July, 1943
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his heart. . . . “I wonder how many of my six hundred members pray for me,” hé asked himself.— The Youth's Companion .in Cyclopedia of Religious Anecdotes, by Lawson. Company for Dinner G enesis 17:1-19; 18:1-10 MEMORY VERSE: “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels, una wares” (Heb. 13:2). APPROACH: Do you enjoy having company for dinner? Did you ever have any strangers a|me to your house and remain for a meal? Did H s t r a n g e r s and " 5 ‘ W V I S I O n f°un(l them to be T 3 IW I 1 messengers f r o m God. Three men came to Abraham one day as he sat in his tent door. He hastened to make them welcome, to give them water for their feet and food to satisfy their hunger. When the three guests had eaten, they spoke of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, and they told a wonderful secret. They said that Sarah was to have a son. How surprised Sarah was! She was al ready very old, and she had long ago given up hoping for a child. But these men \vere messengers from God to bring this good news. Sarah wondered whether it could be true. God’s prom ises are always true. He never forgets. It was a great day for Sarah and Abraham when they had company for dinner. There is a Guest who would Like to. come into your heart. Do you know who He is? Will you let Him come in? The Lord Jesus will whisper some wonderful secrets in your ear, if you will entertain Him. Object Lesson A H ero ' s H eart OBJECTS: A piece of paper 8%xll inches and two pieces of red cello phane. (Two and five-eighths inches from each end, fold toward the mid dle. There will be a gap of V* of an they later become friends of yours? Wha j t d o e s our memory verse say? LESSON STORY: Abraham and his wife once enter- t a i n e d s o m e K i
Jewish nation many times lost sight of its universality, that ministry will yet be fulfilled (Isa. 61:6) in future days. 2. The passage also reveals Jehovah as the God of all men. Sometimes the critics have tried to picture Abraham’s God as a sort of tribal diety, inter ested only in Abraham and his fam ily, similar to the other so-called gods of that primitive day. But this story in Genesis 18 reveals Jehovah as the God to whom even the Sodomites were answerable. Furthermore, Abraham shows no surprise at finding Jehovah interested in this Gentile city, but takes the situation as a m a t t e r of course. The patriarchs were better theologians than some of their mod ern critics. 3. The passage also reveals Jehovah as a God of both justice and mercy. Too -often superficial readers of the Old Testament speak of the God of the Old Testament as a God of wrath, as opposed to the God of the New,. Testament, who,* they say, is a God of love. Such a generalization is not only hasty; it is utterly untrue to the facts. Here in one of the earliest chap ters of the Bible we find both justice and mercy perfectly balanced in the God of Abraham. He is deeply con cerned over the sin of Sodom,, deter mined that it must be stopped by judgment, yet He is unwilling to de stroy the innocent with.- the guilty. If even ten righteous can be found, the city will not be destroyed. Where in the Bible can you find anything finer than this picture of God? 4. The LORD of this chapter, the God who appeared to Abraham, who ate with the patriarch, who promised , mercy if only ten righteous could be \ found in the city, the God who finally destroyed the city, was none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, Second Person of the Triune Godhead, in His preincarnate form. He is the eternal Word (John 1:1), through whom the invisible God reveals Himself in all ages. Since this is true, there can be no difference between the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament, for they are the same God revealed through the same eter nal Word, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Golden Text Illustration J ames 5:16 A minister was praying at the bed side of a dying woman., “Wait a mo ment,” she said, as he started to rise from his knees. “ I want to pray for you.” And very tenderly she prayed with her hands upon his head. “For ten years, ever since you became my pastor, I have offered that prayer for you every morning and night,” she told him. The minister went away with tears in his eyes and a strange warmth in
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inch between the two ends. Cut half of »a heart from each end of the paper. When the ends are folded to ward each other, the complete heart should be 6 inches high and 5 inches wide. Paste red cellophane on the in side, covering the openings made by cutting out the heart. Near the top on the left side write “A HERO’S,” and on the right side the, word, “HEART.” Between the two ends in the gap, write “ABRAHAM,” using a red crayon, writing from top to bottom. Open tbe flaps and outline a heart with a crayon, following the outline already cut. With a red crayon, com plete the following words, using the letters in the word “ABRAHAM” : “PRAYER,” “BELIEVED,” “WORSHIP,” “FAITH,” “SHIELD,”. “ALJAR,” and “HUMILITY.” These words cannot be seen through the red cellophane.) k LESSON: I want to talk to ..you about a hero’s heart. The name “Abra ham” is all we see in this heart at \first. Above it we read, “A HERO’S HEART.” The first look at a heart seldom reveals its secrets. We will open Abraham’s heart and see what we find in it. The first word we see is “PRAYER.” " A man cannot be a real hero unless he is a man of prayer. Next we readt the word “BELIEVED.” Abraham be lieved God when it was hard to be lieve. The third word is “WORSHIP.” He was a hero because he worshiped God. Next we find the word “ FAITH.” Faith is believing what God has said. The fifth word is “SHIELD,” remind ing us of, Genesis 15:1,.. “ I am thy shield.” The hero’s h e a r t has an “ALTAR” in it. No man can be a real hero unless he ha$ a place where he meets God. The last word is “HUMIL ITY.” Let us remember, “ God resisteth - the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Pet.y5:5). If you want a hero’s heart, remem ber the secrets of Abraham’s heart.
AUGUST 16, 1942 ISAAC PRACTICES PEACE G enesis 26
with Isaac’s herdmen» saying» The water is ours: and he called the name of the well Esek; because they strove with him. 21 And they digged another well, and strove for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. 22 And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said,. For now the Lord r
Genesis* 26:18 And Isaa
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