Footnote 905:
Joshua 17:14-18.
Footnote 906:
Joshua 18:1-10.
Footnote 907:
Jer. 7:12, 14.
Footnote 908:
Joshua 19:49, 50.
Footnote 909:
Num. 35:11, 12.
Footnote 910:
Num. 35:30.
Footnote 911:
Matt. 18:16.
Footnote 912:
Gen. 9:6; Num. 35:31, 33; Ex. 21:14.
Footnote 913:
Rom. 8:1, 34; Heb. 6:18.
Footnote 914:
Heb. 10:26, 27.
Footnote 915:
Joshua 4:12, 13.
Footnote 916:
See Joshua 22.
Footnote 917:
John 17:20.
Footnote 918:
1 Peter 3:8, 9.
THE LAST WORDS OF JOSHUA—49
The wars of conquest ended, Joshua had withdrawn to the peaceful
retirement of his home at Timnath-serah. “And it came to pass a long
time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their
enemies round about, that Joshua ... called for all Israel, and for
their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their
officers.”[919]
Some years had passed since the people had settled in their possessions,
and already could be seen cropping out the same evils that had
heretofore brought judgments upon Israel. As Joshua felt the infirmities
of age stealing upon him, and realized that his work must soon close, he
was filled with anxiety for the future of his people. It was with more
than a father’s interest that he addressed them, as they gathered once
more about their aged chief. “Ye have seen,” he said, “all that the Lord
your God hath done unto all these nations because of you; for the Lord
your God is he that hath fought for you.” Although the Canaanites had
been subdued, they still possessed a considerable portion of the land
promised to Israel, and Joshua exhorted his people not to settle down at
ease, and forget the Lord’s command to utterly dispossess these
idolatrous nations.
The people in general were slow to complete the work of driving out the
heathen. The tribes had dispersed to their possessions, the army had
disbanded, and it was looked upon as a difficult and doubtful
undertaking to renew the war. But Joshua declared: “The Lord your God,
he shall expel them from before you, and drive them from out of your
sight; and ye shall possess their land, as the Lord your God hath
promised unto you. Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all
that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside
therefrom to the right hand or to the left.”
Joshua appealed to the people themselves as witnesses that, so far as
they had complied with the conditions, God had faithfully fulfilled his
promises to them. “Ye know in all your hearts and in all your souls,” he
said, “that not one thing hath failed of all the good things which the
Lord your God spake concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and
not one thing hath failed thereof.” He declared to them that as the Lord
had fulfilled his promises, so he would fulfill his threatenings. “It
shall come to pass, that as all good things are come upon you, which the
Lord your God promised you; so shall the Lord bring upon you all evil
things.... When ye have transgressed the covenant of the Lord, ... then
shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and ye shall perish
quickly from off the good land which he hath given unto you.”
Satan deceives many with the plausible theory that God’s love for his
people is so great that he will excuse sin in them; he represents that
while the threatenings of God’s word are to serve a certain purpose in
his moral government, they are never to be literally fulfilled. But in
all his dealings with his creatures, God has maintained the principles
of righteousness by revealing sin in its true character,—by
demonstrating that its sure result is misery and death. The
unconditional pardon of sin never has been, and never will be. Such
pardon would show the abandonment of the principles of righteousness
which are the very foundation of the government of God. It would fill
the unfallen universe with consternation. God has faithfully pointed out
the results of sin, and if these warnings were not true, how could we be
sure that his promises would be fulfilled? That so-called benevolence
which would set aside justice, is not benevolence, but weakness.
God is the life-giver. From the beginning, all his laws were ordained to
life. But sin broke in upon the order that God had established, and
discord followed. So long as sin exists, suffering and death are
inevitable. It is only because the Redeemer has borne the curse of sin
in our behalf, that man can hope to escape, in his own person, its dire
results.
Before the death of Joshua, the heads and representatives of the tribes,
obedient to his summons, again assembled at Shechem. No spot in all the
land possessed so many sacred associations, carrying their minds back to
God’s covenant with Abraham and Jacob, and recalling also their own
solemn vows upon their entrance into Canaan. Here were the mountains
Ebal and Gerizim, the silent witnesses of those vows which now, in the
presence of their dying leader, they had assembled to renew. On every
side were evidences of what God had wrought for them; how he had given
them a land for which they did not labor, and cities which they built
not, vineyards and oliveyards which they planted not. Joshua reviewed
once more the history of Israel, recounting the wonderful works of God,
that all might have a sense of his love and mercy, and might serve him
“in sincerity and in truth.”
By Joshua’s direction the ark had been brought from Shiloh. The occasion
was one of great solemnity, and this symbol of God’s presence would
deepen the impression he wished to make upon the people. After
presenting the goodness of God toward Israel, he called upon them, in
the name of Jehovah, to choose whom they would serve. The worship of
idols was still to some extent secretly practiced, and Joshua endeavored
now to bring them to a decision that should banish this sin from Israel.
“If it seem evil unto you to serve Jehovah,” he said, “choose you this
day whom ye will serve.” Joshua desired to lead them to serve God, not
by compulsion, but willingly. Love to God is the very foundation of
religion. To engage in his service merely from hope of reward or fear of
punishment, would avail nothing. Open apostasy would not be more
offensive to God than hypocrisy and mere formal worship.
The aged leader urged the people to consider, in all its bearings, what
he had set before them, and to decide if they really desired to live as
did the degraded idolatrous nations around them. If it seemed evil to
them to serve Jehovah, the source of power, the fountain of blessing,
let them that day choose whom they would serve,—“the gods which your
fathers served,” from whom Abraham was called out, “or the gods of the
Amorites, in whose land ye dwell.” These last words were a keen rebuke
to Israel. The gods of the Amorites had not been able to protect their
worshipers. Because of their abominable and debasing sins, that wicked
nation had been destroyed, and the good land which they once possessed
had been given to God’s people. What folly for Israel to choose the
deities for whose worship the Amorites had been destroyed! “As for me
and my house,” said Joshua, “we will serve Jehovah.” The same holy zeal
that inspired the leader’s heart was communicated to the people. His
appeals called forth the unhesitating response, “God forbid that we
should forsake Jehovah, to serve other gods.”
“Ye cannot serve the Lord,” said Joshua, “for he is a holy God; ... he
will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.” Before there could
be any permanent reformation, the people must be led to feel their utter
inability, in themselves, to render obedience to God. They had broken
his law, it condemned them as transgressors, and it provided no way of
escape. While they trusted in their own strength and righteousness, it
was impossible for them to secure the pardon of their sins; they could
not meet the claims of God’s perfect law, and it was in vain that they
pledged themselves to serve God. It was only by faith in Christ that
they could secure pardon of sin, and receive strength to obey God’s law.
They must cease to rely upon their own efforts for salvation, they must
trust wholly in the merits of the promised Saviour, if they would be
accepted of God.
Joshua endeavored to lead his hearers to weigh well their words, and
refrain from vows which they would be unprepared to fulfill. With deep
earnestness they repeated the declaration: “Nay; but we will serve the
Lord.” Solemnly consenting to the witness against themselves that they
had chosen Jehovah, they once more reiterated their pledge of loyalty:
“The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.
“So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a
statute and an ordinance in Shechem.” Having written an account of this
solemn transaction, he placed it, with the book of the law, in the side
of the ark. And he set up a pillar as a memorial, saying, “Behold, this
stone shall be a witness unto you; for it hath heard all the words of
the Lord which he spake unto us; it shall be therefore a witness unto
you, lest ye deny your God. So Joshua let the people depart, every man
to his inheritance.”
Joshua’s work for Israel was done. He “had wholly followed the Lord;”
and in the book of God he is written, “The servant of Jehovah.” The
noblest testimony to his character as a public leader is the history of
the generation that had enjoyed his labors: “Israel served the Lord all
the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived
Joshua.”
Footnote 919:
See Joshua 23, 24.
TITHES AND OFFERINGS—50
In the Hebrew economy, one tenth of the income of the people was set
apart to support the public worship of God. Thus Moses declared to
Israel: “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or
of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy unto the Lord.” “And
concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, ... the tenth shall
be holy unto the Lord.”[920]
But the tithing system did not originate with the Hebrews. From the
earliest times the Lord claimed a tithe as his; and this claim was
recognized and honored. Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, the priest
of the most high God.[921] Jacob, when at Bethel, an exile and a
wanderer, promised the Lord, “Of all that thou shalt give me I will
surely give the tenth unto thee.”[921] As the Israelites were about to
be established as a nation, the law of tithing was re-affirmed, as one
of the divinely ordained statutes upon obedience to which their
prosperity depended.
The system of tithes and offerings was intended to impress the minds of
men with a great truth,—that God is the source of every blessing to his
creatures, and that to him man’s gratitude is due for the good gifts of
his providence.
“He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.”[922] The Lord
declares, “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a
thousand hills.” “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine.” And it is
God who gives men power to get wealth.[922] As an acknowledgment that
all things came from him, the Lord directed that a portion of his bounty
should be returned to him in gifts and offerings to sustain his worship.
“The tithe ... _is_ the Lord’s.” Here the same form of expression is
employed as in the law of the Sabbath. “The seventh day _is_ the Sabbath
of the Lord thy God.”[923] God reserved to himself a specified portion
of man’s time and of his means, and no man could, without guilt,
appropriate either for his own interests.
The tithe was to be exclusively devoted to the use of the Levites, the
tribe that had been set apart for the service of the sanctuary. But this
was by no means the limit of the contributions for religious purposes.
The tabernacle, as afterward the temple, was erected wholly by free-will
offerings; and to provide for necessary repairs, and other expenses,
Moses directed that as often as the people were numbered, each should
contribute a half shekel for “the service of the tabernacle.” In the
time of Nehemiah a contribution was made yearly for this purpose.[924]
From time to time, sin-offerings and thank-offerings were brought to
God. These were presented in great numbers at the annual feasts. And the
most liberal provision was made for the poor.
Even before the tithe could be reserved, there had been an
acknowledgment of the claims of God. The first that ripened of every
product of the land, was consecrated to him. The first of the wool when
the sheep were shorn, of the grain when the wheat was threshed, the
first of the oil and the wine, was set apart for God. So also were the
first-born of all animals; and a redemption price was paid for the
first-born son. The first-fruits were to be presented before the Lord at
the sanctuary, and were then devoted to the use of the priests.
Thus the people were constantly reminded that God was the true
proprietor of their fields, their flocks, and their herds; that he sent
them sunshine and rain for their seed-time and harvest, and that
everything they possessed was of his creation, and he had made them
stewards of his goods.
As the men of Israel, laden with the first-fruits of field and orchard
and vineyard, gathered at the tabernacle, there was made a public
acknowledgment of God’s goodness. When the priest accepted the gift, the
offerer, speaking as in the presence of Jehovah, said, “A Syrian ready
to perish was my father;” and he described the sojourn in Egypt, and the
affliction from which God had delivered Israel “with an outstretched
arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders.” And
he said, “He hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this
land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And now, behold, I
have brought the first-fruits of the land, which thou, Jehovah, hast
given me.”[925]
The contributions required of the Hebrews for religious and charitable
purposes amounted to fully one-fourth of their income. So heavy a tax
upon the resources of the people might be expected to reduce them to
poverty; but, on the contrary, the faithful observance of these
regulations was one of the conditions of their prosperity. On condition
of their obedience, God made them this promise: “I will rebuke the
devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your
ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the
field.... And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a
delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.”[926]
A striking illustration of the results of selfishly withholding even
free-will offerings from the cause of God, was given in the days of the
prophet Haggai. After their return from the captivity in Babylon, the
Jews undertook to rebuild the temple of the Lord; but meeting determined
opposition from their enemies, they discontinued the work; and a severe
drought, by which they were reduced to actual want, convinced them that
it was impossible to complete the building of the temple. “The time is
not come,” they said, “the time that the Lord’s house should be built.”
But a message was sent them by the Lord’s prophet: “Is it time for you,
O ye, to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie waste? Now
therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. Ye have
sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye
drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is
none warm; and he that earneth wages, earneth wages to put it into a bag
with holes.”[927] And then the reason is given: “Ye looked for much,
and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon
it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste,
and ye run every man unto his own house. Therefore the heaven over you
is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit. And I called
for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn,
and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground
bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labor of
the hands.” “When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but
ten; when one came to the press-fat for to draw out fifty vessels out of
the press, there were but twenty. I smote you with blasting, and with
mildew, and with hail in all the labors of your hands.”[928]
Roused by these warnings, the people set themselves to build the house
of God. Then the word of the Lord came to them: “Consider now from this
day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even
from the day that the foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid, ... from
this day will I bless you.”[928]
Says the wise man, “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and
there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to
poverty.”[929] And the same lesson is taught in the New Testament by the
apostle Paul: “He which soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and
he which soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully.” “God is able
to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”[930]
God intended that his people Israel should be light-bearers to all the
inhabitants of the earth. In maintaining his public worship they were
bearing a testimony to the existence and sovereignty of the living God.
And this worship it was their privilege to sustain, as an expression of
their loyalty and their love to him. The Lord has ordained that the
diffusion of light and truth in the earth shall be dependent upon the
efforts and offerings of those who are partakers of the heavenly gift.
He might have made angels the ambassadors of his truth; he might have
made known his will, as he proclaimed the law from Sinai, with his own
voice; but in his infinite love and wisdom he called men to become
co-laborers with himself, by choosing them to do this work.
In the days of Israel the tithe and free-will offerings were needed to
maintain the ordinances of divine service. Should the people of God give
less in this age? The principle laid down by Christ is that our
offerings to God should be in proportion to the light and privileges
enjoyed. “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much
required.”[931] Said the Saviour to his disciples, as he sent them
forth, “Freely ye have received, freely give.”[932] As our blessings and
privileges are increased,—above all, as we have before us the
unparalleled sacrifice of the glorious Son of God,—should not our
gratitude find expression in more abundant gifts to extend to others the
message of salvation? The work of the gospel, as it widens, requires
greater provision to sustain it than was called for anciently; and this
makes the law of tithes and offerings of even more urgent necessity now
than under the Hebrew economy. If his people were liberally to sustain
his cause by their voluntary gifts, instead of resorting to unchristian
and unhallowed methods to fill the treasury, God would be honored, and
many more souls would be won to Christ.
The plan of Moses to raise means for the building of the tabernacle was
highly successful. No urging was necessary. Nor did he employ any of the
devices to which churches in our day so often resort. Ho made no grand
feast. He did not invite the people to scenes of gayety, dancing, and
general amusement; neither did he institute lotteries, nor anything of
this profane order, to obtain means to erect the tabernacle for God. The
Lord directed Moses to invite the children of Israel to bring their
offerings. He was to accept gifts from every one that gave willingly,
from his heart. And the offerings came in so great abundance that Moses
bade the people cease bringing, for they had supplied more than could be
used.
God has made men his stewards. The property which he has placed in their
hands is the means that he has provided for the spread of the gospel. To
those who prove themselves faithful stewards he will commit greater
trusts. Saith the Lord, “Them that honor me, I will honor.”[933] “God
loveth a cheerful giver,”[934] and when his people, with grateful
hearts, bring their gifts and offerings to him, “not grudgingly, or of
necessity,” his blessing will attend them, as he has promised. “Bring ye
all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine
house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not
open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there
shall not be room enough to receive it.”[935]
Footnote 920:
Lev. 27:30, 32.
Footnote 921:
Gen. 14:20; 28:22.
Footnote 922:
Acts 17:25; Ps. 50:10; Haggai 2:8; Deut. 8:18.
Footnote 923:
Ex. 20:10.
Footnote 924:
See Ex. 30:12-16; 2 Kings 12:4, 5; 2 Chron. 24:4-13; Neh. 10:32, 33.
Footnote 925:
Deut. 26:5, 8-11.
Footnote 926:
Mal. 3:11.
Footnote 927:
See Haggai 1.
Footnote 928:
Haggai 2:16-19.
Footnote 929:
Prov. 11:24.
Footnote 930:
2 Cor. 9:6, 8.
Footnote 931:
Luke 12:48.
Footnote 932:
Matt. 10:8.
Footnote 933:
1 Sam. 2:30.
Footnote 934:
2 Cor. 9:7.
Footnote 935:
Mal. 3:10.
GOD’S CARE FOR THE POOR—51
To promote the assembling of the people for religious service, as well
as to provide for the poor, a second tithe of all the increase was
required. Concerning the first tithe, the Lord had declared, “I have
given the children of Levi _all the tenth_ in Israel.”[940] But in
regard to the second he commanded, “Thou shalt eat before the Lord thy
God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the
tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of
thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy
God always.”[941] This tithe, or its equivalent in money, they were for
two years to bring to the place where the sanctuary was established.
After presenting a thank-offering to God, and a specified portion to the
priest, the offerers were to use the remainder for a religious feast, in
which the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow should
participate. Thus provision was made for the thank-offerings and feasts
at the yearly festivals, and the people were drawn to the society of the
priests and Levites, that they might receive instruction and
encouragement in the service of God.
Every third year, however, this second tithe was to be used at home, in
entertaining the Levite and the poor, as Moses said, “That they may eat
within thy gates, and be filled.”[942] This tithe would provide a fund
for the uses of charity and hospitality.
And further provision was made for the poor. There is nothing, after
their recognition of the claims of God, that more distinguishes the laws
given by Moses than the liberal, tender, and hospitable spirit enjoined
toward the poor. Although God had promised greatly to bless his people,
it was not his design that poverty should be wholly unknown among them.
He declared that the poor should never cease out of the land. There
would ever be those among his people who would call into exercise their
sympathy, tenderness, and benevolence. Then, as now, persons were
subject to misfortune, sickness, and loss of property; yet so long as
they followed the instruction given by God, there were no beggars among
them, neither any who suffered for food.
The law of God gave the poor a right to a certain portion of the produce
of the soil. When hungry, a man was at liberty to go to his neighbor’s
field or orchard or vineyard, and eat of the grain or fruit to satisfy
his hunger. It was in accordance with this permission that the disciples
of Jesus plucked and ate of the standing grain as they passed through a
field upon the Sabbath day.
All the gleanings of harvest-field, orchard, and vineyard, belonged to
the poor. “When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field,” said
Moses, “and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to
fetch it.... When thou beatest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over
the boughs again.... When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard,
thou shalt not glean it afterward. It shall be for the stranger, for the
fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a
bondman in the land of Egypt.”[943]
Every seventh year, special provision was made for the poor. The
sabbatical year, as it was called, began at the end of the harvest. At
the seed-time, which followed the ingathering, the people were not to
sow; they should not dress the vineyard in the spring; and they must
expect neither harvest nor vintage. Of that which the land produced
spontaneously, they might eat while fresh, but they were not to lay up
any portion of it in their store-houses. The yield of this year was to
be free for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and even for
the creatures of the field.[944]
But if the land ordinarily produced only enough to supply the wants of
the people, how were they to subsist during the year when no crops were
gathered?—For this the promise of God made ample provision. “I will
command my blessing upon you in the sixth year,” he said, “and it shall
bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and
eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye
shall eat of the old store.”[945]
The observance of the sabbatical year was to be a benefit to both the
land and the people. The soil, lying untilled for one season, would
afterward produce more plentifully. The people were released from the
pressing labors of the field; and while there were various branches of
work that could be followed during this time, all enjoyed greater
leisure, which afforded opportunity for the restoration of their
physical powers for the exertions of the following years. They had more
time for meditation and prayer, for acquainting themselves with the
teachings and requirements of the Lord, and for the instruction of their
households.
In the sabbatical year the Hebrew slaves were to be set at liberty, and
they were not to be sent away portionless. The Lord’s direction was:
“When thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go
away empty. Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out
of thy floor, and out of thy wine-press. Of that wherewith the Lord thy
God hath blessed thee, thou shalt give unto him.”[946]
The hire of a laborer was to be promptly paid: “Thou shalt not oppress a
hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren, or
of thy strangers that are in thy land.... At his day thou shalt give him
his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor, and
setteth his heart upon it.”[947]
Special directions were also given concerning the treatment of fugitives
from service: “Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which
is escaped from his master unto thee. He shall dwell with thee, even
among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates,
where it liketh him best; thou shalt not oppress him.”[948]
To the poor, the seventh year was a year of release from debt. The
Hebrews were enjoined at all times to assist their needy brethren by
lending them money without interest. To take usury from a poor man was
expressly forbidden: “If thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay
with thee, then thou shalt relieve him; yea, though he be a stranger, or
a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or
increase; but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou
shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for
increase.”[949] If the debt remained unpaid until the year of release,
the principal itself could not be recovered. The people were expressly
warned against withholding from their brethren needed assistance on
account of this: “If there be among you a poor man of one of thy
brethren, ... thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand
from thy poor brother.... Beware that there be not a thought in thy
wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand;
and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him
naught; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee.”
“The poor shall never cease out of the land; therefore I command thee,
saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor,
and to thy needy, in thy land,” “and shalt surely lend him sufficient
for his need, in that which he wanteth.”[950]
None need fear that their liberality would bring them to want. Obedience
to God’s commandments would surely result in prosperity. “Thou shalt
lend unto many nations,” he said, “but thou shalt not borrow; and thou
shalt reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over thee.”[951]
After “seven sabbaths of years,” “seven times seven years,” came the
great year of release,—the jubilee. “Then shalt thou cause the trumpet
of the jubilee to sound ... throughout all your land. And ye shall
hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land
unto all the inhabitants thereof; it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye
shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every
man unto his family.”[952]
“On the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement,” the
trumpet of the jubilee was sounded. Throughout the land, wherever the
Jewish people dwelt, the sound was heard, calling upon all the children
of Jacob to welcome the year of release. On the great day of atonement,
satisfaction was made for the sins of Israel, and with gladness of heart
the people would welcome the jubilee.
As in the sabbatical year, the land was not to be sown or reaped, and
all that it produced was to be regarded as the rightful property of the
poor. Certain classes of Hebrew slaves—all who did not receive their
liberty in the sabbatical year—were now set free. But that which
especially distinguished the year of jubilee was the reversion of all
landed property to the family of the original possessor. By the special
direction of God, the land had been divided by lot. After the division
was made, no one was at liberty to trade his estate. Neither was he to
sell his land unless poverty compelled him to do so, and then, whenever
he or any of his kindred might desire to redeem it, the purchaser must
not refuse to sell it; and if unredeemed, it would revert to its first
possessor or his heirs in the year of jubilee.
The Lord declared to Israel: “The land shall not be sold forever; for
the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.”[953] The
people were to be impressed with the fact that it was God’s land which
they were permitted to possess for a time; that he was the rightful
owner, the original proprietor, and that he would have special
consideration made for the poor and unfortunate. It was to be impressed
upon the minds of all that the poor have as much right to a place in
God’s world as have the more wealthy.
Such were the provisions made by our merciful Creator, to lessen
suffering, to bring some ray of hope, to flash some gleam of sunshine,
into the life of the destitute and distressed.
The Lord would place a check upon the inordinate love of property and
power. Great evils would result from the continued accumulation of
wealth by one class, and the poverty and degradation of another. Without
some restraint, the power of the wealthy would become a monopoly, and
the poor, though in every respect fully as worthy in God’s sight, would
be regarded and treated as inferior to their more prosperous brethren.
The sense of this oppression would arouse the passions of the poorer
class. There would be a feeling of despair and desperation which would
tend to demoralize society, and open the door to crimes of every
description. The regulations that God established, were designed to
promote social equality. The provisions of the sabbatical year and the
jubilee would, in a great measure, set right that which during the
interval had gone wrong in the social and political economy of the
nation.
These regulations were designed to bless the rich no less than the poor.
They would restrain avarice and a disposition for self-exaltation, and
would cultivate a noble spirit of benevolence; and by fostering
good-will and confidence between all classes, they would promote social
order, the stability of government. We are all woven together in the
great web of humanity, and whatever we can do to benefit and uplift
others, will reflect in blessing upon ourselves. The law of mutual
dependence runs through all classes of society. The poor are not more
dependent upon the rich than are the rich upon the poor. While the one
class ask a share in the blessings which God has bestowed upon their
wealthier neighbors, the other need the faithful service, the strength
of brain and bone and muscle, that are the capital of the poor.
Great blessings were promised to Israel on condition of obedience to the
Lord’s directions. “I will give you rain in due season,” he declared,
“and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall
yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and
the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time; and ye shall eat your
bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace
in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid; and
I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go
through your land.... I will walk among you, and will be your God, and
ye shall be my people.... But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will
not do all these commandments; and ... ye break my covenant, ... ye
shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. And I will
set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies; they
that hate you shall reign over you, and ye shall flee when none pursueth
you.”[954]
There are many who urge with great enthusiasm that all men should have
an equal share in the temporal blessings of God. But this was not the
purpose of the Creator. A diversity of condition is one of the means by
which God designs to prove and develop character. Yet he intends that
those who have worldly possessions shall regard themselves merely as
stewards of his goods, as intrusted with means to be employed for the
benefit of the suffering and the needy.
Christ has said that we shall have the poor always with us; and he
unites his interest with that of his suffering people. The heart of our
Redeemer sympathizes with the poorest and lowliest of his earthly
children. He tells us that they are his representatives on earth. He has
placed them among us to awaken in our hearts the love that he feels
toward the suffering and oppressed. Pity and benevolence shown to them
are accepted by Christ as if shown to himself. An act of cruelty or
neglect toward them is regarded as though done to him.
If the law given by God for the benefit of the poor had continued to be
carried out, how different would be the present condition of the world,
morally, spiritually, and temporally! Selfishness and self-importance
would not be manifested as now, but each would cherish a kind regard for
the happiness and welfare of others; and such wide-spread destitution as
is now seen in many lands, would not exist.
The principles which God has enjoined, would prevent the terrible evils
that in all ages have resulted from the oppression of the rich toward
the poor, and the suspicion and hatred of the poor toward the rich.
While they might hinder the amassing of great wealth, and the indulgence
of unbounded luxury, they would prevent the consequent ignorance and
degradation of tens of thousands whose ill-paid servitude is required to
build up these colossal fortunes. They would bring a peaceful solution
of those problems that now threaten to fill the world with anarchy and
bloodshed.
[Illustration: “The yield of this year was to be free for the stranger,
the fatherless, and the widow, and even for the creatures of the
field.”]
Footnote 940:
Num. 18:21.
Footnote 941:
Deut. 14:23, 29; 16:11-14.
Footnote 942:
Deut. 26:12.
Footnote 943:
Deut. 24:19-22; Lev. 19:9, 10.
Footnote 944:
Ex. 23:10, 11; Lev. 25:5.
Footnote 945:
Lev. 25:21, 22.
Footnote 946:
Deut. 15:13, 14.
Footnote 947:
Deut. 24:14, 15.
Footnote 948:
Deut. 23:15, 16.
Footnote 949:
Lev. 25:35-37.
Footnote 950:
Deut. 15:7-9, 11, 8.
Footnote 951:
Deut. 15:6.
Footnote 952:
Lev. 25:9, 10.
Footnote 953:
Lev. 25:23.
Footnote 954:
Lev. 26:4-17.
THE ANNUAL FEASTS—52
There were three annual assemblies of all Israel for worship at the
sanctuary.[955] Shiloh was for a time the place of these gatherings; but
Jerusalem afterward became the center of the nation’s worship, and here
the tribes convened for the solemn feasts.
The people were surrounded by fierce, warlike tribes, that were eager to
seize upon their lands; yet three times every year all the able-bodied
men, and all the people who could make the journey, were directed to
leave their homes, and repair to the place of assembly, near the center
of the land. What was to hinder their enemies from sweeping down upon
those unprotected households, to lay them waste with fire and sword?
What was to prevent an invasion of the land, that would bring Israel
into captivity to some foreign foe?—God had promised to be the protector
of his people. “The angel of Jehovah encampeth round about them that
fear him, and delivereth them.”[956] While the Israelites went up to
worship, divine power would place a restraint upon their enemies. God’s
promise was, “I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy
borders; neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to
appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.”[957]
The first of these festivals, the Passover, the feast of unleavened
bread, occurred in Abib, the first month of the Jewish year,
corresponding to the last of March and the beginning of April. The cold
of winter was past, the latter rain had ended, and all nature rejoiced
in the freshness and beauty of the springtime. The grass was green on
the hills and valleys, and wild-flowers everywhere brightened the
fields. The moon, now approaching the full, made the evenings
delightful. It was the season so beautifully pictured by the sacred
singer:—
“The winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs,
And the vines are in blossom,
They give forth their fragrance.”[958]
Throughout the land, bands of pilgrims were making their way toward
Jerusalem. The shepherds from their flocks, the herdsmen from the
mountains, fishers from the Sea of Galilee, the husbandmen from their
fields, and sons of the prophets from the sacred schools,—all turned
their steps toward the place where God’s presence was revealed. They
journeyed by short stages, for many went on foot. The caravans were
constantly receiving accessions, and often became very large before
reaching the holy city.
Nature’s gladness awakened joy in the hearts of Israel, and gratitude to
the Giver of all good. The grand Hebrew psalms were chanted, exalting
the glory and majesty of Jehovah. At the sound of the signal trumpet,
with the music of cymbals, the chorus of thanksgiving arose, swelled by
hundreds of voices:—
“I was glad when they said unto me,
Let us go unto the house of the Lord.
Our feet shall stand
Within thy gates, O Jerusalem....
Whither the tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord, ...
To give thanks unto the name of Jehovah....
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,
They shall prosper that love thee.”[959]
As they saw around them the hills where the heathen had been wont to
kindle their altar fires, the children of Israel sang:—
“Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills?
Whence should my help come?
My help cometh from Jehovah,
Which made heaven and earth.”[959]
“They that trust in the Lord
Are as Mount Zion, which can not be moved, but abideth forever.
As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
So the Lord is round about his people,
From this time forth and forevermore.”[959]
[Illustration: THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES. “I was glad when they said unto
me, Let us go unto the house of the Lord.”]
Surmounting the hills in view of the holy city, they looked with
reverent awe upon the throngs of worshipers wending their way to the
temple. They saw the smoke of the incense ascending, and as they heard
the trumpets of the Levites heralding the sacred service, they caught
the inspiration of the hour, and sung:—
“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
In the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness.
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north,
The city of the great King.”[960]
“Peace be within thy walls,
And prosperity within thy palaces.”
“Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord.”
“I will pay my vows unto the Lord
Now in the presence of all his people,
In the courts of the Lord’s house,
In the midst of thee, O Jerusalem.
Praise ye the Lord.”[961]
All the houses in Jerusalem were thrown open to the pilgrims, and rooms
were furnished free; but this was not sufficient for the vast assembly,
and tents were pitched in every available space in the city and upon the
surrounding hills.
On the fourteenth day of the month, at even, the Passover was
celebrated, its solemn, impressive ceremonies commemorating the
deliverance from bondage in Egypt, and pointing forward to the sacrifice
that should deliver from the bondage of sin. When the Saviour yielded up
his life on Calvary, the significance of the Passover ceased, and the
ordinance of the Lord’s Supper was instituted as a memorial of the same
event of which the Passover had been a type.
The Passover was followed by the seven days’ feast of unleavened bread.
The first and the seventh day were days of holy convocation, when no
servile work was to be performed. On the second day of the feast, the
first-fruits of the year’s harvest were presented before God. Barley was
the earliest grain in Palestine, and at the opening of the feast it was
beginning to ripen. A sheaf of this grain was waved by the priest before
the altar of God, as an acknowledgment that all was his. Not until this
ceremony had been performed was the harvest to be gathered.
Fifty days from the offering of first-fruits, came the Pentecost, called
also the feast of harvest and the feast of weeks. As an expression of
gratitude for the grain prepared as food, two loaves baked with leaven
were presented before God. The Pentecost occupied but one day, which was
devoted to religious service.
In the seventh month came the Feast of Tabernacles, or of ingathering.
This feast acknowledged God’s bounty in the products of the orchard, the
olive grove, and the vineyard. It was the crowning festal gathering of
the year. The land had yielded its increase, the harvests had been
gathered into the granaries, the fruits, the oil, and the wine had been
stored, the first-fruits had been reserved, and now the people came with
their tributes of thanksgiving to God, who had thus richly blessed them.
This feast was to be pre-eminently an occasion of rejoicing. It occurred
just after the great day of atonement, when the assurance had been given
that their iniquity should be remembered no more. At peace with God,
they now came before him to acknowledge his goodness, and to praise him
for his mercy. The labors of the harvest being ended, and the toils of
the new year not yet begun, the people were free from care, and could
give themselves up to the sacred, joyous influences of the hour. Though
only the fathers and sons were commanded to appear at the feasts, yet,
so far as possible, all the household were to attend them, and to their
hospitality the servants, the Levites, the stranger, and the poor were
made welcome.
Like the Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles was commemorative. In memory
of their pilgrim life in the wilderness, the people were now to leave
their houses, and dwell in booths, or arbors, formed from the green
branches “of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and the boughs of
thick trees, and willows of the brook.”[962]
The first day was a holy convocation, and to the seven days of the feast
an eighth day was added, which was observed in like manner.
At these yearly assemblies the hearts of old and young would be
encouraged in the service of God, while the association of the people
from the different quarters of the land would strengthen the ties that
bound them to God and to one another. Well would it be for the people of
God at the present time to have a Feast of Tabernacles,—a joyous
commemoration of the blessings of God to them. As the children of Israel
celebrated the deliverance that God had wrought for their fathers, and
his miraculous preservation of them during their journeyings from Egypt,
so should we gratefully call to mind the various ways he has devised for
bringing us out from the world, and from the darkness of error, into the
precious light of his grace and truth.
With those who lived at a distance from the tabernacle, more than a
month of every year must have been occupied in attendance upon the
annual feasts. This example of devotion to God should emphasize the
importance of religious worship, and the necessity of subordinating our
selfish, worldly interests to those that are spiritual and eternal. We
sustain a loss when we neglect the privilege of associating together to
strengthen and encourage one another in the service of God. The truths
of his word lose their vividness and importance in our minds. Our hearts
cease to be enlightened and aroused by the sanctifying influence, and we
decline in spirituality. In our intercourse as Christians we lose much
by lack of sympathy with one another. He who shuts himself up to
himself, is not filling the position that God designed he should. We are
all children of one Father, dependent upon one another for happiness.
The claims of God and of humanity are upon us. It is the proper
cultivation of the social elements of our nature that brings us into
sympathy with our brethren, and affords us happiness in our efforts to
bless others.
The Feast of Tabernacles was not only commemorative, but typical. It not
only pointed back to the wilderness sojourn, but, as the feast of
harvest, it celebrated the ingathering of the fruits of the earth, and
pointed forward to the great day of final ingathering, when the Lord of
the harvest shall send forth his reapers to gather the tares together in
bundles for the fire, and to gather the wheat into his garner. At that
time the wicked will all be destroyed. They will become “as though they
had not been.”[963] And every voice in the whole universe will unite in
joyful praise to God. Says the Revelator, “Every creature which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the
sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and
glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the
Lamb forever and ever.”[964]
The people of Israel praised God at the Feast of Tabernacles, as they
called to mind his mercy in their deliverance from the bondage of Egypt
and his tender care for them during their pilgrim life in the
wilderness. They rejoiced also in the consciousness of pardon and
acceptance, through the service of the day of atonement, just ended. But
when the ransomed of the Lord shall have been safely gathered into the
heavenly Canaan,—forever delivered from the bondage of the curse, under
which “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until
now,”[965]—they will rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Christ’s great work of atonement for men will then have been completed,
and their sins will have been forever blotted out.
“The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them;
And the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing:
The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it,
The excellency of Carmel and Sharon,
They shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.
“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart,
And the tongue of the dumb sing:
“For in the wilderness shall waters break out,
And streams in the desert.
And the parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water:...
“And an highway shall be there, and a way,
And it shall be called The way of holiness;
The unclean shall not pass over it;
But it shall be for those:
The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.
“No lion shall be there,
Nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon,
It shall not be found there;
But the redeemed shall walk there.
“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,
And come to Zion with songs
And everlasting joy upon their heads:
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”[966]
Footnote 955:
Ex. 23:14-16.
Footnote 956:
Ps. 34:7.
Footnote 957:
Ex. 34:24.
Footnote 958:
Cant. 2:11-13, Rev. Ver.
Footnote 959:
Ps. 122:1-6, Rev. Ver.; 121:1, 2 (margin); 125:1, 2. Rev. Ver.
Footnote 960:
Ps. 48:1, 2.
Footnote 961:
Ps. 122:7; 118:19; 116:18, 19.
Footnote 962:
Lev. 23:40, 42, 43.
Footnote 963:
Obad. 16.
Footnote 964:
Rev. 5:13.
Footnote 965:
Rom. 8:22.
Footnote 966:
Isa. 35:1, 2, 5-10.
UNDER THE JUDGES
“They tempted and proved the most high God; ... so that he forsook
the tabernacle of Shiloh.... He gave his people over also unto the
sword, and was wroth with his inheritance.”
“When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and
inquired early after God.... Nevertheless ... their heart was not
right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant. But he,
being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them
not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up
all his wrath. For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind
that passeth away, and cometh not again.”
THE EARLIER JUDGES—53
After the settlement in Canaan, the tribes made no vigorous effort to
complete the conquest of the land. Satisfied with the territory already
gained, their zeal soon flagged, and the war was discontinued. “When
Israel was strong, they put the Canaanites to tribute, and did not
utterly drive them out.”[970]
The Lord had faithfully fulfilled, on his part, the promises made to
Israel; Joshua had broken the power of the Canaanites, and had
distributed the land to the tribes. It only remained for them, trusting
in the assurance of divine aid, to complete the work of dispossessing
the inhabitants of the land. But this they failed to do. By entering
into league with the Canaanites they directly transgressed the command
of God, and thus failed to fulfill the condition on which he had
promised to place them in possession of Canaan.
From the very first communication of God with them at Sinai, they had
been warned against idolatry. Immediately after the proclamation of the
law, the message was sent them by Moses, concerning the nations of
Canaan: “Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do
after their works; but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite
break down their images. And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he
shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from
the midst of thee.”[971] The assurance was given that so long as they
remained obedient, God would subdue their enemies before them: “I will
send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou
shalt come; and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto
thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the
Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. I will not
drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become
desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little
and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be
increased, and inherit the land.... I will deliver the inhabitants of
the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. Thou
shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not
dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; for if thou serve
their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.”[972] These directions
were reiterated in the most solemn manner by Moses before his death, and
they were repeated by Joshua.
God had placed his people in Canaan as a mighty breastwork to stay the
tide of moral evil, that it might not flood the world. If faithful to
him, God intended that Israel should go on conquering and to conquer. He
would give into their hands nations greater and more powerful than the
Canaanites. The promise was: “If ye shall diligently keep all these
commandments which I command you, ... then will the Lord drive out all
these nations from before you, and ye shall possess greater nations and
mightier than yourselves. Every place whereon the soles of your feet
shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the
river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast
be. There shall no man be able to stand before you; for the Lord your
God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land
that ye shall tread upon, as he hath said unto you.”[973]
But regardless of their high destiny, they chose the course of ease and
self-indulgence; they let slip their opportunities for completing the
conquest of the land; and for many generations they were afflicted by
the remnant of these idolatrous peoples, that were, as the prophet had
foretold, as “pricks in their eyes,” and as “thorns in their
sides.”[974]
The Israelites were “mingled among the heathen, and learned their
works.”[975] They intermarried with the Canaanites, and idolatry spread
like a plague throughout the land. “They served their idols, which were
a snare unto them. Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters
unto devils.... And the land was polluted with blood.” “Therefore was
the wrath of the Lord kindled against his people, insomuch that he
abhorred his own inheritance.”[975]
Until the generation that had received instruction from Joshua became
extinct, idolatry made little headway; but the parents had prepared the
way for the apostasy of their children. The disregard of the Lord’s
restrictions on the part of those who came in possession of Canaan,
sowed seeds of evil that continued to bring forth bitter fruit for many
generations. The simple habits of the Hebrews had secured them physical
health; but association with the heathen led to the indulgence of
appetite and passion, which gradually lessened physical strength, and
enfeebled the mental and moral powers. By their sins the Israelites were
separated from God; his strength was removed from them, and they could
no longer prevail against their enemies. Thus they were brought into
subjection to the very nations that through God they might have subdued.
“They forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of
the land of Egypt,” “and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.”
“They provoked him to anger with their high places, and moved him to
jealousy with their graven images.” Therefore the Lord “forsook the
tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men; and delivered
his strength into captivity, and his glory into the enemy’s hand.”[976]
Yet he did not utterly forsake his people. There was ever a remnant who
were true to Jehovah; and from time to time the Lord raised up faithful
and valiant men to put down idolatry and to deliver the Israelites from
their enemies. But when the deliverer was dead, and the people were
released from his authority, they would gradually return to their idols.
And thus the story of backsliding and chastisement, of confession and
deliverance, was repeated again and again.
The king of Mesopotamia, the king of Moab, and after them the
Philistines, and the Canaanites of Hazor, led by Sisera, in turn became
the oppressors of Israel. Othniel, Shamgar, and Ehud, Deborah and Barak,
were raised up as deliverers of their people. But again “the children of
Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord delivered them
into the hand of Midian.”[977] Heretofore the hand of the oppressor had
fallen but lightly on the tribes dwelling east of the Jordan, but in the
present calamities they were the first sufferers.
The Amalekites on the south of Canaan, as well as the Midianites on its
eastern border, and in the deserts beyond, were still the unrelenting
enemies of Israel. The latter nation had been nearly destroyed by the
Israelites in the days of Moses, but they had since increased greatly,
and had become numerous and powerful. They had thirsted for revenge; and
now that the protecting hand of God was withdrawn from Israel, the
opportunity had come. Not alone the tribes east of Jordan, but the whole
land suffered from their ravages. The wild, fierce inhabitants of the
desert, “as locusts for multitude,”[978] came swarming into the land,
with their flocks and herds. Like a devouring plague they spread over
the country, from the river Jordan to the Philistine plain. They came as
soon as the harvests began to ripen, and remained until the last fruits
of the earth had been gathered. They stripped the fields of their
increase, and robbed and maltreated the inhabitants, and then returned
to the deserts. Thus the Israelites dwelling in the open country were
forced to abandon their homes, and to congregate in walled towns, to
seek refuge in fortresses, or even to find shelter in caves and rocky
fastnesses among the mountains. For seven years this oppression
continued, and then, as the people in their distress gave heed to the
Lord’s reproof, and confessed their sins, God again raised up a helper
for them.
Gideon was the son of Joash, of the tribe of Manasseh. The division to
which this family belonged held no leading position, but the household
of Joash was distinguished for courage and integrity. Of his brave sons
it is said, “Each one resembled the children of a king.”[979] All but
one had fallen in the struggles against the Midianites, and he had
caused his name to be feared by the invaders. To Gideon came the divine
call to deliver his people. He was engaged at the time in threshing
wheat. A small quantity of grain had been concealed, and not daring to
beat it out on the ordinary threshing-floor, he had resorted to a spot
near the winepress; for the season of ripe grapes being still far off,
little notice was now taken of the vineyards. As Gideon labored in
secrecy and silence, he sadly pondered upon the condition of Israel, and
considered how the oppressor’s yoke might be broken from off his people.
Suddenly the “Angel of the Lord” appeared, and addressed him with the
words, “Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor.”
“O my Lord,” was his answer, “if the Lord be with us, why then is all
this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told
us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? But now the Lord
hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”
The Messenger of heaven replied, “Go in this thy might, and thou shalt
save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?”
Gideon desired some token that the one now addressing him was the
Covenant Angel, who in time past had wrought for Israel. Angels of God,
who communed with Abraham, had once tarried to share his hospitality;
and Gideon now entreated the divine Messenger to remain as his guest.
Hastening to his tent, he prepared from his scanty store a kid and
unleavened cakes, which he brought forth and set before him. But the
Angel bade him, “Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them
upon this rock, and pour out the broth.” Gideon did so, and then the
sign which he had desired was given: with the staff in his hand, the
Angel touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and a flame bursting
from the rock consumed the sacrifice. Then the Angel vanished from his
sight.
Gideon’s father, Joash, who shared in the apostasy of his countrymen,
had erected at Ophrah, where he dwelt, a large altar to Baal, at which
the people of the town worshiped. Gideon was commanded to destroy this
altar, and to erect an altar to Jehovah, over the rock on which the
offering had been consumed, and there to present a sacrifice to the
Lord. The offering of sacrifice to God had been committed to the
priests, and had been restricted to the altar at Shiloh; but He who had
established the ritual service, and to whom all its offerings pointed,
had power to change its requirements. The deliverance of Israel was to
be preceded by a solemn protest against the worship of Baal. Gideon must
declare war upon idolatry, before going out to battle with the enemies
of his people.
The divine direction was faithfully carried out. Knowing that he would
be opposed if it were attempted openly, Gideon performed the work in
secret; with the aid of his servants, accomplishing the whole in one
night. Great was the rage of the men of Ophrah when they came, next
morning, to pay their devotions to Baal. They would have taken Gideon’s
life, had not Joash—who had been told of the Angel’s visit—stood in
defense of his son. “Will ye plead for Baal?” said Joash. “Will ye save
him? He that will plead for him, let him be put to death whilst it is
yet morning. If he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath
cast down his altar.” If Baal could not defend his own altar, how could
he be trusted to protect his worshipers?
All thoughts of violence toward Gideon were dismissed; and when he
sounded the trumpet of war, the men of Ophrah were among the first to
gather to his standard. Heralds were dispatched to his own tribe of
Manasseh, and also to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphthali, and all answered to
the call.
Gideon dared not place himself at the head of the army without still
further evidence that God had called him to this work, and that he would
be with him. He prayed, “If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou
hast said, behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the
dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth besides,
then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast
said.” In the morning the fleece was wet, while the ground was dry. But
now a doubt arose, since wool naturally absorbs moisture when there is
any in the air; the test might not be decisive. Hence he asked that the
sign be reversed, pleading that his extreme caution might not displease
the Lord. His request was granted.
Thus encouraged, Gideon led out his forces to give battle to the
invaders. “All the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the
East were gathered together, and went over, and pitched in the valley of
Jezreel.” The entire force under Gideon’s command numbered only
thirty-two thousand men; but with the vast host of the enemy spread out
before him, the word of the Lord came to him: “The people that are with
thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest
Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying,
Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from
Mount Gilead.” Those who were unwilling to face danger and hardships, or
whose worldly interests would draw their hearts from the work of God,
would add no strength to the armies of Israel. Their presence would
prove only a cause of weakness.
It had been made a law in Israel that before they went to battle, the
following proclamation should be made throughout the army: “What man is
there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go
and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man
dedicate it. And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath
not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he
die in the battle, and another man eat of it. And what man is there that
hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return
unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.”
And the officers were to speak further to the people, saying, “What man
is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto
his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.”[980]
Because his numbers were so few compared with those of the enemy, Gideon
had refrained from making the usual proclamation. He was filled with
astonishment at the declaration that his army was too large. But the
Lord saw the pride and unbelief existing in the hearts of his people.
Aroused by the stirring appeals of Gideon, they had readily enlisted;
but many were filled with fear when they saw the multitudes of the
Midianites. Yet, had Israel triumphed, those very ones would have taken
the glory to themselves instead of ascribing the victory to God.
Gideon obeyed the Lord’s direction, and with a heavy heart he saw
twenty-two thousand, or more than two-thirds of his entire force, depart
for their homes. Again the word of the Lord came to him: “The people are
yet too many; bring them down unto the water, and I will try them for
thee there; and it shall be, that of whom I say unto thee, This shall go
with thee, the same shall go with thee; and of whomsoever I say unto
thee, This shall not go with thee, the same shall not go.” The people
were led down to the water-side, expecting to make an immediate advance
upon the enemy. A few hastily took a little water in the hand, and
sucked it up as they went on; but nearly all bowed upon their knees, and
leisurely drank from the surface of the stream. Those who took of the
water in their hands were but three hundred out of ten thousand; yet
these were selected; all the rest were permitted to return to their
homes.
By the simplest means, character is often tested. Those who in time of
peril were intent upon supplying their own wants, were not the men to be
trusted in an emergency. The Lord has no place in his work for the
indolent and self-indulgent. The men of his choice were the few who
would not permit their own wants to delay them in the discharge of duty.
The three hundred chosen men not only possessed courage and
self-control, but they were men of faith. They had not defiled
themselves with idolatry. God could direct them, and through them he
could work deliverance for Israel. Success does not depend upon numbers.
God can deliver by few as well as by many. He is honored not so much by
the great numbers as by the character of those who serve him.
The Israelites were stationed on the brow of a hill overlooking the
valley where the hosts of the invaders lay encamped. “And the Midianites
and the Amalekites and all the children of the East lay along in the
valley like locusts for multitude; and their camels were without number,
as the sand which is upon the sea-shore for multitude.”[981] Gideon
trembled as he thought of the conflict of the morrow. But the Lord spoke
to him in the night season, and bade him, with Phurah his attendant, go
down to the camp of the Midianites, intimating that he would there hear
something for his encouragement. He went, and waiting in the darkness
and silence, he heard a soldier relating a dream to his companion: “Lo,
a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a
tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay
along.” The other answered in words that stirred the heart of that
unseen listener, “This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son
of Joash, a man of Israel; for into his hand hath God delivered Midian,
and all the host.” Gideon recognized the voice of God speaking to him
through those Midianitish strangers. Returning to the few men under his
command, he said, “Arise; for the Lord hath delivered into your hand the
host of Midian.”
By divine direction, a plan of attack was suggested to him, which he
immediately set out to execute. The three hundred men were divided into
three companies. To every man were given a trumpet, and a torch
concealed in an earthen pitcher. The men were stationed in such a manner
as to approach the Midianite camp from different directions. In the dead
of night, at a signal from Gideon’s war horn, the three companies
sounded their trumpets; then, breaking their pitchers, and displaying
the blazing torches, they rushed upon the enemy with the terrible
war-cry, “The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon!”
[Illustration: GIDEON AND PHURAH. “Waiting in the darkness and silence,
he heard a soldier relating a dream to his companion.”]
The sleeping army was suddenly aroused. Upon every side was seen the
light of the flaming torches. In every direction was heard the sound of
trumpets, with the cry of the assailants. Believing themselves at the
mercy of an overwhelming force, the Midianites were panic-stricken. With
wild cries of alarm they fled for life, and mistaking their own
companions for enemies, they slew one another. As news of the victory
spread, thousands of the men of Israel who had been dismissed to their
homes returned, and joined in pursuit of their fleeing enemies. The
Midianites were making their way toward the Jordan, hoping to reach
their own territory, beyond the river. Gideon sent messengers to the
tribe of Ephraim, rousing them to intercept the fugitives at the
southern fords. Meanwhile, with his three hundred, “faint, yet
pursuing,” Gideon crossed the stream hard after those who had already
gained the farther side. The two princes, Zebah and Zalmunna, who had
been over the entire host, and who had escaped with an army of fifteen
thousand men, were overtaken by Gideon, their force completely
scattered, and the leaders captured and slain.
In this signal defeat, not less than one hundred and twenty thousand of
the invaders perished. The power of the Midianites was broken, so that
they were never again able to make war upon Israel. The tidings spread
swiftly far and wide, that Israel’s God had again fought for his people.
No words can describe the terror of the surrounding nations when they
learned what simple means had prevailed against the power of a bold,
warlike people.
The leader whom God chose to overthrow the Midianites, occupied no
prominent position in Israel. He was not a ruler, a priest, or a Levite.
He thought himself the least in his father’s house. But God saw in him a
man of courage and integrity. He was distrustful of himself, and willing
to follow the guidance of the Lord. God does not always choose, for his
work, men of the greatest talents; but he selects those whom he can best
use. “Before honor is humility.”[982] The Lord can work most effectually
through those who are most sensible of their own insufficiency, and who
will rely upon him as their leader and source of strength. He will make
them strong by uniting their weakness to his might, and wise by
connecting their ignorance with his wisdom.
If they would cherish true humility, the Lord could do much more for his
people; but there are few who can be trusted with any large measure of
responsibility or success without becoming self-confident, and forgetful
of their dependence upon God. This is why, in choosing the instruments
for his work, the Lord passes by those whom the world honors as great,
talented, and brilliant. They are too often proud and self-sufficient.
They feel competent to act without counsel from God.
The simple act of blowing a blast upon the trumpet by the army of Joshua
around Jericho, and by Gideon’s little band about the hosts of Midian,
was made effectual, through the power of God, to overthrow the might of
his enemies. The most complete system that men have ever devised, apart
from the power and wisdom of God, will prove a failure, while the most
unpromising methods will succeed when divinely appointed, and entered
upon with humility and faith. Trust in God, and obedience to his will,
are as essential to the Christian in the spiritual warfare as to Gideon
and Joshua in their battles with the Canaanites. By the repeated
manifestations of his power in behalf of Israel, God would lead them to
have faith in him,—with confidence to seek his help in every emergency.
He is just as willing to work with the efforts of his people now, and to
accomplish great things through weak instrumentalities. All heaven
awaits our demand upon its wisdom and strength. God is “able to do
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”[983]
Gideon returned from pursuing the enemies of the nation, to meet censure
and accusation from his own countrymen. When at his call the men of
Israel had rallied against the Midianites, the tribe of Ephraim had
remained behind. They looked upon the effort as a perilous undertaking;
and as Gideon sent them no special summons, they availed themselves of
this excuse not to join their brethren. But when the news of Israel’s
triumph reached them, the Ephraimites were envious because they had not
shared it. After the rout of the Midianites, the men of Ephraim had, by
Gideon’s direction, seized the fords of the Jordan, thus preventing the
escape of the fugitives. By this means a large number of the enemy were
slain, among whom were two princes, Oreb and Zeeb. Thus the men of
Ephraim followed up the battle, and helped complete the victory.
Nevertheless, they were jealous and angry, as though Gideon had been led
by his own will and judgment. They did not discern God’s hand in the
triumph of Israel, they did not appreciate his power and mercy in their
deliverance; and this very fact showed them unworthy to be chosen as his
special instruments.
Returning with the trophies of victory, they angrily reproached Gideon:
“Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou
wentest to fight with the Midianites?”
“What have I done now, in comparison of you?” said Gideon. “Is not the
_gleaning_ of the grapes of Ephraim better than the _vintage_ of
Abiezer? _God_ hath delivered into your hand the princes of Midian, Oreb
and Zeeb; and what was I able to do in comparison of you?”
The spirit of jealousy might easily have been fanned into a quarrel that
would have caused strife and bloodshed; but Gideon’s modest answer
soothed the anger of the men of Ephraim, and they returned in peace to
their homes. Firm and uncompromising where principle was concerned, and
in war a “mighty man of valor,” Gideon displayed also a spirit of
courtesy that is rarely witnessed.
The people of Israel, in their gratitude at deliverance from the
Midianites, proposed to Gideon that he should become their king, and
that the throne should be confirmed to his descendants. This proposition
was in direct violation of the principles of the theocracy. God was the
king of Israel, and for them to place a man upon the throne would be a
rejection of their divine Sovereign. Gideon recognized this fact; his
answer shows how true and noble were his motives. “I will not rule over
you,” he declared; “neither shall my son rule over you; the Lord shall
rule over you.”
But Gideon was betrayed into another error, which brought disaster upon
his house and upon all Israel. The season of inactivity that succeeds a
great struggle is often fraught with greater danger than is the period
of conflict. To this danger Gideon was now exposed. A spirit of unrest
was upon him. Hitherto he had been content to fulfill the directions
given him from God; but now, instead of waiting for divine guidance, he
began to plan for himself. When the armies of the Lord have gained a
signal victory, Satan will redouble his efforts to overthrow the work of
God. Thus thoughts and plans were suggested to the mind of Gideon, by
which the people of Israel were led astray.
Because he had been commanded to offer sacrifice upon the rock where the
Angel appeared to him, Gideon concluded that he had been appointed to
officiate as a priest. Without waiting for the divine sanction, he
determined to provide a suitable place, and to institute a system of
worship similar to that carried on at the tabernacle. With the strong
popular feeling in his favor he found no difficulty in carrying out his
plan. At his request, all the earrings of gold taken from the Midianites
were given him as his share of the spoil. The people also collected many
other costly materials, together with the richly adorned garments of the
princes of Midian. From the material thus furnished, Gideon constructed
an ephod and a breastplate, in imitation of those worn by the high
priest. His course proved a snare to himself and his family, as well as
to Israel. The unauthorized worship led many of the people finally to
forsake the Lord altogether, to serve idols. After Gideon’s death, great
numbers, among whom were his own family, joined in this apostasy. The
people were led away from God by the very man who had once overthrown
their idolatry.
There are few who realize how far-reaching is the influence of their
words and acts. How often the errors of parents produce the most
disastrous effects upon their children and children’s children, long
after the actors themselves have been laid in the grave. Every one is
exerting an influence upon others, and will be held accountable for the
result of that influence. Words and actions have a telling power, and
the long hereafter will show the effect of our life here. The impression
made by our words and deeds will surely react upon ourselves in blessing
or in cursing. This thought gives an awful solemnity to life, and should
draw us to God in humble prayer that he will guide us by his wisdom.
Those who stand in the highest positions may lead astray. The wisest
err; the strongest may falter and stumble. There is need that light from
above should be constantly shed upon our pathway. Our only safety lies
in trusting our way implicitly to Him who has said, “Follow me.”
After the death of Gideon, “the children of Israel remembered not the
Lord their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their
enemies on every side. Neither showed they kindness to the house of
Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had
showed unto Israel.” Forgetful of all that they owed to Gideon, their
judge and deliverer, the people of Israel accepted his base-born son
Abimelech as their king, who, to sustain his power, murdered all but one
of Gideon’s lawful children. When men cast off the fear of God, they are
not long in departing from honor and integrity. An appreciation of the
Lord’s mercy will lead to an appreciation of those who, like Gideon,
have been employed as instruments to bless his people. The cruel course
of Israel toward the house of Gideon was what might be expected from a
people who manifested so great ingratitude to God.
After the death of Abimelech, the rule of judges who feared the Lord
served for a time to put a check upon idolatry; but ere long the people
returned to the practices of the heathen communities around them. Among
the northern tribes, the gods of Syria and Sidon had many worshipers. On
the southwest the idols of the Philistines, and on the east those of
Moab and Ammon, had turned the hearts of Israel from the God of their
fathers. But apostasy speedily brought its punishment. The Ammonites
subdued the eastern tribes, and crossing the Jordan, invaded the
territory of Judah and Ephraim. On the west the Philistines came up from
their plain beside the sea, burning and pillaging far and near. Again
Israel seemed to be abandoned to the power of relentless foes.
Again the people sought help from Him whom they had so forsaken and
insulted. “The children of Israel cried unto the Lord, saying, We have
sinned against thee, both because we have forsaken our God, and also
served Baalim.”[984] But sorrow had not worked true repentance. The
people mourned because their sins had brought suffering upon themselves,
but not because they had dishonored God by transgression of his holy
law. True repentance is more than sorrow for sin. It is a resolute
turning away from evil.
The Lord answered them through one of his prophets: “Did I not deliver
you from the Egyptians, and from the Amorites, from the children of
Ammon, and from the Philistines? The Zidonians also, and the Amalekites,
and the Maonites, did oppress you; and ye cried to me, and I delivered
you out of their hand. Yet ye have forsaken me, and served other gods;
wherefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry unto the gods which ye
have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.”
These solemn and fearful words carry the mind forward to another
scene,—the great day of final judgment,—when the rejecters of God’s
mercy and the despisers of his grace shall be brought face to face with
his justice. At that tribunal must they render an account who have
devoted their God-given talents of time, of means, or of intellect, to
serving the gods of this world. They have forsaken their true and loving
Friend, to follow the path of convenience and worldly pleasure. They
intended at some time to return to God; but the world with its follies
and deceptions absorbed the attention. Frivolous amusements, pride of
dress, indulgence of appetite, hardened the heart and benumbed the
conscience, so that the voice of truth was not heard. Duty was despised.
Things of infinite value were lightly esteemed, until the heart lost all
desire to sacrifice for Him who has given so much for man. But in the
reaping time they will gather that which they have sown.
Saith the Lord: “I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my
hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all my counsel, and
would none of my reproof; ... when your fear cometh as desolation, and
your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh
upon you: then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they
shall seek me early, but they shall not find me; for that they hated
knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord; they would none of
my counsel; they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of
the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.” “But
whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from
fear of evil.”[985]
The Israelites now humbled themselves before the Lord. “And they put
away the strange gods from among them, and served Jehovah.” And the
Lord’s heart of love was grieved,—“_was grieved_ for the misery of
Israel.” O, the long-suffering mercy of our God! When his people put
away the sins that had shut out his presence, he heard their prayers,
and at once began to work for them.
A deliverer was raised up in the person of Jephthah, a Gileadite, who
made war upon the Ammonites, and effectually destroyed their power. For
eighteen years at this time, Israel had suffered under the oppression of
her foes, yet again the lesson taught by suffering was forgotten.
As his people returned to their evil ways, the Lord permitted them to be
still oppressed by their powerful enemies, the Philistines. For many
years they were constantly harassed, and at times completely subjugated,
by this cruel and warlike nation. They had mingled with these idolaters,
uniting with them in pleasure and in worship, until they seemed to be
one with them in spirit and interest. Then these professed friends of
Israel became their bitterest enemies, and sought by every means to
accomplish their destruction.
Like Israel, Christians too often yield to the influence of the world,
and conform to its principles and customs, in order to secure the
friendship of the ungodly; but in the end it will be found that these
professed friends are the most dangerous of foes. The Bible plainly
teaches that there can be no harmony between the people of God and the
world. “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” Our Saviour
says, “Ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”[986] Satan works
through the ungodly, under cover of a pretended friendship, to allure
God’s people into sin, that he may separate them from him; and when
their defense is removed, then he will lead his agents to turn against
them, and seek to accomplish their destruction.
[Illustration: “They rushed upon the enemy with the terrible war-cry,
‘The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon.’”]
Footnote 970:
Judges 1:28.
Footnote 971:
Ex. 23:24,25.
Footnote 972:
Ex. 23:27-33.
Footnote 973:
Deut. 11:22-25.
Footnote 974:
Num. 33:55.
Footnote 975:
Ps. 106:34-38, 40.
Footnote 976:
Judges 2:12; Ps. 78:52, 58, 60, 61.
Footnote 977:
See Judges 6-8.
Footnote 978:
Judges 6:5, Rev. Ver.
Footnote 979:
Judges 8:18.
Footnote 980:
Deut. 20:5-8.
Footnote 981:
Judges 7:12, Rev. Ver.
Footnote 982:
Prov. 15:33.
Footnote 983:
Eph. 3:20.
Footnote 984:
See Judges 10:10-16.
Footnote 985:
Prov. 1:24-31, 33.
Footnote 986:
1 John 3:13; John 15:18.
SAMSON—54
Amid the wide-spread apostasy, the faithful worshipers of God continued
to plead with him for the deliverance of Israel. Though there was
apparently no response, though year after year the power of the
oppressor continued to rest more heavily upon the land, God’s providence
was preparing help for them. Even in the early years of the Philistine
oppression, a child was born through whom God designed to humble the
power of these mighty foes.
On the border of the hill country overlooking the Philistine plain, was
the little town of Zorah. Here dwelt the family of Manoah, of the tribe
of Dan, one of the few households that amid the general defection had
remained true to Jehovah. To the childless wife of Manoah, “the Angel of
Jehovah” appeared, with the message that she should have a son, through
whom God would begin to deliver Israel. In view of this, the Angel gave
her instruction concerning her own habits, and also for the treatment of
her child: “Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor
strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing.”[990] And the same
prohibition was to be imposed, from the first, upon the child, with the
addition that his hair should not be cut; for he was to be consecrated
to God as a Nazarite from his birth.
The woman sought her husband, and after describing the Angel, she
repeated his message. Then, fearful that they should make some mistake
in the important work committed to them, the husband prayed, “Let the
man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what
we shall do unto the child that shall be born.”
When the Angel again appeared, Manoah’s anxious inquiry was, “How shall
we order the child, and how shall we do unto him?” The previous
instruction was repeated,—“Of all that I said unto the woman let her
beware. She may not eat of anything that cometh of the vine, neither let
her drink wine or strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing. All that I
commanded her let her observe.”
God had an important work for the promised child of Manoah to do, and it
was to secure for him the qualifications necessary for this work, that
the habits of both the mother and the child were to be carefully
regulated. “Neither let her drink wine or strong drink,” was the Angel’s
instruction for the wife of Manoah, “nor eat any unclean thing. All that
I commanded her let her observe.” The child will be affected for good or
for evil by the habits of the mother. She must herself be controlled by
principle, and must practice temperance and self-denial, if she would
seek the welfare of her child. Unwise advisers will urge upon the mother
the necessity of gratifying every wish and impulse; but such teaching is
false and mischievous. The mother is by the command of God himself
placed under the most solemn obligation to exercise self-control.
And fathers as well as mothers are involved in this responsibility. Both
parents transmit their own characteristics, mental and physical, their
dispositions and appetites, to their children. As the result of parental
intemperance, children often lack physical strength and mental and moral
power. Liquor-drinkers and tobacco-users may, and do, transmit their
insatiable craving, their inflamed blood and irritable nerves, to their
children. The licentious often bequeathe their unholy desires, and even
loathsome diseases, as a legacy to their offspring. And as the children
have less power to resist temptation than had the parents, the tendency
is for each generation to fall lower and lower. To a great degree,
parents are responsible, not only for the violent passions and perverted
appetites of their children, but for the infirmities of the thousands
born deaf, blind, diseased, or idiotic.
The inquiry of every father and mother should be, “What shall we do unto
the child that shall be born unto us?” The effect of pre-natal
influences has been by many lightly regarded; but the instruction sent
from heaven to those Hebrew parents, and twice repeated in the most
explicit and solemn manner, shows how this matter is looked upon by our
Creator.
And it was not enough that the promised child should receive a good
legacy from the parents. This must be followed by careful training, and
the formation of right habits. God directed that the future judge and
deliverer of Israel should be trained to strict temperance from infancy.
He was to be a Nazarite from his birth, thus being placed under a
perpetual prohibition against the use of wine or strong drink. The
lessons of temperance, self-denial, and self-control, are to be taught
to children even from babyhood.
The angel’s prohibition included “every unclean thing.” The distinction
between articles of food as clean and unclean was not a merely
ceremonial and arbitrary regulation, but was based upon sanitary
principles. To the observance of this distinction may be traced, in a
great degree, the marvelous vitality which for thousands of years has
distinguished the Jewish people. The principles of temperance must be
carried further than the mere use of spirituous liquors. The use of
stimulating and indigestible food is often equally injurious to health,
and in many cases sows the seeds of drunkenness. True temperance teaches
us to dispense entirely with everything hurtful, and to use judiciously
that which is healthful. There are few who realize as they should how
much their habits of diet have to do with their health, their character,
their usefulness in this world, and their eternal destiny. The appetite
should ever be in subjection to the moral and intellectual powers. The
body should be servant to the mind, and not the mind to the body.
The divine promise to Manoah was in due time fulfilled in the birth of a
son, to whom the name of Samson was given. As the boy grew up, it became
evident that he possessed extraordinary physical strength. This was not,
however, as Samson and his parents well knew, dependent upon his
well-knit sinews, but upon his condition as a Nazarite, of which his
unshorn hair was a symbol. Had Samson obeyed the divine commands as
faithfully as his parents had done, his would have been a nobler and
happier destiny. But association with idolaters corrupted him. The town
of Zorah being near the country of the Philistines, Samson came to
mingle with them on friendly terms. Thus in his youth, intimacies sprung
up, the influence of which darkened his whole life. A young woman
dwelling in the Philistine town of Timnath engaged Samson’s affections,
and he determined to make her his wife. To his God-fearing parents, who
endeavored to dissuade him from his purpose, his only answer was, “She
pleaseth me well.”[991] The parents at last yielded to his wishes, and
the marriage took place.
Just as he was entering upon manhood, the time when he must execute his
divine mission,—the time above all others when he should have been true
to God,—Samson connected himself with the enemies of Israel. He did not
ask whether he could better glorify God when united with the object of
his choice, or whether he was placing himself in a position where he
could not fulfill the purpose to be accomplished by his life. To all who
seek first to honor him, God has promised wisdom; but there is no
promise to those who are bent upon self-pleasing.
How many are pursuing the same course as did Samson! How often marriages
are formed between the godly and the ungodly, because inclination
governs in the selection of husband or wife! The parties do not ask
counsel of God, nor have his glory in view. Christianity ought to have a
controlling influence upon the marriage relation; but it is too often
the case that the motives which lead to this union are not in keeping
with Christian principles. Satan is constantly seeking to strengthen his
power over the people of God by inducing them to enter into alliance
with his subjects; and in order to accomplish this he endeavors to
arouse unsanctified passions in the heart. But the Lord has in his word
plainly instructed his people not to unite themselves with those who
have not his love abiding in them. “What concord hath Christ with
Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what
agreement hath the temple of God with idols?”[992]
At his marriage feast, Samson was brought into familiar association with
those who hated the God of Israel. Whoever voluntarily enters into such
relations will feel it necessary to conform, to some degree, to the
habits and customs of his companions. The time thus spent is worse than
wasted. Thoughts are entertained and words are spoken, that tend to
break down the strongholds of principle, and to weaken the citadel of
the soul.
The wife, to obtain whom Samson had transgressed the command of God,
proved treacherous to her husband before the close of the marriage
feast. Incensed at her perfidy, Samson forsook her for the time, and
went alone to his home at Zorah. When, afterward relenting, he returned
for his bride, he found her the wife of another. His revenge, in the
wasting of all the fields and vineyards of the Philistines, provoked
them to murder her, although their threats had driven her to the deceit
with which the trouble began. Samson had already given evidence of his
marvelous strength, by slaying, single-handed, a young lion, and by
killing thirty of the men of Askelon. Now, moved to anger by the
barbarous murder of his wife, he attacked the Philistines, and smote
them “with a great slaughter.” Then, wishing a safe retreat from his
enemies, he withdrew to “the rock Etam,” in the tribe of Judah.
To this place he was pursued by a strong force, and the inhabitants of
Judah, in great alarm, basely agreed to deliver him to his enemies.
Accordingly three thousand men of Judah went up to him. But even at such
odds they would not have dared approach him, had they not felt assured
that he would not harm his own countrymen. Samson consented to be bound,
and delivered to the Philistines, but first exacted from the men of
Judah a promise not to attack him themselves, and thus compel him to
destroy them. He permitted them to bind him with two new ropes, and he
was led into the camp of his enemies amid demonstrations of great joy.
But while their shouts were waking the echoes of the hills, “the Spirit
of Jehovah came mightily upon him.” He burst asunder the strong new
cords as if they had been flax burned in the fire. Then seizing the
first weapon at hand, which, though only the jawbone of an ass, was
rendered more effective than sword or spear, he smote the Philistines
until they fled in terror, leaving a thousand men dead upon the field.
Had the Israelites been ready to unite with Samson, and follow up the
victory, they might at this time have freed themselves from the power of
their oppressors. But they had become dispirited and cowardly. They had
neglected the work which God commanded them to perform, in dispossessing
the heathen, and had united with them in their degrading practices,
tolerating their cruelty, and, so long as it was not directed against
themselves, even countenancing their injustice. When themselves brought
under the power of the oppressor, they tamely submitted to the
degradation which they might have escaped, had they only obeyed God.
Even when the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, they would, not
infrequently, desert him, and unite with their enemies.
After his victory, the Israelites made Samson judge, and he ruled Israel
for twenty years. But one wrong step prepares the way for another.
Samson had transgressed the command of God by taking a wife from the
Philistines, and again he ventured among them—now his deadly enemies—in
the indulgence of unlawful passion. Trusting to his great strength,
which had inspired the Philistines with such terror, he went boldly to
Gaza, to visit a harlot of that place. The inhabitants of the city
learned of his presence, and they were eager for revenge. Their enemy
was shut safely within the walls of the most strongly fortified of all
their cities; they felt sure of their prey, and only waited till the
morning to complete their triumph. At midnight, Samson was aroused. The
accusing voice of conscience filled him with remorse, as he remembered
that he had broken his vow as a Nazarite. But notwithstanding his sin,
God’s mercy had not forsaken him. His prodigious strength again served
to deliver him. Going to the city gate, he wrenched it from its place,
and carried it, with its posts and bars, to the top of a hill on the way
to Hebron.
But even this narrow escape did not stay his evil course. He did not
again venture among the Philistines, but he continued to seek those
sensuous pleasures that were luring him to ruin. “He loved a woman in
the valley of Sorek,” not far from his own birthplace. Her name was
Delilah, “the consumer.” The vale of Sorek was celebrated for its
vineyards; these also had a temptation for the wavering Nazarite, who
had already indulged in the use of wine, thus breaking another tie that
bound him to purity and to God. The Philistines kept a vigilant watch
over the movements of their enemy, and when he degraded himself by this
new attachment, they determined, through Delilah, to accomplish his
ruin.
A deputation consisting of one leading man from each of the Philistine
provinces was sent to the vale of Sorek. They dared not attempt to seize
him while in possession of his great strength, but it was their purpose
to learn, if possible, the secret of his power. They therefore bribed
Delilah to discover and reveal it.
As the betrayer plied Samson with her questions, he deceived her by
declaring that the weakness of other men would come upon him if certain
processes were tried. When she put the matter to the test, the cheat was
discovered. Then she accused him of falsehood, saying, “How canst thou
say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? Thou hast mocked me
these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength
lieth.” Three times Samson had the clearest evidence that the
Philistines had leagued with his charmer to destroy him; but when her
purpose failed, she treated the matter as a jest, and he blindly
banished fear.
Day by day, Delilah urged him, until “his soul was vexed unto death;”
yet a subtle power kept him by her side. Overcome at last, Samson made
known the secret: “There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I
have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother’s womb. If I be shaven,
then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like
any other man.” A messenger was immediately dispatched to the lords of
the Philistines, urging them to come to her without delay. While the
warrior slept, the heavy masses of his hair were severed from his head.
Then, as she had done three times before, she called, “The Philistines
be upon thee, Samson!” Suddenly awaking, he thought to exert his
strength as before, and destroy them; but his powerless arms refused to
do his bidding, and he knew that “Jehovah was departed from him.” When
he had been shaven, Delilah began to annoy him and cause him pain, thus
making a trial of his strength; for the Philistines dared not approach
him till fully convinced that his power was gone. Then they seized him,
and having put out both his eyes, they took him to Gaza. Here he was
bound with fetters in their prison-house, and confined to hard labor.
What a change to him who had been the judge and champion of Israel!—now
weak, blind, imprisoned, degraded to the most menial service! Little by
little he had violated the conditions of his sacred calling. God had
borne long with him; but when he had so yielded himself to the power of
sin as to betray his secret, the Lord departed from him. There was no
virtue in his long hair merely, but it was a token of his loyalty to
God; and when the symbol was sacrificed in the indulgence of passion,
the blessings of which it was a token were also forfeited.
In suffering and humiliation, a sport for the Philistines, Samson
learned more of his own weakness than he had ever known before; and his
afflictions led him to repentance. As his hair grew, his power gradually
returned; but his enemies, regarding him as a fettered and helpless
prisoner, felt no apprehensions.
The Philistines ascribed their victory to their gods; and, exulting,
they defied the God of Israel. A feast was appointed in honor of Dagon,
the fish-god, “the protector of the sea.” From town and country
throughout the Philistine plain, the people and their lords assembled.
Throngs of worshipers filled the vast temple, and crowded the galleries
about the roof. It was a scene of festivity and rejoicing. There was the
pomp of the sacrificial service, followed by music and feasting. Then,
as the crowning trophy of Dagon’s power, Samson was brought in. Shouts
of exultation greeted his appearance. People and rulers mocked his
misery, and adored the god who had overthrown “the destroyer of their
country.” After a time, as if weary, Samson asked permission to rest
against the two central pillars which supported the temple roof. Then he
silently uttered the prayer, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and
strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once
avenged of the Philistines.” With these words he encircled the pillars
with his mighty arms; and crying, “Let me die with the Philistines!” he
bowed himself, and the roof fell, destroying, at one crash, all that
vast multitude. “So the dead which he slew at his death were more than
they which he slew in his life.”
The idol and its worshipers, priest and peasant, warrior and noble, were
buried together beneath the ruins of Dagon’s temple. And among them was
the giant form of him whom God had chosen to be the deliverer of his
people. Tidings of the terrible overthrow were carried to the land of
Israel, and Samson’s kinsmen came down from their hills, and, unopposed,
rescued the body of the fallen hero. And they “brought him up, and
buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying-place of Manoah his
father.”
God’s promise that through Samson he would “begin to deliver Israel out
of the hand of the Philistines,” was fulfilled; but how dark and
terrible the record of that life which might have been a praise to God
and a glory to the nation! Had Samson been true to his divine calling,
the purpose of God could have been accomplished in his honor and
exaltation. But he yielded to temptation, and proved untrue to his
trust, and his mission was fulfilled in defeat, bondage, and death.
Physically, Samson was the strongest man upon the earth; but in
self-control, integrity, and firmness, he was one of the weakest of men.
Many mistake strong passions for a strong character; but the truth is
that he who is mastered by his passions is a weak man. The real
greatness of the man is measured by the power of the feelings that he
controls, not by those that control him.
God’s providential care had been over Samson, that he might be prepared
to accomplish the work which he was called to do. At the very outset of
life he was surrounded with favorable conditions for physical strength,
intellectual vigor, and moral purity. But under the influence of wicked
associates he let go that hold upon God which is man’s only safeguard,
and he was swept away by the tide of evil. Those who in the way of duty
are brought into trial may be sure that God will preserve them; but if
men willfully place themselves under the power of temptation, they will
fall, sooner or later.
The very ones whom God purposes to use as his instruments for a special
work, Satan employs his utmost power to lead astray. He attacks us at
our weak points, working through defects in the character to gain
control of the whole man; and he knows that if these defects are
cherished, he will succeed. But none need be overcome. Man is not left
alone to conquer the power of evil by his own feeble efforts. Help is at
hand, and will be given to every soul who really desires it. Angels of
God, that ascend and descend the ladder which Jacob saw in vision, will
help every soul who will, to climb even to the highest heaven.
[Illustration: “Let me die with the Philistines.”]
Footnote 990:
See Judges 13.
Footnote 991:
See Judges 14-16.
Footnote 992:
2 Cor. 6:15, 16.
THE CHILD SAMUEL—55
Elkanah, a Levite of Mount Ephraim, was a man of wealth and influence,
and one who loved and feared the Lord. His wife, Hannah, was a woman of
fervent piety. Gentle and unassuming, her character was marked with deep
earnestness and a lofty faith.
The blessing so earnestly sought by every Hebrew was denied this godly
pair; their home was not gladdened by the voice of childhood; and the
desire to perpetuate his name led the husband—as it had led many
others—to contract a second marriage. But this step, prompted by a lack
of faith in God, did not bring happiness. Sons and daughters were added
to the household; but the joy and beauty of God’s sacred institution had
been marred, and the peace of the family was broken. Penninah, the new
wife, was jealous and narrow-minded, and she bore herself with pride and
insolence. To Hannah, hope seemed crushed, and life a weary burden; yet
she met the trial with uncomplaining meekness.
Elkanah faithfully observed the ordinances of God. The worship at Shiloh
was still maintained, but on account of irregularities in the
ministration his services were not required at the sanctuary, to which,
being a Levite, he was to give attendance. Yet he went up, with his
family, to worship and sacrifice at the appointed gatherings.
Even amid the sacred festivities connected with the service of God, the
evil spirit that had cursed his home intruded. After presenting the
thank-offerings, all the family, according to the established custom,
united in a solemn yet joyous feast. Upon these occasions, Elkanah gave
the mother of his children a portion for herself and for each of her
sons and daughters; and in token of regard for Hannah, he gave her a
double portion, signifying that his affection for her was the same as if
she had had a son. Then the second wife, fired with jealousy, claimed
the precedence as one highly favored of God, and taunted Hannah with her
childless state as evidence of the Lord’s displeasure. This was repeated
from year to year, until Hannah could endure it no longer. Unable to
hide her grief, she wept without restraint, and withdrew from the feast.
Her husband vainly sought to comfort her. “Why weepest thou? and why
eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved?” he said; “am I not
better to thee than ten sons?”[1000]
Hannah uttered no reproach. The burden which she could share with no
earthly friend, she cast upon God. Earnestly she pleaded that he would
take away her reproach, and grant her the precious gift of a son to
nurture and train for him. And she made a solemn vow that if her request
were granted, she would dedicate her child to God, even from its birth.
Hannah had drawn near to the entrance of the tabernacle, and in the
anguish of her spirit she “prayed, and wept sore.” Yet she communed with
God in silence, uttering no sound. In those evil times, such scenes of
worship were rarely witnessed. Irreverent feasting, and even
drunkenness, were not uncommon, even at the religious festivals; and Eli
the high priest, observing Hannah, supposed that she was overcome with
wine. Thinking to administer a deserved rebuke, he said sternly, “How
long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.”
Pained and startled, Hannah answered gently, “No, my lord, I am a woman
of a sorrowful spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but
have poured out my soul before the Lord. Count not thine handmaid for a
daughter of Belial; for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief
have I spoken hitherto.”
The high priest was deeply moved, for he was a man of God; and in place
of rebuke he uttered a blessing: “Go in peace; and the God of Israel
grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him.”
Hannah’s prayer was granted; she received the gift for which she had so
earnestly entreated. As she looked upon the child, she called him
Samuel—“asked of God.” As soon as the little one was old enough to be
separated from his mother, she fulfilled her vow. She loved her child
with all the devotion of a mother’s heart; day by day, as she watched
his expanding powers, and listened to his childish prattle, her
affections entwined about him more closely. He was her only son, the
special gift of Heaven; but she had received him as a treasure
consecrated to God, and she would not withhold from the Giver his own.
Once more Hannah journeyed with her husband to Shiloh, and presented to
the priest, in the name of God, her precious gift, saying, “For this
child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of
him. Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth,
he shall be lent to the Lord.” Eli was deeply impressed by the faith and
devotion of this woman of Israel. Himself an over-indulgent father, he
was awed and humbled as he beheld this mother’s great sacrifice in
parting with her only child, that she might devote him to the service of
God. He felt reproved for his own selfish love, and in humiliation and
reverence he bowed before the Lord and worshiped.
The mother’s heart was filled with joy and praise, and she longed to
pour forth her gratitude to God. The Spirit of inspiration came upon
her; “and Hannah prayed, and said:—
“My heart rejoiceth in the Lord;
Mine horn is exalted in the Lord;
My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies;
Because I rejoice in thy salvation.
There is none holy as the Lord;
For there is none beside thee;
Neither is there any rock like our God.
Talk no more so exceeding proudly;
Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth;
For Jehovah is a God of knowledge,
And by him actions are weighed....
The Lord killeth, and maketh alive;
He bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up
The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich;
He bringeth low, and lifteth up.
He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
And lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill,
To set them among princes,
And to make them inherit the throne of glory;
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,
And he hath set the world upon them.
He will keep the feet of his saints,
And the wicked shall be silent in darkness
For by strength shall no man prevail.
The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
Out of heaven shall he thunder upon them.
The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth;
And he shall give strength unto his king,
And exalt the horn of his anointed.”
Hannah’s words were prophetic, both of David, who should reign as king
of Israel, and of the Messiah, the Lord’s anointed. Referring first to
the boasting of an insolent and contentious woman, the song points to
the destruction of the enemies of God, and the final triumph of his
redeemed people.
From Shiloh, Hannah quietly returned to her home at Ramah, leaving the
child Samuel to be trained for service in the house of God, under the
instruction of the high priest. From the earliest dawn of intellect she
had taught her son to love and reverence God, and to regard himself as
the Lord’s. By every familiar object surrounding him, she had sought to
lead his thoughts up to the Creator. When separated from her child, the
faithful mother’s solicitude did not cease. Every day he was the subject
of her prayers. Every year she made, with her own hands, a robe of
service for him; and as she went up with her husband to worship at
Shiloh, she gave the child this reminder of her love. Every fiber of the
little garment had been woven with a prayer that he might be pure,
noble, and true. She did not ask for her son worldly greatness, but she
earnestly pleaded that he might attain that greatness which Heaven
values,—that he might honor God, and bless his fellow-men.
What a reward was Hannah’s! and what an encouragement to faithfulness is
her example! There are opportunities of inestimable worth, interests
infinitely precious, committed to every mother. The humble round of
duties which women have come to regard as a wearisome task, should be
looked upon as a grand and noble work. It is the mother’s privilege to
bless the world by her influence, and in doing this she will bring joy
to her own heart. She may make straight paths for the feet of her
children, through sunshine and shadow, to the glorious heights above.
But it is only when she seeks, in her own life, to follow the teachings
of Christ, that the mother can hope to form the character of her
children after the divine pattern. The world teems with corrupting
influences. Fashion and custom exert a strong power over the young. If
the mother fails in her duty to instruct, guide, and restrain, her
children will naturally accept the evil, and turn from the good. Let
every mother go often to her Saviour with the prayer, “Teach us, how
shall we order the child, and what shall we do unto him?” Let her heed
the instruction which God has given in his word, and wisdom will be
given her as she shall have need.
“The child Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the Lord, and also
with men.” Though Samuel’s youth was passed at the tabernacle devoted to
the worship of God, he was not free from evil influences or sinful
example. The sons of Eli feared not God, nor honored their father; but
Samuel did not seek their company nor follow their evil ways. It was his
constant endeavor to become what God would have him. This is the
privilege of every youth. God is pleased when even little children give
themselves to his service.
Samuel had been placed under the care of Eli, and the loveliness of his
character drew forth the warm affection of the aged priest. He was kind,
generous, obedient, and respectful. Eli, pained by the waywardness of
his own sons, found rest and comfort and blessing in the presence of his
charge. Samuel was helpful and affectionate, and no father ever loved
his child more tenderly than did Eli this youth. It was a singular thing
that between the chief magistrate of the nation and the simple child so
warm an affection should exist. As the infirmities of age came upon Eli,
and he was filled with anxiety and remorse by the profligate course of
his own sons, he turned to Samuel for comfort.
It was not customary for the Levites to enter upon their peculiar
services until they were twenty-five years of age, but Samuel had been
an exception to this rule. Every year saw more important trusts
committed to him; and while he was yet a child, a linen ephod was placed
upon him as a token of his consecration to the work of the sanctuary.
Young as he was when brought to minister in the tabernacle, Samuel had
even then duties to perform in the service of God, according to his
capacity. These were at first very humble, and not always pleasant; but
they were performed to the best of his ability, and with a willing
heart. His religion was carried into every duty of life. He regarded
himself as God’s servant, and his work as God’s work. His efforts were
accepted, because they were prompted by love to God and a sincere desire
to do his will. It was thus that Samuel became a co-worker with the Lord
of heaven and earth. And God fitted him to accomplish a great work for
Israel.
If children were taught to regard the humble round of everyday duties as
the course marked out for them by the Lord, as a school in which they
were to be trained to render faithful and efficient service, how much
more pleasant and honorable would their work appear. To perform every
duty as unto the Lord, throws a charm around the humblest employment,
and links the workers on earth with the holy beings who do God’s will in
heaven.
Success in this life, success in gaining the future life, depends upon a
faithful, conscientious attention to the little things. Perfection is
seen in the least, no less than in the greatest, of the works of God.
The hand that hung the worlds in space is the hand that wrought with
delicate skill the lilies of the field. And as God is perfect in his
sphere, so we are to be perfect in ours. The symmetrical structure of a
strong, beautiful character is built up by individual acts of duty. And
faithfulness should characterize our life in the least as well as in the
greatest of its details. Integrity in little things, the performance of
little acts of fidelity and little deeds of kindness, will gladden the
path of life; and when our work on earth is ended, it will be found that
every one of the little duties faithfully performed has exerted an
influence for good,—an influence that can never perish.
The youth of our time may become as precious in the sight of God as was
Samuel. By faithfully maintaining their Christian integrity, they may
exert a strong influence in the work of reform. Such men are needed at
this time. God has a work for every one of them. Never did men achieve
greater results for God and humanity than may be achieved in this our
day by those who will be faithful to their God-given trust.
Footnote 1000:
See 1 Samuel 1; 2:1-11.
ELI AND HIS SONS—56
Eli was priest and judge in Israel. He held the highest and most
responsible positions among the people of God. As a man divinely chosen
for the sacred duties of the priesthood, and set over the land as the
highest judicial authority, he was looked up to as an example, and he
wielded a great influence over the tribes of Israel. But although he had
been appointed to govern the people, he did not rule his own household.
Eli was an indulgent father. Loving peace and ease, he did not exercise
his authority to correct the evil habits and passions of his children.
Rather than contend with them or punish them, he would submit to their
will, and give them their own way. Instead of regarding the education of
his sons as one of the most important of his responsibilities, he
treated the matter as of little consequence. The priest and judge of
Israel had not been left in darkness as to the duty of restraining and
governing the children that God had given to his care. But Eli shrank
from this duty, because it involved crossing the will of his sons, and
would make it necessary to punish and deny them. Without weighing the
terrible consequences that would follow his course, he indulged his
children in whatever they desired, and neglected the work of fitting
them for the service of God and the duties of life.
God had said of 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.”[1001] But Eli allowed his children to
control him. The father became subject to the children. The curse of
transgression was apparent in the corruption and evil that marked the
course of his sons. They had no proper appreciation of the character of
God or of the sacredness of his law. His service was to them a common
thing. From childhood they had been accustomed to the sanctuary and its
service; but instead of becoming more reverent, they had lost all sense
of its holiness and significance. The father had not corrected their
want of reverence for his authority, had not checked their disrespect
for the solemn services of the sanctuary; and when they reached manhood,
they were full of the deadly fruits of skepticism and rebellion.
Though wholly unfit for the office, they were placed as priests in the
sanctuary to minister before God. The Lord had given the most specific
directions in regard to offering sacrifices; but these wicked men
carried their disregard of authority into the service of God, and did
not give attention to the law of the offerings which were to be made in
the most solemn manner. The sacrifices, pointing forward to the death of
Christ, were designed to preserve in the hearts of the people faith in
the Redeemer to come; hence it was of the greatest importance that the
Lord’s directions concerning them should be strictly heeded. The
peace-offerings were especially an expression of thanksgiving to God. In
these offerings the fat alone was to be burned upon the altar; a certain
specified portion was reserved for the priests, but the greater part was
returned to the offerer, to be eaten by him and his friends in a
sacrificial feast. Thus all hearts were to be directed, in gratitude and
faith, to the great Sacrifice that was to take away the sin of the
world.
The sons of Eli, instead of realizing the solemnity of this symbolic
service, only thought how they could make it a means of self-indulgence.
Not content with the part of the peace-offerings allotted them, they
demanded an additional portion; and the great number of these sacrifices
presented at the annual feasts gave the priests an opportunity to enrich
themselves at the expense of the people. They not only demanded more
than their right, but refused to wait even until the fat had been burned
as an offering to God. They persisted in claiming whatever portion
pleased them, and, if denied, threatened to take it by violence.
This irreverence on the part of the priests soon robbed the service of
its holy and solemn significance, and the people “abhorred the offering
of the Lord.”[1002] The great antitypical sacrifice to which they were
to look forward, was no longer recognized. “Wherefore the sin of the
young men was very great before the Lord.”[1002]
These unfaithful priests also transgressed God’s law and dishonored
their sacred office by their vile and degrading practices; yet they
continued to pollute by their presence the tabernacle of God. Many of
the people, filled with indignation at the corrupt course of Hophni and
Phinehas, ceased to come up to the appointed place of worship. Thus the
service which God had ordained was despised and neglected because
associated with the sins of wicked men, while those whose hearts were
inclined to evil were emboldened in sin. Ungodliness, profligacy, and
even idolatry, prevailed to a fearful extent.
Eli had greatly erred in permitting his sons to minister in holy office.
By excusing their course, on one pretext and another, he became blinded
to their sins; but at last they reached a pass where he could no longer
hide his eyes from the crimes of his sons. The people complained of
their violent deeds, and the high priest was grieved and distressed. He
dared remain silent no longer. But his sons had been brought up to think
of no one but themselves, and now they cared for no one else. They saw
the grief of their father, but their hard hearts were not touched. They
heard his mild admonitions, but they were not impressed, nor would they
change their evil course though warned of the consequences of their sin.
Had Eli dealt justly with his wicked sons, they would have been rejected
from the priestly office, and punished with death. Dreading thus to
bring public disgrace and condemnation upon them, he sustained them in
the most sacred positions of trust. He still permitted them to mingle
their corruption with the holy service of God, and to inflict upon the
cause of truth an injury which years could not efface. But when the
judge of Israel neglected his work, God took the matter in hand.
“There came a man of God unto Eli, and said unto him, Thus saith the
Lord, Did I plainly appear unto the house of thy father, when they were
in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? And did I choose him out of all the tribes
of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn incense, to
wear an ephod before me? And did I give unto the house of thy father all
the offerings made by fire of the children of Israel? Wherefore kick ye
at my sacrifice and at mine offering, which I have commanded in my
habitation; and honorest thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with
the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people? Wherefore the
Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the house of
thy father, should walk before me forever: but now the Lord saith, Be it
far from me; for them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise
me shall be lightly esteemed.... And I will raise me up a faithful
priest, that shall do according to that which is in mine heart and in my
mind; and I will build him a sure house; and he shall walk before mine
anointed forever.”
God charged Eli with honoring his sons above the Lord. Eli had permitted
the offering appointed by God, as a blessing to Israel, to be made a
thing of abhorrence, rather than bring his sons to shame for their
impious and abominable practices. Those who follow their own
inclination, in blind affection for their children, indulging them in
the gratification of their selfish desires, and do not bring to bear the
authority of God to rebuke sin and correct evil, make it manifest that
they are honoring their wicked children more than they honor God. They
are more anxious to shield their reputation than to glorify God; more
desirous to please their children than to please the Lord and to keep
his service from every appearance of evil.
God held Eli, as a priest and judge of Israel, accountable for the moral
and religious standing of his people, and in a special sense for the
character of his sons. He should first have attempted to restrain evil
by mild measures; but if these did not avail, he should have subdued the
wrong by the severest means. He incurred the Lord’s displeasure by not
reproving sin and executing justice upon the sinner. He could not be
depended upon to keep Israel pure. Those who have too little courage to
reprove wrong, or who through indolence or lack of interest make no
earnest effort to purify the family or the church of God, are held
accountable for the evil that may result from their neglect of duty. We
are just as responsible for evils that we might have checked in others
by exercise of parental or pastoral authority, as if the acts had been
our own.
Eli did not manage his household according to God’s rules for family
government. He followed his own judgment. The fond father overlooked the
faults and sins of his sons in their childhood, flattering himself that
after a time they would outgrow their evil tendencies. Many are now
making a similar mistake. They think they know a better way of training
their children than that which God has given in his word. They foster
wrong tendencies in them, urging as an excuse, “They are too young to be
punished. Wait till they become older, and can be reasoned with.” Thus
wrong habits are left to strengthen until they become second nature. The
children grow up without restraint, with traits of character that are a
lifelong curse to them, and are liable to be reproduced in others.
There is no greater curse upon households than to allow the youth to
have their own way. When parents regard every wish of their children,
and indulge them in what they know is not for their good, the children
soon lose all respect for their parents, all regard for the authority of
God or man, and are led captive at the will of Satan. The influence of
an ill-regulated family is widespread, and disastrous to all society. It
accumulates in a tide of evil that affects families, communities, and
governments.
Because of Eli’s position, his influence was more extended than if he
had been an ordinary man. His family life was imitated throughout
Israel. The baleful results of his negligent, ease-loving ways were seen
in thousands of homes that were moulded by his example. If children are
indulged in evil practices, while the parents make a profession of
religion, the truth of God is brought into reproach. The best test of
the Christianity of a home is the type of character begotten by its
influence. Actions speak louder than the most positive profession of
godliness. If professors of religion, instead of putting forth earnest,
persistent, and painstaking effort to bring up a well-ordered household
as a witness to the benefits of faith in God, are lax in their
government, and indulgent to the evil desires of their children, they
are doing as did Eli, and are bringing disgrace on the cause of Christ,
and ruin upon themselves and their households. But great as are the
evils of parental unfaithfulness under any circumstances, they are
tenfold greater when they exist in the families of those appointed as
teachers of the people. When these fail to control their own households,
they are, by their wrong example, misleading many. Their guilt is as
much greater than that of others as their position is more responsible.
The promise had been made that the house of Aaron should walk before God
forever; but this promise had been made on condition that they should
devote themselves to the work of the sanctuary with singleness of heart,
and honor God in all their ways, not serving self, nor following their
own perverse inclinations Eli and his sons had been tested, and the Lord
had found them wholly unworthy of the exalted position of priests in his
service. And God declared, “Be it far from me.” He could not accomplish
the good that he had meant to do them, because they failed to do their
part.