April 1929
191
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
FRED S. SHEPARD ’S BLACKBOARD OUTL INE F a it h f u l —Acts 4 ¡2 0 EARLESS—Jer. 26:14 IDELITY—Acts 5:29. I am with thee.—Jer. 1 :8; Mat. 28:20. Lord to do so. Being conscious of his duty, he called upon his auditors to amend their ways and to turn to God. Not knowing what the outcome would be, but being determined to do the will of God regardless of consequences, he delivered his message faithfully and left himself in the hands of the auditors. 4. The Advice of the Princes to the Re ligious Leaders. Vs. 16-24. The officials of the government, not be ing biased by prejudice, were able to see that a sinister motive p r o m p t e d the prophet’s opponents in their opposition. In reasoning with them the princes re ferred to two instances of prophets who formerly had delivered messages from God. The first of these was Micah, who lived in the days of Hezekiah. He proph esied the complete destruction of Jerusa lem (verse 18), but Hezekiah did no violence to him. This historical occasion was used by the princes to allay their feelings and to avert violence. The second prophet to whom he re ferred was Uriah the son. of Shemaiah, who prophesied in the days of Jehoiakim. This King, with his mighty men, sought to kill the prophet, who became afraid and fled to Egypt. Immediately the King sent for him, brought him back and slew him—a cowardly act. In this tense situation Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, took Jeremiah’s part so that he was not delivered to the people who would have put him to death. Golden Text: ‘"Hearken unto my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people" (Jer. 7:23). Lesson Text: Jer. 7:1-26. L esson in O utline I. Temple Worship of no Avail to the Ungodly. Vs. 1-7. 1. Call to Repentance. V. 3. 2. Warning against Formalism and Ungodliness. Vs. 4-7. II. Immorality and Idolatrous Worship Denounced. Vs. 8-11. III. The Fate of Shiloh a Warning to Jerusalem. Vs. 12-15. 1. Judgment upon Shiloh. Vs. 12, 13. 2. Judgment to Fall upon Judah. Vs. 14, 15. IV. Certainty of the Impending Judg ment. Vs. 16-20. 1. Jeremiah Prohibited from Praying for the Nation. V. 16. 2. Condition of the People Renders Judgment Imperative. Vs. 17-20. May 19, 1929 Jerem iah Calls to Obedience
V. Perverseness of the Nation from its Beginning. Vs. 21-26. 1. Permission to Continue in Wicked ness. V. 21. 2. The Rebelliousness of the Nation. Vs. 22-26. — o — I. Temple Worship of no Avail to the Ungodly. Vs. 1-7. T EREMIAH was instructed to take his J stand in the gate of “Jehovah’s house, and proclaim there this word." The ex pression “Jehovah’s house” is the Old
was punished for his disobedience. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). In verse 8 the Lord promised Israel that, in the event she repented, He would cause her “to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even for evermore.” Had Isráel re pented she would not have been cast out of her land. Had she nationally not re jected ,her Messiah she would not have been cast out. God would have dealt with those who rejected and crucified Him, but He would not have cast the nation out of the land had it remained in fellowship with Him. II. Immorality and Idolatrous Worship Denounced. Vs. 8-11. “Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit." The lying words in which they were trusting doubtless were the tra ditions handed down from the fathers, and teachings of false prophets, who were quite active in Jeremiah’s day. A lie can never profit, but always injures. In verses 9 and 10 the prophet inquires of his hearers if they think they can con tinue in immoral practices, and burning incense to Baal, and at the same time come to the Temple and worship God, ex pecting Him to accept their service and bless them. This rhetorical question de mands the answer no. The people were trusting in a delusion. The word “abominations” refers to the idols which they were worshiping in con nection with the true God. Again, in another oratorical question, the prophet asked his auditors their con ception of God’s house, that is, if they considered that it was a den of robbers. This was but another way of his declaring that they were robbers. Then he remind ed them that God sees. There is nothing hid from God’s eyes (Psa. 139). III. The Fate of Shiloh, a Warning to Jerusalem. Vs. 12-15. 1. Judgment upon Shiloh. Vs. 12, 13. After the conquest under Joshua the tabernacle was located at Shiloh and re mained there during the period of the judges. Thither went the tribes of Israel to worship. In the days of Eli the ark was removed from the tabernacle, taken into battle, and captured by the Philis tines. It was never taken back to Shiloh after this. Later on, the tabernacle was removed to Nob and in the days of Sol omon probably to Gibeah. It is quite pos sible that Shijoh was destroyed in the war with the Philistines when the ark was captured. The historian is silent on this point. Its destruction, however, was com plete and was a testimonial to succeed ing generations of God’s wrath and dis pleasure at the immorality, idolatry, and wickedness in every form. 2. Judgment to Fall upon Judah. Vs. 14, 15. “Therefore will I do unto the house which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shi loh.” Though God had chosen Jerusalem as the place of His abode for ever (Psa. 132:14, 15), God could not wink at the sins of His people and abide in their midst in the form of the shekinah of glory as He had formerly done. In verse 15 God threatened to cast the people of Judah out of their land as He
Testament t e r m used to refer to the T e m p l e (cf. Isa. 2 : 2 ). “Hear th e word of Jehovah, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship Jehovah." The message which Jeremiah w a s de
livering was not what he thought about the situation but was the message given to him by the Spirit of God—hence God’s Word. It was for the worshipers who continually came to the Temple. 1. Call to Repentance. V. 3. “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.” Repentance means to “change the thoughts, purposes, and intentions of the heart or mind.” Jeremiah spoke of their repentance in terms of reformation—be cause in terms of the results. At this time the nation was far from' God spiritually. They were at the very verge of the cap tivity. They had not, however, gone so far that the judgment could not be avert ed. Upon the condition of their repen tance and bringing forth fruits worthy of the same, God promised to cause them to dwell safely in this place. This place was, of course, in Palestine. 2. Warning Against Formalism and Ungodliness. Vs. 4-7. . Religion for the Hebrews had ceased to be a vital force in the life of the nation. It is true that the ritual of the Temple was scrupulously observed. Men rose up from worship and went after gain and the satisfying of the fleshly desires. Notwithstanding this empty formalism, the worshipers felt perfectly secure be cause thè Temple at which they worshiped was called “The temple o f Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, are these.’’ The Temple itself to them was a sure guarantee of protection from calamity and of God’s favor. The people had fallen into the heathen fanatical prac tice of the repetition of formulae. This fact reveals clearly what a great hold heathen ideas had upon the worshipers of God. By trusting the repetition of these vain words they were trusting in lying words.” In verses 5 and 6 the prophet again calls to repentance and defines specifically what he means, by pointing out sins which were prevalent at the time. He likewise exhorted them not to go after other gods to their “own hurt” Every sin in which a man engages is to his "own hurt“ in its final analysis. The fact that one may be forgiven of his sins does not insure exemption from punish ment. David’s sin was forgiven, but he
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