October 1932
T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
448
form and will be, until such passages as Revelation 11:15 are fulfilled. The king rewarded fidelity when he returned (vs. 16, 17). The answer of the faithful ser vants in the parable was, “ Thy pound hath gained . . . ,” as though all the merit were in the pound and none in themselves. Without the pound, which was given to them, they would have had nothing, no matter what ability or faithfulness might have been theirs. The first group showed that they had accepted the king’s service, that ,they had actually engaged in it, that they had exercised fidelity, and that they had recognized his ownership and author ity over them. Hence they received the king’s commendation and promotion as their reward (cf. 2 Tim. 2:12). The second class of servants likewise re ceived rewards. They had manifested the same recognition o f ownership, the same acceptance o f the service given them, and had engaged in that service. But they had labored with less fidelity and wholehearted ness than the first class. There had not been as much gained, and therefore the reward was not as great. These servants did receive rewards, but no word o f com mendation. The third class o f servants merited and received rebuke rather than reward (vs. 20-23). They placed their pound in a napkin—the cloth used by toilers to wipe away the sweat brought by the toil. These servants were riot willing to work enough to start the sweat 1 They used what should have been a help in their service to hide the pound given them with which to work. They acknowledged they were servants, but they evaded the obligation o f that rela tionship. The lord rebuked them (vs. 22 ,23 ),but dealt fairly with them. They had accused him o f being a hard and unjust‘master. He met them on this their chosen ground and convicted them out o f their own mouths. If he were indeed what they claimed, they would have been all the more eager to please him, lest his hardness should have ■been shown toward them. But they re vealed, in spite of what they said, that they knew he was gracious and kind, and they thought to take advantage o f this. They forgot that while the Lord is good and kind, He is also just (Prov. 18:26). They had refused the pound by not using it. When they buried it, they buried them selves, together with all future reward. For the issues o f the use and exercise, the neglect or abuse, o f gifts given by the Lord, we should study Matthew 25:29: “ Unto every one that hath shall be given, and to him that hath not shall be taken even that he hath.” The unfaithful ser vant is the one who “ shall suffer loss” (1 Cor. 3:15). Lesson Questions Amos 5:11-15. Describe the times in which Amos prophesied : politically, mate rially, morally..In what ways were the rich oppressing the poor? Where were justice and law? What principle did the prophet urge the people to follow ? Where is there a suggestion that coming judgment might be averted? by what means? Lk. 19:16-23. What do the pounds in the parable represent? What class o f servants alone received commendation? What was probably the intended use o f the napkin? What significance is there in its misusè? Did the owner o f the unused talent really mean what he said ? What proof have you for your answer?
BLACKBOARD LESSON
were many poor people whose poverty was all the more evident because o f the con trast with the rich and powerful of the na tion. Morally, things were at a low ebb. There was little heart for God or His Word. The people were religious and ob served many rites and ceremonies; but of these observances the Lord spoke with ir ony (Amos 4:4, 5). What God had spoken concerning judgment and disaster was not believed; it was “ put far away” by some, while others said, “W e would see that day, as though it would be nothing more to them than an entertaining spectacle (5:18).. ih e prosperous were oppressing the poor, and the priest, Amaziah, was opposing the prophet. , . , Our lesson begins at the point where the prophet charges the people with their evil conduct, and pronounces sentence upon them. They were unjust in their treatment o f the poor. Because o f their helplessness, the poor were the more open to the unfair exactions laid upon them. T oo feeble to make any successful resistance, and too disorganized to offer a united front, they were the victims o f the greed and oppres sion of the rich (v. 11). The oppressors were cruel, and therefore mistaken, in their actions because they had been warned that a worse evil would overtake those who practiced cruelty. Being deaf to the W ord o f God, they persisted in their evil way. The prophet pronounced sentence upon them in verse 11. He told them that they would surely lose what they had built, and what they had planted would do them no good. In other words, the property they were laying up by their injustice during the times o f prosperity would all be taken from them. . . . , The reason for this judgment is stated in verse 12. This verse should be read ac cording to the Revised Version, which gives the better sense. The wickedness of the oppressors was known to the L ord : “For I know how manifold are your trans gressions and how mighty are your sins. All was known to Him, and He could do no other, being the God o f righteousness that He is, than bring judgment upon them. W e might well take this to heart today, as we remember that all things are naked and open before the eyes o f Him with whom we have to do. The wickedness o f the people was re vealed in a threefold manner. First, they afflicted the just by bringing false, witness against them. Second, they accepted bribes for bearing false witness. Third, they re jected the poor and dealt unjustly with them by means o f false witnesses. Be cause o f all this, there was no justice for the honest man. The courts of justice had failed lamentably, but their injustice would ultimately be punished. Just as surely will the laxness of our own courts of justice be reproved. The bearing o f false witness and the ease with which such false witness could be pur chased soon produced a sad state o f a f fairs; no one would go into court to testify to the truth (v. 13). “Therefore,” because o f the readiness o f the judges to hear false witnesses, and the danger to the one who would tell the truth, “ he that is prudent shall keep silence in such a time.” Very similar is it in our own day when all over the land the fear o f the criminal element in society deters those who could tell the truth from testifying. They are “prudent” in keeping silence, because in many cases silence is the only protection for their lives. An exhortation to Israel, calling her from her state of wickedness, is found in verses 14 and 15. The threatened judg-
ment could have been averted if Israel had put away her evil and had turned back to the Lord. The prophet exhorted the people to pos sess a right purpose in life. That purpose was ,to get the “good.” But to do so, they must have the true God in their midst. So the prophet declared, “ Seek the good . . . and so the Lord . . . shall be with you, as ye say." The last three words were spoken in sarcasm, because the people claimed that the Lord was.with thetn even in spite o f their wickedness. Next, he exhorted them to adopt the prin ciple o f justice, saying, “ Hate the evil, love the good, and establish justice in the gates.” The' “gates” were similar to our law courts. In other words, when judgment and jus tice were established therein, then the Lord’s people could look for the presence of the God o f all justice in their midst, but not before. The exhortation closes with the prom ise, or at least with the suggestion of the possibility, that the Lord would again prove Himself to be longsuffering with them and show forth His grace toward them, if they repented. The after history reveals that they refused to do this. But the grace was ready, as it is ready today, for all who would turn to the Lord in sincerity and truth. II. T he P arable of the P ounds (L k . 19:16-23). “Having received the kingdom” the lord o f the servants returned to exercise authority. The appointments were made on the ground o f the faithfulness and ability shown by the servants while the king had been absent. So faithfulness will be re vealed when the kingdom is set up. At the present time, the kingdom is in “mystery” The Bible B y C harles T albot Clasped in my hand I firmly hold ih e Book o f books for me: Here mines of sacred wealth I find, And records rich I see. To read this Bible more and more, Be my supreme delight, Live by its dictates day by day, And think thereon at night. Here God Himself draws very near, His is the voice I hear, ’Tis my Redeemer speaks to me, In words my life to cheer.
T o study,' learn, and ever live Upon the truths here given] This be my purpose and my joy Till earth is changed for heaven.
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