The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1960-09-02
God In History
Lesson for September 4, 1860

SOO CA4oto VI Llldt 1t Is QOlnE
any particular thing Neverthe-
less. once seen with the insight
of faith, God is Enthusiastically
there-everywhere in the story
of the universe and of man. God
does not, so to speak, burst into
the story like someone late a
meeting. He does not come in
and out like light out of roder
| He does not play a minor role
/ on the stage Of humanity. He is
out there all the time.
Gods Will in History
What are Gods intentions
! Does He know what He wants
and is He trying to get it? Does
He know what He wants done
and is He finding men who will
do it? Such questions haunt the
mind of one who has not vet
; become sure about God. They
would haunt the mind of be-
lieving man too, if the Bible did
not help him with some answers.
The prophets of 'olden times
lived in a pretty modern era,
after all 1t was a time like ours
in many ways. Nations were
armed to the teeth. national
wealth was being spent on de-
Tense, the common man was
taxed right out Of his sandals, the
whole nation was morally weak
and growing flabbier all the
time.
At such a time arose prophets,
men of God with insight into the
mind Of God. They did not know
all Gods secret counsels" but
they were quite certain on some
points. First of all, they declared
that God does have a purpose
/ a great all-embracing Purpose
that includes every nation in the
world. Translated into terms of
our time, this means God has a
purpose regarding Russia. China,
Afghanistan, Canada, the State
of Mississippi there is not a
territory so obscure, there is not
an empire SO great, as to be out
side Gods purposes. Does this
mean that every people and
tongue and nation" and every
subdivision thereof always does
Gods will! How about Russia i?
we would ask. How about AS
syria? the anci ent Hebrew
would ask. Are they in line with
Gods high intention?
This was a bitter question
when Assyria was invading
Judah, and Isaiah. speaking for
God, gives the answer of chapter
10. Judah, the nation, has sinned,
and God is about to punish her
But he does not punish the ma
ton by means of avenging angels
swinging thunderboltS. He pun
ishes the nation with a rod land
the name of the red in Assyrila. Il
is wicked nation to be sure:
nations defeated by Assyria have
tragic fate in store. But when
God has sufficiently punished
Israel with this rod of anger
He will cast the rod aside. here
is Gods hand in history? At that
time, His hand held the roo
called Assyria. Since then there
have been other nations which
like Assyria carried out Gods
will without being aware Of it OF
of Him. The reader no doubt Car
name some of these.
Gods Character in History
The prophets saw something
more than a powerful hand guild
ing the course Of nations. They
could see what kind Of God this
is. To the eye and mind Of faith
the whole course of history, the
rise and fall of nations, the
chains of cause and effect in al
ages, strongly speak of Goo
who loves justice and mercy, q
God who is concerned about the
helpless and the depressed peo
pies of the world. Nations as vel
as individuals that defy Gods
laws are just digging their oWr
graves. In real sense OF the
word. every nation that hass
fallen into the pit land the NOR
tally among nations, to date /!
100 per cent has dug that pi
for itself, Gods throne of justice
is not set on some remote star
it is here on the flying earth
Though with patience He stand:
waiting, with exactnesS grind!
He ALL" The judgments Of Goo
are not swift but they are sure
From them there is no appeal
His judgments are not arbitrary
they come right out of the sir
itself, the punishment fits the
crime. For God is no intruder
into history, He is Lord of His
tory. In fulfilling His will is the
Good, for all men.
BASED on outlines copyrighted
by the Division Of Christian Edu
cation, National Council Of thu
Churches Of Christ in the U. S. A
Released by Community Pres.
Service.)