Canaan so long ago to Moses, and who, besides Joshua, was the only man allowed to go up into the promised land, Joshua gave, at his request, Mount Hebron for an inheritance; because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. And the land, being subdued before Israel, had rest from war.

And the children of Israel assembled at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which He sware to give unto their fathers. And they possessed it and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest round about, according to all that He sware unto their fathers. And there stood not a man of all their enemies before them. The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. And it came to pass, a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies, that Joshua waxed old and was stricken in age. So he called for all Israel, and reminded them of all that God had done for them, and, fearing lest they should be drawn away to serve the false gods of the Amorites, in whose land they were then dwelling, he exhorted them to fear God only, and serve Him in sincerity and truth. And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, His voice will we obey. So Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. And he said unto all the people, Behold this stone

shall be a witness unto us, for it hath heard all the words of the Lord which He spake unto us. It shall therefore be a witness unto you, lest you deny your God. So Joshua let the people depart, every man unto his inheritance. And it came to pass, that after these things, Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him on the north side of the hill of Gaash. And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that overlived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the Lord, that He had done for Israel. And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem. And Eleazar the son of Aaron died, and they buried him in a hill belonging to Phinehas his son.

So, having done all that God set him to do, Joshua died in peace. Great peace of mind he must have had in his death, knowing how faithful he had been to God.

How was Jericho given into Israel's hands?

By what miracle was the day made longer at Gibeon?

Did the heathen kings conquer Israel in any of their battles? By whose help did the Israelites always conquer?

How many kings did they destroy?

Amongst what number of tribes was the land divided? Why did not the Levites share in the division of the land? How old was Joshua when he died, and what promise did the people give him when he took leave of them?

Israel Forgets God.—The Righteous Judges.

OW God had said, Destroy them all,
Those heathens from the land;

For I am with you when you call,
And will make strong your hand.

But Israel many heathens spare,
In spite of God's command;
And they became a grief and snare
Throughout the Promised Land.

Their idols, made of wood and stone,
The Hebrews learn to praise,
Forgetting all that God had done
In old Egyptian days;

Till God in mercy strikes them sore
By heathen monarch's rod;
They suffer sorrow, and once more
Cry out for help to God.

He sends them righteous judges then,
To fight those heathen kings;
Thus teaching those rebellious men
How pain repentance brings.

By Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah, too,
Was Israel judged and taught ;
And loud victorious trumpets blew
When God their battles fought.

CHAPTER XVI.

The Story of Sisera, and of Gideon. The Judges of Israel. OW, Joshua and all that generation were gathered unto their fathers, and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the Lord, nor yet the works which He had done for Israel. And in taking possession of the land many of the tribes had not first driven out all the old inhabitants, who were heathens. And God was angry, and said that by means of those heathen who were left in the land He would prove and try the children of Israel, to see if they would keep His word. So they dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites. But many of them went astray, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, and married amongst the heathen, and served their gods, and forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them up out of the land of Egypt. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and they were greatly distressed. Nevertheless God raised them up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. Now, Israel having again done evil in the sight of the Lord, He sold them into

the hand of Jabin, king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor, the captain of whose host was Sisera. And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and twenty years he mightily oppressed the children of Israel. And Deborah, a prophetess, she judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under a palm tree, and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. And she sent and called Barak, and told him that God had said, Go toward Mount Tabor with ten thousand men, and I will draw to the river Kishon, Sisera, with his chariots and his multitude, and I will deliver him into thy hand. And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go. And she said, I will surely go with thee, notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. And they showed Sisera that Barak was gone up to Mount Tabor. And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, unto the river of Kedesh. And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand is not the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak withdrew from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And the Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet. But Barak pursued after the chariots, and