Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

cago"
me."
me."
sacrifice."
you."
ground."
water.'"
wages."
wages."
The Editor's Page
I Dare You
Chapter II.
The writer did not attend the Evangelical Press
Association Convention in Chicago in January. He did
not dare. It was the first one he had missed since it
was organized. But those "Beautiful Days in Chi
were registering around zero, and even had
they been much pleasanter my doctor would not have
angels"
consented. One has to discern between "dare
and "dare-devils." The one beckons you to a more
abundant life, the other entices you toward the
snares of death.
But from the echoes that come from that con
vention I learn that Doctor Tozer challenged the
editors to be the leaders of thought and action, not
the followers of the popular trend of events. That is
Paper"
a very large order for a "Family where there
is such diversity of localities, diversity of ages, diver
sities of occupation, diversities of
gifts, and diversi
ties of aims. But the solution is not in regimentation,
such as Moses used in leading to the Promised Land,
but in diversification, as commended by the Apostles.
"Having Gifts differing, according as God hath dealt
to every man a measure of faith, present your bodies
and your spirits a living But with all the
diversity in those to be led, there can be unity of
leadership and harmony of results if we all yield our
selves to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. There are
diversities of gifts, but there is One Spirit. So let
him that teacheth and him that prophesieth, and
him that exhorteth and him that giveth listen for His
call, for He is saying to you, "I dare
The very diversity of circumstances makes God's
challenges personal and unique. Once upon a time
there was a home, a father, a mother, a girl and a
boy ; and an expected child, sex uncertain, but intensly
important. For if it were a girl she would be
permitted to live, but doomed to slavery. But if a
man child should be born, his death warrerit was
already signed he must be drownd. Then came the
day ! It was a boy a goodly child. So perfect in form
and features that every ounce of him seemed to say,
"I dare you to drown So at the risk of incurring
the wrath of the king they hid him for the night, and
the next day,
and the next, and the next, and the
next ; but every cry must be stiff led, every
stranger
avoided. A month passed, then another, every day
more anxious, prayer more intense, escape more
hopeless, but the child more precious. But in the third
month the clouds seemed to lift a little ; there was a
vague hope, based on activity. A basket was taking
form, and so were details of a plan. The script was
completed, and Miriam was showing histrionic abil
ity, though the leading part of one of the important
members of the cast the bathing
princess never
appeared for rehearsal; but she did her part per
fectly
nevertheless. So did Moses. He cried at the
proper moment when the lid was being lifted, such
an appealing cry; but changing to a smile as the
kindly face bent over him, he seemed to say, "I dare
you to drown
244
"This is one of the Hebrews' chil-
dren."
(Enter Miriam) "Shall I go and call you a
nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child
you" "Go."
for
(Exit Miriam). A little later Jochebed
enters. There was no written contract, just a
Ladies'
Agreement : "Take this child away and nurse
him for me, and I will give you your "For
me for Pharaoh's daughter" But God was saying,
"Jochebed, what is that in thine hand A bundle of
possibilities. A future leader, a commander, a law
giver to all future generations. Nurse him for Me,
and I will give you your
"And the child grew, and she brought him to
Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son, and she
named him Moses, for she said, 'Because I drew him
out of the Did he become her son "By
faith, Moses, when he was grown, refused to be
called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather
to share ill-treatment with the people of God than
to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered
abuse suffered for the Christ greater wealth than the
reward."
treasures of Egypt, for he looked to the
Mothers, I dare you to implant that seed in your
offspring
After forty years of growing in the fear of God,
the foundation of all wisdom, then in all the learning
of all the universities and libraries of Ebypt, this
man of many degrees, undertakes singlehanded to
start a revolution and free his kindred, but is soon
in full flight into exile, glad to sink into oblivion, an
unknown shepherd in the land of Midian. "Never
again !"
Those forty weary years had de-conceited Moses,
now the meekest man. "Who am I that I should go
unto Pharaoh " They had dehydrated his sympathy
for the suffering sons of Jacob in Egypt. He had
transferred his affections to the sheep, the bees, the
flowers, and his small family. Conscious of, and sat
isfied to be, slow of speech. That magnificent person
ality had atrophied. When the Lord said, "What is
that in thine hand " He answered lazily, "Don't you
see it's just a rod, a stick I found." "Cast it on to
the And it becomes a serpent, and Moses
fled from it. The man who once could whip many
times his weight in Egyptians, fleeing from his own
rod ! And from his own possibilities ! His frightening
responsibilities ! "Send by him whom thou wilt send !"
He exhausted the Lord's patience that day. How re
luctantly he must have taken that serpent by the
tail ! and then courage began to come back. That was
the rod that Moses used to change the rivers into
blood, bring lice, frogs, flies, boils, etc. It was the rod
used to open the Red Sea, to bring water out of the
Rock, to cause the armies of Israel to drive back the
Amalakites so long as Moses held up his hands, and
like miracles. It was also the rod with which he smote
the rock the second time, contrary to God's com
mand, and thereby lost the privilege so much desired
of entering into the Promised Land. Moses' despised
rod and his despised abilities became irresistible
powers so long as he dared to obey God.
William H. Danforth was a
boy from a marshy,
COVENANTER WITNESS