Evening star., 1932-04-30

Children's health has right Of way in
the thought of our Nation this week
If the coming generations Of America
and the other nations OF the earth are
to be protected from the pertls that
war always imposes upon children, we
! must learn how peace between men and
nations can be preserved Let us re-
member the prophetic words OF Presi-
| dent Hoover, who has pointed out that
| the next war will be- If 1t comes, the
cemetery Of civilization This may
call for us in coming days to practice
/ the words of woodrow Wilson. the
| apostle of peace. by being too proud
to fight" In our study today we have
an example from the Old Testament OF
how Isaac carried out the principles
| that prevented war and strife.
There is a great gap in the lessons
| between last weeks and the study that
we are to consider this week. The
break is due to the purpose of the Les
son Committee who selected messages
| from Genesis which they believed were
''timeleSS in their significance and con-
vey message to all generations" No one
will questin the appropriateness of this
weeks study and its timelinesS. Any
| person who fails to read over the inter
vening chapters between last week S
! study and todayS lesson will miss one
of the most intensely interesting narra-
| tives of the Bible.
Isaac was rs years old when "he be-
came the heir and the successor of his
| illustrious father" Abraham. Among
| his possessions was a treaty that had
| been made between his father and Abb
! melech, powerful king who controlled
/ Gerar. an ancient city Of GAIA, near
| the boundary of Canaan. His rule may
| have extended over a large section into
I Negeb, or the South Country where
Abraham had lived for many years
| after being forced by famine to leave
| Hebron. Gerar was on the trade route
between Asia and Egypt. There Isaac
had commenced to sow his seed, which
| increased hundredfold. This was away
| ahead of the usual returns in that
land. The prosperity of Isaac resulted
| in his becoming a powerful personality
in that section Of Gerar that lay along
the Mediterranean Sea. Success is apt
to breed jealousy. prejudice and envy.
Abimelechs people feared this growing
power.
Philistine Opposition.
ISaacs unusual success was. in his
mind, due to the blessings of Jehovah.
His reverence for his fathers memory
caused him to reopen the wells that
his father, Abraham. had dug near the
City of Gerar. Frequently we find the
same spirit in our land as that which
existed in Gerar. The PhilistineS did
not look with favor upon the success
that had crowned IsaacS work with
his flocks and farming. The amazing
increase of stock and seed filled them
with envy and jealousy. Many Ameri-
cans feel the same when they see some
aliens forging ahead here because they
toll increasingly and are more frugal
than we are as people. The Philis-
tines objected to ISaac's presence among
them. They filled up the old wells,
that his father had dug without arous
ing his hatred or stirring up strife
Finally Abimelech, who recognized
his treaty obligations, surprised Isaac
with the request that he move on.
Abimelech could not point to any act
of Isaac that was the basis Of his re-
quest. Isaac had lived a life of peace
with his Philistine neighbors. When
the King made the demand that Isaac
remove from the section where he had
been so marvelously successful that he
had become mightier than the Philis-
tine ruler, some see in the Kings state