Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-13

some reason known only to God He does
not want US to be.
And so when God would choose great
souls to be His and do His bidding He
must try them as He tried Abraham Can
one imagine harder case than to be COM
manded to sacrifice ones only SOM There Is
keen test In that reminder Of Gods thine
only son, whom thou lowest" 1t was a test
indeed. He might have urged a good many
things against this. He might have re-
minded God of His promise concerning
isaacs seed. He might have pleaded how
long he had waited for this beloved son to
be sent to him. and how well he had taught
the boy OF the great purpose for which God
had sent him into the world. But he did
not. He went straight about obeying with
a calm and trust that is uneaualed In
history.
Marcus Dods says: so far from intro
ducing into Abrahams mind erroneous
ideas about sacrifice, this incident finally
dispelled from his mind such ideas and per-
manently fixed in his mind the conviction
that the sacrifice God seeks Is the devotion
or the living soul. not the consumption Of
a dead body. God met him on the platform
of knowledge and morality to which he
had attained, and by requiring him to sacri-
flee his son. taught him and all his de-
scendants in what sense alone such sacri-
flee can be accepted. God meant Abraham
to sacrifice his son. but not~in the coarse.
material sense. God meant him to Yield
the lad truly to Him: to arrive at the con-
seriousness that Isaac more truly belonged
needful that Abraham and Isaac shouliN be
in perfect harmony with the Divine nj.
Only by being really and absolutely in
Gods hand could they. or can any one.
reach the whole and full good designed for
them by God"
Applied Truth.
1t is said that at an exhibition OF paint
ings by masters one of which attracted
great attention was called THE Roman
o{c at
the destruction of Pompe The sky was
livid with flames and dense smoke and
burning lava and red hot ashes were fall
ing in every direction. Mortified people
We're rushing hither and thither. not know
ing which way they went to escape but
calm and unmoved in the midst of the tu-
multi stood the single figure Of a Roman
sentry. He had been ordered to stanc
there until relieved. and there he stood In
spite Of burning lava and falling Goals.
There in the ruins after all these centuries
have past was found his skeleton standing
calmly in the face of death, true to his
trust. a monument of perfect obedience.
How to Help the Leader
Speak of Christ's obedience in being sub
ject to His peasant parents and the fact
that If We remember that 1t will be easier
for us to obey in hard cases
Parallel ges-Exodus xix:5: Isaiah.
i:1?; jeremiah. vii:23; jeremiah. xxxviii:2o;
Acts. v:29: Hebrews. kits: | Samuel xv..22;
Romans. Xvi:l9; Joshua. xxiv:24
Hints to the leader-Christan EndeaVor
hymns ., p. a. 9s.
The Endeavor hymnal, c. 1876. 100. 139.
149. 1874
Have some one sing Trust and Obey as
an opening. Perhaps it would be a good
plan TO have a chorus of boys from the
junior sing TINS
Ask for a chain of verses from the Bible
about obedience. Ask members to mention
Bible instances of great obedience. Ask
for some of the hard things that God tells
people to do nowadays. and call for Incl
dents of those who have had their trust in
God rewarded when they obeyed Personal
experience counts for much every time.
Give this start by some OF your own from
your Christian life if possible Ask If il
ever pays to obey only half way.