The Globe-republican., 1894-03-02
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

1
Selling the BirthriGht-Gen. 25: 5:s7-3A
Especially Arranged from Peloubet's Notes.
GOLDEN TExE-Tbe life is more than mea
and the body is more than raiment-Luke r..
TIE SECTION OF HISTORY includes chapter
33S
PROGRESS OF THE HISTORY
1896 Birth Of Abraham.
1895 Birth Of Isaac-Abraham one hundre
years old
1857 Marriage of Isaac to Rebekah; 1.aa
forty years old
1883 Birth Of Jacob and Esau
1921 Death of Abraham.
1905 Sale of the birthriglt-Jacob and Esa
| thirty-two years old
l7sO Jacob gains the birthright blessing
Jacob fifty seven years old
17lS Death Of Isaac. aged one hundred An,
eighty
TINE.-B. c. 1898 to 1905.
PLACE-Beersheba. forty 1--WE miles south o
Jerusalem
LESSON NOTES.
Abraham.-Abraham lived to the
good old age of ITS, quiet and restfu
IN his later years, growing in faith and
piety and guiding with his counsels
and his example his son and his grand
sons, Jacob and Esau, with whom he
lived till they were fifteen years old,
showing them that best portion of q
good mans life, his little, nameless,
unremem bered acts of kindness and of
love-"
He was buried in the cave of Mach
pelah at Hebron with his beloved wife
Sarah. In this cave of Machpelah
lie treasured the remains of Abraham
and Sarah, of Isaac and Rebekah. of
Leah also, and the embalmed bodies
of Jacob and perhaps Joseph. No
other spot in the Holy Land holds so
much precious dust as thus. The site
over the cave itself is covered by a
Mahomedan sanctuary. Since the
Moslem rule, it has not been accessi-
bic to either Christian or jew"
Isaac was a man of faith, but in
many respects great contrast to his
father. He was patient, but not en-
terprising and powerful. He was de-
vout and submissive, but not active
and organizing in God service. His life
was uneventful, almost monotonous.
He has been called 1.-The Wordsworth of
the Old Testament" Isaac was
dwarfed and weakened by growing up
under the shadow of Abraham" But
all this tends, as in Isaac's case, to the
stunting of the man himself. Life is
made too easy for him" Many a son
of rich man or of a strong man con-
Quoting a large business, has been
greatly injured by not having respon-
sibilities thrown upon him. Still
Isaac was Industrious and prosperous.
The Twin Brothers.-Vs. %, %.
Twenty years after the marriage of
Isaac, two sons, twins, were born.
Esau, the elder, was a cunning hunt
er, betokening his wild, restless, self
indulgent character, and leading him,
probably, t. society with the heather
Canaanites round about. "a man of
the field:" This is antithetic to what
"a dweller in tents" Instead
of spending his time in the society of
his family, returning to his tent at
night after his days labor, he roamed
over the country like the uncivilized
hunter in half savage lands. Jacob
was a plain man." This is an made
quate rendering of the word, trans
lated perfect" in meaning upright,
q man of general integrity. He
had great force of charac-
ter, and a capacity for strong
and enduring affection, which is close
ly allied to a deep religious nature.
The Sale of the Birthright.-Vs.
1884. The two boys grew up into
young men, developing their ten
lencies, and determining in this period
heir entire future. Be careless, if you
will, in old age. or even on the brink
IF the grave; but it is the supremest
Jolly, almost the objectionable sin, to
oe thoughtless in the golden hours of
youth. They were about thirty-two
years old when occurred the transac-
ion of to-day's lesson.
The birthright was the headship of
he family. Esau was, by right of
birth, the head of the family, it's
prophet. priest and king; and no man
an renounce such privileges, except
Is a sacrifice required by God, without
lespising God, who gave them. But
more than this: he was the head of
he chosen family; on him devolved /
he blessings of Abraham, that in his |
eed all families of the earth should be |
blessed; and, in despising his birth
light, he put himself out of the sacred
amily, and so became profane per-
on. His sin must not be overlooked
n our indignation at the fraud of
Jacob, which, as we shall see present
y, brought its own retribution as well
IS its own gain.
Winning the Birthright. - About
years Tor. as some think.
pass away. Very probably
isau had forgotten his bargain, or at
ny rate had no intention of carrying
t out. But Isaac, feeling the infrmi-
les of age, though he lived many
ears after this, wished to devolve the
are of his family upon his eldest son.
nd proposed at a feast to bestow upon
i'm the birthright blessing. which
would have made Esau the head of the
amily. Jacob remembered his pur-
hase, and Rebekah the prophecy.
acob was her favorite son. The two
we're afraid that the desired boon was
Tipping away from them. They did