Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-10-28
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON
Golden text: Righteousness ex
halteth a nation but sin is a re-
prOach to any people.
For Oct. 49, lisa. 81.
BY DR.. MARION MICH. HULL

Golden text: Righteousness ex'
haIteth nation but sin is a re-
proach to any people.
A sense of loyalty to the Word Of
! God compels me to enter again a
, protest against the abuse Of Gods
| Word by forcing into it an interpre-
tation which every fair consideration
Of it shows to have been entirely for
eign to the mind of the writer and
also Of the context. When we use
Gods Word in that way it ceases to
be a sure word of prophecy and be-
comes only what the last man who
reads wants it to be. Isaiah was
ispeaking about the great theme Of
Zion redeemed and Zion's redeemer,
and had no thought whatever of pro-
hibition or Incorporate drinking,
With this said, let us study the
passage to get the truth God would
have us know. The first reading of
| it will remind us at once Of the use
which Jesus made of it, as Luke
records it in chapter four. He, there
fore, will be our best interpreter of
this passage in Isaiah.
It was on the occasion of his visit
! to Nazareth after his public min
istry had begun. You will recall
! that he left Nazareth to go to the
Jordan, where John was baptizing.
I After his baptism he was led of the
spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil. When He re.
I turned He gathered the first six dis
ciples and then, after three days
went to the wedding in Cana Of
Galilee, where He made the water
wine. Leaving there He and HIS
disciples and His mother and breth
rem went to Caperaum to establish
their residence. The passover being
due, He went to Jerusalem and there
c1eansed the temple, talked with
Nicodemus, worked in Judea for &
few weeks. and then. because Of the
Jealousy of Johns disciples, He went
back to Galilee, going through So
maria to win one woman first anG
her whole town from sin. When He
returned to Gal'lee, He went frs
to Cana again, there healing the no
bleman's son who was sick at Caper
naum.
From Cana He went to Nazareth
land as His custom was went into
1.-THE synagogue on the sabbath day
The minister asked him to read, fol
already the homefolks< had heard
something of the wonderful things
He had been doing in the last few
weeks since He left them. This was
His first visit back to His. home
town, and the officers. of the syna
!gogue extended Him the courtesy OF
reading the Scripture lesson.
| Words of Grace
He opened the Book and found
this passage in Isaiah and begar
reading: "The Spirit of Jehovah is
upon me, because he hath appointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor
He hath sent me to heal the broken
hearted, to preach deliverance to the
captives, and recovering of sight tt
the blind, to set at liberty them thai
are bruised, to preach the accept
able year of Jehovah;" and there He
closed the Book, gave it again to the
minister and sat down.
The eyes of ever yone Of His for
mer townsn1en were upon Iim-He
I'sat down, not in the congregation
but in the pulpit, as though He in
tended to speak to them! He sal
down, as the custom was to teach
them! Then He began to say tc
them, This day is this scripture
fulfilled in your ears" And as He
expounded that scripture to them
and how it was fulfilled in Him
they wondered at the words Of
graces that proceeded out of His
mouth. They were astenished as
He told them that He was the
! source of all blessing, and that the
character of the blessings that
would come to them in Him would
be healing for broken hearts, de
liverance for captives, sight for
blindness, liberty for them that, are
bruised-that this is the acceptable
| year of Jehovah, because God was
in Him reconciling the world to
| Himself. You see, He puts the EN-
phasis on the "Me." Read it again
that way, and if you can get into
the minds of the people of Nazareth
as they heard Him speak.
They had known Him all of His
life; until few weeks ago, He had
been working in the carpenter shop
there, making ploughs for them and
other agricultural implements. So
Ithey wondered and said among