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September 1927
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
holy name and to consider sacred things very lightly. Christianity today has been cheapened in the eyes of the world be cause of the gross immorality which con stantly crops out here and there and is heralded throughout the country by the press. (4) "And they laid themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every al tar." According, to the law, a man who took another’s garment in pledge had to restore the same by sunset. This was probably for the protection of the poor, unfortunate man. Disregarding the di vine regulation, the men of Israel kept the clothes of the poor which they had taken in pledge, and engaged in worship, which at this time was idolatry; hence, this specific sin is that of false worship and violation of a law based upon right, justice and consideration of one’s fellow- men. (5) “And in the house of their god they drink the wine of such as had been c o n d em n e d Religion for them was the gratification of fleshly desires, and wor ship was very largely but the corrupt practices of the surrounding nations. It would appear from this passage that the men especially guilty of drunkenness were engaged in worship, and the richer classes, who taking advantage of their position, levied improper taxes upon the masses of the people; hence, they had a superabundance of wine which they could drink while engaged in the worship. Vs. 9-12. In verse nine the prophet compares the Amorite nation, the inhab itants of Canaan prior .to the conquest, to the “high cedars and oaks," which, says God, He destroyed completely. By this lan guage He simply was speaking of a driv ing out and extermination of the Canaan- ite, which task, although a mighty one, was easy for God. In verse ten is found a reference ' to the deliverance from Egypt, the forty years’ wandering in the wilderness and the conquest of Canaan and the settlement therein. T h e s e thoughts appear in a different figure in Psa. 80:8-19. In verse eleven God refers to His goodness to them in raising tip prophets and Nazarites, who were special channels of especial blessing to the na tion. But instead of hearkening to the message or receiving the services of these men of God, they corrupted the Nazarites by requiring them to drink wine, and by prohibiting the prophets from speaking in the name of the Lord their God. From this picture it is quite evident that the na tion was in a bad condition religiously and morally. The people turned away from God and His Word to their own ways (Isa. 53:6). Such worship was not acceptable to God (Matt. 15:7-19). V. 13. In verse thirteen is predicted the certain and speedy judgment that was to come upon the nation because of these national and individual sins. BLACKBOARD OUTLINE V ICE —Amos 2:4-8. ISION —Amos 2:9-10. ISITATION —Amos 3 :13-1S. God is not mocked—Gal. 6 :7.
tell us of our wonderful Saviour, the Lord Jesus! We do thank Him for the lessons He would teach us in the stories each week. We learn that Satan calls people to work for him while they are idle. God calls when they are busy. To day we are to learn of the sorrow and suffering for wrong doing. One of the prophets whom we got acquainted with last week is giving forth God’s Word to the people, telling them of their sin. God has done all he can to show us that sin is a terrible thing. Who were the first man and woman in the world, and what kind of a place did God give them for a home? With everything so lovely and beautiful, Adam and Eve would riot obey God, but disobeyed and had their own way, and they, had to leave the beautiful garden and go out to hard work, pain, and death. In the days in which Amos the prophet lived, the Israelites were very wicked. They had turned away from the true God, and were worshipping idols. Amos is a true prophet, and'he is sound ing forth a warning for them to turn from their sin, and come back to God. Amps told them how he had chosen cer tain ones, to be prophets and special work ers for God, and that the people had given these young men wine to drink and per suaded the prophets not to give forth God’s Word. Ever since siri came into the world through Adam and Eve, men and women, boys arid girls, have been tempted to sin, and the only remedy is taking Jesus into the heart, and obeying His words at all times. Wine and other alcoholic liquor caused great sorrow and trouble' in the early, days, and are still causing sorrow and death, broken hearts and homes in the world today. God has given us very wonderful bodies and minds, and it is an awful sin to do anything that harms us. People who use liquor or tobacco can not do good work, and shrewd, keen busi ness men know it hurts and injures their business when their employees use either; their bodies are weakened, and their minds are dull and cause them to make mistakes. Oh, boys and girls, take Jesus into your lives now and let Him keep you from sin. We need to pray often, and read His Word every day, and Jesus will keep our lives pure and help us to do the things that are right and pleasing in His sight. Never do anything that would injure these bodies or minds. We should be very thankful for all who have worked so hard to bring prohibition to our country and are doing all they can to keep it. We, too, can pray and do all we can to put liquor and tobacco away. Prayer. The Lord Hath Spoken "Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: For the Lord hath spoken" (Is aiah 1:2). This text was printed by the Reform ers on the title-page of the early editions of our English Bibles, for they believed that “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the Faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation.”
Keep Up the Song of Faith
M. G. B arber Fuchow, China
Keep up the song of. faith However dark the night; And, as you praise, the Lord will work To change your faith to sight. Keep up the song of faith And let your heart be strong. For God delights, when faith can praise Though dark the night and long. Keep up the song of faith, The foe will hear and flee: O let not Satan hush your song, . For praise is victory. Keep up the song of faith, The dawn will break ere long: And we shall go to meet the Lord And join the endless song.
TEMPERANCE LESSON The Punishment of Sin Amos 2:4-6, 11-15. (Gen. 2:15-17; 3:1-6, 22-24.) Memory Verse: “Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live.” Amos 5 :14. Approach : (The lesson committee has provided a lesson in Genesis, the story of the first sin in the garden, which the teacher may use for the younger children
if desired.) It is said that a good king made a law that any one guilty of a certain crime should be punished by having his eyes put out. The king’s s o n w a s f o u n d guilty of the crime. After thinking a lad one of his own
eyes and one of his son’s put out. When the people looked at their king they knew what he thought of that sin.—Arnold’s Com. Lesson Story: Let us hold up our Bibles and sing, “Take it wherever you go.” How we praise and thank God for the Bible, His precious Word to us, to
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