THE BURIAL OF MOSES.
By Nebo's lonely mountain, on this side Jordan's wave,
In a vale in the Land of Moab there lies a lonely grave.
And no man knows that sepulchre, and no man saw it e'er,
For the angels of God upturned the sod, and laid the dead man there.
That was the grandest funeral that ever passed on earth;
But no man heard the trampling, or saw the train go forth—
Noiselessly as the daylight comes back when night is done,
And the crimson streak on ocean's cheek grows into the great sun.
Noiselessly as the spring-time her crown of verdure weaves,
And all the trees on all the hills open their thousand leaves;
So without sound of music, or voice of them that wept,
Silently down from the mountain's crown the great procession swept.
Perchance the bald old eagle, on gray Beth-Peor's height,
Out of his lonely eyrie looked on the wondrous sight;
Perchance the lion stalking, still shuns that hallowed spot,
For, beast and bird have seen and heard that which man knoweth not.
But when the warrior dieth, his comrades in the war,
With arms reversed and muffled drum, follow his funeral car;
They show the banners taken, they tell his battles won,
And after him lead his masterless steed, while peals the minute gun.
Amidst the noblest of the land we lay the sage to rest.
And give the bard an honored place, with costly marble drest,
In the great minster transept where lights like glories fall,
And the organ rings, and the sweet choir sings along the emblazoned wall.
This was the truest warrior that ever buckled sword,
This the most gifted poet that ever breathed a word;
And never earth's philosopher traced, with his golden pen,
On the deathless page, truths half so sage as he wrote down for men.
And hath he not high honor,—the hillside for a pall,
To lie in state while angels wait with stars for tapers tall,
And the dark rock-pines like tossing plumes, over his bier to wave,
And God's own hand, in that lonely land, to lay him in the grave?
—Alexander.
THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL CROSSING JORDAN.
THE STORY OF JOSHUA.
Then Joshua led the Israelites forth; but when they came to the River Jordan, again their courage failed them.
Although they had been led through the Red Sea in the times of their fathers, and though all their lives they had been told of that wonderful deliverance, still, when now they came to the River Jordan, their hearts grew heavy, and fear took possession of them. But there lay the country, fair and beautiful. They could see it; and, with Joshua so brave and true to lead them on, they gathered up their courage, and the great company marched down to the river banks.
Again the miracle of the parting of the waters was repeated; for the waters roared and rushed, and heaped themselves, like great walls, on either side while the Israelites passed through.
Meantime Joshua had sent forward two men into the city of Jericho to learn what manner of people were there; for Jericho was one of the cities upon which the Israelites must make war. These people of Canaan were not likely to give the country into the hands of a new people without a struggle. That the Israelites well knew. Then, too, these were in the days when all nations were at war with each other, and the possession of a country was always a matter of force and strength,—one people overcoming the other.
When the two Israelites came into Jericho, they sought the house of a woman named Rahab; and from her learned all those things about the city that they needed to know.
But the king of Jericho heard that two Israelites were in the city, and at once he suspected them of being spies. Accordingly he sent messengers to seize them and put them in prison. The messengers came, bearing with them the authority of the king; but the two men were hid away by Rahab, and the messenger went away.
"I know," Rahab said, "that this land belongs to you; that God hath promised it to you; for I have heard of the wonderful things that God hath done for you and your people. Because of this I have hidden you beneath the flax on the housetop; and now, when your people come to take the city, forget not me. Tell your people the protection given you in this house; then shall your soldiers spare me in the downfall of the city."
Then the Israelites promised that, in the ransacking of the city, this woman Rahab should be spared.
"When we are gone," they said, "fasten a red cord upon the window of the house. Then, when we enter the city, the house in whose window the red cord is, shall be spared."
At night the woman let the Israelites down from the roof of the house by a rope, and they hurried away to join the Israelites.
In a few days the army of the Israelites appeared before the walls of Jericho. The gates were closed, and the king's armies within were ready to resist the attack.
What were the Israelites to do? Should they attack the city with battering rams and meet the people with spears and swords?
This was the way of besieging cities in those days; and it was for this kind of an attack that the people within were prepared. But this was not the way the Israelites were to do their work; for God had told them, even while in the wilderness, that the walls of Jericho were to be beaten down in a way most strange. They were to take their Ark up to the walls of the city. They were to draw up their soldiers in line. The priests were to bear the Ark, and together all were to march around the city, the priests blowing their trumpets as they passed before the Ark.
Not a spear was to be thrown; not a sword was to be drawn. For seven days they were to do this; but on the seventh day they were to march seven times around the city. Then, amid the shouting of the people and the blowing of the trumpets, the walls would fall; and so the city would lie open before them. All this the Israelites did; and on the seventh day it came about even as Joshua said it should,—the walls fell with a terrible crash. Then the Israelites marched in and took the city. The house of Rahab they did not forget. They brought her and all her family out from the burning city and placed her in safety among their own women and children.
THE WALLS OF JERICHO FALLING DOWN.
Great loads of gold and silver and brass and iron they took from the city. All of this they saved for the building of a temple; for they had been warned to save no part of the city's wealth for their own use.
In all this the Israelites obeyed, save one man. He, Achan, thinking no one saw him, took some of the riches and carried them away and hid them. Now, Joshua knew nothing of all this; but the next day, when the army went against the little city of Ai, behold the Israelites were driven back defeated. Even Joshua's heart was heavy. He could not see why it should have been; but when he knelt before God, God said to him, "Never can I fight for my people while there is sin among them. Go find Achan; he hath hidden gold in the tent. Accuse him before the people and put him to death. Then again shall success be with the Israelites."
Joshua went before his people and told them what God had said to him. Then Achan was called before the Israelites and put to death.
"Now," said Joshua, "let us go against the city of Ai again." They went; and this time the city was taken, and the people bowed before the power of the Israelites, acknowledging them as their masters.
THE GIBEONITES.
The sun stood still, the moon it stayed
Till Israel's vengeance was allayed
Upon his enemy,
Pausing all that awful day
And glowing brilliantly.
While these cities were being taken, the Gibeonites had heard of the coming of the Israelites and of their great conquests. Now, these Gibeonites were a strong people; and so, when they heard these things, they made preparations for the attack which they feared. First, they sent messengers to Joshua.
"We wish to make peace with you," the messenger said.
"If you are Canaanites," said Joshua, "we can make no peace with you."
"But we are not Canaanites," the messengers said. "Behold we come from a great distance. Do you not see how dry our bread is, and how broken our bottles are? Our shoes, too, see how they are worn! All these were new when we began our journey; but we have been so long on the road, they are worn. We have heard of your coming, as have all the kings round about our country. We know how great is your power; and that is why we have come to beg you to be at peace with our people."
Now, this story was in no wise true; but Joshua believed it, and the Gibeonites went away pleased indeed that they had succeeded so well.
But a few days after, Joshua learned that these Gibeonites had been untrue to him, and that they dwelt in the very midst of the country of Canaan.
"Why have you deceived us?" he asked of their leaders.
The leaders could make no reply. They could only say, "But you promised not to slay us."
"That is true," Joshua replied. "And we will not break our promise. We will not slay you; but we will take all prisoners, and you shall serve us as slaves all the days of your life."
The Gibeonites were heavy hearted indeed. They had fallen into their own pit; for they would rather have died than become slaves. But now there was no hope for them, and they could only bow their proud heads beneath the yoke.
Hardly had the Israelites and the Gibeonites made peace with each other in this way, when down came the Amorites upon the Gibeonites to fight them.
JOSHUA COMMANDING THE SUN TO STAND STILL.
The Gibeonites, frightened at the appearance of the great army, fled to Joshua for help.
"We shall protect you as our servants and slaves," was the answer. And so, when the Amorites came, it was the Israelites that marched out against them.
A terrible battle followed. For a time no one could have told which army was to be victorious. Many were falling among the Amorites; still their army was pressing forward.
If only the day would not come to an end! If only the darkness would not fall! If only they might keep on with the battle till the Amorites, exhausted, should fall back! To give up the battle and begin again in the morning would be to give the Amorites opportunity to regain strength and courage.
Then the thought came to Joshua, "Why should night come? Why should not the sun and the moon stand still in the heavens until this battle is finished and the Amorites are driven back?"
DESTRUCTION OF THE ARMY OF THE AMORITES.
And as he thought, lo! the prayer was answered, and the sun and the moon did stand still.
Hour after hour passed; the two armies fought on; the Amorites grew weaker and weaker. Why did not the sun go down? Why did the darkness not come to give them rest?
At last the Amorites could hold out no longer. The army turned and fled. The Israelites pursued. The kings hid themselves in a great cave. But Joshua pursued these still. He rolled great stones up before the cave and held them there prisoners. Then, when the Amorites had been scattered, Joshua came back to the cave, brought out the offending kings and slew them all.
So the contention for the possession of the land of Canaan went on. One by one the tribes were overcome; and at last Canaan was in the control of the Israelites.
But now Joshua had grown to be an old man. He knew that the end of his life was near at hand. So he called the people together and told them, even as Moses had told them, of all the wonderful things that had happened to God's chosen people in all the four hundred years since they had come out of Egypt.
Then he appealed to them in the name of God, who had led them safely into the land of Canaan; he begged them never to forget that they were the Children of Israel, and that the religion of the people into whose land they had come, an idolatrous religion, was not for them. Then the people all promised to be true to the religion of their fathers; and Joshua, taking the great book of the law, wrote their promise in it. More than that, he rolled a great stone up beneath an oak tree and said, "Look at the great stone. It has heard your promise that you will serve always the one God. Guard that stone; and let it be a remembrance to you of the promise you have made."
The people went away sad at heart; for they knew they should never look again upon their patient leader and teacher, who had been so faithful and true to them in all the years he had been with them.
DEBORAH
EHUD AND DEBORAH.
For a few years the Israelites remembered their promise; but alas! they were very prone to sink back into the idolatry which surrounded them. And it was not very long before they were worshipping idols, even as were the heathen tribes round about them.
And again God sent cruel enemies to fight against them; again they cried to Him, and He heard them. For eighteen years they served Eglon, the cruel, wicked king of Moab. But at last God sent the Israelites a man to help them, whose name was Ehud.
Ehud told them to send a present to Eglon, and he would be its bearer. The Israelites did this, and Ehud, making a dagger, and hiding it under his clothes, went to Moab. When he came to the king he said, "I have a secret to tell and must see the king alone." So Eglon sent away his servants. When they were alone, Ehud took out his dagger and thrust it into the king's body. Then Ehud ran out from the room, locked the doors after him, and so escaped.
No one saw Ehud go; and when the servants found the doors locked, they thought their master had fallen asleep, and so they made no attempt to go in. Many hours passed. At last the servants began to wonder why the king did not send for them. Night came on. Still the king did not awake; and so, at last, they took a key and opened the door.
What did they see? There lay the king upon the ground,—dead!
Ehud, meantime, had come back again, bringing many soldiers with him; and the Israelites fought against the Moabites and conquered them.
For some time after this the people held firmly to their faith, and Ehud led them. But Ehud died; and then the Israelites again rebelled against God. Again God, to punish them, sent Jabin, king of Canaan, to fight against Israel; and he conquered them. This king was very cruel, and they suffered much under his power for twenty long, terrible years. Now, there was a very good woman living at that time, named Deborah. She dwelt under a palm tree, between Ramah and Bethel. There she prayed and sang, and talked to, and taught all the people who came to see her. Deborah was a very wise woman and had the gift of prophecy. And so it came about that, when the Israelites began to cry to God, Deborah, at His command, sent for a brave man named Barak, and said to him, "Go now and call men out of the tribes of Zebulon and Naphtali, and take them to fight against Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army. God promises to give us the victory." Barak said, "If thou wilt go with me, I will go." So Deborah, with Barak and 10,000 men, went to fight against Sisera. "Do not kill Sisera," Deborah said; "for God will give the wicked captain into the hands of a woman."
So Barak and his army went and fought against Sisera. Very soon the Israelites won the victory, for it was as Deborah had prophesied. Then Sisera came down from his chariot and fled from Barak.
There was a man named Heber, who was at peace with Jabin; and Sisera ran to Heber's tent for safety. When the man's wife, Jael, saw Sisera coming, she went out to meet him and said, "Come in, come in, and fear not." So Sisera came in and lay down; and Jael covered him with a mantle. He asked for water; and she gave him milk, which he drank; and then he lay down again.
"Stand by the door," he said, "and if any one ask if I am here, say 'No.'" Then Sisera fell asleep, for he was weary with fighting and running so far; and when he was asleep, then Jael went very softly, took a large nail and a hammer, and hammered the nail into Sisera's head and down into the ground.
After this war forty years passed most happily and safely. The Israelites lived in the fear of God, and he kept them in peace and gave them rest from their enemies.
But when the forty years were passed, the Israelites again loved evil; and again, too, sorrows and punishments came upon them.
First, the Midianites came to be their enemies. They came in great numbers; they brought their camels and their cattle with them, and pitched their tents in the land of the Israelites. The Israelites left their pleasant houses and fields, and ran to hide in dens and caves, for fear of the cruel Midianites.
The pleasant land became barren and desolate. Then the Israelites cried again to the Lord, for they knew that He could deliver them, and He alone.
God sent an answer to them by a prophet: "Thus saith the Lord, 'I brought you safely out of Egypt and delivered you from the cruel Egyptians, and drove away your enemies, and gave you the land of Canaan for a possession; and I commanded you to obey and serve Me, and not to worship the idols of the people who live near you; but you have not obeyed My command.'" Then the prophet went away.
THE STORY OF GIDEON.
Now, there was a man (living at Ophrah,) whose son was named Gideon. Gideon was a true servant of the Lord; but his father was an idolater and a worshipper of Baal. One day Gideon was threshing wheat in a hidden place, lest the idolaters should see him and come and take his corn from him. Gideon's heart was full of sorrowful thoughts as he threshed the wheat; but, as he looked up, he saw an angel near him, sitting beneath an oak. And Gideon heard him say, "The Lord is with thee."
When Gideon heard the angel speak, he looked up with wonder. "Is the Lord with us?" he cried. "Then why does He let the Midianites come and destroy us? Why does He not work miracles for us, as He did for our fathers, and deliver us from our enemies?" But the angel said again, "Go now, I send thee to save Israel from the Midianites."
Gideon was frightened; he had faith, but his faith was weak and small. He could not believe that he could save Israel.
"How can I save my brethren?" he said. "I am poor; all my family are poor, and I am least in my father's house." But the angel said again, "I will be with thee; I will give thee power to smite the Midianites."
Gideon wondered. Could it be an angel that was talking to him? An angel could give him power to conquer his enemies!
"Wilt thou give me a sign that I may know who thou art?" he asked. "Stay till I come again, and bring my offering with me."
Then Gideon hurried away and made ready a kid and cakes of flour. He put the flesh into a basket and the broth into a pot, and brought all out to the oak tree where the angel waited.
Now, the angel did not need food to strengthen him, but he accepted Gideon's offering, and told him to lay the flesh and cakes upon the rock, and to pour out the broth. Gideon hardly knew why, but he obeyed; and then the angel of the Lord touched with his staff the flesh and the cakes, and fire came out of the rocks and consumed them.
The angel went away. Gideon knew not how or where; but he knew who the angel was. Then Gideon cried with fear, "O, Lord God! for I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face."
And a voice answered, "Peace be unto thee; fear not, thou shalt not die;" and Gideon named the place, "Jehovah-shalom," or "The Lord send peace;" and he built an altar there to the Lord.
Again the angel of the Lord God spoke to him. "Take thy father's bullock and throw down the altar of Baal which thy father has. Build there an altar unto the Lord and offer the bullock in sacrifice upon it."
Now, Gideon's family all worshipped this Baal, and they would be very angry if the idol altar was thrown down; it might be they would kill Gideon. But Gideon rose and went at once to destroy Baal's altar, lest the men of the city should try to prevent him if he waited until morning came.
When the people rose next day, they wondered to see Baal's altar thrown down, the new altar to God ready built, and a bullock offered upon it. "Who did all this?" they asked. Gideon was not afraid to confess the truth. He was bold, because he knew God was with him. But the people were angry with Gideon. "Bring out thy son," they said to Joash, "that we may slay him!"
Before Gideon began to fight, he prayed; "Give me now a sign, that I may know that Thou wilt be merciful to the Israelites. I will put a fleece of wool upon the ground to-night; in the morning I will look at it, and if I see the fleece wet with dew, and all the ground dry, then I shall know that Thou dost promise to save us from our enemies."
Gideon put the fleece of wool upon the ground, for God had heard his prayer. In the morning, when Gideon looked at it, it was so wet that he wrung from the fleece a bowlful of water, though there was no dew upon the ground.
GIDEON CHOOSING HIS SOLDIERS.
The next night Gideon again tried the fleece. "To-night let the fleece alone be dry, and all the ground wet, and then I shall know that Thou wilt save Israel," he prayed. The next morning all the ground was wet with dew, and the wool alone was dry. And now Gideon was convinced. He asked no further proof.
Gideon had many thousand men to fight with him. But God wished to teach the Israelites that He alone could save them. So he told Gideon to say to the soldiers, "Those who are afraid may return home and not come into the battle." Gideon did as he was told; and 22,000 of the soldiers, struck with fear, went away, leaving only 10,000 to meet the foe. But God said, "I do not want even so many; if all these soldiers go the Israelites will say that their own power and courage gained the victory. Bring the 10,000 men down to the water and let them drink. Notice the men who lap the water like a dog and put them on one side; and the men who kneel down to drink water, put on the other side; and I will tell thee whom I will choose to fight against the Midianites."
Gideon obeyed. He brought the soldiers to the water and told them to drink. Three hundred of them lapped, putting their hands to their mouths; but most of them stooped down on their knees to drink. Then God said, "By the 300 men who lapped the water will I save you; let all the others return home."
Gideon had a very, very small army now. The Midianites were in great numbers, the Israelites only 300. It was the night before the battle. To-morrow Gideon and his army must fight against their cruel enemies, the Midianites.
When Gideon was lying down to rest, and his 300 soldiers by him, he heard a voice calling to him. Was it an enemy come to kill him and his little army? No, it was the voice of God. "Arise, go down to the army of the Midianites," the voice said. "If thou fear to go alone, take Phurah, thy servant, with thee. Go, and hear what the Midianites are saying; for afterwards thou shalt feel strengthened to go down to the army."
So Gideon and his servant, Phurah, went as God had commanded. The tents of the Midianites and the Amalekites covered the whole valley. The soldiers were sleeping in the tents, and their camels lay by them. So many were they that Gideon could not count them. But the Midianites were not all asleep; some were making ready for the morrow, some were talking; but none of them saw Gideon and his servant.
There were two men, Midianites, talking together, and Gideon and Phurah went near to them. "I dreamed," said one, "that I saw a cake of bread tumble into the hosts of the Midianites; I saw it fall upon a tent, and the tent was overturned and thrown down." "That cake," his friend answered, "is Gideon, the commander of the Israelites; he will fall upon us and destroy our army, because God is with him."
When Gideon heard this tale, he rejoiced. He now felt sure of the victory. Then he and Phurah went back to the Israelites, and Gideon said, "Arise, for God gives the Midianites into our hands."
Then Gideon divided his army into three companies, and gave to every man a trumpet and a pitcher, with a lamp in every pitcher. They had no swords, nor spears, nor bows, nor arrows. Then Gideon said, "Come with me and do as I do. When I blow the trumpet, you must blow too, and cry, 'The sword of the Lord and of Gideon.'" It was still night when Gideon went again with his soldiers to the camp of the Midianites. The soldiers stood around the camp, and when Gideon commanded, they blew with the trumpets, and broke the pitchers, and cried aloud, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon." The Midianites heard the noise and the shout, and were struck with fear. They knew not what to do. They ran like mad men. They fell one upon another, killing their own friends, and fathers, and brothers; and those who were not killed fled away; and the Israelites followed after these and killed them.
The Israelites were grateful for what Gideon had done for them. "Come and rule over us," they said, "and be our king, and we will serve and obey thee." But Gideon was not an ambitious man; he wanted neither power, riches, nor possessions. So, when the Israelites asked Gideon to be their king, he said, "No, I do not wish to rule over you; the Lord only is your king; obey Him. But give me if ye will the earrings and gold chains that were taken from the enemies."
THE MIDIANITES PUT TO FLIGHT.
"Yes, we will willingly give them," the people said. And they spread out a large garment and threw into it all the earrings and chains they had, and with them purple garments and many more beautiful things. Gideon made them into an ephod like Aaron's ephod; and this he took into his own city Ophrah. The ephod Gideon made in remembrance of his victory. After Gideon was dead, the Israelites again forgot God, and worshipped idols.
DEATH OF ABIMELECH.
ABIMELECH.
Gideon had many sons, but they were not like him. The name of one was Abimelech. He was a most ambitious man, and aspired to be king. He went to Shechem and asked to be made king over that city. The men of Shechem were pleased with Abimelech, and they attended to what he said, and gave him much gold, promising to make him king.
Then he went home to Ophrah, and, cruel, ambitious man that he was, he called his brothers together and killed them,—all but the youngest, named Jotham, who hid himself and escaped. Now, why did Abimelech kill his brothers? It was because they might wish to reign too, and he was determined to reign alone.
The men of Shechem made Abimelech king. But the people in that city soon grew tired of their king. He was cruel and greedy and unjust. They rebelled, and refused to obey Abimelech. So Abimelech came and fought against them and conquered them. Some of the Shechemites escaped to an idol temple, and hid there. But Abimelech and his soldiers cut down the boughs from the tree and put the boughs under the place where the people were hid, and set it on fire; so that the people were all burned to death.
Then Abimelech went to a city named Thebez, and tried to take it. The people in Thebez had gone up to a high, strong tower. Abimelech was under the tower fighting against it, when a woman on the top of the tower took a large mill-stone and threw it down upon Abimelech's head. Abimelech was severely crushed by the stone. When he knew he must soon die, he cried to a soldier near him, "Thrust thy sword into me and slay me; for I will not let the people say that a woman killed me." So the soldier thrust his sword into him, and Abimelech fell down dead.
At this time there was a man in Gilead named Jephthah. He was most brave and warlike; but his brothers hated him. They would not let him live with them, but sent him away. Some years after, when the Ammonites came and fought against Israel, the men of Gilead were frightened, and they sent for Jephthah to help them conquer their enemies. When Jephthah heard what the messengers said, he answered, "Why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?" But the Gileadites promised to make Jephthah their captain if he would come; so Jephthah forgave their past unkindness and went to their aid.
The Ammonites were very wicked people. They had always been enemies to Israel. Jephthah told the Ammonites that God had commanded that they be destroyed, and had promised to give their possessions to the Israelites; but they would not listen. Then Jephthah made ready to fight against them. But before he went to the battle, he asked God's help, and made this promise: "If Thou wilt give me the victory, then the first thing I meet at the door of my house, when I return in peace, shall be the Lord's; and I will offer it up for a burnt-offering."
Then Jephthah went into battle; the Ammonites were conquered, and very many of them killed. But when the battle was ended, Jephthah went home again to Mizpah. Jephthah had one child, a daughter, who was very dear to him. This little daughter loved her father, and when she heard of the victory, she knew she should soon see her dear father. So she waited and watched for him, and when she saw him coming, she ran out to meet him, dancing and singing for joy. Alas! alas! Jephthah rent his clothes and cried, "O my daughter, my daughter! I have made a promise to the Lord, and I cannot break my vow!" But the daughter said, "My father, do not weep; if thou hast made a vow to the Lord, do as thou hast promised. God has been very merciful to us, and I am ready and willing to help bear all thou hast vowed to do."
Jephthah thought now of his foolish vow, and O how sorry he was that he had made it! He must give up his dear daughter and never see her again! But when he told her what he had vowed, she asked to be allowed to go upon the mountains to mourn there with her friends. After two months she came home again, and Jephthah did with her as he had vowed.
Though the virgins of Salem lament,
Be the judge and the hero unbent;
I have won the great battle for thee,
And my father and country are free.
When this blood of thy giving has gushed,
When the voice that thou lovest is hushed,
Let my memory still be thy pride,
And forget not I smiled as I died.
THE STORY OF SAMSON.
Would any strive with Samson for renown,
Whose brawny arm can strike most pillars down?
Preserve he then unstained in his breast
A milk-white conscience; let his soul be blest
With simple innocence; this sevenfold shield
No dart shall pierce; no sword shall make it yield;—
Well guarded with himself he walks along,
When most alone, he stands a thousand strong.
After this Jephthah judged Israel six years and then died. And now again the people began to sin against the Lord; and He, to recall them again, gave them up to their enemies, the Philistines, for forty years. This was a long time to be in sorrow and trouble; but did not the Israelites deserve their punishment?
There was a good man in the tribe of Dan, named Manoah. One day an angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife and said, "Soon God will give thee a son, who shall deliver Israel from the Philistines. No razor must come upon him, for he shall be a Nazarite unto God." Now, the Nazarites were people who had made a vow to give themselves to God. They did not drink wine, nor any strong liquor; and they never cut their hair or shaved their beards.
Manoah's wife wondered very much to hear what the angel said, and she went and told her husband. It seemed very strange; still Manoah knew that nothing was too wonderful for God to do; and he was thankful for God's promise to deliver Israel. But Manoah, fearful lest he and his wife might forget what the angel had said and not bring up their child rightly, prayed God to send the angel to them again.
A few days after, the woman was sitting alone in the field, and she looked up and saw the angel again standing by her. She ran and called her husband; and Manoah, following his wife, came to the angel and asked, "What shall we do to the child when he is born?" The angel repeated what he had told the woman before. Then Manoah said, "Stay here till we have made ready a kid for thee." The angel answered, "I will not eat of thy bread; and if thou wilt offer a sacrifice, offer it to God."
Manoah wondered who the angel was; so he asked again, "What is thy name?" But the angel answered, "Why dost thou ask my name? It is a very secret and a very wonderful name." Then Manoah offered a kid in sacrifice to the Lord upon the rock, and God sent fire upon the sacrifice to consume it.
Manoah and his wife looked at the angel, and they saw him going up to Heaven in the flame of fire. Then they both fell upon their faces in holy fear and wonder; and Manoah said, "Now we shall die, because we have seen God." The woman said to her husband, "Do not be afraid. God has shown us wonderful things; he has accepted our sacrifice, and surely he cannot wish to hurt or frighten us."
Manoah and his wife never again saw the angel of the Lord; but God remembered His promise, and very soon there came to them a little son, whom they called Samson. Samson's parents were very careful to attend to God's commands regarding him. They remembered that he was to be given to God; that he was to be a Nazarite; that he must drink no wine; that he must not shave his head, nor cut his hair.
Samson grew to be wonderfully strong. Great strength had been given him because he had much to do; for he was to deliver Israel from the Philistines. When Samson was grown up, he went to Timnath with his father and mother, to marry a young woman who was a Philistine. As he passed the vineyards at Timnath, a lion rushed out of the woods and roared at him. But Samson was a very bold man. He ran at the lion and tore it in pieces, without stick, or sword, or spear—by his own great strength alone. Samson said nothing of this to his father or mother, but went on and came to Timnath.
After a time Samson passed again along the place where he had killed the lion, and it came to him to go and look at the dead body of the animal. He saw a strange sight. Some wild bees had made their home in the lion, and Samson found much honey there. He took it and ate it, and gave some to his father and mother; but he did not tell them where he had found it.
SAMSON SLAYING A LION.
Once Samson made a feast at Timnath; and when the company were all talking merrily together, he said, "I will give you a riddle to guess; if you guess right, I will give you thirty sheets and thirty garments; but if you cannot guess, you shall give me thirty sheets and thirty garments." Then the people said, "Tell us the riddle, and we will try to guess it." So Samson said, "Out of the eater came forth meat; and out of the strong came forth sweetness." Now, the eater was the strong lion; and the meat was the sweet honey Samson found in it; but no one knew the story of the lion, and they could not guess the riddle. They tried six days, and then they called in their friend, Samson's wife, and said, "Ask Samson to explain the riddle to thee, else we will burn thee and thy father's house with fire."
The woman then begged so hard and long for her husband to tell her that, at last, he explained the riddle to her; and she forthwith went and told the Philistines. Then they came to Samson and said, "What is so strong as a lion, and what is so sweet as honey?" But Samson quietly said, "My wife told you, else you could never have guessed my riddle."
Samson was obliged, however, to give what he had promised to the men who found out the riddle. But he got the garments in a strange way. He went down to Askelon and killed thirty men of the Philistines and took from them the things he wanted to give to the men who told the riddle. Soon after, Samson's wife went away from him, and it was then that Samson began his war upon the Philistines. He caught 300 foxes and tied firebrands to their tails, and drove them into the corn fields belonging to the Philistines. All the corn and vineyards and olives were burned of course.
Then the Philistines asked, "Who did this?" The people said, "Samson did it, because his wife has been taken away." Then the Philistines went and burned Samson's wife and her father with fire. Samson was now still more angry. He killed a great number of the Philistines, and then went to the top of a rock and lived there alone.
The Philistines now went to fight against Judah. "We must have Samson, and bind him, and take him prisoner," they said. The people of Judah were frightened; they ran to Samson and said, "We are come to bind thee; we will not kill thee; but we will give thee into the hands of the Philistines." Then they bound him with two new ropes and led him away. But Samson had strength to break the ropes, and he soon escaped; then, picking up the jawbone of an ass, which he found on the way as he ran, he killed 1,000 men of the Philistines with it.
SAMSON DESTROYING THE PHILISTINES WITH THE JAWBONE OF AN ASS.
After this slaughter, Samson was most thirsty. He cried to God and asked for water, that he might not die of thirst. Then water sprang up like a well, and Samson drank and became strong again.
Samson had been raised up to deliver his country from the Philistines, and so to him was given great strength, and boldness and courage to do it.
Soon after, Samson went to Gaza. The people heard he was there, and they waited quietly for him all night. "In the morning we shall kill him," they said. But Samson arose in the night and went to the gate of the city, and took it up, and the posts, and the bar, and carried them upon his shoulders to the top of the hill near Hebron.
Samson had now another wife. Her name was Deliah. The Philistines needed very much to know wherein Samson's great strength lay. So they went to Deliah and said, "Ask Samson what makes him so strong. Learn how we can bind him; and we will each give thee 1100 pieces of silver." Deliah did not love her husband as she loved money; so she went to Samson and begged him to tell her what made him so strong. Samson did not mean to tell her; so he deceived her, and said, "Let them bind me with seven fresh green withes." Deliah told the Philistines, and they brought the withes, and she bound Samson with them, while the Philistines were hiding in the room.
Then Deliah cried, "The Philistines are upon thee, Samson!" Samson bounded up, broke the withes, and the defeated Philistines ran away. Again Deliah asked Samson to tell her what made him so strong; and he said, "Let them bind me with new ropes." Deliah bound him with the ropes and cried again, "The Philistines are upon thee, Samson!" Then Samson sprang up, broke the ropes like little threads, and escaped again.
Then Deliah said, "Now do not deceive me; but tell me the truth. How can I bind thee?" He said, "Weave the hair of my head with the web." when Samson was asleep, Deliah wove his hair and fastened it most strongly. Then she said, "The Philistines are upon thee!" And he awoke, bounded up, and went away with the pin, and the beam, and the web.
SAMSON AND DELIAH.
Then Deliah said, "Why hast thou deceived me these three times? Tell me now where thy great strength lies." Samson was tired of his wife's asking him so often; so he said, "I am a Nazarite to God! I have never shaven my head; but, if my hair is cut off, then I shall become weak like other men."
Then Deliah sent to the Philistines and said, "Come once again; Samson has told me the truth; I know now what it is makes him so strong." The lords of the Philistines were glad enough to think that soon they might have their enemy in their power. They came at once, and brought money with them to give to Deliah. Then the cruel wife, when Samson was asleep, called a man and told him to shave off Samson's hair. When he had finished, Deliah cried, "The Philistines are upon thee, Samson!"
Samson arose, but alas, his strength was gone! He could not defend himself now! His enemies came and took him, and put out his eyes, and bound him in chains, and carried him to Gaza, and made him work hard in the prison there.
Samson was now in prison at Gaza, alone and blind, without any friend to comfort him. When he first went to prison, his strength was all gone; but, after a time, his hair began to grow, and his strength came again. Now, the Philistines worshipped an ugly idol, shaped like a fish, and named Dagon. They made a great sacrifice to Dagon and praised him, because they thought he had given Samson into their hands. They were very merry, playing, and laughing, and feasting, and praising their idol; and they said, "Let us call Samson, and we will play with him, and laugh at him, and make merry."
Then poor Samson was led in. He could not see his cruel enemies, and they all laughed at him, because he was blind and weak and in their power; and they made him stand between two pillars. The house in which they were feasting was very large and full of people. Three thousand of them were upon the roof, looking and wondering at Samson. Samson asked the boy who led him in to let him rest against the pillars on which the house stood. Then he seized one with his right hand and the other with his left hand. "Lord, give me now strength to conquer my enemies; Let them die, and let me die with them," Samson said. Then he bowed himself down with all his might and broke the pillars. They fell, and the house with them; and the people who were upon the roof were crushed; and Samson died with them.
DEATH OF SAMSON.
THE STORY OF RUTH AND NAOMI.
There dwelt in Bethlehem in these days a good man named Elimelech, with his wife Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion. All their days these people had dwelt in the land, and always faithful had they been to the God of Israel.
But there came into the land a great famine. For days and weeks no rain fell; the trees were dropping their leaves; the grasses were dry and brown; and the corn lay wilted in the fields.
Everywhere there was suffering among the people; starvation was upon them, and the fathers of the little children could bring no food to them. "My wife and children must have food!" Elimelech cried. And so it came about that, when this famine was abroad in the land, Elimelech and his family went to Moab to live. And when they had come into Moab, Mahlon and Chilion chose for their wives Ruth and Orpah from the women of Moab, idolaters though they were.
It was not very long before Mahlon and Chilion, and Elimelech, too, died, and Naomi was left alone with Ruth and Orpah.
They were kind to Naomi, for they loved her well. Still, Naomi's heart longed for her own old home and for the people she had left there; and so (the days of mourning over) Naomi said to Ruth and Orpah, "Dear daughters, now will I return to my own land. You have been very kind to me, and gladly would I take you with me."
NAOMI AND HER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW.
Then Ruth And Orpah wept and begged her to stay with them. But when they saw she would not, then they wanted to go with her.
Naomi would have been so happy to take them with her! But she feared they might be sorry by and by should they go into a new land. So she said, "No, my daughters go not with me. Live here in your own country and among your own people. Here are your parents and your friends; and may God deal kindly with you as you have dealt with me."
Then Naomi kissed them and bade them good-bye; but they went out from the village with her, saying, "Surely we may go with thee to Bethlehem."
But when they were far out across the country, then Naomi turned again and bade them return now to their people.
Then Orpah kissed Naomi and turned back to her own city. But Ruth begged to be allowed to go a little farther.
"Nay, nay," Naomi said; "go back, Ruth, with Orpah. See, she is already far back upon the road."
But Ruth fell at Naomi's feet and cried aloud. "O, send me not away from thee! Let me follow thee! Where thou goest, I will go. Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest I will die, and there will I be buried. Death only shall part thee and me!"
Then old Naomi's heart grew glad; for she loved Ruth and longed to take her with her. Then the two women walked on, and in time they came into the village of Bethlehem.
And as they neared Bethlehem, the old friends of Naomi came out and said, "Can this be Naomi?"
For Naomi had gone out from the city happy, with her husband and sons with her. But now they were all dead; and Naomi was returning, a lonely, sad woman.
It was the harvest time when Naomi and Ruth came into Bethlehem; and, when Ruth saw the gleaners at work, she said, "Let me not be idle; let me go forth into the fields to glean."
Now, Ruth knew no one among the gleaners; but, when she came into the field, and the gleaners looked upon her sweet face, they loved her at once and gladly took her into the field with them.
This field in which Ruth gleaned belonged to a rich man, named Boaz; and, when Boaz saw Ruth at work, he said kindly, "Stay here with my maidens and glean in my field. Follow them and glean after the reapers.
BOAZ AND RUTH.
And when thou art thirsty, then go and drink of the water which my servants have brought."
Ruth wondered at the kindness of Boaz and said, "Why dost thou show such kindness to me, a stranger?"
And Boaz smiled kindly upon Ruth and said, "Because I have heard of thy love for Naomi; and that thou hast left thy home to come with her and live among her people. May God bless and reward thee!"
By and by it came the time when all the gleaners stopped their work and ate their noonday meal. Kindly the maidens took Ruth with them, and they ate together. But when Ruth had had her share given her, she laid aside a part and carried it home to Naomi.
"Where hast thou gleaned to-day?" Naomi asked.
And when Ruth told her she had gleaned in the field of Boaz, and how kindly he had welcomed her, then Naomi was filled with gladness; for Boaz was of the family of Elimelech; and she knew that now he would be kind to them and not allow suffering and hunger to come to them.
All the long beautiful autumn Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz; and each day Boaz loved Ruth more and more, so gentle and kind was she.
Then, when the harvest was over, Boaz came to Naomi and told her that in Canaan there was land that belonged to Elimelech; and that he would buy this land and take Ruth and Naomi to his home.
Then Ruth and Boaz married; and by and by a little child was born to them. How much Naomi loved this little baby! How tenderly she nursed it; and how carefully she taught it as it grew into boyhood!
And so these people lived together until Naomi grew old and died. Then Ruth and Boaz, who had loved her and cared for her all these years, mourned for her, and buried her tenderly beside her own people in the land that had been her father's—the land she had loved so well.
SAMUEL PRESENTED TO ELI. (Opir.)
THE STORY OF SAMUEL.
At Mount Ephraim there dwelt a man, named Elkanah, with his good wife, Hannah.
These good people had one son, Samuel, whom they loved with great tenderness. He was their only child; but, though they loved him so, they carried him when he was yet a tiny boy to the temple and left him with the holy priests.
"Here is my child," the good mother said. "I give him now to our God, the God of Israel. So long as he lives shall he be the Lord's."
Then the priest, Eli, took the child and blessed it, and blessed the mother too; and Samuel grew up a true, honest boy, and came in time to be himself a holy priest.
One night, when Samuel lay upon his bed, he heard a voice calling, "Samuel, Samuel!"
"Here am I, Eli," Samuel answered; for he thought it was the voice of the priest.
But Eli said, "No, my son, I did not call thee."
And Samuel went and lay down upon his bed again.
Again the voice called, "Samuel, Samuel!"
And again Samuel ran to Eli's bedside, saying, "Here am I, Eli."
A third time, even, the voice called. A third time Samuel ran to Eli's bedside.
"Samuel," Eli said, when the lad came a third time, "it may be it is the voice of the Lord. Go back to thy bed; and if it speaks again, say, 'Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.'"
Samuel obeyed; and a fourth time the voice called.
Then Samuel answered as Eli bade him. And the voice then said, "Lo, I am about to punish Eli and his sons; for the sons are wicked and Eli punishes them not."
Now, these sons were priests in the temple with their father, and Eli knew full well that they were wicked men. Still, because they were his own sons, and he loved them, he had not driven them forth from the temple.
Poor old Eli was sad when Samuel told him what the voice had said to him; but he bowed his head and said, "It is the voice of God that hath spoken. Let him do with me what seemeth to him wise and good."
Then came a great battle between the Philistines and the Israelites; and in this battle the Israelites were beaten, and the two sons of Eli slain.
Eli was too old to go himself into the battle, and so he sat at the gate of the city and waited with the people for news of the battle.
At last a man came running. His clothes were rent, and there was dust upon his head, and from this the people knew that he brought sad news only.
Then they set up a weeping and wailing; and old Eli, whose eyes were dim with age, said, "What is this noise I hear? Why do the people cry?"
Then the messenger said, "I have just come from the battle-field."
Eli's heart beat fast. "Tell me," he cried with trembling voice, "what has happened there?"
The messenger dreaded to tell the old priest the sad news; but he said, "Alas! alas! the Israelites are conquered! Your own sons have fallen; and even the Ark which the Israelites carried into battle has been taken!"
Poor old Eli! This was more than he could bear. The Ark taken! And the old man threw up his hands and fell back, dead.
Now, the Ark was taken by the Philistines to one of their own heathen temples, and one of their idols was set upon it.
The Philistines thought the Ark was one of the gods of the Israelites, just as their idols were their gods; so they set it up on their altar, and it was their chief god, Dagon they called it, that they set beside it.
But when the Philistines went into their temple the morning after the battle, there lay Dagon upon the floor.
"This is strange!" they said; and they put the idol back upon the Ark again.
The next morning, again was the idol found upon the floor, its hands and its head broken.
Then a dreadful plague settled upon the people. "It is the idol of the Israelites that has done all this!" the people cried. "Let us send it away!"
So the Ark was sent to Gath; but there a plague fell upon the people.
"We will not have it among us!" the people of Gath cried; so they sent it on to Ekron.
But when the people of Ekron saw it coming, they cried out, "Take away this idol of the Israelites! We fear the plague that is sure to come with it!"
At last the Philistines said, "We will not have it in our land." So they placed it upon a cart, and they fastened two cattle to the cart. Then they set the cart upon a road leading towards Bethshemesh and bade the oxen go.
The oxen, obedient, carried the Ark out upon the road, turning neither to the right nor to the left, and straight into the village of Bethshemesh.
Now, the people of the village were at work in their fields, for it was harvest time.
They heard the coming of the cart and looked. "It is the Ark! It is the Ark!" they cried; and the Levites came and took the Ark and set it upon a great stone.
Then followed a day of great sacrifice and rejoicing. And the Israelites later repented of all their sins, and came to Samuel and asked him what they should do.
RETURN OF THE ARK TO BETHSHEMESH.
Samuel called them all to him at Mizpah, and there he prayed for them and taught them wisely and well.
But as he was teaching them and offering sacrifices, lo! a great army of Philistines drew near. They had come again to fight the Israelites.
But Samuel bade them have no fear; for this time it was the Philistines that were to be conquered and not the Israelites.
So the Israelites made ready for battle; but, before they were ready, a great black cloud rolled up across the sky. The winds blew, the hail fell, and the skies blazed with terrible lightnings.
Never had such a storm been known either to Philistines or Israelites.
"Fear not," Samuel said; "this is God's hand." And the Philistines fled in terror.
Then, when the storm was over, and again the sun shone out, Samuel took a great stone and set it up near Mizpah; and the stone at Mizpah was for a sign to the Israelites that "God shall watch ever over thee and me."
And Samuel named the stone Ebenezer—which means, a stone of help.
For many years now Samuel had been judge over Israel; and so long as the people obeyed him they were safe and happy.
But there came a time when Samuel was an old, old man. Then the Israelites came to him and said, "Thou art very old; thy sons, who now judge over us, are not like thee. Let us have a king."
But Samuel said, "God only is the king of the Israelites."
The people would not listen to the words of Samuel. "We will have a king," they said. "We will be like other nations. We will have a king, and he shall go into battle with us."
And so it came about that from out their number a king was chosen.
Now, there was a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who had a son, named Saul.
Saul was a tall, strong, brave, young man, and of him the Lord said to Samuel, "If the Israelites have a king, let this man Saul be that king."
One day it chanced that the cattle belonging to Kish, Saul's father, strayed away; and Kish said to Saul, "Take a servant with thee and go and seek the cattle that have strayed."
So Saul took a servant, and they searched the country round about, going great distances; still the cattle could not be found.
At last Saul said to the servant, "I am tired with this search. Let us go back and tell my father all we have done."
Then the servant said, "There is a prophet living near this place into which we have come. Let us seek him; for I am told he is most wise. Perhaps he may help us to find our cattle."
"Let us go to him," Saul answered readily; and so the two men came into the city where Samuel dwelt; for it was he they sought.
As they drew near the city, they met two young women coming to a well to draw water.
"Tell me, is the prophet here?" Saul asked.
And the young women said, "Yes, to-day he offers sacrifice in the city. First, he blesses the sacrifice, and then the people feast; and now he is going towards the temple. Make haste and you will see him."
Saul and the servant hurried on towards the gate of the city; and there they saw an old man, sitting alone.
"Tell us," said Saul, "where we may find the prophet Samuel."
And the old man answered, "I am Samuel. Come and feast with me; and to-morrow thou shalt go. Grieve not about the cattle; already they are found. But come with me, for I have much to tell thee. The desire of all Israel is upon thee and upon thy father's house."
Then Saul said, "Why dost thou speak so to me? Knowest thou not that my family is one of the least of the tribe of Benjamin?"
But Samuel knew; and he led Saul to his house and feasted him. And when the feast was over, Samuel said to Saul, "The people of Israel desire a king; and it is thou, Saul, whom the Lord has chosen to be that king."
SAMUEL BLESSING SAUL.
Then, when morning came, Saul and his servant set out upon their journey home; and Samuel went with them, even unto the city gates. Then Samuel said to the servant, "Go on before. I would speak once more with Saul alone." And when he had gone, Samuel poured oil upon the head of Saul and kissed him, saying, "God has chosen thee to be king to rule over his people in Israel."
Then Samuel went back to his home, and Saul went on his way. It was to him a strange journey back to his home, for God had already given him great wisdom and power. Already the gift of prophecy was his; and when he met a company of prophets, he too prophesied with them of things to come.
And the people wondered to hear Saul uttering prophecies. "What does this mean?" they cried. "Is Saul also a prophet?"
But now Samuel called all the tribes of Israel together at Mizpah. "It is your wish," he said, "that a king should be chosen to rule over you and lead you forth into battle. Now, God is not pleased that you should choose a king; for he was himself your king. Still, because it is your wish, a king shall be chosen by God. And that man chosen shall be Saul."
"But where is Saul?" the people asked; for nowhere was Saul to be found.
Then the Lord told the people that Saul was hiding; and he bade them go and search for him in that place which God should name.
The people obeyed, and Saul was found and brought before the people.
"Is this the man?" the people asked. And the Lord said, "This is the man."
Then the people shouted, and Saul was made king over the Israelites.
Then Samuel said to the people, "Behold I am an old man. My hair is white with age. All my life I have been with you, from the time when I was a little child until now. Tell me, have I ever oppressed you, or have I ever taken anything from you?"
And all the people shouted, "No! No! Never! Never have you oppressed us or wronged us in any way!" For the people all loved Samuel, from the oldest to the youngest.
"Wait, then," said Samuel, "and hear what I would say to you. Many years ago God brought your fathers out of Israel and gave this land to them for a possession.
"Often your fathers rebelled against God; and as often he sent punishment upon them that they might turn back to him. Sisera and the Philistines and the Moabites God sent to fight against the Israelites; but whenever they repented and turned back, then He forgave them. Many good captains He sent them,—Gideon, Jepthah and Samson.
"And now you have asked for a king, and God has given you one. And so long as the king and his people are true to the one God, so long shall His blessing be upon you."
And so ended that time in the history of the children of Israel when they were content to be ruled over by Judges chosen by God; and of these Judges, Samuel was the last.