cles 1:5, “Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel . . . had made, he put be fore the tabernacle, of the Lord.” This man, about whom we have been studying, was not spoiled by receiving the Spirit of God. On the contrary, he was improved. People today are not spoiled by receiving Christ and the Spirit of God—they are greatly improved, no matter what kind of work they are doing. Objects: A glass goblet, a drinking glass, a table knife, a piece of silk thread, a small piece of cotton and a piece of dark blue silk. (Turn the drink ing glass upside down and place it on the table. Lay the knife across the bot tom of the glass. Tie the thread around the blade end of the knife. To this thread, hang the piece of cotton, about half way between the knife and the table. The cotton should be rolled, 3 inches long and about an inch thick. Tie the thread to the middle of the cotton.) Lesson: This morning we are going to make one of the strangest magnets you have ever seen. But first, I want to tell you about a woman in the Bible who at first had no drawing power, but later was made into a human magnet. Her name was Naomi, and we will let her be represented by this beautiful goblet. She moved with her husband and two sons from the land of Israel to the land of Moab because of a famine. As I place the bottom of this goblet near the cotton on the thread, it has no effect on the cot ton. You may be surprised when I tell you that this goblet can be made into a magnet, just as Naomi’s life was changed. Sorrow came into the life of Naomi three times, in the death of her husband and her two sons, and after that her life was changed. We read, “ And the woman was left of her two sons and her husband. Then she arose with her daugh- ters-in-law, that she might return from the country of Moab” (Ruth 1:5, 6). Notice what happens when I rub the bottom of this goblet with this piece of blue cloth, representing sorrow. When I place the goblet near the cotton, it im mediately draws it. (Hold the middle of July 18, 1948 M a k in g a H u m a n M ag n e t
Illustrated by Gladys Bowman that it was just as the true prophet said it would be—they were defeated. Men often use liars, but God never does; He uses only those who are willing to tell the truth, no matter how much it may cost them to be true. Objects: Two correspondence enve lopes, a small blue paper heart, a small brown paper hand and a pair of scissors. (Cut down both sides and-across the bot tom of one of the envelopes. Discard the irregular half of the envelope, keeping the complete side that bears the flap. In sert this side and flap in the uncut en velope with the gummed portion in the normal position for sealing. This will make a partition in the envelope. Print the word “ SKILL” on the hand, and place between the two flaps and inside the envelope. Then stick the flaps to gether. This gives the envelope the ap pearance of being empty. On the front of the envelope print the word, “ BEZA- LEEL.” ) Lesson: Here is an envelope which appears to be empty. The name “ BE- ZALEEL” is written on the front of it. He was a man who was prepared by the Lord as a workman to help with the construction of the tabernacle. The Lord said of him, “ And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in un derstanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship” (Ex. 31.3). We will take this blue heart, repre senting this man’s heart, and write the word “ SPIRIT” on it and place it in the envelope, representing the man. When ever the Spirit of God is in the heart of a man, something unusual happens. We will take the scissors, open the envelope and see what we And. (Cut the end off of the envelope and blow into it, opening the back compartment where the paper hand is, and take it out.) Instead of the heart with the word “ SPIRIT” written on it, we find a hand with the word “ SKILL” on it. This is what happened to the man Bezaleel; because God put His Spirit within him, Bezaleel had hands that were skillful in making the tabernacle. We read in Second Chroni July 11, 1948 H ea r t a n d H an d
Rev. Elmer L. Wilder
July 4, 1948 C on trad ictin g C o m p a s s e s
Objects: Five compasses. Lesson: All of these compasses point in the direction of the North Star. Un less a compass is true, it is not only use less, but dangerous. The prophets in the Old Testament were like compasses, in that they were supposed to point in the right direction, even when the people were going in the wrong direction.
Today’s story is about two kings: Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and Ahab, king of Israel. Ahab asked Jehoshaphat to join forces with him in battle, in hope of regaining some lost territory. Jehoshaphat was a much better king than Ahab, and before going to battle, he insisted that the people ask the Lord’s advice. King Ahab gathered together about 400 prophets and asked them about going to battle. We read, “ And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king” (1 Kings 22:6). I am going to move 4 of the compasses close together. As I do so, they no longer point toward the north. Each one is false. When they are close together and not telling the truth, they remind us of these false prophets about whom I have been telling you. Jehoshaphat thought that the advice of these prophets sounded doubtful, so he said, “ Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides, that we might inquire of him?” (v. 7). He would rather have one prophet who was true, than 400 who were false. Ahab answered, “ There is one man, Micaiah, the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil” (v. 8). To please Jehoshaphat, Ahab commanded Mi caiah to be brought, but when he prophe sied failure for them in battle, Ahab or dered him.put in jail. No matter where I take this compass, it still points to ward the north. It was better for this true prophet to remain true and to be put in jail than to have joined with the false prophets in saying what the king wanted to hear. If we read the rest of the story, we find Page Twenty-eight
the bottom of the goblet on a level with the cotton, to the side and near one end. This end will swing toward the goblet.) The goblet has become a magnet. Naomi had a drawing power after she had gone through sorrow. Her daughter - in - law, Ruth, felt the drawing power and said, “ Intreat me not to leave thee, or to re turn from following after thee: for T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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