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March, 1940
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
Israel chose their own way, and the people brought great troubles on them selves. Although Israel was very diso bedient, God still loved His people and sent Amos to say to them, “ ‘Seek the Lord, and ye shall live. —Grace Kellogg. OBJECTS: A cardboard cross, about eighteen inches high, colored red; three pieces of adding machine paper, six, eight, and ten feet long, and a pair of scissors. (Paint with black poster paint half of each piece of paper, the full length, on both sides. Paste the ends of the six-foot piece together, making a circle. Before pasting the ends of the eight-foot piece together, give one end a half turn. Give the ten-foot piece a whole turn before pasting the ends together.) LESSON: Who can tell how these circles of paper resemble people? “They all have black, which repre sents sin.” Yes, you are right. And there is an other way in which they remind us of people. Each is endless. People do not stop living when the body dies. The soul lives on for eternity. In looking at these sinful circles, I am reminded of the words of the prophet Amos, in chapter 5, verse 15: “Hate the evil, and love the good.” God is calling people today, as in that day, Object Lesson S inful C ircles Hoaea Stl Come, and let ns return unto the Lord tor he hath torn, and he will heal ua) he hath smitten, and he will bind ua up. 2 After two days will he revive us: In the third day £e will raise ns up, and we shall live In his sight. 3 Then shall, we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning:; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. 4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. 5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth : and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. 6 For I desired mercy, and not sacri fice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 7 But they like men have transgressed the c o v e n a n t : there have they dealt treacherously against me. Hosea 14:4 I will heal their backslid ing:, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. 5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. 7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon. 8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard
man told his story and produced his writings, but l a c k e d witnesses. The other, provided with witnesses, laid his whole stress on them and on the defec tive law of his adversary, who could produce no witnesses; he therefore urged the cadi to give sentence in his favor. After the most pressing solicitations, the judge calmly drew from beneath his sofa the bag of five hundred ducats, which the rich man had given him as a bribe, saying to him very gravely, ‘‘You have been much mistaken in the suit; for if the poor man could produce no witnesses in confirmation of his right, I, myself, can furnish him with at least five hundred.” He threw him the bag with reproach and indignation, and de creed the house to the poor plaintiff. —Cyclopedia of Illustrations, by Bates. MEMORY VERSE: ‘‘Great and mar velous are thy w o r k s , Lord God Al mighty; just and true are thy ways” (Rev. 15:3), APPROACH: Amos was a shepherd living in the high mountains south of Jerusalem. Like David the shepherd boy, Amos watched over his flock by night and looked up at the bright stars God speak to his heart saying, “Go, prophesy unto my people Israel” (Amos 7:15). A prophet is one who hears what God says and tells it to others. Amos told Israel, "Seek the Lord, and ye shall live” (5:6). LESSON STORY: The children of Israel were God’s own people, hut they disobeyed Him. They gave offerings and sang hymns, but many bowed down to idols instead of praying to the living God. They cheated, told lies, and were unkind to the poor. When His people did wrong, it grieved God, for they went far away from Him, and were getting themselves into trouble. 'When you dis obeyed Mother, did you ever go away and hide and get yourself into trouble? Amos told Israel that their enemies would kill some and make others cap tives or prisoners to take them from their own land if they kept on doing wrong and going away from God. If they would return and obey God by do ing right and would let Him protect them, He would save them from all their enemies. God never makes us obey Him. He lets us choose our way. If we choose God’s way we shall be happy. What Amos Said About God A mos 5 o v e r.h e a d.. He thought of God who made the heavens and earth, and he. often spoke to God in prayer. A m o s was brave, too, for he protected his sheep from lions. One day when he was following the flock, Amos heard
to hate their sins and forsake them. Many people, knowing this, treat their sins variously. With these scissors I will cut the black away from the white on the big gest circle. It takes a long time to get around this circle, and it often takes a long time to get people willing to sep arate from their sins. Look! The black is linked to the white, and is holding on to it. There are many people like this circle. They apparently separate from their sins, but in reality they hold them. We will try the next circle. It is not so long, and we can get around it sooner. It is not linked to the black, but joined. I suppose we could hide the black behind the table, but this is not what God meant when He said to hate the evil. The smallest circle does the wise thing —it comes to the cross to get rid of its sin. Notice what happens when the scis sors cut away the sin of this circle—• the white circle—leaving it free. God wants each one of us to come to Christ for salvation; He wants us to hate sin and forsake it. Mm, and observed Mm! I am like a srreen fir tree. From me •is thy fruit found* 9 Who is wise, and he shall under stand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein. LESSON TEXT : Hos. 6:1-7; 14:4-9. GOLDEN TEXT : “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgdve ua our sins, and to cleanse us from all un righteousness” (1 John 1:9). DEVOTIONAL READING: Isa* 1:16-20. Outline and Exposition I. T he C omplaint (6:1-7) ■ HE discipline of the Lord was and would heal where He had torn, if they would but return to Him whom they had left (vs. 1-3). They were prom ised that, even though they were as dead men because of their sins and re bellion, the Lord would raise them up again and they would live in His sight (v. 2). This doubtless is a reference to the resurrection that. awaits Israel in the day when they follow on to know the Lord and thus find the blessings
APRIL 14, 1940 HOSEA TELLS OF GOD’S FORGIVING LOVE H osea , C hapters 6, 11, and 14
upon Israel. They were tom and smitten by Him. But His grace would bind up where He had smitten
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