418
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
September 1930
Palestine” seems to be a question. The Arabs contend it cannot. British diplomacy is on trial before the world in her Palestinian Mandate, and both Jews and Arabs are accusing her. Naturally, the government ha,s. had to make place for the Jewish people, which has meant that some Arabs have been supplanted by Jews, and this is held against the government by the Arabs. Recently the gov ernment has suspended permits of Jewish immigrants until a commission can investigate and report on the economic status of Palestine, particularly as it relates to agriculture. This has stirred the Jews in Palestine, and throughout the world, and the British Government is accused of playing to the Arab population. A prominent Englishman living in Palestine told the writer that it appears to him that the British Government promised Palestine to the Arabs in 1916 for their help, and to the Jews in 1917 for their money. Private information that seems reliable indicates that the report of the commission will show that conditions are such that agricultural immigration to Palestine should cease for a time, until there can be further absorption and adjustment. But any limitation on Jewish immigration is held by the Jews to be a violation of the whole Mandate, and immediately they begin to cry “ persecution.” On the other hand, the Arabs say that they cannot and will not entertain any proposition or accept the Balfour Declaration in any form. So Palestine is a “ seething kettle,” with the British Government trying to keep the lid on. To say that Palestine is in a state of deep agitation is to express the truth mildly. No one knows what a day may bring forth there. A D ivine W ay T hrough 'i The Jewish nation is to have a future,, in Palestine. This future is depicted in the unfulfilled prophecies of the Old Testament. Christ referred to it when He said: “ And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 2 1 :24). Jerusa lem was trodden down of the Gentiles from the time of its destruction by the Romans in A.D. 70, until it was claimed by General Allenby in 1917, in behalf of the Jewish peo ple. History is being made before our eyes, and a signifi cant prophecy is being fulfilled. Apart from any religious considerations, however, the world cannot afford to leave the Jewish people longer with out a national home. The social and economic well-being of the world is involved in this. The Jews are a dynamic, we might say a volcanic people. They must be given an opportunity f of national home building, or they will likely be enlisted, in an increasing measure, in that system o f na tional destruction— Bolshevism. Arabs in the Near East also must be provided for. They have been given national existence in their kingdoms of Iraq and Transjordania. But rivalry between the two will continue. I am sorry to report it, but I have learned through frequent contact with a Jewish Christian friend, that as a result of the last massacre, the jews have lost confidence in the government, and are therefore secretly arming themselves for defense against another Arab attack. How God will bring all this to accomplish His purpose I do not presume to know, but He will do so. The present situation may easily baffle world statesmanship. Jews may blunder and Arabs may attempt to hinder—and both will have to pay dearly for their sins—but God will not fail to fulfill His promises concerning the people through whom He gave salvation to the world.
The Burden of Israel “And it shall come to pass that as ye were a curse among the nations, 0 house o f Judah and house o f Israel, so will I save you and ye shall he a blessing.” —Zech. 8:13. Behold, thou art a burden, O house o f Israel, A curse among the nations wherever thou dost dwell. They hate thee and they fear thee as all the world can tell. Thou art a fire, O Jacob, among the forest leaves; A flame of fear devouring, a torch among the sheaves; A trouble to the countries, for which the whole earth grieves. A thorn art thou, O Judah, a terror to the lands, Sharp stone and rock of stumbling that cuts the med dler’s hands, A snare to the oppressor who binds thee with his bands. Thou art a cup o f trembling, Jerusalem, today; The mighty men are gathered, the battle in array, The Gentile hosts assembled, that God may have His way. A joy unto the nations, O Judah, thou shalt be, When out o f all the countries the Lord hath gathered thee, And thou shalt be a blessing from sea to farthest sea. For God shall yet avenge thee on those who scorn thee now, And all who have oppressed thee low at thy feet shall bow; The King shall dwell among thee, His glory on thy brow. And thou shalt yet be planted within thy promised land, A light unto the Gentiles, a banner in God’s hand; The stranger’s sons shall serve thee, and kings before thee stand. —Annie Johnson Flint. Bias of mind has a great deal to do with the conclu sion which a man reaches; we have to recognize this some times to explain men’s manner of dealing with Gospel evidence. It is exactly as our Saviour said: “ I f they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be per suaded, though one rose from the dead.” If the trouble had been a lack of evidence, then more evidence would have helped them. But there was a lack of something else. And when that is the case, more evidence does no good. You cannot cure a man’s eyes by operating on his ears. We understand that. Here is a president of a bank; he has his books and his securities, and he locks up his safe and sets the time-lock for ten o’clock in the forenoon of the next day. He goes home and thinks of something he would like to get out of the vault. He goes down to the tank, but he cannot open the vault. He has the combina tion ; he may be president and cashier and stockholder and director all in one, but he cannot open that vault until ten o’clock next day. If he could only get inside, or if there were only somebody inside that he could talk to and tell them to change the adjustment, all that he would want then would be knowledge of the combination. But he cannot open it. That is what I think is really needed in men. They need some one to change them within—what we call regeneration. We may accumulate argument, and pound at men with the presentation of the truth objec tively ; but we won’t do very much until the hour strikes for the soul’s release; and when the Spirit does His work, then the combination comes into play, and men yield to the power of entreaty and respond to the presentation of evidence and argument.— The Bible Champion. From the Inside Out B y F rancis L. P atton
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