The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-10-11
CRY WILLIAM T. ELLIS.

L
It is an off day in the news whlch
does not report some Jealous woman
up to mischief. And yet there Is hoIl--
ing new in that Here We have under
our hand one of the Oldest hlstorlCal
documents in existence, Which the
Sunday schools of the world are now
studying. and il tells a story OF
woman's jealousy which squares per
fectly with the incidents in our own
newspapers Thus II IS thaC li
fundamental human traits persist
through all ages; making clear why
this old Bible is the forever Iresh
treatise upon life.
The woman in this case was social
leader powerful in public life. her
place as head OF the female part OF
the community had been undlsputeu,
because. in addition to her own rare
natural capacity. she was the oder
sister of the ruler No more than any
modern woman did she care TO REIN
Quish her -eminence- But on d
dav her brothers wife, from whom ne
had been long separated by the FIcls-
STUDIES of his work, rejoIned him rms
meant a new woman 10 the Tore
Miriam as Moses sister, must hence
forth give the precedence TO Zlpporah'
his wife.
When a Woman Takes Second Place
What made this social eclipse the
more bitter was the fact that the VIE
had none of the sisters orllIlahce,
Zipporah was a mere tent woman an
untutored shepherdess, with none OF
the refinement and learning when !
Egypt impaired. As Miriam bitterly
declared. the interlOper was but I
dark-skfnned Cushite woman,
Mfdianitess The cruelty of it that
such a one should supersede the orH.
liant Miriam, TO whom Moses owl
everything Had she not been the /
means of putting him, as a babe, INTO !
the care of the Egyptian princess
Had she not been his comforter anu
counsellor all the way? nose voice
oil a
a song of deliverance after the cross
ing of the Red sea?
So ran this intense Hebrew woman's .
pIairr in all the passiOnateneSs OF neT
terperament Jealousy never lacked .
for excuses And this one IS among
the Oldest When son and brother
brings a bride into the family II Is not
unknown for that creature when
SbakesDeare calls the green-eyed /
monster" TO enter the circle at the
same time. \ fair spirit out OF para
disc could not satisfy some mothers
and sisters as bride Of their son or
brother Not always is this so, Tor
there are many nObler women tnan
Miriam: but it is common enough 10
break the hearts OF many wives. anu
to bring discord into newly established
In the light Of this old story. let US
study the conditions, its causes ana
its cure.
The handspring of Jealousy.
CONQUER it Jealousy would delight to
masquerade as love; whereas it is but
seIfishness. Miriam thought. that rove
OF her brother was her root motive
whereas il clearly was only the amol-
zion and pride of herself. She was not
thinking of her brothers happiness;
of the comfort TO him of having MS
family re-established; nor yet OF the
rights of the patient wife who had IN
loneliness awaited her husband in the
wilderness. \ few minutes OF un-
selfish thinking would have put MI
Ram into more generous mood
There is no necessary relation pc
tween the fact that Miriam had en-
tered public life and her unseemly be-
havfor She was simply proud ana
selfish woman who had found hersen
supplanted by another woman: ana so
she gave way TO the instincts OF
Cave-dweIIer- The cause OF her out
break was seIf-centredness; its cure
could only be a greater love ana
greater sense Of justice
Going Back on the Dearest.
Primitive passions, like Jealousy,
obscure the vision We speak OF an
angry person as seeing red" Miriam
(and her brother Aaron also, VINO
however. is but her shadow in the
story had coddled her seIf-conscious-
ness so long that she thought she had
grievance, not merely against her
brothers wife, but also against Moses
himself She might have been vain
theatrical company She had brood
ed over her rights so long that she
thought she was really greater than
Moses himself,
Amusing, the counterpart Of this
may be seen any day. I recall meet
ing a kinsman OF Dwight L Moody.
who was seriously at odds with the
world. because it did not recognize him
as a greater than the evangelist. An
other man is known to me whose
whole later life has been wrecked
because he has had a grievance with
the world for its unappreCiativeness-
This combination of vanity and jeal-
ousy is responsible for half the office
politics that embitter the life OF large
orga nizations-
Incredible as it seems. the Miriam
type of Jealousy is running homes. dis
solving partnerships separating friends
and hindering public service. For il
incites men and women TO go back on
their nearest and dearest. II turns
the milk of love into the gall OF hate
Truly does one old writer cry % Jeal-
ousyi thou are nursed in hell
The swift Arraignment.
Faster than smallpox. deeper than
gangrene. such a spirit would spread
through the camp OF Israel. IrrespOn-
sible persons think that this reckless
criticism. encouragement and back
biting may be carried on without linn
its: cor they are needless OF conse-
Quences- How serious jealousy was,
and is. we may learn from the course
adopted with Miriam and Aaron At
stake was the peace and stability of
the Hebrew organization. not to men
ton Niriam's own soul. and the peace
of her brothers household.
There is point 70 the record here:
And Jehovah spake suddenly.
Come We three out into the tent OF
meeting" That is rather startling in
its peremptoriness. No leisurely meth
DDS. with repeated warnings. avail here
The case is one for swift arrafgnment
As every wise parent knows there are