The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1901-08-29
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
'Lesson In the International seriee
for September II, lOO1-lsarc
the Pcacc INN ker.
THE LEssolS TEXT.

Il. Then Isaac sowed in that ihr2.-
and received In the year an hundred.
fold; and the Lord blessed him.
IL. And the rHn wAxee CT, II. and wfTit
forward and g,ew until he became vtsN
great;
II. For he had possession of flocks, and
possession OF herds, ant great store of
servants; and the Phiiistines envied him.
10 For all the wells which his fathers
servants had digged in the days Of AbIa-
nam MS father, the Philistines had stoppss
them, and filed them with earth.
To- And Abimelach said unto Isaac Go
from us; for thou artnnuch mightier than
IL. And 1saar rdepartet,thence and pItchni
. his tent In the valley OF Gerar, and dwelt
there
is And Isaac digged, again the wells Qf
water, which they had digged in the days
OF Apraham his father; for the PhilistiIns
had stopped them after the death of Abra-
nam: and he called their names after tire
names by which his father had called the M.
~. And lsaae's servants digged In the
valley. and found there a well of springi,ys
water.
20. And the hs-,amenoof sierar did strive
WIN lsaacs herdmen, saying, The water
Is ours: and he called the name of the we'll
Esek; because they strove with him.
q. And they digged another well, ana
strove for that alsu; andhe called the name
OF 1t Stnah.
p, And he removed from thence. and
cisged another well; and for that they
strove not; and ne called the name of il
aehopoth; and be said. For now the Lord
hath made room for us and we shall he
fruitful In the land "
eheba. ~ i''''
"a And the Lord appeared unto him the
same night, and said, am the God of
Aoraham thy father; fear mot, for am
with thee, and will bless thee and multipiy
thy seed for my servant Abranam's sake.
90 Ahd ne builded an altar there, and
called upon the name of the Lord, and
pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's
servants digged a well
GoLDEN TENT.-Blesseh are the
peaeemakers, for they shall he called
the children of GoAl.-Matt. so.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
'Dea6 OF Sarah.-The account of
SarahS death finds its interest for us
IN the connected s&ory Of Abraham's
purchase of the cave of Machpelah.
The procedure was characteristically
oriental. The owner would have felt
saggrieved had Abraham taken him at
his word when he offered him the cave
:as gift. This burial place was the
only ground Abraham himself ever
owned in Canaan.
Isaae's Marriage.-Eliezer rtl5:q) ia
generally supposed to be the servant
referfed to in this aceaunt, but that is
not certain, as his name Is not men,
toned here. The servant in any case
was hbrahsm's steward and Of course
greatly trusted. Abraham believed
that Isaac Should marry one more in
sympathy with the spiritual worship
he practiced than any Canaanttish
woman would be.
ASraham's Burial.-rhe mari, ye
with turahoccurredIprdbably bly,, af,er
Serad's death. The mention of It and
OF the descendants Of Ishmael is for
the purpose ,of tracing the relation
ship between the Hebrews and their
neighbsfs. lshmael's attendance art
AbrahaM's burial indicates greater
harmony between Ishmael and Isaac
than might be expected. Perhaps
Abraham had restored friendly rela-
Tions after Saraf'x death.
The Covenant with Isaac.-1Ae S-
vine manifestations came to the patri-
arrhs generally at the crises of their
1nes. This revelation to Isaac came
when famine threatened him. His sim
ful deceit regarding Rebekah was sim
liar TO Abraham's. They steadfastly
cherished hope for their descendants,
but sometimes failed to keep their
trust in Gods protection of them
selves.
lsanc the Peacemaker.-There is no
mention of Abraham's tillinp the
ground, and probably he had done very
little OF II. If at all. Isaac's succe ssful
venture Is noteworthy on that ac-
count, as we'll as for its increase Of
ms possessions to the point where the
fhihstnes became envfous Of him.
The conditions Of life. in Palestine
make wells very important. Abraham
mad been diligent in opening them, but
the fhilistines. apparently not wish
ing to make It ensy for him to live
among them, had filled them after his
departure. These wells Isaac now dug
again. The wells over which the Phil |
istines strove with Isaac were at va.
rious points in southern Judah, Beer.
sheba being no doubt the most easter
y place mentioned in this section. The
ihllistines treatment of Isaac was un- ,
1ust in SO far as they took advantage |
of his labor. but their claim to the
land was probably fair. In any case,
Isaac could not we'll resist them, since
.heir force was much greater than his.
Isaac, however, was moved probably !,
not only by thoughts of benefit to !,
himself, but also by gratitude for the !.
Mndness NJ he had received from the
ihiiistine king. The revelation OF God
10 Isaac after the trouble over the
wells was a sanction of his conduct,
ana new assurance that he had in
herited the promises made to Abra.
nam. In this conflict between the
servants Of Isaac and the Philistines
ana his gracious yielding (Matt. 5:a9)
we begin to see the working out of
sne prophecy in Gen. 1886. The
"ickedness of the heather nations
was not yet full. The time to possess
'he promised land by force was not