DOES IT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
By J. M. B.
“Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed any difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.” Eze. 22:26. Such, we conceive, are the words of the Lord to all who say, It makes no difference which day we keep, so we keep one day in seven. Do we rightly understand them? Do they truly mean all their words imply? Do they mean to say it makes no difference whether we obey God or not? Do they mean to say we will meet his approbation and receive his blessing just the same in either case? Such expressions remind us very forcibly of the words of a noted spiritualist, A. B. Child. In “Better Views,” p. 29, he says, “Divinity is made manifest in the ten commandments, in their obedience, and also more significantly in their disobedience.” Mr. Child’s view will need but little modification to agree with the assertions of our friends, and none whatever to agree with their practice. Come, my friends, let us reason together. What think you? Would the blind man whose eyes Christ anointed with the spittle and clay have been healed, had he gone to the pool Bethesda and washed instead of the pool of Siloam, as he was commanded? Suppose he had reasoned thus: “True, the Lord said, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash; but why go to that particular pool? for surely it has no virtue above other pools. As to virtue, has not Bethesda the pre-eminence? Are not its waters troubled? Have not many been healed by its waters? And is it not more convenient? Surely, I will wash here, and I shall see.” Had he reasoned and acted thus, he would have seen, when too late, that he had made a great mistake. Can you believe he would have been healed? No, he would not, simply because he did not obey. Suppose Naaman, when he was told by the Lord’s prophet to dip himself seven times in Jordan and he should be healed of his leprosy, had gone to Abana or Pharpar, instead. Said he, “Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash in them, and be clean?” Nay, verily, he must go to that particular river, Jordan, and dip himself just seven times, as commanded, to be healed. Neither can we expect the approbation of God and receive his blessing unless we obey. God is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. He says, “I am the Lord, I change not.” He is just as jealous of his honor as ever. When he speaks it is ours to obey. When he says, You shall keep my rest-day, we may not say, Nay, we will keep another day instead. When he has made a difference between the days by placing his divine blessing upon one, we may not say there is no difference in them. When he says, You shall keep the seventh day; we may not say, We will keep the first, because it is more convenient. Doing this would be like going to another pool to wash, or to another river to dip ourselves. It would be setting up our wills in opposition to God’s will. Can we do this, and say in our prayers, Not my will, but thine be done? It would be wise to obey God, and receive the reward promised to the obedient in these words: “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thine pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath 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.” Isa. 58:13, 14. “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” J. M. B.