MOUNTA INS OF THE BIBLE B! ERBELL . SUMM J . J ” “ A uth or o f Sc i e D octrine Life and r ptur , ” “ W i in s o f N . Summerbell O line r t g , ut o f Ch u rch H isto ry o f th e First ix Cen ies etc: S tur , BOSTON FRENCH 57 SHERMAN , COMPANY TO M! WIFE A B L A F MMERBE IS E L . V . SU LL WHOSE INCENTIVE A ND ASSISTANCE MADE THE WOR! OF THIS BOO! A DELIGHT 3041 04 I NTROD U CTI ON A few weeks ago I was reading a late address of th e great mountain climb er of th e Himal aya e th e m Mountains , and was fascinat d by char of hi s as well a s modesty , that natural attraction which th e overco ming of difficu lties always pr e e H e he b e th e s nts . stated that eli ved that top of th e highest peak there could never be reached by climbing . It is unnec essary to repeat his convincing e he e scientific r asoning . But t mere statem nt of his opinion excited th e desire to prove that be is h e er it could done ; that , that was in ror in announcing that anything wa s impo s d ff sible , that epended on endurance of su ering or on foresight and endeavor . There are mountains more important than the Himalayas ; some of those mentioned in th e e i Bible . They have interest from th r height i e o f and from their assoc ations . And som them a re : Bu t very hard to climb . wh en the summit a a o ne e th e . of cert in of them is reach d , spirit ual athlete is nearer the Great White Throne than he may be who first reaches th e top of Ev erest. Let us take a trip to these mountains of the a i a Bible , without le v ng our quiet, comfort ble INTRODUCTION homes ; taking do wn a bo ok here and there from h es th e a and our library s elv , and studying m ps e s i o i a e the r cord of travel and h st ry . It s an g of excursions . This trip will not cost u s any i thin g worth saving ; only that wh ch it is ad vanta eou s o The bes i e o ma g to l s e. t gu d bo k y u s e h e e be the Holy Bible. Le t yi ld to t e g ntl in en and e e a th e e flu ce , subdu som wh t d sire for e e r m re adv ntu e. CONTENTS PA GE ARARAT HOREB MOUNT H O R MOUNT NEB O — MOUN T HERM ON FIRST C H RISTIAN PRA! ER MEETING LEB ANON — MOUN T CARM EL DO GM A IM P O RTANT TH E MOUNT O F BEATITUDES MOUNT GILB OA MOUNT MORIA H — ’ O L IVET JESU S GRE ATES T TEM PTATION “ ” ALVA ! — A S O F TH E CR! L I C R C U E , E O ARARAT We ne ed not stop at Ararat : for th e Bible itself does not sp eak of any single mountain as that memorable stepping stone from the ante diluvian wo rld to the new ; the language of the “ Bible describing the ark as resting upon th e ” mountains of Ararat ; as if Ararat were then a i a e . a region , r th r than a mount n And this wis e arrangement of Pro vidence has s o well prevented the idolatry that would prob ably have r esulted from cert ainty as to th e i e peak , that mounta ns as far apart as thos of m e the Caucasus , Ceylon , Ar nia , Afghanistan n e e e o ne and norther India , hav b en sel cted as the ’ h e e from whic Noah s family d scend d . e i m But if we accept the doubl peak n Ar enia , s e e e sea who highest point is fe t abov the , n n capped with eter al ice and s ow, not scaled 1 2 a 8 . until 9 by Dr P rrot , as the right moun we su tain , will have legend and tradition to p port us . The conical symm etry and sunlight e glory of this mountain , looking from whos sides em i e other mountains se like h lls , mak it appear like a landmark ; and we can easily imagin e that from its foo thills th e tide of migration natur ally flowed early southward to the fertile plains el of Bab . o t o 0 er , ! . ‘ ! , “ 2 MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE ‘ “ ” ar hi t But Ar at , on w ch he ark of Noah re was n n and i no t sted, not a single mou tai , s s o e to b e i e d referr d in the Bi le . I b l ev the wor “ ” er Ararat o ccurs in but one other place ( J . 5 1 : reading thus Call together against her the kingdoms of Ara ” rat and k . , Minni Ash enaz Since writing the foregoing I lo oked into a e fo r the and great religious cyclop dia word , a find that it is not tre ted at all . HOREB “ Let no w ' e us go to Hor b , the Mount of ” two God , between the arms of the Red Sea , one of which the Is raelites crossed by the help of God in their escape from the bondage of the ten Egypt . It was there that God gave - s b th e h es . commandment to men , y and of Mos It is th e mountain to which Elij ah went forty o i his at days and f rty nights , n gre flight from i the land Where his duty lay . And t was there “ s e that God a ked him , What doest thou her , ” ! wh o Elij ah Generations earlier, Moses , also fled te i had from the land of duty , af r hav ng E i his e killed an gypt an , led flocks n arer the i o i s aw foot of th s m unta n , and a bush that n i fi re n e bur ed w th and was not co sum d . It is distinguished as no other height in the i th e e h story of world , xcept Mt . Calvary , and that other elevation where Jesus delivered the e th discours called e Sermon on the Mount . How strange it is that th e exact location of thes e mountains . is somewhat uncertain ; al though events h appe ned on them that have in flu enc ed the destini es of th e world more than any other ! It must be that th e same Jehovah that e ei e e th e has ev r v l d his fac , same Jehovah that 3 4L MOUNTAINS OF THE BIBLE prevented any likeness of his Son Jesus from v b his h as being preser ed y disciples , carefully kept uncertain to us the exact places of the ratification of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant ; infl uenced by the same motives th at caus ed him to keep secret the grave of his serv ant Moses . But the tract in which Horeb of Sinai must is r . have stood a wild , dreary and bar en region e There are crags and precipices , separat d by sandy d‘efiles s o narrow that they seem to make the opposing cliffs frown on each other ; all desolate and terrific . There are springs and streams flowing among the crags , where , probably , the thousands of Israelites , while law waiting for the , secured water for their e e flocks and herds . Som travel r, whose name i i I have forgotten , without doubt concern ng th s “ part of Arabia Petraea , said , It would seem as if Arabia Petraea had once bee n an oc ean of hi e u lava , and w le its waves wer r nning moun tains high , it was suddenly commanded to stand ” still . e e e Thus , blacken d p aks of naked granit , stand sentinel over sheer precipices mo re than a thousand feet in height . In one place we may W a pass through a ild defile into a level pl in , two miles long by two - thirds of a mile wide Here we may assume that Sinai frowns down : for the conditions of the Bible history may here be HOREB 5 i to ah met . The pla n comes the foot of the “ m t h ” p mountain , t at might be touched , or t h o t o t e . n , according commandment of the Lord l ff s o The desolate c i s surrounding this space , suitable for a camp for many thousands , must h ave lent help to Moses in his effort to bring th e Israelites into the disposition O f awe and reverence , suitable for receiving the law that “ h as become the constitutio n of the civilized ” world . i n Since wr ting the foregoing, I have fou d , “ ’ ” in the pages of the Common People portion “ ” Ch ris tiam ! of the , of B oston , in its issue of i 1 1 1 o n Apr l , 9 , probably from the pen of the s i o i .