June 1930
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BLACKBOARD LESSON ANCIE-NT RADIO TELEVISION
Jacob Gen. 25:29-34 ; 28:18-22; 29:18-20; 33:1-4, 18 Memory Verse: “For what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life” (Matt. 16: 26)? Approach. —The selfish life is never really happy or successful. When the heart is given to the Lord Jesus Christ, He comes in and lives there, and the life This story of Jacob tells not only of his noble qualities, but sets forth also the faults in his charac ter, thus giving us a true picture of him. This is one of the most helpful and interesting stories in the Bible. Jacob was the son of Isaac and Re- bekah, a child of the covenant which God made with Abraham. He had a twin brother, Esau, who, because he was born first, was entitled to the birthright, be coming the head of the family at the death of Isaac. Jacob was his mother’s favorite, and Esau his father’s ; doubt less Jacob and his mother often talked to gether of the covenant God had made, that is, the promise He had given Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham; and they prob ably tried to plan some way by which Jacob might become the head of this great nation. To Jacob it meant much; but Esau treated the privilege carelessly. One day Jacob saw an opportunity to trick Esau, and quickly took advantage o f’it. Jacob prepared boiled pottage, a kind of bean soup made of lentils, with meat cooked in it, a tempting and nourishing dish. Esau came in from the field hun gry, and was ready to part with his won derful birthright if he might have this delicious dinner which Jacob had cooked. For temporary satisfaction and enjoy ment, he parted with his inheritance, los ing sight of its value. Jacob, to whom it was more precious than anything else, saw his chance to get it away from the brother who prized it so lightly, so he gave Esau the pottage and made a bar gain with him, the real meaning of which Esau little realized. But_ although Jacob had bought the birthright from Esau, he was not yet sure of possessing if,' and he must plan some way by which Isaac, his father, would be stow upon him the blessing of the first born. So he and his mother, Rebekah. plotted together. Rebekah prepared a savory dish, Jacob dressed himself in a suit of Esau’s, putting goatskin on his hands to imitate the hairy skin of his brother. Isaac at this time was blind, so they tricked him into believing that he was giving the blessing to Esau, when in reality it was Jacob who received it. When Esau, learned of his brother’s de ceit and trickery, he was so angry that he threatened to kill Jacob. Rebekah then sent Jacob to the Mesopotamian home from which Isaac had brought her as a bride years before. Jacob’s selfishness brought fear and loneliness to him, mak ing him an exile from home and his mother, whom he never saw again. thus yielded to Him is happy in this world, and for all eternity, L e s s o n Story.
3. He learns God’s plan (7-9). a. God has seen. b. God has heard. c. God knows. d. God has come to deliver.
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IV. His Commission (10). V. His Equipment (11, 12). * * *
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A pproach to the L esson 'T H E history between the death of Jo- seph and the Exodus, covering a period of 400 years, is passed over with but little mention. We are told that there arose a Pharaoh who knew not Joseph and who began to afflict Israel. The ex planation of this is that the Hyksos kings of the eighteenth dynasty had been friendly to Israel because they, too, were Semites. About a century later these alien rulers of Egypt were overthrown and the position of the Israelites was im mediately changed. They became slaves of the Egyptians, set to the most dif ficult and degrading tasks. This attitude toward them was provoked by their great prosperity and the fear of their rulers that they might become so powerful as to revolt and seize the government. In the hour of greatest extremity the deliverer was born. The story of his birth, the faith of his parents, his deliv erance from death and adoption into the royal family is familiar. For forty years he was trained in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. During that time he main tained his interest in the religion and hope of his people. The next period of forty years was spent in the land of Midian. The circumstances of his flight from Egypt are well known and need not be re peated, except to say that he attempted in his own strength and his own way to deliver his people and miserably failed. This second period was spent as a shep herd of the sheep of his father-in-law, an occupation that gave him time for quiet meditation. No doubt during those years he thought out many of the plans that materialized in the events of the Exodus. Unquestionably those silent years under the direct teaching of the Holy Spirit, were of the greatest value in his training for leadership. * * * H eart of the L esson I. Mpses’ training. •V. 1. Keeping the flock of Jethro. An othername ofJethro seems to be Reuel (2:18).Possibly he may be identified also with Hobab (Num. 10:29; Judg. 4:
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While on his long journey Jacob had a dream of angels ascending and de scending the stairway into the sky, and received a repetition of Jehovah’s cov enant. Early in the morning Jacob arose. (Can you think of others in the Bible of whom it is said that they got up early?) Jacob took the stone that had been his pillow and set it up as a memorial, call ing the place Bethel, “the house of God.” Then he made a vow, dedicating to God one-tenth of all that God should give him, for Jacob had come close to God that night, and henceforth would serve and worship Him in a new way. The story of Jacob’s meeting with Ra chel and his serving so many years in order to win her for his bride, is a most beautiful one. It was the custom in those days for a suitor to give presents to the father or nearest relative of the bride, but as Jacob had no money and no pres ents to give, he offered his services free ly. To win Rachiel, Jacob worked for her father for seven years without pay. At the end of that time he himself was tricked, -by being given Leah, her sister, instead of his beloved Rachel; so he learned how it felt to be deceived! But again he served seven years, his pay this, time being the spotted and black sheep of his master’s flocks. At the end of that time Jacob was a wealthy herdsman. Read the story of Jacob’s leaving La ban, his meeting with Esau, and their reconciliation. Jacob’s life was an exam ple of the harmfulness of selfishness, and the blessing that comes through listening to the voice of God and yielding to Him. Before Jacob could be truly great and happy, he had to learn to say from his heart, gladly and willingly: “Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way!” This is a lesson which you and I must also learn. Prayer. —-o— July 20, 1930 Moses (A Courageous Leader) Lesson: Exodus 1:8-14; 2:1-22; 3:1- 14; 11:1-10; 32:30-35; Deut. 34:1-8; Heb. 11:23-29. ( Lesson Text: Exodus 3 :1-12.) Golden Text: “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is in visible” (Heb. 11:27). * * * £ L esson in O utline Moses the Leader (Ex. 3:1-12). I. His Training (1; cf. Acts 7:22-29; Heb. 11:24-27). II. His Vision (2, 3). III. His Call (4-9). 1. He worships God (4, 5). 2. He knows God (6; cf. 14).
11). He was a de scendant of Abra ham. It is quite probable t h a t he was a worshiper of the true God; if so, Moses had much in common with him. Back o f the wilder
ness. The Midianites dwelt both east and west of the Gulf of Akabah. The back of the desert was on the west, in the Sini- atic peninsula. The mountain of God. The place where later Jehovah mani fested himself and gave the law to Mo ses. Unto Horeb. The. names Sinai and Horeb seem interchangeable: Some have thought that the one referred to an indi vidual mountain and the other to the range of mountains.
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