1249
T HE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
cealment bu t for intercession. The slave who thu s fled to an intercessor did not incur th e gu ilt and penalty of a fugitive. This illu stration becomes an analogy when applied to the sinner. He is God’s property. He has run away from his m aster, he has robbed him, he has helped to m urder his only be gotten Son. There is no excuse for this gu ilt and no escape from condemnation. The law demands th e infliction of the penalty, bu t grace concedes to th e sin ner the rig h t of appeal. He flees to Jesus whom God counts as a partner. In Him he is begotten anew as a son. P au l’s a ttitu d e to Philemon and Ones! mus finds its parallel in th e relation of Jesus to the sinner on th e one hand and th e F a th e r on the other. I Tim. 2:5. THURSDAY, December 8. Jo h n 14:1- 14. Manumission Manumission is th e consequence of intercession. Roman law provided for th is also. The slave m ight be adopted by his m aster as his son and so be freed from bondage. No one can appreciate the sweetness of freedom who has not tasted th e bitterness of bondage. The fugitive slave, in th e old ante-bellum days, hiding in swamp and cane-brake w ith the bay of the blood-hound in his ears, guiding his flight by th e P olar star, had dreamed of liberty and was w illing to risk his life th a t it m ight be his. Any poor sin-sick soul th a t wants to escape from Satanic bondage, can guide his feet by th e S tar of Bethlehem and though th e hounds of hell may bay after him , he can reach th e city of refuge and find protection beneath the banner of th e cross. If Philemon had been a cruel m aster Onesimus m ight have hesitated to retu rn . 'Some may no t tu rn to Gcd supposing Him to be a dread Avenger w ith a sword of ju s tice to cut the sinner down. As the shepherd seeks th e lost sheep, as the fath er yearns over the wayward child., so does God seek th e sinner. Jer. 31:3. FRIDAY, December 9. I John 8:1-9. Adoption The m aster not only liberates the slave b u t takes him into his own family and makes him a son and heir. No other religion on earth b u t Christianity as sures men of pardon and provides a Divine force for the recovery of the sinner. The early opponents of the
MONDAY, December 5. Philem on 1-9. P au l w rites to his friend. Philemon was a man of means in Colossae who had been converted by Paul. He had a slave Onesimus who had robbed his m aster and run away. In some way th is runaw ay slave had come under P au l’s influence in Rome and had been converted. He confessed his wrong and offered to re tu rn to Philemon. P aul w rote in his behalf to Philemon. The le tte r is a -gem of epistolary art. It gives a beau tifu l in sight into the p riv ate friendship of the g reat Apostle and is a sample of the social intercourse he held w ith his fel low Christians. He little though t this friendly note would be preserved and enshrined in th e sacred canon. The over-ruling Providence of God has given it to us. Since "friendship is essentially unselfish th e highest, purest, noblest friendship is only possible in Christ. Christianity does not impoverish nor e rad icate innocent and n atu ra l relation ships. I t sanctifies and ennobles them a thousand-fold. TUESDAY, December 6. Philem on 10- 25. P a u l’s plea fo r Onesimus. The meaning of Onesimus is profit able. P aul plays upon th e word, ad m itting th a t he had been unprofitable bu t was now profitable to them both as a renewed character. P aul becomes an ¡intercessor for the slave and thief, beseeching Philemon for his sake to receive and resto re him to favor, count ing him no longer eith er a bond-servant or a transgressor. The le tte r is rich in expressions of P au l’s identification w ith this converted crim inal who was to him as his own son, has b ro th er be loved, his second self. The seventeenth verse is the key and an illu stration of the en tire scheme of redemption. The th ree chief lessons which th e epistle teaches are intercession, manumission and adoption. The glorified Redeemer identifies H imself w ith His earth ly peo ple. Acts 9 :4 ;.M a ttj 25:40. WEDNESDAY, December 7. Heb. 4: 12-16. Intercession Roman law gave the slave no righ t of asylum b u t only conceded th e righ t of appeal. The slave was owned by the m aster, body and soul. The master could tre a t him as he pleased and even tak e his life. The slave m ight flee how ever to his m aster’s friend not for con
Made with FlippingBook HTML5