33
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
even shall tak e hold of th e sk irt of him th a t is a Jew, say ing, We will go w ith you: fo r we have heard th a t God is w ith you.” * (Zech. 8:23.) “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
Isaiah 2:2-4. In th e la tte r days— Jehovah’s house sh all be established — and all nations shall flow in to it— Closely linked w ith th e g reat fu tu re blessings and glories for Israel His peo ple are th e blessings of the Gentiles— bu t— th e many pre dictions which concern th e Gentiles cannot be fulfilled till Israel and Jerusalem have entered into th e ir blessings '-—Tlie nations will go up to th a t house of the Lord, which is yet to be bu ilt and which will he a house of prayer for all nations. When Jerusalem has been restored, th e n a tions which are left will go th ere to worship. Then w ar will end and not before. This is God’s peace program . “The earth will be filled w ith the knowledge of th e Lord and th e Gentiles will seek H im” (Isaiah 11:9 -10 ).—A. C. Gaebelein. Isaiah 19:23-25. V. 23. In th a t day— The glorious fu tu re, th e day of the Lord.— Companion Bible. V. 23. A highway ou t of E gypt to Assyria—The railway from Cairo to Babylon bu ilt through Palestine during th e World W ar may have some p a rt in the fulfillment of th is prophecy. V. 24. A blessing in th e m id st of th e ea rth—An echo of the prom ise made to Abraham ages before (Genesis 12: 3 ).—Amos R. Wells. Ezekiel 5 :5 . Jerusalem— in ..th e m id st—Jerusalem is regarded in God’s point of view as center of th e whole earth , designed to rad iate the tru e ligh t over the nations in all directions. — J. F. and B. “ Israel in the m idst of the nation s.” Yes, she is surely th e re today, scattered to th e ends of th e earth , as predicted by Jehovah th rough Moses more th a n 3000 years ago. In w arning Israel of th e terrib le effects of disobedience, God said: “Ye shall be plucked from off DEVOTIONAL the land (i. e. Canaan) w h ither thou COMMENT goest to possess it. And th e Lord shall Jo h n A. H ubbard scatter thee among all people, from the one end of th e ea rth even unto th e other. And thou shalt be tossed to and fro among all kingdoms of th e earth . And thou sh alt become an astonishm ent, a proverb, and a byword, among all th e peoples w h ither Je hovah shall lead thee away.” (Deut. 28:63, 64, also 37) (Deut. 28:25, R. V.) How literally has th is been fulfilled. In th is country th e Jew has a comparatively easy tim e— bu t even here a proverb and byword, excluded from some hotels, colleges, etc., because a Jew. In other countries how tru e has been, and still is, th is p art of th e prediction: “And among these nations thou sh alt find no ease, neith er shall th e sole of thy foot find rest: bu t th e Lord shall give thee th ere a trem bling h eart, and failing of eyes and sorrow of m ind: and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and sh alt have none assu r ance of thy life: in the morning thou sh alt say, Would God it were evening! and a t even thou sh a lt say, Would God it were morning! for th e fear of th in e h ea rt wherew ith thou sh alt fear, and for th e sight of th in e eyes which thou sh alt see.” (Deut. 28:65-67.) And yet during all these centuries of b itterest persecution and trial, Israel has been preserved as a distinct people, refusing to “m elt” in th e “m elting-pot” even of th e United States. Why is this? Because God is not y et th rough w ith Israel as a nation, and th e predictions concerning Israel’s fu tu re place among th e nations are to be ju st as literally fulfilled as th e prophecies concerning h er past and present. “They shall look upon Him whom they have pierced,” even Jesus Christ, and recognize in Him th e tru e Messiah; and He shall ta k e th e th ron e of His fath e r David and reign over Israel, and over th e whole earth. Then will Israel become th e leading people of th e earth . “Thus saith the Lord of hosts: In those days it shall come to pass, th a t ten men shall ta k e hold out of all languages of th e nations,
The B eau tifu l Land of Israel. Josh. 1:1-4; Deut. 8:7-14. Memory Verse.— “Thou sh alt bless the Lord th y God for th e good land which He h ath given th ee.” Deut. 8:10. Approach.jS-What is th is I am holding in my hand? A rose. Yes, a beautiful red rose th a t grew in my yard. We who live in Southern California can enjoy, th e b eau tifu l flowers all th e year round, bu t in many p arts of th e world th e flowers only bloom in th e summer ELEMENTARY time. Did you know, boys and girls, Mabel L. M errill th a t California is very much like th e was on earth ? Our story today is about th e beau tifu l land of Israel, th e place God gave to th e people of Israel, when He brought them up ou t of Egypt, w here they were slaves. P rayer. Lesson Story.— Bernice, can you tell me some of th e things God did for his people Israel, in our story la st week? (Review, emphasizing God’s plan for them to m ake Him known to th e other people of th e world.) How sad it made God feel, afte r all th e kindness and love He had shown th e people of Israel, when so many of them disobeyed Him, and failed to tell other people about Him and His goodness to them . Then, too, He gave them such a b eau tifu l land to live in, where th ere were brooks, springs and rivers, making th e country so p retty and green, and causing th e flowers to grow and bloom, and the grass to feed th e cattle. There were th e g reat fir and cedar trees. And listen, they also had orange and fig trees like we have, and olives and grapes; th e graceful waving palm trees. In th is won d erful land God placed his people and blessed them . But best of all He gave them His word and sent them good preachers (the prophets) to teach them th e rig h t way, and th en He w anted them to teach th e other people to love and serve Him. Now, boys and girls,- do you not th in k Israel would have been so glad to do as God asked them to do, when He had been so good to them ? You all said yes, bu t now let us ju st stop and th in k a moment, and see if God has no t done ju st as much for us; even more, for He sent Jesus down here on ea rth to live, and th en die for us. He has placed us in a beau tifu l world w ith so much to make us happy-. He has given us His word, the Bible, and churches and splendid preachers and teachers, and we have a g reat deal more th a n th e people of Israel had, and I wonder if we are telling others about Jesus, and w hat a wonderful Saviour He is? How we need a Saviour to save us from our sin, and make us fit to live w ith Him forever in th e beau tifu l place He is g etting ready fo r all who belong to Him. Are we failing too, ju s t like th e people of Israel did? Yes, oh so many are receiving all th e many blessings from Him every day, and ju s t living for themselves and not letting th is blessed Jesus come into th e ir h earts a t all and never th ank ing Him for all His goodness to them . Our memory verse is such a beautiful one, and we are going to say it over a num ber of times un til we know it so well th a t we can go home and say it to fath e r and mother, and to th e boys and girls who do no t come to Sunday School. “Thou sh alt bless th e Lord thy God for th e good land which He h ath given th e e.” T h at means we should always remember to th a n k th e Lord fo r our land, and all th e o ther blessings He sends to us every day. Have you ta k en Jesu s into your h eart, and are you doing as He ask s? Closing prayer. land of P alestine, which is called th e holy land, where Jesus lived when He
I
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker