The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-05-01
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL:
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM.
MENTS FOR APRIL & By
THE REV. ]. w. HENDERSON.

Subject: Jacobs Vision. and Gods
Promise, Gen. 2S:1-5, fO-22-s
Golden Text: Gen. 28:15-S
Memory Verses, IS, IA.
This story OF the journey of Jacob
from his fathers house to get him a.
wife is replete with lessons that are
supremely valuable for us to-day.
We shall be very foolish IL we spend
our time In disputation over the
chronology or the possibility OF the
events depicted in this record while
we miss the searching, beautiful
truths contained in 1t.
Isaac's trust in the ability and
willingness of God to continue to- his
son and to fulfill the promises that
He had made to him, is the first mes
sage that we should take into our
hearts. There is nc note OF hesita-
ton or of questioning in the blessing
that Isaac bestows upon Jacob. Get
thee out, into a proper and wisely
selected country, and seek a wife,
and God bless thee with the blessing
of thy fathers. So Isaac speaks tos
Jacob. There. is no doubt in his
mind concerning the efficiency .
God. He has full faith in the Dir
vine fidelity.
The vision that came to Jacob, as
he lay asleep with stones for HE
couch, contains three striking les
sons: First, Of the Divine reality.
second, of the Divine contiguity;f5
third, of the Divine providence.
In the dream Jacob Is certified.
first of all, of the reality OF God. The
ladder stretching from earth9tOs
Heaven, with the angels Of Jehovah
ascending and descending nponsft, Is
but an incident in the dream. We
shall be unwise II we allow this 10
o~bscure>our clear vision OF the LORD.
Behold, the Lord stood above =,
the sacred writer tells ns. And.that
Is the first great fact that the dream
certified to Jacob, the fact,ofs the feal-
ity Of God. The ladder was to direct
his. attention to, God. The angels
ascending and descending hadgtheir
impulse from the God whom Jacob
discerned at the top OF the ladder
They were to Jacob the Divine means
and method of communications. They
we're incidental to the discovery IN q
peculiar fashion, to the mind8of
Jacob, of the fact that God is. Nc
man can do much for God unless he
has a lively consciousness OF the &C.
tuality of God. No man can beer
pected to have respect for OWNED de-
crees and Divine promises until he
has had a vision of divinity. We
cannot have respect, alteration, love
for a being of whose existence we ares
ignorant or sceptfcal. 1t was necess
sary that Jacob should have q vision
IF God for himself; a special, init
mate, personal comprehension Of the
reality of God. What was necessary
for Jacob, what proved OF such value
In his life; that Is necessary In the
life of every man, and 1t will be In
spirational to every soul; to which IT
Is eXperiential.
Jacob, further, was assured In Ills
dream Of the fact of the Divine con-
tiguity; that is to say, of the Divine
nearness. God was not SO far away
that He could not be SEEN. He was;
just at the top of the ladder. He
was clearly and easily visible. Jacob
didn't have to strain his eyes to catch
the vision of Jehoyah. eLoTd was
near enough for Jacob to discern His
tineaments and to hear the sound OF
His voice. God was at hand. He
was very near. And this was another
lesson that Jacob needed to learn for
himself. He had to be impressed
with the sense of the nearness OF Je-
hovah. The further we picture God
away, the less likely we ire to be-
assiduous in His service. One Of the
greatest motives to Righteousness In
the world is the conception that God
Is always near. We cannot follow an
absentee God" with any burning
zeal. But we fain would love and die
for a God who is always by our sides.
The sense of the contiguity Of God
made Jacob a better man. 1t will
better any man who is conscious or
its truth. 49,
Then, too, Jacob received the as
surance of a Divine providence. This
God who vas real and near, beautf-
fully real and delightfully."- nesr, su-
pervises and directs the lives OF those
who love Him and are amenable to-
His will. Jacob needed the assurances
of the Divine guidance. This was 9
marvellous promise that God gave tod
him.. 1t was almost beyond human
comprehension. Jacob was but al
man. And not the most characterize
man in the world. Evidently he was
an average man. And, being like the
rest of us, he needed to know that
the promising Father is also the en-
abling Lord. And we, being like
Jacob, need to learn this salient
truth also. sm
Critics tell us that the promise of
Jacob to give God a 1.-THE Of hts subj
stance, in recognition Of His guiding, |
is an Interpolation by another hand
at a later time. We shall not debate
that. We shall grasp the truth that
the church needs. The God of the
faiths of Jacob and Of America is
deserving of at least a tenth OF the
income of every man. The money
question will be solved in the church
when Christians devote a specific por-
more, to the Lords work. And IT
will never be solved until we do.
Of course Jacob was wrong when.
he said that Bethel was the gate OF: !
Heaven. And of course Jacob was !
right when he said it. No particular
spot under the skies is the gate OF
Heaven. But every place may be a.
gateway unto God. The gate is uni
versally wide: it is open everywhere |
to the man who will use his eyes.
London's Huge Appetite.
The secretary of the Public Health
Committee says that the total amount
IF foodstuffs that reach London year.