Evening star., 1927-10-29
Sunday School Lesson

they could not secure His favor by
their usual methods of religious wor-
ship. offering sacrifices. keeping the
Sabbaths, when they were disregard
ing the demands Of justice and re-
quirements of mercy in their deal
ings with their neighbors and fellow
citizens.
Justice and Mercy Ignored.
The failure Of the people was a
spiritual one. They had bebased their
religion by idolatrous practices. Wor-
Shipping not the living God but images
contrary to His law. In adopting the
practice of idolatry they had much
that appealed to their sensuality for
the practice of immortality as a part
Of their worship. Perhaps this was
the reason for introducing this form
Of ritualistic practices from foreign
faiths. They dishonored Jehovah and
everything high and holy, just as men
are doing today, when they shut God
out of their lives by committing the
same spiritual offenses of idolatry, ir
reverence and immortality.
Amos hit hard. His words went
home, when he condemned their in
justice in taking from the poor their
''inalienable property" which had
been pawned for the Oriental cloak,
kept the poor man warm both day
and night. They even went so far as
to sell a man into slavery for a
song" when they could not meet the
usury of the profiteer. They failed to
exercise justice and mercy because
Of their ingra titude to the Lord, who
had rescued them from the slavery of
Egypt and planted them into the
promised land. They could have re-
paid his love and mercy by being kind
and generous in their financial deal
ings with their neighbors.
Gods plans to make them a holy
nation were defeated by their cynicism,
for they refused to listen to the
prophets and tried to induce the Naza-
rites, who had vowed to abstain from
partaking of all intoxicating drinks,
to violate their conservation vows.
They tried to stifie prophecy by in
trigue, intimidation, intemperance and
snaring the prophets by the ever pres
ent trap of social evil and injustice.
National Doom Certain.
Our sins are all spiritual We may
consider them to he economic, political
or moral, but they violate the require.
soul. Amos pointed out that sin, be-
cause of it's spiritual character. was n
destructive force. He saw that God,
who ruled the affairs of nations and
men, had to punish the wicked. He
cited the history of the Amorites. who
had been deposed from the land, al
though they were giants, and had dis
appeared from the sistcrhood of ma.
tionS because of their immoral prac-
tices. lie reasoned it out that right
eous God would, because of His law of
retribuiton, be compelled to punish all
the nations of the earth. including
Judah and Israel. '"The wages Of sin
is DEATH
They were surprised. His state.
ments shocked them, for they were the
chosen people of God. This fact inn
posed greater privileges and larger re-
sponsbilites upon them. They ques-
toned his authority and asked his
credentials. His reply pointed out
that for every phenomenon in nature
there was n cause. and that he would
not have spoken of their doom. If God
had not sent him to prOphesy for Him
to them. 1t was in response to His
call from the Lord that he became
reformer, but he found that sin
knew no national borders and that
there was no escape from the penal
tiles of sin in any land or among any
people.
He pointed out that they should
"seek good and not evil" that they
might live and enjoy the presence,
peace and protection Of Jehovah.
They refused to heed his message and
in due time the punishment foretold
came upon Israel. The nation fell.
The 10 tribes have disappeared be-
cause they refused to do His will,
preferring to follow their own personal
wishes and desire. There Is much in
our modern life that indicates that
history is repeating itself. If Amer.
lea Is to maintain her position among