The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1904-09-16
THE SUNDAY BIBLE SCHOOL
Lesson in the International Series
for September 1s, 1eo4-"Is-
rael Reproved."
prepared by the Highway and By
way" Preacher.)

/
Copyright. 1904. BY ]. NJ. Edson)
LESSON TEXT.
(Amos 5:4-l5: Memory verses. II. 15)
4 For thus saith the Lord unto the house
OF Israel: Seek ye Me. and ye shall live;
5. But seek not Bethel. nor enter into Gil
gal, and pass not to Beersheba; for Gilgal
shall surely go into captivity. and Bethel
shall come to naught.
q. Seek the Lord and ye shall live; lest
He break out like fire in the house OF Joseph.
and devour It. and there be none to Quench
IL In Bethel
:. Ye who turn Judgment to wormwood.
and leave on righteousness In the earth.
s. Seek Him that maketh the seven stars /
and Orion. and turneth the shadow of death /
into the morning, and maketh the Cay dark
with night; that calleth for the waters OF /
the sea. and poureth them out upon the /
face of the earth. The Lord In His name; /
= That strengtheneth the spoiled against L
the strong. that the spoiled shall come /
against the fortress.
10. They hate him that rebuketh In |
the gate. and they abhor him that speak |
eth uprightly. |
IL Forasmuch therefore as your treading |
Is upon the poa-. and ye take from him
burdens OF wheat: ye have built houses OF
hewn stone. but ye shall not dwell In them: |
ye have planted pleasant Vineyards but ye
shall not drink wine of them.
Il For l know your manifold transgres-
just. they take bribe. and they turn aside
the poor in the gate from their right.
IL Therefore the prudent shall keep
Silence In that time: for IL Is an evil time.
Il Seek good and not evil. that ye may
live: and SO the Lord. the God Of Hosts.
shall be with you. as ye have spoken
Is. Hate the evil. and love the good. and
establish judgment in the gate; II may be
that the Lord God OF Hosts will be gracious
unto the remnant of Joseph.
SCRIPTURAL SECTlON.-The entire
chapter should be read. and 1t would be well
to read the nine short chapters Of the book.
also.
GOLDEN TEXT.-"Seek ys the Lord and
ye shall live"-Amos Sc.
TIME.-Amos prophesied during the lat
ter part of the reign Of Icreboam ii. (see
Amos I'D. Jonah. Hosea and Joel were
contemporaneous with Amos. 1t was
period considerably later than that of the
| lessons which We have been having
PLACE.-Amos' home was at Tekoe,
q few miles south of Jerusalem. but his
| field OF labor was In Israel. with Bethel as
probable center.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.-Amos period
was marked by great national prosperity
Gil Kings H:23-Z7). but great moral cor
| ruption. The book of Amos Is made up of
a series Of discourses. u) Concerning the
| nations-Chaps 1-2:3: 90 Concerning Judah.
| 2:4-5; 90 Concerning Israel, 2:e-s.15. The
| lesson Is taken from the tourtn oiscoufse
| against Israel.
| God and the Sinner.
| In the lesson to-day We have striking
| ly emphasized that which has been
brought out in the lessons Of the quarter.
namely: ~ Gods patient, persistent
| effort to turn His people from sin. (2)
The certain punishment for sin, and (3).
i the equally certain reward Of right
eousness. If individuals are to be lost
and nations destroyed, as the result of
| sin, 1t must be in spite Of Gods reproof.
and appeal; it must be in the face OF
Gods infinite love and His exceeding
great mercy and saving grace. During
the consummate wickedness Of Ahab's
reign, God sent His greatest prophet
Elijah, to seek to turn the hearts of the
people back to God. And when the
whole world was lost in the darkness OF
sin then it was that God sent the Light
His Son, into the world to light every
soul back to Him.
Evidence of God Love.-The rebukes
and warning which God sent to His peo-
pie through the prophets was one strong
evidence Of Gods love and faithfulness
Rev. 3:19, Heb. 1876. True love does moi
condone or overlook sin, but on the con.
trary 1t reveals and rebukes 1t, that Il
|, may be put away. The proof Of Gods
love to man is that He condemned sir
and provided deliverance in Christ TIL,
, proof of mans love to God is that he re-
: ceives Gods rebuke and obeys him.
Gods Reproof.-God was qualified tt
: rebuke Israel because ~ He was the All
knowing God. He knew all about tn,
= idolatrous and iniquitous practices a
Bethel, and Dan, and Gilgal and Beer
sheba and Samaria ". 81, and the cor
Eruption and oppression which prevaile,
, Tvs. z. 1919. Man may sin and hid,
It from the eyes and knowledge Of men
but he cannot so do with God. Ps. 9:5
: sJer. 1917; 32:1s; Prov. 5:21; Job "a: 2l
q God saw every wicked act The hatre
/ in the heart against any who dared L
a denounce evil ". 10); the oppression
e of the poor. the extortion. the luxury (y
}, I'D, the judicial corruption ". 12). e
e He was the All-Powerful God. (vs. s-eI
!. He who rebuked Israel was the Creator
I the Ruler OF day and night, the Giver O
sunshine and rain, bringing life and sus
tenance to man, the destroyer OF tn
wicked and the preserver OF the right
eous. What weight has rebuke, II be
d hind II there is not the power to exc
cute judgment. The God who rebuke
is the God who is able to punish. C.
He was the Gracious God. No matter no,
!. stepped in sin, IL Israel would only see
r Him He would be gracious unto ther
e ". 15). Where sin abounded, grace di
!, much more abound Rom. $50; p,
= s6:15; 111:4. (D He was the Appeal
ing God. Four times over in the !
verses of the lesson He pleads wit
Israel to seek Him. and promisin
abundant blessing IL they would. Is
He was the Warning and Avengin
: God. Note VS.. s. 6, H. The punishmer
that is to fall is captivity and the cor
suming fire Of war. pestilence and fan
J. ine. The only way of escape was I
@ seek the Lord. Life could be had in n
,e other way.
10 Rams Horn Arrow Points.