Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-02-09
SABBATH SCHOOL LESSON
For, Feb. 12-H Kings 1887
BY DR.. MARION NH. HULL

Golden Text: 'FVerily, verify, / say
unto you, the hour cOmeth, and now
{. is, when the dead shall hear the
voice of the Son OF God; and they
that hear shall live" JnO. 5:25.
Hospitality, it seems, is becoming
one of the lost arts-at least the
! kind shown by this woman of Shu-
men. Elisha in his visits from Car
mel to Jericho frequently passed
. through the little town of Shumen
just three miles north Of Jazreel.
Here lived a man and his wife who
were the principal people of the
. town. She was a great woman"
the leading lady of the village. They
had opened their home to the
prophet and his servant time and
again; until one day the wife said
to her husband, This man is an
: holy man Of God; perceive this as
he has stopped in our home. Let
us furnish the room neatly and SIM
ply yet comfortably; and then when
ever the prophet comes this way he
can find the latchstring on the out
side, walk in, AMI make himself at
; home" And this t. -. for Elisha
had made very favorable impress
1t was a happy home. The wife
| was always doing what she could to
make others happy and had become
the most influential woman in the
| town.. The husband was many years
her senior, but he was good pro-
wider, and he was a successful farm
err, and had made his broad acres
| and Vineclad hillSides about the
house beautiful and productive
There was just one sorrow-they
were childless. The music of
| child's voice, the patter Of baby's
feet, the litter of a real live boys
playthings-these were conspicuous
| by their absence.
| It was an hospitable hOme-they
kept open door for Elisha at least.
And they really enjoyed having him
as much as he enjoyed being with
i them. This is the kind of hospitality
| that is rapidly becoming a lost art,
at least in the large cities; in the
| smaller towns and in the country
| they still know how and do it. May
be there are reasons-the compact
ness of the apartment for economy's-
sake has eliminated the guest cham
Der; the servant problem is an ele-
ment-unreliable and eXacting in
| their demands that they shall not
| cook nor clean up for one extra;
! and the false pride which does not
want anyone to see what your real
| circumstances are. My mother new
| err knew how many would sit down
at the next meal; there was always
a mattress that could be put on the
| floor SO as to give the guest bed;
| and no extra preparation was made
what was good enough for her.
! family was good enough for any
| guest. There are literally hundreds
| Of people who will speak of that
| home as a model. There are some
homes that show that kind of hosp1-
tally now, but the number is dlmln-
| ishing.
| The Prophets Reward
| It may have been some trouble
| to this "great" woman of Shunem,
| no doubt it was; but it was worth
| while.j Jesus said years afterward,
"He that receiveth a prophet in the
name of prophet shall receive a
prophets reward" That's what she
got. Elisha had Gehazi call her one
| day. She came and stood at his
| door. Elisha spoke to her through
| Gehazi, that was the proper form.
! He told Gehazi to tell her: You've
| gone to a great deal of trouble for
me; I'd like to do something for
you. Would you like for me to speak
| to King Jehoram or to his command
ing general? Ordinarily that would
have been the greatest boon he could
grant, but she replied, II dwell
among mine own people" Thank
| YOU, no; she said. / have no social
| or political aspirations. I am per-
| fectly contented to stay where am,
! here in Shunem, with the best peo-
pie on earth.
Later Gehazi suggested that the
blessing she most desired was son,
for he had seen the one thing lack
ing in that delightful home. So Eli
sha prayed God to give her son,
and being assured that his prayer
was answered, told her, that at the
set time next year she should clasp
to her breast a baby boy of her own.
1t seemed impossible to her and too
| good to be true; but he assured her
that it should be so-and it was so.
Oh, how glad she was that she
had gone to the trouble to fix a room
for this holy man of God to use
whenever he was passing that way
1t had been a pleasure, but it had
also proved profitable. Every time
she looked at that little boy that had
made her home like a little bit OF