The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-10-07

knows Mesopotamla OF .iiS
sahara, can best undersla STAN.
the prophet Ezehieis hgu I,,, Of the
water that brought life Much OF tlLe
so-called desert" of the west Is no"
Srnitful farm land; water did IL W neI-
ever the Nile can be lntrouuO0u -
the Sahara, luxuriant crops sIO~ ~ ~,
opotamia is now being reueeilieu -. -
En- reconstruction of the ancient lrrl-
cation system. .4,asa
old Ezekiel lived along one OF THESE
canals ssthe river Chebar." He knew
PGhat the unparalleled fertility OF b dos
lonia. which was then the most p1
Al1ctive and the most densely populated
aec+ion Of the earth, was utterly ue-
pendent upon the elaborate system o.
canals which carried the waters OF tiIe
Fuphrates and the Tigris over an rover
1Terorotan1ia Whichever way ne turn
ed his eyes he reao Int ies00-'
know the region Ezekiel knew But
now if is gray, arid waste, only the
camel-thorn managing TO suDslsl uPo-
IT have travelled over these oIsal
and unproductive stretches, where the
IazI fatalisrn of Islam has allowed the
bitches to be broken and leVeled 50
that the water has gone, and sterllity
A Lesson Writ in Soil
The man of genius. such as Ezeklel,
could not fail to apply this powerful
lesson written in every square mile o. /
the landscape. He, like true aruSO' /
took the near at hand objects to Illus
trate an eternal truth All the eXlleu
Jews were as familiar as he with the
benefcent 1ife-giving power OF water
upon the soil of Babylo1Ia Ezeklei
was now engaged in preparing them 70
return to their native land, after the
seventy years of captivity shoulu p
over And by such parapleS as thel u
the valley OF dry bones, and the widen
ing stream of water gushing from be
meath the temple, he sought to bring
his cOuntrvmen to realization OF
what spiritual religion-the llfe-giVlns
mower of Goodnight do for them
Except they returned cnasteneo anu
revived the exile would have been IN
vain.
The story of the lesson is of vision
granted to Ezekiel. He was SHOWN
waters flowing eastward from beneath
the threshold of the temple at Jerusa-
lem A thousand cubits from its source,
the stream was ankle deep. Another
thousand cubits further on, it was to
the knees Another thousand, and 1t
came to the loins. Still another thou-
sand cubits, land it was river that L
could not pass through; for the waters
were risen, waters to swim in, a river
that could not be passed through"
With notable fidelity to the geo
graphical details of the land, he de-
scribes the descent of the water to the
tured such fertility as one finds even
today along the Jordan; whoever has
seen the Jericho gardens viii realize
the vividness of the prophets portrayal.
He ran his parable as close to life as
possible: truth belongs not in the air,
but on the ,arth, right where men and +
women live. +
Where Water Means Life. II
Z In studying this parable my own f
mind continually reeurs to the basic 7
idea of the life giving power of water. g
The truth is best illustrated by the I
land of Ezekiel Who that has seen t
the palm lined banks of the Tigris at s
Bagdad, the superlative dates of Hillah (
near old Babylon, the idyllic luxuri- 7
ance of the foliage at the confluence of s
the Tigris and the Euphrates (where ]
tradition locates the Garden of Eden) {
can ever forget this paradisiacal pic l
ture? The water is the life; the abb G
Sence of water is death
Why are human lives so often I'M ,
productive and unlovely2 Simply be-
cause they are far from the refreshing
and vitalizing and identifying streams
of Gods grace. The truth is one to be
written plainly in this our day. We are
living in a time of growing artificial
ity; of increased ostentatiOn; of the
multiplication of the appliances of life:
worldly wisdom. All this is apparent
to anybody who knows his own gen
Grafton But our deep, deep need is to
have our parched souls satisfied by the
waters of the divine Spirit. The peace r
that flows as 4 river IS the worlds SUI l.
preme lack. Even our women, it seems. II
If one may judge by the throngs he (
sees on the streets of the great cities, H
are growing hard and cynical and anx- |
ious lines upon their faces-the faces j..
that We're meant to radiate the light !
of an inner spiritual serenity.
The question i greater than any po- y
litlcal issue where are the hurried and :.
harried and sensation-seeking men and j.
women of today to find help, if not |
from the streams that flow from the d
house of God2 If religion cannot come ;,
30 the relief of our overwrought gener- l.
alton, whittier may they look for help?
Our prematurely WORKOUT men and
women throng to sanatoriums and ?
paths for cures; but the best thev can .
End is temporary and local repairs
They really need life; and life NAV be p
had only from the free-flowing waters d
of God. T
The Beach Bathers. Z
Ezekiel's stream quickly grew to be a
waters 10 swim in" Have you ever Il
noticed. at the seashore, how more n
than ninety per cent of the bathers a
either lol about the sand. or paddIe -
along shore. where they experience all +
the discomfortS of the breakers and | ',
the sand-flled foam? The real r1eae -
ures of a-bathing are exnerienced l.
only by those who can swim. and Who .
out beyond the line of the breakers y
Know the freedom and joy of the F
The sight of these folk along the :
peach being pounded by waves that fill =
their hair and ears and mouths With =
sand, reminds me of Mr. Moodv's weiI-
known sayi--g, that Some people have
only enough religion to make them a
N III era pie The cure for the discom- +
forts of beach bathing is TO lanncb o,,+ =
into the deep, into the liberty of the 2
great waters. The cure for the hard -
ships of Christianity is more Chrisfia1- n
lty; they who trust Christ wholly fnd n