Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-03-10
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON x, FIRST QUARTER. INTER-
NATIONAL SERIES, MARCH II.


Text of the Lessen. Gen. xviii. 1889.
Memory Verses, 1919 = Golden Text.
Gen. xviii, ; = Commentary by the
Rev. ID. VI. stearns.
TO- .And Jacob went out from Beer
sheba and went toward liarann Since
/ the last lesson Isaac has been to the Phil.
istines, and being forbidden to 20 to
Egypt he sojourned at Gerar. where lie fel!
into his fathers sin concerning his wife
/ He afterward made his home at Beersheba
I in the extreme south, where his father
dwelt when called upon TO offer up his
only son. Then follows the story Of the
deception practiced upon Isaac liy l;chessah
and Jacob, with Esau's consequent hatred
of Jacob, resulting sA Jacobs leaving
home to go TO his mothers people 1T liza
ran in PadansraIn. where Abram had 50.
iourned On his way TO Canaan till Terah
died
II. ''And lie lighted upon certain
place and tarried there al night. because
the sun was set, ana he took of the stonc-,
of that place and put them fer his pillows
and lay down in that place 70 sleep" Ii we
consider Jacob from this On apart from his
nature and conduct ~ ? sinful man, tAer,
are several things in bis history suggcs
tive of facts in the history Of the Lord Ie
sus. He goes forth TO obtain wife C'srsS
y, for whom be labors patiently long
time fchapter xxxi, 10. 40, but 1t seems
short to him because of his great love to
her xxx s0). Christ loved the church
and gave Himself for it tEph. V. a5l. Ellie
ger seeking a bride for the son at hone
with his father Is suggestive of the present
work of the Spirit in gathering out the
church. AS you see, Jacob in his loneliness
with the stones for his pillows yea can't
help thinking Of him who had not where
to lay His head luke tx, ISL
-. "And he dreamed, aud behold u
ladder set up on the earth, end the top oi
it reached to heaven. And behold the an.
gels of God ascending and descending on
it" By comparing John j, 81, the ladder
is suggestive OF the Son Of Man. who be
coming man reached down To where we
were, and being God reaches mp to heaven.
the angels being ministering spirits unto
the heirs Of salvation. II will be fully seen
in the hereafter of the millenial kingdom.
~. "And behold the Lord stood above
it and said, l am the Lord God Of Ahra.
ham, thy father and The Ged Of Isaac; the
land whereon thou lest, to thee will
give it and TO thy seed. Notice in this
verse and the last three beholds- behold
ladder. behold the angels, behold the Lord.
Il. "And thy seed shall he as the dust
Of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad
to the west and to the east end to the north
and to the south, and In thee md in thy
seed shall all the families of the earth b.
blessed. Ahram WAS promised seed rs
numerous rs the dust of the earth and rs
the stars of heaven (Xiii. 1d; xv. 81. The
latter was repeated 20 Isaac txxvi, y, and
now the former i confirmed to Jacob.
Is. ''And behold | am with thee and
viii keep thee in all places whittier thou
goest and Will bring thee again into this
land, for | viii not leave thee until have
done that which ! havespoken to thee OF. y
Here is fourth behold and associated
with what seems to me the most comprc
hensive assurance in the Bible. 81 am with
thee" Compare Ex. iii. IL; Joshua i, ;
Judg. vi, lG; der, i, 6, 10; lisa. Xii. 30.
Ilag. i, 10; ii, 4; Math. xviii, go, etc
Consider well this promise Of Gods pres
ence and loving care and gracious purpose
in tho light Of Jacobs unworthiness and
crookedness and sec if Your soul IL noi
comforted and strengthened by the fact
that this God Is your God, the same yes
terday. today and forever
10, And Jacobawalked ont Of his sleep.
and he said Surely the Lord Is IL this
place. and knew it not His partner.
ship with his mother in the deceit prac
ticed upon Isaac would not tend 70 fellow
ship with God, but to be alone and away
from homesonetimesc causes deep thought
and it is possible that Gre Jacob slept he
had turned to God With true peniteuce aad
confession, and that this vision was the
answer 10 his prayers,
II. "And he was afraid and said, How
dreadful is this place This IS none othli
but the house Of God, and this is the gate
of heaven. Ever since Adam sinned anG
said, 81 was afraid Gen. iii, l0l, sin has
made man afraid at the presence of the
Lord And yet God is love and loved NJ
when we were dead in sins, and Christ died
for sinners. We cannot have peace in the
presence OF God apart from the forgiveness
of sins, but this also he has provided in
Jesus Christ Acts xiii, 80, SO; Eph. /.
6, y.
is. And Jacob rose up carly in the
morning and took the stone that lie had
put for his pillows and set it up for Il pill
lar and poured oil upon the top Of it. a
sense Of the presence Of the Lord is now
upon him, and he is awed and subdued
and grateful. 1t should be always so with
the believer, with jog ndded-ioy in the
Lord and the joy Of the Lord, serving the
Lord with eladuess, The stone that was
PROSTATE, but now upright and anointed
may stand for Jacob himself
49, "And he called the name of that
place Bethel, but the name Of that city
was called Luz at the first" Near this
place was one Of Abrams first tenting
places in Canaan (chapter xii, ~, and lates
God appeared to Jacob as ''the God Of
Bethel (chapter XXI, 18). But Jeroboam
defiled it when he here set up one Of his
golden calves Il Kings xii, 29). Every spot
in our pilgrimage may be to us a Bethel
If we win not delle it by any idol
20, 81. And Jacob vowed vow. say
ing, If God will be with rae and will keep
me in this way that 10 and will give me
bread to eat and raiment TO put on, 50 that
come again 70 my father $ house in peace,
then shall the Lord be my God" 10 view
of the most gracious and unconditional
assurarccs of verse Is, it is surely too bad
to hear Jacob come in with his great big
'if, and yet how many Of us leave ont
all the ifs, and when God says thing !
DpiNll NttAaAlfs DtlttNttTNu. AilAl u Aliiitl /
be even % it was told me, or gratefully
say, BE it unto me according TO thy
word" acts xvii, rs; buke i, 3s)?
%. "And this stone which / have set
for pillar shall be Gods house, and Of
all that Thou shalt give me win surely
give the tenth unto Thee" Yet there are
Christians without number who never yet
b gan to give God a tenth and are there
fore more mean than crooked, scheining
Jacob If we are children Of God by faith |
in Christ Jesus, then we are Abraham's |
seed Gal. fiji, 20l, but Abram gave Mel.
chisedec tithes of all. Let us therefore !
eheerfully give our Melchisedec tithes uf /
all rs the very least we should do, and then |
pile high the free will offerings on top Of /
that. Let 10 one try to escape by aayiag. I
All have IL his. Well, the Lord gtsnt I
it to be so, but show up the tenth anyhow 1
as a little evidence that you are al his. !
Read Prov. XII. p, 25. xiii, T.