The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1904-10-06
TIE SUNDAY BIBLE SCHOOL
Lesson in the International Series
for October o, 1eO4-"The Wild
ow's Oil Increased"
prepared by the "Highway and By.
way" Preacher.)

way froocner.)
Copyright. 1904. by J. M. Edson)
LESSON TEXT
III. Kings 4:i-7; Memory verses, ,b,8
]. Now there cried a certain woman Of
the wives Of the sons OF the prophets unto
Elisha, saying: Thy servant my husband
10 dead; and thou knowest that thy serv-
ant did fear the Lord; and the creditor is
come 10 take unto him my two sons to be
bondmen,
O. And Elisha said unto her. What shall
/ do for thee7 Tell me, what has thou In
the house2 And she said Thine handmade
hath not anything In the house. save pot
of oil.
g. Then he said Go, borrow thee ves-
sells abroad of all thy neighbors. even
empty vessels; borrow not a few.
4. And when thou art come In. thou shalt
shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons.
and shalt pour out into all those vessels,
and thou shalt set aside that which Is full
5. SO she went from him, and shut the
door upon her and upon her sons, who
brought the vessels to her; and she poured
out.
9. And II came 10 pass, when the vessels
were full that she said unto her son: Bring
me yet vessel. And he said unto her:
There is not a vessel more And the oil
stayed
Z. Then she came and told the man OF Cod.
And he said Go, sell the oil, and pay thy
debt, and live thou and thy children Of the
GOLDEN rExT.-"Trust in the Lord
and do good: so shalt thou dwell In the land.
and verify thou shalt be fed."-Ps. 1913.
TIME.--urncertain: but within a short
time after last lesson.
PLACE.-Uncertain: but perhaps one Of
the places where was a school Of the
prophets, either Gilgal Bethel or Jericho.
Human Need and Divine Resources.
The Widow and Her Need. ". ~
What we know of the widow: ~ She
was Cody woman. I. Tim. 5.b gives
us a picture of the Cody widow. God
holds such in special regard. Il Tim.
5:3) And one test of true religion is
ministering to such in their need. (Jas.
1:27) (2) Was known to Elisha. The
faithful, God-fearing lives Of both her
husband and herself proved excellent
capital on which to do business. Godli-
moss does pay. Il Tim. 4:S. (S Was
in the clutches OF the oppressive credi-
| tor. Affliction and misfortune are not
always a sign Of sin or folly. John
9:1-3) az Had two sons who In ac-
cordance with the custom Of those days
were to be taken to satisfy the debt.
(Lev. $3.50. Matt 1929 (5) Her
need was urgent. THE creditor is
come" The day Of trouble is the day
to pray. psalm 50:15)
The Prophet and His Help (Vs. 2-4.-
Two questions were asked by the pro-
phet. What shall I do for thee?'
What hast thou in the house?" Q) God
always wants us to tell Him our desires
To tell God what we want clarifies our
vision, and strengthens our faith. (2)
! God always uses what we have. be II
ever so little. as the medium Of blessing
Strange Instructions.-O Borrow
empty vessels. (2) Shut herself and
her sons in the house (3) Pour out her
little pot OF oil and perhaps waste It.
Surely. here was test Of faith. II the
widow had been like most people seek
ing help, she would have had her own
ideas as to methods. 1 May not the
borrowing of empty vessels suggest the
need of greater capacity. We need to be
enlarged for more Of Gods fullness. (2)
May not the shut door and the seclusion
teach us the need of getting alone with
God where His blessing may descend
/ upoh Nop Anu may NV thS Pco'
ing out Of the oil and its miraculous In
crease typtfy the multiplying OF spiritual
gifts and power as we pour out our hearts
and our lives in behalf Of needy souls all
about us.
The Obedience and Its Reward Tvs
sly faith and implici,
obedience mark the conduct Of the
widow. The empty vessels were bor'
rowed in the face. probably, Of curious
looks, and prying questions and sneers
of ridicule. The door was closed. shut
ting herself and her sons away from al
other earthly help and every moment
the knock Of the creditor was expected
And what faith! Only the little pot oi
oil in hand. and the empty vessels or
every hand. How seemingly impossible
to fill them. Bnt the pot Of oil and the
empty dishes was not all the widow had
She had the word of the prophet And
we have the word Of God on which tc
depend. Let us lay hold of II as the widow
did of the prophets word, which was
really the word of God spoken through
His servant. That little pot Of oil never
ceased its outpouring stream OF oil unit
every vessel was filed to the brim. That
Ia the way God gives of His riches In
Christ Jesus. Begin to pour out your
self in Christly ministry to others ant
while there is an empty vessel about yor
to fll need soul to help. the flow viii
not cease.
But what Is she to do with the oil
The prophet did not tell her. She mus
go back and tell him of what had come
to pass and ask him for further direc
tion. without question she has obeyef
his instructions. She has gone as far al
she can. Now for the next step. Here Il
lesson for every Christian. True faitf
does not ask to see all the way. True
faith goes straight ahead as far as thu
instructions will carry and then is tint
to 60 to God for the next step. The OF
sold. the creditors paid. the future pro
vided for was the reward Of obedien
faith and faithful obedience. How Goo
always hears the cry of His children am
how certainly will He honor faith an;
obedience. The Psalmist's declaration
In Ps. S7:25 finds illustration in this les
son.