Your ShelfYour Projects

Review and Herald, Vol. 86, No. 14.

THE WORK — AND — THE WORKERS

Review and Herald

Apr 8, 1909

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Apr 8, 1909

THE WORK — AND — THE WORKERS

THE April issue of Life and Health sells well. This magazine appeals to all classes of people.
THERE are three reasons for buying the “R. & H.” clear-type Bible,—clear print, light weight, serviceable and attractive bindings. Ask for the new booklet, “Three Reasons.” It tells how to select a good Bible.
ONE good brother proposes to walk all the way from Alabama to Washington, D. C., to attend the General Conference, selling Life and Health as he goes. Evidently Thoreau was not the only person who believed in discarding railway fares.
THE new, artistic, two-color cover design of Liberty magazine for the second quarter has elicited one or more exclamations of pleased surprise from every agent who has seen this number. Without exception, all predict that it will sell the best of any number yet produced.
THE revised edition of “Story of Daniel” is now ready. The new illustrations which have been added make the work very attractive. It will prove an excellent companion volume to “Seer of Patmos.” Styles and prices uniform. Plain, $1; half cloth, marbled, $1.25; full cloth, $1.50.
EVERY boy and girl will be interested in “Elo, the Eagle.” The stories of “Elo, the Eagle;” “Dick, the Bear;” “Sobersides, the Toad;” and many other animal heroes are of thrilling interest. The book sells so readily that even boys and girls may act as agents, with good success. There are over two hundred pages in the complete book. The text is attractively illustrated with original drawings. Price, $1.
NEARLY twenty thousand copies of the new “Christ in Song” have already been sold. Has your Sabbath-school adopted the new book? Think of its advantages: nine hundred fifty of the very best gospel songs, three hundred of which were not included in the old edition; a topically arranged index covering one hundred subjects; eleven pages of Scripture readings. In fact, the new “Christ in Song” is the best song-book published. Prices: cloth, 60 cents; half morocco, $1; Turkey morocco, $2.50; flexible levant morocco, $3.
ELDER M. C. ISRAEL, of California, though seventy-five years of age, still desires to be counted among our active periodical agents. He writes: “Enclosed find draft for $2.75, in payment of fifty copies of the Temperance number of the Youth’s Instructor and a club of five copies of the Protestant Magazine.” And, speaking of Liberty and Life and Health, he remarks: “We can do more with these than with the doctrinal literature. Shall be glad to do all I can. When agents get to be seventy-five years old, you do not expect so much of them.” How encouraging it is that the aged, as well as the young, may have a successful part in the great work of distributing our periodicals.
UP to last Tuesday 67,460 copies of the Temperance number of the Youth’s Instructor had been ordered.
BROTHER D. D. FITCH, of California, holds the record for the largest number of the Temperance number of the Youth’s Instructor ordered by one individual. Thus far, he has ordered and paid for 3,380 copies.
A LETTER just recently received from Mrs. S. N. Haskell contains an order for one thousand copies of the April Life and Health. She says: “The five hundred March copies are all sold out. I have not a copy left, and if I had two or three hundred more, I could sell them. With best wishes.”
ONE agent recently ordered six “R. & H.” clear-type Bibles at one time, at a retail value of $25. You might be able to sell one of these Bibles to your next-door neighbor—if you tried. The profit on the sale would help pay for that new Bible you expect to buy for yourself. A postal will bring the agent’s price-list.
ONE of our college students has already left school to earn his next year’s scholarship by selling Life and Health to the miners in the coal regions of Pennsylvania. His first order is for two hundred fifty copies. He is the only Seventh-day Adventist in his family, his father being a Methodist minister. Let us pray that he may succeed.
“ESSENTIALS OF ENGLISH” is a practical book on the study of the English language. It will be found especially helpful to those who are studying at home, and who have not had the advantage of a higher English course than the grammar school affords. The work is divided into five parts, as follows: Part I, “Applied Grammar;” Part II, “Punctuation;” Part III, “Letter-Writing;” Part IV, “Principles of Effective Composition;” Part V, “Accuracy in the Use of Words.” 308 pages, cloth, $1.
PRESIDENTS U. S. GRANT AND JAMES A. GARFIELD, and other great leaders among men, earned their college scholarships by selling the printed page from door to door. Are you planning to earn your scholarship for next year? If so, write us for our leaflet, “How to Earn a Scholarship.” Usually the profits on the sale of, say, twenty-five hundred copies of Life and Health, Liberty, or the Protestant Magazine, will be sufficient to pay for a year’s tuition in any of our academies or colleges. A few weeks’ earnest labor should ordinarily suffice for the sale of this number of ten-cent magazines.
“I’M not strong, and can not work long each day,” writes one of our Life and Health sales-ladies. “However, in twenty-three full hours’ work since I left home (a week ago), I sold six hundred thirty-one magazines and took three subscriptions. I kept strict account of my time.” Her profit on these six hundred thirty-one periodicals was $44.17. She generally orders five hundred to one thousand copies at one time. Send $1 for twenty-five copies of the April number, and sell them to your neighbors and townspeople. Or, send 50 cents for ten copies, or 25 cents for five. Always sell them at ten cents a copy. Address Life and Health, Washington, D. C.
THE first 456 orders for the Temperance number of the Youth’s Instructor called for 50,177 copies, an average of 110 copies an order.
“PUT my name down as one of the 24,999 charter subscribers to the Protestant Magazine,” says one of our ministers who writes enthusiastically concerning the future of this new publication.
ONE of the Foreign Mission Seminary students, a native of Finland, sold fifty-one copies of Life and Health and Signs of the Times Monthly in the city of Washington one afternoon last week. He sold half of them in one of the large apartment houses.
THE best help in the study of the Sabbath-school lessons for the next quarter, is “Desire of Ages.” We can supply the trade edition in cloth for $1.50; in leather, for $2. The regular subscription edition is furnished in cloth, $3; half morocco, $4.50; in full morocco, $6.
COLDS are receiving more or less individual attention, just now. A large per cent of the trouble can easily be eliminated by use of the helpful suggestions found in “Colds; Their Cause, Prevention, and Cure,” by Dr. G. H. Heald. The author not only tells how to cure a cold, but, better still, how to prevent taking cold. Twenty-five cents will bring the book by return mail.
FOUR hundred thousand Religious Liberty Leaflets have already been printed. This seems like a large number, yet it would supply leaflets to only one twentieth of the people in the United States. Nine cents will supply you with one set (15 numbers) of these leaflets. Why not see that at least your nearest neighbors know the principles involved in this great question of religious liberty?
AT last accounts, the following twelve States were in the lead in the sale of the Temperance number of the Youth’s Instructor, in the order named: California, with 7,746 copies to its credit; Michigan, with 7,632 copies; Washington, with 6,273; Colorado, with 5,537; Indiana, with 3,780; Nebraska, with 2,478; Iowa, with 2,453; Oregon, with 2,357; New York, with 1,901; Illinois, with 1,626; Missouri, with 1,556; Pennsylvania, with 1,491 copies received. Information concerning the other States will be gladly furnished on application.
“AFTER reading the advertisement of the new quarterly, the Protestant Magazine,” writes the president of our Young People’s Society in Baltimore, Md., “and bringing the matter before our society, we felt so aroused that we have decided to place this new magazine in the hands of every judge in this State, and as many other prominent men as our means will justify. Shall start with a club of eighty subscriptions. We feel that it is just the publication for this time.” Why should not all our Missionary Volunteers take a like interest in this new quarterly? Remember that from now until May 1, yearly subscriptions will be received as follows: Five or more copies, one year, to one address, or to separate addresses, cash with order, only fifteen cents each. Ten copies, one year, would thus cost only $1.50. Address the Protestant Magazine, Takoma Park, Washington, D. C.

The Second Advent

By Editor

The leading editorial article in the Christian Advocate (Methodist), New York, of March 25, is devoted to the Seventh-day Adventists and their teaching concerning the nearness of the coming of Christ. From this article, whose title, “Indefatigable Proselyters,” reveals the Methodist estimate of this whole movement, we quote:—
The Seventh-day Adventists maintain that “the end of all things is at hand,” and believe that the world should be warned of that event. . . . They do not now fix a day, but they feel certain that his [Christ’s] coming is near at hand. Through the whole career of Christianity, people have been teaching that same thing. Believing, as we do, in the Gospels, and that the words and passages in the Bible which relate to the coming of Christ must be compatible with the lapse of nineteen hundred years, though they seem in their letter to imply his speedy coming, we infer that what is compatible with nineteen hundred years may be compatible with ten times that number. We trust that the Seventh-day Adventists, whom we respect for their energy and adherence to an unpopular doctrine, will not think us inclined to scoff when we show that Saint Peter meets the case in a way which convinces us of the entire uncertainty of the time of Christ’s coming, and that he may not come for thousands of years; and further, that the reason he is delaying is that more souls may be saved.
In the third chapter of the Second Epistle of Peter it is written that, “There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” He then draws a parallel between the people who did not believe the flood was coming but were mistaken, and proceeds: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing; that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” In stating that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day, the apostle overturns the view that undertakes to determine whether he is coming soon or will long delay.
We hope that our energy and our adherence to an unpopular doctrine may never lead us to do anything which would justly forfeit the respect of our fellow Christians, among whom we reckon the Methodists, but we must speak plainly when a vital truth of the gospel is at stake.
We understand the position of the Christian Advocate as herein set forth to be, briefly stated, this: since things have continued for nineteen hundred years since the first advent, we are warranted in concluding that they may continue nineteen thousand years; although there are passages in the Bible which “seem in their letter to imply his [Christ’s] speedy coming,” yet the apostle Peter establishes clearly “the entire uncertainty of the time of Christ’s coming.”
As to the first assertion, it seems fortunate or unfortunate, according to the standpoint from which the matter is viewed, that the Advocate in its own article quoted the scripture which so clearly applies to its own position. It is in reply to a certain class of persons, from whose company the Advocate desires to be excluded, who in the last days would argue against the doctrine of the second advent, saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation,” that the apostle Peter cites the deluge as a positive contradiction of the claim “that all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation,” and then declares that the long-continued delay in the final destruction of the world by fire is not due to any slackness on the Lord’s part, but to his long-suffering. His statement, however, that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day,” furnishes no warrant for declaring that the same is true of man, and that therefore it is impossible to apply with any certainty the definite time periods mentioned in the Scriptures. To make such a claim as this is to array one portion of the Scriptures against another, and to lay upon God the responsibility of deceiving and misleading his people through the utterances of his prophets.
In view of the position taken by the Advocate, it seems proper to call attention to a few of the time prophecies which have been clearly fulfilled. To Abram it was revealed that his seed should be afflicted in the land of Egypt four hundred years, and at the close of that period, “even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt.”
To Ahaz, king of Judah, the prophet Isaiah made known the word of the Lord that “within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people.” This prophecy was literallyfulfilled; for “when the predicted sixty-five years had fully run out, in the year B. C. 676, . . . Esarhaddon, son of Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded the land of Ephraim, carried captive another detachment of Israelites, and thus finally destroyed the national existence of the ten tribes.”
In the time of Nebuchadnezzar, the prophet Jeremiah bore this message concerning the land of Judah: “This whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” When this period was fulfilled, “the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom,” bringing to an end the Babylonian captivity, and permitting the Jews to return to their own land.
To the prophet Daniel, the heavenly messenger made this remarkable announcement: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.” That these sixty-nine weeks were weeks of years, and that they extended to the public appearance of Christ as the Messiah, is shown by his own words as recorded in Mark 1:14, 15: “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” Because the time was fulfilled, there was a general spirit of expectation among the Jewish people, insomuch that it is declared that “the people were in suspense,” while some, like Simeon and Anna, who were “waiting for the consolation of Israel,” recognized by the Spirit the child Jesus as the promised Messiah.
In the time of Abram, or of Ahaz, or of Nebuchadnezzar, or of Daniel, it was just as true as it was when the apostle Peter wrote it, “that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day,” and yet literal time prophecies were given and fulfilled according to the finite method of measuring time usually employed among men. It is certain therefore that there is nothing in this statement made by the apostle Peter which militates against positive knowledge concerning the definite fulfilment of the prophetic word.
The prophecies relating to events of olden time and culminating in the first advent are no more definite than those relating to the Christian era and culminating in the period of the second advent. The ten days (years) of tribulation (A. D. 303-313), the thousand two hundred and threescore days (years) during which the church was in the wilderness (A. D. 538-1798) in the time of the papal supremacy, and the two thousand and three hundred days (years) which covered the period until the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary (B. C. 457 to A. D. 1844), not to mention other prophetic periods, have all been fulfilled with the utmost definiteness, and yet the Advocate throws all these facts to the winds, covers the whole field of prophetic study with a fog of uncertainty, and perverts the statement of the apostle Peter into a testimony which “overturns the view that undertakes to determine whether he [Christ] is coming soon or will long delay.”
Furthermore, the view urged by the Advocate is tantamount to the charge that when our Lord replied to the inquiry of the disciples, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” he merely tantalized them with glittering generalities, or else raised false hopes in their minds by statements apparently clear and definite, but which in reality could not be positively interpreted by any one; and yet after giving a list of latter-day signs,—signs which would be hung out in the heavens to attract the attention of all,—our Lord said, “When ye shall see all these things, know that he is near, even at the doors. Verily, I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” The “signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars,” have appeared according to our Saviour’s prediction, and we therefore believe that we are living in the generation which “shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,” while on the other hand, the Advocate believes “that he may not come for thousands of years.” If this latter view is correct, then our Lord’s great prophecy was mere words—an answer which was no answer at all.
It is plain from the Scriptures, that just as John the Baptist was a forerunner of Jesus, and by his teaching prepared the way for his first advent, so there will be a message of preparation proclaimed to the world in the generation just before the second advent; but according to the teaching of the Advocate it will be impossible to give such a message with any certainty, as no one would know when the prophecies had been fulfilled, and when the warning of the nearness of the advent should be given. An interpretation which practically renders valueless no inconsiderable portion of the Scriptures, and which leaves the people of God entirely in the dark concerning the great consummation which has been their hope in all ages, is a travesty on exegesis, and makes the word of God of none effect through tradition. In marked contrast with this teaching of uncertainty is the view, more Scriptural and more satisfying, which has been well expressed in these words:—
The God of providence and Author of inspiration has seen fit to assign chronological limits to historical episodes, as much as to day and night, cycle and season; he who adjusts the axial and orbital revolutions of the globe to harmonize with the physical requirements of nature and of man, has in his wisdom and goodness adjusted also the revolutions and changes of history, the duration of empires and of kingdoms, the birth of new eras and the dates of closing revolutions, with a view to the moral and spiritual good of the human race, and the manifestation of his own glory. Further, he has been pleased to reveal his chronological purposes as well as his moral purposes, and to make plain to his people in these days the fact that in those eternal counsels “the mystery of God” is well-nigh finished, and the manifestation of his kingdom at hand.

Editorial

By Editor

“BRETHREN, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” This is the divine rule for Christian labor for those in error. Its observance will give added power in labor.

Helpful Criticism

IT requires no great mental ability to find fault with another or with his work. There are many cynics in the world who never see good in others, but look only for the evil. Helpful criticism—that which, while it sees the evil, seeks by kindly encouragement and counsel to point out a better way—is always in demand. The church needs this spirit of helpfulness, and blesses the one who thus seeks its uplifting and betterment. But the sour, morose kind, which sees perfection only in self, has no part in helpful Christian work. It is inspired by the great “accuser.” Avoid it.

Correcting Evil With Tact

To rightly correct evil in others, there is required much skilful tact and discernment. The human mind is a delicate mechanism, and can be skilfully dealt with only by the wisdom of the Spirit. The particular time and place, the form of expression employed, the tone of voice, the expression of the face,—all have to do with the success of the mission, and are agencies which may either aid or thwart the operations of the Spirit. The end sought will justify careful means, and earnest preparation; for no reward, however great, can equal the value of a redeemed soul.

Our Imperishable Inheritance

By C. M. S.

A Stranger in the Universe

Into the capital of the universe there came one day a stranger—Death. This intruder was not there through invitation of the Master of the house. No fiat from divinity went forth for his creation. He was not created, but evolved. In the cozy waves of the turbid sea of jealousy there was developed the protoplasm, the ameba, the protozoan, and finally the full-finished monster itself, able to rise upon its feet and stalk abroad among the children of the realm.
Every occupant of the realm, save this one, was created by the mighty power of God. This one alone was evolved. The sea of jealousy which brought it forth surged in the heart of one of God's bright beings. One unholy thought harbored developed into this stranger, who has flung his poisoned shafts at every creature in the household, even at the very Son of God himself.
Lucifer, the light-bearer, beautiful of face and form, standing next to the throne of God, nurtured that malignant thought. Said God to the Son, “Let us make man in our image.” Said Lucifer to himself: “A slight has been put upon me. I, the beautiful one, the shining, the gorgeous one, why am I excluded from this council? I will be avenged.”
Says Jehovah concerning the one who fostered this evil purpose: “Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering; . . . Thou wast the anointed cherub that covereth; and I set thee, so that thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till unrighteousness was found in thee. . . .Therefore have I cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I have destroyed thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty; thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.” Eze. 28: 12-17.
The truly humble and righteous soul rejoices in every good that comes to another; but selfishness, envious and evil-eyed, sits watching like a bird of prey, ready to strike beak or talon into whatever bequest of good may come to another. Selfishness grows with every gratification of its appetite. It builds on the ruins of others' hopes and happiness, and the taller it grows, the more it sees to stimulate its desire.
Thus, to Lucifer, honored of heaven, standing by the very throne of God, there came the temptation to covet the honor bestowed upon the Son. He had allowed himself to dwell upon his own beauty and glory until that occupation had “corrupted” his wisdom. The fact that he was not called into the council was evidence to him of a biased judgment on the part of the Ruler of heaven. As he dwelt upon his fancied wrongs, his purpose took shape, and this was the scope of it as revealed by Inspiration:—
“Thou saidst in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of congregation, in the outermost parts of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” Isa. 14: 13, 14.
Here was open rebellion against the government of the universe. Lucifer had broken the command, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me;” for he was worshiping himself. He dishonored the Father of all by stealing away the affection of heavenly beings from the Author of their being, and starting a rebellion in the household of heaven. He broke the command, “Thou shalt not covet,” by coveting the place and power of the very One who gave the command. He broke the command which forbids false witness by falsely accusing his Maker to the rest of heaven's inhabitants. He broke the command, “Thou shalt not kill,” by instituting a work which could end only in death—the death of himself, and of all the angels and men who have permitted themselves to be deceived by him.
Such a campaign could not be permitted forever. For the safety of the universe it was necessary that he be “cast . . . as profane out of the mountain of God.” But he did not go alone. By his beauty and his persuasive eloquence he had won a host to his standard. This is shown in the fact that he felt himself sufficiently strong to give battle within the precincts of heaven to the hosts that would not prove false to the government of God. So we read: “There was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; and they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.” Rev. 12: 7-9. It is of this same company that Jude speaks: “And angels that kept not their own principality, but left their proper habitation, he hath kept in everlasting bonds under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Jude 6. And Christ, speaking of the day of Satan's expulsion from heaven, said: “I beheld Satan fallen as lightning from heaven.” Luke 10: 18.
Satan's entrance, with his expatriated followers, into the new-created earth was synchronous with the entrance of sin. He was sin personified, and sin was his mission here. He took up his business in earth where he left it off in heaven. There he was contemning God, breaking his law, accusing him before his creatures. He had coveted God's position in heaven; he coveted man's position in the earth. He was cast out of heaven for the work he did there; he will one day be cast out of the earth for the work he has done here; but that casting out will be by the destruction of himself and his hosts. That is shown in Christ's mission to this earth: “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Heb. 2: 14. “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3: 8. And Christ's work for man is consummated in the great event described in the following scriptures: “The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone.” Rev. 20: 10. “Behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.” Mal. 4: 1.
God made man the prince of the new-made world. This is his commission: “God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Gen. 1: 28. That left nothing in the earth not subject to man's control. Under God, his rule was absolute. But Satan was not forbidden to enter here. Man, who was “made a little lower than the angels,” must bear the same test the angels had borne. Man was not unwarned. Loyalty to God is the test alike of angels and of men. Will man be loyal to his Maker, or yield to the false accusations of a fallen prince of heaven against his Maker?
“Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Gen. 2: 16, 17. The prohibition is plain; the penalty is explicit; there is no excuse for disobedience. But the fallen angel is there with a sneer and a falsehood. “Yea,” or aha, said he, “hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?” When the answer to the sneering question is given, Satan is ready with his bold contradiction of God. God had said, “In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Satan said, “Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.” Gen. 3: 4, 5. In this there was a little truth mixed with a terrible falsehood. Hitherto they had known only the good; now they knew evil as well. And their eyes were opened to see what they need never have seen; that is, death and all that leads up to it. A stranger—a most hideous and unwelcome sojourner—was to be with them and their posterity to the end of time. C. M. S.

Old Testament Illustrations

By W. A. S.

Gospel Order—No. 3

Old Testament Illustrations

THE account of the efforts of Balaam to curse Israel throws an interesting sidelight upon the influence of unity and order as a testimony to the world and a protection to the church. By two means the children of God bear witness to the world of the divine origin of the church,—by the purity of their faith and by their unity. These two features are mentioned in Christ’s prayer: “Sanctify them through thy truth,” and, “That they all may be one.” Paul refers to the same points in Col. 2:5: “Beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith.”
When Balaam sought to bring a curse upon Israel, he found that their thorough organization interposed a barrier to his hopes. The spirit of prophecy says:—
As Balaam looked upon the encampment of Israel, he beheld with astonishment the evidence of their prosperity. They had been represented to him as a rude, disorganized multitude, . . . but their appearance was the reverse of all this. He saw the vast extent and perfect arrangement of their camp, everything bearing marks of thorough discipline and order. He was shown the favor with which God regarded Israel, and their distinctive character as hischosen people.—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 447.
Their order was evidence that God was with Israel, and Balaam was constrained to say, “The Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them.” Thereupon he set himself to corrupt their faith. These have ever been the two lines of attack—to introduce error and to break up the unity.
The Lord does not design that his children shall be isolated from one another, each going his way independent of others. In fellowship is strength, and “in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” When the children of Israel became settled in their land, the families and tribes were not to maintain themselves in isolation. By their annual gatherings they were brought together, not only to worship before the Lord at Jerusalem, but to have the benefit of association. In commenting on this arrangement, the spirit of prophecy says:—
We sustain a loss when we neglect the privilege of associating together to strengthen and encourage one another in the service of God. The truths of his Word lose their vividness and importance in our minds. . . . In our intercourse as Christians we lose much by lack of sympathy with one another. He who shuts himself up to himself, is not filling the position that God designed he should.—“Patriarchs and Prophets,” page 541.
No individual, no church, no section, can prosper, severed from the body of believers.
The description of the band of men who brought David to his throne teaches a lesson in organization. We read (1 Chronicles 12) that among them were “the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.” The fact that they all knew what Israel ought to do in that critical time was assurance that they would, in the language of Paul, be “subject one to another,” choosing earnest leaders to secure harmonious action, in order that every man’s work might count for the most. Of the entire body gathered from different tribes of Israel, we read: “All these men of war, that could keep rank, came with a perfect heart.” The disposition and ability to keep rank and work loyally together in fellowship comes with the “perfect heart” as a gift of God. All together they were “a great host like the host of God.” “And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader.” 1 Chron. 13:1.
In the rebuilding of Jerusalem, after the captivity, Nehemiah gives an illustration of the strength there is in union of effort. The work was systematically planned, so that each company knew exactly the portion of the entire task for which it was directly responsible. Yet no one’s work was finished until all was done. As the work drew toward completion, the enemies of Israel without the camp and within frantically renewed their efforts to throw the work and workers into confusion, and to break down the organized effort. But as the people prayed and watched, and more thoroughly organized their forces, the counsels of the enemy were brought to naught. While half of the people wrought at the work, the other half were on guard. The people “had a mind to work,” and they co-operated as one man. Signals were arranged by those having general supervision, so that all could rally to the same point in a crisis. Nehemiah said to the leaders and people: “The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another. In what place therefore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort ye thither unto us: our God shall fight for us.” Neh. 4:19, 20. It was one work, one wall, one people; and a united effort at last achieved success.
This lesson is written for our learning; for the work of the gospel message that is to gather out the residue of God’s people, including the remnant church, from every land and nation, is likened by Inspiration to the building up again of the ruins of the tabernacle of David, which had fallen down. Acts 15:15-17. With our lines extending throughout the whole earth, and the enemy ever watching to break up the forces and weaken the hands of the workers, more than ever at any time in the history of God’s work is there need for such thorough organization as will enable the whole body of believers to strengthen one another’s hands in the service. It is one world-wide work, and a united people is to do it. The Old Testament prophets, who in vision saw the final triumph of the church, bear witness to this. “Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.” Isa. 52:8.
W. A. S.
Continue reading: Easter; Its Origin and Character