The prophet Jonah seems to have been a man every way unfit for the prophetic service; for when ordered to go to Nineveh, to cry against the wickedness of its inhabitants, he ran away; and, according to the record, his, disobedience produced a violent storm, and when the sailors found that he was out of his road to Nineveh, they cast lots to find out the person who had caused the storm, and the lot fell on Jonah, who confessed himself to be the guilty person. He then told them to cast him into the sea, as the only way to save themselves and the ship. It is written what followed. Another blunder again in the choice of Jonah; and miracles must be performed to cause this run-away prophet to reach his destination. He then again made an attempt to preach repentance to the Ninevites; and they, hearing of the destruction against them, repented, and this made the prophet stark mad; for his consequence as a prophet being hurt, he exclaimed, that he was tired of life. Poor, paltry trash for the employment of a God, to reason with and coax a hotheaded creature like Jonah! but, like all the rest of such tales, there is not one word of truth in the whole concern.
Before taking leave of the prophets of the Old Testament, a few remarks may suffice to point out their real character. From the time that Jehovah adopted the seed of Abram for his chosen people, nothing but trouble and vexation on his part occurred; and on the part of the descendants of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob, one disaster after another followed in quick succession. Under whatever form of government they lived, they strayed from his commands, and in spite of his watchfulness, his chosen people would worship strange gods, for which offence they were punished. Heathen kings were stirred up against them, and their subjugation was the consequence. They then cried unto the Lord, and matters were made up for a while. The same scenes again took place, and punishments followed. From the beginning of the Jewish dispensation until it ended, there was continual quarrelling between Jehovah and his favorites, and some of those quarrels were so contemptible that they would disgrace a foolish old man and a peevish wife disputing how the firebrands should be put together, by an evening fire-side. The prophets, also, partook of the same spirit; they abused each other, and sometimes came to blows: they would lie and deceive in the name of the Lord.
But the worst part of the Jewish dispensation commenced with the reign of their kings. Saul was first chosen by Jehovah himself; and, admitting the account to be true, the only crime that is laid to his charge is, the sparing of Agag, the King of the Amalekites, although he had destroyed every other being, both old and young. For this one act of humanity, Saul and his family were rejected by Jahovah. David, his successor, obeyed the Lord in all things respecting religious worship; but he committed adultery and murder, thereby forfeiting his life by the law of Moses. But he was forgiven, and the child, the fruit of his adulterous intercourse, was, by the Lord of Hosts, destroyed. Solomon, his son, and the son also of his companion in guilt, was made king. Solomon worshipped idols at times, throughout his reign, and Jehovah was angry, and resolved to try another line of kings. Jeroboam was then anointed king over ten tribes, and the family of Abram, Isaac, and Jacob were split in twain.
Now, mark! This separation was in consequence of Solomon’s idolatry. We might expect, judging from Jehovah’s former disappointment, that Jeroboam would entirely devote himself and his people to the worship of the God of Israel. But behold! Jeroboam began with setting up two golden calves, in direct opposition, to the law of Moses, and also to the command of Jehovah, who had raised him from a state of servitude to sit on a throne, savage and only at times departed from the Lord, but Jeroboam excluded every vestige of the worship of Jehovah from his kingdom. This, then, is a just statement of the conduct of those kings selected by the Lord of Hosts, as recorded in the Old Testament And can it be possible that Infinite Wisdom should have been thus disappointed by those whom he had chosen? The just conclusion, then, is, that the Ruler of all worlds had no concern in putting up or pulling down any of the Kings of Israel or Judah. The history is, from first to last, a cheat on the human race, and blasphemy against the only true God.
From the time that Jeroboam was made king until the tribes were carried away into captivity, idolatry was the sin complained of by all the prophets; it was the constant burden of all their prophecies; and the prophets, one and all, intermixed with their complaints the prediction that the Lord had not entirely cast them off, but that the time would come when he would raise up unto them a prophet like unto Moses. Such predictions, often repeated by all the prophets together with continued references to their future renovation and restoration, is what caused a general expectation of some mighty deliverer that would, in the fullness of time, appear among them.
[CHAPTER VIII. ON DIVINE INSPIRATION]
I INTENDED to conclude the review of the Old Testament by examining the passages supposed to be prophetical of Jesus Christ, and, as such, quoted by the writers of the New Testament; but as that has already been done, in a masterly manner, by Mr. ---------- (Name crossed out by a former reader. ED) and as his opinion respecting them coincides entirely with my own, I beg leave to refer my readers to the work of that able writer on the subject. Professing Christians believe that what are called the five Books of Moses were given by divine inspiration. I shall, therefore, in this chapter, consider what is to be understood by divine inspiration, abstractly considered, and also with reference to prophecy and miracles. It is contended that Moses wrote the account of the Creation, and that it is true. If so, then all the particulars of that remote age must have been given to the writer by nothing short of Supreme Intelligence. I ask, how was this information communicated? The Christian answers—by inspiration. This does not solve the difficulty. I therefore ask, what is inspiration?
Divine inspiration, according to the Christian’s idea of it, must have been the source of prophecy and miracles, and implies infinite knowledge and power. Now, as Adam could not have given an account of his own origin, whoever wrote the history of the creation of the world, and of our first parents, must, if divinely inspired, have had all the particulars of the past clearly made known to him. We are told, by the New Testament writers, that “all Scripture is given by inspiration”; and again, that “Holy men of old spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Still, divine inspiration remains an inscrutable mystery as to what it is abstractly considered; and, also, with respect to the manner in which it is communicated. It seems strange, to say the least, that divine revelation should be given to the human race by the means of inspiration, and yet the mode of communication be enveloped in profound mystery. As divine inspiration and divine revelation are closely connected, the first being the avenue of conveyance, and the latter being the subject communicated, I shall define, as clearly as I can, what constitutes divine revelation; but in order, if possible, to prevent mistake, I shall first point out what it is not.
The developments and improvements which man effects by the exercise of his perceptive and reflective faculties, are results which are not obtained through the medium of divine revelation. From being a savage, and wandering in a state of destitution in the forests, he has, by the use of his varied faculties, made advances in civilization and the arts, which at first sight appear superhuman, but which were, nevertheless, unaided by divine revelation. Contrasting the present state of the wonderful and awe-inspiring science of astronomy with that when the best informed of the human race were but ignorant star-gazers, we can but feel proud that we are a part of the human family. Again, when we look back at the period when the frail little bark could not venture out of sight of land, and then contemplate the improvements in naval architecture of our present times, which have presented us with that splendid floating palace, the Great Britain steamships we can but see that all this has been effected without any assistance from divine revelation. If, at some future time, by means of improvements in the telescope, inhabitants should be discovered in the moon, we should not be indebted for the discovery to divine revelation. But, the discovery not having been made, should an angel be sent from heaven to make known the fact, such information would undoubtedly constitute a divine revelation. So, then, it is dear that whatever improvement man may make, by the unaided exercise of his faculties, cannot be considered as the result of divine revelation. Divine revelation is that which man cannot know, consequently never has known, and never will know by the aid of his reasoning powers The Old and New Testaments collectively are called a divine revelation; and that the information these books contain, respecting man’s duty to his Maker, came from the Almighty; Ruler of the universe, is the Christian’s view of the matter.
We will now examine the various inlets, or avenues, by which divine revelation is said to have been communicated to man. According to the scriptures, the first in order is that God himself conversed with men;—secondly, by the medium of angels;—thirdly, by inspired prophets;—fourthly, by dreams;—fifthly, by visions;—and lastly, by his son. These are the principal inlets. We will examine these different modes, and make such remarks as are applicable to each. First, then, as to the assumption that God himself, conversed with men. It is recorded that he appeared to and conversed with, our first parents; also with Noah, Abram, Moses, and even Balaam. The Deity’s conversing with Adam and Eve may be considered as the commencement of divine revelation. With respect to the truth of these conversations, and the remarkable appearances connected with them, no positive testimony can be adduced either for or against; we must therefore take reason for our guide in the examination. We begin, then, by observing, that if such events did actually occur, it is clear that God was accessible to man in those days, and that in a manner very different to what he is in our own times; and, also, that the unknown and invisible being could be approached on the most trifling occasions.