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Review and Herald, Vol. 30, No. 2.

GOD A BEING AND HEAVEN A PLACE
Earlier text: GOD A BEING AND HEAVEN A PLACE

The Behemoth of the Scriptures.

“Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.” Job xl, 15.
BEHEMOTH, a huge amphibious animal described in Job. xl, 15-24. Commentators are now generally agreed that it is the hippopotamus, or river horse, which is found only in the Nile and other great rivers of Africa. This is a very large, powerful, and unwieldy animal, which lives in the water, but comes out upon the banks to feed on grass, grain, green herbs, and branches of trees. The appearance of the hippopotamus when on the land is altogether uncouth, the body being extremely large, flat, and round, the head enormously large in proportion, and the legs as disproportionately short. The length of a male has been known to be seventeen feet, the hight seven feet, and the circumference fifteen; the head three feet and a half, and the girth nine feet; the mouth, in width, about two feet. The general color of the animal is brownish; the ears small and pointed; the eyes small and black; the lips very thick and broad; the nostrils small. The armament of teeth in its mouth is truly formidable; more particularly the tusks of the lower jaw, which are of a curved form, somewhat cylindrical: these are so strong and hard that they will strike fire with steel, are sometimes more than two feet in length, and weigh upwards of six pounds each. The other teeth are much smaller. The tail is short and thick; and the whole body is protected by a thick and tough hide, which swords and arrows cannot penetrate, thickly covered with short hair.
Mr. Ruppell gives the following graphic account of a combat on the upper Nile: “One of the hippopotami which we killed was a very old male, and seemed to have reached his utmost growth. He measured from the snout to the end of the tail, about fifteen feet; and his tusks, from the root to the point, along the external curve, twenty-eight inches. We had a battle with him four hours long and that too in the night. Indeed, he came very near destroying our large bark; and with it, perhaps, all our lives. The moment he saw the hunters in the small canoe, as they were about to fasten the long rope to the buoy in order to draw him in, he threw himself with one rush upon it, dragged it with him under water, and shattered it to pieces. Out of twenty-five musket balls, which were fired into the monster’s head at the distance of five feet, only one penetrated the hide and the bones near the nose; so that every time he breathed, he snorted a stream of blood upon the bark. All the other balls remained sticking in the thickness of the hide. We had at last to employ a small cannon; but it was only after five of its balls, fired at the distance of a few feet, had mangled most shockingly the head and body of the monster, that he died. This gigantic hippopotamus dragged our large bark at his will, in every direction of the stream.”—Bib. Dic.

THE IOWA CONFERENCE.

By George I. Butler; A. A. Fairfield

FIFTH ANNUAL SESSION.

PURSUANT to the call of the Committee through the Review, this Conference assembled in session at Pilot Grove Iowa, June 6, 1867, at 6 P. M.
Opened with prayer by Eld. J. N. Loughborough. Credentials of delegates called for and examined. Ten churches only were duly represented.
On motion, the name of the church at Fairview was changed to Anamosa.
On motion, the name of the Liberty Church was changed to Mount Pleasant.
On motion, a third section was added to Art. vii of the constitution as follows: “This Conference may, at its discretion, invite all persons present who are members of churches in good standing, to take part in the discussions of business, but not to participate in voting.”
On motion, Bro. D. T. Bourdeau was invited to take part in the deliberations of this Conference.
On motion, all brethren present in good standing were invited to take part in the deliberations of this Conference.
Minutes of previous meeting called for, read, and accepted.
Resolved, That we consider it the duty of the Conference Committee to prepare business for Conference.
Moved, That the usual method of this Conference in the nomination of officers by committee be dispensed with, and that a nomination be made by ballot.
Adjourned to 9 A. M.
Second session. Met according to adjournment.
Prayer by H. Nicola. On motion, Wm. E. Caviness was admitted delegate from the Fairfield church.
On motion, the following brethren were appointed Auditing Committee: N. Hodges, N. Hoyt, R. M. Kilgore, Asa Cummins, B. Leach, and Wm. E. Caviness.
On motion, Jas. Reynolds was admitted delegate from Palestine church.
On motion, Sec. 2, Art. 3, of constitution was amended by adding as follows: When a member takes a letter of commendation from a church, he still remains a member of that church; and he should pay his s. b. accordingly, giving due notice when he joins the church in another place.
On motion, Secs. 3 and 4 were added to Art. iv, which please read in Review Vol. xxix, No. 24, in Mich. Conference minutes.
Treasurer’s report was then called for, read, and approved, showing the following results:
Amount on hand at last report, $557.80
Received of churches. 796.10
Total. $1353.90
Paid out to ministers as shown by Treasurer’s book $521.59
Also by vote of last Con. for different objects 300.00
Cash on hand to balance 582.31
$1353.90
T. HARE, Treasurer.
Whereas, The church in Waterloo has become enfeebled by reduction of its membership; therefore,
Resolved, That we recommend the remaining members of that church to unite with the church in Laporte City.
On motion, the name and place of the Palestine church was changed to Iowa City.
On motion, Bro. George I. Butler was voted a ministerial license to labor in this Conference.
The resolutions of Gen. Conf. were approved as follows, under their respective heads, which please read in Review No. 24, in minutes of Gen. Conference: Fields of Labor, Letters of commendations, Members Moving, Spiritual Gifts, Appeal to mothers, [Health Reform, The Health Institute, Dress, Reformed Dress, these were, by request, voted on by a full audience of Brn. and sisters] War, and the preamble and Resolutions on our humiliation, repentance and humility. This last was also voted on by the audience.
Adjourned till 2½ P. M.
Third session. Met according to adjournment. Prayer by J. T. Mitchel.
Resolved, That we fully approve of the course of the Executive Committee in withdrawing the license given to R. W. Reed.
Resolved, That we have a Convocation meeting for this State to commence Wednesday, Sept. 18, 1867, and continue over the following first-day, and that Eld. D. T. Bourdeau select the place.
Resolved, That we hereby express our earnest desire that Bro. and sister White may soon be restored to strength and active labor in this cause, and if their health will admit, we request them to attend our Convocation Meeting in Sept. next.
Distribution of labor was brought up and remarks made.
On motion, the subject was referred to the committee.
Adjourned to call of committee.
Fourth Session, called by Committee. Prayer by S. Osborn. Auditing Committee’s report read, accepted, and adopted.
Resolved, That this Conference pay $125.00 of its funds to the Gen. Conf. Missionary Fund.
Resolved, That this Conference pay $125.00 of its funds to the S. D. A. P. Association.
Resolved, That this Conference pay $50.00 of its funds to the charitable fund of the Health Reform Institute.
Resolved, That the churches of this Conference be requested to appropriate to the State Conference fund eighty per cent. of all money received into their s. b. funds.
On motion, the Mt. Pleasant church was permitted to retain all the systematic money the ensuing year except $100.
Resolved, That we fully approve the proposed enlargement of Review, and semi-monthly publication of Instructor, and we will endeavor to aid by our means in this enterprise.
On motion, J. T. Mitchel was appointed a delegate to the next Gen. Conference.
Nomination of officers next came up and the following persons were duly chosen.
For President, George I. Butler, of Wankon, Secretary, Albert A. Fairfield, of Mt. Pleasant, Treasurer, Robert M. Kilgore, of Washington, Executive Committee, George I. Butler, John T. Mitchel of Lisbon, and Henry Nicola of Richmond.
On motion the nominees were elected.
Resolved, That this Conference offer its sincere thanks to the Gen. Conference for its aid in ministerial labor for the past year.
Resolved, That this Conference return its sincere thanks to the Pilot Grove church for the hospitality shown us during this Conference.
Resolved, That the minutes of this Conference be published in the Review.
Adjourned to the call of Committee.
GEORGE I. BUTLER, President.
A. A. FAIRFIELD, Secretary.

2. God is All-powerful. “Behold I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for me?” Jer. xxxii, 27. “With God all things are possible.” Matt. xix, 26

Infidel Objections to the Bible Answered. No. 2.

2. God is All-powerful. “Behold I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for me?” Jer. xxxii, 27. “With God all things are possible.” Matt. xix, 26.

God is Not All-powerful. “And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. Judges i, 19.”
The omnipotence of God is plainly enough declared in the two passages first above quoted. It only remains to harmonize Judges i, 19, with them. This is easily done by a little attention to the grammatical construction. On this passage Horne remarks:—
“This passage has been made the subject of the profane scoffs of Voltaire and his copyists, as though the Lord were unable to succeed against the inhabitants of the valley with their iron chariots; but it is wholly relieved by simply observing, that the he, when it is said, ‘he could not,’ does not refer to the Lord but Judah.”
On the same verse Dr. Clarke remarks:—
“Strange! were the iron chariots too strong for Omnipotence? The whole of this verse is improperly rendered. The first clause, The Lord was with Judah, should terminate the 18th verse, and this gives the reason for the success of this tribe: The Lord was with Judah, and therefore he slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zepath, &c., &c. Here, then, is a complete period: the remaining part of the verse either refers to a different time, or to the rebellion of Judah against the Lord, which caused him to withdraw his support. Therefore the Lord was with Judah, and these were the effects of his protection; but afterwards, when the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim, &c., God was no longer with them, and their enemies were left to be pricks in their eyes, and thorns in their side, as God himself had said.”
“This is the turn given to the verse by Jonathan ben Uzziel, the Chaldee paraphrast: ‘And the WORD of Jehovah was in the support of the house of Judah, and they extirpated the inhabitants of the mountains: but afterwards, WHEN THEY SINNED, they were not able to extirpate the inhabitants of the plain country, because they had chariots of iron.’ They were now left to their own strength, and their adversaries prevailed against them.”
The Douay Bible translates it much plainer than King James’ version. It reads as follows: “And the Lord was with Judah, and he (Judah) possessed the hill country, but was not able to destroy the inhabitants of the valley, because they had many chariots armed with scythes.”
This makes it very plain that it was the same one who possessed the hill country who failed to obtain the valley; and this was Judah. So the skeptic finds a contradiction here, only by taking language written concerning Judah, and applying it to God, to whom it has no reference.

Smote Their Breasts.

Luke xxiii, 48. And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.
AMONG the Orientals, to smite the breast is a sign of penitence. Hence we read that the people who returned from Calvary after the crucifixion of our Lord, “smote their breasts.” The number of these witnesses of Christ’s death was large; probably not less than three millions of people were gathered at that time in the Jewish capital; and the testimony of Pilate to the innocence of Jesus, the confession of the penitent thief upon the cross, the strange cry of the Divine Sufferer there, the convulsion of nature, the rent veil of the temple, and the three hours’ darkness, moved the beholders deeply, awakened remorse as sharers in the death of the Holy One, and from the hills and plains around Calvary the dense throng of witnesses, collected from all parts of Palestine, returned to their places of abode—“smiting their breasts.” No wonder that they did so. It would have been strange had it been otherwise. This act, and what it betokened, were in harmony with the amazing scene. With reason might those who had rejected the Son of David, and crucified their immaculate Messiah, have been thus mournfully impressed.

THOUGHTS ABOUT LABORING ON SUNDAY.

By Roswell F. Cottrell

It is the first-day of the week. Yesterday we enjoyed a good meeting with the Lockport church at Sr. Paine’s, near Gasport, where we unexpectedly met with three sisters from Battle Creek. Have been reading the last Review this morning and digesting pretty thoroughly the editorial; “When does it apply?” which meets my hearty approval. Now, of course, I am at the secretary writing. But I am getting weary from mental labor, and want a “brain tonic.” I see from my window some thrifty, growing potatoes, and the weeds are getting a good start too. I shall gain two objects by going out and hoeing potatoes awhile; a benefit to myself and a benefit to the growing crop. But it is the first-day of the week; and how will it affect my good neighbors to see me at labor, as they pass, some of them on their way to church, others to seek their various pleasures? Pleasure hunters need take no encouragement from us in their unsabbathical pursuits; for they know that on the seventh-day we neither labor nor seek worldly pleasures. But what can I say to my religious friends and neighbors? Well, it occurs to me that when they argue for the change of the day of the Sabbath, they say that the particular day is not essential; if any one day of the seven is kept as a Sabbath to the Lord, it is perfectly acceptable to God. I kept the Sabbath yesterday the seventh-day of the week. Certainly, if any one day in seven is acceptable with God, the day that he has named in the commandment, and bid us remember and keep holy, is acceptable with him. And what is acceptable with God, ought to be with my religious neighbors; especially as their platform gives me the liberty to choose any day I please. I choose the day that God has chosen, rested upon, blest, and sanctified. It answers to their rule, for it is truly one day in seven. And more than this, it is the particular day of the seven upon which God rested and which he blessed and sanctified and commanded us to keep. Will my liberal neighbors persecute me for doing what their creed allows me to do? Of course not. Will they ever do it? Will they ever try to compel me to keep the particular day which they choose to call the Sabbath? In the time of trouble right before us it will be seen. I hope some of them will be converted to the true Sabbath before that. Those that are not will then be left to the full control of Satan, and they will engage in a final war of extermination against those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. My example may awaken some to choose the right way of the Lord, and be the means of their salvation from that great “hour of temptation.” My conclusion then is, that what my hands find to do to day, I will do it with my might, carefully avoiding every annoyance to my neighbors.
R. F. COTTRELL.

MINNESOTA CONFERENCE REPORT.

By Stephen Pierce; Henry F. Phelps

The seventh annual session of the Minnesota State Conference of S. D. Adventists, was held at Mantorville, Dodge Co., Minn., June 14, 1867. Ministers present, Elders Stephen Pierce and Wm. S. Ingraham. J. N. Loughborough of Mich., was also present. Meeting was opened by prayer by Bro. Loughborough.
Delegates being called for, four churches reported by six delegates. By vote the church at Bass Lake was admitted into the Conference. The Secretary being absent, H. F. Phelps was elected secretary pro tem. The amendment of the Constitution recommended by the Gen. Conference, concerning inviting all members in good standing to take a part in the deliberations, was adopted as Sec. 3, of Art. vii, whereupon a vote was passed inviting all the brethren present to participate. Minutes of last Conference read.
Reports of churches show a total amount of membership 170. Total amount of s. B. fund $787.60. Reports of ministers being called for, Elds. Stephen Pierce, Wm. S. Ingraham and W. M. Allen, responded. Credentials of Elds. Pierce and Ingraham were renewed. Treasurer’s report read and accepted. On motion, Brn. Harlow, Grant, Gibson, Merry, Morton, and F. W. Morse, were chosen a committee to audit the accounts of ministers. Sec. 11, of Art. 3, was amended by adding the words proposed by the Gen. Conference concerning the s. B. of members moving. The resolution of last Conference concerning the expulsion of members, was adopted as Sec. 3 and 4 of Art. iv, of our State Conference Constitution.
Resolved, That this Conference recommend the Executive Committee to look after those churches whose membership covers a considerable territory, and make such division and formation of new churches as to them the circumstances seem to demand.
Voted, To nominate the officers of this Conference by ballot. The result of the ballot was as follows: President, Stephen Pierce. Secretary, H. F. Phelps, Treasurer, W. I. Gibson, Executive Committee, Stephen Pierce, Wm. S. Ingraham, and H. Grant. By vote of the Conference this nomination was ratified.
Resolutions on the following points, passed by the Gen. Conference were unanimously adopted [see report of Gen. Conf.], viz., Fields of Labor, Letters of Commendation, Members Moving, Ordinances, Patent Rights, Unlicensed Teachers, Living out the Truth, Health Reform, Health Institute, Dress, Reform Dress, War, Humiliation, Spiritual Gifts, Appeal to Mothers.
The resolutions on Health Reform, Health Institute, Dress, Reform Dress, were endorsed by all the brethren and sisters present.
At a session held first-day A. M. June 16, the report of the auditing Committee was read and accepted. The Committee recommend that the churches pay the entire amount of their s. B. into the State Conference fund.
The following preamble and resolution was read and unanimously adopted:
Whereas, We greatly desire the prosperity of the cause in this State, and,
Whereas, The providence of God has permitted blight to come upon our crops, and we thereby find ourselves financially embarrassed, and,
Whereas, We greatly fear that we have as a Conference lacked in a spirit of sacrifice while in prosperity, therefore,
Resolved, That we appoint for the churches in Minnesota, July 4, 1867, as a day of humiliation, fasting and prayer to God, that he may bless our seed sown, and help us in all our endeavors to advance the cause of truth; and may he give us such a sense of our wrongs, and true humility of heart, that he can smile upon us, and cause his truth to advance with power here.
Resolved, That we tender a vote of thanks to the brethren in Mantorville for kindly entertaining this Conference.
Resolved, That we express our gratitude to the citizens of Mantorville, for the use of their court-house and school-house, and other acts of kindness.
Resolved, That the minutes of this meeting be published in the Review.
STEPHEN PIERCE, President,
HENRY F. PHELPS, Secretary.

The Road to Happiness

Say nothing, do nothing, which a good mother would not approve, and you are on the certain road to happiness.

WHO WOULD NOT BE A CHRISTIAN?

Who would not be a Christian? I have seen Men shrinking from the term, as if it brought A charge against them! Yet the honored name Is full of gentlest meaning. Colors rise, And beauty floats around it; from its eyes Great tears of heavenly sympathy descend; And mercy, soft as Hermon's fragrant dew, Springs in its heart, and from its lips distil.
I've seen it press an infant to its breast, And kiss away his troubles; seen it take An old gray-headed man, oppressed with years, And wrinkled o'er with sorrow, and disclose A prospect to his vision, which hath made The old man sing with gladness; seen it lay Its soft hand gently on the blind and lame, And lead them safely home; and seen it stoop To the vile outcasts of society, Whose character was odious, in the streets, And bring them back to virtue and to God.
Hark! 'tis the loftiest name the language bears, And all the languages in all the world Have none sublimer! It relates to Christ, And breathes of God and holiness; suggests The virtues of humanity, adorned By the rich graces of the Holy Ghost, To fit them for the Paradise on high, Where angels dwell, and perfect manhood shines In the clear lustre of redeeming love, For ever and for ever; and implies A Son and Heir of the Eternal God!
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