Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1907-02-08
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON VI, FIRST QUARTER, INFERNO
TloNAL SERIES, FEB. TO-

Text Of the Lesson, Gen. Aii' 10
,,amory verses, 1-3-Golden Z
Cen. xii, documentary FFep"i I
NV Rev. ID. NJ. Stearns.
rcorvrivbt 1907. by American Press Ass0ciA'ion
Tot counting Adam, who IN many
rasnacts stands alone. there are seven
,rnIcal representative men In Genesis
ahal Enoch. Noah, Abraham, lsaae'
I'at, ana Joseph. We have had the
6rst and third under consiuera'ion,
with inst a glance at the secohu' anN
,o,,, we come TO the middle one oil tue
sayan the only man in Scripture VINO
a snaciallv called 1.-THE friend OF Gou'
and he is so called three dineren'
fines III Chron. Xxx, Z; lsa' XII O Jas,
4 o0 Our Lord says that we are ms
fr,ands if we do His commandments,
and He also says that if we do the Wll
of Cod we are His brother ana SISTER
and mother John Ky, IA, loi MAT
xii. 50 ~ ao
The new people on earth, the de,
soondonts Of Noah. the new head OF
the race. became degenerate, IKE 'ne
antediluyians, though possibly not 10
the same extent, but we find them III
chapter xi. 4, in organized reoellion
AGAINST God. so much so that the Loru
had to confound their language anu
ocottar them abroad upon the face Oh
all the earth. Then in chapter Xi'
1922 we have the next ten genera
tions from Shem bringing us TO ADran'
concerning whose times it Is written
that his people served other goas
Gosh. xiv. 9. From the surrounding
idolatry God called him out that he
might transplant him and make oi
him and his descendants, in separate
land. separate people unto Hlmsell
that through them the nations might
know the only living and true COD
God does not drive people, but draws
them by some revelation of HlmselI
and His glory; so we read that the
God of Glory appeared unto ADram
(Acts vii, o. We are also told concern
inn him that he looked for a city
which hath foundations (Heb. II, lO)'
evidently the city of Rev. xxi. Moses
also was encouraged by a glorious
nrnsnect set before him which made
Egyptian prospects seem of small ac'
count. The antediluvians, who be-
lieved God, saw something III the
cherubim which made them as stran.
gers here. And when our Lord asked
the disciples to deny self and follow
Him, He did not fail to tell them OF q
time of reward and glory Matt. XVI
24-2S).
Believers will never be content to SO
iourn on earth as strangers till glorl
GUS future takes hold of their hearts
J making them blind to the allurement'
of earth because Of the glory Of tina
light. Then all things merely earthly
will seem as nothing compared witt
the glory of the Kingdom. 1t was tn
Lord who appeared to Abram ant
smoke TO him, and we must hear Iii
) voice in our hearts for ourselves-tha
J is. we must receive His word as a mes
3 sage to our hearts, believing that IL
: means us.
0 The promise to Abram in the frs
q three verses Of our lesson included
land a poSterity and a worldwld
= blessing and still awaits its complet
fulfllment The fourfold 81 will' G
these verses is suggestive of the worl(
wide reach of the promise, but one
e will" Of God makes the thing sure.
AT Haran Abram was detained ii
his father died Chapter xi, 81, 81
\ Just why is not plainly told, but "
Y see later in the Bible story that Gale
4 and Joshua were kept many yea
from entering the land of promise
the unbelief of others, and there is
possibility that there was some unb
lief on the part of Terah, for we kno
that unbelief cannot enter in (He
iii, 19). Abraham was seventy-h
when he and Sarai, his wife, and /
nephew Lot left Haran and enter
Canaan with all their possessions al
pitched at Sichem oversees 4 to @ wi
the Canaanite still occupying the lar
but he saw the Lord and not t
Canaanite, for
Faith, mighty faith. the promise sees a
looks to that alone,
Laughs at impossibilities and cries
shall be done.
Here the Lord appeared again
Abram (yerse y, the first time in
land and probably the first time si1
He appeared to him in his faraw
eastern home, and confirmed to him
promise. And Abram builded his f
altar in the land and worshiped G
in His appointed way according to
teaching of Gen. lii, q, and the
ample of Abel and Noah.
In verse we find that he removed
Il new place, but he does not fail
build an altar and worship. We
go in peace anywhere on earth W
God, but one has well said that
had better not cross the thresh
without Him. The rest Of the chaI
tells of further journeyings, but
time it is down to Egypt, because IL
was famine in Canaan, and we
no altar In Egypt We do see ABB
afraid Of his life and he and 81