The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-03-21
IN THE RELIGIOUS WORLD
What Church Folk Are Think
ing Abont and Dolns
up PROBLEMS IN ANCIENT
GC1SE.

Tho International Sunday Schoo Les
aop For March &c is a Quarterly Re-
view.
fBy WILLIAM T. ELLIS.)
In he lordly liberalism of the times,
among some persons, IT is the vogue
70 pooh-pooh the Importance Of the
ancient Hebrew nation, and to speak
of the Jews as a few pastoral tribes,
~ tied on an unimportant strip of the
Mediterranean coast. II any n Will
take the trouble to look at a map OF
the ancient world he will be surprised
=, note the central position Of Canaan,
and he will be inspired to new
Thoughts about the wise providence OF
Jehovah. The Land Of Promise is In
? most STRATEGIC position. The chill
dren Of Israel are not the only ones
who have fought for It; part of ther
h story is e%xplicable only on the basis
of the great political desirability of
the territory. Phoenicians, Babylon
ians, A~ssyrians, Egyptions. Greeks,
Hittites. Romans. Arabs. Crusaders,
possession of this little bit Of terri
tory. There are doubtless a greater
variety Of ruins to be found in Pales-
tine than anywhere else: each OF the
passing Civilizations has left it's traces
behind.
Now. in the present day. there is a
keen and skillful struggle going on for
the possession Of the old n The
Jews want it for Z.onism, that the
Chosen People may again settle with
in the borders promised to Abraham
Turkey, with a revived sense of ma
tional pride, DEGREES anew a a upon
this project. In the meantime, the
great powers. with Germany easily in
the lead, are maneuvering for advant-
ageous positions, in the hope that the
Holy Land may fall to them. in the
tinal breakup Of Turkey. The high
towers which Germany and Russia
have erected on the Mount of Olives,
and which are the most conspicuous
objects from both sides Of the Jor-
dan. are commonly believed to have
other than a purely religious purpose.
Even as it was in the old days. Pales-
tine is still of strategic Importance to
trade and empire.
The Land That Fits the Book.
The best way to review this three
months of study of the first hundred
years of the history of the divided
kingdom is by y general historical and
geographical look at the territory and
peoples involved. Incidentally it will
appear how wonderfully the land fits
the book. No ancient could know
enough Of geography and history to
41hll Gdtc ills OOOh, OIL "HfCu Z IOISS-
sor Albert T. Clay. the eminent arch
aeologist says, "Whatever in the Old
Testament reference is made to con-
tact with forei"n powers, n We have
been able to delve among the con-
t~emporaneous records of those pow
ers, in nearly every instance refer
cnca to such contact with Israel has
been found
Whoever goes East of the Jordan.
40 hJ va come from I1o m oSc11C down
to Petra. and looks upon the ruins of
the great cities there-Baalbeck.
HONS, Jerash, Hishbon. Amman. Mad
cha. not to mention the cities in what
We know as Palestine proper-win
carry away a new respect for his sup
posedly small and pastoral people. He
Viii get a new conception of the
forces which were arrayed against
Israel, and of the magnitude Of h a
uation's c~onnuests. This nation which
was to be the exemplifier and revealer
of the nature and will of the one true
cod Was set in the right place for Its
mission.
The Great Division. i.
The split in the Kingdom of Israel
had lasted for about q hundred years,
at the time to which the review car
ries us. The Northern kingdom had
been going steadily farther and farther
away from the ideals which had
brought into being the Hebrew nation.
Its ambition seems to a. been to
become as like as possible to the sur
rounding peoples; whereas Jehovaf,
had distinctly enioined upon them
mat they should be a peculiar people.
Judah had lone somewhat better;
with frequent ups and downs. it had
Yet remained m~easurably loyal to the
God Of Abraham.
Roth We're recreant to q great past.
They remind one Of a common sight
10 be Witnessed all over Syria and the
other Bible lands tod ay. in that they
made u worse use of the better. The
commonest quarry in the Near East
today is the ruins of some ancient
structure. SO that / have frequently
seen miserable novels with stately