The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-10-31
Meroz---The Shirker---The Stacker
y, DIR. JAMES CANNON. JR.


| Is being turned upside down, and the
/ pits of hell seem to have Seiched forth
| boSt OF neviltsh men, under Satanic
| leadership. we are inclined to wonder
/ IL such atrocities ever before could
| have been perpetrated as the Germans
! have been guilty of in this present
war. Not only have noncombatant men
| been killed, but old men. young boys
and infants III arms. And women of
every age, from young girls to old
, grandmsthers, have been shamefully
| ravished. aud frequently murdered
| by their inhuman violators. The OFF,
| cial reports OF the atrocities perpe-
trated by the German armies in France
and Belgium contain mass of
infinitely detailed accounts OF bar
barous deeds. which not only brand
the German armies as unehristlan and
uncivilized. but as essentially savage.
and inhuman.
Two Parallels.
There are two parallels known to
history: one. the savage tribes of the
North American Indians. who swooped
down on defenseless settlements. and
murdered the inhabitants. scslped their
victims, and either violated and MUIR
dered the women on the spot, or ear
rled them away into sensual slavery.
Another parallel is found in the Old
Testament narratives of the warfare
of the Assyrians and Babyionians
against the people of Israel. The Bible
describes that cruel warfare in vivid
language. See Kings ii s:12. Their
strongholds wilt thou set on FIRE, and
their young men wilt thou slay with
the sword, and wilt dash their children,
and rip up their women with child"
Germans Like Heather.
The people of Israel were subjects
of frequent attacks by one or another
Of the savage. heather nations sur
rounding them and sometimes were in
slavery for many years. Their oppres-
sors pillaged their property, robbed
them of their crops. violated their Wo-
men, or carried them as slaves to their
harems, and afflicted them with such
cruel bondage that in misery of soul
they cried to the Lord for deliverance.
one of these oppressors was Jahin,
king of the Canaanites. whose army,
under Sisera with his chariots of iron,
overfan the country. and afflicted the
people with cruel bondage. God COM
missioned Deborah and Barak to de-
liver Israel. and they issued a cali to
the men OF the nation to assemble to
form an army to drive the heather
Guarantees out of the land. The peo-
pie responded, and under Deborah and
Barak with the help of the Lord they
conquered the CanaaniteH and released
the people from the oppression under
which they had been living for many
years. When the war was over, De-
borah sang ii song of thanksgiving and
triumph. in which she ascribed praise
to the Lord for the great victory, and
emphasized the fact that the war for
liberty and righteousness was not only
sanctioned, but Was blessed by God,
The stars IN their courses fight
against Sisera." the Word declares.
Xar4,t TAGt.A ;,
. sess~-iats,- mountaineering trr
attitude of various sections of the
country, and singles out tribes and
towns by names. she praises the men
OF Ephraim, Zebulun, Benjamin and
Naphtal. makes searching inquiries
concerning the absence Of Reuben, Dan
Asher and Gilead. and she reaches the
| elimination of her reproach and con-
! demnation when she cries out. Curse
We Merog. curse ye bitterly the inhab-
| itants thereof, because they came not
up to the help of the Lord. to the
| help Of the Lord against the mighty
The Damnation of Meroz.
| She brands Meroz as a "shirker," or
as we would say IN modern parlance a
| Meroz failed st the time of testing. Il
may have been simply Indifference; IT
/ may have been the slothfulness Of the
| sluggard: IL may have been selfish
1 ness--intense absorption in home and
] net Ehbqfaaad matters tt-fnay- have
| been downright cowardice. Deborah
| does not tell US the special reason why
she puts the brand on Meroz. We are
| simply told that Meroz came not up
| to the help of the Lord. to the help of
/ the Lord against the mighty"
Israel was in . great battle for lib
erty and Righteousness for the over
throw of the wicked, cruel rule of the
| Canaanites. the cause of God was AT
stake. MeroZ did not join her forces to
the forces of the enemy. She stayed
at home and allowed her friends and
kinsman 10 light without her aid. to go
! down into the jaws OF death with no
WORD of encouragement, no touch OF
elbows, no added power. no aid of any
kind from her.
Deborah was Indignant and speak
ing as she did with Divine inspiration
| to the people for centuries to come
and she ScorcheS and hlisters Marog AZ
the indifferent, the selfish, the COW
ardly shirker so that the very name OF
| Meroz has become the synonym for thu
infamous traitor.
The Battle For Righteousness.
How striking is the parallel witt
present day conditions! The earth 1.
rocking with titantic coaflict between
the powers Of light and darkness. Ger
many, with her horrible doctrine o.
y physical power, of brute force as tn,
final test Of right that, like Goliatl
of old. is defying the armies of the liv
ing God, Her triumph means the de
proposed TO shorten the season OF talk