THE CREATION.
The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled Heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim.
The unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an almighty hand.
Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth;
Whist all the stars around her burn,
And all the planets, in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
What though in solemn silence all
Move round this dark terrestrial ball!
What though no real voice or sound
Amidst their radiant orbs be found!—
In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
Forever singing as they shine,
"The hand that made us is Divine."
—Joseph Addison.
CREATION OF TERRA FIRMA. (Raphael.)
THE GARDEN OF EDEN.
When Adam and Eve looked out upon the world round about them; when they saw the flowers and the grasses; when they heard the splashing of the sun-lit waters, and the rustling of the soft branches,—then their hearts were filled with love for each other, for their home, and for the Father who had made all this joy for them.
For a long time they wandered up and down the Garden of Eden, singing songs, and ready always to hear the voice of God when he spoke to them in the soft winds that played among the tree tops.
Now, there was a wicked angel, named Satan. He had been cast out from heaven, down, down from the blue sky. And in his own unhappy home he dwelt now, alone, wretched and revengeful. And when he saw this happy man and woman, so good and pure, their hearts bounding with love to God and joy in right doing, his cruel face grew black.
"Such happiness shall not last," he said. So he crept into the Garden, took on the form of a serpent and spoke to Eve.
"Eat of the fruit of this tree," he said, "and give it to Adam that he may eat too."
"But we are forbidden," Eve said.
"The fruit is like no other. Eat! Ye shall not die," the serpent answered.
THE EXPULSION OF ADAM AND EVE FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN. (Dore.)
Then Eve gathered the fruit and ate of it. It was sweet, even as the serpent had said. Then she gathered more, and Adam, too, ate of it.
Then darkness fell upon the earth. A great wind arose, the thunder rolled, and God drove Adam and Eve out from the Garden of Eden; and at the entrance He placed cherubims and a flaming sword for no one who had sinned could dwell in a land so beautiful and free from sorrow.
But God pitied these children of his; and, although they had sinned against him, he saw that, after long years of suffering, One should be born, who would bring back to earth the joy and peace and happiness that had once been theirs, and which would have been to all their children in all the time to come, had not these parents sinned.
And so Adam and Eve went out into the world to work and struggle and build homes for themselves.
ADAM AND EVE. (Raphael.)
By and by two baby boys were born to them,—Cain and Abel. Pure and kind and good these children should have been. But now they were born into a world of sin, and of the nature of sin they too partook.
When these children were grown men, Cain hated his brother. He grew sullen and revengeful towards him. The serpent that had tempted Adam and Eve now tempted him. He listened; and one day, when they were at work together in the field, Cain slew Abel and hid him in the earth.
Then a great storm gathered across the sky; and a voice said, "Cain, where is thy brother?"
Cain trembled with fear; for he knew it was the voice of God. But he raised his wicked face towards the heavens and cried, "Why should I know? Am I my brother's keeper?"
And the voice said, "Thou art thy brother's keeper."
Then God put a brand upon the brow of Cain, and drove him forth into the wilderness, to be a fugitive and a vagabond.
STATUE OF CAIN. (Giovanni Dupre.)
THE CURSE OF CAIN.
O, the wrath of the Lord is a terrible thing!—
Like the tempest that withers the blossoms of spring,
Like the thunder that bursts on the summer's domain,
It fell on the head of the homicide Cain.
And, lo! like a deer in the fright of the chase,
With a fire in his heart, and a brand on his face,
He speeds him afar to the desert of Nod,—
A vagabond, smote by the vengeance of God!
All nature, to him, has been blasted and banned,
And the blood of a brother yet reeks on his hand;
And no vintage has grown, and no fountain has sprung,
For cheering his heart, or for cooling his tongue.
The groans of a father his slumber shall start,
And the tears of a mother shall pierce to his heart,
And the kiss of his children shall scorch him like flame,
When he thinks of the curse that hangs over his name.
—Knox.
THE DOVE SENT FORTH FROM THE ARK.
THE FLOOD.
Earth shall be ocean! and no breath,
Save of the winds be on the unbounded wave!
Angels shall tire their wings, but find no spot:
Not even a rock from out the liquid grave
Shall lift its point to save,
Or show the place where strong despair hath died,
After long looking o'er the ocean wide
For the expected ebb which cometh not;
All shall be void, destroyed.
—Byron.
It was many, many years after Adam and Eve were driven out from the Garden of Eden that the flood came.
There were thousands of people in the world now, and they were scattered here and there through the fertile valleys and along the rivers of the country far and wide.
There were rich farms everywhere, and shepherds watched their flocks on the hillsides. There were towns and cities; many of them where people dwelt together and made their laws and appointed their law-givers.
But in all these years the people had been growing more and more away from the simple, honest life that God had first shown Adam and Eve.
They had grown selfish and greedy; they were cruel to each other; they cared nothing for the rights and comforts of the community; and more than all this, they had forsaken the simple faith of their fathers and become worshippers of idols.
There was one good man dwelling among these people, many, many years before, whose name was Enoch. Now, it was not the will of God that Enoch should suffer for the sins of the people; and so, when the flood was about to come upon the earth to destroy them, God came and stood by Enoch and said, "Come with me."
Now there was another good man upon the earth, a great grandson of Enoch's, and a man who had never forgotten God, and who had reared his children always in the simple faith which had been his own.
Although God meant to send a flood that should destroy the cities, and separate the people so that the wickedness of the earth might be destroyed, still it was not his wish that the race should perish wholly. And so again God went down to the earth, and said to this good man, Noah, "Build thou an ark, and into it bring all thy family, and also two of every kind of bird and beast and animal. For a great flood shall come upon the earth, and those in the ark only shall be saved."
Noah was a simple hearted man. It was a strange thing for him to be told to build an ark and place within its shelter his family and two of every living thing upon the face of the earth.
NOAH BUILDING THE ARK. (Raphael.)
He told the people what God had said to him; and he urged them to do likewise. But the people only laughed at him, and called him a fool.
But Noah doubted not the word of God and set to work at once,—his three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth helping him to build an ark, and to gather together the birds and beasts and animals of the earth.
Every morning the four men set out as soon as the sun had risen, and kept at their work until darkness fell at night.
At last the ark was finished, and Noah, with his wife, his three sons and their wives, journeyed to the mountain side. The people in the valley laughed at them and threw stones at them, but the trustful little band kept on their way and entered the ark, taking with them, as they had been told, two of every kind of bird and beast.
Then the clouds began to gather in the south,—great black rolls of cloud. The wind rose, the clouds scattered over the whole sky; and so black and thick were they that the light of the sun was shut out. It was like night.
THE DELUGE.
Then the rain fell. In great sheets, like rivers, it poured upon the valleys. The thunders rolled, the lightnings flashed, the rivers overflowed their banks. The winds howled, and great trees were torn up by the roots.
For forty days this storm continued—forty days and forty nights. Every living thing left upon the face of the earth was drowned. But the ark, with its inmates, was borne up by the waters in safety. At last, one morning when Noah and his people awoke, they could see that the storm had ceased; the clouds were separating, and the sun was sending its rays down through the mist upon the flooded earth below.
Then came the beautiful rainbow, spanning the heavens in the west, and reflecting its wonderful colors in the great sea below.
THE RAINBOW.
Triumphal arch, that fill'st the sky
When storms prepare to part,
I ask not proud philosophy
To teach me what thou art.
Still seem as to my childhood's sight,
A midway station given,
For happy spirits to alight
Betwixt the earth and heaven.
How glorious is thy girdle cast
O'er mountain, tower, and town,
Or mirror'd in the ocean vast,
A thousand fathoms down.
As fresh in yon horizon dark,
As young thy beauties seem,
As when the eagle from the ark
First sported in thy beam.
For faithful to its sacred page,
Heaven still rebuilds thy span,
Nor lets the type grow pale with age,
That first spoke peace to man.
—T. Campbell.
Never was rainbow so beautiful! Then the voice of God spoke from out the skies to Noah, "This shall be to you a bow of promise. Never again shall the earth and the people be destroyed by water."
NOAH AND THE DOVE (Schopin.)
But nowhere, as far as eye could reach, was there any sign of land; there was only the peak of Ararat with the ark upon it, standing out above the water.
Noah sent out first a raven, and it returned not. Then he sent out from the ark a dove; and the dove came back after a long, long flight across the waters and fell fluttering at Noah's feet.
Seven days went by. Then again Noah sent out a dove; and this time it returned with an olive leaf. Noah knew now that the flood was subsiding, and that he might lift the cover of the ark and step out upon the mountain top.
Then Noah and his family went forth, together with all the creatures that had gone into the Ark with them.
And so thankful was Noah that he built a great altar, and he and his family offered sacrifices to God in gratitude for his loving care of them.
COMING FORTH FROM THE ARK. (Raphael.)
THE TOWER OF BABEL.
Children were born to Ham, Shem, and Japheth; and when these children became men and women, children were born to them, until, after many, many years, the valley was again filled with people,—all descendants from Noah and his three sons.
Now, there came a time, long after Noah had died, and so could guide his people no longer into the paths of right, that the people again grew wicked and selfish to one another.
They boasted of their power, and said among themselves, "We will build a tower that shall reach into heaven itself. Then who in heaven or earth shall be greater than we?"
CONFUSION OF TONGUES.
Now, God was angry that these people should have forgotten the God of their fathers, and that the trustful, humble soul of Noah should so have departed from them.
So, while all the people were at work upon the tower, now risen above the trees and hill-tops, God touched them; and behold, from that instant each spoke a language of his own; nor could one of them understand any other.
Confusion followed, the building of the tower was forsaken, the people scattered up and down the valley; and so the tower of Babel was left to crumble into ruins.
ABRAHAM.
In the pleasant valley of Mesopotamia there lived a good man, whom the people loved, and who was called Abram.
Now, the people of this valley were idolaters, and though Abram often pleaded with them to return to the faith in one God, they would not listen to him. "Go thou your way, and we will go ours," they would say.
But God would not permit it to be that Abram's life should be spent upon a people who cared not for the good spirit that Abram shed everywhere about him. So He called to him and said, "Leave this valley. Go thou with thy people to the land of Canaan. There a son shall be born to you, and your descendants shall govern the land of Canaan."
Abram, simple hearted and trustful like Noah, gathered his possessions together, and with his wife, Sarah, and his nephew, Lot, set forth across the country towards the land of Canaan.
Now, Abram was a man of great wealth. He had silver and gold, and camels, and sheep and cattle, and armies of servants.
Lot too had great wealth; and when the two families came into Canaan, Lot declared there was not land enough for them all. So Lot went on towards Jordan, where there were fertile valleys and broad rivers.
"Here," said Lot, "shall I find pasturage for my flocks and food for my servants."
"But God bade us dwell here," said Abram; and he was grieved that so great greed should have fallen upon Lot.
Lot went to live in the city of Sodom, a city so wicked that God finally visited it with fire and destroyed it.
Lot was not happy in Sodom. The people were idolaters, and laughed bitterly at Lot for his religion. For, though Lot had disobeyed God, he still kept the worship of Abram.
By and by a great king besieged the city of Sodom, and stole away its riches. Lot himself was made prisoner, and his wealth was divided among the soldiers of the conquering king.
Abram, living happily in the land of Canaan, heard of the downfall of Sodom, and of Lot's imprisonment. So he gathered together his own great army and marched against the king. He recaptured the wealth of Sodom, returning it to its rightful owners, and freed all the people from prison.
"Wilt thou come now to dwell in Canaan?" Abram asked of Lot. But Lot was stubborn and would not.
Then Melchizedek, the ruler of Salem, came out to meet Abram, bringing bread and wine. For Melchizedek was a priest as well as a ruler; and, as he poured the wine, he said, "Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the most high God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hands."
Then Abram gave to Melchizedek one tenth of all his wealth, in token of his love for him; and after that he rode back into his own Land of Canaan.
ABRAHAM AND THE THREE ANGELS.
ABRAHAM'S VISIONS.
Angels of life and death are His;
Without his leave they pass no threshold o'er;
Who, then, would wish or dare, believing this,
Against his messengers to shut the door.
—Longfellow.
One night Abram went out beneath the sky and looked up at the stars. Then God's voice spoke and said, "Thy descendants shall be in number like the stars."
Now, Abram had no children, and had his faith been less firm he might have doubted the words he heard. But he had never forgotten the promise that in the Land of Canaan a child should be born to him, and that from him should descend a nation.
And that same night God spoke again to Abram in a vision. He showed him an altar with a burning lamp. And he said to Abram, "For four hundred years your descendants shall journey in a strange land and suffer affliction; but, at the end of that time, they shall again come into Canaan and possess the land."
Then the Lord changed the name of Abram to Abraham, which means Father of a People. And his wife's name he changed to Sarah, which means a Princess. And again God said unto Abraham and Sarah, "A child shall be born to you; and he shall be great among the nations of the earth."
A third time God came to Abraham; and he told him that the destruction of Sodom was near at hand, because of its wickedness.
Then Abraham thought of Lot, and prayed to God to save the city for Lot's sake.
And God answered, "If ten righteous people only be found in the city, I will not destroy it for Lot's sake."
But ten righteous people were not to be found in the city, and so the angels of destruction were sent down upon it.
Lot sat in the gateway of the city and looked out upon the country. And when he saw the angels of destruction, he rose and led them to his house and gave them food.
Then the angels said, "Whatsoever thou hast in this city bring out; for we are come to destroy this place."
Then Lot went and told his people; but none of them would listen to him. In the morning the angels came and woke Lot and his wife and said to them, "Arise, and hasten from the city. Escape for thy life, and look not behind thee."
So Lot and his wife and their two daughters fled from the city; and the shower of fire came down to purify it. But when they were far out on the plain, Lot's wife, still loving her old home, turned back to look upon it. Too late the angels' words came back to her, "Look not behind thee."
THE FLIGHT OF LOT.
Her feet were rooted to the spot; her voice refused to come; sight left her; sound was shut out; and in one instant she was changed to a pillar of salt.
Then Lot and his two daughters hurried on. They reached a great cave, and ran and hid themselves in it. The city was now a blackened ruin. Lot's wealth was destroyed. He had no silver, no gold, no cattle, no home—only the cave, and grateful was he that he had even that.
DEPARTURE OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL.
HAGAR.
Who can speak a mother's anguish,
Painted in that tearless eye,
Which beholds her darling languish,
Languish, unrelieved, to die!
It was not very long after the destruction of Sodom that there was born into the home of Abraham and Sarah a beautiful little baby boy—even as God had promised.
There was great rejoicing among the people of Abraham's household. Feasts were held, sacrifices were offered up, and Abraham gave the child the name of Isaac.
One of Sarah's maids, whose name was Hagar, had a son, too, called Ishmael. One day this boy mocked at Isaac, and Sarah said he and his mother must be sent away.
So Abraham called Hagar and told her she must go, and he gave her some bread and a bottle of water, and sent her forth into the wilderness.
HAGAR AND ISHMAEL IN THE DESERT.
Poor Hagar and her child sorrowfully set forth in the burning heat; but when all their water was gone, her little one began to droop; he grew weaker and weaker, and she thought he would die. She laid him in the shade and went away to weep. The mother could not bear to see her poor boy die.
She looked above—the heavens shone still
Unclouded, bright and clear;
She listened but not fount nor rill
Poured music on her ear.
Thence once again her child she eyed—
His cheek wore death's pale hue;
"Alas! and is it thus," she cried;
"Doth God forsake me too,
And with my earthly foes combine
To work such ill for me and mine?"
The Angel of God heard her and told her not to fear, but to take up Ishmael and hold him in her arms. Then she saw, all at once, a well near her; she gave the child a drink, and soon he grew strong and well.
THE TRIAL OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH.
ISAAC.
Isaac grew up a fine, healthy, noble boy loved by all his father's people; and to his, father and mother, now old people, he was their joy and life. Never a day passed that Abraham and Sarah did not offer thanks to God for their beautiful child. Most carefully they taught him the religion of his people, and bade him follow it all the days of his life.
"When God speaks, obey, O my son!" the old father would say. And one day there came to Abraham, and Isaac too, a trial of their faith.
A vision came again to Abraham. And in the vision the Lord spoke, saying, "Arise, Abraham, and go and prepare an altar upon the mountain. And when the altar is ready, place thy son Isaac upon the altar; for I would that he be sacrificed—a burnt offering—to me."
Poor old Abraham! There was nothing in all the world so dear to him as this child, Isaac; but although his heart was sore and heavy, the old man rose and did as he was bid. And when the altar was ready, he called Isaac and told him what the vision had said.
For a minute the brave boy's cheek grew pale; his heart beat fast. Then he permitted his father to bind him hand and foot and lay him upon the altar. Abraham lifted the knife to slay the boy; when, lo! his hand was held, and a voice said, "Harm not the lad; for now I do know that thou lovest God more than all else beside."
With trembling hands Abraham unbound the cords that held Isaac, and the boy leaped down from the altar. Then, with tears of gratitude, they knelt and thanked God for his mercy. Then the voice spake again: "Because you have done this thing I will bless thee; and all nations shall be blessed through thy children."
One day Abraham's wife, Sarah, lay down and died, and Abraham bought the field of Machpelah and made for her a burial place.
"Now," said Abraham to Isaac, "it is right that you should find a wife and bring her to dwell in our tent. But take not a wife from the people of Canaan, for they are idolaters. Go rather to Mesopotamia, and there take the wife that God may allot thee."
So a trusty old servant was sent into Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac,—a woman who should be beautiful and good, and whose faith was like that of Abraham.
REBEKAH AT THE WELL. (Goodall.)
REBEKAH.
His house she enters, there to be a light,
Shining within, when all without is right.
It was just upon the edge of the village, and just as the sun was sinking, that the servant came to the well from which the village folk drew water. And there, with a pitcher in her hand, stood a maiden, as beautiful as ever maiden could be.
"Whose daughter art thou?" the servant asked.
And the maiden answered, "I am Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, of the house of Abraham."
Then the servant was glad; for he knew now that the maiden was as good, and her religion as pure, as she was beautiful. So he went to the home of Bethuel, and told his errand into Mesopotamia. He told Bethuel of the godly life Abraham had led, and of the noble youth, Isaac. And he asked that he might choose Rebekah for Isaac's wife and carry her back with him to Canaan.
The heart of Bethuel was glad; and Rebekah, too, was glad to go; for already she loved the brave lad, Isaac, so proudly had the old servant told the story of his brave deeds and godly life.
So Rebekah, arrayed in a fine raiment, was placed on a camel, and beside her walked her nurse and maids.
The old servant then hurried on, and reached the home of Isaac while yet the maiden and her companions were not beyond the limits of their own land.
He told Isaac all that had happened, and how beautiful and good the maiden was, and that she was of the noble house of Bethuel.
Then Isaac loved the maiden; and, as she came near to Canaan, he hurried forth to meet her, and to bring her to his home and to his people. Old Abraham was glad when he saw the maiden, for he knew God's blessing would rest upon the union.
Abraham was now one hundred and seventy-five years of age; and when he came to die, Rebekah and Isaac laid him beside Sarah in the field of Machpelar, and Isaac took his father's place in the household.
Isaac and Rebekah lived to an old age. They were good people, and the Lord blessed them; and when they came to die, their two sons, Esau and Jacob, wept over them, and laid them, also, beside Abraham in the field of Machpelar.
JACOB AND ESAU.
We barter life for pottage; sell true bliss
For wealth or power, for pleasure or renown;
Thus, Esau like, our Father's blessing miss,
Then wash with fruitless tears our faded crown.
—Keble.
Esau was the older son, and to him belonged the honors of the family. It was his duty, too, to offer sacrifices and serve as the high priest in the home; for such was the custom of the times.
But Esau cared little either for honor or religious services. And so, one day when he came home from the hunt, hungry and thirsty, he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of pottage that Jacob sat eating before the door of his home.
Now, Isaac loved this son better than he loved Jacob, and was grieved and disappointed that he should have sold his birthright so foolishly; for now to Jacob rather than to Esau would fall the blessings of God.
But it could not now be helped, and Jacob took up the office of high priest in the house of Isaac.
As Isaac grew old, to him was given the gift of prophecy; and whomsoever he blessed, honor and prosperity was sure to follow. When Rebekah knew this, her heart was filled with but one desire,—that Isaac's blessing should fall upon Jacob rather than upon Esau; for she knew how unworthy Esau was in spirit, and how little he would strive to honor God when the household became his own.
So, one day when Esau was away upon the hunt, she called Jacob to her and bade him go kneel beside his old father and ask his blessing.>
ISAAC BLESSING JACOB.
But Jacob said, "Behold, Esau, my brother, is a hairy man and I a smooth man. My father, perhaps, will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver."
Rebekah said, "Obey my voice, my son." And Jacob yielded.
Then Rebekah took some clothes belonging to Esau and put them upon Jacob; and she put the skin of the kids that he had brought her upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck.
Then Jacob knelt before his father, whose eyes were dimmed with old age, and said, "Bless me, my father."
And Isaac said, "Who art thou, my son?"
And Jacob said, "I am Esau, thy first born."
Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near, that I may feel whether thou be my very son Esau or not."
So Jacob went near to his father, and the father felt of him; and he said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
Then Isaac, thinking it was Esau who knelt, blessed him as his first-born, and said, "The Lord bless thee, and give thee plenty of corn and wine. Let the people serve thee; and be thou lord over all thy brethren."
And all this came to pass; for Jacob's children came into possession of the rich land of Canaan.
By and by, Esau entered the tent and knelt beside his father. "Thy blessing, O father Isaac," he said.
The old man stretched out his hands. "Who art thou?" he cried.
"I am Esau, your first-born. Know you not that I am Esau?"
"Who was it then that came just now and received my blessing?" Isaac asked.
Then Esau knew that to him was lost the blessing as an eldest son.
The old man wailed. "Alas! alas! my son," he said, "much wealth can I yet bestow upon thee; still the greater honors are now with Jacob."
Now Esau's heart was filled with rage. He would have slain his brother; but Rebekah, knowing this, sent Jacob away.
When night came on Jacob lay down upon the cold ground and placed a stone beneath his head. And as he slept God sent a beautiful vision to bless him.
He saw a ladder set upon the earth, whose top reached to Heaven. Holy angels were going up and down the ladder, and, above them all, stood God.
JACOB'S DREAM.
And a voice said, "I am the God of Abraham and of Jacob. I will give the land where thou liest to be a possession to thy children. I am with thee and will keep thee in all thy places, and bring thee again into thy land."
Then Jacob awoke. "This is God's place," he said, "and I knew it not. This is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven."
Then he took a stone and poured oil upon it and blessed it. "This place shall be called Bethel," he said; "Bethel, which means the House of God, for here God appeared unto me."
From Bethel Jacob went on to the land of his uncle Laban; and there he dwelt for many years, keeping the sheep.
But the time came when Laban looked with jealousy upon Jacob. The Lord came again to Jacob and bade him take his wife, Rachael, and his children and go back to Canaan. Jacob obeyed, and, driving his great flocks before him, he set out again for his old home.
JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL.
As he neared the village of Seir, where Esau dwelt, he sent messengers ahead to tell Esau that he was returning, and to beg him to forgive the past that they might meet each other in brotherly love.
The servants came back and told him that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men. Then Jacob was in great fear, for he thought Esau meant to kill him.
He prayed to God to keep him safe. At night an angel came and wrestled with him till break of day, but could not overcome him. And when morn came, the angel said, "Let me go, for it is break of day." Jacob said, "I will not let thee go till thou bless me." Then the angel blessed him, and he saw him no more. This was a sign from God to Jacob that, as he was a match for an angel, he need not fear men.
He took some of his cattle and sent them as a gift to Esau. He set them in droves, so that when Esau met them, and asked whose they were, the men should say, "They are Jacob's. It is a gift he has sent to my lord Esau." Each man who drove the cattle was to answer in this way, so that Esau might feel that Jacob had come as a friend.
All at once Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming. Then he called his eleven sons and Rachel and Leah to go with him and meet Esau.
When he met Esau he bowed down to the ground seven times. Then Esau ran to him and put his arms round his neck and kissed him, and they both wept.
Esau led Jacob to his home and there feasted him for seven days. And when he was rested Jacob set forth again, driving his herds before him, to make a home for his people in the land of Canaan; for he was an old man now, and wished only to rest in the land of his fathers, and to see his twelve sons comfortably placed in homes of their own, with their wives, their children, and their flocks about them.
JOSEPH.
"Now let us thank the Eternal Power; convinced
That Heaven but tries our virtue by affliction,
That oft the cloud which wraps the present hour
Serves but to brighten all our future days."
Jacob had twelve sons; but the one dearest to the old father's heart was Joseph, a lad of only seventeen years when Jacob came back into the land of Canaan.
The older of these sons were selfish, cruel men; and more than that, they had forsaken the God of Abraham, and were worshipping graven images. Poor old Jacob's heart was heavy!
"Go now to Bethel," said a voice to him one night in a dream. "Make an altar there to thy God."
Jacob obeyed; and when the altar was built, he called his sons together and told them the visions he had had. He told them the stronghold God had always been to him in his life, and begged them to forsake their idols and turn again to the true God.
Then Jacob went on to Hebron, where Abraham had lived, and where Isaac still lived, an old, old man, nearly two hundred years old.
It was a joyous meeting—this meeting between Isaac and Jacob. Esau, too, came, and Isaac blessed them both and bade them love each other. Isaac died very soon after, and Jacob, an old man now himself, sat in the door of the tent of his fathers.
To Joseph, Jacob had given a coat of many colors, as a token of his great love for him. And because of this Joseph's brothers hated him only the more. Jealousy burned in their hearts, and they plotted together to slay the boy.
One night Joseph had a vision. In the dream eleven stars came and stood before him and bowed themselves to the ground. And a voice said, "So shall your brothers one day bow before you."
Joseph told his vision to Jacob and to his brothers. The father observed the sayings, but the brothers were made only the more angry.
Now, his brothers spent their days upon the hillside tending their flocks. And one day Jacob said to Joseph, "Go, my son, and see if any evil has befallen your brothers."
So Joseph set out. It was a long way to the pasture lands, and the boy was tired and footsore. And when he reached the place no sign could he find of his brothers.
"Tell me," asked Joseph of the men upon the plains, "where are my brothers that watch their sheep here upon these hillsides?"
The men answered, saying, "Your brothers have gone to the place called Dothan, which is many miles from here."
Then Joseph, after resting, started on towards Dothan. There his brothers saw him, and recognized him afar off by the bright colors of his coat.
"Here comes our dreamer," sneered one brother.
"He who shall reign over us," sneered another.
Then the face of the oldest brother grew black and bitter. "Let us kill him," he said, "and cast him into some pit."
"No," said Rueben, "we need not stain our hands with his blood. Let us only cast him into the pit, and then tell our father Jacob that a wild beast has slain him."
This plan seemed most pleasing to them; and when Joseph came near, they fell upon him, tore his coat from him, and made ready to throw him into a pit.
JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN.
But just then there came along the highway a company of merchants, bound for Egypt. They had a long train of camels, and these were loaded with fruits and spices.
"Let us sell Joseph to these merchants," said one of the brothers. And when the merchants came up, they pushed Joseph towards them and sold him for twenty pieces of silver.
Then they killed a kid, and dipped the coat in the kid's blood, and went back with it to Jacob.
"O father Jacob! This coat have we found by the wayside, and we know not whether it be the coat of Joseph or not!"
The old father looked at the coat. He saw the blood upon it; then he bowed his head and groaned. Too well did he know it to be the coat of his dear son, Joseph.
DESPAIR OF JACOB. (Schopin.)
All day long the old man wept, refusing to be comforted. "I will go down into my grave unto my son mourning," he said. But the sons cared not for his grief. It was enough that they were rid of the brother whom they hated.
PHARAOH'S DREAM.
Poor Joseph was carried into Egypt, and there sold again to a rich man, whose name was Potiphar. Potiphar was very proud of his new slave, so tall and strong and beautiful was he; and for a time Joseph dwelt most happily in his new home. But Potiphar's wife was a bad woman. And because he refused, at her desire, to do evil, she had him thrown into prison; and to Potiphar she told such stories about the boy that for a time Potiphar himself was deceived, and so permitted Joseph to be in prison, giving him no opportunity to prove to his master how untrue these stories were.
Now, in prison with Joseph were servants of King Pharaoh. One morning, when Joseph went to them, they were downcast and sad.
"Why look ye so sad?" said Joseph.
"We have dreamed dreams, and we have no one to interpret them," they said.
"It is God who sends dreams," said Joseph. "Tell them to me. It may be I can interpret them for you."
Then one of the servants told his dream. "I saw in my dream a vine; and in the vine were three branches. They budded, the flowers came, the fruit ripened. Then I took Pharaoh's cup, gathered the grapes and pressed them in the cup, and gave it to Pharaoh."
"Take courage, my brother," said Joseph, "for it is a good dream. The three branches are three days. The dream means that in three days Pharaoh will liberate thee, and thou shalt give the cup into his hands.
"And do not forget me when thou art again free. For I have been sold into bondage and stolen away from Canaan. Neither have I deserved to be thrown into this dungeon. Speak then to Pharaoh for me, and beg him to free me from this prison."
Then the other servant told his dream: "I had three baskets of meat upon my head. They were baked meats for Pharaoh. The birds came and ate the meat from the baskets."
"Alas!" said Joseph, "the meaning of thy dream is this: In three days Pharaoh shall hang thee upon a tree; and the birds shall come and eat thee."
Now, as it proved, Joseph had interpreted the dreams aright; for the power of vision had been with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob before him.
JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH'S DREAM.
But the servant who went back into Pharaoh's home forgot Joseph when once he was free himself; and so for two long years Joseph lay in prison.
Then Pharaoh himself had two strange dreams, and no one in the land could interpret them. Then the old servant, remembering how Joseph interpreted his dream for him so long before, told Pharaoh of him; and Pharaoh at once freed him from prison and bade him come before him to interpret his dreams.
"I dreamed," said Pharaoh, "that I stood beside a river. Seven fat kine came out from it and fed in the meadow. Soon seven more came out, thin and bad. Then the seven lean kine ate up the seven fat kine.
"Then I awoke. But when I slept again, I dreamed that seven good ears of corn came out upon one stem. And soon after, seven more, thin and bad. And the seven bad ears ate up the seven good ears."
"The dreams, great king," said Joseph, "mean this: There shall be seven years of great fruitfulness in the land. Then shall come seven years of famine. And the seven years of famine shall eat up all the fruitfulness of the first seven years.
"Now let Pharaoh take warning. Let him hoard up all the corn that can be spared in these first seven years. Then, when the years of famine come, there will be corn for all who dwell in the land."
Pharaoh was pleased with the wisdom of Joseph. He appointed him at once to have charge over the corn, and commanded the people to obey him in all that he bade them do. Then the king gave him a ring and a chain of gold to wear upon his neck. He dressed him in fine linen and made him a golden chariot. And the people loved Joseph and obeyed him.
Then followed seven years of fruitfulness, such as even the fertile valley of Egypt had never known before; and the people hoarded their corn until their store houses were full to bursting.
And when every house was full, then began the drought and famine; and no food grew for the people in all the seven years that followed. Great indeed might have been the suffering; for no rain came, no corn grew, and everywhere the people were crying to Joseph for food.
And the famine spread even into the country of Canaan; and Joseph's own people were starving.
JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN.
JOSEPH'S BROTHERS.
The brothers of Joseph heard that in Egypt there was corn stored away in plenty; so they went down into Egypt to beg for it.
They came before Joseph, and bowed low before him, even as in the vision so long ago it had been foretold that they would bow before him.
"Who are you?" said Joseph; for he wished to try his brothers and see if they would speak the truth.
"We are the sons of Jacob," said they; "and we are come from the land of Canaan."
"Have you any other brothers?" asked Joseph.
"We have one younger brother at home," they said.
"How do I know if you speak truly? Go to your homes—I will give you corn—and bring to me your youngest brother. Meanwhile I will hold one of you here as prisoner until you return. Then shall I know if you are honest men."
So the nine brothers went back to Canaan and told Jacob what had happened; but they did not know it was Joseph they had seen.
And when they told Jacob what the man in Egypt had said, and that Simeon had been left a prisoner, the old father lifted up his voice and wept. "Never," said he, "shall ye carry Benjamin into Egypt. Joseph ye have lost to me, and now Simeon! And if mischief befall Benjamin by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to the grave."
But when all the corn was eaten and there was no more food, Jacob was obliged to send Benjamin into Egypt with his brothers; for they dared not go without him.
Joseph saw them coming, and his heart was glad when he saw his brother Benjamin with them.
So he spoke to his servants and bade them make ready a feast for the ten men who had come from Canaan. Simeon he freed from prison, and all were received into his own home.
They came into the banquet hall, and again they all bowed low before Joseph, as in the dream it had been prophesied they should do.
"Is thy father well?" Joseph asked of his brothers.
And the brothers answered, "Jacob is well."
Then the tears came into the eyes of Joseph, and he looked with tenderness upon them all. But they knew him not. And in the morning of the next day they set out again for Canaan, their bags filled with corn.
But when they were departing, Joseph said to his steward, "Put my silver cup into the sack of the youngest; and when they are well out upon the road, overtake them, make a pretence of searching them for it, and bring back him in whose sack you find the cup."
The servant did as he was bid; and Benjamin, in whose sack, of course, the cup was found, was brought back to Joseph. Ashamed, the other brothers too came back and fell at Joseph's feet.
"Weep not," said Joseph. "Do you not know me? I am your brother Joseph, whom, so many years ago, you did sell into bondage."
Then the oldest brother fell upon his face before Joseph; and Benjamin fell upon his neck and wept tears of joy.
"Go back now to Canaan. Take with you wagons and horses. Tell my father that I am rich and happy; that I am governor over the province; and that I send these wagons to bear him to me, that I may look once more upon his face."
Great was the rejoicing in Canaan when the sons brought the good tidings from Joseph. And straightway Jacob and all his family set forth for the land of Egypt.
Eagerly the old father pressed forward to meet his son. And when Joseph saw him afar off, he rode out in his own chariot to meet him. They fell upon each other's necks and kissed each other; and Jacob lifted his face in prayer to God, who had permitted him to see again the son he loved.
JACOB GOETH INTO EGYPT.
Then Joseph led them to his own palace, and a great feast was held.
For seventeen years Jacob dwelt in Egypt with his children, and most happy were they, now all together once more.
But Jacob was now one hundred and forty-seven years old; and when he knew his end was near, he called his twelve sons to him and blessed them all. He told them many wonderful things which sometime would come to them; and when he had finished prophesying, he kissed them all, then lay back upon his bed and died. For seven days they mourned for him; and then they carried him to Canaan and buried him in the field of Macphelar.
Joseph returned to Egypt, where he lived a long and happy life; and when he died, he too, we trust, was carried back and laid in the burial-place of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.
THE FINDING OF MOSES. (Paul Delaroche.)
THE STORY OF MOSES.
Gently slumber'd on the wave
The new-born seer of old,
Ordained the chosen tribes to save;
Nor deem'd how darkly roll'd
The waters by his rushy bark,
Perchance e'en now defiled
With infant's blood for Israel's sake,
Blood of some priestly child.
What recks he of his mother's tears,
His sister's boding sigh?
The whispering reeds are all he hears,
And Nile, soft weltering nigh,
Sings him to sleep, but he will wake,
And o'er the haughty flood
Wave his stern rod; and lo! a lake,
A restless sea of blood!
Joseph had been dead now many, many years. Pharaoh too had died, and a new Pharaoh was on the throne.
And all these years the children of the twelve brothers had grown up and passed away. Many children had been born to them; and these too had grown up and passed away, leaving their children now in the land of Egypt.
The children of the twelve brothers had been called Israelites, because to Jacob had been given the name Israel. From out the clouds had God spoken to him and said, "Thou shalt henceforth be called Israel."
Now, the Israelites had always been a people apart from the Egyptians. They had kept the faith of their fathers in the midst of the idolatry of the land in which they lived.
The new Pharaoh hated these Israelites and made slaves of them. He gave them all manner of hard work to do; and at one time ordered them, on penalty of their lives, to make for him bricks without straw.
At another time he sent out his soldiers, and bade them slay every little Israelitish boy in the land, that thus the race might be exterminated.
But this was not to be. For, you remember, it was prophesied away back in the days of Abraham, that, though the Israelites should go out from their land and live for 400 years, yet again the time would come when they should return to Canaan, the land the Lord had blessed to them.
Now, at the time Pharaoh sent out the cruel command, there was among the Israelites one mother, of the family of Levi, who had a beautiful little baby boy.
"My baby shall not be slain," she said. So she took him down to the river, made a little basket, placed him in it, and hid him in the bulrushes.
Every day, and many times a day, she went down to see that he was comfortable and to carry him food.
But one day the daughter of the king came down to the water to bathe. Straight towards the place where the baby was she came, while Miriam, the baby's sister, hid among the bulrushes, trembling with fear.
"See this poor little baby!" said the princess; and the tears came in her eyes. "It is one of the children of the Israelites," she said, "hidden here from the cruel soldiers."
Then the kind woman lifted it from its little basket and held it close to her heart.
Now, Miriam was a wise little girl; and when she saw that the princess was kind, she came out from the bulrushes and said, "Shall I not bring you a good woman to nurse the little baby for you?"
Then the princess bade her go with speed, for already the baby was beginning to cry.
Miriam ran and brought the baby's mother.
"Take this child, good woman," said the princess, "and bring it up as your own. It shall be my child, and I will name it Moses, because I drew him out of the water."
And so the little baby was taken back to its old home, and every day the princess sent to know if it were well; and often she came herself, bringing gold for its nurse and fine linen for the child.
When the baby grew to be a boy the princess sent him to the wisest teachers in the land, that he might himself grow wise and great.
But the true mother of Moses had taught him the religion of his fathers, and had told him the story of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph. She had told him, too, of the promise of God, that sometime the Israelites should again possess the land of Canaan.
To Moses this was a wonderful story; and he wished often that he might be the prophet that was to deliver his people.
One day Moses saw an Egyptian cruelly beating an Israelite. His heart burned with indignation, and he fell upon the Egyptian and slew him.
Then Moses fled out into the wilderness; for he knew he had offended against the law.
On through the wilderness he pressed, till he came into the field where a priest named Jethro lived. Jethro gave him food and shelter; and it came about that Moses became one of Jethro's family. For a long time he dwelt among these people, tending their flocks, and thinking about his poor people, suffering in their bondage to the Egyptians.
MOSES' VISION.
Far out across the sandy wild,
Where, like a solitary child
He thoughtless roamed and free,
One towering thorn was wrapped in flame—
Bright without blaze it went and came,
Who would not turn and see?
—Keble.
One day, as Moses tended the sheep on Mt. Horeb, there appeared beside him a bright light. And in another instant a bush near by leaped with red flames.
The branches crackled; the tongues of flame streamed up against the sky; but still the bush was not consumed, nor did it wither.
"This is strange," Moses thought; and he went up to the bush.
"Moses! Moses!" called a voice from out the flames.
MOSES COMING DOWN FROM MOUNT SINAI.
Then Moses knew it was the voice of the Lord; and he fell upon his knees before the bush. He was afraid.
"The place where thou standest it is holy-ground!" said the voice again. "I am God, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob."
"I have seen my people's sorrow. I have heard their cry. I am come to send thee to Pharaoh. And thou shalt bring my people out of Egypt."
"Who am I, O Lord," Moses cried, "that I should be chosen to go to Pharaoh?"
"Fear not," said the voice of God again. "I will be with thee. Go, and tell thy people that I sent thee. If Pharaoh disobey my command, then will I send punishment upon him. Plagues will I send upon Egypt, and I will bring out my people safely." Still Moses was afraid. It was a great duty that had been laid upon him. He dared not believe he could do all that the Lord bade him to do. What if the people refused to believe him?
"Throw thy rod upon the ground," God said to Moses. For he knew the fear that was in the heart of the man, and he meant to give him courage.
Moses threw the rod upon the ground, and behold, it was changed into a serpent.
"Take the serpent in thy hand," commanded the voice from the burning bush.
For a moment Moses hesitated; for it was a terrible serpent, with fangs having deadly poison; and even the heart of the bravest man might well quail at such a command.
But Moses knew the Lord would not allow it to harm him. So he seized it by the tail—when lo! it changed again to a rod.
"Now," said the voice from the bush, "go to the people of Israel. Tell them these signs I have given to you that they may believe that I have sent you."
Still Moses feared. "O Lord," he cried, "I cannot speak well. My tongue is slow; I have no words."
But the Lord said, "Who hath made thy tongue dumb? Have not I, the Lord? Go; obey my command and I will instruct thee what thou shalt say. Take, too, thy brother Aaron with thee; and I will teach both Aaron and thee what to say."
Then Moses obeyed. Timid was he still; but the Lord gave him strength, and he set out from the house of Jethro to deliver the people of Israel. And as he journeyed towards the city, the Lord spoke, too, to Aaron, and bade him to go out to meet Moses.
Then Aaron and Moses met; and when they met, they fell upon each other's necks and wept.
Then they told each other what the Lord had said to them, and together they went into the presence of Pharaoh and said, "Behold the Lord hath told us to come to thee, and bid thee set free the people of Israel."
But Pharaoh sneered and said, "I know not the Lord of the Israelites, nor shall I set the people free."
Instead, Pharaoh called together his governors and bade them oppress the Israelites more heavily still; to give them more work and less pay; to punish them; and in every way to do those things to them that would make their yoke still harder to bear.
The governor obeyed. Then the poor Israelites blamed Moses and Aaron.
Moses went to God with the great burden of care now upon him. He was now eighty years of age, and the care weighed upon him most heavily.
"All this I do know," the Lord said. "But have trust in me. I have heard the groanings of my people. I remember the covenant that I made with Abraham, and I will bring the people out from Egypt into the land of Canaan."
MOSES AND AARON BEFORE PHARAOH.
THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT.
Yet think not thou, amidst thy warlike bands,
They lie beyond redemption in thine hands.
The God in whom they trust may help them still,
They know He can deliver, and He will:
Whether by life or death afflicts them not;
On His decree, not thine, they rest their lot.
—Montgomery.
God gave to Moses and Aaron power to do wonderful things, miraculous things, that through them Pharaoh might know that the power of God was with them.
Aaron went before Pharaoh, and, throwing down his rod before him, it turned to a serpent.
But Pharaoh only laughed. "My wise men can do as much," he said. So he called them. They also did in like manner, but the rod of Aaron swallowed up the rods of Pharaoh's wise men.
Now, it is the river Nile that makes Egypt the fertile, fruitful country that it is. Without it Egypt would be a burning desert. The Egyptians well knew this. One day Moses went down to the waters, and, stretching his rod out over them, turned them to blood. The people were frightened.
The fish died; and no man could drink of the water.
Then Moses stretched out his rod again across the water; and behold thousands upon thousands of frogs came up out of the water. They infested the land. The houses were full of them. They sprang upon the banquet table of the king; and when he went to bed they were there also.
Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and said, "Take away these horrible frogs, and I will set thy people free."
Moses raised his rod again, and the frogs disappeared. There was rest in the land again.
But when they were gone, Pharaoh hardened his heart again. He would not let the Israelites go.
"Stretch forth thy rod again," came the word of God to Moses. He stretched forth his rod, and another plague fell upon the country. The ground was covered with lice, and the lice swarmed upon the animals and upon the people.
Then Moses went to Pharaoh and said, "Let my people go; but if thou wilt not, I will send flies upon thee and upon thy people; but I will send no flies upon the Israelites."
But Pharaoh would not listen. And the flies came—wasps and biting insects. But none of these came near the Israelites, though about the homes of the Egyptians they swarmed until Pharaoh, beside himself with torment, called upon Moses to deliver him from the plague, promising again to free the people of Israel.
Again this plague was lifted; and again Pharaoh perjured his soul. For no sooner was he free, than again he refused to let the people go.
Then the Lord sent Moses again into the presence of the king. "If thou wilt not let the people go," said Moses to Pharaoh, "then a plague shall fall upon the cattle; and not one shall be left alive to all the Egyptians; but those of the Israelites shall be free from harm."
Pharaoh made no answer; and on the morrow the plague fell, and not only the cattle but the magicians were covered with boils. Besides this, a terrible storm came. The trees were broken down, and the crops in the fields were destroyed.
Pharaoh was terrified. Famine he knew now would follow; for they had neither meat nor corn for food. And again he promised freedom to the Israelites.
But when the storm had ceased, and the crops were again growing, he forgot his terror, and freed not the people.
Then the locusts came, millions upon millions of them. They swarmed upon every bit of green in all the land and devoured it,—the leaves, the grass, and the newly-growing crops. Not a leaf nor a blade was left. And again famine sent terror into the soul of Pharaoh. And again he promised freedom to the Israelites; and again he refused, when the plague was lifted, to keep his promise.
THE PLAGUE OF DARKNESS.
Then came a terrible darkness upon the country,—a darkness that no light could penetrate.
"Go, Moses," said Pharaoh again. "Go out from the land to the land thou lovest. Go; but leave behind thee thy cattle and thy possessions. Those belong to Egypt."
Now, to have set out with the great company of the Israelites without cattle and corn for food would have been worse than useless for starvation would have come upon them.
Therefore Moses answered, "No, Pharaoh, the Israelites go not forth from Egypt without their cattle and corn and all that belongs to them."
Then Pharaoh was angry, and he drove Moses forth from him, saying, "Never more let me look upon thy face!"
THE FIRST BORN SLAIN.
Moses went out from the palace and told all that had happened to the Lord.
The darkness ended in three days. Then God said, "Now will I send another and a greater plague upon Pharaoh; and after this, he will let the people go."
So God sent an angel to smite the first-born of all the Egyptians. This Moses told to his people, and bade them put a mark upon their own doorsteps, that the angel might pass by the homes of the Israelites, and leave their children unharmed.
This the Israelites did; and in the night-time the angel came. Not one house of the Israelites did he enter; but in every house of the Egyptians, when the sun rose, there lay the dead body of the oldest child.
Then a groan went up from the people. There was wailing in the streets. Pharaoh himself could bear no more. He sent for Moses and Aaron in the night time and said to them, "Rise up, you and the Israelites and all their children. Take all that you have and be gone."
Then Moses and Aaron told the people, and bade them make haste lest again Pharaoh repent. But Pharaoh's heart was too heavy. At last his proud spirit was subdued, and Moses and Aaron, with 600,000 Israelites, set out for the land of Canaan.