The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1921-04-23
l. Wealth in the Hands of the Few
lisa. $50.

lisa. ) :S).
l. Join house to house" ". 81.
>. Lay field to field" ". 81.
The avaricious greed of these men
caused them TO enlarge their estates
at the expense of their neighbOrs. In
agricultural districts it took the form
or land-grabbing and the eviction of
the small proprietor, and in the com
nercial centers the crowding out of
the small concerns by the large cor
p0ratiOns. God hates the spirit of
avarice. He hates the greed that is
creating the inequalities in the eco
nomic and social order today.
u. Methods Employed in the Ac-
QUESTION of Wealth (Amos SAG.
l. Swallowed up the needy" (v. ~.
Swallowed up literally means to
pant after, like beast after its prey
with eagerness to devour Many to-
day get rich by swallowing up the
needy. This is done by the money
vender who finds Il nan in straitened
| circumstances, loans him money at an
eXorbitant rate of interest, forecloses
the mortgage at the critical hour, tax
ing possession of the mans property.
,. ITO make the poor of the land
to fall (y. ~. They were grasping
after the houses and lands Of the poor,
and in order TO accomplish this they
impoverished them in every way pos
sible so as to root them out of the
land. This they doubtless did by
Withholding from them their lawful
wages, an example of which we find
in james a, and placing exorbitant
taxes upon them and cheating them
in the courts.
3. Begrudged the loss of no.; days
". 81. They were restlessly impatient
because of the restrictions of those
days. Though outwardly cOnfof ming
to the Sabbath they were seeking all
the while to commercialiZe il. Many
today go to church for the sake of
responsibility while irlpatiently wait
ing for the day to pass in order to
to pursue their business.
4. Dishonesty in business dealings
". -. O They made tie ephah
small. Their measures were less than
the price paid for. CD They made
the shekel great. The shekel being
the coin used to pay bills, the mer-
chants put into circulation overweight
shekels thus getting higher price
for their grain. The purchaser was
thus cut on both sides. CD Falsified
their balances. Even the scales by
which the gold and silver were
weighed had been tempered with MAX
ing them guilty of cheating in three
ways.
8. They bought the poor for silver
". 60. The poor were reduced to
such poverty by the above means of
cheating that they were obliged to sell
themselves into slavery, even for a
pair of shoes.
6 They sold the refuse of the wheat
". 81. In time of famine they even
sold to the people that part of the
wheat which was intended for the
cattle
~. Gods Judgment Upon Them
(Amos 81; CT. lisa. 30, 10).
God says 81 will never forget" Not
one act Of greed and oppression will
escape Gods notice.
]. Many houses shall be desoIate.
They obtained their houses by wicked
means, and they should be removed
from the land, thus not being able to
enjoy them.
2. The land unproductive ". 10Y.
w. A Picture of Rich Man and a
Beggar Uuke 16:19-25l.
l. Their lives. % The rich man.
He had much goods. He operated in
the highest society. CD The beggar.
He not only was poor. but helpless.
He had no place in the social order.
He had no one to feed him, nor any
one TO care for his sores except as
the dogs licked them.
2. Their deaths. % The rich man
was taken by death. He seems TO have
had a great burial. (2) The beggar.
There Is nothing told as to what was
done with his body when he died. Per-
haps the very dogs who licked his
sores fed upon it.
8. Their destinies. ID The rich |
man lifted up his eyes in hell. The
beggar was carried by the angels into
bosom. (2) What deter
mined them. The future life grows
OUT of the present. The rich man was
in the things of this life, |
so selfish that even when the poor
beggar was laid at his gate he gave
him no attention. He not only lacked |
the kindness of seeking opportunity |
10 do good. but refused the one OBJ
Dortunity that was thrust before him.
l3) Their fixedness. Their destinies
we're determined by their actions while
Hive. and after death there was no
of change. The rich man
lifted up his eyes in hell. In addition
o the suffering of hell he had the
lnguish of neglected opportunities.
His memory was still active.