Evening star., 1932-06-25

Our lessons for the past quarter were
all selected from Genesis, THE Book OF
Beginnings" which has been called the
seed book of the Bible" The COM
mencement of the first quarters les
sons and the first study OF the last
three months brought US face to face
with the creation. Taking us back To
the beginning we learned that the pur-
pose OF Genesis was not to teach us
science, but religion. In one OF the
sublimest sentences ever written, we
learned in our opening lesson Tor the
quarter that "In the beginning GOD
created the heavens and the earth. II
| the records of the beginnings had not
been penned by an inspired writer, we
would have seen in our first study some
OF the wild vagaries that have made
other ancient stories of the creation
to be impossible for the modern mind.
In our study, we observed the use OF
the word Creation" in reference TO
matter, life and spirit as being the
work of God. The writer gave an ex-
PLANTATION of their source that satisf1es
modern scientific thinking. His point
Of view and purpose in writing was not
scientific, but religious.
Our study Of the simple, sublime and
sufficiently comprehensive story OF
creation was followed by lesson upon
the origin of sin. Man, who had been
created as a living soul in the likeness
Of God, had been placed IN a garden.
where he was given the privilege OF
cultivating it with prohibition placed
by the Creator upon both the man and
woman. Temptation succeeded In max
ing both to break Gods prohibition
law. becauFe Satan had appeared with
his suggestion of evil that he lodged
in Ewes heart, with the result that 1t
pulled down both her and Adam. Satan
won the first victory. which we found
In our study of the second lesson,
where we also saw the commencement
of Gods plan Of salvation by which
the seed Of the woman" was to crush
the serpent,s head. In the closing book
of the Bible we learn Of the final
overthrow Of Satan, the glorious de-
liverance Of man and the glory Of God.
In working out His plan of saving the
race God started with Abraham.
A Pioneer Of Faith.
Abraham appears In history as a
believer and friend of God, while
dwelling upon the plains Of Ur, living
the life of shepherd. His family
and friends were worshipers Of idols.
In that dark and hideous environment
there came to him faith and fellow
ship with God. The Bible does not tell
us how his faith grew. 1t enabled
him to rise above his moral surround
ings. He was chosen of Jehovah to be
the founder of a family, nation and
faith that was to become his instru-
ment in saving the world. His faith
filled him with such intimate inter-
course with Jehovah that Abraham
became "the friend of God" ~.
The glory of the Lord appeared to
Abraham while he was engaged in his
occupation upon the fields of Mesopo-
tania, calling him to separate himself
from his old associates and go to a
new land that God would give him.
Abraham obeyed God He packed all
his goods and started for the promised
land Obedience made him a prince
of humanity, a heavenly appointed
leader, father Of many nations, a
blessing of countless generations and
established his name among the i'm
first rich man mentioned in the Bible
Prosperity is full of peril. Abraham
out of the goodness of his heart took
with him his nephew, Lot, who shared
his uncle's success. When bitter bat
ties took place between the herdsmen
of Abraham and Lot over the use of
water for their fiocks, Abraham exer-
ciSed brotherly spirit by generously
offering Lot his choice of territory.
Lot abused the opportunity given him
by his uncle, selecting the rich pas
turage of the Jordan Valley. This left
the rocky mountains and hills for
Abraham, where he continued TO pros
per under Gods blessing. He did not
allow Lots selfiShness to hinder his
helping Lot when his nephew was In
need and in trouble.
The influence of Abraham's love Of
peace Is seen in the career of his son
Isaac, who exercised similar spirit
toward his heather neighbors. When
Isaac succeeded In locating water and
digging new well the Philistines made
claim to its ownership. They tried
to force Isaac out of the land by FILL
ing up his wells, but he patiently
moved on, being too proud to fight.
Although Isaac was q man of peace. a
difference similar In character to that
which marred the life of Abraham
arose in his family. His two sons made
a suicidal bargain that filled his soul
with sorrow. "Esau despised his birth
right" that was his because he had
been born first. His twin brother COW
eted 1t, and one day Jacob, taking adj
vantage Of his brothers weakness and
need, bought 1t for bowl Of sotIp.
Under the leadership and advice of his
mother. Jacob deceived his aged father
and obtained his fathers blessing that
he had planned to bestow upon Esau.
This sharp practice and deception
forced him to leave home and seek the