Genesis, the Wonderful Book.
By D. I. Robinson
Yes, the most wonderful book in this wide world of ours. It is wonderful that we should have it at all. So old—only think of it, 3400 years since written. The oldest book known to be in being. Perhaps it is the first! who knows or can know to the contrary? But no matter; old enough, strange enough, and good also. If we go back three or four hundred years, and find the first printed books, how we wonder, and prize them; buy at enormous prices, and keep as great curiosities. We go back a few centuries farther, for early manuscripts of history, poetry and philosophy, and laws, and with great search and cost find a few, and how they are trumpeted, and make long famous the finder, or owner. But here is a book, which at one bound, goes a thousand years before them all, and stands up, and stands out, singly and alone, unless Job be its compeer, challenging the nations and ages for its equal, or its like. If India, China, Nineveh, Babylon or Egypt be as old as they, and their skeptical friends claim, let them bring forth their volumes of law, history, poetry, as the fruit of their long ages of previous government, progress and glory. They should have whole libraries of them, but if not one, if God's Israel alone, if God's prophet alone, of them all, has left his book of history, law and poetry, then, let him and them enjoy the meed of glory fairly belonging to them, without cavil. The oldest book! how venerable! The first book perhaps, ever written and published! how wonderful that it should still live, still be read, still be understood! How many since lost! how many cannot be understood! how many unread that can be! But this oldest, first of all, is still published—in nearly all languages too, and read in nearly all and understood! Wonderful! Through what changes it has come, both from weak friends and many and mighty foes! Proscribed, burned, banished, with its few and despised, and poor and hated friends, it has outlived and triumphed over all. More numerous, powerful, and prized to-day than ever before! It is worthy of it. It is God's book and about God, and his greatest works and plans. It is worthy of it. It is for man's good, his enlightenment, reformation, salvation; holy and soul, time and eternity. The first that tells of God and creation in any manner worthy of him, and adapted to human culture. It gives the origin of the race, and its unity, and changes and spread on earth, consonant to reason and known facts. The only one that unfolds the ground of reconciliation to God, and reason for sacrifice to God so common to the race. The first to unfold the seed of hope, and triumph of man over Satan, of grace over sin, and earth's restitution from the curse. Ah more! It solves the source of sin, the cause of the curse on man and earth, and of the Divine Redeemer and bruiser of the serpent. It is wonderful as old a book should contain all this, and more, abundantly more. For it tells of the apostasy of the race, the judgment of the flood, the preservation of a godly seed on earth, and through the flood, by divine love and power. Of the second degeneracy, the origin of nations and languages. Of Nineveh, Babylon, Egypt, Tyre, Persia, Greece. The fate of Sodom and Gomorrah, for an example, and the rise of that singular, and still existent, widest spread and most oppressed people. And more wonderful still, from Abraham, Jacob and Moses, the writer of the book, it gives their history beforehand, most as plainly as we read it now, after 3400 years of fulfillment and facts. Wonderful, that it should give us the unity, infinity, and spirituality, and omnipotence, and omniscience, and goodness, and justice, and truth, and mercy, and long-suffering of a prayer-hearing, sin-pardoning God, loving and blessing the good, and punishing the bad, without respect of persons. In a word, all the attributes of God, all the doctrines and duties of religion, known now, after 3400 years! The Sabbath, marriage, parental duty, filial obedience, honesty, truth, love, hospitality, benevolence, chastity, monogamy, temperance are involved and exhibited in its pages, and the opposite condemned expressly, as by implication. How much of this is done in the brief biographies of the patriarchs, and the inimitable stories of Dinah, Judah and Joseph; giving life and variety to the sober gravity and brevity of history. And all this so authentically. All this among an uneducated people. It is a great thing to write a book now, after ages of experience, especially one to be read; much more to be by posterity. What to have made one then! Perhaps the very first. To be the pioneer; to discover, invent, and carry out the manufacture of a book, all new, to be read, revered, loved, believed, obeyed, for all ages, nations! This is wonderful. God is its author, Moses the penman only. Salvation of men and the honor of God, its object and result! And yet, wonderful of all, this author claims nothing of himself, no display, no great I. No evidence of effort, no display of study, no claim to learning, philosophy, or even inspiration. It is all natural, easy, modest, as though nothing extraordinary were in it. No great hard-sounding words of pomposity. All is artless, plain, rational, holy; and has stood the criticisms of friends and foes of all ages, lands, religions, dispositions and abilities. It has not a parallel aside from the others with which it is found. It must be divine. It carries these marks and evidences in itself. Its light is clearly from Heaven and leads thither. Whatever lack of external proof, it has enough within itself to hold its ground, and maintain its way to the end. Sail on, then, little bark, on the river of time, or ocean of society, thou art safe. No storm can overwhelm thee, the Lord gave and keeps thee. D. I. Robinson, in Advent Herald.