Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1890-01-25

The question might be asked why
was il 50 important that God should
prevent BALKAN from cursing
q israel? A stream Of words would,
4 apparently, not have been able To dc
the people any harm, even IL
, those words were strung to-
: gether into a eurse. Whence the
4 necessity Of performing that
great Miracle which has Away.
been the stumbling-hlOck OF .imid
theOlosians and a subject OF ridicuic
10 infidels9 Well, the necessity
] arose Ia the purpose. Of God 70 spare
the AIOabites from extinction. Had
! Balaam been allowed 10 curse
Israel. this would have so worked
upon the superstition and, perhaps,
: fanaticism Of the MOabites that
! they would have thrown themselves
into n battle with the people OF God,
out Of which only few OF them
would have come alive. This God
, would prevent. The MOabites were
not, like some Of the Surrounding
nations, and the Canaanites, ripe
for extinction. They had, there
fore, by the unfathomable mercy OF
God, to be spared, even ut the cost OF
Jehovah's personal interference and
a singular miracle.
But although God prevented
Balaam from stirring up the Moab
ties to a war. inevitably resulting In
their extinction, He did not prevent
him from giving that wicked
counsel which, if God had notagain
interfered, would have led TO the
utter ruin Of Israel. Balaam, see
ing the anger of Balak, and deprived
Of his wages, gave the two allied
nations the counsel that they should
send MOabite and Mldjnnite women
into the camp OF Israel in orier 10
induce The people to commit adultery
and to apOstatiZe from Jehovah. II
this could be done, he added, Jcho-
yah would soon leave them in the
/ hands of the enemies. Ii is safe to
say that If God had inspired the
blessings pronounced upon Israel,
/ Satah inspired this counsel; for a
more Satanic plot could never have
been laid, even in the lowest depths
Of hell. The counsel was followed,
and soon the camp of Israel became
the resort Of foreign women, den
thinking With apOstacy and sin.
IL had 20 be clelns-d. God under
took TO do This before it became too
late. But this cleansing cost Israel
the lives Of $1,000 souls, and a war
with the Midianites which almost
extirpated this nation. a war In
which Balaam, too, the originator
Of all this evil, fell. (See Numbers
XIV; Revelations ii, I4.l
MOAB's VICTORY AND DEFEAT.
When Israel took possession Of and
divided Canaan, great political
error and, what is more, a sin. was
committed, inasmuch rs people
were permitted to live there whom
God had doomed 10 destruction. As
each tribe received their portion OF
the land they became 30 engrossed
in the cultivation thereof and the |
accumulation Of wealth that they
became unwilling 10 help the rest |
In carrying cut the will Of God. /.
And all found it more convenient |
10 make slaves OF the subjugated 1
nations than 10 eXpel them.
The results soon became visible. |
Another generation arose. Living in 4
the neighbUrhOOdo Of idolaters, having 4
idolaters in their own cities anu 1
houses, the Israelites copied I
their examples, intermarried with /
them, and in the course Of time 7.
turned away from Jehovah and I
worshipped Baal and AstharOth. |
Judges 1913. Now the Canaanites, I
50 long left undisturbed, gather /.
cd strength and combined 4
together against Israel. Wars and /
suiierings followed. And In the 4
same degree Israel yielded 10 licen- I
tiousness, ease and idolatry: they 4.
lost the faith and the energy Of their 4
fathers. Then they became an easy 7
prey 10 their enemies.
The MOabiles at one time also
succeeded In conguering the child
rcn Of IsHel aud kept them In
servitude for n period OF eighteen
years. Judges III; l2-32.l
The Incident Is thus related. Israel
turned away FRI m Jehovah. There
fore God strengthened Eglon, the
Moabitic king, and he formed an
alliance with the Ammonites and
the Anlalekltes and invaded Pales-
the, taking possession Of Jericho,
"the City Of Palms." from which
place he ruled Israel Is years. But
as the people again repented Of their
sins, the DOnI delivered them from
the Moabiiic yoke. Among the
children Of benjamin was q resolute
man called Ehud. He was once
sent with the customary tribute to
king EglOn. As soon rs he had de-
livered his tribute ne sent away the
messengers who had ACCOMPANIED
him and stayed behind, pretending
To have secret message TO the king.
lie suspected no treachery. but
admitted Ehud to private audience
in a secluded place. As soon lis the
dUOrs were shut. ElIud unsheathed
password, and thrust it with such {
force into the body OF the king that
both sword and hilt disappeared be- {
meath the surface Of tire skin. The !
king died instantly, and Ehud
hastened home aud mustered his Z
people together. They tame and !
drove away the Moabites. who were
10 leave 10000 men on !
the battle field. For eighty years
this Iart Of the country was free
from hostile invasiOns.
DAVID RELATED 10 THE MoABrTEs.
One Of the prettiest little narra-
lives OF the v hole sacred collection \
5 that contained in the Book OF q
Ruth, and it shows how the crrat. y
st king Of Israel. David iand cur y
,lesscd Savinr himself through I
JaNldi, WAS partly OF Moabitic des- 4.
'ent. \,
During The reign Of the Judges a ii
anime came upon the southern Darts
4 Canaan. a certain man of "
Elimelek. then left his Il
latlve soil and emigrated, together 4.
With his wife Naomi and their two n
ons Mahlon and KiIjon, TO the r.
md Of Noah. Elimelek soon died :,
nd the soils married two Moablt. n,
sses, Arpa and Ruth. After ten ~
ears both the sons were dead with a,
at children. =,
Naomi was now old and wanted Il
20 back, TO her native country. ii
,rpa and Ruth accompanied their I'd
iother-in-law. On the road Naomi n,
led TO persuade them 20 remain q
it'll their own people, as she her r
slf was poor and could offer them pI
o inducements. ARA took n In
lost atiectionate leave and M
turned home. But Ruth was
etermined 10 accompany Ter to
ear mother. She silenced all ar ne
ui1euts by the noble declaration: m
Where thou gOest, there will / of
81 go; where thou remainest L will 40
main. Thy people is my people: :
y God is my God. Where thou :
est, ! will die, and there | will be
lried. Before the Lord nothing
1t death can separate me from 70
lee.s After this strong expires
ON OF disinterested love, Naomi -
-. 49,