Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-28
INVASION OF JUDAH
By the Great Sennacherib and the
Confusion That Resulted.
A TURNING POINT IN HISTORY.
The Savage Animal Cropping Out Between
AsSyria and Egypt.
IsATAH's PROPHECY AND TIE RESULT
WRITTEN FOR THE p1srArcH.l

| lDAlAa y (hUl HEOI AMI luE nBDUIl
| WRITTEN FOR THE DIsPATcH.I
The subject this morning is the Invasion
of Sennacherib. The Causes of the Inva
sion, the March of the Invading Army anG
the Defeat of the Invaders are the three
great features of the story.
We will begin with the causes of the in.
vasion. Why should the great power Of
Assyria make war upon the little province
of Judea? Why should the mighty King
of Nineveh attack the King of Jerusalem?
The United States and Chile afford US nc
adequate illustration of the difference and
disproportion between the combatants. The
answer is to be found in the geographical
location of the Hebrew province.
There were two great powers then in the
world, overtopping all others, far more
than England and Russia do to-day, stand.
| ing OUT like two stout giants amidst the
pigmy nations; one was Assyria, the other
was Egypt Judea lay between them. The
only road from one of these great Kingdoms
into the other lay along the highways Of
Palestine.
The Original Sin of Nations.
These two great nations had the feeling
that was common enough between nations
in that day, and, as recent events have re-
minded us, is not entirely ended yet-they
desired to fight One of the indications of
original sin is this desire to fight For
original sin-is it not what the evolution
lists call our 'brute inheritance?" Is it not
SO much of the savage animal as still sur
wives in man? Men used to fight like
wolves. In the days of chivalry, in that
time which is so much more picturesque in
retrospect than it was comfortable or COM
mendable in reality, the knights were wont
to sally forth with lance and shield, that
they might exercise themselves in this art
of fighting.
Sometimes they were able to discover o
reason for a fight More often, however,
they went upon the good principle of the
industrious wolf-they fought the first fight
able individual thev met. The fact that
one knight was riding south while another
knight was riding north was a sufficient
reason for bout at arms Each courteous
knight who passed stranger on the way
felt it his duty, if he were able, to pound
the stranger over the head with battle az
or prod him with a spear.
The ChivaIric Form Of Introduction.
canon, they were ware of an armed
knight that came riding against them, and
there either salutcd other. What knights
be ye? said that knight. And Herewith he
gat his spear in his hands, and would have
run Sir Tristram through. That saw Sir
Palamides, and smote his horse traverse In
midst of the side, that man and horse fell to
the earth. And Herewith Sir Palamides
alight and pulled out his sword to have
slain him." And what was the cause of all
this trouble? Why, these chivalrous gen.
tlemen had never had the pleasure of an in
PRODUCTION each to the other. And in those
times every man who was not your friend
was held to be your enemy, and the sooner
he could be spitted on your spear the bet
ter.
We have got past that When this med
laval spirit shows itself to-day we hurry it
away in a patrol wagon, and give it time
for reflection in a lookup. But we have
not been successful yet in suppressing pub
lie war. We have not yet come to the
point where we can see clearly that stand
ing armies are but survivals of savagery.
We do not realize that the nations of Eu-
rope are like the mining camps of the
border, where justice was done with the
muzzle of each mans musket Law has
taken the place of violence between man
and man, but not yet between nation and
nation.
Judah Was Between Two Powers.
In the eighth century B. g. any such
idea as Justice between nations was un-
dreamed of. These two great nations, As
syria and Egypt, like the great wolves, like
medieval knights, like border rufians with
bowie knives, wanted to get at each other.
And Judah and Jerusalem, unfortunately,
Law between them. That was one reason
why the Assyrians invaded Judah. They
were on the march for Egypt.
An invasion, however, means more than
the march of an army. 1t signifies hostility.
On their way to Egypt the Assyrians
stopped purposely and of malice to do hurt
to judah. Why? Judah had sought alli-
ance with Assyria. The armies of Nineveh
had beaten off the beseigers of Jerusalem.
The great nation and the small were friends
At least. that had been the case. But that
had all been changed.
No sooner had the treaty with Assyria
been made than a good many people re-
GREETED if. The Assyrian taxes were enor-
nous. Their assessments were out of all
reason; and there was no chance of appeal
Opposed to the Assyrian party was an
Egyptian party. Egypt was not nearly so
eager for a fight as Assyria was. Egypt was
weaker than Assyria. 1t was accordingly |
the policy of Egypt to win over to her side |
all the Palestinian provinces. These little |
and powers would be so many |
obstacles along the path by which the |
Assryians must come. They made wide |
bulwarks for prudent Egypt. The Egyptian |
party in Judah desired to overturn the
Assyriar alliance and trust for help to
these neighbors in the south.
Isaiah Again in Opposition
Against this Egyptian alliance, Isaiah set
himself as strongly as he had before opposed
alliance with Assyria. At one time, when
the Egyptian party was especially strong,
Isaiah for three years walked about the
streets in the dress of a captive slave. To
his, he meant, would the nation come that
made joint cause with Egypt.
That was a sermon three years long; and
what an effective sermon! Isaiah knew very
veil, what Professionalism has for the most
part forgotten, that men are made with
ives, and that we learn as much, and more,
" the eve as by the ear. The dullest mind,
he least attentive inhabitant of Jerusalem,
understood that sermon.
We are all sermons. 1t is familiar
tory how St. Francis said one day to a
monk in the monastery, "Brother, let US go
lown into the town and preach. So they
rent down into the town, the old man and
he young man together and walked about
dozen streets and at last turned back,
And the young monk said, "Father, when
hall we begin to preach?" And Francis