The leader., 1905-03-18

the brother of Japheth the elder, even to
him were children born. And unto
Eber were born two sons: the name Of one
was Peleg, for in his days was the earth
divided; and his brothers name was Jok-
tan. Gen. 1O:S-12. 2l, rs
1r1 RUE piety and un-
an sfAsNN NRY swerying devotion
to God are always
ldHh lE an enigma to the
g z %4 ungodly Conscious
AEksl Of an element in
@sSNNSkL the character and
!T4@I/lEng life of the one who
Sf5,2/\% is under Divine
M//S-%[M leadership and con-
W/ASsS/1yAL troll, which is not
| &MX<TZ understood, and is
Na2NN- superior to human
influence or dicta-
tion, 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 unwaver-
ing obedience to q 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 his
fierce spirit; never before had he been
SO baffled and defeated in his plans
and purposes; never before since he
was youth and lad domineered with
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 a prophet of God, and wide
and deep and strong was his intlu-
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 control over the af-
fairs of men, and possessed a 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 di-
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, a
group of men were gathered. Like a
low rumble of thunder came the voice
of the leader as he excitedly exclaimed
between his clenched teeth:
Il swear by the waters of this great
Euphrates, whose flow no power can
check, that / will no longer be
thwarted! This night this trusty spear
which has never failed me yet shall
drink the blood of EDer 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
While Nimrod was speaking, he
paced back and forth like Gagged lion
| waiting for the opportunity to burst
the bars that fettered it and leap upon
| its helpless victim, and the ground
fairly trembled under the impatient
tread of the giant frame His fierce
looking warriors followed every move
of their great leader, and marveled at
| this uncontrolled outburst of passion.
Never before had they seen him so
wrought up, and never had they known
him to fail of carrying out an avowed
purpose.
All power and wealth and honor
from human standpoint were his. the
earth was subdued before him, and yet
! 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 a
hairs breadth from his allegiance to
his God, or from following what he,
Eber. called the revelation of God to
4 him. AS 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 offense. that of declar-
ing division of the earth according
to revelation from God and which
was in entire cohtravention 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 1t.
Time and time again had Nimrod
planned Eber's destruction, and as
often had the latter miraculously es-
4 capped him. His secret messengers
sent to take him had always suf-
fered the humiliation and disappoint-
ment of having their quarry sir
through their grasp. On one occasion
i they had entered the house where EbeI
was stopping and were binding the
prophet with fetters to bear him bach
to their chief when some unseen power
paIsied their arms and sundered the
letters and they had heIplessly
watched the prophet depart and dis
appear. This incident had increased
the influence of Eber, and had intensi
ned Nimrod's hatred and dread oi
him. It was not long after this that
Eber had received the revelation from
God IN reference to the division Of the
/ land among the people Of the earth
and that Nimrod should not much
longer oppress the earth When MIN
rod heard thereof, he was mad with
rage. and resolved that he himself
would pursue Eber. even to the ends d
f&<@nfgzF fkfAnfsr AnRfEEEN