Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1907-02-27
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON TX, FIRST QUARTER, iNTERNA-
TIoNAL SERIES, MARCH 8.

their many important events. writer
for US by the Holy Spirit, and one i'm
portant lesson of chapter xvi is thai
| God will always do as He has said
and not in any roundabout or wrong
way, for He cannot be partner tc
anything wrong. Concerning the prom
ised son 1t is finally written, "The
Lord visited Sarah as He had said
and the Lord did unto Sarah as He
had spoken" xxi, u.
Ten years had passed since Abra'
ham entered the land xvi, -, and, no
son having been given, the devil has
a trap for Abraham, into which he
falls, making a lot of family trouble
and seemingly breaking intimate fell
lowship between Abram and the Lord
for thirteen years. Compare xvi, 10.
and xvii, /. In chapter xvi, I'll, note
the first mention of the angel OF the
Lord -four tines, and in connection
with q poor, wronged outcast wom-
an. and take comfort from the min
istry of angels (Heb. /, ~. Find
greater comfort In the truth that
God lives and sees and cares XVI, IL,
IA, and margin). Note how important
is submission not only to the good and
gentle, but also to the froward xvi, o;
Pet. II, 49, Submission is said to be
the highest mission on earth. 1t Is In
teresting to notice that OF the seven
men mentioned in Scripture as being
named before their birth Ishmael 10
the first.
After the thirteen years Of silence
the Lord revealed Himself to Abram
by a new name, the Almighty God Gel
ShaddaD, or the God who Is all sufi-
cient or enough. This name Is used
more often in the book Of Job than In
all the rest of the Bible and can only
be understood and appreciated when
we are brought to the end Of ourselves
and our own resources Job Kill, 8, o.;
then If we walk before God uprightly,
sincerely xvii, /, margin), we will see
the all suf1ciency of God. Then fol-
low In this wonderful chapter the
covenant with Abram confirmed,
Abrams change Of name to Abraham
by putting into 1t the principal letter
Of Gods name, Jehovah; the rite Of cir
cumcision, suggesting death to the
flesh, and the assurance that the long
promised son would be given the next
year and his name would be Isaac.
Today's lesson chapter begins with
another appearance of the Lord to
Abraham, the sixth, think, If I have
counted correctly, and this time He Is
accompanied by two angels, the three
appearing as men, and they accept
Abraham's hospitality and rest under
the tree while water Is brought for
their feet and an abundant meal pro-
vided by Abraham and Sarah, Of
which they all partake Contrast the
unleavened cakes which Sarah quick
ly makes with her three measures Of
meal with the leavened bread Of the
woman of Matt. kill, 33. If you feel
like saying how gladly you would have
stood by or helped prepare the food or
shared it with them, think Of John
Xii, 1-3, and see the same Lord. and II
that does not help then believe Rev.
iii, 20.
See the reinsurance Of a son for
Sarah, hear her unbelievlng laugh and
the Lords patient rebuke and His
searching question. as anything too
hard for the Lord?" VERSES 8 to 49,
Compare Jer. xxi, II, 81, and say
before Him II you are believing or I'M
believing.
The visitors rose up and looked to-
ward Sodom, and Abraham went with
them to bring them on their way, and |
so the four start off, and we can easily |
imagine Sarah following them with |
her eyes as far as she could see them |
and thinking many things In her heart. |
Soon the two angels are on their way |,
to Sodom, and the record Of their visit |
to Lot and their hurrying him and his |
wife and daughters out Of the doomed |
city Is found in chapter xix along with |
the story of the destruction Of the cities
because Of their sin. The angels inabil-
ity to destroy the cities until Lot was
safely out suggests that the church /
must be taken out of the earth before
the judgments can come upon 1t. Our
Lord Jesus Endorses this record also
luke xvii, $500 and tells Us that as
It was so 1t shall be again at His COM
Ing. Contrast the willingness with
which the visitors accepted Abraham's
and Lots difficulty in con-
Straining the angels to enter his home.
Turning back to our lesson and to
our Lords words, "Shall hide from
Abraham that thing which / do?"
verse 10 we are reminded OF Amos
III, 7, Surely the Lord God will do
nothing, but He revealeth His secret
1nto his servants the prophets" We
therefore do we'll IL we take heed to
Ill prophecy and are foolish IL we do
lot Oh Pet. /, 10; Luke xiv, 25). The
Lord Is looking for those with whom
He can commune, for He seeks feI
owship With us Oh Chron. xvi, 81.
The cry of Sodom and Gomorrab
the Lord brings to mind such
as Gen. Nv, 10; Hab. II, IL;
Tas. v, 4; Mum. xxi, %, The words
n verses % and %, Abraham stood
yet before the Lord and Abraham
irew near" remind us of our great
set forth in Heb. iv. 14-16.
Abraham's skiold petition for the sin
'ul city and his prevailing until the
Lord agreed to spare it" for tens J
AXE" taken with such illustrations
is the woman of Tyre and Sldon, the
Roman centurion, the four friends Of
he palsied man, our Golden Text, etc..
horld greatly encourage us to perse-
'ere in prayer.