BALA

SMITING

THE ASS.

O

The Israelites married with the daughters of the Moabites, and worshipped their gods, at which the Lord's anger was kindled, and he sent a plague, which destroyed about 24,000.

The Lord commanded Moses and Eleazar to take a census of a number of the twelve tribes, as they then stood, for when they entered the wilderness of Sinai, in 1490 B. c., they numbered 603,550, and now only 601,730; it appeared, however, that the tribe of Manasseh had increased 20,500, which was attributed to the Lord's blessings on the house of Joseph; of the Levites, only two were left, namely, Caleb, and Joshua the son of Nun, the remainder having died during the forty years in the wilderness. The Lord said unto Moses, Go up into the Mount Abiram (or Nebo, a mountain East of

Twenty-ninth
Medal.

Balaam smi

ting the Ass.

1447 B. C.

Jordan), and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel, and when thou hast seen it thou shalt be as Aaron, gathered unto thy people. Moses, therefore, asked the Lord to set a successor over the congregation, and the Lord said, Take Joshua, and set him before Eleazar, and before the congregation, and give him a charge in their sight.

Moses called Joshua, and told him what God had said; he also encouraged Joshua. Moses then delivered the law unto the priests, the sons of Levi, to have it read to the people every seven years. Moses related his conquests to the Israelites; and informed them that one of the giants remained, which was Og, the king of Basan, and that his bedstead was made of iron, nine cubits (or thirteen and a half English feet) in length; and Moses commanded that the Israelites would never forsake the Levites, and forty-eight cities were set apart for their benefit; aud he also informed them that all idolatrous cities must be destroyed.

Now Moses wrote a song, to set forth God's mercy and vengeance (see 33d chapter of Deuteronomy, a beautiful composition). Moses now went up from the plains of Moab, to Abiram (or Nebo), and beheld the land from Gilead to Dan; and Moses died in the land of Moab, at the age of 120 years, but his sepulchre has never been found.

Now no prophet arose like Moses, in Israel, whom the Lord knew face to face. And the Lord spake unto Joshua, and said, Arise, go over this river, Jordan, and every place that the sole of your feet shall tread upon I have given to you, as I said unto Moses. Joshua spake to the people, to take

the Ark of the Covenant, and pass over Jordan, before the people; and, behold, as soon as the feet of the priests, bearing the Ark, dipped in the water, the waters stood up, and the people passed over to the other side, exactly opposite the city of Jericho.

WATERS OF

JOSHUA

DIVIDETH THE

THE RIVER JORDAN,

Joshua was commanded to take twelve men, one man out of each tribe, and that they should take twelve stones from the spot where the priests stood in the river, and that these stones should be laid down as a memorial for ever unto the children of Israel. The twelve stones were pitched in Gilgal, in the camp, about six miles from Jordan. And there stood a drawn sword, and

man opposite Joshua with a

Joshua said, Art thou for us? The man said, I
am here, a captain of the host of the Lord. Joshua
fell
upon his face, and worshipped him. And the
captain of the Lord said unto Joshua, Take thy

Thirtieth

Medal.

Joshua divideth the Waters of the River Jordan.

shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy.

Joshua surrounded Jericho with the army of the Israelites, and Joshua commanded seven priests to take the Ark, and seven trumpets of rams' horns, and Joshua ordered the people not to shout until the day he should bid them; and they compassed the city, in like manner, six days during the evening. And on the seventh day, Joshua said, Shout, for the Lord of Hosts hath given you the city, which shall be accursed, and all therein, except Rahab the harlot; she and all her house shall live, because she hid and saved the messengers that were sent by Joshua. And on the seventh day, after encompassing the city seven times, that during the seventh time the Israelites shouted, and the walls of Jericho fell. Joshua and his army entered, and utterly destroyed both man and beast; but the gold and silver vessels were to be consecrated unto the Lord, as Joshua had already told the Israelites. Achan, of the tribe of Judah, had already purloined some of the spoils. This treachery was discovered; and to appease the wrath of God, for thus breaking his commands, Joshua took Achan, and his sons, and daughters, and goods, and spoils, and stoned them, and burnt the spoils before the people. Joshua next took the city of Ai, hanged the king, and destroyed all the people within it; and Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal, unto the Lord God of Israel, pursuant to a former order of Moses.

Now all the kings that were on this side of Jordan combined against Israel, except the Gibeonites, who craftily obtained to league with

Israel. They, however, had lied, in desiring their messengers to say that their king's dominions were a great distance off; and, in consequence of the oath of Joshua, they were saved, but doomed to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. The five kings concerted together to punish the Gibeonites, their neighbours, for having made peace with Joshua. Joshua sent his armies to assist the Gibeonites; and the Lord smote the armies of the five kings with hail stones from heaven, which destroyed one-half of their armies. And Joshua called upon the Lord, in the sight of the armies, that the sun might stand still whilst his armies avenged themselves upon their enemies.

The five kings were found hid in a cave, and Joshua took them and hanged them upon five trees.