2 Kings 10:15 And when he was departed there, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him… Jehu had been making an exterminating assault upon the idolatry of his day, and Jehonadab conies out to offer him congratulation. They meet half-way: and one exclaims to the other, in all the ardour of friendly recognition, "Give me thy hand!" The mode of salutation is different in different countries. In some lands they kneel before the visitor. In some, fall on their faces; in others they stand upright and give a slight bend to the neck. But when two persons, believing in the same thing, and working for the same object, and trusting in the same God, and hoping for the same heaven, come face to face, look each other in the eye, and cross palms with a tight grip, and shake hands, that is human equality and Christian brotherhood. I fall down before no man in obeisance: I gaze down upon no man in arrogance; but, looking into the face of friend and foe, I am ready to exclaim in the words of Jehu to Jehonadab, "Give me thy hand!" Come, now, and let us get near to each other in a plain, loving, Christian talk. My brother! my sister! my child! I. LET US JOIN HANDS IN CHRISTIAN WELCOME. II. AGAIN: LET US CROSS HANDS IN CONGRATULATION. III. AGAIN: LET US JOIN HANDS OF CHRISTIAN SYMPATHY. IV. AGAIN: LET US JOIN HANDS IN A BARGAIN. (T. De Witt Talmage.) Parallel Verses KJV: And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. |
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