The National tribune., 1894-02-22

| O. flushed by the tender lesson,
My God. let me rest in theel
DIR. Chapman. in a sermon on Spiritual Dis
| cernment," says: "All progress is toward the
| Bible. and not away from it. The may
| reject the Bible may deter0rate morally, dis
integrate socially. may degenerate toward
| dynamite and dirt, but it cannot grow better
| without growing moro biblical. The Bible
| may be rejected but never surpassed. And
| when the race has reached the shining SUBMITS
of virtue, when it has fOrsaken the flesh for the
| spirit aud climbed into its highest nature and
divinest lfe it will still stand with its face to-
| ward the oracies of God, uttering the ancient
! prayer, Open thou mine eyes that may be-
| hold wondrous things out of thy law As
| Heaven is prepared place for prepared people,
so the Bible is prepared book for prepared
minds 1t is spiritually discerned."
Someone has said j: lone of the best evidences
of the divine origin of the religion of Jesus
Christ is constantly staring atheists in the face;
it is the ndestructibiity of the Bible"
Note: We would suggest the Superintendent
read to the school these Communications of Gods
Word
Abraham.
The last lesson referred to the trial OF Abra-
hams faith in the proposed offering of Isaac as
burnt sacrifice. Abraham was then 1873 years
old. He lived AZ years more. Four years after
the trial Sarah died. Nine years afterward he
IT'S years of age he died.
Isaac.
He was a son of Abraham and Sarah. Born
at Gerar. When 33 years old he went to Mt.
Moriah to be sacrificed but was rescued by q
providential provision of ram instead. In
about four years from this time his mother
Sarah, died. When 40 years old he married
Rebekah. When he was 60 years of age he had
twin sons-Esau and Jacob-Isaac was a
farmer. When he was 70 years old his father,
Abraham, died, leaving his grandsons, Esau and
Jacob. about 10 years of age. When Isaac was
81 years old he pronounced the blessing oil
Jacob which so aroused the wrath Of Esau. At
$50 years of age he died At Hebron. Scholars
have found Isaac type of Christ in many in
teresting particulars ~;
Helpful Literature on Isaac
l. Isaac and His SONG j. W. Thompson
Monthly Religious Magazine, g 531; g.: 40.
2. Oblation of Isaac Figurative of Christ's
Death. Theological Repository, 6: so.
- 3. Isaac on Mt. Moriah a Type of Christ. r.
T. Titus. Evangelical Review, 10: 447.
Esam!
Son of Isaac and Rebekah twin brother of
Jacob born Is years before death of Abraham.
Isaac his father, was go years old when Esau WAS
born. The name Esau means red hair;
hunter. He was the oldest of the twins, and
SO had rights of primon geniture. When 81
years old he sold his ehifthright to Jacob. mar
ried two Hittite wives, Judith and Bsshemath,
thus much offending his mother, Rebecca and
seriously disturbing Isaac. Getting again in
health, and realizing his folly in selling the
birthright, he resolved to sIay Jacob, and
would have carried ont his purpose had Jacob
not gone into foreign parts. Became recon-
cied. joined his brother Jacob in paying re-
spect to the memory of their father.
Zion's Herald puts the case of Esau in the
following strong language: The race of Esau
has not died out. Typical men will have their
descendants as long as the World lasts; and
Esau was typical man. He sold his birth
right for mess of pOttage. This act was the
stamp of the man. 1t was his character in
epitome. The modern Esau may sell his spir-
itual birthright for a mess of pottage Alas
how many there are to-day of the religiousiy
sinherited in the world. Agnostics, free
thinkers skeptics, destructionsts holders of
fantastic theories, and people who don't care!
Was there ever such multitude of Esaus bar
tering away the most precious birthright which
a man can possess? Here is one who has ex-
changed the worship of God for the worship of
humanity. Another has become religious
bankrupt because Providence does not cut the
Gordian knot of all vast social problems
and mraculousy transform depraved and sim
polluted world into second garden OF Eden.
A third is free-thinker because it is the in
tellectual fashion to be- And so it goes
Men are selling their spiritual birthright for
the veriest mess of pottage. They are selling
their souls for a theory a dream. Mere intel
lertualsm, mater ialism, and a sort of scientific
pantheism are supplanting. in some quarters.
the grand and simple and Notwithstanding
faith of our fathers. Where shall it all end
Doubtless, in some such repentance as Esau's.
But who will remedy the evil that has been
wrought Every man knows that he ought
not to sell his birthright But if he DELHI
aI,ya nd atxy 1nao az hn natl he
tent with his pottage."
Jacob.
Helpful Literature.
/. J. F. Mackarness. Good Words 10: 402.
g Jacob and Esau F. b. Hornbrooke Uni
tartan Review. ID: 253.
8. Jacob and Esau. j. w. McGarvey. Chris
tian Quarterly. 4: 161.
Life of Jacob.
We are at present Interested in Jacob only
from birth to his purchase of the birthright.
He was born A. M. 2163 at Lahairon. Brother of
Esau. The childhood of the twins was probably
spent amicably. Perhaps till the incident of the
selling of the birthright there was no serious
difficulty between the two After that trans
action the brothers were very bitter toward
each other. We learn that Esau even proposed
fratricide. Neither brother was then married,
and the two probably lived at home.
The Birthrigh
We know there was great significance at
tached to the rights of primOgeniture among
the Hebrews. The birthfight carried with it
special advantages and privileges. We cannot
tell just what the rights were in the time of
Esau and Jacob. The matter was SO important
as TO gain special attention, aud after awhile
the rights were formally and legally prescribed.
As thus laid down, they may suggest what was
the state of things in this respect in the days
of Isaac. The laws afterward laid down largely
grew out from practice before that.
The hirthright came to mean the following
privileges: e''
j. The Oldest son had double portion of-the
property of the parents "'
2. The eldest son WAS the civil ruler over all
the rest of the family
3. The priesthood was allotted to the oldest
son. In early times, when there was no ecce
siastic function, the head of each family was
its priest. So it continued until the tribe of
Levi was set apart to the priestly Offices
Reuben lost it by transgression. l CHI, 5: L.
Esau lost it by selling out the right to Jacob.
4. By providential arrangement, the Messiah
was to descend through the line of those who
became heads of their respective and success
sive families. Christ was to be the son of
Abraham in tho line of those recognized as
priests and civil governors of their families
In this light the birthright meant great deal
to Hebrews.
We may add that the father could not divert
the birthright from the eldest. born. but that
which even the father could not do the one
holding the birthright by primogeniture could