The Church of God

LESSON FIVE

OVERCOMING SLOTHFULNESS AND DOING OUR PART

INTRODUCTION

Golden Truth (Prov. 24:30-32)

V.30--I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;

V. 31--And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.

LESSON EXPOSITION

I. Slothfulness

The definition of slothful is being disinclined to work or exertion; lazy.  “The desire of the slothful killeth him; for his hands refuse to labour.  He coveteth greedily all the day long:  But righteous giveth and spareth not” (Prov. 21:25, 26).  He wants what others have, but not enough to work for it.  “I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; And, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down.” Why was it overgrown? Read.  “Then I saw, and considered it well:  I looked upon it, and received instruction. Yet a little sleep, a little folding of the hands to sleep.”  Here we find the answer—laziness. The slothful man is lazy; he wants to sleep often. “So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man” (Prov. 24:33,34) Poverty is the result.  Think about this not only in terms of physical poverty, but spiritual poverty as well.  There is work to be done.  Who will do it?  Will we be busy in the work of the Lord or will we sleep and slumber until it is too late? Think about the words of this beautiful, but sad song by Lanny Wolfe.

My House is full but My Field is Empty

“There is peace and contentment in the Father’s house today.

Lots of food on the table and no one is turned away.

There is singing and laughter as the hours pass by,

But a hush calms the singing as the Father sadly cries.

My house if full, but my field is empty.

Who will go and work for me today?

It seems my children all want to stay around my table,

But no one wants to work in my field.

No one wants to work in my field.”

Oh, that the Lord would cause us to be willing to say as Isaiah said, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?  Then said I, Here am I; send me” (isa. 6:8).

II.  Doing Our Part

(Ex. 17:8-14—See Scriptures in text below.)

In exodus 17:8-14, we find Moses instructing Joshua:”Then came Amalek (He came against God’s people!), and fought with Israel in Rephidim. 
And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men,”(Us—they were a team.  Also, notice that Moses gave authority to Joshua to choose those who would fight.  Only some of Israel were on the front lines, so to speak, but they all had a par; they all benefited.), “ and go out, fight with Amalek” (Moses listened to the Lord and gave the commands as God directed: “ tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.” (Notice how they prepared before the battle; they had a battle plan and they included God in it). “So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek” (Joshua took direction from the one over him in the Lord, which was Moses): “and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.” See how each one had a job to do, each having a distinct, but critical role.  In order to win the battle each one was required to do his part.  And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand,(Moses was obedient to the Lord and went up on the hill and held up his hands.), “that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.  But Moses’ hands were heavy” (Do you think those over us in the Lord ever feel worn out or like they are carrying a heavy burden?  Even Moses got tired and needed help.); “and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.”  Aaron and Hur recognized that Moses needed help, and they contributed in the way they could, by upholding his hands.  This was their way of helping those over them in the Lord.  Imagine what would have happened if Moses could not have held up his hands and no one had noticed and intervened to help him.  Every time his hands went down, they began to lose.  Also, as they joined their strength with his hands became steady.  “And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” Notice the end of this passage.  They won the battle through the use of the sword because each one did what he could do!  We, too, have a sword available to us with which to battle the enemy of our souls—it is the Word of God! “And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book,” (God didn’t want anyone to forget this day.  He wanted it written down for all as a remembrance.  It is still recorded for us to read!)  “and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua” Not only did God want it written so that it could be read later, He wanted it rehearsed or retold again and again to Joshua.  Why?  As a reminder of what God did, of how they all worked together to accomplish the work of the Lord. Plus, God knew that someday Joshua would be in charge and would need to remember so he could tell a new generation about what God had done through those who were willing to work together and be obedient to the Lord and to those over them in the Lord.  There is also a time for each of us to hear the Word, to be reminded of what he has brought us through, how He was delivered us, how we must work together, be obedient, and do our part.  Every next generation has to hear and be reminded as well.

In all this, we see that each one did his part.  They all worked together to accomplish a great task and win an important battle.  What if Moses had not been obedient to God and instructed Joshua, or if Joshua had not been obedient to Moses and chosen men as instructed, or the men had not been obedient to Joshua and been unwilling to fight, or Moses had not been willing to go up on the mountain remaining there with raised hands, or Aaron had not been willing to go up with Moses and stay there to support him, or Hur had not been willing to go up as well and stay there to help hold up Moses’ hands.  What if just one of these had not done his part?  Well, we certainly would not be reading about this victory!

III.  Scripture and Thoughts to Ponder

Read 1 Corinthians 12:14-27.  How do these Scriptures compare with the account above from Exodus? Discuss thoughts as time allows.

CONCLUSION

What does all this mean? It means: let us be workers in our communities, at our jobs, and for the Lord.  Our local churches depend on workers.  Let us become active in the work of the local Church.  An appointment is not needed to be able to help in the work.  All that is required is a willing heart.  Offer assistance to the pastor or leader.  Many times people get comfortable just talking and not really contributing to the work; being or becoming content to let others do all the work.  Let that not be said of us. Look for work which needs to be done.  There is always work to be found for those who are willing to do it.  The best workers are those who can see things that need to be done and do them without having to be told, but who can also take direction without being offended.  Every job is important!  Sometimes our job is to clean the pews, dust, vacuum, take out the trash, or clean the toilets;  but these things are necessary for the work of the local Church.  Also, if you see someone working, offer them a helping hand.  The job will get done twice as fast.  On the other hand, some have no trouble working inside the building, but what about outside the building?  There is a work that is calling all of us and it lies outside the doors of our local churches. It is that of being an active witness.  No one can do our witnessing for us; we have been called to be witnesses our own selves. Let it not be said, as was the case of the slothful man, that weeds have overgrown our witness trail.