The Bible Story Part 321

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Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; they have made thy benches of ivory inlaid in boxwood, from the isles of Kittim.

Of fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was thy sail, that it might be to thee for an ensign; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was thine awning.

The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy rowers: thy wise men, O Tyre, were in thee, they were thy pilots.

The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.

Persia and Lud and Put were in thine army, thy men of war: they hung the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.

The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadim were in thy towers: they hung their shields upon thy walls round about; they have perfected thy beauty.

Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the mult.i.tude of all kinds of riches; with silver, iron, tin and lead, they traded for thy wares.

Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy traffickers: they traded the persons of men and vessels of bra.s.s for thy merchandise.

They of the house of Togarmah traded for thy wares with horses and war-horses and mules.

The men of Dedan were thy traffickers: many isles were the mart of thine hand: they brought thee in exchange horns of ivory and ebony.

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Syria was thy merchant by reason of the mult.i.tude of thy handiworks: they traded for thy wares with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and rubies.

Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy traffickers: they traded for thy merchandise wheat of Minnith, and pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.

[Footnote: Pannag--Perhaps a kind of confection.]

Damascus was thy merchant for the mult.i.tude of thy handiworks, by reason of the mult.i.tude of all kinds of riches; with the wine of Helbon, and white wool.

Vedan and Javan traded with yarn for thy wares: bright iron, ca.s.sia, and calamus, were among thy merchandise.

Dedan was thy trafficker in precious cloths for riding. Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of thy hand; in lambs, and rams, and goats, in these were they thy merchants.

The traffickers of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy traffickers: they traded for thy wares with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.

Haran and Canneh and Eden, the traffickers of Sheba, a.s.shur and Chilmad, were thy traffickers. These were thy traffickers in choice wares, in wrappings of blue and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.

The ships of Tarshish were thy caravans for thy merchandise: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the heart of the seas.

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Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the heart of the seas.

Thy riches, and thy wares, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, with all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the heart of the seas in the day of thy ruin.

At the sound of the cry of thy pilots the suburbs shall shake. And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land, and shall cause their voice to be heard over thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes: and they shall make themselves bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee in bitterness of soul with bitter mourning.

And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, "Who is there like Tyre, like her that is brought to silence in the midst of the sea?" When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many peoples; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the mult.i.tude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.

In the time that thou wast broken by the seas in the depths of the waters, thy merchandise and all thy company did fall in the midst of thee.

All the inhabitants of the isles are astonished at thee, and their kings are horribly afraid, they are troubled in their countenance.

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The merchants among the peoples hiss at thee; thou art become a terror, and thou shalt never be any more.

III

THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES

(This is a strong picture of the reviving power of G.o.d's spirit in a repentant nation.)

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he carried me out in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones; and he caused me to pa.s.s by them round about: and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and lo, they were very dry.

And he said unto me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord G.o.d, thou knowest."

Again he said unto me, "Prophesy over these bones, and say unto them, 'O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.'"

Thus saith the Lord G.o.d unto these bones: "Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord."

So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold an earthquake, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And I beheld, and lo, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them above: but there was no breath in {353} them. Then said he unto me, "Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, 'Thus saith the Lord G.o.d: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.'"

So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Then he said unto me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off.'

"Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, 'Thus saith the Lord G.o.d: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people. And I will put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, saith the Lord.'"

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AMOS

(Amos, one of the earliest of the prophets, was a poor herdsman of the village of Tekoa, which was about twelve miles southeast of Jerusalem, on the edge of the great wilderness or pasture land, which stretches from the crest of the hills to the Dead Sea. The call of G.o.d came to him to leave his herds and speak against the immorality, the oppression of the poor, the injustice of the people in the northern kingdom of Israel. He appeared at one of the great feasts and spoke his message boldly. The priest of Bethel, where the feast was held, was very angry with him, and tried to frighten him by sending to the king the report that he was a traitor. This is)

I

THE MESSAGE OF AMOS AT THE FEAST

This the Lord Jehovah caused me to see: behold, he formed locusts at the beginning of the coming up of the spring crops, and behold, it was after the king's mowings. It came to pa.s.s when they had made an end of devouring the verdure of the earth, that I said,

"O Lord Jehovah, pardon, I pray Thee! How shall Jacob rise again? He is so small!"