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T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S
w ith another. There must never be any idols, no graven image, no likeness of anything in heaven or on earth , as an object of worship; no worship of God through mediums of any kind. He is a jealous God and will never divide His honour w ith another, nor perm it men to divide th e ir wor ship. How soon Israel forgot th is and made a golden calf! The tem ptation is always before men to have outw ard objects as an aid to worship. Our friends in th e Roman Catholic church have illu strated th is to us,— the V irgin Mary, the saints, th e Pope. It is all robbery, robbing God of His own. (3) PRACTICAL APPLICATION. Two words stand out here, “visiting iniquity” and “shew ing mercy.” We inh erit th e blessings or curses of pre ceding generations. I t would be wise for America to medi ta te upon this. The Lord is long-suffering (Num. 14 :18 ). Good trees or corrupt trees (Matt. 7 :18 ; John 14 :21 ). God to lerates no riv al (Isa. 4 2 :8 ). He shields His name (v. 7). Note how th e Jews regarded th e name of Jehovah, -—it was only pronounced once yearly by th e H igh P riest. God is holy. His name is holy. It m ust not be profaned by lightly or falsely using it. God gave Israel six days and demanded one for Himself. Man needs one day of re st and God provided rest and refreshm ent for soul and body (Matt. 12:5-8; Mark 2:24-27). Christians are given a new day— th e first day— a Lord’s day. How we should glory in it and use it fo r Him! The g ist of these precepts is th is: God is a un it— one God. He is before- all and above all things. He demands first place. P aren ts, children, pleasures and treasu res must be secondary. L et nothing change God’s order. Give Him first— best—ALL! Avoid everything which would hinder single-eyed worship of God. The first table of th e law had to do w ith the motives which regu late th e life in relation to God. The second table has to do w ith th e method of life in relation to others. The fifth command is a stepping-stone from the first five commandments to the last five. Our Lord laid g reat stress upon this, as did P aul (Eph. 6 :2 ). The fam ily is the foundation of th e nation. We move ou t from the home to our fellow men. The basis of our national life is in th e home. P aren ts are a g ift from God and stand in place of God to th e ir children. There is a solemn duty and obligation from children to th eir parents which should be recognized. We have in these days a sickly sentim entality in reference to th e raising of children th a t has no w arra n t from God. Some teach th a t children should follow th e ir bent, bu t when they do it is hell-bent. If children are to learn to honor and obey God and the. laws of the land, they must learn in the home obedience and reverence for law and authority, or woe to our nation! We are facing now th e saddest spectacle ever faced by any nation by reason of our disregard for th is prim al law, in which lies th e seed of anarchy. P aren ts who fail to en force God’s law fo r the fam ily are enemies of the state. P aren ts should seek to insure for th e ir children a rich heritage (Eph. 6:1, 2; Prov. 1:8, 9). (5) PERSONS AND PROPERTY TO BE REGARDED. “Thou sh a lt n o t k ill.’’ Human life is sacred. God demanded a life for a life. He sets a high prem ium upon life. The Jews hated and murdered Jesu s and have paid and are paying an awful penalty. Nothing should be done or allowed 'to be done which will shorten life. H. MAN’S DUTY TO MAN, vs. 12-17. (4) PARENTS TO-BE REVERENCED.
FEBRUARY 24, 1924 THE GIVING OF THE LAW Exodus, Chapter 20
Golden Text: “And God spake all these words, saying, I am th e Lord thy God, which brought thee out of th e land of Egypt, ou t of the house of bondage. Thou sh alt have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:1-3. Outline: I. MAN’S DUTY TOi GOD, vs. 1-11.
(1 ) Principles of Life. (2 ) P recepts Spoken. (S) P ractical Application, n. MAN’S DUTY TO MAN, vs. 12-17. (4) Parents to be Revered.
(5 ) Persons and P rop erty to be Regarded. ( 6 ) P ropensities to be Repressed.
In troduction: To attem p t to outline these commandments in th e lim ited space alo tted for th is lesson is no little job, bu t we will do our best. About 380 words embrace th e English tran slation of these “Ten Words” as they are called, LESSON which are the foundation of man’s moral EXPOSITION obligation to God and man. They consti- T. O. H orton tu te a condensed summary of man’s duty, w ith th e m ark of divinity upon its face, “And God spake all these words,”— and in speaking them God set His seal to th e fundam ental fact th a t man has, by b irth , a sinful natu re. (1) PRINCIPLES OF L IFE . There was a three-fold giving of th e law: (11 Orally (Ex. 20:1-17; (2) Tables given to Moses (Ex. 24:12 -18 ); (3) Second tables w ritten by Moses (Ex. 34:1-29). In addition to the commandments, God gave to Moses th e laws concerning civil and ceremonial practice, consist ing of seven groups of ten precepts each, all of these being the n atu ra l expansion of the first ten. God took Moses into His own presence and gave him the law.- It is well to remember th a t th e law was given to Israel as a redeemed people (v. 2 and Deut. 5 :1 5 ). Man is a fallen creatu re and under th e condemnation of God. There can be no relation between God and man on n atu ra l grounds. But Israel was a covenant people, and the law is a sign of covenant relationship: In these commandments we have th e expression of the character of God,— not all, bu t all th a t could be revealed to man a t th a t time. When Christ came, He gave a sp irit ual in terp retation to th e law. Three things are revealed to us in th is law. (1) Man’s inheren t sinfulness. (2) Man’s h atred of the will of God. (3) Man’s antagonism to righteousness. The comprehen sion of these fundam ental facts would g reatly aid our law m akers to understand the law -breakers, and th e necessity .of giving to men th e only solution— th e gospel of grace— which produces a new n atu re.
The law was not given to Israel as a mea,ns of salvation, for th a t was provided in th e sacrifices (Rom. 3 :2 0 ). The law is weak through th e flesh (Rom. 8 :3 ). Jesus Christ fulfilled all law (Psa. 4 0 :8 ). “ I d e l i g h t t o d o t h y w i l l , O m y G o d ; y e a , t h y l a w i s w i t h in m y h e a r t .” (2 ) PRECEPTS SPOKEN.
“ God spake all these things,” by His own lips, and w rit ten by His own fingers. “Thou sh alt have no gods along side of me.” T h at is first and foremost. Nothing is to be added to Him. He stands alone, th e one and only adorable One. Each individual is commanded to obey th is precept. There is bu t one God and He will never fehare His glory
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