Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

wall?"apparel."wrong."sir."wall,"voice"you?"tells us that crime shows a decrease over the previous year of a very slight percentage for aboutevery category except rape which showed a measurable increase. Who is to blame for this outrage oninnocent victims, often pre-school little girls takenout to some lonely spot and violated, then murdered ?The inciter to crime may never be the victim, but sheunless she has obeyed thatcan not plead innocencyinjunction, "Adorn yourself in modestA man was surrounded in his home in a neighboring Kansas county last week by a posse of policemen with a warrant charging him with the rape oftwo very early-teen-age step-daughters. But he shothimself preferring death to capture. And now suspicion has turned on him that he may have been theman who forced a beautiful young mother comingfrom the beauty shop, into her own car and drove toa lonely road between Kansas City and Olathe, andcommitted that unmentionable crime and left hernude body to decay several days before it was discovered. He had lived on a neighboring farm someyears ago.As said at the beginning this subject is an indelicate one, apt to raise a hurricane of indignation aLulu. One ought to go softly. But the scripture says :"Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this ?" So for the sake of anywho may be guilty inadvertently, or otherwist, Iperish."am taking the risk. "If I perish, IWhy Go So Close to the Wall?During the seige of Rabbah, some of David'ssoldiers were slain, including Uriah the Hittite, andGeneral Joab had to send a battle report back to KingDavid. In his instructions to the messenger we seeof war revealed: when youan important strategyfight against an enemy, don't go too close to thewall!The passage goes like this: "Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when ye did fight?Knew ye not that they would shoot from the wall ?Who smote Abimelech the son of Jeruibbesheth ?Did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone uponhim from the wall, that he died in Thebez? Why(2 Samuel 11:20-21).went ye nigh theGood soldiers knew it was not safe to go veryclose to the wall. They all remembered the story ofAbimelech, who reigned over Israel following thedeath of his father Gideon. Abimelech had been successful in his battles (see Judges 9)until he cameagainst the city of Thebez. As he fought against thiscity, many took refuge in a tower. Upon learningthat the enemies were in the tower, Abimelech organized his soldiers to take flaming fagots of woodwith which to set the tower on fire.Brimming with confidence born of past victories,Abimelech came to the very door of the tower. Acertain woman cast a millstone from the tower andwounded him. When he realized what hadfatallyhappened, he called hastily to his armor bearer andsaid, "Draw thy sword, and slay me, that men saynot of me, 'A woman slew him.' "That is exactly the event for which Abimelechbecame famous for going too close to the wall. Historians did not forget that he was slain by a woman,either !October 19, 1955To think that the head of an army would exposehimself to such a death! He permitted a woman topush a stone from the wall and break his skull ! It ispoor military strategy to go too close to the wallwhen attacking the enemy.Here is a "cue" for youth today who fightagainst Satan! They often ask about commercialamusements, popular evils, and various fads."What's wrong with this?" Ah! remember Israel's"mistake."Don't go too close to the wall. It maymean foolish hazard you may become a casualty ofindiscretion !If you go "too close to the you can nolonger hear your Commander's voice. Your communication line has been cut, and you are no longer a part of the Army only an individual fightingalone. So if your mind is filled with the suggestionsof the world, the "still small of the HolySpirit can no longer be heard. You have lost Hisguidance.There are other reasons than the right and thewrong for doing or not doing ! There is the good andbad ; the beautiful and the ugly. Here are discriminations requiring a finer sense of judgment than merely a decision as to what is right or wrong ! A givenfad or amusement may not be wrong, but is it good ?It may not be evil, but is it the beautiful? Who iscapable of such refined judgments? Only he or shewho is sensitive to the Holy Spirit. For the Spiritis the source of true wisdom which discerns between right and wrong, good and bad, beautiful andugly. "The wisdom that is from above is first pure,then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, fullof mercy and good fruits, without partiality, andwithout hypocrisy."Some say, "It's such a minor thing this can'tbe But tragedy results from neglect of caution as often as from daring to play with temptation.Wisdom is better than valor don't go too closeto the wall ! Unless you heed this warning the enemymay make a casualty of you and you will be merelya victim of a "woman" pushing a millstone from thewall. J. Robert Ashcroft, Pentecostal EvangelAN OFFER OF LOVE . . . Cont'd from front pageswung on his heel, and threw his arms around Joe'sneck, and said, "No Joe you must not do that."Then he turned to his father and said, "I know Ihave done wrong, sir. I am ready for the whippingnow,But the father's eyes were not very clear, norhis voice very steady, and he said, "Well, boys, therewill not be any whipping just now. But, Tom, remember, the next time the bars are left down, Joe'soffer holds good. You may go now, boys." But beforethey went Tom did something very unusual for oldNew England; he said, "Father, may I kissThen the boys went back to the house.But it was Tom himself from whom I got thestory direct when he had reached manhood. Tomsaid the bars were never left down again. Joe's offer,Joe's love, held Tom steady at the bars.How are the bars with you ? Jesus did not offerto take half of our whipping. No ; He took all of it."By his stripes we are healed." Only when it gripsyou that He died for you will you hold steady at thebars. American Tract Society.245