Numbers 26:10

"Handfuls of Purpose"

For All Gleaners

"They became a sign." Num 26:10

So even the worst actions may be turned to public utility. Let the word "sign" be considered equal to the word "example," and then every drunkard, liar, thief, becomes a sign. A sign was attached to Cain, and that sign is attached to all his progeny. In the language of the prophet, "the shew of their countenance doth witness against them," A very solemn purpose is thus served, by all persons who have been faithless or wicked. "Remember Lot's wife." New periods are dated from the commission of great crimes. Some names cannot be mentioned without sending a shudder through the hearers. We may well say of such names that they have become "signs." Whole histories may be summed up in a name. All present examples of evil may be traced to a definite source. There is a family or kinship of evil, the very household of Satan. The other side of this text is happily true, for good men are examples stimulating in noble directions. "Ye have heard of the patience of Job." The eleventh, chapter of Hebrews vividly illustrates the power of brilliant examples. One of two things is certain, men either leave a name that degrades or a name that elevates. It is in our power to say which name we shall leave.