=The truth which has been revealed to us.=--All men, everywhere, who are longing and toiling for a better chance for life and happiness and for knowledge and beauty and love for themselves and for their children, may now know that they are not without a mighty helper. There is One who revealed himself, in the history of the people of Israel and uniquely in Jesus Christ his Son, who still speaks in the name of all the hungry and thirsty and ragged and sick: ="I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: ... Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me."= STUDY TOPICS 1. Of the four short eras of righteousness, in the history of the Hebrews, in which does it seem to you that the common people made the greatest gains? 2. What were some of the improvements in civilization which rich or well-to-do people, in the later centuries of this history, enjoyed, as compared with the earlier centuries? Study Chapters I and II, VI, VII, and VIII, and XXII. 3. Compare the earliest religion of the Hebrews with the religion of the prophets and Jesus. Mention four great discoveries in regard to the character of God. REVIEW AND TEST QUESTIONS 1. Describe the daily life of the earliest ancestors of the Hebrews. 2. What valuable characteristic of these people is reflected in the story of Joseph? 3. What were some of the evils of Babylonian life? 4. What kind of life did Abraham admire judging from the story of Lot? 5. What was the name of the Pharaoh who oppressed the Hebrews? 6. Describe the slavery which the Hebrews were compelled to endure. What did they have to do? 7. How did Moses succeed in delivering his countrymen? 8. What was the effect of this deliverance on the life and religion of the Hebrews in after years? 9. Why was it comparatively easy for the Hebrews to get a foothold in Canaan about B.C. 1200? 10. To what extent was the settlement in Canaan peaceful and to what extent was it by conquest? 11. What lessons in civilization did the Hebrews learn in Canaan? 12. What moral dangers did they have to fight against there? 13. Why were the Hebrews in the first years after the settlement so often beaten by their enemies? 14. What was Deborah's most important contribution to the history of her people? 15. Why did it seem necessary for the Hebrews to have a king? 16. Why were some of the wisest of the Hebrews opposed to the idea of a king? 17. How did David make the lives of the common people under his rule more prosperous and happy? 18. Why was Solomon unpopular? 19. Was the disruption of the kingdom of Solomon a mistake, or was it a blessing? 20. In what way did most of the kings who followed David make themselves a curse to their subjects? 21. Explain why the Rechabites, Elijah, and others hated Canaanite civilization and wanted the people to go back to the old nomadic desert ways.