The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1907-05-16
ISRAEL ENSLAVED
in EGYPT
Sunday School Lesson for May i9.I907
speeislly Prepared for This Paper
Specially Prepared for This Paper

ory verses 10, a.
GOLDEN TEXT. Then they cried un-
to the Lord in their trouble. and he saved
them out Of their distresses. psalm
l07:13.
TIME.-According to Ussher's chron-
ology Jacob went down into Egypt about
l7oe b. c.. and the sojourn in Egypt was
for 2l5 or 43o years from that time. For
the length OF captivity see Gen. 1913 IA:
Elk. i24o Kings Gil: Gal. 3:17.
RULERS.-1t is quite generally agreed
by scholars that the Pharaoh of the
oppression was Rameses H.. and the
Pharaoh Of the Exodus his son. Meneph-
tab I.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
The Chosen Family.--vs. Is. The
first seven verses are Introductory to
the whole book. In accordance with
the almost invariable custom of the
writer, there is first brief recapitu.
Iation Of preceding events, and then
statement of the actual condition of
affairs. Joseph Parker.
v. 1. These are the Names" The
IL sons Of Jacob only are given, the
heads OF the families or clans. Every
man and his household" THE house
hold according to the Hebrew idea,
included not merely wife and children,
but men-servants and maid-servants,
dependents and retainers, even hire
lings who might quit the service and
go elsewhere when IL pleased them"
-Rawlinson. How numerous these
households were can be surmised from
the fact that Abraham could muster
318 armed men to rescue Lot (Gen.
1870; Isaac was mightier than some
Of the neighboring kings (Gen. 28:16);
Esau and Jacob had to separate be-
cause their followers were so numer.
Gus (Gen. 1866, y.
v. s. "And all were 10 souls"
The list is given in Genesis 48. where
two women are included. Dinah, ia
cob's daughter, and Serah, grand.
daughter. Perhaps, as Canon Cook
suggests, these we're named because
they remained unmarried: Dean
Payne Smith Champion Lectures) est.
mates that altogether, with their
households and retainers, they num-
bered 5000 souls. THAT so large a
body should be favoraby received need
not excite surprise"
The Reasons for RemovaI.-"There
was need for Jacobs family being re-
moved from Canaan, as some of them
were becoming much tainted with the
idolatry and pollution prevalent there.
In Egypt, on the whole, life was purer.
Then there was risk of their ANAL
gamating by marriage with the doomed
Canaanites; but the Egyptians were
such risk with them. To be among the
Egyptians would also be benefit to
them In other ways, for they would
learn much from people so skilled in
all the arts Of life and so superior in
civilization. ."-Blaikie. Even the af
flictions they were to suffer there were
not the least of their gains from the
stay In Egypt, as we shall see.
A Period Of Prosperity.-Vs. 6, 7. II
was wise providence of God that In
troduced the period of bondage In
Egypt with a period Of liberty and
prosperity; otherwise, the Hebrews
would not have remained in Egypt
after the end Of the famine.
A Period Of Adversity.-Vs. S-14
The period of prosperity through
which the Israelites passed was from
Jehovah; but so, no less certainly
was the period Of adversely which fol
lowed as soon as they were strong
enough to endure 1t. Both were parts
Of Gods great process of development
and training.
Rameses II. az a Bullder.-"This
king was the most enterprising builder
of all the Pharaohs, and that means
the sacrifice of tens OF thousands o.
lives. He built temples and reared
monoliths and colossal statues. His
temples were approached through Ions
avenues of sphinxes. Out of the soliC
rock at Ipsambul he hewed two spa
cious subterranean temples, and Sc
up at their doors four human figures
go feet high. Among his public works
was a chain of Notifications along the
entire northeastern frontier of Egypt
for 100 miles. BY his command i'm
mense dikes were built on the lowe
| Nile and In the Delta. Canals wer,
1
dug and cities were built."--Prof. Z.
Humphrey.
The Climax Of cruelty.-Ex. 1:15-z2
When Pharaoh found the Israelite
fourishing even under this terrible op
preston, he resorted to measures still
more severe, ordering the destruction
of their male infants as soon as thel
were born. The females would b,
harmless, and would prove valuable
slaves. "A similar policy was pursued
by the Lacedemonians toward tn,
helots, by Mithridates toward his Re
man subjects. and by the Caliph
Hakem, toward the Egyptians
Johnson. When the Official midwive
evaded the kings command, by a re
finement Of cruelty to which the Hero,
of the future was not equaI, he re
quired parents to execute the sentence
of death on their own children
| In he al