Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-03-31
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON !, SECOND QUARTER, INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, APRIL 1.

Text of the Lesson, Gen. xxxii. Ole, 1880.
Memory Verses. as-3o-Golden Text.
Gen. xxxii. ee-Commentary by the Rev.
d. NJ. stearns-
O. And Jacob said, o God of my fathe,
Abraham, and GOO of my father Isaac. the
Lord which saidst unto me, Return unto
thy country, and to thy kindred, and will
deal well with thee Jacob is now 81 years
older than when God appeared to him in
the vision at Bethel txxxi, Al, and having
been instructed to return to his own home
(xxxi. 8, 49,, he is now on his way thither
The angels of God have met him, and be
has sent messengers to Esau to seek his IA
vor The messengers have returned, saying
that Esau Is coming with 400 men. Jacob
is afraid divides the people and flocks and
herds into two bands, and then gives him.
self to prayer.
10. Il am not worthy OF the least Of all
the mercies and of all the truth which Thou
hast showed unto Thy servant, for with my
staff passed over this Jordan. and now
am become two bands" He calls upon
God as the God of his fathers, thinking
doubtless of His covenant with them. Then
he pleads Gods command to return and
His promise of protection, and now he
takes the place of utter unworthiness and
thinks OF the contrast between now and %
years before and of Gods marvellous kind
ness to him, notwithstanding his great sin.
fulness
H. Deliver me. | pray thee, from the
hand of my brother, from the hand OF
Esau, for fear him lest he will come and
smite me and the mother with the chill.
dren" Sin is not easily forgotten. and
Jacob would think of his wrong done to
Esau so long ago. A guilty conscience is
always afraid, whether 1t be in Adam or
Abraham Gen iii, 10; Xxx, III or any other
saint or sinner The perfect love of God to
us casts out all fear Il John iv, 49,, and IL
we will only walk in the light with Him
we may sing, Behold, God is my saliva
tion Cor deliyerer), l will trust and not
be afraid" sure that He will deliver us
from every evil work and preserve us unto
His heavenly kingdom lisa. xii, q II Tim.
iv, ls).
IL. And Thou saidst. will surely do
thee good and make thy seed as the sand of
the sea, which cannot be numbered for
multitude" This is always safe pleading
land thou saiist, ''for by the spirit through
BALKAN we bear these words, Hath He
said and shall He not do it, or hath lie
spoken and shall He not make it goodgn
mum. xiii, l9), In lisa. xii, G, I, the peo-
pie of God are called His remembrances,
See margin and X. V. and note carefully
what we are to plead for II we would but
stand upon His promises and plead them
for His glory, what would He not dor
"a. And Jacob was left alone; aud there
wrestled man with him until the break
ing of the day" BY comparing verse 80
and Hos. xii. 4, 8, we learn that it was the
Lord himself who wrestled with Jacob,
even the same who appeared or spoke to
Hagar and Abraham (6en. xvi, 10, xviii u;
not the Father, but the Son John /. 49,,
who afterward became man for us. The
breaking of the day is in the margin "the
ascending of the morning." elsewhere It is
"the spring of the day or THE day spring.
Il Sam tx, 20; Job xXxyiii, l2l, and is suggest.
i've of the morning when God shall humble
and then help Israel (Ps. XVI, 8, margin)
%. And when He saw that He prevailed
not against him, He touched the hollow of
his thigh, and the hollow of Jacobs thigh
was out Of joint as He wrestled with him.
God can do little or nothing for us or with
us till we are thoroughly humbled and
broken down. Our wisdom and strength
are always hindrances. 'lie giveth power
to the faint, md to them that have no
might He increaseth strength lisa. xl, S9}
When we are at our wits end (all our wis,
dom being swallowed up. then He delivers
and shows His strength ON our behalf (pz.
evil, q margin The difficulty is to break
us down.
% And He said, Let me go, for the day
breaketh. Aud be said. will not let Thee
go, except Thou bless NE" Jacob could now
resist no longer, but he could cling in his
weakness. and cling he did It is now help.
lessness clinging TO alnightiness, and the
blessing will surely come Consider Israel
in Egyptian bondage. at the Red sea, at
the Jordan, at the walls Of Jericho, and IN
all their history see how in all their help
lessness, relying upon God, He wrought for
them. Consider the miracles of the New
Testament and see how in every case il was
the power of God on behalf Of impotence.
q. And He said unto him, What is
thy name; and be said. jacob" Jacob sig
mites supplanter, and his brother Esau
thought that he was well named, for he
sad, "He hath supplanted me these two
times, he took away my brthright, aud, be-
hold, now hc hath taken away my bless
ing" Gen. xvii. 36). Jacob virtually
confesses himself sinful, crooked man.
and, as in verse 10, unworthy of any mer.
cies. There is hope for the sinner when he
sees and confesses his sins prov. xviii L3l
IS. And He said, Thy name shall be
called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as
prince hast thou power with God and with
man, and hast prevailed" The name rs
rael'' is found about 1850 times in the ri.
bic, but this is the first time. 1t invariably
means either the man so called or his de
scendants (the twelve or the ten tribes and
is misapplied when applied to the church
In the margin it is said to mean "A prince
of God" but in this verse how suggestive
are the words. Power with God and with
man" And is not the secret Of this power
made plain 10y the incident Of the lesson
the confession Of character and helpless
holding on to GodY
- And Jacob asked him and said. Tell
me, pray the, Thy name and He said,
Wherefore Is 1t that thou dost ask after
My names And He blessed him there
When Manoah asked Him His name, lie
said it was secret or wonderful (Judg xiii,
Is, margin), reminding us Of His name in
lisa. tx, q. The blessing Of the Lord upon
the land of Israel made 1t bring forth in one
year fruit for three years Qlty. xxy, 2D.
The blessing Of the Lord maketh rich, and
toll addeth nothing thereto prov x, 22)
Consider the name of the Lord in Ex.
xxxiv, 81, and hear our Lord Jesus is His
prayer, u have manifested Thy name !
have declared unto them Thy name" John
xvii, O. 26).
30. And Jacob called the name of the
place Peniel, for | have seen God face to
face, and my life is preserved" In Elk xiv,
10, IL, we read that the elders saw the God
Of Israel; they saw God and did eat and
drink. In Elk. xxxiii, II, it Is written that
the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as
a man speaketh unto his friend. aud yet Ia
verse 20 the Lord says, Thou canst not see
My face, for there shall no man see Me and
live" 1t is probable that the explanation OF
these seeming contradictions Is Ia John {.
fE xsfla xtra learn fhsf .AI tt..a Al.