1 Samuel 14

Chapter 14. The Land of CabulAnd [Hiram] called them the Land of Cabul (1 Kings 9:13)This is a little chapter from the story of Solomon and Hiram; it is also a chapter from the story of many a Christian life. Solomon had given to his friend 20 cities in the land of Galilee in recognition of his kindness in supplying timber and other material for the magnificent temple which had just been erected; but when Hiram went to view the cities he was displeased with them and bitterly disappointed with the gift of his friend, so he called them Cabul, which means displeasing. There are a good many people still who live in the Land of Cabul—the country of discontent—the clime where the sun rarely shines and the birds never sing. Let us look a little at this inhospitable land, so that we can learn some lessons which will lead us to emigrate from it and live rather in the Land of Beulah, where the sun no more goes down and the days of our mourning are ended. The Geography of This Land There were 20 cities in this country of Cabul. We are not told what their names were, but it will not be hard to guess. The first of these cities was called Discontent, and the people who lived in it were never pleased with anything they had. They were always comparing it with the pleasures of others and wishing they had something they did not possess. Nearby was the city of Envy, which was located sufficiently high to be able to look over the surrounding country, and the point of view was such as to make every other city look as if it lay in the sunshine, which never came to the dwellers of Envy. Everyone else seemed to be better off than they, and as they contemplated the pleasures around them they only made themselves the more miserable. Another city in the same direction was Covetousness. Its inhabitants were always thinking of the pleasures they did not have and wishing for the blessings of others without trying legitimately to secure them. One of the largest towns in the Land of Cabul was Unthankfulness. Its inhabitants seemed to think that they were entitled to all that they possessed and never thought of looking to a higher Power and acknowledging His goodness for all they had. Worry was another town of Cabul. Its people seemed to be always talking about tomorrow, and were constantly making plans against the trials of the future, fortifying themselves against foes which never came and fearing because of the clouds that might come and the obstacles that might intervene. Their fears made their imaginary troubles so real that they were constantly suffering from the troubles that did not come and the worry of others which were never realized. Despondency was another of these 20 cities. The people who lived in it never smiled, the birds were all ravens and owls, the flowers had no sweet odors and the air was malarial and unpleasant. There was another city called the Croaking City, situated in a swamp where the frogs could be heard day and night, making the air dismal with their gloomy notes, and the people seemed to talk in a similar tone. Everything was always wrong. The times were always bad, the weather wretched, they themselves were miserable and the prospects were darker still. On a somewhat elevated plane on this land there was a city called Stoicism, where the people seemed to have a somewhat better feeling and had made up their minds to endure their miseries and make the best of the bad situation, in other words, to grin and bear it. Among the inhabitants there was a general feeling to endure anything, but there was no life or spring of joy or hope. It is needless to say that the people of this country of Cabul had the worst kind of health, and therefore nothing exhilarated them. The other blessings that came to them were poisoned by the miasmas that rose from their dismal swamps and were hidden by the clouds that hung over their murky skies. The rivers all ran the wrong way instead of running out and bearing their foul tides away. Everything about this wretched country spoke of selfishness, and the waters of the rivers, borne by the sluggish tide, were left upon the unhealthy shores to breed poison and death. A heavy mist was always hanging over the country, so that the people could not see the sun that was shining right above them, nor the bright and beautiful forests and hills of the happy countries immediately adjacent. Indeed, when they did get a glimpse of these brighter prospects, the air had a peculiar property of discoloring and distorting everything that made it impossible to see anything in its true colors. It seemed, indeed, a very wretched place to live in. One greatly wonders that it was so thickly populated and why its foolish inhabitants were so slow to fly from its uncongenial shores to the happy regions of peace and gladness, where heavenly messengers were constantly inviting them in vain. The Geology of This Country If we examined the structure of its strata to see how such a wretched country was ever cast up, some interesting things we would find.

1. We see the bedrock of selfishness. Immediately below the surface we would find the soil very hard and impervious. As we examined the rock very carefully we would find that it contained a solid mass of selfishness and understand why the people of Cabul were so unhappy; they were always thinking about themselves; they were always looking at things as they affected their own interest. It is a law of the spiritual world that everything we do for ourselves directly will disappoint us, but everything that we do for others will come back to us again in blessings. This is the very law of God’s own being, the law of His love, and arises from the fact that He is always blessing others and living for others. This is the very law of the universe, and whenever we disobey it by selfishness we defeat our very object and destroy our very happiness. As long as we are looking at our end of things, they will seem to be all wrong, and we shall have a sad and disappointing time. When we rise out of self altogether and live to bless God and man we shall dwell in the joy of the Lord, “and sorrow and sighing will flee away” (Isaiah 35:10).
2. Next was the stratum of worldliness, right under the bedrock of selfishness. The people of Cabul were looking at things from an earthly standpoint and depended for their happiness on the things of life rather than on those holy sources which are above all circumstances and things. God has made us for a higher world, and if we seek to feed our spiritual and moral nature on “the pods that the pigs were eating” (Luke 15:16), we shall certainly die of spiritual dyspepsia. The great apostle could say, “Having nothing, and yet possessing everything” (2 Corinthians 6:10). And the Master Himself once said, “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Our true life finds its satisfaction in the heart of God and the things unseen. When General Gordon met the despot of the Nile, who threatened to kill him, Gordon calmly looked into his face and said, “You cannot hurt me or take away my life, for, indeed, you could not do me a greater favor than to shoot me down, as you threatened to do, for then I would be the more quickly introduced into the presence of my Savior and my Lord.” The Arab was dumfounded. He had never met a man who would defy his worst and could laugh at his most terrible threats, because he did not know anything of God. If you would get out of your misery, get out of your earthliness and selfishness and learn to know your heavenly calling and your Savior’s joy.
3. Next we come to the substratum, Pride, on which the Land of Cabul rests, and we find that the misery of its people arose largely from an undue estimate on their part of their rights and desserts at the hand of God. They seemed to think that they had not gotten what belonged to them and that what they had already was theirs by right, and to forget that they were wretched creatures, deserving only to die, who had been saved only by divine mercy from destruction and ought to realize that the smallest blessing from His hands was a favor far exceeding their desserts, and for which they ought to be profoundly grateful. If we could only see our blessings in the light of our sins, we would be grateful for anything. If we could only see that the smallest blessing that we enjoyed had to be purchased for us by the precious blood of our Redeemer, we would lead a life of praise.
4. Unbelief is another mass of subterranean rock in this land. Could we regard God in all the circumstances of our life, trust Him through everything, believing in His love no matter what may come, we should look over these things and know that it is His love that sends these trials to test us and prepare us for a higher plane of strength and service. If we could see our Master watching from on high until we overcome in a trying place, and smiling with unspeakable delight when we triumph, and turning away with shame when we give up, we would never doubt or fear.
5. Another cause of depression is found in a wrong way of looking at others. There are two ways of seeing people in the trials of our life. There is the misjudging method, which attributes to everything the worst motives; and there is the loving way that always finds some better motive to which to attribute all actions, and a more charitable way of looking at them, thus excusing them and saving us that sense of wrong which hurts us so severely.
6. Wrong motives in our work for God are at the bottom of many of our troubles. Hiram seems to have expected to get a larger recompense than he got. Had he been doing this work for God he would have been paid by the fact of having the privilege and opportunity to do it. When people do their work for the sake of a salary or for the smiles and applause of men or women, their work will turn to wormwood and their joy to bitterness. Love of God will bring its own reward.
7. The secret of all unhappiness and the foundation of all joy is to be found in this one thing—the presence or absence of Christ in our heart. The one joy that is incorruptible and eternal is the joy of the Lord Himself, dwelling within ourselves, and to abide with Him face to face. This is joy; this is the Land of Beulah and the country of Hephzibah, the land where the sun shall no more go down and the days of our mourning shall be ended. The Theology of This Subject What is the practical lesson of this theme?
8. The spirit of gloom keeps us out of Canaan. The beginning of Israel’s failure to reach the Land of Promise was their falling into the sin of murmuring. It was the first backward step and was speedily followed by others which brought on them at last God’s tremendous curse, and left the bones of a whole generation to whiten on the Arabian sands. A spirit of murmuring, discontent and despondency will surely keep us back from a life of communion with God and the power of the Holy Spirit. The first thing in consecration is a complete acquiescence and delight in the will of God, and this is wholly inconsistent with a spirit of discontent, depression and unhappiness.
9. A spirit of unhappiness and discontent will rob us of God’s blessing. He loves to bless the happy and thankful heart, and the soul that nurses its wrongs and feeds upon its grievances shall always have sorrow to grieve over.
10. A spirit of cheerfulness and content is our reward. It fills the heart and life with joy and renders existence a continual delight, while a heavy heart, an anxious mind and a gloomy disposition are harder to bear than are the misfortunes, calamities and ills that could befall the most unhappy life. For our own sakes, if for nothing else, let us dwell in the land of gladness and keep free from the dreary shores of Cabul.
11. A spirit of joy is a spirit of power. It attracts others to us. It becomes a bond of sympathy and influence with other lives. “I am as happy as an angel since I became a Christian,” was the testimony of the Countess of Huntingdon, and that testimony led two of the peeresses of England to give their hearts to God, for they said they had found no such happiness in the world. We are to be examples to mankind of the beauty and the glory of a consecrated life, and as they see us they too will say, “Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you” (Zechariah 8:23). May the Holy Spirit baptize us with the power of a holy gladness and save us from sorrow as well as sin. So let our lips and lives express The holy gospel we profess. So let our words and actions shine To prove the doctrine all divine.