The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-03-16
A GIANTS BEbSTEAD.
DR.. Telmage Draws @ Practical
Lesson From an Obscure Text.
King Og, OF Bashan, and How He Was
Defeated by the lsraelites-"Doubt"
and ''lf'' the Two Giants That
Confront Mankind In
These Days

ernacle, Sunday, DR.. Talmage took for
his text Deut ill.,, II; Only Og, king
of Bashan, remained of the remnant of
giants; behold his bedstead was bed
stead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of
the children of Ammon? Nine cubits
was the length thereof and four cubits
the breadth of it." The noted divine
spoke as follows:
The story of giants is mixed with
myth. William the Conqueror was said
to have been of overtowering altitude,
but when, in after time, his tomb was
opened, his bones indicated that he had
been physically of only ordinary size.
Roland, the hero, was said to have been
Of astounding stature, but when his
sepulcher was examined, his armor was
found only large enough to fit an ordi-
nary man. Alexander the Great had
helmets and shields OF enormous size
made and left among the people whom
he had conquered, so as to give the inn
preston that he was a giant, although
he was rather ureler than over the usual
height of man. But that in other days
and lands there were real giants is au-
thentic. One of the guards of the Duke
of Brunswick was eight and half feet
high. In museum in London is the
skeleton Of Charles Brine, eight feet four
inches in stature. The Emperor Maxi
min was over eight feet Piiuy tells OF
n giant nine feet high, and two other
giants nine and half feet SO am
not incredulous when come to my text
and find King Og giant and the size
of his bedstead, turning the cubits Of
the text into feet--the bedstead of 0g,
the king, must have been about thirteen
and half feet long. Judging from
that the giant who occupied it was
probably about eleven feet in stature,
or nearly twice the average human
size. There was no need Of Rabbinical
writers trying to account for the pres
ence of this giant King 0g, as they did,
by saying that he came down from the
other side of the food, being tall enough
to wade the waters beside Noah's ark,
or that he rode on top Of the ark, the
passengers inside the ark daily provid'
ing him with food. There was nothing
supernatural about him. He was sim
ply a monster in size.
Cyrus and Solomon slept on beds OF
gole. and Sardanapalus had lb0 bed
stends of gold burned up with him, but
this beds,ead of my text was of iron
everything sacrificed fo- strength TO
hold his excessive avoirdupois, this Alp
of bone and flesh. No wonder this
couch was kept as a curiosity at Rab-
BATH and people went from far and
near TO see it, just as now people go 70
museums to behold the armor Of the
ancients You say what fighter this
gient, King og. must have been. Nc
doubt of IL suppose the size OF his
sword and breastplate corresponded &c
the size OF his bedstead, and his stride
across the battlefield and the full
stroke Of his arm must have been appal
ling With an armed host he comes
down TO drive back the Israelites, who
who are marching on from Egypt tc
Canaan. We have no particulars of the
battle, but think the Israelites trem'
bled when they saw this monster of q
man moving down to crush them. Alai
for the Israclitesl VIII their troubles
never cease? What can men FIVE and .
half feet high do against this warriC
of eleven feet, and what can short
swords do against sword whose CLEAN
musthave been like flash Of lightning:
The battle OF Edrei opened. Moses and
his army met the giant and his army
The Lord Of Hosts descended into the
Aght, and the gigantic strides og had
made when advancing into the battle
were more than equaled by the gigan
tic strides with which he retreated
Huzza for triumphant Israeli Sixty
fortified cities surrendered to them. A
land of indescribatle opulence Gomez
into their possession, and all that is lef
of the giant king is an iron bedstead
mine cubits was the length thereof
and four cubits the breadth Of it."
Why did not the Bible give us the slzt
of the giar instead Of the size Of thu
bedstead? Why did II not indicate tina
the man was eleven feet high instead o
telling us that his couch was thirteer
and half feet long? No doubt, amoni
other things, II was to teach us tha
You can Judge OF Ia pan by his surround
ing. Show me mans associates, SHOW
me mans books, show me n man
home, and will tell you what he 1
without your telling me one word abou
him. You can not only tell man &C
cording to the old adage, 'by the com
pany he keeps" but by the books h
reads, by the pictures he admires, b,
the church he attends, by the places h
visits, Moral giants and moral pigmies
intellectual giants and intellectual pig
mics, like physical giants or physica
pigmies, may be judged by their sur
roundings That man has been thirt
years faithful in attendance upo
churches and prayer meetings and Sur
day-schools, and putting himself anon
intense religious associations He ma
have his impcrfections. but he is yer
good man. Great Is his religious stat
ure. That other man has been 70
thirty yeaS among influences intensel
worldly,And he has shut himself on
from all other Influences, and his rel
gious stature is that of a dwarf. N
man ever has BEEN or can be independ
ent Of his surroundings, social, inte
lectual, moral. religious The Bible IL
dicates the length Of ,hc giant in th
length OF his bedstead Let no ma
say: II will be good,' and yet. kee
evil surroundings Let no man say; .
will be faithful as chrlstian," /" and ye
consort chiefly with worldlings. Yo