THE IDEAL STATE The tongues of stammerers shall speak quickly and distinctly; Nor the knave be spoken of as princely. 115 Psalm 101 contains one of the latest and noblest social utterances of the Old Testament. It is apparently the oath of office or vow which Simon, the Maccabean ruler, took when he became, by virtue of popular election, the governor, military commander, and high priest of the Jewish people. He it was of whom the author of I Maccabees 1414 declares: He strengthened all the distressed of his people, He was full of zeal for the law, And every lawless and wicked person he banished. The same author declares that he was chosen to be the leader of the people because of "the justice and faith which he showed to his nation, and because he sought by all means to exalt his people." The principles which this marvellous poem voices might well be incorporated in the oath of office of any modern ruler. It is doubly significant because the man who probably uttered it was one of the two or three rulers who, out of Israel's long history, realised in character and in policy the lofty yet practical ideals which he thus dramatically sets forth in the pulsating, emotional, five-beat measure of Hebrew poetry. Here the ardent social reformer is himself the ruler vested with full authority: Of mercy and justice will I sing to thee, O Jehovah, I will behave myself wisely and blamelessly. O when wilt thou come to me? I will walk in uprightness of mind in the midst of my house, I will set before mine eyes nothing that is base. I hate an act of apostasy; it shall not cleave to me. A perverse purpose I will banish from me; I will know no evil. erate. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; He who walks in an upright manner, that one shall serve me. He who practises deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who speaks falsehood shall not be established before mine eyes. Zealously will I destroy all the wicked of the land, That I may cut off from the city of Jehovah all who do evil. THE GROWTH OF ISRAEL'S MISSIONARY ATTITUDE TOWARD ALL NATIONS Influences That Enlarged Israel's Social Consciousness. The development of a missionary attitude toward the heathen world is one of the most remarkable achievements in Israel's remarkable history. From their nomadic ancestors the Hebrews inherited an attitude of suspicion and hostility toward all outside their racial group. The bitter experiences of the centuries that immediately followed the destruction of the temple were well calculated to intensify these feelings; and yet the marvel is that, as Israel's tragic history unfolds, the missionary note becomes clearer and stronger. It represents the superb flowering of the fine old Semitic institution of hospitality. A race which treasured among its most sacred inheritances the memory of Abraham's princely reception of the chance strangers could not remain forever insensible to its obligations to the hated heathen. Even before the exile the unknown author of the prophetic sections of the table of the nations in Genesis 10 taught in concrete terms that the human race was one great family and that all nations were bound together by the bonds of blood kinship (cf. p. 34). With deeper insight Amos, the shepherd of Tekoa, declared as early as the middle of the eighth century before Christ that Jehovah not only ruled over but also cared for the heathen Arameans and Philistines even as he did for Israel. Unquestionably, the wide scattering of the Jewish exiles and refugees after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. was one of the great factors in enlarging their social consciousness. In Babylonia and Egypt they learned through personal contact to appreciate the worth and piety even of the hated heathen. They also perceived clearly their spiritual and moral needs. Thoughtful Jews could not fail to see, even in the hour of their national degradation and woe, that their prophets had taught them truths and principles that were of universal application. As their belief that Jehovah was the one supreme God in all the universe developed, a new sense of responsibility came to them. When the old Hebrew states had fallen in ruin and there was little prospect of material glory for their nation, their racial pride and aspiration also led them to consider the possibilities of moral and spiritual conquests. Above all, their expanding ideals led them to dream of a social order which would include not merely the members of their scattered race but the entire family of nations. Hence, of all the teachers of humanity, Israel's prophets first conceived the idea of a state which would comprise all the races of mankind, and of a loyalty to a common God so broad and all-embracing that it would bring together into one great brotherhood every people and nation. As they contemplated this universal social order, they at last fully appreciated the important rôle which Israel must play in establishing this world-wide kingdom of God. The Recognition of the Rights of Resident Aliens. The first step toward a recognition of the rights of foreign peoples was the opening of the door to aliens who sought refuge and a home in the land of Israel. Originally these had no legal status in the Hebrew commonwealth. The primitive code of Exodus 2221 warned the Hebrews against doing them any wrong. The codes of Deuteronomy, however, by the end of the seventh century before Christ, assured full justice and equality to all resident aliens. They were also invited to come and share all the religious privileges of the native-born Israelites (Dt. 1611, 12, 2611). Above all, the law in Deuteronomy 1019 commanded the Hebrews to love the resident alien. In the Holiness Code of Leviticus 2422 is found the comprehensive enactment: Ye shall have the same laws for the resident alien as for the native born. RIGHTS OF RESIDENT ALIENS 119 The priestly law of Numbers 1514, 15 also imposes upon the resident aliens the same obligations to keep Israel's ceremonial laws as rested upon the native-born Jews: If an alien reside among you, or if any one else be among you throughout your generation and wish to present an offering made by fire of an odour pleasing to Jehovah, as ye do, so shall he do. There shall be but one statute for the assembly, both for you and for the alien who resideth among you. A statute forever throughout your generation; ye and the resident alien shall both be alike before Jehovah. This law probably comes from the fourth century before Christ, when at last Judaism stood with open door ready to receive within its ranks all foreigners who were willing to conform to its civil and ceremonial laws. The influences that had brought about this remarkable change of attitude were many and varied. The traditions of the old Semitic law of hospitality, which even in earliest times made the foreign guest, for a brief time at least, a member of the tribe which received him, were doubtless strengthened by the need which the Hebrews in hotly contested Palestine always felt for increased population. The chief influence, however, was their growing ethical and social consciousness. The fact often urged in the code of Deuteronomy, that they had once been resident aliens in the land of Egypt, undoubtedly was a constant and powerful force leading them to treat the aliens in their midst with justice and consideration and to extend to them the full privileges of the community. This considerate attitude toward aliens within their ranks in turn modified their attitude toward those outside. The humiliating, heartbreaking experiences that came to them during the four centuries following the destruction of the temple also broke down their national pride and awakened their sympathies. The Open Door to the Heathen World. In the years immediately after the Babylonian exile the attitude of the Jews of Palestine toward foreigners was more liberal than that of the Jews of the dispersion. When Nehemiah in 444 B.C. re |