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July- August, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Golden Text Illustration Mrs. Luffe, author of the Adventures of Sister Abigail, left her brother’s house one winter night, and was proceeding homeward, when a man rushed from a vacant piece o f ground, and, seizing her, demanded to know what her hand bag con tained. “ Twenty cents.” “And what have you in that bundle ?” he asked, referring to a small parcel that she carried. “ Only a little fruit, which you can have.” Producing her Bibid, she said, “ This is the most precious thing that I possess, for it tells me that ‘God so loved . . . that he gave his only begotten Son, that who soever believeth’ ”—and could not finish. Four years afterwards the man returned, having been converted through the text.— 1,000 Acts and Facts, by Pickering.
vival in Israel, the people being here spoken of under the term “Ephraim” (v. 8 ). There will be a final and complete turning from all idols and a return to the Lord. In the words of verse 3, Ephraim will look to none other for help, nor will he trust in the work o f his own hands. The future of Israel is bright with the promises of God, and surely these promises will find fulfill ment in a soon-coming day. That time will be when the Lord Jesus Christ shall return to earth and find Israel ready to receive Him as their divine Sovereign. IV. T he E xhortation of G od ’ s L ove (9 ). Here is a call for wisdom and prudence to be shown in understanding what the Lord has said. The fear o f the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and hearkening to the' Lord is the beginning of prudence. The wise shall understand the truths the pro phet has spoken, and the prudent shall know them. Understanding does not come through mere mental ability. Spiritual com prehension comes as the fear o f the Lord produces the wisdom which alone can enter into and appreciate the things o f God. And obedience to the Lord’s Word is the proof and manifestation o f prudence. Then there follows an exhortation to walk in the ways o f the Lord, because those ways are right. It is not enough that man shall walk in ways which appear right and good to himself; he must not cease seeking until his feet are set in the ways which appear right and good to the Lord. “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man” —but man’s opinion is no guarantee that he is in the Lord’s way. In the times o f the judges, “every man did that which was right in his own eyes”—but though doing right in his own eyes, he was doing wrong in God’s sight. Only as we hearken to the Word will we know what God’s ways are. The prophet ends this portion with a warning to the transgressors. The ways of the Lord are perilous ways for the transgressor, and none can walk therein without stumbling to his own hurt. Points and Problems 1. Sometimes it is said by critics of the Bible that the God o f the Old Testament is a God of wrath—that if we want to see
A Missionary’s Thanks Hundreds of missionaries, who could not afford to pay for^ T he K ing ’ s B usiness , receive the magazine through the liberality of other friends. A missionary, located in Amato, Ecuador, writes as follows: ‘‘T he K ing ’ s B usiness is very much appreciated, and I wish to give my heartfelt .thanks to the one who is sending it to me. Best of all, the magazine' is still true to the old gospel.” a God of love, we must come to the New Testament. Such people should read the book of Hosea. In all the Bible, the New Testament not excepted, there is no more beautiful revelation o f the eternal love of God. Read the third chapter especially, where Jehovah commands the prophet to take unto himself “an adulteress” as his wife, in order that he might understand and set forth God’s unwavering love for the people o f Israel who had forsaken Him and played the harlot with other gods. 2. The nature of God’s love for His peo ple is set forth very wonderfully in a clause of the fourth verse o f chapter 14. Jeho vah says: “I will love them freely." The Hebrew word here is nedabah, a term which is used generally in the Old Testa ment for the “ freewill offering.” Now the peculiar nature of the “ freewill offer ing” was that it was not required. It was an offering that the worshiper made volun tarily without any demand. And this is exactly the nature of God’s love toward us. There is nothing in us that requires Him to love us. In fact, there is much in us that makes us very unlovable. Yet His love never ceases. It is God’s freewill o f fering on our behalf. Surely this teaching in the book o f Hosea approaches the New Testament doctrine of grace. 3. “For I am God, and not man" (Hosea 11:9). This is the reason given by Jehovah to explain why Israel was not utterly de stroyed for her sins. It is better to deal with God than with man. Man very quickly loses patience. It is not so with God. David knew something about this fact, and after his sin he cried: “ Let us fall now into the hand o f the L ord ; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand o f man” ( 2 'Sam. 24:14).
God’s Wonderful Love H osea 14:1-9
Memory Verse: “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Approach : Our story today is about still another prophet—Hosea. He lived at the
same time as Amos, and he prophesied to the same people, the people of Israel. Lesson Story: H o sea was an Israelite, and he lived to see the prophecies which Am os mad e about these people come true. You remember that God told Amos that unless the peo
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ple turned from their sins and from wor shiping strange gods, they would be de stroyed as a nation and would be taken captive. After this punishment had happened, Hosea began to prophesy, giving God’s message to the people. He talked to them about their sins and the punishment which had come to them, and which he knew that they deserved. But he went on to tell them that although God would punish His people, He would never cease to love them, and that when they were willing to return to Him, He would receive them. God said to His people, through H osea: “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely.” This has always been true. Because God loves His people, He is always ready to forgive them when they are sorry for their sins. He loves them so much that He gave His best gift, “his only begotten Son,” that all who believe in Jesus might not need to be punished, but might be with Him for ever and ever. God is like the father in the story that Jesus told His disciples when He was on earth—the story about the young man who went away from home and wasted his money and time until he had nothing left. He was so poor that he had to take care of a man’s pigs. He was hungry enough to eat the husks that were given to the pigs. Finally, he thought he would return to his father, for perhaps his father might take him back. When his father saw the young man coming—poor and sinful as he was— the loving father ran to meet him and to welcome him back. God is like that—always ready to wel come and forgive any one who comes to Him.
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