The Tupelo journal., 1905-03-24

1MA Cod was before
@ A their eyes, and,
steadfastly obeying the Oh
God to scatter and replenish the earth.
they had refused to listen 20 the appeals
of the inhabitants of Shinar. This ag-
gressive but ungodly people had urged
them to migrate to the south n con-
centrate their forces with them in the
building of a great city and tower when
would become an enduring center to-
ward which the people of the earth
would turn and where they could enjoy
life together.
The refusal was met by abuse and per
~secution of the most virulent type. 1t
found expression in numerous ways. the
most distressing of which was the raid
ing Of the settlements by armed bands
and the carrying off to Shinar OF the
strong young men as enforced laborers
in the vast building operations which
had been undertaken.
AS a consequence there was mourn
ing il many a household. Wives
mourned the loss of husbands which
were torn from their b0Soms. Parents
were robbed of their sons. and fair
young girls were left sad and desolate
as their lovers were dragged away to a
life worse than death.
Evil was united and triumphant. Dur
ing this dark period of the worlds his
tory we find this unique condition, that
the goddess were drawn together in I'M
holy combination to thwart Gods
righteous plans. One spirit ruled su-
preme. God was reckoned out of the
account, and the one purpose was to pro-
vide a permanent shelter and abode for
themselves. Not since that day has the
evil in the world been united in its re-
bellion against God. And it will not be
again until that latter day when the
anti-Christ shall have been manifested
and shall have as by a miracle unified
the forces that are in rebellion against
God. Then the arm of the Lord shall be
revealed and His enemies vanquished.
as in that earlier day, when Babels
mad hOrdes were driven hitler and yon
before the wrath of Gods power.
II LIDS DSSn uppOSt ny SCiGAtISIS
that the extensive ruins at the modern
Birs-Nimrud are those of the ancient
tower of Babel, and as one views the
masses of debris and pictures it rising in
its original and orderly form story after
story towards the heavens it suggests
that after all the modern skyscraper
building Of our great cities is not some
thing new under the sun. but that it was
ante-dated by many thousands of years
by the tower of Babel.
What hordes of laborers it must have
taken to have carried on such a project!
What unity of spirit and ~tenacity of pur-
pose! Everyone in that great industrial
center of Babel had some share in the
work. But to the enforced labor erS
brought in from the outlying country to
the north and west were given the most
mental of the tasks. They became the
bearers Of burdens. They gathered the
bitumen used for cement; they mixed the
clay for the bricks. and when dried in
the sun or burned in the fire they bOre
them to the men working OF the great
walls of the rising structure.
Among the hundreds thus ~plodding
more noble face or manly bearing was to
be seen than that of Rurig. Despite the
sorrow in the face which told Of a heart
craving unsatisied. and a tragedy that
had blasted the young and promising
life, there was a deep light in the eyes
that spoke of a depth of character that
could be hopeful when hope seemed
dead, that could cling in faith to God
when God seemed to be far away and to
have forgotten.
AS God came down to see the city and
the tower which man was building, His
all-discerning eye must have discovered
the young man groaning under his bur-
dens, and His ear must have caught the
ever-ascending prayer as it rose from
the anguish-stricken heart asking for
deliverance. God hears the cry of faith,
and He does deliver right speedily. Who
can know or determine how much the
judgment of God upon goddess Babel may
have been in answe to the prayer of
such a. Rurig?
Months had rolled by since he had.ar-
rived with a score of others, and had
beer assigned his task, but the memory
of that day when he was seized in the
fields and fettered and marched off to
the southwark was as vivid as though
it were but yesterday. He could see his
beloved AIisha as she stood that day
wringing her hands in piteous helpless
ness. and moaning his name as he disap-
peared in the distance. They were be-
trothed and were soon to have wed, but
cruel fate had separated them, perhars
forever.
n another patch Of slaves that had ar
rived long after he had come there was
a man from his section of the country.
who brought the tidings that Alisha
some weeks before had disappeared, and
all efforts to trace or discover her
whereabouts had been futile.
All. what fresh anguish was this for
the young lover! How the arrow OF anx-
fous dread cut deeper and deeper into
his heart each day as he wondered where
Alisha was, and what had befallen her.
.sOh. Cod" he cried out in the anguish
of his soul, deliver from this bondage,
and give me back myAlisha."
But the only answer that he received
was the sound of many feet as they Dlod-