The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-09

King would long be indifferent to what ne regarded as menace to himself and 10 his subjects. He saw a contingency In
 which the whole Hebrew race might bring
 disaster upon them. In case of a foreign
 war they might unite with the enemy to
 nght the Egyptians, who, in that event
 would certainly be defeated, and then on
 the heels of victory they might depart
 carrying the spells of war with them. Thus the proud and wealthy nation
 would be brought down to poverty and rum. This was by no means an improb- apie occurrence. provided there were no .ies or friendship. as there should have been between the two peoples A wiser man might have given better codnsl urg- | Ing the closest intimacy that the He orews and Egyptians might become one i ousy and fear led him to intrigue. He i the natives.
 | oppression-tverse 1p-with tthese mo- | tiVes and purposes the, royal decree was published to lay srievous burdens upon 1 Inc. Hebrews. They constituted the la boring class. and upon their toll depend- | e9 the comfort if not the very existence that they might by leaving the land bring want through the disturbance of all the industries. Task masters of the sternest sort were placed over them, men who ex- acted extreme service under most trying conditions. fact which was not forgot ten in the after years (Deut. xxvi:6). For
 any any failure to perform this duty. even
 though it exceeded ability, punishments were inflicted (EXod. ii:11). To make the oppression still more grievous the He-
 brews were set to build treasure cities for
 gathered for the King, thus to increase his power. The very life-blood and strength of the Hebrew men was thus employed to exalt an absolute monarchy
 and increase its ability to render life
 burdensome and wFetched.
 Increase-(Verse 1O-An this had one
 purpose-to bring the Hebrew people into
 Subjection and to render them helpless
 as against the Egyptians. It was the poI- Icy Of tyrant by which the mighty
 overcome the weak. And yet, to the as-
 tonishment of all the result sought was
 not attained. Affections did not crush
 the spirit, nor prevent the prosperity
 which had come to these people all
 through the years. On the contrary as
 they were afflicted so they multiplied It seemed that the troubles were all turned
 into blessings e Cor. iv:10. The people were learning in this school what could
 could not be learned otherwise, lessons Of far-reaching moment involving all ths
 after years (Psalm cxix:6O. And, strange
 as it may seem. the. oppressed were hap
 pier than the oppressors. The latter saw
 that their unkind deeds were ineffectual-
 they saw tn people whom they would
 reduce increase-they must have consid- cred that some power above that of men
 had interposed in their behalf; and the
 Egyptians were grieved.
 Bondage-z(Verses 13 and 1D--It is
 strange that even then Pharaoh did not
 learn wisdom and change his policy. But
 that was the day when force ruled the
 world. when might was supposed to he right, when man must yield to the will
 of the King. The course thereafter was
 more cruel and atrocious. Life was made
 bitter in hard bondage (Aots vii:SD. The
 people worked in brick and mortar and
 in all manner of service in the field. The
 toll was rigorous in the extreme, vastly
 more trying than any required in the
 of r1or n
 States. Josephus says (Anttq. lib. II, Chap iNl and Philo bears testimony to the
 same. that the King set them to build pyramids. that those wonders of the ancient world, after nearly forty cen
 turies still stand as monuments to the men who endured such galling bondage.
 And there yet remain in the British Mu- scum specimens of clay bearing the pie
 ture of half-clad Hebrew bending un- der his burden while over him is lifted the lash of the task-maSJer.
 Conclusion-The years of oppression were not altogether unfavorable to the | Hebrews, although for the time exceed | ingly grtevous. As preparation for their | future mission they were helpful in many ways: l. They learned, as otherwise they could not have learned, how hard and un- | just was the spirit of the outside world. how little of kindness and consideration they might expect from those who were not of Hebrew origin: ,. this tended to consolidate the Hebrews, to make them feel that they were to stand by them
 selves apart from other peoples, prevent ing them from being merged and lost in |
 a common race; 3, this was favorable to | the establishment of a separate nation | that should have no entanglng alliances | with other nations; I, moreover the days of bondage made the people sigh for lb- | erty and to look with longing eyes to- |
 ward the Iand promis ed to the posterity | of AbrT ham; 5 without doubt the trust in | God was increased and the feeling in the |
 minds of the leaders must have been | strong that the Almighty only could de- l