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might toa limited degree have sorne
of His attributes and qualities. but
we don't have th e character or
power of God. When we compare
ourselves to Him, wc are quite lim–
ited. Bul our potential for growth in
this direction is limitless. (For more
on this. send for the free booklel
Why Were You Born?)
The Billlonaire
In the Bible God reveals Himself
over and over again as a mullibil–
lionaire trying to give something
good away lo humanity. God tricd
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bring the nation of ancient Israel
into a land ftowing with milk and
honey, lhe "glory of alllands."
Bul the people then, and pcople
nowadays, stand back and try
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second-gucss this multibillionaire.
saying, " Hmm ...
1
wonder what
He's after." He wants to givc us
everything- ultimately: the good life
He has. including a purpose in life,
palatial surroundings, a sense of
achievement and contribution. and
joy, forever and ever.
ft's amazing, isn't it. that God is
having such a hard time giving all
these good things away? Human
beings seem to always say. "Aw, for–
get that.
1
want to live my life my
own way."
lf you meta rich man, onc of the
first questions you might ask him is.
" How did you make your money?"
Then. "Have you got any tips for
me?" Thesc are natural questions,
and lhey're questions God answered
for ancicnt Israel. He showed thcm
how wealth could be acquired. He
gave them a system- told them how
it was done-didn't hold anything
back. Thcn He said. "Moreover also
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gave thcm my sabbaths. lo be a
sign bctween me and them. that
they might know that 1 am the Lord
that sanctify them" (Ezek. 20: 12).
God is thc source of instruction in
how to live; the sourcc of all good
thiogs!
But ancient Israel wanted to do it
"their way." And God told them
over and over again through the
mouth of His prophcts. " Remember
lhat 1 am lhe Lord your God." and
"Walk in my statutes. and keep my
judgments. and hallow my sab–
baths...." But Israel didn't do
The
PLAIN TRUTH
May 1978
these things. They failed to keep H is
Sabbath and gradually lost contacl
with Him. Similarly, those who
today fail to keep the Sabbath
have lost the connecting link be–
tween man and God. And when
man forgets the Sabbath, he's in
trouble.
So every time Israel forgot God,
they got in trouble. They polluted
His Sabbath, ignored His laws, and
began to follow the practices of the
pagan peoples around them- even
going so far as to practice infanl
sacrifice. God's warning carne to
pass: "1 swore ... that
l
would scat–
ter them among the nations and dis–
perse them through the coun tries,
bccause thcy had not executed my
ordinances. but had rejected my
statutes ..." (Ezek. 20:23, 24).
The book of Lamentations is a
pitiful account of how far Israel fell
when they forgot who God was. The
Biblc says that all scripture is in–
spircd by God for our instruction.
So what does the book of Lamenta–
tions teach you and me today? lt
shows how far a nation can sink into
depravity-even cannibalism- once
they forget their Maker.
God has done everything He
could to give us an historical ac–
count of what happened to mu!tiple
millions of people over thousa nds of
years of hislory who forgot this one
ovcrriding point: God is God, the
Creator. the Source of life, the only
Giver of good things, the only one
in the wholc universe who can give
us cternallifc.
And God want us. for our bene–
fit, never to forget that. That's why
He gave us the Sabbath. That's
what it's all about. Such a memorial
is worth remembering. O
RECOMMENDED READING
Does the Bible establish Sunday as the
"Lord's day"? Was the Sabbath given
for the Jewish people only-whrle
Chnstians are commanded to keep
Sunday as the Lord's da
y?
Does rt make
any difference which day we observe–
or whether we observe one at all?
These questions and more are ans–
wered in the booklet
Which Day
/s
the
Christian Sabbath?
To reoerve your free
copy by return mail, simply write to the
address of our office nearest you (see
inside front cover) .
Where do you think you're
going? Heaven, hell, or may–
be only six feet under? As a
child you may have been
taught about lite after death,
but what does the
Bíble
have
to say on this all-important
subject?
For a complete explana–
tion send for these three
booklets:
• Do You Have an lmmortal
Sou l?
• ls There a Real Hell Fire?
• What ls the Reward of the
Saved?
To receive your free copies,
use the envelope inside this
magazine or write to our of–
fice nearest you. (See the in–
side front cover for addresses.)
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