Exodus 28:15-30 And you shall make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod you shall make it; of gold, of blue… The amethyst is a very precious jewel and very much admired. Its colour is a mixture of blue and red. It is a rich purple, very much like the appearance of a bunch of ripe, dark-coloured grapes. The name of this jewel comes from the Greek language, and it means not to intoxicate, or not to make drunk. The amethyst is the temperance jewel. The boys' and girls, and men and women, who make clear, cold, sparkling water their principal drink, should take the amethyst as their favourite jewel. In old times people used to think that if they only had a cup made out of an amethyst to drink from, they never would get intoxicated. And if they only carried one of these jewels about them it would have the same effect. They thought the amethyst was a charm against intemperance, and a cure for it when men fell into this dreadful habit. What a blessed thing it would be if this were so! Then this jewel would be worth its weight in gold, and ten times more than that. But it cannot do this. It is only the Bible jewel, which the amethyst stands for, that can do this. And what is the Bible jewel that may be compared to the amethyst? It is the fear of God. This is the real temperance jewel. I wish to speak of three ways in which this Bible jewel — the true amethyst — the fear of God — will be a temperance jewel to us. I. In the first place it will KEEP US FROM LEARNING TO DRINK. You know what a dreadful thing it is to be plunged over the Falls of Niagara. Nobody can go over there without being killed. And if, when you are visiting the falls, you should see a person sailing in a boat on the river above the falls, to see how near he could go without being drawn over, you would think that a very dangerous position to be in. And so it would be. So long as a person is on the river above Niagara he is always in danger of being drawn over. But if he keep out of the river, he is free from danger. Now, to fall into intemperance is worse than going over Niagara. And learning to drink intoxicating liquor is like sailing on the river above Niagara. You are in danger at any time of being drawn over. This Bible gem, the fear of God, is the true amethyst — the temperance jewel — in the first place, because it will keep us from learning to drink. II. It is so, in the second place, because it will KEEP US FROM TEMPTING OTHERS TO DRINK. It is impossible to tell how much harm is done in this way. God has tried to stop this evil by speaking about it in the Bible. He says in one place, "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that putteth the bottle to him" (Habakkuk 2:15). III. And then there is another reason why this Bible jewel, the fear of God, may be compared to the amethyst — the true temperance jewel — and that is, IT WILL LEAD US TO STOP DRINKING even when we have got into the habit of doing so. When the habit of drinking is once formed it becomes very strong. Nothing but this temperance jewel will enable any one to break off from the habit of drinking. My dear young friends, you know that in Switzerland there are great mountains, very high and very steep. Many of them have there tops covered with ice and snow. Sometimes great masses of this ice and snow will get loose and fall. In their fall they go rushing down the sides of the mountains with a noise like thunder. These masses of falling ice and snow are called avalanches. If travellers, or cottages, or even villages are in their path, they are swept away into instant destruction. When an avalanche is once started, it never can be stopped till it gets to the bottom of the mountain. Sometimes a very little is enough to start an avalanche. The stepping of your foot upon it; the taking away of a loose stone; or even the jarring of the air may do it. What a dangerous thing it is to loosen an avalanche and send it down the mountain side, breaking and crushing everything before it! But drunkenness is worse than an avalanche. And when any one gets into the habit of drinking he is loosening an avalanche over his head which may at any time rush down upon him and kill him. Be very careful how you do this. Don't get into the habit of drinking, and then you will be sure never to become a drunkard. (R. Newton, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it. |
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