Eastern Manners and Customs Illustrating Various Bible Passages

The women of Nazareth, "where He was brought up," as well as in some other parts of the Holy Land, wear strings of coins in their hair, and the quantity worn is considered a test of the position and wealth of her family. The coins are but small and thin, even when new, and therefore it is not unusual after the wearing of years, for one to break off from its string. To lose one is considered a great misfortune, and therefore when such an accident occurs, the owner to this day will "light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it." Nor is this all, for, when the search has been successful, she stands in her door, and summons her friends, by clapping her hands, to share her joy. A friend of the writer once saw a crowd of women standing before a house in Nazareth, all clapping their hands, and uttering shrill cries of delight. She inquired the cause, and was almost startled to hear the reply of the dragoman, " She has called her friends and her neighbors to rejoice with her, for she has found the piece which she had lost."-R. A. W.

" He goeth before them... they know his voice."-John 10:4.

" We may meet a shepherd walking at the head of his little flock.... The life of an Eastern shepherd is not exactly that of an English shepherd. Before sunrise every morning he starts out with his flock to seek pasture, and walking before them, leads them along the plain, or down into the valley, or up the mountain side, moving along slowly and quietly, sometimes, if the pasture is scanty, having to wander over many a mile in the course of the day. At noon he always seeks out some cool spring or fountain, where he and they may drink. Having satisfied their thirst, they all lie down and rest for two or three hours. Not unfrequently several flocks meet at the same spring, and lie down together for the midday repose. But when the heat of the day begins to lessen, we shall see one of the shepherds rise, and, giving his own peculiar call, walk away from the assembled flocks towards the green pastures. Immediately his own sheep, one by one, separate themselves from the rest and follow him, for they know his voice. No dog is needed to separate the flocks, and no sheep will be following the wrong shepherd."-Mrs. Macintosh.

" So they wrap it up."-Mic. 7:3.

A simple explanation of these words, which have perplexed many commentators, may be found in the fact that to this day, in the East, money is always " wrapped up" before being presented, as shopkeepers in our own country wrap up half-pence when giving change; and for public collections, or offertories, the coins given are folded up in paper. The prophet is here lamenting the wickedness of the people, "There is none upright among men; " and corruption had extended even to those in high places, " The prince asketh, and the judge asketh for a reward; and the great man, he uttereth his mischievous desire," for the bribes for which he longs, and the people are compelled, to give (as they still are in the East), "so they wrap it up," i.e., their gift, ready for presentation to their greedy superiors.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "The Fish Which We Did Eat in Egypt Freely"

" The fish which we did eat in Egypt freely."-Num. 11:5.

The word translated freely in this verse really signifies gratuitously. It is rendered for naught in Gen. 29:15; Job 1:9; for nothing, Ex. 21:2: nothing, 2 Sam. 24:24; and the French Bible gives it " sans qu' il nous en coutat rien." Even in the present day fish is so abundant in some parts of Egypt, that it is to be had for the asking, that is, literally given away. A missionary long resident in Egypt has recently written:-It was my privilege a little more than a year ago to make a week's ramble through the field of Zoan,' and the land of Goshen.' All Europeans who have traveled in Egypt know that they, as wearers of hats' are expected by the natives to pay at least double price for all they get... We ate fish freely, both in the sense of abundantly and gratuitously. We did not beg them, nor did any one seem to think of asking us to pay for them. It is true, not of the whole land of Egypt... that men may eat fish gratuitously, but only of the eastern section of the Delta-the land of the sojourn of the Israelites."

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Images"; "Garments are Warm"

"Neither shalt thou set thee up any image (margin, statue, or pillar) which the Lord thy God hateth."-Deut. 16:22.

A modern commentator remarks upon this verse, " He had forbidden a carved image, and they may not set up even a pillar: they must resist all approaches to idolatry." It is curious that this pillar-worship still lingers in Egypt. Dr. Van Dyck thus describes it:- " In a corner of the small open space near the Hotel d' Orient at Cairo, a most interesting ceremony occurs once a year. A number of Moslems set up a large wooden pole; around it, for three days, a large crowd of men is to be seen, from about nine in the morning till sun-down, gathered in aisles, all facing towards the pole, and crying out incessantly ' Ya Allah,' which means O God.' They bow and wave their arms down, upwards and inwards, towards the pole. The time for beginning these incessant cries is about half-way between sunrise and mid-day... that is, the hour for the morning sacrifice... and precisely at sunset the cries stop, to be again taken up the second and third days." Thus the prophets of Baal " called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us."

Dr. Van Dyck adds:-"It is indeed wonderful to see how this high place,' or more properly speaking, this `pole' ceremony still holds its own through many ages. The Koran, and the doctrine of a single unique God, has not been able to root out this custom of worshipping round a pole, or upright beam, a remnant of the old worship of Astarte, or Ashtoreth, and what was most emphatically forbidden in the Mosaic books, is to-day practiced upon the banks of the Nile."

The word "pillar," as given in the margin, occurs also in the following places, amongst others: Ex. 23:4; 24:4; 34:13; Lev. 26:1: Deut. 7:5; 12:3; 1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 3:2; 17:10; Jer. 43:13.

R. A. W.

"Thy garments are warm when he quieteth the earth by the south wind." Job 37:17.

"We can testify that during the siroccos the clothes are not only warm but hot. This sensation is only experienced at such a time; and on such a day too, we understand the other effects mentioned by the prophet-bringing down the noise and quieting the earth. There is no living thing abroad to make a noise. The birds hide in thickest shades; the fowls pant under the walls with open mouths and drooping wings; the flocks and herds take shelter in caves and under great rocks; the laborers, retire from the field, and close the windows and doors of their houses; and travelers hasten to take shelter in the first cool place they can find. No one has energy enough to make a noise, and the very air is too weak and languid to stir the pendant leaves even of the tall poplars. Such a south wind with the heat of a cloud does indeed bring down the noise and quiet the earth."-Dr. Thomson in "The Land and the Book."

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Eastern Manners and Customs: "A Spring of Water, Whose Waters Fail Not"; "The Olive"

" A spring of water, whose waters fail not."-Isaiah 58:11

" I WAS greatly struck by an illustration which was forced on my attention where staying at Alexandria, and thought it might interest some English friends. It was at the little sea place of Ramleh. I was going down to the coast to breathe the sea air, and noticed amongst the clumps of palms which beautified the spot, one standing alone, and bent so much that it seemed not likely it could stand many more of the strong blasts to which it was exposed, and I casually observed to my Arab guide " That tree will surely soon come down, it is already bent so much." " Not at all, lady," he coolly replied, " it is quite strong, and will last very long yet. I will tell you why: if it were like those palms yonder, planted in the garden, and watered as the gardens are, its roots would not have struck very deep, and being bent like that, (by some storm when very young) it would fall. But this is an old wild palm of the desert, and in order to get water, its roots have been obliged to strike very, very deep, till they reached the hidden water, far under the sand, and the great length of the roots, and their strength supports it. Then there is a hidden spring,' said I. Oh yes, from the Lord,' meaning not dug by man. Ah, there is nothing like the Lord's own hidden springs for giving strength to the weak. The righteous (in Him, and whose righteousness is His) may indeed flourish like the palm tree, and not fall even when bent by storms and blasts." M. L. W.

" Shall cast of his flower as the olive."-Job 15:33.

"The olive is the most prodigal of all fruit-bearing trees in flowers. It literally bends under the load of them. But then not one in a hundred comes to maturity. The tree casts them off by millions, as if they were of no more value than flakes of snow, which they closely resemble. So it will be with those who put their trust in vanity. Cast off, they melt away, and no one takes the trouble to ask after such empty useless things, -just as one olive seems to throw off in contempt the myriads of flowers that signify nothing, and turns all her fatness to those which will mature into fruit." Dr. Thomson.

Eastern Manners and Customs: Earthen Vessels; "Prepare Ye the Way"; Watered with the Foot

" Treasures in earthen vessels."-2 Cor. 4:7.

These words received a remarkable illustration during the terrible disturbances in Bible lands during the past year. In Syria and Palestine, more than one resident Missionary stated that, when preparing for possible attack or flight, " the women buried their valuables in earthen jars," for concealment and for preservation. Miss M. L. Whately did the same at Cairo, before she had to fly. She found all safe on her return, and so, of course, did the women in Syria, when the declaration of peace enabled them to dig up their buried treasures. R. A. W.

" Prepare ye the way of the Lord."-Isa. 40:3.

" A cry generally heard in the East before the approach of any great prince or conqueror. Dr. Wolff stated that on entering Jerusalem from the west, in the direction of Gaza, the road for a considerable distance from Jerusalem, was so full of stones, that it was impossible to ride, and those who were entering the city were obliged to dismount. When Ibrahim Pasha approached Jerusalem, a considerable number of laborers went before him, and removed the stones from the way, amidst the constant cry of ' Cast up, cast up the way, remove the stones! ' And on a standard was written, ' The Pasha is coming! ' And everywhere the cry was heard ' The Pasha is coming! Cast up the way! Remove the stones!' The expression indicates the removal of obstacles and diffieulties, preparatory to.some important manifestation, or some signal event. See also Isa. 62 ro. Nicholson.

Some years ago, the writer was contemplating a visit to the Holy land, and was obliged to give up the plan. A friend wrote to her from Lebanon, " It is a pity that you were prevented coming when you proposed. You would have found the traveling match easier than usual, for the Pasha of—has lately been here, and as usual, the way was prepared for him by being cleared of the large stones." R. A. W.

" Thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot.- Deut. 11:10

"Our gardens are watered by small channels only a few inches wide, which are made to intersect or cross and recross the garden, the beds between them being usually. square in shape. When they are to be watered, the gardener removes with his hand, or his foot, the small dams made of earth rudely. heaped up at the corners, and lets the water from the beds (or canal) fill them up until the level of the bed is reached. He then stops the flow by putting the heap of earth back again, and damming up the water... Who can see the laborer opening the little channels to let the water flow over the parched earth on his beds, without recalling the words of Moses in describing the promised land to the Israelites, who had so long sojourned in Egypt that they knew no other manner of cultivation: The land whither thou goest to posses it, is not as the land of Egypt, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs."

M. L. W.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Where the King's Spear Is, and the Cruse of Water. . ."

And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster.—-1 Sam. 26:16.

" I noticed at all the encampments which we passed, that the sheikh's tent was distinguished from the rest by a tall spear stuck upright in the ground in front of it; and it is the custom, when a party is out on an excursion for robbery or for war, that when they halt to rest, the spot where the chief reclines or sleeps is thus designated. So Saul, when he lay sleeping, had his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster, and Abner and the people lay round about him. The whole of that scene is eminently Oriental and perfectly natural, even to the deep sleep into which all had fallen, so that David and Abishai could walk among them in safety. The Arabs sleep heavily, especially when fatigued. Often when traveling, my muleteers and servants have resolved to watch by turns in places thought to be dangerous, but in every instance I soon found them fast asleep, and generally their slumbers were so profound that I could not only walk among them without their waking, but might have taken the very 'aba (or outer garment) with which they were covered. Then the cruse of water at Saul's head is in exact accordance with the customs of the people at this day. No one ventures to travel over these deserts without his cruse of water, and it is very common to place one at the " bolster " so that the owner can reach it during the night. The Arabs eat their dinner in the evening, and it is generally of such a nature as to create thirst; and the quantity of water which they drink is enormous. The cruse is therefore in perpetual demand. Saul and his party lay in a shady valley steeped in heavy sleep after the fatigue of a hot day. David from above marks the spot where the king slumbers, creeps cautiously down and stands over his unconscious persecutor.

Abishai asks permission to smite him once, only once, and promises not to smite a second time; but David forbade him, and taking the spear and cruse of water, ascended to the top of the hill afar off and cried aloud to Abner "Art not thou a valiant man? and who is like to thee in Israel?... As the Lord liveth, ye are worthy to die, because ye have not kept your master the Lord's anointed. And now see where the king's spear is, and the cruse of water that was at his bolster." What a strange sensation must have run through the camp as David's voice rang out these taunts from the top of the hill! But David was perfectly safe, and there are thousands of ravines where the whole scene could be enacted, every word be heard, and yet the speaker be quite beyond the reach of his enemies.

Dr. Thomson.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Cities Great and Fenced Up to Heaven"

" This is a strong, but not unusual hyperbole.... At this early time, as well as now, it was customary to surround towns with very high walls. Few towns of the least consequence in Western Asia are without walls, which, whatever be their character in other respects, are sure to be lofty. As the use of artillery is still but little known, when a town has a wall too high to be easily scaled, and too thick to be easily battered down, the inhabitants look upon the place as impregnable, and fear little except the having their gates forced or betrayed, or being starved into surrender. So little indeed is the art of besieging known in the East, that we read of great Asiatic conquerors being obliged, after every effort, to give up the attempt to obtain possession of walled towns.... It is, therefore no wonder that the, at this time, unwarlike Hebrew shepherds regarded as insurmountable the obstacles which the walls of the Canaanitish cities seemed to offer. Indeed, of all classes of people, there are none in the world so unequal as the nomade dwellers in tents to overcome such an obstacle. However brave and virtuous in the field, all their energy and power seem utterly to fail there before a walled town..

The walls of towns and are generally built with large bricks, dried in the sun, though sometimes of burnt bricks, and are rarely less than thirty feet high. They are seldom strong and thick in proportion to their height, but are sometimes strengthened with round towers or buttresses, placed at equal distances from each other."-Kitto.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "A Lordly Dish"

To this day in some parts of the east, the largest dish in the house is called Sultanea, or Sultan-like, being from its size sovereign, as it were, over the smaller dishes and plates. Many old-fashioned housekeepers in our own country still preserve the set of custard glasses, one of which, of the same pattern, but much larger than the others which were ranged round it, was called the Master. Anon.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Among the POts"; "The Bridegroom Cometh"; "The Almond Tree"

" Among the pots." Psa. 68:13.

The roofs in Cairo are usually in a great state of litter.

One thing never seemed cleared away, and that was the heap of old broken pitchers, sherds, and pots, that in these and similar houses are piled up in some corner... A little before sunset, numbers of pigeons suddenly emerge from behind the pitchers and other rubbish, where they had been sleeping during the heat of the day, or pecking about to find food. They dart upward and career through the air in large circles, their outspread wings catching the bright glow of the sun's slanting rays, so that they really resemble shining " yellow gold"; then, as they wheel round, and are seen against the light, they appear as if turned into molten silver, most of them being pure white, or else very light colored. The effect of light in these regions is difficult to describe to those who have not seen it, and evening after evening we watched the circling flight of the doves, and always observed the same appearance.-" Though ye have lien among the pots, yet shall ye be as the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her feathers with yellow gold."- Psa. 68:13.

M. L. W.

"Behold the bridegroom cometh." Matt. 25:6.

" Miss W- asked me to accompany her on a visit to a bride, a young native (at Damascus) who was to be married the following day. We found the bride surrounded by a large party of friends. Refreshments were handed as usual. We withdrew to the terrace, the night was lovely; the moon, just rising, lighted up all the town below. It was almost with a feeling of awe that we saw, advancing through the uncertain light, a procession of twelve or fourteen figures draped in white, and each carrying in her hand (extended before her) a lighted lamp. They came up the steps at our feet, and passed into the house. None but those who had witnessed this visible, realization of the parable of the virgins could imagine the impressiveness of the scene, which, as we were afterward informed, is still further carried out the next evening, when they follow the bride to her new home. As soon as within sight, the cry is heard ' Behold the bridegroom cometh,' and with this signal (which is one for all his friends to attend him) he appears on the house top, breaks a cake over the bride's head as she comes to the door, and then descending, receives her on the threshold, and all who are of the marriage party entering the door is shut.' " A. F. F.

" The rod of an almond tree." Jer. 1:1; 10

" It often blossoms in February, and this early activity is repeatedly attended to in the Bible. Jeremiah opens his heavy vision thus, ' the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see the rod of an almond tree. Then saith the Lord, Thou hast well seen, for I will hasten my word to perform it,' just as this tree hastens to bud and blossom long before any other has begun to wake out of the repose of winter, and before it has put forth its own leaves. The same thing is implied, according to the general economy of miracles, in the selection of rods from this tree by Moses to be laid up in the tabernacle... the rod of Aaron was budded, and brought forth buds, and yielded almonds.' This was miraculous rapidity certainly; hut a rod was selected for the purpose from that tree which, in its natural development, is the most expeditious of all; and not only do the blossoms appear on it suddenly, but the fruit sets at once, and appears even while the flowers are yet on the tree, buds, blossoms, and almonds together on the same branch, as on this rod of Moses. In that affecting picture of old age drawn by the royal preacher, it is said that ' the almond tree shall flourish,' or blossom. The point of the figure is doubtless the fact that the white blossoms completely cover the whole tree, without any mixture of green leaves, for these do not appear until some time after. It is the expressive type of old age whose hair is white as wool, unrelieved by any other color."

The Land and the Book.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Like Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver"

" A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver."-Prov. 25

A word " spoken fitly" or as in the margin "on its wheels"-not flung in nor pushed in, but glided in at the fitting opportunity and suited to him to whom it is addressed-is both beautiful and precious, like golden fruit seen, through the pure frosted network of a silver basket. Such a word was once spoken to the great emperor Theodosius, who at one time was disposed to waver in his belief in the divinity of our Lord. On day he was seated on his imperial throne in the great hall of his palace at Constantinople, and by his side sharing his throne and splendor was his little son Arcadius, on whom he had just bestowed the title and honors of Augustine. An aged bishop approached to salute his sovereign. He bowed with all reverence to Theodosius, but turned away without seeming to notice Arcadius. The Emperor, thinking it an oversight, called him back, and in a friendly manner pointed to the prince, upon which the bishop coolly went up to the child, stroked him on the head, and said with the familiar air he might have used to a peasant " God save thee, my son." The Emperor's indignation rose in a moment. Raising his voice he angrily commanded his guards to drive the insolent old man from his presence. But as he was being led to the door the bishop found time to " Thus, O Emperor, will the Lord of heaven do to those who fail to obey His commands, and to honor the Son even as they honor the Father." The lesson was rude and simple, but it was striking and well-fitted to impress the mind of him to whom it was addressed. Theodosius never forgot it. -Anon.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "The He-goats Before the Flocks" ; "I Have Enough"

" Be as the he-goats before the flocks."-Jer. 1:8.

" Some time ago we sent a shepherd and a Chowkedar of the regiment with too rupees to buy a flock of sheep for the Mutton Club. They were obliged to buy a large he-goat to walk at the head of the flock, for until they did so, the sheep ran hither and thither, and could not be driven comfortably. Does not this illustrate the expression (Jer. 1:8,) in which the Jews are told to go out of Babylon, and be as the he-goats before the flocks, that is, to set an example to others to follow."

-Mrs. Colin Mackenzie.

"I have enough."-Gen. 33:9, 11.

These words, used by Jacob and Esau at their meeting of reconciliation, differ in the original, and their force and meaning are lost by their being rendered alike in the Authorized Version. Esau uses rabh, great things, equivalent to " much goods laid up for many years." " I am rich," he says boastingly. But Jacob's rejoinder, kol, is rightly rendered in the margin. " All things are mine," he says with the confidence of faith. St. Paul seems to repeat these words of Jacob.—1 Cor. 3:21.

The characters of the two brothers, the man of the world, and the man of God, are thus indicated by the different expressions which they use.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Sycamore Fruit"; "Will He Give Him a Stone"

" A gatherer of sycamore fruit."-Amos 7:14.

THE sycamore, or common fig of Egypt, is a noble tree of wide-spreading, giant branches... Just the tree which when it over-arches the way, a man could easily climb into, and find there a safe perch of observation... It is essentially a "fruitful tree." The natives of Syria say that it bears seven crops a year... At the end of each of its figs a drop of watery fluid is in the habit of forming, which, if it is not removed, entirely prevents the fruit ripening. The cultivation of this tree requires, therefore, that each fig should be lanced, or lacerated, to allow of the escape of this noxious matter. The way in which it is effected is by rubbing and slightly tearing the fruit, shortly before the time it should ripen, with an iron comb, when some four days afterward, it comes to perfection. The prophet Amos... tells us, as it is in the original Hebrew, " I was a cultivator of sycamore fruit."

Rev. James Neil.

" Will he give him a stone?"

The native Egyptian bread is a sort of flap, pliant, and moist, like a cold pancake; it is always round, and of a dusky color, and in fact, resembles the flat stones often found in the bed of rivers, or in the desert. At a distance, a pile of bread might be taken for a pile of such stones, and makes one think of the beautiful expression of scripture, " What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?' (Matt. 7:9). Will he give the mockery of a good thing, instead of its reality? M. L. W.

Eastern Manners and Customs: Wine Bottles; "A Light to My Path"

" Wine bottles, old, and rent, and bound up."-Josh. 9:4.

This " evidently refers to bottles of skin, torn and sewn. Also, distended skins must be meant by the allusion in Job 32:19 'ready to burst like new bottles.' The unfitness of old skins to hold wine subject to fermentation is, beyond question, the point in our Lord's memorable words, 'Men do not put new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish.' When we read in Psa. 119:83, 'I am become like a bottle in the smoke,' the allusion is to bottles hung in the abodes of the poor, where there were no chimneys, and where the smoke would be sure to collect on the hairy surface of the skin, and leave upon it minute particles of soot. Under such circumstances, the bottle might also have a shriveled appearance, and would altogether be a striking symbol of affliction and calamity, to denote which the psalmist employs it..., As we wandered in the northern desert of Till, not far from Beersheba, how could we help thinking of Hagar and Ishmael, when the water was spent in the bottle. The word bottle' here used signifies a leathern or skin one: and, indeed, no other would suit the conditions of the beautiful story, for the carrying of a pitcher of water all that way on the head, or by hand, would be quite out of keeping with Oriental life. Hagar's empty skin upon the ground, and the boy Ishmael placed under the shrub were realities before us, as we saw the corresponding objects on our way." Anon.

" A light unto my path."-Psa. 119:105.

" The streets of Jerusalem are perfectly safe, but some of the roads around bear a bad character. In the city, at night, a lantern must be borne before the passenger, and it is a realization of the words of the Psalmist, A lantern unto my feet and a light unto my path.' The lantern, (a large one, with a powerful light) is held down at the feet, to show every step, and the light is cast a long way on the ground."

A. F. 1:

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Friend, Lend Me Three Loaves."

" Friend, lend me three loaves."-Luke 11:5.

It was usual for the Lord Jesus to illustrate His teaching by reference to common things, such as concerned every day life. Increasing acquaintance with the customs of Eastern lands throws light upon many a passage upon which differences of opinion have arisen, such as respecting these "three loaves," a custom which to this day is well understood by the people of Bible lands. A missionary lady directed her servant to buy some bread for an unexpected visitor, and he said he must get "three loaves." Eastern loaves are small, not larger than English dinner-rolls; but three seemed a large quantity, and she said so. The man replied "I must buy the loaves; that is a man's portion, and you cannot set less before him." Another lady who lived for many years in Jerusalem, has stated that the words "three loaves" are always known there to signify provision for an unexpected guest. The heat of the climate renders it unadvisable to prepare more food, at one time, than is likely to be consumed at one meal; the uncertainties of Oriental travel makes it impossible for a guest always to time his arrival; and he may, therefore, make his appearance when there is nothing in the house for his refreshment, and his host has to send round to his friends and neighbors to see if fragments can be found from which some dish may be hastily prepared. The last mentioned lady was sitting in her room one evening, when a black boy, servant of a Missionary living near, put his head in at the door, with these words " My master says, Will you lend him three loaves? " She understood at once the state of the case, as well as if the boy had repeated the verse that follows these words. She found a small piece of meat, and a little milk, sufficient for the traveler's tea (the boy had already obtained bread from another friend); and this was her part of the required " three loaves."

Such illustrations as these, familiar to all who listened to the Lord's words, furnish one reason, we can well understand, why " the common people heard Him gladly."

Eastern Manners and Customs: "A Corn of Wheat"; "The gods of Conquered Nations"

"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground, and die, it abideth alone."-John 12:24.

There is a remarkable fact connected with the germination of wheat which lends great force to our Lord's illustration ... A grain or corn of wheat, when properly buried in the ground, like all other seeds sends forth roots which grow downwards, and a stalk which ascends. But when the stalk emerges from the earth, its first knot or joint is made, and from this a leaf springs, and here a very peculiar feature may be noticed. As soon as the weather will allow, a second set of lateral roots are thrown out from this knot, " which act as the real feeders of the plant; while the stalk and roots that are beneath speedily perish. This must occur in the case of all healthy wheat that is to bear "much fruit." The growth of these lateral roots, and the decay of all below them, is only found wanting where the grain has been too superficially sown, that is, has been allowed to fall on but not "into the ground," and under these circumstances it can never flourish. It is, therefore, literally true, in a remarkable manner in which it is not true of other seeds, that " a corn of wheat," in order to its proper and abundant increase, must actually die.

Rev. James Neil.

"Where are the gods of Hamath and of Arpad?"—2 Kings 18:34.

"It was the custom of the Assyrians to carry away in triumph the images of the gods of the conquered nations, which were placed on poles, and borne in procession upon men's shoulders."

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Muzzle the Ox"; "Bidden"; "Bind Them in Thy Skirts"

" Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn." -Deut. 25:4.

"THE traveler's first sight of an oriental custom has a special charm, and is a memorable event. It is now some years since, wandering about the Pyrenees, we first lighted on a few illustrations of eastern life, drifted there, we suppose, by some waves of Moorish influence, during the possession of Spain by the Saracens. In a small village on the Spanish side, we once came suddenly upon a little yard, where cattle unmuzzled were quietly going round and round, trampling upon heaps of barley, and so threshing it out; whereupon, of course, we saw in a new and practical light, the old Hebrew law, " Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn." Anon.

"A certain man... sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come, for all things are now ready."-Luke 14:16,17.

It would appear to us unnecessary to send round to those who had not then, apparently, refused the invitation; but a similar custom still prevails in some parts of the East. A missionary lady, recently writing from India, described an entertainment which she gave to as many of her pupils as she could gather together; and said of her guests, "although invited, as I have said, a week beforehand, yet, according to custom, they had to be bidden again when everything was ready." R. A. W.

Ezek. 5:3.

One day, in our Egyptian Class of Bible study, the lesson was the fifth of Ezekiel, which we were reading in the Hebrew. A member of the class is blind, and it came to him to translate into Arabic the third verse "and thou shall take thereof a few in number and bind them in thy skirts."

The blind lad inquired "why is the word translated skirts? It means wings. The wings of a garment are the sleeves, and we always bind up things in our sleeves, and not in our skirts."

It is quite true that kenef means wings, and Orientals are accustomed to tie up almost everything, from a dose of medicine to a bushel of barley, in their sleeves: see Haggai 2:11, 12, where the holy flesh is carried in the sleeve.

Our Oriental servants, who come home each morning with their sleeves full of meat, vegetables, and fruit, would think that they had insulted us as well as polluted the eatables should they bear them beneath the girdle. See also Ruth 3:9, (compare same word in Chapter 2:12), Ezek. 16:8, and Zech. 8:23. Anon.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "The Gift of God"

" The gift of God."-John 4:10.

No cry (in Egypt) is more striking than the short and simple cry of the Water-carrier. " The gift of God," he says, as he goes along with his water-skin on his shoulder. It is impossible to hear this cry without thinking of the Lord's words to the woman of Samaria: " If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee, give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water" (John 4:10). It is very likely that water, so invaluable, and so often scarce in hot countries, was in those days spoken of; as now, as "the gift of God," to denote its preciousness; if so, the expression would be very forcible to the woman, and full of meaning.-Miss M. I. Whately.

"Baldness is come upon Gaza."-Jer. 47:5.

The remarkable feature (in Gaza) was the numerous mounds of a kind I have not observed elsewhere. Each is round, and of white sand, and each is girt with weeds or plants, and each looks precisely like the bald pate of an old man.-Rob Roy.

"Anoint the shield."-Isa. 21:5.

It was customary to smear the shields (made of hide) over with oil, to render them smooth, so that the weapons of the enemy might slide off, and also to preserve them from being injured by rain. This was done before engaging in battle.-

Henderson.

In 2 Sam. 1:21, David laments that the shield of Saul had been "vilely cast away... as though it (as the word sup plied should be) had not been anointed with oil "; in which case it would have been worthless.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Nay my Lord,I give it thee."

"Nay my Lord... I give it thee."-Gen. 23

Flattering and empty speeches like those of Ephron to Abraham, when a purchase was under consideration are common in the lands of the Bible to the present day. When a friend of the writer had occasion to hire a house in Jerusalem, the native to whom it belonged met his inquiries respecting the rent with "I do not want any money from you; you are my father; come and live in my house as long as you like; you are welcome; I shall charge you no rent," &c. At last, however, he named his price, which was as exorbitant a one as he could ask, and the arrangement was concluded. Compare with this the interview to which reference has been made and which took place some 3700 years. ago. Abraham states his business, the acquisition of a burying place, and before he has time to complete his sentence (compare verses 4 and 9), the people interrupt him by assuring him that he is welcome to bury his dead in the sepulcher of any one of them. But he courteously declines the offer of interment for his own dead in one of their heathen sepulchers; and asks for a price to be fixed. Three times does Ephron reiterate that the field is to be a gift, but, on being further pressed, he fixes the very large sum of " four hundred shekels of silver"; about £52 of English money, adding, with apparent indifference, "what is that betwixt me and thee?" Abraham, we are told, " hearkened unto Ephron;" he paid respectful attention to his words; but " he weighed to Ephron the silver," and thus acquired his " first and only possession in Canaan," viz. a grave.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Grinding in the Prison House"; "Put Out His Eyes"

"He did grind in the prison house."-Judg. 16:21.

GRINDING in the prison house was performing the task of a menial slave, of course. If we are to suppose Samson working at a hand mill, then there was a spice of that kind of humiliation in his labor which consisted in degrading the mighty hero to the place and character of a woman: a thing in which the ancient Orientals, like every other people of imperfect civilization, greatly delighted. Illustrations of this point are to be derived abundantly from the old Greek writers, unmistakable in character. But it is more probable that Samson was degraded to the state of a beast, and made to turn such a mill as that alluded to in, say, Luke 17:2: that is, a mill usually turned by asses or mules. It is quite in accordance with the known treatment of captives in the ancient east, to harness them like beasts, and make them turn a mill or windlass, or perform any labor of draft or burden.

The prison house, in this case, was probably the open court surrounded by the prison buildings, such as is still to be seen in the east.-Professor Isaac PL. Hall.

" The Philistines took him and put out his eyes."-Judg. 16:21.

TO disable a rival, not to mention an enemy (as here) by boring out his eyes, has ever been a common expedient in the East. Even to-day it is not unknown. In Persia, it is said by competent witnesses, children of royal blood are accustomed to a kind of game of blindfold whose ostensible purpose is to familiarize them with possible future blindness of the sort. We need not go outside the Bible to find other illustrations, but, if we wish, there are many others to be found, both in sculpture, and in ancient writings. Nor is it so very long ago that the thing was known among the Western nations.-Professor Isaac W. Hall.

Eastern Manners and Customs: "Kick Against the Pricks"; "Scrip"

" It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."-Acts 9:5.

Pricks or goads are carried by every plowman in the East. They are long poles, with one end pointed as a prick, the other furnished with a sharp, flat piece of metal, like a chisel, which "is used to clear the share from earth and weeds, and to cut the roots or thorns that catch or choke the plow. It was to sharpen this part of the goads that the Philistines permitted the Jews to have a file in the early days of Saul." The use of the goads, then, is to guide into the right path, to keep the right way, and to urge on to exertion. Hence "the words of the wise man are as goads," (Ecc. 12:1). " To kick against the pricks" is said to have been " a proverbial saying, taken from the action of an unruly ox, which when pricked by the goads, kicks back in anger, and thus wounds himself more deeply, suffering for his folly and rebellion. R. A. W.

"And likewise his scrip."-Luke 22:36.

The " scrip" which our Lord directed His disciples on their journey to take with them, was probably like the " shepherd's bag even a scrip" into which David put his five smooth stones from the brook. To this day such scrips are carried by shepherds and farmers of the Holy Land, and in them they carry their simple provision, a little bread, a little cheese, and some olives. Their manufacture is not a complicated matter. " All shepherds have them," writes Dr. Thomson, " and they are the farmer's universal vane mecum. They are merely the skins of kids stripped off whole, and tanned by a very simple process." R. A. W.

Eastern Manners and Customs: Girding of the Loins; "Follow Me"; Perfect; "My Brethren"

" The hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and lie girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel."-1 Kings 18:46.

The long flowing robes still worn in the East render the " girding of the loins " necessary whenever an exercise of energy or of activity is required. Bishop Wordsworth says: "The mode of doing honor to Ahab by running before his chariot was in accordance with the customs of the East. It is performed by a class of persons called skaters in Persia, where it is regarded as a necessary part of royal state to have runners at their side when they are on horseback." Dr. Thomson also writes: "I was reminded of this incident of Elijah at Jaffa, when Mohammed Ali came to that city to quell the rebellion of Palestine. The officers were constantly going and coming, preceded by runners, who always kept just ahead of the horses, no matter how furiously they were ridden: and in order to run with the greatest ease they girded their loins very tightly... Thus, no doubt, did Elijah. The distance from the base of Carmel across the plain to Jezreel is not less than twelve miles, and the race was probably accomplished in two hours, in the face of storm of wind and rain. It was necessary that the hand of the Lord should be upon the prophet, or he would not have been able to achieve it."

Follow Me." John 21

In John we see the confidence and simplicity of love. Though he makes little noise, he always follows Jesus. He incessantly expects Him, and thus he recognizes Him even before Peter-the most zealous of disciples. It is only his intimate acquaintance with Jesus gives him this advantage. Love is calm, and finds its enjoyment in its object. John passes through few painful experiences like those of Peter. The perfect love of Jesus banishes all fear from His disciple; it slays also the activity of the flesh, and keeps his heart engaged with its object.

John is neither jealous of Peter, nor restless about his brother who is on his way to death. Peter on the contrary disquiets himself about John; who in the meantime is occupied about Jesus, and remains perfectly calm and at rest even while following his master, whom he is accustomed to follow, and gaze upon, and listen to; Jesus needs not to say to John, "Follow me."

Perfect, not Sinless. Matt. 5:48; 1 John 3:9.

The first of these texts has no bearing whatever on the question of perfection in the flesh. It is the revelation of the name of our Father which is in heaven, and the character practically which suits the kingdom of heaven. The mere Jew was responsible to render testimony to the righteousness of Jehovah; the believer now is responsible to show forth the grace of "Our Father." Vengeance on the Canaanites was then a righteous thing; now " if, when ye do well and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God." The children are bound to sustain the family character, " that ye may be the children of your father which is in heaven, for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust... Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Other Scriptures prove, if proof were needed, that sin still abides in the saint here below, however bound he is to disallow and mortify it. This text simply exhorts us to imitate our Father's grace, even to those who deserve His judgment.

The other Scripture (1 John 3:9) regards the child of God in that point which distinguishes him from the world, in the possession of a life from God which is absolutely sinless. No intelligent Christian will therefore forget that the flesh is still in us, though we are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit.

My Brethren. Matt. 25:40.

I think that it is clear and certain that those whom " the King" designates as His brethren here, are a distinct class from the sheep. It is not denied that all God's saints are, or may be viewed as " sheep." All that is now contended nor is, that in this scene we have certain godly Gentiles blessed, and inheriting the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world, but at the same time distinguished from others styled the King's brethren, who had previously put these sheep to the test, and been the occasion of showing their difference from the goats, or the unbelieving Gentiles, who had dishonored the King in His messengers. I add that the scene is a millennial one; not the gathering of the saints risen or changed before the millennium; not the judgment of the dead after it, but a scene on earth of living nations dealt with according to their reception or rejection of the King's brethren just before this judgment (Matt. 24:14).