WEE ONES' BIBLE STORIES

SHORT SKETCHES OF THE BIBLE

SPECIALLY ILLUSTRATED FOR THE LITTLE FOLKS

[Illustration: Knock. It shall be opened unto you]

1903. 

FEEDING THE MULTITUDES. 

Jesus had chosen twelve out of the many who flocked about Him wishing tobe His disciples, and these twelve were called apostles. He sent themforth to preach the gospel, giving them power to cast out evil spiritsand to heal diseases; and when they were about to go forth upon theirmission, He gave them instructions regarding what they were to do, andwarned them of the persecutions which would be heaped upon them. He alsobade them be strong and not fear those who had power to kill the bodyonly, because the soul was far more precious. So the apostles went outinto the cities and towns and preached the word of God and carriedblessing with them. 

When they came back they told Jesus what they had done, and they wentwith Him across the sea of Galilee to a quiet spot where they could restand talk over their work. 

But the people went around the sea, or lake, to join them on the otherside; and when Jesus saw the crowds He was sorry for them, and taughtand healed them again as He had done so many times. 

In the evening His disciples urged Him to send the people away that theymight buy food for themselves in the village; but Jesus said, "Give yethem to eat. "

The disciples thought this would be impossible. "We have here but fiveloaves and two fishes, " they told Him; and when He said, "Bring themhither to Me, " they obeyed Him with wonder. 

Then Jesus commanded the people to sit down in groups upon the greengrass; and He took the loaves and gave thanks to God for them, and brokethem into pieces, handing them to His disciples to give to the people. 

He divided the fishes also in the same way, and the disciples went aboutamong the groups giving each person a share, and everyone had enough toeat; for although there were about five thousand men there, besideswomen and children, the food was sufficient for all. Even more thanthis, when the multitude had eaten all that they wanted, the disciplesgathered up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces. 

When the people saw this wonderful miracle which Jesus had done, theywished to make Him king at once, for they thought He was the PromisedOne for whom they had been so long waiting, and they did not know thatthe kingdom of Christ was not to be an earthly kingdom. 

But Jesus would not allow them to make Him king, and He left them andwent up on the top of a mountain alone. 

On another occasion when a great crowd had gathered to hear Him and hadbeen for a long time without food, He called His disciples to Him andtold them that He felt very sorry for the people because they had beenfasting three days, and He could not send them away so weak and hungryfor fear they would faint before they could reach home. 

But His disciples said they did not know where they could get food forso many, as they were in the wilderness. 

Jesus asked them how many loaves of bread they had, and they told Himseven, and also a few small fishes. 

Then Jesus bade the people sit down on the ground around Him, and Hetook the seven loaves and the fishes and offered thanks to God;afterwards, He broke the loaves into pieces as He had done before andgave them, with the fishes, to His disciples, and the disciplesdistributed them among the people. As they gave out the food itcontinued to increase wonderfully, so that all the people were fed;and even after that there was food enough left so that they took upseven baskets full, although about four thousand men, with many womenand children, had eaten. 

These miracles show not only the power of our Lord, but His tendernessand thoughtfulness for those around Him in the everyday affairs of life. He not only cared for the souls of His people, but for their physicalcomfort as well; for His heart was ever open to the cry of human need. 

One of the first acts by which He manifested His power to the men whoafterwards became His disciples, was an act of helpfulness. 

He saw two ships by the Lake of Gennesaret with the fishermen near bywashing their nets, and going aboard one of the ships, which belonged toSimon Peter, He asked him to put out a little way from land; then, whenHis request had been complied with, He taught the people from the ship. 

After He had finished His teaching, He said to Simon, "Launch out intothe deep and let down your nets for a draught. " Simon told Him that theyhad worked all night and had caught no fish, but that they would do asHe bade them. 

And when they had done so, the net was filled so that it broke, and theyhad to call to their partners in the other ship to come and help them;and both ships were filled. Then Peter and James and John left all tofollow Jesus. 

JESUS CALMS THE TEMPEST. 

At one time when Jesus had entered a ship to cross the Sea of Galileewith His disciples, a great storm arose and the waves nearly covered thelittle vessel, so that they were apparently in great danger. 

The disciples were frightened, but Jesus was asleep and the storm didnot disturb Him. As it grew worse and worse and the disciples becamemore than ever afraid, they went back to where Jesus lay and wakenedHim, crying out, "Master, dost Thou not care that we perish?"

When they said this, Jesus arose and spoke to the winds and the sea, saying, "Peace, be still!" Then at once the wind went down and the seabecame calm, and the hearts of the men were filled with wonder and stillgreater faith and awe, while they said to one another, "What manner ofman is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" They had not yetlearned that Jesus had power over all things whenever He chose toexercise it. 

At another time when the disciples had crossed the Sea of Galilee, expecting that Jesus would join them upon the other side, a storm cameup, suddenly as before, and the waters were quickly piled up in greatwaves; for the lake was narrow and deep, and the storms usually burst infull fury with little warning, doing much harm before there was a chanceto escape. At this time the disciples had hard work to row the boatagainst the wind, and it was tossed about here and there by the waves inthe middle of the sea until, toward morning, Jesus went out toward it, walking upon the water. 

When the disciples saw Him coming they thought it was a spirit andwere frightened: but He spoke to them, saying, "Be of good cheer; it isI, be not afraid. "

[Illustration: JESUS WALKING UPON THE WATERS. ]

Then Peter said: "Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on thewater. "

Jesus said, "Come, " and Peter stepped out upon the water and startedtoward the Master; but his faith was not strong enough, and as he beganto sink he cried, "Lord, save me!"

Jesus stretched out His hand and held him up. "O thou of little faith, "He said, "wherefore didst thou doubt?"

When Jesus came into the boat the storm ceased, and soon they reachedthe shore. Then the disciples worshiped Him and said, "Of a truth Thouart the Son of God. "

RUTH AND NAOMI. 

The story of Ruth and Naomi is one of the sweetest and most touching ofall the Bible stories. It shows the beauty of unselfish devotion andconstant love, and the happiness which they brought, and teaches alesson which is very helpful to us all. 

A long time ago, in the days of the judges of Israel, there was a faminein the land of Canaan, and a man named Elimelech, whose home was inBethlehem, went with his wife Naomi and his two sons to live in Moab. 

After they had been there a while Naomi's husband died, leaving her withthe two sons. Then, by and by, the sons married, and their wives werevery good to Naomi, and loved her. But it was only ten years before bothof the sons died, and Naomi thought it was best for her to go back toher old home in Canaan; for she had been told that there was plenty inthe land once more, and she wanted to see her own people and therelatives of her husband who was dead. So Naomi told herdaughters-in-law to return to their own homes, because she could notexpect them to be willing to leave everything for her sake. 

"Go, each of you, to your mother's house, " she said; "the Lord dealkindly with you as ye have dealt with the dead and with me. " But theyboth wept and clung to her, saying, "Surely we will return with theeinto thy land. "

Naomi, however, thought they would be unhappy if they left their owncountry, and she urged them to stay there and let her go alone; so oneof them kissed her over and over again and promised to do as she bade;but the other, who was named Ruth, would not leave her. 

"Entreat me not to leave thee, " she pleaded, "or to return fromfollowing after thee; for whither thou goest I will go, and where thoulodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God;where thou diest I will die, and there will I be buried; the Lord do soto me and more, also, if aught but death part thee and me. "

Then Naomi stopped urging her to return, and they went together toBethlehem, where the friends of Naomi were very glad to welcome her andgreeted her in a very friendly manner, saying again and again, "Is thisNaomi?"

[Illustration: THE ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN. ]

But she answered: "Call me not Naomi, but call me Mara, for the Almightyhath dealt very bitterly with me. " She said this because Naomi means"pleasant" and Mara means "bitter, " and the sorrowing widow felt thather life was a bitter rather than a pleasant one, since she had beenbereaved of her husband and sons. 

There lived in Bethlehem a man named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi'shusband, and who was also very wealthy. He had a large farm and manypeople, both men and women, worked in his fields, and as it was aboutthe beginning of the barley harvest when the two women came toBethlehem, these fields presented a busy appearance. 

Ruth wished to do something to help support herself and hermother-in-law, so she begged Naomi to let her go into the fields andglean after the reapers--that is, to gather up the barley that was leftafter they had made up the sheaves--and Naomi told her that she mightgo. 

[Illustration: THE PRODIGAL SON. ]

Ruth happened to choose the field of Boaz to work in, and when thewealthy man came into the field and saw her, he said, "The Lord blessthee!" but he did not know who she was. 

As he went away he inquired of the head reaper about the young woman, and afterward he said to Ruth: "Go not to glean in another field, butkeep here close to my maidens. " He also spoke to his young men abouther, telling them to be kind and courteous to her, and he bade her goand drink of the water which they drew whenever she was thirsty. 

When Ruth wondered at his kindness and asked him why he was so good to astranger, he told her that he had heard of her love for Naomi and herunselfish devotion, and he said: "The Lord reward thee, and a fullrecompense be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wingsthou art come to trust. " He invited her also to sit with his reapers atmeal-time, and he waited upon her that she might have enough to eat anddrink. 

When she had gone he commanded his young men to let her glean among thesheaves and to drop some handfuls purposely for her, and not to findfault with her or reprove her. 

So Ruth worked in the field all day, and then beat out the barley whichshe had gleaned and took it to the city to show Naomi, who was veryglad, indeed, and very thankful. 

Naomi asked Ruth where she had gleaned, and when she had heard the wholestory, she told her that Boaz was a near relative and that it was wellfor her to stay in his fields, as he had given her permission to do, until the end of the harvest. So Ruth kept close to the maidens whogleaned in the fields of Boaz until the end of both the barley and thewheat harvests. 

Then one night when Boaz was to have a winnowing of barley, Naomi toldRuth to make herself ready, putting on her best clothing, and to go tothe winnowing and the feast and to ask Boaz what she should do. 

The winnowing is the fanning out of the straws from the kernels afterthe husks have been beaten off. A great many people helped about thework, and a feast was prepared for them. 

Ruth did as Naomi had told her to do. When she had informed Boaz thatshe was a near relative he said, "Blessed be thou of the Lord, mydaughter. " Then he told her not to be afraid, but to bring the long veilwhich she wore, and when she had brought it he poured a large quantityof barley into it. She carried this to the city and gave it to hermother-in-law, telling her what Boaz had said, and Naomi was comforted;for she knew that Boaz would advise them wisely. 

After this Boaz went to the city and consulted with the chief men andthose that were interested in the welfare of Naomi and Ruth, and when hefound that it would be wronging no one, he told the people that he wasgoing to take Ruth for his wife, and the people said, "We arewitnesses. " So Boaz married Ruth; but in her new position as the wife ofa very wealthy and influential man, this noble woman did not forget herlove for Naomi, whom she still tenderly cared for. When a little soncame to bless the union, Naomi rejoiced, for she felt almost as thoughit was her own little son, and she named him Obed and delighted intaking care of him. 

When Obed became a man he married and had a son named Jesse, who in turnbecame the father of David, the great king of Israel. Jesus Himself wasof the House of David, and so God's promise to His chosen people wasfulfilled. 

MOSES. 

Pharaoh, the King of Egypt, had made a law that every boy baby of theHebrew race should be killed, and there was great sorrow because of it. But when Moses was born, his mother managed to hide him for threemonths; then she made a cradle, or little ark, and putting him into it, carried him down to a river and hid the cradle among the reeds there. 

Soon after this, Pharaoh's daughter came with her maidens to theriver-side, and when she saw the beautiful child, she sent one of hermaidens to bring it to her. 

She took the little boy to the palace and named him Moses, and he becamea great man among the Egyptians; he knew, however, that he belonged tothe Hebrew race, and when he saw how badly his own people were treated, he tried to help them; but at last he was obliged to leave Egypt, andbecame a shepherd, taking care of the flocks of a priest called Jethro. He also married Jethro's daughter. 

[Illustration: THE GOOD SAMARITAN. ]

After a time, God spoke to Moses out of a burning bush, and told himthat he must go and rescue his people from the cruel Egyptians. Mosesthought he could not do this; but God promised to help him, and to showhim what he would be able to do with that help, God turned the rod whichMoses carried into a serpent. Then God told Moses to pick the serpentup by the tail, and as he did so, it became a rod again. He showed himanother sign, also; but Moses was still afraid, because he could nottalk well and thought that Pharaoh would not listen to him. So God toldhim to take his brother Aaron for a spokesman. 

Moses and Aaron, therefore, went into Egypt, where they called togetherthe chief men among their own people, the Hebrews, or Israelites, andtold them what God had commanded. Moses also did the miracles which Godhad given him power to do, and the people believed that God had senthim. 

After this Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, and told him that it was theLord's command that he should let the Israelites go. Pharaoh knewnothing about God, and became very angry, saying that Moses and Aaronkept the people from their work by telling them such things; and hetreated the poor Israelites worse than before. 

But Moses had faith in God; so he was able to perform before the kingthe wonderful things that he had done before his own people; still, Pharaoh would not let the children of Israel go. 

Then Moses turned the waters of the rivers into blood; and after that hecaused large numbers of frogs to run over the land and through thehouses, doing great harm. He also brought locusts and other insects tobe a pest to the people, and caused many of the useful animals whichbelonged to the Egyptians to grow sick and die, doing all these wonderswith the rod which God had given him. But Pharaoh would not listen tohim. 

Then God commanded Moses again, and he brought other plagues upon theEgyptians; but Pharaoh would not give up. 

At last, however, God sent a still more terrible trouble; for thefirst-born of every Egyptian family, and even the first-born among theirflocks, died; although the Israelites, who were constantly praying tothe Lord and making sacrifices, were spared, as they had been all thetime. 

Then Pharaoh was frightened into obeying God, and he let the Israelitesgo; so they started at once for the land of Canaan, and the Lord guidedthem by a cloud, which at night looked like a pillar of fire. 

When the Israelites had reached the Red Sea, they found that Pharaohwas pursuing them with a large army. But God commanded Moses to stretchforth his rod over the sea; he did so, and the waters parted, making ahigh wall upon either side, so that the children of Israel passedthrough and reached the other side in safety. Pharaoh and his hostsfollowed and were all drowned. 

When the children of Israel saw that they were safe, they sang abeautiful song of praise to God, and then they went on their way again. 

After they had traveled for some time, they were in need of bread andmeat, and they complained about Moses because he had brought them to aland where they had not enough to eat. But God sent them plenty ofquails and also a substance which they could use for bread. Later, whenthey wanted water, the Lord commanded Moses, and he struck a rock withhis rod, and pure water poured out of it, so that the thirsty people andtheir animals had all that they wanted. 

In this way God took care of them as they journeyed through the new andstrange country toward the promised land, and Moses became the law-giverof the Israelites, receiving his commandments from God. 

JACOB AND ESAU. 

Jacob and Esau were twin brothers, sons of Isaac and Rebekah. Esau wasthe dearer to his father; but Rebekah loved Jacob more, and she wishedher favorite son to have the birthright, or larger portion of theproperty, which really belonged to Esau because he was a little theolder. 

One day Esau came in from hunting, very tired and hungry, and sold hisbirthright to Jacob for a kind of stew called pottage. 

Afterward, when Isaac had grown very old, he sent Esau one day to getsome of his favorite meat, saying that when he returned he should havehis father's blessing. 

But Rebekah heard this and determined that Jacob should have theblessing instead. So she prepared meat, then dressed Jacob in some ofhis brother's clothing, covering his hands and neck with the skin of thekids, and sent him to his father; and Isaac blessed him, for his sightwas dim, and he thought it was Esau. 

When the elder brother returned, he was very angry with Jacob, and Isaacwas deeply grieved to think he had been deceived; but he blessed Esau aswell, who became prosperous and had large possessions and great power. 

After this Jacob went to his mother's people, where he met Rachel, whomhe loved very dearly. He told Laban, her father, that he would serve himfaithfully seven years if Rachel might be his wife, and Laban consentedto this; at the end of the seven years, however, he told Jacob that hemust first marry Leah, as she was the older, but if he would serveanother seven years he might have Rachel also. So Jacob served anotherseven years for Rachel, and then they were married. 

Later Esau and Jacob met and were very glad to see each other, for Jacobhad repented of his sin, and God had forgiven him; while Esau forgavehim also. 

[Illustration: ISAAC BLESSING JACOB. ]

THE APOSTLE PAUL. 

Before his conversion to the faith of Christ, Paul was called Saul, andhe persecuted the Christians, believing that they were doing wickedlyand that he ought to punish them for it. 

But while he was in the midst of these persecutions, and as he wasjourneying toward Damascus one day, he saw suddenly at noon-time, alight shining in the heavens which was greater than the light of thesun, and he and all that were with him fell to the earth in wonder andawe. Then Saul heard a voice speaking to him and saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?" And Saul said, "Who art Thou, Lord?" And thevoice answered, "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. "

Then Saul was instructed as to what he was to do, and was told that hewould become a minister of Christ. From that time Paul preached andtaught the Christian religion, and converted many people to it. 

But he was persecuted in his new work as he had persecuted others, beingfinally taken prisoner and threatened with scourging; he declaredhimself a Roman citizen, however, and therefore safe from suchtreatment, and went on openly confessing his faith and telling of hisconversion, and he appealed for protection to the Roman emperor. 

He was then put on board a ship as a prisoner to be taken to Rome. Whilethey were at sea a violent storm came up, and Paul warned the sailorsthat they were in great danger; but they would not listen to him. Atlast the ship was wrecked, all on board being cast ashore upon anisland, whither they had been carried, clinging to boards and brokenpieces of the ship. 

The barbarous people of the island treated them kindly, building a firethat they might dry their clothing and get warm; for it was cold andthey were, of course, drenched. 

The men were very glad to be safe once more; but a strange thinghappened after a little: Paul gathered up an armful of sticks to putupon the fire, and as he placed them upon the flames, a viper, which isa kind of poisonous snake, came out of the bundle and clung to his hand;he shook it off into the fire, however, without the slightest sign offear. 

Those who were about him thought that the hand would swell and thatPaul would die from the effects of the bite, and they watched himclosely, believing that this trouble was sent to him as a punishment forhis sins. But no evil results came from the wound, and then thebarbarians thought he was a god and looked upon him with great respect. 

Paul and the men who were with him remained upon the island for threemonths. At the end of that time they went away in a ship, finallyreaching Rome, where the prisoners were given up to the authorities; butPaul was allowed to live by himself, with only a soldier to guard him, and after a while he called the chief men of the Jews together and toldthem why he was there and preached to them the Word of God. Hispreaching was received by some with faith, but others did not believe. 

[Illustration: THE CRUCIFIXION. ]

[Illustration: "HE IS RISEN!"]

Paul went on preaching and teaching in Rome for two years, living in ahouse which he hired, and he brought many to Jesus. He was a man ofexcellent education and a powerful preacher. His Epistles, given in theBible, are full of power and the fire of conviction, and he did awonderful work for the great cause in which he believed with all hisheart. 

Paul was physically small and deformed; but mentally he was a giant. Hehad been taught the knowledge of the Romans, and was therefore wellfitted to take up this new cause in a manner which would appeal toeducated people as well as to those who had no learning. 

[Illustration: THE LAST SUPPER. ]

[Illustration: THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY GHOST. ]

From the time of his conversion until his death he labored faithfully inthe ministry of Christ, fearing no persecution or hardship when hecould do the Master's bidding and teach His holy will. The work which hedid was a wonderful work, and his influence in the Christian world hasbeen a very remarkable one. Brave, untiring, devoted to the cause ofChrist, he at last lost his life in that cause, adding another to thelist of martyrs whose memory the world loves and reveres. 

The story of Paul's experiences reads like those tales of adventurewhich are so full of absorbing interest that when once they have beentaken up, we do not feel like laying them down again until they arefinished. 

This is true also of many others of the Bible stories, and great authorshave taken their themes from them for the writing of books which havebecome famous. 

The more we study the Bible, the more wonderful it becomes, and the morewe learn that in that marvelous book are set forth nearly all theexperiences of which human life is capable, with the teaching which eachof these experiences should bring and the lesson to be learned by thereading of them. In all the world there is not another collection sowonderful as this. 

DAVID. 

David, the son of Jesse, was a beautiful boy, who could charm by hiswonderful music. But he was to be more than a "sweet singer, " forSamuel, the prophet of the Lord, declared that he should be King ofIsrael, and poured the sacred oil upon his head. 

Saul, who was then the King of Israel, had spells of insanity, and Davidwas sent for to try and calm him by his music. In this he was sosuccessful that after a time the king seemed to be entirely cured; soDavid returned to his home, and staid there quietly until his fathersent him to the camp of the Israelites, with food for his brothers. 

He found Saul's army in great commotion, because Goliath, a mightywarrior of the Philistines, had come out before both armies and hadoffered to fight any man who should be sent against him. 

Goliath had a cap of brass on his head, and his body was well protectedwith a covering of iron and brass, while he carried a monstrous spearand sword, and a heavy shield. As he came before the two camps, hecried out: "I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man, that wemay fight together!"

When David came up and heard the story, he said: "Who is thisPhilistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?" And Davidoffered to go forth against Goliath. 

So he went out in his shepherd's dress, with only his staff and sling;and Goliath, who was very angry at this, cried out: "Am I a dog, thatthou comest against me with a staff?" Then he began to make fun ofDavid. But David answered: "Thou comest against me with a sword and ashield; but I come against thee trusting in the Lord of Hosts, the Godof Israel, whom thou hast defied. "

[Illustration: SAUL ANGRY WITH DAVID. ]

Then, as Goliath came nearer, David took a stone from the bag at hisside, and putting it into his sling, he took good aim, and it struckGoliath in the middle of the forehead and stunned him. As the giantfell, David ran up to him, and taking the mighty sword, cut off his headwith it. 

This act of David's brought a great victory to Saul's army, and the kingwas delighted with his courage; while Jonathan, Saul's eldest son, lovedthe boy from that time, and they became like brothers. David alsomarried the daughter of Saul, and was placed over his men of war. 

[Illustration: THE DEATH OF SAUL. ]

[Illustration: THE DEATH OF AHAB. ]

But when all the people praised David, and Saul knew how much theyloved him, he grew jealous, and David was obliged to fly for his lifeand hide himself from the king. During these wanderings, he wrote someof his most beautiful psalms. 

Saul, however, was finally killed, and at last David became king. Heruled Israel for nearly forty years, making it a great and powerfulnation; and when he died he was buried at Jerusalem, which was called"The City of David, " because he had caused it to be taken from theenemy. 

THE TOWER OF BABEL. 

The sons of Noah were named Shem, Ham and Japheth. These sons in turnbecame the fathers of children so that the descendants of Noah were verynumerous. 

One of these descendants, named Nimrod, was a mighty hunter and a man ofpower and authority in the land, and it has even been said that thepeople worshiped him as a god. 

In those days men liked to build high towers reaching away up toward theheavens. Perhaps they were afraid of another flood, and perhaps theysimply wished to show what they could do; but however that may be, ruinsof towers can still be seen in various parts of the world, one of themost noted of which is that of the "Tower of Nimrod. " It is forty feethigh and stands on the top of a hill near the River Euphrates in Asia. 

In the time of Nimrod, the people said, "Let us build us a city and atower, whose top may reach unto Heaven; and let us make us a name, lestwe be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. " So they beganto build the tower, and they made it very strong indeed, and keptraising it higher and higher toward the heavens, thinking, Jewishtradition, or story, tells us, that they would have a shelter in whichthey would be perfectly safe from any flood which might come, or anyfire. There were some of the people also who wished to use the tower asa temple for the idols which they worshiped. Six hundred thousand menworked upon this wonderful tower, so the story goes on to say, and theykept up the work until the tower rose to a height of seventy miles, sothat, toward the last, it took a year to get materials for the work upto the top where the laborers were employed. Of course this story isexaggerated, but without doubt the tower rose to a great height and wasa wonderful piece of work. 

God was not pleased with what the people were doing, however, becausethey thought themselves so great and powerful that they had no need ofHim, and so He put an end to their bold plans. 

Up to this time all the people of the world had spoken the samelanguage; but now, when they were working upon this wonderful tower, they commenced to talk in different tongues so that they could notunderstand each other, and there was great confusion. Owing to this, they were obliged to give up the building of the tower, and theyseparated themselves into groups, or divisions, each division speakingthe same language, and then they spread out over the world, forming thevarious nations. 

The tower was called the Tower of Babel because of the babel, orconfusion, of tongues which had taken place there, and it was leftunfinished to be a monument of God's power and man's weakness withoutHim. 

[Illustration: THE TOWER OF BABEL. ]

These men were skillful in building, else they never could have gone asfar as they did in their stupendous work, and God was willing that theyshould exercise their skill, as He is willing that people shall do now;but when they thought themselves equal to Him, they learned how weakthey really were in comparison. The story teaches the great lesson ofdependence upon God and submission to His will and His laws. 

THE BOYHOOD OF JESUS. 

There are many beautiful stories of child-life, but the story of theBoyhood of Jesus is the most beautiful of all. It teaches a wonderfullesson of obedience to parents and love and respect for them, as well asof the charm of a pure and consecrated childhood, and the lesson is allthe more helpful because it is full of the human interest of everydaylife. 

Although the boy Jesus was gifted with a wisdom far beyond His years--awisdom which was His because He was the Son of God, yet He lived much asother boys lived, doing the tasks that were given Him by His parents andbeing subject to them in all things. 

Probably the people around Him did not think very much about what Hesaid or did during those years. When they saw Him helping Joseph, thecarpenter, or doing the little things which Mary, His mother, bade Himdo, He seemed much like other little boys to them; they thought Himbright and pleasing, and it may be that there was something in His looksand in His manner which puzzled them, which set them to thinking of holythings in a wondering way; but Mary was the only one who dwelt upon themystery of His life with a constant prayerful questioning as to justwhat the meaning of it was. 

Mary treasured all His sayings in her heart and believed that the timewould come when everyone would know that He was not simply an ordinarychild like those around Him. 

After Joseph had brought his family back from Egypt because, now thatHerod was dead, it was safe for them to come into their own countryagain, they lived in the city of Nazareth, and so the words of the oldprophets were true, that Jesus, the Savior of the World, should be aNazarene, or dweller in Nazareth. 

Every year the Jews held a feast at Jerusalem called the Feast of thePassover, in memory of the time when God passed over, or spared, Hischosen people in Egypt, although He destroyed the first-born of theEgyptians. When Jesus was twelve years old He went to Jerusalem withJoseph and Mary to attend this feast. 

There were many of the relatives and friends of the family there, andwhen they started home after the feast, there was probably someconfusion about getting the company under way, for they traveled in atrain consisting of people on foot and mounted upon donkeys, and theyhad, of course, some needful provisions to take with them, together withthe things which they had brought for their comfort upon the journey andduring their stay in Jerusalem; and as the parents of Jesus did notthink of His remaining behind, they neglected to look for Him, supposingHe was somewhere in the train; so, when they had traveled for a day onthe return trip, they were greatly surprised and troubled to find thatHe was missing. 

They immediately started back for Jerusalem, wondering as they went whatcould have happened to their boy and fearful about it; but after threeanxious days they found Him in the temple talking with the learned menthere, listening to their wise words, and asking questions whichastonished everybody who heard them, because they were full of anunderstanding of holy things that was not to be expected of a boy. When His parents had found Him, Mary said to Him, sorrowfully, "Son, whyhast Thou dealt thus with us? Thy father and I have sought Theesorrowing. "

Then Jesus turned to her with sad and gentle respect, and asked, "How isit that ye sought Me? Wist ye not"--that is, "Do you not know"--"that Imust be about My Father's business?"

Perhaps in these words He tried to give them an insight into the greatmeaning of His life; but they were puzzled, although Mary dimly felt allthat He would have her understand. He did not at this time, however, explain to them further regarding what was in His own heart. It may bethat He did not yet fully comprehend just what He was to do. He hadtaken upon Himself the human nature which He was to raise to somethinggrander and nobler than human nature had ever been before, and inbecoming a little child like other little children, perhaps it was God'splan that He should not yet have the judgment of a man in all things. 

However that may have been, He went back with His parents and obeyedthem as before, for the time had not come for Him to leave them andbegin His teaching, except as He taught by the force of a beautifulexample. But that example formed a great part of the purpose for whichHe was sent into the world, because one of the noblest truths that Heimpressed upon humanity was the duty of children to parents. His ownlife taught this better than any sermon could have done, for in all thehistory of the world we have no better example of what a child's conductshould be toward his parents. It is the more beautiful because Jesus wasnot like other children, but, having the wisdom of God in His heart, wasfar better able to judge for Himself between right and wrong. 

During all these years Jesus grew in stature as well as in wisdom, andthose around Him felt, without understanding it, that in some way He wasdifferent from the rest. The divinity of His nature could not be hidden, even in those early years, but it shone through all the small acts ofeveryday life, making them beautiful; while every one who knew Him wasbetter and happier for coming near such a noble nature. 

[Illustration: THE QUEST. ]

[Illustration: =The Angels' Song=

 "Praise thou the Lord!" the angels cry The song of peace and love, Comes floating downward thro' the sky, From unseen courts above. ]