Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

go,"
best of your ability God will bless it. It
isn't only the things we have in our
hands, but we may use our feet, our
eyes and even our tongues to help
others. Your feet run errands, you may
use your eyes to read to smaller broth
er or sister. Your tongue can be used to
invite others to your Junior meeting or
to Sabbath School. God can do great
things through us if we are willing to
let Him help us.
Moses had one last excuse to make,
it is one that God's children, young and
old, often make. Moses said that he was
not eloquent, that "he was slow of
speech and slow of tongue." How did
God answer Moses' excuse this time
Verse 11. God's command to Moses was
brief. Verse 10. "Now therefore
and
He again promised Moses that He would
help him. Can we not see the pouting
expression on Moses' face when he final
ly consented to go. We are told that
God became a little angry with Moses
and told him He would send Moses'
brother Aaron with him. Because Moses
did not willingly consent to obey God,
his brother Aaron shared in the honor
of bringing the Israelites out of Egypt.
Moses almost missed filling his place
in God's plan. God allowed Moses' slow,
stammering speech to continue through
out his life. If he had obeyed, God could
have given him a free and easy speech.
When God calls us to any task or duty,
small or great, we
should accept it
without question or doubt. What ever
we ought to do we can do. God has a
plan for every one. He knows the things
we can do, with His help.
References:
I Sam. 15:22; Acts 5:29; Phil. 4:13;
Ps. 31:3; Jer. 7:23; Eph. 6:1; Heb. 13:5.
Questions:
1. Why did God show these signs to
Moses
2. What excuses did Moses make in our
lesson today
3. How do you know God has a plan
for your life
4. Each Junior tell how they can help
others.
5. Why is it so important to obey God
Your parents
For your notebook:
Make a list of ways in which you can
help others; ways in which you can
help God.
I have now disposed of all my prop
erty to my family. There is one thing
more I wish I could give them, and that
is the Christian religion. If they had
that and I had not given them one shil
ling, they would have been rich, and if
they had not that, and I had given them
all the world, they would be poor.
Patrick Henry
204
SABBATH
SCHOOL LESSON
April 17, 1955
Rev. W. J. McBurney
REHOBOAM, KING OF JUDAH
II Chronicles 10:13; I Kings 12.
PRINTED: II Chronicles 10:1-11.
MEMORY: James 1:5. "If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally,
and
upbraideth
not;
and it shall be given
him."
From outward appearance, Israel was
in the days of her greatest strength and
glory when Rehoboam came to the
throne. Internally, there were the seeds
of division. The Northern tribes were
not in perfect harmony with the reign of
David. The expensive court of Solomon,
though it flattered the pride of the
people for a time, became oppressive.
So the Northern Tribes demanded of
Rehoboam a promise of tax reform. He
rejected the council of the old men, and
followed the council of the young men,
and lost the allegiance of the Northern
Tribes.
The Wisdom of Youth
On the surface, this story would ap
pear to show that superior wisdom
comes with age. Ordinarily, wisdom
should increase with years. If a young
man at 40 is diligently seeking wis
dom, it is reasonable to expect that
he will continue to increase in wis
dom as long as he retains his mind.
The Youth Movement should be
treated with caution. It was not the
plan of Christ or the Apostles to appeal
to the children and neglect their parents.
Parents brought their children to Christ.
Why invite only children to a Sabbath
School where parents are not invited,
perhaps not provided for.
The Church and the Nation should en
list the loyalty of all ages. When the
leadership of any needed reform is in the
hands of any age group, or a sex group,
there is danger. It has been said that
some men carry their religion in the
name of their wives: some parents seem
to carry theirs in the names of their
children.
Whatever may be the relative wisdom
of Youth and Old Age, it is not sug
gested in our lesson. The difference here
has little to do with age. These young
men were brought up with Rehoboam,
the pet of the Palace, play-boys in the
richest, most extravagant court in the
world. Their luxuries came by the
labor of the people. Rehoboam and
his young men, though 40 years of age,
had never had any fellowship with
burdens, or those who bore them. These
luxurious idlers had no experience of
labor and no sympathy with the labor
ers. These were the young
grave
advice.
men who
The Wisdom of Age
The men of the older generation might
be from three score years and upward.
They would have lived in King David's
reign. Some of them would have been
shepherds, as David was. They had la
bored and bore burdens. They had also
lived in the court. They had experienced
both sides of the problem. Knowing the
people, they knew what they would and
would not endure. Moreover they felt
the justice of the people's demand. If Re
hoboam had followed their counsel, he
would have begun his reign with a unit
ed kingdom. Instead, the kingdom was
divided, and he prepared for such a war
to force the submission of the Northern
Tribes as would have been one of the
most bloody in history. Chapter 11 tells
of Rehoboam's preparing an army of
180,000 men to undertake forcing the
North into submission. The prophet
Shimaiah brought him a warning, and
he wisely gave up the campaign.
Much of Rehoboam's fault must be
laid at the feet of his father Solomon.
Among Solomon's many wives, his fa
vorite, the mother of Rehoboam was
Naamah, an Ammonitess (I Kings 14:
31)
. She was not like Ruth, who left her
tribal gods, and accepted fully the faith
of Israel. Solomon met her half way by
building an altar for her idol. We should
not be too hard on Solomon. Of course,
he did not accept the name Molech in
its meaning, (Ruler), or believe the
popular definitions of him. He did not
want to offend his wife, and the little
idol amused the children, including Re
hoboam. Too bad to disappoint them.
They might believe in Molech, so vividly
portrayed, for a little, but they would
loose faith in him after a while. (Would
loose faith
period.)
Solomon showed his interest in his
son by addressing five of the early chap
ters of Ecclesiastes to him. His favorite
son, the only one whose name we know,
followed his father's example, rather
than his advice. Rehoboam dealt wisely
with his sons, by giving them offices to
keep them busy, and scattering them
widely through the kingdom.
The Secret of Strength and Weakness
"When the kingdom of Rehoboam was
established and was strong, he forsook
the law of Jehovah, and all Israel with
him."
So Shishak, king of Egypt, took
advantage of
the resulting
weakness
and put Judah under tribute. This was
one of the bitter fruits of Solomon's
playing around with idols. Of course he
did not believe in them. One of the most
classically profane men I ever heard,
told me that he did not mean anything
by his profanity. I believe he spoke the
truth. Meaningless, empty, vain! Better
THE COVENANTER WITNESS