The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1899-12-27
L! K|lyEB4z Y! 8

saying, ''Slay all the babes under 2 years
of age, and that wide slaughter will sure
ly include the death Of the one child
that most threatens my dominion Aw-
full time was it for the occupant of that
cradle. If he escape the knife of the as
sassin, then the wild beasts paw, or the
bandits clutch, or the midnight chill be-
tween Bethlehem of Judea and Cairo,
will secure his destruction. All the pow
ers Of earth and all the demons of he'll
bombarded that cradle.
Obscurity of Bethlehem.
Another shadow upon that Christie era
die was the obscurity of the place of
birth. Bethlehem was an obscure vii
lage. David, the shepherd boy, had been
born there, but after he became general
and king he gave it no significance, [
think never mentioning it but to ask for
drink of water out Of the old we'll to
which he used to go in childhood-the
village so small and unimportant that it
had to be separated in mind from another
Bethlehem then existing and so was call
ed Bethlehem of Judea. There was a
great capital Of Jerusalem; there were
the 10 beautiful cities on the beach OF
Galllee, any Of them a good place to be
born in; there were great towns famous
at that time, but the nativity we to-day
celebrate was in village which Christ
intimated had been called by some ''the
least among the princes of Juda." Christ
himself was to make the town famous
for all time and all eternity. So heroes
in later days by their deeds have given
celebrity to neighborhoods that would
Of no
yond the radius of few hundred miles.
What place for Christ to arrive at and
to start from! The hero Of the eterni
ties.
O men and women of Messianic OPP
portunity, why do you not make the
place of your nativity memorable for
your philanthropies- the churches you
build, the free Libraries you open, the col
legcs you endow? Go back to the village
where you were born, as George Peabody
went back to Danyers, Mass, and with
your wealth bless the neighborhood
where in childhood you played and near
by where your father and mother sleep
the last sleep. There are scores of such
villages in America being generously re-
membered by prosperous men during life
or helped in their last will and tesla
ment, and there are hundred neighbor-
hoods waiting for such benediction from
their prosperous sons. By some such
charity invite the Bethlehem angels to
come back again, and over the plain
house of your nativity ring out the old
anthem Of 'Good will to men," Christ.
born in an obscure place, made it so
widely known by his self sacrifices and
ri ui1, oh r;t hot oil no rth
the village OF Bethlehem has it's name
woven in garlands and chanted in TIE
Deums" and built in houses Of prayer.
Purpose of the Visit.
1t was while the peasant and his wife
were on a visit for purposes of enroll
ment that Jesus was born. The Bible
transiators got the wrong word when
they said that Joseph and Mary had gone
to Bethlehem to be taxed" People
went no farther then to get taxed than
they do now. The effort of most people
always has been to escape taxation. Be
sides that, these two humble folk had
nothing to tax. The mans turban that
protected his head from the sun was not
worth taxing; the woman's sandals which
kept her feet from being cut by the lime
stone rock, of which Bethlehem is most
~ made up, were not worth taxing. No:
the fact is that a proclamation had been
made by the emperor that all the people
between Great Britain and PARTIAL and
of those lands included should go to some
appointed place and give their names in,
be registered and announce their loyalty
to the Roman emperor. They stood up
before the officer of the government and
fho urnctioDS. srXNbot - >,o,,,.
name? Where were you born? When
were you born? Where do you live now?
Lift your hand and swear that you will
support the empire of Caesar Augustus"
During that patriotic and loyal visit the
first cry Of the Divine Boy was heard
They had walked 80 miles over rough
road 10 give in their names and take the
oath of allegiance. Would we walk SO
miles to announce our allegiance to our
King, one Jesus? Caesar Augustus want
ed to know the record on which that
man and that woman wrote their names,
or had them written, just how many peo-
pie in his empire he could depend on I'M
case Of exigency. How many men would
unsheath sword for the Roman eagle,
and how many women could be depended
on to take care of the wounded in bat
tlefelds? The trouble is that in the king
dom OF Christ we do not know how many
can be depended on. There are so many
men and women who never give in their
names. They serve the Lord on the sly
They do not announce their allegiance to
the King who, in the battles to come,
vii! want all his troops.
In all our churches there are SO many
half and half disciples, so many one
third espousers. They rather think the
Bible is true, at any rate parts of it, and
they hope that somehow Christianity
will disenthrall the nations. They stay
away from church on communion days
and hope when they have lived as long
as they can in this world they can some
how sneak into heaven. Oh, give in your
names! Be registered on the church rec.
ord down here and in the Lambs Book
Of Life up there. Let all the world
know where you stand.
A G1eam of Sunshine.
Another CLEAN OF sunshine striking.
through the shadows above that Christie
cradle was the fact Of a special divine
protection. Herod was determined upon
protection. Herod was determined npon
~, oh