_EDUCATION_
“_That our sons may be as plants grown up
in their youth; that our daughters may be as
corner-stones, polished after the similitude
of a palace_”
[Illustration]
_Education_
_BY
ELLEN G. WHITE_
“_The knowledge of the Holy is
understanding_”
_Pacific Press Publishing Company_
_OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA_
_NEW YORK_ _SAN FRANCISCO_ _LONDON_
_Entered According to Act of Congress in the year 1903 by
MRS. E. G. WHITE
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C.
All Rights Reserved_
_Entered at Stationers’ Hall, London, England_
[Illustration]
_TO
PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND STUDENTS_,
_all pupils in earth’s preparatory school,
this book is dedicated.
May it aid them in securing life’s greatest benefits,
development and joy in service here,
and thus a fitness for that wider service,
the “higher course”
open to every human being in the
school of the hereafter._
------------------------------------------------------------------------
_CONTENTS_
_Page_
_FIRST PRINCIPLES_
_Source and Aim of True Education_ _13_
_The Eden School_ _20_
_The Knowledge of Good and Evil_ _23_
_Relation of Education to Redemption_ _28_
_ILLUSTRATIONS_
_The Education of Israel_ _33_
_The Schools of the Prophets_ _45_
_Lives of Great Men_ _51_
_THE MASTER TEACHER_
_The Teacher Sent from God_ _73_
_An Illustration of His Methods_ _84_
_NATURE TEACHING_
_God in Nature_ _99_
_Lessons of Life_ _102_
_Other Object Lessons_ _113_
_THE BIBLE AS AN EDUCATOR_
_Mental and Spiritual Culture_ _123_
_Science and the Bible_ _128_
_Business Principles and Methods_ _135_
_Bible Biographies_ _146_
_Poetry and Song_ _159_
_Mysteries of the Bible_ _169_
_History and Prophecy_ _173_
_Bible Teaching and Study_ _185_
_PHYSICAL CULTURE_
_Study of Physiology_ _195_
_Temperance and Dietetics_ _202_
_Recreation_ _207_
_Manual Training_ _214_
_CHARACTER-BUILDING_
_Education and Character_ _225_
_Methods of Teaching_ _230_
_Deportment_ _240_
_Relation of Dress to Education_ _246_
_The Sabbath_ _250_
_Faith and Prayer_ _253_
_The Life-Work_ _262_
_THE UNDER-TEACHER_
_Preparation_ _275_
_Co-operation_ _283_
_Discipline_ _287_
_THE HIGHER COURSE_
_The School of the Hereafter_ _301_
_SCRIPTURAL INDEX_ _311_
_GENERAL INDEX_ _315_
_FIRST PRINCIPLES_
“_We, reflecting as a mirror the glory of
the Lord, are transformed into the same
image from glory to glory_”
_Source and Aim of True Education_
“THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY
IS UNDERSTANDING;” “ACQUAINT
NOW THYSELF WITH HIM”
[Sidenote: _What Is Education?_]
Our ideas of education take too narrow and too low a range. There is
need of a broader scope, a higher aim. True education means more than
the pursual of a certain course of study. It means more than a
preparation for the life that now is. It has to do with the whole being,
and with the whole period of existence possible to man. It is the
harmonious development of the physical, the mental, and the spiritual
powers. It prepares the student for the joy of service in this world,
and for the higher joy of wider service in the world to come.
[Sidenote: _Its Source_]
The source of such an education is brought to view in these words of
Holy Writ, pointing to the Infinite One: In Him “are hid all the
treasures of wisdom.”[1] “He hath counsel and understanding.”[2]
The world has had its great teachers, men of giant intellect and
extensive research, men whose utterances have stimulated thought, and
opened to view vast fields of knowledge; and these men have been honored
as guides and benefactors of their race; but there is One who stands
higher than they. We can trace the line of the world’s teachers as far
back as human records extend; but the Light was before them. As the moon
and the stars of our solar system shine by the reflected light of the
sun, so, as far as their teaching is true, do the world’s great thinkers
reflect the rays of the Sun of Righteousness. Every gleam of thought,
every flash of the intellect, is from the Light of the world.
[Sidenote: _The True “Higher Education”_]
In these days much is said concerning the nature and importance of
“higher education.” The true “higher education” is that imparted by Him
with whom “is wisdom and strength;”[3] out of whose mouth “cometh
knowledge and understanding.”[4]
In a knowledge of God, all true knowledge and real development have
their source. Wherever we turn, in the physical, the mental, or the
spiritual realm; in whatever we behold, apart from the blight of sin,
this knowledge is revealed. Whatever line of investigation we pursue,
with a sincere purpose to arrive at truth, we are brought in touch with
the unseen, mighty Intelligence that is working in and through all. The
mind of man is brought into communion with the mind of God, the finite
with the Infinite. The effect of such communion on body and mind and
soul is beyond estimate.
[Sidenote: _Education in Eden_]
In this communion is found the highest education. It is God’s own method
of development. “Acquaint now thyself with Him,”[5] is His message to
mankind. The method outlined in these words was the method followed in
the education of the father of our race. When in the glory of sinless
manhood Adam stood in holy Eden, it was thus that God instructed him.
In order to understand what is comprehended in the work of education, we
need to consider both the nature of man and the purpose of God in
creating him. We need to consider also the change in man’s condition
through the coming in of a knowledge of evil, and God’s plan for still
fulfilling His glorious purpose in the education of the human race.
[Sidenote: _God’s Purpose for Man_]
When Adam came from the Creator’s hand, he bore, in his physical,
mental, and spiritual nature, a likeness to his Maker. “God created man
in His own image,”[6] and it was His purpose that the longer man lived,
the more fully he should reveal this image,—the more fully reflect the
glory of the Creator. All his faculties were capable of development;
their capacity and vigor were continually to increase. Vast was the
scope offered for their exercise; glorious the field opened to their
research. The mysteries of the visible universe—the “wondrous works of
Him who is perfect in knowledge”[7]—invited man’s study. Face-to-face,
heart-to-heart communion with his Maker was his high privilege. Had he
remained loyal to God, all this would have been his forever. Throughout
eternal ages he would have continued to gain new treasures of knowledge,
to discover fresh springs of happiness, and to obtain clearer and yet
clearer conceptions of the wisdom, the power, and the love of God. More
and more fully would he have fulfilled the object of his creation, more
and more fully have reflected the Creator’s glory.
[Sidenote: _Marred and Restored_]
But by disobedience this was forfeited. Through sin the divine likeness
was marred, and well-nigh obliterated. Man’s physical powers were
weakened, his mental capacity was lessened, his spiritual vision dimmed.
He had become subject to death. Yet the race was not left without hope.
By infinite love and mercy the plan of salvation had been devised, and a
life of probation was granted. To restore in man the image of his Maker,
to bring him back to the perfection in which he was created, to promote
the development of body, mind, and soul, that the divine purpose in his
creation might be realized,—this was to be the work of redemption. This
is the object of education, the great object of life.
[Sidenote: _Love the Basis of Education_]
Love, the basis of creation and of redemption, is the basis of true
education. This is made plain in the law that God has given as the guide
of life. The first and great commandment is, “Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
strength, and with all thy mind.”[8] To love Him, the infinite, the
omniscient One, with the whole strength, and mind, and heart, means the
highest development of every power. It means that in the whole being—the
body, the mind, as well as the soul—the image of God is to be restored.
Like the first is the second commandment,—“Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself.”[9] The law of love calls for the devotion of body, mind,
and soul to the service of God and our fellow-men. And this service,
while making us a blessing to others, brings the greatest blessing to
ourselves. Unselfishness underlies all true development. Through
unselfish service we receive the highest culture of every faculty. More
and more fully do we become partakers of the divine nature. We are
fitted for heaven; for we receive heaven into our hearts.
[Sidenote: _Revelation of God_]
[Sidenote: _Nature’s Teaching Insufficient_]
Since God is the source of all true knowledge, it is, as we have seen,
the first object of education to direct our minds to His own revelation
of Himself. Adam and Eve received knowledge through direct communion
with God; and they learned of Him through His works. All created things,
in their original perfection, were an expression of the thought of God.
To Adam and Eve nature was teeming with divine wisdom. But by
transgression man was cut off from learning of God through direct
communion, and, to a great degree, through His works. The earth, marred
and defiled by sin, reflects but dimly the Creator’s glory. It is true
that His object-lessons are not obliterated. Upon every page of the
great volume of His created works may still be traced His handwriting.
Nature still speaks of her Creator. Yet these revelations are partial
and imperfect. And in our fallen state, with weakened powers and
restricted vision, we are incapable of interpreting aright. We need the
fuller revelation of Himself that God has given in His written word.
[Sidenote: _The Standard of Truth_]
The Holy Scriptures are the perfect standard of truth, and as such
should be given the highest place in education. To obtain an education
worthy of the name, we must receive a knowledge of God, the Creator, and
of Christ, the Redeemer, as they are revealed in the sacred word.
[Sidenote: _Individuality_]
Every human being, created in the image of God, is endowed with a power
akin to that of the Creator,—individuality, power to think and to do.
The men in whom this power is developed are the men who bear
responsibilities, who are leaders in enterprise, and who influence
character. It is the work of true education to develop this power; to
train the youth to be thinkers, and not mere reflectors of other men’s
thought. Instead of confining their study to that which men have said or
written, let students be directed to the sources of truth, to the vast
fields opened for research in nature and revelation. Let them
contemplate the great facts of duty and destiny, and the mind will
expand and strengthen. Instead of educated weaklings, institutions of
learning may send forth men strong to think and to act, men who are
masters and not slaves of circumstances, men who possess breadth of
mind, clearness of thought, and the courage of their convictions.
[Sidenote: _Character_]
Such an education provides more than mental discipline; it provides more
than physical training. It strengthens the character, so that truth and
uprightness are not sacrificed to selfish desire or worldly ambition. It
fortifies the mind against evil. Instead of some master passion becoming
a power to destroy, every motive and desire are brought into conformity
to the great principles of right. As the perfection of His character is
dwelt upon, the mind is renewed, and the soul is re-created in the image
of God.
What education can be higher than this? What can equal it in value?
“It can not be gotten for gold,
Neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It can not be valued with the gold of Ophir,
With the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
The gold and the crystal can not equal it;
And the exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine gold.
No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls;
For the price of wisdom is above rubies.”[10]
[Sidenote: _The Highest Ideal_]
Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God’s ideal for His
children. Godliness—godlikeness—is the goal to be reached. Before the
student there is opened a path of continual progress. He has an object
to achieve, a standard to attain, that includes everything good, and
pure, and noble. He will advance as fast and as far as possible in every
branch of true knowledge. But his efforts will be directed to objects as
much higher than mere selfish and temporal interests as the heavens are
higher than the earth.
[Sidenote: _The Preparatory School_]
He who co-operates with the divine purpose in imparting to the youth a
knowledge of God, and moulding the character into harmony with His, does
a high and noble work. As he awakens a desire to reach God’s ideal, he
presents an education that is as high as heaven and as broad as the
universe; an education that can not be completed in his life, but that
will be continued in the life to come; an education that secures to the
successful student his passport from the preparatory school of earth to
the higher grade, the school above.
_The Eden School_
“HAPPY IS THE MAN THAT
FINDETH WISDOM”
[Sidenote: _A Model School_]
The system of education instituted at the beginning of the world, was to
be a model for man throughout all after-time. As an illustration of its
principles a model school was established in Eden, the home of our first
parents. The garden of Eden was the schoolroom, nature was the
lesson-book, the Creator Himself was the instructor, and the parents of
the human family were the students.
[Sidenote: _The Students_]
Created to be “the image and glory of God,” Adam and Eve had received
endowments not unworthy of their high destiny. Graceful and symmetrical
in form, regular and beautiful in feature, their countenances glowing
with the tint of health and the light of joy and hope, they bore in
outward resemblance the likeness of their Maker. Nor was this likeness
manifest in the physical nature only. Every faculty of mind and soul
reflected the Creator’s glory. Endowed with high mental and spiritual
gifts, Adam and Eve were made but “little lower than the angels,”[11]
that they might not only discern the wonders of the visible universe,
but comprehend moral responsibilities and obligations.
[Sidenote: _The Schoolroom_]
“The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there He put the
man whom He had formed. And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow
every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of
life also in the midst of the garden.”[12] Here, amidst the beautiful
scenes of nature untouched by sin, our first parents were to receive
their education.
[Sidenote: _The Teacher_]
In His interest for His children, our heavenly Father personally
directed their education. Often they were visited by His messengers, the
holy angels, and from them received counsel and instruction. Often as
they walked in the garden in the cool of the day they heard the voice of
God, and face to face held communion with the Eternal. His thoughts
toward them were “thoughts of peace, and not of evil.”[13] His every
purpose was their highest good.
[Sidenote: _Course of Study_]
To Adam and Eve was committed the care of the garden, “to dress it and
to keep it.”[14] Though rich in all that the Owner of the universe could
supply, they were not to be idle. Useful occupation was appointed them
as a blessing, to strengthen the body, to expand the mind, and to
develop the character.
[Sidenote: _Original Research_]
The book of nature, which spread its living lessons before them,
afforded an exhaustless source of instruction and delight. On every leaf
of the forest and stone of the mountains, in every shining star, in
earth and sea and sky, God’s name was written. With both the animate and
the inanimate creation,—with leaf and flower and tree, and with every
living creature, from the leviathan of the waters to the mote in the
sunbeam,—the dwellers in Eden held converse, gathering from each the
secrets of its life. God’s glory in the heavens, the innumerable worlds
in their orderly revolutions, “the balancings of the clouds,”[15] the
mysteries of light and sound, of day and night,—all were objects of
study by the pupils of earth’s first school.
The laws and operations of nature, and the great principles of truth
that govern the spiritual universe, were opened to their minds by the
infinite Author of all. In “the light of the knowledge of the glory of
God,”[16] their mental and spiritual powers developed, and they realized
the highest pleasures of their holy existence.
[Sidenote: _Other Schools_]
[Sidenote: _Purpose of Training_]
As it came from the Creator’s hand, not only the garden of Eden but the
whole earth was exceedingly beautiful. No taint of sin, or shadow of
death, marred the fair creation. God’s glory “covered the heavens, and
the earth was full of His praise.” “The morning stars sang together, and
all the sons of God shouted for joy.”[17] Thus was the earth a fit
emblem of Him who is “abundant in goodness and truth;”[18] a fit study
for those who were made in His image. The garden of Eden was a
representation of what God desired the whole earth to become, and it was
His purpose that, as the human family increased in numbers, they should
establish other homes and schools like the one He had given. Thus in
course of time the whole earth might be occupied with homes and schools
where the words and the works of God should be studied, and where the
students should thus be fitted more and more fully to reflect,
throughout endless ages, the light of the knowledge of His glory.
_The Knowledge of Good and Evil_
“AS THEY REFUSED TO HAVE
GOD IN THEIR KNOWLEDGE,
THEIR SENSELESS HEART
WAS DARKENED”
[Sidenote: _A Test of Loyalty_]
Though created innocent and holy, our first parents were not placed
beyond the possibility of wrong-doing. God might have created them
without the power to transgress His requirements; but in that case there
could have been no development of character; their service would not
have been voluntary, but forced. Therefore He gave them the power of
choice—the power to yield or to withhold obedience. And before they
could receive in fulness the blessings He desired to impart, their love
and loyalty must be tested.
[Sidenote: _Only Evil Withheld_]
In the garden of Eden was the “tree of knowledge of good and evil....
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden
thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat.”[19] It was the will of God that Adam and Eve
should not know evil. The knowledge of good had been freely given them;
but the knowledge of evil,—of sin and its results, of wearing toil, of
anxious care, of disappointment and grief, of pain and death,—this was
in love withheld.
[Sidenote: _Insinuation of Distrust_]
While God was seeking man’s good, Satan was seeking his ruin. When Eve,
disregarding the Lord’s admonition concerning the forbidden tree,
ventured to approach it, she came in contact with her foe. Her interest
and curiosity having been awakened, Satan proceeded to deny God’s word,
and to insinuate distrust of His wisdom and goodness. To the woman’s
statement concerning the tree of knowledge, “God hath said, Ye shall not
eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die,” the tempter made
answer, “Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye
eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,
knowing good and evil.”[20]
[Sidenote: _Reason versus Faith_]
Satan desired to make it appear that this knowledge of good mingled with
evil would be a blessing, and that in forbidding them to take of the
fruit of the tree, God was withholding great good. He urged that it was
because of its wonderful properties for imparting wisdom and power that
God had forbidden them to taste it; that He was thus seeking to prevent
them from reaching a nobler development and finding greater happiness.
He declared that he himself had eaten of the forbidden fruit, and as a
result had acquired the power of speech; and that if they also would eat
of it, they would attain to a more exalted sphere of existence, and
enter a broader field of knowledge.
While Satan claimed to have received great good by eating of the
forbidden tree, he did not let it appear that by transgression he had
become an outcast from heaven. Here was falsehood, so concealed under a
covering of apparent truth that Eve, infatuated, flattered, beguiled,
did not discern the deception. She coveted what God had forbidden; she
distrusted His wisdom. She cast away faith, the key of knowledge.
[Sidenote: _Sight versus God’s Word_]
When Eve saw “that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the
fruit thereof, and did eat.” It was grateful to the taste, and, as she
ate, she seemed to feel a vivifying power, and imagined herself entering
upon a higher state of existence. Having herself transgressed, she
became a tempter to her husband, “and he did eat.”[21]
“Your eyes shall be opened,” the enemy had said; “ye shall be as gods,
knowing good and evil.”[22] Their eyes were indeed opened; but how sad
the opening! The knowledge of evil, the curse of sin, was all that the
transgressors gained. There was nothing poisonous in the fruit itself,
and the sin was not merely in yielding to appetite. It was distrust of
God’s goodness, disbelief of His word, and rejection of His authority,
that made our first parents transgressors, and that brought into the
world a knowledge of evil. It was this that opened the door to every
species of falsehood and error.
Man lost all because he chose to listen to the deceiver rather than to
Him who is Truth, who alone has understanding. By the mingling of evil
with good, his mind had become confused, his mental and spiritual powers
benumbed. No longer could he appreciate the good that God had so freely
bestowed.
[Sidenote: _Results of Sin_]
Adam and Eve had chosen the knowledge of evil; and if they ever regained
the position they had lost, they must regain it under the unfavorable
conditions they had brought upon themselves. No longer were they to
dwell in Eden; for in its perfection it could not teach them the lessons
which it was now essential for them to learn. In unutterable sadness
they bade farewell to their beautiful surroundings, and went forth to
dwell upon the earth, where rested the curse of sin.
To Adam God had said: “Because thou hast harkened unto the voice of thy
wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying,
Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns also and thistles
shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the
ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust
shalt thou return.”[23]
[Sidenote: _Results Manifest in Nature_]
Although the earth was blighted with the curse, nature was still to be
man’s lesson-book. It could not now represent goodness only; for evil
was everywhere present, marring earth and sea and air with its defiling
touch. Where once was written only the character of God, the knowledge
of good, was now written also the character of Satan, the knowledge of
evil. From nature, which now revealed the knowledge of good and evil,
man was continually to receive warning as to the results of sin.
In drooping flower and falling leaf Adam and his companion witnessed the
first signs of decay. Vividly was brought to their minds the stern fact
that every living thing must die. Even the air, upon which their life
depended, bore the seeds of death.
[Sidenote: _The Lost Kingship_]
Continually they were reminded also of their lost dominion. Among the
lower creatures Adam had stood as king, and so long as he remained loyal
to God, all nature acknowledged his rule; but when he transgressed, this
dominion was forfeited. The spirit of rebellion, to which he himself had
given entrance, extended throughout the animal creation. Thus not only
the life of man, but the nature of the beasts, the trees of the forest,
the grass of the field, the very air he breathed, all told the sad
lesson of the knowledge of evil.
[Sidenote: _Restoration through Christ_]
But man was not abandoned to the results of the evil he had chosen. In
the sentence pronounced upon Satan was given an intimation of
redemption. “I will put enmity between thee and the woman,” God said,
“and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.”[24] This sentence, spoken in the hearing of our
first parents, was to them a promise. Before they heard of the thorn and
the thistle, of the toil and sorrow that must be their portion, or of
the dust to which they must return, they listened to words that could
not fail of giving them hope. All that had been lost by yielding to
Satan could be regained through Christ.
[Sidenote: _The Gospel in Nature_]
This intimation also nature repeats to us. Though marred by sin, it
speaks not only of creation but of redemption. Though the earth bears
testimony to the curse in the evident signs of decay, it is still rich
and beautiful in the tokens of life-giving power. The trees cast off
their leaves, only to be robed with fresher verdure; the flowers die, to
spring forth in new beauty; and in every manifestation of creative power
is held out the assurance that we may be created anew in “righteousness
and holiness of truth.”[25] Thus the very objects and operations of
nature that bring so vividly to mind our great loss become to us the
messengers of hope.
As far as evil extends, the voice of our Father is heard, bidding His
children see in its results the nature of sin, warning them to forsake
the evil, and inviting them to receive the good.
_Relation of Education to Redemption_
“THE LIGHT OF THE KNOWLEDGE
OF THE GLORY OF GOD IN THE
FACE OF JESUS CHRIST”
[Sidenote: _Communion with God_]
By sin man was shut out from God. Except for the plan of redemption,
eternal separation from God, the darkness of unending night, would have
been his. Through the Saviour’s sacrifice, communion with God is again
made possible. We may not in person approach into His presence; in our
sin we may not look upon His face; but we can behold Him and commune
with Him in Jesus, the Saviour. “The light of the knowledge of the glory
of God” is revealed “in the face of Jesus Christ.” God is “in Christ,
reconciling the world unto Himself.”[26]
[Sidenote: _The Highest Revelation_]
“The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, ... full of grace and
truth.” “In Him was life; and the life was the light of men.”[27] The
life and the death of Christ, the price of our redemption, are not only
to us the promise and pledge of life, not only the means of opening
again to us the treasures of wisdom: they are a broader, higher
revelation of His character than even the holy ones of Eden knew.
[Sidenote: _Power through the Gospel_]
And while Christ opens heaven to man, the life which He imparts opens
the heart of man to heaven. Sin not only shuts us away from God, but
destroys in the human soul both the desire and the capacity for knowing
Him. All this work of evil it is Christ’s mission to undo. The faculties
of the soul, paralyzed by sin, the darkened mind, the perverted will, He
has power to invigorate and to restore. He opens to us the riches of the
universe, and by Him the power to discern and to appropriate these
treasures is imparted.
[Sidenote: _Co-operation with Christ_]
Christ is the “Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the
world.”[28] As through Christ every human being has life, so also
through Him every soul receives some ray of divine light. Not only
intellectual but spiritual power, a perception of right, a desire for
goodness, exists in every heart. But against these principles there is
struggling an antagonistic power. The result of the eating of the tree
of knowledge of good and evil is manifest in every man’s experience.
There is in his nature a bent to evil, a force which, unaided, he can
not resist. To withstand this force, to attain that ideal which in his
inmost soul he accepts as alone worthy, he can find help in but one
power. That power is Christ. Co-operation with that power is man’s
greatest need. In all educational effort should not this co-operation be
the highest aim?
The true teacher is not satisfied with second-rate work. He is not
satisfied with directing his students to a standard lower than the
highest which it is possible for them to attain. He can not be content
with imparting to them only technical knowledge, with making them merely
clever accountants, skilful artisans, successful tradesmen. It is his
ambition to inspire them with principles of truth, obedience, honor,
integrity, and purity,—principles that will make them a positive force
for the stability and uplifting of society. He desires them, above all
else, to learn life’s great lesson of unselfish service.
These principles become a living power to shape the character, through
the acquaintance of the soul with Christ; through an acceptance of His
wisdom as the guide, His power as the strength, of heart and life. This
union formed, the student has found the Source of wisdom. He has within
his reach the power to realize in himself his noblest ideals. The
opportunities of the highest education for life in his world are his.
And in the training here gained, he is entering upon that course which
embraces eternity.
[Sidenote: _The One Foundation_]
In the highest sense, the work of education and the work of redemption
are one; for in education, as in redemption, “other foundation can no
man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” “It was the good
pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fulness dwell.”[29]
Under changed conditions, true education is still conformed to the
Creator’s plan, the plan of the Eden school. Adam and Eve received
instruction through direct communion with God; we behold “the light of
the knowledge of His glory” in the face of Christ.
[Sidenote: _The Teacher’s Aim_]
The great principles of education are unchanged. “They stand fast
forever and ever;”[30] for they are the principles of the character of
God. To aid the student in comprehending these principles, and in
entering into that relation with Christ which will make them a
controlling power in the life, should be the teacher’s first effort and
his constant aim. The teacher who accepts this aim is in truth a
co-worker with Christ, a laborer together with God.
_ILLUSTRATIONS_
“_Whatsoever things were written aforetime
were written for our learning_”
_The Education of Israel_
“THE LORD ALONE DID LEAD HIM;
HE INSTRUCTED HIM, HE KEPT
HIM AS THE APPLE OF HIS EYE”
The system of education established in Eden centered in the family. Adam
was “the son of God,”[31] and it was from their Father that the children
of the Highest received instruction. Theirs, in the truest sense, was a
family school.
[Sidenote: _The Family School_]
In the divine plan of education as adapted to man’s condition after the
fall, Christ stands as the representative of the Father, the connecting
link between God and man; He is the great teacher of mankind. And He
ordained that men and women should be His representatives. The family
was the school, and the parents were the teachers.
[Sidenote: _Conditions_]
The education centering in the family was that which prevailed in the
days of the patriarchs. For the schools thus established, God provided
the conditions most favorable for the development of character. The
people who were under His direction still pursued the plan of life that
He had appointed in the beginning. Those who departed from God built for
themselves cities, and, congregating in them, gloried in the splendor,
the luxury, and the vice that make the cities of to-day the world’s
pride and its curse. But the men who held fast God’s principles of life
dwelt among the fields and hills. They were tillers of the soil, and
keepers of flocks and herds; and in this free, independent life, with
its opportunities for labor and study and meditation, they learned of
God, and taught their children of His works and ways.
[Sidenote: _The Training in the Wilderness_]
This was the method of education that God desired to establish in
Israel. But when brought out of Egypt there were among the Israelites
few prepared to be workers together with Him in the training of their
children. The parents themselves needed instruction and discipline.
Victims of lifelong slavery, they were ignorant, untrained, degraded.
They had little knowledge of God, and little faith in Him. They were
confused by false teaching, and corrupted by their long contact with
heathenism. God desired to lift them to a higher moral level; and to
this end He sought to give them a knowledge of Himself.
[Sidenote: _To Encourage Faith_]
In His dealings with the wanderers in the desert, in all their marchings
to and fro, in their exposure to hunger, thirst, and weariness, in their
peril from heathen foes, and in the manifestation of His providence for
their relief, God was seeking to strengthen their faith by revealing to
them the power that was continually working for their good. And having
taught them to trust in His love and power, it was His purpose to set
before them, in the precepts of His law, the standard of character to
which, through His grace, He desired them to attain.
[Sidenote: _Surroundings at Sinai_]
[Sidenote: “_The Strength of the Hills Is His_”]
Precious were the lessons taught to Israel during their sojourn at
Sinai. This was a period of special training for the inheritance of
Canaan. And their surroundings here were favorable for the accomplishing
of God’s purpose. On the summit of Sinai, overshadowing the plain where
the people spread their tents, rested the pillar of cloud which had been
the guide of their journey. A pillar of fire by night, it assured them
of the divine protection; and while they were locked in slumber, the
bread of heaven fell gently upon the encampment. On every hand, vast,
rugged heights, in their solemn grandeur, spoke of eternal endurance and
majesty. Man was made to feel his ignorance and weakness in the presence
of Him who hath “weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a
balance.”[32] Here, by the manifestation of His glory, God sought to
impress Israel with the holiness of His character and requirements, and
the exceeding guilt of transgression.
[Sidenote: _A Symbol of God’s Presence_]
But the people were slow to learn the lesson. Accustomed as they had
been in Egypt to material representations of the Deity, and these of the
most degrading nature, it was difficult for them to conceive of the
existence or the character of the Unseen One. In pity for their
weakness, God gave them a symbol of His presence. “Let them make Me a
sanctuary,” He said; “that I may dwell among them.”[33]
In the building of the sanctuary as a dwelling-place for God, Moses was
directed to make all things according to the pattern of things in the
heavens. God called him into the mount, and revealed to him the heavenly
things, and in their similitude the tabernacle, with all that pertained
to it, was fashioned.
[Sidenote: _The Pattern in the Mount_]
So to Israel, whom He desired to make His dwelling-place, He revealed
His glorious ideal of character. The pattern was shown them in the mount
when the law was given from Sinai, and when God passed by before Moses
and proclaimed, “The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.”[34]
But this ideal they were, in themselves, powerless to attain. The
revelation at Sinai could only impress them with their need and
helplessness. Another lesson the tabernacle, through its service of
sacrifice, was to teach,—the lesson of pardon of sin, and power through
the Saviour for obedience unto life.
[Sidenote: _The Gospel in the Tabernacle_]
Through Christ was to be fulfilled the purpose of which the tabernacle
was a symbol,—that glorious building, its walls of glistening gold
reflecting in rainbow hues the curtains inwrought with cherubim, the
fragrance of ever-burning incense pervading all, the priests robed in
spotless white, and in the deep mystery of the inner place, above the
mercy-seat, between the figures of the bowed, worshiping angels, the
glory of the Holiest. In all, God desired His people to read His purpose
for the human soul. It was the same purpose long afterward set forth by
the apostle Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit:—
[Sidenote: _The Human Temple_]
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God
destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.”[35]
[Sidenote: _Building the Sanctuary_]
Great was the privilege and honor granted Israel in the preparation of
the sanctuary; and great was also the responsibility. A structure of
surpassing splendor, demanding for its construction the most costly
material and the highest artistic skill, was to be erected in the
wilderness, by a people just escaped from slavery. It seemed a
stupendous task. But He who had given the plan of the building stood
pledged to co-operate with the builders.
“The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called by name Bezaleel,
the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and I have filled
him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in
knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.... And I, behold, I have
given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and
in the hearts of all that are wise-hearted I have put wisdom, that they
may make all that I have commanded thee.”[36]
[Sidenote: _An Industrial School_]
What an industrial school was that in the wilderness, having for its
instructors Christ and His angels!
In the preparation of the sanctuary and in its furnishing, all the
people were to co-operate. There was labor for brain and hand. A great
variety of material was required, and all were invited to contribute as
their own hearts prompted.
Thus in labor and in giving they were taught to co-operate with God and
with one another. And they were to co-operate also in the preparation of
the spiritual building—God’s temple in the soul.
[Sidenote: _Organization_]
From the outset of the journey from Egypt, lessons had been given for
their training and discipline. Even before they left Egypt a temporary
organization had been effected, and the people were arranged in
companies, under appointed leaders. At Sinai the arrangements for
organization were completed. The order so strikingly displayed in all
the works of God was manifest in the Hebrew economy. God was the center
of authority and government. Moses, as His representative, was to
administer the laws in His name. Then came the council of seventy, then
the priests and the princes, under these “captains over thousands, and
captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over
tens,”[37] and, lastly, officers appointed for special duties. The camp
was arranged in exact order, the tabernacle, the abiding-place of God,
in the midst, and around it the tents of the priests and the Levites.
Outside of these, each tribe encamped beside its own standard.
[Sidenote: _Sanitary Regulations_]
Thorough-going sanitary regulations were enforced. These were enjoined
on the people, not only as necessary to health, but as the condition of
retaining among them the presence of the Holy One. By divine authority
Moses declared to them, “The Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy
camp, to deliver thee; ... therefore shall thy camp be holy.”[38]
[Sidenote: _Diet_]
The education of the Israelites included all their habits of life.
Everything that concerned their well-being was the subject of divine
solicitude, and came within the province of divine law. Even in
providing their food, God sought their highest good. The manna with
which He fed them in the wilderness was of a nature to promote physical,
mental, and moral strength. Though so many of them rebelled against the
restriction of their diet, and longed to return to the days when, they
said, “We sat by the flesh-pots, and when we did eat bread to the
full,”[39] yet the wisdom of God’s choice for them was vindicated in a
manner they could not gainsay. Notwithstanding the hardships of their
wilderness life, there was not a feeble one in all their tribes.
[Sidenote: _The Divine Guiding_]
In all their journeyings the ark containing the law of God was to lead
the way. The place of their encampment was indicated by the descent of
the pillar of cloud. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle,
they remained in camp. When it lifted, they pursued their journey. Both
the halt and the departure were marked by a solemn invocation. “It came
to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and
let Thine enemies be scattered.... And when it rested, he said, Return,
O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel.”[40]
[Sidenote: _Music and Song_]
As the people journeyed through the wilderness, many precious lessons
were fixed in their minds by means of song. At their deliverance from
Pharaoh’s army the whole host of Israel had joined in the song of
triumph. Far over desert and sea rang the joyous refrain, and the
mountains re-echoed the accents of praise, “Sing ye to Jehovah, for He
hath triumphed gloriously.”[41] Often on the journey was this song
repeated, cheering the hearts and kindling the faith of the pilgrim
travelers. The commandments as given from Sinai, with promises of God’s
favor and records of His wonderful works for their deliverance, were by
divine direction expressed in song, and were chanted to the sound of
instrumental music, the people keeping step as their voices united in
praise.
Thus their thoughts were uplifted from the trials and difficulties of
the way, the restless, turbulent spirit was soothed and calmed, the
principles of truth were implanted in the memory, and faith was
strengthened. Concert of action taught order and unity, and the people
were brought into closer touch with God and with one another.
[Sidenote: _Purpose of God’s Discipline_]
Of the dealing of God with Israel during the forty years of wilderness
wandering, Moses declared: “As a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy
God chasteneth thee;” “to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what
was in thine heart, whether thou wouldst keep His commandments, or
no.”[42]
“He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; He
led him about, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.
As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth
abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings; so the Lord
alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.”[43]
“He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham His servant. And He brought
forth His people with joy, and His chosen with gladness; and gave them
the lands of the heathen; and they inherited the labor of the people;
that they might observe His statutes, and keep His laws.”[44]
[Sidenote: _Facilities in Canaan_]
God surrounded Israel with every facility, gave them every privilege,
that would make them an honor to His name and a blessing to surrounding
nations. If they would walk in the ways of obedience, He promised to
make them “high above all nations which He hath made, in praise, and in
name, and in honor.” “All people of the earth,” He said, “shall hear
that thou art called by the name of Jehovah; and they shall be afraid of
thee.” The nations which shall hear all these statutes shall say,
“Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”[45]
[Sidenote: _God’s Law Taught_]
In the laws committed to Israel, explicit instruction was given
concerning education. To Moses at Sinai God had revealed Himself as
“merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and
truth.”[46] These principles, embodied in His law, the fathers and
mothers in Israel were to teach their children. Moses by divine
direction declared to them: “These words, which I command thee this day,
shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy
children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and
when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou
risest up.”[47]
Not as a dry theory were these things to be taught. Those who would
impart truth must themselves practise its principles. Only by reflecting
the character of God in the uprightness, nobility, and unselfishness of
their own lives can they impress others.
[Sidenote: _Object Lessons_]
True education is not the forcing of instruction on an unready and
unreceptive mind. The mental powers must be awakened, the interest
aroused. For this, God’s method of teaching provided. He who created the
mind and ordained its laws, provided for its development in accordance
with them. In the home and the sanctuary, through the things of nature
and of art, in labor and in festivity, in sacred building and memorial
stone, by methods and rites and symbols unnumbered, God gave to Israel
lessons illustrating His principles, and preserving the memory of His
wonderful works. Then, as inquiry was made, the instruction given
impressed mind and heart.
In the arrangements for the education of the chosen people it is made
manifest that a life centered in God is a life of completeness. Every
want He has implanted, He provides to satisfy; every faculty imparted,
He seeks to develop.
The Author of all beauty, Himself a lover of the beautiful, God provided
to gratify in His children the love of beauty. He made provision also
for their social needs, for the kindly and helpful associations that do
so much to cultivate sympathy and to brighten and sweeten life.
[Sidenote: _The Annual Feasts_]
As a means of education, an important place was filled by the feasts of
Israel. In ordinary life the family was both a school and a church, the
parents being the instructors in secular and in religious lines. But
three times a year seasons were appointed for social intercourse and
worship. First at Shiloh, and afterward at Jerusalem, these gatherings
were held. Only the fathers and sons were required to be present; but
none desired to forego the opportunities of the feasts, and, so far as
possible, all the household were in attendance; and with them, as
sharers of their hospitality, were the stranger, the Levite, and the
poor.
[Sidenote: _Journey to Jerusalem_]
The journey to Jerusalem, in the simple, patriarchal style, amidst the
beauty of the spring-time, the richness of midsummer, or the ripened
glory of autumn, was a delight. With offerings of gratitude they came,
from the man of white hairs to the little child, to meet with God in His
holy habitation. As they journeyed, the experiences of the past, the
stories that both old and young still love so well, were recounted to
the Hebrew children. The songs that had cheered the wilderness wandering
were sung. God’s commandments were chanted, and, bound up with the
blessed influences of nature and of kindly human association, they were
forever fixed in the memory of many a child and youth.
[Sidenote: _The Paschal Service_]
The ceremonies witnessed at Jerusalem in connection with the paschal
service,—the night assembly, the men with their girded loins, shoes on
feet, and staff in hand, the hasty meal, the lamb, the unleavened bread,
and the bitter herbs, and in the solemn silence the rehearsal of the
story of the sprinkled blood, the death-dealing angel, and the grand
march from the land of bondage,—all were of a nature to stir the
imagination and impress the heart.
[Sidenote: _Feast of Ingathering_]