The Arvada enterprise. (Arvada, Colo.) 1908-1970, 1917-12-13
! INTERNATIONAL.
SOllDAXSUOM
LESSON
(By q. o. SELLERS, Actinr Director Of
the Sunday School Course Of the Moody
Bible Institute. Chicago.)
Copyright. 1917. Western Newssapsr Union.)
ErSS()[Y
LESSON FOR DECEMBER IS
NEHEMIAH ENFoRcEs THE LAW
OF THE SABBATH.

LESSON TEAT-Nehemiah 1859.
GOLDEN TEXT-Remember the Sab
bath Day to keep II holy.-Exod. 1o:S.
Nehemiah remained In jerusalem
twelve years, from B. G. "A to B. @
432. He was then recalled and was
In Persia some years, perhaps I'VE or
seven. but returned about B. @. 425,
the year Artaxerxes died, for we know
that he returned by permission Of that
king. Therefore. the date Of this les
son would be sometime in the summer
or early autumn of 428 or 427 B. O.,
10 or Is years following last Sundays
lesson.
In the section. w. 1914, we see that
the gifts for the house Of God and
the Levites. who led in worship, had
been neglected. Whenever the house
Of God and Its service Of worship Is
neglected. we may expect that the Sab
bath day and the worship Of God will
also soon fall into contempt. Ezra has
dropped out of our history without a
him as to his end.
!. Remember" ". ~ the Neglect
Of oed's House. wv. 1-14). The neg
lect Of Gods house grew up out of the
incursion Of heathenism into Jewish
life. Nehemiah realized that the pur-
ity Of the race depended upon absolute
separation from the mixed multitude.
". 81. Nehemiah also confronted the
difficulty Of having q priest NV. 4, 81.
who had defiled himself and also desc
Grated the temple, and finally the por-
ton for the support Of the priest and
the temple worship had been withheld.
". 10Y.
u. "Remsmbsr" ". 12) the Sab
bath Day. wv. 1922. Nehemiah's
next and most dlhicult reform was re-
garding the fourth commandment. He
at once set about to learn the facts :
then relates what he saw ". 49,. The
record also tells how he testified
against them in that they were selling
merchandise on the Sabbath day. He
contended with the mobiles that they
had done evil on the Sabbath day. ".
~. He testified against them that
the merchants and sellers Of ware had
lodged about and within Jerusalem.
wv. 20. 2D. The root Of the trouble
with Judah was that they forgot Gods
word and followed the devices and de-
sires Of their own hearts. The Jewish
Sabbath in its outward form on the
exact day Of the week II not binding
upon Gentle Christians (Col. 2 :16, 17),
II was given to Israel a. . people.
(Deut. 81. p. rs q memorial Of their
deliverance out Of the land Of Egypt
and the house Of bondage. (Deut. 3 :6)s
The Christian. by the death Of Christ.
Is made dead to the letter Of the law
of Moses. (Deut. 7:4), but the prin-
ciple Of the Sabbath Is older than even
the law Of Moses and Is as binding
upon the Christian believer as are the
many other principles which underlie
the Mosaic law. In Its exact form, the
seventh day. the observance Of the
Sabbath belongs to the. old order and
not to the Christian order. Christ. who
rose from the dead (Rom. 7:4). rose
on the first day Of the week, and we.
rs Joined to Christ. are not under OBJ
legations to the Mosaic law. but to
Christ. Therefore. the Lords day, the
resurrection day. the hrst day Of the
week. Grew. 10: John q 20; I 40
20; Acts ~. II the day Of privilege.
not Of Obligation and n more sacred
to Us than the Sabbath day Of these
Jews. The Jews in Nehemlah's time
showed their contempt Of the Lords
day by making It day Of profit. hence
this exhortati0n which we nee set forth
In this section. This should be warn
Ing and an exhortatiOn to IN In these
days Of q secularixed Sabbath.
III. "NsNNembers ". ~ the Holy
prIssthse6. wv. 2S-Sl). In this section
We zee that the priesthood had even
defiled Themselves with women. and
again this Nehemiah entered upon .
cleansing proccns. wv. 3O-31). The use
Of this word "rcmember" In verses ~.
% and - gives strong emphasis TO the
three cardinal sins against which Ne
hemIah was battling.
w. Summary: Al In Nehelniah's
time. 10 now. Sabbath dissertation 10
the surext road to national ruin, and .
large proportion Of our present cnlam.
ity can Se traced to growing irrever-
ence for the Lords day. Jesus swept
away the cobwebs Of Sabbath irrever.
ence. hut did not tear down the house.
lie kept the principle. but removed the
barnacles NTH which the Phnrisees
and Jews had encountered II. Jesus
taught that the Sabbath was made for
mnn ind not man for the Sabbath.
tMnrk 2:27. 2s). and he net himself a.
nm example, IN this regard. for he IA
Lord Of that day - well % the other
days Of the week.
The Sabbath In . day Of rest and n
observed. workmen without exception
will produce more than II possible n Il
10 not observed.
The chief value Of the Sabbath. how.
ever. II In connection with the wor.
ship Of God. The feeding Of the spir.
itnal nature; the rest which In 10 be
differentiated from mere holiday or
pleasure: IT, nssd for adult and child
life; 1ts 'sducational value; it, opp0r.
tunIty for Christian sefvics and exnI.