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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
December 1924
R jdhüüdhdbdb'H 5 H 5 E 52 SH 52 SE 5 H 5 S 5 ESE 52 SH 52 id!i[!iii!b'H 5 H 5 E 5 H 5 ESH 5 H 5 iH 52 SE 5 E 5 Eî 5 S 2 SH 5 H 5 ïïH 5 E 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 HîlffiE 525 EîHSE 5 H 5 S 5 ffiEH 5 E 5 E 5 S 5 E 5 E 5 BSH 5 SSE 525 E 525 ffiHS 2 SH 5 H 5 ï 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 ESî M En DiK ïuKKEn 1 öl«sÈH The Whole Bible Sunday School Lesson Course R e com m en d e d b y W o r ld s Fundamental A ssocia tion — — — --------- :— V - . EXPOSITION and PERTINENT QUESTIONS - - I . T C Horton COMMENTS FROM THE COMMENTARIES - - I _ - V V Morgan ELEMENTARY - - - - - - - Mrs. S. W. Barrett tJ H Î aa H I aa a cÈ 25 H 5 E 5 H 5 H 5 H 525 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 E 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 E 5 E 5 E 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 E 5 H 5 E 5 H 5 H 5 H 525 H 5 E 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 525 H 525 H 5 H 5 H 5 E 5 H 5 H 5 H 52 SH 5 S 5 H 5 H 5 E 5 S 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 H 5 DECEMBER 14, 1924 (Lesson 63) HEZEKIAH’S GOOD REIGN 2 Kings, Chapters 18-20 Golden Text: “ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.’’ Psalm 46:1. OUTLINE: was shed in our behalf, and recognize and worship Him as God manifest in the flesh. (c) , “He trusted in the Lord” , v. 5. He was no formal ist. It was not the mere quoting of a creed, not the mere form of worship with him, but heart-faith in Jehovah. Faith in the Lord is a practical thing. Faith was mani fest in action. He proved his faith by his works.
He believed God’s Word. He banked upon God’s promises. He was not moved by- the unbelief o f others. He believed Psa. 37:3 and 37:5 and acted accordingly. So can we if we will. If God’s Word cannot be trusted, we are of all people most miserable. We need to read and believe Prov. 3:5, 6 : “ Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. “ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (d) “He clave to the Lord” , v. 6 . He believed in the Lord. The Lord was his ideal, and he sought to please Him in all things. There were many temptations to test his faith, and many opportunities to depart from the Lord, but his heart was fixed. He could say: “ I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” , and as David said in Psalm 57:7, There was a fixedness of purpose in his life; a definiteness which is essential in any life, if it is to be successful. The need of the church lies here: Men and women who will cleave to the Lord because they adore Him, and will serve Him from loving hearts; who count nothing that they have — either time or treasure— too valuable to lay at His feet and use for His glory. (e) “ The Lord was with him” , v. 7. No other king of Judah carries this commendation, with the exception of David (2 Sam. 5:10). That the Lord was with him is evi denced from the whole; story of his life. He was not per fect, of course. There never has been a perfect man— not even David— save one Man. We are not to look for per fection in men, but we may look for signs of a surrendered will and God’s smile of approval. (Read 2 Chron. 32:27-30.) The Book gives; Hezejriah’s record, and God’s books will carry an unchangeable record of our own lives. Let us so live that evidence will be adduced that “ God is with us” . (f) “He smote the Philistines” , v. 8 . Hezekiah was a true soldier. He carried a sword. He threw off the yoke of bondage of the Assyrians and drove back the Philistines. He was “ God’s man” , and God’s men have always been fighting men. The Son of God wielded the sword of the Spirit. Love controlled His every act, but truth demanded His “ Woe unto you” to the Pharisees. There has never been any foundation in the Scriptures for a pacifist when God’s honor and glory were at stake, and never a timq when the two-edged Sword of the Spirit was not demanded in the warfare against Satan and sin, whether in the world or the church (Eph. 6:17, 18). (2) TRUST AND TRIUMPH OF HEZEKTAH, Oh. 19. ; *‘Lord, bow down thine ear and hear; open, Lord, thine eyes and see,” v. 16. “ The angel of the Lord went out and smote of the Assyrians 185,000,” v. 35.
(1) Transcendent Traits of Hezekiah, Ch. 18. (2) Trust and Triumph of Hezekiah, Ch. 19. (3) ’Testimony and Tears of Hezekiah, Ch. 20. INTRODUCTION: The three chapters assigned for our lesson today all deal with the character and conduct of one man, so we will seek to take a practical lesson from each chapter. (1) TRANSCENDENT TRAITS OP TTEZEKTATT, Ch, 18. “He clave to the Lord***and the Lord was with him.” vs. 7, 8 . Hezekiah was 25 years old when he be- LESSON gan to reign, and he reigned 29 years— EXPOSITION fourteen years before his severe illness, T. C. Horton and fifteen years subsequent thereto. There are six things said about him in these opening verses which reveal to us the characteristics of this good king. In viewing him, remember his wicked father, Ahaz, and the bad example which he set his son. (a) “ He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord” , v. 3. These words are recorded concerning but three of the kings of Judah: Asa (1 Ki. 15:11); Josiah (2 Ki. 22:2) ; Hezekiah. Bear in mind the character of the time— great national difficulties and general immorality of life. Israel had fallen to the depths, and Judah was idolatrous. But Hezekiah set himself to the task like a man to bring about a new era. The key to his program is “ doing that which was right” , and that is a good basis for the scholars to understand. Not what “ someone else does” , but “ what is right” ; what you know to be right, resisting every tendency to follow the example of any who do not, do right, even though they may be in the majority. (b) “He removed the high places” , v. 4. He cleaned house. He opened the temple which his father had closed, cleansed it from its filthiness (2 Chron. 29:5), re-estab lished the proper worship of .God, instituted again the Pass- over Feast, and.invited not only Judah, but the Israelites of the provinces round about. Then the people, revived by the conditions, went about everywhere breaking down the images and cutting down the groves. It would be a great day for God and His church if we could break down all the false worship in our land, cleanse our churches from all false teaching, and gather around the Lord’s Table, remembering Him whose blood
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