Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-10-04
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
For Oct 7, abraham Blessing to the Whole World
BY DR.. MARION MICH. HULL

I curse him that curseth thee. Here
the blessings and the curses are con-
! ditional upon the way other nations
act toward him and his descendants.
And in thee shall all the families
II the earth be blrs5eu. This also
| is of free grace and not dependent
! on any conditions. The blessing was
not to be confined to one man or one
| locality, but to take in the world.
Abram accepted these promises of
God at their face value. He trusted
that God would do what He said that
He would do, and so Abram left Ha-
ran taking with him only his wife
(who was the daughter of his broth
erG and the servants whom he had
accumulated there. Lot, his nephew,
went with him on his own motion.
Abrams faith failed him when the
famine came, and he went to Egypt
for food, and here got into trouble,
telling a lea half truth-about his
wife being his near relative.
The Second Covenant
When he came back into Canaan
he generously gave Lot the choice
and then God took him up on high
mountain peak and made another
promise to him-to give him that
land as far as he could see in every
direction. and to his seed forever. He
added this promise that his seed
should be as the dust of the earth.
This promise has not yet been fully
realized When Abram died the only
ground he owned was a field of Mac
pelah which he had bought as
burying place for his wife! Has God
failed? Never! In David's, time,
most of that land was in the posses
sion of Abraham descendants, but
not all. Palestine wiz yet belong to
the Jews, Abraham's seed according
to the flesh, or God will fail to keep
His word, and that is impossible.
Already we see evidences of that
promise beginning to be realized. The
promise of the land and of earthly
blessings was made to Abraham
seed according to the flesh.
Another Covenant
Later on God made him another
promise. Abram was an old man and
very rich, but he was childless. HIS
ONLY heir was a saEvant, EleZer OF
Damascus. He had no seed, and yet
the promise had been made that his
seed should be as the dust of the
earth and that they should inherit
that land forever. SO God appeared
to him in a vision and told him to
look at the heavens and count the
stars if he could. SO should his seed
be, as the stars of the heaven. This
seed was to spring from an heir who
should come forth out of his own
bowels-from a child of promise to
be given him, who was already be-
vond age, therefore a child by faith.
And God confirmed this covenant
with blood.
Here Abraham failed though, for
his wife being old, he and she tried
to force Gods promise, to help Him
out! So Sarah gave her maid TO
Abraham and Hagar gave birth to
bow, Ishmael by name. But this was
not Gods plan He would bless the
world through a son born by falth'
So in spite Of Abraham question:
ing and Sarah's laughter, thirteen
years later Sarah being ninety years
old and Abraham one hundred, Sarah
gave birth to the child of promise,
to Isaac in whom Arafam's seed
should be called. Later God tested
Abraham's faith by commanding him
to offer UP his son, his only son
Isaac 0shmael was not recognized
by Cod: and by faith Abraham obey
cd, counting that if God could also
raise him from the dead if necessary
to fulfill His promises to him, Abra-
ham therefore became the father or
those who believe and obey God even
though they do not understand.
Abraham has two kinds of descend
ants-the. seed according to the flesh
to whom the promise Of the land OF
Palestine was made as perpetual
possession; an earthly seed whose
blessings are earthly and temporal;
and a spiritual seed, the children OF
Abraham by faith. whose blessings
ere heavenly and spiritual.
The FulflIment
God has fulfilled nearly all these
promises that He made with Abra-
ham. Those that are as yet unful-
filled are absolutely certain of fulfill
ment when Gods time comes. God
has made of him a great nation. The
Jew is the most wonderful nation in
the world, and has a future which is
brighter than its past. God blessed
Abraham personally, He made him
rich and powerful. lie made his
name great. James called him the
Friend of God. Three great religions
claim MISUNDERSTANDING, Jewish, and
the MOhammedan God has made
him a blessing. Through Abraham
men were brought back to a knOwl-
edge of the One God: through him
and mis- descendants have come ell
that is best in the world in every
sphere Of life, God has blessed the
nations that have treated the Jews
well-note England and America
and has cursed those that cursed the
Jows-note Assyria, Babylon, and
more recently Russia.
His seed according to the flesh are
coming now into possession of the
land God promised them through
their father, Abraham. His spiritual
seed are as the stars for number
And in him, through Jesus Christ
the seed of Abraham, the son of
David, the Son of God, all the fami.
lies of the earth shall be blessed.
Gods new attempt to win the
world back to Himself and to over
throw His enemy. the devil, will
eventually succeed through the
death, resurrection. and personal
coming again of Abra hams Seed,
Jesus the Christ, Lord, come quickly.
y ~