The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-04-06
In THE RELIGIOUS WORLD.
What the Church Folks Are Thinking About and Doing
Religious News From Everywhere.

from his fathers home and his days
and nights were filled with a dread of
being overtaken by the avenger. Senile
old Isaac, in his feebleness and blind
ness, apparently did not discern the
primary motive for Jacobs sudden de-
parture. In the supplemented belief
that he was on a mission virtually rela-
ted to the covenant, he bestowed upon
him a blessing and sent him forth,
never to see him again. Nor did Re
bekah, who expected to send for her
favorite son as soon as Esau's wrath
should be assuaged, ever again behold
him. Life's partings are often for long
er than they appear at the moment.
An ExiIe's Journey.
Those long, solitary marches north
ward gave Jacob abundant opportunity
for reflection. I wonder what he
thought of himself? Surely remorse
often gnawed at his selfish heart. A
poor creature indeed was he as he
wended his craven way over the hills
and fields of the promised Land. How
little he looked or acted the part OF its
lord and inheritori
Yet he was the best there was in
sight. Like mortals, God has to work
with the tools at hand. OF the two
brothers, Jacob was the better suited
for the exalted mission of carrying on
Abrahams line; he at least did not
despise this exalted spiritual heritage.
Esau was a trif1er despite his virile
great things, nor respect for them. He
seems never to have ripened into ma
ture manhood. Jacob had force, which
is fundamental; there was the making
of one of Gods great men in him when
he should be transformed in heart. At
present he is rather fearful, ignoble
character.
In song, sermon and story much is
made of the exile's stony pillow as he
lay down to rest one night a few days
out from home. Probably this is be-
cause of the natural tendency to judge
everything from ones own standpoint.
They who treat of this stone as a
hardship are accustomed to sleeping
on soft pillows themselves. The SYM
pathy is all wasted; it would never oc-
cur to an Oriental to remark this point
in the story at all. Hard pillows or
none are the rule all over the east.
myself have seen in Korean homes
stones that were used as pillows. I
have never used one, although my
body has been sore for days from
sleeping on hard floors and shelves
that are the normal, comfortable rest
ing places OF the Oriental. Doubtless
Isaac and Abraham and all their fore
bears slept on stone pillows long be-
fore Jacobs night at Bethel.
When a Man Dreams.
The pictures that are on the walls
of the chambers of imagery in the
minds of the men and women about
US would be more surprising spec
tacle than anything to be seen in a
round-the-world journey. The inner
most thoughts OF men, seldom betrayed
by conscious action, are, nevertheless,
that take form and color in dreams.
Who can wonder that psychologists
find the exploration of the dream world
so alluring a pursuit.
Dreams are of the same tissue as
character. A good man, If he be
healthy, will not have bad dreams; a
bad man, similarly, will not have good
dreams When the senses lie chained
in sleep, then it is that the innermost
personality, the deepest subconscious-
ness is free to express itself in dreams
Without paying any heed to the foolish
superstitious use that is made of dreams
by the ignorant, we may yet be admon-
ished by them. Are our dreams in
ciined, like Jacobs, heavenward? Are
they noble, beautiful, spiritual? Are
they of dear ones and of worthy deeds?
Or are the base, ignoble, wicked? What
lies deepest in the heart is likely to
come to the surface In dreams.
Jacobs dream, known to all who
know letters, indicated that in his
straits he had turned his mind to
Jehovah, against whose law he had
offended. Down, he had looked up In
extremity like millions of men since
he had faced Godward. There is moth
ing like adversely, loneliness. desolation
and a consciousness of enemies to di-
rect a persons heart toward the Great
Reality. What Jacob experienced in his
dream was but the logical sequence OF
his meditations on that lonely Pilgrim
age up from his fathers house toward
far country. The vividness and reality
of these inner experiences, far transcend
ing in Importance all outward circum-
stances, are tersely expressed in the
epigram, Man is one world, and has
another to attend him.
Heirf1fs and Ladders
As the path Of light on the ocean
leads straight from the behoIder's feet
to the shining moon, so from every
where there is straight course to
heaven. When Jacob awo1xe from his
dream he was startled to realize that
he was so near to Jehovah. That lad
der Cor rather. staircase, possibly sug-