The Coolidge examiner., 1937-05-27
S~%N~~~N~N@a
Improved n SUNDAY
Uniform oCrr00
= LESSON =
BY REV. HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST.
Dean of the Moody Bible Institute
Of Chicago.
e Western Newspaper Union.
Lesson for May 80
THE REMAKING OF JACOB

THE REMAk1NG OF JACOB
LESSON TEXT-Genesis %: 1922. 80:
24-3o.
GOLDEN TEXT-And be not con.
formed to this world: but be ye trans
formed by the renewing of your mind
Romans 1872.
PRIMARY TOPIC-Jacob's Great Dis
covery.
JUNIOR TOPIC - What Changed
Jacob
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOP
IC-Finding Ones Better Self.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP
IC-Face to Face With God.
Front Page News! "Well-Known
Crook Converted!" After years Of
deception, thievery, and all kinds
of wickedness, Jacob, "the sup.
planter" had a Transforming expe-
rience of the grace and power Of
God and became Israel" a prince
of God" That is indeed front-page
news and the marvel of it all is
that we may today proclaim the
grace of God in Christ Jesus for the
redemption Of every one that be-
lieveth.
Memorial day is most appropri-
ate one for our lesson, for the first
portion tells us of memorial stone,
and the last section tells Of great
victory. We do well on this day to
remember the days that are gone,
to recall the heroic deeds of our
valiant dead. It is right that we
should honor them for victories
rightly won and for a noble cause.
But let us not fail to recognize that
the great battles of life are those
fought in the realm of the spirit and
that the victories won there endure
for all eternity. Every teacher of
class in the Bible school should with
Gods help endeavor to make this
day Of blessed memory and victory
in Christ for the boys and girls. or
men and women of the class.
We consider today two expert
ences in the life of Jacob, both of
which have their counterpart in the
lives of many of Gods children in
our day.
Ia Vision and a Vow (Gen.
%: 1920.
Jacob met God. Have you met
Him face to face? Have you had
"such a revolutionary experience in
some unexpected spot? What
sacred place it has become in your
life. Perhaps it was at mothers
knee, or in a little crossroads
church, or on a busy city street.
God was there-you dealt with him
he blessed your soul-life was
changed. Such may be the expert
ence of each one of us. The place
where Jacob had this experience
had been known only as Luz. Now
it became Bethel-"the house Of
God"
Spiritual experiences are not SIM
ply for our pleasure; they carry
real responsibility. Jacob rec
ognized this and set up memorial
and made a vow. The depth of
his purpose is revealed by the fact
that it touched his earthly posses
sions. When a mans conversion
reaches all the way through to his
purse, you can be sure that some
thing has happened to him.
The pledge of one-tenth to God is
in accord with the Old Testament
principle of the title. Many earnest
believers regard the tithe as equally
obligatory in our day. Others con-
tend that it is an Old Testament
principle only. Well, there is no
need to differ too sharply on that
point, for is it not clear that as
children of God all that we have be-
longs to Him? Surely then we would
not wish shamefacedly to admit that
we give less than the Old Testament
tithe. All that we have comes from
His bountiful hand. He it is that
gives bread to eat and raiment to
put on" Let us be cheerful (hilari-
ous) givers of what he has entrusted
to us, that his work on earth may
be put forward.
ii. A Struggle and a Victory (Gen.
32:24-30).
After varied experiences Of both
victory and defeat Jacob turns back
to his own land. He hears of the ap-
proach of his brother Esau with 400
men. Before he meets him he
spends a night alone. Whether it
was in fear or in trust that he ap-
preached God on that night, we do
not know. But we do read of the
great struggle. 1t was more than a
physical battle-real as that was
for here we have God wrestling
with weak and defeated, but proud
man, seeking to bring him to the
place where he will once for all ''let
20 and let God" have his way with
his life.
Into the night of struggle at Peniel
have gone Gods people in all the
centuries, and 10, those who have
submitted themselves to the mighty
hand of God have come out as those
that have power with God and with
men" ". 28). Such an experience
is the key to successful living and
fruitful service for God. It is still
true that God resisteth the proud,
b1t oiveth grace unto the humble"