THE TORCH OF REASON, SILVERTON, OREGON, THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 189;
Orthodox Sunday School Lesson.
Secular Sunday School Lesson.
TH E BRAZEN SE R PE N T .
Num. 21:4-9.
4. And they journeyed from mount Ilor by the wav of the Red sea.
to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much dis­
couraged because of the way.
5. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore
have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? ror there
is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this
light bread.
6. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit
the-people; and much people of Israel died.
7. Therefore the people came to Mo>es, and said, We have sinned,
for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee; pray unto the
Lord, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for
the people.
8. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set
it upon a pole; and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten
when he looketh upon it, shall live.
9. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and
it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld
the serpent of brass he lived.
Lesson S to ry .
1. Because the children of Israel would not believe and obey God
they wandered in the wilderness forty years.
2. Yet God took care of them and provided for all their needs.
3. When nearly forty years had passed they wished to cross over
into Canaan.
4. But the men of Edom would not let them pass through their
country.
5. So they went a long distance out of their direct way to the prom­
ised land.
6. When the people saw that they w’ere traveling away from Canaan
they became discouraged.
7. Then they began to murmur against God and against Moses who
led them.
8. They asked Moses w’hy he had brought them up out of Egypt to
die in the wilderness.
9. They complained because they had no bread except the manna
from heaven, and they wanted more water.
10. Because they murmured God sent fiery serpents to bite the peo­
ple, and many of them died.
11. Then the people went to Moses and confessed their sin and asked
him to pray for them.
12. So Moses prayed for them and asked God to take away the fiery
serpents.
13. Then the Lord told Moses to make a serpent of brass and set it
upon a pole that whoever was bitten might look upon it and live.
14. Everyone who looked at this serpent of brass, if he was bitten,
was made perfectly well.
Q u estio n s to A nsw er.
1. Why did the children of Israel wander in the wilderness forty
years? 2. What did God do for them? 3. After nearly forty years
what did they wish to do? 4. Who would not let them do this?
5. Where did they then go? 6. Why w’ere they discouraged?
7. Against whom did they begin to murmur? 8. What did they ask
Moses? 9. Why «lid they complain? 10. Then what did God send to
bite them? 11. What did they confess? 12. What did Moses ask
God to do? 13. What did God tell Moses to make? 14. How were
the bitten ones made well?
T ru th to L earn .
S E L F -R E SP E C T .
To win the respect of others, one must first respect himself. The
foundation of good morals is self-respect. The self-respecting man is
able to face the world with a calm eye and a clear conscience. He has
ability to stand fearless before any tribunal. Respect for one’s self
lifts one at once into an atmosphere of sweetness, purity and real
beauty. It makes one strong and brave and wholesome. It makes
him a good, noble and trusted member of the community. It confers
upon him a high title—that of true manhood.
How careful, then, should we be to win and to wear the white ribbon
of self-respect. Have you a beautiful garment, quite new and costly?
Would you draggle it in the mud and filth of the street? Would you
spit upon it or put it in the stable, to be trampled upon by the beasts?
No. Is not the human body of finer fabric? Is not the mind of more
beautiful texture than any garment ever woven? Yon admit it. Then,
can you trail the king’s venture of thought in that which dishonors and
disgraces? Would you lower the national dignity and grace of mind
in the abyss of uncleanness and filth? There is a cesspool of low
groveling thought in which self-respect is lost, or stained in dishonor.
Ruskin says that thought continually chisels upon the human
countenance and the keen observer can easily detect the tenor of the
mind, whether it be clean or unclean. To lose self-respect is one of the
greatest and one of the most trying losses of mankind. One may be
poor in this world’s goods, may lack many of the good things of life,
may suffer loss of money,-loss of friendship, but if he maintains his
self-respect, he is a worthy citizen, a nobleman, that no power can
corrupt.—Susan Wixon’s Right Living.
Q uestions on th e Lesson.
1. How may we gain the respect of others? 2. What is the
foundation of good morals? 3. What will make us strong and brave
and wholesome? 4. Why is self-respect called “white ribbon”? 5. Are
you king of your body and mind? 6. What is likened to a cesspool?
7. What does Ruskin say? 8. What is considered a great loss to man­
kind? 9 and 10. Name some of the ways that we might lose our self-
respect.
A d u lts.
1. Is self-respect a matter of education? 2. Can a man respect
himself if he does that which he knows makes the world worse instead
of better? 3. What kind of people have the most self-respect, those
who depend on their own or some other person’s goodness to save
them? 4. What can we do to help the children have self-respect?
5. Discuss bad habits?
Gem of T h o u g h t.
Those who respect themselves will be honorable; but he who thinks
lightly of himself, will be held cheap by the world.
—Chinese Proverb.
Christ is our remedy for sin.
Golden T ext.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up.—John 3:14.
Look to J e s u s .
Tune—“What a friend we have in Jesus.”
Tho’ the path we tread seem barren,
Tho’ we thirst, and faint for food,
We should never halt nor murmur,
God withholds but for our good.
C ho .—We must look to Christ for healing,
He alone can bid us live:
Trusting him we cannot perish,
Help and comfort he will give.
Sharp and sudden seem his judgments,
But they're sent in tender’st love;
Sent to point his erring children
To unfailing good above.
Only as we trust in Jesus
Have we overcoming pow’r;
He will guide through all life’s journey,
Giving strength for ev’ry hour.
—Ellen Oliver.
T he S w eet H ere an d Now.
Air—“Sweet Bye and Bye.”
We’ve a land that is fair as the day,
That is ours to enjoy, here and now’,
And sweet friends we may love all the way,
So we’ll banish all care from our brow*.
chorus :
In the sweet here and now,
We shall join in our rapturous song,
In the sweet here and now’,
Oh! so sweet shall our days glide along.
We shall sing in our beautiful land,
The melodious songs that are true,
Gath’ring courage on every hand,
The steep pathways of life to pursue.
From all bountiful nature around,
That rewards all our toil with her praise,
We’ll gather contentment profound,
Amid the blessings that hallow our days.