Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-03-25
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
BY DIR. MARION McH. HULL
For March 3O-RepieW

Golden Text: Jehovah is merciful
arr. gracious, slow to anger, and
abundant in loving kindness Pisa.
1888.
Let us look back over the road
we have been travelling for the past
. three months. A review is worth
while every now and then, for it en-.
ables us to take a bird seye view. II
We get on a, mountain top we set
comprehensive view of the whole
landscape. Individual details then
are appreciated in their proper re-
lationships to other parts, and we
can see the road winding all the
way from the beginning to the end.
Now there is a road running all
through the Bible; it is the way of
life, the road that leads from a
lost man to a seeking God. 1t be-
gan in the eternity that is past, be-
came manifest in the garden OF
Eden. was realized on Calvary, and
will be fully consummated when the
King of kings and the d>of lords
puts down all OF His enemies and
turns over the Kingdom to God the
Father that He may be all and in
all through the ages to come.
+ Adam had failed God, even though
he had been placed in perfect sur
{ roundings and given everything that
: heart could desire. He insisted on
having his own way instead of let
ting God have His way. The de.
scendents of Adam failed. first the
~'--iG line, then the Seth line. They
also insisted on their own way.
Noah started out well, but after the
flood he failed God, too.
So God called Abram out Of Ur of
the Chaldees. He adopts another
method-He will take family and
make out of them a nation to whom
and through whom He may reveal
Himself, and from whom He may
bring forth a Redeemer 1t is the
development of this part Of the plan
which we have been studying
through the past three months.
Before studying this for a mo-
ment, let us remember that the be-
ginning of the pathway was in the
garden when He promised that the
seed of the woman should bruise
the head Of the serpent. When
Adam left all to obey God, the way
was blazed again-God gave to him
an unconditional promise saying
that in him and in his seed should
all the families OF the earth be
blessed. Then God told him the
promise should come through Isaac
and not through Ishmael To Isaac
was revealed the fact that through
Jacob, not Esau, was the promise
to come. Old Jacob down in Egypt
became prophet, and spoke to Judah
as the one of the twelve boys
through whom the unconditional
covenant was to be fulfilled
Many years had passed. The way
seemed to have been lost. The chill.
dred of Abraham though Isaac were
slaves in Egypt; the friendly king
was dead and in his place was one
who made their tasks harder and
harder. But God has saved baby
in basket, and had given him all
the advantages of the palace; and
then had put him through another
forty years of training in the will
derness of Sinai, giving him time to
mediate and to view in proper per-
spective what he had been seeing
close up in Egypt. And God had
also been preparing His people, too.
Down nj Egypt they were unmolest-
eel by those who would intermarry,
ana by giving them an opportunity
TO increase and make of them a great
nation until now the original sew
the loinS of Jacob had increased to
near 100000. And when Gods
clock struck the hour, closing the
four hundred years He had told
Abraham his seed should be strang-
ers In a land which was not their.
the selt-same day this prepared man
led this prepared people to take pos
session of a promised land.
These people also failed God.
Many times they murmured; many
times they forgot His goodness. For
many years they had to wander
about until finally God led them
into that land. Moses was gone but
God had not forgotten that promise
lie had made to Abraham. and
Joshua led them to victorious con.
quest of the land that had been given
them many years before in perpetu-
ity.
Settled in the land with vineyards
they had not planted and eating
from olive yards they had not Gull
tivated, these people failed God. For
four hundred years God gave them
judges-heroes who looked beyond
the present to God, and who trusted
Him to make good His promise made
in the covenant with Moses. This
was conditional-if they obeyed, He
would bless; if they disobeyed, He
WOULD withhold His blessing.
Fissatisfied with this, they de-
handed a king. Saul of the tribe of
Benjamin was first chosen. But
Jacob had prophesied that Judah
was the one through whom the
blessing should come. Saul failed
and David, the eighth son OF Jesse,
descendant Of Judah was chosen
and finally anointed king
To David God made another I'M
conditional promise. His son should
sit on the throne forever. His house
should be established forever. He
should have a kingdom forever Dis
cipline, not dismission, should be
melted out to those of his descendants
who failed God. And in our last les
son we found out how Solomon fail
ed.
Thus the pathway has been grow