Quarter March 30 QUESTIONS TO TEST GEOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE 1. What was the extent of the Old Testament world? 2. Name its important mountains. 3. Its largest rivers. 4. Where is Mount Ararat? 5. Where was the reputed cradle of the human race and the scene of the Deluge? 6. What is the length and the course of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers? 7. What were the northern divisions of the plain between these rivers called by the early Hebrews? 8. What was the name given this land by the Greeks? 9. To what city here did Abraham come? 10. What was the name given to the southern portion before 4500 B. C., and what does the name mean and show about the culture of that early day? II. In what city of Chaldea was Abraham's early life spent? 12. At that time how great was the Babylonian Empire? 13. Describe Ur at this period. 14. To what city did Abraham go from Ur? 15. What route did he take to Canaan? 16. In what three cities of Canaan did he sojourn? 17. To what country did he then go and on his return to Canaan to what city did he come? 18. Describe the view seen by Abraham and Lot when they looked over the land and agreed to separate. 19. Locate Hebron. 20. Where were Sodom and Gomorrah? 21. How does the present condition around the Dead Sea make it seem probable that an earthquake was the means by which the cities of the Plain were destroyed? 22. Where were Gerar and Beersheba and what connection have they with this Quarter's history? 23. What places are connected with Isaac's life? 24. Where was Rebekah's home? 25. Draw a map of the Old Testament world, locating and naming its mountains, rivers, lakes and seas. Locate and name the cities connected with Abraham's life. Trace upon it the course of Abraham's journey from Ur to Egypt. 26. Draw a map of Canaan and locate the cities connected with Abraham's life. QUESTIONS TO TEST KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM ARCHÆOLOGY 1. Where and when was the Chaldean story of creation found, and what does its comparison with the story in Genesis prove for the latter? 2. What does the Babylonian story of the creation of man say was the purpose of his creation? 3. What Babylonian cylinder exists which seems to be a representation of the temptation of Adam and Eve? 4. How does the Assyrian account of the Deluge compare with the account in Genesis? 5. How does the Babylonian deluge tablet compare with our account? 6. What do the Hindus, Arabs, and Norse mythologies say about the rainbow? What is its explanation in the Iliad? How do their symbolism contrast with the explanation given in Genesis? 7. What was worshipped in Chaldea, the early home of Abraham? 8. What has been learned from excavations on the site of Ur? 9. What light has been thrown upon Canaan before the Hebrew occupation by the Tell el-Amarna letters? QUESTIONS TO TEST BIOGRAPHICAL KNOWLEDGE 1. Who are the heroes of the Quarter's lessons? 2. Who are the characters in the primeval history of Genesis, and for what is each one remembered? 3. Of whom was it said that he believed in Jehovah and he reckoned it to him for righteousness? 4. What two men are said to have walked with God and what does the expression mean? 5. Who was called the Friend of God and why? 6. In what respect was Noah great? 7. Who acted in accordance with the Golden Rule? 8. What qualities do you admire in Abraham? 9. Who was called a perfect man? 10. What two men were especially men of great faith in God? II. What two fine things are said of Noah? 12. Who asked, and under what circumstances, "Am I my brother's keeper?" 13. Who was told to be a blessing? QUESTIONS TO TEST KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTHS OF THE LESSONS 1. What is the central truth of the story of the Creation of the earth? 2. Of the creation of man? 3. Of the first sin? 4. In what lesson and how is the evil of covetousness shown? 5. Of jealousy? 6. Of disobedience? 7. Of greed? 8. Of evil companionship? 9. In what lesson and how is faith portrayed? 10. Generosity? 11. Obedience? 12. Responsibility for others? 13. The possibility of communion with God? 14. The duty of being a blessing to others? 15. The duty of being kind to strangers? 16. What lesson shows that seeming success is sometimes actual failure? 17. What lessons teach that one may talk with God? 18. What lessons tell about the testing of faith? 19. About covenants? 20. About new beginnings? 21. What three lessons tell about sacrifices? 22. What lessons teach that the wages of sin is death? 23. What revelations of the divine nature have the Quarter's lessons given? SUBJECTS FOR WRITTEN WORK TO BE BROUGHT TO CLASS For Younger Pupils. Tell the story of: 1. The Creation. 2. The First Sin. 3. Two Brothers. 4. A Man who Left his Home for a Far Country. 5. A Man who Made a Wrong Choice. 6. A Man who was Sent to Find a Wife for his Master's Son. 7. A Boy who had an Exciting Experience. For Older Pupils. Write : 1. An Appreciation of Noah. 4. Cain and Abel Contrasted. 5. Abraham and Lot Contrasted. 6. A Lesson Story and its Application to Modern Life. 7. A Comparison of the Destruction of Sodom and Pompeii. 8. A comparison with the Genesis stories of ancient traditions of the Creation, the Fall and the Flood, and the facts that such comparisons teach. WORK TO BE ASSIGNED FOR THE NEXT LESSON Questions to look up. I. How old was Abraham when he died and where was he buried? (Gen. 25.7-10.) 2. Read carefully the entire 45th chapter. 3. Tell the story of Esau's selling his birthright. (Gen. 25.27-34.) 4. Why did Isaac have to feel of his son in order to know him? (Gen. 27.1.) 5. What had Rebekah done to Jacob to make his hands like Esau's? (Gen. 27.11-16.) 6. Where was the family living at this time? 7. What does Heb. 12.16 call Esau and what does the word "profane" here mean? (Unspiritual: he was profane in the sense of having no regard for sacred things.) 8. What were some of the evils that befell Jacob on account of his sin? Questions to think about. 1. Did Rebekah tell a lie in this transaction? 2. Is it as wrong to act a lie as to speak a lie? 3. How many lies did Jacob tell in this affair? 4. Would a kid naturally taste like venison? (Clipping, p. 146.) 5. Why did Isaac not resent the fraud practised upon him? (Clipping, ¶2, p. 145.) 6. Is it ever right to do evil that good may come? 7. What does the fact that the Bible records the evil deeds of its heroes tell you? 8. Mention the weak or evil elements in the characters of Isaac and Rebekah. 9. What do you admire in Esau? 10. What do you detest in his character? II. What do you admire in Jacob? 12. What do you detest in his character? 13. Why was Jacob with all his faults better fitted than Esau to be Isaac's successor? (Clipping, p. 149.) 14. What is the first instance of craftiness recorded in the Bible? (Lesson 3, First Quarter.) Note Book Work. Write a comparison of the characters of Jacob and Esau. SECOND QUARTER LESSON I-APRIL 6 JACOB AND ESAU Golden Text Jehovah is a God of justice; blessed are HOME DAILY BIBLE READINGS—M. Gen. 27.22-34. Jacob and Esau. STUDY Gen. 25.27-34; 27.1-45 READ Gen. 25-27 COMMIT Gen. 27.33, 34 22 And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. 23 And he discerned him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands: so he blessed him. 24 And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And he said, I am. 25 And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 27 And he came near, and kissed him and he smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, Sce, the smell of my son Is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed: 28 And God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and new wine: 29 Let peoples serve thee, And nations bow down to thee: Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee: Cursed be every one that curseth thee, And blessed be every one that blesseth thee. 30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 And he also made savory food, and brought it unto his father: and he said unto his father, Let my father arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. 32 And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And he said, I am thy son, thy first-born, Esau. 33 And Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who then is he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed. 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father. WORDS AND PHRASES EXPLAINED Lesson Outline. I. Isaac's Directions to Esau, 1-4. II. Rebekah's Scheme and Jacob's Compliance, 5-17. III. Jacob secures Isaac's Blessing, 18-29. IV. Esau's Return and Lament, 30-38. V. Esau's Blessing, 39-40. 22-26. He felt him. Isaac was blind, Gen. 27.1-The hands of Esau. See Gen. 27.11-16.-So he blessed him. This was the greeting merely, the formal blessing is recorded in verses 27-29.-Art thou my very son Esau? His suspicions are not wholly allayed.-He brought it near to him. "Had it been I, I would have dropped the dish" (Luther). 27-34. He smelled the smell of his raiment. The "goodly garments," verse 15, which were in the house in charge of Rebekah. See 13, p. 146.-He blessed him. "The blessing of a dying father was believed by the ancients to exert an important influence in the life of his descendants" (Kent).-The dew of heaven. In Palestine dew is copious and of great value to the fields, for rain seldom falls in the summer months. The blessing includes the possession of the land and the overcoming of neighboring tribes.-Cursed...blesseth thee. Contrast with these words the great promise to Abraham, "In thee and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed."-Isaac trembled exceedingly. "Esau saw only the supplanter, and vowed to be revenged; Isaac saw God in the matter, and trembled" (Dods).-Yea, and he shall be blessed. Isaac is not angered at the fraud practised upon him, for he recognizes that what had happened was God's will. "Isaac's quick submission to God reveals a habit of reflection and a spiritual thoughtfulness which are the good qualities in his otherwise unsatisfactory character" (Dods). SUGGESTIVE THOUGHTS FROM HELPFUL WRITERS 5-6. Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son...and Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son. The parents themselves were not at one in the education of their children. Under these circumstances Esau's untamed savagery and Jacob's artfulness are in no wise remarkable. Jacob leaned toward his mother, while Esau was more attached to his father. Miserable discord ensues when the two guides do not confront the children as one being, one thought, one heart, one head; when appeal is made to the one from the other; when children use one parent as a shield against the other; when the one smiles, while the other storms; the one permits what the other prohibits; the one assents, and the other refuses; or even when the opposition of the one side to the activity of the other be but negative. Liebman Adler, in Sabbath Hours. Jewish Family, According to Layard 25. That my soul may bless thee. In unaccountable and inconsistent contempt of God's expressed purpose, he proposes to hand over this blessing to Esau. Many things had occurred to fix his attention upon the fact that Esau was not to be his heir. Esau had sold his birthright, and had married Hittite women, and his whole conduct was, no doubt, of a piece with this, and showed that, in his hands, any spiritual inheritance would be both unsafe and unappreciated. That Isaac had some notion he was doing wrong in giving to Esau what belonged to God, and what God meant to give to Jacob, is shown from his precipitation in bestowing the blessing. He has no feeling that he is authorized by God, and therefore he cannot wait calmly till God should intimate, by unmistakable signs, that he is near his end; but, seized with a panic, lest his favorite should somehow be left unblessed, he feels, in his nervous alarm, as if he were at the point of death, and, though destined to live for forty-three years longer, he calls Esau that he may hand over to him his dying testament. Dr. Marcus Dods, in Expositor's Bible. LIGHT FROM ARCHEOLOGY OR FROM ORIENTAL LIFE 22. Jacob. The name Jacob has been found on the Babylonian tablets coming from the age of Hammurabi. It appears also, in slightly different form, on April 6 Quarter contract tablets discovered in Cappadocia. It is likewise the name of one of the Asiatic Hyksos Kings who ruled over Egypt. Thutmose III, the great conqueror of the 18th Egyptian dynasty, mentions a certain Jacob-el among the Palestinian cities captured by him. Professor C. H. Kent, in Heroes and Crises of Early Hebrew History. 25. My son's venison. A difficulty is sometimes suggested, that Isaac would certainly know the difference between venison and the flesh of a young kid. Kitto thinks that by venison the flesh of a young gazelle may be meant, and that, if so, it would not differ much from that of a kid. Besides, Isaac's senses were by no means acute; his taste would, like his sight, be impaired by old age; and then the orientals were fond of giving to their more luxurious dishes strong flavors, as is the case at the present day, when their more esteemed dishes are saturated with butter and seasoned with salt, spices, garlic and onions, sharpened with vegetable acids or sweetened with honey, so that it is very difficult to tell what the meat really is. If Jacob's kid had been roasted whole after being stuffed with raisins, pistachio-nuts, almonds, and husked corn or rice, the result would have been a most savory dish now much admired in the East. Dr. Samuel Kuins, in Graven in the Rock. 27. He smelled the smell of his raiment. There are plausible arguments to show that what Jacob wore was the official priestly raiment designed as of right for the eldest born. The term goodly, or desirable, raiment, in its original meaning and specific usage, goes far to indicate as much. It is, moreover, expressly mentioned that the raiment belonged to Esau; yet we observe that it was not in his keeping, nor in that of his wives, but under the charge of Rebekah, as though it were family rather than individual property, and an hereditary, not a common dress, and therefore kept by her, as mother of the family, with aromatic herbs and spices to sweeten and preserve it. And thus the well-known fragrance would be to Isaac a token confirmatory of Jacob's pretensions. J. E. Yonge. 29. Be lord over thy brethren. A father might transfer the birthright to a younger son, but by the usual custom of the times on the death of the father the oldest son became the lord of his household. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Review Questions. What covenant or promise, often repeated, had God made to Abraham? When and in what words was the covenant renewed to Isaac? (Gen. 26.23-24.) Who would naturally succeed to the promised blessing? Abraham was one hundred and seventy-five years old when he died. He was buried by the side of Sarah in the field of Machpelah. For twenty years Isaac and Rebekah had been childless, and then twin sons were born. Esau, the firstborn, grew up rough and hairy and became a cunning hunter, a man of the field; the other son, Jacob, was smooth-faced and handsome, a quiet stay-athome. "In coming from Abraham to Isaac we come from the mountain to the valley, and we may almost say that in coming from Isaac to Jacob we are coming from the valley to the wilderness, where rank and poisonous weeds and deadly pitfalls may be found. The Bible deals very plainly and bluntly with the faults of its heroes." As our lessons progress, we shall be interested in seeing how God can take even such a man as Jacob and make of him a man worthy to be one of the ancestors of his chosen people. One day for a mess of pottage Esau sold his birthright as the elder to Jacob. See I, p, 148. This agreement between the two brothers did not settle the matter. In Isaac's old age, when he was blind and feeble and near death as he thought (though he lived forty years longer), he purposed assuring to Esau his birthright by formally pronouncing upon him his blessing. Rebekah loved Jacob as Abraham loved Isaac, but while Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac when he thought such sacrifice to be God's will, Rebekah was willing to sacrifice truth and uprightness and duty for Jacob without a thought of God's purpose in the matter. How she and Jacob schemed to secure for Jacob his father's blessing, our text tells. |