T. S. Arthur tells us somewhere of the power that rests in a “gentle hand.” Belated in his travels, he called at a farmhouse. He was greeted first at the door by a huge dog. As he was about to retire with fear, a slender girl appeared and with a gentle voice commanded the dog to go into the house. The voice at once controlled the animal. “Who is there?” growled a voice from within, and Arthur was told that he could not remain overnight. The girl’s hand soon rested on her father’s arm, and a gentle voice spoke a few tender words, when the rough voice modulated, and the stranger was made welcome. Several times in the course of the evening was the power which rested in that slender girl’s hand and voice clearly manifested. As morning dawned and Arthur was about to depart, the farmer informed him that he could ride to the town. The offer was gladly accepted. As they took their seat in the buggy, however, the horse, a rough-looking Canadian pony, stubbornly refused to go. The farmer jerked and whipped the horse, but all to no effect.
A stout lad now came out into the road and, catching Dick by the bridle, jerked him forward, using at the same time the customary language on such occasions; but Dick met this10new ally with increased stubbornness, planting his forefeet more firmly, and at a sharper angle with the ground. The impatient boy now struck the pony on the side of his head with his clinched hand, and jerked cruelly at his bridle. It availed nothing, however. Dick was not to be wrought upon by any such arguments.
“Do not do so, John,” said a gentle voice. The boy obeyed the touch of her hand. “Poor Dick!” said the maiden, as she stroked his neck lightly, or softly patted it with her childlike hand. Then the stubborn little pony, turning his head as if to see the hand whose magic power he could not resist, started upon his journey as freely as if no silly crotchet had ever entered his stubborn brain.
“What a wonderful power that hand possesses!” said Mr. Arthur, speaking to his companion, as they rode away. The farmer’s countenance lighted up with surprise and pleasure as he replied: “She’s good. Everybody and everything loves her.”
Indeed, there was the secret of her power; the quality of her soul was perceived in the impression of her hand, even by dumb brutes. Even so can the magic touch and the gentle tones control the boy. In handling or correcting him, see that “mercy seasons justice,” and that love be mingled with firmness.—Our Dumb Animals.
A SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO MOTHERS.
“Can you help me a few minutes, Marion?”
“I should like to, but I don’t see how I can.” The tone was not impatient, but hurried. “I have this essay to finish for the society this evening. I must go to our French history class in an hour, then to a Guild meeting, and get back to my German lesson at five o’clock.”
“No, you can’t help me, dear. You look worn out yourself. Never mind. If I tie up my head, perhaps I can finish this.”
“Through at last,” said Marion wearily, giving a finishing touch to “The Development of Religious Ideas among the Greeks,” at the same time glancing quickly at the clock. Her attention was arrested by a strange sight. Her tired mother had fallen asleep over her sewing. That was not surprising, but the startled girl saw bending over her mother’s face two angels, each looking earnestly at the sleeper.
“What made that weary look on this woman’s face?” asked the stern, strange-looking angel of the weaker, sadder one. “Has God given her no daughters?”
“Yes, but they have no time to help her.”
“No time?” cried the other. “What are they doing with all the time I am allowing them?”
“Well,” replied the angel of life, “I keep their hands and hearts full. They are affectionate daughters, much admired for their good works; but they do not know they are letting the one they love most slip from my arms into yours. Those gray hairs come from overwork and anxiety to save money for music and French lessons. Those pale cheeks faded while the girls were painting roses and pansies.”
The dark angel frowned.
“Young ladies must be accomplished now,” exclaimed the other. “Those eyes grew dim sewing for the girls, to give them time to study ancient history and modern languages; those wrinkles came because the girls had not time to share the cares and worry of every-day life. That sigh comes because their mother feels neglected and lonely while the girls are working for the women of India; that tired look comes from getting up so early, while the poor, exhausted girls are trying to sleep back the late hours they gave to study or spent at the concert; those feet are so weary because of their ceaseless walk.”
“Surely, the girls help her, too?”
“What they can. But their feet get weary enough going around begging for the hospital and the church, and hunting up the poor and the sick.”
“No wonder,” said the angel of death, “so many mothers call me. This is indeed sad—loving, industrious girls giving their mother to my care as soon as selfish, wicked ones.”
“Ah, the hours are so crowded!” said Life wearily. “Girls who are cultured or take an active part in life, have no time to take care of the mother who spent so much in bringing them up.”
“Then I must place my seal on her brow,” said the angel of death, bending over the sleeping woman.
“No, no!” cried Marion, springing from her seat. “I will take care of her if you will only let her stay.”
“Daughter, you must have the nightmare. Wake up, dear; I fear you have missed your history class.”
“Never mind, mama, I am not going to-day. I am rested now, and I will make those button-holes while you curl up on the sofa and take a nap. I’ll send word to the Guild professor that I must be excused to-day; for I am going to see to supper myself and make some of those muffins you like.”
“But, dear, I dislike to take your time.”
“Seeing you have never given me any time! Now go to sleep, mama, dear, as I did, and do not worry about me. You are of more consequence than all the languages or classics in the world.”
So, with a tender kiss from her daughter—usually too busy for such demonstrations—Mrs. Hensen fell into a sweet, restful sleep.
“I see we might have lost the best of mothers in our mad rush to be educated and useful in this hurrying, restless day and generation,” Marion soliloquized, as she occasionally stole a glimpse at the sleeping mother. “After this, only what time she does not need I shall devote to outside work and study. Until she gets well restored, I will take charge of the house, and give up all the societies except one—that I’ll have by myself if the other girls will not join—a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Mothers.”
And Marion kept her word. A few months later one of the Women’s Progressive League members said to her: “We miss your bright essays so much, Miss Marion. You seem to have lost all your ambition to be highly educated. You are letting your sisters get ahead of you, I fear. How young your mother looks to have grown daughters! I never saw her looking so well.”
Then Marion felt rewarded for being a member of what she calls the “S. P. C. M.”—Woman’s Signal.
BEWARE OF MISJUDGING.
By John Watson, D.D.
PERHAPS it were better for most of us to complain less of being misunderstood and to take more care that we do not misunderstand other people. It ought to give us pause at a time to remember that each one has a stock of cut-and-dry judgments on his neighbors, and that many things we have thought of him are quite beside the mark. What he does we have seen, but we have no idea what may have been his thoughts and contentions. The mere surface of his character may be exposed, but of the complexity within we have not the faintest idea. People crammed with self-consciousness and self-conceit are often praised as humble, while shy and reserved people are judged to be proud. Some whose whole life is one subtle, studied selfishness get the name of self-sacrifice, and other silent, heroic souls are condemned for want of humanity.—John Watson, D.D.
NIGHT AND DAY.
The day is Thine—
The long, bright summer day—
From the first dawning light till evening closes;
And all its merry birds and blooming roses,
And all its golden beauty, bid us say,
The day, O Lord, is Thine!
The night is Thine—
The long, dark, winter’s night—
Hushing our birds to sleep, our flowers concealing;
But by its host of glowing stars revealing,
Through the deep sky, Thy glory and Thy might;
The night, O Lord, is Thine!
And life’s brief day
Is also Thine, when we
Must work, while light doth last, for our Master.
O, that our sluggish feet could travel faster,
And we with readier service give to Thee
Our life’s fast-fleeting day!
That darker night
Is Thine, O Lord,
When Thou sweet sleep to Thy beloved givest;
For while they needs must die, Thou ever livest,
And o’er Thy dear ones keepest watch and ward,
Till darkness ends in light!
—Sunday Magazine.
SOME ROYAL CROWNS.
REGAL crowns are an expensive luxury for the people of those backward countries which still prefer to have kings to presidents. One of the most costly crowns in existence is that of the king of Portugal. The jewels which ornament it are valued at $8,000,000. The crown which the czar of Russia wears on special occasions is also one of the most precious in the world. The cross which surmounts the crown is composed of five magnificent diamonds, resting on a large uncut but polished ruby. The small crown of the czarina contains, according to authorities, the finest stones ever strung.
The crown of the queen of England, which is valued at $1,800,000, contains a great ruby, a large sapphire, 16 small sapphires, 8 emeralds, 4 small rubies, 1,360 brilliants, 1,273 rose diamonds, 4 pear-formed pearls, and 269 of other shapes. In his state clothes, including the crown, the sultan of Johore wears diamonds worth $12,000,000. His collar, his epaulets, his girdle, and his cuffs sparkle with the precious stones. His bracelets are of massive gold, and his fingers are covered with rings which are almost priceless. The handle and the blade of his sword are covered with precious stones.
The most costly insignia of princely dignity, however, are those of the sultan, or Maharajah of Baroda, in India. The chief ornament is a necklace of 5 strings, containing 500 diamonds, some of which are as large as hazelnuts. The upper and lower rows consist of emeralds of the same size.—N. Y. Tribune.
On the Shores of Galilee
By H. P. H.
JOTTINGS FROM PALESTINE. No. 5.
On the Shores of Galilee.
TO-DAY is to be a day of delightful privilege; for we are to walk along the shores of Galilee,—the shore so oft traversed by our Lord and His disciples. As we descend the long corridor, a slight wave of confusion disturbs the usual quiet of the hospice. What is the trouble?—An Englishman who had made the trip from Jericho to Tiberias, on the east side of the Jordan, had arrived the evening before, and, not being able to speak the French or the German, the languages of the host, he was not able to make his wants known. In fording the Jordan, his shoes were filled with water, and he desired to have them dried. The host and attendants not being able to understand his wants, imagined all sorts of things not desired; so the longer they continued, the greater the confusion. How much trouble and confusion arise over very small matters when people do not understand one another! In fact, most of the troubles in this world come from misunderstandings.
In less than five minutes we have reached the rocks just beyond the north wall of Tiberias, whence we have a fine retrospective view of Tiberias and the sea to the south. In five minutes more we have rounded a cape and have lost sight of the city. Here, the shores are quite abrupt; our path leads close to the water’s edge; the sea is here fringed by a band of pebbles washed smooth by the action of the waves. The only signs of life are birds and water-fowl, grass and occasional bushes.
After an hour’s walk, we reach the border of a plain—it is the plain of Gennesaret, half a mile wide, and extending nearly three miles along the shore. At the entrance to this plain are a few huts, the melancholy abodes of poverty. But not the present abodes interest us; our thought wings its way back to the time of the Saviour; for in our walk to-day we are living largely amid the scenes of sacred memory; so, losing sight of the squalid huts, we see standing here Magdala, a flourishing, busy place in the time of Christ.
It was here that the Mary lived out of whom Christ cast seven devils. Being from this place, she was called Mary Magdalene, as Christ was called a Nazarene. Yes, this was the home of that Mary that was most devoted to our Lord during His earthly pilgrimage. She followed Him and ministered unto Him in Galilee; she was present with Him during His last visit to Jerusalem; she followed Him to the cross, and watched as He hung in silence under its agonies; she followed Him to the sepulcher, to see where He was laid; she came early in the morning of the first day of the week to the sepulcher, and, not finding her Lord, lingered weeping; it was to her that the risen Saviour first revealed Himself; and it was Mary that brought the glad news to the unbelieving disciples. Ah, none of the disciples called from the shores of Galilee followed the Lord more devotedly or more faithfully than did Mary of Magdala!
Near Magdala was Dalmanutha, to which Jesus came after having fed the four thousand on the other side of the lake; and it was here on the same occasion that the Pharisees questioned11Him, asking Him a sign from heaven. Nothing of the works of man of that time remains to mark the place; but the works of God,—the sea, the outlines of the shore, the plain, the surrounding hills, and the varied hues of the sky,—remain the same.
To the west of us is the ravine extending to the Mount of Beatitudes. The precipitous sides of the ravine are a thousand feet high in some places, where those notorious robbers took up their abode in caves high up in the rocks, and baffled all attempts to bring them to justice till Herod destroyed them by letting down soldiers in cages from above.
And now we pass on towards the north end of the lake, to the site of Capernaum; this is about eight miles from Magdala. Here we enter on the most interesting part of our journey. Doubtless our Lord walked along these shores more than any other part of the sea, or any other part of Palestine. It was in this vicinity that He did most of His mighty works. It was from here that He crossed and recrossed the sea; it was here that multitudes numbering thousands followed Him; it was here that He called the fishermen to be His disciples; and doubtless it was in this vicinity that He appeared to them after His resurrection, and, besides giving them a miraculous draught of fishes, prepared a meal for them on the shore. We are in no hurry as we walk along; we move on slowly, with open Bible, reviewing the inspired account of scenes which these shores and these waters have witnessed. The sea is calm, as if in illustration of how it appeared after the Master said to the raging billows, “Peace, be still.”
Mount of Beatitudes.
A walk of two hours takes us from Magdala to the site of Capernaum, at the north end of the sea. This is of most interest of all; for it is spoken of as “His own city.” Here we find nothing but ruins extending half a mile along the shore and quarter of a mile inland. But when Jesus dwelt here, it must have been a flourishing town. The ruins indicate that there were some fine structures in Capernaum. Here dwelt the nobleman whose son the Saviour healed by a word from the distance; here the man with the palsy was let down through the roof; here the servant of the centurion who built the Jews a synagog was healed; here the woman with an issue of blood was restored; here Jesus taught in the synagog and gave that remarkable sermon about the bread of life; and here Matthew was called from the customs office.
A little over two miles back of Capernaum are the ruins of Chorazin. How much heavenly light these places had! And what fearful woes were pronounced against them because they did not heed the light! And how completely those woes have overtaken them! Nothing but ruins remain of these favored, exalted places. This is the complete darkness and desolation that inevitably follow the rejection of light and privileges.
About two miles east of Capernaum, at the head of the sea, is the influx of the Jordan; and just across the river, a short distance inland, was situated Bethsaida Julia. In this vicinity is a plain a few miles in extent, in the vicinity of which it is believed the Saviour fed the five thousand. While He sent the multitudes away, and went into the mountain to pray, the disciples were crossing over the sea to Bethsaida, and were caught in the storm; and Jesus, coming to them, walking on the water, stilled the tempest. It was on this occasion that Peter walked on the water.
Walking down the east shore, where the mountains are more precipitous, about half way we come to Kersa, the town of the Gergesenes; a short distance below, about eight miles inland, is Gadara. The district of Gadara included Kersa; hence the land of the Gergesenes was in that of the Gadarenes. This makes it plain why Luke and Mark call it the land of the Gadarenes, while Matthew calls it the land of the Gergesenes. It was here that Christ cast out the legion of devils and the herd of two thousand swine ran down the steep place into the sea.
The ruins in these regions indicate that they were densely populated and contained many fine structures. The projected railway from Carmel to Damascus passes through here. Not far from the south end of the lake are important mineral springs, where some capitalists are erecting extensive buildings for baths and hotels. The Jordan leaves the lake at its extreme southern point; from here it is two hours to Tiberias.
Thus we have completed a hasty tour around the sea—to the Christian, the most interesting body of water in the world. It is in the form of an oval, seven miles wide by thirteen miles long. Its depth is 154 to 230 feet; but at the north end there are places over 800 feet deep. We will now turn in at the hospice, and continue our journey on the morrow.
H. P. H.
KEEP AT YOUR WORK.
HAS GOD given you work to do? then keep at it. Others may disapprove and criticise you; keep at your work. Obstacles may be cast in your way; keep at your work. Men may ask you to surrender your work to other hands; keep at your work. Persons may wish to co-operate till they co-operate everything out of your hands and into their own; keep at your work. Men may threaten to hinder if you do not come under their rule—let them hinder; keep at your work.
If God has given you a work to do, He will give you strength to do it, and will bless you in the doing of it. Many a good man has allowed his work to be taken from his hands, and wrecked by incompetent men, who never could or would begin such work themselves, but seem on the watch to capture and control what others have begun. Many a man has idly wasted years of life and work by surrendering work which God had given him, into the hands of men whom God had neither called nor qualified to undertake it. Many a man has been obliged to stand by and see his work neglected or wrecked by men who were paid to attend to it, feeling that he could not regain and resume it without a struggle, which might result in trouble and defeat.
Let the man of God beware in season. Let him receive his work and his charge from his Master, and let him do the work God has given him until that Master bids him rest from his labors. Let others object, suggest, propose, or oppose, if they will, but thou, O man of God, keep at thy work!—The Armory.
CONTRADICTORY TRAITS.
A MIGHTY man of war, Julius Cæsar, was remarkably afraid of thunder, and is said to have donned a laurel wreath to protect himself from lightning.
Marshal Saxe, the great French soldier, like Lord Roberts, fled at the sight of a cat, and could not refrain from a scream of terror should one brush against him.
Peter the Great, the Russian czar, could on no account cross a bridge. Often and often, it is related, he strove to master the antipathy, but never succeeded.
Byron, the poet, cherished a superstitious antipathy to salt, and would leap from his chair if any of the article happened to be spilled on the table.
Dr. Johnson and Thomas Carlyle could never enter a room or set forth on a journey with their left foot foremost. Strong-minded man and remarkable as Lord Chancellor Bacon was, every eclipse of the moon threw him into a fainting fit, while the philosophical Boyle, from boyhood upward, turned cold and miserable at the sound of running water through a pipe.—N. Y. Telegram.
SWEET OIL.
Pure sweet oil is an excellent and mild laxative for infants and young children.
To make leather air-tight and yet not injure its flexibility, soak it thoroughly in sweet oil.
To clean papier-maché articles, wash first in warm water and soap, and polish with sweet oil.
For a burn take sweet oil and limewater (equal parts), mix, and keep the burn well covered with it.
If sweet oil is applied to the skin immediately after a blow or bruise, it will not turn black and blue.
A remedy of great value for cats and dogs is sweet oil. Put two tablespoonfuls in their milk and they will rarely refuse to take it.
After sponging patent leather with warm water and letting it dry, while still warm rub just a little sweet oil in it, then rub it well out of it.
For a stiff neck, pains in the chest, etc., warm some sweet oil and rub on thoroughly with the hands, then cover with sheet wadding, the shiny side out. Wear it until you feel comfortable.
Sweet oil is a good remedy for poisonous bites, and must be taken internally (a half cupful), and bathe the wound externally with it. For a horse give one-half pint to one pint internally and apply externally as well.—Good Housekeeping.
UNLEAVENED ROLLS.
By Mrs. A. C. Bainbridge
TAKE 1 pint cold steam-cooked mush. Peel off the hard parts, and knead it on a well-floured board. Knead it until it forms a smooth, light loaf. It will take from 5 to 15 minutes, according to the kind of flour you use. Graham makes firmer rolls and kneads in much quicker than white or whole-wheat flour.
Form into rolls that will fill your gem-irons even full. Have the iron hot, in a hot oven. Fill on the top of the stove, so the irons will not lose any heat. Oil them lightly, and press the dough down into the iron to fill every space.
Bake in a very hot oven (moderate the heat toward the last) for 15 to 30 minutes according to the size of the gem-irons. Do not try to use anything but iron gem-pans, as others will not hold the heat.
The colder you knead the dough and the hotter you have the oven, the lighter will be your rolls.
GOOD MIXTURES.
Oatmeal mush with graham, whole-wheat, or white flour.
Germea mush with graham, whole-wheat, or white flour.
Cornmeal mush with graham, whole-wheat, or white flour.
MRS. A. C. BAINBRIDGE.
The Heights Great Men Reached and Kept
By Longfellow
THE heights by great men reached and kept,
Were not attained by sudden flight;
But they, while their companions slept,
Were toiling upward in the night.
—Longfellow.
IMPERFECT WORKERS.
By J. R. Miller, D.D.
Some one has said that many of the most beautiful things in heaven are earth’s blunders—things God’s children, with loving heart, tried to do to please God. The blunders tell of love, and are dear to God. I know a room in which the most sacred and precious household treasure is a piece of puckered sewing. A little child one day picked up the mother’s sewing—some simple thing she had been working on—and, after half an hour’s quiet, brought it to the mother and gave it to her, saying, “Mama, I’s been helping you ’cause I love you so.” The stitches were long, and the sewing was puckered, but the mother saw only beauty in it all; for it told of her child’s love and eagerness to please her. That night the little one sickened, and soon went home. No wonder the mother keeps that piece of bungled sewing among her rarest treasures. Nothing that the most skilful hands have wrought, among all her household possessions, means to her half so much as that puckered seam.
May not this be the way in which God looks at His children’s homeliest and humblest efforts to do things for Him? Only think how faulty even the best Christian work done in this world must seem to Christ! How full of unwisdom, how foolish, much of it! How mixed with self and vanity, how untactful, how indiscreet, how without prayer and love, how ignorant, how ungentle! Of course we can see many faults in the work of others, but we should remember always how poor, mistaken, unworthy—how imperfectly done, is even our best service as it looks to Christ’s pure and holy eyes. We should remember, too, that He does not chide us for it, does not blame us for doing so ill the sacred things He gave us to do, does not talk complainingly to the angels and the apostles about our mistakes. O, no! Many of our poor blunders, our most faulty pieces of work, are12held as among our Master’s most holy treasures in heaven. He uses our blundering efforts, if only love and faith be in them, to bless others, to do good, to build up His kingdom. He is saving the world to-day, not through faultless work of angels, but through the poor, ignorant, flawed, oft-time foolish work of disciples who love Him and want to help Him. He puts the treasures of grace for the world into earthen vessels.—J. R. Miller, D.D.
Methodist Missions in Africa Face Setbacks
During the last ten years the Methodist Church has established about fifty industrial missions in Africa. But the expenses of these missions have been greater than was anticipated. Eighty-eight missionaries have been sent out, but of these only thirteen remain; and only twenty-nine missionary stations are kept up. It was expected that these operations would be self-supporting. But in this there has been disappointment. Coffee-raising was relied upon as the chief industry, but that enterprise has not prospered.—Sabbath Recorder.
1 “Now THE serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit 3 of the trees of the garden we may eat; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die; for 5 God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the Lord God called unto the man, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said, 10 I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I 11 was naked; and I hid myself. And He said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof 12 I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave 13 me of the tree, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this thou hast done? And the woman said, 14 The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, cursed art thou above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon 15 thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life; and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, 16 and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy 18 sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat 19 the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20 And the man called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the 21 mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed them.
22 “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to know good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for- 23 ever; therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden 24 of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden the cherubim, and the flame of a sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
QUESTIONS.
(1) What was the character of the serpent? What question did he ask the woman? V. 1. (2) What reply did Eve make? Vs. 2, 3. (3) Did the serpent agree with what the Lord had said? V. 4. (4) What did he say would take place on the day that she should eat of the tree? V. 5. (5) What inducements did Eve have to induce her to eat? What influence did she have over Adam? V. 6. (6) What was the effect of their partaking of the forbidden fruit? V. 7. (7) Who appeared in the cool of the day? What effect did it have over the fallen pair? V. 8. Why? (8) What question did the Lord ask Adam? V. 9. (9) What reply did Adam make? V. 10. (10) What question did the Lord then ask him? V. 11. (11) What two persons did Adam blame for his sin? V. 12. (12) What did the Lord then say to Eve? Upon whom did she endeavor to place the responsibility of the sin? V. 13. (13) What curse did the Lord pronounce upon the serpent? V. 14. (14) What did He say He would place between the serpent and the woman? V. 15. Note 1. (15) What was the woman’s punishment? V. 16. (16) What did He say to Adam? Vs. 17-19. (17) What name did Adam now give to the woman? Why? V. 20. (18) What kind of clothes did the Lord now give to Adam and Eve? V. 21. (19) Of what was this a symbol?—Death. Note 2. (20) What was the knowledge that they received to make them as gods? V. 22. See also verse 5. (21) Did the Lord permit Adam and Eve to partake of the tree of life after they sinned? Why not? V. 22. (22) Did man remain in the garden? Why not? What then became his occupation? V. 23. (23) What did the Lord place at the east of the garden? What for? V. 24.
Suggestive Readings.—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” pp. 52-70. “Great Controversy,” pp. 531-556, 505-510.
NOTES.
1. God, knowing all things, did not consult with Adam and Eve with reference to the laying of the plan of salvation; but even before announcing to them their punishment, He lovingly pointed them13forward to the Life-giver, to the “Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.” In this promise, the “enmity,” is contained the whole plan of salvation, and that mighty struggle between the powers of light and darkness which will finally result in the utter destruction of sinners and Satan, of sin and death.
“When the Lord Jesus visited our earth, He brought with Him renovating energy. He put enmity between the seed of the woman and the serpent. But there is no enmity between fallen angels and fallen men. Both, through apostasy, are evil; and wherever there is evil, with no disposition to repent, it will always league with Satan against God.”—Review, Jan. 26, 1897.
“God declares, ‘I will put enmity.’ This enmity is not naturally entertained. When man transgressed the divine law, his nature became evil, and he was in harmony and not at variance with Satan. There exists naturally no enmity between sinful man and the originator of sin. Both became evil through apostasy. . . . It is the grace that Christ implants in the soul which creates in man enmity against Satan. Without this converting grace and renewing power, man would continue the captive of Satan, a servant ever ready to do his bidding. But the new principle in the soul creates conflict where hitherto had been peace. The power which Christ imparts, enables man to resist the tyrant and usurper. Whoever is seen to abhor sin instead of loving it, whoever resists and conquers those passions that have held sway within, displays the operation of a principle wholly from above.”—Great Controversy, pp. 505, 506. God’s love in the heart constrains the righteous, but, not being in the hearts of the wicked, it only restrains them.
2. “The halo of glory, which God had given to holy Adam to cover him as a garment, departed from him after his transgression. The light of God’s glory could not cover disobedience and sin.” When the plan of salvation had been announced to Adam and Eve, God made them coats of skins, in order to turn their minds back to Christ, through whom only they could be clothed with the robes of His righteousness.
2. How did Satan speak through the serpent? How through Eve? How does he speak through wicked men?
3. What addition did Eve make to the prohibition of God? Gen. 2:17; 3:3. Is this natural with people to-day?
4. Trace the different steps in the fall of Eve; in the fall of Adam. See “Patriarchs and Prophets,” pp. 53-58.
5. How did Adam and Eve first know that they had sinned? How do you know when you have sinned?
6. When was the plan of redemption laid? Was Adam consulted with reference to it? Rev. 13:8; Gen. 3:15.
7. What was Adam’s first nature? What is ours? What was his second? What may ours be?
8. What does the curse pronounced upon the serpent imply concerning his previous station? What was Satan’s original position?
9. Compare the temptation of Adam and Eve with that of Christ in the wilderness. Matt. 4:1-11. See “Redemption,” pp. 30-56, or “Great Controversy,” vol. 2, pp. 85-98.
10. What became of the Garden of Eden?
11. Is fallen man in the image of God? How may he be restored?
12. Why did Adam’s transgression bring death upon all his dominion?
13. What will be restored in Christ?
14. Trace the origin of Satan, and then consider his end. Eze. 28:11-19.
15. What in this lesson shows that the law of God is as immutable as His character? “Patriarchs and Prophets,” p. 70.
16. What in this lesson shows that the work of the Christian is aggressive—that Christ would come into this world to cast out Satan?
