S C R I B N E R ' S M A G A Z I N E Important ... - Rparchives.org

July 30, 1913.
A FAMILY PAPER.
fightings and within are fears. And the
conduct of Israel at this time is much the
same as is often' the behaviour of the child
of (jod wben he finds himself hemmed in.
They showed a "sordid contempt of liberty,
preferring servitude before it, only because
it was attended with some difficulties." They
said unto Moses, "Wherefore hast thou
dealt with us to carry us forth out of Egypt ?"
Besides this they showed ingratitude toward
their deliverer. "Is not this the word that
we did tell them in Egypt. Let us alone, that
we may serve the Egyptians ?"
V. ISRAEL'S ESCAPE.
"And the Lord caused the sea to go back
by a strong east wind. And the children of
Israel went into the midst of the sea upon
the dry ground." Israel's experience here is
typical of the deliverance of the believer in
times of trying circumstances or burdens.
God will wi.th .every "temptation make a
way of escape, that ye may be able to bear
it." I. Cor. 10:13. God at times lays burdens
on his people which threaten to overwhelm
them. Each year, the demands from
the difficult fieldsof activity of the church
increase so greatly, that at times she is like
Israel on the banks of the Red Sea, tempted
to despair. At such times, her only escape
is to stand still and see the salvation of her
God. And this escape usually comes to her
asit did to. Israel, in going forward at the
commandment of God. "Speak unto the
children of Israel, that they go forward."
;• VI. ISRAEL'S ENEMlIES DES­
TROYED.
"And Ithe Lord overthrew the Egyptians
in the midst oif the sea." At the set time,
the waters which the Lord had dammed up
by a strong wind, on either side of the
channel of dry land which he had made for
Israel, were let loose and rushed in upon
the 'hosts of Pharaoh. Probably the surge
of waters that overflowed them was preceded
by a tremendous storm of thunder and
lightning and other dreadful appearances that
threw the Egyptians into great confusion
and terror and awakened them, as never before,
to the fact that they were fighting
against (iod. Thus, the enemies of God's
people usually become sensible, when it is
too late for escape from judgment, that the
Lord is fightingagainst them in behalf of
l«is people.
VII. ISRAEL ENCOURAGED.
"And Israel saw the great work which
the L)rd did upon the Egyptians: and the
people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord
and his servant Moses." In the dead bodies
of the Egyptians which were borne by the
tide to the shore, the children of Israel saw
the broken arm and humbled pride of their
old enemy and the payment which the Lord
tlieir God had exacted from the Egyptians
for the drowning of the first born of Israel.
The spirit of murmuring and mistrust, which
had been present before this in such great
measure, was rebuked and the spirit of reverence
and trusit was revived. "Thou breakest
the heads of leviaithian in pieces, and gavest
him to be meat to the people inhabiting the
wilderness." Ps. 74:14.
Eskridge, Kansas.
Lesson VI. Aug. 17, 1913,
LESSON POR THE CHILDREN.
By Anna Pritchard George.
Crossing the Red Sea.
'- Exodus 13:17—14:31.
Joe, you remember the day Tom was driving
the team with the lumber wagon when the horses
became frightened and ran away. Tom was forced
to give his whole attention to the reins and
could not put on the brake. They were nearing
a turn where Tom would probably be thrown and
killed. Something checked their speed for a few
seconds, and Dennis, who was standing near,
jumped on the wagon and put on the brake. He
stepped between Tom and death. The Israelites
in today's lesson are in just such a tight place—•
death or slavery whichever way they turn. We
will see how God, at the very last minute, steps in
and saves them.
Did Pharaoh finallygive his consent to allow the
Jews to leave Egypt, May? "Yes, after God killed
the oldest child in each Egyptian home." Last
Sabbath we left Israel gathering at Succoth. Lay
out Egypt on the sand table. Hollow out the sand
for the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea and
flll the hollow places with sawdust for the wai
In Egypt there was a great large stone wall with
gates of iron, reaching all the way from the Mediterranean
to the Red Sea. Pile up these stones
for the wall and use cardboard gates. These sticks
are the soldiers at the gates. One gate is near
the Red Sea. Pile .up the sand for the mountains
east of the Red Sea and extending to the water at
places. This large box is the palace, and these
sticks the King and his soldiers. These tiny
boxes on spools for wheels are their chariots. Over
here in Succoth we will place a great number
of sticks for the Jews—thousands and thousands
of them. This clothespin is for Moses, the tiny
sticks for tiny children, the great large ones for
big men. Use cardboard animals for their flocks
and herds. When Joseph died in Egypt hundreds
of years before, he asked that when the Jews
went back to Canaan his bones be carried too,
and buried in his own home-land. So Moses is
taking Joseph's bones back with him.
God's children are all together now and ready to
go forward. They travel East toward the wall
and come to Etham, moving slowly on account of
the children and the flocks. There are several
roads leading out from Egypt. How do the Jews
know which to take? "God tells them." Yes. In
the day time, away up in the sky, there is always
a pillar of a cloud. God is in the cloud, and wherever
the cloud goes the .Jews follow. At night God
leads the way in a pillar of flrein the sky. From
Etham the Jews go South along the wall. They
come to the end of the wall and camp not far
from the Sea.
After the Jews had left, when the Egyptians
arose in the morning there were no slaves to
prepare their breakfast. The fields were left unplowed,
for the slaves had gone. No more bricks
were being made, so the new buildings could not
be put up. The Jews had been doing nearly all
the work in Egypt. Do you think Pharaoh missed
them, Ellis? "He must have wished he had
kept them." That was just it. And when he
heard they were still Inside the wall, he sent
messengers quickly to order the soldiers not to
let them go through the gates. Then the army
with all their chariots followed rapidly after the
Jews. They intended to bring them baek as slaves
again. 1, ;
The Jews down here on the sand look back and
see the Egyptians racing toward them. They try
to get through the gates, but the soldiers refuse
to open them. The iSea is in front, the wall on
one side and the mountains on the other, and
along the only open road the Egyptians are coming
after them. Are they frightened, Elmer? Yes,
they are "sore afraid." And they can do nothing
but wait. If they go ahead they will be drowned.
If they go back the Egyptians will capture them.
The mountains are too steep to cross, and the
wall too high. They are wild with terror. Their
only hope is in God and they cry to Him. Moses
calls out, "Fear ye not, stand still, and see the
salvation of the Lord, which iHe will shew to you
today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today,
ye shall see them again no more forever.
The Lord shall flght for you, and ye shall ho^d
your peace." God says to Moses, "Tell the Israelites
to go forward, and lift up thy rod and stretch
out thine hand over the sea, and divide it.'' Then
God moves the .pillar of cloud from before the
Jews and goes behind them, and when night
comes on, the pillar of fire shines out over the
Jews and gives them light, but is a black cloud
for the Egyptians. So the Egyptians can see
nothing all night.
At Moses' command the Jews go forward till
they come to the water's edge. He stretches his
hand out over the sea, and God sends a strong
east wind all night. As the Israelites watch they
see the waters gradually divide, as this sawdust
does. The waters go back on the left hand and
on the right, till at last a broad dry path is left
between with water on both sides. "The children
of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the
dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them
oa their right hand, and on their left." The Egyptians
ride after them and go into the midst of the
sea on this dry path—horses, chariots and horsemen.
It looks as though they would catch the
Jews after all. But God is in charge. The chariot
wheels begin to come off, and the Egyptians cannot
go forward. It is morning now, and the
Israelites are safely over and stand on the other
shore looking back at the Egyptians struggling with
their chariots. The Egyptians suddenly realize
that they are fightingagainst God and try to retreat.
"Let us flee from the face of 'Israel; for the
Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians,"
God tells Moses to stretch out his hand again.
The waters come rushing back "upon the Egyptians,
upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen."
"And the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in
the midst of the sea."
So when danger and trouble threaten, and we
can find no way of escape, if we are in the right
and call on God, He will step in between and
save us as He did the Israelites.
Montclair, N. J. :