Witnesses to Truth

by Edward Hoare

II. The Prophecy.

Thus far we have not gone beyond the historical truth of the Pentateuch; but now let us turn to the prophecy,—that most remarkable prophecy of Noah, in which he foreshadowed the future destiny of the great families. Let us consider the three prophecies in the order in which they stand.

(1.) Canaan. There is something inexpressibly awful in the words respecting Canaan, and they are full of instruction respecting sin. They show what an awful thing sin is in the sight of God, and how superficial is man’s estimate of its guilt; for here is a whole race laid under a solemn curse in consequence of the sin of its head. As Adam brought a curse on the world, so Ham brought one on Canaan. The curse inflicted in that case was bondage, and the prophecy was that Canaan should be a servant of servants to both his brethren: i.e. to both Shem and Japheth. And now look at the fulfilment.

Take first a period about 1,000 years after the prophecy was given, when the Canaanites were still in the promised land, and Israel, the descendants of Shem, came up from Egypt. The conflict then was between Shem and Canaan, and what was the result? The greater part of the Canaanites were destroyed, and those that remained were reduced to abject slavery. The prediction was fulfilled, and Canaan became the slave of Shem.

But some may say that all that was a long time ago, and only matter of ancient history.

Let us then turn to our own times, and consider facts that are within our own observation. How is it that our own West Indian islands are peopled with negroes? Is it not because we English made slaves of the Africans, or, in other words, because Japheth made a slave of Canaan? How is it that there is a negro population amounting to 4,000,000 in the United States? Is it not for the name reason, that Japheth made a slave of Canaan? How is it that up to the year 1807, when the slave trade was abolished, the West Coast of Africa was made the hunting-ground for all the leading nations of Europe? What was it but the simple fulfilment of this prophecy, in which it was foretold that Japheth should make a slave of Canaan?

And now turn to the Eastern coast of Africa, and the present negotiations now going on in Egypt. One of the great difficulties of these negotiations arises from the horrors of the East African slave trade. There is an extensive trade in slaves being carried on at this very time all along the East Coast of Africa. There are gangs of miserable victims being driven at this very hour to the principal slave markets. And who are the great offenders in that most nefarious and wicked traffic? The Arabs, some still living in Arabia, and some settled in Egypt at the time of the great Arab invasion of the country. And who are the Arabs, and to which race do they belong? I believe it is agreed by all parties that they are Semitic, or from Shem. So that the result is that poor Canaan has been enslaved by both his brethren—on the west by Japheth, and on the east by Shem; and however deeply we deplore the woes of Africa, and however earnestly we should arise as one man to urge our rulers to use their powers to put down the accursed trade, we must look on the fact of its existence with reverent wonder, and learn from those miserable slave gangs a most solemn lesson as to the abiding truth of the prophecies of God.

(2.) But now let us turn to Shem, where we have a brighter prospect; for on the mention of his name the prophet exclaims, “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem,” or rather, “Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Shem.” Now here we have not merely an act of praise, but a prophecy; for there is a clear prediction that Jehovah should be the God of Shem. Canaan and Japheth might worship devils and false gods, and bow down before man-made idols; but the God of Shem should be Jehovah Himself, and Shem should be distinguished by the fact that Jehovah should be his God. And is not this precisely what has happened? Up to the time of our blessed Saviour what nation was there in the world that worshipped Jehovah except the seed of Abraham? It was the sacred calling of that family to stand out alone as witnesses before an apostate world to the great principle—“Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.” It was Shem, and Shem alone, that worshipped the one self-existent, omnipotent, omnipresent, and everlasting Jehovah.

The great prophecy, therefore, was most literally fulfilled in fact. But if we understand the name “Jehovah” as applied to the promised seed of the woman, the Saviour who was to come, the fulfilment is still more remarkable; for it was in the line of Shem that the Coming One appeared. No trouble is taken in the Scriptures to record the genealogies of either Ham or Japheth, and they terminate with two generations. But the sacred line of Shem is carefully preserved. We have every link given, from Adam to Abraham, and after that from Abraham to the Lord Jesus; so that if we thus understand the title Jehovah, the prophecy would mean, Blessed be the Coming One, the Lord Jesus, the Christ, the God of Shem; and we should see in it the prophecy that the coming deliverer, the deliverer promised to Eve, should arise out of the family of Shem, so that in him and his seed should all nations of the world be blessed. I need not stop to point out how exactly this prophecy was fulfilled in the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ about 2,300 years after it was spoken by Noah.

(3.) But now for Japheth.

The meaning of the name is generally considered to be “enlargement,” and the prophecy is that he should be enlarged. The meaning of this must be, that he should be gifted with what may be termed a spreading power. His great characteristic is to be expansion, or, the enlargement of his borders. Now think for one moment of Europe and Europeans. Think of Europe as the home of the sons of Japheth according to the Scriptures, or of the Aryans according to the men of science. And may we not appeal to any one who will take the trouble to look around the world at this present day, and ask whether this power of spreading is not one of the most peculiar and exceptional features of the European family? Ham and Shem are not spreading anywhere; but Japheth everywhere. Why, look at this little island of our own—one of the very least of the “isles of the Gentiles”—and see how its people have spread. Not only has it peopled the vast continent of America, but it possesses at this present time such a colonial empire that the sun never sets on the dominions of our Queen. Most truly and most remarkably in our own case has God enlarged Japheth, and so made England a “witness to the truth” of the prophecy which He gave through Noah no less than 4,000 years ago.

But there still remains that last clause, “He shall dwell in the tents of Shem,” and, as we ought never to speak too dogmatically respecting the prophetic Word, I am free to admit that it is not perfectly clear in what sense it should be understood.

It may refer to the spreading of the Europeans into all the nations of the world, and so dwelling in the tents of Shem; and if there were nothing more than our own settlements in foreign lands, there would be the most complete fulfilment of the prophecy.

But surely there is more. And especially there is one remarkable fulfilment, which I cannot help thinking must have been intended in the prophecy. Now let us remember that the Lord and His coming is the centre, or turning-point, of the whole prophetic Word. Let us not forget how we found that the prophecy respecting Shem appeared distinctly to foretell His advent. Now when the predicted time came, and the promised Jehovah appeared, why did He not take His place on the throne of David, and why did He not reign in the tents of Shem? The Holy Land had all been given to Abraham, and belonged to the family of Shem; but when the Lord, the God of Shem, came, there was neither throne nor kingdom for Him, and He had not even where to lay His head. How could this be? And what had become of the royal throne? The answer is most remarkable. The Romans were on it, or, in prophetic words, Japheth was dwelling in the tents of Shem. The Romans were sons of Japheth, and by them the Lord, the God of Shem, was supplanted on His throne.

But, though that was a clear, literal, and most remarkable fulfilment of the prophecy, I cannot help thinking that in these words the Spirit of God referred to something higher. When St. James was speaking of the call of the Gentiles at what has been termed the council of Jerusalem, as recorded, Acts xv. 15, he quoted the words, “I will build again the tabernacle of David.” The conversion of the Gentiles was compared, therefore, to their admission into the tabernacle of David. And so the safety of the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is compared by David himself to the shelter of God’s tabernacle, as, e.g., in Psalm xxvii. 5, where we read, “In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me.” Now, bearing in mind the great fact that Jehovah is the God of Shem, and that the predicted Redeemer came from Shem, may we not believe that the tent, or the tabernacle of Shem, was the prophetic figure of the safety provided in the promised Son of God? The word Shem means “name,” and there may be something in the passage not unlike those other words, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” Now if the passage were so understood, it would lead to the conclusion that Japheth would shelter himself under the Jehovah of Shem, and so dwell, as it were, in his tent, or under his tabernacle. It would lead us to expect a salvation through the Jehovah of Shem, bestowed on Japheth in such a way that Japheth should become possessor of Shem’s inheritance.

Now if that view of the prophecy commend itself to your judgment, remember that Noah spoke more than 4,000 years ago, and then look at the present position of the world. In what quarters of the globe do we find at this present time the most general recognition of the God of Shem? Which of the continents are most prominent in the honour paid to His name? Certainly neither Africa nor Asia; neither Ham nor even Shem itself. Beyond all controversy the two great Christian continents that are dwelling under Jehovah of Shem are the two peopled by Japheth; viz., Europe and America. Explain it as we may, the facts are most remarkable. The Lord Jesus Christ came from Shem, and, according to the language of scientific men, was Semitic, whereas by far the great majority of those who believe in His Name are from Japheth, or, according to men of science, Aryans. Shem has rejected its own Saviour; but Japheth has received Him, so that, under our own eyes, and at this present time, Japheth is dwelling in the tents of Shem. I know well how grievous a perversion of truth there is throughout Europe, and I do not for one moment maintain that the worship is pure; but still the name of Jehovah, the God of Shem, as manifested in the Lord Jesus Christ, is avowedly honoured, and we sons of Japheth are at this present moment abiding in His tent.

Now how are we to explain all this? How are we to explain the agreement between the conclusions of modern science and the historical fact of the threefold division which occurred more than 4,000 years ago? How again are we to account for the fulfilment of the prophetic Word? How do we explain the fact that, in exact accord with the prophecy, Canaan is the servant of servants; that it was from Shem that the Lord appeared; that Japheth is at this day remarkable for enlargement; and that we ourselves at this very moment are assembled to worship in the house of the God of Shem? It is impossible to believe that the book of Genesis was written to suit the conclusions of modern science; for these conclusions were utterly unknown at the time of its composition. It is impossible to believe that it is the result of design in our scientific men, for such an idea would indeed dishonour science. It is equally impossible to believe that the agreement was the result of chance or accident; for there are far too many points, both in the history and prophecy, to render such accidental coincidence possible. It is like a complicated lock which can only be opened by the key that was made to fit it. No; there is only one solution of the problem. As for the history, science agrees with it, and therefore confirms its truth; and as for the prophecy, it could have had its origin in no human calculation of the future; for how should Noah make any calculation respecting the state of this nineteenth century? But all is plain if we believe it to be inspired. He who inspired the prophecy, He saw the end from the beginning. He knew all, and by the lips of Noah he foretold what he foreknew; and thus we are brought to the conclusion, so plainly stated by St. Peter—“The prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”

THE JEWS.

I am about, if God permit, to speak now of, by far, the most remarkable people in the world. In the last chapter we studied the Races, and found that through the labours of scientific men the three patriarchs of 4,000 years ago reappear in this nineteenth century as most important “witnesses to truth.” We put, as it were, Shem, Ham, and Japheth into the witness-box, and the result of their testimony was that Noah was inspired, and the Bible true. Such a subject as that has a tendency to lose power through the vastness of its extent. Our reading is not sufficiently wide, nor our minds sufficiently large, to enable us to take in the whole. We are dependent, moreover, on scientific men; and it is a strange thing, but a fact, that those who talk most of science are generally the least disposed to receive the conclusions of scientific men, when those conclusions differ from their own. But now I am about to call witnesses, in the examination of whom we do not want the help of science; for in their case there are no scientific difficulties. Their evidence is within reach of us all, and if we choose we may test it for ourselves. I am not about to speak of what happened 4,000 years ago; but of what is going on now, of what took place last year, and what any one may see for himself, if he will take the trouble to go to Houndsditch or Petticoat Lane. There he will find a most remarkable people, eager, quick, and intelligent, exceedingly different from the rest of the inhabitants of London, and separated from their fellow-townsmen by a social barrier, which is very seldom overstepped. These remarkable people are the Jews.

Now there are five undoubted and indisputable facts respecting the Jews that I propose, if God permit, to bring before you, and may He be pleased to help our study to the confirmation of our faith, and to the increase of our interest in His own ancient people!

(1.) Their Expatriation, or their expulsion as a nation from their country.

Now it is a curious fact, that there is no other nation in the world which has such a right to its own country as the Jews. Other nations claim their country simply through the right of occupation. We live in England, and our fathers lived there before us, so we consider it ours, and are ready to lay down our lives for its safety. But we have no title-deeds, and we have no documents to prove that it is ours. But it is very different with the Jews. They have the clearest possible documentary evidence of their covenant right to Palestine. There is not a person in any town who has a better title to his house than the Jews have to their country. It was distinctly given to them by God Himself, as we read in Gen. xv. 18. And yet after having occupied it for fifteen centuries, and after having shown the utmost courage and determination in its defence, they were driven from their homes by their Roman conquerors. Their city was sacked, their temple burnt with fire, their country laid desolate, and they themselves scattered homeless through the world. The result is that at this present time there are many more Jews in London than there are in the whole of Palestine. Now these are plain, well-known facts, and facts so well established that they are beyond the reach of contradiction.

(2.) Dispersion. When their home was broken up in Jerusalem they were not carried elsewhere as they were when they entered it, like a hive of bees moved from one garden to another, but they were dispersed in all directions. From that day they have had no resting-place anywhere, and they have never since had what we may term a central home. They have had no head-quarters, and, although they cluster more thickly in some places than in others, they have on the whole gone forth as lone wanderers on the face of the earth. The result is that, go where you will, you are sure to meet with Jews. They are sometimes driven about by persecution, and sometimes attracted by trade; but we need not study the cause of their movements. They are found in all the continents—Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia; in new settlements and old countries, in all climates and amongst all races; and as the seed is scattered over the field, so the Jewish people are dispersed through the world.

(3.) Distinction, or Distinctiveness.

It appears to be the general law of human nature, that when different races live together they become, before long, fused with each other. There may be exceptions, as there are in certain cases; but there is always some cause to account for it. In India, for example, there is very little fusion between the English and the Hindoo; but then it must be remembered that no English ever settle in India as their permanent home. So in America there is not much fusion between the European races and the negroes; but there again we must remember that there is the almost impassable barrier of the difference of colour as well as the slave curse on Canaan. But in ordinary cases there is always fusion, and when there is no such barrier the races soon amalgamate. In our own country, for example, there are Britons, Romans, Saxons, Danes, and Normans; but who can distinguish them? We are all merged into one race, and the distinction of our nationality is totally lost. Who could pick out from any congregation the Roman, the Dane, or the Norman? But the Jew remains distinct. There is nothing to keep him separate, but separate he remains. He is rich, and enterprising, and talented, and often exceedingly handsome; but he does not amalgamate, and he remains to this day as distinct from us all as he was when he first landed on our shores.

(4.) Reproach and persecution.

Notwithstanding the wealth and great ability of the Jewish nation, they have always been a people under reproach. In trade, if people wish to describe any one as covetous, grasping, and avaricious, it is not an uncommon thing for people to say that he is “a regular Jew,” and thus, whatever a person may be in himself, the name “Jew” is a term of opprobrium throughout the world.

But reproach is not all, nor nearly all; for they have had to endure the most terrible persecutions. They have been treated most barbarously by the nations amongst whom they have been scattered. It has mattered little whether they have been living amongst Pagans, Mahommedans, or spurious Christians, though I fear it must be admitted that the treatment by spurious Christians has been the worst. But I need not dwell on these horrible atrocities; for they are fresh in our own memories. We have only to go back to the newspapers of last year to learn what the poor Jews endured in Southern Russia. Their property was plundered, their homes burnt, their daughters—oh, I cannot tell you the horrors!—and their whole families cast out on a pitiless world to perish from cold, hunger, and nakedness; and all this in the face of the whole of Europe in this enlightened nineteenth century.

(5.) Preservation.

But in the midst of all this they have been preserved. Kindness has not fused them, reproach has not shamed them, and persecution has not destroyed them; so that after eighteen centuries they are in the midst of us still—still scattered through the world, still remaining a separate people, still under reproach and persecution, but still moving amongst us as an active, intelligent body of men; in the midst of us, but not of us; living in England, but not Englishmen; the subjects of another dynasty, the proprietors of another land, and the scions of another home.

Now I wish to put it to all thinking and observing men, Can they refer me to any other people in the world in which these five facts are found to meet? Do they know of any other people that was ever so completely removed from its home, that was ever so effectually dispersed amongst the nations, that has been kept so distinct, that has endured such reproach and persecution, and that, notwithstanding all, has been so long preserved? There have been amongst other races conquests, massacres, and migrations; but I venture to affirm, without the slightest hesitation, that you may search history from one end to the other, may ransack its pages for all that you can find respecting the nations, and I venture to affirm, without the slightest fear of contradiction, that you will not find one in which any of those facts have taken place as they have with the Jews, and still less one in whom in this most extraordinary manner they have all been found to meet.

But now comes the question, How is all this to be explained? What is it that has made the Jews such an exceptional people? What is it that has made their experience so entirely different to that of all the other peoples upon the earth? I ask the infidel to tell me if he can, but I know he cannot; I ask the man of science to explain it on scientific principles, but I know he cannot. But I ask the believer to explain it, and he can do so in a moment by the simple answer, “It is the hand of God.” But some man may say, “How do you know that it is the hand of God? What proof have you that it is His doing?” A perfectly clear proof that it is impossible to deny. There is a sixth fact quite as plain as the other five; i.e., that all the five facts were predicted in the prophecies, and that centuries before the dispersion took place it was clearly foretold in the prophecies of the Word of God. These facts were all foretold in prophecy, and therefore we are firmly persuaded that they were all brought about by God. The fulfilment of prophecy is a proof that the whole is of God.

In proof of this let us refer to a few passages.

I spoke of the fact of their expatriation, or expulsion from their own land. Now what did Moses say of it fifteen hundred years before it happened? Only mark his words: “Ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.” (Deut. xxviii. 63.)

I spoke of their dispersion amongst the Gentiles. Now what did Moses say of it? “Thou shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.” (v. 25.) “And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even wood and stone.” (v. 64.)

I spoke of their distinctness. Now what did Balaam say of it? “The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned amongst the nations.” (Num. xxiii 9.) And though these words were spoken no less than three thousand three hundred years ago, do they not predict exactly that which you may see this very day in London, Liverpool and in every other great city of Europe?

I spoke of reproach and persecution. And returning to Deut. xxviii., what do we there find? In verse 33 you find the prediction of persecution and spoliation. “The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway.” And in verse 37 the reproach in foretold: “And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byeword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee.”

The last fact of which I spoke was the preservation, the long preservation, through those eighteen centuries of unequalled trial; and again we turn to Moses, and find him saying, “And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God.” (Lev. xxvi. 44.)

Now all these passages are taken from the Pentateuch, the earliest book of the Scriptures; and I have referred especially to them because some people appear to speak with disrespect of the Pentateuch. But here we see the Pentateuch prophecies fulfilled in this nineteenth century in so remarkable a manner that no observant man can deny it.

But if people prefer prophecies of a later date they shall have them; for time makes no difference to truth, and the inspiration of the Scriptures extends through its whole length.

We find that they have been driven from their country, and can no longer inhabit the land which is their own. Now what did the prophet Isaiah say? “Then said I, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, and the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.” (Chap. vi. 11, 12.)

We found that they are scattered amongst all the nations of the world. Now what did God predict by the mouth of Ezekiel? “The whole remnant of thee will I scatter into all the winds.” (Chap. v. 10.)

We found that, though scattered, they are preserved as a distinct and separate people. Now what did God foretell by the prophet Amos? “For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.” (See ix. 9.)

We found that in their dispersion they have been the object of cruel reproach, and have endured much fierce persecution. Now what said Jeremiah, the prophet of God, in chap. xxix. 18? “And I will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them.”

But we found also that, notwithstanding all, they have been preserved in a most marvellous manner; so that at the end of eighteen centuries they are still amongst us a separate people, and preserved in the providence of God. And is it not all explained by that wonderful prophecy of Jeremiah? “If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.” (Chap. xxxi. 36.)

Such passages might be multiplied to almost any extent, as they abound throughout the prophecies; and I have merely selected a text from the Pentateuch and another from the later prophets to illustrate each of the five facts to which we all are witnesses. And are they not sufficient? How was it, I ask, that these great prophecies were given, some fifteen hundred years, and some five hundred years, before the dispersion? Was it accident? Was it calculation or guesswork? How should the writers have calculated, or, how should they have guessed? One thing is perfectly plain. They could not have been written after the event; for ever since that time the Jews have been dispersed over the world, and in all their dispersions have carried with them these prophecies. If they were forged afterwards, how did the forger get them into circulation amongst all the scattered Jews throughout the world, and that before there was a printing-press? They must have been written before the event; and before the dispersion what human mind could calculate the condition of the Jews after eighteen centuries of wandering? Think calmly over it. Consider well the five facts; test them both by history and the statements of modern travellers; and I cannot doubt for one moment that the conclusion of any thinking and intelligent man must be that the history of the Jewish people has been ordained of God, and that the Scriptures foretelling it were inspired by His Spirit, I cannot imagine how it is possible to avoid the conclusion that it is His hand which has ordered all in His sovereign providence, and His Spirit which has so clearly and so unmistakably foretold it all in His Word. While, therefore, we grieve over the Jew, and long to see, not only the nation safe in Palestine, but the individual safe in his own Messiah, we consider it no small gift in these sceptical days that we have him living amongst us as one of a separate people, and so bearing an unconscious testimony to the truth and inspiration of the prophecies of God.

But I cannot stop there; for it is not the inspiration of the Scriptures only to which the Jews bear unconscious testimony, for they are witnesses also to the faithfulness of God. Here they are after eighteen centuries of dispersion, during which they have lived without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice; during which they have been exposed to isolation, to temptation, to reproach, to spoliation, and to most unjust persecution; but not one grain has been lost from the seed, and here they are, Jews still. Aye, and what is more wonderful than anything, they are thus preserved in mercy, notwithstanding all that they have done, even in the rejection of their own Messiah. How could it be, and how can such preserving mercy be explained? Just turn to one text out of many that may unlock the mystery. It is written, in Psalm cv. 42, “He remembered His holy promise, and Abraham His servant.” There was His own covenant given to Abraham, and our heavenly Father is faithful to it still. Three thousand eight hundred years have not exhausted His faithfulness, and even the sin of the Jew has not prevailed over the fidelity of our God to His friend. Oh, what a lesson does this teach us as to the faithfulness of our God! Will He break the covenant which He has made with us in Christ Jesus? Will He depart from the promise which He has ratified in the precious blood of the chosen Messiah? Is not the covenant with Christ as sure as that with Abraham? And though we may be deeply conscious how unable we are to stand, and still more deeply conscious how unworthy we are to be preserved, may we not rest in the peaceful assurance of His covenant grace, and apply to all His people in Christ Jesus these wonderful words in Jeremiah xxxi. 37: “Thus saith the Lord; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the Lord”?

PALESTINE.

Can stones speak? Can rocks make their voice to be heard? The Lord said of His people on His entrance into Jerusalem, “If these should hold their peace the stones would immediately cry out.” And this is very much what those very stones are now doing; for the stones of Palestine are beginning to speak with a voice so clear and decisive that it seems a perfect marvel that any thinking man should be able to resist their evidence. Now therefore, if God permit, we will study their testimony; we will put the rocks into the witness-box, and endeavour calmly to learn from them what they teach us of the truth of God. There are three subjects on which their evidence is conclusive—the geographical accuracy, the historical truth, and the prophetic inspiration of the Scriptures. Let us examine them on all three points, and may that divine Spirit who inspired the word of His own great grace bring it home to our understandings and our hearts!