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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
June, 1933
to kill a fat ’possum on a Sabbath day couldn’t be ’stablished roun’ here noway.” But the type o f religion that wins respect does not bend. Those who do their best work will bend their knees oft, their reli gion never. “Righteousness exalteth a na tion.” There is nothing wobbly about righteousness. Let us promote firm, straight, unbending religion-unbending righteousness—in the nation, consecrating ourselves afresh. Memory Verse: “ He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth” (Psa. 104:14).; Approach: Many times the children of Israel had to show the people in the coun try around the promised land God’s way for them to live. Some of the Israelites God’s Good Gifts D an iel 1 :1-13
IV. T h e W oe upon S piritual B lindness ( 2 °). . The ones to whom this woe is spoken are dead to all spiritual perception. They call caution cowardice, or humility the want of spirit, or trusting the Lord fear of wrath. They are so blind as to feel them selves too courageous to tremble at the pronounced judgments o f God. O f what ever God speaks well they speak evil, what ever He calls sweet they call bitter, and so on. They always take the opposite view from God. Woe is pronounced upon all that is out of harmony with the mind of the Lord. This reminds one of the imperative need for Bible study, in order that we may know what is the mind o f the Lord and thus be cured o f our spiritual blindness. V. T he W oe upon S elf -C onceit (21). These “are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.” ; Forgetting that the natural man is totally ignorant of the truth, they persist in saying that they need no instruction from the Lord, and they refuse to turn to Him. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, but these are without such fear, and hence there can be nothing for. them but the “woe” pronounced against them. VI. T he W oe upon I ntemperate D rinking ■ (22-24). The prophet returns to the subject of strong drink, but here he has the effects rather than the drinking itself in mind. Its deceitfulness is seen in those who pride themselves "on a certain ability to drink large quantities of strong drink and yet maintain their poise. Such ability is only relative, and sooner or later even such drinkers come under the awful influence of the wine, and then it serves them as it does their weaker brothers. It is deceitful. In the second place, it destroys the sense of justice and right, so that the drinker be comes ready to accept a bribe to establish evil instead of good (v. 23). In verse 24 and the following verse, the results o f this “woe” are revealed. Lesson Questions How many woes are listed in these verses? Why and against whom were they pronounced in each case? What does this section teach about greed and its punish ment, about intemperate drinking and the extent o f its power, about scoffing against God and its danger, and about spiritual blindness and its result? What personal message do these verses have for you? Golden Text Illustration Two friends, driving along a country road on Sunday in the far South, met a negro carrying a fat “possum.” They re monstrated with him because it was the Sabbath. He replied that “a religion that could not bend enough to permit a negro Lesson T ext: Judg. 7:4-7, 16-21. Golden T ext: “ The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength o f my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psa. 27:1). Gideon’s Fountain fT f S eorge A dam S m ith has called the Plain of Esdraelon the “classic bat- tie ground o f Scripture.” It is one of the few level places in the northern part of the land, on which a large army could be moved and quartered. Two weeks
were not brave and bold enough to do t hi s . Instead, they chose to live the way the wicked and ig norant people about them lived. But there were some o f the Is raelites who, e v e n though t h e y were captives "in a far away country, d i d not forget their God
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S m i l i n g ? — Y es , smiling . Fred knows how promptly-to-the-day those Annuity Checks go out. For thirty-two years he has handled the College mail. And, during all that time, the College has never failed to meet an Annuity payment promptly when due. In these days of fluctuating values, hundreds of canny investors still wear a smile o f satisfaction. They are thankful that their life’s savings are i n Annuity Contracts. For, while other values fade, their Annuity incomes remain fixed and assured. An A n n u ity C o n tra ct w ith Wheaton College does not fluctuate in value; cannot become lost or destroyed; cannot be attached or garnisheed for debt; and, in most cases, yields annu ally a higher rate of return than other types of first class securities. Best o f all, annuitants become their own executors; and possess the happy feeling that their funds are already invested in the work of their Lord. Why not keep our postman smiU ing at you —investigate fully, and you will invest. Wheaton Coitele
nor how He wanted them to live. L e s s o n S t o r y : Such a man was Daniel. He and three other young men were the captives o f King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. They were fine, strong young men. Before they had been taken away from home, they had always eaten good and simple food and lived healthy lives. And now the first thing that they were asked to do in this new land was to eat rich food and to drink wine. Daniel and his friends refused to do this. They knew that this was not taking God’s good gifts and using them in the right way.- They knew that this sort of eating and drinking would make them sick. The servants who brought the food to them were afraid when Daniel and his friends refused to eat it. They said, “The king will b'^ angry. If you don’t eat this food which we have brought, you will look thin and pale. You will not be fit to be brought before the king. Then what shall we do!” *J But Daniel said, “Don’t be afraid. Give us a trial. For ten days we shall eat our own simple food. At the end of that time,; if we are not healthier and stronger than the others who eat this rich and unhealthy food, then we also will eat o f it.” So the servant waited ten days, and what Daniel knew would happen did. He knew just as we do, that simple food and drink are best.
For complete data w rite s Office o f the Vice Presi dent, Box KB-63 Wheaton College, Wheaton, III. inrwiMfifin
JULY 30, 1933 GIDEON J udges , C hapters 6 to 8
ago, we l e a r n e d about the battle be tween the forces un der Barak and Sis- era. Today our les son deals with an other encounter be tween Israel and her enemies. This time the e n e m y c a m e from the east, and
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Christian Faith and Life This magazine should be in every Chris tian home. Bishop W . A. Candler, D.D., LL.D., says it is “ably edited, admirable in its teaching.” Others strongly endorse it. See page 204.
encamped in the eastern end o f Esdraelon. Gideon with his men was on Mount Gilboa,
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