Sunday School Lesson;
(Continued from Page 3) j
and firm determination of the |
will were required of him who j
would truly serve Yahweh.
Israel's entrance into the
Promised Land was a turning
point in her history. During her
wilderness wanderings she had
experienced close association
with Yahweh. Now she was en
tering upon an era in which
devotion to Yahweh would be
more difficult.
The promise of the land con
stituted the most tangible as
pect of God's promise to the
patriarchs. When this tangible
promise had been realized, the
| Israelites could easily think that
the whole of God's promise had
been fulfilled. They would be
tempted simply to enjoy their
new-found ease and neglect
their spiritual growth. Yet con
t i n u e d spiritual development
was necessary If they were to
become God's agents in fulfill
ing the rest of his covenant i
promise.
Now that Israel possessed the
Promised Land, she had a realm
in which to live out her life
before God. In this land she
could establish a place of wor
ship and observe the festivals
and other services of worship
that were so important in an- !
cient society. Israel could now
"do justice" as prescribed in
her God-given law codes. She
could become a nation through
which God might bless all man
kind.
What the Scripture Says to Us
A land ? an arena of activity
? is essential to the expression
of God's will on earth; it is
essential to the realization and
enjoyment of God's promises.
The fact that Israel came to
possess the Promised Land is
evidence that God is faithful to
fulfill his covenant promises.
God Chastens
Only a chastened people
could fully appreciate both the
privilege and the responsibility
of the inheritance God had or
dained for them. God chas
tened the ancient Israelites in
their wilderness wanderings. In
deed, only second generation
Israelites were permitted to en
ter the Promised Land.
God has also chastened the
American people. Only now are
we beginning truly to fulfill the
intention of a movement begun
in the United States in the
1840s which introduced the slo
gan "manifest destiny." This
catchy phrase summed up the
faith of Americans In them
selves and suggested something
of how they felt concerning
their destiny as a nation.
Only now are we beginning to
recognize the inherent worth
and equality of the peoples that
were dispossessed in the push
westward. Only now are we
acting to bring full constitu
tional rights to these peoples ?
for example, the American In
dians and the descendants of
the Mexican people. Only when
this process comes to full frui
< Continued on Page 7)
Electric Comfort Heating is
more trouble-free than you are
You, alas, have troublesome moving parts.
But the only moving parts in flameless Elec
tric Comfort Heating are usually in the stand
ard thermostats. Which means very few
chances of having trouble.
You just sit around and enjoy the conve
nience and comfort of individual room tem
perature control.
That's one of the reasons why about half
the new homes and apartments served by
Duke Power are heated electrically.
So call a Duke Power representative today.
He'll be happy to give you more information
on Electric Comfort Heating. And the name
of an Electrical Modernization
Dealer nearby.
It'll probably take a little weight
off your mind.
Hectrical
Morlf itw.itiO'i
De<*et
Duke Power