Question Corner

Pacific Press Publishing Association · Mountain View, California · May 5, 1909

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 36, No. 18.

[To our Inquirers,—(1) The name and address of all who ask questions must accompany questions, not necessarily for publication, in token of good faith, and that we may reply by letter, if thought best. All communications will be considered confidential if so desired, and no name will be published unless requested. But we have no time to give to anonymous or unsigned epistles or articles. (2) Let the questions be to the point. Do not say, “Explain Josh. 7:1-8,” but state the thing upon which help is desired. (3) Questions can not be answered immediately in this department. Sometimes it will mean a month or more of waiting. We can not reply to the same question frequently. Read answers to other questions; you may find reply to yours. (4) Members of the Bible Band will kindly enclose stamp if answer is desired by letter. Others will please enclose ten cents. This does not begin to meet expenses oftentimes. (5) “Foolish . . . questions avoid.”]

2831.—Judas Maccabaeus.

Who was Judas Maccabaeus? And are the books of the Maccabees a part of Scripture? G. D.

The Maccabees are sometimes called Hasmoneans, and sometimes Asmoneans, from Hashmon, the great-grandfather of Mattathias. But the family received their name from the title given to Judas, the second son of Mattathias. He was called Judas Maccabaeus, that is, Judas the Hammerer, because of his vigorous assaults upon the Syrians. The title gradually included all the members of the family of Mattathias and their descendants. The family came into leadership against the attempt of Antiochus Epiphanes to force Greek worship upon the Jews in the years 175 to 164 B.C. The revolt arose in the little town of Modin where Mattathias and his five sons were living. The idolatrous altar was overturned, and Mattathias and his five sons were forced to flee to the mountains. In the year 167 the leadership was committed to Judas, and under the loyal Jews who supported him, he won victory after victory, and in three years afterward restored the temple worship. Then he began to fight for political independence and at last fell in the battle of Eleasa in the year 161. His brother Jonathan succeeded him. They were in a way kings, and yet later more or less dependent upon Rome. The books of the Maccabees relate the history of those times. They are not considered as inspired Scriptures. In one place prayer for the dead is spoken of, but even the translation of this is questionable. They were doubtless brave, loyal men; especially was this true of Judas; but they are in no wise guides for us in theology, nor are the writings to be taken as inspired Scripture.

2832.—Cruelty to Children.

Please give some light on the following scriptures: Num. 31:13; 2 Kings 10, the orders of Moses and cruelty to children. READER OF THE “SIGNS.”

It would help us very much to understand these if we would take into account the conditions that existed when Moses gave these orders. Midian had planned to destroy a nation. They had done this under the teaching of Balaam who sold himself for hire. The nation of Midian itself had gotten to that place where it was tending to evil, and only evil. Had it been allowed to continue the children and all connected with it would have not only gone to destruction themselves, but would have brought others into the world doomed to destruction. And if they had been allowed to work their arts upon Israel unrebuked, both Israel and Midian would have gone to utter destruction. God in His wisdom saw that it was necessary to bring a check to that wickedness, and He did so summarily. Surely, it was mercy to those who were slain to be slain then in their innocence, many of them, rather than to go on in unmitigated, highhanded wickedness, bringing others into the same conditions. It is better sometimes to cut off an arm or a leg than to lose a life. Moses did not act on his own initiative. God directed him as to what to do, and certainly we can see wisdom in the directions given. We need not necessarily believe, however, that God was in all the work that the overzealous Jehu did, altho the worshipers of Baal were doubtless worthy of all they received. For they, too, aimed at destruction. The very religion itself, Baal-worship, would even put to death the innocent as a part of its religious service. Baal-worship was destroying God's people, and all the other nations with which it was connected, and this summary punishment was brought to save nations from the sad consequences of the cruel and licentious Baal religion. It would have proved a great deal more effective in this case if Jehu himself had been faithful to God and had not turned to the worship of the calves.

2833.—The Covering.

Please explain 1 Cor. 11:5, 6. What is meant by the covering? R. J. B.

There are some things in the apostle's epistle to the Corinthians that are, as Peter declares, “hard to be understood.” While it deals with great general principles of Christianity it also has to do with local conditions in the days of the apostle. They lived in the great proud, rich city of Corinth. It was an idolatrous city; there were celebrated some of the great ancient games, and there also were found the shrines of the most polluting idolatry. Their idolatrous women went to all kinds of excesses, and there was the tendency, of course, that the women among God's children should do the same thing. Looking upon it in this light, we can see some reason why Paul should especially warn women at Corinth regarding these things. Let the women in the idolatrous world go to all kinds of unseemly extravagances in conduct, in word, in manner; but let the women professing Christ's name be modest. Let their conduct be seemly on all occasions. This perhaps will help us to understand this eleventh chapter. Every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonored her head. That is, there should be that about the very clothing of the head which would indicate modesty on her part. As the Revised Version gives it, this covering was a veil, a proper garment for this purpose. A little later on in the chapter it would seem as tho men went to something the same extreme as did women; in the wearing of long hair dressed in particular ways. For that is what is indicated. The long hair of verse fifteen is not the long hair that the Nazarites wore, but long hair that is especially dressed in fanciful style; the way that women dress their hair. And the apostle tells us that it is a dishonor; but if women have long, splendid wealth of hair it is a glory to them; that is considered perfectly proper. What the apostle is anxious to see among God's children is dignity and manliness on the part of men, and womanliness and modesty on the part of women. These are the principles which cover the whole thing. Some of the details common in the language pertaining to fashions of that day we may not fully understand. It is for us to understand the principle.

2834.—Preaching to the Dead.

Will you please explain in the Question Corner, 1 Peter 4:6? Why does Peter say that the Gospel was preached unto the dead? V. C. P.

The passage reads, including the 5th verse, “Who shall give account to Him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. For for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the Spirit.” Note this one simple fact in connection with the text, that it does not say that the Gospel is preached to them while they were dead; but it “was preached to them that are dead.” Not while they were literally dead was the Gospel preached to them, but before they died; when they were shut up in the prison-house of sin. It was preached to them for the same reason that it is preached now, that men might live unto God. We see no reason whatsoever to understand the text as applying to certain classes of people who had died, to whom Christ went and preached the Gospel. That is not the thought of the text. The apostle wants us to understand that the same Gospel that he was preaching then was preached to those who had formerly lived. For this Gospel was preached and the class to whom it was preached are doubtless referred to in the 3rd chapter and the 18th to 20th verses. We are told by whom Christ preached the Gospel; namely, by His Spirit; to whom He preached—those in prison; that is, those shut up in the prison-house of sin. When they lived was when they were “sometime disobedient,” “when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” In harmony with this the same apostle tells us that Noah was a “preacher of righteousness.” 2 Peter 2:5. Then it was that the Gospel was preached to them that are dead, and preached to them then for the same reason that it is preached to us now.

2835.—Jacob’s Sons’ Wives.

Did the sons of Jacob have wives of what we would call Jews? Were not some of them heathens? Was not the wife of Joseph an Egyptian? W. S.

Evidently this is the case. None of these, however, may have been idolaters. It was very common in those days for the wife to have the same religion as her husband, and if she were a true, devoted wife, after the custom of those days, she probably accepted his religion. We may well believe that good, faithful missionary work was done by the sons of Israel, led by the influence of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob during the time they were in the promised land. It is said of Abraham that he had 300 trained servants. Jacob’s sons’ wives may have been descendants of these. All this is pure speculation, of course; but probable. The wife of Joseph was the daughter of a priest, or a prince, in Egypt. Joseph himself may have done faithful missionary work, and for aught that we know, the priest himself may have espoused the religion of the true God.

2836.—What Baptism?

Kindly explain what baptism is referred to in 1 Cor. 10:13. R. J. B.

The text itself tells us what is meant. God wished to honor Moses as His great and mighty leader, the type of our Lord Jesus Christ. The children of Israel seemed still to be doubting him and so they went through that consecration ceremony of the whole congregation being baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. That is, they were completely swallowed up, and Moses was honored of God as His chosen leader to carry them through to the promised land.

2837.—Collections on the Sabbath Day.

Is it right to take up collections on the Sabbath for fuel, oil, janitor, church expenses, etc? F. M. L.

Personally, we see no objection to this at all, if they are taken up in the right spirit and as quietly as possible. The one great comment on the observance of the Sabbath is given in Isa. 58:13: “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy 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.” Now, all the things mentioned above are for the Lord’s house, His service, and His worship. The priests anciently offered twice as many sacrifices upon that day as they did upon ordinary days. It was on that day also that the showbread was taken away and the new showbread put in its place. It depends on the spirit and motive with which God’s work is done. We ought to be sure that the work done is for Him and done in such a way that it will glorify His name. There may be others who are conscientiously opposed to that. If so let them give their donations on week days, but let them not forget so to do.

2838.—Bible Band.—D.—Any who wish to join the Bible Band can do so by forwarding ten cents for Bible Band card and schedule for the year’s reading.