Arizona sun., 1947-06-27

and see what it had accomplished.
Israel was now in exile. to return
only in part, and with greatly limit
ed greatness and glory.
What was Gods purpose for
Israel? 1t was threefold:
~ To be a repository for his
truth in the earth.
(2) To be channel for the COM
ing of the personal Redeemer to
the earth.
81 To be a national witness to
the one true God to the other ma
tions of the earth. Q
The first two they fulfilled. They
kept for us the Word of God as re-
vealed in the Old Testament, and
from their nation came most of the
men through whom the Holy Spirit
wrote the New Testament. It was
through their nation that the Son
of God came as Jesus Of Nazareth,
our Saviour and Lord.
But they failed to be the witness
that God had meant them to be
and for this they came under his
judgment.
Were they then a complete fail
ure? Certainly not-our lesson
makes that clear in three ways.
Teachers will find the scriptures not
too well selected, but they do serve
as a background for these thoughts.
The nation Israel showed us:
I. The Enlightening Word Of God
Cps. 119:105).
I EFT us never forget that the pre-.
- cious Word Of God, which Is
our light on the way through this
dark world, came to us through
Jewish hands.
The Old Testament, which we
come to appreciate more and more
as we grow in grace and knowl-
edge Of the Lord, was committed to
Israel by inspiration of the Holy
Spirit, and preserved by the Jew
ish nation even at the cost Of their
own lives. Nothing was more pre-
cious to them than the sacred Scrip
ture. We owe them great debt of
gratitude, and ought to honor them
for their service to God and man.
We may say then that the Bible,
unsurpassed in all the world of
literature, and beyond compari-
son as the guiding light for mans
heart and life, was given to us
through Israel. We could well say
a hearty ''Thank you" for that
right now if we have never done
it before!
III. The Exalted Worship of God
Elsa. 2:2-N.
THE prophet looks into the future
l. to that glorious and blessed day
when the nations shall have learned
to live in peace and righteousness,
when war shall be no more, and
the worship of God shall be the de-
sire and the joy Of men.
When will that day come? Will 1t
be brought in by the efforts of the
church, or by conferences of nation
al leaders? Not for moment would
we minimize the value of every true
effort to spread peace and righteous
ness through the earth. We honor
those who faithfully try to bring con-
cord in the affairs of men.
But the clear teaching of Scrip
ture, which has been SO abun-
dainty proved by experience, is
that we can expect the delightful
condition Of which Isaiah speaks
only when the Prince of Peace
himself has returned to reign,
namely, our Lord and Saviour and
coming King, Jesus Christ. We
look for that day!
In that blessed time Israel shall
worship the Lord in the beauty of
holiness, even as their history under
the hand of God in days past was
one of true worship of the Lord.
Here again they made an endur-
ing contribution to the life of the
world. Then note their witness to
iii. The Effective Work of God
(Mic. 6:1-8).
WE HAVE here words OF anoth-
w er Hebrew prophet. He speaks
of Gods plain dealings with his peo-
pie, his judgment upon their sin,
and the need of a careful and a
worthy walk before him.
Back of all the admonition and
appeal is the remembrance Of how
God had worked on behalf of Israel,
delivering them from bondage, Civ
ing them effective leaders, going be-
fore them in battle, in fact, prov
ing his goodness and love by his
mighty works.
Israel's service for God and
man is an example of what God
can and will do for those who
obey him and walk with him. 1t
is equally true that they thus re-
veal the inevitable judgment
which comes upon q sinful and
dis0bedient nation. Let us not miss
that lesson, for we need It today.
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