King's Business - 1947-03

/ I Bible 2.œ éii04t Qarne Dorothy Shreve Cole

“ There Was A Certain Rich Man”

"IITE BEGIN this series of Bible ” Question Games with three fa­ miliar Bible characters. This game will be interesting and profitable for Sunday school classes, Young Peo­ ple’s groups, and for gatherings of young Christian people in their homes. Prizes of Bibles or good Chris­ tian literature might be offered. Naturally, those who are able to identify the characters by the first clues are entitled to the better re­ wards. The longer it takes to guess the answer, the less the contestant should receive. Answers on Page 46. I. FIRST CLUE I am known as “the prophet of visions.” After an introduction about my date and location, my book be­ gins, “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” I am also called “the prophet of the captivity," because I was carried as one of the captives to Babylon In the second deportation of the Jews, and my message was designed for the captive Jews. WHO WAS I? SECOND CLUE I was the son of a priest. When I was seventeen, the Chaldeans made their first invasion of Judah; Daniel was one of the captives. Eight years later, they came again and this time I was taken. When I was thirty, the age at which priests enter their duties, I received my call. My mission lasted twenty - five years. Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon at that time. I was married, and the death of my wife was one of the hardest things I was called upon to endure. My n a m e means “God will strengthen,” and all of my ministry was characterized by divinely im­ parted strength. Although widely separated, my prophecies and those of Jeremiah were in perfect agreement. He in Jerusalem and I in Chaldea both foretold the capture and destruction of Jerusalem, the fall of the Jew­ ish kingdom, and the seventy years of captivity. My style of writing is lofty and my book abounds in visions, par­ ables, and symbols, some of them hard to understand. Jerome called my book, “an ocean and labyrinth of the mysteries of God.” WHO WAS I? THIRD CLUE

Authorities from which these facts were gathered include the Bible, “ Bible Characters” by Dwight L. Moody, and “Bible Studies” by Croce Saxe, permission for the use of which has been secured from Moody Press. God gave me a strange title. He called me “ the son of man.” The title occurs one hundred times in my book. Once Daniel is called by the same name. We were both prophets in exile, and, as such, channels of communication through which God spoke to the people, just as Christ later came to a people in captivity to sin and became an Intermediary between them and God. God rejected the nation and spoke to a people bereft of Jewish distinctions, simply as “men,” and to me as one of them. Christ speaks of Himself as the Son of Man and also as Son of God. WHO WAS I? FOURTH CLUE In Isaiah, the holiness of the Lord is shown. In my vision, the Lord’s power, majesty, and government are emphasized. Later came John to tell of His love, completing the picture of the infinitely all-powerful One who loved us so completely. I was qualified for my work by: The personal touch of God. The infilling of the Spirit. Nourishment in the Word until it became a part of my being. Divine appointment. I tell of the "desolation” of Jeru­ salem, the people’s rejection, the na­ tional resurrection of Israel and the restoration of the temple, the land and the people. Mine was the vision of the “valley of dry bones” and the “ restored temple.” WHO WAS I? II. FIRST CLUE I am known as the prophet of the Gentile times. I have no message for Israel, only for the Gentiles. God sent me to the court of the Babylonian king to represent Him there and to teach the Gentile king His will. I was of noble birth, descended from King Hezekiah, and was taken to Babylonia as a boy, in company with three other young men of noble birth. WHO WAS I? SECOND CLUE We were selected to be trained for TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S

The story of the rich man and Lazarus who desired to be fed with the crumbs from his table (Luke 16:19-31), has a poignant and challenging application to the tragically stricken and suffering Jewish Remnant in Europe and elsewhere. Most of us in this country may not be rich , yet the Lord has blessed us with warm, peaceful homes, with food, clothing, friends and health. We are the citizens of a much favored country. Above all, as Christians we know the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Friend. The homeless, hungry, unwant­ ed and uncomforted Jew is de­ prived of all these blessings. His is a tragedy beyond our comprehen­ sion. How rich we are by compar­ ison! Will you help us feed our He­ brew Christian brethren and some of the Jewish Remnant—the Laz­ arus of nations—help to heal his sores and to lead him to Christ? Ours is the challenge. Ours is the privilege to share God’s blessing with those in the valley of afflic­ tion and sorrow. Lazarus looks at us from across the ocean and pleads with us from the ruins of Poland, the displaced persons camps of Germany, and the shivering colds of Austria and Hungary. Food, fuel, clothing, the Word of Life, must be given to those in extreme distress. Help us in this m in istry. The numbed hands of little children stretch out to us for help. We must not fail them. If the Lord leads you to have a share in this Christlike ministry, please send your gifts to THE FRIENDS OF ISRAEL MISSIONARY AND RELIEF SOCIETY, INC. 728-K Witherspoon Building Philadelphia 7» Pa.

Joseph M. Steele, President General Secretary Rev. Victor Buksbazen Dr. Joseph T. Britan, Treasurer Treasurer for Canada: Rev. P. S. Dobson, M .A ., D.D. Principal, Alma College St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada

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