THE SITUATION AND BOUNDARIES.—The geo graphical position of Palestine is peculiar. It is central, and yet almost completely isolated. It commands equal facilities of access to Europe, Africa, and Asia ; while, in one point of view, it stands apart from all. The Jews regarded it as the centre of the earth ; and apparently to this view the prophet Ezekiel refers when he says, Thus saith the Lord God, This is Jerusalem : I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her' (v. 5). The idea was adopted and perhaps unduly expanded by the Rab bins and some of the early Christian fathers ;-r. but it is, in principle, strictly true. Palestine stood midway between the three greatest ancient nations, Assyria, Egypt, and Greece. It was for many centuries the centre, and the only centre, of re ligious light and of real civilization, from which all other nations, directly or indirectly, drew their supplies. It is a remarkable fact, a fact which every thoughtful student of history must admit, that during the whole period of Jewish history, light—intellectual, moral, and religious—radiated from Palestine, and from it alone. The farther one receded from that land, the more dim the light became ; and the nearer one approached, it shone with the purer radiance. The heavenly knowledge communicated in 'sundry times and divers manners' through the Jewish patriarchs and prophets, was unfolded and perfected by our Lord and his apo stles. In their age, Palestine became the birth place of intellectual life and civil and religious liberty. From these have since been developed all the scientific triumphs, all the social progress, and all the moral gi catness and grandeur of the civilized world. There was a fulness of prophetic meaning in the words of Isaiah, which is only now beginning to be rightly understood and appreciated ; Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people ; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks' (ii. 3, 4).
Palestine is, by the peculiarity of its situation, almost isolated. Connected physically with the great body of the Asiatic continent, it is yet separ ated from the habitable parts of it by the arid desert of Arabia, which extends from the eastern border of Syria to the banks of the Euphrates, a distance of nearly 30o miles. Another desert, not altogether so wide nor so difficult, sweeps along the southern confines of Palestine, as a barrier against all Egyptian invaders, and in a great measure pre venting communication with that nation. The Mediterranean completely shut out the western world. Thus, on three of its sides—the east, the south, and the west—was Palestine isolated. Its only direct link of connection with the outer world was Syria on the north ; and even there, the lofty chains of Lebanon and Hermon confined the chan nel of communication to one narrow pass, the valley of Coele-Syria. These,' says Stanley,
were the natural fortifications of that vineyard which was hedged round about' with tower and trench, sea and desert, against the boars of the wood' and the beasts of the field" (Sin. and Pal., p. 114).
It was not without a wise object the Almighty located his chosen people in such a land. During a long course of ages they were designed to be the sole preservers of a true faith, and the sole guardians of a divine revelation. It was needful, therefore, to separate them geographically from the evil example and evil influences of heathen nations ; and by the munitions of nature to defend them, and that precious record of God's will committed to their custody, from all assaults, physical as well as moral. It has been well said by a recent thoughtful writer, that the more we learn of its relative position in regard to surrounding countries, and of its own distinctive characteristics, the more clearly is the wisdom of Heaven recognised in its special adaptation to the purposes for which it was chosen and consecrated' (Drew, Scripz'ure Lands, p. 2). But when Judaism was at length developed into Christianity—when the grand scheme of re demption was removed, by the sufferings and death of the divine Saviour in Palestine, from the region of dim prophecy into that of history ; then the religion of God was finally severed from its con nection, hitherto necessary, with a specific country and a chosen people—it became the religion of mankind. Then Palestine ceased to be God's country, and Israel to be God's people. The isolation of the land hitherto preserved the true faith ; the exclusiveness of the people formed an effectual safeguard against the admission of the philosophical speculations and corrupt practices of other nations ; hut after the resurrection of Christ, and the establishment of that pure, rational, spiri tual faith revealed in the N. T., such material defences were no longer requisite. They would have been even prejudicial to the truth. Palestine was the cradle of the religion of God ; on reaching full maturity, the cradle was no longer a fitting abode ; the world then became its home and sphere of action. And at that transition period the position of Palestine appeared as if specially designed to favour and consummate the divine plan, by the ready access it afforded for the mes sengers of truth to every kingdom of the known world. Before the establishment of Christianity, the sea had become the highway of nations. The Mediterranean, hitherto a barrier, was now the easiest channel of communication ; and from the shores of Palestine the Gospel of Jesus was wafted away to the populous shores and crowded cities of the great nations of the West. It is thus that a careful study of the geographical position, the physical aspect, and past history of Palestine, is calculated to throw clear light on the development of the divine plan of salvation ; and to afford some little insight into the councils of Jehovah.