HALL 
 
 - / f
 
 HERO STORIES 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT
 
 Copyright by The Curtis Publishing Co. From a Copley 
 Print copyright by Curtis & Cameron, Publishers. Boston 
 
 DAVID THE SHEPHERD LAD
 
 HERO STORIES 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT 
 
 Retold for Young People by 
 
 SEYMOUR LOVELAND 
 
 Illustrated with half-tone reproductions 
 of paintings by famous artists 
 
 RAND M9NALLY & COMPANY 
 CHICAGO NEW YORK
 
 Copyright. 1911, by 
 RAND MCNALLY & COMPANY 
 
 The Bible text used in this volume is 
 taken from the American Standard Edition 
 of the Revised Bible, copyright 1901 by 
 Thomas Nelson & Sons, and is used by 
 permission.
 
 To 
 
 3F. m. M. 
 
 Whose faith in the spirit of the stories and 
 
 whose appreciation has been of great 
 
 encouragement to the author, this 
 
 book is dedicated. 
 
 2088004
 
 THE INTRODUCTION 
 
 A well-known writer on how to study the Bible was asked 
 to give in the fewest words possible the best method. His 
 reply was, "Think." 
 
 Professor Royce of Harvard University, lecturing in Chicago, 
 made the statement: "Children think, adults do not." Taking 
 this statement with a grain of salt, we who are familiar with 
 the child mind are forced to admit that children think so 
 logically that the philosophy of the learned has frequently been 
 challenged by them. They also have a keen sense of con- 
 tinuity, clearness of judgment amounting almost to harshness, 
 and an unsparing and impersonal idea of justice. 
 
 To those young thinkers and to the unspoiled minds of adults 
 these stories are submitted with the hope that they may inspire 
 a continually increasing love for that most wonderful book, the 
 Bible. 
 
 While writing these stories I have had in mind all young 
 people, but the intelligence of the child more than the age will 
 determine the interest of the story for each individual. The 
 stories are not written for childish but for childlike minds, 
 both qualities being found in all, whether youth or adult. 
 
 Realizing that Scripture is a volume filled to the brim with 
 living principles, and that to be without it, or to lose faith in 
 the Bible's really enormous practical value when applied to 
 daily experience, is a sad loss, I have striven in these stories so 
 to present Biblical characters and their history to both child 
 and adult that they may have a gripping hold on both interest 
 and attention. 
 
 Each story is complete in itself, but a theme runs through 
 them as a whole which is best appreciated if they are arranged 
 and read chronologically. As a whole they portray the gradual 
 
 vii
 
 THE INTRODUCTION viii 
 
 development of Israel from idolatry to the conception of God as 
 shown in the life of the Messiah. 
 
 The Scriptural text followed is that of the AMERICAN 
 STANDARD REVISED VERSION, with possibly some half dozen 
 exceptions, those exceptions being quotations from Ferrar 
 Fenton, whose translation of the Bible is one of rare and ripe 
 scholarship. 
 
 Historical facts have been gleaned from leading authorities, 
 as also allusions to persons, customs, and countries. Every 
 statement in these stories has been made after the leaders of 
 modern scholarship have been consulted. The authorities have 
 been of every shade of opinion and of no opinion. My own 
 independent study and research in Bible themes has covered a 
 period of some forty years. 
 
 THE AUTHOR
 
 THE CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 GOD HEARD . i 
 
 The Story of Hagar and Ishmael 
 
 A LADDER THAT REACHED THE SKY 13 
 
 Jacob's Dream 
 
 His LITTLE SISTER 33 
 
 Miriam and Moses 
 
 THE DOOR No ONE CAN OPEN 46 
 
 The Turning Back of Israel from the Promised Land 
 
 OPENED EYES 66 
 
 Balaam Cursing Israel 
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 81 
 
 Rahab and the Spies 
 
 Is IT TRUE ? 100 
 
 Ruth and Naomi 
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 127 
 
 Jephthah's Daughter 
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT A BIG MAN .... 148 
 
 Samuel and Eli 
 
 How HE WON 166 
 
 The Story of David and Goliath 
 
 THE BOOMERANG 181 
 
 Solomon and the Queen of Sheba 
 
 THE ONLY ONE 200 
 
 The Flight of Elijah 
 
 WHAT HAVE You IN THE HOUSE? 216 
 
 The Pot of Oil 
 
 ix
 
 x THE CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 WHY THE WATERS OF JORDAN? 227 
 
 Healing of Naaman the Leper 
 
 WHEN HEZEKJAH WENT TO CHURCH 242 
 
 Hezekiah's Prayer for Deliverance 
 
 TWICE Two Is FIVE 259 
 
 The Fall of Jerusalem and the Fiery Furnace 
 
 AT THE KING'S TABLE 281 
 
 Daniel and the Bang's Officer 
 
 MEASURED 292 
 
 Belshazzar's Feast
 
 HERO STORIES 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 OLD TESTAMENT 
 
 GOD HEARD 
 
 THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL 
 
 It was a great day for all the family. Such 
 stirring about as there was, getting everything 
 ready for the guests who had been bidden to the 
 feast. Sarah, the mother, was busy in the tent 
 making loaves of bread. She kneaded the 
 dough, then cut it in pieces and rolled them thin 
 and round until they looked like the covers to 
 the sugar jars in your pantry. Each guest was 
 to have three of these loaves, and they must be 
 freshly baked for the evening meal. When all 
 was ready for the baking, she put the loaves 
 between As I shall ask you to be a guest with 
 me at this banquet, it is wisest for me not to tell 
 you how she baked them. Though you may 
 be one of the most courteous of young people 
 and know how guests should behave when
 
 2 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 invited out to a dinner, I'm afraid your face 
 would express disgust when one of these loaves 
 was offered to you. In those days and today 
 also for that matter there were different ways 
 to bake bread, but unfortunately, the very best 
 way for the Oriental is in our eyes the very 
 worst. 
 
 Everyone was in holiday spirits. Donkey 
 boys were feeding their charges an extra por- 
 tion of fodder, and instead of giving them the 
 usual kick were actually stroking their sides. 
 Even the surly camels seemed to have caught 
 the spirit of joy, for they had stopped fighting 
 among themselves and lay quietly, contentedly 
 chewing their cuds, and forgetting to nip the 
 hand of their keeper as he passed them. Out in 
 the pasture the little kids kicked up their heels 
 as they frisked about their sedate mothers, who 
 were attending to the serious business of eating 
 their morning meal. True, they looked wonder- 
 ingly at some men moving about among the 
 flock. Every now and then a man would seize 
 a particularly lively kid and throw it across 
 his shoulders. Poor little kids! A big fire was 
 being built and a spit made ready to hold the
 
 THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL 3 
 
 limp bodies that hung so lifelessly across 
 the mens' shoulders. 
 
 In the evening there was to be a great feast. 
 Kids must be roasted, bread baked, corn parched, 
 and porridge mixed so that every guest should 
 have plenty. Ointment must be at hand with 
 which to anoint the beards of the venerable 
 men, and many jars of fresh water must be 
 ready so that every visitor might have his feet 
 washed. 
 
 Some of you are exclaiming, "What, wash 
 the guest's feet! Doesn't everyone at a party 
 have clean feet?" 
 
 Yes, in your day. Remember you wear 
 shoes and walk on dry pavements. But in the 
 time of our story such a thing as a stocking was 
 unknown, and a sandal covering only the sole 
 of the foot and fastened to toe or ankle was all 
 that was ever worn on the foot. When people 
 traveled a long distance, walking up and down 
 hill, through mud or dust, through wet marshes 
 or over dry desert sands, they were weary and 
 footsore, and the feet were not pleasant to look 
 at when the journey's end was reached. So you 
 see it was very refreshing to the guest and a
 
 4 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 mark of respect on the part of the host to have 
 his visitors' feet washed. 
 
 Our dinner party was in the age when the 
 world was new and the day of history had just 
 begun to dawn. Schools and houses there were 
 none, for the people roamed about so much that 
 tents which could be easily carried were the most 
 convenient things to live in. The father, the 
 head of the family, was both king and priest 
 until, as its members increased, there grew a 
 tribe and then a nation. In those long-ago 
 times there were no conveniences. People had 
 to walk perhaps half a mile for a jar of water, 
 or, still worse, they might have to journey a 
 day or more before finding a spring or well. 
 Their cattle, their bondmen and bondwomen, 
 their camels, goats, and sheep made up their 
 wealth. Yes, they had gold and silver, but as 
 there was so little to buy there was not much 
 need of those metals. 
 
 Do you remember getting out of your warm 
 bed in the chill of early morning, and do you 
 recall how every object was blurred, veiled in 
 the gray morning-mist? And as you gazed out 
 of your window a solitary, shadowy figure
 
 THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL 5 
 
 passing along the dim, misty street gave you a 
 queer feeling as though something strange were 
 happening. So things appeared in the early 
 morning time of history. Commonplace hap- 
 penings in those days seemed unusual events. 
 
 The day on which our story opens meant 
 much to Abraham, the father of the household. 
 He sat in the door of his tent holding a little lad 
 between his knees and softly stroking his hair 
 as the child looked lovingly into his face. Little 
 Isaac was about three years old, had just been 
 weaned, and the feast of the evening was to be 
 given in his honor. Soon his mother, Sarah, 
 appeared, holding out to Isaac a tempting mor- 
 sel of bread; then, taking him from his father's 
 arms, she hailed a slender, dark-eyed boy pass- 
 ing the tent leading a donkey. "Ishmael, let 
 Isaac have a ride on your donkey," she said. 
 
 The boy stopped and, placing the child 
 astride the animal's back, led the donkey out 
 into the pasture. The baby clapped his hands 
 in glee, but not once did a smile from Ishmael 
 reward the little fellow's efforts to be friendly. 
 
 "How disagreeable he must have been!" 
 some of you are saying. But wait before you
 
 6 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 judge. It is so much easier and far more com- 
 fortable to be smiling and happy that. when we 
 see a face that cannot light up with a smile we 
 may be sure there is some reason for it. Per- 
 haps if we knew the reason we would think 
 kindly instead of being severe. 
 
 Possibly some of you can remember being 
 told one day that your nose was broken; and 
 when you indignantly denied it, you were 
 shown a shapeless bundle of flannel out of which 
 peeped a small red face the face of the new 
 brother or sister. Gradually you began to 
 realize that the newcomer was getting a great 
 deal of the attention that used to be yours. If 
 you remember such an experience you can 
 sympathize with Ishmael. He was Abraham's 
 eldest son, and his mother was Hagar, the 
 Egyptian bondwoman, Sarah's maid. In the 
 time of our story a man had more than one 
 wife, and one usually was loved much more 
 than the others. Abraham loved Sarah, the 
 free woman, more, much more, than the bond- 
 maid Hagar. 
 
 Surely two persons among the merrymakers 
 at the feast were not happy. Hagar 's heart
 
 THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL 7 
 
 must have burned with a sense of injustice. 
 Was not her boy, Ishmael, Abraham's son, and 
 was he not entitled to some attention? Had 
 she not been promised that her son should found 
 a great nation and inherit some of Abraham's 
 wealth? Why this feast for the child Isaac? 
 Were she and her son to be neglected before the 
 guests? 
 
 With such thoughts in her mind it is not 
 surprising that Hagar looked cross and forbid- 
 ding as she served her master and mistress and 
 their friends. Ishmael caught his mother's 
 spirit and rebelled against all the attention and 
 praise being given to his baby half-brother. 
 Abraham and Sarah with their guests gave all 
 their praise to the little Isaac, for God had 
 promised Abraham, "In Isaac shall thy seed be 
 called." 
 
 Ishmael could no longer control his hot 
 temper, and with scornful laughter he ridiculed 
 the guests and their praise of Isaac. 
 
 Sarah, never very kind to Hagar or Ishmael, 
 rose to her feet, her face darkened with anger 
 as she spitefully demanded of Abraham, "Cast 
 out this handmaid and her son: for the son of
 
 8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 this handmaid shall not be heir with my son, 
 even with Isaac." 
 
 The guests, awed by her jealous fury, were 
 silent, and Abraham, really tender-hearted, at 
 first objected to her command. Was it possi- 
 ble that Sarah could not see that there was 
 enough for both the boys? Did she not realize 
 that the son of a free woman would of course 
 have the better and larger share? The bond- 
 maid had done no harm: she had been faith- 
 ful in her service. Why deprive her and her 
 son of the portion which belonged to them? 
 These must have been Abraham's thoughts, for 
 the Bible states that he was grieved because of 
 Sarah's demand. 
 
 But at last he yielded. Abraham must have 
 thought that the dreary desert with God to 
 care for them, was safer than his household over 
 which was a jealous woman determined that 
 neither Hagar nor Ishmael should share any- 
 thing with Isaac. 
 
 When morning came again, and the star of 
 dawn still hung in the heavens, Abraham arose 
 and called Hagar. He had to tell her that she 
 and her son must go, that no longer could his
 
 THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL 9 
 
 home and that of Sarah shelter both her boy and 
 the little Isaac. 
 
 Hagar pressed her lips tightly together and 
 fire shot from her eyes. But she was silent as 
 she received the water-filled skin which served 
 for a bottle, and not only her shoulders but 
 Ishmael's were heavy laden with the bread 
 Abraham gave them. Side by side, deserted 
 by everything human, they turned their faces 
 toward the wilderness. Their footsteps, at 
 first quickened because of anger at the wrong 
 done them, grew slower and slower as the home 
 which had sheltered them faded from view and 
 the wilderness with its unknown terrors lay 
 before them. 
 
 The sun rose higher and higher in the 
 heavens; its heat made the stones of the earth 
 hot. The bottle of water was soon empty; not 
 that they had drunk so much, but on a hot day 
 skin bottles sweat even more than our earthen 
 and silver pitchers, and the water had evapo- 
 rated rapidly and dried the skin. 
 
 Ishmael's endurance was at an end. True, 
 he was about sixteen years old, but he had 
 always had tender care, and plenty. The hours 
 
 2
 
 io OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 spent in this burning wilderness with little shade 
 and no water were beginning to tell on his 
 strength. His thirst was unbearable; his lips 
 were blistered, and already his swollen tongue 
 so filled his mouth that speech was impossible. 
 He stumbled and fell. His mother raised him 
 to his feet and again he took a few steps forward. 
 Once more he fell, this time rising with greater 
 difficulty, only to totter feebly for a step or 
 two and then to fall face downward upon the 
 ground. 
 
 Hagar's face, drawn and white, was piteous 
 in its despair as she dragged his limp body close 
 to some scanty shrubbery. There she left him 
 that she might not hear his hopeless call for 
 water nor be present when his eyes should close 
 forever. Then she bowed her head and burst 
 into agonized weeping. It seemed to help her. 
 She grew calm and seemed to be listening. Yes, 
 in the quiet, after her grief was spent, there was 
 in her heart a voice speaking; and into her 
 mind there came the remembrance of God's 
 care and his promise that Ishmael should be the 
 father of a great nation. What was it the 
 voice said?
 
 THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL n 
 
 "What aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for 
 God hath heard the voice of the lad where he 
 is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thy 
 hand; for I will make him a great nation." 
 
 She looked around her. Had anger and fear 
 so filled her mind that she had forgotten this 
 desolate place was the wilderness of Beer-sheba, 
 a bleak, uninhabited tract, but possessing 
 many wells of refreshing water? Then God 
 opened her eyes, and she saw what she might 
 have seen before a well of water. Quickly 
 rising, she filled the 'bottle and held it to the 
 boy's lips. Oh, that refreshing drink! that 
 clear, life-giving draught of sparkling water! 
 Do you wonder that Isaiah, the prophet, likening 
 trust in God to a well of living water, said, 
 "God is my salvation; I will trust, and will 
 not be afraid; for Jehovah, even Jehovah, is my 
 strength and song; and he is become my salva- 
 tion. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water 
 out of the wells of salvation." 
 
 As the evening shadows fell, Hagar and 
 Ishmael ate their remaining bread and made 
 themselves comfortable for the night. God had 
 heard ; His promise had been kept. Water had
 
 12 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 come to them in their distress and now, although 
 alone, friendless, without shelter, they felt at 
 rest. Hagar knew that when morning should 
 come again, the God who had opened her eyes 
 to see the well would also guide her feet to a 
 home for her child and for herself. 
 
 Ishmael remained always a dweller in the 
 wilderness. What to others was nothing but 
 a barren waste became to him a home and coun- 
 try. In the wilderness he and Hagar found 
 every need supplied. Cast out from one home, 
 they walked straightway into another. It was 
 in this wilderness that Ishmael founded the 
 nation God had promised him. He was always 
 a wanderer but never without home or kindred. 
 The Arabs of today as they pitch their tents in 
 the desert will tell you they are the children of 
 Ishmael. Could we draw aside the curtain of 
 years which hide these ages so long past, and 
 could we speak with these two people deserted 
 by man but blessed by God, I am sure each one 
 would tell us that faith in God makes every 
 good thing possible.
 
 JACOB'S DREAM 
 
 " I wish I had a ladder that reached the sky. 
 Then I would go up to the top and see what was 
 there." So said a boy whose eyes sparkled with 
 delight after an evening's talk and study of the 
 stars. That was many years ago. The boy is 
 a man now, and it may be that he has found a 
 ladder such as he desired. 
 
 For there are ladders that reach the sky, 
 many of them no, not made of wood which 
 you have to climb, but very much better and 
 safer, for they have this advantage, there is no 
 danger of falling off and getting hurt. 
 
 Did you ever visit an observatory and look 
 at the moon through a telescope? Didn't your 
 breath come in little gasps of astonishment as 
 the great ladder of glass let your eyes climb to 
 the sky and pry into the moon's secrets? The 
 telescope is one kind of a ladder, and a fine one; 
 but there is another and better one. It is of 
 this one that I am going to tell you. A boy 
 
 13
 
 i4 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 found it and used it, and when you read about 
 him you will know how to find such a ladder 
 for yourself. 
 
 His name was Jacob, and he lived before 
 there was any such thing as a king or a queen 
 or a president. There was no government at 
 all except the law which the head of the family 
 made for himself and his children and all 
 his descendants. It was what was called 
 the patriarchal age. Then all the different 
 relatives lived together as one large family, or 
 tribe, and were ruled by the father, or possibly 
 the great-grandfather, of them all. His word 
 was law. No one ever thought of disputing it. 
 His sons, themselves often white-haired men, 
 obeyed him as a little three-year-old child obeys 
 its parents today. 
 
 In the "beginning time," as we call the 
 patriarchal age, there were no priests and no 
 churches. Each family had its own altar, 
 around which the family gathered while the 
 father, or the eldest son if the father were 
 absent, performed the service. 
 
 Upon the death of the father the eldest son 
 succeeded him in authority, receiving a double
 
 A LADDER THAT REACHED THE SKY 15 
 
 share of his property. It was the same then as 
 it is now in countries where there are kings; 
 when the king dies his eldest son becomes the 
 ruler, and this son's brothers and sisters become 
 his subjects and must obey him. To be the 
 first-born son girls did n't count and to have 
 all the privileges of the first-born was often cov- 
 eted by the younger sons. 
 
 The two boys of our story were twins, and 
 as different from each other as black is from 
 white. Their mother had no difficulty in tell- 
 ing them apart for they didn't look alike. 
 Esau, the first-born twin, was strong and sturdy 
 and a great hunter, while Jacob, the younger, 
 was a quiet but keen-witted boy and not very 
 strong. Esau was rough and hairy, but Jacob's 
 skin was smooth and soft. Of course Rebecca, 
 their mother, loved Jacob more than she did his 
 sturdier brother. What mother does not feel 
 more tenderly toward the child she thinks is 
 weaker than the others? 
 
 Their father, Isaac, a gentle and kindly old 
 man, took great pride in the strength and 
 power of his elder son, Esau, and often went 
 with him to the fields to hunt. Esau was a
 
 16 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 most successful hunter, and was never afraid 
 even of the fierce wild beasts that he often 
 met while he was chasing the harmless wild 
 animals. 
 
 Sometimes he was away from home for days 
 at a time, digging pits in the ground or setting 
 traps by which he caught the deer. He carried 
 nets with him by which he snared the birds, and 
 of course always remembered to take his bow 
 and his quiver full of arrows. 
 
 In those "beginning days" there was no 
 convenient market around the corner where one 
 might buy a juicy steak or tender chop and have 
 dinner ready in half an hour. In those days 
 when anyone was hungry for meat, he usually 
 had to go out and hunt for it, and then kill and 
 dress the animal before it was ready for the cook. 
 Think of waiting a week before you could begin 
 to get the dinner! 
 
 You ask why people did not use the sheep 
 and cattle from their own flocks and herds 
 instead of hunting wild game? Sometimes the 
 domestic animals were killed for food, but not 
 often. Remember that a man's wealth in those 
 days was counted by the number of sheep,
 
 A LADDER THAT REACHED THE SKY 17 
 
 goats, camels, and cattle he possessed and also 
 by the number of slaves he owned. 
 
 "What about the land?" you ask. The 
 people moved about so much with their tents 
 and cattle that very few of them owned much 
 land. They had not reached the "settling 
 down" age. Their goats and cattle gave them 
 milk and butter; their goat skins made warm 
 mantles and soft beds. Then, too, their sheep 
 and goats were often slaughtered for their reli- 
 gious services. The wild animals were plenti- 
 ful and did not have to be fed or cared for; they 
 cost the people nothing but the labor necessary 
 to hunt them. 
 
 Esau had been away on one of his hunting 
 trips and had caught nothing. Perhaps the 
 deer had broken his nets and he had found his 
 traps and pitfalls empty, or the birds may have 
 flown so high that his arrows could not reach 
 them. Days away from home and nothing to 
 take back with him ! No doubt he was ashamed 
 to return and face his father, who was so proud 
 of him, and who loved to eat the savory food 
 made from the venison Esau brought him. 
 Sleeping in mountain caves or out in the open
 
 1 8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 fields wet with the falling dew was a strain on 
 the strongest hunter. Esau must have been so 
 chilled that even the noonday sun did not warm 
 him. Added to this was his disappointment at 
 getting nothing for his toil. Enough to make 
 anyone tired and weak, was it not? 
 
 He turned slowly homeward, very different 
 from the happy hunter who with springing 
 steps usually returned laden with game. His 
 eyes must have lighted up with pleasure when 
 he saw Jacob sitting in the door of his tent eat- 
 ing his meal of red lentil pottage, with possibly 
 a bit of meat in it and flavored with onions. 
 Jacob was a thrifty fellow, with always enough 
 and to spare. He would take pity on his hungry 
 brother and share his dinner with him, thought 
 Esau, as he hastened his steps and greeted Jacob. 
 
 "Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red 
 pottage; for I am faint," said Esau. 
 
 Jacob looked at him coldly. There was no 
 sympathy for his brother in his face or voice 
 as he replied, "Sell me first thy birthright." 
 
 What an astonishing request! Who but 
 Jacob would ever have thought of buying a 
 birthright?
 
 A LADDER THAT REACHED THE SKY 19 
 
 Esau had often made fun of his brother and 
 his quiet habits. Sometimes he had felt con- 
 tempt for his timid twin, whose only weapons 
 were his shepherd's sling and his staff. But 
 the hunter was hungry; he was now the weak 
 one and Jacob the strong. Jacob's work had 
 been protecting the weak, while Esau's had 
 been slaying the strong and the fierce. We 
 shall see which made the stronger man of the 
 two, the one whose courage slew wild beasts or 
 the one who cared for the gentle sheep. 
 
 Esau, glorying in his great physical strength 
 and the power it gave him, recognizing no other 
 force but that which belonged to his muscles, 
 was impatient. He must have whatever he 
 wanted at once or he was likely to forget that 
 he wanted it. But Jacob was used to waiting. 
 Out under the silent stars when he guarded his 
 sheep at night he must have learned the lesson 
 of patience. 
 
 Yes, Jacob had used his thoughts while Esau 
 had used his muscles, and each had grown in 
 his different way. Now the mighty hunter 
 was sick with hunger. This frightened him 
 and he answered:
 
 20 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 "Behold, I am about to die; and what 
 profit shall the birthright do to me?" Besides, 
 he may have thought, the blessing of the birth- 
 right is a long way off, and this good dinner is 
 right at hand. 
 
 Foolish Esau! The present is but for a 
 moment, the birthright is for a lifetime. Why 
 can't you learn from the brother you despise 
 as feeble? Jacob would not want the birthright 
 if it were worthless. The very fact that he val- 
 ues it should teach you its worth. 
 
 But no, Esau rushed headlong into the 
 trap Jacob had set for him. He vowed to his 
 brother that he would give up the right of the 
 first-born, and sat comfortably down to his 
 mess of pottage. 
 
 From each of the brothers we turn sadly 
 away from Jacob, who saw in his brother's 
 need only an opportunity for his own selfish 
 gain, and from Esau, who had no thought for 
 the responsibility of his birthright and the 
 duties which went with it. He traded it for 
 a moment's pleasure as readily as a baby would 
 drop a diamond and grasp eagerly at a scarlet 
 pebble.
 
 A LADDER THAT REACHED THE SKY 21 
 
 But the reckoning time came to each. 
 Isaac, their father, was growing old and wished 
 to give Esau the blessing due the first-born. 
 Esau made himself ready to receive it. He had 
 forgotten his bargain with Jacob forgotten 
 that, according to that bargain, he had for- 
 feited the blessing. Even had Esau remem- 
 bered that he had sold his birthright, he who 
 knew no other way of settling a difficulty except 
 with a sword, probably felt that his peaceful 
 brother Jacob would not contend with him. 
 Again did Esau make a great mistake. His 
 fists were powerful, but they could not battle 
 against Jacob's wits. 
 
 Jacob, with the help of his mother, Rebekah, 
 cheated his brother out of the blessing by a 
 trick, and his father bestowed on him the rights 
 of the first-born. 
 
 Esau was angry, bitterly angry, at the fraud 
 his brother had practiced, and threatened to 
 kill Jacob as soon as their father should die. 
 Rebekah was badly frightened when she heard 
 Esau's threat. In haste she called Jacob and 
 told him to go at once to his uncle Laban's 
 home in Paddan-aram.
 
 22 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 "Tarry with him a few days, until thy 
 brother's fury turn away; until thy brother's 
 anger turn away from thee, and he forget that 
 which thou hast done to him; then I will send 
 and fetch thee from thence; why should I be 
 bereaved of you both in one day?" 
 
 Rebekah knew her elder son's nature. 
 Esau was quickly angry and as quickly over it. 
 Whatever he said or did was hasty. Esau 
 acted twice before he thought, whereas Jacob 
 thought once, twice, and probably many times 
 before he acted. 
 
 Poor mother! That which she feared came 
 upon her. The tricks she had used to keep her 
 sons separated them forever from her. 
 
 Rebekah had been obliged to make some 
 excuse to get Jacob away from home, so she had 
 said to Isaac, and probably to curious neigh- 
 bors: "I am weary of my life because of the 
 daughters of Heth; if Jacob take a wife of the 
 daughters of Heth, such as these, of the daugh- 
 ters of the land, what good shall my life do me?" 
 Then Jacob's father had said to him, "Go to 
 Paddan-aram .... and take thee a wife from 
 thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's
 
 A LADDER THAT REACHED THE SKY 23 
 
 brother." And Jacob went, after receiving 
 from his father an added blessing. 
 
 Rebekah would not have smiled so brightly 
 the morning she kissed Jacob good-by had she 
 known that she was never to look upon his face 
 again. She must have stood and watched as 
 he made his way across the plain that she 
 might see him wave his staff just before he dis- 
 appeared among the shadows of the rocks. It 
 was a long, tedious journey from Beer-sheba, 
 Jacob's home, to the home of his uncle in 
 Paddan-ararn, and one beset by many dangers 
 for a lonely traveler. 
 
 Although Jacob's friends and neighbors prob- 
 ably called him dutiful, he knew better. He 
 was being driven from home through fear of 
 his brother. He saw that the birthright he 
 had bought, instead of at once giving him the 
 ease and comfort of the eldest son, had really 
 cost him his home and made him a wanderer. 
 He was a thinker, but he had to learn what 
 King Solomon said years afterward: "Guard 
 ever your thoughts with all care, for from them 
 come the issues of life." L 
 
 1 Ferrar Fenton
 
 24 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 He had quite as much contempt for his 
 brother Esau as that brother had for him. 
 Esau cares for nothing but physical things, 
 thought Jacob; he is rash and hasty and uses 
 his sword too often. 
 
 Yes, Jacob, but your brother has used his 
 strength honestly. In that he is better than 
 you who have used your strength dishonestly. 
 You have not yet heard the commandment: 
 "Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy 
 God in vain." That means, you shall not misuse 
 any gift which God has bestowed upon you. 
 You have used your head, while Esau the light- 
 hearted has used his fists. But you, with the 
 birthright you have bought, are an outcast, 
 while Esau rests safely at home. 
 
 The journey was long, the way often rough 
 and dangerous. The gleaming eyes of hungry 
 beasts that prowled close to his nightly fires, and 
 the howls of wolves eager for their prey, kept 
 Jacob awake at night. By daylight, men, often 
 more cruel than the beasts, might attack him 
 unless he was so fortunate as to fall in with 
 a slowly-moving caravan. Now and then a 
 solitary traveler would overtake him and offer
 
 A LADDER THAT REACHED THE SKY 25 
 
 him a ride upon his camel. Then their ways 
 would part and Jacob would be left alone again. 
 
 One evening, weary and heartsick, he paused 
 to rest. The place seemed safe and free from 
 fierce wild beasts. It would make, he thought, 
 a good place to sleep for the night. He built 
 his fire and shivered as he held his hands out 
 toward the blaze. The sun had set, and long 
 shadows began to creep along the ground; the 
 hills were throwing their blanket over the valley 
 for the night. What was more natural than 
 that Jacob should be thinking of his mother! 
 It was the hour when the family would be eat- 
 ing their evening meal and laughing gaily as 
 they sat around the overflowing bowl which 
 contained their supper, and into which they 
 dipped their hands as they helped themselves. 
 He closed his eyes to make the vision more 
 real, but the howl of a wolf from the distant 
 rocks and the scream of a lone wild bird roused 
 him from his reverie and made him realize his 
 solitude. 
 
 Of what was he thinking? That the birth- 
 right for which he had so carefully planned 
 had so far brought him only misery. He was 
 3
 
 2 6 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 beginning to see that God's gifts cannot be 
 bought; they must be earned. 
 
 According to oriental custom, he could not 
 give back the birthright. It was his, and he 
 must keep it. Hard as it weighed upon him, 
 he knew that he must give his life for the pur- 
 chase he had made. 
 
 How? Wait, the story will tell us. 
 
 The place where he camped was rough, stony 
 ground, but it was better than the dampness 
 of the field. He found a stone which would 
 make him a pillow, and, resting his head upon 
 it, he fell asleep then he found the ladder. 
 
 "But that was only a dream," some of you 
 may say. 
 
 What matters it? If one finds in a dream 
 that for which he is looking, is it not as good 
 as finding it in the waking hours? Of what 
 had he been thinking when he lay down to 
 sleep? Turn back in the story and it will 
 tell you. He was beginning to see what you will 
 remember the prophet Micah said years after- 
 ward: "He hath showed thee, O man, what is 
 good; and what doth Jehovah require of thee, 
 but to do justly, and to love kindness?"
 
 A LADDER THAT REACHED THE SKY 27 
 
 Birthrights were nothing. It was character 
 which counted. Jacob, the homesick wanderer, 
 knowing that he needed to be shown a better 
 way than the one he had tried, was then taught 
 of God. 
 
 "And he dreamed; and, behold, a ladder 
 set upon the earth, and the top of it reached 
 to heaven; and, behold, the angels of God 
 ascending and descending on it. And, behold, 
 Jehovah stood above it." .... 
 
 Tortured and tormented as he had been by 
 fear of his brother, obliged to make this journey 
 which exposed him to the many dangers from 
 which he shrank, Jacob learned in his dream 
 that earth is not after all so very far from 
 heaven. God's presence, as a ladder reaching 
 from heaven to earth, is over all. "Heaven is 
 my throne, and the earth is my footstool." 
 
 The mean thoughts of envy and selfish love 
 of gain were being stilled as the messengers of 
 God descending and ascending whispered to 
 him of kindliness, mercy, and truth. 
 
 Yes, Jacob knew that the God who had called 
 Abraham and had blessed his father, Isaac, 
 was now speaking to him, and into his softened
 
 28 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 heart there crept the certainty of the promise: 
 "I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham thy father 
 and the God of Isaac; the land whereon thou 
 liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed ; and 
 thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and 
 thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to 
 the east, and to the north, and to the south: 
 and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families 
 of the earth be blessed." 
 
 "Be blessed!" There must be some change 
 in him before he could be a source of blessing. 
 So far he had blessed neither his own family 
 nor himself. He was a fugitive from home and 
 dared not return. He had gone out with the 
 curse of his brother's hatred resting upon him. 
 But he meant to return, and if God would be 
 with him in his home-coming, that return should 
 be a blessing to all. He had thought only of 
 himself and his own gain, until into his awakened 
 heart there crept a desire faint at first, but it 
 was there to be of use to others. 
 
 God promised more to Jacob than the land 
 upon which he slept. His descendants should 
 not only inherit all this beautiful country but 
 He also assured Jacob that Jehovah his God
 
 A LADDER THAT REACHED THE SKY 29 
 
 should always be with him. "And, behold, I 
 am with thee, and will keep thee whithersoever 
 thou goest, and will bring thee again into this 
 land ; for I will not leave thee, until I have done 
 that which I have spoken to thee of." 
 
 The vision faded. Jacob awoke, but he was 
 a very different man from the Jacob who fell 
 asleep. The loneliness and grief had gone, and 
 a trust in a Power higher than any he had ever 
 known was comforting him. 
 
 "Surely," he said, "Jehovah is in this 
 place ; and I knew it not .... this is none 
 other than the house of God, and this is the 
 gate of heaven." 
 
 The sun was just peeping over the hilltops 
 when Jacob arose and began to get ready for 
 his day's travel. The morning air smelled 
 sweet and fresh; everything seemed happy and 
 gay. Had he been David, he would have said, 
 "The mountains skipped like rams, 
 The little hills like lambs." 
 
 The birds were singing, and as the sun rose 
 higher it shot its golden rays directly across the 
 stone which he had used for his pillow, making 
 it glitter and sparkle in the sunshine. Jacob
 
 30 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 lifted it up and, drawing a flask from the pouch 
 he carried, he poured oil upon it and made a 
 vow to Jehovah : "If God will be with me, and 
 will keep me in this way that I go, and will 
 give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so 
 that I come again to my father's house in peace, 
 and Jehovah will be my God, then this stone, 
 which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's 
 house; and of all that thou shalt give me I will 
 surely give the tenth unto thee." 
 
 "There he is bargaining again," I hear some 
 of you say. But remember, his good reso- 
 lutions are new. Do you expect him to be 
 perfect at once? Why, that is more than we 
 ourselves do. The people we find between the 
 leaves of our Bible are like us, and in them we 
 see ourselves as though we were looking in a 
 mirror. Do you say Jacob hasn't changed any? 
 Read again the vow he made to Jehovah. 
 What did he promise? 
 
 "I will surely give the tenth unto thee." 
 
 Think of it, the grasping Jacob, whose eyes 
 
 have looked with no pity on another when that 
 
 other's need could be turned to his own gain! 
 
 The small, narrow soul which wished only to
 
 A LADDER THAT REACHED THE SKY 31 
 
 get something is beginning to think of giving, 
 and that generously. 
 
 From this time on Jacob's life was one of 
 service. It was in this way that he had to give 
 his life. For twenty years he served his uncle 
 Laban, fourteen years for his wives, Leah and 
 Rachel, and six years for his flocks and herds. 
 Yes, he did wrong during those twenty years, 
 but he never forgot the lesson of the ladder - 
 the love of God means service. 
 
 In serving, Jacob earned the birthright he 
 had bought. Through service he at last 
 deserved it. Esau with his sword became the 
 conqueror of another people and drove them 
 from their land and country. On him the bless- 
 ing could not rest. Jacob in blessing others 
 was blessed himself; in serving others he him- 
 self was served. 
 
 Twenty years was he away from home. The 
 lessons of those years were often hard and bitter, 
 but through them all he served. The ladder 
 which reaches from earth to sky is service 
 giving instead of getting. 
 
 Jacob had caught a glimpse of the heavenly 
 ladder. Years afterward the seed of Jacob,
 
 32 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 in whom should all the families of the earth be 
 blessed, said on the sunny slopes of the Judean 
 hills, "I am in the midst of you as he that 
 serveth."
 
 HIS LITTLE SISTER 
 
 MIRIAM AND MOSES 
 
 Two small figures crept cautiously along 
 the banks of the river. The banks were wet and 
 marshy and their bare feet sank into the muddy 
 slime. Splash! What was that? The girl drew 
 the boy down beside her as she crouched low to 
 hide herself and him among the tall, thick 
 reeds. But it was nothing only a bird 
 napping its wings in some shallow pool near 
 by. The boy was wet and tired. He was 
 but three years old and his little feet had 
 dragged themselves through these rank marshes 
 all day. Often his lips quivered as he looked up 
 at his sister, and great tears silently rolled down 
 his baby cheeks. Not a sound did he utter. No, 
 little Aaron knew better than to cry. He and 
 his sister and his parents were slaves. A sound 
 from him and the Egyptians would know where 
 he was, and even his baby heart knew what that 
 meant. Had he not seen his father brutally 
 whipped because he had not furnished his mas- 
 ters with all the bricks they had told him to 
 make that father who already staggered under 
 
 33
 
 34 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 labor that was too severe for him? Once, too, 
 he had hidden his face in his mother's lap so 
 that he should not see a young lad bound to the 
 ground with feet upturned while the cruel bas- 
 tinado or stick had beaten the naked soles until 
 they bled, and the lad was whipped only because 
 he had told the overseer that bricks could not 
 be made without straw. It was the memory of 
 these scenes that made the little fellow trudge 
 silently on. Holding fast to his sister's gown 
 with one hand, with the other he tightly clutched 
 the hem of his loose cotton shirt, which, doubled 
 up, held pieces of reeds he was carrying home to 
 his mother. What she wanted of these coarse 
 stalks he did not know, but he remembered 
 that every time he had laid one in her hand she 
 had kissed him. 
 
 As soon as the young girl was satisfied that 
 it was a bird and not an Egyptian that had 
 frightened her, she rose from the ground and 
 went on breaking the great stalks of the tall 
 reeds and putting them into the loose folds of 
 the gown she wore. It was a very convenient 
 dress, really a sack whose ample folds she could 
 throw over her arm and use as a basket.
 
 HIS LITTLE SISTER 35 
 
 "We are nearly through, Aaron," she said 
 to the boy, "and then we will go home to mother 
 and eat some of that nice hot pottage." 
 
 "I don't want to come here any more," 
 replied the child. 
 
 "No, we have enough reeds now all that 
 mother needs for the little boat she is making," 
 answered his sister Miriam. 
 
 Farther and farther from the shore and into 
 deeper water they waded, until Miriam, part- 
 ing the bulrushes with both hands, looked out 
 upon a quiet sheet of water. It was a peace- 
 ful little inlet away from the stronger current 
 of the river. 
 
 Just the place in which to bathe, she thought, 
 and it will be here that the princess will want 
 to come for her bath. Reaching out her hands, 
 she shook some reeds close by. Yes, they were 
 firm and strong. The little boat could lie safely 
 hidden among them and yet she could see it, for 
 she was to watch and see what became of it. 
 Miriam was a big girl. She must have been 
 every day of ten years old, and that, for a little 
 Jewish girl in those days, was almost a grown-up 
 woman.
 
 36 
 
 Satisfied that she had found the right place 
 and that no more rushes could be crowded into 
 their frocks, she caught the boy's hand in hers 
 and together they sped swiftly homeward. Only 
 once on their way did they dart behind 
 some stones and wait for two surly, scowl- 
 ing Egyptians to pass. 
 
 "These Hebrews will do us harm if we do 
 not destroy them," one of the men was saying 
 angrily. 
 
 ' ' They are more in number now than we are, ' ' 
 added his companion. 
 
 "It is fortunate that Pharaoh ordered all of 
 the Hebrew boy babies thrown into the river," 
 replied the first spokesman. 
 
 "That and bitter slavery will soon rid us of 
 them," they both exclaimed together as they 
 passed out of sight. 
 
 As their angry voices died away in the dis- 
 tance, Miriam and little Aaron slipped from 
 their hiding place and ran swiftly across the 
 meadows to the mud hut they called their 
 home. Their mother was at the door waiting 
 for them, and her tired face lighted with a 
 smile as Miriam, holding up the reeds she had
 
 HIS LITTLE SISTER 37 
 
 gathered, exclaimed, "We can finish the ark 
 to-night and hide the baby as soon as the pitch 
 dries!" 
 
 "The morning after to-morrow we will carry 
 him to the river," said her mother. 
 
 "I have found a fine, safe spot in which to 
 place the boat. The river cannot harm him 
 there," Miriam added. 
 
 The little group entered the house and soon 
 all were seated before a large pot of steaming- 
 hot pottage. Aaron fell asleep while he was 
 eating and was tucked away under some hairy 
 goatskins. Hard ground beaten down firmly 
 answered for his bed, with perhaps, if the family 
 was especially fortunate, a few more of the rough 
 skins under him. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 The night and another day passed. Then 
 came evening, the last one in which the mother 
 dared keep her child. 
 
 Miriam and her mother sat in the doorway, 
 and started as two figures came toward them 
 out of the darkness. But there was no reason 
 for fear. The people were friends just Puah 
 and Shiphrah, the two kind Hebrew nurses.
 
 3 8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 One of them was carefully carrying a bundle 
 which she unrolled before them. 
 
 "Oh, isn't he beautiful!" all exclaimed as 
 the sleeping child, Moses, lay resting in her arms. 
 
 "Beautiful," said Shiphrah. "No baby in 
 Israel is half so fair. The neighbors from every 
 house, and even strangers, have begged me to 
 show him to them." 
 
 "For three months we have hidden him," 
 said Jochebed, his mother, "but I dare not do it 
 longer. To-morrow he must be put in the boat 
 I have made for him and be laid in the bulrushes 
 in the river." 
 
 As she spoke there was sadness neither in 
 her face nor in her voice. All looked at her, 
 surprised to see shining in her eyes a light that 
 did not mean fear. 
 
 "I have called upon our God," Jochebed 
 said. "Day and night I sought His counsel, 
 until one night when all was still, in my heart 
 there spake His voice giving me my answer." 
 
 "To put the child in the river?" questions 
 Puah. "Surely not!" 
 
 "Yes, but not to be destroyed," answered 
 Jochebed.
 
 THE FINDING OF MOSES AMONG THE BULRUSHES
 
 HIS LITTLE SISTER 39 
 
 "I have been told," said Shiphrah, "that 
 Pharaoh's daughter grieves constantly because 
 she has no child, and she has been married 
 these many years." 
 
 "What has that to do with the baby?" 
 inquired Puah. 
 
 Jochebed answered, "When I called upon 
 God to help me and to save my child, he showed 
 me the way. It was He who made me think of 
 Pharaoh's daughter. It was He who showed 
 me that if I hid the little one in the rushes, when 
 the king's daughter came to bathe in the river 
 she might find him and take him for her own." 
 
 "Surely no one can look at this child, fair 
 before God, and not love him," they all said. 
 
 But Puah was not satisfied. It was danger- 
 ous, she thought, and besides, none of them was 
 sure that Pharaoh's daughter would go near 
 that spot or take pity on the baby if she did 
 find him. 
 
 "The princess is an Egyptian and we are 
 Hebrews. They have shown no mercy to us. 
 Why do you expect it now?" Puah asked. 
 
 The mother heart of Jochebed knew more 
 than Puah. Did she not know the charm that
 
 40 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 lay in little helpless hands and trustful baby 
 eyes? The princess desired a child. Jochebed 's 
 must be spared the death decreed by an envious 
 king. God's answer to the longing hearts of 
 both women would lie in the ark hidden in the 
 reeds of the rushing river. Jochebed had made 
 the boat of papyrus. It was a light material 
 often used for little skiffs because it floated so 
 easily and swiftly on the water. The Egyptians 
 and many of the Hebrews believed that the 
 papyrus was a charm against crocodiles, with 
 which the river Nile at that time was overrun. 
 
 "Let me see the boat you have been making," 
 said Puah. 
 
 From under some goatskins Jochebed drew 
 a small boat. Inside and out it was lined and 
 daubed with tar and asphalt. Mother love and 
 the mother's faith had enabled her to melt and 
 mix these substances and make water-tight 
 the tiny skiff. Jochebed had used her eyes well. 
 She had seen the Egyptians make boats of papy- 
 rus and had noticed the way they had mixed 
 the tar and asphalt in order to use it as a cement 
 for boats and buildings. Night after night and 
 day after day had she labored, only a little at a
 
 HIS LITTLE SISTER 41 
 
 time for fear she might be discovered, until now 
 the finished boat lay before her ready to receive 
 the baby boy but three months old. Jochebed 
 was obeying the will of Pharaoh in giving her 
 child to the river. And had not her God in 
 whom she trusted said that those who laid 
 snares for others would themselves fall into the 
 pits they had digged? 
 
 Yes, she was not afraid. God was watching, 
 and that act which Pharaoh meant for evil 
 would by God's help result in good. 
 
 * * * * 
 
 The gray mist of morning was creeping up 
 from the marshes and a few rosy streaks here 
 and there showed that the sun was bringing 
 in another day when Jochebed and Miriam 
 came from their hut and walked swiftly toward 
 the river. They soon reached the spot Miriam 
 had found, and the mother carefully laid the 
 boat among the strongest reeds. Then as she 
 unwrapped the shawl, they both looked down 
 at the tiny baby, so sweet as he slept restfully, 
 unconscious of all about him. Miriam lifted 
 one of the tiny hands and gently kissed it, while 
 the mother, after pressing the baby to her, 
 
 4
 
 42 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 stroked his cheeks and silently laid him in the 
 boat among the bulrushes. Placing the cover 
 over him, she turned away and her lips moved 
 in prayer. We may all know what that prayer 
 was, for the New Testament has told us that it 
 was by faith that Moses was hidden, for his par- 
 ents, Amram and Jochebed, "were not afraid of 
 the king's commandment." 
 
 Miriam, his little sister, was left to watch, 
 and as the mist lifted and the sun shone clearly 
 upon the dancing ripples of the river, her dark 
 eyes searched every part of the shore and her 
 ears were open to the slightest sound. Yes, she 
 heard laughter, some talking, and then coming 
 slowly toward her were Pharaoh's daughter and 
 her maids. It was the hour for the morning 
 bath. How carefree they were as they stepped 
 into the waters gold- tinted by the sun. A 
 little slave girl was watching. Would they see 
 the boat? she asked herself, and if they did, 
 what would be the result mercy or sacrifice? 
 
 &ut what about our baby in the skiff? There 
 was a gentle heaving of the water and a swish 
 that made a fine lullaby, but even the best of 
 lullabies grows tedious when baby has slept
 
 HIS LITTLE SISTER 43 
 
 enough and knows he is hungry. Moses wak- 
 ened. Instead of a smiling face above him as 
 his eyes opened, there was nothing but darkness. 
 What did it all mean? Never before had any- 
 thing like this happened to him; not once had 
 he been left to cry. He struck out his tiny 
 fists. Nothing warm met them; only a hard, 
 cold thing hurt the small arms as they stretched 
 forward. The tiny feet drew themselves up 
 and then kicked briskly at the foot of his water 
 cradle. The indignant baby if you children 
 know anything about babies you know that one 
 but three months old can be very indignant and 
 let other people know it, besides now felt that 
 it was time he was being noticed, so feet and 
 hands pounded with all their puny might against 
 the sides of his boat. 
 
 How the cradle did sway and rock! Even 
 the princess was noticing those ripples which 
 came from that clump of tall rushes. Crack! 
 Snap! The reeds had broken, and out into 
 the river swept the boat and the baby. Some- 
 thing more than reeds snapped, Egypt! 
 While the sound you heard may have seemed 
 to you but the crackling of a rush, yet with it
 
 44 
 
 by God's hand were broken the bonds which 
 held Israel captive. It was more than a help- 
 less babe which the current of the Nile bore 
 down to the watching princess. It was Moses, 
 the deliverer of his people. As the small boat 
 lodged in a mass of tangled rushes, the princess 
 bade one of her maids reach out and draw it to 
 shore. With eagerness she opened the box 
 it was really more like a box than a boat 
 and her heart warmed with love as two wet 
 baby eyes looked trustingly into hers. 
 
 "This is one of the Hebrew children," she 
 said, and over her face passed a look which 
 Miriam, running toward her, saw and inter- 
 preted aright, for the little sister asked, "Shall 
 I go and call a nurse of the Hebrew women, 
 that she may nurse the child for thee?" 
 
 "Go," replied the princess, and Miriam's 
 feet flew homeward. Jochebed, with Shiphrah 
 and Puah, was waiting, but none was surprised 
 as Miriam's flying figure came toward them 
 with arms outstretched, calling out as she ran, 
 "It is well, mother, all is well!" 
 
 Jochebed and her husband had trusted in 
 God ; they had believed His promises. Jochebed
 
 HIS LITTLE SISTER 45 
 
 outwardly had obeyed the king, and God had 
 given back into her arms the child she had 
 trusted to Him. 
 
 Again by the riverside she received her child 
 from the princess. His own mother was to be 
 his nurse, while Pharaoh's daughter was later 
 to claim him as her son. "I shall call him 
 Moses," said the princess, "because I drew him 
 out of the water."
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 
 
 THE TURNING BACK OF ISRAEL FROM 
 THE PROMISED LAND 
 
 Have you ever visited a military camp? 
 If you have, and the soldiers had marched for 
 months through dust and heat, often going 
 for days with little or no water, and had just 
 reached a place where water was plentiful and 
 they could pitch their tents and rest, you have 
 seen a camp something like that of Israel. The 
 Israelites were on their way to a land where 
 they could be free, have their own laws, and 
 practice their own religion. After more than 
 twenty months of marching with their children, 
 their wives and sisters, old people and babies, 
 cattle and household goods, they had at last 
 come to the border of the promised land. 
 
 For hundreds of years the people of Israel 
 had been slaves of the Egyptians; then, not 
 being able to endure further cruelty, they had 
 left Egypt. They were guided by their leader, 
 Moses, w r ho was teaching them how to be free 
 and taking them to a beautiful country where 
 
 4 6
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 47 
 
 each one of them could have a home of his 
 own. Just think of it! After all their years 
 of suffering, to have such pleasure waiting for 
 them as soon as their journey was ended! And 
 now their journey was over, the weary march 
 ended, and the new country close at hand. 
 
 But they were not happy. Did you ever 
 see people in our own country who were getting 
 just what they wanted in fact, getting just 
 what they were going after and yet were 
 unhappy and faultfinding? Each day since 
 they had left Egypt these Israelites had found 
 something to complain about. When every- 
 thing was going on well, they were glad they 
 had started. But the minute anything went 
 wrong and they had to wait a little for food or 
 water, or were disturbed in any way, they found 
 fault with Moses and blamed themselves for 
 being so foolish as to have listened to him and 
 left Egypt. 
 
 You can't understand such actions? Why 
 not? Have you never seen girls and boys, and 
 some grown people, too, just like these Israel- 
 ites? I knew a girl who was all smiles until she 
 learned that she had to ride backward during
 
 48 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 a delightful automobile trip, and then there 
 was something wrong every mile of the way. 
 Another girl I knew sang happily at the piano 
 until she discovered her sister had loaned her 
 favorite song; then the piano closed with a 
 spiteful bang and the singing voice became a 
 scolding one. 
 
 All these twenty months not a word of thanks 
 had these people spoken to Moses for his care 
 of them. I suppose they felt as many people 
 feel today, that as soon as there was nothing 
 more to complain about they would give thanks. 
 Of course there were some among these many 
 marchers who, all the way through the desert, 
 had helped Moses by thinking and talking of 
 the beautiful country they were going to, 
 instead of the trouble they had in getting there. 
 They were like travelers paying a visit to our 
 wonderful mountains; some look at the time 
 cards and circulars and picture the beauty they 
 soon will see, while others find nothing but dust 
 and heat, and noisy, crowded cars. 
 
 It was a lively scene on the evening when 
 they camped for the last time before entering 
 the land which was to be theirs. The patient
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 49 
 
 camels slowly chewed their cuds as they sleepily 
 blinked at the moon just rising over the 
 mountains. The thirsty cattle were eagerly 
 drinking water and sighing with content as they 
 lay down to rest. 
 
 Little Benjamin pulled at his mother's 
 skirts, asking if they were going to walk any 
 more that day. Dear little boy, he had been a 
 baby wrapped in his mother's shawl the night 
 his parents had hurried out of Egypt, and now 
 he was a jolly little fellow trotting by her side. 
 And his sister Sarah's hair, that had been short 
 bobbing curls, now nearly reached her waist. 
 Camp fires were being built, tents set up, and 
 the heavy burdens laid aside in preparation for 
 the long night's rest. 
 
 What was behind those dark mountains and 
 across the silent sea? Was it a land big enough 
 for them all? Did it have plenty of wood and 
 water, and could they grow large crops of grain 
 and fruit? They kept asking one another these 
 questions until Moses told them that in the 
 morning twelve men, each one a ruler of one of 
 the twelve tribes of Israel, should go and spy 
 out the land for them.
 
 50 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Moses advised the scouts to be very partic- 
 ular to look at everything, and be able when 
 they returned to tell the waiting people just 
 what kind of a land it was. He did not want 
 his people to be disappointed, but he wished 
 them to know what to expect when they entered 
 the land, and what they must do to enter it. 
 He told the twelve scouts that they must be 
 very brave, for without courage their trip 
 would be useless. 
 
 Tell us, he said, all about the people that 
 are now in the country. Are they strong or 
 weak, and are there a great many of them? 
 Do they live in villages or cities, and are their 
 cities fenced? He also asked them to bring 
 back some of the fruit which grew in this wonder- 
 ful country God had promised to give them. 
 Moses told the Israelites the land had been given 
 to them. All they had to do was to take it. 
 
 "That's easy enough," you boys and girls 
 say. " Almost any people would take what was 
 given to them, especially something good." 
 Would they? Wait and see. 
 
 Early in the morning the camp was astir, and 
 the scouts were as eager to start as the people
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 51 
 
 were to have them. The people were tired 
 of marching day after day over hot sands or 
 jagged rocks which burned or cut their feet. 
 Nor did they want to be hungry or thirsty any 
 more, for the desert over which they had come 
 did not give them much to eat or to drink. 
 And the children, whose little legs must have 
 been swollen from much walking or from being 
 doubled under them as they journeyed along 
 on a camel's or donkey's back, soon could caper 
 about and be happy at play in their own land. 
 Those hot, weary days followed by nights often 
 as stifling, were now past, and home and its 
 comforts lay just ahead of them. 
 
 I am sure the Israelites were very happy as 
 they spent the forty days the scouts were explor- 
 ing the new country in telling one another what 
 kind of homes they were going to have, the cat- 
 tle they would raise, and the grains they would 
 grow. Some must have thought they would 
 rather live on the seacoast. It would be cooler, 
 and, besides, they could send ships to other 
 countries. Others preferred the silent moun- 
 tains, or green hills where fine olives or delicious 
 grapes could be grown. And some, like our
 
 52 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 western farmers, wanted the plains where wheat 
 would grow and the sheep and cattle could find 
 rich pasture. It was a small country, very 
 small; but in one thing it was like ours it had 
 rivers, lakes, mountains, seacoast, plains. Some 
 parts of this country were cold and others hot; 
 some of it was barren and some had very rich 
 soil. In fact, one who could not find something 
 to his taste in it was hard to please. 
 
 At the end of the fortieth day some little 
 lads ran in great excitement into the camp with 
 the news that the scouts were in sight. They 
 said two of them were carrying between them 
 something large hung on a pole. The people 
 hurried from their tents and cheered as the scouts 
 entered the camp. Joshua and Caleb, two of 
 the scouts, looked happy as they proudly showed 
 Moses and the people the great bunch of 
 grapes they were carrying between them. They 
 had gathered this bunch at Eschol, they said, 
 for it was the beginning of the grape season, and 
 these were the first ripe grapes. 
 
 The people were so glad to hear all the good 
 news that Caleb and Joshua had to tell that 
 they had not noticed the sad face of Moses as
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 53 
 
 he watched the other ten scouts, who lingered 
 behind, their faces dark and scowling. Finally 
 the ten spoke and said that Caleb and Joshua 
 had told the truth. The land was very rich 
 and beautiful, with everything in it that they 
 wanted, but there was no use talking longer 
 about taking it. They might just as well turn 
 back into the desert, for they would never be 
 able to enter the country. 
 
 What a difference between the two reports 
 Caleb and Joshua urging Moses to enter with 
 the Israelites because the people of Canaan 
 (the name of the country lying behind the silent 
 mountains) could easily be conquered, while 
 
 the other scouts were telling Moses that it was 
 
 i 
 
 impossible. Perhaps you think these ten men 
 were not as wise as Caleb and Joshua, or perhaps 
 that they were not warriors, while Caleb and 
 Joshua were. But remember that the Bible 
 expressly states that each one of them was head 
 of a tribe in Israel. That meant that each man 
 was a warrior, had fought battles, and won the 
 right to be head. In those days people had to 
 fight to win anything, and afterward they had 
 to fight to keep it. No, all the men sent out
 
 54 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 had been well chosen, and that was the shame 
 of it. For of twelve heads of Israel ten returned 
 badly frightened, and their fright kept growing 
 as they told again and again the dangers in the 
 way. Their fears made them lose their good 
 sense, their strength, and finally their truth- 
 fulness. 
 
 "The cities are fenced," they said. Fenced 
 cities, you know, mean walled cities. Some- 
 times there were thick double walls around 
 them, and oftentimes on these walls there were 
 watch towers that were large enough for people 
 to live in. 
 
 The Israelites began to murmur. The fear 
 of the scouts roused their fears, and soon they 
 were thinking with the scouts that they had 
 made their journey for nothing, that they 
 might better have stayed in Egypt or have died 
 in the wilderness. 
 
 Finally Caleb quieted the people, saying, 
 "Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we 
 are well able to overcome it." 
 
 But the other scouts answered, "We are not 
 able to go up against the people; for they are 
 stronger than we."
 
 CALEB AND JOSHUA RETURNING 
 
 SPYING OUT THE LAND
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 55 
 
 Then in their fright they began to slander 
 the land which they had but a few moments ago 
 so highly praised, and their stories of danger 
 grew worse. 
 
 The only difference between our two brave 
 scouts and the ten cowards was that two of 
 them kept thinking of and looking for all the 
 good things, while the ten, giving all their atten- 
 tion to the dangers in the way, at last believed 
 there was nothing else. Moses had seen both 
 sides, for had he not said when they started to 
 explore Canaan, "And be ye of good courage." 
 He knew that faith and courage could win, but 
 that the people would be helpless if their leaders 
 were afraid. 
 
 Then again spoke the ten scouts, saying, 
 "We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and 
 so were we in their sight." 
 
 Of course they were. Anyone who loses 
 his self-respect as these men had done, has lost 
 the respect of others. Everything that was 
 good was small in their eyes, even themselves. 
 They thought their people and their God were 
 small and weak and naturally their enemies 
 agreed with them.
 
 56 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 The people were now in a foolish panic. 
 The orderly camp was in an uproar with 
 people running aimlessly about asking one 
 another if they had not better turn and go back 
 to Egypt. 
 
 "Let us make a captain," they said, "and 
 let us return into Egypt." 
 
 As Moses heard these words do you wonder 
 that, heartsick and discouraged, he and Aaron 
 the priest "fell on their faces before . . . the con- 
 gregation of the children of Israel?" 
 
 "But," you say, "we thought God had 
 given them the land, and all they had to do was 
 to take it." 
 
 Certainly, but can you take anything with- 
 out making an effort? Suppose your father 
 wants to give you a college education. Can he 
 give it to you unless you study? Or perhaps 
 you wish to take music lessons. Can anyone 
 give them to you if you will not practice? If 
 food were put into your mouth you would have 
 to chew it. No, our people of Israel had never 
 been promised that they could slip easily into 
 a land waiting for them. They knew better. 
 They had fought their way through the
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 57 
 
 wilderness; they must fight their way into the 
 promised land. 
 
 Caleb and Joshua rent their clothes as Moses 
 fell upon his face in that country these two 
 acts meant they were in great distress and 
 spoke to the people, saying, "The land, which 
 we passed through to spy out, is an exceedingly 
 good land. If Jehovah delight in us, then he 
 will bring us into this land, and give it unto us; 
 a land which floweth with milk and honey. 
 Only rebel not against Jehovah, neither fear 
 ye the people of the land; for they are bread 
 for us: their defence is removed from over 
 them, and Jehovah is with us: fear them not." 
 
 Caleb and Joshua saw the weakness of the 
 people of Canaan; and to them, with their 
 faith in God and their courageous spirit, it was 
 their enemies and not themselves that looked 
 like "grasshoppers." But it is always useless 
 to argue with those who fear. The frightened 
 people would not listen and commenced to stone 
 the two brave scouts. 
 
 Moses was hurt and for the moment dis- 
 couraged. Was there any use in trying to do 
 anything further for these people? They were
 
 58 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 thankless and unbelieving. No matter what 
 God did for them or what wonders he showed 
 them, every time they were in trouble they 
 doubted His power and His promise to help 
 them. You may think they were very stupid 
 and say there is no one like them today. But 
 look at them more closely. Isn't it like seeing 
 your .own self in the mirror as they pass before 
 you with their doubts and fears? Don't we all 
 feel happy when everything goes well? How 
 many of us can say that we have the same 
 faith in God when everything goes wrong? 
 
 Moses kept thinking. Had he better not 
 leave these people? He and his family and 
 his friends were strong enough; they would 
 inherit the blessings God had promised. Let 
 the people go back into the desert without him 
 and die there. Of course they would sicken 
 and die without his guidance. But if they were 
 too much afraid to try to get into the promised 
 land with him, they were too weak safely to 
 cross the desert alone. He went over in his 
 mind the many times Jehovah had helped him 
 deliver these people from danger. How often, 
 as he lay on the ground at night and looked up
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 59 
 
 at the stars, he had heard God's voice in his 
 heart urging him to "go forward" and save 
 his people! At last he felt less angry and less 
 bitter toward them, and instead of wishing to 
 leave them to their own destruction he said, 
 as he listened for God's voice, "Pardon, I pray 
 thee, the iniquity of this people according unto 
 the greatness of thy loving-kindness, and accord- 
 ing as thou hast forgiven this people, from 
 Egypt even until now." 
 
 Moses knew that fear and unbelief could 
 never meet and master any danger that lay 
 between his people and the land before them. 
 Besides, they did not all think alike. Some 
 wished to return to Egypt, others believed it 
 best to do nothing at all, and a few insisted on 
 marching at once into Canaan. He was lead- 
 ing them and he could not go in half a dozen 
 directions at once. To do so was impossible. 
 Only a few had any courage or faith in their 
 ability to conquer the enemy. There was no 
 use in going back to Egypt. After all that had 
 happened there, the Egyptians would no more 
 allow them to return than the people of Canaan 
 would permit them to enter their land. Only
 
 60 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 one thing was possible to turn back into the 
 wilderness from which they had come, to go 
 back to its burning heat, its choking dust, its 
 hunger and pain and thirst until, weary with 
 wandering about in it, the Israelites should 
 have faith enough in the promises of God to 
 march with the strength of courage and a 
 united purpose into the land which He had 
 given them. 
 
 Moses knew then what we all know now, 
 that the door which will not open is unbelief. 
 Believing a thing possible, one tries to do it; 
 having no faith that it can be done, one never 
 makes the effort. So God said to Moses con- 
 cerning the people, "Tomorrow turn ye, and 
 get you into the wilderness by the way to the 
 Red Sea." 
 
 But that, you may think, was for people 
 not a bit like us and who lived so long ago 
 that nothing about them interests us. But you 
 are mistaken. People are the same wherever 
 you find them; and I have discovered in my 
 travels that girls and boys in other lands are 
 just the same as girls and boys in my own 
 country.
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 61 
 
 Let us do a little thinking. America was 
 an old continent, much older than Europe, when 
 it was discovered. But it lay unknown on this 
 side of the sea until Columbus believed that by 
 sailing west he could reach India. In this 
 faith, backed with courage, he set sail on -the 
 stormy ocean determined to find it. He sailed 
 into his promised land even though it was 
 not the India he sought. His faith gave the 
 world a new country. Hannibal could have 
 flown over the Alps as easily as it is done 
 today instead of taking months to cross them 
 on foot, but he did not believe he could, so he 
 walked. The Wright brothers believed man 
 could fly, and believing it, they made a 
 machine that flew. 
 
 I knew a little fellow whose promised land 
 was swimming. Was anything more delightful, 
 he thought, than plunging and rolling about in 
 the ocean? But he didn't believe he could 
 learn to swim because he was afraid of the big 
 waves, and sharks might be near, or rocks 
 hidden under the water might hurt him. So 
 he stood on the beach and envied the other 
 children. He was somewhat like Israel peering
 
 62 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 over the mountains at the land they believed 
 they could not conquer, was he not? 
 
 Two young men applied for a position. The 
 head of the firm said to both of them, "I can 
 see you only at four o'clock in the morning." 
 
 One boy replied, "But you live outside the 
 city, and there is no train after midnight until 
 six in the morning." 
 
 The other quietly answered, "I'll be there, 
 sir, at four o'clock in the morning." 
 
 He took the midnight train, waited in the 
 station the remainder of the night, and called 
 the old man out of bed at four in the morning. 
 Yes, he got the position and in after years 
 became the manager of the firm. There was 
 no promised land too hard for him to enter. 
 The other young fellow did not even think of 
 waiting in the station. The first thought 
 which entered his head was, "It is impossible." 
 Perhaps for the rest of his life he kept waiting 
 for something that he believed it was possible 
 to do. 
 
 We must go back to our poor frightened 
 people sadly packing their goods, folding their 
 tents, and putting their babies who were too
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 63 
 
 little to march, on the backs of the camels or 
 donkeys. Little Benjamin again asked his 
 mother if they were going to march any more, 
 and why they went back where they had just 
 come from. His sister Sarah took him by the 
 hand, and together the two little ones followed 
 their mother and father out into the barren 
 land where even the little children feel tired 
 most of the time. Poor little lad and little lass ! 
 They did not know that the next time they 
 stood on the border of the promised land they 
 would be old and gray-haired, with children of 
 their own, while their mother and father would 
 have perished in the wilderness. 
 
 Forty days the scouts had been looking at 
 the land of Canaan, and forty years, a year for 
 each day, were they to wander in the wilderness. 
 Of all the grown people, only Caleb and Joshua 
 who had brought back a good report of the land, 
 and who had believed that God was with them 
 and would give it to them if they trusted in Him, 
 were allowed to enter the promised land. 
 
 What unreasonable things fear and unbelief 
 make people do! These people had refused to 
 go forward, but as soon as Moses told them he
 
 64 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 would not insist on their entering Canaan, but 
 would go back with them to the desert, at once 
 they decided that they would go into the land 
 and fight the inhabitants. Was Moses pleased? 
 No, he knew it was not faith that they could 
 conquer their enemies, but fear of the desert 
 which influenced them, so he said, ''Wherefore 
 now do ye transgress the commandment of 
 Jehovah, seeing it shall not prosper? Go not 
 up, for Jehovah is not among you; that ye be 
 not smitten down before your enemies . . . * 
 ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned 
 back from following Jehovah, therefore Jehovah 
 will not be with you." 
 
 By this time you boys and girls know, with- 
 out my telling you, that the people paid no 
 attention to Moses, but went out in their weak- 
 ness to fight the enemy and of course were 
 defeated. To the end of the story they refused 
 to believe what their leader told them and as 
 usual met the consequences of their disobedi- 
 ence. Some people are fond of calling these 
 consequences punishment. Had these people 
 been able to understand, Moses could have told 
 them what was told many years afterward to a
 
 THE DOOR NO ONE CAN OPEN 65 
 
 little maid in Nazareth: " Blessed is she that 
 believed; for there shall be a fulfilment of the 
 things which have been spoken to her from 
 the Lord."
 
 OPENED EYES 
 
 BALAAM CURSING ISRAEL 
 To-day go up with me into a high mountain. 
 From its peak there is a view, a most wonderful 
 view, that I want you all to see. No, you will 
 not need a field glass. The air is clear and your 
 eyes keen, so that you will miss none of its 
 beauty. Glasses are not worth much, anyway. 
 Some people see little with the best of glasses, 
 and others with dim eyes and no other help see 
 wonders in this world of ours. From the top 
 of this mountain can be seen rushing mountain 
 torrents, and narrow valleys with swift rivers 
 and those that creep along lazily toward the 
 sea. Desolate salt marshes and fertile fields, 
 bleakness and barrenness, beauty and plenty, 
 dark mountains and sunny meadows, every 
 kind of scenery, in fact, is here disclosed to our 
 view. Whichever picture you prefer is yours 
 to see if you will turn your face in the right 
 direction. 
 
 It is well that we are here in the morning, 
 for we can look west toward the river Jordan. 
 There at our feet in the valley, nestling in the 
 
 66
 
 OPENED EYES 67 
 
 shade of the acacia woods, is a camp. It is 
 that of Israel, ready now to enter the land that 
 God had promised to give them. For nearly 
 thirty-eight years have the Hebrews wandered 
 back and forth in the wilderness, until now, no 
 longer a band of faint-hearted exiles but a 
 conquering host, they rest before crossing the 
 Jordan, which separates them from the land 
 which is to be their home. Some of you are 
 straining your eyes to see, there in the west, 
 what it is that looks like a hazy blue ribbon 
 binding the country to the river and the 
 mountains. It is the sea, the Great Sea the 
 Mediterranean we call it now. We shall draw 
 a deep breath of enjoyment as we gaze at the 
 scene and then hurry down the steep path to 
 the valley, for it is today that Balaam is coming 
 to curse Israel. 
 
 "Why coming to curse Israel?" you ask in 
 surprise. 
 
 Balak, the king of Moab, and his people are 
 
 ' terrified because of the coming of the Hebrews. 
 
 Israel has just conquered and captured two 
 
 tribes and their kings, with their cities and all 
 
 their possessions.
 
 68 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 What right have these people to camp in 
 the fields of Moab? Balak inquired of himself. 
 True, Israel had asked permission to pass peace- 
 ably through his land and that of the other two 
 kings, but had been refused. Israel was not 
 now to be hindered. At last she had learned 
 that the land God had given her had to be won, 
 and she waged a conquering war upon every 
 obstacle that stood between her and the land 
 of promise. 
 
 Balak and the elders of Midian had consulted 
 together and decided that their only safety lay 
 in having Balaam, the wise man and sorcerer, 
 curse these invaders. The Midianites would 
 give him money in plenty, and honor and power, 
 if he would only use his wisdom and counsel to 
 defeat the Israelites. Balak had said to the 
 elders, as he pointed to the camp resting on the 
 borders of Midian, "Now will this multitude 
 lick up all that is round about us, as the ox 
 licketh up the grass of the field." 
 
 Messengers had gone from Balak to Balaam 
 and entreated him to return with them and 
 curse this people. Whatever you curse will be 
 cursed, they told him, and whatever you bless
 
 OPENED EYES 69 
 
 will be blessed. It was night when the messen- 
 gers reached his tent, and he was seated in its 
 door. He rose as they alighted and asked their 
 errand, but peremptorily shook his head as 
 they presented Balak's request. His wisdom 
 and he was a very wise man told him at 
 once that the mission upon which they asked 
 him to go was a hopeless one. He knew, as 
 another wise man knew and said years afterward, 
 
 " There is no wisdom nor understanding 
 Nor counsel against Jehovah." 
 
 But that gold they offered him how it did 
 tempt him! Could not some way be found by 
 which he could please God, Balak, and Israel? 
 Long after his visitors lay asleep he strode back 
 and forth outside his tent watching the stars. 
 Yes, they were moving with their usual order 
 across the heavens. There seemed to be no 
 disturbance in God's universe. He knew that 
 Jehovah was with Israel, and it was Jehovah's 
 laws that the sons of Jacob were taught to obey. 
 No, the task was too great for him; he would 
 not attempt it. And he told the men so the 
 next morning when he sent them back to Balak 
 with his bribe of gold.
 
 70 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 The next evening other messengers from the 
 king were clamoring at his tent door, offering 
 more money and higher honors. Balaam hesi- 
 tated. Would they remain with him over 
 night? he asked. He must seek the counsel of 
 Jehovah, he told them. All night he tossed and 
 turned upon his bed of hairy skins. Now and 
 then his hands would clinch, itching to have 
 within them the gold the men had brought. 
 Was there not some way in which he could serve 
 Jehovah in whom he believed and also Balak 
 whose gold he coveted? He would try it, any- 
 way. When morning came he told the messen- 
 gers that he would go with them, adding, "If 
 Balak would give me his house full of silver and 
 gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Jehovah 
 my God, to do less or more." 
 
 Some of you are wondering how a man as 
 wise as Balaam could consider going on such an 
 errand. "Why, it is like trying to go backward 
 and forward at the same time! " you are saying. 
 
 Yes, but the glitter of gold and desire for 
 fame were too much of a temptation! So he 
 tried to do the impossible and failed, just as, 
 since his time, everyone who has attempted to
 
 OPENED EYES 71 
 
 get good results by doing wrong things has failed. 
 Some of you are saying that wise people do not 
 act that way now. But think a minute. You 
 may be a high-school girl or boy; perhaps you 
 are at the head of your class and will win a schol- 
 arship. But, honestly now, did you never hear 
 yourself say after you had failed, perhaps in 
 some small matter, "I knew better than to do it 
 that way all the time?" But you hoped, as we 
 all hope and as Balaam hoped, that you could 
 once at least do wrong and get perfect results. 
 How did Balaam fail? The answer to that 
 question is our story. 
 
 As the night shadows faded away his fears 
 disappeared, and with the coming of the sun his 
 courage rose strong and determined. Saddling 
 his ass and calling two of his servants, he started 
 out with them and Balak's messengers. The 
 ass he rode was a spirited animal and carried 
 him swiftly along the road. 
 
 Why do you laugh? You are probably 
 picturing to yourselves one of those dejected- 
 looking donkeys that never seem to be more 
 than half awake, and you are amused to think 
 that one of them could move quickly. 
 
 6
 
 72 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 But the ass upon which Balaam sat was not 
 a donkey. Asses were favorites with the 
 Hebrews and were fine animals. They were 
 not, of course, swift like the horse, which at that 
 time and for many years after was employed 
 only for war. Horses were forbidden to the 
 Israelites, and never until the time of King 
 David did the Hebrews make use of them. 
 
 Balak's messengers were in gay spirits. The 
 wise man was with them and his curse would 
 soon rout the invading Hebrews. Already in 
 imagination they could see the Israelites desert- 
 ing their tents and fleeing across the plain before 
 pursuing Moabites and Midianites. Balaam, 
 also, pictured in his mind the way he should 
 spend all the money Balak was to give him. 
 He would buy asses and camels, perhaps a bond- 
 man or two to do more work for him. Suddenly 
 the ass he rode began to act queerly. She no 
 longer obeyed his guiding hand, but, shaking her 
 head free from the bridle, bolted from the road 
 and plunged into a near-by field. Balaam 
 struck her heavily with his stick and forced 
 her back into the path. For a little distance 
 she obediently trotted as he directed, then
 
 OPENED EYES 73 
 
 reared and plunged with head erect and nostrils 
 distended. Back, back she went until, trem- 
 bling, she pressed against the vineyard wall, 
 crushing Balaam's foot as she did so. With 
 upraised stick the prophet beat the poor beast 
 until she was forced to move forward. 
 
 On and on the company traveled until com- 
 ing to a narrow cleft between some rocks where 
 it was impossible to turn around, the ass lay 
 down flat upon the ground, crouching in terror 
 before some object which she saw but Balaam 
 did not. Once more he beat the suffering ani- 
 mal, but she would not rise; then from her 
 mouth came words, and Balaam stood listening 
 as she spoke: "What have I done unto thee, 
 that thou hast smitten me these three times?" 
 
 Balaam answered in a rage that the only 
 reason he did not kill her was because he had no 
 sword. Once more did the ass speak, and again 
 Balaam replied to her. Lifting his eyes as he 
 did so he beheld the cause of the animal's actions. 
 She had seen what his eyes had not perceived. 
 Blinded with his desire to have his own way 
 and gain the reward Balak had promised him, 
 his eyes were closed. Now with opened eyes he
 
 74 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 saw the angel of Jehovah with drawn sword 
 standing in the path. Thrice had the angel 
 turned the ass away from her course, but not 
 until now, when Balaam could turn neither to 
 the left nor to the right when, in other words, 
 there was no possible way of escape for the 
 prophet did he recognize God's messenger 
 and heed his word. 
 
 Are you saying that these things are impossi- 
 ble and that animals do not talk? Because you 
 have never heard them is no sign they cannot. 
 Birds are taught to talk, and they are animals. 
 Who can say that it is only animals walking on 
 two legs that have the gift of speech, but if they 
 are unfortunate enough to possess four it is 
 impossible? We none of us talk because of our 
 feet, do we? But we will not argue, and for 
 those of you who hate to admit that anything 
 of the kind was possible, let me tell you that it 
 was a vision in which Balaam was taught a 
 lesson. 
 
 You remember Jacob and his dream the 
 night he lay friendless in the wilderness. He 
 went to sleep a fugitive because of a selfish, 
 grasping nature, but he arose in the morning
 
 OPENED EYES 75 
 
 determined to give and serve because of what 
 God had taught him in a dream. So in a vision 
 was Balaam taught of God. He had started 
 out to curse with his own words, hoping that 
 Jehovah this time would alter his laws for this 
 occasion. But it was not so to be; his opened 
 eyes saw the angel of God guarding with drawn 
 sword every way in which he tried to reach his 
 evil purpose. If you go, declared Jehovah's 
 messenger, you must speak the word that I 
 shall give you. 
 
 Baffled and afraid, the prophet went forward 
 with the rest of the company. He dared not 
 go back. That would mean the ridicule and 
 scorn of the men who were with him, and all 
 Moab would say that he was an impostor and 
 was not able to do the deed they had asked of 
 him. Soon the plains of Moab were reached; 
 a few more paces and they would begin to ascend 
 the mountain upon whose summit Balak was 
 waiting for Balaam and his company. Stand- 
 ing upon the same peak from which we saw our 
 beautiful view was Moab's king pointing out 
 to Balaam the tents of Israel far below in the 
 valley. Grasping Balaam tightly by the arm,
 
 76 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Balak said, "This host will overpower us if you 
 do not curse them for us." 
 
 Balaam, answering, told him that he had no 
 power except what Jehovah gave him and no 
 words save those put into his mouth by Jehovah. 
 Balak had been warned. He should not have 
 insisted that Balaam try his evil spells upon 
 this people who were now peacefully resting in 
 Moab's borders. Balak's gods were change- 
 able ; they never could be depended upon. What 
 was wrong for them one day would probably 
 be right on the next day. So Balak, judging 
 Jehovah by his own gods, told Balaam to go on; 
 it might be that today Jehovah would curse. 
 Poor, ignorant king, he and his people had never 
 heard the voice of Jehovah declaring, "For I, 
 Jehovah, change not; therefore ye, O sons of 
 Jacob, are not consumed." 
 
 Balaam walked slowly forward. Before him 
 stretched the panorama of beauty that you and 
 I have just witnessed. The tents of Israel 
 shone in the morning sun, and the turbulent 
 river, dancing across the plain and hurrying 
 along the valley, sparkled as its ripples now and 
 then caught a stray sunbeam. Every tribe was
 
 OPENED EYES 77 
 
 there, each carrying the symbol by which it 
 could be recognized. What perfect order, 
 thought Balaam, as he viewed the twelve sections, 
 each by itself and yet united as one nation. 
 Truly these were Jehovah's people. As he 
 opened his mouth to speak, no sound issued 
 from his lips. What had closed them and made 
 his curse die upon them before it was spoken? 
 His eyes had again been opened to see a 
 shimmering glow of light in the center of the 
 camp. It looked like a cloud, but shot through 
 as it was with dazzling brilliancy, he knew that 
 it was more than a cloud. It was the light that 
 brooded always during the daytime over the 
 ark of the covenant. Israel followed this light 
 which always went before them. It meant the 
 presence of Jehovah, their God. Could Balaam 
 curse when Jehovah and his blessing were 
 present? So upon the listening ears of the 
 astonished Balak there fell words of wondrous 
 blessing for Israel. When the speech ended, he 
 angrily accused Balaam of wishing the enemy 
 good instead of harm. "But, come now," he 
 added, "you must view the camp from another 
 spot and from there you may be able to
 
 78 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 curse." This time he led the prophet to a 
 place from which could be seen only a part of 
 the Hebrew host. He must have thought that 
 the sight of the great orderly host of Israel had 
 made Balaam afraid, and discouraged him in 
 the beginning. But the second attempt was no 
 better than the first, and the silent Hebrews 
 again received the blessing of their God from the 
 mouth of Balaam. 
 
 Balak, now thoroughly alarmed, urged that 
 Balaam stop and neither curse nor bless these 
 people. But when a man is moved by the Spirit 
 of God, he cannot stop when he pleases, but 
 must go on and finish his work. And this is 
 what Balaam told the king: "All that Jehovah 
 speaketh, that I must do." 
 
 One more trial was Balak willing to give 
 Balaam, so he said to him, "Come now, I will 
 take thee unto another place; peradventure it 
 will please God that thou mayest curse me them 
 from thence." 
 
 But the other place was no better. God 
 seemed to be the same no matter where Balaam 
 stood, and a greater and more wonderful bless- 
 ing upon Israel came from the lips of Balaam.
 
 OPENED EYES 79 
 
 The king of Moab was now thoroughly 
 enraged. He was so angry that for the moment 
 he forgot his fear and bade Balaam flee to his 
 own people. The prophet, standing before him, 
 then uttered the words which form one of the 
 greatest speeches ever made, so true are they. 
 It was not of the petty tyrant Baal he was speak- 
 ing, the god whose whims would change with 
 each new day and whose favor could be bought 
 and sold by his worshipers. No, it was of 
 Jehovah he spoke when he said, "He hath 
 blessed, and I cannot reverse it." 
 
 Think of it, boys and girls. Not a blessing 
 that really is a blessing can be altered or changed. 
 How hard this Moabitish king and his followers 
 had tried to obstruct God's way, and all they 
 had realized was disappointment and time 
 wasted! Balak's anger at Balaam resulted in 
 drawing down a curse upon himself, for the 
 prophet turned and told of the overthrow of 
 Moab by Israel. Every net that we set for the 
 feet of another only entangles our own. There 
 are some people who do not or will not see 
 this. But Balaam's eyes were opened to 
 acknowledge it.
 
 So OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 As night fell he went down the mountain 
 side alone, first pausing to look once more at 
 the camp below him. The cloud over the taber- 
 nacle had disappeared and in its place was a 
 pillar of fire. Did his ears catch the refrain of 
 words to be spoken in the years that came after 
 him words saying, "Our God is a consuming 
 fire," destroying every false thing that dared 
 deny the good with which He blesses his 
 children? 
 
 As he journeyed homeward and the stars 
 came out one by one, he stroked kindly the neck 
 of the ass he rode, trusting to her unerring 
 instinct to carry him safely through the dark- 
 ness to the door of his tent. As he reached his 
 home and stood before his tent door he uncovered 
 his head. Jehovah had spoken through the 
 instinct of the brute, the light of the stars, and 
 in his own heart. Together they had blended 
 in one musical tone, repeating the refrain, 
 "God's will is blessing."
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 
 
 RAHAB AND THE SPIES 
 
 A number of frightened people were running 
 back and forth upon the city walls. From the 
 strong towers upon those walls warriors were 
 anxiously watching a cloud of dust darkening 
 the horizon. It had been there yesterday, but 
 today it was rolling nearer and nearer to Jericho. 
 Not a dweller in the city dared venture outside 
 the gates, which were closed and heavily barred. 
 Only those who were fortunate enough to have 
 a house upon the wall could know what was 
 going on outside and see how rapidly that fatal 
 cloud was approaching them. I can hear some 
 of you children ask why a cloud of dust should 
 frighten the people of a rich and strong city like 
 Jericho, filled as it was with fighting men of 
 valor. It was because behind that dust was an 
 enemy that everyone feared, an invading army 
 coming to conquer and to destroy. 
 
 The white-faced people inside the gates with 
 trembling hands were trying to hide their valu- 
 ables their gold and silver, their jewels, and 
 costly garments. Some looked sadly upon 
 
 81
 
 82 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 their homes. Would they be homeless tomor- 
 row, they were wondering, and would all they 
 loved be ashes by another day? Mothers 
 held their children closer to them. By to-mor- 
 row they might not have them, or, what would 
 be still worse, the little ones might be mother- 
 less and fatherless and left to the mercy of 
 strangers. Fathers with swords in their hands 
 gathered together. Every weapon of war had 
 been seized by them to repel the dreaded foe. 
 
 "It is the army of Israel!" cried the 
 watchers in the towers. "No people has been 
 able to withstand it." Despair was in their 
 hearts, and their spirit was sick with fear 
 a very poor condition for a people to be in 
 when it is necessary to meet and conquer a foe. 
 
 "But why should they be afraid of Israel?" 
 you boys and girls are asking. "Didn't ten of 
 the spies return to Moses badly frightened and 
 declare that the Israelites were as grasshoppers 
 in the sight of their enemies?" 
 
 Yes, but since the time of that story forty 
 years have passed and Moses no longer leads 
 the people. Israel is advancing now under its 
 leader Joshua. All these years the Hebrews
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 83 
 
 have been in the wilderness. They had abused 
 the love of their great leader, Moses, had found 
 fault with him always, and only a few had been 
 gracious enough to appreciate what he had done 
 for them. Moses had spared them under 
 every trial. All they had to do was to murmur 
 because there was no water and his rod made it 
 gush out of the rock; or if it was meat they 
 craved, their complaints brought forth from him 
 a prayer that Jehovah would grant them their 
 desire and in reply quail rained upon them. 
 
 Under Joshua's leadership it was different. 
 He was brave and true like Moses, but every 
 man with him had to earn what he wanted. 
 Joshua had said to them, "Be strong and of 
 good courage." It was his watchword, given 
 him by Jehovah after the death of Moses. All 
 these years the Israelites had fought their way 
 through the wilderness. Little by little they 
 had overcome enemies, and their courage had 
 grown with every victory, until now as they 
 were approaching Jericho there was not one 
 among them, child, woman, or warrior, who was 
 not certain that Jehovah their God was with 
 them and would give the city into their hand.
 
 8 4 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 You remember that little Benjamin and his 
 sister Sarah had sadly followed their parents 
 back into the wilderness from which they had 
 just come. They had turned again to those 
 burning plains and dry sands because the 
 Hebrew people had not the courage to enter 
 the land God had promised them. But now, in 
 the time of this story, it was not a host of weak 
 slaves but a conquering people armed with 
 faith in their God and confidence in their leader, 
 which was marching upon Jericho. Forty 
 troubled years in the wilderness had made 
 their enemies, and not themselves, seem like 
 grasshoppers. 
 
 All day the watchers upon the walls and 
 the people in the city were waiting for Israel. 
 At last gleaming swords and flashing shields 
 told the watchers in the towers that the enemy 
 they feared was near. But not a sound was to 
 be heard. No shout of victory, no demand that 
 Jericho should surrender, came from the Hebrew 
 camp, silent before the doomed city. Not an 
 arrow was shot over the walls, no missile of 
 stone fell in its midst, no battering-ram stormed 
 against its gates. There was only a sickening
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 85 
 
 silence, so great that it filled the hearts of the 
 people with a fear worse than the noise of battle 
 could have caused. 
 
 The sun set in blazing colors and tinted with 
 lurid hues the tents of Israel, encamped for the 
 night on the plains of Jericho. Camels were 
 watered and cattle fed, while little children fell 
 asleep in their mothers' arms after eating their 
 supper of manna that manna which for forty 
 years had been Israel's bread in the wilderness. 
 How they hated that manna! Perhaps had 
 they known that the evening on which they 
 camped before Jericho the manna would fall for 
 the last time, they would have eaten it with 
 greater relish. Do you ask me why the manna 
 ceased to fall? It was no longer needed. Israel 
 had entered the promised land. 
 
 Soon darkness fell upon both the frightened 
 city and the silent Jewish camp, until the moon, 
 slowly rising, touched with silvery tints the 
 tents of Israel and threw a white shroud over 
 the battlements of Jericho. Years before, the 
 Hebrews had watched this same moon rise, and 
 as its full radiance shone upon them had hur- 
 ried out of Egypt. Then the silvery rays of the
 
 86 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 moon disclosed red stains like blood upon every 
 Hebrew doorpost. Thereby were the Hebrews 
 separated from the Egyptians when the angel 
 of death visited Egypt. It was in memory of 
 this deliverance that as they halted before 
 Jericho they silently ate the passover. But the 
 first-born of man and beast of the Egyptians 
 died on the night when the angel of death 
 passed over the land. 
 
 As years ago the moonlight had touched the 
 scarlet stains upon the doorposts of the Israelites, 
 so to-night the wind, moaning about the battle- 
 ments of the city, as it shrieked past a window 
 in a tower upon the wall tossed into the moon- 
 light the fluttering strands of a gleaming scarlet 
 cord bound firmly to the casement. In the 
 tower is Rahab, the innkeeper. Gathered about 
 her are her family and all her kindred. No 
 fear is in their faces, for the Jewish camp out- 
 side brings to them, not danger, but deliverance. 
 And why, you ask, should this woman and her 
 household be spared? Are they not Canaanites 
 of Jericho? They are, but when you read 
 Rahab 's story and know why that crimson cord 
 flutters in her window, you will agree with me
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 87 
 
 that Rahab deserved her life that she had 
 won her freedom fully as much as Israel won the 
 victory over Jericho. 
 
 ***** 
 
 Before the night of our story a number of 
 days earlier, in fact Israel's camp was in 
 Shittim, where she was resting in the beauty 
 of that garden spot. There she was enjoy- 
 ing shade from the sun, plenty of water for her 
 cattle, and safety from wandering desert tribes. 
 But her leader, Joshua, did not like resting. 
 He wanted to move on before his people formed 
 such a habit of resting that they would object 
 to traveling any further. They were bound 
 for the promised land and he was determined 
 that they should reach it. The camp was 
 close by the waters of the river Jordan, and as 
 the people slept Joshua stole alone from his 
 tent to the river's bank. Standing there he 
 lifted his arms toward heaven in thanksgiving. 
 Only to cross this Jordan and the years of Israel's 
 wanderings would be over, for the land God had 
 promised his people lay just across the river. 
 
 I shall not be surprised if some of you girls 
 and boys say you think these people Joshua is
 
 88 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 leading will not go over as soon as he wishes 
 them to. You may add that, as they have 
 always found something to be afraid of, they 
 probably will now. But Joshua had for many 
 months listened to a voice speaking in his heart, 
 saying: "Be strong and of good courage; be 
 not affrighted, neither be thou dismayed; for 
 Jehovah thy God is with thee whithersoever 
 thou goest . ' ' His faith and courage had inspired 
 his followers. Perhaps you know that both 
 faith and courage are contagious, and so is fear. 
 Don't you remember how the ten frightened 
 spies sent out by Moses threw all Israel into a 
 panic with their terrifying tales? The next 
 time you are tempted to be afraid, remember 
 those spies and the harm they did. 
 
 Joshua was not going to permit further 
 delay. The people must at once begin to make 
 themselves ready for the journey across the 
 Jordan. To hesitate might mean defeat, so he 
 said to the officers of Israel, "Pass through the 
 midst of the camp, and command the people, 
 saying, ' Prepare you victuals ; for within three 
 days ye are to pass over this Jordan, to go in to 
 possess the land, which Jehovah your God
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 89 
 
 giveth you to possess it.' " The day before, he 
 had sent two spies, young men, princes of the 
 house of Israel, across the plain to Jericho and 
 told them to bring him a report o the country 
 and its people. 
 
 ' ' Only two spies ! " all of you exclaim. ' ' Why 
 did he send so few when Moses had to send 
 twelve?" 
 
 The first spies had gone forty years before. 
 They all had been slaves in Egypt and knew 
 nothing but the lash of their Egyptian task- 
 masters and the fears of their own hearts. 
 These two young men of Joshua's time had 
 been born in the wilderness. Constant battling 
 with foes arrayed against them had made them 
 strong. The people were now all of one mind. 
 They had one determined purpose, and that was 
 to enter Canaan. And as you all know, when 
 people, one or many, fully determine to do any- 
 thing, there is nothing that will stop them. It 
 was a very different Israel at rest by the shores 
 of Jordan than the feeble, divided host that 
 had camped by the mountain in Moses' time. 
 
 Let us leave Joshua and the Hebrews making 
 themselves ready for their march and follow
 
 go OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 our two spies as they journey across the plain 
 to Jericho. They must move quickly, as the 
 city gates will be closed and barred at sundown. 
 Soon they are in sight of Jericho's walls, and one 
 spy asks his companion to look at a tall tower 
 upon the wall. He thinks people are living in 
 it. They may keep lodgers, he says to his 
 friend, and if so, it is safer to stay there than 
 venture farther into the city. Besides, it is 
 close to the gate. 
 
 Perhaps you are wondering what were the 
 names of these spies. We all feel so much 
 better acquainted with people if we know their 
 names. The Bible does not give their names, 
 but it does say that Salmon of Israel married 
 Rahab. So people have loved to think that 
 one of these spies was Salmon. 
 
 "I think I should like to call the other one 
 Benjamin," chimes in a little girl. 
 
 Very well, it can do no harm. And if calling 
 them Salmon and Benjamin will make them 
 seem nearer to us, it is best to do so. 
 
 Travelers were passing back and forth 
 through the city gates. Jericho was a market 
 for many foreign countries. Camels laden with
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 91 
 
 dyes, linens, and rich garments were lying down 
 as merchants and people bargained with each 
 other about prices. The city was wealthy, her 
 silver and gold plentiful; fat cattle and many 
 sheep grazed upon her plains. She was a trader 
 with cities and peoples near and far, and 
 through her streets there daily passed foreigners 
 from the far eastern countries. Many lan- 
 guages must have been spoken and strange 
 faces seen, so it is not surprising that in the 
 crowd our two spies slipped unnoticed through 
 the gates and made their way to Rahab's house 
 upon the walls. 
 
 Perhaps you boys and girls are saying that 
 if you had been the spies you would not have 
 stopped at Rahab's inn. You would have gone 
 on to the king's palace and heard what the 
 rulers of the country were talking about. But 
 it is not in kings' palaces that we hear much 
 gossip. There the talking is only for a favored 
 few and often behind closed doors. To stop at 
 the public house was the wiser plan. Where 
 many travelers met, the townspeople would 
 gather to exchange news with them. Of one 
 thing everybody was talking the victorious
 
 92 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 inarch of Israel toward Canaan. A feeble 
 people whom they had all despised were now 
 stronger than themselves, and their kings were 
 conquerors. How they did it no one was able 
 to tell, but a stranger who had once lived in 
 Israel said it was because they had a God 
 different from the gods of the other nations. 
 Jehovah was His name. 
 
 "We have gods also," the people of the city 
 replied. "Look at our Molech, who loves to 
 destroy little children with fire; and Chemosh 
 and Baal, are they not powerful?" 
 
 "But those Israelites say your gods are no 
 gods," replied the stranger; "that Jehovah is 
 the lord of the whole earth, and that His law no 
 one can change." 
 
 "How absurd!" laughed the citizens of 
 Jericho. "We all know that Molech is pleased 
 when we burn our children upon his altar, and 
 that we can make him change his laws by this 
 practice. A god that does not change that 
 is nonsense!" 
 
 Rahab had listened for months to these 
 jeers at Jehovah, but it had only strengthened 
 her faith in Him. She may have had a friend
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 93 
 
 who had been forced by the priests of Molech 
 to lay her baby in the molten arms of his hideous 
 image, and as the little one's feeble screams had 
 been stilled by the devouring flames it may 
 have been Rahab's hands that had led the poor 
 mother back to the childless home. A God 
 who had some mercy, whose law did not change, 
 was a God so much better than the cruel fire- 
 gods of her people that Rahab wanted to know 
 more about Him and about His people Israel. 
 
 As the tales about Israel went around that 
 night, there were some in Rahab's house who 
 looked suspiciously at the spies. Soon they 
 left the others and, speeding to the king's 
 palace, said, "Behold, there came men in hither 
 to-night of the children of Israel to search out 
 the land." 
 
 Back went word from the king to Rahab 
 demanding that she give up the men that were 
 in her house. "Bring forth the men that are 
 come to thee, that are entered into thy house; 
 for they are come to search out all the land," 
 were his words. 
 
 "Oh, I hope she didn't give them up!" cries 
 a little girl.
 
 94 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 No, she told the messengers who came for 
 them that they were not there. They had gone 
 out of the gates just before they had been closed 
 for the night. 
 
 "But that wasn't the truth," adds a boy. 
 "She had hidden the spies on her roof under 
 stalks of flax." 
 
 "We learn in Sunday school that it is never 
 right to tell a lie," you are all thinking. 
 
 It never is. But in the time of our story 
 people were afraid to tell the truth. They 
 knew no better than to deceive. Fear of their 
 gods and of one another made them tell what 
 was not true. Look around you to-day and see 
 for yourself. Is it the people who are afraid or 
 those who have courage who are the most 
 truthful? Rahab's day was the age of fear. 
 She was afraid of her gods, of her people, and 
 of the conquering Hebrew host. 
 
 The king's messengers left Rahab's house 
 and, unlocking the city gates, sped out into the 
 plain. Clear to the fords of the Jordan did 
 they go, but they found no men. 
 
 "Did they shut the gates after them?" 
 inquires a child.
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 95 
 
 "Yes," answers a boy. "Those ancient 
 cities never left a gate in their walls open or 
 unlocked after dark." 
 
 Rahab's work was not over. The spies 
 were in her house, and the gate of the city 
 closed. What should she do with them? How 
 could she save them? 
 
 As she wished to save the spies, she soon 
 thought of a way to do it. On her roof lay 
 coils of scarlet rope. The window on the tower 
 overlooked the plain; she would let them down 
 out of the window with the rope. 
 
 You may be asking why a woman of Jericho 
 wished to save the enemies of her city. I think 
 it must have been because she was sick at heart 
 over the horrible and cruel practices of her 
 people when they worshiped their gods. She 
 had heard of Jehovah. She knew that the people 
 who acknowledged Him as their God did many 
 wicked and cruel things, but that was the fault 
 of the people and not of Jehovah. A God who 
 loved and blessed His people instead of torment- 
 ing them as did the gods of the Canaanites, she 
 wanted to know more about, and here were the 
 two spies who could tell her. You remember
 
 96 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 the Bible says of Rahab, 1 "By faith Rahab 
 the innkeeper perished not with the unbelievers, 
 for she had received the spies with peace." 
 
 She ran quickly up to the roof after she had 
 sent the pursuers away. Calling to the men, 
 she told them of "her plan, saying, "I know 
 that Jehovah hath given you the land, and that 
 the fear of you is fallen upon us, and that all the 
 inhabitants of the land melt away before you. 
 For we have heard how Jehovah dried up the 
 water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came 
 out of Egypt; .... for Jehovah your God, 
 He is God in heaven above, and on earth 
 beneath." 
 
 Rahab was wise as well as kind, for before 
 she allowed them to escape she made them give 
 her their oath that they would save alive all her 
 kindred. Not one of them was to perish when 
 the walls of Jericho fell. The men agreed and 
 pledged their word to her, saying, "Our life 
 for yours, if ye utter not this our business ; and 
 it shall be, when Jehovah giveth us the land, 
 that we will deal kindly and truly with thee. 
 .... Behold, when we come into the land, 
 
 1 Ferrar Fenton
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 97 
 
 thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in 
 the window which thou didst let us down by." 
 This she was to do so that the spies could 
 recognize her house. But to be spared, her 
 kindred and she herself must be in her house; 
 anyone remaining outside must perish with the 
 city. 
 
 This is the reason why on the night on which 
 our story opens there waved a scarlet cord from 
 a window in a tower upon the wall. Let us go 
 back to the place and time in which our story 
 began. We left the silent Jewish host encamped 
 before Jericho as they ate the passover, and we 
 were looking with sad eyes at a great city 
 doomed to destruction. In our day neither 
 you nor I can understand why one nation 
 should want to destroy another. But when 
 Rahab lived, it was a time for hating. People 
 then had not been taught to love. We will 
 stand here by the tower and look across the 
 plain. The moonlight is brilliant, so that we 
 can see easily every movement in the camp of 
 Israel. Three shadows creep out from the 
 silent camp and are coming toward us. They 
 are men. They are looking for something.
 
 9 8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Suddenly one of them seizes the arm of the 
 leader and points to the tower. "Ah, Rahab, 
 you have kept your word," we can almost 
 hear them say, and we know that they add, 
 "As you have been true to us, so shall we keep 
 the promise we have made to you." 
 
 "And who are these men?" you are asking. 
 
 The great leader Joshua and our two spies. 
 Joshua had commanded Israel to destroy 
 Jericho. But first, he told the spies, they must 
 bring Rahab and all who were in her house to a 
 place of safety. The walls must fall, and after- 
 ward the city and its people be destroyed by 
 sword and fire, but upon Rahab and her kindred 
 no harm should come. 
 
 Do you wonder what became of Rahab? 
 She lived in Israel and Jehovah became her God. 
 She and Salmon were the parents of Boaz, who 
 married Ruth. This is why we like to think 
 that Salmon was one of the spies that Rahab 
 saved. Both Salmon and Rahab were young. 
 Each was brave, and both of them kept their 
 word. 
 
 It was their descendant, King David, the 
 beloved of Israel, who said,
 
 THE SCARLET CORD 99 
 
 "Oh taste and see that Jehovah is good: 
 Blessed is the man that taketh refuge in him, 
 
 For there is no want to them that fear him." 
 
 The scarlet cord bound in her window 
 
 showed Rahab's faith in Israel's God, Jehovah.
 
 IS IT TRUE? 
 
 RUTH AND NAOMI 
 
 A little bird once told me that all young 
 people, big and little, love a love story; so I'm 
 going to tell you one. If you will turn to the 
 Book of Ruth in the Old Testament Now 
 what is the matter? Why do some of you girls 
 look so disappointed and say, "The Old Testa- 
 ment ! That is a part of the Bible, and there are 
 no love stories in that?" 
 
 But there are, and such interesting ones that 
 you will not want to lay the book down until 
 you have read the very last word. In what 
 place would it be more natural for you to find 
 a love story than in the Bible? 
 
 If I should ask any one of you what the 
 Bible is, you would say, "The ministers call it 
 the Word of God," and perhaps there is among 
 you a tiny girl just big enough to hold the book 
 who will add quickly, "My mother says, God 
 is love." 
 
 Then why be surprised if the Bible tells a 
 story of love, with a hero and heroine having 
 experiences just as exciting as in any story book, 
 
 100
 
 IS IT TRUE? 101 
 
 and ending with a wedding, just as you want 
 all of your favorite stories to end? 
 
 You have read the story of the wonderful 
 boy David, and perhaps have asked, "Has the 
 Bible any stories of wonderful girls?" Or you 
 may have looked through the Book to find out 
 for yourselves and have been answered by the 
 story of Ruth. 
 
 She was a Moabitess. In those days that 
 was the same as saying that she was a heathen ; 
 and then as now no one expected much of a 
 heathen. But the world is so full of surprises 
 that we have to look sharp and think fast to 
 keep up with all that come to us. Ruth's 
 people, the Moabites, believed in a god named 
 Chemosh who was very cruel and often made 
 his people suffer. Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, 
 was a Hebrew and had been taught that 
 the Hebrew's God, Jehovah, gave only bless- 
 ings to those who obeyed his commandments. 
 Righ there is the surprise. We find Naomi 
 complaining and finding fault, saying that her 
 God is sending her trouble, while Ruth's spirit 
 is bubbling over with love and good will 
 toward all.
 
 102 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, with 
 their two sons, had moved from Bethlehem- 
 judah to the plains of Moab because of a famine 
 in Judea. In those days a famine was a more 
 serious matter than it is now. With the tele- 
 phone, the telegraph, and our great ocean ves- 
 sels and steam trains, any barren part of our 
 country where the crops have failed or the frost 
 has killed them can easily get relief. Now a 
 message can go round the earth in a few hours. 
 But in the time of our story there was no way of 
 traveling except by walking, unless one was 
 rich enough to have camels and oxen or donkeys. 
 
 In the days of Ruth, traveling was very dan- 
 gerous, and no one was sure when he started out 
 that he would get safely to his destination. If 
 you have read the stories of our early American 
 settlers and of the troubles they had with the 
 Indians, and often with wild animals, you will 
 have a good idea of the wildness of the times of the 
 Judges, for it was in their time that Ruth lived. 
 
 You can also understand how very hungry 
 Naomi and her husband, Elimelech, must have 
 been to leave their safe home in Bethlehem- 
 judah, with their two boys, Mahlon and Chilion,
 
 IS IT TRUE? 103 
 
 and walk, or ride by means of oxen or camels, 
 to the plains of Moab. There were mountains, 
 sea, and deserts between them and Moab, and 
 we wonder how the little family ever managed 
 to get there. But they were hungry, and bread 
 was in Moab. They had an object in view, and 
 like David, who always aimed straight at his 
 object, our family looked straight ahead at the 
 bread that was to be had in Moab instead of 
 wasting time thinking of the dangers of the 
 journey. 
 
 They found food and friends in Moab and 
 liked it so well that they stayed there even after 
 the famine was over in Judea. Their two boys 
 grew to be men and married women of Moab. 
 They were very happy, for theirs was a home 
 rich in kindness and none of them thought of 
 their having any more trouble. But it came. 
 Elimelech and his sons, Mahlon and Chilion, 
 died, and Naomi and her two daughters-in-law 
 became widows. Poor Ruth and Orpah with 
 Naomi were now alone. 
 
 "But they were not alone," some of you 
 older girls will say, "for they must have had 
 many friends; and Ruth and Orpah, who were 
 
 8
 
 io 4 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Moabites, must have had relatives who would 
 care for them." 
 
 Yes, for you girls of to-day that is a very nat- 
 ural way of thinking. But do you know that 
 in those days women had no independence and 
 were bought and sold the same as furniture and 
 cattle? For a girl not to belong to someone 
 was to be without any protection, and for young 
 women that was a very serious matter. A girl 
 without male relatives never knew what might 
 happen to her that she would not be able to 
 resist, and having no "owner" to fight for her, 
 she would be powerless. 
 
 You may say, "But Ruth and Orpah must 
 have had parents who would care for them." 
 
 Yes, if they wished to. But when a girl 
 married she lost by law the protection of her 
 father and other male relatives. Her only law- 
 ful claim was on the male relatives of her dead 
 husband. 
 
 Naomi, broken-hearted, decided to return 
 to Bethlehem-judah. She had heard that her 
 own country now had plenty of food. She had 
 probably heard this often before, but paid no 
 attention to it, just as we all let things pass by
 
 IS IT TRUE? 105 
 
 until we think they can be of use to us, and then 
 suddenly the uninteresting becomes interesting. 
 A little girl whom I knew, would not study and 
 hated to go to school, but she loved stories. 
 There was not always someone to read them to 
 her, and so she made up her mind that she would 
 learn to read them herself even if she had 
 to study. Then she studied. So it was with 
 Naomi. As long as things went along easily 
 and pleasantly she was satisfied. Her name, 
 "Naomi," you know, means "pleasant." I 
 have known girls, and I am sure you have, too, 
 who instead of running away from disagreeable 
 things stayed right where they were and turned 
 the unpleasantness into pleasantness. This was 
 Ruth's way, as you will see. Naomi, trying 
 hard to find pleasure, going from her own coun- 
 try to a strange one and back again, I am very 
 sorry to say carried with her a spirit of com- 
 plaining, faultfinding, and fretfulness. At last 
 she called herself "Marah, " which means "bit- 
 terness." I think she deserved that name in 
 the first place, don't you? 
 
 The two sons and their wives and Naomi 
 had been very happy together, so that when
 
 106 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Naomi was going back to her own country her 
 two daughters-in-law wanted to return with 
 her. They were very busy getting ready, seeing 
 that their sandals were in good order, filling their 
 pockets, the long loose bosom of their outer 
 coat was frequently used for storing food, 
 fastening up their flowing skirts with a tight 
 girdle so that they could walk more easily, sell- 
 ing or giving away the little property they 
 owned, and waiting for some caravan which 
 was going up to Bethlehem to pass their way. 
 To you who can step into a comfortable 
 sleeping car and go alone thousands of miles, 
 arriving safely at your journey's end, this wait- 
 ing for people who might be going your way 
 may seem foolish. But in the days of the 
 Judges no one who wished to arrive anywhere 
 safely ever traveled alone. So Naomi, Orpah, 
 and Ruth daily looked across the plains for a 
 caravan that is, a band of men, camels, cattle, 
 and slaves, walking and riding by day, sleeping 
 on the ground or under rude tents at night, as 
 they journeyed from town to town. They must 
 also carry water, not only to drink, but to keep 
 their hands clean. Keeping the hands clean
 
 IS IT TRUE? 107 
 
 was even more necessary than it is now, for the 
 food for all was in one common dish set in the 
 center of a group of people. Each one put his 
 hand into the dish and helped himself, so of 
 course clean hands were insisted upon. 
 
 Perhaps you who have read the Book of 
 Ruth will say, " But the Bible does not tell any 
 of these things about their journey." Of course 
 not, for the Bible is talking to those who are sup- 
 posed to know what the customs of the people 
 were in the time of the Judges. If I should 
 tell you that my little neighbor is going with 
 her father to California, it would not be necessary 
 for me to tell you all about how they were going. 
 You know how people travel in this day. 
 
 Before Naomi had gone very far on her jour- 
 ney she began to be uneasy about her daughters- 
 in-law. Although she loved them dearly and 
 was glad to have them with her, she feared 
 that is just like Naomi, isn't it, always afraid of 
 something? that they might not be comfort- 
 able or happy in her country, which was a strange 
 one to them, and so she stopped and urged them 
 to go back. She could see only sorrow ahead 
 for herself and for them. If there was anything
 
 io8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 good to expect, she failed to see it. Looking 
 at the dark side of things is to thought what 
 smoke is to the eyes everything is clouded 
 and seems gloomy. So it was with our poor 
 disappointed Naomi. 
 
 She kissed both her daughters-in-law and 
 said to them, "Go, return each of you to your 
 mother's house: Jehovah deal kindly with you, 
 as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. 
 Jehovah grant you that ye may find rest, each 
 of you in the house of her husband." 
 
 They cried bitterly at her words and refused 
 to leave her, saying, "Nay, but we will return 
 with thee unto thy people." 
 
 But Naomi was firm and continued to urge 
 them to turn back, saying, "Turn again, my 
 daughters, go your way ... it grieveth me 
 much for your sakes, for the hand of Jehovah is 
 gone forth against me." 
 
 Orpah and Ruth were both affectionate and 
 sincere and wanted to be with their mother- 
 in-law. But Naomi was so filled with fear that 
 Orpah began to feel it herself, and to wonder if, 
 after all, it would not be wiser to remain in her 
 own country than to venture into an unknown
 
 IS IT TRUE? 109 
 
 land whose dangers might be even worse than 
 those with which she was familiar. So Orpah 
 kissed Naomi and turned back toward Moab, 
 crying bitterly as she went. 
 
 Naomi, much surprised at Ruth's refusing 
 to leave her, tried again to show her how much 
 better it would be for her to return to her own 
 people and her own god. But Ruth's love would 
 not let her listen to Naomi's fears, and she 
 spoke the words that have lived for thousands 
 of years, so full are they of love and devotion: 
 "Entreat me not to leave thee, and to return 
 from following after thee; for whither thou 
 goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will 
 lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy 
 God my God; where thou diest, will I die, and 
 there will I be buried ; Jehovah do so to me, and 
 more also, if aught but death part thee and me." 
 
 Naomi was silent. Her fears for the moment 
 were quieted. She experienced then the truth 
 of what the apostle John stated centuries later: 
 "Perfect love casteth out fear." Which loved 
 the more, Orpah or Ruth? Some of you young 
 people will be in doubt; others will say they 
 loved equally well, but that Orpah was more
 
 no OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 cautious, which is necessary if one wishes to 
 get on in the world. A few I can hear saying 
 to themselves, "Love therefore is the fulfillment 
 of the law." Love never acknowledges itself 
 beaten but accomplishes the good it sets out to 
 do. What was terror to Naomi and Orpah was 
 a pathway of peace to Ruth. In the house of 
 Naomi and her Hebrew husband, Mahlon, Ruth 
 had been taught that God dealt kindly and 
 justly with all who really loved Him and kept 
 His commandments. To this poor heathen 
 Moabitish maiden it was very simple just 
 obey and love instead of being driven frantic by 
 fear. You see she had put into practice what 
 they preached. 
 
 It was April, the beginning of the barley 
 harvest, when Ruth and Naomi arrived in 
 Bethlehem. Naomi had changed so much while 
 living in Moab that her Bethlehem friends in 
 welcoming her had to ask, "Is this Naomi?" 
 This sad, sour-looking woman they could not 
 believe was the happy Naomi who had left them 
 years before. She was so busy pitying herself 
 that she had no time to be thankful when she 
 saw that her old friends remembered her.
 
 RUTH AND NAOMI
 
 IS IT TRUE? in 
 
 Instead she complained that she had gone away 
 full. What was the matter with her memory? 
 Had she forgotten that it was famine, empti- 
 ness, which made her leave Bethlehem? And 
 here she came back saying that she had gone 
 away full and that her God had brought her 
 back empty. But, after all, Naomi was not so 
 very unusual. I have met people just like her 
 in these days, who, as soon as any trouble came 
 to them, forgot all their blessings and blamed 
 God for their misfortunes instead of looking 
 around to see what mistake they had made and 
 bravely setting out to correct it. 
 
 Ruth had had a happy journey; she had 
 been expecting and looking for good things all 
 the way. So instead of feeling weak and weary 
 when she arrived, she was as full of life and as 
 strong as when she started, and immediately 
 wanted to go to work. 
 
 She wanted to glean, for it was the time of 
 the barley harvest. To be sure, barley was the 
 food of only the poorest people and some of them 
 would not touch it, thinking it fit only for cattle. 
 But Ruth never let an opportunity slip by her. 
 Little things, she thought, were far better than
 
 ii2 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 nothing at all. She could glean, and that meant 
 some food, which was much better than starva- 
 tion. In those days the corners of the grain 
 fields were not touched by the owner; the grain 
 growing there was left for the poor. If the 
 reapers dropped grain anywhere else in the field, 
 they were not allowed to pick it up, but had to 
 leave it for the poor to glean. Picking up the 
 fallen grain after the reapers was called gleaning. 
 
 Ruth went cheerfully to work, feeling sure 
 that although she was a heathen in the sight of 
 the Hebrews (Naomi's people were Hebrews), 
 there must be some of them who were like the 
 God they worshiped full of loving kindness. 
 And she found just what she expected, for she 
 went into the field of Boaz, a wealthy, kindly 
 man who was a relative of Mahlon, her dead 
 husband. 
 
 "Jehovah be with you!" he said to his 
 workers as he came into the field, and they 
 all replied, ' ' Jehovah bless thee !" His reapers 
 and gleaners were glad to see him, for he 
 always had a cheery greeting for them besides 
 being careful of them and making it comfortable 
 for them as they worked.
 
 IS IT TRUE? 113 
 
 Boaz had come to look over his fields and to 
 talk with the overseer about the crops, when he 
 saw Ruth not far from where he was standing. 
 She was so busy gleaning she had not noticed 
 him. He was interested at once in what had 
 brought this stranger to his fields, and asked his 
 overseer who she was and where she came from. 
 The man replied that she was the Moabitess, 
 Ruth, the widow of Mahlon and daughter- 
 in-law of Naomi, who had just come back from 
 Moab. Ruth had loved Naomi so much she 
 had come to the Hebrews' country, leaving her 
 parents and friends and even her god for the sake 
 of being with her mother-in-law. 
 
 What a pretty picture she made as she stood 
 there in the sunshine brushing aside the dark 
 curls that would get into her eyes! Such clear, 
 fearless eyes they were that it gave one courage 
 to look at them. Did she ever get tired, Boaz 
 wondered, as she easily bent down to the ground 
 picking up grain, and as quickly straightened 
 herself again to drop the kernels into her wide, 
 flowing apron. 
 
 He watched her as she followed the reapers. 
 Then turning to his young men, he told them to
 
 ii 4 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 treat the stranger well, to drop plenty of grain 
 for her to glean, and to see that she had good, 
 fresh water to drink. He sent a greeting to 
 Ruth by his reapers, and later he went himself 
 and spoke to her, saying, "Hearest thou not, 
 my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, 
 neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by 
 my maidens. Let thine eyes be on the field 
 that they do reap, and go thou after them: have 
 I not charged the young men that they shall 
 not touch thee? and when thou art at hirst, go 
 unto the vessels, and drink of that which the 
 young men have drawn." 
 
 Falling on her face the way of greeting 
 a superior in rank Ruth replied, " Why have I 
 found favor in thy sight, that thou shouldest take 
 knowledge of me, seeing I am a foreigner?" 
 
 Boaz answered that he had heard of her 
 kindness to her mother-in-law, that she had 
 left her country and her god to be with the 
 Hebrews and worship Jehovah; and he added, 
 "Jehovah recompense thy work, and a full 
 reward be given thee of Jehovah, the God of 
 Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take 
 refuge."
 
 IS IT TRUE? 115 
 
 His wish for Ruth was really a promise, for 
 he intended to do himself what he had asked the 
 God of Israel to do for her. Many good people 
 are full of kind wishes for others, but they never 
 do anything but wish, and a man like Boaz 
 knew that wishing without acting was not worth 
 much. 
 
 Then the hot noon came. The blazing sun 
 that had beaten on the workers all the morning 
 was almost unbearable, and, like all workers 
 in our day, they began to think of resting and 
 having something to eat. Some shady spot, 
 perhaps near a well of water, was soon found, 
 and they all sat on the ground around the dinner 
 of parched corn, bread, and vinegar. "Ugh," 
 I can hear you say, what a meal for hungry 
 people! Did anyone eat anything?" Indeed 
 they did, and were very glad to get it. In that 
 day it was a bounteous meal for reapers and 
 gleaners, for sometimes the gleaners got nothing 
 at all to eat. 
 
 Boaz had invited Ruth to eat with them, 
 and looked out for her wants so carefully that 
 after she had finished eating she had enough to 
 take home to her mother-in-law.
 
 n6 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Naomi may not have relished the vinegar, 
 which was a sour wine and a very cool and popu- 
 lar drink in that hot country, nor had as much 
 appetite for the parched corn ears of wheat 
 roasted and the kernels shaken out as had 
 Ruth. Work and a cheery spirit give one an 
 appetite, while staying at home with gloomy 
 thoughts and wondering what evil thing is 
 going to happen next, would make the dain- 
 tiest food taste bad. Try it yourselves and see. 
 
 Back to the fields went Ruth after dinner 
 and gleaned until dusk. Then she beat out the 
 grain with stones until she had "about an ephah 
 of barley, " which is nearly a bushel. Think of 
 working in the fields from sunrise until sunset 
 for only a bushel of barley, and being thankful 
 for it! But our heroine Ruth had learned that 
 being glad made other people glad, and that 
 when one was happy things went much better. 
 
 We can see her as she flew along the path to 
 her home, singing as she went, and eager to 
 cheer Naomi with the good news of the day. 
 Wouldn't Naomi's sad face lighten when she 
 heard of Boaz and of his kindness to the little 
 Moabitish stranger?
 
 IS IT TRUE? 117 
 
 Naomi was anxiously watching for Ruth, 
 and asked at once where she had gleaned and if 
 people had been kind to her. Of course they 
 had been kind, thought her mother-in-law, for 
 who could help being kind to Ruth? 
 
 When Ruth told her of Boaz, Naomi must 
 have felt ashamed that she had not herself 
 thought of this kind kinsman. And why had 
 she not? I fear she had formed such a habit of 
 being miserable that she could not see a blessing 
 unless someone like Ruth showed it to her. 
 And how glad she must have been that she had 
 Ruth to do this. 
 
 Ruth was sure of work until the harvest was 
 over, for Boaz had told her to stay in his fields 
 until all the grains were harvested. Right after 
 the barley, the wheat and other grains would 
 be ready, which meant a period of work for six 
 or eight weeks. Boaz seemed every day to 
 grow kinder and more thoughtful of Ruth's 
 comfort, and often came to her side of the field 
 and talked with her. She must have told him 
 of her life in Moab how happy they all were 
 together until Mahlon, Chilion, and Elimelech 
 had died; how discouraged her mother-in-law
 
 u8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 had been ever since, and how she hoped to earn 
 enough to make them a little home once more. 
 Of course it would never be the same again 
 without the three who had gone, but they had 
 each other, and that was something to be thank- 
 ful for. 
 
 Naomi was encouraged to learn that Ruth 
 was to keep gleaning in Boaz' fields, and she 
 began to think and plan for her. Why, she 
 said to herself, wouldn't Boaz make Ruth a 
 good husband? He is fond of her and she would 
 make any man a good wife. But of these things 
 she said nothing to Ruth until the end of the 
 harvest. It was better not to speak too soon, 
 for that might spoil it all. 
 
 At last the reapers and the gleaners were 
 through, the grain was ready to be threshed, 
 and the time had come for Naomi to act and 
 tell Ruth of her plan. When Ruth came in 
 from the fields that evening, Naomi told her to 
 wash and anoint herself. How astonished Ruth 
 must have been to receive such directions from 
 the sad Naomi! Why? Because washing and 
 anointing in those days meant joy. When 
 people were in mourning, especially if their
 
 IS IT TRUE? 119 
 
 grief was very bitter, they went unwashed and 
 did not anoint themselves. 
 
 Naomi thought a careful man like Boaz 
 would probably sleep at the threshing floor and 
 watch that none of his grain was stolen, so she 
 said to Ruth, "My daughter, shall I not seek 
 rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? 
 And now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose 
 maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth 
 barley to-night in the threshing-floor. Wash 
 thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy 
 raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the 
 threshing-floor; but make not thyself known 
 unto the man, until he shall have done eating 
 and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieth 
 down, that thou shalt mark the place where he 
 shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his 
 feet" this was an oriental way of placing her- 
 self under his protection. In those days people 
 often made known their thoughts to one another 
 by means of symbolic acts instead of by using 
 words "and lay thee down; and he will tell 
 thee what thou shalt do." 
 
 Ruth answered Naomi, "All that thou say- 
 est I will do." She loved Boaz and knew that
 
 120 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 as he was a kinsman of her husband she had a 
 right to ask for his protection. In those days 
 any widow could claim the protection of her 
 husband's brother, or, if he had no brothers, of 
 the next nearest relative. But sometimes the 
 near relative refused to care for the widow, in 
 which case his name was called ' ' The house of 
 him that hath his shoe loosed." 
 
 Ruth made herself ready as her mother- 
 in-law had told her to do, and after kissing 
 Naomi good-by hurried to the threshing-floor, 
 which was only a piece of open ground beaten 
 hard. She was greeted by Boaz, who was 
 pleased to see her and told her to take home as 
 much barley as she could carry. She watched 
 the patient oxen as they threshed the grain, and 
 listened to the shouts of their drivers until all 
 was finished and the tired workers lay down to 
 rest for the night. 
 
 When Boaz lay down to sleep, Ruth was to 
 go and lie down at his feet, after uncovering 
 them. At midnight Boaz was startled, and 
 wakening, discovered someone lying at his feet. 
 He asked, "Who art thou?" Ruth answered, 
 "I am Ruth thy handmaid; spread therefore
 
 IS IT TRUE? 121 
 
 thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a 
 near kinsman." She meant by near kinsman 
 one who could by law redeem her mother- 
 in-law's property and give it back to the two 
 women. 
 
 The heart of Boaz went out to Ruth, for 
 he had noticed she did not follow any of the 
 men, young or old, among the reapers and 
 gleaners. She worked hard, caring for her 
 mother-in-law and herself, and Boaz had great 
 respect for her. He explained to her that he 
 really did not have the right to redeem Naomi's 
 property as there was a nearer kinsman than 
 himself. He promised that he would go the 
 next morning and insist that the nearer kins- 
 man either redeem the property or refuse to do 
 it. If the kinsman refused, Boaz would be free 
 to redeem it himself and would do so. 
 
 Early in the morning, before it was light, 
 Ruth returned to Naomi carrying a present of 
 barley from Boaz to her mother-in-law. Naomi 
 was very happy. She felt that Ruth was now 
 going to be cared for by her wealthy kinsman 
 and that all her sorrows would soon be turned 
 into joy.
 
 122 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 And so it proved. "Boaz," you know, 
 means "fleetness, " and surely our hero deserved 
 the name, for he lost no time in going to the gate 
 of the city, calling the elders together, and ask- 
 ing the next of kin to Naomi if he was willing 
 to redeem her property. The man was willing. 
 People desired property then as they do now, 
 especially if it comes as easily as this near kins- 
 man thought it was going to come to him. 
 When it was only some money to be paid out 
 for presumably a good piece of land joining his 
 own, he was willing to obey the law for the "next 
 of kin"; but, like his brothers and sisters of 
 to-day, when obedience meant personal sacrifice 
 he had some excuse to offer for not obeying. 
 This was the law : If a man died leaving a wife 
 without children, usually the dead man's brother, 
 sometimes a near relative, was to marry the 
 widow, and her first child took the dead man's 
 name and was considered the son of the dead 
 man and inherited his property. Boaz knew 
 this, and tested the sincerity of the nearer kins- 
 man by first offering him the property, after- 
 ward saying, "What day thou buyest the field 
 of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of
 
 IS IT TRUE? 123 
 
 Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to 
 raise up the name of the dead upon his 
 inheritance." 
 
 The nearer kinsman replied, "I cannot 
 redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheri- 
 tance: take thou my right of redemption on 
 thee; for I cannot redeem it." 
 
 As you see, he was purely selfish, thinking 
 only of himself and his inheritance which might 
 be injured by obeying the conditions of the 
 law of the brother-in-law. 
 
 Boaz loved Ruth and intended to marry her 
 and redeem the property, but in all his dealings 
 he was just and fair, so he gave the nearer kins- 
 man a chance before he offered to redeem the 
 property himself. 
 
 The nearer kinsman, learning that he had to 
 make some sacrifice to get the property, at once 
 drew off his shoe and handed it to Boaz. "How 
 silly!" you say. "What has taking off a shoe 
 to do with selling property?" In the time of 
 the Judges that act meant something. As I 
 have already told you, in those days people did 
 not have as many words to use as they do now 
 and so they talked to each other in what we call
 
 i2 4 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 symbolic acts. Taking off his shoe and handing 
 it to Boaz meant that he gave up his claim on 
 the property and upon Ruth, and gave to Boaz 
 the right to redeem them. 
 
 Boaz very wisely called the elders of the 
 people together as witnesses to his agreement 
 with the nearer kinsman, because he wanted 
 no trouble if afterward the kinsman should 
 change his mind. And to the elders and to all 
 of the people he said, " Ye are witnesses this day, 
 that I have bought all that was Elimelech's 
 and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the 
 hand of Naomi. Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, 
 the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my 
 wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon 
 his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not 
 cut off from among his brethren, and from the 
 gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day." 
 
 The people crowded about him, wishing 
 both him and Ruth joy in their married life, 
 saying, "We are witnesses. Jehovah make the 
 woman that is come into thy house like Rachel 
 and like Leah, which two did build the house of 
 Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephrathah, 
 and be famous in Bethlehem."
 
 IS IT TRUE? 125 
 
 If you have read the parables in the New 
 Testament, many of which describe weddings, 
 you will know what they did at the marriage of 
 Ruth and Boaz. 
 
 I am sorry about Naomi. Even with all 
 the joy going on she seemed to be gloomy. 
 Perhaps she had formed such a habit of being 
 miserable that it was hard for her to give it up. 
 But a cheerful spirit has to be made a habit 
 just as music has to be practiced if one wants to 
 succeed. Practice cheerfulness for one day only 
 and see what a difference it makes. Ruth had 
 learned the habit of being happy until she really 
 could not help it. 
 
 Naomi never seemed to see a blessing unless 
 someone told her of it, for when Ruth's little 
 son, Obed, was born the neighbors had to say 
 to her, "Blessed be Jehovah, who hath not left 
 thee this day without a near kinsman; and let 
 his name be famous in Israel. And he shall be 
 unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of 
 thine old age; for thy daughter-in-law, who 
 loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven 
 sons, hath borne him." That this comforted 
 Naomi we know, for she "took the child, and laid
 
 i26 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it." 
 The little Obed became the grandfather of King 
 David. "Is it true," you ask, "that Ruth's 
 cheery, loving spirit could win so much good 
 fortune?" Look about you at the people you 
 know and answer this question for yourselves.
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 
 
 JEPHTHAH'S DAUGHTER 
 All people have birthdays once a year. ' ' My 
 sister has a birthday only every four years," 
 interrupts one of my listeners. A leap year 
 baby she must be. Think of it, her first birth- 
 day cake can have four candles on it! But did 
 you ever hear of anyone having four birthdays 
 in the same year? ''Impossible!" do you say? 
 Perhaps, from your way of looking at it, but 
 after you have heard my story you may think 
 that even four birthdays a year are not enough. 
 The little maid of whom I am going to tell 
 you had passed only fourteen of those single 
 yearly birthdays when she performed such a 
 brave act that her country said she must there- 
 after have four days a year celebrated in her 
 honor. 
 
 She was a little creature, all smiles, and as 
 her feet danced in and out of her father's tent 
 he often called her his sunshine. She was up 
 with the birds in the morning, teasing her father 
 awake by stroking his eyelids with a feather. 
 Then he dressed quickly and together they went 
 
 127
 
 128 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 outside the tent and knelt beside the flat stone 
 while they called upon Jehovah to protect them 
 through the day and to give them success in 
 whatever they might do. 
 
 A slave from the doorway called them to 
 breakfast and poured water upon their hands as 
 they squatted before the dish which held their 
 food, for, as we know, fingers were used instead 
 of knives and forks. 
 
 Three loaves of bread were placed before 
 each of them. A healthy, hungry girl and a 
 man who spent his days in fighting must have 
 enough to eat. 
 
 "Three loaves of bread!" I hear you say, 
 "How could they eat so much?" 
 
 Their loaves you would call biscuits, so there 
 were not any more than everyone in those times 
 expected to eat at a meal. 
 
 Their breakfast over, they again gave thanks 
 to Jehovah. The father strapped on his sword, 
 and Judith watched as he bounded down the 
 mountain side. 
 
 Jephthah for that was the man's name 
 and Judith, his daughter, lived in the times of 
 the Judges wild, rough times such as the early
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 129 
 
 settlers had when they first came to America. 
 Just as the Indians fought the settlers, the 
 people of Canaan fought the Hebrews who 
 tried to settle among them and make homes for 
 themselves. Many of the people of Israel were 
 still wandering about and living in tents. 
 
 A man might be rich at night and poor the 
 next morning. While he slept his cattle and 
 household goods might be stolen, his fields 
 burned, and he with his family rudely awak- 
 ened and driven from the country. 
 
 This had happened to Jephthah. His own 
 brothers had turned him out of their home and 
 refused to share their father's property with 
 him. But he was "a man of valor," used to 
 fighting, so he went to the mountains of Gilead 
 and became chief of a lawless band of men as 
 powerful as himself in war. 
 
 In those days might was right. The fighter 
 with the strongest muscles was the most respected 
 because he was the most feared. Fear was really 
 the god of the people. And when people are 
 badly frightened and always expecting to be 
 hurt, it is no wonder that they act foolishly and 
 wickedly. But these people of long ago did the
 
 130 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 best they knew how to do, which is all we can 
 expect of anyone. 
 
 You have been in a crowd and had to force 
 your way through it. Of course you were care- 
 ful not to step on anyone's toes or to hurt any- 
 one. You think strangers have rights which you 
 try to respect. But in the times of the Judges 
 strangers did not count. It was only one's 
 family and relatives that were given attention 
 or received courtesy. The country was small, 
 the people many, and often they suffered for 
 want of room. To make a place for them- 
 selves they used the sword, and the weak were 
 destroyed in order that the strong might have 
 more space to feed their cattle, grow their crops, 
 and build their cities. 
 
 The people who lived in the mountains were 
 the most fearless because they were the safest 
 from their enemies. Our little heroine Judith 
 was a maid of the mountains. She could 
 skip nimbly across rushing mountain torrents, 
 run races with the mountain goats, and often 
 delighted to shout aloud so that she might hear 
 her voice bound back to her from the rocky 
 peaks. She knew every foot of the hills, had
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 131 
 
 explored their dark caverns, and at one time 
 had climbed down a steep ravine to rescue a 
 tiny lamb that had slipped into its depths. A 
 strong, healthy, happy little lass was she. With 
 a song she welcomed the morning sun, and as 
 she held out her arms to the stars she sang them 
 a good-night. 
 
 Some of you young people from the high 
 school look as though you would like to ask me 
 a question. 
 
 "Yes," replies a boy, "we would. We want 
 to know where in the Bible you find all you are 
 telling about Jephthah and his daughter." 
 
 We do not find it all in Scripture. About 
 these two people who did the best they knew 
 how to do although that "best" was wrong 
 there is little told us in this truly beautiful 
 Bible story. But we can find out more about 
 them by reading histories of those times and of 
 the customs of those people. With this knowl- 
 edge and what the Bible gives us we make our 
 story. 
 
 "I like that way," adds a girl. "It seems 
 to bring them closer to us and makes real people 
 of them."
 
 i 3 2 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 It was evening as Jephthah came wearily 
 up the mountain side. He stopped to stroke 
 the faithful dog that met him and to count the 
 sheep over which the dog kept watch. A flock 
 of doves scattered as he approached, and a little 
 calf bleated from the doorway of the tent. 
 Probably Judith had thought it needed extra 
 care and had brought it from the pasture. A 
 slave saw him coming and ran to meet him, 
 received his sword and mantle, and made him 
 comfortable in the tent. 
 
 "Where is Judith?" asked her father of the 
 slave. 
 
 He was answered by a peal of laughter from 
 the child, as, hidden behind a curtain, she 
 watched while her father searched for her. Soon 
 she was found and they sat down to their even- 
 ing meal. When it was over they sat in the 
 door of the tent, and the stern, fierce warrior 
 listened with joy to the voice of his child as she 
 told him of her day's work and play. 
 
 "It is good to live, father," she said, "and I 
 love to live." 
 
 Words well spoken, little maid. To-night 
 they make your father glad; but to-morrow is
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 133 
 
 coming, and with it those words will fall upon 
 his heart like stones. 
 
 Some elderly men with distressed faces came 
 toward their tent, but were relieved as Jephthah 
 arose and greeted them. 
 
 "Why do you seek me?" Jephthah asked 
 them. "It is but a little while since you with 
 my brothers drove me from my father's house 
 and country." 
 
 1 ' The Ammonites are troubling us ; they are 
 burning our villages and carrying away our 
 children and our cattle. Each day is worse 
 than the one before and we have no power to 
 resist these enemies," the men replied. 
 
 "Why have you no power? Is strength 
 departed from Israel that you come to me now 
 that you are in distress?" 
 
 Bowing to the ground before them as he 
 spoke these words, Jephthah motioned to them 
 to enter the tent and be seated. As he offered 
 them food and drink his visitors became encour- 
 aged, for this act meant that he was friendly to 
 them and to their cause. 
 
 The eldest man among them strode to the 
 tent door. His white hair falling over his
 
 i 3 4 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 shoulders and white beard touching the girdle at 
 his waist gave him an appearance of great age. 
 Lifting the curtain of the door he raised his arm 
 and, pointing to the stars, replied to Jephthah, 
 "As is the number of the stars, so is the number 
 of the children of Israel, but there are none 
 among them as mighty as yourself. They need 
 your help." 
 
 The others joined their voices with his and 
 urged upon Jephthah their need of him as a 
 leader, and their need, too, of his dreaded war- 
 riors, saying, ' ' Therefore are we turned again to 
 thee now, that thou mayest go with us, and fight 
 with the children of Ammon, and thou shalt be 
 our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead." 
 
 "If this be so," answered Jephthah, "I will 
 go with you." 
 
 The men arose and swore in the name of 
 Jehovah that they would keep their word. The 
 old man stood in their midst and raised his hands 
 in blessing, his long, flowing robes fluttering in 
 the rising wind which swept in through the open 
 door of the tent. 
 
 Jephthah drew his robes close about him, 
 fastening them in tight with his girdle. The
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 135 
 
 loose upper garment must be laid aside. It 
 would hinder his speed when he was walking or 
 riding. He reached for his sword dropped 
 it and over his face there flashed a momentary 
 fear. 
 
 What was it that moaned outside the tent? 
 
 He listened, then laughed as the wild wind 
 shrieked by his tent door and sobbed itself out 
 on the distant mountain peaks. 
 
 At his feet something glistened. He stooped 
 and picked it up, but let it fall it was red, the 
 color of blood. His superstitious fancy won- 
 dered if it could be an omen of evil. Was his 
 errand to be one of harm to himself? But no, 
 it was only Judith's spangled red turban which 
 the wind had torn from its peg and thrown at 
 his feet. 
 
 Judith! He had forgotten her, for the 
 urgency of his errand and the terrible need of 
 his visitors had crowded all else out of 
 his mind. 
 
 He must leave her, but she was safe with her 
 maidens, and the slaves were faithful. Surely 
 no danger could come to her, secure in the moun- 
 tain stronghold. She would not need the 
 10
 
 136 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 protection of his band of warriors who were 
 to go with him. 
 
 He stepped to a little tent near his own, 
 lifted the curtain which screened the door, and 
 looked lovingly upon his sleeping child. He 
 did not waken her with a good-by. She was a 
 brave little lass, but the errand upon which he 
 was going was a dangerous one and he might 
 never return to her. The daughter of Jephthah, 
 "the mighty man of valor," he knew would 
 meet her father's loss with a spirit as strong as 
 his own, and there was no need to trouble 
 her now. 
 
 He stroked with tenderness the locks of 
 sunny hair. There was a ruddy gleam in them 
 like the waving of flames. He listened as her 
 lips moved. What was she saying as she slept? 
 It was not clear, but he remembered the words 
 she had spoken just before their guests had 
 arrived, and he felt them echo in his heart: "I 
 love to live, father. It is good to live." 
 
 Then out into the night he and his visitors 
 went, stopping only to summon all his fighting 
 men. In the morning he would send messengers 
 to the king of the Ammonites and demand of
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 137 
 
 him why he and his people should war upon 
 Israel. 
 
 When the sun rose again it looked down 
 upon two armies. One was the host of Israel, 
 the other that of the children of Ammon. Out 
 from the camp of Israel rode Jephthah's courier 
 with a message to the king of Ammon. 
 
 " Why do you trouble Israel?" was its refrain. 
 
 "Because," replied the king, "your people 
 have stolen the land of the Ammonites and will 
 not return it to us." 
 
 "Not so," answered Jephthah. "We did 
 not steal; we won it in a fair battle. If our 
 God Jehovah gives us strength to win, and your 
 god Chemosh cannot protect you, it is not our 
 sin but our greater strength which has given us 
 the land." 
 
 "But God is not in battles," I hear some of 
 you children say. "He is the Prince of Peace." 
 
 In the days of our story, peace as we under- 
 stand it was not known. To people of those 
 times God was power, a being like themselves, 
 who led in war and gloried in victory over His 
 weaker enemies. They had forgotten Moses 
 and his merciful laws, Abraham and his faith
 
 138 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 in God's goodness, Isaac and Jacob with their 
 belief in God as the source only of blessing. If 
 they remembered those days at all, it was only 
 as so many stories which their parents had told 
 them and which few of them believed. 
 
 They had not obeyed Joshua's command to 
 drive out all the inhabitants of Canaan, the 
 promised land. It was too hard work, and so 
 they had done the easier way settled among 
 the other nations, adopted their idolatrous cus- 
 toms, and worshiped the horrible gods, Molech, 
 Baal, and Chemosh. 
 
 Even our poor Jephthah had lived so long 
 among the Ammonites that he had forgotten 
 about Israel's God of mercy. Jehovah was to 
 him the same as the other gods, the only differ- 
 ence being that He, Jehovah, favored Israel. 
 Once the Hebrew people had known better, but 
 this is not a story of those times, nor of the 
 "beginning time." It is a story of the time of 
 the Judges. 
 
 In our day when we move into a new house 
 or city, we think we should be settled and feel at 
 home in our new quarters in a fortnight. But 
 when Israel moved from Egypt to Canaan, it
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 139 
 
 took forty years to get there and about three 
 hundred years to get thoroughly settled and be 
 at home. It was this "settling" season that 
 was the time of the Judges. 
 
 "We will war against you and regain our 
 land," was the message sent back to Jephthah 
 from the king of Ammon. 
 
 Like two boys quarreling and each telling 
 the other how badly the other had acted, the 
 king and Jephthah grew angrier as their messages 
 flew back and forth. Jephthah lost both his 
 patience and his good sense. For the moment 
 he forgot everything but the desire to conquer 
 the enemy who dared defy him. From his lips 
 there issued a vow such as the heathen made, 
 but which no Israelite faithful to the law of 
 Moses would utter. He thought that he had 
 called upon Jehovah but had he? Did not 
 the God of Israel say, "I desire mercy, and not 
 sacrifice?" 
 
 What was that vow? "If thou wilt indeed 
 deliver the children of Ammon into my hand, 
 then it shall be, that whatsoever cometh forth 
 from the doors of my house to meet me, when I 
 return in peace from the children of Ammon, it
 
 i 4 o OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 shall be Jehovah's, and I will offer it up for a 
 burnt-offering." 
 
 Beware, Jephthah ! Your vow cannot stand 
 before Jehovah. He who "desireth not the 
 death of a sinner" and whose hand is always 
 stretched out to save, has not heard. Although 
 you have used His name, it is not Jehovah, but 
 the black-starred god of ill-omen, Chemosh; 
 or Molech, the remorseless fire god always hun- 
 gry for human sacrifice, on whom you have 
 called. 
 
 "Why did he make such a vow? Did n't he 
 know any better?" you are asking. 
 
 No, he was half heathen. He had lived 
 many years among the Ammonites, ever since 
 his brother and his people had driven him from 
 home. The half -savage heathen and rough com- 
 panions had been his only friends. Even the 
 Israelites were serving the gods of the heathen, 
 who worshiped idols. Constant fear and fight- 
 ing had made them all think of Jehovah as 
 a god of war with little or no mercy. Their 
 lips said Jehovah, but their hearts gave him the 
 character of the heathen gods. So can you 
 wonder that Jephthah often confused the
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 141 
 
 worship of Jehovah with that of the fire god of 
 the Ammonites? 
 
 He may have thought that the promise he 
 made was a safe one. He had plenty of cattle, 
 sheep, doves, and slaves. "The doors of his 
 house" meant anything possessed by him or 
 found on his land. To choose from these for a 
 sacrifice would be a simple matter. 
 
 Hebrew law forbade human sacrifice, and 
 anyone making his child "pass through the 
 fire" was to be stoned to death. But those 
 laws had been hidden away for so many years 
 that they probably had been forgotten. 
 "Strange!" you say. Why so? We know that 
 even in our day good laws sometimes are 
 forgotten. 
 
 A slave or some animal would meet him. 
 What cared he for a slave's life or that of a cap- 
 tive taken in battle? He was as familiar with 
 the altars of Chemosh and their burning victims 
 as you are with your church spires that point 
 upward. 
 
 His vow was wrong, but it was earnest and 
 sincere. He meant no harm but, like the sword 
 which turned every way guarding the gates of
 
 i 4 2 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Eden, it turned against himself a way wrong 
 things have of doing. 
 
 "Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not 
 thy heart be hasty to utter any thing before 
 God .... Suffer not thy mouth to cause 
 thy flesh to sin." Had Jephthah thought, he 
 might have said these words which were later 
 spoken by a Hebrew preacher, for they were 
 just as true in Jephthah 's day as they were in 
 the time of the Hebrew preacher. What was 
 the matter with his memory when he counted 
 his possessions, that he should have forgotten 
 the gem of them all, his daughter? 
 
 Moses and Joshua had warned Israel that 
 the promised land was given them in order that 
 they might serve Jehovah there. If they dis- 
 obeyed his laws they were to lose all they had. 
 They had not obeyed, but instead had served 
 idols. So Jephthah, following their example, 
 taking heathen oaths in Jehovah's name, lost 
 his all. 
 
 He was victorious ; he fought with and routed 
 the Ammonites with unpitying slaughter, and 
 returned to Gilead the hero of his people. He 
 did not stay to hear their praises. His heart
 
 JUDITH, THE DAUGHTER OF JEPHTHAH
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 143 
 
 was in the mountains. A little dark-eyed laugh- 
 ing girl was waiting for him, eager to hear of her 
 father's triumph. It was nightfall when he and 
 his men reached the foot of the hills. Long 
 shadows were filling the valley and hiding the 
 paths, so they rested there until morning came. 
 
 Jephthah looked toward the darkening 
 heights and smiled as he stretched his arms out 
 toward them. Home is there and it is there I 
 have peace, thought the warrior. Why does he 
 shudder? The night air is not chill. Has sleep 
 departed from you, "man of valor," that you 
 must pace back and forth in the silent night? 
 That sound is nothing. You have heard it 
 often. It is but the sob of a dying sheep 
 which a wolf has caught 
 
 Peace will come with the morning, thought 
 Jephthah. But alas, no! The shadow of that 
 vow, blacker a hundred times than the inky 
 cloud which floats across the moon, is folding 
 its somber wings to rest upon his household. 
 Peace has departed from him. It was in the 
 powers of darkness that he trusted. He who 
 has vowed to sacrifice another must lay his own 
 heart upon the altar.
 
 144 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Morning came. Thousands of dew dia- 
 monds trembled on the meadow grasses. The 
 sleepy birds had barely opened their eyes when 
 Jephthah and his men begin their upward 
 journey. Why do you hesitate, mighty warrior? 
 The path is not rough; neither is it strange. 
 Can a warrior like yourself be wearied with a 
 little climb like this? Besides, home and your 
 daughter are beyond. 
 
 Judith, too, was an early riser. Early in the 
 morning father will be here, sang the maiden to 
 herself. She will surprise him. Though every- 
 thing and everybody be asleep, she will show her 
 pride in her father's victory by being the first 
 one to meet him in the early dawn. 
 
 Some of the stars were still in the heavens 
 when she stole out of the tent and down the 
 mountain side. Peering over the cliffs she saw 
 him coming, and with dancing feet, shaking her 
 timbrel and singing, she went to meet him. 
 
 He heard her voice, but no arms of welcome 
 were outstretched to meet her. In agony the 
 words of his horrible vow swept through his 
 mind, and as he rent his garments, his voice, 
 hoarse with grief, replied to her joyous greeting,
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 145 
 
 "Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me 
 very low, and thou art one of them that trouble 
 me ; for I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, 
 and I cannot go back." 
 
 Did the little maid flinch? No, the spirit 
 of Jephthah's daughter rose to meet his own, 
 and the "mighty man of valor" looked into the 
 steady eyes of a fearless maid. Whatever her 
 father had promised to do should be done. 
 
 "But," you are saying, "he had no right to 
 sacrifice his daughter. Besides, he must have 
 her consent, for she was over twelve years old, 
 when a Hebrew girl was of age." 
 
 But to these two an oath was not lightly 
 taken, nor could it be honorably broken. And, 
 too, the merciful laws of Moses had been for- 
 gotten, and the heathen gods of vengeance had 
 been so long feared and worshiped that into 
 their minds came nothing but the unpitying 
 demands of that unrighteous vow. 
 
 With choking sobs Jephthah told his daugh- 
 ter of his vow. She need not keep it. Israel's 
 law protected her. For his country her father 
 had risked his life. Should the daughter of a 
 hero do less than to give her own? So thinking,
 
 i 4 6 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Judith answered her father, "My father, thou 
 hast opened thy mouth unto Jehovah; do unto 
 me according to that which hath proceeded out 
 of thy mouth, forasmuch as Jehovah hast taken 
 vengeance for thee on thine enemies, even on 
 the children of Arnmon." 
 
 For her country and her father she would 
 do this thing, even as the brave Joan of Arc cen- 
 turies later died for her country. The little 
 shepherd maid of France had a forerunner in the 
 maid of Gilead the one chained to the stake 
 to perish in the flames, the other laid upon the 
 altar of fire. Both died because they believed 
 that in making such a sacrifice they served their 
 country and their God. You young people inter- 
 ested in history and who have shed tears over 
 Joan of Arc's cruel fate, did not know that in 
 the pages of the Bible there was a heroine as 
 brave as she. 
 
 Judith made but one request. The child 
 who loved to live wanted to spend two months 
 with her companions on the mountain side. 
 Together they would lament this awful sacrifice, 
 this useless destruction of a life that had filled 
 its own and that of others with sunshine. And
 
 THE LITTLE MAID OF GILEAD 147 
 
 the pity of it was they did not know it need not 
 be. The time had not yet come when "the 
 earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, 
 as the waters cover the sea." 
 
 When the two months were over, the child 
 returned to her father's tent .... 
 
 Against a gray sky from a mountain peak 
 there rose tongues of flame. The gray of the 
 clouds changed to crimson. Did they blush 
 with shame at the awful deed they witnessed 
 as Jephthah's vow was kept? Or did they 
 promise pardon for this act of ignorance? 
 
 The night was black. There was nothing 
 on the hilltop but smoldering ashes which the 
 swiftly coming storm would soon scatter. A 
 man in sackcloth with ashes on his head mourned 
 as he sat alone. The wind tore at his tent door 
 and hurled something at his feet; it was only a 
 jeweled red turban, but the man's fingers closed 
 upon it with a groan. 
 
 "It is good to live," the little maid had said. 
 And she did live in the hearts of Israel. "And 
 it was a custom in Israel, that the daughters of 
 Israel went yearly to celebrate the daughter of 
 Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year."
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT 
 A BIG MAN 
 
 SAMUEL AND ELI 
 
 He was such a pretty little fellow with 
 dancing black eyes and curly head, and he was 
 going on a journey with his parents, Elkanah 
 and Hannah. It was his first journey, and he 
 could hardly wait for them to start. A few 
 hours is a long time to a boy only three years 
 old. His mother, Hannah, stopped suddenly in 
 her packing and, running out to him, hugged 
 and kissed him until he struggled to be free. 
 Then Elkanah, his father, took him in his arms 
 and acted as if he never wanted to put him 
 down again. 
 
 The servants were busy yoking the oxen 
 and saddling the donkeys. There was no 
 express in those days. When people traveled, 
 donkeys or camels had to carry great bags filled 
 with whatever they needed. The family rode 
 in the ox-cart or walked. I think sometimes 
 they walked in order to rest, for the carts had 
 no springs and must have jounced and jolted 
 
 148
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT A MAN 149 
 
 them terribly. But as they knew no better 
 way of traveling, they were content and proba- 
 bly thought they were very fortunate to have 
 such a fine ox-cart to ride in. 
 
 Our little black-eyed boy danced about, 
 clapping his hands and shouting to the oxen or 
 stopping a moment to pat the sleek sides of the 
 gentle donkeys. His mother was hugging a 
 little frock she had made him, and her lips moved 
 as she carefully folded it away in the big bundle 
 which served these people as a trunk. And his 
 father said, "Jehovah bless him!" as the bun- 
 dle was tied together and hoisted on a donkey's 
 back. Our little lad was going with his parents, 
 but he would not come back with them. He 
 was to stay in the temple with the priests and 
 wear the tiny dress his mother had packed so 
 carefully. 
 
 These people were Israelites, and they lived 
 so long ago that if it were not for our Bible, and 
 the stones or bricks that people have found 
 buried in the ground and covered with curious 
 writing, we should never have known anything 
 about them. They lived in Ramah, among the 
 hills of Ephraim, and they were going to Shiloh,
 
 iso OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 where the temple of God was, to offer the yearly 
 sacrifice. The baby was not to be left behind 
 because his parents were too poor to care for 
 him, for they had many cattle, and sheep, and 
 everything which in that time made people rich. 
 They were going to leave him because his mother 
 had promised Jehovah before he was born that 
 she would give the child to the Lord and that 
 he should serve in the temple of Jehovah all the 
 days of his life. 
 
 "Why did she do that?" you ask. " Didn't 
 she love children?" 
 
 Yes, she loved children very much, but she 
 had never had any of her own. Elkanah's 
 other wife for in those days a man had more 
 than one wife had several children. This dis- 
 turbed Hannah and made her very unhappy 
 when they all, big people and little people, went 
 once a year to Shiloh to worship and to sacri- 
 fice in the temple. Her husband loved her more 
 than he loved his other wife, Peninnah, but this 
 did not satisfy Hannah, for what she wanted 
 more than anything else she did not have. We 
 all know how it feels, don't we, to want some- 
 thing very, very much and not get it? We even
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT A MAN 151 
 
 forget at these times the good things we already 
 have. 
 
 At one time when she was in Shiloh she had 
 grieved so much that she could not eat, and 
 Elkanah tried to comfort her by saying, "Am 
 not I better to thee than ten sons?" But 
 Hannah would not be comforted. She deter- 
 mined to go to the temple alone while Peninnah 
 and her children were enjoying the gifts which 
 Elkanah always gave them at the time of the 
 yearly sacrifices. Hannah had her share of gifts 
 also, but when one's heart is as sad as hers 
 presents don't make one happy. 
 
 Hannah had learned that God was the real 
 helper of His people and that He was always 
 ready to give good things to them that asked 
 Him. She remembered the stories her mother 
 had told her of Jehovah's feeding and caring 
 for her people during their forty years in the 
 wilderness and how many times He had deliv- 
 ered them from their enemies. She was in 
 trouble. Jehovah had promised to help. She 
 had been taught that she should always keep 
 her promises, and why shouldn't she expect God 
 to keep His? 
 
 11
 
 152 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 She would try, anyway. One other thing 
 she intended to do: she would not be selfish in 
 her prayer, but was willing to give all she had, 
 if it was necessary, to win from God the blessing 
 she craved. As she stood praying at the tem- 
 ple door she did not see Eli, the high priest, 
 watching her and wondering why her lips moved 
 when she did not speak. But when he said to 
 her, "How long wilt thou be drunken? put away 
 thy wine from thee," Hannah answered: 
 
 "I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit: I have 
 drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have 
 poured out my soul before Jehovah." 
 
 Would you like to know what it was that 
 Hannah prayed with her heart when her lips 
 were silent? She did not waste any words but 
 asked at once for what she wanted. If Jehovah 
 knew her need and would give to her the gift 
 that she asked, why trouble Him with words? 
 
 Hannah's prayer and vow were, "O Jehovah 
 of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction 
 of thy handmaid, and remember me, and not 
 forget thy handmaid, but wilt give unto thy 
 handmaid a man-child, then I will give him unto 
 Jehovah all the days of his life."
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT A MAN 153 
 
 She would not ask to keep him with her as 
 other mothers did. She would be glad to give 
 back to the Lord the child that He gave to 
 her, and all his life he should serve in God's 
 temple. 
 
 When she left the temple after her prayer, 
 Eli gave her his blessing, saying, "Go in peace; 
 and the God of Israel grant thy petition that 
 thou hast asked of Him." Hannah had come in 
 sorrowful and she went out glad. Her prayer, 
 she knew, had been heard and Jehovah would 
 answer. She "went her way, and did eat; and 
 her countenance was no more sad." In other 
 words, her face was changed. 
 
 Do you remember the different persons in 
 the Bible whose faces changed? Moses, when 
 he came down from the mount with the law, 
 put a veil over his face because it shone so. The 
 face of Jesus was changed on the mount of Trans- 
 figuration. And Stephen the martyr had such 
 a radiant expression when he was being stoned 
 that even his enemies said he had the face of an 
 angel. 
 
 What made them shine? The next time 
 you see anyone whose face looks as though it
 
 iS4 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 had a light behind it, ask him, for such a person 
 is the only one who will be able to tell you. 
 
 Another year passed, and again all the family 
 went to Shiloh except Hannah. The answer to 
 her prayer her little son Samuel had come, 
 and he was too small a baby to take on so long 
 a journey. She would not go up to Shiloh again 
 until he was weaned; that is, until he was about 
 three years old. 
 
 Now you know that the little black-eyed 
 fellow in such a hurry to start on his first jour- 
 ney was Samuel and that the time had come for 
 his mother to fulfill her vow. All the family 
 went up together to Shiloh, the one wife with 
 her many children, who would all return with 
 her, and Hannah with her only child, who would 
 be left behind. 
 
 Hannah's face, I am sure, was still shining. 
 God kept His promises; why should she be sad? 
 Also on her journey to the temple she must have 
 been thinking of the great man she wanted her 
 son to be. And had she not made him a tiny 
 dress that was now carefully folded away in 
 that big bundle, a dress exactly like the robe of 
 the high priest, which none but he ever wore?
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT A MAN 155 
 
 And every year when she should visit him she 
 would bring him another just like the first, but 
 larger. 
 
 Three years and more had passed since 
 Hannah had stood praying at the temple door. 
 Eli might not remember her, so she said to him, 
 "My lord, I am the woman that stood by thee 
 here, praying unto Jehovah. For this child I 
 prayed; and Jehovah hath given me my peti- 
 tion which I asked of Him; therefore also I 
 have granted him to Jehovah." 
 
 Then the tiny lad said his prayer, or, as the 
 Bible says, "worshipped Jehovah there." His 
 mother had taught him to pray and told him 
 that prayers were answered, therefore he must 
 be careful for what he prayed. She remembered 
 how her people, the Israelites, had asked a favor 
 of God, something they were better off without, 
 and " He gave them their request, but sent lean- 
 ness into their soul." 
 
 Hannah had more faith in good than she had 
 fear of evil, for the three priests with whom she 
 left the child were bad men. Eli was so weak 
 that his two wicked sons did just as they pleased. 
 He meant well and preferred to live right, but
 
 i56 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 when he allowed himself to be ruled by his sons, 
 things went just as wrong as though he was 
 wicked himself. He found out later that it is 
 not good intentions but good acts that please 
 God, and also please people. He often told his 
 sons that they were wicked and should do better, 
 but as he never did anything but find fault with 
 them they only laughed and kept growing worse. 
 
 He was like a boy who was asked to help 
 some of the younger children with their lessons. 
 When a child misspelled a word or put down a 
 wrong figure, he would say, "That is wrong. 
 You should not do that," but let the mistake go 
 without correcting it. 
 
 These conditions did not disturb Hannah. 
 If God had given her the child, God was cer- 
 tainly able to care for him. And she, like 
 David, had faith in an invisible Power, and knew 
 that three priests disobeying God's laws were 
 not as powerful as one person obeying those 
 laws, even if that one were only a little child. 
 Samuel had been taught to obey and always 
 obeyed, as we know from the words he spoke 
 years afterward to the rebellious King Saul: 
 "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT A MAN 157 
 
 hearken than the fat of rams." You have heard 
 many times that "he who would command must 
 first learn to obey." So Hannah, desiring her 
 son to be a great man with power, began in the 
 right way to have it so. 
 
 Our little boy was given a cot in the temple 
 near where Eli slept. At first he was too small 
 to be very useful, but as he grew older he opened 
 the doors of the temple at sunrise and closed 
 them again as the sun set. Also at night he 
 kept bright the lights that burned in the great 
 seven-branched candlestick that was almost as 
 tall as his father, and was careful that the center 
 light burned until morning. Eli loved the little 
 fellow for he gave him an ephod to wear. An 
 ephod was worn only by the high priest. If you 
 take a long linen towel and fold it in the middle, 
 then cut it in two along this fold, fasten it 
 together on the shoulders with jeweled clasps, 
 letting one piece cover the back, the other hang 
 down in front, you will have something like an 
 ephod. For the high priest these ephods were 
 of finer linen than the ephods that other people 
 sometimes were allowed to wear. Its colors 
 were gold, blue, purple, and scarlet, with a
 
 158 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 girdle of the same material embroidered in the 
 same pattern. Two onyx stones were engraved 
 with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, 
 six names for each shoulder. 
 
 Whenever the high priest stood before 
 Jehovah he carried all Israel on his shoulders. 
 His prayers must not be selfish ; he must remem- 
 ber his people when he prayed. Praying, you 
 see, was made a responsibility. The little boy 
 who had been taught to listen, and to obey when 
 he heard, must have known all about these 
 shoulder stones which fastened his ephod, and 
 have realized that in order to please Jehovah 
 he must ask blessings for others as well as 
 for himself. That he did so we know, for the 
 Bible says of him, "And the child Samuel grew 
 on, and increased in favor both with Jehovah, 
 and also with men." 
 
 Samuel was about twelve years old when a 
 prophet came to the temple and warned Eli 
 that, because of his weakness and his sons' 
 wickedness, Jehovah would take the priesthood 
 from them and give it to some one who was 
 worthy. Eli was disturbed only a little. Mem- 
 bers of his family had held the priesthood for
 
 SAMUEL GIVEN TO GOD
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT A MAN 159 
 
 so long that he thought they would always have 
 it, but he had to learn that the only way to keep 
 anything is to deserve it. Poor, kind-hearted 
 Eli, wanting to do right but without the strength 
 to do it, got himself, his sons, and his people into 
 much trouble. The people had noticed the dif- 
 ference between the high priest's family and the 
 boy Samuel. What power was it, they thought, 
 that kept this child from evil ways? Could it 
 be that Jehovah was with him? They began to 
 believe so. Though only twelve years old, the 
 boy was able to show them all what real faith in 
 Jehovah did for one. 
 
 Our little lad, without knowing it, had taught 
 the people a lesson, and soon he was to teach one 
 to Eli. If the priests had forgotten Jehovah, is 
 it a wonder that most of the people had? "The 
 word of Jehovah was precious (not often heard) 
 in those days ; there was no frequent, well-known 
 vision." 
 
 At last the night came when the boy Samuel 
 heard and obeyed the voice of God. He had 
 closed the temple doors that evening and had 
 seen that the seven lights of the golden candle- 
 stick were burning. Like the boys of his day,
 
 160 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 he loved the stars. The traveler at night had 
 no other guide, and Samuel loved to watch the 
 stars and wonder if they were eyes through which 
 Jehovah looked in the darkness to see that no 
 harm came to the earth while the sun was gone. 
 He knew that the color of the ephod he wore was 
 like that of the sky which held the stars, and 
 that the twinkling stars themselves shone as 
 brightly as the ephod's gold. Perhaps he felt 
 what David said later: "The heavens declare 
 the glory of God." Having such thoughts as 
 these, do you wonder that he heard God's voice? 
 Such thinking is really listening to God, but he 
 did not know it. 
 
 Are you surprised that God did not speak to 
 Eli or to his sons, the priests of the temple, 
 instead of to this young lad? Do you like to 
 talk to people who are not listening to you? 
 If one is not listening he cannot hear, can 
 he? Samuel was listening; Eli and his sons 
 were not. The sons had forgotten all about 
 Jehovah's laws, while Eli knew that he had dis- 
 obeyed them and deserved punishment. 
 
 How still and peaceful the night was as 
 Eli and Samuel lay asleep! Eli perhaps had
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT A MAN 161 
 
 uneasy dreams about his sons; Samuel lay in 
 the sound sleep of a healthy boy. Then sud- 
 denly the child heard his name called, "Samuel, 
 Samuel," and thinking that Eli needed him, he 
 jumped from his bed and ran to Eli, saying, 
 "Here am I; for thou calledst me." Eli did 
 not like having his sleep disturbed so soon, 
 so he said shortly, "I called not; lie down 
 again." 
 
 "Samuel, Samuel," called the voice again, 
 and the boy once more went to Eli with the 
 same cheery greeting, "Here am I." This time 
 Eli was awake and answered more pleasantly, 
 for he called ^Samuel "my son," but again he 
 told the child to lie down as he had not spoken. 
 Perhaps by this time he was wondering what 
 the boy had heard. He did not have long to 
 wait, for soon the lad returned, insisting that Eli 
 had called him. Eli knew now that Jehovah had 
 spoken to Samuel. He knew the place for God 
 to speak was in His own temple, and the lad was 
 the only one in that temple who had ears to hear. 
 So he said, "Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He 
 call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Jehovah; 
 for Thy servant heareth."
 
 162 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Poor Eli, telling a little child to do what 
 he knew how to do but had not done! Eli 
 meant to do right, but did wrong. At that 
 hour did he grieve because he had lost the power 
 to hear God's voice, and did he see in the call 
 of this little child that the priesthood had indeed 
 passed from himself and his sons? 
 
 There was nothing unusual in God's calling 
 Samuel. Everyone in Israel had been taught 
 that Jehovah was always calling to His people. 
 Had not Moses told them, "The word is very 
 nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart?" 
 The unusual thing was listening and obeying 
 when one heard. 
 
 When Samuel heard his name spoken again, 
 he answered bravely, "Speak; for thy servant 
 heareth." 
 
 Have any of you boys or girls noticed the 
 different ways that people answer when their 
 names are called? Some drawl, others mum- 
 ble, while often you hear a cheery, quick response 
 like Samuel's. I say he answered bravely, 
 because when one replies as he did it means that 
 he is not afraid of anything he may be asked to 
 do. To the waiting, listening lad came the
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT A MAN 163 
 
 warning to Eli's house that same warning 
 which only a short time before the strange 
 prophet had spoken to the high priest : "Behold, 
 I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears 
 of every one that heareth it shall tingle. In 
 that day I will perform against Eli all that I 
 have spoken concerning his house, from the 
 beginning even unto the end. For I have told 
 him that I will judge his house for ever, for the 
 iniquity which he knew, because his sons did 
 bring a curse upon themselves, and he restrained 
 them not. And therefore I have sworn unto 
 the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house 
 shall not be expiated with sacrifice nor offering 
 for ever." 
 
 All night the boy lay quietly thinking, sorry 
 for Eli, whom he loved, and who was kind if he 
 was weak. He knew he must tell the high 
 priest what God's law does to the disobedient, 
 but he was unhappy that he must take such a 
 message to his friend. Soon the stars began to 
 grow dim and rosy streaks shot across the sky. 
 Samuel knew them well, for he had watched for 
 them every morning for many years and knew 
 when they came it was time to open the temple
 
 164 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 doors. The scarlet in his ephod was like these 
 crimson tongues of cloud, and the blue of the 
 morning sky was like the ephod 's blue. 
 
 Samuel did not rush to Eli the first thing in 
 the morning and deliver his message. He had 
 it to do and would not flinch, but his love for 
 Eli made him wait until the high priest spoke. 
 
 "Samuel, my son," said Eli, and the cheery, 
 honest voice of the little lad rang out, "Here 
 am I." 
 
 "What is the thing that Jehovah hath spo- 
 ken unto thee? I pray thee, hide it not from 
 me: God do so to thee, and more also, if thou 
 hide anything from me of all the things that He 
 spake unto thee." 
 
 Samuel answered. He loved the truth and 
 he obeyed, so he gave to Eli the message all 
 of it. The spirit he gave it in must have been 
 kinder than that of the strange prophet, for Eli 
 listened to the boy; he had not listened to the 
 prophet. The words were bitter but the spirit 
 was kind, and Eli knew the judgment against 
 himself and his sons was just, so he accepted it, 
 saying, "It is Jehovah; let Him do what seem- 
 eth Him good."
 
 WHAT A LITTLE BOY TAUGHT A MAN 165 
 
 By the boy at his side Eli had been taught a 
 lesson in fearless obedience to the truth. He 
 had never corrected his sons, but this child, 
 obeying what he knew to be right, had corrected 
 Eli, although it must have been as hard for the 
 boy to rebuke the teacher he loved as it was for 
 Eli to correct his sons. 
 
 What became of Samuel? He "grew, and 
 Jehovah was with him, and did let none of his 
 words fall to the ground. And all Israel from 
 Dan even to Beer-sheba knew that Samuel was 
 established to be a prophet of Jehovah." 
 
 All his mother's prayers for him were 
 answered, and he became the last and the great- 
 est judge of Israel and the first of the great 
 prophets. She must have taught her other 
 sons and daughters she had several children 
 after Samuel that same lesson, that "to obey 
 is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the 
 fat of rams."
 
 HOW HE WON 
 
 THE STORY OF DAVID AND GOLIATH 
 
 There was once a wonderful boy whose 
 name was David. He lived with his father 
 and seven brothers in a country where a man's 
 wealth was counted by the number of sheep 
 and cattle he possessed. David had charge of 
 his father's sheep and often was away from 
 home in the fields with them for days at a time. 
 When he slept, his pillow was some smooth 
 stones piled together, with his arms under him 
 if he wanted it softer. The stars, and the 
 moon when it shone, were his only light at 
 night, and his blanket was a rough mantle of 
 goat's hair which he wore over his shoulders in 
 the daytime. 
 
 Some of the nights in that country are so 
 cold and frosty that the sheep and shepherd 
 have to lie close together to keep warm and 
 to protect themselves from wild animals that 
 prowl about at night. Fierce with hunger, 
 these animals often attacked the sheep, and 
 now and then a bold one would attack the 
 shepherd. Wild, lawless men, more cruel than 
 
 1 66
 
 HOW HE WON 167 
 
 the beasts, hid in gloomy places among the 
 rocks of the narrow valleys. Often they stole 
 the sheep and tried to kill the shepherd. So, 
 you see, David's task was not the safe occupa- 
 tion the shepherd's is to-day. 
 
 Here among bleak rocks, in dark valleys or 
 sunny pastures, the boy David went for days, 
 and even months, with none to talk to unless 
 some poor wounded lamb needed cuddling 
 just as I have seen a boy caress and talk to a 
 frightened kitten that had crept to his arms 
 for safety. You will naturally ask why such 
 a difficult and frequently dangerous task was 
 not given to one of David's elder brothers 
 instead of to him. Just for the reason that he 
 was the youngest, for in those days the best 
 of everything went to the eldest of the family. 
 The younger brothers acted as servants to the 
 elder and did the most disagreeable work. 
 
 We know that David did not spend a moment 
 envying his older brothers, or wishing that he 
 had been born the eldest so that he could go 
 to war and help the king fight the enemies of 
 his country. Glory was not for David, and he 
 knew it. His brothers could win victories in 
 
 12
 
 i68 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 battle, but he must stay out alone under the 
 stars and care for his father's sheep. You may 
 ask how we know that David didn't envy his 
 brothers, or fret because they had so much more 
 comfortable and lively a time than himself. 
 
 In the story as it was first told, we read 
 that David "was ruddy, and withal of a beauti- 
 ful countenance, and goodly to look upon." 
 Now everyone knows that a lad with a face 
 like that does n't envy anyone and is n't fretful 
 and discontented. Such thoughts would have 
 shown in his face or been evident in his manner, 
 and he surely wouldn't have been "goodly to 
 look upon." David had found a Friend in the 
 wilderness, a Friend who talked to him, and 
 One to whom he often talked. Years after- 
 ward he wrote out these talks with his Friend, 
 and we have them in a book which we call the 
 Psalms. If you will read the Twenty- third 
 Psalm you will have a word picture of how 
 David cared for the sheep among the hills of 
 Palestine. It is there he likens the task of the 
 shepherd to God's caring for His people. 
 
 David, together with his seven brothers 
 and other Hebrew lads, had been taught that
 
 HOW HE WON 169 
 
 his people had been especially blessed by 
 Jehovah, the God of Israel. He had learned 
 how God had brought the Hebrews out from 
 slavery in Egypt, and how the waters of the 
 Red Sea had rolled back so that Israel could 
 walk on dry ground as they crossed from Egypt 
 into the desert. His father had told him how 
 the people had been fed with manna in the 
 wilderness. He had told him also how God 
 had at last brought them to a beautiful land 
 where they could have a king chosen from 
 among their own people, live under their own 
 Hebrew laws, and have homes of their own. 
 Once a host of weak, frightened slaves, they 
 had become a great and prosperous nation, 
 feared by the countries around them; and all 
 because Jehovah, their God, had been with 
 them and directed them. Now we begin to 
 see why David was never lonely or afraid, why 
 he had strength to rescue the lambs from the 
 lion and the bear that had tried to destroy 
 them, and was able to save his countrymen 
 from the fear of their enemies. 
 
 Among Israel's enemies were the Philistines, 
 who were always provoking them to war. The
 
 170 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Hebrews were very much afraid of these 
 Philistines. They must have forgotten what 
 God had done for them in the past, or surely 
 they would have called upon Him at once 
 instead of putting their trust in a heavy suit 
 of armor and a king who was as badly frightened 
 as they were. The Philistines had grown very 
 haughty and did a great deal of swaggering, as 
 enemies always do when they see that people 
 are afraid of them. 
 
 The armies of Israel stood on a mountain 
 side, and across the valley on another moun- 
 tain side were the Philistine warriors. These 
 two armies were like two foolish and angry 
 boys who stand scowling at each other, wanting 
 to fight and not exactly daring to. Finally, a 
 giant Philistine, named Goliath, strode out into 
 the valley and said that he would fight any 
 single man of Israel. If he won, the Hebrews 
 were to become the Philistines' servants, but 
 if the Hebrews won, the Philistines would 
 submit to Israel. Then happened to Israel 
 what happens to all of us when we get badly 
 frightened they forgot all about their God and 
 His former care of them. That David did
 
 HOW HE WON 171 
 
 differently we know, for in one of the Psalms 
 he says, "Bless Jehovah, O my soul, and forget 
 not all His benefits." 
 
 I know you will say that the Hebrews 
 acted foolishly and that if you had been in 
 their place you would not have done as they 
 did. But stop a moment and think; do we ever, 
 any of us, think clearly or do anything sensible 
 when we are afraid? 
 
 All this time our shepherd boy, David, was 
 caring for his sheep and wanting to know how 
 the battle was being fought, and which side 
 was winning. Then a message came to him 
 from his father, to make himself ready and carry 
 some food to his brothers who were encamped 
 with Israel on the mountain side. Again we 
 see David "goodly to look upon," for he was 
 ready when his father sent the message. Not 
 a word did he say about having to stop to do, 
 or to finish, anything before he started on his 
 errand. And he was prompt, for he rose early 
 in the morning to begin his journey to the 
 camp, and although we know that, boylike, 
 he must have been glad to visit the stirring 
 scenes taking place in the valley, he did not
 
 1 72 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 forget his sheep, for he left them in charge of 
 a keeper. When he reached the army he first 
 greeted his brothers and delivered his message. 
 Even the excitement about him and his own 
 interest in the expected battle did not make 
 him forget what he had come for; he attended 
 to that first. You see, David, when he had an 
 object in view, went straight toward it, and 
 when he aimed at anything he meant to hit it. 
 
 Goliath strutted back and forth before 
 Israel, calling them to come out and fight him. 
 He sneered at them because they were afraid, 
 and said that he defied not only one man, but 
 the whole army of Israel. 
 
 David was not at all frightened, for, lying 
 out under the stars on his stony pillow, he had 
 heard God whisper in his heart, "In quietness 
 and in confidence shall be your strength." 
 And he well knew that the bluster and bragg- 
 ing of a bully such as Goliath merely meant 
 weakness. 
 
 But the poor trembling Hebrews fled, telling 
 David that the man who could slay this giant 
 would be greatly honored by the Hebrew king, 
 Saul. David's reply must have astonished them
 
 HOW HE WON 173 
 
 all, for it was, "What shall be done to the man 
 that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the 
 reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircum- 
 cised Philistine, that he should defy the armies 
 of the living God?" 
 
 David felt that it was a shame for his 
 countrymen to forget God and fear man, even 
 if that man were a giant covered with a coat 
 of mail and heavy brass armor, a giant who 
 shook his great spear as he walked toward 
 Israel, with a servant going before him carrying 
 his huge shield. But our shepherd boy had on 
 armor that no one saw. His shield was faith 
 in God. 
 
 David's eldest brother was present and was 
 very angry at what he considered his young 
 brother's impertinent curiosity. He said some 
 very hard and unkind things to David. Here 
 again our hero goes straight to his mark and 
 does not miss his aim. His purpose was to 
 learn how the trouble between Israel and the 
 Philistines was to be settled, and who was to 
 meet Goliath. He had no time to get angry 
 and quarrel with his brother when more impor- 
 tant matters were to be decided.
 
 i 7 4 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 King Saul sent for David when he heard 
 how bravely the lad had spoken. No doubt he 
 was much relieved when he thought that an 
 experienced Hebrew warrior was willing to fight 
 this terrible Goliath. Then picture his surprise 
 when the youthful David, with erect, slight 
 figure and fair face, was shown into his tent! 
 David exclaimed at once, "Let no man's heart 
 fail because of him ; thy servant will go and fight 
 with this Philistine." 
 
 The surprised king replied, "Thou art not 
 able to go against this Philistine to fight with 
 him; for thou art but a youth, and he a man 
 of war from his youth." 
 
 Then our shepherd boy said that God had 
 delivered him and his sheep from the paws of 
 a lion and a bear, and that the same God was 
 certainly able to overcome the Philistine and 
 save Israel. I don't suppose that David's 
 memory was a bit better than Saul's or that of 
 the rest of the Hebrew army. But Saul and 
 his men were filled with fear, and David was 
 strong in faith. Their memories were at work 
 telling them how dangerous their enemies were 
 and how much harm they had done Israel,
 
 DAVID RESCUING THE LAMB
 
 HOW HE WON 175 
 
 while David's memory rested in the thought of 
 the power of God and how he had never failed 
 to deliver Israel from her enemies. 
 
 Saul admired David's courage, but evidently 
 thought that the lad did not realize the danger, 
 for he armed the youth with his bulky armor. 
 Some of you who have read the tales of chivalry 
 in the Middle Ages know how the knights rode 
 about clad in heavy armor. If any one of them 
 was unhorsed, his enemy could easily kill him, 
 because his armor was so bulky and heavy that 
 it was almost impossible for the knight to move 
 about in it. David felt this way about Saul's 
 armor. He was not used to it and therefore 
 it hindered him, so he put off the armor, saying, 
 "I cannot go with these; for I have not 
 proved them." 
 
 Saul did not know then what every school 
 boy knows now, that unseen forces are the 
 most powerful. And we should not be surprised 
 at his thinking that David's faith, which Saul 
 could neither see nor feel, was not as powerful 
 as his fine suit of armor. How did David go to 
 meet Goliath? He took his staff, slung his 
 shepherd's bag across his shoulders after putting
 
 176 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 in it five smooth stones, and carried his sling 
 in his hand. When Goliath and his shield- 
 bearer advanced to meet David, I am sure both 
 armies held their breath with suspense. The 
 Hebrews looking at the mighty giant marching 
 toward the youthful unarmed figure of David 
 must have gained new courage, for courage and 
 faith are contagious, as well as fear and doubt. 
 David's example and his words had put new 
 energy into his people, and could you and I 
 have seen them, we should have been surprised 
 at the change in them, no longer cowering before 
 the threats of the Philistines, but erect with 
 the hope of victory. 
 
 As for the foolish Philistines, they were 
 probably laughing in their sleeves at the sight 
 and wondering if Israel and David had lost all 
 their good sense. This is done to-day by all 
 people who cannot understand spiritual things. 
 Such people say that because a thing can't be 
 seen, heard, tasted, touched, or smelled, it does 
 not exist. But we shall see who was in the 
 right : the Philistines trusting in that which they 
 saw, or the lad who had faith in the unseen 
 God.
 
 HOW HE WON 177 
 
 Goliath was very angry when he saw David 
 coming toward him, and cursed him, saying, 
 "Am I a dog, that thou comest to meet me 
 with staves? .... Come to me, and I will 
 give thy flesh unto the birds of the heavens, 
 and to the beasts of the field." 
 
 Of course we know by this time that these 
 words did not disturb David or make him wish 
 that he had not offered to battle against the 
 giant. Instead, he must have looked steadily 
 at Goliath, for to have a good aim a lad must 
 look at his mark and have a steady arm and. 
 clear sight. Had his faith weakened and fear 
 taken its place, the stones in his bag and the 
 sling in his hand would have been useless. An 
 arm trembling with fright or doubt cannot send 
 a stone, or anything else, straight toward its 
 mark. David answered the savage Philistine 
 in words that will live forever, so full are they 
 of faith in "our Father," God. 
 
 "Thou comest to meet me with a sword, 
 and with a spear, and with a javelin: but I 
 come to thee in the name of Jehovah of hosts, 
 the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou 
 has defied. This day will Jehovah deliver thee
 
 i 7 8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 into my hand .... that all the earth may 
 know that there is a God in Israel, and that 
 all this assembly may know that Jehovah 
 saveth not with sword and spear: for the bat- 
 tle is Jehovah's, and He will give you into our 
 hand." 
 
 You have seen from the beginning that this 
 was a very unequal contest; perhaps you have 
 sympathized with Israel, because you believed 
 they were physically weaker than their enemies. 
 Maybe you who are older, and have learned 
 that a boy's head is worth more than his fist 
 when he does some thinking, have felt ashamed 
 of the ignorance of the Philistines, who tried 
 to fight God, Spirit, with sword and spear. 
 Whichever way you may have thought, the 
 battle was Jehovah's, as David said, and He 
 did deliver Goliath into the hands of the shep- 
 herd boy. 
 
 As the giant advanced swaggering and 
 cursing, trusting in his immense size and the 
 strength of his armor, David began to run 
 toward the Philistine. Drawing a stone from 
 his bag as he ran, he put it in his sling and 
 took aim at Goliath. As David's faith and
 
 HOW HE WON 179 
 
 courage were sure, so. was his aim, and the 
 stone sank into the giant's forehead. The 
 mighty Philistine fell to the ground face down- 
 ward. In those days it was customary to cut 
 off the head of a fallen enemy. This David 
 did, using the giant's own sword. Then he held 
 up the head of Goliath before Israel, proclaiming 
 his victory. 
 
 When the Philistines saw that they were 
 defeated, they fled, leaving their tents and 
 treasures in the hands of Israel. The overjoyed 
 Hebrews sang praises to their youthful hero, 
 who had delivered them out of the hand of their 
 enemies. While they were praising him, David, 
 we know, must have thanked God for the 
 victory as always he had done and continued 
 to do throughout his life when he was saved 
 from trouble or from danger. Some of these 
 thanksgiving songs of David's are written in 
 the Psalms. If you will read them you will 
 come to love the shepherd lad who found God 
 "a very present help in trouble." David 
 learned to love and to have faith in the unseen 
 Power who guided him in the wilderness with 
 his sheep and taught, him the lessons which
 
 i8o OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 made him afterward the well-beloved king of 
 Israel. As you know, the name "David" 
 means "beloved."
 
 THE BOOMERANG 
 
 SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA 
 
 What fun it is to travel and see strange 
 sights and queer people! There is so much 
 bustle and stir at the station engines puffing, 
 bells ringing, men calling trains, while people 
 scramble up the steep steps of the cars, holding 
 fast to tickets which tell the conductor how far 
 they are to go. Watching from car windows 
 it surely seems not we, but the telegraph poles, 
 that are moving so rapidly down the track. 
 We seem to be sitting still while fences hurry 
 by in their effort to keep step with the poles. 
 Even the trees appear to be running a race; 
 those in the distance saunter along in a very 
 dignified manner, while those nearer us give a 
 toss to their branches as they rush past with a 
 how-do-you-do and good-by. 
 
 Suppose we take a journey today. But it 
 will not be by train, for we are going to fly. 
 Does that strike you as being odd? Well, what 
 will you say when I tell you that we are going 
 to sit still in our chairs at home and at the same 
 time go on a long journey? 
 
 181
 
 182 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 "That is impossible," some of you are say- 
 ing. "No one can be traveling while staying 
 at home." 
 
 We can easily do it, for our flight is to be 
 only a flight of the imagination, and our jour- 
 ney is to carry us not over miles of land, but 
 over many years of time. You boys and girls 
 who have studied history will best enjoy the 
 journey, but when we arrive at our destination 
 even the little tots will like it. 
 
 Now we are off. Take a good look at every- 
 thing before we start, and leave the comfortable 
 things of to-day and go back into the past. We 
 shall pass the years in which Washington and 
 his brave soldiers fought for America's inde- 
 pendence, and go beyond the time when three 
 tiny ships landed Columbus and his men on the 
 shores of San Salvador. We shall see the char- 
 ter of England's freedom hidden in the old oak. 
 And as we pass by the years we shall leave 
 behind us thousands of children marching 
 across Europe in their crusade to rescue the 
 Holy Sepulcher from heathen hands. Rome will 
 burn to ashes, Christianity will not have been 
 born, Europe will be only a bleak wilderness
 
 THE BOOMERANG 183 
 
 at the time we arrive at our journey's end; 
 for we are going, not three thousand miles, but 
 three thousand years back in time. It is best 
 not to make too many stops along the way, for 
 our errand is important and we wish to be in 
 time to see the queen of Sheba enter Jerusalem 
 when she makes her visit to King Solomon of 
 Israel. We have not been invited and so can- 
 not join in the festivities, but we can look on, 
 and after a three thousand years' flight I am 
 sure we shall all be content to rest and watch 
 the gay city entertain its royal guest. 
 
 You will remember Jacob and his lonely 
 journey across the wilderness, and the promise 
 God made him there that he should become the 
 father of a great people. This promise had 
 been fulfilled when our story opens, and Israel 
 had become a powerful nation. Solomon, her 
 king, was very wise so wise and wealthy that 
 the queen of Sheba had left her country far in 
 the south to visit him. His fame had spread 
 abroad to all countries, and the queen, not able 
 to believe all that she had heard about him, 
 determined to find out for herself whether the 
 reports were true. 
 
 13
 
 184 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 We have arrived just in the nick of time. 
 We find Jerusalem all excitement, expectantly 
 awaiting the coming of the queen. 
 
 "How new everything looks!" some little 
 girl is saying. 
 
 Yes, it does. It is really an old, old city, 
 but Solomon, the son of David, has made so 
 many improvements that to us it seems new. 
 The streets lately paved with black stone, the 
 strong wall with its great towers, the wonderful 
 golden temple, and Solomon's magnificent palace 
 have all been built by him. 
 
 "And, oh, there is a summer garden out- 
 side the walls of the city!" cries a small boy 
 delightedly. 
 
 It may look like a summer garden to you, 
 and I will admit that the description of Para- 
 dise the name Solomon gave his garden is 
 very much like a description of our modern 
 amusement parks. But there is a difference. 
 Our gardens are for everybody, while Solomon's 
 were only for himself and his nobles and royal 
 guests. Later we shall stop at the garden and 
 see all its attractions, but now we must hurry 
 up the steep slopes to the city gates if we are
 
 THE BOOMERANG 185 
 
 to be there when the queen and her royal train 
 enter. 
 
 It was Jerusalem's most prosperous era, and 
 she gloried in it. Was not Solomon, her king, 
 the wisest of all men? So far no one had been 
 able to ask him a question that he could not 
 answer. Stop for a moment and glance at the 
 stately temple. You may have to shield your 
 eyes, for its golden beauty dazzles in the 
 sunshine. To this day no more costly or mag- 
 nificent temple or church has ever been built. 
 Seven years it was in building, and when it was 
 dedicated so many sheep and oxen were sacri- 
 ficed that blood ran in streams down the temple 
 courts. While we are looking at the temple 
 let us examine the "molten sea" in one of the 
 temple courts. This is a massive bowl of 
 copper holding thousands of gallons of water. 
 Here the priests washed their hands and feet 
 before killing the animals to be burned on the 
 altar. You wonder why the priests washed 
 before, instead of after, sacrificing? Perhaps 
 you think, as I thought for many years, the 
 cleaner way would have been to wash after the 
 slaughter was over. But we must remember
 
 i86 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 that the people of olden times often talked in 
 symbols; that is, what they did had as much 
 meaning as though they had spoken. 
 
 Only in a condition of holiness that is, 
 of purity would anything offered to God 
 be acceptable to Him. For this reason when 
 the priests sacrificed that is, made Him an 
 offering they first cleansed themselves. The 
 "molten sea" is a mammoth bowl, but the 
 twelve great copper oxen on whose backs the 
 "sea" rests are well able to hold it. 
 
 Do you wish to mount the steps of the bra- 
 zen altar? It is large, and the steps high, but 
 as they are arranged in three tiers like terraces, 
 we can stop at each landing. At the top is the 
 blazing square where the animals are burned. 
 There are channels in which the blood of the 
 victims is carried away from the altar. But, 
 even at that, the smell of burning flesh and 
 scorching blood is not pleasant, and we shall 
 hurry on until we reach the city streets so 
 thronged with people. Old and young, big and 
 little, are scurrying along to reach the city walls 
 in time to see the queen as she passes through 
 the gates to Solomon's palace. We shall follow
 
 THE BOOMERANG 187 
 
 the crowd and halt with them, for they will 
 know best where we can see most. 
 
 There they come, the queen and her long 
 train of camels, servants, slaves, and soldiers. 
 Those patient camels plod along slowly, chew- 
 ing their cuds as they enter the gates. They 
 have crossed a desert carrying on their backs 
 great packs of costly spices and precious jewels 
 to be given to King Solomon. They have come 
 from a long distance and brought with them 
 vats of water and stores of food, for when 
 people traveled in those days they had to 
 carry everything they needed with them. Day 
 after day and night after night the queen and 
 her train have been traveling. There have been 
 days when all of them lay flat on the sands of 
 the desert to be safe as a sand storm swept over 
 them. The peril of roving bands of robbers, 
 and wild animals snarling about the fires at 
 night, the queen has braved in order to greet 
 the wisest of all men, King Solomon of Israel. 
 The train of camels as it passes through the 
 gates leaves behind it sweet-smelling odors. It 
 is because the enormous packs the camels carry 
 are filled with spices, the rich, sweet-smelling
 
 1 88 OLD TESTAMENT HERO Sf OKIES 
 
 plants and perfumes of the Orient. The Bible 
 says: "There came no more such abundance 
 of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave 
 to King Solomon." 
 
 We will go with the queen and her train as 
 they move toward the palace. Let us slip inside 
 and watch as Solomon waits for his royal vis- 
 itor. There he sits on his gorgeous ivory and 
 gold throne. To us it looks like a mammoth 
 chair at the head of a flight of steps of ivory and 
 gold. The king's arms are outstretched upon 
 the arms of his wonderful throne. The arms 
 of this throne rest upon twelve ivory and gold 
 lions seated upon the steps. David, his father, 
 was of the tribe of Judah, and these lions repre- 
 sent "the lion of the tribe of Judah." 
 
 At last the queen and her train of servants 
 and soldiers enter and sweep down the aisles of 
 the immense audience hall. It is called "The 
 house of the forest of Lebanon" because of the 
 forty-five massive cedar pillars from Lebanon 
 which decorate it. The blare of horns and the 
 clash of cymbals will not let us hear the greeting 
 Solomon gives the queen. But that it was 
 kindly we know because the queen begins at
 
 THE BOOMERANG 189 
 
 once to offer him her priceless gifts. Diamonds, 
 rubies, and pearls she must have brought him 
 by the bushel, as we are told there was no count- 
 ing them for their number. She brought him 
 rare spices that is, oils, ointment, and per- 
 fumes such as his kingdom, rich as it was, 
 had never seen. Of gold she gave him one 
 hundred and twenty talents, a sum equal to 
 about four million of our dollars. 
 
 Then followed days of luxurious entertain- 
 ment. The king spared neither money nor 
 time to make the queen's visit one to be remem- 
 bered. Together they must have visited his 
 summer home. Paradise he called it. In this 
 paradise were great gardens filled with plants, 
 trees, and flowers brought from many lands. 
 There were pools of water in abundance, and 
 vineyards. Men and women singers delighted 
 his visitors, and dancing girls wound in and out 
 amongst the trees and shrubbery. Deer drank 
 by the pools of water. In fact, everything to 
 please the fancy of his guests abounded in this 
 garden. 
 
 The chariots of the queen and Solomon 
 must have moved side by side as they went
 
 IQO OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 from Jerusalem to his paradise at Etham. The 
 queen was all astonishment as Solomon in his 
 glistening white garments mounted his chariot 
 of cedar and gold. The fiery Egyptian horses 
 were driven by a handsome youth clad in expen- 
 sive Tyrian purple, with his long black hair 
 freshly sprinkled with powdered gold. None 
 but young men, the tallest and handsomest of 
 Israel, were allowed to be Solomon's bodyguard, 
 and when they went with him to Paradise they 
 were obliged to wear expensive Tyrian purple 
 and had daily to dust their hair with powdered 
 gold. 
 
 The queen watched in silent amazement as 
 Solomon passed from the judgment hall to the 
 temple between two lines of soldiers each carry- 
 ing a shield of gold. 
 
 ' ' Golden shields ! ' ' says some boy. ' ' Of what 
 use could they be? Gold is too soft a metal to 
 be used for shields." 
 
 They were not for use, only for show, and to 
 add to the glory of Solomon as he went from 
 palace to temple. You remember he only had 
 a few hundred made, not nearly enough to fit 
 out an army.
 
 THE BOOMERANG I9 i 
 
 From their visit to the temple let us go to 
 the hall where the king's table is ready for his 
 guests and his household. It will not be a 
 table like ours. Neither will they sit down to 
 it, for Orientals recline while they eat, with 
 their heads turned towards the low table. We 
 cannot stop to sample all of the dishes, for we 
 have been told by the Bible that in one day only, 
 the king and his household ate three hundred 
 bushels of fine flour, six hundred bushels of 
 meal, ten fat oxen, and twenty of the leaner 
 field oxen, one hundred sheep, besides plenty of 
 wild game such as fowl and deer, and other 
 delicacies. 
 
 "It seems as though they ate mostly meat," 
 says some little girl. 
 
 Yes, the people of long ago had many fancy 
 ways of serving meats. They were expensive 
 and foolish, but the kings and nobles of those 
 days enjoyed wasting both food and money 
 while the poorer people went hungry. 
 
 Let us follow the king and queen as they 
 visit the royal stables where Solomon has his 
 forty thousand stalls of horses and shelters his 
 thousand and four hundred chariots. Every
 
 i 9 2 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 boy and girl will enjoy looking at these beauti- 
 ful Egyptian steeds. How restless and impa- 
 tient they are, confined in their stalls! Their 
 glossy coats and long manes are daily groomed 
 by men appointed for that special purpose. 
 These horses cost too much to be neglected. 
 Solomon loved his horses, but did not love the 
 stranger that was within his gates. 
 
 Why do I say that? Because when he 
 built his temple he had made slaves of the for- 
 eigners dwelling in Jerusalem, compelling them 
 to cut stone and hew wood for it. In order 
 that their cries and groans should not disturb 
 the ears of the dwellers in the city, these enslaved 
 Caananites were forced to work outside the walls 
 of Jerusalem. They were compelled to finish 
 every stone, beam, and pillar used in building 
 before it was brought inside the city walls, and 
 this is the reason "there was neither hammer 
 nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, 
 while it was in building." 
 
 "And why," some boy asks, "did Solomon 
 have horses and chariots when a king of Israel 
 was forbidden to multiply horses, and was told 
 not to deal with Egypt?"
 
 THE BOOMERANG 193 
 
 Yes, and he was also told that he should not 
 multiply silver and gold. But in spite of that, 
 Solomon had even the dishes for his table made 
 of gold ; and as for silver, he made it so common 
 that it was of no more value than the stones of 
 the street. 
 
 " Did n't Solomon pray for wisdom?" inquires 
 a little girl. 
 
 "Yes, and he asked God to punish wicked- 
 ness and to reward righteousness," replies 
 another child. 
 
 "He said more than that," a boy adds, "he 
 asked God to condemn the wicked and to bring 
 his way upon his own head." 
 
 You are right, children. Solomon prayed 
 for wisdom which he did not use for good. He 
 asked to be given the power to "discern between 
 good and evil," and then he chose to do evil. 
 No doubt some of you will remember that the 
 Bible says, 
 
 "Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, 
 and rely on horses, and trust in chariots because 
 they are many, and in horsemen because they 
 are very strong, but they look not unto the 
 Holy One of Israel, neither seek Jehovah!"
 
 i 9 4 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 "I don't think Solomon really trusted in 
 God as much as he did in his chariots," all of 
 you are saying. 
 
 He surely did not, and I am afraid he had 
 already forgotten his father, David, who slew 
 the powerful giant, Goliath, with only a small 
 stone in a sling, and who said, "Jehovah saveth 
 not with sword and spear." God is unchanging 
 and could have saved Israel and Solomon as 
 easily as he had saved David. Because he is 
 unchanging we can safely trust God at all 
 times. Remember, God has said through the 
 mouth of one of his prophets, "For I, Jehovah, 
 change not; therefore ye, O sons of Jacob, are 
 not consumed." 
 
 But let us go back in our story and listen to 
 the queen of Sheba as she tests Solomon with 
 hard questions. He has a ready answer for all 
 of them; nothing that she can ask is too hard 
 for him. And why should it be? He who was 
 able to write three thousand proverbs and one 
 thousand and five songs, and had built costly 
 temples and palaces, who had studied the habits 
 of plants, fishes, birds, and beasts, and who had 
 built a navy and encouraged learning, certainly
 
 THE BOOMERANG 195 
 
 could answer any question that a person could 
 ask. But there are some questions the smallest 
 tot among you could ask him which he could 
 not answer. 
 
 Solomon, why did you pray for good and 
 then do evil? Why did you say Jehovah was 
 the only God in earth or in heaven and then 
 erect temples to Moloch and Chemosh, the hor- 
 rible firegods of the heathen? And why did you 
 ask to keep all Jehovah's laws and precepts and 
 immediately begin to break every one of them? 
 
 What do you think he would have answered 
 to these questions? 
 
 "Nothing," say some of you, and I think 
 myself that silence would have been the best 
 answer. 
 
 But the queen was satisfied. All that she 
 desired had been given her. Solomon's glory 
 and his magnificence had so awed her that, as 
 the Bible expresses it, "there was no more spirit 
 in her," and she said to the king: "Thy wisdom 
 and prosperity exceed the fame which I heard." 
 * * * * 
 
 The sun's rays fall upon glistening gold and 
 polished ivory. In some corners of the narrow
 
 i 9 6 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 streets the night shadows are already gathering 
 when the queen of Sheba and her train again 
 pass through Jerusalem's gates and slowly 
 wind down the steep slopes leading to the 
 valley. The camel boys and servants are 
 chanting the weird songs of the desert as 
 they go. As she rides away the queen turns to 
 cast a last look at the splendor of Jerusalem, 
 and as she does so breathes a prayer; it is for 
 Solomon. 
 
 "Happy are thy men, happy .... thy ser- 
 vants, that stand continually before thee, and 
 that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be Jehovah 
 thy God, who delighted in thee, to set thee 
 on the throne of Israel . . . . to do justice 
 and righteousness." 
 
 We turn back to the city as darkness hides 
 the queen and her train from view. Life and 
 love seem to have gone with her. Instead of 
 songs of joy there come to our ears the curses 
 and cries of a suffering people, the slaves that 
 were doing Solomon's hard labor. Their voices 
 in the night are crying for relief from their 
 misery. 
 
 "Will they get it?" you ask.
 
 THE BOOMERANG 197 
 
 Think for a moment. Don't you remember 
 that when Solomon dedicated his wonderful 
 temple he asked God to bless the strangers 
 dwelling among Israel, and also to hear them 
 when they cried unto Jehovah to avenge their 
 wrongs? 
 
 Was it the night the queen turned again 
 and went to her own country that Solomon 
 remembered what she had said to him about 
 being made a king to do righteousness, and 
 heard again the voice of Jehovah, this time 
 not in commendation? 
 
 "Jehovah was angry with Solomon, because 
 his heart was turned away from Jehovah, the 
 God of Israel .... wherefore Jehovah said 
 unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of 
 thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and 
 my statutes .... I will surely rend the 
 kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy 
 servant." 
 
 Poor king! Poor unhappy wise man! His 
 wisdom became to him a torment. He tells 
 us so himself, saying, "In much wisdom is 
 much grief; and he that increaseth knowledge 
 increaseth sorrow."
 
 i 9 8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Wisdom misused, as Solomon misused his, 
 does become a torment, as he said. You have 
 read of the curious weapon called a boomerang 
 thrown by the Australian natives. If not 
 hurled aright it can do the thrower injury, as 
 it always returns to the hand that hurls it. So 
 everything we have and do not use aright comes 
 back to us and does us harm. 
 
 Solomon prayed for wisdom, received it, 
 and did not use it rightly. His wisdom, which 
 should have been a blessing, became a curse 
 to him and to his country. During his life- 
 time Israel was enriched, but when his son 
 succeeded him the glory of the kingdom faded 
 and it became two petty principalities warring 
 always with each other and with surrounding 
 nations. 
 
 Solomon the wise saw, before he died, the 
 results of his cruelty and extravagance. The 
 people were already rebelling against the unjust 
 taxes he imposed upon them and refusing to be 
 his slaves. Do you wonder that, in the bitter- 
 ness of his disappointment at having ruined 
 instead of establishing Israel, he said, "I have 
 seen all the works that are done under the sun;
 
 THE BOOMERANG 199 
 
 and, behold, all is vanity and a striving after 
 
 wind." 
 
 * * * * 
 
 Let us not be too severe upon the king. It 
 is wise to remember that we, too, may have 
 gifts, advantages, and opportunities that we 
 are not using rightly. Perhaps we have prayed 
 for the desire of our hearts as Solomon prayed 
 for his wisdom, and been as ignorant as he was 
 in the use of it. But of one thing we can be 
 certain: Whatever we do not handle aright, 
 no matter what it may be, is sure to return to 
 us, or, as Ezekiel the prophet declares, "There- 
 fore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: As I live, 
 surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my 
 covenant that he hath broken, I will even bring 
 it upon his own head." 
 
 14
 
 THE ONLY ONE 
 
 THE FLIGHT OF ELIJAH 
 
 If you have ever seen a military parade 
 soldiers marching with flags flying and drums 
 beating and have listened to the stirring 
 strains of music played by the bands as they 
 passed the people waving and shouting at 
 them from the house windows, roofs, and street 
 curbs you will feel the spirit of this story. 
 It is a stirring one, for our hero Elijah was a 
 stirring character. 
 
 Who was Elijah? He was a prophet. "Oh, 
 I know what a prophet is," I hear some of 
 you say. "He is a person who tells about 
 things before they happen." In that sense our 
 weather man who tells us on Wednesday what 
 the weather is going to be on Thursday, or next 
 week, is a prophet. Like many other words, 
 "prophet" has been wrongly used and now has 
 come to mean something it did not mean at 
 first. Originally the word meant one who is 
 inspired, or, using it in its present sense, the 
 word "prophet" means one who speaks for 
 another. And this is what Elijah did. He 
 
 200
 
 THE ONLY ONE 201 
 
 spoke for God. In fact, the name Elijah means 
 "Jehovah is God." 
 
 Were you ever startled, when you thought 
 you were alone, by some one suddenly speaking 
 to you or coming quietly behind you and touch- 
 ing you? Do you remember how you gave a 
 start of surprise or perhaps cried out in alarm? 
 So it was with Elijah. He comes so suddenly 
 and vigorously into the Bible story that we 
 have to pause a minute to get used to him. 
 And it is the same all the way through. He is 
 supposed to be far away, when, instantly, 
 he stands before you. No story of a magi- 
 cian mysteriously appearing and disappearing 
 is more fascinating than the story of Elijah. 
 But so many things happened in his life that I 
 can tell you of only one of them. 
 
 He was very severe and stern, as most people 
 are who live alone and do not know others well 
 enough to understand them or to have charity 
 for them. Living in the desert as he did, wan- 
 dering about without any fixed home, eating or 
 not as it happened, and wearing the coarsest 
 clothing, he could not understand why others 
 were miserable because they did not have
 
 202 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 everything they wanted. So the people who 
 loved pleasure, and Elijah, who thought God's 
 service meant having little or no pleasure, hated 
 each other as only people can hate who look at 
 each other's faults instead of trying to find out 
 each other's virtues. 
 
 Elijah was fearless, honest, and determined, 
 and felt that if the Israelites did not want to 
 serve their God they must be forced to do so. 
 Most of the people of Israel had forgotten 
 about Jehovah and had adopted the gods of 
 the people among whom they lived. These 
 gods were harsh and cruel, often demanding, 
 so the people thought, that they should sacrifice 
 their sons and daughters upon altars dedicated 
 to these brutal gods. 
 
 You may wonder why parents who loved 
 their children should do such a dreadful thing 
 as to burn them on the altar of any god, even 
 though the god did demand it. But fear 
 always makes men cruel and merciless, and 
 never lets them stop to reason about anything. 
 The god these people worshiped was the god of 
 fear, as you may see for yourselves if you read 
 all the Bible says about him.
 
 THE ONLY ONE 203 
 
 The blighting, withering heat of the sun 
 which frequently killed their crops, their cattle, 
 and sometimes themselves, the worshipers of 
 Baal thought was the anger of their god. So 
 to coax him into good humor they offered upon 
 his altars the best they had, which was their 
 children. These people had so many images of 
 their gods it was hard to keep track of them. 
 Tree trunks, bulls, serpents, turtles, and many 
 other natural objects they believed to be sacred. 
 In their pockets, strung around their necks, in 
 the temples, and by the roadside were idols in 
 great number. To keep their gods in good 
 humor was a serious task and really made them 
 uneasy all the time wondering if their god was 
 going to send them good or evil. 
 
 You know how you feel when you are not 
 sure of anything. Suppose you never knew 
 when you went to school whether you would 
 find it closed or open. How much time would 
 you spend studying lessons that you might never 
 have a chance to recite? So it was with these 
 people of long ago not knowing what their 
 god was going to do, they ceased to care what he 
 did. But of one thing they were sure they
 
 204 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 knew what a good time meant and they were 
 going to have it. 
 
 Do you wonder Elijah spoke such harsh words 
 to King Ahab? Both of them were Israelites. 
 Their God was Jehovah, who was very differ- 
 ent from the cruel Baal. Elijah's father had 
 taught him that Jehovah was invisible but that 
 he was more powerful than the heathen gods, 
 because real power is always unseen. 
 
 You don't believe it? Tell me which gives 
 the more powerful heat, the steam you do not 
 see in your radiator or the few logs or coals which 
 lie in your grate? 
 
 Ahab, the Hebrew king, had married a 
 heathen wife, and he and all Israel had gone 
 over to the worship of Baal's many images, 
 although every Israelite had been taught that 
 the worship of idols was hateful to Jehovah. 
 So great was Jehovah it was impossible to make 
 an image big enough to represent Him. 
 
 Justice is Thy throne, righteousness is Thy 
 law, truth is Thy word. Elijah had heard this 
 said of Jehovah ever since he had first squatted 
 on his heels or sat cross-legged on the ground 
 with other little lads as they gathered around
 
 THE ONLY ONE 205 
 
 their teacher, listening as he read or talked to 
 them. They had no books to study from, but 
 had to learn by heart and be able to repeat 
 exactly what the teacher taught them. They 
 had to pay close attention and make good use 
 of their ears, you see. Every child in Israel 
 knew that Jehovah was unchangeable. That 
 is why they could always trust in Him. Moses 
 had told them what Jehovah's laws were. All 
 they had to do was to obey them. Jehovah 
 was very different from Baal, whose will might 
 be one thing one day and something quite 
 different the next. 
 
 "That made it easy for Israel," you say. 
 "If they knew what to do to keep out of trouble, 
 of course they never had any." 
 
 Wait before you say that. They did just 
 as many people do to-day walked right into 
 the trouble they knew how to avoid, and this 
 was why Elijah was angry with them. But he 
 was severe. Evil never tempted him and he 
 could not understand why it should tempt 
 others. If he had loved the people a little 
 more perhaps he would have understood them 
 better. You remember the New Testament
 
 206 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 says, "He that hateth his brother is in the 
 darkness . . . and knoweth not whither he 
 goeth, because the darkness hath blinded his 
 eyes." So our poor, fearless, upright Elijah, 
 trying earnestly to lead his people back to 
 the worship of Jehovah, used very harsh meas- 
 ures with them, and then as now harsh 
 measures failed. 
 
 Elijah said to King Ahab, "As Jehovah, 
 the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, 
 there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but 
 according to my word." And he knew when he 
 said that what suffering it would bring to Israel 
 it meant famine. How different are the words 
 of Jesus, who says of God, "He maketh his sun 
 to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth 
 rain on the just and the unjust." Elijah 
 thought he was doing right; he believed that it 
 was no more than these people deserved, to 
 starve and die if they would not serve God. 
 You girls and boys who have been taught that 
 even the wild animals are much more easily 
 tamed when treated kindly, will wonder that 
 Elijah did not know better than to act as 
 he did. "Why," you will say, "couldn't he
 
 THE ONLY ONE 207 
 
 see he was only making the people more angry 
 and more afraid?" 
 
 Stop and think again for a moment. Did 
 you never say, when someone insisted on doing 
 something wrong or foolish, " Let him go; serves 
 him right; I don't care if he does get hurt." 
 
 Elijah, courageous himself, despised the weak- 
 ness and timidity of Ahab. He forgot that 
 being honest and doing the best that he knew 
 how to do were what had made him fearless, 
 while Ahab, selfish, cruel, and dishonest, always 
 had something to run away from and of course 
 was always afraid. Elijah never allowed him- 
 self to be influenced by evil things or evil 
 persons. He could not understand how anyone, 
 especially a king, could be like a piece of putty, 
 made into any shape that is, made to do any 
 evil thing suggested by some one else. Elijah 
 forgot that he trusted in the God of Israel, who 
 was his strength, but that Ahab, following the 
 cruel Baal, could not be strong because he had 
 nothing to lean on. But Elijah did not see this, 
 and so he was harsh. 
 
 For three years and a half no rain fell. 
 The people, the crops, and the cattle suffered
 
 2o8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 dreadfully, and Ahab began to fear that even 
 the horses and mules would die. Suddenly 
 Elijah appeared before him, saying that the king 
 and the people had forsaken Jehovah and thrown 
 down His altars. He knew that in times of 
 trouble people usually turned toward God, so 
 he came now and asked the Israelites if they 
 were ready to rebuild Jehovah's altars. I 
 think they must have hesitated, for he said, 
 "How long go ye limping between the two sides? 
 if Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then 
 follow him." The people did not answer him. 
 How could they? Jehovah and his kindness 
 they had forgotten, and of Baal they were afraid. 
 
 I shall give these people a chance, thought 
 Elijah. The four hundred and fifty prophets 
 of Baal may build an altar on Mount Carmel, 
 and I will build one, for "I, even I only, am 
 left" a prophet of Jehovah. 
 
 The Israelites and the prophets of Baal were 
 soon building their altars and getting the sacri- 
 fice a bullock ready. Have you ever seen 
 an Indian war dance? If you have, you can 
 form some idea of how Baal's prophets danced 
 and shrieked and cut themselves with sharp
 
 THE ONLY ONE 209 
 
 stones and knives as they called upon Baal to 
 answer them. All day long these poor creatures 
 cried to their god and he did not answer. Elijah 
 made some taunting remarks to them about 
 their god's silence. I am sorry he did so, for 
 his words did not help anyone. He seemed 
 to be adding all the time to the hatred he was 
 trying to cure. 
 
 Elijah had made a bargain with Israel and 
 the prophets of Baal. His bargain was that 
 the god who answered by fire and consumed the 
 sacrifice was to be acknowledged the true God. 
 
 When evening came, and the tall rocks were 
 casting long shadows on the ground, Baal's 
 prophets were worn out with their useless scream- 
 ing and calling upon him. Elijah then stepped 
 to the altar he had built with twelve stones, 
 each stone meaning one of the twelve tribes of 
 Israel, and ordered that it be drenched with 
 water. Is he crazy, they thought. Is it possi- 
 ble he expects to be answered with fire? Why, 
 that altar as well as every bit of wood on it is 
 dripping wet! But Elijah was wiser than all of 
 them, and understood invisible forces that these 
 weak and ignorant people never dreamed of.
 
 210 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 He called upon Jehovah, and the fire fell and 
 "licked up," as the Bible tells us, the wood, the 
 bullock, the stones, and even the dust around 
 the altar. The people were now thoroughly 
 frightened, for we are told that "when all the 
 people saw it, they fell on their faces; and 
 they said, 'Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is 
 God."' 
 
 But hardly had they gone dowft the moun- 
 tain side before they were again worshiping Baal. 
 They had answered in fear, and nothing done in 
 fear lasts. It is love that is the fulfilling of the 
 law, and this Elijah had yet to learn. 
 
 Elijah in his zeal had forgotten the command- 
 ment, "Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah 
 thy God in vain," and had made his people and 
 the heathen priests see God as a destroying 
 power that same God of whom David had 
 sung in his songs as being full of mercy and 
 loving-kindness. Of course God could not be 
 both a God of love and a God of vengeance ; this 
 also Elijah learned when he was alone on Mount 
 Horeb. Even the poor, ignorant prophets of 
 Baal, after he had conquered them, he took 
 down to the brook Kishon and slew. Very
 
 THE ONLY ONE 211 
 
 different, was it not, from the way Elisha 
 treated the Syrian host he made captive? 
 
 Jezebel, the wicked queen and wife of Ahab, 
 as soon as she learned of Elijah's victory, sent 
 a messenger telling him that just as he had 
 treated Baal's prophets so should she treat him. 
 
 He was greatly discouraged. Why, he 
 thought, when I have shown my people that 
 Jehovah is stronger than Baal, and my prayers 
 have given them the needed rain, do they now 
 seek my life? 
 
 In order to escape Jezebel's anger he traveled 
 forty days' journey to "Horeb the mount of 
 God," and lodged there in a cave. He knew 
 there must be something wrong for he was not 
 getting good results. In order to save his people 
 and to serve Jehovah he had endangered his 
 life. Instead of feeling grateful the people evi- 
 dently were more than ever afraid of him, and 
 thought with Jezebel that he was an enemy 
 instead of a friend of Israel. 
 
 What was the reason? Elijah began to 
 think the fault might not all have been Israel's. 
 Perhaps he had not done exactly right himself. 
 He was so sincere in his love for Jehovah that he
 
 2i2 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 was ready to acknowledge his own mistakes. 
 Besides, there was something encouraging in 
 the fact that no one, not even Jezebel, could 
 prevent him from correcting his own faults. 
 
 Safe from the hatred of the queen, and rested 
 from his journey, he heard God's voice asking 
 him, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" And 
 very bitterly he replied, "I have been very 
 jealous for Jehovah, the God of hosts; for the 
 children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, 
 thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets 
 with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; 
 and they seek my life, to take it away." 
 
 He was told to hide no longer in the cave, 
 but to go out and stand ' ' upon the mount before 
 Jehovah." Then there came a violent wind, 
 crushing the rocks and tearing the mountains; 
 and after that an earthquake that destroyed 
 even more than the wind, and finally a fire that 
 devoured all in its path. But Elijah did not 
 see God in any of these things wind, earth- 
 quake, fire and yet he had expected other 
 people to see God in violence ! 
 
 Then what do you think he did ? He covered 
 his face. Why? Because there came to him
 
 THE ONLY ONE 213 
 
 "a still small voice," and God was in this 
 quietness. 
 
 Do you not recall some time when the fall 
 of a leaf, or the rattle of a shutter, or even your 
 own thoughts made you uneasy, because in the 
 stillness you remembered mistakes you had 
 made or a wrong you had done? It is at such 
 times that the ''still small voice" sounds louder 
 than any noisy faultfinding ever does. 
 
 Elijah was fast learning, when he sat down 
 to think, that if he could hear God better in 
 quietness, other people also could hear him 
 better. What had he done? He had been 
 harsh and unmerciful. Now he knew this was 
 not the way to serve God. He had made the 
 people fear more instead of less, and had killed 
 the helpless prophets of Baal. 
 
 Again the voice came to him, saying, "What 
 doest thou here, Elijah?" And again Elijah 
 made the same reply, that Israel had broken 
 down Jehovah's altars and that he was the only 
 one left who trusted in Jehovah. 
 
 Poor Elijah ! Like discouraged people to-day 
 who think they are the only ones interested in 
 a good work, and if it were not for them the
 
 214 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 work could not go on, he felt that it was too hard 
 for him alone. Imagine his surprise when the 
 voice told him that there were yet seven 
 thousand in Israel who had not followed Baal 
 and were still worshiping Jehovah. Where had 
 his eyes been that he had not seen these seven 
 thousand still faithful to Jehovah? Perhaps 
 each one of them, as well as Elijah, was thinking 
 that only he was faithful to Jehovah's law and 
 performing God's work as it should be done. 
 
 Elijah's eyes were where every discouraged 
 person's eyes are, on himself with a good deal 
 of self-pity. But he was beginning to see how 
 alike all people are, and how even the most 
 earnest and sincere can make serious mistakes. 
 This made him more kindly and able to see why 
 other people acted as they did. Light was com- 
 ing to him the light that one of the apostles 
 of Jesus said if men would walk in, they should 
 have "fellowship one with another." 
 
 This fellowship Elijah was beginning to feel 
 when the voice told him that not only were 
 there others in Israel beside himself who wor- 
 shiped Jehovah, but that there was also a 
 prophet ready to take his place. Comforted and
 
 THE ONLY ONE 215 
 
 strengthened, he came down from the mount 
 and anointed Elisha, whom he had been told to 
 anoint "to be prophet in thy room." 
 
 In the succeeding years, while these two 
 worked together, I am sure that Elijah often 
 told the younger prophet what he had learned 
 that night alone on Horeb, for Elisha was sel- 
 dom stern or harsh, but instead was gentle and 
 kind. Elijah wanted his people to understand 
 that Jehovah punished evil; Elisha was busy 
 showing them that God rewarded good. 
 
 Earthquake, fire, whirlwind, fiery chariots, 
 fierce rebukes, and awful vengeance surrounded 
 Elijah. He was righteous, moral, true, and 
 fearless, but he had to learn "the one thing 
 needful" that the God who is love can be 
 served only by loving.
 
 WHAT HAVE YOU IN 
 THE HOUSE? 
 
 THE POT OF OIL 
 
 She was very poor, and worse still, she was 
 in debt. All she had was her two sons, and her 
 creditor had told her that unless she paid her 
 debts he would take her boys away from her and 
 make bondmen of them. But she had nothing. 
 What should she do in order to pay the money 
 to her creditor and save her sons? Like all 
 mothers, she did not want to lose her children. 
 It was hard, bitterly hard, to have them leave 
 her; but, what would make it worse, they were 
 going away as bondmen and probably would 
 not be treated kindly and would be unhappy. 
 
 The poor mother was a Hebrew, and the 
 laws of her country forbade one Hebrew making 
 a bondservant of another. So if her creditor 
 were a Hebrew he would be acting against the 
 laws of his country in making bondservants of 
 her sons, and she knew that people who break 
 laws of kindness such as this law was intended 
 to be were not likely to be careful of their 
 
 216
 
 WHAT HAVE YOU IN THE HOUSE? 217 
 
 bondmen. If her creditor were a rich foreigner, 
 who knew nothing of Israel or of Israel's laws, the 
 boys might not only be neglected or abused, but 
 they would be taught to worship idols of wood or 
 clay as gods, and never be taught the power of 
 Jehovah, the God of Israel. She was a widow. 
 Her husband had been a student, perhaps a 
 teacher in one of the schools of the prophets. 
 He had loved Jehovah and had lived in such a 
 manner that the people respected and had con- 
 fidence in him. What a pity that two boys 
 brought up as his sons had been, should be sold 
 for debt and really made slaves ! 
 
 Would you like to know what these schools of 
 the prophets were, and what it meant to be one 
 of the "sons of the prophets"? If you have 
 read the story of Samuel, you know he became 
 a great prophet and founded schools where chil- 
 dren could be taught about Jehovah and His 
 laws. These schools were something like our 
 theological seminaries where pupils study for 
 the ministry. The word "son" in Hebrew 
 meant any kind of relationship or likeness. 
 For instance, "a son of Belial" was not a son 
 of a person so named, but meant a worthless,
 
 2i8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 good-for-nothing fellow, as "Belial" means 
 uselessness, worthlessness. So a "son" of the 
 prophets was a member of the school or order 
 of the prophets, as your father, perhaps, is a 
 member of a masonic order. 
 
 This sad mother about to lose her two chil- 
 dren and wondering what she could do to save 
 them, finally thought of Elisha, the prophet. 
 She had been taught the sacred books of the 
 law, for girls as well as boys learned Israel's 
 history, and how Jehovah had always cared for 
 His people. She remembered a song that King 
 David used to sing and that he had set to music 
 so that it could be sung by the temple choruses. 
 It was such a comforting song, and often at 
 night she with her husband and the boys had 
 used it for their evening prayer. One of the 
 verses kept coming over and over again into her 
 mind, "Who will show us any good?" until 
 she thought, Jehovah is our God and Elisha is 
 His prophet; Elisha knew my husband and he 
 will show me if there is any good. 
 
 The two boys also were very anxious. They 
 were not afraid of the work they would have to 
 do as bondmen, for every Jewish boy was taught
 
 WHAT HAVE YOU IN THE HOUSE? 219 
 
 to work so that he could care for himself and 
 help his parents if they needed it. No, it was 
 not the work ; but they were free born, and slav- 
 ery was hateful to every son and daughter of 
 Israel. Besides, their mother needed them, and 
 they knew their father had expected them always 
 to care for her. Sold for debt and taken from 
 her, how could they be any help to her? 
 
 It was a sorrowful supper mother and sons 
 ate together that last evening. Big boys as 
 they were, when they rose to repeat the psalm 
 of David for their evening prayer, they could 
 not be blamed if their voices choked as they 
 uttered the words, "Many there are that say, 
 who will show us any good?" But a tired, 
 healthy boy falls asleep easily, and these two 
 lads speedily forgot their dread of to-morrow. 
 
 With the mother it was different. She was 
 determined she would not lose her children. 
 Elisha was not far away, and there was a whole 
 night between to-day and to-morrow. Perhaps 
 in that time something could be done to save 
 her boys. She left them sleeping and hurried 
 to Elisha, who always was kind and usually 
 found ways of helping people who called upon
 
 220 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 him. Elisha listened. He was a busy man, 
 but it was God's business, not his own, that 
 he was interested in, and he knew that God's 
 business was helping people, especially the 
 " widow and the fatherless." 
 
 "What shall I do for thee?" had been the 
 cheery greeting of Elisha to her, and as soon 
 as she had finished her story he asked her, 
 "What hast thou in the house?" 
 
 Some of you boys and girls are thinking that 
 a very foolish question to ask when the widow 
 had just told him she had nothing. But Elisha 
 had not sympathized with and helped people 
 for years without learning the best way to help 
 them. He knew this mother had made herself 
 so miserable for fear she would have to part with 
 her two sons that she could think of nothing 
 else ; that probably in her grief she had forgotten 
 she had some things which she could use to 
 relieve her trouble. 
 
 She must have something. The widow of 
 one of "the sons of the prophets," and one who 
 was as highly esteemed as her husband had been, 
 surely could not have left his family without 
 anything. Elisha was the best kind of a friend,
 
 WHAT HAVE YOU IN THE HOUSE? 221 
 
 for he knew the only good way to help others 
 was to show them how to help themselves. So 
 instead of saying, "What can I give you?" he 
 said, "What hast thou in the house?" 
 
 Her heart must have grown lighter as she 
 told her story, and she was able to remember 
 one good thing she had in her house, for she 
 answered Elisha's question with the words, 
 "Thy handmaid hath not anything in the 
 house, save a pot of oil." 
 
 Just think of it, nothing but oil and an abun- 
 dance of it! Oil was not only a necessity but 
 one of the greatest luxuries of her country and 
 of the people around her. 
 
 "She had only a pot of it," you may say, 
 "and that is not much." 
 
 Yes, but the word translated "pot" means 
 in the Hebrew a great many sizes of dishes for 
 liquids. It may mean a cask, a keg, a barrel, 
 or even a vat. We know that the widow must 
 have had a large quantity or Elisha would not 
 have given her the advice which he did. 
 
 Oil had many uses among these oriental 
 people of whom the Hebrews were a part. They 
 cooked with it; they used it for their bath and
 
 222 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 toilet. It was used for medicine and at funer- 
 als, in their religious services and daily sacrifices. 
 Kings, priests, prophets, were anointed with 
 it. Even in war it served a purpose, as leather 
 and metal shields were rubbed and polished with 
 it, and wounds and bruises were washed in it. 
 Hosts anointed with oil the heads of guests who 
 were especially honored. On hot days people 
 rubbed themselves with it to make them cool, 
 and, if they were cold, an oil rub made them 
 warm. 
 
 Above all, the people needed it for light. 
 In those days after the sun went down, no oil 
 meant no light. As you can see, oil was used 
 for so many different things that one was very 
 fortunate to have plenty of it. So our poor 
 widow all this time was rich and did not know 
 it. And this was the good thing that Elisha 
 showed her. 
 
 You say she was foclish not to have thought 
 of it herself? Perhaps she had remembered it 
 but did not know how to use it, or if she did 
 know how, perhaps she was afraid to do so, and 
 it needed Elisha' s kindly encouragement to set 
 her to work.
 
 WHAT HAVE YOU IN THE HOUSE? 223 
 
 Haven't we all "a pot of oil" that we might 
 use if we worked as hard looking for good as we 
 do looking for evil? This sad mother afraid of 
 losing her two boys is not the only one who for- 
 gets his "pot of oil." 
 
 Fortunately there are people who see their 
 "pot of oil" and use it Abraham Lincoln, for 
 instance, who loved to study but could not 
 afford to buy books. Some forty miles from his 
 home lived a person who owned the book he 
 needed, and he walked eighty miles to borrow 
 it all the way to the man's house and back. 
 I have no doubt he gave thanks that he was able 
 to go for the book. Walking was his "pot of 
 oil," and he used it. 
 
 Michael Angelo longed for greater oppor- 
 tunities to study art, and was much encouraged 
 because he had a "pot of oil " which he could use. 
 
 "What was the 'pot of oil'?" you ask. 
 
 He carried mortar up long ladders in order 
 to watch the frescoers and learn some of their 
 ideas. 
 
 A girl wished to study music, but had no 
 money and no piano. Was she discouraged? 
 Not a bit of it. Her "pot of oil" was working
 
 224 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 short hours in a department store and taking 
 lessons and practicing at night, and now she 
 teaches in a large musical conservatory. 
 
 You ask me, ' ' When the widow remembered 
 her oil, how did Elisha tell her to use it?" 
 
 He told her to borrow vessels and kettles 
 from her neighbors and to borrow plenty of 
 them not to be satisfied with only a few. She 
 had enough oil for many bowls or flagons, and he 
 wanted her to keep thinking of the dishes that 
 were to be filled from her cask, instead of look- 
 ing all the time at the barrel, wondering how 
 long the oil was going to last and worrying for 
 fear she might not have enough. 
 
 All the borrowed jars were to be filled; not 
 one was to be left empty. For Elisha had said, 
 "And thou shalt go in, and shut the door upon 
 thee and upon thy sons, and pour out into all 
 those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that 
 which is full." 
 
 A glad-hearted mother hurried home from 
 Elisha and told the two boys the prophet had 
 shown her how they could help themselves out 
 of their trouble. As soon as she could get the 
 oil ready for the people they would want to buy
 
 WHAT HAVE YOU IN THE HOUSE? 225 
 
 it, and probably what her good friend Elisha 
 would advise her to do was to sell it. 
 
 Two happy lads went out among the neigh- 
 bors and borrowed vases, jars, bottles any- 
 thing that would hold oil. Then, shutting the 
 door so they would not be disturbed, the mother 
 and the boys began to pour their oil into the 
 borrowed dishes. How they must have hur- 
 ried, and watched, as jar after jar was filled and 
 set aside. Not a drop of the precious oil must 
 be lost that oil which the widow only a few 
 hours before had called "nothing." 
 
 She was so busy and interested in her work, 
 constantly calling for more dishes, that when 
 one of her sons told her all were filled and there 
 was still plenty of oil left in her cask, she was 
 much astonished. 
 
 Back she went to Elisha. She had used her 
 oil and had plenty left. What would he tell 
 her to do with the oil? Sell it, of course. She 
 did not need it all, and her neighbors did need 
 all that she could spare. 
 
 By this time some of you have guessed what 
 Elisha meant when he told her to borrow 
 empty vessels of her neighbors and to sell them
 
 226 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 the oil. Look at people and see what they need. 
 You may have what will fill those needs. The 
 empty vessels are our neighbors' needs, and our 
 oil is whatever we have that will fill them. 
 
 "Go, " said Elisha, "sell the oil, and pay thy 
 debt, and live thou and thy sons of the rest." 
 
 When home again, she and her sons must 
 have set the dishes filled with the oil where the 
 creditor could see them the very first thing when 
 he came to carry the boys away to be bondmen. 
 The creditor knew the value of oil, and when he 
 looked at the rich display belonging to the 
 widow he would know that her debt would soon 
 be paid and he need not disturb either her or her 
 children further. 
 
 The next night when they repeated again 
 David's hymn for their evening prayer, they 
 must have added the words of another of his 
 songs : 
 
 "Thou preparest a table before me 
 in the presence of mine enemies : 
 
 Thou hast anointed my head with 
 oil; 
 
 My cup runneth over."
 
 WHY THE WATERS OF 
 JORDAN ? 
 
 HEALING OF NAAMAN THE LEPER 
 
 She was a lonely little girl as she stood in the 
 garden in Damascus. Fruits and flowers were 
 all about her in abundance, the house was beau- 
 tiful, the people kind, but her young face was 
 sad. The juicy apricot in her hand was untasted 
 as she threw it from her toward some little birds 
 hungrily eying the heavily loaded fruit trees. 
 Two great tears ran down her cheeks, and then 
 a burst of sobs told all who heard that her heart 
 was aching with homesickness. A woman came 
 toward her and gently patted her on the shoulder, 
 saying, "Esther, why do you always come to 
 the south side of the garden when it makes you 
 so sad?" 
 
 "Over there in the south is my home," 
 replied the child. "There are my mother and 
 father, my brothers and sisters." 
 
 Poor child! She was a little captive maid 
 stolen from her home in Israel by a band of 
 Syrians and brought by them to wait upon the 
 
 227
 
 228 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 wife of Naaman, the great captain of Syria's 
 army. Both her master and mistress were kind. 
 In their home Esther had more comforts than 
 she had ever enjoyed in Israel, but it was not 
 home, and that makes the greatest difference 
 to all of us. 
 
 Her mistress also had been sad that day 
 because not all the wealth and honor Naaman 
 had received from the Syrian king, not all the 
 victories he had won, had been able to make 
 either him or his wife happy. 
 
 "How can people who have everything be 
 miserable?" you ask. 
 
 Easily. Persons who have the most are 
 often unable to use what they have. A tour- 
 ing car without gasoline would n't give you any 
 pleasure. Just owning it and seeing it stand in 
 a garage would at last grow tiresome, would 
 it not? 
 
 So it was with Naaman. All he had could 
 not give him pleasure. He was envied by no 
 one, his wealth and honor no one coveted 
 because he suffered with a loathsome disease, 
 leprosy. Why, the poorest beggar in the streets 
 would not have changed places with him!
 
 WHY THE WATERS OF JORDAN? 229 
 
 The little girl in the garden saw the grief in 
 the face of her mistress and knew the reason, 
 for she again turned her face southward, but 
 this time with a smile, saying, "Would that 
 my lord were with the prophet that is in 
 Samaria! then would he recover him of his 
 leprosy." 
 
 A wise and loving wish, little maid. You 
 desire the good of those who hold you captive, 
 and because of it God will bless both them and 
 you. 
 
 As soon as Naaman heard that he could be 
 healed he made ready at once to start on a jour- 
 ney to the land of Israel. The king of Syria 
 was as anxious as Naaman' s family that he 
 should be healed, for Naaman had been faith- 
 ful to every trust and served his king and coun- 
 try well so well that he had been called the 
 deliverer of Syria. No one in Syria knew any- 
 thing about prophets, but it was a superstition 
 among many of the people that to touch the 
 garment of a king frequently healed the sick. 
 So the king of Syria wrote a letter to the king 
 of Israel asking him to heal Naaman of his 
 leprosy. Then he loaded the camels and
 
 230 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 burden-bearers, chariots and horsemen, with 
 costly gifts for Israel's king. Silver and gold and 
 ten changes of raiment they were to carry with 
 them to the king who was supposed to be able 
 to cure leprosy. We may know how anxiously 
 the king of Syria desired Naaman's health 
 because the gold and silver he sent into Israel 
 with Naaman would be over thirty thousand 
 of our dollars. 
 
 Some of you girls and boys are laughing, and 
 I know why. You are thinking of the time Saul 
 and his servant wanted a favor of Samuel and 
 thought a quarter of a silver shekel was quite 
 enough to pay for it. Only eighteen cents, you 
 are thinking, was all that Saul valued a prophet 
 of his country. And here are these Syrian 
 strangers wanting a favor, not for themselves, 
 but for a loved commander of their army, freely 
 offering a great gift for it. 
 
 Soon Naaman and his company arrived at 
 the court of the king of Israel and delivered to 
 him the letter from the king of Syria. Was the 
 king of Israel's heart glad that this great man 
 had come to his kingdom for healing? Not at 
 all. Instead, he was badly frightened. He had
 
 WHY THE WATERS OF JORDAN? 231 
 
 forgotten all about Elisha, or perhaps he had 
 never heard of him. Odd, you say, that the 
 king should not know of so wonderful a prophet. 
 Perhaps it was because he was king that he did 
 not know. Kings are so interested in wars and 
 conquests that they do not think of such simple 
 things as mercy and healing. 
 
 When the king of Israel read the letter, he 
 cried, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, 
 that this man doth send unto me to recover a 
 man of his leprosy?" Not a member of his 
 court could answer him as they all stood dis- 
 mayed before their visitors. They cast fright- 
 ened glances at one another, and the king in his 
 grief rent his garments, declaring that this letter 
 from the king of Syria, was only meant to pro- 
 voke a quarrel with him. There they stood, 
 Naaman bitterly disappointed to think he had 
 been so foolish as to listen to the tales of a little 
 homesick maid, and the king of Israel ignorant 
 that any healing power was in his kingdom. 
 But when we most need help it always comes, 
 and so it did then, for a message came to the 
 king from Elisha, saying, "Wherefore hast 
 thou rent thy clothes? let him come now to me, 
 
 16
 
 232 QLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 and he shall know that there is a prophet in 
 Israel." 
 
 How relieved the king must have been as he 
 watched Naaman with his servants, his horses, 
 and chariots turn away and go toward Elisha's 
 house. Naaman was a great man. He had 
 won high military honors, and everywhere he 
 went he was received with much ceremony. I 
 have no doubt that people shouting and cheering 
 lined every street through which he passed, 
 while martial music sounded before and after 
 his chariots and horsemen on the march. Yet 
 when he came to Elisha's house all was quiet. 
 There was no one waiting to welcome him. 
 Only a messenger standing in the doorway met 
 the famous warrior. He was astonished. What 
 could this young and simple fellow do for him? 
 His journey to Israel, his royal gifts that he had 
 brought with him, were evidently nothing to the 
 prophet nor to his messenger. Why, he was 
 being received with no more honor than would 
 have been given the little maid had she stood 
 before Elisha's door! Perhaps Elisha was not 
 a respecter of persons. He may have thought 
 that a sick person, big or little, great or simple,
 
 WHY THE WATERS OF JORDAN? 233 
 
 only wanted to be healed, .and that was the one 
 thing to do for them. What was the glory of 
 a great name if one was suffering? Fame didn't 
 seem to heal one. So Elisha sent by his messen- 
 ger a simple message to Naaman. It was that 
 he should go to the Jordan and bathe seven times 
 in the river. 
 
 Why the waters of Jordan that muddy, 
 rushing stream? Are not the rivers of my coun- 
 try much better and clearer? thought Naaman. 
 And so he said to his men, "Are not Abanah 
 and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better 
 than all the waters of Israel?" 
 
 Imagine your feelings if you were told to 
 swim in a muddy stream so shallow in parts 
 that you could wade in it and that, too, when 
 nearer to your home was a deep pool of crystal 
 water. The Jordan was not important, but 
 the rivers of Damascus were, and moreover were 
 beautiful and full of refreshingly clear water. 
 If it was water he needed, surely, thought 
 Naaman, that of the rivers of Damascus would 
 be far better. 
 
 So Naaman "turned and went away in a 
 rage." His time had been wasted; his journey
 
 234 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 had been in vain. He might better have 
 stayed at home and not listened to the foolish 
 prattle of his captive maid. These must have 
 been his thoughts as with angry eyes and frown- 
 ing face he began the journey back to Syria. 
 But his officers loved him. He had dealt kindly 
 with them, and their hearts ached with his over 
 his disappointment. So some of them came to 
 him and said, "My father, if the prophet had 
 bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not 
 have done it? how much rather then, when he 
 saith to thee, Wash, and be clean?" 
 
 That was it exactly. He was angry, as we 
 all are, over what we think is too small a thing 
 for people of our importance to do. To be told 
 to bathe was shocking to a man familiar as he 
 was with the baths and water supply of his 
 home city. But Naaman wanted to be healed. 
 The foul leprosy was eating into his flesh, and 
 unless it was speedily cured he soon would be 
 an object of disgust even to those who loved 
 him best. Elisha's advice was at least worth 
 a trial, so, wise man that he was, he laid aside 
 his pride and listened to the words of his 
 servants.
 
 WHY THE WATERS OF JORDAN? 235 
 
 By the side of the Jordan the little band 
 halted all eager to see fulfilled the prophet's 
 promise: "Thy flesh shall come again to thee, 
 and thou shalt be clean." Seven times did he 
 go down under the waters, his attendants 
 breathlessly watching as he arose each time 
 to the surface. One two three four 
 five six, they counted, until, as Naaman 
 paused for the seventh plunge, they seemed 
 almost to touch him in their eagerness. He 
 disappeared, then rose and stepped out upon 
 the banks, his face radiant with thanksgiving, 
 for there stood before his soldiers their com- 
 mander sound and whole. Not a blemish was 
 upon his flesh; the leprosy was healed. 
 
 How fast he must have traveled home and 
 told the good news to his wife, and to his king 
 who had so kindly sent him to Israel! You 
 may be thinking so, and it is what many people 
 would have done. But not so Naaman and his 
 followers. He had received a blessing and was 
 thankful. The king of Israel had forgotten the 
 prophet in his midst, but not so this stranger. 
 Naaman felt that he would not dare face his 
 wife or his king, or even look into the honest
 
 236 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 eyes of the little maid, unless he had first thanked 
 Elisha and acknowledged Elisha's God, Jehovah. 
 When he again stood before Elisha's door, the 
 prophet himself came out to meet him. All his 
 vain pride Naaman had forgotten. No longer 
 did he think of himself as a great leader, but only 
 as a humble seeker after knowledge. He wished 
 to know more about the Power that had healed 
 him. So in thankfulness he said to Elisha, 
 "Behold now, I know that there is no God in all 
 
 the earth, but in Israel : for thy servant 
 
 will henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor 
 sacrifice unto other gods, but unto Jehovah." 
 But what should he do? He served the 
 king of Syria and must always go with him into 
 the temple of Rimmon. Would Jehovah be 
 angry and think he was not faithful? he asked 
 Elisha. And the prophet, the helper of all who 
 came to him, answered no. If in his heart he 
 really acknowledged Jehovah and his laws, 
 going into the temple of Rimmon would not 
 hurt him. Besides, while he served the king his 
 duty was to do what the king required of him. 
 If he could not be obedient to the king, the only 
 thing for him to do was to leave his service.
 
 WHY THE WATERS OF JORDAN? 237 
 
 And that is what I think Naaman did, for soon 
 after we read in the Bible that there was a new 
 captain of the Syrian host. Naaman then must 
 have learned what the greatest of all teachers 
 said many years afterward: "Ye cannot serve 
 two masters." 
 
 "What became of those rich gifts Naaman 
 brought with him?" you are asking. He must 
 have carried most of them back with him, for 
 Elisha refused to accept them. He had not 
 done the work; it was God who had healed this 
 believer in Him. Naaman's faith, and not 
 Elisha' s power, had worked this miracle. 
 
 Let us watch the happy band as they move 
 toward Syria. We are glad with them that all 
 the people in our story have worked together 
 for good, and that into no heart so far has crept 
 an unkind wish or evil purpose. Each person 
 in the story has been wishing to help another 
 and has sought, not his own, but the other's 
 good, and all have received the reward of peace. 
 
 But even the brightest day is followed by 
 night. So across the light and love of this Bible 
 tale there falls a shadow so deep that at first J 
 shrink from telling it to you.
 
 238 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Elisha, the prophet who lived to bless, into 
 whose heart came love for others, had a servant 
 whose heart was as black as Elisha' s thought 
 was pure. 
 
 "Why did he have such a servant?" you ask. 
 
 I will answer you by asking why did the 
 Christ have a Judas among his disciples? 
 
 We do not know why, but we do know 
 that Gehazi, Elisha's servant, thought only of 
 himself. In another's need he saw only a chance 
 to reap some advantage for himself. Into his 
 small, narrow soul had never come a thought 
 higher than that of greed. What could he get 
 for himself? was his way of thinking, never how 
 much could he give? 
 
 Gehazi stood watching as Elisha dismissed 
 Naaman after refusing any gift from him. You 
 could see his face lengthen and his eyes narrow 
 with disappointment. How his fingers clutched 
 at the doorpost as he thought of all that gold he 
 was not to handle! What, all that treasure 
 allowed to leave us? Gehazi thought. Not so; 
 I at least will get some benefit from the Syrian's 
 visit. The prophet had earned the reward, 
 thought Gehazi. Why should it not be shared
 
 WHY THE WATERS OF JORDAN? 239 
 
 with a faithful servant? The prophet did not 
 wish to claim a reward which he felt belonged, 
 not to himself, but to Jehovah. He wished 
 also to strengthen Naaman's growing faith in 
 Jehovah and wanted him to look to God only, 
 not to his prophet Elisha. Therefore he refused 
 the gift. Where had Gehazi's eyes and ears 
 been all these years that he had lived with 
 Elisha? Blind and deaf to everything but greed 
 and gold. 
 
 He followed after Naaman's chariot and told 
 him a falsehood, saying that Elisha had sent 
 him for money and garments for some poor sons 
 of the prophets who had just arrived at Elisha's 
 house. Generous Naaman gave him even more 
 than he had asked, and sent two of his own 
 servants back with Gehazi in order to carry 
 the load. But Gehazi dared not carry his spoil 
 into the house of Elisha, so he dismissed the 
 men after they had left the treasure at his own 
 house. 
 
 "And so he deceived Elisha?" you ask. 
 
 Oh, no. It is difficult to deceive anyone 
 whose spirit is sincere and truthful. Gehazi's 
 vision was clouded with selfishness and greed,
 
 240 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 while Elisha's was clear and keen, for Elisha's 
 heart spoke nothing to him or to others but 
 the truth. 
 
 When Gehazi came at Elisha's summons, he 
 was asked where he had been. "I have been 
 nowhere," was the reply. 
 
 "Went not my heart with thee, when the 
 man turned from his chariot to meet thee? Is 
 it a time to receive money, and to receive gar- 
 ments ?" said Elisha to him. Not even 
 
 could Gehazi' s fertility in falsehood enable him 
 to meet this charge, and so he stood speechless 
 before the prophet. Then Elisha added, "The 
 leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto 
 thee, and unto thy seed for ever." 
 
 You think that is unjust? Before you judge, 
 think for a moment. Remember that those 
 people of long ago often taught by symbolic 
 actions. Elisha did not mean to curse Gehazi. 
 It was the leprous soul eaten by selfishness and 
 greed, the desire to deceive and to defraud, 
 which should forever bear the leprous mark of 
 uncleanness. Leprosy was to those people the 
 scourge of God, and that soul defiled by evil 
 desires was a leprous soul. So upon Gehazi
 
 WHY THE WATERS OF JORDAN? 241 
 
 and upon all his kind the curse of God will fall. 
 Gehazi learned then what everyone has learned 
 since, that "it is never safe to do anything 
 against the truth."
 
 WHEN HEZEKIAH WENT 
 TO CHURCH 
 
 HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE 
 
 Not that it was unusual for Hezekiah to 
 go to church am I telling this story, but because 
 one time when he went into the temple such a 
 wonderful thing came to pass on account of 
 his visit that I feel you should hear about it 
 and enjoy it with me. Hezekiah was king of 
 Judah and was one of the three good and great 
 kings that were a blessing to the Hebrew 
 people. 
 
 Yes, Israel had more than three kings, many 
 more, but of all she had, only three left behind 
 them a good record and were faithful to the 
 laws of Jehovah. Perhaps you are thinking 
 Hezekiah went to church because he believed 
 it to be a duty or because his father com- 
 pelled him to go. Not a bit of it, and here is 
 where the surprise is for many of you. He 
 went because he loved to go. To have kept 
 him at home would have been hard work. His 
 father Ahaz had done everything he could to 
 
 242
 
 WHEN HEZEKIAH WENT TO CHURCH 243 
 
 destroy the worship of Jehovah and to defile His 
 temple. If you are wondering why Hezekiah 
 was so different from his father, I will tell you. 
 He had a good mother. 
 
 How do I know that? The Bible, to be sure, 
 says no more about Hezekiah 's mother than to 
 give her name, Abi, adding that her father was 
 Zechariah, who probably had some part in the 
 music of the temple and in its services. We 
 can be certain that Abi was a woman with a fine, 
 strong character, for you boys and girls who 
 love history and enjoy reading the lives of 
 great men must know, as I do, that every 
 good man who has become great has always 
 had a mother with force of character and 
 strength of mind. 
 
 Suppose we make another visit to Jerusalem. 
 You who watched with me beside the gates to 
 see the queen of Sheba when she entered the 
 city, and followed her into the presence of King 
 Solomon, will be much disappointed at what 
 you will find there when Hezekiah is king. The 
 gardens are no longer beautiful as they once 
 were. A plow seems to have been driven 
 through some of them and they are littered with
 
 2 44 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 arrows. You may possibly stumble over some 
 old chariot wheels buried deep in ruts of earth. 
 A sickly wind whines through gaunt trees often 
 bare of leaves, and even if they have leaves they 
 droop as though it were difficult to live. The 
 steep ascent is rough with scattered stones. The 
 city gates hang aslant on rotting hinges. Some 
 are not closed at all, although the sun has set 
 and it is time they were barred for the coming 
 night. The walls of the city have so many 
 gaps in them that we wonder why gates are 
 necessary, as one could easily slip through the 
 falling ruins so often battered and torn by 
 besieging armies. Now and then a loosened 
 stone drops from a shattered tower on the 
 walls with a crash into the valley below. 
 Altogether it is a dismal picture, not at all 
 like the glory and beauty of Solomon's time. 
 No, do not turn away and say we must have 
 made a mistake this is not Jerusalem, the 
 city of David. You are pointing to the many 
 altars on which a human sacrifice is smolder- 
 ing into ashes. The dying shrieks of a youth 
 being made to "pass through the fire" cause 
 you to shudder with horror. His father passes
 
 WHEN HEZEKIAH WENT TO CHURCH 245 
 
 us with blood-stained hands and with a smile on 
 his face, for has he not offered his first-born to 
 the fire-god, who will now forgive the father's 
 sin? As we enter the city and pass by the 
 closed doors of the temple, you look in astonish- 
 ment at the many revolting images of heathen 
 gods within its courts. Surely this cannot be 
 Jerusalem, you insist, for these things do not 
 belong to the worship of Jehovah. It is 
 Jerusalem. You remember I told you that of 
 all the kings of Israel and Judah only three 
 were faithful to their people and to their God, 
 Jehovah. 
 
 We know that every Hebrew law forbade 
 human sacrifice, and that a man causing his 
 children to "pass through the fire" was to be 
 stoned to death. Israel had good laws. 
 
 You ask, "Why did n't she keep them then?" 
 For the same reason that people in our time 
 do not keep the laws they know are righteous. 
 My story, as you see, is only about people, and 
 people then were the same as they are now, some 
 good, some evil, many lawbreakers, and many 
 wishing to see the law obeyed. No, the people 
 of those long-ago days were only human as we
 
 246 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 are. Watch them carefully and see. Isn't it 
 like a looking-glass across which, as time passes, 
 is reflected all human experience, yours and mine 
 as well? 
 
 But let us listen to the people of Jerusalem 
 as we walk through their streets. Do you see 
 them shake their heads in doubt as they wonder 
 what kind of king young Hezekiah will make? 
 Ahaz, his father, had overthrown the worship 
 of Jehovah and even put into the temple images 
 of the Asherim, idols of the neighboring heathen 
 kingdom. One old man is saying to his compan- 
 ion, "We need our streets repaired and the city 
 walls rebuilt where they have been torn down." 
 
 "Yes," replies his friend, "and our water 
 supply should be improved. And there is the 
 temple; it has been so abused by Ahaz and the 
 kings before him that it will need a thorough 
 cleansing before it will be fit for the worship of 
 Jehovah." 
 
 "Look at the watch towers on those walls! 
 They are a shame to Jerusalem," remarks a 
 third. 
 
 "There is no longer any hope for our once 
 royal city," observes a sad-faced man. The
 
 WHEN HEZEKIAH WENT TO CHURCH 247 
 
 hearts of Israel and Judah are so depraved with 
 serving false gods and indulging in foolish pleas- 
 ures that they no longer take any pride in 
 Jerusalem." 
 
 A man joins the group and smiles as one 
 after another respectfully greets him. There 
 is a light in his eyes that at once gives us courage. 
 He surely sees something that is good. He is 
 Isaiah, the prophet-statesman. 
 
 "You will have every desire satisfied," he 
 says to the men. "Hezekiah's heart is warm 
 with love for his country and his God. Be 
 patient, and help him in his efforts to redeem 
 Jerusalem and deliver her from her enemies." 
 
 "Had Jerusalem enemies in Hezekiah's 
 time?" you ask me. 
 
 The city and the Hebrew nation have always 
 had enemies. Even now as we are looking out 
 from her towers down on the peaceful valley 
 below, there is an army on its march intending 
 to capture her treasure and make her people 
 slaves. 
 
 You may be saying that Jehovah had made 
 a covenant with Israel and had promised to pro- 
 tect the people and the city from their enemies. 
 
 17
 
 248 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Yes, if they obeyed His laws, but not other- 
 wise. The closed doors of the temple, its 
 desecrated altars, the hideous idols within the 
 city and on every hilltop, show us only too well 
 that Judah and Israel have forsaken Jehovah, 
 and many of the people probably have never 
 known Him. 
 
 We enter the city the day Hezekiah is 
 crowned king. Let us visit his palace and watch 
 him as he stands talking with his counselor, 
 Isaiah, the prophet. As we silently conceal our- 
 selves behind the curtains of the doorway he and 
 Isaiah pass us. Outside they turn their faces 
 in the direction of the temple. With upraised 
 arms the young king declares that his first work 
 shall be the cleansing of Jehovah's house, and 
 the purifying of the Levites and the priesthood 
 so that they may be ready for all the temple 
 service. 
 
 And all these things he did, even destroying 
 the brazen serpent which Moses had set up in 
 the wilderness to heal the bite of the fiery ser- 
 pent. When the people objected to this destruc- 
 tion of an old idol and asked that they might 
 still be allowed to burn incense to it, he replied,
 
 WHEN HEZEKIAH WENT TO CHURCH 249 
 
 "It is nothing but a piece of brass and cannot 
 help you." 
 
 Every religious service Hezekiah reestab- 
 lished. The passover had been so long neglected 
 that the majority of the people had forgotten 
 the laws about it, and probably there were some 
 who had never heard of it. So the king sent 
 messengers with letters throughout all Judah, 
 Israel, Ephraim, and Manasseh, calling them 
 to Jerusalem to keep the passover. His letters 
 told the people that all the Hebrew country 
 was in danger from her enemies, that many of 
 her people already were in captivity, and that 
 captivity would be the fate of all unless they 
 returned to Jehovah and obeyed His law. 
 
 Yes, they listened. There were many who 
 ridiculed the king and probably wondered why 
 such intelligent persons as themselves, so full 
 of new and up-to-date ideas, should give atten- 
 tion to a worship and a God they had forgotten 
 years before. Can this stripling king teach us 
 anything? they inquired among themselves. 
 How their question was answered our story will 
 tell us. A few heard gladly the king's invita- 
 tion and quickly came to Jerusalem to keep the
 
 250 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 passover with him. There were only a few in 
 all, "the remnant," as the Bible calls the little 
 band always faithful to God. 
 
 But, small as the gathering was, it accom- 
 plished a mighty work. The temple was purged 
 of all uncleanness, every idol and image in the 
 Hebrew land was destroyed, every act of wor- 
 ship to a heathen god was abolished. The 
 priest and Levites again performed the temple 
 service of Jehovah, and they were given the 
 tithes that is, the tenth part of all the earn- 
 ings and treasures of the people. How did 
 this please the people? Scripture says they 
 gave so gladly and willingly that more was 
 given than could be used ; store-room had to be 
 found for the over supply. 
 
 Hezekiah selected and re-edited some of 
 Solomon's proverbs, and when you read them 
 you know his selection was exactly what a 
 man like the king would live by. What were 
 they? Proverbs, twenty-fifth chapter and on 
 through the twenty-ninth chapter. He altered 
 and improved the song service of the temple 
 and had music of different kinds used in the 
 worship.
 
 WHEN HEZEKIAH WENT TO CHURCH 251 
 
 He repaired the streets, rebuilt the walls, 
 strengthened the towers, built treasuries and 
 storehouses, gave the city a better water supply, 
 helped the farmers to increase their crops and 
 their cattle, and the workmen as well as the 
 farmers to increase their gains. Wealth and all 
 things in plenty were his, but not once did any 
 of his treasure cause him to forget Jehovah. 
 And it was for this reason that he was able to 
 make that memorable visit to the temple of 
 which our story tells. 
 
 "How long did it take Hezekiah to do all 
 these good works?" you ask. 
 
 For twenty-nine years he was king, and 
 every one of those years saw some good work 
 done by him. He did only one thing at a time 
 and did it thoroughly and quickly. As the 
 Bible says, he did everything with all his heart, 
 also adding that whatever he did with all his 
 heart was a success. 
 
 We have toiled up the steep slopes leading 
 to the city and have seen with sorrow the decay 
 into which it was rapidly falling. Then we 
 have turned away to leave it in the hands of its 
 young and noble king and the great prophet
 
 252 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Isaiah, certain that the fortunes of Zion during 
 their lifetime would be blessed. 
 
 Years after the evening when Hezekiah 
 declared that the cleansing of the temple should 
 be his first work, let us go back again and see 
 the changes that have come to Jerusalem. But 
 we cannot enter the city. An army is encamped 
 around it. Yes, it is the army of the conquering 
 Assyrian against whom no nation has been able 
 to prevail. Behind them they have always left 
 a trail of desolation and despair. 
 
 Will they take Jerusalem? Wait and see. 
 
 It was not the hour of prayer. Neither was 
 there sacrifice or service going on in the temple 
 when Hezekiah went through its courts and 
 pushed aside the curtains which hid the Holy 
 of Holies, for he stood before the ark of the 
 covenant, the sacred ark just above which the 
 people believed the presence of God dwelt. 
 
 "But we thought only the high priest, once 
 a year, on the day of Atonement, was allowed 
 to enter the most holy place," you say. 
 
 That was the old law and also the law 
 as it existed but was not heeded, in the day of 
 Hezekiah. This visit Hezekiah made, however,
 
 WHEN HEZEKIAH WENT TO CHURCH 253 
 
 was at a time of deep distress and great 
 danger. An army was hammering at the 
 gates of Jerusalem; a vicious letter from a 
 cruel king demanded that Hezekiah give the 
 city to the enemy. Hezekiah went into the 
 the temple to talk with God. Jehovah was to 
 him a real friend. He could not see, but he did 
 feel this Power, and knew that he stood in the 
 presence of One who had promised never to 
 leave nor to forsake those who really put their 
 whole trust in Him. He had been taught that 
 here within the Holy of Holies one could come 
 closest to Jehovah, and so in the hour of his 
 greatest need he stepped within it and asked 
 God to hear him. 
 
 "If an army was besieging Jerusalem, why 
 didn't he call out his soldiers?" you boys ask. 
 
 For the same reason that David refused to 
 wear Saul's armor when he went out to meet 
 Goliath. Both David and Hezekiah had great 
 faith in God and very little in armies and their 
 machinery. 
 
 The ark of the covenant which was really 
 an oblong box had above it, directly in the 
 center, a spot called the mercy-seat; over this
 
 254 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 seat were stretched out the wings of the cheru- 
 bim. You might have called them angels. To 
 the Israelites the Mercy-seat was 'where God 
 himself dwelt, and the wings of the cherubim 
 signified His sheltering care. Now we know 
 why Hezekiah disregarded the priestly law and 
 went to lay the letter before this seat. 
 
 Into the sacred place Hezekiah had carried 
 the letter and laid it before the Mercy-seat. It 
 was here he would ask and receive God's 
 mercy for his people. The letter was from 
 Sennacherib, saying, "Let not thy God in whom 
 thou trust est deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem 
 shall not be given into the hand of the king of 
 Assyria. Behold, thou hast heard what the 
 kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by 
 destroying them utterly; and shalt thou be 
 delivered?" 
 
 Rabshakeh, the messenger of Sennacherib, 
 king of Assyria, had insultingly talked with 
 Hezekiah's three officers his treasurer, his 
 secretary, and his historian. The haughty 
 Assyrian soldier kept talking to the men upon 
 the wall in the Jews' language, even though 
 Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah, the messengers of
 
 HEZEKIAH ASKING GOD'S MERCY FOR HIS PEOPLE
 
 WHEN HEZEKIAH WENT TO CHURCH 255 
 
 Hezekiah, had asked that he speak in Assyrian, 
 as they understood that language. Like all 
 other bullies, the Assyrian thought that courtesy 
 meant weakness, so he began to scoff at the 
 three men, blaspheme against Jehovah, and 
 speak with contempt of Hezekiah' s folly. By 
 his folly the Assyrian meant Hezekiah 's trust 
 in Jehovah. "You are being deceived by 
 Hezekiah," shouted the Assyrian commander; 
 "put your trust in my king and you shall 
 have mercy." Rabshakeh offered the listeners 
 upon the wall homes, property, and all things 
 in plenty if they would desert Hezekiah and 
 serve Sennacherib. 
 
 The men upon the wall made no answer. 
 The Assyrian general had not frightened them. 
 They "rested themselves upon the words of 
 Hezekiah king of Judah." What were those 
 words? 
 
 "Be strong and of good courage, be not 
 afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, 
 nor for all the multitude that is with him; for 
 there is a greater with us than with him: with 
 him is an arm of flesh; but with us is Jehovah 
 our God to help us, and to fight our battles."
 
 256 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 The king and the men of Judah knew well 
 what had been the fate of every nation that 
 had dared rebel against the despotic rule of 
 Sennacherib. Had they not been told of cap- 
 tives lying naked before that monarch in order 
 that they might be whipped to death? Starva- 
 tion, exile, imprisonment, and every punishment 
 that fiendish cruelty could suggest was employed 
 to torture any people who resisted the will of 
 Assyria's king. 
 
 It was in this hour that Hezekiah went into 
 the temple, carrying with him the fate of 
 Jerusalem and its people. He would prove 
 that the evil tongue of this heathen king could 
 not alter Jehovah's purpose to protect every 
 soul that called upon Him, and so he prayed: 
 
 "O Jehovah, the God of Israel, that sittest 
 above the cherubim, thou art the God, even 
 thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; 
 thou hast made heaven and earth. Incline 
 thine ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open thine 
 eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear the words 
 of Sennacherib, wherewith he hath sent him to 
 defy the living God. Of a truth, Jehovah, the 
 kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations
 
 WHEN HEZEKIAH WENT TO CHURCH 257 
 
 and their lands, and have cast their gods into 
 the fire; for they were no gods, but the work 
 of men's hands, wood and stone; therefore 
 they have destroyed them. Now therefore, 
 O Jehovah our God, save thou us, I beseech 
 thee, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of 
 the earth may know that thou Jehovah art 
 God alone." 
 
 When his prayer was ended, Hezekiah left 
 the temple and at the door met a messenger 
 from Isaiah. Through the mouth of the 
 prophet came Jehovah's answer, saying of 
 Sennacherib, "He shall not come unto this 
 city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall 
 he come before it with shield, nor cast up a 
 mound against it .... For I will defend 
 this city to save it, for mine own sake, and 
 for my servant David's sake." 
 
 That night Hezekiah's rest must have been 
 sweet. No troubled dreams of broken walls 
 and captive exiles disturbed his sleep. He and 
 his people were at rest. Not so the Assyrian 
 host outside the city, for from the wings of night 
 there had fallen a black pestilence upon the 
 besieging army. So great was the number of
 
 258 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 dead that lay in their midst they dared not 
 stay longer in the place. Without one blow at 
 the city they had come to capture, they turned 
 and went to their own land, and Hezekiah had 
 no further trouble with the Assyrians. 
 
 Do you ask me, "Was this an answer to his 
 prayer?" I will let you settle this question 
 for yourselves. But before I leave you let me 
 add that it is not wisdom to doubt something 
 one has never tried.
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 
 
 THE FALL OF JERUSALEM AND THE 
 FIERY FURNACE 
 
 Let us go up to-day to "The city of the 
 great king." 
 
 "Oh, this story isn't in the beginning 
 time," I hear some little girl say, "because 
 they didn't have kings then!" 
 
 No, the beginning time is past and a long, 
 long way behind us. 
 
 You remember little Benjamin and his 
 sister Sarah turning away from the promised 
 land and wondering as they walked why they 
 should go back again into the wilderness. 
 You remember, too, the promise made to 
 Jacob that he and his children's children 
 should inherit all of that beautiful country 
 in which he lay asleep and dreamed the dream 
 that made him a better man. 
 
 All these things had come to pass. For 
 Benjamin and Sarah entered into the promised 
 land with the great leader Joshua when they 
 had grown to be a man and woman and had 
 
 259
 
 2 6o OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 children of their own. Jacob's seed as his 
 descendants were called had spread "abroad 
 to the west, and to the east, and to the north, 
 and to the south," as God had promised, and 
 the beautiful land of Palestine belonged to 
 Israel. 
 
 In the time of our story the little folks 
 and the big folks were told stories about the 
 shepherd boy David who had fought with the 
 giant Goliath and saved his people. Their 
 prophets kept telling them not to forget Samuel 
 and his message to Eli. They were also to 
 remember the last words of Moses, which he 
 spoke just before he left Israel and the people 
 entered Canaan with Joshua. 
 
 What were the words of Moses? That 
 Canaan, the promised land, was theirs while 
 they obeyed God's laws, but that they would 
 lose it if they disobeyed. 
 
 Do you remember waking very early in 
 the morning and trying to make out what the 
 different objects were which you saw in the 
 gray mist of the early dawn? Then as you 
 stood by your window and watched the misty 
 gray gloom disappear, the trees and houses
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 261 
 
 began to stand out clearly, one by one. Little 
 red threads of color pierced the white clouds, 
 and then a church spire in the distance caught 
 the first sunbeam, and window after window 
 of the houses turned into flame as they reflected 
 the rays of the sun. All was quiet until a 
 cart rumbling over the pavement broke the 
 silence and you knew the milkman was com- 
 ing with your breakfast milk. You heard the 
 rooster in the yard next door tell his family 
 it was time to be up and stirring. The birds 
 began to chatter, and a robin flew to his mate 
 in the tree beside your window with a fine 
 fat worm for her and the babies. Soon Mother 
 called that breakfast was ready, and when it 
 was over you started off to school. 
 
 Let us think of the "beginning time" as 
 the gray dawn of the early morning when 
 things seem dim and nothing stands out very 
 clearly. 
 
 When this story opens, Israel's morning 
 time had passed and she had entered the 
 noontide of her history. 
 
 The people no longer kept sheep and 
 cattle and dwelt in tents. They had built
 
 262 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 cities and had fine houses and beautiful palaces; 
 had great kings and large armies with horses 
 and chariots. They were a nation old enough 
 to have had a history written about them. 
 Some of their people had been famous generals, 
 kings, poets, and statesmen. They had wealth, 
 and a temple so beautiful that even to the 
 present time there has never been anything 
 more magnificent. 
 
 "Before you go on with the story," I hear 
 some boy asking, "will you not tell us 
 why you say twice two is five? Even my 
 little sister in the kindergarten knows better 
 than that." 
 
 It does sound foolish, doesn't it? But 
 when we have finished our story you will know 
 that even some grown people don't know any 
 better. 
 
 Shall we climb up to the city or wait until 
 some boy comes by with his donkey and gives 
 us a ride through the gates? Before we do 
 either, let us stand here in the valley and look 
 upward. 
 
 "What steep rocks," you say, "and a deep 
 gorge around every side but one!"
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 263 
 
 Yes, and on top of those rocks is the city 
 with its great wall and strong towers. 
 
 "What is it," you ask, "that glitters so in 
 the sunshine?" 
 
 That is the wonderful golden temple of 
 Solomon, dazzling and sparkling as the sun 
 itself. 
 
 Suppose the roof of your church was made 
 of gold, and as you opened the golden doors 
 to go inside the church you stepped on a pol- 
 ished golden floor. Or perhaps, if the day was 
 warm and you had gone early to church, you 
 had waited in the porch for your friends, and 
 as you stood there you admired its golden 
 ceiling. Suppose the carving of the pillars was 
 also overlaid with gold, and looked like leaves 
 and flowers molded out of that precious metal. 
 Suppose your church windows had no glass in 
 them, but were lattice work, and around them 
 blazed and flashed costly jewels. Rich, heavy 
 curtains, wonderfully embroidered, divided the 
 rooms. There were golden candlesticks, and 
 everything you used inside your church was 
 made of gold, silver, ivory, and rare woods with 
 ornaments of precious stones. If your church 
 
 18
 
 264 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 were like this, it would be like Solomon's temple 
 in magnificence, but would not have its form. 
 
 The glory and pride of Zion was this temple. 
 And as we look from the valley, the temple 
 and the city and its walls seem to hang sus- 
 pended from the sky and merely touch the 
 great, jagged rocks upon which they stand; 
 or, as a Hebrew poet describes it in one of the 
 Psalms, 
 
 "Beautiful in elevation, the 
 joy of the whole earth, 
 
 Is mount Zion, . . . 
 
 The city of the great King. 
 
 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: 
 
 Number the towers thereof. 
 
 Mark ye well her bulwarks; 
 
 Consider her palaces : 
 
 That ye may tell it to the generation follow- 
 ing." 
 
 "How happy people must have been in such 
 a city!" you say. 
 
 They could have been, but they were not. 
 It is not always people who may be happy 
 that are so.
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 265 
 
 We must hurry up the steep ascent if we 
 mean to enter the city before dark. When 
 the sun sets, the gates will be closed and we 
 shall have to stay outside until morning. You 
 think you would like to be in the valley all 
 night, for the air is warm and the gardens 
 will be beautiful in the moonlight. They are 
 the king's gardens, laid out years ago when 
 David and Solomon lived. Yes, David had 
 wonderful gardens at the foot of the cliffs 
 outside the city. He of course loved flowers 
 and all the beautiful things of nature, and he 
 it was who said, 
 
 "The heavens declare the glory of God; 
 
 And the firmament showeth his handiwork. 
 
 Day unto day uttereth speech, 
 
 And night unto night showeth knowledge." 
 
 To-night we shall not wait. There are stirr- 
 ing scenes going on in the city, and we must be 
 there if we are to see them. Besides, put your 
 ear to the ground. Do you not hear that steady 
 tramp-tramp-tramp and the rumble as of a 
 heavy body dragged along the ground? 
 
 It is the army of the enemy coming to take 
 the city it is in danger. Let us get behind
 
 2 66 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 its strong walls before the soldiers encamp 
 around it. 
 
 Now that we are inside and the gates are 
 closed, we shall stand quietly aside in this dark 
 corner of one of the narrow streets and watch 
 what happens. 
 
 From one of those low, flat-roofed houses 
 there comes the cry of little children. They 
 want their mother, but she will not come, for 
 she and her husband and older sons ventured 
 too far outside the city gates yesterday and 
 were seized by the enemy and carried away 
 captive. 
 
 The lights are out in the great gray towers 
 upon the city walls. The huge battering-rams 
 of the Babylonian army will know where to 
 strike if a light is in those towers. 
 
 With his mantle drawn across his face, and 
 his shoulders drooping as if with weariness, a 
 man comes slowly along the street. He hears 
 the children's cry and enters the house. Soon 
 he comes out with a tiny girl wrapped in his 
 cloak and leading a little lad by the hand. 
 Poor little orphans, the kind prophet Jeremiah 
 will see that they have their supper.
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 267 
 
 A group of people meets them and turns 
 aside. In the faces of these people as they 
 pass the prophet are both hate and fear. Why? 
 
 Jeremiah has warned them that their city 
 is to be destroyed and that it is useless for them 
 to try to save it. He has told them that their 
 sins have cost them their city and their liberty. 
 
 The people of the city do not want to 
 stop sinning. Everybody sins, they think; 
 why shouldn't they? 
 
 Besides, they don't want their neighbors, 
 the other nations, to call them odd. If they 
 should stop worshiping idols, making their 
 children "pass through the fire," and other 
 awful practices, and instead should serve 
 Jehovah by doing justly and living righteously, 
 they would be an odd or peculiar people. 
 
 In the history of the Hebrew kings we read 
 of Jehovah speaking to the people and saying, 
 
 "Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep 
 my commandments .... They would not 
 hear, but hardened their neck, like to .... 
 their fathers, who believed not in Jehovah 
 their God. And they rejected his statutes, 
 and his covenant .... and they followed
 
 268 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 vanity, and became vain, and went after the 
 nations that were round about them, con- 
 cerning whom Jehovah had charged them that 
 they should not do like them. And they for- 
 sook all the commandments of Jehovah their 
 God. . . . Therefore Jehovah was very angry 
 with Israel, and removed them out of his sight." 
 
 The hour when Israel should be carried 
 away into captivity had come. The steady 
 tread of the great Babylonian army sent terror 
 to the people's hearts. They did not dare go to 
 Jeremiah for advice. He would only say, "Your 
 city is doomed." They had imprisoned him 
 many times, and once had tried to throw him 
 over the cliffs to the valley below; but nothing 
 seemed to hurt him, and his warnings only grew 
 the more severe. Besides, the army of which 
 they stood in fear was friendly to the prophet 
 perhaps the enemy respected his fearless honesty. 
 
 There were other prophets. Some of them 
 were now in the towers upon the walls watching 
 the army as it encircled the city. "Shall we 
 surrender?" the white-faced people asked these 
 smiling prophets. "Jeremiah says our sins have 
 been our ruin and that our foes will conquer."
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 269 
 
 "Everything is going to be well with you. 
 Don't listen to Jeremiah," we can almost hear 
 these advisers reply as they made ready to 
 flee if it should be necessary. 
 
 "As the mountains are round about 
 Jerusalem, 
 
 So Jehovah is round about his 
 
 people," 
 
 the Psalmist had said. But the people had 
 forgotten all about Jehovah, the God of Israel. 
 They had even lost the Book in which that 
 helpful promise had been made. All they could 
 see or think of now were the hills ' ' round about 
 Jerusalem" covered with soldiers encamping 
 there month after month, determined to starve 
 the city into surrendering. From forts on 
 those hills the enemy daily sent missiles of stone 
 into the doomed city. The people dared not 
 open the city gates. Their bones began to 
 pierce through their flesh, the weak and the 
 sick were dying, and each day the strong grew 
 more feeble from lack of food ; but they would 
 not yield. 
 
 It is night ; not a light is to be seen anywhere 
 except in the camp of the Babylonian army.
 
 270 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 The people of the city are asleep, trusting in 
 the strength of their city's massive walls. As 
 they sleep perhaps in their dreams they feel the 
 ground trembling, and for a moment visions 
 of tottering towers and falling walls disturb 
 their slumbers. 
 
 Sleep on, Jerusalem. That shock was a 
 break made in your wall by the enemy's 
 battering-rams. Already the soldiers are 
 quietly stealing along the black-stone pave- 
 ments of your streets and entering your holy 
 temple. Your king and his warriors have 
 quietly slipped out of one of your gates and 
 are fleeing to the distant hills. When you 
 open your eyes again to greet the morning 
 sun, it will be to look into the faces of your 
 conquerors. 
 
 The royal palace and the golden temple 
 were set on fire. The huge copper sea of 
 Solomon, standing in the court of the temple, 
 and the massive copper pillars or columns 
 supporting the roof of the temple porch, were 
 broken in pieces by the soldiers and carried 
 away, together with all the temple's silver and 
 gold and jewels.
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 271 
 
 Think of copper columns twenty-seven feet, 
 or more, high, and eighteen feet around, so 
 beautiful that Solomon gave them names just 
 as we give names to girls and boys. What 
 were the names he gave the columns? Jachin 
 and Boaz, which meant "strength" and "sta- 
 bility." Just the right names for pillars that 
 held up a heavy roof lined with gold, were they 
 not? 
 
 "What is a copper sea?" you ask. It was 
 really a gigantic bowl in which the priests 
 washed their hands and feet before they offered 
 sacrifice. Solomon had ordered one made so 
 large that it would hold ten thousand gallons 
 of water, and the people called it a sea. It 
 was made of copper and rested on the backs 
 of twelve great copper oxen. 
 
 The beautiful gardens were trodden down, 
 the city walls were reduced to rubbish, and 
 the forests outside the city were destroyed by 
 the Babylonians. The soldiers spared nothing 
 that they could ruin. The people, old men and 
 little children, young men and maidens, were 
 torn from their homes and separated from their 
 families, to be sent captives to the city of
 
 272 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Babylon. In the desolate city only the poorest 
 and feeblest of its people were left. 
 
 "What became of Jeremiah? Was he made 
 captive?" you ask. 
 
 No, both Nebuchadnezzar, the king of 
 Babylon, and Nebuzaradan, the commander 
 of his army, were friendly to the prophet. 
 Don't you remember what the wise man says 
 in Proverbs? "When a man's ways please 
 Jehovah, he maketh even his enemies to be at 
 peace with him." 
 
 Jeremiah had served Jehovah. The faith 
 of the prophet and his service had protected 
 him from the Babylonians. He was given 
 his liberty and was told that he might live 
 where he pleased, and Nebuchadnezzar warned 
 all his own people against doing harm to 
 him. 
 
 I asked you to go with me to ' ' The city of 
 the great king," and together we entered the 
 gates of Jerusalem and watched from our dark 
 corner as the city fell. 
 
 Now come with me to Babylon, where our 
 captives have been taken. We will stop in 
 front of Nebuchadnezzar's palace, enter, pass
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 273 
 
 through its halls, and lift that heavy curtain 
 which hides the room we wish to see. 
 
 Yes, there they are, three fine-looking youths ; 
 they belong to the "blood royal" of Jerusalem. 
 Nebuchadnezzar has had them trained in all 
 the "learning of the Chaldeans," who were his 
 people. The lads have been in Babylon three 
 years, and in their examinations have always 
 won the highest marks. They are in the 
 personal service of the king and already have 
 positions of authority. What are their names? 
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. 
 
 We are interrupted by shouts and cheers 
 from persons outside the palace. Crowds of 
 people are pushing toward an open square of 
 the city where stands a huge image of gold. 
 Let us follow them. There is a burst of music ; 
 the blare of the cornet and the shrill pipe of 
 the flute rise above it all. Why do all the 
 people go down upon their knees and hold up 
 their hands in worship to the golden idol as 
 they hear the cornet's call? 
 
 It is the king's command. All who do not 
 obey are to "be cast into the midst of a burn- 
 ing fiery furnace."
 
 274 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 You look around for our three lads from 
 Jerusalem, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, 
 and cannot find them. Let us go back to their 
 room and see if they are there. 
 
 Yes, but no longer studying or chatting 
 pleasantly with one another. Their faces are 
 very serious, but they are not sad or frightened. 
 A messenger from the king is with them. He 
 has said that because they had not worshiped 
 the golden image the king was angry, and that 
 they must come before him and give the reason 
 for their disobedience. 
 
 Let us follow them into the king's presence. 
 They bow before the furious king, then rise 
 and wait to hear him speak. The soldiers and 
 guards of the palace wonder why these lads 
 do not beg and cringe as persons who offend 
 the king usually do. The smiling courtiers 
 are waiting to hear Nebuchadnezzar condemn 
 these culprits to the punishment of fire. The 
 captive foreigners have been favored by the 
 king and have positions the courtiers covet. 
 
 What! Not afraid of me nor of my power, 
 thinks the king; and so he asks: "Who is that 
 God that shall deliver you out of my hands?"
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 275 
 
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego are 
 not looking at the cruel face of the king. They 
 are thinking of a song of David which they 
 had often sung in the temple at Jerusalem: 
 " . . . . O Jehovah! 
 
 .... Thou art my God. 
 
 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant." 
 
 Not the face of a vindictive king but the 
 face of Jehovah was what they saw. 
 
 Shall they kneel and ask favors of a help- 
 less block of wood or gold because a king 
 requires it a king who is himself helpless in 
 Jehovah's presence? 
 
 Our captive youths remember that they 
 and their people are in Babylon because they 
 had served idols instead of obeying the laws 
 of Jehovah, the invisible God, of whom no 
 image can be made. Also, had not Solomon 
 prayed when he dedicated his costly temple: 
 1 ' If thy people .... make supplication unto 
 thee in the land of them that carried them 
 captive, saying, ' We have sinned ' . . . . then 
 hear thou their prayer and their supplication 
 . . . and maintain their cause?"
 
 276 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Had not Jeremiah told them that doing 
 evil only makes more evil, and that it was 
 foolishness to do wrong and expect good to 
 result? Why, that was as foolish as saying 
 twice two is five! 
 
 "Is it of purpose," Nebuchadnezzar asks 
 them, "that ye serve not my god, nor worship 
 the golden image which I have set up?" 
 
 The three boys with one voice answer, 
 "O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to 
 answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our 
 God whom we serve is able to deliver us from 
 the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver 
 us out of thy hand, O king. But if not, be it 
 known unto thee, O king, that we will not 
 serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image 
 which thou hast set up." 
 
 "Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury 
 . . . . And he commanded certain mighty 
 men .... to cast them into the burning 
 fiery furnace." 
 
 The king is anxious to show his power, so 
 anxious that he does not give the men who 
 execute his orders time to protect themselves 
 against the awful heat. As they open the
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 277 
 
 top of the furnace and hurl in the brave lads, 
 bound hand and foot, the fiery tongues shoot 
 upward and burn to death the soldiers of the 
 king. 
 
 Watch the king from a safe distance as 
 he peers into the furnace. Its fiery breath 
 even from where he sits scorches his flesh. 
 But why does he start and gaze with wide- 
 open eyes into its depths? Hot as the flame 
 is, his face is whitening and he trembles with 
 terror. See ! His knees shake under him. His 
 voice is hoarse as, rising, he points to the door 
 of the great oven and says, "Did not we cast 
 three men bound into the midst of the fire?" 
 'True, O king," is the answer. 
 
 He leans heavily upon one of his soldiers. 
 The mighty monarch, the wave of whose hand 
 means life or death to his subjects, is weak as 
 a straw driven before the wind. He lifts his 
 head and listens as a song of triumph comes 
 from the furnace mouth: "They shall not be 
 confounded who put their trust in thee." 
 
 "I see four men loose, walking in the 
 midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and 
 the .... fourth is like a son of the gods,"
 
 278 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar replies to his questioning 
 soldiers. 
 
 He springs to the furnace mouth in spite of 
 the outstretched hands of his courtiers, who 
 fear he may be harmed by the flames which 
 like a red mountain tower above them. 
 
 "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye 
 servants of the Most High God, come forth, 
 and come hither," he entreats. 
 
 And they came forth, the king retreating 
 slowly from them as they approached him. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar is afraid as he asks him- 
 self the question, what mighty power is this 
 before whom his will is worth no more than 
 that of his most helpless slave? He thinks 
 that if this power be as cruel as himself, he has 
 need to tremble, for it may destroy him as 
 readily as it preserved the three lads. 
 
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego came 
 forth unharmed. "The fire had no power 
 upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their 
 head singed, neither were their " hosen" changed, 
 nor had the smell of fire passed on them." 
 
 It was but lately that the king's wrath had 
 condemned these youths to death because
 
 TWICE TWO IS FIVE 279 
 
 they had not obeyed his whims. All was 
 changed now. He knew nothing of mercy; 
 vengeance was the law of this heathen king. 
 His gods taught him nothing better, and in the 
 same way that he thought of his own gods, so 
 did he think of the God of the Hebrew captives. 
 He felt it was not best to anger the God who 
 could save as Jehovah had saved, and so he 
 spoke kindly to the lads, saying, "Blessed be 
 the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego!" 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar had often heard these lads 
 talking of God and had laughed at their faith. 
 Could any power equal his, the king's, he had 
 asked himself? He had been answered and 
 was silenced. 
 
 "How is it that you were not hurt?" he 
 asked the youths, and they replied, "Once a 
 king of our nation, David was his name, was 
 delivered from a great danger and afterward 
 thanked Jehovah, saying, 
 " ' The angel of Jehovah encampeth round about 
 
 them that fear him, 
 And delivereth them.' 
 
 "Of this we thought, O king, and 'the 
 angel of Jehovah came down into the oven 
 
 19
 
 2 8o OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 .... and made the midst of the furnace 
 as it had been a moist whistling wind." 
 
 "I make a decree," said Nebuchadnezzar, 
 "that every people, nation, and language which 
 speak anything amiss against the God of 
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be 
 cut in pieces .... because there is no 
 other god that is able to deliver after this sort." 
 Then the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and 
 Abed-nego high offices in the province of 
 Babylon. 
 
 Let us go again and stand in the empty 
 room from which our lads have gone. They 
 will not come back, for they are no longer cap- 
 tives. We will drop the curtain which hides 
 their door and slip quietly out of the palace 
 into the streets of the city. Hand in hand 
 we walk until we reach the city gates. But 
 before we go our separate ways will you tell 
 me, was it the boys or the king who said, 
 "Twice two is five?"
 
 AT THE KING'S TABLE 
 
 DANIEL AND THE KING'S OFFICER 
 
 It was night in Babylon. The soldiers 
 patrolling the walls had called the hour of mid- 
 night, and the watchmen in the towers had 
 answered, "All is well." Even a cock in the 
 distance had saluted this hour of darkness with 
 a lusty crow. It was the time to be at rest, but 
 Babylon, the queen city of Chaldea, knew not 
 quietness. Through her streets were reeling 
 boisterous revelers whose drunken shouts dis- 
 turbed a few citizens who preferred sleep to 
 midnight orgies. Babylon's armies again had 
 been victorious, and should she not celebrate 
 the homecoming of her soldiers with their 
 thousands of Hebrew captives? 
 
 Into the temple of their gods they had carried 
 the gold and silver vessels used in the worship 
 of Jehovah. Jerusalem had been stripped of 
 her beauty and her wealth, her walls destroyed, 
 her temple and every house of value burned. 
 The poor, the weak, and the sick had been 
 abandoned, left to starve and die amid the 
 desolate ruin of their city. But the youth of 
 
 281
 
 282 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Judah, her princes and nobles, those with 
 wealth and those skilled in science or in some 
 useful art, were brought to Babylon to serve 
 its king. 
 
 There were four of these captives who had 
 not been herded with the others. As the sen- 
 try's call told the midnight hour they sat 
 together in a room of Nebuchadnezzar's palace, 
 their heads almost touching as they repeated 
 among themselves the news the high chamber- 
 lain of the king had brought them when he 
 served their supper. 
 
 "We cannot do this thing," said Daniel, 
 "for it is dishonoring our God." Shadrach, 
 Meshach, and Abed-nego, his companions in 
 captivity, were silent. Daniel, two years older 
 than they, had always taken the lead. He was 
 a mere lad of about eighteen, to be sure, but as 
 the lads studied together in the schools of the 
 prophets at Jerusalem, he had always been 
 selected by his teachers to do every impor- 
 tant work. "We are here in Babylon because 
 Israel did not keep Jehovah's laws," continued 
 Daniel, "and although our prophets have said 
 our nation should return home after seventy
 
 AT THE KING'S TABLE 283 
 
 years, it will be because here we have obeyed 
 His precepts." 
 
 "But we are prisoners," replied his com- 
 panions, "and must do the will of our master." 
 
 Daniel's clear eyes looked fearlessly into 
 theirs. His parents and theirs had perished in 
 the ruins left behind them, but these parents 
 had belonged to the royal blood of Israel and had 
 taught these lads Jehovah's laws. Daniel did 
 not know what fear was; he trusted in his God 
 and knew that meant safety. When he had 
 knelt at prayer, his mother had told him, 1 
 "Human terror precipitates loss, but who trusts 
 in the Lord will be safe." It was not wise to 
 be afraid, he told his friends; that would only 
 make matters worse. The three younger lads, 
 in doubt, shook their heads. They did not 
 intend to yield to the king's wishes, but how 
 could they avoid doing so? 
 
 Daniel laughed cheerily. He never seemed 
 to be sad, as every good thing with him seemed 
 possible. Because of this he had many friends. 
 Even the king had admired the lad's spirit, and 
 the chamberlain and steward loved him. When 
 
 1 Ferrar Fenton
 
 284 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 people really please God they at the same time 
 please man. Many years before, had not 
 Solomon, the wise, said, "When a man's ways 
 please Jehovah, he maketh even his enemies to 
 be at peace with him?" 
 
 So Daniel this night encouraged his com- 
 panions and told them that when morning came 
 he would have a plan for them to act upon. 
 
 What was it the king required of them? 
 
 He admired their beauty, their wisdom, 
 and the courage they had shown. Not a com- 
 plaint had they uttered during the tedious march 
 from Jerusalem to Babylon, and, although the 
 officers on the way often had been cruel, not 
 once had any one of the lads cringed or begged 
 a favor. 
 
 Such spirit as that will serve me well, 
 thought Nebuchadnezzar, and I shall have 
 these lads instructed in all the learning of the 
 Chaldeans, so that after three years' training 
 they may take their places in my court. 
 
 A king's favorite, to sit at the king's table 
 that is, feed on his dainties could anything be 
 more fortunate? said the other prisoners not 
 so favored.
 
 AT THE KING'S TABLE 285 
 
 At the king's table, yes. What the others 
 enviously coveted, to Daniel and his three com- 
 panions was a sin. Could they avoid it? We 
 shall see. 
 
 Daniel was a determined youth. He, like 
 David, had a purpose and an aim and, like that 
 king of olden time, he meant to hit the mark at 
 which he aimed. 
 
 Did he do so? Let me answer by asking 
 you to look about you. Are the people who 
 shilly shally from one thing to another, who are 
 never quite sure of what they want to do, the 
 ones upon whom you can depend? Or is it the 
 persons with fixed purposes, who turn neither to 
 the right nor to the left but go straight forward 
 to their goal, in whom you have confidence? 
 In our day we call such people successful, but, 
 after all, it is only knowing one's own mind and 
 sticking to it. Nothing very peculiar about 
 that, is there, except that it is odd so few 
 people do it? 
 
 In the morning when the steward brought 
 them the rich food, the same as that served at 
 the royal table, Daniel and his three friends 
 refused to eat.
 
 286 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 "We are defiled if we eat it," said Daniel. 
 "Give us only water, and with it herbs and 
 grains." 
 
 To the steward this request sounded like 
 asking that they might be allowed to starve to 
 death, so he replied, "I shall forfeit my head if 
 you do not eat. Your pale faces and hollow 
 eyes will show that you are not fed or cared for." 
 
 "Give us ten days' trial," urged Daniel, 
 "and see if we do not at the end of that time 
 look as sound and in as good health as the other 
 lads for whom the king has appointed this rich 
 food." 
 
 The steward consented. He believed that 
 Daniel was wrong, but the youth had always 
 kept his word and had dealt kindly and justly 
 with everyone, so it could do no harm to humor 
 him in his request. The ten days over, the lads 
 would be glad to have some of the king's dain- 
 ties and to drink his wines. 
 
 Daniel's fellow captives, with the exception 
 of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, made 
 much fun of him. "Why not enjoy these rich 
 feasts?" they said to him. "Make as much of 
 this opportunity as you can; it will be hard
 
 DANIEL
 
 AT THE KING'S TABLE 287 
 
 enough for you when you begin to be in the 
 king's service," were their words. 
 
 " Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die," 
 was not the rule of Daniel's life nor of that of 
 his three friends. They understood why their 
 faces at the end of the ten days "appeared 
 fairer, and they were fatter in flesh." 
 
 You are thinking that you also know, and 
 if I should ask you to tell me, you would say, 
 "Man doth not live by bread only, but by 
 everything that proceedeth out of the mouth 
 of Jehovah doth man live." 
 
 Each day that they had eaten their simple 
 food the chamberlain and steward had looked 
 at them anxiously. Did the lads show signs of 
 weakness? Were they listless and dull in their 
 studies? Not a bit of it. Instead, they were 
 ahead in all their classes, and could study harder 
 and work longer without feeling tired than any 
 of the other boys. The king's officers were 
 astonished. They knew nothing of self-control ; 
 their gods taught them only self-indulgence. 
 
 When the ten days were over, the steward 
 with a beaming face gave them their breakfast 
 of pulse, or grains, and water. Now he was
 
 288 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 certain that Daniel's words to him were true, 
 and that it was safe never again to offer him and 
 the three other lads any of the king's dainties. 
 
 What had Daniel said to the steward? He 
 had told him that obeying Jehovah harmed no 
 one; that the heads of the officers would not be 
 imperiled by granting him his wish. Everyone 
 who did right was not cursed, but instead was 
 blessed. 
 
 The three years of training passed swiftly 
 
 by and the lads were now daily waiting to be 
 
 i 
 
 summoned to the king's presence. He would 
 examine them and try in every way to trip them 
 with hard questions. Many a lad returned 
 from that royal council-chamber trembling with 
 fright and with despair in his eyes because he 
 had not been accepted. To be refused meant 
 bitter slavery. 
 
 One night the curtain which shielded their 
 room from view was hastily drawn aside and a 
 harsh voice commanded, "The king desires 
 your presence. Be ready at once to meet him." 
 What royal caprice, what selfish whim was this 
 that at this late hour he summoned the youths 
 to him?
 
 AT THE KING'S TABLE 289 
 
 To be examined by the king, of course. The 
 envious among their fellow students said that, 
 taken by surprise as they were, they must surely 
 fail. 
 
 Daniel arose quietly and as quietly replied 
 to the messenger, "We are ready." Then the 
 four lads followed the page into the council- 
 chamber. The king looked at them with favor. 
 But he meant to be severe with them, and if 
 they failed he would have no mercy. They 
 were Hebrews and his captives. He had for- 
 bidden the mention of Jehovah's name among 
 his prisoners, and yet some rumors had reached 
 his ears that it was in Jehovah that these lads 
 trusted. Their bodies did not tremble, their 
 voices were firm and steady as without hesi- 
 tance they answered the king's questions. 
 There was no timid shrinking with downcast 
 eyes as they stood before him this monarch 
 whose word could command for them life or 
 death, slavery or freedom. Instead, they stood 
 erect, graceful, and beautiful in their fearless- 
 ness, their clear, kindly eyes looking directly 
 into those of the king. The court held its 
 breath in amazement, expecting every moment
 
 2 9 o OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 that Nebuchadnezzar would strike them dead 
 in his wrath at what his courtiers called impu- 
 dence. Servility was all this court knew when 
 it dealt with kings. But the brave youths 
 were unharmed for the king admired their 
 courage. The king was a conqueror, and he 
 knew another conquering spirit when he saw it. 
 It is only a coward who despises courage, espe- 
 cially when it is tempered with courtesy. 
 
 The wise men of Chaldea were present, the 
 astrologers those who search the heavens; the 
 soothsayers those who foretell events; and 
 the magicians; all were ready to detect any 
 failure. Some leaned forward in their eager- 
 ness to be the first to correct any error Daniel 
 and his friends might make in their answers to 
 the king's questions and to theirs. The test 
 over, the delighted king leaned back in his seat 
 with satisfaction and told the court herald to 
 announce that these four youths had exceeded 
 even the wise men of his realm in their knowl- 
 edge and understanding. These are fine youths 
 for my court and for my service, thought the 
 king. Then he dismissed them after appoint- 
 ing them to places of honor in his household.
 
 AT THE KING'S TABLE 291 
 
 Let us follow them to their room. As they 
 enter their door the sentry upon the city walls 
 calls the hour of midnight, and is answered by 
 the watchman in the tower repeating the wel- 
 come words, "All is well." In the distance, as 
 it did three years ago this very night, a cock 
 crows its greeting to the hour. 
 
 Daniel turned to his companions and lifted 
 his face and arms heavenward. They know 
 the gesture; it is the one of prayer. As his lips 
 move we know without hearing what it is he 
 says within his heart: "With prayer have we 
 prevailed with God and with men; blessed be 
 the name of Jehovah forever."
 
 MEASURED 
 
 BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST 
 
 Stories of kings are usually not very interest- 
 ing, filled as they are with wars and troubles of 
 many kinds. Soldiers, martial music, the roar 
 of cannon, glittering spears, and shining shields 
 in large part make up the history of kings. Vel- 
 vet and ermine and golden crowns, heartaches 
 and disappointments, instead of joy and gladness, 
 are the portion of those who rule with a royal 
 scepter in their hands. 
 
 There was once a king so great in his own 
 eyes that he thought of himself and his kingdom 
 as superior to everyone and everything. 
 
 Beautiful Babylon, wonderful city of the 
 plain! Was she not called "The Mistress of 
 Kingdoms," and had she not conquered all the 
 nations against whom she had fought? Were 
 not her astrologers, her magicians, and her coun- 
 selors famous for their wisdom, and was she not 
 skilled in all the learning of the Chaldeans? 
 
 We have heard of people being drunk with 
 wine, but did you ever know of a city so drunken 
 with a sense of it own importance that it said, 
 
 292
 
 MEASURED 293 
 
 "I shall be mistress forever. I am, and there 
 is none else beside me?" a city that trusted in 
 its wickedness, saying, "None seeth me"? 
 
 These were the words of Babylon, queen city 
 of the Chaldeans. This city and Belshazzar, 
 her king, tell us a most fascinating story. They 
 had no intention of telling one, nor did they 
 know that thousands of years after they had 
 told it, little people and big people would be 
 interested in reading it. 
 
 "How can people tell a story and not know 
 that they are telling it?" 
 
 The answer is so plain that I am surprised 
 you ask the question. When you use your eyes 
 and your ears, don't you learn many things 
 from people and objects around you when they 
 do not know they are telling you anything? 
 Sometimes, perhaps, you laugh to yourself over 
 what you have discovered and everyone else 
 thinks you know nothing about. Everybody, 
 and everything, has a story to tell about itself. 
 Look! Listen! You may be the one who will 
 hear it. 
 
 Belshazzar lived when the world was young, 
 before America was discovered, or even Europe
 
 294 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 was anything more than a thinly settled wilder- 
 ness inhabited mostly by barbarians. He was 
 very powerful, and thought there was nothing 
 in all the world as mighty as the capital of his 
 kingdom, the beautiful Babylon. 
 
 And there were many reasons for his think- 
 ing so so many, in fact, that he forgot the few 
 good reasons why it was safer to be humble than 
 to be proud. The kings of his country had con- 
 quered the other nations, made captives of their 
 people, seized their writings, destroyed their 
 libraries, and leveled to the ground all the beauty 
 and magnificence of their cities. Anything and 
 everything that was costly and of value had 
 been carried away from the conquered cities 
 and brought to Babylon that she might be 
 enriched. 
 
 She and her king were really great robbers, 
 and did not know that the power of which they 
 boasted could last only until another king and 
 country grew strong enough to overcome 
 them. 
 
 "Their libraries!" you say. "How could 
 people have libraries when they had no books?" 
 
 But they had books, many of them.
 
 MEASURED 295 
 
 " But there was no paper at that time. How 
 could books be made?" you ask. 
 
 They used clay tablets or flat, square 
 stones with words cut into them by sharp tools. 
 And sometimes they used the dried and pre- 
 pared skins of animals. If you had wanted 
 to draw a book out of a library you might have 
 had to carry home with you a box filled with 
 clay tablets which gave you only one chapter 
 of the book you wished to read. Or, had you 
 been allowed to draw out the whole volume 
 at once, you might have had to hire several 
 people to carry home for you as many as a 
 dozen boxes. 
 
 "What a nuisance those clay tablets must 
 have been!" you say. 
 
 No, they were valuable, and it is because of 
 them that you may know something to-day of 
 Babylon and the glory of her kingdom. 
 
 People in those days enjoyed setting fire to 
 everything belonging to their enemies. It was 
 the surest way of entirely destroying anything. 
 But the clay tablets with their inscriptions 
 escaped the fire, were buried deep under the 
 rubbish, and centuries after, when they were 
 
 20
 
 296 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 unearthed, could be read as plainly as on the 
 day they were written. 
 
 All the countries round about envied the 
 greatness of Babylon; and the Medes and the 
 Persians, her powerful neighbors, had decided 
 that they would conquer her and divide her 
 wealth among themselves. 
 
 It was for this reason that, at the time of our 
 story, Belshazzar and his lords were shut up in 
 Babylon and the gates closed so that no one 
 could go in or out. 
 
 They were not afraid; why should they be? 
 Was not Babylon, the mighty, able to defend 
 herself? The Medes and the Persians might 
 hammer away for years at her massive walls and 
 never be able to make a break in them. The 
 Babylonians themselves knew of no instrument 
 of war that could destroy walls three hundred 
 feet high and seventy-five feet thick, such as 
 theirs were; and of course no other kingdom 
 had any knowledge not possessed by them. 
 
 "They might starve," you say. 
 
 They were not in the least danger of starva- 
 tion. A city fifteen miles square had plenty of 
 room in it for great storehouses which were
 
 MEASURED 297 
 
 filled with food enough to last for years. No, 
 the people felt very secure, and may have had 
 some contempt for the army outside which was 
 so foolish as to think that Babylon could be 
 overthrown. 
 
 Babylon of Chaldea, proud of her learning, 
 had overlooked some wisdom. It was of no 
 importance, she may have thought. 
 
 ''What was that wisdom?" 
 
 Just a few prophecies made years before by 
 some simple Hebrew wise men whom we have 
 since called prophets. And these words were 
 treasured in the minds of the Israelite captives 
 living in Babylon. 
 
 "What were those prophecies?" 
 
 That all wickedness, injustice, and worship 
 of idols must cease. Even if they seemed to 
 conquer for a time, it was only for a time, for 
 Jehovah, the God of righteousness, would surely 
 destroy everything that was not good. 
 
 The Hebrew captives had often repeated 
 Jeremiah's words at their hour of prayer down 
 by the riverside for they had no temple in 
 Babylon and once Belshazzar overheard them 
 as he and his lords walked on the river's banks.
 
 298 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 For a moment only was the king disturbed. 
 He would not interfere with their worship, and 
 as for the prophecy, it was only a Hebrew one 
 anyway and he need not feel distressed at the 
 words or at the expectations of his captives. 
 
 Would you like to know what Jeremiah had 
 prophesied against Babylon? 
 
 "And these nations shall serve the king of 
 Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to 
 pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that 
 I will punish the king of Babylon, and that 
 nation, saith Jehovah, for their iniquity .... 
 and I will make it desolate for ever .... and 
 I will recompense them according to their deeds, 
 and according to the work of their hands." 
 
 To be sure, thought Belshazzar, the seventy 
 years have nearly passed, but my kingdom is 
 mighty and my people fear me. 
 
 True, O king, they do fear you, and for that 
 reason you cannot trust them. Even our girls 
 and boys of to-day know better than to feel safe 
 for such a reason. 
 
 Wandering about the city, playing games, 
 and giving feasts soon grew very tiresome to 
 Belshazzar. The city was large and there was
 
 MEASURED 299 
 
 much to see and to do in it, but when one is a 
 prisoner the most attractive place becomes 
 unpleasant. And the mighty king really was a 
 prisoner within his own walls; to open the city 
 gates meant to let the Persians in. 
 
 What should he do? He would give "a 
 great feast to a thousand of his lords." The 
 whole city should have days of reveling, wine 
 should flow like water, and food in abundance 
 should be upon all tables. It should not be an 
 ordinary feast, but one whose splendor should 
 dazzle his people and show the enemy outside 
 how little they troubled Babylon. Another 
 reason for giving this feast was that it was the 
 time of one of the nation's great religious 
 festivals. 
 
 So the invitations were given and the 
 thousand lords came. Each one as he entered 
 the palace halls was greeted with a kiss by 
 hosts appointed by the king to welcome the 
 guests. 
 
 The palace gardens were heavy with the per- 
 fume of flowers and spices, and blazing torches 
 in the hands of slaves made all glow and glitter 
 like a scene in fairyland. The helmets and
 
 3 oo OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 shields of soldiers on guard flashed as brightly 
 as a good holiday rubbing could make them. 
 Slave girls richly dressed anointed the beards, 
 faces, and garments of the guests with perfumed 
 ointment. It was a gay scene. No expense 
 had been spared to make the nights and days 
 devoted to the feast one continuous round of 
 revelry. 
 
 Dancing girls in filmy skirts and spangled 
 scarfs, whose ankles and arms sparkled with 
 costly jewels, amused Belshazzar and his nobles, 
 and shrill music from flute and pipe charmed 
 their ears. 
 
 Then Belshazzar commanded that the gold 
 and silver vessels once used in the temple at 
 Jerusalem be brought in, the vessels his grand- 
 father, Nebuchadnezzar, carried to Babylon 
 when Jerusalem was conquered and Israel 
 made captive. So they were brought, and the 
 gold and silver vessels never used except in the 
 house of prayer, were handled as cups in a drink- 
 ing bout. 
 
 Sacred to Jehovah, the God of wnom no 
 image could be made, intended for the service 
 of Him who was the Judge of the whole earth,
 
 MEASURED 301 
 
 and whose presence could be felt but never seen, 
 these bowls were profaned by the coarse toasts 
 given by Belshazzar and his guests to their stu- 
 pid, senseless gods of wood and stone. 
 
 "Nebo and Bel, are they not mighty?" 
 shouted the king. "Let all give praise to these 
 our gods!" 
 
 "Let us sing to the god of good luck and 
 make merry over the wondrous beauty of our 
 idols," chimed in the nobles. 
 
 The few Hebrew guests present said nothing 
 at this desecration of the temple's gold and sil- 
 ver vessels; nor did they join in the toast to the 
 helpless idols these Babylonians called upon. 
 
 "Why?" you ask. 
 
 Because seventy years among these heathen 
 people had taught them that gods of wood and 
 stone had no power, and that Jehovah was a 
 living God even if He could not be seen. When 
 they had trusted in Him, they had proved that 
 His promises were true, but the stupid images 
 made by the Chaldeans had never done any 
 good to anyone. 
 
 You may be wondering what the difference 
 is between golden idols and golden bowls.
 
 302 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 "Gold is gold," you say, "whether it is an idol 
 or a dish." 
 
 True, but they were used differently. A 
 gun is not a bad thing when it is used aright, 
 but we all know what a terrible thing it can be 
 when it is used in a wrong way. So with the 
 Israelites of long ago; in their temple whenever 
 they used their golden vessels they thought of 
 Jehovah as a God of mercy, justice, aud truth. 
 The heathen idols meant vengeance and cruelty, 
 gods that really were no better than the people 
 who worshiped them. 
 
 Babylon had treated Israel well; the captive 
 people had enjoyed every advantage of the 
 Chaldean schools. Every avenue of business 
 was open to them, and many of them had 
 grown wealthy, while some occupied positions of 
 authority in the kingdom. One thing, how- 
 ever, they dared not do except among them- 
 selves; that was, to speak of Jehovah. 
 
 Belshazzar thought that the worship of 
 Israel's God had been crushed. Poor, stupid 
 king, as dull as the idols he worshiped! You 
 boys and girls, I know, are saying the same 
 thing and asking with me, "Couldn't he see
 
 MEASURED 303 
 
 that Jehovah was the almighty power of intelli- 
 gence and that the Babylonian gods were the 
 weakness of foolishness?" 
 
 The foolish king! Why don't I call him 
 wicked? Because foolishness and wickedness 
 here mean the same thing, and it makes little 
 difference which word we use. 
 
 Stop for a moment and think. Are good 
 thoughts ever foolish thoughts, and are wise 
 actions ever wicked actions? 
 
 Belshazzar watched his Hebrew guests as 
 he and his lords drank from the golden goblets 
 taken from the temple. They do not object or 
 even seem angry; surely they do not care, 
 thought the king. 
 
 "Why, of course they don't care," you are 
 saying. "They know the seventy years have 
 passed, and that even while the king is drinking, 
 the deliverer of Israel, who is to restore them to 
 their city and to their country, is standing out- 
 side the gates of Babylon." 
 
 "More wine, more wine!" cried the king 
 and his guests. "What city is as glorious as 
 Babylon and what gods are as great as ours?" 
 The wine was poured as king and people lifted
 
 304 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 their flagons, singing; "Let us honor the golden 
 idols and those of wood and stone, that they may 
 live forever!" 
 
 A wind whistling through the palace halls 
 made the flames of the torches leap upward, 
 flicker, and then go out. One single candle- 
 stick gleamed in the darkness, making radiant 
 the wall against which it stood. Swiftly before 
 the eyes of Belshazzar the fingers of a man's 
 hand wrote upon the plaster: "Mene, Mene, 
 Tekel, Upharsin." 
 
 These words were from the learned language 
 of the Chaldeans, the tongue in which their 
 sciences and their religion were written, and the 
 wise men should have known what they were. 
 
 The people looked at one another as if ask- 
 ing, "Is there no one here who can read this 
 message?" 
 
 Poor, miserable king, what had he been 
 doing all his life that he could not read the 
 learned tongue of his own people? 
 
 I think I can hear you children say, "He 
 hadn't been doing anything but giving feasts 
 and having a good time," and I believe you are 
 right.
 
 MEASURED 305 
 
 Only a few minutes before the words were 
 written on the wall Belshazzar had been singing 
 his own praises. Now watch him. Is it not 
 pitiable to see the mighty monarch shaking and 
 quivering on his throne, his teeth chattering, and 
 his knees knocking together as he implores his 
 servants to go out and ask the wise men of 
 Babylon to come and interpret the writing? 
 
 They came at his call, but they could not 
 help him. The four words were clear enough: 
 "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin" meant "Num- 
 bered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided." 
 
 But what their message was and why they 
 were on the wall the wise men could not tell. 
 
 Then the queen spoke, saying, "There is a 
 man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the 
 holy gods; and in the days of thy father light 
 and understanding and wisdom .... were 
 found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar 
 thy father .... made him master of the 
 magicians .... Now let Daniel be called, 
 and he will show the interpretation." 
 
 As he entered Belshazzar's presence Daniel 
 only glanced at the frightened king, the white- 
 faced guests, the golden goblets of the temple
 
 306 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 overturned on the floor, which was red with 
 wine. His eyes were fixed upon the handwriting 
 upon the wall, and I do not doubt that if the 
 king and his lords could have heard what the 
 prophet was saying as his lips moved and a 
 light shone in his face, it would have been the 
 words, "Great is Jehovah and greatly to be 
 praised!" 
 
 Belshazzar raised his hand to silence the 
 people as Daniel spoke these words: "Thou 
 .... Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart 
 . . . thou hast praised the gods of silver and 
 gold .... and the God in whose hands thy 
 breath is ... .hast thou not glorified." 
 
 The king and his court leaned forward listen- 
 ing. What sound was that which fell upon the 
 ears of all in the palace and made Daniel pause 
 as he interpreted the mystery of the words upon 
 the wall? Only a threatening murmur in the 
 distance, but it caused the hearts of Belshazzar 
 and his lords to sicken and the soldiers to 
 stiffen their hold upon their swords. A sigh 
 which was almost a moan broke from the lips of 
 the king and his company. The sound grew 
 louder as they listened. They knew it well,
 
 MEASURED 307 
 
 they had heard it often, and they gloried 
 in it when it came from the people they 
 had conquered. 
 
 Again the king commanded silence as Daniel 
 drew closer to him and continued speaking. 
 The people were uneasy. They wished to know 
 the meaning of those words, but that murmur 
 which every moment grew louder and was more 
 like a roar than a whisper, had frightened them 
 as much as had those four short words staring 
 at them from the wall. 
 
 "This is the interpretation of the thing," 
 said Daniel. "Mene: God hath numbered thy 
 kingdom, and brought it to an end. Tekel: 
 thou are weighed in the balances, and art 
 found wanting. Peres : thy kingdom is divided, 
 and given to the Medes and Persians." 
 
 Babylon the mighty, that had destroyed 
 others, was now herself to be destroyed. Wick- 
 edness is a game by which even the winner must 
 at last perish. With the measure she had meted 
 to others she was now to be measured. 
 
 The proud city trusted in her massive walls 
 and had never stopped to think that the cunning 
 of her enemy might ever try to break them
 
 3 o8 OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 down. Without a rupture made in her walls 
 and her gates still barred, Babylon was taken. 
 
 How? While Belshazzar was looking at 
 his walls the Persian king was watching the 
 river which flowed through Babylon. "Drain 
 off the waters and let my army in through 
 the river bed," the Persian had commanded his 
 soldiers and the work was done. 
 
 "If those Babylonians were as smart as they 
 thought they were, why didn't they notice that 
 the water in the river was being drawn off?" 
 you ask me. 
 
 For a very simple reason. You see, the city 
 kept thinking only of its strong points, while 
 Cyrus the Persian thought of Babylon's weak 
 points. 
 
 What were those weak points? 
 
 Perhaps the greatest of them was and I 
 am sure every girl and boy will agree with me 
 the Babylonians' belief that no one knew as 
 much as they did. Another was the king's love 
 of feasting and drinking, and what people now 
 call "having a good time." 
 
 Cyrus knew this and waited for the great 
 religious festival when Babylon's king and his
 
 MEASURED 309 
 
 "thousand lords" would forget everything but 
 the magnificent feast, and all the people of the 
 city were being entertained. 
 
 While Babylon was making a noise with her 
 drunken songs the Persians were silent, but they 
 were at work. No sentry was on the walls, no 
 watchmen by the gates, the night was black, the 
 soldiers not on guard, for was not this a holiday 
 for mighty Babylon? 
 
 The waters had made no noise as they dis- 
 appeared. One two three soldiers of the 
 Persian host slipped through the water gates, 
 then little groups, and at last the whole army 
 with its king. The war cry of victory and the . 
 answer of despair from Babylon's people was 
 the murmur which had reached Belshazzar's 
 ears as he waited for Daniel to tell him the 
 meaning of the handwriting on the wall. 
 
 "In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean 
 king was slain," and "fallen, fallen is Babylon; 
 and all the graven images of her gods are broken 
 unto the ground." 
 
 What became of captive Israel? Her people 
 returned to Jerusalem, they rebuilt its walls, 
 repaired the temple, and found the long lost
 
 3 io OLD TESTAMENT HERO STORIES 
 
 Book of the Law. Seventy years in Babylon 
 had cured Israel of the worship of idols. As 
 little groups of people journeyed homeward 
 toward Jerusalem they sang a song of praise to 
 Jehovah and promised to serve Him only. If 
 you will read the One Hundred and Nineteenth 
 Psalm you will know the song the happy people 
 sang on their homeward way. 
 
 Toiling up the steep slopes of Jerusalem 
 they came; some paused in the valley below 
 and looked up at the ruined city standing on 
 the heights. No glistening golden roof greeted 
 them; there was no sound of joy. Shattered 
 walls and ruined temple met their eyes. It 
 was night when Nebuchadnezzar's army entered 
 Jerusalem, and it was in the darkness of night 
 that she fell. 
 
 As the wanderers in the valley and on the 
 slopes gazed at the city now warm in the morn- 
 ing sun, ruined though Jerusalem was, they felt 
 that she should be rebuilt, and in the glory of 
 the golden morning their lips repeated Isaiah's 
 words: "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, 
 and the glory of Jehovah is risen upon thee."
 
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