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T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
July 1930
and usurers. Until the Jews came to Palestine rich land either lay fallow, or was used for grain when it might produce rich-quality fruits. Valley land was cov ered with swamps, and malaria stalked the country. The poverty-stricken peasant leased stretches of land from which he scratched a bare living, paying the rich landlord a net third of his produce, and being left with some $152 per annum. He became plunged in debt, paying excessive interest. Large tracts belonging to own ers often absent were quite uncultivated. “When the Jews first bought land, which they did usually from large land- owners, they anticipated the law by giv ing lavish compensation to the tenants. With this compensation the Arab freed himself from debt, leased a fresh tract, improved his equipment and rose in eco nomic status. If he chose to remain near the Jewish settlers, he profited from their enterprise and example. If he chose to retain or lease the same land, he was able to do so.”— Selected. The Privilege of Prayer The privilege o f prayer to me is one of my most cherished possessions, because faith and experience alike convince me that God Himself sees and answers, and His answers I never venture to criticize. It is only my part to ask. It /is entirely His to give or withhold, as He knows is best. If it were otherwise, I should not dare to pray at all. In the quiet o f home, in the heat of life and strife, in the face of death, the privilege of speech with God is inestimable. I value it more because it calls for nothing that the wayfaring man, though a fool, cannot give—that is, the simplest expression to his simplest desire. When I can neither see, nor hear, nor speak, still I can pray so that God can hear. When I finally pass through the val ley o f the shadow of death, I expect^ to pass through it in conversation with Him. — Dr. W. T. Grenfell. How to Pray “ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6). In prayer the most important thing is to catch the ear o f Him to whom you speak. Do not offer one petition until you are fully con scious of having secured the attention of God. You need to have your heart filled by the Spirit with the holy consciousness that the everlasting, almighty God is in deed come very near you. • —Andrew Murray. Interpretations of Love Patience is Love- on the anvil, bearing blow after blow of suffering. Zeal is Love in the harvest field, never tiring of toil. Meekness is Love in company, when it vaunteth not itself. Perseverance is Love on a journey, pressing on with unflagging step toward the end. Joy is Love making its own sunshine, where others see nothing but gloom. Power is Love driving the soul’s chariot wheels over all opposition. Gentleness is nothing but Love in her own sweet voice and manner.— Selected.
Approach— How many characters in the Bible can you think o f who were la borers? Who was “the Carpenter of Na zareth” ? The call of God to special ser
V. 12. How had the people corrupted the Nazirites? What attitude toward the prophets of God had they assumed? 3 :7, 8. To whom does God reveal His secret? Did Amos have certainty about the message? What figure does he use to illustrate it? * * * P ractical P oints 1. Days of temporal prosperity are prac tically always followed by times of spir itual laxity and decline. The conditions in Judah in the latter part of the reign of Uzziah and the period following, are graphically described by Isaiah (chap. 1-3). 2. Amos was not ashamed of his fam ily or of his trade. A plain laborer, de voted to God, can become a mighty prophet. 3. The message of Amos was greatly needed. Every age needs fearless men like him. 4. As a true prophet Amos spared no individual or nation. He inveighs in turn against Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, Judah, and Israel. This was sure to make him very unpopular and very lonely. 5. There was a state-controlled reli gion at Bethel that had departed far from the ancient religion of Israel. Amaziah, the high priest, appeals to the king to sup press Amos, charging him with treason. Next he seeks to frighten Amos. But the prophet obeys God rather than human governments (cf. Acts 5:29). 6. The messenger who can with con fidence say “thus saith the Lord” need not fear the wrath of men. 7. The true Nazirite o f today is one whose life is wholly dedicated to God. Would that there were more o f them. How sad that some, in the name of re ligion, seek to corrupt God’s Nazirites. 8. God has in every age raised up men to whom He has given special revelation of His will and His purpose. They have had no doubt that their message was from God. We have no need to doubt that God spake in time past through the prophets, however many may be the attacks upon the genuineness and authenticity of the books of the Old Testament. * * * G olden T ext I llustration • The first missionary volunteer of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was Mary I. McClellan. This young woman, a cousin o f Grover Cleveland, was a teacher in Canton, Miss. One day she was so moved by an address on missions by Bish op William Capers that she put on the collection plate a card bearing the words: “ I give myself and five dollars to mis sion work.” She married J. W. Lambuth, and with him went to China. Their son was the late Bishop W. R. Lambuth, one o f the lights o f modern Methodist mis sions. At J. W. Lambuth’s birth his fa ther, who had been a missionary to the Indians said: “ I dedicate him to foreign mission work and will give a bale of cot ton to help pay his expenses.”— The Christian Advocate. * * * A Shepherd who Became Great Amos 1:1; 7:10-15; 2:11, 12; 3:7, 8. Memory Verse. —rMan looketh on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looketh on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7).
vice c o m e s while we are in the path of duty. Lesson S t o r y.— After Solomon died, the kingdom w a s d i v i d e d into two parts, I s r a e l and J u d a h . U z z i a h , who was king of Judah at this time, had reigned fifty- two years. He was
a wise and capable king, and' under his rule Judah was prosperous; but toward the last o f his reign, pride led him to per form the duties of the priests, and be cause o f this hewas punished with lep rosy. Amos was a shepherd. As he tended his flocks he could look away to the north where, twelve miles distant, was Mount Olivet. In later years this moun tain was associated with the Great Shep herd who gave His life for the “sheep” so dear to Him. One day God called Amos from the work in the field with which he was busy; —called him to be a missionary and an evangelist. In the same way, years later, the Good Shepherd said to His disciples, “Follow me.” ' Likewise, He has said this to many since that time who have gladly answered, as Amos did: “Here am I ; send me!” Israel had sinned, had become polluted with idolatry. God’s commands were broken. The priests, who should have led the people into worshiping God, had them selves become robbers. The land was full of drunkenness, self-indulgence, selfish ease, robbery, murder, oppression, and in difference to God and His commands. Amos was called to preach to this sinful, needy people. God told him what to say, and as the message came to Amos he gave it out, He told the people God hated their sins and would punish Israel. But his mes sage was rejected, and he was told to re turn to his own country. In the Book o f Amos there are many expressions that we often hear quoted. Can you tell what some of them are ? One of the most familiar is about two walking together. Amos preached against intoxicating drinks. Would he preach in the same way if he lived now? Amos had courage and boldness in giv ing out the message of God. He knew God had called him, and wotild be with him. So today when God calls to any ser vice, small or great, He says: “Lo, I am with you alway.” Prayer. Arab Serf Emancipated •THAT Jews by their purchase of land in Palestine had paved the way not only to a Jewish renaissance but to the emancipation o f the Arab serf, was the statement made by Elias M. Epstein, General Secretary of the Jewish National Fund Headquarters at Jerusalem, who is in New York to further the work of the Fund. “ Remarkable as it may seem to those unacquainted with Palestine conditions, it is a fact,” he said, “that Zionists are bear ing in their hands a means for the re demption of the Arab fellah from slavery
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