The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1911-09-01

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upon their heads" It is known m
Kings Is. y that King Hezekisb
brake in pieces the brazen serusnt
that Moses had made: for unto tho,a
days the children of Israel did bum
incense unto It,"
Before the beginning of our era
Jewish scholars began to seek e1pla,
nations for the disappearance Of IN.
Ark. thus proving that it had previous
ly vanished.
One legend of the Talmud Is that
Solomon constructed a secret cave IN.
to which the national fetish was 10
be borne In time Of peril, and that |,
was there concealed by King Josiah
before he was defeated and slain BY
King Pharoah-nechoh of Egypt. Some
Of the rabbis held that the Ark would
reappear with the advent Of the Mes
siah. and others that it had been mira.
culously taken up into heaven. The
latter belief is reflected in the Apocal
ypse Of John. The Mohammedan doc
tors believe the sacred chest was
thrown into Lake Tiberias and that
on the day Of the last judgment 1t will
swim to the surface.
Adopting for moment the improh
able conjecture that the Ark survived
the restoration and was placed in the
second temple. it would not be din.
cult to conceive what was its final
fate, II one recalls the number Of
times Jerusalem was sacked between
the rebuilding Of the walls and the
complete razing of the Jewish capital
by the Romans.
It IL certain that the Ark was no
longer in Jerusalem when the city
ended its long agony by the Roman
sword and f1rebrand In 70 A. D.
Neither is 1t credible that the Ark was
hidden In any of the secret chambers
and caves which honeycombed the
ground beneath the city. Nor Is II
probable that the Ark, had 1t still been
In existence, could have escaped the
pious curiosity of the Christians when
they became the rulers Of Jerusalem
under Constantine. in the fourth cen
fury Of our era.
No Trace Of Ark In 1000 Years.
For 400 years the Moslems held the
city. but, with this prolonged oppor
tunity. did not recover the Ark. which
was almost as holy to them as to
Jew. Godfrey Of Bouillon. the Cru
sader, captured Jerusalem in 1893. put
10000 Moslems to the sword. burned
the Jews in their synagogue and plum.
dered the Mosque Of Omar. For "
years the Christians held the Holy
City. until Saladin retook 1t In 1lS'
During none Of these revolutions was
q trace of the Ark discovered. MOI
has It been found during the eight cen
turtles that the Turks have been mas
ters Of the Holy Land.
All Sunday school pupils know tho
story Of the Ark. It was built under
the supervision of Moses. on plans ana
specifications infinitely supplied by ~
hovah himself. It seems at times
have acquired the power OF locomo
ton, and to have flown as guide %
fore the Israelites in their wanderlns'
1.-THE Ark Of the Covenant went "
fore them in the three days journey
search out a resting place for tneI.
And It came to pass. when the Az
set forward. that Moses said Rise W
Lord, and let thine enemies be scss
tered And when It rested, ne sa'u
Return, o Lord. to the many tao~
ands Of Israel" (Num. 10. SS'Ss-s0'
When the priests bearing the Ar
set their feet In the River Jordan, Wv
waters parted and the Israelites ps
neyed over dryshod. Carried ABOUT ~
walls Of Jericho. its magic innuen
undermined the Notifications un'
they crumbled at the blast OF . tfu
pet Captured BY the Philistines =. =.
set up beside their god. Daeon' -,
Ark compelled the stone image 70 I :.
before 1t and fall shattered 70 -.
earth. while Dagon's worshipers wy
smitten with plaques OF buDonic wv
and mice. -
David. one Of the most astuse
politicians recovered the chest n ..,
~. p,,saset,ree In his 10Y and pe