IT will perhaps be interesting to my young readers to hear a little something of the “holy land.” We desire to say a few things about Bethany, a village of which many of you have often heard and read.
It is about three quarters of an hour’s walk from Jerusalem, and its meaning is “house of dates,” no doubt on account of the abundance of date trees. At the present it is a village of about forty houses, inhabited by Arabs who gave it the name El Azarije, that is, village of Lazarus. Like all other places in Palestina, it bears marks of God’s curse or judgment, which came on the whole land on account of Israel’s sin. Perhaps the time is near at hand when God will remove the curse, and then will Bethany, too, blossom again and bear fruit. The Lord says: “Behold the days come ... .the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. And I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof, they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.” Amos 9:13, 1413Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. (Amos 9:13‑14).
There are few places in the holy land, if any, like Bethany where such sweet memories are connected with it, the Lord being there so often, and that, not, as we see Him in other places, as the great Teacher, but as a dear Guest. It was perhaps the only place where He found a home in this world, through which He journeyed as a stranger. Of foxes and birds He could ‘say that they had holes and nests, but Himself had not where to lay His head. He was without home. How sweet then must it have been for His heart to ever find so warm a welcome in the little circle of Martha, Mary and Lazarus. He will certainly reward them richly for it, He who will not leave unnoticed a cup of cool water.
Nazareth rejected Him. We read: “And they rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built that they might cast him down headlong.” Luke 4:2929And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. (Luke 4:29). Capernaum, the beloved city, where He taught so oft, and did so many miracles, refused His word. Jerusalem cried: “Crucify, crucify Him!” But in Bethany He found not only shelter and hospitality, but warm hearts for His word and for His love. You see, my dear young reader, though you cannot receive the Lord Jesus in your earthly homes as a guest, you can give Him an abiding place in your hearts. Have you done so? Is He reigning in your heart without a rival? Truly happy is every heart that sits at Jesus’ feet to be taught by Him. That is the “one thing needful.” Of Mary it could be said: “She has chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”
Precious portion for every soul, which finds its every joy in Him and keeps His word. In Luke 10, we read of Mary’s having chosen that “good part;” in Matt. 26 we hear of her “good work,” in that she anointed the Lord for His burial.
The “good part” was for Mary, the “good work” for the Lord.
Bethany reminds us also of the precious sympathy of the Lord in this world. At the grave of Lazarus, where He showed Himself as the resurrection, His sorrow over what sin had done, and all the misery it had brought into this world, was so great that He groaned once and again, and shed tears. How precious this is, for every soul in distress, in pain and in sorrow, who can say: The Lord knows all about my sorrow, He is full of sympathy and mercy.
“Touched with a sympathy within
He knows our feeble frame:
He knows what sorest trials mean,
For He has felt the same.”
Another time He wept as He came from Bethany and was going down the Mount of Olives, looking down on Jerusalem, over which the judgment was soon to break. Luke 19:4141And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, (Luke 19:41). That beloved city did not know the day of her visitation.
My dear young reader, may you be spared from causing such sorrow to the Lord as that city did, which hardened itself against His love. In warning words He says to you: “Today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.”
Then, it was from Bethany the Lord left to go to heaven. Luke 24:5050And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. (Luke 24:50). “And He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven.” And when He comes again to save Israel and 1.o bless them, “His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives,” Zach. 14:4. The inhabitants of the Land in that day will welcome Him gladly in, their hearts and will say: This is the day which the Lord’ hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it! “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!”
Messages of God’s Love 1/12/1908