There were tiny slips of paper in Julia Cloud's well-worn Bible, and
she turned to the first one shyly. It was such new work to her to be
talking about these things to any but her own worshipful soul.
The two young people settled back in comfortable attitudes on the
blanket, and put their gaze upon the far sky overhead. They were
embarrassed also, but they meant to carry this thing through.
"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of
them," read Julia Cloud; and straightway the shining blue above them
took on a personality, and became a witness in the day's proceedings.
It was as if some one whom they had known all their lives, quite
familiar in their daily life, should suddenly have stood up and
declared himself to have been an eye-witness to most marvellous
proceedings. The hazy blue with its floating clouds was no longer a
diversion from the subject in hand. Their eyes were riveted with
mysterious thoughts as they lay and listened, astonished, fascinated.
It was the first time it had ever really entered into their
consciousness that there had been a time when there was no blue, no
firm earth, no anything. Whether it were true or not had not as yet
become a question with them. They were near enough to their
fairy-story days to accept a tale while it was being read, and revel
in it.
The quiet voice went on:
"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he
rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God
blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had
rested from all his work which God created and made."
"What did He have to rest for? A God wouldn't get tired, would He?"
burst forth Leslie, turning big inquiring eyes on Julia Cloud.
"I don't know, unless He did it for our sakes to set us an example,"
she answered slowly, "although that might mean He rested in the sense
of stopped doing it, you know. And that would imply that He had some
reason for doing so. I'm not very wise, you know, and because I may
not be able to answer your questions doesn't mean they can't be
answered by some one who has studied it all out. I've often wished I
could have gone to college and studied Greek and Hebrew, so I could
have read the Bible in the original."
"H'm!" said Allison thoughtfully. "That would be interesting, wouldn't
it? I always wondered why they did it, but I don't know but I'll study
them myself. I think I'd enjoy it if there was a real reason besides
just the discipline of it they are always talking about when you kick
about mathematics and languages."
"Well," said Leslie, sitting up interestedly, "is that all there is to
it? Did some one just up and say we had to keep Sunday because God
did? I think that is a kind of superstition. I don't see that God
would want to make us do everything He did. We couldn't. I _wouldn't_
unless _He_ said to, anyhow."
"O Les! You're way off," laughed her brother. "God did. He said,
'Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor,
and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord
thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
daughter, thy man servant nor thy maid servant----' Don't you remember
the Ten Commandments? No, I guess you were too little to learn them.
But I got a Testament for learning them once. Say, Cloudy, when did He
give that command? Right away after He made Adam and Eve?"
"I'm not sure," said Julia Cloud, fluttering the leaves of her Bible
over to the second slip of paper. "I don't find any reference to it in
my concordance till way over here in Exodus, after the children of
Israel had been in Egypt so many years, and Moses led them out through
the wilderness, and they got fretful because they hadn't any bread
such as they used to have in Egypt, so God sent them manna that fell
every morning. But He told them not to leave any over for the next day
because it would gather worms and smell bad, except on Saturday, when
they were to gather enough for the Sabbath. Listen: 'And they gathered
it every morning, every man according to his eating; and when the sun
waxed hot, it melted. And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they
gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man; and all the
rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them,
This is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow is the rest of the
holy sabbath unto the Lord; bake that, which ye will bake to-day, and
seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for
you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it up till the
morning, as Moses bade; and it did not stink, neither was there any
worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath
unto the Lord: to-day ye shall not find it in the field. Six days ye
shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it
there shall be none. And it came to pass, that there went out some of
the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And
the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments
and my laws? See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath,
therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide
ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the
seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day.' It looks as
though the people had been used to the Sabbath already, for the
commandments given on the mount come three whole chapters later. It
looks to me as if God established the Sabbath right at the beginning
when He rested from His own work, and that's what it means when it
says He sanctified it."
"What do you suppose He said, 'I have given _you_ a sabbath' for? It
looks as if it were meant for a benefit for the people and not for
God, doesn't it?" said Allison, sitting up and looking over his aunt's
shoulder. "Why, I always supposed God wanted the Sabbath for His own
sake, so people would see how great He was."
Julia Cloud's cheeks grew red with a flash of distress as if he had
said something against some one she loved very much.
"Oh, no!" she said earnestly. "God isn't like that. Why, He loves us!
He wouldn't have given a Sabbath at all if it hadn't been quite
necessary for our good. Besides, in the New Testament, Jesus said,
'The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath'! Oh, He
made it for us, to be happy in, I'm sure. And perhaps He rested
Himself so that we might understand He had set apart that time of
leisure in order to be everything to us on the day when we had most
time for Him. I have read somewhere that God had to teach those early
people little by little just as we teach babies, a few things each
year; and over in the New Testament it says that all these things that
happened in the Old Testament to those children of Israel happened and
were written down for an example to us who should live in the later
part of the world. So, little by little, by pictures and stories He
taught those people what He wanted all of us to know as a sort of
inheritance. And He took the things first that were of the most
importance. It would seem as if He considered this matter of the
Sabbath very important, and as if He had it in mind right away at the
first when He made the world, and intended to set apart this day out
of every seven, because He stopped right off the very first week
Himself to establish a precedent, and then He 'sanctified' it, which
must mean He set it apart in such a way that all the world should
understand."
"What is a precedent?" asked Leslie sharply.
"Oh, you know, Les, it's something you have to do just like because
you always have done it that way," said Allison, waving her aside.
"But, Cloudy, what I can't get at at all is why He wanted it in
the first place if He didn't want it just entirely for His own
glorification."
"Why, dear, I am not sure; but I think it was just so that He and we
might have a sort of a trysting-time when we could be sure of having
nothing to interfere between us. And He meant it, too, to be the sign
between Himself and those who really loved Him and were His children,
a sign that should show to the world who were His. He said so in
several places. Listen to this." She turned the leaves quickly. "'And
the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Speak thou also unto the children
of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep; for it is a sign
between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that
I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath
therefore; for it is holy unto you; every one that defileth it shall
surely be put to death; for whosoever doeth any work therein, that
soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be
done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord;
whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to
death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to
observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual
covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever;
for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day
he rested, and was refreshed.'"
"There! Now!" said Leslie, sitting up. "That's just what I thought!
That was only for the children of Israel. It hasn't the leastest bit
to do with us. Those were Jews, and they keep it yet, on Saturday."
"Wait, dear!" Julia Cloud turned the leaves of her Bible rapidly to
Corinthians.
"Listen! 'Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant,
how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through
the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same
spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed
them; and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well
pleased; for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things
were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things,
as they also lusted. Neither, be ye idolators, as were some of them;
as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to
play.... Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted,
and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them
also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these
things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let
him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.' Doesn't that
look as though God meant the Sabbath for us, too, Leslie?"
Leslie dropped back on her pillow of moss with a sigh. "I s'pose it
does," she answered somewhat disconsolately. "But I never did like
Sundays anyhow!" and she drew a deep breath of unrest.
"But, dear,"--Julia Cloud's hand rested on the bright head
lovingly,--"there's a closer sense than that in which this belongs to
us if we belong to Christ; we are Israel ourselves. I was reading
about it just this morning, how all those who want to be Christ's
chosen people, and are willing to accept Him as their Saviour, are
Israel just as much as a born Jew. I think I can find it again. Yes,
here it is in Romans: 'For they are not all Israel which are _of_
Israel: neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all
children; but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, they which
are children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the
children of the promise are counted for the seed.' That means the
promise that was given to Abraham that there should be a Messiah
sometime in his family who would be the Saviour of the world, and the
idea is that all who believe in that Messiah are the real chosen
people. It was to the chosen people God gave these careful
directions--commands, if you like to call them--to help them be what a
chosen people ought to be. And the Sabbath rest and communion seems to
be the basis of the whole idea of a people who were guided by God. It
is the coming home to God after the toil of the week. They had to have
a time when other things did not call them away from spending a whole
day with Him and getting acquainted, from getting to know what He
wanted and how to shape their lives, or they would just as surely get
interested in the world and forget God."
"Well, I don't see why we have to go to church, anyway," declared
Leslie discontentedly. "This is a great deal better out here under the
trees, reading the Bible."
"Yes," said Allison. "Cloudy, that minister's dull. I know I wouldn't
get anything out of hearing him chew the rag."
"O Allison, dear! Don't speak of God's minister that way!"
"Why not, Cloudy? Maybe he isn't God's minister. How did he get there,
anyway? Just decided to be a minister, and studied, and got himself
called to that church, didn't he?"
"Oh, no, dear! I trust not. That is terrible! Where ever did you get
such an idea? There may be some unworthy men in the ministry. Of
course there must be, for the Bible said there would be false leaders
and wolves in sheep's clothing; but surely, _surely_ you know that the
most of the men in the pulpit are there because they believe that God
has called them to give up everything else and spend their lives
bringing the message of the gospel to the souls of men. The office is
a holy office, and must be reverenced even if we do not fancy the man
who occupies it. He may have a message if you listen for it, even
though he may seem dull to you. If you knew him better, could look
into his life and see the sacrifices he has made to be a minister, see
the burdens of the people he has to bear!"
"O Cloudy, come now. Most of the ministers I ever saw have automobiles
and fine houses, and about as good a time as anybody. They get big
salaries, and don't bother themselves much about anything but church
services and getting people to give money. Honestly, now, Cloudy
Jewel, I think they're putting it over on you. I'll bet not half of
them are sincere in that sacrifice stuff they put over. It may have
been so long ago; but ministers have a pretty soft snap nowadays, in
cities anyhow."
"Allison! Didn't you ever see any true, sincere ministers, child?
There are so many, many of them!"
"To tell you the truth, Cloudy, I never saw but one that didn't have
shifty eyes. He was a little missionary chap that worked in a slum
settlement and would have taken his eye-teeth out for anybody. Oh, I
don't mean that old guy to-day looked shifty. I should say he was just
dull and uninteresting. He may have thought he had a call long ago,
but he's been asleep so long he's forgotten about it." "O Allison!
This is dreadful!"
Julia Cloud closed her Bible, and looked down in horror at the frank
young face of the boy who minced no words in saying what he thought
about these holy things that had always been so precious and sacred to
her. She felt like putting her hands over her ears and running away
screaming. Her very soul was in agony over the desecration. The
children looked into her face, saw the white, scared look, and took
warning.
"There now, Cloudy, don't worry!" said Allison, leaning over and
patting her hand awkwardly. "I didn't mean to hurt you; honest I
didn't. Perhaps I'm wrong. Of course I am if you say so. I don't
really know any ministers, anyhow. I was just saying what is the
general impression among the fellows. I didn't realize you would
_care_."
"Do the young men all think that?" Julia Cloud's lips were white, and
an agonized expression for the church of God had grown in her eyes.
She searched the boy's face with a look he did not soon forget. It
made an impression that stayed with him always. At least, there was
something in religion if it could make her look like that to hear it
lightly spoken of. At least this one woman was a sincere follower of
Christ.
"There now, Cloudy! I tell you I'm sorry I said that; and just to
prove it I'll go to that old Christian Endeavor to-night, and try to
find something interesting. I will truly. And Les will go, too!"
"Of course!" said Leslie, nestling close. "Forget what he said, and
tell us why we have to go to church, Cloudy, dear."
Julia Cloud tried to recall her troubled thoughts to the subject in
hand.
"Well, God had them build the tabernacle for worship, you know, dear;
told them how to make everything even to the minutest details, and
established worship. That was to be part of the Sabbath day, a place
to worship, and a promise that He would be there to meet any one who
came. That promise holds good to-day. You needn't ever think about the
minister. Just fancy you see Christ in the pulpit. He is there, come
to meet His own, you know. He'll be in that Christian Endeavor
to-night. He was in the tabernacle of old. There was a brightness in
the cloud of His presence to show the people that God had come down to
meet them. They were children, and had to be helped by a visible
manifestation."
"Yes, that would be something like!" said Allison. "If we could see
something to help us believe----"
"Those who truly believe with the heart will have the assurance," said
Julia Cloud earnestly. "I _know_."
There was something in her tone and the look of her eye that added,
"For I have experienced it." The young people looked at her, and were
silent. There was a long, quiet pause in which the sounds of the
falling nuts and the whispering of the hemlocks closed in about them,
and made the day and hour a sacred time. At last Leslie broke the
silence.
"Well, Cloudy, suppose we go to church and Christian Endeavor. What
can we do the rest of the day? We don't have to go to church every
minute, do we? I don't really see how it's going to do me any good. I
don't, indeed."
Julia Cloud smiled at her wistfully. It was so wonderfully sweet to
have this bright, beautiful young thing asking her these vital
questions.
"Why, deary, it's just a day to spend with God and get to enjoy
His company," she said. "Let me read you this verse in Isaiah:
'Blessed'--that means, 'O the happiness of': I'll read it so--'O the
happiness of the man that doeth this, and the son of man that
layeth hold on it; that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and
keepeth his hand from doing any evil. Neither let the son of the
stranger that hath joined himself to the Lord'--there, Leslie,
that means us, or any Gentiles that want to be Christ's--'speak,
saying, The Lord hath utterly separated us from his people.... For
thus saith the Lord to' them 'that keep my sabbaths, and choose the
things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; even unto them
will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name
better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting
name, that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger
that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the
name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the
sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; even them
will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house
of prayer'--you see, Allison, there's a promise that will secure you
from feeling the service dull and dry if you are willing to comply
with its conditions--'their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an
house of prayer for all people.'"
She turned the leaves quickly again.
"And now I want to read you the verse that seems to me to tell how God
likes us to keep the Sabbath. 'If thou turn away thy foot from the
sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath
a delight'--you see, Leslie, He doesn't want it to be a dull, poky
day. He wants us to call it a delight. And yet we are to find our
pleasure in Him, and not in the things that belong just to ourselves.
Listen: 'a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor
him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor
speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord;
and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and
feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the
Lord hath spoken it.'"
Leslie suddenly threw her head in Julia Cloud's lap right over the
Bible, and looked up into her face with an exquisite earnestness all
her own.
"Cloudy Jewel, it sounds all different from anything I ever heard of,
and I don't know how to do it; but something inside says it ought to
be true, and I'm going to try it!" she said. "Anyhow, we've had a
grand time this afternoon, and it hasn't been a bit dull. Do you
suppose maybe we've been 'delighting' in Him this afternoon? But there
goes the supper bell, and I'm hungry as a bear. How about that,
Cloudy? Is it right to cook on Sunday? That place you read about the
man who picked up sticks to make a fire in camp doesn't sound like
it."
"Well, dear, you know in the old times we always got the Sunday
cooking and baking done on Saturday, just as the Lord told the
Israelites to do. I haven't any business to judge other people, and
every one must decide for himself what is necessary and what is not, I
suppose; but, as for me, I like to do as mother always did. I always
have the cake-box and bread-box full of nice fresh things, and make a
pie, perhaps, and cook a piece of meat, or have some salad in the
ice-box; and then it is the work of but a few minutes to get the
nicest kind of a meal on Sunday. It is easy to have a beefsteak to
broil, or cold meat, or something to warm up in a minute if one cares
enough to get it ready; and it really makes a lovely, restful time on
Sunday to know all that work is done. Besides, it isn't any harder. I
like it."
Allison gathered up the rug and books, and they walked slowly toward
the inn, watching the wonderful colorings of the foliage they passed,
and drinking in all the woodsy odors and gentle sounds of dying leaves
and dropping nuts.
"Say, Cloudy," said Allison suddenly out of the midst of his
thoughtfulness, "why don't the ministers preach about all this? I had
to go to church a lot when I was in prep school, and I never yet heard
a sermon on it. Or, if I did, it was so dull I didn't get the hang of
it. But I should think if they preached about it just as you've done,
made it plain so people could understand, that most folks, that is,
the ones who wanted to do half right, would see to it that Sunday
wasn't so rotten."
"Well, Allison," said Julia Cloud, a soft smile playing dreamfully
about her lips, "perhaps they don't realize the need. Perhaps it's 'up
to you,' as you say, to somehow wake them up and set them at it."
Allison drew a long whistle and grinned as they went into the house.