“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance.”

Numbers 10:29 And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel.

30 And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred.

31 And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes.

32 And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.

Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

Matthew 12:35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.

Mark 14:3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.

4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?

5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.

8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.

9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.

Romans 15:14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

Ephesians 5:9 For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.

MEMORY VERSE: That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. —Titus 2:4-5

CENTRAL THOUGHT: The fruit of goodness comes from the goodness of God Himself, directed to us through Christ and manifested through us by the Holy Spirit; where once “no good thing” dwelt within us, He births in us an inner disposition to be a benefit, blessing and channel of God’s goodness to everyone around us.

WORD DEFINITIONS

Numbers 10:29 “We will do thee good”: cheer; be pleasing; do well. “The Lord hath spoken good”: giving pleasure, happiness, prosperity; agreeable; pleasing.

Proverbs 31:12 “Good”: benefit; bring beauty.

Mark 14:6 “Good work”: beautiful, as an outward sign of the inward good, noble, honorable character; good, worthy, honorable, noble, and seen to be so.

Ephesians 5:9 and Galatians 5:22 “Goodness”: intrinsic goodness, especially as a personal quality, with stress on the kindly (rather than the righteous) side of goodness; the goodness that comes from God showing itself in spiritual and moral excellence (Strong’s Concordance and HELPS Word Studies). There are four occurrences in the New Testament; the Greek word is only found in Biblical writings. It does not appear at all in secular Greek writings.

LESSON BACKGROUND AND LIFE APPLICATION

When Moses gave an invitation to his brother-in-law to join the Israelites on their journey to Canaan, he said, “Come with us, and we will do you good.” He further qualified the kind of treatment he was intending when he said, “What goodness the Lord shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.” Truly, that is the basis for any goodness we might do for others. As with every other fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, and gentleness—we recognize it is only God’s work in us by which we can produce His character in our lives.

In the passage about the virtuous woman, the woman who fears the Lord is one in whom her husband can safely trust. Why? Because she does him good. She doesn’t trash his reputation. She wisely uses the income he brings home to the family. She makes good use of her time and makes sure the members of her household are well-equipped and well-fed. Paul seems to allude to this passage when he writes to Titus about instructing wives of their duties in the home.

A third illustration from Scripture that so aptly illuminates the word good is the long- memorialized scene at Bethany, just days before our Lord’s crucifixion. In this story, Jesus defended the criticized actions of the woman who did what she could. He said, “She hath done a good work.” He affixed a motive on her action that I wonder if she had even discerned. Did she dream it was anointing for His burial? But He counted it as such. What an honor! It forever linked her name with His death and resurrection, the most important events in all time.

The examples in our lesson provide understanding of the word goodness. In each we can see our moral obligation, both toward God and toward humanity. I want to be able to say to those around me—friends, my spouse, my daughter, my son—“You come with me. I’m going to heaven and along the way I’ll do you good. I’ll treat you kindly. I’ll be a great benefit to you.” May every word and deed of our lives reflect the goodness of God toward us!

Think deeply about what it means to be “a good man” with a “good treasure” in his heart; and “a good woman” who is discreet, chaste and pure, and loves her husband and children. What would such a man or woman read or watch? What kinds of music would they enjoy? What kinds of entertainment or friends might they have? How would a “good” man or woman dress? My father told of mail-order catalogs in his boyhood days (1940’s). In the middle of the women’s clothing section was a page or two dedicated to “The Gracious Woman.” The clothing offered was more conservative and modest than the more fashionable, trendy items. Even these details of living affect the marriage relationship (I Peter 3:1-6).

One of the definitions of “good” is to bring beauty. One husband was known to affectionately say of his wife, “She colors my world.” How may we bring beauty to each other in the home?

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

DISCUSSION:

1. What was the particular quality of the goodness Moses promised to Hobab?
2. Share what this example teaches about our treatment of others today.
3. What treatment does the husband of the virtuous woman receive and what does this involve?
4. How would the “good man” in Matthew 12 speak and act toward his wife and children?
5. Jesus called the woman’s sacrificial gift to Him “__ _________ _______”
6. Explain how the fruit of goodness is important in the home.

REFLECTIONS

The Lord has blessed my husband, Charles, and I with a good marriage. Looking back over the fifty-five-and-a-half years of our life together, there were several things that energized us and kept us happy. However, it was our commitment to God and each other that has been and continues to be paramount and our driving force.

First, we made God the head of our home and family. We found truth in and believed that “…a threefold cord is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). By letting the Lord lead, not only was He there with us, He also helped us in all the phases and challenges in our life— including joyful celebrations, disappointments, afflictions, grief, parenting and financial decisions.

Secondly, we learned the value of togetherness and that “…two are better than one” (Ecclesiastes 4:9). This included praying together to find strength, answers and direction to deal with ourselves and each other. As we worked toward common goals and interests, supported each other and compensated for each other’s weakness we began to understand more what “..they twain should be one flesh” really meant and the joys it could bring. Although two halves make a “whole” in a marriage, it doesn’t mean keeping score to ensure everything relationship-wise is split 50/50. Becoming “one” means being willing to give and do as much as needed to make “the whole” successful. Honoring the golden rule (Matthew 7:12), we were careful not to wound or injure each other. To act otherwise would mean we were hurting ourselves since we were “one.”

Learning the importance of listening, being quick to forgive, and in humility to ask for forgiveness helped to keep us happy and at peace. Being thankful and content kept us from worrying and fretting over what we did not have and enabled us to be more appreciative for the things we did have

God is a wonderful, patient teacher and leader. After all these years, He is still the third, and most important, cord in our threefold-cord marriage. We still look to Him!

—Bro. Charles and Sis. Geneva Lowe, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Married September 18, 1964