Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1911-06-16

the complement of his master and teach
er. Then came Jonah, through whom
God tried to win Israel to repentance
by showing how gracious He could be
to IsraePs Observation-Disclosures foe.
Joel spoke that beautiful rhapsody, God
trying to win Israel by pointing to the
glorious future which He had in store
for them. When this failed God sent
Amos to warn them of the certainty
that sin would be punished; but this
method faIea. Then came Isaiah and
Micah and hosea, all contemporary, the
two former pointing out the Judgment
that was certain to follow the sins OF
idolatry, RIGHTEOUSNESS, bribery, corrup-
ton. luxury, selfishness. which charac-
terized the people. but holding out the
hope of salvation in the end; while the
latter expressed the passionate love of
God for His apostate people, swaying
between yearning love, and righteous in
dignation over their waywardness
What more could God have done? Has
not every available method been tried
and proven a failure? No, He will make
one more effort. When Hoshea had been
on the throne three years. He places
upon the throne of the southern king
dom a young man named Hezekiah,
who determines to serve God as would
please Him, according to- the plan He
Himself had laid down to His servant
Moses. The great revival under Heze-
kiah. we studied last week. You will
recall the invitations he sent to Israel
and the hooking manner in which 1t
was received by this people.
Here was the reason: God had warn
ed, exhorted, pleaded. threatened, WOO
ed, loved, yearned over even begged
Israel to return, but in vain. The cor
dial invitation to return to the Scrip
tural, the old-time religion, was treat
ed as a huge joke by the people of
the northern kingdom. God had done
all He could, save one thing-He must
scatter them that He might gather them
again! Shalmaneser was His tool--and
Hoshea the king was the victim, not
because he was worse, but because he
was not better than his fathers. He
that had ben often reproved. hardened
his neck, and was cut off suddenly, and
that without remedy
Many ingenious and interesting the
cries have been advanced as to the fl
nal disposition of the lost tribes. For
the ten tribes that were carried capt. -e
then have never been returned. No
definite trace of them can now be
found. Some think the Anglo-Saxons
are their descendants; others that the
American Indian; that which has most
Foundation for it is the idea that the
Afghans are their descendants They
are lost; but they shall be found. God
still loves them: He will yet keep His
promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
and these shall share in the fulfillment
of them just as truly as they realized the
of His Prophecies as to their
undoing. We wait His time.
1 am deeply impressed with two great
facts in this story of the downfall OF
Samaria- The first is awful, the Sec
ond awe-inspiring. The first is the
terrible and certain consequences OF
continued sin. use the adjective adj
anyone is liable to sin; but no
one should repeat that sin. There can
be but one result. The second is Gods
marvellous love. Think over again ali
He did to win Israel, and think it over
again until you bgin to appreciate II.
The disposition was not anger as we
1T, but love-scattered that
they might be gathered again-that'S
.ovel
Do you know He still loves you that
way? If you have been continuing in
sin, He still loves you. He is trying
N every way He can to win you back
How far are you going to make Him
zo2