Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-02-07


quarters we see a council of war.
Here are all the generals or chief Off
GERS in earnest conversation. In the
midst Of them IL u strong, powerful
face with set jaws and a physique OF
iron. who Is that man. I ask one
Of the soldiers. "That Is Captain
Jehu." "Why, never heard of him
before Who is he? What great bat
ties has he fought and won? Is he
Goliath or DavidT well" says the
soldier by my SIDE "he might be if he
had the chance, but he never held any
thing but u subordinate position. He
has been doing barrack duty for a
long time. He Is one Of those men
whose names are not known by the
world outside of their own company"
Just then some one knocks at the door.
Then this powerful soldier, Jehu, calls,
"Come in" In walks a young prophet.
SIS Captain Jehu here?" he asks. II
would like to see him alone a moment"
No sooner are the twain alone than the
prophet lifts his hand and begins to
pour the amounting oil upon the SOL
dier's head as he says Captain Jehu,
| tuuS Sdltn Ine lOTu NrOu Ol ISTHel. l.
have anointed thee king over the peo-
pie OF the Lord, even over Israel" In
an instant Jehu's opportunity was Civ
en- him. Thus It Is with most strong
men. They must labor in obscurity for
years. They must do barrack duty in
Ramothgilead. They must pave their
way for success by the hardest the
bitterest the most grinding, work. and
then when the opportunity comes they
must grasp it at the instant. else It will
be gone from them forever.
A Ruthless Ruler.
But ms we hear the onrushing wheels
Of this war chariot there is another
lesson we learn from this furious drv-
err At every plunge of his horses I
see the drivers face become more stern
and set. AS / climb into that chariot
and stand beside him hear Jehu NUT
ter: Yes will grasp that throne. 1
will get II at once. But it will be nee
essary to make it secure. I will kill
the king and his mother Then must
kill all the princes of the royal blood.
Then | will kill all the leading men Of
this country who were friends Of the
late king. Yes; / will kill them all.
All who might be a menace to my
throne I will STAY" But" one may
ask, "Jehu, is that right? Does God
want thee to do thus?' With that the
flashing eyed charioteer turns upon us
a look of scorn as he answers: God
Who is God? God may place me upon
the throne but 1t will be my right arm
and sword that will keep me there.
Any man who may menace my author
ity must die. l am king"
Now, what do learn from the muir
ders and crimes of this ancient Jehu,
who would STAY men and women and
children if thereby he thought he could
hold his crown with more ease? Why.
simply this-the higher a man goes in
life the greater temptations he has to
bear. Unless we take Christ with US
in our temporal properties we shall
surely fail spiritually. AS far as l can
make out Jehu was square, true man
until he was anointed king Of Israel,
but no sooner did prosperity come to
him than he was swept by temptation
off his feet. o man, you who are now
doing barrack duty In Ramoth- gilead,
beware If you attempt to go to the
royal palaces of Jezreel without Christ.
Beware when you begin to win flnan-
clal and temporal success, If you do
not cling close to Jesus, your spiritual
fall will be as complete as was that Of
Jehu.
Going DownhilI.
Oh, the awful temptations Of sue
cess, Who in his own strength can
withstand them? Not one, not one.
An old proverb tells us that many
man going up the hill Of prosperity
meets his soul coming down" Mr..
Spurgeon teaches this truth by the op-
posite symbol: Many horses fall at
the bottom of the hill because the driv-
er thinks the danger is past and the
need of holding the rens with firm
grip less pressing. SO it is often with
us when we are not specially tempted
to overt SIM" That smile In plain
English means Many O man when go
ing through the financial struggles of
Obscurity, many man doing the daily
tasks Of ordinary work, may be out
wardly honest and true. But give
Jehu II throne-what then? Let him
move his chariot and drive from
Ramoth-gilead to Jezreel, then that
man. intoxicated by fame or success,
throws all his integrity and purity and
Justice to the four winds. o ye men
who are moving out of your cottages
into your mansions, o We merchants
who are now coming your gold o
We women who are pushing into the
front ranks Of social success. Read the
tragedy Of Jehu! Read about the
brusque soldier who became tenn
poral king, but spiritual pauper.
There Is still one more lesson which
we should learn from this swift chart
Oteer. When God called Jehu 10 the
Israeitish throne, God anointed him
king Of Israel by the hand OF a hum
BILE man. He did not call Jehu TO be
the king Of the Hebrew people, as Saul
on the Damascus road was summoned
to the apostleship by n divine voice
from the clouds. Jehu never talked
with God face to face, as Moses talked
with him. Jehu was called to his great
est opportunity Of life by the Gnoint-
ing hand Of a common man. Thus God
has called US in the past TO our high
eat thrones Of sDiritual life by tho