The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-02-04
a NIvstor;ous Messenger.


A Mysterious Messenger.
rrho Intern tionai sunday School Les
son for February Is "EllJah the
Prophet Appears in Israel.
Kings. Il.
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
-1OT many persons can Teclte
the list of the kings of Judah
M and Israel but he would be
an ignoramus indeed VINO
did not know something
- about the most dramatic
figure in the Old Testament, EllJah
the Tfshbite. This rugged wilderness
sscetic was a man of mysterious ap-
I pearance and disappearance. He SUD
denly appears on the scene or 1srael 5
history, and then; at Intervals, ne as
strangely disappears anc reappears-
He is like one of his own mountalns.
whose peaks shine in the sunnghl
while its base is bathed in darkness:
The everydaynessr of this wonderful
Character those forces which shaped
his character, are hidden from sight
We only know of Elijah that when
ever he was needed he was on the
spot. That is enough to know ABOUT
anybody. -
The strength-and roughness-of
the solitary places was in this prCph-
cts character We are told OF MN
he was a sojouFner in Gilead, on the
ly been through Gilead, for II is d
center of present news on account Oh
the war against the DruseS which the
Turkish government is Waglng. me
waste places are now occupied by tne
tents of the soldiers who grumble
not a little at the isolation and other
hardships, of their lot. Part or the
country is of a rough. volcanic forma-
ton, and part is mountainous. 1t was
i'm these valleys, which to this day are
peck marked with caves, that the
prophet was doubtless prepared, learn
ing the majesty and might of Jeho-
yah, and those lessons of fearless
ness which are the heritage of noun
tain folk.
\ Man Unafraid.
It is important for every man who
is in any sense a teacher OF the pup
lie that he be first of all unafra1d. Es-
pecially is this true of the preacher.
He may get along without tact ana
social ease, without a good voice OF
the wisdom of the schools but if he
be afraid of the face of man, then he
is no true prophet of the Most High.
Elijah knew himself to be a messenger
of the Lord. AS the Arabic saying
has it. 1.-THE pasha's servant is the
pasha.'' We have nothing in the West
that illustrates the power and author
fly which belongs to the messenger, so
well as the case of the kaVasses. OF
the foreign conSulateS and embassies
in Turkey. These men are gor-
geously uniformed. and they walk or
ride before the officials when the lat
ter go forth in state. In Jerusalem
they attend the foreign visitors to the
Mosque of Omar, as the embodiment
of the authority of that visitors gov
eminent These kavasses, or messen-
gers. are immune from arrest or mo-
lestatiOn; they embody the sovereign
ty of the higher power.
Thus Elijah behaved when he ap-
peared before the terrible King Aha b.
He was so filled with a sense of his
am bassadorial authority that he had
no room for fears. Ahab Wai great, in
his own eyes and in the eyes of the
people; but in the sight of God and
his prophet he was only sinful man,
to whom Jehovah was sending a warn
ing. In the solitudes of Gilead Eli
iah had learned to fear God so great
ly that he had no room in his bosom
for lesser fears. There was state and
solemnity, and an absence of all
thought of fear, as he sounded in the
kings ears the dreadful verdict that
there would be no rain in all the
land until Elijah himself should an
nounce it. Well might the ignoble
king tremble before the kingly
prophet.
The Ravine and the Ravens.
Then came the word of Elijah that
he D6Iake n1DlS6lI the BROOK
Cherith. That word brook is more
properly translated 'ravine." 1t is a
brook only part of the time There
was no water in it when / saw the
ravine. if the traditional site, on the
way to Jericho from Jerusalem, be
the correct one. There is a monas-
terry of Elijah now on the supposed
spot where the prophet ha- his cave.
Many hermits also live in the ravine,
their caves half way uD the rocky
sides. The depth and desolation of
this great gorge can scarcely be mag
ined. The sides fall precipitateIy for
hundreds of feet; 1 narrowly escaped
being thrown into it one evening,
when my horse stumbled on the edge
of the precipice- There is real gran
deur to the spot, and it has ALWAYS.
because of its sublimity and inacces-
sibility, been a favorite resort with
those seeking retreat from the world.
Hither Elijah was sent to spend a
period of waiting. SO long as wa
ter remained in the brook. he could
abide here. the ravens being Gods
messengers to feed him. Since sec
ing the huge black ravens which TO
this day abound in the region, soaring
over the ravine like eagles, have
found no difficulty in the reasonable
ness of this miracle; especially since
It is well known that this strong wing
ed bird carries large supplies of food
to it's nest. And in Gods well ORDER
ed plans his messengers always serve
one another Both the prophet and