STORIES OF THE BIBLE

The People
of the
Chosen Land

by
MYLES ENDICOTT

ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DORÉ AND OTHER EMINENT ARTISTS

Volume I.

EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
BOSTON

New York Chicago San Francisco

Copyrighted
By EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING COMPANY
1897

CREATION OF LIGHT

CONTENTS

[THE CREATION]
[THE GARDEN OF EDEN]
[THE FLOOD]
[THE TOWER OF BABEL]
[ABRAHAM]
[ABRAHAM'S VISIONS]
[HAGAR]
[ISAAC]
[REBEKAH]
[JACOB AND ESAU]
[JOSEPH]
[PHARAOH'S DREAM]
[JOSEPH'S BROTHERS]
[THE STORY OF MOSES]
[MOSES' VISION]
[THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT]
[THE RED SEA]
[MIRIAM'S SONG]
[IN THE WILDERNESS]
[THE TABERNACLE]
[THE PROMISED LAND]
[THE STORY OF JOSHUA]
[THE GIBEONITES]
[EHUD AND DEBORAH]
[THE STORY OF GIDEON]
[ABIMELECH]
[THE STORY OF SAMSON]
[THE STORY OF RUTH AND NAOMI]
[THE STORY OF SAMUEL]

CREATION OF THE SUN AND MOON.

STORIES OF THE BIBLE.

THE CREATION.

Many, many years ago there was no earth. There were no plants, nor animals; no sun; no moon; neither were there any people.

All was darkness.

Then God looked into the darkness and said, "Let there be light." And light came. And out of the new light God created the blue sky, the deep sea, the beautiful grass-covered earth, the plants, the trees, and the many-colored flowers.

THE CREATION OF ANIMALS. (Raphael.)

And in the blue sky he placed the golden sun, the silver moon, and the stars that shine like jewels in the sky.

Then, in the water he placed the fishes; on the earth, the animals; and in the tree tops the birds sang their praises.

"This shall be for a home for man," the Creator said; and so, one morning, there woke to life in the Garden of Eden a man and woman—beautiful and good and pure.

To the animals God had given strength and speed, and fur for protection from the wind and rain. To the birds he had given plumage, brilliant and warm. To the fishes, fins and scales.

Then man came; and to him was given intelligence, and reason, and power to grow in wisdom; for by these was he to protect himself from the elements and gain dominion over all the earth,—the fishes, the birds, and the animals thereof.

Then God blessed everything he had made; for he loved what he had made, and surrounded it with all that was beautiful and good.

"Of every tree in the garden ye may eat," He had said to Adam and Eve, "except the tree of Knowledge-of-Good-and-of-Evil. Of that eat not lest ye die."

THE CREATION.

The spacious firmament on high,
With all the blue ethereal sky,
And spangled Heavens, a shining frame,
Their great Original proclaim.
The unwearied sun, from day to day,
Does his Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an almighty hand.

Soon as the evening shades prevail,
The moon takes up the wondrous tale,
And nightly to the listening earth
Repeats the story of her birth;
Whist all the stars around her burn,
And all the planets, in their turn,
Confirm the tidings as they roll,
And spread the truth from pole to pole.
What though in solemn silence all
Move round this dark terrestrial ball!
What though no real voice or sound
Amidst their radiant orbs be found!—
In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice;
Forever singing as they shine,
"The hand that made us is Divine."
—Joseph Addison.

CREATION OF TERRA FIRMA. (Raphael.)

THE GARDEN OF EDEN.

When Adam and Eve looked out upon the world round about them; when they saw the flowers and the grasses; when they heard the splashing of the sun-lit waters, and the rustling of the soft branches,—then their hearts were filled with love for each other, for their home, and for the Father who had made all this joy for them.

For a long time they wandered up and down the Garden of Eden, singing songs, and ready always to hear the voice of God when he spoke to them in the soft winds that played among the tree tops.

Now, there was a wicked angel, named Satan. He had been cast out from heaven, down, down from the blue sky. And in his own unhappy home he dwelt now, alone, wretched and revengeful. And when he saw this happy man and woman, so good and pure, their hearts bounding with love to God and joy in right doing, his cruel face grew black.

"Such happiness shall not last," he said. So he crept into the Garden, took on the form of a serpent and spoke to Eve.

"Eat of the fruit of this tree," he said, "and give it to Adam that he may eat too."

"But we are forbidden," Eve said.

"The fruit is like no other. Eat! Ye shall not die," the serpent answered.

THE EXPULSION OF ADAM AND EVE FROM THE GARDEN OF EDEN. (Dore.)

Then Eve gathered the fruit and ate of it. It was sweet, even as the serpent had said. Then she gathered more, and Adam, too, ate of it.

Then darkness fell upon the earth. A great wind arose, the thunder rolled, and God drove Adam and Eve out from the Garden of Eden; and at the entrance He placed cherubims and a flaming sword for no one who had sinned could dwell in a land so beautiful and free from sorrow.

But God pitied these children of his; and, although they had sinned against him, he saw that, after long years of suffering, One should be born, who would bring back to earth the joy and peace and happiness that had once been theirs, and which would have been to all their children in all the time to come, had not these parents sinned.

And so Adam and Eve went out into the world to work and struggle and build homes for themselves.

ADAM AND EVE. (Raphael.)

By and by two baby boys were born to them,—Cain and Abel. Pure and kind and good these children should have been. But now they were born into a world of sin, and of the nature of sin they too partook.

When these children were grown men, Cain hated his brother. He grew sullen and revengeful towards him. The serpent that had tempted Adam and Eve now tempted him. He listened; and one day, when they were at work together in the field, Cain slew Abel and hid him in the earth.

Then a great storm gathered across the sky; and a voice said, "Cain, where is thy brother?"

Cain trembled with fear; for he knew it was the voice of God. But he raised his wicked face towards the heavens and cried, "Why should I know? Am I my brother's keeper?"

And the voice said, "Thou art thy brother's keeper."

Then God put a brand upon the brow of Cain, and drove him forth into the wilderness, to be a fugitive and a vagabond.

STATUE OF CAIN. (Giovanni Dupre.)

THE CURSE OF CAIN.

O, the wrath of the Lord is a terrible thing!—
Like the tempest that withers the blossoms of spring,
Like the thunder that bursts on the summer's domain,
It fell on the head of the homicide Cain.
And, lo! like a deer in the fright of the chase,
With a fire in his heart, and a brand on his face,
He speeds him afar to the desert of Nod,—
A vagabond, smote by the vengeance of God!
All nature, to him, has been blasted and banned,
And the blood of a brother yet reeks on his hand;
And no vintage has grown, and no fountain has sprung,
For cheering his heart, or for cooling his tongue.
The groans of a father his slumber shall start,
And the tears of a mother shall pierce to his heart,
And the kiss of his children shall scorch him like flame,
When he thinks of the curse that hangs over his name.
—Knox.

THE DOVE SENT FORTH FROM THE ARK.

THE FLOOD.

Earth shall be ocean! and no breath,
Save of the winds be on the unbounded wave!
Angels shall tire their wings, but find no spot:
Not even a rock from out the liquid grave
Shall lift its point to save,
Or show the place where strong despair hath died,
After long looking o'er the ocean wide
For the expected ebb which cometh not;
All shall be void, destroyed.
—Byron.

It was many, many years after Adam and Eve were driven out from the Garden of Eden that the flood came.

There were thousands of people in the world now, and they were scattered here and there through the fertile valleys and along the rivers of the country far and wide.

There were rich farms everywhere, and shepherds watched their flocks on the hillsides. There were towns and cities; many of them where people dwelt together and made their laws and appointed their law-givers.

But in all these years the people had been growing more and more away from the simple, honest life that God had first shown Adam and Eve.

They had grown selfish and greedy; they were cruel to each other; they cared nothing for the rights and comforts of the community; and more than all this, they had forsaken the simple faith of their fathers and become worshippers of idols.

There was one good man dwelling among these people, many, many years before, whose name was Enoch. Now, it was not the will of God that Enoch should suffer for the sins of the people; and so, when the flood was about to come upon the earth to destroy them, God came and stood by Enoch and said, "Come with me."

Now there was another good man upon the earth, a great grandson of Enoch's, and a man who had never forgotten God, and who had reared his children always in the simple faith which had been his own.

Although God meant to send a flood that should destroy the cities, and separate the people so that the wickedness of the earth might be destroyed, still it was not his wish that the race should perish wholly. And so again God went down to the earth, and said to this good man, Noah, "Build thou an ark, and into it bring all thy family, and also two of every kind of bird and beast and animal. For a great flood shall come upon the earth, and those in the ark only shall be saved."

Noah was a simple hearted man. It was a strange thing for him to be told to build an ark and place within its shelter his family and two of every living thing upon the face of the earth.

NOAH BUILDING THE ARK. (Raphael.)

He told the people what God had said to him; and he urged them to do likewise. But the people only laughed at him, and called him a fool.

But Noah doubted not the word of God and set to work at once,—his three sons, Ham, Shem, and Japheth helping him to build an ark, and to gather together the birds and beasts and animals of the earth.

Every morning the four men set out as soon as the sun had risen, and kept at their work until darkness fell at night.

At last the ark was finished, and Noah, with his wife, his three sons and their wives, journeyed to the mountain side. The people in the valley laughed at them and threw stones at them, but the trustful little band kept on their way and entered the ark, taking with them, as they had been told, two of every kind of bird and beast.

Then the clouds began to gather in the south,—great black rolls of cloud. The wind rose, the clouds scattered over the whole sky; and so black and thick were they that the light of the sun was shut out. It was like night.

THE DELUGE.

Then the rain fell. In great sheets, like rivers, it poured upon the valleys. The thunders rolled, the lightnings flashed, the rivers overflowed their banks. The winds howled, and great trees were torn up by the roots.

For forty days this storm continued—forty days and forty nights. Every living thing left upon the face of the earth was drowned. But the ark, with its inmates, was borne up by the waters in safety. At last, one morning when Noah and his people awoke, they could see that the storm had ceased; the clouds were separating, and the sun was sending its rays down through the mist upon the flooded earth below.

Then came the beautiful rainbow, spanning the heavens in the west, and reflecting its wonderful colors in the great sea below.

THE RAINBOW.

Triumphal arch, that fill'st the sky
When storms prepare to part,
I ask not proud philosophy
To teach me what thou art.
Still seem as to my childhood's sight,
A midway station given,
For happy spirits to alight
Betwixt the earth and heaven.
How glorious is thy girdle cast
O'er mountain, tower, and town,
Or mirror'd in the ocean vast,
A thousand fathoms down.
As fresh in yon horizon dark,
As young thy beauties seem,
As when the eagle from the ark
First sported in thy beam.
For faithful to its sacred page,
Heaven still rebuilds thy span,
Nor lets the type grow pale with age,
That first spoke peace to man.
—T. Campbell.

Never was rainbow so beautiful! Then the voice of God spoke from out the skies to Noah, "This shall be to you a bow of promise. Never again shall the earth and the people be destroyed by water."

NOAH AND THE DOVE (Schopin.)

But nowhere, as far as eye could reach, was there any sign of land; there was only the peak of Ararat with the ark upon it, standing out above the water.

Noah sent out first a raven, and it returned not. Then he sent out from the ark a dove; and the dove came back after a long, long flight across the waters and fell fluttering at Noah's feet.

Seven days went by. Then again Noah sent out a dove; and this time it returned with an olive leaf. Noah knew now that the flood was subsiding, and that he might lift the cover of the ark and step out upon the mountain top.

Then Noah and his family went forth, together with all the creatures that had gone into the Ark with them.

And so thankful was Noah that he built a great altar, and he and his family offered sacrifices to God in gratitude for his loving care of them.

COMING FORTH FROM THE ARK. (Raphael.)

THE TOWER OF BABEL.

Children were born to Ham, Shem, and Japheth; and when these children became men and women, children were born to them, until, after many, many years, the valley was again filled with people,—all descendants from Noah and his three sons.

Now, there came a time, long after Noah had died, and so could guide his people no longer into the paths of right, that the people again grew wicked and selfish to one another.

They boasted of their power, and said among themselves, "We will build a tower that shall reach into heaven itself. Then who in heaven or earth shall be greater than we?"

CONFUSION OF TONGUES.

Now, God was angry that these people should have forgotten the God of their fathers, and that the trustful, humble soul of Noah should so have departed from them.

So, while all the people were at work upon the tower, now risen above the trees and hill-tops, God touched them; and behold, from that instant each spoke a language of his own; nor could one of them understand any other.

Confusion followed, the building of the tower was forsaken, the people scattered up and down the valley; and so the tower of Babel was left to crumble into ruins.

ABRAHAM.

In the pleasant valley of Mesopotamia there lived a good man, whom the people loved, and who was called Abram.

Now, the people of this valley were idolaters, and though Abram often pleaded with them to return to the faith in one God, they would not listen to him. "Go thou your way, and we will go ours," they would say.

But God would not permit it to be that Abram's life should be spent upon a people who cared not for the good spirit that Abram shed everywhere about him. So He called to him and said, "Leave this valley. Go thou with thy people to the land of Canaan. There a son shall be born to you, and your descendants shall govern the land of Canaan."

Abram, simple hearted and trustful like Noah, gathered his possessions together, and with his wife, Sarah, and his nephew, Lot, set forth across the country towards the land of Canaan.

Now, Abram was a man of great wealth. He had silver and gold, and camels, and sheep and cattle, and armies of servants.

Lot too had great wealth; and when the two families came into Canaan, Lot declared there was not land enough for them all. So Lot went on towards Jordan, where there were fertile valleys and broad rivers.

"Here," said Lot, "shall I find pasturage for my flocks and food for my servants."

"But God bade us dwell here," said Abram; and he was grieved that so great greed should have fallen upon Lot.

Lot went to live in the city of Sodom, a city so wicked that God finally visited it with fire and destroyed it.

Lot was not happy in Sodom. The people were idolaters, and laughed bitterly at Lot for his religion. For, though Lot had disobeyed God, he still kept the worship of Abram.

By and by a great king besieged the city of Sodom, and stole away its riches. Lot himself was made prisoner, and his wealth was divided among the soldiers of the conquering king.

Abram, living happily in the land of Canaan, heard of the downfall of Sodom, and of Lot's imprisonment. So he gathered together his own great army and marched against the king. He recaptured the wealth of Sodom, returning it to its rightful owners, and freed all the people from prison.

"Wilt thou come now to dwell in Canaan?" Abram asked of Lot. But Lot was stubborn and would not.

Then Melchizedek, the ruler of Salem, came out to meet Abram, bringing bread and wine. For Melchizedek was a priest as well as a ruler; and, as he poured the wine, he said, "Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth. And blessed be the most high God, who hath delivered thine enemies into thy hands."

Then Abram gave to Melchizedek one tenth of all his wealth, in token of his love for him; and after that he rode back into his own Land of Canaan.

ABRAHAM AND THE THREE ANGELS.

ABRAHAM'S VISIONS.

Angels of life and death are His;
Without his leave they pass no threshold o'er;
Who, then, would wish or dare, believing this,
Against his messengers to shut the door.
—Longfellow.

One night Abram went out beneath the sky and looked up at the stars. Then God's voice spoke and said, "Thy descendants shall be in number like the stars."

Now, Abram had no children, and had his faith been less firm he might have doubted the words he heard. But he had never forgotten the promise that in the Land of Canaan a child should be born to him, and that from him should descend a nation.

And that same night God spoke again to Abram in a vision. He showed him an altar with a burning lamp. And he said to Abram, "For four hundred years your descendants shall journey in a strange land and suffer affliction; but, at the end of that time, they shall again come into Canaan and possess the land."

Then the Lord changed the name of Abram to Abraham, which means Father of a People. And his wife's name he changed to Sarah, which means a Princess. And again God said unto Abraham and Sarah, "A child shall be born to you; and he shall be great among the nations of the earth."

A third time God came to Abraham; and he told him that the destruction of Sodom was near at hand, because of its wickedness.

Then Abraham thought of Lot, and prayed to God to save the city for Lot's sake.

And God answered, "If ten righteous people only be found in the city, I will not destroy it for Lot's sake."

But ten righteous people were not to be found in the city, and so the angels of destruction were sent down upon it.

Lot sat in the gateway of the city and looked out upon the country. And when he saw the angels of destruction, he rose and led them to his house and gave them food.

Then the angels said, "Whatsoever thou hast in this city bring out; for we are come to destroy this place."

Then Lot went and told his people; but none of them would listen to him. In the morning the angels came and woke Lot and his wife and said to them, "Arise, and hasten from the city. Escape for thy life, and look not behind thee."

So Lot and his wife and their two daughters fled from the city; and the shower of fire came down to purify it. But when they were far out on the plain, Lot's wife, still loving her old home, turned back to look upon it. Too late the angels' words came back to her, "Look not behind thee."

THE FLIGHT OF LOT.

Her feet were rooted to the spot; her voice refused to come; sight left her; sound was shut out; and in one instant she was changed to a pillar of salt.

Then Lot and his two daughters hurried on. They reached a great cave, and ran and hid themselves in it. The city was now a blackened ruin. Lot's wealth was destroyed. He had no silver, no gold, no cattle, no home—only the cave, and grateful was he that he had even that.

DEPARTURE OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL.

HAGAR.

Who can speak a mother's anguish,
Painted in that tearless eye,
Which beholds her darling languish,
Languish, unrelieved, to die!

It was not very long after the destruction of Sodom that there was born into the home of Abraham and Sarah a beautiful little baby boy—even as God had promised.

There was great rejoicing among the people of Abraham's household. Feasts were held, sacrifices were offered up, and Abraham gave the child the name of Isaac.

One of Sarah's maids, whose name was Hagar, had a son, too, called Ishmael. One day this boy mocked at Isaac, and Sarah said he and his mother must be sent away.

So Abraham called Hagar and told her she must go, and he gave her some bread and a bottle of water, and sent her forth into the wilderness.

HAGAR AND ISHMAEL IN THE DESERT.

Poor Hagar and her child sorrowfully set forth in the burning heat; but when all their water was gone, her little one began to droop; he grew weaker and weaker, and she thought he would die. She laid him in the shade and went away to weep. The mother could not bear to see her poor boy die.

She looked above—the heavens shone still
Unclouded, bright and clear;
She listened but not fount nor rill
Poured music on her ear.
Thence once again her child she eyed—
His cheek wore death's pale hue;
"Alas! and is it thus," she cried;
"Doth God forsake me too,
And with my earthly foes combine
To work such ill for me and mine?"

The Angel of God heard her and told her not to fear, but to take up Ishmael and hold him in her arms. Then she saw, all at once, a well near her; she gave the child a drink, and soon he grew strong and well.

THE TRIAL OF ABRAHAM'S FAITH.

ISAAC.

Isaac grew up a fine, healthy, noble boy loved by all his father's people; and to his, father and mother, now old people, he was their joy and life. Never a day passed that Abraham and Sarah did not offer thanks to God for their beautiful child. Most carefully they taught him the religion of his people, and bade him follow it all the days of his life.

"When God speaks, obey, O my son!" the old father would say. And one day there came to Abraham, and Isaac too, a trial of their faith.

A vision came again to Abraham. And in the vision the Lord spoke, saying, "Arise, Abraham, and go and prepare an altar upon the mountain. And when the altar is ready, place thy son Isaac upon the altar; for I would that he be sacrificed—a burnt offering—to me."

Poor old Abraham! There was nothing in all the world so dear to him as this child, Isaac; but although his heart was sore and heavy, the old man rose and did as he was bid. And when the altar was ready, he called Isaac and told him what the vision had said.

For a minute the brave boy's cheek grew pale; his heart beat fast. Then he permitted his father to bind him hand and foot and lay him upon the altar. Abraham lifted the knife to slay the boy; when, lo! his hand was held, and a voice said, "Harm not the lad; for now I do know that thou lovest God more than all else beside."

With trembling hands Abraham unbound the cords that held Isaac, and the boy leaped down from the altar. Then, with tears of gratitude, they knelt and thanked God for his mercy. Then the voice spake again: "Because you have done this thing I will bless thee; and all nations shall be blessed through thy children."

One day Abraham's wife, Sarah, lay down and died, and Abraham bought the field of Machpelah and made for her a burial place.

"Now," said Abraham to Isaac, "it is right that you should find a wife and bring her to dwell in our tent. But take not a wife from the people of Canaan, for they are idolaters. Go rather to Mesopotamia, and there take the wife that God may allot thee."

So a trusty old servant was sent into Mesopotamia to find a wife for Isaac,—a woman who should be beautiful and good, and whose faith was like that of Abraham.

REBEKAH AT THE WELL. (Goodall.)

REBEKAH.

His house she enters, there to be a light,
Shining within, when all without is right.

It was just upon the edge of the village, and just as the sun was sinking, that the servant came to the well from which the village folk drew water. And there, with a pitcher in her hand, stood a maiden, as beautiful as ever maiden could be.

"Whose daughter art thou?" the servant asked.

And the maiden answered, "I am Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel, of the house of Abraham."

Then the servant was glad; for he knew now that the maiden was as good, and her religion as pure, as she was beautiful. So he went to the home of Bethuel, and told his errand into Mesopotamia. He told Bethuel of the godly life Abraham had led, and of the noble youth, Isaac. And he asked that he might choose Rebekah for Isaac's wife and carry her back with him to Canaan.

The heart of Bethuel was glad; and Rebekah, too, was glad to go; for already she loved the brave lad, Isaac, so proudly had the old servant told the story of his brave deeds and godly life.

So Rebekah, arrayed in a fine raiment, was placed on a camel, and beside her walked her nurse and maids.

The old servant then hurried on, and reached the home of Isaac while yet the maiden and her companions were not beyond the limits of their own land.

He told Isaac all that had happened, and how beautiful and good the maiden was, and that she was of the noble house of Bethuel.

Then Isaac loved the maiden; and, as she came near to Canaan, he hurried forth to meet her, and to bring her to his home and to his people. Old Abraham was glad when he saw the maiden, for he knew God's blessing would rest upon the union.

Abraham was now one hundred and seventy-five years of age; and when he came to die, Rebekah and Isaac laid him beside Sarah in the field of Machpelar, and Isaac took his father's place in the household.

Isaac and Rebekah lived to an old age. They were good people, and the Lord blessed them; and when they came to die, their two sons, Esau and Jacob, wept over them, and laid them, also, beside Abraham in the field of Machpelar.

JACOB AND ESAU.

We barter life for pottage; sell true bliss
For wealth or power, for pleasure or renown;
Thus, Esau like, our Father's blessing miss,
Then wash with fruitless tears our faded crown.
—Keble.

Esau was the older son, and to him belonged the honors of the family. It was his duty, too, to offer sacrifices and serve as the high priest in the home; for such was the custom of the times.

But Esau cared little either for honor or religious services. And so, one day when he came home from the hunt, hungry and thirsty, he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for a bowl of pottage that Jacob sat eating before the door of his home.

Now, Isaac loved this son better than he loved Jacob, and was grieved and disappointed that he should have sold his birthright so foolishly; for now to Jacob rather than to Esau would fall the blessings of God.

But it could not now be helped, and Jacob took up the office of high priest in the house of Isaac.

As Isaac grew old, to him was given the gift of prophecy; and whomsoever he blessed, honor and prosperity was sure to follow. When Rebekah knew this, her heart was filled with but one desire,—that Isaac's blessing should fall upon Jacob rather than upon Esau; for she knew how unworthy Esau was in spirit, and how little he would strive to honor God when the household became his own.

So, one day when Esau was away upon the hunt, she called Jacob to her and bade him go kneel beside his old father and ask his blessing.>

ISAAC BLESSING JACOB.

But Jacob said, "Behold, Esau, my brother, is a hairy man and I a smooth man. My father, perhaps, will feel me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver."

Rebekah said, "Obey my voice, my son." And Jacob yielded.

Then Rebekah took some clothes belonging to Esau and put them upon Jacob; and she put the skin of the kids that he had brought her upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck.

Then Jacob knelt before his father, whose eyes were dimmed with old age, and said, "Bless me, my father."

And Isaac said, "Who art thou, my son?"

And Jacob said, "I am Esau, thy first born."

Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come near, that I may feel whether thou be my very son Esau or not."

So Jacob went near to his father, and the father felt of him; and he said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau."

Then Isaac, thinking it was Esau who knelt, blessed him as his first-born, and said, "The Lord bless thee, and give thee plenty of corn and wine. Let the people serve thee; and be thou lord over all thy brethren."

And all this came to pass; for Jacob's children came into possession of the rich land of Canaan.

By and by, Esau entered the tent and knelt beside his father. "Thy blessing, O father Isaac," he said.

The old man stretched out his hands. "Who art thou?" he cried.

"I am Esau, your first-born. Know you not that I am Esau?"

"Who was it then that came just now and received my blessing?" Isaac asked.

Then Esau knew that to him was lost the blessing as an eldest son.

The old man wailed. "Alas! alas! my son," he said, "much wealth can I yet bestow upon thee; still the greater honors are now with Jacob."

Now Esau's heart was filled with rage. He would have slain his brother; but Rebekah, knowing this, sent Jacob away.

When night came on Jacob lay down upon the cold ground and placed a stone beneath his head. And as he slept God sent a beautiful vision to bless him.

He saw a ladder set upon the earth, whose top reached to Heaven. Holy angels were going up and down the ladder, and, above them all, stood God.

JACOB'S DREAM.

And a voice said, "I am the God of Abraham and of Jacob. I will give the land where thou liest to be a possession to thy children. I am with thee and will keep thee in all thy places, and bring thee again into thy land."

Then Jacob awoke. "This is God's place," he said, "and I knew it not. This is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven."

Then he took a stone and poured oil upon it and blessed it. "This place shall be called Bethel," he said; "Bethel, which means the House of God, for here God appeared unto me."

From Bethel Jacob went on to the land of his uncle Laban; and there he dwelt for many years, keeping the sheep.

But the time came when Laban looked with jealousy upon Jacob. The Lord came again to Jacob and bade him take his wife, Rachael, and his children and go back to Canaan. Jacob obeyed, and, driving his great flocks before him, he set out again for his old home.

JACOB WRESTLING WITH THE ANGEL.

As he neared the village of Seir, where Esau dwelt, he sent messengers ahead to tell Esau that he was returning, and to beg him to forgive the past that they might meet each other in brotherly love.

The servants came back and told him that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men. Then Jacob was in great fear, for he thought Esau meant to kill him.

He prayed to God to keep him safe. At night an angel came and wrestled with him till break of day, but could not overcome him. And when morn came, the angel said, "Let me go, for it is break of day." Jacob said, "I will not let thee go till thou bless me." Then the angel blessed him, and he saw him no more. This was a sign from God to Jacob that, as he was a match for an angel, he need not fear men.

He took some of his cattle and sent them as a gift to Esau. He set them in droves, so that when Esau met them, and asked whose they were, the men should say, "They are Jacob's. It is a gift he has sent to my lord Esau." Each man who drove the cattle was to answer in this way, so that Esau might feel that Jacob had come as a friend.

All at once Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming. Then he called his eleven sons and Rachel and Leah to go with him and meet Esau.

When he met Esau he bowed down to the ground seven times. Then Esau ran to him and put his arms round his neck and kissed him, and they both wept.

Esau led Jacob to his home and there feasted him for seven days. And when he was rested Jacob set forth again, driving his herds before him, to make a home for his people in the land of Canaan; for he was an old man now, and wished only to rest in the land of his fathers, and to see his twelve sons comfortably placed in homes of their own, with their wives, their children, and their flocks about them.

JOSEPH.

"Now let us thank the Eternal Power; convinced
That Heaven but tries our virtue by affliction,
That oft the cloud which wraps the present hour
Serves but to brighten all our future days."

Jacob had twelve sons; but the one dearest to the old father's heart was Joseph, a lad of only seventeen years when Jacob came back into the land of Canaan.

The older of these sons were selfish, cruel men; and more than that, they had forsaken the God of Abraham, and were worshipping graven images. Poor old Jacob's heart was heavy!

"Go now to Bethel," said a voice to him one night in a dream. "Make an altar there to thy God."

Jacob obeyed; and when the altar was built, he called his sons together and told them the visions he had had. He told them the stronghold God had always been to him in his life, and begged them to forsake their idols and turn again to the true God.

Then Jacob went on to Hebron, where Abraham had lived, and where Isaac still lived, an old, old man, nearly two hundred years old.

It was a joyous meeting—this meeting between Isaac and Jacob. Esau, too, came, and Isaac blessed them both and bade them love each other. Isaac died very soon after, and Jacob, an old man now himself, sat in the door of the tent of his fathers.

To Joseph, Jacob had given a coat of many colors, as a token of his great love for him. And because of this Joseph's brothers hated him only the more. Jealousy burned in their hearts, and they plotted together to slay the boy.

One night Joseph had a vision. In the dream eleven stars came and stood before him and bowed themselves to the ground. And a voice said, "So shall your brothers one day bow before you."

Joseph told his vision to Jacob and to his brothers. The father observed the sayings, but the brothers were made only the more angry.

Now, his brothers spent their days upon the hillside tending their flocks. And one day Jacob said to Joseph, "Go, my son, and see if any evil has befallen your brothers."

So Joseph set out. It was a long way to the pasture lands, and the boy was tired and footsore. And when he reached the place no sign could he find of his brothers.

"Tell me," asked Joseph of the men upon the plains, "where are my brothers that watch their sheep here upon these hillsides?"

The men answered, saying, "Your brothers have gone to the place called Dothan, which is many miles from here."

Then Joseph, after resting, started on towards Dothan. There his brothers saw him, and recognized him afar off by the bright colors of his coat.

"Here comes our dreamer," sneered one brother.

"He who shall reign over us," sneered another.

Then the face of the oldest brother grew black and bitter. "Let us kill him," he said, "and cast him into some pit."

"No," said Rueben, "we need not stain our hands with his blood. Let us only cast him into the pit, and then tell our father Jacob that a wild beast has slain him."

This plan seemed most pleasing to them; and when Joseph came near, they fell upon him, tore his coat from him, and made ready to throw him into a pit.

JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN.

But just then there came along the highway a company of merchants, bound for Egypt. They had a long train of camels, and these were loaded with fruits and spices.

"Let us sell Joseph to these merchants," said one of the brothers. And when the merchants came up, they pushed Joseph towards them and sold him for twenty pieces of silver.

Then they killed a kid, and dipped the coat in the kid's blood, and went back with it to Jacob.

"O father Jacob! This coat have we found by the wayside, and we know not whether it be the coat of Joseph or not!"

The old father looked at the coat. He saw the blood upon it; then he bowed his head and groaned. Too well did he know it to be the coat of his dear son, Joseph.

DESPAIR OF JACOB. (Schopin.)

All day long the old man wept, refusing to be comforted. "I will go down into my grave unto my son mourning," he said. But the sons cared not for his grief. It was enough that they were rid of the brother whom they hated.

PHARAOH'S DREAM.

Poor Joseph was carried into Egypt, and there sold again to a rich man, whose name was Potiphar. Potiphar was very proud of his new slave, so tall and strong and beautiful was he; and for a time Joseph dwelt most happily in his new home. But Potiphar's wife was a bad woman. And because he refused, at her desire, to do evil, she had him thrown into prison; and to Potiphar she told such stories about the boy that for a time Potiphar himself was deceived, and so permitted Joseph to be in prison, giving him no opportunity to prove to his master how untrue these stories were.

Now, in prison with Joseph were servants of King Pharaoh. One morning, when Joseph went to them, they were downcast and sad.

"Why look ye so sad?" said Joseph.

"We have dreamed dreams, and we have no one to interpret them," they said.

"It is God who sends dreams," said Joseph. "Tell them to me. It may be I can interpret them for you."

Then one of the servants told his dream. "I saw in my dream a vine; and in the vine were three branches. They budded, the flowers came, the fruit ripened. Then I took Pharaoh's cup, gathered the grapes and pressed them in the cup, and gave it to Pharaoh."

"Take courage, my brother," said Joseph, "for it is a good dream. The three branches are three days. The dream means that in three days Pharaoh will liberate thee, and thou shalt give the cup into his hands.

"And do not forget me when thou art again free. For I have been sold into bondage and stolen away from Canaan. Neither have I deserved to be thrown into this dungeon. Speak then to Pharaoh for me, and beg him to free me from this prison."

Then the other servant told his dream: "I had three baskets of meat upon my head. They were baked meats for Pharaoh. The birds came and ate the meat from the baskets."