April, 1939
146
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Outline and Exposition L T he O bject L esson (Jer. 35:5-10) T HE Rechabites were a nomadic tribe of Kenites friendly to Judah. They had been brought to Jerusalem when Nebuchadnezzar’s army sp read te rro r throughout the country. Jeremiah used them as an object lesson to show the people of Judah that the reason God had forsaken His people was that Judah had forsaken Him by disobeying His commands. Jeremiah set pots full of wine before these Rechabites and bade them drink: and Jeremiah was doing just what the Lord told him to do (v. 5; cf. vs. 12, 13). The proph ets at times performed peculiar actions which would arouse the curiosity of the people and thus gain a hearing for the message from God. This action of Jere miah’s gave the prophet opportunity to press home upon Judah the lesson of obe dience which was so sorely needed. The steadfastness of the Rechabites was revealed at once. Their refusal of the wine was immediate and definite, which might have seemed ungracious. They were guests at Jerusalem and as such might be expected to follow the custom of their hosts. However, though they refused the wine, they gave the reason for doing so. They were obeying their father’s command. In effect they were saying,- “Our father had a right to impose restrictions upon us: there fore, in obedience we will drink no wine nor will we build houses to live in.” The point was not whether the command was good or bad, nor whether drinking wine or building houses were evil things, but the point was the obedience to the command. Then Jeremiah applied the lesson for his people. The Rechabites could declare that they had "done according to all that Jona- dab our father commanded us” (v. 10), and they were protected and prospered. The deduction was that if Judah would, in like manner, obey God, she would be pro tected and prospered of the Lord. This passage is a poor one from which to teach the evils of beverage alcohol. If we attempt to draw this lesson from it, we must, to be consistent, teach also that it is an evil thing to build houses. The passage is not primarily concerned with the wine but with obedience to the Lord’s commands, whatever those commands may be. II. T he C ommand (Eph. 5:15-21) In passages addressed to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the teaching is plain that God’s people are to walk in wisdom, not in folly, and are to redeem the time because of the character of the days in which they live. They are warned against being self- indulgent. Instead of being drunk with the wine of this earth, they are to be filled with the Spirit of God. Their pleasure and en thusiasm are to be the outgrowth of the operation of the Holy Spirit. The emphasis of this passage is upon the Holy Spirit, not upon wine. Spirit-filled Christians will have singing hearts. They also will have grateful hearts, giving thanks continuously for everything that comes into their lives. Moreover, they will have submissive hearts, acknowledg ing that all other believers have equal rights in the Lord.
In order to become a child of God, one is bom of the Spirit (John 3:5, 6 ). He is also sealed (2 Cor. 1:22), baptized (1 Cor. 12:13), and indwelt by the Spirit These operations cannot be repeated. But in the measure that the believer yields to the in dwelling Spirit, he is filled with the Spirit. T o be filled with the Holy Spirit is the privilege and duty of every Christian. The Spirit-filled life will make possible a knowl edge of the will of God, and a performance of it. III. T he E xhortation (6:1-4) In this passage Christian children are in view, and they are to render obedience to their earthly parents "in the Lord.” As long as they are children, their parents stand before them as being in the Lord’s place, and it is to Him, through the parents, that they are to render obedience. The story of the Rechabites, in the first part of the lesson, supplies an excellent illustration of filial obedience. In dealing with their children, fathers are exhorted to follow the example of the heav enly Father in His treatment of His own. Instead of wrath, there is to be love—even in the midst of the discipline. Children are to be brought up in the nurture and admo nition of the Lord—and this instruction in volves responsibility for the parents! Much is heard today of the incorrigibility of chil dren, but we should rather think first of the willfulness and slackness of parents in re jecting the instruction of this verse. Obedi ence to the commands of this single verse of Scripture would do more to correct the present trend of society than would all the rules and regulations offered by psycholo gists. Let the parents obey the Lord, and they will find the children ready to obey father and mother. Points and Problems 1. "Drink y e wine" (Jer. 35:5). Even apart from the subject of temperance, this passage should warn us against the folly of taking single texts out of their Biblical con text. The above text, out of its context, ap pears to be a divine command to drink wine, whereas the context shows that it is nothing of the sort. 2. “They said, W e will drink no wine" (v. 6 ). It is interesting to note that wine in the Old Testament was not forbidden sweepingly to all the Jews, but to certain groups or classes; for example, to the priests (Lev. 10:9), and to those who took the Nazaritic vow (Num. 6:2-4). Both of these classes were separated and set apart to God in a special sense, and therefore be come fitting types of the New Testament believer. This is also true of these Recha bites in the lesson. Not only were they not to drink wine, but they were not even per mitted to build houses nor to plant vine yards. Moreover, they were to dwell in tents through all their days, a wonderful type of the New Testament believer who is not only a priest separated unto God but is also never to forget that he is a pilgrim and a stranger in this present evil world. 3. Looking at the entire passage in Ephesians 5:15-21, we should realize that the whole question of temperance (in so far
SOUTH AFRICA GENERAL MISSION
23 Flatbush Avenue Brooklyn • N. Y.
“How can I except some man should guide me” ; said the A F R I C A N to Philip. “How shall they hear without a preacher” ; said Paul. Thousands of native AFRICANS are waiting to hear of Jesus. The S.A.G.M. is pioneering in uncovered territories, and through its band of faithful workers seeking to make Christ known. Information will be fur nished on request.
SPECIAL . . .
S P R I N G R A T E S ★ Are now in effect at The Huntington Hotel and Apartments— “overlooking the Blue Pacific.** Com fortable living with friendly service. ★ Good food (no liquor) served in our Marine Dining Room. Garage in building. • Single‘rooms........................ $2 Double rooms . . . . $3 Large apartments . $5 All with private bath. A few higher. THE HUNTINGTON HOTEL 1 3 0 0 E a st O cean Bou levard L o n g B e a c h , C a l i f o r n i a Telephone 662-53 Communion Cups Send for Folder and SP E C IA L OFFER at low prices. Glasses $1.00 Dozen. Tray and 86glasses $6.60 up. Beautiful CHROMIUM - PLATED, Aluminum. Wood and Silver-plated Services. Collection&Bread Plates, Pastor's Sick Outfits, etc. Thomas Communion Service. Box 1214 Lima. Ohio •
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker