Arkansas State press., 1947-05-23

4nOWeth the way OF the righteous, put
the way Of the ungodly shall perish
Psalm 1:6.
Nations as well as people come to
crossroads in their history, and TAX
ing the wrong road then means fu-
ture disaster. Solomon had built up
great national prosperity, but at the
expense Of heavy taxes. He had for
gotten God, and was succeeded by
. son who followed in his footsteps.
Offered an opportunity to ease the
burden Of the people Il Kings IL:
ID. Rehoboam in his folly made it
greater. and the nation was divided
The ten northern tribes. which were
henceforth to be known as Israel,
followed Jeroboam, and the two
southern tribes under Rehoboam be-
came the kindom Of Judah.
Jeroboam started with Gods IA
vor, and might have led his people
right, but instead he became the
king whose name stood for wicked
ness (see II Kings 1919. The story
Of that downfall is sad picture Of
unbelief and failure.
Through varied experiences and
under different kings. Israel had
gone down. down. down in its his
tory Of sin and departure from God.
]. Doomed by Sin III Kings II:
S-12. %, 80.
The hour had struck when Gods
heavy hand Of judgment had to fall
on them. Verse relates their car
rying away into captivity to As
syria. and verses TO tell us the
reason for that judgment.
Ingratitude for Gods blessing
". y led to the worship of other
gods ". 81. They knew Gods hatred
for the sin Of idolatry. and his judg.
ment upon those who walked in that
way, but they went right on.
Note in verse that these things
were done Secretly" THE same
thing is true today Of many who
profess to be the people of God. The
line Of demarcation between the
church and the world is not clearly
drawn. We do well to note carefully
the outcome Of this course of pro-
eedure on Israefs part tvv. Q, 49,.
The fact that Israel did these things
secretly did not hide them from the
eyes Of Jehovah Cps. 1891. 2; Heb.
l:1s)" (John W. Bradbury.
The statement In verse % Is
striking one. The prophets had re-
peatedly spoken Of the impending
destruction Of the nation. Now the
time had come that the Lord could
no longer stand to look upon their
sin, and in a sense put them "out of
his sight" That does not mean that
they had been forgotten or that God
was not watching over them in
! mercy and love, but that he had to
Judge them for their sins, and for
time bring them into judgment
leading to repentance.
There is always a reason for
nations deterioration. and with Is
rael there were many reasons. Out
standing among them is the one for
which they were rebuked by Isaiah
In the verses Of our lesson, namely.
drunkenness.
n. Deceived by Drink Elsa. %:
l-D.
The picture here is a graphic one
The leaders Of Israel (here called
Ephraim) fingered long over their
bowls OF wine, ard in their drunken
stupor gloried in the fact that Sa.
maria, their capital city, was so
situated at the head Of valley that
II was not only beautiful but prae-
tically safe from attack by the
enemy.
The drunkards spoke with pride
OF their nation and Of Samaria It's
Grown" The description was apt
for II was beautifully situated on
hill surrounded by a fertile ierraced
hillside. But their boasting was
vain, for after a bitter three years
siege, the city eventually fell to Sar.
eon II Of Assyria
All this has a familiar sound. We
think Of the nations that have gone
down 10 oblivion even while the PEG.
pie engaged in foolish levity. and in
the awful Supplying and degrading
use OF alcohol.
Remember the fall Of France IN
the recent World War when its
own leaders said that the defeat
could be largely attributed to the
tremendous increase in the use Of
alcoholic liquor.
What about our own United
States2 With an annual liquor bin
Of about eight billion dollars. sa.
looms on almost every corner, liquor
flowing freely in hotels and restau.
rants. bottles and eases Of il being
brought into the home, booze the
common medium Of not only social
but business relations, our insane
asylums so crowded with alcoholics
that the poor inmates have no real
care-but why so on? It is a picture
SO appalling and SO utterly distress
ing that every sensible person is
shocked by it.
DO we think that God can long
withhold his judgment upon a PEG.
pie blessed by all his many boun.
ties, and yet using them for destruc-
ton of body and soul2 Can a people