TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
851
September, 1941
MoneyforYourTreasury Over 1,500/000 Sunflower Dishcloths
in. T he C ondemnation (Isa. 28:1-6) Isaiah reveals the iniquity of the leaders in Ephraim (v. 1). Their crown of pride was their capital city of Sa maria, and their national sin was drunk enness (cf. vs. 7, 8). Sennacherib, the Assyrian, would be turned loose upon them, and their supposed defense would be swept away before a destroying storm, “as a flood of mighty waters” (v. 2). Samaria was a beautiful city, but because of sin, its beauty would be as a fading flower and as the first ripe fruit that fell from the tree to be trodden under foot (vs. 3, 4). These leaders would find their strength de pleted, their judgment distorted, and their resistance weakened, all because their law was trampled upon. That law was from God, and its observance was calculated to preserve the nation in peace and power. The prophet has a word of comfort for the godly remnant in the midst (vs. 5, 6). In the time of destruction, God Himself will be their refuge, and their diadem of beauty and crown of glory. IV . T he J u d g m e n t (Hab. 2:12) Habakkuk pronounces “woe” upon him “ that buildeth a town with blood,” or with iniquity. What a price in blood and iniquity is paid for the building, of some towns! Any town or city whose revenues are brought from the groans and sorrows of men, women, and chil dren will meet the “woe.” For the sake of money, some civic leaders will allow the people to become entangled in the bonds of strong drink, and then will soothe their own consciences by pre senting the community with. a park or playground paid for out of the profits of this iniquitous traffic. What a farce is this! Oh, that God’s Word, with all the directness of its commands, would be honored by us as individuals and as members of the community! Points and Problems 1. “That ye may prolong your days in the land” (v. 33). We should not forget that the promise here was to an earthly people which lived in an earthly land. It does not concern eter nal life and heaven. Nevertheless, the text has a useful application tp our own lives. Althqugh pilgrims and strangers on earth, we are also members of an earthly nation. And the divine rule is inexorable: If we expect our nation to prolong its days in this land and to enjoy prosperity, there must be some regard for the eternal laws of God. 2. “Woe . . . to the drunkards of Ephraim . . . the drunkards of Ephraim” (Isa. 28:1, 3). Most of the expositors will tell you that the reference here is only to .the historical situation in the prophet’s own day. And that is doubt less the primary meaning. The condition
back there was a c e s s p o o l of cor ruption, not only in the northern king dom at Samaria, but also in Judah at Jerusalem. After denouncing the drunk ards of Ephraim, the prophet turns to the southern kingdom, and cries, “ And even these reel with wine, and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink” (v. 7, R.V.). But you cannot study the context of Isaiah 28 without seeing that we have here also a reference to the end time. See verse 5, “In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his peple.” Certainly this takes us down to the end when the Lord Himself shall reign among His people on earth. If this be the reach of the prophety, then perhaps the denunciation of the drunkards of Ephraim and Judah will sometime once more be in order. Neither this writer, nor THE KING’S BUSINESS, has any sympathy for the modem anti-Semitic prejudice which finds all evil in the Jewish people. But, on the other hand, their sins are no more excusable than are those of the Gentile world. For a Gentile to abuse the temple of his body with strong drink is bad enough, but for a Jew to do it is still worse. For“ the Jew is a member of the chosen people of God. And it would appear that, if the prophecy reaches down to the end, the Jew at that time will be joining in the ways of proud licentiousness, common among . the Gentiles, but which ought not to be so much as named among the people of God. And for this they, along with the Gentiles, will suffer the righteous judgments of God. God is not mocked. Golden Text Illustration P roverbs 14:34 C. N. Howard reports that in a certain town the temperance people and the liquor people planned to have •street parades hpon the same day, the par ades to start from opposite directions. At the head of the liquor procession a man carried a banner marked, “Men, Vote for Your Liberty.” At the head of the temperance procession a little boy carried a banner, “Fathers, Vote to Save Your Sons.” As the processions met, the man threw down his banner, ran to the boy, and, raising him upon his -shoulder, faced about and himself headed the temperance parade. The boy was his own son. —Sunday School Times.
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Whether she writes them doyrn or not, she probably re minds you of them often enough so that you know the list by heart. No home can * be run properly without rules and regula tions for the family. LESSON: After
E^' r\ _ _ 5 -Division
we take Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we have God as our Father, you remem ber, and the Holy Spirit as our Helper. We now belong to the family of God. God has rules for His family, too. He wrote these down once on tables of stone and gave them to Moses. We call them the Ten Commandments, and they tell us how to “behave” in God’s family. Part of these laws show us how to "behave” toward God, and part how to “behave” toward men. Shall we read them together?
God’s Good Laws D euteronomy 5
MEMORY VERSE: “He that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Prov. 29:18). APPROACH: Some mothers paste up in the bedroom a list of rules for their children to follow, reminding them to “brush teeth,” ' “comb hair,” “open
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