Volrath Vogt

“ Your god may be musing, or perhaps he sleeps! At evening Elijah sacrificed an ox and prayed: O Lord, let it be known this day that Thou art God in Israel, and that I am Thy servant! Then there came fire from heaven and consumed his sacrifice. The people took the priests of Baal and slew them, and the heavens grew black, and there was a great rain. Jezebel sought the life of Elijah, but he fled to the wilderness and wished that he might die, because Israel had broken their covenant with the Lord. ”

“ At midnight the Lord passed through Egypt and slew all the first-born, from the first-born of Pharaoh to the first-born of the slave. But He saw the blood on the dwellings of Israel and passed over. And there was a great cry in Egypt, and Pharaoh urged Israel to go. So the Israelites went out of Egypt, 600,000 men who could go out to battle, and Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. ”

“ Jesus has explained also this parable: He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man, and the field is the world; the good seed is the children of the kingdom, and the tares are the children of the evil one; and the enemy that sowed the tares is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the servants are the angels. As the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. ”

“ I am the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob; I have seen the affliction of my people and have heard their cry; now I will send thee to Pharaoh, and thou shalt bring my people out of Egypt. Moses answered: My brethren will not believe that Thou hast sent me. The Lord said: Cast thy rod on the ground. Moses did so, and it became a serpent, and Moses fled from it. At the Lord’s command Moses took it by the tail, and it became a rod again. The Lord gave him power to work other wonders; but Moses continued to excuse himself and said: I am slow of speech. ”

“ Thou art the man! Uriah hast thou smitten with the sword of the Ammonites, and his wife hast thou taken to be thy wife. David humbled himself before the Lord and said: O God, create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. ”

“ The other women went into the sepulchre, where an angel in white raiment was sitting, and he said: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth. He is not here; He is risen.—When they had left, Peter and John came to the tomb. They went in and saw the linen clothes; but Him they found not. And they went away again. Then came Mary Magdalene again to the tomb, and stood outside and wept. And Jesus appeared unto her and said: Woman, why weepest thou? She knew Him not, but supposed Him to be the gardener, and said: Sir, if thou hast borne Him hence, tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away. ”

“ Let the earth put forth grass and herbs and trees bearing fruit. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.—And God made the two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. ”

“ The Kingdom of Judah, Hezekiah and Isaiah In Judah kings of the house of David always reigned; many of them were wicked and served strange gods; but a few were pious and served the Lord, and thus idolatry did not come to such power as in the kingdom of Israel.
The most pious of the kings was Hezekiah. Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came against Jerusalem and used great words, saying: Believe not that your God can deliver you, for the gods of the heathens were not able to deliver their countries from the king of Assyria. Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord and prayed for deliverance. ”

“ Jesus Heals the Daughter of the Woman of Canaan Jesus went to the country about Tyre and Sidon, and a Canaanitish, heathen woman cried unto Him: Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. But Jesus answered her not a word. The disciples said: Send her away, for she crieth after us. Jesus answered: I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of Israel. The woman now came and worshiped Him, saying: Lord, help me! Jesus said: It is not meet to take the children’s bread and cast it to the dogs. ”

“ The Romans set cruel governors over the country, and at last the Jews concluded that it was better for all to die at once than to be killed one by one. They revolted, and defended themselves with great bravery. Titus, who later on became emperor, came against Jerusalem with an army, and surrounded the city on all sides. It was at the time of the Passover, and a great multitude of Jews from all countries had come to Jerusalem to keep the feast. The famine became so terrible that a mother is said to have slaughtered her own child for food. ”

“ When Herod saw that he was mocked of the Wise-men he was exceeding wroth, and sent forth and slew all the male children in Bethlehem from two years old and under.—When Herod was dead an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying: Arise, take the Child and His mother and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead that sought the Child’s life. And he went into Galilee and dwelt in Nazareth. And the Child grew and waxed strong in spirit, becoming full of wisdom ”

“ It took, however, a long time before Christianity was firmly established in these countries. In olden times the people of Norway, as well as of Denmark and Sweden, were heathens; their gods were called Asas. But at the time when Christianity reached Norway, the faith in Odin and Thor was not very firm. Many believed in nothing but their own strength. It is thus told about King Harald the Fairhaired, that he placed no trust in the Asas, but “believed in that god who was the strongest, and had made all and ruled over all.” ”

“ Jesus told them these things openly, and they therefore became His enemies; for man does not wish that his evil works shall come to the light.—They believed that they for the sake of their righteousness should inherit the kingdom of God; but Jesus preached conversion and faith, and said that publicans and sinners would go into the Kingdom of Heaven before them. The Pharisees wished to be greeted in the market-places and be called Rabbi, and they were envious, for the multitude clung to Jesus because of His blessed words and His miracles. ”

“ If thou thirst come hither and drink, and if thou hunger come hither and eat of my bread. Ruth said: How have I, a stranger, found favor in thine eyes? Boaz answered: I have heard what thou hast done for thy mother-in-law: Thou hast left father and mother and art come to a people thou didst not know. A full reward be given thee of Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge. When the harvest was over Boaz took Ruth to wife, and she bore a son who was called Obed. He was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David the king. (Book of Ruth.) ”

“ The eighth plague was numberless locusts that covered all the land, and ate every green thing, and the ninth was a thick darkness that lasted for three days; but in Goshen there were no locusts, and there it was light.
The Lord now bade Moses speak to the children of Israel and say: Tonight ye shall kill a lamb in every house, and ye shall take the blood and put it on the two door posts; ye shall roast the lamb and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs ”

“ Jerusalem lies two thousand five hundred feet above the ocean. The river Jordan runs two hundred miles from north to south, and divides the country into two parts. It flows through the Lake of Gennesaret, which has been and is yet very rich in fish, and empties into the Dead Sea, which is forty-five miles long and ten miles wide. The Dead Sea lies thirteen hundred feet lower than the Mediterranean Sea. The water has a bitter taste and is very salty. Neither animal nor vegetable life can exist in it. If a fish happens to stray from the Jordan into the lake, it dies. ”

“ We can subdue the land, for the Lord is with us. But it availed not. The people would not go against the Canaanites, but wished to choose a new leader and return to Egypt. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the Tabernacle, and the Lord spoke thus by Moses: For forty years shall ye wander about in this wilderness, until all those are dead who were 20 years old or over when ye went out of Egypt; none who hath seen my wonders in Egypt shall come into Canaan, except Joshua and Caleb. ”

“ Jesus and the Woman of Samaria Jesus was passing through Samaria, and being wearied with His journey, He sat by the well outside of the city of Sychar. A woman from the city came to draw water. Jesus said unto her: Give me to drink. She answered: How is it that Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, being a Samaritan woman? For there was bitter enmity between the Jews and the Samaritans. Jesus said: If thou knew who it is that speaketh with thee, thou wouldest have asked Him to give thee to drink, and He would have given thee living water. ”

“ Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead Near Jerusalem was a little village called Bethany. There dwelt a man named Lazarus and his two sisters, Martha and Mary. And Jesus loved them very much. Once when Lazarus was sick, the sisters sent word to Jesus, saying: Lord, he whom Thou lovest is sick. Jesus was at that time on the other side of the Jordan, and He remained there two days. Afterward He said to His disciples: Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. The disciples answered: If he is fallen asleep, he will recover. Jesus now said plainly: Lazarus is dead. ”

“ There shall arise four great kingdoms after each other; afterward God will establish a kingdom that shall overthrow all these, but shall itself remain forever.—The king said: Thy God is a God above all gods, since he can reveal secret things. Daniel was now made ruler of the wise men of the country and remained in great respect and honor even after the death of Nebuchadnezzar. But he had enemies, and these caused one of the following kings to throw him into a den of lions; but the Lord sent him His angel who shut the mouths of the lions. ”

“ When they were not yet gone far off he sent his steward after them, the sacks were searched, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Joseph would retain Benjamin as his slave; but Judah stood forth and said: Let me remain in his stead, for if we have not him with us, we will bring our father’s gray hairs with sorrow into the grave. ”

“ Progress of Christianity. The Christians are Persecuted At the time of Christ all the countries around the Mediterranean Sea were ruled by the Roman emperor. The Romans, and still more the Greeks, who were subject to them, excelled all other peoples at that time in science and arts. But they were heathens, and did not know the true God. Many had, however, lost faith in their own gods, and began to look about for salvation elsewhere. ”

“ Now Noah went out of the ark and made a thank offering unto the Lord. And the Lord said in His heart: I will not again curse the ground for man’s sake, for man is evil from his youth. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease. And God set the rainbow in the heavens as a token that He would remember His covenant. Noah lived till he was 950 years old, and is the second father of the human race. ”

“ Abraham lived happy in the faith in the Savior, who was to come. He was 175 years old when he died and was gathered to his people. Isaac became heir of all that he had, and became a chief for his people, and the Lord blessed him and said: Unto thee and thy seed will I give the land of Canaan, and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. (Gen. 24; 25: 1-11; 26:3, 4.)
14. Esau and Jacob Twenty years had passed, and Rebekah had no children. Then the Lord said to her: Thou shalt bear two sons, and the elder shall serve the younger. ”

“ Thou hast no pleasure in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise. And the Lord forgave him. But the son that Bathsheba bore him soon died; and much sorrow came upon David in his old age. (2 Sam. 11-12.)
37. The Revolt of Absalom Absalom, a son of David, was the comeliest man in Israel. There was no blemish on him from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. Although his father loved him greatly, he conspired to be king in his father’s stead. ”

“ The Lord sent the prophet Nathan unto David, and he said: There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing save one little lamb, which did eat of his morsel and drink of his cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveler unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, but took the poor man’s only lamb, and dressed it for the wayfaring man. ”