Our first great necessity is that of knowing the blood of the three great races who settled the world. This we get only in the Bible. The blood relations of racesis a necessary study in history. Shem and Ham settled together, and that was the cause of the great struggle between them.

There were four branches, or nations, from Ham. First, the Cushites, or Ethiopians. At first they occupied all the regions of Arabia and south countries in general, from India to the valley of the Nile. Later, they were almost wholly confined to the center of Africa. The two great centers of the Hamite people were the valleys of the Euphrates and the Nile.

The second branch was Mizraim, the two Egypts. The third was Phut, of whom little is known. He has no history. He was probably settled in northern

Africa.

Canaan, the fourth, we all know.

It is difficult to tell just where the sons of Cush were located. We find something of them in Arabia.

The final interest of Ham centers upon Canaan. Was the curse upon him, by his father, said

in a fit of anger, or was it as a prophet that he spoke? We think he was speaking as a prophet. There was to be no future to Ham. It was the natural result of his manifest characteristics. His sensual nature would, in future generations, come to that. Noah saw what there was in his nature. The curse was not on Canaan himself, which would have indicated his anger, but upon his posterity. Ham went down stream. His nature was to go with gravitation. He was sensuous, and went to the warm country, which his nature loved.

The results of such characteristics are well known to us. The same results will come to any individual who follows in the natural line of the same characteristics. It is the principle of choice with us all, between our sensuous nature and present ease and gratification and the future good of those who shall be born of us. The sensuous man lives for the present. The true and spiritual nobility of life is in living for posterity.

The land of Canaan was the keystone of the Hamitic empire, and the loss of it was a great blow to the power of Hamism; for the possession of this land gave control of the great lines of travel and commerce between the great centers and routes of trade on the Nile and Euphrates. The land of Canaan was the bridge over which the world of travel and commerce had to pass, and whoever held the bridge could make the world pay tribute, as Solomon did in his splendid reign.

We take a glance at Japheth. The name signifies increase, or widely extending. This race spread out through Europe. They were a colonizing people. Not so the Semitic race, who were a stay-at-home people. Ham was also a colonizing race.

It is well to notice the characteristics of the lands they inhabit. All lands narrow toward the south and widen toward the north. It is also interesting to trace the course of progress of the different races. Japheth diverges, Ham converges, and Shem is concentrated. We see this in the prophecy concerning them, and can verify it in the fulfillment: "God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant." (Gen. 9: 27.) Notice now what parts of the earth each possesses.

Japheth has

been enlarged. His territory has been enlarged and his population is the greatest of all. We can plainly see the influence of the blessing of God upon a people. The nations of Christendom are most populous. The influence of spiritual conditions upon the physical nature may be seen. We have already referred to the influence of climate upon character. Ham had an unfavorable position in the world as regards virtue. Cold and physical virtue go together.

The loss of

natural chastity is the loss of character and influence. The Japhetic race has been a populating race. Every stage of progress north, man has to fight with nature. This great struggle gives him character. Every stage of progress south makes it easier to live. The north races have had to fight nature. In order to subdue nature man has to study nature. development of physical science. a necessary result of the enlargement of Japheth. The Japhetic people have been the great road-builders of the world, and, indeed, they have done all the great works of civilization.

This leads to the
Science, then, was

We simply mention the sons of Japheth here. Gomer, the great ancestor of the nations of Europe in general, Magog, the progenitor of the Sclavonic tribes of the north and east of Europe, and Madai, from whom descended the Medes.

Javan was the father of the Greeks, the most conspicuous of the gentile nations. In Daniel it is designated Grecia. (Daniel 8: 21.) It is also differently rendered. If it had been rendered the same in all places it would have helped us to understand its signification. This son of Japheth is not the most widely

spread in geographical extent, for he is confined to the coast land.

in this form.

We think that Moses finds this record in the family of Abraham. It was written before Moses, who puts it He got it from good authority. Moses compiles this book of Genesis. We might say it was Noah wrote part of it.

the Bible of Abraham.

The branch of Eber was an inland people. The waters they knew were only the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, the river Jordan, and the Red Sea. The great sea on the west was, of course, visible from some parts of the land. It was also known to them by connection with the Tyrians. Little was known of the sea when Genesis was written. The peculiarity of the great sea, that it was irregular and full of islands, was known to them, for "the isles of the sea" are often spoken of. The great amount of coast land in Europe gives great advantage to its people. (In this connection read. Greece is the most mari

Guiot's "Earth and Man.") time portion of Europe. Greece was Europe in miniature. Magog is the great inland race, and Javan is pre-eminently the maritime race. Javan was the Greek race which occupied western Asia Minor, the Greek mainland, part of Italy, France, etc.

Tubal and Meshech are mentioned as neighboring and kindred tribes, and Tiras is supposed to refer to ancient Thrace.

They

"Japheth shall dwell in the tents of Shem.' were to come into unity by means of the Bible religion. They unite together for the good of the world.

Marriage and Divorce.

Matthew 19: 3; Mark 10: 2. The circumstances of the occasion were as follows: John the Baptist was in the region of Herod, who had unlawfully married his brother Philip's wife; and the question might have had some object beyond the fact of interest to the Pharisees.. They did not care anything about the great principle of marriage, for, strict as they were in respect to the law, they were lax in their social and moral lives. They held a doctrine of divorce equivalent to that of our modern free-lovers. But there were two parties in this matter. The two leaders were Hillel and Shamai.

The law of divorce which they had in mind was that recorded in Deuteronomy 24. In order to understand this we must think of the condition of the world in that day. Legislation must not be too far in advance of the ideal of the people. The object of this law, as Christ declares, was: "Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not so."

There was an appearance of great honor to him in this question. "Hillel says we may, and Shamai says we may not; and you decide it for us." But they found no vanity in him. Why did they not go to God? Moses did not command, but gave permission. Why