Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

worry,"
afraid."
me'"
Lesson Helps for the Week of May 22, 1955
JUNIOR TOPIC
May 22, 1955
Betty
Jo Dickson
THE SEA BECOMES DRY GROUND
AND A DROWNED KING
Scripture: Exodus 18:20-22; 14:1-31
Memory verse: "In all thy ways ac
knowledge him and he shall direct thy
paths.''
Proverbs 3:6.
Psalms:
Memory Psalm 15:1-3, page 26
Psalm 103:5-8, page 247
Psalm 25:3, 4, page 58
Psalm 37:lr4,
page 91
Pharaoh had finally done it! Yes, he
let the Israelites leave the country,
BUT don't think this is the last that
God's people will hear from him.
Has your family ever started out for
a vacation without knowing where they
were going A lot of people do that,
and it is kind of fun. But you know
when the day begins to darken as the
evening shadows come, Mother some
times wonders where the family is go
ing to eat or to spend the night.
The Israelites did not know where
they were going, but they had Almighty
God leading them, and you would not
think they would have been afraid.
During the Second World War the story
is told of a little London family who
were sending their children into the
country to escape the daily bombings.
A brother and sister were saying good
bye to their parents at the train sta
tion when the girl began to cry because
she did not know where she was go
ing. "Don't
comforted the both
er tearful himself. "We may not know
where we are going, but the King does,
so we don't have to be It is
too bad that God's people did not trust
their King as much as these young
children did.
If you have been following the map
in our study of the Israelites in Egypt,
you will see that in order to get back
to the Promised Land, they
would have
to cross the Red Sea. Now there were
no boats to use nor maps that would
show where the river might be shallow
enough for all these folks to walk
through. But God had promised to lead
them. Do you know how He led them
In the daytime, a big tall cloud went
ahead of them, and at night the cloud
became red and burned like a fire. Every
time the cloud moved ahead, God's
people followed after it.
In the meantime Pharaoh was prob
ably thinking
how stupid he had been
to let all these hard working people
May 4, 1955
leave so easily. It seems strange that
when Satan gets hold of a person no
amount of warning from God will make
him realize he is wrong in what he is
doing.
I certainly hope none of you
boys and girls will allow Satan to run
your life so that you will not hear God
calling you.
The next thing the Israelites knew was
that a whole army
of the Egyptians
was chasing them with Pharaoh him
self in the lead. Even though the pillar
of cloud stood before them and Moses
was bringing them the commands and
promises of God, the people began to
complain that they were in such a mess
now they would have been better off
in Egypt. It reminds me of the little
tot who asked her father for a nickel.
When he lovingly handed her a dollar
bill, she frowned and said, "But, daddy,
I want a nickel."
The Israelites did not
understand what wonderful things God
was to show them this very day.
With their eyes straight ahead the
Israelites only saw the Red Sea and
directly behind only the soldiers of Pha
raoh. If they had looked higher they
would have been conscious of God's
presence from them in the cloud and
behind them in the angel of God. (Ex.
14:19).
Night fell and suddenly the Egyptians
were unable to follow
the Israelites
anymore because of the intense dark
ness. The cloud that had led God's
people now
divided them from their
enemy. It brought darkness to the
Egyptians, but light to the Israelites.
God used his servant Moses to start the
miracle which led to the salvation of
the Israelites and the destruction of the
Egyptians. After Moses stretched out
his hand over the waters, God caused
them to divide. There in front of them
was a path of DRY ground that stretch
ed to the other side of the sea.
As the dawn began to creep over the
horizon, the Egyptians were able to see
the Israelites. We see God's miracle is
still working when their chariot wheels
begin to stick in the ground that was
DRY when the Israelites passed over it.
Moses, now on the other side of the
Red Sea, again stretches forth his hand
and the miracle is complete. God's ene
mies were destroyed.
If you had been an Israelite boy or
girl and had been afraid the cruel
Egyptians that you had known all your
life were about to capture you, how
do you think you would have felt after
seeing them completely destroyed not
in battle, but by God's miracle Little
wonder the "people feared the Lord and
believed Him." Fear of God meant rev
erence and love of One who was able to
care for them in comparison to the
fear the people had for the enemy.
And you know, that same Wonder
ful God wants to lead you and take
care of you today, if you belong to Him.
Maybe you will not see a big cloud to
follow, but as you daily pray to your
Father, He will show you just what
to do and say during the whole day
and the week and your lifetime. Let's
thank God right now for accepting us
as His children, and promise Him we
will follow Him wherever He leads us.
"And Jesus said to them all, 'If any
man will follow me let Him deny him
self, and take up His cross daily and
follow (Lu. 9:23).
Handwork:
The boys and girls might enjoy draw
ing a pillar of cloud and a pillar of
fire to illustrate some short verse they
can rhyme to show God's leading. Here
is a simple verse as a suggestion but
encourage originality.
A cloud for the day,
A fire in the night,
God led His children
In a path that was right.
SABBATH SCHOOL, LESSON
May 22, 1955
Rev. W. J. McBurney
(Lessons based on International Sunday School
Lessons ; the International Bible Lessons for
Christian Teaching, copyrighted by Internationa)
Council of Religious Education.)
HEZEKIAH ATTEMPTS
RECONCILIATION
2 Chronicles 27-30; Micah 6-7
PRINTED 2 Chronicles 30:1, 2, 6-13
Memory, 2 Chron. 30:9: "The Lord
your God is gracious and merciful, and
will not turn away his face from you,
if ye return unto him."
Since the last lesson, we are passing
over two regencies; Jotham, counting
his regency before the death of Uzziah,
reigned 16 years; then Ahaz reigned 16
years. Jotham did some of the right
that Uzziah had done, but the influence
of Ahaz was very bad. He made molten
images of Baalam. These images ap
pealed to the eye, and to the licentious
desires of the people. People are gre
garious, Most of them follow a leader.
A strong leader always gets a following.
Some will follow a weak leader because
he is right. Society's safety is in the
few who will do the right, whatever
others may do. There are many who
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