The Labor enquirer., 1884-03-15

language in the same sense as with refer
ence to the extent of the flood-awas OF
one language and one speech" literally
one lip and one kind of words And it
came to pass as they iourneyed from"
this word should have been rendered
toward" the east they found plain
in the land of Shinar and they dwelt
there" There they ceased migration,
prepared for permanent residence and
built the towns of Babel, Erech, Aceod
lland Calneh.
The plain of Shlnar lies between the
Euphrates and the Tigris, stretching far
upfrom their junction. 1t is vast in
size and of unparalleled fertility. Like
the Nile, the Euphrates brought with its
annual food rich covering for the soil,
| which by gentle and shallow spreading
of its waters was deposited over.its wide
plain During the periods of its careful
culture and guidance>of the overfows, it
produced annually from two hundred to
three hundred fold. 1t is probable that
the great majority of mankind gradually
reached the plain, abandoning their
upper settlements Here the daring and
scheming hunter obtained such ascend
ancy as to become a king, superseding
the patriarchal government. He was the
first of the long list of despots who have
cursed the race. The record is brief but
expressive. Sand Cush begot Nimrod 4;
he began to be a mighty one in the
earth. He was almighty hunter before
the Lord wherefore it is said, even as
Nimrod the mighty hunter before the
Lord. And the beginning of his king
dom was Babel, and Erech, and Aceod,
and Calneh in the land of Shinar."
NImrod determined to keep mankind
massed under his personal sway. He
was aware that the best plan of eontinu-
ing under an outward arbitrary unity
was to engage them in common enter
prise. Mutual interest in some great un-
dertaking is most powerful force for
uniting men. 1t has made strange bed
fellows in politics" Discords in national
life have been hushed by general war.
In its highest sense Jesus invoked this
power in his prayer-"And the glory
which Thou gavest me l have given
them, that they may be one as we are
one' Nimrod exhibited profound
knowledge of human nature when he
persuaded the people to say, GO to, let
US build city, and a tower, whose top
shall reach unto Heaven; and let US
make US a name, lest we be scattered
abroad upon the face of the whole earth" !"
"And the people said one to another, G3
to, let US make brick, and burn them
thoroughly; and they had brick for
stones, and slime had they for mortar"
There were no rocks in the plain, but
there was plenty of the best clay for
brick, and abundant pits of ofasphaltum for
mortar, and they had abundant fuel. The
immense multitude, being of one lan-
guage; united in purpose, inspired by
ambition; and having unlimited mate
rials, and abundant leisure IN that rich
plain, must have proceeded rapidly in
rearing gigantic structure. The records
of the Tower of Babel are found among
all distinct peoples as fully sas those of
the flood, but l will not detain you by
quoting them. 1t is almost certain that
the temple of Bell, completed by Nebuc
hadnezzar, was finished from the founda-
tions laid for the Tower. The immense
pile of blasted, yitrified and imperisha-
BILE bricks in the desert now, where was
such fertility then, called "Birs-Nimrod"
is the remains of that oldest structure of
the earth that has left its mark in exist
ing ruins. That venerable, desolate pile
is the largest and most distinguished of
the mounds that indicate where the
great city which sat "a queen among the
nations" in which untold millions of
human beings passed their probation,
from the dust of which countless army
shall rise when all who sleep in the dust
of the earth shall awake.
The vast pile was daily rising, by the
willing labor of many thousands, when
Jehovah said, Behold the people is one,
and they have all one language ; and this
they begin to do and now nothing will
be restrained from them, which they
have imagined to do" What remark
able recognition of human power this
strange language from the lips of God
exhibits How amazingly verified in
recent achievements of scientific labor !
Who can divine what shall yet be accom-
plished by handling natures forces?
Humanity is yet in its infancy. 1t has
no more than played with the fringe of
the robes of OmnipJtence. Had the
builders of Babel been let alone what
would they have accomplished? But
Jehovah continued, go to, let US go
down, and then confound their language !;
that they may not understand one an
others speech. So the Lord scattered
them abroad from thence upon the face
of all the earth, and they left off to
build the city" Man proposes but God
disposes," He has read history very
loosely, and been a blind observer Of
events who has not recognized, an