Guarding Our Freedoms

GOLDEN TEXT: “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” —John 8:31,32

AMOS 7:10-15

IN ENTERING into covenant relationship with Israel, God promised to bless them in “basket and in store.” (Deut. 28:5) He assured them of protection against the heathen nations with which they were surrounded. But the fulfillment of these promises was made contingent upon Israel’s obedience to God as well as to the Law which formed the basis of the covenant which he made with the nation.

At the time Amos was raised up by the Lord to prophesy before his people, the nation of Israel was divided, and had been since the death of Solomon. It was then that ten of the tribes rebelled against King Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and successor, and formed a kingdom of their own, under the leadership of Jeroboam—not, however, the Jeroboam of our lesson.

This ten-tribe kingdom, for purposes of ready identification, was known as Israel, while the two-tribe kingdom, led by the descendants of David, was then known as Judah. From the outset the ten-tribe kingdom had flouted the law of God, and Jeroboam I set up idol worship at Bethel to lure his subjects away from the worship of Israel’s true God at Jerusalem, the seat of the two-tribe government.

As one king after another came to the throne of the ten-tribe kingdom the situation did not improve. The people continued to be led deeper into sin and idolatry. But the Lord did not propose to permit this state of affairs to continue indefinitely, and he sent the prophet Amos to warn the people what awaited them if they did not reform.

The punishment to be inflicted upon the ten tribes was captivity in Assyria. In other words, they were to lose their liberty as a people; if, indeed, to be ruled by profligate kings could be called liberty. This was a hard message to hear, and Amaziah, “the priest of Bethel,” reported to the king concerning Amos that “the land is not able to bear all his words; for thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out their own land.”—vss. 10,11

Amaziah then ordered Amos to leave Israel, and to go into Judah “and there eat bread, and prophesy there. But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king’s chapel, and it is the king’s court.” (vss. 12,13) The foolish notion of Amaziah seemed to be that if Amos would stop prophesying against Israel, all would be well. But not so. The predicted calamity fell upon the nation, and the liberty of the people was lost.

Here was the case of a nation losing its liberty as a result of unfaithfulness to God’s Law. But this was God’s nation, and the people were subject to God’s Law. As God had promised to bless them when faithful, he warned of punishment which would come upon them if they were unfaithful. This situation had never been true of any other nation, and is not now true of the kingdoms of this world. The Bible pertains to God’s dealings with his own people, not with the world of mankind in general.

GALATIANS 5:1, 13-18, 25

This portion of our lesson pertains to freedom in Christ. Paul, in verse 1, is writing specifically concerning freedom from what he refers to as the “yoke of bondage,” which was the Mosaic Law. This was a freedom which Judaizing teachers in the Early Church sought to take away from believers.

However, as Paul further explains, while in Christ there is freedom from the Law, this liberty should not be used as an “occasion to the flesh.” “But,” Paul adds, “by love serve one another.” Through Christ we are free from the restraints of the Law; but if we appreciate this liberty we will not misuse it, and will place ourselves under voluntary restraint. We will gladly lay down our lives for the brethren. Walking thus, in the way of sacrifice, as bondslaves of Jesus Christ, we will “not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”—vs. 15

To know the truth, as our Golden Text mentions, means to know Jesus and his place in the divine plan. This means the recognition of Jesus as our Redeemer from sin and death. Accepting this provision in keeping with the divine plan, we are made free from the condemnation of sin, and are no longer under bondage to it. The truth also makes us free from superstition and fear.

QUESTIONS

How did the message of Amos to Israel relate to freedom?

Does God deal with all nations as he did with Israel?

What is the nature of the freedom referred to in our lesson by Paul?

How are we made free by the truth?

| Home Page | Table of Contents |