The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-03-25
SEVEN.

SEVEN.
The MYSTICAL and symbOlicaI sIxuif.
canoe Of the Word.
The fact that the Graphic on Wednes-
day last completed its seventh year of
existence calls to mind the curious i'm
portance with which the number seven
has been invested in ancient mytholo-
gies and systems of philosophy, in the
books of the Old and New Testaments,
in ecclesiastical traditions and in le-
gendary stories and folk lore; and the
frequency with which it is referred to in
the literature of all nations and made
the numerical basis of stories, poems
and allegories. A few of these are
mentioned below, but the number
might be increased sevenfold.
Jacob served seven years for Rachel,
and then, when he was cheated by his
father-in-law and given Leah instead,
he served seven other years for her.
Pharaoh, in his prophetic dream, saw
seven fat-fleshed and well-favored kline
and seven ill-favored and lean-fleshed
kline, and seven ears of corn, full and
good, and seven ears withered, thin and
blasted with the East wind.
In the Book of Numbers it is ordained
that whoever touched one that was slain
with a sword in the open fields, or Q
dead body or bone of man or grave,
should be unclean seven days.
In the Book Of Leviticus the priest is
directed to sprinkle the blood of the
bullock offered in sacrifice seven times
before the Lord, and lepcr was to be
sprinkled seven times by the priest with
the blood of a bird sacrificed for his
cleansing.
The women friends of Naomi praised
her daughter-in-law Ruth, saying that
she was better than seven sons.
p In the first chapter of the Book of
Esther it is recorded that on the sew
enth day of the great feast which the
King Ahasuerus made in the third year
of his reign, he sent his seven chamber
lains to bring Vashti. the Queen, before
him to show the people her beauty.
When the Queen refused to come the
King was wroth and consulted ethe
seven Princes of Persia and Media which
saw the Kings face and which sat first
in the kingdom" as to what should be
done to the Queen for her disobedience.
The first verse of the ninth chapter of
the Proverbs of Solomon reads: .Wis-
dom hath builded her house; she hath
hewn out her seven chambers" /" and the
twenty.fifth verse of the twenty-sixth
chapter is: /" When he speaketh fair be-
ieve him not; for there are seven
abominations in his heart"
In several books of the Old Testa-
ment it is directed that seven bullocks
and seven rams should be offered in
sacrifice.
There were seven sons born unto job
Z Jacob bowed seven times before his
brother Esau.
In the Gospel. according to Matthew,
we are commanded to forgive him who
has wronged us, not seven times, but
seventy times seven.
The Lords prayer contains seven Pc
titions.
Seven devils were cast out of Mary
Magdalene.
In the twelfth chapter of st. Marks
Gospel is recorded the questions put by
the Sadducees concerning the woman
who had seven husbands.
In st. Matthew we are told that the
unclean spirit which goeth out of man
returneth with seven other spirits more
wicked than himself.
Bihah, the handmade of Rachel, bore
seven sons to Jacob.
The priest of Midian, into which land
Moses fed from the face of Pharoah,
had seven daughters, who drew water
and filled the troughs to water their
fathers fiocks. Moses helped them
against the shepherds who would drive
them away, and afterwards dwelt with
the priest and married his daughter
Zipporah.
At the demand of Balaam, Balak
built seven affairs and prepared seven
oxen and seven rams to offer as sacri-
fees thereon.
Seven nations possessed the land of
Palestine-the Hittites, the Girgashites.
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Per-
izzites, the Invites and the Jezusites.
When the children of Israel besieged
Jericho it was commanded that seven
priests should bear before the ark seven
trumpets of rams horns, and that on
the seventh day they should compass
the city seven times. on '5H
One of the most remarkable and most
affecting stories of the Old Testament
is that which records the hanging of the
seven sons of Saul. In the days when
David was king over Israel there was 3
famine OF three years, year after year.
David inquired of the Lord and the
Lord answered, /" it is for Saul and for
his bloody house, because he slew the
Gibeonites." David called the Gibeon-
ties and asked what he should do for
them to make atonement, and the Glib
eonites demanded seven of the sons of
Saul that they might hang them.
Whereupon David took the two sons of
Rizpah, one of the daughters of Saul,
and five sons of Michal, another of
Saul's daughters, and delivered them
to the Gibeonites, who hanged them in
the beginning of the harvest. "And
Rizpah, the daughter of Allah, took
sackcloth and spread it for her on the
rock from the beginning of harvest,
until water dropped upon them out of
heaven, and suffered neither the birds
of the air to rest on them by day nor
the beasts of the field by night"
In the last book of the Bible the rev.
elation made to st. John is addressed
IS to the seven churches which are in
Asia" The first vision was of the Son
of Man in the midst of seven golden
candlesticks; the mighty angel who
came down from heaven clothed with
q cloud" cried with q loud voice as
when lion roareth, and when he had
cried seven thunders uttered their
voices" One of the visions seen by
the apostle was red dragon having
seven heads and seven crowns upon his
head. Another was Of q beast which
rose out Of the sea, having seven heads.
Another was of the woman who sat
upon the scarlet-colored beast with the
seven heads. And another was Of seven
angels having the seven last plaques
and seven golden walls filed with the
wrath of God.
1t is perhaps with too venturesome q
pen that we allude in an article like
this to SO sacred q subject as the cruci-
fixion of Christ, but We are tempted to
do SO for the sake of transcribing the
following fine stanza from Mrs. Brown
ing's Mother and Som"
o Christ of the seven wounds, who look'dst
through the dark
To the face of thy Mother, consider, pray,
How We common mothers stand desolate.
Mark
Whose sons, not being Christ's, die with their