Your ShelfYour Projects

The Sabbath-School

5%

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 26, 1885

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 13.

Read the full edition

The Sabbath-School.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST—APRIL 25.

Inheritance of the Saints.

PROMISES TO ABRAHAM.

1. When did the Lord first appear to Abraham? “And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran.” Acts 7:2.
2. What did he then say to him? “And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee.” Acts 7:3.
3. To what place did Abraham go from Mesopotamia? “Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charran; and from thence, when his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell.” Acts 7:4.
4. How long did Abraham stay in Charran (Haran)? Ib.
5. After the death of his father, where did he go? Ib.
6. Locate, as nearly as possible, all these places on the map.
7. Where do you find the record of these events of which Stephen speaks? Gen. 12:1–5.
8. How old was Abram when he went into the land of Canaan? “So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.” Gen. 12:4.
9. How old was he when his father died?
10. When the Lord told Abram to leave his native country, what promise did he make? “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.” Gen. 12:2, 3.
11. What expression shows that this promise was not merely a local affair?
12. How extensive was it?
13. What will be the condition of the world when this promise meets its fulfillment?
14. Who are they who are blessed? “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” Ps. 1:1, 2.
15. Then what will all the world do when this promise is fulfilled?
16. And when God’s will is thus perfectly performed, what will be on this earth? “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven.” Matt. 6:10.
The answer to question 9 will be readily seen by those who connect Gen. 12:4 with Acts 7:4. He went out of Charran [or Haran] into Canaan when his father was dead, says Stephen. Moses says that he was seventy-five years old when he went into Canaan. So he was seventy-five years old when his father died.
From a single expression in the promise contained in Gen. 12:2, 3, we know that it was not a local affair. That expression is this: “In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” It embraces all the inhabitants of the earth. But it is not fulfilled until all the inhabitants of the earth are blessed. That condition does not now exist, and has never yet existed. Now we learn in Ps. 1:1, 2 who are blessed,—those who love and obey the law of God. Of course; if the curse came because of sin, the blessing will come only when there is obedience. Therefore, when this promise is fulfilled, every inhabitant of the earth will be delighting in the law of the Lord. In harmony with this are the words of Christ in his prayer (Matt. 6:10), showing that such a state exists only when the kingdom of God exists on earth. E. J. W.