The Red Cloud chief., 1911-05-11


Verses 6.S
GOLDEN TENT heard the voice ot
the Lord snying. Whom shall soud AMI !
who viii go Tor us? Then said I, hero !
am !, send me."-Isa. 6S
TlME-Thc year wh"n King Iz2la~ |
aIed, which was UBccchcD -, G. i5j. or
tiastings) H. G. 1I9
PLACE Tho Temple I'm Jerusalem.
KINGS In Israel MCnlhcm, In AS
syria, Asshur-daan Ill
This is a home.missionary lesson.
We are asked To- read Isaiah -. What
home missionary thoughts are 10 be
found there? Those glowing sentences
are in many particulars faithful pic.
lures of our wealthy modern nations.
There are the uneXampled movement
of immigration, the apng of evil Gus.
toms from other lands. the vast wealth.
the mammOn.worship, the pride. tho
social wrongs and expressions, tho
misgovcrnment, the devotion to fash. !
ion and luxury. and In It all a nucleus
" nobility that will bring about tho
utmost triumph of godlincss. There
iS as great need that We should work
for our country as that Isaiah should
work for his; and. though we are so
much inferior to Isaiah, yet God calls
us in essentially the same way to the
same great service.
The literary qualities most conspIc.
uOus In Isaiah is the wealth and bril-.
liancy Of his imagination. No other
Old Testament writer has the Same
! power Of picturesque and graphic de-.
scription There H. no other Hebrew
author who furnishes the reader with
so many quotable sentences. one can
| imagine the people OF Jerusalem stop.
| ping one another on the street. to tell
| and hear the latest from the prophet.
This, of course, was precisely what ha
! desired and intended Isaiah was a
humorist and satlrist In the truest
sense Of the word This Is evident
! from his vivid, quaint description OF
the strange manufactured idols and
images of worship. from his curious
and vivid picture of female luxury and
fashion in his day.
The events of his time may bo
summed. up in two momentous occur.
renCes. The first was the advance of
the Assyrlans upon the small states OF
Syria and Palestine, paralyzing their
national consciousness, and with this
also their national religions Judah
was not destroyed like Samarla, but
It's Independence was lost, and 1t was
the prophets chief political task to
enable his country to adjust itself to
the new conditions. As a politician
lsaiahs maxim was mo politics" Hs
strongly dissuaded Ahaz from entan.
Cling himself with Assyria, but when
his advice was disregarded and Judah
become subject to Assyria he resist.
ed with equal strcuuousness all at.
tempts 10 throw OF the Assyrial
yoke.
The second occurrence was the fall
OF Samaria, by which the mission Of
united Israel became the heritage OF
Judah alone. During all these troub.
lous times Isaiah was tho leading
statesmen of his country.
Isaiah was filled with fear OF a
vision because It was vision OF God.
and the Hebrews believed that no ono
could see God and live. Isaiah loved
God, and instinctlvely he prepared to
join his voice TO the seraphs' chant,
but ere the harmony could pass his
lips he caught his breath and was
dumb. A horrible sense OF unclean.
ness seized him.
One OF the bright seraphs. glowing
as with fire, and with wings like the
lightning fash" took a hot stone with
tongs from the altar and touched Iss-
iah's lips with It in token Of purlfica-
ton. The hot stone Is a stone kept
in all ancient Oriental households as
a means OF applying heat to household
purposes.
Why does Jehovah seek a man to
go on his errands, when he has the
winged seraphs? Because men can
reach men better than angels can.
Only once did God choose completely
sinless preacher. Always, but that
once, God has chosen sinful men, and.
not seldom, the most sinful of men he
could get to speak TO their fellow.men
about sin and salvation. Isaiah was
quick to offer himself as the mesen.
ger, because he felt himself, with hiI
sin removed, both fit and able for
service, and wanted to show his graf.
itude for what had been done for
him.
How does this marvellous chapter APP
ply to our nation and TO home mis-.
sions? It contains a message OF doom
and a message of hope and promise.
Which shall 1t be for our nation? The
former, If Christians are needless OF
the great work before them, to evan.
geliZe the masses OF our fellow-coun.
trymen that do not know Christ. The
latter. II home missions are earnestly
promoted, in the spirit and power OF
our Lord.
One Of the chief problems OF homo
missions is the large number of for.
eign immigrants. When the United
States is prosperous more than a mil.
lion OF these come to our shores every
| th