THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
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Eighteen kings followed during *two hundred and fifty years, and It was written of each one, “He did evil in the sight of the Lord.” Hoshea filled the cup of iniquity to the brim. God’s long-suffering forbearance was reward ed by Israel’s shutting her ears to God’s entreaty and boldly and baldly going over to Satanic worship. We have a wonderful country, blessed beyond any other nation by reason of our greater light; a nation founded on the Bible, nurtured and cultured by all possible blessings of schools and church es. Yet heathen worship of the most -atrocious kind is practised, God’s Word is denied and set aside, God’s worship is mingled with the worship of false gods, God’s forbearance is ignored, and God’s judgment is sure. There should come to us out of this solemn lesson from God’s Book a call to confession of sin and consecration of life to God. (1) GOD’S RECITATION OF IS RAEL’S SINS, vs. 7-12. Israel was God’s peculiar people. They had been separated unto Himself by the blood of the lamb (Ex. 12:22, 23 ). He put a difference between them and the Egyptians (Ex. 11:7) “But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man nor beast; that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between, the Egyptians and Israel.” The distinction which God makes be tween people is the separating mark of the blood of Christ. “ When I see the blood, I will pass over you.” Blessed the man or woman who is sheltered beneath the blood of Calvary (1 Pet. 1:18, .19) The first seven- verses of the lesson specify the sins of Israel which result ed in God giving them over to captivity. (1) They walked in the statutes of the heathen, v. 8. (2) They committed secret sins, v. 9. • “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things * * * but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.”
(3) They built high places cities, v. 9. (4) They set up images in v. 10. groves, (5) They burnt incense in high places, v. 11. (6) They wrought wicked v. 11. things, (7) They served idols, v. 12. God has recorded these things for our admonition (1 Cor. 10:11) “fliow all these things happened unto them for ensamples; and they are writ ten for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come.” Israel learned their evil ways from the heathen (Psa. 106:35). God had given them the most fearful warning against idolatry (Deut. 13:6-8) “ nrotner, the son of thy mother, ° r daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, 01\?hy ir,en'l which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou or thy fathers, Namely, of the sods of the people which ? re r« nJ.nd about you, nigh unto thee or tar off from thee from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him.” (Deut. 27:15) Cursed be the man that maketh any graven or molten image, an abomination unto the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and putteth it in a secret place; and all the people shall answer and say, Amen.” They had been commanded to de stroy the heathen altars (Ex. 34:13) “But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images and cut down their groves.” The last king of Israel—Hoshea— took the throne through intrigue and murder (2 Ki. 15:30) “And Hoshea, the son of Elah, made a conspiracy against Pekah, son of Rema- liah, and smote him, and slew him, and reigned In his stead, in the twentieth year of Jotham, son of Uzziah.” When the king of Assyria came up against him, he surrendered (v. 3). What a contrast between him and King Hezekiah, of Judah (2 Chron. 32:7, 8) “Be strong and courageons, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of As syria, nor for all the multitude that is with him; for there be more with us than with him. With him Is an arm of flesh; but with us Is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles. And the people rest- in the
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