MAY 31 191R J^rtloft .A 81 2 KINGDOM OF GOD SERIES Studies in the development of the Kingdom of God. for use consecutively or as independent units. The Religion of Israel Twenty-six lessons. The Religion of Judah Twenty-six lessons. In press The Life of Jesus Twenty-six lessons. The Teachings of Jesas Twenty-six lessons. By John Bayne Ascham By John Bayne Ascham By Harris Franklin Rail By Harris Franklin Rail The Kingdom of God Since the Time of Christ In preparation By John Bayne Ascham The Christian Hope In preparation. By Harris Franklin Rail Teacher's Manuals For each unit, ready or in preparation. KINGDOM OF GOD SERIES Edited by Henry H. Meyer and David G. Downey The Religion of Israel BY JOHN BAYNE ASCHAM V'' '<■ ^/ MAY 31 191R A. ^ THE ABINGDON PRESS NEW YORK CINCINNATI Copyright, 1918, by JOHN BAYNE ASCHAM The Bible text used in this book is taken from the American Standard Eldition of the Revised Bible, copyright, 1901, by Thomas Nelson & Sons, and is used by permission. /7-/; CHAPTER I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. CONTENTS PAGE Intboductiox 7 A Word from the Author 9 Suggestions for Study 12 Israel ajstd the Kingdom of God 13 Man in the Image of God 21 Man's Failure and Need of Assistance 27 A Kingdom Pioneer 33 A Providential Migration 40 The Hebrews in Egypt 47 The Deliverance from Egypt 54 A Covenant People 60 Moral Forces in Nation-Building: The Moral Law 66 Religious Institutions in Nation-Building 75 Physical Factors in the Development of Israel's Religion 83 The Kingdom of God in the Time of the Judges . 92 The Di v i n e Patience with Israel 102 The Birth of the Monarchy Ill The Kingship of Saul 120 King David 130 David, Champion of Jehovah 139 The Monarchy Under Solomon 147 Solomon's and Israel's Religion 155 The Disruption of the Kingdom 163 A Religious Crisis in Israel 171 The Revolution Under Jehu 179 The Israel Known to Amos and Hosea 188 A Prophet of Righteousness 198 A Prophet of Love 208 Summary: From the Birth of the Monarchy to THE Fall of Samaria 219 Index to Topics 229 Index of Scripture Passages 233 INTEODUCTION "THY KINGDOM COME ON EARTH'' The kingdom of God does not complete itself in the redemption of the individual. It concludes the individual and infinitely more. The Kingdom means that some day science and society, commerce and civics and letters and trade shall be sweetened, purified, and uplifted till they are in happy harmony with the will and purpose of the divine Father. Only so can there be anything like an ade- quate answer to the first petition of our Lord's Prayer, "Thy kingdom come and thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'' Jesus clearly intended that his disciples should interest themselves in the temporal and earthly aspects of the heavenly Father's dominion and power. They are to pray for the coming of his Kingdom, and the accomplishment of his will on earth, even as they pray for daily bread or for the forgiveness of sin. "Thy kingdom come. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins." To pray thus sincerely and intelligently presupposes active partici- pation in the working program of the Kingdom; that is, in all those activities making for that transformation and reconstruction of life through which alone individuals and organized society can be brought into accord with the will and the rule of God. Too often in human history the sharp contrast between actual conditions and the higher demands of the Christian ideal has discouraged those upon whom rested the responsi- bility for making that ideal real. A short-range view of life has obscured the actual growth of the Kingdom which the larger perspective of history reveals. In the face of the overwhelming preponderance of sin and selfishness in the world the Christian Church has again and again contented itself with snatching as many brands as possible from the 7 8 INTEODUCTIOlSr burning, without, at the same time, seeking to organize the constructive forces of life and of society for the seemingly impossible task of putting out the conflagration. Thus the actual process of the Kingdom's coming among men has proceeded for the most part "without observation/' like the first growth of the seed that has been buried in the soil. It is possible to-day, in the light of the completed records of the Old and New Testaments and the subsequent history of the Christian centuries, to discover definite stages of advance with successive landmarks of progress in the grad- ual establishment of the reign of God in individual lives and in the institutions of mankind. Such a survey of progress already achieved should hearten the organized Christian forces in their forward look and their endeavor to establish still more firmly among men the principles and ideals of the Eangdom. It should encourage the individual to redouble his efforts and inspire in him an unfaltering confidence in the ultimate realization and triumph of God's rule. Herein lies the purpose of the special course of study in the Development of the Kingdom of God in which this volume constitutes one textbook. Beginning with a brief consideration of the funda- mentals of religion and the nature of man and of Deity, the studies trace the development of religious experience and ideas among the Hebrews and the Jewish people down to the beginning of the Christian era. This early period, cover- ing the development of the Kingdom in Old Testament times, is presented in two volumes of twenty-six study cliapters each, the division being made at the point in the historical development following the rise of eighth-century prophetism and the fall of Samaria. The first of these periods is covered by this volume, "The Religion of Israel/' The second is dealt with in ''The Religion of Judah/* In similar manner two volumes are devoted to the Life and Teachings of Jesus which are assumed to be of central importance in the forward and upward movement of humanity. Subsequent studies present in two volumes a survey of the Development of the Kingdom since the time of Christ, A WOED FROM THE AUTHOR 9 including a discussion of those social-religious movements of the present day, the support and inspiration for which are to be found primarily in the Christian conception of God and the world. The concluding volume of the series is entitled The Christian Hope and presents in construc- tive form the abiding faith of the Christian fellowship in the final triumph of the kingdom of God. It is confidently expected that in their revised form these studies will serve a two-fold purpose. As elective courses for adult Bible classes interested in this vital and most fascinating of all studies, their usefulness has been much enhanced. At the same time they are intended to meet the increasing demand for modern textbooks written in schol- arly spirit but popular style for preparatory and high schools and for advanced groups in week-day religious in- struction in local parishes. That they are admirably suited for either purpose will be evident from an examination of any one of the volumes in the series. The Editors. A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR "The glorious city of God is my theme" are the open- ing words of Augustine's immortal work which arose out of his conviction that there has appeared in human history "a commonwealth and community founded and governed by God." That conviction underlies this study of the religion of Israel and the subsequent volumes of this series. Men are not the final agents of human progress nor the arbiters of human destiny. Our human will roots at last in the will of God. If we seek and learn and fulfill his will, our life becomes safe, beautiful, and rich in worth and meaning. We become members of God's kingdom. This volume is not merely an historical study. To know the manner in which our fellow men of any race or cen- tury have aspired and struggled is worthy of our best efforts. But this book does not seek merely to put its readers into possession of certain facts of Israel's history. It attempts, by whatever light it throws upon the struggles 10 A WOED FEOM THE AUTHOR of the Hebrews, to arrive at the goal of their spiritual long- ings, to deepen in us moderns the sense of the reality of the life of the spirit and to make clearer the way of our own entrance into the kingdom of God. There have been many attempts to depict the ideal so- ciety on earth. Plato's Ideal Republic, Campanelli's City of the Sun, and Moore's Utopia seek the perfect social order through just political and economic relationships. Modern theorists and idealists pursue the same methods. But all such programs do not touch the springs of human action. Back of man is God. Our fundamental relation- ship is with him. His will alone guarantees a satisfying and enduring social order. Until we seek his will and his will is fulfilled in the individual life, and the institutions of men, there will issue out of our struggles no permanently worthy and substantial state. Only God can build his kingdom. Yet in the same breath it must be said, only God and ourselves, for we are build- ers with him. Through our dreams, our struggles, our sacrifices his kingdom comes. It is our loyalty to the vision given us by him that adds new territory to his empire. It is our devotion to the ethical tasks assigned us by the very nature of human society by which he conquers. It is our will resolutely bringing goodness into existence through human relationships which voices his will in the affairs of men. The study of the development of Israel's religion is exceedingly valuable for us. The unique social fact of history is the Hebrew realization of the one ethical God. There were no sacred books for their guidance. There was no Christ who showed them the way. They aspired until God unveiled himself to them. God met them in their own souls. They and God had business together. This immediate life with God is the soul of all triumphant re- ligion. To study attentively the development of Israel's religion is to come upon the secret of finding God. John Bayxe Ascham. COPrRiGHT, 1906 AND 1912, ST CHARLES FOSTER KENT THE UMITED AND DIVIDED KINGDOMS SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY It is best to read the chapter without stopping to consult the biblical references. Such consecutive reading will indi- cate the nature and purpose of the lesson. Next reread the chapter carefully and examine every Old Testament passage to which reference is made. The Old Testament must be re- garded as the real textbook of this course of study. The American Revised Version should be used. Prom time to time questions appear in the discussion. These should be answered during this second reading of the chapter. If the answers to such questions are written, such practice will add much to the effectiveness of the preparation. The student will find it worth while to write answers to the themes proposed for class discussion. The use of a notebook will greatly facilitate the preparation of the lesson and will aid in the preservation of the results of study. Space should be left for whatever revision class discussion may suggest. The references for additional reading are important. En- deavor to read in connection with your study of the chapter at least one of the selections indicated. You will not only possess a broader view of the period under discussion: you will become familiar also with some of the best literature dealing with the Old Testament. Make brief summaries of such reading and record them in your notebook. The paragraphs with varying captions are designed to sug- gest modern devotional and social applications of the subject presented in the biblical material. They may be discussed in class, but they are intended also as themes for individual meditation. These paragraphs are to be built into the struc- ture of your ideals. Review frequently. The thirteenth and twenty-sixth chap- ters in large measure are reviews. But a constant reference to all that precedes is essential to the best understanding of each new chapter. Few persons learn a new name and face at a moment's attention. Repetition is necessary to produce familiarity and to transform new truths into old friends. Constant use of commentaries and Bible dictionaries is de- sirable. An excellent series of commentaries is The New Cen- tury Bible. The books of the Bible in this series may be obtained separately. The Dictionary of the Bible, edited by Hastings, is the best to supplement the commentaries here mentioned. These books may be obtained from the publishers. Endeavor in all your study to arrive at the facts of the development of Israel's religious life. It is believed that a correct knowledge of the progress of Israel toward ethical monotheism and its realization in the great eighth-century prophets will make an inspiring and enduring religious impact upon the student's own life. CHAPTER I ISRAEL AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD All nations are the people of God. In every land, through every race, during every succeeding century, there have been movements of longing and aspiration which have made for higher civilization. In every such aspect of human life is the stirring of the Spirit of God. "For in him we live, and move, and have our being." A com- plete history of the kingdom of God would be a universal history of mankind. For an account of the more noteworthy struggles toward higher civilization in which the ethical will of God is most clearly discernible, we turn first to the Hebrew peo- ple. Theirs is a unique place in religious history. The unity and the ethical holiness of God were apprehended among them first of all. In the soul of their leaders the conviction that man should imitate the moral character of God first rose to commanding authority. It was their genius to live so responsively to each revelation of the heavenly Father that in their institutions and ideals be- came embodied the finest religious conceptions of the an- cient world. They found an ethical Deity. God revealed himself to his chosen people. Therefore a study of the development of the kingdom of God rightfully begins with the Hebrew people. The Kingdom of God What Is Meant by tke Kingdom. — In these studies the kingdom of God means the reign of God in the individual life and in the institutions of mankind. We are not con- cerned here with the conviction that nature is the continu- ous product of God's thought and will and that her laws are his habits. This inference from the study of nature has, in- deed, much religious significance, and in putting it aside 13 14 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL considerable biblical material becomes unusable. But the rule of God in nature is not the kingdom of our dreams nor one in whose development a moral significance lies. Man ever carries with him the sense of freedom and necessity. In his physical life man seems the creature of forces beyond himself. In hunger, weariness, pain, and death; in inheritance of color, sex, and nervous organism, and in the social influences of childhood, man is continually aware of molding forces over which his adult will has slight control. In these affairs he is the product of life-energies other than his own rather than the maker of his destiny. We believe that God is here the director of human events, but it is not this mechanical response to his will which is now our concern. It is, rather, in the realm of human freedom that the kingdom of God takes on significance. Here in this life of human passion, choice, and deed, if the will of another Being is obeyed, and through man's allegiance to the larger will different ideals and conduct result, these changes in human affairs become the most significant events in mankind's progress. So the kingdom of God means for us the strange, wonderful fact that into our life of thought and love and will there enters the quickening authority of One whose life is incomparably richer than ours and whose presence in human life is the opportunity and energy of man's rise to the moral grandeur of God. The Development of this Kingdom. — If the kingdom of God is the rule of God in the soul of man, how can there be a development of such a Kingdom? Eirst there can be a development in the nature of the Ruler's authority. It is to be expected that primitive peoples should hold a conception of the right of Deity to rule in human affairs different from the convictions of a Christian mind. It is a far cry from the obedience of an ancestor of Abraham, who felt himself coerced by the physical power of his God, to the responses which a Christ- instructed soul makes to the love and righteousness of his heavenly Father. The journey from physical coercion to moral comradeship is development. ISRAEL AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD 15 In the second place, the history of religion shows that there have come to man through the centuries more desir- able conceptions of the character of God. The Bible bears abundant witness to these helpful changes of man's views of the nature of God. A single instance makes this clear. Compare the naive notions of Deity underlying Exodus 20. 24-26 with the exalted truths in John 4. 21-24. In the early legislation of Exodus 20 worship culminates in the sacrifice of animals upon an altar of earth. If a stone altar is used, no chisel or hammer must have blocked it into shape. Here God is thought to be greatly concerned about animal sacrifices and ritualistic forms. In the teach- ing of the Master such sacrifices are worse than useless. God is a Spirit and the poured-out blood and burning fat of sheep and oxen never could voice the spiritual fellowship in which true worship must come to lie. For Jesus altars and temples have lost their sanctity and the soul of man is free to erect everywhere a shrine. This is progress. The Fifty-first Psalm sharply contrasts the Deity who loves the smell of sacrifice and the Deity who yearns for the loving fellowship of man. ^Tor thou delightest not in sacrifice ; else would I give it : Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit : A broken and a contrite heart, God, thou wilt not despise.^' With this aspect of the Kingdom and its development these studies are concerned. A second aspect of develop- ment arises when the Kingdom's ideal has come in Jesus. We may think of the kingdom of God as Christ's kingdom, for it was he who gave the Kingdom its fullest meaning, its strength, and its beauty. Since he passed, leaving his glorious ideal with men, it has been the task of his disci- ples to understand his ideal and to extend it to wider areas of human life. This process is not ended. It has gone far enough to show how sharp is the cleavage, not only in pagan but also in Christian lands, between the things which are and the things which ought to be. 16 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL In this study, then, of the development of the kingdom of God we shall see the unfolding of new meanings and new triumphs of the reign of God in the life of man. It will appear that religion has been enriched, and through religion civilization has been enriched, by more ennobling ideas of the nature of God ; that along with these finer con- ceptions of Deity have come new trust and new fellowship in the life of the Spirit and new moral ideals to give zest and strength to life. Into the life of each one who gains this vision of the successive advances of religion will come new elation and new certainty of soul. The Unique Consciousness of Iskael Eead Judges 5. 3-5, 11, 13, 23, 31. This song of Deborah is probably the oldest portion of Old Testament literature. Observe that Jehovah is the God of Israel and that the enemies of Israel and the battles of Israel are Jehovah's battles and Jehovah's enemies. Eead Deuteronomy 32. 8-14. The noble beauty of this poem is felt by every student. Observe the statement in verse 8 that, although Jehovah determines the destiny of other peoples, the Hebrews are peculiarly his own. Other nations have their deities, verse 31, but every nation recog- nizes the superior character of Jehovah. See the fine sum- mary, in verses 10-14, of the lonely helplessness of Israel in the wilderness where Jehovah found them and chose them for his people and whence he led them into Canaan to enjoy rich pasturages, grain-fields, and vineyards. Eead Isaiah 42. 5-8. Here Jehovah speaks to Israel through his prophet. Israel has been chosen for a great commission. Observe in verse 6 the deep consciousness of Jehovah's choice of Israel for a great destiny. What is Israel's mission? Eead Acts 7. 2-53. With what event does Stephen begin the history of Israel? What persons are prominent in his narrative? Notice the omissions in the history. Consider his accusation (verse 51) that Jehovah had been withstood by his people, and then understand how keen was the ISEAEL AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD 17 sense, not only in men like Stephen, but also in Jews who saw no Messiahship in Jesus, that the nation was a chosen people from its earliest history. What are the chief events of this on-moving purpose of God according to Stephen's summary? Fill in the important historical events of reli- gious significance which Stephen omits in the history of Israel. The Kingdom of God Unfolding Through Israel God's Choice of Israel. — The historical narratives and the religious consciousness of Israel alike witness to the unique origin of Hebrew religion. The poem now found in Deuteronomy 32 states the true account of the origin of Israel's relations with Jehovah. Later lessons will show that whatever may have been the worship of the patriarchal age, it was not until the Hebrews escaped from Egypt and encamped at Sinai that they entered into their covenant to worship Jehovah. They felt truly that Jehovah found them in the wilderness. In their extremity of weakness he chose them for his people and revealed unto them his will. The Mission of Israel. — Why did Jehovah choose Israel ? In the earlier periods of Hebrew history the relation of Israel to Jehovah was conceived by the people as a covenant. Jehovah's choice of Israel was to be mutually advantageous. Jehovah would have a people to fight his battles. Judges 5. 2, 3, 31. He would have also an important nation to worship him. Chapter 9 indicates that our earliest extant group of Ten Commandments are concerned almost wholly with the worship rights of Jehovah. It is a com- mon early Semitic conception that the gods desire wor- shipers. It is quite probable that the leading motive of Jehovah in his choice of Israel, as this choice was conceived by the people in the wilderness, was his desire for wor- shipers. Time passed and life broadened. Under Jehovah's con- tinual guidance the leaders of the people came to know a higher reason for Jehovah's gracious favor. 18 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL "Behold, my servant, whom I uphold ; My chosen, in whom my soul delighteth : I have put my spirit upon him ; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles." The whole of this beautiful message, Isaiah 42. 1-9, should be read. Here dawns a new conception of Jehovah's choice of Israel. He has chosen them to be his missionaries to the ends of the earth. Still another explanation of God's choice of Israel ap- pears among the Jews who became adherents of Chris- tianity in the apostolic age. The sermon of Peter on the day of Pentecost and the reply of Stephen to his accusers both indicate their feeling that the long history of Israel's unique relation to God had been that the Jewish people might cradle his Christ. This too was the conception of his people's history held by Paul. "When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth his Son." Those Jews who came to take Jesus for their Christ saw in him the explanation of their unique history. The Coming Kingdom We begin this series of lessons with two fundamental ideas : ( 1 ) The kingdom of God — the reign of God in the life of man — has a history. (2) The earliest significant chapters of this history were written in the extraordinary experience of Israel; a people from whose life there never faded the consciousness of their covenanting Deity. Other nations served their gods because they knew no other. They were the gods of the clan and the land. But Israel's wor- ship was based on a choice. Jehovah had chosen and the people had chosen, and this was an ethical relation through which alone the kingdom of God could come. The Song of Deborah and the speech of Stephen are separated by nearly twelve centuries. It seems incredible that a people could endure the change of its religion from beliefs which centered in a tribal God to belief in a uni- versal Father. Yet this mighty revolution took place in Palestine within the bounds of Israel. It has taken place ISRAEL AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD 19 nowhere else on earth. This is evidence enough that God was in the unique consciousness of the Hebrew people. It is this consciousness of covenant with Jehovah which explains Israel. Without it we could not talk of a develop- ment of the kingdom of God. The Soul of Religion" All True Religion Has a History. — Religion is life. Life is never static but always changing. Religion is an un- broken experience of God. Experience constantly grows into something different. If it be remembered that IsraePs beliefs were bounded on the one side by the ethicless reli- gion of Babylonia and on the other side by the moral grandeur of Jesus, it must appear that long strides have been made within Hebrew thought during the intervening centuries. The individual's religion, like the Hebrew peo- ple's, should be endlessly changing. Earnest study, con- stant longing, and loving service will transform anyone's religion into finer meanings and expressions. It is possible to write the history of every truly religious life. Such a life cannot be stationary either in the intellectual concep- tions of religion or in the practical manifestations of the religious spirit. Covenant Religion. — Covenant in some form runs through all abiding religion. Religion is fellowship and fellowship roots in the sense of mutual loyalty and service. It is by vows — by the most sacred assumption of duties anl loyalties in relation to loved ones, friends, humanity, and God — that we escape from a mean and petty existence into great living. All the world's broken engagements cannot take away the fact that a solemnly undertaken cove- nant is the soul's way of girding itself for heroic achieve- ment. It is only by the deliberate choice registered by the most solemn asseveration of which we are capable that we cling steadfastly to the purposes which gleam within us in our exalted hours. Living With God. — It is the goal of civilization to turn mankind's dreary deserts into luxuriant gardens of peace and prosperity. No one who reflects upon the life of our 20 THE EELIGION OF ISKAEL times can fail to see the wretched wastes waiting to be transformed. War, drunkenness, prostitution, and the greed for wealth which, fastening upon the miseries of the poor, curses every society where it is tolerated, have blighted far-reaching stretches of the affairs of men. If we believe in God, certainly we must feel that we are not availing our- selves of the resources at hand in him. In the course of nameless centuries God has brought into being on this earth a personal life imaged after his own. All further human progress is cooperative creation. The creature has been exalted into partnership with the creator. To achieve his destiny man no longer can be the blind product of forces beyond himself, nor can he work alone. He must choose his way and seek diligently the high fellowship of God. In such partnership alone all future progress lies. Questions for Class Discussion 1. What is to be understood by the phrase, the kingdom of God? 2. What conceptions of man's moral and intellectual nature make possible the existence and the development of this King- dom? 3. Why may a study of the kingdom of God so profitably be limited, in pre-Christian centuries, to the life of the Hebrew people? 4. In what ways has there been a development of the king- dom of God? 5. What was the development of Israel's conception of her Messiah? 6. How are we to account for Israel's consciousness of her peculiar relation to Jehovah? How shall we explain the per- sistence of this belief through every national calamity? 7. Why must all true religion furnish material for history? 8. To what extent does the idea of covenant govern religious life? 9. What agencies are essential to the development of God's kingdom? Suggested Readings Hastings, Dictionary of the Bille, Volume II, pp. 844-848. Davidson, Theology of the Old Testament, pp. 1-4. G. A. Smith, Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the Old Testament, Chapter IV. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Article, "Kingdom of God." CHAPTER II MAN IN THE IMAGE OF GOD The previous chapter dealt with the fact of a develop- ing kingdom of God and the unique relation of Israel to that Kingdom. In addition to Israel's consciousness of being a chosen people there were other ideas held by them which are fundamental to the realization of the kingdom of God. One of these is that the essential nature of man is such that he can enter and is destined to enter into fellowship with God. This lesson shows that this concep- tion of man is a fundamental part of Israel's religious consciousness, and is essential to the progress of the King- dom. The Hebrew Conception of Man The Creation of Man. — The earliest narrative in the Old Testament concerning man's origin is found in Genesis 2. 4-8, 18-25. According to this account man was created before plants and animals appeared on the earth. Jehovah himself fashioned some of the ground or soil into a human body. After this was done he breathed or blew into man's nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. Then vegetation was created. The appearance of plants and trees was followed by the creation of animals. Then comes the creation of w^oman to be the ideal consort of man. Man in God's Image. — A later account of the origin of man is recorded in Genesis 1. 26-30. In this narrative the creation of man is placed at the end of a series of creative acts. The acts of creation were distributed among six days. These are as follows: First Day. The creation of the heavens and the earth, and of day and night.. Second Day. The creation of a firmament, that is, the solid sky. 21 22 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL Third Day. Arrangement of sea and land. Vegetation appears. Fourth Day. Sun, moon, and stars. Fifth Day. Fishes and birds. Sixth Day. Land animals of all kinds. Man. Read the verses again, Genesis 1. 26, 27, which state that man is the image of God and observe that by virtue of his likeness to God man becomes the ruler of the animal world. Read Psalm 8 and observe that the author of this splen- did poem, although he realizes the glory of the created earth and skies, feels also the inherent greatness of man. He is God's nearest kinsman and rules the earth as his representative. Fellowship with God. — Read Hosea 2. 14-20. In these verses Hosea likens the relation of Israel and Jehovah to the fellowship of wife and husband. He declares that the nation is inherently capable of entering into the most intimate personal fellowship with God. "I will betroth thee unto me forever" is the Divine promise to Israel. It is through such intimate relationship that the golden age is to come. Man and the Kingdom The Nature of Man. — It is no accident that the earliest written narratives of the Old Testament begin with an account of the origin and the nature of man. Man must hold a worthy conception of his own nature in order to take his true place in the universe. Before Genesis was written men had pondered these profound questions. Many a Hebrew and Chaldean shepherd meditated upon the world's mystery when their black tents dwindled be- neath the nightly majesty of a sky of stars. The mystery and the majesty of the stars deepened within them the sense of their own frailty. Beside their calm and endless journeys man's brief course seemed pitiably meager and tragical. These shepherds could not but raise the ques- tion of their life's meaning when night threw her sable mantle over the wells, the hill-pastures, and the bleating flocks, and drew aside the curtains of the shining heavens, MAN IN THE IMAGE OF GOD 23 beneath whose illimitable splendor the world of daylight grew so small. Standing at their tent doors, with all the majestic glory beating in their faces, they could but won- der whether this upper sky of God held aught for them, and they tremblingly raised the question of their own meaning and place in the world. What was the answer ? The universe is a personal uni- verse. Its fundamental reality is not the visible and the tangible. The stars are not to abash man forever. The avalanche may crush him, the earthquake swallow him, the tornado dash him to pieces, and the sun mercilessly pierce him with its heat, but they have not destroyed man. They have made him great through their cruelty and antagonism. The universe is something more than planets and suns. It is made up of persons. God and his children constitute the universe. All else is theater for their action, tools for the expression of their intelligence and goodness, temporary stages in the development of their fellowship. Man bears God's image. All that makes up his personal life — his motives and choices, loves and aversions, hopes and fears — is the sign of his kinship with God. Man is not the chance product of a chance world ; he is the result of a deliberative act of the Most High God. At bottom, man and Deity are fundamentally the same nature. God has breathed his own personal nature into the human soul. Man's Place in the Universe. — The two accounts of man's creation are separated by an interval of several centuries, but in each narrative man holds the central place. In the early record man is created before plants and animals and these are formed to give man the opportunity to express his powers. In the later narrative man is the climax of all the creative acts. All that has gone before is a preparation for him. Both of these narratives rightfully interpret the worth of spiritual values. Man never is to be subordinated to the material world. Human values are the supreme values of earth. Man is created to become the fellow worker, the companion of God. The Old Testament expresses this high destiny of man in many ways. Man is the child of God, Isaiah 1. 2; the servant of God, Judges 24 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL 2. 8, the friend of God, Isaiah 41. 8, the wife of God, Hosea 2. 19. All the personal relationships of human beings become symbols of the fellowship of man with the Creator of the universe. Man ranks next to God. This Truth Is Fundamental to Religion. — The goal of religion is fellowship between man and Deity, and fellow- ship demands similarity of nature. It is true that in early times this belief in man's likeness to God carried little moral significance. It was an idea whose barrenness close study alone reveals. This likeness at first was con- ceived as a blending of the material and the immaterial, but through the centuries it was spiritualized and given moral values. Hosea taught that man entered into the most intimate relation with God through the practice of righteousness, justice, loving-kindness, and mercy. Man bears God's image in proportion to his imitation of God's righteousness. This too is the meaning of Isaiah's vision of God, Isaiah 6. 1-8. Man cannot share God's counsels or enter into his fellowship without his ethical holiness. God's Image Facing the Mirror. — You are created in the likeness of the Infinite Being. In what are you like God? "In nothing," you feel that you ought to answer. It is in your possibilities rather than in your achievements that the resemblance lies. To possess a conscience is to have God's image. The sense of right and wrong is the property of personal beings only. To recognize your conscience and to heed its warnings is one sure proof of your resemblance to your Creator. STo man dares trifle with his conscience. When he does that he burns the bridge between himself and God. You may test the brightness of God's image in yourself by the liveliness of this inward monitor. Capacity for Great Fellowship. — To bear God's image is to be endowed with the capacity for great fellowship. A mountain may lift its snowy head skyward and dwell apart from other scarred and furrowed likenesses of itself. But a man cannot walk his way alone. He cannot begin his Journey in solitude. Procreation is an act of society. He MAN IN" THE IMAGE OF GOD 25 is nourished at another's breast and guided by stronger hands. There is not an act by which lie enters into life which is his alone. Life is measured by its fellowships. To share the ideals, the motives, the passions and to partici- pate in the actions of noble men and women enriches life as no solitary mode of life could do. The great spiritual leaders of our race have lived with God. God ever has offered the redeeming influences of his fellowship. He has not asked man to walk alone his rough path of thorns or to work companionless in the fields of life for bread. He has visited man in his rest and toil, made himself a guest in his home, accompanied him in his wanderings, and walked with him through the valley of the shadow of death. He ever has been the helper and the Saviour of men. A Human Image. — It is man who is created in the image of God. It is not wealth. It is not a political position. It is not a humanitarian society or organization. It is not the state. It is not a factory. Men often have been sacri- ficed for institutions and things. When human values are lost sight of civilization stumbles. Are all men created in the image of God ? Is your Chinese laundryman created in the divine image? Is this image borne by the child of the slums? By the ignorant and by the wicked? By paupers as well as by princes? Are we not compelled to see in all men the possibility of great life ? To Be Considered by the Class 1. To what extent would religion be possible apart from man's consciousness of freedom of action? 2. Why did the Hebrew think himself fitted for fellowship with God? 3. What is meant by personality? What distinctions are to be made between the personal life of man and the personal life of God? 4. What likenesses of temperament, occupation, intellectual life, and moral nature are needed to make close fellowship between human beings? 5. What similarities of disposition and will in God and man are necessary to make true religion possible? 6. If God enters or is ready to enter into fellowship with every human being, what practical consequence follows in man's relationship to his fellows? 26 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL 7. To what extent is the reluctance of the white race to brother other races justifiable? 8. In what sense do we bear the image of God? Helpful References for Additional Reading Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 37-48. Robinson, The Religious Ideas of the Old Testament, pp. 77-86. Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament, pp. 3-60. This is the Babylonian account of the creation. Jastrow, Hebrew and Babylonian Traditions. Chapter IV is a comparative study of the Hebrew and Babylonian accounts of the creation. CHAPTER III MAN'S FAILURE AND NEED OF ASSISTANCE When IsraePs religious teachers were convinced that man was kin to Deity, the question gradually was formed why man lacked so much of the higher life which belonged to God. The answer came that in the beginning man's fortunes were ideal, but through his own sin had entered the pains and evils of his life. Through such transgres- sion man's fellowship with God had been broken, and man would continue to endure his ills until Jehovah received him in a new relation of trust and obedience. The narrative of the third chapter of Genesis stamps the threshold of human history with this ver}^ keen insight into life — that man blunders and utterly fails in the realiza- tion of his being unless he hears and obeys the voice of God. Such a reading of life is a prerequisite of the rise of an ethical kingdom of God. The Stoey of the Fall The Prohibition. — According to Genesis 2. 9, 15-17, man's original dwelling was in a luxuriant garden located in Eden. Trees of all possible beauty and every sort of tree whose fruit might be eaten grew abundantly. However, man was expected to labor in this garden, ^'to dress it and to keep it." There were also trees whose fruit could work extraordinary transformation in those who partook of it. Of all this fruit man might eat freely except of the magic fruit which conferred ^^the knowledge of good and evil." There is no prohibition laid upon the use of the fruit of the tree of immortality. There is no reason given man why eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil pro- duces death. The narrative assumes that man knows the meaning of death and will fear it enough to obey the pre- cautionary advice. 27 28 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL The Temptation. — Genesis 3. 1-5. The serpent, craftiest among animals, approaches the woman and expresses sur- prise that the newly created couple are not to eat of any of the trees of the garden. The woman corrects his version of the prohibition. The serpent answers the woman with two statements: This fruit won^t kill you, and. It has the power of making wise those who eat it. He implies also that God knew this and, not wishing man and woman to become as wise as himself, had laid upon them this pro- hibition. The Transgression. — Genesis 3. 6-8. The woman yielded to these suggestions. The fruit was attractive to the eyes ; it was not harmful, she was told, but, on the contrary, would make those who ate it more like God. Therefore she ate and induced her husband to do likewise. The educational results promised by the serpent took place (3. 22). Part of this new knowledge was the conscious- ness of sex. Apparently it was not so much the penalty promised for disobedience as it was the new knowledge which kept them from appearing in the presence of Je- hovah. The Punishment. — 3. 9-24. Part of the penalty falls upon the serpent. Henceforth serpents must crawl in the dust, and become the objects of the enmity of man. An endless feud is proclaimed between the serpent and man. The woman is condemned to sorrow and suffering, to pain in the performance of her function of motherhood, and to numerous ills through her subservient relation to man. The man is sentenced to wearisome toil. He had been placed in the garden to labor, but now the ground itself is cursed to make his work incomparably harder. Instead of fruit for food, the production of which was not irksome for man, the produce of fields cultivated by hard toil is to be his sustenance. This was not the penalty which had been threatened; death, not sorrow and labor, had been promised. Observe that the knowledge of good and evil is not regarded as a calamity, 3. 22; it is one step in the process of raising mortal man into divine immortality. The actual motive, as the narrative now stands, for thrust- MAN^S FAILUEE AND NEED 29 ing man out of the garden was not his disobedience, but the fear of God that man with his newly acquired divine knowl- edge might eat the fruit of the tree which confers im- mortalit}^ and so become altogether divine. Note that 3. 19 implies that when man's life on earth is finished his life becomes extinct. The Lesson of Man's Failure In this narrative the author seeks to account for life as he sees it in his own day. The narrative contains very old elements and uses conceptions of man, the world, and Deity which must have been familiar to men for many genera- tions. The problems which the narrative seeks to solve were not new Avhen this Hebrew writer discussed them; they had perplexed mankind for thousands of years. Notice how the author answers the problems which he raises. The ills which flesh is heir to, result from dis- obedience of Jehovah. The first man had set before, him by his Creator a prohibition and a penalty. He should have feared the penalty and honored the prohibition. The choice of obedience lies with man. Sin is an act of dis- obedience to a positive command, a rejection of the divine will. This story exhibits the program of sin grounded in the dual nature of man. It springs from the endless conflict between the desires of "the dust" and the needs of "the breath of life." It is the choice of the near-at-hand in- stead of the distant-good. Even after revelation lifts the divine authority from the power of physical coercion to the power of ethical holiness, transgression is still dis- obedience, and works disaster. It is the Hebrew's glory that he can take these stories of his Semitic ancestors and cause them to convey an eternal truth of religion. Its Eelation to the Kingdom Certain hardships enter human life through man's dis- obedience of God. It is the purpose of this narrative to lay down early in Israel's history the principle that man's life is not the splendid thing he wishes it to be until he 30 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL reveres and obeys Jehovah's will. This disobedience is sin. Sin cramps man's life. It builds barriers, limits his resources, closes roads to distant goals. The full life of which he dreams and feels faint promptings in his soul cannot be lived in indifference or rebellion to Jehovah; it issues only in fellowship unmarred by any whim of man to dishonor his Creator's will. Examine the narrative carefully, and observe what hard- ships of life are ascribed to man's transgression. The antipathy of man to serpents, the sense of shame and reti- cence which accompanies adolescence, the birth-pangs of woman and her subjection to man, the hard toil of the agriculturalist who finds life a continual struggle to wrest a livelihood from the rocky soil which grows weeds and thorns more readily than grasses and grains, human mortality — these are some of the durances which the author feels could not have existed in the beginning. Yet this is not all. It is implied that man now lives at a greater distance from Jehovah. Sin has produced alienation from him. The incident ends with a sinking of the heart. It is a real tragedy, breathing to the last woe and calamity. Yet this is not the total effect which the Hebrew Scrip- tures intend. This incident of disloyalty is not man's final act. Whatever tragedy the disobedience involved, it stood at the beginning, not at the end, of humanity's his- tory. It was not a final tragedy. Man, having recognized his need of God, once more, through Jehovah's grace in the choice of Israel, had entered into fellowship with him. Thus this narrative of transgression is intended by He- brew religionists to mark not only the swift descent but also the beginning of the long ascent of man to regain his life with God. It thus stands in their reflective thought at the beginning of their religious history. Concerning Sin The Price of Knowledge. — There is a specious plea which is offered frequently by the morbidly curious and the gensual. Young men sometimes visit saloons, gambling rooms, immoral shows and brothels and salve the con- MAN'S FAILURE AND NEED 31 science by the pretense that they are justified in knowing the whole of life. Sin is a dear schoolmaster. The tuition demanded by wrongdoing is sure to be inordinately exces- sive. The wild oats crop never can be served as breakfast food in a happy healthy family. There are evils of which it is better to be ignorant unless we are enlisted to fight them. No one should serve on a vice commission out of curiosity. To sin in order to be informed is the road to the infirmary, the hospital, and the insane asylum. The Social Sin. — Transgression is not less sinful and terrible because suggested and shared by others. Adam's sorrows were not less because the fruit was proffered him by a smiling Eve. We cannot excuse our evil acts by blaming others for the sinful suggestion. Our sins are the more deplorable when they are social. If an individual could sin his own sin and keep its evil from overflowing into the life of others, sin would not be so terrible. Making Cripples. — Do we really believe that sin cripples life? Men and women say by their action, Saint Paul is a fool; sow to the wind, there is no whirlwind to harvest. There is no death's-head of diseased bodies and sordid souls to mar the distant years. The heedless rush into question- able pleasures and the grinding competitive methods of selfish business indicate that vast multitudes do not realize that sin mutilates and brutalizes life. What manner of man do we count successful ? Do we need a new appraise- ment of human life to understand better the deadening effects of sin? It leads to dreadful disaster to stand at the threshold of life and hear across the distant years only life's pleasure calls. To enter life lured by the whispers of its shallower meaning leads to immeasurable disaster. Sin is the unfeeling and ruthless thing of every finer pos- sibility of life. The Worst of Sin. — Sin is more than disobedience. It is broken fellowship. We cannot do others wrong and con- tinue to live in unclouded relations with them. Slander and friendship are not good neighbors. We cannot run counter to God's will and enjoy his fellowship. The prodigal son, in choosing to waste his money in fast living, 32 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL parted company with his father. Sin destroys the richest companionship. It thins out for us God's Fatherhood into a meaningless term. Sin unfits a man for heavenly society. It robs him of that identity of interest upon which great and noble fellowship is based. Sin separates man from God. Suggestions fob Class Discussion 1. Hebrew historians placed the good times in the far past. Old people frequently declare that the times grow worse. Why is it so natural with unreflective persons to locate the golden age in the past? 2. What physical ills are here said to be the penalty of man's disobedience of God? 3. What elements of permanent value are there in this account of the origin of pain and death? 4. What does it teach concerning the origin of sin? 5. What is the opinion of the narrator concerning the rela- tion of knowledge and sin? 6. It will appear in later chapters that the early Hebrews recognized the existence of other deities. What does the monotheism of this narrative imply concerning its author? 7. Upon whom does the writer fix the responsibility for the disobedience? 8. Under what circumstances is it a moral act to obey a command not understood? Should God morally justify to us his moral requirements? 9. Make a list of sins which do not involve others in their consequences. 10. What is the origin of our promptings toward sin? 11. Why is God morally justified in requiring us to do his will? Suggested Readings Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 48-56. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, Volume V, p. 667ff. Driver, The Book of Genesis, pp. 51-62. Encyclopwdia of Religion and Ethics, article, "Fall." Jastrow, Hebrew and Babylonian Traditions, pp. 47-62. CHAPTER IV A KINGDOM PIONEER The first two chapters have set forth the principles that man, like Deity, is a spiritual being, and that his true destiny is achieved, not in the clash, but in the cooperation of his will and the will of God. Although the actual occupancy of Palestine did not take place until the twelfth century B. C, the Hebrews traced their national beginnings and the origin of their covenant with God to Abraham, a Mesopotamian shepherd. These stories which circulated among the patriarchs concerning their forefathers had very much to do with shaping the nation^s life. They convey for us also some imperishable truths. To-day's study, selecting a few incidents from the patriarch's career, pre- sents the idea of the covenant which through the centuries produced so much good and ill in the people's life. The Biography of a Pioneer The Faith of Abraham: The Call.— Genesis 12. 1-4. Jehovah demanded from Abraham some of life's greatest renunciations. To give up home, to break the ties of kindred, and to part from the land of one's childhood are not easy sacrifices to make. Yet Abraham was asked to make these renunciations at the call of God. He was prom- ised great rewards, but these were largely in the distance and could not be shared by him. His decision meant also the abandonment of the religion of his fathers. Abraham did not know where Jehovah would lead him. He was to pack his goods and travel in the direction in which Jehovah pointed. In the course of time his new home was shown to him, 12. 7, but he himself ever was to be only a sojourner in this promised land. The Response. — Genesis 12. 4-9. Abraham did not hesi- tate. Accompanied by Lot, and taking his substance, fiocks 33 34 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL and herds, and "the souls that they had gotten in Haran/' i. e., his slaves, he set forth and migrated into the west. A map may be consulted for his probable route to Canaan. His road lay by the way of Carchemish and of Damascus, along the side of the Sea of Galilee, past Bethshan, and thence to Shechem. The oak of Moreh at Shechem was a sacred tree and was attended no doubt by Canaanitish priests. In the neighborhood of this ancient sanctuary Abraham is assured by a vision that this is the promised land. In gratitude Abraham built an altar and sacrificed unto Jehovah. Abraham next passes through the land from north to south. At various places, notably Bethel, he erects altars and sacrifices to Jehovah. The Fault of Abraham. — Genesis 12. 10-20. Like many another shepherd of the wilderness, the rich pasturages of the Nile attracted Abraham in a time of drought. As Abraham drew near Egypt a selfish fear came over him. Supposing that the Egyptians, attracted by the beauty of Sarah, would kill him to possess her, if they knew that she was his wife, Abraham fell back upon the half-truth of her sisterhood. Does the narrative condemn the selfish cowardice of Abraham, the expected adultery of Sarah, and their common lie? Sarah, whatever may have been her feeling, was the victim of the customary Oriental despot- ism. Although Abraham intensified his false position by accepting Pharaoh's gifts, he clung to them ever after his exposure and took them back with him to Canaan. There is no suggestion of the way in which Pharaoh discovered the reason for the plagues. A similar story of Isaac and Rebekah may supply the missing link in the narrative. Pharaoh, to be rid of this troublesome pair, sent them away with all their possessions under an escort. The Magnanimity of Abraham. — Genesis 13. After leav- ing Egypt Abraham proceeds leisurely to Bethel. Locate this site upon the map. Observe the dispute between the dependents of Abraham and those of his nephew, Lot. What is to be said of the character of Lot ? Abraham is now assured that the land of Canaan is to be the possession of his descendants forever. The land which falls to him A KINGDOM PIONEER 35 by the selfish choice of Lot may not yield such rich pas- turages as the valley of the Jordan, but Abraham remains within the realm of Jehovah's providential care. The Obedience of Abraham. — Genesis 22. Abraham's confidence in God is tested by the greatest trial of his life. The sacrifices made to reach the promised land long ago are forgotten. Eiches and honor have been heaped upon him. His son, child of faith, has come and grown into boyhood. Now falls the strange, hope-blasting, soul-crush- ing order to sacrifice his only lad as a burnt-oifering. Human sacrifice is not uncommon in Canaan, but it ends the life-dream of Abraham to be blessed in his progeny. Read the pathetic tale again. What must have been the mental agony and the unnatural self-command of the father when Isaac asked, ^^Where is the lamb for the burnt-offer- ing?'' But Abraham's faith did not break under the terrible ordeal. ^'By faith Abraham obeyed." The choice of Abraham to be the father of the Hebrew people is vindicated by his unquestioned obedience of God. The Ideal Hebrew The First Hebrew. — Israel's historians are fond of begin- nings. Reaching backward across unnumbered centuries, they set before us their account of the first man, which has ruled the thought of millions beyond their own race. Now, from the vantage of their settled life in Canaan, they relate the traditions of their origin. It is a story of the manner in which their ancestors, under divine guidance, migrated from the Tigris-Euphrates valley into Palestine and after many vicissitudes took possession of the land. Abraham was their first ancestor. Their history began in him. But Abraham not only was first in time; he was also first in character for vast multitudes of his descend- ants. Except among the prophets who stressed righteous- ness as the soul of religion, Abraham was the moral and religious ideal of his people. A Great Adventurer. — Abraham's story is the story of a homeless wanderer who, ever dreaming of some beautiful land of valleys, hills, and grassy plains, ever was led forth 36 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL into strange adventures by his great expectations, yet who found himself always on the borders of his promised land. During a long life across the country from Ur of the Chaldees to the Egyptian borders, at Shechem, Bethel, Hebron, and Beersheba, he fed his flocks and pitched his tents in luxuriant valleys, on green hill slopes, and by the edges of bleak sand-wastes, and ever trusting that same Voice which called him away from the old civilization of the East into the Western wilderness, he continually opened his soul to the leadings of his Jehovah. Sometimes he was told to move his flocks across the hills and valleys that he might learn the richness of the country which his chil- dren should call home. Sometimes his black tents were pitched on the borders of the desert, and looking out upon the sun-bright stretches of sand which the wind flung sky- ward, the Voice whispered that his people should be num- berless as the grains of sand. Sometimes he camped in the valley of Shechem, where the marvelous sky bent blue from the Great Sea to the Galilaean Lake, and at the eve- ning hour, standing by his tent and wondering at the stars, the Voice assured him that his children should be count- less as the stars in heaven. Sometimes famine gaunt and grim took up the shepherd's staff and drove the wanderer's flocks across the borders into Philistia or to the green fields of the Nile, but he never failed to hear the Voice calling liim back to the wells he had dug and the altars he had builded. The life of this man was one long obedience to that inward leading of the soul which he interpreted as the Voice of Jehovah. He obeyed this Voice, though it called him to strange, adventurous undertakings and great, unselfish decisions. With an utter disregard of where that Voice would lead him, he followed it, content to know that the journey which Jehovah planned was safe and blessed. The Man of Faith. — Thus Abraham was preeminently characterized by his faith in Jehovah. It is a striking witness to the idealism of the Hebrew people that their great hero is not first of all a sage, a warrior, or a pluto- crat. He is primarily a man of faith. He honors ancient shrines, enjoys theophanies, builds altars, and jeopardizes. A KINGDOM PIONEER 37 in the cupidity of Lot, the land which he had come to re- gard as his own. The rewards which lured him to Canaan are not altogther spiritual. A numerous progeny, a famous name, and a material prosperity which shall awaken throughout the world the desires of other peoples to possess like advantages are not exactly exalted spiritual concep- tions. Neither does the mean story of Abraham's adven- ture in Egypt add to his glory. But through all material motives and moral lapses runs this eventually life-trans- forming experience of obedience and fellowship with God. The call and response in Abraham's day may not have reached high ethical levels, but such commerce of man and Deity is the highway of the coming Kingdom. Abraham took on greatness of mind in dealing with Lot and the king of Sodom, while in his heroic faith and sublime obedience in yielding up Isaac to the presumed will of God, Abraham rises to the ethereal heights where alone exalted souls may dwell. Great Adventukers The Charm of Adventure. — The hearts of men ever have been stirred by stories of great adventure. The wanderings of Ulysses charmed many generations of his Greek coun- trymen. The travels of Marco Polo were the delight of mediseval raconteurs at monastery and castle. The bril- liant daring of Pizarro was the inspiration of many a Spanish captain who dreamed of empire within the golden lands of the New World. But the classical story of adven- ture is the Hebrew narrative of Abraham, which at the wells and altars of Israel was the best loved of the nation's patriarchal traditions. Explorer, tent-dweller, generous benefactor, associate of kings, builder of altars, heroic exemplar of mighty faith, wanderer until he died: this is the splendid figure of that great adventurer whose spirit through a dozen centuries infused the most adventurous people of the ancient world. God Still Calls Men to Great Adventure. — God ever summons men to march an open road to distant adventures of the soul. It is the feeling that the invisible powers 38 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL which shape the destiny of man are calling in every thrust of ambition and endeavor, which is the root-fact of every truly great event in life. There is nothing of permanent value that does not spring out of a call of God. There is but one class of men who stand out like stars serene and successful in the twilight of the past. They are those who felt above the lure of worldly pleasures the commanding call of God. No man utterly fails to receive a divine call. In a thousand ways God suggests the distant land of manlier achievement. In birth and death, in the trust of a child, in married love, in the greeting of friends, in business obligations, in the break of day, and in the blooming of the stars God is luring the soul toward the spiritual journey. The Strictures of a Faithless Life. — If we do not hear and obey God^s voice, there are inheritances into which we never can enter. All the fields of fellowship with God never have been traversed by our poor, faltering feet. Our tents have not been pitched upon all their flowery hills. There is a blueness in the sky of God's love which we never have beheld. The softly whispered breezes blowing in from the eternal sea of his mercy have not always fanned our faces flushed by pain, toil, and sin. There are possibilities in the Christian life beyond all that we have realized. You remember the story of Gulliver, who was wrecked upon an island inhabited by tiny, six-inch people. While the giant slept those little men drove hundreds of pegs into the ground and tied down his arms, body, and legs till he who might have crushed dozens of them at a blow lay fast bound at their mercy. The giant Faith lies slumbering in man- kind, and men and women who have the power to set for- ward God's kingdom by majestic strides are bound by habits, customs, business, and personal ambitions, each weak in itself, but strong enough together to shackle sons and daughters of God. Traveling with God. — Go forth with God from the old life of self, failure, and besetting sin. He may lead you away from some dear habits, questionable business prac- tices, trivial amusements; from mere religious profession; A KINGDOM PIONEER 39 from much that has grown familiar and dear. But God never loses those whom he leads. Largeness of soul comes to him who travels with God. He who seeks the fellow- ship of the greatest person of the universe reflects in- evitably something of the ineffable splendor of his com- panionship. It is God's way to choose an unknown Hebrew to originate a Messianic people, a simple Genoese sailor to find a world, a humble German monk to begin a reforma- tion, a Corsican lieutenant to break a feudal despotism, a college student to found a Methodism, an Illinois back- woodsman to free a race of slaves. To walk with God turns weakness and obscurity into strength and fame. Question — Paths to the Lesson 1. Why may progress in religion be traced by individual and social renunciations? 2. These stories in the life of Abraham circulated orally among the Hebrews during their early occupancy of Canaan, and in the majority of instances were a new presentation of their nation's past. Under such circumstances what probably was the moral effect of Abraham's unhesitating obedience to Jehovah? Of his generous dealings with Lot? Of his decep- tion of Pharaoh? Of his realization of religion as a life of prayer, communion with Jehovah, and loyalty to his will, rather than a life of sensual sacrificial feasts? 3. Abraham is preeminently an early Hebrew ideal of life. To what extent was Israel's religious life shaped by this ideal? 4. An ideal is a conception of something which ought to be. Sometimes it is expressed in a legendary hero, as in William Tell. Sometimes it appears in an abstract idea as in democ- racy. To what extent is life, both individual and societal, governed by ideals? Why are ideals necessary to progress? 5. What did faith mean to Abraham? What are the essen- tials of Christian faith? Suggested Readings Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 63-97. Driver, The Book of Genesis, pp. 143, 168-174, 202ff. Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 35-51. Dictionary of the Bihle^ edited by Hastings, Volume I, article, "Abraham." CHAPTER V A PEOVIDENTIAL MIGRATION When the prophetic writers of Israel reflected upon the nation's past they perceived that a crisis arose in the life and work of the patriarch Joseph which ushered in a new epoch of Hebrew history. Isaac and Jacob had not realized largely the promise made to Abraham. They did not possess the land. Isaac's life was spent in the neighbor- hood of Beersheba and Hebron. Jacob passed twenty years at Haran, and on returning with his herds Journeyed through the land to make his home at 'Hebron. They cherished the "promise," but neither they nor their sons were yet a blessing to the world. Now the call comes to Abraham's people to leave with children, herds, and flocks the land promised to him and his descendants. It seemed the death of all the grand patriarchal dreams. But Jacob's youthful spirit of adven- ture revives within him, and when he saw the Egj^ptian wagons come to carry him into Egypt he exclaimed, "Joseph, my son, is yet alive ; I will go and see him before I die." It is the meaning of this migration in the religious life of Israel which we now study. The Adventures of Joseph The adventures of Joseph are narrated in Genesis 37, and 39 to 47. There are four centers of interest in this drama. The Patriarch Jacob.— Genesis 37. 3, 11, 12-14, 33- 35; 42. 36-38; 43. 11-14; 45. 26-28; 46. 1-7, 28-30; 47. 7- 10, 28-31 ; 48. 1-22. These verses tell the story of Jacob's life in his last years. He lives at Hebron while his sons pasture his flocks far and wide. He openly shows his affection for his favorite son. He clothes him in tunics 40 A PROVIDENTIAL MIGRATION 41 such as princes wore. He did not chide the boy for his wild dreaming. He made Joseph his messenger to his elder sons. He was foolish in his mourning as well as in his dressing of his son. Jacob was not a wise father, yet there was an unconscious premonition of Joseph's great- ness in Jacob's treatment of his son. He pays him the highest tribute of greatness before he is aware of his liv- ing in Egypt, 43. 11-14. He finally recognizes that the sale of Joseph is providential and his migration is of the Lord. The Brothers of Joseph. — These men are the dark back- ground of the drama. Apparently, they frequently quarreled and mismanaged their father's business, 37. 2. Their souls were too small to rise above the injustice of their father's favoritism, 37. 11. They could lie and murder in the furtherance of their ends, 37. 20. They could bring unflinchingly the deepest sorrow upon their aged father, 37. 31. Misfortune, however, awoke their conscience, 42. 21, to the realization of their iniquity to- ward Joseph, and to a new tenderness toward their father, 44. 30-34. They forced themselves at last to seek Joseph's forgiveness, 50. 16-18. The Egyptian Court. — A series of incidents in Egypt test the faith of Joseph: (1) the false accusation of the wife of Potiphar, 39. 1-20; (2) the ungrateful treatment of the chief butler, 40. 1-21; (3) the elevation of Joseph to the chief dignity under Pharaoh, chapter 41. The student should read these stories and consider the manner in which Joseph rises through adversity and prosperity to noble character. Joseph the Dreamer. — Last and most prominent is Joseph, who, in the midst of hostile circumstances, works out his splendid destiny. Recall the various incidents of Joseph's life and consider him as a son, a brother, a servant, a prisoner, and a public administrator. Estimate him by the treatment he receives from others. Observe him in misfortune, in temptation, and in exalted favor. Like Abraham, Joseph ordered his life through sublime con- fidence in God. Read Genesis 45. 5, 7-9 and 50. 20 and 42 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL state the fundamental trait of Joseph's character. Inter- twined with this matchless story of Joseph's triumph through adversity is the account of the Hebrew migration into Egypt. Indeed, the career of Joseph is subsidiary to this epochal event. These patriarchs hesitated to go into Egypt. It seemed to them a parting with the promise. They needed to be reassured by a vision from Jehovah that he would bring them back from Egypt to the promised land. Joseph and the Kingdom Israel in Egypt. — All the traditions of the Hebrews point to a sojourn of their ancestors in Egypt. To the historians whose accounts we have been following in these first lessons the past of the Hebrew people extended farther into history than the Exodus from Egypt. Therefore they cherished the stories of their ancestors concerning the drift out of the rugged pasturages of Canaan and the south country into the green fields of the Nile. Of one thing these Hebrew historians were convinced: Jehovah had guided their nation from the beginning. Whatever had been the nature of the migration of their ancestors, it had been divinely guided. It was a part of the great destiny which Jehovah had planned for his own people. A Unique Leader. — This migration, therefore, was ac- complished through a rare type of man. The outward cir- cumstances of Jacob's sons were much the same. Their life was made up of the same routine, the same common- place, uneventful care of their flocks, the same fair sky by day and the same glittering stars at night. Heredity and environment should have sunk them all into oblivion, but the genius of Joseph has lifted them all into historical immortality. The brothers were staid, dull, hard-fisted, cringing, calculating Jews who united craft with skill in dealing with herds. But there is no hint that the promise made to Abraham kindled their minds with great endeavor. There is no suggestion that Jehovah was anything to them except the avenger of crime. They gave no evidence that they had the faith or cared for the blessing of Abraham. A PROVIDENTIAL MIGEATION 43 His Gift of Imagination. — Joseph is a cosmopolite, a dreamer, a visionist. He brooded over the future. He expected large issues to life. He belongs to the prophets. His young soul must have been stirred by the tales of Abraham^s adventures and his covenant with Jehovah. He accepted these promises of Jehovah as realities, believed that they were his also, and looked for great enterprises. No adversity could daunt such a man. In the midst of defeat he claimed a larger empire. The unfulfilled dream of the sheaves set him dreaming of the stars. Defeat en- listed him for a greater battle. By sheer enthusiasm and confidence in God he forced his brothers into acknowledg- ment of their crime, and compelled reluctant Jacob to migrate with all his household and herds. Joseph is the successor of Abraham. He had imagination enough to be used of God. A Kingdom Builder. — It was the faith and the genius of Joseph which occasioned the Hebrew migration into Egypt. To his astonished brothers he asserted, "God sent me before you to preserve you a remnant in the earth.'^ Through them he sent the urgent summons to his father, "God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not; . . . there are yet five years of famine.'' In Joseph's mind the migration was absolutely essential to preserve Hebrew life, and he, of all Jacob's sons, was alive to the promised destiny of his family. It was the ideal of the Kingdom within him — the striving after the Abrahamic blessing for his race — which coerced his brothers to do his will and moved hesitating Jacob to seek an alien land. Joseph leads his family into a larger patriarchal world. There are no complex situations in the careers of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There are conflicts and grave decisions ; but Joseph's world is more complex, his vicissitudes more varied, his decisions more far-reaching. There are more wills at play in his destiny. What Joseph adds to patri- archal histor)% working through his brothers and his father, is this larger truth of the Kingdom: through all diverse and warring human wills God is working his own will and 44 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL building, ever building, the kingdom of his rule in the life of men. Deeams That Come Tkue Civilization is Created by Dreamers. — Columbus, the dreamer among the vineyards of Italy, watching in boy- hood the sun pass down beyond the Ligurian headlands, dreamed one sunset that it passed round the world. Whether the world is round or flat seemed to the majority of Genoese sailors a matter of little concern. It changed no wind that filled their sails, ripened no more rapidly the wheatfields of the Nile, nor clouded their Mediterranean sky nor dimmed the beauty of ten thousand stars which glimmered on the evening sea. But from the hour that Columbus felt the restless call of the lands adown the edges of the world and put forth across the Atlantic to behold the virgin Americas, the routes of vessels, the power of winds and waves, the ripening of harvests, the location of markets, and the meaning of the stars have changed and proved to a dotard world the need of dreaming of un- horizoned lands. Dreamers Are God's rellow-Workmen. — There is end- less illustration that the world is created by dreamers. These are the men who saw statues in blocks of marble, sea-going vessels in oak-forests, steam engines in tea- kettles, railroads in iron ore, palaces in banks of clay, and teeming populations achieving prosperity and happiness in the unbroken wilderness. Cathedrals, parliamentary halls, libraries, art galleries, and universities have been built by dreams. Dreamers raised the Pyramids, filled Athens with beauty and Rome with power, awoke Germany into the Reformation and sent the timid ships of the Pilgrims to the inhospitable shores of New England. You cannot put your foot upon a great historic spot without standing where a dreamer has stood. God is looking to-day for dreamers : for men and women who can imagine so vividly distant goals of just social institutions and evangelized races as to make them worth to us now endless ministries and sacrifices. A PROVIDENTIAL MIGRATION 45 Our Need is Dreamers and Prophets. — It is not more capital or more labor : not the extension of industry or the multiplication of wealth. The wealth of nations is not in mines, forests, or farms. Their glory is not in the great- ness of their wars. These have cursed as well as blessed a people. A nation's prosperity is in its dreamers. It is with men and women who believe that vice is not a neces- sity: that drunkenness, debauchery, lechery, revolting poverty, and militarism are foul bilgewater to be slushed from human life. We need men who hear the mystic chim- ing of silver bells in the far spiritual city and who believe such music may be played on earth. Conduct always waits on moral vision. The seer strides at the head of the pro- cession of doers. He is the chief bugler of human welfare. The Greatest of Dreamers. — Jesus visioned the kingdom of God. He became the scorn of his nation, but he kept his dream. He was lifted to a cross and laid in a tomb, but he kept faith with his dream. He came forth from his grave and the world began to wonder at the glory of his dream. He inspired others to dream his dream after him. They went forth from Jerusalem with a marvelous story on their lips and a marvelous light in their soul. We are their children. The Christ-dream has come to us. We must furnish the world the great moral enthusiasms needed to-day. We need an empire of dreams more than we need wealth and position. It is in the actualizing of dreams that men grow strong and women beautiful. Topics for Class Discussion 1. What weaknesses appear in Jacob's training of his chil- dren? 2. How do such differences between children of the same family arise? 3. What caused the Hebrews to migrate to Egypt? 4. To what extent do economic conditions govern our lives? 5. Why did the brothers of Joseph dislike him? Are such motives prevalent to-day? 6. Consider whether business ability and integrity of charac- ter are certain to win wealth and honor. 7. What was the governing religious principle of Joseph's life? Consider whether Joseph's philosophy of evil is satis- 46 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL factory for our modern needs. If God is the absolute ruler of the world, how may we explain the presence of evil? 8. Why are those men and women who believe in the prog- ress of God's kingdom likely to become the best citizens? 9. The social dreamer is one who believes that the thing which ought to be may be, and who gives himself to its achievement. What social reforms in your community are awaiting dreamers to see them? References Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, articles, "Jacob" and "Joseph." Welch, The Story of Joseph, pp. 3-122. Peritz, Old Testament History, pp. 48-62. CHAPTER VI THE HEBEEWS IN EGYPT The entrance of the Hebrews into Egypt under the fostering care of Joseph did not result happily for Israel. The Egyptian bondage is a dark chapter in their history. This chapter presents the historical material available for understanding this grievous experience and seeks to an- swer two questions: What service did the inflictions im- posed upon the Hebrews by the Egyptians render the gen- eration which endured them? What significance did this slavery in Egypt have for later centuries ? The Stoky of the Sojouen The Place and Time of the Sojourn in Egypt. — Both the place and the length of time of the sojourn of the Hebrews in Egypt are uncertain. According to Genesis 45. 10; 47. 6; Exodus 8. 22 and 9. 26, the Israelites dwelt apart from the Egyptians in Goshen, a narrow strip of land thirty or forty miles long lying between Lake Timsah and the Tanitic branch of the Nile. The writer of these sec- tions, the oldest historical portions of the Old Testament, represents his people as numerous and powerful. Exodus 1. 20. Indeed, they are greater in number than the Egyp- tians themselves, 1. 9. They maintain their tribal organiza- tion, 3. 16, possess flocks and herds. Exodus 10. 24, and migrate from Egypt in exceedingly large numbers, 12. 37. According to 3. 22; 11. 2; 12. 13, the Hebrews do not dwell apart from the Egyptians, but are scattered among them in various parts of the land. From 1. 15-22 and 2. 1-10 it appears that they were living near the palace of the king, and 1. 15 indicates that the Hebrews were few in number. The length of the sojourn in Egypt is equally confused. From Exodus 1. 6 it is to be inferred that all who were familiar with the incidents of the migration into Egypt 47 48 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL had died before the hardships of bondage began. The few patriarchal families have multiplied until they outnumber the Egyptians, 1. 8, 9. Genesis 15. 13 states that the Hebrews were to dwell in Egypt four hundred years. Four hundred and thirty years are the figures given in Exodus 12. 40. Another line of tradition gave a much shorter period. In Genesis 15. 16 the sojourn ends in the fourth generation. According to Numbers 26. 59, Levi, who had migrated to Egypt with Jacob, is the father of Jochebed, who is the mother of Moses. These references imply a period of one hundred to one hundred and fifty years. In general, the authors who think of the shorter period are the ones who consider the Hebrews relatively few in num- bers. The Religious Life of Israel in Egypt. — A question of much interest is the religious life of the Hebrews during their stay in Egypt. Had they forgotten the splendid promises made to Abraham? If they remembered them, had they lost faith in them? Did they feel themselves abandoned by the God of their ancestors ? Examine Exodus 3. 7-10. Is Jehovah's concern of which he speaks to Moses regarded as a hitherto unknown truth? Is the message of 3. 16, 17 to be given to the elders, the message of providence and redemption, considered a new message? Study 3. 18 and 5. 8. Does the message to be delivered to Pharaoh suggest a new revelation of Jehovah and intimate that they were unaccustomed in Egypt to sacrifice to Je- hovah ? See 8. 25, 26. Did not the message of Jehovah's compassion in 4. 31 come as a new message of hope and inspiration ? If the worship of Jehovah has been neglected and forgotten by the Hebrews, what is the explanation ? Egyptian Oppression. — Hebrew historians universally trace the departure from Egypt to hardships endured in connection with work upon public buildings. Two stone cities, Pithom and Raamses, Exodus 1. 11, are said to have been built by them for Pharaoh. Other traditions reported that they labored in the fields, 1. 14. When their restless- ness under these afflictions became apparent,, heavier bur- dens were laid upon them, 5. 6-9. THE HEBREWS IN EGYPT 49 The Historical Value of the Biblical Accounts. — No Egyptian accounts of IsraeFs bondage have come to light. However, in 1883 the ruins of Pithom were discovered in the Wady Tumilat, not far from the Suez Canal and near the eastern end of the railway from Cairo. "Pithom was a square city, about two hundred and twenty yards in length, inclosed by enormous brick walls, and containing store chambers built of brick, and a temple. The store chambers were of various sizes, rectangular and very nu- merous. They had no communication with one another, but could be filled with grain from the top, and emptied also from above, or through a reserve door on the side. They stood on a thick layer of beaten clay, which would prevent rats from getting into them. Pithom is the only place where such granaries have hitherto been excavated. It is known, from inscriptions discovered on the spot, that the city was founded by Rameses IF' (McNeile, The Book of Exodus, p. XCIII). This discovery lends support to the statement of Exodus 1. 11. The sojourn of the Hebrews in Egypt was deeply in- grained into the nation as one of the certain, humiliating facts of their ancestral life. There is nothing in Egjrptian history to make these facts of residence and servitude in Egjrpt improbable. The various accounts of the numbers of the Hebrews, the place of residence, and the length of the sojourn are best accounted for by the modern view of the origin of the Pentateuch: that in the books as we now have them several lines of tradition have been blended. These variant accounts are similar enough in general outline to become strong proof of the main facts of the life of the Hebrews in Egypt. The Lesson of Servitude The Effect of Servitude. — This Egyptian servitude was not without beneficial effect upon the Hebrews. The vari- ous lines of traditions offer no hint of an exodus before the oppression began. When Jacob and his sons migrated to Egypt and under Joseph's protection settled there, ap- 50 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL parently there were but two among them, Jacob and Joseph, who realized Jehovah's purposes and clung to his promises. The brothers and their families were ignorant of or indif- ferent to Jehovah's program. With fine pasturages at their disposal, they grew prosperous and numerous. Never very spiritual, these brothers and their children cherished lightly or forgot the God of the patriarchs. They ceased to sacri- fice to him and worshiped, after the manner of migrating tribes, the gods of the land in which they dwelt. Had no oppression arisen, they would have remained perma- nently in Egypt and God would have had to choose an- other people. Their Sense of Solidarity. — As long as Jacob's sons were unmolested by the Egyptian authorities, there was no great unity among the clans. They were accustomed in Canaan to independent, unsocial views and deeds. Genesis 34. 30; 38. 1. Oppression undoubtedly was best calculated to awaken the national spirit among them. Hardship in Egypt would revive the traditions of their free life at Beersheba and Hebron. Bondage to the Egyptians would reveal the differences of race and show that no true Hebrew genius could develop in alien soil. It was this policy of repression and servitude which awoke within the Hebrews a sense of their own racial and social alienation. The Egyptians gloried in a past of cities, splendid monuments, cultivated fields, and commerce with distant nations. The traditions of the Hebrews were of tents, desert wastes, beck- oning stars, flocks and herds, with freedom to lead them far by cool streams and rolling hills. It required oppres- sion to give the nomadic ideal its former lure, to quicken a yearning for a Deity powerful and merciful, and to break their satisfaction with Egypt. The economic, social, and religious conditions which fitted them to receive the mes- sage of Moses were created by oppression. Painful Memories. — The Egyptian oppression was a bit- ter experience in the life of the Hebrews. The hardships they endured long haunted the memory and the imagina- tion of the people. Egypt afterward frequently was called *'the iron furnace," Deuteronomy 4. 20; 1 Kings 8. 51. It THE HEBREWS IN EGYPT 51 was a grievous bondage from which they were powerless to free themselves, Isaiah 11. 16; Jeremiah 2. 6. Their deliverance in their hour of weakness was a proverbial act of Jehovah's grace, Jeremiah 16. 14. That Jehovah had brought up Israel out of the land of Egj^^t was, for the prophets, the standing proof of Jehovah's willingness and ability to accomplish any enterprise for Israel's good. Judges 6. 7-10; 1 Samuel 10. 17-19; Amos 3. 1; Hosea 13.4. Jehovah's Grace. — However much they had forgotten Jehovah, he had not lost sight of them. Through the years of their neglect he had watched them ceaselessly. Exodus 3. 16. They were his people, 3. 7. His silence through the years was not due to Ms unconcern, but to their indifference. When affliction had taught them their own helplessness, they were in the mood to hear Jehovah's messenger. Their sordid-mindedness had entrapped them in Egyptian servitude. Jehovah in his grace forgave them and redeemed them. This servitude and deliverance stamped themselves upon the memory of Israel. It settled forever that they were Jehovah's people. Without him they would have been crushed by their bondage and Israel would have perished with all the brilliant patriarchal promises unfulfilled. This experience formed a basis for future prophetic appeals. *'I removed his shoulder from the burden : His hands were freed from the basket. Thou calledat in trouble, and I delivered thee." —Psalm 81. 6, 7. Such an experience was priceless in the future development of Israel's religion. The School of Adversity A Useful Teacher. — Adversity is a teacher sent from God. The man who serves God does not ask to escape adversity. He asks, only for the presence of God. **Ye meant evil, but God meant good." Let men have Joseph's 52 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL faith and all goes well. There is evil in our world; pain, rough roads, dark mysteries, colossal selfishness, greed, and often bitter quarrels, these things will burn and cut their way into our lives. If our motives are pure, and if we have but one goal — the upbuilding of God's kingdom — it is our blessed privilege to pull the sting from every adversity by knowing that '^God meant it for good.'' The King him- self reached his throne by carrying a cross. The Disasters of Prosperity. — It is impossible now to know to what extent Jehovah was worshiped by the He- brews before their entrance into Egypt. But the motive which called them there was material prosperity. It was inevitable that sojourners in Egypt should worship Egyp- tian gods. Bent on multiplying flocks and herds, the wor- ship, then, and even the memory of Jehovah, passed away among the Hebrews. They ceased to build altars, and to offer sacrifices to Jehovah. Material success far too often stifles the life of the Spirit. Prosperity in material goods so often breaks up the f raternalism in which all truly great life roots, and unconsciously robs man of his sense of de- pendence upon God. The pursuit of wealth usually im- poverishes the soul. The World's Insistent Emphasis. — There is a bitter struggle between wealth and poverty, between oligarchy and democracy. This conflict, although as old as civiliza- tion itself, to-day stirs every aspect of life with new in- tensity. What seems to be new is the belief of all classes that a greater measure of wealth and the physical goods which wealth controls, possessed by every individual, will operate automatically for the enrichment of life. While it is true that poverty, disease, ignorance, and vice have logical relationship, it is not true that the possession of money guarantees a rich spiritual life. The trend of modern social thinking and action is to lessen the in- equality of wealth and to secure each individual in the possession of sufficient wealth to render the physical con- ditions of life wholesome and pleasant. But even this goal, when it is reached, will not have provided the ultimate satisfaction. THE HEBREWS IN EGYPT 53 Religion's Supreme Emphasis. — We ought to assist all efforts to democratize the wealth of the world. But reli- gion has a fuller message than to proclaim the gospel of prosperity. Religion insists unceasingly upon the primacy of the spiritual — upon the immanence of God and the lord- ship of the soul. The servant of God must labor to make it ever impossible for men to listen to the lure of the outer world. Religion must ever strive to make the spiritual world real. The mind of society is diseased: men rest content in the obvious and near at hand. We must bring the vision of eternity into this near-sighted world. Chris- tianity is more than an economic gospel. It is the music of the Spirit come unto its own in a grossly material world. It is a vision and an experience: the sight of the distant spiritual fatherland and a life in the fullness of love, truth, and peace. Questions fob Class Discussion 1. Describe the life of the Hebrews in Egypt. What cor- roborative testimony concerning their employment is offered by archaeology? 2. What was the social effect of their servitude upon them? 3. What inference concerning their life in Egypt may be drawn from the references of later writers to their Egyptian servitude? 4. Which is more conducive to piety — poverty or wealth? 5. What have pain and suffering done for the development of character? 6. What virtues are created or emphasized by war? 7. Which is more injurious to the social order — poverty or inequality of wealth? 8. Is political or economic mastery of races or groups of individuals by officials who are irresponsible to the people ever morally justifiable? Additional Lesson Material Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 52-56. Kent, Biblical Geography and History, pp. 106-111. McNeile, The Book of Exodus, pp. xcii-xciv, 12-14. Peritz, Old Testament History, pp. 64-67. CHAPTER VII THE DELIVERANCE FROM EGYPT The deliverance of the Hebrews from Egypt is the most striking event of IsraePs history, and its religious signifi- cance never was exhausted for Old Testament writers. This lesson is very closely connected with the preceding. The better the bondage in Egypt is understood, the more notable is the deliverance; the truer the conception held of the process of deliverance, the more clearly is seen the blight- ing nature of the Egyptian servitude. This lesson presents the forces at work in the escape of the Hebrews from Egypt and the place which this event holds in Israel's religion. The Factors of Deliveeance Moses and His Work.— (a) Read the account of his birth and preservation. Exodus 2. 1-10 ; his flight to Midian, 2. 11-15 ; his marriage, 2. 16-22 ; his occupation, 3. 1. It will be noted that two names are current for the father-in-law of Moses, namely, Jethro, Exodus 3. 1 ; and Hobab, Num- bers 10. 29. In Exodus 2. 18 the name is given as Reuel. It was an extraordinary kindness for Moses to assist women at the well. It insured for him a kindly welcome in the house of Jethro. Note that, although Moses did not share the hard labor of the Hebrews, his heart burned to lighten their intolerable burdens. Sympathy and zeal he had, but he lacked the great steadying, judgment-giving inspiration of Jehovah's guidance. (&) Read 3. 1-12. Note that Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, was a priest. According to 18. 10-12, Jethro officiated at a sacrifice at which the leading Hebrews were guests. This sacrifice was offered to Jehovah. It was in the neighborhood of Jehovah's sacred mountain that Moses received his call. A new vision of God ever is a sublime spiritual miracle. Read again the beautiful words in which Moses is summoned to his great work. 54 THE DELIVERANCE FROM EGYPT 55 (c) Read Joshua 24. 14. Estimate the character and genius of this Moses, who brought his enslaved brethren the message from Jehovah so convincingly that he overcame their suspicions and fears and filled them with the courage to face Pharaoh^s angry opposition. Read to the end of chapter fourteen. Note the patience of Moses with the complaining people, 5. 20-31; 6. 9; his persistent pressing of his case upon Pharaoh, 8. 26 ; 10. 9, 10, etc. ; his constant dependence upon Jehovah, 5. 22; 6. 12. Note the final judgment passed upon Moses by the delivered people, 14. 31. The Self -Revelation of Jehovah. — (a) Read carefully Exodus 3. 13-15. According to the Ephraimite tradition here embodied in the narrative, it is implied by Moses that the name of this redeeming Deity who sends him to Egypt is unknown to the Hebrews in Egypt. Read also 6. 2-8. Here it is stated that while the God who now com- missions Moses is the same God whom the patriarchs wor- shiped, the name "Jehovah^^ was not known to them. Moses is the first Hebrew who hears this name of Deity and this revelation of his real personal name is his most convincing assurance to the Hebrews in Egypt that he will lead them out of their bondage. Read Exodus 3. 4- 6 and notice that Moses is told that the Deity who now speaks to him, and whom as a member of Jethro's family he had come to worship (3. 1 and chapter 18), and whose name is Jehovah (3. 4), is also the God of his ancestors. Jehovah's Coercive Measures with Pharaoh. — (a) Whether the plagues were an unusual assemblage of natural phenomena or miracles as this word is popularly under- stood, consider whether anything less than an extraor- dinary series of events, capable of a religious interpretation, would have won Pharaoh^s consent to the migration of a great body of slaves? Read 10. 8-11; 10. 24; 12. 30-32 and observe that the various plagues served to wring from Pharaoh, one by one, concessions which ended not only in deliverance, but also in his desire for a blessing from Jehovah. (b) Note, further, Jehovah's restraint of the Egyptians 56 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL in the illuminated cloud barring their pursuit, 14. 20-21, and in the overthrow of their forces in the sea, 14. 23-28. Careful students of the Bible will recall that Israel's reli- gion did not become a monotheism until the time of the prophets. Consider what this deliverance, ever the wonder of the people, would contribute to the belief that Jehovah was the God not only of the Hebrews, but also of the whole earth. The Religious Significance of the Exodus The Work of Genius. — Moses is one of the world's great- est men. The work he did changed beyond all telling the world's history. No Hebrew did more for his nation's civil and religious life than he. His contribution to the world's religion is profoundly significant. He awoke his discontented, Egyptianized brethren into a hopeful free people and inspired them to accept, if not a new Deity, such new revelations of the character and purpose of the God of their ancestors that the magnitude of his achieve- ments remains the marvel of the nation's history. A Spiritual Miracle. — It was not what Moses wrote, but what Moses believed, which lifts his name among the great ones of the earth. Moses took with him into Midian a burning sense of Egj^ptian injustice to his race and an un- disciplined zeal to mitigate his people's burdens. As a member of Jethro's family, he finds that the God of the patriarchs is now speaking in terms of authority and grace at Horeb (Sinai) and receives from him the assurance that he will lead his people out of bondage into a fertile land. This message was new to Moses. This is the miracle of miracles: that the soul of Moses was so fired by his discovery that he was ready to undertake the stupendous task of instilling his groaning and embittered countrymen with unparalleled hope and energy. This faith that Je- hovah who had revealed himself at Horeb could and would deliver the Hebrews from their grievous bondage never left him, and his efforts never faltered through months of doubt and complaining by his brethren and the sturdy insolent opposition of their royal oppressor. THE DELIVEKANCE FROM EGYPT 57 Israel's Greatest Event. — From any point of view, the Exodus, as the biblical narratives present it, is the most significant event of IsraeFs history up to that time. It became for centuries the shining illustration of Jehovah's power and redeeming grace. It quickened in them the spirit to enter Canaan, preached for generations a gospel of hope, and became among the prophets an argument for justice and righteousness. These narratives of deliverance set forth also one of the permanent contributions of IsraeFs religion to the religion of the world: through man and nature God works his purposes, and there is none to thwart his will; all events, whether good or ill, as men count good and ill, are the acts of God. The reluctance of Moses, the unbelief of the Hebrews, the stubbornness of Pharaoh, are divinely grounded as well as their obedience, belief, and softened heart. Bush, mountain, river, sea, and clouds are alive with his presence and respond to his will. There is no chance in his universe, and he uses no intermediary to express his will. The God-Sent Man Wasted Lives. — A man's life is wasted until he finds God. Two thirds of the life of Moses counted little in the estimate of the Hebrew historians. His true life be- gan when he met Jehovah. This is true of every in- dividual. Living for self is wasting life. The pursuit of greed and lust is the pursuit of phantoms. To seek ease and prosperity is to drop out of the procession of great men. God has for each man a task big enough to lift him into immortality. A God-disciplined man is a God- reenforced man. The human will which is freely cap- tive to the Divine will is not imprisoned but is for the first time set at liberty. The flight of Moses was his matchless opportunity. "Man's extremity is God's opportunity." It is the God-sent men who arrive. The Arrival of God's Commissions. — The revelation came to Moses as he kept his flocks. It is God's rule to give to him only who is faithful to the task in hand the vision 58 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL of the larger duty. A slacker is never promoted in the army of God. An idler is never chosen an ambassador of God's kingdom. The man and woman who are faithfully following the light they have are the only ones who will receive a clearer vision. Then, too, God reveals his deeper secrets only to reflective souls. The eastern shepherd's life is lived largely in solitude. It takes time to meditate upon the mysteries of life. Any business or amusement which gives no opportunity for serious thought is the dread enemy of man. "It takes time to be holy." God's Message to His Messenger. — What was the big thing in the new vision of God which came to Moses ? It was the conviction that God is on the side of righteousness : that he interests himself in labors and movements to secure social justice. This is the new grand idea which through Moses was given to the world. Here is the real begin- ning of the kingdom of God on earth. God is on the side of righteousness, justice, and truth. God seeks the human values, and whenever any man glimpses these afar, God calls him into fellowship and gives him a great commis- sion. Such a man becomes a just employer of men. He sees in all of his employees fellow men, his brothers and God's sons. He sees the iniquity of every custom, business, and social institution which lives upon the debauchery of men and women. He hastens by his speech, his prayers, and his gifts the Christianizing of the most alien races. Topics for Class Consideration 1. State what is known of Moses' birth, training, and char- HrCter. 2. What qualities in Moses fitted him to be the liberator of his people? 3. Discuss the achievement of Moses as a task of evangel- ism; as the accomplishment of a political organizer; as the work of a social reformer. 4. What is the most satisfactory explanation of the plagues? 5. Which theory of Jehovah's relation to the Hebrews in the patriarchal age is most satisfactory? 6. Why is the Exodus the most significant event of Hebrew history? 7. Upon what does the recognition of the greatness of Moses rest? THE DELIVERANCE FEOM EGYPT 59 8. What type of individual is most likely to receive new revelations of the purposes of God? Helpful Additional Material Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 98-114. Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 56-67. Kent, Biblical Geography and History, pp. 111-114. McNeile, The Book of Exodus, pp. xciv-cxvi, 42-46. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, articles, "Moses" and "Exodus." CHAPTEE VIII A COVENANT PEOPLE As soon as the Hebrews were free from the Egyptians, Moses led his people to the sacred mountain where he had received his revelation and commission from Jehovah. This mountain sometimes is called Horeb, sometimes Sinai. It is impossible nov/ to determine its precise location. Old Testament references point to one of the peaks of Mount Seir east of the Gulf of Akabah. At this place the people were to hear formally that Jehovah had chosen them for his people and they were in the same deliberate fashion to make him their God. This covenant in a very real sense was the beginning of Israel's history. The solemn pact now made became the new beginning of the nation's religious life. This lesson sets forth what this covenant involved and its significance in the growth of Israel's religion. The Making of a Covenant The Contracting Parties. — Eead Exodus 19. Here is the record of the origin of the covenant between Jehovah and the nation Israel. Recall the situation of the Hebrews in Egypt and their condition in the wilderness, and form an idea of their political and religious needs. To what extent would the common worship of the same God whom the people believed to be trustworthy and powerful con- tribute to national life and to victory over those who opposed their entrance into Canaan ? With such a wonder- provoking deliverance so recently wrought for them by Jehovah, what would be their attitude toward the proposed covenant ? State clearly the needs of the Hebrews for such a covenant. What would it do for them politically ? What changes would ensue in their religion? What purpose probably moved Jehovah, from the point of view of Moses and his people, to obligate himself in such fashion to 60 A COVENANT PEOPLE 61 Israel? What would the enlightened Christian mind of to-day say were the motives of God in so dealing with Israel ? The Obligations Involved. — Moses brought to the peo- ple the requirements of Jehovah, and the people solemnly promised to fulfill Jehovah^s commands. "Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the ordi- nances: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which Jehovah hath spoken will we do,^' Exodus 24. 3. What these requirements were will be considered more fully in the next chapter. From this an- swer of the people, would the word ^^obedience'' cover the obligations which the covenant required from the people? Eead Exodus 19. 4-6. Notice also verse 5. What is here required from the people? Does this differ from 24. 3? What is Jehovah's obligation in 19. 5 ? Recall 3. 8. Would not the promise of securing the Hebrews in the possession of Canaan enter into the covenant ? The Covenant Sealed.— Eead Exodus 24. 4-8. Notice the details of the sacrifice which bound the people to Je- hovah and him to them: the location of the altar by the sacred mountain, the pillars (Mazzeboth), the officiating young men, and the animals slain. Note especially the act of Moses in verses 6 and 8. Observe that Moses, who is not regarded by later Israel as a priest, here acts as a judge be- fore whom the parties of the covenant take a solemn oath to keep their obligations. The blood sprinkled upon Je- hovah's altar binds him to keep his promises and the blood of the sacrificial victims sprinkled upon the people also sacredly enforces upon them their obligations. Early Israel, like other primitive peoples, knew no more solemn way to seal a contract. The Significance of the Covenant A Turning Point in World's History. — This phrase does not overstate the importance of this scene at Sinai (Horeb). There is no doubt about the fact that the political life of Israel is what it is through the unifying and strengthening influences of the nation's religious'^ life. This religion, as 63 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL far as the nation is concerned, dates its formal beginnings at Sinai. The very soul of the people's life is the covenant which binds them to Jehovah. Upon this thread may be strung all the varying vicissitudes of Israel's life. A Unique Conception of Religion. — It inaugurated a new type of religion in the world. The religions of the neighbors of Israel were purely natural religions. The relation of Deity and worshipers was a relation of kinship with whose origin the worshiper had nothing to do and which relation he could not break. Here beside cloud- canopied Sinai a new order of religion burst into life. It was a religion of choice. Jehovah chose his people and the people chose their Deity. It was quite possible for them to have followed the worship of other gods. But with the evidence before them of the strength and grace of Jehovah and conscious of their deep needs, they entered into a solemn compact of loyalty, obedience, and worship. In his ways they would walk and by his Judgments they would abide. It would be Jehovah's good pleasure to make Israel his people, to lead them against their enemies, to conduct them victoriously into Canaan and to exalt them above all nations. The Value of the Covenant. — The value of this covenant is not to be judged by the meagerness of its moral con- tent at the time of its enactment. The earliest narratives may not exhibit the lofty ethical ideals of the prophetic age. The value of the covenant lies rather in the fact that this religion based on choice forced Israel, when afflictions befell them, to raise the question whether their own conduct had displeased Jehovah. They could not suppose that he who had delivered them from Egypt and settled them in Canaan was powerless to aid them. They turned rather to inspect their own lives and in that self-examination God found the opportunity to reveal his higher will. This early covenant then became the opportunity for an increasing enrichment of religion in morals and devoted fellowship. It apparently was the one way out of super- stition, sensualism, and ritual worship. We shall have occasion in future lessons to study the worth to the world A COVENANT PEOPLE 63 of IsraePs covenant religion. But consider here, as an instance of the way of progress, the development of the belief that Jehovah loves Israel. The earliest accounts of the Exodus barely suggest the love of Jehovah for his people. Compassion for them and loyalty to his ancient promises are the motives of deliverance. But later reli- gious thinkers, reflecting upon the strange interest of Jehovah in a people who worshiped him not, declared that Jehovah had chosen Israel, not because of their merits, but because he loved them. Compare Exodus 19. 4, with its tender guarding of Jehovah expressed in the fine imagery of an eagle bearing its young to its nest, and the love which follows Israel through all defections, so beauti- fully breathing in Hosea 11. 1-4. The Reality of Revelation. — Surely no earnest mind can contemplate this history of the Exodus and this narrative of the covenant at the sacred mountain without feeling that the God, whom we have come to know through Jesus Christ and through the growing consciousness of God dur- ing the Christian centuries, here has impressed upon Israel something of his own mind and purpose in a uniquely real and vivid fashion. We may not have the exact records of that transaction at Sinai. But from that fountain of communication and fellowship has flowed a peculiarly rich stream of ethically religious life. If we believe in God at all, if we believe that he has a purpose for mankind, if we think of him as the Sovereign of human history and human destiny, these records of the covenant where God and Israel took hold of each other ever will signify to us a real and genuine communication of God to mankind. Covenant Religion Bargain-Counter Religion. — There is a type of religion which rejoices in the cheapness with which the sense of forgiveness of sins may be secured. "Jesus paid it all," "I am glad salvation's free,'' are songs of those who be- lieve themselves to have entered the Kingdom through the cross of Jesus alone. They never seem to have heard that the Master declared, *^^If any man would come after me. 64 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.'^ It is a narrow gate by which we enter into great religious experiences. The process of redemption is costly, and every person who enters into the kingdom of God does so through costly sacrifice of himself in the interests of holy living. The best of Israelis religious thinkers never believed that men could set themselves in right relation to God by easy promises. Covenant Religion. — Jesus said that the high seats in his kingdom went to the greatest servants. God's best for us awaits our best for him. Even if we forget God or curse him, there are many things which he does for us. But unless we have prepared ourselves by thought and deeds, the religion of comradeship with God is not ours. All true religion is mutual service. If we are to live with God, we must serve God. If Christ's cross is to advantage us, we must carry one also and toil with him toward some Golgotha. Genuine religion is covenant religion. Faith without works is dead. Works apart from fellowship are not religion. God does his best for us after we have promised to do our best for him. True religion is ever a compact between man and God : "If a man love me, he will keep my word : and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." The Wages of God. — It is a common thing to speak of the gifts of God. What does God give us? He gives us everything. Food, shelter, clothing, friends, and loved ones, business and pleasure, even life itself, root in the gracious will of God. Then, too, he gives us nothing. Even his air is not ours until we breathe it. We must actively enter into life or else we have no life. God's gifts are the rewards of our action. They are the wages of our labors. Until we have proved ourselves worthy of his fellowship by earnest action in behalf of individual and social righteousness, we do not enjoy it. Paul understood that he could not enter into fellowship with Jesus apart from sufferings endured in behalf of the Kingdom which glowed in the Master's soul. The life of Jesus was a continual Calvary. He ever carried on in behalf of a A COVENANT PEOPLE 65 great ideal, but at Capernaum, at Gethsemane, and at Golgotha he passed through doors which excluded all who could not choose with him life's last sacrifice. God always calls men to himself by the way of the cross. Topics for Class Discussion 1. What was the unifying experience which made national life possible for the Hebrews? 2. What are the unique elements in early Hebrew religion? 3. In general, what did Israel at Sinai pledge to do for Jehovah? 4. What did the people believe Jehovah required from them? 5. What was the unifying principle of the religion of Israel's neighbors? 6. What is the moral significance of the covenant idea? 7. How much religion ever is given to men? 8. By what methods and motives do social reforms take place? References Some excellent remarks on the covenant are made by G. A. Smith, Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the Old Testa- ment, page 137f. Budde, The Religion of Israel to the Exile, pages 25-38, considers the covenant-idea to be the germ of ethical development in Israel's religion. Kautzsch, "The Re- ligion of Israel," in Hastings's Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. v., page 630f., states the modern view of the historicity of the covenant and its function in Israel's religion. CHAPTER IX MORAL FORCES IN NATION-BUILDING: THE MORAL LAW Every student of the Old Testament who is somewhat familiar also with IsraeFs neighbors is aware of the im- mense moral superiority of the Hebrew people. Israel's religion from the beginning expressed itself not only in a ritual of worship, but also in moral precepts. It is the glory of the people that each truer conception of God revealed to them ever involved finer moral ideals and con- victions. These ethical beliefs were held as commands from Jehovah. They were grounded in the Divine Will. Consequently the conception of moral law — moral precepts laid down by supreme authority — characterizes Israel's religion. The "thou shalt nots" of the various codes never carried the impotence of merely human councils : they were pregnant with Jehovah's might. He had marked the proper human paths and he stood ready to enforce his will. The book of Exodus contains in chapters 20 to 23 and in 34 certain ethical enactments the origin of which the writer traces to the Sinai period of Israel's history. At the head of this legislation, in Exodus 20, stands the Ten Commandments or Decalogue. These are repeated with some variations in Deuteronomy 5. Another set of com- mandments appears in Exodus 34. Our present lesson is to estimate the value, in Israel's religion, of these codes of law. The Decalogues Three Groups of Ten Commandments. — As stated above the Old Testament writings contain three sets of Ten Com- mandments, all of which are referred to the covenant at Sinai for their origin. Since all of them cannot have been written on the tables of stone which, according to 66 MOEAL FORCES IN NATION-BUILDING 67 Hebrew tradition, were prepared at the time of the Sinaitic covenant, it is an exceedingly interesting and important question to determine as nearly as possible what was the basis of this covenant made with Jehovah at his sacred mountain. Exodus 34. 28 states that Moses "wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten command- ments." These words are a part of the oldest Hebrew records. They make clear that a group of Ten Command- ments formed the basis of the covenant made at Sinai. What were these commandments ? The Decalogue in Deuteronomy.— Read Deuteronomy 6. 1-22. According to this writer, Jehovah made a covenant with Israel at Horeb; the contents of this covenant were written by Jehovah upon two tables of stone; and the covenant consisted of the following requirements. 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them; for I, Jehovah, thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. 3. Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain: for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 4. Observe the sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates ; that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant 68 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm : therefore Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day. 5. Honor thy father and thy mother, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee ; that thy days may be long, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. 6. Thou Shalt not kill. 7. Neither shalt thou commit adultery. 8. Neither shalt thou steal. 9. Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbor. 10. Neither shalt thou covet thy neighbor's wife ; neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor's house, his field, or his man-servant, or his maid-servant, his ox, or his ass, or any- thing that is thy neighbor's. The words and phrases underlined mark variations from the Decalogue of Exodus 20. The Decalogue of Exodus 20. 3-17.— Read carefully the Ten Commandments as they are here recorded. Observe that the first, second, and third commandments exactly correspond with the Deuteronomic Decalogue. The fourth commandment in this version omits the words underlined (see above) and adds a different reason for keeping the Sabbath, namely, "for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it." In the tenth commandment this code of Exodus places the house before the wife in the list of property not to be coveted. The Decalogue of Exodus 34. — From Exodus 34. 1-4, 10, 27-37 it appears that Moses cut out two tables of stone, and at Jehovah's command wrote upon them the words of the covenant. Evidently, there are to be found somewhere between Exodus 34. 10 and 34. 27 these "words of the covenant, the ten commandments." Begin with Exodus MOEAL FORCES IN NATION-BUILDING 69 34. 14 and make a list of ten commandments, stripping them of explanatory statements, as follows : I. Thou shalt worship no other god (Exod. 34. 14). II. Thou shalt make thee no molten gods (verse 17). III. The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep (verse 18). IV. All that openeth the womb is mine (verse 19). V. None shall appear before me empty (verse 20). VI. Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest (verse 21). VII. Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord Jehovah (verse 23). VIII. Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread (verse 25). IX. The first [best] of the first-fruits of thy ground thou shalt bring into the house of Jehovah thy God (verse 26). Xw Thou shalt not boil a kid in its mother^s milk (verse 26). The Meaning of These Diffeeent Codes The Nature of the Differences. — The code of Exodus 34 is concerned almost wholly with ritual. Jehovah has cer- tain worship rights which his people must observe. Other peoples may have their gods : Israel must worship Jehovah only. The second commandment does not condemn all use of images in worship : only molten images are pro- hibited. The feast of Unleavened Bread, a festival me- morial of the exodus from Egypt, is required. First- born of man and beast are Jehovah^s Sacrifice is the one way to worship. One day in seven is a day of rest. Three great annual festivals are enjoined. Leavened bread must not be used in sacrificial meals. The first of fruits and grains, like the first-born, are Jehovah^s. The meaning of the last command is obscure. In this code there is no emphasis upon the moral character of Jehovah nor any recognition of moral obligation among men. 70 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL Moral Foeces The first four commandments of Exodus 20 are similar in nature. The last six deal with rights between man and man. Long life depends upon proper treatment of parents. Murder is condemned. Theft is prohibited. Woman is regarded as man's property; not quite as valuable as his house. It is only the last commandment which deals with man's inner life; all the others take cognizance of his acts only. The Deuteronomic Decalogue infuses the fourth com- mandment with a greater humane spirit. Domestic ani- mals and slaves, like the master, are to enjoy the weekly period of rest. The commandment is here based, not, as in Exodus 20, upon the fact of Jehovah's rest from toil on the seventh day, but upon the evident need of rest. The master is enjoined to be compassionate, and he is reminded that his very existence in Palestine is due to Jehovah's compassion upon his people in Egypt. In the tenth com- mandment, while a man's wife is still his property, she has become dearer to him than his house. A Progressive Revelation. — It is evident that these three Decalogues were not all given at Sinai. No more than one set was cut upon the tables of stone. The differences are too great to be apprehended during the possible moral development of one generation. Exodus 34 evidently is the earliest of the three Decalogues : its interests are the proper methods of the worship of Israel's God. Exodus 20 is a distinct religious advance. It not only deals with the respect and reverence due Jehovah, but it makes a beginning in asserting the claims of morality in human relationships in the family, in the social contacts of the community, and in business affairs. Deuteronomy 5 makes a slight advance in its humanitarian basis of Sabbath observance. Here is a striking instance of what Jesus meant in saying to his disciples at the close of his life, "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." Keeping in mind the conditions of Israel at the time of the Exodus, and remembering what we now MORAL FOECES IN NATION-BUILDING 71 know of God's character and purposes, we can see how unfit the Hebrew people were in the Sinaitic period for any very lofty religious conceptions, and that God could not do otherwise than make known gradually his will through the centuries as the nation became competent, in the broaden- ing of her relationships and in the multiplication of her interests, to receive nobler revelations of religion and moral conduct. The Decalogue Given at Sinai. — All the traditions of Israel point to a Decalogue as the basis of the covenant at Sinai. (The Decalogue of Exodus 20, however, is no- where said to be the Decalogue given at Sinai.) Exodus 20. 22-23 preserves a tradition that a Decalogue was given at Sinai, although only a fragment of such Decalogue is here recorded. Exodus 34. 27-28 definitely states that Ten Commandments make up the Sinaitic covenant. Deuter- onomy 5. 1-22 likewise states that a Decalogue formed the basis of Jehovah's covenant with Israel made at Sinai. Two lines of tradition state that these commandments were en- graved upon two tables or slabs of stone — Exodus 34, that they were so engraved by Moses, and Deuteronomy 5, that the work was done by Jehovah. This deep-rooted con- sciousness of Israel's religious thinkers that the moral law, however much it was expanded by new revelations, had its origin in the Sinaitic covenant cannot be ignored. Some Decalogue undoubtedly was given at Sinai. In previous lessons we have seen that Israel's life as a nation began with a covenant with Jehovah which was the beginning of the growth and development of the world's noblest religion. Future studies may convince all Bible students that the actual commands set down on the stone tables may never be known by us. There is no biblical record of what became of these tables. But whatever may have been the details of the covenant, it is clear that there were certain moral elements — elements which had in them the germ of Israel's moral law. Jehovah had rights which the people were to observe. That he was their supreme and only Deity was a fundamental consideration of the cove- nant. That he was to be worshiped in certain prescribed 72 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL forms was a natural requirement in an age of ritual forms. That the worshipers who had these rights of Jehovah to observe would find immediately certain mutual rights of life and property existing among themselves is equally true. Thus, coeval with the covenant and as elements in it, arose certain moral ideas and practices. The centuries discovered new meanings in the covenant, but they never failed to find a moral significance and con- tent in that ancient pact. Thus the nation was builded on moral law finding its authority in religion: the moral practices and ideals of men were grounded in the highest authority, the authority of God. The Fikst Commandment The Hebrew God. — We visit the world's museums in vain for memorials of the religious art of the Hebrew. Al- though he once was dependent upon images to make more real the presence of Jehovah, he has left no statues, no bronzes, no divine forms embalmed in marble. In him, as in other primitive peoples, the impulse came to image in material forms the superhuman being whom he adored. But there came a day of deliverance for the Hebrew. He saw that no idol, no image, no work of wood and stone could express the nature of God. The Divine Being could not be brought under such limitations. No carving, how- ever beautiful, said these shepherds and farmers of Israel, can show forth Jehovah's glory. Therefore, we do not search the ruins of their ancient cities for their shattered representations of God. But their thought of him as the great spiritual helper of men, unbroken and unforgotten, leaps into our minds when we enter the invisible sanctuary of prayer. Our Gods. — Where do men of to-day turn for the reen- forcement of their baffled powers? To what gods do we turn in our ambitions? To whom or what do we address our desires? Our real prayers are our desires and wishes which whip us like slave-drivers to our work each day. The real Deity whom we worship is some man or woman, some position, some fashion, which we believe can grant us our MORAL FOECES IN NATION-BUILDING 73 desires. We scorn bowing to wood and stone, but we kneel to silver and gold. Sacrifices and Rewards. — Consider the sacrifices which we make upon these altars to our pagan gods. Health, friends, purity of thought, breadth of soul, the finer ideals, the beat of heart to heart in genuine strifeless brotherhood, the strength and glory of fellowship with the Heavenly Father — who has not laid something of these priceless blessings upon worldly altars and has not seen them vanish in incense to sensual deities ? How have our pagan gods rewarded our adoration? Have they granted us pleasure? or peace? or power? Their pleasure burns into ashes. Their peace is a will-o^-the-wisp. Their power is the excitement of wine which feeds on the heart for its fire. Our gods are miserable deceivers. They promise happiness, but they give despair. They nold out toward our eager hands a shining crown of gold, but when we grasp it we find it withered leaves. They lift to our lips a crystal cup of the golden wine of life, but when we touch it the cup is leaden and the drink is gall. One God. — There is room for only one God in the world. There is place for one worship only in the soul. Listen to the divine commands: Thou shalt have no substitute for the living spiritual God. Thou shalt not sell thy soul for silk stockings, a banquet, a club membership, an auto- mobile, a platonic love. Thou shalt not set up in thy heart any image of wealth, political j)osition, or social triumph to bow down to them and to worship them. Thou shalt not make thyself a pagan, becoming the blind worshiper of material splendor. Thou shalt not suffer thyself to be lured from spiritual ideals, values, and comradeships by any passing glamour of fame, riches, and political power. Thou shalt not forget thy spirituality and immortality. Thou shalt not be careless of thy brother. Thou shalt com- fort him in his sorrows and rejoice with him in his joys. Thou shalt not draw apart from his burdens. Thou shalt relieve his poverty, heal his diseases, and take him into thy happier fellowship. Thou shalt not steal any of his sunshine to add to thine. Thou shalt not covet his wages. 74 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL Thou shalt not make him bitter by injustice. Thou shalt call him thy brother and in his fellowship seek the bless- ings of God. A Lesson Test 1. What characteristics of Israel's religion made possible a moral content in it at the beginning and was the ground of a moral development? • 2. What is the evidence that a group of commandments was given to the Israelites at Sinai? 3. Examine the three decalogues still extant in the Old Testament, and arrange them in order of time and give reasons for this dating. 4. Keeping in mind that all commandments which deal with a settled agricultural life and which prohibit the use of images, what was the probable content of the decalogue given at Sinai? 5. What was the purpose of Israel's religious leaders in formulating brief commandments? In the number ten? 6. What does it mean to worship one God only? References Kent, IsraeVs Laws and Legal Precedents, pages 16-22. See the article, "Decalogue," in Hastings's Bible Dictionary. Read also Kautzsch, "The Religion of Israel," Hastings's Bihle Dictionary, Vol. V., page 633f. Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 132-140. Bade, The Old Testament in the Light of To-day, pp. 87-131. CHAPTEE X EELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS IN NATION- BUILDING The two preceding chapters have shown that two dis- tinguishing elements of Israel's religion reach back to the Mosaic age : the covenant-ideal and the consciousness that genuine religion must carry at its heart ethical motives and practices. This chapter exhibits another aspect of great religion : that it draws into its service objects and institutions and sanctifies them to its use. Or, it may be said, rather, that effective religion finds its expression in the use of objects, places, times, and rites which by such use obtain a sanctity. We are to study three typical He- brew sanctities : the Ark, the tent of meeting, and the Sab- bath. The first two have passed away, but the religious truth proclaimed in them abides; the last is with us still, often dishonored, but glorious with religious worth and possibilities. A Study of the Biblical Material The Ark. — The Ark is the earliest of Israel's sacred objects. Eeaders familiar with the periods of Samuel, Saul, and David will recall the prominence of the Ark in these early historical narratives. There is little known about the origin of the Ark, its materials, shape or size. Deuteronomy 10. 1-5 states that the Ark was made by Moses, from acacia wood, and that in it were placed the stone tablets bearing the Decalogue. From the historical references it evidently was an oblong portable chest which could be carried by two men, 2 Samuel 15. 29. What use was made of the Ark? In what manner was it regarded by early Israel? According to the earliest of Israel's historians, Numbers 10. 33-36, the Ark was borne 75 76 THE RELIGIOISr OF ISEAEL at the front of the marching tribes on their way to Canaan. When the Ark set forward, Moses said, '^Rise up, Je- hovah, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee." And when the march halted and camp was made, he said, "Return, Jehovah, unto the ten thousands of the thousands of Israel.'^ Numbers 14. 42, 44 also indicate that the Ark and the presence of Jehovah are inseparably connected. According to Joshua 6. 6, 8, to walk in front of the Ark is to walk before Jehovah. Here the Ark is regarded as the chief factor in the destruction of Jericho. In the period of the Judges, "before Jehovah" is a customary equivalent of "in the presence of the Ark," Joshua 18. 6-10. After the entrance into Canaan the Ark was housed at Shiloh, 1 Samuel 3. 3. The revelation granted Samuel takes place in the room or tent where the Ark is kept. The Philistines also under- stood that the Ark is the assurance of Jehovah's presence: "And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp," 1 Samuel 4. 7. The capture of the Ark by the Philistines was regarded by the Hebrews as the departure of Jehovah himself from Israel, 1 Samuel 4. 22. Even David regarded dancing before the Ark as done "before Jehovah" 2 Samuel 6. 14. The Ark remained in its tent, 2 Samuel 6. 17, until Solomon placed it in the Holy of Holies in the temple of Solomon, 1 Kings 8. 1-9. The Ark was placed between, and under the outstretched wings, of two cherubim which stood within this dark inner shrine. At this time the Ark was still regarded as being in some real sense the equivalent of Jehovah, 1 Kings 8. 12. With the preaching of the great prophets, Israel's religion was so much spiritualized that less and less regard was paid to the Ark. It perished without doubt in the destruction of the city in B. C. 586. It had done its service in a primitive age to make real to Israel the nearness, the grace, and the power of Jehovah. When Israel could conceive these ideas spiritually, the Ark was useless, and its destruction could be witnessed without regret and loss. Jeremiah, 3. 16, clearly recog- nizes that the ideal kingdom of God needs no Ark. There EELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS 77 was no Ark either in the second temple or in the temple built by Herod. The Tent of Meeting. — Such a sacred object as the Ark had from its beginning its sacred habitation and its sacred guardian. Eead Exodus 33. 7-11. "Now Moses used to take the tent and to pitch it without the camp.^' Here a special tent, set apart for some well-known use, is desig- nated. When the Israelites were encamped this tent was pitched at some distance from the camp. It was called The Tent of Meeting. The Tent was in constant charge of Joshua, the son of Nun. The Tent as here described was the usual place where Moses spoke with Jehovah. Al- though it was an ordinary Bedouin^s tent, it was not re- garded as a temporary arrangement. It was the custom and practice of Israel in the wilderness. Eead Exodus 18. 13-22; 33. 7; Numbers 11. 16, 17, 24 and notice (1) that Jehovah was to be found in the Tent; (2) that the political and judicial life of the people was administered in its presence. It was the customary place where Jehovah met his people. Numbers 12. 5 ; Deuter- onomy 31. 15; Exodus 33. 11. It is probable that before the Tent sacrifices were offered. "To seek Jehovah,^' Exodus 33. 7, is either to consult the oracle or to offer sacrifices. Sacrifices were offered to Jehovah in the pres- ence of the Ark, 1 Kings 8. 5. There can be little doubt that the Tent of Meeting was set up to shelter the Ark. For early Israel, as we have seen, the Ark was closely equivalent to Jehovah himself. It was more than the symbol of his presence. It was his presence. The regard shown the Tent of Meeting cor- responds with the reverence for the Ark. This is ex- plainable only if the Tent of Meeting housed the Ark. It thus partook of the sanctity of its sacred object. During the conquest and settlement of Canaan a tent continued to shelter the Ark until a somewhat more perma- nent structure was erected at Shiloh. There is no further mention of a tent in the earty history until David brought back the Ark to Jerusalem and housed it in a tent, 2 Samuel 6. 17. 78 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL The Sabbath : Its Origin. — The origin of the Sabbath as a day of rest from labor and of religions observance is obscure. It has been thought that it was an ancient Semitic usage. It is known that among the Babylonians the seventh, fourteenth, nineteenth, twenty-first, and twenty-eighth days of some months were regarded as un- suitable days for certain tasks. There is extant a tablet which gives a list of actions which are displeasing to the deity on these "sacred" days: The king must not occupy his throne, ride in his chariot, change his clothing, or eat food cooked by fire ; only after sundown may he offer sacri- fices. The physician may not minister to the sick nor the priest seek the judgments of the oracle. The contract tablets show that secular business, at least in certain periods of Babylonian history, was much diminished on these days (Rogers's Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testa- ment, page 189, and Neile's Book of Exodus, page 121). That it was an ancient Hebrew observance is witnessed by all the traditions which place the origin of the day in the period of the Exodus. Its History Among the Hebrews. — As was seen in Chap- ter IX, rest from labor on the Sabbath was enjoined in the earliest Decalogue. In the Decalogue of Exodus 20 all work done by man and beast is prohibited on the Sab- bath. The Decalogue of Deuteronomy (chapter 5) shows a greater humanitarian motive for Sabbath rest. Since this Decalogue is the latest of the three, it shows that the object and meaning of the day are being found in the social needs of the community. In prophetic times the Sabbath continues to be a day when customary labors cease, Amos 8. 5; Jeremiah 17. 21, 22. But it was chiefly significant as a day of worship. It was one of the great days of religious festivals whose unethical worship the prophets so vigorously denounced, Hosea 2. 11; Isaiah 1. 13. Jeremiah, who strongly con- demned Sabbath labor, 17. 24-25, assured his country- men that a proper observance of the Sabbath would firmly establish Jerusalem forever. During the exile the observ- ance of the Sabbath became one of the very few religious EELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS 79 observances which it was possible to continue. Conse- quently, it took on new meaning and value. Its proper observance would guarantee to them their restoration to their own land, Isaiah 58. 13-14. After the exile the Sabbath became still more sacred. During the exile, the Jews left in Palestine had grown careless in the observance of the day, and one of the early reforms was to reestablish the day as a day of rest from labor, Nehemiah 13. 15-22. Exodus 31. 12-14, which comes from this later time, attempts to guard the sanctity of the Sabbath by imposing the death penalty for its prof- anation. Exodus 35. 1-3 and Leviticus 23. 3, also portions of the priestly legislation, base the day's required rest and sanctity upon the fact the Sabbath is consecrated to Je- hovah, and that it is a perpetual covenant and a holy reli- gious assembly. The books of the Maccabees and the writings of Josephus set forth the observance of the day in the Maccabean and Eoman periods. The enemies of the Jews frequently took advantage of the Jewish refusal or reluctance to fight on the Sabbath. The Eomans released the Jews from military service because the Sabbath inactivity destroyed the mili- tary discipline. Its Religious Significance. — Out of whatever supersti- tious past the Sabbath came, it took on in Israel two dis- tinct and permanent meanings: it possessed a humani- tarian value in its command to cease from labor and it enforced a consciousness of God and the obligation of man to seek and obey his will. It was a holiday, but it was also a holy day. The religious associations of the day are everywhere apparent. Hosea (2. 11) takes it for granted that in exile the Sabbath cannot be observed: there will be no altars of Jehovah in distant lands, and so without its religious rites the day is nothing. Yet the Sabbath was observed in exile^ Isaiah 56. 1-7, and became the means of showing fidelity to Jehovah and the mark which sepa- rated his worshiper from the heathen. One needs to recall only the reforms of Nehemiah and the heroism of the Maccabees to know the religious fervor which this holy 80 THE EELIGION" OF ISEAEL day awakened during the postexilian generations. The Sabbath easily was the most important of Israelis sacred days. The feast of the new moon, observed in the same manner as the Sabbath, passed out of existence; the three annual festivals, with the dispersion of the Jews into all lands, ceased to be ; but the Sabbath, day of rest and wor- ship, lived through all vicissitudes, and through the Chris- tian adaptation of its idea and its values it lives still in the world. The Sabbath Hebrew Humanitarianism. — The origin of the Sabbath is lost in obscurity. But in the course of time it became among the Hebrews an expression of a dawning humane spirit. By cessation from toil one day in seven the He- brews asserted that life is more than meat. The day proclaimed the spiritual life of man. It offered too a beginning at human brotherhood, in which masters and slaves alike were to cease from toil. The day seemed to say that man himself was greater than anything he did. The Sabbath was a constant recognition of the higher in- terests of man. In a night of slavery, of carnage, of gross selfishness, of might wearing the crown of right, the Jewish people with their precious Sabbath declaring a brotherhood of men, with equal rights of labor and rest, shone like a morning star to herald the brightest humanitarian day of which men now dream. The Symbol of Brotherhood. — The Christian religion roots in human brotherhood. The infinite worth of per- sonality in the sight of God is one of the fundamental con- victions of the Christianized conscience. Our religion con- demns the human mastery of men. It denounces every form of slavery. The man without a Sabbath lives apart from the greatest expression of human feeling. In the spirit of a slave he takes up his task each day until death brings release. If the Sabbath to-day proclaimed no more than its ancient humanitarian message, it would justify the reverence and the love of man. Liberation of the Spirit. — We not only need rest from EELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS 81 toil. We need liberation from the servile spirit and trivial ideals. What makes life significant? What reality lies beyond the immediate things of the present hour? What is God's will for man ? He who does not sometimes ponder such questions never enters the larger realms of life. The Sabbath always has been a summons to forget the sordid cares of the day and to reenforce human thought and feel- ing with eternal considerations. A Spiritual Opportunity. — Do you ever feel the intoler- able burden of business and the routine of your homes? Are you ever touched by weakness, doubt, despair ? If you do experience these things, do you know of anything which will so ease the tension of business and society as to enter a little while the world where such things sink into noth- ingness? Is the Sabbath for you a golden opportunity to see blue sky and shining stars? Do you covet its oppor- tunity to ask yourself the great questions whether or not God has spoken to us, whether he will speak to us still, what the purpose is of all this struggle and toil, and what the end is — the grave or the heaven of God? We must choose between the Sabbath, with its spiritual culture, and newspapers, trains, dinners, automobiles, laziness; one or the other must go. The Sabbath is our finest way to pro- claim the spiritual lordship of life. It teaches that man himself is greater than anything he does ; that to be greater than he is, he must keep in touch with God. Starting-Points foe Ciass Discussion 1. What is meant by sanctities? Why cannot religion do without them? 2. The Ark: what was its use in military campaigns? In times of peace? How was it possible for early Israel to make a material object so nearly identical with Jehovah himself? When it was not in use in military campaigns, where was it kept? Why did it cease to be a sanctity? 3. The Tent of Meeting: what use was made of it in the wilderness? In Canaan? Why are there no references, in the early historical sources, to the Tabernacle described in Exodus 25. 31? 4. The Sabbath: what is known concerning its origin? How was it observed in Israel previous to the exile? During the 82 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL Babylonian captivity? After the exile? What reasons were given the Hebrews for its observance? What was its value in Israel as a social institution? Why should Jews to-day observe the first day of the week as the Sabbath? What is its social value to-day? How should the day now be observed by Christians? Helpful Readings Jastrow, Hetrew and Babylonion Traditions, Chapter 3. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, articles, "Ark" and "Sab- bath." See Volume IV, p. 653f for "Tent of Meeting." The Ark is discussed also in Volume V, p. 628f. McNeile, The Book of Exodus, pp. 121-123, 161-164, 211f. CHAPTER XI PHYSICAL FACTOES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ISRAEL'S RELIGION The comparison of the history of Israel with that of her neighbors is extremely fruitful of wonder and of new confidence in the uniqueness of IsraeFs place in the world. Everyone who makes this comparison is sure to ask, "What made possible the superiority of the Hebrews in morals and religion over their contemporaries?" Some have looked for the distinguishing element in the physical fea- tures of Palestine. It is well known that climate and fertility of soil have a marked bearing upon the character of a civilization. To what extent may the uniqueness of Israel be traced to the land she occupied? The Physical Features of the Land Examine a map of Palestine and you will see that it is a rectangular land lying between the Mediterranean Sea and the desert and reaching from the slopes of Mount Lebanon and Mount Hermon to the Sinaitic wilderness. There are four well-defined divisions of the land from west to east: the maritime plain, the central tableland and mountain range, cut from west to east by the Plain of Esdraelon, the Jordan valley — with its river and lakes end- ing in the Dead Sea — and the eastern mountains and tableland fading out into the desert. Perhaps nothing less than a visit to the land conveys an accurate impression of the brokenness and divisions of the country. These physical features explain to some extent why the Hebrews never really were a nation. The deep Jordan valley, four thousand feet below Jerusalem, and its few fords separated the eastern tableland so effectively from the western range that it had no great influence in the develop- ments of Israel's life. In a similar fashion the Plain of 83 84 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL Esdraelon gave Galilee a history loosely connected with Samaria and Judaea. The Song of Deborah, Judges 5, evidences the separateness of the tribes and the difficulty of awakening a national feeling even in the face of great danger. Read the entire poem and observe the praise be- stowed upon those tribes which responded to Deborah's call and the blame placed upon the tribes in whom the Canaanitish attack awoke no national feeling. Locate on a map the residence of the nonparticipating tribes. David and Solomon for a little while succeeded in building up a nation, but the divided kingdoms bear witness to the insuperable difficulties of a national life in such a land. All this had a bearing upon the religious history. It never was possible to centralize worship at Jerusalem until after the exile, when the land had shrunken to the boun- daries of a modern county. Therefore the form and spirit of worship differed greatly throughout Palestine during nearly the whole of Hebrew history. The smallness of these kingdoms and their openness, especially Samaria, to Egypt and Assyria account for their various alliances with other petty states and the consequent introduction of for- eign worship. Such conditions are the background of the work of Elijah and Elisha. The Climate. — Read Deuteronomy 11. 10-17. Observe the contrast of Palestine with Egypt as to physical fea- tures and water supply. Observe that Palestinian crops are directly dependent upon rain at certain seasons. Ex- amine Amos 4. 6-11 and observe that Palestine is a land where occur famines, strange variations in the rainfall, insect plagues, scorching winds, dampness and heat, the plague, and the earthquake. Read these sections again to see how these climatic con- ditions affected the religious thinking, especially of the prophets. Notice that crops in Egypt are the result of man's efforts, but in Palestine it is not so. The land would be fruitless if Jehovah's eyes were not on it con- tinually, Deuteronomy 11. 12. He is the giver of the autumn and late spring rains upon which the crops de- pend. If Jehovah ceases to tend the land, rains cease. PHYSICAL FACTOKS 85 grains fail, pasturages wither, and the people perish, 11. 13-17. In Amos also note that Jehovah is the ever-present Creator and ruler of nature. He "calleth for the waters from the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth,'^ 9. 6; he is the cause of the eclipse of the sun, 8. 9 ; he sends the locusts, 7. 1 ; and the drought, 1.2. The religious teachers of Israel, unlike surrounding nations, were able to give a moral and religious interpreta- tion to the climate of their land. The Fertility of the Land. — The contrast of the bounty of Palestine with the barrenness of the wilderness ever awoke an abounding sense of gratitude in those Hebrews who remembered that Jehovah had brought them to Canaan. Study Deuteronomy 32. 9-14 for the fine descrip- tion of Jehovah's care and the fertility of the land to which he brought Israel. Compare with these verses Deuteronomy 33. 12-16, 24-29 for another picture of the good fortune of Israel in their land and their God. The Influence of the Canaanites The entrance of the Hebrews into Canaan was a rise in the outward marks of civilization: in larger flocks and herds, in settled and more habitable abodes, in greater variety and abundance of foods, in the social life attend- ant upon agricultural occupations. But this broadening of life was accompanied by the acceptance of Canaanitish religious practices which long clung to Israel's religion, the source of sensuality and injustice, and which formed the stubborn religious background against which the ethi- cal religion of the great prophets is thrown into such striking relief. The Hebrews worshiped at Canaanitish shrines. These usually are called the "high places" because for the most part ancient Semitic altars were placed on the tops of hills. Frequently these sacred places were beneath some spread- ing tree. They stood outside the village or town. There was one of these tree-shrines at Shechem, where Abraham is said to have worshiped, Genesis 12. 6, and where in the days of the Judges Abimelech was made king, Judges 9. 86 THE EELIGIOK OF ISRAEL 6. 2 Kings 17. 9-11 states that the Hebrews quite gen- erally worshiped at these Canaanitish shrines. They worshiped the Canaanitish gods and goddesses as well as Jehovah at these shrines. Agricultural life involved this sort of polytheistic worship. Excellent crops could not be expected unless the favor of the deity who possessed the place was secured. The primitive agriculturalist con- sidered himself the tenant of his deity, Exodus 22. 29, 30 ; Judges 9. 27; 21. 21; Hosea 2. 14-22. The prophets clearly indicate the unconscious and naive influence of Canaanitish conceptions of the relation of the soil to deity upon the Hebrews. The Israelites supposed that the Canaanitish Baalim had to be worshiped in order to insure prosperity. Hosea says, 2. 8, that Israel did not know that Jehovah was the giver of grain, wine, and oil, but that the Israelite farmer believed that these were the gifts of the local gods whom they found worshiped at their entrance into Canaan. This was the view of the prophets generally, Jeremiah 32. 35; 2 Kings 17. 9-11. Israel shared the licentious life of these Canaanitish shrines. The great agricultural feasts were times of ex- travagant sensual indulgence. Judges 9. 27; 21. 21. When Eli saw Hannah praying at Shiloh he thought she was in- toxicated, 1 Samuel 1. 14. Worse evils took place at these shrines, 1 Kings 14. 24; Hosea 4. 11-14; Amos 2. 6-8. The feast of Weeks, Deuteronomy 16. 9-12, and the feast of Harvest, or the feast of Tabernacles, Deuteronomy 16. 13-15, undoubtedly were borrowed from the Canaanites. They were agricultural festivals which arose through the nature of the occupation of the residents of Palestine. In the course of generations their licentious features were expurgated and, in the southern kingdom in Deuteronomic times they became a real function in the expression of the spiritual and humanitarian interests of Israel's life. Environment and Religion The location of Israel on the highway between the two great centers of civilization, the Nile valley and the Tigris- Euphrates valley, gave to her people a wide acquaintance PHYSICAL FACTORS 87 with the world. The traveler becomes cosmopolite in his thinking. So does the nation into whose cities pour un- ceasing tides of immigrants from foreign lands. Pales- tine has a continual history of invasions. The wide out- look which such conditions confer is seen in Israel's prophets. No one can read Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah without feeling that these men lived with wide horizons. Much of their political sagacity is due to the fact that Jerusalem, in spite of its isolation upon the mountain ridge of an inconsiderable province, was really perched like a watchtower in the midst of the great passions and activities of the ancient world. Writers of the Old Testa- ment were, moreover, peculiarly sensitive to their physical world. Psalm 29 has been called "The Thunderstorm Psalm. '^ The student in reading it will get a new impres- sion of the way in which the world of the Hebrew spoke to him a message of the glory of Jehovah. Psalm 104 and the Song of Songs are other striking selections in which appear the multitude and variety of the effects of Palestine scenery upon Old Testament life and literature. The Ultimate Influence in Israel's Religion. — In Amos, however, the molding influences of the physical Palestine, as well as the limits of such influences, are clearly felt. Tekoa, a wilderness town, was his home. "Directly north of Tekoa and across almost barren hills lies Jerusalem. To the northwest Bethlehem clings to a grass-deserted hill. To the west and southwest stretches the long ridge of rolling summits to Hebron and the country beyond. To the east the quite barren marl ridges slope down to the Salt Sea. Beyond them the sea itself is in view through much of its length, while the Moab tableland rises moun- tain-high beyond. '' "Among these hills Amos led his sheep. In the spring, when the rains coaxed some scant blades to venture forth among the rocks, he who was to inaugurate a new religion in Israel guided his flocks, as shepherds do to-day, far down toward the grassless wilder- ness." "There are few places in Palestine where the con- trast is so sharply drawn between fertility and desolation. He who saw the desert encroach each summer upon the 88 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL pasturages, who experienced the burning heat of those dust heaps in the mid-summer sun, and knew the sternness with which man must grapple with those sullen wastes to wrest from them existence, was better fitted to consider the character and purpose of Israel's Deity than those sensuous Tiine of Bashan' inviting their lords to drunken revelry upon the ivory couches of Samaria's capital, or even the priests who had turned the nation's shrines into strange scenes of wine-drinking, highway robbery, and murder. From his hill home Amos could see beyond Jeru- salem the religious capital of Israel at Bethel. The flood of national immorality had swept southward almost to his wilderness. The tales of priestly orgies had become com- mon gossip. Softness and luxury, instead of justice, hu- manity, and morality, were the object of priest and prince throughout the northern kingdom." "Amos saw no softness and luxury in the surroundings of his toil. The shepherd needed to be sleepless by night and by day. The wild beasts had a thousand lairs in that wild waste of ravines and caves sweeping seaward. The sun blistered the grainfields in the pockets of the hills and turned their winter torrents into highways. Man could not be idle here. Life was a continual summons to rigorous duty. Each man who knew the wilderness had begotten in him sympathy and reverence for the struggles of his fellows. Injustice was impossible." So the conviction grew in Amos that Jehovah too was just and righteous, and that religion, without justice and righteousness as its soul, was a mockery of God. Yet having recognized all this, one still is reminded by the failure of other shepherds to become an Amos that "there is nothing commensurate with the ethical vision of the Hebrew prophets in the natural conditions of Pales- tine. The land has not created the world's religion. There is no miracle-working power in the hills and valleys, lakes and skies of Palestine. Men's souls are not the creatures of the soil nor are they fettered by natural boundaries. Each man's country may become for him a Holy Land and his town be transformed into a Holy City. It is not man's PHYSICAL FACTORS 89 relation to his native soil which makes him noble: it is his partnership with God."^ Natuee and God The Influence of the Land. — It is sometimes a great temptation to attempt to explain a mystery. We try to account for the genius by understanding his environment. But climate is not the deciding influence in shaping charac- ter. To know the topography of a hero's birthplace does not enable one to describe his temperament or narrate his actions. There is nothing in Stratford-upon-Avon to ex- plain Shakespeare. A log cabin does not account for Lincoln. Palestine is a unique land. It was the home of a peculiar people. Yet Israel cannot be explained by Palestine. Moses is not the product of the wilderness. Amos is not the child of the desert. Jesus cannot be ex- plained by Nazareth. God must be added to the wilder- ness, the desert, the carpenter shop. The land illumines Israel's religion, but it does not explain its glory. The place of your birth may clog you with handicaps, but it cannot altogether fetter your soul. Evil Environment. — Modern social studies have laid bare the worst that harsh surroundings can do to crush the soul. The socially ineflBcient are victimized by many evil conditions. Disease-breeding houses add to life's moral handicaps. Poverty offers a peculiar set of temptations to immoral living. Excessive wealth likewise produces its own breed of seductions away from Christian character. Environment often makes or mars character. But physical conditions do not have the final word in the development of the soul. Man does not live by bread alone. He lives by love and honor and purity and faith. These flowers of high nobility have blossomed in the cellars of our social structure. That they do bloom there does not argue for social cellars ; it proves that the soul of man may be stirred by spiritual interests which are able to crown him with glory in the midst of darkness. 1 A Syrian Pilgrimage, Ascham, p. 195. 90 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL The Handiwork of God. — Jesus lived in a little province between the desert and the sea, in the midst of an obscure people. He came from a home of poverty. He was not a product of the schools. His hands were hard with toil. But in his soul he knew God. God spoke to him and lived with him. There was absolutely nothing which could dim in his soul the glory of his Father's presence. It was this experience which made him continually conscious of his Saviourhood. God can do a similar work for every in- dividual. God can make any man a Christly helper of his fellow men. No natural environment can thwart his will. It is our own wiU alone which can set up impossible barriers against the merciful presence of God in our lives. If we give him the chance he will make them great with power and peace. Points of Attack 1. Describe the physical features of Palestine. What bear- ing had the topography of the land upon the task of fashion- ing the tribes into a nation? Upon the Deuteronomic demand for the centralization of worship? 2. What contrasts were pointed out by Hebrew writers be- tween Palestine and Egypt? 3. In what way did the physical features of Palestine con- tribute to the development of ideas concerning the providence of God? 4. What connection existed between the physical conditions of Canaan and the Hebrew assumption of Canaanitish religious practices? 5. What important religious beliefs and practices were bor- rowed from the Canaanites by the Hebrews? Were the people of Israel conscious that the practices of these Canaanitish rites and the worship at Canaanitish altars were disloyalty to Je- hovah? 6. To what extent do the physical features of Palestine ex- plain Israel's religion? What do they fail to explain? 7. To what extent to-day does environment shape character? Who should be honored most: the man who has overcome his habit of drunkenness or the man who never has used intoxicants? If to overcome handicaps is to strengthen char- acter, why should we labor to eradicate disease and poverty? 8. What is the indispensable factor in the development of ideal character in men and women? PHYSICAL FACTORS 91 Additional Discussions of the Lesson Kent, Bihlical Geography and History, pp. 13-63. G. A. Smith, The Historical Geography of the Holy Land, pp. 45-116. Budde, Religion of Israel to the Exile, pp. 39-76. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, Volume V, p. 645. Wild, Geographic Influences in Old Testament Masterpieces. CHAPTEE XII THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE TIME OF THE JUDGES After the death of Moses and Joshua, the two outstand- ing leaders of the Israel of the wilderness, there ensued a period, the precise limits of which are uncertain, which is known as "the time of the Judges/^ During this period the Israelites were extending, with many cycles of reverses and successes, their influence in Canaan. This lesson esti- mates the religious life of Israel during the approximately two hundred years from Joshua to Samuel. The Political Conditions To judge correctly the religious life of these centuries one must gain a clear conception of the political con- ditions. The first chapter of Judges presents the story of settlement and conquest. Notice that the tribes set out from Jericho, "city of palm-trees,^' Judges 1. 16, to invade the hill country and either attacked the Canaanites by single tribes or, as in the case of Judah and Simon, fought together, 1. 3. Eead 1. 8, 9 and compare Joshua 15. 63 and observe that Judah fought his way to Hebron, but that he was unable to take the Jebusite stronghold at Jeru- salem. Eead 1. 27-35 and notice that the Israelites fought for their land with varying success ; that the larger cities, the great Plain of Esdraelon separating northern and cen- tral Palestine, and the maritime plain remained in the possession of the Canaanites ; that the mountainous region of central and southern Palestine alone was mastered by the Israelites ; that in many localities the two races settled down peaceably side by side and mingled in marriage. Judges 3. 6; 8. 31; 14. 1-3. There were three great political crises in these years in which Israel as the stronger stock was assimilating the 92 KINGDOM OF GOD IN TIME OF JUDGES 93 large Canaanitish population. The first of these was the rally of the Canaanites under Sisera to crush the pushing Israelites. A portion of the Israelitish clans under Deb- orah and Barak inflicted a crushing defeat upon Sisera. Gilead and Eeuben across the Jordan gave no aid to the fighting clans of Israel; neither did Dan and Asher, who were on more intimate terms with the Canaanites. Eead Judges 5 for the story. The second crisis was the press of the Midianites upon the settlements of Israel in Pales- tine. These Midianites ranged the trans-Jordanic coun- try, crossed the Jordan, and imposed their yoke upon northern Israel. This was Gideon^s opportunity. Read Judges, chapters 6 to 8, for the account. The third crisis was the apperance of the Philistines in Israelis history. With their appearance in connection with the heroic deeds of Samson, Judges 14 to 16, the political history of Israel is carried to Samuel and the beginnings of the Hebrew monarchy. Religious Life Duking the Period of the Judges The Hebrew Idea of God. — The Hebrews recognized that the Canaanitish deities were still in possession of the land. Long after this period it was still self-evident in Israel that each land had its own deity, and to migrate to a foreign land was to change one's god, 1 Samuel 26. 19. The only way to obviate this necessary change of deity was to carry along enough of one's native soil upon which to stand the altar of one's own god in the foreign land, 2 Kings 5. 17. Israel, at the time Canaan was occupied, could not help thinking that the land belonged to the local deities, the Baals everywhere worshiped by the Canaanites. This was the more true since Jehovah had not wrested the land from them in war. The fact that large sections of the country remained in the possession of the Canaanites was additional proof that their gods existed, and that every resident in their land must pay them honor. Therefore the worship of Jehovah and the worship of the Baals existed side by side in Hebrew life. Jehovah was the national God. He had redeemed them from Egypt ; 94 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL he united the tribes into a confederation by his covenant at Sinai; he had led them to battle. Their residence in Canaan was due to his grace and power. At no time did the Israelites forsake him. Yet at the same time Canaanitish Baals also seemed real to them. By the Canaanites these were regarded as the patrons of agriculture; the farmers were their tenants. Agriculture in itself was so connected with religion that plowing, sowing, and harvesting were in some fashion religious acts. The gods had shown men how to till the soil, Isaiah 28. 23-29, and good harvests were secured only by faithful attendance upon the instruc- tion of the god. Nothing could be more natural than that the Hebrews should worship the Baals of Canaan. This natural thing to do was precisely the thing they did. "They choose new gods,^' sings Deborah of the Israel- ites as they made their way into Canaan, Judges 5. 8. Joash, the father of Gideon, was a worshiper of Baal, Judges 6. 25. The residents of Ophrah, Gideon's native town, numbers of whom were Israelites, all were worshipers of the local Baal, Judges 6. 30. Later historians con- demned this Hebrew worship as defection from Jehovah, Judges 2. 11; 1 Samuel 12. 10, and, in a sense, it was. But the conditions of the new life in Canaan made this new worship the most natural thing of their world. During this period Jehovah was regarded by the Israel- ites as having his residence, not in Canaan, but in Sinai, Exodus 33. 12-17, Deuteronomy 33. 2. It is from his sacred mountain in the wilderness that he comes to Canaan to aid his people in their struggle with Sisera, Judges 5. 4, 5. As late as the times of Elijah, the certain way to realize the presence of Jehovah was to seek him at his sacred residence in the wilderness, 1 Kings 19. 8-14. Dur- ing this period the Ark in some real sense represented him and assured the Israelites of his presence. There were in use, too, in many households images of Jehovah which kept the Israelites alive to his presence. Judges 17. 3. But it was not until Canaan came to be regarded as Jehovah's land that the worship of the Baals gradually died away. This conception was made possible largely by the gradually KINGDOM OF GOD IN TIME OF JUDGES 95 forming view that Jehovah's real home was in heaven : but the successes of Saul, David, and Solomon, who led Israel's armies as the hosts of Jehovah in the conquest of the Canaanitish towns, proved also that Jehovah was the real owner and possessor of the land. This spiritual conquest is seen in the fact that the Canaanitish name of deity, "Baal," which means "owner" or "possessor," came to be applied to Jehovah himself, Hosea 2. 16. Many proper names compounded with "baal" were given to Hebrews who were unquestioned worshipers of Jehovah; for example, Jerubbaal (Judg. 6. 32), Meribbaal (1 Chron. 8. 34), Ishbah (1 Chron. 4. 17), and what is more striking, Bealiah, that is, "Jehovah is Baal" (1 Chron. 12. 5). Worship During the Period. — Jehovah was worshiped at numerous shrines during these unfolding times of the Judges. Gilgal (Judg. 2. 1), Ophrah (Judg. 6. 24), Shiloh (Judg. 18. 31); Dan (Judg. 18. 30), Hebron (2 Sam. 5. 3), and Gibeon (1 Kings 3. 4) indicate that the process of seizing the land for Jehovah constantly was going forward during the period of the Judges and the early monarchy. Sacrifice was the common mode of worshiping, whether the deity was the local baal or Jehovah. Manoah's sacrifice. Judges 13. 19, was offered "upon the rock." The earliest legislation of Israel now extant provides for altars either of earth or of unhewn stone. Exodus 20. 24-25. Such sanctuaries usually were on the tops of hills: the "high places" so frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. Such an altar is said to have been built by Joshua upon Mount Ebal, Joshua 8. 31. It was upon a hilltop that the altar to Baal stood at Ophrah, Judges 6. 26. At Mount Ebal and Ophrah were presented the typical Hebrew offerings. These were usually oxen. Sometimes they were sheep or goats, Exodus 20. 24; Judges 13. 19. Sometimes these were whole burnt-offerings, the entire animal being consumed by fire, Judges 6. 28; sometimes only portions of the animal were consumed upon the altar, other portions being eaten by the worshipers; and in case 96 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL the altar was in charge of a priest, a part was given to him, 1 Samuel 1. 4; 2. 13-17. The Canaanites placed much more stress upon the sacrifice of the produce of orchard, vineyard, and field than upon animal sacrifice. Wine, grain, and oil were the gifts of God for them. The nomad sacrifices an animal : the agriculturist offers the product of his fields. Olive oil (Judg. 9. 9), wine (Judg. 9. 13), and meal (Judg. 13. 19) were offered to Jehovah during this period. The meal was burned. Judges 13. 19 ; but the oil and wine no doubt were poured out over the altar. Human sacrifices, at exceptional times, took place in these early centuries. The story of Jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter, Judges 11. 30-39, has been confirmed by excava- tions in Canaanitish cities, which show remains of numer- ous human sacrifices. Sacrifice was not commonly offered by a priest during the period of the Judges. Gideon, Jephthah, and Manoah were not priests, and yet their sacrifices are regarded as legitimate by the author of the book of Judges. Even at Shiloh, where Eli and his sons were priests, they did not offer the sacrifice, 1 Samuel 2. 13. The head of the family officiated for himself. These priests were the custodians of the Ark. Images of Jehovah were frequently in use. This method of making the presence of Jehovah more real to them probably was borrowed from the Canaanites. Whatever the origin, it was regarded as quite legitimate in the times of the Judges and the early monarchy. Micah, Judges 17. 1-5, evidently had two images of Jehovah in his house, a graven image and a molten image. One of them was an ephod and the other was a teraphim. He built a special dwelling for them and, consecrating one of his sons a priest, put him in charge of these images. Likewise Gideon made a golden ephod and set it up in his village of Ophrah, Judges 8. 24-27. These ephods were various in size. One quite large stood in the sanctuary at Nod, 1 Samuel 21. 9. Others were small enough to be worn by a priest, 14. 3, or carried in the hand, 23. 6. The sacred lot was cast in the presence of the ephod, which in early KINGDOM OF GOD IN TIME OF JUDGES 97 Israel was the equivalent of the presence of Jehovah. They were made also of different materials. Mention is made of gold, Judges 8. 24-27, and linen, 1 Samuel 2. 18. No doubt other materials were used. These images in many- cases appear to have been covered with rich cloths upon which representations of Jehovah were embroidered, Ezekiel 16. 17-19. The ephod of the post-exilian period is described in Exodus 28. 6-35. These shrines and sacred places were the appropriate place for making vows, Judges 11. 30, for covenants, 11. llj for revelations of Jehovah, 2. 4, 5; 6. 22-24, for religious feasts, 21. 19. The feasts of the ingathering of the grapes were quite likely to be a wild occasion, 21. 21; 9. 27. This harvest feast was celebrated with such license that it was called "The Feast" (Judg. 21. 19 marginal read- ing). It was the chief annual event in Canaan, both for Canaanite (Judg. 9. 9) and Hebrew (1 Sam. 1. 3; 20. 6). Yet it was but one of the three great festivals which the Hebrews found observed by the Canaanites and which Israel borrowed from them. This harvest feast is called the "feast of ingathering" in Exodus 23. 16. The other two feasts were the feast of Weeks, Deuteronomy 16. 10 ("feast of harvest," Exod. 23. 16), celebrated at the close of the wheat and barley harvest, and the feast of the Un- leavened Bread, Exodus 23. 16, celebrated in the month Abib. This probably was some sort of agricultural festival found by the Israelites in Canaan with which they asso- ciated the Passover which they brought with them from the wilderness. This united festival is described in Deuter- onomy 16. 1-8. The Coming Kingdom At first view the times of the Judges seem years of serious backward movements in the progress of God^s kingdom in Israel. The less we know about the actual conditions of Hebrew life before the entrance into Canaan, the more does it seem that Israel very seriously had fallen from her loyalty to God. It was in this manner that later 98 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL historians of Israel viewed their people's earliest years in Canaan. Some of the great prophets too came to feel that the whole sacrificial system, built up almost wholly upon Canaanitish soil and out of Canaanitish ideas, had been a calamitous departure from Jehovah. These views need modification. The nomad never can build a civilization. To this day the Bedouin pitches his frail black tents beside the ruins of Greek and Roman cities, and these splendid suggestions of ordered life mean nothing to him. He is a wanderer. Whatever fine ideas he dreams under the stars are dissipated with the day. If the Hebrews were to build a kingdom of God, they had to possess a land. They had to face the more highly civilized life of Canaan. It was not a new idea to them that the gods were the owners of the land. But it is not likely that the deities ever before were brought so intimately into their lives. Numerous sacred places with their altars, the various planting and harvesting seasons, the more frequent sacri- fices, the increased variety of sacrifices, all tended to bring religion and life into more intimate terms. Then, too, the idea of Deity was greatly enriched by their experiences in Canaan. Jehovah's residence was at Sinai, but he moved with his people, enabled them to establish themselves in Canaan, and in course of time, in the thought of the Hebrews, became the baal, or the pos- sessor, of Canaan itself. Their settlement in Canaan thus became an important and necessary factor in the process by which God revealed his omnipresence to Israel. The same expansion took place in their views of God's powers. At first he was a war God, a shepherd's Deity. But gradu- ally it was seen that he was also the patron of agriculture, that there were no interests of men lying outside of his love and providence. It is impossible to understand how these finer conceptions of religion could have been implanted in the thought of Israel apart from her actual experiences. Future studies will show to what extent the time of the Judges was a transition period. Jehovah was wor- shiped in much the same fashion as the Canaanitish baals : KINGDOM OF GOD IN TIME OF JUDGES 99 by burnt-offerings of the produce of the land and by reli- gious festivals; his will was consulted by use of images and the ephod. But they never forgot that Jehovah was their national Deity. To him they rallied in their efforts to subdue the Canaanites. It was through this deep-rooted conviction that they were his people, that they called him "Baal/^ and it was the consciousness of this unique rela- tionship — the God of the Wilderness choosing them and winning for them a home in Canaan — on which all future ascent to purer conceptions and worship was grounded. To-day's Opportunity The Spiritual Value of Hebrew Sacrifice. — Sacrifice through nearly the whole of Old Testament times was a great and solemn business in Israel. It was a cry after God. It was an expression of their ideals. It was a con- ception of their humanness and limitations. They visioned a life which their unaided power could not reach. They saw power and sanctity : they felt weak and sinful. Their altars and bleating sacrifices were the crude expression of that deathless passion of the soul which will not rest under the crushing sense of weakness, failure, and sin. The Supreme Requirement. — Bearing in mind that these early worshipers were conscious of meeting Jehovah at their altars even though their conceptions of him were un- developed, may it be said that what God requires of any man in any age is absolute loyalty to the conception of God which he has given to that individual? The worth of a religion is measured primarily by the grip it has on men's souls to hold them to obedience of the divine will. It is the loyalty of men to what they conceive to be the divine requirements which ever constitutes the essence of true religion. It is this absolute loyalty to the revelation of God which men already possess that opens the road to finer and truer beliefs and experiences. It is the invest- ment of one's present moral and religious capital which leads to new possessions. Judgment Day. — Is not every age a Judgment Day for all preceding generations ? That we are able to pass moral 100 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL condemnation upon the past indicates the progress of the kingdom of God. We cannot ever return to negro slavery. Men used to think it was ordained by God. An unthink- ing estimate of slavery in the United States sees in every past defender of the slave system a morally rotten citizen. But God does not so pass judgment. He judges men, not by the moral conscience of later times, but by the moral insight of their own generation. Usually succeeding ages possess a more finely developed moral vision than earlier centuries. Is it not our privilege and duty to anticipate the moral judgments of coming generations ? There are great social evils now hanging their millstone weight about our national life. Physically and mentally unSt marriages, prostitution, vicious use of drugs, the beverage use of .alcoholic liquors, unsanitary dwellings, corrupt legislation, and overemphasis on the material goods of life — these surely must be blotted out by future generations. Will the moral conscience of those heroic reformers who end these evils be more keen than ours? What moral insight, necessary to the correction of these ills, will they possess which we do not have ? Is it not possible for us to antici- pate their moral antagonism to every unbrotherly practice and institution ? Leading Questions 1. Why were the conquests of the Israelites limited to the liill country of Palestine? 2. How did the Israelites compare with the Canaanites in civilization? 3. To what extent did the invaders adopt the civilization of the Canaanites and intermarry with them? 4. Why did the Hebrews become worshipers of the baals? 5. Who were some of the most ardent Jehovahists of this period? What was their attitude to the Canaanitish gods? 6. By what process were the Hebrews convinced that Je- hovah was the owner of Canaan? What was the effect of this conviction upon their religion? 7. Describe the materials and methods of worship during the period of the Judges. 8. How did Jehovah make known his will to Israel at this time? 9. What is the basis of just judgment of men and institutions in any age? KINGDOM OF GOD IN TIME OF JUDGES 101 References Kautzsch, "The Religion of Israel," Hastings's Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. V., pages 634-648. Budde, Religion of Israel to the Exile, chapter II. Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 165-212. CHAPTER XIII THE DIVINE PATIENCE WITH ISRAEL SUMMAEY AND ReVIEW Our work in the study of the development of IsraePs religion has brought us to the threshold of the Hebrew monarchy. At this point we pause to take stock of the religious ideas of these people destined under God to be the great forerunners of Christian civilization. Feom Moses to Samson Recall the titles and general content of Chapters VI, VII, VIII, XI, and XII and consider whether they do not exhibit three distinct and epochal events in the develop- ment of Israel's religion. Chapters VI and VII make clear that the religious life of Israel really began with the generation of the Exodus. All that the patriarchs had be- lieved and practiced in the service of Jehovah was alien to the embittered Hebrews to whom Moses brought the strange, hopeful message of Jehovah's grace and purposes. (a) Under such conditions was not the deliverance under Moses a truly striking epoch in Israel's history, and is not this even one of the marvels of mankind? Keeping in mind that the Hebrews were delivered from bondage through a great religious awakening, what was the essence of the religious message which stirred them to these heroic efforts in their own behalf? Try to re-create the life of those times and feel the grip which the appeal of Moses made to his people : the mighty soul of this man who made his countrymen believe in the greatness of Jehovah, the God of Horeb-Sinai, and the strange grace through which he had chosen Israel to be his people. (h) Was not the second great advance made when the people at Horeb-Sinai solemnly covenanted to have Jehovah for their God and to be loyal to his commands? Read 102 THE DIVINE PATIENCE WITH ISRAEL 103 again in Chapter VIII "The Significance of the Covenant." In what way was this step a new order in the world's religion ? How did the covenant make possible an ethical development in religion? Did such development actually take place in Israel's life? (c) Consider whether the settlement of Israel in Pales- tine did not precipitate a crisis in the nation's religious life. (1) Contrast the nomad's life with the permanent settlements of the agriculturalist. Had Israel settled down in an uninhabited land, would there not have followed changes of religious beliefs and practices from the ex- change of a wandering existence for a fixed abode in a land so highly diversified in physical features as Palestine? Permanent sanctuaries, more elaborate ritual, an order of religious persons (priests) were sure to follow from such residence. (2) Added to such physical influences at work in shaping the life of the nation was the social-religious life of the Canaanitish neighbors. At the time of the- entrance of the Hebrews into Palestine, through the scat- tered references in the Old Testament and through excava- tions, especially at Lachish, Gezer, Tanaach, and Megiddo, we know certain features of Canaanitish religion. Images of deities, in clay and metal, were in common use. Sanc- tuaries usually were on the tops of hills, and sacred stones to which the blood, oil, or wine of the sacrifice was applied were a part of such sacred sites. The sacrifice of infants,, presumably first-born, was common. Sacrifices to the dead occurred. Foundation-sacrifices — that is, the sacri- fice of a child, man, or woman, whose bones were deposited under the walls of the house to insure its stability and the welfare of its inmates — were some of the gruesome reli- gious practices of the inhabitants of the land. An inner and an outer chamber for the deliverance of oracles were connected with the sanctuary. Such were some of the reli- gious practices and beliefs with which the Hebrews were confronted in their own home. It was inevitable that through intermarriage and other intimate social relations the religion of Israel should be modified by Canaanitish life. 104 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL CEETAijf Fundamental Religious Convictions It is impossible now to trace the origin of certain con- victions upon which religion and all its possible develop- ment are based. Sometimes they come as a sudden intui- tion directly from God ; sometimes they are social products, evolved through the continued patience and guidance of God. From the earliest times the religious life of man- kind has been dominated by certain fundamental ideas. While the details of the patriarchal age remain in uncer- tainty, certain religious ideas dominated man^s life then, and, indeed, in times far older than the patriarchal age. These essential ideas, as they came to be held by the reli- gious leaders of Israel, are presented in Chapters II — V. (1) Man is a spiritual being. He is by nature more nearly related to God than to the physical world. Ham- pered at every turn by his physical bondage, man never has been content to measure his worth by flesh alone. He is spirit, and through his spiritual nature he belongs to God. Conviction had little moral meaning in the earliest ages. But by the time Israel's histories began to be writ- ten this consciousness of kinship with God had become the highway along which moral meaning and spiritual values were entering into the world's religion. (2) Man must obey and trust God to secure his own best interests. His destiny is linked with the divine order- ing of his life. To disregard God's will is sin, and such conduct ends in disaster. Man's happiness and worth de- pend upon his loyalty to God. It was Israel's function to discover that God was not indifferent nor jealous and envious of man. He was man's master, but he was also man's friend and father. He enters into the most inti- mate relations with men. However stern his will, he was not seeking to crush man, but to exalt him, to enrich his life, to bring him into a glorious inheritance. When Israel finished with the thought of God, some exceedingly precious convictions and experiences had been won for the world. (3) Israel's historians found these principles so uni- THE DIVINE PATIENCE WITH ISKAEL 105 versal that they irradiated the past with them. They read their conception of God into the consciousness of their far-off ancestors. Historically they may have been mis- taken in some of their conjectures as to their national origin. Eeligiously they were sound. The simple dignity with which they showed the past to be radiant with the mighty purposes of God has been the wonder and the inspiration of the world. God's Forbearance with Israel Reread the titles of the chapters for the first quarter and state concisely the main theme of each. Call to mind the character of God as he has been revealed in Jesus, and the manner of worship and the mode of human life which Jesus taught were acceptable to God, then consider how much of the heavenly Father's purpose regarding man- kind he was able to reveal to those primitive Hebrew wor- shipers. Reflect too upon the exceeding patience and love which he showed toward Israel in the long centuries of his tutelage. Do you think it possible, in the light of these lessons, that Israel could have won its supreme place among the races of the earth apart from the special care and guidance of Jehovah? If he did so choose and guide Israel, must it not have been that from its lofty soul Christianity might spring to transform the world ? Read Psalm 81 for an expression of Israel's later reflec- tion upon the exceeding patience and love of Jehovah. To the prophets and psalmists of later centuries, the early generations of Israel had not been duly appreciative of Jehovah's love, and had been guilty of oft-repeated dis- loyalty. Such conduct had wrung Jehovah's heart with sorrow and pain. "Oh that my people would hearken unto me. That Israel would walk in my ways !" Such had been Jehovah's love and longing through all the centuries of Israel's willful childhood. Perhaps the most striking development of religious be- 106 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL lief in this period was the process through which God was leading Israel toward monotheism. It is a rare instance of patience, of tutelage through forbearing love, of work- ing, misunderstood, toward a distant goal. It will be remembered that the generation of the Exodus regarded Horeb-Sinai as the residence of Jehovah. From that sanc- tuary he had sent forth Moses to lead the Hebrews to this sacred mountain, and they there entered into covenant with him. Read Exodus 33. 1-3 and notice that Jehovah does not intend to go in person to Canaan. He will abide at the sacred mountain and send an angel to guide his people. Examine Exodus 33. 12 and observe that Moses does not take as granted that Jehovah will move with them to Palestine. On the contrary, he urges, 33. 15, that they may stay at Horeb-Sinai unless Jehovah goes with them in person, and that his migration with his people, 33. 16, will be the rare mark of his favor and their unique dis- tinction from all other peoples of the world. It was, in- deed, just this supreme conviction that Jehovah had left his ancient abode, 33. 17, to lead his chosen people into possession of Canaan which constituted the unique power of Israel in their earliest days. Turn now to Judges 5. 4 and observe that Jehovah came from Mount Seir (Horeb- Sinai) by the way of Edom to champion the cause of Israel under Deborah. That this mountain was long peculiarly associated with Jehovah is seen from 1 Kings 19. 8-18; Psalms 68. 16; Habakkuk 3. 3-15. Yet during the earliest years of Israel's settlement in Canaan the people came to regard Palestine more and more' as Jehovah's land. By the time of Samuel and Saul it had become truly Jehovah's home, so that the exiled David could reproach Saul for making it impossible to serve Jehovah by compelling David to flee across the borders of Palestine, Jehovah's true inheritance, 1 Samuel 26. 19. Numerous prophetic utterances bear witness to the con- tribution to monotheism made by this consciousness of Israel's migrating God. Jehovah, whose home was Horeb- Sinai and the wilderness, yet who led his people from Egypt and settled them in Palestine, and who eventually THE DIVINE PATIENCE WITH ISRAEL 107 became the God of Hebrew soil, expanded in IsraeFs thought to become the God of the world. This is a typical case of development of religious be- liefs. It is also one of those continual marvels of God's patience and love for a stumbling, aspiring world. The Patience of God "How poor are they that have not patience!'' exclaims one of the characters in Othello. God is exceedingly rich. To a soul yearning for a perfect world, how torturingly slow have been the movements toward human righteous- ness ! Faith knows no severer struggle than to wait. "How long, God, how long ?" has been the painful cry of many a troubled soul. One clear thing about the Kingdom is that God has not hurried it. Centuries passed after the first man awoke to human self-consciousness before God made his covenant with Israel at Sinai. Centuries were added until his Christ came. Centuries multiply and still we dare not call ourselves Christian. At what far-off day will God's kingdom really be here? We do not know. But we cannot break with belief in God. Man is made incurably religious. By the profoundest needs of our life, we are driven to feel that some divine purpose runs through all the delays of our hopes. God is patient for a purpose. We cannot think that he is unconcerned or powerless. He watches our gropings after the higher life with a steady, untiring working to lead us and to mold us into the civilization of his kingdom. Centuries may come and go, but God is neither delayed nor baffled, nor weary, nor impatient. His kingdom comes according to his will. We can be patient too; patient as God is patient. To be patient is not to be idle. The patient man is the man with a great purpose, and great purpose ever imposes great labor. The man with a great purpose lives with quietness of mind whatever may be his outward struggles. No per- son ever lived with greater calmness of mind than Christ. He knew that he was traveling undefeated toward far-off 108 THE RELIGION OF ISEAEL goals. He lived at peace with his own soul. The man with a majestic cause does not worry ; he works. Great patience does not ask finality of excellence at any step in the long process except at the last. God's use of Israel indicates that the Mosaic age was not for him the end, but the beginning of his unique revelation within Hebrew life. Let us see the Kingdom as a continual pos- sibility, and we shall radiate hope and trust through all our long-suffering. No one need attack a social injustice to-day with faint heart. Its presence is no guarantee for its permanence. No one need shrink from championing a new movement toward righteousness in its small begin- nings. It is God's way to let man struggle upward through twilight unto day. GUIDEPOSTS TO THE SPIRITUAL CiTY Seek the Sunrise. — All vital religion faces the sunrise. Israel ever seems to have traveled toward the spiritual dawn. Every truly great religious experience is measured by the number of its dissatisfactions. Each man is obligated to the God whom he knows. But he must believe that the God waiting to be known is incomparably more wonderful than he who already has been experienced. You have not yet seen the whole mind of God. Expect new revelations. Be open-eyed to new leaders. Stand with soul tiptoe to new deliverances of truth and justice. Keep your heart in blossom. Keep your mind on edge. Travel the great highways of the future with God. Live with your hopes in the blue spaces of the sky. Be Original. — Do not be content with the "credo" of others. Seek an immediate experience of God. In addi- tion to all that he has spoken through others, believe that he wishes to speak something to you at first hand. The world is yet in its swaddling clothes. The broad outlines of the revelation which God made in Christ are waiting to be filled in by countless revelations of his further pur- poses. Believe something new about God. Swing out into some reform in God's name. Attack some social injustice in the good cause of Christ. Do not expect that any social THE DIVINE PATIENCE WITH ISEAEL 109 institution is final. No social wrong is immortal. Start something in the line of righteousness. Be Brave. — Do not fear any leader in your community who leads a vicious life. Do you permit business, social, or political success to give authority to evil men? Chal- lenge such leadership at every turn. Assail all such who would be the civic spokesmen of your community. In- stitutions have no inherent sacredness. Their sanctity comes from the service which they render to humanity. When they cease to serve they must perish. Speak out plainly that any social institution, any form of worship, any religious creed, any political dogma, when the soul of usefulness which gave it birth and activity has vanished, must die. Examine your political, social, and religious opinions to see whether they have ceased to be convictions. Believe nothing which you cannot believe passionately. Be Hopeful. — This is God's universe. He has not ab- dicated his throne in the favor of the devil. The raging passions of men cannot unseat him. No revolution of mad imperialists can wrest the scepter from his hands. He rules the world. Evil may fume out its little hour ; eternity belongs to God. The universe is fundamentally righteous. God is moral. This government and providence will be justified in the mind of the last personal being whom he rules. Be cheerful at defeats : they are the prelude of final victory. Do not shrink from pain. Heartache has been a password to paradise. A cross gave Christ his throne. Hope is written across every page of IsraeFs life. Because the Hebrew hoped, he arrived at some golden goals of God. Themes fob Consideration 1. State the changes which took place in the political and economic life of Israel in the period under review. 2. State the three great significant changes in the religious life of Israel during the same period. 3. What great fundamental principles of religion underlie Israel's religious life? 4. Why does the development of religion proceed so slowly? 5. Which is better in individual and community life: to have reached the goal or ever to be traveling hopefully toward better things? 110 THE EELIGION OF ISKAEL Selected Readings McNeile, The Book of Exodus, pp. cvi-cxviii. Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 132-164. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, Volume V. pp. 624-645. Barton, A Sketch of Semitic Origins, pp. 269-308. W. R. Smith, The Prophets of Israel, pp. 1-46. CHAPTER XIV THE BIRTH OF THE MONARCHY Our chapters have brought us to the threshold of the Hebrew monarchy. The establishment of the kingdom had far-reaching effects upon the religious life of Israel. The next four chapters will outline the political life of the period following the judges to the enthronement of Solo- mon and indicate the changes in religious beliefs and prac- tices. Three men, Samuel, Saul, and David, were the leaders in the nationalization of the tribes which had spread half victoriously across Palestine through two cen- turies. The chapter to-day presents Samuel as the last of the judges and the first of the prophets, the connecting Link between the old order of Hebrew life under the judges and the new order under the monarchy. I. The Judgeship of Samuel Samnel, The Man. — Read 1 Samuel 1. 1-28. Consider the home in which Samuel was born. What motive led Hannah to pray for a son? Samuel was born in a reli- gious home. His parents believed that his birth was a direct answer to prayer. Their religion lacked many ethi- cal elements which we now regard essential to piety. It countenanced polygamy. It placed responsibility for Samuel's nurture and career almost wholly upon his mother. Religion was, in its most cherished forms, too occasional (1. 4). Read 2. 11, 18-21, 26; 3. 1-21 for de- tails concerning the childhood and youth of Samuel. What were the duties of Samuel at Shiloh? Samuel begins his career at Shiloh as a boy-priest, 2. 18, and develops into a prophet, 3. 20. In all of Samuel's relations with his people he impressed them with his upright character. His fellow Hebrews recognized his probity of life and his pro- Ill 112 THE BXLIGIOX OF ISEAEL phetic mission. He was a "prophet of Jehovah/* 3. 20; later gtenerations believed thai he wa? unusually given to prayer. S. 6: 12. 19. 23. and Jerexaiah 15. 1. His upright- ness of cliaraeter was universaHv aelmowledi:red, 1 Samuel 12.1-6. Samuel, The Jud^ and Seer. — The book of Samuel does not give us a uniform eoneeption of the public service rendered by Samuel to his people. The one portrait shows him to be the outstanding leader of his people and Je- hovah's direct representative in the guidance of Hebrew life. Eead 1 Samuel T. 2-8. 13. Here Samuel is the theo- cratic ruler and judge until the end of his life, T. 15. and he planned that his sons should succeed him. 8. 1. His home was at Bamalu 7. IT, and from tbis place he made a circuit of the land to administer justice. He persuades the Israelites to cease their worship of Canaanitish and Babylonian deities. 7. 4. and summons them to a national council at Mizpah which ends in a general c-onfession of the sin of aposta.sy. 7. 6. By his prayers he miraculously rescues his people from the oppression of the PhiHstines, 7. 7-12. and exids forever their raids and their oppressive rule in the highlands of Palestine. 7. 13. Eead 9. 6-27; 10. 1-7, 9-16. Here a distinctly different picture of Samuel is presented. Saul appears to be unaware of the existence of Samuel. 9. 5-7. He lives in an obscure Hebrew village in the Ephraimite highlands. He is a professional seer. The c-ommon people think of him as a successful fortune- teller who must be paid for his services. He acts as a priest to preside at public sacrifices. 9. li. But however humble Samuel's position was. he was great enough to foresee the necessity- of the monarchy, to select the man who led the first nationalizing movement in Israel, and to give to Saul and his political aims the suppon of the professionally religious persons of his times. The Begin'xxs'g of the Kingdom The Political Weakness of Israel. — Examine the follow- ing sections closely and estimate the political dangers of Israel from their Philistine neighbors: 1 Samuel 13. 6, . . — , -. - . - — ■ — 113 time "J-. - : 'iaj w-. - — ' - ~_ -_ - . ' - _ .„ _ - -: - 7 - ■ - ^ - _ - - - — ~ ' " ~ ' ' " ~ " - - - - . ^ - I L ^ 1 7-^7. az s/r-sl ^ " ~_ ~ 114 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL of religious persons, priests become the actual rulers of the people. Now read 9. 1 to 10. 16 and 11. 1-11, 15. Observe with care 9. 15-17. Here Samuel seems to hear of the king- ship for the first time in a revelation from Jehovah. The kingship is here regarded as a divinely appointed instru- ment of Jehovah's mercy for Israel. This passage regards Saul, like Moses, a great deliverer raised up by the com- passion of Jehovah. Are these two views of the kingship contemporaneous ? Or does the attitude of hostility belong to later generations which had disastrous experience with kings? It is not probable that the whole of Israel was eager for the monarchy. There are always conservatives who can see no wisdom and worth in social changes. There may have been some who shrewdly foresaw the narrowed individual liberty and the increased economic burdens to which the existence of a royal house committed them. It is probable that this was the view of the priestly class and perhaps also of the shepherds who were comparatively safe in the fastnesses of the hills. But this attitude was not the prevailing view, and neither was it politically wise. The most spiritually religious persons believed that the monarchy was graciously approved by Jehovah. It was his institution to accomplish his people's redemption from the Philistine. This latter view lies nearer the historical situation than the former. The Choice of Saul. — The dual account of the origin of the monarchy continues in its record of the coronation of Saul. In the section which glorifies the theocracy and shows hostility to the monarchy, Saul is chosen by lot in a great national assembly, 1 Samuel 10. 19-24, and is publicly acclaimed king. But in the alternate account the person of the new king is made known to Samuel privately by a direct revelation, 9. 17; he is anointed king privately by Samuel, 10. 1; he is assured of his new position by a series of foretold events, 10. 2-7; he bears within himself through his experience of the prophetic spirit, the divine assurance of his mission, 10. 10; and public recognition of his new office and authority is won through a signal ex- THE BIRTH OP THE MONARCHY 115 ample of his successful military leadership, 11. 1-11. Here, again, the view which regards the monarchy as the natural outgrowth of political and religious needs seems to be much nearer the actual situation. Hebkew Religious Life at the Threshold of the Monarchy The Else of Prophetism. — The coronation of Saul not only introduces a great political change among the He- brews, but this event coordinates with the first appearance of an expression of religion, which, in time, was to give to Hebrew religious life a unique and revolutionary place in the world. Read attentively 1 Samuel 10. 5-6, 10-13. This is the first appearance of prophecy in the Old Testa- ment. It is crude enough yet, but it is to give the world an Amos by and by. Note that these prophets were com- ing from a sanctuary of Jehovah, that they were playing musical instruments, that the spirit of Jehovah had come mightily upon them, and that they were speaking or rav- ing as they walked. In the popular mind prophet and mad- man were synonymous; see 2 Kings 9. 11, Jeremiah 29. 26, and Hosea 9. 7. What is the meaning of the question, 1 Samuel 10. 12, "And who is their father?'' Note the presence of a Philistine garrison in Saul's own town, 10. 5 (read the marginal note). Prophecy has its historical birth in the same village where the new national aspirations were taking definite form. Examine 9. 20, marginal read- ing. To what extent is the patriotic feeling awakening? Had Saul been brooding over the oppression of his people and hoping for an opportunity to head a rebellion ? Notice that Saul, after the ecstatic mood had passed, ascends to the "high place." Perhaps he longed to know further the will of Jehovah. Worship. — Worship at the beginning of the monarchy is similar to the beliefs and practices which obtained through the later period of the judges. Worship takes place at the various high places, sacrifice is performed by the heads of families, priests are custodians of those sanctuaries where sacred objects are to be guarded. Sacred feasts are held at 116 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL these sanctuaries and the sacrifice of animals and the pro- ducts of the soil are offered. Examine 1 Samuel 1. 3 and state what was the outstanding religious observance of this period. What took place at these festivals? See 1. 4=, 5. What hint of the character of these animal festivals is found in 1. 14 and 2. 22? Who made the sacrifices? What was the function of the priests ? It was the custom at these annual feasts for the head of the family to give the fat of the animal to be burned in sacrifice upon the altar and then to present some of the cooked meat to the priests. The remainder was eaten by the family which made the sacrifice. Note the double offense of Eli's sons, 2. 12-17. What notion of the sanctuary at Shiloh is to be had from chapter three? Note the sanctity of the vow made by Hannah. Study closely 9. 11-14. Keeping in mind that Samuel was an ardent worshiper of Jehovah, observe that there is yet in Israel no condemnation of sanctuaries on the Canaanitish "high places." What additional details of their sacrificial worship are given in the account of the meeting of Saul and Samuel at Eamah? 9. 12-14, 22-25. SuMMAKY : The Progress of the Kingdom The Religious Need for Political Change. — The growth of Israel's religion required a stable political organization. Jehovah could not be the God of his people unless his people were strong enough politically to preserve and develop their national life. The author of the book of Judges recognizes that Palestine was a land of lawless- ness and disorder until the kingdom arose to unite the tribes into some sort of nation (Judges 17. 6; 18. 1; 19. 1; 21. 25). Samuel, although honored at Eamah and known for his probity and wisdom possibly throughout the land, was not the military genius whom his country needed. Samuel had brooded over the desperate situation of his people. The Philistines had swarmed up from the mari- time plain into the Judsean and Ephraimite hills, overawed the Hebrews, and planted their tribute-gathering posts among them. When his eyes rested upon Saul, Samuel THE BIRTH OF THE MONARCHY 117 knew that this was Jehovah's prince who would inaugurate the kingdom needed to preserve Israel's political and reli- gious life. There is no indication that Samuel belonged to those mad wandering prophets to whom Saul attached himself, but he was none the less an ardent patriot and champion of Jehovah. The Beginnings of Prophetism. — The prophetic move- ment is the outstanding religious event of the period. We shall see that the prophets were the most ardent champions of Jehovah during the whole of Israel's national life. Reli- gion and patriotism were one to them. The Philistine in- vasion was the greatest political danger faced by Israel until the investment of Samaria by Sargon, and here, as at other political crises which resulted happily for Israel, the nation was saved through a religious revival. These raving prophets, though no ethical teaching of theirs has come down to us, were the force which stirred the tribes to a common stand in the name of Jehovah against their enemies. Saul's alliance with them is proof enough of the service they rendered Israel. Although this prophetic move- ment was new and was regarded with suspicion (1 amuel 10. 12), these prophets furnished the fire of rebellion for more timid patriots and the example of new loyalty to the God, the covenant with whom Israel had begun to doubt and forget. The monarchy was born in the Jehovah-in- spired passion of their souls. For Spiritual Dreamers The Parentage of Inspiration. — Inspiration has never made its way into dull, dreamless lives. It is the man who aspires who becomes inspired. Man must desire great things before God can trust him with a great message or a great commission. Inspiration is never merely given to a man. It is the divine flowering of human yearnings for a better world. It is the high mountain which sur- mounts the clouds. It is to the daring spiritual dreamer and ethical thinker that God discovers his new purposes and character. The Selection of Kings. — The world ever will keep on 118 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL seeking kings. The world wants things done, barriers to progress thrown down, moral reforms championed. Its choice will fall on great men. The man who "can'' is king. Democracy will be guided by its kings. It is a man's duty to aspire to great usefulness. Saul's inmost being protested against the Philistine garrison at his door. Other things than lost asses bothered him. He dreamed of an uprising in the good cause of Israel's God. It was this dreamer whom Jehovah and Samuel selected to build the Hebrew state. Listening to the Spiritual Voices. — Let each man live out the finest passions of his soul. He never knows what smoldering heart he will blow into flame. Those madmen with the harps and timbrels did not rave about Gibeah's sanctuary in vain. They had Saul for audience. Saul too became obedient to his spiritual promptings. He be- came a prophet. Then he became a king. Samuel obeyed the inner prompting and he passes into immortality as a maker of kings. A man's chance at kingship is small un- less he is obedient to the spiritual voices which summon to great endeavor. No one can foretell what the humblest man who is loyal to his religious convictions may accom- plish in the world. Religion and Eeform. — The presence of the Philistines was a clog upon Hebrew life. It was breaking down the family. New gods were being worshiped. National feel- ing was passing away. True religion among the Israelites required political independence and a stable government. Religion and patriotism fused in the same forceful souls. Genuine religion ever advocates social change. No existent social conditions are wholly the friends of Christianity. The true Christian spirit is a revolutionary spirit. It de- mands the better day. It seeks those political and economic conditions wherein the spirit of man is free to pursue unhindered the culture which the inner life demands. Topics fob Discussion 1. What made it possible for the Philistines to occupy the highlands of Palestine? What religious calamity did they THE BIRTH OF THE MONARCHY 119 bring upon Israel? Why was the system of judges incapable of warding off their aggressions? 2. Why was the monarchy a political necessity? Estimate the value of Samuel's services to Israel. Why did the choice for the kingship light upon Saul? 3. What were the most observable religious practices in Samuel's day? In what ways did Eli's sons offend the people at their sacrificial feasts? Who offered the sacrifices? What was the function of the priest? What would have been the fate of Israel's religion apart from the monarchy? What did the kingship contribute to the religious life of Israel? 4. What is meant by prophetism in Samuel's day? What did it contribute to the birth of the monarchy? What hint is there of Israel's consciousness of being the covenant people of Jehovah? What events had dimmed this belief and feeling in Israel? Profitable References Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 213-217. Budde, The Religion of Israel to the Exile, pp. 77-103. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, pp. 650-653. Kent, Biblical Geography and History, pp. 136-146. CHAPTER XV THE KINGSHIP OF SAUL The political necessity of the monarchy was made evi- dent in the last chapter. Without a more stable govern- ment than the clan-life of the period of the judges, the Hebrews would have vanished from history. The present lesson continues the study of Saul's reign and considers the religious conditions of the early monarchy. The study will be confined to those sections which present the king- ship as divinely ordered. These are 1 Samuel 9. 1 to 10. 16; 11. 1-11, 15; 13. 2-7, 15-18, 23; 14.1-46, 52. The Political Leadeeship of Saul Saul's Political Services for Israel. — After Saul's anoint- ment by Samuel and the assurance which his religious ex- perience near the high place at Gibeah gave him (10. 10), Saul returned home and remained quietly at his customary tasks. About a month later came the opportunity to exer- cise his leadership of Israel. Eead 1 Samuel 11. 1-5. A city across the Jordan was besieged by the Ammonites. Messengers from the doomed city sought to secure relief from their brethren. They passed from town to town, but everywhere they were met with tears of sympathy, but no leader appeared to raise an army among the subject peo- ple. The messengers finally came to Saul's town, and here, no doubt to their surprise, their appeal was not made in vain. Eead 1 Samuel 11. 6-11. What symbolism was used by Saul to raise his army? The suffering people must have rejoiced, even if they trembled with fear, that a new leader was arising in Israel. Note the natural sequel of this successful campaign, 11. 15. The people solemnly acknowledge before the ancient sanctuary of Gilgal the 120 THE KINGSHIP OF SAUL 121 kingship of him whose faith and courage were inaugurating a new day in Israel. Emboldened by his success against the Ammonites, Saul retains a picked standing army which he stations in three important positions. Eead 13. 2-7. What was the first act to throw off the Philistine yoke ? The Philistines were quick to punish Jonathan's rebellion. Judging by the panic which swept the country, Saul appears to have suf- fered a defeat at Michmash. Eead 13. 15-18 and note that SauFs army is diminished and that Philistine war- parties harry the land. Eead 14. 1-46. Jonathan's rest- less spirit and heroic faith turn the tide for Israel. Saul wins a great victory and his kingship is assured. But there was no rest for Saul against these powerful enemies. His armies always had to be on the alert to guard with con- stant vigilance the newly asserted independence. Examine 14. 52; 17. 1-11; and 18. 17, and observe that the main efforts of Saul during his reign were directed toward beat- ing back the Philistines from the highlands of Palestine. Saul's Failure to Establish a Dynasty. — There were a number of factors which made for the passing of the king- ship from Saul. The people were not yet ready to submit to a central authority, 14. 45. The monarchy did not prove a panacea for the troubles of every individual, 22. 2. With its court and soldiery it added additional burdens. The military success, the daring, the genialit}^ of David, created a faction, 22. 7, 8. That Saul was able to lead an army against David indicates more than a private grudge; David's leadership was feared by the satellites of Saul. The moody character of Saul led him to outrage the better instincts of the nation, 22. 14-18. This impetuous, sus- picious, revengeful character of Saul was his undoing. Eead 16. 14-16 and 18. 12 for an estimate of his charac- ter by his contemporaries. The paroxysmal mania, aug- mented by the growing popularity of David, made Saul less certain of Jehovah's leadership. When he no more experienced the rush of Jehovah's spirit and no more could obtain responses to his prayers, "neither by dreams, nor by IJrim, nor by prophets," 28. 6, Saul had lost that superb 122 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL quality of religious enthusiasm which had given him the kingdom. Eead 29. 1, 2 and 31. 1-13 for the account of his last battle with his lifelong enemies. The Character of Saul. — It is important to know the most which is possible about IsraePs first king. It was he who began the welding of the Hebrew clans into a nation, and by making possible a victorious national life, furnished the historical data for a richer development of Israel's reli- gion. To strengthen the nation was to deepen Israel's consciousness of Jehovah. It must be kept in mind that one of the sources of the religious convictions of the great Hebrew prophets was their interpretation of their peo- ple's history, an interpretation which ever saw in Israel's path the fullest divine guidance. That Saul rallied the clans and molded them with all their apathy and narrow- ness into a common life to brave victoriously their enemies ; that he inspired them with courage and instilled them with hope, witnesses to his genius and his incomparable service in behalf of the religion of Israel. To understand this Saul we must understand that he was deeply religious. He was a patriot, but he was more; he was profoundly concerned that Jehovah should tri- umph in the prosperity of his people. The monarchy was the political expression of a religious revival. Karl Budde finely sets this situation in clear light. "The prophets . . . must have pursued a religio- national aim. We can conceive no other than the shaking off of the Philistine yoke by means of the purer and more zealous worship of Jehovah. And that which the circum- stances of the time suggest is confirmed in the fullest degree by the deeds of the single prominent personality within their circle, the neophyte, Saul. For when the pro- phetic spirit seizes him the second time his wrath com- pels his reluctant countrymen to hasten to Jabesh-Gilead to the help of their brethren, and he overcomes the insolent Ammonites. From this the raising of Saul to the king- ship and the war with the Philistines follow as a matter of course; no one expects anjrthing else of him. During the critical struggle we find in him the scrupulously devout THE KINGSHIP OF SAUL 123 servant of Jehovah, anxiously watching that nothing be neglected which may make sure of his favor."^ Saul was a man of moods. So was Paul, and so also was Luther. All earnest souls who are called to originate a new age are apt to be. The magnitude of the task ren- ders the shift easy from exultation to depression. Saul's moodiness sank at times to light mania. He was step- ping gingerly the way to madness. He was at times im- petuous, angry, violent. Jealous, suspicious, superstitious, yet he could be moved by an appeal to his generosity. He lived in the hearts of the men of Jabesh-Gilead. They saved his body from extreme ignominy, 1 Samuel, 31. 12, 13, and buried the ashes of their hero and his sons beneath their sacred tamarisk. David's generous appraisal, 2 Samuel 1. 19-27, was thought worthy of a place in the nation's poetic anthology. The Eeligious Life of Israel During the Early Monarchy The Revival of Jehovah Worship. — We have seen that, after Israel's entrance into Canaan, the Hebrews not only continued to worship Jehovah, but they also began to take up some of the native religious practices. Their three great agricultural festivals' are instances of this adoption of Canaanitish religious ideas and rites. In time these borrowings from Canaan were incorporated into the origi- nal worship of Jehovah. But in periods of stress and affliction the worship of Jehovah would lag, and there would arise new inducements to yield to the worship of their powerful neighbors. The capture of the Ark by the Philistines and their subsequent occupancy of Palestine must have weakened the bonds between the Hebrews and their God. We have seen that the demand for the monarchy sprang from the prophetic circles. It was a revival of the wor- ship of Jehovah which Saul inaugurated. The only hope » The Religion of Israel to the Exile, p. 98. «See Chapter XII. 124 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL of throwing off the Philistine yoke was a renewed al- legiance to Jehovah. It is more than likely that this reli- gious revival involved the repudiation of the more recently adopted Canaanitish as well as Philistine practices. A new conviction dawns that Jehovah rules, and the heroic uprising of Israel is due to the inrushing of his Spirit, 1 Samuel 11. 6, 7; 14. 6. Not only do Saul and Jonathan look to Jehovah for guidance, but also the act and word of the Philistines are prompted by Jehovah, 14. 10-12. Saul maintains the priest Ahijah, whose business is to ascertain Jehovah^s will, 14. 3. IsraeFs victory is Je- hovah's victory, 14. 23. Saul is alive to the strictest re- quirements of religion, 14. 34, is an ardent worshiper, 14. 35, counsels Jehovah in the great crises, 14. 37, and is willing to die that Jehovah may not be wronged, 14. 39- 42. Jonathan is equally heroic and devoted, 14. 43.^ Saul recognizes that even his mania is sent from Jehovah, 16. 14-16; 18. 12. Such instances of the religious life of Israel's leaders at the establishment of the monarchy indicate how largely victorious battle in this early period contributed to the development of Israel's religious life. Marti's language accurately describes this influence: "The people's common goal, the acquisition of a settled habitation, was accounted to be Jehovah's will, and the wars, the most effective means of attaining to this end, were Jehovah's wars. These wars formed the climax of the religious life, even before the sacrificial feasts attained to this position, and they continued to be thus considered 1. by the side of the latter throughout this period."' Thus ■ the whole life of Israel was religious. What we call politi- cal life was in this period an expression of religion. The state, with its monarch, performed Jehovah's will. King as well as seer indicated to the multitude the requirements of their national God. It is only by seeing that the new political life was a new religious revival that we can un- derstand the development of Israel's religion. iThe correct reading here is "Lo, I am ready to die.? a Religion of the Old Testament, p. 107. THE KINGSHIP OF SAUL 125 The Divine Guidance. — If men believe that God directs human affairs, where shall they look for his guidance? In what manner may his voice be heard? This always is a most pressing question in religion. In this period men found the divine guidance in the prophets, in dreams, and by the use of the ephod, 1 Samuel 28. 6. Examine 14. 3, 18. The correct reading of verse 14. 18 is "Bring hither the ephod ; for he bare the ephod at that time before Israel.'^ The Ark at this time was at Kiriath-Jearim. Eead also 14. 36-42 for the use of the ephod to ascertain the will of Jehovah. Compare with this passage the fol- lowing, taken from the Septuagint, which is undoubtedly correct: "And Saul said, Jehovah, God of Israel, why dost thou not answer thy servant this day ? If the iniquity be in me or in my son Jonathan, God of Israel, give Urim ; but if thou sayest thus, the iniquity is in my people Israel, give Thummim.'^ Observe that Jehovah's will was learned by casting lots, the precise manner of which is now un- certain. There is no hint yet that the priest is set apart to offer sacrifice. His task was to guard the sanctuary and to manipulate the sacred lot. See in this connection 21. 3-7. The priests display the shew-bread, and to this ex- tent they conduct the sacrifices. Dreams in primitive times were unquestioned modes of communication between the Deity and men. Eead Genesis 28. 10-17. This account of Jacob's dream fairly expresses the religious valuation of dreams at the period now under discussion. The dream in which Jehovah appeared to be speaking to Jacob became for him when he awoke the un- questioned revelation of Jehovah's will. The place of the dream takes on the sanctity of a shrine. Solomon, 1 Kings 3. 4, 5, appears to have slept at a sanctuary in order to receive divine guidance through a dream. This too is a primitive custom. Any dream experienced at a sanctuary was thought to be the direct revelation of the Deity's will. The Worship of Jehovah. — Turn again to Chapter XII and reread what already has been said concerning worship in the period of the judges. There has been no change in 126 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL the mode of worship during the early years of the mon- archy. Sacrifice is a mode of worship, that is, a recognition of Jehovah's rights, and is performed by laity. Saul is an altar builder, 1 Samuel 14. 35. What constituted his first altar ? 14. 33. Notice that the people in their hunger have omitted their religious duty, 14. 32, 33. In primitive religion all killing is sacrifice, the victim must be slain be- fore the altar, and the blood, at least, poured upon the altar in offering to the god. Saul is not too famished to recall the people to their neglected worship. Another primitive religious idea is found in Sau?s taboo upon food during the day of battle, 14. 24-30. By the fasting it was believed that Jehovah would be incited to further efforts in behalf of Israel. The breaking of this taboo by Jonathan silenced the oracle of Jehovah, 14. 37; and it was not until an effort was made to discover the guilty one that the responding oracle again tokened Je- hovah's favor. Read 20. 18, 24-29 for one of the special religious observances of the period. The feast of the New Moon, to which reference was made in Chapter X, was one of the holy festivals of Israel. Here the sacrificial meal was spread for four men, Saul, Jonathan, David, and Abner. A similar sacrificial meal was noted in Chapter XIV. Further attention will be called to the Feast of the New Moon. SuMMAEY : The Progress of the Kingdom The kingdom of God arrives slowly. Sometimes an advance is made by measures which might seem void of religious value. This is the case of the monarchy and Saul. Later historians denounced the monarchy and de- famed its first king. Saul had many faults, but he was truly the champion of Jehovah. The triumph of Jehovah, in the thought of the Hebrews, could not be disassociated from the triumph of the people themselves over their ene- mies. Therefore the contribution of Saul to Israel's reli- gion is not slight. By his great confidence, by his religious devotion and patriotic leadership he gave Jehovah a new place in Hebrew life. It was the victory-giving Jehovah THE KINGSHIP OF SAUL 127 who in time came to be recognized as the triumphant and righteous ruler of the world. Saul ushered in a new epoch in his people^s life. Fob the Idealist The Religion of Unbroken Purpose. — Saul did not stop fighting Jehovah's battles when he ceased to be conscious of Jehovah's favor. The call to break the Philistine op- pression and to build Jehovah's kingdom never was silenced in his soul. When Saul ceased taking care of his father's asses and fields he gave himself unreservedly to the cause of nationalizing the loose clan-life of his people. For good or ill he clung to the supreme purpose of his life. He began and ended his kingship in battle. He fought the Philistines throughout all its years. For this he had been called from his farm, and for this he labored until he died. This mission stands clear amid the mists of his mania and failure. This is religion of a high order. It is the unabandoned purpose which redeems a man from many a littleness of soul. To "carry on/' regardless of peril, of human estimate of one's accomplishments, and at last, perhaps, of defeat, is not, whatever else it may be, a complete wandering from God. In those days when God seems gone from your soul, there is still an open road: the road of duty chosen in the bright days of en- thusiasm and faith. Keep the road and it will end at the gate of heaven. The Sinfulness of Worry. — Many a fine life has been marred by "nerves." Saul was a man of moods and David got on his nerves. Distrust, jealousy, and hate followed fast and gave birth to morbidness and mania. The emo- tional life ever needs discipline. It is not necessary to be a creature of moods. Character is not formed by submis- sion to every passing breeze of passion. To discipline the feelings is not to suppress the emotional life. It is to culti- vate the cheerful, sympathetic, hopeful, burden-lifted emo- tions. Watch out for worry. It will break down your health and embitter your soul. Of course you have burdens 128 THE EELIGION OF ISKAEL to bear. Loss of health, of business, rupture of cherished plans, the parting in death of loved ones — such events come into the life of all. No one need succumb under these burdens. Never worry about what you can^t help; if you can help it, help it. If not, ask God for something else to do. Life in a Large World. — Saul did not understand the bigness of the world. There was not room in it, he thought, for himself and David. He lived in a little world. The bigger world was there coaxing him to enter it, but he was blind. It is the little world in which we are satisfied to live which makes us mean and spoils our lives. This world is large enough for you and your competitor. It will be a gloriously roomy world when you exchange competing with your neighbor for competing with yourself. Set yourself to outdo your past record, whatever your work, and the song-birds of peace wiU start the dawn of another life in your soul. If you wish your life to be wholesome, free from pettiness and worry, seek great causes to espouse and serve sacrificially the common good. If your tasks are dull and your circle of opportunity small, study the thing you do and your human relationships, and you will dis- cover that the humblest situations involve far-reaching meanings. Make your small world bigger by studying it, by loving it, and serving it. A great master of life once said that such humble servitors are, indeed, life's kings. Topics foe Class Discussion 1. What bearing upon the development of Hebrew religion had the union of the Hebrew clans to fight the Philistines and the latter's ultimate defeat? 2. Why did not the scepter remain in the family of Saul? 3. Discuss the character of Saul. What was his life task? What made it difficult? What were Saul's faults? What was praiseworthy in him? 4. What way of ascertaining Jehovah's will did Saul and his contemporaries consider to be the most trustworthy? Did God actually use these crude ways to guide early Israel? What is the most trustworthy method for us to know God's will? 5. Why did sacrifice seem to early Israel a worthy manner THE KINGSHIP OF SAUL 129 to worship Jehovah? What true elements of worship were lacking in the sacrificial system of the Hebrews? Suggested Readings Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 217-238. Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 114-128. Peritz, Old Testament History, pp. 126-133. CHAPTER XVI KING DAVID David is unquestionably the hero of the Jews through many of their centuries. No priest, prophet, or other king stands at his side in the love, the memory, and the hopes of Israel. No study of Israel's history and religion is complete without a knowledge of his services and his character. This chapter presents an account of David's rise to power, the strength and weakness of his character, and his work of holding together the jealous tribes in the greatest kingdom which Israel ever knew. David's Political Leadership David Wins the Kingship. — At the time of Saul's death David, it will be recalled, was dwelling at Ziklag, a city of the Philistines. David's skill in battle, the band of warriors which he had gathered about himself, and his outlawry at the hands of Saul, all led David himself and many of his countrymen to look upon him as the successor of Saul. Examine 1 Samuel 30. 26-31, and note David's astute as well as kindly interest in the cities of Judah. Eead 2 Samuel 2. 1-4. David's religious nature and his political wisdom both appear here. David was no reli- gious hypocrite. Whatever may have been his faults, his life was truly religious. He recognized that the monarchy had sprung from a revival of trust and hope in Jehovah. He intended that Israel's sovereign now, as before in the case of Saul, should be "the Lord's anointed." Therefore, David, before setting out from Ziklag, sought Jehovah's guidance and blessing for his enterprise. The assumption ■of the kingship was a solemn act. The chief men of the cities of southern Palestine assembled at Hebron. There before the altar of Jehovah David was solemnly set apart ^s king. The anointing of kings by the pouring of oil 130 KING DAVID 131 upon their heads, even among the Canaanites, from whom the custom was borrowed, indicated their sacredness of office and character. Among the Hebrews at this time it also signified a bestowal of the spirit of Jehovah. David henceforth was held to be Jehovah's chief representative and agent by those who acknowledged his kingship. The first act of the new king indicated his purpose to reign over a united Israel. David announced his corona- tion to the citizens of Jabesh-Gilead, 2 Samuel 2. 5-7, and assumed that, as true servants of Jehovah, they would transfer allegiance from Saul to himself immediately. However, there appeared a faction which rallied around a son of Saul. Civil war was precipitated by Abner in the name of Ishbosheth, SauPs son. But these east Jordan adherents of the house of Saul were defeated by the troops of David. After this defeat, Abner, who was the real power of the faction, and who broke with Ishbosheth, 3. 7-11, made overtures to David for reconciliation. David, whose wife, Michal, had been torn away from him by her father, demanded her return to strengthen himself as Saul's successor. Eead 3. 17-22 for Abner's further serv- ice in winning Israel to the standard of David. Observe that Abner refers to the desire of many in Israel, even in Saul's lifetime, to make David king. Here too the king- ship is regarded essential to Israel's national life and is held to be divinely appointed for the nation's good. The treacherous murder of Abner, 3. 27-30, apparently did not delay the movement to unite all Israel under David. Ishbosheth was murdered, and David, guiltless of both crimes, grew stronger with all his people. There was no one now to dispute his kingship. Israel remembered his valor in the days of Saul. He was continually becoming better established in the confidence of his countrymen during his seven and a half years of kingship over Judah. The elders of Israel were glad at last to recognize him as their king. Eead 5. 1-3 and notice the fine conception of the kingship here presented, and the solemn covenant taken by David to be shepherd of Israel. The anointment was again the solemn recognition of David's intimate associa- 132 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL tion with Jehovah. In a unique manner Jehovah's spirit was thought to dwell in him, and his acts were expressions of Jehovah's will. The kingship, however, is a covenant. The people promise allegiance and the king pledges leader- ship of the armies and just administration of the customs and precepts of Israel. David's Political Services. The New Capital. — The most notable event of David's reign was the establishment of the capital at Jerusalem. Read 2 Samuel 5. 6-10. For two centuries this Jebusite stronghold remained unsubdued in the midst of the Hebrew population. It is quite possible that the Jebusites and Israelites had long ceased to live at enmity, but the Canaanites, nevertheless, clung to their citadel. It was so strongly fortified by its location and walls that its defenders boasted that it could be held by the blind and lame against any attack. The capture of this military post greatly enhanced David's reputation, and the removal of the capital from Hebron evidenced his wis- dom. Its geographical situation on the border between Judah and the tribes which had been most loyal to Saul, together with its impregnable position, made it the natural capital of united Israel. It was an act of such moment that it attracted the attention and won the respect of the King of Tyre. David's Wars with the Philistines. — The monarchy found its chief justification in the minds of the subjects of Saul and David in that it was the means of breaking the oppression of the Philistines. During David's resi- dence at Hebron it does not appear that Philistia and Israel clashed in battle. It is probable that the Philistine gar- risons, after the death of Saul, again were established in the highlands of Palestine. In the period of David's out- lawry from the court of Saul there seems to have been a garrison at Bethlehem, 2 Samuel 23. 14. David, as long as he had only the men of Judah to support him, apparently lived on friendly terms with the Philistines. But his coronation by united Israel awoke the Philistines to their danger. Read 5. 17-25. It is probable that this attack followed closely after David's coronation by united Israel KING DAVID 133 at Hebron and before his capture of Jerusalem. Note, in 5. 21, the indication of the crushing victory over the Philis- tines. It took, however, a second rout to convince the Philistines of David^s mastery, 5. 22-25. The Recovery of the Ark. — Eead carefully 2 Samuel 6. 1-23. The Ark, it will be remembered, possessed for Israel, in the earliest period, unique significance. In the wars of the conquest of Canaan the Ark in some sense is identi- fied with the presence of Jehovah. In Numbers 10. 35, 36 the Ark appears to be addressed directly as Jehovah. The same significance is observable in the account of the presence of the Ark in the Hebrew army in the time of Samuel, 1 Samuel 4. 5-8. Without doubt the capture of the Ark by the Philistines, and the subsequent Israelitish victories over their oppressors, without the aid of the Ark, tended greatly to weaken the earlier conception. But the Ark was still the most sacred object for Israel. Therefore at the earliest opportunity David brought it to Jerusalem. The Philistines, although they had sent the Ark out of their own territory, kept it under their control at Kiriath- Jearim. David^s victories over them made possible its recapture. Instead of being returned to Shiloh the Ark was deposited at Jerusalem. By this destination David made Jerusalem the religious as well as the political capi- tal of his realm. This was an event of much significance in the religious history of Israel. Henceforth it became the policy of the kings at Jerusalem to magnify the im- portance of this shrine. This policy culminated in the Deuteronomy legislation which condemned all sacrifice out- side Jerusalem. At the Court of David. — Second Samuel, chapters 9 to 20, inclusive, deal principally with events at the court of David at Jerusalem. It is universally conceded that this section possesses the highest historical value. There pass in rapid review incidents which reveal the character of David, the responsibilities of the kingship, and the political intrigues which are so often involved in power and the ambition for power. David no sooner freed himself from the Philistines than 134 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL he set about harmonizing the elements of his kingdom. Eead chapter 9 for his kindness to the son of Jonathan and consider its effect in binding to himself the remaining adherents of Saul. His attempt to extend his influence across the Jordan was not settled so amicably. Eead chap- ters 10 to 12. Note that David, at the end of the second campaign against the Ammonites, takes the field in per- son. This is the last instance recorded of David's presence in battle. Yet David ever seemed to Israel a great cap- tain. Eead Hushai's fine tribute to David's prowess in 17. 8-10. It was these well-known traits which had con- tributed to the glory of his kingship. In addition to his own strength in battle, he had gathered round him men of valor worthy of his leadership. The brothers Joab and Abishai, Ittai, Abner, Amasa, and Benaiah were a worthy group of captains in that rough age. The final service of David was to secure the kingship upon Solomon and so provide for the succession without civil war. This he was able to do though bedridden and near death, 1 Kings 1. 32-40. The Chakacter of David David's Faults. — David's services in behalf of Israelis religion will be discussed in Chapter XVII. Usually it is easier to see a man's faults than his virtues. David was not faultless. Eead 2 Samuel 11. 2-27 for David's sin with Bathsheba and his crime against Uriah. This guilt and the secret of Uriah's murder, possessed by Joab, were the beginning of the train of evils which so sadly mar the character of David and afilicted his kingdom. See 18. 12-14 and 20. 9, 10 for instances of Joab's disloyalty to David. David was not able to restrain his blood-thirsty captain; after his crime against Uriah, he had no moral advantage over Joab. He could only order his assassina- tion at the hands of Solomon. David was not a wise father. Perhaps his own lust induced him to be merely angry with Amnon, 13. 21. His failure to correct this profligate son led on to Absalom's KING DAVID 135 rebellion in all its heartache to David and civil war for Israel. Call the roll of David's children and you have the. tragic record of an unhappy family : Amnon, the outrager of Taniar and the victim of fratricide ; Tamar, the outraged and outcast; Absalom, the murderer, hypocrite, conspirator, and murdered; the infant son of Bathsheba, witness and victim of David's lust; Adonijah, the pretender, filial in- grate, and the murdered victim of Solomon's policy of state ; and Solomon, the splendid, luxurious king, yet whose rule was such as to divide the monarchy forever. David's "House" was not a splendid and glorious heritage to Israel. David's Strength. — Yet there are wholesome traits in David. He was able by his personal magnetism to win the utmost loyalty from those who came into closest touch with him. It was the fault of the age that his sons were not his companions. See Ittai's fine devotion, 15. 21-23,. the loyalty of the priests Zadok and Abiathar, 15. 24, the daring of Hushai in the cause of his friend the king, 15. 32-37, the friendship of Barzillai, David's host at Maha- naim, 19. 31-39 ; but above all consider the power of David to make his personal sorrow the grief of his faithful war- riors, and to silence by his tears their rejoicing at a critical triumph of his and the kingdom's fortunes, 19. 1-6. There were in David certain elements of chivalry. At an hour of triumph he spares Shimei, who had cursed him, and Jonathan's son, who had countenanced Absalom's rebellion by remaining in Jerusalem. There is a hint in 19. 35 that David did not lose his in- terest in song and harp through the years. It is a poem, too, which bears witness forever to the noblest quality of David's dealings with his fellow men. Read 1. 19-27 for the unforgettable lament for Saul and Jonathan. "The poem stands out as the genuine outpouring of a noble heart too great to harbor one selfish thought in this dark hour of his country's humiliation."^ » Kennedy, in The New Century Bible. 136 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL The Place of David in Jewish Histoey The idealization of David by later generations makes imperative the most accurate account of David's actual services in the development of Israel's religion. David's name is attached to seventy-five of the psalms. Jerusalem is the City of David for the preexilic prophets, Isaiah 22. 9; the throne of Judah is David's throne, Jeremiah 13. 13; Jehovah saves Jerusalem from the Assyrians for David's sake, Isaiah 37. 35. David is preeminently the *^Man of God" in postexilic times, Nehemiah 12. 24. But, more than all, when the exilic and postexilic prophets began to predict the coming of an ideal social order in Israel, David's reign in the far past was thought to be so brilliant that it seemed sufficient, in order to charac- terize the glory of the coming age, to assert that future sovereigns would rule in the spirit of this great king. Examine Jeremiah 30. 9, Ezekiel 34. 23, and 37. 24, Psalms 132. 17. These are characteristic expectations of the Messianic age. What gave David this unique place in the thought of subsequent generations? It was not the perfection of his character. His faults were recorded in the early histories, and if the late historians, like the author of Chronicles, choose to ignore the king's moral weakness, the reason is found in their effort to make clear the great political and religious services which he rendered to Israel. It was the extent and strength of David's sovereignty which ap- pealed to later centuries. David was Israel's first real king. Saul was a Benjamite and never had the full al- legiance of the clansmen of David in southern Palestine. David, through his power to command the loyalty of men like Joab and Hushai, through his own military leadership, and through his deeply religious nature, brought the jeal- ous tribes as nearly into a nation as could be done. Then, too, he broke the power of the Philistines who had menaced Israel for at least three generations, and reduced the last Canaanitish strongholds. It was this service to united Israel, and the additional fact that David belonged to KING DAVID 137 Judah, from which territory all the late Jewish literature comes, which gave David his idealized place in his people's history. Tkuths for Honest Thinkers The Judgment Day. — It is the duty of every man to judge his fellow men: it is the privilege of every man to be judged by his fellow men. It is this continual estimate of character which alone guarantees a higher order of life. To criticize adversely requires a standard of con- duct, and it is by the suggestion of many standards that the better ideal becomes ascendant. History is a continual judgment day. No man can stop with the appraisal of his contemporaries. Every subsequent age revises the estimates of preceding generations. Every reader of the Bible forces David into court. But no just judgment ever can be passed apart from the knowledge of the full circum- stances of the individual's life. God, we may be sure, opens his court not in a distant land of far-off ideals, but in the city, the country, and the age in which the prisoner at the bar has lived. He judges David not by the twentieth cen- tury but by the ethical standards of David's day. So he judges us, neither by the past nor by the future, but by the moral ideals known to us. No judgment could be sterner. We cannot palliate our faults by saying that they fall short of David's crimes. We are not judged by the virtues or the vices of past leaders. We are praised or blamed by our revelation of righteousness. The Worth of Friendship. — Through all David's weak- nesses and sin there run enough noble qualities to account for the glamour which he threw over his people. His con- tinual courtesy to Saul and immortal friendship for Jona- than are not to be forgotten. David had the rare power of arousing the intensest loyalty among those who knew him best. What achievement surpasses the winning and holding of true friendship? Count your possessions in the true friendships which you have cultivated. Take time to make friends — not friendly acquaintances, but friends; not business associates, but friends ; not dinner companions, 138 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL but friends. In your pure and unselfish friendships you will find some of the greatest of life's blessings. The Temptations of Power. — It was a cruel wrong, un- worthy of a king, sinful in anybody, which Uriah suffered from David. Men who occupy high position often become fond of the adulation of humbler people, and sometimes demand the latter's service as their right. It is difficult to understand that great position is given by God, not for the benefit of the individual who wields the power, but for the service of one's fellow men. Great position is great responsibility. God gives a man honor that he may bless the world. He bestows wealth upon him that he may lighten the burdens of his fellow men. It is not a Nero, but a Marcus Aurelius, who justifies a Eoman imperial rule. It was a Greek saying that the gods prosper those whom they are about to destroy. It is another way of pointing out the fact that power is liable to many abuses. It was when David felt securest on his throne that his greatest wrong was committed. The man in authority needs to live close to God. Lesson Tests 1. Why was David among the Philistines at the time of Saul's death? 2. What reasons had David for supposing that the tribes of Judah and Caleb, which occupied southern Palestine, would receive him as their king? 3. What did the anointing of the king mean to David and his subjects? 4. What aroused the Philistines to attack David? 5. Why was northern Israel so slow to acknowledge David a king? 6. What was David's chief political service for Israel? 7. Explain the causes of Absalom's rebellion. 8. What qualities in David won for him the loyalty and service of men like Joab, Hushai, and Ittai? 9. Explain the idealization of David by later centuries. Collateral Reading Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 239-276. Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 129-155. Kent, Biblical Geography and History, pp. 147-161. Wallis, Sociological Study of the Bible, pp. 120-139. CHAPTER XVII DAVID, CHAMPION OF JEHOVAH Latee Israel clearly idealized the character and the rule of David. It made him the author of many of the psalms and of the complex liturgy of the second temple (1 Chronicles, chapters 23 to 26), and found in his dis- tant past the golden age of the nation's prowess and of royal justice. This is proof enough that Israel rightfully traces to David a powerful influence in the awakening and estab- lishment of the religion of Jehovah in Israel. It is the aim of this chapter to outline the contribution of David and his times to the development of the kingdom of God. The biblical passages chiefly available for this study are given in the preceding chapter. David Awakened a Fuller Devotion to Jehovah The Religions Significance of Victorious Battle. — It must be kept in mind that the entrance of the Hebrew tribes into Canaan placed on trial their confidence in Je- hovah. A people's welfare, in the reasoning of primitive people, is closely bound up with the strength and prestige of their deity. Israel's victories were regarded by the Hebrew clans as Jehovah's victories, and their defeats were held to be the discomfiture of their Deity. That the Canaanites were able to retain so many of their strong- holds and the Philistines were able to hold the inhabitants of the highlands in subjection was unquestioned proof of the superiority of their gods. It is everywhere apparent in the sections studied in Chapter XVI that David's reign was a quickening of loyalty to Israel's national Deity. The revival and faith in Jehovah, begun under Saul, was car- ried to further triumph under David. There is no trace in these earlier historical narratives that either David or his people worshiped Canaanitish or Philistine gods: 139 140 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL Jehovah alone possessed their loyalty. There were, of course, many ideas and much ritual borrowed from these cults and appropriated in their service of Jehovah, but for them he alone was Lord of their lives. Consider what the victories of David, undertaken under the standard of Je- hovah, accomplished in calling the people to the worship of Jehovah. To what extent would the steady rise of David to power, from the hour he set out from Ziklag until he set up his undisputed throne in the captured Jebusite stronghold at Jerusalem, create a new conviction among the Hebrews that Jehovah indeed regarded them as his own, and purposed to exalt them as his people ? Examine 2 Samuel 6. 21 and 14. 13. What had SauPs and David's victories done to quicken this consciousness that Israel is indeed the people of Jehovah? Read 1. 12 for the feeling that the armies of Israel are especially the people of Je- hovah. Turn to 5. 20, 24 for the belief that Jehovah is the captain of the armies of Israel, and consider the testi- mony here borne to the new national and religious con- sciousness of Israel aroused by David's kingship. See also 3. 18 and 5. 2 for the widespread conviction that David is Jehovah's champion and that his victories awakened a new popular loyalty to Israel's God. The name of the Hittite warrior Uriah (Jehovah is Light) indicates that Jehovah had come unto such prestige among his people that the name of an alien reflects his glory. The Personal Example of the King. — David, like Saul, was ardently religious. His religious loyalty was given to Jehovah alone. It was in the name of Jehovah that he claimed the loyalty of Israel. In addition to the new devo- tion to Jehovah awakened by the generalship and states- manship of David, his own public attention to Jehovah worship stimulated this national era in Israel's religion. Notice the term applied to David in 2 Samuel 19. 21 and consider in connection with the coronations mentioned in 2. 4 and 5. 3 that the anointing of the king was a religious act; it was an acknowledgment of Jehovah's leadership over David and Israel. See the expression ^^Dcfore Je- hovah" in 5. 3 and remember that this means before the DAVID, CHAMPION OF JEHOVAH 141 altar at Hebron at which sacrifices to Jehovah customarily were made. Thus David's acceptance of the kingship car- ried with it a public expression of loyalty to Jehovah. Yet this was not a new worship to David. Eead 1 Samuel 30. 26 for evidence of his religious convictions in the period of his outlawry. David contributed greatly to the revival of loyalty to Jehovah through his constant consultation of Jehovah at the important turns of his career. Eead again 1 Samuel 22 and observe that SauPs senseless slaughter of the priests of Nob sent Abiathar, the only survivor of the massacre, with the ephod used at Nob, to champion David's cause. David in his wanderings makes constant use of this method of ascertaining Jehovah's will. Eead 1 Samuel 23. 2-4, 11-12; 30. 8; 2 Samuel 2. 1; 5. 19, 23 and state the crises in which David consulted Jehovah and what these constant public exhibits of David's dependence upon the oracle of Jehovah contributed to new devotion to Jehovah among the people. Examine 3. 35; 12. 5; 14. 11; 1 Kings 1. 29f., 47 and note the evidence that Jehovah was David's supreme and only Deity. For other instances of the preeminence of Jehovah in the life of David and his people see 2 Samuel 3. 28; 10. 12; 12. 22; 16. 8. Especially note the attitude of the priests Abiathar and Zadok at the outbreak of Absalom's rebellion, 15. 24. That they regarded David as the true champion of Jehovah is evidenced further by David's dependence upon them at the collapse of the rebel- lion, 19. 11. However, the most striking testimony to David's public service in the interests of Jehovah is found in 6. 1-19. Eead again this narrative of the Ark's transfer to Jerusalem; observe David's personal interest in the event; and consider what effect the transfer of the Ark to David's capital had upon the nation's devotion to Je- hovah. David was conscious that he was Jehovah's servant to further the revival of Jehovah religion begun under Samuel and Saul. Study 4. 9; 5. 12; 5. 20; 6. 21 for instances of this supreme conviction of David's life. It was this consciousness, added to the charm of his personal character 142 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL and his military and political abilities, which secured him his kingdom and made it possible for him to weather the rebellion of Absalom and the conspiracy of Adonijah. The Content of the Religion of Jehovah in the Times of David The Knowledge of Jehovah's Will. — The mode of ascer- taining the Deity's will is closely parallel to the moral value of that which is believed to be the divine requirement. If the method of discovery is crude, the more likely will there be a limited worthiness in the resultant conception of the Deity's requirements. David, like Saul, makes continual use of the ephod. Examine 1 Samuel 23. 2-4 and observe that David evidently puts two questions to Jehovah; that is, to the sacred lot: namely, "Shall I go out and fight the Philistines ? Shall I go down to Keilah ?" State in similar fashion the two questions asked in 23. 11, 12. In 30. 8 three questions were asked: namely, "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? Shall I recover all?" State the two questions in 2 Samuel 2. 1 and 5. 19. A more complicated series of questions is found in 5. 23-24. Here the questions evidently were, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? [Make a frontal attack?] Shall I take them in the rear? Shall I attack them op- posite the mulberry trees ? When shall I begin the attack ?'^ Note that these questions witness to David's absolute de- pendence upon Jehovah and loyalty to him, and that such loyalty and dependence are the fundamentals of religious progress. Observe that in all these questions David is seeking guidance at an ocasion of option, or, almost, con- firmation of decisions which he has nearly made. The conviction that Jehovah has counseled a definite action provides the assurance needed by his hesitating mind. The arbitrary decisions of the lot were as psychologically powerful as verbal communications from Jehovah might have proved. A new level of revelation is reached in Nathan's rebuke of David's sin against Uriah. Read 2 Samuel 12. 1-9, 13-15. It is little that we know of Nathan. Was he one DAVID, CHAMPION OF JEHOVAH 143 of those prophets whose enthusiasm for Jehovah awoke the dormant energies of Saul ? He, at any rate, was a great man. In his reflecting soul moral values have become supreme. Jehovah speaks to him in terms of honor, jus- tice, and righteousness. He knows that his king has done a dastardly thing. He feels that Jehovah has commis- sioned him to bring home to the sluggish conscience of David a sense of his dishonor. Here is the true beginning of the great ethical prophets of Israel. Nathan spoke out of the moral passion of his soul, and he was certain that he was voicing the truth of God. His "thus saith Je- hovah^' was unquestioned by his king. Henceforth men who discover new moral meanings in the depths of their own soul and who realize that these new moral truths will add new worth to human affairs, may utter them boldly in the name of God. Henceforth dreams, the sacred lot, spiritualistic mediums, augury from animals, and the rustle of sacred trees must give way to the man who knows within his own soul that, in new moral readings of life, he has been spoken to by God. The Requirements of Jehovah. In Worship. — Jehovah's demands, as these were conceived by the Hebrews, were mainly satisfied with the ritual of sacrifice. Sacrifice has not yet been limited to the sanctuary at Jerusalem. There is no condemnation, in David's day, of the common use of the high places. The usual sacrifices, as of old, take place here in the customary manner. These altars were the asylum of the distressed, 1 Kings 1. 50, but their sanctity was not always respected, 2. 28. Sacrifices are intended to secure Jehovah's favor. When the situation renders the sacrifices impossible, vows to perform the sacrifices when conditions permit them to be offered, take their place, 2 Samuel 15. 7-12. To serve Jehovah, 15. 8, is to render him the homage of sacrifice. In Conduct. — The content of goodness often appears by contrast in the meaning of sin. It was sinful to touch with unsanctified hands, thoughtlessly or intentionally, sacred objects and persons. It was thought that Uzzah, who was not a priest, angered Jehovah by touching the Ark. 144 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL Only those who were set apart to the priestly office, and then with much regard to the maintenance of their *'holi- ness/^ could touch sacred objects with impunity. Jonathan sinned in eating honey on the day of battle during which Saul had placed a taboo on all food. Uriah, in refusing to see his wife while he was engaged in a military cam- paign, refrained from sin. Drunkenness, concubinage, and plurality of wives were not regarded as immoral. Treachery, murder, and broken covenants were the high- est misdemeanors. Second Samuel 3. 27-30 indicates the feeling of moral Israel at the treachery and murder of Joab. Yet 3. 30 and 21. 1-9 with greater fullness show the endless circle of killing which the obligation of blood- revenge involved. The horror of David at Joab's act, to- gether with the recognized duty of the avenger of blood, reveal the vicious circle in which Hebrew morality yet moves. Nathan^s accusation of David is a merciless revela- tion of the nature of the sins of adultery and murder. It was the brutal, lustful, detestable selfishness of David which expressed itself in the two public crimes. Here true morality makes a beginning at being recognized. The root of sin is an unbridled self. It is refusal to see and to acknowledge community rights. It is a denial of the fellowship of God and men. Summary : The Coming Kingdom Saul inaugurated and David established a new epoch in Israel's religion. They made Jehovah the unconditional Master of Canaan. With Israel's supremacy over the Canaanites, the gods of the Canaanites sank into obscurity. We shall find that their cult frequently was borrowed; but the gain under David is that henceforth for the nation's leaders Jehovah is the supreme Hebrew Deity. The trans- fer of the ark to Jerusalem was the beginning of the his- tory of the Holy City. A beginning is made at giving social justice the sanction of religion in Nathan's insistence that David's wrong to a subject, ordinarily a king's privi- lege, is a sin against Jehovah. DAVID, CHAMPION OF JEHOVAH 145 FoK THE Quiet Hour The Need of a Great Cause. — David during his days of outlawry possessed the same qualities and the same military genius which Israel honored in him after the coronation. Yet had he died in those earlier years, we would not now study him. It was the cause which conferred upon him the greatness which the world knows. Yet David was not without a cause in his obscurer years. Even then he was looking to become the saviour of Israel. It was the reli- gious devotion of David which led to his coronation. It ever takes a cause to confer immortality. Life ever is mediocre without a cause to give greatness and grandeur. The great cause is ever at hand. To promote a better civili- zation is a social task of magnificent proportions. Yet it is primarily an individual's task. To live unselfishly, to promote the common good, to cherish the cooperative spirit and to practice it to the utmost of one's ability is the work of individuals, but it is not merely the affair of isolated lives. It is a social task of preeminent worth. It is the only consequential way in which the social levels can be maintained at the heights to which political and economic revolutions may lift them. Therefore a cause of vast mag- nitude waits at the door of the humblest individual. To invite that cause into one's life is the only guarantee of greatness. God's Appointee. — It is not enough, however, to have a cause. One must have the consciousness that God has commissioned the enterprise. "It was Jehovah who chose me to appoint me prince over Israel." Blessed is that man who holds the clear conviction that God has chosen his task for him. How infrequently is this the case ! The preacher is expected to believe sincerely that he has been commissioned with a divine message which the world needs. Do the teacher, the physician, the farmer, and the mer- chant feel the same about their callings ? As long as men and women choose careers for the fame or wealth to be had in them, so long will they be unable to claim God's com- mission. Yet his commission is absolutely indispensable 146 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL to any genuine success. It matters not how valiantly we strive without God's appointment. We arrive nowhere. Seaeching foe the Truth 1. What political measures were necessary in order that Jehovah might be universally acknowledged among the Hebrews? 2. To what extent was Hebrew life in the times of Saul and David a religious life? 3. Why is it important that men in high position should live religiously? 4. What are the evidences of David's piety? 5. Why was David so idealized among succeeding genera- tions? 6. What was David's sin as it was presented by Nathan? What was the sin of which David declared his innocence in 2 Samuel 3. 28? What conception of sinfulness enters into David's condemnation of the Amalekite in 2 Samuel 1. 16 and the murder of Ishbosheth in 4. 12? 7. Why do we not use the sacred lot in our day to dis- cover the will of God? 8. What advances were made toward the realization of the kingdom of God in the times of David? Useful References Budde, The Religion of Israel to the Exile, pp. 103-111. G. A. Smith, Jerusalem, Volume II, pp. 24-47. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, Volume V, p 659f, 662- ^664. CHAPTER XVIII THE MONARCHY UNDER SOLOMON The rule of Solomon is of supreme interest in the politi- cal history of Israel. It opens with the full splendor of the united Hebrew monarchy, and ends with the smolder- ing discords which were to curse both Israel and Judah until their national existence was no more. Solomon came to the throne about B. C. 970, and under his reign of ap- proximately forty years he made the monarchy obnoxious to his subjects and showed that it was no longer the minis- ter of Jehovah^s religion. There is little of worth to ascribe to Solomon in the development of Israel's worship; one misses the fine devotion of David to the nation's God. But in the study of Israel's religion Solomon may not be passed by. Since the political life of Israel and its reli- gion are so closely mingled, we must understand the politi- cal history of Solomon's reign. Solomon's Measuees To Secuee His Theone The Kevolt of the King's Enemies. — Solomon, like many a tyrannic ruler, sought to strengthen his position through the death of those who might have fomented rebellion. Read 1 Kings 2. 13-25 for the fate of Adonijah. Since Solomon was not the oldest son of David, Adonijah may well have had conspiracy in his heart. His request for Abishag, one of David's concubines, according to an ancient Semitic custom that a man's wives passed to his heir, may well have been a hint of his cherished pretensions to the throne. Is there any criticism passed upon Solomon's ruthless policy? What was done to Abiathar and why was he objectionable to Solomon? See 1 Kings 2. 26. The end of Joab, to whom the strength of David's king- dom so much was due, seems less justifiable, 1 Kings 2. 147 148 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL 28-34. Yet consider whether Solomon's evident purpose to reign as an absolute sovereign could have been carried out with such a resolute, independent captain of armies living in Israel. Is Solomon's command that Shimei shall abide in Jerusalem a hint that opposing factions still existed and that Shimei was harmless only as long as he was closely kept under surveillance? See 1 Kings 2. 36- 46. His death seems to have deprived any hostile elements of possible leadership and Solomon now reigns supreme. Solomon's Militarism. — The national boundaries of Israel were determined by the wars of David. It seems that David, under the captaincy of Joab, conducted a military campaign every year. Solomon made no effort to enlarge by war the nation's boundaries. David by conquering Edom extended Israel's influence southward to Elath on the Red Sea. Moab, 2 Samuel 8. 2, and Ammon, 17. 27, were tributary states. He held in subjection the Arameans who ranged southward from Damascus. On the western side of the Jordan, David extended the limits of Israel to the southern boundary of the kingdom of Hamath on the Orontes. The Philistine territory in the maritime plain was the boundary on the west. Beersheba was the south- ernmost town of Israel proper. This was the largest territory under one rule in southern Syria for centuries. It was this kingdom which Solomon sought to retain by a strong military policy. He greatly strengthened the fortified cities of his kingdom. Note the cities mentioned in 1 Kings 9. 15, 18-19 and locate these cities on a map. Tamar in the wilderness possibly may be en-Gedi in the Judsean wilderness on the Dead Sea. Baalath certainly was a southern Judsean city. Hazor was an upper Galilasan city, probably near Barak's old home at Kedesh. The other sites have not been identified. No doubt many other cities were made more defensible and strengthened by soldiers. Examine 1 Kings 10. 26 for an indication of the monarch's military strength. Both cavalry and chariots are now used for the first time among the Hebrews. His infantry must have been equally numerous. Solomon evi- dently believed that preparedness is the surety of peace. THE MONARCHY UNDER SOLOMON 149 The Building Opekations of Solomon Military and Civil Posts. — Mention has already been made concerning the fortifications which were strengthened or erected by Solomon at certain strategic points in his kingdom. An early historian, 1 Kings 9. 19 and 10. 26, tells us of store-cities, chariots-cities, and cities for horse- men. Such cities required extensive buildings, and with- out doubt were strongly fortified. In the store-cities huge granaries were built for the reception of barley and wheat. There is another list of cities in 1 Kings 4. 9-20. Here are a dozen cities, the capitals of the administrative dis- tricts into which Solomon divided his kingdom. Such cities must have been fortified, and even if they did not share directly in the king's bounty, they certainly were not stagnating in this period of prosperity. A traveler in Palestine during the reign of Solomon would have been impressed with the industrial activity in every part of the country. The New Buildings of the Capital.— Read 1 Kings 7. 1-12. Here is a description of the palace buildings. They are given in the order that a visitor, approaching from the south, would find them.^ The House of the Eorest of Lebanon, 7. 2-5, was the southernmost building of the palace group. This was the largest of the buildings and took its name from the many cedar pillars which had been furnished by the forests of Lebanon. There is only one statement of the use to which this building was put, 10. 17. The next building was the Porch of Pillars, 7. 6, which probably was a waiting-room for those who brought actions at law before the king. This hall was entered through a porch or vestibule. The Throne Hall, 7. 7, or Judgment Hall, adjoined the Porch of Pillars. It was the king's audience chamber and probably contained the throne described in 10. 18-20. The next building to the north was the palace. It stood within a court which lay between the buildings just described and the temple. This iThe student should consult Paton's Jerusalem in Bible Times, Chapter VII. 150 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL • court is therefore called the Middle Court, 2 Kings 20. 4. In Jeremiah 32. 2 it is called the Court of the Guard. In the rear of the palace and adjoining it was the house of Pharaoh's daughter. All of these buildings were con- structed of the finest materials which Solomon's resources afforded. In a court separated by a wall from the Middle Court was built the temple. This Court of the Temple was called the Inner Court. These three groups of buildings, the Inner Court with its temple, the Middle Court with its palace, and the group of buildings first described, all were surrounded by walls which constituted the Great Court. Solomon also strengthened the fortifications and the walls of the city, 1 Kings 9. 15, 24; 11. 27. It is not known precisely what the Millo was, but it was some dis- tinctive feature of the city's defenses. Such extensive activities of building, continued through twenty years at vast expense, accomplished great changes in the architec- tural appearance of the city and its standards of life. The character of the capital completely changed. Many foreign artisans, merchants, and visitors from surrounding courts turned the little city of David's day into a brilliant metropolis. The elaborate shrine to Jehovah probably was regarded as proof of Solomon's great attention to religion, while Solomon's costly expression of his love of pleasure and power, splendor and fame may have tempo- rarily made men forget the unselfish devotion of David to make Israel the people of Jehovah. Solomon's Measuees to Einance His Kingdom His Political and Commercial Alliances. — Read 1 Kings 3. 1; 7. 8; 9. 24 for the earliest of these alliances and consider its importance in the eyes of Solomon. What advantages would accrue from alliance with Egypt? 9. 16. His most important alliance was with the Phoenicians. Study the following sections and determine what advan- tages fell to Hiram and what was the gain to Solomon; 5. 1 to 6. 11; 9. 10-14; 9. 26-28. Eead 1 Kings 11. 1-8 and note the countries from which the king took wives. THE MONARCHY UNDER SOLOMON 151 These numerous marriages were not due wholly to the king^s fondness for women ; they were the seal of political and commercial treaties. They were not the result of his decadent and sensual years, but they were entered into as political measures to strengthen his kingdom and to open up routes of trade. Solomon's Domestic Policy. — The internal affairs of the kingdom were methodically arranged. There were officers of the king's household or heads of departments, 1 Kjngs 4. 2-6. The realm was divided into twelve administrative districts, 4. 7-19, and over each was a provincial governor who was responsible for one month's supplies for the royal table. If the figures given in 4. 22-24 are correct, the task of the governor was not light. Read attentively 5. 13-18 ; 9. 20-22, and 11. 28. Here it is stated that Solomon accomplished his building enterprises through forced labor. In 9. 20-22, it is stated that Solomon did not compel Israelites to do forced labor, but that the men of Canaanit- ish race were drafted for his labor gangs. But in 5. 13 and 11. 28 it is said that Israelites were chosen for this work. It is quite likely that Solomon was no respecter of persons in the beginning of his reign, but that he later modified his conscription to include Canaanites alone. The Issues of the Kingship of Solomon Reflect upon the sections you have studied and con- sider what effect Solomon's absolutism would have upon the Hebrews as you know them under the judges, Saul and David. Weigh also the resentment which his ignoring of tribal organization in his division of the land into tax districts, and his appointment of provincial governors, would awaken in Israel. His policy was nothing less than an economic, political, and social revolution. Consider too what this forced labor meant to a free people. He reduced one hundred and sixty thousand Canaanites to slavery, sent thirty thousand of his brethren to toil in the Lebanons, and sent other multitudes to labor in the quar- ries and upon his prolonged building enterprises. There were no doubt certain benefits under his despotism. The 152 THE EELIGION" OF ISRAEL land was at peace; times were good; people were better housed and fed; the mental life of the people was expand- ing; the people were learning new trades. But in spite of all outward conditions;, there were being fashioned ele- ments which would rend the kingdom. There are specific instances of the disastrous effects of Solomon^s economic methods recorded in 1 Kings 11. 14- 40. Solomon was not able to maintain this authority over the whole of the territory left him by his father. Hadad freed Edom from the king's oppressive rule. After 9. 22 the Septuagint adds, "And Hadad returned to his coun- try. This is the evil that Hadad did; and he oppressed Israel, and reigned over Edom." Rezon, by the capture of Damascus, became the founder of the Aramaean king- dom and wrested a large tract of territory from Solomon. Jeroboam and Elijah are instances of the resentment which Solomon's policy awakened among Israelites. We will meet Jeroboam again, as the ruler of the northern kingdom. These difficulties did not arise at the close of the king's reign; they were his problems from the begin- ning. Solomon was strong enough to maintain his despotic career in spite of his enemies, but he was arousing an op- position which no successor could overcome. Solomon's reign is a sharp contrast to the kingdom under David. David seemed to live for the welfare of Israel; Solomon subordinated the nation to his own ambitions for fame and luxury. His buildings, his foreign alliances, his development of trade were for himself alone. He forced multitudes of his subjects to work for him without pay. His luxury and exactions, instead of cementing the tribes which had been united into a nation by his father, fomented, rather, the spirit of dismay and rebellion. At his death the boasted monarchy fell in pieces. Yet his buildings, his wealth, his government, and his political affiliations set up a standard which his successors sought to imitate, and later centuries saw in him the ideal of wisdom, the cul- tured monarch who had given Israel a place among the nations, the builder of the most magnificent house of wor- ship in the world, and the prince who had sounded the THE MONARCHY UNDER SOLOMON 153 depths of luxury, fame, and sensuality to satisfy the heart of man, and found them all a vanity. For Lovers of the Truth The Meaning of Prosperity. — What constitutes a nation's prosperity? No more vital question can be proposed to any people. The answer of a nation determines whether that nation shall be a blessing or a menace to mankind. If multiplying factories, lengthening railways, and greater markets are the tests of progress, even modern nations will not advance the work and the happiness of humanity. Accumulating wealth is no guarantee of the excellency of a civilization. The first impression is that Israel under Solomon was prosperous. But does any nation prosper when the soul of its people is embittered and enslaved? What people whose goal was material prosperity has kept its place among the nations? It is a hard lesson to learn that righteousness, justice, and good will are the only assurances of national welfare. The Isolation of Great Wealth and Power. — There is no indication that Solomon was loved by his subjects. He dwells isolated in the midst of his luxury. He has many who flatter him, many who fear him, many who parasitic- ally cling to him. But any excessive accumulation of out- ward fortune about a man isolates him from his fellows. The man who is great by outward circumstances misses the supreme joy of close comradeship with his fellow men. Nathan Rothschild, who with all his power and wealth was profoundly unhappy, once exclaimed bitterly to an acquaintance who congratulated him upon his wealth and happiness : "Happy ! Me happy !" How many men of the past, distinguished by wealth and luxury alone, are revered to-day? Men live themselves into the kindly memory of humanity by service alone. The greatest wealth a man can win is not in gold and silver, but in liis comradeships. The Failure of Autocracy. — Autocracy often appears a greater instrument of civilization than democracy. Who has not been saddened by the moral stupidity of the multi- tude? Drunkenness, prostitution, large families inade- 154 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL quately fed, clothed and educated, and subjects of political demagogy — such are some of the weaknesses of the masses even in countries of democratic opportunities. Autocracy apparently "arrives." Autocratic Solomon, not democratic David, builds the temple. Nero builds a new Eome. Napoleon liberates the third estate. Nicholas stops the use of vodka in Eussia. But these triumphs are never real: they always fall short of the moral vic- tories inaugurated by the people themselves. The only permanent advances in civilization are made by the peo- ple themselves. The leader may instruct, but he cannot coerce. He may legislate, but the chief value of his law is its educational impact upon the mind of the citizen. To trust the people means slower progress than to put con- fidence in princes. But paternalism is never permanent. It is a makeshift. True civilization must spring up out of the souls of the multitude. The Lesson Test 1. What were the boundaries of the kingdom which David left to his son? 2. Were Solomon's executions at the beginning of his reign politically justifiable? 3. What policies of David were perpetuated by Solomon? 4. What were the leading motives of Solomon's life and kingship? 5. Compare David and Solomon in the following points: military efficiency and leadership; ability to make and retain loyal friends; religious life; and contributions to the develop- ment of Israel's ethical monotheism. 6. What is to be said of Solomon's foreign policy? 7. What was the strength of his domestic administration? 8. What were its elements of weakness? 9. What personal characteristics or political successes in- duced later generations to consider Solomon the wisest of men? COLLATEBAL READING Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 294-311. Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 156-176. Kent, Biblical Geography and History, pp. 162-167. Encyclopaedia Biblica, article "Solomon." CHAPTER XIX SOLOMON'S AND ISRAEL'S RELIGION The preceding chapter is a study of the political acts and motives of Solomon and their bearing upon the de- velopment of Israel's religion. The present chapter is a survey of the king's direct religious ideas and activities and of the conceptions of religion which prevailed among the Hebrews of his period. The Wisdom of Solomon The Ideal of Wisdom. — After the Greek conquest of Palestine by Alexander the Great and the attempt of the Seleucid kings to Hellenize Jewish life, there was pro- duced by Jewish writers a considerable literature dealing both with practical morals and speculative discussions of some of the fundamental problems of life. These writings are known as Wisdom Literature. It was in this period that Jewish tradition concerning the administrative abili- ties of Solomon blossomed into an ascription of the highest wisdom to the ancient king. Some of the Proverbs were ascribed to him (Proverbs 25. 1). Ecclesiastes begins with the words, "The words of the Preacher, the Son of David, King in Jerusalem." Of this verse Professor Barton has well said: "These words were intended to designate Solo- mon. They were added by the editor who, on account of a hasty inference from 1. 12ff., regarded Solomon as the author. As Solomon had the greatest reputation for wis- dom, wealth, splendor, and voluptuousness, the author chose him as a character through which to set forth in literary fashion his observations on life and his convictions con- cerning it. This the practically minded editor mistook for authorship.'^^ ^International Critical Commentary, 1. 67. 155 156 THE RELIGION OE ISEAEL There are sections in the book of Kings which ascribe to Solomon wisdom of this later type. The student may- consult 1 Kings 4. 29-34. Here Solomon is said to be the wisest of men, and examples of his wisdom are given. The visit of the queen of Sheba, 10. 4-10, is further offered as an instance of the visit of princes from every part of the earth to offer him tribute and to profit by his wisdom, 10. 24. Since Solomon made such a profound impression upon later generations, it is worth while to inquire which sort of wisdom he actually possessed. The Nature of Solomon's Wisdom. — Eead 1 Kings 3. 16-28. Here is an instance of the wisdom which ever has been prized in the earth. The wisdom of Solomon was not very profound. It was not the wisdom of the philosopher or the earnest moralist. It was shrewdness, political sagacity, expertness in solving riddles and a certain facility for turn- ing maxims of life. Another example of his wisdom is given in 9. 11-14. Hiram of Tyre advanced Solomon one hundred and twenty talents of gold. Solomon in return gave Hiram twenty cities in Galilee. But the king of Tyre seems to have been overreached by Solomon in this transaction. The historical foundation for the wisdom of Solomon is the political sagacity evidenced in his manage- ment of the domestic and foreign affairs of his kingdom. He made Israel a world-state during the brief period of his reign. This was enough, in the thought of later gen- erations, harassed by Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman, and dreaming of a Messianic world-empire, to win for Solomon the ascription of the highest wisdom. The Origin of the King's Wisdom. — Read 1 Kings 3. 4-15. Solomon apparently inaugurated his reign by the celebration of a great sacrificial feast at Gibeon. Gibeon is here called "the great high place.'' This indicates that it was the most frequented sanctuary in the vicinity of Jerusalem. The Ark, the most highly regarded sanc- tity of the Hebrews, was housed within a tent at Jeru- salem, but it is not yet the center of Israel's worship. It is stated that Solomon slept at Gibeon and undoubtedly expecting that Jehovah would answer him in a dream, he SOLOMON^S AND ISEAEL'S EELIGION 157 slept within the sanctuary. Among primitive peoples generally the dream is thought to be a true way for the deity to reveal his will. Among Babylonians and Egyp- tians it was a common practice to seek answers to prayers by sleeping in a temple. The process was as follows : The worshiper entered the sanctuary, stated his request to the deity before whose altar he stood, and prayed that his request might be granted; then the inquirer passed the night at the sanctuary and considered as the deity^s an- swer to his prayer any dream which came to him bearing upon his request. Solomon requested that wisdom which would enable him to administer successfully the affairs of his kingdom. The natural consequence of such wisdom was health and honor. But it is important to remember that Solomon, like David and Saul, believed his kingship to be the gift of Jehovah. At the threshold of his career he sought the help of the Deity of his fathers. Yet it is to be noted that no prophet stood at the side of Solomon. Saul had his Samuel and David his Nathan, but none of the prophetic order appears to have counseled Solomon concerning Jehovah's will. The Temple of Solomon The Site of the Temple.— There is little doubt about the site of Solomon's temple. Visitors in Jerusalem will see beneath the dome of the Mosque of Omar the bare rocky summit of Mount Moriah. This projection of native rock sacred to the Moslem was once the altar of burnt-offer- ing standing, in Solomon's day, at the eastern front of the temple. The temple itself stood directly west of this rock. It was necessary to build superstructures on the side of the hill to provide a level platform for the temple building and surrounding wall. Its Plan, Size, and Materials. — The temple was one of the palace buildings. It was not a large structure. It was "a thick-walled, rectangular building of large squared stones and cedar beams, about one hundred and twenty- four feet long by fifty-five broad, and over fifty-two high; with a porch of uncertain height on the east side, and 158 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL round the others three stories of side chambers to a height of about seventeen feet plus the roof.'^' Read 1 Kings 6. 2-7 for the biblical account. First Bangs 6. 15-35 describes the inner arrangements of the temple. The interior was divided into two apartments. The eastern apartment was called "the palace" — that is, the royal residence of the Deity — and was seventy feet long, thirty-four and one-half broad, and fifty-five high (G. A. Smith). In later times this room was called the holy place. It contained the table of shewbread (called an altar in 6. 20). See also 7. 48. It is probable that at this time there were in use also the ten candles or lamps mentioned in 7. 49. The western apartment was a cubical chamber measuring thirty-four and one-half feet. In later times it was called the Holy of Holies. This room contained the Ark and was regarded as the actual dwelling of the Deity. At either end of the Ark stood the Cherubim. Read 6. 23-28 for their descrip- tion. Notice the ornamentation of the inner walls, 6. 29. The Work of Hiram. — First Kings 7. 13-51. Solomon brought a famous brass-worker from Tyre who set up his foundry in the Jordan valley (verse 46), where suitable soil was found for his molds. Here he manufactured vari- ous implements and ornaments for the temple. These were the two great bronze pillars, Jachin and Boaz, which stood at the right and left of the entrance of the porch at the eastern end of the temple, 7. 15-22 ; the brazen sea, a great tank seventeen feet in diameter "supported on the backs of twelve bronze bulls, facing bv threes to the four quarters of heaven" (G. A. Smith), 7. 23-26; ten lavers or basins, on wheels, five to stand at the north of the temple and five at the south, 7. 27-39.' The temple was surrounded by a court inclosed by a wall. The one entrance to this court was from the east opposite the altar of burnt-offering. The temple, with its court and wall, was inclosed by an outer court surrounded by a iG. A. Smith's Jerusalem. Vol. II, page 62. , ., . iVerses 40-51 contain a slightly different and more detailed account of Hiram's works. This section is somewhat obscure, and the student is referred to Smith's Jerusalem and the article "Temple" in the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Hastings's Dictionary of the Bible. SOLOMOX\S AND ISRAELS RELIGION 159 wall. On the south, however, the south wall of the temple court and the north wall of the court surrounding the palace were identical. The Use of the Temple. — Evidently it was not used for sacrifice. There is no mention in the earUest historical literature of any altar of burnt-offering. The summit of the native rock must have been a ^'high place" during the Jebusite occupancy of Jerusalem, and it must have c-on- tinued as a place of sacrifice through the reigns of David and Solomon. The temple was not a place of assembly for worshipers. The building, with its two apartments, was sacred to the Deitv*. He dwelt within and his worshipers offered their sacrifices in the court in front of the temple. It was built to house the Ark, with which Jehovah's pres- ence from of old was identified. Read 1 Kings 8. 12-13. The text here is mutilated, but the following lines prob- ably represent the sense of the formula of dedication tised by Solomon. They are taken from Skinner^s commentary on Kings. "The sun has Jehovah set in the heavens; He himself has resolved to dwell in thick darkness: Built have I a lofty mansion for thee, A place for thee to dwell in for all ages." The Septuagint states that this qtiatrain was taken from the Book of Songs. If this Book of Songs is the famous Book of Jashar, as has been conjectured, we have here undoubtedly a conception of Jehovah in Solomon's day. The lines furnish an explanation of the dark interior of the temple. Although Jehovah is the Creator of the worid, he dwells in the darkness of veiling clouds. His divine nature needs such separating from men. The dark cham- ber of the temple becomes the appropriate earthly resi- dence of Him who, though separated from man by meas- ureless glory, deigns to enter into covenant relation with him. It must be remembered that Solomon did not regard his temple as later Israel came to do. For its btiilder it was not the only legitimate place of worship in the land; 160 THE KELIGION OF ISEAEL it was simply the royal chapel and the most splendid sanc- tuary of the nation. Such a sanctuary would indeed over- shadow the less ornate shrines, but the scattered high places of the land were still legitimate places of worship. Yet in the course of time it came to be regarded as the sole place of Israel's worship. The Eeligious Ideas of the Time There is not much change in the religious beliefs and practices of Israel during Solomon's reign. We miss the prophet of David's time and find that Solombn has recourse to the incubation of dreams to ascertain Jehovah's will. We know that the sacred lot was still in use. It certainly was a backward step taken by the king in the erection of high places for Chemosh the god of Moab, Molech the god of Ammon, and other deities worshiped by the countries from which he took his various wives (1 Kings 11. 8). It is not likely that Solomon himself sacrificed to them, but that their cults were recognized openly in Jerusalem certainly obscured the preeminence of Jehovah. While there is no evidence that the temple contained any image of Jehovah, it did contain a number of symbols which may have belonged to Israel's worship of Jehovah, or which may now have been introduced from other cities. Such were the great cherubim standing at either end of the Ark, the cherubim carved upon the inner walls of the temple, the pillars before or in the porch of the temple, the twelve bronze bulls and the brazen sea which they bore upon their backs, and the brazen serpent which hung in the temple and was worshiped by the Israelites. All these symbols in the course of time were discarded by the grow- ing spirituality of Israel's worship. SUMMAEY Solomon did little to advance the religion of his people. His temple, indeed, in later times played a significant part in the religious life of Israel, but in his own day it meant no enrichment of the nation's life. On the contrary, the introduction of symbolism into the temple and the high SOLOMON'S AND ISRAEL'S RELIGION 161 places of foreign gods into Jerusalem was a distinct re- trogression in Israel's world-mission. Solomon's fame has little worthy basis for its support. His great enterprises dazzled the people of his times, and later ages, uncritical in method, forgot the meagerness of his services in the uplift of his people and adorned his memory with fanciful pictures of greatness. Questions foe Our Contemporaeies The duestion of Paternal Wealth. — Great gifts to edu- cation, charity, and religion are quite common in our times. This is as it ought to be. All wealth is social in origin and all vast fortunes in some sense do belong to the people. But is this the best method now available for bettering the conditions of the masses? Is it better to gather together a fortune, drawing it on the one hand from low wages and on the other hand from high prices, and then act the wise father to distribute this wealth for the cultural benefit of the children? Or is it better to distribute the profits of labor in higher wages or by cooperative methods, and permit the children to develop a trustworthy manhood and womanhood? Is paternalism in industry the last word in Christian economics? Is it really possible for men to build a church, found a library, or establish a college to satisfy their conscience that the wealth so donated has been drawn legitimately from the community? Solomon built the temple by slave labor. Is it possible to compound injustice by princely gifts to art, education, and religion ? The Question of Divided Worship. — Solomon set up altars to Chemosh and Molech as well as to Jehovah. This was simply good business with his neighbor as he under- stood it. He wished alliances with his neighbor kings. He married their daughters. He enabled them to exercise their religion. But this divided worship alienated from him the prophetic support and ended in the division of his kingdom. Is it the inevitable result of a divided worship that the things we have cherished all perish ? Can an altar to business be erected in the soul of the man who wor- ships God ? Can the same person sing hymns to militarism 162 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL and to Christ ? Can we sacrifice at two altars and keep our moral sanity? What were the words of Jesus concerning God and Mammon? The Question of Wisdom. — ^What constitutes wisdom? Is it not still, for most persons, financial shrewdness? Political shrewdness, professional shrewdness — how fre- quently do these become the substitutes of true wisdom in the thoughts of men! Yet an intellectually alert man is not necessarily wise. Wisdom cannot be identified with success. It is not the certain product of schools. It is something which is born in the soul in the midst of the manysided contacts with life. It is spiritual vision and moral willing. It is a preference of character above fame, purity of soul above fortune, peace of mind above sharpness of mental powers. Has not the age of mere intellectualism broken down? Do we not need a new trust of the spirit? Is there a guarantee of stable civilization other than a pro- foundly moral life ? Has not the wisdom of Solomon been superseded by the wisdom of Jesus ? Themes foe Discussion 1. Why did Solomon, in Jewish tradition, become the ideal wise man? 2. What sort of wisdom did the historical Solomon possess? What sort of wisdom was attributed to him by Jewish writers? 3. To what extent is a dream a trustworthy channel of di- vine revelation? 4. What was Solomon's object in building the temple? 5. What was its relation to the palace buildings? 6. To what use was the building put? 7. By what process of thought could Solomon and other ardent worshipers of Jehovah tolerate the presence of altars erected on the hills about Jerusalem to non-Israelitish deities? 8. What changes in Israel's religion were inaugurated by Solomon? Important References G. H. Smith, Jerusalem, Volume II, pp. 48-82. Paton, Jerusalem in Bible Times, pp. 77-101. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, Volume IV, article "Tem- ple." Encyclo'pwdia Biblica, columns 4923-4940. CHAPTER XX THE DISRUPTION OP THE KINGDOM In the last half dozen chapters it has been stated re- peatedly that the monarchy was the political and religious salvation of Israel. We come now to the breakdown of that united political organization and to the religious development under the divided kingdom. Our interest will center first in the northern tribes and their story will be continued unto the fall of Samaria in 721. Then we will turn to the southern kingdom for its histor}' and religious life. Henceforth the word "Israel" will be limited to the northern kingdom. The division of the empire of Solomon into two mon- archies was, of course, an event of the first magnitude in Hebrew history. The political autonomy of the two divisions rested upon a variety of topographical and social conditions which eventually differentiated their religious life. This lesson sets forth the causes of the division and the bent given to Israel religiously and politically by the choice of an independent government. The Northern- Tribes Become an Independent King- dom : The Cause of the Revolt Clan Rivalry. — The entire history of the Hebrews re- veals that the tribes gave their first loyalty to themselves and their second to the united Hebrew interests. Read 2 Samuel 19. 40-43 and 20. 1-22. Here toward the close of David^s reign the northern and southern tribes break apart. Absalom's rebellion apparently drew its support from Judah and David's loyal troops were chiefly from Israel. But David's secret overtures to Judah after the death of Absalom in turn alienated Israel from him. Com- pare 2 Samuel 20. 1, 2 with 1 Kings 12. 16 and notice 163 164 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL that the cry of Sheba and the spirit of the northern tribes in David's day are now duplicated at the new crisis. ^'What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, Israel: now see to thine own house, David.'' The northern tribes apparently could not forget their own importance of numbers, territory, and wealth, and that they had given the nation its first king. David, Solomon, and Eehoboam were Judaite princes, and unless their personal merits won the allegiance of the united people, the northerners were in no mood to concede the leadership to the southern tribe. The Want of External Pressure. — The need of greater defense against a common enemy often has forced small groups, commonly indifferent or antagonistic to each other, into united action. The policy of George III forced the American colonies into a union and eventually into a nation. During Solomon's reign the Hebrews were free from harassing enemies whose wars would have necessitated the continuance of the union. The Canaanites had been despoiled of their fortified cities, their inhabitants reduced to slavery, and they were already submerged or amalga- mated with the Hebrews. The Philistines were under Egyptian control. It was not in their power to threaten the fortunes of Israel. Assyria had not yet begun her western campaigns which were to end in Israel's destruc- tion. Judah herself was too limited in territory and wealth to prove a formidable neighbor. Thus there was no im- mediate danger to force a continuance of a discordant union. The King's Administrative Policy. — The tyranny of Solomon, expressed in the forced labor of his subjects and in his own personal luxury, was another compelling element toward disunion. The royal oppression depicted in 1 Samuel 8. 10-18 is an underdrawn study of the actual hardships under Solomon. Read 1 Kings 12. 6-11 for the counselors of Rehoboam, trained in the political school of Solomon. The old men have no ideals of government existing for the common welfare; their advice considers the expedient and their goal is the Solomonic tyranny. THE DISKUPTION OF THE KINGDOM 165 The young bloods are for open scorn and oppression of the common people. In spite of Jeroboam's fairness, the kings of Israel drifted into the heartless oppression which these young men, accustomed to the slavery imposed by Solomon, unfeelingly advised should be meted out to the common subjects of the empire. The Monarchy Not Yet Hereditary. — The Hebrew king- ship could not yet be said to have become established in any family. Saul and David had been elected to the king- ship by the tribes. The effort to recognize the succession in the house of Saul was a complete failure. The seating of Solomon upon the throne was due more to the resolute ac- tion of David and Joab than to the fact that he was David's son. Observe 1 Kings 12. 1-16. Notice that Eehoboam, who was probably the oldest son of Solomon, apparently was accepted by the men of Judah without question. But the northern tribes compel Eehoboam to come to Shechem to receive the formal allegiance of the people. This is not granted without bargaining, and when Eehoboam re- jects the administrative reforms proposed by the north- ern tribes, they refuse to make him their king. The con- sciousness of an elective monarchy prevails among the northern clans. International Politics. — It will be recalled that during David's kingship at Hebron the Philistines offered no battle with the Hebrews. When he was made king of united Israel the enemy once more became active. A strong Hebrew state meant the lessening of tribute to the powerful overlord. Solomon's relations with Phoenicia and Egypt were intended by these nations to secure to them- selves greater commercial advantages. Psusennes II, the last Pharaoh of the Tanite dynasty, had married his daugh- ter to Solomon, 1 Kings 9. 16, in order to strengthen his interests in Syria. Gezer, which until this time had been an independent Canaanitish city, was captured by Pharaoh and given to Solomon, who rebuilt the city. Jeroboam, 1 Kings 11. 40, fled from Solomon's vengeance into Egypt. If Jeroboam married the sister-in-law of Shisak, the first Pharaoh of the Libyan dynasty, as 1 Kings 12. 24 in the 166 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL Septuagint asserts, then there is the strong presumption that Egypt was backing Jeroboam in his leadership of the revolt of northern Canaan. That the revolt of the northern tribes was encouraged by Egypt is further indicated by the fact that Shishak took the side of Jeroboam in his con- tinual wars with Judah, 1 Kings 14. 25-28. The Kingship op Jekoboam He Wins the Kingship of Israel. — Jeroboam, like Saul and David, rose from obscure position to eminence in his world. Later Judaite historians, in order to fasten op- probrium upon him, stated that his mother was a leper, and others said that she was a harlot. Bead 1 Kings 11. 26-31, 40. Notice that Jeroboam's ability is recognized by Solomon, and observe the position to which the king advanced him. In the present Hebrew account it is im- plied that the action of Ahijah, becoming known to Solo- mon, led the king to attempt to put Jeroboam to death. But the Septuagint, 1 Kings 11. 26-28, indicates that Jeroboam had fortified his native town, Sareira, or Zare- dah, and had raised a force of three hundred chariots. It is not likely that Jeroboam's life was endangered by Ahijah's prediction alone or that Ahijah would have selected a leader of rebellion who had not already evi- denced characteristics of bold and independent action. That Jeroboam committed some overt act of rebellion is indicated by the language of 1 Kings 11. 26 and by the fact that Shishak of Egypt considered him eminent enough for a royal alliance. A comparison of the Septuagint text with our received Hebrew account suggests the following order of events. As soon as Jeroboam, who is in Egypt, learns of the death of Solomon, he returns to Zaredah and becomes at first the secret instigator and counselor of the northern tribes. At his suggestion the leaders of Israel, at their assembly at Shechem, 1 Kings 12. 1-20, demand certain admin- istrative reforms; when these were refused, as Jeroboam had every reason to suppose they would be, he became the natural choice of the northern tribes to rule their inde- THE DISRUPTION OF THE KINGDOM 167 pendent monarchy. It is not improbable that Jeroboam would have found some pretext, had this request of Israel been granted by Rehoboam, to place himself at the head of a north Canaan kingdom. The Events of His Reign. — The Hebrew historians give few details of Jeroboam's reign. Examine 1 Kings 12. 25-31; 14. 19, 30. He made the ancient city of Shechem his capital and fortified it securely. He fortified Penuel across the Jordan and possessed some authority over the trans-Jordan tribes. He greatly embellished the ancient sanctuaries of the land. His reign was a series of strug- gles with Rehoboam, who sought to force Israel again into allegiance. Jeroboam evidently was the vassal of Egypt, and constantly sent tribute to his overlord. Egyptian lists in the temple of Amon at Karnak contain the names of many cities of Israel which paid tribute to Shishak. The Sins of Jeeoboam: Read attentively 1 Kings 12. 26-33 and notice that Jero- boam is here adversely criticized for three irregularities, namely, the golden bulls at Dan and Bethel, the consecra- tion of non-Levites to the priesthood, and the establishment of the harvest festival a month later than its observance in Judah (see Leviticus 23. 34). We should consider whether this was the spirit of the times of Jeroboam. The northern tribes were united by a sense of the injustice of Solomon's rule and by the de- termination to secure a more democratic administration of affairs. Jeroboam must have voiced this spirit in order to have secured the suffrage of the people. His regulations of worship must have been directed by the same spirit of social democracy. They could have scarcely been acceptable had they been religious innovations intended to alienate them further from their old beliefs. Bethel and Dan were old sanctuaries. The choice of them as religious capitals was no innovation. Solomon had transformed an incon- spicuous Canaan itish shrine into the religious capital of the nation and adorned it with the wealth at his command. He had set up golden bulls in the court of the temple, 1 168 THE RELIGION" OF ISRAEL Kings 7. 25, 29. The bull was an ancient symbol of fertility and strength. Jehovah is likened to a wild bull in Numbers 23. 22 and 24. 8. In Babylonia, figures of a bull guarded the approach to a temple, a house, a garden. It was thought that they prevented the entrance of evil spirits. The bull-god was one of the chief Hittite deities in whose honor images of bulls were dedicated. He was the protector of the cultivated land. The surest evidence that the people of Jeroboam's day did not regard him as an apostate is that these images were not condemned by Elijah and Elisha, and that when Bethel fell, at times, into the hand of Judah, the golden bull was not disturbed. The answer to the charge that Jeroboam violated the reli- gious instincts of his day by making priests of non-Levites is that David made his sons priests, 2 Samuel 8. 18, and Solomon sacrificed freely at the high places, 1 Kings 3. 4. Jeroboam was only following the example of his pred- ecessors. The change of date of the feast of ingathering was no more than a better adjustment to the needs of the northern people. That Jeroboam was himself a Jehovah worshiper is seen from his consultation of the prophets of his day, from the name given his son (Abijah; that is, "Jehovah is father"), and from his express statement in setting up the bulls: "These are thy God, Israel, who brought thee up from the land of Egypt.'' Foe Fieeside Meditation The Ways of Jehovah. — "It was a thing brought about by Jehovah" is Israel's official historian's account of the revolt of the northern tribes. It was not an unjust request which they made of Solomon. The withdrawal of the northern tribes was in the interest of greater social justice. Consciousness of divine direction of life springs from the awakening of new ethical convictions. This is ever the soul of religious revelation. We will meet the same experi- ence in the great prophets of the eighth century. The longing for social righteousness is a divine prompting. It is a revelation of God's presence in the thinking and willing of the reformer. To do the heavenly Father's will is the THE DISRUPTION OF THE KINGDOM 169 onty absolute guarantee that the individual shall know him. Fellowship with God springs indeed out of ethical action among men. Changing Morality. — What is moral ? It has been said that moral law is not binding because there is no unchang- ing content in the moral law. Jeroboam was uncondemned by the moral rigorists of his day. Later historians at- tributed the woes of Israel to his idolatry. In the course of centuries new moral convictions have arisen concerning polygamy, slavery, intoxicating liquors, disease, and poverty. The eternal thing is moral law. The changing thing is the content of the moral ideal. We cannot escape the obligation to be moral. It grips the savage and the Christian scholar. But that which the primitive man counts moral is a world apart from the ethical ideal of the cultured Christian of the twentieth century. The Passing of Judgment. — It is the historian's duty to present the facts of the age which he describes. It is not his privilege to pillory its characters with the ideals of later centuries. Justice requires that men shall be judged in the light of their own times. They cannot be sentenced by the moral convictions of a later civilization. Yet the judgment of a man's contemporaries is seldom other than severe. The ideals of an age always are finer than its actions. If we cannot win the approval of the best men of our own age, except in rare cases, our case never will be adjudged in our favor in after times. The Justification of Government. — The men of Israel felt rightly that the monarchy of Solomon, unless it set itself to just acts, had better fail. Government has no sacred privileges in itself. Its privileges arise out of the faitliful observance of its duties toward its citizens. The sacredness of the state is its devotion to the common wel- fare. Tyrannous government never is more than a sub- stitute for genuine democracy. To be permanent a gov- ernment must be devoted to the common good. It cannot build an enduring life upon the advantage which it offers to the few. It is the sacred heritage of the many. It must add to the average of human opportunity or it must pass 170 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL away. That government which is the rule of rascals for the benefit of the rich must yield to the government which is the rule of the wise for the benefit of all. Civilization is hurrying rapidly toward both political and economic democracy. Final Considerations 1. Consider whether the disruption of the kingdom was not inevitable to forward social justice. Decide whether Jero- boam's regulation of worship was influenced more by political or religious considerations. Was he a patriot or an apostate? 2. Why did the prophets of the day encourage Jeroboam? Consider that the prophetic history reveals two distinct ele- ments, namely, simplicity of worship unfolding into spiritual- ity of thinking and conduct, and social justice. How would the work of Jeroboam appeal to the prophetic mind of his times? It should be kept in mind that the moral judgments expressed in certain portions of the Book of Kings concern- ing religious practices are the convictions of an age four centuries after Jeroboam's day. They are consequently the product of a long period of growth and development. 3. Think of the possibilities of Israel, with its enthusiasm for social justice, its wealth, its greater territory, its demo- cratic relation to the kingship, its religious conservatism in clinging to the old high places and adorning them with the splendor of their new ambitions. Think of the prophetic in- sight which assured the people that the disruption of the empire "was a thing brought about by Jehovah," and in future lessons study the tragic political and religious failure of the northern kingship. 4. Consider why Jeroboam did not advance the higher in- terests of his people. He acquiesced rather than progressed; he was a reactionary in religion; his program, born, without doubt, in patriotic fervor, was a returning emphasis upon the religious ideas and practices of the old Canaanitish shrines. The centralization of worship, the goal of a later age — the impassioned ideal of the Deuteronomists — was a forward step in the spiritualization and ethicization of the world's religion. Jeroboam's enrichment of the shrines of Israel was an obscura- tion of the process which was making for good even under the luxurious autocracy of Solomon. Suggested Readings Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 177-182. Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 312-325. Book of Kings in the New Century Bible, pp. 443-446. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bihle, article, "Jeroboam." CHAPTER XXI A EELIGIOUS CRISIS IN ISRAEL Through the period of the united monarchy, the min- gling of the worship of Jehovah with Canaanitish Baalism, which began in the days of the Judges, continued until many of the beliefs and practices of the Canaanites were followed by the Hebrews. Although it is necessary to turn to the prophets of Judah to find the true spiritualization of Hebrew religion, the first advances in the great prophetic triumph are to be studied in the religioas history of the northern kingdom. It was in Israel that Baalism received its first rude shock and that men's thoughts were turned with new insight toward the one spiritual God. This chap- ter is a study of one of the greatest crises of Hebrew his- tory and one of the greatest of the fathers of Hebrew religion. Israel's Political History from Jeroboam to Ahab A period of forty years intervenes between the death of Jeroboam and the rise of Ahab to power, under whom the loyalty of Israel was severely tested. Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, reigned two years and was slain by Baasha. Baasha was an energetic prince and, after having slain all the house of Jeroboam and pushed his kingdom as far as Ramah, within a few miles of Jerusalem, and conducted countless wars for years, he died a natural death in his palace at Tirzah. His son, Elah, a drunkard, after a brief rule of two years was assassinated by Zimri. In the seven days during which Zimri held his throne he put through a wholesale slaughter of Baasha's kinsfolk and friends, and then, being attacked by Omri, whom the army had chosen king, withdrew into the citadel of his palace, set it on fire, and perished in the flames. Omri won his kingdom after a period of civil war with Tibni. The new king put Israel 171 172 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL on the map. He transferred his capital from Tirzah to Samaria, which he built and fortified. Although he was forced to cede territory to Damascus and to grant its mer- chants special privileges in his capital, 1 Kings 20. 34, he held Moab in subjection and compelled an enormous trib- ute, 2 Kings 3. 4. Mesha, king of Moab, on the Moabite Stone says that "Omri oppressed Moab many days.^' Omri is the first Israelite king to be mentioned in the Assyrian inscriptions. From his reign until the destruction of the northern kingdom, Israel was known to the Assyrian as *^The Land of Omri.^' Omri's death brings the political history of Israel to B. C. 875, when Ahab came to the throne. The Political Policies of Ahab International Relations. — When David pushed the bound- aries of Israel northward into Aramaean territory, 2 Samuel 8. 3-7, he came into conflict with Damascus. Dur- ing the reign of Solomon, 1 Kings 11. 23-25, this same Syrian state recognized in the Hebrew nation its chief obstacle toward expansion southward. Damascus, follow- ing the usual foreign policy toward Palestine, in the reign of Baasha, 15. 18-20, played politics with the two king- doms and became a formidable enemy of both governments. From the reign of Baasha onward, until both Israel and Damascus were conquered by Assyria, the Aramsean king- dom to the north was the terror of Israel. During the reign of Omri, 20. 34, Damascus won the privilege of establish- ing merchants^ quarters in Israelis capital. During the reign of Ahab, in spite of his alliance with Tyre, the armies of Israel were unable to hold the field against the troops of Damascus, 20. 1, and besieged Samaria. Ahab, however, was able to inflict two severe defeats upon his enemy. But at the last King Ahab perished in battle with his foe, 22. 34, 35. It was to strengthen himself against the Aramaean king- dom of Damascus that Ahab entered into alliance with Tyre. It was his political necessity which introduced a train of evils into Israel. Eead 1 Kings 16. 29-33. Ahab A RELIGIOUS CRISIS IN ISRAEL 173 was pursuing the customary statecraft of his day. Since political affiliations were sealed by marriage, and marriage involved the right of the foreigner to worship his deity, Jezebel brought with her to Samaria the cult of Melkart, the Tyrian baal. Jezebel proved a queen in act as well as in name. A woman of force and initiative, she soon made the worship of Melkart popular in court circles. Ahab's Domestic Policy.— Read 1 Kings 21. 1-16. This crime of Ahab against Naboth was an atrocious act which only a ruthless sovereign could carry through. The mean subserviency of the elders of Jezreel witnesses to the fear with which Ahab and Jezebel had inspired Israel. This infamous act of Ahab's could not have been an isolated instance of wrong-doing. Ahab refers to Elijah, 21. 20, in a way which suggests that the prophet frequently had raised his voice against the king's unjust acts. Note also 22. 8. Was it for similar outrages of Israelitish democ- racy that Micaiah never prophesied good of Ahab ? Jezebel, the foreigner, accustomed to the higher civilization of Phoenicia, no doubt urged her husband to many high- handed acts which tended to arouse the democratic con- servatives of his kingdom. The Religious Consequences of Ahab's Political Actions The Attack upon Tyrian Baalism. — Tyrian baalism never became a widely spread cult. The masses of the peo- ple were Jehovah worshipers or else practiced the twofold worship of the Canaanitish baals and Jehovah. Although Melkart's priests and prophets had become numerous, 2 Kings 10. 21, it was quite possible for Jehu to exterminate them at one blow. Yet Jezebel was rapidly making in- roads upon Israel's loyalty to Jehovah. The aggressive propaganda of the new worship had gone far enough to reveal to patriots like Elijah the danger which now threat- ened Israel. Many of Jehovah's altars had been thrown down, 1 Kings 18. 30 and 19. 14, and some of his prophets had been slain. Elijah rightly saw that the king's policy was carrying him farther than the king himself was aware. 174 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL Ahab evidently did not intend to break free from the pro- phetic support which hitherto had been given the leaders of the northern kingdom. Eead attentively 1 Kings 20. 13- 16, 23, 35-43; 22. 6-28, and note the dependence of Ahab upon the prophets of Jehovah. Observe also the names given by Ahab to his children : Ahaziah, "he whom Jehovah supports'^; Jehoram, "Jehovah is higV; and Athaliah, "Jehovah is great.'^ Surely Ahab did not intend to alienate his people from the worship of Jehovah. " But, like ordinary individuals, an act performed in the interests of expediency had carried him farther than he had intended to go. It was no ordinary woman whom Tyre sent to cement the Phoenician alliance with Israel. Elijah saw the danger ahead. The nation owed its exist- ence to its loyalty to Jehovah. Disloyalty to him was treason to the state. Melkart was a foreigner and to wor- ship him was not only religious apostasy but also a political crime. Therefore Elijah challenged the king and queen and the latter's invading god, Melkart, with the proclama- tion that Jehovah alone ruled the land. Eead 1 Kings 18. 17-46 for a vivid account of the con- test fought out on Mount Carmel. By this time, as the next paragraph will show, Tyrian baalism had precipitated the whole question of the difference between Baalism in general and Jehovahism. The question here raised by Elijah is the question of the lordship of the land. "Elijah, who championed the cause of patriotism and a Deity in whom men were beginning to find justice and righteous- ness, summoned the king of Israel and the foreign priests whom he patronized into this mountain fastness. It was no petty crisis in Israelis and the world's history. Crude and cruel, fiery and vengeful, Jehovah's representative may have been, but he turned Israel back from the oblivion of her Semitic neighbors and bequeathed to her the ethical foundation upon which later prophets were to build the mighty edifice of ethical monotheism."^ Insistence upon Social Justice. — Along with Tyrian baal- ^Ascbam» A Syrian Pilgrimage, p. 156. A KELIGIOUS CEISIS IN ISKAEL 175 ism there were introduced into Israel the manners of the wealthy Phoenician city-states. A standard of life new to Israel was set up in Samaria. That luxury of which later prophets complained so bitterly and which they denounced so unsparingly seems to have been introduced by Jezebel. Unscrupulous and tyrannic methods were used to secure the money which the new manner of life required. The treatment of Naboth was not an isolated instance of the royal government. The nation was small and poor. The military campaigns of Ahab were enough to exhaust the country. Sensuality and luxury, indifference to the life of the commoner, insolence and violence on the part of the court were sure to arouse resentment and rebellion among the democratic Israelites. The prophets, who tradi- tionally stood for just social life, were sure to be aroused by AhaVs domestic policy. It was no doubt due to his acts of social injustice, as well as to his intolerance of the foreign baalism, that the prophets opposed him and came under the royal displeasure, 1 Kings 18. 4. Elijah was the chief spokesman for that patriotic group which resented the despotic methods of the king and queen, and at the risk of life, he boldly challenged, not only the foreign religion, but also the un-Israelitish autocracy of Ahab and his court. The bold stand of prophets like Elijah and Micaiah seems somewhat to have checked the king's unjust methods. Examine 1 Kings 20. 13-22, 35-43 ; 22. 5-14. Ahab's for- eign policy in regard to Damascus was supported by a large body of prophets. Vigorous support of the king's campaigns against Benhadad was given by them. They were keenly alive to the necessity of the national defense against Damascus, and some of the prophets, 22. 5-28, undoubtedly condoned many acts of Ahab in order to urge him to a vigorous defense of the nation. The situation revealed in the last biblical reference is exceedingly in- teresting. Here we have the beginning of the distinction which we meet so often in the later literature between the false and the true prophet. These prophets who here so positively urged Ahab to attack the king of Syria are 176 THE RELIGION OF ISEAEL confident that Jehovah will give Israel the victory. They are sincere worshipers of Jehovah. Their predictions of victory are based upon Jehovah's covenant with his people. Their mistake is that they believe that Jehovah's supreme interest is the preservation of the nation. They are certain that Jehovah's land will be defended by Jehovah. They were sincere but they were mistaken. Micaiah and Elijah boldly said that Jehovah's supreme interest is not the preservation of the nation but the establishment and main- tenance of righteousness and justice. The king who neg- lected these could be certain, not of victory, but defeat. These two prophets are the true successors of Nathan and the forerunners of Amos and Isaiah. They are setting up a standard in Israel around which true men will rally until the great prophets have fulfilled their task for the Hebrew and the world. The Effect upon Baalism in Geneeal There had been little change of religious beliefs and prac- tices in Israel during the stormy kingships from Jeroboam to Ahab. Prophets there were, but there was no open pro- test against the idolatrous, and often licentious, worship at the scattered shrines. The high places, with their altars for sacrifice, their Mazzebahs, or pillars, their Asherahs, or wooden poles, and often their Kedeshas, or sacred prosti- tutes, were common features of Israel's worship. These sanctuaries were the scenes of feasting, drunkenness, and licentiousness. Jehovah was worshiped at the hundreds of altars of Israel, but the worship in spirit and form was almost wholly Canaanitish. The forms of worship at these altars of Jehovah differed but little from the worship car- ried on at the altars of the Tyrian baal. Against this non- Israelitish worship the prophet Elijah directed his fierce antagonism. His religious patriotism was aroused by this foreign deity, introduced by Jezebel, who was overturning not only man's loyalty to Jehovah but also the simple manners and democratic ideals of justice and righteousness among the people. The introduction of Tyrian baalism awakened serious reflections upon the nature of baalism A EELIGIOUS CRISIS IN ISRAEL 177 and the character of Jehovah. A process of moral revolt against the crude and sensual worship of the shrines from this time on is discernible. Melkarf s worship in Samaria and the persecution of Jehovah^s prophets raised an issue which never again became dead in Israel, namely, Who is truly God, Jehovah or the Baals? That Jehovah could brook no rivals henceforth was a dogma of the prophets. That no other deity was worthy to stand beside him became their slogan to free the land of the last vestige of Canaan- itish cults. Religion and Political Life The Failure of the Politician. — In all ages there have been men who have devoted themselves to public affairs not primarily for the common welfare but for individual advantage. Political policies far too often have been adopted because of some temporary gain or some profit to the rascals in control of the government. Sometimes religion is enlisted in the service of political schemes which run counter to the common good. The mere politician, the individual who is concerned in the triumph of his party or the social and monetary advantages which accrue from position in the State, soon or late comes to ruin. Mere politics never can save a party from defeat or a state from ruin. The pursuit of justice and righteousness is the only guarantee of an enduring state. The Political Affiliations of Religion. — Religion never lends itself to a political or business policy. The end of religion is righteousness, not national or individual ag- grandizement. Its party cry is justice, not prosperity. Its supreme loyalty is not to government, but to God. Its ballot is cast for the uplift of all men. It seeks the defeat of sin, not the sinner. Religion is patriotic; its country is humanity. If religion supports a nation's political policies, it does so not for the nation's good alone but for the good that results for the world out of the nation's triumph. If righteousness is vindicated and more securely enthroned, religion can see a nation perish. It is better to die than to live unworthily. Religion is not concerned 178 THE EELIGIOIST OF ISRAEL primarily with the forms of government. It is the ends served by government which ever are the grave concern with religion. Eeligion serves humanity, not a party. Self-interest and Religion. — To the simpler living Israel- ites Tyrian baalism was the religion of despots. Its in- troduction into Israel was solely in the interest of Jezebel and Ahab, and the new religion encouraged outrageous violations of human justice. Perhaps it was this royal tyranny, seemingly encouraged by the Tyrian worship, which aroused the antagonism of the keener-visioned prophets. Self-interest never gave any permanent validity to a message of religion. The founder of a new faith must not grow wealthy. He who does not spare himself carries within his very selflessness an authentication of his appoint- ment to the post of divine messenger. It takes a cross to give credence to a savior. He who gives little helps little. He who advocates new ways of life must have been a pathfinder. The evangelist who seeks disciples for Christ must be able to say, ^'Come.^' The Jezebels and Ahabs soon or late perish miserably. Finals 1. Sketch the character of Jezebel, Ahab, Elijah, and Micaiah. 2. Discuss the nature of the worship at the altars of Israel in the days of Elijah. 3. What was Ahab's foreign policy? 4. What constituted for Elijah the offensiveness of Tyrian baalism? 5. To what extent did the worship of Melkart silence the worship of Jehovah? 6. Why could Ahab secure for his campaigns against Damascus the approval of so many prophets of Israel? 7. Discuss the value of Elijah's services in behalf of the developing kingdom of God. Material fob Additional Study W. R. Smith, The Prophets of Israel, pp. 76-87. Budde, Religion of Israel to the Exile, pp. 112-120. Kent, Biblical Geography and History, pp. 168-175. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, Volume V, pp. 654-657, Volume I, article, "Elijah." CHAPTEE XXII THE REVOLUTION UNDER JEHU Two sons of Ahab reach the throne before Jehu, by a series of murders, stamps forever into Israel's life the great contention of Elijah that there can be but one God in Israel. Ahaziah and Jehoram wield the scepter of the northern kingdom from 853 to 842. Both of them are of little interest in the story of Israel's religion. The prophets, under the dominance of Elijah and Elisha, gave them little support. The religious history of Israel con- tinues the Elijah chapter in the political activities of Jehu, who came to the throne in 842 and kept his empire thirty- eight years. The Political Acts of Jehu Jehu Ascends the Throne of Israel. — Read 2 Kings 9. 1-6, 11-13. It was in an attempt to take Ramoth-Gilead from the Syrian king that Ahab lost his life. In subse- quent campaigns the troops of Israel appear to have taken the city. But the Syrians, under Hazael, their king, laid siege to the place and in battle with him Joram, the son of Ahab, was wounded. The army, under the command of Jehu, continued the campaign. It was at this juncture that the hostility against the policies of Ahab, which were con- tinued by his sons and by Jezebel, the queen mother, broke forth under the leadership of the prophets. Evidently, the men who had rallied under the bold action of Elijah and were imbued with his ideas could count upon the loyal Israelite character in Jehu. Such choices are seldom made on the spur of the moment. Jehu's daring was well known, 9. 20; he had kept in touch with prophetic circles, 9. 36; and his opposition to the foreign customs was well known, 10. 15. Note the manner in which the decision of the prophets is carried to Jehu. To what extent is the prompt 179 180 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL acceptance by Jehu's captains of his proclaimed kingship an index of the new king's leadership ? What further evi- dence of his fitness for royal office is seen in 9. 15 ? in 9. 16-20 ? State the series of murders by which Jehu seated himself on the throne, 9. 21-28, 30-37; 10. 1-11, 12-14, 17. Were these crimes a political necessity? What precedents had Jehu for his policy of extermination ? The Destruction of the Followers of Melkart. — Observe Jehu's alliance with the Rechabite faction, 10. 15-16. The religious significance of this will be discussed later. It is an evidence both of the religious enthusiasm and political sagacity of Jehu. Jehu says to Jehonadab (following the Septuagint), "Is thy heart honestly with my heart, as my heart is with thy heart?" "It is," said Jehonadab. And Jehu said, "If it be, give me thy hand." And Jehonadab gave Jehu his hand, and Jehu took him up into his chariot, and said, "Come with me and see my zeal for Jehovah." State the details of Jehu's destruction of the Tyrian baalism, 10. 18-28. Could the followers of Baal have been deceived by Jehu's pretense after his wholesale mur- ders? Or did they hope that a ready compliance with his demands might avert something of his wrath? Observe that Baalism, like Jehovahism, has its prophets, priests, sacred festivals, sacred garments to be worn at the sanc- tuaries, and a sacrificial system similar to that practiced at the altars of Jehovah. Observe that Jehu, like former Hebrew kings, assumes the right of offering sacrifices. The priests of Baal saw no infringement of their rights in this royal assumption of sacrificial privileges. In addition to the slaughter of the followers of Baal, what further measures were taken by Jehu? What would be the effect upon the nation of this prompt and determined destruc- tion of the adherents of the Tyrian baal? Jehu's Political Alliances. — The foreign policy of Israel was affected by Jehu's suppression of Phoenician baalism in his kingdom. His murder of Jezebel ended Israel's alliance with Tyre. To protect himself against Damascus, Jehu, in B. C. 842, became the vassal of Assyria. Ahab, either as the vassal or the ally of Damascus, suffered defeat THE EEVOLUTION UNDER JEHU 181 along with other Syrian states at Karkar in 854 B. C. The Assyrian forces at this time were not able to subdue Damas- cus and this Aram^an state not only remained inde- pendent but also retained its suzerainty over Israel. It is not improbable that Jehu was aided in his revolution by Assyrian influence. At least, the prophets who supported Jehu may have determined to seek an alliance with Assyria against Damascus. The prophets of this period were in- tensely patriotic and were ready to take any steps which made for the aggrandizement of their native kingdom. The Black Obelisk inscription of Shalmaneser II, now in the British Museum, bears witness to Jehu's submission. It represents in relief Shalmaneser receiving the tribute of Jehu and bears the inscription, "Tribute of Jehu, son of Omri — objects of silver and gold, bars of silver, bars of gold, a golden bowl, a golden ladle, golden goblets, golden pitchers, bars of lead, a scepter for the king, shafts of spears — these I received.'' This campaign and another made by the same monarch three years later so reduced Damascus that Israel was relieved for a number of years from Syrian aggression. This peace must have justified Jehu's revolution in the minds of his subjects. But to- ward the end of Jehu's reign, Damascus recovered from her Assyrian calamities and again encroached upon Israel. Eead 2 Kings 10. 32, 33. The terror of the cruel ravages perpetuated by Hazael long remained with Israel, 8. 12, and these brutalities drew from Amos, 1. 3-5, the assertion that the capture of Damascus by the Assyrians was Jehovah's punishment of Hazael's ruthless crimes in Israel. The attitude of the prophets who raised Jehu to the throne is reflected in 2 Kings 13. 5. Assyria in this early period was considered the divinely given ally of Israel. The prophets who rallied around Elisha did not foresee the unsparing conquering genius of Assyria. Jehu's Advisers The Prophets. — It will be recalled that the earliest his- torical appearance of the prophets is in connection with 182 THE EELIGIOlSr OF ISEAEL the patriotic uprising under Saul. From time to time they have appeared in Hebrew life. They were the chief supporters of Jehovah, whom Jezebel thought it expedient to hunt down and slay. They rallied around Ahab in his campaigns against Damascus. Now they take the initia- tive in raising Jehu to the throne. These early prophets did not have the moral and spiritual views of Amos and his great successors, through whom ethical monotheism was given to the world. They did not lead primarily by the unanswerable logic of ethical requirements in the name of religion, but, rather, by a frenzied enthusiasm which rendered the dominating idea or purpose of the moment invincible. Saul's patriotic ambition to free his land from the Philistine was given divine approval, in his mind and in the thought of his countrymen, by the spiritual exalta- tion which he expressed in the company of prophets who at the moment were passing through an intense upheaval of their consciousness. It was this group of men, intense patriots, passionately jealous for the worship of Jehovah, and, largely because they themselves were from the ranks of the humbler He- brews, quick to feel the wrongs done to the commoner by unscrupulous and luxury-loving nobles and kings, who opened the way for Jehu's seizure of the kingship of Israel. Examine 1 Kings 19. 16 and 2 Kings 9. 1-6. Consider how great must have been the prophetic loyalty to Israel and loyalty to Jehovah to give this group of men such lead- ership in the politics of the kingdom. Why were the prophets antagonistic to the dynasty of Ahab? Why did they choose Jehu as their political leader? Examine care- fully 2 Kings 9. 25 ; 1 Kings 21. 17-20, 23, and state to what extent Jehu had the prophetic warrant for his crimes. What reason did Jehu give to Joram for the rebellion? 2 Kings 9. 22. See also 10. 10 for further evidence of prophetic support. Consider all the evidence, and state whether Jehu was a mere politician or whether he believed himself the instrument of Jehovah at a great crisis in Israel. Note the presence of these prophetic guilds, or com- THE EEVOLUTION UNDER JEHU 183 munities, 2 Kings 2. 3-5; 4. 38-44; 6. 1-7. They were hotbeds of patriotism and Jehovahism. They condemned political traffic with Damascus, 1 Kings 20. 35-43. They encouraged the political ambition of the Hebrew princes, 2 Kings 3. 11, and in spite of his antagonism to Jehoram, son of Ahab, Elisha gives his fullest support to the cam- paign for the reduction of Moab, 3. 13-25. These prophets of the type of Elijah and Elisha were in full sympathy with Jehu. The prophetic attitude of the day is given in 2 Kings 10. 30, '^And Jehovah said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, thy sons of the fourth genera- tion shall sit on the throne of Israel.^' The Rechabites. — There was another class of ardent Jehovahists in Israel at this time, the Rechabites. Ex- amine 2 Kings 10. 15-17, 23. It is tantalizing that the historians of this period have not given us an account of the beliefs and life of this important group in Israel. Jonadab, the son of Rechab, is an influential person. He was in hearty sympathy with Jehu and therefore was a determined opponent of the luxurious despotism of the court of Ahab and of the foreign baalism brought in by Jezebel. The importance of these allies, represented by Jonadab, is seen in the fact that two hundred and fifty years later there appears in Judah a sect, with clearly defined principles and habits of life, which traces its origin to the Jonadab who supported Jehu's revolution. Read Jeremiah 35. 1-11. Here the Rechabites are men who have renounced the civilized life of Canaan. They live in tents, they own no land, they plant no fields, they culti- vate no vineyards. They are not agriculturists, but shep- herds. Like the patriarchs, they move from place to place. They Jived like the Bedouins to-day. From 1 Chronicles 2. 55 we learn that these Rechabites were descendants of the Kenites among whom Moses dwelt and from whom he learned the worship of Jehovah. Here, then, in the midst of the struggle against a foreign baalism, a distinct conception of Jehovah's require- 184 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL ments appears ; a conception quite antagonistic to the popu- lar Jehovahism of Jehu's day. For it is ahnost certain that the views held by the Eechabites in Jeremiah's times were the views of Jonadab and his associates. Nor is it likely that either Jonadab or his father Eechab was the originator of these views. They evidently trace back to the Kenites who accompanied the Hebrews into Palestine, but who continued to live their nomadic life in southern Judah. From time to time some of them pitched their tents in other portions of the land. "Blessed of women shall Jael be, The wife of Heber the Kenite; Blessed shall she be among women in the tent.*' (Judges 5. 24). Far north, in the days of the Judges, some of these nomads wandered, and it must have been their descendants who witnessed with approval Jehu's zeal for the older ideals of Israel. To these tent-dwellers, these Kenites who felt themselves the true representatives of the original Je- hovahism, the tendency toward luxury and the foreign baalism alike were things of evil. But more than this, they were antagonistic to the popular Jehovahism of their day. For the worship of Jehovah had taken over so much of the Canaanitish beliefs and practices that the Jehovah- ism of the .wilderness of Sinai had become baalized. We shall meet this contention again and again in the later prophets. This baalizing of primitive Jehovahism was the natural sequence of the change from a pastoral to an agricultural life. The Eechabites were correct in their assertion that the original Jehovahism was a simpler wor- ship. But they were mistaken in their contention that Je- hovah was now commanding the abandonment of an agri- cultural and commercial civilization for the simple man- ners of shepherd tent-dwellers. It is intensely interesting to note that in the midst of the social and religious changes which followed the settlement in Canaan a group of He- brews clung persistently through the centuries to the primi- tive beliefs and habits of the Mosaic period. THE EEVOLUTION UNDEE JEHU 185 The Eeligious Significance of the Eevolution To understand the meaning of the Elijah-Jehu revolu- tion, it is necessary to keep in mind the nature of Israel's Jehovah religion in their day; the latter half of the ninth century. When the Hebrews entered Palestine they re- garded Jehovah as a mountain God whose seat was Sinai or Horeb. He left his home to lead his adopted people into their new dwelling place. But he kept his residence at Horeb, coming to Israel's succor in time of need. See Judges 5. 4; Deuteronomy 33. 2; Habakkuk 3. 3; 1 Kings 19. 8. These references witness that this conception of Jehovah's dwelling place continued late in Israel's history. Jehovah was also a God of war, Numbers 10. 35 ; 1 Samuel 25. 28, and many similar references. Exodus 19, Judges 5. 4-6, and 1 Kings 19. 11-12 indicate also that Jehovah was a storm God. Thus the earlier conceptions of Jehovah did not readily adjust themselves to an agricultural life and explain the restrictions placed upon the Eechabites. The Hebrews, on entering upon agricultural life in Pales- tine, found a numerous group of baals or local deities rever- enced throughout the land. These were regarded as lords of the land, the source of its fertility, and the givers of all the good things of life. See Hosea 2. 8-13, 17. The places of worship usually were hilltops. In many places there were shrines with images of the deity. In all cases there were an altar, an Asherah, or wooden pole, and a Mazzebah, or stone pillar. Sacrifice was the method of worship. Great festivals, including sacrifice, were held, and these were ;the scenes often of drunkenness and sacred prostitution. By the time of Elijah, the worship of Jehovah was estab- lished at the leading shrines, and he had become the God of the land. But his worship, no longer the simple worship of the wilderness, had taken on some of the characteristics of the Baal worship of the old sanctuaries. Tyrian baalism scarcely differed in ideas and practices from the Canaanitish baalism or from the baalism actuall}' going on under the name of Jehovah worship. But it was a foreign baalism. It was a question whether a foreign god, 186 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL the Baal of Tyre, should come into Jehovah's land and usurp his sovereign rights. It was this Tyrian baalisni, and not the baalism actually practiced in the name of Jehovah, which was uprooted by Jehu. The Case for Surgery The Evils of Pacifism. — The injunction "Resist not evil'' is eminently sound in the sphere of life under con- sideration when the principle was uttered. In those small, intimate, personal circles where individuals live in con- tinuous relationships, a militaristic spirit provokes con- fusion and ruin. The nonresistant spirit eventually be- comes the conqueror. But in those larger areas of life, where mutual intimate knowledge of opponents is impos- sible, and where personal relationships are lost sight of in abstract ideas to be defended, what results for human betterment can the mere pacifist obtain? Tyrian baalism was making headway in Israel. What would a nonresistant attitude have done to succor the threatened democracy and religion of Israel? What would mere talking have accom- plished? In our Civil War times the abolitionists did a vast deal of talking. It took the action of men like John Brown and the firmness of generals like Grant and Sher- man to wipe out the stain of Negro slavery. Pacifism, when it gets results, is better than militarism. The Righteousness of Militarism. — In an ideal state Jehu's acts would have been abominable. But in an ideal Hebrew state there would have been no Jezebel. In an ideal civilization there would have been no world-war. But in a perfect world-order there would be no state animated by a Nietzschean philosophy. Within the boundaries of a democratic state there is no necessity for an appeal to arms. The form of political life offers sufiicient opportunities for social change. But in a world whose states have no all-embracing democratic fellowship and no federated gov- ernment, each nation needs to carry arms. An aggressive, destructive spirit, in the presence of pernicious evils, is the essence of Christianity. To serve the common welfare is to destroy those wrongs which fatten upon the common THE EEVOLUTION UNDER JEHU 187 life. There are evils so atrocious that they must be stamped out of society at any cost to the promoters of evil. There is an eternal difference between bad and good, and when the good ceases to be militant it has lost the salt of its goodness. The Remedy for Evil. — There are reformers who wish to osteopath unrighteousness. Surgery is better. "If thy right hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off." Such was the admonition of the perfect Teacher. To better the world thus far has been a militant task. It has taken sacri- fice, unrelenting idealism, courage unto death. Jehu is one of those characters who appear in times of great crises to do the rough work which the age seems to demand. He did a great work in the spirit and method of a ruthless savage. Yet he was one of the men who gave the world its best religion. Great evils require heroic remedies. Do you know of any better remedy for festering sin than surgery ? Testing Insight 1. Why were the prophets antagonistic to the dynasty of Ahab? 2. Why did the Jehu and his generals accept so readily the prophet's appointment of Jehu? 3. What was the policy of these revolutionaries toward Tyre, Damascus, and Assyria? 4. What was the character of the popular Jehovahism of Jehu's day? 5. To what extent did the Rechabites influence the develop- ment of Hebrew religion? 6. Why is there no reference to the attitude of Israelitish priests during these crucial times? Useful Abditional Reading Encyclopwdia Biblica, articles, "Baal" and "Jehu." Hastings, Dictionary of the Bille, articles, "Baal," "Jehu." Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 198-202. Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 395-402. CHAPTEE XXIII THE ISKAEL KNOWN TO AMOS AND HOSEA This chapter carries the story of the development of Israel's religion to the threshold of that great period in Hebrew and world history, in which Amos and his suc- cessors formulated the conception of ethical monotheism. In order to understand this new development in religion it is necessary to know the social conditions of the Hebrew state in the midst of which the new insight into the nature and requirements of Deity arose. The Political Histoey of Israel from 814 B. C. to 785 B. C. The immediate political history after Jehu's revolution did not justify the political policy of the prophets who had supported the revolution. It was near the close of Jehu's reign that Syria began again to move against Israel.. Under Hazael her king, her borders extended across the East Jordan country as far south as the Arnon. Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, came to the throne of Israel in 814 and reigned until 797. Eead 2 Kings 13. 3, 7 for the grievous state into which Israel fell through the aggressive campaigns of Damascus, during the seventeen years of his reign. See Amos 1. 3 for a hint of the cruelty and rigor of Syria's 1 dominancy of Israel at this time. This grievous condition of the northern kingdom undoubtedly was a serious con- fusion to the prophetic guilds. They knew naught else to say than "The anger of Jehovah is kindled against Israel." They knew not why. It remained for Amos and Hosea to reveal Jehovah's apparent abandonment of his people. Jehoash succeeded his father, Jehoahaz, in B. C. 797, and reigned until B. C. 781. During his reign the Syrian wars continued, but Israel, through the enfeeblement of 188 ISRAEL KNOWN TO AMOS AND HOSEA 189 Damascus, was able to recover some of the territory lost by Jehoahaz. Just previous to this king's reign the Assyrians made a western campaign and reduced Damascus to vas- salage. Rammannirari III, the Assyrian monarch who led the Assyrian forces, although he compelled Israel to pay tribute, was regarded by the Israelites as their divinely sent Saviour, 2 Kings 13. 5. The death of Hazael and the succession of a weaker king, 13. 24, 25, also contributed to the increasing power of Israel. The Brilliant Reign of Jeeoboam II, 782-743 B. C. Read 2 Kings 14. 23-29. Note the boundaries of Israel under Jeroboam. Hamath was a Hittite city on the Orontes River. Twice before, under David and Solomon, did the Hebrew kingdom extend so far. The Sea of the Arabah is the Dead Sea. These were ideal limits of the land, Amos 6. 14. It is not improbable that Jeroboam's kingdom included the whole of Moab. This extended king- dom was possible because the Assyrians were pressing heavily against Damascus. It was not only a brilliant political period, but it also was a time of rapidly increas- ing wealth and luxury, due to trade and to the tribute of subjugated cities. Examine Amos 3. 12, 15; 4. 9; 5. 11; 6. 4-6, for the impression which the prosperity of the north- ern kingdom made upon Amos. These utterances belong to the years 765 and 750. National Prosperity. — Although one is to expect from a countryman exaggerated notions of the luxury of cities, there is no doubt that at this period Israel was prosperous, and with prosperity came the extravagant luxury which usually is introduced by the newly rich. Amos cites as evidence of the luxury houses built of hewn stone, winter palaces and summer palaces, multitudes of gardens, richest vineyards, splendid orchards of figs and olives, beds in- laid with ivory, silver hangings, couches for reclining at table, costly perfumes, and expensive viands. The nation has become commercialized. The merchants can ill brook the observance of the holy days upon which no markets are held. 190 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL Social Injustice. — But this outwardly brilliant reign was cursed with increasing social wrongs. Amos draws a dark picture. The palaces of the rich, because of their violent conduct and dishonest oppression, are but storehouses of violence and robber}^, and these evils are so flagrant that they must attract the attention of surrounding nations, Amos 3. 9-10. The palaces are scenes of drunken revels, 6. 6. The women are chief offenders. They encourage their husbands to commit acts of injustice against the poor. Their desire for costly establishments and luxurious din- ners renders them heartless, 4. 1. The nobles are restless with land hunger. No occasion to dispossess the small property owner is passed by. The ambition to become owners of great estates blinds them to human rights, 2. 7. The merchants use false balances and sell adulterated goods, 8. 6. The courts are corrupt. Decisions go to the highest bidder, 5. 12. Judges have trampled justice and righteousness to the earth, 5. 7. The rich have sold the insolvent poor into slavery, 3. 6 and 8. 6. It is a sad state of affairs to which Israel has come when land grabbing, extortion, drunken revels, bribery, dishonest weights and measures, adultery, and murder are openly permitted and practiced by prince and priest, the recognized authorities of the land. The Political History of Israel from Jeroboam II TO THE Destruction" of the Nation (B. C. 743-722) Zechariah, the son of Jeroboam, the last of the house of Jehu, reigned but six months, and was slain by Shallum, who enjoyed his throne a month, and was killed in turn by Menahem, 2 Kings 15. 8-10, 13, 14. Menahem's reign (742-737) was a sorry rule. Read 2 Kings 15. 16, 19, 20 for his cruelty and poltroonery. He entailed upon his people an enormous tribute to the Assyrians. Pekahiah succeeded his father in 736, lasted a little over a year, and was murdered by Pekah, 15. 25. Pekah maintained him- self for five years, suffered the loss of all his northern prov- inces to Assyria, 15. 29, and was slain by Hoshea, 15. 30, who kept the crown of Israel until it was taken away ISKAEL KNOWN TO AMOS AND HOSEA 191 forever by the Assyrian in 721. The wretched story of Hoshea's tribute, revolt, imprisonment, and no doubt blind- ness, according to the usual punishment meted out to re- bellious vassals by the Assyrian, and the fall of Samaria, is given in 2 Kings 17. 3-6. The New Order of Prophets These studies have made apparent the close connection between the monarch and the prophets from the days of Saul to Jeroboam II. The brilliant political successes of the latter king were inspired by Jonah, a distinguished member of the prophetic guilds, 2 Kings 14. 25. These prophetic associations continue for some time, but the direction of Hebrew religion passes now from these men of the old order, who had fought so valiantly for Jehovah, to a new line of men, who advocate a totally different con- ception of Jehovah and his relation to his people. Jonah ben Amittai passes his prophet's crown to Amos, a shep- herd of Tekoa, and although the new order of men is wholly incomprehensible to the old, we know that the new voices spoke the loftier message and lifted Israel into her religious hegemony of the world. Although the great eighth-century prophets were preceded by men like Nathan and Elijah, who saw the necessity of moralizing human conduct, yet Amos and his successors perceived so much more clearly the essential nature of true religion that their contribution to the world's religious life came like a golden flash of day out of the faintly starred night. The Failure of the Old Prophetic Program. — What is the explanation of this most striking religious revelation of Hebrew history? Interpreted in the light of the social conditions of the eighth century, the answer is that there came a day when the old prophetic dogmas no longer were able to explain and guide the actual life of Israel. The monarchy had been largely created by the prophets, and these foremost champions of Jehovah in most cases were the close advisers and supporters of the kings. But the northern kingdom, where the prophets were unusually ac- tive, was not prospering under their tutelage. The old 192 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL prophetic program for the nation was breaking down. The new situation, which the older prophecy could not handle, was twofold: (1) The revolution under Elijah and Jehu had not prospered politically. The end of Jehu^s reign and the reigns of his immediate successors had been the darkest politically in the kingdom's history. The nation had chosen Jehovah, but in the choice it came near perishing. That experience was a terrible blow to those who asserted, "Worship Jehovah alone, and all goes well." (2) The social wrongs springing up in the midst of the prosperity of the nation under Jeroboam II were steadily breaking up He- brew life into new groups which would prove as inimical to the national unity as the old clan life whose jealousies subjected the Hebrews to Canaanite and Philistine tri- umphs. The thoughtful student will recall the stern pro- tests of Nathan, Ahijah, Micaiah, Elijah, and Elisha, and the community life of the prophetic guilds to witness the democratic ideals of the prophetic order. The new social disorders, encouraged by the very sovereigns whom the prophets had aided to the throne, dismayed the religious leaders. The Ideals of the Earlier Prophets : Jehovahism. — A lit- tle reflection will call to mind that these earlier prophets were characterized by four distinct ideals. They were Je- hovahists. From their earliest historical appearance until they disappear from biblical literature, they are the lead- ing devotees of Jehovah. They are committed to him and their devotion seeks to make him Lord alone of Hebrew life. Jehovah had led the nation out of Egypt, made his cove- nant with them, and established them in Canaan. He was, therefore, the unrivaled God of the Hebrew. These older prophets were determined that the agricultural feasts, the family sacrifices, the worship of the new moon, and the practices of the hundreds of high places should be con- secrated, not to Canaanite or Tyrian gods, but to Jehovah alone. They were jealous for him and tolerated no rival. Nationalism. — In the second place, these earlier prophets were nationalists. They perceived truly enough that the clan life, which obtained at the entrance into Canaan and ISEAEL KNOWN TO AMOS AND HOSEA 193 during several generations following the first settlement in Palestine, could not carry Hebrew achievements forward to greater issues. The tribes required federation to make them great. Their very existence in Palestine required their fusion into a nation. If Jehovah, who had led them into Canaan, was not utterly to be forgotten in the increasing devotion of the Hebrews to the Baals, the tribes must be nationalized. Therefore the prophets believed in the nation. They backed Saul, and ever were loyal to the mo- narchical idea. They believed in an independent nation. They wanted no foreign alliances with their traffic in for- eign gods. They opposed the international policy of Solo- mon. They were against Ahab's alliance with Tyre. They vigorously resisted dallying with Damascus. They en- couraged cooperation with Assyria as long as Israel seemed able to meet that distant power as an equal. These prophets preached that loyalty to Jehovah was the one sure way of national glory. If afflictions befell the nation, let the nation give itself more devotedly to Jehovah, and he would again champion the people with whom he had covenanted and give them victory over their enemies and his. These prophets, when Damascus, and later Assyria, began to afflict Israel, formulated the doctrine of the "Day of Jehovah.'^ For some inscrutable reason Jehovah was permitting his people to be oppressed. But the affliction of Israel could not multiply into destruction of the nation. Jehovah^s covenant with his people seemed to these prophets to guarantee national existence and glory. Therefore they proclaimed to their distressed countrymen that at some future time Jehovah would overwhelmingly avenge him- self upon the oppressors of his people. The nation was to be saved by a sudden powerful intervention of Jehovah. He would overwhelm his enemies and establish Israel in peace and glory. Ritualism. — In the third place, these prophets were ritualists. Religion for them was almost wholly a life of external forms. When they preached a greater devotion to Jehovah they were urging their countrymen to give greater attention to the feasts at the high places of Israel. 194 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL Bethel and Gilgal especially had been enriched with build- ings, images, altars, and priests by the sovereigns of the northern kingdom, and to be more religious was to appear at these and other shrines more frequently for sacrifice and to present to the priests in charge tithes at short intervals (Amos 4. 4, 5). Democracy. — Finally, these early prophets were demo- crats. They lived near the common people and deeply sympathized with them. They had sprung from the humble classes. Like our Nazarene Lord, they knew the sorrows of the poor and knew the great most intimately through their oppressions. They could not believe that Jehovah desired Hebrew nobles to dispossess the humble farmer of his vineyard or the lowly shepherd of his sheep. They knew that kings had no authority from their God to carry off to their harems the wives of humble subjects or to enslave thousands of the poor to toil upon royal buildings. Slavery was abhorrent to them. It was a com- mon practice to sell the insolvent poor into slavery. But the heartless covetousness which made this possible never was condoned by them. Therefore the wretched sufferers of injustice appealed to them for relief, and without doubt, during the high-tide of the unjust exactions of the power- ful in Israel, the prophets were the only advocates, if feeble and almost ineffectual, of social justice and righteousness. Amos and Hosea. — It was evident to thoughtful observers like Amos and Hosea that Israel's national life was doomed. Assyria was a continually rising power, and Jeroboam's luxury only hastened the day of the Assyrian conqueror. Attention to the ritual had increased the corruption of the nation's morals. It began to be evident that no "Day of Jehovah" could restore the political life of Israel and that no mere ritual devotion could prevent the morals of the people from sinking into utter rottenness. It was in this situation that God in his mercy and wisdom gave the Hebrew people two great seers, Amos and Hosea, who, though they were unable to stem the dying political life of Israel, rendered the world an incomparably greater service in the creation of a faith in Jehovah which was able ISRAEL KNOWN TO AMOS AND HOSEA 195 to purify and expand the religion of their age into a world- acceptable view of God. Fact, Theory, and Duty Changing Facts. — The history of mankind is a constantly changing series of facts. Although the life of humanity often seems static, or at best a recurring series of events, it is, in truth, a continually varying order of actualities. Within a few years after the entrance of the Hebrews into Palestine the religious life of the Hebrews took on cer- tain forms of expression which remained almost unchanged for centuries. The religious beliefs and practices of the northern kingdom during the whole of its history experi- enced little change. But even in the midst of these static forms an event of prime importance took place. Tyrian baalism was overthrown and it was absolutely determined that Jehovah alone was the Deity of the Hebrew. This is ever the witness of history. New facts constantly are emerging in our social order. New conditions constantly arise in political and economic life. Human thought con- tinually wins new intellectual outlooks. The world is in unceasing flux. Each generation inherits a new world and modifies it in the using. No man can live in his grandfather's world. Changing Theories. — No theory of facts can abide un- changed. No interpretation of life is absolutely final. The earlier prophets staked their hopes upon the national in- tegrity and prosperity of Israel. It seems now that no national righteousness could have prevented the little state from vassalage and ruin at the hands of Assyria. The destruction of Israel forced the formation of a mightier conception of Jehovah. God, it appears, is always larger than our theories. It is our solemn duty to dogmatize about God, to form convictions about his character and providence and to hold them passionately in one^s soul.. But we dare not claim finality for our views. We must expect that changing civilization will give birth to new convictions about the Most High. It is our religious privi- lege and the sign of our greatness to pass from dogma to 196 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL dogma, led by changing conditions which demand new interpretive schemes of life. Changing Duties. — Lowell in the midst of the agitation to free the Negro slave declared : **New occasions teach new duties; Time makes ancient good uncouth; They must upward still, and onward, who would keep abreast of Truth." The destruction of Israel and Judah not only lifted the religion of the Hebrew from a national ritual to an ethical monotheism, but it also issued in a new set of religious duties. It forced the realization that moral conduct is the soul of religion. In recent years a very amazing and revo- lutionary change has taken place in our conception of Christianity. The primary religious duties have shifted from the observance of sacraments to the observance of just and righteous personal and social relationships. For example, the fundamental Christian obligation in regard to the poor is not to give alms but to labor to change the social conditions which make poverty possible. Religion to-day, as in the days of Jeroboam II, can keep from failing only as it adopts new theories and fulfills new duties. For Class Discussion 1. What conditions made possible the vigorous political and commercial life of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II? 2. In what way were the prophetic hopes concerning As- syria blasted? 3. What social evils cursed Israel during Jeroboam's reign? To what extent are these evils found in modern life? 4. What were the outstanding characteristics of the early prophets? 5. What services had they rendered the national life? 6. Why did the leadership of Hebrewreligious life pass away from them? 7. What was their conception of the relation of Jehovah and Israel? What did they mean by the "Day of Jehovah"? 8. Why is it necessary to adopt new conceptions of religion from time to time? ISEAEL KNOWN TO AMOS AND HOSEA 197 Additional Helps fob the Student Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 347-365. W. R. Smith, The Prophets of Israel, pp. 95-120. Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 203-213. Wallls, Sociological Study of the BiMe, pp. 147-184. CHAPTEE XXIV A PEOPHET OF EIGHTEOUSNESS A NEW epoch of Hebrew religion begins in Amos. The destruction of the national life of Israel and Judah would silence the worship of Jehovah unless religion could be lifted above the national meanings given to it by the priests and prophets who thus far had directed the beliefs and practices of the people. When the national fortunes of Moab perished in the night of conquest, Chemosh, the national deity, was engulfed in the crushing calamities of his people. It was through the great prophets, beginning with Amos, that Hebrew religion was spared the same oblivion. This chapter outlines the significant elements now introduced into Hebrew religion, which lifted it out of a national worship into a spiritual reality to be experi- enced by the whole world. The Training of A Peophet The Home of Amos. — Examine Amos 1. 1 and 7. 14, and state the home and occupation of Amos. "Directly north of Tekoa and across almost barren hills lies Jeru- salem. To the northwest Bethlehem clings to a grass- deserted hill. To the west and southwest stretches the long ridge of rolling summits to Hebron and the country beyond. To the east the quite barren marl ridges slope down to the Salt Sea. Beyond them the sea itself is in view through much of its length, while the Moab tableland rises mountain-high beyond. The scene of the boyhood and of the manhood labors of Amos is desolate enough. There are a few patches of pasturage and cultivated fields. . . . From Olivet southward as far as the eye can fol- low the Jordan depression, the land is a mass of desolation. The sea which rests so peacefully between the lifeless ridges 198 A PROPHET OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 199 of eastern and western Palestine and bewitches you with a dozen vistas of blue is a mockery: it poisons the shore it kisses. . . . "Yet Amos, though living in the wilderness, was not far from the busiest centers of Israel. . . . The world must have come knocking at the very threshold of this shepherd's isolated life. It came near enough in some fashion for this keeper of sheep and dresser of trees to know the his- tory and geography of his land and to be familiar with its calamities of pestilence, famine, and earthquake; for his heart to grow sore with the luxury of the nobles, the worldliness of the priests, the miseries of the poor: the rapacious tyranny of the strong and the wretched injustice borne sullenly by the helpless. The shepherd of Tekoa was not a provincial in his thought, his sympathy, his social insight or in his belief that righteousness lies at the heart of the universe.'" The Development of a Prophetic Consciousness. — It has been made clear that in Amos begins a distinctly higher, and in many respects permanently enduring religious life. Amos himself was conscious of his separateness from the older group of prophets. Reflect upon the statement of Amos, 7. 14, "I was no prophet," in the light of what has been said of the prophetic guilds, and consider what he meant. Note his insistence that prophecy is not his voca- tion, 7. 15, and observe that Amos is conscious of an inner compulsion of Jehovah forcing him to deliver his message. Read closely Amos 3. 3-8 for another statement of this same conviction. Note the suggestions of Amaziah, 7. 12, that Amos prophesies for reward. Amos disavows any connection with the professional prophets. He has not sought this new vocation. No motive of livelihood has moved him. Within his own soul an irresistible impulsion has arisen to denounce the social wrongs and the spiritless worship of Israel. This inward thrust to action is the work of God. Jehovah has spoken unto him and he must pro- claim the message. This is something tremendously signifi- ^Ascham, A Syrian Pilgrimage, p. 195f. 200 THE EELIGIOX OF ISBAEL cant. A man b^ins to discourse on the prof onndest things of life, voices ideas which are to revolutionize the world, and asserts that these ideas have been awakened in his soTil bv God- How did these ideas arise ? By what means was Amos convinced that these ideas originated with Je- hovah? Was Tekoa itself a school for training prophets ? 'Tliere are few places in Palestine where the contrast is so sharply drawn between fertility and desolation. He who saw the deseit encroach each year upon the pasturages, who experi- oieed tiie boming heat of those dust-heaps in the midsum- mer stm and knew the sternness with which man must giapple with those sullen wastes to wre^t from them exist- ence, was better fitted, to consider the character and pur- po^s of Israel's Deity than those sensuotis 'kine of Bashan' inviting their lords to drunken revelry upon the ivory coodies of Samaria's c-apitaL or even the priests who had tmxied fte nation's sacred shrines into strange scenes of wine-drinking, highway robbery, and murder. From his Mil-home Amos could see, beyond Jerusalem, the reUgiotis capital of Israel at BetheL The flood of national im- morality had swept southward almost to his wilderness. The tales of priestly orgies had become common gossip. The ay for justice had been raised by many an oppressed fdiq^ierd. The religion of Israel had' become the cloak of •file rich and the nakedness of the poor. Softness and luxury, instead of justice, humanity, and morality, were tiie object of priest and prince throughout the northern kingdom. *^Amos saw no softness and Itixury in the stirrounding of his toiL The shepherd needed to' be sleepless by night and by day. The wild beasts had a thousand lairs in that wild waste of ravines and caves sweeping seaward: their himting-grotmds were the hills and the wadies where the flocks pastured. The sun blistered the grain fields in the pockete of the hills and turned their torrents into high- 'wmjB. 'M'ftTi here could not be idle. Life was a continuous is to rigorous duty. Each man who knew the wil- had b^otten in hiTn sympathy and reverence for A PBOPHET OF EIGHTEOUSHBSS 201 the stmggles of hi= fellows. In jnstice wis iwnwHyM e, S-> the eonTicticm grew in Amoe that Jdicmh too leqnied from all men that tiie greatest serriee, the fnllest stsmgUi, and the lidiest famnanitr ^khiM be exBmsfid for ihs good of alL l%e neglect of this high dutj eoidd not be atraied by the oostiiest samfjee at the saoed pbcses. Hmr^n justice is tiie aae incense acceptable to Jchofah.*' Yet this is not alL If it were aH, ereiy T^oan _ : would hare become a prophet- Men, as well as k^^ - - the trees, are neTer exactly alike. Each individTLi. .r :? differently npon his enTiromnefit. It was tiie tizi; —ifr- ence of wonder, earnestnesSy tlioag^itfiifaieGBy an: : :il seiioiiSDesB which gsTe God bk dianee in Hms sool : : ^ - Yet wben all the physical and psjddeal fads h: -l catakgned there still remains l£e mj s ieiv that iz^ ^^ alone the T^oan wfldemess UoGBomed into ? - ir onlT further explanation is the one Amos M^ ''The Lord Jehcv-ah hath rp^zezi : -h- -itl hi . -zj : " The Mss£-i : i j .^i: : s Tie Form of the Hessage. — TT^id:;! az: ; r -J^ boTah hath spoken,'* he did not mean lbs: iz ^l ^ set expressions bad been whispered in bif z prophets proclaimed, **Thus saith Jdn)^; thinking of phrases and sentences. Hie a spirit of life. They have in mind ce of the meaning and ends of life wbicb the root of things. It is the idea, and z. : which they expr^s it, which they feel his : t :: _ ^ It is the ideal they proclaim, and not i:- which they hold is inspired. There bare the soul of Amos c-ertain canTictian^ of Jehovah and about his demands i: the prophet believes he is ooramiss: ideas are divinely given, the messe- . : the form of the mesc^^re is the prcphr: - _ The Ckaracter of JehoTalL^Ob>fr-= __: _^ _ -AsciiaB, Old., p. 1971 202 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL to 2. 3, denounces surrounding nations in the name of Jehovah. Eead also 2. 10 ; 9. 4, 7. Is this a different con- ception of Jehovah than was held by David, who thought Jehovah could not be worshiped in Philistia, or by Elisha, who encouraged Naaman to carry soil from Palestine to Damascus in order to set up an altar to the Deity who had healed him? State the new conception of Jehovah found in the above references. In addition to the range of Jehovah's empire, Amos differs from his predecessors in his conception of Jehovah's character. Eead 2. 6-8 ; 3. 9, 10 ; 4. 1 ; 5. 7, 10, 15 ; 6. 1- 7 ; 8. 4-6. Notice the sins condemned and the requirements of Jehovah, and then estimate the character of Israel's God as he was known to Amos. Eecall Nathan's rebuke of David, 2 Samuel 12. 1-15, Elijah's denunciation of Ahab, 1 Kings 21. 17-24, and Elisha's championship of the lady of Shunem, 2 Kings 8. 1-6 and observe that earlier prophets were not blind to the ethical character of Jehovah. But Amos set morality upon the throne in the personality of God. The ethical character of Jehovah, in the teaching of Amos, becomes the outstanding mark of deity. Jehovah and the Nation. — The view held by Amos of Jehovah's relation to Israel is noteworthy. (1.) Observe that Amos accepts the covenant relation of Israel to Je- hovah. Although Jehovah is the Sovereign Lord of nations, he stands in an especial relation to Israel, 2. 10; 3. 1-2; 9. 10. Jehovah "knows" Israel. He brought the Hebrews from Egypt ; they are his people. This too was the popular view. The student should read "The Blessing of Moses," found in Deuteronomy 33. This poem presents the popular view of Jehovah's relation to his people, held by the im- mediate predecessors and contemporaries of Amos. Eead attentively Deuteronomy 33. 26-29, and note the confidence of Israel in Jehovah's protection. Observe too the bless- ings which are expected from Jehovah, namely, dew, grain, wine, and triumph over the foes of Israel. What sugges- tion is there of an ethical relation between the nation and its Deity? (2.) That Jehovah and the Hebrews stood in A PEOPHET OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 203 a unique relation was ever a fundamental belief of the people and their greatest religious leaders. It was the new use of this creed which separates Amos so sharply from all who precede him. Commit to memory Amos 3. 2, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth.^' That was the popular belief, but when Amos added, "There- fore I will visit upon you all your iniquities/^ he in- augurated a religious revolution. That Jehovah had chosen Israel to humiliate and chastise them was unthinkable. He had chosen them to be honored by their worship, and in order that his honor might be upheld, he was obligated to bless the nation with prosperity and peace. It was un- thinkable that he could visit them with affliction. Popular religion, clinging to the political covenant of Sinai, had not yet ethicized this relation to Jehovah. So the nation, conscious of need, was trusting in and hoping for the "Day of Jehovah," at which time the na- tion's social miseries and political humiliation would be forever set aside. Study attentively Amos 5. 18-20. This longed-for "day" in popular belief was a battle-day, a day of victory and triumph for Jehovah and his people over their common enemies. It was to usher in the period of unbroken material prosperity. But Amos insists that the 'T)ay of Jehovah^' is not a day of national rescue. It is a day of affliction and judgment. Note the striking imagery in 5, 19, 20. There is indeed "no brightness'^ in the day which Amos predicted. For Amos the expected day was Jehovah's manifestation of himself as the God of righteousness. Jehovah will set up his standard of right- eousness and Judge the nations by it. Israel, because she has "known" Jehovah, that is, had special opportunity to become familiar with his ethical character, will be most rigorously judged. The Worship of Jehovah. — At no period of Israel's his- tory was the worship of Jehovah offered more earnestly than at the time that Amos denounced the practices of the northern sanctuaries. The prosperity of the kingdom had made costly sacrifices possible. The failure of the foreign policy of the prophets led them to encourage greater devo- 204 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL tion to the ritual. Many of the old plain high places had become enriched with images, priests, and dwellings. Pre- ceding chapters frequently have referred to the charac- ter of this amalgamated Baal-Jehovah worship. At the best it was an unspiritualized family festival. The prayers were petitions for material blessings. The sins for which the sacrifices atoned were drought, disease, storms, earth- quakes, fruitless marriages, dwindling flocks, and barren fields. It was the interest of the priests to encourage the prostitution and the drunkenness which accompanied often the sacrifices. Examine Amos 2. 7, 8, and Hosea 2. 11; 4. 11, 14 for indications of the worship at this period. It must be imderstood that these sacrificial feasts were the sole form of worship at this time. Study 1 Samuel 26. 19, Hosea 9. 3, 4, and Amos 7. 17. Here it is definitely assumed that the worship of Jehovah is impossible beyond the boundaries of Palestine and apart from his altars. Amos discarded the whole prevalent system of worship. He saw clearly that Jehovah was too spiritual to care for the smell of burning fat and too moral to look without repugnance upon the sensuality of these feasts and the gluttony and avarice of the priests. Therefore he attacked the whole system of sacrifice. He declared that it had no place in true religion. Read 5. 21-23 and observe that Amos expresses in the most positive manner possible that the sacrificial system of Israel is abhorrent to Jehovah. Note the fine scorn of his words, 4. 4, "Come to Bethel and transgress.'^ Worship at the sanctuaries so little recognized the true character of Jehovah that Amos declared that the whole system of Israel's worship had become a transgres- sion. Amos asserts, 5. 25, that the ritual of sacrifice of his day, yes, even sacrifice itself, was not divinely ordained at Sinai. In this view he was largely correct. The original animal sacrifices which were participated in sparingly in their nomadic period had multiplied during their resi- dence in Canaan and had been blended with the native Canaanite agricultural feasts. The idea of sacrifice was familiar to the primitive Israelites. But its abuses multi- plied under Canaanitish influences. Amos, led by the mis- A PROPHET OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 205 taken notion that primitive Israel had performed no sacri- fices, framed his new demand for a nonsacrificial religion as a "return unto Jehovah/' 4. 6. Amos looks to the day when the sanctuaries shall be no more, 3. 14; 7. 9. The Requirements of Jehovah. — If the sanctuaries with their sacrifices are to pass away, what substitute does Amos propose for them to manifest the feeling and the expres- sion of worship, which surely are essentials of true religion ? What is his conception of the fundamental nature of reli- gion and how does he propose to give expression to religion in the common life of Israel? Amos answers, "Seek Je- hovah,'' 5. 5, 6. By this he meant at least two things. To seek Jehovah is to avoid the sanctuaries, 5. 5, and to "seek good and not evil," 5. 14. To seek good ic to practice jus- tice and righteousness, 5. 15. To seek Jehovah is to put away the whole unspiritual, useless sacrificial system, 5. 21-24, and to substitute for this unethical ritual of wor- ship, so unrelated to the ethical needs of the manifold daily relationships of life, an unyielding passion to moralize every contact of each individual with his fellow men. Je- hovah is just and his rulership of the world is just. The true worship of such a Deity is to imitate his righteousness. By seeking Jehovah, Amos also understood those acts and moods of reflection and meditation in which the in- dividual becomes aware of new moral convictions or of new moral guidance of daily life. Amos held that God is speaking in the conscience, in the fashioning of moral ideas, in the impulses to nobler conduct. In the ethical promptings within the soul, Jehovah speaks, 3. 7-8. To listen to these moral monitors, to obey their commands, to believe that they are the Divine Voice, to utter them in courageous speech and sacrificial deeds : this is to seek and to know Jehovah. It was this inward communion with him and this public imitation of his character which Je- hovah required from Israel. For Spiritual Travelers The Test of a Religion's Worth.— Religion ultimately is justified by the character of the deity adored. It is the 206 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL glory of Amos that he proclaimed in positive tones the ethical character of IsraeFs God. It was this clear truth, set gleaming by him in Hebrew life, which resulted in so many wholesome modifications of the world's religion. Convinced of Jehovah's moral nature, Amos perceived that a moral rulership of the world was best secured by such a Deity. To-day the impressive conviction of God's ethical nature gives our modern religion new power. The belief in moral values, in the everlasting difference between bad and good, and in the certainty that God has set his face against every form of evil puts new passion and earnest- ness into our religious life. Religion and Morality. — Eeligion and morality are in- separable. Civilization is indebted immeasurably to Amos. He established the closest relation between religion and ethics. Sin is no longer a neglect of ritual or the helpless- ness of the weak before the strong. It is sensuality, oppres- sion of the poor, bribery, contempt, unrighteousness, theft, murder and the absence of justice in the courts. Sin is the whole degenerate family of evils, born from lust and pride, which live by the denial of the human brotherhood. Just institutions and righteous social relations are the essence of religion. Genuine religion makes a man the foe of all injustice. Measure your religion by the range and objects of your antipathies. The Meaning of Righteousness. — Eighteousness is right living, and right living, at bottom, is a profound respect for persons. Eespect for persons is the recognition of the basic inherent worth of every child, woman, and man. It is our low estimate of others which leads us to wrong them. It is our insufferable overestimate of ourselves which in- volves us in a hundred forms of unbrotherly conduct. The man who has not already despised his fellow man cannot kill him, or rob him, or slander him, or crush his business to the wall. The man who is not contemptuous of woman cannot live adulterously. Prostitution, drunkenness, bribery, social airs, wars, all spring up out of a disdainful regard of the life of others. To become genuinely aware of human values leads to righteousness. A PROPHET OP RIGHTEOUSNESS 207 The Lesson's Test 1. Locate Tekoa and describe the physical surroundings of the home of Amos. 2. What intellectual fitness had Amos for his preaching? 3. What part had his vocation and his environment in na- ture in the development of his ideas? 4. What is the explanation of this remarkable man's career? 5. What are we to understand by inspiration? By revela- tion? 6. What did Amos teach concerning the character of Jehovah? 7. What was the conception of Jehovah's relation to the nation which was held by the early prophets? 8. What did Amos teach concerning this relation? 9. What did Amos teach concerning the sacrificial system? 10. What did Amos propose to substitute for the worship of the sanctuaries? 11. What is the meaning of righteousness? Vabying Points of View Budde, The Religion of Israel to the Exile, pp. 121-141. Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 213-218. Bade, The Old Testament in the Light of To-day, pp. 132-153. W. R. Smith, The Prophets of Israel, pp. 120-143. CHAPTEE XXV A PROPHET OF LOVE HosEA as well as Amos may be understood only in the light of the political and social conditions of his age. A summary of the political history from the death of Jero- boam II to the fall of Samaria (B. C. 743 to 722) is given in Chapter XXIII. Whatever has been said in the study of Amos concerning the religious and social conditions of Israel at this period also applies to the surroundings of Hosea and helps determine the character of his message. The present chapter is concerned with Hosea, the second in time of the great Hebrew prophets of the eighth century, io whom so much of the excellence of the world^s noblest .religion is due. Hosea and His Age The Time and Scene of Hosea's Labors. — There is far too little known of the man who made the second rich con- tribution to Israel's ethical monotheism, but the nature and the occasion of his interests are reasonably clear. That Hosea was a citizen of the northern kingdom is inferred from 1. 2, where Israel is "the land,^' and from 7. 5 where Israel's king is "our king." But the more certain indication of the scene and the time of his labors is found in the spirit and subject-matter of his book, which con- cerns itself entirely with the sins and the destiny of the northern state. In southern Gilead a mountain which affords magnificent views of the Jordan valley, and nearly the whole of Israel with its commanding heights, Ebal and Gerizim, bears the name of Hosea and is regarded by the Bedouin as his burial place. Hosea is the only one of the prophets to mention Gilead, and his references, 6. 8; 10. 14; 12. 11, are sufficiently intimate to warrant the 208 A PEOPHET OF LOVE 209 truth of his Gileadite birth and may account for the Bedouin tradition. Hosea was called to the prophetic office during the last years of Jeroboam II. His book was composed not later than B. C. 734. The annals of Tiglath-pileser of Assyria show that during Pekah's reign, in B. C. 734, the Assyrian monarch wrested Gilead and Galilee from Israel. This invasion and ravage of their possessions is recorded by one of IsraePs historians in 2 Kings 15. 29-30. Many of the inhabitants were carried into captivity and it is probable that the customary Assyrian policy of forced migrations took place in these districts, and that they were settled by captured peoples from other portions of the great empire. Now Hosea makes no reference to these disasters. On the contrary, he writes of these districts 5. 1; 6. 8; 12. 11, as if they were integral parts of the northern kingdom and as if the prevalent Israelitish evils were going forward in these provinces. If Hosea lived longer than this date, he did not take the trouble to note the catastrophe in his published writings. Hosea's Personal Life. — Read 1. 2-9 and 3. 1-3. Amos was prepared for his mission by scanty pasturages, barren hills, and wilderness wastes. Hosea's soul was made ready for the divine use by a woman's withered affection, by bitterness of sorrow and a devastated home. There are still a few commentators who are under the spell of allegorical interpretations, and they do not admit that Hosea is here laying bare the bitterest of human experi- ences. But such events do happen in our world. It seems true to life to suppose that Hosea was fitted to convey a profound and sublime message to the world through a domestic tragedy. We must not doubt that here we are reading a bit of painful individual history. Hosea did not knowingly marry an evil woman. The marriage turned out badly, but Hosea, for a time after his wife's infidelity, clung to her still. Then she left him for another husband, in whose household she sank to the position of a slave. Still Hosea's love followed her. He purchased her freedom and restored her to something of her former position in 210 THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL his own home. His own love, pursuing his wayward wife through all her follies, became the tragic symbol of Je- hovah's love for Israel. Hosea's Message: The Faithlessness oe Iseael The Worship at the Sanctuaries. — Keeping in mind that the worship at the local sanctuaries had changed little for several centuries, and that it was not challenged by Elijah and Elisha, and that Amos denounced it because the ritual gave opportunity for priestly injustice, Hosea's attack upon Israel's worship is the more noteworthy. For him the cultus fundamentally was infidelity to Jehovah. The popu- lar worship was nominally Jehovah worship. But to Hosea, with his insight into the spiritual nature of Jehovah, Israel's worship was no better than harlotry. It was a worship of Canaanitish baals. Read 2. 2-13. The nation is the mother of individual Israelites. Jehovah is her true husband, but she has left him and gone after her lovers, the local deities of the land. Israel, ignorant of Jehovah's care and providence, 2. 8, supposes that the local baals have been the givers of flock and field, 2. 5, 8, 12. For Hosea, as for Amos, the worship at the sanctuaries was openly immoral. Examine 3. 4 and observe that wor- ship is an affair of sacrifice, that at the Canaanitish high places is continued their ancient ritual, and that images are in common use. The divine will is ascertained not by moral reflection but by various methods of fortune-telling, 4. 12. Worship at these sanctuaries includes the indul- gence of sexual passions, 4. 14. Broken faith, theft, robbery, drunkenness, prostitution, and murder are common throughout the land. These social disorders, instead of being condemned at the sanctuaries by the official repre- sentatives of religion, are encouraged, and even the priests themselves are guilty of these crimes, 6. 9. Do not blame the people for these conditions, says Hosea, 4. 4-5; they but follow the example of the priests. The priests "feed on the sin of the people," 4. 8 ; that is, they encourage the people to transgress in order to enrich themselves with the fines and sacrifices which come to the sanctuary. These A PROPHET OF LOVE 211 priests, insatiable in their sensual lusts, 4. 10, fail to exercise a single element of their true vocation. They rejoice in the sins of the people, they concern themselves no more with ascertaining the true will of Jehovah, they have become false to every true relation of life, they are hard and merciless, and the evil has progressed so far that the whole system of religion has ceased to express any knowledge or true relation to God, 4. 1. All this worship, so licentious and unjust, usually was carried on in the name of Jehovah. The Canaanitish names of deity generally had disappeared. Priests and people for the most part supposed that this worship al- ways had been the worship of the Hebrews. There were others who knew that the agricultural festivals had been taken over from the Canaanites and were originally rent- offerings to the local baals of the land. Hosea recognizes no other deity than Jehovah. He is the giver of the agri- cultural riches of Israel, 2. 8. Therefore there is no need to continue this licentious worship, either as a recognition of baals, or in honor of Jehovah. Hosea knows well that this degrading worship was Canaanitish in origin. He be- lieved that the cultus of his day was no part of the earliest worship of Jehovah. This is a fundamental conviction of Hosea. Examine 9. 1-9. Here the prophet, in stating that certain religious practices will cease when Israel is led again into the wilderness, asserts that these present expressions of religion were not part of the original true worship of Jehovah. These Canaanitish borrowings are the agricultural sacrificial feasts with their gross sensuality, 9. 1-2; the worship of idols, 11. 2; and the familiar high places with all their accompaniments of unspiritual wor- ship, 3. 4-5; 4. 13. Hosea was assured that this elaborate worship of his day was a backsliding from a purer un- sacrificial worship of the early days. In that glad time Jehovah knew his people, 13. 4, and was known by them. His will was made known to them through prophets, 12. 10, 13. Eead 2. 14-20 and 3. 4-5. Here Hosea declares that Israel is to be led again into the wilderness and that there the present cultus will be suspended, and that in 212 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL a simpler fashion, with no extensive ritual of sacrifice and festival, Israel v/ill "make answer as in the days of her yonth." In the thonght of Hosea, the whole cnltus taken over from the Canaanitish worship of local deities at the high places is an adulterous disloyalty to Jehovah who had led his people out of Egypt and established them in their present land. The sacrificial system, having become the abettor of every social injustice and essentially sensual and unspiritual, must pass away. Jehovah, 6. 6, desires "mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God, more than burnt-offerings.'^ This belief in the Canaanitish origin of the agricultural festivals, the ritual of sacrifice, and the furnishings of the sanctuary led Hosea to a new position regarding images. Former lessons have called attention to the use of images by ardent Jehovahists; for example: Judges 17. 3; 1 Samuel 19. 13. Examine Hosea 2. 8; 4. 17; 8. 4-6; 10. 5 ; 11. 2 ; 12. 11 ; 13. 1, 2 ; 14. 8, and state wherein Hosea differs from all preceding prophets in regard to images. Who set up the golden bulls at Bethel and Dan? How were they worshiped? 12. 11 ; 13. 2. (The preposition "to" should be inserted before "bullocks'^ in 12. 11.) Political Disorders. — Not only is the whole sacrificial system with its inherent baalism and sensual indulgence an adulterous disloyalty to Jehovah, according to Hosea, but also the political life of the kingdom, both in its foreign policy and domestic affairs, the prophet insists is faith- lessness to Jehovah who had chosen Israel to be his people. (a) International Policies. — Compared with Judah, the northern kingdom was compelled to deal freely with other nations. Her position seemed to require for her security political alliance with other states. "Ephraim mixeth him- self among the peoples," is Hosea^s adverse comment. This foreign policy ended disastrously. "Strangers have de- voured his strength and he knoweth it not,'^ 7. 9, and the nation is tottering with old age and unconscious fits of decrepitude. The little kingdom, feeling itself over- shadowed by Damascus, sought the aid of Assyria and then, when this raider of the west pressed the kingdom too sorely. A PEOPHET OF LOVE 213 its kings sought help from Egypt. Examine 7. 11; 8. 9, 10 ; 12. 1 ; 14. 3 and observe the vacillating policy of IsraePs kings. These judgments are borne out by 2 Kings 15. 9 and 17. 4. Hosea holds that all such efforts are vain to save the existence of the state. The political life of a nation is bound up with the moral conditions of its people. Luxury was followed by moral decay and the failure to develop moral character ended in political inanity. The seeking after foreign alliances indicates that the sovereigns have ceased to depend upon Jehovah to protect and save the state. (b) National Affairs. — The monarchy has failed to min- ister to the welfare of the state. The rulers of Israel ''love shame/' 4. 18; the princes are the basest type of thieves, 5. 10; the royal rulers are not only incompetent to correct abuses, 13. 10, but, along with the priests, they are responsible for the social anarchy, 5. 1. Eead 5. 11- 14 and 7. 3-7 for a picture of the intrigues, drunken revels, and anarchy of the kingship of Israel in the nation's latter days. See Chapter XXIII for a statement of the changes of rulers in this period. Hosea, keenly alive to the moral weakness of the Israel- itish kings of his day, regards the whole history of the monarchy a defection from Jehovah. Examine closely 8. 4 and 13. 10, 11. Israel's experiment in the kingship has been a failure. The kingship must end, 3. 4; 7. 7; 10. 7. This view is in striking contrast to the position of the prophets in the past who did so much to father the king- ship of Judah and Israel. Hosea's judgment of the revolu- tion of Jehu is uttered in the same strain. Eead 1. 4-5. This is a sharp reversal of the judgment of the earlier prophets. See 2 Kings 9. 14-37; 10. 30. The Ultimate Cause of Israel's Ills. — Examine atten- tively 2. 8; 4. 1, 6; 5. 4; 6. 6 and consider whether the words "Israel does not know Jehovah" express Hosea's explanation of the desperate condition of Israel. If it is because there is "no knowledge of God in the land," what is the source of this ignorance of the true nature and requirements of Jehovah? Eead 13. 6. What has the 214 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL agricultural life of Palestine had to do with this lamentable ignorance of Jehovah? The new conditions of life led to the multiplication of altars, 10. 1, and the sanctuaries be- came scenes of debauchery, 4. 13. Priests left off taking heed to the admonitions of Jehovah, 4. 10, and forgot the precepts which had been given in their first days, 4. 6. This ignorance of Jehovah, then, is a backsliding, 14. 4; it is forgetfulness of the past, 8. 14; 13. 6, and a failure to consider the loving providence of Jehovah vouchsafed in the whole of IsraeFs history, 11. 1-3; 12. 9; 13. 4. The student of the earlier chapters will see that Hosea utters a new philosophy of IsraeFs history. There was no sense of defection in the earlier champions of Jehovah. This new interpretation of the past is so novel and so significant that it must deeply impress itself upon the student in order that the Deuteronomic historians and legislators may be understood. Later chapters will return to this again. Hosea pleads for a knowledge of Jehovah. Study the following references and state in each case what is meant by "to know Jehovah": 2. 8, 9; 4. 1; 5. 6; 6. 6; 7. 14; 8. 3 ; 10. 12. "To turn to Jehovah'^ is to turn to kindness and justice, 12. 6, to acknowledge past iniquities and to pledge amendment of life, 14. 2. The Future of Israel Like Amos, Hosea believes that the destruction of the northern kingdom is inevitable. Priest and prince, the authors of the nation^s ills, must perish. The whole social order, sick and wounded with ignorance, vice, crime, and idolatry, must perish, 3. 4; 4. 6; 5. 9, 14; 8. 7; 9. 11; 13. 8-15. Israel is to be driven out of Canaan, 9. 15, into the wilderness, 2. 3; 12. 9, scattered among the nations, 9. 3-6, 17; 10. 6; 11. 5, and brought to the threshold of the grave, 13. 14. Unlike Amos, Hosea believes that Jehovah's love for Israel is so abiding that he will not close the book of Israel's history with national dissolution. When Israel repents, Jehovah will show his face again, 5. 15; 10. 12; he will not utterly destroy his people, 11. 8, 11. He A PROPHET OF LOVE 215 punishes in love, 2. 14; at last his love, meeting repentant Israel, will usher in the dawn of a new age, 2. 16-23. Study attentively this last reference for the details of the new era. Hosea clearly perceived the inevitable destruction of the northern kingdom, but he did not so clearly foresee the permanent passing of the kingdom. This forecast of Israel's political future was based, not upon the political strength nor upon the moral conversion and rejuvenation of the state; but his prediction of a restored national life was grounded in his faith in Jehovah's compassion and love. Hosea apparently did not clearly grasp the fact that moral character cannot be given to an individual or a people. It must be achieved by men and women themselves. The millennium can never be a present. It is a people's earn- ings or else it never comes. The Soukce of Hosea's Message The psychology of the prophetic consciousness is one of the most interesting studies of religion. In what way does a man become able to say, "Thus saith Jehovah"? In every case this awareness of God grows out of the total experience of his life. The prophet lives into the new in- sight of life's meaning and God's will. The greatest of human disasters threw its painful shadow across Hosea's life. There was but one solvent of this wretched evil. Love alone could reveal to this faithless woman her evil deeds. Love alone could win her again to righteous living. Israel does not know Jehovah. Ignorant of this great love, she commits with unblushing abandon the greatest injustice and most corrupt and sensual practices in statecraft and worship. It is Jehovah's love which has borne patiently with her foolish infatuation with Canaanitish religion and worldly politics. It is now his love which is putting the nation away from him. It is his love which will pardon the nation's disloyalty and will restore her again to pros- perity and to fellowship with himself. Thus the psy- chology of Hosea's ministry is the extension of his individ- ual grief, compassion, love, and hope to vaster terms. 216 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL Jehovah is at least as loving and noble and hopeful as himself. God must be as good as man. It was through such spiritual and intellectual processes as these that Hosea learned the tender and beautiful conviction that Jehovah is the gracious and loving Saviour of Israel. When^ God Speaks to Us The Greatest Human Interest. — It ever has been an affair of superlative human interest when men believed that God was speaking to them. Hilltops, groves, fountains, and caverns where men have felt that God spoke to them, hence- forth became sacred and men trod their precincts in awe and veneration. Sinai still lures the scholar and the mystic across the wilderness into its rugged fastnesses, and lovers of Greece still climb the mountain slopes from the blue Corinthian gulf to the ruins of Delphi, the religious center of the ancient Greek world. It was a sad day for Greece when the oracle spoke no more. Religion is kept alive by continual revelations from God, and whenever a religious body, an age, or a people cease to receive intima- tions of the divine will for the ruling of their lives, their glory perishes. Our Most Modern Need. — Nothing is so important to our present civilization as the question whether God is speaking to us in clear, intimate, and convincing tones. If we hear no more the guiding voice of the Most High, then the beastly egotism of commercialism and material- ism in Europe and America will damn and doom our world order. If in the midst of the satisfied grunts of well-fed greed and expanding foreign markets, and the inevitable clash of arms consequent upon such a spirit, the Divine Voice no longer reaches our souls, then we are cursed and degraded beyond recall. The crux of religion to-day, the searching test of the church and the permanence of our civilization is whether the voice of God is hushed and silent or whether he is speaking to us lovingly and authoritatively still. When God Speaks to Us He Speaks to Us, — No revela- A PROPHET OF LOVE 217 tion of God to persons of a distant age can keep religion alive in our own souls. If God speaks to us modern men, it will not be in the experience of men in far off times. It is of little practical consequence to us that God spoke to the prophets of Israel. It is not enough, even, that he spoke so wonderfully in the soul of Jesus there by the hills and lake of Galilee. Unless our own age hears God's voice, unless all succeeding ages are vibrant with fresh revela- tions of his will, religion will die and civilization will perish from the earth. It is a speaking Deity alone which guarantees a living church. God must speak to me to keep religion alive in my own soul. That he has spoken to men of other times, or that he has spoken to you avails me little except to keep alive the hope that some day he will commune also with me. If hope is not to die in me, if life is to grow vigorous with meaning, God must keep speak- ing to me within my own soul. The very nature of reli- gion leads us to expect and demand the revelation of God, the voice of God, the assurance of God, the presence of God within one's own soul. To Be Consideeed by the Class 1. State all that is known of Hosea's birthplace, the scene and the time of his prophetic activity. 2. In the light of the discussion, "The Source of Hosea's Message," state what experiences must have preceded these sermons of Hosea. 3. What is Hosea's fundamental position concerning Israel's relation to Jehovah? 4. What was Hosea's view of the origin of the sacrificial system of his day? Of its value to true religion? 5. What did he claim was the primitive manner of the wor- ship of Jehovah? What was his conception of worship which Israel in the future would render Jehovah? 6. Why did the priests, who steadily gained in numbers and influence, fail to purify Israel's religion? 7. What were Hosea's views concerning Israel's foreign state policy? 8. What exceedingly revolutionary view of the monarchy and kingship did Hosea hold? 9. Upon what belief did Hosea base the prediction of the restoration of the political life of Israel? 218 THE EELIGION OF ISRAEL 10. In what way does the failure of this prediction to be realized impair Hosea's contribution to the world's religion? 11. Summarize Hosea's religious message. Refeeences for Further Study W. R. Smith, The Prophets of Israel, pp. 144-190. Wade, Old Testament History, pp. 403-422. Smith, Old Testament History, pp. 219-232. Bade, The Old Testament in the Light of To-day, pp. 153-166. Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible, article, "Hosea." CHAPTEE XXVI SUMMARY: FROM THE BIRTH OF THE MON- ARCHY TO THE FALL OF SAMARIA It is imperatively advisable, in the interests of the best results of study, to pause at intervals to reflect upon the more outstanding incidents in the development of Hebrew religion. From some quiet hill summit of reflection, there are to be seen in greater perspective the fragmentary hap- penings which have led the student onward. The earlier chapters of this course dealt with certain fundamentals of religion, such as the nature of man and God, which permit them to enter into communion with one another ; the patriarchal history, and the problems and experiences of the Hebrews in their first century in Canaan. We saw something of the effect of agricultural life upon their religion, and the necessity of the monarchy to prevent the tribes isolated by residence and jealousies from falling victims of the older inhabitants of Canaan, the Philistines, or the Bedouin hordes who continued to be attracted by the pasturages and barley fields of Palestine. A second group of chapters has traced the rise of the monarchy and its contribution to Israel's religion, and the disruption of the kingdom. The story then followed the northern king- dom until the fall of its capital. This history has carried the narrative through an important crisis and brought it to the greatest epoch of Israel's religion, namely, the work of the eighth-century prophets. Epochs in Iskael's Religious History During these three centuries, B. C. 1025 to B. C. 722, there are three events whose importance requires the epochal title. These are the Rise of the Monarchy, the Rejection of Tyrian Baalism, and the Appearance of Ethical Proph- 219 220 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL etism. The student of Hebrew life should have clearly defined conceptions of these events, momentous in Israel, and therefore of abiding consequence to the world. The Rise of the Monarchy. — Two facts are to be borne in mind : (a) the absolute necessity for the nationalization of the tribes to preserve the Hebrew from disappearance among his Canaanitish neighbors and (&) that the kings were chosen and supported by the prophets, Jehovah^s spokesmen of the day. The student needs only to recall the disorders, defeats, and jealousies of Samuel's day to realize the service rendered Israel and the world by Saul and David. Chapters XIY and XV give the evidence for these statements. We are now in position to estimate the attitude of those who wrote under the sense of the failure of the kingship to secure the permanent welfare of the people. Hosea's belief that the kingship of Israel was a defection from Jehovah was taken up and asserted in more detail by the Deuteronomic historians; that is, by those historians who wrote under the dominance of the Deuter- onomic reforms which in turn were inspired by Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah. For this late attitude to the kingship the student should read 1 Samuel 7. 2 to 8. 22. Note especially 8. 7 for this view of the past, and observe how utterly it misreads the times in which the monarchy arose. The Rejection of Tyrian Baalism. — This was a truly critical period in Israel's religion. Had Jezebel's propa- ganda succeeded, no one now could well say what would have been the course of the world's life. There was a great chance that the new deity would enthrone himself in Israel. It was not God's purpose, however, that the cove- nant religion, which alone offered opportunities of moral progress, should be forgotten. The student should review Chapters XXI and XXII, "A Religious Crisis in Israel'' and "The Eevolution Under Jehu." Eighth-Century Prophetism. — It is impossible to over- estimate the service which was rendered mankind by Amos and his successors. Chapters XXIII-XXV deal with the first two of this new class of world-leaders. Their voices SUMMAEY 221 have never been silenced. Every advance of religion will be but the filling in of details in certain great outlines of religious life to which they give expression. Compared with older prophets, Amos and Hosea struck certain new notes in Israel's religion. (a) The Nature of the Covenant. — The prophets accept this traditional statement of Israel's relation to Jehovah. But they proclaim the revolutionary doctrine that Jehovah may break this covenant. The nation may be destroyed. The covenant with Jehovah is not a natural covenant, that is, a kinship relation, but an ethical covenant, that is, based upon moral considerations. Jehovah is not obligated to preserve the integrity of the nation, said Amos and Hosea. He is obligated to righteousness and love, and both motives insist upon moral life in Israel. Apart from Israel's moral life there is no reason for national existence. The preaching of national destruction is a new note in Israel. All former prophets preached national aggrandize- ment. It is the presence of inadequate and limited views of Jehovah, the state and worship, which gives rise to the new definition and denunciation of sin. ( 6 ) Hosea' s Philosophy of History. — It is to be observed that neither Amos nor Hosea makes any appeal to a Sinaitic legislation which has been neglected or disobeyed. Hosea does state that thoughtful men should have discovered the spiritual nature and loving concern of Jehovah from the facts of Israel's history. In this belief Hosea denounces both the cultus and the kingship of Israel. The worship is a Canaanitish borrowing and the political organization is LjI egotistical and anarchic falling away from Jehovah. The importance of this view of the political history is dis- cussed above. Students will recall that the book of Kings frequently denounces the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and that the author of Judges and Samuel con- demns the worship at the sanctuaries. Such condemnation belongs to Hosea and to the prophets, Deuteronomic legis- lators, and historians who followed him. Hosea created a new interpretation of the nation's past, and his view domi- nates the whole Old Testament. 222 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL Incidents of Note in These Three Centuries. — The stu- dent should be able to say something intelligent, and with some detail, concerning the following events and their bearing upon Hebrew religion : 1. The capture of the Jebusite stronghold at Jerusalem. 2. The overemphasis of the monarchy in Solomon. 3. The building of the temple. 4. AhaVs alliance with Tyre. 5. The revolution under Jehu. 6. Israel's relations with Damascus. 7. The rise of Assyria to power. 8. The fall of Samaria. The Religious Advance The Service of the Prophets. — We have already seen that before the time of Saul, Jehovahism had borrowed the sanctuaries and the ritual of the Canaanites, among whom the new religion had made its home. There has been proof enough that this fused worship was incapable of moral progress. It required a new element to carry forward the development of the kingdom of God. This new factor is prophetism. It is not unlikely that the champions of Jehovah borrowed this also from the Canaanite. But in the course of time prophetism, under the guidance of God, became the means of lifting Hebrew religion into its glori- ous leadership of the world. Amos and Hosea brought to mankind three distinct religious triumphs of faith and revelation. They brought to Israel a vision of character in God. Earlier prophets had a partial trust that Jehovah would deal justly with his people, but it was first of all in the soul of the eighth-century prophets that it was established that moral character is the fundamental factor in the divine nature. These same prophets brought to men the sense of the oneness of Deity. Dagon, Melkart, Chemosh, and Ammon were realities for the people and the earlier prophets of Israel. From Amos on, the prophet knows that there is SUMMARY 223 no division in the divine government of the world. Jehovah alone is Creator and Ruler of earth and heaven. They proclaimed that the prophet-consciousness of God is the only true type of religion. Unless the individual stands in such immediate relation to God that his will is known directly within the soul of the worshiper, there can be no vital religion. The secrets of Jehovah are not hidden from such men. It is this immediateness of experience, this living touch with God, which gave the prophets their moral vision and their positiveness of message. One needs only to read Amos and Hosea to see that something new has dawned in the world^s religion. It is the consciousness of God indwelling in the soul of man. Prophet versus Priest. — It is this new conception of religion as an unmediated experience of God in the human soul which accounts for the break of prophetic religion with priestly religion everywhere observable in the Old Testament. The priest is the custodian of the organized, the traditional, the orthodox, the customary. Centuries of accumulation are behind him, and no matter how much of it is rubbish, the new worshiper must accept the old doc- trines. Seldom has any new and splendid development of life come through the priesthood. It is the citadel of traditions. It loves the habitual because it is familiar. The priest regards himself a paladin of the past. The altar and the ritual of the fathers are to be preserved. The priest never is tried for heresy. He does not deal in futures. He never hurries his times. He never disturbs the privi- leged classes. He fights no battles to win a larger empire for religion. He makes no new moral demands. He is content with the robe and crown which have graced his fathers. Religion to-day might be a living power in un- numbered thousands of men now bankrupt in the life of the Spirit had its ordained representatives taken vows of lead- ership rather than custodianship of flickering flames on ancient altars. The greatest element of the Old Testament is its prophet- ism. The Jewish Scriptures would not be the vital book it is to-day if the sermons of the prophets were not em- 224 THE EELIGION OF ISEAEL bodied in it. These men anathematized Hebrew sacrifice and festival approved by the priests. Men did not see Jehovah^s ethical nature in the ritual^ nor did they vision the moral obligations of life before his altars. The prophets aroused the conscience of Israel. They pro- claimed the justice, love, and moral holiness of God. They assured their countrymen, contrary to priestly teaching, that Jehovah would cast them off unless they lived right- eous lives, "For I desire goodness, and not sacrifice," was Jehovah^s message in the prophetic soul. The prophets of Israel were great men. It is impossible to overestimate them. They were solitary voices lifted unweariedly in an age of gross sensualism to proclaim the grandeur of the moral life. Their message is an eternal message of reli- gion. Whenever religion bursts the bonds of ritual and escapes into the freedom of comradeship with God, it has blossomed again into glory in prophetic souls. When God Speaks to Us The Most Needed Emphasis. — There is no emphasis in religion so sorely needed to-day as the insistence that we moderns do stand on communicable terms with God. It is very easy to assume that God has spoken in times past but that he speaks no more. The miracles all seem to have happened in former generations. But if you do not cling to the hope that God will communicate his will with- in your own soul in unmistakable terms, then religion is sure to sink to a dull routine of reciting the creeds and experiences of the ages that are gone. The fire will die out of your soul and you will seek to warm yourself in vain by the ashes of the fires which have burned in the life of a bygone age. Men are deprived of strength to-day through the belief that God does not speak to us. There are two men who are so disturbed. The first one of them looks back to childhood or to the joyous experience of conversion as the ideal time of communion with God. Then in those innocent days or in that glad hour he knew that God had spoken to him, but now he feels the joy of that rare com- SUMMAKY 225 munion only at widening intervals or not at all. This is a false relation to God. God is no nearer a child than to a man. As we grow more mature God changes the con- tent of his message and the mode of its communication. But he still speaks to us, and we may hear him if we will. " Then there is the man who never has been on intimate terms with God. He believes in God, believes in moral obligations, but there is no intimate communion; no in- timate feeling that he really has come face to face with his heavenly Father. Only yesterday I met this man. He says that his church experience has not been satisfactory to him ; that when a young man, he united with the church ; that he has done what he has been told to do in religious matters, has prayed faithfully and practiced the moral virtues. But at no time has he felt that God answered him. The Way in Which God Speaks to Us.— Such broken communications with God take place because we forget the one method by which God can speak to us. We are sen- tient beings. Our life consists in thoughts, feelings, ex- pressions of will; in beliefs, ideas, longings, ideals. To speak to us conscious, thinking, reasoning, dreaming beings, God must communicate his love and his will in feelings, in beliefs, in ideas and ideals. This is the only way in which he can speak to us. This is the only way in which one personal being can cross the boundaries of another's soul. The Contents of a Divine Revelation. — What are God's supreme interests in our human society? Surely, God ever seeks the progress of a finer world-order on earth. The kingdom for which Christ labored is a kingdom of pure and unselfish social living. It is an ideal society of just, sympathetic and enlightened men and women mutually devoted to a common welfare and finding the inspiration of their lives in fellowship with God. If this is the goal of God, when he speaks to man he speaks of these things. God's speaking to us is not to be tested by the intensity or the number of our inward thrills. We may, indeed, enjoy rare times of exalted feeling. But unless the transfigured hour ends in clearer insight and 226 THE EELIGIOlSr OF ISEAEL more power to infuse life with the ideals and the practice of truth, justice, and love, the vision has been in vain. When God speaks to a man it is not only to draw him into the divine fellowship, it is also to make him a more dynamic person in the heroic task of reconstructing the social order. Voices of God. — Therefore when you love truth above all things, when you dedicate yourself to it, rest your hope in it and cleave to it at any sacrifice, God is speaking to you in intimate terms. The evidence of a divine prompt- ing is the urging toward holiness. Goodness is God's high- est aim, and the progress of goodness is the work of God. Any flash in you, no matter how it comes, which points the way and presses the obligation of righteous living, is the voice of God in you. To accept within you the au- thority of the good, to recognize the claims of goodness, purity and love; to feel that you are called to be a moral being ; to bow to this ideal law — this is God within you. It is scarcely possible to say anything adequate about the revelation of God in a man's loyalty to duty. Never yet have men gone forth to follow a challenging duty to con- flicts, crusades, martyrdoms who did not discover that they were walking the highways of God. We may not always discern the goal toward which duty leads us; our heroism may be enlisted in an unworthy cause; selfish leaders may use our devotion for their personal advantage; but those who put aside the flowers, the music, and the restful slumber to toil in weariness and pain for some haloed duty are following what is for them a prompting from on high. Then, too, God speaks in the life where sympathy is cultivated. To speak with accents of sweetness and sun- shine, to live cheerfully, to show tenderness toward all frailty, to bear patiently with the ignorant, to keep the doors of charity open toward the unfortunate, to look out into the world and breathe endless goodwill toward every creature, is to keep oneself very close to the whispering God. Just to be a good friend, a good neighbor, to be the unwearied lover of the loveless and the lowly is to draw one's life from the living treasury of God. SUMMARY 227 The Gist of the Lesson 1. What was the early prophetic attitude toward the mon- archy? What was Hosea's conviction concerning the ruler- ship of the king? In what momentous way did his view in- fluence subsequent Hebrew opinion? To what extent was Hosea's criticism of the religious value of the monarchy justi- fied by events? 2. What would have been the probable course of Hebrew religion, had Tyrian baalism not been crushed in Israel? 3. What political and social conditions compelled a new type of prophetic leadership? 4. What estimate was placed by Amos and Hosea upon the religious value of the cultus? Upon its origin? To what extent were their views historically sound? What is the evidence that they, in their own religious life, definitely broke with the sacrificial system? To what extent did they concede the necessity of any sacrifice of agricultural products or animals? What did religion mean to them? 5. Why is this prophetic type of religion the only true kind? What is the essence of religion? In what ways does God speak to us? Stimulating Discussions Marti, Religion of the Old Testament, pp. 72-142, 147-159. Addis, Hebrew Religion, pp. 78-168. Smith, The Religion of Israel pp. 63-146. Hastings, Dictionary of the BiMe, Volume V, pp. 634-692. INDEX TO TOPICS The letter f indicates that the reference extends to the next page; the letters ff that it includes two or more following pages. Abner, 131 Abraham, call of, 33, faith of ,36f . Adversity, discipline of, 51f. Ahab, kmg of Israel, 171; alli- ance with Tyre, 172f.; do- mestic policy of, 173 Altars, earliest Hebrew, 95; nu- merous to Jehovah, 173; to Chemosh and Molech, 160; right of asylum at, 143 Ammonites, 120 Amos, 87f., 191, 194f., 197; his service to religion, 203f. Ark, 75f., 94, 96, 123; recovered from Philistines, 133; in Tem- ple, 158 Asherah, 185 Assyria, 189f., 193, 209 Asylum, right of, 143 Autocracy, failure of, 153f. Avenger of blood, 144 BaaUsm, Tyrian, 172f. Baals, gods of Canaanites, 93f; worshiped by Hebrews, 94f . Battles of Jehovah, 113, 140f. Bedouin, 98 Bethel, 167 Blessing of Moses, 202 Bulls, images of Jehovah, 167f . Canaanites, religion of, 86, 103; influence upon Hebrews, 94f., 103, 184f., 211f. Chemosh, 160 Climate, effect upon religion, 84f., 89 Codes of law, earliest, 67-72 Commandments, 66ff.; modern, Conquest of Canaan, 92f. Covenant, idea of in religion, 19, 62f., 64, 102; between Jehovah and Israel, 60f., 98, 102; prophetic conception of, 221 Creation, of world, 21f.; of man, 21f. Dan, sanctuary of Israel, 167 David, 106; kmg, 130; captures Jerusalem, 132; wars with Philistines, 134; character, 134f., 141; idealization of, 136, 140 Day of Jehovah, 193, 203 Days of creation, 20f. Dead, sacrifices to, 103 Deborah, 93; song of, 16, 84. Decalogue, 66ff. Democracy of prophets, 175f.y 194 Development in religion, 70-72, 106; in morals, 169 Dreamers, need of, 44f. Dreams, a mode of revelation, 125, 160 Egypt, Israel in, 42; oppression of Israel, 48f.; deliverance from, 54f. Eli, 96 Ehjah, 94; opposes Ahab, 172f.; attacks Tyrian baalism, 173; service to religion, 176f. Elisha, 183 Environment, influence upon character, 89 Ephod, 96f. Epochs in Israelitish history, 219f. Exodus, 55, 57 229 230 INDEX TO TOPICS Faith, 36f.; want of, 38 Fall, story of, 27f . Feasts: unleavened bread, 69, 97; weeks, 86, 97; harvest, 86, 97; religious significance of, 86; borrowed from Canaan- ites, 97; sacrificial character of, 115f. Foundation-sacrifices, 103 Friendship, 137 Gideon, 93, 96 God, early Hebrew idea of 93f.; patience of, 107f . Gods, owners of land, 91f., 98, 106, 185 Gods of Canaanites eclipsed, 144 Guilds of prophets, 182, 188f., 191 Harvest, feast of, 86, 97 Hebrews: migration to Egypt, 39f.; sojourn in Egypt, 46f.; religious life in Egypt, 48; a unique people, 13; social in- timacy with Canaanites, 103; with Philistines, 113 High places, 85; Israelitish shrines, 95; furniture of, 176; no condemnation of in early Israel, 116, 160, 168, 173; in times of Amos, 204 Hobab, 54 Horeb, 60f. Hosea, 194, 208f . ; his conception of history, 211f., 214f., 221 Idolatry, not condemned by early prophets, 168, 176; view of Hosea, 212 Images, 69, 96, 167f. Ingathering, feast of, 97, 168 Inspiration, 117, 201f., 215f. Isaac, sacrifice of, 35 Ishbosheth, 131 Israel: unique consciousness of, 16; Jehovah's choice of, 17f.; mission of, 17; sojourn in ■ Egypt, 47f.; conquest of Ca- naan, 92f.; relations with sur- rounding nations, 165f., 172 Jabesh-Gilead, 122f., 131 Jehovah: origin of worship of, 55f., 184; resident at Sinai, 94, 106, 185; national God of Israel, 93f.; owner of Canaan, 95, 106; images of, 96, 167f.; battles of, 113, 140f.; patience with Israel, 105f.; conception of in times of Solomon, 159f . Jacob, 39 Jehu, revolution under, 179; supported by prophets, 179f., 181f.; foreign policy of, 180f.; Hosea's judgment of, 213 Jephthah, 96 Jeroboam I, 166 Jeroboam II, 189f. Jerusalem, 92; captured by David, 132; adorned by Sol- omon, 149f. Jesus of Nazareth, 90 Jethro, 54f., 56 Jezebel, 172f. Jonadab ben Rechab, 183f . Jonah ben Amittai, 191 Jonathan, 121, 124 Joseph, 54f., 56 Justice, aim of prophets, 175f . Kenites, 183f. Kingdom of God, meaning of, 13f.; development of, 14f., 18; influence of monarchy upon, 116f., 140f. Kingdom of Solomon, disrup- tion of, 163f. Knowledge of good and evil, 27f . Lot, sacred, 96f.; in charge of priests, 124f. Luxury in Northern Kingdom, 189f. Man; creation of, 21; nature of, 22f., 104; image of God, 24f., INDEX TO TOPICS 231 104; fall of, 27f.; place in universe, 23f. Mazzebah, 176, 185 Melkart, 172, 180 Micaiah ben Imlah, 175f. Michal, 131 Midian, 54 Midianites, 93 Militarism, of Solomon, 148f.; righteousness of, 186f. Molech, 106 Monarchy, attitude toward, 113f.; demanded by prophets, 122f.; function in Hebrew re- ligion, 114, 140f.; Hosea's view of, 213 Monotheism, beginnings of, 201f . Morality, grounded in religion, 204-206 Moses, 54; his contribution to religion, 56; mission of, 55; nature of his genius, 56, 102 Nathan, 142f. Nomadic life, 98 Northern Kingdom, established, 163f.; kings of, 171f.; inter- national problems, 212f. Omri, king of Israel, 172 Palestine, physical features, 83; influence upon religion, 84, 86 ; climate, 84f.; fertility, 85; con- quest of by Israel, 92f. Pharaoh, 55f. Philistines: obstacle to Hebrew nationality, 113, 117; David's wars with, 132f. Priest : not primarily a sacrificial person in early Israel, 96, 115; in charge of sacred lot, 124; service to religion, 222 Prophets and Prophetism: be- ginnings of, 115, 117; patriot- ism of, 117, 122, 193; seek social justice, 175, 194; schools of, 175, 182f., 188, 194; char- acteristics of prophetism, 222- 224; false prophets, 175f. Prosperity, meaning of, 153; evils of, 52, 189f.; influence upon religion, 203f. Rechabites, 183f. Reform prompted by religion, 119 Rehoboam, 164 Religion: function of, 53; of Israel in Egypt, 48; develop- ment of, 71f.; Hebrew influ- enced by Canaanites, 185; be- fore Amos, 192f.; prophetic conception of, 204f., 206 Revelation- reality of, 63; modes of, 125f., 141ff., 200f., 215- 217; 224r-226 Revolt of northern tribes,causes of, 163ff. Sabbath, 67, 70, 79ff. Sacrifices: human, 35, 69, 96, 103; animal, 95f.; agricultural products, 69, 96, 103; Ca- naanitish, 96, 103; to dead, 103; foundation, 103; com- mon mode of worship, 95; officiating person, 96, 115f., 126; spiritual value of, 99; prophetic idea of, 204f., 210f. Sanctuaries, 103 Samuel, 111; position in Israel, 112 Saul, 106; choice of as king, 114f.; kingship of, 120f., 126f.; character of, 121ff. Sin, 29f., 31 Sinai, location, 60; command- ments given at, 70 Sisera, 93 Slavery, 190 Social justice, aim of prophets, 174f.; want of in Northern Kingdom, 190; demanded by Amos, 204f. Sojourn, in Egypt, 47; memories of, oOf. 232 INDEX TO TOPICS Solomon: tyranny of, 147f., 164; militarism of, 148f.; a builder, 149; alliances of, 150; domes- tic policy, 151f.; wisdom of, 155ff. Stephen, 16f. Taboo in connection with war, 120, 144 Tekoa, 87, 191, 198f., 200f. Ten Commandments, 66f. Tent of Meeting, 76 Temple: site, 157; plans, ma- terials, size, 157f.; early use of, 159f. Teraphim, 96 Trees, magic, 27f.; sacred, 34, 85, 123; mode of revelation, 143 Tribes, political weakness of, 112f. Tyre, alliance with Israel, 172 Tyrian baalism, 172f. Unleavened Bread, feast of, 97 Urim and Thummim, 125 Vows, made at shrines, 97; sanc- tity of, 116 Wealth, uses of, 161 Weeks, feast of, 86, 97 Wisdom, Hebrew ideal of, 155; of Solomon, 155f; nature of, 162 Woman, man's property, 70 Worship, modes of, 95f, 126, 143; in Northern Kingdom, 185, 203f, 210f, denounced by Amos, 204; prophetic idea of, 205, 210f. INDEX TO SCRIPTURE PASSAGES PAGE Genesis 1.26-30 21 1.26,27 22 2.4-8, 18-25 25 2.9, 15-17 27 3. 1-24 28 3. 19 29 3 27 12. 1-9 33 12. 6 85 12. 10-20 34 13 34 15. 13, 16 48 22 35 28. 1-17 125 34.30 50 37. 2, 11, 20, 31 41 37.3, 11, 12-14,33-35.... 40 38. 1 50 39. 1-20 14 39 to 47 40 40. 1-21 41 41 41 42. 21 41 42.36-38 40 43. 11-14 40,41 44.30-34 41 45.5,7-9 41 45. 10 47 45.26-28 40 46. 1-7, 28-30 40 47.6 47 47.7-10,28-31 40 48. 1-22 40 50. 16-18 41 50.20 41 Exodus 1.5,6,9,15-22 47 1.8, 9, 11, 14 48 1. 11 49 2. 1-10 47 PAGE Exodus (continued) 2. 1-22 54 3. 1-12 54 3. 1,4-6, 13-15 55 3. 7, 16 51 3.7-10, 16-18 48 3.8 61 3. 16, 22 47 4. 31 48 5.6-9 48 5. 20-22 55 6. 2, 9, 12 55 8.22 47 8.25,26 48 8.26 55 9.26 47 10.24 47 10.8-11,24 55 11.2 47 12. 13, 37 47 12. 30-32 55 12. 40 48 14.2-21,23-28 56 14. 31 55 18. 10-12 54 18. 13-22 77 18 55 19.4 63 18.4-6 61 19 60 19 185 20.3-17 68 20. 22, 23 71 20.24-26 15 20.24,25 95 20 70,78 20 to 23 66 22.29,30 86 23. 16 97 24.3-8 61 28.6-35 97 233 234 INDEX TO SCRIPTUEE PASSAGES PAGE Exodus (continued) 31. 12-14 79 33. 1-3, 12, 15-17 106 33. 7-11 77 33. 12-17 94 34. 1-4, 10, 27-37 68 34.27,28 71 34.28 67 34 66,69,70 35. 1-3 79 Leviticus 23.3 79 23.34 167 Numbers 10.29 54 10.33-36 75 10.35,36 133 10.35 185 11. 16, 17, 24 77 12.5 77 14.42,44 76 23.22 168 24.8 168 26.59 48 Deuteronomy 4.20 50 5. 1-22 67,71 5 66,67,70,78 10. 1-5 75 11. 10-17 84 11. 13-17 85 16. 1-8, 10 97 16. 9-15 86 31. 15 77 32.8-14,31 16 32.9-14 85 32 17 33.2 94,185 33. 12-16,24-29 85 33.26-29 202 Joshua 6.6,8 76 8. 31 95 15.63 92 18.6-10 76 24. 14 55 PAGE Judges 1. 1-3, 8, 9, 16, 27-35.... 92 2. 1 95 2.4,5 97 2.8 24 2. 11 94 3.6 92 3.31 113 5. 2, 3, 31 17 5. 3-5, 11, 13, 23, 31 16 5.4 106 5. 4, 5, 8 94 5.4-6 185 5.8 113 5 84,93 5.24 184 6.7-10 51 6.22-24 97 6.24, 26, 28, 32 95 6.25,30 94 6 to 8 93 8.24-27 96,97 8. 31 , 92 9.6-27 86 9. 9, 13 96 9.9,27 97 9.27 86 10. 6 113 11. 11, 30 97 11. 30-39 96 13. 19 95,96 14. 1-3 92 14 to 16 93 17. 1-5 96 17.3 94,212 17.6 116 18. 1 116 18.30,31 95 19. 1 116 21. 19, 21 97 21.21 86 21.25 116 1 Samuel 1. 1-28 Ill 1.3 97 1.4 96 1.3-5, 14 116 1.14. 86 INDEX TO SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 235 PAGE 1 Samuel (continued) 2. 11, 18-21,26 Ill 2. 12-17,22 116 2. 13-17 96 2. 18 97 3. 1-21 Ill 3.3 76 3 112 4.5-8 133 4.7,22 76 4 113 7.2-13, 15, 17 112 7. 13 113 7. 2 to 8. 22 220 8. 1, 6 112 8. 1-22 113 8.7 220 8. 10-18 164 9. 1-10, 16 114,120 9.6-27 112 9. 11-14,22-25 116 9.20 115 10. 1-7,9-16 112 10. 1-7, 10, 16, 19-24 114 10.5,6,10-13 115 10.5, 17-27 113 10. 10 120 10. 12 117 10. 17-19 51 11. 1-11 115 11. 1-11, 15 114,120 11.6,7 124 12. 1-6, 19,23 112 12. 10 94 13.2-7, 15-18 121 13.2-7, 15-18,23 120 13.6 112 13. 17, 18 113 14. 1-46,52 120,121 14.3 96 14. 3, 6, 10-12, 23, 34, 35, 37, 39-43 124 14.3, 18,36-42 125 14.24-30,32, 33,35,37. .126 14.52 113 16. 14-16 121,124 16 120 17.1-11 121 PAGE 1 Samuel (continued) 18. 12 124 18. 12, 17 121 18. 17 113 19. 13 212 20.6 97 20. 18,24-29 126 21.3-7 125 21.9 96 22.2,7,8, 14-18 121 22 141 23.2-4, 10-12 141,142 23. 6 96 25.28 185 26. 19 93,106,204 28.6 121,125 29. 1,2 122 30.8 141,142 30. 26 141 30.26-31 130 31. 1-13 122 31. 12, 13 123 2 Samuel 1. 12 140 1. 16 146 1. 19-27 123,135 2. 1 141,142 2. 1-4 130 2.4 140 2.5-7 131 3.7-11, 17-22,27-30 131 3. 18 140 3.27-30 144 3.28 146 3.28,35 141 4.9 141 4. 12 146 5. 1-3 131 5. 3 . . 95 5! 2,' 3,' 20,* 24.".' .'.'."!.'!."!! 140 5.6-10 132 5. 12, 19,20,23 141 5. 17-25 132 5. 19, 23, 24 142 5. 21-25 133 6. 1-23 133 6. 1-19,21 141 6. 14, 17 76 236 INDEX TO SCEIPTUKE PASSAGES PAGE 2 Samuel (continued) 6. 17 77 6.21 140,141 8.2 148 8.3-7 172 8. 18 168 9 to 12 134 9 to 20 133 10. 12 141 11.2-27 134 12. 1-9, 13-15 142 12. 1-15 202 12.5, 22 141 13.21 134 14. 11 141 14. 13 140 15.7-12 143 15. 21-23, 24, 32-37 135 15.24 141 15.29 75 16.8 141 17.8-10 134 17.27 148 18. 12-14 134 19. 1-6,31-39 135 19. 11 141 19.21 140 19.40-43 163 20. 1-22 163 20.9, 10 134 21. 1-9 144 23. 14 132 1 Kings 1. 29f., 47 141 1.32-40 134 1.50 143 2. 13-26,28-34 147 2.28, 34 148 2. 28 143 2.36-46 148 3.1 150 3.4 95, 168 3.4, 5 125 3.4-28 156 4.2-6,7-19,22-24 151 4. 9-20 149 4.29-34 156 5.1 to 6. 11 150 PAGE 1 Kings (continued) 5. 13-18 151 6.2-7, 15-35 158 7. 1-12 149 7.8 150 7. 13-51 158 7.25,29 168 8. 1-9, 12 76 8.5 77 8. 12, 13 159 8. 51 50 9. 10-16,24,26-28 150 9. 11-14 156 9. 15, 18, 19 148 9. 16 165 9. 19 149 9.20-22 151 9.22 122 10.4-10, 24 156 10. 17-20,26 149 10.26 148 11. 1-8,27 150 11.8 160 11. 14-40 152 11.23-25 172 11.26-31,40 166 11.28 150 11.40 165 12. 1-16,24 165 12. 1-20 166 12.6-11 ...164 12. 16 163 12.25-33 167 14. 19,30 167 14.24 86 14. 25-28 166 15. 18-20 172 16.29-33 172 18.4 175 18. 17-46 174 18.30 173 19.8-14 94 19.8, 11, 12 185 19.8-18 106 19. 14 173 19. 16 182 20. 1,34 172 20. 13-16,22,35-43 174 INDEX TO SCRIPTUEE PASSAGES 237 PAGE 1 Kings (continued) 20. 13-22, 35-43 175 20. 35-43 183 21. 1-16, 20 173 21. 17-20,23 182 21. 17-24 202 22.5-28 175 22. 6-28 174 22.8 173 22. 34, 35 172 2 Kings 2.3-5 183 3.4 172 3. 11, 13-25 183 4. 38-44 183 5. 17 93 6. 1-7 183 8. 1-6 202 8. 12 181 9. 1-6, 22,25 182 9. 1-6, 11-13, 20,36 179 9. 11 115 9. 14-37 213 9. 15-28,30-37 180 10. 1-28 181 10. 10 182 10. 15 179 10. 15-17,23,30 183 10, 21 173 10.30 213 10. 32, 33 181 13.3,7 188 13.5 181 13.5,24, 25 189 14. 23-29 189 14. 25 191 15. 8-10, 13, 14, 16, 19, 20, 25, 29, 30 190 15.9 213 15. 29, 30 209 17.3-6 191 17.4 213 17.9-11 86 20.4 150 1 Chronicles 2. 55 183 2. 11 78 4. 17 95 PAGE 1 Chronicles (continued) 8. 34 95 12.5 95 23 to 26 139 Nehemiah 12. 24 136 13. 15-22 79 Psalms 8 22 29 87 51 15 68. 16 106 81 105 81.6, 7 51 104 87 132. 17 136 Proverbs 25. 1 155 Isaiah 1.2 23 I. 13 78 6.1-8 24 II. 16 51 22.9 136 28. 23-29 94 37.35 136 41.8 24 42. 1-9 18 42.5-8 16 56. 1-7 79 58. 12-14 79 Jeremiah 2.6 51 3. 16 76 13. 13 136 15. 1 112 16. 14 51 17.21, 22,24,25 78 29.26 115 30.9 136 32. 2 150 32. 35 86 35. 1-11 183 Ezekiel 16. 17-19 97 34. 23 136 37.24 136 238 INDEX TO SCEIPTUEE PASSAGES PAGE Hosea 1.2 208 1.2-9 209 1.4,5 213 2.2-13 210 2.3.8, 9 214 2.8 212,213 2. 8, 13, 17 185 2.8, 14-20 211 2.8, 14-22 86 2. 11 78,79,204 2. 14, 1&-23 215 2. 14-20 22 2. 16 95 2. 19 24 3. 1-3 209 3.4 210,213,214 3.4,5 211 4. 1,6, 10, 13 214 4. 1, 10, 13 211 4. 1, 6, 18 213 4.4, 5,8, 12, 14 210 4. 11-14 86,204 4. 17 212 4. 18 213 5. 1 209 5. 1, 4, 10-14 213 5.6.9, 14, 15 214 6.6 212,213,214 6.8 209 6.9 210 7.3-7, 11 213 7.5 208 7.9 212 7. 14 214 8.3, 14, 17 214 8.4-6 212 8.4,9, 10 213 9.1-9 211 9.3,4 204 9.3-6,11, 15 214 9.7,20 115 10. 1,6, 12 214 10.5 212 10.7 213 10.14 205 11.1-3,5,8,11 214 11.1-4 263 PAGE Hosea (continued) 11.2 211,212 12. 1 213 12.6,9 214 12. 10, 13 211 12. 11 208,209,212 13. 1,2 212 13.4 51,211 13.4,6,8-15 214 13.6, 10,11 213 14.2,4 214 14.3 213 14.8 212 15.30 190 Amos 1.1 198 1.2 85 1.3 188,201 1.3-5 181 2.3,6-8,10 202 2.6,7,8 86,202 2.7 190 2.7,8 204 3. 1 51 3.1,2,9,10 202 3.2 203 3.3-8 199 3.6,9, 10 190 3.7,8, 14 205 3. 12, 15 189 4. 1 190,202 4.4 204 4.4,5 194 4.6 205 4.6-11 84 4.9 189 5.5,6, 14, 15,21-24 205 5.7, 12 190 5.7,10,15 202 5. 11 189 5. 18-20 203 5.21-25 204 6. 1-7 202 6.4-6 189 6.6 190 6.14 189 7.1 85 INDEX TO SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 239 PAGE Amos (continued) 7.9 205 7. 12, 14, 15 199 7. 14 198 7. 17 204 8.4-6 202 8.5 78 8.6 190 8.9 85 9.4,7 202 PAGE Amos (continued) 9. 6 85 9. 10 202 Habakkuk 3.3 185 3.3-15 106 John 4.21-24 75 Acts 7.2-53 16 Date Due .M^7 _, M^:.^^^:.