knowledge; he was honored with special revelations from God; yet being
in constant communion with heaven, with a sense of the divine greatness
and perfection ever before him, he was one of the humblest of men. The
closer the connection with God, the deeper was the sense of his own
weakness and imperfection.
Distressed by the increasing wickedness of the ungodly, and fearing that
their infidelity might lessen his reverence for God, Enoch avoided
constant association with them, and spent much time in solitude, giving
himself to meditation and prayer. Thus he waited before the Lord,
seeking a clearer knowledge of his will, that he might perform it. To
him prayer was as the breath of the soul; he lived in the very
atmosphere of heaven.
Through holy angels, God revealed to Enoch his purpose to destroy the
world by a flood, and he also opened more fully to him the plan of
redemption. By the spirit of prophecy he carried him down through the
generations that should live after the flood, and showed him the great
events connected with the second coming of Christ and the end of the
world.
Enoch had been troubled in regard to the dead. It had seemed to him that
the righteous and the wicked would go to the dust together, and that
this would be their end. He could not see the life of the just beyond
the grave. In prophetic vision he was instructed concerning the death of
Christ, and was shown his coming in glory, attended by all the holy
angels, to ransom his people from the grave. He also saw the corrupt
state of the world when Christ should appear the second time,—that there
would be a boastful, presumptuous, self-willed generation, denying the
only God and the Lord Jesus Christ, trampling upon the law, and
despising the atonement. He saw the righteous crowned with glory and
honor, and the wicked banished from the presence of the Lord, and
destroyed by fire.
Enoch became a preacher of righteousness, making known to the people
what God had revealed to him. Those who feared the Lord sought out this
holy man, to share his instruction and his prayers. He labored publicly
also, bearing God’s messages to all who would hear the words of warning.
His labors were not restricted to the Sethites. In the land where Cain
had sought to flee from the divine presence, the prophet of God made
known the wonderful scenes that had passed before his vision. “Behold,”
he declared, “the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to
execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among
them of all their ungodly deeds.”[73]
He was a fearless reprover of sin. While he preached the love of God in
Christ to the people of his time, and pleaded with them to forsake their
evil ways, he rebuked the prevailing iniquity, and warned the men of his
generation that judgment would surely be visited upon the transgressor.
It was the Spirit of Christ that spoke through Enoch; that Spirit is
manifested, not alone in utterances of love, compassion, and entreaty;
it is not smooth things only that are spoken by holy men. God puts into
the heart and lips of his messengers truths to utter that are keen and
cutting as a two-edged sword.
The power of God that wrought with his servant was felt by those who
heard. Some gave heed to the warning, and renounced their sins; but the
multitudes mocked at the solemn message, and went on more boldly in
their evil ways. The servants of God are to bear a similar message to
the world in the last days, and it will also be received with unbelief
and mockery. The antediluvian world rejected the warning words of him
who walked with God. So will the last generation make light of the
warnings of the Lord’s messengers.
In the midst of a life of active labor, Enoch steadfastly maintained his
communion with God. The greater and more pressing his labors, the more
constant and earnest were his prayers. He continued to exclude himself,
at certain periods, from all society. After remaining for a time among
the people, laboring to benefit them by instruction and example, he
would withdraw, to spend a season in solitude, hungering and thirsting
for that divine knowledge which God alone can impart. Communing thus
with God, Enoch came more and more to reflect the divine image. His face
was radiant with a holy light, even the light that shineth in the face
of Jesus. As he came forth from these divine communings, even the
ungodly beheld with awe the impress of heaven upon his countenance.
The wickedness of men had reached such a height that destruction was
pronounced against them. As year after year passed on, deeper and deeper
grew the tide of human guilt, darker and darker gathered the clouds of
divine judgment. Yet Enoch, the witness of faith, held on his way,
warning, pleading, entreating, striving to turn back the tide of guilt,
and to stay the bolts of vengeance. Though his warnings were disregarded
by a sinful, pleasure-loving people, he had the testimony that God
approved, and he continued to battle faithfully against the prevailing
evil, until God removed him from a world of sin to the pure joys of
heaven.
The men of that generation had mocked the folly of him who sought not to
gather gold or silver, or to build up possessions here. But Enoch’s
heart was upon eternal treasures. He had looked upon the celestial city.
He had seen the King in his glory in the midst of Zion. His mind, his
heart, his conversation, were in heaven. The greater the existing
iniquity, the more earnest was his longing for the home of God. While
still on earth, he dwelt, by faith, in the realms of light.
“Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.”[74] For three
hundred years, Enoch had been seeking purity of soul, that he might be
in harmony with Heaven. For three centuries he had walked with God. Day
by day he had longed for a closer union; nearer and nearer had grown the
communion, until God took him to himself. He had stood at the threshold
of the eternal world, only a step between him and the land of the blest;
and now the portals opened, the walk with God, so long pursued on earth,
continued, and he passed through the gates of the holy city,—the first
from among men to enter there.
His loss was felt on earth. The voice that had been heard day after day
in warning and instruction was missed. There were some, both of the
righteous and the wicked, who had witnessed his departure; and hoping
that he might have been conveyed to some one of his places of
retirement, those who loved him made diligent search, as afterward the
sons of the prophets searched for Elijah; but without avail. They
reported that he was not, for God had taken him.
By the translation of Enoch the Lord designed to teach an important
lesson. There was danger that men would yield to discouragement, because
of the fearful results of Adam’s sin. Many were ready to exclaim, “What
profit is it that we have feared the Lord and have kept his ordinances,
since a heavy curse is resting upon the race, and death is the portion
of us all?” But the instructions which God gave to Adam, and which were
repeated by Seth, and exemplified by Enoch, swept away the gloom and
darkness, and gave hope to man, that as through Adam came death, so
through the promised Redeemer would come life and immortality. Satan was
urging upon men the belief that there was no reward for the righteous or
punishment for the wicked, and that it was impossible for men to obey
the divine statutes. But in the case of Enoch, God declares “that he is,
and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”[75] He
shows what he will do for those who keep his commandments. Men were
taught that it is possible to obey the law of God; that even while
living in the midst of the sinful and corrupt, they were able, by the
grace of God, to resist temptation, and become pure and holy. They saw
in his example the blessedness of such a life; and his translation was
an evidence of the truth of his prophecy concerning the hereafter, with
its award of joy and glory and immortal life to the obedient, and of
condemnation, woe, and death to the transgressor.
By faith Enoch “was translated that he should not see death, ... for
before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.”[75]
In the midst of a world by its iniquity doomed to destruction, Enoch
lived a life of such close communion with God that he was not permitted
to fall under the power of death. The godly character of this prophet
represents the state of holiness which must be attained by those who
shall be “redeemed from the earth”[76] at the time of Christ’s second
advent. Then, as in the world before the flood, iniquity will prevail.
Following the promptings of their corrupt hearts and the teachings of a
deceptive philosophy, men will rebel against the authority of Heaven.
But like Enoch, God’s people will seek for purity of heart, and
conformity to his will, until they shall reflect the likeness of Christ.
Like Enoch they will warn the world of the Lord’s second coming, and of
the judgments to be visited upon transgression, and by their holy
conversation and example they will condemn the sins of the ungodly. As
Enoch was translated to heaven before the destruction of the world by
water, so the living righteous will be translated from the earth before
its destruction by fire. Says the apostle: “We shall not all sleep, but
we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the
last trump.” “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God;” “the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed.” “The dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which
are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the
Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”[77]
[Illustration: “By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see
death.”]
Footnote 66:
Gen. 4:25, 26.
Footnote 67:
Gen. 5:1, 3.
Footnote 68:
Heb. 11:13, 16.
Footnote 69:
Gen. 6:2.
Footnote 70:
Jude 11.
Footnote 71:
Rom. 1:21, 28 (margin).
Footnote 72:
Amos 3:3.
Footnote 73:
Jude 14, 15.
Footnote 74:
Matt. 5:8.
Footnote 75:
Heb. 11:6, 5.
Footnote 76:
Rev. 14:3.
Footnote 77:
1 Cor. 15:51, 52; 1 Thess. 4:16-18.
THE FLOOD—7
In the days of Noah a double curse was resting upon the earth, in
consequence of Adam’s transgression and of the murder committed by Cain.
Yet this had not greatly changed the face of nature. There were evident
tokens of decay, but the earth was still rich and beautiful in the gifts
of God’s providence. The hills were crowned with majestic trees
supporting the fruit-laden branches of the vine. The vast, garden-like
plains were clothed with verdure, and sweet with the fragrance of a
thousand flowers. The fruits of the earth were in great variety, and
almost without limit. The trees far surpassed in size, beauty, and
perfect proportion, any now to be found; their wood was of fine grain
and hard substance, closely resembling stone, and hardly less enduring.
Gold, silver, and precious stones existed in abundance.
The human race yet retained much of its early vigor. But a few
generations had passed since Adam had access to the tree which was to
prolong life; and man’s existence was still measured by centuries. Had
that long-lived people, with their rare powers to plan and execute,
devoted themselves to the service of God, they would have made their
Creator’s name a praise in the earth, and would have answered the
purpose for which he gave them life. But they failed to do this. There
were many giants, men of great stature and strength, renowned for
wisdom, skillful in devising the most cunning and wonderful works; but
their guilt in giving loose rein to iniquity was in proportion to their
skill and mental ability.
God bestowed upon these antediluvians many and rich gifts; but they used
his bounties to glorify themselves, and turned them into a curse by
fixing their affections upon the gifts instead of the Giver. They
employed the gold and silver, the precious stones and the choice wood,
in the construction of habitations for themselves, and endeavored to
excel one another in beautifying their dwellings with the most skillful
workmanship. They sought only to gratify the desires of their own proud
hearts, and reveled in scenes of pleasure and wickedness. Not desiring
to retain God in their knowledge, they soon came to deny his existence.
They adored nature in place of the God of nature. They glorified human
genius, worshiped the works of their own hands, and taught their
children to bow down to graven images.
In the green fields, and under the shadow of the goodly trees, they set
up the altars of their idols. Extensive groves, that retained their
foliage throughout the year, were dedicated to the worship of false
gods. With these groves were connected beautiful gardens, their long,
winding avenues overhung with fruit-bearing trees of all descriptions,
adorned with statuary, and furnished with all that could delight the
senses or minister to the voluptuous desires of the people, and thus
allure them to participate in the idolatrous worship.
Men put God out of their knowledge, and worshiped the creatures of their
own imagination; and as the result, they became more and more debased.
The psalmist describes the effect produced upon the worshiper by the
adoration of idols. He says, “They that make them are like unto them; so
is every one that trusteth in them.”[80] It is a law of the human mind
that by beholding we become changed. Man will rise no higher than his
conceptions of truth, purity, and holiness. If the mind is never exalted
above the level of humanity, if it is not uplifted by faith to
contemplate infinite wisdom and love, the man will be constantly sinking
lower and lower. The worshipers of false gods clothed their deities with
human attributes and passions, and thus their standard of character was
degraded to the likeness of sinful humanity. They were defiled in
consequence. “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually.... The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was
filled with violence.”[81] God had given men his commandments as a rule
of life, but his law was transgressed, and every conceivable sin was the
result. The wickedness of men was open and daring, justice was trampled
in the dust, and the cries of the oppressed reached unto heaven.
Polygamy had been early introduced, contrary to the divine arrangement
at the beginning. The Lord gave to Adam one wife, showing his order in
that respect. But after the fall, men chose to follow their own sinful
desires; and as the result, crime and wretchedness rapidly increased.
Neither the marriage relation nor the rights of property were respected.
Whoever coveted the wives or the possessions of his neighbor, took them
by force, and men exulted in their deeds of violence. They delighted in
destroying the life of animals; and the use of flesh for food rendered
them still more cruel and blood-thirsty, until they came to regard human
life with astonishing indifference.
The world was in its infancy; yet iniquity had become so deep and
wide-spread that God could no longer bear with it; and he said, “I will
destroy man whom I have created, from the face of the earth.”[82] He
declared that his Spirit should not always strive with the guilty race.
If they did not cease to pollute with their sins the world and its rich
treasures, he would blot them from his creation, and would destroy the
things with which he had delighted to bless them; he would sweep away
the beasts of the field, and the vegetation which furnished such an
abundant supply of food, and would transform the fair earth into one
vast scene of desolation and ruin.
[Illustration: Revelry Before The Flood. “Men put God out of their
knowledge, and worshiped the creatures of their own imagination.”]
Amid the prevailing corruption, Methuselah, Noah, and many others,
labored to keep alive the knowledge of the true God, and to stay the
tide of moral evil. A hundred and twenty years before the flood, the
Lord by a holy angel declared to Noah his purpose, and directed him to
build an ark. While building the ark he was to preach that God would
bring a flood of water upon the earth to destroy the wicked. Those who
would believe the message, and would prepare for that event by
repentance and reformation, should find pardon and be saved. Enoch had
repeated to his children what God had shown him in regard to the flood,
and Methuselah and his sons, who lived to hear the preaching of Noah,
assisted in building the ark.
God gave Noah the exact dimensions of the ark, and explicit directions
in regard to its construction in every particular. Human wisdom could
not have devised a structure of so great strength and durability. God
was the designer, and Noah the master-builder. It was constructed like
the hull of a ship, that it might float upon the water, but in some
respects it more nearly resembled a house. It was three stories high,
with but one door, which was in the side. The light was admitted at the
top, and the different apartments were so arranged that all were
lighted. The material employed in the construction of the ark was the
cypress, or gopher wood, which would be untouched by decay for hundreds
of years. The building of this immense structure was a slow and
laborious process. On account of the great size of the trees, and the
nature of the wood, much more labor was required then than now to
prepare timber, even with the greater strength which men then possessed.
All that man could do was done to render the work perfect, yet the ark
could not of itself have withstood the storm which was to come upon the
earth. God alone could preserve his servants upon the tempestuous
waters.
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved
with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he
condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by
faith.”[83] While Noah was giving his warning message to the world, his
works testified of his sincerity. It was thus that his faith was
perfected and made evident. He gave the world an example of believing
just what God says. All that he possessed, he invested in the ark. As he
began to construct that immense boat on dry ground, multitudes came from
every direction to see the strange sight, and to hear the earnest,
fervent words of the singular preacher. Every blow struck upon the ark
was a witness to the people.
Many at first appeared to receive the warning; yet they did not turn to
God with true repentance. They were unwilling to renounce their sins.
During the time that elapsed before the coming of the flood, their faith
was tested, and they failed to endure the trial. Overcome by the
prevailing unbelief, they finally joined their former associates in
rejecting the solemn message. Some were deeply convicted, and would have
heeded the words of warning; but there were so many to jest and
ridicule, that they partook of the same spirit, resisted the invitations
of mercy, and were soon among the boldest and most defiant scoffers; for
none are so reckless and go to such lengths in sin as do those who have
once had light, but have resisted the convicting Spirit of God.
The men of that generation were not all, in the fullest acceptation of
the term, idolaters. Many professed to be worshipers of God. They
claimed that their idols were representations of the Deity, and that
through them the people could obtain a clearer conception of the divine
Being. This class were foremost in rejecting the preaching of Noah. As
they endeavored to represent God by material objects, their minds were
blinded to his majesty and power; they ceased to realize the holiness of
his character, or the sacred, unchanging nature of his requirements. As
sin became general, it appeared less and less sinful, and they finally
declared that the divine law was no longer in force; that it was
contrary to the character of God to punish transgression; and they
denied that his judgments were to be visited upon the earth. Had the men
of that generation obeyed the divine law, they would have recognized the
voice of God in the warning of his servant; but their minds had become
so blinded by rejection of light that they really believed Noah’s
message to be a delusion.
It was not multitudes or majorities that were on the side of right. The
world was arrayed against God’s justice and his laws, and Noah was
regarded as a fanatic. Satan, when tempting Eve to disobey God, said to
her, “Ye shall not surely die.”[84] Great men, worldly, honored, and
wise men, repeated the same. “The threatenings of God,” they said, “are
for the purpose of intimidating, and will never be verified. You need
not be alarmed. Such an event as the destruction of the world by the God
who made it, and the punishment of the beings he has created, will never
take place. Be at peace; fear not. Noah is a wild fanatic.” The world
made merry at the folly of the deluded old man. Instead of humbling the
heart before God, they continued their disobedience and wickedness, the
same as though God had not spoken to them through his servant.
But Noah stood like a rock amid the tempest. Surrounded by popular
contempt and ridicule, he distinguished himself by his holy integrity
and unwavering faithfulness. A power attended his words; for it was the
voice of God to man through his servant. Connection with God made him
strong in the strength of infinite power, while for one hundred and
twenty years his solemn voice fell upon the ears of that generation in
regard to events, which, so far as human wisdom could judge, were
impossible.
The world before the flood reasoned that for centuries the laws of
nature had been fixed. The recurring seasons had come in their order.
Heretofore rain had never fallen; the earth had been watered by a mist
or dew. The rivers had never yet passed their boundaries, but had borne
their waters safely to the sea. Fixed decrees had kept the waters from
overflowing their banks. But these reasoners did not recognize the hand
of Him who had stayed the waters, saying, “Hitherto shalt thou come, but
no further.”[85]
As time passed on, with no apparent change in nature, men whose hearts
had at times trembled with fear, began to be re-assured. They reasoned,
as many reason now, that nature is above the God of nature, and that her
laws are so firmly established that God himself could not change them.
Reasoning that if the message of Noah were correct, nature would be
turned out of her course, they made that message, in the minds of the
world, a delusion,—a grand deception. They manifested their contempt for
the warning of God by doing just as they had done before the warning was
given. They continued their festivities and their gluttonous feasts;
they ate and drank, planted and builded, laying their plans in reference
to advantages they hoped to gain in the future; and they went to greater
lengths in wickedness, and in defiant disregard of God’s requirements,
to testify that they had no fear of the Infinite One. They asserted that
if there were any truth in what Noah had said, the men of renown,—the
wise, the prudent, the great men,—would understand the matter.
Had the antediluvians believed the warning, and repented of their evil
deeds, the Lord would have turned aside his wrath, as he afterward did
from Nineveh. But by their obstinate resistance to the reproofs of
conscience and the warnings of God’s prophet, that generation filled up
the measure of their iniquity, and became ripe for destruction.
The period of their probation was about to expire. Noah had faithfully
followed the instructions which he had received from God. The ark was
finished in every part as the Lord had directed, and was stored with
food for man and beast. And now the servant of God made his last solemn
appeal to the people. With an agony of desire that words cannot express,
he entreated them to seek a refuge while it might be found. Again they
rejected his words, and raised their voices in jest and scoffing.
Suddenly a silence fell upon the mocking throng. Beasts of every
description, the fiercest as well as the most gentle, were seen coming
from mountain and forest, and quietly making their way toward the ark. A
noise as of a rushing wind was heard, and lo, birds were flocking from
all directions, their numbers darkening the heavens, and in perfect
order they passed to the ark. Animals obeyed the command of God, while
men were disobedient. Guided by holy angels, “they went in, two and two,
unto Noah into the ark,”[86] and the clean beasts by sevens. The world
looked on in wonder, some in fear. Philosophers were called upon to
account for the singular occurrence, but in vain. It was a mystery which
they could not fathom. But men had become so hardened by their
persistent rejection of light, that even this scene produced but a
momentary impression. As the doomed race beheld the sun shining in its
glory, and the earth clad in almost Eden beauty, they banished their
rising fears by boisterous merriment, and by their deeds of violence
they seemed to invite upon themselves the visitation of the already
awakened wrath of God.
God commanded Noah, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee
have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”[86] Noah’s warnings
had been rejected by the world, but his influence and example resulted
in blessings to his family. As a reward for his faithfulness and
integrity, God saved all the members of his family with him. What
encouragement to parental fidelity!
Mercy had ceased its pleadings for the guilty race. The beasts of the
field and the birds of the air had entered the place of refuge. Noah and
his household were within the ark; “and the Lord shut him in.” A flash
of dazzling light was seen, and a cloud of glory, more vivid than the
lightning, descended from heaven, and hovered before the entrance of the
ark. The massive door, which it was impossible for those within to
close, was slowly swung to its place by unseen hands. Noah was shut in,
and the rejecters of God’s mercy were shut out. The seal of Heaven was
on that door; God had shut it, and God alone could open it. So when
Christ shall cease his intercession for guilty men, before his coming in
the clouds of heaven, the door of mercy will be shut. Then divine grace
will no longer restrain the wicked, and Satan will have full control of
those who have rejected mercy. They will endeavor to destroy God’s
people; but as Noah was shut into the ark, so the righteous will be
shielded by divine power.
For seven days after Noah and his family entered the ark, there appeared
no sign of the coming storm. During this period their faith was tested.
It was a time of triumph to the world without. The apparent delay
confirmed them in the belief that Noah’s message was a delusion, and
that the flood would never come. Notwithstanding the solemn scenes which
they had witnessed,—the beasts and birds entering the ark, and the angel
of God closing the door,—they still continued their sport and revelry,
even making a jest of these signal manifestations of God’s power. They
gathered in crowds about the ark, deriding its inmates with a daring
violence which they had never ventured upon before.
But upon the eighth day, dark clouds overspread the heavens. There
followed the muttering of thunder and the flash of lightning. Soon large
drops of rain began to fall. The world had never witnessed anything like
this, and the hearts of men were struck with fear. All were secretly
inquiring, “Can it be that Noah was in the right, and that the world is
doomed to destruction?” Darker and darker grew the heavens, and faster
came the falling rain. The beasts were roaming about in the wildest
terror, and their discordant cries seemed to moan out their own destiny
and the fate of man. Then “the fountains of the great deep were broken
up, and the windows of heaven were opened.” Water appeared to come from
the clouds in mighty cataracts. Rivers broke away from their boundaries,
and overflowed the valleys. Jets of water burst from the earth with
indescribable force, throwing massive rocks hundreds of feet into the
air, and these, in falling, buried themselves deep in the ground.
The people first beheld the destruction of the works of their own hands.
Their splendid buildings, and the beautiful gardens and groves where
they had placed their idols, were destroyed by lightning from heaven,
and the ruins were scattered far and wide. The altars on which human
sacrifices had been offered were torn down, and the worshipers were made
to tremble at the power of the living God, and to know that it was their
corruption and idolatry which had called down their destruction.
As the violence of the storm increased, trees, buildings, rocks, and
earth were hurled in every direction. The terror of man and beast was
beyond description. Above the roar of the tempest was heard the wailing
of a people that had despised the authority of God. Satan himself, who
was compelled to remain in the midst of the warring elements, feared for
his own existence. He had delighted to control so powerful a race, and
desired them to live to practice their abominations, and continue their
rebellion against the Ruler of heaven. He now uttered imprecations
against God, charging him with injustice and cruelty. Many of the
people, like Satan, blasphemed God, and had they been able, they would
have torn him from the throne of power. Others were frantic with fear,
stretching their hands toward the ark, and pleading for admittance. But
their entreaties were in vain. Conscience was at last aroused to know
that there is a God who ruleth in the heavens. They called upon him
earnestly, but his ear was not open to their cry. In that terrible hour
they saw that the transgression of God’s law had caused their ruin. Yet
while, through fear of punishment, they acknowledged their sin, they
felt no true contrition, no abhorrence of evil. They would have returned
to their defiance of Heaven, had the judgment been removed. So when
God’s judgments shall fall upon the earth before its deluge by fire, the
impenitent will know just where and what their sin is,—the despising of
his holy law. Yet they will have no more true repentance than did the
old-world sinners.
Some in their desperation endeavored to break into the ark; but the
firm-made structure withstood their efforts. Some clung to the ark until
they were borne away by the surging waters, or their hold was broken by
collision with rocks and trees. The massive ark trembled in every fiber
as it was beaten by the merciless winds, and flung from billow to
billow. The cries of the beasts within expressed their fear and pain.
But amid the warring elements it continued to ride safely. Angels that
excel in strength were commissioned to preserve it.
The beasts, exposed to the tempest, rushed toward man, as though
expecting help from him. Some of the people bound their children and
themselves upon powerful animals, knowing that these were tenacious of
life, and would climb to the highest points to escape the rising waters.
Some fastened themselves to lofty trees on the summit of hills or
mountains; but the trees were uprooted, and with their burden of living
beings were hurled into the seething billows. One spot after another
that promised safety was abandoned. As the waters rose higher and
higher, the people fled for refuge to the loftiest mountains. Often man
and beast would struggle together for a foot-hold until both were swept
away.
From the highest peaks, men looked abroad upon a shoreless ocean. The
solemn warnings of God’s servant no longer seemed a subject for ridicule
and scorning. How those doomed sinners longed for the opportunities
which they had slighted! How they pleaded for one hour’s probation, one
more privilege of mercy, one call from the lips of Noah! But the sweet
voice of mercy was no more to be heard by them. Love, no less than
justice, demanded that God’s judgments should put a check on sin. The
avenging waters swept over the last retreat, and the despisers of God
perished in the black depths.
“By the word of God ... the world that then was, being overflowed with
water, perished. But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the
same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”[87] Another storm is coming. The
earth will again be swept by the desolating wrath of God, and sin and
sinners will be destroyed.
The sins that called for vengeance upon the antediluvian world, exist
to-day. The fear of God is banished from the hearts of men, and his law
is treated with indifference and contempt. The intense worldliness of
that generation is equaled by that of the generation now living. Said
Christ, “As in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah
entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them
all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”[88] God did
not condemn the antediluvians for eating and drinking; he had given them
the fruits of the earth in great abundance to supply their physical
wants. Their sin consisted in taking these gifts without gratitude to
the Giver, and debasing themselves by indulging appetite without
restraint. It was lawful for them to marry. Marriage was in God’s order;
it was one of the first institutions which he established. He gave
special directions concerning this ordinance, clothing it with sanctity
and beauty; but these directions were forgotten, and marriage was
perverted, and made to minister to passion.
A similar condition of things exists now. That which is lawful in itself
is carried to excess. Appetite is indulged without restraint. Professed
followers of Christ are to-day eating and drinking with the drunken,
while their names stand in honored church records. Intemperance benumbs
the moral and spiritual powers, and prepares the way for indulgence of
the lower passions. Multitudes feel under no moral obligation to curb
their sensual desires, and they become the slaves of lust. Men are
living for the pleasures of sense; for this world and this life alone.
Extravagance pervades all circles of society. Integrity is sacrificed
for luxury and display. They that make haste to be rich pervert justice
and oppress the poor; and “slaves and souls of men” are still bought and
sold. Fraud and bribery and theft stalk unrebuked in high places and in
low. The issues of the press teem with records of murder,—crimes so
cold-blooded and causeless that it seems as though every instinct of
humanity were blotted out. And these atrocities have become of so common
occurrence that they hardly elicit a comment or awaken surprise. The
spirit of anarchy is permeating all nations, and the outbreaks that from
time to time excite the horror of the world are but indications of the
pent-up fires of passion and lawlessness that, having once escaped
control, will fill the earth with woe and desolation. The picture which
inspiration has given of the antediluvian world, represents too truly
the condition to which modern society is fast hastening. Even now, in
the present century, and in professedly Christian lands, there are
crimes daily perpetrated, as black and terrible as those for which the
old-world sinners were destroyed.
Before the flood, God sent Noah to warn the world, that the people might
be led to repentance, and thus escape the threatened destruction. As the
time of Christ’s second appearing draws near, the Lord sends his
servants with a warning to the world to prepare for that great event.
Multitudes have been living in transgression of God’s law, and now he in
mercy calls them to obey its sacred precepts. All who will put away
their sins by repentance toward God and faith in Christ, are offered
pardon. But many feel that it requires too great a sacrifice to put away
sin. Because their life does not harmonize with the pure principles of
God’s moral government, they reject his warnings, and deny the authority
of his law.
Of the vast population of the earth before the flood, only eight souls
believed and obeyed God’s word through Noah. For a hundred and twenty
years the preacher of righteousness warned the world of the coming
destruction; but his message was rejected and despised. So it will be
now. Before the Lawgiver shall come to punish the disobedient,
transgressors are warned to repent, and return to their allegiance; but
with the majority these warnings will be in vain. Says the apostle
Peter, “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their
own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the
fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the
beginning.”[89] Do we not hear these very words repeated, not merely by
the openly ungodly, but by many who occupy the pulpits of our land?
“There is no cause for alarm,” they cry. “Before Christ shall come, all
the world is to be converted, and righteousness is to reign for a
thousand years. Peace, peace! all things continue as they were from the
beginning. Let none be disturbed by the exciting message of these
alarmists.” But this doctrine of the millennium does not harmonize with
the teachings of Christ and his apostles. Jesus asked the significant
question, “When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the
earth?”[90] And, as we have seen, he declares that the state of the
world will be as in the days of Noah. Paul warns us that we may look for
wickedness to increase as the end draws near: “The Spirit speaketh
expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith,
giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.”[91] The
apostle says that “in the last days perilous times shall come.”[92] And
he gives a startling list of sins that will be found among those who
have a form of godliness.
As the time of their probation was closing, the antediluvians gave
themselves up to exciting amusements and festivities. Those who
possessed influence and power were bent on keeping the minds of the
people engrossed with mirth and pleasure, lest any should be impressed
by the last solemn warning. Do we not see the same repeated in our day?
While God’s servants are giving the message that the end of all things
is at hand, the world is absorbed in amusements and pleasure-seeking.
There is a constant round of excitement that causes indifference to God,
and prevents the people from being impressed by the truths which alone
can save them from the coming destruction.
In Noah’s day, philosophers declared that it was impossible for the
world to be destroyed by water; so now there are men of science who
endeavor to show that the world cannot be destroyed by fire,—that this
would be inconsistent with the laws of nature. But the God of nature,
the maker and controller of her laws, can use the works of his hands to
serve his own purpose.
When great and wise men had proved to their satisfaction that it was
impossible for the world to be destroyed by water, when the fears of the
people were quieted, when all regarded Noah’s prophecy as a delusion,
and looked upon him as a fanatic,—then it was that God’s time had come.
“The fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of
heaven were opened,”[93] and the scoffers were overwhelmed in the waters
of the flood. With all their boasted philosophy, men found too late that
their wisdom was foolishness, that the Lawgiver is greater than the laws
of nature, and that Omnipotence is at no loss for means to accomplish
his purposes. “As it was in the days of Noah,” “even thus shall it be in
the day when the Son of man is revealed.”[94] “The day of the Lord will
come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the
earth also, and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”[95] When
the reasoning of philosophy has banished the fear of God’s judgments;
when religious teachers are pointing forward to long ages of peace and
prosperity, and the world are absorbed in their rounds of business and
pleasure, planting and building, feasting and merry-making, rejecting
God’s warnings and mocking his messengers,—then it is that sudden
destruction cometh upon them, and they shall not escape.[96]
[Illustration: “The avenging waters swept over the last retreat, and the
despisers of God perished in the black depths.”]
Footnote 80:
Ps. 115:8.
Footnote 81:
Gen. 6:5, 11, 7.
Footnote 82:
Gen. 6:7; see Appendix, Note 1.
Footnote 83:
Heb. 11:7.
Footnote 84:
Gen. 3:4.
Footnote 85:
Job 38:11.
Footnote 86:
Gen. 7:9, 1.
Footnote 87:
2 Peter 3:5-7.
Footnote 88:
Matt. 24:38, 39.
Footnote 89:
2 Peter 3:3, 4.
Footnote 90:
Luke 18:8.
Footnote 91:
1 Tim. 4:1.
Footnote 92:
2 Tim. 3:1.
Footnote 93:
Gen. 7:11.
Footnote 94:
Luke 17:26, 30.
Footnote 95:
2 Peter 3:10.
Footnote 96:
1 Thess. 5:3.
AFTER THE FLOOD—8
The waters rose fifteen cubits above the highest mountains. It often
seemed to the family within the ark that they must perish, as for five
long months their boat was tossed about, apparently at the mercy of wind
and wave. It was a trying ordeal; but Noah’s faith did not waver, for he
had the assurance that the divine hand was upon the helm.
As the waters began to subside, the Lord caused the ark to drift into a
spot protected by a group of mountains that had been preserved by his
power. These mountains were but a little distance apart, and the ark
moved about in this quiet haven, and was no longer driven upon the
boundless ocean. This gave great relief to the weary, tempest-tossed
voyagers.
Noah and his family anxiously waited for the decrease of the waters; for
they longed to go forth again upon the earth. Forty days after the tops
of the mountains became visible, they sent out a raven, a bird of quick
scent, to discover whether the earth had become dry. This bird, finding
nothing but water, continued to fly to and from the ark. Seven days
later a dove was sent forth, which, finding no footing, returned to the
ark. Noah waited seven days longer, and again sent forth the dove. When
she returned at evening with an olive leaf in her mouth, there was great
rejoicing. Later “Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and,
behold, the face of the ground was dry.”[100] Still he waited patiently
within the ark. As he had entered at God’s command, he waited for
special directions to depart.
At last an angel descended from heaven, opened the massive door, and
bade the patriarch and his household go forth upon the earth, and take
with them every living thing. In the joy of their release, Noah did not
forget Him by whose gracious care they had been preserved. His first act
after leaving the ark was to build an altar, and offer from every kind
of clean beast and fowl a sacrifice, thus manifesting his gratitude to
God for deliverance, and his faith in Christ, the great sacrifice. This
offering was pleasing to the Lord; and a blessing resulted, not only to
the patriarch and his family, but to all who should live upon the earth.
“The Lord smelled a sweet savor; and the Lord said in his heart, I will
not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake.... While the earth
remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and
winter, and day and night, shall not cease.”[101] Here was a lesson for
all succeeding generations. Noah had come forth upon a desolate earth;
but before preparing a house for himself, he built an altar to God. His
stock of cattle was small, and had been preserved at great expense; yet
he cheerfully gave a part to the Lord, as an acknowledgment that all was
his. In like manner it should be our first care to render our free-will
offerings to God. Every manifestation of his mercy and love toward us
should be gratefully acknowledged, both by acts of devotion and by gifts
to his cause.
Lest the gathering clouds and falling rain should fill men with constant
terror, from fear of another flood, the Lord encouraged the family of
Noah by a promise: “I will establish my covenant with you; ... neither
shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.... I do set my bow
in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and
the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the
earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; ... and I will look upon
it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every
living creature.”[102]
How great the condescension of God, and his compassion for his erring
creatures, in thus placing the beautiful rainbow in the clouds as a
token of his covenant with men! The Lord declares that when he looks
upon the bow, he will remember his covenant. This does not imply that he
would ever forget; but he speaks to us in our own language, that we may
better understand him. It was God’s purpose that as the children of
after-generations should ask the meaning of the glorious arch which
spans the heavens, their parents should repeat the story of the flood,
and tell them that the Most High had bended the bow, and placed it in
the clouds as an assurance that the waters should never again overflow
the earth. Thus from generation to generation it would testify of divine
love to man, and would strengthen his confidence in God.
In heaven the semblance of a rainbow encircles the throne, and
overarches the head of Christ. The prophet says, “As the appearance of
the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance
of the brightness round about [the throne]. This was the appearance of
the likeness of the glory of Jehovah.”[103] The Revelator declares,
“Behold, a throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.... There
was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an
emerald.”[104] When man by his great wickedness invites the divine
judgments, the Saviour, interceding with the Father in his behalf,
points to the bow in the clouds, to the rainbow around the throne and
above his own head, as a token of the mercy of God toward the repentant
sinner.
With the assurance given to Noah concerning the flood, God himself has
linked one of the most precious promises of his grace: “As I have sworn
that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I
sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the
mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall
not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed,
saith Jehovah that hath mercy on thee.”[105]
As Noah looked upon the powerful beasts of prey that came forth with him
from the ark, he feared that his family, numbering only eight persons,
would be destroyed by them. But the Lord sent an angel to his servant
with the assuring message: “The fear of you and the dread of you shall
be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, upon
all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into
your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be
meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.”[106]
Before this time God had given man no permission to eat animal food; he
intended that the race should subsist wholly upon the productions of the
earth; but now that every green thing had been destroyed, he allowed
them to eat the flesh of the clean beasts that had been preserved in the
ark.
The entire surface of the earth was changed at the flood. A third
dreadful curse rested upon it in consequence of sin. As the water began
to subside, the hills and mountains were surrounded by a vast, turbid
sea. Everywhere were strewn the dead bodies of men and beasts. The Lord
would not permit these to remain to decompose and pollute the air,
therefore he made of the earth a vast burial-ground. A violent wind
which was caused to blow for the purpose of drying up the waters, moved
them with great force, in some instances even carrying away the tops of
the mountains, and heaping up trees, rocks, and earth above the bodies
of the dead. By the same means the silver and gold, the choice wood and
precious stones, which had enriched and adorned the world before the
flood, and which the inhabitants had idolized, were concealed from the
sight and search of men, the violent action of the waters piling earth
and rocks upon these treasures, and in some cases even forming mountains
above them. God saw that the more he enriched and prospered sinful men,
the more they would corrupt their ways before him. The treasures that
should have led them to glorify the bountiful Giver had been worshiped,
while God had been dishonored and despised.
The earth presented an appearance of confusion and desolation impossible
to describe. The mountains, once so beautiful in their perfect symmetry,
had become broken and irregular. Stones, ledges, and ragged rocks were
now scattered upon the surface of the earth. In many places, hills and
mountains had disappeared, leaving no trace where they once stood; and
plains had given place to mountain ranges. These changes were more
marked in some places than in others. Where once had been earth’s
richest treasures of gold, silver, and precious stones, were seen the
heaviest marks of the curse. And upon countries that were not inhabited,
and those where there had been the least crime, the curse rested more
lightly.
At this time immense forests were buried. These have since been changed
to coal, forming the extensive coal beds that now exist, and also
yielding large quantities of oil. The coal and oil frequently ignite and
burn beneath the surface of the earth. Thus rocks are heated, limestone
is burned, and iron ore melted. The action of the water upon the lime
adds fury to the intense heat, and causes earthquakes, volcanoes, and
fiery issues. As the fire and water come in contact with ledges of rock
and ore, there are heavy explosions underground, which sound like
muffled thunder. The air is hot and suffocating. Volcanic eruptions
follow; and these often failing to give sufficient vent to the heated
elements, the earth itself is convulsed, the ground heaves and swells
like the waves of the sea, great fissures appear, and sometimes cities,
villages, and burning mountains are swallowed up. These wonderful
manifestations will be more and more frequent and terrible just before
the second coming of Christ and the end of the world, as signs of its
speedy destruction.
The depths of the earth are the Lord’s arsenal, whence were drawn
weapons to be employed in the destruction of the old world. Waters
gushing from the earth united with the waters from heaven to accomplish
the work of desolation. Since the flood, fire as well as water has been
God’s agent to destroy very wicked cities. These judgments are sent,
that those who lightly regard God’s law and trample upon his authority,
may be led to tremble before his power, and to confess his just
sovereignty. As men have beheld burning mountains pouring forth fire and
flames, and torrents of melted ore, drying up rivers, overwhelming
populous cities, and everywhere spreading ruin and desolation, the
stoutest heart has been filled with terror, and infidels and blasphemers
have been constrained to acknowledge the infinite power of God.
Said the prophets of old, referring to scenes like these: “O that thou
wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down, that the
mountains might flow down at thy presence, as when the melting fire
burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to
thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence! When
thou didst terrible things which we looked not for, thou earnest down,
the mountains flowed down at thy presence.”[107] “The Lord hath his way
in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his
feet. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the
rivers.”[108]
More terrible manifestations than the world has ever yet beheld, will be
witnessed at the second advent of Christ. “The mountains quake at him,
and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the
world, and all that dwell therein. Who can stand before his indignation?
and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger?”[108] “Bow thy
heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall
smoke. Cast forth lightning, and scatter them; shoot out thine arrows,
and destroy them.”[109]
“I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath;
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.”[110] “And there were voices, and
thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was
not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so
great.” “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found.
And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about
the weight of a talent.”[111]
As lightnings from heaven unite with the fire in the earth, the
mountains will burn like a furnace, and will pour forth terrific streams
of lava, overwhelming gardens and fields, villages and cities. Seething
molten masses thrown into the rivers will cause the waters to boil,
sending forth massive rocks with indescribable violence, and scattering
their broken fragments upon the land. Rivers will be dried up. The earth
will be convulsed; everywhere there will be dreadful earthquakes and
eruptions.
Thus God will destroy the wicked from off the earth. But the righteous
will be preserved in the midst of these commotions, as Noah was
preserved in the ark. God will be their refuge, and under his wings
shall they trust. Says the psalmist: “Because thou hast made the Lord,
which is my refuge, even the Most High, thy habitation, there shall no
evil befall thee.” “In the time of trouble he shall hide me in his
pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me.” God’s
promise is, “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I
deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known my
name.”[112]
Footnote 100:
Gen. 8:13.
Footnote 101:
Gen. 8:21, 22.
Footnote 102:
Gen. 9:11-16.
Footnote 103:
Eze. 1:28.
Footnote 104:
Rev. 4:2, 3.
Footnote 105:
Isa. 54:9, 10.
Footnote 106:
Gen. 9:2, 3.
Footnote 107:
Isa. 64:1-3.
Footnote 108:
Nah. 1:3-6.
Footnote 109:
Ps. 144: 5, 6.
Footnote 110:
Acts 2:19.
Footnote 111:
Rev. 16:18, 20, 21.
Footnote 112:
Ps. 91:9, 10, 14; 27:5.
THE LITERAL WEEK—9
Like the Sabbath, the week originated at creation, and it has been
preserved and brought down to us through Bible history. God himself
measured off the first week as a sample for successive weeks to the
close of time. Like every other, it consisted of seven literal days. Six
days were employed in the work of creation; upon the seventh, God
rested, and he then blessed this day, and set it apart as a day of rest
for man.
In the law given from Sinai, God recognized the week, and the facts upon
which it is based. After giving the command, “Remember the Sabbath day,
to keep it holy,” and specifying what shall be done on the six days, and
what shall not be done on the seventh, he states the reason for thus
observing the week, by pointing back to his own example: “For in six
days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,
and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day,
and hallowed it.”[120] This reason appears beautiful and forcible when
we understand the days of creation to be literal. The first six days of
each week are given to man for labor, because God employed the same
period of the first week in the work of creation. On the seventh day man
is to refrain from labor, in commemoration of the Creator’s rest.
But the assumption that the events of the first week required thousands
upon thousands of years, strikes directly at the foundation of the
fourth commandment. It represents the Creator as commanding men to
observe the week of literal days in commemoration of vast, indefinite
periods. This is unlike his method of dealing with his creatures. It
makes indefinite and obscure that which he has made very plain. It is
infidelity in its most insidious and hence most dangerous form; its real
character is so disguised that it is held and taught by many who profess
to believe the Bible.
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them
by the breath of his mouth.” “For he spake, and it was done; he
commanded, and it stood fast.”[121] The Bible recognizes no long ages in
which the earth was slowly evolved from chaos. Of each successive day of
creation, the sacred record declares that it consisted of the evening
and the morning, like all other days that have followed. At the close of
each day is given the result of the Creator’s work. The statement is
made at the close of the first week’s record, “These are the generations
of the heavens and of the earth when they were created.”[122] But this
does not convey the idea that the days of creation were other than
literal days. Each day was called a generation, because that in it God
generated, or produced, some new portion of his work.
Geologists claim to find evidence from the earth itself that it is very
much older than the Mosaic record teaches. Bones of men and animals, as
well as instruments of warfare, petrified trees, etc., much larger than
any that now exist, or that have existed for thousands of years, have
been discovered, and from this it is inferred that the earth was
populated long before the time brought to view in the record of
creation, and by a race of beings vastly superior in size to any men now
living. Such reasoning has led many professed Bible believers to adopt
the position that the days of creation were vast, indefinite periods.
But apart from Bible history, geology can prove nothing. Those who
reason so confidently upon its discoveries, have no adequate conception
of the size of men, animals, and trees before the flood, or of the great
changes which then took place. Relics found in the earth do give
evidence of conditions differing in many respects from the present; but
the time when these conditions existed can be learned only from the
Inspired Record. In the history of the flood, inspiration has explained
that which geology alone could never fathom. In the days of Noah, men,
animals, and trees, many times larger than now exist, were buried, and
thus preserved as an evidence to later generations that the
antediluvians perished by a flood. God designed that the discovery of
these things should establish faith in inspired history; but men, with
their vain reasoning, fall into the same error as did the people before
the flood,—the things which God gave them as a benefit, they turn into a
curse by making a wrong use of them.
It is one of Satan’s devices to lead the people to accept the fables of
infidelity; for he can thus obscure the law of God, in itself very
plain, and embolden men to rebel against the divine government. His
efforts are especially directed against the fourth commandment, because
it so clearly points to the living God, the Maker of the heavens and the
earth.
There is a constant effort made to explain the work of creation as the
result of natural causes; and human reasoning is accepted even by
professed Christians, in opposition to plain Scripture facts. There are
many who oppose the investigation of the prophecies, especially those of
Daniel and the Revelation, declaring them to be so obscure that we
cannot understand them; yet these very persons eagerly receive the
suppositions of geologists, in contradiction of the Mosaic record. But
if that which God has revealed is so difficult to understand, how
inconsistent it is to accept mere suppositions in regard to that which
he has not revealed!
“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which
are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever.”[123] Just how
God accomplished the work of creation he has never revealed to men;
human science cannot search out the secrets of the Most High. His
creative power is as incomprehensible as his existence.
God has permitted a flood of light to be poured upon the world, in both
science and art; but when professedly scientific men treat upon these
subjects from a merely human point of view, they will assuredly come to
wrong conclusions. It may be innocent to speculate beyond what God’s
word has revealed, if our theories do not contradict facts found in the
Scriptures; but those who leave the word of God, and seek to account for
his created works upon scientific principles, are drifting, without
chart or compass, upon an unknown ocean. The greatest minds, if not
guided by the word of God in their research, become bewildered in their
attempts to trace the relations of science and revelation. Because the
Creator and his works are so far beyond their comprehension that they
are unable to explain them by natural laws, they regard Bible history as
unreliable. Those who doubt the reliability of the records of the Old
and New Testaments, will be led to go a step further, and doubt the
existence of God; and then, having lost their anchor, they are left to
beat about upon the rocks of infidelity.
These persons have lost the simplicity of faith. There should be a
settled belief in the divine authority of God’s holy word. The Bible is
not to be tested by men’s ideas of science. Human knowledge is an
unreliable guide. Skeptics who read the Bible for the sake of caviling,
may, through an imperfect comprehension of either science or revelation,
claim to find contradictions between them; but rightly understood, they
are in perfect harmony. Moses wrote under the guidance of the Spirit of
God; and a correct theory of geology will never claim discoveries that
cannot be reconciled with his statements. All truth, whether in nature
or in revelation, is consistent with itself in all its manifestations.
In the word of God many queries are raised that the most profound
scholars can never answer. Attention is called to these subjects to show
us how much there is, even among the common things of every-day life,
that finite minds, with all their boasted wisdom, can never fully
understand.
Yet men of science think that they can comprehend the wisdom of God,
that which he has done or can do. The idea largely prevails that he is
restricted by his own laws. Men either deny or ignore his existence, or
think to explain everything, even the operation of his Spirit upon the
human heart; and they no longer reverence his name or fear his power.
They do not believe in the supernatural, not understanding God’s laws,
or his infinite power to work his will through them. As commonly used,
the term “laws of nature” comprises what men have been able to discover
with regard to the laws that govern the physical world; but how limited
is their knowledge, and how vast the field in which the Creator can
work, in harmony with his own laws, and yet wholly beyond the
comprehension of finite beings!
Many teach that matter possesses vital power,—that certain properties
are imparted to matter, and it is then left to act through its own
inherent energy; and that the operations of nature are conducted in
harmony with fixed laws, with which God himself cannot interfere. This
is false science, and is not sustained by the word of God. Nature is the
servant of her Creator. God does not annul his laws, or work contrary to
them; but he is continually using them as his instruments. Nature
testifies of an intelligence, a presence, an active energy, that works
in and through her laws. There is in nature the continual working of the
Father and the Son. Christ says, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I
work.”[124]
The Levites, in their hymn recorded by Nehemiah, sung “Thou, even thou,
art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all
their host, the earth, and all things therein, ... and thou _preservest_
them all.”[125] As regards this world, God’s work of creation is
completed. For “the works were finished from the foundation of the
world.”[126] But his energy is still exerted in upholding the objects of
his creation. It is not because the mechanism that has once been set in
motion continues to act by its own inherent energy, that the pulse
beats, and breath follows breath; but every breath, every pulsation of
the heart, is an evidence of the all-pervading care of Him in whom “we
live, and move, and have our being.”[127] It is not because of inherent
power that year by year the earth produces her bounties, and continues
her motion around the sun. The hand of God guides the planets, and keeps
them in position in their orderly march through the heavens. He
“bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by names by the
greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one
faileth.”[128] It is through his power that vegetation flourishes, that
the leaves appear and the flowers bloom. He “maketh grass to grow upon
the mountains,” and by him the valleys are made fruitful. All the beasts
of the forest seek their meat from God,[129] and every living creature,
from the smallest insect up to man, is daily dependent upon his
providential care. In the beautiful words of the psalmist, “These wait
all upon thee.... That thou givest them they gather; thou openest thine
hand, they are filled with good.”[130] His word controls the elements,
he covers the heavens with clouds, and prepares rain for the earth. “He
giveth snow like wool; he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes.” “When
he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens,
and he causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth; he
maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his
treasures.”[131]
God is the foundation of everything. All true science is in harmony with
his works; all true education leads to obedience to his government.
Science opens new wonders to our view; she soars high, and explores new
depths; but she brings nothing from her research that conflicts with
divine revelation. Ignorance may seek to support false views of God by
appeals to science; but the book of nature and the written word shed
light upon each other. We are thus led to adore the Creator, and to have
an intelligent trust in his word.
No finite mind can fully comprehend the existence, the power, the
wisdom, or the works of the Infinite One. Says the sacred writer: “Canst
thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto
perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than
hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the
earth, and broader than the sea.”[132] The mightiest intellects of earth
cannot comprehend God. Men may be ever searching, ever learning, and
still there is an infinity beyond.
Yet the works of creation testify of God’s power and greatness. “The
heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his
handiwork.”[133] Those who take the written word as their counselor will
find in science an aid to understand God. “The invisible things of Him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.”[134]
[Illustration: “I do set my bow in the cloud, ... and I will look upon
it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every
living creature.”]
Footnote 120:
Ex. 20:8-11.
Footnote 121:
Ps. 33:6, 9.
Footnote 122:
Gen. 2:4.
Footnote 123:
Deut. 29:29.
Footnote 124:
John 5:17.
Footnote 125:
Neh. 9:6.
Footnote 126:
Heb. 4:3.
Footnote 127:
Acts 17:28.
Footnote 128:
Isa. 40:26.
Footnote 129:
Ps. 147:8; 104:20, 21.
Footnote 130:
Ps. 104:27, 28.
Footnote 131:
Ps. 147:16; Jer. 10:13.
Footnote 132:
Job 11:7-9.
Footnote 133:
Ps. 19:1.
Footnote 134:
Rom. 1:20.
THE TOWER OF BABEL—10
To re-people the desolate earth, which the flood had so lately swept
from its moral corruption, God had preserved but one family, the
household of Noah, to whom he had declared, “Thee have I seen righteous
before me in this generation.”[140] Yet in the three sons of Noah was
speedily developed the same great distinction seen in the world before
the flood. In Shem, Ham, and Japheth, who were to be the founders of the
human race, was foreshadowed the character of their posterity.
Noah, speaking by divine inspiration, foretold the history of the three
great races to spring from these fathers of mankind. Tracing the
descendants of Ham, through the son rather than the father, he declared,
“Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his
brethren.”[141] The unnatural crime of Ham declared that filial
reverence had long before been cast from his soul; and it revealed the
impiety and vileness of his character. These evil characteristics were
perpetuated in Canaan and his posterity, whose continued guilt called
upon them the judgments of God.
On the other hand, the reverence manifested by Shem and Japheth for
their father, and thus for the divine statutes, promised a brighter
future for their descendants. Concerning these sons it was declared:
“Blessed be Jehovah, God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant. God
shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and
Canaan shall be his servant.”[141] The line of Shem was to be that of
the chosen people, of God’s covenant, of the promised Redeemer. Jehovah
was the God of Shem. From him would descend Abraham, and the people of
Israel, through whom Christ was to come. “Happy is that people whose God
is the Lord.”[142] And Japheth “shall dwell in the tents of Shem.” In
the blessings of the gospel the descendants of Japheth were especially
to share.
The posterity of Canaan descended to the most degrading forms of
heathenism. Though the prophetic curse had doomed them to slavery, the
doom was withheld for centuries. God bore with their impiety and
corruption until they passed the limits of divine forbearance. Then they
were dispossessed, and became bondmen to the descendants of Shem and
Japheth.
The prophecy of Noah was no arbitrary denunciation of wrath or
declaration of favor. It did not fix the character and destiny of his
sons. But it showed what would be the result of the course of life they
had severally chosen, and the character they had developed. It was an
expression of God’s purpose toward them and their posterity in view of
their own character and conduct. As a rule, children inherit the
dispositions and tendencies of their parents, and imitate their example;
so that the sins of the parents are practiced by the children from
generation to generation. Thus the vileness and irreverence of Ham were
reproduced in his posterity, bringing a curse upon them for many
generations. “One sinner destroyeth much good.”[143]
On the other hand, how richly rewarded was Shem’s respect for his
father; and what an illustrious line of holy men appears in his
posterity! “The Lord knoweth the days of the upright,” “and his seed is
blessed.”[144] “Know therefore that the Lord thy God he is God, the
faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him
and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.”[145]
For a time, the descendants of Noah continued to dwell among the
mountains where the ark had rested. As their numbers increased, apostasy
soon led to division. Those who desired to forget their Creator, and to
cast off the restraint of his law, felt a constant annoyance from the
teaching and example of their God-fearing associates; and after a time
they decided to separate from the worshipers of God. Accordingly they
journeyed to the plain of Shinar, on the banks of the river Euphrates.
They were attracted by the beauty of the situation and the fertility of
the soil; and upon this plain they determined to make their home.
Here they decided to build a city, and in it a tower of such stupendous
height as should render it the wonder of the world. These enterprises
were designed to prevent the people from scattering abroad in colonies.
God had directed men to disperse throughout the earth, to replenish and
subdue it; but these Babel-builders determined to keep their community
united in one body, and to found a monarchy that should eventually
embrace the whole earth. Thus their city would become the metropolis of
a universal empire: its glory would command the admiration and homage of
the world, and render the founders illustrious. The magnificent tower,
reaching to the heavens, was intended to stand as a monument of the
power and wisdom of its builders, perpetuating their fame to the latest
generations.
The dwellers on the plain of Shinar disbelieved God’s covenant that he
would not again bring a flood upon the earth. Many of them denied the
existence of God, and attributed the flood to the operation of natural
causes. Others believed in a supreme being, and that it was he who had
destroyed the antediluvian world; and their hearts, like that of Cain,
rose up in rebellion against him. One object before them in the erection
of the tower was to secure their own safety in case of another deluge.
By carrying the structure to a much greater height than was reached by
the waters of the flood, they thought to place themselves beyond all
possibility of danger. And as they would be able to ascend to the region
of the clouds, they hoped to ascertain the cause of the flood. The whole
undertaking was designed to exalt still further the pride of its
projectors, and to turn the minds of future generations away from God,
and lead them into idolatry.
When the tower had been partially completed, a portion of it was
occupied as a dwelling-place for the builders; other apartments,
splendidly furnished and adorned, were devoted to their idols. The
people rejoiced in their success, and praised the gods of silver and
gold, and set themselves against the Ruler of heaven and earth. Suddenly
the work that had been advancing so prosperously was checked. Angels
were sent to bring to naught the purpose of the builders. The tower had
reached a lofty height, and it was impossible for the workmen at the top
to communicate directly with those at the base; therefore men were
stationed at different points, each to receive and report to the one
next below him the orders for needed material, or other directions
concerning the work. As messages were thus passing from one to another,
the language was confounded, so that material was called for which was
not needed, and the directions delivered were often the reverse of those
that had been given. Confusion and dismay followed. All work came to a
stand-still. There could be no further harmony or co-operation. The
builders were wholly unable to account for the strange misunderstandings
among them, and in their rage and disappointment they reproached one
another. Their confederacy ended in strife and bloodshed. Lightnings
from heaven, as an evidence of God’s displeasure, broke off the upper
portion of the tower, and cast it to the ground. Men were made to feel
that there is a God who ruleth in the heavens.
Up to this time, all men had spoken the same language; now those that
could understand one another’s speech united in companies; some went one
way, and some another. “The Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon
the face of all the earth.”[146] This dispersion was the means of
peopling the earth; and thus the Lord’s purpose was accomplished through
the very means that men had employed to prevent its fulfillment.
But at what a loss to those who had set themselves against God! It was
his purpose, that, as men should go forth to found nations in different
parts of the earth, they should carry with them a knowledge of his will,
that the light of truth might shine undimmed to succeeding generations.
Noah, the faithful preacher of righteousness, lived for three hundred
and fifty years after the flood, Shem for five hundred years, and thus
their descendants had an opportunity to become acquainted with the
requirements of God and the history of his dealings with their fathers.
But they were unwilling to listen to these unpalatable truths; they had
no desire to retain God in their knowledge; and by the confusion of
tongues they were, in a great measure, shut out from intercourse with
those who might have given them light.
[Illustration: THE TOWER OF BABEL. “The schemes of the Babel-builders
ended in shame and defeat.”]
The Babel-builders had indulged the spirit of murmuring against God.
Instead of gratefully remembering his mercy to Adam, and his gracious
covenant with Noah, they had complained of his severity in expelling the
first pair from Eden, and destroying the world by a flood. But while
they murmured against God as arbitrary and severe, they were accepting
the rule of the cruelest of tyrants. Satan was seeking to bring contempt
upon the sacrificial offerings that prefigured the death of Christ; and
as the minds of the people were darkened by idolatry, he led them to
counterfeit these offerings, and sacrifice their own children upon the
altars of their gods. As men turned away from God, the divine
attributes—justice, purity, and love—were supplanted by oppression,
violence, and brutality.
The men of Babel had determined to establish a government that should be
independent of God. There were some among them, however, who feared the
Lord, but who had been deceived by the pretensions of the ungodly, and
drawn into their schemes. For the sake of these faithful ones, the Lord
delayed his judgments, and gave the people time to reveal their true
character. As this was developed, the sons of God labored to turn them
from their purpose; but the people were fully united in their
Heaven-daring undertaking. Had they gone on unchecked, they would have
demoralized the world in its infancy. Their confederacy was founded in
rebellion; a kingdom established for self-exaltation, but in which God
was to have no rule or honor. Had this confederacy been permitted, a
mighty power would have borne sway to banish righteousness—and with it
peace, happiness, and security—from the earth. For the divine statutes,
which are “holy and just and good,”[147] men were endeavoring to
substitute laws to suit the purpose of their own selfish and cruel
hearts.
Those that feared the Lord cried unto him to interpose. “And the Lord
came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men
builded.”[148] In mercy to the world he defeated the purpose of the
tower-builders, and overthrew the memorial of their daring. In mercy he
confounded their speech, thus putting a check on their purposes of
rebellion. God bears long with the perversity of men, giving them ample
opportunity for repentance; but he marks all their devices to resist the
authority of his just and holy law. From time to time the unseen hand
that holds the scepter of government is stretched out to restrain
iniquity. Unmistakable evidence is given that the Creator of the
universe, the One infinite in wisdom and love and truth, is the supreme
ruler of heaven and earth, and that none can with impunity defy his
power.
The schemes of the Babel-builders ended in shame and defeat. The
monument to their pride became the memorial of their folly. Yet men are
continually pursuing the same course,—depending upon self, and rejecting
God’s law. It is the principle that Satan tried to carry out in heaven;
the same that governed Cain in presenting his offering.
There are tower-builders in our time. Infidels construct their theories
from the supposed deductions of science, and reject the revealed word of
God. They presume to pass sentence upon God’s moral government; they
despise his law, and boast of the sufficiency of human reason. Then,
“because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily,
therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do
evil.”[149]
In the professedly Christian world, many turn away from the plain
teachings of the Bible, and build up a creed from human speculations and
pleasing fables; and they point to their tower as a way to climb up to
heaven. Men hang with admiration upon the lips of eloquence while it
teaches that the transgressor shall not die, that salvation may be
secured without obedience to the law of God. If the professed followers
of Christ would accept God’s standard, it would bring them into unity;
but so long as human wisdom is exalted above his holy word, there will
be divisions and dissension. The existing confusion of conflicting
creeds and sects is fitly represented by the term “Babylon,” which
prophecy[150] applies to the world-loving churches of the last days.
Many seek to make a heaven for themselves by obtaining riches and power.
They “speak wickedly concerning oppression, they speak loftily,”[151]
trampling upon human rights, and disregarding divine authority. The
proud may be for a time in great power, and may see success in all that
they undertake; but in the end they will find only disappointment and
wretchedness.
The time of God’s investigation is at hand. The Most High will come down
to see that which the children of men have builded. His sovereign power
will be revealed; the works of human pride will be laid low. “The Lord
looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of
his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.” “The
Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to naught; he maketh the
devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth
forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.”[151]
Footnote 140:
Gen. 7:1.
Footnote 141:
Gen. 9:25-27.
Footnote 142:
Ps. 144:15.
Footnote 143:
Eccl. 9:18.
Footnote 144:
Ps. 37:18, 26.
Footnote 145:
Deut. 7:9.
Footnote 146:
Gen. 11:8.
Footnote 147:
Rom. 7:12.
Footnote 148:
Gen. 11:5.
Footnote 149:
Eccl. 8:11.
Footnote 150:
Rev. 14:8; 18:2.
Footnote 151:
Ps. 73:8; 33:13, 14, 10, 11.
HEIRS OF FAITH
“By faith Abraham became a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a
land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs
with him of the same promise: for he looked for the city which hath
the foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
THE CALL OF ABRAHAM—11
After the dispersion from Babel, idolatry again became well-nigh
universal, and the Lord finally left the hardened transgressors to
follow their evil ways, while he chose Abraham, of the line of Shem, and
made him the keeper of his law for future generations. Abraham had grown
up in the midst of superstition and heathenism. Even his father’s
household, by whom the knowledge of God had been preserved, were
yielding to the seductive influences, surrounding them, and they “served
other gods”[160] than Jehovah. But the true faith was not to become
extinct. God has ever preserved a remnant to serve him. Adam, Seth,
Enoch, Methuselah, Noah, Shem,[161] in unbroken line, had preserved from
age to age the precious revealings of his will. The son of Terah became
the inheritor of this holy trust. Idolatry invited him on every side,
but in vain. Faithful among the faithless, uncorrupted by the prevailing
apostasy, he steadfastly adhered to the worship of the one true God.
“The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call
upon him in truth.”[162] He communicated his will to Abraham, and gave
him a distinct knowledge of the requirements of his law, and of the
salvation that would be accomplished through Christ.
There was given to Abraham the promise, especially dear to the people of
that age, of a numerous posterity and of national greatness: “I will
make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great; and thou shalt be a blessing.” And to this was added the
assurance, precious above every other to the inheritor of faith, that of
his line the Redeemer of the world should come: “In thee shall all
families of the earth be blessed.”[163] Yet, as the first condition of
fulfillment, there was to be a test of faith; a sacrifice was demanded.
The message of God came to Abraham, “Get thee out of thy country, and
from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will
show thee.”[164] In order that God might qualify him for his great work,
as the keeper of the sacred oracles, Abraham must be separated from the
associations of his early life. The influence of kindred and friends
would interfere with the training which the Lord purposed to give his
servant. Now that Abraham was, in a special sense, connected with
heaven, he must dwell among strangers. His character must be peculiar,
differing from all the world. He could not even explain his course of
action so as to be understood by his friends. Spiritual things are
spiritually discerned, and his motives and actions were not comprehended
by his idolatrous kindred.
“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he
should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not
knowing whither he went.”[165] Abraham’s unquestioning obedience is one
of the most striking evidences of faith to be found in all the Bible. To
him, faith was “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen.”[165] Relying upon the divine promise, without the
least outward assurance of its fulfillment, he abandoned home and
kindred and native land, and went forth, he knew not whither, to follow
where God should lead. “By faith he became a sojourner in the land of
promise as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents, with Isaac and
Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.”[166]
It was no light test that was thus brought upon Abraham, no small
sacrifice that was required of him. There were strong ties to bind him
to his country, his kindred, and his home. But he did not hesitate to
obey the call. He had no question to ask concerning the land of
promise,—whether the soil was fertile, and the climate healthful;
whether the country offered agreeable surroundings, and would afford
opportunities for amassing wealth. God had spoken, and his servant must
obey; the happiest place on earth for him was the place where God would
have him to be.
Many are still tested as was Abraham. They do not hear the voice of God
speaking directly from the heavens, but he calls them by the teachings
of his word and the events of his providence. They may be required to
abandon a career that promises wealth and honor, to leave congenial and
profitable associations, and separate from kindred, to enter upon what
appears to be only a path of self-denial, hardship, and sacrifice. God
has a work for them to do; but a life of ease and the influence of
friends and kindred would hinder the development of the very traits
essential for its accomplishment. He calls them away from human
influences and aid, and leads them to feel the need of his help, and to
depend upon him alone, that he may reveal himself to them. Who is ready
at the call of Providence to renounce cherished plans and familiar
associations? Who will accept new duties and enter untried fields, doing
God’s work with firm and willing heart, for Christ’s sake counting his
losses gain? He who will do this has the faith of Abraham, and will
share with him that “far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,”
with which “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared.”[167]
The call from heaven first came to Abraham while he dwelt in “Ur of the
Chaldees,”[168] and in obedience to it he removed to Haran. Thus far his
father’s family accompanied him; for with their idolatry they united the
worship of the true God. Here Abraham remained till the death of Terah.
But from his father’s grave the divine voice bade him go forward. His
brother Nahor with his household clung to their home and their idols.
Besides Sarah, the wife of Abraham, only Lot, the son of Haran long
since dead, chose to share the patriarch’s pilgrim life. Yet it was a
large company that set out from Mesopotamia. Abraham already possessed
extensive flocks and herds, the riches of the East, and he was
surrounded by a numerous body of servants and retainers. He was
departing from the land of his fathers, never to return, and he took
with him all that he had, “their substance that they had gathered, and
the souls that they had gotten in Haran.”[169] Among these were many led
by higher considerations than those of service and self-interest. During
their stay in Haran, both Abraham and Sarah had led others to the
worship and service of the true God. These attached themselves to the
patriarch’s household, and accompanied him to the land of promise. “And
they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of
Canaan they came.”[169]
The place where they first tarried was Shechem. Under the shade of the
oaks of Moreh, in a wide, grassy valley, with its olive groves and
gushing springs, between Mount Ebal on the one side and Mount Gerizim on
the other, Abraham made his encampment. It was a fair and goodly country
that the patriarch had entered,—“a land of brooks of water, of fountains
and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and
barley, and vines, and fig-trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive,
and honey.”[170] But to the worshiper of Jehovah, a heavy shadow rested
upon wooded hill and fruitful plain. “The Canaanite was then in the
land.” Abraham had reached the goal of his hopes to find a country
occupied by an alien race, and overspread with idolatry. In the groves
were set up the altars of false gods, and human sacrifices were offered
upon the neighboring heights. While he clung to the divine promise, it
was not without distressful forebodings that he pitched his tent. Then
“the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this
land.”[171] His faith was strengthened by this assurance that the divine
presence was with him, that he was not left to the mercy of the wicked.
“And there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto
him.”[171] Still a wayfarer, he soon removed to a spot near Bethel, and
again erected an altar, and called upon the name of the Lord.
Abraham, “the friend of God,” set us a worthy example. His was a life of
prayer. Wherever he pitched his tent, close beside it was set up his
altar, calling all within his encampment to the morning and the evening
sacrifice. When his tent was removed, the altar remained. In following
years, there were those among the roving Canaanites who received
instruction from Abraham; and whenever one of these came to that altar,
he knew who had been there before him; and when he had pitched his tent,
he repaired the altar, and there worshiped the living God.
Abraham continued to journey southward; and again his faith was tested.
The heavens withheld their rain, the brooks ceased to flow in the
valleys, and the grass withered on the plains. The flocks and herds
found no pasture, and starvation threatened the whole encampment. Did
not the patriarch now question the leadings of Providence? Did he not
look back with longing to the plenty of the Chaldean plains? All were
eagerly watching to see what Abraham would do, as trouble after trouble
came upon him. So long as his confidence appeared unshaken, they felt
that there was hope; they were assured that God was his friend, and that
he was still guiding him.
Abraham could not explain the leadings of Providence; he had not
realized his expectations; but he held fast the promise, “I will bless
thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.” With
earnest prayer he considered how to preserve the life of his people and
his flocks, but he would not allow circumstances to shake his faith in
God’s word. To escape the famine he went down into Egypt. He did not
forsake Canaan, or in his extremity turn back to the Chaldean land from
which he came, where there was no scarcity of bread; but he sought a
temporary refuge as near as possible to the land of promise, intending
shortly to return where God had placed him.
The Lord in his providence had brought this trial upon Abraham to teach
him lessons of submission, patience, and faith,—lessons that were to be
placed on record for the benefit of all who should afterward be called
to endure affliction. God leads his children by a way that they know
not; but he does not forget or cast off those who put their trust in
him. He permitted affliction to come upon Job, but he did not forsake
him. He allowed the beloved John to be exiled to lonely Patmos, but the
Son of God met him there, and his vision was filled with scenes of
immortal glory. God permits trials to assail his people, that by their
constancy and obedience they themselves may be spiritually enriched, and
that their example may be a source of strength to others. “I know the
thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and
not of evil.”[172] The very trials that task our faith most severely,
and make it seem that God has forsaken us, are to lead us closer to
Christ, that we may lay all our burdens at his feet, and experience the
peace which he will give us in exchange.
God has always tried his people in the furnace of affliction. It is in
the heat of the furnace that the dross is separated from the true gold
of the Christian character. Jesus watches the test; he knows what is
needed to purify the precious metal, that it may reflect the radiance of
his love. It is by close, testing trials that God disciplines his
servants. He sees that some have powers which may be used in the
advancement of his work, and he puts these persons upon trial; in his
providence he brings them into positions that test their character, and
reveal defects and weaknesses that have been hidden from their own
knowledge. He gives them opportunity to correct these defects, and to
fit themselves for his service. He shows them their own weakness, and
teaches them to lean upon him; for he is their only help and safeguard.
Thus his object is attained. They are educated, trained, and
disciplined, prepared to fulfill the grand purpose for which their
powers were given them. When God calls them to action, they are ready,
and heavenly angels can unite with them in the work to be accomplished
on the earth.
During his stay in Egypt, Abraham gave evidence that he was not free
from human weakness and imperfection. In concealing the fact that Sarah
was his wife, he betrayed a distrust of the divine care, a lack of that
lofty faith and courage so often and nobly exemplified in his life.
Sarah was “fair to look upon,” and he doubted not that the dusky
Egyptians would covet the beautiful stranger, and that in order to
secure her, they would not scruple to slay her husband. He reasoned that
he was not guilty of falsehood in representing Sarah as his sister; for
she was the daughter of his father, though not of his mother. But this
concealment of the real relation between them was deception. No
deviation from strict integrity can meet God’s approval. Through
Abraham’s lack of faith, Sarah was placed in great peril. The king of
Egypt, being informed of her beauty, caused her to be taken to his
palace, intending to make her his wife. But the Lord, in his great
mercy, protected Sarah by sending judgments upon the royal household. By
this means the monarch learned the truth in the matter, and, indignant
at the deception practiced upon him, he reproved Abraham, and restored
to him his wife, saying, “What is this that thou hast done unto me?...
Why saidst thou, She is my sister? So I might have taken her to me to
wife. Now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.”[173]
Abraham had been greatly favored by the king; even now Pharaoh would
permit no harm to be done him or his company, but ordered a guard to
conduct them in safety out of his dominions. At this time, laws were
made prohibiting the Egyptians from intercourse with foreign shepherds
in any such familiarity as eating or drinking with them. Pharaoh’s
dismissal of Abraham was kind and generous; but he bade him leave Egypt,
for he dared not permit him to remain. He had ignorantly been about to
do him a serious injury; but God had interposed, and saved the monarch
from committing so great a sin. Pharaoh saw in this stranger a man whom
the God of heaven honored, and he feared to have in his kingdom one who
was so evidently under divine favor. Should Abraham remain in Egypt, his
increasing wealth and honor would be likely to excite the envy or
covetousness of the Egyptians, and some injury might be done him for
which the monarch would be held responsible, and which might again bring
judgments upon the royal house.
The warning that had been given to Pharaoh proved a protection to
Abraham in his after-intercourse with heathen peoples; for the matter
could not be kept secret, and it was seen that the God whom Abraham
worshiped would protect his servant, and that any injury done him would
be avenged. It is a dangerous thing to wrong one of the children of the
King of heaven. The psalmist refers to this chapter in Abraham’s
experience when he says, in speaking of the chosen people, that God
“reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do
my prophets no harm.”[174]
There is an interesting similarity between Abraham’s experience in Egypt
and that of his posterity, centuries later. Both went down into Egypt on
account of a famine, and both sojourned there. Through the manifestation
of divine judgments in their behalf, the fear of them fell upon the
Egyptians; and, enriched by the gifts of the heathen, they went out with
great substance.
[Illustration: “Wherever he pitched his tent, close beside was set up
his altar.”]
Footnote 160:
Joshua 24:2.
Footnote 161:
See Appendix, Note 2.
Footnote 162:
Ps. 145:18.
Footnote 163:
Gen. 12:3.
Footnote 164:
Gen. 12:1.
Footnote 165:
Heb. 11:8, 1.
Footnote 166:
Heb. 11:9, Rev. Ver.
Footnote 167:
2 Cor. 4:17; Rom. 8:18.
Footnote 168:
Gen. 11:31.
Footnote 169:
Gen. 12:5.
Footnote 170:
Deut. 8:7, 8.
Footnote 171:
Gen. 12:7.
Footnote 172:
Jer. 29:11.
Footnote 173:
Gen. 12:18, 19.
Footnote 174:
Ps. 105:14, 15.
ABRAHAM IN CANAAN—12
Abraham returned to Canaan “very rich in cattle, in silver, and in
gold.”[180] Lot was still with him, and again they came to Bethel, and
pitched their tents by the altar which they had before erected. They
soon found that increased possessions brought increased trouble. In the
midst of hardships and trials they had dwelt together in harmony, but in
their prosperity there was danger of strife between them. The pasturage
was not sufficient for the flocks and herds of both, and the frequent
disputes among the herdsmen were brought for settlement to their
masters. It was evident that they must separate. Abraham was Lot’s
senior in years, and his superior in relation, in wealth, and in
position; yet he was the first to propose plans for preserving peace.
Although the whole land had been given him by God himself, he
courteously waived this right.
“Let there be no strife,” he said, “between me and thee, and between my
herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren. Is not the whole land
before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me. If thou wilt take
the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the
right hand, then I will go to the left.”
Here the noble, unselfish spirit of Abraham was displayed. How many,
under similar circumstances, would, at all hazards, cling to their
individual rights and preferences! How many households have thus been
rent asunder! How many churches have been divided, making the cause of
truth a by-word and a reproach among the wicked! “Let there be no strife
between me and thee,” said Abraham, “for we be brethren;” not only by
natural relationship, but as worshipers of the true God. The children of
God, the world over, are one family, and the same spirit of love and
conciliation should govern them. “Be kindly affectioned one to another
with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another,”[181] is the
teaching of our Saviour. The cultivation of a uniform courtesy, a
willingness to do to others as we would wish them to do to us, would
annihilate half the ills of life. The spirit of self-aggrandizement is
the spirit of Satan; but the heart in which the love of Christ is
cherished, will possess that charity which seeketh not her own. Such
will heed the divine injunction, “Look not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others.”[182]
Although Lot owed his prosperity to his connection with Abraham, he
manifested no gratitude to his benefactor. Courtesy would have dictated
that he yield the choice to Abraham; but instead of this, he selfishly
endeavored to grasp all its advantages. He “lifted up his eyes, and
beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, ...
even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest
unto Zoar.”[183] The most fertile region in all Palestine was the Jordan
valley, reminding the beholders of the lost Paradise, and equaling the
beauty and productiveness of the Nile-enriched plains they had so lately
left. There were cities also, wealthy and beautiful, inviting to
profitable traffic in their crowded marts. Dazzled with visions of
worldly gain, Lot overlooked the moral and spiritual evils that would be
encountered there. The inhabitants of the plain were “sinners before the
Lord exceedingly;” but of this he was ignorant, or, knowing, gave it but
little weight. He “chose him all the plain of Jordan,” and “pitched his
tent toward Sodom.”[183] How little did he foresee the terrible results
of that selfish choice!
After the separation from Lot, Abraham again received from the Lord a
promise of the whole country. Soon after this, he removed to Hebron,
pitching his tent under the oaks of Mamre, and erecting beside it an
altar to the Lord. In the free air of those upland plains, with their
olive groves and vineyards, their fields of waving grain, and the wide
pasture grounds of the encircling hills, he dwelt, well content with his
simple, patriarchal life, and leaving to Lot the perilous luxury of the
vale of Sodom.
Abraham was honored by the surrounding nations as a mighty prince and a
wise and able chief. He did not shut away his influence from his
neighbors. His life and character, in their marked contrast to those of
the worshipers of idols, exerted a telling influence in favor of the
true faith. His allegiance to God was unswerving, while his affability
and benevolence inspired confidence and friendship, and his unaffected
greatness commanded respect and honor.
His religion was not held as a precious treasure to be jealously
guarded, and enjoyed solely by the possessor. True religion cannot be
thus held; for such a spirit is contrary to the principles of the
gospel. While Christ is dwelling in the heart, it is impossible to
conceal the light of his presence, or for that light to grow dim. On the
contrary, it will grow brighter and brighter as day by day the mists of
selfishness and sin that envelop the soul are dispelled by the bright
beams of the Sun of Righteousness.
The people of God are his representatives upon the earth, and he intends
that they shall be lights in the moral darkness of this world. Scattered
all over the country, in the towns, cities, and villages, they are God’s
witnesses, the channels through which he will communicate to an
unbelieving world the knowledge of his will and the wonders of his
grace. It is his plan that all who are partakers of the great salvation
shall be missionaries for him. The piety of the Christian constitutes
the standard by which worldlings judge the gospel. Trials patiently
borne, blessings gratefully received, meekness, kindness, mercy, and
love, habitually exhibited, are the lights that shine forth in the
character before the world, revealing the contrast with the darkness
that comes of the selfishness of the natural heart.
Rich in faith, noble in generosity, unfaltering in obedience, and humble
in the simplicity of his pilgrim life, Abraham was also wise in
diplomacy, and brave and skillful in war. Notwithstanding he was known
as the teacher of a new religion, three royal brothers, rulers of the
Amorite plains in which he dwelt, manifested their friendship by
inviting him to enter into an alliance with them for greater security;
for the country was filled with violence and oppression. An occasion
soon arose for him to avail himself of this alliance.
Chedorlaomer, king of Elam, had invaded Canaan fourteen years before,
and made it tributary to him. Several of the princes now revolted, and
the Elamite king, with four allies, again marched into the country to
reduce them to submission. Five kings of Canaan joined their forces, and
met the invaders in the vale of Siddim, but only to be completely
overthrown. A large part of the army was cut to pieces, and those who
escaped fled for safety to the mountains. The victors plundered the
cities of the plain, and departed with rich spoil and many captives,
among whom were Lot and his family.
Abraham, dwelling in peace in the oak groves at Mamre, learned from one
of the fugitives the story of the battle, and the calamity that had
befallen his nephew. He had cherished no unkind memory of Lot’s
ingratitude. All his affection for him was awakened, and he determined
that he should be rescued. Seeking, first of all, divine counsel,
Abraham prepared for war. From his own encampment he summoned three
hundred and eighteen trained servants, men trained in the fear of God,
in the service of their master, and in the practice of arms. His
confederates, Mamre, Eshcol, and Aner, joined him with their bands, and
together they started in pursuit of the invaders. The Elamites and their
allies had encamped at Dan, on the northern border of Canaan. Flushed
with victory, and having no fear of an assault from their vanquished
foes, they had given themselves up to reveling. The patriarch divided
his force so as to approach from different directions, and came upon the
encampment by night. His attack, so vigorous and unexpected, resulted in
speedy victory. The king of Elam was slain, and his panic-stricken
forces were utterly routed. Lot and his family, with all the prisoners
and their goods, were recovered, and a rich booty fell into the hands of
the victors. To Abraham, under God, the triumph was due. The worshiper
of Jehovah had not only rendered a great service to the country, but had
proved himself a man of valor. It was seen that righteousness is not
cowardice, and that Abraham’s religion made him courageous in
maintaining the right and defending the oppressed. His heroic act gave
him a wide-spread influence among the surrounding tribes. On his return,
the king of Sodom came out with his retinue to honor the conqueror. He
bade him take the goods, begging only that the prisoners should be
restored. By the usage of war, the spoils belonged to the conquerors;
but Abraham had undertaken this expedition with no purpose of gain, and
he refused to take advantage of the unfortunate, only stipulating that
his confederates should receive the portion to which they were entitled.
Few, if subjected to such a test, would have shown themselves as noble
as did Abraham. Few would have resisted the temptation to secure so rich
a booty. His example is a rebuke to self-seeking, mercenary spirits.
Abraham regarded the claims of justice and humanity. His conduct
illustrates the inspired maxim, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself.”[184] “I have lifted up mine hand,” he said, “unto the Lord,
the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will not
take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take
anything that is thine, lest thou shouldst say, I have made Abram
rich.”[185] He would give them no occasion to think that he had engaged
in warfare for the sake of gain, or to attribute his prosperity to their
gifts or favor. God had promised to bless Abraham, and to him the glory
should be ascribed.
Another who came out to welcome the victorious patriarch, was
Melchizedek, king of Salem, who brought forth bread and wine for the
refreshment of his army. As “priest of the most high God,” he pronounced
a blessing upon Abraham, and gave thanks to the Lord, who had wrought so
great a deliverance by his servant. And Abraham “give him tithes of
all.”
[Illustration: MELCHIZEDEK BLESSING ABRAHAM. “And Abraham gave him
tithes of all.”]
Abraham gladly returned to his tents and his flocks; but his mind was
disturbed by harassing thoughts. He had been a man of peace, so far as
possible shunning enmity and strife; and with horror he recalled the
scene of carnage he had witnessed. But the nations whose forces he had
defeated would doubtless renew the invasion of Canaan, and make him the
special object of their vengeance. Becoming thus involved in national
quarrels, the peaceful quiet of his life would be broken. Furthermore,
he had not entered upon the possession of Canaan, nor could he now hope
for an heir, to whom the promise might be fulfilled.
In a vision of the night the divine voice was again heard. “Fear not,
Abram,” were the words of the Prince of princes; “I am thy shield, and
thy exceeding great reward.”[186] But his mind was so oppressed by
forebodings that he could not now grasp the promise with unquestioning
confidence as heretofore. He prayed for some tangible evidence that it
would be fulfilled. And how was the covenant promise to be realized,
while the gift of a son was withheld? “What wilt thou give me,” he
said, “seeing I go childless?” “And, lo, one born in my house is mine
heir.”[186] He proposed to make his trusty servant Eliezer his son by
adoption, and the inheritor of his possessions. But he was assured
that a child of his own was to be his heir. Then he was led outside
his tent, and told to look up to the unnumbered stars glittering in
the heavens; and as he did so, the words were spoken, “So shall thy
seed be.” “Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for
righteousness.”[187]
Still the patriarch begged for some visible token as a confirmation of
his faith, and as an evidence to after-generations that God’s gracious
purposes toward them would be accomplished. The Lord condescended to
enter into a covenant with his servant, employing such forms as were
customary among men for the ratification of a solemn engagement. By
divine direction, Abraham sacrificed a heifer, a she-goat, and a ram,
each three years old, dividing the bodies, and laying the pieces a
little distance apart. To these he added a turtle-dove and a young
pigeon, which, however, were not divided. This being done, he reverently
passed between the parts of the sacrifice, making a solemn vow to God of
perpetual obedience. Watchful and steadfast, he remained beside the
carcasses till the going down of the sun, to guard them from being
defiled or devoured by birds of prey. About sunset he sank into a deep
sleep; and, “lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him.”[188] And the
voice of God was heard, bidding him not to expect immediate possession
of the promised land, and pointing forward to the sufferings of his
posterity before their establishment in Canaan. The plan of redemption
was here opened to him, in the death of Christ, the great sacrifice, and
his coming in glory. Abraham saw also the earth restored to its Eden
beauty, to be given him for an everlasting possession, as the final and
complete fulfillment of the promise.
As a pledge of this covenant of God with men, a smoking furnace and a
burning lamp, symbols of the divine presence, passed between the severed
victims, totally consuming them. And again a voice was heard by Abraham,
confirming the gift of the land of Canaan to his descendants, “from the
river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates.”
When Abraham had been nearly twenty-five years in Canaan, the Lord
appeared unto him, and said, “I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and
be thou perfect.”[189] In awe, the patriarch fell upon his face, and the
message continued: “Behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be
a father of many nations.” In token of the fulfillment of this covenant,
his name, heretofore called Abram, was changed to Abraham, which
signifies, “father of a great multitude.” Sarai’s name became
Sarah,—“princess;” “for,” said the divine voice, “she shall be a mother
of nations; kings of people shall be of her.”
At this time the rite of circumcision was given to Abraham as “a seal
of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being
uncircumcised.”[190] It was to be observed by the patriarch and his
descendants as a token that they were devoted to the service of God
and thus separated from idolaters, and that God accepted them as his
peculiar treasure. By this rite they were pledged to fulfill, on their
part, the conditions of the covenant made with Abraham. They were not
to contract marriages with the heathen; for by so doing they would
lose their reverence for God and his holy law; they would be tempted
to engage in the sinful practices of other nations, and would be
seduced into idolatry.
God conferred great honor upon Abraham. Angels of heaven walked and
talked with him as friend with friend. When judgments were about to be
visited upon Sodom, the fact was not hidden from him, and he became an
intercessor with God for sinners. His interview with the angels presents
also a beautiful example of hospitality.
In the hot summer noontide the patriarch was sitting in his tent door,
looking out over the quiet landscape, when he saw in the distance three
travelers approaching. Before reaching his tent, the strangers halted,
as if consulting as to their course. Without waiting for them to solicit
favors, Abraham rose quickly, and as they were apparently turning in
another direction, he hastened after them, and with the utmost courtesy
urged them to honor him by tarrying for refreshment. With his own hands
he brought water that they might wash the dust of travel from their
feet. He himself selected their food, and while they were at rest under
the cooling shade, an entertainment was made ready, and he stood
respectfully beside them while they partook of his hospitality. This act
of courtesy God regarded of sufficient importance to record in his word;
and a thousand years later, it was referred to by an inspired apostle:
“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares.”[191]
Abraham had seen in his guests only three tired wayfarers, little
thinking that among them was One whom he might worship without sin. But
the true character of the heavenly messengers was now revealed. Though
they were on their way as ministers of wrath, yet to Abraham, the man of
faith, they spoke first of blessings. Though God is strict to mark
iniquity, and to punish transgression, he takes no delight in vengeance.
The work of destruction is a “strange work” to Him who is infinite in
love.
“The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him.”[192] Abraham had
honored God, and the Lord honored him, taking him into his counsels, and
revealing to him his purposes. “Shall I hide from Abraham that thing
which I do?” said the Lord. “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and
because their sin is very grievous, I will go down now, and see whether
they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto
me. And if not, I will know.”[193] God knew well the measure of Sodom’s
guilt; but he expressed himself after the manner of men, that the
justice of his dealings might be understood. Before bringing judgment
upon the transgressors, he would go himself, to institute an examination
of their course; if they had not passed the limits of divine mercy, he
would still grant them space for repentance.
Two of the heavenly messengers departed, leaving Abraham alone with Him
whom he now knew to be the Son of God. And the man of faith pleaded for
the inhabitants of Sodom. Once he had saved them by his sword; now he
endeavored to save them by prayer. Lot and his household were still
dwellers there; and the unselfish love that prompted Abraham to their
rescue from the Elamites, now sought to save them, if it were God’s
will, from the storm of divine judgment.
With deep reverence and humility he urged his plea: “I have taken upon
me to speak unto the Lord, which am but dust and ashes.” There was no
self-confidence, no boasting of his own righteousness. He did not claim
favor on the ground of his obedience, or of the sacrifices he had made
in doing God’s will. Himself a sinner, he pleaded in the sinner’s
behalf. Such a spirit all who approach God should possess. Yet Abraham
manifested the confidence of a child pleading with a loved father. He
came close to the heavenly messenger, and fervently urged his petition.
Though Lot had become a dweller in Sodom, he did not partake in the
iniquity of its inhabitants. Abraham thought that in that populous city
there must be other worshipers of the true God. And in view of this he
pleaded, “That be far from thee, to do after this manner, to slay the
righteous with the wicked; ... that be far from thee. Shall not the
Judge of all the earth do right?” Abraham asked not once merely, but
many times. Waxing bolder as his requests were granted, he continued
until he gained the assurance that if even ten righteous persons could
be found in it, the city would be spared.
Love for perishing souls inspired Abraham’s prayer. While he loathed the
sins of that corrupt city, he desired that the sinners might be saved.
His deep interest for Sodom shows the anxiety that we should feel for
the impenitent. We should cherish hatred of sin, but pity and love for
the sinner. All around us are souls going down to ruin as hopeless, as
terrible, as that which befell Sodom. Every day the probation of some is
closing. Every hour some are passing beyond the reach of mercy. And
where are the voices of warning and entreaty to bid the sinner flee from
this fearful doom? Where are the hands stretched out to draw him back
from death? Where are those who with humility and persevering faith are
pleading with God for him?
The spirit of Abraham was the spirit of Christ. The Son of God is
himself the great intercessor in the sinner’s behalf. He who has paid
the price for its redemption knows the worth of the human soul. With an
antagonism to evil such as can exist only in a nature spotlessly pure,
Christ manifested toward the sinner a love which infinite goodness alone
could conceive. In the agonies of the crucifixion, himself burdened with
the awful weight of the sins of the whole world, he prayed for his
revilers and murderers, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what
they do.”[194]
Of Abraham it is written that “he was called the friend of God,” “the
father of all them that believe.”[195] The testimony of God concerning
this faithful patriarch is, “Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my
charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” And again, “I know
him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and
they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that
the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”[196]
It was a high honor to which Abraham was called, that of being the
father of the people who for centuries were the guardians and preservers
of the truth of God for the world,—of that people through whom all the
nations of the earth should be blessed in the advent of the promised
Messiah. But He who called the patriarch judged him worthy. It is God
that speaks. He who understands the thoughts afar off, and places the
right estimate upon men, says, “I know him.” There would be, on the part
of Abraham, no betraying of the truth for selfish purposes. He would
keep the law, and deal justly and righteously. And he would not only
fear the Lord himself, but would cultivate religion in his home. He
would instruct his family in righteousness. The law of God would be the
rule in his household.
Abraham’s household comprised more than a thousand souls. Those who were
led by his teachings to worship the one God, found a home in his
encampment; and here, as in a school, they received such instruction as
would prepare them to be representatives of the true faith. Thus a great
responsibility rested upon him. He was training heads of families, and
his methods of government would be carried out in the households over
which they should preside.
In early times the father was the ruler and priest of his own family,
and he exercised authority over his children, even after they had
families of their own. His descendants were taught to look up to him as
their head, in both religious and secular matters. This patriarchal
system of government Abraham endeavored to perpetuate, as it tended to
preserve the knowledge of God. It was necessary to bind the members of
the household together, in order to build up a barrier against the
idolatry that had become so wide-spread and so deep-seated. Abraham
sought, by every means in his power, to guard the inmates of his
encampment against mingling with the heathen and witnessing their
idolatrous practices; for he knew that familiarity with evil would
insensibly corrupt the principles. The greatest care was exercised to
shut out every form of false religion, and to impress the mind with the
majesty and glory of the living God as the true object of worship.
It was a wise arrangement, which God himself had made, to cut off his
people, so far as possible, from connection with the heathen, making
them a people dwelling alone, and not reckoned among the nations. He had
separated Abraham from his idolatrous kindred, that the patriarch might
train and educate his family apart from the seductive influences which
would have surrounded them in Mesopotamia, and that the true faith might
be preserved in its purity by his descendants, from generation to
generation.
Abraham’s affection for his children and his household led him to guard
their religious faith, to impart to them a knowledge of the divine
statutes, as the most precious legacy he could transmit to them, and
through them to the world. All were taught that they were under the rule
of the God of heaven. There was to be no oppression on the part of
parents, and no disobedience on the part of children. God’s law had
appointed to each his duties, and only in obedience to it could any
secure happiness or prosperity.
His own example, the silent influence of his daily life, was a constant
lesson. The unswerving integrity, the benevolence and unselfish
courtesy, which had won the admiration of kings, were displayed in the
home. There was a fragrance about the life, a nobility and loveliness of
character, which revealed to all that he was connected with Heaven. He
did not neglect the soul of the humblest servant. In his household there
was not one law for the master, and another for the servant; a royal way
for the rich, and another for the poor. All were treated with justice
and compassion, as inheritors with him of the grace of life.
He “will command his household.” There would be no sinful neglect to
restrain the evil propensities of his children, no weak, unwise,
indulgent favoritism; no yielding of his conviction of duty to the
claims of mistaken affection. Abraham would not only give right
instruction, but he would maintain the authority of just and righteous
laws.
How few there are in our day who follow this example! On the part of too
many parents there is a blind and selfish sentimentalism, miscalled
love, which is manifested in leaving children, with their unformed
judgment and undisciplined passions, to the control of their own will.
This is the veriest cruelty to the youth, and a great wrong to the
world. Parental indulgence causes disorder in families and in society.
It confirms in the young the desire to follow inclination, instead of
submitting to the divine requirements. Thus they grow up with a heart
averse to doing God’s will, and they transmit their irreligious,
insubordinate spirit to their children, and children’s children. Like
Abraham, parents should command their households after them. Let
obedience to parental authority be taught and enforced as the first step
in obedience to the authority of God.
The light esteem in which the law of God is held, even by religious
leaders, has been productive of great evil. The teaching which has
become so wide-spread, that the divine statutes are no longer binding
upon men, is the same as idolatry in its effect upon the morals of the
people. Those who seek to lessen the claims of God’s holy law are
striking directly at the foundation of the government of families and
nations. Religious parents, failing to walk in his statutes, do not
command their household to keep the way of the Lord. The law of God is
not made the rule of life. The children, as they make homes of their
own, feel under no obligation to teach their children what they
themselves have never been taught. And this is why there are so many
godless families; this is why depravity is so deep and wide-spread.
Not until parents themselves walk in the law of the Lord with perfect
hearts, will they be prepared to command their children after them. A
reformation in this respect is needed,—a reformation which shall be deep
and broad. Parents need to reform; ministers need to reform; they need
God in their households. If they would see a different state of things,
they must bring his word into their families, and must make it their
counselor. They must teach their children that it is the voice of God
addressed to them, and is to be implicitly obeyed. They should patiently
instruct their children, kindly and untiringly teach them how to live in
order to please God. The children of such a household are prepared to
meet the sophistries of infidelity. They have accepted the Bible as the
basis of their faith, and they have a foundation that cannot be swept
away by the incoming tide of skepticism.
In too many households, prayer is neglected. Parents feel that they have
no time for morning and evening worship. They cannot spare a few moments
to be spent in thanksgiving to God for his abundant mercies,—for the
blessed sunshine and the showers of rain, which cause vegetation to
flourish, and for the guardianship of holy angels. They have no time to
offer prayer for divine help and guidance, and for the abiding presence
of Jesus in the household. They go forth to labor as the ox or the horse
goes, without one thought of God or heaven. They have souls so precious
that rather than permit them to be hopelessly lost, the Son of God gave
his life to ransom them; but they have little more appreciation of his
great goodness than have the beasts that perish.
Like the patriarchs of old, those who profess to love God should erect
an altar to the Lord wherever they pitch their tent. If ever there was a
time when every house should be a house of prayer, it is now. Fathers
and mothers should often lift up their hearts to God in humble
supplication for themselves and their children. Let the father, as
priest of the household, lay upon the altar of God the morning and
evening sacrifice, while the wife and children unite in prayer and
praise. In such a household, Jesus will love to tarry.
From every Christian home a holy light should shine forth. Love should
be revealed in action. It should flow out in all home intercourse,
showing itself in thoughtful kindness, in gentle, unselfish courtesy.
There are homes where this principle is carried out,—homes where God is
worshiped, and truest love reigns. From these homes, morning and evening
prayer ascends to God as sweet incense, and his mercies and blessings
descend upon the suppliants like the morning dew.
A well-ordered Christian household is a powerful argument in favor of
the reality of the Christian religion,—an argument that the infidel
cannot gainsay. All can see that there is an influence at work in the
family that affects the children, and that the God of Abraham is with
them. If the homes of professed Christians had a right religious mould,
they would exert a mighty influence for good. They would indeed be the
“light of the world.” The God of heaven speaks to every faithful parent
in the words addressed to Abraham: “I know him, that he will command his
children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the
Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham
that which he hath spoken of him.”
Footnote 180:
Gen. 13:1-9.
Footnote 181:
Rom. 12:10.
Footnote 182:
Phil. 2:4.
Footnote 183:
Gen. 13:10-13.
Footnote 184:
Lev. 19:18.
Footnote 185:
Gen. 14:17-24.
Footnote 186:
Gen. 15:1-5.
Footnote 187:
Rom. 4:3.
Footnote 188:
Gen. 15:7-18.
Footnote 189:
Gen. 17:1-16.
Footnote 190:
Rom. 4:11.
Footnote 191:
Heb. 13:2.
Footnote 192:
Ps. 25:14.
Footnote 193:
Gen. 18:17-33.
Footnote 194:
Luke 23:34.
Footnote 195:
James 2:23; Rom. 4:11.
Footnote 196:
Gen. 26:5; 18:19.
THE TEST OF FAITH—13