Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-10-04

the trip from Ur to .Haran by rail!
Both places are along the line of the
great railway enterprise which was
so potent q factor in bringing about
this war. Some day, readers of those
lines may travel in comfort from
mid Europe to Haran-stopping
there to visit Rebeccas well-and
beyond to Bagdad and the Persian
Gulf; but 1t will not be a German
railway.
When went over sthe route of
Apranam, a few years ago, l found
many native legends cluttering
around his name: for Abraham is
accepted by the Moslems. as we'll as
by the.Jews and the Christians. The
city of Uria, above Haran, is the
scene of q notable refusal to remain
there as king, because he had heard
the divine call to go to Canaan.
Aleppo, where the railways from
Palestine meet the line to Constanti-
, nople and Bagdad, gets it's. name
from the legend that Abraham used
10 drive his white cow to the gate
OF his castle-the ruins of which
/ are shown-for the feeding of the
poor, Aleppo, or "Halep." as the
natives have it, means white Cow"
1t was a formidable caravan with
which the great sheikh, Abraham.
thoNSV iNOill VI tO f1dEdn, anu lToiti
Haran to Canaan. He travelled slow
ly. carrying his fiocks and herds with
him, fn the patriarchal state of an
Arab chieftain to-day. One should
| know the desert and the Arabs to
gain q clean picture of the nature of
Abraham's slow pilgrimage to the
land of his vision.
When A Man Hears Voices
Abraham heard a voice. Joan of
Arc and her voices have anew got
the attention of the world. We are
more interested in Voices, inner calls
to higher duty, than we once were.
In the basilica that has been built
over the scene of the vision of the
Maid of Orleans there is a series of
wonderful pictures. After the war,
hope, the enthusiasm of the Amer
lean soldiers who have seen these
great paintings will result in the
worldwide circulation of reproduce
tions in color.
Most notable of all is the portrayal
of Joan. the peasant girl with IA
diant face. to whom the angels have
appeared. Behind her is the very
landscape that one sees through the
door of the church. On the highway
ride knight and his, lady; and a
group of village merry makers are
dancing about a tree; while another
company sit on the grass and gossip.
All are as unconscious of the vision
of the maid as\ the sheep or the gen.
tie white COW by her side. They in
their commonplaceness, with TN
anointed eyes, saw naught Of the
great revelation that marked a turn
ing point in the destiny of France.
This obedience to the heavenly
vision and voices is the mark of spir-
itual greatness. 1t - the saving
sense of nations and of individuals
1t made Abraham all that he be-
came. For 1t is not the naturally
equipped who become greatest in
Gods service. but the fully surrend-
cred and the instantly obedient. The
ready car is the first mark of dis
cipleship. to the Divine. Speak,
Lord. for thy servant heareth" is
the motto for all who would be
chosen by God. With the world to-
day in an uproar of jangling voices,
there is greatest need for those who
will listen open-souled to the Spirit.
There are those who discern in the
drift of our war-taught times
new tendency toward stressing the
religion of the inner light; of the
direct word of God to the individual.
AS nobody else heard Joan of
Arcs voices, SO only himself heard
Gods word to Abraham, calling him
to a great renunciation, a great re-
moval and great reward. Il will
bless thee and thou shalt be
blessing" Is 1t not fair interpre-
tation OF history to say that Abra-
ham. who went out from Mesopo-
tamia and later out of Canaan Into
Egypt. is returning thithAr in the
spirit OF the Christian allies, TO
whom the promise to him has been
fulfilled through Christ. and who are
bearing q blessing to the broken and
oppressed and suffering in the region
which Abraham knew as Canaan {?
New yistaS of meaning open up in
the phrase. "In thee shall all families
Of earth be blessed"
Those Pnrtings
With sympathetic hearts tho world
reads afresh the story of Abraham g
separation from home and old asso-
Citations and kindred and friends.
Love, blind, instructive, unreasoning
love, wants its dear ones near; that
first of ALI. How often Abraham g
friends talked of him, after he left
on his mission to obey O. voice they
could not understand. Sorrow stay
ed behind him and went with him
after this parting; which, in it's way,
was not unlike the millions of fare
wells that have been spoken in the
past year, as precious sons and
brothers and sweethearts and hus-
bands. have set out for strange lands.
not knowing WHITTIER.
This was Transformation exReFi=
ence, even as 1t Is for our soldier
boys, 1t made a new man of him, as
well as marked q new era for the
world, Who can measure the conse-
quenees of the going-feFth expert
enees of the young men, who, had
they not heard the voice of Country
and God calling them. would have
piodded on in the old commonplace
way? These "come-outersn are like
Abraham, making all things new for
mankind, Every change of the old
order works hardshiRs; but it also
marks the onward movement of
mankind. Abraham gave up much,
but he got morej there ia always a
sort of divine mathematias about
surrender to God,
Even so few years age it weuid
have seemed incredible that the later
fulfillment of Gods promise to Abra-
ham should engage the attention of
the British government, That very
wonder has come to pass within re-
cent weeks, In a new, strange, vital
sense the Promised Land of Abraham
has become q Land of Promise. ar
resting the whole worlds attention.
Today the British flag flies 5yer
the birthplace and the grave of
Abraham, Before the quarters les
sons are ended. NAV we NOT bono