The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-03-09
INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL
 LESSON
First Quarter, Lesson x. Genesis xxv'
 12-25. March 10, 1907.
Isaac . Lover of Peace.


 Isaac . Lover of Peace.
 This eldest and sweetest of pastorals keeps on with an ever-augumenting interest. Isaac. the son of promise, is born at Beersheba, his very name (Isaughter) signifying the 3oy with which his advent is greeted. The me- ther's skeptica1 laughter is turned into triumphal exultation and joy In God tGen xxi, 4-7.l
 The name, according to the story is chosen by the Lord Himself, and IS designed to commemorate the unusual circumstances of his birth. and of the gIadness it brought The significance is referred to three times. tGen. xvp 1T; xviii, 12; xxi, 6.) It is propnetic of the character of the little bearer of 1t. and more important yet, 1t sug- gests the relation in which he stands as tho seed of Abraham, the channel or the promised blessing and the type or Him who Is pre-eminentiy the seed, whose birth has put laughter into the hearts of myriads of our race.
 With no set purpose. but naturally. this unknown annalist gives up q glimpse of the patriaFchal life as he describes the weaning of the child. A feast is made to celebrate even as trivial an event as this. The make mer- " over the emergence from babyhood The child is no longer a sucking. but Z capable Of SelI-SuSIenhncS anu AiSdS- ure of Independent action.
 Then comes the rivalry of Ishmael, the lusty half-brother of the new heir to Abraham's prestige and wealth, and the consequent pitiful expulsion of Ha- gar, the bond woman. and her son, the latter destined to become the sire of rich and powerful race
 The years of Abraham's princess are full" Sarah dies in Hebron. and xAx t~&n rafrfaFCh and weeps for her sincerely. Over her body. weighted with its aromatic ungents and wrapped in re-cloth, he bargains for a, sepulcher, and weighs out to Ephron the Hittite four hundred shek- els of silver as the price.
 There is a true and attractive tinge of orientalism in the selection of q on this delicate and important errand goes Abraham's trusted head steward. bound by an oath, to choose the bride in the best family of the far-away fatherland Padan -aram. The narrative Is fairly photographic as 1t minutely describes the preparations, the journey, the meeting of Rebecca at the well, the servants reception in the home or Bethuel, the telling of his errand, the present, Rebekah's consent, and the glad homeward journey.
 1t is the hand of master that puts the last strokes upon the inimitable picture of an Oriental courtship. No denouement could be more natural or true. The contemplative patriarch is a-ffeld, meditating in the twilight. when the caravan bringing his bride arrives. The bride-elect alights, and at the same time. true to custom, shrouds herself in her veil. The trusty servant gives account of his Journey and it's successful issue. So ends this four ur-thousand-year-o idyl. Isaac brought her into his mothers tent. and took her, and he loved her. and was comforted after his mothers death.
 The very placidity of Isaac's char acter insures the brevity of the mar rative Happy are the people whose an- nals are dulll Absence of events argues peace and plenty. In such periods there is the wholesome growth of domestic. ity, which is the underpinning indis- pensabIe to the stability of the poiiti- cal superstructure.
 Effort to picture Isaac as an effem mate character meets with indifferent success. The lie of Isaac 1t not "th'