To Make Offerings as Well as Pay Our Tithes—
God Gave and Thus Showed His Love
By HENRY S. SHAW
The whole gospel plan is founded on the principle of giving. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16.
Not Selfish Gain with the Lord
It was not for selfish gain that the Lord made this greatest of sacrifices. It was done that “we should not perish.” It was all for others, not for Himself.
Another text says: “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His poverty might be rich.” 2 Cor. 8:9.
These texts reveal the basis upon which both the Father and the Son made the great153sacrifice for man’s redemption. God gave His Son, that we “should not perish”; and Christ became poor, that we “might be rich.” All this infinite gift has been poured out for the redemption of a race of sinful men and women, who are poor and blind, alienated from the life of God, and without hope; and with it comes the message, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28.
Expressions of Our Gratitude
Offerings to the Lord are only expressions of gratitude by which we show our appreciation of our Redeemer’s sacrifice, and cooperate with Him in the salvation of our fellow men.
While both tithes and offerings test our loyalty to the Lord, yet they are not the same. The offering does not answer for the tithe, nor the tithe for the offering. The tithe is a stipulated per cent of our funds, “the tenth,” which the Lord has designated, and reserved sacred to Himself. It is not our own. It is “holy unto the Lord.”
Offerings are made from our own nine tenths left us after the tithe has been paid. The offering is not a stipulated per cent of our funds, as is the tithe. The amount of offerings is left to our own free will. Sometimes it is more, and again it is less, according to the financial circumstances, and the inclination of the individual’s heart to give.
She Gave the Most
The poor widow gave two mites, which was all she had. Some other people, on the same occasion, were giving of their abundance, and having an abundance left for themselves. The Lord said she gave more than they all, because she gave all she had. From this it appears that the amount given is not so much an index to the real heart of the giver, as is the amount remaining after the offering is made. Here is a means by which the human heart is revealed.
One may not discern what is in his own heart, till the Spirit of God brings a test to him. The tongue may utter things that do not prove to be the real sentiment of the heart.
He Looked for His Smallest Coin
The story is told of a man who, while the mission offering was taken, solemnly joined in singing that heaven-inspired stanza: “Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a tribute far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my life, my soul, my all,” yet all the time he sang, he was fumbling the money over in his pocket to find the smallest coin.
Our appreciation of the Lord’s great sacrifice is measured by what we are willing to invest in it. A man may talk and write about it, he may sing and pray about it, but if he will not put personal sacrifice into it, he fails to grasp the significance of the gospel principle, he has no real heart in it. “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Invests Where His Heart Is
A man’s treasure cannot remain separate from that which he holds in highest esteem. If he esteems heaven above all else, his treasure will be invested in the thing he has most faith in. It cannot be otherwise. That would be contrary to nature. An individual may have faith enough to awaken his conscience and move him to make an open profession of Christ, and this is good as far as it goes; but his real heart love for Jesus is tested as he passes on through the field of sacrifice. If he will day by day discover where his treasure is invested, he may be sure his heart is near. A man cannot possibly “serve two masters” at the same time. He cannot go to heaven if he is tied to the earth.
Increasing by Scattering
The Lord says: “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” Prov. 11:24. And again: “Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth.” Deut. 8:18.
Men would be more prosperous if in their plans they gave more thought to the obligations they owe to the Lord for His manifold mercies and blessings. From time to time, the Lord has sent messages by the prophets, calling attention to this important matter. “The harvest of the field is perished,” says Joel. “The vine is dried up, . . . and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. . . . The seed is rotten under their clods, the garners are laid desolate, the barns are broken down; for the corn is withered.” Joel 1:11-17.
The Lord Blew It Away
The prophet Haggai mentions similar conditions in his testimony: “Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; . . . and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. . . . Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.” Haggai 1:5-9.
These scriptures picture the condition of many people in the world to-day. It is a sad thing to see a man toiling from year to year with no returns. He sees his purposes fail. Instead of prosperity, he sees adversity. His harvest “is perished”; his wheat and corn, his vineyard, his apple trees, and all the trees of the field wither away. His “barns are broken down.” He cannot repair them, because he has no harvest. His herds and flocks have no pasture; and even though he should earn wages, he only brings it home to “put into a bag with holes.”
“Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, . . . And I called for a drought upon the land, . . . and upon all the labor of the hands.” Verses 9-11.
The Prophets Wrote for Us
These things written by the prophets certainly should cause us to reflect seriously. The apostle says: “Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Rom. 15:4.
“But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.” Matt. 6:20.
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over: . . . For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38.
“Gather My saints together unto Me; those that have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice.” Ps. 50:5.
Counsel on Letting
By John Norton Loughborough
IN the Scriptures many prayers are found for the proper letting. “Let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know mine integrity.” Job 31:6. “Let my sentence come forth from Thy presence.” Ps. 17:2. “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength, and my Redeemer.” Ps. 19:14. “Let integrity and uprightness preserve me.” Ps. 25:21. “Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon Thee.” Ps. 31:17. “Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Ps. 33:8, 9. “Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee.” Ps. 33:22. “Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people praise Thee.” Ps. 67:3. “Let all those that seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee.” Ps. 70:4. “Let my mouth be filled with Thy praise and with Thy honor all the day.” Ps. 71:8. “Let the sighing of the prisoner come before Thee.” Ps. 79:11. “Let my prayer come before Thee: incline Thine ear unto my cry.” Ps. 88:2. “Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish Thou it.” Ps. 90:17. “Let Thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for Thy law is my delight.” Ps. 119:77. “Let Thine hand help me; for I have chosen Thy precepts.” Ps. 119:173. “Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.” Ps. 141:2.
The Lord not only gave excellent commands respecting letting, but there is much good counsel concerning the same. When a strife arose between the herdsmen of Abraham and those of Lot, Abraham said, “Let there be no strife; . . . for we be brethren.” Gen. 13:8. The margin reads, “We be men brethren,” as if he had said, We are men; let us not act like quarrelsome children.
In the words of Elihu we read, “Let us choose to us judgment: let us know among ourselves what is good.” Job 34:4. The psalmist pleads: “Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms.” Ps. 95:2. “Let them exalt Him also in the congregation of the people, and praise Him in the assembly of the elders.” Ps. 107:32. “Let them now that fear the Lord say, that His mercy endureth forever.” Ps. 118:4. “As the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk.” 1 Cor. 7:17. “Let all your things be done with charity.” 1 Cor. 16:14. “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” Phil. 4:5. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16. “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.” Heb. 10:22. “Let brotherly love continue.” Heb. 13:1.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
The Dragon Voice and Its Development
By Milton C. Wilcox
Forces That Are Working to Reinstate the Cruelties of Religious Persecution — The Prophecy of What the United States Will Do in This Respect
This article completes the study of last week, of the dragon voice that is to speak in the United States. It is one of a series of articles by Elder Wilcox on the sevenfold sign of the end that may be seen in the prophecy concerning this country. His article next week will consider the “image” and the “mark” that the interesting prophecy declares will be made and enforced under the threat of death sentence. EDITOR.
In our last study, we considered the first general specification of the two-horned beast of Revelation 13, under the development of the dragon voice and spirit. The two-horned beast was to exercise his authority as a persecutor in the presence of the ten-horned beast under the restored head. In other words, the persecuting power or authority of this nation will be exercised in its own territory at the very time when the papal beast exercises his restored authority with the support of the European powers.
Causes to Worship
2. The next general specification is that the two-horned beast “maketh the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose death stroke was healed.” Rev. 13:12.
The word poieo, rendered “maketh” or “causeth,” is broad and elastic in its use. It means to make or do. The object of the beast is to do all that is implied, but it does not necessarily imply that he will have the authority or the power to compel it by law. See the use of the word in Col. 4:16, which simply means that the church at Colosse should send Paul’s letter to the church in Laodicea, and use their influence to secure its reading. In Acts 15:3, we read that a message of the apostles “caused great joy unto all the brethren.” That was the influence of the apostle’s report. So the two-horned beast will use his influence to cause all to worship the first beast, and his influence will be so great that it will result in that very thing. In other words, this nation, as she has, by the influence of her laws and her example of liberty, turned the world from tyranny and intolerance to freedom and tolerance, will by her apostasy in law and example turn the world to the worship of the recrudescent apostasy of the Dark Ages, and to homage and obedience to the teachings of the papacy. “Impossible,” you say? It ought to be impossible, but certain causes produce certain results. Let us study it further.
Deceived and Deceiving
3. The turning of the world backward is not through the authority of arbitrary law. Arbitrary laws may be a result, but the power is that of deception. “And he doeth great signs, that he should even make fire to come down out of heaven upon the earth in the sight of men. And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by reason of the signs which it was given him to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived.” Rev. 13:13, 14, A. R. V.
We have not space to develop to any length this part of the prophecy. Suffice to say:
a. The two-horned beast becomes an agent of the dragon, hence is himself deceived by the dragon before he becomes a deceiver of others; for the dragon is “the deceiver of the whole world.” Rev. 12:9. This nation will therefore fall under such deceptions as will make it an instrument of Satan in deceiving the world.
b. We are told that Satan, in the last days, will work “with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish.” 2 Thess. 2:9, 10. There will not be a miracle wrought by Christ and His apostles and prophets but what will be counterfeited by the devil. His minions in the days of Elijah could not bring fire from heaven—or the sun, for they were sun worshipers; but in the last days, the false miracle will be wrought, and fire will come down out of heaven. See 1 Kings 18:20–38 for the ancient story. Then the sun worshipers failed; in these last days they will be, or seem to be, successful.
This will be accomplished by the power of the devil working through spiritism in some of its various forms and aspects, aided by false science and deception. So we read of the “spirits of demons, working signs” (Rev. 16:14); of one of his agents so deceiving the people that he is called by them the “power of God which is called Great” (Acts 8:9–11); of others who in the last days will withstand the truth of God as James and Jambres, the Egyptian magicians, by their wonders withstood Moses (2 Tim. 3:8). “With all power and signs and lying wonders” will the devil work.
More than this, the devil works “with all deceit of unrighteousness.” The deceit of unrighteousness is to make the unrighteousness appear like righteousness, error like truth. In other words: “Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness.” 2 Cor. 11:14, 15. So will this nation, deceived by the devil, herself become a deceiver of the nations, and enforce unrighteous decrees as righteous laws and ordinances, and the world will be deceived by her course.
c. Those who fall under deception are ignorant of Satan’s devices. 2 Cor. 2:11. The awful deceptions of the last days swallow up those who receive “not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thess. 2:10–12.
The danger of humanity does not lie in not knowing truth, but in not loving truth. He who hates truth, cannot learn it, cannot know it when it comes to him. He who loves truth, though he may be in intellectual error, has the spirit of truth, and ever comes to the light. John 3:15–20. “For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.” 2 Chron. 16:9.
But America has departed from the truth. Protestant and Christian principles molded her beginning. She repudiated a union of church and state or of religion and the state. On the reverse side of her great seal was the all-seeing eye surrounded by light. Over it were the words, “Annuit coeptis,” “God favors the undertaking.” Her history was symbolized by an unfinished pyramid, on which were to be built other states, broad based in righteousness and liberty. Underneath was the legend, “Novus ordo seclorum,” “a new order [or series] of ages.” But the prophecy declares that back to the old order the nation will swing in its deceptions.
The Reason for This
In the beginning of our history as a nation, the Protestant churches, notably the Presbyterian and the Baptist, stood for liberty. They also stood for the Bible as the rule of faith. It was vital to them. It was so expressed in their articles of faith. Men believed in its great verities. These were proclaimed from the pulpit. The virgin birth of Jesus, the vicarious atonement, the resurrection of the body, the authority of the Bible, were foundation stones in the creeds of Christendom. The power was of Christ, not civil law.
It was stated in our last that only uninterrupted, backslidden,155and apostate Christian churches clamor for religious legislation, desire the power of the state to enforce religious or moral duties.
It is true that to no nation on earth have come the light, the privilege, the opportunity, that have come to this nation. She has had before her the evils of the union of church and state under which the Old World suffered for centuries. She could weigh with less prejudice the evil principles involved. In a purer and more self-sacrificing way the gospel came to her through devoted men that had fled the Old World for conscience’ sake. While other lands dreamed of tolerance, she found religious liberty. As never before, the gospel sowing prospered, till the strongest, most spiritual, most stalwart Christianity in the world was found in America. Here it was demonstrated that a living church not only needed no aid from the state, but in contrast with Europe, Christianity was herself a demonstration that union with the state was a curse to the church.
God’s people receive light that they may let it shine and receive greater light. Every blessing demands enlargement in labor and sacrifice and vision, that God may give greater light and power.
But the church—we speak of the Protestant churches as a whole—has failed, in these later days, to learn the lesson. It is lamentable but true that church members in general have departed from the simplicity and devotion which characterized Christianity a half century ago.
Let the simple sad fact come home to the heart that the church is backslidden, worldly, unbelieving. She has lost faith in the great vicarious atonement, in the miraculous and miracle-working Christ, in His regenerating, resurrection power. She shuns the cross of travail of soul for men; she wants to save men en masse, by such civilizations as the great present war has proved hollow and worthless.
In all this the church—by which we mean the great Protestant, orthodox churches in general—departed from the fundamentals of God’s book. She has minimized what God calls great, and magnified her own traditions. She is substituting human plans, social schemes, elaborate business machinery, and human devices, for God’s fundamentals of repentance and faith and conversion. She has substituted her human standard of moral law, with its religious day of tradition, for the Decalogue, with God’s holy day of His own appointment. Like pecking daws, she began her work on the story of God’s creation. Genesis was set aside. Deuteronomy, Christ’s arsenal against the devil’s temptations, was discarded. What men could not comprehend, was mythical. At last, even the words, the teaching, of Jesus, and the mighty miracles of the eternal Son of God, are questioned, and in the minds of leading higher critics, relegated to the limbo of exploded myths and traditions.
We need not pause to prove these statements. They are obvious to the earnest, the thoughtful, the devoted, yes, even to the casual observer.
With all this departure, there has come continual and increasing demand for religious and moral legislation. Instead of seeking union with Christ,—life union, for there is no other union,—the churches are seeking federation, with vital truth of God’s word suppressed, the federation revolving around traditional religious dogmas held in common. Proponents of Sunday laws and social schemes are lobbying in all our state legislatures, and in our national Congress. Legislators are implored, cajoled, threatened, if they do not yield to the politico-religious demands.
All these demands would have been set aside by wise statesmen in the earlier history of the country, as they were by both houses of Congress in the years 1829, 1831. But the same spirit that possesses the churches has affected politicians, and principle is forgotten in self-serving politics. The federated mass of the church will swing the politicians.
Churches and people in this condition, with no guidance from the word of God, adrift from the great principles of equality and freedom, are on the devil’s ground, where deception is easy. And the logical next step is a union of religion and the state, modeled, as far as may be, after the Old World politico-religious regime. Just what form it will take in detail, we know not; for the death stroke of the papal head of the beast is not yet wholly healed, and the image is to “the beast who hath the stroke of the sword and lived.” Rev. 13:14.
We may think it will not come. Men who are working for it, will so declare, and in their deception, so believe. But the word of Him who has thus far infallibly told us the career and character of the two-horned beast, will not fail us here. He who loves God’s truth, and heeds His word, will not be deceived.
M. C. W.
FULFILLED BUT NOT ABOLISHED
A CORRESPONDENT requests some suggestions in regard to the teaching of Matt. 5:17, which reads: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” Our correspondent informs us that a person in that neighborhood is teaching that the foregoing text means that Christ abolished the law. It is said that when He came, He fulfilled the law; and having fulfilled it, He therefore set it aside.
But the text does not say anything of that kind. And it is easy to see, from the Bible, that the inference is unwarranted.
For instance, in Matt. 3:13-17 we have the record of Christ coming to John to be baptized. John remonstrated with Christ that he needed rather to be baptized of the Lord; but Christ’s reply was, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered Him.”
ARE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JOY ABOLISHED?
According to the argument made in regard to the abolition of the law, when Christ was baptized He fulfilled all righteousness, and therefore all righteousness was abolished when Christ was baptized. Such an absurdity does not call for any further comment.
The seventeenth chapter of John records the earnest prayer Christ made for His immediate disciples and for His church through all the ages. In that divine petition we find this statement: “And now come I to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves.” John 17:13.
Then following the reasoning of the individual who would have the law abolished when Christ fulfilled it, we would have His joy abolished here should His prayer be answered, for He prayed that His joy might be fulfilled in His disciples.
In writing to the Philippian church, the apostle Paul said: “If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Phil. 2:1, 2.
Still following that kind of reasoning, if the church at Philippi had followed Paul’s request, they would have fulfilled his joy. Was Paul laying definite plans to have his joy abolished?
IS THE MINISTRY ABOLISHED?
When writing to the Colossians, Paul said, “Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God.” Col. 1:25. Then Paul’s ministrations to the Colossians were for the purpose of fulfilling the word of God. And again, according to that faulty method of reasoning, Paul could not do the work of the minister without fulfilling God’s word; and if he fulfilled it, then would the Scriptures be abolished? To ask the question is sufficient. There is no need to answer it.
In the same letter, he says: “Say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfill it.” Col. 4:17. Would Archippus, by fulfilling his ministry, abolish it? If so, what is the purpose of the ministry?
IS THE LAW OF CHRIST ABOLISHED?
But perhaps we could not select a text that would show the absurdity of this reasoning any more clearly than Gal. 6:2. The text reads, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Then if “fulfill” means to abolish, when Christians bear one another’s burdens, they fulfill the law of Christ, and that would abolish it also. The popular notion is that in the old dispensation the Father gave a law which was abolished, and that Christ has given us a new one for this dispensation. But if Matt. 5:17 teaches the abolition of the law of Ten Commandments, then this text from Galatians also teaches the abolition of the law of Christ itself, so we would have no law from either the Father or the Son.
These scriptures ought to make it apparent, to any reasonable mind, that the word “fulfill” as used in the Scripture cannot by any reasonable interpretation be made to mean the same as “abolish.” Christ did indeed fulfill the law of God. The apostle Paul states the case of the sinner exactly when he says: “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.” Rom. 7:19-21.
Man cannot do what his mind tells him he ought to do. He156is powerless against sin. He cannot keep the law of God, for God’s law demands not only that the outward actions shall be right, but every meditation, every thought, and every purpose must be true and righteous. Man has never reached this standard except as he has attained it under the influence of the divine power, and it was to fulfill this exalted standard in man that Christ came. The Saviour says: “If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” The Lord Jesus Christ kept His Father’s commandments. He did not abolish them.
WOULD THE LORD BE SO INCONSISTENT?
The last book of the Bible to have been inspired and written is the book of Revelation; and in the last chapter of that book, and toward the close of the chapter, we have these words: “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”
The book of Revelation, according to its first utterance, is “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Therefore it is Christ who is talking, and the expression “His commandments” must refer to the commandments of the Father. There is no honest way of avoiding this conclusion. Then let the question be asked in all candor and seriousness, Would Christ pronounce a blessing upon the keeping of commandments that He had abolished? And is it not clear, to the candid reader, that when Christ fulfilled the law, He obeyed it? And rendering obedience to a law is the highest type of evidence that one regards that law as binding.
It is a blessed promise recorded in Rev. 22:14. Those who do His—the divine Father’s—commandments, will enter in through the gates into the city of God. To each individual who will receive it, Christ is seeking to impart power that will enable him to fulfill, or to keep, God’s law, even as the Master Himself kept it. This teaching is plain in the sacred Word, and the prize of eternal life that the Lord offers is of too much value for us to allow ourselves to be cheated out of it through mere quibbles.
Question Corner
By Milton C. Wilcox
Conducted by MILTON C. WILCOX
Mountain View, California
NOTE.— This department is for the purpose of helping Bible students. Answers must of necessity be brief, often only suggestive, never exhaustive, never infallible only as they agree with the infallible Word. Such questions only will be answered as seem to the editors to minister to the mission of the paper. Questions of the same import can not be answered repeatedly in the same volume. Name and address must be given, not for publication, but as evidence of good faith and to insure reply by letter if thought best. It is well always to inclose stamp, not stamped envelope, unless answer is desired by letter alone.
93—CLEAN AND UNCLEAN BIRDS
In God’s orders regarding clean and unclean birds, is there anything said about fowls with web feet? I find what is said about the swan, but I thought all web-footed fowls were mentioned, and I cannot find it. E. L. D.
There is no mention of web-footed fowls in the prohibitions against unclean birds. The Lord tells us just what birds were unclean, and He leaves His people to choose the rest. The birds of prey seem to be the birds that are unclean. Now what is called “the swan” in our Common Version is the “horned owl” in the Revised Version, and that doubtless is correct. There seems to be no reason why the swan should not be eaten as well as the goose or the duck.
The Revised Version gives these among the unclean birds: “And these ye shall have in abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the gier-eagle, and the osprey, and the kite, and the falcon after its kind, every raven after its kind, and the ostrich, and the nighthawk, and the sea mew, and the hawk after its kind, and the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl, and the horned owl, and the pelican, and the vulture, and the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe, and the bat.” Lev. 11:13-19. The Companion Bible, in its note on verse 18, says: “Not our swan. It is variously rendered ibis, bat, heron, and pelican.”
94—THE COVENANT WHICH GENDERETH TO BONDAGE
Please explain Galatians 4 from the twenty-fourth verse to the end of the chapter. B. B.
The passage reads as follows: “Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.”
The only reason why explanation is asked or the text is largely used, is because of the two covenants that are there named; and the simple fact is that men use it to try to obscure the minds of those who are seeking to know just what is the truth concerning God’s Sabbath. If the Sabbath question, which involves a heavy cross, were not at stake, no one would use that passage for a moment to endeavor to prove that the sixth commandment or the seventh is not binding. They would have no thought of it. In fact, there is nothing in it whatever that has anything to do with the law of God except to confirm it. The apostle is speaking of the covenants. The old covenant was made at Sinai. It was made with the children of Israel. It was no stronger than the weakest link, and that was the promise of Israel that they would do God’s will. They had no power to do it of themselves, and yet they promised that they would. See Ex. 19:3-8 and also Ex. 24:3-8. In both cases, Israel promised to keep the law of God. Israel failed. The duty remained the same, and the law remained the same; but the failure was in evidence.
That covenant is well likened to Abraham’s effort to carry out God’s plan. God had promised Abraham a son by His own power, but Abraham thought the best way to do was to fix it up through the handmaid Hagar. He was going to do what could only be done by God, and he failed. Hagar brought forth a bondman, who could not be the heir of Abraham.
The Jewish people of old, represented by Jerusalem, did just the same thing. They thought that by their own righteousness they would enter the kingdom of God, but they failed. Consequently whenever they attempted, or whenever any human beings attempt, to do God’s will in their own strength and by their own power, they are placing themselves in bondage; for the only one who can free mankind from sin is God. Consequently that covenant of old “gendered to bondage.” It could not save the individual soul. But the new covenant rested on God’s promise. It was not what men could do, but what God would do; and God would give Abraham a son, and God did it—wrought a miracle in order that He might do it.
By that same new covenant, God saves His children, and works a miracle that He may do it—converts them anew, re-creates them, changes them from sinners to sons. That is represented by the Jerusalem that is above, which is free, which is our mother. Isaac stands for the new covenant. Ishmael stands for the old. Isaac was the child of promise; and those who trust in God’s promise alone for salvation are the children of promise, just as Isaac was. But as Ishmael persecuted Isaac, so will the self-righteous persecute God’s humble children, and have done it in all the ages.
What will the Lord do at last?—He will cast out the mere professors, who seek to establish their own righteousness; and He will save those who are made free in the blood of Christ, who have His law written in their hearts, who delight to obey its sacred precepts.
ACQUAINTED WITH THE AUTHOR
By G. B. T.
A NOTED infidel was on a certain occasion in a literary circle, where persons of high scholarly attainments and international reputation were present. A lady noted because of her literary ability expressed a firm belief in the inspiration and teaching of the Holy Scriptures. The infidel turned to her, and with an air of astonishment said, “Do you believe the Bible?” “Most certainly I do,” was her reply. “Why do you believe it?” he queried. “Because I am acquainted with the Author,” was her noble and withering reply.
Indeed, this tells why men do not believe the word of God. They do not know God. He is a stranger to them. Though He is endeavoring to communicate with them through His word, they have closed their eyes, and stopped their ears, and refused to believe. Against the great things of His law which He has revealed to them they have arrayed their shallow dictums and pronounced it folly.
But once we know the Author, we recognize and receive with joy His word, which comes with light and hope to the soul. The words of Eliphaz the Temanite apply with great force here: “Acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee.” Job 22:21.
G. B. T.
Consecrating Our Personal Talents
Our individuality and our personal attainments may be channels through which God will reach souls with His gospel; but these God-given personal talents must be consecrated, and thus divested of self, in order to be effective for good.