Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

me,"covenant"man."above."sense"andseethBeer-sheba, "well of theand they lived atwhere God had said, "I am with thee."(By the way, which of the four wellswe talked about last week had themost crosses in it by the end of theweek?) Surely God was often mentionedin the home training of these boys, yethow far from Him did they live! Esauhad no desire for the things of the Lord,and sold his birthright, and while Jacobbelieved the promises of God and wantedthem for himself and his children, yethe lived such a selfish life that hecheated his brother in order to get forhimself his father's blessing. God wasstill the God of Abraham and of Isaacbut Jacob had not yet accepted Him asLord of his life.Blessing"The story of the "Stolenis one of the most familiar in the Bibleand is one the children would like toread from the Bible themselves. If theyare old enough to read easily, assignthe four main characters to four goodreaders, while the leader reads the connecting narrative. If the children areyounger, let them act out the story afterthe leader tells it. Flannelgraph picturesare available for this story and wouldbe effective. (The Synodical Library hasone for loan, also one of Jacob's Ladder.First come, first served.)We know from the Bible that Jacobwas the chosen of God to receive thepromises made to Abraham and Isaac.Had Jacob and his mother waitedpatiently in faith the blessing wouldhave come to Jacob in God's own goodtime and way. But Rebekah was afraidEsau would get the blessings and shefelt she must prevent that. Is it everright to do evil that good may come?Read Romans 3 :8. God allowed Jacob tohave the blessingsince that was Hiswill, but let us think of some of thethings that Jacob suffered because hegot the blessing in the wrong way.First of all,he made his brother soangry that Esau was ready to kill him.Jacob not only had to leave his homeand his parents to be safe from Esau,but many, many years he lived in fearthat Esau would find him and kill him.Then he would always remember having lied to his father, and that is nota happy state of mind. As far as wecan tell, he never saw again the motherhe loved so dearly, for she had diedwhen he returned to Beer-sheba yearslater. His father-in-law, and later onhis own sons, deceived him cruelly, andthat may have been part of God'spunishment. Jacob got what he wanted,but along with it he got many things hecertainly did not want. Be sure to letGod work out His plan in our lives: wewill always find trouble if we try toget what we want in a wrong way.September 29, 1954Jacob left home, afraid for his life,and started on the long road north toHaran, the old home of his mother. Onyour map find Beer-sheba, away to thesouth, and then find Haran, clear offthe edge of some of the maps awayto the north, some three hundred milesapart. Jacob was the son of a very richman and could have been given camelsand a great caravan for his journey,but perhaps he had to slip awaysecretly lest Esau would follow him, sohe had to go on foot. What a long,weary journey for a man alone, and onfoot. His heart would be heavy, andhe may have been afraid of robbers orof wild animals. He must often havewished he had never deceived his father.One night when the sun set, he laydown to rest with only some stones fora pillow and his thoughts for company.But what a dream he had! Read Gen.28:12. And from the top of the ladder,God spoke to him. Read verses 13-15.The same wonderful promises madelong ago to his father and to his grandfather were now made to him.Jacob never forgot that night nor theplace. Read verses 16-22.In spite ofhis sin, and Jacob had sinned greatly,God still loved him. Read Romans 5:8.Repeat the memory verse.For your note-book, write "God" atthe top of the page and "Jacob" atthe bottom. Draw a ladder with fiverungs connecting the two words andprint on the rungs, the words, BEHOLD,I AM WITH THEE.For the flash-card,ladder with the same words.draw a similarSABBATH SCHOOL LESSONOctober 17, 1954by Rev. Joseph A. Hill(Lessons based on International Sunday SchoolLessons; the Internationa] Bible Lessons forChristian Teaching, copyrighted by the International Council of Religious Education.)WISDOM FOR DADLY LIVINGLesson Material: Proverbs 3-4Printed Text: Proverbs 3:1-6, 9; 4:10-15,18, 19.Memory Verse: Proverbs 3:5, 6.Note: Beginning with this lesson, we areto have a series of five studies in theBook of Proverbs.Everyone is familiar with the maximsof the Book of Proverbs. There are many"proverbs"and pithy sayings uttered todaywhich are not to be found in theBook of Proverbs. "A stitch in time savesnine";"A bird in the hand is worthtwo in the bush"these common-sensestatements come from human experience,and are not to be found in the Word ofGod. The Proverbs of the Bible, whilethey were born in the minds of menthrough experience, are not merely "goodadvice"for prudent living, but mandatesof the sovereign God, that man mightlive, not merely for man's own well being,but for the glory of God. The Proverbsof the Bible are not primarily the sayingsof men: they are a part of the Word ofGod. They constitute, for the most part,some of "the duties which God requiresofIt is no doubt true that the variousproverbs of the Book were commonlyknown and often quoted, long before theywere collected and assembled to form theBook of Proverbs. The book contains i\summary of the best thinking of the ageon practical, everyday matters. But whenthe well-known proverbs were compiledin the "Book of Proverbs" by Solomon,whose work was guided by divine inspiration, God placed His own endorsementupon the "commonsense"of men. Godcould sanction it and place upon it Hisseal of inspiration only because God hadrevealed this "common sense wisdom tomen in the first place.God reveals all knowledge to men. Manderives his knowledge of science andmathematics, as well as of religion, fromGod. The source of wisdom for thepractical affairs of life is the mind ofGod. Man was created in the image ofGod, and therefore man's mind is a mirror reflecting the wisdom of God. Manthinks "God's thoughts after him." But!the reflecting surface of man's mindis completely covered by an opaque filmof sin. Man thinks God's thoughts afterHim only very imperfectly. Man couldnot get along merely with "commonsense,"for man as a sinner tends totwist God's thoughts and turn the truthof God into a lie. Man needs, in addition to human observation and commonsense, a special revelation, deposited inScripture, to preserve "the wisdom that isfrom Without the Scriptures,man's "common would be so confused because of sin that it would benonsense, and man's wisdom would turnout to be folly. The Proverbs, therefore,are not products of human wisdom, butof divine wisdom, preserved in the bodyof inspired Scripture, that sinful menmight keep the truth of God before theireyes, and practice it in their lives.So important is true wisdom for thelife of righteousness that almost one-thirdof the Book (chapters 1-9) is given to it,and it is the theme of the entire book, asstated in 1:2-7. The Book is a balancedstructure based on the antithesis betweenrighteousness and sin, wisdom and folly.It declares that the thinking and conductof the wicked man is folly, while that ofthe righteous man is wisdom. The Proverbs are assembled in an alternating pattern, showingthe black-and-white contrast between the good man and the evilman: "The wise shall inherit glory: but203