Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

upon,"commandments."nant,"whoperformed."SABBATH SCHOOL LESSONSeptember 25, 1955Rev. W. J. McBurney(Lessons based on international Sunday SchoolLessons; the International Bible Lessons foiChristian Teaching, copyrighted by the International Council of ReliEions Education.)RENEWED ALLEGIANCE TO THELAWNehemiah 8; 9; 10:28-39; Ezekiel20:19, 20Printed: Neh. 8:l-4a, 6, 8, 10-12: 9:1-3;10:37, 39; Ezek. 20:19,20.Memory: Ezekiel 20 :19. "I am the Lordyour God: walk in my statutes andkeep mine ordinances, and do them."There is some confusion in our use ofthe word allegiance. Its first meaning is,one's duty toward an authority. In common usage it means obedience to anauthority, whatever it requires us to do.The allegiance that we are studying isto the Law of God, which is the absolute authority, and so obedience to itshould be absolute. We are morallybound to do our duty to every authority.We do not know what oath or promiseDaniel made on his induction into officein Babylon. We feel certain that it didnot require obedience to an immoralcommand. When that came, he disobeyed the king and faced the lions. Wedo not think that he violated any promise or oath in order to obey God. An entangling promise leadsto embarrassment, if not to open sin.One of the early acts of Cyrus, afterhe had overthrown Belshazzer, was topermit all the Jewish captives to returnto Jerusalem who desired to do so. Tothose over 70 years old, it was the landof their birth. That so few chose to return is an evidence that their slaverywas not severe. American Jews todayare rare who are willing to go to Palestine. They are too comfortable here.The permission of Cyrus for the captives to return to Jerusalem carriedwith it a commission to rebuild theTemple. Having completed this task,they became careless of the law, especially in the moral safeguarding of thefamily, and the care of the oppressedand poor. Then Ezra was sent to Jerusalem, and was able to effect a partial reform. It seems that he went back toBabylon, but after 13years, he wasagain in Jerusalem, as we take up today's lesson.The Power of God's word, Nehemiah8:1-8At a convenient open place, probablybecause the Temple area was not largeenough for the immense crowd, the people gathered and Ezra read to themfrom the book of the Law that God hadgiven through Moses. This would include Exodus, Leviticus,156my. Ezra was an effective preacher. Heread distinctly, and gave the sense, sothat they understood the meaning. Somesermons appear deep because we can'tsee into them, when they are only muddy. Commentators like John Knox andMatthew Henry deal with deep subjectsclearly. We do not know if Ezra had asilver tongue. He read the law clearly,and gave the sense, so that the peopleunderstood the reading. When Ezrablessed the Lord, all the people said"Amen,"repeating it for emphasis. Itis a meaningful word. It is not related tothe short word "Finis" that appears atthe end of a story. As a verb, it means"to lean"to trust," "to believe."It is also used as a noun, suggesting"foundation," "security."It is one of theoldest words in our language. It is pronounced the same in Hebrew, Greek,Latin and English. Christ used it inGreek, and the translators used a lessmeaningful, weaker word, when they"Verily."translated it In Ruth 4:16where we are told of Naomi's care forRuth's son, in the phrase "And becamenurse unto it," the verb is "Amen."Perhaps we say it too often withoutmeaning. Perhaps we do not say it often enough with the Spirit and understanding.What the Word Can Do WhenUnderstoodIt will make folks sad because oftheir sin. It will make them glad because of their salvation. The Priests andand Deuterono-the Levites urged them to becausethis was a Holy Day. Then theyrejoice,were to share their joy with the needy,not spasmodically, one or two days inthe year, General Booth of the Salvation army founded soup kitchens, as apart of evangelism, because he found ithard for a hungry man to listen. Christfed the multitude, and they did not forget. Ezra saw that Joy was a part ofGodliness. God is Blessed forever, andHe would have us to be like Him. Hehas told us how we may enter into Hisjoy; Ps. 112, "Blessed is the man thatfeareth the Lord, that delighteth greatlyin HisThe people became very much interested in God's Word. After a long day'sreading, they came back to listen again.In the law they found directions for observing the Feast of Tabernacles, andthey planned to observe it. It was a"Camp Meeting," somewhat like ourC.Y.P.U. Conventions, only that therewas no restriction as to ages.Confession and Covenant. Neh. 9.The verses 8:1-10, 37 are all important to this lesson. They reminded themof their sins, and the sins of their fathers. Customs are not right becauseour fathers followed them, but we havereason to rejoice that our fathers followed many customs because they wereright. If we wish to have joy in our obedience, we must first have sorrow forour past disobedience. The signs of fasting,sackcloth and earth, were of no value without the spirit. A sincere confession mayoutward signs.be accepted without theThe prayer and confession of Chapter 9 leads naturally to the covenant offuture duties to be performsd. Indeedprayer implies the purpose of obedience.Without the Covenant,we cannot pray.If we are not in the covenant, we canstill pray with the covenant as our goal.In Nehemiah 9:32, there is a reference to "God....keepeth covedoubtless referring to the onementioned in v. 8, where God promisedto give Abraham "all the land. .hast. . andWho are the heirs of God's covenantwith Abraham? We know that thosecalled Jews todayviolated God's covenant, crucified His Son and to this dayare rebellious. They have forfeited everyclaim. Fifty days after the crucifixion,three thousand, mostly Jews, becameChristians. Three hundred years later,there had been six million Christiansburied in Rome and Constantinople.Manyof them were Jews. Who wereour ancestors? I do not know. I thinkthey were the children of Abraham according to the flesh, the Lost Tribesof Israel. No difference. The importantquestion is, Does Christ's definition ofthe Children of Abraham, the childrenof Promise, include us? The answer isnot a guess. It is a decision."I am the Lord your God: walk inmy statutes, and keep mine ordinances,and do them."PRAYER MEETING TOPICSeptember 28, 1955Rev. John O. EdgarTHE "AMENS" OF JESUSThe Peril of Riches (No. 9)Scripture Matt. 19:23Psalms :103:1-4, page 24649:4, 6-8, page 12537:14, 22-24, page 9341:1-4, page 105References: Matt. 6:20; 13:22; Luke 12:33; Psalm 52:7; James 2:5; Psalm 62:10; Rev. 3:17; I Tim. 6:17-18.The rich young man who came toJesus inquiring what he must do toinherit eternal life, was a highly favored person. He was a ruler; he hadyouth on his side; he was sincere inhis desire to make up anything thathe might lack; he was willing to comeCOVENANTER WITNESS