Signs of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 22. (6/1/1904)

Signs of the Times

Jun 1, 1904

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jun 1, 1904

THE SOWING AND THE REAPING.

By C. M. Snow

LIKE the destructive hurricane is the life that is out of harmony with the law and purpose of God. The lashing whip of the cyclone has no business but to destroy. It can never rebuild the structure which its merciless power strews upon the ground. So that self-centered life leaves a wake of ruin in whatever path it takes. But that is not all of its work; like a masterless locomotive it crashes along to its own ruin. On the other hand, the true worship of God and obedience to His law lead the mind out of the dark fogs of the valley of death, and the soul up onto the Pisgah heights to commune with the Eternal One.

THE experiences of ancient Israel are full of priceless lessons for us in this matter. They are written for our admonition; they are beacon lights along the pathway of the child of God; and in God's dealings with that people all the power of words is used and all the infinite storehouse of love is opened, to cover every need of man's nature. In those experiences are the faithful warnings of the fruits of disobedience as well as the sure promises of the fruits and rewards of righteousness. The declaration that the iniquities of the fathers would be visited upon the children to the third and fourth generation of them that hated God, while true and sure, is no truer or surer than that other declaration that the mercies of God would be visited upon thousands of generations of them that loved God and kept His commandments. That the unrighteous life of the parent shows itself in the sinful tendencies of the children is a proven fact. It is in perfect harmony with the law of growth; and, were it not for the uplifting influence, the up-drawing power, of the Spirit of God still striving with man, the baneful influence of no single life could ever be checked in the continuing posterity of that individual. It is through the mercy of God alone—and that to those even who are in rebellion against Him—that the corroding, corrupting, sin-breathing influence goes no further than it does.

ON the other hand, there is no power but the power of self, in our own choice, that can prevent the power of a righteous life working out, and inducing to, righteousness in succeeding generations of men. It is one of the laws of God, as the sowing is, so shall the reaping be. So the influence of a righteous life in this earth is more far-reaching than that of a sinful life, except as it is hindered by the individual choice of wrong. The ultimate fruit of the influence of righteousness is eternal life in the kingdom of God. The ultimate fruit of the influence of unrighteousness is eternal death. The one goes on forever; the other is cut short as unfit for the universe of God. Our choice may clip for us a branch from the tree of eternity. It withers in the blast of trial,

and we, the branch, are lost forever. But through all the ramifications of a righteous life there pulses a power which nothing but the human choice can check. In that declaration that God would show mercy to thousands of generations of them that love Him and keep His commandments there is a lesson for us in the far-reaching influence of a righteous, God-loving life—the lesson also that sin and sin's influence, tho powerful, are not eternal; that they are not limitless even in this life, for the power of God is against them on behalf of all who seek release from the clutch of their talons.

THE lesson is taught again in the seventeenth chapter of Jeremiah, in the following words: "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond; it is graven upon the tablet of their heart, and upon the horns of your [margin, 'their'] altars; whilst their children remember their altars and their Asherim by the green trees upon the high hills." This wicked, polluting idol worship was one of the most debasing sins of apostate Israel. The Lord declares that it was graven upon their hearts with pen of iron and point of diamond, showing the tenacity of the mark which it would leave upon the character; and not only that, but the concluding clause quoted shows the result of that evil parental influence upon the children. They remembered the wicked deeds of their parents to participate in them. Their memories were stored with the frantic rites and ceremonies which they saw their parents observe in this degrading worship, and their imagination was alive with idol images. There was exemplified the cankering influence of unrighteousness upon the children and the children's children. Every evil thought leaves a scar upon the heart of him who thinks it, and every evil act of the parent leaves a sore upon the soul of the child he has brought into the world. You can not harbor in your heart a greed for gold without bringing the rheumatism of sin into all the articulating parts of the spiritual man. You can not indulge that greed worship without inoculating or infecting your offspring with a soul-blighting sickness. Just so in every other line of self-service and self-worship. It is so written in the economy of nature. Like brings like; and yet upon the trunk of that tree, all gnarled and bearing but wild fruit, the husbandman may set a graft that will bear fruit of the most delightful character. So in the life of a child weighed down with an inheritance of evil, God, through the surrender of that life to Him, can bring forth fruit unto His glory throughout eternity.

OUR load of sins may be greater than our power to lift ourselves under them; they may have dyed our character with the indelible scarlet; they may have left scars which neither power nor skill of man can eradicate; and yet there is a power for us to lift us above the weight of that load, a remedy for the indelible stain of sin, a Physician who can take away the deepest scar that sin can make. David was well-nigh overwhelmed by the crushing weight of his sin; but he declared: "He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay; and He set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings." The Lord calls to us through the prophet Isaiah: "Come now, and let us reason together, saith Jehovah: tho your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; tho they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." That takes out the indelible stain; but what about the scars that sin had made? "The light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that Jehovah bindeth up the hurt of His people, and healeth the stroke of their wound." Isa. 30: 26. When the Lord Himself heals the hurt of His people and the stroke of their wound, that healing leaves no scar. The universe is then free of sin and the marks of sin. The influence of every wicked life is done, while the influence of every life of righteousness goes on through eternal years, ever increasing to the glory of God and the happiness of the ransomed host.

THE TOUCH OF FAITH.

By Ellen G. White

By Mrs. Ellen G. White.

“IF I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole.”

It was a poor woman who spoke these words,—a woman who for twelve years had suffered from a disease that made her life a burden. She had spent all her means upon physicians and remedies, only to be pronounced incurable. But, as she heard of the great Healer, her hopes revived. She thought, “If only I could get near enough to speak to Him, I might be healed.”

Christ was on His way to the home of Jairus, the Jewish rabbi who had entreated Him to come and heal his daughter. The heart-broken petition, “My little daughter lieth at the point of death; I pray Thee, come and lay Thy hands on her, that she may be healed,” had touched the tender, sympathetic heart of Christ, and He had at once set out with the ruler for his home.

They advanced but slowly; for the crowd pressed Christ on every side. On making His way through the multitude, the Saviour came near to where the afflicted woman was standing. Again and again she had tried in vain to get near Him. Now her golden opportunity had come. She could see no way of speaking to Him. She would not seek to hinder His slow advance. But she had heard that healing came from a touch of His garments; and, fearful of losing her one chance of relief, she pressed forward, saying to herself, “If I may but touch His garment, I shall be made whole.”

Christ knew every thought of her mind, and He was making His way to where she stood. He realized her great need, and He was helping her to exercise faith.

As He was passing, she reached forward, and succeeded in barely touching the border of His garment. That moment she knew that she was healed. In that one touch was concentrated the faith of her life, and instantly her pain and feebleness disappeared. Instantly she felt the thrill as of an electric current passing through every fiber of her being. There came over her a sensation of perfect health.

“Straightway . . . she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.”

She desired to express her thanks to the mighty Healer, who had done more for her in one touch than the physicians had done in twelve long years; but she dared not. With a grateful heart she tried to withdraw from the crowd. Suddenly Jesus stopped, and looking around, He asked, “Who touched Me?” Looking at Him with amazement, Peter answered, “Master, the multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me?” “Somebody hath touched Me,” Jesus said; “for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me.” He could distinguish the touch of faith from the casual touch of the careless throng. Some one had touched Him with a deep purpose, and had received answer.

Christ did not ask the question for His own information. He had a lesson for the people, for His disciples, and for the woman. He wished to inspire the afflicted with hope. He wished to show that it was faith which had brought the healing power. The woman’s trust must not be passed by without comment. God must be glorified by her grateful confession. Christ desired her to understand that He approved her act of faith. He would not have her depart with a half blessing only. She was not to remain in ignorance of His knowledge of her suffering, of His compassionate love, and of His approval of her faith in His power to save to the uttermost all who come to Him.

Looking toward the woman, Christ insisted on knowing who had touched Him. Finding concealment vain, she came forward trembling, and cast herself at His feet. With grateful tears she told Him, before all the people, why she had touched His garment, and how she had been immediately healed. She feared that her act in touching His garment had been one of presumption, but no word of censure came from Christ’s lips. He spoke only words of approval. They came from a heart of love, filled with sympathy for human woe. “Daughter,” He said gently, “be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.” How cheering were these words to her. Now no fear that she had given offense imbittered her joy.

During all His life on this earth, from childhood to manhood, Christ sought to bring life and joy and peace to others. His days were filled with deeds of mercy and compassion. He was often weary. His human nature longed for rest. But He had little opportunity to rest. The children of sorrow and affliction thronged His steps. They would not be deterred, knowing that if they could come to where He was, they would not seek for help in vain. Had He not said, “Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”?

The wondering crowd that pressed close about Christ realized no accession of vital power. But when the suffering woman put forth her hand to touch Him, believing that she would be made whole, she felt the healing virtue. So it is in spiritual things. To talk

of religion in a casual way, to pray without soul-hunger and living faith, avails nothing. A nominal faith in Christ, which accepts Him only as the Saviour of the world, can never bring healing to the soul. The faith that is unto salvation is not a mere intellectual assent to the truth. He who waits for entire knowledge before he will exercise faith, can not receive blessing from God. It is not enough to believe about Christ; we must believe in Him. The only faith that will benefit us is that which embraces Him as a personal Saviour, which appropriates His merits to ourselves. Many hold faith as an opinion. Saving faith is a transaction, by which those who receive Christ join themselves in covenant relation with God. A living faith means an increase of vigor, a confiding trust, by which the soul becomes a conquering power.

WATERED OF GOD.

By Llewellyn A. Morrison

BY LLEWELLYN A. MORRISON,

"Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:14.

IF by Christ we 're daily taught, We shall often hear His voice: "Without Me ye can do naught; Drink life's water and rejoice; For 'tis true that whosoever Drinks of water that I give, He shall thirst again, no, never— Like a fountain he shall live."

Thus the Christian, much with God, Watered with the heavenly dew, Brings from the divine abode Blessings that are fresh and new. He can ever truly say, "All my springs, Lord, are in Thee; Watering others every day, Still, my Father, water me."

Toronto, Ont.

The Industrial Conflict in the Light of Revelation.

By Geo. W. Rine

GREED AND ITS FRUITS.

HAVING been made for God, man can never become his truest and highest ideal apart from God. "And ye are complete in Him [Christ]." Col. 2:10.

United to God, making God supreme in his affections, man is a Christian, an ideal man. Separated from God, he makes some creature rather than the Creator the object of his supreme regard, thus making himself virtually an idolater. In all the universe there is no power but sin that can separate man from his Creator. See Isa. 59:2. Created for God, man will instinctively worship, if not God, then something other than God. In spite of himself, man must set his heart upon something. Something must be and will be paramount in his affections. If that something is God, all is well; if it is not God, all is ill.

That which commonly usurps the place of God in the human heart is fame, or sensuous pleasure, or material possessions. Inspiration, history, and observation conspire to warrant the conviction that the idol to which the heart is most prone, is money and all that money stands for. In other words, the most prevalent and relentless passion of the natural heart is avarice, or, as the Bible writers most frequently put it, covetousness. Note the direct, sharp warning given by our Lord, who "knew what was in man." "Take heed and beware of covetousness; for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth." Luke 12:15. Observe further the sweeping declaration which He makes through His servant Paul. "The love of money is the root of all evil." 1 Tim. 6:10. Again, David, referring to what the ordinary man is prone to do, declared, "He blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth." Ps. 10:3.

These and many similar sacred passages show how general, how insidious, how implacable is the lust for gold. Observe, please, that Jesus did not say, "Beware of money," and that Paul did not write that "money is the root of all evil." "Beware of COVETOUSNESS," pleaded the Master. "The LOVE of money," Paul declared, "is the root of all evil." Not wealth, but the mania for wealth, is abhorrent to God. Money and all other forms of legitimate wealth are the gift of God, and therefore a blessing. There is nothing inherently bad in gold or silver, for the Lord created them both, and He made all things good. It is not a sin to be rich, but it is a sin to set one's heart upon riches. Avarice is not wealth; it is the craving for wealth.

The passion for riches is often found burning in the heart of the poorest as well as in that of the richest. Greed is just as hateful to God when He finds it stirring the heart of the pauper as when he finds it throbbing through the soul of the millionaire. It is only when they become an idol that riches become a curse. When gold is sought for its own sake, when a love for it dominates the heart, then only does it become a snare. It then becomes a snare because it infallibly separates its devotee from God. It was no more a sin to pay homage to Aaron's golden calf, nearly three thousand years ago, than it is to pay reverence to Uncle Sam's golden eagles to-day.

A Sin-producing Soil.

A little reflection will convince any one that covetousness is the very quintessence of selfishness. And selfishness is the matrix in which all sins have their inception. Hence it is not difficult to understand how the love of money becomes the root of all evil. A heart set upon gold soon becomes as cold and hard as gold itself. Greed is the soil out of which grow the noxious weeds of every form of dishonesty—forgery, embezzlement, bribery, perjury, theft, robbery, and even murder.

Let a man once become infatuated with the idea of getting rich, and that very infatuation exposes him to approximately all the temptations that sinister spirits can suggest. Consistency, self-respect, honor, and conscience he will throw to the winds. "Nothing succeeds like success," becomes his working motto, and with such a motto he makes himself liable to the committing of almost any crime. The constant query of his heart is not, "What must I do to be saved?" but, "What must I do to get rich?" How vitally important, then, that our Lord's terse, ringing admonition, "Beware of covetousness," should burn its way into every heart.

It is, however, in the closing days of time that, according to the repeated declarations of inspired prophecy, avarice will become peculiarly virulent, deep-seated, and almost universally prevalent. One of the most pointed and direct of these predictions is the following, recorded in 2 Tim. 3:1, 2: "In the LAST DAYS grievous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of self, LOVERS OF MONEY." R. V. All who have talent for observation, and who read current, periodical literature, must know that never before were there so many votaries at the shrine of mammon as to-day—so many who "love" money for its own sake, and accordingly make money-getting the one all-absorbing pursuit of life. Dr. Lyman Abbott recently wrote: "The sin that is nearest the root of our social disorder and unrest to-day is the eminently respectable and deadly sin of covetousness, tainting the life of the family and the church, as well as the state; the acquisitiveness whose sole concern is making money, and growing fat on what should be shared with others. Intemperance and licentiousness are more disgusting, but covetousness, which often prompts them for gain, dwarfs them both in the social detriment it works."

Not long since the Scotch preacher and novelist, Ian Maclaren, wrote in his "Impressions on American Life," substantially as follows: The friendly visitor to the United States, who is proud of her achievements and delighted by her brightness, stands aghast at her open and unabashed front of secularity. Not merely coarse and unlettered men, whose souls have never been touched, either by religion or by culture, but all men, with a few delightful exceptions, bow the knee to this golden calf, and do it homage. Nowhere is there such constant, straightforward talk about money; nowhere is such importance attached to the amount of money which a man has acquired

or possesses; nowhere is it taken so absolutely for granted that the object of a man's work is to obtain money, that if offered money enough he will be willing to do any work which is not illegal. In short, the motive power with almost every man is his wages.

The Doctor virtually affirms that "every man has his price," and that if you know that price, he can be induced to do what you want, even tho his health and his rest and his family and his principles stand in the way.

Who can deny that the teachings of Jesus concerning possessions are practically a dead letter in the church to-day? He spoke of the "deceitfulness of riches." How very few of His nominal followers are really afraid of being deceived by riches! How very few refuse to run the risk! "Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth." Yet this is exactly what most of those who are in the church are doing, or at least strenuously striving to do to-day. "How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of heaven," said the Master. Yet nearly all His professed children are willing to run the risk of entering the kingdom, in spite of their having "great possessions."

The Epidemic of Avarice.

That greed has become epidemic, chronic, and well-nigh universal in civilized society, is evidenced a thousand times by the various immoral and even criminal methods employed, by all sorts of persons, to "rake in" the "almighty" dollar. Perhaps the most common and conspicuous of these unholy methods is exemplified in the ubiquitous saloon. According to the report of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue there were 184,889 liquor dealers and manufacturers in the United States in 1889. Allowing twenty-two feet front to each, their saloons in that year would reach in an unbroken line from New York to Chicago. To-day, however, our country can boast (?) of 250,000 of these gilded rum shops—temples dedicated to his satanic majesty. There is invested in this nefarious business more than a billion dollars of capital. It is estimated that the yearly liquor bill of the nation is now $1,600,000,000.

It is not my purpose to discuss here the enormity of this unsavory business, but I refer to it as one of the many conclusive proofs that men are to-day essentially and universally "LOVERS OF MONEY." This vast host of men engaged in this diabolical traffic, are in it, not because it possesses any inherent attractiveness; not because they really desire to be parties to the immeasurable woe and ruin that their dark business is entailing upon society;—they are in it simply and solely for the money there is in it. The poor fellows are in absolute bondage to the cupidity of their own hearts. The most of them abhor the business, but adore the gold it brings them. They are not all avowed worldlings either. A very large per cent of the real estate devoted to the traffic and manufacture of liquor is owned by the adherents of Christian churches. What a sad, dark commentary upon the spiritual status of the present-day church! Nothing but the power of God in Jesus Christ can "set at liberty them that are bound"—bound with chains of iron to an altar of gold—and "let the oppressed go free." These devotees of the money tables know full well that they are bringing suffering and woe unutterable upon millions of mothers and children, and eternal ruin upon millions of men; yet they will not relent, they will not desist, not because they love human souls the less, but because they love money the more! "In the last days . . . men shall be COVETOUS," is the unqualified affirmation of Holy Writ. Is not this startling prediction of the divine Spirit most marvelously fulfilled in the eyes of all the world to-day, dear reader?

The love of money—greed—is the mother of the saloon; the saloon is the mother of drunkenness, bestiality, brutality, lechery, disease, crime, insanity, and the drunkard's grave. Indirectly, upon the countless innocent and helpless dependents of the victims of rum, the saloon entails endless sorrow and shame and hunger and squalor and cold and not infrequently disease and death. How wonderfully this illustrates the truth of Paul's aphorism, "The love of money is the root of ALL KINDS of evil." R. V. (American).

Another noxious thistle that has its root in the love of money is the social vice. This festering, reeking horror has, within the last twenty-five years, found its way into nearly every city and town having a population of a thousand or more. The larger cities, especially, are fairly honeycombed with the vile dens of harlots and harlot-mongers. It is estimated that more than 25,000 innocent girls are being seduced, and enticed into these hellish resorts every year in this country alone. Mr. Jerome, an officer in the city of New York, recently declared that of the 2,509 hotels in that city, 2,000 are open houses of prostitution. The Charity Organization of the same city is authority for the published statement that at least 10,000 immigrant girls, landing at Ellis Island, are annually forced or lured into harlotry. New York is probably not blacker in this respect than other large centers of population. It has become the regular business of scores of abandoned, reprobate men (?) to scour the country in search of victims—often pure, innocent girls—to be lured into these urban dens of infamy. For one of these innocents to cross the threshold of one of these dens is nearly always equivalent to crossing the threshold of perdition. But there's gold in this demonish, soul-destroying business. It is the demon of greed that is driving men and women into this ghoulish service of the devil. Just think of the families that have been wrecked, the hearts that have been torn asunder, the fathers, and, above all, the torn and bleeding mothers, who, under the weight of crushing agony, are sinking into premature graves, because of this reeking evil!

Why, it may be asked, do the municipal authorities tolerate such a social octopus? I can only answer, There's money in it. These officers get a big "rake-off" from the uncanny, sulphur-kissed proceeds. Yes, it's the demon of avarice, that is, in the first instance, responsible for this social maelstrom which is annually dragging thousands of souls into the bottomless depths of perdition. "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." For "in the last days . . . men shall be lovers . . . of money."

Even the children are becoming familiar with the terms "graft," "bribe," "boodle," "monopoly," and "corruption." They all spell GREED. In voices distinct and stentarian, they proclaim that we are living in a time when men will be "lovers of money"—in the last days.

We are verily in the midst of last-day perils. The money-lovers of those days are everywhere. The fret and hurry and worry incident to the mad race for shekels is filling the world with nervous wrecks, issuing in paresis, heart failure, insanity, and suicide. Accordingly, all sorts of stimulants, narcotics, and soporifics are resorted to for the purpose of conserving(?) nervous energy and inducing rest and sleep. One vice begets a whole brood of others.

"Misery loves company." How evident it is that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. How true that "they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition." Such men, Paul adds, "have erred from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things."

In later papers I shall further illustrate, by a discussion of modern monopoly, trusts, business and political corruption, etc., how the world is smitten with the disease of wealth-lust, as with an epidemic.

Schemers and Redeemers

"Schemers generally pose as redeemers."

ISAIAH 65 : 20.

By Leslie Littell

"THERE shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days." During the judgment, which even now is set, God will separate all men, women, and children into two classes. All the righteous will be in one class, and all the unrighteous in the other.

The men and the women will be judged according to the deeds done in their bodies. But the children will be judged by their hearts, that is, according to what they would have done had they not died in childhood. See Prov. 20 : 11.

During the thousand years after their resurrection the righteous will grow up as calves in the stall. See Mal. 4 : 2. And the old and young and little children will become perfect in stature as Adam was when created; and every one of them will develop perfect characters like the character of Christ. For God will make no mistake in the judgment in choosing those that are righteous.

At the end of the thousand years every righteous man, woman, and child will be as much more than one thousand years old as the length his or her life was in this life. Hence there will be in the new earth no baby a few days old, and no old man who has not reached the full stature of a perfect man: "For the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed."

During the hundred years after the resurrection of the unrighteous, which will be at the end of the thousand years, the unrighteous will be covetous. Hatred will be in all their hearts. And they will be deceived by Satan into attempting to destroy the saints, and to take possession of the New Jerusalem. Then the child, who having lived the hundred years, and having shown to all that he is worthy of death, will die. But not having sinned in this life, his punishment will be eternal death only. But the sinners at the end of the hundred years will be tested by fire, and punished according to their sins committed in this life. God will take away their life, for they will convince all, during the hundred years, that they are worthy of death, and that God made no mistake in judging them all to be unrighteous.

May you all, who read this, look to Jesus Christ for help, so that you may be judged worthy to dwell with Him during the thousand years, for all such shall dwell with Him during the eternal ages on the earth made new.

Gentry, Ark.

JUDGES.

By F. D. Starr

BY F. D. STARR.

THE last verse of this book gives us an idea of the condition of affairs prevailing during the time covered by this inspired history. 'In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes.' During this period, or, rather, the latter part of it, the grossest immorality prevailed. The transactions described in chapters 18 and 19 disclose a condition of affairs scarcely exceeded by Sodom itself. And yet this was when men did that which was right in their own eyes.

It is sometimes asserted that if all people would do what they think is right, we would have a very good state of society. To see the fallacy of this reasoning, it is only necessary to read the book of Judges, where we find this scheme worked out. We surely will miss a very important lesson if we neglect the perusal of this book. Conscience, or human reason, unaided by divine Revelation, is in a perverted condition, and selfishness blinds the moral senses so that wrong appears right, and right appears wrong. What is necessary to know, is not what is right in our own judgment, but what is right according to God's perfect standard of righteousness,—His holy Law.

Notwithstanding these unfortunate events, there are many instances recorded in this book that show us how men of faith obtained victories in various ways. The government of Israel by judges was God's own plan of government, but the nation was not satisfied with this simple form of rule, and would have a king that they might be like the nations around them. 'Ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us; when the Lord your God was your King.' 1 Sam. 12:12. God was to be the supreme Ruler, the only King. No crowned head was to be seen in Israel, the highest officers being the judges mentioned in Ex. 21:6; 22:8, etc. But this mild arrangement was not appreciated, and the people were not in a condition to appropriate the advantages of this system. So that which would have proved a great blessing to them was perverted into a curse, and a change of some kind seemed to be a crying necessity.

The lives of several of the men of faith whose names are mentioned in the list of the faithful given in Hebrews 11, such as Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthae, are recorded in the book of Judges we are now considering. Paul says, 'The time would fail me' to speak of these men; and want of time and space

prevents us from saying much about them, but their history is of sufficient interest to receive considerable attention by the Bible student. We will briefly consider their experiences.

Barak was a man of extraordinary faith, but still that faith might have been stronger. He would not go in pursuit of the enemy unless Deborah the prophetess would go with him. Deborah told him she would go with him, but the expedition would not be for his honor, for the Lord would sell the enemy into the hand of a woman. So it turned out, for the Lord delivered Sisera into the hands of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite. So the man whose faith did not permit him to go forth to the conflict without the assistance of a woman, was excelled by a woman. 'According to your faith be it unto you.'

The history of Gideon is a very suggestive and instructive one. The army of Israel seemed very small at best. Thirty-two thousand men was a very small number with which to go forth to meet such a formidable foe as that which was to come out to meet him. They were without number. Judges 6:5. Any prudent general, like Napoleon, would doubtless have told Gideon that it would be unwise to venture an attack upon that innumerable host with such a small army. But the Lord said to him, 'The people that are with thee are too many.' So the number was cut down over two-thirds,—reduced to 10,000. Surely the force is small enough now. But no, another reduction is to be made. The ten thousand men dwindle down to three hundred, less than one in a hundred of his original army, and with this small band the complete victory is gained. Surely God's ways are not as our ways.

Jephthah is noted, not only for the remarkable victory achieved over the invaders of Israel, but for the peculiar vow he made to the Lord.

It is considered a rash vow, it having been thought by some that he offered up his daughter as a human sacrifice. The marginal reading of Judges 11:31 is 'or I will offer it up for a burnt offering.' Whatever first met him on his return from his victory should be the Lord's, or he would offer it up for an offering. According to the marginal reading, verse 40 states that the daughters of Israel went yearly to talk with the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite, four days in a year. This being the case, she was still living, but devoted to celibacy, or life-long virginity, which was considered a great misfortune.

One more noted character claims our attention before we close the book of Judges. It would be a pleasant task to study out in how many ways Samson was a remarkable man. We know from Hebrews 11 that he was a man of strong faith, and physically he was doubtless the strongest man that ever lived. His mental powers seem to have been very strong also, as shown by the riddles he put forth, as well as in other ways. But this man of remarkable powers manifested some very decided weaknesses. The fascinations of foreign women proved to be the cause of his great misfortune. To be unequally yoked together with unbelievers is a very unfavorable condition for God's servants now, just as it was so many years ago.

An incident in the life of this remarkable man is quite generally misunderstood. It is supposed that Judges 15:19 teaches us that the Lord made an opening in the jaw-bone with which Samson had done such fearful execution, when the simple fact is that the spot where Samson used the jaw-bone was called Lehi, which means a jaw-bone, and, as we see from the margin of that verse, God clave a hollow place in that spot of ground, from which water flowed, as it did from the riven rock in the desert. This idea is in harmony with the reading in other versions,—the life-giving water out of dry ground, a type and a prophecy of Christ.

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