The Dolores star., 1921-02-04
LESSON FOR FEBRUARY 6
THE MARRIAGE FEAST. (May q.
Used With Missionary AppIieation.l

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LESSON TExT-Matt. 22u-n
GOLDEN TExT-Go out Into the h,,.
ways and hedges. and compel them to
come in.-Luke 1923 ="
REFERENCE MATERIAI~rsa r,.u
MAT u:B-0: Luke H:ls-2s: Rev. 22.l7
PRIMARY TOPIC-The Story O, n W.,
ding Party. "eu'
JUNIOR ToPIc-An Invitation to ,
| Wedding.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
Accepting and Extending the Gre,t In
vitation. i"
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
The Great Invitation.
In the previous parable the respop.
sibilities Of the subjects of the king.
dom we're before us for consideration
in the light Of the obligation to rem.
der to the householder the fruits n,
his vineyard. In this one the ethic
Is changed. and the privileges and
blessings of the kingdom are placed
on exhibition. This parable lifts the
conception Of the kingdom and places
1t on high plane. 1t is much more
than paying rent to king; 1t Is feast
Ing Mt the Kings table on fat things
which He has prepared with great ex.
pense to Himself.
!. The Kings Feast pespised wv.
10.
The previous parable exhibits the
attitude of the Jewish people toward
the king up to the crucfxlon Of
Christ This one carries us beyond
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age OF the Gentiles. The marriage
feast which the king made for his son
and to which he invited guests repre-
sents the gracious offer of God to give
Joy and blessing to certain of His
creatures. This feast has been made
In honor of his Son and Is an exceed.
ing rich one. His oxen and fatings
are ready. His repeated invitations
show Gods earnestness in seeking
to bless men. God does more than
simply invite men once; He presses
His invitation again and again most
earnestly. How many times from our
childhood has He not pressed His in.
vitation upon us. The attitude of
| those invited. toward the invitation and
sS'"A" 'ht hihN 10
and exceeding sinful. To treat the
kings invitation with such contempt
after he had made such costly prepa-
ration deserves the severest punish
ment. They not only neglected it but
made light of 1t and hurried on to
their worldly business, showing that
they regarded It as Of more impor
tance than the salvation of their poor
lost souls. Some went forth and even
did violence to the messengers of the
king. killing them
While this is n picture of the attl-
tude of the Jews from Christ's cruel
fxion to the destruction of Jerusalem.
1t has Its counterpart in the day in
which we live. Some today are indiff-
erent to Gods invitation; some are
making light of Gods way of salvation,
and others are hostile to the mes.
sengers of Christ. Their attitude and
behavior melted the anger of the king
and he executed vengeance upon them,
burning up their city. This was his
torically fulfilled In the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Romans In 10 A.
D.. and is typical of what He will do
to those that neglect or reject His in
vitation at the close Of this DISPENSE
tion.
~. The Kings Invitation Accepted
| wv. S-10).
When those who were first invited
refused, the king sent his servants
to others; for his table must be pro-
vided the guests. He has prepared
| this feast at an infinite cost, and
most urgently invites to the accept
nnce Of 1t. Though He urgently In
vites, He will not Compel any one 10
accept. Those that were shut out were
shut out because they refused to ac-
| cept, not because the king was unwil'
ling. When this was done he sent
his servants among the Gentiles'
which is shown in His going into the
| highways and hedges.
III. Tho King Inspecting the Guests
(vv. 11-14)..
AS he made this inspection the king
found one among the guests who nau
not on a wedding garment-had moi
cOnformed to the regulations OF the
feast. The custom In the East was
for the king to furnish the guests WIN
a suitable garment. There could tius
be no excuse for not having one Oh.
Therefore, this act Of the man shower
that he only accepted the invltatioh
for selfish ends. not desiring to con-
form to the regulations of the Klhs.
The wedding garment which the hihs
provided In this case Is the righteous
ness of Christ, which alone Will Gu
title one to the place at the kings
marriage feast. This Righteousness
obtained by faith in the atonlns o''oN
of Jesus Christ.