Arkansas State press. [volume] (Little Rock, Ark.) 1941-1959, 1946-01-04


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 Ife's
bitter lessons. namely, that
]. Prosperity Is Not Always .
Blessing Q.8-1D.
The Hebrews were a peaceful,
law-abiding people. They were God s
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 1t lead to
a certain softening Of the sinews,
but all too often 1t results in a 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 q time of crisis
America can be strong, but now that
1t 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.
II 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 afflic-
tons they placed on the Israelites
only served TO bring further bless
ing.
So Israel learned a lesson which
our present sorry world can profit
by, that:
II. Persecution Is Not Always a
Burden wv, 12-l4.
The people of Israel did not appre-
ciate It, but the bitterness Of their
bondage was blessing in disguise.
l. II Kept Them Separate as a
People. Affliction often serves TO
keep Gods people separated from
the world. II Is doing so today.
g. 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 II we are properly exercised"
thereby. our sorrows may yield rich
fruit In our lives.
8 II Threw Them Back upon God.
Many are the saints Of God who
have found that the fiery trial, the
burden so hard to understand. OF
some affection 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
"mans extremity II Gods opportu-
nitv "
They had only one place to turn.
They we're 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.
GRANGE q. 1920.
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
grooming OF His people had already
stirred Gods gracious and tender
heart. But He waited to hear thelr
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, ir
desperation, to God. Why not TURF
10 him nrst7
Does God hear and answer pray,
err Yes, but remember that rea'
prayer Is the cry OF faith coming
from the heart OF an obedient child
God may answer other prayers. bu,
He always answers the prayer Of
faith.
His answer may not be In accord
with our opinion Of what II 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 RICH,
Gen. 1929.
A world thrown into unspeakable
fear by the development Of the
atomic bomb is now recognizing tina,
the only hope for the future Is a
spiritual revival. Many who scoffed
at the idea Of prayer to God are
ready now TO hear the witness OF a
church that really knows how 10
pray and TO bring deliverance from
the hand Of God.