July - August, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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cobbler. The cobbler was astonished to see so reverend a father come to his house. Then Anthony said to him, “Come and tell me thy whole conversation, and how thou spendest thy time.” “ Sir,” said the cobbler, “as for me, good works have I none ; for my life is but sim ple and slender. I am but a poor cobbler. In the morning, when I rise, I pray for the whole city wherein I dwell, especially for all such neighbors and poor friends as I have; after, I set me at my labor, where I spend the whole day in getting my living ; and I keep me from all falsehood, for I hate nothing so much as I do deceitful ness ; wherefore; when I make to any man a promise, I keep it and perform it truly. And thus I spend my time poorly with my wife and children, whom I teach and in struct, as far as my wit will serve me, to fear and dread God, And this is the sum of my simple life.” In this story you see how God loveth those that follow their vocation, and live uprightly, without any falsehood in their dealing. This Anthony was a great, holy man ; and yet this cobbler was as much esteemed before God as he.— t B ishop L at im e r , in Tools for Teachers, by Moodie. When People Are Selfish A mos 6:1-7 Memory Verse: “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And thé second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self” (Matt. 22:37-39). . Approach: Some of the things which Amos scolded the people o f Bethel about said' to them some thing like this : “You are too fond of an easy time. You are afraid o f doing hard things. You think only of your own pleasure. You want rich, fine things for yourselves, but you care nothing about the hard times others are having. And what Amos said o f those people is true always. As soon as people grow laiy and luxury-loving, they often grow wicked, and God cannot use them in His work. Then He has to warn them. Sometimes He brings them trouble, so that they will stop and think. Years before the time of Amos, when God’s children were living in Egypt, they grew lazy and useless and fond of ease and comfort, and God let the Egyptian rulers turn against them. Then, when the peo ple had suffered until they were glad to leave the land of Egypt, God gave them Moses to lead them out. Sometimes God treats whole nations this way; sometimes He speaks to just one person. Do you remember that when Jesus was on earth, He told the people a story to warn them not to fall into the sin of liv ing selfishly? The story was about a man who had so much land and money that he didn’t know what to do with it all. He said he would build greater barns for all his rich crops ; he would eat, drink, and be merry ; he would live only for his own pleasure. But that very night was the time appointed by God for that man to die. He had, just wasted the time that God had given him. Our time belongs to God. He expects us to make good use of it. * 'V is \ o * are things which we, too, must remember are wrong. Lesson Story: He
maintained a position in the forefront of all the nations, if that nation had obeyed God. In this lesson is the picture which the Holy Spirit draws of all self-indulgence —whether it be in strong drink, impious music, extravagant pleasure, or any other evil. Self-indulgence is indicted as the enemy which creeps into the hearts of men, weaning them from God, and making them the victims o f their enemies. Points and Problems 1. There is in this lesson a very striking picture of a materialistic civilization. The people lounged upon beds o f ivory, they delicately ate the lambs out of the flocks, they soothed their ears with musical instru ments, they drank wine in bowls, they squandered much time and money in caring for their physical appearance, but apparent ly they were wholly unconcerned about spiritual matters—“the affliction o f Joseph.” In fact, had any one suggested that in spite of all their indolent luxury they were liv ing in “affliction,” doubtless they would have been greatly astonished. They were like the Laodiceans who supposed they were rich and had need of nothing, when as a matter o f fact they were “poor, and blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:17). 2. Amos 6 :5 denounces the people “that chant to the sound o f the viol.” The Amer ican Revised Version makes clearer what was wrong: “that sing idle songs to the sound of the viol.” There is nothing wrong with singing. It is in fact one of the high est forms o f spiritual worship and art. But to “sing idle songs” is a different matter. A great deal o f our modern popular music falls in this category. It has utterly no worth-while point or meaning. 3. Verse'5 also denounces the people for inventing instruments o f music like David. This rebuke seems at first thought as if the prophet were against musical art. But the key to the passage is in the words “to them selves." Their whole motive was selfish. The only point of comparison with David was in the character of the instruments. Beyond this similarity, there is nothing but contrast. David invented instruments for the purpose of praising God. These people had no thought beyond themselves and their own pleasure. Thus art may become either sensual or spiritual, depending upon the purpose to which it is dedicated. Golden Text Illustration We read a pretty story o f St. Anthony, who, being in the wilderness, led there a very hard and strait life, insomuch that none .at that time did the like; to whom came a voice from heaven, saying, “An thony, thou art not so perfect as is a cob bler that dwelleth at Alexandria.” Anthony, hearing this, rose up forth with, and took his staff, and went till he came to Alexandria, where he found the
same purpose. But the musical instru ments invented and used by Israel and their followers of today, in many cases contribute only to the indulgence of the flesh. 3. There was drinking of intoxicating wines (v. 6.) Excessive intemperance degraded the people both mentally and physically. They even used “bowls” that they might be drunken the sooner. Thus God’s gifts are taken and debased, until they become enemies o f the human body and ravagers o f the human brain. 4. There was sacrilegious luxury in the use of special perfume (v. 6). Perfume was expressly ordained for use in the worship of G od.(Ex. 30:34-38). But nothing was withheld from their impious hands, and in their sinfulness, the people would invade the rights of God Himself. Though the “ chief ointments” may or may not have been the perfume reserved solely for the worship of God, any excess is sac rilegious. Turning from the positive statement of their sins, the prophet condemned the peo ple for their negative attitude in not being grieved for the “ affliction of Jqseph” (v. 6). Joseph’s story was a continual re proach to Israel, but the reproach fell upon hearts o f adamant when Israel turned to self-indulgence. III. T he P unishment of I srael (11-14). These verses are a continuation of the sentence of punishment pronounced upon Israel, which begins in verse 8. The peo ple o f Israel would be held captive by their enemies, just as the intemperate man becomes a slave to his habits. Israel’s ban quets would cease, just as the pleasure soon departs from the intemperate use of God’s gifts. And the punishment was sure, because it rested upon God’s oath (vs. 7, 8 ). Their great houses would be rent asun der, and their little houses would be cleft in twain (v. 11). Any other outcome would be impossible—as impossible at it would be for horses to run upon smooth rock, or for oxen to plow rock (v. 12). And all this was the case because Israel had turned “judgment into gall,” a poisonous herb (Deut. 29:18), and “ the fruit of righteousness into hemlock.” Thus Israel had become like one who rejoices in a thing of nought, as one who thinks that by his own power he can push away the judge ment of God, as an animal with horns would push away an enemy. The final judgment would come to the people o f Israel in the form o f a foreign nation’s oppression,afflicting them through out all the borders o f the land (v. 14). At the end of this period of persecution, Is rael would be carried away captive by this foreign nation. Yet Israel might have
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