The Lucknow Sentinel, 1932-08-25, Page 3�5F
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•. 4
Sunday School
Lesson
September 4, Lesson X-Evil•e of In
teatperanoe-isaiah 5: 111.6, 22,'23.
Golden Text -Do . not drink Wine
,,nor strong drink. -Leviticus 10: 9.
ANALYSIS. .
I. INTE.MPERA'TE LIVING, vs„ U, 12. ,
II. A TERRIBLE "THEREFORE vs. 13-16.
III: PRUNKENNESSS AGAIN, vs.,22, 23.
INTROD ieriON-"To the •.prophet
was granted," says Profebser T.
Robinson,• "the insight born of .direct
communion with God to see with ''start
- lin, clarity that a. given type •bf•eon-
c:: sses.' and .masses together! v. 14.
Such run of a nation is neither acci-
dental ner meaninglcas. It is nothing'.
less than the vindication and triumph
0- the -righteousness of God. In his..
grim judgment of ' the • nation, God's
holiness is made manifest, v. 16At
the same time the presumption of
pian; Who feel's no se.lse of his crea-.
tu.eiiness before the holy majesty of
God,but rather rises up in his pride
to lave without God or to defy him, •is
shown in ail its futility,. v. 15.
1II. DRUNKENNESS • AGAI:N, vs. 22, 23..
' With . withering• .words ' Isaiah •e -
turn's to his attack on the drunkards.
'Ilei•;oes• they are -but only in consurn-
. i.r.g wine! Men ofmight but only in
mixing a bowl of drin'k'! . Only, of such
•exploits 'Can they boast, v. 22. The
prophet tracks the, drunkards frons
their cups, to .the,..courts of ,,.zstice.
Tache . '.they sit as judges =•' ph, the..
drat, •s.ti- I. novo ;-a-- i ven-•• at•ti°ttlde--of- eirony-.,of.;;it;!.-:.,••T.he gu ity._.they...1 _clause
soul; 'carried within itself- the. Seeds of for , a bribe; the •.innocent. they con=:
p'rosperity;.A or diissaster:." Isaiah Of,
, .Jetuse:ki bad';plbti'ty of opportunity
to exercise -this prophetic in,sight.' ,i!c.
lived in one of the ,must..critical :pelt- .
it lis! of •I•srael,'s histol Thi A Syrian
l ""Empire was swiftly sub3ugating one
. s' `' fter.;anothei of the '.smalle „ nations.
an'd.brin in 'horn,'.'. under•tier'ir:uthless
ggii la �.
.-sw;'a' T'h. ° !ittle.'''ki'.
yr . e htigciom, -df,. J,l1 •• .1
`was• M,• -ii tminent'.danger' from• that
troubletis quarter. Yet her leaders:
were stupidly-blind._to' the•d"anger.. In,
.• place of •giving real leadership, the
• were living intemperately; They,.were
... ,guilty of ,grave •social abuses -.7 -greed,+
kixury, d'ru'nkenness and the' exploita-
tion • 'of the ' weak.'end. defenceless.
Isaiah saw clearly that • such corrupt
.conduct on the part • of • the nation's
Lading .classes especially in• view of
the eritical. international' situation,
• hvould involve- the wholecountry in
_r
_........uin.,...Against-the-great niers of Jeru-
Salem he .delivered 'a series tf po•wer-
ful`,"woes," •vs.' &24..
• I: INTEMPERATE LIVING, VS: 1'1, 12.
' Life has become' easy for the fire.
anc l,.and business Magnates of :Jeru-'
salem...They h:.ve held mortgages :,n _Afrimee a.s-ins ir-ed.�to write.."_Car--
the farms of • •.the small- independent
p
ascents: now they have . foreclosed.
these ' and have , grown 'rich, v. 'S.
Wealth. breed's indolei ce;' indolence be-
gets •.•careless, and • d' elute. living.
With: •elemental cell.ge ,Isaiah cone
fronts . these. men, wi •'•their shamefuli
lives: • • Seven' times (.s.8-24) ' he pro-
• ' nounees. .on. them the weird 'and ter-
, rible word,."wroe." ,That "woe" on the
•lips ,of a : prophet,. is. to. ominous a
•warning that if these profligate grar.-
dees have 'any• conscience they. will
surely listen and, tremble: With biting
satire (of which he is a master) •Isaiah
• attacks t.hem.: They. are 'early risers,:
these rat. men of, Jerusalembut ..
_ .„_ �.� _ , _. _me.nied--by the d_mon-• of' -t:,:.,
:not to go,bout their'work, not for any. He h rbors in himself a. ainfu.
useful or noble,pur.suit! • They rite ;-,..:.� p
early • indeed,' but .,nl.y .to• seek their a'n unsatisfied craving, or urs
cups. Even `among , .Israel's heathen Problems. ' He trives . to find(
nci�gg-hbor-s---who, • knew=riothitig=-of a lof__exRtosslon. for the ,thy _.
.. Israel'•s .. righteous God, such conduct which haunt hir-h; and ,very Often even
woUld_be--a=-scandal„-But-so-.low-hav
• these - .privileged men .of Jerusalem
•sunk,'that their' drinking._,: bouts .last
•all day_ 'In the cool of• the,nirht they
• are still sitting, there, heating .thenir
_ . selves _with-wane,-=.v,-:11.-;,.I'n-the' even
• ing their drunkcn 'carousals become, if
anything, . more. abandoned. , .Great
banquets ire spread; orchestral mus]c
", adds to their ‘sensuous frivolity... The'
deep peace-of.'Jerusale• fs. night,. the
slumbers of her hard-working laborers
• are •d.isturbed with; the loud buffoonery
. and . the voluptuous ;Music of her
drunken leaders. Wine.has befuddled
,their .senses; it has dulled their fac-
' nity of .spiritual perception. • For is
-nut God~even now atllwork among the
• nations, ceaselessly weaving the pat-
tern •of the web out of the processes
of -history? • But bleary eyes Can. never
read. "the signs of the times": • nor
can besotted minds trace eternal put-.
pose.
II. 'A TERRIBLE "TIiEREFORE•," vs. 1346.
•1^ Terrible i's' the word "therefore" on
'. the lips of a prophet. Invariably it
.introduces coming doom. There is no
call for repentance beret Isaiah real
-izes t-ha-t.'the--leadi-ng--men-oi--Jeer-u-;
srlem have gone too. far ,in trifling.
• with God's righteousness. Retrihu-
ti•on is already at the door. • Their des-
tiny in exile •is scall d. ' Further, the
leadership Of - the.', Wine-bib'bers is
' bringing, .ruin on • the whole' nation..
• tlith its strength impaired through
dis.lolufe living, it. Will fall an easy
.prey to Asyria: