-
Articles/Ads
Article THE THREE RABBONIS. ← Page 2 of 3 Article THE THREE RABBONIS. Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Three Rabbonis.
events preceding the dedication of the Temple , tho founders of the sixth degree , and its symbolism , and more particularly the thr . ie Babbor s or the original Most Excellents to which I wish to direct your attention . The founders of any particular structure , organisation or society , are generally
known and of record , provided that the body in question is of modern growth , but when we come to treat of institutions dating back to the genesis of history , then the originators are not always to be discovered ; so it is with some parts of Freemasonry .
We are told that King Selomon made it incumbent upon certain of the brethren to confer this degre 9 , and the deduction naturally follows that it was founded either by him or during the reign of that monarch . The fact is
apparent that soon after the creation men began to associate together in societies or Lodges , and for their protection against intrusion , they adopted certain signs and passwords . The particular object for which most of those associated bodies were formed was to assist each
other to arrive at a knowledge of the author of all exiting things , or the name and attributes of that being . The Assyrians , the Chaldeans , the Egyptians and the Hebrews , all had their secret societies , and so far as their rituals and initiation ceremonies have been revealed , all
seem to have been actuated by the one and the same motive , which was to define God . These are facts which cannot be controverted , so that we are justified in placing the Most
Excellent as contemporaneous with the kings of Israel , which would make it one of the roost ancient in the hist 017 of tho Craft . It is one of those degrees in Freemasonry whose ceremonies reflect certain events famous in Jewish
history , and so intimate is the relationship that they are known as historical degrees , so that in treating of the historical degrees , whether in the actual work of the Lodgo Room , Chapter Hall , explanatoiy or discursive lecture , we must necessarily seek in the records of God ' s
chosen people for the original circumstances from which Bprang the illustrations of the degree , and we find in the sixth chapter of the Second Chronicles the great event in Jewish history so interesting to the Most Excellent Master Mason . More than three thousand years have elapsed
Bince Solomon performed the crowning act of setting the copestone that completed the Temple . It was an important epoch in the world ' s history , as well as in that of the Jewish nation , and it proved to bo tho zenith of that people ' s greatness . The resources of Solomon ' s kingdom
and of tbe nations tributary to that monarch had been taxed to their utmost in order that the great work should outshine in splendour all other human structures , and it is a singular fact , that the decline of tho Jews as a power in the congregation of nations may be said to have
commenced with the completion of the magnificent edifice , which , erected on the sacred mount that had been the scene of so many important events in the life of the choson people , was destined to retain its original splendour for little more than a single generation , so that many of those who
took part at the dedication of the gorgeous Temple lived to see its glories dimmed , its treasures rifled , and its sacred courts profaned by the heathen invaders . The cause of that sudden fall from greatness is not a subject for discussion at this time ; it is fully explained in the Royal Arch Lecture .
In the sixth degree , we have the more pleasing theme of the rise to eminence of a great nation and the culmination of a glorious reign . In most national histories certain individuals acting under divine inspiration lay the plans and build the foundations upon which arise their
country s greatness ; examples are shown in all recorded history , sacred or profane , and in no other people is that fact more striking than in tbe history of the descendants of Abraham . But while it is true that Jewish history like that of the other nations was shaped and fashioned by men
generally actuated by patriotic motives , yet tbe people as a mass were restless and ungovernable ; they were called " a stiff-necked and rebellious people , " and from Patriarch to Prophet , Prophet to Jrdge , Judge to High Priest , and
High Priest ti K ' . ng , they were devout or impious , worshipping the one fciue God or erecting altars to their idols in olBdience to the reigning impulse of the multitude , pnd often in defiance of their rulers . If you will turn to the narrative of the exodus and follow the march of the
Israelites through the desert you will find the smoke of sacrifice ascending from altars erected to the Golden Calf and Brazen Serpent , and their discontent and even open rebellion frequently brought upon them the chastening
The Three Rabbonis.
hand of God . Keeping these points in view , we will consider the Most Excellent Master Mason ' s degree more in the light of a personal reflection of some of tho prominent actors in Jewish history than that of a connected narrative of national events , and in followinj *
that couue we will best carry out the directions of the i nstructor who enjoins us to spread Masonic knowledge , which is the recognised object of all Masonio Work , but more especially that of the Sixth degree . There were three important eras in the history of the
Israelites—the era of tbe Patriarchs , the era of the Judges , and the era of the Kings , with tbe priestly power in conjunction with them all and generally as the ruling power of the nation . The later years of the second era , which was really the Hebrew Republic , and the era of tho
Kings are the two that interest us as Most Excellent Master Masons , especially the reign of Solomon . We may , however , as pertinent to our subject , briefly sketch the career of his predecessors , Saul and David , the two warrior kings , who overthrew the enemies of Israel and
raised the kingdom to a lofty height among the nations of the earth . From the time that Moses had taken his first and only look at the promised land , to which he had led his people through forty years of wandering in the desert , tho Jews were almost constantly engaged in wars with
the nations whose territories they had despoiled , until finally , grown wen ? 7 of the changing fortunes of war and incensed at the corruption of the Judges , they demanded of the Prophet Samuel , ¦ who at that time was the ruling powor " Israel , that he should appoint a king over them . This
' i not the only instance on record where a people desiring to escape from incompetence and corruption had sought a remedy for those evils in a strong or despotic government . Samuel , who appears to have united in one person the
severs functions of Phophet , Priest and Judge , was old and infirm , and recognizing his inability longer to govern the Stat 3 , had appointed his sons Judges over Israel . How they executed the trust assigned to them is best stated in the words of the sacred historian :
" And his sons walked not in his ways , but turned aside r fter lucre , and took bribes , and perverted judgment . "Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves
together , and came to Samuel at Ramah , "And said unto him , Behold , thou art old , and thy sons walk not in thy ways * . now make us a king to judge ns 1 'ke all tho nations , " ( 1 Sam . vr \ 3 , 4 . 5 ) .
In vain the aged and wise priest reasoned with the people and pointed out to them the consequences of such a radical change in their form of government . " Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel ; and they said , Nay ; but we will have a king over us , " ( 1 Sam . viii . 19 ) .
The ways of Providence are often mysterious and incomprehensible to his people , and that he should allow the Jews , in defiance of the wiihos and advice of their Hig h Priest , to establish a monarchy , seems at the first glance like an abdication of divine authority , but we must
judge not so much of the beginning as of the final results . The time was approaching when the tabernacle of skins sheuld give place to the stately Temple wherein the Ark of the Covenant should have a permanent and secure habitation , and that the house for His name should be
built in order that the great object for which tne Hebrew nation had been preserved through centuries of almost constant struggle should be accomplished . To carry out this great enterprise it had become necessary to employ the strong arm of absolute power . The priestly rule was
weak in governing tbe State .. ... The people brought their offerings to the priests and bowed their heads as the incense and smoke of the altar ascended on high , but out of sight of priest and altar the authority vanished , and it was only
an ecclesiastical not a secular government . The rule of the Judges was still less respected by the multitude , and at that time in Israel they had fallen into contempt , so it was only in absolutism that the nation could find refuge .
Surrounded by kingdoms and empires , whose splendour and apparent strength cast into the shade tbe impotent theocracy of the Jews , the poople naturally turned to that which seemed to thera a staple government , and it is
doubtful whether the copestone would ever have been laid , and consequently the solemn ceremonies of the Most Excellent Master Mason ' s degree known to Freemasonry had not the Jews of Ramah demanded of Samuel that he set a king over them . We will consider the first three kings of Israel in the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Three Rabbonis.
events preceding the dedication of the Temple , tho founders of the sixth degree , and its symbolism , and more particularly the thr . ie Babbor s or the original Most Excellents to which I wish to direct your attention . The founders of any particular structure , organisation or society , are generally
known and of record , provided that the body in question is of modern growth , but when we come to treat of institutions dating back to the genesis of history , then the originators are not always to be discovered ; so it is with some parts of Freemasonry .
We are told that King Selomon made it incumbent upon certain of the brethren to confer this degre 9 , and the deduction naturally follows that it was founded either by him or during the reign of that monarch . The fact is
apparent that soon after the creation men began to associate together in societies or Lodges , and for their protection against intrusion , they adopted certain signs and passwords . The particular object for which most of those associated bodies were formed was to assist each
other to arrive at a knowledge of the author of all exiting things , or the name and attributes of that being . The Assyrians , the Chaldeans , the Egyptians and the Hebrews , all had their secret societies , and so far as their rituals and initiation ceremonies have been revealed , all
seem to have been actuated by the one and the same motive , which was to define God . These are facts which cannot be controverted , so that we are justified in placing the Most
Excellent as contemporaneous with the kings of Israel , which would make it one of the roost ancient in the hist 017 of tho Craft . It is one of those degrees in Freemasonry whose ceremonies reflect certain events famous in Jewish
history , and so intimate is the relationship that they are known as historical degrees , so that in treating of the historical degrees , whether in the actual work of the Lodgo Room , Chapter Hall , explanatoiy or discursive lecture , we must necessarily seek in the records of God ' s
chosen people for the original circumstances from which Bprang the illustrations of the degree , and we find in the sixth chapter of the Second Chronicles the great event in Jewish history so interesting to the Most Excellent Master Mason . More than three thousand years have elapsed
Bince Solomon performed the crowning act of setting the copestone that completed the Temple . It was an important epoch in the world ' s history , as well as in that of the Jewish nation , and it proved to bo tho zenith of that people ' s greatness . The resources of Solomon ' s kingdom
and of tbe nations tributary to that monarch had been taxed to their utmost in order that the great work should outshine in splendour all other human structures , and it is a singular fact , that the decline of tho Jews as a power in the congregation of nations may be said to have
commenced with the completion of the magnificent edifice , which , erected on the sacred mount that had been the scene of so many important events in the life of the choson people , was destined to retain its original splendour for little more than a single generation , so that many of those who
took part at the dedication of the gorgeous Temple lived to see its glories dimmed , its treasures rifled , and its sacred courts profaned by the heathen invaders . The cause of that sudden fall from greatness is not a subject for discussion at this time ; it is fully explained in the Royal Arch Lecture .
In the sixth degree , we have the more pleasing theme of the rise to eminence of a great nation and the culmination of a glorious reign . In most national histories certain individuals acting under divine inspiration lay the plans and build the foundations upon which arise their
country s greatness ; examples are shown in all recorded history , sacred or profane , and in no other people is that fact more striking than in tbe history of the descendants of Abraham . But while it is true that Jewish history like that of the other nations was shaped and fashioned by men
generally actuated by patriotic motives , yet tbe people as a mass were restless and ungovernable ; they were called " a stiff-necked and rebellious people , " and from Patriarch to Prophet , Prophet to Jrdge , Judge to High Priest , and
High Priest ti K ' . ng , they were devout or impious , worshipping the one fciue God or erecting altars to their idols in olBdience to the reigning impulse of the multitude , pnd often in defiance of their rulers . If you will turn to the narrative of the exodus and follow the march of the
Israelites through the desert you will find the smoke of sacrifice ascending from altars erected to the Golden Calf and Brazen Serpent , and their discontent and even open rebellion frequently brought upon them the chastening
The Three Rabbonis.
hand of God . Keeping these points in view , we will consider the Most Excellent Master Mason ' s degree more in the light of a personal reflection of some of tho prominent actors in Jewish history than that of a connected narrative of national events , and in followinj *
that couue we will best carry out the directions of the i nstructor who enjoins us to spread Masonic knowledge , which is the recognised object of all Masonio Work , but more especially that of the Sixth degree . There were three important eras in the history of the
Israelites—the era of tbe Patriarchs , the era of the Judges , and the era of the Kings , with tbe priestly power in conjunction with them all and generally as the ruling power of the nation . The later years of the second era , which was really the Hebrew Republic , and the era of tho
Kings are the two that interest us as Most Excellent Master Masons , especially the reign of Solomon . We may , however , as pertinent to our subject , briefly sketch the career of his predecessors , Saul and David , the two warrior kings , who overthrew the enemies of Israel and
raised the kingdom to a lofty height among the nations of the earth . From the time that Moses had taken his first and only look at the promised land , to which he had led his people through forty years of wandering in the desert , tho Jews were almost constantly engaged in wars with
the nations whose territories they had despoiled , until finally , grown wen ? 7 of the changing fortunes of war and incensed at the corruption of the Judges , they demanded of the Prophet Samuel , ¦ who at that time was the ruling powor " Israel , that he should appoint a king over them . This
' i not the only instance on record where a people desiring to escape from incompetence and corruption had sought a remedy for those evils in a strong or despotic government . Samuel , who appears to have united in one person the
severs functions of Phophet , Priest and Judge , was old and infirm , and recognizing his inability longer to govern the Stat 3 , had appointed his sons Judges over Israel . How they executed the trust assigned to them is best stated in the words of the sacred historian :
" And his sons walked not in his ways , but turned aside r fter lucre , and took bribes , and perverted judgment . "Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves
together , and came to Samuel at Ramah , "And said unto him , Behold , thou art old , and thy sons walk not in thy ways * . now make us a king to judge ns 1 'ke all tho nations , " ( 1 Sam . vr \ 3 , 4 . 5 ) .
In vain the aged and wise priest reasoned with the people and pointed out to them the consequences of such a radical change in their form of government . " Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel ; and they said , Nay ; but we will have a king over us , " ( 1 Sam . viii . 19 ) .
The ways of Providence are often mysterious and incomprehensible to his people , and that he should allow the Jews , in defiance of the wiihos and advice of their Hig h Priest , to establish a monarchy , seems at the first glance like an abdication of divine authority , but we must
judge not so much of the beginning as of the final results . The time was approaching when the tabernacle of skins sheuld give place to the stately Temple wherein the Ark of the Covenant should have a permanent and secure habitation , and that the house for His name should be
built in order that the great object for which tne Hebrew nation had been preserved through centuries of almost constant struggle should be accomplished . To carry out this great enterprise it had become necessary to employ the strong arm of absolute power . The priestly rule was
weak in governing tbe State .. ... The people brought their offerings to the priests and bowed their heads as the incense and smoke of the altar ascended on high , but out of sight of priest and altar the authority vanished , and it was only
an ecclesiastical not a secular government . The rule of the Judges was still less respected by the multitude , and at that time in Israel they had fallen into contempt , so it was only in absolutism that the nation could find refuge .
Surrounded by kingdoms and empires , whose splendour and apparent strength cast into the shade tbe impotent theocracy of the Jews , the poople naturally turned to that which seemed to thera a staple government , and it is
doubtful whether the copestone would ever have been laid , and consequently the solemn ceremonies of the Most Excellent Master Mason ' s degree known to Freemasonry had not the Jews of Ramah demanded of Samuel that he set a king over them . We will consider the first three kings of Israel in the