I w i i e es lin hills from m t . ill l ft up m ne y to the , whence co e h my help Ps ( . 1 21 , H o y M ou nta in s

Mo dern Pilgrim ages to the

Mountains of the Bible

'etold from the Narrative s

of Trave llers and Ezrplore rs

by Th. G r a eb n e r

C o n c o r d ia S e m in a r y L S t. ouis Mo.

Ern Kaufm an - ' st n, New ork — 7 1 1 Spruce Street Pri nted in Germany Ensslin Laiblin , Reutlingen . 1 . Mountains .

'” he everlasting hills how calm they rise, Bold witnesses to an Almighty Hand ' z We ga e with longing heart and eager eyes , An d feel as if short pathway might suffice

From those pure regions to the heavenly land. w s At early da n, when the first ray of light Play like a rose -wreath on the peaks of snow ;

And late when half the valley seems in night, Yet still around each pale majestic height ’ The sun s last smile has left a crimson glow ;

i Then the heart longs, it calls for w ngs to fly,

' all to soar Above lower scenes of earth ,

Where yonder golden clouds arrested lie, Where granite cliffs and glaciers gleam on high ’ As with reflected light from Heaven s own door .

i l _Whence th s strange spell, by thoughtful sou s confest Ever in shadow of the mountains found ' ‘ the Tis deep voice within our human breast, Which bids us seek a refuge and a rest t ' Above, beyond what mee s us here around G Ever to men of od the hills were dear, Since on the slopes of Ar arat the dove

Plucked the wet b live - pledge of hope and cheer ;

r O Israel stood entranced in silent fear, While God on Sinai thundered from above And once on Hermon was a vision given i Subl me as that which Israel feared to view, h u h W en the transfig red Lord of earth and eaven, ’ f e Mortality s dim curtain li t d, riven,

Revealed His glory to His chosen few . On mountain heights of Galilee He prayed

While others slept, and all beneath was still ; ’ Fr om Olivet s recess of awful shade z Thrice was that agoni ed petition made , “ i 0 that th s cup might pass, if such Thy ' Zic m e And on Mount , in the bett r land, i Past every danger of the pilgr m way, ’ our s At Redeemer feet we hope to stand, And learn the meanings of His g uiding hand

‘ Through all the changes of our earthly day. lm ' Then hail, ca sentinels of heaven, again m ' Proclaim y our essage, as in ages past us l n Tell that pilgrims shal not toil in vai , t ’ S n Tha Zion s mount we urely shall attai , Where all home longings find a home ‘ at last ' M e t a H e u

2 . A rar at.

Gen . And the ark rested upon the mountains of Ararat.

a Mount Ar rat. The mountain known to Europeans as Ararat consists of two immens e s h conical elevations (one peak con iderably lower_t an the other) , towering in r massive and majestic grandeur from the valley of the A as, the ancient m i Araxes . S th and Dwight remark that in no part of the world had they seen any mountain whose imposing appearance coul d plead half so power ful ly as this a claim to the honor of having once been the stepping - stone b etween the old world and the new.

— 6 a It ppeared, says Ker Porter, as if the hugest mountains of the world had been piled upon each other to form thi s one sublim e im m m s ity

k . of earth, and roc s, and snow The icy peaks of its double heads rose majesti z d cally into the clear and cloudless heavens ; the sun bla e bright upon them ,

Ar k r The on Mount A arat .

c zz s . and the refle tion sent forth a da ling radiance equal to other sun My eye, not able to rest for any length of time upon the blinding glory of its summits, w I c wandered do n the apparently interminable sides, till ould no longer trace their vast lines in the mists of the horiz on ; when an irrepressible

m e i f i z impulse i mediat ly carrying my eye upward aga n re xed my ga e upon, ” the awful glare of Ararat. To the same effect Morier writes Nothing c an be more beautiful

t e . han its shape, more awful than its h ight All the sur rounding mountains ' n I si k into insignificance when compared to it. It S perfect in all its parts ; nn a u 1 8 no hard rugged feature, no u t ral prominences ;everything in harmony, i ” and all combines to render it one of the sublimest objects n nature .

Several attempts had been made to reach the top of Ararat, but few ot i persons had g beyond the l mit of perpetual snow . T he honor was reserved n to a Germa , Dr . Parrot, in the employment of Russia, who in his R e i s e “ v s the he m it of t e z u m A r a r a t gi e following particulars T sum . h 0 42 ’ 0 ’ 39 . 61 55 . Great Ararat is in north lat , and east long from Ferro . Its di , perpen cular height is Paris feet above the level of the sea,

‘ n and above the plai of the Araxes . The little Ararat is Paris ” ab ove the the r . and feet r sea, and above plain of the A axes After he s his party had failed in two attempts to ascend, the third was uccessful , on 2 t h 1 829 and the 7 of Septem ber, , they stood on the summit of Mount It A . 200 rarat was a slightly convex, almost circular platform, about feet b a in diameter, composed of eternal ice, unbroken y rock or stone ; on c f c un o Ould . a co t the great distances, nothing be seen distinctly Parrot describes the secondary summit about 400 yards di stant from the highest w m he point, and on the gentle depression hich connects the two e inences surmises that the ark rested.

. The n region immediately below the limits of perpetual snow is barre , and r unvisited by beast or bird. Wagne describes the silence and solitude

a . A r uri th t reign there as quite overpowering g , the only village known i to have been built on its slopes , was the spot where , according to tradit on,

ln x h Noah planted his vineyard. Lower down , the plain of Ara es, is Nak

c hevan n . , where the patriarch is reputed to have bee buried

“ 3 . S inai.

s 24 1 6. n n . Exodu , And the glory of the Lord abode upo mou t Sinai

A strong East wind had miraculously parted the waters of the Red

l n nei hboorhood e Sea the g of what is now Suez , the Israelit s had gone

u r through on dry gro nd, and the waters retu ning to their level had destroyed

' the army of Pharaoh . The limits of the Red Sea have changed somewhat e a a of since those days , but there can be no qu stion as to the gener l tr ck the

’ Israelites after the passage . They continued in the road of all travelers

he r . between the Sea and the table land of t Wilderness , in a southern di ection ' A t Onward they marched to the southern point of the Sinai peninsula. its

“ two lower tip there are great clusters of mountains, one of which, the Serbal, is very probably the one referred to at various times in the bobk of Exodus ”

God . a l as The Mount of The entire elevation of l nd was cal ed Horeb .

' - n- Here Moses had kept the flock of Jethr o his father i law . In one of the ravines at the foot of this mount the Children of Israel now pitched their

t e te n s, and here the Amalekit s were defeated by Israel while Aaron and

H ur held up the hands of Moses . Dean Stanley visited Mount Serbal in 1 853 and describes it as follows “ n as s It is o e of the finest forms I have ever seen . It is a v t ma s of d r peaks, which , in most points of view, may be reduce to five, the numbe

e e . adopt d by the B duins These five peaks, all of granite , rise so precipit ous l - the m the y, so column like , from broken ground which for s the root of

‘ u God ee f d Feir an Gebel Serbal, the Mo nt of , s n rom Wa y .

n t i to e . t are i de mou tain, . as a f rst sight appear inacc ssible But hey d vi d

e i w a . U by st ep ravines, f lled ith fragments of fallen g r nite p the central ‘ ’ ravine, Wady Abou Hamad ( valley of the father of wild figs , so called

- - a m e . was from half dozen fig trees in its course) , we ount d It toilsome, - l d the but not difficu t, and in about three hours we reached a ri ge between

i r th rd and fou th peak . Here we rested ; close by us were the traces of a large leopard. A little beyond was a pool of water surrounded by an old enclosure . “ Three quarters of an hour more brought us over smooth blocks of

e . was granit to the top of the third or central peak . The steep ascent broken r by innumerable sh ubs like sage or thyme, which grew to the very summit ; and o m n at last, also helped by loose st nes arranged by hu an ha ds (whether

_ 9 _ nd h yesterday or two thousand years ago) , a t rough a narrow pass of about i twenty feet, to the two em nences of which this peak is formed. “ is The highest of these a huge block of granite ; on this, as on the b ack s of some petrified turtle, you tand and overlook the whole Peninsul a of hi e Sinai. The Red Sea, with the Egyptian lls opposit ; and the W ide waste k on the south, the village and grove of Tor just mar ed as a dark line on the a shore ; on the east the vast cluster of , what is commonly c lled Sinai, with the peaks of St . Catherine . “ It was already dar k by the time that we reached our encampment at the eastern extremity of the Wady Eeir an. It was a beautiful sight to see on our waythe mountains lit up from top to b ottoin with the red blaze atc hfires which shot up from the w of the Beduin te nts . So they must

- Feiran have shone before the Pillar of Fire . The palm groves of I saw only by the clear starlight ; yet it was still possible to see h6w great must be the beauty of the luxuriant palms and feathery tamarisks the wide

“ glades below , the vast mountains above . Lord Lindsay describes the approach to the Mount of God as follows “ two w For hours and a half, every inding of the valley revealed new

’ be ul v n t . loveliness ; it would beautif e en with a si gle ree At the first turning, w after passing the ruined to n, a most superb view of Mount Serbal opened e on us, every crag and pinnacle of his five peaks r lieved clearly against l a sky of the most delicious blue, and perfectly cloud ess, pale moon about

ur half full, sailing in the p e ether above us the eye could pierce far beyond

. u t he n her Serbal was of a bl ish gray, but the jagged rocks of valley, formi g ic ture were the foreground of the p , _ black, the bright lights and deep broad ” c shadows rendering them perfe tly beautiful . f ‘ ” Itis impossible, says Professor Lepsius , to describe the sublimity and e — maj sty of these black mountain masses rising, as they do, not in a wild —at and irregular form, but on a grand and imposing scale the foot of which ' e n I was standing, not separat d from it by any projecti g promontory or ledge, ” r so abruptly does the whole body of the mountain sta t up from this point. A remarkable picture of Mount Serbal as seen from th e garden - like

Feiran ravine called Wady , through which Israel passed, is shown in one

our of illustrations. a k The road continues midst masses of roc , a thread of a stream just n visible and here and there forming clear pools shrouded in palms. Reachi g n . the head of the pass ,“ the traveler sees far in the bosom of the mou tains t before him the cliffs which form the front of Sinai proper. The gian mass a is appro ched through a wide valley, a long continued plain, enclosed between two steep mountainranges of black and yellow granite and having its n G at end a prodigious mou tain block, the ebel Mousa or Mount of Moses,

th its - es - safe projecting front, the Willow Head or Ras S uf h. - fsafeh n The sum mit of Ras es S u is very clearly defined, risi g high above all the other peaks near it . In front it descends in broken crags of

- e . naked granite to Wady er Raha. The view from it is ext nsive The

E r - l whole extent of the plain of Raha, measuring more than two mi es i i s is in length, and rang ng from one third to two th rd of a mile in breadth, its in u visible . The eye can follow wind gs as it r ns away among the moun e i tains in the distance . From n ar the summit a wild rav ne runs down the h a the front of the mountain . Up t is ravine the ascent may be m de from u as plain ; it is rugged and steep, but an active mo ntaineer, such Moses

as . w , could easily accomplish it

E r - u The plain Raha, where Israel encamped before Mo nt Sinai .

c an es - S ufsafeh There scarcely be a doubt that Ras is Sinai , the ” r e mount of the Law. Every requirement of the sacred na rative is suppli d

din is and every incident illustrated by the featur es of the surroun g d trict.

is f s the Here a plain su ficient to contain the Israeliti h camp, and so close to ’ mounta in s bas e that barriers could be erected to prevent th e ras h or the

dl hi m untain the h hee ess from touc ng it. Here is a o p where clouds t at enshr ined the Lord when he descended upon it would be visible to the vas t s i multitude, even when in fear they would withdraw from the ba e and ret re to a distance . From this peak the thunderings and the voice of Jehovah

e h the a would resound with t rrific effect t rough pl in , and away among the i cl ffs and glens of the surrounding moun tains . When descending through

u l the h the clo ds that shrouded it, Moses could hear a so songs and s outs of the infatuate d people as they danced round the golden calf ; and in the ” brook that descends out of the mount (Deut . through the ravine

- d Er he . into Raha, could cast the dust of the estroyed idol In fact, the m l mountain, the plain , the strea et, and the whole topography correspond ” in every respect to the historical account given by Moses . “ The words of Dean Stanley are equally graphic and convincing : No S uf safeh t ho one who has approached the Ras through hat noble plain, or w

as t l n h looked down upon the plain from hat majestic height, wil willi gly part with the belief that these are the two essential features of the view of the Israelitish camp . That such a plain should exist at all in front of such a cliff is so remarkable a coincidence with the sacred narrative as to furnish u e a strong internal arg ment, not merely of its identity with the sc ne, but

- of the scene itself having been described by an eye witness . The awful

r a and lengthened approach, as to some natu al sanctu ry, would have been the fittest preparation for the coming scene . The low line of alluvial mounds at the foot of the cliff exactly answers to the ‘bounds’ which were to keep ‘ ’ the people off from touching the mount. The plain itself is not broken “ and uneven, and narrowly shut in, like almost all others in the range, but i n ‘ presents a long ret ri g sweep , against which the people could remove and ’ “ i e h e stand afar off . The cl ff, rising lik a huge altar, in front of t whole l congregation, and visib e against the sky in lonely grandeur from end to ‘ of u end of the whole plain, is the very image the mo nt that might not be ’ touched , and from which the voice of God might be heard far and wide d over the stillness of the plain below, widene at that part to its utmost ex

f of . tent by the con luence all the contiguous valleys Here, beyond all other ‘ r r parts of the peninsula, in the sanctua y, withd awn, as if in the end of the ’ ” world, from all the stir and confusion of earthly things . Lord Lindsay has left the following description of his visit to Mount Sinai : “ Advancing up a narrow ravine at the extremity of the plain , and i r pass ng the garden with its lofty cypresses , we arrived unde the walls of “ l i the Convent of St . Catherine, a regu ar monastic fortress t has exactly

a . the appearance of. one, and is indeed, defended by guns against the Ar bs

The monks are obliged to supply the Beduins with bread. But no

the . Arabs are ever allowed to enter, except servants of the convent Lord Lindsay ascended to the top of the mo untain and identif ied the

“ ‘ plainin fr ont of it as the encampment of the Israelites. There can be no ” on the E 1 doubt, he says, that the Israelites encamped Er (or ) Raha ; it is the largest,indeed the only large plain in all this district, a noble ” r b r . expanse, covered with sh u s fit for pastu age, and a gentle slope He believes that one of the lesser heights of Sinai was the actual spot on which “ ” “ God came down on the top of the Mount in the sight of all the people .

_ 1 2 _ s i n Yet what, he add , avails the inqu ry, if we thi k merely of the ' stage, and not of the action performed on it This is the wilderness of

Sinai there can be no doubt of that ; and, whichever the individual mount

e l may have be n, every hi l around heard the thunder and quaked at the

u s the sound of the tr mpet, waxing louder and louder as God de cended in ‘ ’ l the cloud, and trembled at the sti l small voice , that, deeper than ’ and thunder, and high above the trumpet, spoke to every man s ear heart

law and s n that fiery holy, ju t, and good existi g from all eternity, and which requires of man that spotless obedience which he cannot yield, n at the first tra sgression, even in thought, of its purity, lays him under ‘ the cur se of eternal death Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all ’ thy heart, and thy neighbour as thyself . “ ’ One only of Adam s seed, the man Christ Jesus, has fulfilled that s u law ; we must travel to Jeru alem we m st look to the cross on Calvary, ” to obtain pardon for having broken it.

4 . Pisg ah.

I. Balaam .

u — 1 6 : And o N mbers Balak said unt Balaam, What hast thou ' o m i o done unto me I t ok thee to curse mine ene es, and, beh ld, thou hast

s . s ble sed them altogether And he answered and said , Mu t I not take heed

' to speak that which the Lord hath put in my mouth 'And Balak said unto him , Come, I pray thee, with me unto another place, from whence thou

: mayest see them thou shalt see but the utmost part of them, and shalt

all not see them : and curse me them from thence . And he brought him into

to the field of Zophim, to the p of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered — a bullock and a ram on every altar. And he said unto Balak'Stand here by thy burnt offering, while I meet the Lord yonder . And the Lord met Balaam,

in his m outh and s and put a word , said, Go again unto Balak, and say thu

him : : I shall see , but not now I shall behold him , but not nigh there l sha l come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall

i r t . sm te the corners of Moab, and destroy all the child en of She h

The Israelites had ente red upon the last stage of their journey to

. i Canaan They are within sight of the land of prom se, being encamped at

t e . the northern end of h Dead Sea, near the mouth of the River Jordan

By the aid of God they had, under their leader Moses, surmounted every i u d ffic lty and had conquered the heathen tribes on the east side of Jordan.

s . But now, at the end of their journey, a graver danger face them Balak, K d i t n i ing of Moab, fin ng hat he ca not prevail aga nst them by the power

r i has a l of his a m es, recourse to m gical arts . By casting an evil spe l upon

- 1 3 ’ e s th E Israel he hop s to destroy God s people . He send to e uphrates for the “ ” famous magician to come and curse Israel. Persons who had the real or pretended power of controlling evil spirits were frequently employed to e r n n foret ll the futu e, to bless an u dertaking, or to bri g ruin upon an enemy. ’ B alaam s fame as a man of this sort had traveled far beyond the lim its of “ d hi s native land. Before he accepts the invitation Go lays upon him the duty to speak only the word which God shall say unto him . Arriving in m n Moab he is co manded to curse Jacob and to defy Israel, but i stead of

i m c rease e cursing he blesses, and prom ses to Israel b yond calcul ation. Then

r e occu r d the incident quoted at the head of this chapter. Offering sacrifices n o the top of Mt . Pisgah the false prophet again blessed Israel when com m anded r to cu se the people, and finally he pronounces the prophecy of the

Redeemer that was to come out of the covenant nation, the Star that was to proceed from Jacob and the Sceptre that was to rise out of Israel. Never was prophecy uttered under more extraordinary circumstances w and the place hich witnessed this event may well engage our attention . M Balaam and Balak stood on Pisgah in the land of oab . It is first

t p a mentioned in connection wi h the ap roach of the Isr elites to Palestine . “ the l r They marched from Bamoth in val ey, that is in the count y of Moab, ”

eshim on . 21 to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward J (Num ,

s - m Pi gah was thus on the table land of Moab, and com anded a view of the western desert (Jeshim on) An other passage proves that it commanded a view of the camp of the Israelites . From other notices we learn that it

n e was opposite and in sight of Jericho, and overhanging the ortheast rn angle of the Dead Sea .

The names Pisgah and Nebo seem to be used interchangeably. Very probably Pisgah was the name of the range and Nebo was one of its peaks . W Beneath the mountain were celebrated springs . The ridg e runs out est u m from the plateau of the Moab country, sinking gradually, and in a s m it i l n of wh ch the slopes fall steeply on a l sides . The flat top of the mountai ' is to the . r ‘ present day called Neba by the Arabians of the desert F om the fact that on Pisgah Balaam built altars and offered sacrifices we “ ” t n hi conclude hat . it probably was one of the a cient gh places or heathen sanctuaries of Moab . “ ” i i e s Pr e From the h gh places there ded cat d to Baal, the A syrian oph t, w his l i : ith the King of Moab by side, ooked ove the wide prospect ‘ ’ ’ - H e watc h d til ornin s , g ray

On lake and meadow lay, And willow - shaded str eams that silent sweep ’ m i b ann er d l i A d their l nes, r n Where, by thei several sig s,

- The desert wearied tribes in sight of Canaan sleep .

_ 1 4 _ t e He saw in hat vast encampment amongst the acacia grov s, how ' ” O Jac ob . goodly are thy tents, , and thy tabernacles, O Israel Like the n watercour ses of the mountains, like gardens by the side of his ow great

w - di river Euphrates, with their aromatic shrubs, and their ide sprea ng

a cedars the lines of the c mp were spread out before him . Ephraim was ” “ e the l t t n ther with the strength of wild bu l of he nor h ; Judah couchi g , ” et like the lion of the south ; a people dwelling alone, y a mighty nation “ who can count the dust of Jacob , and the number of the fourth part of

- Israel He looked round from his high post over the table lands of Moab , n n to the li e of mountains stretchi g away to Edom , on the south over w the high platform of the Desert beyond the Dead Sea, here dwelt the ” tribe of Amalek , then first of the nations over the Kenite, and for each his di rge of lamentation went up ; till at the thought of his own distant “ ” land of Asshur of the land beyond the Euphrates of the dim v1s1 on i of ships com ng from the Western sea which lay behind the hills of Palestine, “ ” “ to afflict Asshur and to afflict Eber he burst into the bitter cry, Alas, '” h who shall live when God doeth this and he rose up, and returned to is place .

. The view of Balaam from the top of Pisgah and of Peor is the first of those which have made the name celebrated . But it is the second view, n which withi so short a time succeeded to it, whilst Israel was still encamped in the acacia groves, that has become a proverb throughout the world . To

n Ab arim to - these same mou tains of . the top of Pisgah to a high place ’ d t Balaam s i - had de ica ed to the heathen Nebo, as stand ng place been ' “ ‘ ’ consecrated to Peor Moses went up from the desert - plain of Moab ’ over against Jericho .

11. Moses .

— ' Deuteronomy 7 : And Moses went up from the plains of Moab

is t unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that over agains Jericho . And the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, unto Dan. And all Naphtali, he h m and t land of Ep rai , and Manasseh , and all the land of Judah, unto the

' utmost sea, and the south and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city

. And n , of palm trees, unto Zoar the Lord said u to him , This is the land i which I sware unto Abraham , unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, say ng , I will

: give it unto thy seed I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of the Lord died there d in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord . An He bur ied him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor : but no man k And noweth of his sepulchre unto this day. Moses was an hundred and

: his l c twenty years old when he died eye was not dim, nor his natura for e abate d.

1 5 '

d s d h crossed th e River Jordan into the land of Canaan, Moses a dres e t em

s with a series of dis course , in which he reviewed the events and experiences u h a 'of the past forty years , and impo nded on them many eloquent ex ort tions di p . to g ratitude, obe ence, and loyalty to the Lord who led them out of Egy t

Moses on Mount Nebo .

These discourses are recorded in the book of Deuteronomy. Within sight s i n , of the prom ised land, feel ng that his death is approachi g Mose delivers e his final charges to the people . Moses refers to the sent nce pronounced “ against him : The Lord was angry with me for your sakes , saying, Thou ” “ r had l also shalt not go in thither . For you sakes , the unbe ief of

2“ — 1 9 n o Moses gone u punished, the people would have been hardened in their wn

t e it ~ was i transgression . For their sakes, herefor , imposs ble to overlook it.

h is Having made an end of admonitions to the people, Moses, in obe

dien e to i to . th c the d vine com mand, ascends to the pof Mt Nebo, e eminence i called Pisgah , whence he views the Land of Prom se.

There is no need to suppose that there was anything miraculous in this vision of the whole land . From the mountains of Moab travelers tell us

. di that they can see the entire valley of the Jordan The Me terranea_n_Sea,

i th s in fifty miles distant, can be seen like a silver streak n e glittering unh e . Such extensive views are favored by the exceptional clearness of the atmo in sphere Palestine.

“ v1sit e An English traveler, Canon Tristram, describes a which h and s his fellow travelers paid to the range of Nebo, and the magnificent pro pect they had from the height which they supposed might possibly be the Pisgah It u f of Moses . was about three miles so th west o Heshbon, and one and a

. n o half miles due west of Main The elevatio was . considered to be ab ut

4500 et was feet; y the ascent not rugged, and for several hours they rode

o . al ng the ridge The day was clear,” and to the north and east they saw “ l s o f ‘ the hi l of Gilead, and the vast expanse the goodly Belka, one waving

' of c orn a d . a s ocean n grass Southwards ppeared Mount Hor and Seir, with

r Akab ah . othe granite peaks of Arabia, in the direction of Then, turning

. westwards, there lay distinctly before them the Dead Sea and the whole “ a r v lley of the Jordan, all the familiar points in the neighborhood of Je u ” “ ’ . z salem Looking over Jordan, the eye rested on Geri im s rounded to e r p ; and farther still open d the plain of Esd aelon, the shoulder of Carmel, n or some other interveni g height, just showing to the right of Gerizim, while the faint and distant bluish haze beyond it told us that there was ‘ ’ It as the sea, the utmost sea . seemed if but a whiff were needed to brush

the e it . n off haz , and reveal clearly Northward, again, rose the dista t ' o l n l op uld i ut ine of u mistakab e Tabor, aided by which we identify G lboa ' ’ ' . H erm o s . c and Little Hermon Snowy n top was mantled with loud, and ’ Lebanon s highest range must have been exactly shut behind it ; but in a o front, due north of us, stretched in long line the d rk forests of Ajlun b ld and undulating, with the deep sides of mountains, here and there whitened by cliffs, terminating in Mount Gilead, behind Ramoth Gilead. This

u e seems to realize to the f ll what was anciently exhibited to the ye of Moses, and shows the representation given of his extensive prospect to have been no ideal pictur e .

But between h1 m and that good land the deep valley of the Jordan “ intervened . So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of t e was no Moab, according o the word of the Lord. His tomb, how ver, t,

—20 ’ like Aaron s, on the high mountain summit, an object of pilgrimage for “ di i future ages . He ed in the land of Moab , accord ng to the word of the ‘ ’ him Lord, and He buried in a ravine in the land of Moab before Bethpeor, ” but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. In a ravine before ’ Balaam s Bethpeor, that is, in front of the height from which last pro

hec d p y had been delivere and so , doubtless, somewhere in the gorges of ” Pisgah . But beyond this, no man knew .

di d h s Thus God not only bury Moses , but buried his sepulc re also le t it should become a shrine of idol worship to futur e generations . The Epistle 9 i din of Jude, in verse , says that M chael , the archangel, conten g with the

i e . i devil, d sput d about the body of Moses Ev dently, the prince of the evil angels wanted the body for him self for the purpose of seducing the people into paying divine honor to it. From this crime, to which the Jews might easily have been tempted by the example of their heathen neighbors, they were prevented by the fact that God Himself buried His servant in the

u a of k . mo nt in country Moab, and permitted no man to now of his sepulchre

5 . Gilbo a. — 1 . 31 1 6 . Samuel ,

Now the Philistines fought against Israel : and the men of Israel fled w in from before the Philistines, and fell do n slain mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons ; and the Philistines ’ slew Jonathan, and Abinadab , and Melchishua, Saul s sons . And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him ; and he was sore wounded u of the archers . Then said Saul nto his armorbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith ; lest these uncir cumcised come and thr ust

. n ot me through , and abuse me But his armorbearer would ; for he was And sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. when his

was i u armorbearer saw that Saul dead, he fell likew se pon his sword , and

him . di his died with So Saul ed, and his three sons , and armorbearer, and all his men, that same day together.

s i n Gilboa, the name has a pleasant ign fication, meani g a bubbling n fou tain, but to the Bible reader brings gloomy memories of ancient crime and superstition.

i i e Saul, the f rst k ng of Israel, had too long resist d the spirit of God ‘ n a ainst b r and had sin ed g ette judgment. It is recorded that he received n di i i no longer any a swer from God, and at this evidence of v ne d sfavor, the u just punishment of his disobedience, nbelief, and ingratitude, he u w sought co nsel ith the spirits of darkness . Contrary to the warnings e L h e f utt red by the ord t rough the mouth of Moses, Saul, wh n he saw himsel

_ 2 1 _ ' nd situation of s i h a his army in a great peril, con ulted the sp rits of t e dead. i He visited the hag of Endor, expect ng from her supernatural arts that

- od counsel which was no longer forthcoming to him from the prophets ofG .

k .

We now the result On the following day Saul was defeated , by the n l . Phi isti es, his three sons were slain, and he died by his own hand Wh en

n r the tidings were carried to David, he broke out into a so g of mou ning “ u Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no rain pon you, neither dew, nor field of offering '” The circumstances of this narrative would alone suffice to direct our attention to the mountains which bound the great plain of Esdraelon on

- an the south east d are interposed between it and the Jordan valley. Mount

' Gilboa is in the hilly district west of the Jordan and about twenty - five miles south - west of the Sea of Galileei At its back is a village now called

Gelbon z h a , in whose name may be recogni ed t at of the ncient mountain

‘ which bounds the valley J ez reel on the south .

“ A visit to this region gives great vividness to several of the Scripture

felL narratives, but especially to that of the fatal battle in which Saul . There t is a range of hills about six miles nor h of Gilboa, and of equal elevation, ” which is called in the Book of Judges hill of Moreh . Away behind this

The hill, hidden from view, is the village of Endor. army of the Philistines was encamped on the north side of the valley, and Saul took up a position

- on the north east base of Gilboa. From the brow of the hill above his camp

the enem Saul had a full view of y, and he was struck with terror at their ‘

one. him numbers . The position he had chosen was a bad Before stretched out the valley in a gentle incline towards the camp of the Philistines, while m I t immediately behind the ar y of the sraelites the hill rose s eep and rocky.

for the In case of a disaster, retreat was impossible them up steep hill side, h w ile the Philistines had all the advantage of the gentle rise for their attack. On the n ight before the battle Saul went to Endor and there received the message of doom from the apparition raised up by the witch : Not only shall Israel be delivered into the hand of the Philistines, but Saul and his sons were to die. r k The battle seems to have begun ea ly in the morning, when the ing was still wearied from the journey to Endor and dispirited ‘ as a result of his experience . The Israelites were broken at once by the fierce attack of

u the enemy. As theyattempted to flee p the sides of Gilboa, a terrible

- slaughter was inflicted upon them by the Philistines . While the terror stricken masses were clambering up the rugged slopes they were completely exposed “ to the arrows of the Philistine archers . They fell down . slain in Mount ” “ i ” Gilboa ; the Ph listines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons,

“ ll h ir s probably when they tried to ra y_t e troops. The three son fell beside “ hit their father ; and the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers as . l hi s him ; and he w sore wounded of the archers Then Sau , kingdom

i him . gone, and utter ru n staring in the face, took his sword and fell upon it David then uttered and caused to be writte n his lament over Saul and over “ ’ Jonathan : The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy (Gilboa s) high places : ' how are the mighty fallen Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets l s of Askelon ; lest the daughters of the Phi istines rejoice, le t the daughters

u s . i G of the uncirc mci ed triumph Ye mounta ns of ilboa, let there be no

s . e dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor field of offerings Ye daught rs ul c of Israel, weep over Sa , who clothed you in s arlet, with other delights, i who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the m ghty m '0 hi fallen in the idst of the battle Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine gh

di e : places . I am stress d for thee, my brother Jonathan very pleasant hast

' o : f u thou been unt me thy love to me was wonder l, passing the love for o women . How are the mighty fallen, and the weap ns of war perished The Philistines took the body of Saul and fastened it to the wall of the s c neighboring fortress of Beth hean, from whence it was snat hed by a few

‘ m n G e . brave from ilead, on the opposite side of the Jordan G The ridge of ilboa is bleak and bare . The soil is scanty, and the great w limestone rocks crop out in jagged cliffs and naked cro ns, giving the whole i l nn l k c a look of pa nfu barre ess . One would a most thin , says the Dut h traveler ’ “ i wofds Van de Velde, on look ng at it, that David s , Let there be no ” rain upon you, neither dew, nor field of offering (fields bearing crops, from i wh ch firstfruits are offered) were ful filled . The highest point of Gilboa is said to have an elevation of about 2200 feet 1 20 z 0 . above the sea, and above the valley of Je reel The range extends in ten length some miles from west to east.

6 . Moriah.

2 n S i . Chr o icles Then olomon began to bu ld the house of the Lord at

s the his Jeru alem in mount Moriah, where Lord appeared unto David father, in the place that David h ad prepared in the threshingf loor of Om an the

Jebusite.

Entering Jerusalem from the North through the Damascus Gate and walking thr ough the Mohammedan quarte r we arrive at a point from which

a great view is obtained of the ancient south eastern portion of the city. i k ' Th n for a moment where we are, and on what we are looking Do you notice that mass of rock at your feet 'That is the native rock u l of Mount Moriah , j st as Abraham found it when he climbed this hi l for the off ering - up of his son ; jus t as David saw it when he walked over this bill

—23 ' i i s from Mount Zion in order to build his altar . A bu ld ng con tructed with eight corners covers the site of the altar on which Solomon brought his sacrifice when the Temple was dedicate d This bu ilding is called the Dome

’ Abraham s Sacrifice .

is i a of the Rock but frequently m sn med the Mosque of Omar, why, no one is m s knows, for it not properly a mosque, or Moha medan hou e of hi wors p , though regarded by the Mohammedans as a very sacred place; As sum ing that Mount Zion is that elevation in the Holy City whi ch ‘ w now bears tha name. Many scholars believe that Zion was identical ith “ ” - . e s . the Temple hill, Moriah It is frequently us d in the Bible for Jeru alem

find the opening to the quarry . This opening was accidentally discovered o t in 1 852 . Huge st nes lie scat ered about stones cut thousands of years

’ s . z ago . Mason marks abound From them you can tell the si e and shape of the tools these old workers used. From the mass of stone chippings it is quite “ ” r plain that the stones were d essed here . The absence of stone chips near the foundation - stones the black earth being quite free of them and their presence here , prove to the very hilt the truth of the Bible statement.

And who that has seen or, if not seen, realized from description

z the n - - the si e of stones, the great fou dation stone at the south east angle, will not say that the words “ costly stones” is no exaggeration 'When we recollect that stones estimated to weigh 1 00 tons are in the foundation '

u 38 9 - wall, that in length they can be fo nd feet inches, as in the south east i angle, surely we must adm t that the account is but sober truth .

r ' The inqui y arises, Why this great wall this expenditure of stone,

' . labor, skill There is one factor we must not overlook The Temple was

- to be erected over the threshing floor of Araun ah . This is imperative ; that s was a acred spot because the angel had stayed his foot there, that must

- be left. But Eastern threshing floors are always, and were always, at the highest points of the ridge, and so the problem is complicated . They cannot cut down the highest point, and so obtain a large area for the proposed

Temple . That is impossible ; all that remains is to leave the sacred threshing floor intact, and by building this huge wall, arches, and other supports , so get an enlarged area, big enough for the Temple and the Temple courts .

In this way they solved the problem .

e i What ver differences have ar sen about the other hills of Jerusalem, t m “ ” here is no question that the ount on which the Mosque of Omar stands, overhanging the Valley of the Kedron, has from the time of Solomon, if not in of David, been regarded as the most sacred ground Jerusalem . High in

r 1ses the k the centre of it _ remarkable roc , now covered by the dome of “ “ S akrah . 1 s a nd u abo s the It irregular in its form , meas res ut ixtyfeet di 1 n in one rection, and fifty feet the other . It projects about five feet above th e b e e n and a m he f m os ue mar l pav me t, the p ve ent of t q is twelve feet above e the gen ral level of the enclosure, m aking this rise , seventeen feet above the ground It appears to be the natural surface of Mount Moriah ; in a ' ‘ few places there are marks of chiselling ; but its south - east corner is an ex

- b a e . cavated chamber, to which there is a descent y flight of stone st ps This chamber is irregular in form and its superficial area is about six hundr ed feet ; the average height seven feet. In the centre of the rocky cave there is l a circular slab of marble, which being struck, makes a hol ow sound,

w b n at . thereby sho ing that there is a well , or excavation, e e The part of Jerusalem surrounding the Dome of the Rock has been built over so many times and with such a variety of archite ctur e that it is not easy to imagine its actual appearance during the different epochs in ’ the history of the Holy City. In David s time the high space before us was

t e in e ou side the city, but lat his reign he chose it for the sit of the Temple i ’ that his son shoul d rear . How magn f icent it must have been in Solomon s u - b w day, s rrounded y corridors and towers, and ith the front of the Temple where now the octagonal building stands 'Do you not see King Hezekiah

i the i s l walking across that platform, bear ng in his hands n u ting message at of the Assyrian emperor, to lay it before the Lord, yonder _ the Altar , ' s where we see that great dome Isaiah stand there, with the vision of the t i l i his i ur f l Lord of Hos s st l illumin ng face ; Jerem ah, mo n u yet courageous ,

Mosque of O mar .

dn ’ delivers his message of woe on that platform . Look at Nebucha ezzar s h l i l army pouring t rough the broken wal , wh le the Temple roof rises in f ame, and its wall sinks in ashes '

dr e u see And six hun ed years lat r in the co rts of a new Temple, that child of twelve years standing while a cir cle of scribes around are wondering His Hi s h at knowledg e of the law, and mot er is pressing her way through ' h h Hi m . the t rong to lead away See that child g rown now to man ood, with ’ His i s d His s ' wh p of small cord , riving out the profaners of Father s Hou e

i Him withe ans wers L sten to as He faces the frowning nobles and priests , sharper than sword - thrusts ; look at Him as in tender words He tea ches ' the people, and with gentle touch He heals the blind and the lame Look

— 28 i and at Pete r and John, arm in arm , walk ng across the pavement, pausing yonder before a helpless cripple , whom they bid arise in the name of Jesus, thus giving him something more precious than silver and gold 'Can you n e see Paul of Tarsus k eeling in prayer yonder, all undisturbed by the mutt r ing and scowling of the mob that in a moment shall be ready to rush upon him with murderous purpose ' But up in the tower the Roman soldiers are ready to rescue that apostle from the violence of his countrymen, and lodge him in the castle as a prisoner . Such are the Biblical events that succeed each other as in a dissolving

h s view t rough two thou and years, from Abraham to Paul, in the history of this storied sp ot.

7 . Carm el .

1 i il K ngs Call ye on the name of your gods, and I w l call on the ” i God . name of the Lord ; and, the God that answereth by f re, let him be

was d ividc d o Afte r the death of King Solomon, his dominion int two

‘ ten tr ibes a d kingdoms, the kingdom of Israel or that of the , n the kingdom u of Judah . This was the p nishment for the sin that Solomon had committed by allowing idolatry to regain a foothold in the nation.

erob oam s The first ruler over the ten tribes, King J , cau ed two golden n calves to be made, one at Dan and the other at Bethel, in gross tra sgression of the divine command which forbade the Childr en of Israel to represent

Him under the form of images . Though not at first intended to replace the

erob oam worship of Jehovah, the worship introduced by J gradually de e a i generat d into ctual and gross idolatry. However, God did not ent rely H is withdraw hand from the chosen people . He sent them prophets , to remind them of His law and to call them to repentance . Even during the K n reign of i g Ahab , when the worship of Baal, the idol of the Canaanites,

od had become well nigh universal, G preserved for Himself a remnant of faithful believers who listened to the voice of His prophets . e At this time th re lived in the wild region of Gilead, beyond Jordan , a great prophet. His name was Elijah . No parentage is given, his birth

w . place is unkno n The licentious worship introduced by Ahab rouses him , “ and with terrible suddenness we read his first message to the king : As the Lord, the God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall be no '” ' dew or rain these years, but according to my word What a picture The

A r i king, hab, lapped in luxu y, caring for costly things and th ngs of beauty for did he not make an ivory palace and build cities ' confronted by the

w e prophet of Jehovah , ith his scant desert dress . He, in short, t lls the k : a G ing Your gods are dead, afar off. The God of Isr el is near, a od who

. God e a i rules the seasons He , the of your forefathers, giv s r in and appo nts h i di arvest t me and winter, and in His name I foretell this re calamity. l i di E ijah mme ately leaves, and hides by the brook Cherith . i of i is The trad tional site th s brook now the Wady Kelt, a wild glen hi l w ch runs into the Jordan Va ley, a small stream running through it ; “ ” “ ” but the Bible expression, facing or before Jordan would seem to imply

’ t c ast f 1n hat it was of that river, and there ore Elijah s own native country ’ . not of Gilead , out of Ahab s reach It has been identified, but it 18 thought i Wady Yabis, opposite Bethshean, may be the place. Here the prophet s

l The Mountains of Gi ead .

in i n . l r fed a m raculous man er _No rain fa ling, the brook d ies up , and he is d a . now u ordere to go to Z rephath, belonging to Zidon Zarephath, called S raf end , is the Sarepta of the New Testament. It is on the seashore north of T yre. The old town was probably nearer the sheashore than the present v l i lage. The e ncroachment of the sands probably had something to do w s ith the change of position . The old ruins are con iderable, and show that z m it was a city of some si e . Broken colu ns, marble slabs, old foundations,

m i strew the ground for about a le . An old chapel is shown which is said to occupy the very site the widow’ s house stood on for to a poor widow i has was the prophet ordered to go. She, in her extrem ty, come to the d l And last han fu of meal for the famine has reached even here. yet,

_ 30 _ i the such is her faith, her hospitality to th s poor vagrant for such prophet

must have looked that she shares the morsel and has a rich return . How little did the great ones of Zarephath know or care about the miracle ’ that was being wrought in their midst ' h Eh ah f T ree years have passed, and now j is ordered to show himsel to

m i . i Ahab. The fa ne in Samaria was sore The d rect narrative pauses for a

View from Mount Carmel .

to A ba moment explain that hab has a servant O diah, who feared the Lord a greatly. Str nge that for controller of his household Ah ab should have one G c who revered od, and who had not followed the ourtly example of wor ' z t shipping Baal Je ebel, the queen, had slain the prophe s of the Lord , d m en i a except a hun red h dden by Ob diah . Ahab sends Obadiah in search of water ; the king dividing the search of the land with his agent shows how was severe the drought. Samaria, a land of good springs, had become

. i waterless Obad ah meets the prophet, recognizes him, and also his divine m ission : for he this high official falls on his face before the gaunt and r u ude fig re of the prophet. He beseeches Elijah not to send him back with

shall assemble on Carmel in the presence of all Israel. Ahab complies . The e l prophets of Baal and of Astart are gathered on Mount Carmel. But E ijah

. i goes deeper ; he appeals to the people But he finds no response . El jah “ : 'If be l exclaims Why halt ye between two opinions the Lord God, fol ow ” : . Him if Baal, follow him And he demands that a test be made : ‘ h l onl T en said E ijah unto the people, I, even I y, remain a prophet of ’ the Lord ; but Baal s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Le t them therefore give us two bullocks ; and let them choose one bul lock for them

s and : selve , and cut it in pieces, lay it on wood, and put no fire under and

d ul o r : I. will ress the other b lock, and lay it on wo d, and put no fi e under i And call ye on the name of your gods , and I w ll c all on the name of the

: s r . Lord and the God that an wereth by fi e, let him be God And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. i The strange scene goes on ; the altar to Baal is bu lt ; the savage rites ,

l . i the wild cries of the idolaters, the bloody sacrifices, are of no avai El jah s b z w taunt them, in the la ing heat of noon, that their god may be other ise engaged too busy, or too careless to attend to them And now evening

e . draws on. The solitary prophet calls the people to g reater att ntion He ’ i t n alone repairs the altar of the Lord, wh ch false pries s have throw down.

Water, at his request is poured on the burnt offering not once, but again and again ; and then follows the prayer to the covenant God of Abraham, “

. the of Isaac, and Israel, and fire from God is the answer Then the fire of

s th e Lord fell, and con umed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and stones,

a . and the dust, and licked up the w ter that was in the trench hi s At t s evidence of power, the people fall on their face and profess

t . the Lord. No longer do they hesi ate, but do the will of the one man The “ ” r - stern order rings out. Let not one escape . These wo n out priests are i of brought down to the brook K shon and slain. The person the king is not touched. Elijah goes to the highest crest of Carmel and tells his servant to look i toward the sea . Seven times he does this, and the seventh t me the servant ’ r sees a cloud arising out of the sea as small as a man s hand. F om one of C m e w the near tops of armel the servant could com and a most ext nsive vie ,

i - s and chiefly seaward and looking west, from wh ch the Syrian rain cloud l d come, he wou d look over towards the istant island of Cyprus, and see the small cloud rising over that land a cloud which foretold the coming a i rain even s it does now . And wh le the prophet spoke the heavens grew s i s ' black with cloud and w nd , and there was a great rain m Let us visit the scene of this wonderful Old Testa ent event. Mount Carmel is situate d about thirty miles due wes t of the Sea of

e . n 1 00 hi Galile It is a ridge formi g a bold headland, about 7 feet gh , on the

e west of the Mediterranean Sea, and ext nding for miles into the interior

_ 34 _ e and l of the country. Around it, the landscap is laid out in fields carefu ly s cultivated . The country contain a very rich soil, and well repays the labor employed upon it ; but taxes the bane of the farmer through all the The n Turkish empire eat up almost all the crops . k oll from which this plain is first perceived by the traveler has its tradition. It is called by the u natives Sheikh Barak, and is believed by them to be the b rial place of

e Barak , who with Deborah, in the days of the Judges, led the Israelit s against the Canaanites at Mount Tabor. a is A small stre m, the River K hon, follows the direction of Mount

the . Carmel, from southeast to the northwest Its many tributary streams wate r the entire Plain of Esdraelon and make this a garden . There are tim es

s after the spring rains when its tide is swollen, and sweeps over these field

oo like a lake . This peaceful little river has witnessed many scenes of bl d. n The Canaanite host, under Sisera, were swept in defeat across this plai , when Deborah and Barak won their victory, and horseman and charioteer u were swept down together in the c rrent of this river, now so peaceful . ’ r he Four centu ies after Deborah , on the evening of Elijah s great sacrifice, w n the fire fell from heaven, it was beside this river that the priests of Baal

i . h met the r doom, as deceivers of the people T ree hundred years after k k Elijah , a young ing of Judah Josiah vainly strove to beat bac the host of Egypt on this plain . He fell, and with him fell the last hope of u Judah and Jerusalem . Cr saders and Saracens battled here ; and Napoleon c in l led his legions to vi tory sight of these mountains, a most in our own n u century. There is not a plain o all the earth that has soaked p so much human blood as this Plain of Esdraelon .

i . Beyond those fields , r ses the side of Mount Carmel On its southeastern k t flan , there is an opening in the rocks . Within hat hollow is a spring that may have supplied the wate r with which Elijah dr enched his altar before a . n r the great sacrifice But in the base of the mou t in, not fa away is a larger spring, which is one of the sources of the Kishon, and is more likely to have been used by Elijah . In front of it is a little plain , strewn with rocks . It is large enough for us to imagine the multitudes of Israel assembled upon

n e his it, Ki g Ahab seat d in chariot among them , to watch the struggle between the solitary prophet of Jehovah and the priests of Baal . Near by e d is a little plat au , situate on the eastern extremity of the ridge, which is also the highest point, and a very ancient tradition says that this is the ’ “ spot where Elijah s altar stood. It has been called by Dean Stanley one ” “ of the most authentic localities of the Old Testament history. He adds : It is one of the very few, perhaps the only case in which the recollection of an event has been actually retained in the native Arabic designation . Many

e names of towns have been so preserved, but here is no town , only a shap less ‘ ’ ‘ ’ ‘ ” u the El-Maharrakah r in , yet spot has a name, , the Burning , or the Sacrifice - The localities adapt themselves to the event in almost every parti o he nlar . T summit thus marked out is the extreme eastern point of the

e i of r t rang , commanding the last v ew the sea behind, the fi s view of the ‘ ’ s r great plain in front, ju t where the glades of forest, the excellency of Ca mel ,

n u t . sink i to the sual barrenness of the hills and vales of Pales ine There, n on the highest point of the mou tain, may well have stood, on its sacred ‘ ’ high place , the altar of the Lord which Jezebel had cast down . Close i v beneath, on a w de upland sweep , under the shade of ancient oli es , and round a well of water, said to be perennial , and which may therefore have

r t escaped the general drought, and have been able to fu nish wa er for the

un u the i trenches ro d the altar m st have been ranged , on one side k ng and un r people, with the eight h d ed and fifty prophets of Baal and Astarte, and on the other side the solitary and commanding figur e of the Prophet of

. un m t e the Lord In the nearer foregro d , i mediately under the base of h n i mountai , was clearly seen the wind ng stream of the Kishon, working its ” r h way th ough the narrow pass of the hills into t e Bay of Acre .

r t h m vi F om e su mit of the cliff, westwards, a wonderful ew is got of the Mediterranean Sea ; northwards, Hermon , and part of the Lebanon

‘ c hain while . y to the east Nazareth , Tabor, Nain, Shunem , all lie below Only ’ r i m from the ve y summ t can the sea be seen, and Elijah s com and to his “ ” servant was Go up , and look towards the sea . That sea cannot be seen from the plate au on wh ich it is most probable that the altar stood . Everyt hing fits so well into the story that we Cann ot doubt that on this exac t spot took place the conflict between the p riests of Baal and the “ ”

. i in prophet of the Most High You can mag e, says an American traveller, v du the t the twel e rough stones piled up , the trench g out of shallow ear h

n t e u . arou d it, h wood heaped in order, the sacrifice laid pon it Now see the

e r s f wat r brought from yonder spring , or pe hap from the other spring, hal

r th e r n the a mile _.away, and pou ed upon altar, until it is all d ippi g and

un . the trench aro d it is full Listen now to prayer of that lonely man of God,

see he u n and its answer as the lightning falls from t blue sky, cons mi g the offe ring and licking up the water in the trenches 'There is a moment of ‘ - i k the t r awe str c en silence, and then the cry of h ong goes up , Jehovah , He ’ Th e is is God ' victory has been won, and the God of Elijah the God of Israel

8. Eb al and Geriz im .

ron n Deute omy Thou shalt put the blessi g upon mount Gerizim , and

’

l . the curse upon ‘ mount Eba

‘ in esus n It was the evening of _a day early summer when J , accompa ied d t u a , by the small b nd which, formed His isciples passing hro gh Samaria t sojour ned in he rich p lain of that name . The country is one which from n u as rar the e e ancie t days had abo nded in spring s and as y could sweep , “ ” t the fields were already white un o the harvest .

The s e the i Samaritan w re mainly a foreign race, descended from colon sts

in a planted the l nd by the Assyrians , though there was a considerable Jewish

. s t element in the population Their wor hip , originally a mix ure of heathenish and Jewish forms, was at the time of Christ purely Jewish . They kept the

t and the Sabba h , the Jewish feasts , and observed generally ordinances of

Mount Gerizim .

s a the i the law given by Moses . Of the Old Te t ment they accepted only F ve Books of Moses whic h they interpreted as commanding the erection of a

t n . emple, not on Mou t Moriah in Jerusalem but on Mount Gerizim

Jesus and His disciples had reached the Well of Jacob . There Jesus

e d the wait d while the others went into the a joining little city of Sychar,

a n . n and ancient Shechem , to purchase necess ry provisio s He is hu gry those fields are white to the harvest ; yet f ar more hungering for the souls of those

. a t whom He was to redeem Over gainst Him , sheer up over two housand

G the a a t . feet, rises Mount erizim with the ruins of S marit n emple on it

was w t n f or t a While He ai i g the re urn of His disciples, there c me out a

— 37 h Samaritan woman to draw water from the well. T en came the reques t . dr nk give Me to i , and then the conversation by which the woman was brought to repentance and to faith . Sychar and its plain to - day strangely agree with descriptions of the locality which we find in the Bible . Professor A. P . Stanley has this in a “ record of his travels in the Holy Land : From the hills through which the on main route of Palestine must always have run, and am gst which Shiloh is secluded the traveler descends into a wide plain the widest and the n most beautiful of the plains of the Ephraimite mountai s, one mass of m i corn, unbroken by boundary or hedge, from the dst of which start

- s n ds up olive trees, them elves une closed as the fiel in which they stand. f m Its western side is bounded by the abutments o two ountain ranges, running from west to east . These ranges are Gerizim and Ebal ; and up the e opening between them, not seen from the plain, li s the modern town of

” “ s flod e e n n e e Nablu , g d b twee the two high mountai s which xt nd on each

f - z o G . side the valley that on the south, eri im, that on the north , Ebal

‘ t e Shechem is first mentioned in h dimness of the patriarchal age, as w l e e the first spot on hich Abraham ha t d as he ent red the land of promise . “ ” Under the oaks of Moreh Abraham rested and-built the first altar to the

G k . true od which Canaan had nown At a later day, Jacob, descending probably by the same route as Abraham from the same region in Meso e d potamia, ent red the land and bought a field at Shechem for a hun red pieces of money.

o - It was, however, not merely the c rn fields and the valleys, nor even

e u - the sacred oaks or t rebinths, nor yet the b rial place of Joseph, that gave its main interest to Shechem in the eyes of a true Israelite . High above r the fertile vale rose the long ocky ridge of Mount Gerizim, facing the equally long and rocky range of Ebal . From the highest, that is, the eastern

‘ a t erusalem summit of th t ridge, not equal in actual eleva ion to J , but much more considerable than the Mount of Olives above the level from which it

e the w the ris s, a wide view embraces the Mediterranean Sea on est, snowy

o f - Jord anic heights of Hermon on the north, and on the east the wall the trans

abb ok . un mountains, broken by the deep cleft of the J The mo tain that

‘ commands this view, which is to Ephraim what that from Gibeon, or Olivet, the is to Judaea, was from very early times a sacred place . Even before s had n c I raelites entered Palestine, these mountai s had a quired a deep meaning in the minds of the Israelites . In his recital of the law, Moses had “ commanded the peO ple : When the Lord thy God hath brought thee in ut s unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, thou shalt p the ble sing '

z . upon Mount Geri im , and the curse upon Mount Ebal Are they not on t the other side Jordan, in the land of the Canaani es, which dwell in the desert over Gilgal, under the terebinths of Moreh

38 i h i In accordance with this injunction , one of the f rst solemn gat er ngs of the people afte r their entrance into Canaan witnes sed the scene des “ c ribed in the Book of Joshua : Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord

And e God of Israel in Mount Ebal . he wrot there upon the stones a copy ” of the law of Moses in the presence of the children of Israel . Then stood all e f Isra l, hal of them on Mount Gerizim and half of them on Mount Ebal , “ the as Moses had commanded, and Joshua read all words of the law, the

n r e blessi gs and cu sings, according to all that is writt n in the book of the ” n s law . As each of the divi e laws was read, all the men of Israel an wered “ ” n . c e with a loud voice, sayi g Amen It was one of the strangest s nes in i um all Bible h story, and a most solemn ass ption of obligations by the entire th people . The hills form a g reat amphitheatre, space enough for e entire ’ “ ” - i . people and a natural sound ng board for Joshua s voice Every traveler, “

n . e . din says He ry A Harper, can t stify of this I found that, stan g on the

l i is n slopes of Ebal, my men across the val ey and on Geriz m could d ti guish ” di an all I said . Sir Charles Wilson mentions one fact as to the st ce the human voice can here be heard : that dur ing the excavations on Mount Gerizim the Ar ab workmen were on more than one occasion heard conversing wi th men passing along the valleybelow . Lord Lindsay visite d the place in 1 838 and thus describes his experience ni to s zi Tur ng up a valley the we t, between the hills of Geri m and Ebal , di (on which the tribes stood in two visions, when the book of the law, the s i n w blessings and curse , and the aston shi g prophecies of Moses, ere read ‘ s to them by Joshua, and all the people cried Amen we reached Nablu ,

and th e the ancient Sichem or Sychar, built at the foot on lowes t S lope of e z l G ri im , and embowered in groves of the richest verdure figs, mu berries ,

m - n t olives one solitary pal tree toweri g over hem , and hedges of the wi in prickly pear, th its fantastic boughs and yellow blossoms , guard g every

a h u s n n plant tion . It was a sweet evening, the t r she were si gi g merrily, and everything smiled around us . Nablus was far too lovely it would have been o disenchantment to enter it we rode round the t wn, and encamped

- e e . b yond it under the olive tre s A remnant of the Samaritans , about one d l a s hun red, stil live there, and, at cert in season , still go up and worship ” on Geriz im .

e m As describ d by travelers, the sum it of Ebal is a comparatively level

e s e s plat au of some extent ; there is no actual peak, but the ground ri s toward the west. The view is one of the finest in the country. There is a great n l z contrast between the barre ness of Mount Eba and the fertility of Geri im .

and That may be due a good deal to the position of them . Ebal is steeper,

e was is the northern hill ; G rizim, the southern hill, so that chosen for the “ ’ n e mount of blessing , life and light bei g always associat d with the south

s by the Jews . Gerizim was afterward chosen by the Samaritans for the site m of their temple, and they clai , too , that it was the mountain on which

Abraham offered Isaac . i Here is the Samaritan holy place , for the people take off the r shoes

. is when they approach it The Passover still eaten there every Easter week, but the community is becoming very small . Towards sunset a few men in ' white surplices recite a form of prayer near the circular pit in which the

f - lambs are roasted ; then all the ull grown men join, prayer and prostrations d a continue till sunset, when the priest rapi ly repe ts the twelf th chapter of

S n amarita s worshipping on Gerizim .

‘ the are Exodus . The lambs are killed while the priest is speaking ; y skinned e and cleaned, the bodies then placed in the pit till roast d ; then the covering w is taken off, the bodies dra n out and placed on brown mats ; then they are taken to the trench and laid out in line between the two files of the

r . Sama itans, who now have shoes on their feet and staves in their hands

a . h m e Short pr yers follow T ey suddenly seat themselves, and com nce to

u m . eat silently and rapidly, ntil the whole is consu ed ' r r Poor Samaritans Deluded idolaters, ha dened in thei rejection of

who m in Him at the foot of Gerizi had spoken, the days of His flesh , to the

natur e of a . woman from S maria, and had instructed her regarding the true ' i i worship Try ng to gain the favor of God by va n sacrifices, sacrifices for whic t ot Gerizim but Jerusalem had once been the place appointed 'Their s

as all parts of the land, as far Jerusalem or Tyre, the one great object in

- r view must always have been snow clad He mon . And now it stood out b : - efore them in all the wondrous glory of a sunset first rose colored, then

e in t - i n s de pen g red, nex the death l ke pallor, and the dark e s relieved by the ” s . now, in quick succession

As as they cended in the cool of that Sabbath evening, the keen mountain air i must have breathed strength into the cl mbers, and the scent of snow

m Mount Her on .

’ for which the parched tongue woul d long in sum mer s heat have refreshed k m them . We now not what part may have been open to the of the glorious v r r iew from Hermon, embracing as it does a great part of Sy ia f om the

s u the sea to Dama c s, from the Lebanon and gorge of the Litany to the mountains of Moab ; or down the Jordan valley to the Dead Sea ; or over

e . Galile , Samaria, and on to Jerusalem , and beyond it But such darkness ’ as that of a summer s night would creep on. “ ” - On that mountain top He prayed . Although the text does not expressly state it, we can scarcely doubt, that He prayed with the disciples,

E h ah and still less, that He prayed for them , as did j for his servant, when the city was surrounded by Syr ian horsemen : that his eyes might be opened ’ — “ to behold heaven s host the far more that are with us than they that ” are with them . “ nd and A as He prayed, the fashion of His countenance was altered,

His raiment was white and glistering . And, behold, there talked with Him

'

e . in two men, which wer Moses and Elias who appeared glory, and spake of His decease which He should accomplish at Jerusalem . But Peter and

h H im : t ey that were with were heavy with sleep and when they were awake,

m en h they saw His glory, and the two that stood wit Him . And it came to pass, as they departed from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good

to : for us be here and let us make three tabernacles ; one for Thee, and one M n ' . Wh h for oses, and one for Elias ; not k owing what he said ile e thus

t overshad oed : spake, here came a cloud, and them and they feared as

. i they entered into the cloud And there came a voice out of the cloud, say ng ,(

: . This is My beloved Son hear Him And when the voice was past, Jesus

. was found alone And they kept it close, and told no man in those days . ” any of those things which they had seen .

ra u i in This is the brief but wonderful story of the T nsfig rat on, as told n the Gospels . As Jesus prayed, His divinity bega to shine through His

r the i human natu e, becoming visible to eye, until His ent re figure shone h as the sun, His clothing even radiating lig t, and becoming, as Mark says, “ ” s . white a snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them His form shone, f h i not like that o Moses in ancient time wit borrowed light, but w th a glory which came from within and was His o wn. The spectacle must have been inexpressibly glorious . ' and the Moses Elijah appeared, the former representing Law, and

. the latter the Prophets, since Christ is the end of the Law (Romans

and the object of all prophecy. For more than nine hundred years f r Elijah had been in heaven, and for more than ourteen hundred yea s

Moses had been away from this world ; and now both reappear, still living,

s e z . peaking, r cogni ed in some way not stated in the Gospels, by the disciples There are many texts in Scriptur e which say that men live after they are

ar dead,but here is an illustration of the truth . Here e two men;long centuries

h n . after t ey have left the earth, still living and servi g their Lord One of the Gospels gives us the subj ect of the talk it was about ’ e Christ s death on Calvary. These men were s nt from heaven to comfort and strengthen Jesus for the journey to His cross . He would have bitter sorrows and great sufferings, and they came to cheer Him . We are not told that He was afraid or that He was in danger of growing faint -hearted before d He reache His cross . But before entering on His great Passion , our Lord ’ was to receive one more pledge of the Father s love . So the heavenly mess O al engers wc re sent to earth to t k with Jesus about His death , and what it i di H is would mean to the world, that He m ght, accor ng to human nature, be strengthened for it .

i s e Dur ng the brief visit of the e princes of the Old Testament, Pet r offered to build temporary houses for their accommodation ; but he spoke

e . in the fright and excit ment of the moment Then came a bright cloud ,

i e e the visible glory wh ch manifest d the pres nce of God, even as He appeared

i the in the pillar of cloud and f re in wilderness, in the cloud that filled

’ Solomon s temple and visibly rested upon the Ark of the Covenant . From ’ n to it spoke the Father Himself testifyi g Christ s divine Sonship . The di sciples had been greatly shocked by what Jesus had told them six days before that He must suffer and be killed. Now from heaven the Father

r s speaks , assu ing them that Je us is indeed the Messiah, and that they

l i e H is . shou d l st n to His voice, and to voice only Even if they could not

h0 es understand, even if the things He said seemed to destroy all their p , they must be conte nt to hear . Mount Hermon whose snowy peak looked down upon this marvelous

i e event, is the greatest mounta n in Palestine pr per, more than feet

r above the sea, and the only one on whose peaks the snow remains th oughout

. o m the year To travelers in Palestine a wondr us sight, as it loo s above the

r iz i n e no thern hor on, it is to Chr stians most memorable as the mount con ect d w ith the Transfig uration of our Lord . Christians love to think of that

’ revelation of their Savior s divine glory.

Lord 'it is good for us to be Wh ere rest the souls that dwell with Thee Where stand revealed to mortal gaze The great old saints of other days ’ Who once received on H oreb s height The eternal laws of truth and right ;

s Or, caught the still, small whi per, higher

o i . Than st rm, than earthquake, or than f re

Lord 'it is good for us to be

Entranced, enwrapped, alone with Thee ;

e n m Watching the glist ni g rai ent glow, ’ e H erm n Whit r than o s whitest snow . The human lineaments which shine

Irradiant with a light divine, i c T ll we, too , change from grace to gra e, ” Gazing on that transfig ured Face . n (A. P . Sta ley .) Christ, our bliss all joys combining,

“ Thy face above the sun is shining, ’ A g litt ring robe thyform arrays ; t n Glory bright from hee is beami g,

Thy voice of truth thy worth proclaiming, Wh ile from the Father’ s mouth it says In love ’ s endearing tone

“ ’ son This is my only , Me well pleasing His w ish regard 'And your reward Be endless glory with the Lord '”

Can one glimpse, so quickly over,

Jesus to Suffice us, , _ discover The splendors of thy high estate '

All its wonders to be telling,

We need to build for thee a dwelling,

And evermore around thee wait . v Dear Sa ior, at thy side e Joy, health and peac abide Hallelujah ' ’t Here, Lord, with thee is good to be, ’ r From ev ry care and sorrow f ee .

ur Lord of life, to earth ret ning,

’ O ur i bodies w th thy light adorning, , Give us thy splendor then to see ' ’ h s W en our du t, o er grave victorious, ’ f ashion d And like His body glorious,

Shall splendid and immortal be, Far brighter light will shine r ’ ' Than, He mon, e er was thine While Hosannas '

Of higher praise our tongues shall raise, ’ On Zion s hill, through endless days .

10. The Mount of Pre ac hing .

2 . Matthew And seeing the multitude, he went up into a mountain ;

‘ and when O e his he was set, his disciples came unto him ; and he p ned mouth,

and taught them .

It was probably on one of those mountain - ranges which stretch to the north of Capernaum, that Jesus had spent the night of lonely prayer, which

I n preceded the choosing of the Twelve . As the morni g broke He called up ' those who had recognized in H im the promised Messiah of Israel and from them chose the twelve who were to be His first messengers .

The nd early light of day, however, had already g uided a great a eager

ul t e m titude to h broad level plain at the foot of the Galilean ridge, to bring f to Him their needs o soul and of body. To them Jesus now went down

. e with words of comfort and power of healing . As they pr ssed around Him o w h i di m for that t uch ith brought ealing of the r seases, He spoke to the

t The Moun of Beatitudes .

- ' ' H e retired at length reg arding His kingdom . In order to be heard of all : h again to the mountain height. Through the clear air of the brig t spring ' day He u ttered what has ever sinc e been known as the Sermon on the ” Mount . ” ' A cc ording to traditional view this mount was the so - called Horns of

z - Hattin on the road from Tiberias to Na areth, about one and one half

- the . H . hours to north west of Tiberias The , Horns of attin are a double peaked mountain som e five miles west of the Sea of Galilee . The view from ' ' “ L d l . he the top,says ord Lin say, is ovely T Sea of Galilee lies before you , ' h rn extrem it outstretched like a map its nort e y, broken by creeks, but cu i m n t e cir lar n the ai , is quite dis inct, while the ey follows the eastern shore

n i he . for ma y a mile, till the mountains close n and conceal the sout rn extremity

— 48 proverbial gorgeousness of the robes of Solomon . And, though there may i not be any special appropriateness to Gal lee, the brilliant flowers of Palest ine are one of the most attractive features of its scenery, the more so from the want of color or form in the general landscape .

The Torrent. The image with which, both in St . Matthew and St. Luke,

u m i r the disco rse concludes, is one fa liar to all eastern and southe n climates,

a torrent, suddenly formed by the mountain rains, and sweeping away all before it in its descent through what a few minutes before had been a dry channel . Yet it may be observed that it is an image far more natural in Galilee than in Judaea ; whether we take the perennial streams which

r Gennesareth - the run th ough the Plain , or the torrent streams of Kishon

run and the Belus , which on the west through the Plain of Esdraelon to the i l Med terranean. There is more aptitude in this likeness, as app ied to them, than if applied to the scanty and rare flooding of the Kedron and the corres di pon ng wadys of the south . The sudden inundation of the Kishon is already historical from the Old Testament ; and,if we are to press the “ ” “ ” 0 11 allusion to the sand , which was built the house that fell , then in there is no other locality Palestine to which we can look, except the long sandy strip of land which bounds the eastern plain of Acre, and through which the Kishon flows into the sea.

1 1 . Calvary.

uk n e L e And whe they were come to the plac , which is called H im Calvary, there they crucified , and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left .

W n alking dow one of the principal thoroughfares of Jerusalem, the D G amascus ate Street, the traveler reaches the northern wall of the Holy

ak s r City. Let us t e our stand on thi wall and look towa d the north and we have before us a prospect familiar to millions of eyes through the long past .

Look for a moment on that rounded grassy knoll, with the two caverns yawning under it, and then recall those lines which have been sung so often

There is a green hill far away Without a city wall Where the dear Lord was crucified ” Who died to save us all .

There is good evidence for the identification of the Hill of Golgotha or

Calvary. Jesus was crucified outside the city, and this elevation was once W ithout the wall. The resemblance of its general lines to a human skull, i s s its two caves suggest ng two eye socket , very probably sugge ted the name “ ” “ ” - k i . the Golgotha s ull l ke Moreover, we know cross was planted i d in a public place, near to the city ; and th s is beside the Damascus roa ,

all . one of the most frequented in the land Then, from early Jewish writings ,

to i re we learn that this hill was given up the execution of crim nals, and ” c e ived ni . the name, Place of Sto ng If then we have no reason to doubt that this is indeed the place called ” Calvary, then it is the center of the Christian world .

r f s h n the Pictu e to yoursel three crosse yonder, wit One I nocent in cente r ; see the circle of Jewish enemies and Roman soldiers around Him ;

- iz e look at the sorrow smitten mother, the sympath ing women, the belov d in n s disciple stand g near ; see the gloom gatheri g over the land cape, and hear n the seven mighty words soundi g out from the lips of the Crucified . And “ then remember that it wa s for us He hung and suf fered there ' Surely He

our : did hath borne griefs, and carried our sorrows yet we esteem Him

e . stricken, smitt n of God, and afflicted But He was wounded for our trans

ressions our s : the g , He was bruised for iniquitie chastisement of our peace ” was upon Him ; and with His stripes we are healed.

What Thou, my Lord hast suffered , ’ Was all for sinners gain :

i was s s M ne, Mine the tran gre sion,

But Thine the deadly pain .

Lo ' here I fall, my Savior ; ’ Tis I deserv e Thy place ;

Look on me with Thy favor,

Vouchs afe to me Thy grace .

e h There is another place of deep int rest at the base of t is hill . On the

‘ rextem e c liff in left, we see an enclosed garden and beyond , a the shadow. At the bottom of this cliff there is vis ible from the northern wall of Jerus alem l a sma l dark spot. This is the entrance to a tomb dis covered by General

ul Gordon ; it is hollowed out of the rock, as are many of the ancient sep chres “ ” s . e around Jeru alem It has been nam d , The Tomb of our Lord. Le t us go and look into it . Even the possibility that we may be looking upon the rock -walls which once enclosed the body of Jesus makes our heart beat

' the faster And it should bring the scenes of the burial, the sealing, and rising vividly before us . Not far away stood the cross it could not have be en more than a quarter of a mile away from which tender hands to ok “ down the torn, dead body of Him who they had truste d would redeem

Israel . Imagine the little procession down the hillside in the gathering gloom ;

d w in ‘l inen n the bo y hastily rapped clothes, and the napkin coveri g the face ; the women standing by and watching while all that seems to be left of the Nazarene is laid to rest in yonder rocky b ed ; the stone rolled against ’ the door, and stamped with the ruler s seal. Can we bring home to ourselves how they felt on that night as they turned awayfrom the tomb and from the hill' c It was here, or in onnection with such a tomb as this, that occurred that most momentous of all events for the salvation of the world Christ’ s resurrection from the dead. Our salvation depends upon this a risen “ : hr hi our Christ If C ist be not risen, then is our preac ng vain, and faith is also vain . Can you pictur e to yourself the surprise when the women found the ' u f g reat stone rolled away, and an angel sitting upon it Can you put yo rsel ’ d e in John s place as he stood in the open oor of the tomb , and rev rently hesitated to enter it'How like John it was to stand at the entrance ; and ho r e t o s r t s f vy like Pet r it was ru h fo ward into the omb, and see for him el ' m that the body was no longer there Do you reme ber that John, though to s second enter the tomb , was the first to believe that His Master had ri en ; and to believe before he had seen Him living 'He saw the long grave - clothes wr apped and lying in order ; he saw the napkin that had covered the face ' carefully folded and laid by itself ; and then the conviction rolled upon his

s e consciousness that thi was no st althy robbery of a grave, but the calm “ i saw conduct of One who wasin no haste to depart. Then that d sciple ” and believed ' Blessed were they who believed after they had seen their

‘ Lord ; more blessed the disciple who believes without the sight.

Holy Cross of Calvary, ’ Through night s shadows gleaming ;

Tender Tree of Life, from thee

Floods of life are streaming .

Holy Cross of Calvary, Through the ages beaming ;

Calling everyheart to thee,

To the grace redeeming .

Holy Cross of Calvary, Hope of every nation ;

Holy blood was shed on thee, ’ For the world s salvation.

Holy Cross of Calvary,

me Point to thy Savior, By whose wounds my soul shall

Cleansed and blest fore ver.

52

Holy Cross of Calvary , Basking in the splendor ; I will praise unceasingly

Christ, my true Defender.

Holy Cross of Calvary, Life is swiftly passing ;

Let me always cling to thee, In n my faith prog ressi g .

r l Holy C oss of Ca vary, _ Help m y weak endeavor ;

Sin and evil let , me flee,

Make me holy ever.

Holy Cross of Calvary, ’ In death s fatal hour ;

‘ Brighten ‘ thou the way for

Be my streng th and tower .

J . Mueller.

1 2 . O livet.

L k u e And He came out and went, as He was wont, to the mount

H is di l of Olives ; and sciples a so followed Him .

“ As the mountains are round about Jerusalem , so is the Lord round ” Ps. H ow il about His people . fam iar the description to every Bible

a s reader . Jerusalem, the Holy City, encompassed with barrier of height , e m n e s lit rally shut in by ountai s on the east rn side, where it may be aid to be enclosed by the arms of the Mount of Olives (Olivet) with its outlying i ridges . Only in two instances do the mountains surround ng Jerusalem 1 rise to any considerable height. Olivet is only 80 feet above the top of

Mount Zion. un i The Mo t of Olives is a long ridge with four d stinct summits, of which

is l s s one cal ed the mount of Offense, becau e Solomon built altars to the idol

s r there, and another, Ascension, becau e it is believed that on this spot Ch ist

is i i t ascended to heaven. There a road branch ng off to the right which sk r s

s l . the foot of the Mount of . Olive , and fol ows the valley The main road n i u m il climbi g the h ll is the carriage road aro nd to Bethany, which lies a e i us and a half to the eastward . That is the road wh ch our Savior m t have trodden over and over again in His visits to Jerusalem ' for He made H is

' c 1t i home in Bethany and went back and forth daily ; to the y in the morn ng, o and returning to Bethany in the evening. How real the st ry seems as we look on that old road 'Does it not bring up to you vividl y the days between the i s Ano nting and the La t Supper, when every day (save Wednes day) i Jesus walked over that road to the city, and then at even ng sought again the shelter and safety of that home in Bethan y '

- its The olives and olive yards from which it derived name, mus t at t that im e have clothed it far more completely than at present. The whole

s e e o area was distingui hed, as it is to som ext nt t day, by its thick plant ations l a of olives, figs, and pa ms, hence the names Bethph ge (House of

Figs) and Bethany (Hous e of Dates) . To this day there are in the Garden of

s - o Geth emane eight aged olive trees, wh se appearance has always struck

tnm k s even the most indifferent observers. Their g narled and scanty foliage mark them out from all other trees on the mountain and by their appearance

us of extreme age carry back to the events of the gospel story. u A far view is obtained from the s mmit of the Mount of Olives. Passing gradually east from the wilderness of Judea, the eye is caught by the intens e w blue of the Dead Sea lying nearly four thousand feet belo , but in the clear

i l s atmosphere look ng very near , while behind lie the beautifu hill of Moab .

More in the foreground a few houses of Bethany appear, and northward is

r d a view of the Jordan Valley, through the center of which may be t ace ,

r t as a serpent line of green, the cou se of hat famous river .

i e To the mmediate west is the Holy City, separat d by the deep Valley

e . the to of J hoshaphat Just within the wall lies the Dome of the Rock, p in r of Moriah , and the open space of the great Temple area fig u es of people may be discerned moving about. Beyond lie the domed houses of the

i . modern nhabitants, pile above pile, and many church towers Beyond the

s e Tower of David, on the horizon, the we t rn mountains of Judea shut off the distant sea. its i With wealth of memories from Bible stories th s view, best seen

u is about the ho r of sunset, the most fascinating in the Holy Land, yes, in

t e o Chr ist the entir e world. It is a scene on which h eyes f_ must frequently “ e : have rested . Says Lord Lindsay, in his L tters on the Holy Land There i is no spot (you will not now wonder at my say ng so) at, or near, Jerusalem, half so interesting as the Mount of Olives , and, on the other hand, from ' no other point is Jerusalem seen to such advantage . Oh what a relief it

to - m was quit its narrow, filthy, ill paved streets for that lovely hill, cli bing

b the l it y same rocky path our Savior and His faithfu few so often trod, r n o i and resting on its brow as they did, when thei divine i structor, lo k ng

r s e of down on Je u alem in her glory , utt red those memorable prophecies her n l fall, of His Second Advent, and of the fi al Judgment, which we shou d n in be ever brood over in our hearts as a warni g voice, bidd g us watch and

H is ' f l ready for coming Viewed rom the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem is stil

is external and k th e a lovely, a majestic object ; but her beauty only, li e bitter apples of Sodom, she is found full of rottenness within,

‘ In Earth ’ s dark circlet once the precious gem ’ us ' Of Living Light Oh, fallen Jer alem

i H ol t The Mount of Olives is inseparably united w th the y Ci y. It was r the open ground for pleasure, for worship, and other pu poses of the i h t J n abitan s of erusalem, its green slopes, as seen in the early spring, i to stand ng out in refreshing contrast the aged city at its foot. The few notices which we find of it in the older his tory are in accordance with this “ ” location. The sacrifice of the red heifer (Num . 3) was celebrate d on

the . d s slope of Olivet Davi , before the Temple was built, was accu tomed to “ ” hi n 2 . m m i wors p God at the top of the Mou t ( Sam On its su t,

e Solomon in his later years permitt d the worship of foreign gods . By the v his ascent of Mount Olivet Da id went up, on flight from Jerusalem, at the news that Absalom was in revolt against him . At the top of the Mount he

As met Hushai, and had his last view of the rebellious city. he descended o i him the r ugh road on the other side, Sh mei threw stones at and cursed him .

e w i a , More abundant and replet ith nterest, however, re those associations a l i i alre dy al uded to, wh ch Ol vet derives from the closing scenes of the life hr of our Savior . Let us briefly go t ough the main points of interest . Fr om s n w l b Bethany we mu t begi , a ild mountain ham et today, perched on a roken e e plat au of rock, in its foreground the deep d scent to the Jordan Valley, h the scene of t eparable of the Good Samaritan. “ s is God ' Lord Lind ay writes Nor there, thank any doubt about ’ e s Bethany, the hom of that happy family, so peculiarly our Lord s friend

H is e own i to r during latt r years, His home, indeed, during His last v sit Je u

is i e . e e i salem It a sw et retired spot, beaut fully situat d on the slop of a h ll

M i - n to the south of ount Ol vet . The path to Jerusalem winds rou d the Mount, hr and t ough the Vale of Jehoshaphat, precisely, to all appearance,as it did hi u when the Messiah rode t ther in regal but humble tri mph, and the people strewed their garments and branches in the way. They show you the

o z us supposed tomb f La ar , an excavation in the rock, to which you descend

e s. w by many st p It lies to the west of the to n, and cannot therefore, I

k and e thin , be the spot. When Mary rose up hastily went out to me t our i i Sav or com ng from Jericho, the Jews thought she was going to the grave to weep there ; the sepulchre must therefore have been to the east of the o s city, and in fact I saw two or three ancient t mbs by the way ide in that 3

ir z us 8 . d ection, one of which may have been La ar On the further side of that dark abyss Martha and Mary knew that Christ was abiding when they sent their messenger ; up that long ascent

e H is they had oft n watched approach up that long ascent He came when, H im outside the village, Martha and Mary met , and the Jews stood round

i . U n weep ng p that same ascent He came, also, at the begin ing of the week

_ 53 _ n e n of His Pass ion. One ight He halt d in the village, in the morni g He set h forth on His journey. Along the road by w ich mounted travelers always

s l . approach the city from Jericho, Je us passed on Pa m Sunday

Jesus in Gethsemane .

Two vast streams of people met on that day. The one poured out from h e the city, and as they came t rough the gardens whose clust rs of palm rose

- e on the south east rn corner of Olivet, they cut down the long branches , a ds as was their wont at the Fe st of Tabernacles, and moved upwar towards

wi . Bethany, th loud shouts of welcome From Bethany streamed forth the i crowds who had assembled there on the prev ous night, and who came

— 59 a ul testifying to the gre t event at the sep chre of Lazarus . The road soon

- loses sight of Bethany. It is now a rough , but still broad and well defined

i d ec li it mountain track, wind ng over rock and loose stones ; a steep y y below on the left ; the sloping shoulder of Olivet above it on the right ; fig - trees

r O c k below and above, here and there growing out of the y soil. Along the road the multitudes threw down the branches which they cut as they went

l - along, or spread out a rude matting formed of the pa m branches they had —1 l m . a ready cut as they ca e out The larger portion those, perhaps, who escorted Him from Bethany unwrapped their loose cloaks from their m shoulders,and stretched the along the rough path, to form a momentary

. s f carpet as He approached The two stream met midway. Hal of the vast f l mass, turning round, preceded, the other hal followed. Gradual y the long “ ns th procession swept up and over the ridge, where first begi e descent of ” i the Mount of Olives towards Jerusalem . At th s point the fir st view is

- caught of the south easte rn corner of the city. The Temple and more northern portions are hid by the slope of Olivet on the right ; what is seen is only Mount Zion, now for the most part a rough field, crowned with the

Mosque of David and the angle of the western walls, but then covered with h u m n o ses to its ~ base, sur ou ted by the Castle of Herod, on the supposed

e em hati sit of the palace of David, from which that portion of Jerusalem, p “ ” d n cally the City of David , derive its name . It was at this precise poi t, “ ” dr as He ew near, at the descent of the Mount of Olives, (may it not s i ' have been . from the sight thu open ng upon them ) that the shout of “ m r m l on triu ph bu st forth fro the mu titude, Hosanna to the S of David '

Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the kingdom

our H nn r that cometh of father David. osa a peace glo y in the high

a s r est. There was pau e as the shout rang th ough the long defile ; and,

e - as the Pharisees who stood by in the crowd complain d, He pointed to the “ e r m if stones which, strewn beneath th i feet, would im ediately cry out “ ” these were to hold their peace . l Again the procession advanced. The road descends a s ight declivity, a nd the glimpse of the city is again withdr awn behind the inte rvening ridge

.

. t h n n r of Olivet A few momen s, and the pat mou ts agai , it climbs a ugged ascent, it reaches a ledge of smooth rock, and in an instant the whole city

- bursts into view . As now the dome of the Mosque El Aksa rises like a ghost

s so from the earth before the traveler stand on the ledge, then must have risen the Temple tower ; as now the vast enclosur e of the Moham m edan l r t sanctuary, so then must have spread the Temp e cou s ; as now the g ray w o to n on its broken hills, so then the magnificent city, with its backgr und — long since vani shed away of gardens and suburbs on the western plateau

d. di K behin Imme ately below was the Valley of idron, here seen in its i n g reatest depth as it joins the Valley of H n om, and thus giving full

- 60 ' onl on effect to the great peculiarity of Jerusalem , seen y its eastern — ' side its situation as of a city rising out of a deep abyss . It is hardly — possible to doubt that this rise and turn of the road, this rocky ledge, “ was the exact point where the multitude paused again, and He, when

He beheld the city, wept over it .

The - G - Kidron orge near the Monastery of Mar Saba .

.

On one of the rocky banks of the mountain, immediately over against ” the Temple, He sat and saw the sun go down over the city, and foretold its final doom . Bethany, on the further side, was the home to which He retired ; any of the fig - trees which spring out of the rocky soil on either side w of the road , might be the one which bore no fruit . On the wild uplands hich immediately overhang the village, He withdrew from the eyes of His disciples, e in a seclusion which , perhaps, could nowhere lse be found so near the stir of a

— 61 m i i ls ghty city the long ridge of Olivet screen ng those hil , and those hills i i the v llage beneath them, from all sound or sight of the city beh nd, the view

n n l - i l ope i g on y on the wide waste of desert rocks and ever descend ng val eys , the di into the depths of stant Jordan and its mysterious lake . At this “ point the last interview took place. He led them out as far as Bethany “ ” t he and they returned probably by direct road, over the summit of

Mount Olivet. There is more thanone allus ion to the Mount of Olives in the sayings

- of Christ. While the place where the parable of the fig tree was spoken is

r i b certain , it is natu al to connect it w th this locality ecause Olivet, besides

“ n - its abundance of olives, is still spri kled with fig trees . Two other allus ions n e w ; are u doubtedly connect d ith Olivet One is the parable, not spoken,

th - il but acted, with regard to e fig tree which wh e others around it were bare, was alone clothed with its broad green leaves , though without the i corresponding fru t. On Olivet, too, the brief parable in the g reat prophecy r n was spoken, when He pointed to the bu sting buds of spri g in the same “ th e - trees, as they grew around Him Behold fig tree and all the trees when they now shoot forth when his branch is yet tender and putte th

see own m forth leaves, ye and know of your selves that su mer is now nigh ” at hand. It is possible, too, that the parable of the sheep and the goats was suggested to our Lord as such a flock wandered up the s ides of the hill while He was sitting there with His disciples over against the T em ple and described the scene of the Judgment as mankind is being di vided into the sheep on H is right hand and the goats on His left. Very probably too He addressed on Olivet to the Pharisees the parable of the Good Shepherd.

Reference has already been made to Gethsemane . In that enclosed

hr ds n e garden, where the t ee roa over the Mount of Olives u it d, where tall

- cypress trees rise and a few olive trees darken the further corner, only four

e 11 1 . days aft r the Hosannas rang, our Savior bowed His dread agony Your sins and mine added to the weight of His suf ferings in that awf ul hour .

The - r aged olive trees, al eady described, may well be the descendants of those whose leaves rustled on that night as the Savior knelt groaning in the garden. At any rate, we know that the place cannot be more than a few rods from where those trees stand. i m m Last of all we v sit the southern su it of Olivet, which reaches ' s feet above sea level and which is the traditional Mount of the A scen ion. ‘ h n erec ted his Here the first C ristian emperor, Constanti e, church of the

31 6 e Ascension in , on the sit where now stands another church of the

m m i same name . Scattered over the su it is a modern Mohammedan v llage, whose noisy and beggarly inhabitants spoil the quiet today and the holy associations of this sacred and storied spot . Here our Lord departed from

dis i . His ciples, from th s precise spot, or from another, nearer Bethany There

— 62 can be no doubt that the last and most glorious manifestation of His exalt ation which His dis ciples received from their risen Master took place on

u . i Mo nt Olivet Here He withdrew His v sible presence from earth, here He was taken up by a bright cloud as He ascended to heaven, to sit at the right hand of H is Father and once to return again to judge the quick and the dead . Table of Contents .

1 . Mountains J N Ararat O Q Sinai Q Pisgah

I U Gilboa Q Moriah Q Carmel O O Ebal and Gerizim D C Mount of Transfigur ation l— o l Mount of Preaching

‘ —d- i F Calvary i—O l ( Olivet