CHAPTER XVI

"GOD moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform." Hannah by prophetic vision was given insight into God's providential care of the world and His direction of the course of history. Her hymn is such a wonderful presentation of His overruling providence that I wish to quote it in toto:

1 And Hannah prayed, and said:
My heart exulteth in Jehovah;
My horn is exalted in Jehovah;
My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies:
Because I rejoice in thy salvation.
2 There is none holy as Jehovah;
For there is none besides thee,
Neither is there any rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so exceeding proudly;
Let not arrogancy come out of your mouth;
For Jehovah is a God of knowledge,
And by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty men are broken;
And they that stumbled are girded with strength.
5 They that were full have hired out themselves for bread;
And they that were hungry have ceased to hunger:
Yea, the barren hath borne seven;
And she that hath many children languisheth.
6 Jehovah killeth, and maketh alive:
He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up.
7 Jehovah maketh poor, and maketh rich:
He bringeth low, he also lifteth up.
8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust,
He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill,
To make them sit with princes,
And inherit the throne of glory:
For the pillars of the earth are Jehovah's,
And he hath set the world upon them.
9 He will keep the feet of his holy ones;
But the wicked shall be put to silence in darkness;
For by strength shall no man prevail.
10 They that strive with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces;
Against them will he thunder in heaven:
Jehovah will judge the ends of the earth;
And he will give strength unto his king,
And exalt the horn of his anointed.
(I Samuel 2:1-10)

The occasion of her composing this poem was the dedication of her son Samuel to the tabernacle services. The Lord had overruled events in her behalf and by granting her a son had removed the reproach which had been resting upon her; therefore she spoke of his vindicating those who are persecuted and oppressed. No one is so very insignificant in God's eyes that He does not watch after his well-being.

At the proper time the Lord deals with every individual regardless of who he is or what his position in life is. The fact that He does not summarily call the wicked to account is no evidence that He will not in the due course of time punish them. "The Lord killeth, and maketh alive; He bringeth down to Sheol, and bringeth up" (verse 6). He by His overruling providence reverses the financial and social conditions of people when their conduct demands such drastic measures.

Eventually He will raise up the poor and oppressed who are trusting Him and make them sit with princes and inherit "the throne of Glory." As He directs the course of events, He will protect and keep the feet of His faithful ones (verse 9). When the world will have filled up its cup of iniquity, He will enter into personal judgment with them, slaying the wicked. At that time He will exalt His King and magnify His Messiah (verse 10).

All one has to do is to watch the course of history and see God working out His problems with the human family. He is directing the course of events toward the great consummation when He will establish His kingdom upon the earth, and His glory will encircle the globe as the waters cover the sea.

If one will study the second chapter of Daniel's prophecy, one will see that the Lord outlined the entire course of world sovereignty and power under the symbolism of a metallic image. Babylon, as we have already seen, was given sovereignty over the entire world as long as she would fit into the plan of God. Finally, according to the prophetic vision, dominion was to be taken from her and delivered to another--Medo-Persia. This thing the Lord did. At the proper time the sovereignty was transferred to the Greek Empire and was entrusted to that nation so long as it would serve His purpose in developing His plan of the ages.

According to the accepted chronology Alexander, the youthful Macedonian, marched with his Greek phalanxes against the might of Persia. At that time this latter kingdom was in the decadence of old age and soon fell under the lightning, titanic strokes of the virile, young Macedonian. According to the historians he became the master of the world by 331 B.C.E. Although we speak and think of his having conquered the world, we are using this language in a restricted sense, since we know that he actually overpowered Southeastern Europe and Western Asia, together with portions of Northern Africa.

Each nation has been used of God to make a special contribution to the civilization of the world. Admittedly the special contribution made by the Greeks was that of art, culture, and philosophy. The Lord used the conquest of Alexander to spread the Greek type of culture throughout the civilized world and to give the language to the people in which He would make known His wonderful revelation of redemption.

Earth's glories soon fade away. After the brief reign of eight years of unprecedented conquests and glory, Alexander disappeared from the historic horizon. His death occurred in 323 B.C.E. There was no arm strong enough to take up the banner which he had unfurled toward the four corners of the earth. The result was that his gigantic empire collapsed and was partitioned among his four leading generals. With the break-up of the empire there naturally came many changes and much suffering in various sections of the world.

The Jewish people were in close touch with only two of these divisions into which his empire split: the Graeco-Syrian kingdom in the North and the government of the Ptolemies in Egypt. These two realms were in constant conflict. Located in Palestine, Israel was, as it were, between the upper and the nether millstones. For 150 years they suffered first at the hands of one of these and then from the other. This history is set forth in the prophetic vision which was granted Daniel as described in Chapter I of this volume.

The greatest persecution of the Graeco-Syrians broke out under the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. With fanatical hate he tried to impose upon the Jewish people his type of civilization. To hellenize the entire nation was a task greater than he anticipated. To do this, he attempted by subtle means to destroy their religious institutions and sacred culture. When it became apparent that they would resist these foreign influences, Antiochus endeavored by force and might to carry out his program. This act of intolerance stirred up the patriotic ones to revolt. The sons of Mattathias, a priest living at Modin, sprang forth to champion the cause of Jewish liberty. The ensuing struggle was gigantic. The sacrifices made by the people were great but the victories won were glorious. Finally, Judas, after approximately six years of warfare cleansed the Temple from its defilement and dedicated it anew to the service of God. Upon his death his brother, Jonathan, came to power and continued the struggle, waging a glorious war against the oppressors of the Jews. He, in turn, was succeeded by Simon, his brother, who likewise performed exploits in behalf of his people. Following him, John Hyrcanus took up the gauntlet of war against Israel's inveterate enemies, but not with the brilliancy and success of his predecessors.

The struggle which was begun by Mattathias about 168 B.C.E. was continued by his successors until finally all hope for Jewish national independence was quenched by the intervention of the Romans in 63 B.C.E.

As we have just seen, during the Greek period--especially the latter half of it--the political fortunes of Israel were disastrous to her. She suffered, but survived, living to see the downfall of her oppressors. This is what one might expect because the Chosen People are indestructible.

One of the laws of God's great economy is that of compensation. The losses in one realm always appear in the form of gains in another. The God of righteousness sees that this law is always in operation. The spiritual gains which the nation made in this period of crisis more than compensated for the political losses. During this time there was a special outburst of religious feeling and ecstatic vision. These spiritual elements contributed largely to the courage and the faith of the people during their hour of trial.

An intense nationalism developed which was placed upon a strictly religious basis, and which made its great contribution for the future in the days of the first century of the common era. Men may look with scorn and derision at the Pharisees of old and may magnify their shortcomings, nevertheless they were used of God in a providential way to make a great contribution to the nation and to hold it together, preparing it for the final crisis which, as we know, came in the year 70 C.E., when Jerusalem capitulated under the mighty, sledge-hammer blows of Titus, the Roman general. With the appearance, however, of Pompey in 63 B.C.E., Israel passed under the domination of a different banner. At this time the current of national history began to run in a different direction.

End Of Chapter XVI.