The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-08-04

Lesson vI.Third Quarter, For
Aug. 6. 1911.
rHE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

Ps. xvii, documentary Prepared
by Rev. o. N. stearns.
Jeremiah was a faithful messenger
OF the Lord God Of Israel and coveted
only the approval OF Him who sent
him. He was therefore hated by the
false prophets and by ali who would
not submit to God. The Lord told him
that 1t would be so when He called
him to be prophet and said: Speak
unto them all that command thee; be
not dismayed at their faces. They
shall fight against thee, but they shall
not prevail against thee. for / am with
thee. saith the Lord, to deliver thee
tJer. !, 17. 10; Nv, 20l.
After he had been eighteen years
prophet compare Jer. |, 2; III Chron.
xxxiv. II and Jehoiakim was now
king. his brother Jehoahaz having
reigned only three months I'll Chron.t
xxxvi, Ia, the word OF the Lord came
again to Jeremiah saying, Speak all
the words that ! command thee to
speak unto them; diminish not a word
(Jer. XVI. p. Because OF Jeremiah's
faithfulness in delivering the Lords
message against the city and the tenn
pie the priests and the prophets took
him and gathered the people against
him to put him to death verses 7-11).
The reason OF their hatred Is seen in
The description given of them in pre-.
vious chapters. "a wonderful and hor.
rible thing IL committed In the land
the prophets prophesy falsely, and the
priests bear rule by their means, and
MY people love to have it SO" Every
one. from the least even unto the
greatest, Is given to covetousness;
from the prophet even unto the priest.
every one dealeth falsely" Both
prophet and priest are profane; yea,
In My house have found their wick
edness. saith the Lord" der. v, 30, 81;
viii, 10; xiii. III. See the same state
of affairs described in lisa xxx, 13:
xxx, 9-18.
With such an alliance against God
on the part OF the people and their
teachers we cannot wonder at their
persecution of such man of God ais
jeremiah. 1t has always been so, and
the Lord Jesus when on earth said
that 1t would be SO throughout this
age also Matt X. 1918: John Nv. 1921:
xvi, 1-3)s We cannot be faithful to
God and on good terms with the
world. lying In the wicked one. Back
OF all prosecutors of the people of God
we must see the great prosecutor and
destroyer. the father of lies.
In verses IL to Is we have Jeremi-
abs defense, and his only plea is. ''Of
truth the Lord hath sent me unto.
you to speak all these words in your
ears" He did not fail to exhnrt them
to amend their ways and their doIngs
and to obey the voice or the Lord their
God. and then he added. do what you
please with me. but know that IL Won
XIII me yon will kill an innocent man
The princes and the people then took
Jeremiah's part against the priests
and the prophets because he Ind spo
ken I'm the name OF the Lord their God.
and they recall the fact that in the
days OF Hezelkiah the Prophet Micah
was a faithful witness for the Lord
OF hosts against Jerusalem, but that
Hezekiah. instead or killing him, re-
pented before the Lord, and the Lord
kept back the evil which otherwise
would have come upon them. Micah
told them plainly that they judged for
reward. taught for hire and OWNED
for money. yet professed to lean upon
the Lord Afic. iii, III. Hezekiah
knew this to be all true, and he hum-
bled himself before God and repented
The last part of our lesson chapter
tells OF another true man OF God who
prophesied as jeremiah did, and when
Jehoiakim sought to kin him he fed
into Egypt, but the king had him
brought back out of Egypt and put to
death. The difference In the fate OF
these two men makes us think OF
James, the brother OF John. whom
Herod killed with the sword, and Pc
ter, who was saved from a similar fate
by an angel (Acts xii). 1t is always
gain for true child OF God to die. but
it is sometimes better for the people
OF God on the earth and for sinners
who may through them be saved to
continue yet awhile here Phil. /.
2O-26).
Jeremiah was prophet of the Lord
FOR forty years until Judah was fully
carried captive In the days OF Zedeki.
ali, and he seems to have had to con-
tend with lying prophets ali the way
through, to one OF whom the Lord told
him to say, This year thou shalt die.
because thou hast taught rebellion
against the Lord So he died that
same year chapter xviii. 1910. We
can always safely leave ourselves In
the hands OF the Lord. but we cannot
do otherwise than. believe and obey
Him. The illustration OF the Recha-
bites. who obeyed Jonadab, their "a
Their. in the matter OF drinking no
wine. having no vineyards and build
| Ing no houses. as recorded In chapter
xxxv, was very striking object lesson
and singing rebuke to Gods DISC
bedient people. but they did not lay It
| to heart.
What an old story 1t il. but what
sad story. that people will profess in
words to be the Lords people. but In
their lives deny Him BY covetousness
and worldiness and self seeking and
pleasing. as If they could deceive God,
who reads the heart. and to whom all