Bible Biographies
13
The principles of justice required a faithful narration of facts for the
benefit of all who should ever read the Sacred Record. Here we discern
the evidences of divine wisdom. We are required to obey the law of
God, and are not only instructed as to the penalty of disobedience, but
we have narrated for our benefit and warning the history of Adam and
Eve in Paradise, and the sad results of their disobedience of God’s
commands. The account is full and explicit. The law given to man
in Eden is recorded, together with the penalty accruing in case of its
disobedience. Then follows the story of the temptation and fall, and the
punishment inflicted upon our erring parents. Their example is given
us as a warning against disobedience, that we may be sure that the
wages of sin is death, that God’s retributive justice never fails, and that
He exacts from His creatures a strict regard for His commandments.
When the law was proclaimed at Sinai, how definite was the penalty
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annexed, how sure was punishment to follow the transgression of that
law, and how plain are the cases recorded in evidence of that fact!
The pen of inspiration, true to its task, tells us of the sins that
overcame Noah, Lot, Moses, Abraham, David, and Solomon, and that
even Elijah’s strong spirit sank under temptation during his fearful
trial. Jonah’s disobedience and Israel’s idolatry are faithfully recorded.
Peter’s denial of Christ, the sharp contention of Paul and Barnabas, the
failings and infirmities of the prophets and apostles, are all laid bare
by the Holy Ghost, who lifts the veil from the human heart. There
before us lie the lives of the believers, with all their faults and follies,
which are intended as a lesson to all the generations following them. If
they had been without foible they would have been more than human,
and our sinful natures would despair of ever reaching such a point
of excellence. But seeing where they struggled and fell, where they
took heart again and conquered through the grace of God, we are
encouraged, and led to press over the obstacles that degenerate nature
places in our way.
God has ever been faithful to punish crime. He sent His prophets
to warn the guilty, denounce their sins, and pronounce judgment upon
them. Those who question why the word of God brings out the sins
of His people in so plain a manner for scoffers to deride and saints to
deplore, should consider that it was all written for their instruction, that
they may avoid the evils recorded and imitate only the righteousness
of those who served the Lord.