September, 1939
343
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
I N T E R N A T I O N A L L E S S ON Commentary ■Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children s Division Object Lesson Golden T ext Illustration B y B. B. S utcliffe B y G retchen S ibley B y H elen G ailey B y E lmer L. W ilder B y A lan S. P earce Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain , President of Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Ind.
OCTOBER 1, 1939 THE INFANCY OF JESUS M atthew 1 and 2
served the purposes of God. This1kind of response is all that God asks from either sinner or saint. God’s Word was to be fulfilled in this incident. Hosea had said that out of Egypt God would call His son (Hos. 11:1), and without this passage in Matthew, we should be left to believe that only Israel was the son in question. But the passage has a twofold interpretation. Now we know that behind the prophet’s declaration was the history ctf Jesus, who makes Himself one with His own so that His and their history are inseparable. Herod’s unreasoning fear was mani fested when he had all the male children of Bethlehem, from* two years and un der, slain. By this act he thought to rid himself of the child Jesus. AH he did was to fulfill unconsciously Jeremiah’s prophecy of the sorrow and weeping at Ramah (cf.^ Jer. 31:15). Thus, while dread drove Herod to this frightful slaying of the infants, this circum stance was no surprise to God who centuries before had foreseen and fore told it. m . I n N a z a r e t h ( 19-23) While he was in Egypt, Joseph was again instructed in a dream, and this time was told to return to the land of Israel. Once again he promptly obeyed. Returning, he found the usurper still in power, which meant that the child Jesus would still be exposed to danger, so he went to Nazareth. There the Lord Jesus became a true Nazarite, which means something else than a citizen of Nazareth. As a Nazar ite, He denounced the pomp and the pleasure of this earth. He was the meek and lowly One, living in absolute de pendence upon the Father. He was separated from the wine and joy, the pleasures and delights, the companion ships and communion, of earth (cf. Num. 6). But He was also separated unto the practice and power of another world; His joys and companionships and communion were on a heavenly plane. As He moved in and- out among His fellows, there was always some thing so divinely extraordinary about His demeanor that all the people looked upon Him with astonishment. He was the only true Nazarite, revealing the practice and power of heaven while upon the earth. Moreover, He was separated for the place and purpose of God. That place was one of lowliness among men, a place wherein the love and compassion
M a tth ew 2:1 3. A nd w h e n th e y w e r e d e parted* be hol d* t h e a n g e l o f th e L ord ap - p ea reth to J o se p h in a d ream , sayin g* A r ise , and ta k e th e y o u n g ch ild a n d h is m ot he r* and f le e in to E g y p t, an d b e th o u th e r e u n til I b r in g th e e w o rd : fo r H erod w ill s e e k th e y o u n g c h ild to d e str o y h im . 14 W h e n h e a ro se , h e to o k th e y o u n g ch ild and h is m o th er b y n ig h t, and d e p a rted in to E g y p t: 15 A n d w a s th e r e u n til th e d ea th o f H e r o d : th a t it m ig h t b e fu lfille d w h ic h w a s s p o k e n o f th e L ord b y th e pro phet* s a y in g , Out o f E g y p t h a v e I c a lle d m y son . 16 T h en H erod , w h e n h e s a w th a t h e w a s m o ck ed o f th e w is e m en , w a s e x c e e d in g w ro th * a n d s e n t for th* and s le w a ll th e ch ild r en th a t w e r e in B et h le hem * a n d in a ll th e c o a s ts th ereof* from tw o y e a r s o ld and un der * a c c o r d in g to th e tim e w h ic h h e h ad d ilig e n tly in q u ired o f th e w is e m en . 17 T h en w a s fu lfille d th a t w h ic h w a s sp o k e n b y J e r em y th e p rop h et, s a y in g , 18 In R am a w a s th e r e a v o ic e h eard , lam e n ta tio n , an d w e e p in g , and g r e a t m o u rn in g , R a c h e l w e e p in g fo r h e r c h il d ren , and w o u ld n o t b e com fo rted , b e c a u s e th e y a r e n o t. 10 B u t w h e n H ero d w a s dead* W h o ld , a n a n g e l o f th e Lord a p p ea reth in s t r e a m to J o se p h in E gyp t* 20 Sayi ng * A r ise , a n d ta k e th e y o u n g c h ild and h is m o th e r , a n d g o in to th e la n d o f I sr a e l: fo r th e y a r e d ead w h ic h s o u g h t th e y o u n g ch ild ’s life . 21 A nd h e a ro se, a n d to o k th e y o u n g c h ild a n d h is m o th er, an d cam e in to th e la n d o f Isr a e l. 22 B u t w h e n h e h ea rd th a t A rch ela u s d id r e ig n in J u d e a in th e room o f h is fa th e r Hero d* h e w a s a fr a id t o g o th ith e r : n o tw ith s ta n d in g , b e in g w a r n e d o f God in a d ream , h e tu rn ed a s id e in to th e p a rts o f G a lile e: 23 A nd h e cam e a n d d w e lt in a c ity c a lle d N a za reth : th a t it m ig h t b e fu lfille d w h ic h w a s sp o k e n b y th e p ro p h ets, H e s h a ll b e c a lle d a N a za ren e. LESSON TEXT: Matt. 2:13-23. GOLDEN TEXT: “And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being inter preted is, God with us” (Matt. 1:23). DEVOTIONAL HEADING: Isa. 9:1-7. Outline and Exposition I. I n B ethlehem (13) ■ HE wise men came, presented their gifts and homage to the young King, and departed on their return to their own country. The Child was left in the midst of enemies who were seeking to destroy Him. Then
Did You Know R. A. TORREY?
THE KING’S BUSINESS is col lecting remembrances of Dr. R. A. Torrey which his friends are willing to send in for a special memorial number. If it was your privilege to know this great serv ant of the Lord, may we not hear from you ? In What connection did you know him? How did his life or teaching influence you? Inti mate glimpses into his life are specially desired. Please address your communica tions to the Managing Editor, THE KING’S BUSINESS, 558 South Hope St., Los Angeles, Calif. And please write today! the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, instructing him to flee with" the young Child and His mother to Egypt. Strange it is that the Lord of all the earth should be forced to flee from creatures whose very lives were in His hands! But God is the God of all patience, and reveals His gracious char acter even in dealing with His enemies. H. I n E gypt (13-18) The lesson presented by the prompt obedience of Joseph should not be over looked. Speaking after the manner of men, the life of Jesus would be jeopar dized by a little delay in obeying. But Joseph obeyed the command at once, he heeded the warning, and thus he pre-
B LACK BO ARD LE S SO N
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[These lessons are developed from outlines prepared by the Committee on Improved Uniform Lessons of the In ternational Council. The outlines are copyrighted by the International Coun cil of Religious Education and used by permission. The Scripture portions quoted are from the King James Ver sion unless otherwise stated.~\
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