Evening star., 1929-06-29
Sunday School Lesson
Dr.. Hugh T. Stevenson.

declined to listen to the prophet. When
the prophets words had come true and
Hezekiah wanted to cast aside the bur-
den of the heavy tribute. Isaiah insisted
that the treaty, having been made,
should be kept. When the nation was
suffering because the prophets advice
with comfort In their perilous crisis, he
encouraged the people with confidence
and Jerusalem was saved from the
peril of being destroyed by the forces
of Sennacherib In his classical
prophecy of the Suffering Servant Of
Jehovah" we have teh greatest Mes
sianic prophecy ever written. We found
a prediction of the suffering and sue
cess of the Lord Jesus and a prophecy
of worldwide kingdom.
jeremiah commenced his ministry
during the days Of Josiah, when the
power of the State was on the side of
Righteousness and truth. According to
the tradition preserved in the Misna,
Isaiah died a martyr to Jehovahs cause.
Early in his ministry Jeremiah's life
was threatened by the people in his own
community. He was a priest by birth
and his work as a prophet made him
unpopular. Frequently he faced the
possible loss OF his life. His outspo1en
condemnation Of sin and in1quity made
He may have helped along the reforms
Of Josiah. He was q prophet of the
heart and sought true reformation.
He fearlessly proclaimed the word of
God and used, as in the case of the
Rechabites, telling illustrations Of his
message He was lover of his nation
and 1t was source of grief to him that
he should be compelled to be a nessen-
ger Of his nations doom. Loyalty TO
God and country resulted In his being
exposed to the charge Of treason, be-
cause he saw the evidence OF divine
Judgment in Gods use Of Babylonia In
fulfillment of His righteous purpose
Looking beyond the fall, jeremiah saw
a new day, so that men have found in
his messages the word the world needs
in this hour of national and worldwide
readjuStmentS.
The Three Kings.
Our lessons have brought before us
for consideration the reigns Of three
kings, two of whom are rated good.
Hezekiah was the first one Of these
rulers. He worked for % years in such
ministration was recognized by its dis
tinctive religious note. He tried to
lead his nation back to God. Upon his
accession to the throne "he at once
renewed the ancient covenant. reopened
| the temples, reorganized its service,
and summoned" the members Of all
| the tribes to the observance OF the
greatest passover in history. His last
years were clouded by sin. His weak
ness and sin retarded the work of re-
| form that he had inaugurated and 1t
prepared for the reaction under Manas-
sch and Ammon.
Josiah Is the only one Of the two
whose reign was marked by a love OF
God and obedience to His word. The
thorough revival of the religion of Je-
hovah that followed the discovery Of
the law and the destruction of the
outward worship of idols made his reign
a notable one. It was marked by peace
and prosperity. The reforms were
short-lived because the heart Of the
nation had not been reached. The end
came during the reign OF Zedekiah
The lofty moral Mosaic code was sup
planted by degrading oriental ideals
The national character became 50 de-
praved as to be beyond ordinary cure
| The cancer of distrlst of Jehovah
caused them to reject the words Of the
prophets and put their faith In the
chariots Of Egypt.
The economic strain was seen in tbs
| inability Of the poor peasants to bear
the oppression Of the landlords and loan
sharks. Fincnae, the foundation OF
the nations security, was neglected be-
cause they had rejected Gods law that
contained protection for the poor. False
faith showed itself in q bad financial
system and a disregard Of international
obligations which brought the nations
overthrow and exile.
Against the dark background OF
| Judal1's doom we had psalm of praise
as our concluding lesson for the quarter
| In every dark hour Israel has exhibited
faith in God that has filled them with
hope. In Jehovah they have found
forgiveness, healing of their backslid-
ings and insirpation for their future. Lei
US praise Him from whom all blessings
flow, for He loves us with an everlast-
ing love.