The farmer and mechanic., 1915-08-31

p'a'eo oi wicked power; there were
saints IN Caesars household.
After three years. Elijah reapnear
ed showing himself to Obadiah when |
ne, like Ahab. was searching for
water. The sort of glamor and |
mystery that had invested the name |
OF Elijah is revealed by the panic thaf
Selzed obadiah when he saw the pro-
phet. And when he was bidden tell
the king, Elijah is here" he fell into
abject protest, for he feared that the
man OF God would spirit himself
away, and thus he would incur
punishment All up and down the
| land, with his full royal resources
Ahab had sought Elijah. to compel
! him to take off the spell" of drought:
and now to have him suddenly and
| fearlessly present himself-it was
| really unbelievable
King and Prophet Clash.
Yet SO it was and shortly the skin
| girt, sternvisaged ascetic from the
| wilderness was confronting the mon
| areh, apparelled in royal state Des-
Pite the contrast in appearance it was
| easily apparent who was the greater
man. So Ahab tried to assert himself
| by buster
Art thou he that troubleth Israeli"
Back to the kings teeth the un-
abashed prophet hurled the taunt 4
| have not troubled Israel, but thou
and thy fathers house. in that ye
have forsaken the Lord, and thou hast
| followed Baalim."
Diagnosis is the highest art of the
physician. and Of the preacher and
statesman and social student TO tell
what is really the matter is most i'm
, portant. A lot of folk like Ahab. are
crying out against the prophets who
tell them hte real trouble. instead of
seeking to remedy the root difficulty.
: FLAMING Elijah is a popular habit.
1t is easier to criticise the prea ch e,
OF plain truth than it is to remedy the
f evil he points out. Some blind Ahabs
would eXpel all social agitators
from our universities and politics and
2 public prints and street corners. THAI
I will never end the difficulty. Unjust
$ conditions must be remedied. Killing
the physician does not stop the pro
$ | greSs Of the disease he has diagnosed
$ The Ahab state of mind merely ag
S gravates the ills it would be rid Of.
@ In a minute it was the prophet, anl
@ not the king, who was the masterfu
= man. Elijah bade Ahab gather the
g nation-representa lively, of course
e to Mt. Carmel. He specified in par
! ticular the four hundred and fift.
4 priests of Baal, and the four hundred
! prophets Of the grove, (which eat a
Jezebel's table'-even the prophe
COulO not resist ln1S SaIcdSt1C ulnS d
# the woman who was his arch enemy
4 Puzzled, but desperately ready to d.
n what this drought -bringer demanded
# Ahab convoked the assembly at tn
10 foot Of the mountain.
h The Challenge and the Test.
X If artists travelled more we shoul
l. have a great picture Of the scene tina
e enSued. There are few episodes i
70 all history to match it. On a boil
Is headlined stood the uncOuth but sub
N lime figure of Elijah, his thick black
Q, unshorn hair streaming in the breeze
De Surrounding him, Sullen, reSentful an
rs mystified, are the priests of Baal, an
ID to one side sits the king, amin osit
It. in every glance. Below, in their flow
n, ing, many-cOlored garments are tn
7e people, anxiety and expectation writ
ut ten on every face All eyes are Ger
Sc tered on the swart skin clad figuI
from the desert.
w. Listen: he is about to speak. AS h
ce raises his arm, faces bend forwar
de eagerly. Then, in a swelling voic
w heard by the last man in the thron
in there rises the eternal challenge,
applicable today as it was nearly thre
milleniums ago:-"How long halt J
en- between two opinions? If the Lor
Ol be God, follow Him: but II Baal, the
he follow him.
by That was fair. The throng receive
r. the challenge in silence, but it W.
e'S impressed. So Elijah proposed a teS
r. He stood alone: the priests of Ba-
ad were four hundred and fifty. Let tV
he rival affairs be built. each with a bu
to lock upon it. Each party should ca
wv upon it's god. And the god tn
or answereth by fire, let him be God
he A thrill, a gasp of astonishmer
re- and then the shout, 1T is we
spoken The crowds sense of fai
MS ness was answering. outh test
Int this was OUTSIDE OF an lraoitioii ai
lot Imagination. lhStihcIi'elS' every VI
sh | present knew that he had come to
hit great hour Here was a tale to tell
ed | Children'S children.
ell The Preacher Who Gave Odh