518
August 1927
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
of David and established a separate king dom, which was constantly in conflict with the southern kingdom throughout their entire history. The inspired writer of the Book of Kings pulls back the curtain and permits us to look behind the scene, and explains to us that this rupture of the kingdom was not “a happen so,” but was the out working of the Divine plan. One can be sure that it is the will of God that people should live in peace and harmony, doing the will of God from the heart. God would have all men to do His will upon earth as it is done in heaven, but when men rebel and sin against God, God has to take those things into consideration and has to overrule_and bring good out of evil. It is necessary that testings and trials come to everyone. Furthermore, it is also necessary, according to the New Testament teaching, that divisions come even in the church, in order that those who are of the approved may be made manifest. God deplores division, con tention and strife, for He is a God of order and not of confusion, but in order that His faithful people may be what He desires them to be, and in order that they might give a clear ringing testimony to the world, it becomes necessary to have disruption. Let those, however, who know God and who are faithful to Him, look unto Him and be certain that they permit Him to keep their hearts pure and clean in regard to all things. — o — God Punishes A Foolish King 1 Kings 12:1-24. Memory V erse: “B e not wise in your own conceits.” Rom. 12:16. A pproach: A watch of brass may be coated until it looks like pure gold. A tiny hole drilled in and the slightest touch of muriatic acid will cause it to boil in a house.) Of course if we truly love Jesus in our hearts, we shall love to worship Him in His house, the church. We have been hearing about King Solomon, who at the beginning of his reign asked God for wisdom, and followed in the way of the Lord for a while, but the last part of his reign and life are sad, because he be came careless, and let the pleasures of this life come in between him and God. When he gave God first place, he was a wonderful king and greatly beloved by the people, for God gave him great wis dom and honor. In our story. today King Solomon is dead and his son Rehoboam is king in his stead. We remember there were twelve tribes of the children of Israel, and all had been under King Solomon, who in the latter part of his reign did as he wanted to do and did not obey God. The people gathered about Rehoboam, and complained about the way his father, King Solomon, had treated them, and they asked Rehoboam if he would treat them more kindly. If he would do so, they said, they would serve him. Reho- g r e e n i s h foam. L i k e w i s e, tests show the real worth of people. Arnold’s Commentary. Lesson S t o r y : How many-of you were in church last Sunday? . (Review, stressing reverence and love for God’s
F rcd S. Shepard’s Blackboard Outline
they went away in great anger, and said that Rehoboam, Solomon’s'son, should not rule over them, but Jeroboam should be their king. Two of the tribes, Judah and Benjamin, kept Rehoboam for their king.. But the other tribes chose Jero boam, who was made king over the ten tribes, so the people of Israel were di vided into two kingdoms. Then Reho boam tried to satisfy the people by send ing a man to talk with them who had once made the people work very hard; but the people threw stones at the mes senger, and would not hear him. Then Rehoboam prepared for waL God sent a prophet to tell him it was useless to go to war, for this was a punishment from the Lord, for his foolishness and pride. Rehoboam did not ask wisdom of God. People who do not pray to God tb guide them do very foolish things. Application:. We should take the ad vice of those who are older than we -our parents and our teachers. (Teach M. V.) The things we, do show what we really are at heart. God punishes not so much because of what we do as because the test shows what we are. Prayer. (Teachers stress respect for age.) hasn’t sense enough to walk with God. Many a man handicapped by physical weakness, has made a better success than Saul. Let us realize, however, that a strong body is a great advantage, other things being equal. We heard of a young man who was sent to a railway station to meet a visiting preacher. Seeing a sickly, neurotic type of man alight from a' coach, he at once jumped to the conclusion that this was the minister. Many seem to have the idea that dyspepsia goes along with piety. The preacher who has a body like Saul’s, has much to be thankful for, but the greatest asset, after all, is to have a will surrendered to God. Saul seemed to be a very modest young man. When Samuel came to anoint him king, he felt it was far beyond him. He was not too big to continue at humble tasks, even hunting for his father’s asses, although he was at the time anointed king. Those are fine qualities if one can keep them alive after he gets power to himself. God gave Saul a great friend—Samuel. Through thick and thin, Samuel stuck to him as his pastor and adviser. With pa tient devotion, Samuel loved him, keep ing after him whenever he went wrong, and to the end of his life never ceasing to pray for him. Yet what heartaches Saul must have given his loyal friend! No man ever had placed before him more magnificent opportunities than Saul. What use did he make of them? Answer: “P layed the f o o l He left God out of his plans. The tragedy of his life was that when he sinned, he never could be brought to face it, confess it, and get right with God. David, his successor, perhaps sinned in a more hideous way than Saul ever did, but he became peni tent and gave God a chance to put away his sin.
F OLLY’S T ) R I D E ’ S A ILURE J 7 UNISHMENT Be not wise in your own conceit. Rom. 12:16. boam sent them away and told them to come back in three days. ' After they had gone, Rehoboam asked advice from the old men who had been friends of his fa ther. These men told the king to speak gently to the people, and promise that he would be' kind to them. But Reho boam was not satisfied with the good ad vice that the old men gave him; he asked the young men, also, who had grown up with him. The young men told him to speak roughly to the people, and say that if his father had been cruel, he would be yet mpre cruel, and that -he would punish them more severely than his father had. When the people came and heard the words of the wicked and boastful king,
S eptember 25, 1927 ' Review—The Early Kings of Israel
'T 'H E lessons of this quarter, which have attempted to cover a period of history of 120 years, have necessarily been very fragmentary. For the review
lesson, the writer sug gests a brief char acter study of the three principal kings whose reigns have c o me before us, namely Saul, David and Solomon. It might- prove of
interest in many classes to have members of the class present papers on these char acters. These could be discussed with great profit. A prize could be awarded to the one bringing out the greatest num ber of beneficial points. Another plan would be to submit to the class members, a Sunday in advance, re view questions concerning these charac ters. These questions should be formed by the teacher to recall outstanding points brought up in' the class. S aul - “I have played the fool.” Saul summed up his own life in the words: “I have played the fo o l” (1 Sam. 26:21). Mighty man that he was in the beginning, he confesses himself at the end “a self-made fool.” This confession had reference to his childish acts toward David, the young man whom at first he so much admired and loved. The same confession, how ever, well applies to his whole life. He chose the role of a fool because he chose to set up his will against the will of God. Splendid physique had much to do with putting Saul on the throne to begin with. He cut a stylish figure. There was a princely bearing about him. A good strong body is no small asset in bringing a man to the front, but it counts for lit tle in keeping him at the top when he
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