THE SABBATH SCHOOL

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 13, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 11.

THE SABBATH SCHOOL

LESSON 12.—MARCH 23.—RENDERING THE LORD HIS OWN.

Lesson Scripture, Mal. 3:1-12, R.V.

1 “BEHOLD, I send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple; and the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, He cometh, saith the Lord of hosts. 2 But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap; 3 and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver: and they shall offer unto the Lord offerings in righteousness. 4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. 5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers; and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, saith the Lord of hosts. 6 For I the Lord change not; therefore ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 “From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye say, Wherein shall we return? 8 Will a man rob God? yet ye rob Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with the curse; for ye rob Me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. 12 And all nations shall call you happy: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.”

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) Whom does the Lord promise to send? What would he do? Who would come? Where would He come? What is He called? How is He regarded? What is again said of this Messenger of the covenant? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) What questions are asked concerning His coming? To what is He likened? Verse 2. Note 2. (3) As what shall He sit? Whom will He purify? How thoroughly? What will be the result? Verse 3. (4) How will the Lord regard these righteous offerings? Verse 4. See Lev. 9:22-24. (5) In what also will He come near? Against what class will He be a witness? What kind of witness? Of what are all these transgressions? What is His rule of witness and judgment? Verse 5. (6) What only has saved the wicked from destruction? Verse 6. Note 3. (7) What had the people done? For how long? What invitation does the Lord give? What promise does He make? What question is asked by the disobedient? Verse 7. (8) What solemn question does the Lord ask? What statement does He make? How does unbelief again question? How does the Lord reply? Verse 8. (9) What is the result of robbing God? How many are affected? Verse 9. Note 4. (10) What duty does the Lord urge? Why? What does He ask us to do as respects Himself? With what are we to prove Him? What will He do if thus proved? How great will be the blessing? Who says this? Is His Word good? Verse 10. (11) What will He rebuke? For whose sake? What further promises does He make? Verse 11. (12) What will be the ultimate results of such blessing? Who thrice declares all these promises? Verse 12.

NOTES.

1. My messenger.—Christ’s messenger, John the Baptist. Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27. “The Lord, whom ye seek.” Jesus Christ, the Desire of all nations. “Come to His temple.” Including all His first coming, to the temple at Jerusalem, to the people of God, to the sanctuary on high, where He ministers His own life for His people, and confirms His covenant in every soul that accepts. “Behold, He cometh.” His second coming, including the work of judgment, when He comes before the Father, as well as His appearing in glory.

2. Abide.—No one, save only in Christ’s righteousness, may abide that day, or stand before Him acquitted in the judgment. That they may do it then, He is now like a refiner’s fire to burn away all dross, like soap to cleanse. He is not only the fire through His Spirit, but He watches over the process, that the fire may not be too fierce, and yet that the dross may be consumed. “A refiner.” When the refiner of silver can see his own image perfectly reflected in the molten metal, the silver is pure. So Christ waits, yea, even kindles the furnace fires, that the dross may be consumed. “Sons of Levi.” God’s own spiritual priesthood, of which Levi was a type.

3. Therefore.—It is because God does not change, because “His mercy endureth forever,” that men are spared in their sins. Not until there is no hope, till the sinner identifies himself with the sin, does the sinner die.

4. The curse is not an arbitrary curse pronounced upon the disobedient. It inheres in the very transgression itself; and it keeps back the blessing of God, not alone from the transgressors, but from those associated with them in church capacity. They are diseased members, affecting the whole body, and not until they are separated or healed will the blessing of God come in its fulness.

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS.

How much is a tithe? To whom does the tithe belong? God tests man in respect to time and means. What is a test with respect to time? What in respect to means? Where is the tithe to be brought? If after we have paid it honestly, it is wrongly used, shall we lose the blessing? What is the tithe?—A debt we owe, a self-assumed obligation, or God’s share in the revenue of our partnership with Him?