The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-11-15

The International Sunday School Les
son for November 16 Is THE Death
of Noses" Deut. BILLS; S2'4s-'I'
34:1-12.
(BY WILLIAM T. ELLlS.) :
A vision of the countless graves l
have seen delays my pen as oesm
to write this lesson-miles OF circular
graves hillocks in china and Korea q
most uneconomic waste OF gooo iahu
the rifled graves of PhoenecAA ~
Rome and Greece; the catacombs OF t1ie
early Christians; the overgrown grave
yards in Great Britain ana AnelAe"s
the tombs of the kings OF EgyPe \" -.
heart Of the mountain at TneDes' any
the great blackness OF the interior
the pyramids; the Moslem graves IN
India and Turkey. from the golden
domed shrines of Iii and Hussaln' "
the scrawny acre of the dead out IN
the Bedouin quarter of Damascus; tne
thrilling epitaphs OF Westminster Az
bey: the stately tomb of Napoleon anu
the still more impressive sepulchre Oh
Neutrality-suspicious. crowd the various
memories OF earths graves upon "'e.
But the illimitable majority OF graves
are forgotten and unmarked; most VI
humanity has died, and dust mas re-
turned to dust.
Two grave sites, the greatest OF ALL
I have seen, but no man knoweth the
graves. One was a tomb in a garoeh
somewhere outside the wall OF Jerusa-
lem, where for three days lay the
worlds Redeemer. The other is MT.
Nebo, the stony height on which, IN
some one of its many limestone cav
erns, known only to the angels the
body of Moses was tenderly laid away.
Perhaps it awaits the Resurrection for
fullness of time, the mummy Will be
brought forth to a sceptical civilization,
which now reads the ancient languages
Of Egypt and the East. The conviction
is a deep one with me that God still
has great and marvellous cOrroborationS
in store for the vindication Of his
truth. We have the mummies of the
pharaohs of the Oppression and of the
Exodus; perhaps this greater than
either may yet confound our small
minded unbelief. In any case. we have
what is more important. the example
and message of Moses.
A Traveller on Moses Mount.
Few indeed are the travelrs who get
into this troubled part of the Turkish
Empire. The son Of the Bedouin sheik
who owns these mountains, and in whose
encampment down in the adjacent
ravine was sojourning, accompanied
me to the top Of Mt. Nebo, and asked
him If foreigners ever visited the spot.
Yes; a few had been there.
Why had they come?
They had heard of the glory of the
Sheik Suleiman, who owned this noun
tain.
All. yes. But had he himself ever
heard of a man named Mousa (the
Arabic form of Moses) in connection
with the mountain?
To be sure: now that reminded him
of it.; some Germans had once been
there and told him that Mousa wrote 4
book, which was hidden in this noun
tain, and they had hunted in the caves
for it!
Mt. Nebo is the edge, as it were, of
the great three thousand foot plateau
OF Moab, rich and fertile, but almost
barren of life now. Once great cities
throve here. Two hours back from
Nebo is Medeba-and can the traveller
ever forget how those cold winds Of the
upland nearly blew him from his hoi Sc
In ModobO I stayed for a time with 3
Greek priest in whose church are still
to be seen fragments of the wonderful
Mosaic map of the Promised Land
which Moses saw, a map made in the
early Christian centuries. It had been
a hard day, filled with adventure.
which ended in further alarms in the
Bedouin encampment on Mt. Nebo But
the first act. after getting settled, was
naturally to climb to the peak where
Moses stood, to survey the land which
he might not enter.
Seeing What Moses Saw.
The prospect is a great one. Imme-
diately at ones feet, glistening beauti-
fully In the sunlight, as if it were a
thing Of life instead Of death, lies the
Dead Sea-dead. because it forever re-
ceives and never gives Beyond lie the
If hut
of the Mediterranean. Highest of these.
Is the near view. although of course
not SO lofty as Mt. Hermon to the
north. is the Mount of Olives Moses
never saw, until he reached the New
Jerusalem. the hill where the city of
David was to be built. Olivet inter-
venes. At his feet unrolled the rich
green panorama of the Jordan Valley,
with its palms and varied growths, ir-
Guiding the great reeds by the river
side. After the arid land through
which the Exodus had threaded it's toll
some way. this verdant vista must
have seemed to Moses indeed the prom
Used land.
What were the thoughts of Moses
as he stood in majestic loneliness on
this height? Probably his STAFF offi-
GERS awaited his return in the neigh
boring dell. He went alone to his great
experience. as all must do: and he went
with firm tread and undismayed heart
We make much Of Moses disappoint-
ment In not being able to enter Palcs-
tine; on the contrary think that hour
on Pisgah's peak must have been one
of supreme contentment, of sunset
peace. He was old and he was tired
He wanted to enter the better coun.
try, now that his work was done.
At his feet lay Israel encamped. The
Land OF Promise was open before them
To the undimmed eye Of the aged lead.
er it spread out as a fair prospect. Tho
wanderings were over. The leaders
work was done; he had delivered ,ht
bondmen from Egypt; he had made
them a nation; he had taught them IN
the school of the wilderness. Now
other men could take up his task. From
the heights of the end of his career
Moses could look back upon a definite
work finished. The thoughts of the air
that kept him from entering as a cor.