and forethought of Providence. The original theocracy of Israel consisted of Twelve Tribes. This theocracy was divided under Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and successor. Ten Tribes seceded, and formed a kingdom, which is ever after called the kingdom of Israel; their first king was Jeroboam. But it is very singular to notice, that one of these Ten Tribes is lent to the kingdom of Judah, and this one Tribe is Benjamin. In this was the Divine provision for the time of Christ. We find in the first book of Kings, eleventh chapter, that Solomon displeased the Lord by his wicked ways, and the Lord said: “Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept My covenant and My statutes which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and I will give it to thy servant (Jeroboam was Solomon’s servant at that time); notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father’s sake; but I will rend it out of the hands of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom, but will give one Tribe to thy son, for David My servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, which I have chosen.” All the kingdom evidently meant the Ten Tribes. The same truth Ahijah, the Shilonite, taught when he rent his new garment into twelve pieces, and gave to Jeroboam ten. “And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces; for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hands of Solomon and will give Ten Tribes to thee.” Then comes in the reserve clause again: “But he shall have one Tribe for My servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the Tribes of Israel.” And the reason for the reservation of this Tribe is clearly expressed in verse 36: “And unto his son will I give one Tribe, that David My servant may always have a light before Me in Jerusalem.” Now it is plain why this Tribe was an exception. The city of Jerusalem, God says, He has chosen out of all the cities of Israel, because to this city would the Messiah come. And beautifully agreeing
with the forethought is the fact that when the Tribes had their lots assigned them in Palestine, the city of Jerusalem fell in the portion of Benjamin.
The Tribe then were owners of the city, and they received Christ. The disciples and first followers and converts were chiefly from this Tribe of Benjamin. After this Tribe received Christ, then their work was done in Jerusalem. So they were to separate from the kingdom of Judah, and seek out their own brethren and unite with them. The time of their separation had been foretold by the prophet, and pointed out by the Saviour. The time of their departure would be coincident with the siege and destruction of their beloved city. So cried Jeremiah down through the centuries, “Oh, ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem, for evil appeareth out of the North and great destruction “(Jer. vi. 1). If any of you are mindful to examine history, you will find that war came, that the destruction was terrible, and more, you will find that the Benjaminites escaped. These points profane historians thoroughly confirm. Having fulfilled their God-appointed mission with the kingdom of Judah and in Jerusalem, Heaven gave them to be light-bearers to the whole world; first to specially find their own brethren of the House of Israel, and carry them the Gospel, and they would carry it unto all the earth. Thus the Saviour said, “Go not in the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Peter in his epistle tells where these lost sheep were scattered. Agreeable to the Saviour’s command they went forth, and preached as they went, and so carried the Gospel of Jesus with them. As a Tribe they finally settled in Normandy, and gave to France her Protestantism, which, from that day to this, Catholicism has not been able entirely to uproot, though it has made several desperate attempts. They finally, however,
as a Tribe, under the Norman conquest, entered England and united with the other nine Tribes. Their advent, and the way they came, is very graphically symbolised in the unicorn on the royal arms of England. The unicorn is looking Westward, and is attached to the crown by a chain—showing that it came from the East.
With these facts in one’s mind, read those difficult passages in Romans, and all will be plain. Take, for instance, Romans xi. 17: “And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree.” Here it is manifest that we have three parties mentioned. The branches broken off mean Judah and Levi, the wild olive stands for the Gentiles, the people in among whom they were grafted, or root of whose fatness they were partakers, mean the Israelites. The hope of Jewish restoration is nicely set forth in verse 24: “For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree, which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree.” Again, the wild olive stands for the Gentiles, the good olive tree for Israel, the branches broken off, but which may be grafted in again, for the Jews. Thus to this theory of interpretation the whole Bible responds easily and reasonably. With this kind of interpretation one need not twist and distort the sacred Word in order to understand it. I trust the day is near when men will expound the sacred Scriptures by the rules of common sense.
The calamity that happened to the nine Tribes of Israel in been carried captive has been turned into good by our heavenly Father—into good for them and all the world. “Therefore the Lord removed Israel out of His sight, as He had said by all His servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day” (2 Kings xvii. 23).
Keeping back the Tribe of Benjamin is a marvel of goodness. And with Paul we may exclaim: “Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness.” If Israel had been able to contribute so much of Christianity to the world, and evolve in her imperfect state such an equitable form of government, what will her contribution be when gathered, restored, and once again put into a theocratic relation to God? “For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?” This people who have been scattered among the Gentiles God is collecting out from among them for His own glorious purpose and work. Thus scattered they have been a mystery—a mystery among the Gentiles. Paul to the Colossians says: “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory.”
When will the fulness of the text take place? We answer. Before long. The fulness here stands over against the Gentile fulness. In the three last discourses we called your attention to Israel’s maturing fulness in land, people, and language. And now, if you will consider the state of the Gentile nations, it will be apparent to you that the time of Gentile fulness is now present. These Gentile nations are now overflowing. Take China with her teeming millions, and ask why she has not peopled the world? for surely she could have done so long ago. But she barred her own doors by making it unlawful for any of her subjects to leave the flowery kingdom—forbidding heaven to such as should die outside. Now, however, she must permit emigration or perish by famine. Take the countries of Europe, and is it not strange that Israel’s fulness of land, people, and language is made the fuller by these nations contributing towards the same? The fulness of the Gentiles is made to flow into the fulness of Israel. These countries, outside of Israel-England,
have no colonies to send their overflow to; hence, they are filling up the domain of Israel and so hastening on her fulness. The French, Germans, Italians, and Spaniards forsake their land and language, thus adding to Israel’s fulness; for they chiefly settle down within the bounds of Israel. To this Gentile fulness there was to be one strange exception—that was in the Turkish nation. This nation is set forth by the prophet under the figure of the River Euphrates. In their first appearance they were to be very numerous. In the eleventh century they began to invade Europe. The historian Gibbon, speaking of them, says: “Myriads of Turkish horsemen overspread the whole Greek empire, until at last Constantinople fell into their hands.” From 1453 till now have they held this grand capital. John, in Rev. ix., pictures this invasion, and speaks of the number of horsemen. He speaks of them as having power in their mouths and tails. This language is very expressive when we remember the Moslem’s war-cry, which was “The sword of Mahomet and of God.” And in one of the first of their great battles they lost their standard; but, not long baffled, the commander-in-chief cut off the tail of his beautiful steed, and, putting it on the end of a pole, hoisted it as a standard. This ensign they long used. This kingdom, however, is to dry up—that is, to disappear gradually, as a river dries up. All this is taking place. Turkey sends emigrants nowhere. They are literally dying out. In number they are fewer each year. Turkey will pass away for want of Turks. Her territory will be taken away from her gradually. How remarkable the dealings of Providence with men and nations!
Up to the point of Gentile fulness, Israel was to be partly blind, for God’s plans, through Israel, were to remain a mystery for a time. “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until