The Mt. Sterling advocate., 1903-06-24


Dear Judge The temptation to
write the tragic story of vanished
$hiloh is very strong and insistent,
but the accumulation of intense
history for thousands of years
8 5lssiiezs,s lssiiezs,s the highway AIN travelling,
is too vast to find place for thous-
andth part of it in these cursory
letters. But memorable Bethel
compels pause, and the heart-throb
quickens with its thronging memo
ries. 1t is but eleven miles from
Jerusalem. 1t is situated on the
watershed of Palestine, 400 feet
higher than the temple mount in
Jerusalem. Four miles east, hang
ing over the Jordan valley is the
Rock Rimmon, where the remnant
of Benjamin 600 men took refuge
from Israel after the war of exter-
. miHfrion against the wicked tribe
= In plain view is Michmash four
miles southeast on the side of the
kdeep gorge leading down to Jordan;
Z and Geba, another famous fortress,
{ on the opposite side of the chasm.
Two miles southwest is Beeroth, an
ancient city of the Hivite confed-
eracy. Five miles south appears
Ramah, the birthplace of Samuel
two miles south of which, on a cone
shaped hill, is Gibeah, the home of
Israel's first king and the scene of
the mournful story of Rizpah, the
pathos of which has challeng-
ed the genius of limners and the
tears of humanity. Gideon and
Bethhoran, where the sun stool still,
and lofty Mizpah the gathering
! Mace of ancient Israel on the high
. =; - 81 peak peak Of the olivet range. five
miles northwest from the Holy
City, are all within a few miles of
Bethel. A mile east of the old
Sheik's house is the scene of the
separation of Abraham and Lot
when the latter beheld the Jordan
winding through its rich and YER
dant plains to the Dead Sea, and
"pitched his tent towards Sodom,"
allured by the vision of wealth any
beauty. On this same spot, per-
haps, Abraham reared his second
altar in Canaan, and Jacob his first.
Here, too, the lonely fugitive, after
Journey of Sc miles, from Beer
sheNa, dreamed on his pillow of
stone the dream that gave Bethel
it's name and deathless fame.
On the fat roof of the Sheik's
house we sang: Nearer my God to
Thee" A hymn that originated
with Jacobs vision here of the ter
raced way to Heaven. The site of
Bethel itself is a terraced noun
tain set with Olives, figs and vines,
and densely sowed with gray and
white stones.
When the kingdom was divided
after the death of Solomon. Jero-
b)am proposed to revive the Ian
guide devotions Of Israel and light
en- the burdens of service by estab-
fishing reformed and progressive
church at this ancient sanctuary.
Accordingly he manufactured a
god of gold in the shape OF cali, /
and set it up at Bethel, erected an
appropriate altar and ordained a
great lot of Office seekers and poll
ticians to be preachers of the new
religion and ministers at the altar
of his divine calf. An evangelist
endowed with prophetic gifts, came
up out of Judah, and while King
Jeroboam and his political priests
were engaged in service around the
calfs altar, made some caustic crit
icisms and warned them that a
pious king of judah would one day |
burn the bones of the priests ON
this altar, and if you want sign
that this will happen, l will give it /;
This altar shall soon part asunder,
and your sacred ashes drop to the
ground. Jeroboam, the king, in
dignantly resented the interruption