GOD'S CHARACTER by George E. Price

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Dec 11, 1893

GOD'S CHARACTER

By George E. Price

HISTORY. NO. 2.

GOD'S CHARACTER.

God is love. The history of the world, of nations, and of individuals, shows this and this only. "In sparing the life of Cain, the murderer, God gave the world an example of what would be the result of permitting the sinner to live, to continue a course of unbridled iniquity." The evil traits of character transmitted to his descendants, and encouraged and cultivated by his teachings, his influence, and example, brought in a state of affairs that could not be remedied except by blotting out a wretched and sin-cursed race. "In mercy to the world, God blotted out its wicked inhabitants in Noah's time." Eight chosen souls, saved from the general wreck, were made sufficient to start the world once more. It was the family of the only one that was found righteous before the Lord in that generation. This was to be a lesson to all the world for their instruction and benefit. Over and over again in the history of nations has this thing been worked out in one way and another. National existence is continued, national prosperity is promoted by the Great Ruler, so long as there are individuals within the nation who will seek the Lord. Chastisements of one kind and another are brought upon the individuals, as mentioned in the fourth chapter of Amos, that they may return unto the Lord. But when these can no longer avail, when the individuals and the nation will not seek the Lord, then that nation is blotted out and gives place to another.

God's people have ever been the light of the world. This was the case of the few in the patriarchal age who served the Lord. It was the design and was the result of the formation of the kingdom of Israel. Did not Abraham proceed on a missionary journey when he got him out of his country, and from his kindred, and came into the land of Canaan? Did not the twelve patriarchs, with Jacob and Joseph as their heads, shed a light "o'er all the land of Ham" when they "went down into Egypt to sojourn there"? And did not their establishment in Canaan, that great highway of travel between Asia and Africa, between the West and the East, the center of the earth as it then was, did not their establishment here shed a light o'er all the world, teaching them to seek the Lord, and showing them how they might find him? Whence came so many traditions among the heathen corresponding to incidents in the first age of the world, or circumstances in the history of Israel, if it was not that their forefathers obtained light from the vine-clad hills of Judah? But, oh, how sad to trace the apostasy and shame of those whom God called as missionaries! "Thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity." Jer. 30:15. Their own Messiah, he for whom they had fondly looked for over a thousand years, they took and put to death, denying that he was their king. But even then the Lord, in wondrous love, spared yet a little longer "this cherished vine of his own planting." The kingdom was "taken from them and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof," but a great work was done among them in gathering out from this company of murderers of their Lord a few who would really serve him. But when, finally, they not only rejected the message of mercy themselves, but forbade the faithful to "speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway," then indeed "the wrath came upon them to the uttermost," and there was no remedy.

The Israelites were not brought into Canaan until the iniquity of the Amorites was full, but in the fourth generation this had taken place, and no more good could come from that nation; none of them would seek the Lord. The very earth was defiled, and "the land itself vomited out her inhabitants." Lev. 18:25. But even then the Lord said: "I will not drive them out from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land." Ex. 23:29, 30. And it was the Lord's design that if they continued faithful to him, they should increase so greatly and so rapidly that they would occupy and inherit, not only all that land, but all the earth. He promised to take sickness away from their midst, that none should cast their young, nor be barren in the land, and that they should live to the natural length of human life. Verses 25 and 26. Of course this was to be brought about largely by natural laws, that is, by laws that he has already established in nature. For "everything that is outside of our knowledge of law, is not therefore outside of law." The one is the common, the other the less common, manifestation of God's work. But he gave them such a marvelous code of laws, embracing every need of their minds or bodies, that if they had been followed they would have brought their physical and mental salvation even in this world. The history of this world would then have been vastly different from what it now is—no iron monarchy of Rome to rule the world, no Papacy to wear out the saints of the Most High, and exalt itself above all that is called God or that is worshiped. The number of the subjects of the blessed kingdom would long since have been made up, and the earth itself would have been redeemed from the curse of sin.

GOD NOT RESPONSIBLE.

It was not the design of God that the history of this world should be what it has been. But in leaving man free to choose, he left open the possibility of these things taking place. It was not the will of God that the records of this world should be "traced in human misery, tears, and blood," but such was the inevitable result when man chose sin instead of God. But this world's history has been as bright as it could possibly have been since sin was allowed to enter, as bright as God himself could make it and carry out the highest good of all his creatures. The tears, the misery and woe, that we have seen since the banishment from that glad paradise, are but the logical results of thoughts of self, for there was where sin originated. But yet all the results that would have followed this pride of heart and thoughts of self have not been suffered to occur, only enough of them to illustrate the difference between sin and God. This earth's history would have been vastly different if sin had been allowed full course after entering Paradise, for it would have ended in unimaginable misery and anguish and the early extinction of the race. "We cannot know how much we owe to Christ for the peace and protection which we enjoy. It is the restraining power of God that prevents mankind from passing fully under the control of Satan," and of course feeling the weight of the malice and enmity of this author of evil. When God's presence was at last withdrawn from Jerusalem and the Jewish people, they had nothing to restrain their evil passions, nothing to shield them from the vindictive malice of Satan. And the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem show the result. The same thing is finally to take place with the whole world, and human words are feeble to give a picture of that dreadful day. "And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbor, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbor." "In the mad strife of their own fierce passions, and by the awful outpouring of God's unmingled wrath, fall the wicked inhabitants of the earth." "And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried," "the whole will be involved in ruin more terrible than that which came upon Jerusalem of old."

GOD'S MERCY TO EGYPT.

Abraham first, and after him Jacob and the twelve patriarchs, were sent down into Egypt to proclaim his name. The children of Ham had lost the knowledge of Jehovah. The evil traits of character, transmitted from father to son, had multiplied and strengthened by indulgence until the nation at large had lost sight of the Eternal. Then these servants of God were sent down there to proclaim his truth—the great plan of redemption. The majesty of the exodus, conducted by the visible manifestation of the Lord, struck terror to the gods of Egypt, and must have led many of that land to seek the Lord. And "it is a noteworthy fact that all symbolical representations of the resurrection of the human body, so common on Egyptian monuments, are never found on tombs of the old empire prior to the settlement of the Hebrews in Egypt."—Buried Cities Recovered, p. 50 . The truth may have been received in the love of it by individuals, but not so by the nation at large. There were judgments and calamities sent upon them to lead them to seek the Lord, but yet they "have not returned unto me, saith the Lord." And as surely as he "hath determined the times before appointed" in which this may be done, just so surely there came a time, and we see it to-day, when the words of inspiration were fulfilled: "I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians; and

they shall fight every one against his brother," "city against city, and kingdom against kingdom;" "and I will give [them] over into the hands of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them, saith the Lord." "It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations;" "and there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt." Isa. 19:2, 4; Eze. 29:15; 30:13.

(To be continued.)