The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-12-15

from Syria. now from Babylon. now from
Egypt. the golden glory Is moro and more
shorn. Ezechias takes the gold on the
doors to give it to Sennacherib. 1t is a
melancholy story. The temple may be re-
paired. but anon a king erects affairs TO
Baal and to the stars in the very courts
Of the temple, and every hill around Jeru-
salem has its pagan altar and its grove.
There are brave efforts now and then at
reformation, but Jerusalem is taken and
taken. and at last Zion and the temple go
up IN flames and the people are led captive
TO Babylon. and SoiOmon's glory is u nanls
and nothing more.
%Spcliation of the Temple.
What a picture the Lsvite chroniclers
draw Of this passion-torn people during the
400 years succeeding David! To them 1t Is
the story of a vengeful Jehovah furnishing
and rewarding. but mostly Furnishing per-
sistent sin against the covenant. To the
historical sense it is that of a handful OF
people struggling against environment.
They saw the hOrdeS of paganIsm around
them tiourishing and leading merry lives
as they danced and Toasted In their groves
and around their affairs. While the Jews
held in the main to the Abrahamic belief,
and honored the Mosaic law. they made
room curiously for the false gods as a pri-
vate indulgence. From the time that Solo
mon built an altar to Isis for his Egyptian
wife. and. cleaving to strange women"
went after Ashtoreth. goddess Of the lido
mans. the cult of Venus and that OF Che
mosh and other planetary divinities Sc
duced the people as they had the king.
Fortress of Judaism.
Through all these terms and tides OF
weakness, however. the Temple of Solomon
On its rock remained the fortress of julia
ism. We cap we'll see its stately p:i, sts
bending gathered brows OF rage on the un-
stable Israeiites beneath them. who male
fantastical festival In honor OF the strange
gces,' or We can figure them lifting their
heads In constant scorn of the man-made
gods themselves. The great catastrophe.
which the prophets ascrihed to the wrath
of God over the waywardness OF kings and
People, proved. however. to be the means
OF fixing the Jewish faith in their hearts.
from the time Of the captivity no Jew be-
came an idolater.
In the absence Of a strong and conquer
ing dynasty. such as David might have
founded, a gradual decline ard a fn1l
calamity we're the inevitable. Lying where
the lionlike powers around them were al
ways seeking plumber and tribute. the prom
ised land could not fail to become the land
of piey. Egypt. Assyria. Babylon. Persia
In turn had waved and waned. but each bad
! q 1AlA See~As
nanimity Judah owed the return Of her peo-
pie to Jerusalem. and the temple built by
Zerubbabelw was mostly paid for by Persian
gold. It was a weak Imitation OF the
Temple Of Solomon, but 1t marked a peo-
pie f~orevernaore Joined to the God OF sinai
Out Of the den of the Hons. not msreiy
Daniel. but the remnant Of Judah. came
whole in faith.
HerOd's Gorgeous Temple.
The Eastern world was taking on new
masters. The conouests OF Alexander
burned along the sky. The Greek Ptoie-
mics in Egypt held sway. Again Jerusalem
was taken. There were changes. but only
Of masters and plunderer.. For a momen: |
there is a flash Of the olden racial fire IA
the rise OF Judas Maccabaeus: there Is a
rededication of the Temple; Judea prospsrs |
FOR awhile. but another lion has arisen, the
lion Of Rome. Jerusalem IL taken once
more. this time by Pompey. and Judea be-
comes a province Of Rome. wherein rival
battle and Jerusalem and the Jews
suffer. for, whoever wins. Judah must pay. |
The house of Herod, Of foreign origin. |
under Roman protection and OF Jewish
faith. had a great. though a hidcously cruel. |
man for its founder. To ingratiate himself
with his subjects as to feed his own van
ity, he resolved to rebuild the Temple. and 1
his project was carried out at enormous
and on q grander scale than Solo !
mons. The olden Temple was torn down.
Marble took the place Of wood. The temple
was wider spread. Its courts finer and thu
house larger. Not only was h summit
OF Mount 1toriah thus adorned. but = great
fortress, Antonio, was built o n the north
west corner Of the plateau. His own pal
ace WAC grander still. Judea was growing
rich, and Herod did not spare tho tribute.
was in this new Temple Of Herod that
Jesus taught, not. as some conceive. in the
house, hut in the outer and inner courts.
ard It was from the latter that he drove
he money changers in His righteous anger
their proclamation Of the holy place.
But red ruin was lowering over IT
marble wonders and its clOistered walks. In
seventy years from the birth Of Christ Jeru-
salem was taken by Titus. the Roman. after
!, long Siege, and the town and the Temple
we're destroyed. Following that awful
slaughter. when the valley Of Himmon
held but half its dead" came the dispersal
II the Jews, and since hat day jerusalem
las but known them as furtive pilgrims or
rarely tolerated dwsllers a. in q strange
and.
A Temple to Jupiter.
A thousand years and over had, however.