The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1907-01-01
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM
MENTS FOR JANUARY 6 BY
THE REV. i. w. HENDERSON.
Subject: God the Creator. Gen. n
1-25-Golden Text, Gen. til,
Memory Verses, 1 to 3-Conff
mentary.

oOAuen Iext, Gen. II
Memory Verses, 1 to 3-ConiE
mentary.
Whatever may be our opinion al
70 the hlstorlcity OF the story which
Is tne subject OF this lesson, upon
tnls we are all agreed that the beau
tiful word picture which sd simnls
! tells the story of Gods creative worj
| In the days of the infancy of th&
world states the central, ultimate
and greatest fact of the universe q
God. In the beginning God created
| the heaven and the earth Twenty&
nve times in the first twentv-fve
verses is the name of God used What
a sublime, what a scientific, what a
| pnllosophic record this is. If it be
an allegory it is the profoundest allie
/ CORY that the world has ever read.
Ihese twenty-five verses reveal God
nrstly, as fact in the earliest his
tory OF the universe: Gin the begin
! ming God" Secondly, they reveal
God as creative force-'sin the beM
ginning God created, Thirdly. theY|
reveal God as creative personalitN
and God said,'' and God saw.
| land God made
The fact of God is the ultimatel
statement of the wisest and the most
searching philosophy. Whether We
| call God a force, an energy GREAT
! ing power or a personality, we mus
In sound sense and as the result IL
universal experience, admit Him al
| IacC. This lesson presents God
secondly, as we have seen, as a Gre
atlve force. Out of chaos, by the e,
| ercise of His own will God create
the world. But the Genesis storH
| del1neates God to US as somethin
more than mere creative force.
| takes US into the realm of the ne
| sonality of God and it introduces us d
| Creator who speaks, who sees. VIII
! thinks, who wills. And it gives
us God who is creative persona
| ity.
1t is noticeable also, as in th
eighteenth verse, that Genesis giyey
to us photograph of God who
possessed of moral attributes-''an
God saw that it was good'' A God
without moral capacity would be uni
able to make a moral distinction a
between good and bad. A Gcd VIII
did not know the right, and VIII
tailed to exercise righteousness
would be unable to distinguish mora
worth either in His own actions or
the works of men.
The Genesis record despite all di
ference of opinion as between theo
logical schools will be forever, as
has been and is to-day, the simplest
most easily understood, as we'll as
profoundly philosophic, statement N
the fact of a personal, moral crea
| tive God -
This we should not forget, this &
/ G ~ e0s -
| the attention of all students of thu
Scripture. Inescapeably this lessol
| teaches the fact of God.
The following notes may be found
to be of value:
| VS.. l. I'm (the) beginning Nd
article in Hebrew is given. But it II
here properly supplied. The frs
verse tells in general language VIVA
God did. The rest of the verses parl
| ticularize from this generalization.
Created" This is a special term
for the new and unique. 1t does no
of necessity imply creation from
| nothing. God likely in the idea o
the writer is conceived as beginning
| with primeval chaos. The WriteM
does not go back further than that
But either view may be held from
! the context. That is to say, there Il
reason to believe either that God il
pictured as making the world out oi
nothing or out of formless matter
VS.. 2. Without form and void
The r. v. gives waste and void.
These two words represent our
Chaos
Deep" Primeval abyss.
Moved upon" R. v. was brood
Ing upon" This word suggests q
90 r~nfT rrN
VS.. 8. Said" Gods word is abb
solute. Thus the words of a god
were considered in that day to bel
unalterable.
Light Not the sun, moon,
stars, etc., but generic light, cosmic|
light.
There was light" A creative acA
of God. 1t was definite act and no
mere emanation from God. 49,
VS.. 4. Divided" A furthe,
turing of the act of God in brih
chaos into shape.
VS.. 5. "Called-day." The mann
God gave it is important. Nance
were very important among the earl
Jews. They never mentioned thu
real name of God. They used th@
symbols, but they used a Different
word having the same consonanta
symbols to designate Him.
Evening-morning." The Jews
reckoned from the evening in count
lag the hours of their day. Tha&
may explain the context. r. v. An
there was evening and there w.
morning, one day.
DAY" This author thought of
day in the narrow use of the wor
This does not prevent us holding
an evolutionary theory of creation
we so are impressed by scientif
knowledge. The writer of this story
is not relating scientific, but relIg&
ious truth. He is pointing to ths
fact of God,
VS.. 6. 'SFirmament, expanse. W
IL. Grass" general vegetation
Herb, grain.
VS.. IA. Lights, sun, moon an
stars. Subdivisions of the light
VS.. 8. Signs" astronomical.
VS.. 20. Fowl" birds. insects, fl
ing things. VS.. FL. Whales" So
monsters.
VS.. "a. Beast" wild beasts
CATTLE" domestic animals; 'creepS
Ing things" reptiles.