August 1924
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
515
Thou hast spoken of Thy servant’s house for a great while to come, and hast regarded me in the arrangement about the MAN that is to be from above, O God, Jehovah.”-—Gray. 7:29. Generally, the announcement was understood by the people as a prediction of the Messiah. Henceforth the Hope of Israel was known as the Son of David.^—Itlaikie. 9 :1 . How had the house of Saul collapsed, when it was necessary even for David to ask such a question! But a few years since, Saul was thè king of Israel, able to speak of his power to give fields and vineyards to his followers, and to make, them captains of hundreds and of thousands. Now his own place knows him no more;, and the one who sits on his throne, and desires to do kindness to his house, does not know where to find a member of it.— Grant. David invented chivalry two thousand years before the knights who have gained thè credit for it.— Readie. 9:13. The Christian worker will discover a fine illus tration of grace and a good outline for a sermon in that of Mephibosheth; (a) Hé had nothing to commend him to David, (b) David not only forgives and delivers him from dread of retribution, but restores him to a good position in the kingdom, (c) He did this for the sake of another, Jonathan, (d) Mephibosheth served David faithfully all .his days.— Gray. I i H m ELEMENTARY Mrs. S .W . Barrett Mémory verses-—John 1 :12; Romans 8 :1 6 ,1 7 . If you found a poor little lame, hungry kitten on your doorstep some morning and you took him in and gave him a saucer of cream and kept him to live with you just like your own kitten, don’t you think that little lObt cat would be glad you found him?
things for the first time, and to visit the king! As he went with the King’s servants, he probably rode upon the back of a sturdy mule all the way, along the banks of the prètty river Jabbok which was sometimes called the Blue River, then across the tumbling river Jordan-lithe servants would have to find a shallow place where his mule could carry him across for there werè no bridges in those days— down the green Jordan valley they would go, where he would see beautiful drooping willow trees and palm trees fringing the banks of the.river and oh! the most beautiful wild flowers growing everywhere! Do you know what big city lie would have to pass? Jeri cho. What happened to the walls of Jericho, a long, long time before David became King? (review). Well, after two or three days journey Me-phib-o-sheth arrived at Jerusalem. Don’t you think he might have been just a wee bit afraid? When the servants carried him in before King David, Me-phib-o-shèth knelt and reverently bowed his head to his king. King David spoke his name kindly, “Mephibo sheth.” Then perhaps the King saw that hé was afraid so he said to him, “ Fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan, thy father’s sake, and will give thee all the land of Saul find thou shalt eat at my table always.” King David made Mephibosheth live with him just as one of his own sons. And this poor lame fellow grew to love the king so much that he was willing to give up all the land the king had given him and everything, just to live with his king. Prayer—-Dear Lord JesuS, we thank theë for the promise that if we receive Thee as our Saviour and King we shall become the children of God and live with Théë always. Help us to love Thee more each day and to tell others about Thy wonderful love. We ask it for Thy Name’s sake. Amen. A u g u s t 17 ,1 9 2 4 (Lesson 46) DAVID’S SIN AND REPENTANCE 2 Scimuel, Chapters 11 and 12 Golden Text: “ Blessed is he whose transgression is for given, whose sin is covered.” Psalm 32:1. Outline : ' (1) The Apostate King, 11:1-21. (2) The Announcement of Uriah’s Déath, vs. 22-24. (3) The Anger of the Lord, vs. 25-2?. (4) The Allegory of Nathan, 12:1-6.; (5) The Accusation of Nathan, vs. 7-12. (6) The Acknowledgment of David, and Answer of Nathan, vs. 13-23. Introduction: These two chapters contain so many practical lessons that a careful perusal will be-necessary on the part of the teacher, selecting those lessons which it seems desirable to present to the class. We suggest that the adaptation ^S>e based upon the age of thé scholars and LESSON the period of time available for the lesson EXPOSITION study. T. C. Horton (1) THE APOSTATE KING, 11:1-21. “ Set ye Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, that he may be smitten and die.” v. 15. The period of prosperity afforded Satan an opportunity to veil David’s eyes from his solemn sense of duty to his kingdom, and open them to an opportunity to satisfy the lust of the flesh. Prosperity has always been attended with pleasing perils: É è ' . . .
I am glad the Lord Jesus found me, because He came down from Heaven and süf- fered and died and rose again and then went back to God so that He could take me' to live with Him and makè me a child of God,; for God has promised: “ As many as received Him to them gave He power to be come the children of God, even ta them that believe on His name.” Where do I find that prom ise? , Yes,, John 1:12. In the Bible God has told us a wonder ful story of how King David once took a lame man to live with him.,
The Lame Man Who Ate With The King In the village of Lo-debar, which is east of the Jordan river and a good many miles northeast of the city of Jeru salem, there was a young lad who was lame. He lived with people;who tried to be kind to him, but oh, he must have been lonely with no father or big brother to love him! Do you know who he was? He was Jonathan’s son, and he had the queerest name, Me-phib-o-sheth; Do you remember about Jonathan? ■ He and King Saul had been killed in war. When the sad news of his death came, the frightened nurse picked up baby Me-phib-o-sheth, who was only five years old then; and ran out of the house. In her haste she let the baby fall and hurt his legs so that when he grew up he was lame and could not walk. One day King David, living in Jerusalem, asked his peo ple, “ Is there'not yet anyone living belonging to the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” A man was found who had been a servant to King Saul and he said to King David, “ Jonathan hath yet a son who is lamé on his feet.” ¡Upon hearing this the king quickly sent his servants to find Me-phib-o-sheth and bring him to Jerusalem. Wouldn’t you like to have seen the lame young man’s eyes sparkle with excitement when he learned that he was going to take such a long journey and see so many wonderful
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker