Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

universe?"earn?"worth?"physically?"worthless."us!"Lesson Helps for the Week of January, 1 1956C. Y. P. U. COMMENTSfor January 1, 1956A LOOK AT MYSELF WHAT ISMY LIFE WORTH?Used by permission of the InternationalChristian Endeavor SocietyComments by Eev. T. R. HntchesonScripture Matt. 6:25-34; 10:29-31PsalmsPsalm 1:1-6, page 1Psalm 8:3-7, page 12Psalm 51:1-4, page 132Psalm 139:1-3, page 341Psalm 116 :l-6, page 282This is, of course, an appropriate subject for the first day of the year. Business firms are taking inventory, whichsuggests that we should all look at ourselves. "What is my lifeYou do not want to conclude that youare worth more dead than alive, as hasbeen said of some people with large insurance policies; for then there wouldbe nothing to discuss January 8, whenthe proposed topic is, "For What WillI Spend My Life?" You do not expectthe answer to be, "My life isOnly rarely does a person think life isno longer worth living; and suicides areconsidered mentally ill.Value is a matter of comparison; soto get the answer you must consideryour life in relation to the value of other things. To his parents, of course, anew-born baby is priceless. But to let thematter rest there would let us out of themeeting too soon.Have the first speaker read Psalm8:3-4, and discuss, "How bigI have in thea place doThe second speaker may discuss,"What can I do,Have himcompare man's ability to run, lift, jump,pull, etc., with such animals as thegrasshopper, the horse, and the dog.Start by reading Psalm 147:10.A third item to consider is, "HowGet someone to figmuch can Iure out the average length of life; subtract the years when you ordinarily donot earn anything; multiply the difference by the average annual wage; subtract the cost of being born, going toschool, being buried, etc. The answerwill be a number of dollars. Explain whysome peopleearn more than others.Have these verses read Luke 12:15;Eccl. 5:10; Eph. 4:28; Acts 4:32-35;Matt. 6:25.Give out as a fourth topic, "How am Iworth more than otheranimals?"If possible, learn the price of slaves comparedwith mules and cows. This question is392provoked by Matt. 12 :10-12. What is thedifference between me and other animals? Note Psalm 8:4-8; Gen. 1:26-28;Matt. 10:31.The fifth speaker should discuss,What is my soul worth?"referring toMark 8:37; Luke 6:20, 24.As a climax, let the sixth speaker explain what it cost to redeem us frometernal death. Let him read and discusssuch verses as Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 1:18,19; Rev. 5:9; Gal. 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24.If I am worth that much, I shouldgive prayerful thought to next week'stopic, "For What Will I Spend MyLife?"JUNIOR TOPICJanuary 1, 1956THE STOLEN ARKMrs. John C. FinlayHopkinton, IowaScripture Text: I Samuel 4Memory Verse: "The Lord preserveth allthem that love him; but all the wickedwill he destroy." Psalm 145:20.Psalms:Memory Psalm: 11, 5-7, page 20Psalm 80, 1-2, page 198Psalm 78, 40-44, page 190References:Proverbs 28:9; Proverbs 11:21; Psalm119:155; Isaiah 57:20, 21; Job 4:8, 9;II Peter 3:17; II Thessalonians 3:6; IICorinthians 6:14.Comments:In our lesson this week we are goingto study about how the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant. Let usread the entire chapter together. Thereare several important things we shouldlook for as we read. They are :1. What two peoples warred againsteach other?2. What happened to the Ark of theCovenant?3. What persons are named?4. What happened to each?We are told in the first verse that Israel went out (to war) against thePhilistines. We have learned about thepeople of Israel. What do we know aboutthe Philistines? When did you first hearthe word "Philistine"? I think the firsttime I heard it was when I heard thestoryof David and Goliath. The Philistines were a rich, energetic and war likepeople.When they first went out, Israel lostabout four thousand men. They askedthemselves this question: "Whereforehath the Lord smitten us this dayagainst the Philistines?" They did notwant to admit that their nation wasready to be judged by God.They said to each other, "Let us fetchthe Ark of the Covenant of the Lord ofhosts."They took it to the battlefieldwith them. The two sons of Eli, Hophniand Phineas, helped to carry it. The Arkof the Covenant was very sacred. It waskept in the Holy of Holies and no onebut the high priest ever entered there.You will remember that the Ark waskept covered during the journeys of theIsraelites. No one was allowed to see it.What did the Ark of the Covenantlook like? We will turn to Exodus 25:10-22. Read these verses carefully. Howbeautiful it must have been! How largewas it? The dimensions are given incubits. In Bible times a cubit was thedistance from the elbow to the tip ofthe middle finger. That would be abouteighteen to twenty-one inches. Let ususe the measurement of twenty inches.Then every one should have about thesame answer.When the ark was brought to the battlefield, the people of Israel set up sucha great shout that the earth echoed andre-echoed. The Philistines heard thenoise and said, "What meaneth the noiseof this great shout in the camp of theHebrews?"They learned about the arkbeing brought to the battlefield, andwere very frightened. The Philistinescried, "Woe untoThey expectedto be beaten in battle but they were awar-like nation and knew they must putup a good fight to the finish.The Philistines made a fierce assault.Thirty thousand Israelites were killed.The first part of verse 11 tells us, "Andthe Ark of God was taken." The twosons of Eli were killed, too.A terrifying calamity had befallenIsrael. The Ark of God had been captured by the enemy. This should be atestimony for all that the sins of God'sprofessed people will not go unpunished.Their sinful ways had separated themfrom God. Do we ever do things whichseparate us from God? How may WEbe forgiven?As you remember, Eli was a very oldman. We are told he was ninety-eightyears old and that he was blind. Canyou picture him as he sat outside thegates of Shiloh awaiting news of thebattle? We know he was very troubled.Verse 13 tells us, "for he trembled forthe Ark of God."At length a Benjamanite from thearmy, "with his clothes rent and withdirt upon his head," camehurrying toCOVENANTER WITNESS