“Earth trembled from her entrails, as again
In pangs, and Nature gave a second groan;
Sky lowered, and muttering thunder, some sad drops
Wept at completing of the mortal sin
Original....”
At what period of the existence of our first parents their fall
occurred the inspired writer does not inform us. The _fact_ is only
stated. There is reason to infer that it occurred soon after their
creation.
Before the fall they lived in the garden, whose enchanting beauty has
already been described. Their employment was to dress, admire, and
enjoy the lovely spot, and to praise and glorify their Maker.
Having disobeyed, they were driven forth from the garden, and the
ground, which before brought forth, spontaneously, an abundant supply
of fruits to satisfy all their desires, became changed, and needed
cultivation to produce the food their desecrated bodies needed.
“Adam and Eve went forth into the wide world, carrying with them the
fallen nature and corrupt tendencies which were the present fruit of
their sin, but with faith in the promise of redemption.”
The chief object of their life was yet to be accomplished, the earth
was to be peopled and subdued. The curse was accompanied by a promise.
The toils of the man were to be rewarded by the fruits the earth would
yield to cultivation; and the woman, in her suffering, was consoled by
the hope of a Redeemer.[F]
_The Flood._—Sin and wickedness had become so wonderful that God
determined to destroy the whole race, except Noah and his family.
Noah was directed to construct a vessel sufficiently large to
accommodate his family and such animals as he should need. In this
vessel, called in the Bible the Ark, he embarked with his wife, three
sons, and their wives, making in all eight souls. He took, according
to Divine direction, clean beasts and birds by sevens, and of such as
were not to used for food or for sacrifice by pairs, with a supply of
food for all. The age of Noah at the time he entered the ark was six
hundred years. When all had embarked, the ark was shut by the hand of
God, and immediately the fountains of the great deep were broken up,
and the clouds sent forth torrents of water, which increased and bore
up the ark. The Bible does not describe the terrific character of the
consequences of such a storm. We are left to imagine the scenes that
followed. The mountain streams must have swollen so suddenly as to
forsake their channels and find new outlets, sweeping away, in their
angry force, hamlets, villages, and even cities, washing down hills,
and undermining mountains. But, most prominent, there rises before
the fancy a scene of terrible conflict—brawny men fighting with the
tempest, carrying their families from height to height, but still
pursued by the remorseless, unwearying foe.
The next scene is one of defeat and death.
Bleached and bloodless corpses float everywhere, like pieces of a
wreck over the shoreless sea; the poor babe, locked in the arms of the
mother, having found even nature’s refuge fail.
Last of all, there is a scene of awful stillness and desolation, not
one object being seen but the dull expanse of the ocean, nor one sound
of life heard but the low moan of its surging waters.
On the seventh month the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat. But
nearly a year elapsed, after the mighty vessel grounded, before Noah
emerged from this temporary prison. Immediately upon landing he erected
an altar, and offered sacrifice to God for preserving him from the
watery grave which had engulfed all mankind except his family, with
which act, God being well pleased, he made a covenant with him never
again to destroy the world by flood, and to seal the promise, he set
his bow in the cloud.
Noah, as has been stated, on going out of the ark, celebrated his
deliverance by a burnt offering of all the kinds of clean beasts which
he had preserved in the ark with him.[G]
_Babel._—The next great event in man’s history was the confusion of
tongues, and the consequent dispersion of mankind into three great
lingual families.
On leaving the ark new privileges were granted, new laws imposed, and a
new covenant made. In addition to the plants, all animals were allowed
for food. They were forbidden to eat blood, and murder was made a
capital offence. “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood
be shed.” We may infer that the sons of Noah, and their descendants,
moved naturally toward the south, until, after many years, they reached
and settled the plains south of Ararat; until Assyria, the plains of
Mesopotamia, and Chaldæa swarmed with busy multitudes, pursuing the
various avocations of life.
It was on the plains of Chaldæa, south of Mesopotamia, that the mighty
city of Babylon arose on the banks of the river Euphrates, where the
inhabitants, in their pride, attempted to erect a tower that should
reach to the heavens. This tower was, no doubt, intended to serve as a
place from which to expose signals to call the people together, hence
it was to be high enough to be seen from all parts of the plain.
To humble their pride, and to people other sections by distribution,
God arrested the work by confounding of tongues, so that when the
workmen asked for brick the laborers brought mortar. It is not certain
to how great an extent the confusion of tongues was brought; but it
is not believed that each person spoke a different dialect from every
other. But, on the other hand, there is reason to believe that the
whole was divided into three great lingual divisions or families.
Men now grouped together, from necessity, into tribes or families,
composed of those who understood each other, sought new regions and
neighborhoods where they might settle, and engage in the various
departments of human industry then practiced.
In that mild climate and generous soil men were greatly tempted
to become shepherds and herdsmen, a mode of life at once simple
and healthful, and one highly calculated to extend the borders of
occupation, and increase the population.
The government was patriarchal—a mode of government which seemed to
have been especially acceptable to God, and well calculated to prevent
centralization.
_Social Life of the Ancients—Job._—It would be utterly impossible, in
any single picture, to present a view of the state of society during a
period of so great extent, and embracing such a variety of nations and
countries. We can but follow the example of the Bible itself, and make
choice of a single spot, and a single family, to convey some idea of
the life and manners of the age. It is probable that it was during this
period that the patriarch Job lived, suffered, and triumphed. Job was
probably a descendant of Shem; his residence is said to have been “in
the east” (Job i. 3)—the term usually applied to the district where the
first settlement of men took place. (Gen. ii. 8; iii. 24; xi. 2). The
Sabeans and Chaldæans were his neighbors; and at the time when he lived
the knowledge of the True God seems to have been preserved, without
material corruption. The adoration of the heavenly bodies had begun to
be practiced (Job xxxi. 26, 27), but there seems still to have been a
general belief in one Almighty God.
The picture of social life in the book of Job is in many respects
extremely beautiful. We dare not regard it as a sample of what was
usual over the world, but rather as exhibiting the highest condition
of social life that had been attained. There were even then cases
of oppression, robbery, and murder; but, for the most part, a fine
patriarchal purity and simplicity prevailed. The rich and the poor met
together, and to the distressed and helpless the rich man’s heart and
hand were ever open: “When I went out to the gate through the city,
when I prepared my seat in the street, the young men saw me, and hid
themselves: and the aged arose and stood up.... When the ear heard
me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to
me; because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and
him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to
perish came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.”
The sweet bonds of family affection retained all their power in the
household of Job; his children feasted by turns in each other’s houses;
while the affectionate and pious father rose early in the morning to
offer sacrifices for them all, lest any of them should have sinned. The
simple burnt-offering retained its place as the appointed ordinance
of heaven, and was the sacrifice that Job, as the high-priest of his
house, presented on behalf of his children.
In the book of Job mention is made of kings, princes, nobles, judges,
merchants, warriors, travelers, and slaves. The pen of iron had
begun to engrave inscriptions upon rocks; the mining shaft was sunk
for gold and silver; and palaces that had been built for kings and
nobles had fallen into ruin. Astronomy had begun to acquaint men with
the heavenly bodies, and many of the stars and constellations had
received well-known names. Altogether, the state of civilization was
highly advanced. The more closely we study those early times, the more
erroneous appears the opinion that man began his career as a savage,
and gradually worked his way up to refinement and civilization. The
reverse of this is nearer the truth. “God made man upright”—civilized
and refined, as well as intelligent and holy; but as man departed from
God, he lost these early blessings. Sometimes a considerable degree of
refinement has been reached by other paths; but by far the richest and
best civilization is that which has come with true religion—with the
pure knowledge and simple worship of the one True God.
[_January 21._]