801
December 1924
T H E K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
ple, but he sent Je-hu-di, his servant, to fetch the roll. When Je-hu-di returned, at the king’s bidding, he unrolled the parchment and began to read to the king, while the scribes and princes stood by and listened. At first the king was indifferent, but as he heard the words which Jeremiah had written concerning the king, himself— that Je-hoi-a-kim and all the people should be carried away as prisoners to Babylon, and the city of Jerusalem be destroyed because of his wickedness—King Je-hoi-a-kim rose angrily, and taking the roll from the hands of his servant, asked for a penknife. Then, amid the protests of the scribes, he cut the roll in pieces and threw them into the blazing fire, until the whole roll had been burned and lay in white ashes 'upon the hearth. He wanted Jeremiah and Ba-ruch killed, but the Lord had hidden them so they could not be found. And the Lord told Jeremiah to take another roll, and Ba-ruch wrote again the words, adding this story, so that you and I might know how this wicked king tried to destroy God’s Word. King Je-hoi-a-kim continued in his sin, and as Jeremiah had written, he was bound with iron chains and taken a prisoner to King Nebuchadnezzar at Babylon. God says: “ Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” , so we know that this story, and the story of how the Lord Jesus was born in a manger, and the story of the cross where he died for you and for me, are true stories because they are in the Bible, which is God’s Word. God’s Word is true and shall last forever. JANUARY 4, 1925 (Lesson 66 ) TWO DECREES OF CYRUS AND DARIUS Ezre^, Chapters 1 to 5 Golden Text: “ Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.” Acts 15:18. OUTLINE: o t( 1) The Proclamation, 1:1-2. (2) The Preparation and Prosecution of the Work, 1: 5-11. (3) The Prophets Encourage the People, 3:8-13. INTRODUCTION: We are taking for the lessons in this Tenth Period (See “ Bird’s Eye View of the Old Testament” , 10c, Biola Book Room) the events connected with the Captivity and Restora tion of the Jews, as found in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah. LESSON In the Book of Ezra we are confronted EXPOSITION with one of the most important events of T. C. Horton Jewish history— the return from the Cap tivity. It began under Zerubbabel, a de scendant of the kings of Judah, in the first year of King Cyrus the Great, of Babylon, and was completed during the reign of Artaxerxes Gorginnes. It included a period of 80 years, extending from 538 to 458 B. C.. This event had its inception in the heart of a Persian monarch, and eventuated in a decree, and then an edict for the return of the Jews to their own land. An historical account is presented of the names of the leaders, the names and weight of the sacred vessels which were returned, and the exact number of the offerings. The whole book gives an exact record of the proceedings. There is no report of ’any miracles, but a plain, practical recital of a great historical event of intense interest to the nation which has and which will yet play the leading part in the history of our earth.
ELEMENTARY Mrs. S. W. Barrett
Scripture: Jeremiah 36:1-32j; 2 Ghron. 36:5, 6 , 7. Memory Verses: Matt. 24:35; Ps. 119:89; Ps. 119:11.
Do you like to receive letters from someone who loves you? The Bible is God’s letter to us. The Bible is called God’s Word, for God told holy men to write down the words which He wanted you and me to read. The Bible is the only Book in which God tells us of His great love, and why He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus, to die on the cross and rise again that we might have eternal life. God says:. “ Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matt. 24:35. Our Bible story today is: The Wicked King Who Burned Part of the Bible. One chilly day in December,
M
W ords
King Je-hoi-a-kim, the son of King Josiah, sat in his palace in Jerusalem. A huge, log blazed on the hearth, and frag rant odors filled the room. As the king rested upon his silk cushioned divan beside the hearth, he listened idly to the murmur of voices of people who were gathering at the Temple for a fast day. King Je-hoi-a-kim was not inter ested in the fast day nor in the Temple worship, for he had turned his heart away from God and worshipped idols,. Out in the Temple, people who really loVed the true God gathered for worship. TheNscribes sat in their chambers with scrolls of parchment in the bosom of their long flowing robes, and with their inkhorns, reed pens and small bladed penknives tucked in their girdles.. As the time for service drew near, Ba-ruch, a friend of the prophet Jeremiah, entered and walked to the scribes’ room. Unrolling the great roll which he carried, he began reading to' the people. As he read, the people looked at one another in fear and wonder, for Ba-ruch was reading the words God had told Jeremiah to write, warning the people of Judah that they would be punished for their wickedness. One of the scribes slipped out of the Temple court, went down to the princes’ room,’and told them of the words which Ba-ruch had read to the people. Je-hu-di, a servant of the king, was sent to bring the reader. When he found Ba-ruch, he touched his arm and said, quietly, “ Take the roll thou hast read and come.” Ba-ruch obeyed and was led into the princes’ chamber. The princes said to him, “ Sit down and read.” When they heard the words which were written in the roll, they were very much afraid, and said to Ba-ruch, “ Tell us now, how didst thou write all these words?” Ba-ruch answered, “ The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet, saying, ‘Take thee a roll of a book and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Judah and against all nations. It may be that when the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to send upon them, that they may return every man from his evil way, that I may forgive their sin.’ Then Jeremiah called unto me and pronounced all these words with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.” The princes then took the roll and told Ba-ruch to go and hide with the prophet, Jeremiah, for they knew the king would be angry when they told him of the roll. The princes went to the king’s palace. They found King Je-hoi-a-kim reclining on the divan watching the blazing wood fire. He showed but little interest as they told him of the roll which Jeremiah had sent to be read to the peo
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