Print the word “need” on the front of the envelope.) LESSON: Here is an envelope marked “need.” It will remind us of the woman in 2 Kings 4 who was in great need. She was in debt and the one to whom she was in debt was coming to take her two sons to be slaves in payment for the debt. What would you do in such a cir cumstance? First, she told her need to God’s servant, Elisha, which was a wise thing to do. Evidently the Lord gave wisdom to Elisha so that he could properly advise the widow. Elisha was careful to tell the widow just what to do. She was to borrow many empty vessels and shut the door with only herself and her sons inside. Then she was told to pour from the one vessel which was already filled with oil into all the other empty vessels and set them aside as they were filled until all were filled. We will put this piece of paper marked “ obedience” into the envelope marked “need” and seal it shut. Now let’s cut the end of the envelope off and see what we find. (Cut the end of the envelope off with the scissors and blow into the back compartment and remove the paper marked “ supply.” ) When she obeyed, her need was gone and in its stead was God’s supply. God supplies the needs of His children today when they obey. September 15, 1957 L ying L abels OBJECTS: Three cans of canned vege tables or fruit, graduated in size. (Smear mud over the largest, remove the label and reverse it on the middle- sized one and leave the label un changed on the smallest.) LESSON: What do you think these cans contain? “The little one has canned pears in it. The big one is so covered with mud that we cannot read the label. The other has the label reversed and we can’t tell what is in it.” You are right. The only label which we can read is on the small can. Did you know that these cans are like God’s people? They are so much like people that I have named them Carl, Kenneth and Charles.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
Object
Lessons
By Elmer L. Wilder, Th.D.
Illustrated by Gladys Bowman
They should have inquired of the Lord before they got into trouble. Even though they were in trouble, Jehoshaphat, a good king, said, “ . . . Is there not here a prophet of the L ord , that we may enquire of the L ord by him?” (2 Kings 3:11.) And when the two kings were told about Elisha the prophet, they went to see him. In checking the circumstances, Elisha showed that the good king should not have been working with the wicked king. When a carpenter checks the building he often finds that it is not square or level and such errors must be corrected. Further, Elisha told them to make the valley full of ditches. This seemed a strange thing to do when they were thirsty, and humanly speaking, there was no probability of the ditches being filled with water. Elisha gave the promise that the ditches would be filled and it happened just as he said it would when the people obeyed. Not only did they get water but they won a victory over their enemies, the peo ple of Moab. OBJECTS: Two unused correspondence envelopes, two pieces of white paper slightly smaller than the envelopes and a pair of scissors. (Cut down both sides and across the bottom of one envelope. Discard the irregular half of the envelope and keep the complete side that bears the flap. Insert this side and flap in the uncut envelope with the gummed portion in the normal position for sealing the envelope. This will make a partition. On one of the slips of paper print “ obedience” and on the other “ supply.” Place the lat ter back of the partition and stick the two flaps together. This gives the en velope the appearance of being empty. September 8, 1957 N eed and D eed
September 1, 1957 T ools T hat T each OBJECTS: A square, a level and a tape- line. LESSON: Some of you know enough about carpenter tools to tell me what this is and how it is used. It’s a square and besides using it to mark a board for sawing, carpenters use it to be sure that a building is straight. A car penter may hope that everything is right and he may even believe that such is the case, but until he checks with the square he cannot be sure. Who will tell me what a level is for? “To tell when a building is level.” Your answer is correct. Again the level is used to check errors. And this tapeline is used to see that the dis tances are right. Have you stopped to realize that the Bible is a tester of our lives just as certainly as these tools that we have been talking about are used to test a building? In Micah 6:8 we find the prophet saying, “ . . . what doth the L ord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
In 2 Kings 3 we find a very serious circumstance. Jehoram, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, in going to battle with Moab found themselves and their soldiers in a place where there was no water for the people or the animals which were with them.
The King's Business/September 1957
37
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker