Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

LESSON HELPS FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 26, 1954VOLUME LIII WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1954 NUMBER 23Voices from OldBy Dr. G. Douglas YoungGraves(A Note From Archaeology)Back in the days of Samuel the men of Jabeshin Gilead were besieged by Na'hash the Ammonite.When things looked black for the Israelites in Jabesh, they called to Nahash and asked him to makea covenant with them. Nahash returned with a peculiar answer. He set up a condition for the makingof the covenant. This condition was that all the menof Jabesh allow the Ammonites to put out theirright eyes. The text of Scripture in I Samuel 11:2says that it might be "a reproach upon all Israel."The story goes on to indicate how Saul delivered themen of Jabesh.It would have been a great tragedy for the people of Israel to have had the mark of the enemyplaced upon them. To lose the eye would have beena tragedy, a physical inconvenience. The disgraceattached to this mark of defeat, this mark of theworld, would have produced an even greater tragedy.There are other illustrations, both from theBible and other sources, of such things happening toentire towns. In antiquity a town was responsiblefor a crime perpetrated within its territory. This isseen in the Bible, Deuteronomy 21:1-9. It is wellattested in the ancient non-biblical literature as well.For example, Daniel, a hero of the Ugaritic poemsfrom the fifteenth century B.C., lost his son Aqahtnear the town of Abiluma. Because his son was murdered there he cursed the town as follows :Woe unto thee, City of MournersNear which Aqaht the Hero was smitten !May Baal make thee one-eyedFrom now and unto eternityNow and forevermore !How analogous to our incident from I Samuel 11 :2 !Does it not have spiritual analogies as well ?What a tragedy for the child of God in our dayto 'bear in his body the mark of the world ! Are wecarrying about in our bodies the evidence of defeatby the enemy of man's soul, Satan ? Are there visiblein us evidences of participation in the things of theworld, things which draw us away from the thingsof God and not toward God? Does the world see areflection of its own image in us ? Or does the worldsee Jesus in us ? May God grant that it be true thatwe are bearing about in our bodies the marks of theLord Jesus and not the trademark of this old sincursed world!Northwestern Pilot