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XVII.
Health and Temperance
Chapter 191
:
True Temperance Reform
1. WHAT was the
original food provided for man?
"And God said, Behold, I have given
you every herb bearing seed, which
is upon the face of all the earth, and every
tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree
yielding seed; to you it shall be for
meat." Gen. 1:29.
NOTE.-In other words, vegetables, grains,
fruits, and nuts.
2. After the flood what
other food was indicated as permissible?
"Every moving thing that liveth
shall be meat for you; even as the green herb
have I given you all things." Gen. 9:3.
NOTE.-From this it is evident that flesh
food was not included in the original diet
provided for man, but that on account of the
changed conditions resulting from the fall
and the flood, its use was permitted.
3. When God chose
Israel for His people, what kinds of flesh food
were excluded from their diet?
Those called unclean. See Leviticus
11 and Deuteronomy 14.
4. What special food
did God provide for the children of Israel
during their forty years' wandering in the
wilderness?
"Then said the Lord unto Moses,
Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for
you." "And the children of Israel did eat
manna forty years, until they came to a land
inhabited." Ex. 16:4, 35.
5. At the same time
what did God promise to do for them?
"I will take sickness away
from the midst of thee." Ex. 23:25.
6. What testimony does
the psalmist bear regarding their physical
condition?
"There was not one feeble person
among their tribes." Ps. 105:37.
NOTE.-When they complained at God's dealings
with them, and longed for the food of Egypt,
God gave them their desires, but sent
"leanness into their soul." See Numbers 11;
Ps. 106:13-15; 1 Cor. 10:6. Like many today,
they were not content with a simple but
wholesome and nourishing diet.
7. Where, above all,
should true temperance reform begin?
In the home.
NOTE.-Unless fathers and mothers practice
temperance, they cannot expect their
children to do so.
8. What classes of men
especially should be strictly temperate?
"Be thou an example of the
believers." 1 Tim. 4:12.
NOTE.-Of all men in the world, ministers and
physicians should lead strictly temperate
lives. The welfare of society demands this
of them, for their influence is constantly
telling for or against moral reform and the
improvement of society. By precept and
example they can do much toward bringing
about the much-needed reform.
9. Can the fact that
the liquor traffic brings in a large revenue to
the state justify men in licensing it?
"Woe to him that buildeth a town with
blood, and stablisheth a city by
iniquity." Hab. 2:12.
NOTE.-In all the walks and relationships of
life, whether in the home, the medical
profession, the pulpit, or the legislative
assembly, men should stand for temperance.
To license the liquor traffic is to legalize
and foster it. It cannot exist nor thrive
without the patronage of each rising
generation, a large number of whom it must
necessarily ruin, body, soul, and spirit.
For the state to receive money from such a
source, therefore, must be highly
reprehensible. The practice has fittingly
been likened to a father catching sharks,
and baiting his hook with his own children.
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