The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-11-15
INTERNATIONAL
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON
BIZ WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

II BIZ WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
For November IT is Jacob Fleeing
From His Angry Brother" Gen.
2S:1o-22.
A Runaway's Glimpse OF Glory.
Some persons need to be scared or
smitten into reformation. There Is
plenty of precedent and warrant tor
the Christening of Germany in order
T, to insure a>change in her character.
Jacob, son of Isaac, who had not
| few points in common with the kaiser.
! had to be soundly frightened. and his
| ambitious schemes wrecked, before ne
| ever found his better self. When he
became a fugitive from the vengeance
of his outraged brother, Esau, he had
a new standpoint from which to view
! himself. A lonely wani er. alright
| ed at every shadow and every sourd,
| with no servant to accompany him,
and with no wealth in his hand, jacob
was far removed from his former po-
fsition as alch-conspirator in the
household of his rich father. Isaac.
. Now there was no fond. shrewd and
INSCRIPTIONS mother to incite or abet
him. He was on his own strength; and
that is often the beginning of great
things in a young mans life.
Jacob was on the run. with guilty
/ conscience lot IllS only cOInpautOu.
He and his mother had presented to
Isaac another reason for the flight
the importance of securing for Jacob
n wife from the old family stock Up
| in Haran. Really, tho, it was fear of
Esau that quickened his footsteps
Jacob might be a better business man
than his brother, and ahla to outplay
him in any game of guile, but in a
! straightout fight he was afraid of the
hairy hunter. So the successful
schemer was fleeing from his own
home. looking for a chance to begin
life over again in safety. All his trick
cry had been in vain.
ct wish there were some wonderful place
Called the Land Of beginning Again.
Where all our mistakes, and ali our heart
And all our poor selfish grief
Could be dropped like a shabby old coat,
| at the door,
And never put on again."
Where British Soldiers March.
J An air of unreality surrounds Bible
characters and places for many per-
to remind ourselves that the route of
Jacobs flight is the present route of
the British forces in Palestine Like
him. they started from Beersheba,
where they maintained headquarters,
after defeating the Turks at Suez and
| on the Slndi peninsula, TrOfn Deer
sheba, they. like him, marched north,
and are still going. until they reach
} Haran. or until General MarshalPs
htroops from Bagdad pass thru H and
} unite with the forces from Beersheba,
somewhere in the neighborhood OF
Aleppo. AT point where the British
lately routed the Turks, called Bethel
| Jacob had ar experience that has
meant more to human life than mos,
, great battles.
What some one man thinks is otter
} a turning point in world history In
ner personal experiences are the rea
seeds of revolution. 1t is a great
, thing for the world when a man OF
; . woman, and particularly a young
man or young woman, gets a new
. conviction concerning the spiritual
verities. 1t is not the places we have
3 been, the things we have seen an6
5 heard and done, that matter most, but
l the resolutions we have formed, the
: thoughts that have come to dominate
5 us. Jacob at Bethel was making &
more momentous journey than t.
= Haran; he was on hi way to a grea
5 idea. For the first time. apparently
he was taking vital account of God.
; 1t is easiest to look up when we ar,
t down. Adversely has been the intro
: duction of many a person to the thing
e worth while. When fear and disaste
t are at our heels, we instinctively CT,
n out for help from some Power beyont
). ourselves. The motive may not hav
been the most creditable, but the eff
4 feet of fugitive Jacobs experience wa
t to set him to thinking about Jehovah
n the God of his father and of his grand
D father. On that lonely, hasty journey
e he brooded upon the vast promises t
1 his family line, promises which diva IF
/ ed into true proportions his mean an,
crafty devices for sel-enrichment.
Tho Dream and The Coup
Night had fallen. The frightene,
Jacob had kept going. fearful eve
OF hearing the shout of his avengin
:other behind him. He knew tn
! physical hardiheod and endurance o
Esau the hunter, who might eve
now be tracking him as game No
until darkness had come did h
l pause, near the village of Luz. Hi
preparations for the night were o
the simplest: stone for a pillow
covering. 1t was not hardship 70
him to sleep SO; he had often don
II it. as the people OF the land do it t
this very day. A stone is a har,
5 pillow only to the person used t
i Ruling thoughts usually shap
!, dreams And Jacob dreamed of Co
II and Heaven and safety and q sur
inheritance. In his dream 1t seem
. ed as IL a ladder reached from tn
| very spot WueTe ne slept 10 f1edVel
itself, and messengers assembled AM
| descended
"And. behold, Jehovah stood abov
it, and said, I am Jehovah, the Coz
Of Abraham thy father. and the Go,
=, of Isaac: the land wherein thou lest
II to thee will I give it and to thy seed
and thy seed shall be as the dust o
the earth, and the shalt sprea,
: abroad to the west and to the east
n and to the north. and to the south
and in thee and in thy seed shall al
}, the families of the earth be blessed
l. And behold. i am with thee, and will
: keep thee whithersoever thou goest
" and will bring thee again into thi
n land: for l will not lei. thee. unit
n I have done that which have Spoken
4 to thee of"
On this experience of Jacob is base,
Sarah F. Adams famous hymn: