The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1905-03-16

tlon. the man who knows not and
cares not for God is not only puzzled,
but is exasperated thereby There is
nothing which is so disconcerting and
tantalizing to the one given to evil
thoughts and purposes and wholly
worldly ambitions as to see the inner
calm of the godly and their unwayer-
ing obedience to a higher spiritual
power
1t was for this reason that the
mighty Nimrod. the fearless hunter,
the powerful ruler. the intrepid leader,
the all-conquering warrior, was
troubled in spirit. Never before had
he met an issue that would not
yield to his unbending will and hiG
fierce spirit; never before had he been
so baffied and defeated in his plans
and purposes: never before since he
was youth and Lad domineered with
a high hand over his associates. had he
found one he could not mold to his
will and control to the carrying out
of his purposes, until he had met the
man Eber
People all through the country count
ed him as prophet of God. and wide
and deep and strong was his infiu-
ence. With no apparent attempt at
leadership. with no evident ambitions
for wealth or power, with no desires
present ruling his life but those Of
unselfish devotion to his fellow men,
he exercised a control over the af-
fairs of men, and possessed power
of which any potentate of ancient or
modern times might well be proud.
But his power and influence were not
of that character which nodded king
doms and organized armies and d.
rected mighty energies of human skill
and industry, but were rather of that
spiritual character which permeated
the deeper currents Of human life and
directed their flow and determined
their ultimate destiny as the will Of
God was wrought cut in the affairs Of
men. Such was the man Eber.
In . cool retreat by the riverside.
under the giant palms that spread
their canopy of great leaves and shell
tered from the hot rays Of the sun. q
group of men were gathered. Like 4
low rumble Of thunder came the voice
of the leader as ne excitedly exclaimed
between his clenched teeth:
II swear by the waters Of this great
Euphrates. whose flow no power can
check. that will no longer be
thwarted. This night this trusty spea.
which has never failed me yet shall
drink the blood Of Eber. These hands
shall wiring from him the last faint
gasp of his dying breath. These eyes
shall gloat over the fall of the one man
In all the earth who has dared to defy
my will and thwart my plans"
All power and wealth and honor
from human standpoint we're his. the
earth was subdued before him. and vet
he was not satisfied. There was one
man he had not conquered. there was
one purpose which had been foiled.
The man Eber would not swerve q
hairs breadth from his allegiance to
his God. or from following what he.
Ebef. called the revelation Of God to
him. AS q prophet Of the Lord he had
dared to cry out against Nimrod's god
less and fierce rule. and had prophe-
sled his destruction. And now had
come the latest oifense. that Of dec;ar-
ing q division Of the earth according
to a revelation from God and which
was in entire contravention OF MIN
rods plans; and such was the influence
Of Eber over large part Of the people
that powerful as he. Nimrod, was he
could not overcome It.
Time and time again had Nimrod
planned Eber's destruction. and IS
often had the latter miraculously es-
caped him. His secret messengers
sent to take him had always suf-
fered the humiliation and disappoint-
ment Of having their qucry slip
through their grasp. On one occasion
they had entered the house where Eber
was stopping and were binding the
prophet with letters to bear him back
to their chief when some unseen power
palsied their arms and sundered the
letters and they hac helplessly
watched the prophet depart and dis
anpear. This incident hac increased
the influence Of Eber. and had intensi
ned Nimrod's hatred and dread d
him. II was not long after this tha1
Eber had received the revelation ffon
God IN reference to The division q th'