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earth is Israel. The supreme treasure of heaven is the church. III. T he F ive T housand F ed (14 :13 t 21.) It was the Witnessing of this miracle that moved the people to.attempt to take Jesus by force and make Him their king (cf. John 6:1-15). But He had not come merely to be a bread- giver. He can give fullness of out ward blessing only as inner spiritual blessing is desired and received. When His disciples suggested that He send the people away to buy food for themselves, He gave them the startling command, “Give ye them to eat.” At the time, they had nothing even for themselves. Humanly speak ing, they were utterly unable to obey His command. But He told them to bring to Him the five small loaves and two fishes that were offered. He took what they had, blessed and break it, and gave it back to them. Then they began to give it to the multitude. The food was multiplied until all were filled. It was a miracle, divinely per formed. But the significant fact is not that He produced bread sufficient to feed a multitude, but that. He did it rapidly. When the Lord produces food from the seed that is sown, this also is a miracle. It is a process that takes longer, but it is as truly His working as in the more spectacular instance. We are tempted to center our attention upon God’s mercies rather than upon Him, the Giver of them. We think of the wonder of the laws of nature more often than of the Ruler of those laws. Five thousand people were fed that day, with twelve baskets of fragments left over and gathered up. The Lord bountifully supplies every need, and He wastes nothing. He would teach His disciples the same thriftiness. Points and Problems 1. He . .. selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field" (Matt. 13:44). This parable presents a beautiful picture of Israel and our Lord’s rela tion to that people. As in the previous parables, the field is the world. Israel is the treasure even as she is called in Exodus 19:5. Because of sin, Israel
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peculiar treasurer unto me above all people” (cf. Ex. 19:5). We read: “The Lord hath chosen. . . Israel for his peculiar treasure” (Psa. 135:4). The Lord ... hath chosen thee [Israel] to be a -special people unto himself” (Deut. 7:6-8). Israel is called "his peculiar people” (26:18; cf. 14:2). There is no difficulty in identifying the “man” who bought the field. He could not be a sinner selling all he had to buy eternal life, for that life is given, not sold (cf. John 1:12; 3:16; Rom. 6:23). The man is Jesus Christ who, at the cost of all He had, His very life, bought the whole field in order to secure the treasure hidden in it. He gave Himself to obtain Israel, and in buying the whole field, He provided a ransom for every man. All men have ( been purchased by Him, though many refuse to acknowledge the purchase and thus withhold them selves from Him. There are false teachers “ denying the L o r d that bought them” (2 Pet. 2:1), but all are His by right of purchase. In the sight of the Lord, the supreme treasure in the world is His ancient people Israel, called and chosen by Him to be His own special treasure above all other nations. II. T he P earl (13:45, 46) The pearl from the sea represents the true church. In Scripture, the sea is a type of the nations. The church is taken out of the nations, removed from them, and formed into one separate and complete body. Here again, the payment of the price is tremendous. The purchaser sold all he had in order to buy this pearl. Christ loved the church and gave Him self for it; He loved me and gave Him self for me (cf. Eph. 5:25; Gal. 2:20). We now love our Lord because He first loved us—even before the foun dation of, the world. The pearl was complete when it was found. In the eyes of the Lord there are no divisions in the church. Th%re is neither Jew nor Greek, bar barian, bond or free, but all are one. Man by his pride and jealousy has made many divisions, but the true church is one oefore God. It was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, and made nigh to God by the blood of Jesus Christ (cf. Eph. 1:4; 2:13). The supreme treasure of
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THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIANITY INEUROPE
The war in Europe rages towards its ultimate climax. What is done in the next few years may decide the future of protestantism in Europe. Pastors of churches, if they are still fortunate enough to be alive, must be brought back to their places of labor. Church build ings destroyed must be rebuilt; orphan ages reopened, refurnished and manned. Above alj, and immediately we must hold out helping hands to those who have suf fered most in the debacle, To do our share in this undertaking we must be prepared to spend money in sums ,beyond anything we have yet provided. It will not do to send out representatives backed only with advice and prayers. We must back them with goods and service, bought and paid for out of the war riches that have come to many of our church mem bers. We must now rise up and meet this challenge at the cost in money and life. Send your gifts to the RUSSIAN M ISSIONARY SOCIETY, INC: 1844 W. Monroe St., Room 2, Chicago 12, 111. In Canada: 106 Winnett Ave., 'Toronto 10, Ont. Write for copies of “ The Friend of Russians” Rev. F. J. Miles, International Secretary* STAMMER? / P U S H I Bogue Unit Method for scientific M correction of stammering and I I stuttering —successful for 44 ■ years. Free—no obligation.
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