The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1904-10-07
THE SUNDAY BIBLE SCHOOL
Lesson in the international Series
for October 9, 19O4-"The Wild
ow's Oil Increased"
prepared by the Highway and By
way" Preacher)
(CoWright 1904 hy J NJ Edson)


Nl Kings il-7 Memory verses. @. @
Now there cried a certain woman Of
the wives OF tho sons Of the prophets unto
Elisha. saying. Thy servant my husband
SIS dead. and thou knowcst that thy serv-
ant did fear the Lord; and tho creditor is
come 20 take unto him my two sons 10 be
bondmon
And Elisha said unto her: What shall
] 60 for thee? Toll me. what has thou In
.hc h0usc2 Ana she said Thine handmade
hath not anything IN the house save pot
of off,
Then he said: Go. borrow thee vcs-
fcls abroad of all thy nciEhbors. even
empty vessels. borrow not "a few.
T. And when thou art come in. thou shalt
shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons.
ana shalt pour out into AN those vessels.
and thou shalt set aside that which is full
O. So she went from him. and shut the
door upon her and upon her sons, who
brought tho vessels 90 her. and she poured
out
O. And It came 20 pass when the vessels
were full that she said unto her son. Bring
me yet "a vessel And he said unto her:
There Is not a vessel more And the OF
stayed.
G. Then she came and told the man Of God.
And hc said: Co sell the oil, and pay Thy
debt and live thou and thy children OF the
rest
GOLDEN TENT-"Trust 30 the Lord
and do good $50 shalt thou dwell in ihc iand,
and verify thou shalt hc fed '-ls. 1913
TIME Uncertain. but within short
time after last lesson.
pLACE.-Uncortain but perhaps one of
the places whore was "a school OF the
prophets either Gi.gal. Bethel or Jericho.
Human Need and Divine Resources
The Widow and Her Need. (V. IL
What we know of the widow: OJ She
was a Cody woman. l. Tim. 5:5 gives
as a picture Of the Cody widow. God
holds such in special regard q Tim.
5:3) And one test of true religion Is
ministering to such In their need. (Jas.
1:27D CD Was known 10 Elisha The
faithful. God-fearing lives Of both her
husband and herself proved excellent
capital on which to DO business. Godl-
ness does pay. Il Tim. 4;8). CD Was
in the clutches Of the oppressive credi-
tor. Adliction and misfortune are not
always a sign Of sin or folly John
9.1-3) (D Had two sons who In ac-
cordance with the custom of those days
were 10 be taken to satisfy the debt
Gev. 25:39. Matt 1929 90 Her
need was urgent. The creditor Is
come" The day Of trouble IS the day
70 pray. psalm 5O:15)
The Prophet and His Help Ns. pa
Two questions were asked by the pro-
phet "What shall do for thee?
What hast thou in the house?" % 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. GU Shut herself and
her sons in the house CD 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. % May not the
borrowing Of empty vessels suggest the
need Of greater capacity. We need to be
enlarged for more Of Gods fullness. (2)
Nav not the shut door and the seclusion
teach us the need Of getting alone with
God where His blessing may descend
upon us. CD And may not the pour
ing out Of the oil and itamiraculous In
crease tvpify the multiplying Of spiritual
gifts and power as we pour out our hearts
and our lives I'm behalf Of needy souls all
about u.s.
The Obedience and It's Reward (Vs
5-7).-Unwavering faith and implicit
obedience mark the conduct Of tho
widow. The empty vessels were Dor
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 all
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 on
every hand How seemingly impossible
10 fin them. But the pot Of oil and the
emptv dishes was not all the widow had
She had the word of the prophet. And
wa have the word Of God on which "a
depend. Letus lay hold of It 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 unti'
everv vessel was filled TO the brim. Tha
is the way God gives Of His riches j.
Christ Jesus. Begin to pour out your.
self in Chrlstly ministry to others and
while there is an empty vessel about you
IN FIJI. a need soul to help. the flow Will
not cease
But what is she TO do with the oili
The prophet did not tell her She must
qo back and tell him Of what had come
10 pass and ask him for further direc-
lion. without question she has obeyed
his instructions She has gone as far as
she can. Now for the next step. Here Is
lesson for every Christian True faith
does not ask 10 see all the way True
faith goes straight ahead as far as the
instructions will carry and then is time
IN 90 10 God for the next step. The oil
sold the creditors paid the future pro-
vidod for was the reward Of Obedieni
faith and faithful obedience. How God
alwavs hears the cry of His children, ant
how certainly will He honor faith and
obedience. The Psalmists declaration
I'm Ps. 87:25 finds illustration in this les