Mountains of the Bible

MOUNTA INS OF THE BIBLE

ERBELL . SUMM J . J

” “ A uth or o f Sc i e D octrine Life and r ptur , ” “ W i in s o f N . Summerbell O line r t g , ut o f Ch u rch H isto ry o f th e First ix Cen ies etc: S tur ,

BOSTON FRENCH 57 SHERMAN , COMPANY

TO M! WIFE

A B L A F MMERBE IS E L . V . SU LL

WHOSE INCENTIVE A ND ASSISTANCE MADE THE WOR! OF THIS BOO! A DELIGHT

3041 04

I NTROD U CTI ON

A few weeks ago I was reading a late address of th e great mountain climb er of th e Himal aya e th e m Mountains , and was fascinat d by char of hi s as well a s modesty , that natural attraction which th e overco ming of difﬁcu lties always pr e e H e he b e th e s nts . stated that eli ved that top of th e highest peak there could never be reached by climbing . It is unnec essary to repeat his convincing

e he e scientiﬁc r asoning . But t mere statem nt of his opinion excited th e desire to prove that

be is h e er it could done ; that , that was in ror in announcing that anything wa s impo s d ff sible , that epended on endurance of su ering or on foresight and endeavor . There are mountains more important than the Himalayas ; some of those mentioned in th e

e i Bible . They have interest from th r height

i e o f and from their assoc ations . And som them a re : Bu t very hard to climb . wh en the summit

a a o ne e th e . of cert in of them is reach d , spirit ual athlete is nearer the Great White Throne than he may be who ﬁrst reaches th e top of Ev

erest.

Let us take a trip to these mountains of the

a i a Bible , without le v ng our quiet, comfort ble INTRODUCTION homes ; taking do wn a bo ok here and there from

h es th e a and our library s elv , and studying m ps e s i o i a e the r cord of travel and h st ry . It s an g of excursions . This trip will not cost u s any i thin g worth saving ; only that wh ch it is ad vanta eou s o The bes i e o ma g to l s e. t gu d bo k y u s e h e e be the Holy Bible. Le t yi ld to t e g ntl in en and e e a th e e ﬂu ce , subdu som wh t d sire for e e r m re adv ntu e. CONTENTS

PA GE ARARAT

HOREB

MOUNT H O R MOUNT NEB O — MOUN T HERM ON FIRST C H RISTIAN PRA! ER

MEETING

LEB ANON — MOUN T CARM EL DO GM A IM P O RTANT

TH E MOUNT O F BEATITUDES

MOUNT GILB OA MOUNT MORIA H

— ’ O L IVET JESU S GRE ATES T TEM PTATION

“ ” ALVA ! — A S O F TH E CR! L I C R C U E , E O

ARARAT

We ne ed not stop at Ararat : for th e Bible itself does not sp eak of any single mountain as that memorable stepping stone from the ante diluvian wo rld to the new ; the language of the “ Bible describing the ark as resting upon th e ” mountains of Ararat ; as if Ararat were then a i a e . a region , r th r than a mount n And this wis e arrangement of Pro vidence has s o well prevented the idolatry that would prob ably have r esulted from cert ainty as to th e

i e peak , that mounta ns as far apart as thos of

m e the Caucasus , Ceylon , Ar nia , Afghanistan

n e e e o ne and norther India , hav b en sel cted as the ’ h e e from whic Noah s family d scend d .

e i m But if we accept the doubl peak n Ar enia ,

s e e e sea who highest point is fe t abov the , n n capped with eter al ice and s ow, not scaled

1 2 a 8 . until 9 by Dr P rrot , as the right moun

we su tain , will have legend and tradition to p port us . The conical symm etry and sunlight

e glory of this mountain , looking from whos sides

em i e other mountains se like h lls , mak it appear like a landmark ; and we can easily imagin e that from its foo thills th e tide of migration natur ally ﬂowed early southward to the fertile plains

el of Bab . o t o 0 er , ! . ‘ ! , “

2 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE

‘ “ ” ar hi t But Ar at , on w ch he ark of Noah re was n n and i no t sted, not a single mou tai , s s o e to b e i e d referr d in the Bi le . I b l ev the wor “ ” er Ararat o ccurs in but one other place ( J . 5 1 : reading thus

Call together against her the kingdoms of Ara ” rat and k . , Minni Ash enaz

Since writing the foregoing I lo oked into a e fo r the and great religious cyclop dia word ,

a ﬁnd that it is not tre ted at all . HOREB

“ Let no w ' e us go to Hor b , the Mount of ” two God , between the arms of the Red Sea , one of which the Is raelites crossed by the help of God in their escape from the bondage of

the ten Egypt . It was there that God gave

- s b th e h es . commandment to men , y and of Mos It is th e mountain to which Elij ah went forty

o i his at days and f rty nights , n gre ﬂight from i the land Where his duty lay . And t was there “ s e that God a ked him , What doest thou her , ” ! wh o Elij ah Generations earlier, Moses , also

ﬂed te i had from the land of duty , af r hav ng

E i his e killed an gypt an , led ﬂocks n arer the

i o i s aw foot of th s m unta n , and a bush that

n i ﬁ re n e bur ed w th and was not co sum d . It is distinguished as no other height in the

i th e e h story of world , xcept Mt . Calvary , and that other elevation where Jesus delivered the

e th discours called e Sermon on the Mount . How strange it is that th e exact location of thes e mountains . is somewhat uncertain ; al though events h appe ned on them that have in ﬂu enc ed the destini es of th e world more than any other ! It must be that th e same Jehovah that e ei e e th e has ev r v l d his fac , same Jehovah that 3 4L MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE prevented any likeness of his Son Jesus from

v b his h as being preser ed y disciples , carefully kept uncertain to us the exact places of the ratiﬁcation of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant ; inﬂ uenced by the same motives th at caus ed him to keep secret the grave of his serv ant Moses . But the tract in which Horeb of Sinai must

is r . have stood a wild , dreary and bar en region

e There are crags and precipices , separat d by sandy d‘efiles s o narrow that they seem to make the opposing cliffs frown on each other ; all desolate and terrific . There are springs and streams flowing among the crags , where , probably , the thousands of Israelites , while

law waiting for the , secured water for their

e e ﬂocks and herds . Som travel r, whose name i i I have forgotten , without doubt concern ng th s “ part of Arabia Petraea , said , It would seem as if Arabia Petraea had once bee n an oc ean of hi e u lava , and w le its waves wer r nning moun tains high , it was suddenly commanded to stand ” still .

e e e Thus , blacken d p aks of naked granit , stand sentinel over sheer precipices mo re than a thousand feet in height . In one place we may

W a pass through a ild deﬁle into a level pl in , two miles long by two - thirds of a mile wide Here we may assume that Sinai frowns down : for the conditions of the Bible history may here be HOREB 5

i to ah met . The pla n comes the foot of the “ m t h ” p mountain , t at might be touched , or t h o t o t e . n , according commandment of the Lord

l ff s o The desolate c i s surrounding this space , suitable for a camp for many thousands , must h ave lent help to Moses in his effort to bring th e Israelites into the disposition O f awe and reverence , suitable for receiving the law that “ h as become the constitutio n of the civilized ” world . i n Since wr ting the foregoing, I have fou d ,

“ ’ ” in the pages of the Common People portion “ ” Ch ris tiam ! of the , of B oston , in its issue of i 1 1 1 o n Apr l , 9 , probably from the pen of the s

i o i . . H s of my fr end , H L a tings , the foll w ng

e e matter, which may further illustrat the p cu lia rities of th e mountain

THE MOUNT OF GOD Few spots on the face of the earth are invested with such deep and solemn interest as th at barren mountain k r M a k God pea whe e oses t l ed with ,

‘ W c m hen he pro lai ed his holy law, ’ A nd struck the trembling tribe s with awe .

“ Nearly in the center of the now desol ate penin sula which stretches between th e proj ecting horns Red S ea n r of the , sta ds a triangular ledge of g an riinstein and r o k r s ite, g , po phyry r c s , i ing between and a e o f th e sea feet bov the level , and stretching over an extent of from twenty to 6 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE

hi r r ff o t ty miles, ising at di erent points int lofty peaks . I n the northwesterly po rtion there are ak S et the ﬁve pe s or heights of erbal , fe

. Ea r above the level of the sea stwa d of this, some e ! r th e twenty mil s, is Jebel athe in, rising to height of feet abo ve the s ea level . Beside ’ e o a this is Jeb l Musa, or M ses Mount , bout feet abo ve the level of the s ea ; and a little to the

r Ras - es - S u f s af eh o ne th e north of this ises , of grandest of all th e desert pe aks . “ There have be en di fferences of opinion as to the particul ar mountain on which the law was

th e m i given, but doubts see now well n gh dispelled, and travelers rec ogn ize one mountain which pos sesses all the natural features described in con n i h ect o n with the giving of t e law . It was a ‘ ’ a be to e mount th t might touched, or the bas of r a which the multitude could app o ch , unless fenced away ; and it must h ave been a mountain having an area in front of it sufﬁciently large to give r oom for the vast multitude of the Israelites who gazed o n th e up n the treme dous scene, when mountain ‘ ’ w as altogether o n a smoke .

The mountain in which we are interested is probably tha t now called by the Arabs Ras - es

Su fs afeh .

From the higher parts of these m ountains

be e s th can se n arm of e Red Sea , a part of dis Egypt, whose mighty army had so lately e in i i i app ared the waters , and terr tory w th n ’ n a few days j our ey of Jerusalem. I have HOREB 7

o e e i n sometimes w nd r d f Moses , whe looking

o hi did e from th se gh peaks , not gaz ﬁxedly and lo ng into Egypt (with that eye tha t even fo rty “ ye a rs afterward was not to discover the movements of new Egyptian armies th at might be mobilized and hurried this time to

the compass Gulf of Suez , and fall upon the Hebrews while still in this des o late region be

tw o o f S ea to r i tween the arms the Red , b ng n them back again i to bondage . For on these

M lo ses a e du r m heights spent d ys and we ks , g which the Egypti ans might have gathered fresh

th e e troops for a new pursuit of Israelit s , had not the terrible calamity to the military related in the book of Exodus awed the nation into deep fear of their es caped slaves lingering mys t o u sl s o eri y long so near their borders .

e i On thes peaks , from wh ch Moses might

o h o i E e i . look nt gypt , l ngered long and ften But probably it w a s o nly now and then tha t he looked into the land of bondage : fo r around him th e u i tr mpet was sounding, the l ghtning wa s ﬂashing, and the thunder of God was rolling . From the midst of scen es of sublimity mm m i the ten co and ents were com ng . Here probably was Sinai ; no forest or villages its e i among black crags , tow r ng upward

. in o u feet , or more The mounta r se abr ptly “ o fr m the plain ; but must not be touched .

th s a e a The awe of e Israelite , c us d by th t com 8 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE

th e mandment combined with trumpet blasts , the lightning ﬂashes and th e thunder roars of

a the mount in , gradually died away in the long to h waiting for Moses come down . Thoug the

m k o mountain s o ed and trembled , and the gl ry of the Lord covered it , imperceptibly the feel ings of fear in the hearts o f th e Israelite s died n it away , and the merely car al sense asserted self in the thou ght that all the impress ive phenomena of the mountain were only the effect of natu ral causes ; and it may have seemed to th e o s b o pe ple that po si ly M ses himself, in the mountain’s convulsions ( that might reasonably i be attr buted to volcanic activity , as far as

w t . they kne ) , migh have lost his life “ a i At least, the Isr elites wear ly said , As for t Mo u his ses , the man that brought us p out of E the land of gypt , we know not what is become ” h a d of him . The time been so long ! They fo rgot that before Mo s es brou ght them to i i Horeb , he had sm tten the rock at Reph dim , not far away , and water had come for them and in their ﬂocks time of need . They did not reason that the God who had been their salva tion in distress , would continue to protect “ ” them ; they knew n o t what had become of T man Moses . hey had trusted in , and the d man ha d disappeare . Man will always dis

e if . app ar, he is our ﬁnal reliance If we trust

i o r in man , or his sc ences , his achievements , or

1 0 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE

be e e in could scientiﬁcally prov d , dash d aga st the rocks the ta bles of divine law h e had brought down . e n n But later, Moses cam agai dow from that “ mountain with law on stone ; a law cloud - em ” broidered ; a law ﬁ re- be girt ; a law stony in

i es terms , angular with negat v , like a bullet in i i its directness of p erc ng . It did not carry along in its elf the proo f that it had come from

God ; but it was not unworthy of God . And if that law of Ho reb were everywhere obeyed the human family would live on a level not far be be low the angels , and the world would again come the garden of E den . i a i And Mount Horeb , with all ts desol t on , shines with the glory of the decalogue . The ’ earth is illuminat ed with Sinai s stony bright ness . Its beams and rays shine over all Chris tian lands , made softer and sweeter year by year and century after century by th e radiance i ’ des cend ng from Calvary s lowly height , that somehow seems to mingle and temper and sub ’ due H o r eb s s tony glare ; so that th e law of stone becomes a commandment of aff ection . ’ And we can more easily walk in he aven s light

o shining through the l ving death of Jesus . Now let us go to Mount Nebo and Mount Hor ; and go more slowly and tread more softly ; for they are the death chambe rs of two pr 0 ph

e . ets , Aaron and Mos s MOUNT HOR

e t If a traveler wish d o go from Mount Sinai ,

* t0 ~ VISIt o i or Horeb , the m unta n where Moses

- i n died , he would probably arrange h s j our ey in

s o such a way as to pas by M unt Hor, where

th e e a te Aaron , brother of Moses , di d , no m t r which one o f the two mountains in our time named by critics be accepted as the correct o b th e ne. For oth mountains claimed by critics to be Mount Hor fulﬁll the conditions of th e Bible history a s closely as would be r easonable after the lapse of thousands of

a i years . Both mount ns have bold and strik ing appe arance on approaching them ; and the

n a moder tr veler, moving through ridges of i u n light dr fting sand , or over surfaces made

b a sk even y stones , would frequently himself if th e Hebrews in the time of Aaron endured such d har ships . We do not stop to discuss which of the two mountains is the c o rrect one : for in either case Mount Hor is the conspicuous one for a long distance .

i e As the Chr stian trav ler would approach ,

hi e e he would draw forth s pocket Bibl , and r ad

i e the following dign ﬁ d and impressive account , G 20 : e- 2 e in Numbers e 9 , of the d ath of Aaron

“ A nd they j ourneyed from ! adesh : and the 1 1 1 2 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE

r a child en of Isr el, even the whole congregation, a M An k c me unto ount Hor. d Jehovah spa e unto e and r in Mos s Aa on Mount Hor, by the border of Edom l a the land of , saying, Aaron shall be g thered unto his p eople ; for he shall not enter into the land which I hav e given unto the children of Is ra e a e m at el, b c use ye rebell d against y word the a k E a w ters of Meribah . Ta e Aaron and leaz r his s on i M , and br ng them unto ount Hor ; and strip a his a and h E A ron of g rments, put t em upon lea z ar s on and a er his , Aaron sh ll be gath ed unto his and i A nd as people, shall d e there . Moses did Jehovah commanded : and they w ent up into Mount h e i r Hor in t s ght of all the cong egation . And i r and Moses str pped Aaron of his ga ments, put them upo n Eleaz ar his s on ; and Aaron. died there o n th e top of th e mo unt : and Moses and Eleazar a A nd w n th c me down from the mount . he all e r a s aw e cong eg tion that Aaron was d ad, they wept ” a r for A ron thirty days , even all the house of Is ael .

Aaron was at his death o ne hundred and

e a twenty three years old . It do s not appe r

a e a that he died of old g , nor of nervous prostr tion ; but at the command of the Lord ; like a

h o f o e child falling asleep in t e arms its m th r .

i o to . He went up nt the mountain die , and died ’ His high priest s garments he would n eed no more ; and he suffered Moses to remove them . Possibly with his own ﬁngers he adj uste d them

e W e d i s o i on Eleazar b comingly ; hil o ng , giv ng nce i i advice co rn ng the r care . MOUNT HOR 1 3

e e ie e He had s rv d as pr st a full g neration .

e e d e e He had b en r a y of tongue , wh n Mos s was

h ad e e slow of speech . He gon with his broth r into th e land o f Egypt before the greatest mon h arch of what was t en the western world , and demanded that a race of slaves be allowed to

h e e e s o en e o n e scap e. But yet had b n dep d nt

i his e the integr ty of Moses , young r brother, that when he had been deprived of his help for

a s to a time , at Sinai , he had yielded the ma terialistic th e reasonings of Hebrews , who had already lost their belief in th e miracles and

n ! d e providence of an i visible God , and ma e th m n a golden calf . I all ages human beings easily h los e their touch wit invisible truth . This is

is be e o f what to exp cted the animal life , or the ' e i e . carnal . Dogs do not b liev in God Sw ne ,

do ' as far as we understand them , not have

h - do e prop ets . Saloon keepers not keep op n

Bibles on the bar . And the nearer man comes

th e to living the life of the brute , less inclined he is to obey the prophet ; though more inclin ed to superstitions based on the direction of the o o t e new m on fr m his righ shoulder, or the h dge ’ e u 2d hog s shadow on F br ary . Yes ; Aaron had made for the Hebrews a golden calf

e e for Moses their prophet had disapp ar d, and i i the r Jehovah was nvisible .

th e i e in But it does not , from narrat v Num

e th e e bers , app ar that Lord tr asured up for 1 4 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE

e th e veng ance idolatry of the golden calf ; but ,

a e o f a at the w t rs Merib h , Moses and Aaron had po ssibly assumed to themselves a power in bringing water from the rock for th e p eople to drink that o bscured the glory that should have go ne solely to that One wh o is really able to work a miracle The divine act was not

o o n emphasized , and M ses and Aar seemed as if bringing water from th e rock by some physi

o f own cal blow their .

th e hi Seldom , in story of mankind , has any man who h as had the help of God ignored that help and allowed the people to b elieve that the wonderful work was human . Usually men do the reverse : and attribute to the divine that

i h n ec wh ch is merely human . But in t is co n tion we are reminded of that other clas s of mankind : those who do not have th e help of

Go d e s in b cause of their worldly spirit, or real

a fulness . In their malice , or h te of spiritual e forc s , these real enemies of righteousness , when a great and good work is done for human

od e t ity by the Spirit of G , attribut it o evil

is sin agencies . This the against the Holy

i to Ghost ; n its very nature an insult God .

It says to God , This wonder is not the gift of thy love , but is the work of the devil . It is

t e easily seen hat this is a dang rous sin . But it is always dangerous to ignore the dig n t t i y or hono r of the Most High . A nd at he MOUNT HOR 1 5 waters of Meribah when Aaron s eemed to th e to e th e e Isra elites p rform wond r , which really ’ i e God s mercy had given to the th rsty p ople , he did not immediately turn the thought of the e e pe ople to their divine D liver r . This was dis

to pleasing heaven . God demands his own

o i the hon r . Everyth ng, in ﬁnal analysis , de

e . be p nds on God Everything, in the ginning,

e i has sprung from God . Such reasons mad t necessary for God to make the ﬁrst command “ ment to refer to himself : Th ou shalt have no ” “ od e th e e other g s b fore me . In b ginning, God !” But Aa ron was neglectful of th e divine

o to Helper . Theref re he was forbidden enter the promised land . What a sweet privilege it would have been fo r him to have gone in with

e and the people he lov d , seen the land ﬂowing with milk and honey ; where long before Abra ham had led his ﬂocks and fought his battles .

a It was in that l nd , on Mount Moriah , that

be th e Abraham , in o dience to mysterious com

Go d a ff mand of , had been bout to o er his son

a c his was Isaac as sacriﬁ e , when hand stayed ,

o d and G provided the victim . How strange it has been that some of the most exalted experi ences of the most spiritual s ervants of Go d have been connected with the mountains !

“ e And Aaron was to die on Mount Hor . H was a man of quick spe ech and ready tongue ; 1 6 MOUNTAINS OF TH E BI BLE but he made no reply when h e heard the s en tence of Jehovah . There was another time when Aaron held hi s peace under j u dgment of the Most High At the time of the cons ecration of the taber naele ff , his sons , Nadab and Abihu , had o ered “ e strange ﬁre b fore Jehovah, which he had not ” t commanded them . And ﬁre came for h from

o before Jehovah and killed them . Then M ses uttered words explaining the punishment o f ’ no e Aaron s sons . But Aaron made r ply ; he “ o held his pe ace . S now he is silent . Clad in his digniﬁed robes of o ﬂic e as high

i e pr est , s rene and composed , with his brother l\f o s es s o n E ce s , and his own leazar, he as nd the mountain , in the sight of all the people . His life has proved to him one thing ; that God must

o be beyed . The ascent of the mountain is ex c eedingly steep and toilsome ; but Aaron makes no protest , though he is one hundred and twenty

e to fu thre years old , and now going his own

e neral . He makes no plea to die at eas in his tent ; but obe dient now as a child he goes with

s o f Mo es and Eleazar to the top the mountain . Th ere his garments are removed and plac ed on th s o n e . In the camp o f Israel many hearts

h e must have ached as climbed the mountain ,

s and many lip must have blessed him . With

his all faults he was their own priest . Many o thwith of his faults were their faults . N

MOUNT NEBO

die e If Mount Hor, where Aaron d, attract d

te th e u ncer a languid in rest, notwithstanding tainty as to the identity of the elevation up which the Israelites s aw him go with his bro ther

s o n be e e and , that interest will possibly gr at r when we search for th e pe ak fro m which th e great Moses viewed the promis ed land before he died . On almost any expedition from Mount i i o e Hor to Mount Nebo , or P sgah , which s v r

i i r eci against Jer cho , among fr ghtful , rocky , p p ito u s we i at hills , m ght leave the Dead Sea our left . That body of water must be mentioned ,

e as an important part of the landscap , with

e all its depressing inﬂuence . Lying fe t

th n o r e below the level of e Mediterranean ,

is freshing breeze helps the traveler . Its water so salt that the spray kills ordinary vegetation , notwithstanding the great h eat . Desolation is the appropriate word for most of the scenery ff i here . The e ect of t can be understood from O f the following description of Lieut . Lynch , one of his experiences during hi s exploration

A light air from the south induced me to aban don a i and set a the wn ng, I the s il, to save the men a a h from; laboring at the o rs . A light t pping of t e 1 8 MOUNT NEBO 1 9 r th o and ipple of e bow, and a faint line of f am, e at r o bubbl s her side, we e the only indicati ns that The w as the bo at w as in motion . other boat a mile a r and ar k ste n, all ound partoo of the stillness of Th e w as and death . weather intensely hot, even h ad the light air that urged us almost insensibly , something opp ressing in its ﬂaws of heat . Th e r m glitte from the water, with its ultitude h ri r of reﬂections ( for eac pple was a mirro ) , con tribut ed much to our discomfort ; yet th e water w as a not tr nsparent, but of the color of diluted a Th e k a and r k e ak em bsinthe . blac ch sms oc p s, w r n r a u s bossed ith g im ess , we e round and above , i a k air ve led in a tr nsparent mist, li e visible , that a e m de them seem unreal ; and feet b low, our sounding le ad had struck upon the very pl ain o f

S r e . W iddim, sh oud d in slime and salts hile busy with such thoughts, my companions had yielded to the o ppressive drowsiness and now lay before m e in every attitude of a sleep that h ad more of stu por in it than of repo se . In the awful aspect s ea e w which this pr sented, hen we ﬁrst beheld it, I seemed to r ead the inscription over the gates of ’ ‘ a r o ! e e e v D nte s Infe n , who nter her lea e hope ’

. No w s at in m k behind , as I alone y wa efulness , the feeling o f aw e returned : and as I looked upon s o f m fl the leepers , I felt the hair y esh stand up ’ ” as Job s did ( Lynch w as wrong ; this “ was Eliph a z the Teman ite) when a spirit passed before his face ; f or to my disturbed a a h w as n a th e im gin tion, t ere somethi g fe rful in e x m an pression of their infla ed d s wollen visages . Th e fierce angel o f disease seemed hovering over 20 MOUNTAI NS OF THE BIB LE

and his s in them, I read the forerunner of pre ence

and . Th e their ﬂushed feverish sleep solitude, the o w n too m as scene, my thoughts , were uch ; I felt, ' I s at t e i o thus s e ring the drows ly moving b at, as if C a n ot S I were h ron ferrying the ouls , but the a and v r bodies of the dep rted the damned, o e some i a k o nfern l la e , and c uld endure it no longer ; but ak m e d a bre ing from y listlessn ss , or ered the s ils to be furled an d the oars re sume d ; action seemed T an be tter than such! unnatural stupo r . ( ravels d 2 1 9 Adventures , pp .

Along such depressing scenes , or among rocks and hills appropriately encompassing ma e such waters , Moses y have pass d during the

his last days of earthly life . And such scenes may have ser ved to increase his mental o r ’ spiritual depression , caused by God s sentence upon him for his s in at the waters of hI eribah ; that he should not enter the Promised Land with the beloved people whom he had led to its border .

Moses felt deeply this sentence of his God .

Like a child , petted by a loving father, he plead wi o w h e th God to change the decree . H often importuned his heavenly Fath er we do not know ; but it was so o ften that God at last told

to him quit , to cease ; like a mother wearied by

d the the teasing of a petted child . For we rea following complaint of Moses about it , to the ri children of Israel , when he att butes his mis t fortune, in par , to them MOUNT NEBO 2 1

A nd o s I bes ught Jehovah at that time, aying, L a a th O ord Jehov h, thou h st begun to show y a th and a serv nt y greatness , thy strong h nd : for in r a can what god is there heaven or in ea th , th t a th o k a do ccording to y w r , and ccording to i c ! Let thy m ghty a ts me go over, I pray thee, and s ee th e o e go d land that is b yond the Jordan,

L o . that goodly mountain, and eban n But Jeho w as w ak h eark vah wroth ith me for your s es, and o and a o Let ened not unt me ; Jehov h said unt me, it s uﬂice thee ; speak no more unto me of this mat ’ th e to P and if . Get o l t ter thee up unt p of isgah, a a and up thine eyes westw rd, and northw rd , south and e i ward , eastward, and b hold with th ne eyes for thou sh alt not go over this Jordan . But a o and ch rge Joshua, and enc urage him, strengthen him o ; for he shall go ver before this people , and he sh all cause them to inherit the l and which thou ” sh alt see (Deut .

al~ Thus his teasing o f God had no success , s o though God loved him . God told him to stop talking about it ; but he comforted his

i to s ee child , by prom sing let him the land from a distance . We may easily understand that Moses

e stopped talking about it , when he receiv d from

c m we a i s God the om and h ve quoted ; that , stopped talking to God about it , although he

o told his sorr w to the people . And when th e time came for the people to

e cross over, and for Moses to die , he receiv d 22 MOUNTAI NS OF THE BIBLE

i a the follow ng stern , ﬁnal comm nd from God

Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto N i in a M a is Mount ebo wh ch is the l nd of oab, th t a and e th e a Ca over gainst Jericho, b hold l nd of aa a n n, which I give unto the children of Isr el for a possession : and die in the mount whither thou an d a e o goest up , be g ther d unt thy people ; as a n th r in M and w as A ro y brothe died ount Hor, gathered unt o hi s pe ople : because ye trespassed against me among th e children of Israel at th e waters of Meribah of ! adesh in th e wilderness of ! in ; because ye s anctiﬁed me n ot in the midst of e a the child ren of Israel . ! t thou shalt see the l nd before thee ; but thou sh alt not go thither into the ” a l and which I give the children of Isr el (Deut .

Moses had been a lawgiver to the Israelite s ; their commander in chief in battle ; the ambas ’ sador at Pharaoh s court ; the messenger o f God in miracles ; their h ar d of almost divine imagination ; their preeminent statesman in administration ; their j udge when they sinned ; their uncrowned king, ,whose scepter was the rod that parted the waves of the Red Sea . For forty years he had been th eir leader and savior . Often they had rebelled against him , and as often been subdued to humiliating sub

r e mission . His tongue had lashed them in buke ; and had more sweetly commanded them to teach his law to their children . With a ’ prophet s conﬁdence he had assured them of MOUNT NEBO 23

e i the Promis d Land , and for a generat on had

to i e n e led them and fro in a w ld r ess , wh re their i i hopes were encouraged or d sappointed , only n less degree than his own .

no w e And , as the time approaches when th y e i are about to nter, Moses s commanded to an i lo o k d d e .

e the u Does this m an , that for tr ly great , life ! i is a tragedy Does t mean , after John the “ B aptist h as clearly pointed out the Lamb of ” th e God that taketh away sin of the world ,

e hi th e r a and prov d mself g e test of men , that he must: die in pris on on a ccount of the h a tred of an insigniﬁcant wo man whom h e had a c cu sed of sin ! Does it mean that when Paul “ h a s fought the good ﬁght he must be ready ” to be offered ! Does it mean that when Stephen h as borne his great witnes s he must “ ” fall asleep under a shower o f stones ! Does it mean that as soon as Jesus has fully founded his kingdom he must be crowned with thorn s and thro ned on a cross ! No ; it only means that God knows of better i th i a f th ngs than ear ly tr umphs . God can

l i ff e im be ford to et his ch ldren su r for a t e , i n i cause he s great e ough to set things r ght , no matter what the disaster of earth may be . “ God is wis e enough to make ou r light afflic

i i fo r t on , which s but a moment , work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight o f 241 MOUNTAI NS OF TH E BIBLE “ a glory . God s ys , Let there be light .

r o f Go d Therefore , knowing the g eatness as

h M e few men of eart have done , oses ob yed

' vn th ou t e i th e a murmur . His sist r, Mir am ,

is the d . H prophetess , is ead brother, Aaron , h i s . 1 20 hig priest , dead Moses , years old , bu t with eye undimmed and his natural strength unabated turns to the children of

Israel and blesses them , assuring them that “ ” o under them are the everlasting arms . Fr m

e a the plains of Moab , wh re they are enc mped ,

oe he g s with steady step to Nebo , over against r h him d Je ic o , and Jehovah shows the lan of

Canaan , north and south , east and west ; from the Waters of Merom to the brine of the De ad “ ” Sea ; from the palm trees of Jericho and

to east of there , the vineyards of Ashkelon on the we st. ’ I have o ften imagined that Moses nu dimmed eye had greater help than physical keenness : for in vain s o far have travelers e i sought a p ak over against Jer cho , whence

s ee they could all Canaan , even to Merom and

r th e Mediter anean . When Moses told th e awestruck Israelites that he was going to the top of Pisgah to sur vey the length and breadth of the Promis ed

e to e Land , of which he had so oft n talked th m , and that God would give him a vision of Ca

e i naan befor they could see t, and that God

MOUNT HERMON

FI RST CH RISTIAN P RA! E R M EETI NG

e e Going northward from Mount Nebo , wh r

e i Moses died , all the time ke ping the R ver an d th e e Jordan , the Sea of Galilee Wat rs of

ae Merom at our left , we reach the city of C s

h h e te area Philippi , near w ic Jesus was d r mined to question his disciples concerning hi s r g eatness . The heavenly answer sprang to “ the lips of Peter, that Jesus was the Son of th ” e . living God, the Christ When at the baptism of Jesus a similar heavenly statement was made as he was coming

the w ed up out of ater, he was imm iately driven wi e n the r an into the ld r ess by Spi it , d was

e e tempted by Satan . After the stat m nt of

a i i Peter at C esarea Ph lipp , Jesus was again tempted ; but this time by that disciple who ’ opp os ed Jesus prophecy of the coming cruci ﬁx io n so dangerously that Jesus rebuke d him “ ” e b and said , Get thee b hind me , Satan ; pro ably thinking of that form er temptation of the

s th e e wildernes following baptism , and the s am

ae hi doctrine there stated . From C sarea P lippi Jesus went northward , practically to the

the n o ne extreme of Holy La d , to of its high es t o e e mountains , Mount Herm n , and th r 26 MOUNT HERMON 27 prayed and was tr ansﬁgu red before his three e t favorite discipl s , who now h eard from he glory cloud the statement of Peter made a week before . (The opinion that he was trans

ﬁ ur ed g on Mount Tabor is a mistake . )

h o On t is M unt Hermon , at the edge of the

c ed Promised Land , two great chara ters appear “ and talked with Jesus of the departure whi ch ” he should accomplish at Jerusalem . Moses ,

o on another mountain , M unt Nebo , during one

e of the sweet st seasons of his life , had been with God , preparing for his own departure

e from earth . Now on Mount Hermon he talk d f with the Son o God concerning his departure . Another great prophet als o was at Mount

: E Hermon lij ah , who at Mount Horeb had E talked with God ; lij ah , who at Mount Car mel had fought his great duel with the prophets

E who h is of Baal ; lij ah, took departure from h earth by the w irlwind , with horses and char io t of ﬁre , tempestuously , according to his

n re disposition , from the same mou tainous

o gion , over against Jericho, where Jeh vah

to gently nursed Moses sleep . These two men ,

e a of high ecstatic exp riences on mount ins , and t of singular depar ures from earth , on Mount Hermon talked with the Son o f God of his departure which he was to accomplish from

Mount Calvary .

And he re they were talking on a mountain , 28 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE and talking in glory . And Jesus was e clothed in glory . Jesus had gone up ther to

o pray , p ssibly against temptation . Whether he had gone be yond the snow line of the eleva tion rising more than feet toward the sky we have n o wav to know ; but he cert ainl y in spirit came near to heaven : for they all heard “ o is a v ice , a heavenly voice , saying, This my

w . beloved Son , in hom I am well pleased “ The re was another time whe n Jesus was on an i ” exceeding h gh mountain , but there he was “ tempted ; be ing shown the kingdoms o f th e ” o ff re world and the glory of them , and was e d them as a bribe to compromise and use his po wers in harm ony with popularity and a worldliness . And his only comp nion on that “ ” exceeding high mountain was th e devil . B u t o n Mount Hermon the company was

u : more delightf l Peter , James , John , Moses , E lij ah , and the Shekinah , from which came the heavenly Voice announcing the sonship o f

! the s Jesus . Blessed company a company mo t selec t of the universe ! a company gathered

e to from h aven and earth, come the Chris tian

- ! prayer meeting Not very many of them , only “ ” seven ; but Jesus was in the midst of them ! Again consider tha t company on Mount

Hermon .

was o There the great ap stle , Peter . He was a type of one class o f Christians : th e impul MOUNT HERMON 29

th e o o th e sive , em ti nal , ready ; ready at o ne

hour to ﬁght for Jesus , and at another hour a to n re dy curse and swear, de ying him ; but

end yet in the dying for him . We cannot

a th e e sp re Pet rs of Christianity , even though

he s i Fo r t y may sometimes back l de . it was “ wh o is no r es ecto r Peter said , God p of per

h e sons ; but in every nation that feareth him , i and worketh righteousness , s accepted with ” him .

e o e H And ther was the ap stl James . e was a type of another kind of Christian : the

a h - ste dy , the fait ful , the burden bearer ; the

c an o n kind that always be relied , the pillar

th e h men in c urch . We need such as James , to sustain the work of the church whe n th e

Peters gro w cold or lukewa rm in the servic e . “ w as a e is It James , probably , who s id , Bless d the man that endureth temptation ; for when h e is tried , h e shall receive the crown of life , which the L o rd hath promised to them that ” o l ve him .

e i he was The third typ of Chr stian t re John ,

o f a the bel ved disciple ; the loving, af ection te Christian ; drawn to the s ervice of the Master by his heart ; preserving for humanity those “ s o ed tender words of Jesus , God lov the

o e e a w rld , that he gav his only b gotten Son , th t whosoever believeth in him should not perish , ” W as th e but h ave everlasting life . John man , 30 MOUNTAI NS OF THE BIBLE th e humble ﬁsherman of Galilee , who antici pated by many centuries the vaunted dis cov ery of mo dern the o logians concerning the dis “ o r position character of God , and said , God ” is love .

h e o f Those t re living men , apostles Jesus ,

th e t h were types of Chris ian world . T ey had not yet departed fro m the earth ; and m am a zement were listening to the convers ation

wh o in o of two other men , appeared gl ry , and

k h his were tal ing wit Jesus of departure, “ ” which he should accomplish from Jeru salem .

men e E ere And tho se two , Mos s and lij ah , w types also , as well as the three apostles . Moses was the great lawgiver of the world ;

th e Elij ah great prophet . Moses ’ departure from the world had been rm h ed peculiar, and here on Mount He on e talk ’ e s ff m his about Jesus departur , o di erent fro b was own , when on Mount Ne o he alone with ’ s God , quietly falling a leep in Jehovah s arms . I wonder if Jes us told him of the coming cruci

ﬁx ion o f , as he h ad told his disciples , the

e e slanders hurl d against him , of blasph my , or treason ; of the riba ld gibes of the Jews about “ i e and his making h ms lf the Son of God , com ing down from the cross that they might be ” lieve on him . If so , Moses must have recalled

t s o his own sweet depar ure , cared for tenderly ’ e e e by Jesus Father, on qui t Pisgah , aft r h MOUNT HERMON 31 ha d e e o h look d ov r the Pr mised Land , w ile ’ o i God s nly Son died on a cross , in the m dst of j eering enemies , with no one to say a kind

him e t word to xcep a dying thief .

“ And Moses was a favored one of God ; a favorite ; one s o petted by th e Almighty that h e sometimes s poke to God in resistance or

o opp sition to the revealed divine purposes . Once God asked Mo ses to let him alone in his anger with the Israelites on account o f

h e sin to to t ir , announcing Moses his plan de stroy them , promising to raise up of Moses “ ” o s o himself a great nati n . Moses was familiar with the eternal Monarch that he hi dared to resist t s purpose , expostulating, and ’ e to d a t app aling Go s mercy . And little la er “ he cried out , Yet now, if thou wilt forgive ’ S in their in , and his grief for ni Israel could not ﬁ sh that prayer, but broke down ; and as soon as he could recover himself i “ he cr ed , If not , blot me , I pray thee , out of ” o h thy b ok which t ou hast written . Thus

s th e ff n an Mo es , in familiar a ectio of intimate friend, dared God to destroy the sinners , pro fessing desire to share their fate . What could

God do to the Israelites but spare them , when Moses l o ved them s o ! How this spirit of lo ve ’ for S inners reminds us o f Jesus own prayer “ h on Calvary , Father, forgive them , for t ey ” o know not what they do . And now this M ses , 32 MOUNTA INS OF THE BIBLE

n e this lawgiver, who left the world i a p culiar m way , is talking on Mount Her on with Jesus , “ o f his departure which he should accomplish ” at Jerusalem .

J . Peter, ames , John , Moses four There was another typical man on Mount m Her on , Elij ah the prophe t . He was also a man whom God loved so much that he bore with his failings indulgently ; like

i h e a father with a petted ch ld . Once ran

n the away from the la d of Israel , from coun i try where his duty lay , down to Horeb n the

n e wilder ess . On the way he b came tired , and ’ o e lay d wn , and wish d to die . God s angel d r e woke him , showed him foo ; and without proving him for running away from Jezebel i him when God was taking care of h m , told to rise and eat , for the j ourney was too great for him . When he got down to Horeb , and con s ide r ed himself safely hidden from th e wrath

ke e o h l of the wic d qu en , wh se t eo ogians and

o f doctors divinity he had killed , the voice of conscience translated to him the question of “ ” “ Go d e , in the still small voice , What do st E ! ” thou here , lij ah

u t he Pet lantly , like the spoiled child tha h was , he answered , that he had done not ing wrong, th at he had a right to be there in “ a Horeb , excusing himself, saying, I h ve been

: be very j ealous for the Lord , God of hosts

34 MOUNTAI NS OF THE BIBLE

one of God is talking with that other loved ,

his Jesus , of departure .

Peter, James , John , Moses , Elij ah

d t o ar e . . A n w ﬁve of the ﬁve , e p ts of the Lord

tw o E And while those , Moses and lij ah , are talking with Jesus Oh ! Jesus ; that

six - makes , so far, at this prayer meeting on E Mount Hermon , whe re Moses and lij ah talk with Jesus of his coming singular departure ’ c tiv tl es a i . from earth s , j oys and sorrows And there comes another one God ; making the sacred number, seven , at this ﬁrst i — Chr stian prayer meeting .

e six For a bright cloud ov rshadowed the , “ h and a voice out of the cloud , saying, T is is my beloved Son , in whom I am well pleased ; ” hear ye him . And this voice makes us know that there

ee e Eli were thr favorites of God th re , Moses , j ah and Jesus , all having singular departures from earth ; to which each one was directly commanded by God . And the impression of th at meeting fell upon the hearts of th e disciples like showers of k divine blessings , to ma e them fruitful and

s o strong in later life ; that Peter, long after “ ward , said , And this voice we heard out of heaven , when we were with him in the holy ” mount ( 2 Pet . Even material Mount Herm on was a locality MOUNT HERMON 35 where physical dews descended in such fullness as to attract the attention of travelers in

' “ n i . M a u ndr el : i moder t mes Mr . says W th i i a th s dew, even n dry we ther , their tents were ” as wet as if it had rained the whole night .

e e But nineteen centuries ago a tent was th r , ’ made of the glory of the Father s presence , from which the comforting and refreshing dews of divine grace sank into th e hearts of “ ” i o those who entered nt the cloud ; Peter, M E i James , John , oses , l j ah , Jesus ;

o i 1 33d blessed c mpany , rem nding us of the psalm

and a Behold, how good how pleas nt it is Fo r brethren to dwell together in unity ! k the n e It is li e precious oil upo the h ad, T ran th e r hat down upon bea d, ’ Even Aaron s be ar d ; Th at came down upon the skirts of his garm ents L k r o i e the dew of He m n, That cometh down upon the mountains of ! ion

Fo r a there Jehov h commanded the blessing, ” E v r ven life fore e mo re. LEBANON

u o Let us leave Mo nt Herm n , with its great height made sacred by the tr ansﬁgu r atio n of

Jesus ; let us cross the valley , going westward , still refraining fro m entering th e heart of the

. k Holy Land While at a distance , loo ing at the m range com only called Mount Lebanon , we become mildly interested in it from its

’ n o thwith standin splendor of color, g its monot

m . ony of for The control of the full range , of possibly one hundred miles , must largely be assigned to the land of Ty re and Sidon ; al thou gh its glory depends on the sacred writers of the following bo oks of the Bible Deuteronomy Is ai ah Joshua ; Jeremi ah ; Jud ges ; Ezeki el ; ! ings ( l st and 2 nd) Hosea ; 2 d Chronicles ; Nahum ; Ezra ; Habakkuk ; ar a Psalms ! ech i h . Canticles t Singularly , Lebanon is not men ioned in the New Testament by name ; although Jesus had one of the most pleasant experiences in the borders of Tyre and Sidon , where he said

t e - e i wh o d to h Syro Pho n cian woman , had plea 36 LEBANON 37 “ a c ru mb th e with him for only , dropped under table” by the children ( the healing of her “ : daughter) , 0 woman , great is thy faith be ” a it unto thee even as thou wilt . Yet gre t crowds came from Tyre and Sidon into Israel to hear his word .

Th e Lebanon n i white word sig ﬁes , and may

to m o f have been given the range , fro the tint

m e the walls of chalk or li eston rocks , or the snow which remains on the summit - s even in th e

: o summer for s me peaks rise feet . But when we speak of Lebano n we never now think “ wh ite reen be of , but of g ; cause of the cedars ” a o a r e i of Leb non . These cedars were s pp c ated in ancient times that the kings of As syria w e hen making xpeditions into Palestine , cut them and bore them to their far distant c api

l e i ta s ; wh re , even in modern t mes , this wood

s o transported far has been found . But the destruction of thes e tre es in Leb

s o anon through the ages was cruel , that as early as the sixth century o f our er a the

e r n u e Roman mpe or , Justinia the Great , the cr l pe rsecutor of truth (in the name of truth) and destroyer of the church (in the name of the “ fﬁ e i church) , found it di cult to secure c dar t m ” ber enough for the roof of a single church building . These trees are now s o few that n e travelers cou t th m , and cyclopedias tell how

a r e f : 1 5 5 many left at dif erent dates In 0, only 38 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE

28 i 1 573 24 i 1 1 i ; n , only ; n 696 , only 6 ; n

1 749 1 5 the , only , when traveler measured m twelve of them , and found their circu fer ences 22 40 s from to feet , and the diameter of

th e some of largest about 1 6 feet . I have for ’ gotten where I read it ; but one traveler s r e port is that bu t ﬁve of th ese giants now r e o t main . S destruc ive has man been of the “ ” wonderful cedars of Lebanon , among whose groves Sol o mon had men at work when u he built the temple at Jer salem . (However , one cyclopedia repres ents thes e trees as now increasing in number . ) e e the The beauty of these cedars , b for rav ages o f civilization had laid the mountain

e ma i e slop e comparatively desolat , y be imag n d ,

e m th e or inferr d , fro following words of the

Psalmist ( 92 :1 2 - 1 5 )

Th e righte ous shall ﬂourish like the palm- tree r k ar L He shall g ow li e a ced in ebanon, They are planted in the house of Jehovah ;

They sh all ﬂourish in the courts of our God . They shall bring forth fruit in o ld age ; They shall be full of s ap and gree n To Show that Jehovah is upright : ’ m k e is r He is y roc , and ther no un ighteousness in ” him .

e l st i 5 th th ~ If you r ad K ngs , and 6 chap “ ” s ee ters , you will how the cedars of Lebanon LEBANON 9

t th i entered in o e build ng of the temple . If we i i were living n anc ent times , undoubtedly we might mingle with th e workmen of Hiram and So lomon in the mounta in s of Lebanon ; we might observe their skill in cutting the tim bers and boards for the temple ; w e might at tend them in transporting this material to th e seaport ; we might then take passage on one of the rafts or ﬂoats by which the lumber was

t eru transpor ed to the port of Japho , west of J

. we i salem If so , would pass w th idly curious i eye the celebrated Mount Carmel , j utt ng out Eli ar into the Mediterranean ; where j ah , ye s

to later, sent his servant look out over the sea , in expectation of the cloud that would be token

his rain in answer to prayer , after he had th conquered e prophets of Baal .

e i i But on our present xcurs on , hav ng knowl edge o f events which th e builders of the tem

e r ee e ple at J rusalem could not fo es , happ ning

e i nearly a hundred y ars later, we w ll simply

e e n in d part from L bano by land , mak g our way s w a e outh ard to Mount C rm l . MOUNT CARMEL

D OGMA IM PO RTANT

l\I o u nt m t Car el , al hough the learned writers in cyclopedias seem to labor to lure us away from the tremendous events related in the 1 8th

a te to hi ch p r of First Kings , t s day , for us m t derives its chief interest fro those even s . And here th e reader should refresh hi s memory , by reading again that thrilling record . h Some years before that time , Elij ah t e

e Tishbite had met Ahab , the king of Isra l , and “ God said , As Jehovah , the of Israel liveth , b before whom I stand , there shall not e dew nor rain these years , but according to my ” word .

Th e i hid prophet ﬂed mmediately , and from the king and the people of Israel .

Years passed , and there was no rain . Necessarily the matter became one of na t o n a t i l importance . The threat of the prophe , and his prediction that rain would n ot come

o di except acc r ng to his word , made the king

The and the statesmen desire to meet him . drouth and Elij ah be came subj ects of domi e nating inter s t .

But the years passed , there was no rain , 40

42 MOUNTAI NS OF THE BI BLE

the m m a is com andment ost import nt of all . Its violation leads to all other sins ; poisoning i t i the ntellect , and making he vict m unable to

. i i te th e reason correctly Its violat on . v tia s ( daily life ; making the sources of moral author i i ity uncertain or v le . Its v olation debases the spiritual natur e : for God is spiri t ; and they who worship him must worship h im in spirit and truth . In no other way can h e be trul wo rshi ed trul be wo rs hi ed y p , or y p . It is astonishing that Christians should neglect this commandment , both in theory and

. . An d i i practice But they do n th s age , when “ ” i e covetousness is dolatry , Al xander Mc

D . un da ch o o Laren D . , in the S y S l Times

28th 1 88 e the o i a of May , 7, us d foll w ng l n guage

Th e first comman dment be ar s in its negative f orm marks of the condition of the w orld when it w as k r o spo en, and of the st ong temptati n to poly the ism which the Is raelites were to resist . Ever y where but in that corner among the wild rocks of

m en ma . E Sinai , believed in gods ny gypt e swarmed with them . All th se many gods mi e w and were on a cabl terms ith one another, mono h e ready to welcome new comers . But the t ism which w as here laid at the very foundation of ’ a a b u Isr el s n tional life, parted them y a deep g lf

all m . from the world, and deter ined their history “ : Th e i h as etc . proh bition little force for us, MOUNT CARMEL 43

Oh ! that there could have been an Elij ah ’ M cL ar en s looking over shoulder , when he “ The wrote , prohibition has little force for ” e him us , to r buke , notwithstanding all the ﬁne words which follo wed endorsing the ﬁ r st

. Eli e e commandment If j ah had b en th re , he might have predicted to M cL ar en that there would be a famine in Christendom of the Word and Spirit of God for a quarter or half a cen tury ; that th e pastors of churches would be unable to reach the masses of th e working pe o — “ ” ple in the cities ; that s o called revivals would become a product of human machinery ; ’ that instead of th e Spirit s working a s the

o f breathing the wind , so that we would not “ ” know whence it came and whither it went , we would know all about it ; that the pr o fes “ ” sioual evangelists would tell us whence they would come , how long they would stay , and whither they would go ; that instead o f leaping on the altar, crying unto Baal , and cutting

e i themselv s with kn ves , they would cut out all

h th e churc services but their own , make rafters co n tremble with grand music , and have the gregation s bow their heads and shut their eyes while sinners bravely ra is ed their hands to con

s fe s their sins against God , or secretly signed th e cards admitting that they had b een serving

Ashtaroth . i n e i ne In all ages and n all la ds , J hovah s g 44 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE lected , except by those who walk with him and

s keep his commandment . ’ ido latr In the time of Israel s v, God brought the famine on the land at th e word of his

e proph t . At last God commanded Elij ah to

Sh th u ow himself to Ahab , to tell him at he wo ld i Th br ng rain on the earth . e meeting of the king and prophet was S torm y ; but the king

the e obeyed proph t , who said to him ,

“ Now and a e all therefore send, g th r to me Is a C a and r el unto Mount rmel , the prophets of a and and B al four hundred ﬁfty, the prophets of ’ a eat at J e the Asher h four hundred , that ezeb l s

S o h a all the A b sent unto children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto Mount

C A n E i a a armel . d l j h c me near unto all the peo

le and ai o p , s d, How long g ye limping between the i ! a God two s des If Jehov h be , follow him ; but i him f Baal , then follow . “ And the people answered him not a word ( 1 ! ings

Then came that duel , lasting for hours , on

r o Mount Ca mel . The king, Ahab , had beyed

E to the r O h the orders of lij ah , gather false p p ets and the people together there , near the coast of the Mediterranean , about due west

a from the sea of G lilee . e il Mount Carmel consists of a rang of h ls ,

e perhaps or fe t high, adorned MOUNT CARMEL 45

i e o f e w th v rdure , fragrant wild ﬂow rs of many kinds , pines , oaks , olive and laurel trees , with bro oks of clear water emptying into the

Kishon . The outlook from the graceful and V erdant summit is said to be beautiful , includ t S ing the sea and its fer ile hores , the pastures

u t t o f and fr i rees the valleys , and the distant blue of the mountain s of Lebanon .

n o f On what elevatio these hills , which j ut

e out into the M diterranean like a promontory ,

e E s the p ople gathered at the word of lij ah , i not known . m But there came that duel , lasting fro the

th e e i in forenoon till ven ng , the beginning of

E th e which , when lij ah had called on people “ o o th to cho se between Jeh vah and Baal , e peo ple answered him not a word . It was the pr ophet against th e king ; one theologian against eight hundred and ﬁfty ; one man against all Israel ; one agitator against a government ; duty against popular

But it was tru th against error ; it was right eo u snes s against sin ; it was Jeh o vah against

Baal . And God took care of Elij ah . There are times whe n God visibly and very

nl o f plai y takes care his children . Why will men be so n arr ow that th ey cann ot believe in miracle ! It is not breadth of mind that sophists u se to keep the inﬁn ite Chemist out 46 MOUNTAINS OF THE BI BLE

E e of his laboratory , the inﬁnite ngine r away m from his achine , the inﬁnite Father from hi r n pleasing s faithful child . It is na row ess of intellect that denies the pos sibility of mir

r t : acles . It is also nar owness of hear for it

the e o rej ects t stimony of fell w men , unless the sophist kn o ws the event related ( or something it wi like ) independently of the tness . But he i e ex e ri is unw se , whos only lamp is that of p ence .

E an d lij ah prayed to God , fire fell from heaven and consumed the sacrifice that lay on the altar th at Elij ah had built ; the fire burnt up the stones of the altar ; the fire licked up the water that was in the trench about th e altar . The miracle was evident , and the peo

th e e od ple accepted Jehovah as tru G . An d E m lij ah prayed on Mount Car el . He prayed for rain . The drouth had brought the i e . the famine , and p ople were suffer ng

E c th e lij ah prayed , with his fa e toward earth ; and would not look out toward the west , from

h his where t e rain would come . He sent serv ant to look ; but the servant reported no S ign E of rain . But lij ah sent him back seven h . ! e t times Ah this favored c ild of God , this p , e e will not let Jehovah alon . He ke ps on ask ing, and asking, and asking, and asking, and k i asking, and as ing, and ask ng for rain . At last th e servant reports th e cloud of the MOUNT CARMEL 47

’ size of a man s hand ; and Elij ah knows that God will answer this prayer also ; and he hur

th e o ries to Ah ab , to tell e king to hast n t his ’ a M m capit l . And they leave ount Car el , racing furiously to escape from the drenching rain .

o a But from this time forward , M unt C rmel

e i o will be rememb red w th M unt Nebo , with

o m h M unt Horeb , with Mount Her on and ot er to heights , where the earth came near the skies , ’ because God s petted children there prayed to “ him ; th ey who feared God and worked right

eou snes s . T HE MOUNT OF BEATITUDES .

Although willing to tarry among the tree s

a and ﬂowers of Mount C rmel , made sacred by the E i iz faith of l j ah , we real e that we have not th t h yet entered e hear of t e Promised Land , wh ere there are two or th ree mountains of deep interest to th e follower of the Savior ; and

be we turn our faces eastward , aring slightly to the north ; and o ff to the northwest of the Se a

a o f of Galilee , only few miles west Capernaum , there is a mountain that meets the conditions

e r quired for the Mount of Beatitudes , where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered by

Jesus . Elij ah wa s not the only servant of God who

the a had felt h tred of sinners . ’ Th e animosity of Jesus enemies had s o ’ h e grown that needed his Father s help , and

o c o n he went out int a mountain , where he

n n h e tin ed all night in prayer . In the mor ing

h im his h called to disciples , c ose from them twelve , and then descended to a lower plateau on the mountain , where travelers tell us there is a level space that might accommoda te about people ; and there he delivered that series “ ” th e . of blessings , commonly called be atitudes

Th e th e u e Sermon on Mo nt, of which th y 48

5 0 MOUNTAI NS OF THE BI BLE

Th di ship to heaven . e sciple that obeys it has “ a flight higher than that of the birds of th e ” n heaven , and a raiment more golden tha that “ ” r s of the lilies of the field . He lea n that “ ” sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof ; and that the heavenly Father knows wh at man needs . The Mount of Beatitudes may not be snow capped ; but it is in one sense s o high th at only

is s o i the perfect man can climb it . It h gh that he who h a s mastered the principles of its great sermon is s o near to the heavenly Fathe r that he can feel th e beating of the divine heart . Th e Mount o f Beatitudes is so high th at he who reaches its top has ri sen out of th e boggy swamps or lonely wastes of selﬁshn ess forever ; he has passed out of the stupefying and poi s o no u s ca rbo nic acid gas of inﬁdelity ; he h as escaped from the metaphysical fogs ; and with “ ” o clear vision and a pure heart he s ee s G d . s e On Mount Sinai only Moses might e God .

On the Mount of Beatitudes any one may look .

Mount Sinai spells law . Mount of B eati

e tudes sp lls love . The law of Mount Sinai bristles with nega t es was ed e iv , stony ; but would , if obey , mak the th e earth a Paradise . The law of Mount of Beatitudes is mellow with the music of a f

rma tives is w e fi , alive ith h avenly pulsations , THE MOUNT OF BEATITUDES 51

’ e e a e e and would tak arth s p radis , pr pared by s n i in i i to y law, and transform t to a sp r tual heaven . ’ o i e law wa s M unt Sina , the mount of Mos s , e S ea th e n ar the Red , dividing gulf from heath en darkness and sinful Oppression ; and in a wildern ess ; and only glared to th e Israel a i i ites for short t me with deterr ng lightnings . But th e Mo unt of B eatitudes was in the i i e i i Prom sed Land , and sh n s to th s day w th i i ’ the w nn ng smiles of Jesus love. MOUNT GILBOA

We leave the Mount of Beatitudes and go

w a south ard , le ving the Sea of Galilee on our

s u b left Then we may pas Mo nt Gil oa , made

o h . fam us by the deat of Saul , the king of Israel It is thi s event which prompted the poet Byro n “ to write the Song of Saul befo re His Last ” ’ B th e t attle , in such a way that poe s genius casts a kind of glamour over the character of this king, who , to the end of his long reign ,

k bo - was li e an artless y , either self willed and

o n i . stubb r , or superstitious and ch valrous Byron make s him speak as follows to his troops before his last battle with the enemies of his

a his in country, notwithst nding ﬂight Mount

Gilboa , and his suicide there

“ Warriors and chiefs ! should the shaft or the sword P in a L ierce me le ding the hosts of the ord , ’ ’ not k in Heed the corse, tho a ing s your path Bury your ste el in th e bosoms of Gath !

T art e k hou who b aring my buc ler and bow, Should the soldiers of Saul look away from the f oe , Stretch me that moment in bloo d at thy feet !

Mine be the doo m which they dared not to meet . 59 MOUNT GILBOA 53

ar r F ewell to others , but neve we part, Hei r to my royalty,s on of my heart ! a S Bright is the di dem, boundless the way ,

- k d a . Or ingly the death, which awaits us to y But the romantic touch of Lord Byron could not make Mount Gilboa. even seem to be th e scene of events that turned the destinies of

e mankind , like other mountains mention d in the b Bi le . And we tarry only long enough to ﬁnd in our Bible the curse uttered by David

b e a against Mount Gil oa , becaus of the de th there of Saul and Jonathan

Th a a th ! y glory, O Isr el, is sl in upon y high places How are the mighty fallen ! T in ell it not Gath , Publish it not in the streets of Ashkel on ; e o f P r L st the daughters the hilistines ej oice, L d r th e r c r m est the aughte s of unci cum ised t iu ph . ! e o n m u tains of Gilboa, Let r be the e no dew or rain upon you, neither ﬁelds of offe rings Fo r there! th e shield of th e mighty w as vilely cast

away , Th e S as shield of aul, of one not anointed with ” oil . MOUNT MORIAH

o We resume our j ourney t the southward ,

i th e bear ng a little to west, that we may pass

E o Mount bal and M unt Gerizim , celebrated as the mountains over against each other where

l e h the Hebrews assembled . A most b tween t em , l e in the valley , was probably the wel wh re Jesus met the Woman of Samaria . When she talked about worshiping God in that mountain (Eba l e i e or G rizim , ) Jesus nsist d that locality was “ e e not the chief l ment in worship , but truth ” i and spirit ; for God is sp rit .

o r th e But let us go down ( up, as ancients

e a would s ay) to J rusalem . It was city of

m 1 25 :1 - 2 mountains . The Psal ist ( ) said They that trust in Jehovah A re n ! as Mou t ion, which cannot be moved, but a bideth forever. a are As the mount ins round about Jerusalem, So Jehovah is round abo ut his people

From this time forth and forevermore .

Mo i ! There we ﬁnd unt Mor ah , Mount ion , o Mount Calvary and the M unt of Olives . But let us imagine and meditate concerning Mount

o r iah hI .

Th e name is said to signify tha t Jehovah 54 MOUNT MORIAH 5 5

And we provides , or sees , or chooses . fancy

h m a e e t at the name y have b en given , b cause on that mountain God provided the victim for th e

h h e faithful Abra am , whom had commanded to

h s a s o ffer i son a sacriﬁce . Destructive critics have taught that Abra ham was mistaken 1n thinking that God had given this commandment ; th at Abraham was rather infected by the contagion of the su r rounding idolatrous inﬂuences ; and they have thus done away with revelation in what they “ ” d . call the story . But we o not follow them Let thos e whos e lives are comparatively barren in spiritual effectiveness be modest in contra dicting sta tements o f spiritu al giants concern ing experiences and events recorded in honest records preserved by a race of mankind that has produced not merely one religious leader, but a procession of mighty prophets through

e . the ag s They have done things , and known h no things , and felt t ings , that critics can more understand than common mosquitos can com prehend of the working of a steam engine .

a in i On Mount Mori h Abraham , obed ence to

a i i s on God , was bout to sacr ﬁce h s , when the ’ s e angel call stayed his hand , and anoth r vic

o tim was pr vided . How often God provides for th e needy ! It could not have been far from Mount Moriah that God provided the “ t h ” Lamb that taketh away h e Sin of t e world . 5 6 MOUNTAINS OF THE BI BLE

’ But on that spot where Abraham s hand was stayed , the Jews think , stood the altar of f e burnt of erings of their temple in later y ars .

There was the temple of Solomon . There was the threshing ﬂoor where David off ered the

i e sacr ﬁce , after he had sinned in numb ring the children of Israel ; refusing to take the place i t as a g f from the owner . It is supposed that there stood the temple of Herod , that caused “ to the Jews to boast Jesus , forty and six years t ” h was his temple in building . The istorical associations that may be connected with Mount l\I o riah i , if we have correctly dentiﬁed the

o place , are so many that they f rbid us to gratify our imagination ; and all that w e do is

e to recollect that here trod the fe t of Abraham ,

Isaac , David , Solomon , and generations and

o generati ns of worshiping Hebrews , until ﬁnally Jesus came and showed the world that God was not conﬁ ned to a Holy of Holies in a

n be taber acle or temple , but might found in h the hearts of his c ildren anywhere . And when we think of Jesus as treading and teach

t to ing on Moun Moriah , we look over the east ward , across the Brook Kedron , and see the

Mount of Olives , from which Jesus ascended to m dis heaven , fro the sight of his wondering c i les wi e p . And we ll go there b fore we go to

Calvary .

we i i i the But as go , th nk ng of Mount Mor ah ,

JE SUS ’ GRE ATEST TEM PTATION

So little does the H oly Land now look like the closely populated country of our Savior’s time , that the traveler of our own generation must lose some of the realism of his imagina tion based on the impressions concerning it de

th e b . e rived from Bi le Howev r, the accounts of modern travelers may help us who do not o f visit the land , in s me degree . How dif erent Jerusalem must seem now from that time when i e be t was so b autiful ; fore it rebelled , and while a Roman procurator was executive ; when Jesus visited the temple that had be en forty and six years in building ; and where he predicted ’ h Jerusalem s overt row during that generation ,

i e hi s direc so that the disc ples , rememb ring tions (Luke escap ed from th e Roman

i to i maneuver ng armies the mountains , wh le the thousands of fanatical Jews were cooped

th e e up in city , and during the siege wer killed ,

d u e ! starve , captured , and cr ciﬁ d

o In the time of Jesus , if one were to g from Mount Moriah down across the B rook Kedro n d toward the east , he would ascen the Mount

o e e n e of Olives , on wh se ast r slop at Bethany 58 OLIVET 59 the Savior was a welcome guest on the nights

a o f of the l st week his life . From the summit of th e Mount of Olives th e

en i Dead Sea may be seen , ev the water of t , ’ though distant nearly a day s brisk riding . It is at a level of more than feet below : for the Dead Sea lies lower than the ocean . h Looking to t e westward from the mountain ,

i e which is a low r dg of hills , the whole of

u m a W e Jer salem y be seen . may easily under i th e stand how Jesus , on look ng at the city of u n Great King , calling to mind the stubborn belief of the ecclesiastics there and the coming

i be e desolation of the c ty , would touch d with

e tender pity . H wept over the coming de

e - su fﬁ cient struction of Jerusalem , and the s lf e i gotism of ts cultivated citizens . In their “ ” “ ” m o e times they were odern and pr gr ssive ,

a interpreting aw y the law of God , and making i Th e t void by their traditions . Sadducees

e r ev n contradicted the p ophets , and denied the h possibility of a resurrection . T ey were so learned . But Jesus knew more about human

o see e nature than they did , and c uld farth r into th e future than they c o uld ; and on th e

e Mount of Olives he wept over Jerusal m .

was th e But it ﬁtting that king, whose com “ ing the prophets had foretold , should sud ” denl his th y come to temple , though e prophet “ a r (Mal . h d said a messenger would p e 60 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE

“ ” cede and prepar e the way be fore him ; an d that in some way he should have a triumphal to t l entry in his ear h y capital . And this event is describe d by the Dean of Westminster a s follows

Tw o vast streams of people met that day . Th e one poure d out from the city (John and as the y came through th e gardens w hose clusters of palm trees rose o n the southeastern n th e! a cor er of Olivet, they cut down long br nches , as w as i at a er a e and the r wont the feast of t b n cl s , moved upward toward B eth anytwith shouts of wel come . From Beth any streamed forth crowds h ad r on e i who assembled the e the pr vious n ght, an d wh o came testifying to the gr eat event a I n t the se pulch re of La zarus . going toward

Je rus alem the road soon loses sight of Betha ny .

It is now a rough but s till broad an d well - deﬁ ned a n k i nd o e k and mount i trac , w ing over l os roc s and and x a a stones , here there deeply e cav ted ; i on steep decl vity below the left, the sloping shoul — der of Olivet above it on the right ; ﬁ g trees be

and o ut k . low above, growing of the roc y soil Along th e road the multitudes threw down the

w as a o r branches hich they cut they went long, spread out a rude matting forme d of the palm a a a s a branches they had lre dy cut they c me out . Th e l arger portion those perhaps who had escorted him from Bethan y uh wrapp ed their loo se cloaks from thei r shoulders and stretche d them along the rough path to form OLI VET 61 a mo mentary carpet as he approached ( M at. Th a P r a e two stre ms met . a t of the v st

a r m ss , turning ound, preceded ; the other half fol

M a a a ro ces lowed ( r . Gr du lly the long p n e i e a th e sio sw pt round the l ttle vall y, th t furrows and e o n its n i hill, over the ridg wester s de, where first begins the descent of the M ount of Olives n r V e toward Jerusalem . At this poi t the fi st i w is caught of th e so uthwestern corner of the city . Th e temple and the mor e northern portions are hid by th e slopes of Olivet on the right ; what is is M o ! seen only unt ion, now for the most part r n i mo a ough field, crow ed w th the s! ue of David and th e cov angle of the western walls , but then wi h e i a b th e cas ered t hous s to ts b se, surmounted y o n s a a tle of Herod , the suppo ed site of the p l ce a u of D vid , from which that portion of Jer salem,

a a a . emph tically the city of D vid , derived its n me ‘ w as e as at It at this pr cise point, he drew near , ’ th e descent of the Mount o f Olives (m ay it no t have been from the si ght thus opening upon them ! ) that the shout of triumph burst forth from l ‘ to S on a . the mu titude, Hosanna the of D vid Blessed is he th at cometh in the na me of the ’ Lo M at Th rd ( . ere was a pause as the shout ran through the deﬁle ; and as the Pharisees o who sto d by in the crowd complained , he pointed n w n e a h i to the sto es , hich, strew b ne t the r feet, ‘ would immediately cry out if these were to hold ’

a n . their peace . Ag i the procession advanced The o e e and r ad d scend d a slight declivity, the glimpse of the city w as again withdrawn behind h e n t i tervening ridge of Olivet . A few moments 62 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE and the p ath mounts again ; it climbs a rugged as

it o f o k and in cent, reaches a ledge sm oth roc , an instant th e w hole city bursts into vie w . As now the dome of the M os! ue El Aks a rises like a ghost from the earth before the traveler who

a o n s o n s st nds the ledge, the must have ri en the temple tower ; as n ow the vast enclosure of th e so n Mussulman sanctuary, the must have spread the temple court : a s now the gray town o n its k i s o n the i i bro en h lls, the magn ﬁcent c ty with its a k r un a i arwa b c g o d long, since v n shed y of gardens and suburbs on the western plate au behind . Immediately bel o w. was the Val le o f ! d n at r e s y the e ron, here see its g eat st depth as i th e i and v it j o ns valley H nnom, thus gi ing f a l r m full e fect to the gre t pecu ia ity of Jerusale , seen only on its eastern side its Situation a i s of a city rising out of a deep abyss . It s h ardly possible to doubt that this rise and turn of the road this r ocky l edge w as the exact point where the multitude paused ‘ a ai and h e h e g n, , when beheld the city, wept ’ over it .

n ! O mount of sad ess , thou mount of Olives It wou ld be vain to trust the traditions brough t down to o u r day by ignorant monks concern ing the locality of the grave of Laz arus . But the Bible history makes us know nearly the location of Bethany ; and we may well reason that somewhere abo ut this mountain “ ” e z u . was the grav of La ar s , where Jesus wept OLI VET 63

on s o But the resurrecti triumph , to follow ’ o soon , did not lift the burden f Jesus heart : for when they made a feast for him in the rich ’ man s house , where Lazarus was a guest of “ ” M v e honor, where artha ser d , and Mary brought an alabaster box of pre cious spike

e e h e nard , and anoint d J sus and broke the box , affectionately and sadl y said that sh e had come “ to anoint him beforehand for his burying ( to prepare me for Thus he spoke on

e e n e h e this Mount of Olives , on whose w st r sid “ ” wept over Jerusalem . ff i Our a ect ons are near our sorrows , and our ff n sorrows are near our a ections . O the lower e slope of this Mount of Olives , on the Jerusal m side , was the Garden of Gethsemane , where , a “ a e e e i few nights l ter, Jesus b gan to be xc ed ngly ” o a sorrowful , even unt de th and he was “ ” e greatly amazed , and sore troubl d ; and he

w as in agony and his sweat became , i as t were , great drops of blood falling down ” upon the ground . And there he asked his disciples to watch with him ; but they fell

H e e asleep . awoke th m ; but they fell asleep

a ag in .

Of course , no one would contend that we are qualiﬁed adequately to appreciate the suffer in B u t ings of Jesus Gethsemane . there is more than that to be said : it is likely that few

e e A S of u s can ven und rstand them . the toad 64 MOUNTA INS OF THE BI BLE stool cannot comprehend the beauty of the ’ rose , or the lion s whelp the patriotism of Wil s o liam Tell , we sinners cannot understand the horror of the Son of God at being classified as “ ” ’ a blasphemer by the j udgment of his Father s “ chosen people , and the verdict , worthy of ” death , which he received from their high priest f and regular o ficials . Jesus mentally foresaw it all , and in Gethsemane h e began to realize its close approach . In Jer su alem he had a few hours be fore given cu the bread and the p to the disciples . And e one of them was a traitor . Anoth r was to him deny . All were to forsake him and fly . “ He was to be despised and rej ected of men . And that he was to taste death for every

s o e man , master d his feelings that his disciples t par ook of his depression , and he felt com “ e lled p soon to say to them , Let not your heart be e troubled , ye believe in God ; b lieve also in ” n e i i me . Possibly there were signs eve th n v s k ble to his een perception , that the disciples were some of them hesitating in their allegiance ,

his u in harmony with own prediction abo t them , that they should all be “off ended in him that night . Was it to strengthen their waning allegiance “ ” that he advised the buying of a sword (Lu ke “ 2 2 : and they replied , Lord , behold , here ” h are two swords ! You remember t at he said ,

66 MOUNTAI NS OF THE BIBLE

i of righteousness , and made the world again n “ e a i The outward app rance like Parad se . ” s o f o kingdom the world , and the gl ry of them , e th e would have b en on the side of Jesus , with ’ devil s help hardly visible . An d as Jesus may h ave thought of thes e h things , althoug he knew well that to continue such a reign his visible miraculous leadership would ( from th e human point o f view) be th e kin dom within ou needed forever, so that g y s o e h e na would not well have develop d , n y have ’ thought that his Fathe r s wisdom would I n s ome way overcome that spiritual difﬁculty ; God undoubtedly knowing of s o me so th er way to “ ” whip the world than for lambs to conquer “ ” “ ” “ e e ser wolves , and for dov s to conqu r ” pents . Possibly with such lingering hope h e may have departe d from Jerusalem for Gethsemane , knowing his own tremendous inﬂuence with his

Father in prayer . And yet it was with sad depression of spirit that he crossed the brook Kedron , began to

th e e th e ascend Mount of Olives , and ntered

Garden of Gethsemane , followed by a band of

- - half believing, half skeptical men , who had for

e e years b en enthusiastic adherents , but , aft r e fo r all , wer only human , and were likely to sake him when his po wer Or popularity would “ h e e Let seem to wane . In vain said to th m, OLI VET 67

” t b h w re not your hear e troubled . T ey e troubled .

But though they were men , they seemed to be the only companions available for him that his evening, until he gained great spiritual vic tory over his greatest temptation ; that in the

Garden of Gethsemane .

H e e left the most of them, telling th m to h take their seats , while he went still furt er

e into the Gard n to pray . As he thus went e away he asked Peter, Jam s and John to go n t with him . Sometimes he had go e apar by e himself to pray to his Father, not d siring any one with him . He would abide all night in Bu t a i prayer to God . greater tr al was now before him , and he desired the presence of those “ a he loved . H ving loved his own , he loved ” th h e e them unto e end . And told th m his

s o heart was troubled , that it would be till his

e e death . He ask d them to stay ther and

e watch with him . It was only a littl thing for him to ask . Then he went and prayed that prayer that has pe netrated the hearts of his followers for “ e : two thousand y ars Father, if thou be will

m e : e not ing, remove this cup from nev rtheless ” be . my will , but thine , done But how few of us realize the great burden of that prayer ! How th e most of us put our interest on th e undeniable fact that Jesus was 68 MOUNTAI NS OF THE BIBLE

’ offering to s u bmit his will to God s will ! That

o is true , of course ; no one c uld deny it . But that was not what Jesus was especially pray ing for . He was praying to b e freed from

cu t drinking the p of death , and all the res of the fatal struggle with sin . Jesus was tempted . How often be fore this he had prayed to his Father fo r th e same relief we do not kn ow : for n he ofte prayed alone . We know that God did not grant his prayer “ ” “ for thou gh he prayed for the cup to be r e ” u moved , when some time later Peter wo ld have “ r defended him against ar est , Jesus said , Put up the sword into the sh eath : the cup which the ! ” Father hath given me , shall I not drink it Th is shows that he was compelled by God to drink the cu p ; that his prayer was not m t h granted . He was not per itted o use t e “ swords . “ ” r Possibly this cup was what he refer ed to , “ o f ! e when he asked the sons eb dee , Are ye ” able to drink the cup that I am about to drink ! when they asked for prominence in his king n dom . A d the blood of the new covenant he had typiﬁed by the “cup containing the fruit

e of the vine , only a few hours b fore ; and that “ ” to cup comes down us . The temptation that Jesus was going through in the Garden of Gethsemane was th e

was i e same one , only now it far more ntens OLI VET 69 because of the nearne ss of the time of drinking “ ” the cup , which he experienced at the advice P t of eter, shor ly after Peter had asserted that

w a s he the Son of the living God . For when “ Jesus showed his disciples that he must su f fer many things o f the elders and be ” him e killed , Peter took and b gan to rebuke “ : him , saying , B e it far from thee, Lord this ” a to sh ll never be unto thee . The temptation P “ Jesus was so sore that he said to eter, Get thee behind me , Satan : thou art a stumbling ” block unto me . That cup God had put to his lips : for he

o was to be tempted in all p ints . And in Geth semane he prayed for the removal of the cup . Gradually the consciousness O ppressed him

w a that God s not granting the prayer . And “ ” be to o he gan be greatly amazed , and s re troubled . Hitherto God had always answered

s o his prayers ; that at the grave of Lazarus , “ when he was about to a sk that Lazarus come ” “ e to hi i e forth , he pray d s Father say ng, Fath r,

I thank thee that thou heardest me . And I knew that thou hearest me always . But men ’ s prayers are not always answered for they ask for things th at God does not de

o r d sire , that may not be for human goo . Jesus wa s now asking for something that was not for human good , and that God did not de

i e if e s be s r ; because , granted , J su could not 70 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIB LE

“ ” i h o so h g ly exalted . And G d loved Jesus so much that he wished “that in all things he e ” might have the pre minence ( Col .

r : Hence Jesus p ays in vain a new experience . To pray to his Father in vain is torture to the Son of God ; and he sweats great drops of blood . The disciples see the crimson sweat ,

a e from their little dist nce , b fore they fall asleep. For Jesus keeps on praying and a g o n i w t iz ng. He knows h o to pray : o ask for

h o the things e needs ; that he desires the m st . His suffering becomes s o grievous that he prays to be delivered from the hour itself . He cries “ o out , Abba , all things are p ssible unto thee ; “ h e remove this cup from me . It was t e b ” ’ “ ” loved Son , God s boy , saying, Papa , please ; “ “ o r , Please , Papa ( Though he was a Son , yet he learn ed obedience by the things which he ” — eb . 5 suffered . H :

The disciples enter into his sorrow , though they do not understand its caus e ; but his prayer is repeated so monotonously , so wearily , that their eyes grow heavy , and they fall asleep , though he had asked them to watch .

Heaven seems distant . He comes for com

anio n shi i p p to the d sciples , and ﬁnds them

e . sl eping He wakes them , and reproaches them . He had only been praying an hour ; and “ ” could they not watch one hour ! It was only a little thing he thought h e was asking of men . OLI VET 71

They neglected him . He had bee n asking a e little thing of his Fath er . And God seem d to neglect him .

o But o ne hour is not long t pray to God .

Jesus had often prayed all night . So he goes back and prays again : the same monotonous r i praye . How his holy spir t revolted at the coming accusatio ns against him ! How his heavenly experience abhor red the earth ex “ perienc e ! In agony he asks if his soul must

o u t o be be poured unt death , and he numbered ” “ with transgressors . Must he be led as a lamb to the slaughter” ! Must his soul be “ ” made an offering for sin ! Must he bear so much ; must God make him suffer a burden so heavy that it seemed as if all the sinners and i e crim nals of all mankind , for all the ag s , had been combining and concentrating their malig nant depravity in th e coming crime to be “ ” worked on him ; the iniquity o f us all ! “ o cu Father, if it be p ssible , let this p pass ” from me . But the two beings in this case were of like o nature ; they were divine . Theref re the Son “ i says , not my will , but th ne , be done .

to i e He returns his disciples . He s b wil dered at the dullness of th e ear o f his Father .

A third time he goes to pray . He gives it up . i He fully surrenders his will to God , as he sa d ,

a s and he intended if God would not yield , and 72 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIB LE as w he God kne would . And how quickly an angel comes to strengthen him for drinking be o d the cup , to the Lamb of G , the heavenly “ victim furnished by heaven in the new cove ” his ! nant , made strong and mighty by blood d i ! O mount of sa ness , thou Mount of Ol ves

There Jesus ha d to pray and watch alone . But Mount Calvary was hospitable ; there thieves suffered along with Jesus ; and there a centurion kept guard ; th ere the citizens of “ ” Jerusalem gaped upon him ; there the riff - raff

a o of the city and the r bble of the c untry , as

r i s at they passed by , reviled him ; and the p ests “ ” o d wn and watched him there . But on the Mount of Olives Jesus had to pray and watch “ 1 1 3 alone . Elij ah was left alone (Rom . )

O mountain of sadness , thou Mount of Olives ! Does this mean that every great life is a tragedy !

: d . No for God is goo Unto Jesus , the Mount of Olives be came the mount of aseen sion . Because weeks after he rose from the dead he led his disciple s out to the Mount of

i e Olives , and wh le he was instructing th m , and reproving them , and commanding them , and loving them , and restraining them , and bless

a e ing them , he scended from th ir midst to a be tter home than eart h ; and angels explained to i them that he would come aga n . They

CAUSE OF THE CR! , ELO I

No man knows the exact location of Mount a Calvary . We only assume that it was hill , ed because of the word Golgotha , mention by “ a s e Matthew, Mark and John , m aning the ” l r e place of a sku l . And yet that word may

u e fer only to some protr ding rock , or to som association of thought created by ex ec utions Th e e of criminals at that place . phras “ Mo unt Calvary is not Biblical ; bu t came into use in the sixth century . It is not surprising that the exact location is unknown : for a generation later the city was destroyed by the Rom ans ; and centuries later the Emperor Hadrian took care to inclose the reconstru cted city with walls built al ong lines ff t m di eren fro the former ones , with a view to

a obliterating traces of historical loc lities . Therefore all that we can reasonably s ay as to the location of Calvary is that it was prob ably on th e northwestern side of the city of

Jerusalem , close to the city entrance , and by a

a m highw y leading in fro th e country . Th is obs curing of the location o f the ma terial Calvary harmonizes with th e administra tion of God conc erning some other material 74 CALVARY 75

' i esu h mself . h . s i e t ings Of J , no p ctur was left

his e No description of p rson , or physical

a e h bits , was attempted by eithe r Matth w ,

Mark , Luke , or John . Even concerning the cru ciﬁxion we are left in ignoranc e as to some th physical points . Not one of e writers makes a e ny attempt to describ , or comment on , the

h e hi r scene . T ey simply relat the sto y as wit

s e e nes es . Th y make no app al for pity for e a e Jesus . They do not ev n hint th t the plac wa s sacred . Have you ever noticed how God conc ealed

es th e the grave of Mos , how even mountain where he died cann o t positively be identiﬁed !

o a r e o f how , als , we e not sur of the place

e n ! Mount Hor, wher Aaro died how the gar ’ o f i the c den Joseph of Ar mathea , pla e of Jesus

o be burial and resurrection , th ugh said to near

e to Calvary , is not truly identiﬁed ! Hav you ever notic ed how th e bread and wine of th e

m o o i com uni n , which Jesus himself made symb l c ’ s c e e e of Calvary entral vent , so little res mbl a d dying body and ﬂowing bloo , that we natu

ff to o rally , and without e ort reason up n it , recognize th e symbo l as symbol ! Have you noticed how the Mount of Beatitudes (where the Sermon on the Mount was delivered) and the Mount of Transﬁguration a r e no t geo graphically located by the Gospels ! Have you noticed that not o ne of the Bible writers 76 MOUNTA INS OF THE BIBLE mentions how tall Jesus was ! what was hi s weight ! or what hi s complexion ! or the tone of

! o ! his voice or its music, or p wer

Why have you not noticed these things , if you are familiar with the second c o mmand “ ment : Thou shalt not make unto thee any likeness of anything that is in in : heaven above , or that is the earth beneath

bo w o t to thou shalt not d wn hyself them , nor ” serve the m ! Is it not evident that God w as guiding his i his tor ans , often preventing their leaving data for relic worship and other forms of idolatry ! If you have never thought of thes e things in

h n be i their mutual relation , t e impressed w th — the fo llowing z ( l ) For 5 00 years fro m the death of Christ , the followers of Jesus had no

u o i ith all s ch thing as a m dern cruc ﬁx . VVl

th e e n o their love of cross , th y placed image of Jesus on it ; ( 2 ) Th e early Christians were so

to a supe rior the physical idol try of our age , tha t the ﬁrst kn own painting of the cruciﬁxion e 8 of Christ app ars not before the year 5 6 .

And about that time , under the decrees of the E e a Roman mp ror Justini n the Great , the true church of the Lo rd disappeared from civiliza “ ” ﬂ d th e e The e n . tion , and into wilder ss sculptures of the cruciﬁxion , the picturing of

the the tortured Lord , or picturing of the

th e a s as ictu r descent of dead body, well the p CALVARY i hi th e e ng of s fainting under cross pr viously , are all foreign to the spiritual practices of the early Christians . And yet they felt that the cross had been transformed by what happened h m on Calvary , from an emblem of s a e to a sign

. e n of glory They worship d i spirit . It was not necessary for them to bow down before an m th e image , however i pressive to a beholder

n be simulated crow of thorns might . They m ’ made no pilgri ages to Pilate s j udgment seat , to the Mount of B eatitudes , nor Mount Cal i in . e vary They worsh p d spirit . They realized that th e only way to get to

the Calvary was to deny themselves , and bear

a burdens of practic l life , under the inﬂuence And of the Spirit of God . now to get to Cal

e . vary , you must b ar your cross “ Calvary may have be en only a place of a ” to w skull the thronging Je s in Bible times , hardly as high as the city walls ; but it was so h i high istorically , morally and spir tually , that its physical proportions never seem to have

e been measur d by the disciples , who alone

e u would have cared to t ll us the tr th . It may “ ” then have been only a place of a skull , in h i passing w ich , the travelers enter ng the city were accustomed’ to j eer the executed victims of Roman j ustice or Jewish cruelty ; but near it was a garden all glorious with ﬂowers of

e e be e e e lov , faith and hop , cause th r Jesus ros 78 MOUNTAINS OF THE BI BLE

th e e o th the from dead . D ath was n e way to “ ” resurrection ; the skull was on the way to the lilies ; Calvary was o n th e way to the gar “ den ; the darkness over the whole land until ” the ninth hour was on the w ay to the resur rection brigh tness ; th e evening was on the way to the morning .

e Calvary was a p culiar mountain . Its top “ ” be bed might called a skull , or a cross , or a , ’ e m o or a throne . Jesus cross b came a sy bol f character ; and though it was a grievous dying h e e . S o t e bed , it really b cam a throne that disciples of the Lord were never he ard plead ing for pity for him as cru ciﬁed victim ; but “ Go d Paul exultingly exclaimed , forbid that

I should glory , save in the cross of our Lord

m the Jesus Christ , by who world is cruciﬁed t ” unto me , and I un o the world . And the throne room of this cruciﬁxion glory was Cal vary . Jesus himself imparted this spirit unto his h e he disciples . When was going to Calvary, “ e said to the Jewesses of the city, Daught rs of Jerusalem , wee p not for me ; but weep for yourselves and your children And after he

to had passed Calvary , Mary , in the garden of ’ wh o resurrection , did not yet know that he had “ ” e ! risen , he said , Woman , why weep st thou

And that afternoon , to the disciples dismally

to he wending their way Emmaus , said , CALVARY 79

, Ought not Christ to have suff ered and to enter into his glory ! ” Break away for a moment from the spiritual

a attraction of Calvary , and look at it s a ma

ial ter . , historical mountain

i a o Calvary s rem rkable , as we have p inted

man al out , in that no knows its exact spot ; though it is most intimately connected his to r ically with the success of th e great founder

a of great religion . e Calvary is p culiar, as a place of forgive “ o e ness . Jesus said , f the imp nitent , Father,

a forgive them , for they know not wh t they ” “ to — do . He said , the penitent , To day shalt ” thou be with me in Paradise . Calvary was an ass embly place of mixed s o c h e iety . T er were priests there ; soldiers ; wh o e countrymen ; women , had follow d Jesus

to him from Galilee , ministering ; gamblers ; members of th e sanhedrin (the mo st digniﬁed and celebrated religious bo dy of th e world) ; loafers , loungers along the highway , deriding “ ” the victims they s aw at th e plac e of a skull ;

o im cru Mary , the mother of the L rd ; cr inals , ciﬁed him i e him i with ; r ch men , who buri d ; h gh ecclesiastics , who were watching against fraud or rescue ; timid disciples ; scribes ; pagans ; i “ ” Jews ; Chr stians ; and the Lord of glory . Calvary was a place of peculiar family

i e grouping as to relat on . J sus said to John , 80 M OUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE

to Son , behold thy mother and Mary , ” s o n Woman , behold thy . A few hours later, “ k a ﬁn Jesus loo ed up to he ven and said , It is ish ed . Father, into thy hands I commend my ” m o f spirit . Fro that day John took care

God ~ Mary , and took care of Jesus . (We men

w as tion this , because from that hour there

was no more humiliation for Jesus . He even taken down from the cross and buried by t h weal hy men , and t ey richly embalmed his

o b dy . ) Thou gh Calvary is on the way over the great divide” separating earth from the River of Life , and though on mountain sides there are usually springs of wate r and gurgling “ brooks , the traveler on this narrow way , climbing the heights toward the crown of im

n e mortality , ﬁnds the mountai parch d and “ ” i h he desert . Jesus said , I th rst . (I t ink h n . t e said it in Greek Notice contractio , and the one word . ) Calvary was harder for Jesus N to climb , than ebo was for Moses . In his m j ourney the Christian will ﬁnd so e spot , close ad to the center of popular interest , with the

o f vantages civilization , where art and culture h ff are at hand , but where the t irsty su erer, needing something more refreshing than ecclesi a stical es organization , grand organ music , s a O - s y sermons , peratic anthem , stained glass e e windows , impressiv liturgy , and pr stige of

82 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE

But mere translation does not unlock it . “ hi s E Soon he died ; but thunder cry , loi , ” i Eloi , lama sabachthani , still echoed n the heart s of the Jews familiar with their Scrip “ ” tures : for he had quote d with a great sound in their own Hebrew language th e ﬁrst words 22d e of the ps alm , containing the languag of a re D vid in prophecy , which they all believed

e ferr d to the Christ that , when the prophecy

w as . written , David saw in the distant future

th e e r e And many of scrib s , p i sts , and Jews , of that vast multitude must have recalled the words of that psalm :

E E a a i a . loi , loi, l ma sab chth n a e me r All they th t s e me laugh to sco n . T here is none to help . Many bulls have compassed me a e They g pe upon me with th ir mouths . m My tongue cleaveth to y j aws . “ Dogs have compassed me

A company of evil - doe rs h ave inclos ed me ; n m They pierced my ha ds and y feet . an They loo k d stare up on me . T a e a hey p rted my garm nts mong them, ” A nd upon my ves ture do they cast lots .

And when the y ounger pries ts and scribes r e called those words of the ps alm, written con fes sedly ( even in our day) a thousand years th n previous to e eve t on Calvary , CALVARY 83 t hose words of the psalm , brought to their rec o llectio n by th e great voice of Jesus b efore h is w a s death, they knew that Calvary only a

i e stat on on the great highway of righteousn ss , which their Messiah was traveling straight from the desert of earth to th e metropolis of h od. e e i G And wh n t r ch men , Joseph and

Nicodemus , took the body down and buried

older h ardened ries ts i e Jesus , the p went to P lat and warned him against any possibility of blunder by leaving the grave unguarde d ; in “ e be which cas , as they said , The last error will th ” worse than e ﬁrst .

Tha t s howed tha t th ey th en knew they h ad mad e a m s tak i e.

Th at cry of Jesus made Calvary a mountain of prophecy ; so that the Jews recognized that h i i ad . nd they cruciﬁed the r Chr st A when , a

t b the few days later, the repor spread a out city that th e disciples claimed that he had risen ' ee from the dead , and that they had s n him , Jeru salem was stunned ; and honest people i h wa ted in dread . T ey feared lest Calvary had be come for the Hebrew nation the p o rtal

o t Sheol .

a e More days and weeks p ssed . If th re had been the least dishonesty on th e part of the

i e m n disc ples , that would have b en the ti e whe vigorous con ce rted movement on their part fo r MOUNTAINS OF THE BI BLE th eir o wn bene t ﬁ would have been made . They f would have made ef ort for place, position , or advantage . They might have wo rked on the

e o fears of the sup rstitious Pilate , to secure p litic al m ff e prefer ent . Other e orts might hav

e b en exerted for their own worldly interest .

t a An d But there was no fraud on heir p rt . it is evident th a t they had no plan of campaign

o whatever . Nothing had been d ne by them for effect . Running to the sepulchre on the resur rection morning, when they heard the reports of the women ; gathering that night in a closed room for fear of the Jew s ; going o ff about Emm o their business to aus ; or, half dazed , g

e ing ﬁshing to Galilee or elsewher , they were

k e li e sh ep , ﬂeeing here and there : and were only rounded up by the voice of their risen “ os Shepherd , exp tulating, O fools , and slow of ” e heart to b lieve , proving to them his bodily

a to presence , and ﬁn lly commanding them

tarry in Jerusalem , till they were endued with power from on big They were thus to tarry near to Calvary ; near to Gethsemane ; near to the Mount of Olives ; near to the Roman barracks ; near to the headqu arters of the priesthood ; near to the garden where Jesus had been buried ; near to all the sources of info rmation for investiga

a a i tion , and ne r to the comm nding nﬂuences of

O i pposit on . And the sheep obeyed their shepherd . i They stayed r ght there , near the wolves , near

a e the e the to Calv ry , wh re wolves had mangl d

Lamb of God .

- A But now mark few days more , and these

h e ru s a frig t ned disciples, on the streets of Je

i to th e lem , proclaimed the v ctim of Calvary be h Christ of the Jewis race . And the effect of

a - their pre ching, following the thunder cry of “ m his E Jesus fro Calvary throne , loi , Eloi , ” a w a s e a lam sabachthani , that thre thous nd

a c Jews , on the ﬁrst day of the preaching, ce ted e a p him as th ir Lord , S vior, King and

Christ . There is no explanation o f this tremendo us

th e u change , except tr th , accepted under the inﬂuence of the great prophecy called to their ’ recollection by Jesus dying cry , deepened by i o th the rumor of h s resurrecti n from e dead , and the investigations concerning it for more than a month .

And yet all of them , preachers and converts ,

th e were under shadow of Calvary . ! l th Ah Calvary , thou art a lowly hil ; but y

n o t summit is far from the garden of Joseph , “ the counselor of honorable estate , who also ” himself was looking for the kingdom of God .

bu t Calvary , thou art a lowly hill ; thou art the vestibule to Paradise ( the ga rden of God . ) A nd it shall come to p a ss in the last days th at ’ the mount ain o f the Lord s house sh all be estab lis h ed in the tops of the mountains and be exalted ” a o and b ve the hills ; all nations shall ﬂow it .

men A .

U IVERS IT! OF CALI FOR IA L IB RAR! N N ,

THI S B OO! I S DUB ON THE LAST DATE

STAM PED - B EL OW B ooks not retu rned on time ar e su bj ect to a ﬁ ne of 5 00 er v lu m fter th e th i r d da v rdu i cr si p o e a y o e e , n ea ng to er v lu m ft r th e six h d a B ks not i p o e a e t y . oo n demand m ay be re new ed if appli cati on is made before ex ir ti l ri d p a on of oan pe o .

AUG 1 1 1930