The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-04-29
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOE
May 3.
lesson Text: Israel Often Reproved;
Amos w., 4-13-Golden Text:
Proverbs xxx, 1--S
Commentary. -,

-
j., y. Amos was called to be prophet whil
keeping sheep, and the chief place OF hi,
prophecy was Bethel CHAP. VII. 19-15. Is
raefs sin was that because prosperous they
were at ease and Indifferent to the claims O.
God (vi., s1-6): greedy Of gain and oppressina
the poor tii., 6,}7; iv.. II, 12;. VIII, 4-6l
needed not the voice of God III judgment
dv.. 6-11), and despised the word of God u.
4: v. 10; vii, 10-19. Yet BE loved them
them, and kept before them the blessings Of
the sure covenants with; Abraham and
David. Read very carefully chapter ix1
ILLS. -grt e; i,,r.l I.... asg
5.'Come to Bethel and trausgress; at Gilga
multiply transgression." With all their siu
they were outwardly very religious. At
Bethel and at Gugal they had many altarsl
Hosea says they were as plenty as heaps Of
stones in the field tHos. xii, IL: Amos III,
II. And at Bethel there was a golden cali
which Jeroboam, son Of Nebat, had set up
saying. s:BenoId thy gods, o Israel" (Kings
xii., IS. 90. But there was only one altar Ii
all the land where, since the building OF the
temple. God commanded sacrifice to be OF.
fered (Deut xii, 10, IL: Ps. c11Ei., 49,, so
that all sacrifices at Bethel or GHgei wa
simply transeression. ~. "
5. sAnd offer sacrifice Of thanksgiving
with leaven, for this liketh you, o ye chill
dren of Israel, saith the Lord God" Leaver
is everywhere in the Scripture g. symbol OF
evil. With the meal offering there was to b
neither leaven nor honey, and at the Pass
over there was to be no ieaven found in their,
houses Lev. H., II. Ex- Xii, Is 49, Ths
significance of leaven is seen in Cor. ", g.
8, and in the Saviour's teaching Ii Matt.
xvi, 6, 12; Luke XIII l.. sf4y
&. And also have given you cieanness OF
teeth in all your cities. and want Of bread In
all your places; yet have We not returned unto
Me, saith the Lord" Observe in this verss
and in verses 8, 9, 10, II. the five times re-
peated sad refrain: "Yet have ye not re-
turned unto Ne, saith the Lord" This shows
us the heart Of God and His one greatlong-
ing for. His erring people, that they In true
penltence return to Him.
{. And also have withholden the rain
from you when there were yet three month";
to the harvest: and caused It TO- rain upon
one city, and caused 1t not to rain upon an
other city" That He would also tchssten
them is recognized by Solomon in his prayer
at the dedication Of the temple Il Kings viii.,,
35, 36. Who among us ever stops to con-
slider that when it rains in one place and not
in another God has anything to do with 1t,
or that when IN one place there Is q drought
and in another much rain, it is the hand Of
the Lord that doeth this? And yet If we be-
lieve His word we must believe that "ths
balancings OF the clouds are5t thu Wondrous
works Of Him who is perfect in knowledge;
who saith to the snow, Be thou on che earth;
likewise to the small rain and the great rain
Of His strength"
8. $50 two or three cities wandered into
one city to drink water, but they were not
satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto Me,
saith the Lord" They forsook God, the
fountain of living waters, and hewed them
of hy-Nly rictnrnc that
hold no water (Jer. IL, 49,. They turned
their backs upon Him who in the wilderness
gave them water from the rock who fed
them daily with mama from heaven, to
humble them and prove them, and make
them to know that man is to liveupon the
Lord, and not upon His gifts lDeut. viii, 81.
Q. II have smitten you with blasting and
mildew." This also he had forewarned them
of when He set before them the blessings and
cursings which would surely follow obedi..
ence or disobedience Deut- xviii, ~
when your gardens, and your vineyards,
and your hg trees, and your olive trees in.
| creased, the palmer worm devoured them. !"
| 1t appeared as if there might be large har-
! vest Of fruit, but the worms prevented. ''Ye
| looked for much, and TO- it came to little;
and when you brought it home ! did blow
upon it. Why? saith the Lord Of Rosts: Be
cause of Mine house that is waste and ye run
| lD. But does God control worms? In Jonah
w., I, He prepared a worm to destroy
| Jonah's gourd, and in Joel il, 25, he calls
worms and caterpillars His great army, and
says that He sends them. ~
10. II have sent among you epestfence
| after the manner Of Egypt" This. too, He
had threatened Deut. xviii, 27-60, while
at the same time He had promised that II
they would diligently harken to His voice
and do right in His sight He would put none
Of the diseases upon them which BE had
brought upon the Egyptians Ex. xv, 26;
xiii, 25: Deut. VII, 15). -, NJ i
La have overthrown some Of you, as
God overthrew Sodom and Gomarrah, and
ye were as firebrand plucked out Of the
burning" In Zech. ill.,, 2, Jerusalem is
called brand plucked out of the fire, and
in Isa. l., 10, they are called rulers Of
Sodom and people Of Gomorrah, while in
Matt. xi., "a, Jesus says it will be more tol-
erable in the day Of Judgment for Sodom
than for disobedient Israel. By famine and
sickness and war and by direct judgment He
! PLEADS WITH them To return unto dIm but
| they refuse. aSo all these things w0rketh
God oftentimes with man to bring back his
soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the
| light of the living" Job xxxlii, 80, 30. Why
| does God chasten His people 50 much! Just
because they are His people (Amos ILL.,, y,
ana because DO lOVeS IueLu loo uioCu " tco
them stay away from Him and Iose HIS rel'
lowship (Heb xii, q.
l2. Therefore, thus will do unto thee,
O Israel, and because will do this unto
thee. prepare 10 meet thy God, 0 Israel"
The long account OF love sighted, commands
disobeyed, blessings abused, gifts trans
ferred to other lovers, while all the time
keeping up an outward profession of, de-
votion, must some day be settled, and how
will Israel meet her God, whose most loving
and persistent entreaties she has spurnedf
The only preparation is true penitence and
consequent forgiveness followed by fruits
meet for repentance.
13. For. To- He that formeth the mount
aims and createth the wind" He who loves
us. md seeks us, and desires us to return to
Him is the Creator Of heaven and earth, and
the former Of our bodies and spirits. The
only proper thing to do is to commit the
keeping of our souls to Him in well doing
as unto faithful creator" q Pet. iv., 19),
remembering Isa. Il, 1881. :,
"The Lord, the God of Hosts, is His name"
God is mentioned over eighty times IN this
p.ophecy. under seI en- different titles This
oae is used just eight times GiL, 1S: iv., 1a;
v. "A, l5 16, q; vi, 8, ~ Jehovah, which
signifies the one who was, is and shall ba,
the righteous one, is found fifty times in this
book. He Is righteous in all His ways, holy
in all His works Ps. cxlv., ~. The God OF
Eosts reminds us Of the hosts OF angels VINO
serve Him, and minister unto Him and his
people, and the hosts of Israel and'of tile
saints.-Lesson Helper. -
A Real Nice Young Man.
Er;and To ho frank with Won