Bible Readings for the Home Circle Part 90

5. What, in the parable, did G.o.d say to the rich man who thought to build larger barns in which to store his goods?

"But G.o.d said unto him, _Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee_: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?"

Luke 12:20.

6. How does James say the rich have lived?

"_Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton_; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter." James 5:5.

NOTE.-This indicates that they have lived in luxury and for pleasure, quite heedless of the needs of the poor and of the great world about them. They have lived simply to have a good time themselves, with no thought of their responsibility to G.o.d or to their fellow men.

7. Who gives men the power to get wealth?

"But thou shalt remember the Lord thy G.o.d: for _it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth_." Deut. 8:18.

8. How does James say the rich have treated the just?

"_Ye have condemned and killed the just_; and he doth not resist you."

James 5:6.

NOTE.-There is nothing more rapacious and heartless than greed, or covetousness. To obtain its ends, it disregards the rights, the welfare, and even the lives of those affected by its merciless schemes and intrigues. The righteous, or just, however, do not make forcible resistance to this unjust treatment.

9. How have the rich defrauded the laborers?

"Behold, _the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud_, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth." Verse 4.

10. Seeking a fair remuneration, what do many laborers do?

Form labor-unions, engage in strikes, boycotts, etc.

NOTE.-While these means may hold matters in check for a time, and afford temporary relief, they cannot eradicate the evil, and bring about a final solution. The evil is deep-seated; it lies in the heart; and nothing but conversion-a change of the heart and of the affections-can eradicate it. It is the sin of selfishness, or covetousness,-a failure to love one's neighbor as oneself. The conflict between capital and labor is an inevitable and an irrepressible conflict as long as sin and selfishness are in the world. And near the end it becomes the most acute and intense, because then sin comes to the full.

11. Do the Scriptures indicate that there will be violence manifested in this conflict?

"Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! _Shall they not rise up suddenly that shall bite thee, and awake that shall vex thee, and thou shalt be for booties unto them?_" Hab. 2:6, 7.

12. Would G.o.d have His people unite in these combinations?

"_Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy_; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid." Isa. 8:12.

13. Whom should we fear and dread?

"Sanctify _the Lord of hosts Himself_; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread." Verse 13.

14. What are G.o.d's people told to do at this time?

"_Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord._ Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. _Be ye also patient_; stablish your hearts: _for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh_." James 5:7, 8.

15. What commands obeyed would bring about a peaceful solution to this wide-spread and growing conflict?

"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Matt. 22:39. "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." Phil.

2:4. "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Matt. 7:12.

Christ's Second Coming

[Ill.u.s.tration.]

Christ Answering His Disciples' Questions. "When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Matt. 24:33.

1. What promise did Christ make concerning His coming?

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in G.o.d, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, _I will come again_, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3.

2. Following the signs of His coming, what did Christ say would take place?

"And then shall they see _the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory_." Luke 21:27.

3. Will the world be prepared to meet Him?

"And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and _then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn_, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." Matt.

24:30. "Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and _all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him_." Rev. 1:7.

4. Why will many not be prepared for this event?

"But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, _My lord delayeth his coming_; and shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnas.h.i.+ng of teeth." Matt. 24:48-51.

5. What will the world be doing when Christ comes?

"But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood _they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage_, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not till the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Verses 37-39. "Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; _they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded_; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.

Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed." Luke 17:28-30.

NOTE.-The idea is, not that it is wrong in itself to eat, drink, marry, buy, sell, plant, or build, but that men's minds will be so taken up with these things that they will give little or no thought to the future life, and make no plans or preparation to meet Jesus when He comes.

6. Who is it that blinds men to the gospel of Christ?

"In whom _the G.o.d of this world_ hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, which is the image of G.o.d, should s.h.i.+ne unto them." 2 Cor. 4:4.