SANDTH TIME, BY REQUEST FROM LOGANSPORT.

"Michal, the daughter of Saul, had no child unto the day of her
death."--Second Samuel, vi, 23. "But the king took the five sons of
Michal, _whom she brought up for Adriel_, the son of Barzillai, the
Meholathite."--Second Samuel, xxi, 8. Dear friend, if you will notice
the last quotation closely you will find that the words which I have
italicised clearly indicate the true solution of the difficulty, which
has no real historic existence. Those sons _were not the natural sons_
of Michal, but adopted sons, which she brought up for Adriel, whose wife
was _Moreb_, the natural mother of those children. But, somehow, it
comes to pass that you refer me in both cases to the first book of
Samuel instead of the second. How is this?

_Second case._ "And it came to pass after these things that God did
tempt Abraham." The contrary does not happen to be a contradiction. Here
it is, "Let no man say when he is _tempted_ I _am tempted_ of God; for
God can not be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man with
evil."--James i, 13. Any grammarian can see at once that there is no
contradiction here. God did (try) tempt Abraham. When was this and what
was it for? Well, it was thousands of years before James's _present
tense_ language was written. Suppose I give a parallel. Here it is: Let
no Jew say when he offers a lamb he offers it to obey the Lord, for the
Lord accepteth not lambs, neither does he require them of any man. The
contradiction is found in the fact that some thousands of years in the
past, the Lord did, for wise and benevolent purposes, require Jews to
offer lambs. Now, can any man fail to see that there is no
contradiction here. God did tempt Abraham. What was it for? Answer. He
simply designed to teach Abraham, in a way that would impress the lesson
upon the mind for all time to come, that the human beings were not to be
offered in burnt sacrifices as the heathen were wont to do. His angel
said to Abraham, "Stay thy hand." See! there is an offering fast by the
horns in the bushes. _Don't kill your son!_ Yes, God did try or tempt
Abraham. It was a grand trial of his loyalty to God. And it was God's
most effectual way of teaching Abraham and his posterity that they must
not offer their sons and daughters in the fire as the heathen did. There
is not only no contradiction here, but a grand lesson also, which
represents God in just the reverse of the infidel interpretation of the