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Article CORRESPONDENCE. ← Page 2 of 5 →
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Correspondence.
sideration in construing the discrepancy between our language and the fact , to lie in the Avords , " Valley of Jehoshaphat ; " or by trying to get over tbe difficulty by substituting , " in the going doAvn to Bethoron , " for , " in the Valley of Jehoshaphat . " I do not quarrel -with Bro . A . for suggesting any means to get over the difficult because he therebleaves it to be inferredthat those
y ; y , who say "Valley of Jehoshaphat , " feel the necessity of getting out of the natural consequences of their own saying . And , although he states this difficult y to be " a geographical error of about ten or twelve miles" ( whereas those AVIIO say , the "Valley of Bephidim , " make , according to Bro . A ., a chronological error of forty years ) , and vu * ges such difference as a reason why the first class is right , and the
second wrong ; yet I fear that those who say "Valley of Eepkidim , " Avill hardly accept Bro . A . ' s reasoning on this subject as a satisfactory solution of the difficulty ; because we know that the chronological error committed b y those AVIIO say the Valley of Jehoshaphat is 450 years at the least , and the geographical error they commit is " all creation ; " and for this simple reason that Jehoshaphat was not king
of Judah until more than 400 years after Joshua defeated the league of the five kings " at Gibeon . " And there was no place in Judea called " Valley of Jehoshaphat" until his reign ; although ( as we have some reason to believe ) , after his death , two localities have received that resignation from profane im-iters , although perhaps not before , nor at his death . In short , on Scripture authority , the term , "Valley
of Jehoshaphat" does not exist at all until used by the prophet Joel ( who Avrote about 650 years after Joshua ) in a figurative sense ; or rather , perhaps , not so much in a figurative sense as in the ordinary meaning ofthe Hebrew Avords , " Jeho-sliaphat ; " i . e . judgment of God . But in truth , neither geography nor chronology has any share in the difficulty ; andthereforecannot have any share in its removal .
, , The great difficulty , I take it , lies in reconciling the Masonic light on this subject to those Avho , previous to their being brought to it , have been accustomed to the pure light emanating from that glorious sun of truth , the Sacred Volume . Now , to those who say "Valley of Jehoshaphat , " I conceive this difficulty is insurmountable ; whilston the other handto those
, , who say " Valley of Bephidim , " there is no such difficulty to be got Over ; because , if it be simply allowed to Masonry to clothe facts in allegorical language , it will surely follow that Bephidim , Joshua , the 2 nd ~ F . C . sign , the " battle of the Lord , " "the going down of the sun , " and the " completing the overthrow of God ' s enemies , " connectedlystand in holy writ recordedand in a natural Avay
repre-, , senting the attitude , and justifying tbe language we use on the occasion of explaining the sign , and accounting for its origin . Let us then inquire if Joshua fought " the " battle ofthe Lord" at Gibeon , or in the going down to Beth lloron . We know that Joshua did fight a battle at Gibeon , and chased the five kings thence , even unto Makkedah ; and that , "in the waygoing clown to Bethoron , " the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Correspondence.
sideration in construing the discrepancy between our language and the fact , to lie in the Avords , " Valley of Jehoshaphat ; " or by trying to get over tbe difficulty by substituting , " in the going doAvn to Bethoron , " for , " in the Valley of Jehoshaphat . " I do not quarrel -with Bro . A . for suggesting any means to get over the difficult because he therebleaves it to be inferredthat those
y ; y , who say "Valley of Jehoshaphat , " feel the necessity of getting out of the natural consequences of their own saying . And , although he states this difficult y to be " a geographical error of about ten or twelve miles" ( whereas those AVIIO say , the "Valley of Bephidim , " make , according to Bro . A ., a chronological error of forty years ) , and vu * ges such difference as a reason why the first class is right , and the
second wrong ; yet I fear that those who say "Valley of Eepkidim , " Avill hardly accept Bro . A . ' s reasoning on this subject as a satisfactory solution of the difficulty ; because we know that the chronological error committed b y those AVIIO say the Valley of Jehoshaphat is 450 years at the least , and the geographical error they commit is " all creation ; " and for this simple reason that Jehoshaphat was not king
of Judah until more than 400 years after Joshua defeated the league of the five kings " at Gibeon . " And there was no place in Judea called " Valley of Jehoshaphat" until his reign ; although ( as we have some reason to believe ) , after his death , two localities have received that resignation from profane im-iters , although perhaps not before , nor at his death . In short , on Scripture authority , the term , "Valley
of Jehoshaphat" does not exist at all until used by the prophet Joel ( who Avrote about 650 years after Joshua ) in a figurative sense ; or rather , perhaps , not so much in a figurative sense as in the ordinary meaning ofthe Hebrew Avords , " Jeho-sliaphat ; " i . e . judgment of God . But in truth , neither geography nor chronology has any share in the difficulty ; andthereforecannot have any share in its removal .
, , The great difficulty , I take it , lies in reconciling the Masonic light on this subject to those Avho , previous to their being brought to it , have been accustomed to the pure light emanating from that glorious sun of truth , the Sacred Volume . Now , to those who say "Valley of Jehoshaphat , " I conceive this difficulty is insurmountable ; whilston the other handto those
, , who say " Valley of Bephidim , " there is no such difficulty to be got Over ; because , if it be simply allowed to Masonry to clothe facts in allegorical language , it will surely follow that Bephidim , Joshua , the 2 nd ~ F . C . sign , the " battle of the Lord , " "the going down of the sun , " and the " completing the overthrow of God ' s enemies , " connectedlystand in holy writ recordedand in a natural Avay
repre-, , senting the attitude , and justifying tbe language we use on the occasion of explaining the sign , and accounting for its origin . Let us then inquire if Joshua fought " the " battle ofthe Lord" at Gibeon , or in the going down to Beth lloron . We know that Joshua did fight a battle at Gibeon , and chased the five kings thence , even unto Makkedah ; and that , "in the waygoing clown to Bethoron , " the