The Bible, No. 2
The Bible, No. 2 THE BIBLE—No. 2
C. R. Nichol .
If the crowns of all the kingdoms of this earth, past and present, augmented by the wealth of Croesus and all the wealth or monetary values since his day, were offered me for my library, on the condition that I never read another book, I would refuse the offer.
“In the best books great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts, and pour their souls into ours.”—Channing
“A good book is the precious life-blood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond.”—Milton
If all the books written by mere man, with all the ancient manuscripts were proffered me, to be mine, on the condition that I part with the Bible, and the knowledge I have derived therefrom, I would reject the offer. The Bible is a literary treasure of more value than all other books combined; for it contains the recipe for the moral approach to perfection; in it one finds the key to heaven, and instructions for obtaining a title to a mansion in glory. Should there come a time when you would speak disparagingly of the Bible, hold your tongue till you have spent a few moments contemplating what society would have been without the Bible! Without the Bible we would be like a ship at sea without compass on a dark stormy night; like a sightless man walking a narrow, winding, undulating path between two yawning chasms.
Parents Interested in Children
He who is worthy of the name of father does not leave his children to learn by bitter experience that to thrust the hand into the fire will not only injure but bring immediate pain also. He warns the child, time and time again of the dangers to be shunned; he tells him how to meet problems of life. He tells him of needed training; he points out the way. The expectancy of the life of the infant stretches out and away through years untrodden, and seas which have not been sailed; and hence, no human being can chart them. For the journey of life we surely need a guide, if we would make no false step, or suffer, “lost time,” or undesirable experience. Were I called to cross mountains where there were precipitous bluffs, ravines that are deep, flanking what seemed to be my only path; if snows were piled high, and glaciers crossed my way, I would need a guide—one who not only knew the way, but was in every way dependable. From the Bible we learn, not only of those who have weathered the storm on life’s sea, but have safely cast anchor in the heavenly port. In this book one finds unerring directions—with all dangers labelled. It is man’s indestructible way-book.
Some Evidences
Having been reared in a country where the Bible is accepted as a revelation from- God to his creatures, we seldom give a thought to the question: “On what ground does the claim rest that the Bible is true?” The time which would be required to give an ex-haustive reply to such a question cannot be canvassed within a few minutes; hence my discussion must be curtailed. To be as brief as possible, and yet not to assume too much for my audience, I accept as conceded :
(1.) God is; that he is the creator of all things. That matter, inert, inorganic matter is not self-existent; that life must emanate from antecedent life.
(2.) That God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent; not only so; but that in his very nature he is self-existent, and perfect.
(3.) Too, that every effect is due to an adequate cause. To say you know you exist by your senses, is not true; for you to not see the living thinking being called man. You see only an effect; hence you know there was (is) a cause. Is it insisted that the effects seen are manifestations of inherent powers in the object—in inert matter? Such a reply is but to remove the course of reasoning by one step. If there are inherent powers in the things, or object it must follow that causation is demanded; which I state thus:
(a) Every effect must have an adequate cause.
(b) There are effects for which there are no adequate causes, within themselves, nor in inani-mate matter.
(c) Therefore, there must be an adequate cause for their existence in some being without; and that cause is God!
The Creator.
(4) That man was created a religious being, and hence will worship. Shall 1 say he has a religious instinct? Within man is the feeling of dependence— he is conscious of his limitations, and springing spontaneously within his heart is reverence, and homage for a higher being, and that which is not supplied by things mundane. Man longs for companionship; and that this lawful desire might be supplied, society exists; the home was ordained by the Creator. Man by his very nature longs to see the face of the loved one to look on the world about—beneath and above—and eyes he has that he may appropriate light. He would commune with his fellows; hear words of wisdom, encouragement, sympathy and love; to that end he has the power of speech and ability to appropriate sound. He would know his benefactor and destiny ; hence the Bible, graciously given by his creator. He longs for an unending life, for a stage of existence; he shrinks from death and dreams of an unending life and a state of existence where sorrows never come, where separations do not remove loved ones from him. Do such longings rise within his heart only to be mocked by time, and will death end all? Are there no compensations for these longings, have no provisions been made that they may be satisfied?
All things for man’s good in this life God has pro-vided; hence it must follow that he has made provisions for his eternal happiness, and that he may be prepared in heart and life to that end, the Bible is given to man to teach him, console him, encourage and guide him through the changing, difficult scenes and experiences of this life to that for which he has been designed. (Let is be remembered that man can thwart God’s purposes in many ways. Eyes he has given me that I may appropriate light, that I may see the beauties of earth; but with a stroke of my knife I can destroy the power of sight I now have, and in that way thwart God’s purpose in giving me eyes. God has made provisions for the happiness of all men; but man has the power to refuse to appropriate the means to the end God has in view.)
Acceptable Worship
(5.) Then in order to acceptable worship, one must not only know the character of the one worshipped but also the acts of homage pleasing to him, lest one engage in “vain worship;” (Mark 7:7), or worship “ye know not what.” It must follow that it was necessary that Jehovah make known to man his will—hence the Bible.
Obedience can be rendered only where there is knowledge of the will of him whom we would obey. Obedience to the law of the land is not demanded till the law is publicized. The foregoing necessitated a revelation from God, making known his character, attributes, and will, that acceptable acts of worship and obedience may be rendered. Hence the Bible!
It is answered: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth his handiwork” (Psalms 19:1). In nature one does find design; but from nature one cannot learn the attributes of God. Only to the ones who know God, can nature declare the glory of God.
The Egyptians were impelled to worship, as are all others. Since the Nile overflowed each year, bringing the moisture necessary to the growth of vegetation, and the harvest of their grain, they looked on the river as their life saver; and came in time to worship it. Could you see man’s religious manifestation in others? Then read the history of those who sacrificed their children in an effort to appease the supposed wrath of an imaginary god; and who leaving the place of sacrifice, returned to their residences with commingled feelings of joy and sorrow—sorrow because of the death of the child and joy because of a feeling that they had pleased an imaginary god. Truly; “It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23). The Bible Is True
God does not spend moments proving his existence. The writers of the Bible did not spend time proving what they said was true. Some years ago I knew a man who for forty years had filled a place of importance, in his state, enjoying the confidence of the people, filling with honor his office. A man became angry because he could not “use” the man to advance his personal interests in a way which was not honorable; he made some derogatory statements about him. When asked what he was going to say in his own defense, he replied: “My life for more than forty years in this town, and as a servant of the people must be my only defense.” The Bible is true. Its fruits are good only; its statements are correct in the absolute. The opening statement of the Bible stands unimpeached, and truly scientific. Before modern discoveries were known the Bible said: “Jehovah formed man of the dust of the ground.” That man’s body is from the dust of the ground is known to science now. Not only so, but Jehovah declared the body out of the dust to be inanimate—lifeless, till life was breathed into it. This is a well-known fact that when the spirit leaves the body the life of the body ceases—and the dead, inert, inanimate, lifeless body remains^—and returns to dust.
Some Prophecies
Through years physicians have made observations, and learned the progress of certain diseases is destruction of bodily tissues; and the physician declares his patient will die within certain hours. Such observations are not what we mean when we speak of prophecies in the Bible. A prophecy is foretelling a future event which cannot be known by man’s power. To utter a prophecy one must be inspired by one who sees the end from the beginning. (Isaiah 41:21-23). Such statements are made in the Bible about men, nations, and places. By history we can verify predictions made, proving that “no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). Your attention to some of them, solely to advise those who are not in-formed. Only a moron argues against a demonstration :
Babylon
Babylon dates from a period not long after the flood. (Genesis 10:10; Genesis 11 :l-9). It was one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, located in the valley of the Euphrates. It was one of the most beautiful and best fortified cities of ancient times. In addition to its towering walls, there wTas a moat running parallel with the walls, filled with water from the river. Atop the walls were towers, and the city was considered impregnable. Isaiah and Jeremiah declared the city would be destroyed; that it would become a place of desolation; that it would not again be inhabited. McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia says:
“With the conquest by Cyrus commenced the decay and ruin of Babylon. The broad walls were then to some extent broken down and the high gates probably burnt with fire. The defenses, that is to say, were ruined; though it is not to be supposed that the laborious and useless task of entirely demolishing the gigantic fortifications of the place was attempted or even contemplated by the conqueror. Babylon was weakened, but it continued a royal residence not only during the lifetime of Darius the Mede, but through the entire period of the Persian empire. The Persian kings held their court at Babylon during the larger portion of the year, and at the time of Alexander’s conquests it was still the second, if not the first city of the empire. It had, however, suffered considerably on more than one occasion subsequent to the time of Cyrus. Twice in the reign of Darius and once in that of Xerxes it had risen against the Persians, and made an effort to regain its independence. After each rebellion its defenses were weakened, and during the long period of profound peace which the Persian empire enjoyed from the reign of Xerxes to that of Darius Codomanus they were allowed to go completely to decay. The public buildings also suffered grieviously from neglect. Alexander found the great temple of Belus in so ruined a condition that it would have required the labor of 10,000 men for two months even to clear away the rubbish with which it was encum-bered. His designs for the restoration of the temple and the general embellishment of the city were frustrated by his untimely death, and the removal of the seat of the empire to Antioch under the Seleucidae gave the finishing blow to the prosperiy of the place. The great city of Seleucia, which soon after arose in its neighborhood, not only drew away its population, but was actually constructed of materials derived from its buildings. Since then Babylon has been a quarry from which all the tribes in the vicinity have perpetually derived the bricks with which they have built their cities, and (besides Seleucia) Ctesiphon, Al- Modain, Bagdad, Jufa, Kerbelah, Hillah, and numerous other towns have arisen from its ruins. The great city, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, has thus emphatically become heaps—she is truly an astonishment and a hissing without an inhabitant. Her walls have altogether disappeared—they have fallen, been thrown down, been broken utterly. A drought is upon her waters; for the system of irrigation, on which, in Babylon, fertility altogether depends, has long been laid aside; her cities are everywhere a desolation, her land a wilderness; wild beasts of the desert (jackals) lie there, and owls dwell there: the natives regard the whole site as haunted, and neither will the Arab pitch tent nor the shepherd fold there.”
He who knows not the prediction touching Babylon, and the present condition of that city is ignorant of history. The fall anad desolation of Babylon is a perpetual demonstration of the accuracy of the state-ments of the Bible!
Tyre
As far back as the settling of the Israelites in Canaan Tyre was a fortified city (Joshua 19:29). In the days of David and Solomon, Tyre was friendly to Israel (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 7:13-45). Tyre was a city of wealth (Zechariah 9:3), the merchant of the people of many isles (Ezekiel 27:3), a great shipping center, and her fortifications were so complete that a five- year siege by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, failed of results. “It was against a city such as this, so confident, and to all appearance so justifiably confident, of sitting a queen forever, that several prophets, particularly Isaiah and Ezekiel,” through inspiration foretold its destruction. “And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make prey of thy merchandise; and they shall break down thy walls, and destroy thy pleasant houses; and they shall lay thy stones and thy timber and thy dust in the midst of the waters . . . and I will make thee a bare rock; thou shalt be a place for the spreading of nets; thou shalt be built no more: for I Jehovah have spoken’ (Ezekiel 26:12-14). A part of Tyre was on the main land and a part on an island near to shore. Ezekiel tells us that Tyre would be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (26: 7-11). History tells us that after a siege of thirteen years Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city on the main land. Later Alexander the Great laid siege to the city. He took the ruins of the part destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and laid them in the water so as to build a pass-way to the island, thus literally fulfilling Ezekiel’s words. Also so completely were the ruins of Tyre thrown 'nto the sea that its location has been lost; and this fulfills another statement of Ezekiel: ‘Though sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again” (26:21). The student should read Isaiah 23; Ezk., chapters 26, 27, 28; Amos 1:9-10; Zech. 9:24; and then search histories, books of travel, and Encyclopedias, and see how literally all these prophecies have been, and are being fulfilled.
Alexander the Great, after a memorable siege captured the city of Tyre and reduced it to ruins (332 B.C.). She recovered in a measure from this blow, but never regained the place she had held in the world. The larger part of the site of the once, great city is now bare as the top of a rock—a place where the fishermen who still frequent the spot spread their nets to dry. The Jews.
Prophecy of Moses concerning the Jews. (Deuteronomy 28). The student should read the entire chapter. This re-markable prophecy was uttered by Moses concerning his own people before they reached the land out of which they were to be taken, and fifteen hundred years before the events occurred. If the student would read a vivid account of the fulfillment of this prophecy, he may do so in the Wars of the Jews, by Josephus, Book 2, chapter 7 to close of Book 6.
Let us notice some of the predictions in this chapter (Deuteronomy 28). Many ills were to befall the Israelites in case they disobeyed the Lord.
1 .“Jehovah wll bring a nation against thee from afar, as the eagle flieth” (V. 49). Rome conquered her. And there was no cringing fear in the hearts of the Roman soldiers as they came upon the Jews—like an eagle, the Roman army was fearless and certain in its movements.
2. “A nation whose tongue thou shalt not under-stand.” They understood not the language of the Romans.
3. “A nation of fierce countenance, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young.” This, as you learn from all histories, was characteristic of the Roman army.
4. “And they shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fortified walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land; and they shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land.” The Roman army completely over-ran the land of the Jewrs, destroying not only Jerusalem, but the walls of every fortified city as well. Josephus records these matters at length.
5. “And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, and the flesh of thy sons and thy daughters . . . The tender and delicate woman among you, wTho would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eyes shall be evil towards the husband of her bosom, and towards her son, and towards her daughter, and towards her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and towards her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress wherein thine enemies shall distress thee m thy gates” (53-57). See how literally this was fulfilled.
“There was a certain woman that dwelt beyond Jordan; her name was Mary, her father was Eleazar, of the village of Bethezod, which signifies the house of Hyssop. She was eminent for her family and her wealth, and had fled away to Jerusalem with the rest of the multitude, and was with them besieged therein at this time.” Josephus relates how all her living was consumed, and how, wThen she got together anything to eat, the rapacious guards robbed her of it till it was “impossible for her in any way to find any more food, while the famine pierced through her very bowels and marrow, when also her passion was fired to a degree beyond the famine itself; nor did she consult with anything but with her passion and the necessity she was in . . . She slew her son; and then roasted him, and ate the one-half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed. Upon this soldiers came in presently and smelling the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her that they would cut her throat immediately if she did not show them what food she had gotten ready. She replied that she had saved a very fine portion of it for them; and withal uncovered what was left of her son. Hereupon they were seized with a horror and amazement of mind, and stood astonished at the sight, when she said to them, ‘This is mine own son, and what has been done was mine own doing. Come eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself’ . .After which those men went out trembling, being never so much affrighted at anything as they were at this.”—Wars of the Jeivs, by Josephus, Book 6, chapter 3, section 4. This horrid incident in fulfillment of the prophecy of Moses needs no comment.
6. “And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the people whither Jehovah shall lead thee away” (Verse 37). See also Jeremiah 29:15-20. Thus Moses spoke of the future of his own people, and this prophecy is today being fulfilled before the eyes of all nations. Every nation has its Jews and everywhere the Jew is a wanderer, and a hiss, and a byword among all peoples. We hold that it is not possible for one to honestly read the history of the Jews as outlined in the prophecies and written by Josephus, and also observe their present condition, and not be convinced that these prophecies were given by inspiration.
7. Scattered but not consumed. In their dispersion the Jews were not to be utterly destroyed from off the earth. This is indicated in the statement that they would be a continual hiss and byword. See also Jeremiah 5:18; Jeremiah 30:11; Amos 9:8. They were to be scattered everywhere, never to dwell in their own land again, but would not be utterly consumed. Persecution has not destroyed him; neither has he lost his identity by marrying and intermarrying with other peoples. He is a living and perpetual demonstration that the prophecies were of Holy men of God spoken as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. A Recent Word
In the National Geograhic, February, 1944, pp. 233, 238, Nelson Glueck says:
“The school children of Palestine use the Bible as a guidebook when they hike through the land. The close relationship between Holy Book and Holy Land, fostered by generations of pilgrims, is being confirmed anew by those who delve for facts in the very earth.
“When General Allenby conquered Palestine in 1917-18, he relied mainly on two books for information concerning its topography, geography, strategic roads, important sources of water, and naturally strong sites. These books were the Bible and George Adam Smith’s Historical Geography of the Holy Land. Upon them he based his tactics and the conduct of the deliverers.
“It is amazing how much of the Bible story is verified by finds made in archeological exploration or excavation. The Bible requires no proof for its validity, because it is primarily concerned with theology and only secondarily with history. But the spade is sometimes mightier than the pen in throwing light on facts long buried under the debris of centuries. Archeological finds continue to substantiate the details and the general background of Biblical accounts.
“It is becoming more and more apparent that the Bible contains much more historically valid material than was supposed before the spade added its independent evidence to that of the written word. The Bible writers had access to records which have long since dissappeared. Written on parchment, papyrus, or other perishable materials, they were destroyed by fire, dampness, and other causes. “Because no copper or iron had previously been found in greater Palestine, which includes the Wadi Araba, the great rift between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Araba, some scholars had thought that one very brief Bible reference to the presence of such minerals could not be true. Recent discoveries by the American Schools of Oriental Research in Jerusalem in the Wadi Araba definitely prove that the, famous passage describing the Promised Land is correct when it says: ‘And you shall inherit a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper’ (Deuteronomy 8:9). It is known now that along the entire length of the Wadi Araba there are deposits of copper and i^on. These were, very intensively worked in ancient times, particularly during the time of King Solomon. At numerous places throughout the Wadi Araba the. archeological survey of the American School found ancient mining and smelting sites. They were all located close to some source of water. Many of them were found by persons visiting every water hole in the Araba and seeking for traces of ancient settlements. We found ruins of miners’ huts and workers’ encampments, small furnaces, and great heaps of slag, resulting from the initial roasting process.
“The copper was mostly mined, crushed, and roasted on the spot. The fuel was probably charcoal, burned on the neighboring wooded hills of Edom. Numerous fragments of pottery were found among these ruins, which enabled them to be dated, particularly to the time of Solomon.
“Slag and ore specimens on analysis have shown up to 58.7 percent iron and 10.8 percent copper. Roadways, water mains, labor supplies, and refineries would be needed if this ancient source of iron and copper were to serve modern commercial needs.
“Some of the mining sites were found because of their names. One of them was called in Arabic ‘Khir- bet en-Nahas,’ which means the copper ruin. On examination we discovered that the site merited its name. It was the largest copper-mining and smelting center we had yet found. Although it had been aban-doned for some 2,500 years, evidences of its original character still clung to it.
“Excavations have revealed not only that Solomon mined the minerals in the Wadi Araba, thus becoming one of the world's first copper kings, but also that he created at the southern end of the Araba an industrial establishment to turn his raw materials into manufactured articles. This industrial plant, the like of which had been unknown before his day, was not surpassed before comparatively recent times.”
One is not truly educated who is not conversant with the Bible; its language, its poetry, its laws. It is composed of sixty-six books. It is the most wonderful library to be had; written by kings, farmers, scientists, lawyers, generals, fishermen, preachers, one doctor, and a tax-collector some of whom were rich, others poor. The Bible as it is, is adapted to man as he is. “The man of God” in the Bible is the prophet, or the preacher of today. As God’s preacher the summum bonum of what he preaches is found in the Bible. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Where the Bible is believed, property and life are protected. It is the staff of old age; the guide for the young.
Books today are commonplace. The Bble is a book, but it is not commonplace, for it is a living book, because it is the most incisively searching book of all ages. Its appeal is to the sober thinking who know “life is real, life is earnest,” and fraught with grave responsibilities. The man who does not recognize that life's success or failure in the end will be measured by his attainments in righteousness, or degradation in iniquity, finds no interest in the Bible as the rule of life.
I predict that the men and women who return from the present war, in their readjustments, when their heads have cleared, and their hearts speak, will turn to the Biole as they have never before; for they are now facing- grim realities, and will come home with scars on the soul which will not heal with a dismissing nod of the head. They will want life with its merits, worthwhile things rather than the tinsel of the frivolous. They will find the Bible the most profound of all books; for it deals with eternal issues. On his death bed, Sir Walter Scott requested his son inlaw, Mr. Lockhard, to read to him, and replying to his question: “What book?” Scott answered: “There is but one book.” The Bible is the most loved book by the righteous, and the most hated book by the wicked in all the world. There is a reason. It towers above all other books as the sun at the meridian towers above the bog in the dark. It ns disgusting to hear a carping critic of meager information bark at it as it is amusing to see the fist bay at the moon. The sun by day dispels the fog; and when allowed to send its rays into the. dark dens where disease lurks, where germs of destruction linger, it purifies by killing. God’s word is light- -it banishes sunerstition, it elevates the soul; it is the sunshine which illuminates, making manifest; it gives stamina to the spirit, it stimulates activities which give strength to character. It is, the indestructible foundation of society; the im movable rock on w’hich civilization rests.