Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-10-12

Thirty million members of the
Sunday schools of the world will this
week study about a Persian ruler
known in literature as the great
king" Cyrus the Great was one of
the half dozen world rulers of all
history. The known world then was
in Vassalage to Persia. What de-
scent to the weakness. anarchy and
misery of the Persia of to-day! Yet
this war-torn Persia. from which we
get occasional dispatches, is one of
the holy lands of history.
The other nation that figures in
the story is the Jewish people: then,
as now. a nation despite their lack OF
king, capital and organized govern
nent They were eXiles in Babylonia
and Persia. An interesting analogy
Is the present-day fact that while
many nations ere even more eager
than Cyrus to get rid of the Jews,
they are steadily increasing in inn
portance. power, solidarity and ma
tional consciousness. Even the Jews
who have remained in Babylonia and
Persia unto this day-and they num-
ber hundreds of thousands-are be-
ginning to lift up their heads in
newness of hope and self-contidence.
The prophesied exile of the Jews
was almost over. The promised re-
turn had been permitted by Cyrus,
who had various reasons of policy for
wishing to possess the loyalty of the
Jews. and also to establish them once
more in the strategic outposts of his
kingdom at Jerusalem. Back of the
Great King. of course. and moving
n'ysteriously upon his will. was the
King of kings. The mightiest OF
earth is only a servant to do the will
of the Most High. God shapes his
tory for His own sovereign purposes,
in the promotion of His kingdom.
Behind the dim unknown
Standeth God within the shadow.
Keeping watch above his own.
Taught by Trouble
Experience is a schoolmaster who
always carries a rod. The Jews, un-
willing to learn their lessons in any
sof; school. had been sent into eN-
lie. THE sole and avowed purpose
Of the exile was to teach a vagrant-
minded and instable-hearted people
the lesson of loyalty to God. They
had continually wandered after the
heather gods of their neighbors
Now the great question was, had
they learned the lesson designed for
them in their severe school? To
miss the meaning of adversely is like
refusing a precious letter. because
God sends no meaningless trials.
"But it has made a preacher out of
YOU" said q close friend to a clergy
man, reviewing a deep sorrow
through which the latter had passed.
one of the vital books of recent years
is EARLY Letters of Marcus Dods,'
which reveal the life of the great
scholar Experimentation during the
six long years when he was an un-
successful candidate for first
charge. \ lesser could would have
been embittered and spoiled by the
ordeal: il was the refining of the
gold of Dods' character.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I observe Thy word"
wrote the Psalmist. That was Is
rael's experience. In exile it learned
that Jehovah alone is God. Never
more did its heart wander after idols.
The bitterness of exile was sweet
ened by this fruit: the Jews learned
to give God His rightful place.
4 Teller and n DOer
"Of which things also I was a
rart." wrote Caesar in his account OF
his Gallic wars. Ezra is the scribe
whose writing we now study; he is
the narrator of this record. y his
toran, he probably compiled several
Of the sacred books of the Jews; and
in a large part of his volume which
bears his name he speaks in the first
person. His is the testimony of an
eyewitness. He was a participant in
the scenes he describes. He was a
doer as well as a teller.
Down along the Tigris river be-
low Bagdad l saw a great shrine,
which was pointed out as Ezra's
tomb. The Jews believe that he re-
turned to Babylonia and was buried
there. So great is the esteem in
which his memory is held that the
Jews from a wide region make an
nual pilgrimages to this shrine.
Prayers for children especially were
supposed to he effcacious when Of
fered here. The descendants of the
eNiles who remained behind thus hon
ored the memory of the leader of
those who left.
For many Jews did not go back
home when opportunity offered. Only
about one out Of six returned to Pal
estine. The remainder had struck
new roots into this fertile soil, and
had found prosperity. Business was
good in Babylonia., Besides. the eX-
lies from the Northern Kingdom had
ir this foreign land become assimi-
lated with their brethren from Judah
They were doing well socially and
commercially; and material considera-
tions triumphed over sentimental and
spiritual ties.
The Goers and the Senders
The ay-at-homes helped the 60
ers-forth. This is the universal rule
When I climbed the sacred mountain
Fuji-yama. with bands of Japanese
pilgrims. I learned that they were
but representatives of their respec-
tive communities: the whole neigh
borhood had united to pay the costs
Thus Christian Endeavor delegates
go to conventions. So, also, IL is with
Zionism to-day: Jews all over the
earth pay for the maintenance and
succor of their fellow religionists
who have returned to Palestine The
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