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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cCich6, il est filmd d partir de I'angle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'Images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 m 1 ^1 i 4 ^^, ,.io,c. t-ven„ ,,,, r/, ^'■'^ ./. .i-^.^' ■*-'..^<'ir > '•^^ -iiTm— rr: ■■ ^3?j»4{«r,^ ;';V ff i I l l I . III m i iimw«m mmmmiiim/mmm>mmtii*iiiiiitm0ii mmmmmmmmigt mgmi oopYniaHTCD laa? EDEN, IN THE MORNING OF CREATION / n .Beautiful Ltory -*4k4^-i.^4.* f^ 1^*.^ r-^ *-»-*-.-»4--^*- t ^r i'\\h),\ BO(jK to Till: HOLY miiLH. -4/./. 7///;' i.vkat:-; /^rxoKOf^n in the sacki-d ■ .'c.tL/.Y, fOK TJiy c/rrij), sri'Vf-:,xT, '■. IS r {.\7)/:a-^ r.-i.vj>/.\ a ' f.OH: COD. '■'} INCKI' ^ "•-t.\iV.-~ X A SftinV OF Ilfi-: lUHLE, A.Vlt Td GIVE A ' '. i'ER KNiiW i '>;KVtI>ENCB ANH IMMEASURAULE i . KILlrKM O^ MEN, niwniv.u u Miuv.u as of R^fii^ious E\)OU(ii\)t, '"'VVS Fkt.M GPF'M* W9'T: RKFl.Iv ♦tf'A«tKns. FOR ■• ri 'IVIAN. Rl- VI A OB. n. n. ./*♦./ luUH • j'r.irai and Fifty Superb En^raviui^' from dcsiptx by /I DA, ilu! Converied Jew, DORf% and others of the Jvor/d's j^rcatesf arti\'ts. *MM^V»;/i."f/Vr ALLEGORICAL PLATEii IN 8HiLLIANT COLORS. WM. BRICCS. TORONTO. ONTARIO. I 88«. - 'f^immi^'>0i LuLN.ili IHL iVluHNiNG CF Oill* ' ON The Beautiful Story. ♦+♦++*+•'++». t-^Jr-,-H- f~r-h •-- A COMPANION BOOK TO THE HOLY BIBLE. coNTAixmc A ::akkatiie histoky oi- au. the kvexts recorded in the sacred BOOK, ARRAXGKD CIIROXOI.OGICALr.Y, FOR THE CHILD, STUDENT, MIXISTER, AXD THE EASY iXDERSTAXDIXC, Of ALL WHO LOVE con. DESIGNED TO INCRKASK OUR INTKREST IX A STUDY OK THE BI15LE, AXD TO GIVE A liETTER KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S I'ROVIDEXCE AND IMMEASURABLE LOVE R)R THE CHILDREX OF MEN. TO WHICH IS ADDED (iold^i7 d^ms of Fi^li(§iotJS 5t?oti(^l7t, INCLUDING NUMEROUS SELECTIONS FROM GREAT WRITERS AND SPEAKERS, FOR FIRESIDE READING, SACRED REFLECTION, THE ELEVATION AND HAPPINESS OF THE HOME CIRCLE, AND TO POINT THE WAV TO HEAVEN. "^'1 WRiriKN AM) EDITKD IIY J. W. BU^,^, THE l«13rMOVVNUU WKITER A.NO HISTORIAN. ASSISTED I!V REV. T. DKW'IT'r TAI.MAC.K, n. ID. Ilhistrated with Ttoo Hundred and Fifty Superl) Engravings from designs by BIDA, the Converted Jew, DO RE, and others of the world' ^ greatest artists. MAGNIFICENT ALLEGORICAL PLATES IN BRILLIANT COLORS. WM. BRIGGS. TORONTO. ONTARIO. 1888. Mfc»«l««mi' III! I'liiHilUhjfciyWIj;— « Copyright, 1887, by H. S. Smith, (all rights reserved.) *** The illustrations in this work being from original drawings, and protected by copy- right, their reproduction in any form is unlawful, and notice is hereby given that persons guilty of infringing the copyright thereof will be prosecuted. ns HE BEAUTIFUL STORY is a book conceived in ail hour of solemn meditation upon sacred things. From my youth the Bible has been to me a volume of revelations ; a repository of divine knowl- edge that can only be unlocked by the key of faith and love ; a grand conservatory of precious growths in the garden of human nature ; a treasury of illimitable gifts of God's providence; a record of relationship between the Holy Spirit and man- kind ; all of these, and yet more ; for in it we perceive the handwriting of Deity tracing a history of the race from birth to death and regeneration, and to the glory of a reunion with the eternal Fatherhood, God speaks in all tongues and through all things, yet the original Bible was given us, common heritage as it is, through the medium of only two languages, the Hebrew and Greek. The English- speaking people have therefore to accept the ver- sions of appointed translators, which give rise to differences, not always material but often confusing, since it is not possible to preserve the sense and idea of an original writer in a literal translation. Thus the aid of commentaries becomes necessary, and yet, as each commen tator has to rely upon his individual interpretation of history, and his transla- tion as well, it follows as a natural consequence that there now exists a wide divergence of opinions among learned men in the interpretation of the Scrip- tures, that scarcely stops short of the methods of true worship and even of the means of salvatioii itself. While we may deplore, Ave cannot avoid this result, and must therefore be content to search the Scriptures for ourselves, with an a (xvii) Ill l lJ B I rtt" MMI<^ X.- m INTROD UCTION M \ti^.T^\ iiini ml v^Qi^iiiiinii i^liiiniiil '^tdr'^lmuiil o<(iK}l(ininis^»( i^HPw#rp?i^Fiii!P AM here to let down the bars, so that the flock of lambs and sheep may easily get into the green pastures of this book. Its binding sumptuous, its type luxurious, its pic- tures so many revelations, and its style of thought and expression captivating, rnE Beautiful Story will have an unlimited mission for good. A well-written book that will entertain young people, will interest the middle-aged and the old, so that while the boy will put down his bat and the girl her lawn-tennis racket to read this book, the octogenarian, having adjusted his eye-glass No. 9, will read the story from lid to lid. Books for the young are generally too elaborate or too simple, and the forage for the lambs is either too high in the hay-rack or down under foot. This book strikes the medium. When our older people were children there was no juvenile literature. If the book-appetite arose, they were fed on a slice of Wilberforce's " Practical View of Christianity," or little tid-bits from Edwards " On the AfiFcctions," or were given a few nuts to crack from Chalmers' " Astn>- nomical Discoui-ses." Their fathers and mothers sighed lest these little outs should turn out badly because th-.y liked ginger-snaps better than the West- minster Assembly's Catechism, and would spend their money for marbles whtn it ought to have gone toward furnishing red flannel shirts for the poor heatlutu in Kan;tcliatka. You lost all faith in John Bunyan's veracity, and whistled incredulously when you came to that story about Apollyon. Pictures were scarce, ind a book was considered profusely adorned that had at the boginnitig a sketch of the author in gown and bands and long hair of powdered whitencLiS, and at the close, in ornate letters, the word "/•>";/ /!v," which you were told meant The End, although, after wearily reading it through, you did not know whether it was the end of the book or the end of you. You might as well feed your baby on lobster salad as at that early age to have been expected to digest the books that were set before you. (xlx) J WP XX INTRODUCTION. But now the youth's library is filled with books of large type and tasteful vignette, and lids ridged and flowered and scrolled and columned and starred with all the fascinations of book-bindery. There is now danger that what is called " milk for babes " shall become nothing but chalk and water. Many of the Sabbath-schools are doing much to foster a taste for trashy literature. In some of these libraries you find sentimental love-yarns ; biographies of generals who were very brave and good examples in some respects — when they were sober ; fairy stories in which the fairies had very low morals ; accounts of boys and girls who never lived — books in which there is no more religion than in Don Quixote or Gulliver's Travels. We have been wondering why some reli- gious society did not publish a nice littla edition of Baron Munchausen, with a moral at the end showing our dear little people the danger of tying their horses to the top of a church-steeple. On Sunday night your child does not want to go to bed. He cries when compelled to go, and looks under the bed for some of the religious hobgoblins that come out of the Sunday-school library. Religious spooks are just as bad as any other kind of spooks. A child is just as afraid of Floras, Pomouas, sylphs, oreads, and fairies, as of ghosts. The poor little darling in the blue sack goes home with a book thinking she has heaven under her arm, and before she gets through reading the story of love and adventure feels so strange that she thinlc-i she must be getting lots of religion. In the choice of our children's books let us not mistake slops for simplicity, nor insult our children's tastes by disquisitions about " footsy-tootsies," or keep informing them of the historical fact — which they learned a great while ago — that " Mary had a little lamb," or assemble the youngsters in coroner's jury to clear up the mystery as to "Who killed Cock Robin ?" If a child has no common sense at seven years of age, it never will have. Have at least one book in your library in which all the good children did not die. My carl}^ impression from Sunday-school books was that religion was very unhealthy. It seemed a terrible distemper that killed every boy and girl that it touched. If I found myself some day better than common, I corrected the mistake, for fear I should die, although it was the general opinion that I was not in much danger from over-sanctity. But I do believe that children may have religion and 5'et live through it. A strong mustard-plaster and a teaspoon ful of ipecac will do marvels. Timothy lived to grow up, and we are credibly informed that little Samuel woke. Indeed, the best boys I ever saw occasionally upset things and got boisterous and had the fidgets. The gocdy-goody kind of children make nambj'^-paniby men. I should not be surprised to find that a colt which does not frisk becomes a horse that will not draw . It is not religion that makes that boy sit by the stove while his brothers arc out snow-balling; but the "dumps." The boy who has no fire in his nature niaj', after he has grown up, have animation enough to grca o a wagon-wheel, but he will not own the wagon nor have money enough to buy he grease. The best boy I ever knew before he INTRODUCTION. XXI went to heaven could strike a ball till it soared out of sight, and in the race, far as you could see, you would find his red tippet coming out ahead. Look out for the boy who never has the fingers of a good laugh tickle him under the diaphragm. The most solemn-looking mule on our place had kicked to pieces five dashboards. There are parents who notice that their daughter is growing pale and sick, and therefore think she must be destined to marry a missionary and go to Borneo, although the only recommendation she has for that position is that she will never be any temptation to the cannibals, who, whiL-' very fond of cold missionary, are averse to diseased meat; or, finding their son looking cadaverous, think he is either going to die or become a minister, considering that there is great power of consecration in liver complaint, and thinking him doubly set apart who, while Presbytery are laying their hands on his head, has dyspepsia laying its hands on his stomach. Oh for a religious literature that shall take for its model of excellence a boy that loves God and can digest his dinner in two hours after he eats it I Be not afraid to say, in your account of his decease, that the day before you lost him he caught two rabbits in his trap down on the meadow, or soundly thrashed a street-ruifian who was trying to upset a little girl's basket of cold victuals. I do not think that heaven is so near to an iliy-venrilated nursery as to a good gymnasium. If the Church of God could trade off three thou- sand hogsheads of religious cant for three thousand hogsheads of fresh air and stout health, we should be the gainers, but the fellow with whom we traded would be cheated mercilessly and forever. An antidote for much literary poison is The Beautifui^ Story here pre- sented. The young reader will not by it be fired with an ambition — such as is kindled by much juvenile literature — to run away and scalp Indians on the Rocky MountaiuG. Nearly all the boys that have run away from home, after being brought back, have confessed that they got their inspiration for the foolish deed from some of the books or periodicals for young people. But this "Beautiful Story" is just as thrilling and inspiriting for the right as the other books I speak of are for the wrong. Much of it is dramatic in style — and that is the most impressive of all styles. The Bible is full of it. Here it is in the Book of Judges : The fir tree, the vine, the olive tree, the brambles — they all make speeches. Then at the close of the scene there is a coronation, and the bramble is proclaimed king. That is a political drama. Here it is in the Book of Job: Knter EUphaz, Bildad, Zophar, Elihu, and Job. The opening act of the drama, all darkness ; the closing act of the drama, all sunshine. Magnificent drama 'ia the Book of Job ! Here it is in Solomon's Song : The region, an Oriental rcgicm — vineyards, pomegranates, mountains of myrrh, flock of sheep, garden of spices, a wooing, a bride, a bridegroom, dialogue after dialogue, intense, gorgeous. All suggestive drama is the Book of Solomon's Song! Here it is in the Book of Luke: Costly mansion in the night, all the xxn INTRODUCTION. * windows bright with illumination, the floor aquake with the dance. Returned son in costly garments which do not very well fit him ; perhaps they were not made for him, but he must swiftly leave off his old garb and prepare for this extemporized levee. Pouting son at the back door too mad to go in, because they are making such a fuss. Tears of sympathy running down the old man's cheek at the story of his son's wandering and suflfering, and tears of joy at his return. Hear' Murdoch recite the Prodigal Son in one of his readings, and you will not know whether to sob or shout. Revivals of religion have started just under the reading of that soul-revolutionizing drama of the Prodigal Son. Here it is in the Book of Revelation: Crystalline sea; pearline gate; opaline river ; amethystine capstone ; showering coronets ; one vial poured out, incarnadining the waters ; cavalrymen of heaven galloping on white horses ; nations in doxology; hallelujahs to the right of them, hallelujahs to the left of them. As the Bible opens with the drama of the first Paradise, so it closes with the drama of the second Paradise. I hail the publication of a book like this, because we need by an enter- taining and sanctified literature to fe-enforce our young people. What a battle they have to do right when there are so many influences combining to make them do wrong 1 It may be almost impossible to take a castle by straightfor- ward siege, but suppose in the night there is a traitor within, and he goes down and draws the bolt and swings open the great door, and then the castle falls immediately. That is the trouble with the hearts of the young: they have foes without and foes within. There are a great many who try to make our young people believe it is a sign of weakness to be pure. The man will toss his head and take dramatic attitudes and tell of his own indiscretions, and ask the young man if he would not like to do the same ; and they call him verdant, and say he is green and unsophisticated, and wonder how he can bear the puritanical strait-jacket. They tell him he ought to break from his mother's apron-strings, and they say, " I will show you all about town. Come with us. You ought to see the world. It won't hurt you. Do as you please, but it will be the making of you." Aft^r a while the young man says, *' I don't want to be odd, nor can I afford to sacrifice these friends, and I'll go and see for myself" From the gates of hell there goes a shout of victory. Farewell to all innocence ! Farewell to all earthly restraints favorable to that innocence, which, once gone, never conies back ! I heard one of the best men I ever knew, seventy-five years of age, say, " Sir, God has forgiven me for all the sins of my lifetime ; I know that, but there is one sin I committed at twenty years of age that I will never forgive myself for. It sometimes conies over me overwhelmingly, and it absolutely blots out my hope of heaven." Young man, hear it! How many traps there are set for young people! That is what makes parents so anxious. Here are temptations for every form of dissipation, and every stage of it. The young man when he first goes into dissipation is very particular where he goes. It must be a fashionable hotel : INTRODUCTION. XXIU lie could not be tempted into one of those comer nuisances with red-stained glass and a mug of beer painted on a signboard. You ask the young man to go into such a place, and he would say, " Do you mean to insult me ? " No, it must be a marble-floored bar-room. There must be no salacious pictures behind the counter; there must be no drunkard hiccuping while he takes his glass. It must be a place where elegant gentlemen come in and click their cut glass and drink to the announcements of flattering sentiment. But the young man cannot always find that kind of a place, yet he has a thirst, and it must be gratified. The down grade is steeper now, and he is almost at the bottom. Here they sit in an oyster-ceLar around a card-table, wheezing, bloated, and bloodshot, with cards so greasy you can hardly tell who has the best hand. But never mind; they are only playing for drinks. Shuffle away ! shuffle away ! The landlord stands in his shirt-sleeves, with his hands on his hips, watching the game and waiting for another call to fill up the glasses. It is the hot breath of eternal woe that flushes that young man's cheek. In the jets of gaslight I see the shooting out of the fiery tongue of the worm that never dies. The clock strikes twelve : it is the tolling of the bell of eternity at the burial of a soul. Two hours pass on, and they are all sound asleep in their chairs. Landlord says, "Come, now, wake up; it's time to shut up." They look and say, "What?" "It's time to shut up." Push them out into the air. They are going home. Let the wife crouch in the corner and the children hide under the bed. They are going home ! What is the history of that young man? He began his dissipation in the Fifth Avenue Hotel, and completed his damnation in the worst grogshop in Navy street. But sin even does not stop here. It conies to the door of the drawing- room. There are men of leprous hearts who go into the very best classes of society. They are sc fascinating ! They have such a bewitching way of offering their arml Yet the poison of asps is under their tongue, and their heart is hell. At first their sinful devices are hidden, but after a while they begin to put forth their talons of death. Now they begin to show what they really are. Suddenly — although you could not have expected it, they are so fascinating in address, so charming in their manner — suddenly a cloud blacker than was ever woven of midnight or hurricane drops upon some domestic cir- cle. There is agony in the parental bosom that none but the Lord God Al- mighty can measure — an agony that wishes that the children of the household had been swallowed by the grave, when it would be only a loss of body instead of loss of soul. What is the matter with that hoi^sehold? They have not had the front windows open in six months or a j'ear. The mother's hair has suddenly turned white ; the father, hollow-cheeked and bent over prematurely, goes down the street. There has been no death in that familj'^, no loss of property. Has madness sei/.od upon them ? No, no I A villain, kid-gloved, patent-leathered, with gold chain and graceful manne'r, took that citp of domes- XXIV INTRODUCTION. tic bliss, elevated it high in the air until the sunlight struck it and all the rainbows danced about the brim, and then dashed it down in desolation and woe until all the harpies of darkness clapped their hands with glee and all the voices of ruin uttered a loud Ha! ha I Oh, there are scores and hundreds of homes that have been blasted, and if the awful statistics could be fully set before you, your blood would freeze in a solid cake of ice at the heart! Do you wonder that fathers and mothers are anxious about their children, and that they ask themselves the question day and night, "What is to become of them? What will be their destiny?" In this great struggle between good and bad this book is on the right side. May God speed it on a mission of light and rescue all round the world I and long after the author who wrote it, and the printers who set it up, and the publisher who starts it on its beneficent way shall have closed the work of their lifetime may The Beautiful Story continue a benediction to the human race! /^^d-e^ U^:/C(Z^ 7^ CHAPTER I. PAGB The Story of Creation— Beauties of Eden— The birth of love — First sin of Adam and Eve — Their pun- ishment — Driven from the garden, 33-3^ ' CHAPTER II. Birth of Cain and Abel — The first murder — Caiu is made an outcast — He founds the first city — Enoch, the wise man— Jubal, the first musician— Tubal-cain, the first worker in metal— Enoch translated to heaven, 39-43 CHAPTER III. 8tory of the Great Flood— All the world's creatures drowned save Noah and those with him in the ark — ^The ark floating on a waste of waters — Re-peopling the world — Building of the tower of Babel^ Confusion of tongues — The people are scattered, 44-47 CHAPTER IV. The Story of Abraham — The famine in Canaan— Wickedness of the Egyptians— Sarah taken as wife by the king — A plague sent to punish Pharaoh — Abraham rears an altar — Lot and Abraham compelled to separate — Lot moves to Sodom— He is captured by four kings — Abraham to the rescue — Barren- ness of Sarah is complained of — Abraham takes Hagar to wife — The poor woman afterward driven from his house— Hagar's wanderings with her babe — An angel comes to her aid— Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah — Abraham and the three angels — Abraham is called to sacrifice his only son — Death of Sarah, and marriage "f Isaac — The story of Isaac and Rebekah — Death and burial of Abraham 48-63 CHAPTER V. The Story of Jacob and Esau— The Philistines worry Isaac— Abimelech enters into a covenant with Isaac— Jacob takes Esau's birthright— Jacob deceives his blind father— Jacob's vision— Jacob's hard service for a wife— Jacob marries two sisters — He meets his brother Esau in the desert— The birth of Benjamin- The crimes of Simeon and Levi — Death of Rachel— Jacob and Esau bury their father 64-74 CHAPTER VI. The Story of Joseph- Joseph the tale-bearer— His brothers resolve to kill hitn — Reuben saves Joseph's life— Joseph sold to the Egyptians— Joseph becomes an interpreter of dreams— Interprets Pharaoh's dream — The famine — Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to buy corn — Meeting of Joseph and Benja- min — The brothers brought to great grief— Joseph reveals himself to his brothers— An affecting scene— Joseph sends for his father — Meeting of Joseph and his aged father— Jacob blesses Joseph's children and dies, 75-91 (xxv) ■ ...tL^LMidikir; '.KsMNi' XXVI CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. FAGB The Story of Moses — Oppression of the Jews — Birth and finding of Moses — ^The manhood of Moses — Moses kills an Egyptian — Flees from Egypt and marries in Arabia — Returns to free"the Jews — His miracles before Pharaoh— The ten plagues — The Jews flee from Egypt — Pharaoh's host drowned in the sea — Wanderings of the Israelites — Water brought out of the rock Horeb — Fed with manna — The ten commandments — Moses talks with God, 92-1 ii CHAPTER VIII. Stoning n Blasphemer — Taking a census of the Isruelites — The Israelites resume their joumeylngs — Spies sent into Canaan — Rebellion of the princes — The miracle of Aaron's rod — An earthquake swallows up Korah— A pestilence stayed by a miracle, 11 2-1 19 CHAPTER IX. Hie Sin of Mcses and Aaron — The brazen serpent set up — The Israelites are victorious in two battles — The story of Balaam and the angel — ^The cupidity of the prophet — Death of Moses— A grave made by the hand of God, iao-129 CHAPTER X. Hie Story of Job's Faitli— Who was Job ?— Purpose of the story— Job's great wealth— His domestic joys — Satan obtains permission to afflict him— Job's possessions are destroyed — His children are killed by a storm— He is afflicted with boils— Job's friends — Riches and children again sent him, 130-135 CHAPTER XI. Josbna Chosen to Succeed Moses — Spies sent into Jericho— They are hidden by a woman — ^Their escape— The capture and slaughter at Jericho — The crime of an avaricious man — Stoned to death — Capture of Ai and league of the kings— Strategy of the Gibeonites — The battle of Beth-Horon — Joshua divides the land— His death 136-149 CHAPTER XII. CM is Forsaken by the Israelites — Punishments sent upon them — Assassination of King Eglon — Story of the destruction of the tribe of Benjamin — The great battle of Shiloh — Massacre of the people of Jabesh-gilead — Four hundred virgins made captives— Deliverance of Israel by Deborah — Jael kills Sisera with a nail, 150-160 CHAPTER XIII. The Story of Gideon— Gideon visited by an angel— Called by God to lead the Israelites— Gideon's fleece — A wondrous victory — The rebellion of Abimelech — The murder of sixty-nine brothers — Massacre of the inhabitants of Shechem — The story of Jephtliah and his daughter— Jephthah's rash vow — He sacrifices his only child — The rebellion against Jephthah, 161-170 CHAPTER XIV. He story of Samson— An angel predicts his birth— His marvellous strength — Samson destroys a Hon — Samson marries a woman who deceives him — His riddle — The singular means he took to spread a fire — Slays the Philistines with the jaw-bone of an ass — He carries off the gates of Gaza — How he was finally overcome by his enemies— He pulls down the temple of Dagon 171-180 CHAPTER XV. The Story of Both and Naomi- A sorrowful widowhood- in poverty among strangers— Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz — Her beauty winn a noble lover— Boaz redeems the inheritance of Ruth — Her marriage, 181-185 CONTENTS. XXVll CHAPTER XVI. PAGB The Storj of Samuel — Samuel called by God— Instructed in the priesthood by Eli— Israelites are defeated by the Philistines — The sins of Eli's two sons — The Philistines capture the ark — The calamities that followed it — ^The ark returned— A terrible punishment for profanation of the ark — Israel is delivered through the prayers of Samuel— The Israelites demand a king — Saul ordained king, 186-194 CHAPTER XVII. Hie Reiini of Saul- His first battle— Jonathan's great valor — Samuel's advice to the people — Saul's expedition against the Amalekites — Saul's sin against God — Samuel's prophesies the downfall of Saul — David appointed Saul's successor — David plays the harp to drive away Saul's melancholy, . . 195-203 CHAPTER XVIII. The Story of David — He slays the giant— Saul jealous of David— David compelled to flee for his life — A second time he escapes Saul's vengeance — David in exile — Saul renews the hunt for David — David refuses to revenge himself— David again spare Saul't. life — The ,sin and deception of David — Saul consults the witch of Endor— David driven out v.. the Philistine camp — The death of Saul 204-225 CHAPTER XIX. Darid is Proclaimed King — Assassination of Abner — David laments for Abner — Assassination of Ish- bosheth — David lays siege to Jerusalem — Rebuilding of Jerusalem — David commits a great sin — War with the Philistines — David brings the ark to Jerusalem — David prosecutes a war for spoils — David adopts Jonathan's son— His war with the Ammonites — David's greatest iniquity — Nathan condemns \lavid— David's punishment— Ammon conceives a passion for Tamar— Absalom murders his brother — Absalom's rebellion — Death of Absalom — David's lamentations — David remits the offenses of his enemies — Battles with the Philistine giants— David is punished for numbering the people, 226-253 CHAPTER XX. Darid Prepares to Build a Temple— Adonijah's ambition to succeed David — David's last charge to Solomon — God's great gift to Solomon — Adonijah and Joab slain — Solomon restores a contested child — Building the temple — Dedication of the temple — Building of the king's palace — Solomon visited by the Queen of Sheba — Solomon bows down to idols — Israel is divided — Golden images set up by Jeroboam— Jerusalem captured — The temple spoiled — Downfall of Jeroboam — Asa's great victory — Baasha's war with Asa— Ahab's wicked reign — The miracles of Elijah — Elijah before Ahab — Elijah persecuted by Jezebel — Ahab has Naboth stoned to death — Siege of Samaria— Jehoshaphat's reign — God performs a miracle 254-288 CHAPTER XXI. Ahaiiah's Reign and Dcatli — The messengers destroyed by fire — Elijah translated to heaven — A league against the Moabites— Miracles wrought by Elisha— An army sent to apprehend Elisha — Miraculous termination of a famine— Jehu arointed king — Terrible death of Jezebel — Destruction of the wor- shippers of Baal— The youngest king of Israel— A dead body brought to life — Amaziah's great vic- tories— Jeroboam's prosperous reign — The Assyrian invasion, . . 289-311 CHAPTER XXII. The Story of Jonah— Jonah is ordered to go to Nineveh — Disobeys God — Starts to Joppa by sea— The storm — He is thrown overboard — Swallowed by a great fish — Vomited on to land — He preaches in Nineveh — The city is converted— Jonah's anger — Captivity of Israel — Hezekiah's reign — Miraculous destruction of Sennacherib's army — Hezekiah escapes death by a miracle — Capture of Manasseh — JosiiUi kills the false prophets — Amon is murdered— Josiah becomes king — Josiah slain in battle — Destruction of Jerusalem— The rule of Jehoiachin— Captivity of Judah—Zedekiah's eyes burned out, 312-319 XXVUl CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXIII. MAS The Jews Become Oracles In Babylon — Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar's dream— Predictions of tbe coming of Christ — ^The three Hebrews in a fiery furnace — Nebuchadnezzar becomes insane -Belsha^ zar's feast — Daniel is cast into a den of lions — Daniel's prayer for Jerusalem — Daniel's visions, . . • ^30-341 CHAPTER XXIV. Betnm of the Jews from Captirity — Rebuilding of the temple— Ezra goes to Jerusalem — Separation of the Jews and their wives taken from other nations, 34*-345 CHAPTER XXV. The Story of Esther — ^Vashti disobeys the king — Esther chosen to succeed her as queen — The king orders the Jews to be slaughtered— How Esther saved her people — Mordecai's triumph— Execution of Haman, 346-357 CHAPTER XXVL Nehemiah sent to Bebnild Jemsalem — Celebrating the restoration — Abuses reformed — ^Nehemiah the seal of the prophets, 35S-363 CHAPTER XXVII. The Apocrypha — Discussion of its admission to the Bible — Israel after Nehemiah's death — A second temple built by a schism in the church — ^Alexander the Great— Jerusalem captured by Ptolemy — ^The death of Simon — Eleazar — Heliodorus scourged by an angel, 343*'372 CHAPTER XXVIII. The Sack of Jemsalem— Pollution of the temple — Dreadful persecution of the Jews — Horrible punish- ment of a mother and h^r seven sons — Deliverance of the Jews by Maccabeus — Battle with the Syrians — Eleazar slain by an elephant — Alexander the Horrible — Mark Antony and Cleopatra — Onelty of Herodi 374-393 BIRTH OF CHRIST. CHAPTER XXIX. The Fonr Gospels — A golden promise — An angel appears to Zacharias— Gabriel appears to Mary— The birth of John — The birth of jESUs — An angel announces the glad tidings — Naming of Christ — Herod murders the children of Bethlehem — Escape of Jesus— JKSUS disputes with the doctors — Preaching of John— John declares the coming of Christ— John baptizes Jesus — The forty-days' fast, and temptation^The first miracle — Money changers driven from the temple — Conversion of Nico- demus— John is beheaded— Jesus discourses with a Samaritan woman — Healing of the nobleman's son — ^The Nazarenes conspire to kill jESUs — Miraculous draught of fishes — Healing the sick — Heal- ing of a leper— Jesus illustrates His discourse — The Pharisees demand His punishment — Christ heals the cripple — Twelve apostles chosen— The centurion's faith is rewarded — jESUS raises the widow's son— JKSUS anointed by a penitent woman— Parable of the sower — Parable of the tares and mustard seed 393-447 1 CONTENTS. XXIX »-34» >-345 ■357 -36a CHAPTER XXX. Jeans Calms the Tempest — Devils cast out of two demoniacs — The raising of Jairus's daughter— Jesus leeds the multitude— jESUS walks on the sea —The true bread of life— Jesus predicts His death and resurrection — The disciples are scoffed at — Parable of the generous king — Healing the ten lepers — Parable of the good Samaritan — The two Marys — The woman taken in sin — A blind man healed — Parable of the good shepherd — Raising of Lazarus^ESUS escapes to the wilderness — Parable of the great supper — Parable of the prodigal son — Parable of the rich man and Lazarus — The Pharisee and publican — The rich young man— Parable of the laborerb, CHAPTER XXXI. PAGE 448-483 Zacchens Acknowledges Christ — ^The triumphant entry into Jerusalem— Parable of the vineyard — Para- ble of the wedding feast — The poor widow's mite — Destruction of the temple foretold— Parable of the ten vi.gins — Parable of the talents — Designs against the Lord's life — The last supper — The passion in the garden — Betrayal of jESUs— J ESUS taken captive— Peter's denial 484-500 CHAPTER XXXII. The Trial of Jesns— Pilate tries to save Him— They cry, "Crucify Him!"— jESUS is mocked and scourged — Remorse and suicide of Judas — The crucifixion — The soldiers divide His garments — Christ's last words — The manner of crucifying practised by the Jews — Horrible sufferings — ^The earthquake— Graves give up their dead — ^The burial of jESUS 501-514 ■372 CHAPTER XXXin. The Resurrection of Christ— Jesus appears to the disciples — The doubts of Thomas— Mary meets JBSUS — A miraculous haul of fishes— Jesus eats with the disciples — ^The ascension, 5 '5-523 m CHAPTER XXXIV. ■ ^ AcU of the Apostles — Birst miracle of John and Peter- Arrest and trial of the apostles— Punishment of Ananias and Sapphira — Seven deacons chosen — Conversion of the eunuch — Stephen is stoned to death — Conversion of Saul — Ananias sent to restore Saul's sight — The Jews seek to kill Paul — Resurrection of Dorcas — Conversion of Cornelius — Peter's vision — An angel delivers Peter from prison — Paul is called to Antioch — Paul and Barnabas driven from Antioch — The two afterward return, 524-539 CHAPTER XXXV. Panl and Barnabas Dispute — Paul and Silas are scourged — ^The people again threaten Paul — Paul teaches the Athenians— The Unknown God— An evil spirit punishes the impostors— Paul is appre- hended at Corinth — A mob goes crying through Ephesus — A young man is killed, but restore.:*, to life — Paul arrested in the temple— The people again try to stone Paul— Shipwreck of Paul — Riot in Rome, and Paul's death— Crucifixion of St. Peter— Exile of St. John— Visions of St. John on lonely Fatmos, . 540-556 * s^i^^Si;^ £^S£!i;giS:^iSr^SSSSSS£$^S;@^^g£i^S^£S'^S^S^S:^ GEMS OF RELIGIOUS THOUGH T i^^imiini»iiiiPia^inii^nii»i^iiiB'l^ AUTHOB Parker. Enlogy of Henry Watd Beecher . Heaven our Home Prentice ▲ Christian Man's Life Humility Allston A Wood Note Howitt Summer Woods Burleigh Oatching Shadows Hanna/erd . 561 Poor Wife, She's Dead .... Anotkytnous . 562 The Rainy Day Longfellow . 562 PAG8. • 557 ■ 559 559 • 559 • 560 • 560 A Year in Heaven Larcom . Death the Gateway to Joy Talmage Shun the Bowl Darker . Evenlight Rodd . . Rest Lathrop . 563 563 564 565 565 ACTROR. FACa. December and May Hood , . . 566 Two Pictures Douglass. . 567 A Memory H^.E.H.. 568 Rain on the Roof Kinney . . 569 The Dead House Lowell . . . 569 Memory Garfield . . 570 The Death-Bed Mood ... 571 The Brotherhood of Man IVashington 571 The Hour of Death Heinans . . 572 Music in Camp Thompson . 573 On the River Havers . . 574 Shall We Meet Again ? Prentice . . 575 Annabel Lee Pae .... 515 BENEDICTION Psalms ... 576 (XXX) 56« 567 56S 569 569 570 571 571 572 73 74 75 J5 b6 Colored Plates. presentation. Eden, in the Movnlng of Cveatien. Jaeob's Dpcam, pindlng of Moses. aephthab's Hash Voai. Aseent of Elijah. Daniel in the Iiion's Den. Jesus Ulalking on the Wateir. Gethsemane. ChPist BetoPe Pilate. Map of Palestine. O Ci>ave, Uihetfe is thy Vietovyf Choloe Initial bettava. Symbolle End Pieees. A Memory PAGE 568 Aaron's Tomb, 121 Abraham and the Three Angels, 55 Abraham's Vision of the Promised Land, .... 57 "Abraham, Lay not thy Hand upon the Lad," . . 58 Adam and Eve Expelled from the Garden 37 After the Deluge, 45 Ahasuerus Celebrating his Marriage with Esther, . 348 Ahasuerus Receiving Esther, 350 Alexander at the Siege of Tyre 366 Amaziah Driving the Edomites over the Rocks, . 307 An Angel Leads the Army of Joshua, 145 Ananias and Sapphira, 527 Ancient Babylon, 336 Ancient Corinth 545 Angel Appearing to Joshua, 140 Angel Releasing the Apostles 529 Annunciation, The . . 396 Ascension, The 523 Aquilp. and Priscilla 546 "Arise, Take up thy Bed, and Walk," 440 Balaam Confronted by an Angel 124 Barak before Deborah 158 Battle between Antigonus and Ptolemy, 369 Benediction, 576 Bethlehem, 394 Brazen Serpent Lifted Up 122 Cain and Abel Sacrificing 40 Call of Matthew, 442 Capture of Babylon by Cyrus, 338 Capture of Jerusalem by the Romans 386 Capture of Maidens at Sbiloh, 157 Catching Shadows 561 Christ Falling beneath the Cross, 512 Confusion of Tongues at Babel 47 Creation of Eve 34 Crowning the Infant Joash 305 Daniel Bound and Cast to the Lions 340 Daniel Interpreting Nebuchadnezzar's Dream, . . 329 " Daughter. Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole," 453 David Addressing Saul, 215 David Besieging the City of Rabbah, 239 David Cutting off Saul's Skirt, 214 David's Fight with the Giant, 205 David Playing before Saul, 203 David with Goliath's Head 207 Death of Pharaoh's First-bom, TAGH lo3 Death of Sapphira 538 Death of the Widow's only Child 276 December and May 566 Defeat of the Ammonites, 198 Defeat of the Midianites, 128 Defeat of Sisera, 159 Delilah Deceiving Samson 177 Departure of the Prodigal Son, 477 Destruction of the Benjaminites 154 Destruction of Shechem by Abimelech, 166 Earthquake at Philippi, 541 Eleazar Killed by an Elephant, 383 Elijah Carried to Heaven in a Chariot of Flame, . 291 Elijah Fed by the Ravens, 286 Elijah Persecuted by Jezebel, 280 Elijah Raises the Widow's Son 277 Escape of David 210 Esther Preparing to Meet the King, 349 Esther Swoons before the King, 351 Evenlight 565 Execution of the Prophets of Baal, 278 Ezra Reading the Book of the l^aw, 361 Faithful Servant. The, 491 Falling of the Walls of Jericho, 141 First Miracle, The, 416 First Murder, The, 41 Finding the Cup in Benjamin's Sack, ...... 86 Flood, The 43 Gabriel .Speaking to Zacharias 396 Garden of Gethsemane 497 Gideon Convinced by the Fleece 163 Gladiator's Wife, The, 390 Gleaners, 185 Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert 53 Haman Begging for his Life, 356 Ilaman Leading Mordecai through the Streets, . . 354 Happy Days of Job 132 "He IS not here, but is risen," 517 " I le that is without sin let him cast the first stone, ' ' 469 Head of Jesus, 521 Heliodorus Punished in the Temple, 372 Herodias 421 Herodias Receives the Head of John 424 Herod Commanding a Cessation of the Slaughter, 389 Hiram Sends Messengers to King Solomon, . . . 261 (xxxi) XX XIX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. m 1 His Name Is John, pagb 398 Honoring Joseph in the Palace of Pharaol., ... 81 HorriMe Death of the Iniq'iitous Jezebel, ... 302 Idol of Baal in the Hermoi: Valley, 165 Image of Gold Set up for Daniel, 334 Israelites Vowing to Avenge the Levite Woman. . 153 Jacob Embaltned, 90 Jacob, Leah and Rachel 69 Jacob Tending the Flocks of Laban 68 Jacob's Vision, 67 Jacob Wrestling with the Angel 71 James and John are Called 414 Jephthah's Daughter Going to Meet her Father, . 169 Jeremiah Cast into the Dungeon 326 Jesus about to be Betrayed, 495 Jesus aud the Woman of Samaria, 426 Jesus at Twelve Year"; Old in the Temple, .... 407 Jesus Asleep in the Storm, 449 Jesus Bearing his Cross 509 Jesus Clearing the Temple, 418 Jesus Entering Jerusalem amid llosannas 485 Jesus Mocked, 507 iesus Preaching and Healing, 455 esus Preaching in the Synagogue, 465 esus Tempted of the Devil, 413 Jesus the Carpenter's Son, 408 Jesus Washing Peter's Feet, 494 Jews Carried away Captive to Babylon, 328 Jews in Bondage to the ICgyptiaiis 93 Joab Assassinating Amasa, 250 Joab Killing Absalom 248 Jioab Momiling the Walls of Jerusalem 232 Job and his Tliree Friends, .134 Joseph and ^lary at the Inn, 4cx) John iind Mary 511 John the Baptist in the Wilderness, 410 Jonah Cast into the Sea 313 Jonah Warning the People of Nineveh, 314 Jordan, the Traditionary Bithing-pluce of Naaman, J96 Joseph Cast into the Pit, 77 Joseph's Dream, 78 Joseph Interpreting Pharaoh's Dream, 83 Joseph Reveals himself to his Brothers, 87 Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Sti'! . . , 147 Joshua Watching the Destruction of Ai . . 143 Judith with the Head of Holoferues . 378 King David — from Gustave Moreau's Painting, . 255 Kiss of Betrayal, 498 Lazarus before the Rich Man's Door, 480 Lions Destroying Christians, 555 Lot and his Family Fleeinj^ f'om Sodom 56 Mark Antony at the Battle of Actium 3S8 Martha Meeting the Lord 472 Meeting of David and Mephibosheth, . 237 Memory, 570 Miraculous Destruction of Sennacherib's Army, . 318 Miraculous Draught of F'ishes 430 Miriam's Song of Tiianksgiving, 107 Moses and .'\aron before Pharaoh, 9S Moses Breaking the Tables, no Moses Laying liis Hands upon Joshua 137 Mos(|ue over Machpelah, 72 Mount Sinai 109 Muider of (jueen Athaliah, 308 Murrain, The Plague cf, 100 Nabal Celel)ratiug Harvest Close 216 Naboth l)erore King Ahab 2S2 Oak of Abraham, . . 62 One Thankful Leper, , 464 On the River, 574 Palace of Nebuchadnezzar iu Babylon 33a Parting of David and Jonathan, PAGE 212 Paul Shipwrecked, 553 Paul the Guest of Festus 551 "Peace Be Unto You," 520 Peter Denying the Lord 5ck» Peter Weeping Bitterly 50^ Pilate Declaring Jesus Innocent, 51)5 Pool Before Askelon — Still Existing i.Sii Pool of Bethesda 431; Pool of Elisha, 29 ^ Pool or Wells of Moses, 104 Poor Wife, She is Dead 562 Pharaoh's Host Swallowed up loi Pharaoh's Musicians 96 Priests and Furniture of the Tabernacle, 114 Punishment of Antiochus, 379 Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon 265 Rachel's Tomb, 7\ Rebekah at the Well, 61 Rebekah Coming to the Well 6.s. Return of the Prodigal Son 478 Return of the Spies 116- Rich Young Man Sorrowful 482 Rod of Aaron Budded 119, Ruins of Shiloh 187 Ruth and Naonn, 182 Ruth Gleaning in the Field of Boaz, 183 Ruth the Gleaner 184 Salome . 423 Salome Dancing Before Herod, 422 Samson Pushing Down the Pillars 179 Samson Slaying the Philistines, 176 Satnso.i Tearing the Lion 173 Samuel Rebuking Saul, 200 Sarai anil Hagar, 50 Sarai in the Household of Pharaoh -49 Saul Anointed King by .Samuel . 193 S.uil's Las* Battle 223 Saul's Visit to the Witch FIndor, 220 .Saul of Tarsus Smitten to the Ground 532 Scril)es and Interpreters of the Law, 311 Scrilies Reading the Law to Ahasuerus, 353 Sealing the Sepulchre, 516 .Services at Dedication of the Temple, 263 Sibbechai's Victory o»-er the Philistine Warriors, . 251 Siege of Jerusalem — Showing Ancient Weapons, . 231 Solomon': »Iarem, 267 Sclcmon t)rderiii<; the Children to be Divided, . 258 Shepherds K-.opiiig their Flocks by Night, . . 402 .Slaughter of Ahab's Sons, 303 Syrian. 4 Scaling the Walls of Samaria, 284 Tabernacle, The 1 13 Taking Down the Precious Body 573 TeiiipU- of .Solomon Restored, 262 Theatre of Dion vsius at Athens, 544 The Death-Bed,' 571 The Hour of Death, 572 There is Horn a .Saviour, 403 "Thou art the Man!" 341 "Tiiy Sins be h'orgiven Thee," 434 Tiberias 450 Transfiguration, The, 460 Two Pictures, 567 Tyjie of S(iu.ire .\ssyrian Temple, 337 Vision of the Cherubim 38 Witch of lindor, ... 221 "Who Touched Me?" 45a Woman Kissing tlie F'eet of Jesu* 444 "Woman, Thou Art Made Well," 475 Woman Wiping Jesus' Feet, 49a Worshipping tiie Golden Calf, loH 551 52" 5«> 5f'2 5"5 l.V) 43'/ 29 > IU4 562 loi y6 114 379 265 61 6.S. 478 116. 4«ii 119 187 182 if*3 184 423 422 J 79 176 173 200 50 49 193 223 220 53a 311 353 516 263 251 231 267 258 4U2 303 384 "3 573 265 544 571 57s 403 241 434 450 460 567 337 38 aai 45a 444 475 492 loH The Beautiful Story. I I I CHAPTER I. THE STORY OF CREATION. Genesis. EFORE our beautiful world was brought into existence by the conunand of God, there was neither sun, moon, stains nor living thing ; yet there was a heavenly host, and the King of kings sat on His great white throne and received the praises of those radiant beings, the cherubim and sera- phim (cherubs and seraphs) who, after the creation, became messengers between God and man, and guardians at the gates of Paradise. The Bible does not tell us much about the angels that were born in the celestial cit}', n^r of God, before the world was fashioned by His mighty hand, but is chiefly a record of the works of the Almighty and His relation to mankind as the Father of all. The first story in the Bible is that of creation — how the world was n:ade. As there were no men on the earth until after God's great labor had been accomplished, no one would have been qualified to write a history of creation had not God inspired some man with the knowledge necessary thereto. And this is what He did. In the days of Moses there were none, not even the wisest, who knew how the world came into being, or how it had once been drowned for its wickedness. Desir- ous that His children should be enlightened upon the manner in which the world was spoken into existence, God endowed Moses with the gift of revela- tion, by which he was enabled to describe things he had never seen or heard of, for it was indeed God who directed his hand in the writing, so that Moses was but the instrument, or the pen, wliich God used to tell the story of crea- tion. It was thus that the first five books (called the Penlaltinh) of the Bible were written. The beginnitig of God's labor was the creation of the earth, and of heavcn> which was the air, or atmosphere, round about the earth, Am heaven itself already existed. We still call the blue vault overhead, studded witl" Mie bright constellation of stars, the heavens, and it was this heaven, in contradistinction from that which is tl.e abode of God, that is thus referred to by Moses. The S ' (33) ErT»^ ■ -■'■'■■ i^^-'- ai w (34) TIIK CKUATION Ol' KVK. " Aud the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam."— GKN. ii. ai. THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. «$■ earth was without form and in darkness, until by the divine commaiid the sun and moon and stars burst into being and cast their first light upon the new world. The light and darkness were now separated so that at appointed times the earth should be bathed with the sun's rays, and again be covered with darkness, and these changes God designed should occur every twelve hours. The former He therefore called day, and the latter night. He divided the waters and made the dry land to appear, and in the latter planted the seed of every kind of tree, grass, and herb, which were made to spring up and yield their fruit to bless the earth, and the creatures which were speedily to be brought into being. The waters were now made to bring forth fish of every species, including the great whales md other monsters which belong to the deep, and winged fowls were made to fly above the waters rud the earth. Then followed the creation of all manner of beasts and cattle, and things that creep as well, so that on the last day of God's labor the earth was teeming with life, both great and small, blessed by His generous hand, and ready for the dominion which He was about to give to a creature yet unborn to exercise over them. Over all this beautiful world, so fresh and perfect, so wondrous with rich vegetation and marvellous with abundant and diversified life, God cast his grati- fied eye, and was pleased with His labor. But His great work was yet incom plete, for though all things which He had made were beautiful and perfect. He had given to none of His creatures the divine attribute — reason — which could make them mindful of His goodness and thefr dependency upon His bounty and mercy. To complete the measure of His omnipotence, God therefore said unto the cele-stial host by which He was surrounded, " Let us make man in our image, after our likeness." And so God fashioned Adam in His own image, and gave to him dominion over every living thing that was on the earth, and made every tree and herb to bring forth fruit for him. It was on the seventh day that God completed His work of creation, and I He rested on that day and blessed and sanctified it, being greatly pleased with * what He had done. ■■■% But after resting one day God returned to His labor, not of creating, but of preparing the earth for the being He had fashioned in His own likeness. I The record of Moses tells us that "the Lord God planted a garden east- ward in Eden ; and there He put the man whom He had formed." In this garden God made to grow every tree and flower that was beautiful to the sight, , and that yielded the most delicious of fruits. In this garden Adam was placed and told to freely eat of everything that plcr.scd him except of the fruit of a single tree that stood in the centre of this earthly paradise, and of this he was forbidden to touch. God told Adam that this tree bore fruit which was mortal to the taste, and that if he ate of it the penalty would be death. After giving possession of the garden to Adam, God caused every species of bird, animal and reptile that He had created to pass before Adam, who gave "'^. 36 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. to each the name by which it should ever afterward be known. But though Adam had dominion over every living thing, and was set in the midst of all the beautiful things that prolific and exuberant nature could yield, he was never- theless lonesome, and sighed for a companionship whicli nothing that God had yet made could supply. The birds of the air builded their nests and warbled sweetly their orisons together, while the beasts of the field lay down beside each other or sported over the green fields in happj' freedom and joyfxil com- munication. Adam alone was without a mate to share the pleasures of Eden with him, a lonely creature amid the splendors of paradise. God had compassion upon Adam, however, and resolved to give him a companion that should make happy the days, and fill his heart with renewed thanksgiving. Accordingly, God caused a deep sleep to fall upo7i Ad^im, and while he slept a rib was taken from his side, which God fashioned into a woman, and when Adam awoke the most beautiful of all of God's creatures stood before him to be his companion lor life, a joy unspeakable to his heart, a peace pure arid perfect to his soul. This was the birth of love, the holiest feeling that God ever planted in human breast, the link that binds us in image> likeness, and aspirations to God the Father, the bond that neither time nor grave can sever. Now was Adam happy, and the companion whom God had thus provided, whose name was called Eve, minislered to his joy as only a loving w'ife can. How were their hearts gladdened by the pride that burst from everj'^ flower scattering its incense, and every tree laughing with its golden fruit, and every herb jnelding its succulent roots. But with all these wayside pleasures, limpid streams, musical winds, singing birds, delicious fruits, fragrant buds, and eyes that reflected love's image, hearts speaking loyal devotion, and words garlanded with honeyed phrases, there was tlnit in the midst of these which should turn the heart from loving and the soul from th inkfulness. Within this beautiful garden there was a serpent tempter, who was nu)re cunning than anj^ beast of the field, and he came to Eve, assuming the appearance of one wise, and said, "Yea, hath God said yc sliall not eat of every tree of the gaiden ?" Then live answered him by saying they were permitted to eat the fruit of e\ery tree in the gardcMi except of the one which stood in the centre, and this they were f()rl)idden even to touch under penalty of death. The tempter, howe\er. l)eguiled her with assurances that the fruit was not hurtful, but as grateful to the taste as to the sight, and, moreover, that the eating of it would make her as wise as God himself These specious promises at length so excited the curiosity of I'yve that she took the fruit and ate of it, and finding it pleasant to the taste, she persuaded Adam also to eat. When they had committed this great sin they heard the voice of Ciod calling to them in the garden, and they hid themselves, being conscious of their guilt, and fear-stricken for the punish- lucut that they had thus merited. God asked Adam and Eve if they had eaten of the forbidden fruit, to which THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 0/ ut though idst of all was iiever- ; God had d warbled wii beside )3^ful coni- i of Edcu ^'c him a 1 renewed .d.lm, and xl into a creatures his heart, ;ie holiest in iniage^ time nor provided, w'ife can. r}' flower nd every s, limpid and e3-es arlanded nld turn leantiful )east of nd said, he fruit tre, and tempter, but as t would excited )loasant ed this id they punish- ) which they made repl}' that they had done so, being tempted and deceived by Satan. Whereat God was much angered, and told them that their disobedience should be punished in a most grievous manner : The serpent should thenceforth crawl ADAM AND i:VK KXl'Kr,I,UI) FROM THB OARDKN "Therefore the I^ord sent him forth from tlie llardeii of ICileii, to till the ground from whence he was taken." — Gi;n. iii. 23. npon the ground with its UKnith in the dust, and every man should seek it.s life; the woman. Eve, should be heir to great pain and sorrow; and the man, Adam, should thereafter be forced to labor in the fields and earn his bread by 38 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 1 the sweat of his brow. But bej^ond this punishment there was yet a greater, for God, finding them unfitted for the beautiful garden that He had provided for them, drove Adam and Eve out of Eden, and to prevent their return He placed kt the east of the garden cherubim in whose hands were flaming swords with which the gates were guarded. Instead of perpetual joy and everlasting VISION OP THK CHERUBIM. "Aud He placed at the east of the Gardeu of Edeu cherubim."— GBN. iil. 24. life, which were their original inheritance, God rightfully afflicted them with sorrow and doomed them aud their descendants, forever, to death, yet His mercifulness was exhibited even in His anger, for though they should pass through the grave, immortalitj^ was provided by a resurrection and redemption which should ultimately restore them to the blissful condition in which they were first placed. CHAPTER II. HOW THE WORLD BECAME PEOPLED. FTER Adam and Eve were driven out of Eden they began to cultivate the soil, which, though choked with briers and weeds, by hard labor was still made to produce abundantly for their uses. God soon after gave to them two sons, the elder of whom was called Cain and the j-ounger Abel. As these grew up the former became a tiller of the soil and the latter looked after the flocks, so that they became great helps to their parents. Though punished sorely by God, Adam did not lose the love and reverence which he first had for his gracious Father, and after leaving Eden he worshipped God and ofifered up becoming sacrifices that won His favor, Cain and Abel were also taught to be devotional, and they too made sacrifices of the fruits of their labor. On one occasion, while working in the field together and alone, Abel made a sacrifice of a lamb, and Cain offered one of the grain and grasses of the field. Each would have been acceptable to God had they been made in the same loving spirit ; but Cain made his off'ering with a rebell ious and sinful heart, or sacrilegious spirit, while Abel rendered up grateful thanks for the mercies he had received. Thus was God pleased with Abel's offering and offended with Cain, whereat Cain became so incensed with his brother that he killed him. After committing this foul murder Cain was sorely troubled in his heart and would gladly have hidden himself from the All-seeing eye, but God called to him and asked where was his brother. Cain's response showed plainl}' how troubled and yet rebellious was his spirit, for in a pettish mood he answered, "Am I my brother's keeper?" But God had been a witness to tlie murder and would avenge it by placing a curse upon the criminal. God did not kill Cain, but sent him out a vagabond and outcast upon the world, with a brand upon him that would serve to show to all who should thereafter meet him that he was his brother's murderer. Cain now became conscious of the great sin that he had comuiitted, and realized how bitter was the punishment which God had pronounced against him, so he cried out, partly in remorse, but chiefly as an appeal for mercy, (39) 40 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. il' I ' UJU " My pmiislnneiit is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth." Cain, after being banished forever from the face of God, became an out- CAIN AND ADKI, SACRIFICINC. "And the Lord had respect uuto Abel, and to his olTeriiifj ; hut unto Cain, and his ofTering, he had not respect. — Gun. iv. 4, 5, cast. He left the home of his father and mother, and for many years wan- dered over the land, until at length he settled in a countr}' called Nod, where it is related he took a wife and founded a great cit}-. driven me lie an ont- X, lie ars wan- d, where 'J'HK I'IKST MlKDliK. "Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him."— Gkn. iv. 8. ^4iJ 42 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. '! iil Shortly after Cain left Adam and Eve, another son was born to them, whom they named Seth, and though the Bible does not tell us the names of the other children of our first parents, it is probable that many were born to them, both sons, and daughters, for Adam did not die until he was nine hundred and thirty years of age. Eve's age is not given. When Seth was one hundred and five years old he had a son whom he named Enos, at which time there were a great many people on the earth, descended from the sons and daugh- ters of Adam and Eve, a fact which we can more readily understand, knowing that in those days men and women lived to be many hundreds of years old, so that more than one hundred children might be born to each couple. The increase was therefore so extremely rapid that after Cain's manj'^ j-ears of wan- derings he found people spread o\er a large extent of country. Some time after Cain had takeu a wife in the land of Nod, a son was born to him whom he named Enoch. The piety and wisdom of this son was so great that Cain founded and named a city in his honor. There was also another Enoch, a descendant of Seth, and who was equally noted for wisdom, and was withal so righteous a man that he did not die, but was translated to heaven. Cain had a great many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, among whom were Jubal, the inventor of the first musical instrument, and Tubal-cain, who was the first metal founder, and made tools of iron and brass. Another was Jabal, who was a great herder, and became "the father of all such as dwell in tents, and of such as have cattle." Enoch, although the most upright and godlj' man of his time, yet had many children who were unmindful of the goodness and mercy of God, and who refused to walk in the footsteps of their father. The Bible does not describe the Avickedness of Enoch's children, but it tells us that in the earlier life of his grandson, Noah, the people were so sinful that God began to repent that He had made man, finding in him nothing but waywardness and ingratitude. ■4 1:) iii I orn to them, names of the )orn to them, hundred and one hundred :h time there s and daugh- xnd, knowing of years old, couple. The 'ears of wan- son was born son was so ;re was also for wisdom, translated to "andchildren, rument, and n and brass. of all such et had many )d, and who not describe rlier life of repent that gratitude. TIIIC I'LOOU. "And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth."— Gen. vii. 19. I CHAPTER III. DEST"RUCTION OF THE EARTH'S CREATURES. O great became the wickedness of men on the earth that God resolved to destroy the beautiful world which He had first fashioned for the abode of a being made in His own image and likeness. Now, among the man}' thousands of people who were upon the earth there was but one who found favor in God's e3-es. This one exception was Noah, who had always walked up- rightly and given praise for the manifold blessings God had bestowed on mankind. Noah had three sons, whose names were Shem, Ham, and Japheth, all of whom had also wives, and the family were devoted to the things which were just and righteous. When God determined to destroy the world, He therefore excepted Noah and his family from the calamity, reserving them to re-people the earth after every other living thing, save two of every creature, should be destroyed. To save them, God therefore told Noah to build an ark, which was an immense boat, capable of containing not only his family, but two of every species of living thing found upon the earth, and seven of every clean beast, which should serve for food during the period that Noah should remain in the ark. It required a long time to construct so large a vessel, and we may imagine how earnestly Noah sought to convert the people from their wickedness during the time of its building ; but they Avere so cor- rupt that none gave heed to his warning. When, at length, the ark was completed, God commanded Noah to enter, together with his wife and sons, and their wives, and two of all creatures, both great and small, animals, birds, insects and every living thing. Seven da3's * hereafter a great rain began to fall, which continued for a period of fort}' day^ and as many nights. The waters rose rapidly, and the wicked people and creatures that were doomed to destruction fled from their homes and caves and sought high places out of the reach of the waters. But little did this avail them, for the flood rose higher and higher, covering first the plains, then the hills, and at last the highest mountain tops, so that everj'^ thing perished not housed within the ark, and the world became still with death and desolation. Not a thing was visible save Noah's vessel, which alone rode the waves that rolled unfettered over the wide, wide waste, with nothing to break their force against. (44) h that God e had first image and le who were God's eyes, walked up- s God had names were es, and the righteons. e excepted ) re-people Y creature, th to build not only npon the ; for food we may rom their 'e so cor- 2 ark Avas sons, and s, insects .11, which :ers rose structiou reach of higher, un tops, became 5 vessel, e waste, AFTER THE DELUGE. (45) ".\lso he sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from the face of the ground." —Gen. viii. 8. n 46 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. The boundless waters prevailed over tlie eartli oue liundred and fifty dr.ys, when God made a wind to blow over the great sea, which evaporated the waters gradually, until after seven months the ark rested on a high mountain peak in Arabia, called Ararat. Three mouths later the tops of less lofty mc-nitains became visible, and forty days after Noah sent forth a raven to see if it could find a congenial resting place. The raven continued to fly over the face of the waters, so Noah next sent forth a dove, but the bird found no place to set her foot and so returned to the ark. Seven days thereafter he sent out the dove again, and in the evening it returned to him with an olive leaf in its beak, which was a sign that the waters had abated. But Noah still remained in the ark another seven days, when he again sent forth the dove, which did not leturn any more. This was a sign to him that the waters were removed and that the earth was ready to receive him. He therefore " removed the cov- ering of the ark and looked, and behold, the face of the ground was drj'." By command of God, Noah then came out of the ark, followed by his wife and sons and their wives, and every living thing that had been shut up therein with him. Upon reaching the valley, Noah built an altar, upon which he sac- rificed of every clean beast and fowl, as an offering of his thankfulness, where- upon God was so pleased that He made a promise never to destroy the world again ; and He blessed Noah and his family, and bade ihem replenish the earth. God then made a covenant with Noah, the token of which was the rain- bow, which, whenever seen, was to be a reminder of His promise never again to drown the world, or the creatures thereon. Three hundred and fift}' years after the deluge Noah died, and his age was nine hundred and fifty years. When Noah and his family left the ar\, ihey scattered and went into differ- ent countries and began to replenish the eai 'h as God had commanded, so that ■when Noah died there were a great nuiny people on the earth again. The largest settlement, we are led to suppose by the record, was somewhere near the central portion of Arabia, where the people were in such numbers that they began to forget God. At length there was a large emigration from Arabia cast- ward, and, as the people reached the plains of Shinar, along the Euphn'tes River, they found the countiy so fertile that they cc rcluded to stop there and build a great tower. Their purpjse in constructing such a building is not known, but, as they said, " Let us build us a city and a tower, whose top nuiy reach unto heaven," it is inferred that they cither expected to climb into heaven from its apex or to use it as a means of escape should God forget His covenant and send another deluge. When they began to build the tower, every person spoke the same language, but as t*;iey progressed with the work God saw the evil of their intent, and so confused their tongues that the workmen could no longer understand each other, and they wore thus compelled to relinquish their design, and the tower was left incomplete. On account of the babel and confusion of the laborers, the tower was called Babel, by which it was ever afterward known. ifi I "1 ■J^BBBICS^ ' •- M d fifty dr.ys, d the waters tain peak in mcnutains : if it could the face of place to set eut out the leaf in its 11 remained , which did re removed ed the cov- dry." By s wife and up therein ich he sac- ess, wliere- the world lenish the s the rain- r again to ^ears after into differ- ed, so that ain. The lierc near that they •abia cast- in ph rates Lhcrc and ff IS not top may o heaven covenant anguagc, cut, and nd each lie lower laborers, CONl'UHION Ol' ToNCri'S AT TlllC lUI l.lil N(". 1)1' IIAIIICI,. (471 "Ami the Lord said Let us go down, mid there coiifouiid their h\nj;uiige, that they timy not uiiderslantl one another's speech."— CriCN. xi. 6, 7. CHAPTER IV. THE STORY OF ABRAHAM AND SARAH. MONG the descendants of Slieni first mentioned in the Bible was Abram, who was the son of Terah. He had two brothers, Nahor and Haran, the latter of whom was the father of Lot, whose sad history we shall soon relate. *£ f JKi^l'^lilffiV^ Abram, who was a man of a hoi}- spirit, had a wife whose ^itS^^P^SrV name was Sarai, a godly woman that was devoted to the ~ il&y* a^. W^ Lord and her husband. Terah had long dwelt in the town of Ur, which was on the Euphrates, about one hundred miles southeast of Babel, but, for reasons which the Bible does not explain, he left Ur, and journeyed to +]io land of Canaan, which had been settled by the descendants of Ham. He took with him his sons and their wives, and also Lot, his nephew, and after many weeks of travel he settled at Haran, in the northern part of Canaan, which is now about the centre of Turkey in Asia. After the death of Terah, God told Abi-am to leave Haran, and separate from all his kinsmen except Lot, and to go unto another country which He would show him. The purpose of God, as he told Abram, was-' to found a new nation, over which he should rule to the glory of His name. According to this commandment Abram left Haran, taking with him only his wife, »Sarai, and his nephew. Lot, and went southward to the loud of Canaan, as they were directed. But while they journeyed, (lod appeared to Abram on the plain of Moreh, and told him that to him and his descendants He w itild give all the land of Canaan, which is now called Palestine, or the Holy Land. Abram was very grateful for the divine favor, atul when he came to a mount.ui-. near Bethel, he built an altar unto the Lord and gave praise, though he knew not whither God was leading him. As Abram continued travelling southward he found that there was a great famine in Canaan, so he did not tarry but wctil on toward Egypt. As they came near to the boundary of Egypt, Abram heard of the wickedness of the people of that country, atul lest harui uiight conu.' to him if the Egyptians should know that Sarai was his wife, Abram told her to say, to any who might ask, that she was his sister. As they advanced into the country, the people were attracted to Sarai by her great beauty, so she was taken from Abram and placed in (48) IPhi |wic lliintl :{Phi Mb) i an ,'* upc he r THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 49 iPharaoh's (the king's) house, where she was made wife to the king. For this ^wickedness on the part of Pharaoh, God sent a plague upon him and his house, Vuntil it was made known that Sarai was not the sister, but wife of Abrani. jPharaoh reproached Abram for deceiving him, but restored Sarai when, together, iAbram, Sarai and Lot went out of Egj'^pt and came again to the mountain near I Beth el, where he had builded in the Bible ie had two oni was the soon relate. wife whose ^'oted to the in the town >ne hundred h the Bible *!iv^ land of :endants of wives, and )f travel he laan, which h of Terah, s kinsmen lim. The r which he 1 him only of Canaan, Abram on He \^ .nUl loly L..:;i<;. I mount,;!!; 1 he knew ius a great As they ess of the ins should t ask, that -' attracted placed iu §an altar, and there called fupon the Lord as to what J he should do. i Now Abram was a very ; rich man, having of cattle . and sheep such a great num- |ber that it required the ser- vices of hundreds of herds- men to care for them. But Lot's possessions were scarce- ly less considerable, so that the land was not fertile enough for the sustenance of so many animals ; besides, the herdsmen who cared for the flocks of Abram were at strife with those employed by Lot, so that it was neces- sary that Lot and Abram should separate and occupy different lands. Abram there- fore said to Lot, his nephew, " Let there be no strife be- tween thee and me, for we be brethren. Is not the j whole land before thee ? V Separate thyself, I pray thee, f fi-om me ; if thou wilt take ■^ the left hand, then I will go > to the right ; or, if thou de- ^ part to the right hand, then i I will go to the left." This ^ kind speech showed the j righteous disposition of Abram, and his willingness to be controlled by justice " as God taught him to see the right. The two parted as good friends should, no doubt deeply regretting the circumstances which compelled their .separation. Abram remained iu the laud 4 SARAI IN TIIIC ll• of a nation God had miised. When Lot ved to the lin of Jor- , he took his resi" ice in a city led Sodom, ere he pros- *ed, until ir kings, :dorlaomer, g of Elam, king of :h the vic- icc, taking /horn thcv intended should serve them as slaves. Among these unfortunate captives was Lot, whose unhappy fate was soon told to Abram by one of Lot's neighbors, who had escaped. Immediately upon learning this news Abram called together his trained servants, three hundred and eighteen in number, and arming them well he went in pursuit of the four kings, whom he came up with in the country of Dan and, dividing his forces so as to make a simultaneous attack [in several quarters, he fell upon the despoilers in the night-time, and after slaughtering many put the rest to flight ; but he followed after the fleeing army as . far as Damascus, where, to effect their escape, the kings delivered over to Abram noi only all their captives but the things which they had taken at Sodom, together with all their own possessions. So Abram brought back every- thing that had been taken away, and returned to the Sodomites all the things of which they had been despoiled. As Abram was journeying back toward the city he was met by Melchizedek, the high-priest, and also by the king of Sodom, both of whom desired to mani- fest their thankfulness for the great service which Abram had rendered them. Melchizedek met him with bread and wine to feed the victorious soldiers, and gave Abram his blessing also. The king of Sodom was so thankful for the deliverance of his people that he said to Abram, ' Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself" But Abram knew that it was God who had given him the victory, and refused to take anything from the people, but gave all that had been taken from the kings to those who had suffered at their hands, reserving only rewards for three young men who, though not his servants, went with him • to battle. At this just and generous act God was still more pleased, and came to Abram in a vision, saying, " Fear net, Abram : I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward." Abram was not unmindful of the tender mercies which the Lord had shown him, but he was distressed on account of his childless condition, for though God had promised to give the land of Canaan to his descendants, Abram could not discover how this could be, since his wife was already old and no child had yet been born to them. Then God told Abram to look toward the sky and to try and count the stars, for as numerous as the stars were, yet they were not more than the number of descendants which he should have. When evening came on Abram fell into a deep sleep, during which God again appeared to him and repeated his promise to make his descendants as numerous as the stars, but told him also that they should be strangers in another country, where they would be grievously wronged by being made to do hard service and be treated with great injustice. This, however, should not be until after Abram's death, for God assured him that he should live to a good old age and then die in peace, and also that he would, in the fourth generation, deliver Abram's descendants from their bondage and punish their masters for their iniquities. Sarai was as much distressed at not having children as was Abram, so she 3»^ 52 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. told lier husband to take her handmaid, who was named Hagar, to wife, and to bring up children by her. Hagar was a comely woman who had entered the service of her mistress while Abrani was sojourning in Egypt, and although she was an Egyptian, she could not have been so wicked as were her coun- trymen, or Abrani would hardly have permitted her to go back to Canaan with him. Some time after Abram had taken Hagar to be his wife, polygamy being common in those days, she bore him a son who was named Ishmael. After this event God again appeared to Abram and renewed His covenant, or promise, with him, at which he changed the name of Abram to that of Abraham, and of Sarai to that of Sarah, and told him that though Sarah was now ninety years old she would, nevertheless, bear him a son, who should be called Isaac. God further told Abraham that though Ishmael would find much favor in His sight and become the father of twelve princes and the founder of a great nation, yet He would establish His covenant with Isaac, who was to become yet greater. HAGAR IS DRIVEN FROM ABRAHAM'S HOUSE. Everything happened as God had foretold, but after Isaac was born Sarah became vev}- jealous of Hagar and Ishmael, whom she did not wish to share the inheritance, promised by God, with her son, so she commanded Abraham to cast out Hagar and Ishmael, since she was a bondwoman. Abraham was sorely dis- tressed because of Sarah's complaint, but, as God told him to obey his wife, he did accordingly ; therefore, early in the morning, he took a bottle of water and some provisions, which he gave to Hagar, and sent her out of his house. We can imagine the sorrow that was in Abraham's heart when he saw Hagar departing with his own sou, an outcast, with nowhere to lay her head, and with nothing but kind Providence to direct her steps and provide her with food. Had not God assured him that He would care for Hagar, and would preserve Ishmael and make him a great ruler, Abraham would hardly have consented to do so hard a thing as Sarah had commanded, but in all things Abraham was both trustful and obedient, as the frequent trials of his great faith prove. Wlieu Hagar went away she became a wanderer in the wilderness of Becrshcba, her heart overflowing with sorrow, and her feet following after no path. Thus did she aimlessl}- wander about, imtil soon the water in the bottle that Abraham had given her had all been drunk and Ishmael began to cry for drink. The thirst of the ]K)or child at last became so great that Hagar laid him down on the earth and went in search of water, but wherever she turned the ground was parched and moisture was not anywhere about. This poor nuither's love was put fully to the test, for seeing her ciiild dj'ing with thirst which she could not allay, she drew away from Ishmael the distance of a bow-shot and sat down and cried bitterly, saying, " Let me not see the death of the child." to wife, and to id entered the and althougli 'ere her couii- -k to Canaan >lygamy being il. After this t, or promise, A.braham, and V ninety years 1 Isaac. God ■ in His sight :at nation, yet yet greater. s born Sarah L to share the raham to cast 'as sorely dis- his wife, he of water and house. We saw Hagar r head, and de her with and would hardly have all things 3f his great Iderness of ng after no 1 the bottle -gan to cry that Hagar icrever she 3out. This dying with distance of 2 the death (53) HAGAR AND ISHMAKI, IN TIIK DKSKRT. "And c'le aat over against him, and lifted up her voice and wept."— Gkn. xxl. i6. MM ^ Ifi i 54 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. As slie was weeping with the deep grief that was so sorely afflicting her, Hagar heard a voice saj'ing, " Hagar, what aileth thee ?" Looking up she saw an angel, who told her to rise up and not be afraid, for God had heard tlie lad, and would save him and make him yet the ruler of a great nation. The angel then directed her to a well of water that began to flow near her, so that she filled her bottle again and gave the lad drink. After this God took care of Hagar and Ishmael, who went into the wilderness of Paran, where Ishmael grew up to be a great archer, and his mother procured for him a wife out of Egypt, whither Hagar and Ishmael -went to live, and where it afterward came to pass as God had promised, so that Hagar was rewarded in the end b}'^ see- ing her son become a ruler scarcely inferior to Isaac. DESTRUCTION OP" vSODOM AND GOMORRAH. Shortly before the birth of Isaac, and the sending of Hagar awa}', as just described, Abraham received another manifestation of God's special love for him. While sitting in the door of his tent, toward the middp'.' hour, he saw- three men approaching, whom, iipon coming near, he invited to rest them- selves beneath the shade of a tree which stood before his tent, and ordered some water to be brought that they might Avash their feet, for they appeared to be weary from travelling. While the three were washing, Abraham ordered a calf to be killed and some cakes to be cooked, and when the meal was ready he served them to meat beneath the tree under which they had been invited to sit. After the three had eaten they arose and departed toward the city of Sodom, Abraham following after, for he now perceived that they were not men, but angels whom God had sent to bear His message to Abraham. When they had gone a little way the angels, speaking for the Lord, told Abraham that the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah had become so great that God had deten.aned to destroy them. Now Lot, Abraham's nephew, whom he dearly loved, dwelt in Sodom, and Abraham was therefore much distressed, both for the people and lest Lot might not escape God's vengeance. He therefore called upon the Lord and asked if He would destroy the righteous with the wicked ; that if there were fifty righteous in the city, would He not spare the place. After prevailing with the Lord in begging Him to spare the city for the few righteous that might be found therein, God finally told him that if as man}'' as ten righteous persons could be found in the city He would spare it. Abi"aham believed that many more than ten resided within the gates of Sodom, for whose sake the Lord would withhold His auger, so he returned to his tent. In the evening of the same day, as Lot sat at one of the gates of vSodoni, he saw two men coming toward him, and as they drew near he invited them to go into his house and tarry with him all night. To his kindly invitation they answered nay, saying they would remain in the streets ; but he pressed ifBicting her, up she saw heard the latiou. The her, so that 3d took care lere Ishmael wife out of ^rward came end by see- way, as just al love for our, he saw- rest them- aud ordered ^3' appeared am ordered .1 was ready •een invited the city of e not men, un. When d Abraham t that God II he dearly d, both for 2 therefore s with the : spare the he city for im that if ould spare e gates of eturncd to of vSodom, •ited them invitation le pressed AllRAHAM AM) Tllh; TllKlilC A.NllIU.S. (55J I! 56 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. his invitation upon them so urgently that they at length consented, and when they had entered Lot caused a feast to De made wherewith to entertain the strangers. .1 ! I,OT AND HIS FAMILY PLBBINC PROM SODOM. " But his wife looked back from behiud hint, anvl she became a pillar of salt" — GSN. xiz. a6. After the supper was over the men asked Lot how many there were of his family, to which reply being made, they told him to get his people together IW: ' sui bee J THE BEAUTIFUIv STORY. nd when they ; strangers. ; were of together and also all his possessions, and to bring them at once out of the place, for iGod had sent them as His messengers to destroy both Sodom and Gomorrah. 5 When morning appeared the two men, whom Lot now knew to be angels, -told him to make haste and take his family out of the city, lest he be con- sumed with all the others. Lot still lingered, scarcely believing what had been prophesied, until the two angels took him by the hand, and also seized upon the hands of his wife and two daughters and brought them without the place, and bade them run for their lives. So Lot ran with his family toward the nearest town, and as thej- departed rapidly the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah fire and brim- stone, which made a great smoke and flame, so that the burning might be seen from a great distance. In their hasty flight Lot's wife was tempt- ed by the great noise she heard and the singu- lar thing which had now come to fulfil what the celestial messengers had foretold, and looked back toward the burning citj'', when in- stantly ^he was changed into a pillar of salt. Lot and his daughters, how- ever, continued on until they came to the town of Zoar, not far distant from Sodom, where they dwelt for a time until they were received by Abraham. Abraham's great faith sorely tried. The sending of Hagar away so greatly grieved Abraham that the Lord was not wholly pleased, seeing that His servant did not accept all the things commanded of him to be done with that resignation which is commendable in ABRAHAM'S VISION OK THE PROMISED I,AND. "Aud the Lord 8uid unto Abraham, ... All the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever." — Gen. xiii. 14, 15. 58 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. those who seek to do God's will, so the Lord determined to make a trial of the strength of Abraham's faith, which should show how truly he was devoted to His service. Accordingly God called him and said: "Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee to the land of Moriah ; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of." Abraham fully understood the terrible meaning of this command, and though to kill his only son would have fairly wrung his loving heart with agony, he knew that even in the most terrible moments of his wrath God is merciful and moves in mysterious ways, and he hastened to do that which was bidden. The Bible tells us that early in the morning he arose, and saddling up an ass he took two young men to gather wood for the burnt offering, and with Isaac he repaired to the spot on the side of a mou in to make the offering mmanded. When the wood had been gathered he laid it upon Isaac, who carried it to the place chosen. As they went along together Isaac asked his father where was the lamb for the offering, but Abraham only replied, " My son, God himself will pro- vide a lamb." When they reached the place to which God had di- rected them, Abraham built an altar and laid the wood, after which he bound Isaac and put him upon the pile ; then drawing the large knife that was in his girdle, he was upon the point of plunging it into his innocent and beloved son when God arrested his arm and said, "Abraham 1 Abraham!" And Abraham answered, " Here am I." And the Lord spoke: "Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any- thing unto him ; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from Ale." . > "ABRAHAM, i:,AY NOT THY HAND UPON THE I.AD." "And He said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him." — Gen, xxii. 13. ■t »'* iwiwBW U ' j"w w' jjmm THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 59 Ice a trial of was devoted low thy son, of Moriah; ins which I nmand, and ? heart with that even in le moments i is merciful mysterious hastened to i^as bidden, lis us that aorning he ling up an young men )r the burnt h Isaac he spot on the in to make mmanded. had been d it upon d it to the 3 they went saac asked e was the fering, but plied, " My f will pro- eached the od had di- iham built npon the upon the •rested his :re am I." thou any- L hast not n As Abraham looked up he saw a ram which was fast in a thicket by his loms, and he took the ram, and killing it, offered it upon the altar instead of lis son, which was acceptable to God, who was so well pleased with the faith )f Abraham that He blessed him again, and renewed the promises before made to him. Abraham was so overjoyed at this happy deliverance of his son that fhe called the place of offering Jehovah-jireh {/Ae Lord will provide). DKATH OF SARAH AND MARRIAGE OF ISAAC. When Abraham returned from making his or^ring he prepared to remove [from Beersheba to a country northeast, but in the land of Canaan. His herds : of cattle were now very great and his possessions of gold and silver were larger I than those of any other man thereabout, so that it required a great number of servants, camels and asses to transport his goods. In those days people : commonly dwelt in tents, especially those who followed pastoral pursuits, and when their herds were large, like those of Abraham, removals from place to- place were frequent in search of new pasturage, and it was this fact, no doubt, which made Abraham change his place of living so often. It was long after Abraham's removal to Hebron that Sarah, his beloved wife, fell sick and died, at which time she was one hundred and twenty-seven years of age. The loss of this good woman, who had walked with her husband so many years in the path of righteousness, was deplored greatly, not only by Abraham, but by the people about Hebron as well, for we read that when Abraham asked for a sepulchre in which to bury Sarah the people answered that he might bury her in any of their sepulchres that he chose. It was not the custom at that time to bury the dead in the ground, as we do now, the practice being to deposit the body in an excavation, usually of rock, the door to which was a large stone, and such excavation served as a sepulchre for an entire family. This proffer to Abraham was therefore one which showed how highly esteemed were both himself and wife by the people among whom he had recently settled. Instead of accepting the very kind offer made him, Abraham chose a cave which was in the end of a field owned by a man named Ephron. So he made an offer to bu}^ the cave ; but Ephron thought no less of Abraham and Sarah than did his neighbors, and he accordingly offered to give both the cave and field to Abrahaia. This generosity affected Abraham greatly, for he perceived tha . all the people were deeply attached to him, but he refused to accept the place as a gift, and Ephron was finally induced to receive four hundred shekels ($250) for the cave, and in this he deposited the body of Sarah, intend- ing that this now sacred place should, in due time, become the depository of his own. Up to the time of pur^^liasing the Cave of Machpelah (meaning double cave) , as the burial place of Sarah was called, although God had promised to give him the whole of Canaan as an inheritance, Abraham had not owned even the 6o THE BHAUTIFUIv STORY. smallest parcel of ground at any place where he had pitched his tent. It was, no doubt, this reason which prompted Abraham to bu}', rather than to receive as a gift, the cave which Ephron owned, though the desire to own a sepulchre, which f.tiould be the exchisive depository of the bodies of himself and near kinsmen, possibly actuated him quite as much. This cave did afterward become the sepulchre of not only his own and wife's remains, but also of the bodies of Isaac and Rebekah, his wife, Jacob and Leah, his wife, and of Joseph. The sepulchre still exists under the Hebron mosque, and is pointed out to all visitors to that region, and is the shrine to which many pious pilgrimages are made. THE STORY OF ISA.\C AND REREKAH. It would appear, from reading the sacred records, that after the burial of Sarah, Abraham returned to Beersheba, and sought the marriage o<^ his son Isaac. Although everywliere in Canaan Abraham was treated with the greatest kindness, yet he bitteilj' opposed Isaac marr3'ing any of the women of that country, and would be reconciled to no other than a woman who should be of his own kindred. He therefore called his head servant and told him to take ten camels and to load them with fine presents and go to the city of Harau, which was in Mesopotamia (where Abraham formerly lived), in quest ot a suitable woman to become his son's wife. The servant did all things as Abraham had commanded him, and departed with the ten loaded camels. After many days of travelling he came to the outskirts of Haran in the evening, and desiring to rest himself before going into the city, he causf^i the camels to kneel down by a well which he found and to which he knew many women of the place came to draw water. The servant then offered a prayer to God, asking that he be directed in fulfilling tl:e wishes of his master, and said, " Behold, I stand here by the well of water; . . . and let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say. Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, tl:at I nuiy drink ; and she shall say. Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also ; let the same be she that Thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast showed kind- ness unto my master." Directly after the servant had ceased praying a beautiful woman came to the well to fill her pitcher, whom the servant accosted and asked that she Mould let down the piicher and allow him to drink therefrom. The woman replied most graciously and offered water to the servant and to his camels also, where- upon the servant saw that she was the one selected by the Lord to be a wife to Isaac. When the camels had done drinking the servant took some presents from the bags which he had brought, and, offering them to the woman, asked her name and if there was room in her father's house to give lodging to him- self and those who came with him. She answered that she was the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, and that her mother's name was Milcah, whose house was large enough to lodge him, and having stables to accommodate his mmmm t. It was, no o receive as a >ulchre, which ear kinsmen, become the lie bodies of Joseph. The to all visitors es are made. he bnrial of e o^ his son the greatest men of that ihoiild be of bini to take i of Hanai, quest ot a iiid departed anie to the efore going :h he fonnd vater. The u fnlfilling 1 of water ; Let down ink, and I t appointed owed kind- n came to she would 111 replied Iso, whcrc- bc a wife c presents lan, asked g to him- daughter ah, whose lodate his 62 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. I !' 1 1 IK1 1 •camels. So she invited him to come to her father's house, and ran before him to apprise her mother that strangers were coming to lodge with them. As she went toward the house she met her brother, Laban, who, seeing the presents which his sister, whose name was Rebekah, had received, went to the servant at the well and said to him, *' Come in, thou blessed of the Lord : wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and roont for the •camels." When the servant came within the house he was offered meat for himself and provender for his camels, but before he would sit himself to eat, he told them he must first tell the purpose of his errand. So he told them all that Abraham had commanded him to do, whereupon Laban and Bethuel said that he must have been directed by God, so they told the servant to take Rebekah and go back to Abraham that she might become the wife of Isaac. Wiicii the servant had thus found all accomplished as his master had wished, he drew forth the pres- ents that he had brought and gave to Rebekah a large number of gold and silver ornaments, besides many pieces of costly raiment, nor did he with- hold presento from Laban and Bethuel, for to each he gave many precious articles. When they had feasted the servant desired to return at once to Abraham with Rebekah ; Laban and his mother, however, begged him to remain with them for so much as ten days, but the servant told them not to hinder him from going forthwith, fee they asked Rebekah if she was ready to depart with the servant, and she answered, *' I will go." The departure from Haran was made on the day following the servant's arrival, so that the camels had little rest, but they travelled slowly, returning by a different route from that taken on the first journey. Isaac v'.s not living with his father when this event transpired, for the Bible tells us that he was sojourning at Lahai-roi, which was in the extreme southern part of Palestine. But as the caravan was returning to Bcersheba Isaac was also going to the same place, though he did not know that a wife was being chosen for him who was at that time drawing near to his father's THB OAK OP ABRAHAM, THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 63 ran before him them. As she the presents the servant at rd : wherefore roon* for the It for himself o eat, he told them all that uel said that take Rebekah k to Abraham night become [saac. Wiicu It had thus accomplished ;r had wished, th the pres- had brought ) Rebekah a r of gold and lents, besides s of costly did he with- > from Labaii , for to each ny precious '• had feasted lyaban and nch as ten ■tliwith. fee lit, and she le servant's y, returning red, for the he extreme Bcershcba that a wife lis father's ouse to celebrate her marriage with him. As the caravan approached toward ahai-roi Rebekah saw Isaac walking through a field, and said, " What man is at who comes to meet us ?" Ine servant, seeing that it was Isaac, replied at it was his master, whereupon she covered her face with a veil. When saac came near the servant met him and told him all that had transpired, and hat he had brought Rebekah to be his wife. Isaac was forty years of age at Ihis time, but he had been without comfort since the day of his mother's death, grieving continually for her. When he wedded Rebekah, however, joy returned to him, for the moment that he beheld her face he loved her greatly. After the marriage of Isaac, Abraham, who was now very old, gave him all that he had, and made him rich in worldly possessions. It is probable that this jgift was made by will, rather than given to Isaac to hold at once before his father's death, for Abraham married again, taking a woman whose name was Keturah, and by her had children, by whom he became the father of the Ke- ^tiirah Arabs, but these children were not permitted to share in the inheritance ith Isaac, being cut off as was Islimael. We are told that Abraham died at the age of one hundred and seventy-five ears, but it is not related where he was residing at the time of his death, though the inference is that he was still at Beersheba. Isaac and Ishmael met at his funeral, and together paid the last sad duty of preparing their father's remains for burial. Regarding the wishes which Abraham expressed at the time of laying awa)'' his beloved Avife Sarah, they deposited his body beside her in the cave of Machpelah, which is even at this day pointed out to travellers in the Holy Land as a place second iai sacredness to that of Golgotha. Few references are made by the Bible to Ishmael after his last meeting with Isaac at the funeral of Abraham, no more than to indicate that he had no settled habitation, and followed warlike pursuits, like the Keturah Arabs, who are true to this inherited instinct o\en to this day. He survived his father just fifty years, and died at the age of one hundred and thirty-seven years. The place of his death or burial is not recorded. Of all the holy characters described in the Bible, none are more divine-like than Abraham ; indeed, he was the only one of the patriarchs and prophets who never departed from God's commands, or lifted his spirit, even in thought or deed, in rebellion against the commands or wishes of his Lord. The offer of a sacrifice of his only lawfully begotten and beloved son, in loving obedience to that call which he so promptly recognized, is the most exalted example of trustful faith ever exhibited by man, which can only be rewarded by that richest of all blessings, which God gives to those who serve Him best and whom He most loves. Blessed be the name of Abraham I tt- wiMMiilli "ll ! CHAPTER V. THE STORY OF JACOB AND ESAU. RpSAAC continued to dwell at Lahai-roi after his father's death, liW but it was uot until man}' years after his marriage that God !|r^ blessed him and gave him two children, which were named 1^ Jacob and Esau. As the boys grew up Esau became a hunter, ;;>y}. llkc Ishmacl, and Jacob was a dweller in tentt3, by which, we ' S(3> presume, he followed pastoral pursuits like his grandfather iXg^ Abraham did. It happened that the two young men were not TM^^, 'fpSM^^'^ equally liked by their parents, for Rebekah loved Jacob, while ^'^f' i ' " Esau was Isaac's favorite, and this favoritism at length led to great trouble. One day Esau returned from the hunt very tired and almost dead with hunger, and seeing Jacob preparing a pottage of lentils, which was a piant somewhat like the pea, he said to his brother, " Feed me, I pray thee, with that red pottage, for I am faint." Jacob perceiving how great was Esau's hunger, took advantage of his brother's necessit}', for, instead of offering him food, as he should have done, he offered to give him the pottage only upon condition that Esau should give him his birthright. This was a hard bargain, bi;t Esau replied, "Behold, I am at the point to die; and what protlt shall this birthright be to me?" Then Jacob made his brother swear to renounce his birthright and give it to him, which bcinir done Esau was permitted to eat of the bread and pottage, and having feasted under these hard conditions he then went away. Soon after this event there was a famine in the land and Isaac thought to escape it ; he would go down to Egypt, but God told him to remain and Pie would fulfil the covenant He had made with Abraham. So Isaac remained and sowed seed on his land, which yielded to him a hundred fold. So prosperous was he that he soon became the richest man in all the country thereabout, which greatly vexed the Philistines, among whom he dwelt, and in their ex- ceeding envy they filled up all the wells that had been dug by his father, and that were upon his land. As Isaac had great herds of cattle atul camels, and as wells were the only source of water supply in that country, this act of his envious neighbors did him such harm that he complained to the king, whose name was Abimelech. But the king, instead of punishing his persecutors, justified their wrong-doing by telling Isaac to leave the country. Thus was Isaac compelled to move to another place, and he settled in a valley called (64) father's death, iage that God 1 were named ame a hunter, by which, we s grandfather men were not i Jacob, while length led to I'ery tired and a pottage of e said to his r I am faint." advantage of as he should 3on condition ard bargain, ; and what his brother which bein,i( , and having ic thought to lain and Pie smained and prosperous thereabout, in their ex- father, aiul camels, and s act of his king, whoso persecutors, Thus was alley called v.u///. //. ■■■■■■■■M MMHMMMH ^M ill ■n I ».♦,. CHAPTER V Tfiri vSTORV OF JACOB AND KSAU. ;;)e'SAAC cot'.tiwued to dwell :ii LiilKii-'-oi after hi,> father's do;i:'\ but it was not until many years aUor his marriage that Gim. blessed him and gave hiiu two children, wliuh were nar.icfi Jacob anci Hsau. As the boys grew up P^sau bcc:nnc a lunitc- like Islimael, and Jaoob was a d-.veiK'^r i^ tents, hy which, ut presiipie, he fullowed pastoral pursuits like h-'s ^'randfathci Abrahan\ did. It happened that tlie tAso young men nere wo' eqr.ally liked by their parents, for Rebekah loved Jacob, wh:' Ksau 'WHS Isaac's fa mjt ;',<:, and this favoritism at lengtli led t-. great trouble. Ore day P!sau retiir''- l tVuui the h-mt \eiy Luvd an- almost dead with hunger, aiic^ seoing Jacob preparing a pott.ige <.;" letitils, which was a plant somewliat like the pea, he '^aid to h'. brotlicr, " Veed me, I pray th^-.^ with that i^d })ottage, ^ir 1 am faint. Jacob perctiving how great n-as Kj-an'; luinger, took iidvaiitage (>: his lirother's, necessity, for, in.stc.i'"! of ofK-ring him loud, as he sltoui ■ ha\e done, he tiffcrcd to give him tli>.- pottage only upon t.-uditii' that Ksau should give him iils birthrigiit. This was a hard bargain, btit Ksau replied, "J'oh.iM, 1 am at the poinl to die; and wh.' profit shall this binhriglit lie to inc ^■' Then Jdcoh made his brotlv - swear to renounce liis- birthright and gi\e H to him, whi^h bein. done T!;aa was permitted to eat of the bread and pott.ige, ami bavin feasted nnder these hard conditi it; he wouhl go down to Kgypt, but God told him to remain and ilv would tullil the covenant He )\.\d made \\ith Aliraham. ' So Isaac remained anu Sowed seed on hi;; hind, whicli yielded to him a hnndred fold. S<> prnsperou was he that he so )U became tlu: riclu ^L man in all the country thereabout which ^-..itly vexed the Phili'^tines, uuumiu; whdiu he dwelt, and in their ev reeding envy they filled, up all the wellb that hid 'icen dug by his father, ar that were upon hi.s hmd As Fsaae had great herds of cattle and camels. ai" as uclls were the only sour-^c of water sn[jply in that conntr}- tliis ;u t of h envious neighbor did him sueii liann that lie coinplai.u'*d to die king, who>> ;*.ame was Abinudec'i. iJut the king, inslcad of piaiishinji^ his persecutor- justiried tiieir \vrong».. Isatic compelled to move to another place, and he t.eltlc«l in a v-rlV j callce # i^t\ I t c '^aid to }i; r J^ lUi taint, iidvutitane o! n>^ he slioni ' ;i (I'uditii ' '^-irgaii:. and \il! i his br.ith'. - which beiih "iid huviiis.; ic ihoujiht to lain iiiid ]u :ninod an-! priispcron thi^reaboiit in their e\ laih'M-, ar caiiK-I'^, ai ■ •a of h , wild piM^CCIltO! I II US u„ " . oalU- .,1:011 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 65 ;rar, not far distant. Here he set to work aud re-opened another well which id been in use during his father's time but had been filled up by the Philis- les. When this well, or spring rather, began to flow, the people of the valley [aimed the water was their own, so that he was again forced to move. Eor a fccond time he opened another well, but they drove him from this one also. [is third attempt, however, had a happier ending, for when he opened a well Rehoboth the people no longer vexed him, seeing that his success must be due to the special favor of God. Abimelech was especially moved by Isaac's wonderful pros- perity, and seeing noiv how de- sirable r thing was his friendship, the king, with one of his friends, and captain in his army, went to call upon Isaac When they came into his presence Isaac said to the king, " Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me and have sent me away from you?" To which Abimelech replied, " We saw certainly that the Lord was with thee ; and we said, Let there now be an oath betwixt us, and let us make a covenant with thee." Though Isaac had been greatly wroi ged by the king and his people, he was, nevertheless, forgiving, and thereupon entered into a covenant of friendship with, the king, who feasted and drank at Isaac's table. After Esau had bartered his birthright to Jacob he went awa)', but beyond this the Bible tells us nothing further about him until he was forty years of age, when he was married to JudlLh, the daughter of Beeri, a Hittite, and also to Bashemath, who was likewise a Hittite. This marriage greatly distressed Isaac, for he did not believe polygamy, and thought that his son in marrying two women had committed abominable sin. But the marriage of Esau wa'' omj' the beginning of Isaac's trouble, for )n after he became stiicken with blindness. Notwithstanding the grief whioh |sau had caused him, Isaac sef;med to have lost none of his love for him. hie day Isaac called to Esau and told him to take his bow and go into the eld aud kill for him a deer (venison) and prepare a savory dish for him to It, promising him his blessing. Rebekah heard Isaac promise a blessing to 5 ■MHBM .... ^..i -■'— a-%ii|iitf|i;^iri (.ujiiiiLi" :0" ■ffwr 66 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. Esau, and resolved to take advantage of her poor blind husband by so dece: ing him that her favorite son Jacob should receive the blessing instead • Esau. To accomplish her very unnatural design Rebekah went to Jacob at told him what his father had said, and commanded him to brii.g two yout kids with which to prepare savory meats to take to his father. Jacob did ; she had ordered, but not without misgiving, for he said to his mother : " Belio'. Esau, my brother, is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man ; my father pe adventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver, and I slu bring a curse upon me and not a blessing." But Rebekah replied that tl curse would be upon her, and insisted. After Rebekah had cooked the kids as she thought Isaac would best lit them, she clothed Jacob with some of Esau's coats and covered his hands at neck with the skins of the kids, so that to Isaac's touch he might appe hairy like Esau. Taking the meat as his mother had ordered, he carried it : his father and said, " I am Esau thy first-born ; I have done according as tin badest me ; arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul nu bless me." Then Isaac called Jacob to him that he might feel him, for I mistrusted his voice. But when he had felt him he said, *' The voice Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau," so he blessed liii. When he had eaten, Isaac again called Jacob to him, being still suspicioi that he was being deceived, and smelled his raiment. This satisfied him, ai: he poured out the blessing upon Jacob which he had intended to give : Esau. Scarcely had his father ceased blessing Jacob when Esau returned fro: hunting, and preparing a dish of meat carried it to Isaac, and begged him : eat the offering of his first-born. When he had spoken with Esau, Isaac kiie how he had been deceived, and wept with grief that having given his blessii: and the best things to Jacob, he could not bestow upon Esau what was : his heart to grant. Esau complained loudly, and justly, against Jacob, \\i: had now supplanted him twice by emplo^nng the most wicked artifices. Isaac tried to comfort his wronged son by telling him that though Jaa should now become his master, he should yet prosper greatly, and while ser ing his brother in battle would break the yoke, or mastership, which Jaa held over him. But this promise, though somewhat consoling, did not abate Esau anger toward his brother, for he declared that after his father's death 1: would avenge the wrong done him by killing Jacob. This threat so great! alarmed Rebekah that she told Jacob to go away to her brother Laban an remain with him awhile until Esau's anger should abate. Isaac also desiu the departure of Jacob lest Esau should kill him, but before going awa Jacob came to his father for his blessing again. This Isaac did not withhok for he still loved him, though not excusing his fault. He charged Jacob t go to Haran, and there to take a wife from the daughters of Laban. beconi ;■ A mfnt, Kvide THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 67 id by so decei iing instead lit to Jacob at rii.g two your . Jacob did )ther: " Beho! my father pe !r, and I slia eplied that tl ivoiild best lit his hands at ; might appc; lie carried it : cording as thf : thy soul 1112 ;el him, for I ' The voice : i blessed liir still suspicioi isfied him, ai; led to give : returned fro: begged him ; an, Isaac kiie n his blessii: 1 what was ; 1st Jacob, \\i; rtifices. though Jac( nd while ser which Jua abate Esau er's death I. eat so great! er Laban an : also desiit going awa not withholc :ged Jacob t Dan. JACOB'S VISION. In obedience to the wishes of his father, Jacob departed on his journey alone, taking the same route which was travelled by Abraham when he first pjised through Canaan on his way from Beersheba to Haran, which had now b#ome a main highway. As he came in sight of a place which had been his grandfather's encamp- it, it was late in the evening, and here he lay down to rest for the night, idently Jacob carried few if any necessaries with him on the journey, for are told he gathered some es together to serve him as illow on which to lay his d. Here, in this uncomfort- [e place, he went to sleep, but er was rest of man more pllasant than that which Jacob hm that night. As he slept Hli had a wondrous dream, w4ereiii appeared to him a vision that revealed the glory of- heaven and the blessings which God had in store for him. He saw in the dream a great ladder, resting its foot upon the eart! and reaching into ,ven, and upon it were ascend- itw and descending radiant els. Succeeding this vision is another in which God re- led Himself standing above ladder, and Jacob heard se words : " I am the Lord of Abraham, thy father, the God of Isaac : the land reon thou liest to thee will ve it." When Jacob awakened he knew that God had taken this means of niani- ting His love and provident care, and he said, " This is none other than the ise of God, and this is the gate of heaven." So he took the stones which served him as a pillow and set them up as an altar, and poured oil )n it, and made a promise to serve God thenceforth, and he called the Ice Bethel {House of God). JACOBS VISION. ' Behold the angels of God asceuding aud descending ou it." — Gen. xxviii. 12. W' mmt "33"^ >f 68 THE BEAUTIFUIv STORY. JACOB S HARD SERVICE FOR A WIFE. hei After this pious performance Jacob continued on his journey, mee.'witli with no further important incident, until he reached Padan-Aram (Har-at Cftr Avhich was the home of his mother's relatives. As he came to the outskhood JACOU TK.MJINi; TUli FLOCKS OK I,AUAN. "And while he yet spake, Rachel came with her father's sheep." — Gic.v. xxix. 9. of the city he saw a well, or, more properl}--, a spring, bj' which were ly: three flocks of sheep that were waiting to be watered bj' the shepherds. : asked the men the name of the city to which they belonged, and t; answered that they were from Haran. Then he fell into further conver.sat with them, asking if they knew Laban, and if he was well, etc. But as THE BEAUTIFUL STORY, 69 was talking, Rachel, the j^ounger daughter of Laban, approached with another herd of sheep. The spring by which the shepherds were waiting was closed journey, niee'wil|i ^ large stone, which kept the waters from being muddied or used except an-Aram (Hanat Iprtain intervals in the day when the flocks of the surrounding neighbor- e to the outskho^ were all brought together to be watered at one time. Then the stone _ I removed and the herds permitted to drink. When Rachel arrived all the ^^^s«££?g^7** fl(^s were gathered, hers being the last to arrive, and Jacob went down and the stone from the spring's mouth and helped Rachel water her sheep. r r ./ xxix. 9. Iiich were Iv: shepherds. : iged, and tl; !ier conversat: etc. But as iifJ^itiri^vS'-" 'i/r'^ (Cupy ut the celebrated painting by Raphael.) JACOB, I.EAH AND HACHEI,. "Leah was tender-eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well favored."— Gen. xxix. 17. Rachel is represented as having been a beautiful girl, and it is therefore [surprise to learn that Jacob fell at once in love with her, nor did he wait Tf before beginning his suit, for the Bible tells us that he kissed her beside spring. After thus warmly saluting her he told Rachel tliat he was her Isman, come to visit her father. She was greatly pleased by his favors and I before him to tell her father of his coming. Laban was no less pleased receive Jacob's visit, for he hastened out to greet him and kissed him ny times tenderly. ^* I i 70 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. Labau had two daiightei-s, the elder of whom was named Leah, uuc Rachel was the younger. It is said, that Leah was tender-eyed and it is sup- posed that she was not comely in appearance, while Rachel was perfect ir. every feature and so beautiful that Jacob could not restrain his exceedinsrlv great desire to marry her at once. He therefore asked of Laban her hand ii, marriage, but this his uncle was not so quick to grant, being of a mercenari nature, who desired to profit by his daughter's comeliness. Perceiving wha: Laban desired, Jacob oflfered. to serve him for a period of seven years for hi; daughter, to vv'hich proposition Laban consented. So great wai Jacob's love fo** Rachel that his seven years o^ service " seemed to him but a few days." When the period of his engagement had expired he asked Laban to give him Rachel, whereupon the crafty uncle brought Leah, heavily veiled, to him in the evening, whom Jacob married under the belief that it was his belovec Rachel. In the morning he discovered the deception that had been practised and asked Laban why he had not fulfilled his agreement, to which Laban made reply, " It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born ; we will give thee Rachel also for the service which tliot shalt serve with me yet seven other years." Although this action of Labau was very unjuat, it was but a counterpart of the perfidy and deception which Jacob himself had practised on his brother Esau. The hardship which Laban's scv-ond pro^ osition imposed upon Jacob was promptl}' accepted, for what will not a man do to win the woman he truly loves ? So Jacob served seven more years and then wedded Rachel, but after this marriage Laban prevailed on him to remain six years longer for a por- tion of the produce of the flocks, which were to be distinguished by certain MUirks. DEPARTUKK OF JACOB AND HIS MKKTING WITH ESAU. After Jacob's last service Labau awarded hiui a portion of the cattle, sheep and goats, which he had helped to raise, and getting hi . goods together, he set out with liis two wives, Lcali anil Rachel, for the land of his birtli, and to his father, wlio was still living. Three days after his departure Lal)aii, bclieviug tliat there had been an unfair division of the herds, and that Jacob had received more than was his due, induced several of his neighbors to ji.iii Inni and together they started in pursuit of Jacob, whom they overtook after seven days' journey at tlie Mount of Gilead. But the night before Laban came up with Jacob, God ap])cared to him in a dream and commanded hiu not to speak to Jacob ciUicr good or bad, but this inj miction was not literally obeyed, for when lie met Jacob he accused him of stealing away his two daughters, and rcproacliod him for not giving due notice of his going that In might have kissed iiis daughters and scut them away with mirth and soni; llv. again said to Jacob that though it was in his power to do him great injury, he would nevertheless spare him, but that he must return the gods (t:ie things) which he had stolen from him. Jacob replied to him !v I. THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 71 Leah, anc nd it is sup. IS perfect ir. exceedinglv lier hand i:. a merceuarv ceiving \vha; years for his Jacob's love few days." abati to give eiled, to hiu 3 his belovec eeu practised vhich Labaii the 3'oiuige: I which tlioi; )U of Lalxic eptiou which n Jacob was iiau he trulj lel, but after :r for a por- d by certain f the cattle, 3ds together, is birth, and lure Lahau, I that Jacob bors to j(,iii ertook after :?f()re Labaii inandcd hiii: not literally vay his two )ing that lu and soiii; him grcMt rn the gods to him I y saying: "With whomsoe\er thou findest thy gods, let him not live." Then I<((lban made a search of all that Jacob had, but was unable to find any cdi the gods wiiich he charged had been stolen. After much dispute between t|^m Labau at length offered to make a covenant with Jacob whereby they should be forever afterward friends, as became their relations to each Iot\vithstandiug the Lord's as- surances J:ici)b was not yet wholly without fear, for wheu he saw Esau coming he divided his family so that the handmaids and children were in front, and Rachel and Joseph his son, who was born while he was in service to Laban, in the rear, so that in case of an attack being made those he most loved would he the most likely to escape. But all his fears were soon dismissed, for us Ivsau cimc near he ran to meet Jacob and fell on his neck and kissed him as a beloved brother. After this hapjn meeting the brothers were l)oth reconciled and each proffered help to the other, which neither re(|uiring, Esau returned to Seir, while Jacob continued his jour- ney to Succoth where he built a house and made stalls, or booths, for his cattle. THE ItlKTlI i)l' Itl'.NIAMIK. While Jacob was serving with lyaban In had four wives, two of whom had been handnniidens to Leah and Rachel, and these several wives bore him twelve sons, the youngest of whom was Josepli, il- -nly son of Rachel until after MOSQUB OVKK MACHPKI.AH. THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 73 iged brother ig the deceit ;her he sent Esau, and the niessen- leet him, bnt Esau's inten- ts, and said, tipany which to God to left alone in igers in the and the twu break of day proved to bo j's thigh and out of joint. release the him. Then His blessin)^; from Jacob 1 Jacob then \e favor of place Peniel, God face to •eserved." e Lord's as- t yet wholly so that the on, wlio was )f an attack ic. But all meet Jacob this hap]i' ) tllC OtllC!. (1 his jou ths, for his whom had him twelve until after hit departure from Haran, whose history is perhaps more interesting than that of any other character in the Old Testament. When Jacob had lived a few years at Succoth and Shalem, God told him to remove to Bethel, where he saw the vision when going to visit Laban, and co make an altar there and worship the true God. It appears from the records, that the people who dwelt in Sha- lem and the country thereabouts were idolaters, nor can we help suspecting, fnjm the character of the narrative, that Jacob, or Israel, was also. When Jacob prepared to depart for Bethel, he ordered his household, and dl| who were with him, to put away the strange gods that were with them and to change their gaiments. In obedience to this command they brought him their gods, which he hid under an oak that grew in Shechem. While stopping at Shalem Jacob's life had not been a happy one, for among other indignities and griefs he su tiered was a very great one in the abduction of his daughter iHnah by a prince of the country. But afterward the prince made amends for his folly by marr g Dinah, as Jacob had desired he should, and there was peace between the king (Hamor) and Jacob. Among the sons of Jacob, how- ever, there were two, Simeon and Levi, who were resolved to a\enge the wrong done their sister, regardless of their father's will; and accordingly, thej' stole in upon Hamor, the king, and his son, the husband of Dinah, and killed them both with the sword ; thej' also bore Dinah aivay, after which the other sons of Jacob fell ujion the town, and massacred many of the people, and carried away a lirge number of women and children cap- tives, besides' taki ig all the cattle, sheep, and household plunder they could find. Jacob was intensely g'-uned at tliis outrage of his .sons, and put a curse WJon them. The memor\ " this wrong no doubt caused him constant pain, Hd he was therefore glad lliat God had ordered him to remove from Shalem, hut he was destined to meet with much greater sorrow in the new land of his iahcritaucH'^ As soon as he reached Bethel Jacob built an altar, and called the place Kl-Bethel, bt-tause it was there that God had appeared to him. Di- rectly afier the altar was built Deborah, Rachel's nur.se, died, and was I)uried bfneath a " wcejjing oak." Here God appeared to Jacob again, and told hlni that his name should neeforth be Israel and not Jacob, as it had continued to be after His first cgmniaud, and God rejjeated tojaeol. the covenants He had nnule with Abraham ,d Isaac, to give him ail the land and to make him .so great that there should uuiuy kings among hi* iescendunts. KACHia.'.S TOMll. 'il iiiilUi 74 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. ■I Then Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had talked with God and poured a drink-offering upon it, and called the sacred place Bethel. When Jacob had thus performed the vows which he had made there, after seeing the vision of heaven, he journeyed southward, intending to dwell with his father, Isaac, at Mamre, near Hebron. As they were near Ephrath, which was the ancient name of Bethlehem, Rachel was seized with labor, and died in giving birth to a boy babe whom she called Ben-oni [son of yny sorrow), but Jacoh changed his name to Ben-jamin {son of the right hand). Here Rachel was buried, and upon her grave Jacob set a large stone, which so long marked the spot that in modern j-ears a tomb was erected over the grave, which remains to-day a conspicuous object among the sacred mausoleums of Bethlehem. Jacob then continued his journey southward until he reached the dwelling place of Isaac his father, but had not long been there when Isaac died, being one hundred and eighty years of age. At the time of his death it chanced that Esau was also at Mamre, or near then for he and Jacob buried their father. Esau afterward went into another country because he and Jacob were so rich with cattle that the laud could not sustain the possessions of both. ,- - - / ^ • o^ ^T ■ . >;^,^4^Mv... ^>-C: ►>'••> ' ' " \^ ,' • -- '■'. ^^ \<,'/ 1 \ -1 * 4 with God and ethel. When ter seeing the ith his father, k'hich was the lied in giving w), but Jacob Rachel was g marked the ^hich remains :hlehem. the dwelling LC died, being th it chanced buried their id Jacob were s of both. CHAPTER VI. THE STORY OF JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN. HEN Jacob came to live in the region of Mamre, Joseph, who had always been his favorite child, was seventeen years of age, or rather that is the age given him in the Bible when it first mentions him as feeding the flocks with his brethren about Mamre. He was a precocious child, not without his faults, but from the beginning was blessed with such favors as fall to the lot of few boys. After Rachel's death Jacob petted and loved him more fondly even than before, and his preference no doubt served to make of him a spoilt child. His disposition was such that he became a tale-bearer upon the actions of his brothers ; besides, the superior beauty of his clothes aroused their jealousy. In addition to this, young Joseph was a dreamer, who insisted upon giving such interpretations to his sleep-visions as displayed his disposi- tion to become a master, so to speak, over his brothers, so that he became offensive to them. Of the twelve sons which Jacob had, ten of them had charge of his immense herds, while Joseph and Benjamin were kept at home in the favor of their father, having noth- ing to do save of their own will. But Joseph frequently (rent out in the fields to his brothers and would as often return to his father irith evil reports as to what they said or did. So angered were they by Joseph's tale-bearing that they resolved to kill ^im upon the next favorable opportunity. Soon after this wicked determina- |iou had been made, Jacob sent Joseph out to find his brothers and to bring lim back a report of how they were discharging their duties. Joseph went to le pasturage, where he expected to find them grazing the herds, but they irere not to be seen, so he wandered about in quest of them until he met a »an who told him his brothers had departed for Dothan, which was not a great listance from the usual grazing grounds. Joseph set off at once for Dothan, ^here he found his brothers ; but as he drew near the resolve which they had ;fore made came stronger than ever upon them, and some of the brothers said [hey should slay him and cast his body into a pit, and report to their father (75) I I I ^H I U III JMI]| ,,l , l|pj |p i l ""^^•(Ull" ttittmim -m 76 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. that he had been devoured bj' some wild beast. No doubt they would ha\e thus kill> ' "seph had it uot beeu for Reubeu, who was a sou of Jacob by his wife Leah, who begged his brothers uot to shed blood, but to rid theuiselvcs of Joseph by castiug hiui iuto a pit that was iu the wilderuess thereabouts. JOSEPH SOLD TO THK KGYI'TIANS. Reubeu's advice appeared good to his brothers, for wheu Joseph cauie up they stripped him of his coat of uiauy colors aud threw hiui iuto a deep but dry pit, where the}' left him helpless. After so doiug aud haviug sat dowu to eat their uoou meal, a caravau of Midiauite uierchauts, from Arabia, cauie iu sight ou their way to Egypt with Sj'riau spices. Judah, also a sou of Leah, uow proposed to his brothers that they sell Joseph, rather tliau allow hiui to die of huuger iu the pit, though his elder brother Reubeu had resolved secretly to rescue him wheu his brothers should go away. Judah's propositiou fouud favor with all the brothers, so that wheu the travelliug uierchauts were about arrived the brothers drew Joseph up out of the pit aud sold him to the Midiauite merchants for twenty shekels ($12.50) of silver. To conceal their wicked action from Jacob, the brothers killed a kid, the blood of which they sprinkled over the prettj' coat they had stripped from Joseph, aud bearing this to their father, as an evidence of the tale they were to tell, declared to him that Joseph had beeu devoured by a wild beast. This dreadful news bore heavily upon Jacob, who refused to be comforted, and iu his grief he tore his clothes, aud said he should go to his grave mourning for his son. JOSEPH HKCOMKS AX IN'TKRPRKTKR OK DRHAMS. The Midiauite merchauto, who were Ishmaclites, descendants of Abraham's son Ishmael, took Joseph and carried him to Egypt, where they sold him to a captain iu Pharaoh's army, named Potiphar. In the service of this officer Joseph continued for some time and with such faithfulness that Potiphar at length made him chief over all his other .servants aud showed him many favors. Potiphar's wife was a worldl}- woman who, seeing that Joseph was a hand- some young man, became jealous of him because he would not pay her such attentions as she solicited, and to avenge the rejection of her wicked proposals she falsely accused Joseph to her huslxaud aud had him cast iuto prison, wlierc he remained for two years. During this time his actions were so gentle thai he won the favor of the prison keeper, who committed to Joseph's care all the other prisoners. After Joseph had beeu iu prison for some time it happened that Pharaoh became greatly angered at some offense committed by his chief butler and his chief baker, and east them iuto ])ris()U with Joseph, and so he came to have charge of them also. One morning, upon the awakening of the two oiTeudiug officers of the king, they told Joseph of the dreams which each had had during the night, and which caused them much grief, for they believed that their t iti AJi , would ha\e Jacob by his tlieinsclvis ereabouts. ipli came up ) a deep but sat down to jia, came in on of Leah, How him to ved secretly sition found were about le Midianite 1 a kid, the ripped froui 2 they were )east. This , and in his ling for his Abraham's d him to a icer Joseph Migtli nuide as a hand- \- her such I i)roposals son, where ;entle that ire all the t Pharaoh n- and his le to have offending lad during that their j'isi.:iMi CAST INTO rmc pit. "And Uiey holil Joseph for iweiiiy piece!) of silver." — Gi{N. xxxvii. a8. (77; m 78 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. ii t dreams were indicative of some great punishment which Pharaoh would inflict upon them. The chief butler described his vision as follows : "In my dream, behold a vine was before me ; and in the vine were three branches : and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shot forth ; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes ; and Pharaoh's cup was in my hand : and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand." f '■■ I 'i i r JOSEPH'S DREAM. "And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more : and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me." — Gen. xxxvii. 9. When Joseph had heard the butler's dream he gave him the interpreta- tion by declaring that in three days Pharaoh would deliver him from prison, and restore him again to his former place as chief butler. After showing the butler the meaning of his dream, Joseph begged him, upon the fulfilment thereof, that he would tell Pharaoh of the injustice of his imprisonment, and that he had been sold into bondage by his wicked brothers, hoping thus to secure his own release. When Joseph had given an interpretation of the butler's dream, the chief THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 79 would inflict [n my dream, iches: and it Listers thereof : and I took the cup into anieil a dream N. xxxvii. 9. ; interpreta- "roni prison, ihowing tlic : fulfilment mment, and ing thus to n. the chief bl|ker described the vision which he had also had and requested an interpreta- tion thereof. In his dream he said he bore three baskets on his head, setting Oipe within the other, and that in the topmost one there was a great variety of ced meats, which the birds flew upon and ate. Then Joseph told him that three days Pharaoh would call him from prison and hang him upon a tree, |d that while thus hanging the birds would come and eat the flesh from his body. On the third day thereafter, as Joseph had prophesied, according to the jams, Pharaoh gave a large dinner to his servants in honor of his birthday, Id pardoned his chief butler and restored him, as was predicted, but the chief ter was hanged. JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH'S DREAM. Although everything had been fulfilled according to the interpretations feae by Joseph, the chief butler did not keep his promise to tell Pharaoh of tbe wrongs which had been done the Hebrew youth, nor did he try to secure tile release of Joseph, who continued languishing in prison nearly two years after the liberation of the butler. At the expiration of this period an inci- dent occurred which was of the most portentous importance to Joseph, as it served to prove most conclusively his gift of revelation, and to establish him in Pharaoh's favor as a man endowed with the blessings of God. This special incident was in the nature of a warning which God gave to Pharaoh in a drtam, in which the king thought he stood beside a river, out of which rose seven fat cattle that fell to grazing in a meadow. Following the seven fat Cftjttle were seven others that were lean and ill-favored, and these went also to tlie meadow beside the river, and ate up all the seven that were fat. This was Pharaoh's first dream, but he fell asleep again and dreamed that he saw a field of corn, on the stalks of which grew seven large ears full}^ matured, but while looking upon these, other stalks grew out of the same ground, each of n^ich bore seven blastei ears, and these thin and immature ears devoured jiose that were large and perfect. These two dreams so deeply troubled Pharaoh that he sent to all the igiciaus in Egypt that he might obtain an interpreter, but none of them ire wise enough to tell him the significance of his visions. As the desire of le king became noised about the chief butler re nembered how Joseph had terpreted the dreams of himself and of the baker, so he went to Pharaoh ^d told him how truly Joseph had prophesied, and advised that he be sent for. The king immediately dispatched a messenger to bring Joseph to him, so young Hebrew hastily shaved himself, changed his clothes and appeared Ifore the king as he was bid. And when the young man came before the Irone Pharaoh told him that he had heard of how he had interpreted dreams lile in prison and asked him if he could understand and interpret all Jams. Joseph replied, " It is not in me ; God shall give Pharaoh an answer peace." m •mm hJMb tM, 8o THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. When Joseph had thus answered, Pharaoh related to him the two drea: which so troubled him, whereupon Joseph gave him the interpretation as follon The two dreams he pronounced as one in meaning, since they botn presag that the seven succeeding years would be seasons of great abundance throuj out all Egypt, but the next seven 3'ears would be seasons of famine, when t laud would produce nothing, so that distress for food would prevail among ; who did not take advantage of the seven years of plenty to fill their grauar, and thus provide against the seven seasons of failure. THE FAMINE. Pharaoh perceived that Joseph had given him the true significance of \ dreams, and determined to provide against the predicted famine by appointi: Joseph the receiver of tithes and the collector of such portions of the crops he might levy during the seven years of plenty. But as a mark of his ijre favor Pharaoh made Joseph ruler of all Egypt and put a gold chain about 1 neck and made him ride next to his own chariot, while the people were o:clcr; to bow down to him. As all provision to guard against the coming famine had thas been ,t,nv to Joseph to make, he set about his duty by ordering large storehouses lo made in all parts of the country, which he filled by raising the royal imp of one-tenth on the produce of tlie 1:' dto one-fifth, which was no hardshij) the people to payj because for sevei. years the crops were so great that i people could hai'dly take care of them, and were therefc^re inclined to was; fulness. True to Joseph's predictions, the beginning of the second seven years w, marked by a blasting of the crops; which conti'iued until great want was fc throughout the land, and immense numbers of people would have starved h. for the beneficent provisions made by Joseph. He now opened the storchousi and from them supplied the wants of all who would come to buy. The famine was not confined to Egypt, but extended into Canaan, Syr and other countries, where it was so dreadful that the people of those hnv were compelled to come to Joseph to buy grain to avoid starvation. So large were the purchases made of Joseph during the first two years > the famine, that all the mouey of the Egyptians and Canaanitcs had passi into the treasury of Pharaoh. The authority which Joseph lliereafter exercix over the Egyptians was somewhat despotic, though luirdlv so oppressive as t might expect it would be among a people that were luited for their custom ( reducing the poor to slavery. The people who were no longer able to pay f; the provisions they needed were removed from the country to the cities, b. were still allowed to cultivate the lands, which had thus passed to Pharao: by a payment of one-fifth of the produce to the crown, and this hard conditic caused the permanent loss of tenure of land in Egypt. (Tig the two drea; :atiou as folloj y botn prcsag ndauce tlirouj amine, when ■evail among; their graiiar. nificance of i e by appointi; of the crops irk of his t^re chain about ': )le were orden has been ,t,nv orehouses to lie royal inipi no hardslii great that i :liiied to was; even 5'ears w; want was fe i\'C starved b: the storehoiisi ly. Canaan, Syr of those hui: on. t two years tcs had passt after exercist iprcssive as v leir custom c ible to pay fi the cities, bi 'd to Pharao; hard conditic t iRP ■MHBIM Sa THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. JOSKPH REFUSES TO DISCLOSE HIMSELF TO HIS BROTHERS. Jacob, who still lived in Canaan, though an extremely rich man, didil escape the terrible effects of the famine, and was forced to send also to Pluiri | for grain to feed his household and famishing herds. Many years had n passed since Joseph was sold into bondage, for at the time of the begiinii: of the famine he was nearly forty years of age, while at the time of his s;| lie was but seventeen. Yet in all these years Jacob had believed his son be dead, having heard no word from him, nor did an}- of his sons reveal i secret of their wickedness, little caring what had become of the brother. When Jacob's granaries were emptied he sent ten of his sons to Egvpt buy corn, but kept Benjamin, the youngest, with him, lest some harm mig befall him, as he was now his father's favorite and consolation. When the ten brothers came to Joseph he recognized all of them innm ately, but they in turn did not know him, for they had never thought of tli servant brother becoming a ruler over so great a country as Egypt. In ore to I jufuse them, or test their fidelit}-, Joseph accused his brothers of bei: spies come from Canaan to observe the povertj' and weakness of Egypt. ' their ])rotestations of denial Joseph answered that as one of the brothers h been kept by his father in Canaan, he would keep them in prison and tn them as spies until this one was also brought to him. So he cast all : brothers into prison, but on the third day he went to them and said that knew the famine was severe in Canaan and that he would therefore per: nine of them to return, laden with grain, to their father, but that he wo. retain one as a hostage for the bringing to him of their youngest broth; The brothers were very sorrowful because of these conditions, and beer conscience stricken as Reuben reminded them how they had turned a deaft to the entreaties of Joseph when they sold him to the Midianite merchants Joseph at length chose to hold Simeon, and accordingly bound him hcf liis brothers and then sent the others away with their sacks filled with oir but he ordered that the money which the brothers had paid for the corn shoe be secretly placed in the sacks. As they journe3'^ed back home with their ass laden with grain they stopped at noon-time to give their animals food, when their astonishment, as they opened the sacks to get food for the asses, each o: found the money that he had paid to Joseph in the mouth of the bag, and tb believed that it was a miracle. MEETING OF JOSEPH AND BENJ.VMIN. When the brothers reached home they told their father all that had lii pened to them, of how harshly the governor of Egypt had treated them ai how he had retained Simeon as a hostage for the bringing to him of Benjani; At this sad news Jacob was deeply distressed, for he could not bear to pi with Benjamin. Reuben thereupon said to his father, " Slay my two sons, ^ HERS. ch man, did: also to Pilar; r years had u f the bcgiiini: time of his >: ieved his son sons reveal • e l)rother. ons to Egypt me harm mig )f them inune thonght of tilt i)gy pt. In ore 'Others of be:: of Egypt. : he brotliers 1: )rison and tr; he cast all ; nd said that therefore per. that he wot •nngest hrotk ns, and bcca: rned a deafe te mercliaiits. •nnd him hefo illed witli cor the corn shot with their ass Is food, when asses, each o: 2 bag, and tin that had lii ated them ai m of Benjain: not bear to pi ly two sons, I 84 THE BHAUTIFI'L STORY. iifiiil I bring him not to thee; deliver him into my hand, and I will bring liini thee again." But Jacob wonld not consent. When tfie corn which they bronght was all eaten, Jacob told his sous go again into Egypt and buy more, but they replied that the governor had v that they should not see his face again unless they brought their youn- brother with them. Then Judah begged his father to trust Benjamin inUi ^ fj care, giving his oath to return him again or accept all the blame forever ilu -' . after. At length Jacob consented, but he told his sons to take presents fruits, spices, honey, myrrh and balm with them, and also the money found . ^ their sacks, lest there might have been an oversight. , With the blessings of their father the brothers departed again, w - . j . 1 , , T> • •., ., ^r*, ■ ms tar double money and presents, and took Benjamin with them. They jounK\ deep S( Joseph Benjan on and soon came before Joseph, who commanded that they ])e brought in ♦. dine with him. This order excited their fears afresh, because now tl' -l* *;v believed they were apprehended to be punished for not paying for the ci ^^ they had bought on the first visit, and so they told the steward of Jost'ii f « house of how they had found the money they had paid to Joseph tied uj) w the grain in their sacks after departing, and that they had therefore l)rnii; it back again. The steward assured them that there was no cause for :il;i: /•-_*. .,; and that God had given them the treasure in their sacks. He then bnni^ i' i-r water for them to wash their feet and provender for their asses, after wli -r « Simeon was brought out to them. ,, r Joseph returned to his brothers at noon, and asked diligently aboui : f«„Q«:te health of his father, and then inquired if tlie young nuiu was Beujaiii i!r_ j- ■ Finding it to be so, Josejih was so overjoyed that he had to hasten from , t„Jo1i ' brothers to find a place to weep where they could not sec him. \\'hcii ^■l.^ |_^| returned to them again all the brothers set before him the presents that tli «Tpli had brought, and then the tables were made ready for dinner: one table ''<-'i£.„ri 1^. set for Jo.seph, one for his brothers, ;uk1 a third for the Ivgyptians thai \^^^i|gn { invited. But as they began to eat Joseph set dishes before them with I'i^ " savini; hands, and before B(Mijamin he placed five times as much food as before others, and they all drank and were merry. After the fuast was over Joseph commanded his steward to fill up sacks of his brothers with, ^orn, and into each place the money that they paid for the grain, but into the sack of Benjamin he ordered the stewan put a silver cup. In the morning the brothers were sent on their way, but when they '15011 Jos got outside the city Joseph ordered his steward to set after them and to '"inot: a' them back, and to charge them with stealing a silver cup and money ^'luato m The steward did as he was ordered, and when he came up with them an^'th accused the brothers of offending his master by rol)bing him of a silver t'l'thei* a They loudly jiroteste^l their innocence, and freely offered to unloose llH||att» c> sacks, that he might see they had none of the things which they were 'i^'^'i'^Egypt, fore, bt God di( takqi hi in the ii THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 85 ill brincf him ^ , , , , 1 1 1 • • • 1 , r ■, of Jl^aling. So the steward searched tlie sacks, beginning with that of the , ,, , ., old^t and ending with that of Benjamin, in whose sack he fonnd the cup. 11 'Now were the brothers covered with confusion, knowing their innocence. ivernor had ^ . ; , , 1 • 1 , • 1 r -i 1 1 1 • 1 1 ' , . ^ ail<|'i^3'et overwhelmed with t!"^ evidence 01 guilt, and they rent tlieir clothes • ■ "^ wilM fifrief, but saddled up their asses, and with their sacks they returned to •njamin "U(' "M,^ / .• .1 11 *i ^ 1 r i- i ^ r . J^^lS") ^^'"° ^^''^^ expecting tiieni ; and when they appeared before Inm he , '^ asl^, "What deed is this that ye liave done?" Then he told them that the r ^, matl^ in whose sack the cup was found should he his servant, but that the monev found *^ , , , ,, . , • r 1 othijlir brothers should return in peace to tlicir fatlicr. , . Judah, who had so carnesth- besought his father to give Benjamin into ' ' " his iarc, and who had vowed to return him safelv, was now stricken with such They jounitM e brought ' his royal brother with a humilit}- and dejection which plainly reflected the 1 , deep sorrow that we cannot read the sufiFeriug, agonizing plea which he offered ^ to Joseph without feeling a portion of the grief that moved him. Approaching ig for the c ard of Jost'i pli tied uj) w lerelore bnui cause for al;; e then h ses, after . agotly of his mind, he begged that he would listen to the sorrowful circum- stances which had brought him and his brethren again to Pygypt. He reminds , Tosetoh how he had truly answered all his iuciuiries, in which he had told why lerelore bnui^*' «- - ' j -•'■--.. first visit, and the sad cause that had brought him now. He then pleads for ""' Benjamin the j-ouugest, his father's comforter, had not come with them on the ' ihe life of his old father, who will surely be Ijrought to the grave with grief ^^ ' if Benjamin is not permitted to return, for that Jacob had mourned coutinu- LMitlv about ; ally for the loss of his son Joseph, ami now to remove from him his other favorite would inflict ui)on him a burden greater than he could bear, " for his was Beujani jj^g ^ bound up iu that of the lad." As a last plea for his young brother, .' ' ^ x-i '" Judah begs Joseph to take him as a bondman iu Benjamin's place, and to let Mm. \\ hen ^^^ j^^^ ^.^,^,„.„ ^^, ,,j^ ^1^,^;,,^^, j-.^^,j^.j. ^'"'^ ^ n^'\ This last soul-sorrowing supplication was more than Joseph could bear, one ta )le i>^'i and he commanded every one to go out of the room "except his brothers, and lans tlial ">,^yijen tjicy vere alone he burst out crying and revealed himself to his brothers, m with bi^" sayijp^r: "I am Josejjh, your brother, whom ye sold into F)gypt. Now, there- { as '^^'»»"^' ' fore, be !U)t grieved nov angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God dill send me be'bro you to preserve life." *' "" "P ' Joseph's forgivemss of his brothers for their wickedness in conspiring to that they "takg his life, and afterward in selling him into bondage, is beautifully expressed the steward ^^ ^jj^^ sacred records, wherein he is made to say : ^' Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus .saith thy •fllBoseph, God hath made me Lord of all ICgypt : come down unto me, tarry tt>} fatlu Beiij ttpoi Jose and that THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 7 i:r ^ fiither hitlicr. And he fell upon his brother Benjamin's neck and wept ; and Benjamin wept npon his neck. Moreover, he kissed all his brethren and wept upon them." ,, When it was told to Pharaoh that Joseph's brothers had come, he told lUieph to load all their animals with grain and let them retnrn to their father, and to take wagons and bring back to Egypt Jacob and his household, and t^at he would give him everything good that was in the land. JOSICPH RKVHAMNG HIMSKI.H To HIS lIKdTlllvRS. "And Joseph said unto his brethren, I iiiii Joseph."— tttm. xlv. 3, To the brothers Pharaoh spoke, saying, " Now thou art commanded, thin do ; take you wagons om of ihe hind of Ivgypt for your little ones, and for )ur wives, and bring your father and come. Also regard not your stuff; for pie good of all Egypt is yours." Mi'i'/nxi; oi.' josi'.i'ii AND HIS I'ATiu'.r. Joscpli's brotliers departed for their home wilh many wagons and provisions -^r the journey, autl other marks of kindness from both him and Pharaoh, in- Jfluding changes of clothing and money. Benjamin received five limes us much S| i i ; ! 1 Mi \ ■J : '.' : 1' : 1 iH 51' I 88 THP: BHArTIFUL STORY. as was given to the other brothers, which was because of his nearness of l T(»cpl which followed the satisfying evidence that Joseph was indeed still living, w;, extremely great, as may be imagined, and was a fitting conclusion to the wn: derful succession of surprises which hud come to himself and sons during i. short period since the)^ had iirst i!;'>ne to Kgypt to buy corn. When Jacob believed that Joseph was still living he became all impatioii to go immediately to see him; but before setting out on the journe}- hv li not neglect to make sacrifices unto God, who appeared to him in a vision night, and said, " Fear not to go down into Kgypt, for I will ihcrc make of ilii, a great nation." Jacob at once collected together all his household, includii;. Lis sons' wives, and his grandchildren, sixty-six in numl)cr, ar.d all his i^on. and his herds, and went to Kgypt. As the caravan reached the hrul of C.oslu: which is on the frontier of Kgypt, and which was to be the dwelling-place ' Jacob, having been given to him by Pharaoh, Joseph came out to meet him ; a chariot. What a sublimely beautiful though pathetic spectacle was now ; be presented! More than twenty years had passed si!.ce the sad news w. brought to Jacob that Joseph, his best beloved, had been torn and eaten by wil beasts ; and iKdiold, in his old age, his heart was lifted out of its long grief I the enrapturing tidings that this cruel story was false, and that the lost si was to be restored to him ; uot as the little boy who went out in the field- clothed in beautifully colored raiment, to bring repo'-t of the doings of li: him Phara in bet made bless i I the b( Joscpl the el Esau, to Ep own s he div of whi before Redee and L of Dii soattei ships ; to be brothers, l)Ut as a man, grown to full estate, and wearing the purple of authorit) being the greatest ruler in all Ivgypt, yet no less the loving sou. When Joseph perceived his aged father appr )aching, he ran to meet hiir •md falling on his neck wept with that joy which may best be described ;i lifting us from earth into the l)lissful condition of angels. Jacob was equall; overcome, for he said, in the pride and happiness of his heart, " Now let iik die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet alive." JACOB ni.l'.SSHS JOSHI'Il'.S CHII.DRHN AND DIRS. When Jacob was brought before Pharaoh, he was questioned by the kiiii, as to his age and possessions, to which Jacob replied that he was then .. hundrea and thirty years old, doings of Ii: e of anthoriti to meet liiii: deseribcd a b was eqnall; " Now let UK by the kiiij: ti was then ; 1(1 been \on ^tory of Ii!^ grhifs, bnt was no donbt influenced more b}' the estimation in which he held Joifph in his gifts to Israel — which Jacob and his household were now called. Tip land of Goshen, also called Rameses, was a 'nost fruitful district near the easiern confines of Egypt, and was a considerable territory. All this Pharaoh gaV* to J acob, besides ordering Joseph to sustain the household until the famine abated. Jacob lived in Goshen for seventeen 5'ears, and was now so old that his ej'e- sigllt, like that of his father Isaac in his last j-ears, had so failed him that he coidd no longer see. Realizing that his death was near at hand he sent for Joseph and his two sons, named Manasseh and Ephraim, who were born to hiai by his wife, Asenath, whom he had married directl}' after interpreting Pharaoh's dream. When they arrived Jacob summoned his strength and sat up in bed, and after telling Joseph how God had blessed him and the promises made toward his descendants, he called his two grandsons to give them his bl«S8sings. Being blind he had to trust his touch, as Isaac had, so that when th«s boys came to him he felt them, to distinguish the elder from the younger. Joseph desired that his father'h- first blessing should be given to Manasseh, the elder, but Jacob, remembering how he, being younger than his brother Esau, had taken the blessing from his father, chose to give the greater blessing to Ephraim, which he accordingly did. Following this he called all of his own sons together, the twelve mentioned, and giving to Joseph a double portion, he divided the rest of his possessions among the others, and then gave a prophecj' of what should be the career of each. Through Judah, who pleaded so hard before Joseph for the release of Benjamin, Jacob declared should come the Redeemer (Shiloh). Reuben, through his instability, should not excel ; vSimecm and Levi, for the wrong thej did in putting Hanior and his son, the husband of pinah, to the sword, should be cursed for their anger, and their descendants scattered in Israel; Zebulun should dwell by the sen, and keep a haven fin- ships ; Issaehar should be a servant to carry lieavy burdens ; Dan was appointed to ^1be a judge of one of the tribes of Israel; Gad would be overcome, luit being a great warrior, should become victorious over his enemies at last ; Ashcr was ajipointed to great riches; Naphtali should be a counsellor ; Benjamin was to become a great warrior, who would never be satisfied with his conquests, and would fight if for no other reason than fi)r the spoils that he might take. l'\)r Joseph was reserved all the good things that tnight be given through thf^:favor of God, but already had his destiny been almost complete, since the pOi|tion to which he had attained was equal to that of king of a great country, Thtse twelve sons afterward became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel, and will be frequently mentioned in subsequent narratives. After finishing the giving of his prophetic blessings, Jacob charged his sons after lii« 'li^^^ith to bury him in the field of Machpelah, which is before Manire, where already reposed the bodies of his parents and grandparents, and of his wife Leah. When he had thus commanded !.hem, " he gathered up his feet *! 90 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. into the bed, and yielded up the ghost," aged one hundred and forty-sevt; years. When his father was dead Joseph threw himself mn the body in a wi passion of grief and kissed it repeatedly. He then ordered his physicians • embalm his precious dead, and kept the body in his house for a period of for days, as was the custom of the Egyptians, but his period of mourninti w THE llODY OP JACOB KMUALMBD. "And the physiciaus euibnluied Israel." — Oi'.n, 1. j. for se-cnty days. The body was now taken by Josepi' and his brothers, w' were followed by all the servants in Pharaoirs house, and the proiniiu people of Egypt, in chariots and on horseback, " to the threshing floor of At.u; which was near the Jordan River. Here they halted and went into mouniii for seven days, after which the body was carried to the place designatt.il Jacob's last request, and deposited in the sepulchre with his fathers. I THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. and fortj'-v seve: body in a wi s physicians : period of for mournin.y w 91 When they had retnrned from the burial of their father, Joseph's brothers jressed fear that now he would punish them for their iniquity in selling him bondage, and to propitiate his anger they fell down at his feet and begged to forgive them, offering to remain forever his servants if he would but ire them. At this Joseph wept, sorrowful that they should believe he harbored taiy desire for revenge. But he soon dismissed their fears, by promising to do r's will in all things and to provide for both them and their children. There is little more recorded in the Bible about Joseph after his father's death, as it merely tells us that he continued to dwell in Egypt, with his rela- tfves, until he was one hundred and ten years of age, and had seen the third generation of his son Ephraim, and had held the grandchildren of his son Bfenasseh on his knee. At this age he died and was embalmed and buried in ^ypt. Many years afterward, when the Israelites reached Canaan, the remains of Joseph were carried over to Sychem and laid in the sepulchre with his father. f-.-n brothers, w! the proniim; floor of Al;ui into mouniii: designated :. Iiers. I • ■IP [■I i CHAPTER VII. THK STORY OF MOSES. ^HE Egyptians were alwajs enemies of the Jews, and evec in the time of Joseph, who was himself a Hebrew , ;; was not permitted the Jews to sit at table with llu Eg3ptians. Thus we saw, in the preceding chapter that when Joseph's brothers came to him on thei: second visit to buy corn, when he had ordered them t dine with him, he had three tabk s jjrepared : one iV himself, one for his brothers, and another for ilu Egyptians who were in his house. Though Pharaoh and hi- pcople were content to care for the lnuisehold of Jacob, llu land which was given them in Goshen lay outside the bonkM^ of Egypt, i)robably on the frontier of Syria, as the senlinu'ir against the jew> would not permit of e\en Joseph's rclatiwv occu])yiiig a part of the Egyptian territory proper. The story of the oppressious of the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, wlio was called Israel, begins thus, " Now there rose up a new king over Egypt who knew not Joseph." We ai\ therefore not informed of the circumstances which gave rise ti the new dynasty succeeding Pharaoh who was king at iIk time of Joseph. The sacred record does tell us, however, tlia; the Israelites, or Jews of modern history, had increased si rapidly that the king of I'« belnrc. St'eing the futility of his measures tiius far, Pharaoh adopted new and m<»re rigorous ones, by uhtch the children of the Jews were forced to peiform the ews, and even a Hebrew , ■■. ihle with ilu •ding chapter lini on tlici: Icrcd them t arcd : one tV tlicr \\)v tlu nioh and h:. of Jacob, ilu e tlic border- Lhc sentiiiK'n: )h's relatiw^ , dcsccndam^ )\v there rost h." We arc 1 gave rise ti^ king at ik however, that increased s^ )cconie niort thcr eneiiiit'v le Jewish in iken to liiiii; urdcus u\iv,k taskmasters of bondage, which thov s. Bnt not- multiply ivs ew and ninre per for ju the "^3. 94 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. hardest labor, such as the carrying of brick and mortar, and exposing them the hardships and exposures of the field. To this was next added a yet luo: severe law commanding the raidwives to kill every male child bom to the Jew though they were ordered to spare all the female children. BIRTH AND FINDING OF MOSES. While these dreadfully restrictive measures were in force, a descendant Lovi, one of Jacob's sons, married a Jewess of the ^ame descent, by whom ; had a son. The mother, to save her child from being killed according tot law, hid him for three months, but not being able, from her poverty, to k( him longer concealed, she made a basket of willows and covered it with slit and pitch so that it might float ; she then placed her babe in this frail shall and laid it among the flags of the river (Nile) brink. The mother then si tioned the babe's sister, Miriam, a little way off to see what might happen the child. It is most probable that the place wherein the basket was placed was o; frequented by members of the royal household, for \re are told that soon aftt Pharaoh's daughter, attended by her maids, came down to bathe at this ve: place. Discovering the child in the basket, by hearing its cries, she order; her maid to bring it to her. While holding the chid she saw that it was Hebrew parentage; Miriam, now perceiving her oppor '.unity , asked if she slion get a Hebrew mother to nurse it, to which the kind-hearted princess gave b consent, and as the babe's mother was near by she was. called, and it was givt into her care, with the promise of the princess to pay her wages for rearing After some years, the child, which had now grown grtatly, was brought Pharaoh's daughter, who accepted him as her sou, and called his name Most •which means " taken out of the water." ii H thp: manhood of moses. After the adoption of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter we have no furtlit record concerning him until, according to the authority of St. Stephen, he w: forty years of age, when we are told that one day, while Moses was watcliit the hard labor of his people, he saw an Egyptian (taskmaster, presumedly beating one of his Hebrew brethren. Evidently, all who were witnesses of tk assault were Hebrews, for Moses looked this way and that way, and when 1: saw that there was no man (Egyptian) in sight, he slew the Egyptian, an buried him in the sand. . On the next day, as Moses was walking out he saw two Jews fightint whom he so soundly reproved that one of them asked who had made him prince and a judge, and then taunted him with having killed and hid tl Egyptian. Pharaoh was thus apprised of the murder, and resolved to kill Mose for the crime, but he fled and went to Midian, which was in Arabia, and the: sat down by a well to rest and refresh himself. posing them ded a yet luo m to the Je L descendant t, by whom ; iccording tot overty, to kc: d it with slin; lis frail shall tother then si light happen placed was o; that soon aftt he at this ve: es, she order; that it was . d if she shoii ncess gave k id it was givt 1 for rearinjj was brought; IS name Mose lave no furtli: tephen, he w: 5 was watcliii: presumedly itnesses of tli; and when I Egyptian, at Jews fightiiii id made liiiu and hid tt i to kill IMose ibia, and ther THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 95 i While thus resting, seven daughters of a Midian priest, named Jethro, came e to water their father's flocks, and after they had filled the troughs some Upherds came up and drove them away, but Moses came to their aid and g^lantly watered their flocks for them. For this kind act he was invited to the ilWse of. Jethro, where he lived but a short time before the priest gave him one of his daughters, Zipporah, in marriage, by whom Moses had one son that he named Gershom. It is somewhat singular that no mention whatever is mide of this son, or of Zipporah either, beyond the mere statement of the marriage aaSi birth. It is probable that Gershom died in infancy for had he grown to manhood he would have almost certainly succeeded to some hereditary office, unless he vmB ineligible by reason of some sin, or mental incapacity. Tlie four sons of Aaron, as we shall presently see, were installed in the priestly office directly after they became of age, or, rather, almost imuKuiately upon the completion of ijthe Tabernacle, but Moses left no children that figured in the sacred history. MOSES DELIVERS THE ISR.^ELITES. Moses remained with Jethro attending his herds for several years, nearly forty, by some authorities, when one day as he drove the cattle to a new pasturage at the Mount of Horeb, an angel appeared to him, assuming the appearance of a burning bush, out of which God called to him. When Moses had made answer the voice told him to take off" his sandals because the place was holy ground. The voice then continuing told him of the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and that the burdens and sorrows of the Israel- ites, under their cruel Egyptian taskmasters, had excited God's compassion. The voice therefore spoke further to Moses, commanding him to go to Pharaoh and procure the release of his people from bondage, by means which would be placed within his power. Moses was then further instructed as to what* he should do, and was permitted to perform miracles by which he would be able to convince the Israelites that he was indeed sent to deliver them. Moses had a brother named Aaron, three years his elder, concerning whose birth the Bible tells us nothing. It may be that the word "brother" here niiCans that Aaron was only a member of his tribe ; or, possibly, that the two "Wfre half-brothers ; in either event, the importance of exactness in the narra- is not great. We are told that while God was manifesting Himself to tees, Aaron was journeying to meet him, and that the two met at Mount Ireb, where Moses told his brother of the wonderful things which God had pt performed, and of his call to go back into Egypt to deliver his people, ron was an eloquent man, while Moses was, as he admits, slow of tongue, [the Lord said to him that Aaron should help him to talk to the people, that he, too, would be given the power to perform miracles. It was not without much persupsion upon the part of God, who at length ^ame angered, that Moses consented to do that which he was bidden, for he ibted, even in the face of the many miracles which God wrought before M Fil ^inpK SMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) A «•. 1.0 If 1^ IB^ ^^ 1^ I 3.2 « .,. Ill£ I.I m MM 1.8 1.25 U i 1,6 ^> ,.«^V Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRIFT WHSTIR.N.Y. MSaO ( 71 «) 173-4503 iV \ \ O^ «■ ■^' o^ i ' I !| 1 i lyj I'lIAK \'>11-S MISK-; V •iL !il \i : 1 J ^m i !! 'I . 'S i ■ \ ! 1 , ! \ \'- i j i 1 * J, 1 : •■-■ -it....'. Ik M> :^ ■^■' .•-^^t Wtv-fj,:.:^ '.t\: vis .\l I >• I [-.*! ^ i U IV FINDING OF MOSES. ",\mi the icomaii limk f/if c/iiM (tiiti iit/rse<{ if. Aiulttit chiM tfrfiv." A'.\orfii\ ii.UIO. sHI liiiii, I He ;ainn| |t\Vi) nu\ t| iftcr fatlicr] Tl or cldj deli veil Lord 1 '■tkJlklMi: THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 97 ^4 [him, his fitness for tlie work of deliverance, or that God would help him as Hi-' proiiw^ed. These doubts, however, were finally removed, and Aloses, first paining- the consent of Jethro, his father-in-law, set out with his wife and two sous for Egypt. As they came again to Mount Hoi-eb, Aaron met them atul they travelled together until the}- came to a caravansary, or inn, where, j after stopping for the night, Moses' wife was prevailed \ipon to return to her fatlier, since the hardships of the journey were too great for herself and her t young babe. MOSES AND AARON BEFORE THARAOH. The t*vo brothers, upon reaching Egypt, called at once upon the priests, or elders, of the Israelites, to whom they told how God had called them to deliver the people out of bondage, and, as a sign of the power which the Lord had given them, they changed their rods into serpents, which convinced the elders. In all that was said Aaron acted as the mouthpiece of INIoses, for to one was given the abilit}' to direct, while the other was endowed witn the gift of eloquence. When they had explained their mission to the elders, who were to tl e.u prepare the Israelites for their freedom, Moses and Aaron went before Pharaob. and asked him to allow the Hebrews to go three days' joiirney into the wil- derness and make a feast, but Pharaoh evidently perceived the intention of Moses, and instead of granting the request he imposed fresh burdens upon the Israelites. These increased hardships made the Israelites regret that Moses had ever designed their freedom, and they besought him to cease his efforts for their release. Even Moses himself was overcome b}'' the sad results of his attempts to procure the deliverance of his people, for he went out into a field and cried to the Lord, "Wherefore hast Thou so evil entreated this people? Why is it that thou hast sent me ? for since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he hath done evil to this people ; neither hast Thou delivered Thy people at all." TIIIv TEN PLAGUES. ! When Moses had thus complained, God answered him by saying that now should He drive Pharaoh with a strong hand, and renewed His promise to bring the Israelites out of bondage. God also renewed the covenant which He had made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and told Moses that His name should now be Jehovah, by which He had never before been called. Then God said tliat Aaron should be the prophet, to declare to Pharaoh what shouM come to pass, and to foretell the afflictions which should be brought upon the Egyptians if Pharaoh persisted in refusing to give the Hebrews their fj-ecdom. Moses and Aaron were now commanded to go again to Pharaoh, at which time we are told that Moses was eighty and Aaron was eighty-three years of ii.no. As they came before the king to sho\v him the power which God had given them, and that their request for the deliverance of the Israelites was If! 1 m 1 1 V si, , ■■ !!i,'! tjiil (98) MOSliS AND AARON UUKORK I'llARAOH, "And Aaron cast dowu his rod before Pharaoh, . . . and it became a serpent."— Kx. vil. 10. Uh THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 99 iiuadc by God's commands, Aaron threw down his rod before Pharoah, when iu- Istauclv it became a live serpent. But this miracle did not convince the king, for calling his magicians before Moses, the}^ too cast dov.-n their rods and cliant^ed them into serpents, but Aaron's rod swallowed up the magicians' rods. On tlie following da}'^, as Pharaoh came down to the river, Moses went before him, and striking the water with his rod turned it into blood; and when the li'-vptians dug for wells they could find nothing but blood, and there was no water to drink for a period of seven days. This plague of blood was so great that Pharaoh softened his heart and promised to let the Israelites go if Moses hvould bring back the waters as before. But when Moses, by prayer to God, [restored the waters, Pharaoh broke his promise, so that other plagues were sent I upon Egypt, each time the king declaring, while the plague was upon the land, jthat if it were removed he would liberate the people, but as often refusing to I redeem his pledge. The plagues thai were thus sent by God were as follows : First, a plague [of blood, then of frogs, next of lice, flies, murrain, by which all the domestic animals died, then boils en both man and beast, then hail and fire, next grass- hoppers, then darkness, and last, but most terrible of all, was the plague of the first-born, by which the eldest child of ever}' Egyptian family was brought [to death. When God determined to visit the Eg3"ptians with this last dreadful punish- Iment, He first directed Moses and Aaron to tell the Israelites and to order each {Hebrew family to take a lamb from their flocks, which should be kept for a period of four da3'S, at the end of which time it was to be killed, in the even- ling ; into the blood of the lamb a hyssop branch was to be dipped, which [should then be struck on each side and over every door of the Israelites' houses, jso that there might be three marks of blood at the door of those who were to [escape the visit of death. It was also commanded that the lambs thus slain jshoukl be roasted and eaten while the Israelites were all ready to depart out of [Egypt, their dress complete and weapons in their hands. While the Hebrews were thus prepared, and were eating the lambs as jOod directed, the angel of death came through all the land of Egypt, smiting the first-born of every Egyptian house, but passing b}-, or over, every house [that had the blood marks. It is this incident which the Jews still celebrate in their Feast of the Passover. None of the plagues which God had sent to worry the Egyptians were permitted to visit any of the Israelites, but still Phai-aoh was so wicked in his Ihcart, and had so long bowed down to idols, that with all the manifestations of |€.()d';; will and power, he refused to give the Israelites their freedom. When, therefore, the plague of the first-born was sent, God ordered His chosen people to y;ather together themselves and their flocks, and to borrow, or take from the lE.u^yptiaus all the gold and silver and jewels which they could obtain, and iepart out of Egypt. The number which started in obedience to this command " 1 il' ■i ii I 1 ll. j i "If ;| . "ll * 1 1 "- (loo) ■3 3 3 ■J a THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. lOI I .^^ six huudrecl thousand iik .i, besides children ; and herds of animals, such las "'^its, cattle, camels and asses, but without other provisions, as the haste hvith wliich they left prevented them from taking any victuals except some hnileavcued bread. So great was the number of Israelites that the\' had gone some cla3's before Ipiuinioh could assemble an army large enough to go in pursuit. We are not told liow many soldiers Pharaoh collected, but it must have been a great host, for "he took six hundred chosen chariots and all the chariots of Egypt, au4 captains over ever}- one of them." Pharaoh's host drowxed ix thp: rkd ska. The Israelites did not flee with any well-determined idea as to where they were going, being concerned only for their freedom, and relying upon the Lord's AIN. borse us znti H ■T"' 1 '^ ^ I ^^B hi ' J I'll F^^^ fijiiiirj i ^ 5 u ^^M ^s i B< B. >< ^^H ^^A^ 1 ° " 'H ^^a ^i — rjp 1 D ~ a ^^H |r ' i' y ^p 1 nj t> "^ ^^H H^H !l ''^ -^ « m^M ^^Hfl 1 '*■ a ^ Jv,'^ " [1 ■ H .'i g j^^ I^K . li ^gligiJH I "^Sf -of |H ^^s ji JiB * ^H Hh u u ^^1 ^B^B ^f l^M IMB ■^ t W^M Ujt&^j 5 1 ^H Hp C.3 ^H Ih^L. ^^H gpMp{ ^^^B '-^ HH ^w ^^B 1^1 B^ PHAUAOll H IIOSI' S\VAl.l,i)\Vi:i) l'l>. "And Mc^es stretclieil forth his hand over the sea."— Ivx. xiv. 27. promise to bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey. The desert which lay between Egypt and Canaan (Palestine), being tht north portion of Arabia, was called "the wilderness," through which their route lay. As there were no roads through this dreary counlrv, lest they might become lost, God sent before them a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, which they were bidden to follow. ■1 I <1 M' ¥ I ii ■ {• 1 i "'i ffi ii 1 ' ^ f : SI .-■i Go'l ' : novrli- camp, i paiuc- of I--; bctUT MoseS shouU W ^B and di After so tha this n snin.u; watcn- violenc drownc was oi all pas I [02) DliATH HI' I'lIAKADHS l-IUST-liOUN. "And there was a great cry in Egypt: for there was not a house where there was not one dead." — Ex. xii, 30. THE BEAUTIFUI. STORY. 103 Wlieii the Israelites were several days march from tne capital of Egypt, IGoiI commanded them to make a camp at Pihahiroth, which was beside the [norrli-niost end of the Red Sea. Here, in the midst of the confusion of their c:unii, they discovered the rapidly approaching army of Pharaoh, and became panic-SLricken. Believing that thcj' should now be massacred, a great number of Israelites began to find fault with Moses, "for," said thej', "it had been IbcttL-r for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness." Moses replied to their murmurings by bidding them to fear not and that they should see the salvation of the Lord, for he would fight for them. When Moses had prayed to God he \vas bidden to stretch forth his rod and divide the waters of the Red Sea, and to order his people to move forward. After he had followed the Divine direction the waters of the sea were divided so that a great wall stood on either side and left a dry path between. Into this miraculous pathway the Israelites marched, followed directly by the pur- suing Egyptians, but the latter had not proceeded far when the great walls of water were broken and came rushing together upon Pliaraoh's hosts with such violence that they were overwhelmed and every one of that immense army was drowned. But the Israelites marched out on the other side on dry ground, nor was one of them destroyed, for the waters did not come together until they had all passed out ou the Arabian side. iiiit WANDERINGS OF THE ISRAELITES. When the Israelites were safe from their enemies thej'^ sang praises to the Lord with hearty thanksgiving, and then continued their march. The land of Canaan lay northeast of Eg\pt, but the route taken by them was a circuitous one, since it led southeasterly through Aribia, and thus caused them to travel many hundreds of miles farther, and through a vl-v much more miserable country, than if they had skirted the Mediterranear. Sea, and gone by the direct and easiest way. But there were two reasons why God chose that they should be led by the longer and more difficult route. F/rsi. — If tbej' had gone by *:he shore of the Mediterranean their march would have been interrupted by the warlike Philistines, who dwelt in the southern pai't of Canaan, by whom they would doubtless have been exterminated, without some miraculous interposition. Second. — The Lord chose to chasten his people and impress upon them His loving care and 'providence, by which they should come to serve Him loyally — a most excellent reason, as we shall hereafter see. The Israelites, after crossing the Red Sea, marched southwardly along the Gulf of Suez, until they reached the seventeen wells of Moses, at the station of Aynn Musa. From this point they diverged sonthwestwardly through the margin of the desert of Paran, and the wilderness of Shur, which is still noted for its great sand storms and aridity. For three daj-s they were in this wilderness without water, and when, at last, being tormented by thirst, they came to the spring of Marali, the}'- could not drink the water f I. f i It ■■ * V' 1 104 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. because of its bitterness. Again the Israelites complained loudlj' against Moses for bringing tlicm into snch a land, v.lierein they were threatened wi'li death by thirst, forgetting alreadj' how God had delivered them in tluir extremities. The Lord now directed ]\Ioses to take the branches of a certain tree, which grew by the spring, and cast them into the spring, which being dune the waters were at once made sweet and wholesome, so that the Israelites ami their herds gratified their thirst. FED WITH MAXNA FROM HEAVEN. After quenching their thirst at ^larah the Hebrews continued their march until thc}^ came to what was called the wilderness of Sin, which was not far from the Red Sea, or between its waters and Monnt vSinai. Here the}- were put to another great trial, for the nnleavened brjad which they had bronglit away from Egypt was now exhansted, and starvation was threatening. As tluv had alread}' done tluve times before, when snffei- ing nnder the chastenim; rod, the}' again accusei. Moses of leading them into a strange land which Inul made their hardships greater than those whiel; they bore while iuuIjv bondage. The Loi'd now told Moses and Aaron that he would again show to tlic Israelites that he was leading them, l>y causing bread to fall from heavtii wherewith to satisfy thoir hunger, and that He M-ould so continue to supi)lv them until they should come into Canaan. According to this promise every night thereafter manna was sent from heaven, which the people gathered earlv in the morning so that the supply was never deficient. But besides this miraculous provision, that the jjcople should not be fed l\v bread alone, in the evening a great number of quails flew into iheir camp, which were caught and served to supply them with meat. WATER iiRouGiir ovr OF ruv. ROCK IX nt>Ri:n. The many manifestations of God's watchful care which the Israelites had seen still did not incline them to a belief in the promises Moses had made to them; for with every fresh trouble they were i-eady to expend their wrath THE POOI, OK Wlil.I.S OI' MOSKS. upon a''e U place the sc length whom pie 111 stril'Ce the ac of the dangc warlikt some t ^' leader I but \vl i until ] ^'1 side an t with g; 1 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 105 upon the leader wlioni God had appointed to take tliem from a land of bond- age U) a country blessed with an abundance for all their temporal nccdt.. After the Israelites had passed tlu-ough the desert of Sin they came to a place called Rephidim, meaning rcsfin^ir place. Again were they afflicted with the scarcity of water, and again did they raise a cry against Moses, which at length grew into threats against his life. Moses appealed to the Lord, by \\lu)m he was directed to take some of the elders and go on before the oeo- plc until he should reach the rock in Horeb ; this rock he was directed to .strike with his rod, promising that a plentiful supply of water should follow" the act. Moses did as the Lord bade him, and a stream of water gushed out of the rock sufficient for all the people an.d their herds'; but scarcely had the dani^cr of thirst been overcome, when a king called Amalek, a leader of some warlike tribes who were descendants of Esau, attacked them with no other purpose than to rob them of their possessions. This first battle of the Israelites was a severe one and was waged for .some time with varying success, for we are told that, though Joshua was the leader of the Israelitish host, when Moses lifted his hands his people prevailed, but when he let them fall the Amalekites prevailed. The battle so continued until Moses sat upon a stone and his hands were held up by Aaron on one side and Hur on the other, when the Israelites put to flight the Amalekites with great slaughter. MOSES MEKTS HIS WIFE AND FATHER-IN-LAW. After this great battle Jethro, the Midian priest, Moses' father-in-law, heard of the events befalling the Israelites ; and taking Zipporah, Moses' wife, and the two sons born to him, he went out to meet his kinsman. When they met, Moses fell on Jcthro's neck and kissed him, and then told of all the wonderful things which had befallen him since his departure from Egypt. Jclhro seems to have been a very devout man, for he served the true God, and when lu learned how Moses was an instrument in the Lord's hands for hrini^ing the Israelites out of bonvlage, he took a burnt-offering and made sacriliccs to God. On the following day all the Israelites were called together before Moses io receive such judgments as they might ask to have nuvde, as Moses was the oul\- judge .vhich they had, and upon him therefore devolved the entire adininis- tralii)n of justice. Jethro, seeing this, told Moses that the duty was too much for one man to perform, and thereupon advised ihat councillors and judges be appointed from among the people who should sit in judgment somewhat after the manner of our present courts. Moses was to be the supreme judge, whilst others should try the lesser offen.ses or causes, corresponding with our circuit judges and magistrates. This would relieve Moses of all other duties save the hearing of the highest complaints. These suggestions were so well received that Moses at once acted upon them and appointed rulers, or judges, io6 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. !■ I over thousands, and over hundreds, and fifties, and of tens. After this Jelluo departed, and there is no further record concerning him. THE TEN COMM.\NDMENTS GIVEN TO MOSES. In the third month after the Israelites had gone out of Egypt they came into the wilderness of Sinai, and when the}' had encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai Moscb went up on to the peak and there talked with God. In this conversation the Lord reminded him of how He had sustained him ;uk1 • his people, and that greater things were yet in store for him if he would obe\' His voice. Then God further told Moses to go down among the Israel- ites and sanctify them, and to order them to wash their clothes and be ready on the third day thereafter to receive Him. God charged Moses particularly, however, not to permit any one to go up to the mount, for death would be surely visited upon those who should attempt to do so. When morning dawned on the third day there was a deep cloud seen restiiijr on Sinai, out of which came flashes of blinding lightning and crasliing peals of thunder, so that all the people in the camp trembled with great fear. Moses now ordered all the Israelites to come out of their tents and to stand at the foot of the mountain; as they obej-ed the commnnd the Lord descended u])(m the mount in fire and made it smoke like an immense furnace, while thunder continued to break in terrific discharges. Then a trumpet was heard blaring in deep resonance, and growing louder and louder until Moses spoke, when the Lord called to him to come up on the mountain. When Moses came up God charged him to go down again and forbid the people, the priests or the elders from venturing upon the side of the mount, lest they become victims to His wrath, but to come up again and bring with him Aaron. After Moses did what had been commanded, he received and communicated to the people the law which God had promulgated, the ten commandments which He afterward again gave to Moses on the same mountain written on tables of stone. When Moses returned to God he stood in the thick darkness which clothed the Omnipotent, while the people looked on from a distance, fearful of the thunders and black clouds from out which God's voice was sent. Here Moses received the Divine precejits, which related to the government and future of the Jewish people. God, thus through Moses, assured the Israelites of His protection if they would but obey Him, but warned them of His vengeance should they embrace idolatry. Above all. He told them that the angel Jehovah (the Christ), who had guided them out of Egypt, would still lead them to the land of promise and fight their battles. Moses returned to Mount ySinai several times, being the messenger between God and the Israelites, but on the last \isit he remained for a period of foity days and nights, fasting all the while, during which time he was coninuuuled to make a sanctuary om the gold, silver, fine linens, shittim wood and skins that the people slioi d contribute. He also told Moses that this sanctuary THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 107 shouUl liave an altar, or mercy-seat, of pure gold, with two clierubim of gold that sliould be placed on either side facing each other, and with wings extended, The mercy-seat was to rest upon an ark, at which God promised to meet and cdmuaue with Moses concern- ill o- the govern- meiit of his pcdjile and of holy things. He also com- luaiuled that a Tabernacle be built of ten cur- tains of fine twisted linen, of blue, purple and scarlet, and ivitliinthisTab- crnacle should the ark be kept. There was also to be provided a table for shew- bread. This bread was to be baked by the priests, appoin- ted for a week, and placed on the golden table in the sanctu- ary. Til ere w ere to be twelve loaves, representing the twelve tribes of Israel, which were to be changed every v^abbath, and be eaten only by the priests in the holy place. The Lord also told Moses to provide an altar for sacrifices, and also a candelabra, or pilden candlestick, of seven brunches, and a lamp which should be kept supplied with olive oil, MIKIAM'S SOM; 01' TllANKSCIVlNC. "The horse and his rider hath He thrown lute the sea." — Kx, xv. ai. I f io8 THE BEAUTlFUIy STORY. Besides the instructions which God gave to Moses as to how the Tabernacle of the congregation shonld be built, and the holy furniture with which it should be provided, He also told IMoscs to establish a priesthood by investing Aaron and his four sons with the vestments of the holy oifice, describing to His servant what the insignia of the priestly office should be, and how Aaron and his sons were to be consecrated. While the priestly garments were ordered to be mude out of the most. costlj^ linens, bejewelled with many precious stones, such as topaz, carbuncle, diamond, sardius, emerald, sapphire, ligure, agate, amethj-st, beryl, onyx and jasper, set in '* ouches of gold in their inclosing," it is somewhat surprising that the ceremony of investiture was made so simple. The command woRSiiipriNa TUB c.oi.ni'N cam'. given was that, "thou (Moses) shalt bring .'\aron and his .sons to the door of tlie Tabernacle of the congregation and wash them, and thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments and anoint him, that he may minister to Me in the priest's office." Thus it aj^pears that the only ceremony was the pouring of oil upon the head, as an act of sanclification, and the jnittiug on of the priestly garments, Though the office was conferred by a simple act, this fact did not detract anv from the solemn obligations imposed, since the surroundings were sufficictUlv grave and holy to thoroughly impress upon the inducted priests its sacredncss, while the people needed no other evidence of authority tlius bestowed by God than the holy light that sho'ie ahvays about the Tabernacle. ..iiill "«»lll>44 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 109 THE ISRAELITES BECOME IDOLATERS. Moses was so long upon Sinai talking with God tliat at the end of forty davs, upon returning to the people, he found that Aaron had made for them an idol (nit of the gold and jewelry which they had brought to him, and moulded it into a golden calf Before this image the people were bowing in adoration, and had, by direction of Aaron, made a great feast and offered burnt-oiferings and sacrifices to it. God was so angered at the Israelites for their idolatry, and so speedily turning away from Him after beholding so many of His mercies, that He re- MOUNT SINAI. solved to " consume them from the face of the earth." But Moses pleaded so earnestly for their lives that God consented to spare them, but not without sonio punishment which should be visited upon them in the future. When Moses came b;ick to his people he brought with liim the tables of stone liiawn with the ten commandments, but as he drew near he beheld the Israelites making merry before the golden calf, which so offended him that he threw down the tables ami broke them. Then he called to Aaron and asked why the the i)e()ple had abandoned God and become worshippers of the golden iniage ? Aaron made reply that the people had come to him and begged him to make U I f> i' •i 1 t ■ 'i ' < i " j. (no) MOSKS BRKAKING tItIS TAIII.US. " And Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands. "—Ex. xxxil. 19. ■lii^ THE BEAUTIFUL STOR\, III them a god, since they knew not Avhat had become of Moses ; but he pleaded with his brother not to be angry with them. Moses now went and stood iX the "gate of the camp," and called aloud, " Who is on the Lord's side? let him come to me." To this cry all the sons of Levi responded, and were told by Moses that God had ordered them to " go in and out from gate to gate through- out the camp, and slay every man his brother, and ever}^ man his companion, and every man his neighbor." The children of Levi obeyed the command, and killed that day three thousand of the offending Israelites. After inflicting this punishment Moses took the Tabernacle, which had been prepared as the Lord had directed, and set it up some distance from the camp, and when all had been made ready he entered into the veil beside the nierc}'^- seat. God then appeared to him in a cloudy pillar, which stood at the Taber- nacle door, and talked with him, " face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend," while all the people looked on in wonder and praise. Here God cou- iirmed all that He had before promised and told Moses He would show him His mercy and glory. Moses was thereupon ordered to prepare other tables and go again to the top of Mount Sinai, where God would write upon these stones the commandments in piice of the tables that were broken. Moses did as the Lord willed, and remained on the mount fasting for another period of forty days and nights, talking with God, who gave him the new tables, and promised that if the people would cease their iniquities He would do greater things for them than ever before. Moses then returned to the Israelites, bearing the tables, and told them of God's promises, and while lie spoke to them his face shone brightly, so that they were afraid to come near him. "! < ■ i 'ifi^Hl 'EBnHI i 6 1 i iil III t *i , 1 ;: IHI 1 ! i-'i 1 ill It i'lf CHAPTER VIII. Hi'. ■ ! " i STONING A BLASPHEMER. Lcvi'^/a/s. i)OSES gave the law of the statutes, which God had made, to the people and established the daj'S of thanksgivings and praise-offerings, and ulso the tithe rate which was to be given for the maintenance of the priesthood. After this the people became very devout, seeing again how- merciful the Lord had been to them, but withal there were yet some who disregarded the will of God and continued in their transgressions. The first instance of a relapse into sin after Moses' last return from Sinai, is described in the Bible as follows : Among the host of Israelites who came out of Egypt there was one Egyptian, or, rather, the son of an Egyptian by an Israelite woman. The mixing of blood between the master and slave was common during the Israelitish bondage, but in all cases such offspring were held in slavery. On a Certain occa- sion, this half-caste fell into a dispute with one of the Israelites, and the two fought in the camp, during which contest the former blasphemed the name of the Lord. This event mnst have occurred soon after the last appearance, or manifestation, of God before Closes and the people, and while the spirit of righteousness was upon them, else they would hardly have re- garded the offense so gravely, as the entire camp was only a short time previously grovelling before the molten calf Rut now the blasphemer was arrested and thrown into a ward, or jail, until he could be brought to trial. When the matter was referred to IMoscs he counselled with God, who directed that the offender be taken out of the camp and there stoned by all those who heard the words of blasphemy uttered. This wrath of God, against those who took His name in vain, was thereafter formulated into a law, making the utterance of oaths punishable with death by stoning. TAKING A CENSUS OF THE ISRAELITES. Two years after the children of Israel were delivered out of bondage God ordered Moses to take a census of all the men iu the camp, twenty (M2) THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. "3 years old and upwards, who were capable of taking up arms and doing battle. The date fixed by Bible students when this numbering of the people took plaec was in I\Iay, 1490 B. C. The result of the census showed that over six hundred thousand men were in the camp subject to military duty, besides those of the tribe li Levi, who numbered eight thousand five hundred and eighty, who were exempt from all other duties than that of service in the sanctuary, from which it would appear that the two years of journe\iug in the wilderness of Sinai had not diminished the number that set out v/ith Moses, but on the other hand showed a perceptible increase. After the census was completed bj^ Aaron, to whom the work had been assigned by IMoses, as ^^.-^, -g^^^^ggg^^ ^, ^ ..e- ^^:^ ^^ .^r^.;,^^ the Lord commanded, _:^^^^^ ^:%:: ''- - ^^:^ : :C ' ^^*^.>. " Moses divided among ' "' -^— ' the families of the Le\ites the charge of the Tabernacle of the congregation and of the holy things," and these lie specially charged, hy the Lord's direc- tions, as follows: "He shall separate himself from wine and strong drinks, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegarof strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried." This was God's first injunction against the use of strong drink, but in this case He forbade the use of it hy the priests, lest in their drunkenness they might profane or defile the holy things of the sanctuary, which offense the Lord promised He would punish by death. But notwitstanding this command, it was not long after the Tabernacle was dedicated that Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, went into the hoi}' sanctuary drunk with wine, and there offered " strange fire " on the altar of incense. This so offended God that he sent a fire which con- sumed them. It is probable, and it appears so from the reading, that this punishment was inflicted upon Aaron's two sons before God had given His law to the priests against drunkenness, and that their offense prompted the establishing of such a law. 8 Tllli TAUICKNACLE. I ■) 114 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. Bi,/. : THE ISRAELITES RESUME THEIR JOURNEYINGS. It was very soon, perhaps within a few days, after the numbering of the people by Aaron, that Jehovah told Moses to break camp and resume his Journey toward the Mount of the Amorites, which was in the southern part of modern Palestine. During the continuance of the Tabernacle in the plain where it was first set up, the Lord hovered upon it in a cloud, but now this cloud was lifted, as the sign for the Israelites to depart from Sinai ; tlie Tabernacle was taken down, the herds gathered together, and everj thing being made ready, two silver trumpets were blown as a signal, and the march was taken up again toward the land of promise. God now appeared to the wander- PKir.ST AND FURNITURK 01-' THIJ TAUKRNACLE. ing host in the form of a cloud which went before them into the wilderness of Prjan, a three daj's' journe}', where it stopped to indicate that they should tlure encamp again for a short rest. While travelling, the Levites, to whom were given r!ie priestl}' offices, carried all the paraphernalia of the Tabernacle, and these went before the Israelites, so that when the time for halting arrived they might fix upon a place to set it up, for in the Tabernacle was the Divine favor nuide nuiuifest, as previously explained. While in the desert of Paran, which was an arid waste, difficult to travel through, troubles agaiu began to assail the Israelites, which they, as usual, THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 115 attributed to Moses, accusing him of bringing them out of a land of plenty that they might starve in the wilderness. Manna continued to fall from heaven, which supplied them with bread, but of meat there was none, and for the want of iliis their murmurings were very loud. This greatly discouraged Moses, for he had done all within his power to preserve and lead aright his people, and in his distress he called to the Lord and asked why so much trouble had been sent upon him, and begged that he might die rather than continue to bear the burden of the Israelites' complaints. God, though somewhat offended at Moses for desiring to evade the duties and responsibilities that had been placed upon him for a wise purpose, never- theless heard his complaint with comjiassion, for He told Moses to select seventy men of the elders of Israel and to bring them to the Tabernacle; which being done, upon these seventy God divided the responsibilities, so that they were assigned to such duties as made them answerable to the people in the same luunner as Moses. The Lord now promised Moses that He would also feed the Israeliles with meat for a whole month, although their fault-finding and rebellious spirit should not be left unpunished. Moses seems to have doubted God's power to provide food for such a vast multitude, for he asks, " Shall the flocks and the herds be slain for them ? or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them ?" By the will of Omnipotence an east wind was now made to spring xip, which brought such a vast number of quails that they fell on the ground over a space of thirty miles in diameter, and in places more than two feet in depth. Upon this innumerable legion of birds the Israelites began to feed themselves, but scarc.'ly had they placed the food within their mouths when a plague fell upon the people, as a punishment for their sins, of which many thousands died. To this day enormous flocks of birds pass at regular intervals over this region, so great at times as to obscure the sun, and render the statement of Moses readily credible, even aside of any miracle such as God here performed. S| , I! '^t!:' SPIES SENT INTO CANAAN. The length of time that the Israelites tarried at the camp pitched in Paran is not indicated in the Bible narrative, but it could hardly have been more than a few days, judging by the events which followed. We are told that they arrived at Kadesh, which was by the mountain of the Amorites, in the southern part of Palestine, forty days before the vintage, probably in the early part of June. When the Israelites had gone into encampment at Kadesh, thfe Lord ordered Mi)ses to send twelve spies, one from each tribe, into the la^nd of Canaan, who should learn the number of people that dwelt in the country, what was their fighting strength, the manner of their living, whether in tents or walled cities, whether they were rich or poor, and whether the land was wooded or prairie. in obedience to this command Moses chose one from each of 1?lic twelve tribes of Israel and sent them to make a trip through Palestine, from the point .:-M ii6 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. :' :, ! t ¥ of encampment to near the northern extremity. The spies accordingly set forth under the guidance and protection of God, and journeyed for a period of forty daj^s, when they returned to Moses and made their report. Two of tlic spies, named Caleb and Joshua, came upon a vineyard, by the brook Eshccd, from which they cut a single cluster of grapes so large that it required their combined strength to carry it, slung upon a pole, back to the camp. The re- ports which the twelve spies made differed so materially that the effects were most momentous to all the Israelites. While they all declared with one voice that the land was indeed flortdng with milk and honey, some of them persisted that the cities in which the people dwelt, — the Anakites, Amalekites, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites and Canaanites, — were surrounded by high and impreg- nable walls, while the Anakites were such might}' giants, and of such exceed- ing valor, that the Israelites were but as grasshoppers in comparison. Caleb and Joshua, the two who had brought back the grapes, denied the reports of their comrades, and sought to in- duce the Israelites to go at once and take possession of the fair land, with its immense wealth of fruits and treasure, and which they stoutly main- tained they had the strength to do. This contradiction and dispute among the spies led to a tumult among the people who, being prone to fear under the least provocation, threatened to stone Caleb and Joshua, and when they found Moses and Aaron also disposed to ,i;o into the strange land, the Israelites rose in rebellion and sought a captain who would lead them back to Egj'pt. Moses and Aaron both fell on their faces, and in anguish implored the people not to provoke the anger of God, but their supplications, as well as the assurances of Caleb and Joshua, onh^ served to provoke them the more, for now they gathered up stones to kill the four, Vvheu suddenly the glory of God RETURN OK THK SPIES. THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 117 blazed from about the Tabernacle and the people were awed, so that they with- held themselves from committing murder. FORTY years' WANDERING IN THE WILDERNESS. God was again so angered by the perversity and extreme sinfulness of the Israelites in refusing to believe in Him after all the signs and miracles which He had performed for their salvation, that He now resolved to destroy them by a pestilence ; but He promised to preserve Moses, and make his descendants a greater nation than that of which he was now the leader. But Moses inter- ceded with the Lord in his people's behalf and begged that their lives be spared, saving : " Pardon, I beseech Thee, the iniquity of this people, according unto the greatness of Thy mercy, and as Thou hast forgiven this people, from Egj'pt until now." God at length consented to spare the lives of the Israelites, but He would punish them b}' compelling them to wander in the wilderness for a period of forty years, until all those above twenty years of age who had heard His voice and seen His miracles should die ; so that none of them might come into the land which was promised, though their children should receive the inheritance and possess Canaan. Caleb, Joshua, Moses, Aaron, and perhaps others among the priesthood were exempted from this punishment, for though they too were doomed to wander with their people, the}' were suffered at last to behold the land which God had promised to give the Israelites ; but the ten spies who had so excited the fears of the people were stricken with a plague and died. When the Israelites had heard this sentence they became greatly distressed, but sought to force their waj- into the land of Canaan nevertheless, and insisted on showing their courage b}' an immediate attack iipou the possessors. jNIoses aL,Miii told them not to proceed thus against the Lord's will, since God would not protect them, and if they went thej' would certainly be attacked by the Ainalekites and Canaanites. Notwithstanding this advice, and the refusal of Moses to allow the ark to be taken with them, early in the morning nearh^ all in the camp went up the mountain, where the}'' were met by the Amalekites and Canaanites, b}' whom they were defeated, and chased in their flight as far as Hormah, several miles distant. REBELLION OF TPIE PRINCES. The Bible does not tell us much concerning the forty years of wandering in the wilderness, thirty-seven years of which period is a blank, no mention being made of a single incident that ti-anspired during this time. The first three years of the Israelites in the wilderness are described in the Chronicles, after which nothing more is written until far toward the end of their journey- ings, as we shall see. The first incident given after the Israelites were so badly defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites, is concerning a man who was arrested for gather- I t:! •! I fl ;? 1 i;> ■ ! ' ii8 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. ing sticks, for firewood, on the Sabbatii day. This was a very grave offeiiSL, since God had given the law to Moses tliat no work shonld l)e jjerfornied on the Sabbath. In order to make this kiw effective it was now resolved to visit the offender with a penalty of snch great severity that thereafter its obscrvancr would be general and faithful. Accordingly, when the man was bronght before Moses he ordered the culprit to be taken outside the camp and there stoned to death, in tlie same manner as blasphemers. Soon after this event there was a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, led by Korah, a Levitc, and Dathan and Abiram, descendants of Reuben. Korali was in service to the priests, but he aspired at once to the priesthood, while Dathan and Abiram sought to secure the leadership of Israel, basing their claims, probably, upon the fact that they were descended from the eldest son of Jacob, and therefore entitled to superior rights, according to the law of primogeniture. They urged their claims before the people, b}' declaring that Aaron had taken too much authorit}- and reserved for himself offices which should of right belong to the Levites, while the old crj- went up against Moses that he had bronght the Israelites out of a land of plentj- to bring them into a wilderness which threatened their extermination. These complaints found favor with a great number of the people, so that two hundred and fifty princes, famous in the congregation, espoused their cause, and were upon the point of attempting the overthrow of Moses and Aaron. At tliis jun.cture God com- manded Korah and the other rebels to present themselves at the door of the Tabernacle, each with his censer, while Moses and Aaro.i and the people who remained loyal to them were commanded to do the same. When this was done God told Moses and his partisans to separate tliemselves from the rebels, that He might destroy them, but Moses interceded for them ; this intercession, how- ever, did not this time avail, for when the two parties were separated the Lord caused the earth to open and swallow up the rebpHions people, while fire came out from the Tabernacle and consumed the two hundred and fifty princes. The brazen censers which they carried were preserved, however, out c( which Aaron caused plates to be made for a covering of the altar of burnt-offering. It appears from the reading that only a part of those who favored the rebellion were destroyed by the earthquake, for we arc further on told that a great many of the people gathered before the Tabernacle to revenge the death of their fellow conspirators \ipon Ivloses, but the Lord now appeared in a cloud above the Tabernacle and sent a pestilence among the people which destroyed more than fourteen thousand of those who had favored the rebellion. The merciful disposition of Moses was now again strikingl}' shown by his command to Aaron to fill his censer with coals fn)m the altar as an atonement for the people, and to stand ])etween the living and the dead, by which the plague was stayed. This was a striking symbol of Christ's mediation which shonld inler- po.se t' save those doomed to death by sin. God uow chose to show to the Israelites, by a miracle, that Aaron had been selected might tl ordered upon eai the nam l)c laid \vere tak was covi I ' I JU,. THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 119 selected by Him to discharge the chief duties of the priesthood, that the people might thereafter accept him without further couipUiiut. The Lord aecordiugly ordered that twelve rods, or sceptres, be choseu, oue for each of the twelve tribes, upou each of which tlic luime of the tribe to which it belouged should be writteu, the name of Aaron being upon the rod of Levi. These rods were ordered to be laid in the Tabernacle over night. On. the following morning, when the rods Vv-cre taken out of the sacred place, behold that one bearing the nauie of Aaron was covered with buds and blossouis, and full grown aluionds, while all the Tint Ron 01' AARON nnnnitn. others were but dry sticks. This was the sign that Aaron should be the fruitful sceptre of authority, the spiritual, life-giviug power out of which should ultimately come the Messiah. It was a vivid cuibletu of "the rod of Jesse," the "Branch,' spriugiug up without the sustenance of nature, which in the prophets rcpresciils the spiritual and life-giviug power of the Messiah. By the coiumaud of Ood it was laid up iu the ark, for a perpetual meuu>r;al against the like rebellions. The people, now terrified into submission, cried that they only drew near the Tabernacle to perish, and Jehovah repeated the law, committing the charge t)f the sanctuary to the Levites. <"'•. ''\:'i I , CHAPTER IX. THE SIN OF MOSES AND AARON. ••st^IRECTLY after the events just recorded had tran- •^TT spired, the Lord raised up the cloud which stood over the Tabernacle as a sign that the Israelites should leave Kadesli and continue their journey- ings. As the cloud went before, the people fol- lowed (which was about April, 1452 B. C.,) ^3§I^^^^^^^P^' through the wilderness of Sin, until they came to V /7ijro*^i.='=^'> ^ place where there was no water, and the thirst was very great. As was their invariable habit, when diffi- culties arose, the Israelites began to murmur agaiust Moses and Aaron for haviug brought them out of Egypt to die in the desert. When these couiplaints became very loud, Moses and Aaron weni 'o the door of the Tabernacle to ask God wliat they sliould do. He commanded them to gather the people together and to take their rods and sprak to a rock, which should thereupon gi\'e out abundant water. Moses and Aaron did as the Lord ordered, in calling the multitude together, l)iit thev were so vexed b}- the complainiugs and threats of the people that, instead of obeying tlie implicit instruction:? which God ga\ e thcui, they said : " Hear now, ye rebels ; must we fetch you water out of this rock?" and then instead of sprokiiii^- to the rock, Moses slnu/c it twice with his rod. The water thereupon guslied out abundantly, so that eve y one drank his fill ; but God was so displeased 1)y the disobedience of Moses aud Aarou that He called them to Him at Mount Hor and said that because of their rebellion against His will Aaron should die on Mount Hor, after his priestly garments were first stripped from hiui and put upon his son Elea/.ar. Aaron died as the Lord had predicted, and was buried on the mountain, wliilc the entire camp of Israel went into mourning for a period of thirty days. The punishment which God pronounced against Moses for the sin in which Aarou was a sharer was not enforced until sometime afterward, as wc shall sec. (no) THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 121 THE BRAZEN SERPENT SET UP. The wanderings of the Israelites from Mount Hor were by way of the Red Sea, for the purpose of passing around the land of Edom, to escape their enemies, with the hope of being able to enter the country by another route than the one fruitlessly attempted. But they had not gone a great way from Hot', before a new trouble assailed them ; whereupon they arose again against Moses and also found fault with God. Said they : " Wherefore have ye brought lis up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread (manna)." God was so angry at the people for their repeated complaints in the face of the many evidences of His provident care, that He now sent fiery serpents among them, which bit the grumbling Israelites so that a great number died. In this plague of serpents the people observed God's just wrath, and now realizing their sinfulness they begged of Moses that he would pray to the Lord to take away the serpents and thus save them. Always merciful, Moses petitioned God in earnest prayer to save the people who had acknowledged their sin, and in unswer thereto the Lord told him to make a serpent of brass and to place it upon a high pole in the centre of the camp, and that this should destroy the playue, for every one -that was thereafter bitten, who should look ujjon the brazen serpent, should live. A.vKON'.s ro.iin. THE ISRAELITES ARE VICTORIOUS IN TWO MATTI.ES. When the Israelites came near to the country of the Amoritcs Moses sent messengers to the king, whose name was Sihon, asking permission to pass peace- ably through his territory, promising to do no harm on the route, by going iiili) any of the fields or vineyards, or even to take any water from the wells, but that he would pass through only by the regular roads. This humble re(|nest was not only refnsed, but Sihon collected his army hastily together and attacked the Israelites, without the least justification, at a place named Heslil)()n. But he paid dearly for his greed and obstinacy, fi>r his army was hailly beaten, so that the Israelites took i)ossession, by the ,right of conquest, of the whole country, including all the cities and villages. Here they dwelt for some time, enjoying everything that the land alTorded, until called to resume their wanderings. •After leaving the land of the Amoritcs, Moses led his people toward the laud of Bashan, which was ruled by a giant-king called Og. This king, whose ;;I W- ' I'l! ''•' i a, 5 S t - ^1 P* w -^ N 1— < O K W THE BEAUTIFUI. STORY. 123 bed was thirteen feet long, was as fierce and unjust as Silion, for he, too, went out at the head of his large ami}' and attacked the Israelites at Edrei, where a great battle was fought. The Lord again favored his chosen people, so that Og and his army were completely annihilated, not a single one escaping. THE STORY OF BALAAM AND THE ANGEL. The period appointed for the wanderings of tlie Israelites was now drawing toward a close, and their journeyings were near to the land which had been promised them. After destroying the giant Og they were masters of the entire region east of the Jordan River, and an extent of territory reaching several hundred miles north and south, while the neighboring kings were in the greatest alarm of an invasion by the victorious hosts of Israel. Therefore, when the Israelites pitched their tents on the arid plains of Moab, the king of the Moabites sought the ^lidian chiefs, with whom he made an alliance to resist the people of God and Moses. When the Israelites went into camp in the plains of Moab they were in. sight of the fair land of Jericho, which lay near beyond the Jordan ; but while waiting for the command to go forward and possess this fruitful heritage, the combined forces of Balak, king of the Moabites, and the Midian chiefs appeared in vast numbers on the hills of Abarim, from whence a view of the camp of Israel was plainly had. Balak, though at the head of a powerful army, was not disposed to hazard an engagement until he could send messengers to the greatest prophet in the land, Balaam, who lived at Pethor, in Mesopotamia, and bring him to the Moabitish camps to curse Israel. So great was the faith in this prophet, who was generally a godly man, that Balak believed if he could induce Balaam to deliver a curse against Israel that victory would be certain. In due time the messengers sent by Balak arrived at Balaam's house, and acquainted him with their king's wishes, telling him also that if he would come and curse Israel Balak would bestow upon him great riches. Balaam was a very covetous man, withal he had found such favor in the eyes of God that he had been permitted to prophesy truthfully, so that his fame had spread greatly abroad. But instead of returning an immediate reply to Balak, he requested the messengers to tarry with him until morning, until he could consult the Lord. From what had already tianspired Balaam knew that the Israelites were God's chosen people, and he should therefore have sent the messengers away at once, but his love of riches so sorely tempted him that he would fain seek an excuse for doing what Balak had requested. During the night God appeared to Balaam and asked him concerning the messengers that were in the house, but the reply being evasive, the Lord com- inandod, *' Thou shalt not go with them, nor curse that people, for they are blessed." Accordingly Balaam sent the messengers away in the morning; but when they had returned to Balak with their unfavorable report, the king sent m m If if ! 'i ■4 VI 124 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. more honorable envoys to Balaam, with promises of still greater rewards if he "would come and curse Israel. Again Balaam neglected to send the messengers and thus away, tempting God he was permit- ted to follow his inclination to go to the Moabitish camp, but it was with the divine injunction that he was only to speak such words as God should put into his mouth. The Lord saw how anxious Balaam was to earn the riches w h i c h B a 1 a k had promised, and determined that the sinfully inclined prophet should have one more warning. He departed in the morning, with the prince- ly messengers who had been sent to him, rid- ing upon a she- ass, but had not proceeded fa " when an angel a])pcared in the way with a drawn sword. The iniquity BALAAM COM'UONTIU) IIY AN AN<-,lCr„ "Tlieti the Lord opened the eyes of lliilimiii, and he .«;iw the atiKel of the Lord standiny iu the way." — Num. xxii. 31. that was in his heart blinded his spiritual vision, so that he could not sec the angel, but the Lord had quickened the sight of the ass, which being frightened turned THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 125 out of the road into a field. Balaam struck his animal sharply and turned her back into the road again, but for a second time the angel stood in the way of a narrow passage between two walls. The ass again shied so that Balaam's foot was pressed hard against one of the walls, which so angered him that he beat the poor animal harder than before, until a second time he continued his journey, only to have his progress arrested for a third time in such a narrow passage that the angel blocked the way completely. The ass now not being able to go forward or turn round, lay down with her rider. At this Balaam was more angered than before, and he fell to beating the ass so violently that God gave to the animal the power of speech to exclaim, " What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times ?" " Because," replied he, " thou hast deserved it in mocking me ; had I a sword in my hand I would kill thee." To this the ass answered, "Am I not thine ass, upon which thou hast been used to ride ever since I was thine ; did I ever serve thee so before?" Balaam could make no further reply than to admit what the ass had asserted, but still he did not comprehend the miracle that had been done, until the Lord caused him to see the angel standing in the way with a drawn sword. At this vision Balaam realized the wickedness of his intention and fell down on \i's- face. The angel now spoke and warned him against his perversit}^ and said if it had not been for the ass he would have killed him. Balaam sought pardon for his great sin and begged that he might be permitted to return home ; but this the angel would not allow, because the Lord had a greater purpose for him ; for, instead of cursing the Israelites, God would com- pel him to bless them. As Balaam approached the Moabitish camp Balak came out to meet him, to show him greater honors and thus obtain his wish ; but Balaam told him of God's warnings and tried to excuse himself The king, however, still hoped to secure his desire b}' treating the prophet sumptuously, and he accordingly gave him a banquet to which were invited the princes and great men of his camp, and on the following day brought him to the high places of Baal, from whence an excellent view of the Israelites was afforded. While they were on the mount of Baal the prophet ordered seven oxen and as many rams to be prepared for a sacrifice, which were placed on seven altars ; and while they were burning Balaam withdrew a few paces to consult God. The prophet being moved by the Lord, now raised his voice within the hearing of Balak, and pre- dicted the greatness which Israel should attain, and of how they should prexail over all their enemies ; concluding his prophecj'- by wishing that his lot might be with them in life and death. Balak was greatly provoked by the prediction of Balaam, but he did not yet abandon the hope of influencing the prophet to curse Israel, still relying upon promises of great reward, for he knew the cupidity of the man with whom lie was dealing. So he took Balaam up to the top of Mount Pisgah and be- sought him to deliver his curse from this station. Anxious to win the reward 'P! i:l: ,u M' ,» E 126 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. promised, Balaam again ordered a sacrifice made of seven oxen and seven rams, and going off a little way he consulted the Lord, hoping that this time he would not be forbidden to do the will of Balak. But he was no more successful than before, because God put into his mouth a prediction that greater glories than those previously spoken should come to the house of Israel, concluding with these words : And to show their future strength and success, " the peoi)le shall rise up as a great lion, and lift themselves up as a young lion ; they shall not lie down until they eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain." This second prophccj^ of Balaam grcatl}' incensed Balak, who comuiauded him to make no more predictions, but in his eagerness to secure Balaam's curse upon Israel, the king for a third time repeated his efforts by taking the prophet to tlie top of a hill called Peor, which looked toward the wilderness. No stronger evidence of the influence which money exerts upon a man was ever afforded than this instance, where, after God's repeated warnings and His kind- ness so often shown to Balaam, the prophet's cupidity for the third time tempts him to set aside the Divine will We would suppose that when implored to do that which God had three times expressly forbidden, Balaam would turn a deaf ear to Balak's entreaties ; but so far from doing this he orders, as twice before, a sacrifice of seven oxen and rams. "'le was upon the point of asking God's advice again, when instantly the Spa it came upon him and he was made to exclaim, " How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thj' tabei'iiacles, O Israel. As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's sid.^. as the trees of lignaloes which the Lord hath planted, and as c^dar trees beside the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brought him forth out of Egypt ; he has, as it were, the strength of a unicorn ; he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones and pierce them through with his arrows. Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is thee that curseth thee." All this prophecy was to the exaltation of Israel, whose glorious future was thus proclaimed. It was given like the description of a vision, which no doubt rose before the sinful prophet, and as in a dream he spoke of that which lie beheld : Israel possessing all the fruitful valleys of Palestine, a power feared by neighboring nations, victor in a thousand battles, and a people directed and protected by the omnipotent an?' of the Almighty. Stung to madness by Bala ju's evil prophecies, Balak xtpbraided him soundly and bade him to be gone, "for I thought," said he, "to have promoted thee to great honor if thou hadst answered ni)'' designs in cursing Israel, hnt the Lord hath hindered thy judgment." Balaam was much depressed and excused himself by saying that he could only speak the words which God had put into his mouth. His unfathomable wickedness, however, was y?t furthjer shown — hoping thereby to still obtain a portion of the reward promised — I'y THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 127 liis advice to Balak to send fair daughters of the Moabites and Midianites into the camp of the Israelites to draw them into idolatry and otherwise corrupt the people in introducing practices unknown to them before. The wicked advice of Balaam was acted tipon, and with such effect that the Israelites were induced by the fair daughters sent among them to worship even the gods of Baal-peor, and also to perpetrate such foul acts that God's resentment was fearfull}'^ exhibited. He ordered Moses to take the chief idola- ters and hang them before the people, which was accordingly done ; but there were other sins committed besides idolatry, which the Lord would not suffer to go unpunished. Among the princes of the house of »Simeon was one Zimri, who took a Midian woman named Cozbi, the daughter of a prince, and leading licr, as if to parade his infani}' in contempt of AIoscs, to his tent, there com- mitted an unpardonable abomination. No one attempted to punish the prince, because perhaps of his station and influence, until Phiuehas, a grandson of Aaron, who observed the shameless act, went out from the assembly straight to Zimri's tent and with a ja\elin ran both the offenders through and k-lled them while in the very act of pollution. As a punishment for their idolatry and lewdness God sent a plague among the Israelites which destroyed no less than twentj^-four thousand of the iieople, but the wrath of God was taken away by the act of Phiuehas, and llie plague stayed. For this act in defense of God's laws Phiuehas was highly commended, and upon himself and posterity the priesthood was perpetually settled. THE ISRAELITES GO TO BATTLE WITH THE MIOIANITKS. By direction of God Moses now ordered that another census be taken of the Israelites who were above twenty years of age, that their effective strength for fighting might be determined. By this enumeration it was shown that there were 601,730 men capable of bearing arms, which was just 820 less than when the first census was taken before Sinai, thirty-eight years before. Considering the many thousands that had been destroj-ed in the mean time by plagues and visitations of God's wrath, and the hardships tlirough which the people had passed, their reproduction must have been very rapid. After the completion of the enumeration Joshua was consecrated by the high priest Eleazar as the successor of Moses, whom God had ordained should not enter the promised land because of his sin at tlie rock of Meribah, as already described. ft Although the fighting strength of the ^raelites was not nearly equal to that of the Midianites and their allies, it was nevertheless determined to give them battle, in the Lord's name, and to punish them for their artifice in send- ing their women into the camp of Israel to corrupt the people. The army was duly marshalled, and with the trumpets pealing they set forth for the mcmutains where the Mi'dianites lay encamped^ hut ready for fighting notwith- standing Balaam'^ unfavorable auguries. The battle was fuiious for a long 1 i il ■ ■V • ' 1 '1 1 i 1 i i ! : 128 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. |.:i'^' time, but the Israelites were at length victorious, slaying not only Balak, but four other kings of Midiau also, and all the males of the tribes. Among the killed was the wicked Balaam, whose desire for the rewards of Balak was not diminished by God's; commands and miracles, and he thus espoused the Midi;ui cause and was properly punished for his cupidity and treachery. The results of this battle were of the utmost importance to the Israelites^ for they now came into possession of the entire country east of Jordan, which was afterward given to the tribes of Gad, Reubeu and Manasseh, but they were still confederated together for mutual defense. The line of separation between them was so distinct, however, that a member of one tribe was not DEFEAT OP THE MIDIANITES. "And they warred against the Midianites, as the I,ord comniaaded Moses; and they slew all the males." — Num. xxxi. 7. permitted to marry the member of another, a law which was established iu order that every one might enjoy the inheritance of his father. ■I* DEATH OF MOSES. The time which God had appointed for the death of Moses was now near at hand. Already he had received a command to go up to the top of Mount Abarim, from whence he might obtain a view of the promised land, but which he might not enter. In the solemnity of the parting hour Moses therefore THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. ug assembled all tlie people of Israel and there delivered to them his last words, which must have been extremely affecting to those who remembered how their fathers, whom he had led out of bondage, had so often rebelled against him and more than once sought his life for acts committed in fulfilment of God's decrees that were given to promote their happiness. The forty years of their wanderings were now completed, but of those who first went out of Egypt with Moses not one who was at that time twenty j'ears of age, save Joshua, Caleb and Moses, were living now ; all had died, as the Lord had foretold, for the sin of rebelling against God and their chosen leader, as we have already described. When the people were all assembled Moses repeated to them the story of their tribulations in bondage, and in wildernesses through which they had passed, not neglecting to remind them of how merciful and long-suffering God had been, and of the disobedience, unruliness and iniquity they had been so repeatedly guilty of; but though it was primarily their own wickedness which brought upon himself the sentence by which he was forbidden to enter the promised land, yet he had now no other feeling than that of love for his people, with whom he had striven and suffered so long. He therefore instructed them in their religious duties, encouraged them to be faithful to God and promised them every blessing if they remained righteous, but that calamity would assail those who kept not the commandments. He also sang a song under inspiiation of the Lord, in which he recited the compassion of God and the wrath which their iniquities would kindle ; this song he charged the people to learn, as it might prove a witness for God against them. He then gave them a book of laws by which their temporal and spiritual affairs should be conducted, and ordered that it be placed in the side of the ark in charge of the Levites for their expounding. Having concluded his warnings and advice to the Israelites, " Moses went up from the plains of Nebo [the head) ^ to the summit of Pisgah {the heights)^ that is over against Jericho. And Jehovah showed him all the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, even unto the uttermost sea, and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm-trees, unto Zoar." All this land God told Moses should be possessed \>y the Israelites, being the same that he had promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. When God had thus spoken, the hand of death Avas laid tipon Moses, and on this sacred spot of glorious prospect the great leader of Israel was buried by God, " in a valley in the land of Moab over against Bethpeor; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." At the time of Moses' death he was one hundred and twenty years old, his allotted years being three less than were given to Aaron, who, being three years the elder, died at the age of one hundred and twenty-three years. B5' this reading it appears that Moses died within a very short time, a few months at most, after the death of Aaron. 9 tM: m :fi'« CHAPTKR X. THE STORY OF JOB'S FAITH. Job. HE Book of Job is, in some respects, the most singular in ^ the Bible. It is believed, fr-.ni the language of the text, that Job was contemporary with Moses, say 1520 B. C, but there is absolutely no means of determining when he lived. He makes no mention of either Moses or the exodus, from which it has been concluded that he lived some time anterior to the promulgation of the Mosaic law ; besides, the language is more nearly like the Arabic than that of any other book in the Bible. Ezekiel (xiv. 20,) compares him with Noah and Daniel in righteousness, and as deserving of the largest favors that God bestows on man, while St. James (v. 11,) refers to his patience as a maxim known to all men. At the end of the Greek and Arabic copies of the Book of Job, and also of the Vulgate (ancient Latin, or Roman Catholic version of the Scriptures,) is found the following account of the patriarch, said to have been taken from the Syriac : "Job dwelt in the Ausitis, on the con- fines of Idumaea and Arabia ; his name at first was Jobah. He married an Arabian woman, by whom he had a son called Ermon. He himself was son of Zerah, of the pos- terity of Esau, and a native of Bozrali, so that he was the fifth from Abraham. He reigned in Edom, and the kings before and a?ter him reigned in this order : — Balak, the son of Beor, in the city of Dinhabah ; after him. Job (or Jobah). Job Avas succeeded by Husham, prince of Te-^an. After him reigned Hadad, the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianite^ in the fields of Moab. The name of the city was Arith. Job's friends who came to visit him were, Eliphaz, of the posterity of Esau, and king of Teman ; Bildad, the king of the Shuhites ; and Zophar, king of the Naamathites." Since there is nothing in Job Avhicli bears any connection with the his- torical narrative of Israel or any other people, we must conclude that the story is introduced with no other purpose than to serve as an illustration of the patience and resignation which those who truly love God and appreciate His mercy, should ever stand ready to manifest. Particularly appropriate was tlie example of Job in the time he lived, for we have seen, in the face of all the ('30) THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 131 miracles and mercies of God iu delivering the Israelites from bondage, liow prone they were to idolatry and other forms of wickedness whenever dangers threatened or discomforts were encountered. Whatever its effects were upon the pe .pie, the lesson was a beautiful and practical one, and almost equally adaptable to our relations with God to-day. The Bible tells us that " there was a man in the land of Uz (Aramaea) named Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God and eschewed evil. He had seven sons and three daughters who were his delight, for in them he took great pleasure. But besides these his possessions included 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 1000 bullocks, 500 she-asses, and other effects of great value. Each of his sons was provided with an estate of his own, for we are told that "his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their three sisters to eat and drink with them." When such feasts were made Job offered up burnt-offerings for each of his children and sanctified them, having a fear that while they outwardly appeared to serve God, yet their hearts might still harbor some impure thought. The righteousness of Job was greater even than his riches, which exceeded that of any other man in the east, but Satan had a mind to test him under afflictions, urging that distress would make the most upright unmindful of former blessings and turn his heart to bitterness. Trusting in his righteousness. God suffered Job to be persecuted by Satan in the following manner : When Job's sons and daughters were feasting in the eldest brother's house a messenger came hastily to the godly patriarch, and told him that the Sabea^is had stolen all his oxen and asses, and killed all his servants ; another messenger came in while the first was yet speaking to tell him that a fire had descended from heaven and burned up all his sheep and the shepherds that attended them ; then another ran in and told him that the Chaldeans had stole ' all his cam- els and killed the servants ; still another came with information that while his ten children were feasting a great wind had blown down the house in which tliey were gathered and killed them. When Job heard this he " rert his man- tle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground and worshipped ; and said, 'Naked came I into the world and bereft of all I have shall I go out again. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord.' " In this hour of woe Job turned not away from God, but blessed the hand that had caused him to suffer. Satan asked permission to again test the righteousness of Job, saying, "But put forth Thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse Thee to Thy face." By which he meant if God would afflict His devoted servant with a keen bodily suffering he would become imbittered in his heart and secretly, if not openly, denounce the cause. So the Lord answered, "Behold, he is in thine hand; but spare his life." Receiving God's permission to make this second test, Satan afflicted him with boils " from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head." m ] i II i ! : (132) TItR IIAI'PY PAYS OJ» JOn. "I waa eyca to the bliud, aud feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor, atiil the cause which I kucw uot I searched out."— Joii xxix. 15, 16. THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 133 Job's sufiferings were so great that he took a piece of broken pottery to scrape himself and sat down in ashes, as a sign of his inconsolable anguish. Seeing him in this adversity his wife called on him to curse God and die ; to which he answered : " Thou speakest as a foolish woman speaketh. What ! shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil ?" When Job had lain in his affliction for several days and his troubles were reported to all the people thereabout, three of his friends came to mourn with him and to give such comfort as they were able to afford. These three friends were Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, who represented the wisdom of the age, being learned in tradition and expounders of God's laws. When they first be- held Job they were so affected by his supreme wretchedness that for seven days and nights they could not summon up courage to condole with him ; which seems to have rather iu'^reased his anguish, for his agony now forced him to curse the day of his birth. Then follows a discussion, the effects of which are felt to this day, for a principle was there established that is one of the foun- dation stones of God's universal mercy to mankind. His friends insisted tliat his afflictions were caused by some disobedience to God, in proof of which they urged the law that suffering always proves the commission of some special sin. To this plausible reasoning Job replied that wliilc he had no doubt of God's justice, yet punishment does not always follow upon guilt, or even prove the commission of a sin. The thi-ee friends again persisted in the law of retribution, and citi d many examples (xv.), to which Job answered by acknowledging that the hand of (iod is in his afflictions, but maintains that it is not alone the imgodly whom God punishes, nor the righteous alone whom He prospers. He shows them that in iiU times, and under their own observation, the most wicked of men have enjoyed an undisturljed life of prosperity, by which we must conclude that God extends his mercy to all alike, reserving His punishments and rewards for His own good time, and in another world. Job bore his afflictions with composure for a time, but became less patient bj^ reason of the argument of his friends, who continued to charge that his sufferings were uudoul)tedly due to the commission of some sin, and urged him to seek God for a pardon. Elihu, who also came to visit him, though j-ounger than the three other visitors, rebuked Job for finding fault with (^lod, and for seeking to compare the Lord with things of his own understanding. The dis- cussion, after many days, was terminated by the voice of God" Himself, who spoke out of a whirlwind, asking, " Who is this that darkcneth counsel by words without knowledge?" He then calls on Job to answer Him how came all the things on the earth : the sea and its creatures, the land and its pro- dii:tions, the sky and its constellations, the heart and its understanding? Job humbled himself before (lod, being made conscious of his weakness and insig- iiilicancc by the reflections thus excited; whereat the Lord asked, ''Wilt thou also disannul My judgments? wilt thou condemn Me, that thou niayest be m ! 3:11- ■ t ill 1, I 134 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. righteous." When God had thus spolcen to Job and perceived how His servant \va.s in earnest repentance for supf^sing that his afflictions were sent without proper cause, He rebuked the three friends for urging the law of retribution. m joii AND HIS riiKi;i: i-uii;ni)S. " Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came every one from hia own place,"— Joii. ii, 11. and confiriued the principle enunciated by Job. He also commanded them to take seven bullocks and as manj^ rams to Job and offer them up as a l)nrnl- offcnng, saying: "And My servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I ism. merit.' THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 135 accept : lest I deal with you after your folly, in thac ye have not spoken of Me the thing which is right, like My servant Job.'" The Lord now found the occasion ripe for rev/arding Job for the patience and righteousness he had exhibited ; accordingl}''. He gave him twice as much of everything as he had before, including sheep, oxen, camels, asses and house- hold possessions. The patriarch's brethren and sisters, and those of his ac- quaintance from all parts, now came to visit him, each bringing a present of money or jewelry as an evidence of his love and regard. After this the Lord also gave him seven sons and three daughters : of the latter it was said that no other women in all the land were so beautiful ; and Job gave them an in- heritance among their brothers so that the family ties remained unbroken. Job lived one hundred and forty years after receiving these double blessings and saw four generations of his children enjoying a prosperity sent by God. The Book of Job is the least understood portion of the Bible. No one has been able to discover when or by whom it was written, nor whether it is a description of a real incident or given as a parable and example to instruct those who profess to love God in the obedience which they should yield to whatever affliction may be sent upon them. If accepted upon this latter expla- nation of its purpose, the book is incomparably grand. Thomas Carlyle, viewing it as a parable, says : *' I call that, the Book of Job, aside from all theories about it, one of the grandest things ever written with pen. One feels, indeed, as if it were not Hebrew; such u noble universality, different from noble patriotism or sectarian- ism, reigns in it. A noble book I all men's book ! It is our first, oldest state- ment of the never-ending problem — man's destiny — and God's way with him here in this earth. And all in such free, flowing outlines ; grand in its sincerity, in its simplicity, in its epic melody, and repose of reconcilement. There is the seeing ej'e, the mildly understanding heart. So true everj' way ; true eyesight and vision for all things ; material things no less than spiritual ; the horse — ' hast thou clothed his neck with thunder ?' — he WauQ-Zis at the shaking of the spear!' vSuch living likenesses were never since drawn. Sublime sorrow, sub- lime reconciliation ; oldest choral melody as of the heart of mankind ; so soft and great ; as the summer midnight, as the world with its seas and stars I Tliere is nothing written, I think, in the Bible or out of it, of equal literary merit." CHAPTER XI. \l , I lit: JOSHUA CHOSEN TO SUCCEED MOSES. PON the death of Moses, Joshua, whom the Bible first mentions as one of the twelve spies sent through Palestine, and who, with Caleb, found favor with the Lord, for urging the people to go up and possess the land, became the leader of Israel. He was the son of Nun, who was of the tribe of Ephraim, who was the younger son of Joseph, and who, we remember, received the chief blessing bestowed by his grandfather, Jacob. His name originally was Osliea, meaning helper^ but Moses changed it to Joshua, thereby combining his original name with that of Jehovah, so that its significance would be, God the lulpcr. At the time of assuming leadership of Israel's hosts, Joshua was about eight3'-three years of age. He had repeatedly shown his ability both in counsel and in command, and had proved so faithful a servant to Moses that it was no less the great prophet's will than that of God that he should succeed to the responsible trust of being chief over the Israelites. When the successorship was therefore established God appeared to Joshua and told him to gather to<7ethcr all his people, and lead them across Jordan into the laud that Moses was permitted to view. There were many warlike tribes west of Jordan, and of such great numbers that to attack them in tlicir own defenses was very dangerous ; nor could such a half-armed and poorly prepared ami}- as the Israelites were hope to prevail, unless the}' received help from the Hand that had succored them so often in the hours of their deepest distress. To stimulate him to do that which was bidden God therefore assured Joshua that no nuiu should be able to stand before him; that He would always be with him, and that the land of Canaan would be divided for an inheritance among the Israelites. " Be strong and of a good courage ; be not afraid, neitlior be thou dismayed : for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." SPIES SENT INTO JERICHO. Joshua was greatly encouraged by the promises of God, and inimediatoly prepare' t^o cross the Jordan with his army and invade the country of the Canaanites, his first object being to attack the c.'ty of Jericho, which stood in a plain, six miles west of the Jordan. This i)lace was the largest, richest and best fortified city in all Canaan, being tlie chief depot on the highway between i THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. ^i7 Palestine and Egypt. It was situated in the midst of a grove of palm-trees, from whence it took its name, which means a/y of palms ^ and was surrounded by a great wall, with gates for entrance, which were shut at night or when danger threatened. At intervals along the walls were observation houses, from MO.Sl'S I.AYINC. HIS IIANIIS I'I'UN JOSHUA. "And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom ; for Moses had laid liis hands ii|)on liim." — Di'fT. xxxiv. 9. which an extensive view was obtained of the surrounding country, and here !t,nianls were stationed to give the alarm sliould any hostile body of men approach. At the time of which we write, the news of tlic victories of the Israelites, and their encampment near to the city, had spread all over the country, so that Ul. •.:t I :v'i( V 'K' !(» :. . vii f^ 138 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. ^ Jericlio, as well as other cities within the region, was in a state of preparation in anticipation of an attack. Before passing the Jordan prudence admonished Joshua that he should first gain some positive information respecting the strength of the forces witliiu Jericho, and to acquire that he sent two spies with instructions to enter the city and ascertain such things as might be of service for a beleaguering army to know. The spies set out accordingly, and their object not being suspicioned by the Canaanites, they had no trouble in gaining entrance to the city. Tlicy found lodging on the first night in the house of a dissolute woman named Rahab, who, it appears, discovered their purpose ; but she was so impressed bv what she had heard — that the Israelites were the chosen people of God, and therefore under His protection, that instead of giving them over to the autliori- ties she concealed them from the king's officers. The text is somewhat confusing, so that it is impossible to understand positively wheti'er, upon discovering the spies, Rahab reported their presence to the king and afterward repented and concealed them, or whether the report of their being at Rahab's house was circulated by some member of her house- hold. We are told, however, that when the king's officers came to her house and ordered her to deliver up the men, she admitted that they had been in the house, but had now departed out of the city toward the Jordan. This seemed to satisfy the officers, for they went out immediately to follow, as the woman had directed. After their departure Rahab called the spies, and taking them to the roof of her house, there covered them with flax which had been laid to drj^, and so kept them hid until it was dark. She now came to them and exacted a promise that when the Israelites should come into the city tliey would save her and her family from death. This promise being given, she let down the spies by a scarlet line from a window of her house that over- looked the walls, which cord was to remain suspended thereafter to indicate her house to the Israelites. The spies escaped by the strategy of Rahab, but knowing that the Canaan- ites were still searching the country for them, they fled to the mountains, and there remained for three days before they were able to return to Joshua. WHicii at last they came before the great leader of Israel, they told him how all the Canaanites were without courage aiid would not fight because they believed, as did Rahab, that God was commanding the Israelites and doing wonderful miracles to bring them into possession of the land. SIEGK AND CAPTURR OF JERICHO. Upon receiving the spies' report Joshua ordered his army and his people to break camp and march to the Jordan River, where they stopped for three days, and the ark was set up. During this time Joshua sent his officers, through the host, to tell them that when they should see the priests take up 1 .M THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 139 the ark of the covenant and move forward, then all Israel should follow after them, but they must not approach nearer than two thousand cubits (about half a mile). Then Joshua bade the people to sanctify themselves, for on the morrow t^ie Lord would show them great wonders. When the morrow arrived Joshua called all the people to witness a miracle which God was about to do, to show them that He was with them in their undertaking ; he then told them to stand by Jordan's brink, while one mem- ber from each of the twelve tribes should take up the ark and bear it across the waters (which were now greatly swollen, as is usual during the harvest time). The people did as the}^ were instructed, and stood upon the brink while the twelve men chosen took up the ark and started with it toward the swift-flowing river; but as they dipped their feet into the stream the waters parted, as did the Red Sea, and left a dry path by which all the host passed over. But when they had arrived on the other side the waters still remained parted until representatives of the twelve tribes were sent by Joshua to the dry bed of the stream to take up from there as many stones, which were ordered to be carried and deposited in the place where thej'- should lodge at night. After this order was given Joshua commanded the twelve to return again to the midst of the dry bed with as man}^ stones, and there set them up as a witness of the miracle which had been performed. When this was done the waters came together as before and overflowed the banks. When night came on the Israelites encamped at Gilgal, in sight of Jericho, and there set up the twelve stones that had been brought out of the Jordan, as a memorial of the great thing which God had done. This event transpired, as Biblical scholars assert, April 13th, 1451 B. C, which was the day preceding that appointed for the selection of the Paschal Lamb, and the next day the people kept the Passover, which was its first celebration on the soil of their inheritance since leaving Egypt. On the day following the sacred ceremonies the Israelites tasted bread made from corn which was taken from the Caraanites, and henceforth lived off the product of the land, as manna ceased to fall on this date. Everything was now in readiness for the march against Jericho, but as Joshua went forward he saw staading in his way a man with his sword drawn, as if disputing the passage. Joshua challenged him by saying, "Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?" To which reply was made, "Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come." Joshua then perceived that it was an angel who had spoken, and he fell on his face to worship, saying, "What saith my Lord unto His servant ?" The angel then told him to take off his shoes, as he was nf>w standing upon holy ground; and when he had thus done, the angel spoke again, saying, " See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' 140 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. horns ; and on the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the rams' horns, and when j^e hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout ; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him." Joshua observed well all the instructions which had been given him, aud AN ANGEI. APPEARING fO JOSHUA. "As Captain of the host of the Lord am I nnw come."— Joshua v. 14. sent his army to march round the city, preceded by the ark carried by priests, once every day for six days ; and on the seventli day they marched about Jericho seven times, and then blew the trumpets and shouted as they had been commanded, when, behold, the walls of the city tumbled down aud there was no defense remaining. The Israelites now rushed into the city and put to tlie sword every man, woman, child, ox, sheep and ass that they found tlKiciii, sparing nothing except Rahab and her family, according to the promises made THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. [41 ii '■• to her by the spies. Thus was Jericho utterly demolished, and Joshua set his curse upon any one who should attempt to rebuild it. The curse was after- ward fulfilled when Hiel, a Bethelite, attempted to restore the city, for Abiram, his oldest son, died while he was la3'ing the foundation, and Segub, his young- est, expired while the gates were being set xip. Rahab, although a depraved woman, was richly rewarded for her faith and good services by being given a distinguished position among the Israelites She married Salmon, probably one of the spies, and became the mother of Boaz, who was afterward the great-grandfather of David, and was thus in the geueulogy of Christ. But among the Israelites who par- ticipated in the sack of Jericho there was one who committed a great sin, which resulted in a disaster to his people at the attack upon Ai, the next city that was besieged. Joshua gave an order, be- fore Jericho had fallen, that all the gold and silver which might be cap- tured should be placed in the sacred treasure and there kept for the service of the Lord. This one recreant, who was quite as avari- cious as Balaam, in the excitement of the pillage seized upon a rich Babylonish ganiieut, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold valued at fifty [ shekels weight. These he hid by burying them in the earth beneath his tent, '.vhcre tliey were afterward found by men wlioni Joshua sent to search for them. The culprit was not apprehended, nor was he known until God chose to [reveal him in His own mysterious wa}', as will be explained. The city nearest to Jericho, possessed by the Canaanites, was called Ai, land to this place Joshua sent out spies as before. They reported the place to be poorly defended and so easy of capture that a detachment of only three thousand Israelites was sent against it. Instead of meeting with an easy vic- FALMVO OF THE WALW OF JERICHO. "And ♦he armed men went before the priests that blew with the trumpets."— Joshua vi. 9. .! 142 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. tory the Israelites were defeated ,\'ith a loss of thirty-six men, and were pur- sued as far as Shc'»arim. This defeat was not so disastrous by reason of the losses sustained, as for the effect it had upon the Israelites, who feared God had forsaken them. Joshua and the elders fell down in mourning before tlie ark and cried aloud to Jehovah. '."heir prayers were answered by a coininaud which God gave to Joshua to sanctif}' the people, and on the morrow cast lots to determine who was the offender. \Vhe:i the casting was first made it fell iipon the tribe of Judah, next on the family of Zerah, and the third time upon the house of Zabdi, all of whom were taken before Jehovah at the ark and there examined. Among the number was Achan, the son of Carmi, whom the Lord caused to make a confession of his guilt. The culprit was speedily stoned to death and his body burned, together with his children, cattle and tent, while over the ashes was raised a cairn to mark the place of execution, which place was called Achor, meaning trouble. THE CAPTURE OF AI AXD LEAGUE OF THE KIXGS. After Achan had been punished, God appeared to Joshua and bade him take courage again, for he should continue to be victorious until all Canaan was subjugated. God also told Joshua to renew the attack upon Ai, wliicli would fall into his hands if he heeded these instructions: He (Joshua) slioul! take a force of five thousand men and lead them beyond the west side of Ai, where they were to lie in ambush near the city, ready to rush upon it when the sign should be made; Joshua was next directed to take thirt}- thousand more men and appear in the valley before Ai, as if to challenge the people therein to combat; but when the army of Ai should come out, Joshua was orderc 1 to flee before them as if in great fear, and b}' this strategy was to draw ;hem awa}' from the city, so that the five thousand \y'\wg in anihush might rush out of their covert and into the cit}^ and thus possess its defenses, The.se instructions Joshua obeyed and found evcr3'tliing to transpire as the Lord had promised, so that when the king of Ai came out Joshua fled with liis army, which gave so nnich confidence to the people of Ai that evcrj- man therein left the city and went in pursuit of the Israelites. They followed these so far that when they left off pursuing and started to return they saw their cit}' in flames and being pillaged by the five thousand whose presence had not been suspected. This did not end their troubles, for they were now in a valley between two armies of the Israelites, unable to escape, and overwhelmed by superior forces. In this position Joshua fell upon them with both wings of his army and put everj' man, woman and child to the sword, with the exception of the king of Ai, whom the Israelites captured and afterward hanged u])on a tree. Over his bod}' was gathered a great heap of stones, which were placed as a memorial of the city, and are said to remain there to this day. The Biblical account of the capture of Ai intimates that the town of Bethel was taken and sacked at the same time, but gives no particulars by which we THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 143 might form an opinion of the importance of either place. However, we do know that by this victory the Israelites gained possession of all the principal passes in the Jordan valley and obtained unobstructed access to the open country ill the region of Central Pales- tine, though the main body was kept encamped at Gilgal on account, no doubt, of its strategic position. The victorious march of the Is- raelites through Palestine spread terror among the people of all Canaan until, for mutual defense, the kings west of Jordan and as far north as Lebanon, formed a league and consoridated tlieir forces to oppose the fur- ther advance of Joshua. These kings, though no donbt invested with royal pre- rogatives, held dominion over limited districts, witli a city as the capital, so that they were scarcely more than muni- cipal masters ; and their influence was further diminished by the perpetual feuds which existed between them. But the invading hosts of Israel were regarded as a common enemy, come. to despoil all the cities without regard to the tribal ownership, so, for the JOSHl'A WATCHING THIS DESTRUCTION 01- AI, "Aud he (Joshua) took about five thousand men and set them to lie in ambush." — JosHL'A viii. 12. ' ■( a I ; I ! I ^8 N ■ • ,1* f ^ 1 ! i 144 THE BEAUTIFUL- STORY. time being they ceased warring against each other and formed a confederation which increased their strength and gave them hope of being now able to drive the Israelites out of Canaan. There was onl}- one tribe, of all the numerous hordes that claimed a jjor- tion of Palestine, which sought to escape the sword of Israel b}' suing for piiice and protection. This tribe was the Gibeonites, whose city, then called Gibcoii, but now, El-jib, was chief of the four cities of Hivites and la}- directly opp()>iie the pass, or valley of Ai, so that it was the next cit}- Joshua intended attackiii Iff ■Si ys 'ill: J mm lO U45) JjK. ! 1 J16 THE BEAUTIFUIv STORY. M m iiiil IP /n THE BATTLE OF UETH-HORON. When the Gibeouites saw the appror\ching anuies of the Amorites, under the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarniuth, Lachish and Eglon, and knew their hostile intentions, they sent messengers to Joshua, whose eamp was still at Gil- gal, begging him to come and help them. The cry for lielp was not in vain, for Josliua at once assembled his arni}' and, by a forced march during the night, fell upon the confederated Amorites earh' in th.e morning at Beth-lioron, and routed them with great slaughter, but not until the battle had waged with uncertain results for noariy the entire da}'. In this fight Joshua received such direct aid from Gcxl that his own generalship seems to have played n ) con- spicuous part, and to Jehovah must all the credit be given. When, at eventime, the Amorites began to give way and were retreating down the hill of Beth-horon, a great hail-storm was sent upon them, the stones of which were so large that nu)re were killed in the storm than were slain b} Israel's sword. Panic now .seized them, and the combined Amorite army was a!)le to offer no further resistance against their relentless pursuers. The sun. lijwcver, was now shining low in the heavens, and the rapid approach of night would ])ut an end to the slaughter, when Joshua prayed to God that the siui might stand still upon Giljeon, and ihz nujon renuiin bright o\'er Ajalon — an adjacent city. This prayc. was ans.vered, for the sun did not go down that day, but stood in the he ivens, until the Anuirites were nearly all slaughtered, and the five kings pursued tc a place in the plains by the sea, where they hid themselves in a case. Herc^ '.ley remained only a short time in security, f or they vere soon disco\ercd, ai I, at the bidding of Joshua, they were captured and bro'ight before him, who ordered, as God had directed, the captains of Israel to each i)Ut his foot iipini the necks of the five kings, as a sign that thus should Isniel do to all iier enemies. At"ter this, the kings wei'c hanged on a tree, where their bodies remained until evening, when they were cut down and thrown into the tav-e wdiere they had first hidden, and the mouth of the cave was then chised with great stones. " vSo jcshua smoic all the coiuury of the hills, and of the south, and of (lie vale, and of the springs, and all their kings; he left none remaining, but ullerlv ileslroyed all that breathed, as the Lord Goil of Israel commaiided. And Joshua smote lliem fu>iu Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza, and all llic r luntry of Goshen, even unto Gibeon. And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the lyord God of Israel fought for Israel." josni'\ Diviuis Till': i.wn a\p maris \ m'.w co\-i:n'A\t.— his di'.ath. The battles vvhirli Joshua fongliL in Canaan were \ery many, but only a lew a.v described in the Bible. His conquests, howe\er, are sumnu'd up in thj subjugation of no h-^s than thirty-one kings on the v,-est of b-rdaii, besides Sihon, Balak and Og, whom he defeated before crossing the Jordan for Jericho, Xongltncle Xait from anenvlrilk PALESTINE 8«noot3IUe« ^» » SO 40 Historical Publishiho Co., PhiUulelphia. li' ir ! \-^S^ \ I r nr VHw/k XT. C !i i< ,■ c ■ hi p F nil w I jilL E Ivf Rill 1 ill B t_ I'Mh ^ iR ■1 C Sm g" r H a ^ ^^1 •^ ^H to > ^^1 p '/ ^^H CI. Miffl e V. li'll o c 11 >^ ¥-, n' n r = f'H r V ,p jvf p ►^ iUM - In It ^Bi < ;^ ■H E V. hH i \> t J o D< 1 'V l\.. i il ,:li ►o c O V 9 > ^ r re '• o (B > p. - e 5 c c c ■ £ - o e c K ti i! :iif !■: ii-lD jfi 'i! Ji 148 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. These kings ruled as many cities, but in not every instance did defeat of the Canaanites lead to an occupation of the cities, for we know that Jerusalem, whose king was slain at Gibeon, was not captured until after the death of Joshua. Several other cities, though subjugated, did not fall into the hands of the Israelites until some time after the events just narrated. But in defeating the thirty-one kings, Joshua came into possession of all the country belonging to the seven nation;-, which was first promised to Abra- ham, viz.: the Canaanites, Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites and Girgashites, but there still remained a considerable portion of Palestine unsub- dued, which, however, God promised anew should be given to the Israelites. These latter conquests were not reserved for Joshua, for he was now old, and had been fighting almost continually for six years. But the time had now come for a division of the whole of Palestine among the tribes of Israel, which Joshua proceeded to award as God had directed liim to do. The division was made by allotment among the nine and a half tribes, the two and a half tribes having already received their portion from Moses east of the Jordan. The Levites were not included among the tribes who were to receive an inheritance of land, for "Jehovah, God of Israel, was their inheritance," they being consecrated to the priesthood. \ his would have left eleven tribes to be provided for, but the tribe of Joseph was divided into the tribes of Ephraim and of Manasseh, so that- there still remained twelve, as originally. When the allotments had all been made, Joshua reserved for himself Tim- uath-serah, in Mount Ephraim, where he built a city and gave to it the name Timnath. There Avere then appointed six cities of refuge, three on the west of Jordan, viz. : Kadesh, Sheclicm and Hebron ; and three on the cast, viz. : Bezer, Ramoth and Golan. To the Levites forty-eight cities were given, which were awarded iu proportion to the possessions of all the other tribes. Joshua, being now feeble from age, and realizing that but a few months separated him from his grave, sent for all the judges, officers and heads of tribes to come before him, as Moses had done before ascending Mount Pisgali ; and Avhen they had gathered he gave them an exhortation to be courageous and to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses. This was the sum of his advice, but he enlarged this counsel so that it might be more effective, by rehearsing all that God had done for Israel since the day of their coming out of Egypt. He reminded them that of themselves they could do nothing, but that through the aid of Jehovah they had triumphed over thtii enemies and become possessed of cities which they had not built, and of vine- yards which they had not planted. He exhorted them especially not to affiliate or marry with the idolatrous peoples of Palestine, nor to cease striving for the rest of the land which God liad pronxised, and warned them that the day they departed from his counsel and forgot their duties to Jehovah, they should certainly be scattered and driven from the land that had been given them. THE BEAUTIFUI^ STORY. 149 To the exhortatious of Joshua the people responded by promises to fulfil the law of Moses and to cleave unto the God who had blessed them so abundantly. Thus was a new covenant made, for a witness of which a great stone was set up under an oak tree, perhaps the same shade under which Vbraham and Jacob had spread their tents. Soon after the establishing of the covenant Joshua died, being aged one hundred and ten years. He was buried on the borders of his inheritance, in Timnath-serah, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. The death of this great and good man was properly bewailed by the Israelites, for of all of Israel's host he was perhaps the most righteous. Moses and Aaron had sinned repeatedly, but of Joshua there is not written a single act wherein he trans- gressed God's will. Directly after Joshua's death Eleazar, the high priest, the son of Aaron, sickened and died also. He was buried beside his son Phinehas, who, we remember, killed Prince Zimri for sinning with the Midiau woman, in Mount Ephraim. m ri ^^. i I 'I ■ S ,.J; CHAPTER XII. GOD IS FORSAKEN BY THE ISRAELITES. Judges. 'T would appear that a large portion of Palestine was left unsub- dued at the time of Joshua's death for a wise purpose, since God desired to know if the Israelites would continue to accept Him in the hour of adversity, or complain against Him, as they had always inclined to do, during their journeyings, when trouble threatened. Hence their enemies were permitted to continue still strong in many portions of Palestine, and so numerous in the soutli- fwest that they refused tc yield to the Israelites. Thus God foresaw that a conflict would arise which would determine their loyalty, and with what measure they were deserving of IJ^Is further protection. The generation which lived in the time of Joshua continued faithful to the laws which they were exhorted to observe, but when these had finally perished, the next generation forsook God, neglected to regard the counsel of their fathers, and degenerated so rapidly that they were soon confirmed idolaters. Their iniquities began by marrying, again^c the injunctions of Joshua, among the seven nations they had conquered; and from this a worship of the god Baal, in groves sacred to this false deity, was very soon instituted and the true God utterly forgotten. For the idolatrous iniquities of the Israelites, God gave them proper punish- ment by sending the king of Mesopotamia against them, by whom they were not only beaten in battle, but were kept in slavery for a term of eight years, lu their afflictions only did they remember God, and while their backs were sorely burdened they called aloud for deliverance. Their petitions were not without avail, for the Lord appointed Othniel, a younger brother of Caleb, as a leader of Israel, and he led the Israelites in a revolt against the king of Mesopotamia, and in a great battle which followed he gained a decisive victory that freed his countrymen. After this fight the Israelites were at peace for a period of forty years. But when Othniel died, who had been a wise and God-fearing judge it. Israel, the people relapsed again into sinful ways and again provoked the Lord's anger, so that Rglon, king of Moab, formed an offensive alliance with Amnion and Anuilek, who combined their forces against the Israelites, whom they beat at Jericho and captured the city, reducing the inhabitants to slavery, in which condition ihcy remained for eighteen years. The wars in which the Israelites were beaten, by reason of their diso- (150) THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 151 bedience and idolatry, did not involve all the chosen people at one time. As already stated, when Joshna made a division of all itie land among the twelve tribes, he did not confine the division 10 those portions of Palestine that had been snbjngated, bnt because God had promised that all the country' should be given to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joshua allotted the whole of Palestine — those portions that still remained in possession of the enemies of Israel, as well as those that had been taken and occupied. It was the efforts made by those members of the tribes whose allotment fell to dis- tricts yet unsubdued, that led to such repeated wars, in which, because the tribes neglected God's ordinances and covenants, the results were not always favorable to the Israelites. ■ . ::Jn' THFv ASSASSIN'ATIOX OF KI.VG EGLOK. After the Hebrews had served legion for a period of eighteen j'cars, a deliverer appeared in the person of Ehud, a Bcnjaminite (generally written Benjamite), who was left-handed. Ehud did not foment an uprising among the people as Othniel had done, but had recourse to, a strategy which served his purpose most effectively. Making for himself a dagger, with this weapon c )n- cealed under his cloak he awaited outside the king's door, while he sent in a messenger to tell his majesty that he had an important communication for him uliich he bore direct from God. No doubt flattered by the pretense that God had regarded him with such consideration as to send a messenger to him, the king, as Ehud requested, sent all his servants out of the palace, that he might be alone with the celestial messenger when the communication was deliveied. The auspicious opportunity was thus presented, and Enud quickly dispatched the king with a thrust of his dagger. The assassin then ran out, locking ever}' door that he passed through, and soon sped awaj' over the hills to alarm his people and prepare them for a desperate battle which he promised that God would help theru to win. When the king'p servants attempted to reach the royal apar :ments they found the doors locked, which they took to mean that his majesty had tlnis sought to prevent ini ?rruption while considering some weighty matter brought to his attention hy t1 e late messenger. After leaving him alone for .several hours, and finding t le doors yet locked, some alarm was felt, which grew apace, until, at the venture of offending the king, should there be no proper reason for their suspicions, the doors were tinbarrcd and the body of the mur- dered ruler found bloodless on the throne. By this time, h(Twevcr, Ehud had made good his escape by fleeing to Mount Ephraim, where, by blowing his trumpet, he assembled a great body of Israelites. When the Moabites cnnip out to fight them, the Lord gave Ehud the victory, so that he slew ten thcu- satid Moabite soldiers, letting not one escape. After this e\ent, but how long is not intimated in the Biblical account, ;i ■• 152 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. Shamgar succeeded Ehud as judge of Israel. During liis incumbency a lu^-gv body of Philistines went .igaiust the Israelites to recover one of the cities that had been taken from them, but Shamgar, who seems to have been not only a desperately brave man, but wonderfully strong as well, seized a large stick used in driving oxen, and, with this simple weapon, la}' about him so vigor- ously among the Philistines that he slew six hundred n^en and put the entire army to flight. vSTORY OF THE DP:STRrCTIO\ OK THP: TRIRK OF HKN'JAMIN. It will be remembered that in an earlier chapter there are descriptions of the blessings and prophecies of Jacob upon his twelve sons, the j'^oungest of whom, Benjamin, the great prophet predicted, " should raven as a wolf" We shall now see how truly this prophecy came to pass. The event which is about to be described occurred before Ehud, whom we have just noticed, was born, but the exact time, or sequence of events, is not given in the Bible, so that sequence is not absolutely necessary here. A member of the house of Levi, possibly a priest, had taken a woman to live with him, according to tne custom of the time. This woman subsequently ])ccame \infaithful, and she was sent back to her father's house at Bethlehem. After she had remained there four months the Levite longed for her, probably iulieving that he had condemned her too hastily, and, with a view of effecting a reconciliation, he went to Bethlehem, hoping to bring her home with him. The father-in-law gave him a hearty welcome, and together they feasted for three days. By a pressing invitation the Levite remained yet two days longer, when, having now spent five days with his father-in-law, he excused himself from further prolonging his visit, and started back to Mount Ephraim, where he resided, with his wife, who freely consented to return with him. The Levite thus journeyed with liis wife, one servant and two asses, carrying such pro- visions and coverings as were needed on the way. When they came near to Jebus, the servant begged his master to ask for lodging tliere ; the Levite refused, and journeyed on to a town named Gibeah, which they entered at sunset. This town belonged to the Benjamiuites, who had become famous for their bestiality and every manner of abomination ; besid-^s, they were jealous of the other tribes. Thus, when they perceived the Levite and his family enter their city, they offered them no place to rest, and meditated much ill toward them. No door being open to him, the Levite sat down in one of the open squares of the city, intending to spend the night there, but .soon an old fellow country- man of Mount Ephraim, who was at the time living in Gibeah, seeing the Levite thus exposed to the night, invited him to his house, tendering a generous hospitality. The Levite, and chose with him, gladly accepted his kindness, but during the night a party of Benjamiuites surrounded the old num's house, and demanded that the Levite be brought to them, having the most infamous THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. 153 designs upon his person. When the crowd hecame clamorous, the old man went out to them and sought to appease their desires by offering to them his own virgin daughter, and also the wife, or concubine, of the stranger, if they would but depart and do no violence to his guest. This offer they refused, when, to save himself, the Levite sent his woman among them, and, by an artifice, escaped himself The poor woman was so seriously abused by the crowd, during the night, that she had barely strength enough left to stagger back to the door where she had found shelter, and there fell dead at the threshold. When the Levite opened the door in the morning he found the woman lying as she fell, and thinking she was asleep bade her arouse that he might renew his journey. When, however, he found she was dead, without making any complaint, he set her body on one of his asses and hastened to Ephraim. Arriving at home, he re- solved to seek revenge against the Benjaminites. Accordingly he cut up the woman into twelve pieces and sent a piece to each of the twelve tribes, together with an account of all that had befallen him atGibeah. The report of the Levite aroused all the children of Israel, who vowed that no such deed had been seen since the}' had come out of Egypt, and they immcdi- atel}- determined to punish tlie crime as it deserved. In pursuance of this intent tlie whole congregation of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, assembled together at IMizpeh, and presented themselves before Jehovah, whose aid they implored. This vast throng may be estimated by the fac. that there wtre four hundred thousand fighting men gathered at IMizpeh, besides all the families of Israel, save alone the tribe of Benjamin, which was about to be punished. When the great army had come together the Levite was brought out and ordered to repeat the particulars of the crime that had been perpetrated, and wlien he had done so the Israelites assembled made a solemn vow of vengeance and an agreement that they would not separate until the great wrong was atoned. TlIK ISRAISLITKS :.1..:'ING A VOW To AVICNGIC rin; MlKDlCli Ol' TUK l,lvVITU WOMAN. !rli i: ] 'ip",l 154 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. Provision was now made for an invasion of the countr}' in which the Benja- minites dwelt, the first steps being the appointment by lot of one man out of every ten, whose duty it was to secure food for the arm}'. ^lessengerr were next dispatched to Gibcah, ordering the Beujamiuites to deliver up the culprits who had done such a foul deed to the Lcvite's woman, but they sent back ;i haughty defiance by the messengers, applauded the acts of tlieii lewd brethreu atid nuide ready for battle. Till-: CRl'AT r.ATTIJ', OF SIIILOII. Those who remained within the walls of Gil)eah were marshalled into a force of sword and spear bearers twenty-six thousand strong, in addition to which there were seven hundred left-handed sling throwers, who could cast a stone, as it is asserted, to a hair's breadth. This was a small ami}- to meet the besiegers, who numbered four hundred tiiousand, and yet the results of the battle showed that the Beujamiuites were much better fighters than the brethren sent against them. When the eleven tribes gathered together at Shiloh, the ark was set up, Phinehas, Aaron's grandson, being high-priest. Here the oracle was consulted, by which it was decided that Judah shouid lead the attack against the Beuja- miuites ; and thus, elated by the promise that God was with them, they pitched themselves against Gibeah. Instead of renuiining within their defenses, tlie Beujamiuites, in nowise deterred by the immense force which opposed them, rushed out of their city and fell with such impetuosily against their enemies that the army of Israel was put to rout with a loss of 22,000 men, almost equal to the entire fighting force of the Benjaminites. On the following daj' the routed army came together again near Shiloh and spent much time weeping before God and asking if they should again go into battle against " Benjamin, nij' brother." To this inquiry the oracle replied in the affirmati\e, but the second battle was scarcely less unfortunate than the first, for again Israel was put to rout, with a loss of iS,ooo. For a third time the congregation assembled at Shiloh, where they kept a solemn fast and made many burnt-offerings, by which they hoped to win the favor of God, who, it was clear, had not been with them in the two battles. The oracle was now again consulted through Phinehas, who bade them go once more against the Benjaminites, but not as before. By the Lord's direction llie army of Israel was divided, one portion of which was sent to lie in ambush behind the city, while the main bod\' was ordered to make the attack in front, being the same stratagem which Joshua had employed so successfully at Ai. According to orders given by God through tlie oracle, the main army of Israel went before Gibeah, but turned and fled as the Benjaminites came out, who pursued them .some distance. But, as they issued forth, Gibeah was left unprotected, so that the ambushing portion of the army entered and closed the gates, by which the Benjaminites were left on the outside, exposed to the fniy B 3 rs 156 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. k wm of the immense host. A great shiiighter now took place, in which i8,(xx) of the Benjaminites fell before the city, 5000 more were killed in the retreat and 2000 more were slain while they were making a last rally at Gidoni. The very few that escaped wandered abont the country for several momlis, living in caves, while their victorious brethren went through the land burning cities, and putting the inhabitants and their cattle to the sword. This sack and pillage continued until the tribe of Benjamin was almost obliterated, and would, no doubt, have been entirely extinguished but for the fact that some pity was excited among a few leaders of the eleven tribes, wlio sought to circumvent the vow that had been made at Mizpeh. It chanced that, on numbering the people, it was found that the men of Jabesh-gilead had not been with the other tribes in the battles, for which failure it was decreed that their cit}- should be destroyed. Accordingly, 12,000 men were sent agaiust it who not only captured the city but destro3'ed ever}' man therein, together with all the women except four hundred virgins, who were given as wives to as many of the remaining Benjaminites. There were six hundred Benjaminites altogether who escaped the wrath of their brethren, and the two hundred who •were not provided with wives from the virgins reserved from the sack of Jalcsh- gilead, afterward secured wives by seizing some of the maidens of Shiloh who had come out to dance at a great annual feast. They afterward set about repairing their cities, and graduallj' increased, nntil at the expiration of less than a century they had recovered nearly all their former greatness. It was from out this rehabilitated tribe that Khud sprang, who became Israel's second judge and the deliverer of his people, as alread}' described. DEI.IVKRAXCK OI' ISRAKL HV DI'.nORAH. After Ehud's successful rebellion he Israelites enjoyed peace and lilxity for a period of eighty years, when, Iku iTig now become rich, they relapsed into such excesses as usually follow the acquisition of wealth by nations. In northern Palestine there reigned a great prince whose name was Jahin, called king of Hazor. He was chief of the Midianite nation, which had so far recovered from the defeats sustained at the hands of Joshua, in the length of time that had ensued, that it was now considered the strongest in all Palestine. Not less the rich spoil which would follow a defeat of the Israelites, than the satisfaction of avenging the capture of their cities nearly two hundred years before, prompted the Midianites to invade the country now occupied by the Israelites. At the head of Jabin's arni}'^ was a mighty general named Siscra, who led an immense body of men, supplemented by nine hundred war chariots of iron. This great host swept down on the Hebrews and overcame them in every battle, and for a period of twent}' years kept them so badly oppressed that their recuperative power even was almost destroyed, though they .'^till managed to retain their government. ily no lie irs lie ra, Its in ,ed lill w o 2 (157) !f'iK ! ! t n ' .> !l-' ii 158 TIIIC Hl'AUTIIT'L STuRV. At this time Israel was jiuli^cd hy a pnipliotcss iiaincd Dehorali, who is reckoned to have been the ualijii's fourth jiul,>;e, or ruler. Thi^ s woman s place 1: ^f al).)ile was uiuler a palm tree, wliieli rn<.i\eil the desionation, bestowed er eo unlrvmen, ot Deborah's Pali l)V n. II ei e it was liei euslom to sit and re ei ive the o)mplainls of her people who came for judi^nient. When Israel st-ni up a erv to (iod lo" deliveranee from the Midianiles He an swei'fd the pel It Mil through Deborah, who was eommandcd to send an inspired messai;e to niie Barak, a resideni of Naphtali, whom she onlered to assendde ten thousand nun at Tabor. Aeeompanying this order was an assuranee which she ga\e. that if he ol/cyed the command God would send Sisera to meet him at the ri\cr Kislu)n, where a great victory would be won by the Israelites. IJarak, while much impri.'^sccl by Deborah's message, was too taint-hearted to undertake such an enterprise alone, but bvliiV' ing in the t'oreknowleilge of the woman, replied that he woiiM go up to IKI tile against J^iscra only on condition that she wmihl iccomi)any him. She lemindcd him that shoulu the Israelites ])revail, as God had ])ronn'sod, with herself kading the pe()[)lc, lie woi lid recene no honor lor tl le \ iclory. This appeal to his ambition had no eltect upon ^-1 Barak, and in the aUernative HARAK Ill'a-'Or.l! DKIUIUAIL pr jsentcd, Dcboiali consented to lie lead Israel. The army of ten thousand was now gathered together by levies upon the tribes of Zebuhiu, Naphtali, Issacliar, Ki)liraiin, Manasseh, and Uenjamin, those tribes of the rast and south not being engaged. V\'hen Sisera heard of the uprising he assembled his great army at Haro- «heth, and marched thence to the plain of Je/reel, which is drained ])y ll Kishon, while Barak came down witii his ten tlio is.iud men from T;ibor, to engage the Midianiles in battle. It was now that I'ne power of the Lord was made manifest in a wonderful manner: "A tremendous storm of sleet and hail gathered from the east, and burst over the plain, driving full in the faci oi the Midianites. The rain descended, the four rivulets of Megiddo were swollen to powerlul streams, while the torrents of Kishon rose to a Hood and the ji'ain be. mc a morass. The chariots and horses of Sisera's army were now tinned against him. He became entangled in i!;" swamp so that the torrent of Kishon ewept them away ia its furious eddies, while in the confusion that follow od THK BKAUTirUL STORY 159 the strength of the MiJiauitcs was trod- den down by their lorses, as the fcar- Irickeu animals damped and phuigcd ill a desperate effort to cxtrieate llicni- selves from theijnak- ing morass and rising sircauis. Far and wide the vast arm_v lied throngh the eastern braneh of tlie plain of Endor. There betwecnTabor ;uiil the Little Iler- mon, a carnage took place long remem- Dcred, in which the orpses hv}' fattening ilie gronnd." In the dread fnl pnit nnd devastation, v^isera contrived to I'srape, by leaving liis chariot and flec- \\\\^ on foot to the tint of Hebcr, a Kenite. This man was an Arabian Sheikh, a descendant uoin J c thro, the lather-in-la\v of Moses. lie was 1 welling at Katlesh, ;il the 'Oak of the \\':mderers," and on tViiudly terms with liiith the Israelites mid Canaanitcs. lUiiig the nearest (ilice of shelter to o c o D tr re » tr 3 2 S" c e c re y. o o N 7) i I I : i *| . i ;i 1^4 I U-- I I'.!; £60 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. the battlc-grouiid, vSiscra caiiic to his tent, but Hebei bein_t:^ absent at the time, his wife, Jael, txide iiiiii enter iiiid ijave him hospitable (nitertainment. Sisera was \ery tired wh( u lie entered the tent, and east himself at once upon the floor, and Jael covered him with her mantle. After he h: d slept a little he called for drink, which Jael supplied by .^iviui^ him buttermilk oui of her choicest vessel. Thoui^h still extremely fatiiLiued, Sisera would not com- pose himself to deep sleep until he had exacted from Jael a S\)lenin promise that in no event would she discover him to his enemies, who were now hot in the search. Believing himself secure in the promise given, Sisera fell into a deep slumber. When Jael saw that her guest was soundly sleeping, she seized one of the tent pins and with a hammer drove it at a blow through Sisera's temples, thus killing him upon the instant. It was not long after that the pursuing Israelites came to her tent, when the valorous Jael showed Barak the deed she had done, and claimed the glory of Israel. This deed is made the subject of the Soz/o' of Deborah and luiiak^ which ranks amongst tlr: finest efforts of Hebrew poetry. r^\ -i*; •'u.An*> 'V* ,-ir. ' . ' •H ,? ;' • '«^. *.<- , ■ *• ,5 I ,1 :iii JLH ^^ ai '^- t vA_j. 1 »* L. ^(«. iffi*i«l< ii)>r>'i I '•itmiiHi liii'i- i//i< tor.:, u!U ilrlu'; !*• -.i*; ;iI»i''U at f • h'lb ,'. .. Iru ' aI']' t'.jjoii 111. Hour ;ui(l j.iol L-n'.(^ri(l liim wV.]\ hn ;iii!itl.-. After hr h..ir tlriiii, wliicU juvl- .supplii.-d by "1 .a,;^ liini hutU'i i,.;i "I I c! choici. ^l V(.'s-.ol r.. ii^Ii still ^ .Livnul\' lati,mu'ii, .■^1 ;cr I 'Viiild no ])()sl' iiini-^f.il 111 I'/i.ii sloe)! uiii.il no h:..l r\,u-Uil li'MU juM a s'>lciua 1 tliul II! lilt owiU ^.iiil'l -In.: diSi."'). ' l!) m.>. clli'-.'/aos, who wcvr !■ '" the ^i...:> 1\ llt'icviir:- liiv.i^i-lf mc'U'.^ in du. j..,'iinv mvcii, Si.^cra !• ' .X act'i' --Ininhe., W'iuMi f;iOi -aw flat h'..- .;;iu>.t u.is si. .inilv slfxj/in. sci/^il wr of ;!i.' ic-uL |iln.- ."i.l "i'h .i I:.iri:iii'r flr<\L- it at m M"- ' ,^i -rra'.^ ti'injilt. ■>, ibiis kiUin.^Miim irjiiiij. iIm mstnul. |i v\as lot Imij^r nr li'v- ;>ar ;iiii,L; I--, .icli'rs <■.,:,,■ ;. liiv 'luI, ur.i... iiu- v.ilijruM' lail li..\',. M "vhc ('...O'i sii; I::; 1 'l-n, and i.'l 1 i;i<.' i th»- -'or-- f ! ,1 if 1. 'riii-^ (k'fd is ■ tii<; a''JL-i.t ■' til- .V ,.- ; ,'/ iKoifii'i iV>:i i',\ii,;[\ wliic'a ranks .uuun^--' liursl I'll. . "t" IT, 1>r(-\', iii(vl.r\-. ^^i (I .>: 'M It^ .1 .1 ^:i ^ti X 2. vs V i I ^^ ^:.-*^ V^'r.'r.'-i'S.. ...> -y ^v^'^ ^*; v.'P^; '•-^',>^ m -/ •i>^-i!^ el*.' V /- ('^ Ii 'A I 11' 111' i I 1 ' !■ If: '\ cnpr MibHl t u inao JEPHTHAH S RASH VOW. .\ii,t/„ !., Jii-t/iiiii/Zilcrrniiii-oiit /onn, I l„„iinl/l IwiOirh O'Ul Willi 'f'liiii.i tint/. y/ii'ir,i.s /„s„ii/i/iliili/ ■ /iiitffl-tt .\l .1/. in; yeprs, du VVhei lodg-suffe: tiioy sent parted fro valor." *] father liin fxul cliosc One c 1" a plaee tiiijjf nndei words, "Je self and tl liavin,ij cut touched tlr aiKe of hi aiul asked II CHAPTER XIII. THE STORY OK GIDKON. ^'^-^ FTER the defeat of Sisera there was peace in Israel for forty j'ears, or until about 1250 B. C, but at the expiration of this tiuie the Israelites returned again to their idolatrous and shameful practices, the mira- cles which God had wrought not sufficing to prove His protecting care for a greater time than the life of a single generation. The god Baal was publicly set up and worshipped, and many other things done by this wonderfully perverse people in defiance of the Lord's commands, until His patience bccauie again exhausted, and He resolved upon their punishment. Tliis was accouiplishcd by delivering them into the hands of the Midianites and Amalekites, who swarmed upon them "as locusts for multitud'-. ' By these, their old enemies, the Israelites were not only subjugated, but their means of living were so completely taken from them that they had to abandon their homes and flee into caves in the moun- tains, where thej* subsisted upon the things which chance threw in their way. This oppression lasted for se\en yeprs, during which time a great number died of hardships and starvation. When Ciod had considered the punishment of His people sufficient, His long-suffering was again exhibited in hearkening to the cries of distress which tlioy sent \ip to Him. Among the Israelites was one who had not wholly de- parted from the worship of God, who was already esteemed as "a man of great valor." This soldier was Gideon, a son of Joash, of tlic tribe of Manassch, a. father himself, having sons also distinguished for bravery. It was he whom CiDtl chose should be a deliverer of Israel. One day, while Gideon was threshing out some corn that had been raised 111 a ])lace where it escai)ed the notice of the Midianites, he saw an angel sit- ting under an oak that was a landmark, l)v whom he was saluted with the words, "Jehovah is with thee, thou mighty man of valor." Gideon bowed him- self and then hastened and brought a kid for an offi^ring. This he killed, and having cut it up brought it in a disli before the angel, whereupon the angel toiulied the offering and a fire sprang up which devoured it. By this accept- ance of his offering Gideon saw that the Lord had some use for his services and asked what was desired of him. He was now comniuuded to go in his II (.61) w "lib l\ i' ! mi' ; 162 THE BEAUTIFUL STORY. might and save Israel, for God would help him to prevail over the Midianitcs. Gideon pleaded his poverty, and the weakness of his people, but the Lord again assured him of His help, and then vanished. Gideon now built an altar at the spot where the sacred presence hat! appeared, which he called Je- hovah-shalom, meaning Jclun'aJi is our peace. At night God again appeared to Gideon, in a dream, and commanded him to take his father's second bullock, of seven years old, and to overthrow tlie altar and idol of Baal, the fragments of which the Lord ordered him to use iu making a fire for burning the bullock as a sacrifice. When he arose in the morning Gideon told ten of his servants what had been commanded of him, and by the aid of these on the following night, secretly, for fear of his father's household and of the men in the cit}', he carried out the Divine order. Wlicu morning again appeared, his deed was discovered, and a cry was at once set up, by the worshippers of Baal, for Gideon's life. Joash, however, influenced no doubt b}' God, defended his son and said, " Let Baal plead his own cause," and this argument convinced the citizens, who thereupon bestowed upon Gideon the new name of Jerub-baal, which implies. Let Baal plead. When the act of Gideon, and his people's sanction thereof, became known to the Midianites and Amalekites, the}- prepared at once for war, and muster- ing their forces went into camp at Jezreel, near the spot where Sisera liad been overthrown. Gideon now also prepared for battle by calling together the tribes of Manasseh, Zebulun and Naphtali, who pitched their tents overlook- ing the Midian hosts in the plain of Esdraelon. r.IDKOX'S FLKPXE. In the sight of such an immense army as opposed him, Gideon's faith was somewhat weakened, for he called upon the Lord to give him another sij,n' that he should lead Israel to victory. Thus Gideon gathered a fleece of wool, and laying it upon the ground, told God that if the dews of night should fall heavy and the fleece yet remain dry in the morning, he would consider it a sign that he had been chosen to win the battle. In the morning when (iideoii looked at the fleece he found it dry, while all around the ground was wet with dew. Though he promised that this sign should convince him, he was not yet satisfied, and told God that he wanted one more evidence. He would la}- the fleece upon the ground another night, and in the morning if it were wet, while all the ground about remained drj', then he should accept it as a token of what God had promised. This .second sign was also given, for when Gideon went out and picked up the fleece, he found it so wet that he wrung much water out of it, while all about the ground was as dry as at mid-day. He was now satisfied that he would win the victory, and marched out at the head of thirty-two thousand men to engage the enemy, whose numbers were iiiauy times greater. Before reaching the plain, God bade Gideon to send back a portion (jf his anny, for to give tl Me, sayiu to say to their honi that tweni back to tl; ber that e large, as ] show the I miracle by know He ^ Then, as tl Gideon brc to a small < and observ quenched 1 kneeling do lip the wa liands, whil by putting 1 the water af of brutes. \ there were dred, and tl commanded ^vith him in all the othe sent away. The foil spy, who liad the Midian c Gideon and he had overhe Midianites re should overcc encouraged tl Gideon w small army i Dividing it in trumpet, a toi '"•'»I