Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-12-05

eet and pain struck limbs into the vehicle.
| Bo'ster him up with the pillows and let him
| ake a lingering look at his bright apart
| nent. for perhaps ths Hebrew captive may
,e mistaken. and the next time Naaman
| zones to that place he may be a dead weight
| IN the shoulders of those who carry bin, an
. expired chieftain seeking sepulture amid the
lamentations of an admiring nation. Good
! oy. Naaman! Let the charioteer drive gen.
| .ly over the hills of Hermon, lest he jolt
The invalid. Here goes the bravest man
Of all his day captive Of a horrible disease.
As the ambulance winds through the streets
of Damascus the tears and prayers OF all the
people go after the world renowned invalid.
Perhaps you have had an invalid go out
from your house on a health excursion. You
tnow how the nelghbors stood around and
s7,5, "Ah, he VIII never come pacn d.u,.
alive Oh, 1t was a solemn moment. 1 tell
you, when the invalid had departe l. amt
you went into the room to make the bed,
and to remove the medicine v.al5 from ths
shelf, and to throw open the shutters, so
that the fresh air might rush into the long
closed room. Goodby, Naaman!
There is only one cheerful face looking at
him, and that is the face of the little
Hebrew captive, who is sure he will get
cured, and who is SO glad she helped him.
AS the chariot winds out and the escort of
mounted courtiers, and the mules, laden
with sacks of gold and silver and en-,
broidersd suits of apparel, went through,
the gates of Damascus and out on the long
way, the hills of Naphtalia and Ephraim
look down on the procession, and the re-
tinue goes right past the battlef1elds where
Naaman IN the days OF his nealtn user -
rally his troops for fearful onset, and then
the procession stops and reclines awhile In
the groves OF olive and oleander, and
General Naaman so sick, 30 very, very sick
How the countrymen gaped as the process
sion passed They had seen Naaman go
past like whirlwind in days gone by and
had stood aghast at the clank of his wal
equipments, hut now they commiserate him.
They say. "poor man. he will never get
home alive! Poor man,
General Naaman wakes up from a restless
sleep in the chariot. and he says to the
charjoteer. "How long before we shall reach
the Prophet Elisha?" The charioteer says 70
wavsider, "How far is it to Elisha's
house." He says, 1.-TWO miles," "Two
miies| Then they whip up the latherei
AMI tagged out horses. The whole procession
hriGhtens up at the prospect OF speedy ar
rival. They drive up to the door of the
prophet. The charioteers shout ''Whoa" to
the horses, and tramping hoofs and grinding
wheels cease shaking the earth. Come out,
Elisha, come out. You have company. The
grandest company that ever came to your
house has come to It now. No stir inside
Elisha's house. The fact was, the Lord had
informed Elisha that the sick captain was
you are sick and the Lord wants you to get
well, He always tells the doctor how to treat
you, and the reason we have SO many
bunSlin, doctors Is because they depend
upon their own strength and instructions
and not on the Lord God, and that always
makes malpractice. Come out, Elisha, and
attend to your business.
General Naaman and his retinue waited
and waited and waited. The fact was,
Naaman hal two diseaSeS-pride and
teprosy. The one was rs hard to get rid of
as the other. Elisha sits quietly in his
house AMI does not go out. After awhile.
when he thinks he has humbled this proud
man. he says TO servant, $50 out and tell
Gener Il Navnan to bathe seven times in the
river jordan. ont yonier five miles. and he
will get entirely well" Tne message comes
out. "What ~ says tine commander-in-chief
Of the Syrian forces, his eye kindling with
an anim1tion which it had not shown for
weeks and his swollen foot stamping on the
bottom of the chariot, regardless of pain.
'.What! Isn't he coming out to see mef
Why, 1 thought certainly he would come and
utter some cabalistic words over me or make
some eniS n ltical IS over nv wounds.
Why, 1 don't think he knows who I
am. Ism he coming out? Why, when
the Shunamite woman came to him, he
rushed out and cried: Is it we'll with thee?
Is 1t we'll with thy hus5ant? Is it well with
tiny childY And Will he treat a poor un-
huoWH WOIldu ike liliI let me, titled
parsonage, sit here in my chariot AMI wait
an | wait? l won't ellure it any longer
Cnarioreer drive on! Wash in the Jordan
Ha, hal The Shiny Jor ian-the uidy Jor-
dan-the monotonouS Jordan! L wouldn't
be seen washing In such river as that.
Why, we watered our horses in q better river
than that on our way here-ths beautiful
river, the jaspar paved river of Phlrpar. Be-
sides that We have in our country another
Damascene river, Abana, with foliaged bank
and torrent ever swift and ever clear under
the Pickering shadows OF sycamore and ole
lnder. Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers
Of Damascus, better than all the waters of
Israeli"
l suppose Naaman felt very much as
Americans would feel II, by way of medical
some one should tell US to 20
wash in the Danube or the Rhine. We
would answer, "Are not the Connecticut and
the HUDSON just as good?" Or as an Eng
ishman would feel if he were told, by way
of medical prescription, he must go and
wash in the Mississippi or the st. Law
renee. He would cry out. "Are not the
Thames and the Shannon just as well?"
The fact was that naughty Naaman needed
10 learn what every EnSlishman and every
American needs to learn-that when God
ellis you to do thing you must go and do |
|, whether you understand the reason or not.
Take the prescription, whether you like 1t or
lot. One thing is certain. Unless naughty |
will die OF his awful sickness. And unless
Tou do as Christ commands you you will bs |
'ezed upon by an everlasting wasting away, |
Obey and live !; disobey and die. Thrilling,
undergirding, stupendous !
alternative! |
Well, General Naaman could not stand the
est. The charioteer gives a jerk to the right |
Inc until the bit snaps in the horses mouth, |
md the whir of the wheels and the flying OF !
he dust show the Indignation of the great
"He turned and went away in
! rage" So people now often get mad at |
eligion. They vituperate against ministers,
against churches, against Christian people. |
)ne would think from their irate behavior |
hat God had been studying how to annoy
md exasperate and demolish them. What |
las He been doing? Only trying to cure |
heir death dealing leprosy. That is all.
he spurs, and they go away in a rage. |
So, after all. IT seems that this health ex- |
'ursion of General Naaman is to be a dead |
allure. That little Hebrew captivs might as |
veil have not told him Of the prophet, and |
his long journey might as well not have |
'een taken. Poor, sick. dying Naamau! |
IRE you goinc away in high dudgeon and
worse than wnen you came? As his chariot |
laltS a monent his servants Chamber up in
and coax him to do as Elisha said. They |
ay: "It's easy. II the prophet had told ]
ou to walk tor Il mile on sharp spikes in or /
7ould have done it. 1t is easy. Come, my
ord, just get down and wash in the Jordan. |
'ou take bath every day anyhow, and in
his climate 1t is SO hot that it will do you
'ood. Do It on our account, and for the |
axe OF the army you command, and for the |
cation that adnires you. Come. my lord,
Just try this Jorlanic BATH "Well,"
he says, $50 please you I will |
70 as YOU say" The retinue I
drive TO the brink of the Jordan. The horses |
paw AM neigh TO get into the stream them |
selves Gul cool tneir hot fanks. General |
Eaa-nan. assisted by his attendants, gets |
down out of his chariot and painfully comes |
10 the brink o. the river AMI steps in until |
the water comes TO the ankle. AMI goes on |
deeper until the water comes TO the girdle, |
and now stan ling so tar down in the stream |
Just little inclination of the head will |
IN oroughly immerse him. he bows once |
into the food and comes no and Snakes the 1
water out of nostril and eye. and his attend- |
ants LOOK at him and say, "Why, general, |
how much better you do loosP' |
And he bows second tine into |
The fool and comes up. and ths
l. IL