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August fi.1913.
A {'AMlL-ir papeL
enough. By these directions, Israel was
taught to be diligent in securing God's
blessings; to trust him day by day for nec--
pjsary provision and to be unselfish in metlino-
out to others of that which was given to
them of God.
V. SABBATH SANCTIFIED, (v. 22-
'300
K"On the sixth day tbey gathered twice
as much bread."—"Tbis is that which the
Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the
loly Sabbath unto the Lord: bake that
which ye will bake today, and seethe that
which ye will seethe; and that whichi remain­eth
over, lay up for you to be kept until
the morning." This act was under tbe command
of God and wa^ followed with his
blessing. What was kept over till morning
did not stink, as was usual during the other
days of the week. God still confers a special
blessing on those who follow out the
lieafihing of this passage in regard to making
provision for the Sabbatb tbe day before.
^ How many enjoy this blessing ?
VI, THE MIRACLE OF MANNA
C0J*IMEMORATED. (v. 32-36.)
"Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generadons;
that ye may see the bread wherewith
I fed you in tbe wilderness." God^s
mercies are not to be forgotten but to be
had in. everlasting remembrance for our own
encouragemenit and the encouragement of
those who come after us.
•Eskkbridge, Kansas.
Lesson 'VIII. August 24, 1913.
LESSON FOR THE CHILDREN.
By Anna Pritchard George.
The Bread From Heaven.
Exodus 15:27—16:36.
John, suppose you were hungry and could get
no tood? That seems impossible to you, but it
happens to many, in today's lesson the Jews are
in such straits, firstfrom thirst and then from
hunger. We will see how God sends them relief.
Are the Jews in Egypt now, George? "No, they
are on the other side of the Ked Sea." On the
table, sink this long pan of water in the sand for
the Red ..Sea. On the west of the Sea is Egypt
and on the east is the Peninsula of Sinai. These
sticks on the eastern shore are for the Jews, the
f clothes pin for iMoses, and the cardboard animals
tor their flocks. They travel slowly south over
this hot desert, for three days, and flnd no water.
Itis hard enough to ride over the desert for half
a day without water. They come to Marah, thirstjr^^
and weary. Here they flndwater. Are they glad|^
" I guess they shout good and loud." Yes, their
l9y must be great.'^ut when they try to drink
the waters are too bitter. How disappointed they
^fe- Has not God done many wonderful things
tor the Jews? Yes, He saved them from the
made them a path through the Red
. and delivered them from the Egyptians. So
you would think the Jews might trust Him to
•l6lp them now. B.ut, instead of thanking God for
what He has already done, and asking for His
help, the Jews complain. "What shall we drink?"
But God is kinder to them than they deserve. He
shows Moses a tree. Stand this leafy twig in the
sand for it. God tells Moses to cast it into the
water. Moses does so, and immediately the waters
are made sweet. God heals the waters and
the people have all they can drink.
They travel a few hours still farther south and
come to Elim. Here are twelve wells and seventy
palm trees. Stand these tall twigs in the sand
for the trees and pile these stones in circles for
the wells. The Jews camp by these waters and
rest. All these comforts were close at hand when
they were murmuring against God at Marah. God
always has good things in store for us if we will
only do our part and trust Him for the rest. You
would think the Jews would surely be grateful
and remember after this.
They cannot remain at Elim, but must press on
toward Canaan. They come south into the Wilderness
of Sin. Here again they forget God's goodness.
They remember the good thihgs which
they sometimes had in Egypt, but forget about
the slavery from which God has saved them. They
are hungry now. But instead of praying to God
for food, they growl. ^T3o you think God would
have delivered the Jews so many times if He had
intended to let them die of hunger in this wilderness?
No, of course not. But they complain to
Moses and Aaron, really murmuring against God,
"Would to God we had died by the hand of the
Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the
flesh pots."^God is so loving and kind that He
does not ipunish the Jews for their ingratitude
and lack of faith, but sends food at once. "Behold,
I will rain bread from heaven for you."'0.aron
tells the children of Israel to "Come near before
the Lord; for He hath heard your murmurings."
As Aaron speaks to the people, they look toward
the wilderness, and "the glory of the Lord appeared
in the cloud." The Lord says to Moses, "1
have heard the murmurings of the children of
Israel: Speak .unto them, saying, at even ye shall
eat flesh,and in the morning ye shall be filled
with bread; and ye shall know that I am the Lord
your God."
At evening the camp is covered with quails.
Scatter these tiny dark paper birds for them. The
people have all they can eat. In the morning the
dew is heavy. When it lifts, the earth is covered
with "a small round thing, as small as the hoar
frost on the ground." The Jews look at it and
wonder. They cannot understand. "What is it?"
They question. "What is it" in their language is
"Manna." So they call this little white thing
"Manna." This is the bread God gives them to
eat. It is good and tastes "like wafers made
with honey." God tells the people to gather it,
each man enough for himself. All who are able
must work. God does not believe in lazy people.
He does His part and wants us to do ours—not
loaf and let others do our share. The people are
told to gather each morning just enough for that
day, a certain amount for each person, and not
try to keep some over for the next day. Some
disobey, but what ip left by the next morning is
spoiled, and must be thrown away, nrvery other
morning God has them gather enough for just one
day, but the day before their Sabbath He sends a
double portion, and orders them to gather enough
for two days. They are to prepare the food the
day before so as not to work on Sabbath. This
time when Sabbath comes the manna is not spoiled.
Moses says, on Sabbath morning: "Eat
that today; for today is a Sabbath unto the
Lord; today ye shall not find it in the
fleld." Some disobey this time too, and go
out Sabbath to gather. Do they find manna?
No, God sends none on the Sabbath Day.
He says, "For that the Lord hath given you the
Sabbath, therefore He giveth you on the sixth
day the bread for two days; abide ye every man
in his place, let no man go out of his place on the
seventh day." So the people rest on the Sabbath,
just as God wishes us to do. For forty years
God feeds His people with manna as they travel
through this wilderness.
Children, if God provided for the Jews every
time they were in need—at one time with a way
of escape, at another with water, at anot;her
with food—do you not think He can and will provide
for us? God made us and He will care for
us if we do our part and obey. We need never
worry, only trust Him.
Montclair, N. J.
USING THE EUPHRATES.
The flrstinstallment of the vast works planned
by Sir W. Willocks for the irrigation of Mesopotamia
by the storage of the Euphrates water is
now nearing completion. Details as to the
present position of the work, which is being carried
out for the Turkish Government by the engineering
firm of Sir John Jackson, Limited, are
quoted in the Geographical Journal. The part of
the scheme firsttaken in hand has been the building
of the great barrage at Hindier, with associated
works by which the water is to be distributed
down the old branch of the river, past the site
of Babylon, to Hilla. The barrage is being built
to the east of the present bed of the Euphrates
and will be 250 meters long, with 35 arches fitted
with sluice-gates. The piers of these arches are
now completed up to the springing of the latter.
This barrage will raise the level of the water by
seven meters, while a subsidiary barrage immediately
below will provide for a further difference
of 2% meters. Adjoining the upper barrage there
will be a lock for the use of the river traffic,
while the lower barrage consists of a lock and
huge shelf of masonry. Work has also been begun
on the Hilla regulator, a little above the barrage,
which will consist of fivearches. The excavation
for this has been done and the masonry
begun. These works finished, an earthen dam
will be thrown across the stream, which will thus
be turned into its new bed between the barrage
and the regulator. The old branch has been
cleared out and will he properly canalized, while
at Habbania an escape is being constructed by
which the flood-waterwill be carried off into the
old Babylon reservoir. It is estimated that
600,000 acres of land will be plentifully irrigated
as a result of these works. The operations have
involved a great amount of excavation, concrete
work, masonry, pitching, etc., but there has of
late been a plentiful supply of local labor.—
Science.