THE KING’S BUSINESS
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always includes two things : Turning from sin, and turning to exact obedience to God’s own Word. God here says that it was He who gave the law. It was He who had commanded it to the fathers. It was He who had sent it by His servants, the proph ets. This is not the view of the law held today by many who call themselves schol ars, but it is the true view—God’s- view. v. 14. “Notwithstanding they would not hear, hut hardened their necks, like the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.” These are awful words. They represent God calling in mercy and long-suffering, calling, calling, calling, and “they would not hear.” This sums up the story of the centuries of what God has done and what man has done. Every Lord’s Day we see thè same pro cedure enacted anew in our own land ; God calling, but men will not hear. Israel neither appreciated nor relished this testi mony of God, but rebelled against it and slew the faithful prophets who brought it. Worldly church members today do not en joy the testimony, but it is God’s mercy that sends the testimony. The false prophets who prophesy “smooth things” and rock the people to sleep in their sin and worldliness and easy-going self-in dulgence, are very popular and much loved, but they are the greatest enemies of those to whom they preach their false peace when there is no peace. The whole secret of Israel’s disobedience is found in the clos ing words of verse 14, they J‘did not be lieve in the Lord their God.” Unbelief in God and His Word lies at the root of all sin. Get men to doubt God and the Bible, and they are ripe for any iniquity. The modern so-called “scholarly” attacks from supposedly Christian sources on the iner rancy of the Bible, are doing much, as ob LESSON ( 1 ) G od’s R ecitatio n of Isra el’s Sins, vs. 7-1 2 . The Lord reminds Israel of His mercy in bringing them out of Egypt, and. re cites the seven-fold sins of which they have been guilty, v. 7.
servation and proven facts show, to under mine morals. The present awful war iii Europe is the legitimate harvest of the sowing of unbelief through the destructive critics that has been going on in Germany for generations. I Sin first entered this world through the door of unbelief in God’s Word (Gen. 3:1-4), and the Devil has brought sin in through all the cen turies since in the same way. He knows perfectly well that that is the’ most effect ive method of attack upon man’s character and conduct—to get him to doubt God. The man who undermines faith in- God’s Word on the part of the high school stu dent or the college student, or on the part of any one else, is the most effective min ister of Satan that the world has today, and he is the most dangerous enemy of so ciety and of the state. v. 18. "Therefore Jehovah was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of His sight: there was none left bul the tribe of Judah only.” God’s calling and man’s refusing to listen, and hardening his neck, did not go on forever (cf. Prov. 29:1; 2 Peter 3:9-10). Jehovah was very angry with Israel. He had just cause to- be, and He has just cause to be angry with the professing church today/ and He is very angry with the professing church, and He has just cause to be. very angry with the world who refuses to accept His own Son whom He gave to die for'them on the cross of Calvary (John 3 :16-19), and He is very angry with the world and with each individual in it who rejects Christ. God’s patience with us still lingers, and the day of final doom has not yet come. But the day of doom will come just as sure as it came for Israel, unless men speedily re pent. OUTLINE They walked in the statutes of the heathen, v. 8 . I They committed secret sins, v. 9. They built high places in the cities, v. 9. They set up images in groves, v. 10. They burnt incense in high places, v. 11.
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