November 1943
417 INTERNAT IONAL LESSON Commentary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Childrens Division Object Lesson Golden T ext Illustration By B. B. S u t c l if f e By G r e t c h e n S ib l e y By M ild red M . C o o k By E l m e r L. W ild er By A l a n S. P e a r c e Points and Problems By H o m e r A . K e n t , Professor at Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, In d .
DECEMBER 5, 1943 THE SIN OF COVETOUSNESS E x o d u s 20:17; L u k e 12:13-34
such as would separate brethren and institute proceedings that generate hatred and disputes, was a miser at heart, concerned wholly with mate rial things and in utter forgetfulness of his real self. To enforce and illustrate His mean ing, Jesus gave the parable of the rich man. There is no hint that this rich man was any other than a thrifty, hard-working, and capable farmer, one who knew his business and in dustriously attended to it.. The on looker would say with truth that this man was successful, wise, and far- seeing. But the Lord names him a fool. He was this, certainly not be cause he was rich, for there were many among the true followers of Jesus Christ who were wealthy. There were, for instance, Joseph of Arima- thea, Gains of Corinth, Philemon of Colosse, and others. But the man here cited was a fool because he was con cerned only with the material things of this life. The man had wrong conceptions of his wealth) its safety,' and its owner ship. He had wrong conceptions of Ijfe, its meaning, and its purpose. He lived his life without thought of God who gave the wealth and owned the life. His eyes were so filled with the sight of his material possessions that he was blind to eternal things. He
Exodus 20:17 Thou shaft not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. Luke 12:13 And one of the company said .unto him. Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.* 14 And he said unto, him, Man, who made me a Judge or a divider over.'you? ,15 And he said unto them, Take heed, arid beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. 16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:’ 17 And he thought within himself, say- Jng,. What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say'to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, arid be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this-night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall thbse things be, which thou hast provided? 21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. 22 And he said unto his disciples, There fore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall. eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. 23 The life is more than meat, and the body Is more than raiment. 24 Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have store house nor barn; v and ' God feedeth thfcm: how much more are ye better than the fowls? 25 And w h i c h of y o u with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?. LESSON T E X T : Ex, 20:17; Lk. 12:13-25. GOLDEN T E X T : “ Thou shalt not covet . . . any thing that is thy* neighbor's" (E x . 20:17). DEVOTIONAL READING: Lk. 18:18-27. Outlinè and Exposition I. T h e C o m m a n d o f G od ( E x . 20 :17) © OVETOUSNESS is idolatry, an evil that strikes at the very Person of God Himself, and is associated with fornication, unclean- ness,. and evil désire (cf. Col. 3:5). It is not surprising;- therefore, that God’s command eoncèrning • covetous ness is incorporated in the funda mental Ten Commandments. It was covetousness that caused Satan’s fall. It was the primal sin [Lesson material is based on outlines of International Sunday School Lessons copyrighted by the International Coun cil of Religious Education and is used by its permission. Scripture portions quoted are from the King James Ver sion unless otherwise stated .]
that ruined the race w h e n Eve yearned for the forbidden fruit in Eden. It was covetousness that was the downfall of Lot when he looked at the well-watered plain. And the same sin defeated Israel when Achan saw and coveted the Babylonish gar ment and the wedge of gold. Covet ousness lay at the bottom of the Pharisees’ evil life (cf. Isa. 14:12-14; Gen. 3:6; 13:10, 11; Josh. 7:20, 21; Lk. 12:15). G r e e d and avarice that hanker after forbidden things, or even after right things to be acquired in a wrong way, reveal a deep-rooted evil. The command of God forbids coveting anything, anywhere, and at any time. II. T h e T e a c h in g * b y C h r is t Luke 12:13-21 The abrupt manner in which Jesus answered this man might be thought severe. But it was like a shout, warn ing of danger. Jesus immediately re vealed the peril of the man by saying, “Take heed, and keep yourselves from all covetousness” (v. 15, R.V.). It is not in what a man has that his life consists, but rather in what he is. And a man filled with covetousness,
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