The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-01-03
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
JANUARY z.
Lesson Text: ssThe First ADAM"
Gen, l., 20-31; H., 1-3-Golden
Text: Gen. l., 81
Commentary.

&c. "And God said, Let US make man in
Our image. after Our likeness, and let them
have dominion" At some time In the past,
known only to God, called in the first verse
'the beginning God created the heaven
and the eartn-that is, He spake them into
existence-as is proved by Ps. X1xili., e:
Heb. XII, 3. He must have everything goot,
for He always does. That He did not create
the earth without form and void is stated 3nna IN
Isa. XIV. 13. Compare the r. V. What
happened between verses and 2to bring
about this chaos we shall know some day.
About 6000 years ago God brought order
and beauty and fruitfulness out Of the chaos
and confusion into the space OF SIX days, as
is here described. See also Elk. tx, II.
And now on the sixth day He makes man to
have dominion over all. How He made man
and woman Is more fully stated In chapter
H., 7, 21-25. and that He called their name
Aaam is stated in chapter v, g. The words,
also clear TO simple minded Hsbrew scholar
in the word fer God.
81. $50 God created man in His own i'm
age In the image Of God created he him;
male and female created He them Then
this man and woman must have been the
finest pair that ever walked the earth. What
ever else Is implied in this image OF God, it
is evident from Eph. iy., "a, that righteous
ness and holiness of truth are included. How
much more we shall know when in that
bright morning OF the resurrection we shall
have been made like Him who is the bright
ness Of the Fathers glory and the express
image Of His person Il John ill, 2; Hsb.
.,3)
%. sand God blessed them, and God said
unto them, Be fruitful and rlultiply, and re-
plenish the earth and subdue 1t, and have
dominion" The blessing Of the Lord 1t
maketh rich. and toll addeth nothing thereto
prov. K. %, R. w. When in the sixth year
God commanded HIS blessing on Israel, there
was as much produced in one year as ordin-
.arily in three years (Lev. XIV, H. When
Jesus blessed the lads loaves and fishes, they
fed many thousands. He says, "Herein is
MY Father glorifed that ye bear much fruit;
so shall ye be My disciplesr John xv., 8.)
The timeis coming when t1s last Adam will
subdue all things unto Himself, for BE is
able. But now he is gathering out andtra.n-
ing the subduers, who shall in thar Gay have
dominion with Him. I find 1t helpful to
pray, "Lord, inasmuch rs Thou art atle to
subdue all things unto Thyself (Pht!, ILL.,, 21.)
subdue me wholly to Thyself now"
go. "And God said, Behold, have given
you every herb bearing seed which Is upon
the face o. all the earth, and every tree in
to you it shall be for meat" God wou.d
have His children at perfect rest concerning
food an6 raiment. AS TO clothing such rs we
wear, they had none Gi., 25), but inasnuch
as alI other creatures had clothing which
was a part OF themselves, doubtless Adam
and Eve, made in the images Of God, like
God, clothed with light (Ps. CIV, 1, .. And
now here is full provision for their bodies as
to food. We have no record OF flesh being
eaten till after the deluge (chapter lx., 81,
though we do not say that it was not eaten.
in the wilderness will always provide for
His own.
80. "And to every beast Of the earth, and
to every fowl Of the air, and to everything
that creepeth upon the earth wherejn there
is life, have given every green herb Tor
meat-and it was So" Not only man, but
beast, is provided for. These wait all upon
Thee that Thou mayst give them their
meat in due season Cps. CIV, 2O. Behold
the fowls OF the air, your Heavenly Father
feedeth them. Are not five sparrows sold
forgotten before God (Math. vi, 26: Luke
xiii, g.? Observe the phrase, 81 have given,'
and think OF Rom. VIII, 80. He who spared
not His own Sen, but delivered Him up for
US all, how shall He not with Him also freely
give US all things? -
81. "And God saw everything that He had
made, and. behold, 1t WAS very good. And
the evening and the morning were the sixth
day." This is the seventh time that it Is
written, "God saw that 1t was good" God
is love, and He cannot do or make that
which Is not in His sight good. Heis good,
and his mercy endureth forever Cps. cxZxvi..
y. He is round about US as wall offlre and
will not possibly permit aught that is not
good to come to US, so we can surely bless
the Lord at all times Czech. H., 5 Ps. xxxiv.,
~. In all the days 1t 10 first evening, fol-
lowed by night and then morning. So now
1t is the worlds night, but the night Is far
spent, and the day is at hand. The morning
cometh (Rom. Kill. 70; Isa. xxi, 12).
/. "Thus the heavens and the earth were
finished and oil the host Of them" ''Thus."
Howp Why. by the word of his mouth (Ps.
xxxiii., g.. In chapter it Is written ten
times, .:And God said" Now, since He thus
created all things, what is there He cannot
do? ';Ah, Lord God, behold. Thou hast
created the heavens and the earth BY Thy
great power and stretched out arm. and
there is nothing too hnrd for Thee" (Jer.
xxxf.. 17). II Christian, how thankful We
should BIZ that God, who commanded tho
light to shine out Of darkness. hath shined III
our hearts TO give the light Of the knowledge
Of the glory OF God in the face of Jesus
onrist III cor. w., 6). On 'the host Of
them see Deut. iv, 10; Ex. xii, Al Ps.
Gill;, 21 Sam. j., 8.
2. "And on the seventh day God ended
His work which He had made. and He rested
on the seventh day from all His work which
He had made" The words Finished" and
"ended" are suggestive of some other works
in due time finished or to be finished, as the
tabernacle, the temple, the work OF atone
ment and the redemption of the world (Ex.
xl., SO; II Chron. vii, II; John xx., 80;
Rev. xxi, 5,6). God rested" cannot imply
WEAKNESS, for H. fointeth rot, neither IS
weary Elsa. xl., 25). But He ceased as the
mamma ceased or work might cease (Joshua
v, Il Neh. vi, 81. And if we would enter
into His rest We must cease from our own
works rs God did from His (Heb. w.. 10).
8. "And God blessed the seventh day and
sanctifcd it, because that in it He had rested
from all His work which God created and
made II we would know His rest, VIC must
reverence His Sabbaths. Disobedience here
gave Israel seventy years captivity on
Chron. xxxvi., 21l. Obedience in this par
ticular will bring the richest blessings C[su.
lviii., IS, "A wi. At. We have come
through nearly 5000 years since God created
Adam. 1t would not be strange if the sew
enth thousand should prove to be earth's
Sabbath day. the thousand years CT Rev. Xxx
1.-The millennium. Let us cease from oil our
own works both rs to salvation and service.
and resting in His work lot Him work in Us
(phil. H.. 13j.-Lgsson Helper