• Material we'll skip between the last lesson and what we'll study today

• Read Background
• Hearing the story & Making it your own
• Reading the Scripture - Genesis 24: 1-67
• Divine Providence

• The Romance

• Testing God – How do we discern God’s will?

• Rebekah’s faith -

• Read Genesis 25:19-28
• What features of this story standout?
• What does God indicated by siding with barren women and younger sons. (Neither had an important role in ancient times)?
• If you were God, who would you choose to be the next ruler – the strong powerful hunter or
  the stay at home mama’s boy?
• Assignment
  Memory verse: Psalm 128:1
  Happy is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in God's ways.
• Closing Prayer

1God's promise is secure. Isaac has grown up, with Abraham and Sarah taking delight in their beloved child, the child of their old age. There was the message that Abraham be prepared to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice to God, but it was only a test of Abraham's faith, an indication that God required the full devotion of life and heart from those who were bearers of God's promise of blessing for the whole world. (See Genesis 22.)

2Before Isaac married or had children, the aged Sarah died and was buried at a special place near Mamre, where the three messengers had come to visit Sarah and Abraham. The story of the purchase of the cave is given in great detail in Genesis 23. Abraham, too, is close to death, it seems, and must arrange a marriage for Isaac. The story of how Abraham's trusted servant secured a wife for Isaac occupies the long and beautiful chapter 24 of Genesis. We can easily imagine the thousands of occasions when this marvelous story was retold around campfire and hearth in ancient Israel, before it was set down in writing.

3The story unfolds in several acts, starting with Abraham making the servant swear that no Canaanite woman will be chosen for Isaac. The servant must make the long journey back to Mesopotamia and select a wife for Isaac from Abraham's own kinsfolk still living there. The servant leaves with many presents for the new bride. Little is said about the journey itself, but when it is complete, the next scene is set. At a well in Mesopotamia the servant prays for God's guidance and offers a test to help him discover God's selection of a bride for Isaac. Everything works out well: Rebekah meets the test and is clearly the suitable bride for Isaac. Now the servant must get permission from the family for her to return with him.

4In the next scene, at the home of Bethuel, Rebekah's father and the son of Abraham's brother Nahor, all arrangements are made. Rebekah's brother Laban, who will be a chief actor during Jacob's years in Mesopotamia, does much of the talking for his father Bethuel. The servant will not rest until all arrangements are made for Rebekah to go with him and become Isaac's wife. Rebekah is asked whether she will go, and she replies that she will. We see the sensitivity of the narrator to the wishes of the woman. While marriages are arranged by the family, the wishes of the persons being married are not ignored.

5The final scene shows Isaac meditating in the field when the servant returns with Rebekah. It is evening. Isaac looks up and sees the camel caravan, and Rebekah looks up and sees this man walking in the field, looking in their direction. She dismounts from her camel even before she knows that it is Isaac, learns that it is indeed Isaac, covers herself with her veil, and waits for Isaac to arrive. The servant tells Isaac the whole story, Rebekah is then given Sarah's tent to live in, and the two are married. The story closes with the wonderful line that Isaac is now comforted over the loss of his mother Sarah. Isaac has a bride, and the family now has a female head. We will shortly see what a strong and independent person this Rebekah is.

6Two important events are related in the first part of Genesis 25. The first tells of another family born to Abraham and his second wife Keturah who settle to the east, not m the region where Isaac and his family are to be reared. The second tells of Abraham's son Ishmael and his descendants, who also settle in the east and are destined to have a distinguished history. In early Israel Abraham was recognized as the ancestor of a larger family than those descendants of Isaac. The Hebrew Bible makes it clear that all the peoples of earth are God's people; the choice of Abraham and his descendants through Isaac is and remains a mystery of faith. Israel is called by God to be a distinct and special people in the world, teaching God's ways and living by those ways before all the families of earth.

7Isaac and Rebekah are now married, but once again we see how God's promise is threatened, for Rebekah cannot have children. Isaac prays to God, and God makes possible the birth of twins. In the ancient world, the birth of twins was considered to be something very special and stories about the pregnancy often would circulate. We hear one such story now. Even before they were born, these two boys in Rebekah's womb were struggling, causing Rebekah terrible distress. She prays to learn the reason and is told that the two sons she is to bear will both become the heads of nations, and in fact the nation that develops from the elder son will serve the nation that comes from the younger son. Why are these two children in conflict with one another even before birth? The conflict probably was explained in ancient Israel as the struggle of the younger child, Jacob, to be born first. Jacob, as we shall learn, cares deeply about God's promise of blessing for Abraham and his descendants, while Esau seems not to care greatly about such things.

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Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.

Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had,
"Put your hand under my thigh and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live, but will go to my country and to my kindred and get a wife for my son Isaac."

The servant said to him,
"Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?"

Abraham said to him,
"See to it that you do not take my son back there. The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and swore to me, 'To your offspring I will give this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there."

So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter. Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, taking all kinds of choice gifts from his master; and he set out and went to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor.

He made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water; it was toward evening, the time when women go out to draw water. And he said,
"O LORD, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. Let the girl to whom I shall say, 'Please offer your jar that I may drink,' and who shall say, 'Drink, and I will water your camels'-- let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master."

Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, coming out with her water jar on her shoulder.

The girl was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up.

Then the servant ran to meet her and said,
"Please let me sip a little water from your jar."

"Drink, my lord,"
she said, and quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink.

When she had finished giving him a drink, she said,
"I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking."

So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels.

The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful.

When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half shekel, and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels, and said,
"Tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father's house for us to spend the night?"

She said to him,
"I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor."

She added,
"We have plenty of straw and fodder and a place to spend the night."

The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD and said,
"Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the LORD has led me on the way to the house of my master's kin."

Then the girl ran and told her mother's household about these things. Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to the man, to the spring. As soon as he had seen the nose-ring, and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah,
"Thus the man spoke to me,"
he went to the man; and there he was, standing by the camels at the spring.

He said,
"Come in, O blessed of the LORD. Why do you stand outside when I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?"

So the man came into the house; and Laban unloaded the camels, and gave him straw and fodder for the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him. Then food was set before him to eat; but he said,
"I will not eat until I have told my errand."
He said,
"Speak on."
So he said,
"I am Abraham's servant. The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. And Sarah my master's wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has. My master made me swear, saying, 'You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live; but you shall go to my father's house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.' I said to my master, 'Perhaps the woman will not follow me.' But he said to me, 'The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with you and make your way successful. You shall get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father's house. Then you will be free from my oath, when you come to my kindred; even if they will not give her to you, you will be free from my oath.' "I came today to the spring, and said, 'O LORD, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going! I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, "Please give me a little water from your jar to drink," and who will say to me, "Drink, and I will draw for your camels also"--let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master's son.'

"Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, 'Please let me drink.' She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, 'Drink, and I will also water your camels.' So I drank, and she also watered the camels. Then I asked her, 'Whose daughter are you?' She said, 'The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore to him.' So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms.

Then I bowed my head and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master's kinsman for his son.

Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left."

Then Laban and Bethuel answered,
"The thing comes from the LORD; we cannot speak to you anything bad or good. Look, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken."

When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the ground before the LORD. And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments.

Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank, and they spent the night there. When they rose in the morning, he said, "Send me back to my master."

Her brother and her mother said, "Let the girl remain with us a while, at least ten days; after that she may go."

But he said to them, "Do not delay me, since the LORD has made my journey successful; let me go that I may go to my master."

They said, "We will call the girl, and ask her."

And they called Rebekah, and said to her, "Will you go with this man?" She said, "I will."

So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham's servant and his men. And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "May you, our sister, become thousands of myriads; may your offspring gain possession of the gates of their foes."

Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.

Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb. Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming. And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel, and said to the servant, "Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?" The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

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Divine Providence

(Lat., Providentia; Greek, pronoia).

Providence in general, or foresight, is a function of the virtue of prudence, and may be defined as the practical reason, adapting means to an end. As applied to God, Providence is God Himself considered in that act by which in His wisdom He so orders all events within the universe that the end for which it was created may be realized. That end is that all creatures should manifest the glory of God, and in particular that man should glorify Him, recognizing in nature the work of His hand, serving Him in obedience and love, and thereby attaining to the full development of his nature and to eternal happiness in God. The universe is a system of real beings created by God and directed by Him to this supreme end, the concurrence of God being necessary for all natural operations, whether of things animate or inanimate, and still more so for operations of the supernatural order. God preserves the universe in being; He acts in and with every creature in each and all its activities. In spite of sin, which is due to the wilful perversion of human liberty, acting with the concurrence, but contrary to the purpose and intention of God and in spite of evil which is the consequence of sin, He directs all, even evil and sin itself, to the final end for which the universe was created. All these operations on God's part, with the exception of creation, are attributed in Catholic theology to Divine Providence.

The Testimony of Universal Belief

For all religions, whether Christian or pagan, belief in Providence, understood in the wider sense of a superhuman being who governs the universe and directs the course of human affairs with definite purpose and beneficent design, has always been a very real and practical belief. Prayer, divination, blessing and curse, oracle and sacred rite, all testify to a belief in some over-ruling power, divine or quasi-divine in character; and such phenomena are found in every race and tribe, however uncivilized or degraded. We find it, for instance, not only amongst the savages of to-day, but also among the early Greeks, who, though they do not appear to have clearly distinguished between Providence and Fate, and though their gods were little more than glorified human beings, subject to human frailty and marred by human passion, they none the less watched over the home and the family, took sides in human warfare, and were the protectors and avengers of mankind. The intimate connection of the gods with human affairs was even more marked in the religion of the early Romans, who had a special god to look after each detail of their daily life, their labours in the field, and the business of the state. The ancient religions of the East present the same characteristics. Auramazda, the supreme god of the Persians during the period of the great kings, is the ruler of the world, the maker of kings and nations, who punishes the wicked and hearkens to the prayers of the good (see cuneiform inscriptions translated by Casartelli in the "Hist. of Relig.", II, 13 sq.). A similar notion prevailed in Egypt. All things are in God's gift. He loves the obedient and humbles the proud, rewards the good and smites the wicked (Renouf 100 sq.). Osiris, the king of the gods, judges the world according to his will, and to all nations, past, present, and future, gives his commands (op. cit., 218 sq.). Amon Ra-is, the lord of the thrones of the earth, the end of all existence, the support of all things, just of heart when one cries to him, deliverer of the poor and oppressed (op. cit., 225 sq.). Assyrian and Babylonian records are no less clear. Marduk, the lord of the universe, shows mercy to all, implants fear in their hearts, and controls their lives; while Shamash directs the law of nature, and is the supreme god of heaven and earth (Jastrow, 296, 300, 301). The books of the Avesta, though they depict a dualistic system, represent the good god, Mazdah Ahura, with his court, as helping those who worship him against the principle of evil (Hist. of Relig., II, 14). In the dualism of the Gnostic theories, on the other hand, the world is shut off from the supreme god, Bythos, who has nothing directly to do with human affairs before or after the incarnation. This idea of a remote and transcendent deity was probably derived from Greek philosophy. Socrates certainly admitted Providence, and believed in inspiration and divination; but for Aristotle the doctrine of Providence was mere opinion. It is true that the world was for him the instrument and expression of the Divine thought, but God Himself lived a life wholly apart. The Epicureans explicitly denied Providence, on the ground that if God cares for men He can be neither happy nor good. Everything is due, they said, to chance or free will. On both these points they were opposed by the Stoics, who insisted that God must love men, otherwise the very notion of God would be destroyed (Plutarch, "De comm. notit.", 32; "De stoic. rep.", 38). They also attempted to prove the action or existence of Providence from the adaptation of means to ends in nature, in which evil is merely an accident, a detail, or a punishment. On the other hand, the notions of god, nature, force, and fate were not clearly distinguished by the Stoics, who regarded them as practically the same thing. While even Cicero, who works out the argument from adaptation at considerable length in his "De natura deorum", ends unsatisfactorily with the statement, "Magna Dii curant, parva negligunt", as his ultimate solution of the problem of evil (n. 51-66).

The Testimony of Scripture

Though the term Providence is applied to God only three times in Scripture (Eccl., v, 5; Wis., xiv, 3; Judith, ix, 5), and once to Wisdom (Wis., vi, 17), the general doctrine of Providence is consistently taught throughout both the Old and New Testaments. God not only implants in the nature of things the potentiality of future development (Gen., i, 7, 12, 22, 28; viii, 17; ix, 1, 7; xii, 2; xv, 5), but in this development, as in all the operations of nature, He co-operates; so that in Scriptural language what nature does, God is said to do (Gen., ii, 5, cf. 9; vii, 4, cf. 10; vii, 19-22, cf. 23; viii, 1, 2, cf. 5 sq.). Seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, the clouds and the rain, the fruits of the earth, life itself alike are His gift (Gen., ii, 7; viii, 2; Ps. cxlvi, 8, 9; xxviii; ciii; cxlviii; Job, xxxviii, 37; Joel, ii, 21 sq.; Ecclus., xi, 14). So too with man. Man tills the ground (Gen., iii, 17 sq.; iv, 12; ix, 20), but human labours without Divine assistance are of no avail (Ps. cxxvi, 1; lix, 13; Prov., xxi, 31). Even for an act of sin, Divine concurrence is necessary. Hence in Scripture the expressions "God hardened Pharao's heart" (Ex., vii, 3; ix, 12; x, 1, 20, 27; xi, 10; xiv, 8), "Pharao's heart was hardened" (Ex., vii, 13; viii, 19, 32; ix, 7, 35), "Pharao hardened his heart" (viii, 15) and "Pharao did not set his heart to do it" (vii, 23), or "hearkened not" (vii, 4; viii, 19), or "increased his sin" (ix, 34), are practically synonymous. God is the sole ruler of the world (Job, xxxiv, 13). His will governs all things (Ps. cxlviii, 8; Job, ix, 7; Is., xl, 22-6; xliv, 24-8; Ecclus., xvi, 18-27; Esther, xiii, 9). He loves all men (Wis., xi, 25, 27), desires the salvation of all (Is., xlv, 22; Wis., xii, 16), and His providence extends to all nations (Deut., ii, 19; Wis., vi, 8; Is., lxvi, 18). He desires not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should repent (Ezech., xviii, 20-32; xxxiii, 11; Wis., xi, 24); for He is above all things a merciful God and a God of much compassion (Ex., xxxiv, 6; Num., xiv, 18; Deut., v, 10; Ps. xxxii, 5; cii, 8-17; cxliv, 9; Ecclus., ii, 23). Yet He is a just God, as well as a Saviour (Is., xlv, 21). Hence both good and evil proceed from Him (Lam., iii, 38; Amos, iii, 6; Is., xlv, 7; Eccl., vii; 15; Ecclus., xi, 14), good as a bounteous gift freely bestowed (Ps. cxliv, 16; Eccl., v, 18; I Par., xxix, 12-4), evil as the consequence of sin (Lam., iii, 39; Joel ii, 20; Amos, iii, 10, 11; Is., v, 4, 5). For God rewards men according to their works (Lam., iii, 64; Job, xxxiv, 10-7; Ps. xvii, 27; Ecclus., xvi, 12, 13; xi, 28; I Kings, xxvi, 23), their thoughts, and their devices (Jer., xvii, 10; xxxii, 19; Ps. vii, 10). From His anger there is no escape (Job, ix, 13; Ps. xxxii, 16, 17; Wis., xvi, 13-8); and none can prevail against Him (Ecclus., xviii, 1; Wis., xi, 22-3; Prov., xxi, 30; Ps. ii, 1-4; xxxii, 10; Judith, xvi, 16, 17). If the wicked are spared for a time (Jer., xii, 1; Job, xxi, 7-15; Ps. lxxii, 12-3; Eccl., viii, 12), they will ultimately receive their deserts if they do not repent (Jer., xii, 13-7; Job, xxi, 17, 18; xxvii, 13-23); while the good, though they may suffer for a time, are comforted by God (Ps. xc, 15; Is., li, 12), who will build them up, and will not cease to do them good (Jer., xxxi, 28 sq.; xxxii, 41). For in spite of the wicked, God's counsels are never changed or thwarted (Is., xiv, 24-7; xliii, 13; xlvi, 10; Ps. xxxii, 11; cxlviii, 6). Evil He converts into good (Gen., 1, 20; cf. Ps. xc, 10); and suffering He uses as an instrument whereby to train men up as a father traineth up his children (Deut., viii, 1-6; Ps. lxv, 10-2; Wis., xii, 1, 2); so that in very truth the world fighteth for the just (Wis., xvi, 17).

The teaching of the Old Testament on Providence is assumed by Our Lord, who draws therefrom practical lessons both in regard to confidence in God (Matt., vi, 25-33; vii, 7-11; x, 28-31; Mark, xi, 22-4; Luke, xi, 9-13; John, xvi, 26, 27) and in regard to the forgiveness of our enemies (Matt., v, 39-45; Luke, vi, 27-38); while in St. Paul it becomes the basis of a definite and systematic theology. To the Athenians in the Areopagus Paul declares:

• that God made the universe and is its supreme Lord (Acts, xvii, 24);
• that He sustains the universe in its existence, giving life and breath to all things (verse 25), and hence, as the source whence they all proceed, must Himself lack nothing nor stand in need of any human service;
• that He has directed the growth of nations and their distribution (verse 26), and
• this to the end that they should seek Him (verse 27) in Whom we live and move and have our being, and whose offspring we are (verse 28).

Being therefore the offspring of God, it is absurd for us to liken Him to things inanimate (verse 29), and though God has borne with this ignorance on man's part for a time, now He demands penance (verse 30), and, having sent Christ, Whose authority is guaranteed by His Resurrection, has appointed a day when the world shall be judged by Him in justice (verse 31). In the Epistle to the Romans the supernatural character of Divine Providence is further evolved, and the doctrine of Providence becomes identical with that of grace. Nature manifests so clearly the power and the divinity of God that failure to recognize it is inexcusable (Rom., i, 20-2). Hence God in His anger (verse 18) gives man over to the desires of his heart (verse 24), to a reprobate sense (verse 28). Some day He will vindicate Himself (ii, 2-5), rendering to every man according to his works (ii, 6-8; cf. II Cor., v, 10; Gal., vi, 8), his knowledge (Rom., ii, 9 sq.), and his secret thoughts (ii, 16); but for the present He forbears (iii, 26; cf. ix, 22; II Peter, ii, 9) and is ready to justify all men freely through the redemption of Jesus Christ (Rom., iii, 22, 24, 25); for all men stand in need of God's help (iii, 23). Christians, moreover, having already received the grace of redemption (v, 1), should glory in tribulation, knowing that it is but a trial which strengtheneth patience and hope (v, 3, 4). For the graces that are to come are far greater than those already received (v, 10 sq.) and far more abundant than the consequences of sin (v, 17). Life everlasting is promised to us (v, 21); but unaided we can do nothing to gain it (vii, 18-24). It is the grace of Christ that delivers us (vii, 25) and makes us co-heirs with Him (viii, 17). Yet we must also suffer with Him (verse 17) and be patient (verse 25), knowing that all things work together for good to them that love God; for God in His Providence has regarded us with love from all eternity, has predestined us to be made conformable to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn of many brethren, has called us (II Thes., ii, 13), has justified us (Rom., v, 1; I Cor., vi 11), and even now has begun to accomplish within us the work of glorification (Rom., viii, 29, 30; cf. Eph., i, 3 sq., II Cor., iii, 18; II Thes., ii, 13). This, the beneficent purpose of an all-seeing Providence, is wholly gratuitous, entirely unmerited (Rom., iii, 24; ix, 11-2). It extends to all men (Rom., ii, 10; I Tim., ii, 4), even to the reprobate Jews (Rom., xi, 26 sq.); and by it all God's dealings with man are regulated (Eph., i, 11).

The functions of Providence are threefold. As physical, it conserves what is and concurs with what acts or becomes; as moral, it bestows upon man the natural law, a conscience, sanctions -- physical, moral, and social -- answers human prayers, and in general governs both the nation and the individual. That God should answer prayer must not be understood as a violation of the order of natural Providence, but rather as the carrying of Providence into effect, "because this very arrangement that such a concession be made to such a petitioner, falls under the order of Divine Providence. Therefore to say that we should not pray to gain anything of God, because the order of His Providence is unchangeable, is like saying that we should not walk to get to a place, or eat to support life" (Contra Gent., III, xcv). The Providence whereby we are enabled to overcome sin and to merit eternal life -- supernatural Providence -- pertains to another order, and for a discussion of it the reader is referred to GRACE; PREDESTINATION.

St. Thomas' treatment of the problem of evil in relation to Providence is based upon the consideration of the universe as a whole. God wills that His nature should be manifested in the highest possible way, and hence has created things like to Himself not only in that they are good in se, but also in that they are the cause of good in others (I, Q. ciii, a. 4, 6). In other words He has created a universe, not a number of isolated beings. Whence it follows, according to St. Thomas, that natural operations tend to what is better for the whole, but not necessarily what is better for each part except in relation to the whole (I, Q. xxii, a. 2, ad 2 um; Q. lviii, a. 2, ad 3 um; Contra Gent., III, xciv). Sin and suffering are evils because they are contrary to the good of the individual and to God's original purpose in regard to the individual, but they are not contrary to the good of the universe, and this good will ultimately be realized by the omnipotent Providence of God.

LESLIE J. WALKER
Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter
Dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII
Copyright © 1911 by Robert Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

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These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham's son: Abraham was the father of

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