More than two-thirds of the events of Bible history are associated with the land of Palestine, and a knowledge of that country and its principal places is needed by every Sunday School scholar and Bible student. Any Superintendent who will take ten minutes of the Sunday School session for the purpose or teaching Bible Geography, can in less than three months give to his school a sufficient knowledge of Palestine for the general needs of Bible study. The requisites are: a blackboard; some crayons (of various colors, if possible to obtain them); a clear idea on the part of the instructor of what he proposes to teach; precise statements of the things taught, in as few words as possible; giving nothing except the important facts which are to be remembered; and frequent reviews, from the beginning, of all the facts acquired. The lessons here given have been taught many times in Sunday Schools and children's classes at Assemblies, and are now published in the hope that they may be made generally useful.
LESSON I. LINES AND WATERS.
I. Draw in presence of the class, in white chalk, the two lines, one representing the Coast Line, the other, the Jordan Line. Notice that the cape on the Coast Line is one-third the distance from the top of the map; that the second of the three lakes is directly opposite to the cape; and that the distance between the second and third lakes is just six times that between the first and the second. The teacher may draw the lines in advance of the lesson, with a soapstone slate pencil, which will make a faint mark, not distinguishable at a distance, but seen by the teacher, and easily traced in presence of the class with white crayon. Let the class repeat the names of the two lines. 1. Coast Line. 2. Jordan Line.
II. Locate the different Bodies of Water, indicating their names by initial letters. 1. The Mediterranean Sea, on the west, called in the Bible "the Great Sea." 2. The river Jordan, flowing from north to south. 3. Lake Merom, on the north. 4. The Sea of Galilee. 5. The Dead Sea, into which the Jordan flows. Show the class that this sea lies so low, that, if a canal were cut to the Mediterranean, the ocean would run in, instead of the Dead Sea running out. Drill the class on: 1. Lines. 2. Bodies of Water.
LESSON II. NAMES AND DISTANCES.
Draw the same map as in Lesson I., but omit the lettering, and review the Lines and Waters.
I. State and drill upon the Names by which the land has been known in different times. 1. In the earliest ages it was called Canaan, because its best-known people were the Canaanites. 2. After the Israelites conquered it, it was known as the Land of Israel. 3. In the time of Christ it was generally called Judæa because the Jews were its inhabitants. 4. Its name is now Palestine. [Write an initial or syllable of each name, and recall it from the class.]
II. Give the Distances. 1. Begin with the country best known, and state first the distance from America to Palestine, 7,800 miles. [Write on the board A. P. 7,800.] 2. The Coast Line, from a point opposite the source of the Jordan to a point opposite the lower end of the Dead Sea, 180 miles. [Write C. L. 180.] 3. The Jordan Line, from its source to the lower end of the Dead Sea, 180 miles. [J. L. 180.] 4. From the Jordan to the Mediterranean, on the north, 30 miles. [J. M. 30.] 5. From the Dead Sea, at its southern end, to the Mediterranean, 90 miles. [D. S. M. 90.] 6. The most northern town in Palestine was Dan [mark D. on the map]; the most southern was Beersheba [mark B.]. Hence, to show the extent of the land, they said "from Dan to Beersheba," which was 150 miles in a straight line. [Write D. B. 150.] 7. Palestine, between the Jordan and the sea, includes about 6,600 square miles, which is a little smaller than Massachusetts. [Write S. M. 6,600.] Review the facts already given from the beginning. 1. Lines. 2. Waters. 3. Distances.
| Lesson II. | Lesson III. |