean of Winchester (Dr. Furneaux). Canon Southwell. 
 
30 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 hope that wherein it falls short of the great ideal of public 
 instruction by the reading of Scripture in the hearing of 
 the people time and use and the advice and experience of 
 others may bring improvement, and the way appear for 
 other churches to imitate a good example in so far as sug- 
 gestions from this may fit special conditions of their own. 
 Having followed somewhat the history of the making 
 and promulgation of lectionaries or Pericopes in the Western 
 church, and thence on into England, we should now see 
 briefly how the Reformation in Germany met the problem. 
 Luther criticized the Roman system with courage and a clear 
 mind and apparently intended or at least hoped to make 
 a new Pericope for the churches of the Reformed Faith. 
 This failed, nor apparently did he ever begin it. His atti- 
 tude to the old system finally crystallized into this, that 
 as far as the Roman Comes was a lectionary, in the strict 
 sense of the word, he was entirely dissatisfied with it and 
 desired either its enlargement and improvement or, failing 
 that, its entire supersession. As far, on the other hand, 
 as it was a Pericope in the narrower sense of the word, 
 a system for providing texts and an order for preaching 
 according to the Church Year, he did not disapprove of it 
 as a whole, but was of the opinion that large liberty of choice 
 should come to the ministry. These declarations of the 
 great Reformation master had influence which began at 
 once and was long extended. One may discern this as 
 early as 1528, when the Church Order in Brunswick 
 (Braunschweig) made a substitute for other lessons and 
 bade the reading of Isa. 40. 1-11, and 11. 1-10. Other 
 minor variations which provided chiefly for longer New 
 Testament lessons began in Brandenburg in 1533 and in 
 Wurttemberg in 1536. A much greater effort was made 
 in Pommern (Pomerania) in 1568, when ministers were 
 bidden so to arrange the lessons for Sundays and week days 
 that the most important and useful books of the Bible 
 
INTRODUCTION 31 
 
 should be publicly read in order. This was a difficult, if 
 not, indeed, impossible, command if it were to be inter- 
 preted literally, but it displayed at least a proper recog- 
 nition of the importance of the instruction of the people 
 in the Bible itself for its own sake. 
 
 In Switzerland the Reformed Church began early to 
 cast aside the brief portions and the sharply defined Pericopes 
 to determine order and content of preaching. Zwingli in 
 Zurich preached over great areas of Scripture, and with 
 very definite purposes in each case — thus the Gospel of 
 Matthew and then the Acts — that his church might learn 
 how the gospel was "propagated and promulgated," and 
 passed thence onward into the Epistles of Paul. But his 
 greatest move was taken in July, 1525, when he began to 
 preach upon the book of Genesis, though before this, preach- 
 ing had been altogether from the New Testament. And 
 Bullinger, who was his successor, is said to have preached 
 from nearly all the books of the Old and the New Testa- 
 ments. For such a man as he there were no Pericopes, 
 and it is not surprising that they vanished out of Zurich 
 never to return in the old form. At the other side of Switzer- 
 land Calvin carried on a vigorous polemic against the same 
 old system, though admitting advantages which it did 
 possess, as others had pointed out. 
 
 Among the Lutherans of Germany the old system died 
 of its own unfitness for the practical purposes of a new and 
 living church. The critical, historical, and scientific study 
 which Ernst Ranke^^ made of the old system was enough 
 to convince all who were capable of conviction that a newer 
 and better lectionary was essential, yet was it impossible 
 to secure it. The old always has a certain strength because 
 of its possession, and as Germany was then broken up 
 
 " Das kirkliche Perikopensystem aus den dltesten Urkunden der Romischen Liturgie 
 dargelegt und erlautert. Ein Versuch von Dr. Ernst Ranke, Pfarrer zu Buchau in 
 Oberfranken. Berlin, 1847. The book is still important, nor has its influence en- 
 tirely disappeared. 
 
32 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 into small states, each ordering its own worship in its own 
 way, unity of effort was impossible. For about one hun- 
 dred and fifty years the various Lutheran churches in the 
 German states went as it willed, some holding in consider- 
 able measure the Roman method, while others made ten- 
 tative experiments in the attempt to construct a new order 
 that might seem to fit better into the theory which Prot- 
 estantism held concerning the Holy Scriptures. Thus, for 
 example, Hannover in 1769 ordered the introduction of 
 quite a new system of Pericdpes and commanded that at 
 every "ordinary and public divine service" there should 
 be read "a selected especially instructive yet not too long 
 a passage from the canonical books of the Bible." In 
 1793 Baden set forth a system which recognizes the virtues 
 of a free choice of passages to be read, yet is unwilling to 
 give up altogether the Roman Pericopes, but supplies a 
 new suggestive plan of readings to begin not with Advent 
 but with January. In 1881 in the same kingdom the be- 
 ginning with Advent was reestablished. 
 
 In 1896 a move was made in a conference of German 
 evangelical churches to secure a radical revision of the 
 old Pericopes and the adoption of a lectionary. The at- 
 tempt was honorable and worthy, but various local interests 
 and customs prevented its complete adoption. The churches 
 in Germany still, therefore, continue in possession of sys- 
 tems each with values of its own, yet each, at least in some 
 cases, strangely neglectful of the Old Testament. In this 
 respect the Lutheran churches of America have made a 
 substantial as well as admirable advance upon their mother 
 church in Germany. ^^ 
 
 20 The system of Scripture Lessons adopted by the United Lutheran Church in 
 America richly deserves study, and, indeed, imitation in many respects. It is pub- 
 lished by (a) The General Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the United 
 States of America, (b) The Trustees of the General Council of the Evangelical Lu- 
 theran Church in North America, and (c) The United Synod of the Evangelical Lu- 
 theran Church in the South, and is to be found in the "Common Service Book of the 
 Lutheran Church, authorized by the United Lutheran Church in America." Phila- 
 
INTRODUCTION 33 
 
 In this little sketch of the rise and progress, as well also 
 as the decay of systems of public reading of the Scriptures 
 many attempts in other churches than those specifically 
 mentioned have necessarily been passed over in silence, 
 and no allusion has been made to the use of the New Testa- 
 ment except as the necessities of the better understanding 
 of the Old had made it necessary. I can make no pre- 
 tensions to New Testament scholarship and should be 
 chary of expressing any opinion as to how it should be or 
 could be more systematically read. There can be no doubt 
 that for every Christian church the New Testament is 
 fundamental; if it be not made known among the people, 
 there can be no sound Christian thinking, and ignorance 
 or fanaticism must rule the church — and they are equally 
 dangerous. The case for the Old Testament is different, 
 yet has it a proper place of dignity and importance. It 
 needs often be said that the Old Testament was the Bible 
 of the men who founded the early church. It provided 
 the occasion and was the subject of the earliest contro- 
 versies with those who came from Judaism as well as with 
 those who did not come. The apostles held it to be in- 
 spired and so used it, but far above all these was the Lord 
 himself, whose sword it was, and whose soul was fed upon 
 these words of wonder and of life. It is madness and folly 
 to talk of making any Christian life rounded and complete, 
 fully furnished and richly adorned, without its ministry of 
 knowledge, its magic of words, splendor of images, and 
 store of inexhaustible power. Yet has it been sorely ne- 
 glected. We who have been teaching in colleges, univer- 
 sities and theological seminaries have been watching whole 
 
 delphia, The Board of Publication of the United Lutheran Church in America, n. d. 
 (issued and copyrighted in 1917). See especially pp. 298-303 which contain not only 
 the revised table of lessons, but also tables showing the lectionaries of Thomasiua, 
 Hannover, and Eisenach. The same book contains also a "Table of Lessons for Morn- 
 ing and Evening throughout the year," which is arranged for week days only with a 
 New Testament lesson in the morning and an Old Testament Lesson in the evening, 
 pp. 304-312 (Hymn and Tune Edition). 
 
34 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 generations of bright and happy youth, who are Christian 
 at heart and more or less instructed in the doctrine and 
 message of the church, yet have next to no knowledge of 
 the origins of all this in the progressive revelation of God 
 in the Old Testament. Worse still, most of them know 
 little — often almost nothing — of the great names and mighty 
 deeds and living words of the heroes of literature and his- 
 tory there preserved. The lecturer who lets fall an allusion 
 to some Hebrew name, some melodious phrase, some deed 
 of heroic struggle for the religion of Jehovah sees at once 
 in some of the eyes before him the telltale glance of strange- 
 ness — the word was unfamiliar, it awakened no response. 
 
 The fundamental fault is with the home, but the church 
 must bear a full share of it. How often or how widely 
 have these youth heard the Old Testament read with any 
 breadth or comprehensiveness in the church? Except in 
 those churches that have possessed a lectionary prepared 
 by authority and imposed by law, the reading of the Old 
 Testament has been casual, capricious, or according to 
 some fancy or familiarity of the preacher or pastor. Small 
 wonder is it that youth wins no large familiarity, no ease 
 of memory in these rich and glorious words and ways. The 
 Sunday school has tried hard to fill the gap, and never 
 harder than in recent years. Its whole scheme of study 
 has been recast, its method revised and modernized; it has 
 enlisted the best scholarship in the preparation of note and 
 comment, and trained teachers in schools and conventions. 
 From this a great and beautiful harvest may justly be 
 hoped. Let us now crown this by restoring the Old Testa- 
 ment to a place of honor and dignity in the church service. 
 Let the youth before they come to study the prophets hear 
 Isaiah and Jeremiah read aloud in the congregation of God's 
 people. If the man who reads has prepared himself to 
 read by knowing that which he is reading, by putting mind 
 and heart upon it in advance, so that his heart burns with 
 
INTRODUCTION 35 
 
 a translated passion, and his mind flames with a recreated 
 message, then shall these books live again and generations 
 of God's people feel and know them. To this end and 
 purpose, in this hope and desire, is this little book com- 
 piled and edited. If some would now care about this 
 matter as much as the mind, heart, and hand that made it, 
 there would be a better day in God's house for God's ancient 
 Scriptm-es. 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 37 
 
 jFirjSt ^unbap in ^bbent 
 
 Jeremiah 31. 10-14, 27-34 
 [Alternative on p. 167.] 
 
 The greatest of the prophets is Jeremiah, and the suffi- 
 cient justification for so declaring him is in the few verses 
 (31-34) which come at the end of this passage. Born at 
 Anathoth, a small village three and a half miles northeast 
 of Jerusalem, about the year 650, and called to be a prophet 
 in B. C. 6'26y he survived the utter destruction of Jeru- 
 salem by Nebuchadrezzar in B. C. 586. He saw the storms 
 gathering, watched with his own keenly observant eyes the 
 madness, folly, and sin of his people, and then their fearful 
 sufferings. He was perfectly clear in his own mind that 
 the sufferings were the direct consequence of the divine 
 displeasure, and that the origin of the wrath of God was 
 to be found in the faithlessness of the people. God had 
 sought them for himself and at Sinai had made a covenant 
 with them. It had failed of its purpose, because they had 
 broken it. It is the greatness of Jeremiah that he per- 
 ceived that an external covenant could not save the people, 
 and great as was the Mosaic covenant, it was nevertheless, 
 in greater part at least, an external covenant. There was 
 needed an internal covenant, a changed heart, and this 
 is the covenant which is here set forth. The description 
 of the covenant is placed as a climax, and to introduce 
 it to the hearer's ear there are a few preliminary verses, 
 part of which, namely, 10-14, would by some be ascribed 
 to another prophet. The authorship of them is, however, 
 of little importance; the main point is that there is no 
 longer any sufficient reason for doubting Jeremiah's author- 
 
OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 ship of the covenant passage, which is the real point in 
 this lesson. 
 
 12. goodness; here it means, bounty, in the material 
 and physical sense. 
 
 32. took them by the hand. The metaphor is a father 
 gently leading his children's tottering steps. It is the child- 
 hood of Israel as a nation. 
 
 33. their God . . . my people. This intimate personal re- 
 lationship was intended to be secured by the older cove- 
 nant (Exod. 19. 5, 6; 2 Sam. 7. 24), but it had failed, simply 
 because the people had broken it. The new covenant 
 would succeed because the hearts would be changed. 
 
 This doctrine of the New Covenant advances far beyond 
 all other of the prophetic doctrines, and marks Jeremiah 
 as the greatest of the prophets. In him the climax was 
 reached. None other was to surpass him until He should 
 come of whom the prophets had spoken. The Lord himself 
 took Jeremiah's doctrine, made it his own, and pointing out 
 all its implications and suggesting its applications advanced 
 as far beyond Jeremiah as he had beyond all who had gone 
 before him. 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 39 
 
 II 
 ^econb ^unbap m ^bbent 
 
 MiCAH 4. 1-7; 0. 2-4 
 [Alternative p. 169.] 
 
 MicAH prophesied, according to the superscription of 
 
 his book, during the reigns of Jotham (739-734), Ahaz 
 
 (733-721 (?) ), and Hezekiah (715-689 (?) ), and the first 
 
 three chapters of his book reflect the situation, with a fair 
 
 degree of clearness, which we know to have obtained at 
 
 least in the period of Hezekiah. The rest of the book is of 
 
 doubtful origin, and some of it seems clearly to be late. 
 
 It is, however, timeless in application, and the passage 
 
 here chosen is beautiful in itself and well fitted for public 
 
 reading in the season approaching Christmas. 
 
 4. I. In the latter days, or, rather, in the issue of the 
 
 days, that is, at the dawn of the Messianic age. The 
 
 passage verses 1-3 is inserted, with slight variations, 
 
 also in Isa. 2. 2-4. 
 
 established . . . exalted not literally, but in repute 
 and honor above all else. 
 
 peoples shall flow unto it. All nations shall come 
 to bring honor to Jehovah and to learn of him. 
 
 2. instruction. R. V. translates "law," but that 
 technical word would be unsuited to the other peoples 
 and the Hebrew word Tor ah means literally "instruc- 
 tion," "teaching." 
 
 3. arbitrate for. R. V., "reprove"; margin, "decide 
 concerning." 
 
 6-7. The sequence of thought with what precedes is 
 not clear. The verses seem to belong to the exilic 
 period and to refer to the return. They are, how- 
 ever, not unsuitable for this present reading. 
 
40 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 5. 2. As Bethlehem was the home of David, so is it to 
 be the birthplace of the Messianic King who is to con- 
 tinue the line of David. 
 
 from ancient days. The phrase is indefinite, as 
 may be seen by a glance at its use elsewhere, for exam- 
 ple in the passage, "In that day will I raise up the 
 tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the 
 breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and 
 I will build it as in the days of old" (Amos 9. 11), 
 and again in the prediction, "Then shall the offering 
 of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto Jehovah, 
 as in the days of old, and as in ancient times" (Mai. 
 3. 4). 
 
 3. give them up, that is, Jehovah will permit his 
 people temporarily to suffer until he raises up the 
 Messianic King. The verse is a gloss. 
 
 4. shall stand, that is, stand firm, steadfast. 
 
 unto the ends of the earth. The Messiah will 
 meet universal acknowledgment unto the ends of the 
 earth. 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 41 
 
 m 
 
 (irtiirb ^unbap m ^bbent 
 
 Isaiah 40. 1-17, 27-30 
 [Alternative p. 171.] 
 
 The passage is from a sermon by an unknown prophet 
 of the Exile, now commonly called Second or Deutero- 
 Isaiah, and was uttered or written probably between B. C. 
 546 and 538, and spoken as a word of comfort and exhorta- 
 tion to those in Babylonia who were depressed and dis- 
 couraged. The first deportation from Judah had taken 
 place in B. C. 597, when Nebuchadrezzar carried away 
 about eight thousand inhabitants, among whom the man 
 Ezekiel, afterward a prophet to his people, was conspicu- 
 ous. The second deportation was in 586, when Nebuchad- 
 rezzar destroyed Jerusalem and took a much larger body 
 away to Babylonia. Many of both of these companies 
 had died before this passage was spoken, and the hope 
 of a restoration so long deferred had made many hearts 
 sick. To these came this thrilling message of hope, a very 
 gospel of good news, that God had forgiven his people, and 
 would grant them the blessings of salvation, and through 
 them to all peoples. 
 
 2. to Jerusalem. This is a synonym for "my people." 
 
 3. the voice . . . crieth. This is an angel's voice calling 
 to beings of the same order to prepare the road for the 
 exile's return. The phrase has the effect of an interjection, 
 and its tone might be given in English by "Hark! — one 
 crying." 
 
 6. All flesh is grass. While this is true of humanity in 
 general, the prophet is here thinking especially of Israel's 
 enemies, whose transitory life he contrasts with the eter- 
 
42 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 nity of God — the kingdoms of men pass quickly when God 
 intervenes. 
 
 10. his reward, probably the gifts which he will bestow 
 on his restored people. 
 
 11. Few indeed are the Old Testament verses which 
 surpass or even equal this as a portrayal of God*s care for 
 his people, his tenderness, gentleness, and solicitude. 
 He who is fierce against the enemies of goodness, is him- 
 self goodness itself. Who can read this verse so that the 
 hearer shall feel it? 
 
 12. with the span, the distance between the thumb and 
 the little finger of a hand when extended. 
 
 15. the isles, properly the Mediterranean coast lands, 
 then a general term for habitable, or habited lands, and 
 especially the far away. 
 
 16. Lebanon . . . not sufficient. God is so great that all 
 the animals of Lebanon though burned with all her trees 
 would be a sacrifice insufficient for him. 
 
 17. vanity. The Hebrew word is tohu, which means 
 "waste,'* and is used in Gen. 1. 2 and there applied to Chaos 
 (A. v., "without form," R. V., "waste"). It here signifies 
 nonentity. 
 
 27. But this great God has been doubted by his people, 
 who have said, "My way is hid from the Lord. . . ." 
 
 31. mount up with wings. The sense is both beautiful 
 and attractive, but it is grammatically doubtful. The 
 Septuagint reads, "shall put forth pinions," which may be 
 correct. The meaning, then, would be that if Israel but 
 put her faith in God she shall acquire new powers, shall 
 fly with wings like those of eagles. So have the saints 
 verified it in many days since the prophet spoke as they 
 have been borne upward on wings of faith and hope. 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 43 
 
 IV 
 
 Jf ourtlj ^unbap in ^bbcnt 
 
 Isaiah 10. 33—11. 9 and 12. 1-6 
 [Alternative p. 173.] 
 
 The passage has been frequently doubted as of Isaiah's 
 authorship in whole or in part, and the grounds for this 
 dubiety may best be sought in Gray, Isaiah^ but whatever 
 weight these doubts may have, they do not make the in- 
 struction of the passage less or diminish its value for public 
 reading. If Isaiah wrote all or a part of it, it must belong 
 to the period just before the year 701, before Sennacherib's 
 invasion of Judah. The passage I2. i-6 belongs to a later 
 period and is probably not by Isaiah. Its connection is, 
 rather, with Isa. 11. 10-16 than with verses 1-9, but it 
 is here pardonably used for reading as a hymn of praise 
 to follow verse 9. 
 
 10. 33. lop the boughs. The Assyrian army has been 
 advancing against Jerusalem and is now very close, "he 
 shaketh his hand at the mount of the daughter of Zion" 
 (verse 32). Then his great host is compared with a moving, 
 menacing forest, and just when the danger is greatest 
 Jehovah moves upon it, lops its boughs, and lays it low. 
 This is the beginning of the overthrow of the mighty world 
 power which had dared to set itself against God and his 
 world government. Immediately that this is accomplished 
 there begins the setting up of a new power, even the Mes- 
 sianic kingdom. 
 
 11. I. a shoot . . . out of the stock. The figure is that 
 of the stump of a tree left in the ground after the tree 
 has fallen or been felled, and from the old stump there 
 bursts forth a little slender twig, the promise of a 
 
44 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 new life. There seems good ground for the assumption 
 that a contrast is intended with 10. 33, for there the 
 Assyrian tree is stricken down to rise no more, while 
 from the dynasty of Judah there springs a new shoot 
 greater than ever in its assurance of power and help- 
 fulness. This new shoot is the Messiah, who comes 
 from the dynasty of David, though his exact relation 
 to it is here left indefinite. 
 
 2. The Messiah is supernaturally endowed for his 
 supreme mission, and the endowments are grouped 
 into three of two each. The first two — wisdom and 
 understanding — are intellectual; the second two — 
 counsel and might — are practical; while the last two 
 — the knowledge and fear of the Lord — are religious. 
 
 3. sight of his eyes . . . hearing of his ears. With 
 the infallible guidance of his supernatural endow- 
 ments he shall have no need of judging by the eyes, 
 that is, mere appearances; or the hearing of the ears, 
 that is, the testimony of witnesses. 
 
 4. reprove. So R. V.; should be "decide." 
 
 the earth. So the ordinary text, which gives no 
 good sense, read with the Septuagint "the violent," 
 "the ruthless," a sense also suited to the unpointed 
 Hebrew text. 
 
 8. asp . . . viper. The identification of the species of 
 serpents here signified by the Hebrew words is quite 
 doubtful, and fortunately the general sense is not 
 affected. It matters next to nothing what particular 
 serpents are meant. The English translations are 
 little more than guesses. 
 
 9. the mountain; that is, Zion; but here the meaning 
 is the whole extended kingdom of the Messiah. 
 
 12. 1-6. The passage consists of two little hymns of 
 praise, verses 1, 2 and 3-6. They are postexilic in origin 
 and liturgical in character. Both are echoes of earlier 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 45 
 
 literature, especially of the splendid hymn of triumph 
 Exod. 15, after Israel's deliverance from the Egyptians at 
 the Red Sea, with which are interlacings of phrase from 
 Isa. 24-27 and from Psalm 105. For public reading they 
 form a not unsuitable shout of praise for the deliverance 
 which the Messiah is to bring, and the beautiful words, 
 "therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells 
 of salvation" constitute an exhortation not unsuited to 
 his kingdom. 
 
46 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 Ciirt£(tmafi( Bap 
 
 Isaiah 7. 10-14; 9. 2-7 
 
 These two brief but beautiful passages have been sancti- 
 fied by long use, and have gathered tenderness and power 
 also from many associations not only in church services, 
 but, wedded to undying strains of music in oratorio and 
 in anthem, have come echoing down the years. It were 
 a sore pity to read them in public, as not a few have done, 
 in careless haste or purposeless tone. Whatever their 
 origin or original meaning, the centuries have given them 
 rich significance. Let us see, however, what was their 
 place and time as the prophet uttered them, so far as these 
 may now be determined. 
 
 The entire passage 7. 1 — 9. 7 forms the remains of a series 
 of prophecies belonging to the reign of Ahaz (B. C. 736-725). 
 It was a period of painful anxiety to king and people, and 
 many hearts failed and not without much cause. The 
 peace, and perhaps the very existence of Judah were at 
 stake because of the advance of an army of Aramaeans 
 and Ephraimites about the year B. C. 735, to attack the 
 kingdom, dethrone Ahaz, and reduce his land to depend- 
 ence. It is easy from our vantage ground to speak of the 
 king as weak, or vacillating, or incompetent, and these, 
 indeed, were in one way or another expressions of his charac- 
 ter; but the situation was dangerous, and places of recourse 
 were not easy then to find. The king sought help by 
 appealing to Tiglathpileser IV (B. C. 745-727), king of 
 Assyria. As we now see the case, knowing what afterward 
 was to follow at the hands of the Assyrians, this was mad- 
 ness as well as folly. Isaiah opposed the plan in a passion 
 of earnestness on grounds political as well as religious. 
 
CHRISTMAS DAY 47 
 
 Isaiah went out to meet the king, and standing on the 
 same ground where thirty-four years later the representative 
 of the Assyrian king Sennacherib demanded the surrender 
 of the city, addressed him in solemn words, urging first 
 the wise counsel, *'Take heed and be quiet, fear not, neither 
 let thine heart be faint," and giving assurance that the 
 coalition against Judah should not prevail. Then he 
 added another word of incalculable importance, saying, 
 "If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." 
 The meaning of them is plain enough. The two great 
 words which express God's movement toward man and 
 man's proper attitude toward God are "grace" and "faith.'* 
 Everything which is comprehended in God's loving and 
 yearning approach to man may be comprehended and 
 expressed in the word "grace," and man's duty toward 
 it is "faith." He must accept it all as of God and from 
 God, must believe it and by that belief enter into the pos- 
 session of it. In this verse we have probably the very 
 first expression of this doctrine of faith as a religious prin- 
 ciple. It is here made the touchstone for Ahaz of his destiny. 
 Isaiah has given the king a great assurance that his king- 
 dom will not be destroyed by Syria and Ephraim. This 
 is an act of divine grace. Let Ahaz believe it, and he 
 will be established. Then Isaiah offers the king a sign 
 in support of the assurance just given (Isa. 7. 5-9) and 
 Ahaz refuses to ask it, perhaps because he would rather 
 go his own way and wished no religious interference with 
 plans already made. The prophet then gives the sign. 
 
 7. 14. a virgin, or maiden. The Hebrew word means 
 a young woman of marriageable age. It may signify 
 virgin, but does not necessarily mean virgin. 
 
 Immanuel, "with us is God." 
 In the second passage 9. 2-7 the prophet bursts into a 
 rapturous strain of poetry, celebrating the great salvation. 
 It belongs presumably to a little later period in the prophet's 
 
48 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 mission, but there is no conclusive reason for denying the 
 authorship to Isaiah. It may belong to the body of teach- 
 ing communicated to his pupils. 
 
 9. 4. yoke of his burden, his burdensome yoke. 
 
 staff of his shoulder, the staff with which his enemies 
 have beaten his shoulders. 
 
 day of Midian: the day on which the Midianites 
 were defeated by Gideon (Judg. 6-8). 
 
 5. all the armor of the armed man in the tumult. 
 The words are difficult, but the probable meaning is 
 that suggested by Gray, "Every shoe worn in tumult" 
 (of battle). The general significance is that all the 
 paraphernalia of war shall be burned up, at the usher- 
 ing in of the Messiah's kingdom. 
 
 6. The child who shall be born is to be a royal and 
 a reigning prince and his name consists of eight words 
 in four clauses, of two each. 
 
 (a) Wonderful Counsellor. This is a royal prerog- 
 ative and is also a divine attribute. It is specifically 
 applied to God himself by Isaiah (28. 29) and is a 
 king's function in Micah (4. 9). 
 
 (6) Mighty God. There is no sound reason for 
 departing from this translation in favor of "God like 
 Hero" or "Hero God." This child is to be mighty 
 in a sense undreamt before, not a mighty man (1 Sam. 
 14. 52), not a mighty king (Dan. 11. 3), but a mighty 
 God. (See the admirable comment by Gray, Isaiah, 
 pp. 173, 174.) 
 
 (c) Everlasting Father, "Father for ever," the one 
 who never ceases to be the Father of his people. 
 
 (d) Prince of Peace. A natural function of the 
 Messiah is to bring peace (Micah 5. 5; Zech. 9. 10), 
 and this glorious hope is in one form or another often 
 in the prophetic message. 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 49 
 
 VI 
 
 jfitfit ^nnbap ^ftet €f^xi%tmai 
 
 Isaiah 32. 1-5; 35. 1-10 
 
 Having had, in the Christmas Lesson, a picture of the 
 Messiah in person, it is fitting that we come now to his 
 Commonwealth, to read publicly of the kind and beneficent, 
 the just and righteous, kingdom which the ruler of such 
 wondrous endowments was to govern. The verses 1-5 
 are by Isaiah and belong to his characteristic doctrine. 
 The second passage which is here grouped with it is post- 
 exilic, and has echoes of the second part of Isaiah. 
 
 32. I. a king shall reign. What manner of king he is 
 has been sufficiently declared in the richly beau- 
 tiful Christmas Lesson. Here attention is focused 
 upon his reign. He shall be surrounded by princes 
 worthy in person and labor to share the exercise of 
 dominion with him. 
 
 2. a man, that is, each one of these princes. They 
 shall be utterly unlike the oppressive nobles under 
 former kings, but instead a protection to the people. 
 
 shadow of a great [lit., "heavy"] rock, a cooler 
 shelter than a tree would afford against the heat of 
 an Oriental sun. 
 
 3. shall not be dim; rather, shall not be closed. 
 
 4. the heart . . . the tongue. The hasty are prom- 
 ised understanding, and they who had spoken in 
 stammering or hesitating words are henceforth to 
 speak plainly. 
 
 5. vile person. The fool; compare Nabal as an 
 example (1 Sam. 25). 
 
 churl in the R. V., perhaps better "crafty," as in 
 margin of the R. V., or "knave," as Cheyne suggests. 
 
50 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 bountiful. This is another difficult word, only in 
 Job 34. 19. Skinner suggests "lordly" as a trans- 
 lation. This would serve well, but is uncertain. 
 35. I. rose, uncertain. It may be the narcissus of the 
 springtime growing abundantly on the plain of 
 Sharon, or perhaps more probably the autumn 
 crocus. 
 
 7. in the habitation. From here on to the end of 
 the verse the sense is obscure and the text probably 
 mutilated in transmission. 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 51 
 
 VII 
 
 S^econb ^unbap lifter Cfirtsitmase 
 
 Isaiah 42. 1-16 
 
 The passage belongs to the Second Isaiah, and the first 
 four verses form the first of the Servant passages (42. 1-4, 
 49. 1-6, 50. 4-9, 52. 13—53. 12). The whole passage be- 
 longs to the series of brilliant and moving addresses, di- 
 rected to the exiles, and intended not only to encourage 
 them to hope for and expect an end of their captivity, but 
 also to point the way toward a greater destiny for the 
 nation. In this first Servant passage the Servant seems 
 to be Israel, but it is Israel glorified, Israel not as it was 
 in captivity but as it was called to be in its mighty mis- 
 sion to the world for which God was preparing it. There 
 are in some of the lines a wavering between the people and 
 the person, but the person is not so clear as he is to be in 
 a later Servant passage (see especially the Lesson for Good 
 Friday). 
 42. 2. When the Servant begins his mission he shall 
 work unobtrusively, not, for example, as did Elijah; 
 and the words here make one think of how he came 
 to recognize the quiet way, the "still small voice" 
 as God*s way (1 Kings 19. 12f.); and one must not 
 forget the impressive application made of these words 
 to the Lord himself (Matt. 12. 17fiF.). 
 
 3. smoking flax, margin, "dimly burning wick." 
 This means the faint, flickering light of goodness 
 and of the knowledge of God found among the nations. 
 The Servant will not put out that light however 
 faint it be. 
 
 4. his law, his revelation of the truth. Here ends the 
 Servant passage, and now Jehovah makes a promise. 
 
52 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 6. covenant of the people, a very obscure phrase. 
 Perhaps the people are conceived as a covenant 
 linking God to the nations, the Servant embodying 
 the covenant, which the nations are to accept. 
 
 9. the former things. These which have been pre- 
 dicted are now come to pass. Cyrus has been pre- 
 dicted, and is now come. The new things are these 
 which form the substance of the present prophecy. 
 
 10. new song. The new things such as the appear- 
 ance of the Servant and the conversion of the nations 
 deserve a new song. 
 
 11. Kedar, the people of the villages and Sela, the 
 people of the Rock, the mountain people, let all sing 
 together of Jehovah's triumph. 
 
 14. I have long time holden my peace. Jehovah has 
 
 kept silent while his people were in captivity; he 
 
 will now cry out in agony. 
 
 16. This is the homebringing of God's people from 
 
 captivity. 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 53 
 
 VIII 
 Jf irjft ^unbap lifter Cpipfjanp 
 
 Isaiah 44. 6-23 
 [Alternative p. 175.] 
 
 This forms a part of the message of the Second Isaiah 
 to the exiles in Babylonia. It begins with the assertion 
 of Jehovah's position as the only God, and of him is Israel 
 a witness. The whole passage is 43. 1 to 44. 23, and in it 
 there has been inserted by a later hand the fine didactic 
 passage 44. 9-20, with its ringing exposure of the utter 
 futility of idolatry. That it is not by the same hand as 
 the rest matters nothing. It is its own complete justifica- 
 tion and shows how the religion of Israel rose far above 
 the neighboring polytheistic or pantheistic faiths. 
 
 44. 6. the first . . . the last. As an assertion of mono- 
 theism this surpasses the declaration in Isa. 43. 10. 
 Remember the sonorous echoes and expansion of it 
 in Rev. 1. 8, 17 and 22. 13. 
 
 7. The verse as a whole is extremely difficult in the 
 Hebrew text, and the ordinary English version 
 would scarcely be intelligible if read aloud to any 
 congregation. I have tried to improve it somewhat 
 by following the Septuagint in the opening clauses. 
 There still remains the difficulty made by the tem- 
 poral clause, "since I appointed the ancient people,** 
 which must mean that prophecy has been continu- 
 ous since God founded Israel. That gives a fairly 
 good sense, but it is not perfectly blended with the 
 former clause. The difficulty is removed by a con- 
 jectural emendation first proposed by Oort, and 
 widely accepted. According to this, instead of 
 
54 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 reading, "since I appointed the ancient people? and 
 the things that are coming, and that shall come to 
 pass let them declare,'* we should read, "Who hath 
 announced from of old future things? and things to 
 come let them declare." This is very tempting, but 
 is, after all, conjectural and not based on the au- 
 thority of the ancient versions, and I have not quite 
 the courage to introduce it into the text. 
 12. strength faileth. He that makes these false gods 
 exhausts himseK at his labor. 
 
 20. feedeth on ashes. The sentence in Hebrew 
 yields no satisfactory sense nor has any successful 
 proposal been made for altering it. 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 55 
 
 IX 
 
 Isaiah 55. 1-13 
 
 This splendid evangelical passage belongs among the 
 chief glories of Holy Scripture and is well worthy of a place 
 with the richest and the best. It may well be compared 
 with John 4. 10-25; 7. 37-44; Rev. 21. 6, 22. 17. It was 
 addressed, in the first instance, to the exiles in Babylonia. 
 They had at first resented sorely their deportation and 
 enforced residence in a strange land (Psa. 137), but many 
 had later accepted the advice of Jeremiah (29. 6), and some 
 had made so complete a change as to have become to alj 
 practical purposes Babylonians, and had even lost their 
 ancient and far superior faith (see verse 2), and from all 
 the things which could never satisfy the soul the prophet 
 calls them back, in words of tenderness, yet of power and 
 eloquence. 
 
 55. I. wine and milk. God will give his people material 
 prosperity, typified by these two constituents of daily 
 food in Israel, but symbolical also of spiritual food. 
 
 2. not bread. Let these exiles not give themselves 
 over to luxuries in an alien land, but obey God's 
 call and enjoy his bounty at home. 
 
 fatness, the highest spiritual blessings. Contrast 
 Psa. 106. 15, "And he gave them their request; but 
 sent leanness into their souls." 
 
 3. everlasting covenant. The early covenant was 
 abrogated at the Exile; the new covenant will endure 
 forever. 
 
 David. Under the old covenant it was promised 
 that David's kingdom should never cease (2 Sam. 7. 
 
56 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 8-16; Psa. 18. 50), and this is to be realized under 
 the new covenant. 
 
 5. The heathen peoples are to be called, and shall 
 come in haste, to the redeemed Jerusalem to acknowl- 
 edge Jehovah as the true God. 
 
 6-13. A call to repentance and an assurance of 
 acceptance and of blessing. In verses 8, 9 God's 
 willingness to pardon is contrasted with man's little 
 faith that salvation could be possible, and in 10, 11 
 the thought is presented that God's Spirit is cease- 
 lessly operating upon the hearts of men, as rain 
 upon God's vegetable world. Out of the world of 
 exile (verse 12) Israel shall pour forth joyously, 
 and as in the old covenant a rainbow was the token, 
 so in this new covenant a blossoming desert shall be 
 the name and sign that God shall be ever with his 
 redeemed people. 
 
 8. my thoughts . . . your thoughts. The thoughts 
 here meant are Jehovah's purposes of redemption 
 which far surpass any that men would dare to hope 
 or think. Compare, *'I know the thoughts that I 
 think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, 
 and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope" 
 (Jer. 29. 11). 
 
 ID, II. God's redemption is embodied in a word, 
 which has an energy of its own, and its power is com- 
 pared with the beneficent operations of nature. 
 12, 13. This is the exodus from Babylon, and as a 
 memorial of it there is to be a wonderfully fertile 
 growth in the wilderness through which the returning 
 exiles pass. 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 57 
 
 tlTiiirb ^unba? litter (Cptplbanp 
 
 HosEA 11. 1—12. 6 
 
 [Alternative p. 177.] 
 
 Hose A began his public prophetic ministry about B. C. 
 746 in the northern kingdom. His married life was a cruel 
 tragedy narrated in chapters 1-3, but he rose above it, and 
 gave forth to his people a view of God tender, loving, gentle, 
 yet ethically high, that affords a most valuable [addition to 
 the attribute of justice and righteousness which formed the 
 body of the teaching of his elder contemporary, Amos. 
 The lesson of the day is characteristic of the book, and 
 is fittingly described by George Adam Smith's title to the 
 chapter, "The Fatherhood and Humanity of God." 
 
 II. I. my son. The son is Israel the people. In the 
 Gospel of Matthew (2. 15) it is applied to the child- 
 hood of Jesus. 
 
 2. The Hebrew text as translated in R. V., reads 
 thus: "As they called them, so they went from them.'* 
 This makes no sense, and I have boldly followed the 
 Septuagint, as G. A. Smith and others, and have sub- 
 stituted "and the more I called them, the farther 
 they went from me." 
 
 3. to walk. I have substituted "to walk," for the 
 R. V. "to go," as that is clearly what is meant. 
 
 healed. In the childhood of the race God healed 
 their diseases. 
 
 4. Here the figure changes to the heifer, whose kind 
 master eases its yoke when it is used as a draught 
 animal. 
 
 5. not return. So R. V. The negative spoils the sense. 
 
58 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 and I have followed the Septuagint and taken it 
 as "to hun," connecting it with the preceding verse. 
 
 to retixm, that is, to Jehovah. 
 6, 7. The text is certainly in disorder in verse 6 and 
 the versions do not help. Emendations have been 
 proposed, but I do not feel justified in introducing 
 them. In even worse case is verse 7, and the English 
 translations are deceiving. It seemed, therefore, 
 wisest to omit these two verses from public reading, 
 as they could not possibly convey any sense to the 
 hearer, and there is no jar when one passes directly 
 from 5 to 8. 
 
 8-1 1. The divine love will triumph over Israel's 
 faithlessness and bring them back, even though they 
 deserve to be destroyed, as were Admah and Zeboim, 
 cities of the plain (Deut. 29. 22, 23). 
 9. I will not come to destroy. This is an emendation 
 for the Hebrew "I will not enter into the city" — 
 which makes no sense. Verses 10 and 11 are prob- 
 ably an addition. 
 
 12. This verse makes no satisfactory sense in either 
 A. V. or R. v., and I have followed the margin of 
 the latter with slight change partly suggested by the 
 Jewish version. The context shows clearly enough 
 that Judah also is rebuked and not approved, as the 
 ordinary translations suggest. 
 12. 3-6. Two episodes from Jacob's life are here used 
 for the spiritual edification of his descendants. 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 59 
 
 XI 
 
 Jf ourtj feunbap iKtter €piptanp 
 
 Amos 8 
 
 Amos was the first of the written prophets, and his mes- 
 sage was delivered in Bethel, one of the chief cities of the 
 northern kingdom, during the reign of Jeroboam II and 
 about B. C. 760. The victorious campaigns of the king 
 had restored to Israel's rule the valuable territory east of 
 the Jordan which had been lost to Hazael, king of Damas- 
 cus, during the reign of Jehu. This great success had pro- 
 duced effects of sure and dangerous tendency in the lives 
 of the people. A modest and quiet reliance upon God 
 had given way to a boastful assurance in their own prowess, 
 and the spiritual religion was much obscured by a confidence 
 in the power of sacrifices and offerings to blot out the guilt 
 of sin, and so open the way to their repetition. To these 
 people, thus minded, came Amos from the southern king- 
 dom to preach God's demand for righteousness of life as 
 the sole ground for the securing of his favor. The mes- 
 sage was most unwelcome, and as it found little willing 
 acceptance, the prophet thunders denunciation upon them, 
 and predicts the destruction of the kingdom. The little 
 book is amazingly rich in illustration, in deft turns of ex- 
 pression, in skillful adaptations of the message to objections 
 which were probably directly voiced by his hearers, and 
 in the variety of form in teaching. The lesson of to-day 
 comes from a passage containing a series of visions by 
 which the prophet enforces his conviction of the imminence 
 of a destructive divine judgment. It is a brilliant example 
 of the prophetic method of enforcing the immediate duty 
 of a reformation. 
 
60 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 1. summer fruit. The Hebrew word in sound suggests 
 the Hebrew word for "end." The end is coming soon, just 
 as the soft fruits of summer quickly decay. 
 
 2. pass by them — pardon them. It is too late for pardon 
 or mercy. Judgment is coming. 
 
 3. temple. There was a temple in Bethel, but it shall 
 no longer be a place of joyous praise, but a place of mourn- 
 ing for the numerous dead. It is the Assyrian invasion 
 which the prophet has in mind, for he foresaw that it was 
 sure to come, with silence, lit., "hush." There will be 
 too many dead to secure an honorable and ceremonious 
 burial. 
 
 4. swallow up — destroy the poor. 
 
 5. 6. The new moon, the first day of the month was ob- 
 served religiously and as a holiday with business suspended, 
 but the grasping merchants hated to lose the opportunity 
 of gain on that day and on the Sabbath. They would 
 keep up religion indeed, but were unwilling to give time 
 for its service. They would cheat their customers by 
 making an ephah measure smaller than it should — with 
 a false bottom perhaps — and then again by changing the 
 money balances by which the silver payments were weighed, 
 for there was then no coined money; and to these two frauds 
 there was added a third in the selling of the refuse of the 
 wheat probably mixed with the good. 
 
 7. God is a God of ethical righteousness, and he will 
 never forget these dishonest dealings. 
 
 8. The figure is that of an earthquake heaving up the 
 land. 
 
 9. Here the figure is of an eclipse, and it may have been 
 suggested to the prophet by the eclipse of June 15, B. C. 
 763, which would be visible at Jerusalem as a fairly large 
 partial eclipse (so Driver). 
 
 ID. sackcloth . . . baldness — both signs of mourning. 
 
 II, 12. When these dreadful events take place men will 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 61 
 
 be eager for some word of God which now is spurned and 
 despised, but there will be no divine message. 
 
 13. faint for thirst, that is, when the Assyrians begin a 
 siege and water is dij65cult or impossible to secure. 
 
 14. Men swear by that in which they believe. The 
 people of Israel were bidden to swear by Jehovah (Deut. 
 6. 13; 10. 20). There was a "calf" at Samaria and the 
 people who swore by that were swearing idolatrously, and 
 showing disrespect to Jehovah. At Dan also was a calf, 
 and the same applies there. The calf was really a bull 
 intended to represent Deity and worshiped originally as a 
 symbolic figure, as a visible object signifying Jehovah. The 
 practice was dangerous, and when the prophets spoke 
 against it they sneeringly called it a "calf." 
 
 the way of Beersheba. The expression is strange, and 
 the sense not quite certain. The most probable explana- 
 tion is that the oath was "by the road that ran to Beer- 
 sheba," which was a sacred place, as Mohammedans some- 
 times swear by the road to Mecca. 
 
62 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XII 
 Jf iftj) ^unbap lifter Cpipftanp 
 
 EZEKIEL 33. 1-20 
 
 The prophet Ezekiel was carried into captivity by Nebu- 
 chadrezzar in 597, and about 593 was called to be a prophet 
 among his eight thousand fellow exiles. His book offers 
 none of the critical problems, so trying to the investigator, 
 and at times so vexing to the ordinary reader, which con- 
 stantly arise in the book of Isaiah. The book as a whole 
 comes from Ezekiel's own hand. It can, nevertheless, hardly 
 be said that the book is popular among Christians generally 
 or even widely or generally read. This is, however, a 
 passage well known and deservedly popular. It is the 
 chapter of individual responsibility, and no prophet before 
 Ezekiel's day ever so clearly enunciated it. The doctrine 
 is, indeed, implicit or latent in many prophetic utterances, 
 and in other parts of the Old Testament. Here it rings 
 strong and clear and well deserves a public hearing. 
 
 4. upon his own head, individual responsibility. If the 
 watchman gives warning, he has done his duty. After 
 that whatever befalls the citizen he may blame no one but 
 himself. 
 
 7-9. As in the illustration of the watchman, so is it 
 with the prophet. If he give warning and the warning is 
 unheeded, his responsibility is fully absolved. 
 
 10. It is now necessary to remove from the people a false 
 impression. They feel that the sins of themselves and 
 their fathers had produced the terrible catastrophe of the 
 captivity, and that as this was so great, their sins must 
 be crushing in the eyes of God, and likely ultimately to 
 destroy them utterly. From this sense of still further 
 
FIFTH SU NDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 63 
 
 calamity the effort is made to arouse them by the beau- 
 tiful assurance from God given so tenderly in verse 11. 
 
 12. The past life does not determine the future. Right- 
 eousness will only deliver when maintained to the end, 
 wickedness cannot ultimately destroy if the sinner turn 
 from it. This does not mean that at the moment of judg- 
 ment whatever a man is then doing is the basis upon which 
 God judges. So to interpret the prophet's great message is 
 to do him a grievous injustice. The sins of the past do 
 have a continuing influence, and a sudden break with the 
 past is difficult, yet such is the power of God's grace that it 
 has often been achieved, and it is upon this great encourage- 
 ment that the prophet's mind is focused. He would hft 
 his people out of despondency into a great hope. 
 
 18-19. These verses summarize the whole argument. 
 They are worthy of its eloquence and importance, and the 
 whole passage should increase in us a reverence for the 
 prophet and a sense of his greatness. 
 
64 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XIII 
 
 ^ixtfi ^unbap lifter (£pip|janp 
 
 EzEKiEL 34. 1-16, 25-31 
 
 [Alternative p. 179.] 
 
 EzEKiEL is in Babylonia among the eight thousand 
 exiles, and his mind, traveling backward over the past 
 history of his people, meditates upon the ill treatment 
 which evil rulers have given them, and then moves for- 
 ward toward a better day to come under good rulers. He 
 describes his people under the allegory of a flock of sheep, 
 and the shepherds are the rulers. The passage is very 
 plain and needs little annotation. 
 34. 2. the shepherds, that is, the rulers. 
 
 the fat. The Septuagint translates "the milk." 
 In Hebrew the two words have the same consonants. 
 5. The allegory is a picture of Israel's history. Her 
 rulers have governed so ill that the people have 
 become a prey to other nations and are widely scat- 
 tered. Because of this failure to govern and pro- 
 tect the people, these governors are to be removed 
 (verse 10) and Jehovah himself will deliver the 
 people from their captors and bring them home to 
 their own land (verses 12-15). 
 25. covenant of peace, that is, a covenant which secures 
 peace, by which everything that might destroy the 
 peace is removed. 
 
 evil beasts is used figuratively for foes, or savage 
 and destructive men. The wilderness and the woods 
 signify the uncultivated and waste places where 
 there are no dwellings of men; even in such places 
 God's people, still under the figure of sheep, will be 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 65 
 
 safe. This peaceful situation is Messianic; not the 
 
 Messiah personally, but his age of peace is before 
 
 the prophet's mind. 
 
 26. showers of blessing, that is, showers that bring 
 
 blessing. 
 
 29. a plantation of renown, that is, a plantation 
 
 renowned for its fertility in the Messianic age. 
 
 famine. The land of Israel had often experienced 
 famine but this will be true no more. 
 31. The Hebrew text has "are men" after the word 
 pasture, which does not appear in the Septuagint 
 and seems clearly to be superfluous. 
 
66 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XIV 
 
 ^eptuage£(tma §^mtiap 
 
 Genesis 1. 1 — 2. 3 
 
 This lesson, in its present form, came into being during 
 the Exile in Babylonia and probably about B. C. 500. The 
 literary materials which underlie it are derived from Baby- 
 lonia, and it is now possible to compare and contrast this 
 passage with the Assyrian story of creation which had its 
 origin early in Babylonia, but took final form in the reign 
 of Ashurbanipal about B. C. 650. The immeasurable 
 superiority of this Genesis story springs at once to eye 
 and mind. The priestly writer whose high privilege it 
 was to write these verses has left far behind the polytheism 
 of the Babylonians, and the nature myths associated with 
 it, and taking only the literary materials in selective part 
 has used them as the vehicle for setting forth a knowledge 
 of God revealed to him and to his fellows. The scheme of 
 six days is found nowhere else and is probably of Hebrew 
 origin. It has no special significance and is but a frame 
 for the larger idea, and that idea is God. The writer is 
 not focusing attention upon the works of creation, but 
 upon God the Creator. The attempt to reconcile the simple 
 elements of this creation story with the elaborate theories, 
 hypotheses, and facts of modern science has led only to 
 peril to faith, and the consequences have sometimes been 
 disastrous to seriously minded persons whose faith was 
 uprooted while still tender and delicate. It should ever 
 be kept in mind that the value of the narrative lies in its 
 power to reveal God, not to make nature and her works 
 known. If we keep its purpose in mind, we shall find 
 God. If we attempt to reconcile its artless phrases with 
 the language of science, we shall lose God, and be ever 
 driven to new reconciliations as geology or biology makes 
 
SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY 67 
 
 progress. If we look upon the story as representative of 
 views current in the ancient world about earth and man, 
 and are quick to observe how the scriptural writer uses 
 these as vehicles to carry forward a lofty view of God, 
 we shall really come into the inner secret of Genesis. 
 
 1. I. created. The word does not necessarily mean 
 created out of nothing. In use it is, however, restricted 
 to God, and it is therefore syntactically sound to trans- 
 late it by the word "create," as it seems to point 
 forward toward the deeper views of God which later 
 and larger revelations were to bring forth. 
 
 3-5. The creation of light. Light and darkness 
 
 were to the Hebrews essences, and when light first 
 
 streamed forth it mingled with the darkness, and 
 
 God now divided the two. 
 
 6-8. The creation of the firmament, which is a solid 
 
 body whose purpose is to separate the waters of the 
 
 abyss into two portions, the one above the firmament, 
 
 and the other beneath, with a space between the two 
 
 for further works of creation. From the upper body 
 
 of water comes the rain, while from the lower body 
 
 the ocean streams forth (Job 38. 8-11). 
 
 9-13. This is the third day, and to it are ascribed 
 
 two works: first, the making of the dry land, by 
 
 draining off the waters into the sea, and, second, 
 
 the creation of vegetation. 
 
 14-19. The creation of the heavenly luminaries. 
 
 20-23. The creation of the animals of the water and 
 
 the birds of the air. 
 
 24-31. To the sixth day two works are assigned. 
 
 2. 1-3. The works of creation are finished and God rests. 
 So also must man at the end of every week. The 
 origin of the Sabbath is found in the divine act of 
 creation and not, as in Deuteronomy (5. 12-15), as 
 an act of mercy and good will to servants. 
 
68 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XV 
 
 Genesis 3 
 
 This lesson belongs to the writings of the Judaistic narra- 
 tor (J) and was probably composed about B. C. 850. It 
 gives in a symbolic form an account of man's temptation, 
 his fall from rectitude, the origin of sin and its insidious 
 advances, and in this early case its triumph. But the 
 writer goes on to teach that this which thus began was 
 to be an age-long struggle, that to every man and woman 
 temptation was sure to come, and that at last the victory 
 was to lodge with man and not with temptation (3. 15). 
 3. I. the serpent. Here only one of the animals which 
 were introduced to man. It has in the beginning 
 some sort of erect attitude, which it afterward loses. 
 In this passage it is not identified with the Evil One, 
 that idea being a later development in the Hebrew 
 religion and appearing first in the apocryphal Book 
 of Wisdom (2. 23f.) — In this passage the serpent 
 represents the power of temptation, of which it is the 
 symbol, or the expression, or the type. The serpent 
 here puts forward in an artful manner the advantages 
 of breaking the divine command, and even more art- 
 fully suggests that there is no real danger in doing it. 
 As revelation proceeds the devil represents the methods 
 and the powers which are here in the serpent's power, 
 until at length our Lord is manifested that he might 
 destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3. 8). There 
 is no dualism. God and the devil are not equal. 
 ^'Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the 
 world" (1 John 4. 4). 
 
SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY 
 
 2, 3. The woman corrects the serpent, and shows 
 her sense of the importance and preciseness of the 
 prohibition, which the serpent follows up (verses 4, 5), 
 by suggesting an unworthy motive on God's part, 
 and coupling with that a promise of great intellectual 
 gain. 
 
 7. After both had eaten they passed suddenly out of 
 innocence into knowledge, typifying the change in all 
 mankind from the innocence of childhood slowly 
 accomplished by the flight of time and not, as here, 
 at once. 
 
 8. voice, rather "sound." They heard the footsteps 
 of God. The representation is, of course, anthro- 
 pomorphic, and no other was or is possible without 
 the danger of slipping into pantheism. 
 
 cool; lit., the breeze, or wind of the day. After 
 the day's heat in Oriental countries comes the evening 
 breeze, and man may come out of his house. 
 12, 13. From the man and the woman confession is 
 compelled, as they were moral agents, but no such 
 demand is made of the serpent, as it was only an animal. 
 
 14. dust. The serpent is not to live by eating dust. 
 It crawls upon the ground, and may therefore be sup- 
 posed to swallow some dust as animals that live above 
 the ground do not. 
 
 15. This splendid verse has long been called the 
 Protevangelium, and so it is. We must not ask too 
 much of it, or read a whole system of Christian theol- 
 ogy into it, but neither should we strip it of all meaning. 
 
 bruise. The meaning is doubtful, but no better 
 translation has yet been suggested. The general sense 
 of the verse is clear, however dubious may be the 
 exact rendering of this word. 
 
 The verse holds out a hope of victory in the cease- 
 less antagonism between the moral nature of man 
 
70 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 and the power of temptation which the serpent repre- 
 sents, but victory is not definitely promised, but only 
 hinted in the very conditions of the contest. 
 i6. Woman's sentence is labor in childbearing, and the 
 domination, practiced, in the ancient Orient especially, 
 by men. It is not that her physical nature was to 
 be changed as a result of her sin. We must not force 
 modern physiological knowledge upon this ancient 
 writer. His interest was moral and religious, and he 
 is using his material accordingly. 
 
 17-19. The sentence upon man is not work, but the 
 laboriousness of his work. Man had to work before; 
 he will now work at a great disadvantage. 
 20. Eve, Hebrew Khawwdh, "life." She is so called 
 because all human life originates with her. 
 22-24. Man was created mortal. It is implied, though 
 not quite stated, that had he remained innocent, he 
 might have been permitted to eat of the tree of life 
 and become immortal. This cannot be granted a sin- 
 ful being, and he is therefore expelled from Paradise. 
 This is indeed a rich, fruitful, eloquent, and noble passage, 
 and well deserves a public reading, year after year in the 
 churches, and such an exposition of its significance as a 
 lecture or prayer meeting might afford. A sound under- 
 standing of its age and its simple symbolism should enhance 
 its value to every thoughtful man, and not strip it of any 
 religious power and moral value. 
 
QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY 71 
 
 XVI 
 
 (©umquasesstma ^unbap 
 
 Genesis 6. 5-8, 13-22; 7. 23, 24; 9. 8-17 
 
 The story of the Deluge belongs to mankind in a very 
 peculiar way. Some narrative of a flood, local or extended, 
 seems to be found almost everywhere. The origin of the 
 biblical account is traceable to the Babylonian flood legends 
 which had their origin in remote antiquity, and were founded 
 originally upon some great cataclysm of nature in the 
 Tigris-Euphrates valley. After many literary vicissitudes 
 the story reached us in a recension belonging to the library 
 of Ashurbanipal. How or when or in what stage it passed 
 to the Hebrews has been the subject of much speculation, 
 but without any sure result. The Hebrew Judaistic writer 
 (J) about B. C. 850 wrote its earliest form, and the book 
 of Genesis now preserves his narrative with portions de- 
 rived from the priestly story (P) written in Babylonia 
 probably about B. C. 500. The two strands have been 
 separated by modern investigation, and shown to be differ- 
 ent in many particulars. They both, however, have a 
 religious value immeasurably superior to their Babylonian 
 relatives. They are made the vehicle for lofty views of 
 God never attained by the peoples of the Tigris-Euphrates 
 valley. 
 6. 6. repented . . . grieved. These strong anthropopathic 
 expressions are necessary for man*s comprehension 
 of God as a person, not as a force or as a power. 
 
 13. is come before me, that is, is resolved upon. 
 
 14. ark: tebdhy an Egyptian word used only of Noah's 
 ark and of the ark in which Moses was hidden (Exod. 
 2. 3, 5). 
 
72 OLD TESTAINIENT LESSONS 
 
 gopher. Only found here, and of uncertain sig- 
 nification, perhaps cypress. 
 
 pitch, that is, bitumen, still used for the same 
 purpose in the Tigris-Euphrates valley. 
 15. The ark, as here described, would be about 450 
 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high (so Driver). 
 18. my covenant. This is the covenant which fol- 
 lowed in 9. 8-17. 
 
 9. 8. my covenant. It is not only with Noah, but 
 with all men and all animals. 
 
 12. token of the covenant. A covenant must have 
 some sign as a guarantee, and for this purpose God 
 appoints the rainbow. Whenever it appears man 
 shall know that God remembers and will keep his 
 covenant. 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 73 
 
 XVII 
 
 Jf irsit ^unbap in Hent 
 
 Jeremiah 8. 4-22; 9. 1 
 [Alternative p. 181.] 
 
 The lesson is taken from a part of Jeremiah's teaching 
 uttered early in the reign of Jehoiakim (B. C. 608-604) 
 and is devoted to a denunciation of Judah's disobedience 
 and sin. 
 
 8. 4. fall . . . not rise. When a man falls he rises again, 
 but Judah is unnatural; she falls but does not rise; 
 in other words, she continually persists in her evil way. 
 
 7. The instinct of the animals sets the time for their 
 appearance in the proper season. "What instinct is 
 for the beast, that religion is for man" (Cornill). 
 
 8. Israel now had the Law found in 621 in the reign 
 of Josiah, but already there were falsifications of it 
 or regulations which destroyed its value, or dimin- 
 ished men's reverence for it or use of it. This Law 
 book was our book of Deuteronomy, or its kernel, 
 chapters 12-26. 
 
 13. grapes . . . figs. The state of the people is pre- 
 sented under the figure of vines and trees which are 
 barren, producing no fruit. For an interesting and 
 beautiful parallel see Isa. 5. 1-7, and for a contrast 
 compare, "For he shall be as a tree planted by the 
 waters, and that spreadeth out his roots by the river, 
 and shall not fear when heat cometh, but his leaf 
 shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of 
 drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit" 
 (Jer. 17. 8). 
 
 and the things . . . from them. This whole clause 
 is in Hebrew expressed by three words, and the trans- 
 
74 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 lation of them is doubtful. Furthermore, they are 
 entirely omitted in the Septuagint and the Syriac 
 Hexaplar version, and these omissions give good 
 reason to suspect the Hebrew text. The Jewish 
 translation gives as the meaning, "And I gave them 
 that which they transgress." This is ingenious, gives 
 an interesting sense, but is doubtful. 
 14 and 15 are spoken by the people who are in dis- 
 tress and in flight from invaders. 
 
 water of gall. Gall is a plant, not yet identified, 
 possessing a bitter flavor. 
 
 16. Dan is the extreme northern part of the territory 
 of Israel, and from that quarter the enemy is heard 
 approaching. 
 
 17. adders. The particular kind of serpent here 
 meant is not known. 
 
 18. This is an expression of the prophet's grief over 
 his people. 
 
 19. He is carried forward in thought to the time 
 when the people shall be in exile. 
 
 20. This is quite likely a popular proverb. The har- 
 vest would be from April to June, while by "summer" 
 is meant the later period in which the fruits are gar- 
 nered. If the crops failed in harvest, there was still 
 a hope in the fruits. If both failed, famine was certain. 
 
 9. I. This verse really belongs to chapter 8. The di- 
 vision which assigns it to chapter 9 is unfortunate. It 
 expresses the prophet's deep sorrow at the sufferings of his 
 people. 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN LENT 75 
 
 XVIII 
 
 ^econti ^unbap in Hent 
 
 Genesis 22. 1-19 
 
 The narrative comes from the Elohistic or Ephraimistic 
 writer and was set down probably about B. C. 800 and 
 later incorporated in the Pentateuch. It has always been 
 deeply admired by all who have had any real interest in 
 literary or religious literature. Nothing else preserved 
 from this writer's work equals it in simplicity, restrained 
 emotion or the delicacy of handling a tragic situation. 
 The appreciation of the beauty and moving pathos of the 
 story is far more easy than its explanation. This is, however, 
 no place for the discussion of certain modern theories which 
 propose for it an setiological meaning as an explanation of 
 animal for human sacrifices. For our purpose we are quite 
 justified in taking it in its simple religious significance. 
 Here is a man, Abraham, surrounded by a society in which 
 child sacrifice was usual and ordinary. How easy it was, 
 under the taunts of neighbors, or in the secret of his own 
 meditation, for Abraham to conclude that his God also 
 demanded his best, his only son. On the very moment 
 of accomplishing this awful deed his hand is stayed, 
 and it is made clear to his intelligence that God's real de- 
 mand is the surrender of his will. He has made that sur- 
 render, and God's joy in him is expressed in a glorious 
 promise. 
 
 22. I. God did prove. The translation is a great im- 
 provement upon the Authorized Version which 
 translates "tempt." God does not "tempt" men 
 (see James 1. 13). He does try men to test their 
 faith and obedience. See, for example, 1 Cor. 10. 13; 
 Heb. 11. 17; 1 Pet. 1. 6, 7. 
 
76 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 and said unto him, perhaps in a dream. 
 
 2. Moriah. The site has never yet been satis- 
 factorily identified. 
 
 3. rose early. He would act at once. Had he 
 waited, courage might have failed him and disobedi- 
 ence triumphed. 
 
 4. afar off. The site was then upon a height visible 
 from a distance. After they had traveled two days, 
 on the "third" it was visible. They will have cov- 
 ered thirty or forty miles. 
 
 6. *'The boy carries the heavier load, the father the 
 more dangerous: knife and fire" (Gunkel). 
 
 7. This is the pathetic climax. The boy*s childish 
 curiosity, the father's grim determination. 
 
 8. God will provide. It is this which makes the 
 possible typical application to Christ. See how the 
 New Testament writers do it in John 1. 29, 36; 
 1 Pet. 1. 19; Rev. 5. 12. 
 
 14. "In the mount of the Lord it shall be provided." 
 The Hebrew text is diflScult and yields no sense 
 suited to the context, nor do the versions supply any 
 reasonable substitute. If we would be perfectly 
 honest with ourselves, we must admit this, and 
 failing any worthy conjectural emendation must 
 read the text as the R. V. has translated it. 
 18. be blessed; rather, "bless themselves," the idea 
 being that all successive generations shall look back 
 upon Abraham as blessedness incarnate, and when 
 they would wish a blessing upon any one would say, 
 "May God make thee like Abraham." 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT 77 
 
 XIX 
 
 tlTfitrb ^unbap tn Htnt 
 
 Genesis 37. 3-12, 17-35 
 
 This lesson introduces reader and hearer to the most 
 beloved, as well as the best known and most delightful of 
 Old Testament biographies. The story is of Joseph and 
 his unparalleled providential career. It is continued to 
 the end of the book (with exceptions in chapters 38 and 
 49. 1-28) and so simple, yet so thrilling is the story, and 
 so brilliantly and skillfully yet so restrainedly is it told 
 that one might well long for the pleasure of reading the 
 whole of it in public instead of this introductory passage 
 only, beautiful and instructive though it is. The story 
 of Joseph began to be written by the Judaistic writer (J) 
 about B. C. 850, and by the Ephraimistic (E) about 800, 
 and the two were woven into one perhaps during the reign 
 of Hezekiah when there would appear to have been con- 
 siderable literary activity. (Compare Prov. 25. 1.) 
 
 37. 3. coat of many colors; rather, a "tunic of palms 
 and soles," by which is meant a garment reaching 
 to the hands and feet. 
 
 4. loved him. The emphatic pronoun, loved him. 
 
 5. 9. The double dream is intended to indicate 
 the certainty of fulfillment. 
 
 12. in Shechem. There was good pasturage in the 
 plain east of Shechem, and better at Dothan, fifteen 
 miles further north. 
 
 25. from Gilead. The regular trade route from 
 Gilead still crosses the plain north of Dothan. 
 
 spicery, probably gum tragacanth; balm, a resinous 
 gum, probably the exudation of the mastic tree, and 
 specially associated with Gilead (Gen. 43. 11; Jer. 
 
78 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 8. 22); myrrh, that is, ladanum, the fragrant gum 
 of a species of cistus rose. These gums were highly 
 esteemed in Egypt for medicinal, liturgical, and 
 embalming purposes. 
 
 28. twenty pieces of silver. The price, about twelve 
 to thirteen dollars, was two thirds of that of an or- 
 dinary (adult) slave (Exod. 21. 32), but may have 
 been such as would be usual for a youth. Compare 
 Lev. 27. 5. 
 
 30. The child. The Hebrew word yeled would prop- 
 erly be used for a small boy, and is frequently so used 
 in the Bible. 
 
 33. an evU beast, Jacob draws at once the conclusion 
 which they desired. They had not spoken, but acted 
 a lie, and the old man was readily deceived. 
 35. the grave. The Hebrew is Sheoly the abode of 
 the dead, which corresponds to the Greek Hades, Acts 
 20. 27. Jacob here means not only that he shall die 
 mourning, but even enter mourning into Sheol. There 
 the son will meet the father and behold his grief. It 
 must be remembered that the Hebrew view of the 
 place of the dead was gloomy at the best. The glory 
 of heaven and its joys is a later idea, and in its full- 
 ness Christian. 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 79 
 
 XX 
 
 jf ourtift S>ttnliap in Hent 
 
 Exodus 3. 1-15 
 
 After Moses had slain an Egyptian who was oppressing 
 an Israelite, he had fled to the wilderness of Midian and 
 lived there, according to the priestly records, forty years, 
 which means simply a generation. When the divinely 
 providential plans for Israel's rescue from the intolerable 
 bondage in Egypt were mature, it was necessary to prepare 
 Moses for his great task, and in this passage we have the 
 story of his call to duty in behalf of God and men by an 
 immediate revelation of God to him. In its present form 
 it is composed of passages taken from the Judaistic writer 
 (J) about B. C. 850, and the Ephraimistic (E) about B. C. 
 800, and the resulting narrative belongs to the greatest 
 utterances of Holy Scripture. The dialogue is in the words 
 of men, "seen," "heard," "come down," for there is no 
 other way by which its lesson could be brought home to 
 men, but we shall do well to conceive of this great revela- 
 tion of God as having come, as others like it, to the inner 
 eye and ear, to the mind and heart of Moses as he com- 
 muned with God in lonely and silent abstraction from the 
 ordinary affairs of life. So interpreted it loses nothing of 
 reality; it is still actual, it describes a true contact between 
 the soul of a great man and his God. 
 
 3. I. back of the wilderness, that is, the western portion, 
 as distinguished from the eastern or front. The site 
 cannot be identified, but was probably somewhere in 
 the region of Sinai. The region is called Sinai by J, 
 and Horeb by E, and there is no sufficient reason yet 
 brought forward for doubtmg that the same place 
 is intended. 
 
80 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 Mountain of God, that is, a sacred mountain, a 
 mountain held to have been sacred long before the 
 days of Moses. Sinai is derived from Sin, the name 
 of the moon god in Babylonian. 
 
 2. angel of Jehovah. "The angel of Jehovah is a 
 temporary, but full, self-manifestation of Jehovah, a 
 manifestation usually, at any rate, in human form, 
 possessing no distinct and permanent personality, as 
 such, but speaking and spoken of, sometimes as Jehovah 
 himself (e. g., v. 4a here, comp. with v. 2; Gen. 16. 
 10, 13; 31. 11, 13; Jud. 6. 12, 14; 13. 21f.), and some- 
 times as distinct from him (e. g.. Gen. 16. 11; 19. 13, 
 21, 24; 21. 17; Nu. 22. 31)" (Driver). 
 
 flame of fire. This was a frequent form of divine 
 manifestation. 
 
 6. God of thy father. It was no new God whom Moses 
 was to introduce to Israel, but the same God who had 
 manifested himself to Abraham. 
 
 8. honey. The word includes, with the product of 
 the bee, also the widely used Oriental condiment now 
 called in Arabic dibs, which is made by boiling grape 
 juice into a dark brown and intensely sweet syrup. 
 
 Hittite, the name of a powerful and widely extended 
 people now known by the recovery of hundreds of 
 monuments, inscriptions, and inscribed tablets, and 
 represented by one of their branches in the northern 
 part of Canaan, and by still another in the neighbor- 
 hood of Hebron. 
 
 Amorite. Here probably a general designation of 
 the early inhabitants of the country when the Hebrews 
 entered it, and practically synonymous with Canaanite. 
 
 Perizzite. Not certainly identified as any particular 
 people. The word may perhaps come from perdzly 
 "country folk," and so mean not a tribe or clan, but 
 merely "peasantry." 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT 81 
 
 Jebusite, a minor tribe who held Jerusalem until 
 expelled by David. 
 
 II, 12. Moses feels himself unfitted to so great a 
 
 task, and is assured of the divine presence and support. 
 
 13-22. The second difficulty brought forward by Moses 
 
 is that he does not know God's name. 
 
 14. I am that I am, or, I will he that I will he. This 
 
 is intended as an interpretation of the divine name 
 
 Yahweh (Jehovah) which in its usual form is the third 
 
 person imperfect of a verb and means ^^he will he.'' 
 
 It is here put into the first person, as Jehovah is the 
 
 speaker. The meaning, then, is that Jehovah will he 
 
 to Moses and his people, what he will he, and that 
 
 signifies that his nature is too great and high then 
 
 to be completely described, but it will be gradually 
 
 unfolded as the people intrust themselves to him. 
 
 I am, or, better, / will he. 
 
 15. this is my name. This remaining part of the 
 
 verse, including the parallel clause, has, as Driver has 
 
 pointed out, almost a poetical tone, and indeed the 
 
 Hebrew phrase "to all generations" occurs elsewhere 
 
 only in a poetical passage. (Prov. 27. 24.) 
 
8^ OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XXI 
 
 Jf iftij ^unbap m Hent 
 
 Exodus 33. 7-23 
 
 The lesson is taken from the chapters 32-34, which are 
 given over to incidents connected with the episode of the 
 Golden Calf — ^the sacred bull image intended to represent 
 Jehovah — and this particular passage partly from the 
 Judaistic writer about B. C. 850, and the Ephraimistic 
 about B. C. 800. The connection between the mention 
 of the Tent of Meeting and the rest of the narrative is 
 not clear, but it has its own interest, and there is no sufficient 
 reason for separating it in this lesson from the impressive 
 and beautiful story of Moses' search for God's visible 
 presence. 
 
 33. 7. tent of meeting, that is, the tent where Moses 
 met God, and to which all who would seek God must 
 resort. 
 
 9. the pillar of cloud. The symbol of Jehovah's 
 presence. 
 
 10. worshiped — did obeisance; bowed themselves. 
 
 12. whom thou wilt send. It had been promised 
 that an angel should be sent (32. 34, 33. 2). The 
 question, then, would seem to mean, which angel 
 was to be chosen. 
 
 by name, that is, individually, to know by name 
 is to know intimately. 
 
 13. In spite of all the assurances already given him 
 Moses still longs for a deeper knowledge of God, 
 and further assurance that God's grace would be 
 with him to answer future prayers. 
 
 14. give thee rest, namely, in the promised land of 
 Canaan. 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY IN LENT 83 
 
 15. The meaning is that if God will not go with them, 
 they prefer to remain in the neighborhood of Sinai, 
 where was the mountain of God (Exod. 3. 1); com- 
 pare the phrase **brought you unto myself" (Exod. 
 19. 4); that is, to Jehovah's abiding place at Sinai. 
 
 18. Moses pleads for a further revelation of God, 
 show me thy glory^ that is, thy majesty. 
 
 19. goodness, goodliness or comeliness, the outward 
 expression of God*s perfection. 
 
 the name of the Lord. We may well compare 
 with this God's revelation of his name to Moses 
 (Exod. 3. 14). Here the name is further expounded. 
 Jehovah (Yahweh) is a God who knows how to be 
 gracious to whom he will be gracious, even though 
 men sin against him. 
 
 20. man shall not see me and live. This is a fre- 
 quently expressed idea in the Old Testament, that 
 no man could see God, certainly not in his full glory. 
 See Isa. 6. 5 and compare also Gen. 32. 30, Deut. 
 4. 33, Judg. 6. 22ff., and 13. 22. 
 
 23. my back. Not the face of God does Moses see, 
 but, as the Hebrew says literally, "my hinder parts." 
 Let us not be hasty to make this anthropomorphic. It 
 means really the "after glow" which Jehovah leaves 
 behind him, as a suggestion of what the full glory 
 must be. Gregory Naz. calls it "all the indications 
 of himself which He has left behind him." Compare 
 the beautiful passage Wisdom 13. 1-9, and the fine 
 phrase in Job 26. 14. 
 
84 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XXII 
 
 Zechariah 8. 14-23; 9. 9, 10 
 
 The prophet Zechariah was a contemporary of Haggai, 
 and his earliest work was an effort to induce the people 
 to rebuild the Temple, which had been destroyed by Nebu- 
 chadrezzar in B. C. 586. The earliest utterance of the 
 prophet is dated in November, B. C. 520 (Zech. 1. 1), and 
 the latest (7. 1) on December 4, 519. The first eight chap- 
 ters of the present book alone belong to this prophet, while 
 chapters 9-14 are to be ascribed to an unknown prophet 
 living in the Greek period and probably between B. C. 
 333 and 175. For this lesson a few verses are taken from 
 Zechariah to introduce the Messianic passage from the 
 Second Zechariah. 
 8. 14. As I thought to do evil. Zechariah is addressing 
 the returned exiles, and reminds them that God had 
 inflicted upon them that captivity as a punishment 
 for the sins of the nation, but that is now past and 
 they need fear no more if only they meet the moral 
 conditions which God imposes (verses 16, 17). 
 19. The fasts here mentioned are commemorative of 
 the terrible days of Jerusalem's sufferings at the hands 
 of the Chaldeans. The fourth month, ninth day, was 
 the day when Jerusalem's walls were breached, and 
 the Chaldeans entered the city after Zedekiah had 
 fled (2 Kings 25. 3-5; Jer. 52. 6-8). The fijth month, 
 tenth day, brought the destruction of the city, palace 
 and Temple by fire (Jer. 52. 12, 13). In the seventh 
 month Gedaliah was murdered (2 Kings 25. 23, 25; 
 Jer. 40. 5, 7; 41. 1, 2), and the tenth month, tenth day 
 
PALM SUNDAY 85 
 
 was the anniversary of the beginning of the siege of 
 Jerusalem, a year and a half earlier than the time 
 of the breaching of the walls (2 Kings 25. 1; Jer. 52. 4). 
 These were all anniversaries of sad events, but the 
 sting had been taken from them by the mercies of God 
 and the influences of time, and they were now to be 
 cheerful feasts. The dark days are forever past and 
 so great will be Judah's prosperity and joy that many 
 peoples and strong nations will come to seek the 
 favor of Jehovah, who hath wrought such marvels for 
 his people. 
 
 21. Let us go. The nations are urging one another 
 to make the pilgrimage to Judah. Compare Isa. 
 2. 3 and again in Mic. 4. 2. 
 
 Q-io. The Messianic king enters his capital triumph- 
 antly riding not as a warrior on a horse, but as a man 
 of peace upon an ass. See the New Testament use 
 of the passage in Matt. 21. 5; John 12. 15. The ful- 
 fillment is not temporal but spiritual, not a conqueror 
 of men by the arts of war, but the king of peace. 
 
OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XXIII 
 
 <§oob Jf ribap 
 
 Isaiah 52. 13—53. 12 
 
 This is the last and by far the greatest of the most in- 
 teresting and most impressive Servant passages. The 
 first is found in Lesson VII. In that the Servant is Israel, 
 and as the passages advance the Servant represents an 
 ideal Israel within the real Israel, and wavering hints of 
 a person rather than a people (49. 1-6; 50. 4-9) until at 
 last the whole scene changes and the Servant is before us 
 not only as a person but as a suffering person, whose pitiable 
 plight moves whole nations to do him homage, and kings 
 to be silent in his presence. Well and truly have apostles 
 and teachers ancient and modern fastened loving eyes 
 upon the passage, and seen in its dear words an adumbra- 
 tion of future words and deeds, even the "sufferings of 
 Christ, and the glory that should follow." No other pas- 
 sage in the Old Testament offers an anticipation so won- 
 derful. Who dares to read this in public without deep 
 emotion? — and upon Good Friday of all days. 
 
 52. 14. startle. "Sprinkle" is the ordinary translation, 
 but it cannot be justified by the Hebrew. See the 
 commentaries. 
 
 53. I, 2. Here the nations begin to speak, and at first 
 express surprise at the unbelief which has surrounded 
 the wonderful news of the Servant. The connection 
 of this with verse 2 is not quite clear, but one must 
 not expect of the prophet an order of thought logical 
 in western eyes but not so natural to Oriental think- 
 ing. In verse 2 the prophet comes at once to a 
 vivid description of the Servant as one who has 
 suffered so as to be marred in form and feature. 
 
GOOD FRIDAY 87 
 
 In this verse we see that the people shrank from him 
 because they thought that the divine wrath against 
 him personally had produced this result. They 
 thought he was a sinner, as Job's friends thought 
 he was, and therefore justly under the divine dis- 
 pleasure. 
 
 4-6. In these verses the people see the truth. The 
 Servant has not suffered for his sins but for theirs. 
 Here begins their own consciousness of sin. 
 
 Chastisement of our peace. Chastisement is pun- 
 ishment inflicted for moral ends, and here is meant 
 to be suflBcient to issue finally in peace. 
 
 8. by oppression, etc. The verse is extremely difl5- 
 cult and obscure. The words have become so familiar 
 by repetition that we do not usually stop to ask what 
 they really mean. As the meaning is so doubtful 
 in Hebrew, I have not dared to change the transla- 
 tion. Numerous suggestions have been made as to 
 the meaning, and perhaps the most probable, though 
 far from certain, is that "From oppression and judg- 
 ment he was taken away," that is, by death. 
 
 his life. This clause is also both difficult and 
 doubtful. It is here set down according to the Re- 
 vised margin because none of the numerous sugges- 
 tions for either emendation or amendment seem 
 soundly based. 
 
 9. With this verse the speaking of the nations comes 
 to an end, and verses 10-12 are the words of the 
 prophet in part speaking for himself, in part for 
 Jehovah. These concluding verses are obscure. The 
 texts of the Hebrew and of the Septuagint differ 
 largely and the difficulty which we experience is 
 therefore ancient. It is not likely that we shall 
 ever extract a precise exegesis of the words as they 
 now stand. We must content ourselves with an 
 
88 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 apprehension of the main thought, which seems to 
 be that the Servant will remove guilt and bring many 
 to righteousness. As his reward he shall live long, 
 and shall see his seed, that is, his spiritual children, 
 and for his undeserved sufferings and his mediatorial 
 work shall become a great potentate with the powers 
 of a royal and victorious conqueror. Then suddenly 
 there is a return, in the very last words to the spiritual 
 significance of the Servant's work as vicarious suffering. 
 12. a portion with the great. The Servant is to be 
 numbered with the great of earth, and in this it is im- 
 plied that political dominion is to come to him. 
 divide the spoil. It is the prerogative of the con- 
 queror to do this, and the Servant is therefore to be 
 a great conqueror, but the prophet takes care to 
 guard the spiritual character of the Servant by 
 adding at once that he is a conqueror by reason of 
 a religious preeminence obtained by the bearing of 
 the sins of a whole people. 
 It were quite impossible to overstate the greatness or to 
 praise overmuch the beauty and the profound religious 
 significance of the whole passage. He is indeed a poor 
 creature who can read it in public without deep emotion, 
 restrained by public dignity, yet possessing him within. 
 
EASTER DAY 89 
 
 XXIV 
 
 Casiter Bap 
 
 Exodus 12. 1-14 
 
 [Alternative p. 184.] 
 
 The passage comes from the hand of the priestly writer, 
 who composed it in Babylonia probably about B. C. 500. 
 It gives the priestly regulations for the Passover, instituted 
 in Egypt to protect the houses of the Israelites. It was 
 quite probably an ancient form of sacrifice among the 
 Semites and was simply adapted to new conditions and 
 fitted with a new significance. 
 
 12. 2. this month. It corresponds to March-April in 
 our calendar and in the early records was named 
 Abib, and in the later Nisan. It was the new begin- 
 ning of the new year, for the old Hebrew year began 
 in the autumn. 
 
 3. congregation. The priestly name for Israel organ- 
 ized as a church. 
 
 tenth day. There is no certainly known reason 
 for the choice of the tenth day for the ceremony, 
 but we may remind ourselves that the Day of the 
 Atonement fell on the tenth day of the seventh 
 month, and that the tenth day of the twelfth month 
 in Islam is the day of the great sacrifice at Mecca, 
 so some sanctity must have belonged to the day 
 among Semites. 
 
 lamb. The Hebrew word means either "lamb" or 
 "kid." 
 
 6. at even. The Hebrew means "between the two 
 evenings," which meant the interval between sunset 
 and darkness; that is, the first evening would be 
 
90 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 about a half hour after sunset, at the end of which, 
 under average conditions, the new moon would ap- 
 pear. The second evening would be the hour between 
 that and the coming of complete darkness. 
 
 8. unleavened bread, R. V. The Hebrew is plural, 
 and cakes would be a better rendering. The phrase 
 means a sort of biscuit which could be baked quickly 
 for an unexpected guest, which, if leavened, would 
 require much longer time to wait for the raising of 
 the dough. 
 
 9. not raw, lest blood be thus consumed, which was 
 forbidden (Lev. 7. 26). 
 
 roast. We do not certainly know why it was 
 forbidden to be boiled. There may be a survival of 
 some ancient custom in the prohibition. 
 
 10. Nothing must be left over, lest the sacred flesh 
 be profaned in some way. 
 
 13. pass over. The Hebrew word is pdsach, which 
 is cognate to pesach and Pesach is the word used 
 for this sacrifice, the Passover. It has come down 
 to us in the New Testament form Pascha, from 
 which we derive the adjective Paschal. 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 91 
 
 XXV 
 
 jfixit ^unbap ^fter taittv 
 
 Isaiah 52. 1-12 
 
 The lesson belongs to the Second Isaiah and follows most 
 beautifully and fitly upon the story of the Passover lesson 
 of Easter. Then the people of Israel was bidden to eat 
 the Passover *'in haste" (Exod. 12. 11) or, as the word may 
 better be translated, in trepidation (so Driver); but now 
 in the exodus from Babylon they were not "to go out in 
 haste." This is a passage of rare beauty and much be- 
 loved, for the Christian Church has taken over its beautiful 
 words and wrought them into the music of the Messianic 
 kingdom. 
 52. I. awake. Zion is to come out of the sleepy lethargy 
 of exile. 
 
 uncircumcised. This does not mean that no 
 uncircumcised shall enter the redeemed Jerusalem, 
 but only none as a conqueror. 
 
 3-6 are in prose, and probably inserted to take the 
 place of some verses that had been lost. 
 
 sold for nought. Jehovah sold his people into 
 exile for their sins. He received no money for them, 
 and so may now take them back without payment. 
 4. into Egypt. Thither had they gone as guests 
 (Gen. 45. 9-20). 
 
 without cause, that is, without any just case 
 against them. 
 
 7. The herald comes over the mountains with a 
 message of victory. Compare the use which the 
 apostle makes of the fine phrase. Rom. 10. 15. 
 
 Thy God reigneth. Once again is there a king in 
 Zion, and this time it is God himself. 
 
De OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 8. the voice . . . watchmen. Lit., "Hark! Thy watch- 
 men." 
 
 eye to eye ; that is, clearly. It does not mean that 
 God will be visible. 
 
 9. hath comforted . . . hath redeemed. This has not 
 yet come, but it is so certain that the prophet uses 
 perfect tenses. 
 
 11. thence, that is, presumably from Babylon, 
 vessels, the Temple vessels carried off from Jeru- 
 salem by Nebuchadrezzar. 
 
 12. not ... in haste. When the people left the bond- 
 age in Egypt it was in haste (Exod. 12. 11; Deut. 
 16. 3.), but there is to be now no haste, but in 
 glorious contrast the people are to march out in 
 triumph protected before and behind with the 
 presence of their God. 
 
 rear guard. R. V. reads the old word "rearward," 
 which is perhaps obsolete or obsolescent. The 
 Hebrew occm-s again in Num. 10. 25 and Josh. 6. 9, 13. 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 93 
 
 XXVI 
 
 ^econb ^unbap ^Cter Casiter 
 
 Exodus 16. 2-15 
 
 The lesson is taken from a passage written in its present 
 form for the greater part by a priestly writer (P) during the 
 Exile in Babylonia, with which there have been incorporated 
 a few verses from the Judaistic writer (J) about B. C. 850. 
 The whole has been welded into one by the compilers of 
 the Pentateuch. The passage is interesting in itself and not 
 without a lesson as to the Divine Providence in giving food 
 to men in his own way. 
 
 1 6. 3. by the flesh pots. Though they had suffered 
 much at the hands of their taskmasters, the bounty 
 of Egypt remains in remembrance. Compare Num- 
 bers 11. 5: "We remember the fish which we did 
 eat in Egypt for nought; the cucumbers, and the 
 melons, and the leeks, and the onions and the garlic." 
 5. prepare. Compare Numbers 11. 7, 8: "And the 
 manna was like coriander seed, and the appearance 
 thereof as the appearance of bdellium. The people 
 went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, 
 or beat it in mortars, and seethed it in pots, and 
 made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste 
 of fresh oil." 
 
 9-12. These verses have been at some time acci- 
 dentally displaced. They belong after verse 5, and 
 I have there placed them. The command given to 
 the people in verse 6-8 should follow the command 
 from God to deliver it. 
 
 10. the glory of Jehovah. Probably a great glow of 
 fire above the Tent of Meeting and though brilliant 
 in itself yet intended to shield from human eyes the 
 
94 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 greater glory of the Lord which no human eyes could 
 behold. 
 
 12. at even; lit., "between the two evenings"; that 
 is, the interval between sunset and darkness. See 
 the note on Exodus 12. 6, Lesson XXIV, p. 89. 
 
 13. the quails. A migratory bird which comes out 
 of Arabia in March and April and often in immense 
 numbers. They fly with the wind, and being weak 
 of wing alight at night; sometimes they even cover 
 the ground, and are easily captured by hand. 
 
 14. a thin flake. R. V., "small round thing," which 
 is without sound philological basis. See for another 
 description of manna the note on verse 5 above. 
 
 15. What is it? Hebrew mdn-huy intended as a 
 popular etymology for "manna," the real origin of 
 the word being still unknown. 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 95 
 
 XXVII 
 
 Deuteronomy 4. 1-20 
 [Alternative p. 186.] 
 
 The book of Deuteronomy was discovered in the reign 
 of Josiah king of Judah, during some Temple restorations 
 in the year B. C. 621. In its present form additions have 
 been made at the beginning and the end, and as Josiah 
 first saw it, and put its enactments into force, it probably 
 consisted of chapters 12-26. The influence of the book 
 was incalculable, for it not only transformed the kingdom 
 under Josiah but its spirit, and often its very ideas, are 
 traceable in several other books of Holy Scripture. The 
 period of its writing is uncertain and the hand that wrote 
 it is quite unknown, but its interpretation of God's will 
 as set down in the form of a rereading and rewriting of the 
 work of Moses lives forever. This lesson belongs to the 
 second part of the first discourse of Moses, and is an ex- 
 hortation to Israel to cherish her glorious advantages and 
 privileges in the possession of a God so glorious, and a law 
 so excellent, and not to run any risk of losing a spiritual 
 apprehension of God by drifting back into idolatries like 
 her neighbors. 
 4. 2. Ye shall not add. It is important that the law 
 
 be not weakened by superfluous expansions, or by 
 
 accommodations to the whims of the moment. 
 
 3. Baal-peor. The historic episode is recoimted in 
 
 Num. 25. 1-5. 
 
 6. Israel's observance of God's law will bring her 
 
 honorable repute among the people with whom she is 
 
 to live in Canaan. 
 
96 OT.D TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 7. gods. The Hebrew may mean either god or gods, 
 but the latter seems preferable here. R. V. has ''a 
 god." 
 
 8. so righteous. Israel's laws are righteous, that is, 
 they conform to all the requirements of ideal right 
 and justice. 
 
 9. thy heart. In Hebrew psychology the "heart" is 
 the seat of intellect, not of emotion, as with us. Here, 
 then, memory is implied; the law must be kept in 
 mind. 
 
 12. ye saw no fonn. There was no material shape 
 or substance before them, and therefore there should 
 be no temptation to them to make any material repre- 
 sentation of Deity (see verses 15-18). 
 
 13. ten commandments. Lit., **ten words," that is, 
 the Decalogue. 
 
 15-19. Israel is warned not to make any image to 
 revcn^ncc or worship it as divine. The prohibition is 
 sweeping, and no exception is made. 
 
 18. water under the earth. This means the subter- 
 ranean dc(^]) of wjitcrs which was believed to be the 
 source of all springs, and hence of all streams. 
 
 19. The worship of the heavenly bodies might pre- 
 sumably tempt an Israelite, especially as neighboring 
 peoples did practice it extensively. In their case 
 it was by a Divine Providence, for God had "dividedy*^ 
 or, rather, allotted it to them. But this worship is 
 not permitted to Israel, for God has specially chosen 
 her for his own inheritance (verse 20). 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 07 
 
 XXVIII 
 Jf ourtd g)unbap i^iftcr Carter 
 
 Deuteronomy 6. 4-25 
 
 A SIMPLE general statement about the book of Deu- 
 teronomy as a whole may be read at the beginning of the 
 notes on Lesson XXVII. This lesson belongs to the Second 
 Discourse, which fills chapters 5 to 11. 
 
 6. 4-9. This section, beginning with the word "hear" in 
 the English Version, is the Creed of Judaism, filling a place 
 in that great modern faith similar to the position of the 
 Apostles' Creed among many Christian churches. Its 
 initial word in Hebrew is Shema* (that is, "hear") and is 
 the first bit of Scripture taught to Jewish children along 
 with Deut. 11. 13-21 and Num. 15. 37-41. The latter two 
 are great and beautiful indeed, but the Shema'' is far above 
 them, for it declares the Divine Unity in fullness, and the 
 old Zohar says, "When men in prayer declare the Unity 
 of the Holy Name in love and reverence, the walls of earth's 
 darkness are cleft in twain, and the Face of the Heavenly 
 King is revealed, lighting up the universe." 
 
 6. 4. one Lord. This denotes both the unity and the 
 uniqueness of Jehovah. He is the only God, and he 
 is also one Lord. 
 
 5. love the Lord. Enjoined only in Deuteronomy and 
 in the books influenced by it, and in our Lord's words 
 the first of all the commandments (Mark 12. 29f.). 
 
 6. upon thine heart, that is, commit them to memory. 
 
 7. teach them diligently. Lit., "prick in," "whet," 
 "sharpen," that is, make incisive. 
 
 8. bind them. Interpreted literally by the Jews, who 
 wrote the passage (4-9) upon tiny parchment rolls, 
 
98 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 which were then inclosed in metal cases, and worn by 
 them on brow and arm at morning prayer. 
 9. door posts. The Jews wrote the Shema also on 
 parchment and inclosed it in a tiny wooden or metal 
 box called Mezuzah, and affixed it to the right hand 
 door post, and every pious Jew touches it or salutes 
 it on entering, reciting at the same time the words, 
 *'The Lord shall keep thy going out and thy coming in, 
 from this time forth and forever more" (Psa. 121. 8). 
 There is no real reason for supposing that the book of 
 Deuteronomy intended this other than metaphorically, 
 as also verse 8. 
 
 10-15. When Israel enjoys material blessings in her 
 land she must not forget Jehovah and worship other 
 gods. 
 
 13. swear by his name. A man swears, in substan- 
 tiation of his word, by that in which he believes. It 
 was, therefore, important that Jews should make 
 oath only by Jehovah. 
 
 16. Massah, that is, proving. See Exod. 17. 2, 7. 
 20-25. The children of every generation are to be 
 taught the Law, and its meaning and its historical 
 background. The law of God was given in human 
 history and is not understandable save in that his- 
 torical environment. 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 99 
 
 XXIX 
 
 if tftf) ^vrnha^ ^ittt €asittt 
 
 Deuteronomy 8. 2-20 
 
 For observations upon the book of Deuteronomy as a 
 whole see Lesson XXVII, p. 95. This present lesson be- 
 longs to the central portion of the book, which contains 
 the exposition of the Mosaic Law. In it Israel is bidden to 
 remember God*s providential guidance in the wilderness, 
 and knowing from this how dependent she has been upon 
 God's bounty be ever mindful to keep his commandments 
 in gratitude. 
 
 8. 2. forty years, that is, the period of a generation ac- 
 cording to Hebrew reckoning. 
 
 3. manna. Lit., "What is it?" according to a popular 
 etymology. It was probably the exudation from the 
 trimk and branches of the tarfa, a species of the 
 tamarisk. The lesson which they were intended to 
 learn was that they were entirely dependent upon God 
 who could satisfy the needs of their bodies by other 
 than the normal means. Our Lord makes a spiritual 
 application and contrast in Matt. 4. 4. 
 
 4. bUster. R. V., "swell." 
 
 5. disciplineth. R. V., "chasteneth." 
 
 7. The description of the Palestinian landscape is very 
 attractive. It is really contrasted with Egypt, where 
 there are no brooks or wells like Palestine but only 
 the great Nile as a soiu'ce of irrigation. 
 
 depths. The great deep which was supposed to 
 exist imder the earth, and to supply water to the springs 
 and streams. 
 
 8. The products of the land are enumerated with 
 wheat and barley first as the staple food of man. oil 
 
100 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 olives are the olive trees which have been grafted 
 and produce oil as distinct from the wild olive trees. 
 9. iron. Brought from the north, where the Assyrians 
 worked it in the Lebanon region. 
 
 brass here means copper, or bronze, its alloy with 
 tin, and not what we mean by brass, which is an 
 alloy with zinc. 
 
 14. out of the land of Egypt. Always do the biblical 
 writers keep in mind the providential beginning of 
 their people's history. 
 
 16. thy latter end, rather, "thy later years" is the 
 meaning. 
 
 18. Prosperity comes only from Jehovah. Man may 
 work, must work, indeed — but it is God that gives 
 the increase, and Israel must keep this fundamental 
 fact in mind. Compare Psa. 127. 
 
 19, 20. The Lord is expelling peoples before Israel, 
 because they had failed to meet the conditions of a 
 continued existence. If Israel fails also by yielding 
 to the temptations of Canaanite worship, with all its 
 incitements to deeds of lust, then Israel also shall go to 
 a sure doom. (Compare Deut. 4. 25f. and 6. 14f.) 
 
SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY 101 
 
 XXX 
 
 ^unbap ^fter ^sittmion Bap 
 
 Deuteronomy 30 
 
 For observations upon the book of Deuteronomy as a 
 whole, see Lesson XXVII, p. 95. The present lesson be- 
 longs to Moses's third discourse, which fills 29. 1 — 30. 20. 
 In chapter 28 God threatens to abandon his people, if his 
 law be not kept, "And the Lord shall scatter thee among 
 all peoples, from one end of the earth even unto the other 
 end of the earth" (verse 64) and the threat is continued 
 in verses 65-68 in a rising tide of threatening invective. 
 From this threatened exile the beautiful chapter now be- 
 fore us gives the conditions of return. 
 
 30. I. which I have set before thee, that is, offered as 
 a choice. 
 
 3. change thy fortune. R. V., "turn thy captivity," 
 compare, however, Amos 9. 14, Hos. 6. 11, etc. (so 
 Driver and G. A. Smith, who translate "turn thy 
 fortune," both following Ewald). 
 
 4. uttermost parts of heaven; that is, the remote 
 ends of earth on which the vault of heaven was 
 supposed to rest. 
 
 6. circumcise thy heart; that is, sharpen the spiritual 
 
 perceptions. The thought is a Messianic one (so 
 
 Dillmann); compare Jer. 31. 33, 32. 39f., Ezek. 11. 19 
 
 (Driver). 
 
 11-20. The commandments thus to be followed are 
 
 not too hard. The verses 11-14, however, do not 
 
 naturally follow upon verse 10, and are but loosely 
 
 connected at the best. 
 
 12, 13. These verses were sometimes quoted by 
 
 ancient Rabbis to prove the finality of the law. No 
 
102 OLD TESTAIVIENT LESSONS 
 
 second Moses was needed to bring new laws out of 
 Heaven, for there were no more laws there. This was 
 the type of reasoning which caused the rejection of 
 our Lord as a Messiah when he appeared among 
 men. No room could be made for his teaching. 
 14. very nigh. Prophets and teachers and the dis- 
 courses of Deuteronomy have brought it very near. 
 There can be no excuse of ignorance concerning it. 
 16. The ordinary text, which is translated in R. V., 
 makes no satisfactory sense. I have, therefore, re- 
 stored clauses which the Septuagint has preserved. 
 The imperfection of the Hebrew text is concealed 
 from the reader by a mistranslation of one word. 
 The restoration of the Septuagint text is supported 
 by Dillmann, Oettli, Marti, Driver, and G. A. Smith. 
 The whole then reads, ["If thou shalt hearken to the 
 commandment of Jehovah thy God] which I com- 
 mand thee this day, to love Jehovah thy God, to 
 walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments 
 and his judgments, then thou shalt live and multiply, 
 and Jehovah thy God shall bless thee." The part 
 inserted is here placed in brackets. 
 19, 20. Heaven and earth are called as witnesses 
 that Israel has been fully informed of the choice. 
 So also in 4. 26. 
 
WHITSUNDAY 103 
 
 XXXI 
 
 1^i)tt£(unbap 
 
 Joel 2. 21-32 
 [Alternative p. 188.] 
 
 Nothing is known of the prophet Joel beyond what may 
 be gathered from the contents of his little book. His 
 father's name is given as Pethuel, but the time when the 
 prophet lived was evidently not known when the brief su- 
 perscription to the book was written. He quite possibly 
 lived and worked about B. C. 500, which would make him a 
 later contemporary of Haggai and of Zechariah, but he may 
 well belong to a century later. The matter is interesting, 
 but quite unimportant so far as an intelligent use of his 
 little book is concerned. The occasion of his book is per- 
 fectly clear. There had been a frightful and destructive 
 visit of locusts, accompanied probably by a drought, which 
 had desolated the land and almost extinguished hope. 
 Joel takes the occasion as a call to repentance and a new 
 life, and having enforced this with every insistence turns 
 then, after receiving assurance of a compliance with his 
 admonitions, to declare God reconciled with his erring but 
 repentant people and promises to them material succor 
 and a glorious spiritual uplift. 
 
 2. 21. land. Lit., "ground," which had suffered so 
 severely from locusts and drought. 
 
 hath done. The prophetic past. It describes what 
 Jehovah will do. 
 
 22. The animals that have suffered for food need 
 fear no more, for pasture and fruit trees shall spring 
 forth again. 
 
 23. former rain, that is, the rain of October and No- 
 
104 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 vember, the latter rain, the rain of March-April, 
 the rain, that is, the winter rain. 
 
 25. The verse contains a series of words for the locust. 
 We have no such set of synonyms, though we do know 
 the literal meanings of the different words. Driver 
 thus translates them: locust-swarmer, cankerworm- 
 lapper, caterpillar-finisher, and palmerworm-shearer. 
 28-32. After these material blessings Jehovah will 
 give as great a measure of spiritual gifts. 
 28. my spirit. As the spirit in man gives him life, 
 and imparts power and activity to the "flesh," so the 
 Spirit of God is his "conscious vital force," which, 
 proceeding from him, gives life to all beings, man 
 and animal also. From this gift proceed in man 
 quickened intellectual faculties, extraordinary gifts of 
 mind and thought, and above these every spiritual 
 faculty. 
 
 shall prophesy. The prophetic gift comes from 
 the bestowal of God*s gift. Joel foresees in its abundant 
 outpouring the coming of the day when the hope of 
 Moses (Numbers 11. 29) shall be fulfilled. To prophesy 
 does not mean merely to predict future events, but 
 far more to instruct in religious and moral truth. 
 The words from verse 28 to verse 32 (delivered) are 
 quoted by Peter (Acts 2. 17-21) as applied to the outpour- 
 ing of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, but they are 
 further a prophecy of an entire dispensation of the gift of 
 the Spirit and their meaning is not exhausted by the Pente- 
 cost of the early days of the apostles. 
 
TRINITY SUNDAY 105 
 
 XXXII 
 
 ^xinitp ^unbap 
 
 Isaiah 6. 1-13 
 
 Isaiah was called to be a prophet in the year that Uzziah, 
 king of Judah, died, which was probably the year B. C. 740. 
 This lesson describes the spiritual experience by which he 
 was inducted into his office. The manner in which he has 
 dated it intimates that the writing took place at least some 
 time after the call, though there is not the slightest reason 
 for any presumption that he may have made any addition 
 to the content of this great event when he wrote it down. 
 The call came to him amid throngs of worshipers in the 
 Temple. There he passed into a sort of trance and in a 
 vision saw sights of grandeur, splendor, and awful sim- 
 plicity, while the eyes of those about him saw only the 
 physical objects to which earthly eyes were accustomed. 
 Though necessarily described in terms of seeing and of 
 hearing, it was only to the inner eye and the inner ear 
 that these sights and sounds were manifest. Yet it is an 
 actual experience that is here recorded. It made Isaiah 
 a new man, reconciled to God and commissioned to his 
 service, and in his whole career he never doubted it. Hence- 
 forth he spoke with authority, and men recognized it. 
 6. I. I saw the Lord; not, indeed, his face, but only the 
 great presence, upon a throne which was high and 
 lifted up, and upon the skirts of his great train the 
 eyes of the prophet rested. 
 
 2. seraphim. Beings mentioned nowhere else in Scrip- 
 ture, and to be conceived probably as of human form. 
 
 3. Holy. The word thrice repeated represents an 
 emphasis upon the supreme attribute of God. The 
 word "holy" in the Old Testament has the root idea 
 
106 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 of separateness, set-apartness, and as here applied 
 to God indicates his complete separation from all the 
 influences which tend to defile man. From what 
 follows we see that Isaiah thought ethical righteous- 
 ness to be a great part of this separateness, and in 
 his contemplation of the Divine Presence was led at 
 once to think of himself as a sinful man. 
 
 4. smoke. A symbol of the divine anger against sin. 
 
 5. a man of unclean lips. Neither is the prophet fit 
 to speak for God, nor are the people fit to pronounce 
 the divine name in praise. In the prophet's case his 
 whole sinful nature seems expressed in these sinful 
 lips, and the hot coal from the altar is needed to purify. 
 As soon as he is purged, there comes at once the call 
 to service. 
 
 9-12. Now comes the saddening word that though the 
 prophet is fitted for his declaring of the divine mes- 
 sage, the people are not fitted to hear it and under- 
 stand it, and accept it and be healed. The prophet 
 is sent to a task in which the outlook is not for success 
 but for failure. 
 
 13. A most diflScult verse. The last clause — "the holy 
 seed is the stock thereof" is not in the Septuagint and 
 is probably not genuine. If we leave that out, what 
 remains is no less diflScult, but rather more so. The 
 meaning would then be the utter destruction of the 
 people. But this is certainly not Isaiah's doctrine. 
 He believed, rather, in the saving and saved remnant, 
 as his son's name indicates, Shear-jashub (7. 3), which 
 means, "a remnant shall turn"; that is, turn from sin 
 to God, and hence be saved as a God-fearing people. 
 This seems to compel us so to interpret what remains 
 as implying that though the trees be felled, the stock 
 remains, and from it one should hope that the life 
 of the nation would spring again. 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 107 
 
 XXXIII 
 
 jFivsit ^unbap ^fter Zxinitp 
 
 Joshua 1. 1-17 
 
 The book of Deuteronomy is a sermon, most beautiful, 
 most moving, and still most instructive. The book of 
 Joshua is a little volume of illustrations of the principles 
 of Deuteronomy worked out in the life of the nation. Its 
 chief hero is Joshua, first the servant or minister of Moses 
 and then his successor as the people's leader, but the chief 
 historical interest is in Judah, and there the book must 
 have been written. The book was not written by one hand, 
 but grew as time demanded and opportunity offered. The 
 men who put it together had earlier writings before them, 
 and we can see that they utilized narratives of Judaistic 
 and Ephraimistic writers whose work is found in the Penta- 
 teuch to form an instructive book for religious teaching, 
 and in the spirit of Deuteronomy. With this were later 
 combined the records which Priestly writers had preserved 
 and written down during the Exile. The fine passage 
 here used as a lesson contains no priestly material, but 
 only Judaistic and Ephraimistic material with phrases 
 which show the hand of a writer who lived in the spirit 
 of Deuteronomy and loved it. 
 
 I. 4. With this verse compare Deut. 11. 24 which is 
 there the word of Moses, and here the word of Jehovah, 
 the land of the Hittites, a phrase often used by the 
 Assyrian kings as more or less synonymous with the 
 land of the Amorites for Syria and Palestine. Among 
 Hebrew writers the land of the Amorites, or the land 
 of the Canaanites, is the phrase for the Promised 
 Land. Here the land of the Hittites is practically 
 synonymous with these. 
 
108 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 Sea of the going down of the siin. That is, the Mediter- 
 ranean Sea. 
 
 10. officers. The Hebrew word shoterim is used in 
 various senses, but in this passage would appear to 
 signify the army officers who pass down orders through 
 the ranks. 
 
 12. Reubenites . . . Gadites . . . Manasseh. These were 
 already settled east of Jordan, and Joshua is remind- 
 ing them that it is their duty to help their brethren 
 in conquering the territory west of the river, which 
 proved to be a far harder task in the issue. In verse 
 16 we have recorded their promise to give aid. 
 The great and echoing words of this chapter are Be 
 strong and of good courage. There are no promises made 
 to cowards, cravens, or shirkers, nor was the future to be 
 safe in their hands. 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 109 
 
 XXXIV 
 
 Judges 4. 1-16, 23 
 
 The book of Judges, like Joshua, is a compilation of 
 historical materials derived from the ancient writers, Juda- 
 istic and Ephraimistic, whose work is so extensively recog- 
 nized in the Pentateuch. This was utilized for pragmatic 
 or didactic purposes by an editor or editors who seem to 
 have been influenced not so much by Deuteronomy as 
 scholars generally have supposed, but, as Burney has argued, 
 by an earlier disciple of E, who laid the structure of the 
 book as early as B. C. 650. To this were later affixed the 
 brief introduction (1. 1 — %. 5), the appendices 18-21, the 
 stories of the minor Judges, and a few other pieces. For 
 the present purpose the main consideration should be not 
 the origin but the present character and value of the book. 
 It is passing strange to see how little popularity the book 
 enjoys among ordinary Christian readers. It is most 
 highly valued by scholars who appreciate its enormous 
 historical value. It is crowded with romantic incidents, 
 it has in rich measure the quality of reality, and one reads 
 its glowing pages with a feeling of the presence of its actors, 
 living and moving before the eye of imagination. The 
 lesson here given should be read in public after the reader 
 has himself read repeatedly the splendid contemporary 
 poem in Judges 5. That will fire the blood and quicken 
 the pulses and then one might read this far tamer prose 
 passage as it should be read. 
 
 4. 2. Jabin king of Canaan. There were many kings in 
 Canaan, but to this passage Jabin appears as king 
 par excellence y as a sort of overlord. 
 
 Hazor (Josh. 19. 36). Probably the modern El- 
 
no OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 Hadireh, south-southwest of Kadesh and on the north- 
 ern side of the wady which runs into the lake of 
 Huleh (so Burney). 
 
 Sisera, quite probably a Hittite name. 
 
 Harosheth, probably now represented by el-Hari- 
 tiyeh on the northern bank of the Kishon. 
 
 3. twenty years, a general number signifying half a 
 generation. 
 
 4. Deborah. The name means "bee." 
 Lappidoth. The name means "torches." 
 
 was judging, that is, deciding cases between man and 
 man. But the time had now come for rousing men to 
 give up disputing about small matters and to fight 
 for liberation from the oppressor. 
 6. Barak. The name means "lightning." 
 
 deploy. R. V. reads "draw unto," but it is a 
 military term and means to extend a marching column 
 into a loose fighting line, to face an enemy. 
 
 Tabor. The fine mountain which rises conspicu- 
 ously to a height of thirteen hundred and twelve feet 
 above the plain. The line would be at the base with 
 the mountain glens to fall back on for guerrilla fight- 
 ing should defeat come on the plain. 
 
 Kishon. At Sisera's back would be the sluggish 
 waters of this little river, with some ugly quicksands 
 into which Barak might drive him. The Hebrew 
 position was admirably chosen. 
 
 8. K thou wilt go. As prophetess she would bring 
 not only her own courage and native wisdom but 
 also the sense of divine companionship and help. 
 
 9. Deborah warns Barak that he need not expect 
 glory; that is fated to fall not to Deborah indeed, but 
 to another woman, Jael. 
 
 II. father-in-law. R. V. translates "brother-in-law," 
 but without warrant. 
 
SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 111 
 
 15. Sisera fled to meet his death by assassination at 
 the hands of Jael. Israel's writer thinks not, as we 
 do, of the work of an assassin. The world has traveled 
 far since that day, and we have no need to judge 
 Israel save by the standards of her own time. Even 
 without JaeFs share, it was a glorious victory and 
 gave Israel a breathing space in which to carry on the 
 work of civilization, and the writer had good cause 
 to ascribe this good result to God (verse 23). 
 
 16. The rout of Sisera's army was accompUshed 
 through a combination of circumstances, each natural 
 in itself, and all providentially working toward this one 
 end. It was natural that the army should endeavor 
 to reach the stronghold of Harosheth, and the storm had 
 so swelled the current of Kishon as to fill the narrow 
 pass which led to their objective. The hills of Samaria 
 were on their left, and on their right a stream now 
 become a torrent, and behind them Barak's victorious 
 men. See the descriptions in Thomson's Land and 
 Book, p. 436, and compare Ewing in Hastings' Bible 
 Dictionary, vol. iii, p. 5. 
 
112 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XXXV 
 
 1 Samuel 1. 1-5, 9-28 
 
 Here begins the story of Samuel's life, and the portion 
 here chosen belonged originally to a separate book to what 
 we should call a biography of him. It is a continuation of 
 the work of the Ephraimistic writer (E) about B. C. 800, 
 to whom we owe so much in the Pentateuch. There need 
 be no doubt of the greatness of Samuel or any question 
 of the importance of his contribution to the life and history 
 of his people. We may well be glad that the compilers of 
 the books of Samuel preserved this narrative of his birth 
 and youthful days. 
 
 I. 2. two wives. A well-to-do citizen with two wives 
 was not uncommon in the early days. 
 
 Hannah means "grace," and Peninnah perhaps 
 "coral." 
 
 3. Lord of hosts. This title occurs eleven times in 
 Samuel, and is frequent in the prophets. Its original 
 meaning was Lord of the armies of Israel, but in times 
 more peaceful came to signify Lord of the hosts of 
 heaven; that is, "of the stars," and still later "of the 
 angels." 
 
 Shiloh. The modern Seilun, almost ten miles 
 northeast of Beitin (Bethel). 
 
 5. one portion. R. V. translates "a double portion," 
 but the present Hebrew text scarcely allows it, and 
 a dispute as to the meaning of the Hebrew word thus 
 translated has long continued. The Septuagint has 
 another word, and I have used it and changed the 
 translation to accord. The general meaning would 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 113 
 
 then be that he gave several portions to Peninnah 
 because she had children. On the other hand Hannah 
 received only one portion, but the writer in order to 
 guard against the possible thought that one por- 
 tion only might make her seem to be less highly es- 
 teemed adds, "though he loved Hannah." 
 9. and stood before Jehovah. So the Septuagint — 
 which gives a far better sense. To stand before 
 Jehovah is to pray. 
 16. a wicked woman. Lit., a daughter of Belial. 
 
 20. Samuel. The name probably is etymologically 
 "Name of God"; in this passage there is a connection 
 suggested with the Hebrew "word shaal, "to ask." 
 This is an assonance, and not an etymology. Similar 
 instances are frequent in the Old Testament. 
 
 21. A full year has now elapsed. 
 
 23. until she had weaned him. Oriental mothers 
 nurse a child for fuU two years, and even a term of 
 five or six years is not unknown. 
 
 24. ephah, a full bushel. 
 
114 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XXXVI 
 
 Jf ourtl) ^unbap ^fter tKrinitp 
 
 1 Samuel 3. 1—4. 1 
 
 This story of the call of Samuel belongs to the same 
 
 historical document as the preceding (E). It needs no 
 
 praise, as one of the richest and most beautiful of the early 
 
 representations of an immediate communion with God. 
 
 3. I. the child. The Hebrew gives no indication of 
 
 Samuel's age at this time, for the word used is applied 
 
 to any age from that of a baby to a man of forty 
 
 years of age. 
 
 2. Eli was laid down. He slept in one of the chambers, 
 while Samuel apparently was in the room with the 
 ark itself. The whole arrangement is quite simple 
 and very different from the priestly pictures of the 
 elaborate order of the Tabernacle. 
 
 3. lamp . . . not yet gone out. The lamp evidently was 
 provided with oil sufficient only for the dark hours 
 of one night. 
 
 ID. The Lord came and stood. The statement is 
 very interesting as showing that the writer thought 
 in terms of a revelation both audible and visible, and 
 not as in a dream, as in Jacob's case. 
 12. from the beginning even unto the end. Lit., 
 "beginning and ending." 
 
 20. from Dan even to Beersheba. As Dan was in 
 the extreme north, by one of the sources of the Jordan, 
 and Beersheba in the farthest south, the phrase be- 
 came common as a definition of the extreme limits 
 of the land. 
 
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 115 
 
 XXXVII 
 Jf tftfj ^mhap ^fter Zxinitp 
 
 1 Samuel 17. 1-4, 8-11, 32-37, 40-54 
 
 The most popular of all the beautiful stories of the books 
 of Samuel is before us. It is unfortunately a portion of a 
 narrative whose critical problems in respect not only of 
 origin and authorship, but also of text are not only diffi- 
 cult but thus far to a considerable degree apparently in- 
 soluble. It is sufficient here to say that in the transmission 
 of the text the Septuagint, oldest of the versions, omits 
 no less than thirty verses out of the sixty-three in the entire 
 story — 17. 1 — 18. 5. Dogmatism were foolish in the face 
 of this problem, but I prefer the longer text. It is true 
 that I have here omitted portions, not found in the Septua- 
 gint, but this has been done only for practical purposes to 
 shorten a reading which even in its present curtailed form 
 is likely to be considered too long by most ministers. It 
 seems, however, impossible to shorten it more without 
 risk to its intelligibility when read in public. 
 
 17. I. Socoh. The modern Shuweikeh, about thirteen 
 miles down the narrow wady el Jindy from Bethle- 
 hem. At this point three wadies come together in 
 a plain about one quarter of a mile broad and this 
 was quite probably the scene of the conflict. 
 2. The Vale of Elah was probably the modern Wady 
 es Sunt, at whose entrance from the plain of Philistia 
 stands the modern Tell es-Safiyeh which is probably 
 the site of Gath, about eight miles west of Socoh. 
 4. six cubits and a span, that is, about nine feet six 
 inches (Kennedy). 
 8. The challenge is based on the idea that it would 
 
116 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 be foolish for armies to fight when the issue might 
 better be decided by single combat. 
 34. when there came. The idea is that such en- 
 counters with a lion or bear were of frequent occur- 
 rence. 
 
 40. Scrip. The Hebrew word is yalkut and is unique. 
 It probably meant the bag in which the slinger car- 
 ried his ammunition. 
 
 45. God of the armies of Israel. Observe how this 
 explains the phrase "Lord of hosts," and compare 
 note on 1 Sam. 1. 3, in Lesson XXXV. 
 
 46, 47. The verses have a ring of assurance. Je- 
 hovah has no need of such weapons or such armor 
 as Goliath. His power and his willingness are ready 
 to make David's weak preparations sufficient for 
 victory. The humble and the weak may take heart; 
 when God is with them it matters not who may be 
 against them. 
 
 52. Gath. The Hebrew text reads "Gai," but the 
 Septuagint has Gath, and this seems much more 
 likely, especially as Gath follows later in the verse. 
 Gath was about eight miles nearly due west, and 
 Ekron between fourteen and fifteen miles northwest 
 of the scene of conflict. 
 
 54. to Jerusalem. This is an anachronism, for at 
 this time Jerusalem was still in the hands of the 
 Jebusites, and was not conquered by the Hebrews 
 imtil David had reigned seven years in Hebron (2 
 Sam. 5. 6-10). 
 
 his armor. We hear later of Goliath's sword at 
 Nob (1 Sam. 21. 9). What a trophy that was! 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 117 
 
 XXXVIII 
 
 ^ixtjj ^unbap ^fter ^rinitp 
 
 2 Samuel 12. 1-23 
 
 The story of Nathan's rebuke of David, and of the king's 
 actions in the presence of an impending grief and of the 
 bereavement fully accomplished belong to the great sim- 
 plicities and the wonderful displays of frankness in Holy 
 Writ. No other literature of antiquity could speak in this 
 way of a king. The narrative belongs to the oldest por- 
 tion of the book, though it seems quite probable that verses 
 10-12 may be an addition intended more definitely to 
 point the moral and enforce it. The whole passage 2 Sam. 
 9-20 is a narrative written by some one who lived in the 
 period. The author may have been Ahimaaz, son of Zadok, 
 or perhaps a member of the family of Abiathar. It is the 
 greatest historical writing which has come out of the Ancient 
 Oriental world. 
 
 12. 3. one little ewe lamb. Such pet lambs are still 
 to be seen in Syrian households. 
 6. fourfold. The Septuagint reads "sevenfold," but 
 I do not venture to change, though it does seem more 
 probably correct. 
 
 8. thy master's wives. There is no hint elsewhere 
 that David received Saul's wives, but this would 
 accord with ancient usage. Compare 2 Sam. 16. 21f. 
 
 13. put away thy sin. It was not forgiven. It was 
 *'put away," so that it should not bring David down 
 to death; but the consequences were still to work 
 themselves out, and this was manifested in the death 
 of the child. 
 
 14. despised the I>ord. R. V., "hast given occasion 
 
118 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." But 
 the Hebrew word does not mean this. It is intensely 
 strong, "despised," "scorned," but the early editors 
 toned it down. 
 
 17. the elders, that is, the courtiers and higher 
 officers of the court. 
 
 20. the house of the Lord. The tent which David 
 had pitched for the ark (2 Sam. 6. 17). 
 23. David takes what consolation he may out of 
 the belief in a shadowy existence after death in 
 Sheol, "the house of the meeting for all living" (Job 
 30. 23 R. v., margin), as Jacob hoped to go to Joseph 
 (Gen. 37. 35). There was not much to hope for in 
 the Sheol as these early writers conceived it, but 
 to the heart of all normal human folk any continued 
 existence is better than extinction. The saddest 
 of all thoughts to the ancient Hebrews was that in 
 death all connection between the dead and God was 
 cut off. "In death there is no remembrance of thee: 
 in Sheol who shall give thee thanks?" (Psa. 6. 5.) 
 "For Sheol cannot praise thee, death cannot cel- 
 ebrate thee: they that go down to the pit cannot 
 hope for thy truth" (Isa. 38. 18). So long as man 
 was upon earth, in the land of the living, he might 
 commune with his Maker; when death had snatched 
 him away the fellowship was broken. See how great 
 was the advance of New Testament teaching over this. 
 
SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 119 
 
 XXXIX 
 
 2 Samuel 18. 1-15, 24-33 
 
 Here, again, in a vivid and interesting story we have 
 one of the oldest portions of the book, a part of the great 
 historical section in chapters 9-20. 
 
 i8. 5. To David, Absalom is still only a boy, and Davdd 
 loves him more than self, and more than all his loyal 
 soldiers, though Absalom had no filial piety in his 
 nature. 
 6. forest of Ephraim. The location is unknown to us. 
 
 8. forest devoured. The meaning is not quite cer- 
 tain, but would seem to be that the flight took place 
 over a rocky, jungle-clad surface, where clefts proved 
 traps unto death for panic-stricken men. 
 
 9. Absalom on the back of a mule was caught and 
 left suspended by the hair in a cleft of a low spreading 
 tree, while the mule rushed on. In that state he was 
 helpless in the face of any attack. 
 
 15. Joab*s stroke must have killed Absalom at once, 
 and the narrative in this verse seems to record un- 
 necessary acts, and the verse has therefore been 
 held an interpolation (so H. P. Smith). It may 
 be said, however, that history is well supplied with 
 instances of killing the dead after death in an excess 
 of fury. 
 
 24. between the two gates. The gate of an Oriental 
 city was a massive construction extending both out- 
 ward and inward beyond the city walls. It was 
 usually arched over within and had two gates, an 
 inner and an outer, between which were the stone 
 
no OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 benches occupied by the city magistrates. On one 
 of these sat David anxious for news. Above was a 
 battlemented tower on which stood the watchman. 
 26. upon the gate. I have followed the Lucian text 
 of the Septuagint, to secure a better reading. See 
 R. V. for the ordinary text. 
 
 28. drew nigh. The ordinary text reads "called," 
 but the Lucian Septuagint has the much preferable 
 reading, "drew nigh." The Hebrew words are much 
 alike and would be readily confused. 
 
 who hath delivered. It is a declaration of victory, 
 but conveys also a hint of Absalom's fate, w^hich the 
 king does not notice. 
 
 31. the Cushite. Anybody from the far southern 
 world would be vaguely called a Cushite, but a 
 Negro is quite probably here intended. He has the 
 courage to tell the king the whole truth about Ab- 
 salom's fate. 
 
 33. as he wept. R. V., "as he went." I have read 
 "wept," following the Septuagint Lucian. It is far 
 more probable than the ordinary text and also more 
 expressive. 
 
EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 121 
 
 XL 
 
 €tg(it!) ^unbap ^!tet tlxinitp 
 
 1 Chronicles 29. 1-20 
 
 The relations between God and man are too wide and 
 too deep to be compassed in the thought of any one man. 
 Every man who attempts to conceive the divine revelation 
 sees it necessarily after his own ways of thinking. The 
 prophets of the Old Testament present a view of God's 
 ways characteristic of their own thought, and it is well 
 that priests have done the same. In the biblical study of 
 recent years the emphasis has been largely placed upon the 
 prophetical books, and this was wise and just. It would, 
 however, be very unjust never to hear a priestly word out 
 of the great book of the priests — the books of Chronicles. 
 So it happens that the lesson of to-day comes out of these 
 books, which were in process of writing or compilation for 
 a series of years, probably concluded about B. C. 250, and 
 therefore quite the latest books, in point of date, in the 
 Old Testament. As historical sources they stand far be- 
 hind the books of Samuel and Kings, yet their heightened 
 color and rich adornment of the earlier and simpler story 
 have a value of their own, at least in revealing what devout 
 men thought of their ancient heroes in their later period. 
 Nor should we forget that they were far closer to the events 
 than we, and that they have a message to our age as to 
 their own. 
 
 29. I. the palace. This word for the Temple occurs 
 but twice, here and in verse 19. The most frequent 
 name for the Temple is simply "house" (Hebrew, 
 Bayith), but frequently also it is called by an ancient 
 Semitic and Sumerian word which means literally 
 "great house" (Hekal), 
 
m_ OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 2. onyx. Some would translate "beryl,*' but that is 
 equally uncertain. 
 
 3. mine own. David sets the example by giving of 
 his own private fortune. 
 
 4. Ophir, the Somali coast of Africa and the south- 
 western coast of Arabia. Others would say the 
 eastern coast of Arabia, on the Persian Gulf. The 
 location is doubtful. 
 
 5. to consecrate. Hebrew, literally, "to fill his 
 hand," that is, to fill one's hand with an office, hence 
 a technical term used for consecrating to the priest- 
 hood (compare Exod. 28. 41, 32. 29, Lev. 8. 33). 
 
 7. of gold five thousand talents. The amount is 
 enormous, for by the heavy standard this would 
 be about one hundred and fifty million dollars, or 
 by the light standard half that sum. 
 
 darics. A Persian gold coin worth a little over 
 five dollars. The amount seems so large that one 
 wonders whether the numbers have not been raised, 
 as we know they have in certain other cases. The 
 transmission of numbers is both difficult and tempting. 
 10-19. David's prayer. Perhaps a piece of some 
 ancient liturgy, and still reflected in some of the 
 older forms of the modern Jewish liturgy (so Oesterley). 
 
NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 123 
 
 XLI 
 
 ^tntf) ^unbap ^fter tlTttnttp 
 
 1 Kings 3. 4-15 
 
 This lesson, taken from the book of Kings, quite prob- 
 ably had its origin in the book of the Acts of Solomon, 
 which was an accomit of the chief events of his reign and 
 perhaps in annalist ic form. However that may be, it pre- 
 served a sparkling gem in this story. 
 
 3. 4. Gibeon, the modern el-Jib in the territory of Ben- 
 jamin and about six miles northwest of Jerusalem. 
 It was the "great high place,*' for it was near the 
 capital and was also centrally located. The word 
 "high-place'* signifies a sanctuary, usually on a hilltop, 
 which had been used by the Canaanites, and then 
 taken over by the Hebrews and consecrated to Jehovah, 
 thousand burnt offerings. Probably not to be taken 
 literally as a thousand; it meant more probably simply 
 a large or very large number. Compare hecatomb in 
 Greek. 
 
 7. little child. Not to be taken literally. It means 
 simply a child in kingly experience. 
 
 go out or come in. A proverbial expression for 
 everyday life. Life consists of going out to work 
 in the morning and coming in to rest in the evening. 
 9. understanding heart. Lit., a hearing heart. In 
 Hebrew psychology the heart is the seat of thought, 
 not, as with us, of emotion. The writer makes it 
 clear that this understanding is God's gift, as is all 
 else material or spiritual. The apostle numbers 
 "wisdom" among the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12. 
 4-11), and the epistle of James teaches that it is to 
 be sought in prayer (1. 5). 
 
m OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 to judge. To give decision was the final duty of 
 a king, and in time of peace practically his chief duty. 
 
 11. to discern judgment. Lit., "to hear judgment," 
 is to hear and then understand on which side truth 
 and justice lay. 
 
 12. wise and understanding heart. Solomon's pros- 
 perous reign justifies the prediction in the main. He 
 was, however, far from wise all the while, and it is 
 to be remembered that his religious policy (11. 4-8) 
 was seriously mistaken and that he left an evil repute 
 to his son (12. 4). 
 
 14. as thy father David did walk. David became a 
 model for later kings in his faithfulness to Jehovah, 
 which was manifested (a) in his care of the ark (2 
 Sam. 6) and in his desire to build a temple (2 Sam. 7). 
 These were positive deeds, but he was also faithful 
 in refraining from the worship of foreign gods. By 
 comparison with David, Abijam, Amaziah, and Ahaz 
 are reproved while Asa, Hezekiah, and Josiah are 
 approved in the book of Kings. (Compare, for exam- 
 ple, 1 Kings 15. 3, 2 Kings 14. 3, 16. 2 and 15. 11, 18. 3, 
 and 22. 2.) 
 
 lengthen thy days. Solomon reigned forty years. 
 
 15. peace offerings. Offerings in times of peace, 
 thank-offerings, feasts of rejoicing. 
 
TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY U5 
 
 XLII 
 (JTentli ibmtiap ^fter Wvinitp 
 
 1 Kings 6. 1, 38; 8. 12, 13, 22, 23, 27-40, 54-58 
 
 It would seem a pity to lose from public reading the 
 noble and beautiful prayer which some kindly hands have 
 put together chiefly in the spirit and somewhat also after 
 the form of the glorious book of Deuteronomy. Yet is the 
 prayer very long, and some portions less instructive for 
 modern ears than are others, and he who would make a 
 lesson book with any possibility of being read must leave 
 out much or have small hope that any will be read. The 
 effort here made was to take an introductory word of chap- 
 ter 6, by which the hearer might be told what was to come, 
 and then certain sections from the beautiful prayer most 
 likely to give interest and instruction to the ordinary hearer. 
 6. I. four hundred and eightieth year. This is the 
 earliest date given in the Bible. It was reckoned on 
 the basis of twelve generations of forty years each, and 
 it is therefore a round number and not an exact date. 
 2, 38. Ziv and Bui. These names of months belong 
 to the ancient Hebrew calendar supplanted in the Exile 
 by Babylonian names. Ziv is the month of flowers — 
 our April-May in Palestine, and Bui is perhaps "rain," 
 hence October-November. 
 8. 12, 13. These verses are intensely interesting, as they 
 contain in imperfect form an ancient epigram which may 
 well have been the identical words originally uttered 
 by Solomon. The Septuagint preserves them thus : 
 "Jehovah set the sun in heaven. 
 He said he would dwell in thick darkness; 
 Build thou my house, a house suitable for thyself 
 To dwell (forever). 
 Behold, is it not written in the book of the Song ? " 
 
126 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 Wellhausen has suggested that this should be Book 
 of Jashar to which we owe David's eulogy on Saul 
 (2 Sam. I. 18). 
 
 22. Solomon stood. This was the ancient attitude in 
 prayer, the hands being outstretched heavenward. 
 
 29. My name shall be there, that is, when man pro- 
 nounces God's name in prayer, God will be there to 
 respond to the call. 
 
 30. forgive. God must first hear, and then forgive, 
 before he can answer prayer. He can, in other words, 
 answer a sinful man only when the man has first 
 received forgiveness. 
 
 31. an oath. The reference is to the ancient custom 
 of requiring an oath when guilt was doubtful. See 
 Exod. 22. 7-12. 
 
 32. condemning . . . justif5ring. God is besought to 
 make the ordeal by oath a sure indication of guilt 
 or innocence. 
 
 34. let them remain in. R. V., "bring them again 
 imto,*' but this would imply the Exile. I have there- 
 fore boldly accepted an emendation of vowel points 
 only, not really changing the text, which gives the 
 translation as above (so Klostermann, Benzinger). The 
 meaning would then be, "spare them the terrible," 
 and frequently applied, method of captivity by a 
 victorious enemy and then deportation. 
 37. blasting. The drying up of vegetation by the 
 east wind from the desert. 
 
 locust . . . caterpiller. Two words for "locust" no 
 longer to be differentiated. 
 
 any of their gates, following the Septuagint, instead 
 of the R. V. "in the land of their cities." 
 
 plague. Lit., "blow," a calamity sent from God, 
 and not confined to pestilence. 
 54. kneeling. Compare verse 22 where it was said 
 
TENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 127 
 
 that Solomon stood. Though standing seems to have 
 been the usual ancient posture, there are not wanting 
 allusions to "kneeling," see, for example, 1 Kings 19. 
 18; Isa. 45. 23. 
 
 55. blessed. Normally the giving of a solemn bless- 
 ing was reserved for the priests (see Num. 6. 22-27) 
 but there are not wanting other instances to place 
 with this one in which the blessing was pronounced 
 by a layman, so, for example, by Joshua (Josh. 22. 6) 
 and by David (2 Sam. 6. 18). 
 
 56. rest. So R. V., but rather a resting place; that is, 
 Canaan. Compare Isa. 11. 10 R. V. 
 
 58. incline our hearts. God in the Old Testament 
 doctrine may turn men's hearts either away from or 
 toward himself. (See 1 Kings 18. 37, and as the 
 translation there is rather obscure, see also Isa. 63. 7.) 
 The diflaculty about free will is not yet faced. 
 
128 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XLIII 
 
 1 Kings 10. 1-13 
 
 We do not know whence this story came into the canonical 
 book of Kings, but it may quite well have been found in 
 the Book of the Acts of Solomon. It would be an honor 
 to any ancient writer of biography, and has deeply interested 
 the moderm Oriental world, for the Arabs have built it up 
 by imagination and fancy almost into a separate literature 
 with every sort of fantastic elaboration. 
 
 ID. I. Sheba. A great kingdom — mainly in southern 
 Arabia, but extending far enough northward to feel 
 in later days than Solomon's the impact of the ruth- 
 less Assyrian conqueror. 
 
 concerning the name of the Lord. The words are 
 difficult in themselves, and as they do not appear 
 in 2 Chron. 9. 1 are probably an addition here. 
 
 hard questions; that is, riddles — a favorite Oriental 
 method of appraising intellectual quickness and 
 penetration of mind. 
 2. spices, or, rather, balsams. 
 
 very much gold and precious stones. Typical 
 products of southwest Arabia. 
 
 5. food. See 1 Kings 4. 22, 23. 
 ministers. Here "waiters." 
 
 his burnt offerings. R. V., "ascent," but this is 
 surely wrong. I have translated as the Hebrew 
 seems to intend. 
 
 6. acts. The Hebrew word means "words" and also 
 "acts." Either meaning would serve here. 
 
 8. thy men. The reading in the Lucian text and in 
 
ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINIT\ 129 
 
 the Syriac was *'thy wives," which seems much more 
 probable, but I have not ventured to introduce it 
 into the text. 
 
 9. justice and righteousness. R. V., "judgment and 
 justice," but the former better represents the Hebrew. 
 
 11. navy of Hiram. This means the merchant ships 
 of the Phoenicians, who traded not only in the Medi- 
 terranean, but also in the Red Sea. 
 
 Ophir. The location still remains doubtful. If 
 it is to be identified with the land of Punt it would 
 probably be the Somali coast and the opposite coast 
 of Arabia. 
 
 almug, unknown. It has been identified with 
 ebony and even with coral. It may have been red 
 sandal wood, which is still used in India for making 
 musical instruments. 
 
 12. pillars. An obscure word of uncertain meaning. 
 In the parallel passage (2 Chron. 9. 11) the word is 
 "terraces." 
 
130 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XLIV 
 
 ^toelftb ibunbap iSfter Ztinitv 
 
 1 Kings 12 
 [Alternative p. 190.] 
 
 The passage is taken from the most ancient portion of 
 the book of Kings and though we do not know who wrote 
 it, nor yet when it was written, it seems worthy to be com- 
 pared with the great passage 2 Sam. 9-20; 1 Kings 1, 2, 
 the finest historical narrative which has come down to us 
 out of the ancient literature of the Orient. 
 
 Solomon was dead, and his son Rehoboam wished to 
 ascend the throne, and must first secure the people's con- 
 sent. It is well to remember that this seems to have been 
 a well-grounded ancient custom in Israel. David was 
 first made king by the northern tribes (2 Sam. 5. 1-3) and 
 into their territory Rehoboam now goes to seek their ac- 
 ceptance of himself as king over the whole land. 
 
 12. I. Shechem. From the most ancient times a city 
 of great importance in history and in religion, situated 
 in the most beautiful valley in all Palestine, at the 
 foot of Mount Gerizim, and now occupied by the 
 modern Nablus. 
 
 all Israel, that is, Judah as well as Israel. We 
 do not know how such an assembly was called. 
 4. yoke grievous. Compare 1 Sam. 8. 11-18. 
 8. young men. Lit., "boys" — a contemptuous ex- 
 pression. It sounds odd when one considers that 
 Rehoboam*s age is given in the Hebrew text (14. 21) 
 as forty-one years at his accession. The parallel in 
 the best Septuagint text (B) (12. 24), makes him only 
 sixteen at his accession. This age would accord 
 better with this passage. 
 
TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 131 
 
 13. roughly. This mad answer was perhaps in no 
 small part a reflection of the ways of Solomon. 
 But what Solomon might dare to do, it did not fol- 
 low that his weak son might also venture. 
 
 15. brought about of the Lord; that is, it was prov- 
 idential. 
 
 16. What portion have we? A watchword, the same 
 as used by Sheba, the Benjamite, when he led a 
 revolt (2 Sam. 20. 1). 
 
 18. Adoram, the same as Adoniram (4. 6, 5. 14). 
 He was the head of the levy. To have sent him to 
 quell a revolt could only result in making the revolt 
 a successful revolution, for the people would con- 
 strue it as a threat that Rehoboam really did intend 
 to carry out his threat and oppress them heavily. 
 
 19. unto this day. A day long remembered as a 
 tragedy (Isa. 7. 17). 
 
 20. Judah only. So had Rehoboam's madness de- 
 stroyed the kingdom which Saul had founded, David 
 had made great, and Solomon famous. 
 
132 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XLV 
 
 1 Kings 17 
 
 The lesson is taken from the great series of passages 
 relating to Elijah which came originally, as seems probable, 
 into the books of Kings from a biography of Elijah. There 
 need be no fear of magnifying overmuch the greatness of 
 Elijah, for they who call him the greatest of the prophets 
 have much to support their judgment. It was he who 
 saved IsraeFs faith at a time when its jeopardy was greater 
 than ever before. The court of Ahab would follow the exam- 
 ple of the king who sustained his queen Jezebel in Baal 
 worship, and what the royal house did was sure to find 
 imitation by the people. To break down that fatal nexus 
 and save the religion of Jehovah was Elijah's great mis- 
 sion, and he accomplished it. 
 
 17. I. from Tishbe of Gilead. R. V., "of the sojourners 
 of Gilead." I have followed the much preferable 
 Septuagint text. "Elijah" means "Jehovah is God," 
 and this was his watchword through his whole career. 
 Tishbe is probably to be identified with Istiby where 
 there is still to be seen a ruined shrine called Mar 
 Ely as. 
 
 3. brook Cherith. The site is unknown, but was 
 probably in one of the wadies east of Jordan. 
 6. the ravens. Many would change the vowel points 
 and read Arabians as those who provided the prophet's 
 food. The expedient is too transparent; the whole 
 story of Elijah is singularly filled with the miraculous, 
 and to remove this portion and leave the rest is 
 useless. 
 
THIRTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 133 
 
 9. Zarephath (Sarepta, Luke 4. 26). Situated about 
 nine miles south of Sidon, the modern site being 
 named Sarafend. 
 
 12. cake. A round, flat bread, baked on a hot stone. 
 
 13. The prophet makes a severe trial of the woman*s 
 faith. She sustains the trial and is well rewarded 
 (verse 15). 
 
 18. What have I to do with thee? This was an in- 
 vitation to depart. 
 
 to bring my sin to remembrance. This does not 
 mean some specific sin of the mother, but the deep- 
 seated general guilt of human nature which she thinks 
 might have been overlooked by the Almighty had 
 the prophet not been there. Compare Luke 5. 8. 
 21. stretched himself upon. See 2 Kings 4. 34f. 
 and Acts 20. 10. The Septuagint reads "breathed 
 into the child." 
 
 24. is truth; that is, that Jehovah's word is truly 
 in the prophet's mouth. The woman now "knows" 
 from this great experience of God's power, and of 
 the prophet's power with God. She had doubted 
 before because of her dreadful experiences, but now 
 is reassured. 
 
134 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XLVI 
 
 Jfourteentf) ^unbap ^fter Erinitp 
 
 1 Kings 18. 1, 2, 17-39 
 [Alternative p. 193.] 
 
 This lesson from the canonical book of Kings came 
 originally in all probability from a prophetic life of Elijah. 
 To whomsoever it may have been due in the beginning 
 high praise is due. The narrative has verve and movement 
 and rises grandly toward its climax with even a flash of 
 humor as the stern prophet from Gilead mocks the enemies 
 of Jehovah. 
 
 i8. 17. troubler of Israel. Ahab ascribes the famine to 
 Elijah and calls him "troubler" in the same Hebrew 
 word used of Achan (Josh. 7. 25). 
 
 18. the Baals. The plural is used to signify the 
 number of local deities who were saluted as Baal, 
 that is, Lord. Each of these had either a personal 
 name, like Melkarth, Baal of Tyre, Chemosh, Baal 
 of Moab, or they were known by the town or vil- 
 lage which paid them honor. In the early days 
 the title Baal was even given to Jehovah (Hos. 2. 16) 
 but the prophets saw the danger and forbade it. 
 
 19. Carmel. The exact spot intended here is not 
 known, but it is interesting to speculate that it may 
 have been at el Muhraka (the place of burning) 
 at the foot of which is Tell el-Kasis (the priest's 
 mound) where tradition locates the place of the 
 slaughter of the priests (so Skinner). El Muhraka 
 is about four miles from the highest point of Carmel, 
 but is itself sixteen hundred feet high. 
 
 Asherah. The name of a goddess known among 
 the Canaanites under the name of Ashirai, and 
 
FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 135 
 
 corresponding to the goddess Ishtar of the Assyrians, 
 who had many functions, even a war-goddess, but 
 was also Mother-goddess and much reverenced by 
 women in travail. 
 
 22. I, even I only. There were indeed others who 
 were silently faithful, but there was apparently only 
 Elijah who had the boldness to speak out loudly 
 for Jehovah. 
 
 26. limped. The Hebrew word describes a slow 
 dance about the altar. 
 
 27. musing. The same word is translated "medi- 
 tate" in Gen. 24. 63. 
 
 gone aside. The Hebrew word occurs only here, 
 and the meaning is, therefore, uncertain. 
 
 28. cut themselves, perhaps a remnant of an ancient 
 blood covenant with the god, but perhaps only an 
 attempt to excite the god's interest. I have per- 
 sonally seen Mohammedan fanatics so cut them- 
 selves in a religious procession. 
 
 30. he repaired. There had been a sanctuary of 
 Jehovah on the spot before. 
 
 32. be sown with. The explanation in the Mishnah 
 would give this as a definite area, about nine hundred 
 square yards (Benzinger). It would seem, then, 
 that this defines the space inclosed by the trench. 
 36, 37. It is a double prayer. Elijah would have his 
 own prophetic authority vindicated, and he was 
 quite right in this, for only so would his future labor 
 be made useful, and, in the second place, he prays 
 God now, in this moment, to win back his wayward 
 people. 
 
136 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 XLVII 
 
 Jf ifteentb ^unba|» ^ftcr Zxinit^ 
 
 1 Kings 19 
 
 In this lesson, as in the last, we are still following the 
 
 ancient biography of Elijah, and are again deeply indebted 
 
 to its unknown author for a passage of the highest interest 
 
 and instruction. There are, indeed, points of obscurity 
 
 in the story, but the main conceptions are clear enough, 
 
 and they are true to human nature. Elijah had had a 
 
 great triumph on Mount Carmel, and instead of going 
 
 away in full elation as a victor, he flees to save his life. 
 
 He has learned by bitter experience how little a man can 
 
 accomplish, and sinks into despair at the failure of his 
 
 great hopes. In the desert he lies down utterly broken in 
 
 spirit. Let those mock at the sorry spectacle who have 
 
 never met a supreme test of faith. There at Beersheba 
 
 he perceives that his supreme need is God, and it was natural 
 
 for him to seek God where he had manifested himself to 
 
 Moses. In no other story is Elijah more natural, more 
 
 human, and at the same time more noble or more wise. 
 
 IQ. 2. It was an idle and foolish threat, for she did not 
 
 really dare to slay him after such a public display 
 
 of his power, but merely desired to frighten him away. 
 
 In the Septuagint the threat is preceded by the apt 
 
 phrase, "As sure as you are Elijah, I am Jezebel." 
 
 3. The threat succeeded. "He was afraid," so the 
 
 Septuagint, and surely correctly. 
 
 to Beersheba. The southern limit of cultivation 
 where the desert meets the town, and always counted 
 as the southern limit of the country, as Dan was 
 the northern. 
 
FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 137 
 
 4. broom bush. R. V., "juniper tree," but the 
 rotem of the Hebrew corresponds to the retem of 
 the Arabic and signifies a Genista or broom bush 
 which grows abundantly in the wretched dry wadies 
 and gives a bit of shade. 
 
 8. Horeb the mount of God, so always in the Ephraim- 
 istic writer, while the Judaistic writes "Sinai." It 
 was the place of the first covenant between God 
 and his people, and Elijah would fain come near to 
 God as Moses in the beginning. The distance is only 
 about one hundred and seventy miles, or even less. 
 He could have covered it in ten days; that he took 
 forty only shows that he was hiding, or was in such 
 a perturbation of mind and spirit as to lie for days 
 troubled and weary. 
 
 12. still small voice. Hebrew, a "sound of thin 
 silence." Compare Job 4. 16, "silence and a voice," 
 which is a hendiadys meaning the "silence of a voice." 
 
 15. Go; return. Elijah was not to remain at the 
 mount in lonely contemplation of God and in medi- 
 tation. He was rather to go back to his duty. So 
 was it with the disciples on the mount of Trans- 
 figuration. First the vision and then back to duty 
 and labor! 
 
 16. anoint Hazael. He was to have an important 
 share in bringing the Baal worship to an end, for 
 he represents the Aramaeans who were to attack 
 Ahab*s kingdom and so weaken it that Jehu, who 
 was a sure opponent of Baalism, could get the throne, 
 and Elisha could begin a new prophetic mission. 
 But the order of events was really otherwise, for 
 Jehu's revolt precedes Hazael's attack, from which 
 he and his people suffered sorely. This failure of a 
 prediction to be true to the chronological order is 
 quite the usual, or at least common, thing in Old 
 
138 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 Testament prophecy. It is often a valuable proof of 
 an early date, for a writer after the event would have 
 got the correct order. 
 
 shalt thou anoint. He was told to anoint Elisha, 
 but there is no known instance of a prophet being 
 anointed. The symbolism here used is the putting of 
 a mantle upon his shoulders. Kings were anointed, 
 not prophets. The symbol matters little; there can 
 be no doubt of Elisha*s commission as a prophet; his 
 career amply proved it. Elisha was said to be of 
 Abel-meholah, which seems to have been in the 
 Jordan valley and was located by Jerome about ten 
 Roman miles south of Scythopolis (Beth-shan). 
 i8. seven thousand. Elijah in his bitter discourage- 
 ment thought that he alone remained as God's cham- 
 pion. But God knew of seven thousand others. 
 "The kingdom of God is always stronger than it 
 seems." 
 
SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 139 
 
 XLVIII 
 
 ^ixteentft ^unbap ^fter tKrinitp 
 
 2 Kings 5. 1-19 
 
 This passage, one of the favorite stories out of Israel's 
 history, came into the books of Kings out of a long-lost 
 biography of the prophet Elisha, of unknown date and 
 origin. 
 
 5. I. honorable. Lit., a man of respect. 
 
 Syria. The Hebrew is always Aram, and it is most 
 imfortunate that Syria and Syrians ever came into 
 the English versions. It should always be Aram and 
 the Aramaeans, the people and country north of Israel 
 whose chief city was Damascus. 
 
 2. gone out in bands. Made raids and took slaves, 
 though the two nations were at peace. 
 
 6. and thou shalt. R. V., "that thou mayest." But 
 the tone is quite peremptory. It is a masterful 
 Aramaean overlord dictating to a petty king of Israel. 
 
 7. seeketh a quarrel. Israel's king thinks that the 
 Aramaean king intends to seek a cdsus belli, in the 
 hope of restoring a real overlordship over Samaria. 
 10. sent a messenger. The prophet does not com- 
 municate directly, but through a servant, and Naaman 
 took it as an insult. He had been accustomed to 
 send servants, not receive them. Furthermore, he felt 
 himself great enough to deserve a conspicuous healing 
 at the hands of the God of an inferior people like the 
 Israelites. 
 
 be thou clean. It is an imperative (compare Mark 
 1. 41; 7. 34; John 5. 8), a command; the prophet does 
 not predict it; he orders it. 
 
140 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 12. Abana, the modern Nahr Barada, a considerable 
 stream flowing in many channels through Damascus. 
 The PharpaTy probably the name now represented 
 by wady Barbar; it is to-day very insignificant, but 
 perhaps formerly was connected with a larger stream 
 now called Nahr el-A'waj. 
 
 15. Now that he is clean he comes before the prophet, 
 and stood in his presence, as a servant does before a 
 superior. He is humbled, as well as full of gratitude. 
 
 17. two mules' burden of earth. The thought is that 
 no God could be worshiped elsewhere than upon his 
 own soil. There are echoes of this idea in many other 
 ancient places. 
 
 18. Rimmon. This is the god named Hadad in the 
 west, and Ramman or Adad, in the Assyrian pantheon. 
 His name is more or less familiar to us in the biblical 
 form Ben-hadad (son of Hadad) as the name of kings 
 of Damascus. 
 
 pardon thy servant. Naaman desired to continue 
 to worship his own national God Rimmon, and at the 
 same time to honor Jehovah whose prophet had shown 
 him the way to healing. When Elisha answered "Go 
 in peace" he gave tacit permission. The great prophets 
 who were later to appear in Israel would have given 
 no such consent. But Elisha must not be expected 
 to take the position that Jeremiah was later to take. 
 The time was not yet. 
 
SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 141 
 
 XLIX 
 
 i^etienteentt) ^unbap ^fter ^ttnttp 
 
 2 Kings 6. 8-23 
 
 Again are we indebted to the unknown writer of Elisha's 
 biography for this most interesting story, one at least of 
 whose phrases has come to have an almost magical sound 
 in the ears of the spiritually minded — "Lord, I pray thee, 
 open his eyes that he may see, . . . and behold the moun- 
 tain was full of horses and chariots of fire." 
 
 6. 8. shall be my camp. The meaning is correctly hit by 
 the Vulgate. It means "there we shall set an ambush." 
 
 10. sent to the place; that is, reconnoitered to see 
 whether the intelligence was correct that there the 
 Aramaeans had set an ambush. 
 
 11. which one of us is for, naturally suspecting that 
 there was a traitor in his own camp. 
 
 12. in thy bedchamber. A proverbial expression for 
 a secret place. (Eccl. 10. 20) (Barnes). 
 
 13. Dothan, now Tell Dothdriy on the main caravan 
 road from Damascus to Egypt, and about ten miles 
 north of Samaria. 
 
 17. horses and chariots of fire. Compare 2 Kings 
 2. 11, where is the story of Elijah's ascension. Jehovah 
 has armies composed of the same pure fiery element 
 in which he dwells, and the religious imagination has 
 conceived all these hosts as invisible to mortal sight. 
 
 21. the king of Israel. We do not know which king 
 this was. 
 
 22. set bread and water. This is not to be understood 
 literally. It may just as well mean an elaborate feast. 
 
 23. came no more. The kind treatment produced a 
 good effect, and the raids ceased. 
 
142 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 (CiSJlteentS ^unUap lifter tKrinitp 
 
 2 Kings 22. 3-20 
 [Alternative p. 195.] 
 
 The narrative, which describes the most important dis- 
 covery of the book of Deuteronomy (or perhaps the kernel 
 of the book 12-26), is of quite uncertain origin. It may 
 have come into the book of Kings from the Temple archives, 
 or quite as well from the book of the Chronicles of the kings 
 of Judah. 
 22. 3. eighteenth year, that is, B. C. 621. 
 
 Shaphan, a man whose descendants were famous 
 in later history. His son Ahikam saved Jeremiah's 
 life (Jer. 26. 24) and another son, Gemariah, tried to 
 save Jeremiah's roll of prophecies (Jer. 26. 12, 25), 
 and his grandson Gedaliah became ruler in Judah 
 after the deportation by Nebuchadrezzar (2 Kings 
 25. 22; Jer. 40. 5—41. 10). 
 
 4. Hilkiah. The name is the same as Jeremiah's 
 father's name, but there is no reason for identifying 
 the persons. 
 
 sum. The meaning is doubtful, but one of the 
 recensions of the Septuagint (the Lucian) translates 
 "pour out," and this would agree with verse 9. 
 8. the book of the law. This could not have been 
 the whole Pentateuch, for it was read through twice 
 in one day (2 Kings 22. 8, 10). It was the book of 
 Deuteronomy in some form, perhaps chapters 12-26. 
 The name Book of the Covenant peculiarly fits it, 
 and the reforms inaugurated by Josiah are precisely 
 those commanded in Deuteronomy. 
 
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 143 
 
 12. king's servant. Certainly an ancient title of 
 office, the meaning of which is not known to us. 
 
 13. great is the wrath. See Deut. 28 and 29. The 
 part which most powerfully affected the king was 
 quite likely chapter 28, beginniug with verse 15. 
 
 14. Huldah. Nothing is known of her beyond what 
 appears here and in Chronicles. The king was at 
 his wit's end as the book was read to him, and was 
 doubtless filled with fear lest the curses of the book 
 should fall at once on him and his kingdom. He 
 therefore desired prophetic counsel and sent to 
 Huldah for it. Jeremiah had been called to be a 
 prophet five years before this (Jer. 1. 2) and it would 
 have been very interesting had the king consulted 
 him. Why did he not? Perhaps, as Jeremiah shrank 
 from the exercise of the office, he was not yet well 
 known. (Jer. 1. 6.) 
 
144 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 LI 
 
 ^ineteentji ^mhap iSfter Kxinitp 
 
 Jeremiah 5. 1-6, 15-29 
 
 The lesson belongs in Jeremiah's acquaintance with 
 Jerusalem, but the efforts to locate it more narrowly seem 
 fanciful. It was only a very short distance from his birth- 
 place, Anathoth, to Jerusalem and there is no solid basis 
 for the supposition that he could not know Jerusalem there 
 almost, or quite, as well as in the city itself. But Jerusa- 
 lem was his city. He loved it, and he judged well its faults 
 as well as loved its virtues. In this passage we have a 
 fine example of his urgent emphasis on righteousness as 
 God's demand. 
 
 I. pardon her. The terms are easier than those required 
 of Sodom (Gen. 18. 32). 
 
 3. hast stricken. We do not know to what disaster 
 reference is here made. 
 
 4, 5. The common people have failed the prophet, and 
 he thinks that perhaps the men of rank may do better, 
 but he turns in vain to them. 
 
 15. Jehovah's method of punishing his people is to bring 
 against them a foreign foe. When the prophet first spoke 
 these words, early in his ministry, the foe thought of would 
 naturally be the Scythians. When he dictated the mes- 
 sage to Baruch he would be thinking of the Babylonians 
 as the agents of God's wrath. 
 
 18. The verse is probably a later addition. It mitigates 
 the sentence and diminishes the force of the passage. 
 
 19. Here the allusion is to the coming Babylonian Exile, 
 and we may surmise that the form of the utterance belongs 
 rather to the dictation to Baruch than to the days of the 
 original sermon. 
 
NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 145 
 
 22. waters thereof. The expression is not in the Hebrew 
 text, but has probably accidentally dropped out. (Com- 
 pare 46. 7, 8 — so Driver.) 
 
 23. The people are like the sea ever restless, and so easily 
 moved to rebellion. 
 
 24. appointed weeks; that is, the seven weeks between 
 the Feast of the Passover and the Feast of Weeks — this 
 was the harvest time. 
 
 28. This is a very diflBcult verse, and the text is probably 
 in disorder. No satisfactory emendations have yet been 
 proposed, and I follow the R. V. 
 
146 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 LII 
 
 Jeremiah 7. 1-15 and 26. 7-16 
 
 In this lesson there are present two passages, the first 
 containing a portion of one of Jeremiah's most vivid and 
 most intense sermons, and the second an account of the 
 effect which it produced upon the people who heard it. 
 The event took place (26. 1) "in the beginning of the reign 
 of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah," that is, 
 about the year B. C. 608. It should be remembered that 
 in Isaiah's day (B. C. 701) Jerusalem had been delivered 
 from Sennacherib, and it would be a very natural inference 
 that God had saved the city because his Temple was in it. 
 If he had saved it then, would he not save it now in the 
 days when the Babylonians were likely to threaten it? — 
 so people might well argue. Jeremiah could believe no 
 such doctrine as that, for it would make a fetish of the 
 Temple. It is easy to see how his denunciation of such 
 an idea would infuriate the people. It would be easier to 
 rely on the Temple's protection than to amend the ways 
 and doings of the people. 
 
 7. I. in the gate. In 26. 2 the statement is the "court." 
 
 The place may well have been near the gate between 
 
 the inner and the outer court, the latter being crowded 
 
 with people from the country round about. 
 
 5, 6. Only when men should really amend their lives 
 
 would God save them. 
 
 9. bum incense. It should probably be translated 
 
 "burn sacrifices." 
 
 II. den of robbers. These sinful people use the 
 
 Temple as a place of escape from danger, just as 
 
 robbers seek a cave to escape justice. 
 
TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 147 
 
 12. Shiloh. Evidently, some terrible catastrophe had 
 at some time fallen upon Shiloh, but there is no 
 record of it in Scripture. 
 
 15. out of my sight. Out of Jehovah's land, which is 
 peculiarly under his oversight. 
 
 26. 7-9. When they had heard the prophet deliver the 
 whole message, and his speaking had ceased, a rising 
 tide of fury came on the people and they seized him, 
 and threatened him with death. 
 
 10. princes of Judah. Members of the royal house 
 and ruling officials. They had level heads and were 
 ready to take the seat of justice and see that the 
 mob committed no crime. 
 
 11. as ye have heard with your ears. This was the 
 declaration made by the complainants. The princes 
 had not heard these things, — the reference is to the 
 people who had listened to the prophet. 
 
 12-15. This is Jeremiah's simple and manly defense. 
 It is that he had spoken as God had given him to 
 speak and as his duty was. He concedes their right 
 lawfully to put him to death, but contends that he 
 was innocent of wrong doing. 
 
 16. The mob would have killed Jeremiah, but these 
 men recognized the prophet's authority to speak in 
 God's name, and having heard his simple and dignified 
 defense acquitted him. He had had a narrow escape, 
 and his later ministry must be far more cautious. 
 
148 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 Lin 
 
 Daniel 5 
 [Alternative p. 198.] 
 
 The book of Daniel belongs not in the number of prophetic 
 books, but is an apocalypse {disclosure^ revelation) whose 
 New Testament parallel or related book is the book of 
 Revelation. Daniel was probably written between B. C. 
 168 and 165, and perhaps in the year 166. There seems 
 no sufficient reason to doubt that the historical portions 
 of the book rest upon a traditional basis, and that Daniel 
 was a historical person. The value of the book religiously 
 needs no defense. It was a book on which the Lord himself 
 laid friendly emphasis and to which he gave honor. What 
 was valuable to him cannot prove useless to his followers. 
 There is no need, and certainly no profit, in attempting to 
 prove an early date for the book, or to show its accord 
 with the latest historical or archaeological discoveries. 
 
 5. I. Belshazzar. The name in Babylonian was Bel- 
 shar-u8ury "Bel protect the king," and he was the son 
 of Nabonidus, king of Babylon, B. C. 555-538. There 
 is no evidence that he ever reigned as king. 
 2. his father. The father of Belshazzar was, as just 
 noted, Nabonidus, — as he was a usurper and not of 
 the old line of kings, Belshazzar could not have been 
 related to Nebuchadrezzar. There is, however, no 
 great difficulty in the idea of connecting him thus 
 with the great king. Fanciful genealogies were in- 
 vented for the Assyrian kings, and may well have been 
 for Nabonidus and Belshazzar, though none has yet 
 been found. 
 
TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 149 
 
 5. plaster. The Hebrew means, lit., "chalk," and the 
 wall was therefore white. 
 
 6. countenance. Lit., brightness; that is, color. He 
 grew pale. 
 
 7. Chaldeans. The word originally meant a people, 
 a race. Here, as always in this book, the word means, 
 as in the classical writers, the wise men, or learned 
 men who knew the incantations or enchantments, 
 and this use of the word is one of the clear evidences 
 of the late date of the book. 
 
 rule as one of three. So R. V., margin, and prob- 
 ably correctly, though the Hebrew is difficult and 
 none too plain. 
 
 10. queen. Certainly not the wife of Nabonidus, for 
 she had died, in the ninth year of his reign. The 
 writer must have meant the queen-mother. But the 
 mother of Nabonidus had died eight years before, and 
 the writer here must be thinking of the wife of Nebu- 
 chadrezzar. 
 
 25. Mene, Mene, tekel, upharsin. The pronunciation 
 should be with the accent on the final syllable in each 
 word, and Mene to rime with "betray," and Tekel 
 with "bewail," and Upharsin with "between." The 
 words are really the Aramaic words for weights, and 
 if interpreted literally would mean "a mina, a mina» 
 a shekel, and half shekels." There must have been 
 some puzzle in the method of writing, and numerous 
 suggestions have been offered to explain it. It may 
 have been intended to represent the words as written 
 in cuneiform character, which if ideographic would be 
 difficult to read, and still more to interpret, as each 
 sign might have more than one value. The thing 
 has thus, or in some other way, become a riddle, and 
 DanieKs skill at riddles (verse 12) becomes valuable. 
 He first reads the words, and then interprets the sig- 
 
150 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 nification which they were intended to have in this 
 particular case. As Mene may be intended to mean 
 "numbered" as well as the name of a piece of money 
 — a mina — it is interpreted as "numbered," and as 
 then to be applied to Belshazzar*s kingdom. TeheU 
 that is, "shekel," ^'weighed'" is similarly applied, and 
 then Parsiuy the plural of peres — a half shekel — reminds 
 one of peris, which means "divided," and paras, 
 which means in Aramaic "Persians." 
 31. Darius the Mede. No king of this style is known 
 as participating in the conquest of Babylon by Cyrus, 
 nor is anything known of the source of the "three 
 score and two years old." 
 
 The historical difficulties in this case, as in verse 10 
 concerning the queen, are among the numerous evi- 
 dences in favor of the late date of the book as a whole. 
 It must, however, be remembered that the value of 
 the book does not depend upon its historical con- 
 sistency. Its value is not historical, but religious, and 
 its religious value is in no wise impaired by the his- 
 torical inconsistencies. It served its purpose when 
 first written, and still does. 
 
TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 151 
 
 LIV 
 
 Proverbs 3. 1-20 
 [Alternative p. 200.] 
 
 The book of Proverbs belongs to the Wisdom Literature 
 of the Old Testament, which is represented also in Eccle- 
 siastes and Job. That it is composite in character is dis- 
 tinctly stated in the book itself, which is divided into a 
 number of parts indicating smaller collections of Wisdom 
 Literature which were joined to make the larger book. 
 The proverbial literature is in origin ascribed to King 
 Solomon and additions to it were made through the cen- 
 turies. The book is rich in garnered practical wisdom and 
 is far too little read in public. 
 3. 3. kindness and faithfulness. R. V., "mercy and 
 truth.'* It is not, however, mercy (compassion) and 
 truth, for which there are other expressions in Hebrew, 
 faithfulness is steadfastness — the standing by one's 
 word or promise. 
 
 bind . . . write. The figure seems probably to have 
 been taken from Deut. 6. 8, which led to the making 
 of phylacteries. 
 
 8. body. R. V., "navel." The change of a Hebrew 
 letter gives the far more probable as well as desirable 
 reading, "body." 
 
 refreshment. R. V., "marrow." The verse is to be 
 understood quite literally. The wise man declares that 
 a life of dependence upon Jehovah, dedicated to 
 righteousness, is profitable in its effect upon the body. 
 Health comes from it, freedom from ills and the ease 
 of mind that results from bodily well being. 
 
152 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 9. firstfruits. An allusion to the precepts of the Law 
 (Deut. 18. 4, 26. 2). 
 
 ID. bams. Compare Deut. 28. 8 and Mai. 3. 10-12. 
 II, 12. Suppose one who had read 9, 10 should say, 
 "Oh, but I know cases in which men did really fulfill 
 all the law's demands, and yet were sufferers." To 
 such these verses make reply. The suffering of the 
 righteous is an important problem in the Wisdom 
 Literature. See Job 5. 17, 18. 
 
 15. coral. R. V., "rubies." There is a pretty dis- 
 pute as to which is meant, but the probabilities lie 
 strongly on the side of coral, which was highly es- 
 teemed in the ancient world. 
 
 18. tree of life. The figure is derived from Gen. 2. 9 
 and appears again in Prov. 11. 30, 13. 12, 15. 4. 
 20. depths, that is, the subterranean masses of water 
 from which springs were believed to issue. In the 
 same way dew came out of the firmament, which held 
 above it bodies of water, which issued through cannels 
 as rain or dew. The thought in the wise man*s mind 
 is that none of these things happen by chance, but 
 all are directed by the Creator, who made them in 
 the first instance. 
 
TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 153 
 
 LV 
 
 Proverbs 8. 1-21 
 
 For general observations upon the book of Proverbs 
 
 see the previous lesson. This lesson, like that, belongs to 
 
 the introduction to the Book. 
 
 8. 2. At the head of thoroughfares. So the Hebrew seems 
 
 to mean. It is surely not, "In the top of high places,'* 
 
 as the R. V. translates. 
 
 In the streets. R. V., "where the paths meet." 
 
 3. At the entrance of the gates. R. V., "the coming in 
 of the doors," but the city gates are meant. 
 
 4. prudence. R. V., subtilty, but margin "prudence," 
 which is better. 
 
 11. coral. R. V., "rubies," but it is much more likely 
 that coral is meant, which was highly esteemed among 
 the ancients. 
 
 12. possess intelligence. R. V., "have made subtilty 
 my dwelling" — a very slight change in text gives a 
 much preferable reading (so Toy, Currie). 
 
 13. This verse rather breaks the connection between 
 12 and 14, and it is quite doubtful whether it really 
 belongs here. I have, however, not been able to 
 persuade myself to omit it from the lesson. 
 
 15. By me kings reign. Compare 1 Kings 3. 5-12. 
 
 16. The second member of this verse has given inter- 
 preters much trouble, and there seems no way to mend 
 it but boldly to follow the Septuagint and this I have 
 done. All the English versions stand by the Hebrew 
 Text. 
 
 18. durable. The Hebrew word is hard to translate. 
 
154 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 The R. V. margin is "ancient," that is, "inherited 
 from ancestors." The Septuagint makes it "abun- 
 dant," and the Latin Vulgate "superb." The Amer- 
 ican Jewish version has "enduring," which lies close 
 to the "durable" of the R. V. It is the riches which 
 cannot be taken away, the "true riches" (Luke 16. 11), 
 the riches inseparable from us and as immortal as 
 our souls. 
 
 20. justice. R. v., "judgment." 
 
 21. wealth. R. V., "substance," and so also the 
 Jewish version. 
 
TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 155 
 
 LVI 
 
 CfcDentp«tourtt) ^unbap iSfter Zxinitp 
 
 Proverbs 31. 10-31 
 [Alternative p. 202.] 
 
 In the book of Proverbs there is inserted a small frag- 
 ment (31. 2-9) which has for its superscription the follow- 
 ing, as it should be translated: "The words of Lemuel, 
 king of Massa, which his mother taught him." Massa is 
 the name of an Ishmaelite tribe (Gen. 25. 14), and as this 
 passage is ascribed to his mother, the compiler of the book 
 of Proverbs has added immediately thereafter a poem on 
 a good woman. The ideal represented is that of a house- 
 wife and woman of business, and no traits either intel- 
 lectual or religious are represented in it, but it has a certain 
 beauty of its own, and deserves to be read at least as an 
 occasional lesson. An alternative is supplied to take its 
 place when desired. 
 
 31. 10. good, so rather than "virtuous" (R. V.). The 
 question is not ironical. It is not intended to hint 
 that none may be found, but only that she must be 
 sought. 
 
 15. a portion. R. V. reads "their task," but has the 
 correct translation in the margin. The "portion" 
 means their share of the food of the household. 
 
 16. fruit of her hands, that is, her earnings. She is 
 a business woman. 
 
 18. her lamp goeth not out. It is still a custom 
 among the Arabs to have a lamp burn all night, 
 and to sleep in darkness is considered a sign of great 
 poverty. Compare Jer. 25. 10 and Job 18. 6. 
 
156 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 19. distaff . . . spindle. Compare the beautiful lines 
 of Catullus (quoted by Perowne) : 
 "The left the distaflf held, from which the right. 
 Plucking the wool with upturned fingers light. 
 Twisted the threads, which o'er the thumb they wound. 
 Then swiftly whirled the well-poised spindle round." 
 
 (Tr. by Sir Theodore Martin.) 
 
 21. scarlet. The Hebrew is uncertain. Something 
 "warm" is required by the context. 
 
 22. coverings. So A. V., which is preferable to R. V. 
 "carpets," margin "cushions." There is no justi- 
 fication for the qualifying phrase "of tapestry." 
 
 24. merchant. The Hebrew has "Canaanite." In 
 early days the business of the country was in the 
 hands of the Canaanites, while the Hebrews were 
 herdsmen or tillers of the soil. Hence the word 
 
 "Canaanite" came to have the meaning of "merchant." 
 
 25. laugheth ; that is, has no anxiety. 
 
 26. kindly instruction; that is, she instructs servants 
 kindly, not harshly. 
 
 30. a woman that feareth the Lord. The form in 
 which this line appears in the Septuagint suggests 
 that originally the line read, "A woman of intel- 
 ligence, she shall be praised," but I have not ven- 
 tured to introduce it into the text. 
 
 31. Such a wife is not her husband's slave. She 
 deserves to share with him in the fruits of her labors, 
 as of his, and should be publicly praised for her 
 good works. This part of the verse is interesting 
 as showing that among the Hebrews of that day 
 it was not considered undignified or improper or in 
 bad taste to refer publicly to one's wife, as is now 
 commonly the feeling in the East. 
 
TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 157 
 
 LVII 
 
 Job 5. 6-26 
 
 The book of Job is the consummate climax and the most 
 beautiful flower of the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testa- 
 ment. The name of the great poetic genius who wrote 
 it has perished, nor is ever likely to be recovered. The 
 book belongs to the postexilic period, perhaps as late as 
 the fifth century B. C. The book was intended to meet 
 the dread problem of pain and suffering, and by widening 
 the idea of the Divine Providence teach that the older 
 theology, which made human suffering have its only origin 
 in human sin, was entirely wrong and that human suffer- 
 ing might well be due to a trial of righteousness. It affords 
 no complete theodicy, but offers only a higher and deeper 
 knowledge of God as man's best comfort in all earthly 
 trials. The lesson here used comes from the first speech 
 of Eliphaz, the mystic. Job's friend, who bases his argu- 
 ment upon a personal revelation from God. This speech 
 is one of the masterpieces of the book. It answers Job's 
 wild cry for death (chap. 3) and attempts to draw him into 
 a deeper reverence for God, and absolute submission to him. 
 5. 7. man . . . bom unto trouble, that is, it is his nature 
 through sin to bring trouble upon himself. 
 8. There is no help for this condition but to turn to 
 God. He doeth wonderful things (verse 9) and is 
 therefore capable of meeting man's trouble. 
 13. in their own craftiness. Quoted by Paul (1 Cor. 
 3. 19), and the only direct quotation from the book 
 of Job in the New Testament. It is curious and in- 
 teresting to observe that in this instance Paul did not 
 
158 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 follow the Septuagint version and must either have 
 made his own translation direct from the Hebrew, or 
 made use of some Version to us unknown. 
 
 17. Job's frightful sufferings should be received with 
 joy as an evidence of God's interest in him. This is 
 sound biblical doctrine, taught in many passages. 
 See, for example, Psa. 94. 12; Prov. 3. 11; Heb. 12. 5. 
 
 18. If God afflicts, it is only that he may bind up and 
 so heal more perfectly. 
 
 19. six . . . seven. Round numbers, meaning many or 
 all. 
 
 20. In famine ... in war. These were the sorest and 
 saddest afflictions of the ancient East. 
 
 21. the scourge of the tongue, that is, slander or cal- 
 umny. 
 
 23. If Job will only come into peace with God, he 
 will by that very fact find himself also at peace with 
 inanimate and animate nature. 
 
 25, 26. Furthermore, Job shall have numerous off- 
 spring, and in the end come peacefully to the grave, 
 like fully ripened grain. From this come Milton's 
 fine lines (quoted in the Speaker's Commentary) : 
 
 "So mayest thou live, till, like ripe fruits, thou drop 
 Into thy mother's lap; or be with ease 
 Gathered, not harshly plucked; for death mature." 
 
TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 159 
 
 LVIII 
 
 Job 28 
 
 For general notes upon the book of Job see Lesson LVII, 
 p. 157. The present lesson comes from the address of Job, 
 as the book is at present arranged, but it is extremely 
 difficult to interpret in that connection, and there are many 
 who hold that the arrangement as made by the author 
 was quite likely different. (See the Commentaries.) But 
 for the purpose of public reading this question is not im- 
 portant, and the noble and beautiful passage may yield 
 its poetic instruction as it stands, regardless of the question 
 to whom the author originally assigned it. The thought 
 of this chapter is that man can never hope to reach wisdom. 
 It belongs to God, and of him must be sought, whatever 
 may be suitable for man to possess in its place. 
 
 28. 2. copper. R. V., reads *'brass," but incorrectly; 
 brass is an alloy, not a native metal. 
 
 3. thick darkness, that is, the darkest recesses of 
 earth to which miners penetrate. 
 
 4. forgotten of the foot. Men walk above ground, 
 not knowing that beneath their feet the miner works. 
 
 5. Upon the earth*s surface the farmer grows his 
 grain, which is ground and baked into bread, while 
 beneath the earth is torn and broken, and blasted by 
 the miner seeking its treasures. 
 
 6. sapphires. The stone meant is probably the beau- 
 tiful lapis lazuli, which is frequently veined with iron 
 pyrites looking like a sprinkling of gold dust. 
 
 7. that path, namely, the long, dark channel which 
 the miner has cut. No bird enters it. 
 
160 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 II. streams . . . trickle not. The allusion is to the 
 
 water that filters through clefts in the rocks into the 
 
 miners' shafts and must be stopped up. 
 
 12-14. Man has learned how to find his way to precious 
 
 metals and rich jewels, but he cannot thus find the 
 
 home of wisdom. 
 
 15-19. And as man cannot discover it, so also he 
 
 cannot purchase it, no matter what price he might be 
 
 willing to pay. 
 
 17. glass was rare and precious in ancient times. 
 
 20-22. The thought of 15-19 is continued. Wisdom 
 
 cannot be found in this world, nor in the world beyond. 
 
 22. Destruction and Death. Hebrew, Abaddon, that 
 is, Sheol and Death both personified. 
 
 23. way . . . place. These are only parts of the 
 figure. Wisdom is really with God, and with him 
 alone. 
 
 25. weight for the wind, that is, God weighed out the 
 amount of the wind, determined its quantity. 
 
 27. count. R. v., "declare," margin, "recount." 
 
 28. Wisdom, then, belongs exclusively to God. For 
 man the only obtainable gift is the fear of God, 
 which is man's substitute for the Divine Wisdom. 
 
SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE ADVENT 161 
 
 LIX 
 ^unbap £ext J&ttott ^bbent 
 
 EccLEsiASTEs 11. 1-4, 6-10; 12. 8, 13, 14 
 
 The book of Ecclesiastes has puzzled many commentators 
 and has suffered much at their hands. The difficulty which 
 has caused most of the trouble has been a widespread desire 
 to make the book conform to modern Western standards 
 of logical consistency. To accomplish this the book has 
 been subjected to severe editorial curtailment, to remove 
 inconsistencies. It is much more likely that the book 
 represents changing moods, and that its author was never 
 consistent with himself or his thinking. There are pas- 
 sages of great beauty and of undying interest in it. It 
 was written in the name of King Solomon, a form of literary 
 artifice well known in antiquity, and probably by a Jew 
 in the late Persian or early Greek period. 
 
 II. I. Cast thy bread. Interpreted in three different 
 ways: (a) of almsgiving and generosity, (b) of a busi- 
 ness venture, and (c) of agriculture. The first is much 
 to be preferred. 
 
 3, 4. The thought is that one must go on with his 
 work and not heed the operations of nature which 
 one cannot change. This idea is again enforced 
 in verse 6. 
 
 7, 8. It is man*s wisdom to enjoy his life as it flows 
 along, take pleasure in so simple a thing as sunlight, 
 for he has no right to expect that he will always 
 have the power of enjoyment, or the things to enjoy. 
 The idea is Carpe diem (Horace); that is, "Reap the 
 harvest of to-day." 
 9. The young man is advised to make glad use of 
 
162 OL D TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 youth, but to remember that God requires an ac- 
 counting for the use made of it. 
 12. I. Remember also now thy Creator. The words are 
 commonly held among modem commentators to be 
 an insertion of a later hand. If they are, let us 
 accept and use them as the advice of another wise 
 man. 
 
 2. 7. These verses have been variously interpreted 
 as either (a) a reference to various forms and func- 
 tions of the body, or (b) a description of a great 
 storm, itself a figure of the darkness and gloom of 
 age. It is idle and unsympathetic as well to press 
 them closely into any mold of western thought. 
 We are here dealing not with western logic, but with 
 eastern imagination, and should try to remember 
 that mixed metaphors, or changing phases of a single 
 metaphor, are at home in the Oriental lands of bright 
 sunlight and deep shadows. 
 
 2. clouds return. The winter, when one storm fol- 
 lows quickly on the heels of another. 
 
 3. keepers of the house. Some say the keepers of the 
 house are the hands, and the strong men are the feet, 
 while others would make the allusion to a decaying 
 house. 
 
 grinders. Quite likely the teeth. 
 
 look out of the windows. Probably the "eyes." 
 
 4. doors shall be shut. The figure seems to be that 
 of a once prosperous house, but now with doors 
 closed and offering no hospitality. 
 
 daughters of music . . . low. Sounds of music are 
 no longer well heard in dull ears. 
 
 5. that which is high. The aged cannot climb hills, 
 almond tree. The almond flowers white, and the 
 
 allusion may possibly be to the white hair of the aged, 
 but it is very doubtful. 
 
SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE ADVENT 163 
 
 grasshopper . . . burden, (a) Even the weight of a 
 grasshopper would be a burden, which is hyperbole, 
 or (b) the aged walks bent and slow like the locust. 
 
 caper-berry. Used for some medicinal purpose. 
 6. The verse is evidently a highly poetical descrip- 
 tion of the end of life, but it does not seem wise to 
 attempt to force an interpretation upon every single 
 item in the figure. 
 8. Vanity of vanities. Compare 
 
 "His breath's a bubble, and his days a span — 
 'Tis glorious misery to be born a man" 
 
 (Francis Quarles). 
 13, 14. This conclusion of the whole matter is by many, 
 if not most, modern scholars ascribed to another 
 hand than that of the original author. It matters 
 not who wrote it, so far as public reading is con- 
 cerned. The editors of the Hebrew text thought the 
 last sentence harsh, and so they repeated verse 13 
 after verse 14 to give a conclusion more mild. 
 
ALTERNATIVE LESSONS 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT 167 
 
 ALTERNATIVE I 
 
 Jfirflit ^unbap in i^bbent 
 
 Isaiah 1. 1-20 
 
 The date of the passage is quite uncertain. It may be 
 as early as B. C. 735 or as late as 701, to which later date 
 I am the more inclined, though with no feeling of any 
 definite assurance. For this present purpose it matters 
 little. Here are the chief outlines of Isaiah's whole teach- 
 ing, a summary of his message. 
 
 2. the Lord hath spoken. Isaiah has heard him speak 
 since he was called to be a prophet (see Lesson XXXII), 
 and he will now give forth the divine message. 
 
 4. Holy One. It was the divine holiness which was 
 impressed upon the prophet in the inaugural vision (Isa. 6), 
 and he keeps it ever before him. 
 
 6. The allusion is to the simple surgery of the day. A 
 wound was first pressed to exclude any pus, then drawn 
 together, bandaged and mollified with oil (see Luke 10. 34). 
 
 7. The situation here described, while not necessarily 
 ill suited to the condition which may or did occur during 
 the invasion of the Syro-Ephraimistic army in 735, seems 
 much better suited to the greater devastation caused by 
 Sennacherib in 701. 
 
 8. daughter of Zion. Jerusalem and her people. 
 
 a booth ... a lodge. Frail structures set upon light 
 poles and used by the watchers who sat in them to protect 
 crops against thieves or wild animals. 
 
 10-17. "The false and the true way of seeking God's 
 favor" (Dillmann). 
 
 II. full of, sated with. In the beginning sacrifices were 
 conceived as the food of the gods, and here is seen to be 
 lingering faintly even in the far higher religion of Israel. 
 
168 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 12. trample. The word is strong, and implies, without 
 quite expressing, the idea of their desecrating the holy- 
 precincts. 
 
 15. spread forth your hands, namely, in the attitude of 
 prayer. 
 
 18-20. Jehovah is willing to plead his cause, for great is 
 his condescension. 
 
 18. let us reason together. A very difficult phrase in 
 the Hebrew and the translation is still subject of dispute 
 and the exegesis still more. Perhaps we shall come nearest 
 the heart of it if we venture to say it means to discuss to- 
 gether this great subject and see from the debate who is 
 right and who is wrong. So, in general, Gray would explain 
 it, while Skinner would give it rather a legal meaning. 
 
 Though your sins. This is imaginary. The clause 
 has sometimes been interpreted as an interrogative, though 
 with doubtful grammatical propriety. The main point is 
 that though God is IsraeFs God he is not on that account 
 to be thought lenient to Israel's sins (compare Amos, 
 3. 2). Men must meet the conditions set forth in verses 
 19 and 20. 
 
 scarlet . . . crimson. Not two colors, but one. The 
 second word really means "worm" literally, and signifies 
 the insect from which the color was obtained (coccus ilicis). 
 As Gray reminds us the first word really means "scarlet 
 clothes," so sin is represented as a red garment enwrapping 
 the sinner. Compare the figure in Zech. 3. 3f. 
 
SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT 169 
 
 ALTERNATIVE II 
 ^econb ^unbap m ^bbent 
 
 Isaiah 5. 1-20 
 
 The Parable of the Vineyard and Isaiah's smashing 
 application of its lesson to the sins of his people. The 
 lesson falls naturally into two parts: (a) the parable, verses 
 1-7 and (b) the denunciation and the woes, verses 8-20. 
 There are no historical or political allusions to help us to 
 the period of the prophet's ministry to which it belongs. 
 Isaiah appears among the people in the guise of a minstrel, 
 perhaps at some festival when people from the countryside 
 were in the city, and speaks this parable. He puts it into 
 poetic form, with many a turn and a sort of light and at- 
 tractive measure and would soon have a company very 
 willing to hear him; and then when they have heard him 
 gladly, he skillfully turns the parable and shows its bear- 
 ing upon the nation's life in a series of six woes directed 
 against the higher classes and the leaders of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 2. built a tower. A shelter for the watchers; not a 
 mere temporary thing on poles, as in Isa. 1. 8, but a solid 
 construction as an evidence of the permanent construction 
 of the whole vineyard. 
 
 6. thorns and thistles. A favorite expression of Isaiah. 
 
 7. vineyard of the Lord. We do not know whether it 
 was Isaiah or another who first originated this conception 
 of a vineyard as an expression for the true religion of rev- 
 elation, but it became very widely used. See, for example, 
 Jer. 2. 21; 12. lOf.; Matt. 20. Iff.; 21. 33ff. 
 
 Now come the six woes, which were quite probably seven, 
 or even more as originally delivered. 
 
170 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 8-10. Denunciation of rich landowners, who contrive to 
 get small holdings away from the poor and so to increase 
 their own estates. 
 
 10. ten acres. Lit., ten yoke; a yoke of land was as 
 much as two oxen could plow from morning till night. 
 
 one bath. About eight gallons, which would be a 
 small yield for so large a vineyard. 
 
 11-13. Denunciation of those who carouse from morn 
 till night imbibing strong drink, that is, wine fortified 
 alcoholically by the addition of dates, honey, raisins, and 
 the like to increase fermentation. Then when stimulated 
 they add music and with senses dulled and ears given up 
 to sensual sound forget Jehovah and all his ways. 
 
 14-17. A threat of the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 17. The city has vanished into Sheol, and in its place 
 the cattle pasture. 
 
 18, 19. The verses contain an impious and mocking 
 challenge uttered by sinful men to Jehovah to do his 
 worst. They do not doubt his existence. They doubt 
 only his moral government. They are not afraid of the 
 prophet's denunciations. 
 
 20. Woe to those who darken, or doubt or confuse the 
 great moral distinctions. 
 
THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT 171 
 
 ALTERNATIVE III 
 
 Ctitrli ^unbap m ^bbent 
 
 Isaiah 25. 1-9 
 
 The passage is taken from a series of brilliant prophecies 
 in chapters 24-27 which are, in general, apocalyptic in char- 
 acter. They are, therefore, to be compared with the book 
 of Daniel in the Old Testament and with the book of Rev- 
 elation in the New. They are quite unlike the preaching 
 of Isaiah of Jerusalem or of Isaiah of Babylon, and prob- 
 ably should be dated in the Persian period, though it is 
 well to remember that the historical circumstances are 
 unknown, and it is, therefore, not fitting for us to be very 
 dogmatic about the time when the passage was composed. 
 The lesson falls into two parts, (a) verses 1-5, a song of 
 thanksgiving to celebrate the deliverance which Jehovah 
 has given his people; (b) verses 6-8, Jehovah's feast on 
 Mount Zion to all the nations. This is, indeed, a most 
 catholic passage. Here Jehovah is no exclusive possession 
 of Israel, but a loving and very tender Lord over all peoples, 
 willing and glad to husband them all as his own, and to 
 take away even the sad misery of death. What other 
 people ever had such an idea of God as had these Jews 
 of Jehovah? Is not this wonderful in our eyes, if we can 
 conceive and understand it? 
 
 2. city an heap. The reference is to some city which 
 had represented hostility to Jehovah but was in the prophet's 
 time destroyed. 
 
 4, 5. But Jehovah saved his own people Israel. 
 
 6-8. Here is the glorious passage! Jehovah is to be the 
 crowned King of all the earth, and this is his coronation 
 feast. He will hold the festival on Mount Zion, and it is 
 
m OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 not for Israel only, but all nations are bidden as his guests. 
 The nations come enveloped in mourning garments, for 
 they do not yet know that all their troubles are gone for 
 aye; but Jehovah strips off the habiliments of woe and sees 
 the tears beneath; the last tears are these, for even death 
 itself is now destroyed forever in the ushering in of the 
 Messianic age. 
 
 9. This verse really introduces a new section concerning 
 Moab, but it may quite appropriately be used in public 
 reading to conclude the splendid passage (6-8) with a burst 
 of grateful praise. 
 
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT 173 
 
 ALTERNATIVE IV 
 Jf ourtd S^untiap tn ^bbent 
 
 Zechariah 2 
 
 The exiles returned from Babylonia in B. C. 5S6, but 
 in numbers far fewer than was to be desired. A series of 
 bad seasons, the diflBculty of bringing the land under cultiva- 
 tion, troubles with their neighbors, and a general and very 
 perilous apathy prevented the immediate rebuilding of the 
 Temple, and the whole religious future of Judaism was 
 imperiled, for the Temple was an essential factor in the 
 building of an ecclesiastical state. In this juncture two 
 prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, after sixteen years of 
 waiting for a national move, began to incite the people to 
 their duty. Of these two men Zechariah is incomparably 
 the more important from the point of view of literary ability. 
 He made a new departure in the form of prophetic teaching, 
 for he put his message into the form of a series of allegories, 
 of which Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress is a modem example. 
 This lesson is the third vision, and was delivered February 
 24, 519, the whole sermon being comprised in 1. 7 — 6. 15. 
 This is the vision of the man with the measuring line. 
 
 2. 2. Jerusalem is only partially rebuilt, but in the 
 vision the man with the measuring line goes out to see how 
 large the city should be to accommodate the great influx 
 of people whom the prophet expects. 
 
 3. came forth. R. V., "went out." An angel had been 
 talking with the prophet, and as he left him another 
 angel came forth to join him. 
 
 4. and he said. R. V., "and said." The meaning is 
 that the interpreting angel who stood by the prophet's 
 side to explain the vision spoke to the man with the 
 
174 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 measuring line and bade him not to define the city 
 limits. 
 
 villages without walls. Lit., as "open country 
 districts," as opposed to walled cities (Driver). The 
 idea is that the city will be enormously expanded. 
 
 6. flee from the land of the north. Addressed to the 
 people who still are in Babylonia. 
 
 I will gather you. R. V., "I have spread you 
 abroad," etc. I have unhesitatingly followed the 
 Septuagint, which gives a far more preferable sense. 
 
 7. Zion. The part still in Babylonia; escape, for a 
 heavy judgment of God is about to fall on the heathen 
 peoples, and God's people should not be among them. 
 
 9. shall be a spoil. Israel shall spoil them, as they 
 had spoiled her. 
 
 10. I will dwell in the midst of thee, that is, when the 
 Temple has been rebuilt. 
 
 11. many nations. These will join themselves to 
 God's people to learn of him. 
 
 12. holy land. This is the only place in which this 
 expression occurs, yet it has become very common in 
 our speech. 
 
 13. This is God's judgment on the heathen world 
 (compare verse 9). The people are bidden to be 
 silent in awe, as they think of the impending wrath, 
 for he is already bestirring himself in his holy habita- 
 tion. 
 
FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 175 
 
 ALTERNATIVE VIII 
 
 Isaiah 51. 1-16 
 
 This fine lesson, eloquent and earnest, was addressed to 
 the exiles in Babylon, and was intended as a consolation 
 and an encouragement. It divides into three sections: 
 (a) verses 1-8, in which the prophet draws encouragement 
 from the example of God's dealings with Abraham. If 
 God could make a people from him who was but one, all 
 the more is he able to restore a people to greatness from 
 these who are now in exile. (6) verses 9-11. — It is only- 
 divine power that can accomplish this, and so in these 
 verses the people plead with God to display again the power 
 which he had shown of old. (c) verses 12-16. — ^They who 
 really trust Jehovah need have no fear. 
 
 51. I. hole of the pit. The figure is that of a quarry. 
 The Israelites are the stones taken from it. See 
 how wonderful a thing this is that from such a small 
 quarry as Abraham and Sarah so many should have 
 come. The figure of the quarry occurs nowhere else. 
 4-6. Israel's life as a people is not for herself only; 
 she is "for a light of the peoples," and the religion 
 thus sent forth is to be universal. It is also to be 
 eternal, outlasting the heavens and the earth. 
 9, 10. The imagery of these verses is derived from 
 the Assyrian and Babylonian creation story, accord- 
 ing to which creation and the orderly Cosmos could 
 only begin after the god EUil or the god Marduk 
 had destroyed the great principle of Chaos, per- 
 sonified under the name Tiamat. This story must 
 have been widely spread in western Asia, and is 
 used for literary adornment especially by the writer 
 
176 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 of the book of Job (see, for example, 3. 8, 9. 13 and 
 26. 13), where Rahab, or Leviathan, takes the place 
 of Tiamat, and Jehovah the place of Ellil, or Marduk. 
 10. the great deep; that is, the primeval chaos of 
 waters in Gen. 1. 2. The Hebrew word is tehom, 
 which is etymologically connected with Tiamat. 
 
 a way ... to pass over. This is an allusion to the 
 crossing of the Red Sea in the exodus from Egypt. 
 12-16. This is Jehovah's reply. The people need 
 have no fear, for the Almighty Creator is on their 
 side, and calls them his people. 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 177 
 
 ALTERNATIVE X 
 
 HosEA 14. 1-9 
 
 For a brief introduction to Hosea's ministry see X, 
 Third Sunday after Epiphany, p. 57. The present lesson 
 has by some interpreters been denied to Hosea, because 
 it seems to contradict the severe judgments of chapter 13, 
 but the reasons are quite insufficient. It is thoroughly 
 characteristic of the prophets to denounce sin and declare 
 judgment, and in the next breath to promise mercy and 
 forgiveness. Verse 9 is, however, not a part of the prophetic 
 message, but a monition by a later hand in the style of 
 the Wisdom Literature, though a quite useful conclusion 
 in prose style to Hosea's poetic message. 
 
 14. 2. take with you words. None shall appear before 
 Jehovah empty — so ran the ancient requirement 
 (Exod. 23. 5, 34. 20). This was interpreted to mean 
 sacrifices, but Hosea now suggests that men should 
 bring rather words, words of repentance spoken from 
 the heart, and prayers for God's reception of them. 
 3. Israel must not look for deliverance to Assyria 
 as Ahaz did when he appealed to Tiglathpileser for 
 help against the Syro-Ephraimitic coalition, nor to 
 Egypt, from which came horses for battle, but to 
 God only. 
 
 the fatherless. Israel is compared to an orphan. 
 "I will not leave you desolate" (Lit., "orphans"), 
 John 14. 18. 
 
 5. their backsliding, that is, its consequences or 
 damages. 
 
 as the dew. The dry summer of Palestine, when 
 the land is practically without rain, would dry up all 
 
178 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 vegetation but for the heavy mists which blow in 
 from the Mediterranean and distill upon the land. 
 
 as the lily. Probably the gorgeous Anemone 
 coronaria, which blooms in masses and sweeps of 
 color even among the fields of grain. 
 
 as Lebanon. A mountain has roots (Job 28. 9) 
 and is a fit image for stability, as the lily is for beauty, 
 and the olive also, with its silver sheen on the under- 
 side of its dark-green leaves. 
 
 smell as Lebanon. The balsamic odor of the 
 cedars. 
 
 the wine of Lebanon. Famous in antiquity, that 
 of Helbon, in the Anti-Lebanon, being especially 
 praised. 
 
 8. green fir tree. It is at least unusual to compare 
 God with a tree, though not impossible. The kind 
 of tree here meant is quite unknown. 
 
 fruit found. Israel's fruit comes only by the 
 Lord's gift. 
 
 9. This verse, as stated above, is an addition to the 
 whole book of Hosea and in the style of the Wisdom 
 Literature. It enjoins upon men the duty of giving 
 glad obedience to God's moral government of the 
 world. 
 
SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY 179 
 
 ALTERNATIVE XIII 
 
 ^ixtli ^unba? ^Ittx Cpipfianp 
 
 MicAH 6. 1-8 
 
 Micah's prophetic activity, according to the superscrip- 
 tion of his book, began about 740, at the beginning of the 
 reign of Jotham, and extended into the time of Hezekiah. 
 He was, therefore, a contemporary of Hosea's later days 
 and a younger contemporary of Isaiah. The first three 
 chapters of his book are certainly his, but considerable 
 doubt must be admitted in respect of the rest of the book. 
 The matter of authorship in the case of this lesson is quite 
 unimportant. It belongs in any case to the most deeply 
 inspired of Hebrew prophecies. 
 
 6. I, 2. In verse 1 the prophet introduces Jehovah to 
 Israel, and then in verse 2 Jehovah speaks, and is ready 
 to argue his case against Israel before the mountains 
 as judges, for they have witnessed the course of Israel's 
 history and are acquainted with her attitude toward 
 her God. To the Scripture, all nature, as we call 
 these works of God, shares with man in his trials and 
 in his joys, and besides that, shares God's feeling 
 toward man because of all the evil that man has 
 wrought upon nature. Then nature obeys God's will 
 and executes God's judgments upon men. Her storms 
 of destructive rain, her droughts, her earthquakes, her 
 raging and overwhelming seas — all these are fulfilling 
 God's behests and punishing man. On the other 
 hand, they can feel sympathy for man, and enter 
 into his emotions. See how the apostle Paul teaches 
 this doctrine (Rom. 8. 22). 
 
 3. wherein have I wearied thee. At the time of 
 this utterance, which may have been in the time of 
 Manasseh, the sacrificial system as elaborated during 
 
180 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 the Exile and presented by Ezra in B. C. 444 was 
 not yet in vogue. The sacrifices of earlier days were 
 much more simple, and in some cases, at least, were 
 not offered at all. The classic passage in support 
 of this view is Jer. 7. 22, but with this there may well 
 be compared also Isa. 43. 23 and Amos 5. 25. 
 
 4. Israel's history begins with a great act of redemption 
 in her deliverance from the Egyptian bondage, and 
 this historic fact is ever prominent in her literature. 
 
 5. The reference to Balak and Balaam is an allusion 
 to the brilliant narrative in Num. 22-24. The prophet 
 touches lightly upon it, presuming that all who heard 
 him would be familiar with it. 
 
 6. Remember from Shittim unto Gilgal. Shittim was 
 the last camping station of Israel before crossing the 
 Jordan (Josh. 3. 1) and Gilgal the first after crossing the 
 river (Josh. 4. 20). It may, therefore, be presumed that 
 the meaning here intended is to remember what hap- 
 pened in God's providence between these two points. 
 6-8. A passage which rises by a series of rhetorical 
 questions into a splendid climax in the statement of 
 the character of practical religion in verse 8, which 
 belongs among the finest passages in the Old Testa- 
 ment revelation; indeed, some would call it the supreme 
 prophetic utterance. The present passage also inti- 
 mates clearly enough what the preexilic prophetic 
 message was about sacrifices. They are not primary 
 but subordinate, but they are not disowned or repu- 
 diated. The question was not so much religious 
 ceremonial, but the religious, or perhaps better the 
 ethical life of righteousness before God. On the 
 other hand, we do well to observe that God is not 
 forgotten. Righteous living is good and necessary, 
 but God, and man's relation to him, is still the funda- 
 mental requirement. 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 181 
 
 ALTERNATIVE XVII 
 
 Jf irtst £>unbap in Eent 
 
 Genesis 18 
 
 The lesson is taken from the part of the Pentateuch 
 which comes from the hand of the Judaistic writer (J), 
 who wrote probably about B. C. 850. This writer has left 
 for us much of the most picturesque passages in the whole 
 Pentateuch, and poor would we be had they not been 
 providentially preserved. The loss of this chapter would 
 be particularly serious. Nowhere else is Abraham por- 
 trayed more attractively. He is here a patriarch indeed, 
 quick in hospitality, gentle and kindly in speech, grave 
 and serious in manner, dignified and courteous, generous 
 in every thought. Well indeed might Israel be proud of 
 him. 
 
 i8. I. oaks. It should be "terebinths," but it would 
 appear pedantic to change. 
 
 2. three men. It is at the hour of the heat and 
 drowsiness and Abraham is suddenly aware of three 
 men before him. The point of the beautiful story 
 turns on the fact that he does not yet know who 
 they are, but courteously receives them and makes 
 instant preparation to give such hospitality as cus- 
 tom demanded. 
 
 3. My lord. This is a title of courtesy only. The 
 margin of R. V. reads "Or, O Lord," but this is 
 quite erroneous, for it would signify that Abraham 
 already recognized one of the three as Jehovah. 
 
 6. three measures. Hebrew, seahs^ about four and 
 one half pecks (Kennedy) — a very large amount. 
 
 cakes, round and flat, and quickly baked upon 
 hot stones. 
 
182 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 7. It was a very high compliment that Abraham 
 offered his guests in providing meat for them. Then 
 as now the Oriental has little flesh to eat and seldom 
 is it provided. When it is there is indeed a feast. 
 The "calf tender and good" would be the mark of 
 a high festival. 
 
 8. butter. It was curdled milk, quickly soured by 
 being brought in from the cow, and poured into a 
 "sour-milk skin," and then shaken for a few minutes. 
 The ferment in the skin from previous use quickly 
 ferments the milk and produces a slightly acid and 
 satisfying drink, now called leben among the Arabs. 
 10. when the season cometh round. A year later. 
 In verses 9-15 the promise is made of a son. It is 
 introduced with great skill, and is deftly handled. 
 The chief visitor who carries on the conversation 
 reveals a more than human knowledge, and we have 
 therefore here the first hint of the divine character. 
 16-22. The judgment upon Sodom is revealed to 
 Abraham. 
 
 16. looked toward Sodom. Sodom would not be 
 visible from Hebron, but would be visible from 
 Beni Na^im, about three miles east of Hebron, to 
 which spot Abraham had conducted his visitors. 
 
 18. The blessing harks back to Gen. 12. 3. 
 
 19. known him, that is, "entered into personal rela- 
 tions with." 
 
 to the end that. Abraham is to found a family, 
 from which a people shall spring through whom the 
 whole earth shall be blessed. But this glorious re- 
 sult depends upon Abraham's faithfulness in "com- 
 manding his children and household after him." 
 
 20. cry of Sodom, that is, cry about Sodom's sin 
 which ascends to heaven and calls for judgment. 
 
 22. Two of Abraham's guests go on, and one re- 
 
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT 183 
 
 mains. This is Jehovah himself made manifest in a 
 theophany. 
 
 22-33. Abraham intercedes for the city, because his 
 sense of justice moves him to feel that it would not 
 be just to cause the righteous to perish with the 
 wicked. He pleads, therefore, with God to spare 
 the wicked for the sake of the ten righteous and gains 
 at last the great concession and the Divine assurance. 
 Here then was established the doctrine of the justice 
 of God. God's mercy and his loving-kindness come 
 to beautiful expression in the revelation to Moses 
 (Exod. 34. 6, 7). It was well to have the Justice 
 made clear. 
 
 24. Spare the place. The Hebrew means literally 
 "take away for the place," that is, take away its 
 guilt, so that the thought is of forgiveness. 
 
 25. that so the righteous should be as the wicked. 
 This was a very sore problem in the religious thought 
 of Israel which comes to its fullest intensity in the 
 days of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and to its discussion 
 the book of Job is devoted. 
 
 the Judge of all the earth. This is a great claim. 
 It verges toward monotheism. There may indeed be 
 other gods, that is not explicitly denied, but if there 
 are Jehovah is supreme judge over them. 
 33. And the Lord went his way. How did he go? 
 We are not told, but are left to surmise that he went 
 as he came. He did not disappear as in the case 
 of the divine theophany before Gideon (Judg. 6. 21). 
 
184 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 ALTERNATIVE XXIV 
 €a£(ter 3Bap 
 
 EZEKIEL 37. 1-14 
 
 EzEKiEL, of a distinguished priestly family, and there- 
 fore a member of the aristocracy of Judah, was carried 
 away into captivity in 597 by Nebuchadrezzar. In Baby- 
 lonia he was called to be a prophet in 593 and set himself 
 to comfort and establish his people in the faith of their 
 fathers and to awaken a sure conviction that Jehovah 
 would restore them to their own land. The lesson is taken 
 from a chapter in which the first part (verses 1-14) is given 
 to the resurrection of the people from national death and 
 the promised return to their own land, and the second 
 part (verses 15-28) to the promise of a reunion of Israel and 
 Judah under the house of David. It is not here predicted 
 that individuals are to be raised from the dead. That 
 assurance came later (Isa. 26. 19; Dan. 12; compare Job 
 14. 13f .) ; this is only national resurrection. 
 37. 2. upon the face of the valley. R. V., "in the open 
 valley." The bones are spread all over the valley 
 and they were bleached and dry, fitting symbol of 
 the deadness of the nation and of the hopelessness of 
 its revival. 
 
 3. thou knowest. It is a modest answer. The 
 prophet dare not answer positively, but must leave 
 the decision to God. Even the apostle Paul, in the 
 larger light which the Lord gave, must also speak 
 modestly. (Phil. 3. 11.) 
 
 5. breath. The first step is breath, yet that really 
 embraces the whole, for the breath is the life. 
 7. shaking. R. V., "an earthquake," but that gives 
 a suggestion that is not in the context. It is not 
 
EASTER DAY 185 
 
 the earth, but the bones that shake (Jewish version, 
 "a commotion"). The same word is also rendered 
 "rushing" (A. V., 3. 12). The word "noise" is omitted 
 by the Septuagint. 
 
 9. unto the wind. In Hebrew the same word means 
 "wind," "breath," and "spirit." Breath was seen 
 to be wind; and as breath was a visible expression 
 of life, it became quite natural to use the same word 
 for the vital principle of life. 
 
 12. Here the figure varies. Above the bones are 
 lying in the open valley, upon its face, but now the 
 bodies are in their graves. It is, however, still the 
 nation of which the prophet speaks. 
 
 13. O my people, not the individuals as such, but the 
 nation as a whole. 
 
 14. This gift of life is from God only. It is his spirit 
 that gives life (Psa. 104. 30). 
 
 II. the whole house of Israel, that is, both Judah 
 and Ephraim, and it is the living representatives of 
 what was once a nation, but is now destroyed, that 
 speak in the next vords, saying, "our hope is lost." 
 The nation has been broken and carried away into 
 captivity, and they who still live personally can dis- 
 cern no hope nationally. This is indeed a heart- 
 breaking thought for them, and God gives the prophet 
 authority to banish their fears, and renew their hopes. 
 
186 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 ALTERNATIVE XXVII 
 ^t)ttb ^unbap ^fter €asittv 
 
 Isaiah 60 
 
 The lesson belongs to the series of postexilic prophecies 
 (56-66) of which the background is Jerusalem and not 
 Babylon. The people have returned from exile, but many 
 Jews are scattered in other parts of the world, and for their 
 ingathering the devout people of Jerusalem are longing. 
 In this beautiful chapter the prophet, whom we may call 
 the Third Isaiah for lack of a better name, utters an apos- 
 trophe to the glory of the new Jerusalem. The temple 
 had been rebuilt (verses 7 and 13), but the city walls are yet 
 to be reconstructed (verse 10) so that the passage belongs 
 to the period before Nehemiah. 
 
 2. darkness. This is darkness of the heathen world, 
 in contrast to the light which shines upon Jerusalem from 
 her Lord. 
 
 4. carried. The Hebrew means literally (see margin 
 R. V.) "nursed on the side," that is, carried on the hip, 
 according to Oriental custom. 
 
 5. tremble, that is, throb with joy. 
 
 6. dromedaries. Lit., young camels, probably under nine 
 years old. 
 
 Ephah, a tribe of Midian. 
 
 Sheba, a country and people in Arabia (Yemen). 
 
 7. Kedar. A general designation for north Arabian 
 nomads, and Nebaioth, probably the people who later be- 
 came well known as the Nabateans. 
 
 beautify my beautiful house. The temple has been 
 rebuilt and needs only to be beautified. 
 
THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER 187 
 
 8. fly as a cloud. These are the ships on the Mediter- 
 ranean which will bring the Jews from the West, and also 
 much treasure to the restored Jerusalem. 
 
 12. The verse is prosaic and violates the arrangement of 
 the rest of the beautiful chapter, and has probably been 
 introduced from some gloss or marginal comment and was 
 not written by the prophet. I have, therefore, omitted it 
 for the practical purpose of public reading. 
 
 13. the cypress, the pine, and the box tree. R. V. reads 
 for cypress, "the fir tree," but cypress is much more likely. 
 The pine is doubtful, and the tree meant may be the plane 
 tree, and the Jewish version suggests "larch" for the third, 
 but this does not seem likely. How were these trees to be 
 used.'^ Were they to be planted, or were they to be used as 
 lumber for practical use or adornment? The latter seems 
 more probable. 
 
 19. thy glory, thy beauty. It is interesting to compare 
 Rev. 21. 23 with this beautiful verse. The prophet does 
 not mean that the sun and moon shall cease to exist, but 
 rather that supernatural light shall come with them, so that 
 the city shall not be dependent upon them. 
 
188 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 ALTERNATIVE XXXI 
 
 Exodus 34. 1-10, 29-35 
 
 This impressive and interesting passage is in two parts, 
 of which the first (verses 1-10) came from an interweaving 
 of the words of the Judaistic and Elohistic writers (about 
 B. C. 850 and 800). The second part (verses 29-35) was 
 set down for us by the Priestly writer during the Exile 
 (about B. C. 500). 
 34. I. Hew thee ... I will write. In the former instance 
 (32. 16) the tables themselves were God*s own handi- 
 work and were broken by Moses (32. 19), in this 
 case the tables are to be fashioned by Moses and 
 Jehovah will write upon them. 
 
 6-8. This is the theophany promised in 33. 19-23 
 [see Lesson XXI] and it is the moral nature of Jeho- 
 vah that here finds expression. 
 
 7. It is God's mercy, and not God's wrath, that is 
 here especially emphasized, as it is also in Exod. 20. 
 5, 6. unto thousands. Look back at Exod. 20. 6 
 and the meaning will be more clear, and yet more 
 clear if we compare the Revised Version which reads, 
 "showing mercy unto thousands, of them that love 
 me and keep my commandments." Note the comma 
 after the word thousands! The meaning is in the 
 antithesis. God's justice extends only to the "third 
 and fourth generation," but his mercy on the other 
 hand extends to "thousands belonging to them that 
 love me and keep my commandments," that is those 
 who are descendants of those who love God, or who 
 belong to them in any other way as dependents or 
 
WHITSUNDAY 189 
 
 even as servants. God's mercy, in other words, ex- 
 tends much further than his wrath. 
 10. marvels. The marvels or wonders here pre- 
 dicted are those described in Num. 11, 16, 20, 21, etc. 
 
 29. shone. His face shines because it reflects the 
 divine glory. The Hebrew word here translated 
 shone is a denominative from the Hebrew word kereUy 
 "horn,'' in the sense of ray (Hab. 3. 4). Jerome 
 translated it literally "was horned," and hence the 
 sculptors and painters who read the Vulgate have 
 quite commonly represented Moses with horns on 
 his head— so, for example, Michael Angelo. 
 
 30. were afraid. The shining face frightened the 
 people, and thereafter in all ordinary intercourse 
 Moses wore a veil. 
 
 34. went in before the Lord. The meaning is that 
 Moses went into the Tent of Meeting (compare 
 Exod. 25. 22 and Num. 7. 89). One should really 
 take the time to see how Paul makes use of this in 
 2 Cor. 3. 7-18, and it would be very profitable to 
 read Driver's admirable note upon Paul's allegorizing 
 (The Book of Exodus, Camb. Bible, pp. 375, 376). 
 
190 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 ALTERNATIVE XLIV 
 
 Habakkuk 2. 1-14 
 
 Nothing is known of the prophet Habakkuk save what 
 may be gleaned from his book; even the meaning of his 
 name is obscure and doubtful. He lived and worked 
 about the year B. C. 600, in the miserable days of Jehoiakim's 
 rule over Judah, and was therefore a contemporary of 
 Jeremiah. He was deeply moved by the sins of his people, 
 and argued that God should punish them, and not further 
 permit lawlessness and social disorder. The complaint of 
 the prophet is expressed in the form of a dialogue between 
 him and God (chap. 1) and when this is ended the prophet 
 sets himself upon a watchtower, in imagination, to await 
 God's reply. It is this reply which is here chosen for a 
 lesson. 
 2. I. tower. R. V., margin proposes "fortress." The 
 actual place conceived was probably part of the forti- 
 fied city wall from which one could survey the dis- 
 tance with the eye. 
 
 he will answer. This is the reading of the Syriac 
 version, and seems much better than the Hebrew text, 
 which is "what I shall answer." 
 
 2. he may run; that is, that the reader's eye may run 
 swiftly over it. There must be no indistinctness in the 
 writing. 
 
 3. hasteth. Lit., "panteth" or "puffeth." The vision 
 is personified and is represented as running swiftly 
 toward accomplishment. 
 
 4. This is the content of the vision which the prophet 
 was to write upon a tablet, and the meaning may 
 thus be paraphrased: "The soul of the Chaldean is 
 
TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 191 
 
 puffed up with pride, but the just shall live by his 
 faithfulness." 
 
 faithfulness. R. V., "faith"; but there is no word 
 for faith in the Hebrew language. The Hebrew word 
 here used means "steadiness," "firmness," and then as 
 a moral quality "faithfulness." This clause is quoted 
 in the New Testament by Paul (Rom. 1. 17, Gal. 3. 11), 
 where he renders "faith," making an extension of the 
 meaning of the Septuagint translation, and it is used 
 again in the same sense in Heb. 10. 37f. The New 
 Testament has simply spiritualized the meaning and 
 given it a significance beyond that originally meant 
 by Habakkuk. 
 
 In this, which Habakkuk is to write upon a tablet 
 and doubtless keep by him to refresh his memory, 
 and prevent his ever doubting God's moral govern- 
 ment again, we have the real kernel of Habakkuk*s 
 message. 
 
 5. With verse 5 begins a series of woes directed against 
 the Chaldeans. 
 
 Yea, moreover, wine. This makes absolutely no 
 sense, and the versions are helpless and hopeless, nor 
 has any successful emendation been proposed. The 
 context shows clearly enough that the reference must 
 have been to the Chaldeans, and not to wine. The 
 Chaldeans are charged with restless ambition. If in 
 reading one dare substitute "the Chaldean" for the 
 word "wine," he would probably come near the original 
 word of the prophet, and at least make some sense, 
 but I do not feel justified in so printing the text when 
 there is no support either in the Hebrew or in any of 
 the versions. 
 
 6. parable, rather, a taunting song. 
 
 pledges. The Chaldean is like a usurer who loads 
 himself with pledges. 
 
m OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 shake thee. R. V., "vex," which is not strong 
 enough. The meaning is harsh. The nations shall 
 shake the usurious pledges out of the Chaldeans. 
 Q-ii. Another woe against the Chaldeans. 
 
 9. set his nest on high, that is, make himself secure 
 against possible enemies, like the vulture which builds 
 its nest in rocky clefts far out of reach. 
 
 10. devised. R. V., "consulted." The meaning is 
 that the Chaldean planned or devised good for himself, 
 but it has resulted only in shame. The rhetorical 
 figure is called oxymoron. 
 
 11. the stone . . . the beam. The Chaldean had stolen 
 the stone for his building probably out of Arabia, and 
 the wood from the Lebanon or Amanus. These are 
 now witnesses against him. 
 
 13. labor for the fire. Men toil to build and the fire 
 consumes their structures; so will their empires fall 
 to pieces, and in their place will come Jehovah's glory 
 (verse 14). This latter verse is based upon Isa. 11. 9, 
 but with changes both in phraseology and in its appli- 
 cation. 
 
FOURTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 193 
 
 ALTERNATIVE XLVI 
 Jf ourteentb ^unbap ^fter ^xinitp 
 
 Amos 5. 4-24 
 
 For notes concerning Amos and his mission see XI, 
 p. 59. This passage follows immediately upon the first 
 three verses of the chapter in which the prophet sings a dirge 
 over Israel, as already fallen, because he has seen no signs of 
 any amendment. He now follows this with a stinging state- 
 ment that Israel really deserves the doom which he has 
 just pronounced because she has relied on sacrifices at va- 
 rious holy places rather than upon ethical amendment. 
 5. 4. seek ye me. The expression has varied signifi- 
 cations, but here the meaning is to seek God by the 
 practice of a righteous life. 
 
 seek not. To go to Bethel or some other place to 
 consult an oracle or to offer sacrifices. 
 
 Bethel. The principal sanctuary of the northern 
 Kingdom, about ten miles north of Jerusalem. 
 
 Gilgal. The first camping place west of the Jordan, 
 and about four and one half miles from the river. 
 
 5. Beersheba. In the extreme south, about fifty 
 miles below Jerusalem and at the very end of the land. 
 
 In these two verses Amos makes a very striking 
 series of plays upon words, as he also makes use of 
 assonance, using in the words that follow "Gilgal" 
 Hebrew words repeating the sound of **g.'* 
 
 6. break out like fire. Fire is here a symbol for any 
 form of punishment that Jehovah might put upon a 
 recreant people. The punishment that actually came 
 was an Assyrian invasion. 
 
 7. The words are bitter. Amos charges that instead 
 of maintaining judgment they have made it bitter and 
 have cast righteousness to earth. 
 
194 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 8, 9. The verses are intended to emphasize the great- 
 ness of the God whom Israel insults by her evil courses. 
 The names "Pleiades" and "Orion" may be correct, 
 but there is no certain identification. 
 
 10. they hate. These evil-minded people hate even the 
 magistrates who dispense justice in the gateway. 
 
 11. These people have despoiled the poor. They shall 
 not live comfortably upon ill-gotten gains. 
 
 12. a bribe; that is, a ransom, or the price of a life 
 (Exod. 31. 30, Num. 35. 31). It was expressly for- 
 bidden to take a ransom and allow a murderer to 
 escape punishment. 
 
 13. As justice is in such a plight it is quite useless for 
 anybody to inform upon a wrong-doer, and people who 
 are prudent, that is, worldly wise, do not take the 
 risk of doing it. 
 
 14. 15. Amos renews his exhortation to good works. 
 There may yet be a chance to save a remnant if the 
 people will but turn from their evil ways. 
 
 16, 17. Amos feels sure, however, that the people 
 will not heed his solicitations, and he therefore renews 
 the terrible prediction that death and destruction 
 are impending, and that there will be more dead than 
 can be buried with decent ceremonies. 
 18-20. Some men hope that the Day of the Lord will 
 come and save them, for, according to their theology, 
 on that day God will triumph over his enemies, whereas 
 to Amos it is a day in which God's righteousness will 
 be vindicated over sin. The illustrations used by Amos 
 to enforce the thought that a man may escape from 
 one evil only to fall into another are as brilliant as 
 they are pointed. 
 
 21-23. God will not be satisfied with sacrifices of any 
 kind. His one and only satisfying demand is judg- 
 ment and righteousness (verse 24). 
 
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 195 
 
 ALTERNATIVE L 
 
 €isjjteenti) ^unbap ^fter Zxinitv 
 
 Jonah 3. 1 — 4. 11 
 
 The book of Jonah was written by an unknown man, 
 richly endowed by nature, and yet more richly filled with 
 the divine Spirit. He was a prophet and well deserves to 
 rank with the greatest of them all, with Jeremiah or with 
 the Second Isaiah, Isaiah of Babylon. There were strains 
 of pride and stains of sin in the Judaism from which the 
 book came. It was a hard Judaism, a stony soil, in many 
 ways, to bear a flower so tender, so beautiful, so catholic 
 as this dear book. It is a neglected book, little esteemed 
 among us, well deserving more study than ever it receives, 
 appealing as it is and winsome. Yet it has suffered much 
 not only at the hands of those who have spoken contemptu- 
 ously of it as a "fish story," but also by those who made 
 great cause of defending it, for they often enough were 
 so deeply concerned about one verse in it that they failed 
 to see the real glory of the book. As the wise old divine 
 said, "They pore over the whale and forget God." Let 
 us absolutely neglect the great fish, and ask what the book 
 really means. The book of Jonah is not a book containing 
 the prophetic messages of Jonah, as are Amos, Hosea, 
 and the others. It is, rather, a didactic book, written 
 about the name and person of the prophet Jonah, who 
 lived in the reign of Jeroboam II (780P-740?) and predicted 
 the king's success in war (2 Kings 14. 25). There Jonah is 
 a distinguished figure; in this book he is held up to rebuke, 
 if not to contempt. The book is a symbolical allegory in 
 which Jonah is a symbol of Israel, and the nation's history 
 and mental attitude are allegorized in a story of extra- 
 ordinary events. If we compare Jer. 51. 34, 44, we shall 
 
196 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 see at once that Babylon has swallowed up Israel, and that 
 Jonah is Israel, and this makes clear enough what the 
 fish episode means. 
 
 The lessons of the book grow out of the words and acts 
 which are told of Jonah. God would send him on a mission 
 to Nineveh, but he will not go, but runs away from the 
 duty, which was also a privilege. The writer of the book, 
 in the third or fourth century before Christ, knew full well 
 that Israel had no selfish possession in Jehovah, but that 
 all the nations should be blessed (or "bless themselves") 
 in Abraham (Gen. 12. 3), and in that knowledge which 
 he and his people were to possess of God's will and ways. 
 The story which he tells of Jonah's flight is an abhorrent 
 thing to him. But Jonah is pictured as comfortably asleep 
 when God's vengeance is ready to overtake him (1. 5). 
 Marti has finely contrasted the sleep of Jesus (Mark 4. 
 35-41): "Jonah was tranquil since he thought he was far 
 from God's hand, Jesus confident since he knew himself 
 to be hidden in God's hand." Jonah's attempt to escape 
 was a failure, and at last he goes unwillingly to preach 
 repentance to the people of Nineveh. Here begins then 
 the noble and beautiful passage. 
 
 3. 2. three days' journey. The city is so vast, in the 
 writer's eyes, that it would require three days to pass 
 through it. This is hyperbole for emphasis and im- 
 pressiveness. 
 
 4-9. The effect of the prophet's preaching was mag- 
 ical, for the whole immense city from king to peasant 
 laborer turns to God in repentance, and the forgiving 
 God of Israel delivers them from the threatened 
 punishment. 
 
 4. I. Jonah is bitterly angry at God's mercy shown to 
 the heathen whom he despised or hated, either or 
 both. Jonah's desire was to see them destroyed, for 
 they did not deserve to live. The spirit of the man 
 
EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 197 
 
 is horrible, but there have been too many examples 
 of a similar desire among Christian theologians excom- 
 municating heretics and burning them at the stake, 
 and consigning enemies of the truth, real or supposed, 
 to everlasting torment for us to cast stones at the 
 prophet as he is here portrayed. 
 
 2. Jonah flings an insult into God's face because he 
 is gracious and compassionate. 
 
 6 and 9. Jonah has a touch of the humane spirit, 
 for he is angry at the sudden destruction of the gourd, 
 partly, of course, because it gave him shelter and a bit 
 of comfort, but he felt "pity" (verse 10) for it also, 
 and it is something that he could feel a touch of care 
 about a plant. 
 
 II. Now are we come to the climax. God is a God 
 of pity and of forgiveness. He will pardon Nineveh 
 which has repented, and he will have pity because it 
 has more than six score thousand children, for it is 
 they who are meant in the phrase, "that cannot dis- 
 cern between their right hand and their left hand." 
 The innocent children must not suffer for the sins 
 of the elders. Then follows in a veritable climax, 
 "and also much cattle." God pities the dumb beasts. 
 What a God he is indeed! No man, be he never so 
 tender of heart, can approach him in compassion. 
 What a God he is for us in our sin and folly and ig- 
 norance and willfulness! This is, indeed, a great 
 book, a book of missionary spirit in deepest and truest 
 form. 
 
198 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 ALTERNATIVE LIII 
 
 EZEKIEL 14 
 
 For notes on Ezekiel and his book see Alternative XXIV, 
 p. 184. In chapter 13 the prophet denounced the false 
 prophets. He now turns to declare that though the false 
 prophets have misled the people, on the other hand these 
 false prophets owe their existence and the falsity of the 
 message to the people among whom they live and work. 
 They are enticed from the truth by a people corrupted 
 with idolatry. 
 
 14. 3. stumbling-block. The reference is still to idol- 
 atry. It causes men to stumble and it is iniquity. 
 
 inquired of; that is, Should the real prophet 
 Ezekiel give any answer to such people? 
 7. I will answer him. The next verse shows that the 
 divine answer will come in the form of a divine act. 
 
 9. The idea is similar to that expressed in 1 Kings 
 22. 20. If the prophet enters into the spirit of the 
 people and is enticed into speaking falsely, it is the 
 Lord who had brought this about as a punishment 
 for the idolatry of the people. 
 
 10. Both people and prophets are threatened with 
 destruction. This statement would probably be met, 
 in the people's minds, with the thought that perhaps 
 the prophet had said too much and that God would 
 save the people because of the righteous who were 
 among them. To this possible argument the prophet 
 replies in verses 12-23, and quite in the same spirit 
 as Jer. 15. 
 
 11. Yet are all these severe judgments set for a high 
 
TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 199 
 
 moral end, for their purpose is to save and not to 
 destroy. It is intended that they shall warn God's 
 people and bring them back to him. 
 12. a land. A. V., "the land," but erroneously. The 
 whole verse is a supposition, and applies to any land. 
 14. Jeremiah had said, "Though Moses and Samuel 
 stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward 
 this people" (15. 1). Now Ezekiel uses three other 
 famous worthies, Noah, Daniel, and Job, to enforce 
 the same principle, that only personal righteousness 
 can deliver any individual. 
 
 22. should there be left. R. V., "therein shall be 
 left." It is hypothetical, not declarative. The 
 thought is that if any escape, it is only that they 
 may point a moral and cause men to be satisfied, 
 who are now in exile, when the great fall of Jeru- 
 salem occurs in B. C. 586. 
 
 comforted concerning the evil. This means the im- 
 pending evil of Jerusalem's destruction which was to 
 come in 586. They who had been carried away in 597 
 were the chief people of the kingdom, while those who 
 were left behind were the poor, the ignorant, and very 
 probably the idolatrous. They are even compared 
 with bad figs that cannot be eaten (Jer. 24. 8-12, 
 29. 16-20). The point which Ezekiel is now making 
 is that when the earlier and nobler exiles of 597 see 
 these people brought into captivity, they will be so 
 disgusted with them as to be "comforted" and recon- 
 ciled to the manifestation of God's justice upon a 
 city which had been inhabited by such people. 
 
200 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 ALTERNATIVE LIV 
 
 Nehemiah 8. 1-12 
 
 The book of Nehemiah was originally one book with 
 Ezra, and the two were together probably originally one 
 book with the Chronicles, and the whole not complete until 
 B. C. 300, or even later. The chronicler was a priest, 
 or at least wrote and compiled in the priestly spirit. The 
 book of Nehemiah as it now exists reveals Nehemiah as a 
 person of many engaging qualities, though harsh at times 
 and perhaps not always as wise as he was severe. The 
 narrative here chosen has a public value as an account 
 of the feelings inspired in the people by Ezra's presenta- 
 tion of the Law Book. 
 
 8. I. the water gate. Probably on the eastern side of 
 the city. 
 
 book of the Law of Moses. This was the book 
 which Ezra brought from Babylon where it had been 
 compiled out of ancient sources and traditions and 
 modified to suit the conditions then prevailing. 
 Whether it was the whole or only a part of the Penta- 
 teuch is still a subject of learned dispute. But if 
 the whole was not then in Ezra's hand in a completed 
 roll, it was surely completed within a few years. 
 
 4. pulpit. The Hebrew means literally a "tower." 
 The context shows it must have been a raised platform. 
 
 5. stood up — a sign of respect. 
 
 8. gave the sense — explained the meaning of laws 
 so that the people might thoroughly understand. 
 
 9. Tirshatha. Probably an honorific title. Nehe- 
 miah's proper title was pekah, "governor." 
 
TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 201 
 
 wept. So also when the Deuteronomic Law was dis- 
 covered, 2 Kings 22. 11, 19. But they were bidden 
 not to weep as they heard the law, but to rejoice and 
 so they did. God was their Protector and Friend, 
 and they should rejoice to know and to understand 
 his Law. 
 
 10. eat the fat, and drink the sweet. The fatty por- 
 tions of meat are those most highly esteemed by the 
 modern as also by the ancient Orientals, and the 
 greatest compliment to a guest at a feast is to offer 
 him the meat with the thickest layer of fat. By the 
 sweet is meant the new wine in which fermentation has 
 but just begun or at least has not progressed far enough 
 to have broken down all the grape sugar into alcohol. 
 
 for whom nothing is prepared. This means the 
 poor, and the Septuagint reads simply, "those who 
 have not," which represents, perhaps, a preferable 
 text. 
 
202 OLD TESTAMENT LESSONS 
 
 ALTERNATIVE LVI 
 
 Haggai 2. 1-9 
 
 The name of the prophet Haggai means "festal," and he 
 may have been so named because of birth on one of the 
 great Jewish feasts. He was a contemporary of Zechariah, 
 who far excels him in literary ability (see Lesson XXII). 
 Haggai's religious message is simple: it was merely an 
 urgent call to rebuild the Temple, for he saw quite plainly 
 that there could be no development or even continuance 
 of Israel's religion without it. The people had returned, 
 or at least a part of them, and that far smaller than was 
 desirable, in the year 536 and laid the foundations and 
 erected the altar of burnt sacrifice, but did not rebuild the 
 Temple. So the matter rested for sixteen years, until 
 August-September, 520, when Haggai uttered his first call 
 for action. Then, on the 21st day of October-November, 
 Haggai spoke again the words now before us, and Zechariah 
 followed with his first message to the same purpose. 
 
 2. 3. as nothing. There were many discouragements. 
 The Temple had lain in ruins for sixty-six years, and 
 the men who had survived and could remember what 
 it had been in their youth could hardly feel other 
 than discouraged as they thought of the attempt 
 to rebuild. What could now be done would seem 
 like nothing. From this discouragement Haggai at- 
 tempts to rouse them. 
 
 5. The first clause of this verse, which reads in R. V. 
 ''according to the word that I covenanted with you 
 when ye came out of Egypt," cannot be grammatically 
 construed with its context. It does not appear in 
 
TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY 203 
 
 the Septuagint, and I have left it out. So Wellhausen, 
 Nowack, G. A. Smith, Marti, and Driver. 
 6-9. A beautiful Messianic passage. Let not the 
 builders despair. The temple they now build may be 
 smaller than that of Solomon, but it will be glorified 
 by God, in the days of the ideal kingdom. 
 
 6. a little while. The future is foreshortened, as was 
 commonly the case with the prophets. 
 
 7. desirable things ; that is, gold and silver and precious 
 gems brought to adorn the Temple by all peoples. 
 This is to take place in the Messianic age. The old 
 translation, "the Desire of all nations," which makes 
 it a personal reference to the Messiah, rests upon a 
 mistranslation of the Hebrew in the Latin Vulgate. 
 9. peace. The great hope of the Messianic age. 
 
CALENDAR RUBRICS 
 
CALENDAR RUBRICS 207 
 
 CALENDAR RUBRICS 
 
 The following directions and tables are for the use of 
 those who may desire to read the Scripture passages accord- 
 ing to the Days of the Church Year. They who would 
 prefer to read according to any other system may follow 
 the numbers and neglect these Calendar rubrics, as has 
 already been suggested in the Preface. These directions 
 for finding the day in the Church Year have been made 
 more elaborate and abundant than many are likely to need. 
 They are intentionally numerous and precise for the help 
 of those to whom the Church Year is less familiar or even 
 strange. 
 
 1. The Movable Festivals all depend upon Easter except 
 Advent. 
 
 2. Advent Sunday ^ called also First Sunday in Advent y 
 is always the nearest Sunday to the thirtieth day of No- 
 vember, whether before or after. The thirtieth day of 
 November is St. Andrew's Day. 
 
 3. Easter Day, upon which the rest depend, is always 
 the first Sunday after the full moon, which happens upon 
 or next after the twenty -first day of March; and if the 
 full moon happen upon a Sunday, Easter Day is the Sunday 
 after. Note. The full moon here meant is the fourteenth 
 day of a lunar month, reckoned according to an ancient 
 ecclesiastical computation, and not the real or astro- 
 nomical full moon. 
 
 4. To supply the dates of Easter, without need of com- 
 putation, the following table is offered. 
 
208 
 
 CALENDAR RUBRICS 
 
 II 
 
 A Table of the Days on Which Easter Will Fall from 
 1920 to 1970 
 
 1920 April 4 
 
 1921 March 27 
 
 1922 April 16 
 
 1923 April 1 
 
 1924 April 20 
 
 1925 April 12 
 
 1926 April 4 
 
 1927 April 17 
 
 1928 April 8 
 
 1929 March 31 
 
 1930 April 20 
 
 1931 April 5 
 
 1932 March 27 
 
 1933 April 16 
 
 1934 April 1 
 
 1935 April 21 
 
 1936 April 12 
 
 1937 March 28 
 
 1938 April 17 
 
 1939 April 9 
 
 1940 March 24 
 
 1941 April 13 
 
 1942 April 5 
 
 1943 April 25 
 
 1944 April 9 
 
 1945 April 1 
 
 1946 April 21 
 
 1947 April 6 
 
 1948 March 28 
 
 1949 April 17 
 
 1950 April 9 
 
 1951 March 25 
 
 1952 April 13 
 
 1953 April 5 
 
 1954 April 18 
 
 1955 April 10 
 
 1956 April 1 
 
 1957 April 21 
 
 1958 April 6 
 
 1959 March 29 
 
 1960 April 17 
 
 1961 April 2 
 
 1962 April 22 
 
 1963 April 14 
 
 1964 March 29 
 
 1965 April 18 
 
 1966 April 10 
 
 1967 March 26 
 
 1968 April 14 
 
 1969 April 6 
 
 1970 March 29 
 
 Septuagesima 
 
 Sexagesima 
 
 Quinquagesima 
 
 III 
 
 oa "^ r Nine ) 
 
 >- Sunday is -< Eight >- 
 
 ima J V. Seven ) 
 
 Weeks before Easter. 
 
 Ascension-day 
 Whitsunday 
 Trinity Sunday 
 
 Forty Days 
 Seven Weeks 
 Eight Weeks 
 
 after Easter. 
 
 Ash Wednesday, or the beginning of Lent, is forty-six days before 
 
 Easter. 
 Palm Sunday, or the beginning of Holy Week, is seven days before 
 
 Easter. 
 Holy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. 
 Good Friday is the Friday before Easter. 
 
CALENDAR RUBRICS 
 
 209 
 
 IV 
 
 A Table of the Movable Feasts, According to the Several 
 Days That Easter Can Possibly Fall Upon 
 
 EASTER 
 DAY 
 
 1. 
 
 If 
 
 If 
 
 
 1. 
 
 1=^ 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 11 
 
 C 0) 
 
 a > 
 
 
 CM 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 
 3 
 W3 
 
 
 Mar. 22 
 
 1 
 
 Jan. 18 
 
 Feb. 4 
 
 Apr. 30 
 
 May 10 
 
 27 
 
 Nov. 29 
 
 Mar. 23 
 
 1 
 
 Jan. 19 
 
 Feb. 5 
 
 May 1 
 
 May 11 
 
 27 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 Mar. 24 
 
 1 
 
 Jan. 20 
 
 Feb. 6 
 
 May 2 
 
 May 12 
 
 27 
 
 Dec. 1 
 
 Mar. 25 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 21 
 
 Feb. 7 
 
 May 3 
 
 May 13 
 
 27 
 
 Dec. 2 
 
 Mar. 26 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 22 
 
 Feb. 8 
 
 May 4 
 
 May 14 
 
 27 
 
 Dec. 3 
 
 Mar. 27 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 23 
 
 Feb. 9 
 
 May 5 
 
 May 15 
 
 26 
 
 Nov. 27 
 
 Mar. 28 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 24 
 
 Feb. 10 
 
 May 6 
 
 May 16 
 
 26 
 
 Nov. 28 
 
 Mar. 29 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 25 
 
 Feb. 11 
 
 May 7 
 
 May 17 
 
 26 
 
 Nov. 29 
 
 Mar. 30 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 26 
 
 Feb. 12 
 
 May 8 
 
 May 18 
 
 26 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 Mar. 31 
 
 2 
 
 Jan. 27 
 
 Feb. 13 
 
 May 9 
 
 May 19 
 
 26 
 
 Dec. 1 
 
 Apr. 1 
 
 3 
 
 Jan. 28 
 
 Feb. 14 
 
 May 10 
 
 May 20 
 
 26 
 
 Dec. 2 
 
 Apr. 2 
 
 3 
 
 Jan. 29 
 
 Feb. 15 
 
 May 11 
 
 May 21 
 
 26 
 
 Dec. 3 
 
 Apr. 3 
 
 3 
 
 Jan. 30 
 
 Feb. 16 
 
 May 12 
 
 May 22 
 
 25 
 
 Nov. 27 
 
 Apr. 4 
 
 3 
 
 Jan. 31 
 
 Feb. 17 
 
 May 13 
 
 May 23 
 
 25 
 
 Nov. 28 
 
 Apr. 5 
 
 3 
 
 Feb. 1 
 
 Feb. 18 
 
 May 14 
 
 May 24 
 
 25 
 
 Nov. 29 
 
 Apr. 6 
 
 3 
 
 Feb. 2 
 
 Feb. 19 
 
 May 15 
 
 May 25 
 
 25 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 Apr. 7 
 
 3 
 
 Feb. 3 
 
 Feb. 20 
 
 May 16 
 
 May 26 
 
 25 
 
 Dec. 1 
 
 Apr. 8 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 4 
 
 Feb. 21 
 
 May 17 
 
 May 27 
 
 25 
 
 Dec. 2 
 
 Apr. 9 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 5 
 
 Feb. 22 
 
 May 18 
 
 May 28 
 
 25 
 
 Dec. 3 
 
 Apr. 10 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 6 
 
 Feb. 23 
 
 May 19 
 
 May 29 
 
 24 
 
 Nov. 27 
 
 Apr. 11 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 7 
 
 Feb. 24 
 
 May 20 
 
 May 30 
 
 24 
 
 Nov. 28 
 
 Apr. 12 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 8 
 
 Feb. 25 
 
 May 21 
 
 May 31 
 
 24 
 
 Nov. 29 
 
 Apr. 13 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 9 
 
 Feb. 26 
 
 May 22 
 
 June 1 
 
 24 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 Apr. 14 
 
 4 
 
 Feb. 10 
 
 Feb. 27 
 
 May 23 
 
 June 2 
 
 24 
 
 Dec. 1 
 
 Apr. 15 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 11 
 
 Feb. 28 
 
 May 24 
 
 June 3 
 
 24 
 
 Dec. 2 
 
 Apr. 16 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 12 
 
 Mar. 1 
 
 May 25 
 
 June 4 
 
 24 
 
 Dec. 3 
 
 Apr. 17 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 13 
 
 Mar. 2 
 
 May 26 
 
 June 5 
 
 23 
 
 Nov. 27 
 
 Apr. 18 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 14 
 
 Mar. 3 
 
 May 27 
 
 June 6 
 
 23 
 
 Nov. 28 
 
 Apr. 19 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 15 
 
 Mar. 4 
 
 May 28 
 
 June 7 
 
 23 
 
 Nov. 29 
 
 Apr. 20 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 16 
 
 Mar. 5 
 
 May 29 
 
 June 8 
 
 23 
 
 Nov. 30 
 
 Apr. 21 
 
 5 
 
 Feb. 17 
 
 Mar. 6 
 
 May 30 
 
 June 9 
 
 23 
 
 Dec. 1 
 
 Apr. 22 
 
 6 
 
 Feb. 18 
 
 Mar. 7 
 
 May 31 
 
 June 10 
 
 23 
 
 Dec. 2 
 
 Apr. 23 
 
 6 
 
 Feb. 19 
 
 Mar. 8 
 
 June 1 
 
 June 11 
 
 23 
 
 Dec. 3 
 
 Apr. 24 
 
 6 
 
 Feb. 20 
 
 Mar. 9 
 
 June 2 
 
 June 12 
 
 22 
 
 Nov. 27 
 
 Apr. 25 
 
 6 
 
 Feb. 21 
 
 Mar. 10 
 
 June 3 
 
 June 13 
 
 22 
 
 Nov. 28 
 
 Note. — In a leap year the number of Sundays after Epiphany is 
 the same as if Easter had fallen one day later than it really does; and 
 Septuagesima Sunday and Ash Wednesday fall one day later than that 
 given in the Table, unless the Table gives some day in March for 
 Ash Wednesday; for in that case the day given by the Table is the 
 right day. 
 
210 CALENDAR RUBRICS 
 
 V. 
 
 To make still more easy the search for the lesson for any 
 particular day in the Chm'ch Calendar there is here provided 
 a complete list of lessons for every Sunday for twenty-one 
 years. If this little Lectionary should endure so long, and 
 find a place of usefulness, it may be hoped that another 
 Calendar may be prepared before this is exhausted, or that 
 any minister who has used it may by that time be so famil- 
 iar with the Days of the Ecclesiastical Year as not to need 
 a Calendar so elaborate, but be able for himself to locate 
 the lesson for any day by means of the other Tables. 
 
 The Tables are here only for those who wish to use them. 
 The Scripture Lesson is the end, aim, purpose. Let us read 
 the Old Testament in the hearing of the people, by this 
 ancient system, or by some other system, or by no system 
 at all. The means are not important, if so be that the end 
 be accomplished. 
 

 
 >> >> 
 
 
 >> >> 
 
 >> 
 
 >, 
 
 
 
 es 
 
 
 >> 
 
 
 >. 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 -aw 
 
 >. a 
 
 
 It 
 
 Ma 
 
 H 
 
 WW 
 
 
 1^ 
 
 1. 
 
 at 
 
 1 
 
 "S a 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 ■5 « 
 
 
 
 
 2l 
 
 11 
 
 SI 
 
 II 
 
 S13 
 
 
 
 1^ 
 
 3^ 
 
 2^ 
 
 CQ.S 
 
 1- 
 
 5^ 
 
 
 M 
 ^ 
 
 1920.... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 . 28 
 
 1921.... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 30 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 1922.... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 5 
 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 1923.... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 1924.... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 30 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 1925. . . . 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April 
 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 5 
 
 1926. . . . 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 
 
 
 31 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 1927. . . . 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 30 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 1928. . . . 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April 
 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 1 
 
 1929.... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 
 27 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 1930.... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April 
 
 AprU 
 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 30 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 1931.... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 1932.... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 31 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 1933.... 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 AprU 
 
 April 
 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 5 
 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 1934.... 
 
 Jan 
 
 Jan, 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 ' 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 1935.... 
 
 Jan 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb, 
 
 Feb. 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 31 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 1936. . . . 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April 
 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 5 
 
 1937. . . . 
 
 Jan 
 
 Jan 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 31 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 1938. . . . 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April 
 
 AprU 
 
 
 9 
 
 15 
 
 23 
 
 30 
 
 6 
 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 1939.... 
 
 Jan, 
 
 Jan, 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 AprU 
 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 1940.... 
 
 Jan 
 
 Jan 
 
 
 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 
 7 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 27 1 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 3 
 
 10 1 17 
 
 211 
 

 1 
 
 1 
 
 4^ 
 
 cow 
 
 h 
 
 jo's 
 
 •13 ^ 
 
 M 
 
 1. 
 SI 
 
 M 
 
 il 
 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 •a 
 
 1? 
 
 s 
 
 11 
 
 1.^ 
 
 ^"3 
 
 1^ 
 
 M 
 
 1920. . . . 
 
 April 
 2 
 
 April 
 
 4 
 
 April 
 11 
 
 April 
 18 
 
 April 
 25 
 
 May 
 2 
 
 May 
 9 
 
 May 
 16 
 
 May 
 23 
 
 May 
 30 
 
 June 
 6 
 
 June 
 13 
 
 June 
 20 
 
 June 
 27 
 
 July 
 
 1921.... 
 
 Mar. 
 25 
 
 Mar. 
 27 
 
 April 
 3 
 
 April 
 10 
 
 April 
 17 
 
 V 
 
 May 
 1 
 
 May 
 
 May 
 15 
 
 May 
 22 
 
 May 
 29 
 
 June 
 5 
 
 June 
 12 
 
 June 
 19 
 
 June 
 26 
 
 1922.... 
 
 April 
 14 
 
 April 
 16 
 
 ^f' 
 
 ^'" 
 
 May 
 
 May 
 14 
 
 May 
 21 
 
 May 
 
 28 
 
 June 
 4 
 
 June 
 11 
 
 June 
 18 
 
 June 
 25 
 
 July 
 2 
 
 July 
 9 
 
 July 
 16 
 
 1923.... 
 
 Mar. 
 30 
 
 April 
 
 1 
 
 April 
 8 
 
 April 
 15 
 
 X 
 
 Ag" 
 
 May 
 6 
 
 May 
 13 
 
 May 
 20 
 
 May 
 27 
 
 June 
 3 
 
 June 
 10 
 
 June 
 17 
 
 June 
 24 
 
 July 
 
 1924. . . . 
 
 April 
 18 
 
 April 
 20 
 
 April 
 
 27 
 
 May 
 4 
 
 May 
 11 
 
 May 
 18 
 
 May 
 25 
 
 June 
 1 
 
 June 
 8 
 
 June 
 15 
 
 June 
 22 
 
 June 
 29 
 
 July 
 6 
 
 July 
 13 
 
 July 
 20 
 
 1925.... 
 
 April 
 10 
 
 April 
 12 
 
 April 
 19 
 
 X 
 
 May 
 3 
 
 May 
 10 
 
 May 
 17 
 
 May 
 24 
 
 May 
 31 
 
 June 
 7 
 
 June 
 14 
 
 June 
 21 
 
 June 
 28 
 
 July 
 5 
 
 July 
 12 
 
 1926. . . . 
 
 April 
 2 
 
 April 
 4 
 
 AprU 
 
 April 
 18 
 
 r 
 
 May 
 2 
 
 May 
 9 
 
 May 
 16 
 
 May 
 23 
 
 May 
 30 
 
 June 
 6 
 
 June 
 13 
 
 June 
 20 
 
 June 
 27 
 
 July 
 
 1927.... 
 
 April 
 15 
 
 April 
 17 
 
 .April 
 
 May 
 
 1 
 
 May 
 
 May 
 15 
 
 May 
 22 
 
 May 
 29 
 
 June 
 5 
 
 June 
 12 
 
 June 
 19 
 
 June 
 26 
 
 July 
 3 
 
 July 
 10 
 
 «, 
 
 1928. . . . 
 
 April 
 6 
 
 April 
 8 
 
 April 
 15 
 
 April 
 22 
 
 April 
 29 
 
 May 
 6 
 
 May 
 13 
 
 May 
 20 
 
 May 
 
 27 
 
 June 
 3 
 
 June 
 10 
 
 June 
 17 
 
 June 
 24 
 
 July 
 
 1 
 
 July 
 
 8 
 
 1929. . . . 
 
 Mar. 
 29 
 
 Mar. 
 31 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 14 
 
 April 
 21 
 
 V 
 
 May 
 5 
 
 May 
 12 
 
 May 
 19 
 
 May 
 26 
 
 June 
 2 
 
 June 
 9 
 
 June 
 16 
 
 June 
 23 
 
 June 
 30 
 
 1930. . . . 
 
 •t?' 
 
 X' 
 
 April 
 27 
 
 May 
 4 
 
 May 
 11 
 
 May 
 18 
 
 May 
 
 June 
 
 1 
 
 June 
 
 8 
 
 June 
 15 
 
 June 
 22 
 
 June 
 29 
 
 July 
 6 
 
 July 
 13 
 
 July 
 20 
 
 1931... 
 
 April 
 
 Y 
 
 April 
 12 
 
 April 
 19 
 
 Apnl 
 
 May 
 3 
 
 May 
 10 
 
 May 
 17 
 
 May 
 24 
 
 May 
 31 
 
 June 
 7 
 
 June 
 14 
 
 June 
 21 
 
 June 
 28 
 
 July 
 5 
 
 1932. . . 
 
 Mar. 
 25 
 
 Mar. 
 27 
 
 April 
 3 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 17 
 
 April 
 24 
 
 May 
 
 May 
 8 
 
 May 
 15 
 
 May 
 22 
 
 May 
 29 
 
 June 
 5 
 
 June 
 12 
 
 June 
 19 
 
 June 
 26 
 
 1933. . . . 
 
 April 
 14 
 
 April 
 16 
 
 Agil 
 
 *s" 
 
 May 
 
 7 
 
 May 
 14 
 
 May 
 21 
 
 May 
 28 
 
 June 
 4 
 
 June 
 11 
 
 June 
 18 
 
 June 
 25 
 
 July 
 2 
 
 July 
 9 
 
 July 
 16 
 
 1934.... 
 
 Mar. 
 30 
 
 April 
 
 1 
 
 April 
 8 
 
 April 
 15 
 
 April 
 22 
 
 April 
 
 29 
 
 May 
 6 
 
 May 
 13 
 
 May 
 20 
 
 May 
 
 27 
 
 June 
 3 
 
 June 
 10 
 
 June 
 17 
 
 June 
 24 
 
 July 
 
 1 
 
 1935.... 
 
 April 
 19 
 
 April 
 21 
 
 Apnl 
 
 May 
 5 
 
 May 
 12 
 
 May 
 19 
 
 May 
 26 
 
 June 
 2 
 
 June 
 9 
 
 June 
 16 
 
 June 
 23 
 
 June 
 30 
 
 July 
 7 
 
 July 
 14 
 
 July 
 21 
 
 1936. . . . 
 
 April 
 10 
 
 April 
 12 
 
 April 
 19 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 May 
 10 
 
 May 
 17 
 
 May 
 
 24 
 
 May 
 31 
 
 June 
 
 7 
 
 June 
 14 
 
 June 
 21 
 
 June 
 
 28 
 
 July 
 5 
 
 July 
 12 
 
 1937... 
 
 Mar. 
 26 
 
 Mar. 
 28 
 
 April 
 4 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 18 
 
 April 
 25 
 
 May 
 2 
 
 May 
 9 
 
 May 
 16 
 
 May 
 23 
 
 May 
 30 
 
 June 
 6 
 
 June 
 13 
 
 July 
 
 June 
 25 
 
 June 
 20 
 
 July 
 10 
 
 July 
 2 
 
 June 
 27 
 
 1938. . . . 
 
 April 
 15 
 
 April 
 17 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 1 
 
 Ma. 
 
 May 
 15 
 
 May 
 22 
 
 May 
 29 
 
 June 
 5 
 
 June 
 12 
 
 June 
 4 
 
 June 
 19 
 
 June 
 11 
 
 June 
 26 
 
 June 
 18 
 
 July 
 17 
 
 1939.... 
 
 April 
 7 
 
 April 
 9 
 
 April 
 16 
 
 Agi. 
 
 V 
 
 May 
 7 
 
 May 
 14 
 
 May 
 21 
 
 May 
 
 28 
 
 July 
 9 
 
 1940. . . . 
 
 Mar. 
 22 
 
 Mar. 
 24 
 
 May 
 .•^1 
 
 April 
 
 7 
 
 April 
 
 14 
 
 April 
 
 April 
 
 r 
 
 May 
 
 12 
 
 May 
 19 
 
 May 
 26 
 
 June 
 2 
 
 June 
 9 
 
 June 
 16 
 
 June 
 23 
 
 2n 
 

 1:1 
 
 1. 
 
 II 
 
 
 It 
 
 if 
 
 It 
 ll 
 
 if 
 
 W3 
 
 1- 
 II 
 
 
 ll 
 
 •a 
 
 IS 
 
 £^3 
 
 1 
 
 ll 
 
 il 
 
 ft 
 
 II 
 
 
 1 
 
 2*3 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 1920. . . . 
 
 July 
 11 
 
 July 
 18 
 
 July 
 25 
 
 Aug. 
 
 1 
 
 Aug. 
 8 
 
 ^T 
 
 Aug. 
 22 
 
 Aug. 
 29 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 19 
 
 Sept. 
 26 
 
 Oct. 
 3 
 
 Oct. 
 10 
 
 Oct. 
 17 
 
 1921.... 
 
 July 
 3 
 
 July 
 10 
 
 r/ 
 
 July 
 24 
 
 July 
 31 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Aug. 
 14 
 
 Aug. 
 21 
 
 Aug. 
 28 
 
 Sept. 
 4 
 
 Sept. 
 11 
 
 Sept. 
 18 
 
 Sept. 
 25 
 
 Oct. 
 2 
 
 Oct. 
 9 
 
 1922.... 
 
 July 
 23 
 
 July 
 30 
 
 A„.. 
 
 ^ri- 
 
 ^T 
 
 Aug. 
 27 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 10 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 24 
 
 Oct. 
 1 
 
 Oct. 
 8 
 
 Oct. 
 15 
 
 Oct. 
 
 22 
 
 Oct. 
 29 
 
 1923.... 
 
 July 
 
 July 
 15 
 
 July 
 22 
 
 July 
 29 
 
 Aug. 
 5 
 
 ^T 
 
 Aug. 
 19 
 
 Aug. 
 26 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 9 
 
 Sept. 
 16 
 
 Sept. 
 23 
 
 Sept. 
 30 
 
 Oct. 
 
 7 
 
 Oct. 
 14 
 
 1924... 
 
 July 
 27 
 
 Aug. 
 3 
 
 Aug. 
 10 
 
 Aug. 
 17 
 
 Aug. 
 24 
 
 Aug. 
 31 
 
 sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 14 
 
 Sept. 
 21 
 
 Sept. 
 28 
 
 Oct. 
 5 
 
 Oct. 
 12 
 
 Oct. 
 19 
 
 Oct. 
 26 
 
 Nov. 
 2 
 
 1925.... 
 
 July 
 19 
 
 July 
 26 
 
 r 
 
 Y 
 
 \"|- 
 
 Aug. 
 23 
 
 Aug. 
 30 
 
 Sept. 
 6 
 
 Sept. 
 13 
 
 Sept. 
 20 
 
 Sep.. 
 
 Oct. 
 4 
 
 Oct. 
 11 
 
 Oct. 
 18 
 
 Oct. 
 25 
 
 1926. . . . 
 
 July 
 11 
 
 July 
 18 
 
 July 
 25 
 
 Aug. 
 
 1 
 
 Aug. 
 8 
 
 ^"l■ 
 
 Aug. 
 22 
 
 Aug. 
 29 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 12 
 
 Sept. 
 19 
 
 "t- 
 
 Oct. 
 3 
 
 Oct. 
 10 
 
 Oct. 
 17 
 
 1927.... 
 
 July 
 24 
 
 July 
 31 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Aug. 
 14 
 
 Aug. 
 21 
 
 Aug. 
 28 
 
 Sept. 
 4 
 
 Sept. 
 11 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Oct. 
 2 
 
 Oct. 
 9 
 
 Oct. 
 16 
 
 Oct. 
 23 
 
 Oct. 
 30 
 
 1928. . . . 
 
 July 
 15 
 
 July 
 22 
 
 July 
 29 
 
 Aug. 
 5 
 
 Aug. 
 12 
 
 Aug. 
 19 
 
 '^■ 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 16 
 
 Sep.. 
 
 Sept. 
 30 
 
 Oct. 
 
 7 
 
 Oct. 
 14 
 
 Oct. 
 6 
 
 Oct. 
 26 
 
 Oct. 
 11 
 
 Oct. 
 2 
 
 Oct. 
 21 
 
 1929.... 
 
 July 
 
 July 
 14 
 
 July 
 21 
 
 July 
 28 
 
 Aug. 
 4 
 
 Aug, 
 11 
 
 ^T 
 
 ^2T 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 8 
 
 Sept. 
 15 
 
 Sept. 
 22 
 
 Sept. 
 29 
 
 Oct. 
 13 
 
 1930.... 
 
 1? 
 
 Aug. 
 3 
 
 M 
 
 Au. 
 
 Aug. 
 24 
 
 Aug. 
 31 
 
 Sept. 
 7 
 
 Sept. 
 14 
 
 Sept. 
 21 
 
 Sept. 
 28 
 
 Oct. 
 5 
 
 Oct. 
 
 12 
 
 Oct. 
 19 
 
 Nov. 
 2 
 
 1931.... 
 
 July 
 12 
 
 July 
 19 
 
 July 
 26 
 
 Aug. 
 
 2 
 
 Aug. 
 9 
 
 "iT- 
 
 Aug. 
 23 
 
 Aug. 
 30 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sep.. 
 
 Sept. 
 20 
 
 S|pt. 
 
 Oct. 
 4 
 
 Oct. 
 18 
 
 1932.... 
 
 July 
 3 
 
 July 
 10 
 
 July 
 17 
 
 July 
 24 
 
 July 
 31 
 
 Au. 
 
 Aug. 
 14 
 
 Aug. 
 21 
 
 Aug. 
 28 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 11 
 
 Sept. 
 18 
 
 "If 
 
 Oct. 
 9 
 
 1933.... 
 
 July 
 23 
 
 July 
 30 
 
 r 
 
 ^T 
 
 '^■ 
 
 Aug. 
 27 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 10 
 
 Sept. 
 17 
 
 Sept. 
 24 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 
 
 Oct. 
 8 
 
 Oct. 
 15 
 
 Sept. 
 30 
 
 Oct. 
 
 22 
 
 Oct. 
 
 7 
 
 Oct. 
 29 
 
 1934. . . . 
 
 July 
 8 
 
 July 
 15 
 
 July 
 
 22 
 
 July 
 29 
 
 Y 
 
 Aug. 
 12 
 
 Aug. 
 19 
 
 Aug. 
 26 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept.r 
 9 
 
 Sept. 
 16 
 
 Sept. 
 23 
 
 Oct. 
 14 
 
 1935.... 
 
 ^.t 
 
 r 
 
 Aug. 
 11 
 
 Aug. 
 18 
 
 •\f- 
 
 Sept 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 15 
 
 Sept. 
 22 
 
 Sept. 
 29 
 
 Oct. 
 6 
 
 Oct. 
 13 
 
 Oct. 
 20 
 
 Oct. 
 27 
 
 Nov. 
 3 
 
 1936.... 
 
 July 
 19 
 
 July 
 26 
 
 r 
 
 Aug. 
 9 
 
 Aug. 
 16 
 
 ^I- 
 
 •^sT- 
 
 Sept. 
 6 
 
 Sept. 
 13 
 
 Sept. 
 20 
 
 Sept. 
 27 
 
 Oct. 
 4 
 
 Oct. 
 11 
 
 Oct. 
 18 
 
 Oct. 
 3 
 
 Oct. 
 25 
 
 1937... 
 
 July 
 4 
 
 July 
 11 
 
 July 
 18 
 
 July 
 25 
 
 ■r 
 
 Aug. 
 8 
 
 ^f■ 
 
 Aug. 
 22 
 
 Aug. 
 29 
 
 Sept. 
 5 
 
 Sept. 
 12 
 
 Sept. 
 19 
 
 Sept. 
 26 
 
 Oct. 
 10 
 
 1938... 
 
 July 
 24 
 
 July 
 31 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Aug 
 14 
 
 Aug. 
 21 
 
 •\"l 
 
 Sept. 
 4 
 
 Sept. 
 11 
 
 Sept. 
 18 
 
 If 
 
 Oct. 
 2 
 
 Oct. 
 9 
 
 Oct. 
 16 
 
 Oct. 
 23 
 
 Oct. 
 30 
 
 1939... 
 
 'fi 
 
 July 
 23 
 
 July 
 30 
 
 Aug 
 6 
 
 *if- 
 
 Aug 
 20 
 
 'St 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Sept. 
 10 
 
 Sept. 
 17 
 
 Sept. 
 24 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1 
 
 Oct. 
 8 
 
 Oct. 
 15 
 
 Sept 
 29 
 
 Oct. 
 22 
 
 1940... 
 
 June 
 30 
 
 July 
 
 7 
 
 July 
 14 
 
 July 
 21 
 
 July 
 28 
 
 Aug 
 4 
 
 Aug. 
 11 
 
 Aug. 
 18 
 
 it 
 
 Sept. 
 
 1 
 
 Sept. 
 8 
 
 Sept. 
 I 15 
 
 Sept. 
 
 22 
 
 . Oct. 
 6 
 
 213 
 

 
 1 
 
 a 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 a 
 
 
 .S 
 
 
 S 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■^ ^ 
 
 -a^ 
 
 CQ 
 
 Mbi 
 
 
 OT 
 
 ^ 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 s? 
 
 ^ 
 
 n* 
 
 b 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 <s1 
 
 H 
 
 ■S]2 
 
 m 
 
 tS'2 
 
 ■?-2 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 CO 
 
 ■^ 
 
 
 S 
 
 ■§?§ 
 
 Is 
 
 
 1-2 
 
 n 
 
 1,^ 
 
 
 It 
 
 P 
 
 
 
 "ag 
 9 > 
 
 CQ.W 
 
 IS -a 
 
 II 
 
 a 
 •1 
 
 11 
 
 ll 
 
 
 H^ 
 
 Hm 
 
 H^ 
 
 Hot 
 
 H rt 
 
 H rt 
 
 m<J 
 
 ft,<! 
 
 H<5 
 
 f^< 
 
 O 
 
 PhO 
 
 kO 
 
 1920.... 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dee. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 24 
 
 31 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 2, 1921 
 
 1921.... 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 30 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 1. 1922 
 
 
 1922.... 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dee. 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 31 
 
 
 1923.... 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 6, 1924 
 
 1924. . . . 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 30 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 25 
 
 28 
 
 4, 1925 
 
 1925.... 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 25 
 
 27 
 
 3. 1926 
 
 1926. . . . 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 24 
 
 81 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 2, 1927 
 
 1927. . . . 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 1. 1928 
 
 
 1928. . . . 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dee. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 28 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 6, 1929 
 
 1929. . . . 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 25 
 
 29 
 
 5, 1930 
 
 1930.... 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 30 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 21 
 
 25 
 
 28 
 
 4, 1931 
 
 1931.... 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 25 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 25 
 
 27 
 
 3, 1932 
 
 1932.... 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 30 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 1, 1933 
 
 
 1933... 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 31 
 
 
 1934... 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 23 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 6, 1935 
 
 1935.... 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dee. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 
 
 24 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 25 
 
 29 
 
 5. 1936 
 
 1936... 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 25 
 
 27 
 
 3, 1937 
 
 1937... 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 31 
 
 7 
 
 14 
 
 
 21 
 
 28 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 25 
 
 26 
 
 2, 1938 
 
 1938.... 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nov, 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dee. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 1, 1939 
 
 
 1939.... 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 
 
 26 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 25 
 
 31 
 
 
 1940.... 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dee. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Dee, 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 22 
 
 25 
 
 29 
 
 5, 1941 
 
 214 
 
INDEX OF SCRIPTURES 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Genesis 1. 1—2. 3 66 
 
 3 68 
 
 6. 5-8, 13-22; 7. 23, 24; 
 
 9.8-17 71 
 
 18 181 
 
 22. 1-19 75 
 
 37. 3-12, 17-35 77 
 
 Exodus 3. 1-15 79 
 
 12. 1-14.. 89 
 
 16. 2-15 93 
 
 33. 7-23 82 
 
 34. 1-10, 29-35 188 
 
 Deuteronomy 4. 1-20 95 
 
 6. 4-25 97 
 
 8. 2-20 99 
 
 30 101 
 
 Joshua 1. 1-17 107 
 
 Judges 4. 1-16, 23 109 
 
 1 Samuel 1. 1-5, 9-28 112 
 
 3. 1—4. 1 114 
 
 17. 1-4, 8-11, 32-37, 
 40-54 115 
 
 2 Samuel 12. 1-23 117 
 
 18. 1-15, 24-33 119 
 
 1 Kings 3. 4-15 123 
 
 6. 1, 38; 8. 12, 13, 22, 23, 
 
 27-40, 54-58 125 
 
 10. 1-13 128 
 
 12 130 
 
 17 132 
 
 18. 1, 2, 17-39 134 
 
 19 136 
 
 2 Kings 5. 1-19 139 
 
 6. 8-23 141 
 
 22. 3-20 142 
 
 1 Chronicles 29. 1-20 121 
 
 Nehemiah 8. 1-12 200 
 
 Job 5. 6-26 157 
 
 28 159 
 
 Proverbs 3. 1-20 151 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Proverbs 8. 1-21 153 
 
 31. 10-31 155 
 
 Ecclesiastes 11. 1-4, 6-10; 12. 
 
 8, 13, 14 161 
 
 Isaiah 1. 1-20 167 
 
 5. 1-20 169 
 
 6. 1-13 105 
 
 7. 10-14; 9. 2-7 46 
 
 10. 33— 11. 9 and 12. 1-6. 43 
 
 25. 1-9 171 
 
 32. 1-5; 35. 1-10 49 
 
 40. 1-17, 27-30 41 
 
 42. 1-16 51 
 
 44. 6-23 53 
 
 51. 1-16 175 
 
 52. 1-12 91 
 
 52. 13—53. 12 86 
 
 55. 1-13 55 
 
 60 186 
 
 Jeremiah 5. 1-6, 15-29 144 
 
 7. 1-15 and 26. 7-16. . . 146 
 
 8. 4-22; 9. 1 73 
 
 31. 10-14, 27-34 37 
 
 Ezekiel 14 198 
 
 33. 1-20 62 
 
 34. 1-16, 25-31 64 
 
 37. 1-14 184 
 
 Daniel 5 148 
 
 Hosea 11. 1—12. 6 57 
 
 14. 1-9 , 177 
 
 Joel 2. 21-32 103 
 
 Amos 5. 4-24 193 
 
 8 59 
 
 Jonah 3. 1—4. 11 195 
 
 Micah 4. 1-7; 5. 2-4 39 
 
 6. 1-8 179 
 
 Habakkuk 2. 1-14 190 
 
 Haggai 2. 1-9 202 
 
 Zechariah 2 173 
 
 8. 14-23; 9. 9, 10 84 
 
 215