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fohe K i n g ’s B u s in e s s W illiam P. W hite , D.D., E ditor Motto: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood." Rev. 1:5 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY AND REPRESENTING THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES Volume XXII March, 1931 Number 3 Table o f Contents Crumbs from the King’s Table—The Editor................................... 99 Moses at the Wayside Inn-f-William Wileman.............................. 100 There Shall Be Signs—Louis S. Bauman...................................... 101 Thy Kingdom Come—Roy Talmage Brumbaugh....... ................... 103 Transformations in Easter Papua—Delavan L. Pierson.... .......... 104 Structure in Scripture—Norman B. Harrison......... ..................... 106 A Favorable Verdict and the Reasons for it—John C. Page....... 108 Heart to Heart with Our Young Readers —Florence Nye Whitwell...............................................................112 Alumni Notes—Cutler B. Whitwell...................................... ......... 116 Junior King’s Business—Helen Howarth LemmeL.....................117 Homiletical Helps........ ............ .............. ,.... ...................................... 119 Our Literature Table.......................-................................ -.............. 120 International Lesson Commentary.....................................................121 jilotes' on Christian Endeavor................... | ...... ................................ 133
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Jealousy § YOUNG commander goes out for a campaign has slain but I only thousands.” David tries to charm away the king’s sullen anger with his harp; and Saul, in
their failures or their mistakes in early life; hard to be enthusiastic when their achievements are flung in our faces, and we are expected to share in their praise. It is as if Saul were expected to join in David’s song of victory. The charity of a successful man does not count for much, for it is the good nature of victory. But if a broken man can regard his successful neighbor with out envy, and can applaud the winner when he himself has received no prize, then the grace of God has been exceedingly abundant in his heart. How is it with us when
against the Philistines and returns victorious. When the daughters of Israel meet him with singing and dancing, the king stands in the black background, openly complaining that he is now placed second to David, and regarding the popu lar hero with an angry countenance. “Ten thousands he
a fit of sudden frenzy, flings his javelin at David, whom his poor, deranged mind im agines to be some mocking enemy instead of his very loyal servant. Upon one side are courage, victory, music, and joy, and upon the other, despair, dark ness, deceit, and madness— David in his buoyant youth, and Saul in premature old age. The latter, according to the ancient story, “eyed David from that day and forward.” It requires but little in sight to detect what was passing through the mind of Saul, for the incident is an illustration, on a larger scale, of that evil spirit of jealously which is as poison
our neighbor is praised in our presence, and especial ly if this neighbor be of our profession or our circle ? If justice js being done to him or her, or even a little more than justice, for some work well done or some word fit ly spoken, are we moved al so to fling our caps into the air and to cheer because a good man or woman has re ceived his or her due, and to thank God for another person doing well? If so, we are in a state of grace and are growing into the likeness of Jesus. Or does any honor to our neighbor seem a reflection upon our character and a deduction from our right, and are we
Consider Him "Consider Him,” so sholt thou, day by day, Seek out the lowliest place, and therein stay, Content to pass away, a thing of nought, That glory to the Father ’ j name be brought. “Consider H im ” and thus thy life shall be Filled with self-sacrifice and purity; God will work out in thee the pattern true, And Christ’s example ever keep in view. Consider Him,” and as you run the race, Keep ever upward looking in His face; And thus transformed, illumined thou shalt be, And Christ’s own image shall be seen in thee. — E. M. Grimes.
ous in little homes as it is in kings’ courts. One cannot easily remember a more ignominious collapse of a fine nature or a more convincing illustration of the masterful spirit of jealousy. Saul was no petty creature whose thin blood was ever turning sour, and whose lean heart could not rise to generosity. In his periods of sanity, he was a gallant and magnanimous man, raised above spite and envy, with a nature that could appreciate David’s brilliant qualities.^ In the moments when he came to himself, he did full justice to the young soldier. But when jealousy struck its fangs into his soul, even his rich blood curdled, and his brave heart turned to hate. What may not jeal ousy do with us ordinary people, so little in our ways and so limited in our thoughts, when even this big man fell its prey and was goaded to madness! It is indeed fool ishness to regard jealousy as a trifling infirmity which hardly deserves serious consideration, for it would be hard to mention anything which could do mischief on a larger scale, and more subtly poison the springs of char acter. It may be hard to see men, who are not better or ab ler than ourselves, outstrip us in the race; hard not to undervalue and criticize them; hard to be silent about
conscious of a sullen sense of injury? It is high time, then, to take precautions, for the poison is already fer menting in our blood, and there is .a meanness at the core of our being. H ; M J. E. Jaderquist, Ph. D. It is with the greatest regret that we part with Dr. Jaderquist, who has been the Managing Editor of T he K ing ’ s B usiness for a year and a half. As an editor and as1a teacher in the classroom, his work has been most excellent. The present high grade of T h e K ing ’ s B usiness is wholly due to his untiring efforts. If it were not for financial conditions, we would use every effort possible to retain Dr, Jaderquist upon our staff. We are compelled to live within our means, and that refers not only to the Institute but to T h e K ing ’ s B usiness which is published at a financial loss. The Editor requests the prayers of the readers as he tries, under God, to carry the heavy extra burden that has been placed upon him. Dr. Jaderquist has very kindly consented to edit the Sunday-school lesson notes for a number of months. W. P. W.
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Moses a t th e Wayside Inn B y W illiam W ileman
God would not by any means overlook it. By a method which is riot named, God sought to kill him, and only removed the threatening by the obedience of Moses. No doubt the influence of Zipporah had hindered that obe dience in its proper season; but God would not accept that or any excuse from one who was to be His lawgiver. This principle of the divine government and procedure is still operative. Every reprover must eat his own re proofs. Every teacher must experience and practice all he teaches. When the appointed time—“the self-same day”— drew near for the exodus, God sent Moses to Pharaoh with a direct command to liberate his people. “Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: and I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy sOn, even thy firstborn” (Ex. 4:22, 23). It was while on the way to exectute this, his first commission, that God met him and sought to kill him. Moses was guilty in respect of his firstborn. God was sending him to threaten Pharaoh about his firstborn, and to command Pharaoh to let God’s firstborn go free. Therefore God must teach Moses how to speak with honesty and sincerity of feeling. He who preaches the death of the sinner must himself first have been convinced of sin. thought of closing our doors. We have had to curtail our work. We have had to cut salaries to the limit. But we have a splendid body of earnest students. Many new ones came to us at the beginning of this semester. God is blessing us. We have every reason for thanksgiving, and we are rejoicing in Him. It is a hand-to-mouth program, but it is “from God’s hand to our mouth.” We must not only keep ori going, but must also pay our debts. Faithfully yours,
Everything in the life-history of Moses is in the most perfect harmony with his commission and work as a law giver. His first recorded act (Ex. 2 :12) is the slaying of a man. The holy law of God is still used by the Holy Spirit in the conviction of sin as a killing law. “The let ter killeth” ; that is, thè law lettered on stone. “The law was given by Moses; but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” The first judicial act of Moses as a lawgiver, after the giving of the law upon Mount Sinai, was the slaying of the idolaters ; “and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men” (Ex. 32:28). Al most the same words are used (Acts 2:41) of the power of the Holy Spirit unto salvation on the day of Pentecost ; “and the same day there were added about three thou sand souls.” It is observable that Moses, as God’s servant in giv ing the law; must also himself be made obedient to the law. Thus we have in Ex. 4 :24-26, within three verses, the record of the dealing of God with him for neglect. “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.” We have here in words of one syllable the conviction of Moses for disobedience. He had omitted the circumcision of his firstborn son ; and We are again presenting the Biola Honor Roll for your prayerful consideration. We are delighted with the response we have had to our appeal for one dollar per month. If you are a friend of the Institute, could you not spare at least twelve dollars a year in monthly payments of one dollar? If God puts into the hearts of twenty thousand people to support us every month, by prayer and gift, it will mean far more than the giving of twenty thousand dollars per month by one person. This may be His plan to carry on. The Institute is going right along. Broadcast among your friekds that the Institute shall not die but live and declare the works of the Lord. We have never even
The Biola Honor Roll
Bible Institute of Los Angeles 536 South Hope Street Los Angeles, California
The plan of the Honor Roll is as follows: PURPOSE: To help prepare men and women to spread and teach the gospel of Christ. CONDITIONS : F irst , to pray for God’s blessing upon the Bible Institute of Los
Firmly believing in the importance of training young people for Christian service, I hereby request that my name be placed (continued) on the Biola Honor Roll for a period of one, two, three ( .......................... ) years, and I express my willingness to ( Years desired ) cheerfully and faithfully meet the conditions of membership.
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Israel’s sun shall rise again. The rising of that sun will see great David’s mighty Son seated on His throne, and He shall reign, “whose right it is.” Is it without significance that, whereas there were but 55,000 Jews, in Palestine at the time of the armistice, twelve years ago, there are more than 150,000 in the land of Abraham today? More than twice as many have re turned to their ancient home from which they have been exiles for centuries, as returned in that significant home ward trek from Babylon, five Centuries before. Christ. Is it without significance that the hills of Palestine are being leveled, marshes are being drained, colonies and towns are being planted, and that gardens and orchards are beginning to thrust forth their fruit as in the olden days of the land’s glory? True it is that the Jews are re turning in unbelief. True it is that God, not they, will bring back to the land all its ancient glory. Nevertheless, it must be remembered that there was a “shaking, and the bones (house of Israel) came together” and even “the sinews and the flesh came upon them” before there was life, before there was “breath in them” (Ezek. 37:7-9). . “ S igns in S u n , M oon , and S tars ” . The real manifestations in the heavens have probably not yet been seen, but they surely will be (Rev. 6:12-17). However, nature, like mankind, seems to be exceedingly restless today, waiting for her redemption (Rom. 8:19- 23),. Now in China, now in Japan, now in South Amer ica, now in Italy, now ,in Mexico, now in America—con stantly come the stories of great catastrophies in nature. Earthquakes, droughts, hurricanes, floods, pestilences— the sun, moon, and stars, lords of nature, seem to be con tinually restless! Nature, as well as man, approaches re demption. “U pon t h e E arth D istress of N ations ” Was there ever an hour of such Universal distress as now? A half-dozen famines in the last twelve years— any one of them more far-reaching than any ever known before! Bread lines lengthening in all the nations of the earth—lines such as have never before been known in most of these nations! Unemployment, with all its disastrous consequences, world-wide, and seemingly defying solu tion! Desperate measures being taken to solve it in the world’s richest nation—with the cure being admittedly only temporary! “W ith P erplex ity ” ; . • The strange thing about the situation is that a world that boasts its tremendous advance over the days of our fathers seems unable to solve its present problems. The Spirit of God rightly used the word “aporia" for per plexity ; that is, hemmed in “without a passage out." With the vast increase in machinery, the employment problem has taxed to the limit the best wits of men. Now they are throwing up their hands in despair, wondering if
I t is with great satisfaction to us that we are able to promise our readers a page each month, the general head ing of which will be: “There Shall Be Signs." The writ er, Louis S. Bauman, D.D., pastor of the First Brethren Church, Long Beach, Calif., is one of the sanest and best informed ministers of the present day. -^-Editor. A Timely Prophecy ROBABLY none of the great prophetic pass ages in the entire Word of God sets forth more strikingly the fact that the bells are tolling the end of the present dispensation of time, than does the great prophecy of the Master, recorded in the twenty-first chapter of Luke. Sometimes we are told by even the devout that we cannot know the time of our Lord’s return. It is quite true that “of that day and hour knoweth no man” (Mk, 13:32). Nevertheless, in almost the same breath the Master said: “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near : So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors” (Mk. 13:28, 29). In this timely prophecy, which we are about to con sider very briefly, Jesus plainly said: “Then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds, with great pow er and glory” (Mk. 13:26). When? “When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh . . . When ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand” (Lk. 21:28, 31). Surely, then, the meaning of the Master is simply this : While no one can set the exact day or hour of His return, the real chil dren of God, with true spiritual discernment, will under stand by certain indications, which the Master Himself gave, that the hour for the establishment of the kingdom of God is close at hand. By “close” we do not mean a thousand years, or a Century, or possibly so much as a score of years. His coming is imminent. It is our privilege to “look up,” with “the blessed hope” throbbing in our hearts, believing that.: “Perhaps today shall sound the mystic summons — The shout! the voice! the trump! not by all heard; And from their scattered, silent resting places, The dead in Christ’will rise to meet the Lord; While we, the ransomed living, in a moment Shall be caught up—according to His Word." “J erusalem : S hall be T rodden D own U n t il —” Clearly, our Lord here aims to teach that when the Gentile heel is lifted from Jerusalem, then shall “the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” When the Gentile sun sets,
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rocking with unrest. China is teeming with unrest. In dia is seething with unrest. Palestine is quivering with unrest. All Europe is tossing to and fro with feverish unrest. The whole world is “like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt” (Isa. 57 :20). Chinese dragons are spitting, Russian bears are growling, American and German eagles are screaming, British lions are roaring—in fact, all the beastly beasts in the world menagerie are hissing, snarling, and snapping their blood-thirsting jaws, ready to chew and claw and rip each other to pieces. They are ready--—ready at a moment’s notice—for the awful holocaust, the most aw ful that the world has ever known. Armageddon alone will end it. “M e n ’ s H earts F a il ing T hem for F ear ” Fear! Fear everywhere! Do we need wonder that, in the United States alone, the list of suicides has leaped to over 400 a week, more than 21,000 in a year ? Business everywhere has been at a standstill for a year. States men everywhere are prophesying dark days ahead. Their pictures of the morrow, “unless war can be avoided,” cannot be more darkly drawn. And war, they say, is sure to come. Pessimism seems to have gripped the very vitals of men. Could the great Master, if He were among us today, paint a truer picture of our day, than He painted nearly two thousand years ago when He spoke of “men’s hearts failing”—dying within their breasts—“for fear” ? T h a n k G od Then —“then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with great power and glory.” Then “the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.” Saints of God need not despair. For them the glory draws nigh. Verily, “look u p !” “Lift up your heads!” “Ye trembling saints, fresh courage take, The clouds you so much dread Are big with mercy and shall break In blessing o’er your heads.” —o— Experience There is no school like experience. Its lessons are so taught that we cannot forget them. For instance, Peter learned that “following the Lord afar off” generally means the ultimate denial of our Lord. He learned further that backsliding causes the bitterest grief and the keenest an guish. He learned also that to trust in one’s own strength is to fail in the critical hour. These are all lessons of the ut most importance to Christians. Few of us realize the dan ger of an indolent and unfaithful life. We have no thought that it may be the easy road to apostasy. While we are ac tually leading this life of disobedience, in hours when we are left alone with out memories and our consciences we are plunged into sorrow, shame, and darkness. How often we feel that we are strong enough in ourselves to meet temptation, and the result is shameful defeat! From Peter’s restoration let us learn that unworthy Christians may become worthy, that weak Christians may become strong, and that our failures may become stepping stones to success. What a wonderful illustration of these things do we find in Peter’s later life of consecration and victory! ' Let no one be discouraged. God can take us as we are and make of us mighty instruments for advancing His king dom.— W atchman-Examiner.
Hitherto and Henceforth B y A n n ie J ohnson F l in t Hitherto the Lord hath helped us, Hitherto His hand hath led, Hitherto His arm protected, Hitherto His bounty fed; Will His love desert us wholly, Will His. heart our need forget, Will His presence clean forsake us, Who hath never failed us yet? Let the Past we know assure us Of the Present’s certain aid, Till the Future’s dark forebodings In the light of faith shall fade; Still He hears our supplications, A s our days our strength shall be; And His grace is all sufficient For the needs of you and me.
—Sunday School Times.
they had not better apply the axe to the vast machines of which they have been boasting; for men who do not earn do not buy. Again, crime wave follows crime wave, ever mounting higher. The New York Supreme Court says: “The wave of crime seems to engulf the country. Criminals are running wild. Crime has become a pro fession.” With vast masses literally forsaking all re ligion, and consequently losing all fear of God from their hearts and ever growing more and more lawless, law- abiding people are made to wonder if there will ever be found “a passage out.” Then again, statesmen everywhere freely admit that another world war will not only completely beggar the nations, but will turn the whole earth into one vast charnal house, and will end the white man’s boasted civilization. Representatives meet again and again in World Courts and League'Assemblies only to admit that every move is blocked by'human selfishness, and that there is literally “no passage: out.” Perplexity! Once again, behold the strangest sight upon which heaven ever looked down: The world’s richest nation, America, is filled with hungry, naked, and all but starving people—-if reports are to be believed. Tens of thousands are calling for bread and threatening to take it by force unless it is otherwise provided. And yet, when we ask for the cause of these woes, we are blandly told that it is over-produc tion ! We have too much food, too much gas, too much of everything! Therefore, farmers are told to curtail production, to sow less acreage in order that men will not starve to death. Oil fields must curtail. Manufacturers must curtail. What a commentary on human government! - But then, every age has ended just there, in the failure of human government and in perplexity. “T h e W aves and th e S ea R oaring ” “Sea and waves” are the divine type of nations—the never-resting nations. Egypt is trembling with unrest. North America is rolling in unrest. South America is
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Thy Kingdom Come B y R oy T almage B rumbaugh * ( Tacoma, Wash.)
‘Thy kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10). ’HUS Christ taught His disciples to pray. His kingdom has not yet come. But it shall come, for Christ’s prayers shall be answered. The millennial kingdom shall be set up. The king doms of this world shall become the kingdom of our Lord. In the meantime, the devil is the god of this world. There is a tendency to substitute reformation for re generation, and salvation by character for salvation by
Russia is struggling in the throes of political death. Greece has lost herself in the intricate maze of diplomatic subterfuge. China is passing through the melting pot. Mexico is ashake with chronic political ague. Great Brit ain is sailing over troubled waters. Tomorrow will find the Gentile nations on the rocks or in the port of a new era. America is not immune. Lawlessness smears her red hand over the front pages of metropolitan newspapers. The capital of our national life is periodically beclouded with suspicion, scandal, and upheaval. “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown,” be it the head of king, pre
mier, or president. The sword will not rest in its scabbard nor the sea of hu manity in its bed. To league or not to league—that is the question; and no one seems able to answer it satisfac torily. Uncertainty and mis trust are conspicuous by their menacing presence. Righteousness alone exalteth a nation. Thrones totter; but The Throne is still set in heaven. Jehovah reigns! I n S ocial A ffairs Consider the social as pect. Social conditions in America are better than elsewhere. Are they ideal here? Millions of hands are idle. Myriads of people are in absolute poverty. We see the awful,spectacle of sweatshop and factory, crushing the very life out of boys and girls of gram mar school age. The sac rifice of more than a half million injured industrial workers is offered annually Many mothers are toiling
blood. Pagan philosophy and social service have pushed Christianity into a dark closet, from whence they bring it out every now and then in order to give to sham the appearance of reali ty. Religious dupes throng ecclesiastical bargain coun ters, clamoring for the sac erdotal pa ten t medicines which they have been de luded into believing will cure the leprosy of the soul. Many have left their first love. Others are fal tering. The zeal of the once ardent has dwindled into a caricature of service. Error has set profane step upon holy ground. Un truth has been mitered. Rebellion walks boldly up church aisles. This is not His kingdom. But we are not discouraged. We are to pray on and watch. All will be changed. His king dom will come.
Thy Kingdom Come, O God
Thy kindgcnn come, 0 God;
Thy rule, 0 Christ, begin; .
Break with Thine iron rod
The grievous tyrannies of sin.
Where is Thy reign of peace And purity and love? When shall all hatred cease, As in the realms above? Men scorn Thy sacred name,
And wolves devour Thy fold;
By many deeds of shame
We learn that love grows sadly cold;
O’er heathen lands afar
Thick darkness broodeth yet;
Arise, 0 Morning Star, -
Arise and, never set!
—Lewis Hensley.
visp
I n t h e R ealm of M orals Consider the realm of morals. Purity is no long er numbered among the much-sought-after virtues. Di vorce has prostituted holy matrimony. Decency has turned harlot. Vice and mock virtue stroll down lovers’ lane to gether, in dim twilight, whispering the dialogue of death. Bigamy stalks abroad at noontime unmolested. We hurl our anathemas at Turkish harems and look with compla cency upon Salt Lake City and Hollywood. “Petting parties” and flasks in hand bags have no place in His kingdom. General reformation must be preceded by in dividual redemption. Purity shall yet come into her own. I n th e F ield of P olitics . Consider the realm of politics. The world is seeth ing. Every nation is rent and torn with many a thorn.
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to the god Mammon. like slaves to provide sustenance for sick and hungry chil dren. Maternal energy needed to create and maintain a happy, healthful, and holy home atmosphere is given over almost entirely to bread earning. A vast army of young folk is marching to maturity keeping step with the voluptu ous eruptions of jazz. This is not Christ’s kingdom. But we are not cast down. We pray on, “Thy kingdom come.” I n N ature Nature seems to be at variance with God. Con flagrations break out in unsuspected places, destroying in a few hours the work of a lifetime. Earthquakes snuff out the lives of populous commercial cities. The seas gnash their teeth in rage, driving white argosies of commerce and cargoes of precious lives upon the white (Continued on page 111)
*Pastor First Presbyterian Church, Tacoma, Wash.
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Transformations in Eastern Papua A Recen t Visit to th e Kwato Mission Founded by th e Rev. Charles W. Abel B y D elavan L. P ierson * ( New York, N. Y.)
their training in tribal taboos and native customs, in the arts of warfare, fishing, the making of canoes and carv ings for drums, and the fashioning of spears and other implements. In the old days their natural appetites were otherwise given free play. Immorality was general among the youth. A recognition of taboo and a fear of revenge to some extent protected marriage—except at feasts. A G reat C hange W rought by th e G ospel Our recent visit to Papua revealed the marvelous pos
rF ANY one today is tempted to doubt that God is working miracles as in the past, he should pay a visit to Eastern New Guinea (Papua) and see the remarkable work established forty years ago by the Rev. Charles W. Abel, then of the London Missionary Society. At that time, Eastern New Guinea was a land of savages—of warlike, degraded, unfriendly cannibals. They lived by warfare—raiding their enemies’ villages and carrying away captives on whom they feasted. Their feasts for the dead, or in cele
sibilities in these people and the remarkable changes that have been wrought in them by the gospel of Christ. Mr. and Mrs. Abel in their lifetime have been permitted to see former canni bals become earnest, intelligent Christians, while children and grandchildren of savage war riors have become messengers of the gospel to others. Simple Christian education and health ful recreation have been intro duced to displace old degrading heathen customs. New useful industries have been established, adapted to the country's needs, enabling the people to earn an honest living, to learn industri ous habits, and to obtain money and the products of their labor* so that they may help the poor and spread the gospel in other districts of Papua and in for eign lands. This progress, in the Kwato mission has been pos sible because Christ has had the preeminence in all departments of the work. There has been no cultural veneer applied to heathen hearts and customs. Spiritual aims and methods have
bration of v i c t o r i e s or the launching of a new war canoe, were . occasions for the letting down of all moral barriers and were accompanied by excesses and unbridled license. Of God these people knew
nothing. The heathen Papu ans today have only a vague idea of spirits, to be propitiated and of witch doctors or sorcerers to be appeased. Being sepa rated by natural barriers of land and water, and estranged by hostilities and taboos, the vari ous tribes spoke different lan guages and dialects. A journey of one hundred miles might bring contacts with a dozen dif ferent tongues. This made mis sionary work very difficult, and the suspicion and the hostile at titude of the savages toward all white men led to many trage dies, such, as the violent death of Rev. James Chalmers, the “Great Heart of New Guinea,” and his companion, Mr. Tomp kins, nearly thirty years ago. For eleven years, Mr. Abel was associated in the work with the fearless Chalmers, and with him he penetrated many districts never before visited b y ; Christian missionaries. The old Papuan home, built on piles under which pigs roamed, and having only one room for all members of the family, was dirty, unsanitary, and without opportunity for privacy. Today the heathen Papuans live in the same style and in dire poverty. Their chief occupations are canoe building, fishing, and primitive gardening; while their arts and crafts consist chiefly of building houses of bamboo, reed, and palm leaves, without the use of saw, hammer, or nails. They cut the wood with a rude axe or adz and bind the bamboo or small logs together with vine tendrils or native twine made of hemp. From the first, the children had no education—and they have none today, apart from Christianity—-except ♦Editor of The Missionary Review o f the World .
been kept foremost. Dependence has been and still is upon God—-through prayer, self-sacrificing service, and the dynamic of the Holy Spirit. What is ,the pit from which these Christian Papuans have been lifted? The worst conditions, including sav age warfare, cannibalism, and heathen orgies, have dis appeared from the coast towns through the establishment of British law and the influences of Christian missiona ries; but the remains of primitive heathenism are still ev ident in villages of the district. Among such a people, it was not easy to gain an en trance to preach the purifying gospel of Christ. Every force but one was in league against the early missionaries. Distrust and fear of the foreigner, heathen customs and superstitution^ vices of the natural man, the witch doctor and the tribal chiefs who wished to rule supreme, were all united to shut out the light. But God was with His
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worm. Tuberculosis takes a heavy toll, and they suffer from other ailments, introduced by white men or due to a limited and insufficient diet and to unsanitary conditions. •Consequently, medical work, education in sanitary laws, training in the care of children and personal hygiene are very important. An excellent hospital has been built in Kwato, and as soon as a spiritually and medically quali fied doctor and nurse are found, the opportunity for ser vice at Kwato, and for extension health work in the vil lages and out-stations, will be almost unlimited. Already the Christians, who have gone back into the villages to live, have set a new standard in house building and sani tation. The infant mortality among the Papuans is very high:—about fifty per cent—but mothers who have learned at Kwato how to care for their babies have been the ob jects of much curiosity as they have shown heathen moth ers the way to bathe their children and to care for their health. T h e P apuan ’ s R esponse to t h e G ospel The intelligence of Papuan Christians is remarkable as compared with their heathen neighbors. The children learn readily and haye retentive memories. Primary schools are held in fourteen stations, all except the higher training classes being taught by Papuan teachers. The lower grades are taught in the vernacular, but since every small district has its own dialect, the mission has adopted English (not Pigeon English) as the general means of communication. It was interesting and inspiring to hear these children, many from heathen homes, reciting perfectly such pas sages of Scripture as the twenty-third Psalm and the four teenth chapter of John. The truth not only finds lodg ment in their heads, but takes root in their hearts and bears fruit in their lives. The spiritual development of the Papuans is clearly seen in their knowledge of God, their sense of sin, their faith in Christ as their Saviour, and in their desire to show their love and gratitude by witnessing to others, and by bringing to them also the blessings of the gospel.
messengers and gave them courage, power, and protection. At Maivara,. a village near the head of Milne Bay* we vis ited the place where, in the early days, God intervened to save the life of Charles Abel. He had left his wife and first-born child in the mission boat while he went to try to establish a friendly contact with the villagers. He had gone only a short distance on shore when a messen ger from his wife came in haste, asking him to return, as their baby was ill. He turnéd back and did not gain an entrance to this village until some years later ; then he learned that just beyond the point where the messenger had reached him a group of hostile natives lay in wait to take his life, as others had murdered his fellow mis sionary, James Chalmers. Later, when the people learned to know Mr. Abel, they were ashamed of their attempt, and today a church, which they have built, marks the spot where his enemies lay in wait to take his life. So it is with numbers of villages at the more than twenty-five stations in the district where work has been established. Faith, love, persévérance, tact, and the power of God have overcome obstacles and have made the rep resentatives of Christ more than conquerors, turning en emies into friends. T h e G ospel A ffects H eart and H abits On our last Sunday at Kwato, we attended a com munion, service at which forty-six Papuans publicly con fessed Christ for the first time and united with the church. Twenty-four of them were the first fruits from the vil lage of one chief. In all, nearly a thousand from the villages of Milne Bay, comprising this mission district, have left the old way for the new. In sixteen centers, self-supporting churches have been established. Evangel istic work is conducted by the Papuan Christians in thir ty different villages of the district. The Papuan Christians are, as a rule, physically clean and strong. They are taught to bathe regularly and to keep their “home of the soul” •in good condition as a fit “temple for the Spirit of God.” Many villagers suf fer from yaws, a distressing disease, and from hook
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Structure in Scripture The Book of Genesis and the Entire Bible
(Minneapolis, Minn.)
All Rights Reserved
B y N orman B. H arrison
G enesis 1
B ook of G enesis
G enesis 2 tc R evelation 22
1. Creation and chaos
H Adam
1. Creation and fall
O ld T estament
N ew T estament
fSun
fChrist
2. Light versus 5. Lights-j Moon
5. Isaac
2. Good and evil— 5. Gospel-! Church
2. Abel
darkness
right versus
(Stars
(Christians
wrong
3. Waters
6. Waters—filled
3. Government
6. Jacob
6. Tribulation
3. Noah
' 4. Earth (land) 7. Earth—filled
4. Chosen people 7. Millennium
4. Abraham 7. Joseph
a. Separated from seas
a. Separated
a. Nature restored
a. Creature life
from nations
b. Made
b. Fruitful as
b. Man over all
b. Man ruling
fruitful
a nation
8. God’s rest day
8. God’s eternal rest
f REVIOUSLY, as an approach to Bible structure, we have examined Genesis 1 with the expecta tio n of finding it a pattern chapter. Our thesis •was that this initial chapter of the Bible records the reclamation of the earth in such a manner as to furnish a structural pattern for man’s redemp In other words, Genesis 1 provides a structural or archi tectural sketch that is followed and expanded throughout the redemption story. In pursuing this thesis, we found that the three cen tral and elemental terms of the Genesis 1 account, namely, light, waters, earth, are clothed in Scripture with a sym bolic significance of a far-reaching and altogether com prehensive character. Light stands for that which is heavenly; truth as against the darkness of error and evil; God’s Son, coming to dispel our darkness; God’s New Testament people, heaven-born through faith in the Heaven-Sent. Waters represent the mass of humanity, untouched by God’s grace, in their unstable and unde pendable state. Earth stands for the people whom God assigned to a particular portion of the earth, and who are out of place when not occupying that land. Thus these three terms take in the totality of humanity, comprehend ing the threefold classification given by God—the church, the nations, the nation Israel (1 Cor. 10:32). They are terms, therefore, suited to the telling of man’s entire spir itual biography. Our present thesis is this: that which is true of Gene sis 1 with reference to the remainder of the sacred record is, equally true of the entire Book of Genesis, that just as the initial chapter furnishes a structural plan to be followed throughout the Bible narrative, so also does its initial book. Bible scholars have called Genesis the seed plot of Scripture, calling our attention to the fact that every truth met with later is here in germinal form, in symbolic picturing, or in initial statement. Here are the begin nings, the firsts of everything. • This fact finds further amplification and corrobora tion in the study now before u s ; namely, that Genesis af
fords a structural anticipation of the entire Bible, and that its story, as it progresses, carries a pictorial presenta tion of the complete Scripture narrative. Genesis is biographical: its story is the story of seven representative men, seven lives that are symbolic and pic torial of the progress of redemption’s program. See the above tabulation. We suggest that the student make a test of the trustworthiness of these tabulations by men tally placing all three a-top of one another. If in each instance the three correspondingly numbered items state the same truth and tell the same story, we have surely found food for reflection and further study. H igh O rder of I nspiration Possibly all of our readers are persuaded that the Bible is true, that it is so inspired of God that its state ments present the truth of God, and that without error. But we submit that here is evidence of a type of inspira tion that is not only above our ordinary conception, but almost beyond belief. What, may we ask, was necessary to secure such a correspondence between the Genesis narrative and the en tire Bible story, such a harmonization between the suc cessive lives of Genesis and the successive steps in re demption’s progressive unfolding, that they absolutely match and tell precisely the same story? The only explanation is that inspiration goes back of the mere record to a divine ordering of the events to be recorded. We are forced to the conclusion that these lives were so directed that their biographies fit together to form a mosaic, portraying, piece by piece, as well as in its entirety, the very design that is to be elaborated in the long range of revelation. Men move before us who, in unmistakable symbolism, act out the great drama of re demption—the more amazing because they are wholly un conscious of the part they are playing. Men of modern times would have us regard the Bible as a record of human experiences, of men groping their way up to the higher and the better, religion being merely an evolution from the primitive and pagan to a discovery of God, of truth, and duty—the latter process in which
tion as recorded throughout the remainder of Scripture.
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