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Article TABLE OF CONTENTS Page 1 of 1 Article FREEMASONRY AND ISRAELITISM. XXVIII. Page 1 of 2 Article FREEMASONRY AND ISRAELITISM. XXVIII. Page 1 of 2 Article FREEMASONRY AND ISRAELITISM. XXVIII. Page 1 of 2 →
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Table Of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Freemasonry and Israelitism 271 Conversations for Freemasons 272 Consccratio n of the St . Hubert Lodge at Andover ... 274 Laying the Memorial Stone of the New Municipal Buildings at Renfrew 274
C ORRESPONDENCE : — The New Grand Officers 275 Teetotal Freemasons 27 . S Masonic Tidings—British , Colonial and Foreign 275
The New Grand Officers 27 6 Grand Chapter 276 Masonic Notes and Queries 277 CKAFT MASONRY : — Provincial 278
ROYAI , Ancu : — Provincial 278 Scotland 379 MARK M ASONRY 1—Provincial 279
KNIOHTS TEMPLAR : — Provincial 279 Gibraltar 279 Scotland 279
RED CROSS OF CONSTANTINE : — Scotland 279 Freemasonry , its Wfsdom , Strength and Beauty 280 REVIEW : —
Albion ' s Church 281 Obituary ' . 281 Masonic Meetings for next week 282 Advertisements 269 , 270 , 282 , 283 , 28 4
Freemasonry And Israelitism. Xxviii.
FREEMASONRY AND ISRAELITISM . XXVIII .
BY BRO . WILLIAM CARPENTER , P . M ., P . Z ., & C . ( Third supplementary paper . ) As we advance with the history of tlie Hebrew race , the children of the promises made to
Abraham and his descendants , we find the form of government under which they were to live more full y developed . Having reached the foot of Mount Horeb , after they had passed the
confines of Egypt , now hateful to them , on account of the oppression to which they had been for good part of a century subjected , and had discomfited Amalek and his army ; who
had made an unprovoked attack upon the sick and fatigued in the rear of thier march . ( Moses then being king in Jeshuruii , as Israel was called , Dent , xxxiii . 4 , 5 ) , the law was solemnly
promulgated by Jehovah , through the ministrations of angels ( Acts ix . 53 , Gal . iii . 19 , and Heb . ii . 2 ) , and the people entered into a peculiar relation with God , upon which their whole
civil constitution was unalterably grounded , the fundamental principle being that of a monarchy . The people , during their residence in Egypt , had become so infected with the idolatry then
prevalent , that all the miracles they had witnessed there , at the Red Sea , and at Mount Sinai , were insufficient to cure them of their superstition , and bring them back to the constant worship of
the true God , to whom they acknowledged they were to be attributed . That they might fulfil their high destiny , therefore , through succeeding ages , civil institutions were necessary , by which
the knowledge and worship of Him should be connected with the political structure of the nation so intimately as to be imperishable , so long as the nation remained a nation , and could
be annihilated only by the annihilation of the political existence of the people . Jehovah condescended to become , in accordance with the prevalent notions of those ages , their titular deity . Through the intervention of Moses , he suffered
Freemasonry And Israelitism. Xxviii.
himself to be elected their king ( See Ex . xix . 4 , 8 5 Judg . viii ., 23 ; 1 st . Sam ., viii . 7 ; x ., 18 ; xi ., 1 ; and 1 Chron . xxix ., 33 ) . The Land of Canaan was regarded as the royal possession , of
which the Israelites were to be hereditary occupants , and from which they were to render to Jehovah a double tithe , as the Egyptians did to their king . And that they might have their
peculiar relation to God kept constantly before their eyes , He , as their king , caused a tent to be erected , in the centre of the encampment , ( where the pavilions of Eastern kings were usually
erected ) , and fitted up with royal splendour , as a movable palace . It was divided into three apartments , in the innermost of which was the . royal throne , supported by golden cherubs ; and as the
footstool of the throne , a gilded ark containing the tables of the law , the Magna Charta of Church and State . In the ante-room , a gilded table was spread with bread and wine , as the royal table ;
and precious incense was burned . The exterior room , or court , might be considered the royal culinary apartment , and there music was performed , as at the festive tables of the Eastern monarchs . The divine kins- made choice of the
Levites for his courtiers , state-officers , and palace guards : and Aaron for tho chief officer of the court , the first minister of state . For the maintenance of these officers , he assigned one of the
tithes which the Hebrews were to pay as rent , for the use of the land . He finally required all the Hebrew males , of a suitable age , to repair to his palace every year , on the three great annual
festivals , with presents , to render homage , to theirking ; and as those days of renewing their homage were to be celebrated with festivity and joy , the second tithe was expended in providing the entertainments
necessary for the occasions . In short , every religious duty was made a matter of political obligation , and all the civil regulations , even the most minute , were so founded upon the
relation of the people to God , and so interwoven with their religious duties , that the Hebrew could not separate his God and his king . In every law he was reminded of both . Hence , as alread y
stated , the nation , as long as it had a national existence , could not entirely lose the knowledge or discontinue the worship of the true God . It is on this ground that we perceive the reason of
some of the laws and punishments , which in themselves appear to be excessive in severity . As God was the King of the Hebrews , says Jahn , a defection from God , was a defection
from their rightful sovereign . Whoever , in the Hebrew nation over which Jehovah was king , worshipped another God , or practised any superstitions , by this very act renounced his allegiance
to his king , and deserted to another . He committed high treason , and was properly regarded as a public criminal . Whoever incited others to idolatry , incited them to rebellion , and was a
promoter of sedition . Therefore death was justly awarded as the punishment of idolatry , and of its kindred arts , magic , necromancy , and soothsaying . Nor was this fundamental
principle of the government changed when a visible king was granted at the people ' s desire . The theocratic principle was still religiously
preserved , 'The invisible king , Jehovah , was in reality the onl y Chief Magistrate of the State . The sacred tabernacle , and afterwards the Holy
Freemasonry And Israelitism. Xxviii.
Temple , was His palace , and by it the people were , made sensible of His presence . The visible king was the representative of the Invisible King , and was bound to administer the laws as he found
them , they being unalterable by any human power or authority . The high priest was the prime minister of the Invisible King , and decided all cases of difficulty or importance . The
principles of the theocracy were , as I have said , so interwoven with the fundamental and unchangeable laws of the state , that the elected king must act as the viceroy and vassal of
Jehovah . Those only were to occupy the throne who were designated by Jehovah himself . As monarchs called " king of kings , " were accustomed to appoint sub-kings , in the several
provinces of their kingdoms , so were the kings of the Israelites to be called to the throne by King Jehovah , and to receive the kingdom from Him and were in all respects , to view themselves as
His representatives or viceroys . Hence we find , in following the history of the people , who , upon the death of Solomon , became divided into two kingdoms , that Jehovah dways governed them
on this fundamental principle of theocracy . If they revolted from Him , their lawful king , he brought them , by suitable chastisements , to repentance and reformation , until they had become
so utterly corrupt and incorrigible , that after having borne with them for about 250 years , the kingdom of Israel was extinguished , and the people carried into captivity . These are now spoken
of as the ten tribes , or the lost tribes . About 130 years afterwards , Judah , for the like cause , was visited with the like punishment ; but theircaptivity was limited to 70 years .
In their captivity , Judah formed , as it were , a nation within a nation , not amalgamating with the Babylonians , and , although some of them took wives from the daughters of the land , they
were compelled , upon their return to Judea , to put them away , lest they should he the means , as had been the case in the earlier periods of their history , of seducing them to idolatry . Under
Zerubbabel , of the royal house of David , they restored the temple and worship ; and under the ministration of Ezra and Nehemiah , the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt , and the nation in some
measure restored . Neither temple nor nation , however , was restored in its integrity . Both exhibited a greatly inferior aspect to that which they wore before the captivity . The temple , which had
been the glory of the former kingdom , was destitute of its great characteristics under Solomon ; that is , the fire from heaven to consume the sacrifices : tlie Urim and Thummim , through which the
Divine answers were given , in critical or difficult cases , to the high priest ; the ark of the covenant ; the shechinah or manifestations of the Divine presence ; and the spirit of prophesy . So inferior ,
indeed , was this second temple to that of Solomon , that the prophet Haggai , though rejoicing with the people over the completion of the work , was so impressed with a sense of its comparative
littleness and deficiencies , that he appealed to the people , saying , " Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory ? And , how do
you see it now ? Is it not in your eyes , in comparison of it , as nothing ? " ( Haggai , ii . 3 ) , and although there were subsequent migrations of the Jews from Babylon to their own land , it was
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Table Of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Freemasonry and Israelitism 271 Conversations for Freemasons 272 Consccratio n of the St . Hubert Lodge at Andover ... 274 Laying the Memorial Stone of the New Municipal Buildings at Renfrew 274
C ORRESPONDENCE : — The New Grand Officers 275 Teetotal Freemasons 27 . S Masonic Tidings—British , Colonial and Foreign 275
The New Grand Officers 27 6 Grand Chapter 276 Masonic Notes and Queries 277 CKAFT MASONRY : — Provincial 278
ROYAI , Ancu : — Provincial 278 Scotland 379 MARK M ASONRY 1—Provincial 279
KNIOHTS TEMPLAR : — Provincial 279 Gibraltar 279 Scotland 279
RED CROSS OF CONSTANTINE : — Scotland 279 Freemasonry , its Wfsdom , Strength and Beauty 280 REVIEW : —
Albion ' s Church 281 Obituary ' . 281 Masonic Meetings for next week 282 Advertisements 269 , 270 , 282 , 283 , 28 4
Freemasonry And Israelitism. Xxviii.
FREEMASONRY AND ISRAELITISM . XXVIII .
BY BRO . WILLIAM CARPENTER , P . M ., P . Z ., & C . ( Third supplementary paper . ) As we advance with the history of tlie Hebrew race , the children of the promises made to
Abraham and his descendants , we find the form of government under which they were to live more full y developed . Having reached the foot of Mount Horeb , after they had passed the
confines of Egypt , now hateful to them , on account of the oppression to which they had been for good part of a century subjected , and had discomfited Amalek and his army ; who
had made an unprovoked attack upon the sick and fatigued in the rear of thier march . ( Moses then being king in Jeshuruii , as Israel was called , Dent , xxxiii . 4 , 5 ) , the law was solemnly
promulgated by Jehovah , through the ministrations of angels ( Acts ix . 53 , Gal . iii . 19 , and Heb . ii . 2 ) , and the people entered into a peculiar relation with God , upon which their whole
civil constitution was unalterably grounded , the fundamental principle being that of a monarchy . The people , during their residence in Egypt , had become so infected with the idolatry then
prevalent , that all the miracles they had witnessed there , at the Red Sea , and at Mount Sinai , were insufficient to cure them of their superstition , and bring them back to the constant worship of
the true God , to whom they acknowledged they were to be attributed . That they might fulfil their high destiny , therefore , through succeeding ages , civil institutions were necessary , by which
the knowledge and worship of Him should be connected with the political structure of the nation so intimately as to be imperishable , so long as the nation remained a nation , and could
be annihilated only by the annihilation of the political existence of the people . Jehovah condescended to become , in accordance with the prevalent notions of those ages , their titular deity . Through the intervention of Moses , he suffered
Freemasonry And Israelitism. Xxviii.
himself to be elected their king ( See Ex . xix . 4 , 8 5 Judg . viii ., 23 ; 1 st . Sam ., viii . 7 ; x ., 18 ; xi ., 1 ; and 1 Chron . xxix ., 33 ) . The Land of Canaan was regarded as the royal possession , of
which the Israelites were to be hereditary occupants , and from which they were to render to Jehovah a double tithe , as the Egyptians did to their king . And that they might have their
peculiar relation to God kept constantly before their eyes , He , as their king , caused a tent to be erected , in the centre of the encampment , ( where the pavilions of Eastern kings were usually
erected ) , and fitted up with royal splendour , as a movable palace . It was divided into three apartments , in the innermost of which was the . royal throne , supported by golden cherubs ; and as the
footstool of the throne , a gilded ark containing the tables of the law , the Magna Charta of Church and State . In the ante-room , a gilded table was spread with bread and wine , as the royal table ;
and precious incense was burned . The exterior room , or court , might be considered the royal culinary apartment , and there music was performed , as at the festive tables of the Eastern monarchs . The divine kins- made choice of the
Levites for his courtiers , state-officers , and palace guards : and Aaron for tho chief officer of the court , the first minister of state . For the maintenance of these officers , he assigned one of the
tithes which the Hebrews were to pay as rent , for the use of the land . He finally required all the Hebrew males , of a suitable age , to repair to his palace every year , on the three great annual
festivals , with presents , to render homage , to theirking ; and as those days of renewing their homage were to be celebrated with festivity and joy , the second tithe was expended in providing the entertainments
necessary for the occasions . In short , every religious duty was made a matter of political obligation , and all the civil regulations , even the most minute , were so founded upon the
relation of the people to God , and so interwoven with their religious duties , that the Hebrew could not separate his God and his king . In every law he was reminded of both . Hence , as alread y
stated , the nation , as long as it had a national existence , could not entirely lose the knowledge or discontinue the worship of the true God . It is on this ground that we perceive the reason of
some of the laws and punishments , which in themselves appear to be excessive in severity . As God was the King of the Hebrews , says Jahn , a defection from God , was a defection
from their rightful sovereign . Whoever , in the Hebrew nation over which Jehovah was king , worshipped another God , or practised any superstitions , by this very act renounced his allegiance
to his king , and deserted to another . He committed high treason , and was properly regarded as a public criminal . Whoever incited others to idolatry , incited them to rebellion , and was a
promoter of sedition . Therefore death was justly awarded as the punishment of idolatry , and of its kindred arts , magic , necromancy , and soothsaying . Nor was this fundamental
principle of the government changed when a visible king was granted at the people ' s desire . The theocratic principle was still religiously
preserved , 'The invisible king , Jehovah , was in reality the onl y Chief Magistrate of the State . The sacred tabernacle , and afterwards the Holy
Freemasonry And Israelitism. Xxviii.
Temple , was His palace , and by it the people were , made sensible of His presence . The visible king was the representative of the Invisible King , and was bound to administer the laws as he found
them , they being unalterable by any human power or authority . The high priest was the prime minister of the Invisible King , and decided all cases of difficulty or importance . The
principles of the theocracy were , as I have said , so interwoven with the fundamental and unchangeable laws of the state , that the elected king must act as the viceroy and vassal of
Jehovah . Those only were to occupy the throne who were designated by Jehovah himself . As monarchs called " king of kings , " were accustomed to appoint sub-kings , in the several
provinces of their kingdoms , so were the kings of the Israelites to be called to the throne by King Jehovah , and to receive the kingdom from Him and were in all respects , to view themselves as
His representatives or viceroys . Hence we find , in following the history of the people , who , upon the death of Solomon , became divided into two kingdoms , that Jehovah dways governed them
on this fundamental principle of theocracy . If they revolted from Him , their lawful king , he brought them , by suitable chastisements , to repentance and reformation , until they had become
so utterly corrupt and incorrigible , that after having borne with them for about 250 years , the kingdom of Israel was extinguished , and the people carried into captivity . These are now spoken
of as the ten tribes , or the lost tribes . About 130 years afterwards , Judah , for the like cause , was visited with the like punishment ; but theircaptivity was limited to 70 years .
In their captivity , Judah formed , as it were , a nation within a nation , not amalgamating with the Babylonians , and , although some of them took wives from the daughters of the land , they
were compelled , upon their return to Judea , to put them away , lest they should he the means , as had been the case in the earlier periods of their history , of seducing them to idolatry . Under
Zerubbabel , of the royal house of David , they restored the temple and worship ; and under the ministration of Ezra and Nehemiah , the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt , and the nation in some
measure restored . Neither temple nor nation , however , was restored in its integrity . Both exhibited a greatly inferior aspect to that which they wore before the captivity . The temple , which had
been the glory of the former kingdom , was destitute of its great characteristics under Solomon ; that is , the fire from heaven to consume the sacrifices : tlie Urim and Thummim , through which the
Divine answers were given , in critical or difficult cases , to the high priest ; the ark of the covenant ; the shechinah or manifestations of the Divine presence ; and the spirit of prophesy . So inferior ,
indeed , was this second temple to that of Solomon , that the prophet Haggai , though rejoicing with the people over the completion of the work , was so impressed with a sense of its comparative
littleness and deficiencies , that he appealed to the people , saying , " Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory ? And , how do
you see it now ? Is it not in your eyes , in comparison of it , as nothing ? " ( Haggai , ii . 3 ) , and although there were subsequent migrations of the Jews from Babylon to their own land , it was