Category Archives: Proverbs

When God gave His Law to Israel through Moses, why did He give it from a mountaintop and not from a valley? Why didn’t God give His Law next to a beautiful stream? Why not in a green pasture? Why on a mountaintop? Pastor Russell H. Conwell wrote in his sermon “Above The Snake Line”:

“In one of his letters the great poet, William Cullen Bryant, who so loved the Berkshire hills {of Massachusetts}, mentioned the fact that when the hills were first occupied by settlers, they found that down in the valleys were very dangerous serpents. The rattlesnake was there, the poisonous adder was there, the copperhead was there. In order to escape these serpents, they built their residences upon the hills. Ancient tradition related that there was a “snake line” above which no poisonous snake ever crept. If a person builded above an elevation of about twelve hundred feet above the sea, no poisonous serpents ever bit his children, or destroyed his property, or endangered his life. But if he built in the valley, he was subject to these deathly dangers. In the old times when the country was settled, every person who approached was advised to build his house “above the snake line.” Above the snake line the early settlers dwelt—those pioneer New Englanders whose emigrants formed the foundation of the middle and western states. The farms were small, the ground stony and difficult to clear for agriculture. The mountains were covered with the primitive forest. The valley soil was richer and more easily worked, but those wise and pious Pilgrim fathers endeavored to build their homes safely “above the snake line.” ”

God offered His Word to Moses “above the snake line”. In order to receive… Continue reading →