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would change him, and He was willing to use him. This is the way for each one of us to come to God. Object Lesson A H elpful H ose OBJECTS: A sponge, a short piece of garden hose, a potted plant, and a pitcher of water. LESSON: Many Christians are like this sponge, getting all they can, but never giving unless they are forced to. No matter how hard you squeeze a sponge, it will never give as much as it has received. See how the greedy sponge takes all the water it can. (If the sponge has been previously damp ened, it will receive water readily.) There are other people who, like this garden hose as it serves the thirsty plant, pass on to others the blessings they receive from God. A gardener never uses a sponge to water a garden or lawn. He uses a hose because it gives freely. 'God uses the person who is willing to give of the blessings he has received. Near Jerusalem there is a flat place on top of a hill known as “The Terrace of Indecision.” As the rain falls on this flat piece of ground, it seems to hesitate, no t knowing wjiich way to flow. That which goes west flows into the Valley of Roses and gives life and beauty. That which goes east flows into the Dead Sea. Knowing that “it is more blessed to give than to re ceive” (Acts 20:35), we should find it easy to decide to live lives of giving— lives which will bring blessing to others. This hose reminds me of Isaiah. He saw a great vision, and in response to God’s question, “Who will go for us?” he replied, “Here am I; send me.” If we are willing and clean, God will use us to minister to the needs of others.
BLACKBOARD LESSON
our lives to the service and ministry of God until we have bowed our heads liumbly in acknowledgment of His sov ereign rights. 2. A revelation of divine holiness. This revelation is conveyed in two ways: by the posture of the seraphim, and by their cry. Of their six wings, four were used to cover the face and feet, thus signifying the utter unworthiness even of sinless beings to stand in the presence of a holy God. Only two of the wings were used to fly. Important as service is, it is secondary to the acknowledgment of God’s holiness. The cry of the seraphim is also significant. For untold ages these creatures had been serving God, seemingly the ones nearest to His throne. Surely they should know much about the character of the eternal God. What do they have to say about Him? Only one thing: “Holy, holy, . holy.”’ If there is. any primary attribute of God, it is holiness,, not love. There could be no true divine love apart from holiness. 3. A revelation of. divine grace. As the prophet stood in agonizing conscious ness of his own uncleanness, one of the seraphim flew quickly with a live coal from the altar and purged his sin. The Hebrew word means “expiated.” Man can do nothing about his sin except to acknowledge it. All the cleansing must be from God and the cleansing grace ' of God is unmerited and undeserved. •4. A revelation of the divine will. The prophet heard the "voice” only after he had seen the vision of God’s sovereign holiness and grace. That he had learned well the lesson of God’s sovereignty is S evident from his response. There were two questions: : “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Unerringly Isaiah fastens on the first and ignores the second: “Here am I; send me.”. If God sends us, we go. But if He does not send, then it is useless to go. Golden Text Illustration I saiah 6 :8 During the Ashantee campaign the commander approached a regiment on parade, and told them that he wanted a certain number of men for a very hazardous undertaking. I t might be the death, of all, but it was for their Queen and country. “Every man who cares to volunteer, let him step one pace forward,” he cried. He turned on his heel for a moment, then swinging round again, found the line unbroken. “What,” he cried, “will no one volunteer?” “The whole line has volunteered, sir.” What an example for spiritual volunteers! “Who will go . . . ?”—1,000 Tales Worth Telling, by Pickering. A Young Prince Who Was Beady I saiah 6 i MEMORY VERSE: “Here am I; send me” (Isa. 0:8). APPROACH: In the year King Uz- ziah died, there was a young man living in the kingdom of Judafi, wfitf
was called of the Lord to do a great work for Him. The name of this young
man was Isaiah, and his work was to be that of a prophet. LESSON STOBY: One day Isaiah saw a - v i s i o n w h i c h changed his life. In this vision he saw God, -Himself, in all of His m a j e s t y , “high and l i f t e d up,” and the temple
5 -Division
was filled with those who waited on him, and the attendants cried, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.” How did Isaiah feel when he saw this vision? He felt how little and un-. worthy he was even to be noticed by God. God was so great and Isaiah was so small and so sinful that he felt ashamed. “Woe is me!” he said, "for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” But Isaiah wasn’t satisfied to do nothing more than just feel sorry about it, and God was not Willing either, to do nothing about it. Here was a young man humble and willing to tell God that he was weak and sinful. The Bible says, “A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psa. 51:17). And God did not despise Isaiah. God cleansed his sinful heart, and then He gave him a chance to work for Him. “Whom shall I send,” said the Lord, “and who will go for us?” Isaiah was ready now. He had been poor and sinful, he well knew, but God
SEPTEMBER 10, 1939 HEZEKIAH: A KING WHO REMEMBERED GOD 2 C hronicles 30
sprinkled th e blood* which th ey received of th e hand of th e Levites. 17 F o r th ere w e r e m a n y i n th e con gregation th a t w ere not san ctified : th erefore th e Levites had th e ch arge of the killing of th e passovers for every one th a t w as hot clean, to san ctify them unto th e Lord. 18 F o r a m ultitude of th e people* even m any of Fp h raim and Manasseh, Issach ar and Zebulun* had not cleansed them selves, y e t did th ey e a t th e passover otherw ise than it w as w ritten . B u t H ezekiah prayed fo r them* saying* The good Lord- pardon evcsry one* 19 T h at prephreth his h e a rt to seek God* th e Lord God of his fath ers, though
2 Chronicles 30:13 And th ere assembled a t Jeru salem much people to keep th e feast of unleaTened bread in th e second month* a very g re a t congregation . 14 And th ey arose and took aw ay the a lta rs th a t w ere in Jerusalem * and all th e a lta rs for incense took th ey aw ay, and c a st them in to th e brook K idron. 15 Then th ey killed th e passover on the fou rteen th day of th e second m onth: and th e priests and th e L evites w ere ashamed* and sanctified them selves, and brou ght in th e bu rn t offerings into th e house of th e Lord. 16 And th ey stdod in th eir place aiteV th e ir m anner* accord ing to th e law of Moses th e m an - o f God: th e priests
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