BARLEY. 51 



could not have been more than a week or ten days at the 

 utmost, and the barley, being &quot;in the ear/ would soon have 

 ripened ; so that some of the plagues occurred in the first week 

 of March. 



The last mention of barley is in the narrative of the feeding 

 the multitude upon the hill-sides near the Lake of Galilee. In 

 this humble but miraculous feast a lesson of deep importance 

 is associated with the use of the barley loaves and fishes. 

 It suggests the humble origin of the peasant from whose 

 hands those few loaves came; and, moreover, it speaks of 

 the state of mind of the thousands who waited on the 

 Saviour. Of the vast number there assembled it is highly 

 improbable that all were aware of the miraculous fact that 

 these few loaves were rapidly and silently growing in the 

 hands of the apostles. It was to the crowd but common barley 

 bread. And yet we hear of no complaints. All ate and 

 seemed to be thankful for the plain fare to which they were 

 invited. From this, it is evident that either they were all of 

 the poorer sort and accustomed to this common diet, or else it 

 speaks of the wonderful interest which must have attended 

 the Saviour s visits, that those who were of the better classes 

 should have been so interested in his appearance, his words 

 and his acts, as to submit to fatigue and eat of the lowly feast 

 alike with all the rest. This however is the characteristic of 

 a faithful Christianity. It places all on the same platform 

 when embracing the truths and hopes of the gospel, and leads 

 us often to see a miracle of power and love resulting from the 

 presentation of the most common and the simplest truths. 



