Orange County observer., 1911-10-05

= TlMES-Th1S prophecy OF the Life CIV
ing stream was written b. G. 572, s.in the,
middle Of the 70 years captivity (605 1856.
The earlier prophecies Of this second part
Of Ezekiel were written Il or Is years be-
fore in $50, 8.
I PLACE-It was writer at Tel-abib on 1
the river Chebar in Babylonia, to tho
exiles scattered throughout that region.
PLACE IN HISTORY-It belongs to the
second part Of EzekiePs prophecies, tho
object Of which was to prepare the people
for their return It was Hike leaven work.
ing during the 36 years before the people
were fitted to begin anew In Palestine.
SNebuchadnezzar, king Of Babylonia.
Daniel still living as q statesman.
In our last lesson we studied the
earnings by which God, through his
prophet Ezekiel. would persuade Is
rael to SO repent and return to God,
that it would not be necessary to per
NIT Jerusalem and the Temple to be
destroyed. The people refused. The,
city was destroyed. The Temple was
burned, and its treasures borne away
by the Chaldeans. The best Of the
people, those in which were the great
est possibilities Of good, and the larg-
est capacity for being trained, were
sent into far distant exile, for their
schooling; very much as their ances-
tors were disciplined and trained in
the wilderness that they might be en-
abled to take possession of the Prom
lsed Land.
| They were as sheep without shep-
herd. Their former rulers, whom God
had placed as shepherds over his peo-
pie in their own land, had proved
false. and instead Of leading them to
the green pastures and still waters Of
obedience and Righteousness had done
none Of the things ru1er-shepherd
ought to do. They killed the flock In
stead Of feeding It. They neglected
the sick. They left the flock to be
torn by wild beasts. They let them be
| scattered upon the face of the earth,
and none did search or seek after
them.'' Now God promised them
! true shepherd
Ezekiel became one Of .sthe Society
Of Encourages" The new day was
yet nearly SO years In the future, but
the promise and the hope and the goal
were from this time before their eyes.
The possibility Of redemption, OF a
new life of blessing, of 6 glorious and
perfect heaven, is one of the first es-
sentials for escaping from life Of sin.
The assurance Of perfect earth, OF
the transformation Of this world into
the kingdom Of heaven, is strength,
courage, success for those laboring for
this object.
4 In order to attain this hope, and
realize this promise, it was abso.
lutely necessary that they should
have a change of heart. The heart in
Scripture denotes the center of mans
personal activities 1t is the organ OF
thought, the seat of the affections, and
all moral impulses, of choice, and
love. From a right heart flows a right
life, from wrong heart flows a wrong
life.
A home of worship, temple OF
church, hours of Bible study and wor
ship, sacred days, some forms Of serv
ice or ritual, persons set apart for re
ligious teaching-are essential to The
cultivation of religion and the prog
ress CT the truth. These forms ani
airs must indeed be filled with The
, spirit. They that worship God mus
! worship him in spirit and in truth.
: Hence these visions of Ezekiel Ant
!. in fact, there grew up among the ex
lies, religious organizations, syna
gogues, schools, Sabbath keeping
!. which prepared them for their return
and their restoration as the visibl,
? people Of God. The temple was tn,
I symbol of Gods permanent presence
One thing only was wanting, the wa
: ters Of eternal life. the Holy Spirit
. in each one who receives, well o
water springing up into everlastin,
, life. It is the stream Of salvation
widening into the gospel, fowinl
through the centuries.
On the east side Of the Jerusalem
!. temple there is valley which lead
to the Dead sea. The healing waters
: "a soft flowing stream, regarded as
symbol Of the silent and unobtrusiv
influence of the divine presence in Ii
raeI, came from God, through his sane
tuary, the source Of all good, an pow
er for salvation. So six centurie
!, !, later the powers which have change,
, the world. the widened stream OF sal
, walton, came from the risen Saviour
It cannot be useless to insist upol
a clear understanding OF the relativ
!, positions Of the threshold from be
low which the waters proceed forth
and the Dead sea which is to be heal
), ed thereby.
: The river brings life, wherever 1t
: waters flow. The Dead sea, wherei
> ait is impossible for any form Of lif
. to flourish, not even saltwater fish,
i" it fills with fish as many and grea
as in the Mediterranean ITSELF
heals the heavy sulphurous water
:, and they are filed with living thing.
So the new life that God was bring
I ing to the exiles, would change a
: their discouragements and hardnes
: of heart their tendencies to sin an