The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-06-03


son for June is. "IsraePs Penitencc
and Gods Pardon" Hosea 4.
BY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.
One mans trouble sometimes pc
comes the worlds welfare. Personal
grief has often driven many a man INTO
public service Plunged into the bitter
ness of sorrow himself, man oeconheS
broadened and humanized, and quick 10
take thought for the grie1s OF otne 1
Thus william Wallace. by the MURDER
of his bride, according to the famlllar
story. was led to espouse the cause o1
Scotland. So the author OF this pook,
from which many Of the Iaxnlndr
phrases of literature are taken, pecaIhe
a prophet through the horrible disaster
which befen his own home life. PROD
ably through the immora1t1es OF
idoiatry. His wife proved false to him:
the children about his table were not
his own children; and at length ms WlIs
Fell to the state of an open and avoWeo
pubic prostitute. Later, in her newt
able misery and forsakeness, her nus
band took her back to himself; not as
wife of course, for such restoration
would have been impossible put as
poor penitent creature to be cared for
SO long as she should survive.
T,hrg came into being this tnconerent
r,ronhecv of Hosea. The early chapters
are a strange blending OF the story OF
Hosea's domestic calamity, ana tne
faithlessness Of Israel, the bride Of Coo
TO her Lord. The erring nation, Wnlcn
had gone after strange gods Is ad-
dressed and described under the ngure
Of a harlot The completeness OF ner
decline from her former glory ana nee
fall from her blessed privileges, Is set
forth most tragically by the man whose
own POIGNANT grief feathered the ar
rows of his speech.
When Nations Go Astray.
The futility as well as the folly OF
ain is a lesson which man has Deen SLOW
r. learn. 'It is worse than g. crime; II
tS a bIunder." is q famous mot of gem
eraI application to sin. That "honesty
is the best policy" is a low reason ror
being honest is true; nevertheless II -
a valid reason. Virtue is its own re
ward" but it also, eventually ana IA
general brings other more tangible re-
wards in its train. IsraePS defectlon
To the idolatrous nations was bad
policy, as we'll as a sin against the Most
High.
70 Egypt and Assyria, the two great
3 heather nations after the ways OF
which Israel lusted, and insists tnat
their favor Is not comparable to tnaf Oh
Jehovah. In the ever-recurr1ng cholce
between the changing fashions OF eartn
and the changeless way of heaven
Israel was electing to do the popular
thing. rather than the right thing. But
most seekers after popularity are snort
sighted; and the erring Jews were pm
ming their confidence to losing cause.
The boosted and boastful Memphis and
Asshur, to which Hosea aludes' are
now ruins, long forgotten, until tn9
spade of the archaeologtst turned them
UP: I have walked over both OF them,
and above all their buried pillars and
palaces could be read, 'lchapod, tina
glory has departed"
This flaming Jew Of old, whose words
are today being conned by mliiionsi
was thinking in national terms. he
was able, especially in the latter part 81
his prophecy, to rise above what was
personal and temporal in the situation
and deal with national problems The
art Of thinking impertally Is one thai
the teachers OF today should impart to
all their pupils. 1t is fair and reason
able exegesis to apply this story to ouI
own land and time. In its early days
and time of weakness, this nation was
deeply and publicly religious. Now, IL
the time of our prosperity, we are
tempted to go after the idols OF show
and wealth and material power, lean
ing upon Assyria and Egypt, as 1t were
So the prophet message for the hour II
a summons back to our first love, and
to childlike loyalty to Jehovah Tht
greatest Of present day prophets speaks
it in his Song of the English"
Fair is our lot-Oh goodly Is our her4
tage!
(fIurnbie ye, my people. and be fearful
In your n11rInD
For the Lord our God Most High
He hath made the deep as dry,
He hath smote for a pathway to tn
ends of all the earthl
Hold ye the Faith-the Faith our Father
sealed US:
whoring not with visions-otherwise an
oversta1e.
Except We pay the Lord
Single heart and single sword,
OF your children in their bondage sha
He ask them treble-ta1eI
Keep We the Law-be swift in all Obed
iencs-
Clear the land of evil drive the roa
and bridge the ford.
Make ye sure to each his own
That he reap where he hath sown;
By the peace among Our peoples let me
know we serve the Lord"
The Torch That Never Goes Out.
If anybody thinks that history goe
by haphazard, let him look at tn
Jews. Babylonia, Egypt, Assyria, Pei
STA, Greece, Rome, all have perishe
and become memories, but this strang
little people, often oppressed and lie
captive, dispersed among the nations
so that, were they like other people
they would long ere this have lost thei
identity and been merged with tn