The Mississippi enterprise., 1962-09-22
SUNp SCHOOL LESSON
SEPTEMBER %, 1862
BY Rev. George A. Harper,
511 Avenue g.,
Greenwood. Miss.
Greenwood, Miss.

51l Avenue g.,
Greenwood, Miss.
A CALL TO SPIRITUAL
RENEWAL.
Scripture Lesson - Malachi
Print - Malachi 81, 2, 40;
3:1-4.
MEM DRY SELECTION.
Have we not all one father?
hath not one God created us?
why do we deal treaLhcrously
every man against his brother,
by profaning the covenan. of
our fathers? - (Malachi 2:10)
Yes God is a common Father
to all mankind, and upon that
account, all we are brethren,
members one of another How
corrupt their practices were.
In general, they dealt treach-
erously every man against his
brother.
1t cannot be expected that
he who is false to his God
should be true to his friend.
They had dealt treacherously
with God in his tithes and Of
ferings, and had defrauded
him, and thus conscience was
debauched, its bonds and
cords were broken, a door was
opened to all manner of in
justice and dishonesty, and
the bonds of relation and nat
ural affection are broken
through likewise and no diff
Guilty made of it. In contempt
of the covenant God made
with Israel, as peculiar peo-
pie to himself, they married
strange wives, which was ex-
pressly prohibited.
ADDRESS TO THOSE WHO
HAVE GONE AWAY FROM
GOD: Malachi's message is ad-
dressed primarily to the
priests, who are responsible
for the people of God. How
could the people live near to
God with such priests, with
out in fact leaving the priests?
The international Committee
with evident deliberation left
out the single verse, between
the second and fourth, in the
first chapter, which describes
the proper feeling of God for
priests who lead the people
away from God instead of to-
ward God. The omission de-
StroyS completely both force
and Sence of Gods statement
to the priests. Behold | will
corrupt your seed and spread
dung upon your faces, even
the dung of your solemn
feasts; and one shall take you
away with it." This is the
feeling of God concerning re-
ligious leaders who allow the
worship of God to degenerate
into manifestations of patent
insecurity. Instead of faces
that shine with holy radiance
as the face of Moses shone
when he came down from ST.
mai, God says that He will
plaster the faces of insincere
priests with dung and will get
the dung from their religious
services.
FAITHFUL AND UNFAITH-
Full PRIESTS:
The faithful priest is the
proper bearer of the covenant
of life and peace. He is the
custodian of Gods contract
with His people. "I gave
them to him for the fear
wherewith he feared me-" The
law of truth was in his mouth
and iniouity was not found in
him. This faithful sincere
priest, who really regards God
and sees genuinely to perform
a valuable service for the pee
pie as Gods minister is with.
out the contemplate aspect
which the rung faced minister
wears before God. The un-
faithful ministers of Gods
church today will suffer the
same fate of the unfaithf,ll
priests of Malacbi's time. if
they fail to live up to the high
moral ethical, and Christian
standards of God.
THE APPROACHING TEST
God will suddenly make His
appearance in judah and at
the Temple, the shrine of the
priests. Only the genuine will
be fit for the test, "for he is
lie a refiner's fire" And
he shall sit as a refiner ap-
plying tests to his priesthood
which will distinguish the gen.
1liHp from thn faIco Tnoxy;f oh1x,