October 1931
T h e K i n g ’ s
461
B U S I N E S S
¿Junior KING’S BUSINESS . . . By HELEN HOWARTH LEMMEL
The Story of the Great King B y H elen H owarth L emmel " hen the B aby J esus was a little older, there came to Jerusalem a group of strange men. They ap peared to be from other and far-away countries. They were richly, even royally dressed, and their camels and donkeys and servants all spoke of greatness. They had traveled long and far indeed, all on the same errand, though they did not know that, nor did they know each other until they met near Jerusalem. They were some of those other than Jews to whom God had made known His plan. For many years these wise men had been expecting a great One to come. One day there appeared to each in his own far- separated country, a new and marvelous star, and God made known to them that the star was sent to lead them to Him whom they had long desired to see. Many, many days they traveled, from different directions, always coming nearer to each other. At last they met near Jerusalem and rejoiced that they were chosen to come and see and worship Him whom they knew was sent from God. They talk ed1of the wonderful way in which they had been led. And then . they went to Jerusalem. “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” they asked. “We have seen his star in the east, and we have come to worship him.” Herod, a ruler of the Jews in Jerusa lem, heard this and feared that this Baby King might one day take his power from him. Herod was not a Jew. Because of this, and because he was a cruel and wick ed man, the Jews hated him. And that is why they wished that their own promised King would come. But in this they were less wise than Herod, for they did not be lieve, nor would they receive Jesus as their King, though He had come just as' the Book of the Jews said He would come. They did not want a baby king, nor a poor king. Only a few like the shep herds and the wise men believed and wor shiped Him. Herod, then, when he heard of the wise men, sent for them and said, “Tell me when you have found Him whom you seek, so that I, too, may worship Him.” Led by the star, they went to Bethle hem, and there they found Jesus, the little King of the Jews. They gave Him their gifts and their worship, but they did not return to tell Herod. God had told them to go home another way, for Herod did not wish to worship, but to kill the young King. When he learned that they had gone home another way, Herod was very an gry, and being cruel as well as afraid that Jesus would some day take his place and power, he ordered all the boy children, of two years old and under, to be slain, sure that among them would be the One whom he feared and hated.
But the little Lord Jesus was safe, for an angel had come to Mary and Joseph, and had told them to take Him into Egypt and keep Him there. For a time they lived there, and one day the angel appeared again and said to them: “Arise and return, for they that sought the young child’s life are dead.” And thus God took care of His Son, so that Satan should not spoil the plan on earth. For Satan had entered into Herod. But Satan can not prevent for ever, though he may hinder, God’s plan. The little Lord Jesus went, then, with Mary and Joseph to Nazareth, and there they lived as simply and quietly as if the wonderful things we have talked of never had happened. But Mary hid them in her heart. Other children came to the humble lit tle home which was partly a carpenter shop, for you will remember that Joseph was a carpenter. As the Baby Jesus grew older, He would no doubt learn to make things. First, perhaps, it would be a little stool; then, a simple table. And how proud He would be when He could make a yoke for oxen! His yokes for the slow, dumb, faithful beasts would be as easy and comfortable as they could be made, we know. He would need to be a good carpenter, for it seems that, as the eldest son, Jesus came to have sole care of the family, since Joseph, the father of the family, is not heard of in the story very long. So, working, playing, going to the syna gogue on the Sabbath, and on week days to school as did every good Jewish boy, He grew up. The sunny, narrow, walled streets of Nazareth knew Him well, and He was beloved by all the people, so beau tiful and fine and strong was He in na ture and in person. He would probably often wander over the hills near Naza reth. How strange to think that, as Elo- him, He made them, for the Book of the Great King says: “All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” [To be continued ]
eternal ages. We give it very briefly. The divisions and characteristics of the dis pensations, such as innocence, conscience, law, etc., may be marked if one desires to enlarge upon the theme. First, then, the kingdom, of God is “from everlasting” (denoted by the left half-circle) "to everlasting” (symbolized by the right half-circle). Like every king dom or country, the kingdom of God has qualities that mark it. There are, pri marily, four, each one beginning with the letter “L.” Call for or point to and have learned, verses which speak of God as “light,” “love,” and “life.” In approach ing the fourth “L,” liberty, show how the opposite of love and light and life is an absence of liberty. Then give a liberty verse; such a s: “The liberty with which the Son makes free.” In this kingdom, God, in His Three Persons, dwelt. Never miss an opportu nity to stress the oneness and yet distinc tiveness of these three. Point out that this is something to be believed, rather than understood, at least, until we reach heaven, where everything shall be made plain. Because God desired others to share His kingdom with Him and to serve Him, Lucifer and the myriads of angels over whom he was made prince were cre ated. Tell the story of Lucifer’s rebel lion and fall into the earth (we are not told when the earth was created), its ruin and restoration, with the new thing cre ated, which was man. Then follow with the Eden story, indicated by the serpent on the line, denoting time. Speak of the coming of the Son to the Father, when Lucifer rebelled and so became Satan. The Son said, “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God,” but Lucifer had said, “My will,” Show that the willingness of the Lord Jesus to do the Father’s will resulted in the cross, where His life was given to save us from the sin brought in by Satan. The blood was necessary for ransom, for cleansing, and for protection" from Satan. Always give reference verses and chap ters which are to be learned. While the story, with careful prepara tion, may be given in one lesson, it is bet ter to take several lessons for it. If only one lesson is possible, have the verses ar ranged in order on slips of paper to give out for home study. Further explanation of this simple chart and method will be given next month. K. Y. B. C. Notes Lydia Rea, of Belfast, Ireland, has written to tell us of her pleasure in the club pin, in the puzzles, and in the whole Junior page. Thank. you, Lydia. Miss Newton’s class in Alhambra, Calif., is still to the fore in interest and in work. The Camp Bethel (Calif.) group is busy memorizing texts, and new members have been added, one of whom is a little Chi- nese-American girl who always wears her club pin to Sunday-school with pride and pleasure.
X hank you for your interest, which we are sure we may always count upon. Above is presented, as promised, the diagram from which may be worked out the complete story of God’s plan for the
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