T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S against Babylon? Was Nebuchadnezzar doing God’s will in this siege? Bead Jer. 27. Is it possible for an unbeliever to carry out the purpose of God and yet be lost himself? Was this destruction of the nation due to one line of sin only or to a general rejection of God and His Word? What were some of the'sins of Judah at this time? 2 Chron. 36:14. Jer. 21:11, 12. Do you not think that Zedekiah, as he sat blind and childless in the prison of Babylon, believed that Jeremiah was right, although only a few years before he had cut his prophecy to pieces with a penknife and burned it?' Does it not pay to obey the Word of God at all cost? God Punishing Disobedient People. 2 Kings 25:1-21. Memory Verse.—F ‘Fear God, and keep His commandments.” Eccl. 12:13. Approach.— Boys and girls, what does a red light mean in the road? Danger! Now, when we are driving along on a nice smooth road at night, and see a red light BEGINNERS on ahead, do we AND PRIMARY keep right on driv- Mabel L. Merrill ing at a g o o d speed, or do we slow down and drive very slowly and care fully by the red light? We will drive carefully. Some friends of mine were driving a few weeks ago, and saw a red light on ahead, and they slowed down as they drew near the red light, and. in place of a bridge was a river, for the bridge was washed away, and there was a board stretched across the road with a red light at each end, and a sigh nailed on the board, telling of another road that was safe to travel. Now, if they had just driven on and paid no attention to the danger signals, they would have gone over into the river and been drowned. In our stories we have been hearing-about some danger signals in the Bible', and w.hat happened to peo
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ple who did not heed them. Prayer. Lesson Story.—We remember that Jeremiah had told the king many’ times that Jerusalem was to be destroyed, but the king would not listen to Jeremiah’s words. Then one day another king, whose name was Nebuchadnezzar, with his big army of soldiers, came and sur rounded the city of Jerusalem. Perhaps the king and his people in Jerusalem thought they would be safe behind the great stone walls, but the soldiers stayed day after day working and dig ging under the walls. Of course, the people could not go out of the city with soldiers on all sides, and after a long time, about one year and a half, the food in the city was all gone, and they could not get out by the soldiers to get more. Then about this time the soldiers broke through the walls, and the army began to enter the city. O, boys and girls, think of the suffering of the people, hungry, frightened and many of them sick. The king and some of the men ran out of the city, but they were soon caught by the soldiers, and then king Nebuchadnezzar ordered the sons of the king of Judah to be killed before his eyes, and that was the last scene king Zedekiah ever saw, for king Nebuchad nezzar ordered that his eyes be put out. The soldiers went through the city, burning and plundering. The king’s palace and the temple of God were burned.' Children, we should hear the dear Lord Jesus speaking to us through this sad story, for God loved these peo ple and tried again and again to save them from this awful sorrow and suf fering, but they would not listen and obey God, when Jeremiah warned them so many times. All this destruction of the great city of Jerusalem, many peo ple killed and tortured, and many car ried away into a heathen country, be cause of their disobedience to God. Many people today are hearing God’s preachers and teachers warning them to
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