Bible Readings for the Home Circle Part 134

16. What was finally done with Daniel?

"Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and _cast him into the den of lions_." Verse 16.

17. What did Darius say to Daniel the next morning when he came to the lions' den?

"The king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living G.o.d, is thy G.o.d, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?" Verse 20.

18. What was Daniel's reply?

"Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. My G.o.d hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt." Verses 21, 22.

NOTE.-Here again was demonstrated by a most remarkable miracle, wrought in the face of the greatest nation then in existence, that with the directing, prescribing, proscribing, or interfering with religion or its free exercise, civil governments can of right have nothing whatever to do; that religion is an individual matter, and should be left to the dictates of each one's own conscience.

19. Before leaving His disciples, what command did Christ give them?

"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15.

20. What counter-command did the Jewish Sanhedrin soon afterward give them?

"And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." Acts 4:18.

21. What reply did Peter and John make?

"But Peter and John answered and said unto them, _Whether it be right in the sight of G.o.d to harken unto you more than unto G.o.d, judge ye_. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." Verses 19, 20.

22. For continuing to preach Jesus, what did the Jewish rulers do to the apostles?

"Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, and _laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison_." Acts 5:17, 18.

23. What did an angel of G.o.d then do?

"But the angel of the Lord by night _opened the prison doors, and brought them forth_, and said, _Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life_." Verses 19, 20.

NOTE.-Here once again is demonstrated the fact that men have no right to interfere with the free exercise of religion, and that when the laws of men conflict with the law and Word of G.o.d, we are to obey the latter, whatever the consequences may be. G.o.d Himself has set the seal of His approval to such a course. John Bunyan was imprisoned for twelve years for daring to preach the gospel contrary to law.

24. Upon the apostles being called before the council again, what question did the high priest ask them?

"_Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name?_ and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." Verse 28.

25. What reply did the apostles make?

"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, _We ought to obey G.o.d rather than men_." Verse 29.

NOTE.-"Obedience is to be rendered to all human governments, in subordination to the will of G.o.d. These governments are a recognized necessity, in the nature of the case, and their existence is manifestly in accordance with the divine will. Hence the presumption is always in favor of the authority of civil law, and any refusal to obey must be based on the moral proof that obedience will be sin.... It is still true that obedience to human law often involves sin against G.o.d and man. There are cases so clear that no one can question the duty to refuse obedience. In all times and in all lands such cases have arisen." "It is too obvious to need discussion, that the law of G.o.d, the great principle of benevolence, is supreme, and that 'we ought to obey G.o.d rather than men' in any case of conflict between human law and the divine."-_"__Moral Philosophy,__"__ by James H. Fairchild, pages 178-181._

26. Who is higher than the "higher powers"?

"If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for _He that is higher than the highest_ regardeth; and _there be higher than they_."

Eccl. 5:8.

NOTE.-In attempting to defend the right of civil government to enforce religious observances by law, some still ask, "Shall we not obey the powers that be?" We answer, "Yes, when they are in harmony with the higher powers that be. G.o.d made His law for all the universe. He created man; He gives the bounteous provisions of nature, and holds our breath and life in His hand. He is to be recognized, His law honored, before all the great men and the highest earthly powers."

27. Because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman in accordance with the command of King Ahasuerus (Esther 3:1-6), what decree did Haman succeed in having the king issue and send to every province throughout the Persian Empire?

"And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, _to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day_, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day." Esther 3:13, 14.

NOTES.-By an overruling of Providence the carrying out of this terrible decree was averted, and Haman was hanged on the very gallows which he had erected for the execution of Mordecai. See Esther 7:9, 10.

G.o.d has placed the sword (civil authority) in the hands of Caesar (civil government) for the punishment of evil-doers; but when the sword is raised to slay the _innocent_, as in the case of the children of Bethlehem (Matt. 2:16); or to _enforce idolatrous wors.h.i.+p_, as in the case of the three Hebrews (Daniel 3); or to _prohibit the wors.h.i.+p of the true G.o.d_, as in the case of Daniel (Daniel 6); or to slay _all of G.o.d's people_, as in the time of Esther; or to _enforce the observance of a false sabbath_, as in the case of all Sunday laws, it is an _abuse_ of civil authority, and not a proper or justifiable use of it; and G.o.d honors those who, under such circ.u.mstances, in the face of persecution, oppression, and death, remain loyal and true to Him.

"Government is never the gainer in the execution of a law that is manifestly unjust.... Conscientious men are not the enemies, but the friends, of any government but a tyranny. They are its strength, and not its weakness. Daniel, in Babylon, praying contrary to the law, was the true friend and supporter of the government; while those who, in their pretended zeal for the law and the const.i.tution, would strike down the good man, were its real enemies. It is only when government transcends its sphere that it comes in conflict with the consciences of men.

"But it is objected that the example is corrupting,-that a bad man will violate a good law, because the good man refuses to obey a wicked law. The cases are just as unlike as right and wrong, and any attempt to justify the one by the other is gross dishonesty.

Unquestionably, the principle can be abused by the wicked, and so can any truth whatever; but the principle of unquestioning obedience to human law is false, and needs no perversion to make it mischievous....

"It should always be remembered that the great end of government is human well-being, that law and authority are nothing in themselves, and that all their sacredness arises from the uses which they serve. The machinery of government is valuable only for the work it does; in itself, it has no value.... The most grievous of all imperfections in government is the failure to secure the just and good result.... Injustice and oppression are not made tolerable by being in strict accordance with the law. Nothing is surer, in the end, than the reaction of such wrong to break down the most perfectly const.i.tuted government."-_"__Moral Philosophy,__"__ by James H. Fairchild, pages 184-186._

G.o.d is above all earthly rulers, and His law above all human laws.

He made us, and we therefore owe allegiance to Him before any earthly power, potentate, or tribunal. And this is saying nothing in disparagement of civil authority exercised in its rightful domain-civil things.

Individual Accountability

[Ill.u.s.tration.]

Esther At The Banquet. "We are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to perish." Esther 7:4.

1. What is religion?

"The recognition of G.o.d as an object of wors.h.i.+p, love, and obedience."-_Webster._ Other definitions equally good are: "The duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it." "Man's personal relation of faith and obedience to G.o.d."

2. In religious things, whom alone did Christ say we should recognize as Father?

"And call no man your father upon the earth: _for one is your Father, which is in heaven_." Matt. 23:9.