Zurich Herald, 1936-10-01, Page 3CUNDAY---
!.iPCH°°LESSON
THE MACEDONIAN CALL — ACTS.
36 — 10 . 15; ROMANS 15:18-21
GOLDEN TEXT — "Go ye therefore,
and make disciples of all the na-
tions. Matthew 2":19.
THE LESSON IN ITS SETTING
Time — A.D. 50.
Place — Paul separated from Barn.
ahas and sot out for his missionary
journey in Antioch of Syria; Cilicia
is the province in Asia Minor directly
west and north of Syria. Derbe and
Lystra are cities of Lycaonia, on the
road leading to Antioch of Pisidia,
Phrygia was a Wrovince in the central
part of western Asia Minor, Troas a
city of Mysia, on the western shore of
Asia Minor, opposite Macedonia. Ma-
cedonia occupied the northern part of
the Greek peninsula, Philippi was 10.
cated in the northeastern iart of Ma-
sedonia, abbut ten miles from the
coast.
"And they went through the region
of Phrygia and Galatia. Phrygia de-
notes vaguely the western part of the
central region, mostly tableland, of
the peninsula of Asia Minor (see
Acts 2:10; 18:23). The cities ca Icon-
ium and Colosse were in Phrygia. Ga-
latia was a Roman province including
Lycaonia, Isauria, the southeastern re-
gion of Phrygia, and a part of Pisid-
ia. The area included in this name has
peen a matter of great discussion and
cannot be gone into in our lesson.
"Having been forbidden of the Holy
Spirit to speak the word in Asia." As
Asia in Lhe New Testament always
means not the continent of Asia, but
what we call Asia Minor, including
the old districts of Mysia, Lydia and
Caria, with its capital of Ephesus.
"And when they were come over
against Mysia, they assayeo to go into
Bithynia." Mysia was the northern
part of Proconsular Asia. Paul intend-
ed to turn away from Mysia and go
northward into Bithynia. "And the
Spirit of Jesus suffered them not.'
"And passing by Mysia, they came
down to Troas." No cork was done in
Mysia.. Paul passed along its southern
border without any preaching minis-
try, and thus came to the seascoast
city made famous by Homer, once
known as Troy. Many a time in hist-
ory has supernatural restraint and
constraint changed the course of the
servants of God. Livingstone assayed
to go into Chiva, which God suffered
him not, but sent him to Africa to be
its missionary general, statesman, ex-
plorer. •
"And a vision appearad to Paul in
the night: There was a mom of Mace
-
(Ionia standing." Macedonia was the
territory located in the northern end
of the Greek peninsula, extending
from the Adriatic Sea on the west to
the Aegean Sea on the east.. That this
man from Macedonia was ascertained
by the words which he spoke, which
revealed his nationality. "Beseeching
him, and saying, Como over Into Ma-
cedonia and help us." Just how the
Macedonians had heard of the gospel
of Christ and exactly how God reveal-
ed to Paul their longing to hear the
message of grace, we do not know,
but this at least is clear that. when
God had shut every door which Paul
had attempted to enter, he opened a
door which Paul had never dreamed
of oeing opened to him.
"And when he had seen the vision,
straightway we sought to go forth to
Macedonia, concluding that God had
called us to preach the gospel unto
them." Here should be carefully noted
the plural pronoun '!we," Certainly
the author of the book of Acts, who
was Luke, the physician, means by us-
ing this pronoun that he himself here
at Troas joined the missionary com-
pany, and accompanied Paul and Si-
las and Timothy as they went over
into Europe.
When Youth Weds Ago
., •
Writes the Toronto Star Weekly.
Curious instances of disparity of
age in Toronto marriages were Or
en in tho news columns the other
day, The Ontario statistics for 1934
afford additional, examples:
One groom of 19 married a woman
of 36 and one a woman of 40.
One groom of 26 married a woman
in the 50-54 age -group.
One groom of 36 married a woman
in the 55-59 age -group, as did also
a groom of 31.
But the most unique case was that
of a man of 30 whose bride was in
the age -group 70-74.
There were, a course, many mar-
riages of elderly men to young wo-
men. Three of 50-54 marred girls
17. Eleven of 55-59 took brides of
20 or less. One groom in the 70-74
age -group married a young woman
of 24, and one in the 75-79 group
chose a bride of 29. Six grooms
were 80 years of age or more. But
their brides were all over 55, •and
mostly 75 or older.
Setting sail therefore from Troas,
we made a straight course to Samoth-
race." This was an island off the coast
of Thrace, colonized by men of Samos.
"And the day following to Neapolis."
This was a seaport town where, ap-
parently, the apostles had no reason
for tarrying.
"And from thence to Philipp!, which
is a city of Macedonia, the first of the
district, a Roman colony, and we were
in this city tarrying certain days."
Philippi, a city of Macedonia, located
in a plain, surrounded by moutains,
refounded by Philip the Second of
Macedon, the father of Alexander the
Great, ,rom which it derived its name.
The plain of Philippi witnessed the
death struggle of the Roman Repub-
lic, when Brutus and Cassius were de-
feated by Octavian and Antony in 43
B.C., soon after which the city was
made a Roman colony by Augustus.
"And on the sabbath day we went
forth without the gate by a river side,
where we supposed there was a place
of prayer." Wherever ten learned, re -
Noted British Women at Power Conference
t..—Voc••••••=eartueorramema•Crz**•••nvor••••••• •
. •••••••••••Atr**Gualaseti,*....,A,••••._*•ser:ma•sroamwacam•••••*••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Miss Caroline Haslett (left), Director of British Electrical As-
sociation for Women, Mrs. Gertrude Ruth Ziani de Ferranti, widow
of Britain's Edison, pictured as they attended Third World Power
Conference in Washington. D.C.
putable Jew e lived within the C011 -
fines of any one city, a synagogue was
built and services could be regularly
conducted. The fact that there was no
synagogue in Philippi, is an indication
of the scarcity of Jews living in that
city. However, it was allowed, when
synagogues were not possible for the
Jewish people to get together for the
prayer in what were called proseuchai
which means, literally, a place of
prayer.
"And we sat down, and spake unto
the women that were come together.
And a certain woman named. Lydia,
a seller of purple, of the city of Thy-
atira." Thyatira was a wealthy city in
the northern part of Lydia in the pro-
vinee of Asia on the river Lyons. And
more about the trade guilds of. Thy-
atira is known than about those of
any other Asian city of that time. And
Thyatire like the Lydian land in gen•
eral, was famous for its dyeing. Lydia
sold the, purple dyed garments from
Thyatira in Philippi; and she bad no
doubt a regular connection with the
firm in her native city, whose agent
she was. "One that worshipped God."
She was not a woman of Jewish des-
cent but an Asiatic, who had been
drawn to the Jewish faith in a long-
ing to know the only true God, whom
the Jews alone worshipped. "Heard
us: whose heart the Lord opened to
give heed unto the things which were
spoken by Paul." The opened heart of
one woman in a great -city is a foot-
hold for God, -and if it be but yielded
wholly to him, from that vantage
ground, from that base of operations,
he can proceed to wondeful victories.
"And when she was baptized and
her household, she besought us, say -
'log, If ye have judged me to be faith-
ful to the Lord, come into my house,
and abide there. And she constrained
us." The word heretranslated 'con-
strained is used only once elsewhere
in the New Testament (Luke 24 : 29)
and in the same sense as here. The
word expresses urgency, but not com-
pulsion. This has been called the first
instance of the hospitality which was
afterwards so characteristic of the
early church, and enforced by the
words of St. Peter, St. Paul and St.
John alike.
"For I will not aare to speak of any;
things save those which Christ has
wrought through me, for the obed-
ience of the Gentiles, by word and by
deed." The Epistle to the Romans
was written by Paul to the greatest
city of the world, to a people whom
he had never seen, about seven years
after his visit to Philippi. St. Paul
here recognizes the Lord Jesus Christ
as the personal and present worker.
"In the power of aigns and wonders.
There can be no doubt that Paul in
this passage assumes that he posses -
es the apostolic power of working
Joining the Army on Trial
An army recruiting sergeant explains to SOlne Young recruits, the "New Idea" of His Majesty's Army.
The New idea is the Army's Supplementary Reserve trial scheme. A recruit may join the Supple
=eatery reserves for six months. If he likes military life, he may join the Regular Army, If he
does not, he may return to civilian life, but is re quired to come up for 14 days of training for the
next five years. lie is paid a bounty of six pound a year and pay while in training,
Naval Academy Kicks Off For New Season
•••••11,,
4
7r,
Pigskins flew at Annapolis (top) and came in for a rough workout (bottom) as the football squad
of the Naval Acadenfy started first workout for the season. The middies failing on the footballs are
(left to right) Graves, Ballinger and °strum.
Why The Salmon Run
„ . •
Crowds
gathered
to watch the start of annual Ben Paris Salmon Derby at Dunamish
Seattle, Wash., in -which 350 entries angled for prizes.
Waterway,
miracles. — "In the power of the Holy
Spirit." This demonstration of the
power of the Holy Spirit consisted of
partly in the miracles which he en-
abled the first preachers of the gos-
pel to ,perform, and partly In the in-
fluence in which he attended to the
truth to the hearts and consciences
of those that believe (Gal. 3:2-5; Heb.
2:4). "So that from Jerusalem and
round about even unto Illyricum." 11.
lyricum was an extensive district ty-
ing along the eastern coast of the
Adriatic Sea near Macedonia. "1 have
fully preached the gospel of Christ."
•This verse means that he had carried
the gospel message in every direction
not that he had preadhed the full gos-
pel.
"Yes, making it my aim so to preach
the gospel, not where Christ was al-
ready named, that I might not build
upon another man's foundation; 21,
but, as it is written. They shall see,
to whom no tidings of him came, and
they who have not heard shall under-
stand." The quotation here is from Isa
52:15. (See also I Cor. 3:10), In the
first place Paul knew that the unev-
angelized area of the Roman world
was so vast that it was a waste of
time to devote his energies to a field'
already occupied by another witnee(
for Christ; in the second place, Paul'
well knew that he was the outstand-
ing apostle for the Christian church
of his day, and to go into a place
where another Christian worker was
engaged in preaching would have
been to disturb whatever work his felr-
low-laborer had established; in the
-
third place, Paul did everything he
could to avoid other Christian work-
ers being jealous of him. Ile certainly,
was not jealous himself of any one.
Celebrate Victory
The Jubilant New York Yankees celebrating in the club house at League Park, Cleveland, 0. follow':
Ing their victory over the Indiana, which clinched the American League pennant for them.