June, 1934
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
230
burg.” What an illustration of the Golden Text for today I—A lan S. P earce . Why King Asa Was Called Good 2 C hronicles 14:1-12; 15:1-12 Memory Verse : “ The Lord is with you, while ye be with him” (2 Chron. 15:2). Approach : All of his life, Rehoboam had trouble. He treated his people badly. He followed strange gods—idols made of
many in the company from tribes other than Judah and Benjamin, and even though they were then under a different national au thority, they were all descendants o f the fathers to whom God had revealed Him self as the living and true God. Hence these people were turning from other gods back to the true God, who was ready to meet all their needs and deliver them from all their enemies. Finally, the earnestness with which they entered into this covenant is revealed in that they did it “ with all their heart and with all their soul” (v. 12). Their motives were now Godward; hence, their emotions would spring from these motives; and right emotions would insure right actions. Thus it is with us today: Our purposes o f spirit need to be right, that the desires of the soul may be right, and that the actions of body may be right. Points and Problems The lesson this week is very rich in types suggestive of the nation o f Israel and the coming kingdom. 1. Verse 3 points to Israel’s situation during the present age, when they are “without the true God.” When the nation rejected Jesus as the Messiah, they rejected the true God. And they have been with out Him now “ for a long season.” 2. Verse 5 points to the condition o f Israel in the present age. “In those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in.” This statement reminds us of the prophecy in Deuteron omy 28 :65: “Among these nations shalt thou find no ease,,neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest.” The declaration is still true today; witness the ominous rise of anti-Semitism recently in European nations. 3. Verse 6 foreshadows the present state of the Gentile world. “Nation was de stroyed o f nation.” Our Lord, predicting the course of Gentile dominion, said: “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (Matt. 24:7). It is like the raging o f the sea against the disobedient Jonah. There is no peace for the Gentile world while Israel is a fugitive from her God. 4. Verse 8 points forward to the cleans^ ing of the earth at the establishment o f the kingdom. “The abominable idols” shall be put away. “The Son o f man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity” (Matt. 13:41). 5. The same verse foreshadows the re newal of a central place o f worship on earth, when the Jewish temple shall become a place of prayer for all nations. Asa “renewed the altar of the Lord.” 6. Verse 12 points to the conversion of Israel under the new covenant. And verse 13 reveals the fate o f those whc reject the coming King. Golden Text Illustration B. R. Opper, missionary o f the Ceylon and India General Mission, while travel ing by auto in Texas recently, was late for a service in Amarillo and related the fol lowing experience: “Just out of Pueblo, Colo., I picked up a hitch-hiker. After we had gone about ten miles, he drew a gun and commanded me to drive up a side road. When we came to a gate, he got out and Commanded me to follow. I refused. He told me if I was not out of the car by the time he counted ten, he would kill me. Believing in prayer, I began to pray. Be fore he counted to' ten, he stopped and said, ‘I can’t . kill you.’ He offered to throw away his gun if I would not report him to the officers. I let him out at Walsen-
o f the presence of God; “let not your hands be weak,” in fulfilling God’s require ments ; “ for your work shall be rewarded” P 7). II. T he R esponse of A sa (8-10). Asa immediately began to take action (v. 8). The prophecy o f Oded was the same message as that o f Azariah; hence it is not given. Evidently Asa’s command concerning the destruction o f the idols (14:2, 3) had not been fully obeyed, and there still remained many idols among the people. Under the urge o f the prophet, Asa took courage and “ put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which h e ' had taken from mount Ephraim.” This was the negative side of seeking favor with God. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). But there needed to be also the positive side of the matter. And after putting away the idols, Asa “renewed the altar of the Lord” (v. 8 ). Evidently the altar had been neglected and was not being used. Neglecting the altar was neglecting God. There could be no manifestation o f the blessing of God while such conditions existed. But Asa, by repairing the altar, made a channel through which God could send the needed blessing. The “idols” in our homes need to be cast out, and the family altar needs to be erected, if we are to experience the blessing o f God in our family life. Having rid the land o f idols, and having renewed the altar, Asa sent out a call for all Judah and Benjamin to come to Jerusa lem to renew their vows before the Lord. He included in the call “the strangers. . . out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon.” In spite o f the division o f the kingdom, there were some who were still eager to find the living and true God. They knew that only in Jerusalem could this God be found, for God had declared He would set His name there. These inhabi tants of the northern kingdom saw that the Lord was with Asa (v. 9 ), and they listened and responded to Asa’s call. Their response indicates the extent of the influ ence o f one man who determined to seek and serve the true G od ; a similar influence is exerted by any one who hears and, with the same determination, obeys the voice of the Lord. III. T he M eeting at J erusalem (11, 12). A great religious service was held, during which time offerings and sacrifices were freely made unto the Lord by all the peo ple (v. 11). They had brought oxen and sheep in abundance. Today, believers are “built up a spiritual hou§e, a holy priest hood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, ac ceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2 :5 ). And we are told to “ offer the sacri fice o f praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Heb. 13:15). We need not come before the Lord with animals to sacrifice to Him, because the Lamb o f God, our Lord Jesus Christ, has Himself fulfilled all the types contained in sacrifices of blood. Be lieving in Him, we stand upon the ground where continual praise is to be offered unto God. W e are told that “whoso offereth praise glorifieth” Him (Psa. 50:23). While prayer is continually necessary, and we must “pray without ceasing,” praise ap pears to be the highest spiritual exercise. Asa, and those gathered with him, offered praise to the Lord. Then they entered into a solemn cove nant “ to seek the Lord God o f their fa thers” (v. 12). Even though there were
gold and silver and brass. God had to punish him. All the time that Rehoboam was king, he was at war with other na tions. Lesson Story : T o day our s t o r y is about another king. He ruled these same Jewish people that Rehoboam ruled, but
he lived after the time of Rehoboam. His name was Asa. Like Rehoboam, he had to make a choice as to whether he would be a good king or a bad one. But the Bible tells us that Asa did “ that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.” King Asa took down the idols and altars to strange gods and commanded the peo ple to “seek the Lord God o f their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.” He had his people build up the cities and the city walls. They had time to do this work because they were at peace with their enemies. “ So they built and prospered.” When the people did have to go to war, Asa cried to God for help, and God heard him and delivered him from his enemies. Then one day a prophet came to Asa to give him some advice. He said: “The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will for sake you.” You see, so many young kings had started out as Asa had, trusting in God. Then, when they began to be strong and powerful and successful, they forgot about God and grew proud and wicked. But Asa remembered what the prophet had told him, and he and all the people prom ised to seek the Lord God o f their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul.
T he J ar S isters Objects: Two pint jars, one filled with gasoline and the other with water; a red cloth; a medicine dropper; and a small bottle o f gasoline strongly colored with, black oil paint. Paint the outline o f a heart on the side of each jar. Lesson : Did you ever stop to realize that jars and people are alike? These two jars are so much like people, that I have named them Jane and Jessie Jar. They look the same, and I think they must be twins. While these two sisters look alike, they are far from being the same. People are not different because o f the clothes they wear, but because of the attitude of their hearts toward God and sin. Asa was a good king, not because of his royal robes, but because his heart was right with God.
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