The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1932-09-01
Lesson for September 4
EVILS OF INTEMPERANcE

GOLDEN TEXT-Do not drink wine
nor strong drink, thou, nor thy sons
with thee, when ye go into the taber-
nacle of the congregation. lest ye die:
1t shall be a statute for ever through
out your generations.
LESSON TEXT-Isaiah 5.
PRIMARY TOPIC-The Evil Of
Drunkenness.
JUNIOR ToPIC-A Wise Man Gives
n Warning.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR
.TOPIC-Why Obey the Law?
YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOP
1C-Observing and Enforcing Law.
I. Israel, the Favored Nation wv.
I'D.
This nations unique relation to
God is presented under the figure of
a vineyard. Observe:
:. i. Gods peculiar favor wv. /, p.
God did for this nation what he did
for no other nation in the history
of the world. He fenced it when he
assigned the boundaries of Israers
inheritance. (Num. "a :1-13) He gath.
cred out the stones when the Canaan
ties were eXterminated. The choicest
vine planted therein was the Israel
itish nation which had gone through
the disciplinary process in Egyptian
bondage. He built tower in it when
under David Jerusalem was made its
capital city.
2. The obligation of the nation
". q. The purpose of vineyard is
to bring forth grapes. The purpose
of God in selecting and blessing the
Israelitish nation was that it might
bring forth fruit to his glory.
3. 1t bore only wild grapes ". ~.
Instead of sweet, luscious grapes, they
bore grapes of sour and unwhole-
some kind. How APPLY this symbolizes
Israels life!
4. The desolation of the vineyard
wv. sly. Since all efforts had been
wasted, the owner of the vineyard
now resolved to abandon it. He pur-
posed to take away the fences and
leave it exposed to wild beasts, to be
wasted and devoured by them.
u. The Sins Which Brought Ruin
to Israel wv. S-2S).
The causes of this destruction are
presented under six woes, each woe
pronounced against a particular sin:
/. Monopoly and oppression Of the
poor wv. 500. The crime against
which the first woe is directed is that
of avaricious grasping after property
which leads to the accumulation Of
wealth in the hands of the few. Join
ing house to house and laying field to
field" means the sin of the greedy
monopolist who buys up the land on
every side and elects the small land
holder. In the agricultural district
It takes the form of the land grab
ber." In the commercial centers it
takes the form of the big man crush
ing out the small ones This state of
affairs met Gods judgment in Judea,
as seen in w. Q and 10, and one day
it shall do likewise in America.
2. Dissipation wv. HID. The sin
here denounced is drunkenness. Sew
eral features are connected with this
one sin:
a. Drinking made the life business
Of some ". ~. They got up early
anu uLIlt lllc at ulSHLs
b. The effort to give their wicked
business a show of refinement ". 12).
This is why pleasing music is heard
in dens of infamy over our land.
c. Blindness to Gods warnings and
judgments ". 12). Their drinking and
dissipation rendered them insensible
to the dealings Of Providence.
d. Gods judgments for such sin
wv. 1910. They went into captivity.
The immediate cause assigned was
ignorance. but it was a willful ig-
norance for which they were held
responsible. There was a great NOR
tality among those who drank ". 14).
Hell hath enlarged herself" The
records everywhere show a much
higher death rate among drinking men.
Drinking degrades all classes ". 15).
8. Unbelief wv. IS. 1917. This woe
is directed against the sinner who
presumptuously plunges into vice. He
persists in iniquity and SCOTS at judy
ment. This is peculiarly common
among those who go about wine
drinking as business.
4. Moral confusion ". 20). This
woe is pronounced against those who
try to adjust moral conditions to suit
their sinful appetites.
s. Conceit ". 2D. The fifth woe
is pronounced against the sin Of self
conceit, which holds false estimate
of human wisdom and acts without
reference to God.
6. PerversiOn of justice wv. %,
23). The sixth woe Is pronounced
against unjust judges.
III. Gods Treatment of Israel for
Their Sins wv. 24-30.
/. He stretched out his hand in
anger against them (vv. "a, 25).
q Chastised by the nations tvv.
$500. God gave the signal and
issued the call for the nations to
chastise Israel.