[Illustration: THE FINDING OF MOSES--The daughter of Pharaoh comesto the water's edge and finds the child. By chance the child's mother iscalled as nurse, and it grew and was brought to Pharaoh's daughter andbecame her son--(Exodus 2; 5-10. )]

THE WONDER BOOKOF BIBLE STORIES

EDITED AND ARRANGED BYLOGAN MARSHALL

[Illustration: The baby in the manger]

THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, PUBLISHERSPHILADELPHIA CHICAGO

TORONTO--THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, LIMITEDCopyright, 1925, byTHE JOHN C. WINSTON CO. 

Copyright, 1925, in the Philippine Islands. 

Copyright, 1904, byTHE J. C. W. CO. 

PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. AT THE INTERNATIONAL PRESS

THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, PROPRIETORS, PHILADELPHIA

CONTENTS

 PAGEINTRODUCTION 1

THE STORY OF ADAM AND EVE 3

THE STORY OF NOAH AND THE ARK 7

THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL 16

THE STORY OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC 22

THE STORY OF JACOB 28

 THE SALE OF A BIRTHRIGHT 29

 THE STORY OF THE LADDER THAT REACHED TO HEAVEN 37

THE STORY OF JOSEPH

 THE COAT OF MANY COLORS 42

 THE DREAMS OF A KING 49

 THE STORY OF THE MONEY IN THE SACKS 58

 THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST BROTHER 65

THE STORY OF MOSES, THE CHILD WHO WAS FOUND IN THE RIVER 73

THE STORY OF THE GRAPES FROM CANAAN 82

THE STORY OF GIDEON AND HIS THREE HUNDRED SOLDIERS 88

THE STORY OF SAMSON, THE STRONG MAN 98

THE STORY OF RUTH, THE GLEANER 111

THE STORY OF DAVID

 THE SHEPHERD BOY 117

 THE STORY OF THE FIGHT WITH THE GIANT 125

THE STORY OF THE CAVE OF ADULLAM 131

THE STORY OF SOLOMON AND HIS TEMPLE 133

THE STORY OF ELIJAH, THE PROPHET 138

THE STORY OF JONAH AND THE WHALE 142

THE STORY OF THE FIERY FURNACE 147

THE STORY OF DANIEL IN THE LION'S DEN 155

THE STORY OF THE ANGEL BY THE ALTAR 160

THE STORY OF JESUS

 THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM 167

 THE STORY OF THE STAR AND THE WISE MEN 172

 THE STORY OF THE CHILD IN THE TEMPLE 179

 THE STORY OF THE WATER THAT WAS TURNED INTO WINE 184

 THE STORY OF THE STRANGER AT THE WELL 189

 THE STORY OF THE FISHERMEN 195

 THE STORY OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT 199

 THE STORY OF THE MIRACLE WORKER 206

 THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND THE GOOD SAMARITAN 215

 THE STORY OF THE PALM BRANCHES 221

 THE STORY OF THE BETRAYAL 228

 THE STORY OF THE EMPTY TOMB 235

THE STORY OF THE MAN AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE 243

THE STORY OF STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR 249

ILLUSTRATIONS

 PAGEThe Finding of Moses i

Title Plate ii

They were driven forth by an angel 3

Cain and Abel 5

The water rose higher and higher 12

So Noah opened the door of the ark 14

In some way she lost the road 19

Learned to shoot with the bow and arrow 20

For two days they walked 24

"God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering" 25

"Sell me your birthright" 29

"Now, my son, do what I tell you" 32

"May nations bow down to you" 34

Angels were upon the stairs 38

Jacob went onward in his long journey 40

Back to the Land of Canaan 43

Walking northward over the mountains 45

For twenty pieces of silver they sold Joseph 47

"The two dreams have the same meaning" 56

"What wicked thing is this that you have done?" 70

They made the Israelites work hard 75

She placed her baby in the ark 76

Moses became a shepherd in the wilderness of Midian 79

God fed them day by day with manna 81

A cluster of grapes so large that two men carried it 83

The angel touched the offering with his staff 89

The men blew their trumpets with a mighty noise 95

He carried off the gates of the city 105

He bowed forward with all his might and pulledthe pillars with him 109

Ruth went out into the fields to glean the grain 114

Then Samuel poured oil on David's head 122

The giant looked down on the youth and despised him 128

David drew out the giant's own sword 129

Solomon on his throne 136

Supposed form of Solomon's Temple 137

Ship in Solomon's time 137

Denounced Ahab and Jezebel 139

Made king when he was only seven years old 140

"This is the arrow of victory" 141

To shade Jonah from the sun 145

Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage 150

An angel befriended them 152

Thrown into the den of lions 157

Daniel's Answer to the King 158

"Do not be afraid, Zacharias" 162

They were filled with fear 169

The baby in the manger 170

The Shepherds in the Field 171

The wise men went their way 173

He took his wife and baby and went down to Egypt 176

Sitting in a company of the doctors of the law 181

"Fill the jars with water" 185

"Take these things away" 187

The net caught so many fishes they could not pull it up 196

"I came not to call those who think themselves to be good" 201

Then, on the mountain, he preached 203

"Speak the word and my servant shall be cured" 207

The children loved to gather around him 210

Then he lifted him up 219

Came to Bethany where his friends Martha and Mary lived 221

She wiped his feet with her hair 223

They threw their garments upon the ground for Jesus to ride upon 225

The great city was deaf to his pleadings 227

Peter Denies Christ 232

He heard their complaints 235

INTRODUCTION

The Bible is one of the two or three oldest books in the world, butunlike most of the ancient books, it is found not only in greatlibraries, but in almost every home of the civilized world; and it isnot only studied by learned scholars, but read by the common people; andits many stories grasp and hold the attention of little children. Happyis that child who has heard, over and over again, the Bible storiesuntil they have become fixed in his mind and memory, to become thefoundations of a noble life. 

It is with the desire of aiding parents and teachers in telling thesestories, and aiding children to understand them, also in the hope thatthey may be read in many schools, that a few among the many interestingstories in the Bible have been chosen, brought together and as far asnecessary simplified to meet the minds of the young. 

[Signature: Jesse Lyman Hurlbut]

THE STORY OF ADAM AND EVE

The first man's name was Adam and his wife he called Eve. They lived ina beautiful Garden away in the East Country which was called Eden, filled with beautiful trees and flowers of all kinds. But they did notlive in Eden long for they did not obey God's command, but ate the fruitof a tree which had been forbidden them. They were driven forth by anangel and had to give up their beautiful home. 

[Illustration: _They were driven forth by an angel_]

So Adam and his wife went out into the world to live and to work. For atime they were all alone, but after a while God gave them a little childof their own, the first baby that ever came into the world. Eve namedhim Cain; and after a time another baby came, whom she named Abel. 

When the two boys grew up, they worked, as their father worked beforethem. Cain, the older brother, chose to work in the fields, and to raisegrain and fruits. Abel, the younger brother, had a flock of sheep andbecame a shepherd. 

While Adam and Eve were living in the Garden of Eden, they could talkwith God and hear God's voice speaking to them. But now that they wereout in the world, they could no longer talk with God freely, as before. So when they came to God, they built an altar of stones heaped up, andupon it, they laid something as a gift to God, and burned it, to showthat it was not their own, but was given to God, whom they could notsee. Then before the altar they made their prayer to God, and asked Godto forgive their sins, all that they had done was wrong; and prayed Godto bless them and do good to them. 

Each of these brothers, Cain and Abel, offered upon the altar to God hisown gift. Cain brought the fruits and the grain which he had grown; andAbel brought a sheep from his flock, and killed it and burned it uponthe altar. For some reason God was pleased with Abel and his offering, but was not pleased with Cain and his offering. Perhaps God wished Cainto offer something that had life, as Abel offered; perhaps Cain's heartwas not right when he came before God. 

And God showed that He was not pleased with Cain; and Cain, instead ofbeing sorry for his sin, and asking God to forgive him, was very angrywith God, and angry also toward his brother Abel. When they were out inthe field together Cain struck his brother Abel and killed him. So thefirst baby in the world grew up to be the murderer of his own brother. 

And the Lord said to Cain, "Where is Abel, your brother?"

[Illustration: _Cain and Abel_]

And Cain answered, "I do not know; why should I take care of mybrother?"

Then the Lord said to Cain, "What is this that you have done? Yourbrother's blood is like a voice crying to me from the ground. Do you seehow the ground has opened, like a mouth, to drink your brother's blood?As long as you live, you shall be under God's curse for the murder ofyour brother. You shall wander over the earth, and shall never find ahome, because you have done this wicked deed. "

And Cain said to the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear. Thou hast driven me out from among men; and thou hast hid thy face fromme. If any man finds me he will kill me, because I shall be alone, andno one will be my friend. "

And God said to Cain, "If any one harms Cain, he shall be punished forit. " And the Lord God placed a mark on Cain, so that whoever met himshould know him and should know also that God had forbidden any man toharm him. Then Cain and his wife went away from Adam's home to live in aplace by themselves, and there they had children. And Cain's familybuilt a city in that land; and Cain named the city after his firstchild, whom he had called Enoch. 

THE STORY OF NOAH AND THE ARK

After Abel was slain, and his brother Cain had gone into another land, again God gave a child to Adam and Eve. This child they named Seth; andother sons and daughters were given to them; for Adam and Eve lived manyyears. But at last they died, as God had said they must die, becausethey had eaten of the tree that God had forbidden them to eat. 

By the time that Adam died, there were many people on the earth; for thechildren of Adam and Eve had many other children; and when these grew upthey had other children; and these had children also. These men andwomen and children lived in tents. They owned sheep and cattle, and theymoved about with them, wherever they could find pasture. The childrenplayed around the tent doors, and sat beside the camp-fires in theevenings, where they all sang together, and the older people told themstories. And after a time this land where Adam's sons lived began to befull of people. 

It is sad to tell that as time went on more and more of these peoplebecame wicked, and fewer and fewer of them grew up to become good menand women. All the people lived near together, and few went away toother lands; so it came to pass that even the children of good men andwomen learned to be bad, like the people around them, and no longer didwhat was right and good. 

And as God looked down on the world that he had made, he saw how wickedthe men in it had become, and that every thought and every act of manwas evil and only evil continually. 

But while most of the people in the world were very wicked, there weresome good people also, though they were very few. The best of all themen who lived at that time was a man whose name was Enoch. He was notthe son of Cain, but another Enoch, who came from the family of Seth, the son of Adam, who was born after the death of Abel. While so manyaround Enoch were doing evil, this man did only what was right. Hewalked with God and God walked with him, and talked with him. And atlast, when Enoch was a very old man and weary with life, God took himaway from earth to heaven. He did not die, as all the people have sinceAdam disobeyed God, but "he was not, for God took him. " This means thatEnoch was taken up from earth without dying. 

All the people in the time of Enoch were not shepherds. Some of them hadlearned how to make rude bows and arrows and axes and plows. And after along time they melted iron, and they made knives and swords and dishesto use in their homes. They sowed grain in the fields and reapedharvests, and they planted vines and fruit trees. But God looked down onthe earth and said:

"I will take away all men from the earth that I have made; because themen of the world are evil, and do evil continually. "

But even in those bad times God saw one good man. His name was Noah. Noah tried to do right in the sight of God. As Enoch had walked withGod, so Noah walked with God, and talked with him. And Noah had threesons; their names were Shem, and Ham, and Japheth. 

God said to Noah, "The time has come when all the men and women on theearth are to be destroyed. Every one must die, because they are allwicked. But you and your family shall be saved, because you alone aretrying to do right. "

Then God told Noah how he might save his life and the lives of his sons. He was to build a very large boat, as large as the largest ships thatare made in our time; very long, and very wide and very deep; with aroof over it; and made like a long, wide house in three stories; but sobuilt that it would float on the water. Such a ship as this was called"an ark. " God told Noah to build this ark, and to have it ready for thetime when he would need it. 

"For, " said God to Noah, "I am going to bring a great flood of water onthe earth to cover all the land and to drown all the people on theearth. And as the animals on the earth will be drowned with the people, you must make the ark large enough to hold a pair of each kind ofanimals and several pairs of some animals that are needed by men, likesheep and goats and oxen; so that there will be animals as well as mento live upon the earth after the flood has passed away. And you musttake in the ark food for yourself and your family, and for all theanimals with you; enough food to last for a year, while the flood shallstay on the earth. "

And Noah did what God told him to do, although it must have seemed verystrange to all the people around, to build this great ark where therewas no water for it to sail upon. And it was a long time, because thisship was so big, that Noah and his sons were at work building the ark, which God had told them to build, while the wicked people aroundwondered, and no doubt laughed at Noah for building a great ship wherethere was no sea. 

At last the ark was finished, and stood like a great house on the land. There was a door on one side, and a window on the roof, to let in thelight. Then God said to Noah:

"Come into the ark, you and your wife, and your three sons, and theirwives with them; for the flood of waters will come very soon. And takewith you animals of all kinds, and birds, and things that creep; sevenpairs of these that will be needed by men, and one pair of all the rest, so that all kinds of animals may be kept alive upon the earth. "

So Noah and his wife, and his three sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, withtheir wives, went into the ark. And God brought to the door of the arkthe animals, and the birds, and the creeping things of all kinds; andthey went into the ark. And Noah and his sons put them in their places, and brought in food enough to feed them all for many days. And then thedoor of the ark was shut and no more people and no more animals couldcome in. 

In a few days the rain began to fall, as it had never rained before. Itseemed as though the heavens were opened to pour great floods upon theearth. The streams filled, and the rivers rose higher and higher, andthe ark began to float on the water. The people left their houses andran up to the hills; but soon the hills were covered, and all the peopleon them were drowned. 

Some had climbed up to the tops of higher mountains, but the water rosehigher and higher, until even the mountains were covered and all thepeople, wicked as they had been, were drowned in the great sea that nowrolled over all the earth where man had lived. And all the animals, thetame animals, cattle, and sheep, and oxen, were drowned; and the wildanimals, lions, and tigers, and all the rest were drowned also. Even thebirds were drowned, for their nests in the trees were swept away, andthere was no place where they could fly from the terrible storm. Forforty days and nights the rain kept on, until there was no breath oflife remaining outside of the ark. 

[Illustration: _The water rose higher and higher_]

After forty days the rain stopped, but the water stayed upon the earthfor more than six months, and the ark with all that were in it floatedover the great sea that covered the land. Then God sent a wind to blowover the waters, and to dry them up; so by degrees the waters grew lessand less. First mountains rose above the waters, then the hills roseup, and finally the ark ceased to float and lay aground on a mountainwhich is called Mount Ararat. 

But Noah could not see what had happened on the earth, because the doorwas shut, and the only window was up in the roof. But he felt that theark was no longer moving, and he knew that the water must have gonedown. So, after waiting for a time, Noah opened a window, and let loosea bird called a raven. Now the raven has strong wings; and this ravenflew round and round until the waters had gone down, and it could find aplace to rest, and it did not come back to the ark. 

After Noah had waited for it awhile, he sent out a dove; but the dovecould not find any place to rest, so it flew back to the ark, and Noahtook it into the ark again. Then Noah waited a week longer, andafterward he sent out the dove again. And at the evening, the dove cameback to the ark, which was its home; and in its bill was a fresh leafwhich it had picked off from an olive tree. 

So Noah knew that the water had gone down enough to let the trees growagain. He waited another week, and sent out the dove again; but thistime the dove flew away and never came back. And Noah knew that theearth was becoming dry again. So he took off a part of the roof, andlooked out, and saw that there was dry land all around the ark, and thewaters were no longer everywhere. 

Noah had now lived in the ark a little more than a year, and he was gladto see the green land and the trees once more. And God said to Noah:

"Come out of the ark, with your wife, and your sons, and their wives, and all the living things that are with you in the ark. "

[Illustration: _So Noah opened the door of the Ark_]

So Noah opened the door of the ark, and with his family came out, andstood once more on the ground. And the animals, and birds, and creepingthings in the ark, came out also, and began again to bring life to theearth. 

The first thing that Noah did when he came out of the ark, was to givethanks to God for saving all his family when the rest of the people onthe earth were destroyed. He built an altar, and laid upon it anoffering to the Lord, and gave himself and his family to God andpromised to do God's will. 

And God was pleased with Noah's offering, and God said:

"I will not again destroy the earth on account of men, no matter how badthey may be. From this time no flood shall again cover the earth; butthe seasons of spring and summer and fall and winter, shall remainwithout change. I give to you the earth; you shall be the rulers of theground and of every living thing upon it. "

Then God caused a rainbow to appear in the sky, and he told Noah and hissons that whenever they or the people after them should see the rainbow, they should remember that God had placed it in the sky and over theclouds as a sign of his promise, that he would always remember theearth, and the people upon it, and would never again send a flood todestroy man from the earth. 

So as often as we see the beautiful rainbow, we are to remember that itis the sign of God's promise to the world. 

THE STORY OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL

After the great flood the family of Noah and those who came after himgrew in number, until, as the years went on, the earth began to be fullof people once more. But there was one great difference between thepeople who had lived before the flood and those who lived after it. Before the flood, all the people stayed close together, so that verymany lived in one land, and no one lived in other lands. After the floodfamilies began to move from one place to another, seeking for themselvesnew homes. Some went one way, and some another, so that as the number ofpeople grew, they covered much more of the earth than those who hadlived before the flood. 

Part of the people went up to the north and built a city called Nineveh, which became the ruling city of a great land called Assyria, whosepeople were called Assyrians. 

Another company went away to the west and settled by the great riverNile, and founded the land of Egypt, with its strange temples andpyramids, its sphinx and its monuments. 

Another company wandered northwest until they came to the shore of thegreat sea which they called the Mediterranean Sea. There they foundedthe cities of Sidon and Tyre, where the people were sailors, sailing tocountries far away, and bringing home many things from other lands tosell to the people of Babylon, and Assyria, and Egypt, and othercountries. 

Among the many cities which the people built were two called Sodom andGomorrah. The people in these cities were very wicked and were nearlyall destroyed. One good man named Lot and his family escaped. There wasanother good man named Abraham who did not live in these cities. Hetried to do God's will and was promised a son to bring joy into hisfamily. 

After Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed, Abraham moved his tent and hiscamp away from that part of the land, and went to live near a placecalled Gerar, in the southwest, not far from the Great Sea. And there atlast, the child whom God had promised to Abraham and Sarah, his wife, was born, when Abraham, his father, was a very old man. 

They named this child Isaac, as the angel had told them he should benamed. And Abraham and Sarah were so happy to have a little boy, thatafter a time they gave a great feast and invited all the people to comeand rejoice with them, and all in honor of the little Isaac. 

Now Sarah had a maid named Hagar, an Egyptian woman, who ran away fromher mistress, and saw an angel by a well, and afterward came back toSarah. She, too, had a child and his name was Ishmael. So now there weretwo boys in Abraham's tent, the older boy, Ishmael, the son of Hagar, and the younger boy, Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah. 

Ishmael did not like the little Isaac, and did not treat him kindly. This made his mother Sarah very angry, and she said to her husband:

"I do not wish to have this boy Ishmael growing up with my son Isaac. Send away Hagar and her boy, for they are a trouble to me. "

And Abraham felt very sorry to have trouble come between Sarah andHagar, and between Isaac and Ishmael; for Abraham was a kind and goodman, and he was friendly to them all. 

But the Lord said to Abraham, "Do not be troubled about Ishmael and hismother. Do as Sarah has asked you to do, and send them away. It is bestthat Isaac should be left alone in your tent, for he is to receiveeverything that is yours. I the Lord will take care of Ishmael, and willmake a great people of his descendants, those who shall come from him. "

So the next morning Abraham sent Hagar and her boy away, expecting themto go back to the land of Egypt, from which Hagar had come. He gave themsome food for the journey, and a bottle of water to drink by the way. The bottles in that country are not like ours, made of glass. They aremade from the skin of a goat. One of these skin-bottles Abraham filledwith water and gave to Hagar. 

And Hagar went away from Abraham's tent, leading her little boy. But insome way she lost the road, and wandered over the desert, not knowingwhere she was, until all the water in the bottle was used up; and herpoor boy in the hot sun and the burning sand had nothing to drink. Shethought that he would die of his terrible thirst; and she laid him downunder a little bush; and then she went away, for she said to herself:

[Illustration: _In some way she lost the road_]

"I cannot bear to look at my poor boy suffering and dying for want ofwater. "

And just at that moment, while Hagar was crying, and her boy wasmoaning with thirst, she heard a voice saying to her:

"Hagar, what is your trouble? Do not be afraid. God has heard your cryand the cry of your child. God will take care of you both, and will makeof your boy a great nation of people. "

It was the voice of an angel from heaven; and then Hagar looked, andthere, close at hand, was a spring of water in the desert. How gladHagar was as she filled the bottle with water and took it to hersuffering boy under the bush!

[Illustration: _Learned to shoot with the bow and arrow_]

After this Hagar did not go down to Egypt. She found a place where shelived and brought up her son in the wilderness, far from other people. And Ishmael grew up in the desert and learned to shoot with the bow andarrow. He became a wild man, and his children after him grew up to bewild men also. They were the Arabians of the desert, who even to thisday have never been ruled by any other people, but wander through thedesert, and live as they please. So Ishmael came to be the father ofmany people, and his descendants, the wild Arabians of the desert, areliving unto this day in that land. 

THE STORY OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC

You remember that in those times of which we are telling, when menworshipped God, they built an altar of earth or of stone, and laid anoffering upon it as a gift to God. The offering was generally a sheep, or a goat, or a young ox--some animal that was used for food. Such anoffering was called "a sacrifice. "

But the people who worshipped idols often did what seems to us strangeand very terrible. They thought that it would please their gods if theywould offer as a sacrifice the most precious living things that weretheir own; and they would take their own little children and kill themupon their altars as offerings to the gods of wood and stone, that wereno real gods, but only images. 

God wished to show Abraham and all his descendants, those who shouldcome after him, that he was not pleased with such offerings as those ofliving people, killed on the altars. And God took a way to teachAbraham, so that he and his children after him would never forget it. Then at the same time he wished to see how faithful and obedient Abrahamwould be to his commands; how fully Abraham would trust in God, or, aswe would say, how great was Abraham's faith in God. 

So God gave to Abraham a command which he did not mean to have obeyed, though this he did not tell to Abraham. He said:

"Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love so greatly, andgo to the land of Moriah, and there on a mountain that I will show you, offer him for a burnt-offering to me. "

Though this command filled Abraham's heart with pain, yet he would notbe as surprised to receive it as a father would in our day; for suchofferings were very common among all those people in the land whereAbraham lived. Abraham never for one moment doubted or disobeyed God'sword. He knew that Isaac was the child whom God had promised, and thatGod had promised, too, that Isaac should have children, and that thosecoming from Isaac should be a great nation. He did not see how God couldkeep his promise with regard to Isaac, if Isaac should be killed as anoffering; unless indeed God should raise him up from the dead afterward. 

But Abraham undertook at once to obey. God's command. He took two youngmen with him and an ass laden with wood for the fire; and he went towardthe mountain in the north, Isaac, his son, walking by his side. For twodays they walked, sleeping under the trees at night in the open country. And on the third day Abraham saw the mountain far away. And as they drewnear to the mountain Abraham said to the young men:

[Illustration: _For two days they walked_]

"Stay here with the ass, while I go up yonder mountain with Isaac toworship; and when we have worshipped, we will come back to you. " ForAbraham believed that in some way God would bring back Isaac to life. Hetook the wood from the ass and placed it on Isaac, and they two walkedup the mountain together. As they were walking, Isaac said:

"Father, here is the wood, but where is the lamb for the offering?"

And Abraham said, "My son, God will provide himself a Lamb for a burntoffering. "

And they came to the place on the top of the mountain. There Abrahambuilt an altar of stones and earth heaped up; and on it he placed thewood. Then he tied the hands and the feet of Isaac, and laid him on thealtar, on the wood. And Abraham lifted up his hand, holding a knife tokill his son. Another moment longer and Isaac would be slain by his ownfather's hand. 

[Illustration: _"God will provide himself a lamb for a burntoffering"_]

But just at that moment the angel of the Lord out of heaven called toAbraham, and said:

"Abraham! Abraham!"

And Abraham answered, "Here I am, Lord. " Then the angel of the Lordsaid:

"Do not lay your hand upon your son. Do no harm to him. Now I know thatyou love God more than you love your only son, and that you are obedientto God, since you are ready to give up your son, your only son, to God. "

What a relief and a joy these words from heaven brought to the heart ofAbraham! How glad he was to know that it was not God's will for him tokill his son! Then Abraham looked around, and there in the thicket was aram caught by his horns. And Abraham took the ram and offered him up fora burnt-offering in place of his son. So Abraham's words came true whenhe said that God would provide for himself a lamb. 

The place where this altar was built Abraham named Jehovah-jireh, wordsin the language that Abraham spoke meaning, "The Lord will provide. "

This offering, which seems so strange, did much good. It showed toAbraham, and to Isaac also, that Isaac belonged to God, for to God hehad been offered; and in Isaac all those who should come from him, hisdescendants, had been given to God. Then it showed to Abraham and toall the people after him, that God did not wish children or men killedas offerings for worship; and while all the people around offered suchsacrifices, the Israelites, who came from Abraham and from Isaac, neveroffered them, but offered oxen and sheep and goats instead. 

These gifts, which cost so much toil, they felt must be pleasing to God, because they expressed their thankfulness to him. But they were glad tobe taught that God does not desire men's lives to be taken, but lovesour living gifts of love and kindness. 

THE STORY OF JACOB

After Abraham died, his son Isaac lived in the land of Canaan. Like hisfather, Isaac had his home in a tent; around him were the tents of hispeople, and many flocks of sheep and herds of cattle feeding whereverthey could find grass to eat and water to drink. 

Isaac and his wife Rebekah had two children. The older was named Esauand the younger Jacob. 

Esau was a man of the woods and very fond of hunting; and he was roughand covered with hair. 

Jacob was quiet and thoughtful, staying at home, dwelling in a tent, andcaring for the flocks of his father. 

Isaac loved Esau more than Jacob, because Esau brought to his fatherthat which he had killed in his hunting; but Rebekah liked Jacob, because she saw that he was wise and careful in his work. 

Among the people in those lands, when a man dies, his older son receivestwice as much as the younger of what the father has owned. This wascalled his "birthright, " for it was his right as the oldest born. SoEsau, as the older, had a "birthright" to more of Isaac's possessionsthan Jacob. And besides this, there was the privilege of the promise ofGod that the family of Isaac should receive great blessings. 

THE SALE OF A BIRTHRIGHT

Now Esau, when he grew up, did not care for his birthright or theblessing which God had promised. But Jacob, who was a wise man, wishedgreatly to have the birthright which would come to Esau when his fatherdied. Once, when Esau came home, hungry and tired from hunting in thefields, he saw that Jacob had a bowl of something that he had justcooked for dinner. And Esau said:

"Give me some of that red stuff in the dish. Will you not give me some?I am hungry. "

[Illustration: _"Sell me your birthright"_]

And Jacob answered, "I will give it to you, if you will first of allsell to me your birthright. "

And Esau said, "What is the use of the birthright to me now, when I amalmost starving to death? You can have my birthright if you will give mesomething to eat. "

Then Esau made Jacob a solemn promise to give to Jacob his birthright, all for a bowl of food. It was not right for Jacob to deal so selfishlywith his brother; but it was very wrong in Esau to care so little forhis birthright and God's blessing. 

Some time after this, when Esau was forty years old, he married twowives. Though this would be very wicked in our times, it was notsupposed to be wrong then; for even good men then had more than onewife. But Esau's two wives were women from the people of Canaan, whoworshipped idols, and not the true God. And they taught their childrenalso to pray to idols; so that those who came from Esau, the people whowere his descendants, lost all knowledge of God, and became very wicked. But this was long after that time. 

Isaac and Rebekah were very sorry to have their son Esau marry women whoprayed to idols and not to God; but still Isaac loved his active sonEsau more than his quiet son Jacob. But Rebekah loved Jacob more thanEsau. 

Isaac became at last very old and feeble, and so blind that he couldsee scarcely anything. One day he said to Esau:

"My son, I am very old, and do not know how soon I must die. But beforeI die, I wish to give to you, as my older son, God's blessing upon you, and your children, and your descendants. Go out into the fields, andwith your bow and arrows shoot some animal that is good for food, andmake for me a dish of cooked meat such as you know I love; and after Ihave eaten it I will give you the blessing. "

Now Esau ought to have told his father that the blessing did not belongto him, for he had sold it to his brother Jacob. But he did not tell hisfather. He went out into the fields hunting, to find the kind of meatwhich his father liked the most. 

Now Rebekah was listening, and heard all that Isaac had said to Esau. She knew that it would be better for Jacob to have the blessing than forEsau; and she loved Jacob more than Esau. So she called to Jacob andtold him what Isaac had said to Esau, and she said:

"Now, my son, do what I tell you, and you will get the blessing insteadof your brother. Go to the flocks and bring to me two little kids fromthe goats, and I will cook them just like the meat which Esau cooks foryour father. And you will bring it to your father, and he will thinkthat you are Esau, and will give you the blessing; and it really belongsto you. "

[Illustration: _"Now, my son, do what I tell you"_]

But Jacob said, "You know that Esau and I are not alike. His neck andarms are covered with hairs, while mine are smooth. My father will feelof me, and he will find that I am not Esau; and then, instead of givingme a blessing, I am afraid that he will curse me. "

But Rebekah answered her son, "Never mind; you do as I have told you, and I will take care of you. If any harm comes it will come to me; so donot be afraid, but go and bring the meat. "

Then Jacob went and brought a pair of little kids from the flocks, andfrom them his mother made a dish of food, so that it would be to thetaste just as Isaac liked it. Then Rebekah found some of Esau's clothes, and dressed Jacob in them; and she placed on his neck and hands some ofthe skins of the kids, so that his neck and his hands would feel roughand hairy to the touch. 

Then Jacob came into his father's tent, bringing the dinner, andspeaking as much like Esau as he could, he said:

"Here I am, my father. "

And Isaac said, "Who are you, my son?"

And Jacob answered, "I am Esau, your oldest son; I have done as you bademe; now sit up and eat the dinner that I have made, and then give meyour blessing as you promised me. "

And Isaac said, "How is it that you found it so quickly?"

Jacob answered, "Because the Lord your God showed me where to go andgave me good success. "

Isaac did not feel certain that it was his son Esau, and he said, "Comenear and let me feel you, so that I may know that you are really my sonEsau. "

And Jacob went up close to Isaac's bed, and Isaac felt of his face, andhis neck, and his hands, and he said:

[Illustration: _"May nations bow down to you. "_]

"The voice sounds like Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau. Areyou really my son Esau?"

And Jacob told a lie to his father, and said, "I am. "

Then the old man ate the food that Jacob had brought to him; and hekissed Jacob, believing him to be Esau; and he gave him the blessing, saying to him:

"May God give you the dew of heaven, and the richness of the earth, andplenty of grain and wine. May nations bow down to you and peoples becomeyour servants. May you be the master over your brother, and may yourfamily and descendants that shall come from you rule over his family andhis descendants. Blessed be those that bless you, and cursed be thosethat curse you. "

Just as soon as Jacob had received the blessing he rose up and hastenedaway. He had scarcely gone out, when Esau came in from hunting, with thedish of food that he had cooked. And he said:

"Let my father sit up and eat the food that I have brought, and give methe blessing. "

And Isaac said, "Why, who are you?"

Esau answered, "I am your son; your oldest son, Esau. "

And Isaac trembled, and said, "Who then is the one that came in andbrought to me food? and I have eaten his food and have blessed him; yes, and he shall be blessed. "

When Esau heard this, he knew that he had been cheated; and he criedaloud, with a bitter cry, "O, my father, my brother has taken away myblessing, just as he took away my birthright! But cannot you give meanother blessing, too? Have you given everything to my brother?"

And Isaac told him all that he had said to Jacob, making him the rulerover his brother. 

But Esau begged for another blessing; and Isaac said:

"My son, your dwelling shall be of the riches of the earth and of thedew of heaven. You shall live by your sword and your descendants shallserve his descendants. But in time to come they shall break loose andshall shake off the yoke of your brother's rule and shall be free. "

All this came to pass many years afterward. The people who came fromEsau lived in a land called Edom, on the south of the land of Israel, where Jacob's descendants lived. And after a time the Israelites becamerulers over the Edomites; and later still, the Edomites made themselvesfree from the Israelites. But all this took place hundreds of yearsafterward. 

It was better that Jacob's descendants, those who came after him, shouldhave the blessing, than that Esau's people should have it; for Jacob'speople worshipped God, and Esau's people walked in the way of the idolsand became wicked. 

THE STORY OF THE LADDER THAT REACHED TO HEAVEN

After Esau found that he had lost his birthright and his blessing, hewas very angry against his brother Jacob; and he said to himself, andtold others:

"My father Isaac is very old and cannot live long. As soon as he isdead, then I shall kill Jacob for having robbed me of my right. "

When Rebekah heard this, she said to Jacob, "Before it is too late, doyou go away from home and get out of Esau's sight. Perhaps when Esausees you no longer, he will forget his anger, and then you can come homeagain. Go and visit my brother Laban, your uncle, in Haran, and staywith him for a little while. "

We must remember that Rebekah came from the family of Nahor, Abraham'syounger brother, who lived in Haran, a long distance to the northeast ofCanaan, and that Laban was Rebekah's brother. 

So Jacob went out of Beersheba, on the border of the desert, and walkedalone, carrying his staff in his hand. One evening, just about sunset, he came to a place among the mountains, more than sixty miles distantfrom his home. And as he had no bed to lie down upon, he took a stoneand rested his head upon it for a pillow, and lay down to sleep. 

[Illustration: _Angels were upon the stairs_]

And on that night Jacob had a wonderful dream. In his dream he sawstairs leading from the earth where he lay up to heaven; and angels weregoing up and coming down upon the stairs. And above the stairs, he sawthe Lord God standing. And God said to Jacob:

"I am the Lord, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac your father;and I will be your God, too. The land where you are lying all alone, shall belong to you and to your children after you; and your childrenshall spread abroad over the lands, east and west, and north and south, like the dust of the earth; and in your family all the world shallreceive a blessing. And I am with you in your journey, and I will keepyou where you are going, and will bring you back to this land. I willnever leave you, and I will surely keep my promise to you. "

And in the morning Jacob awakened from his sleep, and he said:

"Surely, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it! I thoughtthat I was all alone, but God has been with me. This place is the houseof God; it is the gate of heaven!"

And Jacob took the stone on which his head had rested, and he set it upas a pillar, and poured oil on it as an offering to God. And Jacob namedthat place Bethel, which in the language that Jacob spoke means "TheHouse of God. "

And Jacob made a promise to God at that time, and said:

"If God really will go with me and will keep me in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and will bring me to my father's house inpeace, then the Lord shall be my God: and this stone shall be the houseof God, and of all that God gives me I will give back to God one-tenthas an offering. "

Then Jacob went onward in his long journey. He walked across the riverJordan in a shallow place, feeling his way with his staff; he climbedmountains and journeyed beside the great desert on the east, and at lastcame to the city of Haran. Beside the city was the well, where Abraham'sservant had met Jacob's mother, Rebekah; and there, after Jacob hadwaited for a time, he saw a young woman coming with her sheep to givethem water. 

Then Jacob took off the flat stone that was over the mouth of the well, and drew water and gave it to the sheep. And when he found that thisyoung woman was his own cousin Rachel, the daughter of Laban, he was soglad that he wept for joy. And at that moment he began to love Rachel, and longed to have her for his wife. 

[Illustration: _Jacob went onward in his long journey_]

Rachel's father, Laban, who was Jacob's uncle, gave a welcome to Jacob, and took him into his home. 

And Jacob asked Laban if he would give his daughter, Rachel, to him ashis wife; and Jacob said, "If you give me Rachel, I will work for youseven years. "

And Laban said, "It is better that you should have her, than that astranger should marry her. "

So Jacob lived seven years in Laban's house, caring for his sheep andoxen and camels; but his love for Rachel made the time seem short. 

At last the day came for the marriage; and they brought in the bride, who, after the manner of that land, was covered with a thick veil, sothat her face could not be seen. And she was married to Jacob, and whenJacob lifted up her veil he found that he had married, not Rachel, buther older sister, Leah, who was not beautiful, and whom Jacob did notlove at all. 

Jacob was very angry that he had been deceived, --though that was justthe way in which Jacob himself had deceived his father and cheated hisbrother Esau. But his uncle Laban said:

"In our land we never allow the younger daughter to be married beforethe older daughter. Keep Leah for your wife, and work for me seven yearslonger, and you shall have Rachel also. "

For in those times, as we have seen, men often had two wives, or evenmore than two. So Jacob stayed seven years more, fourteen years in all, before he received Rachel as his wife. 

While Jacob was living at Haran, eleven sons were born to him. But onlyone of these was the child of Rachel, whom Jacob loved. This son wasJoseph, who was dearer to Jacob than any other of his children, partlybecause he was the youngest, and because he was the child of his belovedRachel. 

THE STORY OF JOSEPH AND HIS COAT OF MANY COLORS

After Jacob came back to the land of Canaan with his eleven sons, another son was born to him, the second child of his wife Rachel, whomJacob loved so well. But soon after the baby came, his mother Racheldied, and Jacob was filled with sorrow. Even to this day you can see theplace where Rachel was buried, on the road between Jerusalem andBethlehem. Jacob named the child whom Rachel left, Benjamin; and nowJacob had twelve sons. Most of them were grown-up men; but Joseph was aboy seventeen years old, and his brother Benjamin was almost a baby. 

[Illustration: _Back to the Land of Canaan_]

Of all his children, Jacob loved Joseph the best, because he wasRachel's child; because he was so much younger than most of hisbrothers; and because he was good, and faithful, and thoughtful. Jacobgave to Joseph a robe or coat of bright colors, made somewhat like along cloak with wide sleeves. This was a special mark of Jacob's favorto Joseph, and it made his older brothers envious of him. 

Then, too, Joseph did what was right, while his older brothers often didvery wrong acts, of which Joseph sometimes told their father; and thismade them very angry at Joseph. But they hated him still more because oftwo strange dreams he had, and of which he told them. He said one day:"Listen to this dream that I have dreamed. I dreamed that we were out inthe field binding sheaves, when suddenly my sheaf stood up, and all yoursheaves came around it and bowed down to my sheaf!"

And they said scornfully, "Do you suppose that the dream means that youwill some time rule over us, and that we shall bow down to you?"

Then, a few days after, Joseph said, "I have dreamed again. This time, Isaw in my dream the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars, all come andbow to me!"

And his father said to him, "I do not like you to dream such dreams. Shall I, and your mother, and your brothers, come and bow down beforeyou as if you were a king?"

His brothers hated Joseph, and would not speak kindly to him; but hisfather thought much of what Joseph had said. 

At one time, Joseph's ten brothers were taking care of the flock in thefields near Shechem, which was nearly fifty miles from Hebron, whereJacob's tents were spread. And Jacob wished to send a message to hissons, and he called Joseph, and said to him:

"Your brothers are near Shechem with the flock. I wish that you would goto them, and take a message, and find if they are well, and if theflocks are doing well; and bring me word from them. "

That was quite an errand, for a boy to go alone over the country, andfind his way, for fifty miles, and then walk home again. But Joseph wasa boy who could take care of himself, and could be trusted; so he wentforth on his journey, walking northward over the mountains, pastBethlehem, and Jerusalem, and Bethel--though we are not sure thosecities were then built, except Jerusalem, which was already a strongcity. 

When Joseph reached Shechem, he could not find his brothers, for theyhad taken their flocks to another place. A man met Joseph wandering inthe field, and asked him, "Whom are you seeking?"

Joseph said, "I am looking for my brothers; the sons of Jacob. Can youtell me where I will find them?"

And the man said, "They are at Dothan; for I heard them say that theywere going there. "

Then Joseph walked over the hills to Dothan, which was fifteen milesfurther. And his brothers saw him afar off coming toward them. They knewhim by his bright garment; and one said to another: "Look, that dreameris coming! Come, let us kill him, and throw his body into a pit, andtell his father that some wild beast has eaten him; and then we will seewhat becomes of his dreams. "

[Illustration: _Walking northward over the mountains_]

One of his brothers, whose name was Reuben, felt more kindly towardJoseph than the others. He said:

"Let us not kill him, but let us throw him into this pit, in thewilderness, and leave him there to die. "

But Reuben intended, after they had gone away, to lift Joseph out of thepit, and take him home to his father. The brothers did as Reuben toldthem; they threw Joseph into the pit, which was empty. He cried, andbegged them to save him; but they would not. They calmly sat down to eattheir dinner on the grass, while their brother was calling to them fromthe pit. 

After the dinner, Reuben chanced to go to another part of the field; sothat he was not at hand when a company of men passed by with theircamels, going from Gilead, on the east of the river Jordan, to Egypt, tosell spices and fragrant gum from trees to the Egyptians. 

Then Judah, another of Joseph's brothers, said, "What good will it do usto kill our brother? Would it not be better for us to sell him to thesemen, and let them carry him away? After all, he is our brother, and wewould better not kill him. "

His brothers agreed with him; so they stopped the men who were passing, and drew up Joseph from the pit, and for twenty pieces of silver theysold Joseph to these men; and they took him away with them down toEgypt. 

After a while, Reuben came to the pit, where they had left Joseph, andlooked into it; but Joseph was not there. Then Reuben was in greattrouble; and he came back to his brothers, saying: "The boy is notthere! What shall I do!"

Then his brothers told Reuben what they had done; and they all agreedtogether to deceive their father. They killed one of the goats, anddipped Joseph's coat in its blood; and they brought it to their father, and they said to him: "We found this coat out in the wilderness. Look atit, father, and tell us if you think it was the coat of your son. "

[Illustration: _For twenty pieces of silver they sold Joseph_]

And Jacob knew it at once. He said: "It is my son's coat. Some wildbeast has eaten him. There is no doubt that Joseph has been torn inpieces!"

And Jacob's heart was broken over the loss of Joseph, all the morebecause he had sent Joseph alone on the journey through the wilderness. They tried to comfort him, but he would not be comforted. He said: "Iwill go down to the grave mourning for my poor lost son. "

So the old man sorrowed for his son Joseph; and all the time his wickedbrothers knew that Joseph was not dead; but they would not tell theirfather the dreadful deed they had done to their brother, in selling himas a slave. 

THE DREAMS OF A KING

The men who bought Joseph from his brothers were called Ishmaelites, because they belonged to the family of Ishmael, who, you remember, wasthe son of Hagar, the servant of Sarah. These men carried Josephsouthward over the plain which lies beside the great sea on the west ofCanaan; and after many days they brought Joseph to Egypt. How strange itmust have seemed to the boy who had lived in tents to see the greatriver Nile, and the cities thronged with people, and the temples, andthe mighty pyramids!

The Ishmaelites sold Joseph as a slave to a man named Potiphar, who wasan officer in the army of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Joseph was abeautiful boy, and cheerful and willing in his spirit, and able in allthat he undertook; so that his master Potiphar became very friendly tohim, and after a time, he placed Joseph in charge of his house, andeverything in it. For some years Joseph continued in the house ofPotiphar, a slave in name, but in reality the master of all his affairs, and ruler over his fellow-servants. 

But Potiphar's wife, who at first was very friendly to Joseph, afterward became his enemy, because Joseph would not do wrong to pleaseher. She told her husband falsely, that Joseph had done a wicked deed. Her husband believed her, and was very angry at Joseph, and put him inthe prison with those who had been sent to that place for breaking thelaws of the land. How hard it was for Joseph to be charged with a crime, when he had done no wrong, and to be thrust into a dark prison amongwicked people!

But Joseph had faith in God, that at some time all would come out right;and in the prison he was cheerful, and kind, and helpful, as he hadalways been. The keeper of the prison saw that Joseph was not like theother men around him, and he was kind to Joseph. In a very little while, Joseph was placed in charge of all his fellow-prisoners, and took careof them, just as he had taken care of everything in Potiphar's house. The keeper of the prison scarcely looked into the prison at all; for hehad confidence in Joseph, that he would be faithful and wise in doingthe work given to him. Joseph did right, and served God, and God blessedJoseph in everything. 

While Joseph was in the prison, two men were sent there by the king ofEgypt, because he was displeased with them. One was the king's chiefbutler, who served the king with wine; the other was the chief baker, who served him with bread. These two men were under Joseph's care; andJoseph waited on them, for they were men of rank. 

One morning, when Joseph came into the room where the butler and thebaker were kept, he found them looking quite sad. Joseph said to them:

"Why do you look so sad today?" Joseph was cheerful and happy in hisspirit; and he wished others to be happy also, even in prison. 

And one of them said, "Each one of us dreamed last night a very strangedream, and there is no one to tell us what our dreams mean. "

For in those times, before God gave the Bible to men, he often spoke tomen in dreams; and there were wise men who could sometimes tell what thedreams meant. 

"Tell me, " said Joseph, "what your dreams are. Perhaps my God will helpme to understand them. "

Then the chief butler told his dream. He said, "In my dream I saw agrape-vine with three branches; and as I looked, the branches shot outbuds; and the buds became blossoms; and the blossoms turned intoclusters of ripe grapes. And I picked the grapes, and squeezed theirjuice into king Pharaoh's cup, and it became wine; and I gave it to kingPharaoh to drink, just as I used to do when I was beside his table. "

Then Joseph said, "This is what your dream means. The three branchesmean three days. In three days, king Pharaoh shall call you out ofprison and shall put you back in your place; and you shall stand at histable, and shall give him his wine, as you have given it before. Butwhen you go out of prison, please to remember me, and try to find someway to get me, too, out of this prison. For I was stolen out of the landof Canaan, and sold as a slave; and I have done nothing wrong to deservebeing put in this prison. Do speak to the king for me, that I may be setfree. "

Of course, the chief butler felt very happy to hear that his dream hadso pleasant a meaning. And the chief baker spoke, hoping to have ananswer as good:

"In my dream, " said the baker, "there were three baskets of white breadon my head, one above another, and on the topmost basket were all kindsof roasted meat and food for Pharaoh; and the birds came, and ate thefood from the baskets on my head. "

And Joseph said to the baker:

"This is the meaning of your dream, and I am sorry to tell it to you. The three baskets are three days. In three days, by order of the kingyou shall be lifted up, and hanged upon a tree; and the birds shall eatyour flesh from your bones as you are hanging in the air. "

And it came to pass just as Joseph had said. Three days after that, kingPharaoh sent his officers to the prison. They came and took out both thechief butler and the chief baker. The baker they hung up by his neck todie, and left his body for the birds to pick in pieces. The chief butlerthey brought back to his old place, where he waited at the king's table, and handed him his wine to drink. 

You would have supposed that the butler would remember Joseph, who hadgiven him the promise of freedom, and had shown such wisdom. But in hisgladness, he forgot all about Joseph. And two full years passed by, while Joseph was still in prison, until he was a man thirty years old. 

But one night, king Pharaoh himself dreamed a dream--in fact, two dreamsin one. And in the morning he sent for all the wise men of Egypt, andtold to them his dreams; but there was not a man who could give themeaning of them. And the king was troubled, for he felt that the dreamshad some meaning which it was important for him to know. 

Then suddenly the chief butler who was by the king's table rememberedhis own dream in the prison two years before, and remembered, too, theyoung man who had told its meaning so exactly. And he said:

"I do remember my faults this day. Two years ago king Pharaoh was angrywith his servants, with me and the chief baker; and he sent us to theprison. While we were in the prison, one night each of us dreamed adream; and the next day a young man in the prison, a Hebrew from theland of Canaan, told us what our dreams meant; and in three days theycame true, just as the young Hebrew had said. I think that if this youngman is in the prison still, he could tell the king the meaning of hisdreams. "

You notice that the butler spoke of Joseph as "a Hebrew. " The people ofIsrael, to whom Joseph belonged, were called Hebrews as well asIsraelites. The word Hebrew means, "One who crossed over, " and it wasgiven to the Israelites because Abraham, their father, had come from aland on the other side of the great river Euphrates, and had crossedover the river on his way to Canaan. 

Then king Pharaoh sent in haste to the prison for Joseph; and Joseph wastaken out, and he was dressed in new garments, and was led in to Pharaohin the palace. And Pharaoh said:

"I have dreamed a dream; and there is no one who can tell what itmeans. And I have been told that you have power to understand dreams andwhat they mean. "

And Joseph answered Pharaoh:

"The power is not in me; but God will give Pharaoh a good answer. Whatis the dream that the king has dreamed?"

"In my first dream, " said Pharaoh, "I was standing by the river: and Isaw seven fat and handsome cows come up from the river to feed in thegrass. And while they were feeding, seven other cows followed them upfrom the river, very thin, and poor, and lean--such miserable creaturesas I had never seen before. And the seven lean cows ate up the seven fatcows; and after they had eaten them up, they were as lean and miserableas before. Then I awoke. 

"And I fell asleep again, and dreamed again. In my second dream, I sawseven heads of grain growing up on one stalk, large, and strong, andgood. And then seven heads came up after them, that were thin, and poor, and withered. And the seven thin heads swallowed up the seven goodheads; and afterward were as poor and withered as before. 

"And I told these two dreams to all the wise men, and there is no onewho can explain them. Can you tell me what these dreams mean?"

And Joseph said to the king:

"The two dreams have the same meaning. God has been showing to kingPharaoh what he will do in this land. The seven good cows mean sevenyears, and the seven good heads of grain mean the same seven years. Theseven lean cows and the seven thin heads of grain also mean seven years. The good cows and the good grain mean seven years of plenty, and theseven thin cows and thin heads of grain mean seven poor years. There arecoming upon the land of Egypt seven years of such plenty as have neverbeen seen; when the fields shall bring greater crops than ever before;and after those years shall come seven years when the fields shall bringno crops at all. And then for seven years there shall be such need, thatthe years of plenty will be forgotten, for the people will have nothingto eat. "

[Illustration: _"The two dreams have the same meaning"_]

"Now, let king Pharaoh find some man who is able and wise, and let himset this man to rule over the land. And during the seven years ofplenty, let a part of the crops be put away for the years of need. Ifthis shall be done, then when the years of need come, there will beplenty of food for all the people, and no one will suffer, for all willhave enough. "

And king Pharaoh said to Joseph: "Since God has shown you all this, there is no other man as wise as you. I will appoint you to do thiswork, and to rule over the land of Egypt. All the people shall be underyou; only on the throne of Egypt I will be above you. "

And Pharaoh took from his own hand the ring which held his seal, and puton Joseph's hand, so that he could sign for the king, and seal in theking's place. And he dressed Joseph in robes of fine linen, and putaround his neck a gold chain. And he made Joseph ride in a chariot whichwas next in rank to his own. And they cried out before Joseph, "Bow theknee. " And thus Joseph was ruler over all the land of Egypt. 

THE STORY OF THE MONEY IN THE SACKS

When Joseph was made ruler over the land of Egypt, he did just as he hadalways done. It was not Joseph's way to sit down, to rest and enjoyhimself, and make others wait on him. He found his work at once, andbegan to do it faithfully and thoroughly. He went out over all the landof Egypt, and saw how rich and abundant were the fields of grain, givingmuch more than the people could use for their own needs. He told thepeople not to waste it, but to save it for the coming time of need. 

And he called upon the people to give him for the king one bushel ofgrain out of every five, to be stored up. The people brought theirgrain, after taking for themselves as much as they needed, and Josephstored it up in great storehouses in the cities; so much at last that noone could keep account of it. 

The king of Egypt gave a wife to Joseph from the noble young women ofhis kingdom. Her name was Asenath; and to Joseph and his wife God gavetwo sons. The oldest son he named Manasseh, a word which means "Makingto Forget. "

"For, " said Joseph, "God has made me to forget all my troubles and mytoil as a slave. "

The second son he named Ephraim, a word that means "Fruitful. ""Because, " said Joseph, "God has not only made the land fruitful; but hehas made me fruitful in the land of my troubles. "

The seven years of plenty soon passed by, and then came the years ofneed. In all the lands around people were hungry, and there was no foodfor them to eat; but in the land of Egypt everybody had enough. Most ofthe people soon used up the grain that they had saved; many had savednone at all, and they all cried to the king to help them. 

"Go to Joseph!" said king Pharaoh, "and do whatever he tells you to do. "

Then the people came to Joseph, and Joseph opened the storehouses, andsold to the people all the grain that they wished to buy. And not onlythe people of Egypt came to buy grain, but people of all the landsaround as well, for there was great need and famine everywhere. And theneed was as great in the land of Canaan, where Jacob lived, as in otherlands. Jacob was rich in flocks and cattle, and gold and silver, but hisfields gave no grain, and there was danger that his family and hispeople would starve. And Jacob--who was now called Israel also--heardthat there was food in Egypt and he said to his sons: "Why do you lookat each other, asking what to do to find food? I have been told thatthere is grain in Egypt. Go down to that land, and take money with you, and bring grain, so that we may have bread, and may live. "

Then the ten older brothers of Joseph went down to the land of Egypt. They rode upon asses, for horses were not much used in those times, andthey brought money with them. But Jacob would not let Benjamin, Joseph'syounger brother, go with them, for he was all the more dear to hisfather, now that Joseph was no longer with him; and Jacob feared thatharm might come to him. 

Then Joseph's brothers came to Joseph to buy food. They did not knowhim, grown up to be a man, dressed as a prince, and seated on a throne. Joseph was now nearly forty years old, and it had been almosttwenty-three years since they had sold him. But Joseph knew them all, assoon as he saw them. He wished to be sharp and stern with them, notbecause he hated them; but because he wished to see what their spiritwas, and whether they were as selfish, and cruel, and wicked as they hadbeen in other days. 

They came before him, and bowed, with their faces to the ground. Then, no doubt, Joseph thought of the dream that had come to him while he wasa boy, of his brothers' sheaves bending down around his sheaf. He spoketo them as a stranger, as if he did not understand their language, andhe had their words explained to him in the language of Egypt. 

"Who are you? And from what place do you come?" said Joseph, in a harsh, stern manner. 

They answered him very meekly: "We have come from the land of Canaan tobuy food. "

"No, " said Joseph, "I know what you have come for. You have come asspies, to see how helpless the land is, so that you can bring an armyagainst us, and make war on us. "

"No, no, " said Joseph's ten brothers. "We are no spies. We are the sonsof one man, who lives in the land of Canaan; and we have come for food, because we have none at home. "

"You say that you are the sons of one man, who is your father? Is heliving? Have you any more brothers? Tell me all about yourselves. "

And they said: "Our father is an old man in Canaan. We did have ayounger brother, but he was lost; and we have one brother still, who isthe youngest of all, but his father could not spare him to come withus. "

"No, " said Joseph. "You are not good, honest men. You are spies. Ishall put you all in prison, except one of you; and he shall go andbring that youngest brother of yours; and when I see him, then I willbelieve that you tell the truth. "

So Joseph put all the ten men in prison, and kept them under guard forthree days; then he sent for them again. They did not know that he couldunderstand their language, and they said to each other, while Josephheard, but pretended not to hear: "This has come upon us because of thewrong that we did to our brother Joseph, more than twenty years ago. Weheard him cry, and plead with us, when we threw him into the pit, and wewould not have mercy on him. God is giving us only what we havedeserved. "

And Reuben, who had tried to save Joseph, said: "Did I not tell you notto harm the boy? and you would not listen to me. God is bringing ourbrother's blood upon us all. "

When Joseph heard this, his heart was touched, for he saw that hisbrothers were really sorry for the wrong that they had done to him. Heturned away from them, so that they could not see his face, and he wept. Then he turned again to them and spoke roughly as before, and said:

"This I will do, for I serve God. I will let you all go home, exceptone man. One of you I will shut up in prison; but the rest of you can gohome and take food for your people. And you must come back and bringyour youngest brother with you, and I shall know then that you havespoken the truth. "

Then Joseph gave orders, and his servants seized one of his brothers, whose name was Simeon, and bound him in their sight and took him away toprison. And he ordered his servants to fill the men's sacks with grain, and to put every man's money back into the sack before it was tied up, so that they would find the money as soon as they opened the sack. Thenthe men loaded their asses with the sacks of grain, and started to gohome, leaving their brother Simeon a prisoner. 

When they stopped on the way to feed their asses, one of the brothersopened his sack, and there he found his money lying on the top of thegrain. He called out to his brothers: "See, here is my money given againto me!" And they were frightened, but they did not dare to go back toEgypt and meet the stern ruler of the land. They went home and toldtheir old father all that had happened to them, and how their brotherSimeon was in prison, and must stay there until they should return, bringing Benjamin with them. 

When they opened their sacks of grain, there in the mouth of each sackwas the money that they had given; and they were filled with fear. Thenthey spoke of going again to Egypt and taking Benjamin, but Jacob saidto them:

"You are taking my sons away from me. Joseph is gone, and Simeon isgone, and now you would take Benjamin away. All these things are againstme!" Reuben said: "Here are my own two boys. You may kill them, if youwish, in case I do not bring Benjamin back to you. " But Jacob said: "Myyoungest son shall not go with you. His brother is dead, and he alone isleft to me. If harm should come to him, it would bring down my grayhairs with sorrow to the grave. "

THE MYSTERY OF THE LOST BROTHER

The food which Jacob's sons had brought from Egypt did not last long, for Jacob's family was large. Most of his sons were married and hadchildren of their own; so that the children and grandchildren weresixty-six, besides the servants who waited on them, and the men whocared for Jacob's flocks. So around the tent of Jacob was quite a campof other tents and an army of people. 

When the food that had come from Egypt was nearly eaten up, Jacob saidto his sons:

"Go down to Egypt again, and buy some food for us. "

And Judah, Jacob's son, the man who years before had urged his brothersto sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites, said to his father: "It is of no usefor us to go to Egypt, unless we take Benjamin with us. The man whorules in that land said to us, 'You shall not see my face, unless youryoungest brother be with you'. "

And Israel said, "Why did you tell the man that you had a brother? Youdid me great harm when you told him. "

"Why, " said Jacob's sons, "we could not help telling him. The man askedus all about our family, 'Is your father yet living? Have you any morebrothers?' And we had to tell him, his questions were so close. Howshould we know that he would say, 'Bring your brother here, for me tosee him'?"

And Judah said, "Send Benjamin with me, and I will take care of him. Ipromise you that I will bring him safely home. If he does not come back, let me bear the blame forever. He must go, or we shall die for want offood; and we might have gone down to Egypt and come home again, if wehad not been kept back. "

And Jacob said, "If he must go, then he must. But take a present to theman, some of the choicest fruits of the land, some spices, and perfumes, and nuts, and almonds. And take twice as much money, besides the moneythat was in your sacks. Perhaps that was a mistake, when the money wasgiven back to you. And take your brother Benjamin, and may the Lord Godmake the man kind to you, so that he will set Simeon free, and let youbring Benjamin back. But if it is God's will that I lose my children, Icannot help it. "

So ten brothers of Joseph went down a second time to Egypt, Benjamingoing in place of Simeon. They came to Joseph's office, the place wherehe sold grain to the people; and they stood before their brother, andbowed as before. Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them, and he said tohis steward, the man who was over his house:

"Make ready a dinner, for all these men shall dine with me today. "

When Joseph's brothers found that they were taken into Joseph's house, they were filled with fear. They said to each other:

"We have been taken here on account of the money in our sacks. They willsay that we have stolen it, and then they will sell us all for slaves. "

But Joseph's steward, the man who was over his house, treated the menkindly; and when they spoke of the money in their sacks, he would nottake it again, saying:

"Never fear; your God must have sent you this as a gift. I had yourmoney. "

The stewards received the men into Joseph's house, and washed theirfeet, according to the custom of the land. And at noon, Joseph came into meet them. They brought him the present from their father, and againthey bowed before him, with their faces on the ground. 

And Joseph asked them if they were well, and said: "Is your father stillliving, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he well?"

And they said, "Our father is well and he is living. " And again theybowed to Joseph. 

And Joseph looked at his younger brother Benjamin, the child of his ownmother Rachel, and said:

"Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be graciousunto you, my son. "

And Joseph's heart was so full that he could not keep back the tears. Hewent in haste to his own room, and wept there. Then he washed his face, and came out again, and ordered the table to be set for dinner. They setJoseph's table for himself, as the ruler, and another table for hisEgyptian officers, and another for the eleven men from Canaan; forJoseph had brought Simeon out of the prison, and had given him a placewith his brothers. 

Joseph himself arranged the order of the seats for his brothers, theoldest at the head, and all in order of age down to the youngest. Themen wondered at this, and could not see how the ruler of Egypt couldknow the order of their ages. And Joseph sent dishes from his table tohis brothers, and he gave to Benjamin five times as much as to theothers. Perhaps he wished to see whether they were as jealous ofBenjamin as in other days they had been toward him. 

After dinner, Joseph said to his steward: "Fill the men's sacks withgrain, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in his sack. And put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest, with his money. "

The steward did as Joseph had said; and early in the morning thebrothers started to go home. A little while afterward, Joseph said tohis steward:

"Hasten, follow after the men from Canaan, and say, 'Why have youwronged me, after I had treated you kindly? You have stolen my master'ssilver cup, out of which he drinks'. "

The steward followed the men, and overtook them, and charged them withstealing. And they said to him:

"Why should you talk to us in this manner? We have stolen nothing. Why, we brought back to you the money that we found in our sacks; and is itlikely that we would steal from your lord his silver or gold? You maysearch us, and if you find your master's cup on any of us, let him die, and the rest of us may be sold as slaves. "

Then they took down the sacks from the asses, and opened them; and ineach man's sack was his money, for the second time. And when they cameto Benjamin's sack, there was the ruler's silver cup! Then, in thegreatest sorrow, they tied up their bags again, and laid them on theasses, and came back to Joseph's palace. 

And Joseph said to them:

"What wicked thing is this that you have done? Did you not know that Iwould surely find out your deeds?"

Then Judah said, "O, my lord, what can we say? God has punished us forour sins; and now we must all be slaves, both we that are older, and theyounger in whose sack the cup was found. "

[Illustration: _"What wicked thing is this that you have done?"_]

"No, " said Joseph. "Only one of you is guilty; the one who has takenaway my cup. I will hold him as a slave, and the rest of you can go hometo your father. "

Joseph wished to see whether his brothers were still selfish, and werewilling to let Benjamin suffer, if they could escape. 

Then Judah, the very man who had urged his brothers to sell Joseph as aslave, came forward, and fell at Joseph's feet, and pleaded with him tolet Benjamin go. He told again the whole story, how Benjamin was the onewhom his father loved the most of all his children, now that his brotherwas lost. He said:

"I promised to bear the blame, if this boy was not brought home insafety. If he does not go back it will kill my poor old father, who hasseen much trouble. Now let my youngest brother go home to his father, and I will stay here as a slave in his place!"

Joseph knew now, what he had longed to know, that his brothers were nolonger cruel nor selfish, but one of them was willing to suffer, so thathis brother might be spared. And Joseph could not any longer keep hissecret, for his heart longed after his brothers; and he was ready toweep again, with tears of love and joy. He sent all of his Egyptianservants out of the room, so that he might be alone with his brothers, and then he said:

"Come near to me; I wish to speak with you. " And they came near, wondering. Then Joseph said:

"I am Joseph; is my father really alive?"

How frightened his brothers were, as they heard these words spoken intheir own language by the ruler of Egypt and for the first time knewthat this stern man, who had their lives in his hand, was their ownbrother whom they had wronged! Then Joseph said again:

"I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But do not feeltroubled because of what you did. For God sent me before you to saveyour lives. There have been already two years of need and famine, andthere are to be five years more, when there shall neither be plowing ofthe fields nor harvest. It was not you who sent me here, but God; and hesent me to save your lives. God has made me like a father to Pharaoh andruler over all the land of Egypt. Now I wish you to go home, and tobring down to me my father and all his family. "

Then Joseph placed his arms around Benjamin's neck, and kissed him, andwept upon him. And Benjamin wept on his neck. And Joseph kissed all hisbrothers, to show them that he had fully forgiven them; and after thathis brothers began to lose their fear of Joseph and talked with him morefreely. 

Afterward Joseph sent his brothers home with good news, and rich gifts, and abundant food. He sent also wagons in which Jacob and his sons'wives and the little ones of their families might ride from Canaan downto Egypt. And Joseph's brothers went home happier than they had been formany years. 

THE STORY OF MOSES, THE CHILD WHO WAS FOUND IN THE RIVER

The children of Israel stayed in the land of Egypt much longer than theyhad expected to stay. They were in that land about four hundred years. And the going down to Egypt proved a great blessing to them. It savedtheir lives during the years of famine and need. After the years of needwere over, they found the soil in the land of Goshen, that part of Egyptwhere they were living, very rich, so that they could gather three orfour crops every year. 

Then, too, the sons of Israel, before they came to Egypt, had begun tomarry the women in the land of Canaan who worshipped idols, and not theLord. If they had stayed there, their children would have grown up likethe people around them and soon would have lost all knowledge of God. 

But in Goshen they lived alone and apart from the people of Egypt. Theyworshipped the Lord God, and were kept away from the idols of Egypt. Andin that land, as the years went on, from being seventy people, they grewin number until they became a great multitude. Each of the twelve sonsof Jacob was the father of a tribe, and Joseph was the father of twotribes, named after his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. 

As long as Joseph lived, and for some time after, the people of Israelwere treated kindly by the Egyptians, out of their love for Joseph, whohad saved Egypt from suffering by famine. But after a long time anotherking began to rule over Egypt, who cared nothing for Joseph or Joseph'speople. He saw that the Israelites (as the children of Israel werecalled) were very many, and he feared that they would soon becomegreater in number and in power than the Egyptians. 

He said to his people: "Let us rule these Israelites more strictly. Theyare growing too strong. "

Then they set harsh rules over the Israelites, and laid heavy burdens onthem. They made the Israelites work hard for the Egyptians, and buildcities for them, and give to the Egyptians a large part of the cropsfrom their fields. They set them at work in making brick and in buildingstorehouses. They were so afraid that the Israelites would grow innumber that they gave orders to kill all the little boys that were bornto the Israelites; though their little girls might be allowed to live. 

But in the face of all this hate, and wrong, and cruelty, the people ofIsrael were growing in number, and becoming greater and greater. 

At this time, when the wrongs of the Israelites were the greatest, andwhen their little children were being killed, one little boy was born. 

[Illustration: _They made the Israelites work hard_]

He was such a lovely child that his mother kept him hid, so that theenemies did not find him. When she could no longer hide him, she formeda plan to save his life; believing that God would help her and save herbeautiful little boy. 

She made a little box like a boat and covered it with something thatwould not let the water into it. Such a boat as this covered over wascalled "an ark. " She knew that at certain times the daughter of kingPharaoh--all the kings of Egypt were called Pharaoh, for Pharaoh meansa king--would come down to the river for a bath. She placed her babyboy in the ark, and let it float down the river where the princess, Pharaoh's daughter, would see it. And she sent her own daughter, alittle girl named Miriam, twelve years old, to watch close at hand. Howanxious the mother and the sister were as they saw the little arkfloating away from them on the river!

[Illustration: _She placed her baby in the ark_]

Pharaoh's daughter, with her maids, came down to the river, and they sawthe ark floating on the water, among the reeds. She sent one of hermaids to bring it to her so that she might see what was in the curiousbox. They opened it, and there was a beautiful little baby, who began tocry to be taken up. 

The princess felt kind toward the little one, and loved it at once. Shesaid: "This is one of the Hebrews' children. " You have heard how thechildren of Israel came to be called Hebrews. Pharaoh's daughterthought that it would be cruel to let such a lovely baby as this die outon the water. And just then a little girl came running up to her, as ifby accident, and she looked at the baby also, and she said: "Shall I goand find some woman of the Hebrews to be a nurse to the child for youand take care of it?"

"Yes, " said the princess. "Go and find a nurse for me. "

The little girl--who was Miriam, the baby's sister--ran as quickly asshe could and brought the baby's own mother to the princess. Miriamshowed in this act that she was a wise and thoughtful little girl. Theprincess said to the little baby's mother: "Take this child to your homeand nurse it for me, and I will pay you wages for it. "

How glad the Hebrew mother was to take her child home! No one could harmher boy now, for he was protected by the princess of Egypt, the daughterof the king. 

When the child was large enough to leave his mother Pharaoh's daughtertook him into her own house in the palace. She named him "Moses, " a wordthat means "drawn out, " because he was drawn out of the water. 

So Moses, the Hebrew boy, lived in the palace among the nobles of theland, as the son of the princess. There he learned much more than hecould have learned among his own people; for there were very wiseteachers. Moses gained all the knowledge that the Egyptians had to give. There in the court of the cruel king who had made slaves of theIsraelites, God's people, was growing up our Israelite boy who should atsome time set his people free!

Although Moses grew up among the Egyptians, and gained their learning, he loved his own people. They were poor and were hated, and were slaves, but he loved them, because they were the people who served the Lord God, while the Egyptians worshipped idols and animals. Strange it was that sowise a people as these should bow down and pray to an ox, or to a cat, or to a snake, as did the Egyptians. 

When Moses became a man, he went among his own people, leaving theriches and ease that he might have enjoyed among the Egyptians. He felta call from God to lift up the Israelites and set them free. But at thattime he found that he could do nothing to help them. They would not lethim lead them, and as the king of Egypt had now become his enemy, Moseswent away from Egypt into a country in Arabia, called Midian. 

He was sitting by a well, in that land, tired from his long journey, when he saw some young women come to draw water for their flocks ofsheep. But some rough men came, and drove the women away, and took thewater for their own flocks. Moses saw it, and helped the women and drewthe water for them. 

These young women were sisters, the daughters of a man named Jethro, whowas a priest in the land of Midian. He asked Moses to live with him, andto help him in the care of his flocks. Moses stayed with Jethro andmarried one of his daughters. So from being a prince in the king'spalace in Egypt, Moses became a shepherd in the wilderness of Midian. 

[Illustration: _Moses became a shepherd in the wilderness ofMidian_]

But Moses did not remain a shepherd. While he was tending his sheep Godappeared to him in a burning bush and told him that he should return toEgypt and become the leader of his people. The Lord told him that thewicked Egyptians would be punished for the ill-treatment they weregiving the Israelites. In your Bible you will find in the book of Exodushow God wonderfully fulfilled his promise. The Egyptians were punishedby many plagues, and finally allowed the Israelites to go. They crossedthe Red Sea in a wonderful way, and traveled for a long time through awilderness, where God fed them day by day with manna from heaven. Godalso gave them rules as a guide for their daily living; these rules wecall the Ten Commandments; yet they forgot the Lord so far as to makeimages and worship them. 

[Illustration: _God fed them day by day with manna_]

THE STORY OF THE GRAPES FROM CANAAN

The Israelites stayed in their camp before Mount Sinai almost a year, while they were building the Tabernacle and learning God's laws giventhrough Moses. At last the cloud over the Tabernacle rose up, and thepeople knew that this was the sign for them to move. They took down theTabernacle and their own tents, and journeyed toward the land of Canaanfor many days. 

At last they came to a place just on the border between the desert andCanaan, called Kadesh, or Kadesh-barnea. Here they stopped to rest, forthere were many springs of water and some grass for their cattle. Whilethey were waiting at Kadesh-barnea and were expecting soon to march intothe land which was to be their home, God told Moses to send onward somemen who should walk through the land and look at it, and then come backand tell what they had found; what kind of a land it was, and whatfruits grew in it, and what people were living in it. The Israelitescould more easily win the land if these men, after walking through it, could act as their guides and point out the best places in it and thebest plans of making war upon it. 

[Illustration: _A cluster of grapes so large that two men carriedit_]

So Moses chose out some men of high rank among the people, one rulerfrom each tribe, twelve men in all. One of these was Joshua, who was thehelper of Moses in caring for the people, and another was Caleb, whobelonged to the tribe of Judah. These twelve men went out and walkedover the mountains of Canaan and looked at the cities and saw thefields. In one place, just before they came back to the camp, they cutdown a cluster of ripe grapes which was so large that two men carried itbetween them, hanging from a staff. They named the place where theyfound this bunch of grapes Eshcol, a word which means "a cluster. " Thesetwelve men were called "spies, " because they went "to spy out the land";and after forty days they came back to the camp, and this was what theysaid:

"We walked all over the land and found it a rich land. There is grassfor all our flocks, and fields where we can raise grain, and treesbearing fruits, and streams running down the sides of the hills. But wefound that the people who live there are very strong and are men of war. They have cities with walls that reach almost up to the sky; and some ofthe men are giants, so tall that we felt that we were like grasshoppersbeside them. "

One of the spies, who was Caleb, said, "All that is true, yet we neednot be afraid to go up and take the land. It is a good land, well worthfighting for; God is on our side, and he will help us to overcome thosepeople. "

But all the other spies, except Joshua, said, "No, there is no use intrying to make war upon such strong people. We can never take thosewalled cities, and we dare not fight those tall giants. "

And the people, who had journeyed all the way through the wilderness tofind this very land, were so frightened by the words of the ten spiesthat now, on the very border of Canaan, they dared not enter it. Theyforgot that God had led them out of Egypt, that he had kept them in thedangers of the desert, that he had given them water out of the rock, andbread from the sky, and his law from the mountain. 

All that night, after the spies had brought back their report, thepeople were so frightened that they could not sleep. They cried outagainst Moses, and blamed him for bringing them out of the land ofEgypt. They forgot all their troubles in Egypt, their toil and theirslavery, and resolved to go back to that land. They said:

"Let us choose a ruler in place of Moses, who has brought us into allthese evils, and let us turn back to the land of Egypt!"

But Caleb and Joshua, two of the spies, said, "Why should we fear? Theland of Canaan is a good land; it is rich with milk and honey. If God isour friend and is with us, we can easily conquer the people who livethere. Above all things, let us not rebel against the Lord, or disobeyhim, and make him our enemy. "

But the people were so angry with Caleb and Joshua that they were readyto stone them and kill them. Then suddenly the people saw a strangesight. The glory of the Lord, which stayed in the Holy of Holies, theinner room of the Tabernacle, now flashed out, and shone from the doorof the Tabernacle. 

And the Lord, out of this glory, spoke to Moses, and said, "How longwill this people disobey me and despise me? They shall not go into thegood land that I have promised them. Not one of them shall enter in, except Caleb and Joshua, who have been faithful to me. All the peoplewho are twenty years old and over it shall die in the desert; but theirlittle children shall grow up in the wilderness, and when they becomemen they shall enter in and own the land that I promised to theirfathers. You people are not worthy of the land that I have been keepingfor you. Now turn back into the desert and stay there until you die. After you are dead, Joshua shall lead your children into the land ofCanaan. And because Caleb showed another spirit and was true to me, andfollowed my will fully, Caleb shall live to go into the land, and shallhave his choice of a home there. To-morrow, turn back into the desert bythe way of the Red Sea. "

And God told Moses that for every day that the spies had spent inCanaan, looking at the land the people should spend a year in thewilderness; so that they should live in the desert forty years, insteadof going at once into the promised land. 

When Moses told all God's words to the people they felt worse thanbefore. They changed their minds as suddenly as they had made up theirminds. 

"No, " they all said, "we will not go back to the wilderness; we will gostraight into the land, and see if we are able to take it, as Joshua andCaleb have said. "

"You must not go into the land, " said Moses. 

But the people would not obey. They marched up the mountain and tried tomarch at once into the land. But they were without leaders and withoutorder--a mob of men, untrained and in confusion. And the people in thatpart of the land, the Canaanites and the Amorites, came down upon themand killed many of them and drove them away. Then, discouraged andbeaten, they obeyed the Lord and Moses, and went once more into thedesert. 

And in the desert of Paran, on the south of the land of Canaan, thechildren of Israel stayed nearly forty years; and all because they wouldnot trust in the Lord. 

THE STORY OF GIDEON AND HIS THREE HUNDRED SOLDIERS

At last the people of Israel came into the promised land, but they didevil in the sight of the Lord in worshipping Baal; and the Lord leftthem to suffer for their sins. Once the Midianites, living near thedesert on the east of Israel, came against the tribes. The two tribesthat suffered the hardest fate were Ephraim, and the part of Manasseh onthe west of Jordan. For seven years the Midianites swept over their landevery year, just at the time of harvest, and carried away all the cropsof grain, until the Israelites had no food for themselves, and none fortheir sheep and cattle. The Midianites brought also their own flocks andcamels without number, which ate all the grass of the field. 

The people of Israel were driven away from their villages and theirfarms, and were compelled to hide in the caves of the mountains. And ifany Israelite could raise any grain, he buried it in pits covered withearth, or in empty winepresses, where the Midianites could not find it. 

One day, a man named Gideon was threshing out wheat in a hidden place, when he saw an angel sitting-under an oak-tree. The angel said to him:"You are a brave man, Gideon, and the Lord is with you. Go out boldly, and save your people from the power of the Midianites. " Gideon answeredthe angel:

[Illustration: _The angel touched the offering with his staff_]

"O, Lord, how can I save Israel? Mine is a poor family in Manasseh, andI am the least in my father's house. "

And the Lord said to him: "Surely I will be With you, and I will helpyou drive out the Midianites. "

Gideon felt that it was the Lord who was talking with him, in the formof an angel. He brought an offering, and laid it on a rock before theangel. Then the angel touched the offering with his staff. At once, afire leaped up and burned the offering; and then the angel vanished fromhis sight. Gideon was afraid when he saw this; but the Lord said to him:"Peace be unto you, Gideon, do not fear, for I am with you. "

On the spot where the Lord appeared to Gideon, under an oak tree, nearthe village of Ophrah, in the tribe-land of Manasseh, Gideon built analtar and called it by a name which means: "The Lord is peace. " Thisaltar was standing long afterward in that place. 

Then the Lord told Gideon that before setting his people free from theMidianites, he must first set them free from the service of Baal andAsherah, the two idols most worshipped among them. Near the house ofGideon's own father stood an altar to Baal, and the image of Asherah. 

On that night, Gideon went out with ten men, and threw down the image ofBaal, and cut in pieces the wooden image of Asherah, and destroyed thealtar before these idols. And in its place he built an altar to the Godof Israel; and on it laid the broken pieces of the idols for wood, andwith them offered a young ox as a burnt-offering. 

On the next morning, when the people of the village went out to worshiptheir idols, they found them cut in pieces, the altar taken away; in itsplace an altar of the Lord, and on it the pieces of the Asherah wereburning as wood under a sacrifice to the Lord. The people looked at thebroken and burning idols; and they said: "Who has done this?"

Some one said: "Gideon, the son of Joash, did this last night. "

Then they came to Joash, Gideon's father, and said:

"We are going to kill your son because he has destroyed the image ofBaal, who is our god. "

And Joash, Gideon's father, said: "If Baal is a god, he can take care ofhimself, and punish the man who has destroyed his image. Why should youhelp Baal? Let Baal help himself. "

And when they saw that Baal could not harm the man who had broken downhis altar and his image, the people turned from Baal, back to their ownLord God. 

Gideon sent messengers through all Manasseh on the west of Jordan, andthe tribes near on the north; and the men of the tribes gathered aroundhim, with a few swords and spears, but very few, for the Israelites werenot ready for war. They met beside a great spring on Mount Gilboa, called "the fountain of Harod. " Mount Gilboa is one of the threemountains on the east of the plain of Esdraelon, or the plain ofJezreel, where once there had been a great battle. On the plain, stretching up the side of another of these mountains, called "the Hillof Moreh, " was the camp of a vast Midianite army. For as soon as theMidianites heard that Gideon had undertaken to set his people free, theycame against him with a mighty host. 

Gideon was a man of faith. He wished to be sure that God was leadinghim, and he prayed to God and said:

"O Lord God, give me some sign that thou wilt save Israel through me. Here is a fleece of wool on this threshing floor. If to-morrow morningthe fleece is wet with dew, while the grass around it is dry, then Ishall know that thou art with me; and that thou wilt give me victoryover the Midianites. "

Very early the next morning, Gideon came to look at the fleece. He foundit wringing wet with dew, while all around the grass was dry. But Gideonwas not yet satisfied. He said to the Lord:

"O Lord, be not angry with me; but give me just one more sign. To-morrowmorning let the fleece be dry, and let the dew fall all around it, andthen I will doubt no more. "

The next morning, Gideon found the grass, and the bushes wet with dew, while the fleece of wool was dry. And Gideon was now sure that God hadcalled him, and that God would give him victory over the enemies ofIsrael. 

The Lord said to Gideon: "Your army is too large. If Israel should winthe victory, they would say, 'we won it by our own might. ' Send home allthose who are afraid to fight. "

For many of the people were frightened, as they looked at the host oftheir enemies, and the Lord knew that these men would only hinder therest in the battle. So Gideon sent word through the camp:

"Whoever is afraid of the enemy may go home. " And twenty-two thousandpeople went away, leaving only ten thousand in Gideon's army. But thearmy was stronger though it was smaller, for the cowards had gone, andonly the brave men were left. 

But the Lord said to Gideon: "The people are yet too many. You need onlya few of the bravest and best men to fight in this battle. Bring the mendown the mountain, past the water, and I will show you there how to findthe men whom you need. "

In the morning Gideon, by God's command called his ten thousand men out, and made them march down the hill, just as though they were going toattack the enemy. And as they were beside the water, he noticed how theydrank, and set them apart in two companies, according to their way ofdrinking. 

When they came to the water, most of the men threw aside their shieldsand spears, and knelt down and scooped up a draft of the water with bothhands together like a cup. These men Gideon commanded to stand in onecompany. 

There were a few men who did not stop to take a large draft of water. Holding spear and shield in the right hand, to be ready for the enemy ifone should suddenly appear, they merely caught up a handful of the waterin passing and marched on, lapping up the water from one hand. God saidto Gideon:

"Set by themselves these men who lapped up each a handful of water. These are the men whom I have chosen to set Israel free. "

Gideon counted these men, and found that there were only three hundredof them, while all the rest bowed down on their faces to drink. Thedifference between them was that the three hundred were earnest men, ofone purpose; not turning aside from their aim even to drink, as theothers did. Then, too, they were watchful men, always ready to meettheir enemies. 

So Gideon, at God's command, sent back to the camp on Mount Gilboa allthe rest of his army, nearly ten thousand men, keeping with himself onlyhis little band of three hundred. 

Gideon's plan did not need a large army; but it needed a few careful, bold men, who should do exactly as their leader commanded them. He gaveto each man a lamp, a pitcher, and a trumpet, and told the men just whatwas to be done with them. The lamp was lighted, but was placed insidethe pitcher, so that it could not be seen. He divided his men into threecompanies, and very quietly led them down the mountain in the middle ofthe night, and arranged them all in order around the camp of theMidianites. 

[Illustration: _The men blew their trumpets with a mighty noise_]

Then at one moment a great shout rang out in the darkness, "The sword ofthe Lord and of Gideon, " and after it came a crash of breaking pitchers, and then a flash of light in every direction. The three hundred men hadgiven the shout, and broken their pitchers, so that on every sidelights were shining. The men blew their trumpets with a mighty noise;and the Midianites were roused from sleep, to see enemies all roundthem, lights beaming and swords flashing, while everywhere the sharpsound of the trumpets was heard. 

They were filled with sudden terror, and thought only of escape, not offighting. But wherever they turned, their enemies seemed to be standingwith swords drawn. They trampled each other down to death, flying fromthe Israelites. Their own land was in the east, across the river Jordan, and they fled in that direction, down one of the valleys between themountains. 

Gideon had thought that the Midianites would turn toward their own land, if they should be beaten in the battle, and he had already planned tocut off their flight. The ten thousand men in the camp he had placed onthe sides of the valley leading to the Jordan. There they slew very manyof the Midianites as they fled down the steep pass toward the river. AndGideon had also sent to the men of the tribe of Ephraim, who had thusfar taken no part in the war, to hold the only place at the river wheremen could wade through the water. Those of the Midianites who hadescaped from Gideon's men on either side of the valley were now met bythe Ephraimites at the river, and many more of them were slain. Amongthe slain were two of the princes of the Midianites, named Oreb andZeeb. 

A part of the Midianite army was able to get across the river, and tocontinue its flight toward the desert; but Gideon and his brave threehundred men followed closely after them, fought another battle withthem, destroyed them utterly, and took their two kings, Zebah andZalmunna, whom he killed. After this great victory the Israelites werefreed forever from the Midianites. They never again ventured to leavetheir home in the desert to make war on the tribes of Israel. 

After this, as long as Gideon lived, he ruled as Judge in Israel. Thepeople wished him to make himself a king. 

"Rule over us as king, " they said, "and let your son be king after you, and his son king after him. "

But Gideon said:

"No, you have a king already; for the Lord God is the King of Israel. Noone but God shall be king over these tribes. "

Of all the fifteen men who ruled as Judges of Israel, Gideon, the fifthJudge, was the greatest, in courage, in wisdom, and in faith in God. 

THE STORY OF SAMSON, THE STRONG MAN

Now we are to learn of three judges who ruled Israel in turn. Theirnames were Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon. None of these were men of war, and intheir days the land was quiet. 

But the people of Israel again began to worship idols; and as apunishment God allowed them once more to pass under the power of theirenemies. The seventh oppression, which now fell upon Israel, was by farthe hardest, the longest and the most widely spread of any, for it wasover all the tribes. It came from the Philistines, a strong and warlikepeople who lived on the west of Israel upon the plain beside the GreatSea. They worshipped an idol called Dagon, which was made in the form ofa fish's head on a man's body. 

These people, the Philistines, sent their armies up from the plainbeside the sea to the mountains of Israel and overran all the land. Theytook away from the Israelites all their swords and spears, so that theycould not fight; and they robbed their land of all the crops, so thatthe people suffered for want of food. And as before, the Israelites intheir trouble, cried out to the Lord, and the Lord heard their prayer. 

In the tribe-land of Dan, which was next to the country of thePhilistines, there was living a man named Manoah. One day an angel cameto his wife and said:

"You shall have a son, and when he grows up he will begin to save Israelfrom the hand of the Philistines. But your son must never drink any wineor strong drink as long as he lives. And his hair must be allowed togrow long and must never be cut, for he shall be a Nazarite under a vowto the Lord. "

When a child was given especially to God, or when a man gave himself tosome work for God, he was forbidden to drink wine, and as a sign, hishair was left to grow long while the vow or promise to God was upon him. Such a person as this was called a Nazarite, a word which means "one whohas a vow"; and Manoah's child was to be a Nazarite, and under a vow, aslong as he lived. 

The child was born and was named Samson. He grew up to become thestrongest man of whom the Bible tells. Samson was no general, likeGideon or Jephthah, to call out his people and lead them in war. He didmuch to set his people free; but all that he did was by his ownstrength. 

When Samson became a young man he went down to Timnath, in the land ofthe Philistines. There he saw a young Philistine woman whom he loved, and wished to have as his wife. His father and mother were not pleasedthat he should marry among the enemies of his own people. They did notknow that God would make this marriage the means of bringing harm uponthe Philistines and of helping the Israelites. 

As Samson was going down to Timnath to see this young woman, a hungrylion came out of the mountain, roaring against him. Samson seized thelion, and tore him in pieces as easily as another man would have killeda little kid of the goats, and then went on his way. He made his visitand came home, but said nothing to any one about the lion. 

After a time Samson went again to Timnath for his marriage with thePhilistine woman. On his way he stopped to look at the dead lion; and inits body he found a swarm of bees, and honey which they had made. Hetook some of the honey and ate it as he walked, but told no one of it. 

At the wedding-feast, which lasted a whole week, there were manyPhilistine young men, and they amused each other with questions andriddles. 

"I will give you a riddle, " said Samson. "If you answer it during thefeast, I will give you thirty suits of clothing; and if you cannotanswer it then you must give me the thirty suits of clothing. " "Let ushear your riddle, " they said. And this was Samson's riddle:

"Out of the eater came forth meat, And out of the strong came forth sweetness. "

They could not find the answer, though they tried to find it all thatday and the two days that followed. And at last they came to Samson'swife and said to her:

"Coax your husband to tell you the answer. If you do not find it out, wewill set your house on fire, and burn you and all your people. "

And Samson's wife urged him to tell her the answer. She cried andpleaded with him and said:

"If you really loved me, you would not keep this a secret from me. "

At last Samson yielded, and told his wife how he had killed the lion andafterward found the honey in its body. She told her people, and justbefore the end of the feast they came to Samson with the answer. Theysaid:

"What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" AndSamson said to them:

 "If you had not plowed with my heifer, You had not found out my riddle. "

By his "heifer, "--which is a young cow, --of course Samson meant hiswife. Then Samson was required to give them thirty suits of clothing. Hewent out among the Philistines, killed the first thirty men whom hefound, took off their clothes, and gave them to the guests at the feast. But all this made Samson very angry. He left his wife and went home tohis father's house. Then the parents of his wife gave her to anotherman. 

But after a time Samson's anger passed away, and he went again toTimnath to see his wife. But her father said to him:

"You went away angry, and I supposed that you cared nothing for her. Igave her to another man, and now she is his wife. But here is heryounger sister; you can have her for your wife, instead. "

But Samson would not take his wife's sister. He went out very angry;determined to do harm to the Philistines, because they had cheated him. He caught all the wild foxes that he could find, until he had threehundred of them. Then he tied them together in pairs, by their tails;and between each pair of foxes he tied to their tails a piece of drywood which he set on fire. These foxes with firebrands on their tails heturned loose among the fields of the Philistines when the grain wasripe. They ran wildly over the fields, set the grain on fire, andburned it; and with the grain the olive trees in the fields. 

When the Philistines saw their harvests destroyed, they said, "Who hasdone this?"

And the people said, "Samson did this, because his wife was given by herfather to another man. "

The Philistines looked on Samson's father-in-law as the cause of theirloss; and they came and set his home on fire, and burned the man and hisdaughter whom Samson had married. Then Samson came down again, and alonefought a company of Philistines, and killed them all, as a punishmentfor burning his wife. 

After this Samson went to live in a hollow place in a split rock, calledthe rock of Etam. The Philistines came up in a great army, and overranthe fields in the tribe-land of Judah. 

"Why do you come against us?" asked the men of Judah, "what do you wantfrom us?"

"We have come, " they said, "to bind Samson, and to deal with him as hehas dealt with us. "

The men of Judah said to Samson:

"Do you not know that the Philistines are ruling over us? Why do youmake them angry by killing their people? You see that we suffer throughyour pranks. Now we must bind you and give you to the Philistines, orthey will ruin us all. "

And Samson said, "I will let you bind me, if you will promise not tokill me yourselves; but only to give me safely into the hands of thePhilistines. "

They made the promise; and Samson gave himself up to them, and allowedthem to tie him up fast with new ropes. The Philistines shouted for joyas they saw their enemy brought to them, led in bonds by his own people. But as soon as Samson came among them, he burst the bonds as though theyhad been light strings; and picked up from the ground the jawbone of anass, and struck right and left with it as with a sword. He killed almosta thousand of the Philistines with this strange weapon. Afterward hesang a song about it, thus:

 "With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, With the jawbone of an ass, have I slain a thousand men. "

After this Samson went down to the chief city of the Philistines, whichwas named Gaza. It was a large city; and like all large cities, wassurrounded with a high wall. When the men of Gaza found Samson in theircity, they shut the gates, thinking that they could now hold him as aprisoner. But in the night Samson rose up, went to the gates, pulledtheir posts out of the ground, and put the gates with their posts uponhis shoulder. He carried off the gates of the city and left them on thetop of a hill not far from the city of Hebron. 

After this Samson saw another woman among the Philistines, and he lovedher. The name of this woman was Delilah. The rulers of the Philistinescame to Delilah and said to her:

"Find out, if you can, what it is that makes Samson so strong, and tellus. If you help us to get control of him, so that we can have him in ourpower, we will give you a great sum of money. "

[Illustration: _He carried off the gates of the city_]

And Delilah coaxed and pleaded with Samson to tell her what it was thatmade him so strong. Samson said to her:

"If they will tie me with seven green twigs from a tree, then I shallnot be strong any more. "

They brought her seven green twigs, like those of a willow tree; and shebound Samson with them while he was asleep. Then she called out to him:

"Wake up, Samson, the Philistines are coming against you!"

And Samson rose up and broke the twigs as easily as if they had beencharred in the fire, and went away with ease. 

And Delilah tried again to find his secret. She said:

"You are only making fun of me. Now tell me truly how you can be bound. "And Samson said:

"Let them bind me with new ropes that have never been used before; andthen I cannot get away. "

While Samson was asleep again, Delilah bound him with new ropes. Thenshe called out as before:

"Get up, Samson, for the Philistines are coming!" And when Samson roseup, the ropes broke as if they were thread. And Delilah again urged himto tell her; and he said:

"You notice that my long hair is in seven locks. Weave it together inthe loom, just as if it were the threads in a piece of cloth. "

Then, while he was asleep, she wove his hair in the loom, and fastenedit with a large pin to the weaving-frame. But when he awoke, he rose up, and carried away the pin and the beam of the weaving-frame; for he wasas strong as before. 

And Delilah, who was anxious to serve her people, said:

"Why do you tell me that you love me, as long as you deceive me and keepfrom me your secret?" And she pleaded with him day after day, until atlast he yielded to her and told her the real secret of his strength. Hesaid:

"I am a Nazarite, under a vow to the Lord, not to drink wine, and not toallow my hair to be cut. If I should let my hair be cut short, then theLord would forsake me, and my strength would go from me, and I would belike other men. "

Then Delilah knew that she had found the truth at last. She sent for therulers of the Philistines, saying:

"Come up this once, and you shall have your enemy; for he has told meall that is in his heart. "

Then while the Philistines were watching outside, Delilah let Samson goto sleep, with his head upon her knees. While he was sound asleep, theytook a razor and shaved off all his hair. Then she called out as atother times. 

"Rise up, Samson, the Philistines are upon you. "

He awoke, and rose up, expecting to find himself strong as before; forhe did not at first know that his long hair had been cut off. But thevow to the Lord was broken, and the Lord had left him. He was now asweak as other men, and helpless in the hands of his enemies. ThePhilistines easily made him their prisoner; and that he might never dothem more harm, they put out his eyes. Then they chained him withfetters, and sent him to prison at Gaza. And in the prison they madeSamson turn a heavy millstone to grind grain, just as though he were abeast of burden. 

But while Samson was in prison, his hair grew long again; and with hishair his strength came back to him; for Samson renewed his vow to theLord. 

One day, a great feast was held by the Philistines in the temple oftheir fish-god, Dagon. For they said:

"Our god has given Samson, our enemy, into our hand. Let us be gladtogether and praise Dagon. "

And the temple was thronged with people, and the roof over it was alsocrowded with more than three thousand men and women. They sent forSamson, to rejoice over him; and Samson was led into the court of thetemple, before all the people, to amuse them. After a time, Samson saidto the boy who was leading him:

[Illustration: _He bowed forward with all his might and pulled thepillars with him_]

"Take me up to the front of the temple, so that I may stand by one ofthe pillars, and lean against it. "

And while Samson stood between the two pillars, he prayed:

"O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and give me strength, only thisonce, O God: and help me, that I may obtain vengeance upon thePhilistines for my two eyes!"

Then he placed one arm around the pillar on one side, and the other armaround the pillar on the other side; and he said: "Let me die with thePhilistines. "

And he bowed forward with all his might, and pulled the pillars overwith him, bringing down the roof and all upon it upon those that wereunder it. Samson himself was among the dead; but in his death he killedmore of the Philistines than he had killed during his life. 

Then in the terror which came upon the Philistines the men of Samson'stribe came down and found his dead body, and buried it in their ownland. After that it was years before the Philistines tried again to ruleover the Israelites. 

Samson did much to set his people free; but he might have done muchmore, if he had led his people, instead of trusting alone to his ownstrength; and if he had lived more earnestly, and not done his deeds asthough he was playing pranks. There were deep faults in Samson, but atthe end he sought God's help, and found it, and God used Samson to sethis people free. 

THE STORY OF RUTH, THE GLEANER

In the time of the Judges in Israel, a man named Elimelech was living inthe town of Bethlehem, in the tribe of Judah, about six miles south ofJerusalem. His wife's name was Naomi, and his two sons were Mahlon andChilion. For some years the crops were poor, and food was scarce inJudah; and Elimelech with his family went to live in the land of Moab, which was on the east of the Dead Sea, as Judah was on the west. 

There they stayed ten years, and in that time Elimelech died. His twosons married women of the country of Moab, one named Orpah, the othernamed Ruth. But the two young men also died in the land of Moab; so thatNaomi and her two daughters-in-law were all left widows. 

Naomi heard that God had again given good harvests and bread to the landof Judah, and she rose up to go from Moab back to her own land and herown town of Bethlehem. The two daughters-in-law loved her, and bothwould have gone with her, though the land of Judah was a strange land tothem, for they were of the Moabite people. 

Naomi said to them: "Go back, my daughters, to your own mothers' homes. May the Lord deal kindly with you, as you have been kind to yourhusbands and to me. May the Lord grant that each of you may yet findanother husband and a happy home. "

Then Naomi kissed them in farewell, and the three women all wepttogether. The two young widows said to her:

"You have been a good mother to us, and we will go with you, and liveamong your people. "

"No, no, " said Naomi. "You are young, and I am old. Go back and be happyamong your own people. "

Then Orpah kissed Naomi, and went back to her people; but Ruth would notleave her. She said:

"Do not ask me to leave you, for I never will. Where you go, I will go;where you live, I will live; your people shall be my people; and yourGod shall be my God. Where you die, I will die, and be buried. Nothingbut death itself shall part you and me. "

When Naomi saw that Ruth was firm in her purpose, she ceased trying topersuade her; so the two women went on together. They walked around theDead Sea, and crossed the river Jordan, and climbed the mountains ofJudah, and came to Bethlehem. 

Naomi had been absent from Bethlehem for ten years, but her friendswere all glad to see her again. They said:

"Is this Naomi, whom we knew years ago?"

Now the name Naomi means "pleasant. " And Naomi said:

"Call me not Naomi; call me Mara, for the Lord has made my life bitter. I went out full, with my husband and two sons; now I come home empty, without them. Do not call me 'Pleasant, ' call me 'Bitter. '"

The name "Mara, " by which Naomi wished to be called means "bitter. " ButNaomi learned later that "Pleasant" was the right name after all. 

There was living in Bethlehem at that time a very rich man named Boaz. He owned large fields that were abundant in their harvests; and he wasrelated to the family of Elimelech, Naomi's husband, who had died. 

It was the custom in Israel when they reaped the grain not to gather allthe stalks, but to leave some for the poor people, who followed afterthe reapers with their sickles, and gathered what was left. When Naomiand Ruth came to Bethlehem, it was the time of the barley harvest; andRuth went out into the fields to glean the grain which the reapers hadleft. It so happened that she was gleaning in the field that belonged toBoaz, this rich man. 

Boaz came out from the town to see his men reaping, and he said tothem, "The Lord be with you"; and they answered him, "The Lord blessyou. "

And Boaz said to his master of the reapers: "Who is this young womanthat I see gleaning in the field?"

The man answered: "It is the young woman from the land of Moab, who camewith Naomi. She asked leave to glean after the reapers, and has beenhere gathering grain since yesterday. "

Then Boaz said to Ruth: "Listen to me, my daughter. Do not go to anyother field, but stay here with my young women. No one shall harm you;and when you are thirsty, go and drink at our vessels of water. "

[Illustration: _Ruth went out into the fields to glean the grain_]

Then Ruth bowed to Boaz, and thanked him for his kindness, all the morekind because she was a stranger in Israel. Boaz said: "I have heard howtrue you have been to your mother-in-law Naomi, in leaving your ownland and coming with her to this land. May the Lord, under whose wingsyou have come, give you a reward!"

And at noon, when they sat down to rest and to eat, Boaz gave her someof the food. And he said to the reapers:

"When you are reaping, leave some of the sheaves for her; and drop outsome sheaves from the bundles, where she may gather them. "

That evening, Ruth showed Naomi how much she had gleaned, and told herof the rich man Boaz, who had been so kind to her. And Naomi said:

"This man is a near relation of ours. Stay in his fields, as long as theharvest lasts. " And so Ruth gleaned in the fields of Boaz until theharvest had been gathered. 

At the end of the harvest, Boaz held a feast on the threshing-floor. Andafter the feast, by the advice of Naomi, Ruth went to him, and said tohim:

"You are a near relation of my husband and of his father, Elimelech. Nowwill you not do good to us for his sake?"

And when Boaz saw Ruth, he loved her; and soon after this he took her ashis wife. And Naomi and Ruth went to live in his home; so that Naomi'slife was no more bitter, but pleasant. And Boaz and Ruth had a son, whom they named Obed; and later Obed had a son named Jesse; and Jessewas the father of David, the shepherd boy who became king. So Ruth, theyoung woman of Moab, who chose the people and the God of Israel, becamethe mother of kings. 

THE STORY OF DAVID, THE SHEPHERD BOY

Living at Ramah, in the mountains of Ephraim, there was a man whose namewas Elkanah. He had two wives, as did many men in that time. One ofthese wives had children, but the other wife, whose name was Hannah, hadno child. 

Every year Elkanah and his family went up to worship at the house of theLord in Shiloh, which was about fifteen miles from his home. And at oneof these visits Hannah prayed to the Lord, saying:

"O Lord, if thou wilt look upon me, and give me a son, he shall be givento the Lord as long as he lives. "

The Lord heard Hannah's prayer, and gave her a little boy, and shecalled his name Samuel, which means "Asked of God"; because he had beengiven in answer to her prayer. 

Samuel grew up to be a good man and a wise Judge, and he made his sonsJudges in Israel, to help him in the care of the people. But Samuel'ssons did not walk in his ways. They did not try always to do justly. 

The elders of all the tribes of Israel came to Samuel at his home inRamah; and they said to him: "You are growing old, and your sons do notrule as well as you ruled. All the lands around us have kings. Let ushave a king also; and do you choose the king for us. "

This was not pleasing to Samuel. He tried to make the people changetheir minds, and showed them what trouble a king would bring them. 

But they would not follow his advice. They said: "No; we will have aking to reign over us. "

So Samuel chose as their king a tall young man named Saul, who was afarmer's son of the tribe of Benjamin. When Saul was brought before thepeople he stood head and shoulders above them all. And Samuel said:

"Look at the man whom the Lord has chosen! There is not another like himamong all the people!"

And all the people shouted, "God save the king! Long live the king!"

Then Samuel told the people what should be the laws for the king and forthe people to obey. He wrote them down in a book, and placed the bookbefore the Lord. Then Samuel sent the people home; and Saul went back tohis own house at a place called Gibeah; and with Saul went a company ofmen to whose hearts God had given a love for the king. 

So after three hundred years under the fifteen Judges, Israel now had aking. But among the people there were some who were not pleased with thenew king, because he was an unknown man from the farm. They said:

"Can such a man as this save us?"

They showed no respect to the king, and in their hearts looked down uponhim. But Saul said nothing, and showed his wisdom by appearing not tonotice them. But in another thing he was not so wise. He forgot to heedthe old prophet's advice and instructions about ruling wisely and doingas the Lord said. It was not long before Samuel told him that he haddisobeyed God and would lose his kingdom. 

When Samuel told Saul that the Lord would take away the kingdom fromhim, he did not mean that Saul should lose the kingdom at once. He wasno longer God's king; and as soon as the right man in God's sight shouldbe found, and should be trained for his duty as king, then God wouldtake away Saul's power, and would give it to the man whom God hadchosen. But it was years before this came to pass. 

The Lord said to Samuel: "Do not weep and mourn any longer over Saul, for I have refused him as king. Fill the horn with oil, and go toBethlehem in Judah. There find a man named Jesse, for I have chosen aking among his sons. "

But Samuel knew that Saul would be very angry, if he should learn thatSamuel had named any other man as king. He said to the Lord:

"How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me. "

The Lord said to Samuel: "Take a young cow with you; and tell the peoplethat you have come to make an offering to the Lord. And call Jesse andhis sons to the sacrifice. I will tell you what to do, and you shallanoint the one whom I name to you. "

Samuel went over the mountains southward from Ramah to Bethlehem, aboutten miles, leading a cow. The rulers of the town were alarmed at hiscoming, for they feared that he had come to judge the people for someevil-doing. But Samuel said:

"I have come in peace to make an offering and to hold a feast to theLord. Prepare yourselves and come to the sacrifice. "

And he invited Jesse and his sons to the service. When they came, helooked at the sons of Jesse very closely. The oldest was named Eliab, and he was so tall and noble-looking that Samuel thought:

"Surely this young man must be the one whom God has chosen. "

But the Lord said to Samuel:

"Do not look on his face, nor on the height of his body, for I have notchosen him. Man judges by the outward looks, but God looks at theheart. "

Then Jesse's second son, named Abinadab, passed by. And the Lord said:"I have not chosen this one. " Seven young men came and Samuel said:

"None of these is the man whom God has chosen. Are these all yourchildren?"

"There is one more, " said Jesse. "The youngest of all. He is a boy, inthe field caring for the sheep. "

And Samuel said:

"Send for him; for we will not sit down until he comes. " So after a timethe youngest son was brought in. His name was David, a word that means"darling, " and he was a beautiful boy, perhaps fifteen years old, withfresh cheeks and bright eyes. 

As soon as the young David came, the Lord said to Samuel:

"Arise, anoint him, for this is the one whom I have chosen. "

Then Samuel poured oil on David's head, in the presence of all hisbrothers. But no one knew at that time the anointing to mean that Davidwas to be the king. Perhaps they thought that David was chosen to be aprophet like Samuel. 

From that time the Spirit of God came upon David, and he began to showsigns of coming greatness. He went back to his sheep on the hillsidesaround Bethlehem, but God was with him. 

David grew up strong and brave, not afraid of the wild beasts whichprowled around and tried to carry away his sheep. More than once hefought with lions, and bears, and killed them, when they seized thelambs of his flock. And David, alone all day, practiced throwing stonesin a sling, until he could strike exactly the place for which he aimed. When he swung his sling, he knew that the stone would go to the veryspot at which he was throwing it. 

[Illustration: _Then Samuel poured oil on David's head_]

And young as he was, David thought of God, and talked with God, and Godtalked with David, and showed to David His will. 

After Saul had disobeyed the voice of the Lord, the Spirit of the Lordleft Saul, and no longer spoke to him. And Saul became very sad ofheart. At times a madness would come upon him, and at all times he wasvery unhappy. The servants of Saul noticed that when some one played onthe harp and sang, Saul's spirit was made more cheerful; and the sadnessof soul left him. At one time Saul said: "Find some one who can playwell, and bring him to me. Let me listen to music; for it drives away mysadness. "

One of the young men said: "I have seen a young man, a son of Jesse inBethlehem, who can play well. He is handsome in his looks, and agreeablein talking. I have also heard that he is a brave young man, who canfight as well as he can play, and the Lord is with him. "

Then Saul sent a message to Jesse, David's father. He said: "Send meyour son David, who is with the sheep. Let him come and play before me. "

Then David came to Saul, bringing with him a present for the king fromJesse. When Saul saw him, he loved him, as did everybody who saw theyoung David. And David played on the harp, and sang before Saul. AndDavid's music cheered Saul's heart, and drove away his sad feelings. 

Saul liked David so well that he made him his armorbearer; and Davidcarried the shield and spear, and sword for Saul, when the king wasbefore his army. But Saul did not know that David had been anointed bySamuel. 

After a time, Saul seemed well; and David returned to Bethlehem and wasonce more among his sheep in the field. Perhaps it was at this time thatDavid sang his shepherd song, or it may have been long afterward, whenDavid looked back in thought to those days when he was leading hissheep. This is the song, which you have heard often:

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;He leadeth me beside the still waters, He restoreth my soul;He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me;Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies;Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. "

THE STORY OF THE FIGHT WITH THE GIANT

All through the reign of Saul, there was constant war with thePhilistines, who lived upon the lowlands west of Israel. At one time, when David was still with his sheep, a few years after he had beenanointed by Samuel, the camps of the Philistines and the Israelites wereset against each other on opposite sides of the valley of Elah. In thearmy of Israel were the three oldest brothers of David. 

Every day a giant came out of the camp of the Philistines, and daredsome one to come from the Israelites' camp and fight with him. Thegiant's name was Goliath. He was nine feet high; and he wore armor fromhead to foot, and carried a spear twice as long and as heavy as anyother man could hold; and his shield bearer walked before him. He cameevery day and called out across the little valley:

"I am a Philistine, and you are servants of Saul. Now choose one of yourmen, and let him come out and fight with me. If I kill him; then youshall submit to us; and if he kills me, then we will give up to you. Come, now, send out your man!"

But no man in the army, not even King Saul, dared to go out and fightwith the giant. Forty days the camps stood against each other, and thePhilistine giant continued his call. 

One day, old Jesse, the father of David, sent David from Bethlehem tovisit his three brothers in the army. David came, and spoke to hisbrothers; and while he was talking with them, Goliath the giant came outas before in front of the camp calling for some one to fight with him. 

They said one to another:

"If any man will go out and kill this Philistine, the king will give hima great reward and a high rank; and the king's daughter shall be hiswife. "

And David said:

"Who is this man that speaks in this proud manner against the armies ofthe living God? Why does not some one go out and kill him?"

David's brother Eliab said to him:

"What are you doing here, leaving your sheep in the field? I know thatyou have come down just to see the battle. "

But David did not care for his brother's words. He thought he saw a wayto kill this boasting giant; and he said:

"If no one else will go, I will go out and fight with this enemy of theLord's people. "

They brought David before King Saul. Some years had passed since Saulhad met David, and he had grown from a boy to a man, so that Saul didnot know him as the shepherd who had played on the harp before him inother days. 

Saul said to David:

"You cannot fight with this great giant. You are very young; and he is aman of war, trained from his youth. "

And David answered King Saul:

"I am only a shepherd, but I have fought with lions and bears, when theyhave tried to steal my sheep. And I am not afraid to fight with thisPhilistine. "

Then Saul put his own armor on David--a helmet on his head, and a coatof mail on his body, and a sword at his waist. But Saul was almost agiant, and his armor was far too large for David. David said:

"I am not used to fighting with such weapons as these. Let me fight inmy own way. "

So David took off Saul's armor. While everybody in the army had beenlooking on the giant with fear, David had been thinking out the best wayfor fighting him; and God had given to David a plan. It was to throw thegiant off his guard, by appearing weak and helpless; and while so faraway that the giant could not reach him with sword or spear, to strikehim down with a weapon which the giant would not expect and would notbe prepared for. 

David took his shepherd's staff in his hand, as though that were to behis weapon. But out of sight, in a bag under his mantle, he had fivesmooth stones carefully chosen, and a sling, --the weapon that he knewhow to use. Then he came out to meet the Philistine. 

The giant looked down on the youth and despised him, and laughed. 

[Illustration: _The giant looked down on the youth and despisedhim_]

"Am I a dog?" he said, "that this boy comes to me with a staff? I willgive his body to the birds of the air, and the beasts of the field. "

And the Philistine cursed David by the gods of his people. And Davidanswered him:

"You come against me with a sword, and a spear, and a dart; but I cometo you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies ofIsrael. This day will the Lord give you into my hand. I will strike youdown, and take off your head, and the host of the Philistines shall bedead bodies, to be eaten by the birds and the beasts; so that all mayknow that there is a God in Israel, and that He can save in other waysbesides with sword and spear. "

[Illustration: _David drew out the giant's own sword_]

And David ran toward the Philistine, as if to fight him with hisshepherd's staff. But when he was just near enough for a good aim, hetook out his sling, and hurled a stone aimed at the giant's forehead. David's aim was good; the stone struck the Philistine in his forehead. It stunned him, and he fell to the ground. 

While the two armies stood wondering, and scarcely knowing what hadcaused the giant to fall so suddenly, David ran forward, drew out thegiant's own sword, and cut off his head. Then the Philistines knew thattheir great warrior in whom they trusted was dead. They turned to fleeto their own land; and the Israelites followed after them, and killedthem by the hundred and the thousand, even to the gates of their owncity of Gath. 

So in that day David won a great victory and stood before all the landas the one who had saved his people from their enemies. 

THE STORY OF THE CAVE OF ADULLAM

Now Saul had a son, Jonathan, near David's own age. He and David becamefast friends and loved one another as brothers. Saul the king becamevery jealous of David because the people praised him after his fightwith Goliath. He even threatened to take David's life. He tried to catchhim in his own house, but David's wife let him down from a window by arope and he escaped. He met his friend Jonathan, who told him that heshould flee. They renewed their promises of friendship, which they keptever afterward. 

From his meeting with Jonathan, David went forth to be a wanderer, having no home as long as Saul lived. He found a great cave, called thecave of Adullam, and hid in it. Soon people heard where he was, and fromall parts of the land, especially from his own tribe of Judah, men whowere not satisfied with the rule of King Saul gathered around David. 

Saul soon heard that David, with a band of men, was hiding among themountains of Judah, and that among those who aided him were certainpriests. 

This enraged King Saul, and he ordered his guards to kill all thepriests. The guards would not obey him, for they felt that it was awicked thing to lay hands upon the priests of the Lord. 

But he found one man whose name was Doeg, an Edomite, who was willing toobey the king. And Doeg, the Edomite, killed eighty-five men who worethe priestly garments. 

All through the land went the news of Saul's dreadful deed, andeverywhere the people began to turn from Saul, and to look toward Davidas the only hope of the nation. 

When Saul died he was followed by David, the shepherd boy, now grown tomanhood and greatly loved by the people. He had many battles to fightwith the Philistines and was nearly always victorious. He was a warriorking; but he was more than a warrior. He played on his harp and composedmany beautiful hymns and songs, which are collected in the book ofPsalms. He was a good king and tried to obey God's command. He had along reign and his people were happy and prosperous. He had many sonsand daughters and beautiful palaces for them to live in. 

THE STORY OF SOLOMON AND HIS TEMPLE

During the later years of David's reign, he laid up great treasure ofgold and silver, and brass, and iron, for the building of a house to theLord on Mount Moriah. This house was to be called "The Temple"; and itwas to be made very beautiful, the most beautiful building, and therichest in all the land. David had greatly desired to build this housewhile he was king of Israel, but God said to him:

"You have been a man of war, and have fought many battles, and shed muchblood. My house shall be built by a man of peace. When you die, your sonSolomon shall reign, and he shall have peace, and shall build my house. "

So David made ready great store of precious things for the temple; alsostone and cedar to be used in the building. And David said to Solomon, his son: "God has promised that there shall be rest and peace to theland while you are king; and the Lord will be with you, and you shallbuild a house, where God shall live among His people. "

But David had other sons who were older than Solomon; and one of thesesons, whose name was Adonijah, formed a plan to make himself king. David was now very old; and he was no longer able to go out of hispalace, and to be seen among the people. 

Adonijah gathered his friends; and among them were Joab, the general ofthe army, and Abiathar, one of the two high-priests. They met at a placeoutside the wall, and had a great feast, and were about to crownAdonijah as king, when word came to David in the palace. David, thoughold and feeble, was still wise. He said:

"Let us make Solomon king at once, and thus put an end to the plans ofthese men. "

So at David's command they brought out the mule on which no one but theking was allowed to ride; and they placed Solomon upon it; and with theking's guards, and the nobles, and the great men, they brought the youngSolomon down to the valley of Gihon, south of the city. 

And Zadok, the priest, took from the Tabernacle the horn filled withholy oil, that was used for anointing or pouring oil on the head of thepriests when they were set apart for their work. He poured oil from thishorn on the head of Solomon, and then the priests blew the trumpets, andall the people cried aloud, "God save King Solomon. "

All this time Adonijah and Joab, and their friends were not far away, almost in the same valley, feasting and making merry, intending to makeAdonijah king. They heard the sound of the trumpets, and the shouting ofthe people. Joab said: "What is the cause of all this noise and uproar?"

A moment later, Jonathan, the son of Abiathar, came running in. Jonathansaid to the men who were feasting:

"Our lord King David has made Solomon king, and he has just beenanointed in Gihon; and all the princes, and the heads of the army, arewith him, and the people are shouting, 'God save King Solomon!' AndDavid has sent from his bed a message to Solomon, saying, 'May the Lordmake your name greater than mine has been! Blessed be the Lord, who hasgiven me a son to sit this day on my throne!'"

When Adonijah and his friends heard this they were filled with fear. Every man went at once to his house, except Adonijah. He hastened to thealtar of the Lord, and knelt before it, and took hold of the horns thatwere on its corners in front. This was a holy place, and he hoped thatthere Solomon might have mercy on him. And Solomon said:

"If Adonijah will do right, and be faithful to me as the king of Israel, no harm shall come to him; but if he does wrong, he shall die. "

Then Adonijah came and bowed down before King Solomon, and promised toobey him, and Solomon said, "Go to your own house. "

[Illustration: _Solomon on his throne_]

Not long after this David sent for Solomon, and from his bed he gave hislast advice to Solomon. And soon after that David died, an old man, having reigned in all forty years, seven years over the tribe of Judah, at Hebron, and thirty-three years over all Israel, in Jerusalem. He wasburied in great honor on Mount Zion, and his tomb remained standing formany years. 

The great work of Solomon's reign was the building of the House of God. It was generally called the Temple. It was built on Mount Moriah, one ofthe hills of Jerusalem. King David had prepared for it by gatheringgreat stores of silver, stone and cedar-wood. The walls were made ofstone and the roof of cedar. Solomon had great ships which visited otherlands and brought precious stones and fine woods for the building. Seven years were spent in building the Temple, and it was set apart tothe worship of God with beautiful ceremonies in which Solomon, in hisrobes of state, took part. 

[Illustration: _Supposed form of Solomon's temple_]

Solomon was indeed a great king, and it was said that he was also thewisest man in all the world. He wrote many of the wise sayings in theBook of Proverbs, and many more that have been lost. 

[Illustration: _Ship in Solomon's time_]

THE STORY OF ELIJAH, THE PROPHET

One of the greatest of all the kings of the Ten Tribes was Jeroboam thesecond. Under him the kingdom of Israel grew rich and strong. Heconquered nearly all Syria, and made Samaria the greatest city of allthose lands. 

But though Syria went down, another nation was now rising topower--Assyria, on the eastern side of the river Tigris. Its capital wasNineveh, a great city, so vast that it would take three days for a manto walk around its walls. The Assyrians were beginning to conquer allthe lands near them, and Israel was in danger of falling under theirpower. 

One of the kings who ruled over Israel was named Ahab. He provoked theanger of the Lord. His wife, Jezebel, who was a worshiper of Baal, persuaded him to build an altar to the false god. 

Elijah, a prophet of the Lord, was sent to him and proposed a test. Twoaltars were built; one to Jehovah and one to Baal. The priests of Baalcalled upon their god to send down fire; but there was no answer. ThenElijah called upon the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and firecame down and burnt up the offering. 

The people turned upon the priests of Baal and killed them all. Laterthe wicked queen, Jezebel, coveted a vineyard for Ahab, and she causedNaboth, the owner of the vineyard, to be placed in front of the battle. When he was slain Ahab took the vineyard. 

[Illustration: _Denounced Ahab and Jezebel_]

Once more Elijah came and denounced Ahab and Jezebel, telling them thatthey had done wickedly, and that the Lord would punish them. 

[Illustration: _Made king when he was only seven years old_]

In a little while the prophet's words came true, for Ahab was slain inbattle and Jezebel was put to death by order of King Jehu. Elijah wastaken up to heaven in a chariot of fire. 

There was another prophet, a companion of Elijah, whose name was Elisha, a brave and courageous man who did not fail to deliver God's message. 

It happened that when Elisha was an old man there can to him King Joash, who had been made king when he was only seven years old. Joash was now ayoung man and was trying to do right in the sight of the Lord. But hefelt the need of the prophet's aid, and he came to Elisha and said:

"My father, my father, you are more to Israel than its chariots andhorsemen. "

[Illustration: _"This is the arrow of victory"_]

Elisha, though weak in body, was yet strong in soul. He told Joash tobring him a bow and arrows, and to open the window to the east, lookingtoward the land of Syria. Then Elisha caused the king to draw the bow;and he placed his hands on the king's hands. And as the king shot anarrow, Elisha said:

"This is the arrow of victory; of victory over Syria; for you shallsmite the Syrians in Aphek and shall destroy them. "

It happened as Elisha had foretold and the Syrians were defeated andtheir cities taken. 

THE STORY OF JONAH AND THE WHALE

At this time another prophet, named Jonah, was giving the word of theLord to the Israelites. To Jonah the Lord spoke, saying:

"Go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it; for its wickednessrises up before me. "

But Jonah did not wish to preach to the people of Nineveh; for they werethe enemies of his land, the land of Israel. He wished Nineveh to die inits sins, and not to turn to God and live. So Jonah tried to go awayfrom the city where God had sent him. He went down to Joppa and took aship for Tarshish. 

But the Lord saw Jonah on the ship; and the Lord sent a great storm uponthe sea, so that the ship seemed as though it would go to pieces. Thesailors threw overboard everything on the ship; and when they could dono more, every man prayed to his god to save the ship and themselves. Jonah was now lying fast asleep, and the ship's captain came to him, andsaid:

"What do you mean by sleeping in such a time as this? Awake, rise up, and call upon your God. Perhaps He will hear you and save our lives. "

But the storm continued to rage around the ship; and they said:

"There is some man on this ship who has brought upon us this trouble. Let us cast lots and find who it is. "

Then they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. They said to him, all atonce:

"Tell us, who are you? From what country do you come? What is yourbusiness? To what people do you belong? Why have you brought all thistrouble upon us?"

Then Jonah told them the whole story, how he came from the land ofIsrael, and that he had fled away from the presence of the Lord. Andthey said to him:

"What shall we do to you, that the storm may cease?"

Then said Jonah:

"Take me up and throw me into the sea; then the storm will cease and thewaters will be calm; for I know that for my sake this great tempest isupon you. "

But the men were not willing to throw Jonah into the sea. They rowedhard to bring the ship to the land, but they could not. Then they criedunto the Lord, and said:

"We pray thee, O Lord, we pray thee, let us not die for this man's life;for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. "

At last, when they could do nothing else to save themselves, they threwJonah into the sea. 

At once the storm ceased, and the waves became still. Then the men onthe ship feared the Lord greatly. They offered a sacrifice to the Lord, and made promises to serve him. 

And the Lord caused a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah wasalive within the fish for three days and three nights. In the fish Jonahcried to the Lord; and the Lord caused the great fish to throw up Jonahupon the dry land. 

Notice all through this story that, although Jonah was God's servant, hewas always thinking about himself. God protected Jonah and saved him, not because he was such a good man, but because he wanted to teach him agreat lesson. 

By this time Jonah had learned that some men who worshipped idols werekind in their hearts, and were dear to the Lord. This was the lessonthat God meant Jonah to learn; and now the call of the Lord came toJonah a second time:

"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it what I commandyou. " So Jonah went to the city of Nineveh; and as he entered into it, he called out to the people:

"Within forty days shall Nineveh be destroyed. "

And he walked through the city all day crying out only this:

"Within forty days shall Nineveh be destroyed. "

And the people of Nineveh believed the word of the Lord as spoken byJonah. They turned away from their sins and fasted and sought the Lord, from the greatest of them even to the least. The king of Nineveh arosefrom his throne, and laid aside his royal robes, and covered himselfwith sack-cloth and sat in ashes, as a sign of his sorrow. And the kingsent out a command to his people that they should fast, and seek theLord, and turn from sin. 

[Illustration: _To shade Jonah from the sun_]

And God saw that the people of Nineveh were sorry for their wickedness, and he forgave them, and did not destroy their city. But this made Jonahvery angry. He did not wish to have Nineveh spared, because it was theenemy of his own land; and also he feared that men would call him afalse prophet when his word did not come to pass. And Jonah said to theLord:

"O Lord, I was sure that it would be thus, that thou wouldest spare thecity; and for that reason I tried to flee away; for I know that thouwast a gracious God, full of pity, slow to anger, and rich in mercy. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than tolive. "

And Jonah went out of the city, and built a little hut on the east sideof it, and sat under its roof, to see whether God would keep the wordthat he had spoken. Then the Lord caused a plant with thick leaves togrow up, and to shade Jonah from the sun; and Jonah was glad, and satunder its shadow. But a worm destroyed the plant; and the next day a hotwind blew, and Jonah suffered from the heat; and again Jonah wished thathe might die. And the Lord said to Jonah:

"You were sorry to see the plant die, though you did not make it grow, and though it came up in a night and died in a night. And should not Ihave pity on Nineveh, that great city, where are more than a hundredthousand little children, and also many cattle, --all helpless andknowing nothing?"

And Jonah learned that men, and women, and little children, are allprecious in the sight of the Lord, even though they know not God. 

THE STORY OF THE FIERY FURNACE

There was in the land of Judah a wicked king-named Jehoiakim, son of thegood Josiah. While Jehoiakim was ruling over the land of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar, a great conqueror of the nations, came from Babylon withhis army of Chaldean soldiers. He took the city of Jerusalem, and madeJehoiakim promise to submit to him as his master. And when he went backto his own land he took with him all the gold and silver that he couldfind in the Temple; and he carried away as captives very many of theprinces and nobles, the best people in the land of Judah. 

When these Jews were brought to the land of Chaldea or Babylon, KingNebuchadnezzar gave orders to the prince, who had charge of his palace, to choose among these Jewish captives some young men who were of noblerank, and beautiful in their looks, and also quick and bright in theirminds; young men who would be able to learn readily. These young menwere to be placed under the care of wise men, who should teach them allthat they knew, and fit them to stand before the king of Babylon, sothat they might be his helpers to carry out his orders; and the kingwished them to be wise, so that they might give him advice in ruling hispeople. 

Among the young men thus chosen were four Jews, men who had been broughtfrom Judah. By order of the king the names of these men were changed. One of them, named Daniel, was to be called Belteshazzer; the otherthree young men were called Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. They weretaught in all the knowledge of the Chaldeans; and after three years oftraining they were taken into the king's palace. 

King Nebuchadnezzar was pleased with them, more than with any others whostood before him. He found them wise and faithful in the work given tothem, and able to rule over men under them. And these four men came tothe highest places in the kingdom of the Chaldeans. 

At one time King Nebuchadnezzar caused a great image to be made, and tobe covered with gold. This image he set up, as an idol to be worshipped, on the plain of Dura, near the city of Babylon. When it was finished, itstood upon its base or foundation almost a hundred feet high; so thatupon the plain it could be seen far away. Then the king sent out acommand for all the princes, and rulers, and nobles in the land, to cometo a great gathering, when the image was to be set apart for worship. 

The great men of the kingdom came from far and near and stood aroundthe image. Among them, by command of the king, were Daniel's threefriends, the young Jews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. For somereason, Daniel himself was not there. He may have been busy with thework of the kingdom in some other place. 

At one moment in the service before the image, all the trumpets sounded, the drums were beaten, and music was made upon musical instruments ofall kinds, as a signal for all the people to kneel down and worship thegreat golden image. But while the people were kneeling, there were threemen who stood up, and would not bow down. These were the three youngJews, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. They knelt down before the LordGod only. 

Many of the nobles had been jealous of these young men, because they hadbeen lifted to high places in the rule of the kingdom; and these men whohated Daniel and his friends, were glad to find that these three men hadnot obeyed the command of King Nebuchadnezzar. The king had said that ifany one did not worship the golden image he should be thrown into afurnace of fire. These men who hated the Jews came to the king and said:

"O king, may you live for ever! You gave orders that when the musicsounded, every one should bow down and worship the golden image; andthat if any man did not worship, he should be thrown into a furnace offire. There are some Jews, whom you have made rulers in the land, whohave not done as you commanded. Their names are Shadrach, Meshach andAbed-nego. They do not serve your gods, nor worship the golden imagethat you have set up. "

[Illustration: _Nebuchadnezzar was fitted with rage_]

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage and fury at knowing that anyone should dare to disobey his words. He sent for these three men andsaid to them:

"O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, was it by purpose that you did notfall down and worship the image of gold? The music shall sound oncemore, and if you then will worship the image, it will be well. But ifyou will not, then you shall be thrown into the furnace of fire, todie. "

These three young men were not afraid of the king. They said:

"O King Nebuchadnezzar, we are ready to answer you at once. The God whomwe serve is able to save us from the fiery furnace, and we know that hewill save us. But if it is God's will that we should die, even then youmay understand, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worshipthe golden image. "

This answer made the king more furious than before. He said to hisservants:

"Make a fire in the furnace hotter than ever it has been before, as hotas fire can be made; and throw these three men into it. "

Then the soldiers of the king's army seized the three young Jews, asthey stood in their loose robes, with their turbans on their heads. Theytied them with ropes, and dragged them to the mouth of the furnace, andthrew them into the fire. The flames rushed from the opened door withsuch fury that they burned even to death the soldiers who were holdingthese men; and the men themselves fell down bound into the middle of thefiery furnace. 

But an angel befriended them and they were unhurt. 

[Illustration: _An angel befriended them_]

King Nebuchadnezzar stood in front of the furnace, and looked into theopen door. As he looked, he was filled with wonder at what he saw; andhe said to the nobles around him:

"Did we not throw three men bound into the fire? How is it then that Isee four men loose walking in the furnace; and the fourth man looks asthough he were a son of the gods?"

And the nobles who stood by could scarcely speak, so great was theirsurprise. 

"It is true, O king, " at last they said to Nebuchadnezzar, "that we castthese men into the flames, expecting them to be burned up; and we cannotunderstand how it happens that they have not been destroyed. "

The king came near to the door of the furnace, as the fire became lower;and he called out to the three men within it:

"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye who serve the Most High God, comeout of the fire, and come to me. "

They came out and stood before the king, in the sight of all theprinces, and nobles, and rulers; and every one could see that they werealive. 

Their garments had not been scorched, nor their hair singed, nor wasthere even the smell of fire upon them. 

Then King Nebuchadnezzar said before all his rulers:

"Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has senthis angel, and has saved the lives of these men who trusted in him. _I_make a law that no man in all my kingdoms shall say a word againsttheir God, for there is no other god who can save in this manner thosewho worship him. And if any man speaks a word against their God, theMost High God, that man shall be cut in pieces, and his house shall betorn down. "

After King Nebuchadnezzar died, his kingdom became weak, and the city ofBabylon was taken by the Medes and Persians, under Cyrus, a greatwarrior. 

THE STORY OF DANIEL IN THE LIONS' DEN

The lands which had been the Babylonian or Chaldean empire, now becamethe empire of Persia; and over these Darius was the king. King Dariusgave to Daniel, who was now a very old man, a high place in honor and inpower. Among all the rulers over the land, Daniel stood first, for theking saw that he was wise and able to rule. This made the other princesand rulers very jealous, and they tried to find something evil inDaniel, so that they could speak to the king against him. 

These men saw that three times every day Daniel went to his room andopened the window that was toward the city of Jerusalem, and lookingtoward Jerusalem, made his prayer to God. Jerusalem was at that time inruins, and the Temple was no longer standing; but Daniel prayed threetimes each day with his face toward the place where the house of God hadonce stood, although it was many hundreds of miles away. 

These nobles thought that in Daniel's prayers they could find a chanceto do him harm, and perhaps cause him to be put to death. They came toKing Darius, and said to him:

"All the rulers have agreed together to have a law made that for thirtydays no one shall ask anything of any god or of any man, except fromyou, O king; and that if any one shall pray to any god, or shall askanything from any man during the thirty days, except from you, O king, he shall be thrown into the den where the lions are kept. Now, O king, make the law, and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, for nolaw among the Medes and the Persians can be altered. "

The king was not a wise man; and being foolish and vain, he was pleasedwith this law which would set him even above the gods. So without askingDaniel's advice, he signed the writing; and the law was made, and theword was sent out through the kingdom, that for thirty days no oneshould pray to any god. 

Daniel knew that the law had been made, but every day he went to hisroom three times, and opened the window that looked toward Jerusalem, and offered his prayers to the Lord, just as he had prayed in othertimes. These rulers were watching near by, and they saw Daniel kneelingin prayer to God. Then they came to the king, and said:

"O King Darius, have you not made a law, that if any one in thirty daysoffers a prayer, he shall be thrown into the den of lions?"

"It is true, " said the king. "The law has been made, and it muststand. "

They said to the king: "There is one man who does not obey the law whichyou have made. It is that Daniel, one of the captive Jews. Every dayDaniel prays to his God three times, just as he did before you signedthe writing of the law. "

[Illustration: _Thrown into the den of lions_]

Then the king was very sorry for what he had done, for he loved Daniel, and knew that no one could take his place in the kingdom. All day, untilthe sun went down, he tried in vain to find some way to save Daniel'slife; but when evening came, these men again told him of the law that hehad made, and said to him that it must be kept. Very unwillingly theking sent for Daniel, and gave an order that he should be thrown intothe den of lions. He said to Daniel: "Perhaps your God, whom you serveso faithfully, will save you from the lions. "

They led Daniel to the mouth of the pit where the lions were kept, andthey threw him in; and over the mouth they placed a stone; and the kingsealed it with his own seal, and with the seals of his nobles; so thatno one might take away the stone and let Daniel out of the den. 

Then the king went again to his palace; but that night he was so sadthat he could not eat, nor did he listen to music as he was used tolisten. He could not sleep, for all through the night he was thinking ofDaniel. Very early in the morning he rose up from his bed and went inhaste to the den of lions. He broke the seal and took away the stone, and in a voice full of sorrow he called out, scarcely hoping to have ananswer:

"O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God been able to save youfrom the lions?"

And out of the darkness in the den came the voice of Daniel, saying:

"O king, may you live forever! My God has sent his angel and has shutthe mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because my God saw thatI had done no wrong. And I have done no wrong toward you, O king!"

[Illustration: DANIEL'S ANSWER TO THE KING--"Then said Daniel untothe King, O King, live forever. My God hath sent his angel, and hathshut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me. "--(Daniel 6:21-22. )]

Then the king was glad. He gave to his servants orders to take Danielout of the den. Daniel was brought out safe and without harm, becausehe had trusted fully in the Lord God. Then by the king's command, theybrought those men who had spoken against Daniel, and with them theirwives and their children, for the king was exceedingly angry with them. They were all thrown into the den, and the hungry lions leaped uponthem, and tore them in pieces, so soon as they fell upon the floor ofthe den. 

After this king Darius wrote to all the lands and the peoples in themany kingdoms under his rule:

"May peace be given to you all abundantly! I make a law that everywhereamong my kingdoms men fear and worship the Lord God of Daniel; for he isthe living God, above all other gods, who only can save men. "

And Daniel stood beside king Darius until the end of his reign, andafterward while Cyrus the Persian was king over all the lands. 

THE STORY OF THE ANGEL BY THE ALTAR

At the time when the story of the New Testament begins, the land ofIsrael, called also the land of Judea, was ruled by a king named Herod. He was the first of several Herods, who at different times ruled eitherthe whole of the land, or parts of it. But Herod was not the highestruler. Many years before this time, the Romans, who came from the cityof Rome in Italy, had won all the lands around the Great Sea, the seawhich we call the Mediterranean; and above king Herod of Judea was thegreat king of Rome, ruling over all the lands, and over the land ofJudea among them. So Herod, though king of Judea, obeyed his overlord, the emperor at Rome. At the time when this story begins, the emperor atRome was named Augustus Cæsar. 

At this time, the land where the Jews lived was full of people. Jerusalem was its largest city, and in Jerusalem was standing the Templeof the Lord, which king Herod had lately built anew, taking the place ofthe old Temple built very many years before, which had long neededrepair. There were also many other large cities besides Jerusalem. Inthe south was Hebron among the mountains; on the shore of the Great Seawere Gaza, and Joppa, and Cæsarea; in the middle of the land wereShechem and Samaria; and in the north were Nazareth, and Cana; down bythe shore of the Sea of Galilee were Tiberias, and Capernaum, andBethsaida. Far up in the north, at the foot of snowy Mount Hermon, wasanother Cæsarea; but so that it might not be confused with Cæsarea uponthe seacoast this city was called Cæsarea-Philippi, or "Philip'sCæsarea, " from the name of one of Herod's sons. 

One day, an old priest named Zacharias was leading the service ofworship in the Temple. He was standing in front of the golden altar ofincense, in the Holy Place, and was holding in his hand a censer, orcup, full of burning coals and incense; while all the people wereworshipping in the court of the Temple, outside the court of thePriests, where the great altar of burnt-offering stood. 

Suddenly, Zacharias saw an angel from the Lord, standing on the rightside of the altar of incense. He felt a great fear when he saw thisstrange being with shining face; but the angel said to him:

[Illustration: _"Do not be afraid, Zacharias"_]

"Do not be afraid, Zacharias; for I have come from the Lord to bringgood news. Your wife Elizabeth shall have a son, and you shall name himJohn. You shall be made glad, for your son John shall bring joy andgladness to many. He shall be great in the sight of the Lord; and heshall never taste wine nor strong drink as long as he lives; but heshall be filled with God's Holy Spirit. He shall lead many of thepeople of Israel to the Lord, for he shall go before the Lord in thepower of Elijah the prophet, as was promised by Malachi, the last of theold prophets. He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and those who are disobeying the Lord to do his will. "

As Zacharias heard these words, he was filled with wonder, and couldhardly believe them true. He was now an old man, and his wife Elizabethwas also old; so that they could not expect to have a child. He said tothe angel:

"How shall I know that your words are true, for I am an old man, and mywife is old?"

"I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, " said the angel. "AndI was sent from the Lord to speak to you, and to bring you this goodnews. But because you did not believe my words, you shall become dumb, and shall not be able to speak, until this which I have said comes topass. "

All this time the people outside in the court were wondering why thepriest stayed so long in the Temple. When at last he came out, theyfound that he could not speak a word; but he made signs to them, to tellthem that he had seen a vision in the Temple. 

After the days of his service were over, Zacharias went to his own home, which was near Hebron, a city of the priests, among the mountains inthe south of Judea. When his wife Elizabeth found that God was soon togive her a child, she was very happy, and praised the Lord. 

About six months after Zacharias saw the vision in the Temple, the sameangel Gabriel was sent from the Lord to a city in the part of the landcalled Galilee, which was in the north. The city to which the angel wassent was Nazareth. There the angel found a young girl named Mary, whowas a cousin to Elizabeth. Mary was soon to be married to a good man whohad sprung from the line of king David, though he was not himself aking, nor a rich man. He was a carpenter, living in Nazareth, and hisname was Joseph. The angel came into the room where Mary was, and saidto her: "Hail, woman favored by the Lord; the Lord is with you!"

Mary was surprised at the angel's words, and wondered what they couldmean. Then the angel spoke again, and said: "Do not be afraid, Mary. TheLord has given to you his favor, and has chosen you to be the mother ofa son whose name shall be Jesus, which means 'salvation, ' because heshall save his people from their sins. He shall be great, and shall becalled the Son of God; and the Lord shall give to him the throne of hisfather David. He shall be a king, and shall reign over the people ofGod forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. "

But Mary could not see how all this was to come to pass. And the angelsaid to her:

"The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High Godshall be over you; and the child which you shall have shall be calledholy, the Son of God. "

Then the angel told Mary that her cousin Elizabeth was soon to have achild, through the power of the Lord. And when Mary heard all this, shesaid: "I am the servant of the Lord, to do his will. Let it be to me asyou have said. "

When the angel had given his message and had gone away, Mary rose up inhaste and made a journey to the home of Zacharias and Elizabeth. WhenElizabeth saw Mary, she was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, andsaid:

"Blessed are you among women, and blessed among men shall be your son!And why is it that the mother of my Lord comes to visit me? Blessed isthe woman who believed that the promise of the Lord to her shall be madetrue!"

Then Mary was filled with the Spirit of the Lord, and broke out into asong of praise. She stayed with Elizabeth for nearly three months, andthen went again to her own home at Nazareth. 

As the angel had said, to the aged woman Elizabeth was given a son. They were going to name him Zacharias, after his father. But his mothersaid: "No, his name shall be John. "

"Why, " they said, "none of your family have ever been named John!"

They asked his father Zacharias, by signs, what name he wished to begiven to the child. He asked for something to write upon; and when theybrought it, he wrote, "His name is John. " Then all at once, the power tohear and to speak came back to Zacharias. He spoke, praising andblessing God; and he sang a song of thanks to God, in which he said:

"You O child, shall be called a prophet of the Most High; to go beforethe Lord, and to make ready his ways. "

When John was growing up, they sent him out into the desert on the southof the land, and there he stayed until the time came for him to preachto the people; for this child became the great prophet John the Baptist. 

THE STORY OF JESUS, THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM

Soon after the time when John the Baptist was born, Joseph the carpenterof Nazareth had a dream. In his dream he saw an angel from the Lordstanding beside him. The angel said to him:

"Joseph, sprung from the line of king David, I have come to tell you, that Mary, the young woman whom you are to marry, will have a son, sentby the Lord God. You shall call his name Jesus, which means 'salvation, 'because he shall save his people from their sins. "

God's people had had several kings. Some of them had been selfish andcruel, but Jesus was to be a new kind of king, one who would save, notdestroy men. 

Soon after Joseph and Mary were married in Nazareth, a command wentforth from the emperor Augustus Cæsar through all the lands of the Romanempire, for all the people to go to the cities and towns from whichtheir families had come, and there to have their names written down upona list, for the emperor wished a list to be made of all the people underhis rule. As both Joseph and Mary had come from the family of David theking, they went together from Nazareth to Bethlehem, there to have theirnames written upon the list. For you remember that Bethlehem in Judea, six miles south of Jerusalem, was the place where David was born, andwhere his father's family had lived for many years. 

It was a long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem; down the mountains tothe river Jordan, then following the Jordan almost to its end, and thenclimbing the mountains of Judah to the town of Bethlehem. When Josephand Mary came to Bethlehem they found the city full of people who, likethemselves, had come to have their names enrolled or written upon thelist. The inn or hotel was full, and there was no room for them; for noone but themselves knew that this young woman was soon to be the motherof the Lord of all the earth. The best that they could do was to go to astable where the cattle were kept. There the little baby was born, andwas laid in a manger, where the cattle were fed. 

On that night, some shepherds were tending their sheep in a field nearBethlehem. Suddenly, a great light shone upon them, and they saw anangel of the Lord standing before them. They were filled with fear, asthey saw how glorious the angel was. But the angel said to them:

"Be not afraid; for behold I bring you news of great joy, which shallbe to all the people; for there is born to you this day in Bethlehem, the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord, the anointed king. You may see him there; and you may know him by this sign: He is anew-born baby, lying in a manger, at the inn. "

[Illustration: _They were filled with fear_]

And then they saw that the air around and the sky above them were filledwith angels, praising God and singing:

"Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace among men in whom Godis well pleased. "

While they looked with wonder, and listened, the angels went out ofsight as suddenly as they had come. Then the shepherds said one toanother:

"Let us go at once to Bethlehem, and see this wonderful thing that hascome to pass, and which the Lord has made known to us. "

[Illustration: _The baby in the manger_]

Then as quickly as they could go to Bethlehem, they went, and foundJoseph, the carpenter of Nazareth, and his young wife Mary, and thelittle baby lying in the manger. They told Mary and Joseph, and othersalso, how they had seen the angels, and what they had heard about thisbaby. All who heard their story wondered at it; Mary, the mother of thechild, said nothing. She thought over all these things, and silentlykept them in her heart. After their visit, the shepherds went back totheir flocks, praising God for the good news that he had sent to them. 

When the little one was eight days old, they gave him a name; and thename given was "Jesus, " a word which means "salvation, " as the angel hadtold both Mary and Joseph that he should be named. So the very name ofthis child told what he should do for men; for he was to bring salvationto the world. 

THE STORY OF THE STAR AND THE WISE MEN

For some time after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary stayed with him inBethlehem. The little baby was not kept long in the stable sleeping in amanger; for after a few days they found room in a house; and thereanother visit was made to Jesus by strange men from a land far away. 

In a country east of Judea, and many miles distant, were living somevery wise men who studied the stars. One night they saw a strange starshining in the sky, and in some way they learned that the coming of thisstar meant that a king was soon to be born in the land of Judea. Thesemen felt a call of God to go to Judea, far to the west of their ownhome, and there to see this new-born king. They took a long journey, with camels and horses, and at last they came to, the land of Judea, just at the time when Jesus was born at Bethlehem. As soon as they werein Judea, they supposed that every one would know all about the king, and they said:

"Where is he that is born king of the Jews? In the east we have seen hisstar, and we have come to worship him. "

[Illustration: THE SHEPHERDS IN THE FIELD--"And there were in thesame country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over theirflock by night.... And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. Forunto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which isChrist the Lord. '"--(Luke 2: 8-10-11. )]

But no one of whom they asked had ever seen this king, or had heard ofhim. The news of their coming was sent to Herod the king, who was now avery old man. He ruled the land of Judea, as you know, under the emperorat Rome, Augustus Cæsar. Herod was a very wicked man, and when he heardof some one born to be a king, he feared that he might lose his ownkingdom. He made up his mind to kill this new king. 

He sent for the priests and scribes, the men who studied and taught thebooks of the Old Testament, and asked them about this Christ for whomall the people were looking. He said: "Can you tell me where Christ, theking of Israel, is to be born?" They looked at the books of theprophets, and then they said: "He is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea;for thus it is written by the prophet, 'And thou Bethlehem in the landof Judah are not the least among the princes of Judah; for out of theeshall come forth one who shall rule my people Israel. '"

Then Herod sent for the wise men from the east, and met them alone, andfound from them at what time the star was first seen. Then he said tothem:

"Go to Bethlehem; and there search carefully for the little child; andwhen you have found him, bring me word again, so that I also may comeand worship him. "

[Illustration: _The wise men went their way_]

Then the wise men went on their way toward Bethlehem; and suddenly theysaw the star again shining upon the road before them. At this they wereglad, and followed the star until it led them to the very house wherethe little child was. They came in, and there they saw the little one, with Mary, its mother. They knew at once that this was the king; andthey fell down on their faces and worshipped him as the Lord. Then theybrought out gifts of gold and precious perfumes, frankincense and myrrh, which were used in offering sacrifices; and they gave them as presentsto the royal child. 

That night God sent a dream to the wise men, telling them not to go backto Herod, but to go home at once to their own land by another way. Theyobeyed the Lord, and found another road to their own country withoutpassing through Jerusalem where Herod was living. So Herod could notlearn from those men who the child was that was born to be a king. 

And very soon after these wise men had gone away, the Lord sent anotherdream to Joseph, the husband of Mary. He saw an angel, who spoke to him, saying:

"Rise up quickly; take the little child and his mother, and go down tothe land of Egypt, for Herod will try to find the child to kill him. "

Then at once Joseph rose up in the night, without waiting even for themorning. He took his wife and her baby, and quietly and quickly wentwith them down to Egypt, which was on the southwest of Judea. There theyall stayed in safety, as long as the wicked king Herod lived, which wasnot many months. 

King Herod waited for the wise men to come back to him from their visitto Bethlehem; but he soon found that they had gone to their homewithout bringing to him any word. Then Herod was very angry. He sent outhis soldiers to Bethlehem. They came, and by the cruel king's commandthey seized all the little children in Bethlehem who were three yearsold, or younger, and killed them all. What a cry went up to God from themothers in Bethlehem, as their children were torn from their arms andslain!

[Illustration: _He took his wife and baby and went down to Egypt_]

But all this time, the child Jesus whom they were seeking was safe withhis mother in the land of Egypt. 

Soon after this king Herod died, a very old man, cruel to the last. Thenthe angel of the Lord came again and spoke to Joseph in a dream, saying:"You may now take the young child back to his own land, for the king whosought to kill him is dead. "

Then Joseph took his wife and the little child Jesus, and started to goagain to the land of Judea. Perhaps it was his thought to go again toBethlehem, the city of David, and there bring up the child. But he heardthat in that part of the land Archelaus, a son of Herod, was now ruling, and who was as wicked and cruel as his father. 

He feared to go under Archelaus' rule, and instead took his wife and thechild to Nazareth, which had been his own home and that of Mary his wifebefore the child was born. Nazareth was in the part of the land calledGalilee, which at that time was ruled by another son of king Herod, aking named Herod Antipas. He was not a good man, but was not so cruelnor bloody as his wicked father had been. 

So again Joseph the carpenter and Mary his wife were living in Nazareth. And there they stayed for many years while Jesus was growing up. Jesuswas not the only child in their house, and he had many other playmatesamong the boys of Nazareth. 

THE STORY OF THE CHILD IN THE TEMPLE

Jesus was brought to Nazareth when he was a little child not more thanthree years old; there he grew up as a boy and a young man, and there helived until he was thirty years of age. We should like to know manythings about his boyhood, but the Bible tells us very little. As Josephwas a working man, it is likely that he lived in a house with only oneroom, with no floor except the earth, no window except a hole in thewall, no pictures upon the walls, and neither bedstead, nor chair, norlooking-glass. They sat upon the floor or upon cushions; they slept uponrolls of matting, and their meals were taken from a low table not muchlarger than a stool. 

Jesus may have learned to read at the village school, which wasgenerally held in the house used for worship, called the "synagogue. "The lessons were from rolls on which were written parts of the OldTestament; but Jesus never had a Bible of his own. From a child he wentwith Joseph to the worship in the synagogue twice every week. There theysat on the floor and heard the Old Testament read and explained, whileMary and the younger sisters of Jesus listened from a gallery behind alattice-screen. The Jewish boys of that time were taught to know almostthe whole of the Old Testament by heart. 

It was the custom of the Jews from all parts of the land to go up toJerusalem to worship at least once every year, at the feast of thePassover, which was held in the spring. Some families also stayed to thefeast of Pentecost, which was fifty days after Passover; and some wentagain in the fall to the feast of Tabernacles, when for a week all thefamilies slept out of doors, under roofs made of green twigs and bushes. 

When Jesus was a boy twelve years old, he was taken up to the feast ofthe Passover, and there for the first time he saw the holy cityJerusalem, and the Temple of the Lord on Mount Moriah. Young as he was, his soul was stirred, as he walked among the courts of the Temple andsaw the altar with its smoking sacrifice, the priests in their whiterobes, and the Levites with their silver trumpets. Though a boy, Jesusbegan to feel that he was the Son of God, and that this was his Father'shouse. 

[Illustration: _Sitting in a company of the doctors of the law_]

His heart was so filled with the worship of the Temple, with the wordsof the scribes or teachers whom he heard in the courts, and with his ownthoughts, that when it was time to go home to Nazareth, he stayedbehind, held fast by his love for the house of the Lord. The company ofpeople who were traveling together was large, and at first he was notmissed. But when night came and the boy Jesus could not be found, hismother was alarmed. The next day Joseph and Mary left their company andhastened back to Jerusalem. They did not at first think to go to theTemple. They sought him among their friends and kindred who were livingin the city, but could not find him. 

On the third day, they went up to the Temple with heavy hearts, stilllooking for their boy. And there they found him sitting in a company ofthe doctors of the law, listening to their words and asking themquestions. Everybody who stood near was surprised to find how deep wasthe knowledge of this boy in the word of the Lord. 

His mother spoke to him a little sharply, for she felt that her son hadnot been thoughtful of his duty. She said: "Child, why have you treatedus in this way? Do you not know that your father and I have been lookingfor you with troubled hearts?"

"Why did you seek for me, " said Jesus. "Did you not know that I must bein my Father's house?"

They did not understand these words; but Mary thought often about themafterward; for she felt her son was no common child, and that his wordshad a deep meaning. Though Jesus was wise beyond his years, he obeyedJoseph and his mother in all things. He went with them to Nazareth, andlived contented with the plain life of their country home. 

As the years went on, Jesus grew from a boy to a young man. He grew, too, in knowledge, and in wisdom, and in the favor of God. He won thelove of all who knew him, for there was something in his nature thatdrew all hearts, both young and old. 

Jesus learned the trade of a carpenter with Joseph; and when Josephdied, while Jesus was still a young man, Jesus worked as a carpenter, and helped his mother take care of the family. And so in the carpentershop, and the quiet life of a country village, and the worship of thesynagogue, the years passed until Jesus was thirty years of age. 

THE STORY OF THE WATER THAT WAS TURNED INTO WINE

A few days after Jesus met his followers or disciples at the riverJordan, he came with these men to a town in Galilee called Cana, to bepresent at a wedding. In those lands a feast was always held at awedding, and often the friends of those who were married stayed severaldays, eating and drinking together. 

The mother of Jesus was at this wedding as a friend of the family; forNazareth, where she lived, was quite near to Cana. Before the weddingfeast was over, all the wine had been used, and there was no more forthe guests to drink. The mother of Jesus knew that her son had power todo whatever he chose; and she said to him; "They have no wine. "

Jesus said to her: "O woman, what have I to do with thee? My hour is notyet come. "

But his mother knew that Jesus would in some way help the people intheir need, and she said to the servants who were waiting at the table:

"Whatever he tells you to do, be sure to do it. "

In the dining hall were standing six large stone jars, each about aslarge as a barrel, holding twenty-five gallons. These jars held waterfor washing, as the Jews washed their hands before every meal, andwashed their feet as often as they came from walking in the street, since they wore no shoes, but only sandals. Jesus said to the servants:

"Fill the jars with water. "

[Illustration: _"Fill the jars with water"_]

The servants obeyed Jesus, and filled the jars up to the brim. ThenJesus spoke to them again, and said:

"Now draw out some of the water, and take it to the ruler of the feast. "

They drew out water from the jars, and saw that it had been turned intowine. The ruler did not know from what place the wine had come; but hesaid to the young man who had just been married, the bridegroom:

"At a feast everybody gives his best wine at the beginning, andafterward, when his guests have drunk freely, he brings on wine that isnot so good; but you have kept the good wine until now. "

This was the first time that Jesus used the power that God had givenhim, to do what no other man could do. Such works as these were called"miracles"; and Jesus did them as signs of his power as the Son of God. When the disciples saw this miracle, they believed in Jesus more fullythan before. 

After this Jesus went with his mother and his younger brothers to aplace called Capernaum, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. But theystayed there only a few days, for the feast of the Passover was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem to attend it. You remember that the feastof the Passover was held every year, to keep in mind how God had led thepeople of Israel out of Egypt long before. 

When Jesus came to Jerusalem, he found in the courts of the Temple menwho were selling oxen and sheep and doves for the sacrifices, and othermen sitting at tables changing the money of Jews who came from otherlands into the money of Judea. All this made the courts around theTemple seem like a market, and not a place for the worship of God. 

[Illustration: _"Take these things away"_]

Jesus picked up some cord and made from it a little whip. With it hebegan to drive out of the Temple all the buyers and sellers. He was butone, and they were many; but such power was in his look, that they ranbefore him. He drove the men and the sheep and the oxen; he overturnedthe tables and threw on the floor the money, and to those who wereselling the doves he said: "Take these things away; make not my Father'shouse a house for selling and buying!"

The acts of Jesus were not pleasing to the rulers of the Jews, for manyof them were making money by this selling of sacrifices and changing ofmoney. Some of the rulers came to Jesus and said to him: "What righthave you to come here and do such things as these? What sign can youshow that God has given to you power to rule in this place?"

Jesus said to them: "I will give you a sign. Destroy this house of God, and in three days I will raise it up. "

Then said the Jews, "It has taken forty-six years to build this Temple, and it is not finished yet. Will you raise it up in three days?"

But Jesus did not mean that Temple on Mount Moriah. He was speaking ofhimself, for in him God was dwelling as in a temple, and he meant thatwhen they should put him to death, he would rise again in three days. Afterward, when Jesus had died and risen again, his followers, thedisciples, thought of what he had said, and understood these words. 

THE STORY OF THE STRANGER AT THE WELL

While Jesus was teaching in Jerusalem and in the country places near it, John the Baptist was still preaching and baptizing. But already thepeople were leaving John and going to hear Jesus. Some of the followersof John the Baptist were not pleased as they saw that fewer people cameto their master, and that the crowds were seeking Jesus. But John saidto them: "I told you that I am not the Christ, but that I am sent beforehim. Jesus is the Christ, the king. He must grow greater, while I mustgrow less; and I am glad that it is so. "

Soon after this, Herod Antipas, the king of the province or land ofGalilee, put John in prison. Herod had taken for his wife a woman namedHerodias, who had left her husband to live with Herod, which was verywicked. John sent word to Herod, that it was not right for him to havethis woman as his wife. These words of John made Herodias very angry. She hated John, and tried to kill him. Herod himself did not hate Johnso greatly, for he knew that John had spoken the truth. But he was weak, and yielded to his wife Herodias. To please her, he sent John theBaptist to a lonely prison among the mountains east of the Dead Sea; forthe land in that region, as well as Galilee, was under Herod's rule. There in prison Herod hoped to keep John safe from the hate of his wifeHerodias. 

Soon after John the Baptist was thrown into prison, Jesus left thecountry near Jerusalem with his disciples, and went toward Galilee, theprovince in the north. Between Judea in the south and Galilee in thenorth, lay the land of Samaria, where the Samaritans lived, who hatedthe Jews. They worshipped the Lord as the Jews worshipped him, but theyhad their own Temple and their own priests. And they had their ownBible, which was only the five books of Moses; for they would not readthe other books of the old Testament. The Jews and the Samaritans wouldscarcely ever speak to each other, so great was the hate between them. 

When Jews went from Galilee to Jerusalem, or from Jerusalem to Galilee, they would not pass through Samaria, but went down the mountains to theriver Jordan, and walked beside the river, in order to go aroundSamaria. But Jesus, when he would go from Jerusalem to Galilee, walkedover the mountains straight through Samaria. One morning while he was onhis journey, he stopped to rest beside an old well at the foot of MountGerizim, not far from the city of Shechem, but nearer to a littlevillage that was called Sychar. This well had been dug by Jacob, thegreat father or ancestor of the Israelites, many hundreds of yearsbefore. It was an old well then in the days of Jesus; and it is mucholder now; for the same well may be seen in that place still. Even nowtravelers may have a drink from Jacob's well. 

It was early in the morning, about sunrise, when Jesus was sitting byJacob's well. He was very tired, for he had walked a long journey; hewas hungry, and his disciples had gone to the village near at hand tobuy food. He was thirsty, too; and as he looked into the well he couldsee the water a hundred feet below, but he had no rope with which to letdown a cup or a jar to draw up some water to drink. 

Just at this moment a Samaritan woman came to the well, with herwater-jar upon her head, and her rope in her hand. Jesus looked at her, and in one glance read her soul, and saw all her life. 

He knew that Jews did not often speak to Samaritans, but he said to her:

"Please to give me a drink?"

The woman saw from his looks and his dress that he was a Jew, and shesaid to him:

"How is it that you, who are a Jew, ask drink of me, a Samaritanwoman?"

Jesus answered her:

"If you knew what God's free gift is, and if you knew who it is thatsays to you, 'Give me a drink, ' you would ask him to give you livingwater, and he would give it to you. "

There was something in the words and the looks of Jesus which made thewoman feel that he was not a common man. She said to him: "Sir, you havenothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where can you get thatliving water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who drank from thiswell, and who gave it to us?"

"Whoever drinks of this water, " said Jesus, "shall thirst again, butwhoever drinks 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 waterspringing up unto everlasting life. "

"Sir, " said the woman, "give me some of this water of yours, so that Iwill not thirst any more, nor come all the way to this well. "

Jesus looked at the woman, and said to her, "Go home, and bring yourhusband, and come here. "

"I have no husband, " answered the woman. 

"Yes, " said Jesus, "you have spoken the truth. You have no husband. Butyou have had five husbands, and the man whom you now have is not yourhusband. "

The woman was filled with wonder as she heard this. She saw that herewas a man who knew what others could not know. She felt that God hadspoken to him, and she said:

"Sir, I see that you are a prophet of God. Tell me whether our people orthe Jews are right. Our fathers have worshipped on this mountain. TheJews say that Jerusalem is the place where men should go to worship. Now, which of these is the right place?"

"Woman, believe me, " said Jesus, "there is coming a time when men shallworship God in other places besides on this mountain and in Jerusalem. The time is near; it has even now come, when the true worshipperseverywhere shall pray to God in spirit and in truth; for God himself isa Spirit. "

The woman said: "I know that the Anointed one is coming, the Christ. When he comes, he will teach us all things. "

Jesus said to her:

"I that speak to you now am he, the Christ!"

Just at this time the disciples of Jesus came back from the village. They wondered to see Jesus talking with this Samaritan woman, but theysaid nothing. 

The woman had come to draw water, but in her interest in this wonderfulstranger, she forgot her errand. Leaving her water-jar, she ran back toher village, and said to the people:

"Come, see a man who told me everything that I have done in all my life!Is not this man the Christ whom we are looking for?"

Soon the woman came back to the well with many of her people. They askedJesus to come to their town, and to stay there and teach them. He wentwith them, and stayed there two days, teaching the people, who wereSamaritans. And many of the people in that place believed in Jesus, andsaid:

"We have heard for ourselves; now we know that this is indeed theSaviour of the world. "

THE STORY OF THE FISHERMEN

When Jesus began to teach the people by the river Jordan, a few youngmen came to him as followers, or disciples. Some of these men wereAndrew and John, Peter and Philip and Nathanael. While Jesus wasteaching near Jerusalem and in Samaria, these men stayed with Jesus; butwhen he came to Galilee, they went to their homes and work, for most ofthem were fishermen from the Sea of Galilee. 

One morning, soon after Jesus came to Capernaum, he went out of thecity, by the sea, followed by a great throng of people, who had cometogether to see him and to hear him. On the shore were lying two fishingboats, one of which belonged to Simon and Andrew, the other to James andJohn and their father Zebedee. The men themselves were not in the boats, but were washing their nets near by. 

Jesus stepped into the boat that belonged to Simon Peter and his brotherAndrew, and asked them to push it out a little into the lake, so that hecould talk to the people from it without being crowded too closely. Theypushed it out, and then Jesus sat in the boat, and spoke to the people, as they stood upon the beach. After he had finished speaking to thepeople, and had sent them away, he said to Simon Peter:

"Put out into the deep water and let down your nets to catch some fish. "

[Illustration: _The net caught so many fishes they could not pull itup_]

"Master, " said Simon, "we have been fishing all night, and have caughtnothing; but if it is your will, I will let down the net again. "

They did as Jesus bade them; and now the net caught so many fishes thatSimon and Andrew could not pull it up, and it was in danger of breaking. They made signs to the two brothers, James and John, who were in theother boat, for them to come and help them. They came, and lifted thenet, and poured out the fish. There were so many of them that both theboats were filled, and began to sink. 

When Simon Peter saw this, he was struck with wonder, and felt that itwas by the power of God. He fell down at the feet of Jesus, saying: "OhLord, I am full of sin, and am not worthy of all this! Leave me, OLord. "

But Jesus said to Simon, and to the others, "Fear not; but follow me, and I will make you from this time fishers of men. "

From that time these four men, Simon and Andrew, James and John, gave uptheir nets and their work, and became disciples of Jesus. 

On the Sabbath, after this, Jesus and his disciples went together to thesynagogue, and spoke to the people. They listened to him and weresurprised at his teaching; for while the scribes always repeated whatother scribes had said before, Jesus never spoke of what the men of oldtime had taught, but spoke in his own name, and by his own power, saying, "I say unto you, " as one who had the right to speak. Men feltthat Jesus was speaking to them as the voice of God. 

On one Sabbath, while Jesus was preaching, a man came into the synagoguewho had in him an evil spirit; for sometimes evil spirits came into men, and lived in them and spoke out from them. The evil spirit in this mancried out, saying:

"Let us alone, thou Jesus of Nazareth! What have we to do with thee?Hast thou come to destroy us? I know thee; and I know who thou art, theHoly one of God!"

Then Jesus spoke to the evil spirit in the man:

"Be still; and come out of this man!"

Then the evil spirit threw the man down, and seemed as if he would tearhim apart; but he left the man lying on the ground, without harm. 

Then wonder fell upon all the people. They were filled with fear, andsaid: "What mighty word is this? This man speaks even to the evilspirits, and they obey him!"

After the meeting in the synagogue, Jesus went into the house whereSimon Peter lived. There he saw lying upon a bed the mother of Simon'swife, who was very ill with a burning fever. He stood over her, andtouched her hand. At once the fever left her; she rose up from her bedand waited upon them. 

At sunset, the Sabbath day was over; and then they brought to Jesus fromall parts of the city those that were sick, and some that had evilspirits in them. Jesus laid his hands upon the sick, and they becamewell; he drove out the evil spirits by a word, and would not allow themto speak. 

THE STORY OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

Among the Jews there was one class of men hated and despised by thepeople more than any other. That was "the publicans. " These were the menwho took from the people the tax which the Roman rulers had laid uponthe land. Many of these publicans were selfish, grasping, and cruel. They robbed the people, taking more than was right. Some of them werehonest men, dealing fairly, and taking no more for the tax than wasneedful; but because so many were wicked, all the publicans were hatedalike; and they were called "sinners" by the people. 

One day, when Jesus was going out of Capernaum, to the seaside, followedby a great crowd of people, he passed a publican, or tax-gatherer, whowas seated at his table taking money from the people who came to paytheir taxes. This man was named Matthew, or Levi; for many Jews had twonames. Jesus could look into the hearts of men, and he saw that Matthewwas one who might help him as one of his disciples. He looked uponMatthew, and said:

"Follow me!"

At once, the publican rose up from his table, and left it to go withJesus. All the people wondered, as they saw one of the hated publicansamong the disciples, with Peter, and John, and the rest. But Jesusbelieved that there is good in all kinds of people. Most of the men whofollowed him were poor fishermen. None of them, so far as we know, wasrich. And when he called Matthew he saw a man with a true and lovingheart, whose rising up to follow Jesus just as soon as he was calledshowed what a brave and faithful friend he would be. The first of thefour books about Jesus bears Matthew's name. 

A little while after Jesus called him, Matthew made a great feast forJesus at his house; and to the feast he invited many publicans, andothers whom the Jews called sinners. The Pharisees saw Jesus sittingamong these people, and they said with scorn to his disciples:

"Why does your Master sit at the table with publicans and sinners?"

Jesus heard of what these men had said, and he said:

"Those that are well do not need a doctor to cure them, but those thatare sick do need one. I go to these people because they know that theyare sinners and need to be saved. I came not to call those who thinkthemselves to be good, but those who wish to be made better. "

One evening Jesus went alone to a mountain not far from Capernaum. Acrowd of people and his disciples followed him; but Jesus left them all, and went up to the top of the mountain, where he could be alone. Therehe stayed all night, praying to God, his Father and our Father. In themorning, out of all his followers, he chose twelve men who should walkwith him and listen to his words, so that they might be able to teachothers in turn. Some of these men he had called before; but now hecalled them again, and others with them. They were called "The Twelve, "or "the disciples"; and after Jesus went to heaven, they were called"The Apostles, " a word which means "those who were sent out, " becauseJesus sent them out to preach the gospel to the world. 

[Illustration: _"I came not to call those who think themselves to begood"_]

The names of the twelve disciples, or apostles, were these: Simon Peterand his brother Andrew; James and John, the two sons of Zebedee; Philipof Bethsaida, and Nathanael, who was also called Bartholomew, a namewhich means "the son of Tholmai"; Thomas, who was also called Didymus, aname which means "a twin, " and Matthew the publican, or tax-gatherer;another James, the son of Alpheus, who was called "James the Less, " tokeep his name apart from the first James, the brother of John; andLebbeus, who was also called Thaddeus. Lebbeus was also called Judas, but he was a different man from another Judas, whose name is alwaysgiven last. The eleventh name was another Simon, who was called "theCananean" or "Simon Zelotes"; and the last name was Judas Iscariot, whowas afterward the traitor. We know very little about most of these men, but some of them in later days did a great work. Simon Peter was aleader among them, but most of them were common sort of men of whom thebest we know is that they loved Jesus and followed him to the end. Somedied for him, and some served him in distant and dangerous places. 

[Illustration: _Then, on the mountain, he preached_]

Before all the people who had come to hear him, Jesus called thesetwelve men to stand by his side. Then, on the mountain, he preached tothese disciples and to the great company of people. The disciples stoodbeside him, and the great crowd of people stood in front, while Jesusspoke. What he said on that day is called "The Sermon on the Mount. "Matthew wrote it down, and you can read it in his gospel, in the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters. Jesus began with these words to hisdisciples:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 

"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: forthey shall be filled. 

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. 

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children ofGod. 

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: fortheirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

"Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shallsay all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 

"Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven:for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but tobe cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot behid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on acandlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Letyour light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, andglorify your Father which is in heaven. "

It was in this Sermon on the Mount that Jesus told the people how theyshould pray, and he gave them the prayer which we all know as the Lord'sPrayer. 

And this was the end of the Sermon:

"Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, Iwill liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, andbeat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock. 

"And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon thesand:

"And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, andbeat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. "

THE STORY OF THE MIRACLE WORKER

There was at Capernaum an officer of the Roman army, a man who had underhim a company of a hundred men. They called him "a centurion, " a wordwhich means "commanding a hundred"; but we should call him "a captain. "This man was not a Jew, but was what the Jews called "a Gentile, " "aforeigner"; a name which the Jews gave to all people outside their ownrace. All the world except the Jews themselves were Gentiles. 

This Roman centurion was a good man, and he loved the Jews, becausethrough them he had heard of God, and had learned how to worship God. Out of his love for the Jews, he had built for them with his own money asynagogue, which may have been the very synagogue in which Jesus taughton the Sabbath days. 

The centurion had a young servant, a boy whom he loved greatly; and thisboy was very sick with a palsy, and near to death. The centurion hadheard that Jesus could cure those who were sick; and he asked the chiefmen of the synagogue, who were called its "elders, " to go to Jesus andask him to come and cure his young servant. 

[Illustration: _"Speak the word and my servant shall be cured"_]

The elders spoke to Jesus, just as he came again to Capernaum, after theSermon on the Mount. They asked Jesus to go with them to the centurion'shouse; and they said:

"He is a worthy man, and it is fitting that you should help him, for, though a Gentile, he loves our people, and he has built for us oursynagogue. "

Then Jesus said, "I will go and heal him. "

But while he was on his way--and with him were the elders, and hisdisciples, and a great crowd of people, who hoped to see the work ofhealing--the centurion sent some other friends to Jesus with thismessage:

"Lord, do not take the trouble to come to my house; for I am not worthythat one so high as you are should come under my roof; and I did notthink that I was worthy to go and speak to you. But speak only a wordwhere you are, and my servant shall be made well. For I also am a manunder rule, and I have soldiers under me; and I say to one 'Go, ' and hegoes; and to another, 'Come, ' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Dothis, ' and he does it. You, too, have power to speak and to be obeyed. Speak the word, and my servant shall be cured. "

When Jesus heard this, he wondered at this man's faith. He turned to thepeople following him, and said:

"In truth I say to you, I have not found such faith as this in allIsrael!"

Then he spoke to the friends of the centurion who had brought the wordfrom him:

"Go and say to this man, 'As you have believed in me, so shall it bedone to you. '"

Then those who had been sent, went again to the centurion's house, andfound that in that very hour his servant had been made perfectly well. 

On the day after this, Jesus with his disciples and many people went outfrom Capernaum, and turned southward, and came to a village called Nain. Just as Jesus and his disciples came near to the gate of the city, theywere met by a company who were carrying out a dead man to be buried. Hewas a young man, and the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. 

When the Lord Jesus saw the mother in her grief, he pitied her, andsaid, "Do not weep. "

He drew near, and touched the frame on which they were carrying thebody, wrapped round and round with long strips of linen. The bearerslooked with wonder on this stranger, and set down the frame with itsbody, and stood still. Standing beside the body, Jesus said:

"Young man, I say to you, Rise up!"

And in a moment the young man sat up and began to speak. Jesus gave himto his mother, who now saw that her son who had been dead, was aliveagain. 

And Jesus went through all that part of Galilee, working miracles andpreaching and teaching in all the villages, telling the peopleeverywhere the good news of the kingdom of God. 

The children loved to gather around him, and when his disciples wouldhave driven them away he said, "Suffer the little children to come untome and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. "

[Illustration: _The children loved to gather around him_]

One Sabbath day, as Jesus and his disciples were walking in Jerusalem, they met a blind man begging. This man in all his life had never seen;for he had been born blind. The disciples said to Jesus as they werepassing him: "Master, whose fault was it that this man was born blind?Was it because he has sinned, or did his parents sin?"

For the Jews thought that when any evil came, it was caused by someone's sin. But Jesus said:

"This man was born blind, not because of his parents' sin, nor becauseof his own, but so that God might show his power in him. We must doGod's work while it is day, for the night is coming when no man canwork. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. "

When Jesus had said this, he spat on the ground, and mixed up thespittle with earth, making a little lump of clay. This clay Jesus spreadon the eyes of the blind man; and then he said to him: "Go wash in thepool of Siloam. "

The pool of Siloam was a large cistern, or, reservoir, on the southeastof Jerusalem, outside the wall, where the valley of Gihon and the valleyof Kedron come together. To go to this pool, the blind man, with twogreat blotches of mud on his face, must walk through the streets of thecity, out of the gate, and into the valley. He went, and felt his waydown the steps into the pool of Siloam. There he washed, and then atonce his life-long blindness passed away, and he could see. 

When the man came back to the part of the city where he lived, hisneighbors could scarcely believe that he was the same man. They said:"Is not this the man who used to sit on the street begging?"

"This must be the same man, " said some; but others said: "No, it is someone who looks like him. "

But the man said, "I am the very same man who was blind!"

"Why, how did this come to pass?" they asked. "How were your eyesopened?"

"The man, named Jesus, " he answered, "mixed clay, and put it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash, ' and I went andwashed, and then I could see. "

"Where is this man?" they asked him. 

"I do not know, " said the man. 

Some of the Pharisees, the men who made a show of always obeying thelaw, asked the man how he had been made to see. He said to them, as hehad said before:

"A man put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and my sight came to me. "

Some of the Pharisees said:

"The man who did this is not a man of God, because he does not keep theSabbath. He makes clay, and puts it on men's eyes, working on theSabbath day. He is a sinner!"

Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such wonderful works?"

And thus the people were divided in what they thought of Jesus. Theyasked the man who had been blind: "What do you think of this man who hasopened your eyes?"

"He is a prophet of God, " said the man. 

But the leading Jews would not believe that this man had gained hissight, until they had sent for his father and his mother. The Jews askedthem:

"Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How is it that he can nowsee?"

His parents were afraid to tell all they knew; for the Jews had agreedthat if any man should say Jesus was the Christ, the Saviour, he shouldbe turned out of the synagogue, and not be allowed to worship any morewith the people. So his parents said to the Jews:

"We know that this is our son, and we know that he was born blind. Buthow he was made to see, we do not know; or who has opened his eyes, wedo not know. He is of age; ask him, and let him speak for himself. "

Then again the rulers of the Jews called the man who had been blind; andthey said to him:

"Give God the praise for your sight. We know that this man who madeclay on the Sabbath day is a sinner. "

"Whether that man is a sinner, or not, I do not know, " answered the man;"but one thing I do know, that once I was blind, and now I see. We knowthat God does not hear sinners; but God hears only those who worshiphim, and do his will. Never before has any one opened the eyes of a manborn blind. If this man were not from God, he could not do such works asthese!"

The rulers of the Jews, these Pharisees, then said to the man: "You wereborn in sin, and do you try to teach us?"

And they turned him out of the synagogue, and would not let any oneworship with him. Jesus heard of this; and when Jesus found him, he saidto him:

"Do you believe on the Son of God?"

The man said:

"And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?"

"You have seen him, " said Jesus, "and it is he who now talks with you!"

The man said, "Lord, I believe. "

And he fell down before Jesus, and worshipped him. 

THE GOOD SHEPHERD AND THE GOOD SAMARITAN

Soon afterward Jesus gave to the people in Jerusalem the parable orstory of "The Good Shepherd. "

"Verily, verily (that is, 'in truth, in truth'), I say to you, if anyone does not go into the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some otherway, it is a sign that he is a thief and a robber. But the one who comesin by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. The porter opens the door tohim, and the sheep know him, and listen to his call, for he calls hisown sheep by name and leads them out to the pasture-field. And when hehas led out his sheep, he goes in front of them, and the sheep followhim, for they know his voice. The sheep will not follow a stranger, forthey do not know the stranger's voice. "

The people did not understand what all this meant, and as Jesusexplained it to them, he said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am thedoor that leads to the sheepfold. If any man comes to the sheep in anyother way than through me and in my name, he is a thief and a robber;but those who are the true sheep will not hear such. I am the door; ifany man goes into the fold through me, he shall be saved, and shall goin and go out, and shall find pasture. 

"The thief comes to the fold that he may steal and rob the sheep, andkill them; but I came to the fold that they may have life, and may haveall that they need. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd will giveup his own life to save his sheep; and I will give up my life that mysheep may be saved. 

"I am the good shepherd; and just as a true shepherd knows all the sheepin his fold, so I know my own, and my own know me, even as I know theFather, and the Father knows me; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I mustlead; and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one flock and oneshepherd. "

The Jews could not understand these words of Jesus; but they became veryangry with him, because he spoke of God as his Father. They took upstones to throw them at him, and tried to seize him, intending to killhim. But Jesus escaped from their hands, and went away to the landbeyond Jordan, at the place called "Bethabara, " or "Bethany beyondJordan, " the same place where he had been baptized by John the Baptistmore than two years before. From this place Jesus wished to go outthrough the land in the east of the Jordan, a land which is called"Perea, " a word that means "beyond. " But before going out through thisland, Jesus sent out seventy chosen men from among his followers to goto all the villages, and to make the people ready for his own comingafterward. He gave to these seventy the same commands that he had givento the twelve disciples when he sent them through Galilee, and sent themout in pairs, two men to travel and to preach together. He said:

"I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no bag forfood, no shoes except those that you are wearing. Do not stop to talkwith people by the way; but go through the towns and villages, healingthe sick, and preaching to the people, 'The kingdom of God is coming, 'He that hears you, hears me; and he that refuses you, refuses me; and hethat will not hear me, will not hear him that sent me. "

And after a time the seventy men came again to Jesus, saying:

"Lord, even the evil spirits obey our words in thy name!"

And Jesus said to them:

"I saw Satan, the king of the evil spirits, falling down like lightningfrom heaven. I have given you power to tread upon serpents andscorpions, and nothing shall harm you. Still, do not rejoice because theevil spirits obey you; but rejoice that your names are written inheaven. "

And at that time, one of the scribes--men who wrote copies of the booksof the Old Testament, and studied them, and taught them--came to Jesusand asked him a question, to see what answer he would give. He said:"Master, what shall I do to have everlasting life?"

Jesus said to the scribe: "What is written in the law? You are a readerof God's law; tell me what it says. "

Then the man gave this answer:

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thysoul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thou shaltlove thy neighbor as thyself. "

Jesus said to the man: "You have answered right; do this, and you shallhave everlasting life. "

But the man was not satisfied. He asked another question: "And who is myneighbor?"

To answer this question, Jesus gave the parable or story of "The GoodSamaritan. " He said: "A certain man was going down the lonely road fromJerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, who stripped him of allthat he had and beat him; and then went away, leaving him almost dead. It happened that a certain priest was going down that road; and when hesaw the man lying there, he passed by on the other side. And a Levite, also, when he came to the place, and saw the man, he too went by on theother side. But a certain Samaritan, as he was going down, came wherethis man was; and as soon as he saw him, he felt a pity for him. He cameto the man, and dressed his wounds, pouring oil and wine into them. Thenhe lifted him up, and set him on his own beast of burden, and walkedbeside him to an inn. There he took care of him all night; and the nextmorning he took out from his purse two shillings, and gave them to thekeeper of the inn, and said: 'Take care of him; and if you need to spendmore than this, do so; and when I come again I will pay it to you. '"

[Illustration: _Then he lifted him up_]

"Which one of these three, do you think, showed himself a neighbor tothe man who fell among the robbers?"

The scribe said: "The one who showed mercy on him. "

Then Jesus said to him: "Go and do thou likewise. "

By this parable, Jesus showed that "our neighbor" is the one who needsthe help that we can give him, whoever he may be. 

THE STORY OF THE PALM BRANCHES

[Illustration: _Came to Bethany where his friends Martha and Marylived_]

From Jericho, Jesus and his disciples went up the mountains, and came toBethany, where his friends Martha and Mary lived, and where he hadraised Lazarus to life. Many people in Jerusalem heard that Jesus wasthere, and they went out of the city to see him, for Bethany was onlytwo miles from Jerusalem. Some came also to see Lazarus, whom Jesus hadraised from the dead; but the rulers of the Jews said to each other:

"We must not only kill Jesus, but Lazarus, also; because on his accountso many of the people are going after Jesus and are believing on him. "

The friends of Jesus in Bethany made a supper for Jesus, at the house ofa man named Simon. He was called "Simon the leper"; and perhaps he wasone whom Jesus had cured of leprosy. Jesus and his disciples, withLazarus, leaned upon the couches around the table, as the guests; andMartha was one of those who waited upon them. While they were at thesupper, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, came into the room, carrying asealed jar of very precious perfume. She opened the jar, and poured someof the perfume upon the head of Jesus, and some upon his feet; and shewiped his feet with her long hair. And the whole house was filled withthe fragrance of the perfume. 

But one of the disciples of Jesus, Judas Iscariot, was not pleased atthis. He said: "Why was such a waste of the perfume made? This mighthave been sold for more than forty-five dollars, and the money given tothe poor!"

This he said, but not because he cared for the poor. Judas was the onewho kept the bag of money for Jesus and the twelve; and he was a thief, and took away for his own use all the money that he could steal. ButJesus said:

"Let her alone; why do you find fault with the woman? She has done agood work upon me. You have the poor always with you, and whenever youwish, you can give to them. But you will have me with you only a littlewhile. She has done what she could; for she has come to perfume my bodyfor its burial. And truly I say to you, that wherever the gospel shallbe preached throughout all the world, what this woman has done shall betold in memory of her. "

[Illustration: _She wiped his feet with her hair_]

Perhaps Mary knew what others did not believe, that Jesus was soon todie; and she showed her love for him, and her sorrow for his comingdeath, by this rich gift. But Judas, the disciple who carried the bag, was very angry at Jesus; and from that time he was looking for a chanceto betray Jesus, or to give him up to his enemies. He went to the chiefpriests, and said: "What will you give me, if I will put Jesus in yourhands?"

They said, "We will give you thirty pieces of silver. "

And for thirty pieces of silver Judas promised to help them take Jesus, and make him their prisoner. 

On the morning after the supper at Bethany, Jesus called two of hisdisciples, and said to them:

"Go into the next village, and at a place where two roads cross; andthere you will find an ass tied, and a colt with it. Loose them, andbring them to me. And if any one says to you, 'Why do you do this?' say, 'The Lord has need of them, ' and they will let them go. "

They went to the place and found the ass and the colt, and were loosingthem, when the owner said:

"What are you doing, untying the ass?"

And they said, as Jesus had told them to say:

"The Lord has need of it. "

Then the owner gave them the ass and the colt for the use of Jesus. They brought them to Jesus on the Mount of Olives; and they laid some oftheir own clothes on the colt for a cushion, and set Jesus upon it. Thenall the disciples and a very great multitude threw their garments uponthe ground for Jesus to ride upon. Others cut down branches from thetrees and laid them on the ground. And as Jesus rode over the mountaintoward Jerusalem, many walked before him waving branches of palm trees. And they all cried together:

[Illustration: _They threw their garments upon the ground for Jesusto ride upon_]

"Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name ofthe Lord! Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in thename of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

These things they said, because they believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Anointed King; and they hoped that he would now set up his throne inJerusalem. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd, who did not believe inJesus, said to him:

"Master, stop your disciples!"

But Jesus said:

"I tell you, that if these should be still, the very stones would cryout!"

And when he came into Jerusalem with all this multitude, all the citywas filled with wonder. They said: "Who is this?"

And the multitude answered:

"This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth in Galilee!"

And Jesus went into the Temple, and looked around it; but he did notstay, because the hour was late. He went again to Bethany, and therestayed at night with his friends. 

These things took place on Sunday, the first day of the week; and thatSunday in the year is called Palm Sunday, because of the palm brancheswhich the people carried before Jesus. 

Many people heard him gladly, but the great city was deaf to hispleadings. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, " he cried, "thou that killest theprophets, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even asa hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!"

[Illustration: _The great city was deaf to his pleadings_]

THE STORY OF THE BETRAYAL

At the foot of the Mount of Olives, near the path over the hill towardBethany, there was an orchard of olive trees, called "The Garden ofGethsemane. " The word "Gethsemane" means "oil press. " Jesus often wentto this place with his disciples, because of its quiet shade. At thisgarden he stopped, and outside he left eight of his disciples, saying tothem, "Sit here while I go inside and pray. "

He took with him the three chosen ones, Peter, James, and John, and wentwithin the orchard. Jesus knew that in a little while Judas would bethere with a band of men to seize him; that in a few hours he would bebeaten, and stripped, and led out to die. The thought of what he was tosuffer came upon him and filled his soul with grief. He said to Peterand James and John:

"My soul is filled with sorrow, a sorrow that almost kills me. Stay hereand watch while I am praying. "

He went a little further among the trees, and flung himself down uponthe ground, and cried out:

"O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me;nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou willest!"

So earnest was his feeling and so great his suffering that there cameout upon his face great drops of sweat like blood, falling upon theground. After praying for a time, he rose up from the earth and went tohis three disciples, and found them all asleep. He awaked them, and saidto Peter: "What, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and praythat you may not go into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, butthe flesh is weak. "

He left them, and went a second time into the woods, and fell on hisface, and prayed again, saying:

"O my Father, if this cup cannot pass away, and I must drink it, thenthy will be done. "

He came again to the three disciples, and found them sleeping; but thistime he did not awake them. He went once more into the woods, andprayed, using the same words. And an angel from heaven came to him andgave him strength. He was now ready for the fate that was soon to come, and his heart was strong. Once more he went to the three disciples, andsaid to them: "You may as well sleep on now, and take your rest, for thehour is at hand; and already the Son of man is given by the traitor intothe hands of sinners. But rise up and let us be going. See, the traitoris here!"

The disciples awoke; they heard the noise of a crowd, and saw theflashing of torches and the gleaming of swords and spears. In the throngthey saw Judas standing, and they knew now that he was the traitor ofwhom Jesus had spoken the night before. Judas came rushing forward, andkissed Jesus, as though he were glad to see him. This was a signal thathe had given beforehand to the band; for the men of the guard did notknow Jesus, and Judas had said to them:

"The one that I shall kiss is the man that you are to take; seize himand hold him fast. "

Jesus said to Judas, "Judas, do you betray the Son of man with a kiss?"

Then he turned to the crowd, and said, "Whom do you seek?"

They answered, "Jesus of Nazareth. "

Jesus said, "I am he. "

When Jesus said this, a sudden fear came upon his enemies; they drewback and fell upon the ground. 

After a moment, Jesus said again, "Whom do you seek?"

And again they answered, "Jesus of Nazareth. "

And Jesus said, pointing to his disciples, "I told you that I am he. Ifyou are seeking me, let these disciples go their own way. "

[Illustration: PETER DENIES CHRIST--"And Peter remembered the word ofJesus, which said unto him, 'Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny methrice. '"--(Matt. 26:75. )]

But as they came forward to seize Jesus, Peter drew his sword, andstruck at one of the men in front, and cut off his right ear. The manwas a servant of the high-priest, and his name was Malchus. Jesus saidto Peter:

"Put up the sword into its sheath; the cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it? Do you not know that I could call upon my Father, and he would send to me armies upon armies of angels?"

Then he spoke to the crowd, "Let me do this. " And he touched the placewhere the ear had been cut off, and it came on again and was well. Jesussaid to the rulers and leaders of the armed men:

"Do you come out against me with swords and clubs as though I were arobber? I was with you every day in the Temple, and you did not liftyour hands against me. But the words in the scriptures must come topass; and this is your hour. "

When the disciples of Jesus saw that he would not allow them to fightfor him, they did not know what to do. In their sudden alarm they allran away, and left their Master alone with his enemies. These men laidtheir hands on Jesus, and bound him, and led him away to the house ofthe high-priest. There were at that time two men called high-priests bythe Jews. One was Annas, who had been high-priest until his office hadbeen taken from him by the Romans, and given to Caiphas, his son-in-law. But Annas still had great power among the people; and they broughtJesus, all bound as he was, first to Annas. 

Simon Peter, and John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, had followed afterthe crowd of those who carried Jesus away; and they came to the door ofthe high-priest's house. John knew the high-priest and went in; butPeter at first stayed outside, until John went out and brought him in. He came in, but did not dare to go into the room where Jesus stoodbefore the high-priest Annas. In the court-yard of the house, they hadmade a fire of charcoal, and Peter stood among those who were warmingthemselves at the fire. 

Annas in the inner room asked Jesus about his disciples and histeaching. Jesus answered him:

"What I have taught has been open in the synagogues and in the Temple. Why do you ask me? Ask those that heard me; they know what I said. "

Then one of the officers struck Jesus on the mouth, saying to him:

"Is this the way that you answer the high-priest?"

Jesus answered the officer calmly and quietly:

"If I have said anything evil, tell what the evil is; but if I havespoken the truth, why do you strike me?"

While Annas and his men were thus showing their hate toward Jesus, whostood bound and alone among his enemies, Peter was still in thecourt-yard warming himself at the fire. A woman, who was a serving-maidin the house, looked at Peter sharply, and finally said to him:

"You were one of those men with this Jesus of Nazareth!"

Peter was afraid to tell the truth, and he answered her:

"Woman, I do not know the man; and I do not know what you are talkingabout. "

And to get away from her, he went out into the porch of the house. Thereanother woman-servant saw him and said: "This man was one of those withJesus!"

And Peter swore with an oath that he did not know Jesus at all. Soon aman came by, who was of kin to Malchus, whose ear Peter had cut off. Helooked at Peter, and heard him speak, and said:

"You are surely one of this man's disciples; for your speech shows thatyou came from Galilee. "

Then Peter began again to curse and to swear, declaring that he did notknow the man. 

Just at that moment the loud, shrill crowing of a cock startled Peter;and at the same time he saw Jesus, who was being dragged through thehall from Annas to the council-room of Caiphas, the other high-priest. And the Lord turned as he was passing and looked at Peter. 

Then there flashed into Peter's mind what Jesus had said on the eveningbefore!

"Before the cock crows to-morrow morning, you will three times deny thatyou have ever known me. "

Then Peter went out of the high-priest's house into the street; and hewept bitterly because he had denied his Lord. 

THE STORY OF THE EMPTY TOMB

After Jesus was taken before the high-priest where he was ridiculed andthe people spat upon him, he was taken before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, who ruled over Judea. He heard their complaints, but didnot find any cause for putting him to death. But at last he yielded totheir demands, although he declared Jesus was innocent of all wrong. 

[Illustration: _He heard their complaints_]

And so Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, gave command that Jesusshould die by the cross. The Roman soldiers then took Jesus and beat himmost cruelly; and then led him out of the city to the place of death. This was a place called "Golgotha" in the Jewish language, "Calvary" inthat of the Romans; both words meaning "The Skull Place. "

With the soldiers, went out of the city a great crowd of people; some ofthem enemies of Jesus, glad to see him suffer; others of them friends ofJesus, and the women who had helped him, now weeping as they saw him, all covered with his blood and going out to die. But Jesus turned tothem and said:

"Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves andfor your children. For the days are coming when they shall count thosehappy who have no little ones to be slain; when they shall wish that themountain might fall on them, and the hills might cover them, and hidethem from their enemies!"

They had tried to make Jesus bear his own cross, but soon found that hewas too weak from his sufferings, and could not carry it. They seized ona man who was coming out of the country into the city, a man namedSimon, and they made him carry the cross to its place at Calvary. 

It was the custom among the Jews to give to men about to die by thecross some medicine to deaden their feelings, so that they would notsuffer so greatly. They offered this to Jesus, but when he had tasted itand found what it was, he would not take it. He knew that he would die, but he wished to have his mind clear, and to understand what was doneand what was said, even though his sufferings might be greater. 

At the place Calvary, they laid the cross down, and stretched Jesus uponit, and drove nails through his hands and feet to fasten him to thecross; and then they stood it upright with Jesus upon it. While thesoldiers were doing this dreadful work, Jesus prayed for them to God, saying: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they are doing. "

The soldiers also took the clothes that Jesus had worn, giving to eachone a garment. But when they came to his undergarment, they found thatit was woven and had no seams; so they said, "Let us not tear it, butcast lots for it, to see who shall have it. " So at the foot of the crossthe soldiers threw lots for the garment of Christ. 

Two men who had been robbers and had been sentenced to die by the cross, were led out to die at the same time with Jesus. One was placed on across at his right side, and the other at his left; and to make Jesusappear as the worst, his cross stood in the middle. Over the head ofJesus on his cross, they placed, by Pilate's order, a sign, on which waswritten:

 "This is Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews. "

This was written in three languages; in Hebrew, which was the languageof the Jews; in Latin, the language of the Romans, and in Greek. Many ofthe people read this writing; but the chief priests were not pleasedwith it. They urged Pilate to have it changed from "The King of theJews" to "He said, I am King of the Jews. " But Pilate would not changeit. He said:

"What I have written, I have written. "

And the people who passed by on the road, as they looked at Jesus on thecross, mocked at him. Some called out to him:

"You that would destroy the Temple and build it in three days, saveyourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!"

And the priests and scribes said:

"He saved others, but he cannot save himself. Come down from the cross, and we will believe in you!"

And one of the robbers, who was on his own cross beside that of Jesus, joined in the cry, and said: "If you are the Christ, save yourself andsave us!"

But the other robber said to him: "Have you no fear of God, to speakthus, while you are suffering the same fate with this man? And wedeserve to die, but this man has done nothing wrong. "

Then this man said to Jesus: "Lord, remember me when thou comest intothy kingdom!"

And Jesus answered him, as they were both hanging on their crosses:"To-day you shall be with me in heaven. "

Before the cross of Jesus his mother was standing, filled with sorrowfor her son, and beside her was one of his disciples, John, the disciplewhom he loved best. Other women besides his mother were there--hismother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and a woman named MaryMagdalene, out of whom a year before Jesus had sent an evil spirit. Jesus wished to give his mother, now that he was leaving her, into thecare of John, and he said to her, as he looked from her to John: "Woman, see your son. "

And then to John he said: "Son, see your mother. "

And on that day John took the mother of Jesus home to his own house, andcared for her as his own mother. 

At about noon, a sudden darkness came over the land, and lasted forthree hours. And in the middle of the afternoon, when Jesus had been onthe cross six hours of terrible pain, he cried out aloud words whichmeant:

"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!" words which are thebeginning of the twenty-second psalm, a psalm which long before hadspoken of many of Christ's sufferings. 

After this he spoke again, saying, "I thirst!"

And some one dipped a sponge in a cup of vinegar, and put it upon areed, and gave him a drink of it. Then Jesus spoke his last words uponthe cross:

"It is finished! Father, into thy hands I give my spirit!"

And then Jesus died. And at that moment, the veil in the Temple betweenthe Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, was torn apart by unseen handsfrom the top to the bottom. And when the Roman officer, who had chargeof the soldiers around the cross, saw what had taken place, and howJesus died, he said: "Surely this was a righteous man; he was the Son ofGod. "

After Jesus was dead, one of the soldiers, to be sure that he was nolonger living, ran his spear into the side of his dead body; and out ofthe wound came pouring both water and blood. 

There were even among the rulers of the Jews a few who were friends ofJesus, though they did not dare to follow Jesus openly. One of thesewas Nicodemus, the ruler who came to see Jesus at night. Another was arich man who came from the town of Arimathea, and was named Joseph. Joseph of Arimathea went boldly in to Pilate, and asked that the body ofJesus might be given to him. Pilate wondered that he had died so soon, for often men lived on the cross two or three days. But when he foundthat Jesus was really dead, he gave his body to Joseph. 

Then Joseph and his friends took down the body of Jesus from the cross, and wrapped it in fine linen. And Nicodemus brought some preciousspices, myrrh and aloes, which they wrapped up with the body. Then theyplaced the body in Joseph's own new tomb, which was a cave dug out ofthe rock, in a garden near the place of the cross. And before theopening of the cave they rolled a great stone. 

And Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, and some other women, saw thetomb, and watched while they laid the body of Jesus in it. On the nextmorning, some of the rulers of the Jews came to Pilate, and said:

"Sir, we remember that that man Jesus of Nazareth, who deceived thepeople, said while he was yet alive, 'After three days I will riseagain. ' Give orders that the tomb shall be watched and made sure forthree days, or else his disciples may steal his body, and then say, 'Heis risen from the dead'; and thus even after his death he may do moreharm than he did while he was alive. "

Pilate said to them:

"Set a watch, and make it as sure as you can. "

Then they placed a seal upon the stone, so that no one might break it;and they set a watch of soldiers at the door. 

And in the tomb the body of Jesus lay from the evening of Friday, theday when he died on the cross, to the dawn of Sunday, the first day ofthe week, when he arose from the dead and appeared unto his disciples. 

But the brightest day in all the world was this Sunday morning. For onthat day the stone was rolled away from the tomb and Jesus came forthfrom the dead to gladden his disciples. This he had told them he woulddo. On this Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene and another Mary, calledSalome, came to the tomb, found the stone rolled away and an angelstanding by the open tomb. He told them that Jesus was not there, buthad risen. 

Afterward Jesus was with his disciples for forty days, after which hewas taken up into heaven. 

THE STORY OF THE MAN AT THE BEAUTIFUL GATE

Soon after Jesus was taken up into heaven, his disciples began topreach, as he had told them to do. They stood up in the streets, and inthe Temple, and spoke to the people all the words that Jesus had givento them. And although they could no longer see Jesus, he was with them, and helped them, and gave them great power. 

The two apostles, Peter and John, were one day going up to the temple atthe afternoon hour of prayer, about three o'clock. They walked acrossthe court of the Gentiles, which was a large, open square paved withmarble, having on its eastern side a double row of pillars with a roofabove them, called Solomon's Porch. In front of this porch was theprincipal entrance to the Temple, through a gate which was called "TheBeautiful Gate. " In front of this gate they saw a lame man sitting. Hewas one who in all his life had never been able to walk; and as he wasvery poor, his friends carried him every day to this place; and there hesat, hoping that some of those who went into the Temple might take pityon him, and give him a little money. 

In front of this man Peter and John stopped; and Peter said: "Look atus!"

The lame man looked earnestly on the two apostles, thinking they wereabout to give him something. But Peter said:

"Silver and gold have I none; but what I have that I will give you. Inthe name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!"

And Peter took hold of the lame man's right hand, and raised him up. Atonce the lame man felt a new power entering into his feet andankle-bones. He leaped up, and stood upon his feet, and began to walk, as he had never done before in all his life. He walked up the steps withthe two apostles, and went by their side into the Temple, walking, andleaping, and praising God. The people who now saw him leaping up andrunning knew him, for they had seen him every day sitting as a beggar atthe Beautiful Gate: and every one was filled with wonder at the changewhich had come over him. 

After worshipping and praising God in the Temple, the man, still holdingfast to Peter and John, went out with them through the Beautiful Gate, into Solomon's Porch. And in a very few minutes a great crowd of peoplewere drawn together to the place to see the man who had been made well, and to see also the two men who had healed him. 

Then Peter stood up before the throng of people, and spoke to them:

"Ye men of Israel, " he said, "why do you look wondering on this man? orwhy do you fix your eyes upon us, as though by our own power or goodnesswe had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and ofJacob, has in this way shown the power and the glory of his Son Jesus, whom you gave up to his enemies, and whom you refused before PontiusPilate, when Pilate was determined to set him free. But you refused theHoly One and the Righteous One, and chose a murderer, Barabbas, to beset free in his place; and you killed the Prince of Life, whom Godraised from the dead. We who have seen him risen, declare that this istrue. And the power of Jesus, through faith in his name, has made thisman strong. Yes, it is faith in Christ that has given him this perfectsoundness before you all. Now, my brothers, I am sure that you did notknow that it was the Son of God and your own Saviour whom you sent tothe cross. Therefore turn to God in sorrow for this great sin, and Godwill forgive you, and in his own time he will send again Jesus Christ. God, who has raised up his Son, is ready to bless you, and turn awayevery one of you from his sins. "

While Peter was speaking, the priests, and the captain of the Temple, and the rulers, came upon them; for they were angry as they heard Peterspeak these words. They laid hold of Peter and John, and put them intothe guardroom for the night. But many of those who had heard Peterspeaking believed on Jesus, and sought the Lord; and the number of thefollowers of Christ rose from three thousand to five thousand. 

On the next day the rulers came together; and Annas and Caiphas, thehigh priests, were there, and with them many of their friends. Theybrought Peter and John, and set them before the company. The lame manwho had been healed was still by the side of the two apostles. Therulers asked them:

"By what power, or through whom have you done this?"

Then Peter spoke boldly:

"Ye rulers of the people and elders, if you are asking us about the gooddeed done to this man who was so helpless, how it was that he was madewell, I will tell you that by the name of Jesus of Nazareth whom you putto death on the cross, whom God raised from the dead; even by him thisman stands here before you all strong and well. And there is nosalvation except through Jesus Christ, for there is no other name underheaven given among men that can save us from our sins. "

When these rulers saw how bold and strong were the words of Peter andJohn, they wondered, especially as they knew that they were plain men, not learned in books, and not used to speaking. They remembered thatthey had seen these men among the followers of Jesus, and they felt thatin some way Jesus had given them his power. And as the man who had beenhealed was standing beside them, they could say nothing to deny that awonderful work had been done. 

The rulers sent Peter and John out of the council-room, while theytalked together. They said to each other:

"What shall we do to these men? We cannot deny that a wonderful work hasbeen done by them, for every one knows it. But we must stop this fromspreading any more among the people. Let us command them not to speak toany man about the name of Jesus; and let us tell them, that if they dospeak, we will punish them. "

So they called the two apostles into the room again, and said to them:"We forbid you to speak about Jesus, and the power of his name, to anyman. If you do not stop talking about Jesus, we will lay hands on you, and put you in prison, and will have you beaten. "

But Peter and John answered the rulers: "Whether it is right to obeyyou or to obey God, you can judge. As for ourselves we cannot keepsilent; we must speak of what we have seen and heard. "

The rulers were afraid to do any harm to Peter and John, because theyknew that the people praised God for the good work that they had done;and they would be angry to have harm come to them. For fear of thepeople, they let them go. And being let go, they went to their ownfriends, the company who met in the upper room, and there they gavethanks to God for helping them to speak his word without fear. 

THE STORY OF STEPHEN, THE FIRST MARTYR

In the New Testament, in the book of Acts, you will learn how themembers of the church in Jerusalem gave their money freely to help thepoor. This free giving led to trouble, as the church grew so fast; forsome of the widows who were poor were passed by, and their friends madecomplaints to the apostles. The twelve apostles called the whole churchtogether, and said:

"It is not well that we should turn aside from preaching and teachingthe word of God to sit at tables and give out money. But, brethren, choose from among yourselves seven good men; men who have the Spirit ofGod and are wise, and we will give this work to them; so that we canspend our time in prayer and in preaching the gospel. "

This plan was pleasing to all the church, and they chose seven men totake charge of the gifts of the people, and to see that they were sentto those who were in need. The first man chosen was Stephen, a man fullof faith and of the Spirit of God; and with him was Philip and fiveother good men. These seven men they brought before the apostles; andthe apostles laid their hands on their heads, setting them apart fortheir work of caring for the poor. 

But Stephen did more than to look after the needy ones. He began topreach the gospel of Christ, and to preach with such power as made everyone who heard him feel the truth. Stephen saw before any other man inthe church saw, that the gospel of Christ was not for Jews only, but wasfor all men; that all men might be saved if they would believe in Jesus;and this great truth Stephen began to preach with all his power. Suchpreaching as this, that men who were not Jews might be saved bybelieving in Christ, made many of the Jews very angry. They called allthe people who were not Jews "Gentiles, " and they looked upon them withhate and scorn; but they could not answer the words that Stephen spoke. They roused up the people and the rulers, and set them against Stephen, and at last they seized Stephen, and brought him before the greatcouncil of the rulers. They said to the rulers:

"This man is always speaking evil words against the Temple and againstthe law of Moses. We have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth shalldestroy this place, and shall change the laws that Moses gave to us!"

This was partly true and partly false; but no lie is so harmful as thatwhich has a little truth with it. Then the high-priest said to Stephen:

"Are these things so?"

And as Stephen stood up to answer the high-priest, all fixed their eyesupon him; and they saw that his face was shining, as though it was theface of an angel. Then Stephen began to speak of the great things thatGod had done for his people Israel in the past; how he had calledAbraham, their father, to go forth into a new land; how he had giventhem great men, as Joseph, and Moses, and the prophets. He showed themhow the Israelites had not been faithful to God, who had given them suchwonderful blessings. 

Then Stephen said:

"You are a people with hard hearts and stiff necks, who will not obeythe words of God and his Spirit. As your fathers did, so you do, also. Your fathers killed the prophets whom God sent to them; and you haveslain Jesus, the Righteous One!"

As they heard these things, they became so angry against Stephen, thatthey gnashed on him with their teeth, like wild beasts. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up toward heaven with his shining face;and he saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on God's right hand, andhe said:

"I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the righthand of God!"

But they cried out with angry voices, and rushed upon him, and draggedhim out of the council-room, and outside the wall of the city. And therethey threw stones upon him to kill him, while Stephen was kneeling downamong the falling stones, and praying:

"Lord Jesus, receive my spirit! Lord, lay not this sin up against them!"

And when he had said this, he fell asleep in death, the first to beslain for the gospel of Christ.