The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1911-10-05

| fore In $50. g.
PLACE-It was written at Tel-abib on
the river Chebar In Babylonia, to the
| exiles scattered throughout that region.
| PLACE IN HISTORY-It belongs to the
second part of Ezekiels prophecies the
| object OF which was to prepare the people
for their return. 1t was like leaven work
ing during the Sc years before the people
were fitted to begin anew in Palestine.
| Nebuchadnezzar, king OF Babylonia.
Daniel still living as a statesman.
In our last lesson we studied the
warnings by which God, through his
prophet Ezekiel, would persuade Is
rael to so repent and return to God
that 1t 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 It's 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-
Gbled to take possession of the Prom
ised 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 a ruler-shepherd
ought to do. They killed the flock in
stead of feeding 1t. 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 a
true shepherd.
Ezekiel became one of "the Society
of Encouragers." 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 glorious and
perfect heaven, is one of the first es-
sentials for escaping from a 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.
In order to attain this hope, and
realize this promise, 1t 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 a wrong heart flows a wrong
life.
A home of worship, a temple or
church, hours of Bible study and wor,
ship, sacred days, some forms of serv
ice or ritual persons set apart for re
igious teaching-are essential to the
cultivation of religion and the prog
ress of the truth. These forms and
airs must indeed be filled with the
spirit. They that worship God must
, worship him in spirit and in truth.
r Hence these visions of Ezekiel. And
, in fact, there grew up among the ex
I lies, religious organizations, syna
I gogues, schools, Sabbath keeping
which prepared them for their return
and their restoration as the visible
people of God. The temple was the
symbol Of Gods permanent presence
One thing only was wanting, the wa
fNf .atn fhA IAIx trft
in each one who receives, a we'll o.
water springing up into everlasting
life. 1t Is the stream of salvation
widening into the gospel, flowinl
through the centuries.
, On the east side of the Jerusalem
temple there is valley which leadi
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 Is
rael, came from God, through his sane
tuary, the source Of all good, all pow
er for salvation. So six centuries
later the powers which have changed
!, the world, the widened stream of sal
: walton, came from the risen Saviour
II CduHOt Dt uSelcSS W lHSlbL upOi
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 IT
waters how The Dead sea, wherein
"it is impossible for any form of lif
to flourish, not even saltwater fish,
1t fills with fish as many and grea
h as In the Mediterranean itself. /
h heals the heavy sulphurous water
g and they are filled with living things
So the new life that God was bring
a ing to the exiles, would change al
n their discouragements and hardnes
J. of heart, their tendencies to sin ant
idolatry, all their heather surround
ings and Influences which had dead
ened their consciences and dapkeHe'
z their hopes into despair-all this dead
II ness into life and love and hope AM
n obedience, into new energy and aotiy