LESSON XIII.--SEPTEMBER 25.

REVIEW.--MATT. CHAPS. 1-7.

      GOLDEN TEXT.--Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.-- MATT. 1:21.
      TIME.--From B. C. 4 to A. D. 27.
      PLACES.--Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Egypt, Nazareth, the River Jordan, the Wilderness, Galilee, the Horns of Hattin near the Sea of Galilee.
      HELPFUL READINGS.-Read and study carefully the first seven chapters of Matthew. It will be well to study one each day of the week, beginning on Sunday afternoon; then the next Sunday morning before Sunday-school let the whole be reviewed.
      LESSON ANALYSIS.--The great subject of the whole quarter has been the Messiah. The theme as presented in these seven chapters divides itself as follows: I. The Child Jesus. II. John and Jesus. III. Jesus and Satan. IV. Jesus Unfolding the Kingdom. I. is presented in Chap. 2. It gives an account of the visit of the Wise Men, their inquiry for the King of the Jews, the Jealousy and Fear of Herod, the Wise Men at Bethlehem, the Flight into Egypt, the Murder of the Innocents, the Death of Herod, and the Return to Nazareth. II. is presented in Chap. 3, and gives an account of the Preaching and Baptism of John, his Declaration of the Coming Kingdom, the Visit of Jesus to John, the Baptism of Jesus, the Voice of the Father and the Descent of the Spirit. III. is found presented in Chap. 4, which points us to the Savior in the Wilderness, the Advent of the Tempter, the three Attempts to Lead the Second Adam Astray, their Failure, and the Ministration of Angels. IV. is extended through Chaps. 5, 6 and 7. It presents the Beatitudes of the Kingdom, shows that its citizens must be the Salt of the Earth, the Light of the World, that its King came, not as a Destroyer, but a Fulfiller, that none can enter the Kingdom unless their Righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees, that its Law and Morals reach deeper than those of the Old Covenant, that its Righteousness must not be done to be seen of men, that its Prayer must be simple, devout and to the Father in Heaven, that it judges men by their Fruits, that none can enter in save those who do the will of the King, and that those who seek "First the Kingdom" shall have all needful earthly blessings added.
      TOPICS.--I would assign, a week before the Review, to bright scholars the [266] following topics to be treated in three-minute essays: Bethlehem, Jordan, The Sea of Galilee, King Herod, John the Baptist, Christians the Salt of the Earth, Thy Will be Done on Earth as in Heaven, The Wise Builder, The Foolish Builder, The Baptism of Jesus.
      THE KING.--Bring out emphatically in the Review that Jesus was born to be a King, not of the Jews only, but of the World; that he has a Kingdom which was formally inaugurated after he was crucified; that it has not only a King, but laws and citizens; that none are citizens but those who enter it and exhibit its righteousness, that none can enter unless they do the will of the Ring; that those who hear and do not build on the sand, but the hearer and doer builds on the Rock. [267]

Horizontal Scale of Miles	SECTION OF PALESTINE FROM EAST TO WEST.	A. Zeiss & Co., Eng., Chi.
Joppa. The seaport of Jerusalem.       Ekron. A Philistine city.       Lydda. The place where Peter healed Æneas.       Ajalon. A famous Philistine city.       Beth-horon. The scene of one of Joshua's greatest victories.       Jerusalem. On the crest between the Jordan valley and the Mediterranean.       Shechem. An ancient and renowned city of Samaria.       Jericho. Situated near the Jordan about 1300 feet below the Mediterranean level.       Eastern Table Lands. The mountains of Moab. [268]

Horizontal Scale of Miles	SECTION OF PALESTINE FROM NORTH TO SOUTH.	A. Zeiss & Co., Eng., Chi.
Hebron. The home of Abraham.       Bethlehem. The city of David, and Birthplace of Christ.       Jerusalem. The Jewish Capital, where Jesus was Crucified.       Gerizim and Ebal. The Mounts of Blessing and Cursing.       Shechem. The place of the Well of Jacob.       Gilboa. Where Saul fought his last battle.       Tabor. Supposed by some to be the Mount of Transfiguration.       Mt. Gilead. A famous highland east of the Jordan.       Lebanon. A group of mountains in the north of Palestine.       Mt. Hermon. The highest mountain in Syria; the probable scene of the Transfiguration.       Lake Merom, Sea of Galilee and Dead Sea. All below the Mediterranean Level. [269]

Source: Barton Warren Johnson. The Christian International Lesson Commentary for 1887. Des Moines, IA: