Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

men."knew he had treated his brother unfairlytwenty years ago, and his consciencehurt him. Guilty consciences make cowards of us all.Three things Jacob did to make easierhis meeting with Esau. The first you willfind in Genesis 32:7-8; the second isfound in 32:9-12 and the third, Gen. 32:13-20. Discuss these and see if Jacobdid wisely. After the servants with thefine presents had gone over the brookJabbok (see map), he sent his wives andchildren across the brook too, but he himself stayed alone. You remember thatnight when he saw the angels going upand down the heavenly ladder. Thatnight was one of the great nights of hislife. Now this night when he was aloneagain was also a night he never forgot,for God met him and wrestled with him.We do not know or understand all thattook place in the dark hours of the night,but we do know what Jacob said aboutit (verse .30) Also God changed his name(verse 28) because Jacob's heart waschanged. And lest Jacob should thinkthis night was all a dream, God touchedthe sinew in his thigh and for all therest of his life, he was lame. He was always to know that God was more powerful than he and that he must depend forall he had on the Lord.After ,all his preparations, and afterthe night of wrestling with the angel ofthe Lord, at last the day came, the day hehad been dreading. As he looked offacross the country to the south, he sawEsau coming with the four hundred men.Putting the children with their mothers,Rachel and Joseph being last in line,Jacob went on ahead to meet the brotherhe had not seen for twenty years. Howhumble he made himself! Many times inthe Bible we read of people bowing lowbefore a king or an angel or some greatperson, but here Jacob bows to theground, not once but seven times, eachtime gettingcloser to Esau. How hemust have wondered what was in Esau'sheart! But all this time, God w,as preparing Esau to meet Jacob. Whatever ofhatred he had for Jacob, whatever hehad intended to do with the army of fourhundred men, we shall not know, for justas in the case of Laban, God was keeping Esau back from doing any harm toJacob or his family or his possessions.Read in Gen. 33:4, how they actuallymet. What a load must have lifted fromJacob's heart! Then he introduced hisfamily whom God had given him, andthey, too, bowed before Esau. Aftersome little persuasion, Esau accepted thegift of animals that Jacob had sent onahead of him. How many were there inall? Gen. 32:14-15. Then Esau suggestedthat they go on their journey and that heand his men would lead the way. Butwith all the show of brotherly kindnessOctober 13, 1954and friendliness, it may be that Jacobdid not fully trust Esau, or it may bethat Jacob thought they would be happierto live in their separate countries. Whatever it was, Jacob did not want Esauto travel with him so the two brothersseparated and each went his own way.Where did Esau live?(33:16). Wheredid Jacob settle first? vs 17. On whichside of the Jordan was it? Where did hego next? (vs 18-20). On which side ofthe Jordan was Shechem? What did hebuild there? This altar he named usingthe new name he had been given, Israel,which means "Ruled by God," and thealtar was built to honor "God, the God ofthe man ruled byGod."Surely nowJacob meant to serve the Lord only.But the trouble with his brother wasnever really healed, for the Edomites, thedescendants of Esau, hundreds of yearslater, would not allow the children ofIsrael under Moses to go through theircountry, and later still in the time ofthe kings, frequently fought with the Israelites. Familyquarrels all too oftenreach down the family line for years andyears. Let us not dishonor God and bringtrouble on ourselves and our familiesby doing wrongto those nearest us. Itwas God's plan, however, that Jacob andhis familyshould be the ones throughwhom the blessings of the covenant wereto be carried, and for that reason Godkept them separate from other branchesof the family. They often did wrong andsuffered for it, as Jacob did, yet Godused them to carryout His great plan.This is the third chapter in the life ofJacob, his return to the land of Abrahamand Isaac, where he lived for many years.The last chapter of his life will be ourstory the first week in December. Wehave now three great names, Abraham,Isaac and Jacob. Be sure to rememberthem and to know that, though they werenot perfect men, yet they were chosen andled of God to do His will. Many times inthe Bible, God is called the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.For your note book. Write the namesof the three great men and under eachone name the thingbest remember him.To the leader:for which you willOccasionally plan aquizz program, modelled after familiarradio or TV quiz programs. Use questionsbased on the story of the evening,or onprevious evenings by way of review. Apaper microphone may be held in thehand to allow each child to "talk intothemike."Keepa record of correct answers and give a small prize to the onehaving the largest score.Answer to the puzzle last week R-uth,A-dam, C-ain, H-erod, E-sau, L-aban;Rachel.SABBATH SCHOOL LESSONOctober 31, 1954by Rev. Joseph A. Hill(Lessons based on International Sunday SchoolLessons ; the International Bible Lessons forChristian Teaching, copyrighted by InternationalCouncil of Religious Education.)THE DIGNITY OF WORKLesson Material: Proverbs 6:6-11; 12:24,27; 13:11; 14:23; 18:9; 24:30-34.Memory Verse: Proverbs 22 :29"Seestthou a man diligent in his business?he shall stand before kings; he shallnot stand before meanLabor is not a burden to man's life,but a blessing. God ordained labor as ameans of fulfilling man's needs. Whenman became a sinner, however, and thewrath of God was revealed against him,his labors fell under the curse of Godand became burdensome. After the Fallman began to earn his Dread in the sweatof his face. It was more difficult forhim to make his way in the world; hislabors were less fruitful now that theground was cursed for his sake; theground brought forth thorns and thistles ;labor began to be a struggle for existence, man-killing toil. But an elementof grace accompanied the curse on man'slabors: bread would still be bread,would sustain man's life.and itMan wouldstill be able, by his labors, to sustainlife (G. Vos, Biblical Theology, Wm. B.Eerdmans Publishing Co., p. 55). So labor belongs to the life of man in his creation, in the Fall and under grace.Modern man is struggling to be freefrom the curse of God on his labors.Without realizing that the burden oflabor comes from sin, man is ever tryingto alleviate the hardships of daily labor.He seeks shorter hours, higher wages tomake his labors more productive for himself; he demands better working conditions and greater securityagainst thedifficulties of old cge; he wants to retireat a reasonably early age and to enjoythe achievements of his life's labors. TheChristian, however, realizes that all laborproblems and disputes are a result of sinin the human heart and in society. Heknows that the curse on men's labors isremoved only by redeeminggrace. Helooks upon his labors, not as a necessaryevil, but as an opportunity. He thanksGod for the opportunity to earn his dailybread. At the same time he regards hiswork not merely as a means of earninga livelihood, but as a means of servingGod. The Christian knows that if manis to prepare for his eternal destiny, hemust fulfil his earthly calling. In fulfilling that calling he turns to the Wordof God for vocational gu'dance.The Book of Proverbs contains muchsound advice to man for guidance in hislabors. Laziness is one of the commonestsins of man's fallen nature. Hence theemphasis on laziness and diligence in the235