T H E K I N G ’ S- B U S I N E S S
August, 1942
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are a g a i n s t us. Whenever I h e a r t h i s quotation,' I think a b o u t the s t o r y of s o m e brothers in the Bi ble, w h o w e r e m e a n to t h e i r y o u n g er brother. Shall I tell it to you?
with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than, snow” (Psa. 51:7). The left, side of the coat is green, suggesting growth and fruitfulness. , God wants t h o s e who h a v e been. cleansed to grow in their Christian lives and to be fruitful for the Lord.’ Jesus. There is a blue border on the bottom of this coat. When the children of Israel were going into the wilder ness, God commanded them to sew a border of blue on the hem of their garments, so that whenever they looked t o w a r d the earth, the blue would remind them that they were God’s people. . The right side of the coat is yellowy representing the streets of gold. If we- accept Christ as Saviour, we w ill some day walk on the streets of gold. Doesn’t this coat seem more beautiful- when we understand what the colors mean? I GOLDEN TEXT: «Hereby perceive w e . the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). DEVOTIONAL READING: 1 Pet. 2:18-25. Outline and Exposition I. A p p r e h e n s io n ( 18-22) fT - ^ H E R E WILL BE m u c h loss, both to teacher and pupil, un-; I less this whole story is read, beginning with chapter 37 and con cluding with chapter 45. It is one-of the most interesting and instructive sections of the Bible, and even though read merely as a story, fills the mind with truth easy to .pass on to others.. The brethren who sold Joseph be cause of their jealousy had to be brought to true repentance before any forgiveness could be manifested to ward them. Joseph, with wisdom g iv -_ en by the S p i r i t of God, chose a method of bringing them to such re pentance, and this lesson reveals how that, was done. The lesson taken as a whole contains the speech of Judah as he-, pleaded for his father—that father who, in a former day, was con signed to years o f grief because of the. wickedness of Judah and nis brethren. His plea reveals his penitence and. change of heart. Judah began by reminding Joseph, who was still unknown to these men, of the condition of their father, “ an old man”, with one child whom his father “ loveth.” That child was Ben jamin, Joseph’s full brother. On a previous visit of these brethren, Jo seph had demanded that Benjamin be brought to him, and in answer to this demand, Benjamin had come. But Jo- [ Continued on Page 302]
it like this one, because its colors tell the most wonderful story in all the world. The, left sleeve is black, reminding us of sin and of the fact that God has said, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9). The red: collar speaks to us of the blood of Jesus Christ. “The blood of J e s u s Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). When we realize that we have sinned, the first thing we should do is to ask God to cleanse us with the precious blood of Christ who died for üs. The right sleeve is white, and shows how the soul looks in the sight of God after it has been cleansed by Christ’s blood. Hyssop was the plant used in Old Testament times to sprin kle the blood of the sacrificed Pass- over lamb which represented Christ, the Saviour. David said: “ Purge me Crenesls 44:18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said, O my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying-, Have ye a father, or a brother? 20 Anil we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. 21 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Brins him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. 22 And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave hiij father, his father would die. 23 And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down w ith you, ye shall see my face no more. 24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the^ words of my lord. 25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 26 And we said, We cannot go down: If our youngest brother be with us, then 3pdll we go down: for we may not see the man’s face, except our y o u n g e s t brother be with us. 27 And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons: 28 And the one Went out from me, and I said. Surely he Is torn in, pieces; and I saw him not since: 29 And if ye take this also from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down my gray hairs with Sorrow to the gravfe. 30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life: 31 It shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is hot with us, that he will die: and thy servants shall bring down the. gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. 32. F o r thy servant became surety fo r the lad unto my father, saying, I f I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father fo r ever. 33 Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead o f the lad a bond- man, to my lord; and le t'th e lad go up w ith his brethren. 34 ForVhow shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with met lest perad- venture I see the evil that shall come on my father.
LESSON STORY: You remember the story about Jacob’s ladder, don’t y*ou? Well, Jacob had twelve sons, and Jo seph was his favorite. The older broth ers didn’t like this and they decided to get even with Joseph. One day Jo seph came to the fields where they were working, and they did a terrible thing. They threw him into a pit, in tending to leave him there to die. But a company of men came by on their way to Egypt, and these brothers sold Joseph to them instead. Then they took his coat—the lovely coat of many colors—and dipped it in blood and carried it home to their father. When Jacob saw it, he thought of; course that Joseph was dead, and the poor old man was heartbroken. Perhaps the brothers b e g a n to be sorry, too, but they were too afraid to tell Jacob the truth. They would not confess that they had sent young Jo seph alone into Egypt. But Joseph was not really alone. God went with him every step of the way. Down in Egypt, God gave him favor with Potiphar, a captain of the guard, and this man gave Joseph an important position. Later Joseph lost it because of the trickery of Potiphar’s wife, and he was put into jail. Do you think God went to jail with him? Of course He did. God never forsakes His own. Are you sure that you are one of His own? Do you know the “ Friend that sticketh closer than a brother” ? I would like to introduce Him to you. Object Lesson A C olored C o a t OBJECT: A miniature coat, as de scribed. LESSON: You remember the story in- the Bible about a father who made his son Joseph a coat. If I were mak ing a coat of many colors for one of my children, I would want to make ,
SEPTEMBER 20, 1942 JUDAH: AN EXAMPLE OF SELF-SACRIFICE G e n e s is 42 t o 44
LESSON TENTt Gen. 44tl8-34.
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