February, 1942
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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
ing his own brother, Benjamin. To celebrate the event of seeing his brother, as well as the news that his father was alive and well, Joseph ar ranged a reunion, and at the banquet the merriment was enhanced by the whole group’s eating and drinking to gether. The. word “ drank” is used in some other places to mean drinking to the point of intoxication, but that is not necessarily the implication here. There, is nothing in this passage to show divine disapproval of what was done, whereas the Word abounds with warnings against drinking to excess. II. T h e -P rovidence of G od (Psa. 104:14, 15) In this Psalm the writer sings of the gracious provision God makes for all His creatures, both animate and inanimate. The beasts of the 1 field, the fowls of the air, the fish of the sea, and man himself—all are under the care of their Creator. Among the “all” things that His grace provides there are wine, oil, and bread. God not only provides the bare necessities of life, but also adds that which is intended to bring gladness of heart and contentment of spirit to His people. His gifts imay be sadly abused, but His purpose in giving is only one of gdod. III. A dvice to the K ing (Prov. 31:4-7)- Lemuel the king is advised to leave strong drink alone. The writer of this portion had reason'to know how a r u l e r ’ s powers of discernment and judgment ■could be affected by his yielding to temptations of court life. Lemuel’s heart shpuld have been glad because o f , the high privileges arid great honors given to him by God. The expression, “ Give strong drink to him that is ready to perish” (v. 6)' should be interpreted with the thought in mind of God’s continual eagerness to grant encouragement and strength ening to those who are in need of these benefits. For example, from de vout Hebrew sources it is learned that a certain kind of wine .was permitted to be used as a drug ’for alleviating the suffering of the dying — those “ready to perish.” Verse 7 may be regarded as an ironical expression, for it is apparent that the effort to ,drown one’s grief, in drinking can bring only the briefest kind of respite. IV. T he S earch “ U nder the S u n ” (Eccl. 2 :1-3, 10, 11) Solomon, the wisest of men, had given himself the task of discovering ‘‘under the sun” what would wholly satisfy the human heart. He had the wisdom, wealth, time, and opportu nity to make a complete investigation of all things “under the sun.“ Among ;the matters investigated were the pleasures of time and sense. >
with words. These word pictures were called parables. A parable is a little . story which has a hidden meaning. In today’s lesson we find Jesus talk ing to His disciples at the seashore. He told them about a sower who went forth to sow, about a very tiny mus tard seed that grew into a large tree. All that He said was to teach them about the kingdom of God. Do you know what a kingdom is? There are always rules governing a kingdom. Can you tell me one rule in the kingdom of God? You will find it ip our memory verse. No one can obey this rule unless he has Jesus to help him. Do you know that He is helping you? Will you give Him your heart so that He can help you as He wishes? Object Lesson A P earl and a P rice OBJECTS: A quart jar two-thirds full of water, an egg, -a small amount of black ink, 14 cup of red gasoline, 34 cup oi table salt. (The gasoline can be c o l o r e d with bulletin red ground in oil, a paint color. Hard-boil the egg and paint it a silver grey. Darken the water with the ink and put the egg in the water.) LESSON: This jar of black water reminds us pf the "sinful world in whieh we live. This silver egg in the bottom of the jar reminds us of the pearl of great price about which Christ once spoke. He said that a man sold all he had in order that he might buy G enesis 43:34 A nd he to o k and sent m esses u n to th em fro m b e fo re h im : but B en jam in ’s m ess w a s fiv e tim es so m uch as a n y o f th eirs. A nd th e y d ra n k , and w e re m erry w ith him . P sa lm 104:14 H e cau seth th e gra ss to g r o w fo r th e ca ttle, -and h erb fo r tl^e se rv ice o f m a n : th a t he m a y b rin g fo rth fo o d ou t o f the ea rth ; 15 A n d w in e that m ak eth g la d the hea rt o f m an , and o il to .m ake his fa ce to shine, and bread w h ich stren gth en eth m an ’s heart. P ro v e rb s 31^4 It is not fo r k in g s, O L em u el, it is n ot fo r 'k in g s to d rin k w in e ; n o r fo r p rin ces stro n g d rin k : , 5 L est th ey d rin k , and fo r g e t th e la w , and p erv ert th e ju d g m e n t o f a n y ,o f the a fflicte d . ft G ive s tro n g d rin k u n to him th a t is rea d y to perish, and w in e u n to th ose that be o f h eavy hearts. 7 L et him d rin k , and fo r g e t his p o v e rty , and rem em ber his m isery n o m ore. E ccle sia ste s 2:1 I said in m ine heart, G o to n ow , I w ill pro.ve th ee w ith m irth ; th e re fo re e n jo y p lea su re: and, behold, th is a lso is va n ity. 2 I said o f la u gh ter, It is m ad : and o f fn.'rth, W h a t doeth i t f 3 I sou g h t in m ine h ea rt to g iv e m y s e lf u n to w ine, y e t a cq u a in tin g m ine heart w ith w isd om ; and to lay hold on fo lly , till I m igh t see w h at w as that go o d fo r th e sons o f m en, w h ich th ey should d o under the heaven all the (lays o f th eir life . 10 A nd w h a tso e v e r m ine eyes desired I k ep t n ot fro m them , >1 w ith h eld not m y
the pearl. He was referring'to Himself as the One who would give His life in order that He might purchase the church, the pearl of great price. This church is made up of all true Chris- 'tians everywhere. It is well for us to remember that Christ gave His blood in order that He might redeem us—buy us back to God. We' will put this red fluid in the jar to remind us of His shed blood. The egg is at the bottom of the jar and the red at th£ top. Christ longs to receive that for which He died. I have some salt in this cup which re calls the words. Christ spoke to His followers: “Ye are the salt of the earth” (Matt. 5:13). When I put it in the jar, you will notice that it causes the egg to rise to the red at the top of the jar.- [Stir and cause the salt to dissolve,.] Christ has bought the pearl of great price, His church, with His own blood. It is His desire that Christians, as the salt of the earth, be active in bringing unsaved people to Him. h ea rt from a n y jo y ; fo r m y heart re jo ice d in all m y la b o r: and this w as m y p ortion o f all m y la bor, 11 Then I lo o k e d on all the w o rk s th at m y hands had w ro u g h t, and on th e la b o r th at ,1 had labored to d o : and, be h old , all w a s v a n ity and v e x a tio n o f spirit, and th ere w as no p ro fit un der the sun. Isaiah 56:12 C om e y e , sa y th ey, I w ill fe tch w ine, and w e w ill fill ourselveh w ith s tro n g d rin k ; and to -m o r ro w shall be as this day, and m uch m orç abu ndant. ,1 C orin th ian s 10:6 ,îîo w th ese th in g s w ere ou r exam p les, to the intent w e should n ot lu st a fte r e vil th in g s, as they a lso lusted. 7 N eith er b e y e Idolaters, as w ere som e o f them ; as it Is w ritten , T h e p eo ple sat d ow n to eat and drin k, and rdse up to p lay. GO I-DEN T E X T : “ W in e is a m ock er, .■ . . and w h osoev er is d eceived th ereb y is n o t w ise” (P ro v / 2 0:1 ); D E VO T ION A L R E A D IN G : Psa. 16:1-«. Outline and Exposition I. C elebrating R eunion (Gen. 43:34) OSEPH, tl^e.son of Jacob, had long been separated from his brethren, dwelling in a strange land. In the providence of God, Joseph’s half- brothers came to him in Egypt bring-
MARCH 8, 1942 DISCOVERING WHY PEOPLE DRINK BEVERAGE ALCOHOL G enesis 43:34; P salm 104:14, 15; P roverbs 31:4-7; E cclesiastes 2:1-3, 10, 11; I saiah 56 :12; .1 C orinth ians - 10:6, 7,
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