"But ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof.

"I also will laugh at your calamity: I will mock when your fear cometh.

"When your fear cometh as desolation." (Prov. 1.)

"I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me." (Jer. 32:40.)

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." (Ps. 111:10.)

"The fear of the Lord is the fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death." (Prov. 14:27.)

Who set these snares that they were known?

The mother of Israel, Rebekah, means snare. Therefore the snare preceded Israel.

"I will forewarn you, fear him which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you fear him." (Luke 12:5.)

mon.

This is the essence of the usual hell-fire and brimstone ser

Hell means the grave.

"Be not high-minded but fear." (Rom. 11:20.)

This is the meanest kind of coercion by fear and terrorism. "And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake." (Heb. 12:21.)

Thus was fear hammered into the souls of the ignorant by mean designing men to establish a superstitious belief in a "fearful" and "terrible" god. The inquisition was an actual demonstration of that god's wrath, but this was executed by well drilled human beasts. By thus putting into practice the most blasphemous crimes ever committed by men, Christianity branded its fearful god as the meanest type of murder. The terror inspired by the papal crusades and inquisition drove whole communities insane.

Christianity has not at any time abandoned this bloodthirsty hatred for that part of humanity which will not stultify itself by coming under its self-imposed censorship of mind and morals.

The simple meaning, fear, is quite sufficient to define Haradah.

Makheloth means place of assembly or meeting.

Kehelathah having established the assembly, it is natural that a meeting place should follow. Meeting means assembly, convocation, synod.

Do not treat lightly this continuity of meanings. We hear all of these terms in constant use today. Why should they appear so uniformly if this was an actual journey?

Tahath means station.

Inasmuch as Tahath is alleged to be the son of Assir (I Ch. 6:23.), meaning prisoner, this station is close to signifying a police station.

The next stopping place also signifies the same.

Tarah means station.

Therefore, following so closely the establishing of the council and a meeting place, we shall assume that station implies position, established places for talking, "blowing" as it is commonly called, for Tarah is Terah, meaning wind.

Mithcah means sweetness.

There is nothing to explain this; the place is unknown of course. We take it, however, that it has reference to the approach of a more conciliatory period, perhaps the ecstatic satisfaction of a state of felicity. Sweetness is often applied to human disposition.

"My meditation of him shall be sweet," (Ps. 104:34), a state of adolescent ecstasy.

Hashmonah means fatness, diligence, enumeration, embassy, present, fertility.

ness.

Now we may understand Mithcah better.

This signifies a fat period with a life filled with sweet

That this refers to a condition of the church and priesthood is very apparent.

Fatness is a common term throughout the Bible to signify abundance, fulness, and also tacit bribery.

"And the priest shall burn them upon the altar: it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet savor: all the fat is the Lord's." (Lev. 3:16.)

Fatness, used in this sense, also signifies surplus production in general. This theory is the basis of taxation the world over. This not only manifests in taxation, but also in the corpulency and obesity of the priests. Monks and priests are always pictured as sumptuous, well-fed men, "fat with food and red with wine."

"The liberal soul shall be made fat." (Prov. 11:25.)

"The soul of the diligent shall be made fat." (Prov. 13:4.)

There is a distinction here not quite plain.

"A good report maketh the bones fat." (Prov. 15:30.) "He that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat." (Prov. 28:25.)

"Thy paths drop fatness." (Ps. 65:11.)

"Therefore God give thee of the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine." (Gen. 27:28.)

It makes one feel greasy all over to read about it.

"And in this mountain (church) shall the Lord of hosts. make all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined." (Isa. 25:6.)

The clergy and the Jews alone are particularly exempted under the "prohibition act."

Thus a constant temptation is dangled before hungry humanity. Let us find the underlying motive. Hashmonah means diligence. If bribery fails the law is invoked.

"The judges shall make diligent inquisition, so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

ity.

"And those who remain shall hear and fear.

"And thine eye shall not pity." (Deut. 19.)

History proves there is no true pity in practical Christian

We previously intimated that Tahath, the Son of Assir,

meaning prisoner, might signify a prison. We find an immediate admonition concerning diligence in this connection.

"When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him: lest he hail thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer and the officer cast thee into prison." (Luke 12:58.)

To those familiar with the history of the inquisition, this will be recognized as plain instructions for those who sought to deliver their enemies as victims for the inquisitors, to be prepared with evidence to convict them.

This was overcome by the Duke of Savoé by his issuing a decree by which the unsupported accusation of one person was sufficient to condemn a victim to the stake, the accuser receiving a reward for his act. The result was that thousands of lives were sacrificed by perjury for the sake of the reward, the priests absolving the accuser. This is authentic history.

Beeroth means wells.

A well means to spout, a source of pure water, but we take this to signify a source, a well-spring. We frequently find "wells of wisdom," "wells of thought." This is corroborated by the fact that Beeroth is the son of Jakan, signifying thoughtfulness.

Thoughtful means considerate, careful, cautious, heedful, diligent, contemplative, reflective.

Thoughtfulness is very essential at this period. It signifies that the church realizes the necessity for assuming a less hateful attitude towards mankind if it is to cultivate a church race of people.

It appears that Beeroth is purposely left out of the route named in Numbers 33, because of his nature, which holds him aloof from the Mosaic administration. Notwithstanding, he is placed on the map of the journey, appearing on the other side of the mountain.

In Joshua 9:17, we find the Israelites murmuring against the children of Beeroth, because of their aloofness, but the

Israelites were restrained from destroying them because they "swore by the Lord."

ney.

This is one of the most subtle places in this alleged jour

Beeroth is the son of Jakan, meaning thoughtfulness. This has two very important meanings. It proves conclusively the ignorant and untutored nature of the Jews who complained because the Gentiles embracing Christianity held aloof from them, and they do so to this day. Because they were allied to the cause, they were not molested by the Jews.

This merely conceals something of vastly greater importance. Beeroth signifies the monks residing in monasteries, hence it is not in the list. There is little doubt about the monks having originally worked out this scheme, they were the thinkers. The monks were absorbed by the Christians, but they being of a militant character, retired into the seclusion of their monasteries, taking little or no active part in the execution of the ecclesiastical exploitation. The priesthood no doubt murmured aganist this exclusiveness, calling it "aloofness" This may also have some reference to the thoughtful men of high intellect who are cold and indifferent towards the church. any event there is mystery here that is interesting.

In

In Genesis 36:27, Jakan, thoughtfulness, is Akan, meaning keen of vision.

In I Chr. 1:42, Jakan is named as the son of Ezer, meaning help. Eli Ezer means God's help.

Thus we identify Eli as god and this explains that thoughtfulness is keen of vision and helpful to the cause.

This is becoming clearer with each step, and plainly signifies a period of ethical preparation and especially the bringing under control and discipline of the working forces, in order that the inner priesthood might assume the attitude of Beeroth and retire into the background and become the invisible guiding power, the unseen god. Bene-Jaakan means the sons of Jakan, the sons of thoughtfulness.