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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:16:27 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:16:27 -0700 |
| commit | 4e3cdfc9c5d4ea52cea2d3403282bbef2de14c96 (patch) | |
| tree | 93b1a15c25ee6a03f4eb0622b4cdca31ffac86a4 | |
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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/25309-h.zip b/25309-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..6714677 --- /dev/null +++ b/25309-h.zip diff --git a/25309-h/25309-h.htm b/25309-h/25309-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..97fc53b --- /dev/null +++ b/25309-h/25309-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,15498 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<HTML> +<HEAD> + +<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> + +<TITLE> +Child's Story of the Bible +</TITLE> + +<STYLE TYPE="text/css"> +BODY { color: Black; + background: White; + margin-right: 5%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: medium; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +P {text-indent: 4% } + +P.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +P.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-size: small } + +P.letter {font-size: small ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.salutation {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.closing {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.footnote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.transnote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.index {font-size: small ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.intro {font-size: medium ; + text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.dedication {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 15%; + text-align: justify } + +P.published {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 15% } + +P.quote {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.report {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +P.report2 {font-size: small ; + text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +P.finis { text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +H3.h3left { margin-left: 0%; + margin-right: 1%; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: left ; + clear: left ; + text-align: center } + +H3.h3right { margin-left: 1%; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: right ; + clear: right ; + text-align: center } + +H3.h3center { margin-left: 0; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: none ; + clear: both ; + text-align: center } + +H4.h4left { margin-left: 0%; + margin-right: 1%; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: left ; + clear: left ; + text-align: center } + +H4.h4right { margin-left: 1%; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: right ; + clear: right ; + text-align: center } + +H4.h4center { margin-left: 0; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: none ; + clear: both ; + text-align: center } + +H5.h5left { margin-left: 0%; + margin-right: 1%; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: left ; + clear: left ; + text-align: center } + +H5.h5right { margin-left: 1%; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: right ; + clear: right ; + text-align: center } + +H5.h5center { margin-left: 0; + margin-right: 0 ; + margin-bottom: .5% ; + margin-top: 0; + float: none ; + clear: both ; + text-align: center } + +IMG.imgleft { float: left; + clear: left; + margin-left: 0; + margin-bottom: 0; + margin-top: 1%; + margin-right: 1%; + padding: 0; + text-align: center } + +IMG.imgright {float: right; + clear: right; + margin-left: 1%; + margin-bottom: 0; + margin-top: 1%; + margin-right: 0; + padding: 0; + text-align: center } + +IMG.imgcenter { margin-left: auto; + margin-bottom: 0; + margin-top: 1%; + margin-right: auto; } + +.pagenum { position: absolute; + left: 1%; + font-size: 95%; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; } + +.sidenote { left: 0%; + font-size: 65%; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0%; + width: 17%; + float: left; + clear: left; + padding-left: 0%; + padding-right: 2%; + padding-top: 2%; + padding-bottom: 2%; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; } + + + +</STYLE> + +</HEAD> + +<BODY> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's Child's Story of the Bible, by Mary A. Lathbury + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Child's Story of the Bible + +Author: Mary A. Lathbury + +Release Date: May 3, 2008 [EBook #25309] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILD'S STORY OF THE BIBLE *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-cover"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-cover.jpg" ALT="Cover art" BORDER="0" WIDTH="732" HEIGHT="982"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 732px"> +Cover art +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-front.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-frontt.jpg" ALT="Moses and Zipporah at the well" BORDER="0" WIDTH="653" HEIGHT="868"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 653px"> +Moses and Zipporah at the well +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +CHILD'S +<BR> +Story of the Bible +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BY +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +MARY A. LATHBURY +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WITH INTRODUCTION BY +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +BISHOP JOHN H. VINCENT +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ILLUSTRATED +<BR><BR> +WITH NUMEROUS FULL-PAGE COLORED PLATES, +<BR> +AND PHOTO-ENGRAVINGS +</H3> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +BOSTON +<BR> +DEWOLFE, & FISKE Co. +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +COPYRIGHT, 1898 +<BR> +By DEWOLFE, FISKE & CO. +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PREFACE. +</H3> + +<HR ALIGN="center" WIDTH="10%"> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +To Mothers. +</H3> + +<P> +I have been asked to prepare this little aid for your use in the +Home—that first and greatest of schools. The school was founded by +the Maker of men, and He called mothers to be its earliest and most +important teachers. He prepared a text-book for it which we call His +Word, illustrating it richly and fully from life and Nature, and +filling it with His Spirit. Wherever it is known, as the children +become the members of the Church, the citizens of the State, the people +of the World, the Book goes with them, forming the Church, the State, +the World. It is not only equal to the need, but contains infinite +riches that wait to be unveiled. +</P> + +<P> +That no busy mother may say, "I cannot take time to gather from the +Bible the simple lessons that my children need," this book of little +stories—together making one—has been written. I have tried to +preserve the pure outlines of the sacred record from the vivid +description and the suggestive supposition that are sometimes +introduced to add charm to the story, and in all quoted speech I have +used the exact words of the authorized version of the Scriptures, so +that the earliest impression made upon the memory of the child might be +one that should remain. +</P> + +<P> +The stories are not a substitute for the Word—only little approaches +to it through which young feet may be guided by her who holds a place +next to the great Teacher in His work with little children. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +M.A.L. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +INTRODUCTION. +</H3> + +<P> +When the children gather at mother's knee, and the tiniest finds a +place in mother's arms, and all clamor for a "story," "a story, mamma," +how lovely is the picture—the living picture—that circle makes! +Love, longing, wisdom, expectancy, faith, shining eyes, lips that move +involuntarily, keeping time to the sweet movements of mother's lips! +Blessed group! Happy mother! +</P> + +<P> +When the stories mother tells are light and meaningless, full of rhyme +and rollick, even their eyes are bright and faces radiant, and her own +sweet face and voice give charm and weight and significance to the +delicious nonsense she rehearses. +</P> + +<P> +Why not give to this receptive and eager audience stories full of +deepest meaning, facts, parables, myths charged with truth? Why not +people little memories with heroes, saints, kings, prophets, apostles? +Why not give stories to story-loving youngsters that will turn into +immortal pictures and be transformed some day into living factors in +the making of character? And why not give them as comparison the babe +of Bethlehem, the boy of Nazareth, the lad of twelve years in the +schools of the Temple, the man of gentle love, the preacher of +righteousness, the worker of heavenly wonders, the Son of Man, the Son +of God, the Prince of Peace? +</P> + +<P> +The Book of books is the children's Book. It is a story book. And the +stories are "true stories." And the lessons to be drawn from them are +numberless, and will come up out of the treasure-house of memory when +mother's eyes are closed and her voice silent. +</P> + +<P> +It is a great thing to put mother and the Book together in Baby's +thought; in the big boy's memory; in the grown-up man's heart and life. +</P> + +<P> +This book is mother's book; to aid her in doing the best and most +lasting work a mother can do to sow seed and set out vines the branches +of which shall reach into the world of spirits, and from which she and +her children may long afterwards pluck fruit together in the eternal +kingdom. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +JOHN H. VINCENT. +<BR> +CHAUTAUQUA, 1898. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS. +</H2> + +<HR ALIGN="center" WIDTH="10%"> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE OLD TESTAMENT +</H3> + +<BR> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%">CHAPTER</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="85%"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0101">The Beginning of Things</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0102">The Great Flood</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0103">Abraham—the Father of the Faithful</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0104">Isaac, the Shepherd Prince</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0105">Jacob, a Prince of God</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0106">Joseph, the Castaway</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0107">Joseph, a Servant, a Prisoner and a Saint</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0108">Joseph, the Savior of His People</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0109">The Cradle that was Rocked by a River</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0110">Moses in Midian</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0111">The Rod that Troubled Egypt</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0112">Following the Cloud</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0113">In the Borders of Canaan</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0114">A Nation that was Born in a Day</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0115">Samson, the Strong</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0116">Ruth</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0117">Samuel—the Child of the Temple</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0118">The Making of a King</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0119">The Shepherd Boy of Bethlehem</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0120">The Power of a Pebble</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0121">Faithful unto Death</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0122">David, the Outcast</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0123">Every Inch a King</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0124">David's Sin</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0125">David's Sorrow</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0126">The Building of the Golden House</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0127">Elijah, the Great Heart of Israel</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0128">The Little Chamber on the Wall</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0129">A Little Maid of Israel</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0130">The Two Boy Kings</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0131">The Four Captive Children</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0132">The Master of the Magicians</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0133">The Story of Jonah</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0134">Esther, the Queen</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE OLD TESTAMENT +</H3> + +<BR> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="85%"> +<A HREF="#chap0201">The Angels of the Advent</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0202">Following the Star</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0203">The Flight into Egypt</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0204">The Boy of Nazareth</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0205">The Young Carpenter</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0206">The Voice in the Wilderness</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0207">Jesus in the Desert</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0208">The First Disciples</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0209">The First Miracle</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0210">In His Father's House</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0211">A Talk about the Breath of God</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0212">A Talk about the Water of Life</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0213">Jesus in the Synagogue</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0214">Among the Fishermen</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0215">The Healing Hand of Jesus</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0216">Following Jesus</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0217">Friends of Jesus</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0218">The Lord of Life</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0219">Mary of Magdala</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0220">Stories Told by the Lake</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0221">Stilling the Storm</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0222">Called Back</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0223">Two by Two</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0224">Walking the Waves—The Two Kingdoms</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0225">A Journey with Jesus</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0226">The Christian Sabbath—Peter's Confession of Faith</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0227">"And We Beheld His Glory"—A Father's Faith</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0228">The Lord and the Little Ones—Leaving Galilee</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0229">At the House of Martha—The Good Shepherd</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0230">The Lesson Stories of Jesus</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0231">The Voice that Waked the Dead—The Children of the Kingdom</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0232">The Young Man that Jesus Loved</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0233">The Last Journey to Jerusalem</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0234">The Prince of Peace</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0235">The Children in the Temple</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0236">The Last Day in the Temple</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0237">The Last Words in the Temple</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0238">An Evening on the Mount of Olives</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0239">The Holy Supper</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XL. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0240">The Night of the Betrayal</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0241">Despised and Rejected of Men</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0242">The King of Heaven at the Bar of Pilate</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0243">Love and Death</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0244">Love and Life</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0245">The Evening of Easter</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0246">The Lord's Last Days with His Disciples</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0247">"He Ascended into Heaven"</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XLVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap0248">The Promise of the Father</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR> + +<H3><A HREF="#chap0249">AN AFTERWORD</A></H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +ILLUSTRATIONS +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE OLD TESTAMENT +</H3> + +<BR> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-front"> +Moses and Zipporah at the well (color plate) . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-012"> +Driven from Eden +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-015"> +The great flood +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-016"> +Dove returns to ark with an olive leaf (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-018"> +The three strangers +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-020"> +Hagar in the desert +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-022"> +On Mount Moriah +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-027"> +Isaac blessing Jacob +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-031a"> +Meeting of Jacob and Esau +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-031b"> +Jacob and Rachael +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-033"> +Jacob sold to the Ishmaelites (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-040"> +Joseph makes himself known to his brothers +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-044"> +Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-047"> +The rod that troubled Egypt +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-053"> +Destruction of Pharoah's army +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-057"> +Moses descending from the Mount +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-059"> +The return of the spies +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-063"> +Crossing the Jordan +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-065"> +The young Samson +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-067"> +The death of Samson +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-070"> +Ruth and Naomi +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-072"> +Samuel speaking to the Lord (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-077"> +The young shepherd boy (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-079"> +David cutting off Goliath's head (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-080"> +The spear struck the wall (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-082"> +The garment of Saul +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-090"> +The death of Absalom +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-092"> +David mourning for Absalom +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-097"> +The Queen of Sheba before Solomon +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-099"> +Ravens bringing food to Elijah (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-104"> +Elijah and the Angel +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-106"> +Elijah and the chariot of fire +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-107"> +Elijah raises the widow's son +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-116"> +In the fiery furnace +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-118"> +The handwriting on the wall +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-120"> +Daniel in the den of lions (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-122"> +Jonah thrown on the dry land +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-131"> +Haman denounced by the Queen +</A> +</H3> + +<BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +THE NEW TESTAMENT +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-135"> +The Holy Child in the manger (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-137"> +Following the star +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-141"> +The flight into Egypt +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-144"> +The Boy Jesus in the temple (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-147"> +John the Baptist at the Jordan +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-153"> +The marriage at Cana +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-159"> +Jesus by the well (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-162"> +Jesus in the synagogue +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-165"> +Jesus among the fishermen (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-167"> +Jesus healing the sick +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-171"> +Sermon on the Mount +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-178"> +Jesus teaching by the sea +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-181"> +Jesus sleeping during the storm (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-183"> +Jesus curing the little maid (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-187"> +Feeding the five thousand +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-194"> +Jesus in the wheat fields +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-200"> +The little ones (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-203a"> +The good Samaritan +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-203b"> +Jesus in the house at Bethany +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-210a"> +The return of the prodigal +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-210b"> +The Pharisee and the publican +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-219"> +Jesus entering Jerusalem (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-221"> +Showing the penny +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-223"> +The two mites +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-227"> +The Passover supper (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-230a"> +Gethsemane +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-230b"> +Jesus betrayed by Judas +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-232"> +The sin of Peter +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-236"> +Jesus crowned with thorns +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-238"> +Jesus before Pilate (color plate) +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-239"> +Jesus bearing the cross +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-241"> +The descent from the cross +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-243"> +The angel of the resurrection +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-247"> +The walk to Emmaus +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-252"> +The ascension +</A> +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0101"></A> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +CHILD'S STORY OF THE BIBLE +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE BEGINNING OF THINGS. +</H3> + +<P> +Away back in the beginning of things God made the sky and the earth we +live upon. At first it was all dark, and the earth had no form, but +God was building a home for us, and his work went on through six long +days, until it was finished as we see it now. +</P> + +<P> +On the first day God said, "Let there be light," and the black night +turned to gray, and light came. God called the light Day, and the +darkness Night, and the evening and the morning made the first day. +</P> + +<P> +Then God divided the waters, so that there were clouds above and seas +below, and He called the clouds heaven. It was the second day. +</P> + +<P> +Then the seas were gathered together by themselves, and the dry land +rose above them, and God saw that it was good. Then He called to the +grass, and the plants, and the trees to come out of the ground, and +they came bearing their seeds, and He called the third day good. +</P> + +<P> +Then God called to the two great lights, the sun and the moon, to shine +clear in the sky, which had been first dark, and then gray, and they +rose and set to make day and night, and seasons and years, and the +stars came also, and it was the fourth day. +</P> + +<P> +Then God called for all kinds of fishes that swim in the seas, and +rivers, and for all kinds of birds that fly in the air, and they came, +and it was the fifth day. +</P> + +<P> +And then God called for the animals to live on the green earth, and the +cattle and the great beasts, and the creeping things came, and God +called them all good. +</P> + +<P> +After this he made the first of the great family of Man. He made them +after His own likeness. He made their bodies from the earth, but their +souls He breathed into them, so that Man is a spirit, living in an +earthly body, and can understand about God and love Him. He blessed +them and told them to become many, and to rule over all the earth, with +its beasts and birds, and fishes, and it was the sixth day. +</P> + +<P> +The Man's name was Adam, and the woman, who was made from a piece of +Adam's body nearest to his heart, was named Eve. +</P> + +<P> +Then God's world was finished, and on the seventh day there was rest. +God was pleased with all that was made, and He made the seventh day +holy, by setting it apart from all the others. We keep the Sabbath, or +the Lord's day still, in which his children may rest and worship. +</P> + +<P> +Adam and Eve were very happy, for they had never done anything wrong. +God gave them a beautiful wide garden, called Eden, full of flowers and +all kinds of fruit, and with a river flowing through it, and told Adam +to take care of the garden, and He sent all the animals and birds to +Adam to be named. God told him also that he might eat the fruit of all +the trees of the garden except one—the tree of knowledge of good and +evil—but if he ate of the fruit of that tree he should surely die, and +Adam and Eve loved God, and had no wish to disobey Him, for He was +their Father. +</P> + +<P> +But there was a creeping serpent in the garden, and the evil spirit +that puts wrong thoughts in our hearts spoke to Eve through the serpent. +</P> + +<P> +"You shall not die," he said, "but you shall be wise like God if you +will eat of this fruit," and Eve ate of the fruit, and gave it to her +husband. Then they knew that they had sinned, and when they heard the +voice of God in the garden calling them, they hid among the trees, for +they were unhappy and afraid. When the Lord had asked Adam if he had +eaten of the fruit that was forbidden, Adam laid the sin upon Eve, who +gave it to him, and Eve said that the serpent had tempted her to eat of +the fruit. God knew that they must suffer for their sin, so He sent +them out of the garden to make a garden for themselves, and to work, +and suffer pain, as all who came after them have done to this day; but +He gave them a great promise, that among their children's children One +should be born who would be stronger than sin, and a Savior from it. +</P> + +<P> +After this two little children were sent to comfort Adam and Eve—first +Cain, and then Abel. When they grew up Cain was a farmer, but Abel was +a shepherd. +</P> + +<P> +They had been taught to worship God by bringing the best of all they +had to Him, and so Cain brought fruit and grain to lay upon his altar, +but Abel brought a lamb. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-012"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-012.jpg" ALT="Driven from Eden" BORDER="0" WIDTH="605" HEIGHT="777"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 605px"> +Driven from Eden +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +God looked into their hearts and saw that Abel wished to do right, but +Cain's heart was full of sin. Cain was angry because the Lord was +pleased with the worship of Abel, and while they talked in the field +Cain killed his brother. When the Lord said to Cain, "Where is thy +brother?" he answered, "I know not. Am I my brother's keeper?" And +the Lord sent him away from home, to wander from place to place over +the earth, and find no rest, but He promised that no one should hurt +Cain, or kill him as he had killed his brother, so he went away into +another land to live. +</P> + +<P> +Adam lived many years after this and had other children, but at last he +died, when his children's children were beginning to spread over the +land. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0102"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE GREAT FLOOD. +</H3> + +<P> +As the people of the earth grew to be many more and spread over the +plains and hills, they also grew very wicked. They forgot God, and all +the thoughts of their hearts were evil. Only Noah still worshipped God +and tried to do right. +</P> + +<P> +The people had destroyed themselves, and so God said to Noah: +</P> + +<P> +"The end of all flesh is come; make thee an ark of gopher wood." +</P> + +<P> +He told Noah to make it of three stories, with a window in the top, and +a door in the side. It was to be a great floating house, more than +four hundred feet long and full of rooms, and it was to be covered with +tar within and without, so that the water should not creep in. +</P> + +<P> +"I bring a flood of waters upon the earth," said the Lord, "and +everything that is in the earth shall die." +</P> + +<P> +This was to be the house of Noah, with his wife, and his three sons and +their wives, during the great flood. +</P> + +<P> +Does the house seem large for eight people? God had told Noah to make +room for a little family of every kind of bird and beast that lived, +and to gather food of all kinds for himself and for them. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-015"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-015.jpg" ALT="The great flood" BORDER="0" WIDTH="594" HEIGHT="768"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 594px"> +The great flood +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +So Noah did all that the Lord had told him to do, and seven days before +the great storm he heard the Lord calling: +</P> + +<P> +"Come thou and all thy house into the ark," and that very day, Noah +with his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japtheth, and their wives, +went into their great black house, and through the window in the top +came flying the little families of birds and insects, from the tiny +bees and humming birds, to the great eagles, and through the door on +the side came the families of animals, two by two, from the little mice +to the tall giraffes, and the elephants, and when all had come the Lord +shut them in. +</P> + +<P> +It rained forty days and forty nights, and the waters rose higher and +higher, covering the hills, and creeping up the mountains, so that +every living thing died except Noah, and all that were with him in the +ark. +</P> + +<P> +But after ten months the tops of the mountains were seen, and Noah sent +out a raven and a dove. The raven flew to and fro, but the dove came +back into the ark, because she found no place to rest her foot. +</P> + +<P> +After seven days Noah sent her out again, and she returned with an +olive leaf in her bill, and then Noah knew that the waters were going +away. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-016"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-016.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-016t.jpg" ALT="Dove returns with an olive leaf." BORDER="0" WIDTH="639" HEIGHT="847"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 639px"> +Dove returns with an olive leaf. +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +After seven days again he sent out his good little dove, and she did +not come back. So Noah was sure that the earth was getting dry, and +that God would soon tell him to go out of the ark. +</P> + +<P> +And so he did. Think how glad the sheep and cows were to find fresh +grass, and the birds to fly to the green trees. +</P> + +<P> +What a silent world it must have been, for there were none but Noah and +his family in all the earth. Noah did not forget how God had saved +them, and he made an altar of stone, and offered beasts and birds as a +sacrifice. When he looked up to the sky there was a beautiful rainbow. +It was God's promise that there should be no more floods upon the +earth. He still sends the rainbow to show us that He is taking care of +this world, and will always do so. +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps the people who lived after this—for Noah's children's children +increased very fast—did not believe God's promise, for they began to +build a great tower, or temple, on the plain of Shinar; or perhaps they +had grown proud and wicked, and wanted a temple for the worship of +idols; but the Lord changed their speech, so that they could not +understand each other, and they were scattered over other countries; +and so each country began to have a language of its own. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0103"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ABRAHAM—THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL. +</H3> + +<P> +The people who lived four thousand years ago were very much like +children who easily forget. They told their children about the great +flood, but nearly all forgot to tell them of the good God who is the +Father of us all, whom we should always love and obey. Yet there is +always one, if not more, who remembers God, and keeps his name alive in +the world. +</P> + +<P> +Abram had tried to do right, though there was no Bible in the world +then, and no one better than himself to help him but God, and one day +He called Abram, and told him to go away from his father's house into +another country. +</P> + +<P> +"A land that I will show thee," said the Lord, "and I will make of thee +a great nation." +</P> + +<P> +He also made Abram a wonderful promise,— +</P> + +<P> +"In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." +</P> + +<P> +He meant that sometime the Savior should be born among Abram's +children's children, and that He should be the Savior of all the +nations of the earth. +</P> + +<P> +Abram did just what God told him to do. He took Sarai, his wife, and +Lot, his nephew, and some servants, and cows, and sheep, and camels, +and asses, and went into the land of Canaan. When they rested at night +Abram and Lot set some sticks in the ground, and covered them with +skins for a tent, and near by they made an altar, where Abram offered a +sacrifice, for that was the only way they could worship God when the +earth was young. +</P> + +<P> +Abram went down into Egypt when there was a lack of food in Canaan, but +he came back to Bethel, where he made the altar before, and worshipped +God there. +</P> + +<P> +He was very rich, for his cattle and sheep had grown into great herds +and flocks, though he had sold many in Egypt for silver, and gold, and +food. Abram and Lot moved often, for their flocks and herds soon ate +up the grass. Then they rolled up the tents, and loaded the camels and +asses, and went where the grass was thick and fresh. +</P> + +<P> +They could easily live in tents, for the country was warm. But Abram's +herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen sometimes quarreled. And so Abram spoke +kindly to Lot, and told him to take his servants, and flocks, and +herds, and go where the pastures were good, and he would go the other +way. So they parted, and Lot went to the low plains of the Jordan, but +Abram went to the high plains of Mamre, in Hebron, and there he built +another altar to the Lord, who had given him all that country—to him +and to his children forever. +</P> + +<P> +There were warlike people in Canaan, and once when they had carried off +Lot from Sodom, Abram took his servants and herdsmen and went out to +fight. He had more than three hundred men, and they took Lot away from +the enemy, and brought him back to Sodom. It was here that Abram met a +wonderful man, who was both a king and a priest. His name was +Melchisedek, and he brought Abram bread and wine, and blessed him there. +</P> + +<P> +After this, God spoke to Abram one evening, and promised that he should +have a son, and then while Abram stood outside his tent, with the great +sky thick with stars above him, God promised him that his children's +children should grow to be as countless as the stars. That was hard to +believe, but Abram believed God always and everywhere. +</P> + +<P> +Still no child came to Abram and Sarai, and Abram was almost a hundred +years old, but God spoke to him again, and told him that he should be +the father of many nations. +</P> + +<P> +He told Abram that a little boy would be born to them, and his name +would be Isaac, and God changed Abram's name to Abraham, which means +"Father of many people," and Sarai's to Sarah, which means "Princess." +</P> + +<P> +Abraham was sitting in his tent one hot day, when three men stood by +him. They were strangers, and Abraham asked them to rest beneath the +tree, and bathe their feet, while he brought them food. So Sarah made +cakes, and a tender calf was cooked, and these with butter, and milk, +were set before the men. But they were not men of this world; they +were angels, and they had come to tell Abraham and Sarah once more that +their little child was sure to come. Then the angels went away, but +one of them, who must have been the Lord Himself in an angel's form, +stopped to tell Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom and +Gomorrah, because the people who lived there were so very wicked, and +Abraham prayed Him to spare them if even ten good men could be found in +them, for he remembered that Lot lived in Sodom. But the Lord never +forgets. The two angels went to Sodom and stayed with Lot until +morning, when they took him and all his family outside the city, and +then the Lord said to him, "Escape for thy life—look not behind thee, +neither stay thou in all the plain." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-018"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-018.jpg" ALT="The three strangers" BORDER="0" WIDTH="590" HEIGHT="762"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 590px"> +The three strangers +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +And the Lord hid them in the little town of Zoar, while a great rain of +fire fell upon the wicked cities of the plain, until they became a heap +of ashes. Only Lot's wife looked back to see the burning cities, and +she became a pillar of salt. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning when Abraham looked from Hebron down toward the cities +of the plain, a great smoke was rising from them like the smoke of a +furnace. +</P> + +<P> +At last the Lord's promise to Abraham and Sarah came true. A little +son was born to them, and they called him Isaac. They were very happy, +for though Abraham was a hundred years old, no child had ever been sent +them. +</P> + +<P> +When he was about a year old they made a great feast for him, and all +brought gifts and good wishes, yet the little lad Ishmael, the son of +Hagar, Sarah's servant, mocked at Isaac. Sarah was angry, and told her +husband that Hagar and her boy must be sent away. So he sent them out +with only a bottle of water and a loaf of bread; for God had told +Abraham to do as Sarah wished him to do, and He would take care of +little Ishmael, and make him the father of another nation. +</P> + +<P> +When the water was gone, and the sun grew very hot, poor Hagar laid her +child under a bush to die, for she was very lonely and sorrowful. +While she hid her eyes and wept, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Let me not see the death of the child," she heard a voice out of +heaven telling her not to be afraid. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-020"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-020.jpg" ALT="Hagar in the desert" BORDER="0" WIDTH="586" HEIGHT="768"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 586px"> +Hagar in the desert +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Arise, lift up the lad," said the voice, "for I will make him a great +nation." +</P> + +<P> +And God opened her eyes to see a well of water near. Then she filled +the empty bottle, and gave the boy a drink, and God took good care of +them ever after, though they lived in a wilderness. +</P> + +<P> +Ishmael grew up to be an archer, and became the father of the Arabs, +who still live in tents as Ishmael did. +</P> + +<P> +But the Lord let a strange trial come to the little lad Isaac, also. +His father loved and obeyed God, but there were heathen people around +them, who worshipped idols, and sometimes killed their own children as +a sacrifice to these idols. Abraham brought the best of his lambs and +cattle to offer to the Lord; but one day the Lord told Abraham to take +his only son Isaac and offer him upon a mountain called Moriah as a +burnt sacrifice to God. Abraham had always obeyed God, and believed +his word, and now, though he could not understand, he rose up early in +the morning and took his young son, with two servants, and an ass +loaded with wood, to the place of which God had told him. +</P> + +<P> +They were three days on the journey, but at last they came to the high +place, where the city of Jerusalem was afterward built, and to the very +rock upon which the temple was built long afterward, with its great +altar and Holy of Holies. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-022"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-022.jpg" ALT="On Mount Moriah" BORDER="0" WIDTH="596" HEIGHT="778"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 596px"> +On Mount Moriah +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Abraham had left the young men at the foot of the mount, and went with +Isaac to the great rock on the top of the mount. +</P> + +<P> +"My father," said Isaac, "where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" +</P> + +<P> +"My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering," said +his father, still obeying God, and believing His word, that Isaac +should be the father of many nations. +</P> + +<P> +Abraham made an altar of stones, and bound Isaac and laid him upon it, +but when his hand was lifted to offer up the boy, the Lord called to +him from heaven. "Lay not thine hand upon the lad," said the voice, +"for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld +thine only son from me." +</P> + +<P> +Then Abraham turned and saw a ram with its twisted horns caught in the +bushes, and he offered it to the Lord instead of his son. How glad and +grateful Abraham must have been that morning, when he came down the +mountain, with Isaac walking beside him, to think that he had still +obeyed God when it was hard to do so. +</P> + +<P> +Abraham was an old man when Sarah died. They had lived together a long +lifetime, and he mourned for her many days. He bought a field close by +the oak-shaded plain of Mamre in Hebron, and there in a rocky cave he +buried her. He was called a Prince of God by the Canaanites because he +lived a true, faithful life. +</P> + +<P> +A few years after he also went to God, and his body was laid beside +Sarah's in the cave-tomb. Ishmael came up from the south country to +mourn with Isaac at the burial of their father, the Friend of God, and +Father of the faithful. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0104"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ISAAC THE SHEPHERD PRINCE. +</H3> + +<P> +Before Abraham died, he thought much about his dear son Isaac, to whom +he was going to leave all that he had. The young man had no mother, no +sister, and soon he would have no father. So the old man called his +old and faithful servant, and told him to go on a journey into the land +of his fathers, and bring back with him a wife for his son Isaac. +</P> + +<P> +The children of Nahor, Abraham's brother, lived there still, and +Abraham wished for his son Isaac a wife of his own people, who should +be both good and beautiful, and not like the heathen women of Canaan. +</P> + +<P> +So the old servant listened to Abraham and promised to do all that he +commanded. +</P> + +<P> +He loaded ten camels with presents for his master's family away in +Syria, and Abraham said: +</P> + +<P> +"The Lord shall send His angel before thee," and from his tent door he +saw the little caravan of camels and servants, as they set out across +the plain, toward the land beyond the river Jordan. +</P> + +<P> +There was a desert to cross and many dangers to meet, but the old +servant believed in the God his master worshipped, and was not afraid. +</P> + +<P> +When he came to Haran, he stopped outside the town by a well of water. +It was early evening, and the women were coming each with a water-jar +on her shoulder, to draw water. +</P> + +<P> +The old man prayed that the Lord would show him which among these +daughters of the men of the city, was the one who was to be his young +master's wife. +</P> + +<P> +Before his prayer was ended, Rebekah, of the family of Abraham's +brother Nahor, came bearing her pitcher on her shoulder. She looked +very kind and beautiful, and when she had filled her pitcher, the old +man asked her for a drink of water. Then she let down the pitcher upon +her hand saying: +</P> + +<P> +"Drink, my lord," and asked if she should also give water to his +camels. While she was giving him a drink, the man showed her some +golden jewels that he had brought, and when he had asked her name, and +knew that God had sent her to him for his young master, he gave them to +her, and worshipped the Lord who had led him to the house of his +master's brother. +</P> + +<P> +Then Rebekah ran in and told Laban, her brother, and the old servant of +Abraham had a warm welcome at the door of Nahor's house. +</P> + +<P> +"Come in, thou blessed of the Lord," they said. +</P> + +<P> +And after they had cared for the camels and the men, there was a +hurrying of servants to prepare a feast, but the old man would not +taste food until he had given the message of his master. Then the +father and brother of Rebekah, saw that the Lord had sent for her, and +they said: +</P> + +<P> +"Let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken." +</P> + +<P> +And the old servant bowed his face to the ground worshipping the Lord +who had led him. +</P> + +<P> +Then there was feasting and giving of costly gifts, and preparing to +take a long journey, for the old servant was in haste to get back to +his master, and Rebekah, who was willing to go, took her maid-servants +and rode away into a far country to be the wife of Isaac. +</P> + +<P> +When Isaac was walking in his field at sunset, thinking and praying to +God, he looked up and saw that the camels were coming, and he hastened +to meet them. When the old servant told Rebekah that it was his young +master, she alighted from her camel, and covered herself with a long +veil as was the custom of the Syrian women. When the old servant had +told the story of his journey, he gave Rebekah to Isaac, and he took +her to the tent that had been his mother's, and she became his wife, so +that he was no longer lonely and sad. +</P> + +<P> +Isaac lived to a very great age, and had two sons, Jacob and Esau. He +was a gentle, quiet man, fond of his family, his flocks, and herds, and +at the place where his father and mother were buried, he lived among +the fields and oak groves of Hebron until he died. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0105"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +JACOB, A PRINCE OF GOD. +</H3> + +<P> +Jacob and Esau were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. +</P> + +<P> +They did not look alike as twins often do, and they were very unlike in +all their ways. As they grew up, Esau loved the forests and wild +places. He made bows and arrows, and was a hunter, and brought home +wild birds and deer, for his father was very fond of such food. Jacob +helped his father with the flocks, and learned how to cook food from +his mother, who loved him more than she loved Esau. +</P> + +<P> +One day Esau came home from hunting tired and hungry, and smelled the +delicious soup of red lentils that Jacob was making. He begged Jacob +to give him some, and Jacob, who wanted to be eldest, and have the +right to the blessing that fathers gave to the first-born in those +days, said: +</P> + +<P> +"Sell me this day thy birthright," and Esau gave him all his rights as +the first born, for a little food which he might have had as a free +gift. +</P> + +<P> +Jacob wanted to be counted in the great promise that God had given to +Abraham, but Esau despised it. +</P> + +<P> +Afterward, when Isaac was old and his eyes were dim, he called Esau, +and asked him to go out into the fields and shoot a deer, and cook the +venison that he loved, so that he might eat it and bless his first born +before he died. +</P> + +<P> +Rebekah heard it, and told Jacob to bring kids from the flock, which +she cooked and served as venison. Then she dressed Jacob in the +clothes of Esau, and told him to say that it was Esau who had brought +the venison. Isaac said: +</P> + +<P> +"The voice is the voice of Jacob," but he put his hands on him, and +believed it was Esau, and blessed him. +</P> + +<P> +When Esau came home and brought venison to his father, Isaac said: +</P> + +<P> +"Who art thou?" and when Esau said, "I am thy son, thy first-born, +Esau," the old man trembled, and told Esau the blessing had been given +to another. +</P> + +<P> +Poor Esau cried out with grief, "Hast thou but one blessing?" "Bless +me, even me also, O my father." +</P> + +<P> +And so Isaac blessed him, but he could not call back the blessing of +the first-born. The Lord knew that Jacob would grow to be a good man, +and love the things of God best, and that Esau would always love the +things of this world best, yet it was wrong of Jacob and Rebekah to +deceive, for we may not do evil that good may come. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-027"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-027.jpg" ALT="Isaac blessing Jacob" BORDER="0" WIDTH="592" HEIGHT="771"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 592px"> +Isaac blessing Jacob +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +After this Esau hated his brother, and said he would kill him. +</P> + +<P> +So Isaac called Jacob, and, blessing him again, sent him away into +Syria to the house of Laban, where Rebekah had lived, and where +Abraham's servant went to find her for his master's son. +</P> + +<P> +One night, when he was not far on his way, he lay down to sleep, with a +stone for his pillow, on a hillside that looked toward his home, and he +dreamed a wonderful dream. He saw a ladder reaching from earth to +heaven, and a vision of angels who were going up and down upon it. +</P> + +<P> +Above it stood the Lord, who spoke to Jacob, and gave to him the +promise that He had first given to Abraham, and told him that He would +go with him, and bring him again into his own land. +</P> + +<P> +Jacob was afraid when he woke, for he had seen the heavens opened, and +had heard God's voice. He made an altar of the pillow of stone, and +called it Bethel—the House of God—and then he vowed that the Lord +should be his God, and he added,— +</P> + +<P> +"Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give a tenth unto thee." +</P> + +<P> +When Jacob came to Haran, he saw the well from which his mother used to +draw water. There were three flocks of sheep lying by it, waiting for +all the flocks to gather in the cool of the day to be watered. Soon +Rachel, the daughter of Laban, came leading her father's flocks, and +one of the shepherds told Jacob whose daughter she was. +</P> + +<P> +So Jacob rolled the stone from the well, and watered the flocks of +Laban, his mother's brother. Then he kissed Rachel, and told her that +he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father. +</P> + +<P> +There was great joy in Laban's house because Jacob had come, and after +he had stayed a month with them Laban asked him to stay and take care +of his flocks, and he would pay him for his work. +</P> + +<P> +Since the day he had seen Rachel leading her father's flocks he had +chosen her in his heart to be his wife. So he said that he would work +for Laban seven years, if at the end of that time he would give him +Rachel for his wife. Laban was quite willing to do so, and the seven +years seemed to Jacob but a few days, for the love he had to Rachel. +But, according to the custom of that country, the younger daughter +could not be given in marriage before the elder, and so Laban gave his +daughter Leah also, and both Leah and Rachel became the wives of Jacob, +for Jacob lived in that far away time and country of the early world +when men were allowed to take more than one wife, and when each man was +both king and priest over his family and tribe, and worshipped God by +offering burnt sacrifices upon an altar. +</P> + +<P> +After twenty years of work with Laban, in which he had earned many +flocks and herds for himself, Jacob took his wives and the little sons +God had sent him, and his flocks and herds, and started on a journey to +his old home. Isaac was still alive, and Jacob longed to see him. He +had lived long in Haran for fear of his brother Esau, and now he must +travel through Edom, Esau's country, on his way to his old home. +</P> + +<P> +As he was on his way some of God's angels met him, and he was +strengthened. Still he feared Esau, and sent some of his men to tell +his brother that he was coming. +</P> + +<P> +The men came back, saying that Esau, with four hundred men, was coming +to meet them. +</P> + +<P> +Poor Jacob! He remembered the sin of his youth, when he had stolen the +blessing from Esau, and he was afraid, and prayed God to protect him. +</P> + +<P> +He sent his servants again to meet Esau with great presents of flocks, +and herds, and camels, and after placing his wives and little ones in +the safest place, he sent all that he had over the brook Jabbok, and he +stayed on the other side to pray. It was as if he wrestled with a man +all night, and when the day began to break the man wished to go, but +Jacob said: +</P> + +<P> +"I will not let thee go except thou bless me." +</P> + +<P> +So the man blessed him there, and call his name Israel; "for as a +prince," he said, "hast thou power with God and with men, and hast +prevailed." +</P> + +<P> +Then Jacob knew that the Lord Himself, in the form of a man, had been +with him, and he had seen Him face to face. +</P> + +<P> +And as the sun rose he passed over the brook. When he looked up he saw +Esau and his men coming, and when he had told his family to follow him, +he went straight before them, for he was no longer afraid to meet his +brother. +</P> + +<P> +Jacob's prayer had been answered, and Esau ran to meet his brother, and +throwing his arms around him, wept on his shoulder. Then they talked +in a loving and brotherly way, and Esau returned to his home with the +presents Jacob had given him, and Jacob went on his way into Canaan +full of joy and thankfulness. He stopped a little while in a pleasant +place to rest his flocks and cattle, but he longed to see the place +where he first saw the angels of God, and heard the voice of the Lord +blessing him, so they journeyed on to Beth-el, and there built an altar +and worshipped God. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-031a"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-031a.jpg" ALT="Meeting of Jacob and Esau" BORDER="0" WIDTH="583" HEIGHT="747"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 583px"> +Meeting of Jacob and Esau +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Again the Lord spoke to Jacob at Beth-el, and called him Israel, and +blessed him. +</P> + +<P> +After they left Beth-el, they came near to Bethlehem, where many +hundred years afterward the Lord Jesus was born, and there another +little son was born to Rachel, and there too God sent for her, and took +her to Himself, and there her grave was made. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-031b"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-031b.jpg" ALT="Jacob and Rachel" BORDER="0" WIDTH="591" HEIGHT="761"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 591px"> +Jacob and Rachel +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The little boy was named Benjamin, and was the youngest of Jacob's +twelve sons, who became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel, and +the princes of a great nation. +</P> + +<P> +Jacob was almost home. His great family, with all the flocks and +herds, had been long on the way, for they often spread their tents by +the brooks in the green valleys, that the cattle might rest and find +pasture, but at last the long caravan came slowly over the fields of +Mamre to Hebron, and Isaac, whom the Lord had kept alive to see his son +once more, was there in his tent waiting for him. +</P> + +<P> +But soon after this he died, an hundred and eighty years old, and Esau +came, and the two brothers laid their father in the cave that Abraham +bought when Sarah died, and where he had buried Rebekah, and Jacob +became patriarch in place of his father. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0106"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +JOSEPH, THE CASTAWAY. +</H3> + +<P> +Of all the sons of Jacob, Joseph and Benjamin were the dearest to him, +because they were the sons of his beloved Rachel, who had died on the +journey from Syria into Canaan. They were also the youngest of all the +twelve sons. When Joseph was about seventeen years old, he sometimes +went with his elder brothers to keep his father's flocks in the fields. +He wore a long coat striped with bright colors, which his father had +given him, because he was a kind and obedient son, and could always be +trusted. +</P> + +<P> +Once he told his father of some wicked thing his brothers had done, and +they hated him for it, and could not speak pleasantly to him. +</P> + +<P> +Joseph had many strange and beautiful thoughts when he looked across +the fields to the hills, and up into the starry sky at night. He also +had some strange dreams that he told to his brothers. He said that he +dreamed that they were binding sheaves in the field, and that his sheaf +stood up, while the sheaves of his brothers bowed down to it. +</P> + +<P> +Again he dreamed that the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars bowed +down to him. +</P> + +<P> +His father wondered that he should have such thoughts, and reproached +him saying, "Shall I and thy brethren indeed come and bow down +ourselves to thee to the earth?" and his brothers said, +</P> + +<P> +"Shalt thou indeed rule over us?" and they hated him. +</P> + +<P> +When they were many miles from home with the flocks their father sent +Joseph to see if all was well with them. It was a long journey, and +when they saw the boy coming they did not go to meet him, and speak +kindly to him, but they said, +</P> + +<P> +"Behold this dreamer is cometh. Let us slay him, and cast him into +some pit, and we will say some evil beast hath devoured him, and we +shall see what will become of his dreams." +</P> + +<P> +But Reuben, the eldest, said, +</P> + +<P> +"Let us not kill him; but cast him into this pit," hoping to take him +out secretly, and send him to his father. +</P> + +<P> +So when Joseph came near, they robbed him of his coat of many colors, +and cruelly cast him into a pit. After this they sat down to eat their +bread, and looking up they saw a caravan coming. It was a company of +Ishmaelites carrying costly spices down into Egypt to sell them. +</P> + +<P> +Then Judah said, +</P> + +<P> +"Why should we kill our brother? Let us sell him to these Ishmaelites." +</P> + +<P> +Then there passed by some Midianite merchants, and who drew Joseph out +of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, +and he was carried down into Egypt. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-033"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-033.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-033t.jpg" ALT="Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites" BORDER="0" WIDTH="655" HEIGHT="854"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 655px"> +Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Reuben, when his brothers went back to their flocks, went to the pit to +try to save Joseph, but he was not there, and Reuben cried out, +</P> + +<P> +"The child is not, and I, whither shall I go?" +</P> + +<P> +The brothers who had been so cruel to Joseph brought his coat to their +father, all stained with blood. They had themselves dipped it in the +blood of a kid to deceive him, and he mourned long, and would not be +comforted, for the beloved child that he believed had been torn in +pieces by evil beasts. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0107"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +JOSEPH, A SERVANT, A PRISONER, AND A SAINT. +</H3> + +<P> +The king of Egypt, where Joseph was taken by the Ishmaelites, was +called Pharaoh, and he had a captain of the guard named Potiphar, who +bought Joseph for a house servant. Though he was the son of a Hebrew +prince, Joseph did his work faithfully and wisely as a servant, and was +soon made steward of the house, and was trusted with all that his +master had, and the Lord made all that he did to prosper; but the wife +of Potiphar was a wicked woman, who persuaded her husband that Joseph +was a bad man, and he was sent to prison. +</P> + +<P> +Even there Joseph won the hearts of all, until the keeper of the prison +set him over the other prisoners, and trusted him as Potiphar had done. +It was the Lord in Joseph who helped him to win the love and trust of +those around him. +</P> + +<P> +Pharaoh sent two of his servants to prison because they had displeased +him. +</P> + +<P> +One was his chief cook, and one was the chief butler, who always handed +the wine cup to the king, and Joseph had the care of them. +</P> + +<P> +They each had a dream the same night, and were troubled because they +could not understand them. Joseph asked them to tell him the dreams, +for God knew what they meant. +</P> + +<P> +So the chief butler told Joseph that he saw a vine having three +branches, and the branches budded and blossomed, and the blossoms +changed into ripe grapes, and he took the grapes and pressed them into +Pharaoh's cup, and handed the cup to the king. +</P> + +<P> +Then Joseph said: "The three branches are three days. Within three +days the king will take you out of prison, and you shall hand the +king's cup to him as you used to do." +</P> + +<P> +Joseph also asked the butler, to think of him when he was again in the +king's palace, and speak to the king to bring him out of prison, +because he had been stolen from his own land, and he had done nothing +wrong that he should be put in prison. +</P> + +<P> +Then the chief cook told his dream. He said that he dreamed that he +carried three baskets on his head, one above another. +</P> + +<P> +In the highest one was all kinds of cooked meats for Pharaoh, and the +birds flew down and ate from the basket. +</P> + +<P> +"The three baskets are three days," said Joseph as he said to the +butler, but he told the cook that in three days he would be put to +death, and hanged on a tree, where the birds would eat his flesh. +</P> + +<P> +All this came true, for Pharaoh's birthday came, and he brought out the +chief butler to serve at a birthday feast, but he hanged the chief +cook. Yet the chief butler forgot Joseph, and did not speak to the +king about him as he might have done. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of two long years, Pharaoh dreamed a dream. He thought he +stood by the river of Egypt, and saw seven cows looking well kept and +fat, came up out of the river. +</P> + +<P> +Behind them came seven other cows, looking thin and poorly fed, and the +thin and poorly fed cows ate up the well-kept and fat ones. +</P> + +<P> +And Pharoah had a second dream. He thought he saw seven heads of wheat +growing on one stalk—and they were all full of grain. After them came +seven thin heads of wheat with no grain in them; and the seven bad +heads of wheat ate up the seven good ones. +</P> + +<P> +In the morning Pharaoh was troubled about these dreams, and called for +his wise men who worked magic for him, and they could tell him nothing. +</P> + +<P> +Then the chief butler standing near the king remembered Joseph, and +told Pharaoh of the young Hebrew who had told the meaning of his dream, +and that of the chief cook, and they had come to pass as he had said, +so Pharaoh sent for Joseph and said to him: +</P> + +<P> +"I have heard that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it." +</P> + +<P> +Joseph answered the king humbly and wisely: +</P> + +<P> +"It is not in me," he said, "God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." +</P> + +<P> +When the king had told his dream Joseph said: +</P> + +<P> +"The dream is one," and then he showed him that the seven fat cows, and +the seven full heads of wheat meant seven good years in the land of +Egypt, when the harvests would be great; and the seven lean cows, and +the seven empty heads of wheat, meant seven years of famine, when the +east winds should spoil the wheat, so there would be nothing to reap in +time of harvest and the people would want bread. He told the king that +he had better set a wise man over the land, who would attend to saving +the grain during the seven good years, so that the people would have +bread to eat in the seven years of famine. +</P> + +<P> +The king was greatly pleased with Joseph, and told him that God had +taught him to interpret dreams, and had showed him things to come, and +there could be no wiser man found to be set over the land. +</P> + +<P> +So he made Joseph a ruler over the whole land, and next to the king in +all things. +</P> + +<P> +He put his own ring on his hand, and dressed him in the robes of a +prince, and gave him an Egyptian name and an Egyptian wife, so that +there was no one in all the land of Egypt so great as Joseph, except +the king. +</P> + +<P> +He built storehouses in every city, and stored the grain, until it was +like the sand of the sea, and could not be measured. +</P> + +<P> +In the years of plenty two sons were born to Joseph, Manasseh and +Ephraim, and then the seven years of dearth began to come. When the +people began to cry to the king for bread, he always said,— +</P> + +<P> +"Go to Joseph; what he says to you do." +</P> + +<P> +And Joseph and his helpers began to open the storehouses, and sell +wheat to the Egyptians, and to the people of all countries, for the +famine was in all lands. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0108"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +JOSEPH—THE SAVIOR OF HIS PEOPLE. +</H3> + +<P> +The famine reached even to the fruitful land of Canaan, and Jacob, +though rich in flocks and herds, began to need bread for his great +family. So he sent his ten sons down into Egypt to buy wheat, keeping +Benjamin, the youngest at home. +</P> + +<P> +When they came before the governor they bowed down to him with their +faces to the ground. Joseph knew them, though he acted as if he did +not, and remembered his dream of his brother's sheaves bowing down to +his sheaf. At first, he spoke roughly to them, and called them +"spies." But they said that they were all one man's sons, and had come +to buy food. +</P> + +<P> +Joseph still spoke roughly to them, not because he was angry, but +because he did not wish them to know him yet. His heart was full of +love for them, and he was soon going to show them great kindness; but +when they told him that they had left an old father and a young brother +at home, and one was dead, he still acted as if they did not tell the +truth. +</P> + +<P> +He said that to prove themselves true men one of them should go home +and bring the youngest brother, and the others should be kept in prison +until they returned; and he put them all in prison. +</P> + +<P> +After three days, he said one might stay while the others took the +wheat home to their families, but that they must surely come back and +bring the boy with them. +</P> + +<P> +Then Reuben, who had tried to save Joseph from the pit long before, +told his brothers that all this trouble had come upon them for their +wickedness to their brother Joseph, and they said to each other in +their own language: +</P> + +<P> +"We are verily guilty concerning our brother; when he besought us, we +would not hear, therefore is this distress come upon us." +</P> + +<P> +Joseph understood everything they said though they did not know it, for +he had been talking to them through an interpreter, and they thought he +was an Egyptian. Now his heart was so full that he had to go out of +the room to weep. But he came back and chose Simeon to stay while the +others went to Canaan to bring back Benjamin. +</P> + +<P> +They took the wheat that they had bought in bags, and went away; but +when they stopped at an inn to rest and feed their asses, one of the +brothers opened his bag, and found the money that he had paid for the +wheat in the top of his bag. Here was more trouble, and they were +afraid. +</P> + +<P> +When they came home to their father they told him all that had +happened, and as they opened the bags, each one found his money. Jacob +was deeply troubled; for Joseph was gone, and Simeon was gone, and now +they wanted to take Benjamin. +</P> + +<P> +Reuben who had two sons said: "Slay my two sons if I bring him not to +thee." +</P> + +<P> +But Jacob said Benjamin should not go down to Egypt. But the wheat was +gone in a short time, and they were likely to starve so great was the +famine, and at last Jacob said they must go to Egypt again for food. +</P> + +<P> +Judah said they would go if Benjamin would go with them, but Jacob +would not listen to this. He asked them why they told the man that +they had a brother, and they replied, that the Governor had asked them +if their father was yet living and if they had another brother. +</P> + +<P> +"Send the lad with me," said Judah, "if I bring him not unto thee, let +me bear the blame forever." +</P> + +<P> +Then Jacob told them to take him and go, and also to take presents of +honey, and spices, and balm, and nuts, and double the money, so as to +return that which was put in their bags, and he blessed them, and sent +them away. +</P> + +<P> +They went down into Egypt, and stood before Joseph again. When he saw +Benjamin with them he told the steward of his house to make ready a +fine dinner for them, and bring them to him at noon, and he did so. +</P> + +<P> +Then the brothers were afraid that they were all to be put in prison, +and at the door of Joseph's house began to tell the steward how they +found the money when they opened their bags, and that they had brought +it back doubled; but the steward spoke kindly to them, and said that he +had placed their money, and that they need not fear, for God had given +it back to them. +</P> + +<P> +Then he brought Simeon out, and they made ready to dine with the +Governor at noon, and to give him their presents. +</P> + +<P> +When he came they bowed down to him and presented their gifts, and he +asked them if they were well, and if the old man of whom they spoke was +still alive, and they replied that he was. When he saw Benjamin, and +knew that he was truly his own brother, the son of Rachel, he said: +</P> + +<P> +"God be gracious unto thee my son," and he went quickly to his own +chamber, lest he should weep before them. +</P> + +<P> +When he came out to them again, and they sat down to dine, he placed +the sons of Jacob by themselves, and the Egyptians of his house by +themselves, and the brothers were placed according to their +ages—Reuben at the head and Benjamin last, and they wondered among +themselves at this. Joseph also sent portions from his own table to +his brothers, but the portion of Benjamin was five times greater than +that of the others. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning their wheat was measured to them, and the asses were +loaded with it, and they went on their way, but Joseph had told the +steward to put the money of each man in the top of his bag, and in +Benjamin's to put his silver cup. +</P> + +<P> +When they were a little away from the city, the steward overtook them, +and charged them with stealing his lord's silver cup. +</P> + +<P> +The men were so sure that no one of them had stolen the silver cup, +that they said, +</P> + +<P> +"Let him die with whom the cup is found, and the rest of us will be +your slaves." +</P> + +<P> +So everybody's bag was opened from the oldest to the youngest, and the +cup was found in Benjamin's bag. Then they rent their clothes for +grief, and loaded the asses and went back to the city, and when they +came to Joseph's house, they fell on their faces before him, Joseph +tried to speak sternly and said: +</P> + +<P> +"What deed is this you have done?" +</P> + +<P> +Judah said: +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we say unto my lord, or how shall we clear ourselves? We +are my lord's servants." +</P> + +<P> +Then said Joseph: +</P> + +<P> +"The man in whose hand the cup is found he shall be my servant, and as +for you, get you up in peace unto your father." +</P> + +<P> +Then Judah came nearer to Joseph, and all his soul came forth into his +voice as he said: +</P> + +<P> +"O, my lord, let thy servant speak a word in my lord's ears!" +</P> + +<P> +Then he told the story of their coming down into Egypt, and of the old +father and young brother whom he had asked them about; of the love of +this father for the little one, for his mother, and his brother now +dead. He reminded Joseph that he had told them to bring the boy to +him, and that they had said, that if the boy should leave his father, +his father would die; but the governor had said "Except your youngest +brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more." +</P> + +<P> +Then Judah told the story of the father's grief when he found that he +must let Benjamin go down into Egypt, that they might buy a little +food; how he spoke of his two sons, that were the sons of Rachel—that +one had been torn in pieces, and now if mischief should befall the +other, it would bring his gray hairs in sorrow to the grave. He asked +Joseph what he should do when he returned to his father without the +lad, seeing that his life was bound up in the lad's life, and Judah +begged him, as he had made himself surety for the lad, to take him to +be his slave, but to let Benjamin return to his father with his +brothers. +</P> + +<P> +"For how shall I go up to my father," said Judah, "and the lad be not +with me?" +</P> + +<P> +Then Joseph could bear it no longer. He told all the Egyptians to go +out of the room, and then weeping so that the Egyptians and the people +in the king's house heard, he made himself known to his brothers. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-040"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-040.jpg" ALT="Joseph makes himself known to his brothers" BORDER="0" WIDTH="595" HEIGHT="768"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 595px"> +Joseph makes himself known to his brothers +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"I am Joseph, your brother," he said, "whom you sold into Egypt," and +he begged them to come near to him. +</P> + +<P> +"Be not grieved nor angry with yourselves," he said, for he saw that +they were terrified, "for God sent me before you to save your lives by +a great deliverance. It was not you that sent me hither, but God, and +he hath made me a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." +</P> + +<P> +Then he told them to hasten and go to his father and tell him this, and +ask him to come down at once, with all his flocks and herds, and dwell +in Goshen, the best part of Egypt, for years of famine were yet to come. +</P> + +<P> +Then Joseph took little Benjamin in his arms and wept over him, and +kissed him, and kissed all his brothers, and after that his brothers +talked with him. The king heard the story of Joseph's brothers and was +pleased. He told Joseph to send wagons for the wives and little ones +of his brothers, and to tell them to bring their father, and all their +cattle and sheep, and come to live in Goshen where they should have the +best of the land for their flocks and herds. +</P> + +<P> +Joseph did as the king commanded, and also gave them food for the +journey, and a suit of clothing to each brother, but to little Benjamin +he gave five suits, and three hundred pieces of silver. He also loaded +twenty asses with the good things of Egypt as presents to his father, +so he sent them all on their journey saying: +</P> + +<P> +"See that ye fall not out by the way." +</P> + +<P> +When they came to Jacob in Hebron, they told him the wonderful story of +the finding of Joseph, and his heart was faint, for he did not believe +them; but when he had heard all Joseph's messages, and had seen the +gifts, and the wagons, he said: +</P> + +<P> +"It is enough: Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before +I die." +</P> + +<P> +So they began the long journey to Egypt, for it took a long time to +travel with a great family, and with thousands of cattle and sheep. At +Beersheba Jacob stopped and worshiped God, where his father had built +an altar years before; and God told him in the night that he need not +fear to go down into Egypt, for He would there make him a great nation, +and that He would bring him back again to his own land. +</P> + +<P> +So Jacob with all his children and their little ones, and all his +flocks and herds came into Egypt. There were sixty-seven souls, and +when they had counted Joseph and his two sons, there were seventy. +</P> + +<P> +Jacob sent Judah on before to see Joseph and ask the way to Goshen, so +that they might go directly there with the cattle and sheep. And when +Joseph knew that his father was coming, he went to meet him in Goshen, +and there he wept on his father's neck a long time, and Jacob said: +</P> + +<P> +"Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet +alive." +</P> + +<P> +After this Joseph presented five of his brothers to Pharaoh, and the +king spoke very kindly to them, and gave them the best of the land for +their flocks, and hired some of them to oversee his own shepherds. +</P> + +<P> +Joseph brought his father in also and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. +</P> + +<P> +So the family of Jacob lived in peace, and were cared for by Joseph, +just as the Lord had promised Jacob, when in a dream he saw the angels +of God at Bethel, and heard above them the voice of the Lord blessing +him, and saying: +</P> + +<P> +"Thou shalt spread abroad to the West, and to the East, and to the +North, and to the South, and in thee shall all the families of the +earth be blessed." +</P> + +<P> +Joseph carried all Egypt through the years of famine, and saved seed +for the people to sow their fields in the seventh year so that they +said: +</P> + +<P> +"Thou hast saved our lives." +</P> + +<P> +He afterwards visited his father, and Jacob made him promise that he +would bury him when he died in the tomb of Abraham and Isaac, his +father, in his own land. +</P> + +<P> +When Jacob was near his end, Joseph brought his two little sons, +Ephraim and Manasseh, to his bedside, and the old man gave them his +blessing, laying his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, the youngest, +and his left hand on that of Manasseh the first born, even as Isaac had +given the birthright blessing to him instead of to Esau, and he said: +</P> + +<P> +"The angel which redeemed me from all evil bless the lads." +</P> + +<P> +Then he called all his sons together and told them what should befall +them in the last days. To each one he spoke as a prophet speaks who +has a vision of things to come, and he blessed them there. When he +spoke to Judah, he told him that kings and lawgivers should arise from +among his children until the Saviour of the world should come. +</P> + +<P> +Jacob was an hundred and forty-seven years old when he died, and there +was great mourning for him. +</P> + +<P> +Joseph had the body of his father embalmed, as the Egyptians had the +custom of doing, and after a long mourning in Egypt, Joseph and his +brothers and many Egyptians who were Joseph's friends, carried the body +of Jacob to Canaan, in a great procession, and buried him in the cave +of Machpelah, where his fathers were buried. +</P> + +<P> +After they had returned to Egypt, the brothers of Joseph said: +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps now he will hate us, and bring upon us all the evil we did to +him." +</P> + +<P> +So they sent to him to ask his forgiveness for all that was past. Then +Joseph wept, for he had nothing but love in his heart toward his +brothers, and he wished them to trust him. He comforted them and spoke +kindly to them, saying: +</P> + +<P> +"Fear not: ye meant evil unto me, but God meant it unto good. I will +nourish you and your little ones." +</P> + +<P> +And so through all Joseph's life, and he lived one hundred and ten +years, he was a tender father to all his family, and a wise ruler of +the people, and he died after making his family promise to carry his +body back into Canaan to be buried with his fathers when they +themselves should go. +</P> + +<P> +"For God will surely visit you," he said, "and bring you out of this +land into the land which he promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0109"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CRADLE THAT WAS ROCKED BY A RIVER. +</H3> + +<P> +After Joseph and all the sons of Jacob had grown old and had passed +away, their children's children grew in numbers until they became a +great multitude. +</P> + +<P> +The Pharaoh whom Joseph had served also died, and the king who followed +him did not like the Hebrews. He feared them because they had grown to +be strong, so he set overseers to watch them, and make them work like +slaves. +</P> + +<P> +He treated them cruelly, and made them lift the great stones with which +they built the tombs of the kings and temples of the gods. He also +tried to kill all the little boys as soon as they were born, but the +Lord took care of them. Also, the king told his servants, that +wherever they found a baby boy among the Hebrews, to throw him into the +river Nile, but the little girls, they should save alive. +</P> + +<P> +There was a man named Amrom, who, with his wife Jochebed, had a +beautiful little boy whom they tenderly loved. They hid him as long as +they could, and then when he was three months old and she could hide +him no longer, she made up her mind to give him into the care of God. +She made a little boat, or ark of stout rushes, that grew by the river. +She wove it closer than a basket, and then covered it with pitch that +the water might not enter, just as Noah covered the great ark before +the flood. +</P> + +<P> +Then she wrapped her baby carefully and laid him in the little boat, +and set it among the reeds at the edge of the river Nile. God and His +angels watched the cradle of the child, and the river gently rocked it. +Jochebed told the baby's sister to wait near by and see what might +happen to him, and this is what happened, or rather what God prepared +for the baby in the boat of rushes. +</P> + +<P> +The king's daughter came down to bathe in the river, and as her maidens +walked up and down by the riverside, she called one of them to bring to +her the little ark that she saw rocking on the river among the reeds. +When she had opened it she saw a beautiful little child, and when it +cried her heart was touched, and she longed to keep it for her own. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-044"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-044.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-044t.jpg" ALT="Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses" BORDER="0" WIDTH="645" HEIGHT="865"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 645px"> +Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"This is one of the Hebrew's children," she said, and as the baby's +sister came near she asked the princess if she should go and get a +nurse from among the Hebrew women to bring it up for her, and the +princess said to her, "Go," and the maid went and called the child's +mother. The princess said: "Take this child away and nurse it for me, +and I will give thee thy wages." +</P> + +<P> +And the mother took her baby joyfully though she hid her joy in her +heart, and carried him home to nurse and bring up for Pharoah's +daughter. +</P> + +<P> +And the child grew, and when he was old enough his mother took him to +the king's palace, and he became the son of the princess. She called +his name Moses, which means "drawn out," because she drew him out of +the water. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0110"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MOSES IN MIDIAN. +</H3> + +<P> +Moses had teachers, and was taught all the learning of the Egyptians, +but his heart was with his own people. He was grieved when he saw +their burdens, and heard their cries when their taskmasters struck them. +</P> + +<P> +Once, when he was a grown man, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and +he struck the Egyptian and killed him, for he thought he ought to +defend his people: and when he saw that the man was dead, he buried him +in the sand. In a day or two Moses tried to make peace between two +Hebrews who were fighting, and they answered him roughly, and one of +them said: +</P> + +<P> +"Who made thee a ruler over us? wilt thou kill me, as thou didst the +Egyptian yesterday?" +</P> + +<P> +Then Moses was afraid, and when the king heard of it, and tried to take +his life, Moses fled away out of Egypt, through a desert into Midian. +There he found a well and sat down by it to rest. While he sat there +the seven daughters of the priest of Midian came to draw water for +their father's flocks, and some rough shepherds came and drove them +away, but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flocks. +When their father knew that a noble stranger had been kind to his +daughters, he asked him to come into his house, and eat bread with him, +and stay as long as he would. So Moses stayed and Zipporah, one of the +seven sisters, became his wife. +</P> + +<P> +But Moses did not forget his people. God was preparing him to lead +them out of bondage, and he learned many things, during the years that +he kept the sheep of his father-in-law in the wilderness. +</P> + +<P> +One day he led his flocks across the desert to Mount Horeb or Sinai. +There he saw a bush all bright within as if it burned. He drew nearer +to see why the bush was not consumed, and heard the voice of the Lord +calling him. The Lord told him to come no nearer, and to put off his +shoes, for he stood on holy ground. Then the Lord told him that He was +the God of his fathers, and that He had heard the cry of his oppressed +people in Egypt. +</P> + +<P> +"I know their sorrows," said the voice from the midst of the fire, "And +I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to +bring them up out of that land into a good land, and a large—unto a +land flowing with milk and honey." +</P> + +<P> +Then the Lord said that Moses must go to the new Pharaoh, for the old +king was dead, and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses +was a very humble man, and he could not believe that Pharaoh would +listen to him or that the Hebrews would follow him, but the Lord said, +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly I will be with thee." +</P> + +<P> +And as a sign that it should be so, He said that after Moses had +brought his people out of Egypt, they should serve God in this mountain. +</P> + +<P> +But Moses had many fears. He knew that he had been brought up as an +Egyptian, and he feared that his people would not listen to his words. +</P> + +<P> +Then the Lord showed signs to Moses to help his faith. +</P> + +<P> +He turned the rod in Moses' hand into a serpent, and then when he was +afraid of it, the Lord told him to take it in his hand and it became a +rod again. +</P> + +<P> +He also turned his hand white with leprosy, and then changed it again +to natural flesh, and told Moses, that these, and other signs he should +show in Egypt—to prove that he was sent of God. +</P> + +<P> +But Moses felt himself to be so weak and faithless as a leader of his +people, that he still cried out that he was "slow of speech, and of a +slow tongue," and when the Lord said, "I will teach thee what thou +shalt say," he did not believe, but begged the Lord to send by whom he +would, only not by him. +</P> + +<P> +Then the Lord said that Aaron, the brother of Moses could speak well, +and that he should go with him to Pharoah and to his people, and should +speak for him, but that the wisdom and power of God should be with +Moses, and that he should do wonders with the rod in his hand. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0111"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ROD THAT TROUBLED EGYPT. +</H3> + +<P> +So Moses took his wife and his sons and returned to Egypt, and the rod +of God was in his hand; and Aaron, sent of God, came to meet him in the +wilderness, and there Moses told him all that was in his heart, and all +that God had sent him to do. +</P> + +<P> +When they came into Egypt they gathered the Israelites together, and +Aaron spoke to them, and they believed his words, and the signs that +Moses showed them. +</P> + +<P> +Afterward, they went to Pharoah and gave him the message of the Lord, +and Pharoah said: +</P> + +<P> +"I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." +</P> + +<P> +And he began to oppress the Israelites more than he had ever done +before. They made bricks of clay mixed with straw, that hardened in +the sun, and were as lasting as stone, but he forced them to find the +straw wherever they could, and make as many bricks as before. This +they did until no more straw could be found, and their Egyptian masters +beat them cruelly because they failed to make the full number of +bricks. Then they turned upon Moses and Aaron and said, that they had +put a sword in the king's hand to slay them. +</P> + +<P> +Where could Moses turn except to the Lord who had sent him? The Lord +heard him and made to him again the great promise, as he did at the +burning bush, and Moses told the people, but they could not believe it, +for they were crushed under their cruel burdens. +</P> + +<P> +And now the Lord sent Moses and Aaron again to Pharoah, to show by sign +and miracle, that their message was from Him. They took the rod that +Moses brought from Mount Horeb, and Moses told Aaron to cast it down +before the king, and it became a serpent. Pharoah called his wise men +and wizards, and they did the same, only Aaron's rod swallowed up their +rods, and Pharoah would not listen to their words. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-047"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-047.jpg" ALT="The rod that troubled Egypt" BORDER="0" WIDTH="598" HEIGHT="770"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 598px"> +The rod that troubled Egypt +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +But in the morning when Pharoah walked by the river the two men stood +by him and said again: +</P> + +<P> +The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee saying: +</P> + +<P> +"Let my people go that they may serve me in the wilderness," and then +Aaron struck the waters of the river Nile with his rod, and the waters +turned to blood. +</P> + +<P> +In all the land, in every stream and pond there was blood, so that the +fishes died and no one could drink the water. +</P> + +<P> +But because the wizards could turn water to blood also, Pharoah's heart +was hardened toward Moses and Aaron. +</P> + +<P> +While the people were digging wells for water, Aaron stretched forth +his rod over the river again, and frogs came up from it, and spread +over all the land and filled the houses of the people. This also the +magicians did, but so great was the plague that the king said: +</P> + +<P> +"I will let the people go." +</P> + +<P> +"When shall I entreat for thee and for thy people to destroy the frogs +from thee and thy houses?" said Moses; and Pharoah told him to do so +the next day. +</P> + +<P> +So on the next day Moses prayed to the Lord that the frogs might go out +of the land, and the Lord answered his prayer; but when Pharoah saw +that the frogs had been destroyed his heart grew hard, and he would not +listen to Moses and Aaron. +</P> + +<P> +Then another plague was brought upon the Egyptians. The dust of the +land was changed to lice that covered man and beast, and this was +followed by swarms of flies that settled upon all the land except +Goshen where the Israelites lived. +</P> + +<P> +Then Pharoah said: +</P> + +<P> +"Go, sacrifice to your God in this land," but they would not worship in +Egypt, and Pharoah at last told them that they could go into the +wilderness, but they must not go very far away. So Moses prayed, and +the swarms of flies were swept out of Egypt, but Pharoah did not keep +his word. +</P> + +<P> +Then a great sickness fell upon the cattle and sheep of the country, +though the flocks and herds of the Israelites were free from it; and +this was followed by a breaking out of boils upon men and beasts +everywhere, even upon the magicians, but Pharaoh's heart was still too +wicked to yield to God. +</P> + +<P> +Then came a great storm of hail over Egypt, such as had never been +known in that sunny land. It killed the cattle in the fields, and +destroyed the grain that was grown, and broke the trees and herbs. The +lightnings fell also and ran upon the ground, and when it was over the +heart of Pharaoh was still hard against God. +</P> + +<P> +Then Moses told Pharaoh that the face of the earth would be covered +with clouds of locusts that would eat every green thing left by the +storm, if he did not let God's people go. This frightened Pharaoh's +servants and they begged him to send them away, and though he would not +let their wives and little ones go, he said: +</P> + +<P> +"Go now, ye that are men, for that ye did desire," and he drove them +out of his presence. +</P> + +<P> +Then at the Lord's word, Moses arose and stretched forth his rod over +Egypt, and the plague of locusts came, driven by the East wind, and +covered the land until there was no green thing left in Egypt. +</P> + +<P> +Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron in great haste, and confessing +his sin, begged to be forgiven and to be saved from, "this death only," +and, at Moses' prayer, a mighty west wind drove the army of locusts +into the Red Sea. +</P> + +<P> +But again the heart of Pharaoh turned against God, and the Lord brought +thick darkness over the land for three days, only in the homes of the +Hebrews there was light. Then Pharaoh was willing to let them take +their wives and their little ones, but not their flocks and herds, and +because they would not leave them behind, Pharaoh drove Moses and Aaron +from him in anger, saying: +</P> + +<P> +"See my face no more." +</P> + +<P> +But the Lord proposed to break the hard heart of Pharaoh. He told +Moses to see that every Israelite should take a lamb from the flock and +keep it four days. Then, at evening, he was to kill it, and dip a +branch of hyssop in its blood, and strike it against the sides of his +door, also over it, leaving three marks of blood there. Then he was to +close his door and no one was to go out of it until morning. +</P> + +<P> +They were to roast the lamb and eat of it, and be ready for the journey +they were to make, and it should be to them forever the feast called +the Passover. They were to eat it with unleavened bread, and the feast +should be kept forever from the first to the seventh day of the month, +a holy feast to the Lord. +</P> + +<P> +And this is why it was called the feast of the Passover. At midnight, +after the lamb was killed in each house of the Israelites, and the +doors were shut, the Lord passed through the land, and wherever he saw +the blood on the side posts and the top of the door, he passed over +that house, and it was safe, but in every Egyptian house the first born +died, from the child of Pharaoh who sat on the throne, to the child of +the captive in the cell, and all the first born of cattle. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning a great cry went up from the land of Egypt, for there +was not a house where there was not one dead. +</P> + +<P> +Then Pharaoh was quite ready to let the Israelites go. +</P> + +<P> +"Take all you have and be gone," he said. +</P> + +<P> +They were all ready, and rose up very gladly to join the great +procession, led by Moses and Aaron, that gathered in Goshen, and +started on its long journey toward the east. +</P> + +<P> +They had heard of the land of their fathers, and now they were going +home to be slaves no more. They were a family of seventy souls when +they came into Egypt, four hundred and thirty years before, and now +they went out a great nation, as the Lord had promised when he blessed +their fathers. +</P> + +<P> +The feast of the Passover has been the chief one held by the +Israelites, from the time of their coming out of Egypt until now, and +since Jesus held the Passover feast with his disciples on the night +that he went forth to death, it has become to all Christians the +Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0112"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FOLLOWING THE CLOUD. +</H3> + +<P> +"God led the people," says the Word, as they came up out of Egypt. He +gave them the two leaders by whom He had broken the power of Pharaoh, +and set His people free, and He also set a great cloud in the air, just +above and before them, to lead them in the right way. It was to them +the presence of the Lord. By day it rose white and beautiful against +the blue sky, and moved slowly before them. At night it stood still +while they rested, and shed light over all the camp, for there seemed +to be a fire within the cloud at night. How safe and happy they must +have felt away from the cruel taskmasters of Egypt, and the Lord's +presence, spreading a wing of cloud over them. They were not led by a +straight way to Canaan, for a warlike people lived in the land which +they must pass through, but they were led at first through a country +without cities or armies, where they would not trouble many people or +be troubled by them. They bore with them the embalmed body of Joseph, +for they had promised to bury him with his fathers in the cave of +Machpelah; and they also had much wealth in herds, and flocks, and +gold, and silver. Pharaoh thought of this after they had gone, and his +wicked heart grew harder than before, so he ordered his chariots and +horsemen to follow them, and they found the Israelites camped by the +Red Sea. +</P> + +<P> +Then there was great fear and mourning in the camp when they saw the +army of Pharaoh coming, but Moses cried: +</P> + +<P> +"Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. The Lord +shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." +</P> + +<P> +Then the Lord told Moses to speak to the people that they go forward. +He also told him to lift up his rod and stretch his hand over the sea +and divide it, and the children of Israel should go on dry ground +through the midst of the sea. Night was falling, and the waters lay +dark before them, but the angel of God, the pillar of cloud and fire, +moved from its place before them and went behind them, while Moses and +Aaron led them on. Then the presence of the Lord was a cloud and +darkness to the Egyptians, but it gave a light by night to the +Israelites. A strong east wind drove the waters apart all night, so +that there was a way through the sea, and the waters were a wall upon +their right hand and on their left. Pharaoh's army saw the broad path +through the sea, and followed fast after the Israelites, but as morning +dawned the Lord looked from the cloud and troubled the Egyptians. +Their chariot wheels came off, and all went wrong with them. +</P> + +<P> +At last the Lord told Moses to stretch his hand forth over the sea, +that the waters might come back upon the Egyptians, and he did so; and +as the sun rose, the sea swallowed up the Egyptian host, and their +bodies were cast upon the shore. There on the other side stood the +great host of Israel, and saw the salvation of God, and they believed +in Him, and in Moses His servant. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-053"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-053.jpg" ALT="Destruction of Pharaoh's army" BORDER="0" WIDTH="720" HEIGHT="600"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 720px"> +Destruction of Pharaoh's army +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Then a great shout went up from the host of Israel. Moses led them in +a song of praise, and Miriam, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine, +and the women followed her in dances as they answered in a chorus of +praise:— +</P> + +<P> +"Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and +the rider hath he thrown into the sea." +</P> + +<P> +Soon they took up their journey, the cloudy pillar going before. There +was but little water by the way, and after three days of thirst, they +came to the waters of Marah, but they were bitter, and the people cried +to Moses, +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we drink?" +</P> + +<P> +Then the Lord showed him a tree which he cast into the waters, and they +were made pure and sweet. Soon after they came to Elim, where there +were twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees, and there they +rested. +</P> + +<P> +Again they took up their journey and passed through a desert land, +where they could get no food, and again they complained to Moses +because he had brought them into the wilderness to die. They did not +yet believe that God could supply all their need. +</P> + +<P> +"I will rain bread from heaven for you," said the Lord to Moses. He +was ready to provide, if they would only believe in Him and obey Him. +</P> + +<P> +Moses called them to come near before the Lord while Aaron should speak +his word to them. As they came near and looked toward the wilderness +where the cloud stood, the glory of the Lord shone out of it. The Lord +had heard them speak harshly to Moses for bringing them into a desert +to die, but he said, +</P> + +<P> +"At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with +bread." +</P> + +<P> +And his word came true. Great flocks of quails came up and covered the +camp at sunset, so that they caught them for food; and in the morning +the dew lay around them, and when it had risen, there lay on the ground +a small, round, white thing, something like frost, or a little seed, +and it tasted like wafers made with honey. The Lord told Moses that +the people must gather just enough to eat through the day, and no more. +The morning before the Sabbath they must gather enough for two days, +for none would fall on the Sabbath. This was the bread that the +heavenly Father provided for his children through all the years of +their journey from Egypt to Canaan, and they called it "Manna." +</P> + +<P> +There were hard things to bear in the wilderness. Often when they +wanted water for their little ones and their cattle, and could not find +it, they were like fretful children when they were tired and thirsty. +Once, at Horeb, Moses struck a rock with his wonderful rod, and water +sprung out in a stream. +</P> + +<P> +There were enemies also in the way. The Amelikites came out to fight +with the Israelites. The strong men went to meet the enemy, but Moses +stood on a hill with the rod of God in his hand, and Aaron and Hur were +with him. While Moses held up the rod, Israel prevailed; but when he +let down his hand Amalek prevailed. +</P> + +<P> +But Moses grew tired and they placed a stone for him to sit upon, and +Aaron and Hur held up his hands on either side until the going down of +the sun, when Amalek was conquered. Moses built an altar there, and +called it "The Lord my Banner." +</P> + +<P> +They were now drawing near the Mount, where Moses saw the burning bush, +and heard the Lord calling him to be the leader of his people. +</P> + +<P> +They were far out of their way to Canaan, but it was in the Lord's +purpose to bring them into obedience and faith before he brought them +into the promised land. They had lived long among the Egyptians, and +were very far from being like Jacob and Joseph, but there were good and +true men like Aaron, and Joshua, and Hur, who helped Moses. It was +about three months after the children of Israel left Egypt, that they +came into the wilderness of Sinai. There the "Mount of God" still +lifts its great granite cliffs toward the sky. There are high valleys +midway where it is cooler than below, and there the people encamped and +waited to hear what God would say to them, for God talked with Moses on +the Mount. +</P> + +<P> +He said He had chosen them, if they would obey his voice, to be a holy +nation. He told Moses to tell the people to be ready, and on the third +day He would come down in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai. +</P> + +<P> +And so it was, as the people looked there was a thick cloud upon the +Mount, from which came thunder and lightning, and the sound of a great +trumpet, while the mountain trembled as with an earthquake. Only Moses +and Aaron could approach the holy Mount, and from it God gave to Moses +the laws that the people were to live by, and Moses wrote them all down +that he might read them to the people. A company of the Elders of +Israel went up and saw the glory of God afar off, but God called Moses +up into the Mount, and the cloud closed him round, while the Lord gave +him the laws for a great nation, and the pattern of the tabernacle +which He wished him to make for a church in the wilderness. +</P> + +<P> +Forty days and forty nights Moses was on the Mount with God, and then +God gave him the ten great commandments written with his own hands on +tablets of stone, that he might give them to the people. They were to +be kept as the rules of life for all people in all times. +</P> + +<P> +Forty days and nights seemed a long time to the people camped around +the Mount. Perhaps they thought Moses would never come back to lead +them, for they began to think of the gods of Egypt, and asked Aaron to +make one for them. So to please them he told them to bring him their +gold ornaments, and he melted them and made a golden calf such as the +Egyptians worshiped, and before it they made an altar, and they +worshiped the calf. +</P> + +<P> +The Lord who sees all things told Moses to go down to the people for +they were worshiping an idol. So Moses went down a little way and met +Joshua, and they both went down and saw the people feasting, and +singing, and dancing, and Moses cast the tablets of stone upon the +ground and they were broken. The heart of Moses, too, was almost +broken, but he destroyed the golden calf, and punished the people for +their great sin, and then went up to the Mount to plead for the life of +his people. +</P> + +<P> +"O this people have sinned a great sin," he cried, "and have made them +gods of gold, yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin, and if not, blot +me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou has written," so great was +the love of Moses for his people. +</P> + +<P> +There was a time of repentance among the people after this, and Moses +and his servant Joshua reared a tent outside the camp and called it the +Tabernacle of the congregation. It was for worship until the true +Tabernacle should be built according to the pattern given in the Mount. +All who sought the Lord went to worship there, and the pillar of cloud +came and stood at the Tabernacle door while Moses talked with God, and +all the people saw it and worshiped. +</P> + +<P> +Moses prayed again for the people, and the Lord said: +</P> + +<P> +"My presences shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." +</P> + +<P> +The Lord called Moses again into the mount, and told him to bring with +him two tablets of stone and He would again write the ten commandments +upon them. +</P> + +<P> +So Moses hewed them from the rock and took them up into Mount Sinai. +Then the Lord came down again in a thick cloud and talked with Moses, +and wrote upon the tablets of stone. +</P> + +<P> +After forty days Moses came down to the people bringing the +commandments with him, but his face shone with a strange light that the +people never saw before, and they were afraid of him. It was something +above the light of the sun, for Moses had seen the Glory of the Lord. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-057"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-057.jpg" ALT="Moses descending from the Mount" BORDER="0" WIDTH="597" HEIGHT="769"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 597px"> +Moses descending from the Mount +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +While they still camped around the mount they began to build the +Tabernacle. Moses told the people to bring gold, and silver, and +brass, and wood. They also brought precious stones, and oil for the +lamp, and fine linen, and they gave so willingly that at last Moses +told them that there was more than enough. +</P> + +<P> +These were put in the hands of two wise men whom the Lord had chosen +and taught to do the work, and they had willing helpers among the +people, for wise hearted women did spin with their own hands, and bring +what they had spun, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen to +make the hangings of the Tabernacle. +</P> + +<P> +If you would know all the beautiful and costly and curious things that +were made for this church in the wilderness, you will find them +described in the last chapters of Exodus. +</P> + +<P> +The Israelites camped a long time in the high valleys around the Mount +of God, and at last set up the Tabernacle. It was so made that it +could be taken down and carried with them when they journeyed, for it +was a beautiful tent. Over it the pillar of cloud stood. Whenever it +moved the people followed, and when it stood still, they rested. +Within the Tabernacle they placed a beautiful chest of wood overlaid +with gold, which ever after held their most precious things, the +tablets of stone written upon by the Lord himself. +</P> + +<P> +This "Ark of Testimony," as it was called, had rings at the sides +through which men laid strong rods by which to carry it, and so had the +golden table for bread, and the golden altar of incense. There was a +beautiful seven-branched candlestick of pure gold in which olive oil +was burned for a sacred sign, and there was a brazen altar for burnt +offerings, and a great brazen bowl for washing, and other things to be +used in the worship of the Sanctuary. +</P> + +<P> +There were beautiful garments, also, for the priests, Aaron and his +sons, and for Aaron there was a wonderful breast-plate of gold set with +twelve precious stones, bearing the names of the twelve tribes of +Israel. +</P> + +<P> +When all was finished, and the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud that +veiled the presence of the Lord came and covered it, and the glory of +the Lord filled it, so that Moses could not enter; but the Lord spoke +to him from the cloud, and told him how the priests should order the +worship of the Lord there. +</P> + +<P> +Afterward, Aaron and his sons offered burnt offerings for their sins, +and the sins of the people, in the way the Lord had commanded, and fire +from the Lord came down and consumed the offering. +</P> + +<P> +When the people saw the answer of the Lord they fell on their faces +before him. +</P> + +<P> +In the second month of the second year the cloud rose from over the +Tabernacle, and then the people knew it was time to go on their +Journey. So they took down the tent of the Tabernacle and put all +things in order for the journey. Each of the twelve tribes descended +from the twelve sons of Jacob marched by themselves, carrying banners, +and having captains. In the midst of them all marched the Levites +carrying the Ark and the different parts of the Tabernacle, and when +the cloud stood still, they stopped and set up the Tabernacle, while +the people formed their camp all around it in the order of their tribes. +</P> + +<P> +Still the manna fell with the dew at night, and the people gathered it +in the morning, and when they tired of it, the Lord sent them quails +again. +</P> + +<P> +Over and over the people complained and rebelled, but the Angel of the +Lord's Presence still hovered over them, and led them toward the +promised land. Forty years they were on the journey that was so easily +made by the sons of Jacob when they went back and forth to buy wheat in +the time of famine; and forty-two times did they encamp on the way, yet +the mercy of the Lord never failed them, and they were brought into +their own land at last. Then the cloud was no longer needed to go +before them, but long after, when they built a beautiful temple at +Jerusalem in which to put the sacred Ark of Testimony, the cloud came +again and filled the temple with the glory of the Lord. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0113"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +IN THE BORDERS OF CANAAN. +</H3> + +<P> +While the host of Israel was in camp at Paran, the Lord told Moses to +send men before them into Canaan to spy out the land. +</P> + +<P> +So he sent twelve men who walked through the land and saw the people, +and the cities and the fields and the fruits. They were forty days +searching the land and they brought from the brook Eschol a cluster of +grapes so large that two of them bore it on a staff between them. They +also brought some pomegranates and figs. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-059"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-059.jpg" ALT="The return of the spies" BORDER="0" WIDTH="601" HEIGHT="779"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 601px"> +The return of the spies +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +When they came into the camp they said that the country where they had +been was good, and flowing with milk and honey, but the people were +strong, and the cities had very high walls. They said they saw giants +there. +</P> + +<P> +Caleb, who was one of the twelve, and a good and true man, said: +</P> + +<P> +"Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome +it," but the men who were with him were afraid of the giants, and said +they felt like grasshoppers before them. Then there was great weeping +among the people all that night, and they said, +</P> + +<P> +"Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt." Moses and Aaron +were greatly troubled, but the two good men, Caleb and Joshua, stood up +and encouraged the people, saying that they need not fear, for the Lord +had given them the land, yet they were ready to stone Caleb and Joshua. +</P> + +<P> +Then the Lord spake to Moses from the Tabernacle, and the people saw +his glory. He said the people were unbelieving and disobedient, and +for this reason they could not enter the promised land. He said, that +all who were twenty years old and upward would die in the wilderness, +except Caleb and Joshua, who had followed the Lord wholly. He also +said that the people would be forty years in the wilderness, and only +the youth and the children would live to enter Canaan. +</P> + +<P> +There was mourning and repentance then because of the word of the Lord, +and the people promised again to believe and obey, but over and over +they lost faith and rebelled, and great storms of trouble fell upon +them. +</P> + +<P> +Once the earth opened and many were swallowed up; a sudden sickness +destroyed thousands. Near Mount Hor, where Aaron died, fiery serpents +ran among the people, and all who were bitten by them died; but there +was full forgiveness and cure for those who turned to the Lord. When +the fiery serpents entered the camp Moses lifted a brazen image of a +serpent up on a pole so high that it could be seen all over the camp, +and whoever looked upon it lived. It was a sign of the coming Saviour. +</P> + +<P> +Between the marches and the battles with heathen tribes, some of whom +were giants, Moses wrote in a book the laws that God gave him for the +government of the people. They were wise laws, the keeping of which +would bring health, peace and blessedness to the people. He gave the +book to the Levites who carried the Ark, and they were to keep it +always beside the Ark, and often read it aloud to the people. +</P> + +<P> +Moses said many things to the people, and as Jacob blessed his twelve +sons, so Moses blessed each of the twelve tribes that descended from +them, for he was near the end of his long life. The Lord had told him +that He should take him to Himself before the people entered Canaan, +and that Joshua must lead the people into the promised land. So when +they had reached the borders of Canaan, and were encamped near the +Jordan, the Lord called his tried servant up into Mount Nebo, that he +might see the land beyond the Jordan, where the twelve tribes were to +find their promised home. Then the Lord gave him a view of the land, +and there he died, as Aaron died on Mount Hor. +</P> + +<P> +No one saw Moses die, and no one knows where he was buried, for the +Lord buried him. He was one hundred and twenty years old, and yet as +strong as a young man. After his death Joshua became the leader of +Israel. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0114"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A NATION THAT WAS BORN IN A DAY. +</H3> + +<P> +The time had come for the people to cross the river Jordan, and enter +their own land, and the Lord told Joshua to prepare the people for +their last journey before going over Jordan. Joshua first sent two men +over the river to see the land. +</P> + +<P> +They went to the walled city of Jericho, and to the house of a woman +named Rahab. The king heard that they were there and sent for them, +but the woman hid them under the flax that she was drying on the roof +of her house. Afterward she let them down by a rope through a window +(for her house was built on the town wall), and they escaped. They +promised Rahab before they went, that if she would hang a long line of +scarlet thread from the window on the wall, that when they came to take +the city she should be saved and all her family because of her kindness +to them. +</P> + +<P> +After they had returned to the camp they told Joshua that the Lord +would surely give them the land, for the people were afraid of them. +Then they rose up and marched to the banks of the Jordan and waited for +Joshua to lead them over. Some of them remembered how they had passed +through the Red Sea, and others had heard it from their parents, and +they now waited to see the salvation of God. Joshua told them to +follow the priests, and the Levites who would bear the Ark of the +Covenant, so when Joshua said: +</P> + +<P> +"Behold the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth +over before you into Jordan," the people followed. +</P> + +<P> +The Jordan lay spread before them like a lake, for it was the time of +year when it overflowed all its banks, but when the feet of the priests +who bore the Ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters from +above stopped and rose like a wall, while the waters below flowed away +into the Dead Sea, and left a wide path for the people to walk in, and +the Ark stood still in Jordan until every one had passed over. Then +twelve men, one out of every tribe, took a stone from the bed of the +river and carried it over for a memorial altar, so that when any should +ask in years to come, "What do these stones mean?" someone might tell +them how the Lord led Israel through Jordan into their own land. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-063"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-063.jpg" ALT="Crossing the Jordan" BORDER="0" WIDTH="724" HEIGHT="595"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 724px"> +Crossing the Jordan +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +After the Ark had come up from the bed of Jordan, and there was not one +of all the thousands of Israel left behind, the waters came down from +the place where they had stayed, and flowed down into the Dead Sea, and +overflowed the banks of Jordan as before. +</P> + +<P> +The stones were heaped in Gilgal where they camped, and directly before +them rose the walls of Jericho, and here they kept the passover. For +forty years they had been fed with manna from heaven as they camped or +journeyed in the wilderness, but now they began to eat the grain and +the fruits of the land, and the manna fell no more. +</P> + +<P> +Nearly five hundred years before the family of Jacob left this land to +go down into Egypt where Joseph was. They grew to be a great people, +but they were slaves. Then the Lord sent Moses to make them free, and +they began the long journey, which at last brought them to their own +land. +</P> + +<P> +Forty years they were on the journey, and all this time they were +pilgrims, but on the day that the Jordan ceased to flow, and parted +while they passed over into the land promised to their fathers, they +became a nation. +</P> + +<P> +The land was before them, and they had only to obey the Lord and his +servant Joshua to conquer and possess it. +</P> + +<P> +As they filled the valley of the Jordan before Jericho, the hearts of +the heathen fainted for fear, for they knew that only the Lord could +divide a river to let his people pass. +</P> + +<P> +Joshua went out of the camp to look at Jericho, the walled city. It +was shut up for fear of the Israelites, and there was no one to be seen. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly Joshua saw a warrior standing with a drawn sword in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Art thou for us," said Joshua, "or for our adversaries?" and the +warrior angel answered, +</P> + +<P> +"Nay! but as Captain of the host of the Lord, am I now come," and +Joshua fell on his face before him. +</P> + +<P> +He knew then that it was the Lord who would conquer Jericho, and he was +told how the people were to help him. +</P> + +<P> +So Joshua called the priests, and told them to take up the Ark, and he +told seven priests to go before it bearing trumpets of rams' horns. +Then the army of Israel, ready for war, followed, half of them marching +before the Ark, and half of them coming after, and as the trumpets gave +a great sound, they marched once around the city, and then went to +camp. This they did once every day for seven days, but on the seventh +day they marched around the city seven times, and as the priests blew +the trumpets for the last time, Joshua cried with a mighty voice, +</P> + +<P> +"Shout! for the Lord hath given you the city." +</P> + +<P> +Then as a great shout went up from the people, the walls of the city +fell down flat, so that the soldiers of Israel went up, every man +straight before him, and took Jericho. +</P> + +<P> +And Rahab was not forgotten. The Lord cared for her little house on +the wall, and she, with all her family, were brought into the Camp of +Israel. +</P> + +<P> +And so by the conquest of Jericho the new nation of Israel began to +possess its land. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0115"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +SAMSON THE STRONG. +</H3> + +<P> +All the days of Joshua—and he lived to be an hundred and ten years +old—the Israelites were conquering the people who lived in Canaan, and +dividing it among the tribes. Joshua was a father to them, as Moses +had been, and when at last they were at rest, each tribe within its own +borders, and they had begun to build their houses, and plant their +fields, Joshua spoke words of loving counsel to the people, and they +set up a stone under an oak tree, as a sign that they would always +serve the Lord and keep the law, and then he went to be with God. +After his death Israel was ruled by wise men called judges, who helped +them to conquer the land little by little. Some of them were good men +and brave warriors as Othniel and Gideon and Jephthah and one was a +prophetess named Deborah, a noble mother in Israel, and one was a +mighty man of strength, Samson, the son of Manoah. +</P> + +<P> +The people of Israel had turned away from the Lord, and could no longer +conquer their enemies, but the Philistines had conquered them, and had +been their masters for forty years, when the Lord sent Samson to +deliver them. He was not a wise man like Moses or Joshua, but he had +great strength, and the Lord used him against the Philistines. +</P> + +<P> +Once a young lion came roaring against him, and he caught it and rent +it in two, as if it had been a kid. When he passed the same way +afterward he saw that the bees had built a nest in the body of the +lion, and it was full of honey. At his marriage feast—for he married +a Philistine woman—he made a riddle for the young men to guess: +</P> + +<P> +"Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong, come forth +sweetness." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-065"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-065.jpg" ALT="The young Samson" BORDER="0" WIDTH="594" HEIGHT="756"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 594px"> +The young Samson +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +They tried for seven days to guess the riddle, but they could not, and +then they told Samson's wife to find it out for them, or they would +burn her house. She begged him with tears to tell her, and at last he +told her of the honey comb in the body of the lion, and she told the +young men, so that at the end of the seventh day they said to Samson, +</P> + +<P> +"What is sweeter than honey?" and "what is stronger than a lion?" +</P> + +<P> +He saw that he had been betrayed, so he paid his debt, a suit of +clothes to each guest, and went home to his father's house. Afterwards +when he found that his wife had been given to another he tied +firebrands to the tails of three hundred foxes, and sent them among the +wheat fields of the Philistines so that the fields were set on fire. +</P> + +<P> +Once the men of Gaza tried to kill him when he was within their city, +but he rose at midnight and took the city gates, with its posts and +bar, and carried them away on his shoulders to the top of the hill. +Again the Philistine lords had promised a great deal of money to a +woman, if she would get Samson to tell her what made him so strong, so +she begged him to tell her. Three times she thought she knew the +secret, and told the Philistines, but they could not bind him. At last +he was tired of her questions, and said to her plainly—that from a +child no razor had ever touched his hair. If it should be cut he would +be as weak as other men. Then she watched and cut his hair while he +slept, and the Philistines bound him and carried him to Gaza, where +they made him blind, and forced him to grind in the mills of a prison +house. The Philistines were glad because Samson was their prisoner at +last, and so they came together in a great feast to sacrifice to their +god Dagon, for they said, +</P> + +<P> +"Our god has delivered Samson into our hands." While they were merry +they said: +</P> + +<P> +"Let us send for Samson to make sport for us," and he was brought out +of the prison. It was very sad to see the strong judge of Israel, weak +and blind, led by a little lad, and making sport for the people in +front of their temple. All the lords of the Philistines were there, +and upon the broad roof of the temple were about three thousand people +watching Samson while he showed his strength, for his hair had grown +and his strength was returning. At last as he was standing between two +great pillars that held up the roof, he prayed, lifting his sightless +eyes to God: +</P> + +<P> +"O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me only this +once." +</P> + +<P> +Then he clasped his arms around the pillars on either side of him, and +bowing himself with all his might, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Let me die with the Philistines," he drew the great pillars with him, +and the house fell with all that were upon it, on all that were within +it. So died Samson who judged Israel twenty years, yet a woman, +Deborah, who was also one of the judges in Israel, was stronger than +he, for the Lord looketh on the heart. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-067"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-067.jpg" ALT="The death of Samson" BORDER="0" WIDTH="602" HEIGHT="768"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 602px"> +The death of Samson +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0116"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +RUTH. +</H3> + +<P> +In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, there was a famine in the +land, and an Israelite, who lived in Bethlehem, took his wife and his +two sons into Moab where there was food. After a while the Israelite +died, and the two sons married women of Moab. +</P> + +<P> +After two years the sons died also, and their mother, Naomi, longed for +her home in Bethlehem, for there was no longer a famine there. So she +took Ruth and Orpah, her sons' wives, and started on the journey into +the land of Israel. +</P> + +<P> +But before they had gone far Naomi said: +</P> + +<P> +"Go! return each to her mother's house; the Lord deal kindly with you, +as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me." +</P> + +<P> +She kissed them, and they wept and would not leave her. +</P> + +<P> +"Turn again, my daughters," she said, "why will ye go with me?" +</P> + +<P> +And Orpah kissed Naomi, and went back to her own mothers' house, but +Ruth, whose heart was with Naomi, would not go back. +</P> + +<P> +"Entreat me not to leave thee," she said, "or to return from following +after thee, for where thou goest I will go; and where thou lodgest I +will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where +thou diest I will die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to +me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me." +</P> + +<P> +And so they came to Bethlehem, and the old friends of Naomi greeted her +tenderly, and welcomed her back. It was about the beginning of the +barley harvest. +</P> + +<P> +There was a good and great man in Bethlehem named Boaz, and he was of +the family of Naomi's husband. He had a field of barley where the +reapers were at work, and Ruth asked Naomi if she should not go and +glean after the reapers, to get grain, for they were poor. +</P> + +<P> +Naomi said, "Go, my daughter," and she went. +</P> + +<P> +When Boaz came out of the town into his field and greeted his reapers, +he said to his servant having charge of the reapers, +</P> + +<P> +"What maiden is this?" and he told him that she was the Moabitish girl +who had come back with her mother-in-law Naomi. +</P> + +<P> +Then Boaz spoke very kindly to Ruth, and told her to stay with his +maidens, and freely drink of the water drawn for them, and Ruth bowed +before him and asked why he should be so kind to a stranger. He told +her that he knew all her kindness to her mother-in-law since the death +of her husband, and how she had left her own family and country to come +among strangers, and he blessed her, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"A full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose +wings thou art come to trust." +</P> + +<P> +Then he told her to sit down and eat bread with them, and he helped her +to the parched corn with his own hands, and when they returned to work +he told his young men to let her glean among the sheaves and reprove +her not, and to let some handfuls fall purposely for her to glean. +When Ruth went home Naomi said, +</P> + +<P> +"Where hast thou gleaned to-day?" and Ruth told her. Then Naomi +blessed Boaz, and told Ruth that he was one of their near relatives. +</P> + +<P> +And so Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz through all the barley and +the wheat harvest. When all the reaping was done, the grain was +threshed on a piece of ground made very smooth and level. The sheaves +were beaten, and then the straw was taken away, and the grain and chaff +below it was winnowed. By this the chaff was blown away and only the +grain was left. +</P> + +<P> +When Boaz winnowed his barley Naomi told Ruth to go down to his +threshing floor and see him for he had a feast for his friends. +</P> + +<P> +So after the feast Ruth came near to him and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Thou art our near kinsman," and Boaz said, +</P> + +<P> +"May the Lord bless thee my daughter," and with many kind words he gave +her six measures of barley to take to Naomi. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-070"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-070.jpg" ALT="Ruth and Naomi" BORDER="0" WIDTH="600" HEIGHT="758"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 600px"> +Ruth and Naomi +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Boaz remembered that it was the custom in Israel for the nearest +relative of a man who had died, to take care of the wife who was left, +and so he went to the gate of Bethlehem where the rulers met to hold +their court, and spoke to the elders and chief men about Ruth. He also +wished them to be witnesses that he was going to take Ruth to be his +wife. Then the rulers all said, +</P> + +<P> +"We are witnesses," and they prayed that God would bless Ruth and make +Boaz still richer and greater. +</P> + +<P> +So Ruth became the honored and beloved wife of Boaz, and they had a son +named Obed. +</P> + +<P> +Obed grew up and had a son named Jesse; and Jesse was the father of +David, King of Israel, who was first a shepherd lad of Bethlehem. +</P> + +<P> +More than a thousand years after Ruth lived there was born in +Bethlehem, of the family of Boaz and Ruth, a little Child, who came, to +be the Saviour of the world, and the shepherds in the fields, where, +perhaps, Ruth gleaned, and David kept his sheep, heard the angels tell +the good news and sing +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"Peace on earth, good will to men." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0117"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +SAMUEL—THE CHILD OF THE TEMPLE. +</H3> + +<P> +The Tabernacle that was built in the wilderness, and was brought into +Canaan by the priests was set up at Shiloh in the very centre of the +land of Canaan, and once every year the tribes came to it to worship +and offer sacrifices. After it had come to Shiloh to stay it was +called the temple. +</P> + +<P> +When Eli was high priest a man named Elkanah came up from Ramah to +worship, and Hannah his wife went with him. She was a good woman, and +very sorrowful, because she saw other wives with sons and daughters +around them, and she had none. Her husband was loving and kind and +said: +</P> + +<P> +"Am I not better to thee than ten sons?" but she prayed to God for a +son. While she was at Shiloh she prayed in the temple, and Eli saw her +lips move, though he heard no voice. At first he spoke harshly to her, +thinking she had been drinking wine, but she told him that she had not +taken wine, but was praying. +</P> + +<P> +"I am a woman of sorrowful spirit," she said, "and have poured out my +soul before the Lord." Then Eli blessed her and said: +</P> + +<P> +"Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thee the prayer that thou +hast asked of him." Then Hannah was no longer sad. +</P> + +<P> +Her prayer was answered, and the Lord sent her a little son, and when +he was old enough, she took him to the temple, for she had promised the +Lord that the child should be His. So Elkanah came bringing +sacrifices, and the young child was with them. Hannah told Eli that +she was the woman whom he saw praying in the temple. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-072"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-072.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-072t.jpg" ALT="Samuel speaking to the Lord" BORDER="0" WIDTH="683" HEIGHT="866"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 683px"> +Samuel speaking to the Lord +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"For the child I prayed," she said, "and the Lord has answered my +prayer. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he +shall be lent to the Lord." Eli was very glad and gave thanks to the +Lord, and took the little boy to help him in the service of the temple. +Every year his father and mother came to bring offerings to the Lord, +and his mother always brought him a little coat which she had made. +</P> + +<P> +Over it was a linen garment called an ephod, such as the priests wore. +Eli was an old man, and his sons, though they were priests, were not +good men, and he believed the Lord had sent him one who would be good, +so he loved little Samuel as if he were his own. +</P> + +<P> +One night when Eli was laid down to sleep, and Samuel also, while the +light was still burning in the golden candlestick before the Ark, +Samuel heard a voice calling him, and he answered, "Here am I," and ran +to see what Eli wanted. But Eli said that he had not called, and +Samuel lay down again. When the voice called again, Samuel went again +to Eli's bed, but Eli told him to lie down again, for he had not called +him. When the voice called the third time, Samuel said: "Here am I, +for thou <I>didst</I> call me." +</P> + +<P> +Then Eli told the boy to lie down once more, but if he heard the voice +again to say, +</P> + +<P> +"Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth." +</P> + +<P> +And when the voice called again, "Samuel, Samuel," the boy answered, +</P> + +<P> +"Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth." +</P> + +<P> +Then the Lord told Samuel that the sons of Eli had become very wicked, +and their father had not kept them from the evil, and therefore He +could not accept their offerings. +</P> + +<P> +When Eli asked Samuel what the Lord had said to him, the boy told him +all and hid nothing from him, and Eli bowed his spirit before the Lord, +and said: +</P> + +<P> +"It is the Lord, let Him do what seemeth Him good." +</P> + +<P> +After this all the people of Israel knew that the Lord had called +Samuel to be a prophet. And as he grew up the Lord was with him, and +he was a judge over his people all his life. +</P> + +<P> +As for Eli and his sons, the word of the Lord soon came true. When the +Philistines came against the Israelites in battle, the Elders of Israel +said: +</P> + +<P> +"Let us bring the Ark of the Lord out of Shiloh to us, that it may save +us out of the hand of our enemies." And so they took it from the holy +place to the camp of Israel. Then the Philistines fell upon the camp +and scattered the men of Israel. They also took the Ark of God, and +the two sons of Eli were among the thousands slain. +</P> + +<P> +Eli, who trembled for the Ark of God, sat outside the city gate, by the +wayside watching. He was nearly a hundred years old, and his eyes were +dim, but when a messenger came with the bad news, he fell backward in +his seat and died. His heart was broken. +</P> + +<P> +Where was Samuel? Perhaps he was praying in the temple for the return +of the Ark of the Covenant. +</P> + +<P> +Wherever the Ark went among the Philistines, there went also trouble +and death. When they put it in the temple of their fish-god Dagon, the +great idol fell down before it and was broken. And when it was taken +to another city, the people were smitten with sickness, until at last +the Philistines said: +</P> + +<P> +"Send away the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it go to its own +place." +</P> + +<P> +After seven months they sent it with gifts of gold to the Israelites. +They placed it on a new cart drawn by two cows, and the cows, guided by +the Lord alone, took a straight way into the land of Israel. How glad +the people were when they looked up from their reaping in the fields, +and saw the Ark coming safely back to them. The Philistines watched it +from afar to see if it would be guided of God to its own place or not +and then they returned to their city. +</P> + +<P> +Samuel gathered the people to the Lord after this, and though they had +sinned greatly, and had gone after the gods of the heathen around them, +they repented and returned to the faith of their fathers, and were +faithful all the days of Samuel. He went from year to year on a +journey to three cities of Israel, and judged the people in those +places, but his home was in Ramah, the city where he was born, and +where Hannah had brought him up for the Lord. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0118"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE MAKING OF A KING. +</H3> + +<P> +When Samuel was old he made his sons judges in his place, but they were +not holy men like their father. +</P> + +<P> +They loved money, and would judge unjustly, if money were given to them +as a bribe. So the people came to Samuel at Ramah and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Give us a king to judge us." +</P> + +<P> +And Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord told him to do as the +people had asked him to do, for they had not rejected him as judge, but +the Lord as their King, and now they must learn what kind of a king +would reign over them. So Samuel told them what they must be ready to +do for their King, for a king was often a hard master, and ruled his +people cruelly, taking the best of their fields, and their harvests, +and their flocks for themselves, and the finest of their sons and +daughters to be his servants; but they said, +</P> + +<P> +"We will have a king over us, that we may be like other nations, and +that our king may judge us, and go out before us and fight our battles." +</P> + +<P> +When Samuel told these things to the Lord he said, "Make them a king," +and Samuel sent the people to their own cities. +</P> + +<P> +Samuel did not choose a king for the people himself, but he waited for +the Lord to send him the man He had chosen, and the Lord said to him as +he went to a city called Zeph, to hold a sacrifice, +</P> + +<P> +"To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man from the land of +Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people +Israel." +</P> + +<P> +On the next day as Samuel came out to go up to the hill of sacrifice he +met a tall, noble looking young man, who, with his servant, was looking +for the lost asses of his father, Kish, the Benjaminite. He had come +far, and had heard that Samuel, the seer was in that place, and he +hoped he would tell him where to go for the asses that were lost. +</P> + +<P> +Samuel knew from the Lord that this was the man God had chosen, so he +told him to go up with him to the sacrifice, and the next day he would +let him go. +</P> + +<P> +He told him that he need not be troubled about the asses, for they were +found, but the desire of Israel was set upon him. Saul, for that was +his name, did not understand him until he was invited to feast with +thirty of the chief men, and Samuel had talked with him upon the +house-top. Early the next morning they both rose and went out of the +city, and while Saul sent his servant on before, Samuel anointed Saul +with oil, and kissed him saying, that the Lord had anointed him to be +Captain over his inheritance. +</P> + +<P> +As a sign that the Lord had done it, he told Saul three things that +would happen to him on the way home, and charged him to go to Gilgal, +where he would meet him and sacrifice to the Lord for seven days. As +Saul turned to leave the prophet, God gave him another heart, and all +the signs came to pass that day. +</P> + +<P> +At Mizpah Samuel called all the tribes together, that the man who was +to be their king, might be chosen in their sight, and when Saul, the +son of Kish, the Benjaminite was chosen he could not be found; he had +hidden from the people; but when they brought him out before them, he +was taller than any of the people from his shoulders up, and looked a +king indeed. For the first time in all their history they cried, +</P> + +<P> +"God save the King!" +</P> + +<P> +Then Saul went home, and there went with him a body of men whose hearts +God had touched, while Samuel wrote in a book the order of the kingdom +and laid it up before the Lord. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0119"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE SHEPHERD BOY OF BETHLEHEM. +</H3> + +<P> +After Saul had been king of Israel for a few years, Samuel was deeply +troubled about him, for he had hoped that he would be as truly a king +as he looked, but he had a strange and wilful spirit that led him to +turn away from the counsel of the Lord and follow his own way. +</P> + +<P> +Samuel had been grieved again and again by Saul's rashness, until at +last he said to him when he had taken the spoil of the enemy to +sacrifice to the Lord, +</P> + +<P> +"To obey is better than sacrifice; because thou hast rejected the word +of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king," and he went +to his house and mourned over Saul, for he had loved him. +</P> + +<P> +At last the Lord told Samuel to cease from mourning for Saul, for He +had rejected him, but to fill his horn with oil, and go to Bethlehem +where Jesse lived, for He had chosen one of the sons of Jesse to be +king in place of Saul. +</P> + +<P> +Samuel went to Bethlehem leading a heifer, as the Lord had told him to +do, that he might hold a sacrifice. He told the elders of the city to +make ready for the sacrifice, and when he had found the house of Jesse, +he called him and his sons. Jesse was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz, +and owned the fields, no doubt, where Ruth gleaned. When Samuel saw +Eliab, the son of Jesse, he said: +</P> + +<P> +"Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him," but the Lord said: +</P> + +<P> +"Look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature, because I +have refused him, for the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh +on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesse called Abinidab, but Samuel said: +</P> + +<P> +"The Lord hath not chosen this." Then he made Shammah to pass before +him, but Samuel said: +</P> + +<P> +"Neither hath the Lord chosen this." +</P> + +<P> +Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel, but Samuel said: +</P> + +<P> +"The Lord hath not chosen these." +</P> + +<P> +"Are here all thy children?" said Samuel. +</P> + +<P> +"There remaineth yet the youngest, and he keepeth the sheep," Jesse +replied. Then Samuel said: +</P> + +<P> +"Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down till he come hither." +</P> + +<P> +So Jesse sent out into the sheepfolds on the hillsides outside the city +to bring the lad David in. What did the boy think when he found his +father and his brothers waiting, with the old prophet in the midst? +What did it mean that the eye of the seer was set upon him, as were the +eyes of all in the house? +</P> + +<A NAME="img-077"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-077.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-077t.jpg" ALT="The young shepherd boy" BORDER="0" WIDTH="654" HEIGHT="860"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 654px"> +The young shepherd boy +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Samuel saw a noble youth, "ruddy, and of a beautiful countenance, and +goodly to look to." He had been told that he must not look on the +outward appearance "for the Lord seeth not as man seeth," and so he +waited a little until the Lord said: +</P> + +<P> +"Arise, anoint him, for this is he." Then he took the horn of oil, and +anointed him in the midst of his brethren, and the spirit of the Lord +came upon David from that day forward, and Samuel went back to his +house in Ramah. +</P> + +<P> +It may be that his father and his brothers did not understand that the +boy had been called to be king over Israel, but a new spirit of wisdom, +and love, and strength came upon David, and though he went back to his +father's flocks with no thought of being greater than his brothers, he +went with a new song in his heart which he sang to the little harp he +had made while watching the sheep. Long after when he was King of +Israel, he made in memory of these days the beautiful Psalm to be sung +in the temple beginning, +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want."<BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0120"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE POWER OF A PEBBLE. +</H3> + +<P> +Saul the sullen was still king over Israel, although he had departed +from the Lord, and in His sight he was no longer a king. He was very +gloomy and dark in his mind, for he had driven the Lord's spirit away, +and his light was gone. +</P> + +<P> +His servants tried to amuse him, and told him of David, the son of +Jesse, who was a skillful player on the harp, and a brave and handsome +youth. So Saul sent for David, and David, bringing presents from his +father, came to the king's house. +</P> + +<P> +Saul was greatly pleased with David, and asked Jesse to let his son +stay with him, for when the evil spirit was upon him, if David played +upon his harp the darkness left him. But this did not last, and after +a while David went back to his flocks, and Saul forgot him. +</P> + +<P> +Then the Philistines rose against Israel again. Their camp was on a +mountain side, and Saul gathered his warriors on the side of another +mountain and there was a valley between them. +</P> + +<P> +Out of the Philistine camp a giant came one day, Goliath of Gath. He +talked loud and often in order to terrify the Israelites, asking them +to send out a man to fight with him, but he was not truly brave, for he +had carefully covered his great body with armor of brass, so that no +spear or sword could touch him. He defied Israel every morning and +evening for forty days, and no one was found who would dare to go out +alone to fight him. David's elder brothers were in camp, and Jesse, +their father, called David from the flocks to take food to them. He +found the army of Israel ready to go into battle, but Goliath came out +as he had done each day and defied the Israelites, who ran in terror at +the sight of him. The spirit of David was moved at this, and he said: +</P> + +<P> +"Who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living +God?" "The man who killeth him," said one, "the King will enrich him, +and, will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in +Israel." +</P> + +<P> +Then Eliab, David's eldest brother, spoke sternly to David asking him +why he had left his sheep to come down and see the battle, and called +him naughty and proud, but David still talked with the men, for the +spirit of the Lord was strong within him. When Saul heard of him and +sent for him, David said: +</P> + +<P> +"Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight +with the Philistine." +</P> + +<P> +Saul frowned at David and said: +</P> + +<P> +"Thou art not able to go against this Philistine; thou art but a youth, +and he is a man of war." +</P> + +<P> +Then David told the king how he had killed both a lion and a bear that +had come down upon his father's flocks, and that he could also conquer +the Philistine. +</P> + +<P> +"The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and the paw of +the bear," said David, "He will deliver me out of the hand of this +Philistine." And Saul said: "Go! and the Lord be with thee." Then +Saul armed David with his own armor, but David said: +</P> + +<P> +"I can not go with these, for I have not proved them," and he put them +off. +</P> + +<P> +And this was the way David armed himself to meet the giant. +</P> + +<P> +He took his staff in hand, and chose five smooth stones from the brook +and put them in his shepherd's bag, and with his sling in his hand, he +drew near to the giant. Goliath came on also, his armor-bearer +carrying the shield before him, but when he saw the youth David, he +despised him, for he was without armor, or sword or spear, only his +staff. +</P> + +<P> +"Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with a staff," said Goliath, and +then he told him that he would soon give his flesh to the birds and the +beasts. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou comest to me with a sword, and a spear, and a shield," said +David, "but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of +the armies of Israel whom thou hast despised." +</P> + +<P> +Then the Philistine came down upon little David to destroy him, and +David ran, not away from him, as the men of Israel had done, but +straight toward him, taking a pebble from his shepherd's bag as he ran. +Quickly putting it in the sling, he whirled it in the air once, twice, +and then it went swift and straight to the mark. It sunk into the +forehead of the giant, and he fell dead upon his face. Then David ran +and stood upon the dead Philistine and cut off his head with the +giant's great sword, and when the Philistines saw that their champion +was really dead, they fled, pursued by the shouting hosts of Israel. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-079"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-079.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-079t.jpg" ALT="David cutting off Goliath's head" BORDER="0" WIDTH="660" HEIGHT="863"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 660px"> +David cutting off Goliath's head +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Saul had forgotten the youth who played upon the harp before him, for +when he sent for him after the battle he said, +</P> + +<P> +"Whose son art thou, thou young man?" and David answered, +</P> + +<P> +"I am the son of thy servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite." +</P> + +<P> +And Saul took him to live with him from that day. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0121"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH. +</H3> + +<P> +Saul had a son named Jonathan, and he loved David as his own soul. He +took off his princely robes, even to his sword, and his bow, and his +girdle, and made David wear them; and David acted wisely in all that +the king gave him to do. There was great joy and much feasting over +the Death of Goliath and the flight of the Philistines, and wherever +Saul went, the women came out of the cities to meet him, singing and +dancing, and the song with which they answered one another was, +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"Saul hath slain his thousands,<BR> +And David his tens of thousands."<BR> +</P> + +<P> +Saul did not like this, and an evil spirit of jealousy came upon him, +and he thought, "What can he have more but the kingdom." +</P> + +<P> +The next day the evil spirit came upon Saul in the house, and David +played on his harp to quiet him, but Saul hurled a spear at David, +hoping to fasten him to the wall with it. This he did twice, but the +Lord guided the spear away from David, just as he guided the pebble to +Goliath, and he was unhurt. Saul was afraid of David. He was afraid +that God was preparing him to be king over Israel, so he sent him into +battle, hoping he would be killed, but the life of David was in the +Lord's hand, and no enemy could destroy it. +</P> + +<P> +After a great battle, in which David had been victorious, the evil +spirit came again upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in +his hand, while David played on the harp. Again he tried to kill +David, but the spear struck the wall and David slipped away. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-080"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-080.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-080t.jpg" ALT="The spear struck the wall" BORDER="0" WIDTH="655" HEIGHT="859"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 655px"> +The spear struck the wall +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +It was clear that David could not live near the king, and so he talked +with Jonathan, his friend, who said, +</P> + +<P> +"God forbid, thou shalt not die," but David said, +</P> + +<P> +"Truly there is but a step between me and death." +</P> + +<P> +Then they made a promise to each other before the Lord that should last +while they lived. They promised to show "the kindness of the Lord" to +each other while life should last. +</P> + +<P> +Jonathan told David that he might go away for three days, and they went +out into a field together. They feared the anger of Saul when he found +that David was absent from the feast of the new moon. So Jonathan told +David to return after three days and hide behind a great rock in the +field. Then Jonathan said he would come out and shoot three arrows +from his bow, as if he were shooting at a mark, and he would send his +arrow-bearer to pick them up. If he should call to the lad, "The +arrows are on this side of thee," David would know that Saul was not +angry, and would not hurt him, but if he cried, "The arrows are beyond +thee," David would know he was in danger and must go away. +</P> + +<P> +On the second day of the feast, Saul asked why David was not there, and +Jonathan told him he had asked permission to go away for three days. +Then Saul was very angry. He blamed his son for loving David, for, as +Saul's son, Jonathan should be king after his death, but he never would +be if David lived, and he commanded Jonathan to bring him that he might +put him to death. When Jonathan asked what evil David had done that he +should be put to death, Saul cast his spear at his own son. Then +Jonathan knew there was no hope for David, and left the table in sorrow. +</P> + +<P> +The next day he went out to the rock in the field with his armor-bearer +and sent him on before. When he shot an arrow, he cried: +</P> + +<P> +"The arrow is beyond thee; make haste! stay not!" +</P> + +<P> +And David, in his hiding place heard it, and knew that he must flee for +his life. +</P> + +<P> +Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the lad to take to the town, +and David came out from his hiding place, and they kissed each other +and wept together. But at last Jonathan said: +</P> + +<P> +"Go in peace: as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, +saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my children and +thy children forever." +</P> + +<P> +And David went away to hide from Saul, and Jonathan went back to the +king's house. +</P> + +<P> +For seven years Saul hunted for David to take his life, and David, +often hiding in caves in the wilderness, could not see his friend +Jonathan, but they were faithful in their friendship, and when at last +Saul was slain in battle, and Jonathan also, David came to mourn over +his friend, saying: +</P> + +<P> +"I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou +been unto me; thy love for me was wonderful, passing the love of women." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0122"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +DAVID THE OUTCAST. +</H3> + +<P> +For seven years King Saul hunted David from one end of the land of +Israel to the other. The evil spirit of jealousy and hate had full +possession of him, and David, with a few faithful men, was driven from +one stronghold to another, until he cried, "They gather themselves +together; they hide themselves; they mark my steps when they wait for +my soul. What time I am afraid I will trust in thee." +</P> + +<P> +He had escaped again and again from the hand of Saul, and now he was +down in the desert country by the Dead Sea, hiding among the cliffs and +caves of Engedi. Saul heard of it and took three thousand men to hunt +for him among the rocks of the wild goats. He was very tired after +climbing the rocks, and seeing a cave, he went in to lie down for a +little sleep. He did not know that David and his men were in the cave +hiding in the dark sides of it. Then his men whispered to David: +</P> + +<P> +"Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee: 'I will deliver thine +enemy into thine hand that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good +to thee.'" Then David arose and crept near to Saul, and—did he kill +the man who had so often tried to kill him? +</P> + +<P> +No, he bent down and cut off a part of Saul's robe. Even this seemed +wrong to David. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-082"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-082.jpg" ALT="The garment of Saul" BORDER="0" WIDTH="596" HEIGHT="766"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 596px"> +The garment of Saul +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master," he said +"to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the +Lord," and in this way he kept his servants from harming Saul, and +after Saul awoke he went out of the cave. +</P> + +<P> +David also went out of the cave and cried, +</P> + +<P> +"My Lord the King!" +</P> + +<P> +And when Saul turned David bowed down to him and asked him why he +listened to men who said that he wished to harm the king, and then he +told him how the Lord had given him into his hand in the cave, but he +would not touch the Lord's anointed to harm him. +</P> + +<P> +"See, my father," he cried "see the skirt of thy robe in my hand. I +have not sinned against thee, yet thou huntest my soul to take it." +</P> + +<P> +Much more he said, and asked the Lord to judge between them, and Saul's +hard heart was moved so that he wept aloud. +</P> + +<P> +"Is this thy voice, my son David," he said, "Thou art more righteous +than I, for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee +evil," and he made a covenant with David. For though he made no +promise to spare David's life, he made David promise to spare the life +of his children when he should be made king. +</P> + +<P> +But a year was hardly past before the evil spirit was again upon Saul, +and he went out with three thousand men to hunt for David. Saul's camp +was on a hill, and David saw where it was. At night he took Abishai, +one of his warriors, and went down from the cliffs to Saul's camp, +where Saul lay sleeping in a trench, and the spear stuck in the ground +by his pillow, while all his men lay around him. Abishai wished to +strike him through with the spear, but David said, +</P> + +<P> +"Destroy him not, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's +anointed and be guiltless? The Lord shall smite him, or his day shall +come to die, or he shall fall in battle and perish; but take thou now +the spear that is at his pillow, and the cruse of water, and let us go." +</P> + +<P> +And they took them and went away. A deep sleep had fallen upon the +camp of Saul from the Lord, so that no one saw them. +</P> + +<P> +Then David went up to his stronghold, and from the top of the cliff he +cried to Abner, the captain of Saul's men, and asked why he had not +defended his Master, and where was the king's spear, and his cruse of +water? +</P> + +<P> +Then Saul cried as before, +</P> + +<P> +"Is this thy voice, my son David?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is my voice, my lord, O King," said David, and again he plead his +cause with his old enemy, but who could trust to the repentance of +Saul? He cried, +</P> + +<P> +"I have sinned; return, my son David, for I will no more do thee harm, +because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day. I have played the +fool, and erred exceedingly." +</P> + +<P> +But David trusted him no more, and went and made friends with a +Philistine prince that he might live within their borders. +</P> + +<P> +Samuel the prophet was dead, and there was no one to give counsel to +the darkened soul of the King when trouble fell upon him. The +Philistines had come with a great army, but Saul was afraid, for the +Lord's spirit was not with him. He tried to seek the Lord through the +priests, and through dreams, but the Lord answered him not. Then he +went to a witch by night, and asked her to bring up the spirit of +Samuel. The witch could not bring up Samuel, but the Lord sent him to +speak to Saul, and the woman cried out with terror when she saw the +prophet of the Lord, and knew also that it was the King who had called +for him. +</P> + +<P> +"I am sore distressed," said Saul, "and God is departed from me. What +shall I do?" +</P> + +<P> +Then Samuel told him plainly that the kingdom was taken from him and +given to David, and that on the next day he and his sons should fall in +battle, and the Israelites into the hands of the Philistines. +</P> + +<P> +Saul, forsaken and despairing, fell to the earth fainting, but was +revived by the woman, who gave him food so that he went away through +the dark to the camp of Israel. +</P> + +<P> +In the battle of the next day the Philistines conquered. The three +sons of Saul were slain, and Saul himself, when chased by the +Philistines, fell upon his own sword and died. +</P> + +<P> +When a messenger brought news of the battle to David he rent his +clothes for grief, and in the chant of lamentation that he made, he +mourned for his faithful friend Jonathan, and had no word of blame for +his enemy Saul, neither did he triumph over him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0123"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +EVERY INCH A KING. +</H3> + +<P> +After Saul's death David came back to live with his own people, for he +was of the tribe of Judah. He went to Hebron, the old home of Abraham, +Isaac, and Jacob, for the Lord had told him to go there, and the men of +his tribe came to Hebron and anointed him king. The other tribes did +not come, for Saul's son and the captain of his host, Abner, were still +holding the kingdom. But when both were killed by an enemy, then all +the other tribes came to Hebron and made a league with him, so seven +years after Saul's death David became king over all Israel. He was +then thirty years old and his reign lasted forty years. +</P> + +<P> +Then David began to establish the kingdom. There was a rocky height +not far from Hebron with a valley all around it that was still held by +the Jebusites, one of the tribes of Canaan that the Lord said must not +be left in the land. The city was Jerusalem, and the stronghold was +Zion, and close by Zion was the mount to which Abraham had once gone to +offer up Isaac. David wanted this stronghold for the chief city of the +kingdom, and so he took it, and it became the city of David. He built +a beautiful house for himself there, and King Hiram of Tyre sent +skilled workmen, and cedar trees, and they built a house of cedar for +him. But stronger than the wish to have a house for himself was the +longing to see the Ark of God set within the curtains of the Tabernacle +in the city of David. It had been in the house of Abinadab in +Kirjath-Jearim for seventy years, ever since it was sent home by the +Philistines who captured it. Because the people had grown cold toward +God, they did not wish to hear the reading of the law, or be led by his +counsel. Now David called together the flower of all Israel, thirty +thousand men, and they went to bring the Ark to the city of David. +While on the way a man who had laid his hand upon the Ark when it was +unsteady was smitten and died, for no one but the priests and Levites +could touch the Ark of God. David feared to bring it further, and so +he placed it in the house of Obededom which was near by. It was there +three months, and great blessing came to the house because of it. When +David heard this he went joyfully down to bring the Ark to his city, +and it was with sacrifices, and shouting, and the sound of trumpet that +it was brought and set in the Tabernacle that had been made ready for +it. And so the worship of the Lord was established in Jerusalem, which +was to be the great altar for the sacrificial worship until the +sacrifice should be taken away, and the kingdom of Christ established +on the earth. +</P> + +<P> +But David was not satisfied. +</P> + +<P> +"See," he said to Nathan the prophet, "I dwell in a house of cedar, but +the Ark of God dwelleth within curtains." +</P> + +<P> +That night the Lord spoke to Nathan and told him what to say to the +king. He promised to establish the royal house of David, and give +final peace to the people, and also to build a house for the worship of +the Lord, but he said that David's son, who should be king after him, +should build a house to his name, and of him the Lord said, "I will be +his Father, and he shall be my son." +</P> + +<P> +Then King David went in to the Tabernacle and thanked the Lord for His +promise to him and to his son, and asked His blessing upon them. +Though he reigned forty years, he never forgot that his work was not to +build the temple of the Lord, but to prepare for it. So he subdued +enemies, built cities, made leagues with friendly nations, gathered +much wealth of wood, and stone, and gold, and silver and precious +stones for the house of the Lord, and trained choirs of singers for the +service. He also kept his heart open toward the Lord, so that he was +able to write some wonderful poems that were set to music and sung by +the temple choirs. We call them the Psalms of David. +</P> + +<P> +Though David had grown rich and great, he did not forget his promise to +Jonathan. He called Ziba, who had been Saul's servant and said to him, +</P> + +<P> +"Is there not yet any of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness +of God to him?" +</P> + +<P> +Then Ziba told him of a man who was lame in both his feet, who was the +son of Jonathan. David sent for him, and gave him all the land of +Saul, and a place was made for him at the king's table among his own +sons, and it was his while he lived. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0124"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +DAVID'S SIN. +</H3> + +<P> +The army of Israel was at war with the Ammonites, and Joab was the +chief captain. David did not go out with the army, but stayed in his +house in Jerusalem. One evening he was walking on the flat roof of his +house, as the people of that country always do, and he saw a little way +off a very beautiful woman. He sent a servant to ask who she was, and +found she was the wife of Uriah who was in the army with Joab, fighting +the Ammonites. Then a great temptation was set before David, and +instead of going to the Lord to be saved from it, he sent to Joab, +asking him to send him Uriah, the Hittite. So Uriah came, and David +talked kindly with him, and found him a good and faithful man. When he +went back to Joab he took a letter from David, who asked that he be set +in the front of the battle. So Joab placed him there, and when the two +armies met Uriah was killed, and Joab sent a messenger to tell David. +After her mourning was ended, Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, became the +wife of David, but the Lord was displeased with David. He also knew +David's heart and how to deal with him, so he sent Nathan the prophet +to him. +</P> + +<P> +"There were two men in one city," said Nathan, "one of them rich and +the other poor. The rich man had many flocks and herds, but the poor +man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and +nourished up; and it grew together with him and with his children: it +did eat of his own meat and drink of his own cup, and lay in his bosom +and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the +rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock to dress for the +wayfaring man that was come to him, but took the poor man's lamb and +dressed it for the man that was come to him." +</P> + +<P> +David was very angry at the man who could do such a cruel thing, and he +said to Nathan, +</P> + +<P> +"The man that hath done this thing shall surely die; and he shall +restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he +had no pity." +</P> + +<P> +Then Nathan said to David, "Thou art the man," and he told him how +greatly the Lord had blessed him in making him King over Israel, and in +delivering him from the hand of Saul, and how he had slain a faithful +servant and taken his wife for himself; therefore evil would befall him. +</P> + +<P> +David said, "I have sinned against the Lord," and the Lord saw that his +repentance was real, and forgave the sin, but that David might never +forget and sin again, the Lord took the little child that was born to +him and to Bathsheba. While it was sick David fasted and lay all night +upon the earth, and would not rise to taste food. This he did for +seven days while the little child was sick, but when they told him that +his child was dead he arose and bathed and dressed himself and went to +the house of the Lord to worship, and returned to take his food. Then +his servants wondered at it, and replied, +</P> + +<P> +"While the child was yet alive I fasted and wept, for I said, who can +tell whether God will be gracious unto me that the child may live. But +now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? +I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." +</P> + +<P> +After this another child was born to Bathsheba, and they named him +Solomon, which means "Peaceable." +</P> + +<P> +And David wrote a prayer of repentance for his sin. It is the +fifty-first Psalm, and has been the prayer of penitent souls for nearly +three thousand years. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0125"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +DAVID'S SORROW. +</H3> + +<P> +David had a very beautiful son named Absalom. From the crown of his +head to the soles of his feet there was no fault to be seen in him. +His hair was thick and long, and his beauty was much talked of through +all Israel. But the Lord who looks upon the heart saw that the heart +of Absalom was wicked and false. He killed his brother Amnon, and then +fled to another country and stayed three years. When he returned he +tried to see his father, but David would not see him for two years. +Then Absalom forced Joab to bring him to the king's house by setting +Joab's barley field on fire. He was false as well as handsome, and won +his father's heart by pretending to be humble. +</P> + +<P> +After this Absalom began to live more like a king than a prince. He +had fifty men to run before his chariot when he rode, and he stood in +the city gates and talked with the men who came to see the king about +their rights. He told them that if he were ruler over the land every +man should have all that he wanted, and deceived many by a false show +of friendship. +</P> + +<P> +Then he asked the king if he could go to Hebron to pay a vow to the +Lord by offering sacrifice there, and David told him to go in peace, +and he went. But he had cruelly deceived his father. He had sent +spies through all the land to persuade them to join him at Hebron and +make him king. He also took two hundred men out of Jerusalem to help +him, and one of them was David's counsellor. They had arranged to have +all the people, as soon as they heard anywhere the sound of the +trumpet, to cry, +</P> + +<P> +"Absalom is king in Hebron." +</P> + +<P> +Then it came to the ears of David that his people had been led away by +deceit to follow Absalom, and David, who had been fearless before +Goliath and before great armies of other nations, was afraid. His +heart was broken at the treachery of his son, and he said to his +servants, +</P> + +<P> +"Arise, and let us flee; make haste and go, for fear Absalom may come +and fight against the city with the sword." +</P> + +<P> +His servants were ready to fight for him, but he fled in haste over the +brook Kedron and went toward the wilderness, with all of the people of +the city with him, until there was a great multitude, and in the midst +the priests and the Levites bearing the Ark of God, but when David saw +this he said, +</P> + +<P> +"Carry back the Ark of God into the city. If I shall find favor in the +eyes of the Lord He will bring me again. Let Him do to me as seemeth +good to Him." +</P> + +<P> +So the priests and the Levites returned to the city with the Ark of God. +</P> + +<P> +It was a sad procession that went over the Mount of Olives led by +David, weeping as he went, with his head covered and his feet bare. +Some enemies of the house of Saul came out and troubled him by the way, +but there was no anger in the heart of David toward any. He believed +the hand of the Lord was upon him, and he said, +</P> + +<P> +"It may be the Lord will look on mine affliction." +</P> + +<P> +Absalom came to Jerusalem, and while he was asking his chief counsellor +what to do, he was persuaded by a friend of David, who had stayed +behind, to wait until he had gathered a larger army before he followed +after David. This gave him time to send word to David to cross over +Jordan before Absalom should overtake him. The chief counsellor, when +he saw that his advice was not followed, went to his own house and +hanged himself, for he knew that the Lord was bringing his counsel to +naught. +</P> + +<P> +After David had passed over into Gilead the people of that land brought +food, and dishes, and beds to the sorrowful king and his tired people, +and they were cared for in the city of Mahanaim. Then Joab, the +captain, gathered the men together to go and meet Absalom and his army, +and as they passed out of the city David stood in the gate and charged +all the captains as they passed, saying +</P> + +<P> +"Deal gently, for my sake, with the young man, even with Absalom." +</P> + +<P> +So they went out to battle, and it was in a wood. God had given +David's army the victory, and twenty thousand men of Absalom's army +were slain. Absalom, who rode on a mule, was caught by his long thick +hair in the branches of an oak tree, and the mule went away and left +him hanging there. +</P> + +<P> +A man ran and told Joab that he had seen Absalom hanging in an oak. +</P> + +<P> +"Why didst thou not smite him there?" said Joab. +</P> + +<P> +The man said he would not have done it for a thousand shekels of +silver, because David had charged them all not to touch the young man +Absalom. +</P> + +<P> +But Joab turned away, and when he had found Absalom in the oak, he, +with the ten young men who were with him, killed Absalom, and they +buried him in the wood. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-090"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-090.jpg" ALT="The death of Absalom" BORDER="0" WIDTH="594" HEIGHT="762"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 594px"> +The death of Absalom +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Then Joab sent two messengers to carry news of the victory to the king, +who sat between the city gates, while a watchman stood over the gates +on the city wall. When the watchmen saw the two men running, one after +the other, he cried out and told the king. The first man cried as he +came, "All is well," but when the king said, "Is the young man Absalom +safe?" he could not answer, and when the second messenger cried, +"Tidings, my lord, the king," again David asked, +</P> + +<P> +"Is the young man Absalom safe?" +</P> + +<P> +"The enemies of my lord the king and all that rise against thee to do +thee hurt be as that young man," said the messenger. +</P> + +<P> +Then the king went up to the room over the city gate and wept, and as +he went he cried, +</P> + +<P> +"O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for +thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" +</P> + +<A NAME="img-092"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-092.jpg" ALT="David mourning for Absalom" BORDER="0" WIDTH="594" HEIGHT="772"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 594px"> +David mourning for Absalom +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The people who had come back joyful because the enemy had been +conquered were distressed by the grief of the king, so that Joab +persuaded David to come down to the gate and meet the people. +</P> + +<P> +After this those who were left of the followers of Absalom begged the +king to come back to Jerusalem, and so he came, and thousands came to +meet him. He had only forgiving words for those who had injured him, +and for Barzillai and the men of Gilead who had fed them and shown them +great kindness in the darkest hour of the king's life, and who came a +little way on the journey with them, he had grateful words and +blessings. +</P> + +<P> +And so the king came to his own again. He was now getting to be an old +man, and the love of his people made his last days blessed. +</P> + +<P> +His warriors said, "Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that +thou quench not the light of Israel." +</P> + +<P> +Once he sinned against the Lord by numbering his people. He wanted to +know how many men in his kingdom could bear arms in battle, and he +forgot that victory over the enemy was not with the many or the few, +but with the Lord, who is the strength of his people. When he saw that +he had done wrong he confessed it and begged for forgiveness, but a +pestilence spread over all the land, and came near to Jerusalem, and +the angel was stayed by the Lord's hand just over the threshing floor +of Araunah. This was the broad flat top of Mount Moriah where long +before Abraham had built an altar on which to offer Isaac. +</P> + +<P> +When David saw the angel he said, +</P> + +<P> +"I have done wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? Let Thine +hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house." +</P> + +<P> +Then the prophet Gad said, "Go up, rear an altar to the Lord in the +threshing-floor of Araunah," and David went as the Lord commanded. +</P> + +<P> +When they reached the mount Araunah offered David the piece of ground +with the oxen for a sacrifice, but he would not take them as a gift. +</P> + +<P> +"But I will surely buy it of thee at a price," said David, "neither +will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God of that which doth cost +me nothing." +</P> + +<P> +So he bought the piece of ground and paid for it six hundred shekels of +gold. Twice had the Lord blessed this spot with a miracle of +salvation, and twice an altar had been built there, and looking upon +it, David said, +</P> + +<P> +"This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt +offering for Israel," and he prepared to build there the temple of +Solomon,—the altar of the world. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0126"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE BUILDING OF THE GOLDEN HOUSE. +</H3> + +<P> +The time was near when David must leave his people and go to his God, +and his chief thought was about the house of the Lord that he had +longed to build, that the Ark of God might be at rest, and that the +people might have a place of worship for all time to come. He knew +that his son Solomon was to build the temple, but he was still young, +and David made ready as far as he could for the building of the house. +There were men at work in the quarries, cutting great stones, and there +were men in the forests of Lebanon cutting and hewing cedars, and +others gathering iron and brass, and gold, and silver for the treasury +of David. He also spent much time dividing the sons of Levi into +companies, so that they could in turn serve with the priests in the +temple, and ordering the times and manner of service, for he believed +that this temple would be a house of prayer for all nations. David had +been a man of war, for he had been called to destroy idol worship in +the land of Canaan, and to make it the land of Israel, in which the one +true God should be worshipped forever, but Solomon's reign was to be +one of peace, and the Lord chose a man of peace to build his house. +</P> + +<P> +David had another son, Adonijah, who tried to make himself king as +Absalom did, but David heard of it, and had Solomon proclaimed king +before his own death, lest trouble should arise after. When Adonijah +heard the shouts of the people, and the sound of the trumpets he was +afraid, and expected Solomon would kill him, but Solomon said if he +would only show himself a good man no harm should come to him. +</P> + +<P> +The last things that David did were to call his princes and chief men +together and tell them that the Lord had promised many years before, +that Solomon should build the house of the Lord during his reign; and +also that his children's children should rule over Israel, and he +begged them to keep the Lord's commandments, that they might keep the +good land that had been given them. +</P> + +<P> +He also charged Solomon before them all to serve God with all his +heart, but if he failed to do so he would be cast off forever. +</P> + +<P> +David gave Solomon all the plans and patterns for the house of the +Lord, as the Lord had given them to him; also the gold and silver +stored up for time of building. He also told the people, when he had +called them together, what he had stored for the work of the temple, +and asked them who were willing to give also. Then the people brought +gifts, as they did when the Tabernacle was built, and gave them to the +Lord. David led them in a great thanksgiving service, and they offered +three thousand sacrifices. +</P> + +<P> +Solomon was again anointed king in the presence of all Israel, and took +the throne of David; and David died, honored and loved by his people, +and he was buried in his own city. +</P> + +<P> +When Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice the Lord came to him in a +dream and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Ask what I shall give thee." +</P> + +<P> +Solomon was wiser than all the sons of David, and yet he did not feel +himself to be so. He said, +</P> + +<P> +"I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in, and thy +servant is in the midst of a great people that cannot be numbered. +Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, +that I may discern between good and bad, for who is able to judge this +thy so great a people." +</P> + +<P> +And the Lord said, +</P> + +<P> +"Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself +long life, neither riches, nor the life of thine enemies, lo, I have +given thee a wise and understanding heart, and I have also given thee +that which thou hast not asked—both riches and honor; and if thou wilt +walk in my ways as thy father David did, then I will lengthen thy days." +</P> + +<P> +The Lord was true to his word. Solomon had wisdom, beyond all the old +and the learned men of his kingdom, and many came to him for counsel +who were not of Israel, for he was famous among the nations. Some of +these nations wished to be ruled by him, and brought him many precious +things as gifts; they had been conquered by David, and now they wished +to be ruled by Solomon. He had thousands of servants and he knew how +to direct their work. Away up in the mountains of Lebanon they worked +with the servants of Hiram, King of Tyre, getting the cedar timbers +ready for the temple, while Hiram's artisans in gold, and silver, and +brass, and fine linen came to Jerusalem to work on the temple, and +Solomon sent Hiram wheat, and olive oil, and wine. So wise were the +workers in stone and wood that when the temple was built there was no +sound of a hammer or any tool heard on Mount Moriah. Each stone was +ready to fit into its place, and each piece of wood to fit another. +</P> + +<P> +The house was not like any that we have ever seen. It was not large, +but it was very precious. The cedar boards that lined the walls were +carved in flower patterns, and covered with gold. The floor also was +covered with gold. He divided the temple in two parts, as the +Tabernacle had been, with a rich curtain of blue and purple and +crimson. The innermost room was called the most holy place, and was +for the Ark, and its walls were beautiful with cherubim, and palm +trees, and flowers, overlaid with gold, as was the floor also. Within +this most holy place stood two cherubim fifteen feet high. They were +of olive wood covered with gold, and they stood with wings spread forth +so that they touched each other, and also touched the wall on either +side, and their wings overshadowed the mercy seat where the Ark of the +Lord was to rest. All the carvings upon wood were covered with gold, +and precious stones were set among them for light and beauty. +</P> + +<P> +Solomon's workmen made two great pillars of brass to stand before the +house, and a great brass altar for the burnt offerings. They also made +ten basins of brass that were set upon wheels, and one very great one +called the "sea" which stood on twelve brass oxen. +</P> + +<P> +They also made many things for the use of the temple—candlesticks, and +spoons, and censers all of pure gold, and there was also a golden altar +and a golden table. +</P> + +<P> +Solomon was seven years building the house of the Lord, and when it was +finished, and its outer courts made ready, he called all the elders and +chief men of Israel together to carry the Ark of God to its place. So +the Ark, borne by the priests, and holding the tables of the law, was +carried into the most holy place, and set under the wings of the +cherubim. After the priests came out a cloud filled the house of the +Lord so that the priests could not go in. It was the glory of the +presence of the Lord. +</P> + +<P> +Then Solomon stood before all the people and gave thanks to God and +asked him to take the temple for his own house to dwell in, and +kneeling down, he prayed that wherever the children of Israel might be, +at home, or captives in a strange land, that the Lord would hear them +when they prayed toward his house, and that all prayer offered in it +might be heard and answered +</P> + +<P> +Then fire from heaven fell upon the great altar, and the sacrifice was +consumed, and all over the great pavement of the court the people bowed +and worshipped the Lord, saying, "For He is good, and His mercy +endureth forever." +</P> + +<P> +There were offerings and feasting for fourteen days, and then the +people went to their homes to think of the wonderful things they had +seen. And there were sacrifices offered morning and evening each day, +on the Sabbath, and at the three great feasts of the year—the feast of +the passover, the feast of the harvest, and the feast of tabernacles. +</P> + +<P> +Solomon also built a wonderful house for himself, and another called +the "house of the forest of Lebanon," where he kept his armor. The +roof was upheld by cedars of Lebanon, standing like mighty pillars +beneath it. So famous did his work and his wisdom become that a queen +from a distant land called Sheba came to visit him. She came with a +caravan of servants and camels bringing costly presents of spices, and +gold, and precious stones. She asked him many things that she had +longed to know, and he answered all her questions, and told her strange +and wonderful things, so that after she had seen all his palace, and +his servants, and the service of his table, and the beautiful ascent by +which he went up to the temple, she said that the half had never been +told her in her own country. They exchanged costly presents, and she +went back to her own land. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-097"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-097.jpg" ALT="The Queen of Sheba before Solomon" BORDER="0" WIDTH="600" HEIGHT="774"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 600px"> +The Queen of Sheba before Solomon +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Solomon had many ships upon the sea that brought riches from every land +He learned much of the world in this way, and as he grew older and from +his throne of gold and ivory judged his people, he dropped many wise +sayings that were written in a book by the scribes and are now called +the "Proverbs of Solomon." +</P> + +<P> +But in Solomon's latter days his wives, who were daughters of heathen +kings, turned his heart from the Lord. When his father sinned he +repented at once, and his heart never turned to idols, but with all his +wisdom, Solomon was weak of will, and built temples for his wives to +worship idols in. +</P> + +<P> +The Lord had made a promise to David that his sons should inherit the +throne, and He kept the promise, but he allowed the kingdom to be +divided. The two tribes who lived near to Jerusalem—Judah and +Benjamin—were left to Solomon's son Rehoboam, but the ten tribes chose +a man named Jeroboam to be their king. The men of Rehoboam, led by +their king, went out to fight with the ten tribes, but the Lord would +not let them. He spoke to them through a prophet and they went home. +</P> + +<P> +So now there were two kings in Israel, and Rehoboam's kingdom was +called the kingdom of Judah, and that of Jeroboam was called the +kingdom of Israel; but after the kingdom was divided no kings ever +reigned who could be compared with David and Solomon. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0127"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ELIJAH THE GREAT HEART OF ISRAEL. +</H3> + +<P> +During the reign of Jehoshaphat, fourth king of Judah, and Ahab, sixth +king of Israel, after the division of the kingdom, there came out of +Gilead Elijah, a prophet of the Lord. Two of the kings of Judah, and +all of the kings of Israel had been wicked men, and the Lord sent +Elijah to Ahab, king of Israel, to tell him that there should be no +rain for years in the land of Israel, and then only as Elijah should +ask for it. Ahab was more wicked than the kings that reigned before +him, and had built a temple for the god Baal in Samaria. +</P> + +<P> +Because he would seek to destroy Elijah, the Lord told His prophet to +go to the brook Cherith that ran into the Jordan, and there He would +take care of him. "Thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded +the ravens to feed thee there," said the Lord. +</P> + +<P> +And so it was. Morning and evening the ravens came bringing bread and +meat, and the brook brought him water out of the rock, but as there was +no rain, the brook at last dried up, and there was a great famine. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-099"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-099.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-099t.jpg" ALT="Ravens bringing food to Elijah" BORDER="0" WIDTH="658" HEIGHT="851"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 658px"> +Ravens bringing food to Elijah +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Then Elijah was told to go to Zarephath, for a woman there had been +told to feed him, and he went at once. As he came near the city gate +he saw a woman gathering sticks, and he asked her to bring him a cup of +water and a little bread. She told him that she had but a handful of +meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse, and she was going to +bake it for herself and son, that they might eat it and die. +</P> + +<P> +Then Elijah said, "Fear not; go and do as thou hast said, but make me +thereof a little cake first, and after that make for thee and thy son, +for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, 'The barrel of meal shall not +waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail until the day that the Lord +sendeth rain upon the earth.'" +</P> + +<P> +She believed Elijah, and did as he commanded, and they ate for a whole +year, and the meal and the oil lasted all that time. +</P> + +<P> +After this the woman's son grew very sick, so very sick that he +appeared to be dead, and the woman cried to the prophet in her distress, +</P> + +<P> +"O thou man of God, art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance +and to slay my son?" +</P> + +<P> +Then he said, "Give me thy son," and he took him up to his own room and +laid him upon his bed and prayed over him. Then he stretched himself +upon the child three times and cried, +</P> + +<P> +"O Lord my God, I pray Thee let this child's soul come unto him again!" +</P> + +<P> +And God heard Elijah, and the soul of the child came to him again, and +he revived. +</P> + +<P> +Then he gave the boy to his happy and grateful mother, saying, "See, +thy son liveth." +</P> + +<P> +In the third year of the famine the Lord said to Elijah, +</P> + +<P> +"Go, show thyself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth." +</P> + +<P> +As Elijah went he met a good man named Obadiah, who was governor of the +king's house. This man worshipped the Lord, and when Ahab's wicked +wife, Jezebel, tried to kill all the Lord's prophets he hid a hundred +of them in two caves and kept them alive with bread and water. He was +seeking grass and water for the king's horses, and when he saw Elijah +he fell on his face and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Art thou my Lord Elijah?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am," said Elijah, "go, tell thy lord, 'Behold, Elijah is here.'" +</P> + +<P> +Obadiah was in distress at this command, for he knew that the king +would kill Elijah if he found him, and he could not think that Elijah +would be brave enough to meet the king, or he thought perhaps the +spirit of the Lord would carry him away, and he alone would have to +meet the anger of the king. +</P> + +<P> +"As the Lord of hosts liveth," said Elijah, "I will surely show myself +unto him to-day." +</P> + +<P> +So Obadiah told Ahab, and Ahab went to meet Elijah, and said to him, +</P> + +<P> +"Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have not troubled Israel," he said, "but thou and thy father's +house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou +hast followed Baalim." +</P> + +<P> +Then he told Ahab to call all Israel to Mount Carmel which overlooks +the sea, and to bring there also the four hundred and fifty prophets of +Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the groves. +</P> + +<P> +So the king called them together, and Elijah cried to the people, +</P> + +<P> +"How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow +Him; but if Baal, follow him." +</P> + +<P> +And the people, afraid of the king and his wicked wife, answered not a +word. +</P> + +<P> +"I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord," said Elijah, "but +Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men." And then he told the +people how it could be proven which was true—the God of Israel, or +Baal. +</P> + +<P> +He told the prophets of Baal to make an altar and place wood and a +sacrifice upon it, and he also would do the same, and they should call +upon Baal, and he would call on the name of the Lord, and "the God that +answereth by fire, let him be God." +</P> + +<P> +This the priests of Baal were willing to do, and they cried around +their altar from morning until night, "O Baal, hear us," but there was +no voice, and no answer by fire. +</P> + +<P> +Elijah watched and waited, sometimes telling them that perhaps their +god was asleep, and could be waked; or that he had gone on a journey, +or was talking with somebody, and then they became wild and leaped upon +the altar and cut themselves with knives. +</P> + +<P> +After many hours Elijah called the people to him, and he repaired a +broken altar of the Lord that stood there with twelve stones for the +twelve tribes of Israel, and made a trench all around it. Then he +placed wood on the altar and told the people to pour four barrels of +water over the sacrifice. This they did three times, and the water ran +down and filled the trench around the altar, and the people saw that +Elijah could not by any means make a fire there. +</P> + +<P> +Then, as it was the hour of the evening sacrifice in the temple, Elijah +knelt by his altar with his face toward Jerusalem, and prayed to his +God that He would hear him, and show the people that they were called +from the worship of idols to the service of the living God. +</P> + +<P> +What a wonderful sight was that, when fire fell from heaven and burnt +up the sacrifice, and the wood, and the altar, and even the water in +the trench around the altar! +</P> + +<P> +And the people all fell on their faces at the sight, and cried, +</P> + +<P> +"The Lord He is the God! The Lord He is the God!" Then Elijah told +them to take the prophets of Baal and destroy them, and they did so. +</P> + +<P> +"There is a sound of abundance of rain!" said Elijah to the king, and +then he went to the very top of Carmel, and threw himself upon the +earth, hiding his face between his knees, while he sent his servant to +look toward the sea, and watch for the coming of the rain. +</P> + +<P> +This the servant did seven times, each time coming to his master and +saying, "There is nothing," but the prophet told him to look seven +times more, and when he came back the seventh time he said, +</P> + +<P> +"Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea like a man's hand." +</P> + +<P> +Then he sent his servant to Ahab, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Prepare thy chariot and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not." +</P> + +<P> +The little cloud grew to be a great one, and filled all the sky until +it was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And as +Ahab rode in his chariot, Elijah, who was strong with the spirit of the +Lord and glad for His great victory over sin, ran before the chariot to +the gates of the city. +</P> + +<P> +Jezebel the queen was furious when she heard that the priests had been +destroyed. She sent word to Elijah that he would be treated the same +way on the morrow, and so Elijah fled for his life, and leaving his +servant in Beer-Sheba on the southern border of Israel, he went a day's +journey into the wilderness. There he sat down under a juniper tree, +and for the first time his heart grew weak within him. +</P> + +<P> +"It is enough," he said, "Now, O Lord, take away my life, for am I not +better than my fathers." +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps he was discouraged because he was tired and hungry, for he fell +asleep, and when he awoke it was because an angel touched him, saying, +"Arise and eat," and he looked, and there was a cake just baked on the +hot coals, and a bottle of water close beside him. So he ate and +drank, but he was not yet rested, and he fell asleep again. The angel +waked him the second time telling him to eat and drink, for the journey +was too great for him. Then he ate and drank again, and went on the +strength of that food forty days and forty nights, till he came to +Horeb, the mount of God, where the Ten Commandments were given to +Moses, and there he lodged in a cave. He was still gloomy and +discouraged, and when the Lord said, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" he +said, +</P> + +<P> +"I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children +of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and +slain thy prophets with the sword, and I, even I only am left, and they +seek my life to take it." +</P> + +<P> +</P> + +<A NAME="img-104"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-104.jpg" ALT="Elijah and the angel" BORDER="0" WIDTH="604" HEIGHT="772"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 604px"> +Elijah and the angel +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Then the Lord told him to go out and stand on the mount before the +Lord, and he passed by. There was a great wind that split the +mountains, and broke the great rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind, +and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the +earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in +the fire; and after the fire a still, small voice. +</P> + +<P> +When Elijah heard that, he wrapped his face in his mantle and stood at +the door of the cave, and the Lord asked again, "What doest thou here, +Elijah?" and Elijah answered him just as he did before. +</P> + +<P> +Then the Lord told him to go back and anoint a new king over Syria, +also a new king over Israel, and Elisha to be prophet in his place. +</P> + +<P> +Elijah went, and he found Elisha ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen. +He cast his mantle over Elisha, and Elisha followed him and became his +servant. +</P> + +<P> +When Elijah came back to his own country he found there had been war +between Israel and Syria, and Ahab had grown hard of heart again. He +and his wicked wife Jezebel had taken the vineyard of Naboth away from +him because Ahab wanted it for a garden, and they had caused the death +of Naboth, so when Elijah came he found Ahab in the vineyard, and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Hast thou killed and also taken possession?" and he told him that he +should die where Naboth died. +</P> + +<P> +"Hast thou found me, O mine enemy!" cried the king. +</P> + +<P> +"I have found thee," answered Elijah, and he spoke to him the word of +the Lord, that he should be destroyed out of Israel with his whole +family. +</P> + +<P> +Then Ahab repented, and the Lord spared his life two years, but later +his wife Jezebel came to a dreadful end, with the seventy sons of Ahab. +</P> + +<P> +When the time came for the Lord to take his servant to himself, Elijah +wished to be alone, but Elisha his servant would not leave him. He +followed his master from one town to another until they came to the +river Jordan. Then Elijah took off his mantle, and folding it, struck +the waters and they were divided, so that they went over on dry ground. +Then Elijah said, "Ask what I shall do for thee," and Elisha prayed +that a double portion of his Master's spirit might rest upon him. +</P> + +<P> +"If thou see me when I am taken from thee it shall be so unto thee," he +said, "but if not, it shall not be so." +</P> + +<P> +And as they went there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, +parting them from each other, and Elijah went up in a whirlwind to +heaven. Now Elisha wished his master to know that he saw him, so he +cried, +</P> + +<P> +"My father, my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!" +and he saw him no more. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-106"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-106.jpg" ALT="Elijah and the chariot of fire" BORDER="0" WIDTH="601" HEIGHT="771"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 601px"> +Elijah and the chariot of fire +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Then he took Elijah's mantle that fell from him, and struck the waters +of Jordan again, and they parted, and he went over, and he knew that +the power of the old prophet's spirit had been given to him. +</P> + +<P> +Fifty young men, sons of the prophets, saw him return, and they said, +</P> + +<P> +"The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha," and they bowed themselves +to the ground before him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0128"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LITTLE CHAMBER ON THE WALL. +</H3> + +<P> +Elisha did many wonderful things in the strength of the spirit that +Elijah's God gave him. He changed the waters of Jericho, so that they +were no longer poisonous, by casting salt in the spring. +</P> + +<P> +He brought water for the thirsty armies of three kings who had gathered +to battle, by telling them to dig ditches in a valley of Edom, and +watch for the water to come, without wind or rain. When the morning +dawned the valley was full of running water. +</P> + +<P> +He helped a poor widow to pay a debt and take care of her two sons by +telling her to borrow empty pots and pans of all her neighbors, and +pour into them her one little pot of oil. The oil increased until all +the pots and pans were full, and she had plenty to sell. +</P> + +<P> +He saved the sons of the prophets from death by casting meal into the +pot when a poisonous nut had been mingled with the food, and he fed a +hundred people with the bread that was brought as a portion for himself. +</P> + +<P> +But the most beautiful story in the life of Elisha is that of the +Shun-amite mother and her son. The mother was a noble lady of Shun-em, +who believed in God, and in the good man who passed her house so often, +and she said to her husband, +</P> + +<P> +"Let us make for him a little chamber on the wall." And so they did, +and when Elisha came again he lodged there. He was grateful to these +kind people, and asked the woman what he should do for her—if she +would ask anything of the king, but she only said, +</P> + +<P> +"I dwell among mine own people." +</P> + +<P> +Then the prophet, knowing that she had no child, promised that she +should have a son, and though it was hard to believe, the little son +was sent to her, and she was very happy. But one day when he went out +in the field where his father and his men were reaping, he cried out, +"My head, my head!" and they carried him in to his mother. She held +him in her arms until noon, and then he died and she laid him in the +prophet's chamber. Perhaps the heat of the harvest time had been too +great for one so young. Did the mother cry out and call her husband? +No, she called for a servant and a donkey, and rode as fast as she +could to Mount Carmel where Elisha was. His servant saw her coming, +and Elisha sent him to meet her and ask if it was well with her and her +husband and her child, and she said, +</P> + +<P> +"It is well," though her heart was breaking. +</P> + +<P> +"Did I ask a son of my lord?" she said as she came to Elisha and fell +at his feet. Then he knew that the child was ill or dead, and he would +have sent his servant to lay his staff on the child, but the mother +cried, +</P> + +<P> +"As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee," +and he arose and followed her. +</P> + +<P> +When he came to the Shun-amite's house he went into his little room +where the dead child lay upon his bed, and, shutting the door, prayed +to the Lord. Then he stretched himself upon the child, and breathed +upon him until life began to creep back into the little cold body, and +when he had done this twice the child opened his eyes Then Elisha +called the mother, and when she had fallen at his feet in grateful joy, +she took up her child and went out. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-107"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-107.jpg" ALT="Elijah raises the widow's son" BORDER="0" WIDTH="607" HEIGHT="781"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 607px"> +Elijah raises the widow's son +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0129"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A LITTLE MAID OF ISRAEL. +</H3> + +<P> +There was war almost all the time between Israel and Syria. A band of +Syrians from Damascus would often come into a village of Israel and +take the people away for slaves. One little girl who was carried off +by the Syrians became a slave in the house of a Syrian general called +Naaman, and was a maid to Naaman's wife. +</P> + +<P> +Naaman was a great man, and beloved by all, but he had a disease that +could never be cured. It was leprosy. He could go about, but he could +not touch others without giving them the disease which turns the skin +white and dead, and finally eats the flesh away. +</P> + +<P> +The little maid said to her mistress one day, +</P> + +<P> +"Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he +would recover him of his leprosy." +</P> + +<P> +When this was told to Naaman he talked with the king, who sent him to +the king of Israel with a letter, but the king of Israel was angry. +</P> + +<P> +"Am I God to kill and make alive, that this man doth send unto me to +recover a man of his leprosy?" he cried, but when Elisha heard of it he +said, +</P> + +<P> +"Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in +Israel." +</P> + +<P> +So Naaman came with his horses and chariot to Elisha's house, but the +prophet did not even come to the door, but sent his servant with this +message, +</P> + +<P> +"Go wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, +and thou shalt be clean." +</P> + +<P> +But Naaman went away in a rage. He expected Elisha to come out, and +that there would be a fine scene while he called on the name of God, +waved his hand over the leprous spots, and made a cure. +</P> + +<P> +"Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the +waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean?" he said. +</P> + +<P> +Then some of his servants came near to him and said, +</P> + +<P> +"My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst +thou not have done it? How much rather, then, when he saith to thee, +'Wash and be clean.'" +</P> + +<P> +Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, and his +flesh became like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. +</P> + +<P> +After this he, with all that were with him, went humbly back to Elisha +and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel." And +he urged the prophet to take gifts from him, but he would not. +</P> + +<P> +But Naaman begged of Elisha two mule-loads of earth to take to his own +country. He wanted to build an altar upon it to worship the God of +Israel, and he thought it must stand on the soil of Israel. +</P> + +<P> +Did Naaman ever send the little maid of Israel to her home? We do not +know, but surely he was kind to her in some way. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0130"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TWO BOY KINGS. +</H3> + +<P> +There were many kings over Israel from the days of Solomon until the +time when they were carried away captives to Babylon. The kingdom was +divided soon after Solomon's death, and a king reigned in Jerusalem +over the kingdom of Judah, and another in Samaria over the kingdom of +Israel. There were a few kings who tried to follow that which was +right, but the most of them were men who were given to idolatry, and +who did not help the people to remember the true God. The Lord sent +them prophets to remind them of Him, but they were often driven away or +ill treated. There were a few good kings of Judah, such as Asa and +Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah, and among them were two who became kings +when they were very young. +</P> + +<P> +When Ahaziah, King of Judah, was killed, his mother, who was a wicked +woman, killed all his sons, that she herself might be queen. All but a +baby boy who was hidden with his nurse in the temple, and tenderly +cared for by the good high priest and his wife for six years. Then +when he was seven years old the priests and the Levites brought out +little Joash and anointed him king. They formed a guard all about him, +and when the high priest had crowned him there was a great cry around +the temple of "God save the King." +</P> + +<P> +The old queen heard this and came to see what it meant. When she saw +the little Joash standing by a pillar with a crown on his head she +cried out that the people were plotting against her. +</P> + +<P> +The people did by her as she had done by her grandsons—they took her +life. +</P> + +<P> +Then there was great rejoicing. The house of Baal was torn down, and +the Lord's gold and silver brought back to the temple, and the good +high priest began the worship of God in the temple after the manner of +former days. +</P> + +<P> +When Joash was old enough to understand he longed to make the temple +beautiful again, for it was falling into decay, so he called for money +throughout his kingdom. Everyone was asked to drop a silver piece in +the chest that was set at the temple door, and more than enough was +brought to re-build the temple, and while the high priest lived the +king worshipped there with all the princes of Judah, but as soon as he +died they went back to idol worship, and killed the new high priest in +the court of the temple because he told them that the Lord would bring +great trouble upon them. And so it came to pass in less than a year +the Syrians came and killed the princes, and took away the gold and +silver treasures of the temple. Joash himself became very sick, and +his own servants took his life as he lay helpless. +</P> + +<P> +It was quite different with little Josiah. He was only eight years old +when he was crowned King of Judah, and he had no one so good as the +high priest Jehoida, who was the teacher of Joash, to help him to do +right. Even the holy writings that were given to Moses were lost, and +the people did not ask to hear them read. But the Lord had not allowed +His word to be destroyed, and when Josiah was having the temple +repaired the high priest found the rolls of parchment on which the law +was written, and sent it to the king by a servant of the king who was a +writer. Josiah was full of interest in the ancient book, and wished to +know what was in it, and his servant read it to him. +</P> + +<P> +When he found that he and his people were not living as God had +commanded in the law, he sent to inquire of the Lord what He would have +them to do, and they went to Huldah, the prophetess. She told the +king's messengers that a great calamity would fall upon the kingdom +because they had turned away from the true God, but because the king's +heart was tender and full of desire to follow the Lord, it should not +come during his lifetime. +</P> + +<P> +Then the king called all the chief men of Judah, and the people of the +city, both great and small, with the priests and the Levites, to the +Lord's house, and there he read in their hearing the word of the Lord. +It was like a new book to the most of them, but they were ready to +follow the king in making a solemn promise to the Lord to do His +commandments, and bring back the true worship. +</P> + +<P> +So they had a great feast of the passover, to which all the people came +with offerings, and there was no passover in all the history of the +kings of Judah and Israel that was like this one that was held in the +eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah. +</P> + +<P> +After he had prepared the temple for worship, and had destroyed the +altars of the idols, he went out to meet the King of Egypt in battle +and was killed, and there was a great mourning for him in all the land, +for he had been a good king—kind to his people and faithful to his +God. Jeremiah the prophet made a great lamentation for him, for he +knew that one of Josiah's sons would be the last king of Judah, and +that for their sins the people would be driven out of their own land to +be captives in Babylon for seventy years. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0131"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FOUR CAPTIVE CHILDREN. +</H3> + +<P> +Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, came with his armies and besieged +Jerusalem, just as Jeremiah the prophet had foretold. He took the king +and the princes of Judah captive, and carried away their precious +things from the temple and the palaces into his own land, and put them +in the temples of his gods. Before twenty years had passed the whole +nation had been driven into captivity, and their holy house had been +burned, and the ark of the covenant lost or destroyed. As the kingdom +of Israel had also been scattered, the whole land lay desolate, and the +walls of the cities were broken down. +</P> + +<P> +When the King of Babylon first besieged Jerusalem he carried away the +finest of the princely families to serve him. They were the flower of +Jerusalem—young men of noble face and form; well taught in the +learning of the Jews, and skilfull in the sciences of that time. They +were also chosen for their natural ability to learn the language and +the wisdom of the Chaldeans. +</P> + +<P> +Among these were four boys named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. +The king gave these boys into the care of his chief officer, who set +teachers over them and treated them very kindly, while the king sent +them each day meat and wine from his own table. The Chaldeans offered +these things to idols, and then ate of them themselves; they also used +some meats for food that were unclean to an Israelite, so that the four +children of Judah determined that they would not touch the king's meat +and drink. +</P> + +<P> +Daniel spoke to the chief officer about it, and though he had learned +to love Daniel very much, he was afraid to have the boys refuse the +king's food. +</P> + +<P> +"I fear my lord the king," he said, "who hath appointed your meat and +your drink, for why should he see your faces sadder than the children +which are of your sort? Then shall ye make me endanger my head to the +king." +</P> + +<P> +But Daniel turned to Melzar, the steward, and begged him to prove them +by giving them only vegetables to eat and water to drink for ten days, +and "Then," said he "let our countenances be looked upon before thee, +and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the +king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants." And he proved +them for ten days. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of that time their faces were fatter and fairer than the +faces of all the others who ate portions from the King's table, and +they were allowed to eat the food they had chosen. +</P> + +<P> +They also grew in wisdom and judgment. Daniel had the gift of +understanding visions and dreams, and the gift came from God, and not +from the study of magic. Among all the young men these four were most +pleasing to the king, and they were called to the palace to stand +before him. +</P> + +<P> +Not long after this the king had a dream that seemed very wonderful to +him, but he could not remember it. He called all his magicians, and +astrologers, and wise men together, and told them that they must tell +him what his dream was, and the meaning of it, or he would destroy +them. There was no man wise enough to tell him, and he ordered that +all the wise men of Babylon should be killed, Daniel and his friends +among them. +</P> + +<P> +Daniel asked the captain of the king's guard why the king was so hasty +with his decree, and the captain told him. +</P> + +<P> +Then Daniel went to the king and told him that if he would give him a +little time he would tell him his dream and its meaning, and he went to +his three friends and together they prayed the God of Heaven to show +them the dream and its interpretation. +</P> + +<P> +That night Daniel saw in a vision from God the same thing that the king +had seen and had forgotten. It was a great image standing before the +king, and shining like the sun. The head was of pure gold, the breast +and arms of silver, and the rest of the body of brass; while the legs +were of iron, and the feet were part of iron and part of clay. As he +looked a great stone cut from a mountain by unseen hands was hurled at +the image, striking its feet and breaking them. Then the image fell +and broke into pieces so fine that the winds blew them away, but the +stone grew to be a great mountain that filled the earth. +</P> + +<P> +Then Daniel gave thanks to God for showing him the dream, and went to +the king. +</P> + +<P> +He told the king that the God of Heaven alone had revealed the dream, +for no man could know it, and he told him what the dream had been. He +also told him that God had shown him the meaning; that the head of gold +was the king himself, who reigned over the greatest kingdom on earth, +but after him new kingdoms would rise, and the silver, the brass, the +iron and the clay stood for these; but in the days of the kingdom of +iron and clay the God of heaven would set up a kingdom which should +never be destroyed, but it would destroy all the kingdoms that had gone +before it. This kingdom—the great stone cut without hands from the +mountain—meant the Kingdom of Christ. +</P> + +<P> +The king was so astonished at Daniel's wisdom—for it was the dream he +had forgotten brought back and interpreted—that he fell on his face +before Daniel and reverenced the God of heaven. He made Daniel chief +ruler in his realm and gave also great honors to his friends. +</P> + +<P> +Nebuchadnezzar soon forgot God, for he set up a great golden image on +the plain of Dura, and called a feast of dedication. He had all his +princes and governors there, and his captains, and judges, and rulers. +The musicians were there also, with many kinds of instruments, and a +herald was there who cried in a loud voice the command of the king. It +was a call to worship the golden image. At the first sound of the +bands of music all were to fall down before the golden image, or +failing to do so, be thrown into a fiery furnace. +</P> + +<P> +Among the rulers were the three friends of Daniel, whose names had been +changed by the king to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They did not +fall before the golden image, and some jealous Chaldeans who saw them +went and told the king. Then the king, who had a fiery temper, was +angry, and sent for the three young men. He told them the bands should +play again, and if they failed to worship the golden image they should +be cast into the furnace, "and who is that God that shall deliver you +out of my hands?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"We are not careful to answer thee in this matter," they said, "If it +be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning +fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king." +</P> + +<P> +Then the king in a great rage called his mighty men to bind the young +men, and after the furnace was heated seven times hotter than before, +they were thrown in. So great was the heat that the men who threw them +in were killed by it in the sight of the king. As he watched the great +door of the furnace the king rose up and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" +</P> + +<P> +"True, O king," said his lords and captains. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-116"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-116.jpg" ALT="In the fiery furnace" BORDER="0" WIDTH="595" HEIGHT="770"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 595px"> +In the fiery furnace +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Then the king with his eyes fixed upon the glowing door of the furnace +said, +</P> + +<P> +"Lo I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they +have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." +</P> + +<P> +Then he went near the door of the furnace and cried, +</P> + +<P> +"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, +come forth and come hither!" +</P> + +<P> +Then they came out before the king and all the people, who saw that the +fire had no power over their bodies, for no hair of their head was +burned, and no smell of fire was upon their garments. +</P> + +<P> +Then the king was very humble, and acknowledged the God of heaven, +"because there is no other God" he said "that can deliver after this +sort." And he promoted the young men to still higher places in his +kingdom. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0132"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE MASTER OF THE MAGICIANS. +</H3> + +<P> +The Lord saw that the heart of Nebuchadnezzar was lifted up with pride +because he was king of a great people, and had conquered many weaker +nations. He was proud of his royal city, Babylon. The walls of +Babylon were sixty miles in length, and in them stood one hundred +brazen gates. There were wonderful palaces, and statues, and bridges, +and gardens. The river Euphrates ran through the city, and near the +king's palace was a hill covered with trees and flowering plants from +many lands, called the Hanging Gardens. +</P> + +<P> +Babylon was built on a plain, but the king had these gardens made for +his wife, who had come from a country of hills. +</P> + +<P> +The king was praised so much by the princes and rulers that he thought +only of his own power and riches, and became proud and cruel. So the +Lord sent him a dream. He saw a tree great and high, standing in the +midst of a wide plain. It grew until it reached the heavens, and its +branches spread to the ends of the earth. It was thick with green +leaves, and heavy with fruit; the birds lived in it, and the beasts lay +in its shadow, and all things living came to it for food. Then he saw +an angel coming down from heaven crying, +</P> + +<P> +"Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches; shake off his leaves, and +scatter his fruit; let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls +from his branches; nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the +earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the +field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be +with the beasts of the grass of the earth; let his heart be changed +from a man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him, and let seven +times pass over him." +</P> + +<P> +This dream was given that the king might be taught that the Lord alone +is King. +</P> + +<P> +Daniel, named by the king Belteshazzar, was called to interpret the +dream, and the Lord gave him power to do it. +</P> + +<P> +"The tree that thou sawest," said Daniel, "it is thou, O king, that art +grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown and reacheth unto +heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth." +</P> + +<P> +Then Daniel told the king that he must be driven from men to dwell with +the beasts of the field; to eat grass with the oxen, and be wet with +the dews of heaven, until he had learned that the Most High rules in +the kingdom of men, and gives to whosoever He will. But as the roots +of the tree were left in the ground, so his kingdom should be preserved +for him until he had learned that the heavens do rule. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of a year the king's heart had not been made humble, for as +he walked in his palace he said to himself: +</P> + +<P> +"Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the +kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" +</P> + +<P> +And while he yet spoke there fell a voice from heaven, saying: +</P> + +<P> +"O, King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; the kingdom is departed +from thee." +</P> + +<P> +And within an hour the word of the Lord came true. For seven years he +was without reason, and was an outcast from his kingdom. But at the +end of that time his eyes were lifted to heaven and his reason +returned, and his kingdom was restored to him, for he had learned that +God alone is great, and "Those that walk in pride He is able to abase." +</P> + +<P> +Belshazzar was the next king of Babylon. He made a great feast, and a +thousand of his lords were bidden to sit around his tables in the great +hall of the palace. While he drank the wine he thought of the holy +vessels of gold and silver that his father had brought out of the +Temple at Jerusalem, and he sent for them, and into these golden bowls +that had been consecrated to the worship of God he poured wine and gave +it to his princes and to his wives, while they praised the gods of +gold, and silver, and wood, and stone. +</P> + +<P> +While they were feasting, and laughing, and singing, there came a man's +hand and wrote some strange words on the wall of the great hall where +they sat. The king saw the hand as it wrote, and he was so much afraid +that he trembled and grew very weak. He called for his wise men and +they could not read the writing, but the queen remembered that in the +time of Nebuchadnezzar there was a man whom he made master of the +magicians because he had power to interpret dreams and make all +doubtful things clear. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-118"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-118.jpg" ALT="The handwriting on the wall" BORDER="0" WIDTH="608" HEIGHT="753"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 608px"> +The handwriting on the wall +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king told him that if he +would read the writing on the wall he should be clothed royally and be +made the third ruler in the kingdom. +</P> + +<P> +"Let thy gifts be to thyself," said Daniel, "and give thy rewards to +another, yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to +him the interpretation." +</P> + +<P> +Then Daniel reminded the king of that which fell upon his father +Nebuchadnezzar, when he had grown proud and hard-hearted toward God and +men, and, though he knew all this, he also had lifted himself up +against the Lord of heaven, and had defiled the holy vessels of the +Temple by drinking from them to gods which could neither see or hear, +and because of this the message had been written on the wall. And this +was the interpretation of the strange words,— +</P> + +<P> +"God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Thou art weighed in +the balances, and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided, and given +to the Medes and the Persians." +</P> + +<P> +The king clothed Daniel in scarlet, and gave him a chain of gold, and +proclaimed him third ruler in the kingdom, but the same night +Belshazzar was slain, and Darius the Medean took the kingdom. +</P> + +<P> +The new king set one hundred and twenty princes over the kingdom, and +over these he set three presidents, the first of which was Daniel. The +king loved Daniel for the wise and good spirit that was in him, and +this stirred up jealousy in the hearts of the Babylonian princes, and +they watched Daniel to see if they could find something against him to +tell the king, but they could not, for he was faithful in all his work. +</P> + +<P> +Then they agreed to plot against him, and they went to the king and +persuaded him to make a decree that whoever should ask any petition of +any god or man for thirty days, except of the king, he should be thrown +into the den of lions, and they asked the king to sign the decree, so +that it could not be changed, and he signed it. +</P> + +<P> +When Daniel heard of the decree, and knew that the king had signed it, +he went into his own house, and to his chamber. There the windows were +always open toward Jerusalem, and he kneeled down as he had done every +day since he was taken from his own land, and prayed to God with his +face toward the Temple in Jerusalem. And the men who were plotting +against him watched him. +</P> + +<P> +Then they hurried to the king, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"That Daniel, which is of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, +O, King, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition +three times a day." +</P> + +<P> +The king was greatly disturbed at this, and set his heart on the +deliverance of Daniel, and labored till sunset to do it. But his +princes said it could not be done, because, according to the law of the +Medes and the Persians, no decree made by the king could be changed. +</P> + +<P> +So Daniel was condemned to be cast into the den of lions, but the king +said, +</P> + +<P> +"Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-120"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-120.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-120t.jpg" ALT="Daniel in the den of lions" BORDER="0" WIDTH="657" HEIGHT="855"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 657px"> +Daniel in the den of lions +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Then a stone was laid over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it +with his own signet, and with that of his lords, that the purpose might +not be changed. +</P> + +<P> +That was a long night for Darius the king. He could neither eat nor +sleep, and he would hear no music, but very early in the morning he +went to the den of the lions and with a very sorrowful voice cried: +</P> + +<P> +"O Daniel, servant of the living God! is thy God whom thou servest +continually able to deliver thee from the lions?" +</P> + +<P> +Then up from the pit came a strong, cheery voice saying: +</P> + +<P> +"O king, live forever! My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the +lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." +</P> + +<P> +Then there was joy in the king's heart and he had Daniel brought up out +of the den, and no hurt was found upon him, because he had believed in +God, but the men who had accused Daniel were cast into the lions' den +and destroyed. +</P> + +<P> +Darius acknowledged the God of Daniel before all his kingdom, and +commanded the people to honor Him, so that Daniel and his people +suffered no more from their enemies during the reign of Darius. After +the death of Darius, Cyrus was made king of Persia, and he also was +kind to Daniel. The Lord gave him a tender heart toward the captives +of Judah who had been in his land for seventy years, so that he sent +them back into their own land and helped them to rebuild their city and +their Temple. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0133"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE STORY OF JONAH. +</H3> + +<P> +More than eight hundred years before the birth of Christ a prophet +named Jonah lived in the land of Israel. He had given the Lord's +messages to his own people, and they had listened to them, and a part +of their country had been saved by obeying the Word of the Lord as it +was brought to them by Jonah. +</P> + +<P> +But when the Lord wished to send Jonah to warn a great city in Assyria +to repent of their sins, he did not wish to go. Nineveh was a very old +and a very great city. It was built soon after the flood, but was +still at a high point of glory and wealth in the time of Jonah. +</P> + +<P> +It was a heathen city, but God is the Father of all who live, and cares +for all His children, though they may not know or care for Him. +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps Jonah was afraid, for the people were strong and warlike, and +they would not wish to hear about their wickedness. So Jonah ran away +to the sea shore and took a ship from Joppa to go to Tarshish. He had +not gone far from shore when a storm of wind rose, and the wind tossed +the ship on the great angry waves until it was very nearly wrecked. +</P> + +<P> +The men were afraid, and each prayed to his God, and threw out the +goods they were carrying in order to make the ship lighter. +</P> + +<P> +Where was Jonah? He was below the decks asleep. When the captain +found him he cried out, +</P> + +<P> +"What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that +God will think upon us, that we perish not." +</P> + +<P> +Then they began to wonder if the storm had not been sent upon them for +the wickedness of some one in the ship, and they cast lots to see who +it could be. The lot fell upon Jonah. Then they asked Jonah his name +and country, and of his journey. He told them all about it. Then the +men were more afraid, for they knew that he had tried to run away from +the Lord, and they said, +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us?" +</P> + +<P> +"Take me up and cast me forth into the sea," he said, "so shall the sea +be calm unto you, for I know that for my sake this great tempest is +upon you." +</P> + +<P> +It was not easy for the men, who were kind-hearted, to throw into the +sea a man so honest and so willing to die, so they rowed very hard, and +tried their best to reach the shore, but they could not. So they +prayed to Jonah's God to forgive them, and then threw Jonah into the +sea. +</P> + +<P> +But the Lord meant not only to teach Jonah a lesson, but to teach, +through Jonah, a lesson to His children who should live in the ages to +come. He was to make him also a sign of the coming Christ. +</P> + +<P> +When Jonah believed he was sinking down into the green depths of the +sea to die, a great fish, prepared by the Lord, opened his mouth and +took him in. We cannot understand all the ways of God, but we know +that "nothing is impossible with God," and that he was able to keep his +servant alive even in such a strange place as this. +</P> + +<P> +For three days and three nights he was kept in his living prison, and +was able to pray to God, and to know where he was. +</P> + +<P> +"The waters compassed me about," he said, "even to the soul; the depth +closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went +down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about +me forever." +</P> + +<P> +Then he praised and thanked God, for he knew that he meant to save him. +And when the Lord spoke to the fish, it threw Jonah out upon the dry +land. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-122"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-122.jpg" ALT="Jonah thrown on the dry land" BORDER="0" WIDTH="600" HEIGHT="769"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 600px"> +Jonah thrown on the dry land +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The second time Jonah heard the voice of the Lord telling him to go to +Nineveh and preach the words that should be given him to say, and this +time he obeyed. +</P> + +<P> +It was a long journey to Nineveh, and when Jonah reached it he found +that the city was so great that it would take three days to walk around +the walls. +</P> + +<P> +The walls were a hundred feet high. And so broad that three chariots +could be driven on them side by side. The walls had fifteen hundred +towers, each two hundred feet high. Inside the walls lived hundreds of +thousands of people, many of them rich merchants or princes and nobles +who lived in palaces, and thought only of their own pleasure and glory. +They had grown very selfish and wicked. +</P> + +<P> +When Jonah had walked a day's journey into the city, he began to cry in +the streets the message God had given him, +</P> + +<P> +"Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" +</P> + +<P> +The people began to tremble and be afraid of the strange voice that +went up and down the long streets crying out these terrible words. +They began to believe in Jonah's God, and to repent. +</P> + +<P> +They repented in the eastern way, by putting on a garment of coarse +sack-cloth, and sitting in ashes. All did this, even to the king, who +took off his beautiful robes and sat down in ashes before the Lord. He +also proclaimed a fast to all the people, and urged them to "turn every +one from their evil way." +</P> + +<P> +When the Lord saw that they turned away from their sins, for He could +look into their hearts, and read all their thoughts, He was satisfied, +and said he would not destroy Nineveh. +</P> + +<P> +But Jonah, who could not read the hearts of men, was not satisfied. He +was very angry. He wanted to have the Ninevites see that he was a true +prophet, for if no destruction came upon them he feared that they might +call him a false prophet. So he complained to God, and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Now, O Lord, take, I beseech Thee, my life from me, for it is better +to die than to live!" +</P> + +<P> +The Lord's gentle word to Jonah was, +</P> + +<P> +"Doest thou well to be angry?" +</P> + +<P> +Jonah went outside the city walls, and made for himself a little house +of the branches of trees and waited to see if the city would be +destroyed. It was very hot and Jonah was deeply troubled, and the +Lord, who is full of love and pity for His children, caused a gourd +vine with large leaves to spring up and grow over the dried branches of +the little house that sheltered Jonah, and he was very glad and +grateful. But the Lord, who always looks upon the heart, saw that the +heart of Jonah was not yet wholly right, and the next morning he +allowed a worm to eat the gourd until it withered. Then the sun beat +down upon Jonah's head until he fainted and wished to die, saying, as +he had said before, +</P> + +<P> +"It is better for me to die than live!" +</P> + +<P> +But the Lord was patient with him, and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?" +</P> + +<P> +And Jonah replied ungraciously, +</P> + +<P> +"I do well to be angry, even unto death." +</P> + +<P> +Then the Lord in his love and pity answered, +</P> + +<P> +"Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, +neither madest it grow; which came up in a night and perished in a +night; and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are +more than six-score thousand persons that cannot discern between their +right hand and then left hand, and also much cattle?" +</P> + +<P> +Jonah did not know all that was in the mind of the Lord, though he was +a prophet. He did not know that he was one of the signs of the Lord's +first coming, for Jesus spoke of Jonah as a "sign," that as he was +three days and three nights within the great fish "so shall the Son of +man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0134"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ESTHER, THE QUEEN. +</H3> + +<P> +About five hundred years before Christ King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) reigned +over Persia. In the third year of his reign he gave a royal feast to +all the princes and nobles of Persia and Medea, in Shushan, the royal +city. It lasted one hundred and eighty days, and was very costly, for +the king wished to show the great men from all his provinces the riches +and glory of his kingdom and of his palace. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of these days he made another feast to all who were in +Shushan, a feast of seven days, and which included great and small. +The palace garden was hung with awnings of white and green and violet, +fastened with cords and silver rings to pillars of marble. +</P> + +<P> +Wine was given to the guests in golden cups as they sat on couches of +gold and silver, and the pavement of the court was of many colored +marbles. +</P> + +<P> +In another part of the palace Vashti, the queen, also made a feast for +the women. +</P> + +<P> +On the seventh day the king sent his seven chamberlains to bring Queen +Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown. He wished to show to his +people and princes the beauty of the queen, for she was very fair to +look upon. +</P> + +<P> +But the queen refused to obey the king's command, and he was angry. He +asked the seven princes who stood next to him in the kingdom what he +should do, and what the laws of the Medes and Persians (which could not +be broken) would say in such a case. +</P> + +<P> +The princes did not speak of any law, but one of them told the king +that the conduct of Vashti would do them great harm through all the +kingdom, for women hearing of the act of the queen, would despise and +disobey their husbands. They advised, therefore, that a commandment +should go forth from the king and be written among the laws of the +Medes and Persians, that Vashti should no more come before the king, +and that her royal estate should be given to another better than she. +</P> + +<P> +This pleased the king, and he did as Memucan, the prince, had advised, +and he sent letters into all parts of his empire to people of various +languages, that every man should rule in his own house. +</P> + +<P> +Then the king's servants, the nobles, advised the king to send officers +to every part of his kingdom to find some one worthy to take the place +of Queen Vashti, and the plan pleased the king, and he did so. +</P> + +<P> +There was in Shushan a Jew named Mordecai, who had been brought away +from Jerusalem with the captives when Nebuchadnezzar conquered the +city. He had an adopted daughter named Hadassah. This was her true +name, although the Persians called her Esther. She was the daughter of +Mordecai's uncle, and when her father and mother died, Mordecai took +her for his own. She was very beautiful, and as good as she was +beautiful, for Mordecai had taught her to be faithful to the true God, +though living among a strange people. +</P> + +<P> +When Mordecai heard that the king was seeking for a maiden worthy to be +a queen through all his provinces, he brought Esther and placed her in +care of Hegai, who had the care of that part of the king's house where +the women lived. Hegai was very kind to her, and gave her seven maids +to serve her, and the best place in the house for her own. +</P> + +<P> +Mordecai had told Esther not to speak of her Jewish family, but every +day he walked before the court of the women's house to ask how she did +and what had become of her. +</P> + +<P> +Out of all the maidens brought from the city and the kingdom Esther was +chosen by the king to be queen in the place of Vashti, and he placed +the royal crown upon her head, and proclaimed a great feast that he +called Esther's feast, when he gave gifts and made a holiday for all +the people to rest and be happy in all his provinces. +</P> + +<P> +Mordecai sat daily at the king's gate, and once while there he heard of +a plot to kill the king by two of his chamberlains, and he sent word +secretly to Esther, and she told the king in Mordecai's name, so that +these two men were hanged, and the account of it was written in the +king's book of records. +</P> + +<P> +About this time the king gave great honors to a man named Haman. He +set him above all his princes, and when the king's servants who were at +his gate knew it they all bowed down and gave great honor to Haman, +whenever he passed, for the king had so commanded them; but Mordecai +would not bow to Haman. When Haman saw this he was full of anger +toward Mordecai the Jew, and he made a wicked plan to destroy not only +Mordecai, but all his people. +</P> + +<P> +So he came with wily ways and cunning speech to the king, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the +people in all the provinces of thy kingdom, and their laws are diverse +from all people, neither keep they the king's laws, therefore it is not +for the king's profit to suffer them. If it please the king let it be +written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of +silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to +bring it into the king's treasuries." +</P> + +<P> +Then the king gave his ring to Haman as a sign that he would pledge his +word to do what he asked, and said, +</P> + +<P> +"The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it +seemeth good to thee." +</P> + +<P> +Then Haman had letters written and sealed with the king's seal ring, +saying to the rulers of every province in the kingdom that all Jews, +both young and old, throughout the kingdom, must be destroyed in one +day, and their goods, and money, and lands be taken for a prey, and the +thirteenth day of the twelfth month was set in which to destroy them. +</P> + +<P> +After the messengers were sent out the king and Haman sat down to drink +wine, but the city was troubled. +</P> + +<P> +Then Mordecai rent his clothes in sign of mourning, and went out into +the streets of the city clothed in sack-cloth uttering a loud and +bitter cry. He cried even before the king's gate. +</P> + +<P> +All through the kingdom there was great mourning among the Jews, and +they fasted and wept in sack-cloth and ashes. +</P> + +<P> +When Esther heard that Mordecai was clothed in sack-cloth she was +deeply grieved, and sent some garments to clothe him, but he would not +receive them. Then she sent for the king's chamberlain Hatach, and +gave him a command to Mordecai to tell what caused his grief. +</P> + +<P> +Hatach found him at the king's gate, and Mordecai told him all that had +happened to him, and of the great sum of money that Haman had promised +to pay into the king's treasuries for the Jews to destroy them. He +also gave him a copy of the decree to show Esther, and told Hatach to +charge her that she go before the king and make request for her people. +</P> + +<P> +Hatach took these words to Esther, and Esther sent a reply by Hatach, +saying that it was known in all the king's palace that no man or woman +could come into the king's presence in the inner court who had not been +called, and for any who so entered there was but one law, and that was +that they be put to death, unless the king hold out to them the golden +sceptre. She had not been called to see the king, she said, in thirty +days. +</P> + +<P> +Hatach gave this message to Mordecai, and he again sent word to Esther +that she could not hope to escape the decree, as she too was of the +Jews. He told her that deliverance must come to the Jews in some other +way, but she and her family would be destroyed, and then he added, +</P> + +<P> +"Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as +this?" +</P> + +<P> +Then Esther made her resolve, and sent word to Mordecai to gather all +the Jews in Shushan together to fast night and day, while she and her +maidens fasted also. +</P> + +<P> +"And so I will go in unto the king," she said, "which is not according +to the law, and if I perish, I perish." +</P> + +<P> +And Mordecai went his way and did as Esther had commanded. +</P> + +<P> +It was the third day when Esther arose from her fast before the Lord +and put on her beautiful royal robes and stood in the inner court of +the king's house in sight of the royal throne. +</P> + +<P> +When the king saw Esther standing in the inner court he was not +displeased, but his heart was turned toward her, and he held out to her +the golden sceptre that was in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"What wilt thou, Queen Esther?" he said, "and what is thy request? it +shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom." +</P> + +<P> +"If it seem good unto the king," said Esther, "let the king and Haman +come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him." +</P> + +<P> +So the king commanded Haman, and they came to the queen's banquet. The +king knew that Esther had a favor to ask of him, so he said again: +</P> + +<P> +"What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee; and what is thy +request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed." +</P> + +<P> +But Esther was wise. She begged as her petition and request that the +king and Haman would come to the banquet she should prepare the next +day also, and she would then do as the king had said. +</P> + +<P> +Haman went home very happy and proud that he had been so honored by the +queen, and told his wife and his friends of all the glory and honor +that had come to him. +</P> + +<P> +"Yet all this availeth me nothing," he said, "so long as I see Mordecai +the Jew sitting at the king's gate." +</P> + +<P> +Then his wife and his friends urged him to build a high gallows and ask +the king on the next day to hang Mordecai upon it. "Then go thou +merrily with the king unto the banquet," they added. +</P> + +<P> +This pleased Haman, and he ordered the gallows to be made. +</P> + +<P> +That night the king was restless, and he could not sleep, and he +commanded that the book of records be brought and read aloud to him. +Then he found that it was written that Mordecai had saved the king's +life when it was threatened by his two chamberlains. +</P> + +<P> +"What honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this?" he asked, +and his servants replied: +</P> + +<P> +"There is nothing done for him." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is in the court?" cried the king. Now Haman had come in to speak +to the king to have Mordecai hanged. +</P> + +<P> +"Haman standeth in the court," said the king's servants, and the king +said, +</P> + +<P> +"Let him come in." +</P> + +<P> +As Haman came in the king said, +</P> + +<P> +"What shall be done to the man that the king delighteth to honor?" +</P> + +<P> +Haman thought in his heart, "To whom would the king delight to do honor +more than to myself," and then he replied, thinking all the time of +himself. +</P> + +<P> +"For the man whom the king delighteth to honor let the royal apparel be +brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king +rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head, and let +this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's +most noble princes, that they may array the men withal whom the king +delighteth to honor, and bring him on horseback through the street of +the city, and proclaim before him, 'Thus shall it be done to the man +whom the king delighteth to honor.'" +</P> + +<P> +Then the king said, "Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse as +thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai, the Jew, that sitteth at +the king's gate; let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken." +</P> + +<P> +Haman did as he was commanded, for he could do nothing else, and after +it was all over Mordecai took his place again at the king's gate, but +Haman hastened home mourning, and with his head covered. +</P> + +<P> +The next day he came to the queen's banquet with the king, and again +the king said, +</P> + +<P> +"What is thy petition, Queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee; and +what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of my +kingdom." +</P> + +<P> +Then the queen made her request, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, +let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request; +for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to +perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen I had held +my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is he, and where is he," cried the king, "That durst presume in +his heart to do so?" +</P> + +<P> +Then Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-131"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-131.jpg" ALT="Haman denounced by the queen" BORDER="0" WIDTH="591" HEIGHT="766"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 591px"> +Haman denounced by the queen +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Haman was overcome with fear at this, and the king was so angry that he +rose up and went out into the palace garden. Haman stood up to make a +plea for his life, and when the king came in he found Haman fallen at +the queen's feet. +</P> + +<P> +One of the king's chamberlains who knew what the king wished told him +of the gallows at Haman's house that had been made for Mordecai, and +the king said, "Hang him thereon," and they did so, and the king's +anger was pacified. +</P> + +<P> +That day the king gave Haman's house to the queen. Mordecai came +before the king that day also, for Esther had told him how he was +related to her, and the King gave to Mordecai the ring that he had once +given to Haman. Esther's petition was not yet finished, so she fell +down at the king's feet and asked for the life of her people, and that +the decree might be changed. +</P> + +<P> +Then the king held out his golden sceptre to Esther, and she arose. +She spoke noble words of petition for her people, and the king told +Mordecai to write in the king's name and seal with the king's seal +letters that should make the decree void. +</P> + +<P> +So the scribes were called in and the letters were written and sealed +with the king's ring, and sent out to every province in the kingdom. +</P> + +<P> +Mordecai went out of the palace that day clothed in royal garments of +violet and white, fine linen and purple, and a great crown of gold upon +his head, and there was joy in Shushan, and there was joy among the +Jews all over the land. They hanged the ten sons of Haman, and +destroyed their enemies by the king's permission, so that they had rest +from persecution. They also set apart two days for a feast of +thanksgiving through all time, and the feast of Purim is kept by all +Jews to this day, as it was first confirmed by the decree of Esther. +</P> + +<P> +And Mordecai was next to the king and honored by his brethren the Jews +as long as he lived, for he always sought their peace, and was as a +father to them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0201"></A> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +CHILD'S STORY OF THE BIBLE. +</H1> + +<BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +THE NEW TESTAMENT. +</H2> + +<HR ALIGN="center" WIDTH="10%"> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ANGELS OF THE ADVENT. +</H3> + +<P> +There was an old priest named Zacharias, who lived in the hill country +of Hebron, where Abraham the father of the Jewish people used to live. +He went to Jerusalem when it was his turn to serve in the temple, and +once while he was offering the incense of sweet spices on the golden +altar, he saw through the rising smoke an angel standing on the right +side of the altar. The good priest was frightened, but the angel said, +</P> + +<P> +"Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard," and he promised that to +him and his wife Elizabeth should be born a little son, whose name +should be John. He was coming to prepare the way for the Messiah, and +must not drink wine or strong drink, for he was to be filled with the +Holy Spirit. +</P> + +<P> +It was too wonderful for Zacharias to believe, and when he went out of +the temple he was dumb, and all the people who waited for him knew that +he had seen a vision. He did not speak while he stayed to minister in +the temple, and when his time of service was ended he went to his home +in Hebron. +</P> + +<P> +A few months later the angel Gabriel went to the little town of +Nazareth, high up among the hills of Galilee, and spoke to a young girl +named Mary. She had never seen an angel, and she also was afraid when +he said to her, +</P> + +<P> +"Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art +thou among women. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God." +And then he told her that she should become the mother of a Holy Child, +who should also be the Son of the Highest, and a King whose kingdom +should have no end, and His name should be Jesus. He also told her of +her cousin Elizabeth away in Hebron, to whom a little son was promised. +</P> + +<P> +Then Mary said these beautiful words to the angel: +</P> + +<P> +"Behold the hand-maid of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy +word," and the angel went away into heaven. +</P> + +<P> +Mary was so full of wonder at the angel's words that she set out on a +journey to see Elizabeth. It was eighty miles to Hebron, but it was +early summer, and as Mary went through the green valleys and fruitful +plains, and along by the flowing Jordan, she thought about the angel's +words, and prayed to God to make her good and wise. She was not +afraid, though the journey was four days long, for she knew God was +with her. +</P> + +<P> +On the fourth day she passed Jerusalem, the Holy City, and went on and +up into the Hebron Hills to the house of Elizabeth. When they told to +each other the wonderful words of the angel Gabriel they were full of +joy, for they knew that the coming of the Christ was near, and that the +Lord had trusted them with the heavenly secret. They were filled with +the Holy Spirit, and Mary broke out into a beautiful song of praise. +</P> + +<P> +Mary stayed three months with her cousin Elizabeth, and learned many +things, for the old priest and his wife were wise and good. When she +went back to Nazareth she told no one of her vision, not even her +mother or Joseph, the good carpenter, whose promised wife she was. But +the angel came one night to Joseph and spoke to him through a dream of +the Holy Child that was to be born. +</P> + +<P> +Now Joseph and Mary were of the family of King David, and they knew +that the prophets had long ago talked of a King who was to come and +restore the kingdom, and reign on the throne of David. They even told +where he was to be born, in Bethlehem, the "City of David." And though +the Jews had become the servants of the Romans, yet it was time, +according to the promise, that the new King should come and set them +free, and many were looking for His coming. +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps Joseph and Mary thought of these things when the time came for +them to go to Bethlehem, for the Emperor of Rome had made a decree that +all Jews should be enrolled, that he might know how many were in his +empire. So all Jews, who had gone to live in other parts, returned to +their own tribe and city to be enrolled among their own people. +</P> + +<P> +When Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem they found it full of people who +had also come home to write their names for the Emperor, and there was +no room for them in the inn. It was winter, and while Joseph wondered +what he should do the keeper of the inn showed them the stable where +the gentle oxen and asses were kept, and where it was much quieter than +in the noisy yard and crowded rooms of the inn. +</P> + +<P> +It was here in a humble stable that the Lord of Heaven was born upon +earth, and cradled in a manger. He chose the stable instead of a +palace, and a bed of straw instead of a bed of down, for He had come to +be the Brother of the poor and the Saviour of the world. +</P> + +<P> +Out in the fields near by were some shepherds watching their flocks. +It has been said that the flocks kept in the Bethlehem fields were for +the sacrifices in the temple, and were watched night and day the year +long, while other flocks were kept in their folds in winter. +</P> + +<P> +While they sat on the rocks, wrapped in their cloaks and sheepskin +jackets, with a fire of brushwood to keep the beasts away, perhaps they +thought of young David, who once kept his sheep there, and killed a +lion and a bear to defend his flock; or they watched the stars and +wondered at their beauty. +</P> + +<P> +But suddenly an angel stood by them, and a great light shone round +about them, and they were terrified. But the angel spoke kindly to +them saying:— +</P> + +<P> +"Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which +shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of +David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord." And the angel told them +how they would know it to be the Holy Child—because it lay in a +manger. Then, in a moment the air was full of angel faces, and +heavenly voices sang this song of praise to God and promise to all +people:— +</P> + +<P> +"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward +men!" And they went away into heaven. +</P> + +<P> +The shepherds looked at one another and then one said; "Let us go to +Bethlehem." And they went in great haste. There they found Mary and +Joseph with the Holy Child lying in a manger, just as the angel had +said. They told the people of Bethlehem about the angels they had seen +and the words they had heard, and they were very much astonished. But +Mary was silent, and kept all these things in her heart to think about +and to pray about. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-135"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-135.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-135t.jpg" ALT="The Holy Child in the manger" BORDER="0" WIDTH="657" HEIGHT="857"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 657px"> +The Holy Child in the manger +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +As for the shepherds they went back to their flocks praising God. +</P> + +<P> +When the Holy Child was eight days old his parents called His name +Jesus, as the angel had commanded, and they dedicated him to the Lord. +Later they took him up to the Temple at Jerusalem to make the offering +that all Jewish mothers made, some money, if it was the first +boy-child, and a lamb, or a pair of doves. Joseph bought for Mary a +pair of doves, and they went up the white steps of the beautiful porch +of the Temple, and passed the long rows of marble pillars into the +court of the Gentiles where they could look up and see the Temple +itself with its white marble pillars and golden roof shining in the sun. +</P> + +<P> +Mary gave her doves to the Priest at the gate of the Court of the +Women, and he took them away to be offered on the altar, while Joseph +took the Holy Child into the Men's Court for the Priest to bless as he +dedicated Him to the Lord. When all was done and they were going away, +an old man named Simeon saw them, and begged to hold the child. He was +a good man who had longed to see the Christ who was to come, and now +the Spirit of God told him that this was He. He thanked God, and said: +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, now lettest Thou thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy +word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." +</P> + +<P> +He also spoke as a prophet of the days to come, and just then a very +old woman who lived in the Temple, Anna, the prophetess, came and gave +thanks to God, and told the people that the Redeemer had come to +Israel. All these things Mary kept in her heart, as she had kept the +words of the angel, and wondered why she had been chosen to be the +mother of the Holy Child. +</P> + +<P> +Seven months before this time a little son had been born to Zacharias +and Elizabeth. The neighbors wished to name him for his father, but +Elizabeth said, "Not so; but he shall be called John." When they asked +his father what it should be, he wrote an answer (for he had been dumb +ever since he talked with the angel in the Temple) and they read, "His +name shall be called John." Then his mouth was opened, and he began to +speak and to praise God, and his friends wondered what the child would +be when he grew to manhood. His father became a prophet for a time, +and said some strange things about him that were written down. He said +that John should be called a prophet of the Highest, and go before the +Lord to prepare His ways. +</P> + +<P> +John grew, and he also grew strong in spirit, and while he was yet +young he went to live in the deserts where he was taught of God to be a +prophet and a preacher. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0202"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FOLLOWING THE STAR. +</H3> + +<P> +While Joseph and Mary and the Holy Child were still staying in +Bethlehem, some Wise Men came from an Eastern country to Jerusalem, +asking, +</P> + +<P> +"Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His Star +in the East, and are come to worship Him." +</P> + +<P> +No one knows who these men were, but it may be that they were Jews who +lived in Persia, as David had done long before, and were learned in all +the wisdom of the Chaldeans, who studied the stars, and believed that +they had much to do with the lives of people on the earth. These wise +men were called Magi. They had heard that a great One would be born +about this time, and that He would be the King of the Jews. +</P> + +<P> +When they saw a strange and beautiful Star near the earth away toward +Jerusalem they prepared to go and see if it would lead them to the +King. Their servants loaded the camels with food and water and some +costly gifts, for they were rich men, and mounted on beautiful saddles +covered with blue and crimson cloth they rode away toward Jerusalem. +They had deserts of yellow sand to cross, and they were tired at the +end of the hot day, but at night they saw the beautiful Star shining +before them low in the sky, and watched it from their tents on the sand +where they rested for the night, and rose to follow it before it faded +in the morning. They were glad when they came to the fresh green +mountain country of the Jews, and rode through the flowery valleys till +they came to the gates of Jerusalem. Perhaps they expected to hear all +about the new King, and to find the people feasting and rejoicing, but +they did not. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-137"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-137.jpg" ALT="Following the star" BORDER="0" WIDTH="605" HEIGHT="766"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 605px"> +Following the star +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +When they asked, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" the +people were surprised, and only wondered who these men were who looked +liked princes from a foreign court, for they had armed servants, and +from their camels hung tinkling silver bells, and swinging tassels of +silk and gold. +</P> + +<P> +They searched Jerusalem for the king, and Herod heard of it and was +troubled. He wished always to be king himself. He set the scribes to +searching for the prophecies of the Messiah's birth. They knew very +well where to find them, and they read to the king these words from the +prophet Micah:— +</P> + +<P> +"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, which art little among the families of +Judah, out of thee shall One come forth unto me that is to be the ruler +of Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from ancient days." +</P> + +<P> +Then the king sent for the wise men, for he had a secret plan. They +came in their best robes, hoping perhaps, to find the newly born King +in the beautiful palace of Herod on Mount Zion, but they found only the +gloomy old King Herod waiting for them. He asked them when they first +saw the Star, and when they had told him, he sent them to Bethlehem and +said, +</P> + +<P> +"Go and search diligently for the young child, and when ye have found +him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also." +</P> + +<P> +They were very glad to hear about Bethlehem, and as they came down the +marble steps of Herod's palace it was evening, and there, low down +before them in the sky was the Star! They went out through the +Bethlehem gate toward the south, and followed the Star again over the +hills until the white walls of Bethlehem shown in the moonlight before +them, and they saw the Star standing still and shining down upon a +little house within the walls. Then they rejoiced with exceeding great +joy, for they had come to the end of their long journey, and they had +found the King! When they came to the house where Mary and Joseph were +staying they told their servants to unpack the presents of gold, and +frankincense, and myrrh, and they went in. Then they found the lovely +young mother and the Holy Child, and they fell down before Him and +offered their gifts. +</P> + +<P> +They did not go away at once. They slept in Bethlehem that night, and +the Lord showed them in a dream that they must not go back to tell King +Herod that they had found the Christ. They told Joseph of their dream, +and went away by another road that led past Hebron to their own country. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0203"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. +</H3> + +<P> +It seems very strange that in a few hours after the wise men had gone +over the hills to their own country, that Mary and Joseph and the Holy +Child should be swiftly following the same road. The night after the +wise men had been warned in a dream to go to their own country, Joseph +was warned also in a dream to take the young Child and His mother and +go into Egypt. He was told to stay until he had orders to return, for +Herod would seek to take the Child's life. Their flight was in the +night, and Mary's heart beat fast as she held her baby close and rode +down the steep path from Bethlehem with Joseph walking beside her. +They did not rest until they were far on their way. It was nearly a +week before they reached the river that was the border of Egypt, but +when they crossed it King Herod's soldiers could not harm them. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-141"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-141.jpg" ALT="The flight into Egypt" BORDER="0" WIDTH="594" HEIGHT="759"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 594px"> +The flight into Egypt +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +They had gold that the wise men had given them, and Joseph knew how to +make many things of wood, so they lived quietly in Egypt waiting until +the Lord should call them back. +</P> + +<P> +Herod was very angry when he heard that the Magi had gone away without +telling him anything about the young King; so angry that he ordered his +soldiers to destroy every baby boy in Bethlehem. So all the little +boys of Bethlehem under two years of age were killed by the order of +this wicked king, and the Holy Child whom Herod believed would be +destroyed with them was safely borne in His mother's arms along the +road to Egypt, while Joseph walked beside them and led the patient ass, +and angels went with them unseen to be their guard by night and by day. +</P> + +<P> +They lived in Egypt about a year, and then the sick and unhappy old +king died, and an angel came to Joseph one night in a dream, and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Arise and take the young Child and His mother and go into the land of +Israel, for they are dead which sought the young Child's life." +</P> + +<P> +They were glad to know that they could come home again, and they came, +perhaps with a company of merchants, into their own land. Joseph would +have settled in Judea, the part of the land of Israel in which stands +Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, the city of his ancestors, but Herod's son +had been made king over Judea, and Joseph was told in a dream to go +into Galilee. +</P> + +<P> +In Galilee was Nazareth, where both Joseph and Mary lived when they +were married, and there they went and were at home again, and there +Jesus grew to manhood. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0204"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE BOY OF NAZARETH. +</H3> + +<P> +Nazareth was a little town high among the hills of Galilee. It still +stands there, but it is not so large a town as it was when Mary and +Joseph and the Child Jesus lived there. Then Galilee was full of +cities and villages, and men and women were busy among its fields, and +vineyards, and gardens, and the shores of the beautiful Lake of Galilee +were lined with the boats of fishermen. +</P> + +<P> +Nazareth was more quiet than the crowded cities by the Lake. A great +green plain lay below it, and a narrow road winding among the limestone +rocks led up to it. Its streets were narrow and steep, and steps of +stone led from house to house. A fountain of pure water breaking out +of a rock was the meeting place of the women of Nazareth, who came with +their tall pitchers for water and bore them away upon their heads. +Here Mary often came tenderly leading the Holy Child. Perhaps He +gathered the bright wild flowers that grew thick around the fountain +and along the stream flowing from it. When he grew a little older He +could climb the rocks around His home, or go with His mother and Joseph +to the top of the hill from which they could see the snowy peak of +Hermon, or the long line of shining blue sea beyond the hills on the +west, or they would point out a slowly moving caravan of heavy-laden +camels from Tyre and Sidon by the sea on their way to Damascus. +</P> + +<P> +Sometimes He would go with Joseph to the woods when a certain piece of +wood was needed, for Joseph was a carpenter, and in a lower room of his +humble house of rough white stone there was a long bench and the tools +of a wood-worker. Here, perhaps, the Holy Child played with the curled +shavings that fell from the bench, and watched the making of the plows, +the yokes, the doors, and the lattices until He was old enough to help +in the making of them. +</P> + +<P> +He learned to read and write while a young child at home, as Jewish +children did, and His reading book was the Old Testament, which was the +Jews' Bible. Then He went to school at the Synagogue, which was the +Jews' Church, and there, we may be sure, He was a gentle, obedient +pupil, and a loving, unselfish playmate. While he read He may have had +many strange thoughts about the prophecies in the Book that were +promises of the Messiah, the King that was to reign in righteousness. +</P> + +<P> +When He was twelve years old His parents took Him with them to the +Feast of the Passover at Jerusalem. Great companies of people went +from all parts of the Jews' country, and from every country in which +they had settled, to keep the feast that the Lord had commanded when +they were led out of Egypt. The very journey to Jerusalem was a +festival, for their friends joined the company from almost every house +in Nazareth, and on horses, and camels, and asses, the men walking +beside them, a happy group set forth from home to keep the Passover +week in the city of the great King. It was the first visit of the boy +Jesus to Jerusalem, and as He walked strong and beautiful beside +Joseph, what tender and holy thoughts, what questions about the future +must have filled the mind of Mary. He was going to see His Father's +House, the beautiful Temple where the thousands of Israel gathered +every year for worship and of which He had read in the Book of the Law, +for He was now old enough to be called a "Son of the Law," and verses +from the Bible folded in little boxes, had been tied upon his arm and +his forehead by the village Rabbi, as a sign that He was old enough to +think for Himself and go to the religious Feasts at Jerusalem. +</P> + +<P> +When they reached the great public roads they found other companies of +pilgrims going up to the Holy City, and by their banners they knew the +tribe and city from which they came. There was music, also, of timbrel +and pipe and drum as the songs of Zion were sung along the way, or at +evening when they camped in the fields. +</P> + +<P> +When they had climbed the steep Jericho road and the Mount of Olives, a +glorious sight opened before them. There lay the City of David shining +in the sun, its thick walls set with towers; its marble palaces, and +castles, and gardens, and, most wonderful of all, the Temple with its +hundreds of white marble pillars, its beautiful porches and arches, +and, rising within its richly-paved courts, the Holy Place with the sun +like fire upon its roof of gold. The people shouted and sang a song of +joy. Perhaps they sang that song of David beginning: +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"I was glad when they said unto me<BR> +'Let us go into the house of the Lord,'<BR> +Our feet shall stand within thy gates,<BR> +O Jerusalem!"<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Like thousands of others they pitched their tents outside of the walls, +perhaps on the slopes of Olivet, and after eating the Passover supper +together went daily into the Temple. To the Boy of Nazareth this must +have been the one charmed spot in all Jerusalem. Other boys loved to +watch the strange people from far countries, and wander among the +bazars, but Jesus stayed in the Temple. He saw the white-robed +priests, the altars, and the sacrifices; He saw the great curtains of +purple and gold that hid the Holy place, and He heard the Temple choirs +answer each other in song; He also saw the old Rabbis who taught and +answered questions daily in the outer courts, and stood long among the +listeners. +</P> + +<P> +When the company from Nazareth began the Journey home, and had gone as +far as the plains of Jericho, Mary looked for her boy. She had not +been troubled about him, for she thought He was walking with the other +children, or with relatives, but when Joseph found that he was not with +them they went back over the long, steep road full of fear and anxiety. +They searched Jerusalem through, asking everybody they knew if they had +seen the Boy Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +When they had been searching for three days, and Mary's heart was +almost broken, they went again to the Temple, and looking through a +crowd gathered around the Rabbis, Mary saw her Boy. She pressed +through to speak to Him, but He was speaking. She listened, and her +heart must have stood still to hear His simple, yet wonderful words. +Sometimes he asked questions which the old teachers could not answer, +and when he replied to the questions of the learned teachers His wisdom +astonished all who heard Him, for it was not like the wisdom of the +Rabbis, who used many words to explain the Word of God. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-144"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-144.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-144t.jpg" ALT="The Boy Jesus in the temple" BORDER="0" WIDTH="650" HEIGHT="853"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 650px"> +The Boy Jesus in the temple +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +When Jesus saw His mother and came to her, she said, +</P> + +<P> +"Son, why hast Thou so dealt with us? Behold thy father and I have +sought Thee sorrowing." +</P> + +<P> +"How is it that ye sought me?" He said, "wist ye not that I must be +about my Father's business?" +</P> + +<P> +They did not quite understand how He could so easily forget them, and +yet Mary, perhaps, remembered that the angel had told her that He +should "be called the Son of God," and that He was at home in His +Father's house. +</P> + +<P> +But He was content to go home and be subject to His parents, so that +through all the world children may learn how He lived, and try to live +like Him. +</P> + +<P> +He found that His Father's house was greater than the Temple, and under +its starry roof, and wandering over its wide courts paved with grass +and flowers, He learned more than the Rabbis could teach Him. And +every day He grew in wisdom as He grew in stature, and "in favor with +God and man." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0205"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE YOUNG CARPENTER. +</H3> + +<P> +There are many years of the life of Jesus of which the Gospel story +tells us nothing. He lived with Mary and Joseph in Nazareth, and was +preparing for the great work for which He came. He learned easily all +that other boys were taught in the synagogue school, and no doubt +caused His teacher to wonder at such wisdom coming from a boy. He was +so humble and teachable that no one could accuse Him of setting Himself +above His companions, and so winning and unselfish that He was loved by +all. The school days ended, perhaps, when He was fourteen, and He was +asked, as every Jewish boy was asked, to choose what trade He would +learn, for every boy had to learn a trade. He chose to learn the trade +of His father, and began to work with him making the many things that +were then used by the people. Few houses, if any, were made of wood, +for the white limestone was then, as now, used in making the houses of +Nazareth, but they were finished with wood, and wood was used not only +for boats, tables, benches, yokes and carts, but also for plows, +saddles, and many things we now make of other material. Can you make a +picture in your mind of this tall, beautiful youth standing near His +father ready to serve in any humble way in the work they were doing? +</P> + +<P> +There was no service so small that He did not willingly do it, and no +labor so rough and common that He did not make it noble and beautiful +by the doing. But He was always thinking—thinking. The world around +Him was full of pictures and stories through which heavenly truths +shone, and they formed themselves in His mind, and when He began to +teach He used them to help others with. We call them parables. +Wherever He saw the flowers, the grape vines, the olive and the fig +trees, the wheat fields, the shepherds and their flocks, the fishermen +and their nets, He read high and holy lessons that were much more +simple, and true, and beautiful than those taught by the Rabbis. +</P> + +<P> +The more He thought about the teaching of the Rabbis, the more He saw +how false and hard it was. The Law given by Moses was full of the good +thoughts of God, but the Jewish teachers had only taught the outward +form, and had not given the people the inward spirit. It was like +bringing to the hungry a beautiful dish with no food in it, or to the +thirsty a costly cup with no water in it. +</P> + +<P> +As He grew older He would sit sometimes long into the night on some +hillside watching the stars, and with his great heart going out beyond +the hills to the people of the world in longing love and in desire for +their salvation. He wanted to show them how God loved the world. He +wanted to take the empty forms of the Law and fill them full of the +Spirit—the real thought and love of God. He wanted to take away the +burdens on the minds of the people, which were heavier than those that +Pharoah laid upon their bodies long before, and give them the rest and +peace of God. He wanted to take away their endless rules and give them +one rule—to do by others as they would have others do to them. And He +wanted to add a new Commandment to the Law—that they love one another. +</P> + +<P> +In this way, by living with His mind in heaven and His body on earth He +came to know that He was the Christ of God, and that He must go out +from Nazareth to be a Teacher of Truth, and begin to build The Kingdom +of Heaven among men. But His friends thought that He was fitted to be +a Rabbi and teach in the Temple with the Doctors of the Law. He waited +many years, caring for His mother and His younger brothers and sisters +after the death of Joseph, and then He left Nazareth. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0206"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus was thirty years of age when He left Nazareth to begin His work +as a Teacher of the Truth. It was the age set by the older teachers +for a young man to begin his work. +</P> + +<P> +His cousin John, the son of Elizabeth and Zachariah, was six months +older than Jesus, and he had begun his ministry on the lower Jordan. +While Jesus had been living quietly at Nazareth preparing for his work, +John had been away in the wilderness beyond the Dead Sea alone with the +Spirit of God. He was a prophet who could be taught by God only. When +his time to speak came he came out of the wilderness to a place on the +banks of the Jordan, just above Jericho, called The Fords. Many people +crossed at this place, and he stood on a bank above the river crying, +"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-147"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-147.jpg" ALT="John the Baptist at the Jordan" BORDER="0" WIDTH="592" HEIGHT="768"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 592px"> +John the Baptist at the Jordan +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Like those who had made a vow to the Lord, John had never cut his hair, +he wore a coarse garment woven of camel's hair, and lived on the simple +food of the wilderness—locusts and wild honey. He seemed never to +think of himself, but always of One who was coming. He said that he +was only a "Voice," preparing the way for the Messiah, as Isaiah had +prophesied centuries before, and the "Messenger" that had been promised +through Malachi. +</P> + +<P> +"Behold I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before +me." +</P> + +<P> +He did something which seemed new and strange to the people. He called +them to a change of mind—a turning away from sin, and, as a sign that +they had done so, he baptized them in the river Jordan. He was getting +the people ready for the coming of Christ, who was to begin the Kingdom +of Heaven on earth. +</P> + +<P> +Thousands were flocking down to the river to hear the new prophet. +They went from all parts of Palestine, and Jesus, knowing that his hour +had come, went also. He wore a white tunic gathered at the neck and +reaching to his feet, and on it the large blue mantle of thick stuff +that was worn in cold weather, for it was in the winter of the year 31. +</P> + +<P> +We cannot know all about His parting with His mother, and the three +days' journey to the Fords of Jordan, but we know that He came and +stood with others on the banks while John preached. +</P> + +<P> +On this day John's words were different He had said that the Christ +was coming, but to-day he said, +</P> + +<P> +"There standeth One among you whom ye know not, whose shoe's latchet I +am not worthy to unloose." +</P> + +<P> +After this Jesus came down to the water's edge to be baptized, and +John, though he had not seen Jesus since he was a young boy, knew Him. +Ready to fall at His feet, John cried, +</P> + +<P> +"I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest thou to me?" +</P> + +<P> +Jesus replied in a low voice, +</P> + +<P> +"Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all +righteousness," and so reverently John baptized his Master. +</P> + +<P> +As Jesus stepped from the water's edge to the river bank a strange and +beautiful thing happened. Out of the warm, blue sky a white dove came +circling down around the head of Jesus, who stood silent in prayer. +With eyes lifted to heaven He saw the dove, which was the form in which +the Spirit of God descended upon Him, and John saw it also, and both +heard a voice from heaven saying, +</P> + +<P> +"<I>Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.</I>" +</P> + +<P> +This was the answer to Jesus' prayer. Only Jesus and John understood +the meaning of these words, for they heard with the spirit. To others +it seemed like thunder out of a clear sky, and they were full of wonder +about the strange young man who had been baptized with such a beautiful +and singular sign following. They also remembered what John had said, +that the Christ was now standing among them, and perhaps this was he! +And they wondered what John meant when he said that though he baptized +with water, the coming Christ would baptize them with the Holy Spirit +and with fire. +</P> + +<P> +It was of little use to wonder about the Messiah, however, unless they +could remember and do all that John had said to them about being honest +and true in their hearts, for that was the only way to prepare for the +kingdom that was near at hand. He told the rich to share with the +poor; the people who handled money to be honest, and the soldiers to +harm no one with word or hand, and to be contented with their wages. +</P> + +<P> +When they were willing to give up the sins that John showed them they +took the sign of baptism from John, which meant that they wished to be +washed from their sins, and begin life in a new way. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0207"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +JESUS IN THE DESERT. +</H3> + +<P> +The people were looking for the promised Messiah, and would have +welcomed John as the Christ if John had not always said "One mightier +than I cometh." "I am not the Christ." The sign of the Dove filled +them with new thoughts. +</P> + +<P> +While they were thinking Jesus went up the river bank alone. The power +of the spirit was upon Him, and His great work before Him, and He +wished to go for a time as far as possible from every human being. He +went into the wilderness—a wild desert country beyond the Dead +Sea—not even wishing to talk with John, whose home was in the +wilderness. Perhaps John looked after Him and longed to see and talk +with Him, but Jesus had one great desire, to know Himself, and what His +work was to be. He felt two natures within Him, the human and the +divine, and before He began to teach He wanted to hear the voice of the +Divine within Him as clear and strong as He had heard it that day from +the skies. +</P> + +<P> +The desert to which He went was not a waste of flat sand, like the +African desert, but masses of rock with sand and dry grasses between, +great cliffs of chalk and limestone rise a thousand feet above the +gloomy gulfs of rock through which torrents run in the rainy season, +but which are dry and oven-like in summer. One great cliff called +Quarantana is now full of caves cut out of the face of the rock by men +who have hoped to win heaven by suffering as Jesus did. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus was thinking—thinking, His human nature being full of hopes, +fears, and prayers; His divine nature being full of strength, promise, +comfort. He did not think of food when He came, and there was none to +be found. So resting at night in a cave, and wandering farther among +the mountains by day, Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness of +Judea. While there He was tried by the spirit of evil in every way +known to human nature, and when all was over, and He had not yielded to +sin, His mind was calm and ready for His work, for He knew He was the +Son of God. +</P> + +<P> +When He was hungry the tempter said, "If thou be the Son of God command +this stone that it be made bread." +</P> + +<P> +It would have been easy for Him to try His power, but He knew that He +did not come into the world to use it for Himself, but for others, and +so He answered in the words of the Bible, +</P> + +<P> +"Thou shalt not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." +</P> + +<P> +Then in a vision He seemed to be in the Holy City upon a tower of the +Temple that stood over a deep valley, and the tempter speaking within +Him, said, +</P> + +<P> +"If Thou be the Son of God cast Thyself down, for it is written, 'He +shall give His angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they +shall bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.'" +</P> + +<P> +But Jesus knew that though the words were the words of God, the voice +was the voice of the tempter, and He answered, +</P> + +<P> +"Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." +</P> + +<P> +Then in a vision again He seemed to see, from the top of a very high +mountain, all the kingdoms of the world spread out before Him with +their kings, and armies, and cities; their beautiful homes and lovely +women, and great men with their gold, and jewels, and precious works of +art, and the tempter said, +</P> + +<P> +"All these things will I give Thee if Thou wilt fall down and worship +me." +</P> + +<P> +Then all the Divine power in Jesus rose up against this evil whisper, +and He said, +</P> + +<P> +"Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord +thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.'" +</P> + +<P> +We shall never know all that Jesus suffered during this long time when +He was away from His home in Nazareth, and away from every human being, +tempted by evil, surrounded by wild beasts, and faint from hunger, but +we know He won a great victory over evil for us. So he became the +Elder Brother and Friend of all who are tempted. +</P> + +<P> +After His long fast and struggle with the powers of evil, angels came +and cared for Him, bringing heavenly strength and comfort, and He rose +in that strength and came again into the valley of Jordan, and found +that spring had come while he had been in the desert, and the willows +were green by the river side. John was still preaching and baptizing, +but was a little farther up the river at Bethabara. +</P> + +<P> +As Jesus came near John pointed to Him and said to the people, +</P> + +<P> +"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This +is He.… And I knew Him not, but He that sent me to baptize with +water, the same said to me, 'Upon whom thou shalt see the spirit +descending and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with +the Holy Ghost.'" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0208"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FIRST DISCIPLES. +</H3> + +<P> +The next day while two men named John and Andrew were talking with John +the Baptist, Jesus passed by, and again John said, "Behold the Lamb of +God." These two men had been priests and disciples of John, but they +turned and followed Jesus, and John was content to have them do so, for +he sought no honor for himself. Jesus when he saw them following said, +</P> + +<P> +"What seek ye?" +</P> + +<P> +And they, hardly knowing what to say, and wishing very much to know +Him, said, +</P> + +<P> +"Rabbi, where dwellest thou?" +</P> + +<P> +He did not reprove them for giving Him the honored name of Master, but +said, +</P> + +<P> +"Come and see." +</P> + +<P> +How gladly they went! No one knows where or how He lived, but whether +in a house, or in such a little tent as the people of that region now +carry with them when they travel, it was a quiet place where these two +men who were looking eagerly for the Kingdom of God could sit at the +feet of Jesus and talk with Him. He was a young man like themselves, +but there was a wonderful spirit in Him that made them feel like +worshipping Him. +</P> + +<P> +The first thing that Andrew did was to go and find his brother, Simon +Peter. They were both fishermen from Bethsaida on Lake Galilee, and +had come down to hear the new prophet John. +</P> + +<P> +"We have found the Messiah!" said Andrew, and they both went back to +Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +When the Lord—for this He had been always—saw Simon Peter He saw his +heart, and knew that he would be one of the founders of the kingdom +with Him, and so He, looking straight through him, said, +</P> + +<P> +"Thou art Simon, the son of Jona; thou shalt be called Cephas, which is +by interpretation Peter." (A stone.) +</P> + +<P> +So John, the loving; Andrew, the obedient, and Peter, the believing +began to follow Jesus. And Peter's strong faith was like a foundation +of stone in the beginning of the building of the kingdom. +</P> + +<P> +There was another man from Bethsaida who had come down to hear John. +His name was Philip. Jesus found him and said, "Follow Me." And he +not only followed Jesus, but he went joyfully to find his friend, +Nathanael, and tell him that they had found the Messiah, Jesus of +Nazareth, the son of Joseph. +</P> + +<P> +Nathanael could not believe that the Messiah would be a man of +Nazareth, because the prophets had said that He would come from +Bethlehem. +</P> + +<P> +So he said, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" +</P> + +<P> +"Come and see," said Philip, urgently, and he went. +</P> + +<P> +As he came to Jesus he met the deep, kind look that had searched +Peter's heart and heard Jesus say, +</P> + +<P> +"Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile!" He saw +innocence in the heart of Nathanael, but Nathanael wondered how Jesus +could know him. +</P> + +<P> +"Before that Philip called thee when thou wast under the fig-tree, I +saw thee," said Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +Then Nathanael's whole heart went over to Jesus, and he cried, "Rabbi, +Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel!" +</P> + +<P> +He needed nothing more to prove that Jesus was the Christ, but Jesus +told him that he should see greater things, angels out of the open +heaven ascending and descending upon Him. +</P> + +<P> +Nathanael became the fifth disciple. His name was afterward called +Bartholomew. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0209"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE FIRST MIRACLE. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus and the five who had become His constant friends and disciples, +turned their faces toward home, for they were all from Galilee. It was +Spring, and the land was beautiful with the fresh green of the trees +and the breaking forth of wild flowers among the grass. On the Journey +the disciples scarcely saw the beauty around them, or felt weary from +the journey, for they were hearing the gracious words of their new +Friend concerning the coming in of the kingdom. +</P> + +<P> +There was to be a marriage feast near Nazareth in the home of a friend. +Mary and her family were invited, and also the friends who had come +with Jesus. It was at Cana, a village between Nazareth and the lake, +and they walked over the hills early to see the bride, crowned with +flowers and a white veil, married to the man to whom she had given +herself. Then followed a feast at the house of the father of the +bridegroom. There were joyful greetings, and garlands of flowers, and +wine—for Palestine was the land of vineyards, and they knew how to +prepare a harmless wine. Before the feast was over they found that the +wine had given out, and those who served the feast were distressed. It +was thought a disgrace to fail in hospitality at a wedding feast, and +so Mary came to Jesus for advice, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"They have no wine." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-153"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-153.jpg" ALT="The marriage at Cana" BORDER="0" WIDTH="601" HEIGHT="778"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 601px"> +The marriage at Cana +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Woman," He said—and among the Jews this was a respectful manner of +speaking to a woman—"what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not +yet come." +</P> + +<P> +He meant that He must act from the Divine Nature, and not from the +human nature that He had received from His mother. +</P> + +<P> +"Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it," said Mary to the servants. +</P> + +<P> +He told them to fill with water the six large water-pots of stone that +stood near, and they filled them to the brim. +</P> + +<P> +"Draw out now, and bear to the governor of the feast," He said, and it +was served at the table, and the master of the feast called to the +bridegroom, +</P> + +<P> +"Thou hast saved the good wine until now." +</P> + +<P> +This was the beginning of miracles. +</P> + +<P> +These were happy days for Mary, for she had her Son back again. From +the wedding Jesus and His mother, and His brothers, and His disciples +went down to Capernaum by the lake for a few days. +</P> + +<P> +Here Peter lived by the blue, beautiful lake that is walled by high +hills on one side, while on the other lies what once was the "garden of +Gennesaret" watered by streams, and rich with fruits, and grains, and +flowers. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0210"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE. +</H3> + +<P> +The feeling that Jesus had when a boy, that He must be about His +Father's business was now satisfied. He had begun the work of His +ministry, though He had been doing all those silent years the +tremendous work of overcoming evil for us. He met it in His own human +nature, and overcame it step by step without yielding to sin. He was +to do this work until it should be finished upon the cross, but for +three years He was to teach the people the truths of the new kingdom, +and show by His life, and at last by the laying down of His life, that +love had come into the world to fill the old forms of the law full of +the new Spirit of Life. He was to take away the sins of the world, and +in place of them give to the world eternal life. +</P> + +<P> +It was time for the Passover Feast again, and Jesus with his disciples +joined the Capernaum company and started on the pleasant journey to +Jerusalem. They sang the songs of Zion, and rejoiced when the towers +of Jerusalem and the Golden Temple came into view, and as they came +down the road over Olivet they probably made their camp there where +they could look across the valley to the Temple. Everything was +moving. Flocks of sheep and herds of oxen were being driven toward the +Temple, and crowds of people from near and far were filling the +streets, and also moving toward the Holy House. +</P> + +<P> +When Jesus came into the Temple Court He saw something that stirred his +whole soul with sorrow and wrath. The sellers of sheep, and oxen, and +doves, and the money-changers had brought their things into the great +court inside the marble pillars, and on the pavement of many-colored +marbles, and were buying and selling noisily, and turning the courts of +the Lord into a market. The voices of men and animals must have +disturbed those who worshipped in the inner courts. The priests +allowed it, perhaps they were paid for doing so, and Jesus, as a Son in +His Father's house where the servants had been unfaithful, began +clearing the court of all these things, and finding some cord on the +pavement He folded it into a short scourge of many strands and used it +to drive the cattle and sheep and their keepers out of court. The +money-changers would not easily yield, but he poured out their money +and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, +</P> + +<P> +"Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of +merchandise." +</P> + +<P> +And the people wondered why they should obey this strange young man, +but they did. +</P> + +<P> +It was the Divine light in the face of Jesus, and not the bit of cord +that drove them out. They saw that He had a right to clear the Temple +courts. +</P> + +<P> +Then the Jews wondered who had given Him this right, and they said to +Him, +</P> + +<P> +"What sign showest Thou unto us, seeing Thou doest these things?" +</P> + +<P> +And this was the sign He gave them: "Destroy this Temple, and in three +days I will raise it up." +</P> + +<P> +He knew that they would not understand this, but they would remember it +after they had crucified Him and He had risen from the dead, for He +spoke of His body. +</P> + +<P> +The Jews turned scornfully away. The Temple had been forty-six years +in building, and they thought His promise an idle boast, but they did +not forget it. Three years after they helped to bring Him to the +cross, accusing Him in the High priests palace of saying these things. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0211"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A TALK ABOUT THE BREATH OF GOD. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus was in the Temple most of the time during the Passover Feast. He +taught the people standing among the marble pillars of the outer court. +He also did miracles among them, and many believed on Him because of +the miracles, but He, knowing their hearts, saw not one among them whom +He would call to be with Him in His work, for He could not wholly trust +them. The Pharisees and Doctors of the Law also stood and listened to +Him, and among them was one whose heart turned toward Jesus. He was +one of the highest of the Pharisees, but his heart was not so proud and +full of self-love as the hearts of most of the Pharisees. His name was +Nicodemus. He longed to talk with Jesus, but he was afraid of what the +other Pharisees would say. +</P> + +<P> +He found out where the camp of the Galilean company was, and one night +went out of the city gate, across the Kedron bridge and up the slope of +the Mount of Olives and found Jesus. There was no place to talk +quietly in the crowded tents, so they must have gone out under the +shadowy olive trees to talk. +</P> + +<P> +"Master," he said—and it was much for the wise Pharisee to speak so +humbly to the young carpenter of Galilee—"Master, we know that Thou +art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that Thou +doest except God be with him." +</P> + +<P> +Jesus looked through the heart of Nicodemus, though it was night, and +saw what he needed most, and so He made no reply about Himself or His +miracles, but said, +</P> + +<P> +"Verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again he cannot see the +Kingdom of God." +</P> + +<P> +Nicodemus could not understand how a man could be born when he is old, +so Jesus explained that it was a spiritual birth. "That which is born +of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit." +And as the wind softly stirred the leaves of the olive trees above +their heads He said, +</P> + +<P> +"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, +but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it bloweth. So is +every one that is born of the Spirit." +</P> + +<P> +Nicodemus had always thought that religion was the keeping of the law +as all Jews were taught by the priests, so he was astonished, and said, +</P> + +<P> +"How can these things be?" +</P> + +<P> +"Art thou a master in Israel and knowest not these things?" said Jesus, +and then He spoke to the soul of Nicodemus of the things of the Spirit +of Heaven—The Heaven in which He already lived,—and of the new +kingdom that had begun on earth. +</P> + +<P> +If you will find what Jesus said to Nicodemus in the third chapter of +John's Gospel you will find among other things these beautiful words,— +</P> + +<P> +"For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that +whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting +life." +</P> + +<P> +Nicodemus found out that life was the breath of God in man, and that by +it man lives. Perhaps he felt it within him as he went down the valley +under the trees and heard the wind among the leaves; and as he came up +the steep way and through the city gate in the silence of the night, +perhaps he resolved to be a disciple of Jesus. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0212"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A TALK ABOUT THE WATER OF LIFE. +</H3> + +<P> +After the Passover there were many who had believed in Jesus who wished +to be baptized, and so they went down to Jordan with Jesus and the +disciples, and then the disciples baptized them. +</P> + +<P> +John, who was also baptizing at another point by the river, was told +that Jesus was baptizing and that all men were going to Him. John was +rejoiced at this. +</P> + +<P> +"This my joy therefore is fulfilled," he said. "He must increase, but +I must decrease. He that cometh from heaven is above all." +</P> + +<P> +After this Jesus went back to Galilee, and as He and His disciples went +through the country of Samaria, which lay between Judea and Galilee, +they came at noon near to the little village of Sychar among the hills. +It was the most difficult road to Galilee, and most persons followed +the Jordan road when going back and forth, for the Judeans and +Samaritans were not friendly, but it is written that Jesus "must needs +go through Samaria." +</P> + +<P> +While the disciples went up into the village to buy some bread, Jesus +sat down by a deep well in the valley. It was built round with stone, +and covered from the sun, for the people prized the well not only for +the clear, cold water, but because Jacob, the father of all the tribes +of Israel dug the well for his family and cattle and flocks hundreds of +years before. +</P> + +<P> +While Jesus rested by the well a woman came down the path from the town +to draw water. She drew the water with a strong cord that she fastened +around her earthen water-jar and was going to put it on her shoulder +and carry it away when Jesus asked her for a drink of water. She had +not offered Him any for she thought a Jew would not ask even a drink of +water from a Samaritan, but Jesus said, +</P> + +<P> +"If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee +'Give me to drink' thou wouldst have asked of Him and he would have +given thee living water." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-159"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-159.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-159t.jpg" ALT="Jesus by the well" BORDER="0" WIDTH="653" HEIGHT="855"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 653px"> +Jesus by the well +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The woman did not understand His words about water any more than +Nicodemus did about the blowing of the wind. Jesus was talking about +<I>life</I> always and everywhere, but the people were slow to understand +Him. +</P> + +<P> +The woman wondered where Jesus could get better water than this from +Jacob's well. +</P> + +<P> +"Whosoever shall drink of this water," He said, "shall thirst again, +but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never +thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of +water springing up into everlasting life." +</P> + +<P> +When the woman heard this she asked for it, that she might not be +thirsty and come to the well for water, but Jesus, seeing that she +could not understand His words began to speak of her life, and so truly +that she was amazed and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet." She talked of the mountain +near by which had been the place of worship of the Samaritans, and of +the Temple at Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped, for she did not want +to talk of her own life, which was not good. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus then showed her that "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him +must worship Him in spirit and in truth," and that the hour had come +when He wished people to worship him so in every place. +</P> + +<P> +"I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ," she said, +</P> + +<P> +"I that speak unto thee am He," He said. Then the woman left her +water-jar and hurried away without a word to tell the people of the +town. +</P> + +<P> +While she was away His disciples came and begged Jesus to eat, but His +spirit was filled with the thought of life, and he said, +</P> + +<P> +"I have meat to eat that ye know not of." +</P> + +<P> +And when they did not understand He said, +</P> + +<P> +"My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and finish His work," +and when he thought how great the work was that was before Him, it was +as if the harvest-time of gathering the people into the kingdom had +come. +</P> + +<P> +As they looked out along the valley men were ploughing the fields to +sow wheat. +</P> + +<P> +"Say ye not there are four months," He said, "and then cometh harvest? +Behold I say unto you, 'Lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for +they are white already to harvest.'" +</P> + +<P> +While He stayed two days in Sychar many believed on him there. +</P> + +<P> +"Now we believe," they said to the woman, "not because of thy saying +for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the +Christ, the Saviour of the world." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0213"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +JESUS IN THE SYNAGOGUE. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus came back to Galilee through the Valley of Jenin and across the +plain of Jezreel to Cana, where His disciple Nathanael lived, and where +He had wrought His first miracle. While He was in Cana a nobleman who +lived at Capernaum came riding into the little town in great haste to +asked Jesus to come down and heal his son who was near death. To try +him, Jesus said, +</P> + +<P> +"Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe." +</P> + +<P> +The nobleman would not stop to talk of this, but besought Jesus, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Sir, come down ere my child die." +</P> + +<P> +Jesus was glad to see his faith, and ready to meet it. +</P> + +<P> +"Go thy way," He said, "thy son liveth," and the man went away +believing what Jesus had said. On the way down to Capernaum by the +Lake, some glad-faced servants came hastening to meet him. +</P> + +<P> +"Thy son liveth!" They cried—the very words that Jesus had used. When +he asked them when the boy had taken a turn for the better they said, +</P> + +<P> +"Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." +</P> + +<P> +Then the happy father knew that it was at the seventh hour—one +o'clock—that Jesus had said, "Thy son liveth." +</P> + +<P> +There was joy in the house of the nobleman when the father and mother +and all the household gathered around the boy who had been healed, and +talked of the wonderful power of Jesus in speaking the word of healing. +</P> + +<P> +From Cana Jesus went to Nazareth. John the Baptist had been thrown +into a gloomy prison down by the Dead Sea by Herod Antipas because he +had rebuked the wickedness of that king, and Jesus knew that His own +work was now fully begun, since the prophet, who had come to prepare +His way, was laid aside. +</P> + +<P> +While Jesus was at home with His mother and brothers and sisters He +went one Sabbath to the village church or synagogue, as He had always +done through His childhood and youth. Perhaps His brothers and some of +His disciples were with Him, while His mother and sisters parted from +Him and entered by another door, as was the Jewish custom. There were +many there who hoped that the young carpenter, who had become a +teacher, and as many believed, a prophet, would read from the Book of +the Law. +</P> + +<P> +After the singing, and the prayers, and the reciting of the creeds, the +time came for the reading and teaching. The first lesson had been +read, and the ruler of the synagogue took from the sacred place where +it was kept another parchment roll, and coming down the steps he handed +it to Jesus. It was the roll of Isaiah, and as Jesus went up to the +reader's desk He opened and unrolled it until He came to these words, +</P> + +<P> +"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to +preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken +hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight +to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the +acceptable year of the Lord." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-162"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-162.jpg" ALT="Jesus in the synagogue" BORDER="0" WIDTH="594" HEIGHT="769"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 594px"> +Jesus in the synagogue +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +When he had finished he rolled the book again and handed it to the +minister and sat down. It was the custom of those who were teachers of +the people to sit down to teach, while the people all rose and stood +until he had finished. +</P> + +<P> +"This day," said Jesus "is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." +</P> + +<P> +The people were looking and listening so earnestly that it was very +still, and as Jesus told them simply that He was the very One whom +Isaiah had spoken of seven hundred years before, that He had brought +the good tidings, and had come to do the work the prophet had spoken +of, they looked at each other in amazement. To be sure they had never +heard such words of grace and wisdom, but how could this be true? +</P> + +<P> +"Is not this Joseph's son?" they asked each other. Joseph had been +their neighbor and Jesus had grown up among them and played with their +children. They thought some evil thing had entered into Him disturbing +His mind. But when He began to tell them that no prophet was accepted +in his own country, and that the Lord was obliged to send them to +strangers, as He sent Elijah and Elisha, they were angry with Him. +Some of the men wished to teach Him a lesson, and they took Him by +force to the edge of a cliff, for Nazareth was built high up among the +hills, and were about to cast Him over among the limestone rocks below, +but turning away from them, Jesus walked quietly down the hill to the +path that led into the valley—and no one was able to lay a hand upon +Him to harm Him. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not," +and He went away to preach the good tidings in other towns. The heart +of Mary must have been full of sorrow when she saw her Son "despised +and rejected of men" as Isaiah prophesied, but she hid her sorrow, and +remembered the words of the Lord brought to her by the angel before her +Son was born. +</P> + +<P> +And so Jesus went down to Capernaum where he had friends and disciples, +and afterward His mother and His brothers went to Him there, but +Nazareth knew him no more. +</P> + +<P> +It was about this time that it is supposed that Jesus went alone to a +religious feast at Jerusalem, and while there cured a poor man who +could not walk. He lay on his mat near a spring called Bethesda. It +was covered by a roof, and had five porches. Here the sick were +brought by their friends that they might, when they saw the waters +bubble up, step in and be cured. They believed then an angel came down +and made the moving of the waters, but it was probably one of the kind +called intermittent springs. There is one at Jerusalem now called the +"Fountain of the Virgin" which rises at certain times. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus saw the poor friendless man who had waited for thirty-eight years +for the chance of stepping into the waters when they were moving, and +had been disappointed for others stepped in before him. Looking at +him, He said, +</P> + +<P> +"Wilt thou be made whole?" +</P> + +<P> +The man explained why he could not be cured, for there was no man to +help him. Then Jesus said, +</P> + +<P> +"Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." +</P> + +<P> +He rose at once, and walked, carrying the mat on which he lay. +</P> + +<P> +The Jews were angry when they heard of it for the man had been cured on +the Sabbath, but Jesus told them that they were all refusing eternal +life because of their unbelief, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Ye will not come unto Me that yet might have life." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0214"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AMONG THE FISHERMEN. +</H3> + +<P> +Capernaum was on the shore of the beautiful lake of Galilee. There +were villages clustered around the lake then and all Galilee was +swarming with busy life, but now there are few inhabitants, and +Capernaum is only a heap of stones. Some of these stones, which may +now be seen, are carved in such a way that we may know that they are a +part of an ancient synagogue. This was the synagogue, perhaps, that a +good Centurion built whose servant Jesus cured when he was near death, +and here in Capernaum lived the nobleman whose son Jesus cured by a +word, and here lived His first disciples, Peter and Andrew, and James +and John, and here Matthew, who sat in his little office taking the +taxes that the people had to pay, may have seen Jesus pass, and may +have heard him speak before he became a disciple. +</P> + +<P> +The beautiful plain of Gennesaret spreads out from one end of the lake, +and there is a white beach of shells there, while at other points on +the lake there are hills and great rocks close to the water. +</P> + +<P> +On this white beach Jesus stood one spring morning teaching the people. +As the fisher-folks and others gathered close around to hear Him, He +was pushed so near the water that He stepped into Peter's boat, which +was near the shore, and asked him to push it out a little way into the +water, and there in the stern of the boat Jesus sat and taught the +people who stood thick upon the shore. +</P> + +<P> +The boat of Zebedee, the father of James and John was near by, for they +were the partners of Peter and Andrew. They had washed their nets and +had given up fishing until night again, for morning was not a good time +for fishing, but Jesus said to Peter and Andrew,— +</P> + +<P> +"Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." +</P> + +<P> +The disciples were surprised at this, for it was not the hour for +fishing, and Peter said, +</P> + +<P> +"Master, we have toiled all night and have taken nothing; nevertheless +at thy word I will let down the net." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-165"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-165.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-165t.jpg" ALT="Jesus among the fishermen" BORDER="0" WIDTH="659" HEIGHT="848"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 659px"> +Jesus among the fishermen +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +When they had done this they found that their nets were filled with +fishes, so that they called to James and John to come and help them, +for their nets were breaking. When they had emptied the nets into the +two boats they were filled so full that they began to sink. +</P> + +<P> +Then Peter fell down at Jesus's knees and cried out,— +</P> + +<P> +"Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" so wonderful did the +miracle seem to him. +</P> + +<P> +But to Peter Jesus said,— +</P> + +<P> +"Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." James and John He +also called, and showed them that the time had now come for them to +help Him in founding the Kingdom. +</P> + +<P> +They did not wait to sell the great draught of fishes that they had +brought to land; and they did not wait to sell their fishing boats and +nets, but they forsook all and followed Jesus. They did not know that +their names would be known forever as the founders of the Christian +Church with Him who was its divine Head. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0215"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE HEALING HAND OF JESUS. +</H3> + +<P> +The Jewish church, or synagogue at Capernaum was very beautiful. It +was of white marble, and richly carved, and was the gift of a Roman +officer to the Jews. +</P> + +<P> +One Sabbath morning Jesus went in and sat among the learned Rabbis, for +He wished to speak to the people as He had near Nazareth. The people +knew and loved him, and the place was crowded to hear Him speak. He +sat there through the singing, and the prayers, and the reading. +</P> + +<P> +The parchment rolls of the law and the prophets were in a case behind +Him; and there was the curtain, and the branched candlesticks. Then He +went to the Teacher's seat, and while all the people stood He sat and +taught them. People wondered, as they always did, at his words, for +they were not like the words of the Rabbis,—they were as if God +Himself were speaking through a man. +</P> + +<P> +In the midst of it there was a loud cry from a man who looked like a +maniac. He had followed the people in, and the words of Jesus had +disturbed the evil spirit that was in Him, +</P> + +<P> +"Let us alone," it cried, "what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of +Nazareth. Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who Thou art,—the +Holy One of God." +</P> + +<P> +"Hold thy peace, and come out of Him," said Jesus, and the poor man +fell headlong on the marble floor, but in a moment he was free, for the +evil spirit had obeyed the word of Jesus, and this astonished the +people so much that they told it through all the town and the country +round about. +</P> + +<P> +When He went home from the synagogue, for Peter's house was one of His +homes, He found the mother of Peter's wife very ill of fever, and they +brought Jesus to her bed. He bent over her and said some words to that +which had caused the fever, and at once it was gone. +</P> + +<P> +She seemed to be quite well again, and her first wish was to do +something for this wonderful man whom Peter had been following, and she +rose and helped to prepare food for Him. +</P> + +<P> +The people did not dare to come to Jesus for healing while it was yet +the Sabbath, for the Rabbis said it was wrong to cure people on the +Sabbath day, but as soon as the sun had set the Sabbath ended, and then +the streets were filled with people who came for themselves, or +bringing their sick friends to be touched by the hand of Jesus. All +around the little house of Peter they crowded, while He walked among +them looking at them with pitying love, and "He laid his hands on every +one of them, and healed them." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0216"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FOLLOWING JESUS. +</H3> + +<P> +The next morning Jesus went out among the hills alone. All day He was +pressed upon by the poor, the sick, the blind, and the lame, or those +who were hungry for the word, and so at night or early morning He went +out to be alone, to think of the great work he had come to do, and to +pray or talk to the Father, for Jesus and the Father were one. But the +people followed Him, and begged him not to leave them. +</P> + +<P> +"I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also," He said, "for +therefore am I sent." And He took his disciples and started on a +journey from village to village through Galilee. There were about two +hundred of these towns, and they were near together. It was the +springtime, and the fields and hills between the villages were +beautiful with flowers and growing grain. Sometimes He taught in their +churches, and sometimes under their trees or trellises, and wherever He +went the common people heard him gladly. +</P> + +<P> +Once as He drew near a town a leper followed Him. He followed Him into +the town, which was against the law, for the leper was not allowed to +live inside a town, or to come near the people, as the touch of a leper +would give the disease to another. But so earnest was he to see Jesus +that he came through the crowd and fell on his face before Jesus, +saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Lord if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean." +</P> + +<P> +Jesus put forth His hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be thou +clean." +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the leprosy left the man, and his dead and filthy skin became +as healthy as a child's, and Jesus sent him to the priest to offer that +which the law commanded for the cleansing of lepers. It was a long, +and often costly process that a leper must pass through to be cleansed +from his disease, but the word of Jesus was with power, and brought +divine life to take the place of death, for leprosy was a slow death. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-167"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-167.jpg" ALT="Jesus healing the sick" BORDER="0" WIDTH="593" HEIGHT="776"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 593px"> +Jesus healing the sick +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +When the Lord came back to Capernaum the people thronged Him, and when +He rested in the shaded court of a friend's house it was soon filled +with the eager people who longed to hear His word, or be healed by His +touch. +</P> + +<P> +Once it was so crowded in the court that some men, who were bringing a +friend to Jesus who was helpless with palsy, took him up by the outside +stairs to the housetop. There, by taking up a few tiles, they made an +opening just over the place where Jesus sat, and the people soon saw +the man lying on his mat before Jesus, for they had let it down by +cords through the opening. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus saw the faith of the four men who had let their sick friend down +at His feet, and it touched His heart. He also saw the longing in the +soul of the sick man to be good and pure, and He said, +</P> + +<P> +"Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee." +</P> + +<P> +The Scribes, who were always copying the Scriptures—for there was no +printing done in those days—were always watching to hear Jesus say +something contrary to the Law of Moses, that they might tell it to the +priests, and some who were sitting there looked at each other and said +in their hearts, +</P> + +<P> +"Who can forgive sins but God only?" +</P> + +<P> +Jesus heard their thoughts and asked them why they reasoned in this way +with themselves, and which seemed to them the easier, to forgive sins +or to heal the body. +</P> + +<P> +But that they might know that He had power over the body as well as the +soul He said to the sick man, +</P> + +<P> +"Arise; take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house." +</P> + +<P> +The man rose and rolled up his mat and carried it out, the people +falling back astonished to let him pass, for his palsy had left him and +he walked out strong and well. +</P> + +<P> +"We have seen strange things to-day," the people said among themselves +for they could not understand how a man could forgive sins or heal +disease. +</P> + +<P> +When Jesus left the house to go down to the sea-shore He passed the +Custom-house, where the tax-gatherers, or "publicans," gathered money +from the Jewish people to pay to their conquerors, the Romans. +</P> + +<P> +The Romans were very hard in their dealings with the Jews, and made +themselves rich by taking money from the poor of their provinces. +</P> + +<P> +The people did not like the tax-gatherer, and his was not a pleasant +office. +</P> + +<P> +Levi, also called Matthew, was a rich tax-gatherer at Capernaum, and as +he sat in his office looking out upon the market-place he saw Jesus +passing by. Perhaps he had often heard Jesus teach by the shore and in +the market-place, and longed to follow Him. He saw the Teacher stop at +his open door, and heard Him say, +</P> + +<P> +"Follow Me." +</P> + +<P> +That was enough; Matthew left all, rose up and followed Jesus. He had +a business that made him rich, but he was ready to leave it all to be a +disciple of Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +He wanted all to know that he had chosen a new life, and so he gave a +great dinner to his friends, and invited Jesus and His five disciples +that he might confess before them all his faith in Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +The Pharisees looked down upon the publicans and thought them a people +unfit to associate with, and when they passed by and saw Jesus sitting +in Matthew's house at the feast they asked His disciples as they went +in and out why their Master ate with "publicans and sinners," a thing +they felt themselves too good to do. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus Himself answered them in words that have helped many sinful +people to come to Him since. +</P> + +<P> +"They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I +came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." +</P> + +<P> +And then He turned to talk with Matthew and his friends, who listened +to every word that fell from His lips, and did not try to find fault +with Him as the Pharisees did. +</P> + +<P> +Matthew had made a rich feast, and his table was no doubt piled with +the beautiful fruits of the plain of Gennesaret, but the eyes of all +and the thoughts of all were fixed upon the wonderful Teacher, and +Matthew, the publican, who had become His disciple. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0217"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FRIENDS OF JESUS. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus had a good and true reason for choosing just twelve men to help +Him to begin to build the first Christian Church, or the Kingdom of +Heaven on the earth. We cannot yet understand the reason for +everything He did, but quite enough to help us to believe in Him, and +to give us a place in His kingdom. He had called half that number and +soon He called six more to join them, and named them apostles. +</P> + +<P> +Before He called them He went up into a mountain to be alone. He left +Capernaum and went up through a rocky vale to a high plain where the +grass lay thick and the wild flowers were coming up among it, for it +was spring-time. Two hills, or peaks rose out of this plain, and there +was a grassy hollow between. They were called the "Horns of Hattin." +From one of these hills Jesus could see the lake with its cities, and +the plain dotted with villages below, and beyond them the great Mount +Hermon crowned with snow. Here Jesus stayed all night, and the next +morning came down into the grassy dale between the peaks where the +people were gathering. The disciples went to meet Him, and He told +them that He had chosen twelve of them to be with Him in His work, and +to preach the Good Tidings to the people. +</P> + +<P> +He called to His side Peter and Andrew, and James and John—the two +pairs of brothers who were His first friends; then Philip, of +Bethsaida. Bartholomen, from Cana, and Matthew, the tax-gatherer of +Capernaum, who afterward wrote the first gospel. He also chose Thomas, +of Galilee; James and Jude, two brothers from Capernaum; Simon, of +Galilee, and Judas Iscariot, who came from the country near Jerusalem. +Five of these, it is said, were His cousins. More than half of them +were fisherman, and none of them were learned men, unless Bartholomew +might be called one. How wonderful it must have been to see these +twelve earnest young men gathered around Jesus, ready to go where He +should send them, or follow Him to death. No kings or emperors on +earth ever had so great honor given them as that which Jesus gave to +these men, for they became the Lord's spiritual brothers, and princes +in His spiritual kingdom. +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus came down among the people. Some had brought sick friends +up the rocky gorge for Jesus to touch; or they had brought poor souls +possessed by devils for Him to set free, and He healed them all. +</P> + +<P> +Then He sat down and taught the people. The sayings of that wonderful +day are kept in the gospels, and are called the "Sermon on the Mount." +There was no choir, no organ, no church made with hands, but the words +are now read in every Christian church in the world. The preacher sat +on a green hillock, His dark cloak thrown back showing His white tunic, +and the spring sunshine lay on His holy, beautiful face and flowing +hair. All this the people saw, but they saw much more than this. They +saw something divine in His face. His form, and the light around Him, +and what they heard seemed to them to be the words of a Divine Man. He +looked lovingly on the little group of disciples near Him, and blessed +them in beautiful words that we call the Beatitudes, or the Ten +Blessings. He said to them and to us that the "blessed" (happy) are +the good, humble, pure souls who have little of this world's wealth and +friendship, but much faith and love. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-171"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-171.jpg" ALT="Sermon on the Mount" BORDER="0" WIDTH="592" HEIGHT="759"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 592px"> +Sermon on the Mount +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +If you will read the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters of Matthew you +will know much that Jesus taught that heavenly day on Hattin Mount. He +taught them the law of love and forgiveness; the law of purity and +truth. He taught them to be humble and simple, especially in prayer, +and not like the Pharisees. He gave them a wonderful prayer that we +call "the Lord's Prayer," though it is a prayer to the Lord, for all +Christians in all ages to bring to Him. He told them that if they were +children of God they could not be worldly, loving themselves and the +world best; neither could they serve two masters. Then He taught them +a beautiful lesson of trust in the Heavenly Father by pointing to the +birds that flew above them, and reminding them how they were fed and +cared for; and also by pointing to the wild field lilies that grew near +by, their scarlet petals shining in the sun. +</P> + +<P> +"Consider the lilies of the field how they grow," he said, "they toil +not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in +all his glory was not arrayed like one of these," and then He asked +them if God, who clothed the lilies, would not clothe His own children, +and told them to have no fear for the future, but to seek the Kingdom +of God first and always, and all needed things would be given to them. +</P> + +<P> +Then He looked away from the birds and the lilies into the eyes of the +people and saw their need of love and truth, for he could read their +hearts. He told them that they should not judge each other, or look +long upon each other's faults, but rather upon their own, and showed +them how they might ask God for love and truth, and it would surely be +given them, because the Heavenly Father is more just, and kind, and +loving than an earthly father can be. +</P> + +<P> +And here is the Golden Rule of Christ, which, if we live by it, will +bring heaven down to earth. +</P> + +<P> +"Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." +</P> + +<P> +He told them that the way of the world was wide, and many were crowding +into it, while the heavenly way was narrow in this life, and few were +finding it, though many talked much about it, and seemed to have found +it. He said that it would be shown in the day when we all appear +before God who has truly followed Him. He said that the true men were +like the wise man who built his house upon a rock, and when the winds, +the rain, and the flood came it stood fast, because it was founded on +the rock; and the false were like the foolish man who built his house +upon the sand, and when the winds, and the rain, and the floods came it +fell, and great was the fall of it. +</P> + +<P> +The people went away from this great meeting among the hills to think +it over. It was so new and so wonderful, not at all like the teaching +of the scribes, for the young carpenter of Nazareth spoke like a +Teacher of teachers. Ever since that day when the Lord sat and taught +the truths of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the people stood upon the +grassy plain among the spring flowers and the wild thyme to hear his +words, the Sermon on the Mount has been known as the greatest sermon +the world has ever known. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0218"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LORD OF LIFE. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus came down to Capernaum again and found the same crowds of needy +people, who were like sheep having no shepherd. The rich as well as +the poor had their wants and their troubles. +</P> + +<P> +A good Roman officer, called a Centurion, because he was captain over a +hundred men, had a servant who was so faithful to him that he was very +fond of him. The servant was very sick, and when the Centurion heard +that Jesus was again in Capernaum he went to the chief men of the city +and asked them to get Jesus to come and cure his servant. He feared to +ask the favor himself, for he thought Jesus was a Jew who would not +like to have dealings with the Romans. So the Jews spoke to Jesus +about it saying that the Centurion was the good man who had built a +beautiful synagogue for them. Jesus did not need to be urged to be +kind to a Roman for He loved all the people of the earth alike. +</P> + +<P> +While He was on His way some friends of the Centurion came to meet Him +with a message. +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, trouble not Thyself," he said, "for I am not worthy that Thou +shouldst enter under my roof; Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy +to come unto Thee; but say in a word and my servant shall be healed." +</P> + +<P> +Jesus told the people who followed Him that He had not found such faith +as this among their own people. And when the men returned to the +Centurion's house they found the servant cured of his sickness. +</P> + +<P> +But some of the Jews were offended because Jesus had said that a pagan +Roman could have more faith than a Jew, and that they would enter the +Kingdom of Heaven while the Jews would be left out. +</P> + +<P> +The next day Jesus and His disciples went to a little city called Nain, +set up among the hills, more than twenty miles away. When they were +near the city gate they met a funeral procession coming out. They were +going to the burying ground on a hillside not far away. There were +hired mourners, as is the custom in that country, who made many doleful +noises, and behind them came a weeping woman—the mother of the young +man who had died. +</P> + +<P> +His body was borne by friends and followed by many more, for all felt +sorry for the poor woman who had lost her only son. +</P> + +<P> +As the procession passed Jesus said two little words to the +woman—"Weep not," and then He put forth His hand and touched the bier. +The men who bore it set it down before Jesus who looked down into the +face of the dead, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Young man, I say unto thee, arise!" +</P> + +<P> +In a moment the young man opened his eyes, sat up, and began to speak, +and Jesus gave him back from the grave to his happy mother. +</P> + +<P> +While Jesus was near Nain some of the disciples of John the Baptist +came to see Him. John was in prison still, down in the low, hot +country by the Dead Sea. He had heard strange stories about Jesus from +the disciples who came to see him, and because they were not settled in +their mind about Him, John sent them to find Him and to say, +</P> + +<P> +"Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?" +</P> + +<P> +Jesus told them to go and tell John what they saw. +</P> + +<P> +"The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are +cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have +the gospel preached to them, and blessed is he whosoever shall not be +offended in me." +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus taught the people who stood by, and the lesson ended with +these words which he speaks to the whole world, +</P> + +<P> +"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give +you rest; take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and +lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is +easy and my burden is light." +</P> + +<P> +This is the loving invitation of Jesus to every one of us to enter the +Kingdom of Heaven, and it is the King Himself who invites us. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0219"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MARY OF MAGDALA. +</H3> + +<P> +There was a Pharisee named Simon, who was very curious to know what +Jesus taught, although he had no wish to be His disciple. He was a +rich man and lived in a beautiful house with a court. Beyond the court +was a banqueting room with couches on which guests sat leaning upon the +tables in the Eastern fashion. There were other guests invited to hear +Jesus talk, the friends of Simon, and it is quite probable that when +they came the servants of Simon met them and took their sandals and +washed their feet and arranged their hair as was the custom, and were +also heartily welcomed by Simon. When Jesus came He had no such +service or welcome given Him, for Simon did not love Him; he was only +curious about Him. +</P> + +<P> +While they were at the tables a beautiful young woman came in through +the open door and passed swiftly by the couches on which the guests +were reclining until she came to the place where Jesus was. No one +spoke to her or about her, for they all knew that she had been a sinful +woman. But soon they saw that she bent weeping over the feet of Jesus +where He lay upon the couch, and soon they knew by the odor of costly +perfume that she was anointing His feet. As her tears fell she wiped +His feet with her long hair, and kissed them again and again. +</P> + +<P> +Simon looked at her severely, but said nothing, though he wondered in +his heart why Jesus did not know that a sinful woman was touching Him. +Then said Jesus, +</P> + +<P> +"Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee." And Simon replied, "Master, +say on." +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus told a little story of a man who had two debtors; one owed +him five hundred pence, and the other fifty; and when they had nothing +to pay he frankly forgave them both. Then he asked which of them will +love Him most? +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose that he to whom he forgave most," said Simon, and Jesus told +him that he was right. +</P> + +<P> +Then He turned and pointed to the woman, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"See'st thou this woman?" and the eyes of all were fixed on the weeping +Mary of Magdala. +</P> + +<P> +When Jesus had told Simon that he had failed to bring water for His +feet, though she had washed them with her tears, and wiped them with +her hair; that he had given Him no kiss of welcome, and she had not +ceased to kiss His feet; that he had not anointed His head with oil, +but she had anointed His feet with costly ointment, He added, +</P> + +<P> +"Her sins which are many are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom +little is forgiven the same loveth little." And turning to the woman +He said, +</P> + +<P> +"Thy sins are forgiven; thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." +</P> + +<P> +As Jesus went through the villages of Galilee He found many friends and +many enemies. The twelve were with Him, learning daily the wonderful +lessons He taught, and preparing to be preachers of the glad tidings +also. +</P> + +<P> +Not only Mary of Magdala, but Susanna, and Joanna, the wife of King +Herod's steward who had been cured by Him, were His grateful friends. +Some priests came down from Jerusalem to watch Him, and to tell the +people that He was not a true teacher, and this pleased the Pharisees. +They saw that He did wonderful things that no man could do, but they +said that He did it by the power of the spirit of evil, and they asked +Him to show them a sign that he was from God. +</P> + +<P> +The Lord spoke words to the Pharisees that must have burned like coals +of fire, for it showed how false and wicked their hearts were while +their outward life seemed to be very religious. +</P> + +<P> +He told them that no sign should be given them except that of Jonah; as +he was three days and three nights in the great fish, so should the Son +of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, and +though the men of Nineveh were wicked, yet they repented at the +preaching of Jonah, but the men of Jerusalem did not repent, though a +greater than Jonah was among them. +</P> + +<P> +Mary and her sons had come from Nazareth hoping to take Jesus away from +the crowds, perhaps, for a rest among the hills, for the summer heat +was great down by the lake and along the Jordan. Some one sent word to +Jesus, as He sat teaching within the court of a house, that His mother +and brothers were outside, and wished to speak with Him. The crowd was +too great for them to enter. Before Jesus rose to go out to his +mother, He paused a moment to teach the great lesson He had come to +bring to the world. Looking at His disciples He said, +</P> + +<P> +"My mother and my brethren are these which hear the Word of God and do +it." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0220"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +STORIES TOLD BY THE LAKE. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus was glad to go among the fishermen and teach the people by the +Lake, for their hearts were like the good ground into which the farmer +loves to drop his seed, while the hearts of the rich, proud Pharisees +were like the rock on which seed cannot grow. Perhaps he was thinking +of this as He walked out one morning from Peter's house along the +pebbly shore and sat down to talk with the people. The crowd always +grew large around him there, and He had to again enter a fishing boat +and sit a little out from the shore that the people might see and hear +Him more easily. He taught them as no man had ever done before. He +told them short stories, often taking the subject from something the +people could see. Perhaps this morning as He looked over the lovely +plain of Gennesaret, He saw a sower casting seed into a brown and +furrowed field, for it was the time of the year for sowing the winter +wheat. This is the story of "The Sower:" +</P> + +<P> +"A sower went out to sow his seed," said Jesus, "and as he sowed, some +fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air +devoured it. +</P> + +<P> +"And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up it withered +away, because it lacked moisture. +</P> + +<P> +"And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and +choked it. +</P> + +<P> +"And other fell on good ground, and sprang up and bore fruit an hundred +fold." +</P> + +<P> +And then He said, "He that hath ears to hear let him hear," for He knew +that some could understand with the heart that He was talking of the +Word of God, but there were many who could not. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-178"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-178.jpg" ALT="Jesus teaching by the sea" BORDER="0" WIDTH="597" HEIGHT="770"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 597px"> +Jesus teaching by the sea +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +His disciples asked Him to make the story plain to all, and so He said, +</P> + +<P> +"The seed is the Word of God. Those by the wayside are they that hear; +then cometh the devil and taketh away the Word out of their hearts lest +they should believe and be saved. +</P> + +<P> +"They on the rock are they which, when they hear, receive the Word with +joy, and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of +temptation fall away. +</P> + +<P> +"And that which fell among thorns are they which, when they have heard, +go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this +life, and bring no fruit to perfection. +</P> + +<P> +"But that on the good ground are they which in an honest and good +heart, having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with +patience." +</P> + +<P> +He also told them a story called "The Wheat and the Tares," of a man +who sowed good seed in a field, but when it sprung up and bore grain +there were weeds growing among it called tares, for an enemy had sowed +the seed at night and it had grown up with the wheat. The man's +servants wished to pull out the tares, but the master of the field said +both should grow together until the harvest, that the wheat might not +be uprooted with the tares. At the end of the harvest the tares would +be burned and the wheat gathered into the barn. In this way he taught +them why good and evil are allowed to grow together in this world. +</P> + +<P> +He also taught them in the story of "The Mustard Seed," that the growth +of the Lord's Kingdom in the heart is like a mustard seed sowed in a +field—which is the least of seeds—but which becomes a great plant, so +large that birds light on its branches. He told them other stories +also that were to show them that the Kingdom of Heaven was life, and +not a written law, and that it grows in the hearts of people as a seed +grows in a field, one seed bearing many seeds, until the time when the +Lord's Kingdom shall fill the earth as the ripe wheat fills the field +in harvest. +</P> + +<P> +One of the stories told that day was about "The Treasure." He told +them of a man who, when digging in a field, found a treasure, a mine of +gold, perhaps, and went and sold all that he had to get money enough to +buy that field. Another one was the story of "The Pearl," which a +pearl-hunter found. It was so large and beautiful that he sold all he +had to be able to buy it. Both these stories were to teach that heaven +in the heart is worth more to us, when once we find it, than all the +treasures or pleasures of this world. +</P> + +<P> +He also told a story of a "Fishing Net," which caught fish of every +kind, but when it was drawn to shore the fishermen gathered the good +fish into baskets, but threw the bad away. This story was something +like that of the "Wheat and the Tares," showing how good and evil are +at last separated. +</P> + +<P> +This was a wonderful day by the blue waters of the Lake of Galilee. +The people went home thinking much about the new Teacher and His +stories of the Kingdom of Heaven. +</P> + +<P> +The great Sower of the Seed had been dropping it into their hearts, and +He alone knew which hearts were "good ground." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0221"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +STILLING THE STORM. +</H3> + +<P> +When Jesus was very tired from teaching the people and healing the sick +He used to cross the lake and go up among the rocks of Gadara, a wild +region where there were few villages. After the last long day of +teaching by the shore Jesus needed rest, but neither at Peter's house, +nor any where on that side of the Lake could He get away from the +crowds that followed Him to hear Him, or to be healed by Him. +</P> + +<P> +In the evening, when the people came back to Him, He took the large +fishing-boat with His disciples, and set out for the other side. +Several beside His disciples wished to go with Him. A scribe wished to +follow Him, but Jesus told him that He had no home, no place to lay his +head, though the foxes had holes and the birds of the air had nests. +Perhaps Jesus saw that the scribe was not ready to leave all and follow +Him. Another wished to go, but thought he ought first to bury his +father, but Jesus said to him, +</P> + +<P> +"Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead." This He said of the +Jews who were spiritually dead. +</P> + +<P> +After they had gone far out upon the Lake a great wind storm rose. It +came sweeping down8:09 PM 2008-04-15 upon them from the hills, rattling the ropes and +swelling the sails so that they had to bring them down and fasten them, +and then take the oars. Every part of the little ship was covered with +spray from the rising waves, and the disciples began to feel afraid. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-181"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-181.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-181t.jpg" ALT="Jesus sleeping during the storm" BORDER="0" WIDTH="656" HEIGHT="859"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 656px"> +Jesus sleeping during the storm +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Where was Jesus? He was asleep. They had brought a cushion for His +head, and He had fallen asleep in the stern of the ship. As a wave +fell upon them and they were in danger of sinking they woke Jesus +saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Master, Master, we perish!" +</P> + +<P> +Then He rose and spoke to the winds and waters, and the storm ceased, +and there was a great calm. +</P> + +<P> +The fishermen had never seen anything so wonderful as this, and they +looked at each other, almost more afraid of Jesus than they had been of +the storm. +</P> + +<P> +"What manner of man is this," they said, "that even the wind and the +sea obey Him!" +</P> + +<P> +Jesus also wondered, and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" +</P> + +<P> +As soon as they had landed in Gadara a strange man came out of the rock +tombs to meet them. He was naked and wounded, for he was always +wandering in the mountains and among the tombs, crying and cutting +himself. Jesus was sorry for him for He knew that it was the evil +spirits within him that made him so unhappy. The poor man tried to +worship Jesus, and the evil spirits only cried out the more, begging to +be let alone. +</P> + +<P> +When Jesus asked "What is thy name," he answered, "My name is Legion, +for we are many." +</P> + +<P> +Jesus made the poor man free by commanding the evil spirits to come out +of him. They entered into a herd of swine near by, and the frightened +creatures ran down a steep place into the lake and were drowned. The +men who kept them were afraid and ran away, telling all whom they met +of the thing that had happened. Some people came to see for +themselves, and they found the wild man of the tombs clothed and +quietly sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to His word. They were +afraid of Jesus and begged Him to go away. They did not understand +that He wished to bless and not to harm them. +</P> + +<P> +As He went back to the ship the man who had been cured of his insanity +begged to go with Him, but Jesus told him to go instead to his friends +at home and tell them what the Lord had done for him. +</P> + +<P> +The next morning the people of Decapolis heard a strange story from the +wild man of the tombs, but was now a reasoning man again. +</P> + +<P> +And so Jesus stilled the storm of wind on the Lake and the storm of +evil in a soul. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0222"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CALLED BACK. +</H3> + +<P> +When Jesus came back to Capernaum He found the crowd of friends at the +little wharf full of concern about Him, and glad that no harm had come +to Him during the storm. Among them was one who had watched anxiously +for the boat, for he had a little daughter at home very ill indeed, so +ill that she was "at the last breath." His name was Jairus, and he was +a ruler of the synagogue. He was so troubled that he fell at the feet +of Jesus, begging Him to come and lay His hand on his child that she +might live. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus went with him, a throng of people with them, hoping to see Him do +a great work. +</P> + +<P> +While He was on the way a woman who had been sick twelve years followed +close behind Him, and put forth her hand timidly toward Him. +</P> + +<P> +"If I may touch but His clothes I shall be whole," she said to herself, +and she touched them with faith in her heart. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus, who knew all hearts, turned straight around and said: +</P> + +<P> +"Who touched My clothes?" +</P> + +<P> +How the woman shrank back and trembled when she heard that, for she was +afraid she had done wrong. +</P> + +<P> +The disciples thought it strange that He should ask this, as the people +thronged so close that they could not help touching Jesus But the +woman knew what He meant and she came and fell down before Him, fearing +and trembling, and told Him all the truth. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus did not look sternly at her as she thought He would do, but He +said gently, +</P> + +<P> +"Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of +thy plague." +</P> + +<P> +While the woman was still at His feet full of gratitude and love +because she felt herself cured, some friends came from the ruler's +house to bring sad news. +</P> + +<P> +"Thy daughter is dead," they said, "why troublest thou the Master any +further?" +</P> + +<P> +Jesus saw the looks of grief on the father's face and said quickly, +</P> + +<P> +"Be not afraid, only believe." +</P> + +<P> +So they went to the ruler's house, and into the inner room where the +little maid lay. Many wished to press in after them to see what Jesus +would do, but he took only Peter and James and John with the father and +mother of the maiden into the quiet, darkened room. As He went in He +said to some who were mourning noisily in the outer room, +</P> + +<P> +"Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth." Jesus loved to call death a +"sleep," for He knew that we never die. Then He took the little maid +by the hand and called her. She had not gone so far into the country +we cannot see that she could not hear a divine Voice calling to her, +</P> + +<P> +"Talitha cumi!" ("Maiden, arise!") At once she rose and walked. She +was a little girl of twelve, and very dear to her father and mother, +and there was no doubt great joy as well as wonder in the house of the +ruler that bright morning after the storm. In their joy and wonder +there was danger of forgetting to give her the food she was in need of, +and so Jesus gently reminded them, commanding that something should be +given her to eat, but he charged them not to talk about the return of +their little daughter. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-183"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-183.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-183t.jpg" ALT="Jesus curing the little maid" BORDER="0" WIDTH="659" HEIGHT="853"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 659px"> +Jesus curing the little maid +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0223"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TWO BY TWO. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus had a desire to once more speak to the people of His own little +town of Nazareth, and so He came again to His own, but His own received +Him not. Once more he went into the Nazareth Synagogue where He had +listened to the reading of the law all through His childhood and to +teach as He had done nine or ten months before. They did not rise up +and thrust Him out as they did then, but they cast cold looks and +scornful words upon Him. They could not understand His great power and +wisdom, but they would not believe in Him. +</P> + +<P> +"Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary," they said, "the brother +of James and Joses, and of Juda and Simon? And are not His sisters +here with us?" They were offended with Him. Jesus, knowing their +faults said, +</P> + +<P> +"A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his +own kin, and in his own house." +</P> + +<P> +He wondered why they were so unbelieving, when in His great love for +them He was ready to do works of mercy among them, and to tell them the +glad tidings of the Kingdom of Heaven, but He laid His hands on a few +sick folk and healed them, and that was all. +</P> + +<P> +As He went away to come back no more, His heart turned toward the many +who were waiting for the tidings that His old friends had rejected, and +He called the twelve together to send them out, two by two, into the +world around them. He gave them power to cast out evil spirits, and to +heal the sick; and He put the preaching power within them so that they +could tell to others the wonderful truths of the Kingdom of Heaven. He +told them that they must take nothing for their journey, except a +staff, with which to walk over the steep mountain paths. He told them +also to bless the house that sheltered them, and to leave the house or +the city that would not receive them. He said that they would have +many trials, and that their lives would be sought by wicked men, but +that they need not fear, for the very hairs of their head were +numbered, and that even a sparrow could not fall to the ground without +their Father, and they were of more value than many sparrows. +</P> + +<P> +He said many other words to them that gave them comfort and strength. +They had left all to follow Him, and He showed them how, in losing +their all in this life they were finding much more than that—even +eternal life. +</P> + +<P> +So, two by two, they went forth and left Jesus alone. +</P> + +<P> +That great and good man, John the Baptist, was still in the prison of +King Herod Antipas, down by the Dead Sea. He had been there more than +a year, but no word came from the king saying that he was free. Queen +Herodias wanted him to be put to death for he had spoken against her +marriage with King Herod. She was a wicked woman, and the evil hate +the good. Herod believed in his heart that John should go free, but +for the Queen's sake he kept him in prison, but allowed his friends to +see him, and sometimes sent for him secretly to hear him talk of the +Kingdom of Heaven. +</P> + +<P> +On the king's birthday he gave a great feast to his lords and captains, +and when they had been served with dainty food in dishes of silver and +gold, and had tasted the rare fruits and the costly wines, the dancing +girls came in to flit over the polished marble floor, and wave their +airy scarfs to please the king and his guests. +</P> + +<P> +At last a young girl came in and danced alone. She was dressed like a +princess, and she was a princess. +</P> + +<P> +Queen Herodias had sent her young daughter, Salome, where an innocent +girl and a queen's daughter should not have gone. +</P> + +<P> +She pleased the king and his lords greatly, and when she had finished, +and had knelt before the king to hear what he had to say to her, he +cried, +</P> + +<P> +"Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee," and with an +oath he declared that he would certainly do it if she should ask the +half of his kingdom. +</P> + +<P> +She did not decide for herself, but ran to her mother, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"What shall I ask?" And the cruel mother said, +</P> + +<P> +"The head of John the Baptist." +</P> + +<P> +King Herod did not expect this. He thought she might ask for some +jewel of great price, or perhaps a royal palace for her very own, and +when he heard her request he was very sorry. But an oath made before +his lords could not be broken. +</P> + +<P> +He sent men to the prison, and the good prophet, who had never known +fear, went home to God, and they brought his head to the princess who +gave it to her mother. The king's feast ended in gloom, and the poor +girl, who only obeyed her wicked mother, had nothing but a dreadful +memory to keep forever as the king's gift. +</P> + +<P> +And the king himself—what trouble followed him during the rest of his +life! Riches and honors were all taken from him, and he was sent out +of his own country, while John had gone to his Father's house in the +Heavenly Country to suffer no more forever. +</P> + +<P> +John's disciples buried the body of their beloved master, and then went +and told Jesus. Only Jesus can give real comfort in trouble. +</P> + +<P> +The disciples—now called apostles, or teachers—who had been out +teaching among the villages, heard, perhaps, of the death of John the +Baptist, and came back to Jesus two by two, as they had gone out. They +had been preaching, healing the sick, and casting out evil spirits. +They often said "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," and the people +wondered if it would not be best to rise up and make Jesus their king. +</P> + +<P> +Herod heard of the work of Jesus and the apostles, and was afraid. He +half believed that John whom he had killed had risen from the dead. He +tried to see Jesus, but the One who had come to preach the gospel to +the poor had no time to give to Herod. +</P> + +<P> +As Peter, and John, and Andrew and all the rest came back they were +full of stories of the wonderful things that had been done through the +power that the Lord had given them. Many came with them to find Jesus. +He saw that they needed to come away from the crowds that were always +around them so that He could speak to them of their work, and so that +they could rest, and think, and pray. +</P> + +<P> +They took a boat and crossed the Lake. The shore was crowded with +people who wished to be with Jesus, and when they knew that He was +going to Bethsaida-Julias at the northern end of the Lake they resolved +to follow Him, for it was only a few miles away. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of the Lake they entered the Jordan river, and sailing up a +little way to the landing-place they saw the people coming, some in +boats, and more in groups along the shore—men, women and children—and +Jesus, filled with love and pity for them, led them to a green hillside +where He sat down to teach them as He had often done before. +</P> + +<P> +It was spring, and the grass was like a great green carpet sprinkled +with bright wild-flowers, while the river, lined with bushes flowed +below, and beyond lay the beautiful blue Lake. The disciples stood +around their Master while He taught the people in simple language that +they could understand the greatest truths the world has ever heard. +All the afternoon He spoke to them, and when the sun was slowly going +down over the hills of Galilee they still wished to stay. They were as +sheep having no shepherd. The disciples were troubled about them, for +they were far from the villages where bread could be bought, and they +had nothing to eat. They begged Jesus to send them away. +</P> + +<P> +"Give ye them to eat," said Jesus. Then the disciples were astonished, +for there were about five thousand men, beside the women and children. +"Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to +eat?" said Philip. Then Jesus, who knew what He would do, said, "How +many loaves have ye? Go and see." +</P> + +<P> +They went among the people, and Andrew came back, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves, and two small +fishes; but what are they among so many?" +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus told His disciples to seat all the people in order upon the +green grass, and soon there were little companies of fifty, and larger +ones of an hundred sitting all over the hillside with their faces +turned toward Jesus, who stood looking out upon them as a father would +look upon his children. What were they waiting for? No one knew, but +they saw Him take the little lad's basket of bread and the two little +fishes and look up to heaven, blessing them as He did so. Then He +began to break the bread and divide the fishes. As He broke the bread +and gave to the disciples they took it away to the people sitting on +the grass, and when they came back to Jesus there was still more +waiting for them. In this way all the people were fed. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-187"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-187.jpg" ALT="Feeding the five thousand" BORDER="0" WIDTH="600" HEIGHT="776"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 600px"> +Feeding the five thousand +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +When they were satisfied Jesus said to His disciples, +</P> + +<P> +"Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." +</P> + +<P> +And they filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the barley loaves +that were left. +</P> + +<P> +What a silent and wonderful supper of bread fresh from the hand of its +Creator! +</P> + +<P> +At last they began saying to each other in a low voice, +</P> + +<P> +"This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world!" and +they began to ask each other if it would not be best to take Him at +once and make Him king whether he would or would not consent, but when +He saw what they wished to do, He slipped away and went farther up +among the hills to rest. +</P> + +<P> +Evening had now come, and the people not finding Jesus, went away to +their homes, and the disciples in their little ship returned to +Capernaum. The people could not understand, nor could His disciples, +that Jesus did not come to be an earthly king over the little nation of +the Jews. Not until the Holy Spirit came to make all things clear did +they understand that He was to be the Spiritual King of all the world. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0224"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +WALKING THE WAVES—THE TWO KINGDOMS. +</H3> + +<P> +While Jesus was alone on the mountain side the disciples were trying to +reach Capernaum in their fishing boat. It was not a long sail, but a +contrary wind had risen and was blowing them out into the Lake away +from the landing place. +</P> + +<P> +They had taken down their sail and were rowing, but by three o'clock in +the morning they were still out upon the Lake. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus, who knew all things, saw them struggling with the oars, and +coming swiftly down the mountain side He went to them walking upon the +water. +</P> + +<P> +The disciples saw a form through the darkness drawing near to them, and +strangely enough they did not think of Jesus, but cried out in terror, +saying, +</P> + +<P> +"It is a spirit." Then the clear sweet voice of their Master rose over +the sound of the wind and the waves, "Be of good cheer, it is I, be not +afraid." And Peter, full of glad faith, cried out, "Lord, if it be +Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water." +</P> + +<P> +When Jesus said "Come," Peter climbed over the side of the boat and +began to walk toward Jesus, but when a strong wind drove the waves upon +him he lost sight of the Lord for a moment, and he was afraid. +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, save me!" he cried, and began to sink. +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Peter, saying, "O thou of +little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" +</P> + +<P> +When they both entered the ship the wind ceased, and while the +disciples wondered and worshipped, saying, "Of a truth Thou art the Son +of God," they found themselves at the land not far from Capernaum. +</P> + +<P> +It was on the white beach of pebbles and shells that bordered the plain +of Gennesaret where they moored the boat in the early morning, and as +soon as the people saw them they began bringing their sick friends to +Jesus. Many were too ill to walk, and were brought on little beds or +mattresses and laid at Jesus's feet, and there they were healed if they +but touched the hem of His garment. +</P> + +<P> +Many of those who brought the sick to Jesus had been with Him on the +mountain side, and had eaten of the wonderful bread of heaven that He +had broken for them. They believed that He could do anything that He +would. +</P> + +<P> +The people whose hearts were set upon making Jesus their king followed +Him wherever He went. Some who had been with Him when He made bread +for the great company on the hillside at Bethsaida-Julias found Him +teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. +</P> + +<P> +"Teacher, when camest thou hither?" they said. Jesus, knowing that +they cared more for His gifts than for His teaching, said, "Ye seek me, +not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves +and were filled," and told them that they should not labor for the food +that perishes, but for that which endures forever. +</P> + +<P> +They still wished Him to do some wonder, or show them how to work +wonders, for they asked Him what they should do to work the works of +God. +</P> + +<P> +"This is the work of God," He said, "That ye believe on Him whom He +hath sent." Still they remembered the miracle of the bread. +</P> + +<P> +"What sign showest Thou?" they said, "Our fathers did eat manna in the +desert." Then He spoke plainly to them of Himself. +</P> + +<P> +"The bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life +unto the world." One more spiritual than the rest said reverently, +"Lord, evermore give us this bread." +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus spoke those words about Himself that turned many away from +Him. He showed them that He could never be what they expected Him to +be—an earthly king. He had only the things of the Spirit to give +them, and He called them to a kingdom that could be seen only with +spiritual sight. +</P> + +<P> +"I am the bread of life," He said, "He that cometh to me shall never +hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. All that the +Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in +no wise cast out." +</P> + +<P> +The Jews were offended with Him because He had said, "I came down from +heaven." "I am the living bread which came down from heaven," He said. +"If any man eat of this bread he shall live forever; and the bread that +I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world." +</P> + +<P> +Then the Jews were vexed and turned to talk among themselves. They +could not understand what He meant, but they saw plainly that He was +not going to agree with their plan to make Him the King of the Jews, +who would lead them out of their bondage to the Romans, and establish +them forever as a nation. +</P> + +<P> +They did not want to follow Him, but they wanted Him to follow their +plan. And as for His talk about being the "bread of life,"—"This is +an hard saying," they said, "who can hear it?" +</P> + +<P> +While they murmured Jesus said, +</P> + +<P> +"Doth this offend you? What and if you shall see the Son of Man +ascending where He was before?" +</P> + +<P> +"<I>It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the +words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.</I>" +</P> + +<P> +Then they knew that He meant something above what they could see, or +what they wanted, and many turned away from Him and went to their homes +disappointed. He had said, "there are some of you that believe not," +and it was true. Jesus turned to the twelve who stood in silence near +Him, +</P> + +<P> +"Will ye also go away?" He said. +</P> + +<P> +Loving, impulsive Peter cried out, +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and +we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the +living God." +</P> + +<P> +"Did I not choose you twelve," said Jesus, "and one of you is a devil." +</P> + +<P> +Already evil spirits had tried to turn Judas away from the Lord by +tempting him, and he had let them into his heart. And Jesus, who knew +all men, saw them there. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0225"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A JOURNEY WITH JESUS. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus went away with His disciples into the "borders of Tyre and +Sidon." He did not go to the Passover feast, for the anger of the Jews +had been growing more violent toward Him and His disciples, and he took +the twelve away from the crowded towns around the Lake into the parts +that bordered upon a heathen country. He could do far more for the +simple-hearted heathen than for Jews who believed themselves to be wise +and religious. +</P> + +<P> +When it was known that the young teacher of Nazareth was among them +some came to Him who were not Jews. One was a Syrian woman whose +daughter was troubled by an evil spirit, and she begged Jesus to have +mercy upon her. The disciples were not pleased to have her follow them +with strange cries in another language. They believed that the works +of Jesus were for the Jews only, and so they begged Him to send her +away. Jesus was silent, for He knew all hearts, and saw faith growing +in the heart of the poor woman. +</P> + +<P> +He said, trying her faith, +</P> + +<P> +"It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs." +</P> + +<P> +"Truth, Lord," she said, "yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall +from their master's table." +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus hid Himself no longer from her faith, but said, +</P> + +<P> +"O woman, great is thy faith! be it unto thee even as thou wilt." And +her daughter was cured that very hour. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus did not go down by the great sea, though He could see it lying +like blue and silver across the west whenever He came to a hilltop as +they journeyed, but He went northward to the hills that lie around the +mountains of Lebanon. Upon these mountains grew the cedars that +Solomon's servants cut down and carried to Jerusalem for the building +of the Holy House. They stopped in the Lebanon villages, and came at +length to the foot of Mount Hermon, and to the Jordan, crossing over +and passing near the place where the great company who followed Jesus +had been fed. As they came into Decapolis on the east side of the lake +of Gennesaret the people came to Him in crowds again for healing. +There He healed a man who could neither hear nor speak. +</P> + +<P> +Coming to Gadara He found crowds coming with their sick for healing. +Eight months before He had healed a poor man in whom was a legion of +devils, casting them out into a herd of swine, and they had begged Him +to leave their coast for they were afraid of Him, but now they were +glad to come to Him for healing. No doubt the man who had been healed +had told them of the gentleness of Jesus, and of His wonderful words, +and had brought many to Him. +</P> + +<P> +It was in Bethsaida-Julias that Jesus once opened the eyes of a blind +man. He did not see clearly at first, but when Jesus laid His hand a +second time upon his eyes he saw quite well, and was so grateful that +he wanted to go and tell all his friends about it, but Jesus told him +to go quietly home. +</P> + +<P> +Two blind men followed Him also, crying, "Thou Son of David, have mercy +on us!" They followed Him into a house and there Jesus asked, "Believe +ye that I am able to do this?" "Yea, Lord," they said. +</P> + +<P> +"According to your faith be it unto you," He said, touching their eyes, +and their eyes were opened at once. +</P> + +<P> +Though Jesus had said, "See that no man know it," yet they told it +through all that country. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0226"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH—PETER'S CONFESSION OF FAITH. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus was walking with His disciples one Sabbath day and talking of the +Kingdom of Heaven when they came to a field of ripe grain. They had +been gathering food for their souls from the teachings of Jesus, and +had forgotten to take food for their bodies until they saw the ripe +grain and knew that they were hungry. Some of them began to take the +heads of wheat (or barley), to rub them in their hands to separate the +grain from the chaff, and eat the kernels of wheat. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-194"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-194.jpg" ALT="Jesus in the wheat fields" BORDER="0" WIDTH="600" HEIGHT="769"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 600px"> +Jesus in the wheat fields +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Following close after them were some men who had been told to watch +Jesus and His disciples, and see if anything could be brought against +them. +</P> + +<P> +They held very strict views about keeping the Sabbath, as all Pharisees +did, and here they saw something that might be called breaking the +Sabbath, for were they not really reaping the wheat, and sifting it +through their hands? +</P> + +<P> +"Behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the +Sabbath day," they said. "The Son of Man," said Jesus, "is Lord even +of the Sabbath day." +</P> + +<P> +Another Sabbath He entered into a synagogue and taught. Among the +people stood a man who had a helpless and withered hand. The same +Pharisees who had followed Jesus as spies when He walked through the +grain-fields were watching Him in the Synagogue to see if He would heal +on the Sabbath. He knew their thoughts, and called the man, saying, +"Rise up and stand forth in the midst." +</P> + +<P> +The man rose, and while he stood waiting, Jesus turned to the Pharisees +who were eagerly watching to see if Jesus would do something that was +forbidden in their law, and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? To save +life or to destroy it?" The Pharisees dared not answer, and Jesus, +looking round upon them all, said to the man, "Stretch forth thy hand." +</P> + +<P> +The man obeyed. Although he had not been able to raise his hand, he +stretched it forth, and it became as whole and as strong as the other. +</P> + +<P> +The Pharisees went away very angry, and tried to make a plan among +themselves for bringing Jesus into trouble. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus came to fill the law about the Sabbath full of the spirit of +heaven; to teach love and service to the neighbor, as well as the love +and worship of God, but they could not understand Him. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus was near the end of His ministry to the people east of the Jordan +in the country called Decapolis. They were not like the Galilean Jews, +they were half heathen people who lived among the wild, rocky hills of +that region. They were poor and ignorant, yet they were more ready to +accept the gospel than the wise and wicked Pharisees had been. +</P> + +<P> +He had been kind to them in their sickness and poverty, and they +followed Him with their sick, and lame, and deaf, and blind, leaving +them at His feet until they arose praising God that they had been saved +from their sufferings. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus had been teaching in the wild mountain country, and the people +would not leave Him to go away to their homes. After three days Jesus +said to His disciples, "I have compassion on the multitude because they +continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat, and I will not +send them away fasting lest they faint by the way." +</P> + +<P> +The disciples did not remember the Lord's power to create bread, and +wondered where they should find it in the wilderness to feed such a +great multitude. +</P> + +<P> +But when Jesus knew that they had seven loves of barley bread and a few +little fishes He told the people to sit down on the ground, and after +giving thanks over the loaves and the fishes, He divided them and gave +to His disciples, and the disciples gave to the people. There were +four thousand men beside women and children who took the bread that +came from the Lord's hands. After all had eaten and were filled they +took up seven baskets of the food that was left. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus, though He could create food for the people, taught them to use +it wisely and waste nothing. +</P> + +<P> +When the people had been sent to their homes, Jesus, with His +disciples, took a fishing boat and crossed the Lake only to find the +Pharisees there ready to question Him, and to tempt Him to show them +some great sign from heaven. +</P> + +<P> +He told them that they could read the signs of the coming weather in +the sky, but they could not see the signs of the times. +</P> + +<P> +Only a wicked people look for a sign, He said, and no sign should be +given except the sign that Jonah gave to the Ninevites—a call to +repentance. +</P> + +<P> +Then He left them, for He saw the hardness of their hearts. +</P> + +<P> +Again they took their journey in the little ship to the northern end of +the Lake, and after landing, followed the east side of Jordan until +they passed near the place where the five thousand had been fed by a +miracle as they sat on the green hillside. +</P> + +<P> +The disciples found that they had forgotten to bring bread with them. +They remembered, perhaps, that they had here eaten the bread that the +Lord had created; but the heart of Jesus was heavy with the thought of +the unbelief of the people He had come to save, and He said, +</P> + +<P> +"Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." +</P> + +<P> +The disciples did not understand Him, and wondered if He spoke thus +because they had not brought bread. +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus, seeing that they had but little faith, reminded them of the +supper on the hillside, when more than five thousand were fed, and of +that later meal among the rocky hills of Decapolis, when four thousand +and more were fed, and that they did not need to be concerned about +food for the body so much as to beware of the false teaching of the +Pharisees and of the Sadducees. +</P> + +<P> +They walked still further north, directly toward that beautiful +mountain that lifts its head, white with the glistening snow, high +above the hills that lead up to it, so that it may be seen over the +larger part of Palestine. +</P> + +<P> +They came to Caesarea Philippi, one of the most beautiful places in the +world. It lay in the green lap of Mount Hermon high above the sea, and +shut in by cliffs and forests. The upper springs of the Jordan are +here. They leap out of a great cavern in the side of the mountain—a +river of clear, cold water. +</P> + +<P> +The old Greeks loved the place, and built there a temple to the god of +nature, but after the Romans came it was named for the Emperor and +Philip the Tetrarch. Here there were more Gentiles than Jews, for it +was a gay town in the summer, and people from other towns came to this +city of palaces, temples, baths, theatres, and statues. These people +did not wish to hear the words of Jesus, but the coolness and beauty of +the country around this birthplace of the Jordan made it a fit place to +bring His disciples where they could talk over the things of the +kingdom without being disturbed by the Pharisees. Here He was able to +pray alone, and once, after prayer, He questioned His disciples about +Himself. +</P> + +<P> +"Whom say the people that I am?" He asked. They remembered their talks +with the people and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elias, and +others say that one of the old prophets is risen again." "But whom say +ye that I am?" He asked. Then Peter, the believing disciple, made his +confession of faith,— +</P> + +<P> +"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus was glad to +hear this, for many had come to doubt Him, and many had gone away from +Him since they knew that He would not be an earthly king. +</P> + +<P> +"Blessed art thou Simon, son of Jonas," He said, "for flesh and blood +hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven." +</P> + +<P> +He saw that Peter's faith in the truth was like his name, which means +"a rock," and so He said, +</P> + +<P> +"Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my church, and the gates +of hell shall not prevail against it." +</P> + +<P> +Peter's faith in the truth was also in the hearts of the other +disciples for whom He spoke, and Jesus saw that they could now bear +what he had to say to them without going away. +</P> + +<P> +He told them that He must soon go to Jerusalem and suffer many things +from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, and that He +should be killed by them, and rise again from the dead the third day. +</P> + +<P> +Even Peter's faith was shaken by this. How could the Son of God be +killed? He could not believe His Master meant it so. +</P> + +<P> +"Be it far from thee, Lord," he said, "this shall not be unto thee." +</P> + +<P> +Jesus saw the spirit of fear and unbelief rising up in Peter, and to +this—not to Peter himself—Jesus said, +</P> + +<P> +"Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offence unto me; for thou +savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." +</P> + +<P> +Then He plainly told them what they must be ready to meet if they +followed Him. They must not hope for any earthly honors or riches, and +they must put aside their own wishes and obey the Lord alone. +</P> + +<P> +He told them that whoever wished to live for this world alone would +lose all, but whoever was willing to lose all for His sake should find +eternal life. +</P> + +<P> +"For what is a man profited," He said, "if he shall gain the whole +world and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for +his soul?" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0227"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +"AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY"—A FATHER'S FAITH. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus stayed near Caesarea Philippi with His disciples for a week. The +villagers were cutting the ripe grain, the vineyards were rich with +clusters of the rich grapes that grew on the Lebanon hills, and the +olives were ripening for the time when they would be put in the presses +to make the delicious "oil olive." In that week He must have had many +wonderful talks with the villagers. +</P> + +<P> +One evening, as they had come over the lower hills of Hermon, Jesus +left the disciples to wait for Him below, taking only Peter and the +brothers James and John with Him up the mount. They did not go to the +very top but rested on one of the lower peaks. While Jesus went a +little distance from them to pray, the three disciples, wrapped in +their thick mantles, lay down to wait for Him. In that high clear air +they seemed very near heaven. The stars seemed almost as near as the +lights in the villages below. They were tired, and watching their +Master in prayer, they fell asleep. While they slept they seemed to +see a change in the face of Jesus as He prayed. It grew light with a +strange inward glory, and all His garments became white and glistening +like the snows of Hermon in the sun. They also saw two men with Him +whom they seemed to know were Moses and Elias, who had gone to heaven +centuries before. +</P> + +<P> +They also heard them talking with Jesus, and they spoke of the same +thing that had troubled Peter when Jesus had spoken of it—that He +should die at Jerusalem. +</P> + +<P> +They awoke out of sleep, but the vision did not pass away like a dream, +they still saw it all. +</P> + +<P> +But as it began to melt away, Peter said, hardly knowing what he said, +</P> + +<P> +"Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three +tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." +</P> + +<P> +Then the glory around Jesus grew until it seemed like a bright cloud at +sunset, and it came and wrapt them around in its soft brightness, and +they were afraid. +</P> + +<P> +In the silence they heard a Divine voice, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"This is My beloved Son; hear Him." +</P> + +<P> +When the voice was passed they looked up and saw Jesus there alone. He +was bending over them, touching them tenderly, and saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Arise, and be not afraid." +</P> + +<P> +As they came down the mountain He told them to tell no one of the +vision until after He had risen from the dead. +</P> + +<P> +It seemed to the disciples, no doubt, like coming down from heaven to +earth when after a long walk and talk with Jesus in the summer morning +they came near the village they had left, and found the people—among +them some Jewish lawyers—disputing with the group of disciples there. +As soon as they saw Jesus they all ran to Him, and greeted Him. +</P> + +<P> +One of the men explained what they were disputing about. +</P> + +<P> +"Master," he said, "I have brought unto thee my son which hath a dumb +spirit," and he described the frightful state into which it had brought +his boy, and added that the disciples could not cast it out. +</P> + +<P> +"Bring him to me," said Jesus, and they brought him, the evil spirit +within him throwing him into convulsions as they laid him at Jesus' +feet. +</P> + +<P> +"How long is it ago since this came to him?" said Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +"Of a child," said the father, "and ofttimes it hath cast him into the +fire and into the waters to destroy him, but if thou canst do anything, +have compassion on us, and help us." Jesus said, +</P> + +<P> +"If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." +</P> + +<P> +Then the poor father cried out with tears, "Lord, I believe; help thou +mine unbelief!" +</P> + +<P> +The Lord did not wait for greater faith than this. He charged the evil +spirit to come out of the boy, and after a great struggle it left him +as one dead, but Jesus took him by the hand and he arose. +</P> + +<P> +"Why could not we cast him out?" said the disciples afterward. +</P> + +<P> +"This kind," said Jesus, "can come forth by nothing but by prayer and +fasting." +</P> + +<P> +As they turned their steps toward home—the Lake side in Galilee—Jesus +again spoke of the work that lay before Him. The disciples listened +sadly, but could not understand why He should speak of being killed, +and of rising again from the dead, and they dared not ask Him questions +about it. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0228"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LORD AND THE LITTLE ONES—LEAVING GALILEE. +</H3> + +<P> +As the Lord and His disciples walked over the hills into Galilee some +of them fell behind wondering among themselves what He could mean when +He spoke of being killed and of rising again. Perhaps they thought it +only a sadness that would pass away, and so full of faith in His power +were they that they could not believe that One who could raise the dead +could Himself die. +</P> + +<P> +"He will be a King," they thought, and began to wonder who among them +would be chosen to be greatest in His Kingdom, and even to quarrel +about it. +</P> + +<P> +After they had reached Capernaum, and were at home again—probably in +Peter's house—Jesus said to them, +</P> + +<P> +"What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?" +</P> + +<P> +There was no word from any one of them, for they were ashamed. Then +the Lord sat down, and calling the twelve around Him, said gently, +</P> + +<P> +"If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and +servant of all." +</P> + +<P> +A little child stood near listening, and wishing, perhaps, that he +might be a grown man so that he also could be a disciple. +</P> + +<P> +Making room for him in the midst of them all, He called the child, +Peter's child, perhaps, who came joyfully to Him. Taking Him tenderly +in His arms He said, +</P> + +<P> +"Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name receiveth me, +and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but Him that sent me." +</P> + +<P> +And He taught His disciples to be humble as a little child in these +beautiful words: +</P> + +<P> +"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not +enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." +</P> + +<P> +"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones, for I say unto +you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father +which is in heaven." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-200"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-200.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-200t.jpg" ALT="The little ones" BORDER="0" WIDTH="658" HEIGHT="861"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 658px"> +The little ones +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +He also told them of the love of the Father in seeking His lost +children. That if a shepherd had but lost one of his hundred sheep, he +would leave all the others to go out into the wild mountains to look +for the lost sheep. How much more would the Father do for His own, and +especially for His little ones. +</P> + +<P> +"Even so," He said, "it is not the will of your Father, which is in +heaven, that one of these little ones should perish." +</P> + +<P> +Before going to the Feast at Jerusalem the Lord Jesus said many things +to His disciples that would help them to be loving and forgiving toward +each other and all the world, for they were very soon going to meet +trouble which would try their love and their faith. He told them to +deal gently with those who had done wrong, that they might win them +back to the right way. He told them that they should have help from +heaven when they asked for it, even if there should be only two to ask. +</P> + +<P> +"For where two or three are gathered together in my name," He said, +"there am I in the midst of them." +</P> + +<P> +"How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?" asked +Peter, "till seven times?" +</P> + +<P> +"Until seventy times seven," said Jesus, and He did not mean that we +should even count the number of times that we forgive. +</P> + +<P> +Then He told them a story of a forgiving king and an unforgiving +servant that you may read in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew. +</P> + +<P> +At the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, the people went up to +Jerusalem to offer gifts in the golden Temple for the harvest that the +Lord had given them, and to join in a praise service there. +</P> + +<P> +They brought oil, and wine, and wheat, and barley; dates, pomegranates, +and figs—something of all they had gathered, and while they marched +toward the holy city they sang joyful songs that David had written long +before. When they reached Jerusalem they built bowers of branches cut +from the trees and lived in them for a week. +</P> + +<P> +Even in the city the people came out of their houses and lived in +bowers on the streets and public squares, or upon the flat roofs of the +houses, and the hillsides round were covered with the green booths. +</P> + +<P> +The brothers of Jesus came down to Capernaum on their way to the Feast +at Jerusalem, and they asked their elder Brother to go also into Judea +and show Himself to the world, that His miracles might be seen of all, +for they did not believe in Him yet. But Jesus said, +</P> + +<P> +"My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready." +</P> + +<P> +So they went on their journey, and Jesus stayed in Galilee. +</P> + +<P> +After a few days He set His face toward Jerusalem, taking the shortest +way through Samaria. The Samaritans were not friendly to the Jews, and +the disciples, who had been sent on before to find lodging for the +company in a village, were not allowed to bring their Master there. +</P> + +<P> +The gentle John and his brother James were angry that unkindness was +shown to Jesus, and wished to call down fire from heaven to destroy the +villagers, but Jesus said, +</P> + +<P> +"Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of, for the Son of Man has +not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." +</P> + +<P> +And they went to another village. On the way they found men who wished +to follow Jesus as the disciples did but while some were ready to leave +all, others wished to first bid their friends farewell, or bury their +dead, but Jesus saw something in their hearts that showed that they +were not fit for the Kingdom of God. +</P> + +<P> +There were many beside the twelve who fully believed in Jesus, and were +ready to tell others of the coming kingdom, so He sent them out to all +the places where he intended to go, until there were seventy of them +preaching the good news. They went, saying, "The Kingdom of God is +come unto you," and they healed the sick in Jesus' name. When they +returned they were full of joy, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name." But +Jesus said, "Rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but +rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0229"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AT THE HOUSE OF MARTHA—THE GOOD SHEPHERD. +</H3> + +<P> +While Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem a lawyer came and asked Him +questions. He did not want to be a disciple, yet he asked what he +should do to have eternal life. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus asked him what the commandments said about it, and the lawyer +repeated the two great commandments concerning love to the Lord and to +the neighbor. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou hast answered right," Jesus replied. "This do and thou shalt +live." +</P> + +<P> +"And who is my neighbor?" said the lawyer. +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus told a story of a man who went down to Jericho, and was +nearly killed by thieves. A priest came that way and when he saw a man +who needed help he passed by on the other side of the road. So did a +Levite, one of the helpers in the temple worship, but a Samaritan (and +the Samaritans were despised by the Jews) came that way, and he stopped +in pity for the poor man, dressed his wounds, set him upon his own +beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. When he left the +inn he also left money for his care, with the promise of more if it +should be needed. Then Jesus asked the lawyer which of these three men +was neighbor to him who fell among thieves. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-203a"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-203a.jpg" ALT="The good Samaritan" BORDER="0" WIDTH="596" HEIGHT="795"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 596px"> +The good Samaritan +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"He that showed mercy on him," said the lawyer. Then said Jesus unto +him, +</P> + +<P> +"Go thou and do likewise." +</P> + +<P> +As Jesus came near to Jerusalem He passed through Bethany, a little +town at the foot of the Mount of Olives, where perhaps some of His +disciples had been preaching the new gospel before Him. There He was +gladly received into the house of Martha, who prepared the table with +her own hands to offer the best in her house to her honored Guest. She +had a brother named Lazarus, who was probably at the feast in +Jerusalem, and a younger sister named Mary who loved to listen to every +word that Jesus spoke. As every family built a bower of branches +during this feast to remind them that for forty years they lived in +such houses in the wilderness while coming out of Egypt, there must +have been one in the court of Martha's house, and there, perhaps, Jesus +rested while Mary sat at His feet and heard His word. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-203b"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-203b.jpg" ALT="Jesus in the house at Bethany" BORDER="0" WIDTH="589" HEIGHT="770"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 589px"> +Jesus in the house at Bethany +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Martha was very busy serving her honored guest, and thought Mary ought +to help her in the house, but Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, thou art +careful and troubled about many things; but one thing is needful, and +Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her." +</P> + +<P> +When the Feast of Tabernacles was at its height Jesus came up to the +Temple at Jerusalem. The people had been looking for Him, and as soon +as the noble, earnest-faced young Teacher was seen walking in the +marble court of the Temple they thronged around Him to hear Him teach, +or to see if He would do any miracle. +</P> + +<P> +Some wondered at His wisdom and His doctrine, and asked where it came +from, "My doctrine is not mine," He said, "but His that sent me. If +any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine." +</P> + +<P> +He taught them many things that day, and hinted at the same thing that +had troubled His disciples, and these were His words, +</P> + +<P> +"Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto Him that sent me. +Ye shall seek me and shall not find me, and where I am thither ye +cannot come." +</P> + +<P> +The priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees were listening, and He knew +that their hearts were too full of pride and self-love to receive His +word. They could not go to Him, for they would not let Him come into +their hearts. +</P> + +<P> +On the last day, the great day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried to +the people who were about to go back to their homes. His great heart +was breaking to bring them into the Kingdom of Heaven, and He knew that +they would be scattered as sheep having no shepherd. +</P> + +<P> +"If any man thirst," He cried, "let him come unto me and drink." And +He then promised to such as believe the Holy Spirit to dwell in them, +and to flow out toward all the world like rivers of living water. +</P> + +<P> +So wonderfully did He preach that many said, "Of a truth this is a +prophet," and others said, "This is the Christ," while others were +filled with anger and wished to arrest Him. Indeed, when the priests +and Pharisees urged the officers to take Him, they said, +</P> + +<P> +"Never man spake like this man," and they would not lay hands on Him. +</P> + +<P> +But Nicodemus, a learned doctor of the law, was a friend of Jesus. He +it was who had a talk with Him one night under the olive trees about +the Spirit—the breath of God, and he with wise words turned the hatred +of the Jews away from Jesus for the time, and they went to their own +houses. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus taught in the Temple again the next day, and all the people came +to listen. +</P> + +<P> +It was here, perhaps, that the wicked Scribes and Pharisees brought to +Him a poor woman who had sinned. They told Him that according to the +law she ought to be stoned, and asked what He would say about it. He +did not answer, but seemed to be writing on the ground before Him as +though He did not hear them. At last, because they would have an +answer He looked at them saying, +</P> + +<P> +"He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone," and +He wrote again on the ground. No one answered Jesus, but one by one +they went away too much ashamed to speak. "Hath no man condemned +thee?" asked Jesus of the woman standing sorrowful and alone. +</P> + +<P> +"No man, Lord," she said. +</P> + +<P> +"Neither do I condemn thee," He said, "go and sin no more." +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus sitting in the Treasury of the Temple said, +</P> + +<P> +"I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in +darkness but shall have the light of life." +</P> + +<P> +Many other things He said that His enemies tried to turn against Him, +and the healing on the Sabbath day of a man who had been born blind +stirred the anger of the Jews against Him, so that they sought by much +questioning to accuse Jesus of sin, not knowing that they were +themselves spiritually blind. +</P> + +<P> +But He turned from them to call to the people again as He did on the +last day of the Feast, for in His love and pity He longed to bring the +lost children of Israel to Himself that He might bless them, as a +shepherd brings back the sheep that stray from the fold. +</P> + +<P> +"I am the Good Shepherd; and I know my own, and my own know me," said +Jesus, "even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and I lay +down my life for the sheep, and other sheep I have which are not of +this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and +they shall become one flock, one Shepherd." +</P> + +<P> +Other beautiful and blessed words He said about the Shepherd and His +flock which are written in the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, but +the learned Jews would not listen to Him, and thrice tried to kill Him +by stoning Him, but they could not harm Him, for His time had not come. +</P> + +<P> +Then he went away beyond Jordan, where John first baptized, and many +believed on Him there. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0230"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LESSON STORIES OF JESUS. +</H3> + +<P> +When Jesus was at prayer His disciples stood reverently apart from Him, +and one day a disciple came near when he had ceased and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." +</P> + +<P> +Then the Lord taught them the beautiful prayer that is now said daily +all around the world, and known to every one of us, beginning, "Our +Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name." +</P> + +<P> +And He told them how pleased God is to have His children ask Him for +what they need, or come to Him in trouble. +</P> + +<P> +"Ask, and it shall be given you," He said; "seek, and ye shall find; +knock and it shall be opened unto you." +</P> + +<P> +"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give +him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a +serpent?" +</P> + +<P> +"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your +children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give good gifts to +them that ask Him?" +</P> + +<P> +It was while the Lord was teaching in the country called Peraea, east +of Jordan, that He told many things that His disciples remembered and +wrote in a book afterward, when the Holy Spirit had come to "bring all +things to their remembrance," as He had promised. +</P> + +<P> +He had been teaching three years, and was thirty-three years of age. +</P> + +<P> +Some of the people who lived, at Bethabara, by Jordan, were present +when He was baptized by John, and they were glad to have him stay among +them and teach, for they were a kindly people, and though not learned +like the men who were often to be found in the Temple courts and in the +Synagogues, they were the common people who, hearing the word and +loving it, were wiser than the Pharisees. +</P> + +<P> +The Lord told many stories that these people would remember, and +afterward understand by the teaching of His Spirit which He said would +be given to them. You will read all of them in the Gospels, but here +we cannot tell them all. +</P> + +<P> +The story of "The Fig-tree in the Vineyard," "The Great Supper," and +"The Foolish Rich Man" were stories of warning to those who were +turning away from the things of heaven to the things of the world, and +they were meant for all who should read them in the ages of the world. +</P> + +<P> +So were the three stories—they are called "parables" in the +Gospels—of the lost things; "The lost sheep," "The lost piece of +money," and "The lost son." They were given to us to show the great +love of the Heavenly Father for His children, and His constant care in +seeking for them when they are wandering away from Him. These stories +are the voice of the Father always and everywhere calling His children +home, and many a poor soul has turned homeward with tears of repentance +after reading them. +</P> + +<P> +One of these stories of lost things will be told here, but it is far +more beautiful in the language of the Scriptures. +</P> + +<P> +There was once a rich man who had two sons, and the younger one came to +him and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me." +</P> + +<P> +And so the father divided his property, and gave the younger brother +his share. In a few days he had gathered it all together and settled +his affairs so that he could go away. He went into a distant country, +and there he spent all that he had among bad people who seemed to be +his friends, but were really his worst enemies. +</P> + +<P> +When all that he had was spent there came a time of great trouble. +There was very little food in the land, for there was a famine, and he +was obliged to go to work for the little he could get. It was not easy +to find work, for the only thing he could do was to hire himself to a +man who kept pigs. His work was to stay in the fields and feed them +with husks, the hard pods of the carob tree. Sometimes he was so +hungry that he would have been glad to eat even these, but "no man gave +unto him." Then the young man "came to himself." +</P> + +<P> +"How many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare," +he said, "and I perish with hunger!" +</P> + +<P> +"I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I +have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be +called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.'" +</P> + +<P> +The father must have been watching for his lost boy, for while he was +yet a great way off he saw him, and ran to meet him. He put his arms +around him and kissed him without once speaking of his sins, and he +called his servants to bring the best robe and put it on him, and a +ring for his hand, and shoes for his feet, and then to kill the fatted +calf to make a feast for all, +</P> + +<P> +"For," he said "this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, +and is found." +</P> + +<P> +The elder son had been away in the field but when he came home heard +music and dancing, and called to a servant to ask what these things +meant. When he had heard he was very angry, and would not go in. His +father came out to beg him to come in and greet his brother, but he +said, +</P> + +<P> +"Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any +time thy commandment, and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might +make merry with my friends." But the father said, +</P> + +<P> +"Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet +that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead, +and is alive again, and was lost and is found." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-210a"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-210a.jpg" ALT="The return of the prodigal" BORDER="0" WIDTH="599" HEIGHT="771"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 599px"> +The return of the prodigal +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +There are other stories told by Jesus while in Peraea, which you will +find in the gospel by Luke, the beloved physician. One is about the +"Unjust Steward," and another is the story of the "Unjust Judge." +Still another is called "Dives and Lazarus," or the "Rich man and the +Beggar." +</P> + +<P> +The parable of "The Pharisee and the Publican," describes two men who +went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a +publican. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-210b"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-210b.jpg" ALT="The Pharisee and the publican" BORDER="0" WIDTH="595" HEIGHT="767"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 595px"> +The Pharisee and the publican +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The Pharisee prayed with <I>himself</I>, thus, "God, I thank thee that I am +not as other men are, or even as this publican. I fast twice a week. +I give tithes of all I possess." +</P> + +<P> +And the publican, standing afar off, dared not even lift his eyes to +heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, "God be merciful to me a +sinner!" +</P> + +<P> +"This man," said Jesus, "went down to his house justified rather than +the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he +that humbleth himself shall be exalted." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0231"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE VOICE THAT WAKED THE DEAD—THE CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM. +</H3> + +<P> +While Jesus and His disciples were still east of the Jordan trouble +fell upon the happy home in Bethany where Jesus had been an honored +guest. A messenger was sent to Jesus in great haste, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." +</P> + +<P> +It was from Mary and Martha concerning their brother Lazarus. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus sent the messenger back with this message, +</P> + +<P> +"This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the +Son of God might be glorified thereby," and He remained two days longer +where He was. Then He said, +</P> + +<P> +"Let us go into Judea again." +</P> + +<P> +The disciples reminded Him that the Jews there had tried to take His +life. +</P> + +<P> +"Our friend Lazarus sleepeth," said Jesus, "but I go that I may awaken +him out of sleep." +</P> + +<P> +The disciples thought that if he slept he was doing very well, until +Jesus told them plainly, +</P> + +<P> +"Lazarus is dead." +</P> + +<P> +Then Thomas was full of sorrow and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Let us also go that we may die with him." +</P> + +<P> +Bethany was not far from Jerusalem, and when they reached the house of +Martha, Lazarus had been dead four days, and was placed in a rock tomb. +Many Jews from Jerusalem had come out to Bethany to comfort Mary and +Martha, and to mourn for their friend Lazarus. +</P> + +<P> +When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she ran to meet Him, but Mary +sat still in the house. She thought, perhaps, that He had come too +late, and the same thought may have been in Martha's mind when she said, +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not died, but I know that +even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." +</P> + +<P> +"Thy brother shall rise again," said Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +"I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day," +she said. +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus spoke those heavenly words that have been the comfort of the +sorrowful ever since, +</P> + +<P> +"I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he +were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me +shall never die. Believest thou this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yea, Lord," answered Martha, "I believe that thou art the Christ, the +Son of God which should come into the world." +</P> + +<P> +Then she called Mary quietly, so that the people who were noisily +wailing should not hear. +</P> + +<P> +"The Master is come and calleth for thee," she said. +</P> + +<P> +Then Mary rose quickly and went to meet Jesus The people who were +trying to comfort her followed her, for they thought she was going to +the tomb to weep there; but they saw her go to meet Jesus and fall at +His feet saying, as Martha did, +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." +</P> + +<P> +When Jesus saw the tears of Mary and her sister and their friends He +wept also, not for Lazarus, but His heart was moved for them, and He +shared their sorrow. +</P> + +<P> +They brought Him to the tomb—a cave with a stone lying upon it. When +He asked them to take away the stone Martha's faith began to fail; but +the stone was rolled away, and when Jesus had prayed He called with a +loud voice, +</P> + +<P> +"Lazarus, come forth!" +</P> + +<P> +And all who were bending forward toward the low, dark door of the tomb +saw a man wrapped in linen come forth from the darkness and try to +ascend the stone steps. +</P> + +<P> +"Loose him and let him go," said Jesus. And then there was a scene so +full of sacred joy that John, the disciple, who tells the story, does +not show it to us. +</P> + +<P> +After this many believed in Jesus, but others went and told the +Pharisees all about it. +</P> + +<P> +It was spring in Peraea, and the valley of the Jordan was full of the +singing of birds and the color of blooming trees and wild flowers, +while in the fields the young wheat was growing. The people thronged +to Jesus in crowds, for He taught them in the open air. The disciples +were busy with the people, explaining to the dull, listening to those +who wished to ask something of the Master, or keeping back the curious. +This had to be done in every village through which they passed. There +were many mothers with their children around them who came out of their +low white houses to follow Jesus in the way, and to listen when He sat +down to teach. +</P> + +<P> +The mothers loved to have the Rabbi's bless their children, for since +the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the blessing of a good man means +much to the Israelite. +</P> + +<P> +One day some mothers brought their little ones to Jesus, and begged Him +to bless them. The disciples told the mothers to stand back, and not +trouble the Master while he was teaching. Jesus knew what they were +saying, and He called them unto Him and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of +such is the Kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not +receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter +therein." +</P> + +<P> +In this way he made it clear to His disciples, to the mothers, and to +all who have read His word since that day, that every child is a +citizen of the Lord's Kingdom, and dear to the heart of the King. +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps the mothers had heard that the Lord was about to leave the +country east of Jordan to go up to Jerusalem, and they longed to have +their little ones share in the blessing they had received while sitting +at the feet of the great Teacher and learning of Him, for soon after He +crossed the Jordan, and, teaching as he went, set His face toward +Jerusalem. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0232"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE YOUNG MAN THAT JESUS LOVED. +</H3> + +<P> +A rich young ruler came running after Jesus one day, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" +</P> + +<P> +So eager was he to know that he knelt before Jesus by the road side. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus spoke gently to him telling him that God alone is good, and that +he knew the commandments that God had given. +</P> + +<P> +"All these have I kept from my youth up," said the young man. +</P> + +<P> +As Jesus looked upon him He saw that he was really trying to be good, +and hoping that he could do some great and good act that would give him +a certain entrance into heaven. He had been taught by the Rabbis that +men were saved by keeping the law and doing outward works of +righteousness. He did not know that heaven must begin in his own heart. +</P> + +<P> +Jesus, reading his heart, loved him, and longed to have him know the +truth. +</P> + +<P> +"Yet lackest thou one thing," he said, "sell all that thou hast and +distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and +come, follow me." +</P> + +<P> +When he heard these words the young man turned away and lost the eager +look with which he had come to the Lord's feet. He was very sorrowful, +for he was very rich, and he found that he loved his riches more than +he loved anything else. +</P> + +<P> +"How hardly," said Jesus, "shall they that have riches enter into the +Kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's +eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." +</P> + +<P> +"Who then can be saved?" asked one. +</P> + +<P> +"The things which are impossible with men, are possible with God," He +said. +</P> + +<P> +"Lo, we have left all," said Peter, "and followed Thee," and then the +Lord gave to His disciples that promise that has been proven true by +millions of His children for ages past,— +</P> + +<P> +"There is no man who hath left house or parents, or brethren, or wife, +or children for the Kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive +manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life +everlasting." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0233"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. +</H3> + +<P> +When Jesus and His disciples were finally on the way to Jerusalem Jesus +went before them, and the shadow of the great trial He was about to +suffer cast its shadow upon Him. The disciples saw it, and Mark says +that "they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid." He +told them all about the trial and the death that lay before Him, but so +unwilling were they to believe it, and so sure were they that He would +be made king of the Jews, that two of them brought their mother to +Jesus to ask that her two sons might sit next to Him when He should +come to the throne. +</P> + +<P> +"Ye know not what ye ask," He said, "can ye drink of the cup that I +drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" +and they said, +</P> + +<P> +"We can," not knowing that He spoke of suffering and death. +</P> + +<P> +He told them that though they would indeed drink of His cup, He had no +honors to give them. +</P> + +<P> +Then, when the others were vexed with James and John for their foolish +request, He talked to them all tenderly about the grace of humility. +</P> + +<P> +"Whosoever of you who will be chiefest," He said, "shall be servant of +all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to +minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." +</P> + +<P> +It was the time of the Passover Feast at Jerusalem, and as they crossed +at the Fords of Jordan and went over the Jericho plain they must have +joined some of the groups of joyful people who were going up to the +Feast, some on camels and asses, and some walking beside the beasts +bearing tents or merchandise. The valley of the Jordan was bright with +the freshness of spring, and as they came near Jericho with its +rose-gardens, and orchards, and feathery palms, it looked like the +gardens of Paradise. It was sometimes called Jericho "the perfumed" +because of its great gardens of roses, and its balsam plantations from +which they made perfumes that were sold in all the East. It was warm +even in winter there, and no frosts destroyed its tropical fruits and +flowers. The rich plain was made fertile by two springs that sent +their waters through trenches all through these gardens and orchards. +One is called the "Elisha Spring," because the prophet made its +poisonous waters pure by casting salt into them. +</P> + +<P> +And so the Passover pilgrims entered Jericho. +</P> + +<P> +There was in Jericho a man named Zaccheus, who, like Matthew of +Capernaum, was a rich tax-gatherer. He wanted to see Jesus as He +passed, but the crowd was great, and he was a small man, so he ran +before the people and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him. +</P> + +<P> +As Jesus passed the tree He looked up and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for to-day I must abide at thy +house." +</P> + +<P> +Zaccheus came down in great haste, and was full of joy to be able to +entertain Jesus, though some complained that a sinner should have the +honor of taking the Master into his house. +</P> + +<P> +Zaccheus must have heard these cruel remarks, for he said humbly, +</P> + +<P> +"Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have +taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him +fourfold." +</P> + +<P> +Then Jesus said heartily, "This day is salvation come to this house, +forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come +to seek and to save that which was lost." +</P> + +<P> +It was just outside of Jericho that the bands going out toward +Jerusalem passed a blind beggar who cried, +</P> + +<P> +"Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" +</P> + +<P> +The Lord heard the cry and called him, and there by the roadside He +opened the eyes of Bartimeus to see the beauty all around him, and the +kind face of Jesus looking at him. And he followed Him. +</P> + +<P> +The pilgrims came up the steep, rocky road from Jericho to Jerusalem, +and they were fortunate who could ride, for the heat was great, and the +road hard to climb. Jesus and His friends walked, for they were poor +men, as riches are counted in this world. +</P> + +<P> +It was a six hours' journey, and when they reached the green heights of +the Mount of Olives they turned aside to the village of Bethany, and +there Jesus rested in the house of Mary and Martha and the brother whom +He had called back from the grave. The disciples were lodged in the +town, no doubt, among their friends, and so grateful and happy were +they of Bethany to have the Lord once more among them that they made a +supper to show their joy at His coming. It was at the house of Simon, +who had been a leper, and cured, perhaps, by Jesus, and Lazarus sat at +the table with Jesus, and Mary and Martha served. +</P> + +<P> +It was a holy, happy time, yet shadowed with sadness because of the +words of Jesus concerning His death, which the disciples could not +believe. +</P> + +<P> +In the midst of the supper Mary brought an alabaster box of very +precious and costly perfume, and poured it upon the head of Jesus and +also upon His feet, wiping them with her long hair. Judas, one of the +twelve, frowned upon her, and said it was a waste, for the perfume +might have been sold for money to give to the poor. +</P> + +<P> +But Jesus knew what Mary did. +</P> + +<P> +"Let her alone," He said, "against the day of my burying hath she kept +this; for the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always." +</P> + +<P> +"She hath done what she could." +</P> + +<P> +"Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, +this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0234"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE PRINCE OF PEACE. +</H3> + +<P> +It was in the lovely spring time of a land that scarcely knows winter +that a strange and beautiful scene made Jerusalem still more beautiful. +Over the Mount of Olives, where the olive and the fig-trees were in +tender leaf, came a procession of people crying, +</P> + +<P> +"Hosanna; blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the +Lord!" +</P> + +<P> +The road was crowded with people who with lifted faces and songs of +praise waved branches of palm as they walked before and beside Jesus, +who was riding toward Jerusalem, seated upon a young ass, after the +manner of the kings and prophets of ancient Israel. +</P> + +<P> +After Jesus and His friends had left Bethany to go to Jerusalem He had +sent two of His disciples to a village near by to bring to Him an ass, +with its colt, that they would find tied there, and they were to say to +the owner of the asses, "The Lord hath need of them," that the words of +the prophet might be fulfilled, +</P> + +<P> +"Tell ye the daughter of Zion, 'Behold thy king cometh unto thee, meek, +and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass.'" +</P> + +<P> +While the Lord and His friends were coming up the Mount of Olives, many +people from Jerusalem who knew that He was on His way came to meet Him, +and when the two disciples brought to Jesus the ass upon which He was +to ride they placed Him upon it, and spreading their garments in the +way, and with waving palms and singing they came over the ridge of the +Mount of Olives from which they could see Mount Zion shining before +them. The Pharisees had come out to see what it meant and were angry. +"See—the world is gone after Him!" they said, but Jesus, when they +asked Him to stop the praises of the people, told them that the very +stones would cry out if the people should hold their peace. As they +came to a point in the road where from a smooth rocky height they could +see the great city with its temple before them, the whole company +stopped, and Jesus, beholding it, wept over it saying, +</P> + +<P> +"If thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things which +belong to thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes!" +</P> + +<A NAME="img-219"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-219.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-219t.jpg" ALT="Jesus entering Jerusalem" BORDER="0" WIDTH="657" HEIGHT="855"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 657px"> +Jesus entering Jerusalem +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +And He spoke of the days when enemies should surround the Holy City, +and lay it even with the ground, because they knew not the time of +their visitation. Fifty years after the Romans took the Holy City and +burned the beautiful Temple, and put uncounted people to death. And so +Jesus went down through the valley of the Kedron and up through the +city gates with the great procession that grew at every step until He +came to His Father's House—the Temple. Then He looked about and saw +the buyers and sellers again making the Temple a market, but He went +silently away with His friends to Bethany again. He had entered the +city as the Prince of Peace, not as a Roman Emperor would do, with +sound of trumpet and the tread of armed legions, and they knew not the +time of their visitation. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0235"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CHILDREN IN THE TEMPLE. +</H3> + +<P> +The next morning Jesus went early with His disciples to the Temple. It +was on the way as they went over the Mount of Olives that they passed a +barren fig-tree—one that bore nothing but leaves. It was like the +Pharisees, who outwardly seemed to be religious, but were inwardly +evil, and bore none of the fruits of a religious life. +</P> + +<P> +"Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever," said Jesus, and it +withered away. When the disciples wondered, Jesus said, +</P> + +<P> +"If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is +done to the fig-tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, 'Be +thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea,' it shall be done. And +all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall +receive." When Jesus came again to the Temple He drove out the buyers +and sellers and the money-changers, as He had done before. +</P> + +<P> +"It is written," He said, "'My house is the house of prayer, but ye +have made it a den of thieves.'" +</P> + +<P> +When they had been driven out, the people who had been waiting for +Jesus, and the blind and the lame came to Him, and He healed all who +came. The Pharisees looked on with hatred in their hearts, and talked +with the priests of arresting Him then and there, but a clear, sweet +sound of young voices singing came floating through the temple courts, +and they saw bands of children who were crying, "Hosanna to the Son of +David!" and it rang like heavenly music through all the place. +</P> + +<P> +"Hearest thou what these say?" cried the angry Pharisees, and Jesus +answered, "Yea; have ye never read, 'Out of the mouths of babes and +sucklings thou hast perfected praise?'" Then He left them and went +again to Bethany to rest in the house of His faithful friends, Martha, +and Mary, and Lazarus. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0236"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LAST DAY IN THE TEMPLE. +</H3> + +<P> +It was on a Tuesday that Jesus came again early to the Temple. It was +the last day of His teaching there and He filled it with wonderful +sayings that have been taught in thousands of Christian temples for +nearly two thousand years. The chief priests and elders, who were full +of anger because He had acted as if He had a right to say who should +come into the Temple courts, came to Him as He was teaching and said, +</P> + +<P> +"By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this +authority?" Jesus answered them by asking a question, "The baptism of +John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?" They could not answer, +for they said in their own minds, "If we shall say 'From heaven,' He +will say, 'Why did you not then believe him;' but if we shall say 'Of +men,' we fear the people, for all men hold John as a prophet." And so +they said, "We cannot tell." +</P> + +<P> +And Jesus answered, "Neither tell I you by what authority I do these +things." They could not find what they wanted—something to accuse Him +of before the Jewish Council and so they tried to lead Him to say +something that would turn the Romans against Him. They came to Him +with flattering words, saying that they knew that He taught the way of +God truly, and would He tell them if it was lawful to give tribute to +Caesar or not? He saw their deceit and cunning, and said, "Why tempt +ye me? Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription is this?" +They told Him it was Caesar's. "Render therefore," He said, "unto +Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and to God the things which be +God's." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-221"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-221.jpg" ALT="Showing the penny" BORDER="0" WIDTH="599" HEIGHT="774"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 599px"> +Showing the penny +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +They wondered much at the wisdom of His answer, and could find nothing +whereof to accuse Him, but perhaps they never knew what He really meant +to say to them—and to us also—that His Kingdom was not of this world. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0237"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LAST WORDS IN THE TEMPLE. +</H3> + +<P> +On this day also, as Jesus sat near the treasury of the Temple and saw +the rich, and the self-righteous casting their money into the boxes +placed there, He saw a poor widow come with her mourning dress showing +that she was the poorest of the poor—a pauper—and yet she had +something to give: she dropped two "mites" into one of the boxes under +the marble colonnade that surrounded the court of the women. Taken +together these two coins were worth much less than a penny, but they +were "all her living" and though the Lord did not speak to her, as far +as we know, He saw her faith, and His blessing must have reached her in +ways that we know nothing about. To those who stood about Him He said, +"Of a truth I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast in more than +they all; for all these have of their abundance cast into the offerings +of God; but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-223"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-223.jpg" ALT="The two mites" BORDER="0" WIDTH="594" HEIGHT="762"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 594px"> +The two mites +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Jesus, who "spake as never man spake," preached the new Gospel of the +Kingdom by means of stories, or parables, and on one long day of +teaching in the Temple He told several stories that the people never +forgot. Two of them were stories of the vineyard. One of them was of +a man who sent his two sons into his vineyard to work. One answered "I +will not," but afterward repented and went, while the other, who had +said "I go, sir," went not. Jesus taught in this that real sinners who +at first refuse to enter God's kingdom but afterward repent and enter, +are better than the heartless hypocrites who talk much of their +religion but are inwardly evil. +</P> + +<P> +The other story was of a certain householder who owned a vineyard and +let it out to some men while he took a journey into a far country. +When the time of the fruit drew near he sent his servants to the men +who had rented the vineyard, that they might receive the fruits of it, +but the men beat one servant, and stoned another, and killed another. +When the owner sent other servants they treated them in the same way. +Then he sent his son saying, "They will reverence my son," but the men +determined to kill the heir and take the vineyard for themselves, and +they cast out the son of the lord of the vineyard and killed him. In +this story He spoke of His own death, as well as that of the prophets +and John the Baptist before Him. +</P> + +<P> +The chief priests and Pharisees, when they heard this parable knew that +the Lord spoke of them, and they tried again to take Him by force, but +feared the people. +</P> + +<P> +Another story told in the Temple that day was of the "Marriage of the +King's Son" which you will find in the twenty-second chapter of +Matthew. It shows first how the Jews were asked into the Kingdom of +Christ, but refused to come, and their city was given over to their +enemies to destroy. In the second part of the parable the call of all +nations to come into Christ's kingdom is described, and the man who was +found at the feast without a wedding garment, describes those who come +into the church without real faith in the Lord Jesus, and are not +prepared to enter heaven. "For many are called," said Jesus, "but few +are chosen." +</P> + +<P> +Knowing the wickedness of the priests and Pharisees, who stood before +the people as more holy than others, the Lord ended His last day in the +Temple with words to them that must have been sharper than a sword, and +more burning than flames of fire. These words are in the twenty-third +chapter of Matthew, and may no child who reads them ever live to +deserve to hear them for himself. To the hypocrite alone the Lord was +stern and severe, but to the sinner who truly repented He was full of +forgiving love. After telling them of the sorrows and desolations that +must fall upon the Holy City because of the sins of those who should be +true and faithful teachers of their holy religion, He sent forth these +last words of love and sorrow through the Temple courts, +</P> + +<P> +"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest +them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy +children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her +wings, and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate, +for I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, +'Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.'" And He went out +of the Temple to return no more. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0238"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AN EVENING ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus and His friends went out from the Temple and Jerusalem to the +Mount of Olives, and as they looked back upon the beautiful buildings +of marble and gold that made the Temple seem like a great jewel shining +in the sunset, the disciples turned to Jesus and spoke of it, but He +said, +</P> + +<P> +"There shall not be left here one stone that shall not be thrown down." +</P> + +<P> +They sat down on the slope of Olivet where the olive and fig-trees were +putting forth their new leaves, and in that quiet time Peter, and +James, and John, and Andrew drew close about their beloved Master, and +said, "Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign +of thy coming, and the end of the world?" He told them many things +hard to be understood; of the sorrows of Israel when their city should +be destroyed, and the people scattered; of the end of the age, when +they should turn to the Lord they had rejected, and of His coming to +the whole world. +</P> + +<P> +"Watch, therefore," He said, "for ye know not what hour your Lord doth +come," and He told them of the faithful and the unfaithful servants; +that the one was found doing his duty when his lord returned, and was +made ruler over all his goods, but the other, unfaithful in all things, +was surprised by his lord's coming and cast out. +</P> + +<P> +He told them another beautiful "watching" story of the Ten Virgins who +went forth with their little lamps to meet the bridegroom on his way to +the marriage feast. Five of them took oil to fill their lamps, and +five took no oil with them. The bridegroom was long in coming, and +they all fell asleep; but at midnight there was a cry, "Behold the +bridegroom cometh! go ye out to meet him!" Then they all arose and +trimmed their lamps, but five of the lamps had gone out, and the +foolish maids who brought no oil to fill them begged it of the others, +but they were told that they must go and buy it of those who had it to +sell. While they went to buy the bridegroom came, and they that were +ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. +Afterward, when the five thoughtless ones came to the door crying, +"Lord, Lord, open to us!" they only heard the answer, "I know you not." +</P> + +<P> +After this He told them the story of the Talents, which you may read in +the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew. It is the Lord's teaching to all +disciples about making the most of the life He gives us. +</P> + +<P> +His last story was a picture of the gathering of the nations, and the +separation of the good and the true from the false and the evil. The +King's call to the good, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the +kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," carried +with it a strange reason. "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; +I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me +in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in +prison, and ye came unto me." +</P> + +<P> +Then the good whom He had called were astonished, and cried, "Lord, +when saw we thee an hungered and fed thee? or thirsty, a stranger, +sick, or in prison?" and He answered, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto +one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." To +the false and the evil He could not say these things, but quite the +opposite; and when they wondered when they had seen the Lord hungry, or +thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and had not +ministered unto Him, He said, "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the +least of these, ye did it not to me." Those by a life of love and +service had chosen eternal life, but these by a life of selfishness had +chosen death. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0239"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE HOLY SUPPER. +</H3> + +<P> +There were two more days before the Passover Feast when Jesus would eat +the Paschal Supper with His disciples. He spent the time with them +trying to help them to bear the great trial that was before them, and +which would shake their faith in Him to the utmost. They still +believed that some great miracle would break around them like light in +the darkness, and that Jesus would be acknowledged as the Messiah for +whom the whole nation was waiting and yet the shadow grew deeper. The +faith of one had failed. Judas had secretly hoped that Jesus would be +made king, and that His disciples would be honored with riches and +power, but little by little this hope had been dying, and little by +little his heart had been turning away from his Master and his +brethren, until, with the resolve to forsake the Lord, he opened the +door of his heart to Satan, who began to enter in and possess him. +</P> + +<P> +The high priest and the elders were plotting against Jesus in their +council, and Judas, leaving Bethany and the company of the Lord and His +disciples, went over the road he had so often walked with Jesus with a +thought from Satan burning in his heart. He loved money more than +everything else, and there was but one thing that would bring it now +since all hope of Jesus becoming a king was past. +</P> + +<P> +He went to the Temple and asked to be taken before the rulers, and he +said to them, "What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you?" +There was a bargain made at once, and out of the Temple treasury they +weighed him thirty pieces of silver, and he carried them away with the +promise that he would watch Jesus, and tell them when and where they +could take Him. He did not remember that five hundred years before the +prophet Zechariah had written, "So they weighed for my price thirty +pieces of silver." +</P> + +<P> +On Thursday morning, the first day of the Feast, Jesus sent Peter and +John to prepare a place where He should hold the Paschal Supper with +His disciples in the evening. He told them to go into the city, and +there they would meet a man bearing a pitcher of water, and if they +would follow him he would show them a large upper room furnished. +There they were to make ready the Passover. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-227"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-227.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-227t.jpg" ALT="The Passover supper" BORDER="0" WIDTH="656" HEIGHT="860"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 656px"> +The Passover supper +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +They found it as He had said, and when the lamb had been slain at the +Temple, the feast prepared, and the hour was come, the Lord sat down +with the twelve. It was the last time that He would break the bread of +the Passover with them before He suffered, and it was to be the first +Holy Supper of the Christian Church. "With desire I have desired to +eat this Passover with you before I suffer;" He said, "for I say unto +you that I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the +Kingdom of God." Before Him were the cakes of unleavened bread, the +wine, the water and the herbs, while the Paschal Lamb was on a side +table. After the blessing and the thanks, the Lord filled a cup with +wine and water, and blessing and tasting it passed it to His disciples. +It was the custom for the master of the feast to wash his hands at this +point, and Jesus rose, and laid aside His tunic, and tying a long towel +around His waist, poured water into a large basin and going to His +disciples knelt down to wash their feet. They had been contending as +to who should sit nearest to the Lord, and so be accounted greatest, +and He thus taught them a lesson of humility. He told them that they +were not to be among those who hold authority. "But he that is +greatest among you let him be as the younger," He said, "and he that is +chief as he that doth serve." The disciples looked on astonished and +distressed, for their Master was doing the work that slaves were in the +habit of doing, and Peter cried, "Lord, dost thou wash my feet?" Jesus +said gently, "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know +hereafter." "Thou shalt never wash my feet;" said the loving, +impulsive Peter, and Jesus answered, "If I wash thee not thou hast no +part with me." "Lord, not my feet only," the humbled disciple said, +"but also my hands and my head!" When He sat down with them again He +talked tenderly to them of serving each other as He had served them, +adding, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." With a +troubled spirit He said, "Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is +with me on the table." Then the disciples began to inquire sorrowfully +among themselves who it could be, and to ask the Lord in turn, "Is it +I?" Even Judas, close beside Him, asked the same question, but the +disciples did not hear the Lord's reply. Peter, beckoning to John, +signed to him to ask the Master, for John sat next the Lord, and leaned +upon His breast. When he asked, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus said, perhaps +in a whisper to John, +</P> + +<P> +"He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it," and He +gave it to Judas Iscariot. Then Satan entered fully into the angry, +covetous heart of Judas, and when Jesus said to him in a low voice, +"That thou doest do quickly," he rose and went out into the night. +Alone with His faithful friends, the Lord took bread and blessed it and +broke it, and gave to them, saying, "Take, eat, this is my body; this +do in remembrance of me." And He took the cup, saying, "Drink ye all +of it, for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for +many for the remission of sins." +</P> + +<P> +And so the Lord founded the Holy Supper of His Church, the mystery and +the holiness of which you will know more and more as you grow in the +heavenly life, and receive through His Spirit the new wine of the +Kingdom. John, the beloved disciple, kept for us the wonderful and +precious words that the Lord spoke after the Holy Supper. They are +full of a love for His children so deep and wide that we can never hope +to measure it. They are written in the fourteenth, fifteenth, +sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John's Gospel, and every child +should hide them in his memory and heart before he is grown, and in +after life they will be bread in time of spiritual famine. Looking +around upon their troubled faces at the table the Lord said to His +disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe +also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a +place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come +again and receive you unto myself, that when I am there ye may be +also." He answered their questions, and He promised them the +Comforter—the Holy Spirit of Truth, who would teach them all things, +and make all the dark things clear. He also promised certainly to come +back to them and not leave them orphans. +</P> + +<P> +After they had sung a psalm they arose from the table, but they +lingered for the Lord's last words and His prayer. He charged them to +be steadfast and live from Him, as a branch lives from the vine, for He +was the true spiritual Vine, and without Him they could do nothing. He +told them of His great love for them, and that they must love one +another through all the suffering and persecution that was before them, +and trust to the Spirit of Truth, who would guide them in all things, +and teach them the things He would say to them, but which they were not +yet able to bear. And He promised that whatever they should ask the +Father in His name should be given them. Then lifting up His eyes to +heaven He prayed for His disciples, and for all disciples who should +believe on Him through their word, that they might be one with each +other and with Him as He was one with the Father, and, being made clean +from the evil that is in the world that they should be with Him forever +in heaven. After the prayer they went out of the city, and over the +brook Kedron into a garden where Jesus had often sat with His disciples. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0240"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XL. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE NIGHT OF THE BETRAYAL. +</H3> + +<P> +As they went out through the darkness down the valley and over the +Kedron, Jesus still talked with His disciples. To Peter's question, +"Lord, where goest thou?" He said, "Whither I go thou canst not follow +me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards." "Lord, why cannot I +follow thee now?" said Peter. "I will lay down my life for thy sake." +</P> + +<P> +"Verily, verily I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow till thou hast +denied me thrice," said Jesus. +</P> + +<P> +"Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift +you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not; and +when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." +</P> + +<P> +"All ye shall be offended because of me this night; for it is written, +'I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be +scattered abroad.'" +</P> + +<A NAME="img-230a"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-230a.jpg" ALT="Gethsemane" BORDER="0" WIDTH="608" HEIGHT="769"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 608px"> +Gethsemane +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +Jesus and his friends had reached the olive trees of Gethsemane when He +asked them to sit there while He went away a little distance to pray. +He took Peter and James and John with Him; and began to be very +sorrowful, and He said, +</P> + +<P> +"My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here and +watch with me." He went a little farther, and fell on His face and +prayed, saying, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from +me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt." He found His +disciples sleeping for sorrow, and He said to Peter, "What! could ye +not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, lest ye enter into +temptation." Again He prayed, "O my Father, if this cup may not pass +away from me except I drink it, Thy will be done." And there appeared +an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him. Then there was the +sound of the tread of many feet, and the light of torches moving among +the olive trees, and Judas, leading a band of priests, elders and +captains of the Temple came toward the little group, and kissed Jesus +as a sign that He was the One whom they sought. Jesus turned to him +saying, "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?" And to the +others, "Whom seek ye?" +</P> + +<A NAME="img-230b"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-230b.jpg" ALT="Jesus betrayed by Judas" BORDER="0" WIDTH="601" HEIGHT="767"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 601px"> +Jesus betrayed by Judas +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. And when Jesus had said to them, +"I am He," they fell backward at the sight of His face. "When I was +daily with you in the Temple," He said, "ye stretched forth no hands +against me; but this is your hour and the power of darkness." Peter +drew a sword and struck at the high priest's servant in defence of his +Master, but Jesus said gently, +</P> + +<P> +"Suffer ye thus far," and touched his ear and healed him. "Put up thy +sword into the sheath," He added. "The cup which my Father hath given +me, shall I not drink it?" +</P> + +<P> +Then they took Jesus and bound Him to lead Him away, and the disciples +forsook Him and fled, as had been written in the prophets. But John, +the loving and beloved, came back and followed Jesus. So did Peter, +remembering his vow, but he followed Him afar off. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0241"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +DESPISED AND REJECTED OF MEN. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus was first taken to Annas, the old High-Priest, who sent Him bound +to Caiaphas, who was his son-in-law, and High-Priest that year. +</P> + +<P> +John went in with Jesus to the palace of the High-Priest, but Peter +stood outside the door, shivering with the chill of the night, but more +with fear. +</P> + +<P> +A servant girl at the door said, when John came out to bring him in, +</P> + +<P> +"Art not thou also one of this man's disciples?" +</P> + +<P> +And Peter said, "I am not." +</P> + +<P> +Restless and unhappy, he walked about, or warmed himself by the fire, +until three had accused him of being a follower of Jesus, and three +times he had denied his Lord. Then there came a sound that struck him +through—he heard through the open windows the crowing of a cock. It +had crowed once before, but he did not think then of what the Lord had +said, but now his memory and conscience were wide awake, for, as he +looked over the heads of the people towards Jesus standing bound and +alone before the High-Priest, the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. +That look broke Peter's heart, and he rushed out of the place, and wept +bitterly. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-232"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-232.jpg" ALT="The sin of Peter" BORDER="0" WIDTH="602" HEIGHT="762"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 602px"> +The sin of Peter +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +There was a mock trial which would pain the heart of a child to dwell +upon, and which we will not describe at length. It is enough to know +that the Lamb of God, who had come to take away the sins of the world, +was willingly in the power of His enemies, and going down to death. A +wonderful description of the trial and death of the Messiah may be +found in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, which was fulfilled in the +trial and death of Jesus. The hatred of the priests, the scoffings, +the blows, and the cruel words of the people we will not describe. "He +was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. He +is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her +shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth." Finally Caiaphas cried, +</P> + +<P> +"I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the +Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said, +</P> + +<P> +"I am; and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of +power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." +</P> + +<P> +Then the High Priest rent his garments as if shocked at such profanity, +and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Ye have heard the blasphemy; what think ye?" And they all condemned +Him to be guilty of death. +</P> + +<P> +There was another gathering of the priests in the morning as the day +began to dawn. There were more cruel words and blows for the Divine +Man who was bearing the sins of the world, and He was taken away to +Pilate. +</P> + +<P> +And where was the wretched man who had sold his Master into the hands +of His enemies! +</P> + +<P> +He could not have thought that he was bringing death on His Master; but +when at last he saw the Lord coming, pale, suffering and bound, down +the marble steps, and heard "Death! death!" on every side, he became +terrified. He had no one to turn to, for he had not a friend among +men. He ran to the Temple and, finding some priests, begged them take +back the money they had given him, saying, "I have sinned, in that I +have betrayed the innocent blood." +</P> + +<P> +"What is that to us," said the heartless priests. "See thou to that." +</P> + +<P> +Then Judas cast the thirty pieces of silver over the marble floor, and +fled from the place. Afterward he was found outside the city, where he +had hanged himself. The priests could not put the price of blood in +the Lord's treasury, and so they bought with it a field in which to +bury strangers. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0242"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE KING OF HEAVEN AT THE BAR OF PILATE. +</H3> + +<P> +Pilate, the Roman Governor, who had come up from Caesarea by the sea to +keep order in Jerusalem during the Passover, was in his fine palace +called "The Praetorium." Adjoining was "The Hall of Judgment," where +cases were brought to the Governor to be judged, and just outside this +Hall was a place called "The Pavement." It was a broad floor of +many-colored marbles, open toward the city, and having an ivory +judgment-seat. +</P> + +<P> +While the morning was lighting the gold of the Temple roof to splendor, +there was a deep shadow over the friends of Jesus. Their Lord was +being led through the streets of Jerusalem by Roman guards, condemned +to die. His mother and the women who believed in Him were in the city +and saw Him, perhaps, as He was hurried by, pale and weak from the +cruelty of wicked men. The priests would not go into the Judgment Hall +for fear of defilement at the time of their Feast, so Pilate came out +to "The Pavement" and sat down upon the ivory judgment seat. He was a +stern, proud man wearing a white toga with a rich purple border—the +robe of a Roman ruler. +</P> + +<P> +"What accusation do you bring against this man," asked Pilate, looking +at the pure, pallid face of the Divine Man, and turning to the dark and +evil faces of His accusers. To their complaining remark, "If he were +not a malefactor we would not have delivered him up unto thee," Pilate +replied, +</P> + +<P> +"Take ye him and judge him according to your law." +</P> + +<P> +When they replied that (under Roman rule) it was not lawful for them to +put any man to death. Pilate did not wish to condemn that just One of +whom he had known nothing but good, for he had heard of His miracles, +and had doubtless heard his wife speak of the young Rabbi. He rose and +went into the Hall, ordering the guards to bring Jesus to him. Then he +questioned Him, +</P> + +<P> +"Art thou the King of the Jews?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"My Kingdom is not of this world," said Jesus. "If my Kingdom was of +this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be +delivered to the Jews; but now my Kingdom is not from hence." +</P> + +<P> +"Art thou a king then?" said Pilate. +</P> + +<P> +"Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this +cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. +Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." +</P> + +<P> +"What is truth?" said Pilate, wondering, perhaps, what kingdom of truth +this harmless man was dreaming of, and then he rose and went forth to +the people on "The Pavement" who were saying that this man was stirring +up the people from Galilee to Jerusalem. +</P> + +<P> +Pilate, hearing that Jesus was a Galilean, sent him to the palace of +Herod Antipas, who ruled over that province, and who was now in +Jerusalem, but He was sent back to Pilate crowned with thorns and +wearing a faded purple robe. The Roman soldiers had jested about His +kingship, and Antipas had cruelly carried it out in returning Him in +this dress to Pilate, through the streets of the city. He had been +tried the fourth time and now Pilate made another effort to set Him +free, He questioned Him again and heard the complaints of the Jews, but +Jesus would not defend Himself. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-236"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-236.jpg" ALT="Jesus crowned with thorns" BORDER="0" WIDTH="607" HEIGHT="780"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 607px"> +Jesus crowned with thorns +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Hearest thou not how many things, they witness against thee?" said +Pilate. "Answerest thou nothing?" If Jesus would only defend Himself! +</P> + +<P> +Then Pilate thought he would scourge Jesus to satisfy His enemies, and +let Him go. +</P> + +<P> +"Ye have brought this man unto me," he said to the chief priests, "as +one that perverteth the people, and behold, I, having examined him +before you, have found no fault in this man. No, nor yet Herod. I +will therefore chastise him and release him." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-238"></A> +<CENTER> +<A HREF="images/img-238.jpg"> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-238t.jpg" ALT="Jesus before Pilate" BORDER="0" WIDTH="659" HEIGHT="861"> +</A> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 659px"> +Jesus before Pilate +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The cry of "Crucify him! crucify him!" rose again. +</P> + +<P> +A message was sent to Pilate from his wife, which deepened the shadow +on his face. "Have thou nothing to do with that just man," she said, +"for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him." +</P> + +<P> +The people had been persuaded by the priests to ask for Barabbas, and +when Pilate asked which of the two he should release to them, they +cried, +</P> + +<P> +"Barabbas!" +</P> + +<P> +"What shall I do with Jesus, which is called Christ?" and all cried, +</P> + +<P> +"Let him be crucified!" +</P> + +<P> +"Why, what evil hath he done?" asked Pilate, but the cry was so great +he could bear it no longer, and calling a slave to bring water, he +washed his hands before them as a sign that he took no blame for the +act, and said, +</P> + +<P> +"I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it," but +they cried, +</P> + +<P> +"His blood be upon us, and upon our children." And when Pilate had +given the order to scourge and crucify Jesus, he went into his palace. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0243"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LOVE AND DEATH. +</H3> + +<P> +Jesus had been meeting and conquering evil all His life, and in the +last hour of it the last enemy was overcome. There were no children at +the cross when Jesus laid down His life for us all, and we will not +lead you there to point out all the means used by evil men to increase +the suffering of our Lord. It was greatest within the great Heart of +Love which broke for the sins of the world, and when you have learned +the nature of Spirit you will be able to understand that Jesus chose to +pass through an earthly life of poverty and temptation, and die a +painful and shameful death, that He might be the Brother of the poor, +the tempted, the suffering and the dying. "He was taken from prison +and from judgment:" "He poured out His soul unto death, and was +numbered with the transgressors;" "He bore the sins of many, and made +intercession for the transgressors." So Isaiah wrote of the coming +Messiah seven hundred years before. But so blind were the Jews that +they could not see that the Redeemer had come to Zion, "He came unto +His own and His own received Him not." +</P> + +<P> +Bearing His cross He went forth meekly to death, and when He fell +beneath the heavy cross, the Roman soldiers forced a passing stranger +to carry it. All along the street women wept for pity as He passed, +and there was sorrow in many hearts for the Man whom they had believed +in as the One who was to deliver their nation. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-239"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-239.jpg" ALT="Jesus bearing the Cross" BORDER="0" WIDTH="597" HEIGHT="763"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 597px"> +Jesus bearing the Cross +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +But the eleven disciples—where were they? In deep grief somewhere; +but only one—John the Beloved—followed his Master down to death. +With the suffering mother of Jesus and the faithful women disciples he +kept near his Lord. They saw the rough soldiers as they took the +Lord's garments and divided them among themselves, and when they put +His body upon the cross they heard Him pray, +</P> + +<P> +"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" +</P> + +<P> +Two robbers were crucified with Jesus, upon His right hand and on His +left. One begged Him to save him, and reviled Him because He did not; +but the other said, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy +Kingdom." And Jesus said, "Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou +be with me in Paradise." +</P> + +<P> +His dying eyes also beheld His mother standing by the cross with the +beloved John and the faithful women who had been His friends. The hour +had come spoken of by Simeon in the Temple when he said, "Yea a sword +shall pierce through thy own soul also." Jesus, looking at His mother +supported by John said, +</P> + +<P> +"Woman, behold thy son!" And to the disciple He said, "Son, behold thy +mother!" And from that hour John took her to his own home to love and +care for her through the rest of her life. +</P> + +<P> +We will not look at the darkness that rolled over the sky, shutting out +the light of the sun, or the sights and sounds of that day on Calvary. +Jesus, thinking of the redemption He had wrought out for us, bowed His +head and said, +</P> + +<P> +"It is finished! Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." Then +the great veil before the Holy Place in the Temple was torn in two from +the top to the bottom, as a sign that the Lord Jesus by His death had +opened the way for us into life eternal. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0244"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LOVE AND LIFE. +</H3> + +<P> +There was a good man of Arimathea named Joseph who was a disciple of +Jesus, but not a fearless one. He had not followed Jesus with the +twelve, but he had loved Him, and when he knew that his Master, who had +not where to lay His head in life, had not a place of burial in death, +he lost all fear and went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. This +Pilate willingly gave him, and he, bringing helpers, took the body from +the cross and tenderly brought it to his own garden in which was a new +tomb hewn out of the rock. In this peaceful garden-room for the dead +they laid Him, wrapped Him in fine linen and spices, for another +disciple who had not dared to follow Jesus openly had come with a +mixture of myrrh and aloes of a hundred pounds weight to embalm the +body of Jesus. This was Nicodemus who had a talk with Jesus by night +among the olive trees about the breath of God in man. So these two +rich men buried Jesus, and a prophecy was fulfilled. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-241"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-241.jpg" ALT="The descent from the Cross" BORDER="0" WIDTH="598" HEIGHT="773"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 598px"> +The descent from the Cross +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +We do not know that any of the eleven disciples helped to bury Jesus, +but, while John took the mother of Jesus to a place of rest and safety, +his own mother, Salome, and Mary, the mother of James, and Mary +Magdalene stood looking on afar off. There were other women also, who +helped to guard the body of the crucified Lord when it seemed to be +forsaken of all men. They marked the place where He lay and went away, +for the hours of "preparation" and the Sabbath were before them. On +the eve of Friday they prepared spices and ointments, and rested the +Sabbath day (seventh day) according to the commandment. But Roman +soldiers came and set a seal upon the tomb, and watched it night and +day. On the first day of the week (now the Christian Sabbath) very +early in the morning, while the streets were still, and there lay only +a faint streak of rose in the purple east, Mary Magdalene hastened out +of the city to the tomb in the garden, bearing her spices. When she +reached the place she saw no guards there, and the heavy stone was +rolled away from the door of the tomb. A great fear fell upon the +woman who "loved much," and she ran to find Peter and John. "They have +taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre," she said, "and we know not +where they have laid Him." +</P> + +<P> +Then Peter and John ran, and John the loving ran faster than Peter the +believing, and was the first to reach the tomb. The other women also +had gone to the tomb early bearing their spices for the embalming, +wondering on the way who should roll away for them the great stone that +stood at the door of the tomb. But they found the stone rolled past +the door, and entering the low vestibule they saw a vision of an angel, +in a long white garment, and were afraid. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-243"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-243.jpg" ALT="The angel of the Resurrection" BORDER="0" WIDTH="595" HEIGHT="765"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 595px"> +The angel of the Resurrection +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified," he said; "He is risen; +He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him. But go your way, +tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee; +there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you." +</P> + +<P> +The Lord had left a special message for Peter who had denied Him so +cruelly and had repented so thoroughly! As they looked to "behold the +place where they laid Him," they saw another angel shining white +through the gloom, "one at the head, and the other at the feet where +the body of Jesus had lain." They also ran, glad, yet half afraid, to +tell the disciples what they had seen and heard. +</P> + +<P> +Peter and John found the linen that had wrapped the Lord's body laid +carefully aside. They did not yet remember the prophecy concerning His +resurrection from the dead, but they believed He had risen, and they +went away, hoping perhaps, that He was seeking them. +</P> + +<P> +Mary Magdalene could not leave the empty tomb until she had learned +something more about the Lord. Weeping and desolate she stood at the +low door of the cave-tomb, and stooping to look in again she saw the +vision of angels that the other women had seen, "one at the head and +the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain." +</P> + +<P> +"Why weepest thou?" they asked, and she answered, +</P> + +<P> +"Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have +laid Him." As she turned to go out into the garden she saw one +standing there who said, +</P> + +<P> +"Woman why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?" +</P> + +<P> +She thought as she looked through her tears that it must be the man who +kept the garden, so she said, +</P> + +<P> +"Sir, if thou have borne Him hence tell me where thou hast laid Him, +and I will take Him away." +</P> + +<P> +"Mary!" +</P> + +<P> +It was the voice of Jesus—the same that once said to her, "Thy sins +are forgiven," and she spread her arms to clasp His feet, crying. +</P> + +<P> +"<I>Rabboni!</I>—my Master!" +</P> + +<P> +"Touch me not," He said, "for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but +go to my brethren and say unto them, 'I ascend unto my Father and your +Father: and to my God and your God.'" +</P> + +<P> +It was while Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, were still in +the garden, perhaps, that Jesus met them and said, +</P> + +<P> +"All hail!" and they fell at His feet and worshipped Him. +</P> + +<P> +"Be not afraid," He said, "go tell my brethren that they go into +Galilee and there shall they see me." +</P> + +<P> +When the women told all these things to the apostles who had come +together to mourn for their dead Master, they could not believe. But +the first Easter had risen upon the world, and though the joy of it +filled all heaven, only a few women knew the blessed secret on earth, +and were saying over and over, "The Lord is risen! the Lord is risen +indeed!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0245"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE EVENING OF EASTER. +</H3> + +<P> +It was the afternoon of the same day in which the women had brought +such strange stories from the tomb of the buried Christ, that two +disciples went out to their home at Emmaus, a village about eight miles +from Jerusalem. They had been in the upper room where they often +gathered, and had heard the stories of Mary Magdalene, and of Peter and +John, and they knew not what to believe. +</P> + +<P> +As Cleopas and his companion (Luke, perhaps) went westward over the +hills they talked of all these strange things with bowed heads and sad +hearts, for Jesus, the One whom they had trusted was the Redeemer of +Israel, was crucified, dead and buried, and as for the words of these +women, they seemed like idle tales; but what if they should be true? +</P> + +<P> +Another step seemed to fall beside theirs, and looking up they saw a +noble looking young Stranger who was following the same road. He +greeted them and said, +</P> + +<P> +"What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another as +ye walk, and are sad?" +</P> + +<P> +"Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem," Cleopas said, "and hast not +known the things that are come to pass there in these days?" +</P> + +<P> +"What things?" asked the Stranger, and they said, "Concerning Jesus of +Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and +all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him +to be condemned to death, and have crucified Him. But we trusted that +it had been He which should have redeemed Israel: and besides all this +to-day is the third day since these things were done." +</P> + +<P> +Cleopas also told the story of the women who had come from the +sepulchre that morning talking of a vision of angels, with that of +Peter and John, who had gone also, and found it even as the women had +said. +</P> + +<P> +Then the Stranger began to speak to them of many things, and in words +so full of wisdom and love and faith that their hearts were drawn with +Him to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. He told them that +they were very foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the +prophets had spoken. "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things," +He said, "and to enter into His glory;" and He explained to them all +the Scriptures that foretold the coming, the suffering, and the death +of the Messiah, until the two hours' walk seemed as nothing. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-247"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-247.jpg" ALT="The walk to Emmaus" BORDER="0" WIDTH="598" HEIGHT="766"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 598px"> +The walk to Emmaus +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +As they came to the village where they lived, and the Stranger was +passing on, they urged Him to come with them into the low white house +near by which was the house of one of them. "Abide with us," they +said, "for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He +went with them, and sat down with them to their evening meal. +</P> + +<P> +Then another and strange beautiful vision was given at the sunset of +the first Easter Day, like that which was given to the women at its +dawn. The Stranger took bread and blessed it and broke it, and as He +handed it to each disciple their eyes were opened, and they knew Him. +It was the Lord! But in a moment He had vanished from their sight, and +they could only wonder and believe. They began to recall His words. +"Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us by the way, +and while He opened to us the Scriptures?" +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps they ate the bread that He had broken as they would take the +sacrament, and then rose, though the day was fading over the hills of +Ephraim and hurried back to Jerusalem to the friend's house where the +disciples met. There in the upper room, the doors closed and guarded +for fear of the Jews, they told the story of the Stranger to the eager +disciples, and found that the Lord had also appeared to Peter. +</P> + +<P> +In the midst of the joy and the wonder there fell a strange hush over +the little company, for suddenly the Lord was seen standing in the +midst and they heard the greeting so dear and familiar to them all, +</P> + +<P> +"Peace be unto you!" and to them all He spread His hands having the +print of the nails in them, and showed them His side that bore the mark +of the Roman spear. That they might be still more sure He was the Lord +and Master they had loved and followed (for they were afraid), He asked +them to touch him; and as they had been at supper together He asked to +share their meal, and He ate of the broiled fish and of the honey-comb +before them. After this He talked lovingly with them of Himself—of +the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Him and of the work of the +kingdom that was before them. Again he blessed them, and breathed on +them, saying, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." And so ended the day of the +Lord's resurrection from the dead—the first Easter of the Christian +Church. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0246"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LORD'S LAST DAYS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. +</H3> + +<P> +On Easter evening, when the Lord's friends were gathered in the upper +room where He appeared to them, one of the eleven was absent. There +were others beside the apostles—Cleopas and his companion, and +probably the women of Galilee, as well as Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus +of Bethany, but Thomas was not there. The others had told him that the +Lord had shown Himself to them and had broken bread with them, but he +could not believe. He believed, perhaps, in a vision, but not in the +return of the crucified Jesus. He declared, +</P> + +<P> +"Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my +finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I +will not believe." +</P> + +<P> +A week passed, and the disciples were again gathered in the upper room, +and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut and guarded as before, +but, as before the Lord suddenly stood in the midst, saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Peace be unto you." Then He turned to Thomas with gentle rebuke, +</P> + +<P> +"Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy +hand and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless but believing." +Thomas did not wait to touch the Lord, but cried, +</P> + +<P> +"My Lord and my God!" +</P> + +<P> +"Thomas," He said, "because thou hast seen me thou hast believed; +blessed are they that have not seen and have believed." +</P> + +<P> +Soon after this the apostles went away into Galilee, as the Lord had +commanded them to do. There by the Lake where He had called them from +their nets to follow Him they waited for Him. Peter, and James, and +John were there, with Thomas, and Nathanael, and two others of His +disciples. The old love for the Lake came back to Peter, and he said, +</P> + +<P> +"I go a fishing," and the others said, +</P> + +<P> +"We also go with thee," and they went out for a night with the nets on +the Lake, but they caught nothing. In the morning as they drew a +little nearer land they saw a dim figure on the shore and heard a voice +saying to them, +</P> + +<P> +"Children, have ye any meat?" They answered "No," and then the clear +voice came across the water saying, +</P> + +<P> +"Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find." This +they did, and so heavy did the net become with fishes that they were +not able to draw it. Perhaps John remembered another day on the Lake +when the nets broke with the weight of the fishes, and looking at the +figure standing on the shore in the sunrise, he said to Peter, +</P> + +<P> +"It is the Lord!" +</P> + +<P> +Peter did not wait to reply, but tying his fisher's coat around him he +threw himself into the Lake to swim towards His Master on the shore. +The others followed in the ship dragging the net with them, and when +they had landed they found a fire of coals there, with fish laid upon +it and bread, and the Lord Himself standing there as one who served. +</P> + +<P> +"Bring of the fish ye have now caught," He said. And Peter, first to +obey, drew the net to land full of great fishes—one hundred and +fifty-three—and the net was not broken. While they were silent for +joy and wonder, knowing that it was the Lord, and yet not daring to +question Him, He said, "Come and dine." And there upon the sands the +Lord for the third time since He rose from the dead, broke bread with +his disciples. John, the beloved disciple was there, but it is not +recorded that Jesus spoke to him personally. His heart was wholly with +his Lord, and he did not need the loving help that was given to +doubting Thomas, and self-confident, wavering Peter. To Simon Peter He +said after they had finished their simple meal, +</P> + +<P> +"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" +</P> + +<P> +Peter must have remembered that he had vehemently declared, "Although +all shall be offended, yet will not I. If I should die with Thee yet I +will not deny Thee in any wise," and had straightway forsaken and +denied Him. Now he said simply and humbly, +</P> + +<P> +"Yea, Lord: Thou knowest that I love Thee." And the Lord answered, +"Feed my lambs." +</P> + +<P> +Again the Lord asked him the same question, and Peter gave the same +reply. And the Lord said, "Feed my sheep." +</P> + +<P> +When the Lord had asked this question the third time, Peter, full of +love and grief cried, +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, Thou knowest all things: Thou knowest that I love thee." And +the Lord answered again, "Feed my sheep." +</P> + +<P> +By this Peter knew that the Lord trusted him to be an apostle, and +teach the gospel of the kingdom to all men, but that he must have a +steadfast love and faith. The Lord also said, "When thou wast young +thou guidedst thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest; but when thou +shalt be old thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall guide +thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." Afterward Peter was +crucified as his Lord had been, and then John remembered these words of +the Lord about him. As the Lord said to Peter, "Follow me," Peter saw +John following also, and he said, wondering, perhaps, why the Lord had +no word of counsel, of rebuke, or of prophecy for John, +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, and what shall this man do?" And Jesus replied, "If I will that +he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me." And they +went away from the Lake, following the Lord, as they had done three +years before when He called them to be "fishers of men." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0247"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +"HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN." +</H3> + +<P> +Once more the Lord met His little company of followers and gave the +apostles authority to found the Kingdom of God among men. "All power +has been given to me," He said, "in heaven and on earth." +</P> + +<P> +And this was the work that He gave them to do: "Go ye therefore and +teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things +whatsoever I have commanded you." +</P> + +<P> +And this was His true word of promise to them: "Lo I am with you +always, even unto the end of the world. And, behold, I send the +promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem +until ye be endued with power from on high." +</P> + +<P> +It was about six weeks after His death that the disciples were again in +Jerusalem where the Lord had told them to go and wait for the coming of +His Spirit. He led them out over the Mount of Olives as far as +Bethany, where the house of Martha had been a place of rest and +refreshment for the homeless Man of Sorrows while He was founding His +Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. +</P> + +<P> +As they ascended a hill just above Bethany, the Lord could see spread +out before Him the Hebron hills toward Bethlehem where He was born: the +great city with its golden Temple where He had taught and had been +rejected; Gethsemane, where He had suffered, and had been betrayed; and +beyond the western walls the place where He had been crucified. Not +far from Golgotha was the garden and the tomb in which He had been +buried, and from which He had risen. +</P> + +<P> +He was about to leave the little group that He had made the founders of +His Kingdom, and one of them ventured a question, +</P> + +<P> +"Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?" +And the Lord replied, +</P> + +<P> +"It is not for you to know the time and the seasons, which the Father +hath put in His own power. But ye shall be witnesses unto me both in +Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost +parts of the earth." +</P> + +<P> +Then He blessed them, and while they were looking at Him He was lifted +above them, and a cloud seemed to come between them and their Divine +Master. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-252"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-252.jpg" ALT="The Ascension" BORDER="0" WIDTH="588" HEIGHT="761"> +<H3 CLASS="h3center" STYLE="width: 588px"> +The Ascension +</H3> +</CENTER> + +<P> +While they still gazed toward heaven hoping perhaps to see Him again, +two men in white garments stood by them and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same +Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like +manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." +</P> + +<P> +Then they worshipped their ascended Lord, and returned to Jerusalem +full of joy and praise, to meet the other disciples in the upper room, +to tell them of what they had seen, and to wait for the Promise of the +Father. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0248"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XLVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER. +</H3> + +<P> +While the disciples of Jesus waited in Jerusalem for the gift of the +Holy Spirit—the Comforter—who was to come and teach them all things, +and bring all the Lord's words to their remembrance, they were much in +prayer, and looked to the Lord for direction about the things of the +Kingdom. +</P> + +<P> +Peter did much to help the others, for his faith had grown stronger, +and he was no longer afraid. Many who had partly believed in Jesus +before His crucifixion, and who had come to believe in the risen Lord, +joined the little band, until they numbered one hundred and twenty at +one of their meetings, and the mother of Jesus was among them. At this +meeting Peter proposed that some disciple who could be a witness with +them to the Lord's resurrection should be appointed to the place that +Judas once held in the circle of the twelve. The ten disciples agreed +with Peter, and two were chosen—Joseph and Matthias. Then they prayed +that the Lord Himself would show them which of these two He wished to +be an Apostle, and when they cast lots the lot fell upon Matthias. +</P> + +<P> +When the upper room became too small they went to a larger one that was +more public, and did not try to guard their doors, for the priests had +become afraid of the people as well as of the signs at the time of the +Lord's death, when the sky was darkened, the rocks rent by an +earthquake, and the Temple veil by an unseen Hand. +</P> + +<P> +The Feast of the Weeks came on, and at the end of May—the day of +Pentecost (the fiftieth after the second day of the Passover), the +Lord's little church had gathered in their large public room to pray +and wait for the Promise. Suddenly there came a sound from the heavens +like the rushing of a mighty wind, and with it came a flash of fire +which was not lightning, but which divided into many, and sat above the +brow of each like a soft, bright tongue of flame. +</P> + +<P> +Then the silence was broken, and they all began to praise God in other +languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance, for the Promise of the +Father had been given, and the Lord Himself had come to dwell in His +people—not only in these, but in all who should believe on Him through +their word. +</P> + +<P> +There were some good Jews present who had come from foreign countries +to the Feast, and spoke other languages, and when each heard his own +language spoken by these unlearned men they were astonished. The news +spread and many came to hear. "Are not all these which speak +Galileans?" they asked, "and how hear we every man in our own tongue +wherein we were born? What meaneth this?" Others made light of it +all, and said that they were full of new wine. +</P> + +<P> +Then Peter, strong in the power of the Holy Spirit, stood up and spoke +to the people. You will find Peter's sermon in the second chapter of +Acts, and his text was a wonderful saying of the prophet Joel, +beginning, as Peter gave it,— +</P> + +<P> +"And it shall come to pass in the last days I will pour out of my +Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, +and your young men shall dream dreams; and on my servants, and on my +handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall +prophesy. And it shall came to pass that whosoever shall call on the +name of the Lord shall be saved." +</P> + +<P> +Peter did not spare the enemies of our Lord in his sermon, nor did he +fear them. He preached to them of Jesus of Nazareth, and whom they had +taken and by wicked hands had crucified and slain: and whom God had +raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not +possible that He should be holden of it. He closed by telling them +that God had made that same Jesus whom they had crucified both Lord and +Christ. +</P> + +<P> +There were many among the people gathered there who were pricked in +their hearts because of Peter's words, which had the power of the Holy +Spirit in them. They looked at each other and said, +</P> + +<P> +"Men and brethren, what shall we do?" +</P> + +<P> +Peter encouraged them to repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus +Christ, telling them that the promise was to them and to their +children, and to all that were afar off. +</P> + +<P> +It was a wonderful day for the Church of Jesus Christ, and for His +Kingdom on the earth, for there were about three thousand who that day +received baptism, and joined the little despised company of the +followers of Jesus of Nazareth. And all that believed were drawn +together by the love of the Lord Jesus, and no longer lived for +themselves, but for each other. That there might be no rich and no +poor among them, they sold their possessions and parted them to all, as +every one had need. In the Temple, in each other's houses breaking +bread together, wherever they were they were happy and strong in their +new faith and in favor with all the people. Though great trials and +persecutions came after awhile, they bore them as seeing their +invisible Lord, and they joyfully met the loss of all things—even that +of life itself with a smile, remembering the Father's House with its +many mansions, and their spiritual Elder Brother who had gone to +prepare a place for them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap0249"></A> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AN AFTERWORD. +</H3> + +<P> +<I>Dear Child</I>:—God's Book is a Book of Ages, a Book of Races, and a +Book of Nations; but it is far more, it is a Book through which God +Himself speaks to the soul of man. We begin to read it thinking that +He is speaking to the mind; afterward, when our conscience wakes, we +believe He speaks to the heart, but at last we find that He speaks to +the inmost spirit—the immortal soul. Then all that had seemed to be +history, poetry, biography, philosophy, begins to be to us the voice of +God in the inmost of the soul, speaking of the life of the spirit. +</P> + +<P> +We, find at last, too, that One has walked beside us all the way, +teaching us by His Spirit as He taught the people on the hill-side, or +by the lake-side in Galilee: the One who said, "Before Abraham was, I +am"—the Child of Bethlehem, whose name was called "Wonderful, +Counsellor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of +Peace." That you, dear child, may find Him walking close beside your +way, be in the habit of walking daily with Him in the paths of His +Word, and He will reveal Himself to you there. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Child's Story of the Bible, by Mary A. 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Lathbury + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Child's Story of the Bible + +Author: Mary A. Lathbury + +Release Date: May 3, 2008 [EBook #25309] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILD'S STORY OF THE BIBLE *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: Cover art] + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: Moses and Zipporah at the well] + + + + + + +CHILD'S + +Story of the Bible + + +BY + +MARY A. LATHBURY + + + +WITH INTRODUCTION BY + +BISHOP JOHN H. VINCENT + + + +ILLUSTRATED + + +WITH NUMEROUS FULL-PAGE COLORED PLATES, + +AND PHOTO-ENGRAVINGS + + + +BOSTON + +DEWOLFE, & FISKE Co. + + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1898 + +By DEWOLFE, FISKE & CO. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +To Mothers. + +I have been asked to prepare this little aid for your use in the +Home--that first and greatest of schools. The school was founded by +the Maker of men, and He called mothers to be its earliest and most +important teachers. He prepared a text-book for it which we call His +Word, illustrating it richly and fully from life and Nature, and +filling it with His Spirit. Wherever it is known, as the children +become the members of the Church, the citizens of the State, the people +of the World, the Book goes with them, forming the Church, the State, +the World. It is not only equal to the need, but contains infinite +riches that wait to be unveiled. + +That no busy mother may say, "I cannot take time to gather from the +Bible the simple lessons that my children need," this book of little +stories--together making one--has been written. I have tried to +preserve the pure outlines of the sacred record from the vivid +description and the suggestive supposition that are sometimes +introduced to add charm to the story, and in all quoted speech I have +used the exact words of the authorized version of the Scriptures, so +that the earliest impression made upon the memory of the child might be +one that should remain. + +The stories are not a substitute for the Word--only little approaches +to it through which young feet may be guided by her who holds a place +next to the great Teacher in His work with little children. + +M.A.L. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + +When the children gather at mother's knee, and the tiniest finds a +place in mother's arms, and all clamor for a "story," "a story, mamma," +how lovely is the picture--the living picture--that circle makes! +Love, longing, wisdom, expectancy, faith, shining eyes, lips that move +involuntarily, keeping time to the sweet movements of mother's lips! +Blessed group! Happy mother! + +When the stories mother tells are light and meaningless, full of rhyme +and rollick, even their eyes are bright and faces radiant, and her own +sweet face and voice give charm and weight and significance to the +delicious nonsense she rehearses. + +Why not give to this receptive and eager audience stories full of +deepest meaning, facts, parables, myths charged with truth? Why not +people little memories with heroes, saints, kings, prophets, apostles? +Why not give stories to story-loving youngsters that will turn into +immortal pictures and be transformed some day into living factors in +the making of character? And why not give them as comparison the babe +of Bethlehem, the boy of Nazareth, the lad of twelve years in the +schools of the Temple, the man of gentle love, the preacher of +righteousness, the worker of heavenly wonders, the Son of Man, the Son +of God, the Prince of Peace? + +The Book of books is the children's Book. It is a story book. And the +stories are "true stories." And the lessons to be drawn from them are +numberless, and will come up out of the treasure-house of memory when +mother's eyes are closed and her voice silent. + +It is a great thing to put mother and the Book together in Baby's +thought; in the big boy's memory; in the grown-up man's heart and life. + +This book is mother's book; to aid her in doing the best and most +lasting work a mother can do to sow seed and set out vines the branches +of which shall reach into the world of spirits, and from which she and +her children may long afterwards pluck fruit together in the eternal +kingdom. + +JOHN H. VINCENT. + +CHAUTAUQUA, 1898. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +THE OLD TESTAMENT + + +CHAPTER. + + I. The Beginning of Things + II. The Great Flood + III. Abraham--the Father of the Faithful + IV. Isaac, the Shepherd Prince + V. Jacob, a Prince of God + VI. Joseph, the Castaway + VII. Joseph, a Servant, a Prisoner and a Saint + VIII. Joseph, the Savior of His People + IX. The Cradle that was Rocked by a River + X. Moses in Midian + XI. The Rod that Troubled Egypt + XII. Following the Cloud + XIII. In the Borders of Canaan + XIV. A Nation that was Born in a Day + XV. Samson, the Strong + XVI. Ruth + XVII. Samuel--the Child of the Temple + XVIII. The Making of a King + XIX. The Shepherd Boy of Bethlehem + XX. The Power of a Pebble + XXI. Faithful unto Death + XXII. David, the Outcast + XXIII. Every Inch a King + XXIV. David's Sin + XXV. David's Sorrow + XXVI. The Building of the Golden House + XXVII. Elijah, the Great Heart of Israel + XXVIII. The Little Chamber on the Wall + XXIX. A Little Maid of Israel + XXX. The Two Boy Kings + XXXI. The Four Captive Children + XXXII. The Master of the Magicians + XXXIII. The Story of Jonah + XXXIV. Esther, the Queen + + + +THE NEW TESTAMENT. + + +CHAPTER. + + I. The Angels of the Advent + II. Following the Star + III. The Flight into Egypt + IV. The Boy of Nazareth + V. The Young Carpenter + VI. The Voice in the Wilderness + VII. Jesus in the Desert + VIII. The First Disciples + IX. The First Miracle + X. In His Father's House + XI. A Talk about the Breath of God + XII. A Talk about the Water of Life + XIII. Jesus in the Synagogue + XIV. Among the Fishermen + XV. The Healing Hand of Jesus + XVI. Following Jesus + XVII. Friends of Jesus + XVIII. The Lord of Life + XIX. Mary of Magdala + XX. Stories Told by the Lake + XXI. Stilling the Storm + XXII. Called Back + XXIII. Two by Two + XXIV. Walking the Waves--The Two Kingdoms + XXV. A Journey with Jesus + XXVI. The Christian Sabbath--Peter's Confession of Faith + XXVII. "And We Beheld His Glory"--A Father's Faith + XXVIII. The Lord and the Little Ones--Leaving Galilee + XXIX. At the House of Martha--The Good Shepherd + XXX. The Lesson Stories of Jesus + XXXI. The Voice that Waked the Dead--The Children of the Kingdom + XXXII. The Young Man that Jesus Loved + XXXIII. The Last Journey to Jerusalem + XXXIV. The Prince of Peace + XXXV. The Children in the Temple + XXXVI. The Last Day in the Temple + XXXVII. The Last Words in the Temple + XXXVIII. An Evening on the Mount of Olives + XXXIX. The Holy Supper + XL. The Night of the Betrayal + XLI. Despised and Rejected of Men + XLII. The King of Heaven at the Bar of Pilate + XLIII. Love and Death + XLIV. Love and Life + XLV. The Evening of Easter + XLVI. The Lord's Last Days with His Disciples + XLVII. "He Ascended into Heaven" + XLVIII. The Promise of the Father + + +AN AFTERWORD + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + + +THE OLD TESTAMENT + + +Moses and Zipporah at the well (color plate) . . . . . . _Frontispiece_ + +Driven from Eden + +The great flood + +Dove returns to ark with an olive leaf (color plate) + +The three strangers + +Hagar in the desert + +On Mount Moriah + +Isaac blessing Jacob + +Meeting of Jacob and Esau + +Jacob and Rachael + +Jacob sold to the Ishmaelites (color plate) + +Joseph makes himself known to his brothers + +Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses (color plate) + +The rod that troubled Egypt + +Destruction of Pharoah's army + +Moses descending from the Mount + +The return of the spies + +Crossing the Jordan + +The young Samson + +The death of Samson + +Ruth and Naomi + +Samuel speaking to the Lord (color plate) + +The young shepherd boy (color plate) + +David cutting off Goliath's head (color plate) + +The spear struck the wall (color plate) + +The garment of Saul + +The death of Absalom + +David mourning for Absalom + +The Queen of Sheba before Solomon + +Ravens bringing food to Elijah (color plate) + +Elijah and the Angel + +Elijah and the chariot of fire + +Elijah raises the widow's son + +In the fiery furnace + +The handwriting on the wall + +Daniel in the den of lions (color plate) + +Jonah thrown on the dry land + +Haman denounced by the Queen + + + +THE NEW TESTAMENT + + +The Holy Child in the manger (color plate) + +Following the star + +The flight into Egypt + +The Boy Jesus in the temple (color plate) + +John the Baptist at the Jordan + +The marriage at Cana + +Jesus by the well (color plate) + +Jesus in the synagogue + +Jesus among the fishermen (color plate) + +Jesus healing the sick + +Sermon on the Mount + +Jesus teaching by the sea + +Jesus sleeping during the storm (color plate) + +Jesus curing the little maid (color plate) + +Feeding the five thousand + +Jesus in the wheat fields + +The little ones (color plate) + +The good Samaritan + +Jesus in the house at Bethany + +The return of the prodigal + +The Pharisee and the publican + +Jesus entering Jerusalem (color plate) + +Showing the penny + +The two mites + +The Passover supper (color plate) + +Gethsemane + +Jesus betrayed by Judas + +The sin of Peter + +Jesus crowned with thorns + +Jesus before Pilate (color plate) + +Jesus bearing the cross + +The descent from the cross + +The angel of the resurrection + +The walk to Emmaus + +The ascension + + + + +CHILD'S STORY OF THE BIBLE + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE BEGINNING OF THINGS. + +Away back in the beginning of things God made the sky and the earth we +live upon. At first it was all dark, and the earth had no form, but +God was building a home for us, and his work went on through six long +days, until it was finished as we see it now. + +On the first day God said, "Let there be light," and the black night +turned to gray, and light came. God called the light Day, and the +darkness Night, and the evening and the morning made the first day. + +Then God divided the waters, so that there were clouds above and seas +below, and He called the clouds heaven. It was the second day. + +Then the seas were gathered together by themselves, and the dry land +rose above them, and God saw that it was good. Then He called to the +grass, and the plants, and the trees to come out of the ground, and +they came bearing their seeds, and He called the third day good. + +Then God called to the two great lights, the sun and the moon, to shine +clear in the sky, which had been first dark, and then gray, and they +rose and set to make day and night, and seasons and years, and the +stars came also, and it was the fourth day. + +Then God called for all kinds of fishes that swim in the seas, and +rivers, and for all kinds of birds that fly in the air, and they came, +and it was the fifth day. + +And then God called for the animals to live on the green earth, and the +cattle and the great beasts, and the creeping things came, and God +called them all good. + +After this he made the first of the great family of Man. He made them +after His own likeness. He made their bodies from the earth, but their +souls He breathed into them, so that Man is a spirit, living in an +earthly body, and can understand about God and love Him. He blessed +them and told them to become many, and to rule over all the earth, with +its beasts and birds, and fishes, and it was the sixth day. + +The Man's name was Adam, and the woman, who was made from a piece of +Adam's body nearest to his heart, was named Eve. + +Then God's world was finished, and on the seventh day there was rest. +God was pleased with all that was made, and He made the seventh day +holy, by setting it apart from all the others. We keep the Sabbath, or +the Lord's day still, in which his children may rest and worship. + +Adam and Eve were very happy, for they had never done anything wrong. +God gave them a beautiful wide garden, called Eden, full of flowers and +all kinds of fruit, and with a river flowing through it, and told Adam +to take care of the garden, and He sent all the animals and birds to +Adam to be named. God told him also that he might eat the fruit of all +the trees of the garden except one--the tree of knowledge of good and +evil--but if he ate of the fruit of that tree he should surely die, and +Adam and Eve loved God, and had no wish to disobey Him, for He was +their Father. + +But there was a creeping serpent in the garden, and the evil spirit +that puts wrong thoughts in our hearts spoke to Eve through the serpent. + +"You shall not die," he said, "but you shall be wise like God if you +will eat of this fruit," and Eve ate of the fruit, and gave it to her +husband. Then they knew that they had sinned, and when they heard the +voice of God in the garden calling them, they hid among the trees, for +they were unhappy and afraid. When the Lord had asked Adam if he had +eaten of the fruit that was forbidden, Adam laid the sin upon Eve, who +gave it to him, and Eve said that the serpent had tempted her to eat of +the fruit. God knew that they must suffer for their sin, so He sent +them out of the garden to make a garden for themselves, and to work, +and suffer pain, as all who came after them have done to this day; but +He gave them a great promise, that among their children's children One +should be born who would be stronger than sin, and a Savior from it. + +After this two little children were sent to comfort Adam and Eve--first +Cain, and then Abel. When they grew up Cain was a farmer, but Abel was +a shepherd. + +They had been taught to worship God by bringing the best of all they +had to Him, and so Cain brought fruit and grain to lay upon his altar, +but Abel brought a lamb. + +[Illustration: Driven from Eden] + +God looked into their hearts and saw that Abel wished to do right, but +Cain's heart was full of sin. Cain was angry because the Lord was +pleased with the worship of Abel, and while they talked in the field +Cain killed his brother. When the Lord said to Cain, "Where is thy +brother?" he answered, "I know not. Am I my brother's keeper?" And +the Lord sent him away from home, to wander from place to place over +the earth, and find no rest, but He promised that no one should hurt +Cain, or kill him as he had killed his brother, so he went away into +another land to live. + +Adam lived many years after this and had other children, but at last he +died, when his children's children were beginning to spread over the +land. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE GREAT FLOOD. + +As the people of the earth grew to be many more and spread over the +plains and hills, they also grew very wicked. They forgot God, and all +the thoughts of their hearts were evil. Only Noah still worshipped God +and tried to do right. + +The people had destroyed themselves, and so God said to Noah: + +"The end of all flesh is come; make thee an ark of gopher wood." + +He told Noah to make it of three stories, with a window in the top, and +a door in the side. It was to be a great floating house, more than +four hundred feet long and full of rooms, and it was to be covered with +tar within and without, so that the water should not creep in. + +"I bring a flood of waters upon the earth," said the Lord, "and +everything that is in the earth shall die." + +This was to be the house of Noah, with his wife, and his three sons and +their wives, during the great flood. + +Does the house seem large for eight people? God had told Noah to make +room for a little family of every kind of bird and beast that lived, +and to gather food of all kinds for himself and for them. + +[Illustration: The great flood] + +So Noah did all that the Lord had told him to do, and seven days before +the great storm he heard the Lord calling: + +"Come thou and all thy house into the ark," and that very day, Noah +with his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japtheth, and their wives, +went into their great black house, and through the window in the top +came flying the little families of birds and insects, from the tiny +bees and humming birds, to the great eagles, and through the door on +the side came the families of animals, two by two, from the little mice +to the tall giraffes, and the elephants, and when all had come the Lord +shut them in. + +It rained forty days and forty nights, and the waters rose higher and +higher, covering the hills, and creeping up the mountains, so that +every living thing died except Noah, and all that were with him in the +ark. + +But after ten months the tops of the mountains were seen, and Noah sent +out a raven and a dove. The raven flew to and fro, but the dove came +back into the ark, because she found no place to rest her foot. + +After seven days Noah sent her out again, and she returned with an +olive leaf in her bill, and then Noah knew that the waters were going +away. + +[Illustration: Dove returns with an olive leaf.] + +After seven days again he sent out his good little dove, and she did +not come back. So Noah was sure that the earth was getting dry, and +that God would soon tell him to go out of the ark. + +And so he did. Think how glad the sheep and cows were to find fresh +grass, and the birds to fly to the green trees. + +What a silent world it must have been, for there were none but Noah and +his family in all the earth. Noah did not forget how God had saved +them, and he made an altar of stone, and offered beasts and birds as a +sacrifice. When he looked up to the sky there was a beautiful rainbow. +It was God's promise that there should be no more floods upon the +earth. He still sends the rainbow to show us that He is taking care of +this world, and will always do so. + +Perhaps the people who lived after this--for Noah's children's children +increased very fast--did not believe God's promise, for they began to +build a great tower, or temple, on the plain of Shinar; or perhaps they +had grown proud and wicked, and wanted a temple for the worship of +idols; but the Lord changed their speech, so that they could not +understand each other, and they were scattered over other countries; +and so each country began to have a language of its own. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +ABRAHAM--THE FATHER OF THE FAITHFUL. + +The people who lived four thousand years ago were very much like +children who easily forget. They told their children about the great +flood, but nearly all forgot to tell them of the good God who is the +Father of us all, whom we should always love and obey. Yet there is +always one, if not more, who remembers God, and keeps his name alive in +the world. + +Abram had tried to do right, though there was no Bible in the world +then, and no one better than himself to help him but God, and one day +He called Abram, and told him to go away from his father's house into +another country. + +"A land that I will show thee," said the Lord, "and I will make of thee +a great nation." + +He also made Abram a wonderful promise,-- + +"In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed." + +He meant that sometime the Savior should be born among Abram's +children's children, and that He should be the Savior of all the +nations of the earth. + +Abram did just what God told him to do. He took Sarai, his wife, and +Lot, his nephew, and some servants, and cows, and sheep, and camels, +and asses, and went into the land of Canaan. When they rested at night +Abram and Lot set some sticks in the ground, and covered them with +skins for a tent, and near by they made an altar, where Abram offered a +sacrifice, for that was the only way they could worship God when the +earth was young. + +Abram went down into Egypt when there was a lack of food in Canaan, but +he came back to Bethel, where he made the altar before, and worshipped +God there. + +He was very rich, for his cattle and sheep had grown into great herds +and flocks, though he had sold many in Egypt for silver, and gold, and +food. Abram and Lot moved often, for their flocks and herds soon ate +up the grass. Then they rolled up the tents, and loaded the camels and +asses, and went where the grass was thick and fresh. + +They could easily live in tents, for the country was warm. But Abram's +herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen sometimes quarreled. And so Abram spoke +kindly to Lot, and told him to take his servants, and flocks, and +herds, and go where the pastures were good, and he would go the other +way. So they parted, and Lot went to the low plains of the Jordan, but +Abram went to the high plains of Mamre, in Hebron, and there he built +another altar to the Lord, who had given him all that country--to him +and to his children forever. + +There were warlike people in Canaan, and once when they had carried off +Lot from Sodom, Abram took his servants and herdsmen and went out to +fight. He had more than three hundred men, and they took Lot away from +the enemy, and brought him back to Sodom. It was here that Abram met a +wonderful man, who was both a king and a priest. His name was +Melchisedek, and he brought Abram bread and wine, and blessed him there. + +After this, God spoke to Abram one evening, and promised that he should +have a son, and then while Abram stood outside his tent, with the great +sky thick with stars above him, God promised him that his children's +children should grow to be as countless as the stars. That was hard to +believe, but Abram believed God always and everywhere. + +Still no child came to Abram and Sarai, and Abram was almost a hundred +years old, but God spoke to him again, and told him that he should be +the father of many nations. + +He told Abram that a little boy would be born to them, and his name +would be Isaac, and God changed Abram's name to Abraham, which means +"Father of many people," and Sarai's to Sarah, which means "Princess." + +Abraham was sitting in his tent one hot day, when three men stood by +him. They were strangers, and Abraham asked them to rest beneath the +tree, and bathe their feet, while he brought them food. So Sarah made +cakes, and a tender calf was cooked, and these with butter, and milk, +were set before the men. But they were not men of this world; they +were angels, and they had come to tell Abraham and Sarah once more that +their little child was sure to come. Then the angels went away, but +one of them, who must have been the Lord Himself in an angel's form, +stopped to tell Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom and +Gomorrah, because the people who lived there were so very wicked, and +Abraham prayed Him to spare them if even ten good men could be found in +them, for he remembered that Lot lived in Sodom. But the Lord never +forgets. The two angels went to Sodom and stayed with Lot until +morning, when they took him and all his family outside the city, and +then the Lord said to him, "Escape for thy life--look not behind thee, +neither stay thou in all the plain." + +[Illustration: The three strangers] + +And the Lord hid them in the little town of Zoar, while a great rain of +fire fell upon the wicked cities of the plain, until they became a heap +of ashes. Only Lot's wife looked back to see the burning cities, and +she became a pillar of salt. + +The next morning when Abraham looked from Hebron down toward the cities +of the plain, a great smoke was rising from them like the smoke of a +furnace. + +At last the Lord's promise to Abraham and Sarah came true. A little +son was born to them, and they called him Isaac. They were very happy, +for though Abraham was a hundred years old, no child had ever been sent +them. + +When he was about a year old they made a great feast for him, and all +brought gifts and good wishes, yet the little lad Ishmael, the son of +Hagar, Sarah's servant, mocked at Isaac. Sarah was angry, and told her +husband that Hagar and her boy must be sent away. So he sent them out +with only a bottle of water and a loaf of bread; for God had told +Abraham to do as Sarah wished him to do, and He would take care of +little Ishmael, and make him the father of another nation. + +When the water was gone, and the sun grew very hot, poor Hagar laid her +child under a bush to die, for she was very lonely and sorrowful. +While she hid her eyes and wept, saying, + +"Let me not see the death of the child," she heard a voice out of +heaven telling her not to be afraid. + +[Illustration: Hagar in the desert] + +"Arise, lift up the lad," said the voice, "for I will make him a great +nation." + +And God opened her eyes to see a well of water near. Then she filled +the empty bottle, and gave the boy a drink, and God took good care of +them ever after, though they lived in a wilderness. + +Ishmael grew up to be an archer, and became the father of the Arabs, +who still live in tents as Ishmael did. + +But the Lord let a strange trial come to the little lad Isaac, also. +His father loved and obeyed God, but there were heathen people around +them, who worshipped idols, and sometimes killed their own children as +a sacrifice to these idols. Abraham brought the best of his lambs and +cattle to offer to the Lord; but one day the Lord told Abraham to take +his only son Isaac and offer him upon a mountain called Moriah as a +burnt sacrifice to God. Abraham had always obeyed God, and believed +his word, and now, though he could not understand, he rose up early in +the morning and took his young son, with two servants, and an ass +loaded with wood, to the place of which God had told him. + +They were three days on the journey, but at last they came to the high +place, where the city of Jerusalem was afterward built, and to the very +rock upon which the temple was built long afterward, with its great +altar and Holy of Holies. + +[Illustration: On Mount Moriah] + +Abraham had left the young men at the foot of the mount, and went with +Isaac to the great rock on the top of the mount. + +"My father," said Isaac, "where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" + +"My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering," said +his father, still obeying God, and believing His word, that Isaac +should be the father of many nations. + +Abraham made an altar of stones, and bound Isaac and laid him upon it, +but when his hand was lifted to offer up the boy, the Lord called to +him from heaven. "Lay not thine hand upon the lad," said the voice, +"for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld +thine only son from me." + +Then Abraham turned and saw a ram with its twisted horns caught in the +bushes, and he offered it to the Lord instead of his son. How glad and +grateful Abraham must have been that morning, when he came down the +mountain, with Isaac walking beside him, to think that he had still +obeyed God when it was hard to do so. + +Abraham was an old man when Sarah died. They had lived together a long +lifetime, and he mourned for her many days. He bought a field close by +the oak-shaded plain of Mamre in Hebron, and there in a rocky cave he +buried her. He was called a Prince of God by the Canaanites because he +lived a true, faithful life. + +A few years after he also went to God, and his body was laid beside +Sarah's in the cave-tomb. Ishmael came up from the south country to +mourn with Isaac at the burial of their father, the Friend of God, and +Father of the faithful. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +ISAAC THE SHEPHERD PRINCE. + +Before Abraham died, he thought much about his dear son Isaac, to whom +he was going to leave all that he had. The young man had no mother, no +sister, and soon he would have no father. So the old man called his +old and faithful servant, and told him to go on a journey into the land +of his fathers, and bring back with him a wife for his son Isaac. + +The children of Nahor, Abraham's brother, lived there still, and +Abraham wished for his son Isaac a wife of his own people, who should +be both good and beautiful, and not like the heathen women of Canaan. + +So the old servant listened to Abraham and promised to do all that he +commanded. + +He loaded ten camels with presents for his master's family away in +Syria, and Abraham said: + +"The Lord shall send His angel before thee," and from his tent door he +saw the little caravan of camels and servants, as they set out across +the plain, toward the land beyond the river Jordan. + +There was a desert to cross and many dangers to meet, but the old +servant believed in the God his master worshipped, and was not afraid. + +When he came to Haran, he stopped outside the town by a well of water. +It was early evening, and the women were coming each with a water-jar +on her shoulder, to draw water. + +The old man prayed that the Lord would show him which among these +daughters of the men of the city, was the one who was to be his young +master's wife. + +Before his prayer was ended, Rebekah, of the family of Abraham's +brother Nahor, came bearing her pitcher on her shoulder. She looked +very kind and beautiful, and when she had filled her pitcher, the old +man asked her for a drink of water. Then she let down the pitcher upon +her hand saying: + +"Drink, my lord," and asked if she should also give water to his +camels. While she was giving him a drink, the man showed her some +golden jewels that he had brought, and when he had asked her name, and +knew that God had sent her to him for his young master, he gave them to +her, and worshipped the Lord who had led him to the house of his +master's brother. + +Then Rebekah ran in and told Laban, her brother, and the old servant of +Abraham had a warm welcome at the door of Nahor's house. + +"Come in, thou blessed of the Lord," they said. + +And after they had cared for the camels and the men, there was a +hurrying of servants to prepare a feast, but the old man would not +taste food until he had given the message of his master. Then the +father and brother of Rebekah, saw that the Lord had sent for her, and +they said: + +"Let her be thy master's son's wife, as the Lord hath spoken." + +And the old servant bowed his face to the ground worshipping the Lord +who had led him. + +Then there was feasting and giving of costly gifts, and preparing to +take a long journey, for the old servant was in haste to get back to +his master, and Rebekah, who was willing to go, took her maid-servants +and rode away into a far country to be the wife of Isaac. + +When Isaac was walking in his field at sunset, thinking and praying to +God, he looked up and saw that the camels were coming, and he hastened +to meet them. When the old servant told Rebekah that it was his young +master, she alighted from her camel, and covered herself with a long +veil as was the custom of the Syrian women. When the old servant had +told the story of his journey, he gave Rebekah to Isaac, and he took +her to the tent that had been his mother's, and she became his wife, so +that he was no longer lonely and sad. + +Isaac lived to a very great age, and had two sons, Jacob and Esau. He +was a gentle, quiet man, fond of his family, his flocks, and herds, and +at the place where his father and mother were buried, he lived among +the fields and oak groves of Hebron until he died. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +JACOB, A PRINCE OF GOD. + +Jacob and Esau were the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah. + +They did not look alike as twins often do, and they were very unlike in +all their ways. As they grew up, Esau loved the forests and wild +places. He made bows and arrows, and was a hunter, and brought home +wild birds and deer, for his father was very fond of such food. Jacob +helped his father with the flocks, and learned how to cook food from +his mother, who loved him more than she loved Esau. + +One day Esau came home from hunting tired and hungry, and smelled the +delicious soup of red lentils that Jacob was making. He begged Jacob +to give him some, and Jacob, who wanted to be eldest, and have the +right to the blessing that fathers gave to the first-born in those +days, said: + +"Sell me this day thy birthright," and Esau gave him all his rights as +the first born, for a little food which he might have had as a free +gift. + +Jacob wanted to be counted in the great promise that God had given to +Abraham, but Esau despised it. + +Afterward, when Isaac was old and his eyes were dim, he called Esau, +and asked him to go out into the fields and shoot a deer, and cook the +venison that he loved, so that he might eat it and bless his first born +before he died. + +Rebekah heard it, and told Jacob to bring kids from the flock, which +she cooked and served as venison. Then she dressed Jacob in the +clothes of Esau, and told him to say that it was Esau who had brought +the venison. Isaac said: + +"The voice is the voice of Jacob," but he put his hands on him, and +believed it was Esau, and blessed him. + +When Esau came home and brought venison to his father, Isaac said: + +"Who art thou?" and when Esau said, "I am thy son, thy first-born, +Esau," the old man trembled, and told Esau the blessing had been given +to another. + +Poor Esau cried out with grief, "Hast thou but one blessing?" "Bless +me, even me also, O my father." + +And so Isaac blessed him, but he could not call back the blessing of +the first-born. The Lord knew that Jacob would grow to be a good man, +and love the things of God best, and that Esau would always love the +things of this world best, yet it was wrong of Jacob and Rebekah to +deceive, for we may not do evil that good may come. + +[Illustration: Isaac blessing Jacob] + +After this Esau hated his brother, and said he would kill him. + +So Isaac called Jacob, and, blessing him again, sent him away into +Syria to the house of Laban, where Rebekah had lived, and where +Abraham's servant went to find her for his master's son. + +One night, when he was not far on his way, he lay down to sleep, with a +stone for his pillow, on a hillside that looked toward his home, and he +dreamed a wonderful dream. He saw a ladder reaching from earth to +heaven, and a vision of angels who were going up and down upon it. + +Above it stood the Lord, who spoke to Jacob, and gave to him the +promise that He had first given to Abraham, and told him that He would +go with him, and bring him again into his own land. + +Jacob was afraid when he woke, for he had seen the heavens opened, and +had heard God's voice. He made an altar of the pillow of stone, and +called it Bethel--the House of God--and then he vowed that the Lord +should be his God, and he added,-- + +"Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give a tenth unto thee." + +When Jacob came to Haran, he saw the well from which his mother used to +draw water. There were three flocks of sheep lying by it, waiting for +all the flocks to gather in the cool of the day to be watered. Soon +Rachel, the daughter of Laban, came leading her father's flocks, and +one of the shepherds told Jacob whose daughter she was. + +So Jacob rolled the stone from the well, and watered the flocks of +Laban, his mother's brother. Then he kissed Rachel, and told her that +he was Rebekah's son, and she ran and told her father. + +There was great joy in Laban's house because Jacob had come, and after +he had stayed a month with them Laban asked him to stay and take care +of his flocks, and he would pay him for his work. + +Since the day he had seen Rachel leading her father's flocks he had +chosen her in his heart to be his wife. So he said that he would work +for Laban seven years, if at the end of that time he would give him +Rachel for his wife. Laban was quite willing to do so, and the seven +years seemed to Jacob but a few days, for the love he had to Rachel. +But, according to the custom of that country, the younger daughter +could not be given in marriage before the elder, and so Laban gave his +daughter Leah also, and both Leah and Rachel became the wives of Jacob, +for Jacob lived in that far away time and country of the early world +when men were allowed to take more than one wife, and when each man was +both king and priest over his family and tribe, and worshipped God by +offering burnt sacrifices upon an altar. + +After twenty years of work with Laban, in which he had earned many +flocks and herds for himself, Jacob took his wives and the little sons +God had sent him, and his flocks and herds, and started on a journey to +his old home. Isaac was still alive, and Jacob longed to see him. He +had lived long in Haran for fear of his brother Esau, and now he must +travel through Edom, Esau's country, on his way to his old home. + +As he was on his way some of God's angels met him, and he was +strengthened. Still he feared Esau, and sent some of his men to tell +his brother that he was coming. + +The men came back, saying that Esau, with four hundred men, was coming +to meet them. + +Poor Jacob! He remembered the sin of his youth, when he had stolen the +blessing from Esau, and he was afraid, and prayed God to protect him. + +He sent his servants again to meet Esau with great presents of flocks, +and herds, and camels, and after placing his wives and little ones in +the safest place, he sent all that he had over the brook Jabbok, and he +stayed on the other side to pray. It was as if he wrestled with a man +all night, and when the day began to break the man wished to go, but +Jacob said: + +"I will not let thee go except thou bless me." + +So the man blessed him there, and call his name Israel; "for as a +prince," he said, "hast thou power with God and with men, and hast +prevailed." + +Then Jacob knew that the Lord Himself, in the form of a man, had been +with him, and he had seen Him face to face. + +And as the sun rose he passed over the brook. When he looked up he saw +Esau and his men coming, and when he had told his family to follow him, +he went straight before them, for he was no longer afraid to meet his +brother. + +Jacob's prayer had been answered, and Esau ran to meet his brother, and +throwing his arms around him, wept on his shoulder. Then they talked +in a loving and brotherly way, and Esau returned to his home with the +presents Jacob had given him, and Jacob went on his way into Canaan +full of joy and thankfulness. He stopped a little while in a pleasant +place to rest his flocks and cattle, but he longed to see the place +where he first saw the angels of God, and heard the voice of the Lord +blessing him, so they journeyed on to Beth-el, and there built an altar +and worshipped God. + +[Illustration: Meeting of Jacob and Esau] + +Again the Lord spoke to Jacob at Beth-el, and called him Israel, and +blessed him. + +After they left Beth-el, they came near to Bethlehem, where many +hundred years afterward the Lord Jesus was born, and there another +little son was born to Rachel, and there too God sent for her, and took +her to Himself, and there her grave was made. + +[Illustration: Jacob and Rachel] + +The little boy was named Benjamin, and was the youngest of Jacob's +twelve sons, who became the fathers of the twelve tribes of Israel, and +the princes of a great nation. + +Jacob was almost home. His great family, with all the flocks and +herds, had been long on the way, for they often spread their tents by +the brooks in the green valleys, that the cattle might rest and find +pasture, but at last the long caravan came slowly over the fields of +Mamre to Hebron, and Isaac, whom the Lord had kept alive to see his son +once more, was there in his tent waiting for him. + +But soon after this he died, an hundred and eighty years old, and Esau +came, and the two brothers laid their father in the cave that Abraham +bought when Sarah died, and where he had buried Rebekah, and Jacob +became patriarch in place of his father. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +JOSEPH, THE CASTAWAY. + +Of all the sons of Jacob, Joseph and Benjamin were the dearest to him, +because they were the sons of his beloved Rachel, who had died on the +journey from Syria into Canaan. They were also the youngest of all the +twelve sons. When Joseph was about seventeen years old, he sometimes +went with his elder brothers to keep his father's flocks in the fields. +He wore a long coat striped with bright colors, which his father had +given him, because he was a kind and obedient son, and could always be +trusted. + +Once he told his father of some wicked thing his brothers had done, and +they hated him for it, and could not speak pleasantly to him. + +Joseph had many strange and beautiful thoughts when he looked across +the fields to the hills, and up into the starry sky at night. He also +had some strange dreams that he told to his brothers. He said that he +dreamed that they were binding sheaves in the field, and that his sheaf +stood up, while the sheaves of his brothers bowed down to it. + +Again he dreamed that the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars bowed +down to him. + +His father wondered that he should have such thoughts, and reproached +him saying, "Shall I and thy brethren indeed come and bow down +ourselves to thee to the earth?" and his brothers said, + +"Shalt thou indeed rule over us?" and they hated him. + +When they were many miles from home with the flocks their father sent +Joseph to see if all was well with them. It was a long journey, and +when they saw the boy coming they did not go to meet him, and speak +kindly to him, but they said, + +"Behold this dreamer is cometh. Let us slay him, and cast him into +some pit, and we will say some evil beast hath devoured him, and we +shall see what will become of his dreams." + +But Reuben, the eldest, said, + +"Let us not kill him; but cast him into this pit," hoping to take him +out secretly, and send him to his father. + +So when Joseph came near, they robbed him of his coat of many colors, +and cruelly cast him into a pit. After this they sat down to eat their +bread, and looking up they saw a caravan coming. It was a company of +Ishmaelites carrying costly spices down into Egypt to sell them. + +Then Judah said, + +"Why should we kill our brother? Let us sell him to these Ishmaelites." + +Then there passed by some Midianite merchants, and who drew Joseph out +of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, +and he was carried down into Egypt. + +[Illustration: Joseph sold to the Ishmaelites] + +Reuben, when his brothers went back to their flocks, went to the pit to +try to save Joseph, but he was not there, and Reuben cried out, + +"The child is not, and I, whither shall I go?" + +The brothers who had been so cruel to Joseph brought his coat to their +father, all stained with blood. They had themselves dipped it in the +blood of a kid to deceive him, and he mourned long, and would not be +comforted, for the beloved child that he believed had been torn in +pieces by evil beasts. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +JOSEPH, A SERVANT, A PRISONER, AND A SAINT. + +The king of Egypt, where Joseph was taken by the Ishmaelites, was +called Pharaoh, and he had a captain of the guard named Potiphar, who +bought Joseph for a house servant. Though he was the son of a Hebrew +prince, Joseph did his work faithfully and wisely as a servant, and was +soon made steward of the house, and was trusted with all that his +master had, and the Lord made all that he did to prosper; but the wife +of Potiphar was a wicked woman, who persuaded her husband that Joseph +was a bad man, and he was sent to prison. + +Even there Joseph won the hearts of all, until the keeper of the prison +set him over the other prisoners, and trusted him as Potiphar had done. +It was the Lord in Joseph who helped him to win the love and trust of +those around him. + +Pharaoh sent two of his servants to prison because they had displeased +him. + +One was his chief cook, and one was the chief butler, who always handed +the wine cup to the king, and Joseph had the care of them. + +They each had a dream the same night, and were troubled because they +could not understand them. Joseph asked them to tell him the dreams, +for God knew what they meant. + +So the chief butler told Joseph that he saw a vine having three +branches, and the branches budded and blossomed, and the blossoms +changed into ripe grapes, and he took the grapes and pressed them into +Pharaoh's cup, and handed the cup to the king. + +Then Joseph said: "The three branches are three days. Within three +days the king will take you out of prison, and you shall hand the +king's cup to him as you used to do." + +Joseph also asked the butler, to think of him when he was again in the +king's palace, and speak to the king to bring him out of prison, +because he had been stolen from his own land, and he had done nothing +wrong that he should be put in prison. + +Then the chief cook told his dream. He said that he dreamed that he +carried three baskets on his head, one above another. + +In the highest one was all kinds of cooked meats for Pharaoh, and the +birds flew down and ate from the basket. + +"The three baskets are three days," said Joseph as he said to the +butler, but he told the cook that in three days he would be put to +death, and hanged on a tree, where the birds would eat his flesh. + +All this came true, for Pharaoh's birthday came, and he brought out the +chief butler to serve at a birthday feast, but he hanged the chief +cook. Yet the chief butler forgot Joseph, and did not speak to the +king about him as he might have done. + +At the end of two long years, Pharaoh dreamed a dream. He thought he +stood by the river of Egypt, and saw seven cows looking well kept and +fat, came up out of the river. + +Behind them came seven other cows, looking thin and poorly fed, and the +thin and poorly fed cows ate up the well-kept and fat ones. + +And Pharoah had a second dream. He thought he saw seven heads of wheat +growing on one stalk--and they were all full of grain. After them came +seven thin heads of wheat with no grain in them; and the seven bad +heads of wheat ate up the seven good ones. + +In the morning Pharaoh was troubled about these dreams, and called for +his wise men who worked magic for him, and they could tell him nothing. + +Then the chief butler standing near the king remembered Joseph, and +told Pharaoh of the young Hebrew who had told the meaning of his dream, +and that of the chief cook, and they had come to pass as he had said, +so Pharaoh sent for Joseph and said to him: + +"I have heard that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it." + +Joseph answered the king humbly and wisely: + +"It is not in me," he said, "God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." + +When the king had told his dream Joseph said: + +"The dream is one," and then he showed him that the seven fat cows, and +the seven full heads of wheat meant seven good years in the land of +Egypt, when the harvests would be great; and the seven lean cows, and +the seven empty heads of wheat, meant seven years of famine, when the +east winds should spoil the wheat, so there would be nothing to reap in +time of harvest and the people would want bread. He told the king that +he had better set a wise man over the land, who would attend to saving +the grain during the seven good years, so that the people would have +bread to eat in the seven years of famine. + +The king was greatly pleased with Joseph, and told him that God had +taught him to interpret dreams, and had showed him things to come, and +there could be no wiser man found to be set over the land. + +So he made Joseph a ruler over the whole land, and next to the king in +all things. + +He put his own ring on his hand, and dressed him in the robes of a +prince, and gave him an Egyptian name and an Egyptian wife, so that +there was no one in all the land of Egypt so great as Joseph, except +the king. + +He built storehouses in every city, and stored the grain, until it was +like the sand of the sea, and could not be measured. + +In the years of plenty two sons were born to Joseph, Manasseh and +Ephraim, and then the seven years of dearth began to come. When the +people began to cry to the king for bread, he always said,-- + +"Go to Joseph; what he says to you do." + +And Joseph and his helpers began to open the storehouses, and sell +wheat to the Egyptians, and to the people of all countries, for the +famine was in all lands. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +JOSEPH--THE SAVIOR OF HIS PEOPLE. + +The famine reached even to the fruitful land of Canaan, and Jacob, +though rich in flocks and herds, began to need bread for his great +family. So he sent his ten sons down into Egypt to buy wheat, keeping +Benjamin, the youngest at home. + +When they came before the governor they bowed down to him with their +faces to the ground. Joseph knew them, though he acted as if he did +not, and remembered his dream of his brother's sheaves bowing down to +his sheaf. At first, he spoke roughly to them, and called them +"spies." But they said that they were all one man's sons, and had come +to buy food. + +Joseph still spoke roughly to them, not because he was angry, but +because he did not wish them to know him yet. His heart was full of +love for them, and he was soon going to show them great kindness; but +when they told him that they had left an old father and a young brother +at home, and one was dead, he still acted as if they did not tell the +truth. + +He said that to prove themselves true men one of them should go home +and bring the youngest brother, and the others should be kept in prison +until they returned; and he put them all in prison. + +After three days, he said one might stay while the others took the +wheat home to their families, but that they must surely come back and +bring the boy with them. + +Then Reuben, who had tried to save Joseph from the pit long before, +told his brothers that all this trouble had come upon them for their +wickedness to their brother Joseph, and they said to each other in +their own language: + +"We are verily guilty concerning our brother; when he besought us, we +would not hear, therefore is this distress come upon us." + +Joseph understood everything they said though they did not know it, for +he had been talking to them through an interpreter, and they thought he +was an Egyptian. Now his heart was so full that he had to go out of +the room to weep. But he came back and chose Simeon to stay while the +others went to Canaan to bring back Benjamin. + +They took the wheat that they had bought in bags, and went away; but +when they stopped at an inn to rest and feed their asses, one of the +brothers opened his bag, and found the money that he had paid for the +wheat in the top of his bag. Here was more trouble, and they were +afraid. + +When they came home to their father they told him all that had +happened, and as they opened the bags, each one found his money. Jacob +was deeply troubled; for Joseph was gone, and Simeon was gone, and now +they wanted to take Benjamin. + +Reuben who had two sons said: "Slay my two sons if I bring him not to +thee." + +But Jacob said Benjamin should not go down to Egypt. But the wheat was +gone in a short time, and they were likely to starve so great was the +famine, and at last Jacob said they must go to Egypt again for food. + +Judah said they would go if Benjamin would go with them, but Jacob +would not listen to this. He asked them why they told the man that +they had a brother, and they replied, that the Governor had asked them +if their father was yet living and if they had another brother. + +"Send the lad with me," said Judah, "if I bring him not unto thee, let +me bear the blame forever." + +Then Jacob told them to take him and go, and also to take presents of +honey, and spices, and balm, and nuts, and double the money, so as to +return that which was put in their bags, and he blessed them, and sent +them away. + +They went down into Egypt, and stood before Joseph again. When he saw +Benjamin with them he told the steward of his house to make ready a +fine dinner for them, and bring them to him at noon, and he did so. + +Then the brothers were afraid that they were all to be put in prison, +and at the door of Joseph's house began to tell the steward how they +found the money when they opened their bags, and that they had brought +it back doubled; but the steward spoke kindly to them, and said that he +had placed their money, and that they need not fear, for God had given +it back to them. + +Then he brought Simeon out, and they made ready to dine with the +Governor at noon, and to give him their presents. + +When he came they bowed down to him and presented their gifts, and he +asked them if they were well, and if the old man of whom they spoke was +still alive, and they replied that he was. When he saw Benjamin, and +knew that he was truly his own brother, the son of Rachel, he said: + +"God be gracious unto thee my son," and he went quickly to his own +chamber, lest he should weep before them. + +When he came out to them again, and they sat down to dine, he placed +the sons of Jacob by themselves, and the Egyptians of his house by +themselves, and the brothers were placed according to their +ages--Reuben at the head and Benjamin last, and they wondered among +themselves at this. Joseph also sent portions from his own table to +his brothers, but the portion of Benjamin was five times greater than +that of the others. + +The next morning their wheat was measured to them, and the asses were +loaded with it, and they went on their way, but Joseph had told the +steward to put the money of each man in the top of his bag, and in +Benjamin's to put his silver cup. + +When they were a little away from the city, the steward overtook them, +and charged them with stealing his lord's silver cup. + +The men were so sure that no one of them had stolen the silver cup, +that they said, + +"Let him die with whom the cup is found, and the rest of us will be +your slaves." + +So everybody's bag was opened from the oldest to the youngest, and the +cup was found in Benjamin's bag. Then they rent their clothes for +grief, and loaded the asses and went back to the city, and when they +came to Joseph's house, they fell on their faces before him, Joseph +tried to speak sternly and said: + +"What deed is this you have done?" + +Judah said: + +"What shall we say unto my lord, or how shall we clear ourselves? We +are my lord's servants." + +Then said Joseph: + +"The man in whose hand the cup is found he shall be my servant, and as +for you, get you up in peace unto your father." + +Then Judah came nearer to Joseph, and all his soul came forth into his +voice as he said: + +"O, my lord, let thy servant speak a word in my lord's ears!" + +Then he told the story of their coming down into Egypt, and of the old +father and young brother whom he had asked them about; of the love of +this father for the little one, for his mother, and his brother now +dead. He reminded Joseph that he had told them to bring the boy to +him, and that they had said, that if the boy should leave his father, +his father would die; but the governor had said "Except your youngest +brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more." + +Then Judah told the story of the father's grief when he found that he +must let Benjamin go down into Egypt, that they might buy a little +food; how he spoke of his two sons, that were the sons of Rachel--that +one had been torn in pieces, and now if mischief should befall the +other, it would bring his gray hairs in sorrow to the grave. He asked +Joseph what he should do when he returned to his father without the +lad, seeing that his life was bound up in the lad's life, and Judah +begged him, as he had made himself surety for the lad, to take him to +be his slave, but to let Benjamin return to his father with his +brothers. + +"For how shall I go up to my father," said Judah, "and the lad be not +with me?" + +Then Joseph could bear it no longer. He told all the Egyptians to go +out of the room, and then weeping so that the Egyptians and the people +in the king's house heard, he made himself known to his brothers. + +[Illustration: Joseph makes himself known to his brothers] + +"I am Joseph, your brother," he said, "whom you sold into Egypt," and +he begged them to come near to him. + +"Be not grieved nor angry with yourselves," he said, for he saw that +they were terrified, "for God sent me before you to save your lives by +a great deliverance. It was not you that sent me hither, but God, and +he hath made me a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt." + +Then he told them to hasten and go to his father and tell him this, and +ask him to come down at once, with all his flocks and herds, and dwell +in Goshen, the best part of Egypt, for years of famine were yet to come. + +Then Joseph took little Benjamin in his arms and wept over him, and +kissed him, and kissed all his brothers, and after that his brothers +talked with him. The king heard the story of Joseph's brothers and was +pleased. He told Joseph to send wagons for the wives and little ones +of his brothers, and to tell them to bring their father, and all their +cattle and sheep, and come to live in Goshen where they should have the +best of the land for their flocks and herds. + +Joseph did as the king commanded, and also gave them food for the +journey, and a suit of clothing to each brother, but to little Benjamin +he gave five suits, and three hundred pieces of silver. He also loaded +twenty asses with the good things of Egypt as presents to his father, +so he sent them all on their journey saying: + +"See that ye fall not out by the way." + +When they came to Jacob in Hebron, they told him the wonderful story of +the finding of Joseph, and his heart was faint, for he did not believe +them; but when he had heard all Joseph's messages, and had seen the +gifts, and the wagons, he said: + +"It is enough: Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before +I die." + +So they began the long journey to Egypt, for it took a long time to +travel with a great family, and with thousands of cattle and sheep. At +Beersheba Jacob stopped and worshiped God, where his father had built +an altar years before; and God told him in the night that he need not +fear to go down into Egypt, for He would there make him a great nation, +and that He would bring him back again to his own land. + +So Jacob with all his children and their little ones, and all his +flocks and herds came into Egypt. There were sixty-seven souls, and +when they had counted Joseph and his two sons, there were seventy. + +Jacob sent Judah on before to see Joseph and ask the way to Goshen, so +that they might go directly there with the cattle and sheep. And when +Joseph knew that his father was coming, he went to meet him in Goshen, +and there he wept on his father's neck a long time, and Jacob said: + +"Now let me die, since I have seen thy face, because thou art yet +alive." + +After this Joseph presented five of his brothers to Pharaoh, and the +king spoke very kindly to them, and gave them the best of the land for +their flocks, and hired some of them to oversee his own shepherds. + +Joseph brought his father in also and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. + +So the family of Jacob lived in peace, and were cared for by Joseph, +just as the Lord had promised Jacob, when in a dream he saw the angels +of God at Bethel, and heard above them the voice of the Lord blessing +him, and saying: + +"Thou shalt spread abroad to the West, and to the East, and to the +North, and to the South, and in thee shall all the families of the +earth be blessed." + +Joseph carried all Egypt through the years of famine, and saved seed +for the people to sow their fields in the seventh year so that they +said: + +"Thou hast saved our lives." + +He afterwards visited his father, and Jacob made him promise that he +would bury him when he died in the tomb of Abraham and Isaac, his +father, in his own land. + +When Jacob was near his end, Joseph brought his two little sons, +Ephraim and Manasseh, to his bedside, and the old man gave them his +blessing, laying his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, the youngest, +and his left hand on that of Manasseh the first born, even as Isaac had +given the birthright blessing to him instead of to Esau, and he said: + +"The angel which redeemed me from all evil bless the lads." + +Then he called all his sons together and told them what should befall +them in the last days. To each one he spoke as a prophet speaks who +has a vision of things to come, and he blessed them there. When he +spoke to Judah, he told him that kings and lawgivers should arise from +among his children until the Saviour of the world should come. + +Jacob was an hundred and forty-seven years old when he died, and there +was great mourning for him. + +Joseph had the body of his father embalmed, as the Egyptians had the +custom of doing, and after a long mourning in Egypt, Joseph and his +brothers and many Egyptians who were Joseph's friends, carried the body +of Jacob to Canaan, in a great procession, and buried him in the cave +of Machpelah, where his fathers were buried. + +After they had returned to Egypt, the brothers of Joseph said: + +"Perhaps now he will hate us, and bring upon us all the evil we did to +him." + +So they sent to him to ask his forgiveness for all that was past. Then +Joseph wept, for he had nothing but love in his heart toward his +brothers, and he wished them to trust him. He comforted them and spoke +kindly to them, saying: + +"Fear not: ye meant evil unto me, but God meant it unto good. I will +nourish you and your little ones." + +And so through all Joseph's life, and he lived one hundred and ten +years, he was a tender father to all his family, and a wise ruler of +the people, and he died after making his family promise to carry his +body back into Canaan to be buried with his fathers when they +themselves should go. + +"For God will surely visit you," he said, "and bring you out of this +land into the land which he promised to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE CRADLE THAT WAS ROCKED BY A RIVER. + +After Joseph and all the sons of Jacob had grown old and had passed +away, their children's children grew in numbers until they became a +great multitude. + +The Pharaoh whom Joseph had served also died, and the king who followed +him did not like the Hebrews. He feared them because they had grown to +be strong, so he set overseers to watch them, and make them work like +slaves. + +He treated them cruelly, and made them lift the great stones with which +they built the tombs of the kings and temples of the gods. He also +tried to kill all the little boys as soon as they were born, but the +Lord took care of them. Also, the king told his servants, that +wherever they found a baby boy among the Hebrews, to throw him into the +river Nile, but the little girls, they should save alive. + +There was a man named Amrom, who, with his wife Jochebed, had a +beautiful little boy whom they tenderly loved. They hid him as long as +they could, and then when he was three months old and she could hide +him no longer, she made up her mind to give him into the care of God. +She made a little boat, or ark of stout rushes, that grew by the river. +She wove it closer than a basket, and then covered it with pitch that +the water might not enter, just as Noah covered the great ark before +the flood. + +Then she wrapped her baby carefully and laid him in the little boat, +and set it among the reeds at the edge of the river Nile. God and His +angels watched the cradle of the child, and the river gently rocked it. +Jochebed told the baby's sister to wait near by and see what might +happen to him, and this is what happened, or rather what God prepared +for the baby in the boat of rushes. + +The king's daughter came down to bathe in the river, and as her maidens +walked up and down by the riverside, she called one of them to bring to +her the little ark that she saw rocking on the river among the reeds. +When she had opened it she saw a beautiful little child, and when it +cried her heart was touched, and she longed to keep it for her own. + +[Illustration: Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses] + +"This is one of the Hebrew's children," she said, and as the baby's +sister came near she asked the princess if she should go and get a +nurse from among the Hebrew women to bring it up for her, and the +princess said to her, "Go," and the maid went and called the child's +mother. The princess said: "Take this child away and nurse it for me, +and I will give thee thy wages." + +And the mother took her baby joyfully though she hid her joy in her +heart, and carried him home to nurse and bring up for Pharoah's +daughter. + +And the child grew, and when he was old enough his mother took him to +the king's palace, and he became the son of the princess. She called +his name Moses, which means "drawn out," because she drew him out of +the water. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +MOSES IN MIDIAN. + +Moses had teachers, and was taught all the learning of the Egyptians, +but his heart was with his own people. He was grieved when he saw +their burdens, and heard their cries when their taskmasters struck them. + +Once, when he was a grown man, he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, and +he struck the Egyptian and killed him, for he thought he ought to +defend his people: and when he saw that the man was dead, he buried him +in the sand. In a day or two Moses tried to make peace between two +Hebrews who were fighting, and they answered him roughly, and one of +them said: + +"Who made thee a ruler over us? wilt thou kill me, as thou didst the +Egyptian yesterday?" + +Then Moses was afraid, and when the king heard of it, and tried to take +his life, Moses fled away out of Egypt, through a desert into Midian. +There he found a well and sat down by it to rest. While he sat there +the seven daughters of the priest of Midian came to draw water for +their father's flocks, and some rough shepherds came and drove them +away, but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flocks. +When their father knew that a noble stranger had been kind to his +daughters, he asked him to come into his house, and eat bread with him, +and stay as long as he would. So Moses stayed and Zipporah, one of the +seven sisters, became his wife. + +But Moses did not forget his people. God was preparing him to lead +them out of bondage, and he learned many things, during the years that +he kept the sheep of his father-in-law in the wilderness. + +One day he led his flocks across the desert to Mount Horeb or Sinai. +There he saw a bush all bright within as if it burned. He drew nearer +to see why the bush was not consumed, and heard the voice of the Lord +calling him. The Lord told him to come no nearer, and to put off his +shoes, for he stood on holy ground. Then the Lord told him that He was +the God of his fathers, and that He had heard the cry of his oppressed +people in Egypt. + +"I know their sorrows," said the voice from the midst of the fire, "And +I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to +bring them up out of that land into a good land, and a large--unto a +land flowing with milk and honey." + +Then the Lord said that Moses must go to the new Pharaoh, for the old +king was dead, and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses +was a very humble man, and he could not believe that Pharaoh would +listen to him or that the Hebrews would follow him, but the Lord said, + +"Certainly I will be with thee." + +And as a sign that it should be so, He said that after Moses had +brought his people out of Egypt, they should serve God in this mountain. + +But Moses had many fears. He knew that he had been brought up as an +Egyptian, and he feared that his people would not listen to his words. + +Then the Lord showed signs to Moses to help his faith. + +He turned the rod in Moses' hand into a serpent, and then when he was +afraid of it, the Lord told him to take it in his hand and it became a +rod again. + +He also turned his hand white with leprosy, and then changed it again +to natural flesh, and told Moses, that these, and other signs he should +show in Egypt--to prove that he was sent of God. + +But Moses felt himself to be so weak and faithless as a leader of his +people, that he still cried out that he was "slow of speech, and of a +slow tongue," and when the Lord said, "I will teach thee what thou +shalt say," he did not believe, but begged the Lord to send by whom he +would, only not by him. + +Then the Lord said that Aaron, the brother of Moses could speak well, +and that he should go with him to Pharoah and to his people, and should +speak for him, but that the wisdom and power of God should be with +Moses, and that he should do wonders with the rod in his hand. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE ROD THAT TROUBLED EGYPT. + +So Moses took his wife and his sons and returned to Egypt, and the rod +of God was in his hand; and Aaron, sent of God, came to meet him in the +wilderness, and there Moses told him all that was in his heart, and all +that God had sent him to do. + +When they came into Egypt they gathered the Israelites together, and +Aaron spoke to them, and they believed his words, and the signs that +Moses showed them. + +Afterward, they went to Pharoah and gave him the message of the Lord, +and Pharoah said: + +"I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." + +And he began to oppress the Israelites more than he had ever done +before. They made bricks of clay mixed with straw, that hardened in +the sun, and were as lasting as stone, but he forced them to find the +straw wherever they could, and make as many bricks as before. This +they did until no more straw could be found, and their Egyptian masters +beat them cruelly because they failed to make the full number of +bricks. Then they turned upon Moses and Aaron and said, that they had +put a sword in the king's hand to slay them. + +Where could Moses turn except to the Lord who had sent him? The Lord +heard him and made to him again the great promise, as he did at the +burning bush, and Moses told the people, but they could not believe it, +for they were crushed under their cruel burdens. + +And now the Lord sent Moses and Aaron again to Pharoah, to show by sign +and miracle, that their message was from Him. They took the rod that +Moses brought from Mount Horeb, and Moses told Aaron to cast it down +before the king, and it became a serpent. Pharoah called his wise men +and wizards, and they did the same, only Aaron's rod swallowed up their +rods, and Pharoah would not listen to their words. + +[Illustration: The rod that troubled Egypt] + +But in the morning when Pharoah walked by the river the two men stood +by him and said again: + +The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee saying: + +"Let my people go that they may serve me in the wilderness," and then +Aaron struck the waters of the river Nile with his rod, and the waters +turned to blood. + +In all the land, in every stream and pond there was blood, so that the +fishes died and no one could drink the water. + +But because the wizards could turn water to blood also, Pharoah's heart +was hardened toward Moses and Aaron. + +While the people were digging wells for water, Aaron stretched forth +his rod over the river again, and frogs came up from it, and spread +over all the land and filled the houses of the people. This also the +magicians did, but so great was the plague that the king said: + +"I will let the people go." + +"When shall I entreat for thee and for thy people to destroy the frogs +from thee and thy houses?" said Moses; and Pharoah told him to do so +the next day. + +So on the next day Moses prayed to the Lord that the frogs might go out +of the land, and the Lord answered his prayer; but when Pharoah saw +that the frogs had been destroyed his heart grew hard, and he would not +listen to Moses and Aaron. + +Then another plague was brought upon the Egyptians. The dust of the +land was changed to lice that covered man and beast, and this was +followed by swarms of flies that settled upon all the land except +Goshen where the Israelites lived. + +Then Pharoah said: + +"Go, sacrifice to your God in this land," but they would not worship in +Egypt, and Pharoah at last told them that they could go into the +wilderness, but they must not go very far away. So Moses prayed, and +the swarms of flies were swept out of Egypt, but Pharoah did not keep +his word. + +Then a great sickness fell upon the cattle and sheep of the country, +though the flocks and herds of the Israelites were free from it; and +this was followed by a breaking out of boils upon men and beasts +everywhere, even upon the magicians, but Pharaoh's heart was still too +wicked to yield to God. + +Then came a great storm of hail over Egypt, such as had never been +known in that sunny land. It killed the cattle in the fields, and +destroyed the grain that was grown, and broke the trees and herbs. The +lightnings fell also and ran upon the ground, and when it was over the +heart of Pharaoh was still hard against God. + +Then Moses told Pharaoh that the face of the earth would be covered +with clouds of locusts that would eat every green thing left by the +storm, if he did not let God's people go. This frightened Pharaoh's +servants and they begged him to send them away, and though he would not +let their wives and little ones go, he said: + +"Go now, ye that are men, for that ye did desire," and he drove them +out of his presence. + +Then at the Lord's word, Moses arose and stretched forth his rod over +Egypt, and the plague of locusts came, driven by the East wind, and +covered the land until there was no green thing left in Egypt. + +Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron in great haste, and confessing +his sin, begged to be forgiven and to be saved from, "this death only," +and, at Moses' prayer, a mighty west wind drove the army of locusts +into the Red Sea. + +But again the heart of Pharaoh turned against God, and the Lord brought +thick darkness over the land for three days, only in the homes of the +Hebrews there was light. Then Pharaoh was willing to let them take +their wives and their little ones, but not their flocks and herds, and +because they would not leave them behind, Pharaoh drove Moses and Aaron +from him in anger, saying: + +"See my face no more." + +But the Lord proposed to break the hard heart of Pharaoh. He told +Moses to see that every Israelite should take a lamb from the flock and +keep it four days. Then, at evening, he was to kill it, and dip a +branch of hyssop in its blood, and strike it against the sides of his +door, also over it, leaving three marks of blood there. Then he was to +close his door and no one was to go out of it until morning. + +They were to roast the lamb and eat of it, and be ready for the journey +they were to make, and it should be to them forever the feast called +the Passover. They were to eat it with unleavened bread, and the feast +should be kept forever from the first to the seventh day of the month, +a holy feast to the Lord. + +And this is why it was called the feast of the Passover. At midnight, +after the lamb was killed in each house of the Israelites, and the +doors were shut, the Lord passed through the land, and wherever he saw +the blood on the side posts and the top of the door, he passed over +that house, and it was safe, but in every Egyptian house the first born +died, from the child of Pharaoh who sat on the throne, to the child of +the captive in the cell, and all the first born of cattle. + +The next morning a great cry went up from the land of Egypt, for there +was not a house where there was not one dead. + +Then Pharaoh was quite ready to let the Israelites go. + +"Take all you have and be gone," he said. + +They were all ready, and rose up very gladly to join the great +procession, led by Moses and Aaron, that gathered in Goshen, and +started on its long journey toward the east. + +They had heard of the land of their fathers, and now they were going +home to be slaves no more. They were a family of seventy souls when +they came into Egypt, four hundred and thirty years before, and now +they went out a great nation, as the Lord had promised when he blessed +their fathers. + +The feast of the Passover has been the chief one held by the +Israelites, from the time of their coming out of Egypt until now, and +since Jesus held the Passover feast with his disciples on the night +that he went forth to death, it has become to all Christians the +Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +FOLLOWING THE CLOUD. + +"God led the people," says the Word, as they came up out of Egypt. He +gave them the two leaders by whom He had broken the power of Pharaoh, +and set His people free, and He also set a great cloud in the air, just +above and before them, to lead them in the right way. It was to them +the presence of the Lord. By day it rose white and beautiful against +the blue sky, and moved slowly before them. At night it stood still +while they rested, and shed light over all the camp, for there seemed +to be a fire within the cloud at night. How safe and happy they must +have felt away from the cruel taskmasters of Egypt, and the Lord's +presence, spreading a wing of cloud over them. They were not led by a +straight way to Canaan, for a warlike people lived in the land which +they must pass through, but they were led at first through a country +without cities or armies, where they would not trouble many people or +be troubled by them. They bore with them the embalmed body of Joseph, +for they had promised to bury him with his fathers in the cave of +Machpelah; and they also had much wealth in herds, and flocks, and +gold, and silver. Pharaoh thought of this after they had gone, and his +wicked heart grew harder than before, so he ordered his chariots and +horsemen to follow them, and they found the Israelites camped by the +Red Sea. + +Then there was great fear and mourning in the camp when they saw the +army of Pharaoh coming, but Moses cried: + +"Fear ye not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. The Lord +shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace." + +Then the Lord told Moses to speak to the people that they go forward. +He also told him to lift up his rod and stretch his hand over the sea +and divide it, and the children of Israel should go on dry ground +through the midst of the sea. Night was falling, and the waters lay +dark before them, but the angel of God, the pillar of cloud and fire, +moved from its place before them and went behind them, while Moses and +Aaron led them on. Then the presence of the Lord was a cloud and +darkness to the Egyptians, but it gave a light by night to the +Israelites. A strong east wind drove the waters apart all night, so +that there was a way through the sea, and the waters were a wall upon +their right hand and on their left. Pharaoh's army saw the broad path +through the sea, and followed fast after the Israelites, but as morning +dawned the Lord looked from the cloud and troubled the Egyptians. +Their chariot wheels came off, and all went wrong with them. + +At last the Lord told Moses to stretch his hand forth over the sea, +that the waters might come back upon the Egyptians, and he did so; and +as the sun rose, the sea swallowed up the Egyptian host, and their +bodies were cast upon the shore. There on the other side stood the +great host of Israel, and saw the salvation of God, and they believed +in Him, and in Moses His servant. + +[Illustration: Destruction of Pharaoh's army] + +Then a great shout went up from the host of Israel. Moses led them in +a song of praise, and Miriam, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine, +and the women followed her in dances as they answered in a chorus of +praise:-- + +"Sing ye to the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and +the rider hath he thrown into the sea." + +Soon they took up their journey, the cloudy pillar going before. There +was but little water by the way, and after three days of thirst, they +came to the waters of Marah, but they were bitter, and the people cried +to Moses, + +"What shall we drink?" + +Then the Lord showed him a tree which he cast into the waters, and they +were made pure and sweet. Soon after they came to Elim, where there +were twelve wells of water, and seventy palm trees, and there they +rested. + +Again they took up their journey and passed through a desert land, +where they could get no food, and again they complained to Moses +because he had brought them into the wilderness to die. They did not +yet believe that God could supply all their need. + +"I will rain bread from heaven for you," said the Lord to Moses. He +was ready to provide, if they would only believe in Him and obey Him. + +Moses called them to come near before the Lord while Aaron should speak +his word to them. As they came near and looked toward the wilderness +where the cloud stood, the glory of the Lord shone out of it. The Lord +had heard them speak harshly to Moses for bringing them into a desert +to die, but he said, + +"At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with +bread." + +And his word came true. Great flocks of quails came up and covered the +camp at sunset, so that they caught them for food; and in the morning +the dew lay around them, and when it had risen, there lay on the ground +a small, round, white thing, something like frost, or a little seed, +and it tasted like wafers made with honey. The Lord told Moses that +the people must gather just enough to eat through the day, and no more. +The morning before the Sabbath they must gather enough for two days, +for none would fall on the Sabbath. This was the bread that the +heavenly Father provided for his children through all the years of +their journey from Egypt to Canaan, and they called it "Manna." + +There were hard things to bear in the wilderness. Often when they +wanted water for their little ones and their cattle, and could not find +it, they were like fretful children when they were tired and thirsty. +Once, at Horeb, Moses struck a rock with his wonderful rod, and water +sprung out in a stream. + +There were enemies also in the way. The Amelikites came out to fight +with the Israelites. The strong men went to meet the enemy, but Moses +stood on a hill with the rod of God in his hand, and Aaron and Hur were +with him. While Moses held up the rod, Israel prevailed; but when he +let down his hand Amalek prevailed. + +But Moses grew tired and they placed a stone for him to sit upon, and +Aaron and Hur held up his hands on either side until the going down of +the sun, when Amalek was conquered. Moses built an altar there, and +called it "The Lord my Banner." + +They were now drawing near the Mount, where Moses saw the burning bush, +and heard the Lord calling him to be the leader of his people. + +They were far out of their way to Canaan, but it was in the Lord's +purpose to bring them into obedience and faith before he brought them +into the promised land. They had lived long among the Egyptians, and +were very far from being like Jacob and Joseph, but there were good and +true men like Aaron, and Joshua, and Hur, who helped Moses. It was +about three months after the children of Israel left Egypt, that they +came into the wilderness of Sinai. There the "Mount of God" still +lifts its great granite cliffs toward the sky. There are high valleys +midway where it is cooler than below, and there the people encamped and +waited to hear what God would say to them, for God talked with Moses on +the Mount. + +He said He had chosen them, if they would obey his voice, to be a holy +nation. He told Moses to tell the people to be ready, and on the third +day He would come down in the sight of all the people on Mount Sinai. + +And so it was, as the people looked there was a thick cloud upon the +Mount, from which came thunder and lightning, and the sound of a great +trumpet, while the mountain trembled as with an earthquake. Only Moses +and Aaron could approach the holy Mount, and from it God gave to Moses +the laws that the people were to live by, and Moses wrote them all down +that he might read them to the people. A company of the Elders of +Israel went up and saw the glory of God afar off, but God called Moses +up into the Mount, and the cloud closed him round, while the Lord gave +him the laws for a great nation, and the pattern of the tabernacle +which He wished him to make for a church in the wilderness. + +Forty days and forty nights Moses was on the Mount with God, and then +God gave him the ten great commandments written with his own hands on +tablets of stone, that he might give them to the people. They were to +be kept as the rules of life for all people in all times. + +Forty days and nights seemed a long time to the people camped around +the Mount. Perhaps they thought Moses would never come back to lead +them, for they began to think of the gods of Egypt, and asked Aaron to +make one for them. So to please them he told them to bring him their +gold ornaments, and he melted them and made a golden calf such as the +Egyptians worshiped, and before it they made an altar, and they +worshiped the calf. + +The Lord who sees all things told Moses to go down to the people for +they were worshiping an idol. So Moses went down a little way and met +Joshua, and they both went down and saw the people feasting, and +singing, and dancing, and Moses cast the tablets of stone upon the +ground and they were broken. The heart of Moses, too, was almost +broken, but he destroyed the golden calf, and punished the people for +their great sin, and then went up to the Mount to plead for the life of +his people. + +"O this people have sinned a great sin," he cried, "and have made them +gods of gold, yet now if thou wilt forgive their sin, and if not, blot +me, I pray thee, out of the book which thou has written," so great was +the love of Moses for his people. + +There was a time of repentance among the people after this, and Moses +and his servant Joshua reared a tent outside the camp and called it the +Tabernacle of the congregation. It was for worship until the true +Tabernacle should be built according to the pattern given in the Mount. +All who sought the Lord went to worship there, and the pillar of cloud +came and stood at the Tabernacle door while Moses talked with God, and +all the people saw it and worshiped. + +Moses prayed again for the people, and the Lord said: + +"My presences shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." + +The Lord called Moses again into the mount, and told him to bring with +him two tablets of stone and He would again write the ten commandments +upon them. + +So Moses hewed them from the rock and took them up into Mount Sinai. +Then the Lord came down again in a thick cloud and talked with Moses, +and wrote upon the tablets of stone. + +After forty days Moses came down to the people bringing the +commandments with him, but his face shone with a strange light that the +people never saw before, and they were afraid of him. It was something +above the light of the sun, for Moses had seen the Glory of the Lord. + +[Illustration: Moses descending from the Mount] + +While they still camped around the mount they began to build the +Tabernacle. Moses told the people to bring gold, and silver, and +brass, and wood. They also brought precious stones, and oil for the +lamp, and fine linen, and they gave so willingly that at last Moses +told them that there was more than enough. + +These were put in the hands of two wise men whom the Lord had chosen +and taught to do the work, and they had willing helpers among the +people, for wise hearted women did spin with their own hands, and bring +what they had spun, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen to +make the hangings of the Tabernacle. + +If you would know all the beautiful and costly and curious things that +were made for this church in the wilderness, you will find them +described in the last chapters of Exodus. + +The Israelites camped a long time in the high valleys around the Mount +of God, and at last set up the Tabernacle. It was so made that it +could be taken down and carried with them when they journeyed, for it +was a beautiful tent. Over it the pillar of cloud stood. Whenever it +moved the people followed, and when it stood still, they rested. +Within the Tabernacle they placed a beautiful chest of wood overlaid +with gold, which ever after held their most precious things, the +tablets of stone written upon by the Lord himself. + +This "Ark of Testimony," as it was called, had rings at the sides +through which men laid strong rods by which to carry it, and so had the +golden table for bread, and the golden altar of incense. There was a +beautiful seven-branched candlestick of pure gold in which olive oil +was burned for a sacred sign, and there was a brazen altar for burnt +offerings, and a great brazen bowl for washing, and other things to be +used in the worship of the Sanctuary. + +There were beautiful garments, also, for the priests, Aaron and his +sons, and for Aaron there was a wonderful breast-plate of gold set with +twelve precious stones, bearing the names of the twelve tribes of +Israel. + +When all was finished, and the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud that +veiled the presence of the Lord came and covered it, and the glory of +the Lord filled it, so that Moses could not enter; but the Lord spoke +to him from the cloud, and told him how the priests should order the +worship of the Lord there. + +Afterward, Aaron and his sons offered burnt offerings for their sins, +and the sins of the people, in the way the Lord had commanded, and fire +from the Lord came down and consumed the offering. + +When the people saw the answer of the Lord they fell on their faces +before him. + +In the second month of the second year the cloud rose from over the +Tabernacle, and then the people knew it was time to go on their +Journey. So they took down the tent of the Tabernacle and put all +things in order for the journey. Each of the twelve tribes descended +from the twelve sons of Jacob marched by themselves, carrying banners, +and having captains. In the midst of them all marched the Levites +carrying the Ark and the different parts of the Tabernacle, and when +the cloud stood still, they stopped and set up the Tabernacle, while +the people formed their camp all around it in the order of their tribes. + +Still the manna fell with the dew at night, and the people gathered it +in the morning, and when they tired of it, the Lord sent them quails +again. + +Over and over the people complained and rebelled, but the Angel of the +Lord's Presence still hovered over them, and led them toward the +promised land. Forty years they were on the journey that was so easily +made by the sons of Jacob when they went back and forth to buy wheat in +the time of famine; and forty-two times did they encamp on the way, yet +the mercy of the Lord never failed them, and they were brought into +their own land at last. Then the cloud was no longer needed to go +before them, but long after, when they built a beautiful temple at +Jerusalem in which to put the sacred Ark of Testimony, the cloud came +again and filled the temple with the glory of the Lord. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +IN THE BORDERS OF CANAAN. + +While the host of Israel was in camp at Paran, the Lord told Moses to +send men before them into Canaan to spy out the land. + +So he sent twelve men who walked through the land and saw the people, +and the cities and the fields and the fruits. They were forty days +searching the land and they brought from the brook Eschol a cluster of +grapes so large that two of them bore it on a staff between them. They +also brought some pomegranates and figs. + +[Illustration: The return of the spies] + +When they came into the camp they said that the country where they had +been was good, and flowing with milk and honey, but the people were +strong, and the cities had very high walls. They said they saw giants +there. + +Caleb, who was one of the twelve, and a good and true man, said: + +"Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome +it," but the men who were with him were afraid of the giants, and said +they felt like grasshoppers before them. Then there was great weeping +among the people all that night, and they said, + +"Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt." Moses and Aaron +were greatly troubled, but the two good men, Caleb and Joshua, stood up +and encouraged the people, saying that they need not fear, for the Lord +had given them the land, yet they were ready to stone Caleb and Joshua. + +Then the Lord spake to Moses from the Tabernacle, and the people saw +his glory. He said the people were unbelieving and disobedient, and +for this reason they could not enter the promised land. He said, that +all who were twenty years old and upward would die in the wilderness, +except Caleb and Joshua, who had followed the Lord wholly. He also +said that the people would be forty years in the wilderness, and only +the youth and the children would live to enter Canaan. + +There was mourning and repentance then because of the word of the Lord, +and the people promised again to believe and obey, but over and over +they lost faith and rebelled, and great storms of trouble fell upon +them. + +Once the earth opened and many were swallowed up; a sudden sickness +destroyed thousands. Near Mount Hor, where Aaron died, fiery serpents +ran among the people, and all who were bitten by them died; but there +was full forgiveness and cure for those who turned to the Lord. When +the fiery serpents entered the camp Moses lifted a brazen image of a +serpent up on a pole so high that it could be seen all over the camp, +and whoever looked upon it lived. It was a sign of the coming Saviour. + +Between the marches and the battles with heathen tribes, some of whom +were giants, Moses wrote in a book the laws that God gave him for the +government of the people. They were wise laws, the keeping of which +would bring health, peace and blessedness to the people. He gave the +book to the Levites who carried the Ark, and they were to keep it +always beside the Ark, and often read it aloud to the people. + +Moses said many things to the people, and as Jacob blessed his twelve +sons, so Moses blessed each of the twelve tribes that descended from +them, for he was near the end of his long life. The Lord had told him +that He should take him to Himself before the people entered Canaan, +and that Joshua must lead the people into the promised land. So when +they had reached the borders of Canaan, and were encamped near the +Jordan, the Lord called his tried servant up into Mount Nebo, that he +might see the land beyond the Jordan, where the twelve tribes were to +find their promised home. Then the Lord gave him a view of the land, +and there he died, as Aaron died on Mount Hor. + +No one saw Moses die, and no one knows where he was buried, for the +Lord buried him. He was one hundred and twenty years old, and yet as +strong as a young man. After his death Joshua became the leader of +Israel. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +A NATION THAT WAS BORN IN A DAY. + +The time had come for the people to cross the river Jordan, and enter +their own land, and the Lord told Joshua to prepare the people for +their last journey before going over Jordan. Joshua first sent two men +over the river to see the land. + +They went to the walled city of Jericho, and to the house of a woman +named Rahab. The king heard that they were there and sent for them, +but the woman hid them under the flax that she was drying on the roof +of her house. Afterward she let them down by a rope through a window +(for her house was built on the town wall), and they escaped. They +promised Rahab before they went, that if she would hang a long line of +scarlet thread from the window on the wall, that when they came to take +the city she should be saved and all her family because of her kindness +to them. + +After they had returned to the camp they told Joshua that the Lord +would surely give them the land, for the people were afraid of them. +Then they rose up and marched to the banks of the Jordan and waited for +Joshua to lead them over. Some of them remembered how they had passed +through the Red Sea, and others had heard it from their parents, and +they now waited to see the salvation of God. Joshua told them to +follow the priests, and the Levites who would bear the Ark of the +Covenant, so when Joshua said: + +"Behold the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth +over before you into Jordan," the people followed. + +The Jordan lay spread before them like a lake, for it was the time of +year when it overflowed all its banks, but when the feet of the priests +who bore the Ark were dipped in the edge of the water, the waters from +above stopped and rose like a wall, while the waters below flowed away +into the Dead Sea, and left a wide path for the people to walk in, and +the Ark stood still in Jordan until every one had passed over. Then +twelve men, one out of every tribe, took a stone from the bed of the +river and carried it over for a memorial altar, so that when any should +ask in years to come, "What do these stones mean?" someone might tell +them how the Lord led Israel through Jordan into their own land. + +[Illustration: Crossing the Jordan] + +After the Ark had come up from the bed of Jordan, and there was not one +of all the thousands of Israel left behind, the waters came down from +the place where they had stayed, and flowed down into the Dead Sea, and +overflowed the banks of Jordan as before. + +The stones were heaped in Gilgal where they camped, and directly before +them rose the walls of Jericho, and here they kept the passover. For +forty years they had been fed with manna from heaven as they camped or +journeyed in the wilderness, but now they began to eat the grain and +the fruits of the land, and the manna fell no more. + +Nearly five hundred years before the family of Jacob left this land to +go down into Egypt where Joseph was. They grew to be a great people, +but they were slaves. Then the Lord sent Moses to make them free, and +they began the long journey, which at last brought them to their own +land. + +Forty years they were on the journey, and all this time they were +pilgrims, but on the day that the Jordan ceased to flow, and parted +while they passed over into the land promised to their fathers, they +became a nation. + +The land was before them, and they had only to obey the Lord and his +servant Joshua to conquer and possess it. + +As they filled the valley of the Jordan before Jericho, the hearts of +the heathen fainted for fear, for they knew that only the Lord could +divide a river to let his people pass. + +Joshua went out of the camp to look at Jericho, the walled city. It +was shut up for fear of the Israelites, and there was no one to be seen. + +Suddenly Joshua saw a warrior standing with a drawn sword in his hand. + +"Art thou for us," said Joshua, "or for our adversaries?" and the +warrior angel answered, + +"Nay! but as Captain of the host of the Lord, am I now come," and +Joshua fell on his face before him. + +He knew then that it was the Lord who would conquer Jericho, and he was +told how the people were to help him. + +So Joshua called the priests, and told them to take up the Ark, and he +told seven priests to go before it bearing trumpets of rams' horns. +Then the army of Israel, ready for war, followed, half of them marching +before the Ark, and half of them coming after, and as the trumpets gave +a great sound, they marched once around the city, and then went to +camp. This they did once every day for seven days, but on the seventh +day they marched around the city seven times, and as the priests blew +the trumpets for the last time, Joshua cried with a mighty voice, + +"Shout! for the Lord hath given you the city." + +Then as a great shout went up from the people, the walls of the city +fell down flat, so that the soldiers of Israel went up, every man +straight before him, and took Jericho. + +And Rahab was not forgotten. The Lord cared for her little house on +the wall, and she, with all her family, were brought into the Camp of +Israel. + +And so by the conquest of Jericho the new nation of Israel began to +possess its land. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +SAMSON THE STRONG. + +All the days of Joshua--and he lived to be an hundred and ten years +old--the Israelites were conquering the people who lived in Canaan, and +dividing it among the tribes. Joshua was a father to them, as Moses +had been, and when at last they were at rest, each tribe within its own +borders, and they had begun to build their houses, and plant their +fields, Joshua spoke words of loving counsel to the people, and they +set up a stone under an oak tree, as a sign that they would always +serve the Lord and keep the law, and then he went to be with God. +After his death Israel was ruled by wise men called judges, who helped +them to conquer the land little by little. Some of them were good men +and brave warriors as Othniel and Gideon and Jephthah and one was a +prophetess named Deborah, a noble mother in Israel, and one was a +mighty man of strength, Samson, the son of Manoah. + +The people of Israel had turned away from the Lord, and could no longer +conquer their enemies, but the Philistines had conquered them, and had +been their masters for forty years, when the Lord sent Samson to +deliver them. He was not a wise man like Moses or Joshua, but he had +great strength, and the Lord used him against the Philistines. + +Once a young lion came roaring against him, and he caught it and rent +it in two, as if it had been a kid. When he passed the same way +afterward he saw that the bees had built a nest in the body of the +lion, and it was full of honey. At his marriage feast--for he married +a Philistine woman--he made a riddle for the young men to guess: + +"Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong, come forth +sweetness." + +[Illustration: The young Samson] + +They tried for seven days to guess the riddle, but they could not, and +then they told Samson's wife to find it out for them, or they would +burn her house. She begged him with tears to tell her, and at last he +told her of the honey comb in the body of the lion, and she told the +young men, so that at the end of the seventh day they said to Samson, + +"What is sweeter than honey?" and "what is stronger than a lion?" + +He saw that he had been betrayed, so he paid his debt, a suit of +clothes to each guest, and went home to his father's house. Afterwards +when he found that his wife had been given to another he tied +firebrands to the tails of three hundred foxes, and sent them among the +wheat fields of the Philistines so that the fields were set on fire. + +Once the men of Gaza tried to kill him when he was within their city, +but he rose at midnight and took the city gates, with its posts and +bar, and carried them away on his shoulders to the top of the hill. +Again the Philistine lords had promised a great deal of money to a +woman, if she would get Samson to tell her what made him so strong, so +she begged him to tell her. Three times she thought she knew the +secret, and told the Philistines, but they could not bind him. At last +he was tired of her questions, and said to her plainly--that from a +child no razor had ever touched his hair. If it should be cut he would +be as weak as other men. Then she watched and cut his hair while he +slept, and the Philistines bound him and carried him to Gaza, where +they made him blind, and forced him to grind in the mills of a prison +house. The Philistines were glad because Samson was their prisoner at +last, and so they came together in a great feast to sacrifice to their +god Dagon, for they said, + +"Our god has delivered Samson into our hands." While they were merry +they said: + +"Let us send for Samson to make sport for us," and he was brought out +of the prison. It was very sad to see the strong judge of Israel, weak +and blind, led by a little lad, and making sport for the people in +front of their temple. All the lords of the Philistines were there, +and upon the broad roof of the temple were about three thousand people +watching Samson while he showed his strength, for his hair had grown +and his strength was returning. At last as he was standing between two +great pillars that held up the roof, he prayed, lifting his sightless +eyes to God: + +"O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me only this +once." + +Then he clasped his arms around the pillars on either side of him, and +bowing himself with all his might, saying, + +"Let me die with the Philistines," he drew the great pillars with him, +and the house fell with all that were upon it, on all that were within +it. So died Samson who judged Israel twenty years, yet a woman, +Deborah, who was also one of the judges in Israel, was stronger than +he, for the Lord looketh on the heart. + +[Illustration: The death of Samson] + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +RUTH. + +In the days when the judges ruled in Israel, there was a famine in the +land, and an Israelite, who lived in Bethlehem, took his wife and his +two sons into Moab where there was food. After a while the Israelite +died, and the two sons married women of Moab. + +After two years the sons died also, and their mother, Naomi, longed for +her home in Bethlehem, for there was no longer a famine there. So she +took Ruth and Orpah, her sons' wives, and started on the journey into +the land of Israel. + +But before they had gone far Naomi said: + +"Go! return each to her mother's house; the Lord deal kindly with you, +as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me." + +She kissed them, and they wept and would not leave her. + +"Turn again, my daughters," she said, "why will ye go with me?" + +And Orpah kissed Naomi, and went back to her own mothers' house, but +Ruth, whose heart was with Naomi, would not go back. + +"Entreat me not to leave thee," she said, "or to return from following +after thee, for where thou goest I will go; and where thou lodgest I +will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God; where +thou diest I will die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do so to +me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me." + +And so they came to Bethlehem, and the old friends of Naomi greeted her +tenderly, and welcomed her back. It was about the beginning of the +barley harvest. + +There was a good and great man in Bethlehem named Boaz, and he was of +the family of Naomi's husband. He had a field of barley where the +reapers were at work, and Ruth asked Naomi if she should not go and +glean after the reapers, to get grain, for they were poor. + +Naomi said, "Go, my daughter," and she went. + +When Boaz came out of the town into his field and greeted his reapers, +he said to his servant having charge of the reapers, + +"What maiden is this?" and he told him that she was the Moabitish girl +who had come back with her mother-in-law Naomi. + +Then Boaz spoke very kindly to Ruth, and told her to stay with his +maidens, and freely drink of the water drawn for them, and Ruth bowed +before him and asked why he should be so kind to a stranger. He told +her that he knew all her kindness to her mother-in-law since the death +of her husband, and how she had left her own family and country to come +among strangers, and he blessed her, saying, + +"A full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose +wings thou art come to trust." + +Then he told her to sit down and eat bread with them, and he helped her +to the parched corn with his own hands, and when they returned to work +he told his young men to let her glean among the sheaves and reprove +her not, and to let some handfuls fall purposely for her to glean. +When Ruth went home Naomi said, + +"Where hast thou gleaned to-day?" and Ruth told her. Then Naomi +blessed Boaz, and told Ruth that he was one of their near relatives. + +And so Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz through all the barley and +the wheat harvest. When all the reaping was done, the grain was +threshed on a piece of ground made very smooth and level. The sheaves +were beaten, and then the straw was taken away, and the grain and chaff +below it was winnowed. By this the chaff was blown away and only the +grain was left. + +When Boaz winnowed his barley Naomi told Ruth to go down to his +threshing floor and see him for he had a feast for his friends. + +So after the feast Ruth came near to him and said, + +"Thou art our near kinsman," and Boaz said, + +"May the Lord bless thee my daughter," and with many kind words he gave +her six measures of barley to take to Naomi. + +[Illustration: Ruth and Naomi] + +Boaz remembered that it was the custom in Israel for the nearest +relative of a man who had died, to take care of the wife who was left, +and so he went to the gate of Bethlehem where the rulers met to hold +their court, and spoke to the elders and chief men about Ruth. He also +wished them to be witnesses that he was going to take Ruth to be his +wife. Then the rulers all said, + +"We are witnesses," and they prayed that God would bless Ruth and make +Boaz still richer and greater. + +So Ruth became the honored and beloved wife of Boaz, and they had a son +named Obed. + +Obed grew up and had a son named Jesse; and Jesse was the father of +David, King of Israel, who was first a shepherd lad of Bethlehem. + +More than a thousand years after Ruth lived there was born in +Bethlehem, of the family of Boaz and Ruth, a little Child, who came, to +be the Saviour of the world, and the shepherds in the fields, where, +perhaps, Ruth gleaned, and David kept his sheep, heard the angels tell +the good news and sing + +"Peace on earth, good will to men." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +SAMUEL--THE CHILD OF THE TEMPLE. + +The Tabernacle that was built in the wilderness, and was brought into +Canaan by the priests was set up at Shiloh in the very centre of the +land of Canaan, and once every year the tribes came to it to worship +and offer sacrifices. After it had come to Shiloh to stay it was +called the temple. + +When Eli was high priest a man named Elkanah came up from Ramah to +worship, and Hannah his wife went with him. She was a good woman, and +very sorrowful, because she saw other wives with sons and daughters +around them, and she had none. Her husband was loving and kind and +said: + +"Am I not better to thee than ten sons?" but she prayed to God for a +son. While she was at Shiloh she prayed in the temple, and Eli saw her +lips move, though he heard no voice. At first he spoke harshly to her, +thinking she had been drinking wine, but she told him that she had not +taken wine, but was praying. + +"I am a woman of sorrowful spirit," she said, "and have poured out my +soul before the Lord." Then Eli blessed her and said: + +"Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thee the prayer that thou +hast asked of him." Then Hannah was no longer sad. + +Her prayer was answered, and the Lord sent her a little son, and when +he was old enough, she took him to the temple, for she had promised the +Lord that the child should be His. So Elkanah came bringing +sacrifices, and the young child was with them. Hannah told Eli that +she was the woman whom he saw praying in the temple. + +[Illustration: Samuel speaking to the Lord] + +"For the child I prayed," she said, "and the Lord has answered my +prayer. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he +shall be lent to the Lord." Eli was very glad and gave thanks to the +Lord, and took the little boy to help him in the service of the temple. +Every year his father and mother came to bring offerings to the Lord, +and his mother always brought him a little coat which she had made. + +Over it was a linen garment called an ephod, such as the priests wore. +Eli was an old man, and his sons, though they were priests, were not +good men, and he believed the Lord had sent him one who would be good, +so he loved little Samuel as if he were his own. + +One night when Eli was laid down to sleep, and Samuel also, while the +light was still burning in the golden candlestick before the Ark, +Samuel heard a voice calling him, and he answered, "Here am I," and ran +to see what Eli wanted. But Eli said that he had not called, and +Samuel lay down again. When the voice called again, Samuel went again +to Eli's bed, but Eli told him to lie down again, for he had not called +him. When the voice called the third time, Samuel said: "Here am I, +for thou _didst_ call me." + +Then Eli told the boy to lie down once more, but if he heard the voice +again to say, + +"Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth." + +And when the voice called again, "Samuel, Samuel," the boy answered, + +"Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth." + +Then the Lord told Samuel that the sons of Eli had become very wicked, +and their father had not kept them from the evil, and therefore He +could not accept their offerings. + +When Eli asked Samuel what the Lord had said to him, the boy told him +all and hid nothing from him, and Eli bowed his spirit before the Lord, +and said: + +"It is the Lord, let Him do what seemeth Him good." + +After this all the people of Israel knew that the Lord had called +Samuel to be a prophet. And as he grew up the Lord was with him, and +he was a judge over his people all his life. + +As for Eli and his sons, the word of the Lord soon came true. When the +Philistines came against the Israelites in battle, the Elders of Israel +said: + +"Let us bring the Ark of the Lord out of Shiloh to us, that it may save +us out of the hand of our enemies." And so they took it from the holy +place to the camp of Israel. Then the Philistines fell upon the camp +and scattered the men of Israel. They also took the Ark of God, and +the two sons of Eli were among the thousands slain. + +Eli, who trembled for the Ark of God, sat outside the city gate, by the +wayside watching. He was nearly a hundred years old, and his eyes were +dim, but when a messenger came with the bad news, he fell backward in +his seat and died. His heart was broken. + +Where was Samuel? Perhaps he was praying in the temple for the return +of the Ark of the Covenant. + +Wherever the Ark went among the Philistines, there went also trouble +and death. When they put it in the temple of their fish-god Dagon, the +great idol fell down before it and was broken. And when it was taken +to another city, the people were smitten with sickness, until at last +the Philistines said: + +"Send away the Ark of the God of Israel, and let it go to its own +place." + +After seven months they sent it with gifts of gold to the Israelites. +They placed it on a new cart drawn by two cows, and the cows, guided by +the Lord alone, took a straight way into the land of Israel. How glad +the people were when they looked up from their reaping in the fields, +and saw the Ark coming safely back to them. The Philistines watched it +from afar to see if it would be guided of God to its own place or not +and then they returned to their city. + +Samuel gathered the people to the Lord after this, and though they had +sinned greatly, and had gone after the gods of the heathen around them, +they repented and returned to the faith of their fathers, and were +faithful all the days of Samuel. He went from year to year on a +journey to three cities of Israel, and judged the people in those +places, but his home was in Ramah, the city where he was born, and +where Hannah had brought him up for the Lord. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE MAKING OF A KING. + +When Samuel was old he made his sons judges in his place, but they were +not holy men like their father. + +They loved money, and would judge unjustly, if money were given to them +as a bribe. So the people came to Samuel at Ramah and said, + +"Give us a king to judge us." + +And Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord told him to do as the +people had asked him to do, for they had not rejected him as judge, but +the Lord as their King, and now they must learn what kind of a king +would reign over them. So Samuel told them what they must be ready to +do for their King, for a king was often a hard master, and ruled his +people cruelly, taking the best of their fields, and their harvests, +and their flocks for themselves, and the finest of their sons and +daughters to be his servants; but they said, + +"We will have a king over us, that we may be like other nations, and +that our king may judge us, and go out before us and fight our battles." + +When Samuel told these things to the Lord he said, "Make them a king," +and Samuel sent the people to their own cities. + +Samuel did not choose a king for the people himself, but he waited for +the Lord to send him the man He had chosen, and the Lord said to him as +he went to a city called Zeph, to hold a sacrifice, + +"To-morrow about this time I will send thee a man from the land of +Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people +Israel." + +On the next day as Samuel came out to go up to the hill of sacrifice he +met a tall, noble looking young man, who, with his servant, was looking +for the lost asses of his father, Kish, the Benjaminite. He had come +far, and had heard that Samuel, the seer was in that place, and he +hoped he would tell him where to go for the asses that were lost. + +Samuel knew from the Lord that this was the man God had chosen, so he +told him to go up with him to the sacrifice, and the next day he would +let him go. + +He told him that he need not be troubled about the asses, for they were +found, but the desire of Israel was set upon him. Saul, for that was +his name, did not understand him until he was invited to feast with +thirty of the chief men, and Samuel had talked with him upon the +house-top. Early the next morning they both rose and went out of the +city, and while Saul sent his servant on before, Samuel anointed Saul +with oil, and kissed him saying, that the Lord had anointed him to be +Captain over his inheritance. + +As a sign that the Lord had done it, he told Saul three things that +would happen to him on the way home, and charged him to go to Gilgal, +where he would meet him and sacrifice to the Lord for seven days. As +Saul turned to leave the prophet, God gave him another heart, and all +the signs came to pass that day. + +At Mizpah Samuel called all the tribes together, that the man who was +to be their king, might be chosen in their sight, and when Saul, the +son of Kish, the Benjaminite was chosen he could not be found; he had +hidden from the people; but when they brought him out before them, he +was taller than any of the people from his shoulders up, and looked a +king indeed. For the first time in all their history they cried, + +"God save the King!" + +Then Saul went home, and there went with him a body of men whose hearts +God had touched, while Samuel wrote in a book the order of the kingdom +and laid it up before the Lord. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE SHEPHERD BOY OF BETHLEHEM. + +After Saul had been king of Israel for a few years, Samuel was deeply +troubled about him, for he had hoped that he would be as truly a king +as he looked, but he had a strange and wilful spirit that led him to +turn away from the counsel of the Lord and follow his own way. + +Samuel had been grieved again and again by Saul's rashness, until at +last he said to him when he had taken the spoil of the enemy to +sacrifice to the Lord, + +"To obey is better than sacrifice; because thou hast rejected the word +of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king," and he went +to his house and mourned over Saul, for he had loved him. + +At last the Lord told Samuel to cease from mourning for Saul, for He +had rejected him, but to fill his horn with oil, and go to Bethlehem +where Jesse lived, for He had chosen one of the sons of Jesse to be +king in place of Saul. + +Samuel went to Bethlehem leading a heifer, as the Lord had told him to +do, that he might hold a sacrifice. He told the elders of the city to +make ready for the sacrifice, and when he had found the house of Jesse, +he called him and his sons. Jesse was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz, +and owned the fields, no doubt, where Ruth gleaned. When Samuel saw +Eliab, the son of Jesse, he said: + +"Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him," but the Lord said: + +"Look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature, because I +have refused him, for the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh +on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." + +Then Jesse called Abinidab, but Samuel said: + +"The Lord hath not chosen this." Then he made Shammah to pass before +him, but Samuel said: + +"Neither hath the Lord chosen this." + +Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel, but Samuel said: + +"The Lord hath not chosen these." + +"Are here all thy children?" said Samuel. + +"There remaineth yet the youngest, and he keepeth the sheep," Jesse +replied. Then Samuel said: + +"Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down till he come hither." + +So Jesse sent out into the sheepfolds on the hillsides outside the city +to bring the lad David in. What did the boy think when he found his +father and his brothers waiting, with the old prophet in the midst? +What did it mean that the eye of the seer was set upon him, as were the +eyes of all in the house? + +[Illustration: The young shepherd boy] + +Samuel saw a noble youth, "ruddy, and of a beautiful countenance, and +goodly to look to." He had been told that he must not look on the +outward appearance "for the Lord seeth not as man seeth," and so he +waited a little until the Lord said: + +"Arise, anoint him, for this is he." Then he took the horn of oil, and +anointed him in the midst of his brethren, and the spirit of the Lord +came upon David from that day forward, and Samuel went back to his +house in Ramah. + +It may be that his father and his brothers did not understand that the +boy had been called to be king over Israel, but a new spirit of wisdom, +and love, and strength came upon David, and though he went back to his +father's flocks with no thought of being greater than his brothers, he +went with a new song in his heart which he sang to the little harp he +had made while watching the sheep. Long after when he was King of +Israel, he made in memory of these days the beautiful Psalm to be sung +in the temple beginning, + + "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE POWER OF A PEBBLE. + +Saul the sullen was still king over Israel, although he had departed +from the Lord, and in His sight he was no longer a king. He was very +gloomy and dark in his mind, for he had driven the Lord's spirit away, +and his light was gone. + +His servants tried to amuse him, and told him of David, the son of +Jesse, who was a skillful player on the harp, and a brave and handsome +youth. So Saul sent for David, and David, bringing presents from his +father, came to the king's house. + +Saul was greatly pleased with David, and asked Jesse to let his son +stay with him, for when the evil spirit was upon him, if David played +upon his harp the darkness left him. But this did not last, and after +a while David went back to his flocks, and Saul forgot him. + +Then the Philistines rose against Israel again. Their camp was on a +mountain side, and Saul gathered his warriors on the side of another +mountain and there was a valley between them. + +Out of the Philistine camp a giant came one day, Goliath of Gath. He +talked loud and often in order to terrify the Israelites, asking them +to send out a man to fight with him, but he was not truly brave, for he +had carefully covered his great body with armor of brass, so that no +spear or sword could touch him. He defied Israel every morning and +evening for forty days, and no one was found who would dare to go out +alone to fight him. David's elder brothers were in camp, and Jesse, +their father, called David from the flocks to take food to them. He +found the army of Israel ready to go into battle, but Goliath came out +as he had done each day and defied the Israelites, who ran in terror at +the sight of him. The spirit of David was moved at this, and he said: + +"Who is this Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living +God?" "The man who killeth him," said one, "the King will enrich him, +and, will give him his daughter and make his father's house free in +Israel." + +Then Eliab, David's eldest brother, spoke sternly to David asking him +why he had left his sheep to come down and see the battle, and called +him naughty and proud, but David still talked with the men, for the +spirit of the Lord was strong within him. When Saul heard of him and +sent for him, David said: + +"Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight +with the Philistine." + +Saul frowned at David and said: + +"Thou art not able to go against this Philistine; thou art but a youth, +and he is a man of war." + +Then David told the king how he had killed both a lion and a bear that +had come down upon his father's flocks, and that he could also conquer +the Philistine. + +"The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and the paw of +the bear," said David, "He will deliver me out of the hand of this +Philistine." And Saul said: "Go! and the Lord be with thee." Then +Saul armed David with his own armor, but David said: + +"I can not go with these, for I have not proved them," and he put them +off. + +And this was the way David armed himself to meet the giant. + +He took his staff in hand, and chose five smooth stones from the brook +and put them in his shepherd's bag, and with his sling in his hand, he +drew near to the giant. Goliath came on also, his armor-bearer +carrying the shield before him, but when he saw the youth David, he +despised him, for he was without armor, or sword or spear, only his +staff. + +"Am I a dog, that thou comest to me with a staff," said Goliath, and +then he told him that he would soon give his flesh to the birds and the +beasts. + +"Thou comest to me with a sword, and a spear, and a shield," said +David, "but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of +the armies of Israel whom thou hast despised." + +Then the Philistine came down upon little David to destroy him, and +David ran, not away from him, as the men of Israel had done, but +straight toward him, taking a pebble from his shepherd's bag as he ran. +Quickly putting it in the sling, he whirled it in the air once, twice, +and then it went swift and straight to the mark. It sunk into the +forehead of the giant, and he fell dead upon his face. Then David ran +and stood upon the dead Philistine and cut off his head with the +giant's great sword, and when the Philistines saw that their champion +was really dead, they fled, pursued by the shouting hosts of Israel. + +[Illustration: David cutting off Goliath's head] + +Saul had forgotten the youth who played upon the harp before him, for +when he sent for him after the battle he said, + +"Whose son art thou, thou young man?" and David answered, + +"I am the son of thy servant Jesse, the Bethlehemite." + +And Saul took him to live with him from that day. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +FAITHFUL UNTO DEATH. + +Saul had a son named Jonathan, and he loved David as his own soul. He +took off his princely robes, even to his sword, and his bow, and his +girdle, and made David wear them; and David acted wisely in all that +the king gave him to do. There was great joy and much feasting over +the Death of Goliath and the flight of the Philistines, and wherever +Saul went, the women came out of the cities to meet him, singing and +dancing, and the song with which they answered one another was, + + "Saul hath slain his thousands, + And David his tens of thousands." + +Saul did not like this, and an evil spirit of jealousy came upon him, +and he thought, "What can he have more but the kingdom." + +The next day the evil spirit came upon Saul in the house, and David +played on his harp to quiet him, but Saul hurled a spear at David, +hoping to fasten him to the wall with it. This he did twice, but the +Lord guided the spear away from David, just as he guided the pebble to +Goliath, and he was unhurt. Saul was afraid of David. He was afraid +that God was preparing him to be king over Israel, so he sent him into +battle, hoping he would be killed, but the life of David was in the +Lord's hand, and no enemy could destroy it. + +After a great battle, in which David had been victorious, the evil +spirit came again upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in +his hand, while David played on the harp. Again he tried to kill +David, but the spear struck the wall and David slipped away. + +[Illustration: The spear struck the wall] + +It was clear that David could not live near the king, and so he talked +with Jonathan, his friend, who said, + +"God forbid, thou shalt not die," but David said, + +"Truly there is but a step between me and death." + +Then they made a promise to each other before the Lord that should last +while they lived. They promised to show "the kindness of the Lord" to +each other while life should last. + +Jonathan told David that he might go away for three days, and they went +out into a field together. They feared the anger of Saul when he found +that David was absent from the feast of the new moon. So Jonathan told +David to return after three days and hide behind a great rock in the +field. Then Jonathan said he would come out and shoot three arrows +from his bow, as if he were shooting at a mark, and he would send his +arrow-bearer to pick them up. If he should call to the lad, "The +arrows are on this side of thee," David would know that Saul was not +angry, and would not hurt him, but if he cried, "The arrows are beyond +thee," David would know he was in danger and must go away. + +On the second day of the feast, Saul asked why David was not there, and +Jonathan told him he had asked permission to go away for three days. +Then Saul was very angry. He blamed his son for loving David, for, as +Saul's son, Jonathan should be king after his death, but he never would +be if David lived, and he commanded Jonathan to bring him that he might +put him to death. When Jonathan asked what evil David had done that he +should be put to death, Saul cast his spear at his own son. Then +Jonathan knew there was no hope for David, and left the table in sorrow. + +The next day he went out to the rock in the field with his armor-bearer +and sent him on before. When he shot an arrow, he cried: + +"The arrow is beyond thee; make haste! stay not!" + +And David, in his hiding place heard it, and knew that he must flee for +his life. + +Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the lad to take to the town, +and David came out from his hiding place, and they kissed each other +and wept together. But at last Jonathan said: + +"Go in peace: as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, +saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my children and +thy children forever." + +And David went away to hide from Saul, and Jonathan went back to the +king's house. + +For seven years Saul hunted for David to take his life, and David, +often hiding in caves in the wilderness, could not see his friend +Jonathan, but they were faithful in their friendship, and when at last +Saul was slain in battle, and Jonathan also, David came to mourn over +his friend, saying: + +"I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou +been unto me; thy love for me was wonderful, passing the love of women." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +DAVID THE OUTCAST. + +For seven years King Saul hunted David from one end of the land of +Israel to the other. The evil spirit of jealousy and hate had full +possession of him, and David, with a few faithful men, was driven from +one stronghold to another, until he cried, "They gather themselves +together; they hide themselves; they mark my steps when they wait for +my soul. What time I am afraid I will trust in thee." + +He had escaped again and again from the hand of Saul, and now he was +down in the desert country by the Dead Sea, hiding among the cliffs and +caves of Engedi. Saul heard of it and took three thousand men to hunt +for him among the rocks of the wild goats. He was very tired after +climbing the rocks, and seeing a cave, he went in to lie down for a +little sleep. He did not know that David and his men were in the cave +hiding in the dark sides of it. Then his men whispered to David: + +"Behold the day of which the Lord said unto thee: 'I will deliver thine +enemy into thine hand that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good +to thee.'" Then David arose and crept near to Saul, and--did he kill +the man who had so often tried to kill him? + +No, he bent down and cut off a part of Saul's robe. Even this seemed +wrong to David. + +[Illustration: The garment of Saul] + +"The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master," he said +"to stretch forth my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the +Lord," and in this way he kept his servants from harming Saul, and +after Saul awoke he went out of the cave. + +David also went out of the cave and cried, + +"My Lord the King!" + +And when Saul turned David bowed down to him and asked him why he +listened to men who said that he wished to harm the king, and then he +told him how the Lord had given him into his hand in the cave, but he +would not touch the Lord's anointed to harm him. + +"See, my father," he cried "see the skirt of thy robe in my hand. I +have not sinned against thee, yet thou huntest my soul to take it." + +Much more he said, and asked the Lord to judge between them, and Saul's +hard heart was moved so that he wept aloud. + +"Is this thy voice, my son David," he said, "Thou art more righteous +than I, for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee +evil," and he made a covenant with David. For though he made no +promise to spare David's life, he made David promise to spare the life +of his children when he should be made king. + +But a year was hardly past before the evil spirit was again upon Saul, +and he went out with three thousand men to hunt for David. Saul's camp +was on a hill, and David saw where it was. At night he took Abishai, +one of his warriors, and went down from the cliffs to Saul's camp, +where Saul lay sleeping in a trench, and the spear stuck in the ground +by his pillow, while all his men lay around him. Abishai wished to +strike him through with the spear, but David said, + +"Destroy him not, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's +anointed and be guiltless? The Lord shall smite him, or his day shall +come to die, or he shall fall in battle and perish; but take thou now +the spear that is at his pillow, and the cruse of water, and let us go." + +And they took them and went away. A deep sleep had fallen upon the +camp of Saul from the Lord, so that no one saw them. + +Then David went up to his stronghold, and from the top of the cliff he +cried to Abner, the captain of Saul's men, and asked why he had not +defended his Master, and where was the king's spear, and his cruse of +water? + +Then Saul cried as before, + +"Is this thy voice, my son David?" + +"It is my voice, my lord, O King," said David, and again he plead his +cause with his old enemy, but who could trust to the repentance of +Saul? He cried, + +"I have sinned; return, my son David, for I will no more do thee harm, +because my soul was precious in thine eyes this day. I have played the +fool, and erred exceedingly." + +But David trusted him no more, and went and made friends with a +Philistine prince that he might live within their borders. + +Samuel the prophet was dead, and there was no one to give counsel to +the darkened soul of the King when trouble fell upon him. The +Philistines had come with a great army, but Saul was afraid, for the +Lord's spirit was not with him. He tried to seek the Lord through the +priests, and through dreams, but the Lord answered him not. Then he +went to a witch by night, and asked her to bring up the spirit of +Samuel. The witch could not bring up Samuel, but the Lord sent him to +speak to Saul, and the woman cried out with terror when she saw the +prophet of the Lord, and knew also that it was the King who had called +for him. + +"I am sore distressed," said Saul, "and God is departed from me. What +shall I do?" + +Then Samuel told him plainly that the kingdom was taken from him and +given to David, and that on the next day he and his sons should fall in +battle, and the Israelites into the hands of the Philistines. + +Saul, forsaken and despairing, fell to the earth fainting, but was +revived by the woman, who gave him food so that he went away through +the dark to the camp of Israel. + +In the battle of the next day the Philistines conquered. The three +sons of Saul were slain, and Saul himself, when chased by the +Philistines, fell upon his own sword and died. + +When a messenger brought news of the battle to David he rent his +clothes for grief, and in the chant of lamentation that he made, he +mourned for his faithful friend Jonathan, and had no word of blame for +his enemy Saul, neither did he triumph over him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +EVERY INCH A KING. + +After Saul's death David came back to live with his own people, for he +was of the tribe of Judah. He went to Hebron, the old home of Abraham, +Isaac, and Jacob, for the Lord had told him to go there, and the men of +his tribe came to Hebron and anointed him king. The other tribes did +not come, for Saul's son and the captain of his host, Abner, were still +holding the kingdom. But when both were killed by an enemy, then all +the other tribes came to Hebron and made a league with him, so seven +years after Saul's death David became king over all Israel. He was +then thirty years old and his reign lasted forty years. + +Then David began to establish the kingdom. There was a rocky height +not far from Hebron with a valley all around it that was still held by +the Jebusites, one of the tribes of Canaan that the Lord said must not +be left in the land. The city was Jerusalem, and the stronghold was +Zion, and close by Zion was the mount to which Abraham had once gone to +offer up Isaac. David wanted this stronghold for the chief city of the +kingdom, and so he took it, and it became the city of David. He built +a beautiful house for himself there, and King Hiram of Tyre sent +skilled workmen, and cedar trees, and they built a house of cedar for +him. But stronger than the wish to have a house for himself was the +longing to see the Ark of God set within the curtains of the Tabernacle +in the city of David. It had been in the house of Abinadab in +Kirjath-Jearim for seventy years, ever since it was sent home by the +Philistines who captured it. Because the people had grown cold toward +God, they did not wish to hear the reading of the law, or be led by his +counsel. Now David called together the flower of all Israel, thirty +thousand men, and they went to bring the Ark to the city of David. +While on the way a man who had laid his hand upon the Ark when it was +unsteady was smitten and died, for no one but the priests and Levites +could touch the Ark of God. David feared to bring it further, and so +he placed it in the house of Obededom which was near by. It was there +three months, and great blessing came to the house because of it. When +David heard this he went joyfully down to bring the Ark to his city, +and it was with sacrifices, and shouting, and the sound of trumpet that +it was brought and set in the Tabernacle that had been made ready for +it. And so the worship of the Lord was established in Jerusalem, which +was to be the great altar for the sacrificial worship until the +sacrifice should be taken away, and the kingdom of Christ established +on the earth. + +But David was not satisfied. + +"See," he said to Nathan the prophet, "I dwell in a house of cedar, but +the Ark of God dwelleth within curtains." + +That night the Lord spoke to Nathan and told him what to say to the +king. He promised to establish the royal house of David, and give +final peace to the people, and also to build a house for the worship of +the Lord, but he said that David's son, who should be king after him, +should build a house to his name, and of him the Lord said, "I will be +his Father, and he shall be my son." + +Then King David went in to the Tabernacle and thanked the Lord for His +promise to him and to his son, and asked His blessing upon them. +Though he reigned forty years, he never forgot that his work was not to +build the temple of the Lord, but to prepare for it. So he subdued +enemies, built cities, made leagues with friendly nations, gathered +much wealth of wood, and stone, and gold, and silver and precious +stones for the house of the Lord, and trained choirs of singers for the +service. He also kept his heart open toward the Lord, so that he was +able to write some wonderful poems that were set to music and sung by +the temple choirs. We call them the Psalms of David. + +Though David had grown rich and great, he did not forget his promise to +Jonathan. He called Ziba, who had been Saul's servant and said to him, + +"Is there not yet any of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness +of God to him?" + +Then Ziba told him of a man who was lame in both his feet, who was the +son of Jonathan. David sent for him, and gave him all the land of +Saul, and a place was made for him at the king's table among his own +sons, and it was his while he lived. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +DAVID'S SIN. + +The army of Israel was at war with the Ammonites, and Joab was the +chief captain. David did not go out with the army, but stayed in his +house in Jerusalem. One evening he was walking on the flat roof of his +house, as the people of that country always do, and he saw a little way +off a very beautiful woman. He sent a servant to ask who she was, and +found she was the wife of Uriah who was in the army with Joab, fighting +the Ammonites. Then a great temptation was set before David, and +instead of going to the Lord to be saved from it, he sent to Joab, +asking him to send him Uriah, the Hittite. So Uriah came, and David +talked kindly with him, and found him a good and faithful man. When he +went back to Joab he took a letter from David, who asked that he be set +in the front of the battle. So Joab placed him there, and when the two +armies met Uriah was killed, and Joab sent a messenger to tell David. +After her mourning was ended, Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, became the +wife of David, but the Lord was displeased with David. He also knew +David's heart and how to deal with him, so he sent Nathan the prophet +to him. + +"There were two men in one city," said Nathan, "one of them rich and +the other poor. The rich man had many flocks and herds, but the poor +man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and +nourished up; and it grew together with him and with his children: it +did eat of his own meat and drink of his own cup, and lay in his bosom +and was unto him as a daughter. And there came a traveller unto the +rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock to dress for the +wayfaring man that was come to him, but took the poor man's lamb and +dressed it for the man that was come to him." + +David was very angry at the man who could do such a cruel thing, and he +said to Nathan, + +"The man that hath done this thing shall surely die; and he shall +restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he +had no pity." + +Then Nathan said to David, "Thou art the man," and he told him how +greatly the Lord had blessed him in making him King over Israel, and in +delivering him from the hand of Saul, and how he had slain a faithful +servant and taken his wife for himself; therefore evil would befall him. + +David said, "I have sinned against the Lord," and the Lord saw that his +repentance was real, and forgave the sin, but that David might never +forget and sin again, the Lord took the little child that was born to +him and to Bathsheba. While it was sick David fasted and lay all night +upon the earth, and would not rise to taste food. This he did for +seven days while the little child was sick, but when they told him that +his child was dead he arose and bathed and dressed himself and went to +the house of the Lord to worship, and returned to take his food. Then +his servants wondered at it, and replied, + +"While the child was yet alive I fasted and wept, for I said, who can +tell whether God will be gracious unto me that the child may live. But +now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? +I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." + +After this another child was born to Bathsheba, and they named him +Solomon, which means "Peaceable." + +And David wrote a prayer of repentance for his sin. It is the +fifty-first Psalm, and has been the prayer of penitent souls for nearly +three thousand years. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +DAVID'S SORROW. + +David had a very beautiful son named Absalom. From the crown of his +head to the soles of his feet there was no fault to be seen in him. +His hair was thick and long, and his beauty was much talked of through +all Israel. But the Lord who looks upon the heart saw that the heart +of Absalom was wicked and false. He killed his brother Amnon, and then +fled to another country and stayed three years. When he returned he +tried to see his father, but David would not see him for two years. +Then Absalom forced Joab to bring him to the king's house by setting +Joab's barley field on fire. He was false as well as handsome, and won +his father's heart by pretending to be humble. + +After this Absalom began to live more like a king than a prince. He +had fifty men to run before his chariot when he rode, and he stood in +the city gates and talked with the men who came to see the king about +their rights. He told them that if he were ruler over the land every +man should have all that he wanted, and deceived many by a false show +of friendship. + +Then he asked the king if he could go to Hebron to pay a vow to the +Lord by offering sacrifice there, and David told him to go in peace, +and he went. But he had cruelly deceived his father. He had sent +spies through all the land to persuade them to join him at Hebron and +make him king. He also took two hundred men out of Jerusalem to help +him, and one of them was David's counsellor. They had arranged to have +all the people, as soon as they heard anywhere the sound of the +trumpet, to cry, + +"Absalom is king in Hebron." + +Then it came to the ears of David that his people had been led away by +deceit to follow Absalom, and David, who had been fearless before +Goliath and before great armies of other nations, was afraid. His +heart was broken at the treachery of his son, and he said to his +servants, + +"Arise, and let us flee; make haste and go, for fear Absalom may come +and fight against the city with the sword." + +His servants were ready to fight for him, but he fled in haste over the +brook Kedron and went toward the wilderness, with all of the people of +the city with him, until there was a great multitude, and in the midst +the priests and the Levites bearing the Ark of God, but when David saw +this he said, + +"Carry back the Ark of God into the city. If I shall find favor in the +eyes of the Lord He will bring me again. Let Him do to me as seemeth +good to Him." + +So the priests and the Levites returned to the city with the Ark of God. + +It was a sad procession that went over the Mount of Olives led by +David, weeping as he went, with his head covered and his feet bare. +Some enemies of the house of Saul came out and troubled him by the way, +but there was no anger in the heart of David toward any. He believed +the hand of the Lord was upon him, and he said, + +"It may be the Lord will look on mine affliction." + +Absalom came to Jerusalem, and while he was asking his chief counsellor +what to do, he was persuaded by a friend of David, who had stayed +behind, to wait until he had gathered a larger army before he followed +after David. This gave him time to send word to David to cross over +Jordan before Absalom should overtake him. The chief counsellor, when +he saw that his advice was not followed, went to his own house and +hanged himself, for he knew that the Lord was bringing his counsel to +naught. + +After David had passed over into Gilead the people of that land brought +food, and dishes, and beds to the sorrowful king and his tired people, +and they were cared for in the city of Mahanaim. Then Joab, the +captain, gathered the men together to go and meet Absalom and his army, +and as they passed out of the city David stood in the gate and charged +all the captains as they passed, saying + +"Deal gently, for my sake, with the young man, even with Absalom." + +So they went out to battle, and it was in a wood. God had given +David's army the victory, and twenty thousand men of Absalom's army +were slain. Absalom, who rode on a mule, was caught by his long thick +hair in the branches of an oak tree, and the mule went away and left +him hanging there. + +A man ran and told Joab that he had seen Absalom hanging in an oak. + +"Why didst thou not smite him there?" said Joab. + +The man said he would not have done it for a thousand shekels of +silver, because David had charged them all not to touch the young man +Absalom. + +But Joab turned away, and when he had found Absalom in the oak, he, +with the ten young men who were with him, killed Absalom, and they +buried him in the wood. + +[Illustration: The death of Absalom] + +Then Joab sent two messengers to carry news of the victory to the king, +who sat between the city gates, while a watchman stood over the gates +on the city wall. When the watchmen saw the two men running, one after +the other, he cried out and told the king. The first man cried as he +came, "All is well," but when the king said, "Is the young man Absalom +safe?" he could not answer, and when the second messenger cried, +"Tidings, my lord, the king," again David asked, + +"Is the young man Absalom safe?" + +"The enemies of my lord the king and all that rise against thee to do +thee hurt be as that young man," said the messenger. + +Then the king went up to the room over the city gate and wept, and as +he went he cried, + +"O my son Absalom! my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for +thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!" + +[Illustration: David mourning for Absalom] + +The people who had come back joyful because the enemy had been +conquered were distressed by the grief of the king, so that Joab +persuaded David to come down to the gate and meet the people. + +After this those who were left of the followers of Absalom begged the +king to come back to Jerusalem, and so he came, and thousands came to +meet him. He had only forgiving words for those who had injured him, +and for Barzillai and the men of Gilead who had fed them and shown them +great kindness in the darkest hour of the king's life, and who came a +little way on the journey with them, he had grateful words and +blessings. + +And so the king came to his own again. He was now getting to be an old +man, and the love of his people made his last days blessed. + +His warriors said, "Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that +thou quench not the light of Israel." + +Once he sinned against the Lord by numbering his people. He wanted to +know how many men in his kingdom could bear arms in battle, and he +forgot that victory over the enemy was not with the many or the few, +but with the Lord, who is the strength of his people. When he saw that +he had done wrong he confessed it and begged for forgiveness, but a +pestilence spread over all the land, and came near to Jerusalem, and +the angel was stayed by the Lord's hand just over the threshing floor +of Araunah. This was the broad flat top of Mount Moriah where long +before Abraham had built an altar on which to offer Isaac. + +When David saw the angel he said, + +"I have done wickedly, but these sheep, what have they done? Let Thine +hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house." + +Then the prophet Gad said, "Go up, rear an altar to the Lord in the +threshing-floor of Araunah," and David went as the Lord commanded. + +When they reached the mount Araunah offered David the piece of ground +with the oxen for a sacrifice, but he would not take them as a gift. + +"But I will surely buy it of thee at a price," said David, "neither +will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God of that which doth cost +me nothing." + +So he bought the piece of ground and paid for it six hundred shekels of +gold. Twice had the Lord blessed this spot with a miracle of +salvation, and twice an altar had been built there, and looking upon +it, David said, + +"This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt +offering for Israel," and he prepared to build there the temple of +Solomon,--the altar of the world. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +THE BUILDING OF THE GOLDEN HOUSE. + +The time was near when David must leave his people and go to his God, +and his chief thought was about the house of the Lord that he had +longed to build, that the Ark of God might be at rest, and that the +people might have a place of worship for all time to come. He knew +that his son Solomon was to build the temple, but he was still young, +and David made ready as far as he could for the building of the house. +There were men at work in the quarries, cutting great stones, and there +were men in the forests of Lebanon cutting and hewing cedars, and +others gathering iron and brass, and gold, and silver for the treasury +of David. He also spent much time dividing the sons of Levi into +companies, so that they could in turn serve with the priests in the +temple, and ordering the times and manner of service, for he believed +that this temple would be a house of prayer for all nations. David had +been a man of war, for he had been called to destroy idol worship in +the land of Canaan, and to make it the land of Israel, in which the one +true God should be worshipped forever, but Solomon's reign was to be +one of peace, and the Lord chose a man of peace to build his house. + +David had another son, Adonijah, who tried to make himself king as +Absalom did, but David heard of it, and had Solomon proclaimed king +before his own death, lest trouble should arise after. When Adonijah +heard the shouts of the people, and the sound of the trumpets he was +afraid, and expected Solomon would kill him, but Solomon said if he +would only show himself a good man no harm should come to him. + +The last things that David did were to call his princes and chief men +together and tell them that the Lord had promised many years before, +that Solomon should build the house of the Lord during his reign; and +also that his children's children should rule over Israel, and he +begged them to keep the Lord's commandments, that they might keep the +good land that had been given them. + +He also charged Solomon before them all to serve God with all his +heart, but if he failed to do so he would be cast off forever. + +David gave Solomon all the plans and patterns for the house of the +Lord, as the Lord had given them to him; also the gold and silver +stored up for time of building. He also told the people, when he had +called them together, what he had stored for the work of the temple, +and asked them who were willing to give also. Then the people brought +gifts, as they did when the Tabernacle was built, and gave them to the +Lord. David led them in a great thanksgiving service, and they offered +three thousand sacrifices. + +Solomon was again anointed king in the presence of all Israel, and took +the throne of David; and David died, honored and loved by his people, +and he was buried in his own city. + +When Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice the Lord came to him in a +dream and said, + +"Ask what I shall give thee." + +Solomon was wiser than all the sons of David, and yet he did not feel +himself to be so. He said, + +"I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come in, and thy +servant is in the midst of a great people that cannot be numbered. +Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, +that I may discern between good and bad, for who is able to judge this +thy so great a people." + +And the Lord said, + +"Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself +long life, neither riches, nor the life of thine enemies, lo, I have +given thee a wise and understanding heart, and I have also given thee +that which thou hast not asked--both riches and honor; and if thou wilt +walk in my ways as thy father David did, then I will lengthen thy days." + +The Lord was true to his word. Solomon had wisdom, beyond all the old +and the learned men of his kingdom, and many came to him for counsel +who were not of Israel, for he was famous among the nations. Some of +these nations wished to be ruled by him, and brought him many precious +things as gifts; they had been conquered by David, and now they wished +to be ruled by Solomon. He had thousands of servants and he knew how +to direct their work. Away up in the mountains of Lebanon they worked +with the servants of Hiram, King of Tyre, getting the cedar timbers +ready for the temple, while Hiram's artisans in gold, and silver, and +brass, and fine linen came to Jerusalem to work on the temple, and +Solomon sent Hiram wheat, and olive oil, and wine. So wise were the +workers in stone and wood that when the temple was built there was no +sound of a hammer or any tool heard on Mount Moriah. Each stone was +ready to fit into its place, and each piece of wood to fit another. + +The house was not like any that we have ever seen. It was not large, +but it was very precious. The cedar boards that lined the walls were +carved in flower patterns, and covered with gold. The floor also was +covered with gold. He divided the temple in two parts, as the +Tabernacle had been, with a rich curtain of blue and purple and +crimson. The innermost room was called the most holy place, and was +for the Ark, and its walls were beautiful with cherubim, and palm +trees, and flowers, overlaid with gold, as was the floor also. Within +this most holy place stood two cherubim fifteen feet high. They were +of olive wood covered with gold, and they stood with wings spread forth +so that they touched each other, and also touched the wall on either +side, and their wings overshadowed the mercy seat where the Ark of the +Lord was to rest. All the carvings upon wood were covered with gold, +and precious stones were set among them for light and beauty. + +Solomon's workmen made two great pillars of brass to stand before the +house, and a great brass altar for the burnt offerings. They also made +ten basins of brass that were set upon wheels, and one very great one +called the "sea" which stood on twelve brass oxen. + +They also made many things for the use of the temple--candlesticks, and +spoons, and censers all of pure gold, and there was also a golden altar +and a golden table. + +Solomon was seven years building the house of the Lord, and when it was +finished, and its outer courts made ready, he called all the elders and +chief men of Israel together to carry the Ark of God to its place. So +the Ark, borne by the priests, and holding the tables of the law, was +carried into the most holy place, and set under the wings of the +cherubim. After the priests came out a cloud filled the house of the +Lord so that the priests could not go in. It was the glory of the +presence of the Lord. + +Then Solomon stood before all the people and gave thanks to God and +asked him to take the temple for his own house to dwell in, and +kneeling down, he prayed that wherever the children of Israel might be, +at home, or captives in a strange land, that the Lord would hear them +when they prayed toward his house, and that all prayer offered in it +might be heard and answered + +Then fire from heaven fell upon the great altar, and the sacrifice was +consumed, and all over the great pavement of the court the people bowed +and worshipped the Lord, saying, "For He is good, and His mercy +endureth forever." + +There were offerings and feasting for fourteen days, and then the +people went to their homes to think of the wonderful things they had +seen. And there were sacrifices offered morning and evening each day, +on the Sabbath, and at the three great feasts of the year--the feast of +the passover, the feast of the harvest, and the feast of tabernacles. + +Solomon also built a wonderful house for himself, and another called +the "house of the forest of Lebanon," where he kept his armor. The +roof was upheld by cedars of Lebanon, standing like mighty pillars +beneath it. So famous did his work and his wisdom become that a queen +from a distant land called Sheba came to visit him. She came with a +caravan of servants and camels bringing costly presents of spices, and +gold, and precious stones. She asked him many things that she had +longed to know, and he answered all her questions, and told her strange +and wonderful things, so that after she had seen all his palace, and +his servants, and the service of his table, and the beautiful ascent by +which he went up to the temple, she said that the half had never been +told her in her own country. They exchanged costly presents, and she +went back to her own land. + +[Illustration: The Queen of Sheba before Solomon] + +Solomon had many ships upon the sea that brought riches from every land +He learned much of the world in this way, and as he grew older and from +his throne of gold and ivory judged his people, he dropped many wise +sayings that were written in a book by the scribes and are now called +the "Proverbs of Solomon." + +But in Solomon's latter days his wives, who were daughters of heathen +kings, turned his heart from the Lord. When his father sinned he +repented at once, and his heart never turned to idols, but with all his +wisdom, Solomon was weak of will, and built temples for his wives to +worship idols in. + +The Lord had made a promise to David that his sons should inherit the +throne, and He kept the promise, but he allowed the kingdom to be +divided. The two tribes who lived near to Jerusalem--Judah and +Benjamin--were left to Solomon's son Rehoboam, but the ten tribes chose +a man named Jeroboam to be their king. The men of Rehoboam, led by +their king, went out to fight with the ten tribes, but the Lord would +not let them. He spoke to them through a prophet and they went home. + +So now there were two kings in Israel, and Rehoboam's kingdom was +called the kingdom of Judah, and that of Jeroboam was called the +kingdom of Israel; but after the kingdom was divided no kings ever +reigned who could be compared with David and Solomon. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +ELIJAH THE GREAT HEART OF ISRAEL. + +During the reign of Jehoshaphat, fourth king of Judah, and Ahab, sixth +king of Israel, after the division of the kingdom, there came out of +Gilead Elijah, a prophet of the Lord. Two of the kings of Judah, and +all of the kings of Israel had been wicked men, and the Lord sent +Elijah to Ahab, king of Israel, to tell him that there should be no +rain for years in the land of Israel, and then only as Elijah should +ask for it. Ahab was more wicked than the kings that reigned before +him, and had built a temple for the god Baal in Samaria. + +Because he would seek to destroy Elijah, the Lord told His prophet to +go to the brook Cherith that ran into the Jordan, and there He would +take care of him. "Thou shalt drink of the brook, and I have commanded +the ravens to feed thee there," said the Lord. + +And so it was. Morning and evening the ravens came bringing bread and +meat, and the brook brought him water out of the rock, but as there was +no rain, the brook at last dried up, and there was a great famine. + +[Illustration: Ravens bringing food to Elijah] + +Then Elijah was told to go to Zarephath, for a woman there had been +told to feed him, and he went at once. As he came near the city gate +he saw a woman gathering sticks, and he asked her to bring him a cup of +water and a little bread. She told him that she had but a handful of +meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse, and she was going to +bake it for herself and son, that they might eat it and die. + +Then Elijah said, "Fear not; go and do as thou hast said, but make me +thereof a little cake first, and after that make for thee and thy son, +for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, 'The barrel of meal shall not +waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail until the day that the Lord +sendeth rain upon the earth.'" + +She believed Elijah, and did as he commanded, and they ate for a whole +year, and the meal and the oil lasted all that time. + +After this the woman's son grew very sick, so very sick that he +appeared to be dead, and the woman cried to the prophet in her distress, + +"O thou man of God, art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance +and to slay my son?" + +Then he said, "Give me thy son," and he took him up to his own room and +laid him upon his bed and prayed over him. Then he stretched himself +upon the child three times and cried, + +"O Lord my God, I pray Thee let this child's soul come unto him again!" + +And God heard Elijah, and the soul of the child came to him again, and +he revived. + +Then he gave the boy to his happy and grateful mother, saying, "See, +thy son liveth." + +In the third year of the famine the Lord said to Elijah, + +"Go, show thyself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth." + +As Elijah went he met a good man named Obadiah, who was governor of the +king's house. This man worshipped the Lord, and when Ahab's wicked +wife, Jezebel, tried to kill all the Lord's prophets he hid a hundred +of them in two caves and kept them alive with bread and water. He was +seeking grass and water for the king's horses, and when he saw Elijah +he fell on his face and said, + +"Art thou my Lord Elijah?" + +"I am," said Elijah, "go, tell thy lord, 'Behold, Elijah is here.'" + +Obadiah was in distress at this command, for he knew that the king +would kill Elijah if he found him, and he could not think that Elijah +would be brave enough to meet the king, or he thought perhaps the +spirit of the Lord would carry him away, and he alone would have to +meet the anger of the king. + +"As the Lord of hosts liveth," said Elijah, "I will surely show myself +unto him to-day." + +So Obadiah told Ahab, and Ahab went to meet Elijah, and said to him, + +"Art thou he that troubleth Israel?" + +"I have not troubled Israel," he said, "but thou and thy father's +house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou +hast followed Baalim." + +Then he told Ahab to call all Israel to Mount Carmel which overlooks +the sea, and to bring there also the four hundred and fifty prophets of +Baal, and the four hundred prophets of the groves. + +So the king called them together, and Elijah cried to the people, + +"How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow +Him; but if Baal, follow him." + +And the people, afraid of the king and his wicked wife, answered not a +word. + +"I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord," said Elijah, "but +Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men." And then he told the +people how it could be proven which was true--the God of Israel, or +Baal. + +He told the prophets of Baal to make an altar and place wood and a +sacrifice upon it, and he also would do the same, and they should call +upon Baal, and he would call on the name of the Lord, and "the God that +answereth by fire, let him be God." + +This the priests of Baal were willing to do, and they cried around +their altar from morning until night, "O Baal, hear us," but there was +no voice, and no answer by fire. + +Elijah watched and waited, sometimes telling them that perhaps their +god was asleep, and could be waked; or that he had gone on a journey, +or was talking with somebody, and then they became wild and leaped upon +the altar and cut themselves with knives. + +After many hours Elijah called the people to him, and he repaired a +broken altar of the Lord that stood there with twelve stones for the +twelve tribes of Israel, and made a trench all around it. Then he +placed wood on the altar and told the people to pour four barrels of +water over the sacrifice. This they did three times, and the water ran +down and filled the trench around the altar, and the people saw that +Elijah could not by any means make a fire there. + +Then, as it was the hour of the evening sacrifice in the temple, Elijah +knelt by his altar with his face toward Jerusalem, and prayed to his +God that He would hear him, and show the people that they were called +from the worship of idols to the service of the living God. + +What a wonderful sight was that, when fire fell from heaven and burnt +up the sacrifice, and the wood, and the altar, and even the water in +the trench around the altar! + +And the people all fell on their faces at the sight, and cried, + +"The Lord He is the God! The Lord He is the God!" Then Elijah told +them to take the prophets of Baal and destroy them, and they did so. + +"There is a sound of abundance of rain!" said Elijah to the king, and +then he went to the very top of Carmel, and threw himself upon the +earth, hiding his face between his knees, while he sent his servant to +look toward the sea, and watch for the coming of the rain. + +This the servant did seven times, each time coming to his master and +saying, "There is nothing," but the prophet told him to look seven +times more, and when he came back the seventh time he said, + +"Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea like a man's hand." + +Then he sent his servant to Ahab, saying, + +"Prepare thy chariot and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not." + +The little cloud grew to be a great one, and filled all the sky until +it was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And as +Ahab rode in his chariot, Elijah, who was strong with the spirit of the +Lord and glad for His great victory over sin, ran before the chariot to +the gates of the city. + +Jezebel the queen was furious when she heard that the priests had been +destroyed. She sent word to Elijah that he would be treated the same +way on the morrow, and so Elijah fled for his life, and leaving his +servant in Beer-Sheba on the southern border of Israel, he went a day's +journey into the wilderness. There he sat down under a juniper tree, +and for the first time his heart grew weak within him. + +"It is enough," he said, "Now, O Lord, take away my life, for am I not +better than my fathers." + +Perhaps he was discouraged because he was tired and hungry, for he fell +asleep, and when he awoke it was because an angel touched him, saying, +"Arise and eat," and he looked, and there was a cake just baked on the +hot coals, and a bottle of water close beside him. So he ate and +drank, but he was not yet rested, and he fell asleep again. The angel +waked him the second time telling him to eat and drink, for the journey +was too great for him. Then he ate and drank again, and went on the +strength of that food forty days and forty nights, till he came to +Horeb, the mount of God, where the Ten Commandments were given to +Moses, and there he lodged in a cave. He was still gloomy and +discouraged, and when the Lord said, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" he +said, + +"I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children +of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and +slain thy prophets with the sword, and I, even I only am left, and they +seek my life to take it." + +[Illustration: Elijah and the angel] + +Then the Lord told him to go out and stand on the mount before the +Lord, and he passed by. There was a great wind that split the +mountains, and broke the great rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind, +and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the +earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in +the fire; and after the fire a still, small voice. + +When Elijah heard that, he wrapped his face in his mantle and stood at +the door of the cave, and the Lord asked again, "What doest thou here, +Elijah?" and Elijah answered him just as he did before. + +Then the Lord told him to go back and anoint a new king over Syria, +also a new king over Israel, and Elisha to be prophet in his place. + +Elijah went, and he found Elisha ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen. +He cast his mantle over Elisha, and Elisha followed him and became his +servant. + +When Elijah came back to his own country he found there had been war +between Israel and Syria, and Ahab had grown hard of heart again. He +and his wicked wife Jezebel had taken the vineyard of Naboth away from +him because Ahab wanted it for a garden, and they had caused the death +of Naboth, so when Elijah came he found Ahab in the vineyard, and said, + +"Hast thou killed and also taken possession?" and he told him that he +should die where Naboth died. + +"Hast thou found me, O mine enemy!" cried the king. + +"I have found thee," answered Elijah, and he spoke to him the word of +the Lord, that he should be destroyed out of Israel with his whole +family. + +Then Ahab repented, and the Lord spared his life two years, but later +his wife Jezebel came to a dreadful end, with the seventy sons of Ahab. + +When the time came for the Lord to take his servant to himself, Elijah +wished to be alone, but Elisha his servant would not leave him. He +followed his master from one town to another until they came to the +river Jordan. Then Elijah took off his mantle, and folding it, struck +the waters and they were divided, so that they went over on dry ground. +Then Elijah said, "Ask what I shall do for thee," and Elisha prayed +that a double portion of his Master's spirit might rest upon him. + +"If thou see me when I am taken from thee it shall be so unto thee," he +said, "but if not, it shall not be so." + +And as they went there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, +parting them from each other, and Elijah went up in a whirlwind to +heaven. Now Elisha wished his master to know that he saw him, so he +cried, + +"My father, my father! the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof!" +and he saw him no more. + +[Illustration: Elijah and the chariot of fire] + +Then he took Elijah's mantle that fell from him, and struck the waters +of Jordan again, and they parted, and he went over, and he knew that +the power of the old prophet's spirit had been given to him. + +Fifty young men, sons of the prophets, saw him return, and they said, + +"The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha," and they bowed themselves +to the ground before him. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +THE LITTLE CHAMBER ON THE WALL. + +Elisha did many wonderful things in the strength of the spirit that +Elijah's God gave him. He changed the waters of Jericho, so that they +were no longer poisonous, by casting salt in the spring. + +He brought water for the thirsty armies of three kings who had gathered +to battle, by telling them to dig ditches in a valley of Edom, and +watch for the water to come, without wind or rain. When the morning +dawned the valley was full of running water. + +He helped a poor widow to pay a debt and take care of her two sons by +telling her to borrow empty pots and pans of all her neighbors, and +pour into them her one little pot of oil. The oil increased until all +the pots and pans were full, and she had plenty to sell. + +He saved the sons of the prophets from death by casting meal into the +pot when a poisonous nut had been mingled with the food, and he fed a +hundred people with the bread that was brought as a portion for himself. + +But the most beautiful story in the life of Elisha is that of the +Shun-amite mother and her son. The mother was a noble lady of Shun-em, +who believed in God, and in the good man who passed her house so often, +and she said to her husband, + +"Let us make for him a little chamber on the wall." And so they did, +and when Elisha came again he lodged there. He was grateful to these +kind people, and asked the woman what he should do for her--if she +would ask anything of the king, but she only said, + +"I dwell among mine own people." + +Then the prophet, knowing that she had no child, promised that she +should have a son, and though it was hard to believe, the little son +was sent to her, and she was very happy. But one day when he went out +in the field where his father and his men were reaping, he cried out, +"My head, my head!" and they carried him in to his mother. She held +him in her arms until noon, and then he died and she laid him in the +prophet's chamber. Perhaps the heat of the harvest time had been too +great for one so young. Did the mother cry out and call her husband? +No, she called for a servant and a donkey, and rode as fast as she +could to Mount Carmel where Elisha was. His servant saw her coming, +and Elisha sent him to meet her and ask if it was well with her and her +husband and her child, and she said, + +"It is well," though her heart was breaking. + +"Did I ask a son of my lord?" she said as she came to Elisha and fell +at his feet. Then he knew that the child was ill or dead, and he would +have sent his servant to lay his staff on the child, but the mother +cried, + +"As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee," +and he arose and followed her. + +When he came to the Shun-amite's house he went into his little room +where the dead child lay upon his bed, and, shutting the door, prayed +to the Lord. Then he stretched himself upon the child, and breathed +upon him until life began to creep back into the little cold body, and +when he had done this twice the child opened his eyes Then Elisha +called the mother, and when she had fallen at his feet in grateful joy, +she took up her child and went out. + +[Illustration: Elijah raises the widow's son] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +A LITTLE MAID OF ISRAEL. + +There was war almost all the time between Israel and Syria. A band of +Syrians from Damascus would often come into a village of Israel and +take the people away for slaves. One little girl who was carried off +by the Syrians became a slave in the house of a Syrian general called +Naaman, and was a maid to Naaman's wife. + +Naaman was a great man, and beloved by all, but he had a disease that +could never be cured. It was leprosy. He could go about, but he could +not touch others without giving them the disease which turns the skin +white and dead, and finally eats the flesh away. + +The little maid said to her mistress one day, + +"Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he +would recover him of his leprosy." + +When this was told to Naaman he talked with the king, who sent him to +the king of Israel with a letter, but the king of Israel was angry. + +"Am I God to kill and make alive, that this man doth send unto me to +recover a man of his leprosy?" he cried, but when Elisha heard of it he +said, + +"Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in +Israel." + +So Naaman came with his horses and chariot to Elisha's house, but the +prophet did not even come to the door, but sent his servant with this +message, + +"Go wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, +and thou shalt be clean." + +But Naaman went away in a rage. He expected Elisha to come out, and +that there would be a fine scene while he called on the name of God, +waved his hand over the leprous spots, and made a cure. + +"Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the +waters of Israel? May I not wash in them and be clean?" he said. + +Then some of his servants came near to him and said, + +"My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst +thou not have done it? How much rather, then, when he saith to thee, +'Wash and be clean.'" + +Then he went down and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, and his +flesh became like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. + +After this he, with all that were with him, went humbly back to Elisha +and said, + +"Now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel." And +he urged the prophet to take gifts from him, but he would not. + +But Naaman begged of Elisha two mule-loads of earth to take to his own +country. He wanted to build an altar upon it to worship the God of +Israel, and he thought it must stand on the soil of Israel. + +Did Naaman ever send the little maid of Israel to her home? We do not +know, but surely he was kind to her in some way. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +THE TWO BOY KINGS. + +There were many kings over Israel from the days of Solomon until the +time when they were carried away captives to Babylon. The kingdom was +divided soon after Solomon's death, and a king reigned in Jerusalem +over the kingdom of Judah, and another in Samaria over the kingdom of +Israel. There were a few kings who tried to follow that which was +right, but the most of them were men who were given to idolatry, and +who did not help the people to remember the true God. The Lord sent +them prophets to remind them of Him, but they were often driven away or +ill treated. There were a few good kings of Judah, such as Asa and +Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah, and among them were two who became kings +when they were very young. + +When Ahaziah, King of Judah, was killed, his mother, who was a wicked +woman, killed all his sons, that she herself might be queen. All but a +baby boy who was hidden with his nurse in the temple, and tenderly +cared for by the good high priest and his wife for six years. Then +when he was seven years old the priests and the Levites brought out +little Joash and anointed him king. They formed a guard all about him, +and when the high priest had crowned him there was a great cry around +the temple of "God save the King." + +The old queen heard this and came to see what it meant. When she saw +the little Joash standing by a pillar with a crown on his head she +cried out that the people were plotting against her. + +The people did by her as she had done by her grandsons--they took her +life. + +Then there was great rejoicing. The house of Baal was torn down, and +the Lord's gold and silver brought back to the temple, and the good +high priest began the worship of God in the temple after the manner of +former days. + +When Joash was old enough to understand he longed to make the temple +beautiful again, for it was falling into decay, so he called for money +throughout his kingdom. Everyone was asked to drop a silver piece in +the chest that was set at the temple door, and more than enough was +brought to re-build the temple, and while the high priest lived the +king worshipped there with all the princes of Judah, but as soon as he +died they went back to idol worship, and killed the new high priest in +the court of the temple because he told them that the Lord would bring +great trouble upon them. And so it came to pass in less than a year +the Syrians came and killed the princes, and took away the gold and +silver treasures of the temple. Joash himself became very sick, and +his own servants took his life as he lay helpless. + +It was quite different with little Josiah. He was only eight years old +when he was crowned King of Judah, and he had no one so good as the +high priest Jehoida, who was the teacher of Joash, to help him to do +right. Even the holy writings that were given to Moses were lost, and +the people did not ask to hear them read. But the Lord had not allowed +His word to be destroyed, and when Josiah was having the temple +repaired the high priest found the rolls of parchment on which the law +was written, and sent it to the king by a servant of the king who was a +writer. Josiah was full of interest in the ancient book, and wished to +know what was in it, and his servant read it to him. + +When he found that he and his people were not living as God had +commanded in the law, he sent to inquire of the Lord what He would have +them to do, and they went to Huldah, the prophetess. She told the +king's messengers that a great calamity would fall upon the kingdom +because they had turned away from the true God, but because the king's +heart was tender and full of desire to follow the Lord, it should not +come during his lifetime. + +Then the king called all the chief men of Judah, and the people of the +city, both great and small, with the priests and the Levites, to the +Lord's house, and there he read in their hearing the word of the Lord. +It was like a new book to the most of them, but they were ready to +follow the king in making a solemn promise to the Lord to do His +commandments, and bring back the true worship. + +So they had a great feast of the passover, to which all the people came +with offerings, and there was no passover in all the history of the +kings of Judah and Israel that was like this one that was held in the +eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah. + +After he had prepared the temple for worship, and had destroyed the +altars of the idols, he went out to meet the King of Egypt in battle +and was killed, and there was a great mourning for him in all the land, +for he had been a good king--kind to his people and faithful to his +God. Jeremiah the prophet made a great lamentation for him, for he +knew that one of Josiah's sons would be the last king of Judah, and +that for their sins the people would be driven out of their own land to +be captives in Babylon for seventy years. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +THE FOUR CAPTIVE CHILDREN. + +Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, came with his armies and besieged +Jerusalem, just as Jeremiah the prophet had foretold. He took the king +and the princes of Judah captive, and carried away their precious +things from the temple and the palaces into his own land, and put them +in the temples of his gods. Before twenty years had passed the whole +nation had been driven into captivity, and their holy house had been +burned, and the ark of the covenant lost or destroyed. As the kingdom +of Israel had also been scattered, the whole land lay desolate, and the +walls of the cities were broken down. + +When the King of Babylon first besieged Jerusalem he carried away the +finest of the princely families to serve him. They were the flower of +Jerusalem--young men of noble face and form; well taught in the +learning of the Jews, and skilfull in the sciences of that time. They +were also chosen for their natural ability to learn the language and +the wisdom of the Chaldeans. + +Among these were four boys named Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. +The king gave these boys into the care of his chief officer, who set +teachers over them and treated them very kindly, while the king sent +them each day meat and wine from his own table. The Chaldeans offered +these things to idols, and then ate of them themselves; they also used +some meats for food that were unclean to an Israelite, so that the four +children of Judah determined that they would not touch the king's meat +and drink. + +Daniel spoke to the chief officer about it, and though he had learned +to love Daniel very much, he was afraid to have the boys refuse the +king's food. + +"I fear my lord the king," he said, "who hath appointed your meat and +your drink, for why should he see your faces sadder than the children +which are of your sort? Then shall ye make me endanger my head to the +king." + +But Daniel turned to Melzar, the steward, and begged him to prove them +by giving them only vegetables to eat and water to drink for ten days, +and "Then," said he "let our countenances be looked upon before thee, +and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the +king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants." And he proved +them for ten days. + +At the end of that time their faces were fatter and fairer than the +faces of all the others who ate portions from the King's table, and +they were allowed to eat the food they had chosen. + +They also grew in wisdom and judgment. Daniel had the gift of +understanding visions and dreams, and the gift came from God, and not +from the study of magic. Among all the young men these four were most +pleasing to the king, and they were called to the palace to stand +before him. + +Not long after this the king had a dream that seemed very wonderful to +him, but he could not remember it. He called all his magicians, and +astrologers, and wise men together, and told them that they must tell +him what his dream was, and the meaning of it, or he would destroy +them. There was no man wise enough to tell him, and he ordered that +all the wise men of Babylon should be killed, Daniel and his friends +among them. + +Daniel asked the captain of the king's guard why the king was so hasty +with his decree, and the captain told him. + +Then Daniel went to the king and told him that if he would give him a +little time he would tell him his dream and its meaning, and he went to +his three friends and together they prayed the God of Heaven to show +them the dream and its interpretation. + +That night Daniel saw in a vision from God the same thing that the king +had seen and had forgotten. It was a great image standing before the +king, and shining like the sun. The head was of pure gold, the breast +and arms of silver, and the rest of the body of brass; while the legs +were of iron, and the feet were part of iron and part of clay. As he +looked a great stone cut from a mountain by unseen hands was hurled at +the image, striking its feet and breaking them. Then the image fell +and broke into pieces so fine that the winds blew them away, but the +stone grew to be a great mountain that filled the earth. + +Then Daniel gave thanks to God for showing him the dream, and went to +the king. + +He told the king that the God of Heaven alone had revealed the dream, +for no man could know it, and he told him what the dream had been. He +also told him that God had shown him the meaning; that the head of gold +was the king himself, who reigned over the greatest kingdom on earth, +but after him new kingdoms would rise, and the silver, the brass, the +iron and the clay stood for these; but in the days of the kingdom of +iron and clay the God of heaven would set up a kingdom which should +never be destroyed, but it would destroy all the kingdoms that had gone +before it. This kingdom--the great stone cut without hands from the +mountain--meant the Kingdom of Christ. + +The king was so astonished at Daniel's wisdom--for it was the dream he +had forgotten brought back and interpreted--that he fell on his face +before Daniel and reverenced the God of heaven. He made Daniel chief +ruler in his realm and gave also great honors to his friends. + +Nebuchadnezzar soon forgot God, for he set up a great golden image on +the plain of Dura, and called a feast of dedication. He had all his +princes and governors there, and his captains, and judges, and rulers. +The musicians were there also, with many kinds of instruments, and a +herald was there who cried in a loud voice the command of the king. It +was a call to worship the golden image. At the first sound of the +bands of music all were to fall down before the golden image, or +failing to do so, be thrown into a fiery furnace. + +Among the rulers were the three friends of Daniel, whose names had been +changed by the king to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They did not +fall before the golden image, and some jealous Chaldeans who saw them +went and told the king. Then the king, who had a fiery temper, was +angry, and sent for the three young men. He told them the bands should +play again, and if they failed to worship the golden image they should +be cast into the furnace, "and who is that God that shall deliver you +out of my hands?" he asked. + +"We are not careful to answer thee in this matter," they said, "If it +be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning +fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thy hand, O king." + +Then the king in a great rage called his mighty men to bind the young +men, and after the furnace was heated seven times hotter than before, +they were thrown in. So great was the heat that the men who threw them +in were killed by it in the sight of the king. As he watched the great +door of the furnace the king rose up and said, + +"Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" + +"True, O king," said his lords and captains. + +[Illustration: In the fiery furnace] + +Then the king with his eyes fixed upon the glowing door of the furnace +said, + +"Lo I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they +have no hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." + +Then he went near the door of the furnace and cried, + +"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, +come forth and come hither!" + +Then they came out before the king and all the people, who saw that the +fire had no power over their bodies, for no hair of their head was +burned, and no smell of fire was upon their garments. + +Then the king was very humble, and acknowledged the God of heaven, +"because there is no other God" he said "that can deliver after this +sort." And he promoted the young men to still higher places in his +kingdom. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +THE MASTER OF THE MAGICIANS. + +The Lord saw that the heart of Nebuchadnezzar was lifted up with pride +because he was king of a great people, and had conquered many weaker +nations. He was proud of his royal city, Babylon. The walls of +Babylon were sixty miles in length, and in them stood one hundred +brazen gates. There were wonderful palaces, and statues, and bridges, +and gardens. The river Euphrates ran through the city, and near the +king's palace was a hill covered with trees and flowering plants from +many lands, called the Hanging Gardens. + +Babylon was built on a plain, but the king had these gardens made for +his wife, who had come from a country of hills. + +The king was praised so much by the princes and rulers that he thought +only of his own power and riches, and became proud and cruel. So the +Lord sent him a dream. He saw a tree great and high, standing in the +midst of a wide plain. It grew until it reached the heavens, and its +branches spread to the ends of the earth. It was thick with green +leaves, and heavy with fruit; the birds lived in it, and the beasts lay +in its shadow, and all things living came to it for food. Then he saw +an angel coming down from heaven crying, + +"Hew down the tree, and cut off his branches; shake off his leaves, and +scatter his fruit; let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls +from his branches; nevertheless, leave the stump of his roots in the +earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the +field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be +with the beasts of the grass of the earth; let his heart be changed +from a man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him, and let seven +times pass over him." + +This dream was given that the king might be taught that the Lord alone +is King. + +Daniel, named by the king Belteshazzar, was called to interpret the +dream, and the Lord gave him power to do it. + +"The tree that thou sawest," said Daniel, "it is thou, O king, that art +grown and become strong; for thy greatness is grown and reacheth unto +heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth." + +Then Daniel told the king that he must be driven from men to dwell with +the beasts of the field; to eat grass with the oxen, and be wet with +the dews of heaven, until he had learned that the Most High rules in +the kingdom of men, and gives to whosoever He will. But as the roots +of the tree were left in the ground, so his kingdom should be preserved +for him until he had learned that the heavens do rule. + +At the end of a year the king's heart had not been made humble, for as +he walked in his palace he said to himself: + +"Is not this great Babylon that I have built for the house of the +kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?" + +And while he yet spoke there fell a voice from heaven, saying: + +"O, King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; the kingdom is departed +from thee." + +And within an hour the word of the Lord came true. For seven years he +was without reason, and was an outcast from his kingdom. But at the +end of that time his eyes were lifted to heaven and his reason +returned, and his kingdom was restored to him, for he had learned that +God alone is great, and "Those that walk in pride He is able to abase." + +Belshazzar was the next king of Babylon. He made a great feast, and a +thousand of his lords were bidden to sit around his tables in the great +hall of the palace. While he drank the wine he thought of the holy +vessels of gold and silver that his father had brought out of the +Temple at Jerusalem, and he sent for them, and into these golden bowls +that had been consecrated to the worship of God he poured wine and gave +it to his princes and to his wives, while they praised the gods of +gold, and silver, and wood, and stone. + +While they were feasting, and laughing, and singing, there came a man's +hand and wrote some strange words on the wall of the great hall where +they sat. The king saw the hand as it wrote, and he was so much afraid +that he trembled and grew very weak. He called for his wise men and +they could not read the writing, but the queen remembered that in the +time of Nebuchadnezzar there was a man whom he made master of the +magicians because he had power to interpret dreams and make all +doubtful things clear. + +[Illustration: The handwriting on the wall] + +So Daniel was brought before the king, and the king told him that if he +would read the writing on the wall he should be clothed royally and be +made the third ruler in the kingdom. + +"Let thy gifts be to thyself," said Daniel, "and give thy rewards to +another, yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to +him the interpretation." + +Then Daniel reminded the king of that which fell upon his father +Nebuchadnezzar, when he had grown proud and hard-hearted toward God and +men, and, though he knew all this, he also had lifted himself up +against the Lord of heaven, and had defiled the holy vessels of the +Temple by drinking from them to gods which could neither see or hear, +and because of this the message had been written on the wall. And this +was the interpretation of the strange words,-- + +"God hath numbered thy kingdom and finished it. Thou art weighed in +the balances, and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided, and given +to the Medes and the Persians." + +The king clothed Daniel in scarlet, and gave him a chain of gold, and +proclaimed him third ruler in the kingdom, but the same night +Belshazzar was slain, and Darius the Medean took the kingdom. + +The new king set one hundred and twenty princes over the kingdom, and +over these he set three presidents, the first of which was Daniel. The +king loved Daniel for the wise and good spirit that was in him, and +this stirred up jealousy in the hearts of the Babylonian princes, and +they watched Daniel to see if they could find something against him to +tell the king, but they could not, for he was faithful in all his work. + +Then they agreed to plot against him, and they went to the king and +persuaded him to make a decree that whoever should ask any petition of +any god or man for thirty days, except of the king, he should be thrown +into the den of lions, and they asked the king to sign the decree, so +that it could not be changed, and he signed it. + +When Daniel heard of the decree, and knew that the king had signed it, +he went into his own house, and to his chamber. There the windows were +always open toward Jerusalem, and he kneeled down as he had done every +day since he was taken from his own land, and prayed to God with his +face toward the Temple in Jerusalem. And the men who were plotting +against him watched him. + +Then they hurried to the king, saying, + +"That Daniel, which is of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, +O, King, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition +three times a day." + +The king was greatly disturbed at this, and set his heart on the +deliverance of Daniel, and labored till sunset to do it. But his +princes said it could not be done, because, according to the law of the +Medes and the Persians, no decree made by the king could be changed. + +So Daniel was condemned to be cast into the den of lions, but the king +said, + +"Thy God, whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee." + +[Illustration: Daniel in the den of lions] + +Then a stone was laid over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it +with his own signet, and with that of his lords, that the purpose might +not be changed. + +That was a long night for Darius the king. He could neither eat nor +sleep, and he would hear no music, but very early in the morning he +went to the den of the lions and with a very sorrowful voice cried: + +"O Daniel, servant of the living God! is thy God whom thou servest +continually able to deliver thee from the lions?" + +Then up from the pit came a strong, cheery voice saying: + +"O king, live forever! My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the +lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me." + +Then there was joy in the king's heart and he had Daniel brought up out +of the den, and no hurt was found upon him, because he had believed in +God, but the men who had accused Daniel were cast into the lions' den +and destroyed. + +Darius acknowledged the God of Daniel before all his kingdom, and +commanded the people to honor Him, so that Daniel and his people +suffered no more from their enemies during the reign of Darius. After +the death of Darius, Cyrus was made king of Persia, and he also was +kind to Daniel. The Lord gave him a tender heart toward the captives +of Judah who had been in his land for seventy years, so that he sent +them back into their own land and helped them to rebuild their city and +their Temple. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +THE STORY OF JONAH. + +More than eight hundred years before the birth of Christ a prophet +named Jonah lived in the land of Israel. He had given the Lord's +messages to his own people, and they had listened to them, and a part +of their country had been saved by obeying the Word of the Lord as it +was brought to them by Jonah. + +But when the Lord wished to send Jonah to warn a great city in Assyria +to repent of their sins, he did not wish to go. Nineveh was a very old +and a very great city. It was built soon after the flood, but was +still at a high point of glory and wealth in the time of Jonah. + +It was a heathen city, but God is the Father of all who live, and cares +for all His children, though they may not know or care for Him. + +Perhaps Jonah was afraid, for the people were strong and warlike, and +they would not wish to hear about their wickedness. So Jonah ran away +to the sea shore and took a ship from Joppa to go to Tarshish. He had +not gone far from shore when a storm of wind rose, and the wind tossed +the ship on the great angry waves until it was very nearly wrecked. + +The men were afraid, and each prayed to his God, and threw out the +goods they were carrying in order to make the ship lighter. + +Where was Jonah? He was below the decks asleep. When the captain +found him he cried out, + +"What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be that +God will think upon us, that we perish not." + +Then they began to wonder if the storm had not been sent upon them for +the wickedness of some one in the ship, and they cast lots to see who +it could be. The lot fell upon Jonah. Then they asked Jonah his name +and country, and of his journey. He told them all about it. Then the +men were more afraid, for they knew that he had tried to run away from +the Lord, and they said, + +"What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us?" + +"Take me up and cast me forth into the sea," he said, "so shall the sea +be calm unto you, for I know that for my sake this great tempest is +upon you." + +It was not easy for the men, who were kind-hearted, to throw into the +sea a man so honest and so willing to die, so they rowed very hard, and +tried their best to reach the shore, but they could not. So they +prayed to Jonah's God to forgive them, and then threw Jonah into the +sea. + +But the Lord meant not only to teach Jonah a lesson, but to teach, +through Jonah, a lesson to His children who should live in the ages to +come. He was to make him also a sign of the coming Christ. + +When Jonah believed he was sinking down into the green depths of the +sea to die, a great fish, prepared by the Lord, opened his mouth and +took him in. We cannot understand all the ways of God, but we know +that "nothing is impossible with God," and that he was able to keep his +servant alive even in such a strange place as this. + +For three days and three nights he was kept in his living prison, and +was able to pray to God, and to know where he was. + +"The waters compassed me about," he said, "even to the soul; the depth +closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went +down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about +me forever." + +Then he praised and thanked God, for he knew that he meant to save him. +And when the Lord spoke to the fish, it threw Jonah out upon the dry +land. + +[Illustration: Jonah thrown on the dry land] + +The second time Jonah heard the voice of the Lord telling him to go to +Nineveh and preach the words that should be given him to say, and this +time he obeyed. + +It was a long journey to Nineveh, and when Jonah reached it he found +that the city was so great that it would take three days to walk around +the walls. + +The walls were a hundred feet high. And so broad that three chariots +could be driven on them side by side. The walls had fifteen hundred +towers, each two hundred feet high. Inside the walls lived hundreds of +thousands of people, many of them rich merchants or princes and nobles +who lived in palaces, and thought only of their own pleasure and glory. +They had grown very selfish and wicked. + +When Jonah had walked a day's journey into the city, he began to cry in +the streets the message God had given him, + +"Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" + +The people began to tremble and be afraid of the strange voice that +went up and down the long streets crying out these terrible words. +They began to believe in Jonah's God, and to repent. + +They repented in the eastern way, by putting on a garment of coarse +sack-cloth, and sitting in ashes. All did this, even to the king, who +took off his beautiful robes and sat down in ashes before the Lord. He +also proclaimed a fast to all the people, and urged them to "turn every +one from their evil way." + +When the Lord saw that they turned away from their sins, for He could +look into their hearts, and read all their thoughts, He was satisfied, +and said he would not destroy Nineveh. + +But Jonah, who could not read the hearts of men, was not satisfied. He +was very angry. He wanted to have the Ninevites see that he was a true +prophet, for if no destruction came upon them he feared that they might +call him a false prophet. So he complained to God, and said, + +"Now, O Lord, take, I beseech Thee, my life from me, for it is better +to die than to live!" + +The Lord's gentle word to Jonah was, + +"Doest thou well to be angry?" + +Jonah went outside the city walls, and made for himself a little house +of the branches of trees and waited to see if the city would be +destroyed. It was very hot and Jonah was deeply troubled, and the +Lord, who is full of love and pity for His children, caused a gourd +vine with large leaves to spring up and grow over the dried branches of +the little house that sheltered Jonah, and he was very glad and +grateful. But the Lord, who always looks upon the heart, saw that the +heart of Jonah was not yet wholly right, and the next morning he +allowed a worm to eat the gourd until it withered. Then the sun beat +down upon Jonah's head until he fainted and wished to die, saying, as +he had said before, + +"It is better for me to die than live!" + +But the Lord was patient with him, and said, + +"Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd?" + +And Jonah replied ungraciously, + +"I do well to be angry, even unto death." + +Then the Lord in his love and pity answered, + +"Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not labored, +neither madest it grow; which came up in a night and perished in a +night; and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are +more than six-score thousand persons that cannot discern between their +right hand and then left hand, and also much cattle?" + +Jonah did not know all that was in the mind of the Lord, though he was +a prophet. He did not know that he was one of the signs of the Lord's +first coming, for Jesus spoke of Jonah as a "sign," that as he was +three days and three nights within the great fish "so shall the Son of +man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +ESTHER, THE QUEEN. + +About five hundred years before Christ King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) reigned +over Persia. In the third year of his reign he gave a royal feast to +all the princes and nobles of Persia and Medea, in Shushan, the royal +city. It lasted one hundred and eighty days, and was very costly, for +the king wished to show the great men from all his provinces the riches +and glory of his kingdom and of his palace. + +At the end of these days he made another feast to all who were in +Shushan, a feast of seven days, and which included great and small. +The palace garden was hung with awnings of white and green and violet, +fastened with cords and silver rings to pillars of marble. + +Wine was given to the guests in golden cups as they sat on couches of +gold and silver, and the pavement of the court was of many colored +marbles. + +In another part of the palace Vashti, the queen, also made a feast for +the women. + +On the seventh day the king sent his seven chamberlains to bring Queen +Vashti before him, wearing her royal crown. He wished to show to his +people and princes the beauty of the queen, for she was very fair to +look upon. + +But the queen refused to obey the king's command, and he was angry. He +asked the seven princes who stood next to him in the kingdom what he +should do, and what the laws of the Medes and Persians (which could not +be broken) would say in such a case. + +The princes did not speak of any law, but one of them told the king +that the conduct of Vashti would do them great harm through all the +kingdom, for women hearing of the act of the queen, would despise and +disobey their husbands. They advised, therefore, that a commandment +should go forth from the king and be written among the laws of the +Medes and Persians, that Vashti should no more come before the king, +and that her royal estate should be given to another better than she. + +This pleased the king, and he did as Memucan, the prince, had advised, +and he sent letters into all parts of his empire to people of various +languages, that every man should rule in his own house. + +Then the king's servants, the nobles, advised the king to send officers +to every part of his kingdom to find some one worthy to take the place +of Queen Vashti, and the plan pleased the king, and he did so. + +There was in Shushan a Jew named Mordecai, who had been brought away +from Jerusalem with the captives when Nebuchadnezzar conquered the +city. He had an adopted daughter named Hadassah. This was her true +name, although the Persians called her Esther. She was the daughter of +Mordecai's uncle, and when her father and mother died, Mordecai took +her for his own. She was very beautiful, and as good as she was +beautiful, for Mordecai had taught her to be faithful to the true God, +though living among a strange people. + +When Mordecai heard that the king was seeking for a maiden worthy to be +a queen through all his provinces, he brought Esther and placed her in +care of Hegai, who had the care of that part of the king's house where +the women lived. Hegai was very kind to her, and gave her seven maids +to serve her, and the best place in the house for her own. + +Mordecai had told Esther not to speak of her Jewish family, but every +day he walked before the court of the women's house to ask how she did +and what had become of her. + +Out of all the maidens brought from the city and the kingdom Esther was +chosen by the king to be queen in the place of Vashti, and he placed +the royal crown upon her head, and proclaimed a great feast that he +called Esther's feast, when he gave gifts and made a holiday for all +the people to rest and be happy in all his provinces. + +Mordecai sat daily at the king's gate, and once while there he heard of +a plot to kill the king by two of his chamberlains, and he sent word +secretly to Esther, and she told the king in Mordecai's name, so that +these two men were hanged, and the account of it was written in the +king's book of records. + +About this time the king gave great honors to a man named Haman. He +set him above all his princes, and when the king's servants who were at +his gate knew it they all bowed down and gave great honor to Haman, +whenever he passed, for the king had so commanded them; but Mordecai +would not bow to Haman. When Haman saw this he was full of anger +toward Mordecai the Jew, and he made a wicked plan to destroy not only +Mordecai, but all his people. + +So he came with wily ways and cunning speech to the king, saying, + +"There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the +people in all the provinces of thy kingdom, and their laws are diverse +from all people, neither keep they the king's laws, therefore it is not +for the king's profit to suffer them. If it please the king let it be +written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of +silver to the hands of those that have the charge of the business, to +bring it into the king's treasuries." + +Then the king gave his ring to Haman as a sign that he would pledge his +word to do what he asked, and said, + +"The silver is given to thee, the people also, to do with them as it +seemeth good to thee." + +Then Haman had letters written and sealed with the king's seal ring, +saying to the rulers of every province in the kingdom that all Jews, +both young and old, throughout the kingdom, must be destroyed in one +day, and their goods, and money, and lands be taken for a prey, and the +thirteenth day of the twelfth month was set in which to destroy them. + +After the messengers were sent out the king and Haman sat down to drink +wine, but the city was troubled. + +Then Mordecai rent his clothes in sign of mourning, and went out into +the streets of the city clothed in sack-cloth uttering a loud and +bitter cry. He cried even before the king's gate. + +All through the kingdom there was great mourning among the Jews, and +they fasted and wept in sack-cloth and ashes. + +When Esther heard that Mordecai was clothed in sack-cloth she was +deeply grieved, and sent some garments to clothe him, but he would not +receive them. Then she sent for the king's chamberlain Hatach, and +gave him a command to Mordecai to tell what caused his grief. + +Hatach found him at the king's gate, and Mordecai told him all that had +happened to him, and of the great sum of money that Haman had promised +to pay into the king's treasuries for the Jews to destroy them. He +also gave him a copy of the decree to show Esther, and told Hatach to +charge her that she go before the king and make request for her people. + +Hatach took these words to Esther, and Esther sent a reply by Hatach, +saying that it was known in all the king's palace that no man or woman +could come into the king's presence in the inner court who had not been +called, and for any who so entered there was but one law, and that was +that they be put to death, unless the king hold out to them the golden +sceptre. She had not been called to see the king, she said, in thirty +days. + +Hatach gave this message to Mordecai, and he again sent word to Esther +that she could not hope to escape the decree, as she too was of the +Jews. He told her that deliverance must come to the Jews in some other +way, but she and her family would be destroyed, and then he added, + +"Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as +this?" + +Then Esther made her resolve, and sent word to Mordecai to gather all +the Jews in Shushan together to fast night and day, while she and her +maidens fasted also. + +"And so I will go in unto the king," she said, "which is not according +to the law, and if I perish, I perish." + +And Mordecai went his way and did as Esther had commanded. + +It was the third day when Esther arose from her fast before the Lord +and put on her beautiful royal robes and stood in the inner court of +the king's house in sight of the royal throne. + +When the king saw Esther standing in the inner court he was not +displeased, but his heart was turned toward her, and he held out to her +the golden sceptre that was in his hand. + +"What wilt thou, Queen Esther?" he said, "and what is thy request? it +shall be even given thee to the half of the kingdom." + +"If it seem good unto the king," said Esther, "let the king and Haman +come this day unto the banquet that I have prepared for him." + +So the king commanded Haman, and they came to the queen's banquet. The +king knew that Esther had a favor to ask of him, so he said again: + +"What is thy petition? and it shall be granted thee; and what is thy +request? even to the half of the kingdom it shall be performed." + +But Esther was wise. She begged as her petition and request that the +king and Haman would come to the banquet she should prepare the next +day also, and she would then do as the king had said. + +Haman went home very happy and proud that he had been so honored by the +queen, and told his wife and his friends of all the glory and honor +that had come to him. + +"Yet all this availeth me nothing," he said, "so long as I see Mordecai +the Jew sitting at the king's gate." + +Then his wife and his friends urged him to build a high gallows and ask +the king on the next day to hang Mordecai upon it. "Then go thou +merrily with the king unto the banquet," they added. + +This pleased Haman, and he ordered the gallows to be made. + +That night the king was restless, and he could not sleep, and he +commanded that the book of records be brought and read aloud to him. +Then he found that it was written that Mordecai had saved the king's +life when it was threatened by his two chamberlains. + +"What honor and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this?" he asked, +and his servants replied: + +"There is nothing done for him." + +"Who is in the court?" cried the king. Now Haman had come in to speak +to the king to have Mordecai hanged. + +"Haman standeth in the court," said the king's servants, and the king +said, + +"Let him come in." + +As Haman came in the king said, + +"What shall be done to the man that the king delighteth to honor?" + +Haman thought in his heart, "To whom would the king delight to do honor +more than to myself," and then he replied, thinking all the time of +himself. + +"For the man whom the king delighteth to honor let the royal apparel be +brought which the king useth to wear, and the horse that the king +rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head, and let +this apparel and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's +most noble princes, that they may array the men withal whom the king +delighteth to honor, and bring him on horseback through the street of +the city, and proclaim before him, 'Thus shall it be done to the man +whom the king delighteth to honor.'" + +Then the king said, "Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse as +thou hast said, and do even so to Mordecai, the Jew, that sitteth at +the king's gate; let nothing fail of all that thou hast spoken." + +Haman did as he was commanded, for he could do nothing else, and after +it was all over Mordecai took his place again at the king's gate, but +Haman hastened home mourning, and with his head covered. + +The next day he came to the queen's banquet with the king, and again +the king said, + +"What is thy petition, Queen Esther? and it shall be granted thee; and +what is thy request? and it shall be performed, even to the half of my +kingdom." + +Then the queen made her request, saying, + +"If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, +let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request; +for we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be slain, and to +perish. But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen I had held +my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king's damage." + +"Who is he, and where is he," cried the king, "That durst presume in +his heart to do so?" + +Then Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman." + +[Illustration: Haman denounced by the queen] + +Haman was overcome with fear at this, and the king was so angry that he +rose up and went out into the palace garden. Haman stood up to make a +plea for his life, and when the king came in he found Haman fallen at +the queen's feet. + +One of the king's chamberlains who knew what the king wished told him +of the gallows at Haman's house that had been made for Mordecai, and +the king said, "Hang him thereon," and they did so, and the king's +anger was pacified. + +That day the king gave Haman's house to the queen. Mordecai came +before the king that day also, for Esther had told him how he was +related to her, and the King gave to Mordecai the ring that he had once +given to Haman. Esther's petition was not yet finished, so she fell +down at the king's feet and asked for the life of her people, and that +the decree might be changed. + +Then the king held out his golden sceptre to Esther, and she arose. +She spoke noble words of petition for her people, and the king told +Mordecai to write in the king's name and seal with the king's seal +letters that should make the decree void. + +So the scribes were called in and the letters were written and sealed +with the king's ring, and sent out to every province in the kingdom. + +Mordecai went out of the palace that day clothed in royal garments of +violet and white, fine linen and purple, and a great crown of gold upon +his head, and there was joy in Shushan, and there was joy among the +Jews all over the land. They hanged the ten sons of Haman, and +destroyed their enemies by the king's permission, so that they had rest +from persecution. They also set apart two days for a feast of +thanksgiving through all time, and the feast of Purim is kept by all +Jews to this day, as it was first confirmed by the decree of Esther. + +And Mordecai was next to the king and honored by his brethren the Jews +as long as he lived, for he always sought their peace, and was as a +father to them. + + + + +CHILD'S STORY OF THE BIBLE. + +THE NEW TESTAMENT. + +CHAPTER I. + +THE ANGELS OF THE ADVENT. + +There was an old priest named Zacharias, who lived in the hill country +of Hebron, where Abraham the father of the Jewish people used to live. +He went to Jerusalem when it was his turn to serve in the temple, and +once while he was offering the incense of sweet spices on the golden +altar, he saw through the rising smoke an angel standing on the right +side of the altar. The good priest was frightened, but the angel said, + +"Fear not, Zacharias, for thy prayer is heard," and he promised that to +him and his wife Elizabeth should be born a little son, whose name +should be John. He was coming to prepare the way for the Messiah, and +must not drink wine or strong drink, for he was to be filled with the +Holy Spirit. + +It was too wonderful for Zacharias to believe, and when he went out of +the temple he was dumb, and all the people who waited for him knew that +he had seen a vision. He did not speak while he stayed to minister in +the temple, and when his time of service was ended he went to his home +in Hebron. + +A few months later the angel Gabriel went to the little town of +Nazareth, high up among the hills of Galilee, and spoke to a young girl +named Mary. She had never seen an angel, and she also was afraid when +he said to her, + +"Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art +thou among women. Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God." +And then he told her that she should become the mother of a Holy Child, +who should also be the Son of the Highest, and a King whose kingdom +should have no end, and His name should be Jesus. He also told her of +her cousin Elizabeth away in Hebron, to whom a little son was promised. + +Then Mary said these beautiful words to the angel: + +"Behold the hand-maid of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy +word," and the angel went away into heaven. + +Mary was so full of wonder at the angel's words that she set out on a +journey to see Elizabeth. It was eighty miles to Hebron, but it was +early summer, and as Mary went through the green valleys and fruitful +plains, and along by the flowing Jordan, she thought about the angel's +words, and prayed to God to make her good and wise. She was not +afraid, though the journey was four days long, for she knew God was +with her. + +On the fourth day she passed Jerusalem, the Holy City, and went on and +up into the Hebron Hills to the house of Elizabeth. When they told to +each other the wonderful words of the angel Gabriel they were full of +joy, for they knew that the coming of the Christ was near, and that the +Lord had trusted them with the heavenly secret. They were filled with +the Holy Spirit, and Mary broke out into a beautiful song of praise. + +Mary stayed three months with her cousin Elizabeth, and learned many +things, for the old priest and his wife were wise and good. When she +went back to Nazareth she told no one of her vision, not even her +mother or Joseph, the good carpenter, whose promised wife she was. But +the angel came one night to Joseph and spoke to him through a dream of +the Holy Child that was to be born. + +Now Joseph and Mary were of the family of King David, and they knew +that the prophets had long ago talked of a King who was to come and +restore the kingdom, and reign on the throne of David. They even told +where he was to be born, in Bethlehem, the "City of David." And though +the Jews had become the servants of the Romans, yet it was time, +according to the promise, that the new King should come and set them +free, and many were looking for His coming. + +Perhaps Joseph and Mary thought of these things when the time came for +them to go to Bethlehem, for the Emperor of Rome had made a decree that +all Jews should be enrolled, that he might know how many were in his +empire. So all Jews, who had gone to live in other parts, returned to +their own tribe and city to be enrolled among their own people. + +When Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem they found it full of people who +had also come home to write their names for the Emperor, and there was +no room for them in the inn. It was winter, and while Joseph wondered +what he should do the keeper of the inn showed them the stable where +the gentle oxen and asses were kept, and where it was much quieter than +in the noisy yard and crowded rooms of the inn. + +It was here in a humble stable that the Lord of Heaven was born upon +earth, and cradled in a manger. He chose the stable instead of a +palace, and a bed of straw instead of a bed of down, for He had come to +be the Brother of the poor and the Saviour of the world. + +Out in the fields near by were some shepherds watching their flocks. +It has been said that the flocks kept in the Bethlehem fields were for +the sacrifices in the temple, and were watched night and day the year +long, while other flocks were kept in their folds in winter. + +While they sat on the rocks, wrapped in their cloaks and sheepskin +jackets, with a fire of brushwood to keep the beasts away, perhaps they +thought of young David, who once kept his sheep there, and killed a +lion and a bear to defend his flock; or they watched the stars and +wondered at their beauty. + +But suddenly an angel stood by them, and a great light shone round +about them, and they were terrified. But the angel spoke kindly to +them saying:-- + +"Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which +shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of +David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord." And the angel told them +how they would know it to be the Holy Child--because it lay in a +manger. Then, in a moment the air was full of angel faces, and +heavenly voices sang this song of praise to God and promise to all +people:-- + +"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward +men!" And they went away into heaven. + +The shepherds looked at one another and then one said; "Let us go to +Bethlehem." And they went in great haste. There they found Mary and +Joseph with the Holy Child lying in a manger, just as the angel had +said. They told the people of Bethlehem about the angels they had seen +and the words they had heard, and they were very much astonished. But +Mary was silent, and kept all these things in her heart to think about +and to pray about. + +[Illustration: The Holy Child in the manger] + +As for the shepherds they went back to their flocks praising God. + +When the Holy Child was eight days old his parents called His name +Jesus, as the angel had commanded, and they dedicated him to the Lord. +Later they took him up to the Temple at Jerusalem to make the offering +that all Jewish mothers made, some money, if it was the first +boy-child, and a lamb, or a pair of doves. Joseph bought for Mary a +pair of doves, and they went up the white steps of the beautiful porch +of the Temple, and passed the long rows of marble pillars into the +court of the Gentiles where they could look up and see the Temple +itself with its white marble pillars and golden roof shining in the sun. + +Mary gave her doves to the Priest at the gate of the Court of the +Women, and he took them away to be offered on the altar, while Joseph +took the Holy Child into the Men's Court for the Priest to bless as he +dedicated Him to the Lord. When all was done and they were going away, +an old man named Simeon saw them, and begged to hold the child. He was +a good man who had longed to see the Christ who was to come, and now +the Spirit of God told him that this was He. He thanked God, and said: + +"Lord, now lettest Thou thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy +word, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." + +He also spoke as a prophet of the days to come, and just then a very +old woman who lived in the Temple, Anna, the prophetess, came and gave +thanks to God, and told the people that the Redeemer had come to +Israel. All these things Mary kept in her heart, as she had kept the +words of the angel, and wondered why she had been chosen to be the +mother of the Holy Child. + +Seven months before this time a little son had been born to Zacharias +and Elizabeth. The neighbors wished to name him for his father, but +Elizabeth said, "Not so; but he shall be called John." When they asked +his father what it should be, he wrote an answer (for he had been dumb +ever since he talked with the angel in the Temple) and they read, "His +name shall be called John." Then his mouth was opened, and he began to +speak and to praise God, and his friends wondered what the child would +be when he grew to manhood. His father became a prophet for a time, +and said some strange things about him that were written down. He said +that John should be called a prophet of the Highest, and go before the +Lord to prepare His ways. + +John grew, and he also grew strong in spirit, and while he was yet +young he went to live in the deserts where he was taught of God to be a +prophet and a preacher. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +FOLLOWING THE STAR. + +While Joseph and Mary and the Holy Child were still staying in +Bethlehem, some Wise Men came from an Eastern country to Jerusalem, +asking, + +"Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His Star +in the East, and are come to worship Him." + +No one knows who these men were, but it may be that they were Jews who +lived in Persia, as David had done long before, and were learned in all +the wisdom of the Chaldeans, who studied the stars, and believed that +they had much to do with the lives of people on the earth. These wise +men were called Magi. They had heard that a great One would be born +about this time, and that He would be the King of the Jews. + +When they saw a strange and beautiful Star near the earth away toward +Jerusalem they prepared to go and see if it would lead them to the +King. Their servants loaded the camels with food and water and some +costly gifts, for they were rich men, and mounted on beautiful saddles +covered with blue and crimson cloth they rode away toward Jerusalem. +They had deserts of yellow sand to cross, and they were tired at the +end of the hot day, but at night they saw the beautiful Star shining +before them low in the sky, and watched it from their tents on the sand +where they rested for the night, and rose to follow it before it faded +in the morning. They were glad when they came to the fresh green +mountain country of the Jews, and rode through the flowery valleys till +they came to the gates of Jerusalem. Perhaps they expected to hear all +about the new King, and to find the people feasting and rejoicing, but +they did not. + +[Illustration: Following the star] + +When they asked, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" the +people were surprised, and only wondered who these men were who looked +liked princes from a foreign court, for they had armed servants, and +from their camels hung tinkling silver bells, and swinging tassels of +silk and gold. + +They searched Jerusalem for the king, and Herod heard of it and was +troubled. He wished always to be king himself. He set the scribes to +searching for the prophecies of the Messiah's birth. They knew very +well where to find them, and they read to the king these words from the +prophet Micah:-- + +"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, which art little among the families of +Judah, out of thee shall One come forth unto me that is to be the ruler +of Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, from ancient days." + +Then the king sent for the wise men, for he had a secret plan. They +came in their best robes, hoping perhaps, to find the newly born King +in the beautiful palace of Herod on Mount Zion, but they found only the +gloomy old King Herod waiting for them. He asked them when they first +saw the Star, and when they had told him, he sent them to Bethlehem and +said, + +"Go and search diligently for the young child, and when ye have found +him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also." + +They were very glad to hear about Bethlehem, and as they came down the +marble steps of Herod's palace it was evening, and there, low down +before them in the sky was the Star! They went out through the +Bethlehem gate toward the south, and followed the Star again over the +hills until the white walls of Bethlehem shown in the moonlight before +them, and they saw the Star standing still and shining down upon a +little house within the walls. Then they rejoiced with exceeding great +joy, for they had come to the end of their long journey, and they had +found the King! When they came to the house where Mary and Joseph were +staying they told their servants to unpack the presents of gold, and +frankincense, and myrrh, and they went in. Then they found the lovely +young mother and the Holy Child, and they fell down before Him and +offered their gifts. + +They did not go away at once. They slept in Bethlehem that night, and +the Lord showed them in a dream that they must not go back to tell King +Herod that they had found the Christ. They told Joseph of their dream, +and went away by another road that led past Hebron to their own country. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE FLIGHT INTO EGYPT. + +It seems very strange that in a few hours after the wise men had gone +over the hills to their own country, that Mary and Joseph and the Holy +Child should be swiftly following the same road. The night after the +wise men had been warned in a dream to go to their own country, Joseph +was warned also in a dream to take the young Child and His mother and +go into Egypt. He was told to stay until he had orders to return, for +Herod would seek to take the Child's life. Their flight was in the +night, and Mary's heart beat fast as she held her baby close and rode +down the steep path from Bethlehem with Joseph walking beside her. +They did not rest until they were far on their way. It was nearly a +week before they reached the river that was the border of Egypt, but +when they crossed it King Herod's soldiers could not harm them. + +[Illustration: The flight into Egypt] + +They had gold that the wise men had given them, and Joseph knew how to +make many things of wood, so they lived quietly in Egypt waiting until +the Lord should call them back. + +Herod was very angry when he heard that the Magi had gone away without +telling him anything about the young King; so angry that he ordered his +soldiers to destroy every baby boy in Bethlehem. So all the little +boys of Bethlehem under two years of age were killed by the order of +this wicked king, and the Holy Child whom Herod believed would be +destroyed with them was safely borne in His mother's arms along the +road to Egypt, while Joseph walked beside them and led the patient ass, +and angels went with them unseen to be their guard by night and by day. + +They lived in Egypt about a year, and then the sick and unhappy old +king died, and an angel came to Joseph one night in a dream, and said, + +"Arise and take the young Child and His mother and go into the land of +Israel, for they are dead which sought the young Child's life." + +They were glad to know that they could come home again, and they came, +perhaps with a company of merchants, into their own land. Joseph would +have settled in Judea, the part of the land of Israel in which stands +Jerusalem, and Bethlehem, the city of his ancestors, but Herod's son +had been made king over Judea, and Joseph was told in a dream to go +into Galilee. + +In Galilee was Nazareth, where both Joseph and Mary lived when they +were married, and there they went and were at home again, and there +Jesus grew to manhood. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE BOY OF NAZARETH. + +Nazareth was a little town high among the hills of Galilee. It still +stands there, but it is not so large a town as it was when Mary and +Joseph and the Child Jesus lived there. Then Galilee was full of +cities and villages, and men and women were busy among its fields, and +vineyards, and gardens, and the shores of the beautiful Lake of Galilee +were lined with the boats of fishermen. + +Nazareth was more quiet than the crowded cities by the Lake. A great +green plain lay below it, and a narrow road winding among the limestone +rocks led up to it. Its streets were narrow and steep, and steps of +stone led from house to house. A fountain of pure water breaking out +of a rock was the meeting place of the women of Nazareth, who came with +their tall pitchers for water and bore them away upon their heads. +Here Mary often came tenderly leading the Holy Child. Perhaps He +gathered the bright wild flowers that grew thick around the fountain +and along the stream flowing from it. When he grew a little older He +could climb the rocks around His home, or go with His mother and Joseph +to the top of the hill from which they could see the snowy peak of +Hermon, or the long line of shining blue sea beyond the hills on the +west, or they would point out a slowly moving caravan of heavy-laden +camels from Tyre and Sidon by the sea on their way to Damascus. + +Sometimes He would go with Joseph to the woods when a certain piece of +wood was needed, for Joseph was a carpenter, and in a lower room of his +humble house of rough white stone there was a long bench and the tools +of a wood-worker. Here, perhaps, the Holy Child played with the curled +shavings that fell from the bench, and watched the making of the plows, +the yokes, the doors, and the lattices until He was old enough to help +in the making of them. + +He learned to read and write while a young child at home, as Jewish +children did, and His reading book was the Old Testament, which was the +Jews' Bible. Then He went to school at the Synagogue, which was the +Jews' Church, and there, we may be sure, He was a gentle, obedient +pupil, and a loving, unselfish playmate. While he read He may have had +many strange thoughts about the prophecies in the Book that were +promises of the Messiah, the King that was to reign in righteousness. + +When He was twelve years old His parents took Him with them to the +Feast of the Passover at Jerusalem. Great companies of people went +from all parts of the Jews' country, and from every country in which +they had settled, to keep the feast that the Lord had commanded when +they were led out of Egypt. The very journey to Jerusalem was a +festival, for their friends joined the company from almost every house +in Nazareth, and on horses, and camels, and asses, the men walking +beside them, a happy group set forth from home to keep the Passover +week in the city of the great King. It was the first visit of the boy +Jesus to Jerusalem, and as He walked strong and beautiful beside +Joseph, what tender and holy thoughts, what questions about the future +must have filled the mind of Mary. He was going to see His Father's +House, the beautiful Temple where the thousands of Israel gathered +every year for worship and of which He had read in the Book of the Law, +for He was now old enough to be called a "Son of the Law," and verses +from the Bible folded in little boxes, had been tied upon his arm and +his forehead by the village Rabbi, as a sign that He was old enough to +think for Himself and go to the religious Feasts at Jerusalem. + +When they reached the great public roads they found other companies of +pilgrims going up to the Holy City, and by their banners they knew the +tribe and city from which they came. There was music, also, of timbrel +and pipe and drum as the songs of Zion were sung along the way, or at +evening when they camped in the fields. + +When they had climbed the steep Jericho road and the Mount of Olives, a +glorious sight opened before them. There lay the City of David shining +in the sun, its thick walls set with towers; its marble palaces, and +castles, and gardens, and, most wonderful of all, the Temple with its +hundreds of white marble pillars, its beautiful porches and arches, +and, rising within its richly-paved courts, the Holy Place with the sun +like fire upon its roof of gold. The people shouted and sang a song of +joy. Perhaps they sang that song of David beginning: + + "I was glad when they said unto me + 'Let us go into the house of the Lord,' + Our feet shall stand within thy gates, + O Jerusalem!" + + +Like thousands of others they pitched their tents outside of the walls, +perhaps on the slopes of Olivet, and after eating the Passover supper +together went daily into the Temple. To the Boy of Nazareth this must +have been the one charmed spot in all Jerusalem. Other boys loved to +watch the strange people from far countries, and wander among the +bazars, but Jesus stayed in the Temple. He saw the white-robed +priests, the altars, and the sacrifices; He saw the great curtains of +purple and gold that hid the Holy place, and He heard the Temple choirs +answer each other in song; He also saw the old Rabbis who taught and +answered questions daily in the outer courts, and stood long among the +listeners. + +When the company from Nazareth began the Journey home, and had gone as +far as the plains of Jericho, Mary looked for her boy. She had not +been troubled about him, for she thought He was walking with the other +children, or with relatives, but when Joseph found that he was not with +them they went back over the long, steep road full of fear and anxiety. +They searched Jerusalem through, asking everybody they knew if they had +seen the Boy Jesus. + +When they had been searching for three days, and Mary's heart was +almost broken, they went again to the Temple, and looking through a +crowd gathered around the Rabbis, Mary saw her Boy. She pressed +through to speak to Him, but He was speaking. She listened, and her +heart must have stood still to hear His simple, yet wonderful words. +Sometimes he asked questions which the old teachers could not answer, +and when he replied to the questions of the learned teachers His wisdom +astonished all who heard Him, for it was not like the wisdom of the +Rabbis, who used many words to explain the Word of God. + +[Illustration: The Boy Jesus in the temple] + +When Jesus saw His mother and came to her, she said, + +"Son, why hast Thou so dealt with us? Behold thy father and I have +sought Thee sorrowing." + +"How is it that ye sought me?" He said, "wist ye not that I must be +about my Father's business?" + +They did not quite understand how He could so easily forget them, and +yet Mary, perhaps, remembered that the angel had told her that He +should "be called the Son of God," and that He was at home in His +Father's house. + +But He was content to go home and be subject to His parents, so that +through all the world children may learn how He lived, and try to live +like Him. + +He found that His Father's house was greater than the Temple, and under +its starry roof, and wandering over its wide courts paved with grass +and flowers, He learned more than the Rabbis could teach Him. And +every day He grew in wisdom as He grew in stature, and "in favor with +God and man." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE YOUNG CARPENTER. + +There are many years of the life of Jesus of which the Gospel story +tells us nothing. He lived with Mary and Joseph in Nazareth, and was +preparing for the great work for which He came. He learned easily all +that other boys were taught in the synagogue school, and no doubt +caused His teacher to wonder at such wisdom coming from a boy. He was +so humble and teachable that no one could accuse Him of setting Himself +above His companions, and so winning and unselfish that He was loved by +all. The school days ended, perhaps, when He was fourteen, and He was +asked, as every Jewish boy was asked, to choose what trade He would +learn, for every boy had to learn a trade. He chose to learn the trade +of His father, and began to work with him making the many things that +were then used by the people. Few houses, if any, were made of wood, +for the white limestone was then, as now, used in making the houses of +Nazareth, but they were finished with wood, and wood was used not only +for boats, tables, benches, yokes and carts, but also for plows, +saddles, and many things we now make of other material. Can you make a +picture in your mind of this tall, beautiful youth standing near His +father ready to serve in any humble way in the work they were doing? + +There was no service so small that He did not willingly do it, and no +labor so rough and common that He did not make it noble and beautiful +by the doing. But He was always thinking--thinking. The world around +Him was full of pictures and stories through which heavenly truths +shone, and they formed themselves in His mind, and when He began to +teach He used them to help others with. We call them parables. +Wherever He saw the flowers, the grape vines, the olive and the fig +trees, the wheat fields, the shepherds and their flocks, the fishermen +and their nets, He read high and holy lessons that were much more +simple, and true, and beautiful than those taught by the Rabbis. + +The more He thought about the teaching of the Rabbis, the more He saw +how false and hard it was. The Law given by Moses was full of the good +thoughts of God, but the Jewish teachers had only taught the outward +form, and had not given the people the inward spirit. It was like +bringing to the hungry a beautiful dish with no food in it, or to the +thirsty a costly cup with no water in it. + +As He grew older He would sit sometimes long into the night on some +hillside watching the stars, and with his great heart going out beyond +the hills to the people of the world in longing love and in desire for +their salvation. He wanted to show them how God loved the world. He +wanted to take the empty forms of the Law and fill them full of the +Spirit--the real thought and love of God. He wanted to take away the +burdens on the minds of the people, which were heavier than those that +Pharoah laid upon their bodies long before, and give them the rest and +peace of God. He wanted to take away their endless rules and give them +one rule--to do by others as they would have others do to them. And He +wanted to add a new Commandment to the Law--that they love one another. + +In this way, by living with His mind in heaven and His body on earth He +came to know that He was the Christ of God, and that He must go out +from Nazareth to be a Teacher of Truth, and begin to build The Kingdom +of Heaven among men. But His friends thought that He was fitted to be +a Rabbi and teach in the Temple with the Doctors of the Law. He waited +many years, caring for His mother and His younger brothers and sisters +after the death of Joseph, and then He left Nazareth. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS. + +Jesus was thirty years of age when He left Nazareth to begin His work +as a Teacher of the Truth. It was the age set by the older teachers +for a young man to begin his work. + +His cousin John, the son of Elizabeth and Zachariah, was six months +older than Jesus, and he had begun his ministry on the lower Jordan. +While Jesus had been living quietly at Nazareth preparing for his work, +John had been away in the wilderness beyond the Dead Sea alone with the +Spirit of God. He was a prophet who could be taught by God only. When +his time to speak came he came out of the wilderness to a place on the +banks of the Jordan, just above Jericho, called The Fords. Many people +crossed at this place, and he stood on a bank above the river crying, +"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand." + +[Illustration: John the Baptist at the Jordan] + +Like those who had made a vow to the Lord, John had never cut his hair, +he wore a coarse garment woven of camel's hair, and lived on the simple +food of the wilderness--locusts and wild honey. He seemed never to +think of himself, but always of One who was coming. He said that he +was only a "Voice," preparing the way for the Messiah, as Isaiah had +prophesied centuries before, and the "Messenger" that had been promised +through Malachi. + +"Behold I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before +me." + +He did something which seemed new and strange to the people. He called +them to a change of mind--a turning away from sin, and, as a sign that +they had done so, he baptized them in the river Jordan. He was getting +the people ready for the coming of Christ, who was to begin the Kingdom +of Heaven on earth. + +Thousands were flocking down to the river to hear the new prophet. +They went from all parts of Palestine, and Jesus, knowing that his hour +had come, went also. He wore a white tunic gathered at the neck and +reaching to his feet, and on it the large blue mantle of thick stuff +that was worn in cold weather, for it was in the winter of the year 31. + +We cannot know all about His parting with His mother, and the three +days' journey to the Fords of Jordan, but we know that He came and +stood with others on the banks while John preached. + +On this day John's words were different He had said that the Christ +was coming, but to-day he said, + +"There standeth One among you whom ye know not, whose shoe's latchet I +am not worthy to unloose." + +After this Jesus came down to the water's edge to be baptized, and +John, though he had not seen Jesus since he was a young boy, knew Him. +Ready to fall at His feet, John cried, + +"I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest thou to me?" + +Jesus replied in a low voice, + +"Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all +righteousness," and so reverently John baptized his Master. + +As Jesus stepped from the water's edge to the river bank a strange and +beautiful thing happened. Out of the warm, blue sky a white dove came +circling down around the head of Jesus, who stood silent in prayer. +With eyes lifted to heaven He saw the dove, which was the form in which +the Spirit of God descended upon Him, and John saw it also, and both +heard a voice from heaven saying, + +"_Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased._" + +This was the answer to Jesus' prayer. Only Jesus and John understood +the meaning of these words, for they heard with the spirit. To others +it seemed like thunder out of a clear sky, and they were full of wonder +about the strange young man who had been baptized with such a beautiful +and singular sign following. They also remembered what John had said, +that the Christ was now standing among them, and perhaps this was he! +And they wondered what John meant when he said that though he baptized +with water, the coming Christ would baptize them with the Holy Spirit +and with fire. + +It was of little use to wonder about the Messiah, however, unless they +could remember and do all that John had said to them about being honest +and true in their hearts, for that was the only way to prepare for the +kingdom that was near at hand. He told the rich to share with the +poor; the people who handled money to be honest, and the soldiers to +harm no one with word or hand, and to be contented with their wages. + +When they were willing to give up the sins that John showed them they +took the sign of baptism from John, which meant that they wished to be +washed from their sins, and begin life in a new way. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +JESUS IN THE DESERT. + +The people were looking for the promised Messiah, and would have +welcomed John as the Christ if John had not always said "One mightier +than I cometh." "I am not the Christ." The sign of the Dove filled +them with new thoughts. + +While they were thinking Jesus went up the river bank alone. The power +of the spirit was upon Him, and His great work before Him, and He +wished to go for a time as far as possible from every human being. He +went into the wilderness--a wild desert country beyond the Dead +Sea--not even wishing to talk with John, whose home was in the +wilderness. Perhaps John looked after Him and longed to see and talk +with Him, but Jesus had one great desire, to know Himself, and what His +work was to be. He felt two natures within Him, the human and the +divine, and before He began to teach He wanted to hear the voice of the +Divine within Him as clear and strong as He had heard it that day from +the skies. + +The desert to which He went was not a waste of flat sand, like the +African desert, but masses of rock with sand and dry grasses between, +great cliffs of chalk and limestone rise a thousand feet above the +gloomy gulfs of rock through which torrents run in the rainy season, +but which are dry and oven-like in summer. One great cliff called +Quarantana is now full of caves cut out of the face of the rock by men +who have hoped to win heaven by suffering as Jesus did. + +Jesus was thinking--thinking, His human nature being full of hopes, +fears, and prayers; His divine nature being full of strength, promise, +comfort. He did not think of food when He came, and there was none to +be found. So resting at night in a cave, and wandering farther among +the mountains by day, Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness of +Judea. While there He was tried by the spirit of evil in every way +known to human nature, and when all was over, and He had not yielded to +sin, His mind was calm and ready for His work, for He knew He was the +Son of God. + +When He was hungry the tempter said, "If thou be the Son of God command +this stone that it be made bread." + +It would have been easy for Him to try His power, but He knew that He +did not come into the world to use it for Himself, but for others, and +so He answered in the words of the Bible, + +"Thou shalt not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." + +Then in a vision He seemed to be in the Holy City upon a tower of the +Temple that stood over a deep valley, and the tempter speaking within +Him, said, + +"If Thou be the Son of God cast Thyself down, for it is written, 'He +shall give His angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they +shall bear thee up, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.'" + +But Jesus knew that though the words were the words of God, the voice +was the voice of the tempter, and He answered, + +"Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." + +Then in a vision again He seemed to see, from the top of a very high +mountain, all the kingdoms of the world spread out before Him with +their kings, and armies, and cities; their beautiful homes and lovely +women, and great men with their gold, and jewels, and precious works of +art, and the tempter said, + +"All these things will I give Thee if Thou wilt fall down and worship +me." + +Then all the Divine power in Jesus rose up against this evil whisper, +and He said, + +"Get thee hence, Satan; for it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Lord +thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve.'" + +We shall never know all that Jesus suffered during this long time when +He was away from His home in Nazareth, and away from every human being, +tempted by evil, surrounded by wild beasts, and faint from hunger, but +we know He won a great victory over evil for us. So he became the +Elder Brother and Friend of all who are tempted. + +After His long fast and struggle with the powers of evil, angels came +and cared for Him, bringing heavenly strength and comfort, and He rose +in that strength and came again into the valley of Jordan, and found +that spring had come while he had been in the desert, and the willows +were green by the river side. John was still preaching and baptizing, +but was a little farther up the river at Bethabara. + +As Jesus came near John pointed to Him and said to the people, + +"Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This +is He. . . . And I knew Him not, but He that sent me to baptize with +water, the same said to me, 'Upon whom thou shalt see the spirit +descending and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with +the Holy Ghost.'" + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE FIRST DISCIPLES. + +The next day while two men named John and Andrew were talking with John +the Baptist, Jesus passed by, and again John said, "Behold the Lamb of +God." These two men had been priests and disciples of John, but they +turned and followed Jesus, and John was content to have them do so, for +he sought no honor for himself. Jesus when he saw them following said, + +"What seek ye?" + +And they, hardly knowing what to say, and wishing very much to know +Him, said, + +"Rabbi, where dwellest thou?" + +He did not reprove them for giving Him the honored name of Master, but +said, + +"Come and see." + +How gladly they went! No one knows where or how He lived, but whether +in a house, or in such a little tent as the people of that region now +carry with them when they travel, it was a quiet place where these two +men who were looking eagerly for the Kingdom of God could sit at the +feet of Jesus and talk with Him. He was a young man like themselves, +but there was a wonderful spirit in Him that made them feel like +worshipping Him. + +The first thing that Andrew did was to go and find his brother, Simon +Peter. They were both fishermen from Bethsaida on Lake Galilee, and +had come down to hear the new prophet John. + +"We have found the Messiah!" said Andrew, and they both went back to +Jesus. + +When the Lord--for this He had been always--saw Simon Peter He saw his +heart, and knew that he would be one of the founders of the kingdom +with Him, and so He, looking straight through him, said, + +"Thou art Simon, the son of Jona; thou shalt be called Cephas, which is +by interpretation Peter." (A stone.) + +So John, the loving; Andrew, the obedient, and Peter, the believing +began to follow Jesus. And Peter's strong faith was like a foundation +of stone in the beginning of the building of the kingdom. + +There was another man from Bethsaida who had come down to hear John. +His name was Philip. Jesus found him and said, "Follow Me." And he +not only followed Jesus, but he went joyfully to find his friend, +Nathanael, and tell him that they had found the Messiah, Jesus of +Nazareth, the son of Joseph. + +Nathanael could not believe that the Messiah would be a man of +Nazareth, because the prophets had said that He would come from +Bethlehem. + +So he said, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" + +"Come and see," said Philip, urgently, and he went. + +As he came to Jesus he met the deep, kind look that had searched +Peter's heart and heard Jesus say, + +"Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile!" He saw +innocence in the heart of Nathanael, but Nathanael wondered how Jesus +could know him. + +"Before that Philip called thee when thou wast under the fig-tree, I +saw thee," said Jesus. + +Then Nathanael's whole heart went over to Jesus, and he cried, "Rabbi, +Thou art the Son of God; Thou art the King of Israel!" + +He needed nothing more to prove that Jesus was the Christ, but Jesus +told him that he should see greater things, angels out of the open +heaven ascending and descending upon Him. + +Nathanael became the fifth disciple. His name was afterward called +Bartholomew. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE FIRST MIRACLE. + +Jesus and the five who had become His constant friends and disciples, +turned their faces toward home, for they were all from Galilee. It was +Spring, and the land was beautiful with the fresh green of the trees +and the breaking forth of wild flowers among the grass. On the Journey +the disciples scarcely saw the beauty around them, or felt weary from +the journey, for they were hearing the gracious words of their new +Friend concerning the coming in of the kingdom. + +There was to be a marriage feast near Nazareth in the home of a friend. +Mary and her family were invited, and also the friends who had come +with Jesus. It was at Cana, a village between Nazareth and the lake, +and they walked over the hills early to see the bride, crowned with +flowers and a white veil, married to the man to whom she had given +herself. Then followed a feast at the house of the father of the +bridegroom. There were joyful greetings, and garlands of flowers, and +wine--for Palestine was the land of vineyards, and they knew how to +prepare a harmless wine. Before the feast was over they found that the +wine had given out, and those who served the feast were distressed. It +was thought a disgrace to fail in hospitality at a wedding feast, and +so Mary came to Jesus for advice, saying, + +"They have no wine." + +[Illustration: The marriage at Cana] + +"Woman," He said--and among the Jews this was a respectful manner of +speaking to a woman--"what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not +yet come." + +He meant that He must act from the Divine Nature, and not from the +human nature that He had received from His mother. + +"Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it," said Mary to the servants. + +He told them to fill with water the six large water-pots of stone that +stood near, and they filled them to the brim. + +"Draw out now, and bear to the governor of the feast," He said, and it +was served at the table, and the master of the feast called to the +bridegroom, + +"Thou hast saved the good wine until now." + +This was the beginning of miracles. + +These were happy days for Mary, for she had her Son back again. From +the wedding Jesus and His mother, and His brothers, and His disciples +went down to Capernaum by the lake for a few days. + +Here Peter lived by the blue, beautiful lake that is walled by high +hills on one side, while on the other lies what once was the "garden of +Gennesaret" watered by streams, and rich with fruits, and grains, and +flowers. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE. + +The feeling that Jesus had when a boy, that He must be about His +Father's business was now satisfied. He had begun the work of His +ministry, though He had been doing all those silent years the +tremendous work of overcoming evil for us. He met it in His own human +nature, and overcame it step by step without yielding to sin. He was +to do this work until it should be finished upon the cross, but for +three years He was to teach the people the truths of the new kingdom, +and show by His life, and at last by the laying down of His life, that +love had come into the world to fill the old forms of the law full of +the new Spirit of Life. He was to take away the sins of the world, and +in place of them give to the world eternal life. + +It was time for the Passover Feast again, and Jesus with his disciples +joined the Capernaum company and started on the pleasant journey to +Jerusalem. They sang the songs of Zion, and rejoiced when the towers +of Jerusalem and the Golden Temple came into view, and as they came +down the road over Olivet they probably made their camp there where +they could look across the valley to the Temple. Everything was +moving. Flocks of sheep and herds of oxen were being driven toward the +Temple, and crowds of people from near and far were filling the +streets, and also moving toward the Holy House. + +When Jesus came into the Temple Court He saw something that stirred his +whole soul with sorrow and wrath. The sellers of sheep, and oxen, and +doves, and the money-changers had brought their things into the great +court inside the marble pillars, and on the pavement of many-colored +marbles, and were buying and selling noisily, and turning the courts of +the Lord into a market. The voices of men and animals must have +disturbed those who worshipped in the inner courts. The priests +allowed it, perhaps they were paid for doing so, and Jesus, as a Son in +His Father's house where the servants had been unfaithful, began +clearing the court of all these things, and finding some cord on the +pavement He folded it into a short scourge of many strands and used it +to drive the cattle and sheep and their keepers out of court. The +money-changers would not easily yield, but he poured out their money +and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, + +"Take these things hence; make not my Father's house a house of +merchandise." + +And the people wondered why they should obey this strange young man, +but they did. + +It was the Divine light in the face of Jesus, and not the bit of cord +that drove them out. They saw that He had a right to clear the Temple +courts. + +Then the Jews wondered who had given Him this right, and they said to +Him, + +"What sign showest Thou unto us, seeing Thou doest these things?" + +And this was the sign He gave them: "Destroy this Temple, and in three +days I will raise it up." + +He knew that they would not understand this, but they would remember it +after they had crucified Him and He had risen from the dead, for He +spoke of His body. + +The Jews turned scornfully away. The Temple had been forty-six years +in building, and they thought His promise an idle boast, but they did +not forget it. Three years after they helped to bring Him to the +cross, accusing Him in the High priests palace of saying these things. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +A TALK ABOUT THE BREATH OF GOD. + +Jesus was in the Temple most of the time during the Passover Feast. He +taught the people standing among the marble pillars of the outer court. +He also did miracles among them, and many believed on Him because of +the miracles, but He, knowing their hearts, saw not one among them whom +He would call to be with Him in His work, for He could not wholly trust +them. The Pharisees and Doctors of the Law also stood and listened to +Him, and among them was one whose heart turned toward Jesus. He was +one of the highest of the Pharisees, but his heart was not so proud and +full of self-love as the hearts of most of the Pharisees. His name was +Nicodemus. He longed to talk with Jesus, but he was afraid of what the +other Pharisees would say. + +He found out where the camp of the Galilean company was, and one night +went out of the city gate, across the Kedron bridge and up the slope of +the Mount of Olives and found Jesus. There was no place to talk +quietly in the crowded tents, so they must have gone out under the +shadowy olive trees to talk. + +"Master," he said--and it was much for the wise Pharisee to speak so +humbly to the young carpenter of Galilee--"Master, we know that Thou +art a teacher come from God, for no man can do these miracles that Thou +doest except God be with him." + +Jesus looked through the heart of Nicodemus, though it was night, and +saw what he needed most, and so He made no reply about Himself or His +miracles, but said, + +"Verily, I say unto you, except a man be born again he cannot see the +Kingdom of God." + +Nicodemus could not understand how a man could be born when he is old, +so Jesus explained that it was a spiritual birth. "That which is born +of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit." +And as the wind softly stirred the leaves of the olive trees above +their heads He said, + +"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, +but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it bloweth. So is +every one that is born of the Spirit." + +Nicodemus had always thought that religion was the keeping of the law +as all Jews were taught by the priests, so he was astonished, and said, + +"How can these things be?" + +"Art thou a master in Israel and knowest not these things?" said Jesus, +and then He spoke to the soul of Nicodemus of the things of the Spirit +of Heaven--The Heaven in which He already lived,--and of the new +kingdom that had begun on earth. + +If you will find what Jesus said to Nicodemus in the third chapter of +John's Gospel you will find among other things these beautiful words,-- + +"For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that +whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting +life." + +Nicodemus found out that life was the breath of God in man, and that by +it man lives. Perhaps he felt it within him as he went down the valley +under the trees and heard the wind among the leaves; and as he came up +the steep way and through the city gate in the silence of the night, +perhaps he resolved to be a disciple of Jesus. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +A TALK ABOUT THE WATER OF LIFE. + +After the Passover there were many who had believed in Jesus who wished +to be baptized, and so they went down to Jordan with Jesus and the +disciples, and then the disciples baptized them. + +John, who was also baptizing at another point by the river, was told +that Jesus was baptizing and that all men were going to Him. John was +rejoiced at this. + +"This my joy therefore is fulfilled," he said. "He must increase, but +I must decrease. He that cometh from heaven is above all." + +After this Jesus went back to Galilee, and as He and His disciples went +through the country of Samaria, which lay between Judea and Galilee, +they came at noon near to the little village of Sychar among the hills. +It was the most difficult road to Galilee, and most persons followed +the Jordan road when going back and forth, for the Judeans and +Samaritans were not friendly, but it is written that Jesus "must needs +go through Samaria." + +While the disciples went up into the village to buy some bread, Jesus +sat down by a deep well in the valley. It was built round with stone, +and covered from the sun, for the people prized the well not only for +the clear, cold water, but because Jacob, the father of all the tribes +of Israel dug the well for his family and cattle and flocks hundreds of +years before. + +While Jesus rested by the well a woman came down the path from the town +to draw water. She drew the water with a strong cord that she fastened +around her earthen water-jar and was going to put it on her shoulder +and carry it away when Jesus asked her for a drink of water. She had +not offered Him any for she thought a Jew would not ask even a drink of +water from a Samaritan, but Jesus said, + +"If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee +'Give me to drink' thou wouldst have asked of Him and he would have +given thee living water." + +[Illustration: Jesus by the well] + +The woman did not understand His words about water any more than +Nicodemus did about the blowing of the wind. Jesus was talking about +_life_ always and everywhere, but the people were slow to understand +Him. + +The woman wondered where Jesus could get better water than this from +Jacob's well. + +"Whosoever shall drink of this water," He said, "shall thirst again, +but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never +thirst. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of +water springing up into everlasting life." + +When the woman heard this she asked for it, that she might not be +thirsty and come to the well for water, but Jesus, seeing that she +could not understand His words began to speak of her life, and so truly +that she was amazed and said, + +"Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet." She talked of the mountain +near by which had been the place of worship of the Samaritans, and of +the Temple at Jerusalem where the Jews worshipped, for she did not want +to talk of her own life, which was not good. + +Jesus then showed her that "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him +must worship Him in spirit and in truth," and that the hour had come +when He wished people to worship him so in every place. + +"I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ," she said, + +"I that speak unto thee am He," He said. Then the woman left her +water-jar and hurried away without a word to tell the people of the +town. + +While she was away His disciples came and begged Jesus to eat, but His +spirit was filled with the thought of life, and he said, + +"I have meat to eat that ye know not of." + +And when they did not understand He said, + +"My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me, and finish His work," +and when he thought how great the work was that was before Him, it was +as if the harvest-time of gathering the people into the kingdom had +come. + +As they looked out along the valley men were ploughing the fields to +sow wheat. + +"Say ye not there are four months," He said, "and then cometh harvest? +Behold I say unto you, 'Lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for +they are white already to harvest.'" + +While He stayed two days in Sychar many believed on him there. + +"Now we believe," they said to the woman, "not because of thy saying +for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the +Christ, the Saviour of the world." + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +JESUS IN THE SYNAGOGUE. + +Jesus came back to Galilee through the Valley of Jenin and across the +plain of Jezreel to Cana, where His disciple Nathanael lived, and where +He had wrought His first miracle. While He was in Cana a nobleman who +lived at Capernaum came riding into the little town in great haste to +asked Jesus to come down and heal his son who was near death. To try +him, Jesus said, + +"Except ye see signs and wonders ye will not believe." + +The nobleman would not stop to talk of this, but besought Jesus, saying, + +"Sir, come down ere my child die." + +Jesus was glad to see his faith, and ready to meet it. + +"Go thy way," He said, "thy son liveth," and the man went away +believing what Jesus had said. On the way down to Capernaum by the +Lake, some glad-faced servants came hastening to meet him. + +"Thy son liveth!" They cried--the very words that Jesus had used. When +he asked them when the boy had taken a turn for the better they said, + +"Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him." + +Then the happy father knew that it was at the seventh hour--one +o'clock--that Jesus had said, "Thy son liveth." + +There was joy in the house of the nobleman when the father and mother +and all the household gathered around the boy who had been healed, and +talked of the wonderful power of Jesus in speaking the word of healing. + +From Cana Jesus went to Nazareth. John the Baptist had been thrown +into a gloomy prison down by the Dead Sea by Herod Antipas because he +had rebuked the wickedness of that king, and Jesus knew that His own +work was now fully begun, since the prophet, who had come to prepare +His way, was laid aside. + +While Jesus was at home with His mother and brothers and sisters He +went one Sabbath to the village church or synagogue, as He had always +done through His childhood and youth. Perhaps His brothers and some of +His disciples were with Him, while His mother and sisters parted from +Him and entered by another door, as was the Jewish custom. There were +many there who hoped that the young carpenter, who had become a +teacher, and as many believed, a prophet, would read from the Book of +the Law. + +After the singing, and the prayers, and the reciting of the creeds, the +time came for the reading and teaching. The first lesson had been +read, and the ruler of the synagogue took from the sacred place where +it was kept another parchment roll, and coming down the steps he handed +it to Jesus. It was the roll of Isaiah, and as Jesus went up to the +reader's desk He opened and unrolled it until He came to these words, + +"The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to +preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to heal the broken +hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight +to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the +acceptable year of the Lord." + +[Illustration: Jesus in the synagogue] + +When he had finished he rolled the book again and handed it to the +minister and sat down. It was the custom of those who were teachers of +the people to sit down to teach, while the people all rose and stood +until he had finished. + +"This day," said Jesus "is this scripture fulfilled in your ears." + +The people were looking and listening so earnestly that it was very +still, and as Jesus told them simply that He was the very One whom +Isaiah had spoken of seven hundred years before, that He had brought +the good tidings, and had come to do the work the prophet had spoken +of, they looked at each other in amazement. To be sure they had never +heard such words of grace and wisdom, but how could this be true? + +"Is not this Joseph's son?" they asked each other. Joseph had been +their neighbor and Jesus had grown up among them and played with their +children. They thought some evil thing had entered into Him disturbing +His mind. But when He began to tell them that no prophet was accepted +in his own country, and that the Lord was obliged to send them to +strangers, as He sent Elijah and Elisha, they were angry with Him. +Some of the men wished to teach Him a lesson, and they took Him by +force to the edge of a cliff, for Nazareth was built high up among the +hills, and were about to cast Him over among the limestone rocks below, +but turning away from them, Jesus walked quietly down the hill to the +path that led into the valley--and no one was able to lay a hand upon +Him to harm Him. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not," +and He went away to preach the good tidings in other towns. The heart +of Mary must have been full of sorrow when she saw her Son "despised +and rejected of men" as Isaiah prophesied, but she hid her sorrow, and +remembered the words of the Lord brought to her by the angel before her +Son was born. + +And so Jesus went down to Capernaum where he had friends and disciples, +and afterward His mother and His brothers went to Him there, but +Nazareth knew him no more. + +It was about this time that it is supposed that Jesus went alone to a +religious feast at Jerusalem, and while there cured a poor man who +could not walk. He lay on his mat near a spring called Bethesda. It +was covered by a roof, and had five porches. Here the sick were +brought by their friends that they might, when they saw the waters +bubble up, step in and be cured. They believed then an angel came down +and made the moving of the waters, but it was probably one of the kind +called intermittent springs. There is one at Jerusalem now called the +"Fountain of the Virgin" which rises at certain times. + +Jesus saw the poor friendless man who had waited for thirty-eight years +for the chance of stepping into the waters when they were moving, and +had been disappointed for others stepped in before him. Looking at +him, He said, + +"Wilt thou be made whole?" + +The man explained why he could not be cured, for there was no man to +help him. Then Jesus said, + +"Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." + +He rose at once, and walked, carrying the mat on which he lay. + +The Jews were angry when they heard of it for the man had been cured on +the Sabbath, but Jesus told them that they were all refusing eternal +life because of their unbelief, saying, + +"Ye will not come unto Me that yet might have life." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +AMONG THE FISHERMEN. + +Capernaum was on the shore of the beautiful lake of Galilee. There +were villages clustered around the lake then and all Galilee was +swarming with busy life, but now there are few inhabitants, and +Capernaum is only a heap of stones. Some of these stones, which may +now be seen, are carved in such a way that we may know that they are a +part of an ancient synagogue. This was the synagogue, perhaps, that a +good Centurion built whose servant Jesus cured when he was near death, +and here in Capernaum lived the nobleman whose son Jesus cured by a +word, and here lived His first disciples, Peter and Andrew, and James +and John, and here Matthew, who sat in his little office taking the +taxes that the people had to pay, may have seen Jesus pass, and may +have heard him speak before he became a disciple. + +The beautiful plain of Gennesaret spreads out from one end of the lake, +and there is a white beach of shells there, while at other points on +the lake there are hills and great rocks close to the water. + +On this white beach Jesus stood one spring morning teaching the people. +As the fisher-folks and others gathered close around to hear Him, He +was pushed so near the water that He stepped into Peter's boat, which +was near the shore, and asked him to push it out a little way into the +water, and there in the stern of the boat Jesus sat and taught the +people who stood thick upon the shore. + +The boat of Zebedee, the father of James and John was near by, for they +were the partners of Peter and Andrew. They had washed their nets and +had given up fishing until night again, for morning was not a good time +for fishing, but Jesus said to Peter and Andrew,-- + +"Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught." + +The disciples were surprised at this, for it was not the hour for +fishing, and Peter said, + +"Master, we have toiled all night and have taken nothing; nevertheless +at thy word I will let down the net." + +[Illustration: Jesus among the fishermen] + +When they had done this they found that their nets were filled with +fishes, so that they called to James and John to come and help them, +for their nets were breaking. When they had emptied the nets into the +two boats they were filled so full that they began to sink. + +Then Peter fell down at Jesus's knees and cried out,-- + +"Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" so wonderful did the +miracle seem to him. + +But to Peter Jesus said,-- + +"Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men." James and John He +also called, and showed them that the time had now come for them to +help Him in founding the Kingdom. + +They did not wait to sell the great draught of fishes that they had +brought to land; and they did not wait to sell their fishing boats and +nets, but they forsook all and followed Jesus. They did not know that +their names would be known forever as the founders of the Christian +Church with Him who was its divine Head. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE HEALING HAND OF JESUS. + +The Jewish church, or synagogue at Capernaum was very beautiful. It +was of white marble, and richly carved, and was the gift of a Roman +officer to the Jews. + +One Sabbath morning Jesus went in and sat among the learned Rabbis, for +He wished to speak to the people as He had near Nazareth. The people +knew and loved him, and the place was crowded to hear Him speak. He +sat there through the singing, and the prayers, and the reading. + +The parchment rolls of the law and the prophets were in a case behind +Him; and there was the curtain, and the branched candlesticks. Then He +went to the Teacher's seat, and while all the people stood He sat and +taught them. People wondered, as they always did, at his words, for +they were not like the words of the Rabbis,--they were as if God +Himself were speaking through a man. + +In the midst of it there was a loud cry from a man who looked like a +maniac. He had followed the people in, and the words of Jesus had +disturbed the evil spirit that was in Him, + +"Let us alone," it cried, "what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of +Nazareth. Art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who Thou art,--the +Holy One of God." + +"Hold thy peace, and come out of Him," said Jesus, and the poor man +fell headlong on the marble floor, but in a moment he was free, for the +evil spirit had obeyed the word of Jesus, and this astonished the +people so much that they told it through all the town and the country +round about. + +When He went home from the synagogue, for Peter's house was one of His +homes, He found the mother of Peter's wife very ill of fever, and they +brought Jesus to her bed. He bent over her and said some words to that +which had caused the fever, and at once it was gone. + +She seemed to be quite well again, and her first wish was to do +something for this wonderful man whom Peter had been following, and she +rose and helped to prepare food for Him. + +The people did not dare to come to Jesus for healing while it was yet +the Sabbath, for the Rabbis said it was wrong to cure people on the +Sabbath day, but as soon as the sun had set the Sabbath ended, and then +the streets were filled with people who came for themselves, or +bringing their sick friends to be touched by the hand of Jesus. All +around the little house of Peter they crowded, while He walked among +them looking at them with pitying love, and "He laid his hands on every +one of them, and healed them." + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +FOLLOWING JESUS. + +The next morning Jesus went out among the hills alone. All day He was +pressed upon by the poor, the sick, the blind, and the lame, or those +who were hungry for the word, and so at night or early morning He went +out to be alone, to think of the great work he had come to do, and to +pray or talk to the Father, for Jesus and the Father were one. But the +people followed Him, and begged him not to leave them. + +"I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also," He said, "for +therefore am I sent." And He took his disciples and started on a +journey from village to village through Galilee. There were about two +hundred of these towns, and they were near together. It was the +springtime, and the fields and hills between the villages were +beautiful with flowers and growing grain. Sometimes He taught in their +churches, and sometimes under their trees or trellises, and wherever He +went the common people heard him gladly. + +Once as He drew near a town a leper followed Him. He followed Him into +the town, which was against the law, for the leper was not allowed to +live inside a town, or to come near the people, as the touch of a leper +would give the disease to another. But so earnest was he to see Jesus +that he came through the crowd and fell on his face before Jesus, +saying, + +"Lord if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean." + +Jesus put forth His hand and touched him, saying, "I will; be thou +clean." + +Suddenly the leprosy left the man, and his dead and filthy skin became +as healthy as a child's, and Jesus sent him to the priest to offer that +which the law commanded for the cleansing of lepers. It was a long, +and often costly process that a leper must pass through to be cleansed +from his disease, but the word of Jesus was with power, and brought +divine life to take the place of death, for leprosy was a slow death. + +[Illustration: Jesus healing the sick] + +When the Lord came back to Capernaum the people thronged Him, and when +He rested in the shaded court of a friend's house it was soon filled +with the eager people who longed to hear His word, or be healed by His +touch. + +Once it was so crowded in the court that some men, who were bringing a +friend to Jesus who was helpless with palsy, took him up by the outside +stairs to the housetop. There, by taking up a few tiles, they made an +opening just over the place where Jesus sat, and the people soon saw +the man lying on his mat before Jesus, for they had let it down by +cords through the opening. + +Jesus saw the faith of the four men who had let their sick friend down +at His feet, and it touched His heart. He also saw the longing in the +soul of the sick man to be good and pure, and He said, + +"Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee." + +The Scribes, who were always copying the Scriptures--for there was no +printing done in those days--were always watching to hear Jesus say +something contrary to the Law of Moses, that they might tell it to the +priests, and some who were sitting there looked at each other and said +in their hearts, + +"Who can forgive sins but God only?" + +Jesus heard their thoughts and asked them why they reasoned in this way +with themselves, and which seemed to them the easier, to forgive sins +or to heal the body. + +But that they might know that He had power over the body as well as the +soul He said to the sick man, + +"Arise; take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house." + +The man rose and rolled up his mat and carried it out, the people +falling back astonished to let him pass, for his palsy had left him and +he walked out strong and well. + +"We have seen strange things to-day," the people said among themselves +for they could not understand how a man could forgive sins or heal +disease. + +When Jesus left the house to go down to the sea-shore He passed the +Custom-house, where the tax-gatherers, or "publicans," gathered money +from the Jewish people to pay to their conquerors, the Romans. + +The Romans were very hard in their dealings with the Jews, and made +themselves rich by taking money from the poor of their provinces. + +The people did not like the tax-gatherer, and his was not a pleasant +office. + +Levi, also called Matthew, was a rich tax-gatherer at Capernaum, and as +he sat in his office looking out upon the market-place he saw Jesus +passing by. Perhaps he had often heard Jesus teach by the shore and in +the market-place, and longed to follow Him. He saw the Teacher stop at +his open door, and heard Him say, + +"Follow Me." + +That was enough; Matthew left all, rose up and followed Jesus. He had +a business that made him rich, but he was ready to leave it all to be a +disciple of Jesus. + +He wanted all to know that he had chosen a new life, and so he gave a +great dinner to his friends, and invited Jesus and His five disciples +that he might confess before them all his faith in Jesus. + +The Pharisees looked down upon the publicans and thought them a people +unfit to associate with, and when they passed by and saw Jesus sitting +in Matthew's house at the feast they asked His disciples as they went +in and out why their Master ate with "publicans and sinners," a thing +they felt themselves too good to do. + +Jesus Himself answered them in words that have helped many sinful +people to come to Him since. + +"They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I +came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." + +And then He turned to talk with Matthew and his friends, who listened +to every word that fell from His lips, and did not try to find fault +with Him as the Pharisees did. + +Matthew had made a rich feast, and his table was no doubt piled with +the beautiful fruits of the plain of Gennesaret, but the eyes of all +and the thoughts of all were fixed upon the wonderful Teacher, and +Matthew, the publican, who had become His disciple. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +FRIENDS OF JESUS. + +Jesus had a good and true reason for choosing just twelve men to help +Him to begin to build the first Christian Church, or the Kingdom of +Heaven on the earth. We cannot yet understand the reason for +everything He did, but quite enough to help us to believe in Him, and +to give us a place in His kingdom. He had called half that number and +soon He called six more to join them, and named them apostles. + +Before He called them He went up into a mountain to be alone. He left +Capernaum and went up through a rocky vale to a high plain where the +grass lay thick and the wild flowers were coming up among it, for it +was spring-time. Two hills, or peaks rose out of this plain, and there +was a grassy hollow between. They were called the "Horns of Hattin." +From one of these hills Jesus could see the lake with its cities, and +the plain dotted with villages below, and beyond them the great Mount +Hermon crowned with snow. Here Jesus stayed all night, and the next +morning came down into the grassy dale between the peaks where the +people were gathering. The disciples went to meet Him, and He told +them that He had chosen twelve of them to be with Him in His work, and +to preach the Good Tidings to the people. + +He called to His side Peter and Andrew, and James and John--the two +pairs of brothers who were His first friends; then Philip, of +Bethsaida. Bartholomen, from Cana, and Matthew, the tax-gatherer of +Capernaum, who afterward wrote the first gospel. He also chose Thomas, +of Galilee; James and Jude, two brothers from Capernaum; Simon, of +Galilee, and Judas Iscariot, who came from the country near Jerusalem. +Five of these, it is said, were His cousins. More than half of them +were fisherman, and none of them were learned men, unless Bartholomew +might be called one. How wonderful it must have been to see these +twelve earnest young men gathered around Jesus, ready to go where He +should send them, or follow Him to death. No kings or emperors on +earth ever had so great honor given them as that which Jesus gave to +these men, for they became the Lord's spiritual brothers, and princes +in His spiritual kingdom. + +Then Jesus came down among the people. Some had brought sick friends +up the rocky gorge for Jesus to touch; or they had brought poor souls +possessed by devils for Him to set free, and He healed them all. + +Then He sat down and taught the people. The sayings of that wonderful +day are kept in the gospels, and are called the "Sermon on the Mount." +There was no choir, no organ, no church made with hands, but the words +are now read in every Christian church in the world. The preacher sat +on a green hillock, His dark cloak thrown back showing His white tunic, +and the spring sunshine lay on His holy, beautiful face and flowing +hair. All this the people saw, but they saw much more than this. They +saw something divine in His face. His form, and the light around Him, +and what they heard seemed to them to be the words of a Divine Man. He +looked lovingly on the little group of disciples near Him, and blessed +them in beautiful words that we call the Beatitudes, or the Ten +Blessings. He said to them and to us that the "blessed" (happy) are +the good, humble, pure souls who have little of this world's wealth and +friendship, but much faith and love. + +[Illustration: Sermon on the Mount] + +If you will read the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters of Matthew you +will know much that Jesus taught that heavenly day on Hattin Mount. He +taught them the law of love and forgiveness; the law of purity and +truth. He taught them to be humble and simple, especially in prayer, +and not like the Pharisees. He gave them a wonderful prayer that we +call "the Lord's Prayer," though it is a prayer to the Lord, for all +Christians in all ages to bring to Him. He told them that if they were +children of God they could not be worldly, loving themselves and the +world best; neither could they serve two masters. Then He taught them +a beautiful lesson of trust in the Heavenly Father by pointing to the +birds that flew above them, and reminding them how they were fed and +cared for; and also by pointing to the wild field lilies that grew near +by, their scarlet petals shining in the sun. + +"Consider the lilies of the field how they grow," he said, "they toil +not, neither do they spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in +all his glory was not arrayed like one of these," and then He asked +them if God, who clothed the lilies, would not clothe His own children, +and told them to have no fear for the future, but to seek the Kingdom +of God first and always, and all needed things would be given to them. + +Then He looked away from the birds and the lilies into the eyes of the +people and saw their need of love and truth, for he could read their +hearts. He told them that they should not judge each other, or look +long upon each other's faults, but rather upon their own, and showed +them how they might ask God for love and truth, and it would surely be +given them, because the Heavenly Father is more just, and kind, and +loving than an earthly father can be. + +And here is the Golden Rule of Christ, which, if we live by it, will +bring heaven down to earth. + +"Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." + +He told them that the way of the world was wide, and many were crowding +into it, while the heavenly way was narrow in this life, and few were +finding it, though many talked much about it, and seemed to have found +it. He said that it would be shown in the day when we all appear +before God who has truly followed Him. He said that the true men were +like the wise man who built his house upon a rock, and when the winds, +the rain, and the flood came it stood fast, because it was founded on +the rock; and the false were like the foolish man who built his house +upon the sand, and when the winds, and the rain, and the floods came it +fell, and great was the fall of it. + +The people went away from this great meeting among the hills to think +it over. It was so new and so wonderful, not at all like the teaching +of the scribes, for the young carpenter of Nazareth spoke like a +Teacher of teachers. Ever since that day when the Lord sat and taught +the truths of the Kingdom of Heaven, and the people stood upon the +grassy plain among the spring flowers and the wild thyme to hear his +words, the Sermon on the Mount has been known as the greatest sermon +the world has ever known. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE LORD OF LIFE. + +Jesus came down to Capernaum again and found the same crowds of needy +people, who were like sheep having no shepherd. The rich as well as +the poor had their wants and their troubles. + +A good Roman officer, called a Centurion, because he was captain over a +hundred men, had a servant who was so faithful to him that he was very +fond of him. The servant was very sick, and when the Centurion heard +that Jesus was again in Capernaum he went to the chief men of the city +and asked them to get Jesus to come and cure his servant. He feared to +ask the favor himself, for he thought Jesus was a Jew who would not +like to have dealings with the Romans. So the Jews spoke to Jesus +about it saying that the Centurion was the good man who had built a +beautiful synagogue for them. Jesus did not need to be urged to be +kind to a Roman for He loved all the people of the earth alike. + +While He was on His way some friends of the Centurion came to meet Him +with a message. + +"Lord, trouble not Thyself," he said, "for I am not worthy that Thou +shouldst enter under my roof; Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy +to come unto Thee; but say in a word and my servant shall be healed." + +Jesus told the people who followed Him that He had not found such faith +as this among their own people. And when the men returned to the +Centurion's house they found the servant cured of his sickness. + +But some of the Jews were offended because Jesus had said that a pagan +Roman could have more faith than a Jew, and that they would enter the +Kingdom of Heaven while the Jews would be left out. + +The next day Jesus and His disciples went to a little city called Nain, +set up among the hills, more than twenty miles away. When they were +near the city gate they met a funeral procession coming out. They were +going to the burying ground on a hillside not far away. There were +hired mourners, as is the custom in that country, who made many doleful +noises, and behind them came a weeping woman--the mother of the young +man who had died. + +His body was borne by friends and followed by many more, for all felt +sorry for the poor woman who had lost her only son. + +As the procession passed Jesus said two little words to the +woman--"Weep not," and then He put forth His hand and touched the bier. +The men who bore it set it down before Jesus who looked down into the +face of the dead, saying, + +"Young man, I say unto thee, arise!" + +In a moment the young man opened his eyes, sat up, and began to speak, +and Jesus gave him back from the grave to his happy mother. + +While Jesus was near Nain some of the disciples of John the Baptist +came to see Him. John was in prison still, down in the low, hot +country by the Dead Sea. He had heard strange stories about Jesus from +the disciples who came to see him, and because they were not settled in +their mind about Him, John sent them to find Him and to say, + +"Art thou He that should come, or do we look for another?" + +Jesus told them to go and tell John what they saw. + +"The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are +cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have +the gospel preached to them, and blessed is he whosoever shall not be +offended in me." + +Then Jesus taught the people who stood by, and the lesson ended with +these words which he speaks to the whole world, + +"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give +you rest; take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and +lowly of heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is +easy and my burden is light." + +This is the loving invitation of Jesus to every one of us to enter the +Kingdom of Heaven, and it is the King Himself who invites us. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +MARY OF MAGDALA. + +There was a Pharisee named Simon, who was very curious to know what +Jesus taught, although he had no wish to be His disciple. He was a +rich man and lived in a beautiful house with a court. Beyond the court +was a banqueting room with couches on which guests sat leaning upon the +tables in the Eastern fashion. There were other guests invited to hear +Jesus talk, the friends of Simon, and it is quite probable that when +they came the servants of Simon met them and took their sandals and +washed their feet and arranged their hair as was the custom, and were +also heartily welcomed by Simon. When Jesus came He had no such +service or welcome given Him, for Simon did not love Him; he was only +curious about Him. + +While they were at the tables a beautiful young woman came in through +the open door and passed swiftly by the couches on which the guests +were reclining until she came to the place where Jesus was. No one +spoke to her or about her, for they all knew that she had been a sinful +woman. But soon they saw that she bent weeping over the feet of Jesus +where He lay upon the couch, and soon they knew by the odor of costly +perfume that she was anointing His feet. As her tears fell she wiped +His feet with her long hair, and kissed them again and again. + +Simon looked at her severely, but said nothing, though he wondered in +his heart why Jesus did not know that a sinful woman was touching Him. +Then said Jesus, + +"Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee." And Simon replied, "Master, +say on." + +Then Jesus told a little story of a man who had two debtors; one owed +him five hundred pence, and the other fifty; and when they had nothing +to pay he frankly forgave them both. Then he asked which of them will +love Him most? + +"I suppose that he to whom he forgave most," said Simon, and Jesus told +him that he was right. + +Then He turned and pointed to the woman, saying, + +"See'st thou this woman?" and the eyes of all were fixed on the weeping +Mary of Magdala. + +When Jesus had told Simon that he had failed to bring water for His +feet, though she had washed them with her tears, and wiped them with +her hair; that he had given Him no kiss of welcome, and she had not +ceased to kiss His feet; that he had not anointed His head with oil, +but she had anointed His feet with costly ointment, He added, + +"Her sins which are many are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom +little is forgiven the same loveth little." And turning to the woman +He said, + +"Thy sins are forgiven; thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." + +As Jesus went through the villages of Galilee He found many friends and +many enemies. The twelve were with Him, learning daily the wonderful +lessons He taught, and preparing to be preachers of the glad tidings +also. + +Not only Mary of Magdala, but Susanna, and Joanna, the wife of King +Herod's steward who had been cured by Him, were His grateful friends. +Some priests came down from Jerusalem to watch Him, and to tell the +people that He was not a true teacher, and this pleased the Pharisees. +They saw that He did wonderful things that no man could do, but they +said that He did it by the power of the spirit of evil, and they asked +Him to show them a sign that he was from God. + +The Lord spoke words to the Pharisees that must have burned like coals +of fire, for it showed how false and wicked their hearts were while +their outward life seemed to be very religious. + +He told them that no sign should be given them except that of Jonah; as +he was three days and three nights in the great fish, so should the Son +of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, and +though the men of Nineveh were wicked, yet they repented at the +preaching of Jonah, but the men of Jerusalem did not repent, though a +greater than Jonah was among them. + +Mary and her sons had come from Nazareth hoping to take Jesus away from +the crowds, perhaps, for a rest among the hills, for the summer heat +was great down by the lake and along the Jordan. Some one sent word to +Jesus, as He sat teaching within the court of a house, that His mother +and brothers were outside, and wished to speak with Him. The crowd was +too great for them to enter. Before Jesus rose to go out to his +mother, He paused a moment to teach the great lesson He had come to +bring to the world. Looking at His disciples He said, + +"My mother and my brethren are these which hear the Word of God and do +it." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +STORIES TOLD BY THE LAKE. + +Jesus was glad to go among the fishermen and teach the people by the +Lake, for their hearts were like the good ground into which the farmer +loves to drop his seed, while the hearts of the rich, proud Pharisees +were like the rock on which seed cannot grow. Perhaps he was thinking +of this as He walked out one morning from Peter's house along the +pebbly shore and sat down to talk with the people. The crowd always +grew large around him there, and He had to again enter a fishing boat +and sit a little out from the shore that the people might see and hear +Him more easily. He taught them as no man had ever done before. He +told them short stories, often taking the subject from something the +people could see. Perhaps this morning as He looked over the lovely +plain of Gennesaret, He saw a sower casting seed into a brown and +furrowed field, for it was the time of the year for sowing the winter +wheat. This is the story of "The Sower:" + +"A sower went out to sow his seed," said Jesus, "and as he sowed, some +fell by the wayside, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air +devoured it. + +"And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up it withered +away, because it lacked moisture. + +"And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and +choked it. + +"And other fell on good ground, and sprang up and bore fruit an hundred +fold." + +And then He said, "He that hath ears to hear let him hear," for He knew +that some could understand with the heart that He was talking of the +Word of God, but there were many who could not. + +[Illustration: Jesus teaching by the sea] + +His disciples asked Him to make the story plain to all, and so He said, + +"The seed is the Word of God. Those by the wayside are they that hear; +then cometh the devil and taketh away the Word out of their hearts lest +they should believe and be saved. + +"They on the rock are they which, when they hear, receive the Word with +joy, and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of +temptation fall away. + +"And that which fell among thorns are they which, when they have heard, +go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this +life, and bring no fruit to perfection. + +"But that on the good ground are they which in an honest and good +heart, having heard the Word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with +patience." + +He also told them a story called "The Wheat and the Tares," of a man +who sowed good seed in a field, but when it sprung up and bore grain +there were weeds growing among it called tares, for an enemy had sowed +the seed at night and it had grown up with the wheat. The man's +servants wished to pull out the tares, but the master of the field said +both should grow together until the harvest, that the wheat might not +be uprooted with the tares. At the end of the harvest the tares would +be burned and the wheat gathered into the barn. In this way he taught +them why good and evil are allowed to grow together in this world. + +He also taught them in the story of "The Mustard Seed," that the growth +of the Lord's Kingdom in the heart is like a mustard seed sowed in a +field--which is the least of seeds--but which becomes a great plant, so +large that birds light on its branches. He told them other stories +also that were to show them that the Kingdom of Heaven was life, and +not a written law, and that it grows in the hearts of people as a seed +grows in a field, one seed bearing many seeds, until the time when the +Lord's Kingdom shall fill the earth as the ripe wheat fills the field +in harvest. + +One of the stories told that day was about "The Treasure." He told +them of a man who, when digging in a field, found a treasure, a mine of +gold, perhaps, and went and sold all that he had to get money enough to +buy that field. Another one was the story of "The Pearl," which a +pearl-hunter found. It was so large and beautiful that he sold all he +had to be able to buy it. Both these stories were to teach that heaven +in the heart is worth more to us, when once we find it, than all the +treasures or pleasures of this world. + +He also told a story of a "Fishing Net," which caught fish of every +kind, but when it was drawn to shore the fishermen gathered the good +fish into baskets, but threw the bad away. This story was something +like that of the "Wheat and the Tares," showing how good and evil are +at last separated. + +This was a wonderful day by the blue waters of the Lake of Galilee. +The people went home thinking much about the new Teacher and His +stories of the Kingdom of Heaven. + +The great Sower of the Seed had been dropping it into their hearts, and +He alone knew which hearts were "good ground." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +STILLING THE STORMS. + +When Jesus was very tired from teaching the people and healing the sick +He used to cross the lake and go up among the rocks of Gadara, a wild +region where there were few villages. After the last long day of +teaching by the shore Jesus needed rest, but neither at Peter's house, +nor any where on that side of the Lake could He get away from the +crowds that followed Him to hear Him, or to be healed by Him. + +In the evening, when the people came back to Him, He took the large +fishing-boat with His disciples, and set out for the other side. +Several beside His disciples wished to go with Him. A scribe wished to +follow Him, but Jesus told him that He had no home, no place to lay his +head, though the foxes had holes and the birds of the air had nests. +Perhaps Jesus saw that the scribe was not ready to leave all and follow +Him. Another wished to go, but thought he ought first to bury his +father, but Jesus said to him, + +"Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead." This He said of the +Jews who were spiritually dead. + +After they had gone far out upon the Lake a great wind storm rose. It +came sweeping down upon them from the hills, rattling the ropes and +swelling the sails so that they had to bring them down and fasten them, +and then take the oars. Every part of the little ship was covered with +spray from the rising waves, and the disciples began to feel afraid. + +[Illustration: Jesus sleeping during the storm] + +Where was Jesus? He was asleep. They had brought a cushion for His +head, and He had fallen asleep in the stern of the ship. As a wave +fell upon them and they were in danger of sinking they woke Jesus +saying, + +"Master, Master, we perish!" + +Then He rose and spoke to the winds and waters, and the storm ceased, +and there was a great calm. + +The fishermen had never seen anything so wonderful as this, and they +looked at each other, almost more afraid of Jesus than they had been of +the storm. + +"What manner of man is this," they said, "that even the wind and the +sea obey Him!" + +Jesus also wondered, and said, + +"Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" + +As soon as they had landed in Gadara a strange man came out of the rock +tombs to meet them. He was naked and wounded, for he was always +wandering in the mountains and among the tombs, crying and cutting +himself. Jesus was sorry for him for He knew that it was the evil +spirits within him that made him so unhappy. The poor man tried to +worship Jesus, and the evil spirits only cried out the more, begging to +be let alone. + +When Jesus asked "What is thy name," he answered, "My name is Legion, +for we are many." + +Jesus made the poor man free by commanding the evil spirits to come out +of him. They entered into a herd of swine near by, and the frightened +creatures ran down a steep place into the lake and were drowned. The +men who kept them were afraid and ran away, telling all whom they met +of the thing that had happened. Some people came to see for +themselves, and they found the wild man of the tombs clothed and +quietly sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to His word. They were +afraid of Jesus and begged Him to go away. They did not understand +that He wished to bless and not to harm them. + +As He went back to the ship the man who had been cured of his insanity +begged to go with Him, but Jesus told him to go instead to his friends +at home and tell them what the Lord had done for him. + +The next morning the people of Decapolis heard a strange story from the +wild man of the tombs, but was now a reasoning man again. + +And so Jesus stilled the storm of wind on the Lake and the storm of +evil in a soul. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +CALLED BACK. + +When Jesus came back to Capernaum He found the crowd of friends at the +little wharf full of concern about Him, and glad that no harm had come +to Him during the storm. Among them was one who had watched anxiously +for the boat, for he had a little daughter at home very ill indeed, so +ill that she was "at the last breath." His name was Jairus, and he was +a ruler of the synagogue. He was so troubled that he fell at the feet +of Jesus, begging Him to come and lay His hand on his child that she +might live. + +Jesus went with him, a throng of people with them, hoping to see Him do +a great work. + +While He was on the way a woman who had been sick twelve years followed +close behind Him, and put forth her hand timidly toward Him. + +"If I may touch but His clothes I shall be whole," she said to herself, +and she touched them with faith in her heart. + +Jesus, who knew all hearts, turned straight around and said: + +"Who touched My clothes?" + +How the woman shrank back and trembled when she heard that, for she was +afraid she had done wrong. + +The disciples thought it strange that He should ask this, as the people +thronged so close that they could not help touching Jesus But the +woman knew what He meant and she came and fell down before Him, fearing +and trembling, and told Him all the truth. + +Jesus did not look sternly at her as she thought He would do, but He +said gently, + +"Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of +thy plague." + +While the woman was still at His feet full of gratitude and love +because she felt herself cured, some friends came from the ruler's +house to bring sad news. + +"Thy daughter is dead," they said, "why troublest thou the Master any +further?" + +Jesus saw the looks of grief on the father's face and said quickly, + +"Be not afraid, only believe." + +So they went to the ruler's house, and into the inner room where the +little maid lay. Many wished to press in after them to see what Jesus +would do, but he took only Peter and James and John with the father and +mother of the maiden into the quiet, darkened room. As He went in He +said to some who were mourning noisily in the outer room, + +"Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth." Jesus loved to call death a +"sleep," for He knew that we never die. Then He took the little maid +by the hand and called her. She had not gone so far into the country +we cannot see that she could not hear a divine Voice calling to her, + +"Talitha cumi!" ("Maiden, arise!") At once she rose and walked. She +was a little girl of twelve, and very dear to her father and mother, +and there was no doubt great joy as well as wonder in the house of the +ruler that bright morning after the storm. In their joy and wonder +there was danger of forgetting to give her the food she was in need of, +and so Jesus gently reminded them, commanding that something should be +given her to eat, but he charged them not to talk about the return of +their little daughter. + +[Illustration: Jesus curing the little maid] + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +TWO BY TWO. + +Jesus had a desire to once more speak to the people of His own little +town of Nazareth, and so He came again to His own, but His own received +Him not. Once more he went into the Nazareth Synagogue where He had +listened to the reading of the law all through His childhood and to +teach as He had done nine or ten months before. They did not rise up +and thrust Him out as they did then, but they cast cold looks and +scornful words upon Him. They could not understand His great power and +wisdom, but they would not believe in Him. + +"Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary," they said, "the brother +of James and Joses, and of Juda and Simon? And are not His sisters +here with us?" They were offended with Him. Jesus, knowing their +faults said, + +"A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his +own kin, and in his own house." + +He wondered why they were so unbelieving, when in His great love for +them He was ready to do works of mercy among them, and to tell them the +glad tidings of the Kingdom of Heaven, but He laid His hands on a few +sick folk and healed them, and that was all. + +As He went away to come back no more, His heart turned toward the many +who were waiting for the tidings that His old friends had rejected, and +He called the twelve together to send them out, two by two, into the +world around them. He gave them power to cast out evil spirits, and to +heal the sick; and He put the preaching power within them so that they +could tell to others the wonderful truths of the Kingdom of Heaven. He +told them that they must take nothing for their journey, except a +staff, with which to walk over the steep mountain paths. He told them +also to bless the house that sheltered them, and to leave the house or +the city that would not receive them. He said that they would have +many trials, and that their lives would be sought by wicked men, but +that they need not fear, for the very hairs of their head were +numbered, and that even a sparrow could not fall to the ground without +their Father, and they were of more value than many sparrows. + +He said many other words to them that gave them comfort and strength. +They had left all to follow Him, and He showed them how, in losing +their all in this life they were finding much more than that--even +eternal life. + +So, two by two, they went forth and left Jesus alone. + +That great and good man, John the Baptist, was still in the prison of +King Herod Antipas, down by the Dead Sea. He had been there more than +a year, but no word came from the king saying that he was free. Queen +Herodias wanted him to be put to death for he had spoken against her +marriage with King Herod. She was a wicked woman, and the evil hate +the good. Herod believed in his heart that John should go free, but +for the Queen's sake he kept him in prison, but allowed his friends to +see him, and sometimes sent for him secretly to hear him talk of the +Kingdom of Heaven. + +On the king's birthday he gave a great feast to his lords and captains, +and when they had been served with dainty food in dishes of silver and +gold, and had tasted the rare fruits and the costly wines, the dancing +girls came in to flit over the polished marble floor, and wave their +airy scarfs to please the king and his guests. + +At last a young girl came in and danced alone. She was dressed like a +princess, and she was a princess. + +Queen Herodias had sent her young daughter, Salome, where an innocent +girl and a queen's daughter should not have gone. + +She pleased the king and his lords greatly, and when she had finished, +and had knelt before the king to hear what he had to say to her, he +cried, + +"Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee," and with an +oath he declared that he would certainly do it if she should ask the +half of his kingdom. + +She did not decide for herself, but ran to her mother, saying, + +"What shall I ask?" And the cruel mother said, + +"The head of John the Baptist." + +King Herod did not expect this. He thought she might ask for some +jewel of great price, or perhaps a royal palace for her very own, and +when he heard her request he was very sorry. But an oath made before +his lords could not be broken. + +He sent men to the prison, and the good prophet, who had never known +fear, went home to God, and they brought his head to the princess who +gave it to her mother. The king's feast ended in gloom, and the poor +girl, who only obeyed her wicked mother, had nothing but a dreadful +memory to keep forever as the king's gift. + +And the king himself--what trouble followed him during the rest of his +life! Riches and honors were all taken from him, and he was sent out +of his own country, while John had gone to his Father's house in the +Heavenly Country to suffer no more forever. + +John's disciples buried the body of their beloved master, and then went +and told Jesus. Only Jesus can give real comfort in trouble. + +The disciples--now called apostles, or teachers--who had been out +teaching among the villages, heard, perhaps, of the death of John the +Baptist, and came back to Jesus two by two, as they had gone out. They +had been preaching, healing the sick, and casting out evil spirits. +They often said "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," and the people +wondered if it would not be best to rise up and make Jesus their king. + +Herod heard of the work of Jesus and the apostles, and was afraid. He +half believed that John whom he had killed had risen from the dead. He +tried to see Jesus, but the One who had come to preach the gospel to +the poor had no time to give to Herod. + +As Peter, and John, and Andrew and all the rest came back they were +full of stories of the wonderful things that had been done through the +power that the Lord had given them. Many came with them to find Jesus. +He saw that they needed to come away from the crowds that were always +around them so that He could speak to them of their work, and so that +they could rest, and think, and pray. + +They took a boat and crossed the Lake. The shore was crowded with +people who wished to be with Jesus, and when they knew that He was +going to Bethsaida-Julias at the northern end of the Lake they resolved +to follow Him, for it was only a few miles away. + +At the end of the Lake they entered the Jordan river, and sailing up a +little way to the landing-place they saw the people coming, some in +boats, and more in groups along the shore--men, women and children--and +Jesus, filled with love and pity for them, led them to a green hillside +where He sat down to teach them as He had often done before. + +It was spring, and the grass was like a great green carpet sprinkled +with bright wild-flowers, while the river, lined with bushes flowed +below, and beyond lay the beautiful blue Lake. The disciples stood +around their Master while He taught the people in simple language that +they could understand the greatest truths the world has ever heard. +All the afternoon He spoke to them, and when the sun was slowly going +down over the hills of Galilee they still wished to stay. They were as +sheep having no shepherd. The disciples were troubled about them, for +they were far from the villages where bread could be bought, and they +had nothing to eat. They begged Jesus to send them away. + +"Give ye them to eat," said Jesus. Then the disciples were astonished, +for there were about five thousand men, beside the women and children. +"Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to +eat?" said Philip. Then Jesus, who knew what He would do, said, "How +many loaves have ye? Go and see." + +They went among the people, and Andrew came back, saying, + +"There is a lad here which hath five barley loaves, and two small +fishes; but what are they among so many?" + +Then Jesus told His disciples to seat all the people in order upon the +green grass, and soon there were little companies of fifty, and larger +ones of an hundred sitting all over the hillside with their faces +turned toward Jesus, who stood looking out upon them as a father would +look upon his children. What were they waiting for? No one knew, but +they saw Him take the little lad's basket of bread and the two little +fishes and look up to heaven, blessing them as He did so. Then He +began to break the bread and divide the fishes. As He broke the bread +and gave to the disciples they took it away to the people sitting on +the grass, and when they came back to Jesus there was still more +waiting for them. In this way all the people were fed. + +[Illustration: Feeding the five thousand] + +When they were satisfied Jesus said to His disciples, + +"Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." + +And they filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the barley loaves +that were left. + +What a silent and wonderful supper of bread fresh from the hand of its +Creator! + +At last they began saying to each other in a low voice, + +"This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the world!" and +they began to ask each other if it would not be best to take Him at +once and make Him king whether he would or would not consent, but when +He saw what they wished to do, He slipped away and went farther up +among the hills to rest. + +Evening had now come, and the people not finding Jesus, went away to +their homes, and the disciples in their little ship returned to +Capernaum. The people could not understand, nor could His disciples, +that Jesus did not come to be an earthly king over the little nation of +the Jews. Not until the Holy Spirit came to make all things clear did +they understand that He was to be the Spiritual King of all the world. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +WALKING THE WAVES--THE TWO KINGDOMS. + +While Jesus was alone on the mountain side the disciples were trying to +reach Capernaum in their fishing boat. It was not a long sail, but a +contrary wind had risen and was blowing them out into the Lake away +from the landing place. + +They had taken down their sail and were rowing, but by three o'clock in +the morning they were still out upon the Lake. + +Jesus, who knew all things, saw them struggling with the oars, and +coming swiftly down the mountain side He went to them walking upon the +water. + +The disciples saw a form through the darkness drawing near to them, and +strangely enough they did not think of Jesus, but cried out in terror, +saying, + +"It is a spirit." Then the clear sweet voice of their Master rose over +the sound of the wind and the waves, "Be of good cheer, it is I, be not +afraid." And Peter, full of glad faith, cried out, "Lord, if it be +Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water." + +When Jesus said "Come," Peter climbed over the side of the boat and +began to walk toward Jesus, but when a strong wind drove the waves upon +him he lost sight of the Lord for a moment, and he was afraid. + +"Lord, save me!" he cried, and began to sink. + +Then Jesus stretched out His hand and caught Peter, saying, "O thou of +little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" + +When they both entered the ship the wind ceased, and while the +disciples wondered and worshipped, saying, "Of a truth Thou art the Son +of God," they found themselves at the land not far from Capernaum. + +It was on the white beach of pebbles and shells that bordered the plain +of Gennesaret where they moored the boat in the early morning, and as +soon as the people saw them they began bringing their sick friends to +Jesus. Many were too ill to walk, and were brought on little beds or +mattresses and laid at Jesus's feet, and there they were healed if they +but touched the hem of His garment. + +Many of those who brought the sick to Jesus had been with Him on the +mountain side, and had eaten of the wonderful bread of heaven that He +had broken for them. They believed that He could do anything that He +would. + +The people whose hearts were set upon making Jesus their king followed +Him wherever He went. Some who had been with Him when He made bread +for the great company on the hillside at Bethsaida-Julias found Him +teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum. + +"Teacher, when camest thou hither?" they said. Jesus, knowing that +they cared more for His gifts than for His teaching, said, "Ye seek me, +not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves +and were filled," and told them that they should not labor for the food +that perishes, but for that which endures forever. + +They still wished Him to do some wonder, or show them how to work +wonders, for they asked Him what they should do to work the works of +God. + +"This is the work of God," He said, "That ye believe on Him whom He +hath sent." Still they remembered the miracle of the bread. + +"What sign showest Thou?" they said, "Our fathers did eat manna in the +desert." Then He spoke plainly to them of Himself. + +"The bread of God is He which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life +unto the world." One more spiritual than the rest said reverently, +"Lord, evermore give us this bread." + +Then Jesus spoke those words about Himself that turned many away from +Him. He showed them that He could never be what they expected Him to +be--an earthly king. He had only the things of the Spirit to give +them, and He called them to a kingdom that could be seen only with +spiritual sight. + +"I am the bread of life," He said, "He that cometh to me shall never +hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. All that the +Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in +no wise cast out." + +The Jews were offended with Him because He had said, "I came down from +heaven." "I am the living bread which came down from heaven," He said. +"If any man eat of this bread he shall live forever; and the bread that +I will give is my flesh which I will give for the life of the world." + +Then the Jews were vexed and turned to talk among themselves. They +could not understand what He meant, but they saw plainly that He was +not going to agree with their plan to make Him the King of the Jews, +who would lead them out of their bondage to the Romans, and establish +them forever as a nation. + +They did not want to follow Him, but they wanted Him to follow their +plan. And as for His talk about being the "bread of life,"--"This is +an hard saying," they said, "who can hear it?" + +While they murmured Jesus said, + +"Doth this offend you? What and if you shall see the Son of Man +ascending where He was before?" + +"_It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing; the +words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life._" + +Then they knew that He meant something above what they could see, or +what they wanted, and many turned away from Him and went to their homes +disappointed. He had said, "there are some of you that believe not," +and it was true. Jesus turned to the twelve who stood in silence near +Him, + +"Will ye also go away?" He said. + +Loving, impulsive Peter cried out, + +"Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and +we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the +living God." + +"Did I not choose you twelve," said Jesus, "and one of you is a devil." + +Already evil spirits had tried to turn Judas away from the Lord by +tempting him, and he had let them into his heart. And Jesus, who knew +all men, saw them there. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +A JOURNEY WITH JESUS. + +Jesus went away with His disciples into the "borders of Tyre and +Sidon." He did not go to the Passover feast, for the anger of the Jews +had been growing more violent toward Him and His disciples, and he took +the twelve away from the crowded towns around the Lake into the parts +that bordered upon a heathen country. He could do far more for the +simple-hearted heathen than for Jews who believed themselves to be wise +and religious. + +When it was known that the young teacher of Nazareth was among them +some came to Him who were not Jews. One was a Syrian woman whose +daughter was troubled by an evil spirit, and she begged Jesus to have +mercy upon her. The disciples were not pleased to have her follow them +with strange cries in another language. They believed that the works +of Jesus were for the Jews only, and so they begged Him to send her +away. Jesus was silent, for He knew all hearts, and saw faith growing +in the heart of the poor woman. + +He said, trying her faith, + +"It is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs." + +"Truth, Lord," she said, "yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall +from their master's table." + +Then Jesus hid Himself no longer from her faith, but said, + +"O woman, great is thy faith! be it unto thee even as thou wilt." And +her daughter was cured that very hour. + +Jesus did not go down by the great sea, though He could see it lying +like blue and silver across the west whenever He came to a hilltop as +they journeyed, but He went northward to the hills that lie around the +mountains of Lebanon. Upon these mountains grew the cedars that +Solomon's servants cut down and carried to Jerusalem for the building +of the Holy House. They stopped in the Lebanon villages, and came at +length to the foot of Mount Hermon, and to the Jordan, crossing over +and passing near the place where the great company who followed Jesus +had been fed. As they came into Decapolis on the east side of the lake +of Gennesaret the people came to Him in crowds again for healing. +There He healed a man who could neither hear nor speak. + +Coming to Gadara He found crowds coming with their sick for healing. +Eight months before He had healed a poor man in whom was a legion of +devils, casting them out into a herd of swine, and they had begged Him +to leave their coast for they were afraid of Him, but now they were +glad to come to Him for healing. No doubt the man who had been healed +had told them of the gentleness of Jesus, and of His wonderful words, +and had brought many to Him. + +It was in Bethsaida-Julias that Jesus once opened the eyes of a blind +man. He did not see clearly at first, but when Jesus laid His hand a +second time upon his eyes he saw quite well, and was so grateful that +he wanted to go and tell all his friends about it, but Jesus told him +to go quietly home. + +Two blind men followed Him also, crying, "Thou Son of David, have mercy +on us!" They followed Him into a house and there Jesus asked, "Believe +ye that I am able to do this?" "Yea, Lord," they said. + +"According to your faith be it unto you," He said, touching their eyes, +and their eyes were opened at once. + +Though Jesus had said, "See that no man know it," yet they told it +through all that country. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +THE CHRISTIAN SABBATH--PETER'S CONFESSION OF FAITH. + +Jesus was walking with His disciples one Sabbath day and talking of the +Kingdom of Heaven when they came to a field of ripe grain. They had +been gathering food for their souls from the teachings of Jesus, and +had forgotten to take food for their bodies until they saw the ripe +grain and knew that they were hungry. Some of them began to take the +heads of wheat (or barley), to rub them in their hands to separate the +grain from the chaff, and eat the kernels of wheat. + +[Illustration: Jesus in the wheat fields] + +Following close after them were some men who had been told to watch +Jesus and His disciples, and see if anything could be brought against +them. + +They held very strict views about keeping the Sabbath, as all Pharisees +did, and here they saw something that might be called breaking the +Sabbath, for were they not really reaping the wheat, and sifting it +through their hands? + +"Behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the +Sabbath day," they said. "The Son of Man," said Jesus, "is Lord even +of the Sabbath day." + +Another Sabbath He entered into a synagogue and taught. Among the +people stood a man who had a helpless and withered hand. The same +Pharisees who had followed Jesus as spies when He walked through the +grain-fields were watching Him in the Synagogue to see if He would heal +on the Sabbath. He knew their thoughts, and called the man, saying, +"Rise up and stand forth in the midst." + +The man rose, and while he stood waiting, Jesus turned to the Pharisees +who were eagerly watching to see if Jesus would do something that was +forbidden in their law, and said, + +"Is it lawful on the Sabbath days to do good, or to do evil? To save +life or to destroy it?" The Pharisees dared not answer, and Jesus, +looking round upon them all, said to the man, "Stretch forth thy hand." + +The man obeyed. Although he had not been able to raise his hand, he +stretched it forth, and it became as whole and as strong as the other. + +The Pharisees went away very angry, and tried to make a plan among +themselves for bringing Jesus into trouble. + +Jesus came to fill the law about the Sabbath full of the spirit of +heaven; to teach love and service to the neighbor, as well as the love +and worship of God, but they could not understand Him. + +Jesus was near the end of His ministry to the people east of the Jordan +in the country called Decapolis. They were not like the Galilean Jews, +they were half heathen people who lived among the wild, rocky hills of +that region. They were poor and ignorant, yet they were more ready to +accept the gospel than the wise and wicked Pharisees had been. + +He had been kind to them in their sickness and poverty, and they +followed Him with their sick, and lame, and deaf, and blind, leaving +them at His feet until they arose praising God that they had been saved +from their sufferings. + +Jesus had been teaching in the wild mountain country, and the people +would not leave Him to go away to their homes. After three days Jesus +said to His disciples, "I have compassion on the multitude because they +continue with me now three days and have nothing to eat, and I will not +send them away fasting lest they faint by the way." + +The disciples did not remember the Lord's power to create bread, and +wondered where they should find it in the wilderness to feed such a +great multitude. + +But when Jesus knew that they had seven loves of barley bread and a few +little fishes He told the people to sit down on the ground, and after +giving thanks over the loaves and the fishes, He divided them and gave +to His disciples, and the disciples gave to the people. There were +four thousand men beside women and children who took the bread that +came from the Lord's hands. After all had eaten and were filled they +took up seven baskets of the food that was left. + +Jesus, though He could create food for the people, taught them to use +it wisely and waste nothing. + +When the people had been sent to their homes, Jesus, with His +disciples, took a fishing boat and crossed the Lake only to find the +Pharisees there ready to question Him, and to tempt Him to show them +some great sign from heaven. + +He told them that they could read the signs of the coming weather in +the sky, but they could not see the signs of the times. + +Only a wicked people look for a sign, He said, and no sign should be +given except the sign that Jonah gave to the Ninevites--a call to +repentance. + +Then He left them, for He saw the hardness of their hearts. + +Again they took their journey in the little ship to the northern end of +the Lake, and after landing, followed the east side of Jordan until +they passed near the place where the five thousand had been fed by a +miracle as they sat on the green hillside. + +The disciples found that they had forgotten to bring bread with them. +They remembered, perhaps, that they had here eaten the bread that the +Lord had created; but the heart of Jesus was heavy with the thought of +the unbelief of the people He had come to save, and He said, + +"Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." + +The disciples did not understand Him, and wondered if He spoke thus +because they had not brought bread. + +Then Jesus, seeing that they had but little faith, reminded them of the +supper on the hillside, when more than five thousand were fed, and of +that later meal among the rocky hills of Decapolis, when four thousand +and more were fed, and that they did not need to be concerned about +food for the body so much as to beware of the false teaching of the +Pharisees and of the Sadducees. + +They walked still further north, directly toward that beautiful +mountain that lifts its head, white with the glistening snow, high +above the hills that lead up to it, so that it may be seen over the +larger part of Palestine. + +They came to Caesarea Philippi, one of the most beautiful places in the +world. It lay in the green lap of Mount Hermon high above the sea, and +shut in by cliffs and forests. The upper springs of the Jordan are +here. They leap out of a great cavern in the side of the mountain--a +river of clear, cold water. + +The old Greeks loved the place, and built there a temple to the god of +nature, but after the Romans came it was named for the Emperor and +Philip the Tetrarch. Here there were more Gentiles than Jews, for it +was a gay town in the summer, and people from other towns came to this +city of palaces, temples, baths, theatres, and statues. These people +did not wish to hear the words of Jesus, but the coolness and beauty of +the country around this birthplace of the Jordan made it a fit place to +bring His disciples where they could talk over the things of the +kingdom without being disturbed by the Pharisees. Here He was able to +pray alone, and once, after prayer, He questioned His disciples about +Himself. + +"Whom say the people that I am?" He asked. They remembered their talks +with the people and said, "John the Baptist, but some say Elias, and +others say that one of the old prophets is risen again." "But whom say +ye that I am?" He asked. Then Peter, the believing disciple, made his +confession of faith,-- + +"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus was glad to +hear this, for many had come to doubt Him, and many had gone away from +Him since they knew that He would not be an earthly king. + +"Blessed art thou Simon, son of Jonas," He said, "for flesh and blood +hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in Heaven." + +He saw that Peter's faith in the truth was like his name, which means +"a rock," and so He said, + +"Thou art Peter, and on this rock will I build my church, and the gates +of hell shall not prevail against it." + +Peter's faith in the truth was also in the hearts of the other +disciples for whom He spoke, and Jesus saw that they could now bear +what he had to say to them without going away. + +He told them that He must soon go to Jerusalem and suffer many things +from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders, and that He +should be killed by them, and rise again from the dead the third day. + +Even Peter's faith was shaken by this. How could the Son of God be +killed? He could not believe His Master meant it so. + +"Be it far from thee, Lord," he said, "this shall not be unto thee." + +Jesus saw the spirit of fear and unbelief rising up in Peter, and to +this--not to Peter himself--Jesus said, + +"Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offence unto me; for thou +savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." + +Then He plainly told them what they must be ready to meet if they +followed Him. They must not hope for any earthly honors or riches, and +they must put aside their own wishes and obey the Lord alone. + +He told them that whoever wished to live for this world alone would +lose all, but whoever was willing to lose all for His sake should find +eternal life. + +"For what is a man profited," He said, "if he shall gain the whole +world and lose his own soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for +his soul?" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +"AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY"--A FATHER'S FAITH. + +Jesus stayed near Caesarea Philippi with His disciples for a week. The +villagers were cutting the ripe grain, the vineyards were rich with +clusters of the rich grapes that grew on the Lebanon hills, and the +olives were ripening for the time when they would be put in the presses +to make the delicious "oil olive." In that week He must have had many +wonderful talks with the villagers. + +One evening, as they had come over the lower hills of Hermon, Jesus +left the disciples to wait for Him below, taking only Peter and the +brothers James and John with Him up the mount. They did not go to the +very top but rested on one of the lower peaks. While Jesus went a +little distance from them to pray, the three disciples, wrapped in +their thick mantles, lay down to wait for Him. In that high clear air +they seemed very near heaven. The stars seemed almost as near as the +lights in the villages below. They were tired, and watching their +Master in prayer, they fell asleep. While they slept they seemed to +see a change in the face of Jesus as He prayed. It grew light with a +strange inward glory, and all His garments became white and glistening +like the snows of Hermon in the sun. They also saw two men with Him +whom they seemed to know were Moses and Elias, who had gone to heaven +centuries before. + +They also heard them talking with Jesus, and they spoke of the same +thing that had troubled Peter when Jesus had spoken of it--that He +should die at Jerusalem. + +They awoke out of sleep, but the vision did not pass away like a dream, +they still saw it all. + +But as it began to melt away, Peter said, hardly knowing what he said, + +"Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three +tabernacles, one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." + +Then the glory around Jesus grew until it seemed like a bright cloud at +sunset, and it came and wrapt them around in its soft brightness, and +they were afraid. + +In the silence they heard a Divine voice, saying, + +"This is My beloved Son; hear Him." + +When the voice was passed they looked up and saw Jesus there alone. He +was bending over them, touching them tenderly, and saying, + +"Arise, and be not afraid." + +As they came down the mountain He told them to tell no one of the +vision until after He had risen from the dead. + +It seemed to the disciples, no doubt, like coming down from heaven to +earth when after a long walk and talk with Jesus in the summer morning +they came near the village they had left, and found the people--among +them some Jewish lawyers--disputing with the group of disciples there. +As soon as they saw Jesus they all ran to Him, and greeted Him. + +One of the men explained what they were disputing about. + +"Master," he said, "I have brought unto thee my son which hath a dumb +spirit," and he described the frightful state into which it had brought +his boy, and added that the disciples could not cast it out. + +"Bring him to me," said Jesus, and they brought him, the evil spirit +within him throwing him into convulsions as they laid him at Jesus' +feet. + +"How long is it ago since this came to him?" said Jesus. + +"Of a child," said the father, "and ofttimes it hath cast him into the +fire and into the waters to destroy him, but if thou canst do anything, +have compassion on us, and help us." Jesus said, + +"If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." + +Then the poor father cried out with tears, "Lord, I believe; help thou +mine unbelief!" + +The Lord did not wait for greater faith than this. He charged the evil +spirit to come out of the boy, and after a great struggle it left him +as one dead, but Jesus took him by the hand and he arose. + +"Why could not we cast him out?" said the disciples afterward. + +"This kind," said Jesus, "can come forth by nothing but by prayer and +fasting." + +As they turned their steps toward home--the Lake side in Galilee--Jesus +again spoke of the work that lay before Him. The disciples listened +sadly, but could not understand why He should speak of being killed, +and of rising again from the dead, and they dared not ask Him questions +about it. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +THE LORD AND THE LITTLE ONES--LEAVING GALILEE. + +As the Lord and His disciples walked over the hills into Galilee some +of them fell behind wondering among themselves what He could mean when +He spoke of being killed and of rising again. Perhaps they thought it +only a sadness that would pass away, and so full of faith in His power +were they that they could not believe that One who could raise the dead +could Himself die. + +"He will be a King," they thought, and began to wonder who among them +would be chosen to be greatest in His Kingdom, and even to quarrel +about it. + +After they had reached Capernaum, and were at home again--probably in +Peter's house--Jesus said to them, + +"What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?" + +There was no word from any one of them, for they were ashamed. Then +the Lord sat down, and calling the twelve around Him, said gently, + +"If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and +servant of all." + +A little child stood near listening, and wishing, perhaps, that he +might be a grown man so that he also could be a disciple. + +Making room for him in the midst of them all, He called the child, +Peter's child, perhaps, who came joyfully to Him. Taking Him tenderly +in His arms He said, + +"Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name receiveth me, +and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but Him that sent me." + +And He taught His disciples to be humble as a little child in these +beautiful words: + +"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not +enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." + +"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones, for I say unto +you that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father +which is in heaven." + +[Illustration: The little ones] + +He also told them of the love of the Father in seeking His lost +children. That if a shepherd had but lost one of his hundred sheep, he +would leave all the others to go out into the wild mountains to look +for the lost sheep. How much more would the Father do for His own, and +especially for His little ones. + +"Even so," He said, "it is not the will of your Father, which is in +heaven, that one of these little ones should perish." + +Before going to the Feast at Jerusalem the Lord Jesus said many things +to His disciples that would help them to be loving and forgiving toward +each other and all the world, for they were very soon going to meet +trouble which would try their love and their faith. He told them to +deal gently with those who had done wrong, that they might win them +back to the right way. He told them that they should have help from +heaven when they asked for it, even if there should be only two to ask. + +"For where two or three are gathered together in my name," He said, +"there am I in the midst of them." + +"How oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?" asked +Peter, "till seven times?" + +"Until seventy times seven," said Jesus, and He did not mean that we +should even count the number of times that we forgive. + +Then He told them a story of a forgiving king and an unforgiving +servant that you may read in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew. + +At the time of the Feast of Tabernacles, the people went up to +Jerusalem to offer gifts in the golden Temple for the harvest that the +Lord had given them, and to join in a praise service there. + +They brought oil, and wine, and wheat, and barley; dates, pomegranates, +and figs--something of all they had gathered, and while they marched +toward the holy city they sang joyful songs that David had written long +before. When they reached Jerusalem they built bowers of branches cut +from the trees and lived in them for a week. + +Even in the city the people came out of their houses and lived in +bowers on the streets and public squares, or upon the flat roofs of the +houses, and the hillsides round were covered with the green booths. + +The brothers of Jesus came down to Capernaum on their way to the Feast +at Jerusalem, and they asked their elder Brother to go also into Judea +and show Himself to the world, that His miracles might be seen of all, +for they did not believe in Him yet. But Jesus said, + +"My time is not yet come, but your time is always ready." + +So they went on their journey, and Jesus stayed in Galilee. + +After a few days He set His face toward Jerusalem, taking the shortest +way through Samaria. The Samaritans were not friendly to the Jews, and +the disciples, who had been sent on before to find lodging for the +company in a village, were not allowed to bring their Master there. + +The gentle John and his brother James were angry that unkindness was +shown to Jesus, and wished to call down fire from heaven to destroy the +villagers, but Jesus said, + +"Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of, for the Son of Man has +not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." + +And they went to another village. On the way they found men who wished +to follow Jesus as the disciples did but while some were ready to leave +all, others wished to first bid their friends farewell, or bury their +dead, but Jesus saw something in their hearts that showed that they +were not fit for the Kingdom of God. + +There were many beside the twelve who fully believed in Jesus, and were +ready to tell others of the coming kingdom, so He sent them out to all +the places where he intended to go, until there were seventy of them +preaching the good news. They went, saying, "The Kingdom of God is +come unto you," and they healed the sick in Jesus' name. When they +returned they were full of joy, saying, + +"Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through Thy name." But +Jesus said, "Rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but +rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +AT THE HOUSE OF MARTHA--THE GOOD SHEPHERD. + +While Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem a lawyer came and asked Him +questions. He did not want to be a disciple, yet he asked what he +should do to have eternal life. + +Jesus asked him what the commandments said about it, and the lawyer +repeated the two great commandments concerning love to the Lord and to +the neighbor. + +"Thou hast answered right," Jesus replied. "This do and thou shalt +live." + +"And who is my neighbor?" said the lawyer. + +Then Jesus told a story of a man who went down to Jericho, and was +nearly killed by thieves. A priest came that way and when he saw a man +who needed help he passed by on the other side of the road. So did a +Levite, one of the helpers in the temple worship, but a Samaritan (and +the Samaritans were despised by the Jews) came that way, and he stopped +in pity for the poor man, dressed his wounds, set him upon his own +beast and brought him to an inn and took care of him. When he left the +inn he also left money for his care, with the promise of more if it +should be needed. Then Jesus asked the lawyer which of these three men +was neighbor to him who fell among thieves. + +[Illustration: The good Samaritan] + +"He that showed mercy on him," said the lawyer. Then said Jesus unto +him, + +"Go thou and do likewise." + +As Jesus came near to Jerusalem He passed through Bethany, a little +town at the foot of the Mount of Olives, where perhaps some of His +disciples had been preaching the new gospel before Him. There He was +gladly received into the house of Martha, who prepared the table with +her own hands to offer the best in her house to her honored Guest. She +had a brother named Lazarus, who was probably at the feast in +Jerusalem, and a younger sister named Mary who loved to listen to every +word that Jesus spoke. As every family built a bower of branches +during this feast to remind them that for forty years they lived in +such houses in the wilderness while coming out of Egypt, there must +have been one in the court of Martha's house, and there, perhaps, Jesus +rested while Mary sat at His feet and heard His word. + +[Illustration: Jesus in the house at Bethany] + +Martha was very busy serving her honored guest, and thought Mary ought +to help her in the house, but Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, thou art +careful and troubled about many things; but one thing is needful, and +Mary hath chosen that good part which shall not be taken away from her." + +When the Feast of Tabernacles was at its height Jesus came up to the +Temple at Jerusalem. The people had been looking for Him, and as soon +as the noble, earnest-faced young Teacher was seen walking in the +marble court of the Temple they thronged around Him to hear Him teach, +or to see if He would do any miracle. + +Some wondered at His wisdom and His doctrine, and asked where it came +from, "My doctrine is not mine," He said, "but His that sent me. If +any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine." + +He taught them many things that day, and hinted at the same thing that +had troubled His disciples, and these were His words, + +"Yet a little while am I with you, and then I go unto Him that sent me. +Ye shall seek me and shall not find me, and where I am thither ye +cannot come." + +The priests, the scribes, and the Pharisees were listening, and He knew +that their hearts were too full of pride and self-love to receive His +word. They could not go to Him, for they would not let Him come into +their hearts. + +On the last day, the great day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried to +the people who were about to go back to their homes. His great heart +was breaking to bring them into the Kingdom of Heaven, and He knew that +they would be scattered as sheep having no shepherd. + +"If any man thirst," He cried, "let him come unto me and drink." And +He then promised to such as believe the Holy Spirit to dwell in them, +and to flow out toward all the world like rivers of living water. + +So wonderfully did He preach that many said, "Of a truth this is a +prophet," and others said, "This is the Christ," while others were +filled with anger and wished to arrest Him. Indeed, when the priests +and Pharisees urged the officers to take Him, they said, + +"Never man spake like this man," and they would not lay hands on Him. + +But Nicodemus, a learned doctor of the law, was a friend of Jesus. He +it was who had a talk with Him one night under the olive trees about +the Spirit--the breath of God, and he with wise words turned the hatred +of the Jews away from Jesus for the time, and they went to their own +houses. + +Jesus taught in the Temple again the next day, and all the people came +to listen. + +It was here, perhaps, that the wicked Scribes and Pharisees brought to +Him a poor woman who had sinned. They told Him that according to the +law she ought to be stoned, and asked what He would say about it. He +did not answer, but seemed to be writing on the ground before Him as +though He did not hear them. At last, because they would have an +answer He looked at them saying, + +"He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone," and +He wrote again on the ground. No one answered Jesus, but one by one +they went away too much ashamed to speak. "Hath no man condemned +thee?" asked Jesus of the woman standing sorrowful and alone. + +"No man, Lord," she said. + +"Neither do I condemn thee," He said, "go and sin no more." + +Then Jesus sitting in the Treasury of the Temple said, + +"I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in +darkness but shall have the light of life." + +Many other things He said that His enemies tried to turn against Him, +and the healing on the Sabbath day of a man who had been born blind +stirred the anger of the Jews against Him, so that they sought by much +questioning to accuse Jesus of sin, not knowing that they were +themselves spiritually blind. + +But He turned from them to call to the people again as He did on the +last day of the Feast, for in His love and pity He longed to bring the +lost children of Israel to Himself that He might bless them, as a +shepherd brings back the sheep that stray from the fold. + +"I am the Good Shepherd; and I know my own, and my own know me," said +Jesus, "even as the Father knoweth me, and I know the Father; and I lay +down my life for the sheep, and other sheep I have which are not of +this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and +they shall become one flock, one Shepherd." + +Other beautiful and blessed words He said about the Shepherd and His +flock which are written in the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, but +the learned Jews would not listen to Him, and thrice tried to kill Him +by stoning Him, but they could not harm Him, for His time had not come. + +Then he went away beyond Jordan, where John first baptized, and many +believed on Him there. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +THE LESSON STORIES OF JESUS. + +When Jesus was at prayer His disciples stood reverently apart from Him, +and one day a disciple came near when he had ceased and said, + +"Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples." + +Then the Lord taught them the beautiful prayer that is now said daily +all around the world, and known to every one of us, beginning, "Our +Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name." + +And He told them how pleased God is to have His children ask Him for +what they need, or come to Him in trouble. + +"Ask, and it shall be given you," He said; "seek, and ye shall find; +knock and it shall be opened unto you." + +"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give +him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a +serpent?" + +"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your +children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father give good gifts to +them that ask Him?" + +It was while the Lord was teaching in the country called Peraea, east +of Jordan, that He told many things that His disciples remembered and +wrote in a book afterward, when the Holy Spirit had come to "bring all +things to their remembrance," as He had promised. + +He had been teaching three years, and was thirty-three years of age. + +Some of the people who lived, at Bethabara, by Jordan, were present +when He was baptized by John, and they were glad to have him stay among +them and teach, for they were a kindly people, and though not learned +like the men who were often to be found in the Temple courts and in the +Synagogues, they were the common people who, hearing the word and +loving it, were wiser than the Pharisees. + +The Lord told many stories that these people would remember, and +afterward understand by the teaching of His Spirit which He said would +be given to them. You will read all of them in the Gospels, but here +we cannot tell them all. + +The story of "The Fig-tree in the Vineyard," "The Great Supper," and +"The Foolish Rich Man" were stories of warning to those who were +turning away from the things of heaven to the things of the world, and +they were meant for all who should read them in the ages of the world. + +So were the three stories--they are called "parables" in the +Gospels--of the lost things; "The lost sheep," "The lost piece of +money," and "The lost son." They were given to us to show the great +love of the Heavenly Father for His children, and His constant care in +seeking for them when they are wandering away from Him. These stories +are the voice of the Father always and everywhere calling His children +home, and many a poor soul has turned homeward with tears of repentance +after reading them. + +One of these stories of lost things will be told here, but it is far +more beautiful in the language of the Scriptures. + +There was once a rich man who had two sons, and the younger one came to +him and said, + +"Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me." + +And so the father divided his property, and gave the younger brother +his share. In a few days he had gathered it all together and settled +his affairs so that he could go away. He went into a distant country, +and there he spent all that he had among bad people who seemed to be +his friends, but were really his worst enemies. + +When all that he had was spent there came a time of great trouble. +There was very little food in the land, for there was a famine, and he +was obliged to go to work for the little he could get. It was not easy +to find work, for the only thing he could do was to hire himself to a +man who kept pigs. His work was to stay in the fields and feed them +with husks, the hard pods of the carob tree. Sometimes he was so +hungry that he would have been glad to eat even these, but "no man gave +unto him." Then the young man "came to himself." + +"How many hired servants of my father have bread enough and to spare," +he said, "and I perish with hunger!" + +"I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, 'Father, I +have sinned against heaven and before thee, and am no more worthy to be +called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.'" + +The father must have been watching for his lost boy, for while he was +yet a great way off he saw him, and ran to meet him. He put his arms +around him and kissed him without once speaking of his sins, and he +called his servants to bring the best robe and put it on him, and a +ring for his hand, and shoes for his feet, and then to kill the fatted +calf to make a feast for all, + +"For," he said "this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, +and is found." + +The elder son had been away in the field but when he came home heard +music and dancing, and called to a servant to ask what these things +meant. When he had heard he was very angry, and would not go in. His +father came out to beg him to come in and greet his brother, but he +said, + +"Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any +time thy commandment, and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might +make merry with my friends." But the father said, + +"Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet +that we should make merry and be glad, for this thy brother was dead, +and is alive again, and was lost and is found." + +[Illustration: The return of the prodigal] + +There are other stories told by Jesus while in Peraea, which you will +find in the gospel by Luke, the beloved physician. One is about the +"Unjust Steward," and another is the story of the "Unjust Judge." +Still another is called "Dives and Lazarus," or the "Rich man and the +Beggar." + +The parable of "The Pharisee and the Publican," describes two men who +went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a +publican. + +[Illustration: The Pharisee and the publican] + +The Pharisee prayed with _himself_, thus, "God, I thank thee that I am +not as other men are, or even as this publican. I fast twice a week. +I give tithes of all I possess." + +And the publican, standing afar off, dared not even lift his eyes to +heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, "God be merciful to me a +sinner!" + +"This man," said Jesus, "went down to his house justified rather than +the other; for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he +that humbleth himself shall be exalted." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +THE VOICE THAT WAKED THE DEAD--THE CHILDREN OF THE KINGDOM. + +While Jesus and His disciples were still east of the Jordan trouble +fell upon the happy home in Bethany where Jesus had been an honored +guest. A messenger was sent to Jesus in great haste, saying, + +"Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick." + +It was from Mary and Martha concerning their brother Lazarus. + +Jesus sent the messenger back with this message, + +"This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the +Son of God might be glorified thereby," and He remained two days longer +where He was. Then He said, + +"Let us go into Judea again." + +The disciples reminded Him that the Jews there had tried to take His +life. + +"Our friend Lazarus sleepeth," said Jesus, "but I go that I may awaken +him out of sleep." + +The disciples thought that if he slept he was doing very well, until +Jesus told them plainly, + +"Lazarus is dead." + +Then Thomas was full of sorrow and said, + +"Let us also go that we may die with him." + +Bethany was not far from Jerusalem, and when they reached the house of +Martha, Lazarus had been dead four days, and was placed in a rock tomb. +Many Jews from Jerusalem had come out to Bethany to comfort Mary and +Martha, and to mourn for their friend Lazarus. + +When Martha heard that Jesus was coming she ran to meet Him, but Mary +sat still in the house. She thought, perhaps, that He had come too +late, and the same thought may have been in Martha's mind when she said, + +"Lord, if thou hadst been here my brother had not died, but I know that +even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee." + +"Thy brother shall rise again," said Jesus. + +"I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day," +she said. + +Then Jesus spoke those heavenly words that have been the comfort of the +sorrowful ever since, + +"I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he +were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me +shall never die. Believest thou this?" + +"Yea, Lord," answered Martha, "I believe that thou art the Christ, the +Son of God which should come into the world." + +Then she called Mary quietly, so that the people who were noisily +wailing should not hear. + +"The Master is come and calleth for thee," she said. + +Then Mary rose quickly and went to meet Jesus The people who were +trying to comfort her followed her, for they thought she was going to +the tomb to weep there; but they saw her go to meet Jesus and fall at +His feet saying, as Martha did, + +"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." + +When Jesus saw the tears of Mary and her sister and their friends He +wept also, not for Lazarus, but His heart was moved for them, and He +shared their sorrow. + +They brought Him to the tomb--a cave with a stone lying upon it. When +He asked them to take away the stone Martha's faith began to fail; but +the stone was rolled away, and when Jesus had prayed He called with a +loud voice, + +"Lazarus, come forth!" + +And all who were bending forward toward the low, dark door of the tomb +saw a man wrapped in linen come forth from the darkness and try to +ascend the stone steps. + +"Loose him and let him go," said Jesus. And then there was a scene so +full of sacred joy that John, the disciple, who tells the story, does +not show it to us. + +After this many believed in Jesus, but others went and told the +Pharisees all about it. + +It was spring in Peraea, and the valley of the Jordan was full of the +singing of birds and the color of blooming trees and wild flowers, +while in the fields the young wheat was growing. The people thronged +to Jesus in crowds, for He taught them in the open air. The disciples +were busy with the people, explaining to the dull, listening to those +who wished to ask something of the Master, or keeping back the curious. +This had to be done in every village through which they passed. There +were many mothers with their children around them who came out of their +low white houses to follow Jesus in the way, and to listen when He sat +down to teach. + +The mothers loved to have the Rabbi's bless their children, for since +the days of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the blessing of a good man means +much to the Israelite. + +One day some mothers brought their little ones to Jesus, and begged Him +to bless them. The disciples told the mothers to stand back, and not +trouble the Master while he was teaching. Jesus knew what they were +saying, and He called them unto Him and said, + +"Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of +such is the Kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall not +receive the Kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter +therein." + +In this way he made it clear to His disciples, to the mothers, and to +all who have read His word since that day, that every child is a +citizen of the Lord's Kingdom, and dear to the heart of the King. + +Perhaps the mothers had heard that the Lord was about to leave the +country east of Jordan to go up to Jerusalem, and they longed to have +their little ones share in the blessing they had received while sitting +at the feet of the great Teacher and learning of Him, for soon after He +crossed the Jordan, and, teaching as he went, set His face toward +Jerusalem. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +THE YOUNG MAN THAT JESUS LOVED. + +A rich young ruler came running after Jesus one day, saying, + +"Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" + +So eager was he to know that he knelt before Jesus by the road side. + +Jesus spoke gently to him telling him that God alone is good, and that +he knew the commandments that God had given. + +"All these have I kept from my youth up," said the young man. + +As Jesus looked upon him He saw that he was really trying to be good, +and hoping that he could do some great and good act that would give him +a certain entrance into heaven. He had been taught by the Rabbis that +men were saved by keeping the law and doing outward works of +righteousness. He did not know that heaven must begin in his own heart. + +Jesus, reading his heart, loved him, and longed to have him know the +truth. + +"Yet lackest thou one thing," he said, "sell all that thou hast and +distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and +come, follow me." + +When he heard these words the young man turned away and lost the eager +look with which he had come to the Lord's feet. He was very sorrowful, +for he was very rich, and he found that he loved his riches more than +he loved anything else. + +"How hardly," said Jesus, "shall they that have riches enter into the +Kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's +eye than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God." + +"Who then can be saved?" asked one. + +"The things which are impossible with men, are possible with God," He +said. + +"Lo, we have left all," said Peter, "and followed Thee," and then the +Lord gave to His disciples that promise that has been proven true by +millions of His children for ages past,-- + +"There is no man who hath left house or parents, or brethren, or wife, +or children for the Kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive +manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life +everlasting." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +THE LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM. + +When Jesus and His disciples were finally on the way to Jerusalem Jesus +went before them, and the shadow of the great trial He was about to +suffer cast its shadow upon Him. The disciples saw it, and Mark says +that "they were amazed; and as they followed, they were afraid." He +told them all about the trial and the death that lay before Him, but so +unwilling were they to believe it, and so sure were they that He would +be made king of the Jews, that two of them brought their mother to +Jesus to ask that her two sons might sit next to Him when He should +come to the throne. + +"Ye know not what ye ask," He said, "can ye drink of the cup that I +drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" +and they said, + +"We can," not knowing that He spoke of suffering and death. + +He told them that though they would indeed drink of His cup, He had no +honors to give them. + +Then, when the others were vexed with James and John for their foolish +request, He talked to them all tenderly about the grace of humility. + +"Whosoever of you who will be chiefest," He said, "shall be servant of +all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to +minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." + +It was the time of the Passover Feast at Jerusalem, and as they crossed +at the Fords of Jordan and went over the Jericho plain they must have +joined some of the groups of joyful people who were going up to the +Feast, some on camels and asses, and some walking beside the beasts +bearing tents or merchandise. The valley of the Jordan was bright with +the freshness of spring, and as they came near Jericho with its +rose-gardens, and orchards, and feathery palms, it looked like the +gardens of Paradise. It was sometimes called Jericho "the perfumed" +because of its great gardens of roses, and its balsam plantations from +which they made perfumes that were sold in all the East. It was warm +even in winter there, and no frosts destroyed its tropical fruits and +flowers. The rich plain was made fertile by two springs that sent +their waters through trenches all through these gardens and orchards. +One is called the "Elisha Spring," because the prophet made its +poisonous waters pure by casting salt into them. + +And so the Passover pilgrims entered Jericho. + +There was in Jericho a man named Zaccheus, who, like Matthew of +Capernaum, was a rich tax-gatherer. He wanted to see Jesus as He +passed, but the crowd was great, and he was a small man, so he ran +before the people and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him. + +As Jesus passed the tree He looked up and said, + +"Zaccheus, make haste and come down, for to-day I must abide at thy +house." + +Zaccheus came down in great haste, and was full of joy to be able to +entertain Jesus, though some complained that a sinner should have the +honor of taking the Master into his house. + +Zaccheus must have heard these cruel remarks, for he said humbly, + +"Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have +taken anything from any man by false accusation, I restore him +fourfold." + +Then Jesus said heartily, "This day is salvation come to this house, +forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man is come +to seek and to save that which was lost." + +It was just outside of Jericho that the bands going out toward +Jerusalem passed a blind beggar who cried, + +"Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me!" + +The Lord heard the cry and called him, and there by the roadside He +opened the eyes of Bartimeus to see the beauty all around him, and the +kind face of Jesus looking at him. And he followed Him. + +The pilgrims came up the steep, rocky road from Jericho to Jerusalem, +and they were fortunate who could ride, for the heat was great, and the +road hard to climb. Jesus and His friends walked, for they were poor +men, as riches are counted in this world. + +It was a six hours' journey, and when they reached the green heights of +the Mount of Olives they turned aside to the village of Bethany, and +there Jesus rested in the house of Mary and Martha and the brother whom +He had called back from the grave. The disciples were lodged in the +town, no doubt, among their friends, and so grateful and happy were +they of Bethany to have the Lord once more among them that they made a +supper to show their joy at His coming. It was at the house of Simon, +who had been a leper, and cured, perhaps, by Jesus, and Lazarus sat at +the table with Jesus, and Mary and Martha served. + +It was a holy, happy time, yet shadowed with sadness because of the +words of Jesus concerning His death, which the disciples could not +believe. + +In the midst of the supper Mary brought an alabaster box of very +precious and costly perfume, and poured it upon the head of Jesus and +also upon His feet, wiping them with her long hair. Judas, one of the +twelve, frowned upon her, and said it was a waste, for the perfume +might have been sold for money to give to the poor. + +But Jesus knew what Mary did. + +"Let her alone," He said, "against the day of my burying hath she kept +this; for the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always." + +"She hath done what she could." + +"Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, +this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +THE PRINCE OF PEACE. + +It was in the lovely spring time of a land that scarcely knows winter +that a strange and beautiful scene made Jerusalem still more beautiful. +Over the Mount of Olives, where the olive and the fig-trees were in +tender leaf, came a procession of people crying, + +"Hosanna; blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the +Lord!" + +The road was crowded with people who with lifted faces and songs of +praise waved branches of palm as they walked before and beside Jesus, +who was riding toward Jerusalem, seated upon a young ass, after the +manner of the kings and prophets of ancient Israel. + +After Jesus and His friends had left Bethany to go to Jerusalem He had +sent two of His disciples to a village near by to bring to Him an ass, +with its colt, that they would find tied there, and they were to say to +the owner of the asses, "The Lord hath need of them," that the words of +the prophet might be fulfilled, + +"Tell ye the daughter of Zion, 'Behold thy king cometh unto thee, meek, +and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass.'" + +While the Lord and His friends were coming up the Mount of Olives, many +people from Jerusalem who knew that He was on His way came to meet Him, +and when the two disciples brought to Jesus the ass upon which He was +to ride they placed Him upon it, and spreading their garments in the +way, and with waving palms and singing they came over the ridge of the +Mount of Olives from which they could see Mount Zion shining before +them. The Pharisees had come out to see what it meant and were angry. +"See--the world is gone after Him!" they said, but Jesus, when they +asked Him to stop the praises of the people, told them that the very +stones would cry out if the people should hold their peace. As they +came to a point in the road where from a smooth rocky height they could +see the great city with its temple before them, the whole company +stopped, and Jesus, beholding it, wept over it saying, + +"If thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things which +belong to thy peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes!" + +[Illustration: Jesus entering Jerusalem] + +And He spoke of the days when enemies should surround the Holy City, +and lay it even with the ground, because they knew not the time of +their visitation. Fifty years after the Romans took the Holy City and +burned the beautiful Temple, and put uncounted people to death. And so +Jesus went down through the valley of the Kedron and up through the +city gates with the great procession that grew at every step until He +came to His Father's House--the Temple. Then He looked about and saw +the buyers and sellers again making the Temple a market, but He went +silently away with His friends to Bethany again. He had entered the +city as the Prince of Peace, not as a Roman Emperor would do, with +sound of trumpet and the tread of armed legions, and they knew not the +time of their visitation. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +THE CHILDREN IN THE TEMPLE. + +The next morning Jesus went early with His disciples to the Temple. It +was on the way as they went over the Mount of Olives that they passed a +barren fig-tree--one that bore nothing but leaves. It was like the +Pharisees, who outwardly seemed to be religious, but were inwardly +evil, and bore none of the fruits of a religious life. + +"Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever," said Jesus, and it +withered away. When the disciples wondered, Jesus said, + +"If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is +done to the fig-tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, 'Be +thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea,' it shall be done. And +all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall +receive." When Jesus came again to the Temple He drove out the buyers +and sellers and the money-changers, as He had done before. + +"It is written," He said, "'My house is the house of prayer, but ye +have made it a den of thieves.'" + +When they had been driven out, the people who had been waiting for +Jesus, and the blind and the lame came to Him, and He healed all who +came. The Pharisees looked on with hatred in their hearts, and talked +with the priests of arresting Him then and there, but a clear, sweet +sound of young voices singing came floating through the temple courts, +and they saw bands of children who were crying, "Hosanna to the Son of +David!" and it rang like heavenly music through all the place. + +"Hearest thou what these say?" cried the angry Pharisees, and Jesus +answered, "Yea; have ye never read, 'Out of the mouths of babes and +sucklings thou hast perfected praise?'" Then He left them and went +again to Bethany to rest in the house of His faithful friends, Martha, +and Mary, and Lazarus. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +THE LAST DAY IN THE TEMPLE. + +It was on a Tuesday that Jesus came again early to the Temple. It was +the last day of His teaching there and He filled it with wonderful +sayings that have been taught in thousands of Christian temples for +nearly two thousand years. The chief priests and elders, who were full +of anger because He had acted as if He had a right to say who should +come into the Temple courts, came to Him as He was teaching and said, + +"By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this +authority?" Jesus answered them by asking a question, "The baptism of +John, whence was it? from heaven, or of men?" They could not answer, +for they said in their own minds, "If we shall say 'From heaven,' He +will say, 'Why did you not then believe him;' but if we shall say 'Of +men,' we fear the people, for all men hold John as a prophet." And so +they said, "We cannot tell." + +And Jesus answered, "Neither tell I you by what authority I do these +things." They could not find what they wanted--something to accuse Him +of before the Jewish Council and so they tried to lead Him to say +something that would turn the Romans against Him. They came to Him +with flattering words, saying that they knew that He taught the way of +God truly, and would He tell them if it was lawful to give tribute to +Caesar or not? He saw their deceit and cunning, and said, "Why tempt +ye me? Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription is this?" +They told Him it was Caesar's. "Render therefore," He said, "unto +Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and to God the things which be +God's." + +[Illustration: Showing the penny] + +They wondered much at the wisdom of His answer, and could find nothing +whereof to accuse Him, but perhaps they never knew what He really meant +to say to them--and to us also--that His Kingdom was not of this world. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +THE LAST WORDS IN THE TEMPLE. + +On this day also, as Jesus sat near the treasury of the Temple and saw +the rich, and the self-righteous casting their money into the boxes +placed there, He saw a poor widow come with her mourning dress showing +that she was the poorest of the poor--a pauper--and yet she had +something to give: she dropped two "mites" into one of the boxes under +the marble colonnade that surrounded the court of the women. Taken +together these two coins were worth much less than a penny, but they +were "all her living" and though the Lord did not speak to her, as far +as we know, He saw her faith, and His blessing must have reached her in +ways that we know nothing about. To those who stood about Him He said, +"Of a truth I say unto you that this poor widow hath cast in more than +they all; for all these have of their abundance cast into the offerings +of God; but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had." + +[Illustration: The two mites] + +Jesus, who "spake as never man spake," preached the new Gospel of the +Kingdom by means of stories, or parables, and on one long day of +teaching in the Temple He told several stories that the people never +forgot. Two of them were stories of the vineyard. One of them was of +a man who sent his two sons into his vineyard to work. One answered "I +will not," but afterward repented and went, while the other, who had +said "I go, sir," went not. Jesus taught in this that real sinners who +at first refuse to enter God's kingdom but afterward repent and enter, +are better than the heartless hypocrites who talk much of their +religion but are inwardly evil. + +The other story was of a certain householder who owned a vineyard and +let it out to some men while he took a journey into a far country. +When the time of the fruit drew near he sent his servants to the men +who had rented the vineyard, that they might receive the fruits of it, +but the men beat one servant, and stoned another, and killed another. +When the owner sent other servants they treated them in the same way. +Then he sent his son saying, "They will reverence my son," but the men +determined to kill the heir and take the vineyard for themselves, and +they cast out the son of the lord of the vineyard and killed him. In +this story He spoke of His own death, as well as that of the prophets +and John the Baptist before Him. + +The chief priests and Pharisees, when they heard this parable knew that +the Lord spoke of them, and they tried again to take Him by force, but +feared the people. + +Another story told in the Temple that day was of the "Marriage of the +King's Son" which you will find in the twenty-second chapter of +Matthew. It shows first how the Jews were asked into the Kingdom of +Christ, but refused to come, and their city was given over to their +enemies to destroy. In the second part of the parable the call of all +nations to come into Christ's kingdom is described, and the man who was +found at the feast without a wedding garment, describes those who come +into the church without real faith in the Lord Jesus, and are not +prepared to enter heaven. "For many are called," said Jesus, "but few +are chosen." + +Knowing the wickedness of the priests and Pharisees, who stood before +the people as more holy than others, the Lord ended His last day in the +Temple with words to them that must have been sharper than a sword, and +more burning than flames of fire. These words are in the twenty-third +chapter of Matthew, and may no child who reads them ever live to +deserve to hear them for himself. To the hypocrite alone the Lord was +stern and severe, but to the sinner who truly repented He was full of +forgiving love. After telling them of the sorrows and desolations that +must fall upon the Holy City because of the sins of those who should be +true and faithful teachers of their holy religion, He sent forth these +last words of love and sorrow through the Temple courts, + +"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest +them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy +children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her +wings, and ye would not! Behold your house is left unto you desolate, +for I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, +'Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.'" And He went out +of the Temple to return no more. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVIII. + +AN EVENING ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. + +Jesus and His friends went out from the Temple and Jerusalem to the +Mount of Olives, and as they looked back upon the beautiful buildings +of marble and gold that made the Temple seem like a great jewel shining +in the sunset, the disciples turned to Jesus and spoke of it, but He +said, + +"There shall not be left here one stone that shall not be thrown down." + +They sat down on the slope of Olivet where the olive and fig-trees were +putting forth their new leaves, and in that quiet time Peter, and +James, and John, and Andrew drew close about their beloved Master, and +said, "Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign +of thy coming, and the end of the world?" He told them many things +hard to be understood; of the sorrows of Israel when their city should +be destroyed, and the people scattered; of the end of the age, when +they should turn to the Lord they had rejected, and of His coming to +the whole world. + +"Watch, therefore," He said, "for ye know not what hour your Lord doth +come," and He told them of the faithful and the unfaithful servants; +that the one was found doing his duty when his lord returned, and was +made ruler over all his goods, but the other, unfaithful in all things, +was surprised by his lord's coming and cast out. + +He told them another beautiful "watching" story of the Ten Virgins who +went forth with their little lamps to meet the bridegroom on his way to +the marriage feast. Five of them took oil to fill their lamps, and +five took no oil with them. The bridegroom was long in coming, and +they all fell asleep; but at midnight there was a cry, "Behold the +bridegroom cometh! go ye out to meet him!" Then they all arose and +trimmed their lamps, but five of the lamps had gone out, and the +foolish maids who brought no oil to fill them begged it of the others, +but they were told that they must go and buy it of those who had it to +sell. While they went to buy the bridegroom came, and they that were +ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. +Afterward, when the five thoughtless ones came to the door crying, +"Lord, Lord, open to us!" they only heard the answer, "I know you not." + +After this He told them the story of the Talents, which you may read in +the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew. It is the Lord's teaching to all +disciples about making the most of the life He gives us. + +His last story was a picture of the gathering of the nations, and the +separation of the good and the true from the false and the evil. The +King's call to the good, "Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the +kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," carried +with it a strange reason. "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; +I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me +in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in +prison, and ye came unto me." + +Then the good whom He had called were astonished, and cried, "Lord, +when saw we thee an hungered and fed thee? or thirsty, a stranger, +sick, or in prison?" and He answered, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto +one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." To +the false and the evil He could not say these things, but quite the +opposite; and when they wondered when they had seen the Lord hungry, or +thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and had not +ministered unto Him, He said, "Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the +least of these, ye did it not to me." Those by a life of love and +service had chosen eternal life, but these by a life of selfishness had +chosen death. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIX. + +THE HOLY SUPPER. + +There were two more days before the Passover Feast when Jesus would eat +the Paschal Supper with His disciples. He spent the time with them +trying to help them to bear the great trial that was before them, and +which would shake their faith in Him to the utmost. They still +believed that some great miracle would break around them like light in +the darkness, and that Jesus would be acknowledged as the Messiah for +whom the whole nation was waiting and yet the shadow grew deeper. The +faith of one had failed. Judas had secretly hoped that Jesus would be +made king, and that His disciples would be honored with riches and +power, but little by little this hope had been dying, and little by +little his heart had been turning away from his Master and his +brethren, until, with the resolve to forsake the Lord, he opened the +door of his heart to Satan, who began to enter in and possess him. + +The high priest and the elders were plotting against Jesus in their +council, and Judas, leaving Bethany and the company of the Lord and His +disciples, went over the road he had so often walked with Jesus with a +thought from Satan burning in his heart. He loved money more than +everything else, and there was but one thing that would bring it now +since all hope of Jesus becoming a king was past. + +He went to the Temple and asked to be taken before the rulers, and he +said to them, "What will ye give me, and I will deliver Him unto you?" +There was a bargain made at once, and out of the Temple treasury they +weighed him thirty pieces of silver, and he carried them away with the +promise that he would watch Jesus, and tell them when and where they +could take Him. He did not remember that five hundred years before the +prophet Zechariah had written, "So they weighed for my price thirty +pieces of silver." + +On Thursday morning, the first day of the Feast, Jesus sent Peter and +John to prepare a place where He should hold the Paschal Supper with +His disciples in the evening. He told them to go into the city, and +there they would meet a man bearing a pitcher of water, and if they +would follow him he would show them a large upper room furnished. +There they were to make ready the Passover. + +[Illustration: The Passover supper] + +They found it as He had said, and when the lamb had been slain at the +Temple, the feast prepared, and the hour was come, the Lord sat down +with the twelve. It was the last time that He would break the bread of +the Passover with them before He suffered, and it was to be the first +Holy Supper of the Christian Church. "With desire I have desired to +eat this Passover with you before I suffer;" He said, "for I say unto +you that I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the +Kingdom of God." Before Him were the cakes of unleavened bread, the +wine, the water and the herbs, while the Paschal Lamb was on a side +table. After the blessing and the thanks, the Lord filled a cup with +wine and water, and blessing and tasting it passed it to His disciples. +It was the custom for the master of the feast to wash his hands at this +point, and Jesus rose, and laid aside His tunic, and tying a long towel +around His waist, poured water into a large basin and going to His +disciples knelt down to wash their feet. They had been contending as +to who should sit nearest to the Lord, and so be accounted greatest, +and He thus taught them a lesson of humility. He told them that they +were not to be among those who hold authority. "But he that is +greatest among you let him be as the younger," He said, "and he that is +chief as he that doth serve." The disciples looked on astonished and +distressed, for their Master was doing the work that slaves were in the +habit of doing, and Peter cried, "Lord, dost thou wash my feet?" Jesus +said gently, "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know +hereafter." "Thou shalt never wash my feet;" said the loving, +impulsive Peter, and Jesus answered, "If I wash thee not thou hast no +part with me." "Lord, not my feet only," the humbled disciple said, +"but also my hands and my head!" When He sat down with them again He +talked tenderly to them of serving each other as He had served them, +adding, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." With a +troubled spirit He said, "Behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is +with me on the table." Then the disciples began to inquire sorrowfully +among themselves who it could be, and to ask the Lord in turn, "Is it +I?" Even Judas, close beside Him, asked the same question, but the +disciples did not hear the Lord's reply. Peter, beckoning to John, +signed to him to ask the Master, for John sat next the Lord, and leaned +upon His breast. When he asked, "Lord, who is it?" Jesus said, perhaps +in a whisper to John, + +"He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it," and He +gave it to Judas Iscariot. Then Satan entered fully into the angry, +covetous heart of Judas, and when Jesus said to him in a low voice, +"That thou doest do quickly," he rose and went out into the night. +Alone with His faithful friends, the Lord took bread and blessed it and +broke it, and gave to them, saying, "Take, eat, this is my body; this +do in remembrance of me." And He took the cup, saying, "Drink ye all +of it, for this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for +many for the remission of sins." + +And so the Lord founded the Holy Supper of His Church, the mystery and +the holiness of which you will know more and more as you grow in the +heavenly life, and receive through His Spirit the new wine of the +Kingdom. John, the beloved disciple, kept for us the wonderful and +precious words that the Lord spoke after the Holy Supper. They are +full of a love for His children so deep and wide that we can never hope +to measure it. They are written in the fourteenth, fifteenth, +sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters of John's Gospel, and every child +should hide them in his memory and heart before he is grown, and in +after life they will be bread in time of spiritual famine. Looking +around upon their troubled faces at the table the Lord said to His +disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe +also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a +place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come +again and receive you unto myself, that when I am there ye may be +also." He answered their questions, and He promised them the +Comforter--the Holy Spirit of Truth, who would teach them all things, +and make all the dark things clear. He also promised certainly to come +back to them and not leave them orphans. + +After they had sung a psalm they arose from the table, but they +lingered for the Lord's last words and His prayer. He charged them to +be steadfast and live from Him, as a branch lives from the vine, for He +was the true spiritual Vine, and without Him they could do nothing. He +told them of His great love for them, and that they must love one +another through all the suffering and persecution that was before them, +and trust to the Spirit of Truth, who would guide them in all things, +and teach them the things He would say to them, but which they were not +yet able to bear. And He promised that whatever they should ask the +Father in His name should be given them. Then lifting up His eyes to +heaven He prayed for His disciples, and for all disciples who should +believe on Him through their word, that they might be one with each +other and with Him as He was one with the Father, and, being made clean +from the evil that is in the world that they should be with Him forever +in heaven. After the prayer they went out of the city, and over the +brook Kedron into a garden where Jesus had often sat with His disciples. + + + + +CHAPTER XL. + +THE NIGHT OF THE BETRAYAL. + +As they went out through the darkness down the valley and over the +Kedron, Jesus still talked with His disciples. To Peter's question, +"Lord, where goest thou?" He said, "Whither I go thou canst not follow +me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards." "Lord, why cannot I +follow thee now?" said Peter. "I will lay down my life for thy sake." + +"Verily, verily I say unto thee, the cock shall not crow till thou hast +denied me thrice," said Jesus. + +"Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift +you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not; and +when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." + +"All ye shall be offended because of me this night; for it is written, +'I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be +scattered abroad.'" + +[Illustration: Gethsemane] + +Jesus and his friends had reached the olive trees of Gethsemane when He +asked them to sit there while He went away a little distance to pray. +He took Peter and James and John with Him; and began to be very +sorrowful, and He said, + +"My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here and +watch with me." He went a little farther, and fell on His face and +prayed, saying, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from +me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt." He found His +disciples sleeping for sorrow, and He said to Peter, "What! could ye +not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, lest ye enter into +temptation." Again He prayed, "O my Father, if this cup may not pass +away from me except I drink it, Thy will be done." And there appeared +an angel unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him. Then there was the +sound of the tread of many feet, and the light of torches moving among +the olive trees, and Judas, leading a band of priests, elders and +captains of the Temple came toward the little group, and kissed Jesus +as a sign that He was the One whom they sought. Jesus turned to him +saying, "Judas, betrayest thou the Son of Man with a kiss?" And to the +others, "Whom seek ye?" + +[Illustration: Jesus betrayed by Judas] + +"Jesus of Nazareth," they answered. And when Jesus had said to them, +"I am He," they fell backward at the sight of His face. "When I was +daily with you in the Temple," He said, "ye stretched forth no hands +against me; but this is your hour and the power of darkness." Peter +drew a sword and struck at the high priest's servant in defence of his +Master, but Jesus said gently, + +"Suffer ye thus far," and touched his ear and healed him. "Put up thy +sword into the sheath," He added. "The cup which my Father hath given +me, shall I not drink it?" + +Then they took Jesus and bound Him to lead Him away, and the disciples +forsook Him and fled, as had been written in the prophets. But John, +the loving and beloved, came back and followed Jesus. So did Peter, +remembering his vow, but he followed Him afar off. + + + + +CHAPTER XLI. + +DESPISED AND REJECTED OF MEN. + +Jesus was first taken to Annas, the old High-Priest, who sent Him bound +to Caiaphas, who was his son-in-law, and High-Priest that year. + +John went in with Jesus to the palace of the High-Priest, but Peter +stood outside the door, shivering with the chill of the night, but more +with fear. + +A servant girl at the door said, when John came out to bring him in, + +"Art not thou also one of this man's disciples?" + +And Peter said, "I am not." + +Restless and unhappy, he walked about, or warmed himself by the fire, +until three had accused him of being a follower of Jesus, and three +times he had denied his Lord. Then there came a sound that struck him +through--he heard through the open windows the crowing of a cock. It +had crowed once before, but he did not think then of what the Lord had +said, but now his memory and conscience were wide awake, for, as he +looked over the heads of the people towards Jesus standing bound and +alone before the High-Priest, the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. +That look broke Peter's heart, and he rushed out of the place, and wept +bitterly. + +[Illustration: The sin of Peter] + +There was a mock trial which would pain the heart of a child to dwell +upon, and which we will not describe at length. It is enough to know +that the Lamb of God, who had come to take away the sins of the world, +was willingly in the power of His enemies, and going down to death. A +wonderful description of the trial and death of the Messiah may be +found in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah, which was fulfilled in the +trial and death of Jesus. The hatred of the priests, the scoffings, +the blows, and the cruel words of the people we will not describe. "He +was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. He +is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her +shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth." Finally Caiaphas cried, + +"I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the +Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said, + +"I am; and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of +power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." + +Then the High Priest rent his garments as if shocked at such profanity, +and said, + +"Ye have heard the blasphemy; what think ye?" And they all condemned +Him to be guilty of death. + +There was another gathering of the priests in the morning as the day +began to dawn. There were more cruel words and blows for the Divine +Man who was bearing the sins of the world, and He was taken away to +Pilate. + +And where was the wretched man who had sold his Master into the hands +of His enemies! + +He could not have thought that he was bringing death on His Master; but +when at last he saw the Lord coming, pale, suffering and bound, down +the marble steps, and heard "Death! death!" on every side, he became +terrified. He had no one to turn to, for he had not a friend among +men. He ran to the Temple and, finding some priests, begged them take +back the money they had given him, saying, "I have sinned, in that I +have betrayed the innocent blood." + +"What is that to us," said the heartless priests. "See thou to that." + +Then Judas cast the thirty pieces of silver over the marble floor, and +fled from the place. Afterward he was found outside the city, where he +had hanged himself. The priests could not put the price of blood in +the Lord's treasury, and so they bought with it a field in which to +bury strangers. + + + + +CHAPTER XLII. + +THE KING OF HEAVEN AT THE BAR OF PILATE. + +Pilate, the Roman Governor, who had come up from Caesarea by the sea to +keep order in Jerusalem during the Passover, was in his fine palace +called "The Praetorium." Adjoining was "The Hall of Judgment," where +cases were brought to the Governor to be judged, and just outside this +Hall was a place called "The Pavement." It was a broad floor of +many-colored marbles, open toward the city, and having an ivory +judgment-seat. + +While the morning was lighting the gold of the Temple roof to splendor, +there was a deep shadow over the friends of Jesus. Their Lord was +being led through the streets of Jerusalem by Roman guards, condemned +to die. His mother and the women who believed in Him were in the city +and saw Him, perhaps, as He was hurried by, pale and weak from the +cruelty of wicked men. The priests would not go into the Judgment Hall +for fear of defilement at the time of their Feast, so Pilate came out +to "The Pavement" and sat down upon the ivory judgment seat. He was a +stern, proud man wearing a white toga with a rich purple border--the +robe of a Roman ruler. + +"What accusation do you bring against this man," asked Pilate, looking +at the pure, pallid face of the Divine Man, and turning to the dark and +evil faces of His accusers. To their complaining remark, "If he were +not a malefactor we would not have delivered him up unto thee," Pilate +replied, + +"Take ye him and judge him according to your law." + +When they replied that (under Roman rule) it was not lawful for them to +put any man to death. Pilate did not wish to condemn that just One of +whom he had known nothing but good, for he had heard of His miracles, +and had doubtless heard his wife speak of the young Rabbi. He rose and +went into the Hall, ordering the guards to bring Jesus to him. Then he +questioned Him, + +"Art thou the King of the Jews?" he asked. + +"My Kingdom is not of this world," said Jesus. "If my Kingdom was of +this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be +delivered to the Jews; but now my Kingdom is not from hence." + +"Art thou a king then?" said Pilate. + +"Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this +cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. +Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." + +"What is truth?" said Pilate, wondering, perhaps, what kingdom of truth +this harmless man was dreaming of, and then he rose and went forth to +the people on "The Pavement" who were saying that this man was stirring +up the people from Galilee to Jerusalem. + +Pilate, hearing that Jesus was a Galilean, sent him to the palace of +Herod Antipas, who ruled over that province, and who was now in +Jerusalem, but He was sent back to Pilate crowned with thorns and +wearing a faded purple robe. The Roman soldiers had jested about His +kingship, and Antipas had cruelly carried it out in returning Him in +this dress to Pilate, through the streets of the city. He had been +tried the fourth time and now Pilate made another effort to set Him +free, He questioned Him again and heard the complaints of the Jews, but +Jesus would not defend Himself. + +[Illustration: Jesus crowned with thorns] + +"Hearest thou not how many things, they witness against thee?" said +Pilate. "Answerest thou nothing?" If Jesus would only defend Himself! + +Then Pilate thought he would scourge Jesus to satisfy His enemies, and +let Him go. + +"Ye have brought this man unto me," he said to the chief priests, "as +one that perverteth the people, and behold, I, having examined him +before you, have found no fault in this man. No, nor yet Herod. I +will therefore chastise him and release him." + +[Illustration: Jesus before Pilate] + +The cry of "Crucify him! crucify him!" rose again. + +A message was sent to Pilate from his wife, which deepened the shadow +on his face. "Have thou nothing to do with that just man," she said, +"for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him." + +The people had been persuaded by the priests to ask for Barabbas, and +when Pilate asked which of the two he should release to them, they +cried, + +"Barabbas!" + +"What shall I do with Jesus, which is called Christ?" and all cried, + +"Let him be crucified!" + +"Why, what evil hath he done?" asked Pilate, but the cry was so great +he could bear it no longer, and calling a slave to bring water, he +washed his hands before them as a sign that he took no blame for the +act, and said, + +"I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it," but +they cried, + +"His blood be upon us, and upon our children." And when Pilate had +given the order to scourge and crucify Jesus, he went into his palace. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIII. + +LOVE AND DEATH. + +Jesus had been meeting and conquering evil all His life, and in the +last hour of it the last enemy was overcome. There were no children at +the cross when Jesus laid down His life for us all, and we will not +lead you there to point out all the means used by evil men to increase +the suffering of our Lord. It was greatest within the great Heart of +Love which broke for the sins of the world, and when you have learned +the nature of Spirit you will be able to understand that Jesus chose to +pass through an earthly life of poverty and temptation, and die a +painful and shameful death, that He might be the Brother of the poor, +the tempted, the suffering and the dying. "He was taken from prison +and from judgment:" "He poured out His soul unto death, and was +numbered with the transgressors;" "He bore the sins of many, and made +intercession for the transgressors." So Isaiah wrote of the coming +Messiah seven hundred years before. But so blind were the Jews that +they could not see that the Redeemer had come to Zion, "He came unto +His own and His own received Him not." + +Bearing His cross He went forth meekly to death, and when He fell +beneath the heavy cross, the Roman soldiers forced a passing stranger +to carry it. All along the street women wept for pity as He passed, +and there was sorrow in many hearts for the Man whom they had believed +in as the One who was to deliver their nation. + +[Illustration: Jesus bearing the Cross] + +But the eleven disciples--where were they? In deep grief somewhere; +but only one--John the Beloved--followed his Master down to death. +With the suffering mother of Jesus and the faithful women disciples he +kept near his Lord. They saw the rough soldiers as they took the +Lord's garments and divided them among themselves, and when they put +His body upon the cross they heard Him pray, + +"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!" + +Two robbers were crucified with Jesus, upon His right hand and on His +left. One begged Him to save him, and reviled Him because He did not; +but the other said, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy +Kingdom." And Jesus said, "Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou +be with me in Paradise." + +His dying eyes also beheld His mother standing by the cross with the +beloved John and the faithful women who had been His friends. The hour +had come spoken of by Simeon in the Temple when he said, "Yea a sword +shall pierce through thy own soul also." Jesus, looking at His mother +supported by John said, + +"Woman, behold thy son!" And to the disciple He said, "Son, behold thy +mother!" And from that hour John took her to his own home to love and +care for her through the rest of her life. + +We will not look at the darkness that rolled over the sky, shutting out +the light of the sun, or the sights and sounds of that day on Calvary. +Jesus, thinking of the redemption He had wrought out for us, bowed His +head and said, + +"It is finished! Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." Then +the great veil before the Holy Place in the Temple was torn in two from +the top to the bottom, as a sign that the Lord Jesus by His death had +opened the way for us into life eternal. + + + + +CHAPTER XLIV. + +LOVE AND LIFE. + +There was a good man of Arimathea named Joseph who was a disciple of +Jesus, but not a fearless one. He had not followed Jesus with the +twelve, but he had loved Him, and when he knew that his Master, who had +not where to lay His head in life, had not a place of burial in death, +he lost all fear and went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. This +Pilate willingly gave him, and he, bringing helpers, took the body from +the cross and tenderly brought it to his own garden in which was a new +tomb hewn out of the rock. In this peaceful garden-room for the dead +they laid Him, wrapped Him in fine linen and spices, for another +disciple who had not dared to follow Jesus openly had come with a +mixture of myrrh and aloes of a hundred pounds weight to embalm the +body of Jesus. This was Nicodemus who had a talk with Jesus by night +among the olive trees about the breath of God in man. So these two +rich men buried Jesus, and a prophecy was fulfilled. + +[Illustration: The descent from the Cross] + +We do not know that any of the eleven disciples helped to bury Jesus, +but, while John took the mother of Jesus to a place of rest and safety, +his own mother, Salome, and Mary, the mother of James, and Mary +Magdalene stood looking on afar off. There were other women also, who +helped to guard the body of the crucified Lord when it seemed to be +forsaken of all men. They marked the place where He lay and went away, +for the hours of "preparation" and the Sabbath were before them. On +the eve of Friday they prepared spices and ointments, and rested the +Sabbath day (seventh day) according to the commandment. But Roman +soldiers came and set a seal upon the tomb, and watched it night and +day. On the first day of the week (now the Christian Sabbath) very +early in the morning, while the streets were still, and there lay only +a faint streak of rose in the purple east, Mary Magdalene hastened out +of the city to the tomb in the garden, bearing her spices. When she +reached the place she saw no guards there, and the heavy stone was +rolled away from the door of the tomb. A great fear fell upon the +woman who "loved much," and she ran to find Peter and John. "They have +taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre," she said, "and we know not +where they have laid Him." + +Then Peter and John ran, and John the loving ran faster than Peter the +believing, and was the first to reach the tomb. The other women also +had gone to the tomb early bearing their spices for the embalming, +wondering on the way who should roll away for them the great stone that +stood at the door of the tomb. But they found the stone rolled past +the door, and entering the low vestibule they saw a vision of an angel, +in a long white garment, and were afraid. + +[Illustration: The angel of the Resurrection] + +"Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth which was crucified," he said; "He is risen; +He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him. But go your way, +tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee; +there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you." + +The Lord had left a special message for Peter who had denied Him so +cruelly and had repented so thoroughly! As they looked to "behold the +place where they laid Him," they saw another angel shining white +through the gloom, "one at the head, and the other at the feet where +the body of Jesus had lain." They also ran, glad, yet half afraid, to +tell the disciples what they had seen and heard. + +Peter and John found the linen that had wrapped the Lord's body laid +carefully aside. They did not yet remember the prophecy concerning His +resurrection from the dead, but they believed He had risen, and they +went away, hoping perhaps, that He was seeking them. + +Mary Magdalene could not leave the empty tomb until she had learned +something more about the Lord. Weeping and desolate she stood at the +low door of the cave-tomb, and stooping to look in again she saw the +vision of angels that the other women had seen, "one at the head and +the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain." + +"Why weepest thou?" they asked, and she answered, + +"Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have +laid Him." As she turned to go out into the garden she saw one +standing there who said, + +"Woman why weepest thou? Whom seekest thou?" + +She thought as she looked through her tears that it must be the man who +kept the garden, so she said, + +"Sir, if thou have borne Him hence tell me where thou hast laid Him, +and I will take Him away." + +"Mary!" + +It was the voice of Jesus--the same that once said to her, "Thy sins +are forgiven," and she spread her arms to clasp His feet, crying. + +"_Rabboni!_--my Master!" + +"Touch me not," He said, "for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but +go to my brethren and say unto them, 'I ascend unto my Father and your +Father: and to my God and your God.'" + +It was while Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, were still in +the garden, perhaps, that Jesus met them and said, + +"All hail!" and they fell at His feet and worshipped Him. + +"Be not afraid," He said, "go tell my brethren that they go into +Galilee and there shall they see me." + +When the women told all these things to the apostles who had come +together to mourn for their dead Master, they could not believe. But +the first Easter had risen upon the world, and though the joy of it +filled all heaven, only a few women knew the blessed secret on earth, +and were saying over and over, "The Lord is risen! the Lord is risen +indeed!" + + + + +CHAPTER XLV. + +THE EVENING OF EASTER. + +It was the afternoon of the same day in which the women had brought +such strange stories from the tomb of the buried Christ, that two +disciples went out to their home at Emmaus, a village about eight miles +from Jerusalem. They had been in the upper room where they often +gathered, and had heard the stories of Mary Magdalene, and of Peter and +John, and they knew not what to believe. + +As Cleopas and his companion (Luke, perhaps) went westward over the +hills they talked of all these strange things with bowed heads and sad +hearts, for Jesus, the One whom they had trusted was the Redeemer of +Israel, was crucified, dead and buried, and as for the words of these +women, they seemed like idle tales; but what if they should be true? + +Another step seemed to fall beside theirs, and looking up they saw a +noble looking young Stranger who was following the same road. He +greeted them and said, + +"What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another as +ye walk, and are sad?" + +"Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem," Cleopas said, "and hast not +known the things that are come to pass there in these days?" + +"What things?" asked the Stranger, and they said, "Concerning Jesus of +Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and +all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him +to be condemned to death, and have crucified Him. But we trusted that +it had been He which should have redeemed Israel: and besides all this +to-day is the third day since these things were done." + +Cleopas also told the story of the women who had come from the +sepulchre that morning talking of a vision of angels, with that of +Peter and John, who had gone also, and found it even as the women had +said. + +Then the Stranger began to speak to them of many things, and in words +so full of wisdom and love and faith that their hearts were drawn with +Him to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead. He told them that +they were very foolish and slow of heart to believe all that the +prophets had spoken. "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things," +He said, "and to enter into His glory;" and He explained to them all +the Scriptures that foretold the coming, the suffering, and the death +of the Messiah, until the two hours' walk seemed as nothing. + +[Illustration: The walk to Emmaus] + +As they came to the village where they lived, and the Stranger was +passing on, they urged Him to come with them into the low white house +near by which was the house of one of them. "Abide with us," they +said, "for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He +went with them, and sat down with them to their evening meal. + +Then another and strange beautiful vision was given at the sunset of +the first Easter Day, like that which was given to the women at its +dawn. The Stranger took bread and blessed it and broke it, and as He +handed it to each disciple their eyes were opened, and they knew Him. +It was the Lord! But in a moment He had vanished from their sight, and +they could only wonder and believe. They began to recall His words. +"Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked with us by the way, +and while He opened to us the Scriptures?" + +Perhaps they ate the bread that He had broken as they would take the +sacrament, and then rose, though the day was fading over the hills of +Ephraim and hurried back to Jerusalem to the friend's house where the +disciples met. There in the upper room, the doors closed and guarded +for fear of the Jews, they told the story of the Stranger to the eager +disciples, and found that the Lord had also appeared to Peter. + +In the midst of the joy and the wonder there fell a strange hush over +the little company, for suddenly the Lord was seen standing in the +midst and they heard the greeting so dear and familiar to them all, + +"Peace be unto you!" and to them all He spread His hands having the +print of the nails in them, and showed them His side that bore the mark +of the Roman spear. That they might be still more sure He was the Lord +and Master they had loved and followed (for they were afraid), He asked +them to touch him; and as they had been at supper together He asked to +share their meal, and He ate of the broiled fish and of the honey-comb +before them. After this He talked lovingly with them of Himself--of +the fulfillment of the prophecies concerning Him and of the work of the +kingdom that was before them. Again he blessed them, and breathed on +them, saying, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost." And so ended the day of the +Lord's resurrection from the dead--the first Easter of the Christian +Church. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVI. + +THE LORD'S LAST DAYS WITH HIS DISCIPLES. + +On Easter evening, when the Lord's friends were gathered in the upper +room where He appeared to them, one of the eleven was absent. There +were others beside the apostles--Cleopas and his companion, and +probably the women of Galilee, as well as Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus +of Bethany, but Thomas was not there. The others had told him that the +Lord had shown Himself to them and had broken bread with them, but he +could not believe. He believed, perhaps, in a vision, but not in the +return of the crucified Jesus. He declared, + +"Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my +finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I +will not believe." + +A week passed, and the disciples were again gathered in the upper room, +and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut and guarded as before, +but, as before the Lord suddenly stood in the midst, saying, + +"Peace be unto you." Then He turned to Thomas with gentle rebuke, + +"Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy +hand and thrust it into my side, and be not faithless but believing." +Thomas did not wait to touch the Lord, but cried, + +"My Lord and my God!" + +"Thomas," He said, "because thou hast seen me thou hast believed; +blessed are they that have not seen and have believed." + +Soon after this the apostles went away into Galilee, as the Lord had +commanded them to do. There by the Lake where He had called them from +their nets to follow Him they waited for Him. Peter, and James, and +John were there, with Thomas, and Nathanael, and two others of His +disciples. The old love for the Lake came back to Peter, and he said, + +"I go a fishing," and the others said, + +"We also go with thee," and they went out for a night with the nets on +the Lake, but they caught nothing. In the morning as they drew a +little nearer land they saw a dim figure on the shore and heard a voice +saying to them, + +"Children, have ye any meat?" They answered "No," and then the clear +voice came across the water saying, + +"Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find." This +they did, and so heavy did the net become with fishes that they were +not able to draw it. Perhaps John remembered another day on the Lake +when the nets broke with the weight of the fishes, and looking at the +figure standing on the shore in the sunrise, he said to Peter, + +"It is the Lord!" + +Peter did not wait to reply, but tying his fisher's coat around him he +threw himself into the Lake to swim towards His Master on the shore. +The others followed in the ship dragging the net with them, and when +they had landed they found a fire of coals there, with fish laid upon +it and bread, and the Lord Himself standing there as one who served. + +"Bring of the fish ye have now caught," He said. And Peter, first to +obey, drew the net to land full of great fishes--one hundred and +fifty-three--and the net was not broken. While they were silent for +joy and wonder, knowing that it was the Lord, and yet not daring to +question Him, He said, "Come and dine." And there upon the sands the +Lord for the third time since He rose from the dead, broke bread with +his disciples. John, the beloved disciple was there, but it is not +recorded that Jesus spoke to him personally. His heart was wholly with +his Lord, and he did not need the loving help that was given to +doubting Thomas, and self-confident, wavering Peter. To Simon Peter He +said after they had finished their simple meal, + +"Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?" + +Peter must have remembered that he had vehemently declared, "Although +all shall be offended, yet will not I. If I should die with Thee yet I +will not deny Thee in any wise," and had straightway forsaken and +denied Him. Now he said simply and humbly, + +"Yea, Lord: Thou knowest that I love Thee." And the Lord answered, +"Feed my lambs." + +Again the Lord asked him the same question, and Peter gave the same +reply. And the Lord said, "Feed my sheep." + +When the Lord had asked this question the third time, Peter, full of +love and grief cried, + +"Lord, Thou knowest all things: Thou knowest that I love thee." And +the Lord answered again, "Feed my sheep." + +By this Peter knew that the Lord trusted him to be an apostle, and +teach the gospel of the kingdom to all men, but that he must have a +steadfast love and faith. The Lord also said, "When thou wast young +thou guidedst thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest; but when thou +shalt be old thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall guide +thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." Afterward Peter was +crucified as his Lord had been, and then John remembered these words of +the Lord about him. As the Lord said to Peter, "Follow me," Peter saw +John following also, and he said, wondering, perhaps, why the Lord had +no word of counsel, of rebuke, or of prophecy for John, + +"Lord, and what shall this man do?" And Jesus replied, "If I will that +he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me." And they +went away from the Lake, following the Lord, as they had done three +years before when He called them to be "fishers of men." + + + + +CHAPTER XLVII. + +"HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN." + +Once more the Lord met His little company of followers and gave the +apostles authority to found the Kingdom of God among men. "All power +has been given to me," He said, "in heaven and on earth." + +And this was the work that He gave them to do: "Go ye therefore and +teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things +whatsoever I have commanded you." + +And this was His true word of promise to them: "Lo I am with you +always, even unto the end of the world. And, behold, I send the +promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem +until ye be endued with power from on high." + +It was about six weeks after His death that the disciples were again in +Jerusalem where the Lord had told them to go and wait for the coming of +His Spirit. He led them out over the Mount of Olives as far as +Bethany, where the house of Martha had been a place of rest and +refreshment for the homeless Man of Sorrows while He was founding His +Kingdom of Heaven on the earth. + +As they ascended a hill just above Bethany, the Lord could see spread +out before Him the Hebron hills toward Bethlehem where He was born: the +great city with its golden Temple where He had taught and had been +rejected; Gethsemane, where He had suffered, and had been betrayed; and +beyond the western walls the place where He had been crucified. Not +far from Golgotha was the garden and the tomb in which He had been +buried, and from which He had risen. + +He was about to leave the little group that He had made the founders of +His Kingdom, and one of them ventured a question, + +"Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?" +And the Lord replied, + +"It is not for you to know the time and the seasons, which the Father +hath put in His own power. But ye shall be witnesses unto me both in +Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost +parts of the earth." + +Then He blessed them, and while they were looking at Him He was lifted +above them, and a cloud seemed to come between them and their Divine +Master. + +[Illustration: The Ascension] + +While they still gazed toward heaven hoping perhaps to see Him again, +two men in white garments stood by them and said, + +"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same +Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like +manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." + +Then they worshipped their ascended Lord, and returned to Jerusalem +full of joy and praise, to meet the other disciples in the upper room, +to tell them of what they had seen, and to wait for the Promise of the +Father. + + + + +CHAPTER XLVIII. + +THE PROMISE OF THE FATHER. + +While the disciples of Jesus waited in Jerusalem for the gift of the +Holy Spirit--the Comforter--who was to come and teach them all things, +and bring all the Lord's words to their remembrance, they were much in +prayer, and looked to the Lord for direction about the things of the +Kingdom. + +Peter did much to help the others, for his faith had grown stronger, +and he was no longer afraid. Many who had partly believed in Jesus +before His crucifixion, and who had come to believe in the risen Lord, +joined the little band, until they numbered one hundred and twenty at +one of their meetings, and the mother of Jesus was among them. At this +meeting Peter proposed that some disciple who could be a witness with +them to the Lord's resurrection should be appointed to the place that +Judas once held in the circle of the twelve. The ten disciples agreed +with Peter, and two were chosen--Joseph and Matthias. Then they prayed +that the Lord Himself would show them which of these two He wished to +be an Apostle, and when they cast lots the lot fell upon Matthias. + +When the upper room became too small they went to a larger one that was +more public, and did not try to guard their doors, for the priests had +become afraid of the people as well as of the signs at the time of the +Lord's death, when the sky was darkened, the rocks rent by an +earthquake, and the Temple veil by an unseen Hand. + +The Feast of the Weeks came on, and at the end of May--the day of +Pentecost (the fiftieth after the second day of the Passover), the +Lord's little church had gathered in their large public room to pray +and wait for the Promise. Suddenly there came a sound from the heavens +like the rushing of a mighty wind, and with it came a flash of fire +which was not lightning, but which divided into many, and sat above the +brow of each like a soft, bright tongue of flame. + +Then the silence was broken, and they all began to praise God in other +languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance, for the Promise of the +Father had been given, and the Lord Himself had come to dwell in His +people--not only in these, but in all who should believe on Him through +their word. + +There were some good Jews present who had come from foreign countries +to the Feast, and spoke other languages, and when each heard his own +language spoken by these unlearned men they were astonished. The news +spread and many came to hear. "Are not all these which speak +Galileans?" they asked, "and how hear we every man in our own tongue +wherein we were born? What meaneth this?" Others made light of it +all, and said that they were full of new wine. + +Then Peter, strong in the power of the Holy Spirit, stood up and spoke +to the people. You will find Peter's sermon in the second chapter of +Acts, and his text was a wonderful saying of the prophet Joel, +beginning, as Peter gave it,-- + +"And it shall come to pass in the last days I will pour out of my +Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, +and your young men shall dream dreams; and on my servants, and on my +handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall +prophesy. And it shall came to pass that whosoever shall call on the +name of the Lord shall be saved." + +Peter did not spare the enemies of our Lord in his sermon, nor did he +fear them. He preached to them of Jesus of Nazareth, and whom they had +taken and by wicked hands had crucified and slain: and whom God had +raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not +possible that He should be holden of it. He closed by telling them +that God had made that same Jesus whom they had crucified both Lord and +Christ. + +There were many among the people gathered there who were pricked in +their hearts because of Peter's words, which had the power of the Holy +Spirit in them. They looked at each other and said, + +"Men and brethren, what shall we do?" + +Peter encouraged them to repentance and baptism in the name of Jesus +Christ, telling them that the promise was to them and to their +children, and to all that were afar off. + +It was a wonderful day for the Church of Jesus Christ, and for His +Kingdom on the earth, for there were about three thousand who that day +received baptism, and joined the little despised company of the +followers of Jesus of Nazareth. And all that believed were drawn +together by the love of the Lord Jesus, and no longer lived for +themselves, but for each other. That there might be no rich and no +poor among them, they sold their possessions and parted them to all, as +every one had need. In the Temple, in each other's houses breaking +bread together, wherever they were they were happy and strong in their +new faith and in favor with all the people. Though great trials and +persecutions came after awhile, they bore them as seeing their +invisible Lord, and they joyfully met the loss of all things--even that +of life itself with a smile, remembering the Father's House with its +many mansions, and their spiritual Elder Brother who had gone to +prepare a place for them. + + + + +AN AFTERWORD. + + +_Dear Child_:--God's Book is a Book of Ages, a Book of Races, and a +Book of Nations; but it is far more, it is a Book through which God +Himself speaks to the soul of man. We begin to read it thinking that +He is speaking to the mind; afterward, when our conscience wakes, we +believe He speaks to the heart, but at last we find that He speaks to +the inmost spirit--the immortal soul. Then all that had seemed to be +history, poetry, biography, philosophy, begins to be to us the voice of +God in the inmost of the soul, speaking of the life of the spirit. + +We, find at last, too, that One has walked beside us all the way, +teaching us by His Spirit as He taught the people on the hill-side, or +by the lake-side in Galilee: the One who said, "Before Abraham was, I +am"--the Child of Bethlehem, whose name was called "Wonderful, +Counsellor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, The Prince of +Peace." That you, dear child, may find Him walking close beside your +way, be in the habit of walking daily with Him in the paths of His +Word, and He will reveal Himself to you there. + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Child's Story of the Bible, by Mary A. Lathbury + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHILD'S STORY OF THE BIBLE *** + +***** This file should be named 25309.txt or 25309.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/3/0/25309/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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