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will consent for a moment to consider entering into an agreement of marriage with any man for any definite number of years. Since the marriage relationship in God’s sight is indissoluble, it is a very serious thing for one to attempt to disjoin those whom God joins together'. There is only one Scriptural justification for the disso lution o f the marriage bond (see Mt. 5 :31, 32; 19:3-12). V. 13. “And they were bringing unto Him little children, that H e should touch them :and the disciples rebuked them.” As Jesus continued His journey, anxious parents brought their children to Him that He might lay His hands upon them and pray for them. Since every prayer o f faith is answered, even though the. answer may not be recognized, these parents did well to bring their children to the sinless Son of God to pray foir them. His prayers in their behalf certainly were answered. The lives of those children were different be cause o f His touching them and praying for them. It is a good thing for parents to dedicate their children to the service of God just as the parents of Samuel did. Furthermore, it is an ex'cellent thing for people to have some man of God pray for them and their children. The disciples, not realizing the blessings that would come to the children in answer to the prayers of Jesus, rebuked those bringing the children. V. 14. “But when Jesus saw it, He was moved with indignation, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto’ me; forbid them hot: for to such belongeth the kingdom o f God” (see Mt. 19:13). Jesus, seeing the mistake which the disciples were making, was moved with indignation. Let no one think that He became angry in the common accepta tion of the term. He was moved with righteous indignation at the thought of anyone’s hindering the coming of the lit tle children to Him. It is altogether prob able that the thought of hindering their coming to Him was suggested by Satan. Jesus instructed those hindering to “suf fer the little 'children to come unto Me.” This statement seems to indicate that these children wanted to come to Jesus. There was something in the personality and actions of Jesus which won the hearts of the children. "For to such belongeth the kingdom of God.” This verse teaches that little chil dren in their state o f innocency are in a saved condition and to them belong the kingdom o f God, Likewise, to all of those who humble themselves and be come like little children, belongeth the kingdom o f heaven. The dominant char acteristics o f a little child are trust and freedom from malice and guile, V. 16. “And H e took them in His arms, and blessed them, laying His hands upon them.” The greatest experience that ever came into the lives o f those children up to that time was the blessing of Christ which He pronounced upon them and which affected their lives from' that time on.
fied, Jesus with His disciples was journey ing southward through the region east o f the Jordan. 10:2. "And there
P ith and P oint . God doesn’t authorize everything He tolerates (v. 5). Since 1870 there has been a 400 per cent increase in the proportion of divorces in the United States. The present ratio is one to every seven marriages. In two out o f every three divorces cases, it is the wife who seeks release. Over one-third of the applications are on the ground o f cruelty. Another third is for desertion. Ninety per cent o f the active'Christians were won to Christ in childhood (v. 14). John R. Mott says that out of every 1,000, 548 are saved before they are 20; 337 between 20 and 30; 96 between 30 and 40; 15 between 40 and 50; 3 between 50 and 60; one between 60 and 90. It is said that 8,000,000 under 10 years of age in normally Protestant homes in the United States are today living in non church-going homes. The Sunday school today fails to hold 7 out o f every 10 brought into its mem bership. —o— S uggestive Q uestions . What exception did Jesus make for the allowance o f divorce? (Mt. 5:32.) When divorce has taken place, what would seem to be the only proper cir cumstances under which remarriage might take place? (Rom. 7:3.) If separation for other causes seems best, what advice does the New Testament give? (1 Cor. 7:10-11.) What end might be served by obeying this rule? (1 Cor. 7 :11.) How early in life may a child find Christ? (Prov. 8:17; cf. 2 Tim. 3 :15.) What is the best time to seek Him ? (Eccl. 12:1.) To whom does God desire to impart spiritual knowledge? (Isa. 28:9;- cf. 1 Sam. 3 :8; 2 Chron. 34:1, 3.) —o— G olden T ext I llustration , Honor thy father and thy mother ( which is the first great commandment with promise') (Eph. 6:2). When in Winnipeg, last October, the Rev. Tom Sykes, a famous evangelist.
came unto Him Phari sees, and asked Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his w ife? trying Him.’’ From the time o f the sab bath c o n t r o v e r.sy
which arose in Jerusalem when Jesus was there two years prior .to this time, the Pharisees had continually followed Jesus up, causing much trouble. They constant ly asked many questions of Him, not for the sake o f information, but in order to involve Him in some difficulty. This question is' ho exception to the rule. V. .3. “And H e answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?" Jesus, knowing the insincerity o f their hearts, and realizing the possibilities of becoming involved by answering the ques tion, immediately appealed to the authority of the Scriptures. For Jesus the Scrip tures were absolute authority in matters religious.- To Him they were “the Word of God.” Jesus did not question the Mosaic authorship o f the Pentateuch. V. 4. “And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill o f divorcement, and to put her away” The Pharisees likewise be lieved that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, in which opinion they were correct. They were likewise correct in their interpreta tion o f Deut. 24:1-5, which instructions Moses gave concerning the granting of divorces. V. 5. “ But Jesus said unto them, For your hardness o f heart H e wrote you this commandment." This statement is very luminous Concerning one o f the great principled upon which God has dealt with His people. At that time the people were living on such a low spiritual plane that God could not give the higher spiritual requirements concerning the marriage re lationship but took them where they were and on account of the hardness of their heart permitted them to divorce their wives. Vs, 6-9. "But from the beginning o f the creation, Male and female made He them. For this cause shall a'man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his w ife ; and the two shall become one flesh ; so that they are no more two but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” It was not God’s original plan that man should divorce his wife or vice versa. The original plan for a man who takes a wife was that he should forsake father and mother, houses and lands, and every thing for his wife and should cherish and nourish her as his own flesh, considering her in every way as a joint heir of the grace of life with him. Being thus bound together in the sacrëd, holy bonds of mat rimony, a man and wife are no longer two, but one flesh. In God’s sight this union is indissoluble until one o f the contract ing parties is called hence into the future world. A marriage that is recognized in God’s sight is to be until death separates the contracting parties. At the present time, “companionate marriages” are advocated in certain quarters. For this position there is absolutely no Scriptural authority. Fur thermore, no young lady who prays for guidance with an open Bible before her,
Jesus Loves Little Children Mark 10:13-16; Luke 18:15, 16.
Memory Verse. —“And he took them in his arms and blessed them.” Mark 10:16. Approach : (This is a splendid oppor tunity for an evangelistic message to the
A BOUT a week, or a little more, before Christ’s appearance in Jerusalem at the last Passover, at which He was cruci
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