chiefly communicate truth to mankind through a chosen family and nation. Not that no man outside of this circle can know God's will, but that especially through Abraham and his seed God chooses to make his will known, until, in the fulness of time, Jesus, the son of Abraham according to the flesh, shall come and reveal clearly God's love and redemption to men.

In this section we have the story of the patriarchal family, first coming out of Ur of the Chaldees, and living for a while in Canaan. Then they go down to Egypt, and at last are oppressed. After being welded together in the furnace of affliction they are brought out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and in the wilderness they receive the law of God through their great leader, Moses. Here too they learn the way of acceptable worship, and are prepared for entry into the Land of Promise. Then follows the conquest of the land under Moses' successor, Joshua. Now comes the period of the Judges, when God rules his people directly through these divinely called men. This is easily seen to be a most important period. All this time Israel only is monotheistic (believing in one God), but all the other nations of the earth are grossly idolatrous. During this period we see that so long as God's chosen people obey him they prosper, while as soon as they disobey disasters begin to multiply.

In this period, too, was given that legislation which has been the foundation of all the legislation of civilized nations from that time to this. Here also we have the foundations of that system of types that culminated in Jesus, great David's greater Son. Sacrifice, high priest, tabernacle, here have their origin or their development. In all the history of the world up to that time there was no period so fraught with blessings for mankind as was this period.

6. Fourth Period.—Kings to captivity. 1 Samuel 9 to 2 Kings 25. This may be divided into two parts:

(1) The united monarchy. This lasted one hundred and twenty years, and had three kings, Saul, David, Solomon. Saul brought something of order out of national chaos. David carried this still farther and made Israel truly a great nation. Solomon, however, through too much luxury and many political alliances, sowed the seeds of national decay.

(2) Now comes the division of the monarchy, brought on by the folly of Rehoboam, Solomon's son. Because of his refusal to lighten the heavy taxes, ten tribes revolted and established a kingdom under Jeroboam. Ever after this they were known as Israel, also called by us the Northern Kingdom. The Kingdom of Judah is also known as the Southern Kingdom.

Israel, or the Northern Kingdom went from the worship of the golden calves to that of Baal, and continued on the downward course until they went into captivity. They had only one good king, named Jehu, and he was none too good.

Judah, or the Southern Kingdom fared somewhat better, though even here there was much idolatry. At last Judah too went into captivity, on account of its sin. It is most suggestive to compare the triumphant entry of Israel into the land, and its shameful exit in chains and tears. It was all brought about through abandoning the God of Abraham. There are some in modern days who claim that Israel had naturally a monotheistic tendency, and on that account slowly worked its way out of polytheism into monotheism. The writer does not so read the history, but finds that Israel had an inveterate tendency to polytheism, and that God only cured it of this sin through the sorrows of the captivity.

7. Fifth Period.—Captivity and return. Read Ezra and Nehemiah. This is not a period of great glory, like that of Solomon's reign. But it is a period most remarkable on account of the fact that Judah was now strictly monotheistic, and from that day to this, over two thousand years, it has remained so. In the furnace fires of captivity God cured his people once and forever of their besetting sin, idolatry. This is a most remarkable fact, for the nations into which they went as captives were themselves totally idolatrous.

In this period comes the building of the second temple, the reform under Ezra, and the building of the walls of Jerusalem, under Nehemiah.

8. Now the story closes for four centuries and does not open until the New Testament times (with which we shall deal later on) begin.

Test Questions

Into what two great divisions is the Bible divided?

Give the theme of the Prelude to the Old Testament.

Give the extent of the first period.

What was its outcome?

Give the extent of the second period.

In what moral condition did its termination find mankind?

From whom to whom did the third period reach?

What change in God's method of revelation did the third period manifest?

With what family did God begin now to deal more specifically?

Where did family life merge into national life?

What two important phases of divine revelation did this period include?

Give the limits of the fourth period.

Give the two divisions of period four.

Give the cause of the division of the United Kingdom.

What was the course of history in the Northern Kingdom?

What course did history take in the Southern Kingdom?

Give the two prominent features of period five.

What marked change had come over Judah between the captivity and the return?

Give the great names that are prominent in the several periods into which we have divided the Old Testament times.

Lesson 2

From Creation to Abraham

Old Testament Division—Prelude, First Period, Second Period

PRINCIPAL EVENTS

Prelude.

First Period.

Second Period.

TIME.—From an unknown time to 1928 B. C.

PLACES.—Garden of Eden, Western Asia, Babylon.

SIGNIFICANCE OF EVENTS.—The creative period marks God as the supreme author of the universe and of its inhabitants; sinless at first, man falls, and begins the battle with evil which shall cease only with the ultimate complete triumph of Christ, the Redeemer. The flood marks the first of a series of tremendous efforts to save the world from the thraldom of sin.

Before the Chosen Family

9. Prelude.—This is the beginning of all things, and well suits the cravings of the human mind. It says, "In the beginning God created." This beginning does not go as far back as that of John 1:1,