The Tupelo journal., 1909-02-26

palace a by special permission OF
the king.
And the chief counsellor left him,
the former to ponder over the new
whim of the king, and the young man
to think over the strange happenings
OF the past few hours.
When the words of the king had fall
en- on his ear and he had replied that he
would serve his God there, he had
not realized all that those words had
cost him, but as he sat there alone,
virtually a prisoner In the palace with
uncertainty as to what would next be-
fall him, he almost felt like upbraiding
himself for having had the ambition to
go to Jerusalem. Then, ashamed OF
himself for the thought, he ex-
claimed:
mo, it was a worthy impulse, and I
was acting from the highest sense Of
duty. If such lead into difficulty then
| shall not bemoan my fate, for, in
deed. r can serve the God of Israel as
l had intended to serve him at Jeru-
SALEM"
Ezra, for this was the young mans
name, from his earliest childhood as
he sat at his mothers knee, had eager
ly listened to the stories of his people,
and of their return under the decree
of Cyrus to Jerusalem to rebuild the
city and the temple, and as he had
listened he had thought in his child
ish heart of the day when he, too,
would go back. Was not he OF the
priestly line? And was not he some
day to take his place in the temple
worship? He would go back and
serve his God. And so he had grown
up with this thought ever before him,
and when the time, as he thought, had
arrived, he made bold to seek to OBJ
tain the consent of the king.
The results of this move on Ezra's
part we have already seen. 1t was a.
bitter disappointment. It seemed like
a blasting of all his hopes and plans.
How can / serve God in this heath
en- %court?" he exclaimed. There is
nothing / can do here"
Thus, under such trying conditions
and discouragements did Ezra begin
his service in the palace. The king
was interested in the young man as
he had not been in any n before. He
often sent for him and talked with
him, because in him he found some
thing which was lacking ever in the
most profound and learned of his wise
men.
So it was that without realizing it,
Ezra really began a great mission
there in the palace. The king was
tired of the Persian stories, and so he
listened with growing interest to the
accounts of the Hebrew people and
the dealings of their God with them.
You say that the Hebrew God is
one God, and the only God?" demand
ed the king one day. Suppose l
should tell you it was not so, and
that the gods of the Persians were as
great as you claim your God is?"
Seeing that the king asks a direct
question:" replied Ezra, with a deferen-
tial bow, Il can make but one answer.
and that is that it would make no diff
ference what the king said, for the
Jehovah of the Hebrew is the one God
of the heavens and the earth"
Never before had the king had n
bold enough to strive to maintain his
point in his presence, and he shot a
searching, half-indignant glance at the
young man. But the latter did not
quail before his look, and the king
said:
How do you know this?"
Because of the record of Gods deal
ings with his people," Ezra replied,
confidently.
From that day forward the king be-
came an absorbed student of the his
tory of Gods dealings with the He
brew people, and one day startled
Ezra with the announcement that he
(Ezra) was to return to Jerusalem.
Mel" exclaimed Ezra. art thou
jesting?"
May, that I am not. See this"
And he handed to Ezra a copy of a
letter he had prepared.
And the king gives me treasure and
people to go with me-" Ezra ex-
claimed. 1T is well that the king
withheld his consent at first"