Part 2 (1/2)

22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Thus thou shalt say unto the children of Israel, Ye have seen that I talked with you from heaven. ********

7 _And if a man sell his daughter_ to be a maid-servant, she shall not go out as the men-servants do.

8 If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.

The Lord doesn't object to a man selling his daughter, but if any one thing makes him angrier than another it is to have her go about as the men-servants do after she is sold. On a little point like that he is absolutely fastidious. You may here notice that G.o.d took the trouble to come down from heaven to tell the girl what not to do after she was sold. He forgot to suggest to her father that it might be as well not to sell her at all. He forgot that. But in an important conversation one often overlooks little details. The next is Joshua xv. 16-17:

16 And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

17 And Othniel the brother of Caleb [and consequently the girl's uncle] took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

Please to remember that the said Caleb was one of G.o.d's intimates--a favorite with the Almighty. The girl was not consulted; the father paid off his warriors in female scrip. The next is Gen. xix. 5-8:

5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where _are_ the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us that we may know them,

6 And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,

7 And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.

8 Behold now, I have two daughters * * * * * let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes; only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my root

These men had come under the shadow of Lot's roof for protection, it seems, and Lot felt that his honor demanded that he should s.h.i.+eld them even at the cost of the purity and safety of his own daughters! Do you know I have always had a mild curiosity to know what his daughters were under the shadow of his roof for. It could not have been for protection, I judge, since Lot was one of G.o.d's best friends. He was on all sorts of intimate terms with the Deity--knew things were going to happen before they came--was the only man good enough to save from a doomed city--the only one whose acts pleased G.o.d; and this act seems to have been particularly satisfactory. These men were ”angels of G.o.d” who required this infamy for their protection! If it takes all the honor out of a man when he gets to be an angel, they may use my wings for a feather-duster.

Now here is a little property law. Num. xxvii.:

6 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, _and have no son_, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pa.s.s unto his daughter.

And our law works a little that way yet; being the result of ecclesiastical law it naturally would.*

* See Appendix N. 5 and P. 5.

Next we have Num. x.x.xvi.:

8 And every daughter that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, _shall be wife_ unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, _that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers_.

9 Neither shall the inheritance remove from _one_ tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.

10 _Even as the Lord commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad_.

That is all the women were for--articles of conveyance for property.

Save the land, no matter about the girls. Now these silly women actually believed that G.o.d told Moses whom they had to marry just because Moses said so! I tell you, ladies and gentlemen, it is not safe to take heavenly communications at second-hand. Second-hand articles are likely to be varnished over, and have to be taken at a discount. And it seems to me that, if the Lord is at all particular as to whom a girl should marry, she is the one for him to discuss the matter with. Moses didn't have to live with the _sons_ of Zelophehad, and consequently wasn't the one to talk the matter over with. But, you see, it won't do to question what Moses said G.o.d told him, because upon his veracity the whole structure is built. He had more personal interviews with the Deity than any other man--he and Solomon--and hence they are the best authority.

I have here the 31st chapter of Numbers, but it is unfit to read. It tells a story of shame and crime unequalled in atrocity. It tells that G.o.d commanded Moses and Eleazar, the priest, to produce vice and perpetrate crime on an unparalleled scale. _It tells us that they obeyed the order, and that 16,000 helpless girls were dragged in the mire of infamy and divided amongst the victorious soldiers_. They were made dissolute by force, and by direct command of G.o.d!

This one chapter stamps as false, forever, the claim of inspiration for the Bible. That one chapter would settle it for me. Do you believe that G.o.d told Moses that? Do you believe there is a G.o.d who is a thief, a murderer, and a defiler of innocent girls? Do you believe it? Yet this religion is built upon Moses' word, and woman's position was established by him. It seems to me time for women to retire Moses from active life. Coax him to resign on account of his health. Return him to his const.i.tuency. He has been on the supreme bench long enough. Don't let your children believe in such a G.o.d. Better let them believe in annihilation. Better let them think that the sleep of death is the end of all! Better, much better, let them believe that the tender kiss at parting is the last of all consciousness for them, and after that eternal rest! Don't let their hearts be seared, their lives clouded, their intellects dwarfed by the cruel dread of the G.o.d of Moses! Better, thrice better, let the cold earth close over the loved and loving dust forever, than that it should enter the portals of infinite tyranny.

Next we will take Deut. xx. 10-16:

10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. [Good scheme!]