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NMU Military Science
Army ROTC scholarships and tuition assistance programs provide financial assistance for the education and training of highly qualified and motivated young men and women who desire to be commissioned as officers in the United States Army.
If you have questions about scholarships or tuition assistance, contact the Scholarships and Enrollment Officer, Mark Blumenthal, at 906.227.2236 or arblumen@nmu.edu.
Information for Current Cadets
Find links here to access textbooks, class assignments, applications, training schedules, and more online through Blackboard, as well as find other information including the cadet handbook, the OML scoring guide, branch information, scholarships, 104-R instructions, and local attractions.
Information for Future Cadets
View our NMU Army ROTC electronic brochure and visitor guide, get resources to help prepare for the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT), view the cadet handbook, or download our step-by-step instruction guide for completing the CC Form 104-R (Planned Academic Program Worksheet.)
Explore scholarship opportunities, including Guaranteed Reserve Forces Duty (GRFD), Green to Gold, Nursing, Campus-Based, National, the Eric J. Hetrick Memorial ROTC Scholarship, and more.
Summer Schools and Internships
Learn more about summer schools and internships opportunities, including the Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency Program, Airborne and Air Assault Schools, Cadet Troop Leader Training, and Mountain and Northern Warfare Schools.
Cadet Organizations and Events
Discover extracurricular, cadet organizations and events like Ranger Club, Color Guard, and Honor Flight.
What You'll Do at NMU
Participate in weekly labs led by upperclassman of the ROTC program and take part in leadership development exercises. Start every morning with physical training to meet physical fitness requirements. Maybe you'll also join the Ranger Club, designed to give cadets extra training in patrolling, physical fitness and advanced military tactics. What's certain is that you'll leave Northern with a wealth of skills to be flexible and successful in whatever you choose to do.
Download the ROTC E-Brochure
Cadet Information
Access textbooks, class assignments, applications, training schedules, and more online at rotc.blackboard.com.
Blackboard Login Help
Below are instructions listed to help log into ROTC Blackboard
STEP 1: Your log in name is w9cdt followed by the *last 4 digits of your student I.D.*
STEP 2: Your default password is "password" and can / should be changed upon your first successful log in.
* In some cases an "a" or "b" must be added in addition to the last 4 digits of your I.D.*
CADET HANDBOOK
Please see our cadet handbook for detailed information on rules, roles, regulations, and responsibilities of ROTC cadets.
OML SCORING GUIDE
The Order of Merit List Model is used as a standardized scoring guide for cadets across the nation to determine eligibility for scholarships, additional summer training, and accession into Active Duty. Please review this slide to see how the point system is organized.
Information on officer careers and specialties can be found on blackboard and at this link.
ADDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS
Please follow this link to learn more about the additional civilian-sponsored scholarships available to contracted cadets.
104-R INSTRUCTIONS
Download the only authorized CC Form 104-R to record your academic plan. For step-by-step instructions on how to complete a 104-R, download our personal guide.
NMU & MARQUETTE ATTRACTIONS
Download our Visitor Guide to serve as a must-see, must-do bucket list while you are a cadet at NMU.
ELECTRONIC BROCHURE
Download our NMU Army ROTC Electronic Brochure to learn more about the program and all of the different opportunities ROTC has to offer.
New to the Marquette area? Take a look at our Visitor Guide for a list of fun and cool things to do and see around campus.
PREPARE FOR THE APFT
Download our Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) brochure to learn more about the test itself, how it is graded, and how students can prepare for their first APFT.
CC FORM 104-R
Download our step-by-step instruction guide for completing the CC Form 104-R (Planned Academic Program Worksheet)
Cadet Spotlight: Steele
The Other Side of the World
When I was a kid I would pretend that I would dig a hole to China and climb the Great Wall. This May the Army ROTC gave the chance to live my dream of going to China. Through the Cultural Understanding Language Program, I was sent to China with 21 other cadets from all over the country. Our assignment was to gain a better understanding of other people's cultures and to become more aware of the world outside of the United States to build us as leaders.
We spent 3 weeks in the city of Xi'an in the Shaanxi Providence. Xi'an is one of the oldest cities in China and is one of the four great capitals of imperial China. The Zhou, Qin, Han, the Sui, and Tang dynasties all held their capitals in this city. Xi'an has over 3,100 years of history and is the home to the Terra-cotta warriors and the beginning of the Silk Road.
I didn't know what to expect of arriving in China, I never studied much about the culture and the traditions and to be honest I didn't even like Chinese food. But I was more than willing to go and experience the country, their traditions, customs and work with the people; and even give the food a chance.
Working with the locals of Xi'an was one of my favorite parts of my trip to the other side of the world. They were so friendly and more than willing to teach me new words in Chinese and take pictures with me. I spent a majority of my time working with the 6 years olds of one of the kindergartens in the area. Most of the children's English was already very good so my partner and I taught them games and songs, such as Old McDonald, the Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the Hokey Pokey. We also taught them how to tell time and how to count, add and subtract.
Another one of my favorite parts of Xi'an was hanging out with the students of the Universities. We would all go to dinner together, dances classes, play badminton and soccer, and go shopping. I learned that even though the culture I grew up in and the culture the Chinese students grew up in were very different, all teenagers are very much a like. We all love to be with friends, watch movies or listen to music, play sports and for most part gossip. I found that even though the rules in the Universities in China might be stricter, with a no TV policy in the dorm rooms and a longer day of classes, the students are no different than the students of Northern Michigan.
The thing I loved most about the city of Xi'an, was that there was always something to do and see. The Wild Goose Pagoda and City Center were where we spent most of our time outside of teaching. The Wild Goose Pagoda is a ancient holy place for Buddhist monks and at night people from all over the city gather to eat, hang out together, and sing and dance together. Old men draw calligraphy with water on the ground, and all the kids like to play in the fountain water show on hot muggy nights. You get this great sense of community when you visit this place. The City Center or the Ancient city of the T'ang Dynasty where the T'ang used to rule still has the City wall which is 40 feet high and 40 feet wide, it takes 3 hours to walk around the entire wall. With in the wall is where all the great shopping places are.
This trip to China has really opened my eyes to the cultures around us and it also made me become more appreciative of the things that I have here in America. I love the fact that on the other side of the world, when it comes down to it people are just people and though we all have different cultures and different views, we are all alike in some ways.
LTC Kip Taylor
September 26, 2009 marked a day in which LTC Kip Taylor was honored for his great accomplishments and dedication to the United States Army. LTC Taylor was killed during 9/11 at the Pentagon. His career began as a Northern Michigan ROTC cadet, which in 1985 was ended with his commissioning into the Adjutant General Corps. Age the age of 38, he was killed. By this point in his life he had earned the Legion of Merit Award and the Purple Heart.
Cadets, friends, family, and band members, who included MAJ Rambo, head of the military science department, President of NMU, Dr. Wong, and Congressman Bart Stupak were just a few of the people in attendance of this ceremony. In honor of his extraordinary service, a plaque inscribed with his name was added to NMU's veteran rock. Speeches made by 2LT Kelly, MAJ Rambo, President Wong, and Reverend Martindale highlighted the life of this remarkable man and the impact he made on the people around him. The ceremony also included the unveiling of the rock by Kay Taylor, his mother, as well as MAJ Rambo and President Wong presenting a wreath in front of the monument.
This ceremony was followed by a BBQ and picnic at the American Legion of Marquette, to celebrate NMU's ROTC 40th Anniversary. Alumni, current members, and members from Ironwood's JROTC were invited to join in on the fun. Food, games, and photo opportunities were all available for everyone to take part in. The picnic preceded to NMU's Homecoming activities which included the parade and football game. Current cadets marched in the parade and also were involved in the pre-game presenting of the flags. The entire day ended with an outstanding win by the NMU football team.
Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency Program
The Cultural Understanding and Language Proficiency (CULP) program gives cadets the opportunity to travel to another country for three weeks and become immersed in its military and civilian culture. There are three different types of CULP missions, including humanitarian services, military-to-miltary contact and educational excursions. Cadets from our program have traveled to Togo, Vietnam, Guyana, Chile, Tanzania and many more.
Airborne School
Airborne School is a unique experience requiring special dedication and a desire to be challenged mentally and physically. This three-week course, also known as Basic Airborne Training, teaches soldiers and cadets the techniques involved in parachuting from airplanes and landing safely. The course qualifies them to wear the Airborne Badge. The final test includes five non-assisted jumps. This is a volunteer school and all basic necessities, transportation and equipment are provided by the U.S. Army.
For more information on Airborne School, click here.
Air Assault School
Air Assault School is a 10 ½ day course that teaches Air Assault techniques and procedures, and qualifies soldiers to wear the Air Assault Badge. The course consists of helicopter characteristics and capabilities, helicopter rigging and sling loading, and helicopter rappelling and fast-roping. The successful completion of Air Assault school qualifies them to wear the Air Assault Wings.
For more information on Air Assault School, click here.
Cadet Troop Leader Training
Cadet Troop Leader Training (CTLT) is a three to four week long program where cadets are assigned to Active Duty units within the United States or abroad. Cadets shadow and work alongside other officers, serving as platoon leaders to a group of soldiers. Most times, cadets are sent to units within their desired Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) so that they can gain a better understanding of their job duties after graduation and prior to their first assignment. For example, one of our cadets was assigned to an Infantry unit down in Fort Benning, GA where he was planning operations alongside one of the unit's platoon leaders for three weeks.
Mountain Warfare School
The purpose of Mountain Warfare School is to train soldiers in the specialized skills required for operating in mountainous terrain, under all climatic conditions, day and night. These courses teach soldiers how to use adverse terrain and weather conditions to their advantage as a combat multiplier. This aids in preserving the unit strength and combat power to achieve mission success. The ultimate objective is to teach mobility. Students also learn mountain climbing and rescue techniques.
For more information on Mountain Warfare School, click here.
Northern Warfare School
Arctic, sub-arctic, and mountain environments are brutally unforgiving to the unprepared. Units that have successfully fought in these environments have historically been those with special individual skills, are physically and mentally tough, and have extensive experience and expertise operating in harsh conditions. The mission is to provide relevant training to the leaders of USARAK units so that they can fight and win in demanding cold weather and mountain environments.
Additional Internships
There are a number of other internships and summer schools available for eligible cadets. These opportunities are geared more specifically to individual Military Occupation Specialties and provide cadets with hands-on training in their areas of interest. For example, nurses can participate in the Nurse Summer Training Program during the summer between their junior and senior years to gain quality work exposure in an Army Medical Facility.
Ranger Club, Color Guard and Honor Flight
RANGER CLUB
The NMU Ranger Club is an extracurricular, cadet organization designed to honor the elite soldiers of the United States Rangers. This organization is for cadets looking for additional training in drill & ceremony, physical fitness, and advanced military tactics. The club is a university-recognized organization and participates in many university and community functions as well as two major competitions per year.
Ranger Club is divided into a few separate entities: the Ranger Challenge teams, Ranger Fund, and the Military Ball Committee. Ranger Challenge is considered the varsity sport of ROTC. It is physically and mentally demanding, but very rewarding when teams compete at the annual Ranger Challenge competition. Please use the right-sided navigation link to learn more about Ranger Challenge. Ranger Fund is a committee within ROTC that organizes fundraisers to raise money for local charities, cadet functions, and our annual military ball. Lastly, the Military Ball Committee is a small group of cadets who take on the planning of our annual military ball. This is a special, formal event for all cadets at the end of each year.
Participating in Color Guard is highly recommended for cadets early in the program so that they can learn basic Army marching techniques and practice what is known as drill and ceremony. The Color Guard presents our National Colors, Michigan flag, and NMU flag at a number of events around the university; for example, at home football games, commencement, and community events such as the Special Olympics.
Honor Flight is a very special occasion for NMU ROTC cadets. This event takes place twice a year in Escanaba, MI. Our cadets volunteer to assist World War II veterans as they take a special day trip to Washington, D.C to visit a number of war memorials, national monuments, and the White House. It is an emotionally powerful event that honors our veterans and gives cadets the opportunity to serve the local community.
History of the Ranger Department/Ranger Training
The history of the American Ranger is a long and colorful saga of courage, daring and outstanding leadership. It is a story of men whose skills in the art of fighting have seldom been surpassed. Only the highlights of their numerous exploits are told here. Rangers primarily performed defensive missions until Benjamin Church's Company of Independent Rangers from Plymouth Colony proved successful in raiding hostile Indians during King Phillip's War in 1675. In 1756 Major Robert Rogers, a native of New Hampshire , recruited nine companies of American colonists to fight for the British during the French and Indian War. Ranger techniques and methods of operation were an inherent characteristic of the American frontiersmen; however, Major Rogers was the first to capitalize on them and incorporate them into the fighting doctrine of a permanently organized fighting force.
The method of fighting used by the first Rangers was further developed during the Revolutionary War by Colonel Daniel Morgan, who organized a unit known as "Morgan's Riflemen". According to General Burgoyne, Morgan's men were "….the most famous corps of the Continental Army, all of them crack shots." Francis Marion, the "Swamp Fox", organized another famous Revolutionary War Ranger element known as " Marion 's Partisans". Marion 's Partisans, numbering anywhere from a handful to several hundred, operated both with and independent of other elements of General Washington's Army. Operating out of the Carolina swamps, they disrupted British communications and prevented the organization of loyalists to support the British cause, substantially contributing to the American victory.
The American Civil War was again the occasion for the creation of special units such as Rangers. John S. Mosby, a master of the prompt and skillful use of cavalry, was one of the most outstanding Confederate Rangers.He believed that by resorting to aggressive action he could compel his enemies to guard 100 points. He would then attack one of the weakest points and be assured numerical superiority.
With America 's entry into the Second World War, Rangers came forth to add to the pages of history. Major William O. Darby organized and activated the 1st Ranger Battalion on June19, 1942 at Carrickfergus, North Ireland . The members were all handpicked volunteers; 50 participated in the gallant Dieppe Raid on the northern coast of France with British and Canadian commandos. The 1st, 3rd, and 4th Ranger Battalions participated with distinction in the North African, Sicilian and Italian campaigns. Darby's Ranger Battalions spearheaded the Seventh Army landing at Gela and Licata during the Sicilian invasion and played a key role in the subsequent campaign, which culminated in the capture of Messina. They infiltrated German lines and mounted an attack against Cisterna, where they virtually annihilated an entire German parachute regiment during close in, night, bayonet and hand-to-hand fighting. The 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions participated in the D-Day landings at Omaha Beach, Normandy; it was during the bitter fighting along the beach that the Rangers gained their official motto. As the situation became critical on Omaha Beach , the division commander of the 29th Infantry Division stated that the entire force must clear the beach and advance inland. He then turned to Lieutenant Colonel Max Schneider, Commander of the 5th Ranger Battalion, and said, "Rangers, lead the way." The 5th Ranger Battalion spearheaded the breakthrough and thus enabled the allies to drive inland away from the invasion beaches.
The 6th Ranger Battalion, operating in the Pacific, conducted Ranger type missions behind enemy lines which involved reconnaissance and hard-hitting, long-range raids. They were the first American contingent to return to the Philippines, destroying key coastal installations prior to the invasion. A reinforced company from the 6th Ranger Battalion formed the rescue force which liberated American and allied prisoners of war from the Japanese prison camp at Cabanatuan.
Another Ranger-type unit was the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), organized and trained as a long-range penetration unit for employment behind enemy lines in Japanese occupied Burma. The unit commander was Brigadier General (later Major General) Frank D. Merrill, its 2,997 officers and men became popularly known as "Merrill's Marauders".
The men composing Merrill's Marauders were volunteers from the 5th, 154th, and 33rd Infantry Regiments and from other Infantry regiments engaged in combat in the southwest and South Pacific. These men responded to a call from then Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, for volunteers for a hazardous mission. These volunteers were to have a high state of physical ruggedness and stamina and were to come from jungle-trained and jungle-tested units.
Prior to their entry into the Northern Burma Campaign, Merrill's Marauders trained in India under the overall supervision of Major General Orde C. Wingate, British Army. There, they were trained from February to June 1943 in long-range penetration tactics and techniques of the type developed and first employed by General Wingate. The operations of the Marauders were closely coordinated with those of the Chinese 22nd and 38th Divisions in a drive to recover northern Burma and clear the way for the construction of Ledo Road , which was to link the Indian railhead at Ledo with the old Burma Road to China . The Marauders marched and fought through jungle and over mountains from Hukwang Valley in northwest Burma to Myitkyina and the Irrawaddy River. In 5 major and 30 minor engagements, they met and defeated the veteran soldiers of the Japanese 18th Division. Operating in the rear of the main force of the Japanese, they prepared the way for the southward advances of the Chinese by disorganizing supply lines and communications. The climax of the Marauder's operations was the capture of Myitkyina Airfield, the only all-weather strip in northern Burma. This was the final victory of "Merrill's Marauders" which was disbanded in August 1944. Remaining personnel were consolidated into the 475th Infantry Regiment, which fought its last battle February 3-4,1945 at Loi-Kang Ridge, China. This Infantry Regiment would serve as the forefather of today's 75th Ranger Regiment.
Shortly after the outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, the 8th Army Ranger Company was formed of volunteers from American units in Japan. The Company was trained in Korea and distinguished itself in combat during the drive to the Yalu River, performing task force and spearhead operations. In November 1950 during the massive Chinese intervention, this small unit, though vastly outnumbered, withstood five enemy assaults on its position.
In September 1950, a Department of the Army message called for volunteers to be trained as Airborne Rangers. In the 82nd Airborne Division, five thousand regular Army paratroopers volunteered, and from that number nine hundred men were selected to form the initial eight Airborne Ranger Companies. An additional nine companies were formed from volunteers of regular Army and National Guard Infantry Divisions. These seventeen Airborne Ranger companies were activated and trained at Fort Benning, Georgia, with most receiving additional training in the mountains of Colorado.
In 1950 and 1951, some 700 men of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 8th Airborne Ranger companies fought to the front of every American Infantry Division in Korea. Attacking by land, water, and air, these six Ranger companies conducted raids, deep penetrations and ambush operations against North Korean and Chinese forces. They were the first Rangers in history to make a combat jump. After the Chinese intervention, these Rangers were the first Americans to re-cross the 38th parallel. The 2nd Airborne Ranger Company was the only African American Ranger unit in the history of the American Army. The men of the six Ranger companies who fought in Korea paid the bloody price of freedom. One in nine of this gallant brotherhood died on the battlefields of Korea. Other Airborne Ranger companies led the way while serving with infantry divisions in the United States, Germany and Japan. Men of these companies volunteered and fought as members of line infantry units in Korea. One Ranger, Donn Porter, would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor. Fourteen Korean War Rangers became general officers and dozens became colonels, senior noncommissioned officers and leaders in civilian life. They volunteered for the Army, the Airborne, the Rangers and for combat. The first men to earn and wear the coveted Ranger Tab, these men are the original Airborne Rangers.
In October 1951, the Army Chief of Staff, General J. Lawton Collins directed, "Ranger training be extended to all combat units in the Army." The Commandant of the Infantry School was directed to establish a Ranger Department for the purpose of conducting a Ranger course of instruction. The overall objective of Ranger training was to raise the standard of training in all combat units. This program was built upon what had been learned from the Ranger Battalions of World War II and the Airborne Ranger companies of the Korean conflict.
During the Vietnam Conflict, fourteen Ranger companies consisting of highly motivated volunteers served with distinction from the Mekong Delta to the DMZ. Assigned to separate brigade, division and field force units, they conducted long-range reconnaissance and exploitation operations into enemy-held areas providing valuable combat intelligence. Initially designated at LRRP, then LRP companies, these units were later designated as C, D,E,F,G,H,I,K,L,M,N,O and P (Ranger) 75th Infantry. Following Vietnam, recognizing the need for a highly trained and highly mobile reaction force, the Army Chief of Staff, General Abrams directed the activation of the first battalion-sized Ranger units since World War II, the 1st and 2nd Battalions (Ranger), 75th Infantry. The 1st Battalion was trained at Fort Benning, Ga., and was activated February 8, 1974 at Fort Stewart, Ga., with the 2nd Battalion being activated on October 3, 1974. The 1st Battalion is now located at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., and the 2nd Battalion at Fort Lewis, Wash.
The farsightedness of General Abrams' decision, as well as the combat effectiveness of the Ranger battalions, was proven during the United States ' invasion of the island of Grenada in October 1983 to protect American citizens there, and to restore democracy. As expected, Rangers led the way! During this operation, code named "Urgent Fury," the Ranger battalions conducted a daring, low level airborne assault (from 500 feet) to seize the airfield at Point Salines, and then continued operations for several days to eliminate pockets of resistance, and rescue American medical students.
As a result of the demonstrated effectiveness of the Ranger battalions, the Department of the Army announced in 1984, that it was increasing the strength of Ranger units to its highest level in 40 years by activating another Ranger battalion, as well as a Ranger Regimental Headquarters. These new units, the 3rd Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry, and Headquarters Company (Ranger) 75th Infantry, have increased the Ranger strength of the Army to over 2,000 soldiers actually assigned to Ranger units. On February 3, 1986, the 75th Infantry was re-designated the 75th Ranger Regiment.
On December 20,1989, the 75th Ranger Regiment was once again called upon to demonstrate its effectiveness in combat. For the first time since its reorganization in 1984, the Regimental Headquarters and all three Ranger battalions were deployed on Operation "Just Cause" in Panama. During this operation, the 75th Ranger Regiment spearheaded the assault into Panama by conducting airborne assaults onto Torrijos/Tocumen Airport and Rio Hato Airfield to facilitate the restoration of democracy in Panama, and protect the lives of American citizens. Between December 20, 1989 and January 7, 1990 , numerous follow-on missions were performed in Panama by the Regiment.
Early in 1991, elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment deployed to Saudi Arabia in support of Operation Desert Storm.
In August 1993 elements of the 75th Ranger Regiment deployed to Somalia in support of Operation Restore Hope, and returned November 1993. The performance of these Rangers significantly contributed to the overall success of these operations and upheld the Ranger tradition. As in the past, the Regiment stands ready to execute its mission to conduct special operations in support of the United States ' policies and objectives.
Ranger Medal Of Honor Recipients
Millett, Lewis L. Sr Captain Feb 7 1951 Co. E 2/27th Infantry
* Porter, Donn F. Sergeant Sept 7 1952 Co. G 2/14th Infantry
Mize, Ola L. Sergeant June 10-11 1953 Co. K 3/15th Infantry
Dolby, David C. Staff Sergeant May 21 1966 Co. B 1/8th (ABN) Calvary
Foley, Robert F. Captain Nov 5 1966 Co. A 2/27th Infantry
Zabitosky, Fred M. Staff Sergeant Feb 19 1968 5th Special Forces
Bucha, Paul W. Captain May 16-19 1968 Co. D 3/187 Infantry
* Rabel, Laszlo Staff Sergeant Nov 13 1968 74th Infantry (LRRP)
Howard, Robert L. Sergeant First Class Dec 30 1968 5th Special Forces
* Law, Robert D. Specialist 4 Feb 22 1969 Co. I 75th Infantry (Ranger)
Kerrey, J. Robert Lieutenant Mar 14 1969 Seal Team 1
* Doane, Stephen H. 1st Lieutenant Mar 25 1969 Co. B 1/5th Infantry
* Pruden, Robert J. Staff Sergeant Nov 22 1969 Co. G 75th Infantry (Ranger)
Littrell, Gary L. Sergeant First Class April 4-8 1970 Advisory Team 21 (Ranger)
* Lucas, Andre C. Lt Colonel Jul 1-23 1970 HHC 2/506 Infantry
* Gordon, Gary I. Master Sergeant Oct 3 1993 Task Force Ranger
* Shughart, Randall D. Sergeant First Class Oct 3 1993 Task Force Ranger
*posthumously
Standing Orders of Roger's Rangers
Don't forget nothing.
Have your musket clean as a whistle, hatchet scoured, sixty rounds powder and ball, and be ready to march at a minute's warning.
When you're on the march, act the way you would if you was sneaking up on a deer. See the enemy first.
Tell the truth about what you see and what you do. There is an army depending on us for correct information. You can lie all you please when you tell other folks about the Rangers, but don't never lie to a Ranger or officer.
Don't never take a chance you don't have to.
When we're on the march we march single file, far enough apart so one shot can't go through two men.
If we strike swamps, or soft ground, we spread out abreast, so it's hard to track us.
When we march, we keep moving till dark, so as to give the enemy the least possible chance at us.
When we camp, half the party stays awake while the other half sleeps.
If we take prisoners, we keep 'em separate till we have had time to examine them, so they can't cook up a story between 'em.
Don't ever march home the same way. Take a different route so you won't be ambushed.
No matter whether we travel in big parties or little ones, each party has to keep a scout 20 yards ahead, 20 yards on each flank, and 20 yards in the rear so the main body can't be surprised and wiped out.
Every night you'll be told where to meet if surrounded by a superior force.
Don't sit down to eat without posting sentries.
Don't sleep beyond dawn. Dawn's when the French and Indians attack.
Don't cross a river by a regular ford.
If somebody's trailing you, make a circle, come back onto your own tracks, and ambush the folks that aim to ambush you.
Don't stand up when the enemy's coming against you. Kneel down, lie down, hide behind a tree.
Let the enemy come till he's almost close enough to touch, then let him have it and jump out and finish him up with your hatchet.
Major Robert Rogers 1759
The Ranger Course was conceived during the Korean War and was known as the Ranger Training Command. On 10 October 1951, the Ranger Training Command was inactivated and became the Ranger Department, a branch of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga. Its purpose was, and still is, to develop combat skills of selected officers and enlisted men by requiring them to perform effectively as small unit leaders in a realistic tactical environment, under mental and physical stress approaching that found in actual combat. Emphasis is placed on the development of individual combat skills and abilities through the application of the principles of leadership while further developing military skills in the planning and conduct of dismounted infantry, airborne, airmobile, and amphibious independent squad and platoon-size operations. Graduates return to their units to pass on these skills.
From 1954 to the early 1970's, the Army's goal, though seldom achieved, was to have one Ranger qualified NCO per infantry platoon and one officer per company. In an effort to better achieve this goal, in 1954 the Army required all combat arms officers to become Ranger/ Airborne qualified.
The Ranger course has changed little since its inception. Until recently, it was an eight-week course divided into three phases. The course is now 61 days in duration and divided into three phases as follows:
BENNING PHASE (4th Ranger Training Battalion) – Designed to develop the military skills, physical and mental endurance, stamina, and confidence a small unit combat leader must have to successfully accomplish a mission. It also teaches the Ranger student to properly maintain himself, his subordinates and his equipment under difficult field conditions.
MOUNTAIN PHASE (5th Ranger Training Battalion) – The Ranger student gains proficiency in the fundamentals, principles and techniques of employing small combat units in a mountainous environment. He develops his ability to lead squad-sized units and to exercise control through planning, preparation, and execution phases of all types of combat operations, including ambushes and raids, plus environmental and survival techniques.
FLORIDA PHASE (6th Ranger Training Battalion) – Emphasis during this phase is to continue the development of combat leaders, capable of operating effectively under conditions of extreme mental and physical stress. The training further develops the student's ability to plan and lead small units on independent and coordinated airborne, air assault, amphibious, small boat, and dismounted combat operations in a mid-intensity combat environment against a well-trained, sophisticated enemy.
IV-2
On 2 December 1987, on York Field, Fort Benning, Ga. , the Ranger Department, in accordance with permanent orders number 214-26, became the Ranger Training Brigade with an effective date of 1 November 1987. After 40 years and 23 Directors and Commanders, the Ranger Course is still dedicated to producing the finest trained soldier in the world…the United States Army Ranger!


The two crows fly over the town rapidly flapping their wings. Suburbs pass beneath them with roads and deserted lanes, cars parked in lines along the streets, and bins out in front of the houses, as they always are on this day of the week. They know the precise time and date of the rubbish collection, but they don't need to stop: they have found what they are looking for. The black bird's beaks are loaded with objects as they fly back from the council tip. On the horizon, removed from the grey ocean of human construction, lies an oasis of greenery. The park comes into view, with its central lake and the giant plane tree perched on its banks: the crow's home.
The father to be returns from his expedition with two fine pink metal hangars. He likes them because of their colour and the way they shine. He pulls at the metal a bit so that it provides a better support for the old twig nest where so many children have come into the world. His partner is in charge of organising the interior. She moulds the walls out of dead leaves, bits of fabric, wadding and warm hair, which will protect her youngsters from any sudden drop in temperature. Better to prepare for risks, in a changeable climate.
The mother to be plunges towards the ground. She circles around a donkey grazing in her enclosure, then lands on her back and snatches a tuft of her hair. The donkey snorts in contempt, but the crow is already back at the top of the plane tree.
The three or four little blue and brown speckled eggs that she will lay will hatch into much loved adorable fluffy bundles. She and her partner will be devoted parents. Fortunately for them, they have both survived and nestled together for many tender years. Bringing up their children together means not only feeding them, but also a long period of education, as there is a lot to learn if they are to get by in this human world.
This year, their eldest son is staying nearby to help. His two sisters have already flown off with a group of adolescents. All day long, the youngsters mess about and get to know each other in rowdy groups where these two girls will eventually find their partner. They are at first greeted by the intrepid males with head-butts before the males parade in front of them in a serious of crazy dares: undertaking near suicidal dives, chasing cars or sliding along snowy roofs with a yoghurt pot as a sledge. They entertain themselves like this all year round, until life couples form and they leave to start their own family.
The days are getting milder and the ducklings are already following their mothers around. Humans come regularly to throw bread for them. An old man walks slowly down the path. The birds are familiar with his face, despite the time that has gone by. He feeds the ducks and other birds having returned after over a year of absence. Today he is back, with a cane and a new hat.
Happily cawing, the crows greet him before jumping from their branch and sitting next to him, forcing the pigeons to spread apart. The man throws chunks of raisin bread. Delicious! The couple's son grabs a big piece and hides it further away, saving it for later.
Out of the corner of his eye, he notices that his father has seen. No problem: Pretending to gather leaves over his little treasure, he waits until his father looks away and quickly takes the bread and hides it under a privet grove. The family don't like to share.
Suddenly, cries can be heard coming from the side of the busy road that noisily borders the park. A crow has been hit by a car and her body thrown onto the verge. The corvids all take off and fly to the scene, perching at the top of a budding maple tree. The couple are among them, and are joined by others from a neighbouring park. Most of them come in pairs, including several of the couple's children, who have since become parents. They greet each other in the powerful community dialect, but the family quickly reverts to softer tones, their own language. Everyone being black from beak to toe, the caw is the first distinguishing feature.
The elder crow was a much appreciated member of the community, a matriarch of high standing who was esteemed for her forewarning, indicating the approach of a cat, a falcon, or budgerigars entering their trees in a particular tone. Seeing her dead provokes much reflection and the accident is discussed. It will be a long time before any crow will sit on that pavement there, for sure.
Merci pour ce récit très beau et très touchant. Arrêtons de faire la chasse aux prétendus "nuisibles" et mal aimés (corvidés, ragondins et j'en passe), l'espèce la plus nuisible de toutes sur terre est bel et bien l'espèce humaine !


Awards season isn't just about recognising the good films the year in cinema had to offer. While there's plenty of time devoted to speculating on what will win Best Picture and waxing lyrical about what should be taking all the glory, there's also a special spot reserved just for the worst of the last 12 months of moviegoing.
Being dished out the night before the Oscars, the Razzies always run counterpart to the Academy Awards. Where the latter goes for the perceived best of the best, these goes for the worst of the worst. Launched back in 1981, the Golden Raspberry Awards are designed to be gently mocking. Sometimes they get it right, and sometimes they simply go for the easy target. There's been plenty of both this century.


text:
package org.pentaho.di.www;

import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.ByteArrayOutputStream;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import java.io.PrintWriter;
import java.util.ArrayList;

import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.servlet.ServletException;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;

import com.google.common.annotations.VisibleForTesting;
import org.owasp.encoder.Encode;
import org.pentaho.di.core.gui.AreaOwner;
import org.pentaho.di.core.gui.Point;
import org.pentaho.di.core.gui.SwingGC;
import org.pentaho.di.core.util.Utils;
import org.pentaho.di.i18n.BaseMessages;
import org.pentaho.di.job.Job;
import org.pentaho.di.job.JobMeta;
import org.pentaho.di.job.JobPainter;
import org.pentaho.di.job.entry.JobEntryCopy;
import org.pentaho.di.www.exception.DuplicateKeyException;

public class GetJobImageServlet extends BaseHttpServlet implements CartePluginInterface {

  private static final long serialVersionUID = -4365372274638005929L;

  private static Class<?> PKG = GetTransStatusServlet.class; // for i18n purposes, needed by Translator2!!

  public static final String CONTEXT_PATH = "/kettle/jobImage";

  public GetJobImageServlet() {
  }

  public GetJobImageServlet( JobMap jobMap ) {
    super( jobMap );
  }

  /**

/kettle/jobImage

GET

Generates and returns image of the specified job.
  Generates PNG image of the specified job currently present on Carte server. Job name and Carte job ID (optional)
  is used for specifying job to get information for. Response is binary of the PNG image.

Example Request:

    GET /kettle/jobImage?name=dummy_job

Parameters

      name
      description
      type

    name
    Name of the job to be used for image generation.
    query

    id
    Carte id of the job to be used for image generation.
    query, optional

Response Body

        binary streak:
        image

        media types:
        image/png

A binary PNG image or empty response if no job is found.

Status Codes

      code
      description

      200
      Request was processed.

      500
      Internal server error occurs during request processing.

  */
  public void doGet( HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response ) throws ServletException,
    IOException {
    if ( isJettyMode() && !request.getContextPath().startsWith( CONTEXT_PATH ) ) {
      return;
    }

    if ( log.isDebug() ) {
      logDebug( BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "GetJobImageServlet.Log.JobImageRequested" ) );
    }

    String jobName = request.getParameter( "name" );
    String id = request.getParameter( "id" );

    boolean useXML = "Y".equalsIgnoreCase( request.getParameter( "xml" ) );

    // ID is optional...
    //
    Job job;
    CarteObjectEntry entry;
    if ( Utils.isEmpty( id ) ) {

      try {
        entry = getJobMap().getUniqueCarteObjectEntry( jobName );
      } catch ( DuplicateKeyException e ) {
        buildDuplicateResponse( response, jobName, useXML );
        return;
      }

      if ( entry == null ) {
        job = null;
      } else {
        id = entry.getId();
        job = getJobMap().getJob( entry );
      }
    } else {
      // Take the ID into account!
      //
      entry = new CarteObjectEntry( jobName, id );
      job = getJobMap().getJob( entry );
    }

    try {
      if ( job != null ) {
        buildOkResponse( response, job );
      } else {
        buildNotFoundResponse( response, jobName, id, useXML );
      }
    } catch ( Exception e ) {
      e.printStackTrace();
    }
  }

  private void buildDuplicateResponse( HttpServletResponse response, String jobName, boolean useXML ) {
    String message = BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "GetJobImageServlet.Error.DuplicateJobName", jobName );

    PrintWriter out;
    try {
      out = response.getWriter();
      if ( useXML ) {
        out.println( new WebResult( WebResult.STRING_ERROR, message ) );
      } else {
        out.println( "
" + Encode.forHtml( message ) + "
" );
        out.println( ""
          + BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "GetJobImageServlet.BackToStatusPage" ) + "
" );
        response.setStatus( HttpServletResponse.SC_CONFLICT );
      }

    } catch ( IOException e ) {
      e.printStackTrace();
    }
  }

  private void buildOkResponse( HttpServletResponse response, Job job ) throws Exception {
    response.setStatus( HttpServletResponse.SC_OK );

    response.setCharacterEncoding( "UTF-8" );
    response.setContentType( "image/png" );

    // Generate xform image
    //
    BufferedImage image = generateJobImage( job.getJobMeta() );
    ByteArrayOutputStream os = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
    try {
      ImageIO.write( image, "png", os );
    } finally {
      os.flush();
    }
    response.setContentLength( os.size() );

    OutputStream out = response.getOutputStream();
    out.write( os.toByteArray() );
  }

  private void buildNotFoundResponse( HttpServletResponse response, String jobName, String id, boolean useXML ) throws Exception {
    String message = BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "GetJobImageServlet.Error.CoundNotFindJob", jobName, id );

    PrintWriter out;
    try {
      out = response.getWriter();
      if ( useXML ) {
        out.println( new WebResult( WebResult.STRING_ERROR, message ) );
      } else {
        out.println( "
" + Encode.forHtml( message ) + "
" );
        out.println( ""
          + BaseMessages.getString( PKG, "GetJobImageServlet.BackToStatusPage" ) + "
" );
        response.setStatus( HttpServletResponse.SC_NOT_FOUND );
      }

    } catch ( IOException e ) {
      e.printStackTrace();
    }
  }

  @VisibleForTesting
  BufferedImage generateJobImage( JobMeta jobMeta ) throws Exception {
    float magnification = 1.0f;
    Point maximum = jobMeta.getMaximum();
    maximum.multiply( magnification );

    SwingGC gc = new SwingGC( null, maximum, 32, 0, 0 );
    JobPainter jobPainter =
      new JobPainter(
        gc, jobMeta, maximum, null, null, null, null, null, new ArrayList<AreaOwner>(),
        new ArrayList<JobEntryCopy>(), 32, 1, 0, 0, true, "Arial", 10 );
    jobPainter.setMagnification( magnification );
    jobPainter.drawJob();

    BufferedImage image = (BufferedImage) gc.getImage();

    return image;
  }

  public String toString() {
    return "Job Image Handler";
  }

  public String getService() {
    return CONTEXT_PATH + " (" + toString() + ")";
  }

  public String getContextPath() {
    return CONTEXT_PATH;
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
A Brain of Two Halves
15th October 2020By Roz SavageEnvironment, Inspiration, Leadership, life skills
A Brain of Two HalvesRoz Savage2020-10-15T12:17:20+01:00
"If I am right, that the story of the Western world is one of increasing left hemisphere domination, we would not expect insight to be the key note. Instead, we would expect a sort of insouciant optimism, the sleepwalker whistling a happy tune as he ambles towards the abyss." – Iain McGilchrist
In case you're not familiar with the footballing phrase, "a game of two halves", it has become a cliché in British soccer commentary, and means games which have a different character in the two halves. The same could be said of our brains.
The human brain, and the brains of most other animals, is made up of two hemispheres: the left hemisphere is good at linear and reductionist thinking, categorisation, logic and analysis, mechanical concepts, and tasks requiring focused attention. It is optimistic, individualistic, has the monopoly on verbal language, and is blessed with an extremely robust perception of its own abilities (remind you of anybody you know?!).
The right hemisphere is in many ways the converse, the yin to the left hemisphere's yang. It is good at conceptual and holistic thinking, imagination, intuition, compassion, prefers the organic to the mechanical, and has a wider orbit of peripheral vision, metaphorically speaking. It is the seat of most emotions, apart from anger – only the left hemisphere does anger. It has no verbal language, and has a high tolerance for paradox, and tends to be pessimistic, melancholy and doubtful (you may know people like this too…).
According to the philosopher and psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and His Emissary, our world is becoming increasingly left-brain dominant, and this is not a good thing.
(Full disclosure: Iain is a dear friend of mine, and I would like to emphasise that any liberties and/or errors I have introduced in interpreting his work are mine, not his).
Our best theory at the moment is that the two hemispheres were a positive evolutionary adaptation that allowed us to maintain tight focus on the task at hand (like eating our lunch) while also being aware of what was going on around us (thereby not becoming some other creature's lunch).
Ideally, the two hemispheres operate in harmony, each playing to its strengths. But here we run into a snag, which inspires the title of McGilchrist's book. The story goes that there was once a wise and spiritual master who had a small but prosperous domain, but as his subjects grew in number, he trained a number of trusted emissaries to oversee the welfare of its far-flung outposts. In his wisdom, he chose not to micro-manage his emissaries, but to respect their autonomy. Unfortunately, his most ambitious emissary began to abuse his power in order to further his own wealth and influence. "And so it came about that the master was usurped, the people were duped, the domain became a tyranny; and eventually it collapsed in ruins."
Following this metaphor, the right hemisphere should ideally be the chief strategist, given its wider and wiser perspective, while the left hemisphere plays to its strengths as administrator and executive. As McGilchrist writes, "the purpose of the left hemisphere is to allow us to manipulate the world, not to understand it".
The dynamic between the two hemispheres is reminiscent of the creative tension between yin and yang, which gives rise to the life force, or qi:
"Another way of thinking of the difference between the hemispheres is to see the left hemisphere's world as tending towards fixity, whereas that of the right tends towards flow. All systems in nature, from particles to the greater universe, from the world of cellular processes to that of all living things, depend on a necessary balance of the forces for stasis with the forces for flow. All existing things could be thought of as the product of this fruitful tension."
So the hemispheres should ideally be a complementary double-act, and it seems likely that this used to be the case, or at least, more so than it is now. However, given its ebullient self-confidence, the left hemisphere has gradually usurped the power of the right. The right hemisphere knows that it needs the left. The left has forgotten that the right exists. (Any resemblance to patriarchy is purely coincidental – or not.)
According to McGilchrist, we see the symptoms of the dominant left-brain worldview all around us. This shift becomes a positively reinforcing feedback loop, as the left hemisphere creates an external world in its own image:
"Here I suggest that it is as if the left hemisphere, which creates a sort of self-reflexive virtual world, has blocked off the available exits, the ways out of the hall of mirrors, into a reality which the right hemisphere could enable us to understand. In the past, this tendency was counterbalanced by forces from outside the enclosed system of the self-conscious mind; apart from the history incarnated in our culture, and the natural world itself, from both of which we are increasingly alienated, these were principally the embodied nature of our existence, the arts and religion. In our time each of these has been subverted and the routes of escape from the virtual world have been closed off. An increasingly mechanistic, fragmented, decontextualised world, marked by unwarranted optimism mixed with paranoia and a feeling of emptiness, has come about, reflecting, I believe, the unopposed action of a dysfunctional left hemisphere."
It's possible that we used to have more of an intuitive sense of the underlying nature of reality (see my blog about Don Hoffman's work for more about this), but the reductionist, materialist worldview of the left hemisphere is increasingly blocking out our ability to perceive the invisible realms that exist beyond our senses.
It was this reductionist, materialist thinking that reduced the number of our "official" senses to a mere five. It has been suggested Aristotle's De Anima was the start of the idea that there had to be an observable physical organ corresponding to a sense for it to be real, rather than imaginary or "extrasensory" perception – eyes for sight, a nose for smell, and so on. Individuals (usually women) who exhibited allegedly extrasensory abilities, such as the ability to communicate with plants for medicinal purposes, have for the last several millennia been denigrated as witches, persecuted, and killed, leading to the loss of their wisdom traditions and (possibly) inheritable capabilities.
The more that our left hemisphere enforces its (literally) narrow-minded worldview, the more we cut ourselves off the useful information being processed by the right hemisphere. According to McGilchrist, we have paid dearly for our increasingly left-hemisphere orientation:
"We know so much, we can make so much happen, and we certainly invest much in the attempt to control our destinies. And yet, if we are honest, we feel as though it ought somehow to have added up to – more than this. Meanwhile, around us we can scarcely fail to see the evident global degradation and destruction of what we now call 'the environment', but which is nothing less than the living world; the breaking up of complex, close-knit communities, and their ways of living in harmony with nature, that took at least centuries, if not millennia, to form; the substitution of a way of life that we have already determined in the West to be lacking in meaning, often aesthetically barren, driven by commercialism and morally bankrupt, devoted to the pursuit of pleasure and happiness, but delivering anxiety and systemic dissatisfaction; the erosion, and in some cases the trashing, of ancient artistic and spiritual traditions; and the loss of the sense of uniqueness as everything becomes abstracted, generalised, categorised, mechanised, represented and rendered merely virtual… Meaning emerges from engagement with the world, not from abstract contemplation of it."
Not just individuals or societies, but entire empires have also paid dearly for our abstraction from the natural world. McGilchrist sees, in accounts of the fall of the Greek and Roman empires, evidence of increasing left hemisphere dominance:
"But [the flourishing] did not last. It may be that an increasing bureaucracy, totalitarianism and an emphasis on the mechanistic in the late Roman period represents an attempt by the left hemisphere to 'go it alone'."
(Ringing any bells? For more on the collapse of empires, see this earlier blog post.)
If you need cheering up after McGilchrist's rather bleak prognosis, I recommend Jill Bolte Taylor, who suffered a catastrophic left hemisphere stroke at the age of 37 (which might not sound very cheering – but it gets better).
Bolte Taylor was a neuroanatomist so, given her professional expertise, she was able to observe, with (mostly) dispassionate calmness, her life-threatening predicament in real time as she had her stroke, which she describes in her 2008 TED Talk and book, My Stroke of Insight. As the blood wreaked havoc in her left hemisphere, shutting down its functions, she found herself seeing reality in an entirely different way which, far from being terrifying, was extremely alluring, even spiritual:
"As the haemorrhaging blood interrupted the normal functioning of my left mind, my perception was released from its attachment to categorization and detail. As the dominating fibres of my left hemisphere shut down, they no longer inhibited my right hemisphere, and my perception was free to shift such that my consciousness could embody the tranquillity of my right mind. Swathed in an enfolding sense of liberation and transformation, the essence of my consciousness shifted into a state that felt amazingly similar to my experience in Thetaville. I'm no authority, but I think the Buddhists would say I entered the mode of existence they call Nirvana… In the absence of my left hemisphere's analytical judgment, I was completely entranced by the feelings of tranquillity, safety, blessedness, euphoria, and omniscience."
She uses phrases that could equally be used by someone describing a peak spiritual experience, or the effects of hallucinogenic drugs, such as "peaceful bliss of my divine right mind", "glorious bliss", and "sweet tranquillity".
"My left hemisphere had been trained to perceive myself as a solid, separate from others. Now, released from that restrictive circuitry, my right hemisphere relished in its attachment to the eternal flow. I was no longer isolated and alone. My soul was as big as the universe and frolicked with glee in a boundless sea."
Bolte Taylor equates the left hemisphere with head, thinking, mind consciousness, small ego mind, small self, masculine, and yang consciousness, and the right with heart, feeling, body's instinctive consciousness, capital ego mind, inner or authentic self, feminine, and yin consciousness.
I'm not for a moment here suggesting that we would be better off without our left hemisphere – it evolved for a very good reason, and we wouldn't do very well without it – but I invite you to imagine what it might be like if we were able to subdue the left hemisphere at will, and connect intentionally with the worldview of the right hemisphere. Or we can simply learn from Bolte Taylor's account:
"My stroke of insight is that at the core of my right hemisphere consciousness is a character that is directly connected to my feeling of deep inner peace. It is completely committed to the expression of peace, love, joy, and compassion in the world… It is my goal to help you find a hemispheric home for each of your characters so that we can honour their identities and perhaps have more say in how we want to be in the world. By recognizing who is who inside our cranium, we can take a more balanced-brain approach to how we lead our lives."
Seems to me that Bolte Taylor is agreeing with McGilchrist that both an individual and a society function optimally when it knows when best to invoke right brain consciousness, and when to rely on the left. A quote usually attributed to Albert Einstein (who, according to a 2013 study, was blessed with an unusual corpus callosum that had more extensive connections between certain parts of his cerebral hemispheres compared to the brains of both younger and older control groups) states:
Bolte Taylor feels that most of us (with exceptions in indigenous cultures, and assorted individuals in the western world who may practice as healers, intuitives, and so on) will have to work mindfully (literally) to reverse the shift and re-create balance in our predominantly left-brain-oriented world.
We would do well to remember who is the master, and who is the emissary, which is the sacred gift and which is the servant, and do our best to nurture the optimal balance between the two.
Note: The Master and His Emissary is a fascinating, but somewhat daunting, read – and I'm not easily daunted. There is a relatively bite-sized version called The Divided Brain and the Search for Meaning, also by Iain, and also very good, and I particularly recommend this animated/illustrated RSA talk.
Early bird tickets for TEDxStroudWomen are selling fast – but luckily, as we've now had to go virtual, the sky is the limit, and the more the merrier! Please join us on Sunday 29th November for a day of fascinating talks around our theme of Emergence. All details on Eventbrite and on our website.
← Reasons to be Cheerful(ish)
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Home / Bible Commentaries / The Pulpit Commentaries/ Isaiah
The Pulpit Commentaries
Isaiah Isaiah 16
Keil & Delitzsch
The People's Bible
THE BURDEN OF MOAB. The present chapter and the next are very closely connected, and may be regarded as together constituting "the burden of Moab." It has been argued on critical grounds that the bulk of the prophecy is quoted by Isaiah from an earlier writer, and that he has merely modified the wording and added a few touches here and there (so Gesenius, Rosenmüller, Hitzig, Maurer, Ewald, Knobel, and Cheyne). Jeremiah is thought to have also based his "judgment of Moab" (Jeremiah 48:1-47.) on the same early writing. But speculations of this kind are in the highest degree uncertain, and moreover lead to no results of the slightest importance. It is best, therefore, to regard Isaiah as the author of these two chapters. Having threatened Philistia, Israel's nearest enemy upon the west, he turns to Moab, her nearest foe towards the east.
Because. An elliptical beginning. Mr. Cheyne supposes some such words as "Lament for Moab," or "Alas for Moab!" to have been in the writer's mind, but to have been omitted through "lyrical excitement." In the night. This is best taken literally. Night attacks, though not common in antiquity, were not unknown. Mesha, King of Moab, boasts that he "went in the night" against Nebo, and assaulted it at early dawn (Moabite Stone, I. 15). Ar of Moab; or, Ar-Moab. An ancient city, mentioned among those taken from the Moabites by Sihon (Numbers 21:28). According to Jerome, it was called in Roman times Areopolis, or Rabbath-Moab. Modern geographers identify it with Rabba, a place on the old Roman road between Kerak and Arair, south of the Amen, where there are some ancient remains, though they are not very extensive. Is laid waste, and brought to silence; rather, is stormed, is ruined. Kir of Moab. "Kir of Moab" is reasonably identified with Kerak, a place very strongly situated on a mountain peak, about ten miles flora the south-eastern corner of the Dead Sea.
He is gone to Bajith; rather, he is gone to the temple. Probably the temple of Baal at Beth-baal-meon is intended. Beth-baal-meon is 'mentioned in close connection with Dibon in Joshua 13:17. And to Dibon. Diboa is mentioned in Numbers 21:30; Numbers 32:3, Numbers 32:34; Joshua 13:9, Joshua 13:17; Jeremiah 48:18, Jeremiah 48:22. It was an ancient Moabite town of considerable importance, and has recently been identified with the site called Diban, where the Moabite Stone was found. This place is situated in the country east of the Dead Sea, about three miles north of the river Arnon, on the old Roman road connecting Rabbath-Moab with Hesh-bob. The town seems to have gained in importance from the fact that it was the birthplace of Chemosh-Gad, Mesha's father (Moabite Stone, 1. 2). Mesha added to its territory (ibid; 1.21). It is extremely probable that it was the site of one of the Moabite "high places," and was therefore naturally one of the places whereto the Moabites, when afflicted, went up" to weep." Over Nebo, and over Medeba. Nebe and Medeba were also ancient Moabite towns. Nebo is mentioned in Numbers 32:3, Numbers 32:38; Numbers 33:47; 1 Chronicles 5:8; Jeremiah 48:1, Jeremiah 48:22. It seems to have lain almost midway between Beth-baal-meon (Main) and Medeba, about three or four miles south-east of Heshbon. Medeba obtains notice in Numbers 21:30; Joshua 13:9, Joshua 13:16; 1 Chronicles 19:7. Mesha says that it was taken from the Moabites by Omri, King of Israel, but recovered by himself at the end of forty 'years (Moabite Stone, 11. 7-9). It lay south-east of Hesh-ben, at the spot which still retains the old name—Madeba. It has been suggested that there was at Nebo a shrine of the Baby-Ionian god so named; but this is to assume a resemblance which the facts at present known do not indicate, between the Moabite and Babylonian religions. On all their heads shall be baldness. The practice of cutting off the hair in mourning was common to the Jews (Isaiah 22:12; Micah 1:16) with various other nations; e.g. the Persians (Herod; 1 Chronicles 9:24), the Greeks, the Macedonians (Pint; 'Vit. Pelop.,' § 34), the primitive Arabs, and the North American Indians (Bancroft,' Native Races of America'). It was probably intended, like lacerations, and ashes on the head, as a mere disfigurement,
In their streets; literally, in his streets; i.e. the streets of Moab. They shall gird themselves with sackcloth. Another widely spread custom, known to the Assyrians (Jonah 3:5), the Syrians (1 Kings 20:31), the Persians (Esther 4:1, Esther 4:2), the Israelites (Nehemiah 9:1), and, as we see here, to the Moabites. The modern wearing of black garments, especially crape, is representative of the old practice. Every one shall howl. "Howling" remains one of the chief tokens of mourning in the East. It was a practice of the Egyptians (Herod; 2.79), of the Persians (ibid; 8.99; 9.24), of the Babylonians (Jeremiah 51:8), and probably of the Orientals generally. Weeping abundantly; or, running down with tears (comp. Jeremiah 9:18; Jeremiah 13:17; Herod; 8.99).
Heshbon shall cry. Heshbon, now Hesban, lay about twenty miles east of the Jordan, nearly on the parallel of its embouchure into the Dead Sea. It was the capital city of Sihon (Numbers 21:21), who took it from the Moabites. On the partition of Palestine among the tribes of Israel, it was assigned to Reuben (Numbers 32:37; Joshua 13:17); but at a later time we find it reckoned to Gad (1 Chronicles 6:81). We do not know at what time Moab recovered Heshbon, but may conjecture that it was one of the conquests of Mesha, though it is not mentioned on the Moabite Stone. And Elealeh. Elealch is commonly united with Heshbon (Numbers 32:3, Numbers 32:37; Isaiah 16:9; Jeremiah 48:34). It is probably identical with the modern El-A'al, a ruined town on the top of a rounded hill, little more than a mile north of Hesban. Even unto Jahaz. Jahaz lay considerably to the south of Hesh-ben, probably not very far north of the Arnon. It must have been in the vicinity of Dibon, since Mesha, on taking it from the Israelites, annexed it to the territory of that city (Moabite Stone, II. 19-21). It was the scene of the great battle between Sihon and the Israelites under Moses (Numbers 21:23). His life shall be grievous unto him; rather, his soul shall be grieved within him. The Moabite people is personified (Cheyne).
My heart shall cry out for Moab (comp. Isaiah 16:9, Isaiah 16:11). The prophet sympathizes with the sufferings of Moab, as a kindred people (Genesis 19:37), and perhaps as having, in the person of Ruth, furnished an ancestress to the Messiah (Matthew 1:5). His fugitives; literally, her fugitives. The country is here personified, instead of the people, the former being feminine, the latter masculine. Shall flee unto Zoar. Zoar, the "little" town, spared for Lot's sake (Genesis 19:20-22), is placed by some at the northern, by others at the southern, extremity of the Dead Sea. The present passage makes in favor of the more southern site. An heifer of three years old. Those who defend this rendering refer the simile either to Zest, or to Moab, or to the fugitives. Having regard to the parallel passage of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 48:34), we may pronounce the last explanation to be the best. The resemblance to the heifer will consist in the cries uttered. To ninny critics, however, this idea appears harsh, and the alternative is proposed of regarding Eglath—the word translated "heifer"—as a place, and the epithet, "of three years old," as really meaning "the third." Attempts are made to show the existence of three Eglaths in these parts; but they are not very successful; nor is any instance adduced of a city being distinguished from others of the same name by a numerical suffix. The rendering of the Authorized Version may therefore stand, the comparison being regarded as one of the fugitive Moabites to a heifer in its third year, "rushing along with loud, hopeless bellowings" (Kay). By the mounting up of Luhith. This ascent has not been identified. It should have been on the way from Moab proper to Zoar. The way of Horonaim. On the Moabite Stone Horonaim is mentioned as a town of the Edomites attacked and taken by Mesha (11:31-33). It lay probably south or southeast of the Dead Sea. The Moabites, flying kern their invaders, seek a refuge in the territories of Edom and Judah, weeping and wailing as they go.
The waters of Nimrim shall be desolate. The Wady Numeira is a watercourse running into the Dead Sea from the east, hallway between the promontory called the "Lisan" and the sea's southern extremity. It is fed by "six or seven springs"—"plenteous brooks gushing from the lofty hills" (Tristram), and boasts along its banks a number of "well-watered gardens." There is no reason to doubt the identity of this stream with "the waters of Nimrim." Their "desolation" was probably caused by the enemy stopping up the sources (2 Kings 3:19, 2 Kings 3:25; 2 Chronicles 32:3, 2 Chronicles 32:4). The hay is withered away. There is luxuriant vegetation in the wadys and ghors at the southern end of the Dead Sea, especially in the Ghor-es-Safiyeh, the Wady Numeira, and the Wady el-Mantara.
The abundance, etc.; i.e. "the property which they have been able to save and carry off with them." This, finding no place of refuge in their own territory, they convey to their southern border, where "the brook of the willows" separates their country from Edom, with the intention, no doubt, of transporting it across the brook.
Eglaim … Beer-Elim. Unknown sites on the borders of Moab, both probably towards the south. The enemy has come in from the north, and has driven the population southwards. A hope has been entertained of the pursuit slackening; but it is disappointed. The enemy causes grief and "howling" in every part of the territory.
The waters of Dimon. It is thought that "Dimon" is here put for "Dibon," in order to assimilate the sound to that of dam, blood. St. Jerome says that in his day the place was called indifferently by either name. If we accept this view, "the waters of Dimon" will probably be those of the Amen, near which Dibon was situated (see the comment on Isaiah 15:2). I will bring more; literally, I will bring additions; i.e. additional calamities, which will cause the stream of the Aton to flow with blood. Lions; or, a lieu. Perhaps Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 4:7), who is said by Josephus to have conquered the Moabites, or possibly Asshur-bani-pal, who overran the country about B.C. 645.
Denunciations of God's wrath upon sinners compatible with the deepest pity for them.
It is sometimes assumed that those who exert themselves earnestly to set before men the severer aspects of religion, who, like Paul before Felix, "reason of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come" (Acts 24:25), must be persons of harsh, stern, and pitiless tempers, devoid of the gentler feelings, or at any rate without keen sympathy with their fellow-men. The advocates of universal salvation claim to be more tender-hearted than their opponents, and brand the latter with epithets denoting a want of humanity and kindliness. But true tenderness and kindness will not lead men to conceal unpleasant truths, but to state them with the utmost clearness and distinctness—to press them upon men, insist upon them, compel attention to them. Their outspokenness is no sign of want of sympathy, but rather an indication of the contrary. It springs froth the deepest love, from the most earnest desire to save souls, Throe great examples may be alleged in proof of this.
I. THE EXAMPLE OF ISAIAH. Nowhere do we find more unreserved denunciations of God's wrath against sinners than in the writings of "the evangelical prophet." All the enemies of God are in their turn arraigned, condemned, and sentenced to the severest sufferings. But can it be said that Isaiah is cold, or harsh, or unsympathetic? No. Far otherwise. His "heart cries out for Moab" (Isaiah 15:5). He "bewails with the weeping of Jazer the vine of Sibmah" (Isaiah 16:9); he "waters Heshbon and Elealeh with his tears" (Isaiah 16:9); his "bowels sound like an harp for Moab," and his "inward parts for Kir-Haresh" (Isaiah 16:11). Nor is it only the kindred nation of Moab which draws forth such feelings. A vision of the siege of Babylon causes him to cry out, "Therefore are my loins filled with pain: pangs have taken hold upon me, as the pangs of a woman that travaileth; I was bowed down at the hearing of it; I was dismayed at the seeing of it. My heart punted, fearfulness affrighted me: the night of my pleasure hath he turned into fear unto me" (Isaiah 21:3, Isaiah 21:4).
II. THE EXAMPLE OF ST. PAUL. NO sacred writer is more direct in his warnings against sin, or more plain in his denunciations of eternal death to sinners, than St. Paul. "As many as have sinned without Law shall also perish without Law: and as many as have sinned in the Law shall be judged by the Law "(Romans 2:12). "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). "The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21). Yet what writer shows greater tenderness towards those whom he warns, or a more affectionate concern for them, than the great apostle of the Gentiles? "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved '(Romans 10:1). "I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsfolk according to the flesh" (Romans 9:1-3).
III. THE EXAMPLE OF OUR LORD. The tenderness of Christ' is without a parallel in the history of man. Not only did he die for men, but throughout his life he showed at every turn a love for them surpassing human love. For their sake becoming poor and despised, for their sake unwearied in works of mercy, moved with compassion if he saw them faint or weary, grieving bitterly, even weeping, when he found them impenitent, never breaking the bruised reed nor quenching the smoking flax, on his way to his death of shame praying for his murderers, it is yet he who delivers the warnings concerning final judgment, which are most awful and most impossible to explain away. "Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire" (Matthew 7:19). "As the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of the world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:40-42). "Then shall he say to them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:46). "It is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched'.
HOMILIES BY E. JOHNSON
Oracle concerning Moab.
I. HISTORY or Moan. Zoar was the cradle of the race, the house of the tribal father Lot. While the brother-tribe of Ammon wandered to the pastures of the northeast, Moab remained nearer the original seat. They were confined to a narrower district by the invasion of the Amorites (Numbers 21:26-30; Deuteronomy 2:10, Deuteronomy 2:11). Their long feud with the tribe of Benjamin lasted to the time of Saul. But in the Book of Ruth we have a pleasant glimpse of the intercourse between the people of Moab and those of Judah; and David, by descent from Ruth, had Moabite blood in his veins. Eglaim, a Moabite king, had reigned at Jericho; but a fearful war, the last of David's, had crushed, almost extirpated, Moab (2 Samuel 8:1-18.; 1 Chronicles 18:1-17.). On the division of the kingdom, Moab fell under the dominion of Israel, and paid its kings an enormous tribute (2 Kings 3:21). On the death of Ahab this tribute was refused, and Moab, in alliance with the Ammonites and others, attacked the kingdom of Judah (2 Chronicles 20:1-37.). A fearful disaster followed, and Israel, Judah, and Edom united in an attack upon the Moabites, who, deceived by a stratagem, were overcome with fearful carnage. And then, to crown these horrors, the king Mesha, having retreated to the strong place of Kir-Hareseth, was seen by the host of Israel sacrificing his own son upon the wails, as an extreme measure, with a view to obtain deliverance from the gods of the land. From that time we know little of the fortunes of Moab until the date of this prophecy, about a century and a half later, B.C. 726. She had regained the lost ground, and was settled in the territory north of the Arnon, when this disaster overtook her. Ewald thinks that three prophets were concerned in this prophecy, and that it is preserved in Jeremiah 48:1-47, more nearly in its original form.
II. THE PATHOS OF MOAB'S FATE. The whole description is characterized by a tone of deep sympathy. The prophet's heart is torn by sorrow and compassion; it melts with tenderness. The mood is elegiac rather than prophetic. The fragment is unique among the elder prophets; even in Hoses there is nothing quite like it (Ewald). "In a night Ar-Moab is laid waste, destroyed; for in a night Kir-Moab is laid waste, destroyed." Perhaps the ruins of the capital and the fortress may be identified by antiquarians; perhaps not. But what is more important to us to notice is the pathos of ruined cities. What are they but the speaking symbols of man's efforts and man's failures, his soaring ambition, his profound disappointment and humiliation? So the poet in our own time amidst the colossal ruins of Egypt: "I surveyed the generations of man from Rameses the Great and Menmon the beautiful, to the solitary pilgrim whose presence now violated the sanctity of those, gorgeous sepulchers. And I found that the history of my race was but one tale of rapid destruction and gradual decay. And in the anguish of my heart I lifted up my hands to the blue ether, and I said, 'Is there no hope? What is knowledge and what is truth? How shall I gain wisdom?'" (Disraeli). A city is to the passionate fancy of prophet and poet as a living person, a woman glorious in her beauty, and extorting tears from the onlooker in her fall. He sees the people going up to the central temple of the land, not to rejoice, but to weep. Every head is bald, and every beard is torn in sign of mourning for the departed. Figures move about in the market-places, not in holiday attire, but in sackcloth; on the roofs and in the streets universal wailing is heard, and there is beheld as it were a deluge of tears. The hill Heshbon cries, and Elealeh returns a hollow sound, and from far-off Jahaz an echo comes. The heroes' hearts are paralyzed; they cry out with the women in helpless lamentation. The very heart of the land trembles; it is an earthquake of woe. In sudden calamities, the sudden deaths of individuals, the sudden fall of cities, there is an expression of the mystery of destiny which overwhelms the soul. Goethe, after describing the awful earthquake of Lisbon in 1755, which "spread a vast horror over a world already accustomed to peace and rest," speaks of his own feelings as a boy on hearing the details often repeated. "He was no little moved. God the Creator and Upholder of heaven and earth, whom the explanation of the first article of belief represented as so wise and generous, had, in dealing out like destruction to the just and the unjust, by no means acted as a father. In vain his young spirit strove to recover from these impressions; and it was the less possible, because the wise men and the doctors could not agree on the manner in which the phenomenon should be viewed." Without attempting to unravel the tragic enigmas of existence, it may be welt to note how deep is the abyss of thought and passion in our own hearts opened by the tale of such horrors; and thus to learn something of that Divine sympathy which broods over nature and over men, and to be reminded of those tears shed over Jerusalem, already seen by Jesus in the lurid light of its approaching doom.
III. THE SYMPATHY OF THE PROPHET. It is expressed in appropriate figures. His heart cries out with passionate yearning towards Mesh. The city of Zoar seems to him as a heifer of three years old, in all the unexhausted fullness of its strength. This is an image of a fair and fertile land, applied also to Egypt and to Babylon (Jeremiah 46:20; Jeremiah 48:34; Jeremiah 50:11; cf. Hosea 4:16; Hosea 10:1). The roads are filled with fugitives, weeping and raising the cries of death and despair. At Nimrim, the "fair waters," the springs have been filled up with rubbish, and will probably be a waste forever. The greenness of the spot has vanished beneath the hand of the conqueror, and the fugitives, with their savings and stores, are seen hurrying across the brook of the willows into the territory of Edom. From south to north, from Eglaim to Beer-Elim, there is wailing, there is wailing! Dimon or Dibon's (perhaps the Arnon) waters are full of blood. And yet a further perspective of evil opens. A lion is to be brought upon the fugitives and the survivors; probably Judah, as this animal was Judah's tribal ensign (Genesis 49:9). But we must be content to leave the passage obscure.
IV. MUSINGS AMONG THE RUINS OF MOAB. The land has been but seldom visited by Europeans, and their descriptions vary; but all agree in stating that the country is covered with an extraordinary number of ruins. Of the language we do not know very much, but the Moabite Stone shows that it was closely akin to Hebrew. Of the religion we know still less. Of what nature was their great god Chemosh, whose worship Sdomon introduced into and Josiah expelled from Judah? Here almost all is conjectural, and imagination has fled course and unchecked play amidst the ruins of Moab. The ruins are symbolic of human greatness, of human diseases and decay.
"All things have their end;
Temples and cities, which have diseases like to man,
Must have like death that we have."
The moldering stones sermonize with silent eloquence on the old text, "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity." They remind us of man's short life and long hopes. He builds for a thousand years, though he may have but as many months to live. Thus, bearing their witness to the aspiration for immortality, the passion to create the beautiful that—hall not die, venerable ruins of remote antiquity have a lofty spiritual expression.
"There is given
Unto the things of earth, which time hath bent,
A spirit's feeling; and where he hath leant
His hand, but broke his scythe, there is a power
And magic in the ruined battlement,
For which the palace of the present hour
Must yield its pomp, and wait till ages are its dower."
They remind us, by contrast of that which falls not into ruin—the edifice of God in the human spirit; the shrine not to be found on the mounts of Moab or of Judah; the jiving altar on which the fire goes not out from age to age; the element in life which abides forever, when this world and the lust thereof hath passed away.—J.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK
Moab a national type.
Of late years attention has been directed to Moab, through the discovery of what is known as the Moabite Stone, which contains the earliest inscription we have wholly in alphabetical characters. This stone was found at Diban, about three miles north of the central part of the Arnon. Its inscription remarkably confirms the Scripture record. The original territory of Moab seems to have been divided into three portions:
1. What was known as the "land of Moab"-the open rolling country north of the Arnon, opposite Jericho, reaching to Gilead on the north.
2. The "field of Moab"—upland undulating plains, extending from the precipitous mountains overlooking the Arabah and the Dead Sea on the west, to the Arabian desert on the east; from the deep chasm of the Arnon on the north, to Edom on the south.
3. The "Arboth-Moab," or dry tropical regions in the Arabah on the east of the Jordan. The peculiarity of Moab, so far as indicated, seems to have been that for many years it had been undisturbed and prosperous, not affected by invasions or famines; and so, lacking experiences of calamity and suffering, social and moral evils had so grown that at last terrible and almost overwhelming Divine chastisements seemed necessary; and these would cause unusual grief and distress. The Prophet Jeremiah indicates the special characteristic of Moab in a very striking passage (Jeremiah 48:11): "Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed." A contrast is suggested between the national experiences of Israel and of Moab. Israel had known no easy restful periods in her history; she had been "shaken loose or unsettled every few years by some great change or adversity—by a state of slavery in Egypt, by a forty years' roving and fighting in the wilderness, by a time of dreadful anarchy under the judges, by a revolt and separation of the kingdom, and then by a captivity. Moab had been at ease from the first, shaken by no great overturnings or defeats, humbled and broken by no captivities, ventilated by no surprising changes or adversities. He has lived on, from age to age, in comparative security, settled on his lees; and therefore he has made no improvement" (Bushnell). Moab is thus a type of those nations that have long periods of peace and prosperity, and of those families and individuals who have for years few experiences of trouble. From Moab, as a type, we may learn such lessons as these.
I. GOD IS IN OUR TIMES OF RESTFULNESS AND EASE. It is a fact of common human experience that our relations with God are recognized in our times of trouble, but lost sight of in our times of prosperity. It is woe to us when all men speak well of us, and it is woe to us when all things go well with us. Nothing so easily hides God from our view as success attending our own self-endeavors. And yet God is in our times of prosperity, as truly sending them, presiding over them, and working his purpose through them, as he is sending and using times of suffering. No truth needs more constant and varied reassertion than this—God is in prosperity and success.
II. SUCH TIMES OF RESTFULNESS AND EASE ARE SEARCHING TESTS OF CHARACTER. The common sentiment is that troubles alone test us. The truth is, that removal of trouble tests; that holding off of trouble tests; and that bestowments and benedictions test. These, indeed, become most searching tests, under which many of us utterly fail after coming well through our times of tribulation. What is thought of as the inequality of life—the disproportionate allotment of joy and sorrow, success and failure—finds a partial explanation, if we apprehend that a man's success and case are his moral testings, and that, before God, thousands more fail under life's prosperities than fail under life's adversities. Man, looking at Israel and at Moab, would at once say that Moab, in his quietness, was the best off. The issue plainly shows that the lot of Israel was the more desirable.
III. SUCH TIMES OF RESTFULNESS AND EASE DEVELOP PARTICULAR FORMS OF EVIL. Not the same forms that are developed by adversities, but more subtle and more vital evils. All those which come out of centering thought on self—involving heart-separation from God; self-conceit; contempt of others; over-estimate of the material and temporal; luxury of self-indulgence; and those aggravated and degrading forms of immorality which attend unchecked civilization and over-swift development of wealth. We know the moral evils of war-times; we fail to estimate the more pervading moral evils of peace-times.
IV. SUCH EVILS, SOONER OR LATER, BRING ON SPECIAL DIVINE JUDGMENTS. As with Moab. When the judgment comes, it needs to be so severe as to seem a gathering up of all the testing sufferings of years. And though it is still only chastisement, it takes a form that looks like overwhelming judgment. In this chapter the prophet seems to be amazed at the terrible character of the Divine judgment on Moab when it did fall.—R.T.
National distress.
The particular trouble causing such extreme grief was the destruction of the two chief cities of Moab, Ar and Kit. To destroy the capital of a kingdom is to strike the nation at its very heart. Conquerors can dictate peace when the chief city lies at their mercy. Illustrate from the recent German siege of Paris. This chapter vigorously pictures the distress throughout the land when Ar was taken, the rush of people to the border districts, the alarm of those whose property was imperiled, the wail of those who had lost their friends in the strife. Howling, weeping, plucking off the hair, covering with sackcloth, and other signs of despairing grief, were found everywhere; and the cries were all the more bitter because for so many generations Moab had dwelt secure. Here one kind of national distress brings before us that general subject, and sets upon considering—
II. ITS BEARING ON THE POOR. They are always the first to suffer from political or international conditions which affect manufacture, trade, or agriculture. Living upon daily wage, and, when thrifty, only able to provide in limited degrees for depressed times, the poor are most dependent on the preservation of peace, security, order, and mutual confidence. Demagogues urge the poor to a disturbance of social relations, with the promise of material advantage. In the interests of the poor themselves we plead that war, disturbance, revolutionary change, never even temporarily serve their interest. So grievous is the effect of political convulsions on the poor, that no class of the community should more intensely demand the knitting of laud to land by commerce and brotherhood, and the correction of social and political evils by processes which do not disturb the sense of national security. Of the poor the words may well be used, "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength."
II. ITS BEARING ON THE RICH. They are always the aim of attack in lawless times, whether the evil come through aggressive enemies outside the nation, or through turbulent people inside the nation. The one wants "booty," and the other wants excuse for robbery. The rich need national security
National distress becomes especially afflictive to the rich, because by training and association they are unfitted for self-help when their riches are taken away.
III. ITS MISSION AS SENT BY GOD. It is often that which we find illustrated in the case of Moab. National distress, circumstances that unite the whole land in a common grief, and in a common sense of helplessness, is the Divine corrective of the evils which attend prolonged peace, security, and luxury. Those evils may be traced:
1. In the sphere of men's thought. The material is exaggerated, the unseen and spiritual are at disadvantage, and cannot hold their due place and proportion.
2. In the sphere of social life. In prolonged times of peace and prosperity, the separations between classes of society are grievously widened, and there grows up a painful contrast between the few who are unduly rich and the many who are miserably poor. National distress brings rich and poor together, in mutual dependence and service.
3. In the spheres of religion. Like the voyager, men can easily dismiss the thought of God when, for long times together, seas are calm and heavens are clear; but when the skies are black, and the wild waves shake the frail ship, and fear whitens every face, the soul begins to cry for a sight of God and a touch of his protecting hand. We are with God as our little children are with their mothers. They run about and play, taking little heed of her, until the head aches, and the pulse is high, and pain wearies; and then there is nobody in all the world will do but their mother. National distress brings nations back to the thought and love of God. The atheist, the agnostic, and the secularist have their chance when the sun shines; nobody wants such vain helpers when the tempests rage. Then nobody will do but the God of our fathers.
IV. ITS SHAME, IF CAUSED BY MAN'S WILFULNESS OR MAN'S NEGLECT. And these are too often the immediate causes of national distress. War is almost always the issue of somebody's willfulness or masterfulness. Nobody would need to go to war if they did not hanker after something to which they had no right, or were not compelled to resist these envious, masterful folk. And such distresses as come by prevailing disease are usually traceable to men's neglectings of social and family and household duty. God makes even man's errors and sins serve his purpose, but he never ceases to declare woe unto him by whom the offence cometh.—R.T.
Divine judgments in precise adaptations.
The point which arrests attention here is that Moab, being so largely a sheep-feeding country, was dependent on its pastures, and these were dependent on the dews, and rains, and fountains, and streams. To a grazing country no greater calamity, no more precisely adapted calamity, could come than is described in this verse: "The waters of Nimrim shall be desolate: for the hay is withered away, the grass faileth, there is no green thing." Possibly the mischief was wrought in part by the malicious act of the invaders in stopping the wells and defiling the streams. If one thing more than another is impressed on devout minds by a review of life, it is the marvelous way in which Divine wisdom has found the best, most adapted forms for judgment and chastisement to take. Chastisement sent by the Divine Father is always precisely corrective of the evil which has called for it, and always precisely corrective to the individual and to the particular nation. This general subject may be opened out thus—
I. DIVINE JUDGMENTS HAVE PRECISE AIMS. The aim expressed in general terms is—humiliation with a view to exaltation.
II. DIVINE JUDGMENTS ARE DIRECTED TO SECURE THOSE AIMS. And this decides the form and the degree of the humiliation that is found to be necessary.
III. DIVINE JUDGMENTS ARE ADAPTED IN WAYS THAT MAY ESCAPE PRESENT NOTICE. And this occasions some of the gravest perplexities, and sternest struggles of life.
IV. THE ADAPTATION OF ALL DIVINE JUDGMENTS, TO THE SECURING OF THEIR PRECISE AIMS, WILL BE THE DELIGHTFUL DISCOVERY OF THE FUTURE. It will be our reading of our own history, and. of the world's history, when we have learned how to read aright.—R.T.
The insecurity of worldly possessions.
The picture is a striking one. In the national fright, the people are seen picking up what they can of their treasures, and escaping for life to the border districts; learning the lesson that "riches take to themselves wings, and flee away." The word "abundance," in the text, should be replaced by the word "remainder;" and the most probable meaning of the verse is that the Moabites shall carry what they can save of their possessions into the land of Edom. The picture suggests two topics.
I. THE INSECURITY OF THE MAN WHO IS RICH IN WHAT HE HAS. Illustrate from riches
How dependent he is on a thousand things for the retention and use of all! The lesson of Job is that no form of earthly possession can possibly be secure. Land is unlet; money cannot be profitably exchanged; houses get out of repair, and eat up rentals; and goods deteriorate in the warehouses. When ordinary forces leave our property alone, the heavens can send fire; the earth can heave and quake; and by mysterious influences we can be made to learn our lesson, that "this is not our rest."
II. THE SECURITY OF THE MAN WHO IS RICH IN WHAT HE IS. No human and no supernatural forces, here or hereafter, can deprive a man of his possessions in what he is. Character, piety, are beyond reach of moth, or worm, or rust, or storm, or earthquake, or death. It is said of knowledge that a man "only possesses what he understands." It might be said of a man's wealth that he "only has what he is." When calamities come, the man of character never has to gather his treasures hurriedly together and make off for the border-land. Wherever he is, he has his riches with him. Stripped of all his so-called wealth, he is not deprived of one grain. He holds it all, and his riches none can take away. The Lord Jesus men called poor. He was the only truly and perfectly rich man that ever lived; and such as he was we would desire to be.—R.T.
Exell, Joseph S; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice. "Commentary on Isaiah 15:4". The Pulpit Commentary. http://odl.studylight.org/commentaries/tpc/isaiah-15.html. 1897.


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Tumblr is back in the iOS App Store with revisions to guidelines banning 'certain' content
Since its 2007 inception, microblogging and social networking platform Tumblr has gone through several major changes in management, each with a new strategy and set of rules, but none as drastic as the latest policy revision seemingly prompted by a recent iOS App Store ban.
Owned by Yahoo between 2013 and 2017, then transferred under the supervision of Verizon subsidiary Oath, the New York-based company is finally cracking down on pornographic material.
But while Apple reportedly had a problem with child sexual exploitation and abuse photos routinely shared via the popular social media service, Tumblr appears to be taking a stand against porn in general.
That's a move many expect to spectacularly backfire, as a 2013 TechCrunch report estimated a whopping 16.6 percent of Tumblr's total traffic took place on adult blogs. Since Verizon acquired Yahoo, the amount of lewd content allowed on the microblogging platform started to gradually decline, but comprehensive censorship still feels like a risky measure.
Making matters worse, the recently introduced porn-flagging algorithm is… not doing a great job detecting actual vulgarity, which is understandably enraging more and more users. But if Tumblr's primary goal was to quickly return to the App Store, that's been achieved by including certain changes to its Community Guidelines in the latest app update, prohibiting "certain kinds of content from being shown on Tumblr."
You can go right ahead and download or update the app on your iPhone or iPad now, with the same unspecified guidelines revisions listed in the "What's new" section of Tumblr's Android counterpart available through Google's Play Store. You can never be too careful, right?
Tag: Community Guidelines Google New York-based Yahoo
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