International Sunday School Lesson As Taught by T. C. Horton at the Bible Institute, Los Angeles, Cal. Brief Thoughts For Busy Teachers
LESSON V. May 1, 1910. TWO SABBATH INCIDENTS. Matt. 12:1-14. Golden Text, Matt. 12:7. Theme— The Withered Hearts and the Withered Hands. OUTLINE. I—The Lord of the Sabbath and His Law. II—The Lawful Work of the Sabbath. Matthew, we remember, is grouping events without regard to chronological order. His evident purpose is to intro- duce the incidents which gave rise to the growing opposition of the Jews to the Messiah. I—THE LORD OF THE SABBATH. "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." The lesson is introduced by the pic- ture of the Lord and His disciples pass- ing through the green fields on the Sab- bath and plucking the grain—rubbing it in their hands and eating it (Luke 16:1). The disciples were poor and they were hungry. The law permitted them to enter and pass through the fields and to pluck the grain to s a t i s fy their hunger, but prohibited their putting in the sickle to gather a harvest for them- selves (Deut. 23:25). By the law which governed field and vineyard, as well as the law for the permission to glean in the fields, God made provision for the poor and needy among His people. The Pharisees, who were blind as bats to spiritual teach- ing and life and keen on the scent for infractions of the letter of the law, re- joiced in this opportunity to charge the Master and His disciples with being lawbreakers. In His defence of His followers the Lord sheds new light upon the whole subject of the Sabbath. The Purpose of the Sabbath. God did not make the Sabbath day with rigid rules and then form man and thrust him into it. Man was first made; then the Sabbath was made for the man (Mark 2:277 and to be a bless- ing to the man. A recognition of this great truth will greatly help to a proper understanding of the whole subject.
The Sabbath as a part of the ten commandments was in the nature of a covenant between God and Israel (Ex. 34:27). 'In Deut. 5:15, He cites their redemption from Egypt as the basis for their keeping of the Sabbath, and in Ezekiel 20:12, He says the Sabbath was a sign between Himself and His people. Also in Ex. 31:17, a perpetual re- minder. For these and other reasons the Scribes and Pharisees were exceed- ingly jealous concerning the law of the Sabbath and had hedged the day about with innumerable additional conditions until it became unbearable. They were forbidden to carry a pen or needle at the close of Friday, lest they might fqrget to lay them aside before six o 'clock, when the Sabbath began. Some f o r ty varieties of work were forbidden and each had numerous subdivisions. The Sabbath was not made to re- strict, hinder or hamper men, but to afford an opportunity for rest and com- munion with God. It was designed to give occasion for enlargement of vision and enrichment of being. God had in mind the welfare of man and not his servitude, in the law of the Sabbath. This law is universal in its application. Men, beasts of burden, even the land itself, thrive best when the law of rest is observed. Gladstone said, " I owe my life and vigor through a long and busy life to the Sabbath day, with its blessed surcease of t o i l ." Scientists tell us that telegraph wires are better conductors for a day of rest. Even jewels require an occasional rest to re- tain their brilliancy. Seven-day work- ers are poor workers. The French revolution is an apt illustration of the effect of the abandonment of a day of rest. The Position of the Sabbath. The necessities of men take prece- dence over ordinance; mercy is more than sacrifice. Even the priests them- selves violated the letter of the law by slaying the sacrifices, putting bread upon the table in the sanctuary, and by circumcisions upon the Sabbath, if it happened to fall upon the eighth day. The Lord cites David's violation of the
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