Eighteenth Sunday.
THE JUDGES OF ISRAEL.
FIRST READING.
"The journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honor."—Judges 4:9.
WHEN the Israelites had come to live in the beautiful land that God had promised them, they ought to have loved and served Him, and thanked Him for all His goodness. But no! They liked worshipping false gods; and they made idols to pray to, cut out of wood and stone; and they learnt wicked ways.
Then God was angry with them; and He punished them by sending cruel nations to conquer them, to burn their houses, to steal their children, and drive away their cattle. Then they would be sorry, and pray to God again; and He had pity, and sent some brave man to defend them.
To-day we hear how sadly they were used by a fierce man named Sisera, who had nine hundred war chariots of iron to go into battle with. His people used to shoot at the Israelites at the wells when they came to draw water; and nobody dared to go along the high-roads, but only through the paths, for fear of being killed.