THE K I N G ’ S BU S I NE S S
58
IN T E R N A T IO N A L LESSON Commenrary Outline and Exposition Blackboard Lesson Children's Division Object Lesson Golden Text Illustration By B. B. S utcliffe By G retchen S ibley By R uth M ortensen By E lmer L. W ilder By A lan S. P earce Points and Problems By H omer A . K ent , Professor at Grace Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Ind.
s MARCH 7, 1943 BIBLE TEACHINGS AGA IN ST DRUNKENNESS 1 S am u el 30:16, 17; I saiah 28:1-4, 7 ; G alatians 5:19-21
pleased to deliver the Amalekites into his hands. II. 4 T he J udgment upon D runkenness (Isa. 28:1-4, 7) Ephraim, the leading tribe of the kingdom of Israel, together with Sa maria, the capital city, were doomed because of their forgetfulness of Je hovah their God, and their indulgence in drunkenness. The national leaders could not expect that the common people would do other than follow their example, and hence the whole nation became afflicted with the dis ease of alcoholism. The L o r d threatened to b r i n g against Samaria a mighty enemy who would come in as an overflowing flood and a tempest of hail, and trample under foot thfe city of Israel’s pride. Not only the national leaders, but the religious leaders as well were guilty of the sin of drunkenness (v. 7). “They also erred through wine.” The wine distorted their judgment so that they were “out of the way,” lost and astray, and going on in uncer tainty. They “erred through strong drink” ; both the priest and the proph et were guilty, and. the people were left without direction. These leaders “erred” in vision and stumbled in “judgment.” Like the national lead ers, they reeled and knew not whither they went. For this the Lord declared He would (as He afterward did) de stroy their city, and cause their na tional life to end.' Here is a lesson for America today, where leaders and people have become increasingly giv- * en to strong drink, and where the government receives l a r g e revenue from its sale. Those who, understand ing the Scriptures, can see the trend of events under these circumstances, tremble as they contemplate the in difference to God’s warnings against strongs drink. III. T he W orks of the F lesh (G al . 5:19-21) Unlike the desires that give rise to them, the works of thé flesh are open and manifest. There are four that are termed sensual works, two reli gious, nine social, and two personal. These are not all the works of the flesh by any means, as the words “ and such like” clearly imply. All similar things are the works of the flesh.
1 Samuel 30:1« A n d w h e n he had brought him down» behold» they were spread abroad upon all the earth» eating and drinking» and dancing» because o£ all the great spoil that they had taken out of the land of the Philistines» and out of the land of Ji^dah. 17 And David smote them from the twilight even unto the evening of the next day: and there escaped not a man of them» save four hundred young men» which rode upon camels» and fled. Isaiah 28:1 Woe to the crown of pride» to the drunkards of Ephraim» whose glori ous beauty is a fading flower» which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine! 2 Behold» the Lord hath a mighty and Strong one» which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm» as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand. 3 The crown of pride» the drunkards of Ephraim, shall he trodden under feet! 4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of' the fat valley, shall be a fading flower, and as the hasty fruit be fore the summer} which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it is yet in his hand he eateth It up. 7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink» they are swallowed up of wine,, they are out of- the way through strong drink; they err. in vision, they stumble in judgment. 'Galatians 5tl9 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, Adul tery, fornication, uncleanness, lascivious ness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, vari ance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envying«, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like! of the which 1 tell you before, as 1 have also told you In time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. GOLDEN TEXT! “Strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it” (Isa. 24:9), DEVOTIONAL READINGi Psa. 5!l-7. Outline and Exposition I. T he D anger of D runkenness (.1 S am . 30:16, 17) ^TT^HE AMALEKITES conducted a raid during w h i c h they de- 1 stroyed David’s residence, Zik- lag, and carried away the spoil. When David returned, he f o u n d his city ruined and his goods gone. He in quired from the Lord whether or not [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 .]
COMBINING TESTIMONY AND PRACTICE We have no right to sing: “In the Cross of Christ I Glory," un less we are willing to add: “By whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world" (Gal. 6:14).—Selected. he should pursue the Amalekites. He was instructed to go after them and was promised that the Lord would give him the Victory and enable him to recover the goods. David came to the-camp of the Am alekites and found them celebrating their supposed easy triumph, with eat ing, drinking, and dancing. They were wholly absorbed in their' celebration and careless about setting guards, for they thought they were perfectly safe. The eating and drinking probably add ed to their carelessness, •and to the casual reader it would appear that this was the cause of their defeat. But God had-declared He would de liver them into the hand of-David. Actually, it was because of the provi dence of God that David Came upon his enemies just when and -how he did. Drunkenness is dangerous at any time, and God used this carousal to fulfill His promise to David. David “smote them from the twi light even unto the evening of the next day.” Again, to the1 casual reader it would seem that David was a wiser general than the leader of the Amale kites, or that his forces were greater, or that the enemies were so exhausted that they could not oppose him. But it was none of these conditions, nor all of them together, that gave David the victory; it was because God was BLACKBOARD LESSON
Made with FlippingBook HTML5