Show Bethlehem i But thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little among the thousands of Judea udea yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel Standing on the Mount of Olives the beholder observes extending southward d a ridge of rugged barren hills of limestone limestone limestone lime lime- stone seamed and furrowed by deep r narrow gorges At his feet is the Valley f of J contain containing ing the ancient r tombs of Prince Absalom the Prophet Zachariah and the Apostle James the t brother of John here too is the sacred f grove of Gethsemane Across the narrow narrow narrow nar nar- row depth gleams the walls alls and domes of Jerusalem South Southward ward along the bottom of the vale flows the Brook Kidron reaching at last the salty waters of the Dead Sea Into this stream leads fi the ravines which cut the eastern slopes f of the rocky mountain ridge The western western wes wes- tern wall of this ridge inclines more moret t gently toward the Mediterranean Th This is range constitutes the water-shed water between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea respectively the Great Sea and the Salt Sea of the ancients r r On this ridge six miles south of J Jerusalem Jerusalem Jeru Jeru- eru- eru salem lies the town of Bethlehem When hen the town is viewed from the rocky l precipitous eastern side it might easily t be taken for an ancient fortress built to tol command the valley below Surrounding Surround Surround- l ing the town are vineyards and groves of olive trees Even the rugged hillsides hillsides hill hill- sides are made to produce wine and oil It From the Mount of Olives Bethlehem Bethlehem Bethlehem Bethle Bethle- hem seems to the unaided eye little littlemore littlemore l more than great blocks of stone hudI huddled huddled hud hud- I dIed together upon the crest of a hill but with the aid of a field glass these blocks of stone are seen to be square roofed flat-roofed houses separated by narrow crooked streets ts after the fashion of all oriental cities while the larger and more uneven rocks are churches churche convents convents con con- vents and hotels looming up above the story one houses and having arched roofs covered with red red- tiles Most prominent among these is the the Church of the Nativity The whole country is exceedingly rocky and as is characteristic of limestone formations abounds in caves These are often occupied by roving bands of Bedouins and are not infrequently infrequently infrequently made the lurking places of bandits Sometimes a cave furnishes shelter for both man and beast for in inthe inthe inthe the Orient Orien t the camel and the Arabian horse are are regarded as members bers of the family It was in one of these caves over which the Church of the N Nativity ty has been built that the Son of God began His humble life on earth To the great event which happened at this place all the ancient prophets looked forward for with hope of salvation and to the same event and place all Christian nations look backward to the beginning of their hope of redemption Indeed to them that great occurrence which nearly nineteen hundred years ago gave to this place distinction was the central central central cen cen- II point of all time And doubtless its consequences have been more potent than those of any other event in the history of mankind There are other caves of note about Bethlehem one was occupied by Saint Jerome during his long residence here studying and translating the scriptures During his life it was his dwelling- dwelling place and after death it became his tomb It is now covered by the Chapel Chapelot of ot Saint Jerome A A. short distance east of the town under the ruins of an old church is the Grotto of the Shepherds It is situated in the Shepherds' Shepherds Field enclosed enclosed enclosed en en- closed by a high stone wall This field is held sacred because it is believed to tobe tobe tobe be the place where the shepherds while spending the night in this cave guarding their lock flock received the vision of f an an angel who informed them of the birth of Christ j and where they heard the heavenly hosts host praising God and saying II Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace good will toward men On a pleasant morning in March J a year or two ago the writer with two companions set out from Jerusalem to visit Bethlehem We were mounted on Arabian horses and were accompanied by y an Arab guide Going out from the J Jaffa aff aHa a Gate we descended into nto the Valley of Gihon Mount Zion on our left and the Upper Pool of Gihon on our right In the bottom of the valley between between between be be- tween the upper and lower pools is a small stone monument called the Well of the Magi because here it is said the wise men from the East saw the star of Christ reflected in the water Below the road is the Field of Blood and grove of olive trees where the remorseful Judas hanged himself tradition tradition tradition tra tra- points out the identical aged olive upon which the arch traitor hung Here also was the country residence of Caiphas the high priest who persecuted persecuted persecuted perse perse- the Savior to the bitter end Passing on through the Valley of the Giants which was occupied by the Philistines when they came up against King David at Jerusalem we ascended a ridge to the Greek Convent Mar Elyas From here may be had a splendid view of Jerusalem on the one side and Bethlehem on the other Mar Elyas the Elyas-the the Monastery of Elias Elias is is built over a rock havin having g on its surface an impression which many pilgrims believe to have been beel made by the body of Elias By the side of the road a little further on is is Rachels Rachel's tomb a square stone building with a dome over one end Tradition makes many mistakes in attempting to identify sacred places but perhaps the identity of this tomb of Rachel is established beyond a doubt It answers the description given in the Book of Genesis and for many centuries centuries centuries ries has received the homage of Christian Christian Christian Chris Chris- tian Jew and Mohammedan Leaving the road that leads straight on to Solomons Solomon's Pools and Hebron we turned slightly to the left and in a few minutes entered Bethlehem Passing along a narrow street between houses that form a wall on each side we were soon in the place market-place an open square in the middle of the town This is surrounded by curio shops money exchanges fruit stands and coffee coffeehouses coffeehouses coffeehouses houses here too is the Bethlehem Hotel which we made our headquarters The town at present has a population of eight thousand most of whom are Christians the rest The Christian women go about without veils They are tall and well developed physically and have black eyes black blackhair blackhair blackhair hair and fair skin Doubtless many a devout pilgrim sees in them the image of Mary Bethlehem is far famed for forthe forthe forthe the warlike appearance of its men and the beauty of its women But perhaps these qualities in the present inhabitants inhabitants inhabitants tants are over-estimated over because this Bethlehem is the birth birthplace place and was the early home of David the poet and warrior king of Israel and especially because it is the of Davids Greater Son But solemn thoughts and sacred emotions emotions emotions emo emo- are sadly disturbed by the ever present discordant cries crie of persistent beggars and hawkers The former appeal appeal appeal ap ap- peal to Christian chari charity ty by clamoring for a gift j the latter make the life of a Christian devotee miserable by forcing upon him for an outrageous outrageous outrageous consideration wood olive-wood crucifixes miniature mangers all carved out of olive wood or a st star r of silver to be had hadin hadin hadin in remembrance of the place where Christ was born As might be expected by bye far t the most interesting point in Bethlehem is is t the Church of the Nativity It is Inthe in inthe inthe the eastern part of the town to overlooking overlook overlook- ing the steep rocky hill On the exterior the church has a very quaint aspect Itis It Itis Itis is in structure and the heavy buttresses in front make it look more like a fortress than a church The nave is a part of the great basilica erected by Empress Helena and last repaired by Edward VI of England It was in this that Baldwin was crowned king of J Jerusalem Jerusalem Jeru Jeru- eru- eru salem on the death of his brother Godfrey The latter was elected king at the end of the First Crusade j but he refused to wear a crown of gold where his Master had worn one of thorns so he was styled Baron of the Holy Sepulchre On the interior are two double rows of Corinthian columns of marble ten in each row forty in all One side of the nave has been heen decorated by the Greeks and the other side by the Arme Arme- vie with each other in the richness of their mosaics and paintings In the ceiling the bare beams and rafters made of the cedars of L Lebanon banon ar are exposed d to vi view w. w Th The i.e. i.e. i. i e e. e Roman Catholics have hav a chapel chap l on th the left ft of the nave e The interest culminates in the Grotto r of the Nativity for here lay the manger mangeri i wherein the child Jesus in f swaddling clothes was placed and where He received ed the adoration of the shepherds Descending a marble stairWay stairway stairway stair stair- way we enter the cave On the marble mare mar mar- ble hIe e pavement opposite the entrance is a silver star which it is supposed marks the spot where Emmanuel was born horn Thousands of pil pilgrims rims rich and poor alike fall on their faces and kiss the white metal itself a symbol of purity The altar above the star is encrusted with h precious stones and overhung with golden golen lamps which are perpetually fed with h oil and never allowed to become dim or go out Priests robed in richly broidered vestments sparkling with jewels jewe F. F j are in In constant attendance at the altar All around the sides of the grotto are 1 chapels and altars First is the Chapel J of the Manger with its splendidly decorated decorated de de- 0 1 altar illuminated ted by sixteen silver lamps These also are kept constantly constantly constantly con con- burning as the cave receives no light from without This altar marks the place where the wooden manger was found supposed to be the one in which the infant Savior was laid The wooden manger has been replaced byone byone by byone one of marble the former having been carried to Rome and deposited in the church of S. S Maria Maggiore Then there is the Altar of the Magi erected in commemoration of the spot where the wise men presented their gifts and the Chapel of Saint Joseph marking the Hie place where Joseph retired at the moment of the nativity and where also he received the warning from an angel that he should Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt Beside these there is the Altar of Innocence said to be built over the spot where the victims of Herod's cruel massacre were buried The grotto is owned jointly by the Greek Latin and Armenian churches The same altars are used by all on their respective festi festival fes fes- ti al days This is not done however with with- the most pleasant feelings It is isa a deplorable fact that great malice and envy exists between these professed i Christians they are all so enthusiastic in their efforts to gain exclusive posses possession possession possession posses posses- sion of the sacred places In this church only a few years years' ago in a moment of intense rivalry a Latin priest killed a Greek No Now Mohammedan dan soldiers with loaded rifles are s stationed sta stationed sta- sta at intervals all through the church to keep Christians from cutting each others other's throats And these chur churches hes are spending fortunes in establishing miss missions ons to convert the heathen Moslem l 01 whom they employ to prevent over overzealous overzealous zealous priests from committing murder 0 within the very gates of the sanctuary Such a condition is sad indeed to con con- template Let us for forget et the present and think only of the place as it was nineteen hundred ye years rs ago ii if g Because of a decree of the Emperor n Augustus all Jews had to repair to their 2 own wn city to be enrolled Joseph and Mary Marv were of the house of f David and so they had to go to the City of David David- Bethlehem As there was no room room in inthe inthe In Inthe the inn they in this cave and andr r it it was under these humble circumstances that He was born who was destined to tobe tobe tobe be the guiding guiding- star for millions of humanity He who led a simple unassuming unassuming unassuming unas unas- suming life yet He was the Lion of the Tribe of Judah and truly in the defense of righteousness He was a lion in strength and boldness Here He w was s born who though he suffered death yet lives in the heart of every true Christian every Milton Bennion f- f |