The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-01-19


that would say and l couldn't un,
derstand anything that an ange.
would say.
Oh. you may Be rich! You may
| live in your beautiful home. TIL,
world may pass by and never suspec
you. Bu< IL you live the way the
| devil wants you to live you will go t,
perdition.
''Naaman, captain OF the hosts OF
the King of Syria, awaits thee"
I- X esonam,onErt~ eners - an wvI,se.
In one of his military expeditions
he captured a little Jewish maiden
him. She was sort OF a helper TO
! Naaman's wife. Mrs. Naaman kept
telling this little girl about her good
husband who was a leper and this
little girl said:
IAttle Girl Had Faith.
We've got a great God down in
Israel that cWes lepers Of their lep-
rosy"
They said We'll, that doesn't make
any difference to u.s." and they didn't
pay any attention to it, but she kept
on telling It and telling IL until the
people got talking all about what this
little girl had said
SO the king said: What is this |
hear about God down in Israel that
cures people Of leprosy? You have
! stayed here and your condition has
not improved, you'd better go down
there and see him. I'll give you a
letter TO old Joran and you go down
there and see him"
So the king wrote a letter to Joram
for Naamar.
Eaaman couldn't kiss his wife good
| bye Why? Oh, he was a leper and
the Law forbade. Oh, II every mar
ried man on earth, who Is a moral
! leper, were compelled to make revela
| tons of his sins--Great God, how the
world would be stirred and shaken
oh, Men of means and men of wealth
support largely the haunts of sin
heads OF families, many q time--with
an awful perjury of broken marriage
,, vows hanging over them. Such ought
| to be hurled out OF decent society
And ] want to lift half OF the burden
from the head of unoffending woman
hood and hurl 1t into the teeth of
offending manhood tonight.
Society Needs Revision.
| | tell you society OF the twentieth
century needs a new division Of ana
themas and of denunciation. II Is
all hurled against the woman's skirts.
Why not against the others.
Oh. Some of them that are so
j shocked over my preaching here,
Great God, they ought to be disin-
fected for Two years. then take "A
bath in nitroglycerin. Under some
who are SO shocked there Is raging a
Mount Vesuvius; some day she will
burst with all her consuming power
and fire.
Naaman says, Goodbye. wife"
+ lie says that from a distance; he
can't get close 20 her. IT'S a four
/ day Journey down there. i don't know
when | will ever get back, but it's
! the last chance. These four fushers
I up here haven't helped me any.
viii go down and see what they ran
/ do. This little girl talks about God
that can cure people OF leprosy'
He went down to the highway OF
! Damascus, down past Mount Hermon,
down Jezreel, through the Valley of
JeZreel until he stopped In front of
/ the palace of old Joram.
He dared not enter for he was a
/ leper. Oh. II we'd shut our homes,
and our clubs. our lodges against
them. we could purify mankind and
do something to make the world bet
/ ter that we live in. Tradition says
: that old Eaaman killed Ahab. Joram' s
/ father. If that be true. you can
understand the feelings that must
/ have swept through the heart of
Joram, the king. when he received a
! letter telling him that the man, whose
sword drank his fathers blood. was
standing in humble suppiance at his
door.
Door Was shut.
And so. he cannot enter. That S
{ the law. The door was shut SO, he
sends in the letter by a servant and
T the servant enters and says he
{ great aud hatghty Aaaman. captain
of the hosts OF the King of Syria,
awaits thee at the door, bear thee
! -
Old Joram broke the seal. He let
out yell like a Comanche Indian.
He hit the ceiling. He pulled his
( hair. He put on sackcloth and ashes
and said: ITS scheme of this mill
/ tary ruler. He sent old Naaman
! down here with a letter asking me
To cure him of his leprosy. Does he
think | am God that can kill and
make alive again? Scheme. scheme !.
They are gong 10 kill our men and
take our women and girls captives 10
grace their seraglios and harems."
He paced back and forth. my
! friends. oh. he was just wroth until
/ the report spread out. Everybody
got to talking about ii.
So Elisha. the prophet. lis ed oet in
little suburb OF the town and he
! heard about 1t. He sent note down
to old Joram, the king, which said (:
I What lis the matter with you9 Why
/ do you let that get on your nerve"'
4 He said: Don't you remember when
you went out, old Joram. and joined
/ in the war and I obtained water for
you and the victory that prophesiea
came true? Didn't that sign come
| true? Send him up to me-"
Elisha Cares for Leper.
Old Joram was glad to get rid of
him, I'll tell you that, and SO he sent
| him up, my friend. l can see him
| with his retinue of servants as he
started of up the street to where
| Elisha lived, out at the edge OF the
! town. oh, 1t has been the fate of
| preachers and OF prophets to be
stoned when they were in antagonism
to the men and women who wanted
to live in sin and debauchery and
| gormandize their damnable appotities
upon unfortunate humanity, when
! somebody appears on the scene. with
| the sword drawn to fight for Gods
truth and home and native land.
| And SO he sends him. He gets up
in front OF the little hut. He dare
| not enter 1t. The door Is closed. A
leper couldn't enter the palace and
| he couldn't enter house, and SO the
servant enters. Elisha, the prophet.
i can imagine. is seated at a desk with
| =