The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1946-01-04

GOLDEN TEXT-And He said. Certainly
I will be with thee.-Exodus 3:12.
God never forgets His people. We
can be assured Of that even though
at times we must wait for His COM
ing to bring us deliverance.
The history of Israel repeatedly
demonstrates the faithfulness Of
God; hence the lessons of this next
quarter concerning them will be a
source Of real Blessing to all who
need and seek Gods help.
The family of Jacob-or, as the
Bible calls them, the children of Is
rael-prospered In Egypt particular
ly as long as Joseph and the rulers
who remembered him were alive.
But they soon learned one of life's
bitter lessons, namely, that:
1. Prosperity Is Not Always a
Blessing (1:8-1D.
The Hebrews were a peaceful,
law-abiding people. They were Gods
chosen people, and as He blessed
them they prospered, and thus in
nocently they brought upon them
selves the hatred of the suspicious
Egyptians.
Prosperity Is never an unmixed
blessing. We as a nation know that
to be true. Not only does it lead to
a certain softening of the sinews,
but all too often it results in weak
ening Of the moral fiber, which
makes man easy prey to the attack
Of the enemy Of our souls.
We have just passed through a
great war which has demonstrated
to the world that in a time of crisis
America can be strong, but now that
it is over we are ready to fight one
another to gain advantage. Many
who have profited by war are not
content to have less gold in peace
time, and so the old delusion, the
love Of riches, is about to ruin many
lives.
1t should be said that the Egyp-
tians had reason, humanity speaking,
to fear this great nation which was
growing up In their midst. The new
rulers did not know Joseph and had
forgotten the spirit in which he
had brought his family into the land.
The leaders of the Egyptians there
fore made plans which appealed to
their brilliant leaders as polite and
wise. But they reckoned without
God, and the burdens and the affiic-
tons they placed on the Israelites
only served to bring further bless
ing.
So Israel learned lesson which
our present sorry world can profit
by, that:
ii. Persecution Is Not Always q
Burden wv. 12-14).
The people of Israel did not appre-
ciate it,. but the bitterness Of their
bondage was a blessing in disguise.
l. 1t Kept Them Separate as a
People. Aff1iction often Serves to
keep Gods people separated from
the world. It is doing so today.
2. It Disciplined Them and Pre-
pared Them for the Hardships Of
Their Wilderness Journey. We, too,
do well to remember that whom
the Lord loveth he chasteneth," and
that if we are properly exercised"
thereby, our sorrows may yield rich
fruit in our lives.
8. It Threw Them Back upon God.
Many are the saints of God who
have found that the fiery trial, the
burden so hard to understand, or
some affiiction of body, has caused
them to bring their burdens to the
Lord. We have travelled far on the
road of faith when we have reached
the place where we learn that
"man's extremity II Gods opportu-
nifty"
They had only one place to turn.
They were hemmed in on every side,
but, as ever, they found that no man
can close the way up. They called
on their God.
III. Prayer Always Brings Deliv.
erance (2:23-25).
Does God really know when His
people suffer? Does He really care?
Yes, He does. 'They CRIED" and
"God heard" and remembered.
That's all we need to know. The
groaning of His people had already
stirred Gods gracious and tender
heart. But He waited to hear their
cry before He answered. Such is the
law of prayer. May we not forget it.
Far too often we turn to everyone
and everything else, and finally, in
desperation, to God. Why not turn
to him first?
Does God hear and answer pray
er? Yes, but remember that real
prayer is the cry Of faith coming
from the heart of an obedient child.
God may answer other prayers, but
He always answers the prayer Of
faith.
His answer may not be in accord
with our opinion of what it should
be, for His wisdom is infinite. He
knows better than we what the an
swer should be. Let us trust the
Judge of all the earth to do right
(Gen. 1929.
A world thrown into unspeakable
A. -