International S. S. Lessons.
"So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading." —Neh. 8:8 LESSON X.—SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 1894.
[NOTE.—The questions which follow are merely suggestive for the student on the leading points of the lesson; it is presumed that the thorough student will think of many more as he studies the subject. References, where verses alone are given, always refer to the lesson scripture printed above. All other references are given in book, chapter, and verse. The text printed is that of the Revised Version, not because it is especially preferred, but because it is not found in every family, as is the common version.] 10. And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward Haran.
11. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep.
12. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set upon the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven; and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.
13. And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the Lord, the God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
14. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south, and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.
15. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.
16. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
17. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.
18. And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it.
19. And he called the name of that place Beth-el; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
20. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,
21. So that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God.
22. And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee. Golden Text: "Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee." Gen. 28: 15. 1. Give an account of the intervening events between our last lesson and this. Note 1.
2. From what place did Jacob start on his journey toward Haran? Verse 10.
3. What did he do when night came? Verse 11.
4. By what dream did God assure him of his watchful care? Verse 12.
5. How did the Lord announce himself to Jacob? Verse 13, first part.
6. What promise did he give Jacob concerning the land of Palestine?
7. How extensive was this inheritance and his seed to be? Verse 14. (See also Rom. 4: 13.)
8. What assurance did God give him of his keeping power? Verse 15.
9. What did Jacob say when he awaked out of his sleep? Verse 16. Note 2.
10. How did the presence of God make him feel? Verse 17, first part.
11. What did he say of that place? Verse 17, last part.
12. What did he do in the morning? Verse 18.
13. What change did he make in the name of the place? Note 3.
14. What vow did Jacob make at this time? Verses 20-22.
15. What did he promise to give of his income unto the Lord? Verse 22.
16. How did he afterward refer to this circumstance at Beth-el?
"And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there; and make there an altar unto God, who appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother." "And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went." Gen. 35: 1, 3.
17. What is said of the character of God?
"God is no respecter of persons." Acts 10: 34.
18. In view of that, what promise may we in faith take to ourselves. Golden text. 1. Our last lesson gave an account of Jacob and270Esau and how the latter sold his birthright, closing with chapter 25. Chapter 26 tells us how Isaac went down into the country of the Philistines, his greatness while there, and how the Lord blessed him. The chapter closes by telling us that Esau, when forty years old, married Hittite wives, which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and Rebekah. In chapter 27 we have the account of Jacob by deception obtaining the blessing which Isaac designed for Esau, but which God evidently meant for Jacob. The blessing went with the birthright. God designed to bestow them both upon Jacob, because Jacob had the superior character, but he designed to bestow them in his own way. Jacob, in his unregenerate state, advised by his mother, believed that it was necessary to use his own wisdom, which he did. He obtained the blessing, however, not because of this but in spite of it. Because of his deception he was forced to separate from his mother, and flee from his brother Esau. His mother never saw him again. Being grieved over the wives of Esau, they sent Jacob to Padan-aram (Haran) to obtain a wife from his own relatives. Esau then married one of the daughters of Ishmael. Our lesson to-day has to do with events which occurred to Jacob on his journey to Padan-aram. 2. "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not."—We may imagine something of Jacob's feelings. He had selfishly purchased the birthright from his brother; he had designedly deceived and cheated him out of his blessing; the wrath of his brother was against him; and from a purely human standpoint there was certainly some reason, and yet, when we take into consideration the character of the two men, Jacob was greatly superior to his brother in morality, integrity, and faith in God. But he was forced to leave the home which he loved, and his mother, who doubtless was very dear to him, to go into a strange country. Evidently a sense of his own wrongdoings and sins came upon him, and he felt that he was utterly forsaken of God. Doubtless deep remorse and penitence for his sins were oppressing him. "He was so utterly lonely that he felt the need of protection from God as he never felt it before. With weeping and deep humiliation he confessed his sin, and entreated for some evidence that he was not utterly forsaken. Still his burdened heart found no relief. He had lost all confidence in himself, and he feared that the God of his fathers had utterly cast him off." But the Lord is near us even when to us he seems farthest away. The Lord knew the desire of Jacob's heart, and when in his despair he could go no further, the Lord appeared to him in a dream. He first assured Jacob that he was the God of his fathers; that the land promised to Abraham, embracing the whole earth, was to be his; that his seed should be multiplied as the dust of the earth, and that in that Promised Seed, which is Christ Jesus, should all the families of the earth be blessed. He then gave Jacob the precious promise that he would be with him in all places whithersoever he went, and bring him to that land, until he had done all that he had spoken concerning him. He revealed to Jacob the great love he had for fallen man by that shining ladder reaching from heaven to earth, upon which God's messengers were ascending and descending to minister to the children of men. That ladder represents Christ Jesus, the Way, and to this our Saviour evidently refers in John 1: 51. This vision to Jacob was such a revelation of God's love as led him to exclaim in the morning, "Surely God is in this place, and I knew it not." 3. "Beth-el."—The word signifies "the house of God," and was not, evidently, an unfamiliar place to Jacob. Where it reads "a certain place" in our text, the Hebrew gives it "the place." It was the very place where Abraham, his grandfather, had built an altar some years before, and where he had preached the word of the Lord. Jacob again reconstructs the place, changing the name from "Luz," "separation," to "Beth-el." The pillow of stone became in the morning a mark of God's favored presence. The lonely desert was glorified by the vision of the immortal love which bridges the chasm sin has made. Evidently this experience of Jacob's gave him new views of God, and led him to a deeper consecration in his future life; but it did not, however, give him complete victory.