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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
August, 1939
to place, he said: such words as these: “Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God?” Had these proud rulers thought of how they must come before God? God said that they must come with a “broken and contrite heart.” This was what Micah wanted the rulers to see. God could not hear their prayers for their country, if their own lives were wicked in His sight. Always and everywhere this had been true. God can only help those who come humbly to Him asking forgiveness.
and may even believe that such is the case, but until he checks with the square, he cannot be sure. Who will tell me what a level is for? '“To tell when a building is level.” Your answer is correct. Again, the level is used to check errors. This tape- line is used to see that the distances are right. Have you stopped to realize that the Bible is a tester for our lives, just as certainly as these tools that we have been talking about are used to test a building? In Micah 6:8 we find the prophet saying, ‘‘What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” If a person is not doing justly, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God, the Bible reveals his errors. A wise carpenter will believe his tools when they tell him that there is an error in the building, and a wise person will believe the Word of God when it tells him that there is sin in his life. If he is not yet a Christian, he will accept the Lord Jesus as Saviour, as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). And when those of us who are Christians find that .God’s Word shows sin in our lives, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteous ness” (1 John 1:9). upon him, the spirit of wisdom and under standing, th e sp irit of counsel and m ight, th e spirit of know ledge and of th e fear of th e L ord : 3 And 'shall m ake him of quick under stand in g in th e fe a r of th e L ord : and he shall not judge a fte r th e sigh t of his eyes, n eith er reprove a fte r th e h earin g of his e a rs: 4 B u t w ith righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove w ith equity for th e meek of th e e a rth : and he shall sm ite th e earth w ith the rod of his mouth, and w ith th e breath of his lips shall he slay th e wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness th e girdle of his reins. GOLDEN T E X T : “H is1 nam e shall be called W onderful, Counselor, The m ighty God, The everlastin g F a th e r, The P rin ce of P eace” (Isa. 9 :6 ). DEVOTIONAL READ ING : Lk . 1:40-55. Outline and Exposition I. M essiah ' s B irth (7:14) statement. Unless there was to be some thing absolutely unique in this birth, it would be senseless to use the expression. And there would be no point in Paul’s declaration that Jesus was “made of a woman” (Gal. 4:4)—which could be said of every man—unless He was, in O SAY that the “virgin” of this verse refers to a married woman is to destroy the force of the
the matter of His conception, unlike any human being. How could Isaiah know that a virgin would have a child and that the child would be a son? The prophet knew because God knew, and had revealed the fact to him. Moreover, the prophet declared what that Son should be, “Im manuel, God with us” (Matt. 1:23). Without the acceptance of the truth of the virgin birth of our Lord, Christian ity is built upon a bank of shifting sand instead of upon the Rock of Ages. II. M essiah ' s P erson (9:1-7) Looking forward, beyond the days of tribulation, the prophet speaks of a coming day when the nation shall be multiplied and their joy increased. The yoke of their burden and the staff of their shoulder and the rod of their oppressor will be broken, and all the armor of their enemies, together with the garments rolled in blood, will be for the fire to destroy. The reason for this condition is the coming of the virgin-bom One of chap ter 7. He will be a Child born and a Son given. The Son could not be born; He ever was and will be the Son. But the Child would be born according to the former prophecy. Here ijs evidence both of His humanity and His deity. He is Wonderful in His incarnation, life, death, ascension, and second com ing. He is Counselor in His teaching, guiding, protecting. He is the Mighty God in upholding all creation as well as all His people. He is the Father of eternity, with continuity and unchange ableness. And He is the Prince of peace, ultimately b r i n g i n g p e a c e throughout all the universe. He will come to occupy the throne of David, and to order the kingdom with justice, righteousness, and truth. III. M essiah ' s R eign (11:1-5) His reign will be directed by "the Spirit of the Lord.” This trio of graces mentioned in verse 2 relates to His ability as king. His reign will be con ducted as One who delights in the fear of the Lord. Hence He will not judge by the sight of the eyes nor the hear ing of the ears, neither will the out-, ward appearances nor hearsay move Him. But with equity and justice His decisions will be made, and then the meek of the earth will come into their promised time of blessing, The wicked will be destroyed and the whole earth will rejoice in a righteous government at last. Outwardly, as to Himself as a Man, He will be the lowly One; in wardly, as to His office and dignity, He will be the royal Monarch. Righteousness and faithfulness will be the outstanding marks of His reign. These are the elements which God re quires, and against which mankind re bels. At the present time, God is giv-
Object Lessen T ools T hat T each OBJECTS: A square, a level, and a tapeline. LESSON: Some of you' know enough about carpenter’s tools to tell me what this is and how it is used. ‘ Besides us ing a square to mark a board for saw ing, carpenters use it to be sure that a building is straight. A carpenter may hope that everything is all right,
SEPTEMBER 24, 1939 ISAIAH: FORETELLING THE BIRTH OF THE MESSIANIC KING ' I saiah 7:14; 9:1-7; 11:1-5
Isaiah 7:14 T herefore th e Lord him self shall give you a sign ; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and hefcr a son, and shall call his name Imm anuel. 9:1 N evertheless th e dimness shall not be such as w as in her vexation , when a t th e firs t he ligh tly afflicted th e land of Zebulun» and th e land of Naphtali, and afterw ard did m ore grievously afflict h er by w ay of th e sea, beyond Jo rd an , in Galilee of th e nations. 2 The people th a t w alked in darkness have seen a g re a t lig h t: th ey th a t dwell in th e land of th e shadow of death, upon th em h ath th e ligh t shined. .3 Thou h a st multiplied the nation, and not in creased th e jo y : th ey jo y before th ee accord ing to th e joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when th ey divide th e spoil. 4 F o r thou h ast broken th e yoke of his burden, and th e sta ff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in th e day of Midian. 5 F o r every b attle of th e w a rrio r is w ith confused voice, and garm en ts rolled in blood; hut th is shall be w ith burning and fuel of fire. 6 F o r un to us a child is born, unto u s a son is given ; and th e governm ent shall be upon his shoulder: and his nam e shall be called W onderful, Counselor, The m igh ty God» The everlastin g F a th e r, The P rin ce of P eace. 7 Of th e in crease of his governm ent and peace th ere sh all be no end» upon the th ron e of David» and upon his kingdom , to order it, and to establish it w ith ju d g m ent and w ith ju stice from hen ceforth even fo r ever. The zeal of th e Lord of hosts w ill perform this. 11:1 A nd th ere shall com e forth a rod ou t of th e stem of Jesse, and a B ran ch shall g row ou t of his ro o ts: 2 And th e Spirit of th e Lord shall re st
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