December 1925
543
T H E K I N G ’ S
B U S I N E S S
THE G ILLIA M S SE R V IC E , NEW YORK
“MARY’S W E L L ” IN T H E V IL LA G E O F NA ZA R ETH AS IT A P P E A R S TODAY How our h earts are stirred as we look upon the scenes made sacred by the childhood of our Lord! H ere His m other watched over Him lovingly during those first tend er years. Here it was th a t H is boyhood days were spent, and Luke tells us th a t He “grew , and waxed strong in sp irit, filled w ith w isdom : and the g race of God was upon Him” (2:40). From here He w e n % p w ith H is parents to the passover fe a st a t Jeru salem , w here they found Him busy “about H is F a th e r’s bu siness” (2:49).: May we not sa fely assum e th a t H is steps were many tim es directed to the spot depicted here, in quenching H is own th irst,— for He was a healthy, happv, heartv b o y S -in carry in g w ater for H is much loved m other, and in fu rth erin g the m in istry to which He knew He was cailed
Was Mary a “Youthful Spouse Recently Married”? Rev. James P. Wplliver, Secretary and Director of the Northern Gospel Mission (Frontier and Iron Range Missions and Lumber Camp Evangelism)
prophet Isaiah told his na il, “A virgin shall conceive, d bear a son, and shall tl his name Immanuel.”
spects the greatest of Hebrew lexicons, is that of Professor William Gesenius. Nor do they understand that this work is a product of simon-pure Ger man rationalism, from the University of Halle, and its author one of the original rationalists, or neolists, who deny the supernatural in miracles, and who sowed the seeds of modernism dec ades ago. Gesenius has been called by men of good judgment, “the great est of modern Hebraists,” but of course from the standpoint of unsanc tified learning only. Various translations of this lexicon into English have been made, among them one by the learned and godly Dr. S. P. Tregelles, who added many cum bersome notes to offset the repeated and gratuitous effort of Gesenius to do away with thé miraculous. The pas sage in Isaiah 7:14 is an outstanding example of this effort, and reveals the extent of the prejudice which that learned neolist brought to all his re searches, which were conducted strict ly from the rationalist’s point of view. (Continued on page 544)
Mr. Welliver—a faithful and devoted servant of the Lord and a long-time friend of the editor— is well qualified to speak on the theme which is the subject of this exceedingly timely and trenchant article, having spent many years as a missionary in M o r o c c o , speaking Arabic and Hebrew. However, he says in a letter sub mitting the article: “I do not wish to pose as a man of learning, but the facts given can be easily veri fied by any one who can use a lex icon.” effort; but there are doubtless thou sands who would like to know whether or not we can take the word of these “best scholars.” It is proposed here to show that we most assuredly CAN NOT. Rationalism and Its High Scholarship Perhaps few Christian laymen real ize that what is commonly known as the most exhaustive, and in some re
Up-to-the-moment Modernists affirm that what Isaiah meant to say was, “A young married woman shall conceive and bear a son,” etc. Isaiah declared that this was to be a sign which God told king Ahaz to ask for, giving him liberty to ask any kind of sign he wished, and he refused to ask, lest he should tempt God. God Himself then chose to give a sign. The Hebrew word used is the one which commonly refers to mighty wonders and miraculous works throughout the Old Testament. Up-to-the-moment Modernists are thus found telling the world that the birth of a son brought forth by a young married woman is a miracle and won der of God’s own proposing! And they seriously say that “the best scholars tell us that the word Almali (used here by Isaiah) some times means a young married woman.” Controversy with a certain class of men would not be worth the time and
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