367
T H E
K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
June 1924
P ear caused the people to plead w ith Samuel for prayer. At a tim e like this, people w ant a praying man. A t a meeting in Edinburgh during th e Scotch Reformation, thousands gathered in response to the call of th e leaders. Lord Allyn Henderson prayed and confessed the sins of the people, and th e ir desire to re tu rn unto the Lord. When he finished th e people crowded forw ard and signed Scotland’s covenant w ith the Lord. (b) The Raising of Ebenezer, vs. 9-14. Samuel took a little lamb and made an offering— a type of our Lamb (Isa. 5 3 :7 ). He offered it as a whole bu rn t offering (Ex. 29:36-42). Samuel depended n o t on Is rae l’s repentance and resolutions, b u t upon the sacrifice as the sub stitu te for all th eir sins. They had sinned. The sub stitu te had no sin. They were disobedient. He was the Obedient One. He was devoted to God from th e begin ning. Time was short. Help was imperative. Judgm ent was to be averted. Sin m ust be removed th a t help m ight come. It was a serious tim e for the Philistines to attack Israel, when Israel was depending upon the blood of th e atone ment. God thundered against them (John 12:28-31). The thund er is the voice of God; th e lightning, th e flash of His eye. God speaks, and it is done. The Philistines were confounded. Israel fell upon the Philistines and thdy be came th e ir prey. Then Samuel raised th e Ebenezer stone, “H itherto hath the Lord helped us.” Yes, and we too can say, “He will help us. Count your blessings— if you can.” Satan can wage no successful war against us if we keep ourselves in the love of God. Here was a g reat victory a t tended w ith g reat results. Our memorial is 2 Cor. 4:8-11. (c) The R ighteous Judge, vs. 15-18. “And Samuel judged Israel all th e days of his life.” v. 15. The closing picture is b eautiful: an a lta r; a priest, a prophet, a judge, in one. Samuel made his circuit through out th e land yearly and m inistered to th e needs of the people. Topics fo r Study (1) Is th e presence of th e ark a pledge of God’s mercy? (2) If repentance was preached and practiced, would h earts be prepared for a revival? (3) When th e h ea rt is poured out in penitence, will the grace of God be found in plenitude? (4) If we lived closer to God, would our h earts cling to idols? (5) W hat must we do in order to be delivered from the power of the devil? ( 6 ) How does Satan hinder sinners from coming to Christ, and saints from confessing th e ir sins? (7) Is th ere power enough in prayer to put to flight every enemy of our souls? ( 8 ) Can we have an Ebenezer testimony in our every day experience? M 4:3 S trange th a t they were so blind to the real cause of the d isaster and th a t they did not discern, in the great and general corruption of religion and morals (ch. 2 , and 7 :3 ; Psa. 78: 58), the reason th e presence and aid of God were not extended to them . Their first COMMENTS m easure for resto ring th e national FROM THE sp irit and energy ought to have been COMMENTARIES a complete reform ation— a universal V. V. Morgan re tu rn to pu rity of worship and man ners.— Jam ieson. They felt th a t God would rath e r preserve them all un rep en tan t as they were, th an let His sacred symbol f a ll into th e hands of the heathen. They had no t yet learned God’s tru e character. Some people have not learned it even yet.— E llicott. 4:5 They had b etter pu t the accursed thing— sin— out,
the people to awaken them to th e consciousness of th eir sin, so golden images of emerods and mice were the offer ings. A new cart, a yoke of kine, upon which no yoke had rested, were provided. The ark was set upon th e cart and th e cattle tu rned loose to go as they pleased, and th e way they went was to determ ine whether the judgm ent which came upon them , through th e mice and the emerods, was from God’s hand or not. The Philistines followed th e a rk un til it lodged in the yard of Joshua, a Beth-shem ite, who rejoiced to have it. Then, because, they trespassed by looking into th e ark , God slew fifty thousand and seventy men. So th e Philistines knew th a t th e judgm ent was sent upon them for keeping th e ark , and the Bethshem ites knew th a t the Divine favor could not rest anywhere God’s laws were broken. (4) DEVOTION TO GOD AND ITS CONQUESTS, Ch. 7. “ If ye do re tu rn unto th e Lord w ith all your hearts, ***he will deliver you,” v. 3. (a) The Repentance of Israel and R e tu rn to Jehovah, vs. 1 - 8 . God’s presence is always manifested in His own way. Through varied experiences, both th e Philistines and Israel were tau g h t the lesson. The a rk was w ith th e Philistines and brought God’s curse in place of His blessing. The ark was w ithout power w ith un rep en tan t Israel. It finally found a place of rest in Israel in the house of Abinadab, at K irjath -jearim , for fifty years. Samuel was busy seeking to bring the. people back to the service of God. He was about fifty years old. He was a prophet and a leader, and heads th e list of th e prophets (Acts 3 :2 4 ). He went about all Israel giving God’s mess age and urging the people to re tu rn unto th e Lord w ith all th eir hearts. (Isa. 5 5 :7 ). “L et th e w ick ed fo r sa k e h is w a y and th e u n r ig h te o u s man h is th o u g h ts; and le t him retu rn u n to th e Lor d, and h e w ill h av e m ercy up on hi m ; and to our God, fo r h e w ill abu nd an tly par don.” This is the need today in th e church— a re tu rn to th e old faith, a confession of backsliding, a h eart- su rrend er to God and a season of fasting and prayer. (Job 11:13, 14; Isa. 55:17; Deut. 10 :20 ). God has never had bu t one way for His people in times of faithless, indifferent, worldly and wicked living, and th a t is— retu rn unto the Lord as did th e prodigal to his fath e r’s house; put away everything th a t stands between yourself and God. “Getting rig h t w ith God” means contrition, confession and consecration. A yielded life means deliverance from the enemy. Israel had mingled th e false and .tru e worship, as we do now when we unite in worship and service w ith those who deny the' Virgin B irth and Physical R esurrec tion of our Lord. (Judges 10:15, 16) “And th e ch ild ren o f Isr a e l sa id u n to th e Lor d, W e h a v e sinn ed ; do th ou un to u s w h a tso e v e r se em e th g o od u n to th e e ; d e liv e r u s on ly , w e p ra y th e e , th is da y. And th e y pu t aw a y th e str a n g e g o d s from am on g th em , and serv ed th e Lord .” Samuel called the people together. He was the leader of a covenant people. He recognized th a t the source of help is God. He drew w ater and poured it ou t before the Lord and fasted th a t day, signifying th e u tte r helplessness of Israel. (2 Sam. 14 :14 ). P asting is a helpful and hopeful sign. It aids in bring ing th e body into subjection and prepares the way for con fession. It must have been a g reat and solemn day, as was th e day when Moses prayed a t Rephidim ; and E lijah a t Carmel; and Ezra a t th e evening sacrifice; (Ezra 1 0 :1 ), and the high p riest on the day of atonement, and our Lord as He intercedes, day and night, for His own.
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