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October 1929
T h e
K i n g ’ s
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of God and the Gentiles were following idols, the Jew felt his superiority to the Gentile nations and feared contamination, should he come in contact in any way with them. Such were the ideas of the Palestinian Jews; but the Jews in the dis persion were less dogmatic and under certain conditions had limited relations with the Gentiles. The great problem which confronted the early church was to break down this prejudice. Prejudice and ignorance are twin brothers. They have to be routed in order that peoples and races may live together in peace and harmony as God intended. I. Naomi and Ruth. Ruth 1 :1-18. In the turbulent troublesome days of the Judges there occurred a famine in the land of Judea. Famines were of fre quent occurrence in the Near East in ancient days. The fact that a famine oc curred within the borders of Israel was positive proof that Israel was in dis obedience to God and that the fellowship to a certain extent had been broken, for God had promised Israel, if she would be obedient and would diligently hearken unto His word, He would give her the rains in the proper seasons (Deut. 11: 13-17). - Elimelech, a man of Judea, and Naomi, his wife, with their two sons, went into the land of Mbab to live during this time. Elimelech died shortly. The two sons married Moabitesses. In the process of time the two sons died. Naomi stayed in the land of Moab for ten years. Finally God broke the famine in Judea; then Naomi proposed to her daughters-in-law to return to their people in order that she might return to her people. They pro tested, affirming that they would go with her. Continued exhortation caused Orpah to return, but Ruth insisted upon going with her mother-in-law. Her choice was that of faith (see Ruth 1:16, 17). God always honors faith. Faith and love break down racial barriers. II. Jesus and the Woman of Samaria. Jno. 4:5-10. After the early Judean ministry, which lasted probably six months, Jesus went northward toward Galilee, p a s s i n g through Samaria. His great heart was. free from all racial prejudices. Had He been governed, as were the Jews, by racial hate and prejudice, He would have crossed the Jordan into Berea and gone northward, crossing to the west side of Jordan just south of the Sea of Galilee. The hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans was especially intense. The Samaritans were a mixed race of people, their ancestors having been Jews and Asiatics whom the Assyrian king im ported into the country after the downfall of the northern, kingdom in 722. The fact that they were a mixed race of peo ple, being partly Jews and partly Gen tiles, heightened Jewish prejudice against them. The Jews looked upon them as dogs, refusing to have any dealings with them whatsoever though they did have dealings with other nations. When Jesus no longer could accomplish good in Judea He gave these poor un fortunate people a chance. What is one’s losS, is another’s gain. While He sat at the well a woman of Samaria came to draw water. He, by His omniscience, knew her heart-longing and when she would come. He wishes to satisfy the longing of every earnest heart. “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after
FRED S. SHEPARD ’S BLACKBOARD OUTL INE P ESIGN —Acts 17:26 EALINGS—Acts 10:34,35 ESIRE —1 Tim. 2:4 All ye are brethren.—Matt. 23:8 righteousness, for they shall be filled.’’ When she drew water He asked for a drink, using the occasion as a point of contact to preach the truth to her. From His request she recoiled, being amazed that He, a Jew, was free from prejudice and would condescend to speak to her, a Samaritan woman. He proposed to give to her the living water if she asked, which thing she did. Then Christ granted her this living water. Whenever one becomes a genuine con vert—a new creature in Christ Jesus—all racial prejudices and hatred are banished. III. Peter and Cornelius. Acts 10:1-11: 18. For the first few years after Pentecost, the apostles confirmed their ministry to the Jews. Finally Philip, one of the dea cons in the church at Jerusalem, being guided by the Holy Spirit, went into Sa maria and began a great revival and turned many people to the Lord. The Jerusalem church sent Peter and John to inspect the work, which thing they did and rejoiced over the conversion of the Samaritans. A still greater step was taken in the proclamation of the Gospel by the conversion of Cornelius, a full-blooded Gentile. Neither the church at Jerusalem nor the apostles were prepared to con ceive of the idea that Gentiles were eli gible to salvation. God had to convince Peter by a special miracle that the Gen tiles could be saved. When the proof was overwhelming Peter left Joppa and went to Caesafea to Cornelius, who had sent for him. While Peter was delivering his sermon the Holy Spirit fell upon those of the household of Cornelius. Peter imme diately commanded those who had re ceived the Holy Spirit to be baptized (Acts 10:48). When the news reached Jerusalem that Peter had received Gentiles into fellow ship, he was brought before the church. He, with the six Jewish brethren who had accompanied him, presented the case be fore the church and thus vindicated him self. God is the God of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews. IV. Paul and the Gentile World. Rom. 1:14. Paul, during his three great missionary journeys, had spread the Gospel in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece. The Gospel had been preached in Rome by some unknown person or persons. Paul had been misrepresented by the Judaizers —the Hebrew Christians who emphasized 'that it was necessary for the Christians to become circumcised and to submit to the law of Moses. Therefore he wrote the Roman letter, the greatest and most logical document extant, in order to set forth what he terms “my gospel.” In the verse which is the subject of this section he declared, “I dm debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish." Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles, hence he felt the great bur den of proclaiming it to everyone pos sible. He made no distinction between the
Greeks and the Barbarians as the former did, neither did he make the false dis tinction made by the Jews; however, he states (v. 16) that the Gospel is to be given to the Jew first and practiced giving it to the Jew first, then to the Gentiles; i.e., whenever he went to a city he first preached the Gospel to the Jews there, then to the Gentiles. It is God’s order today to give the Gospel to the Jew first, then to the Gentile. No church can be in the center of God’s will which does not put the Jew first upon its program. V. Unity of All Believers. Gal. 3 :28, 29. Caste idea is very difficult to kill. There are in all countries different social strata. The basis of class distinction, largely, in America is that of wealth. In other coun tries it'is education and refinement. Class and racial distinctions were very pro nounced in the first century. The new converts to Christianity still held to their former racial prejudices; hence it became necessary for the apostle Paul to teach all of them in every place that they were all on one great common level in Christ Jesus. At Corinth the same problem arose. On the Lord’s Day when they came to wor ship (1 Cor. 11) they divided into parties and cliques, the rich grouping themselves together and holding themselves aloof from the poorer classes. In His great in tercessory prayer our Lord prayed that all believers might be one, i.e., that the same unity might exist between believers as exists between the Father and the Son. When Christ is enthroned upon the heart all prejudices and racial and social dis tinctions will be given up. —o— P ith and P oint “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother?” (Mai. 2:10). Let each count “other better than him self; not looking each of you to his own things, but each o f you also to the things of others” (Phil. 2:4). “More attention should be given by Christian teachers and homes to the seven thousand foreign students now attending American colleges,” “Christ wishes us to rise above all dif ferences of color, race, creed, and class, and to be kindly to our kind.” “To render a service to anyone is the highest remedy for prejudice against him.” .—o— . • ■ November 24, 1929 The Higher Patriotism Scripture References: Book of Jonah. Devotional Reading: Isa. 55:1-7. Golden T ext: “And he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation” (Acts 17:26). L esson in O utline Introduction: Historical Setting. Beginning the Lesson. I. The Disobedience of the Prophet. Ch. 1. 1. God’s Command. Vs. 1, 2. 2. Jonah’s Flight. Vs. 3-16. 3. Jonah’s Miraculous Escape from Death. V. 17. II. The Obedience of the Prophet. Chs. 2 and 3.
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