June 1931
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
251
Countless thousands died during those days, not only as the result of the awful butchery at the hands of the Dervishes, but also because of the famine and pestilence which followed. This scene of slaughter and death is described by Father Ohrwalder in Twenty Years in the Mahdi’s Camp, from which I quote: “There, were so many dead bodies about that it was not possible to bury them all. At first we used to bury them within the city, but the Khalifa put a stop to this, and they were then taken out to the northwest side; and up to this day, if any one looks in that direction, he will find the plain scattered with innumerable skulls and human bones, which lie there glistening in the sun. . . . How many were carried away God only knows. The scent of the dead bodies brought hyenas from everywhere, and they became so bold that they would come up almost to my door. As for vultures, their name was legion, and even they, with the help of all the hyenas, were unable to consume all the bodies.- . . .v Korkoj and the Sennar, which were gen erally called the granaries of the Sudan, were desolated by famine.” Another glance at verse 6 gives us a picture of the tremendous number of human beings that were sacrificed —enough for the ravenous birds and beasts of the earth not only to summer upon, but also to winter upon. Fol lowing the battle of Omdurman (September; 1898), at the old battlefield of Kerreri, months afterward, one might see in broad daylight' the hyenas digging out of the sand the bodies of men that had been accorded a shallow burial. V erse 7 “In that time shall a present be brought unto Jehovah of hosts from a people tall and smooth, even from a people terrible from their beginning onward, a nation that meteth out and treadeth down, whose land the rivers divide; to the place of the name of Jehovah of hosts, the mount Zion.” The picture does not close in darkness, for it tells of a coming deliverance for that people who had suffered so ( Continued on page 263)
V erse 3 “All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountain, see ye; and when the trumpet is blown, hear ye.” In this verse is suggested a summons to all the earth to behold what is taking place in that land. What is the ensign, and what is the trumpet, except the symbol of and the summons to war? A very vivid fulfillment of this verse seems to have come a few years ago when, because of the delay of England in sending a relief expedition to General Charles Gordon in Khartum, the cry was sounded which reverberated around the world: “On to Khartum! On to Khartum!” As the ensign was lifted up, and the trumpet was sounded, it was as though to call the world to behold what was taking place there in those awful days of the Mahdi and the Khalifa. Those days are very fit tingly described as days of “fire and sword in the Sudan.” With such a terrible regime in sway, there were many, no doubt, who wondered why God would permit such to take place, and why He did not miraculously interfere to put a stop to that which was being done. V erse 4 Verse 4 comes in with the declaration of God’s pur pose of non-interference at that time. “For thus hath Jehovah said unto me, I will be still, and I m il behold in my dwelling-place, like clear heat in sunshine, like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.” God did not miraculously interfere, but He is able to make even the wrath of men to praise Him. V erse 5 ' “For before the harvest, when the blossom is over, and the flower becometh a ripening grape, he will cut off the sprigs with pruning-hooks, and the spreading branches will he take away and cut down.” How clear is this portrayal of the destruction of the fruitage of the land! We all know that when the blos som is over, and the ripening grape is at hand, that it is no time to put in the pruning-hook, unless for the destruc tion of the vintage. During those awful days of Dervish rule in the Sudan, the fruitful sections of that land become a desolation. I spent several weeks in the Erkowit region of the Red Sea province. This is the land immortalized by Kipling in his Fuzzy Wuzzy, the Missus and the Kid. Here dwell the Hadendowa people, that fighting tribe in the Sudan which broke the famous British square. It was the last stand of Osman Digni, one of the.Dervish generals. Before sur rendering, he cut down all the date-bearing palm trees in this region. When I visited this section about ten years later, not a single date-bearing palm was to be found any where. The sprouts were to be observed where formerly the date trees had stood. This is typical of what hap pened througout the Sudan during the reign of the Dervishes. But the destruction was not confined to the vegetable kingdom. V erse 6 Notice that in verse 6 the personal pronoun is intro duced : “They shall be left together unto the ravenous birds o f the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth; and the ravenous birds shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.” What a description of the awful carnage of human life during those fearful days of fire and sword in the Sudan!
Faith’s Vision Faith sees confusion all around, But says, “I will not fear, For though the mountains be removed, I know my God is near — He does not slumber, does not sleep; I know He will in safety keep.” Faith, in the midst of troubles sore, Smiles through her tears to say: “The Lord has promised that my strength Shall be as is my day; Though threat!ning waves of trouble roll, They cannot overwhelm my soul.” Faith sees the bow of promise bright, Across the storm-clouds thrown, •/ And finds assurance for the hope, God careth for His own. “I f skies be fair, or dangers threat, He will not leave me nor forget.” . [-—Fred Scott Shepard.
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