The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-08-31

Xiii, 1z-20, 23-33--September
 I, 1907.
 The Reports of the Spies. ..
 The wilderness of the Sinaitic Pen- insula, great and terrible" was Gods schoolhouse for his people. There He taught them His law and worship. The course of study covered a whole year. The graduation was to have oc- cured at Kadesh. Sin and folly mar red 1t all. The Commencement" Of Israel in Canaan was set back gener- ation.
 The appointment of the spies was gross insult to Jehovah. He had as- sured the people that the land was good. He had promised the possession of 1t to them That should have been enough. In the Lords name. they ought to have set up their banners, ana gone up at once to possess 1t. The long vista back to Egypt was studded with the memorials of Gods faithfulness and power. The fact that he had been so mindful of them In the past should have been to them pledge of future blessing
 They should have reasoned. 'Tf God could take us out of the fnvincibie clutch of a great world-power, Egypt. what prevents His planting us secure- ly in CanaanT But in the epidemic of fear. the breaking of Pharaoh's in- flexible will, the plaques of their cruel oppressors, the deliverance at the Red Sea and at Rephidim. sweetened wat CTS and mama, the wonders of Sinai. --ail were forgotten. Israel conferred with flesh and blood in preference to taking counsel of the Lord, with the invariable and miserable outcome or l such a course.
 By this very deed the people show ed their unfitness to enter the land of promise. A more palpable exhibition | could scarcely be conceived of. The Lord acceded to their request. but l knew that in doing so Canaan was as effectually closed to Israel as Eden was to the first guilty pair.
 Moses, with the consent of the Lord proceeded to choose with the greates' care possible. a prince from eacn | tribe. No doubt he strongly hoped that their report would restore the esprit de corps of the wavering host | To this day Palestine is sort oi I bridge between Asia and Africa. or l which there are always strangers pas | sing back and forth. This little com pany would not necessarily attract at l tention especially as they were prooaD' | ly attired as Egyptians, and hkelS | spoke the language of that country l fuently. If ever they got into close | quarters. they might be trusted to gel ] out by their wits. They belonged tt a race notorious for finesse.
 For the sake of greater security l and more thorough exploration thes may have gone by twos or threes They crossed the south-land, whicf borders Canaan between the Mediter' ranean and the Dead Sea. and thef l probably threaded their way up thu Jordan valley as far north as snow capped Hermon. returning by the law lands along the sea, with occasiona side trips into the highlands
 | What memories and emotions mus have been stirred in their minds as here and there, they came upon placeI indissolubly associated with the name and lives of the patriarchs, until a length they stood at Hebron. where four hundred years before Abraham had pitched his tent and reared hi altarI
 After an absence of forty days. the returned to the camp of Israel, bring ing with them samples of fruits tha would have put to shame the best ex hibit of a modern horticultural so ! ciety The people had waited exactl as long for the return of these ex plorers as they had for the return 0 Moses from Mount Sinai, and muc more patiently. Their report was Ns tened to with aYidity.
 l The SNOTQkuH1 OE tllS IepOEl was 6ta cious. It pictured, in the lavish Ian guage of the Orient the phenomena fruitfulness Of Canaan. The whol congregation of Israel had strikin confirmation of their words in tn huge purple cluster from Bchol, beside the pomegranates and figs.
 But the exordium was short. It wa I mere ornamental fringe to a bod! the warp of which was unbelief an I Ak.. ANR let lor, t1 q sirable, of course, but its possessio is impracticable." The towering stat ure, the invincible prowess, the vas number of the inhabitants, are pic tured with most dispiriting effect. Tn Hebrews were accustomed to the sigh in Egypt of ponderous fortficationi But these were on the dead level c the Nile valley. To see such wall lifted upon the top of inaccessibl cliffs would produce the extreme et feet of impregnability. They coul hardly tell where the natural base lei off and the artificial superstructur began. The cities seemed walled to tn very heavens
 They name five fierce nations inhah iting the land, who would at once fori league offensive and defensiv against any invaders. And the He brews, dwarfed by four hundred year of cruel serVitude, would only appea like grasshoppers before those stal wart and free sons of the highland an lowland.
 Two men hang that jury of spie: Caleb and Joshua dauntless souls, ful of faith, demand hearing. The hush, for a moment at least, the ever augmenting murmur of disappointment distrust and inclpient rebellion. The admit the dificulties, but at the sam moment sound the bugle-call of faith Let us go up at once and posses it; for we are well able to overcom l it."
 But infidelity is now rampant. Tn ten faithless explorers reiterate the in ability of Israel to cope with tn gigantic Nephilim. They also interpo late a sinister hint against the land 1t self. as if 1t were impregnated wit some deadly plague that consumed al | who set foot upon 1t.
 Generalization is now complete. Tn whole congregation spend d night Il weeping On every side the exclama ton is heard: Death in Egypt woul have been better thans this" Treason 1 and revolt are in the air The propo sition is openly made to elect captail to lead them back to Egypt. In vail do Moses and Aaron prostrate them selves before the assembly and Joshu