July-August, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
284
said, was to “do justly”—not to be unfair or to cheat people. The second was to “love mercy.” That means to be kind to people—to be kind even when they have done wrong to us. That is hard to do, isn’t it? But God says that that is the way to live. And then the third important thing was to walk humbly with God—not to be proud, but to remember that all that we have comes from God, and to remem ber to thank Him for it. Because Jesus loved us so much that He died for us, we want to do His “ commandments,” which we read in God’s Word. If we truly love the Lord Jesus, we shall love the people around us, too.
BLACKBOARD LESSON
fore the Lord. The voice o f the Lord is heard (v. 9), and the wise will heaken and fear. III. T he R ejection of the P lea (10-13). The reasons for rejecting the plea of Jehovah are not far to seek (vs. 10-12). There was continuous wickedness in busi ness transactions (vs. 10, 11). Short weights and deceitful balances were used, to the robbing o f the buyers. Such decep tion is an old trick, to which wicked men have often turned. There was also violence practiced by rich men (v. 12). They not only engaged in false dealing, but they resorted also to violence to further their ends. Perhaps these rich men would not personally be come engaged in wicked dealings, but by hiring others to act for them, the wealthy oppressors - became more guilty than the actual perpetrators of the crimes. Furthermore, deceit was the mainstay o f the rich, by which they sought to uphold their positions (v. 12). It must be remem bered that lies may be told without uttering a word. W e are responsible for the con struction which we know will be placed upon our actions as well as our words. Thus Israel, by false dealing, violence, and deceit, rejected the plea o f the Lord, and the nations were informed o f the righteousness o f God when He acted in the administration of discipline. The action is described in verse 13. Sickness would come upon the people. They would suffer pain and weakness and disability—the sure fruits borne in any nation that is in rebel lion against God. And the Lord declares that desolation would follow. The people would be removed from their place, they would be brought once more to captivity, and distress would characterize their na tional life. W e are to remember that God is no respecter o f persons or nations, and in the message o f this prophecy there is needed truth for us. Points and Problems 1. Notice the challenge o f God in verse 3 : “ O my people, what have I done unto thee? . . . testify against me.” Only God can issue such a challenge. Only God need have no fear when the “books” are opened. In Him there is no iniquity, no injustice, no failure in righteousness. Not one o f us could say, “Testify against me,” on the basis of his own personal record. But our Lord Jesus Christ could issue the challenge, “Which o f you convicteth me o f sin?” (John 8:46, R .V .). “ There is none good, but one; that is, God” (Mk. 10:18). Until we have learned this truth, we know noth ing. 2. Notice the call o f God in verse 5: “ O my people, remember now.” Not only could God challenge the people to find any un righteousness in Him, but also He could point to numberless blessings poured out upon an undeserving people through the centuries which were past. There is no better antidote for discouragement and the complaining spirit than to sit down and "remember”— remember all the deliver ances, the unexpected favors, the blessings for which we neither labored nor prayed. How easy it is to forget! “They soon forget his works”—is the old story of man’s treacherous memory. 3. Verses 6 to 8 have been great favor ites with those men who deny the necessity for blood atonement. They say God re quires nothing except the good life—that sacrifice is unnecessary. But they misread the passage. “What doth the Lord require o f thee?” The key is in the words "of thee.” Man is utterly unable to provide his own atonement for sin. The atonement
that God required was provided by God Himself. “ God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Cor. 5 :19). The Lamb is from God, not from man. And no man can “walk humbly” with God while rejecting the sacrifice of God’s Lamb for human sin. Golden Text Illustration It is related o f Saint Francis of Assisi that he one day met a peasant who asked him,“Art thou Francis?” And Francis ac knowledged his name, it may have been with something o f pride, for it was a name far-famed for piety and good deeds. But the peasant uttered this warning: “Take heed that thou be as good as men believe thee.” It was a startling admonition, and might have seemed superfluous, for Francis was a saint, and he who warned him was a peasant. But Francis was good enough and sensible enough to know that a wise word had been spoken, and he took the warning to his heart. It would be well for every man reputed to be good, if some one should thus ad monish him. He to whom men look up has great need o f humility. For if he fall, many will be caused to stumble by his fall. —The Youth’s Evangelist. Micah Tells How to Please God M icah 6 :1-11 Memory Verse: "This is my command ment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John IS :12, 14). Approach: Our stories have been about the Old Testament prophets, Elijah, Elisha,
Objects: A quart jar filled with water, a pint jar filled with gasoline, a small amount o f black oil color, black ink, a spoon, a shallow basin, and a pitcher o f water. Paint the outline of a heart on each jar. Lesson: Can you tell the names of boys by the noise they make ? ,I have two bro thers in my hand bag this morning, and if you listen carefully, you may be able to guess their family name. (Shake the bag, causing the jars to rattle.) They sound like the bottle brothers, but they are their cousins, Jess and Jim Jar. This is Jess and his little brother Jim. Jess is like many boys who, when they get a little older, think that it is smart and big to go with bad companions. When the others ask him to smoke, he does. (Drop a few drops of the black ink into the jar.) It takes only one sin to make the heart black in the sight of God. When Jess’s companions ask him to go to some o f the many places o f sin, he goes. Notice how black his heart is getting 1 Let us look now at Jim. His heart is clean and pure. The thing that happens to Jim teaches us that the suggestion to sin does not always come from the outside. I will take this spoon and stir him and see what happens. (Before putting the gaso line in the jar, place the black oil color in the bottom.) Now Jim’s heart is as black as Jess’s. Boys and girls do not have to be taught to hate, lie, and steal. They are born with sin in the heart, arid the sin only waits for an opportunity to mani fest itself. This water represents the pure Word of God. The psalmist said: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” The W ord of God tells of Christ’s death on the cross and His power to save. And when it is allowed to do so, the Word o f God cleanses the heart. Jess does not allow it to change his heart. His heart is still filled with sin. (Pouring water in the water leaves the heart black.) Jim receives the Word o f God into his heart and lets it cleanse him from sin. (The water forces the gasoline to overflow, leav ing the heart clear.) How necessary it is that each boy and girl should receive the W ord of God, allowing it to cleanse the heart o f sin ! Let us be sure to receive God’s Word today.
Amos,and Hosea, and some o f the things that they taught the people. Today our story is about an other prophet. His name was M i c a h , and he, too, had a message for the peo ple. Lesson Story: The people whom these prophets were talk
ing to, were the same chosen people whom, years before, God had brought out of Egypt and to the promised land. For a while they had worshiped God and obeyed His commandments, but after a while they began to do wicked things. They worshiped false gods and did things which the Lord had commanded them not to do. Then Micah had to speak to the people again. He began, “ Hear ye now what the Lord saith” ; and that was just what the people had forgotten, wasn’t it? Because they had forgotten all about what God had said, they were having a great deal of trouble. Micah asked them whether the Lord could be pleased with their worship and sacrifices if their lives were full o f sin. Then he reminded them o f the way God wanted them to live. The first thing, he
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