August, 1937
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
303
I N T E R N A T I O N A L L E S S O N Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children’s Division Golden Text Illustration Object Lesson B y B. B. S utcliffe B y G retchen S ibley B y H elen G ailey B y A lan S. P earce B y E lmer L. W ilder Points and Problems B y A lva J. M c C lain
SEPTEMBER 5, 1937 GOD REQUIRES SOCIAL JUSTICE L eviticus 19:1-18, 32-37
have forgotten entirely its debt to age. Here again selfishness is the crux of the matter, and the selfishness of youth is more and more demonstrated in the treatment accorded to the aged. III. C oncerning the S tranger (33, 34) God’s people are God’s representatives, and because of that fact, they must show kindness to others. Not for their own com fort and well being were they redeemed and made God’s people, but to show forth His grace. The dealings of God with His people do not find their terminus in the people themselves; the blessings are given as a trust to be held for all peoples. But selfishness demands that what the Lord gives is to be held only for the pleasure of those to whom it is given. Like all other nations, America treads a dangerous path when she attempts to hold for herself those benefits which God has so richly be stowed upon her. It is a path which leads to the loss of the freedom and opportun ity which have made this countrj great. IV. S umming up the L esson (35-37) Again we find the statement, “ I am the Lord.” This time the lesson covers, in general terms, what has gone before. It goes to the root of our difficulties and implies that selfishness is the cause of our social ills. Justice, equity, and truth must govern all transactions, and in the showing forth of these virtues there will be given a testi mony to the world which nothing else can provide. The world may not hear our speeches, but it cannot avoid seeing our lives. While there is no such thing pos sible as the regeneration of society as a whole, the individual is changed by means of the new birth and is enabled, by life and message, to give an effective witness to the power of the Lord. " / am the Lord your God." This declaration or its equivalent occurs no less than fifteen times in Leviticus 19, the chapter from which the lesson is taken this week. The reader should notice that after laying down each one of the great laws of social justice, the divine Lawgiver an nounces that He is “Jehovah your God.” What is the point to this repeated announce ment? The declaration is intended to show that to be effective in human life, social laws must be based upon a knowledge of and relationship with the true God. Social laws deal with man’s relation to men, and there can be no right relationship between men until a right relationship first has been established between men and the true God. It is just here that modern re ligion and modern political theories are Points and Problems 1.
Lesson Text: Lev. 19:9-18,. 32-37. Golden Text: “As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them like wise” (Lk. 6:31). ' Outline and Exposition I. C oncerning S elfishness (9-18) E a c h of the exhortations in this lesson ends with the words, “ I am the Lord” (cf. vs. 10, 12, 14, 16, 18). Because the children of Israel were peculiarly God’s people, they were to manifest in their, be havior what their God was in His nature. Christians also are “to show forth the ex cellencies, or virtues, of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvel ous light” (1 Pet., 2:9, literal translation). The Lord required that gleanings of the harvest should be left for the stranger and poor (vs. 9, 10). God’s people must re member that every material good is theirs through the bounty of God who is interested in the. welfare of all men. Stealing, false dealing, lying, and swearing were to be put away from them (vs. 11, 12). This admonition reveals that the Lord is fully acquainted with the fallen nature of man. Even Christians are exhorted not to lie to one another and “ let him that stole steal no more” (cf. Eph. 4:25, 28). The mere necessity for such reproof should carry with it a humbling effect. Righteous and honest dealings in all business affairs were to mark the intercourse of the people with one another, and especially with those who were incapacitated by deafness and blindness (vs. 13, 14). Justice in the courts was to be maintained, and the indulgence in gos sip which would be harmful to the repu tation of another was strictly forbidden (vs. 15, 16). The manifestation of love to one’s neighbor would preserve one from that selfishness which is the root of all in justice and all unrighteousness in social relationships (vs. 17, 18). It would be well if those who pride themselves on being strict “fundamental ists” would pause long enough to allow the message of this lesson to transform their treatment of brethren. Both the. Old and New Testaments are strongly emphatic in their teaching against the breaking of the second great commandment, “Thou shalt [ These lessons are developed from out lines prepared by the Committee on Im proved Uniform Lessons of the Interna tional Council. The outlines are copy righted by the International Council of Religious Education and used by permis sion .— E ditor .]
love thy neighbor as thyself” (cf. Matt. 22:39), and both teach that .final issues of judgment are to be left to the righteous God. The adoption of the manner of liv ing indicated in this lesson would do more to soothe the turmoil of the world and heal its ills than will all the proposed govern mental remedies offered- for the. present state of society. Of course, there can be no universal acceptance of these principles apart from individuals’ acceptance of the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ. Self ishness is at the root of all disturbed social conditions. The injustices practiced by both empfoyer and employee rise from this same selfishness, for which there is no cure apart from the regenerating and, enabling power of the Spirit of God. The Bible is clear in its teaching that unrighteous social condi tions, some of which are now existing, will continue until the Lord Jesus Christ comes again to earth—to reign. II. . C oncerning O ld A ge (32) Once again the words, “ I am the Lord,” are, given—this time as the reason for honoring the aged. Youth today seems to
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