that you will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brothers, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.'-The men pledged themselves faithfully to remember her and her household. Then Rahab let them down by a cord from the window, over the wall of the city, and bade them hide in the mountains for three days, in order to elude their pursuers. The men, before leaving her, desired her to tie a scarlet thread in her window, so that the conquerors should know and respect her house, into which she was to assemble her whole family, lest any member of it should unwittingly be injured. Rahab promised to do so, and the men cautiously departed. When they returned to Joshua, it was with the joyful and confident intelligence, Truly, the Lord has delivered into our hands all the land, for all the inhabitants of the land tremble before us.'

6

The time for marching forth had now arrived; the camp was broken up; and the Ark of the Covenant was borne aloft by the priests, and preceded the congregation at a considerable distance, guiding and encouraging them. Joshua proclaimed on that day: 'Sanctify yourselves, for to-morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.' They were to pass over the waters of the Jordan as miraculously as their fathers had passed through the waves of the Red Sea. It was harvest time, and the river was swollen, overflowing its banks everywhere. The priests advanced with their sacred burden, and as the soles of their feet touched the bed of the river, suddenly the waters which came down from above stood and rose up like a wall . . . and those that came down towards the plain, the Salt Sea, failed and were cut off. Thus the river-bed was dry, and the priests stood in the midst of the Jordan, whilst the whole nation passed over. Now the Lord commanded Joshua to call one man from each of the twelve tribes, and to bid each man put a stone in the midst of the Jordan,

S

on the spot where the feet of the priests had rested, as an eternal memorial of the wonders they had just witnessed. When the twelve stones were placed, and the people had passed over, Joshua commanded the priests to follow the rest from out of the river-bed. As their feet reached the bank, the waters rushed back, overflowing the sides as they had done before. The people gazed with reverential awe upon Joshua, and they feared him as they had feared Moses.

The Israelite host encamped at Gilgal, about two miles south-east of Jericho, in full view of the stately city of the plain, in the shade of a great forest, near broad fields of golden corn, with the refreshing sound of numerous rivulets gladdening their ears. 40,000 warriors were to win that country of which Jericho was the key. Unlike their fathers, who had toiled and trembled so long in Egyptian bondage, they were men born in the desert, inured to hardships, anxious to battle with the foe, and steadily obedient to their leader. This band of Hebrew soldiers, ever ready for the march or the attack, has through successive ages been the model of all sternly resolute men, desperately resolved to cling to their faith, pitiless to their foes, unflinching in their determination.

At Gilgal, the right of circumcision was enforced, which under the leadership of Moses had been neglected since the departure from Egypt; and the feast of Passover was celebrated, the people baking their unleavened cakes of the ripe corn of the country which they were soon to call their own. From that day the heavenly bread,' the manna, ceased to be their ordinary food.

Joshua was wandering without the camp of Gilgal, gazing perchance at the walled city of Jericho, when a vision appeared to him. It was a warrior with a drawn sword. Joshua asked, it may be with secret misgiving,

'Art thou for us or for our adversaries?' But the vision

answered, 'Nay, but as the Lord of hosts I come.' Then Joshua fell on his face before the glory of the Lord thus suddenly revealed to him, and he said, 'What says my Lord to His servant.' And he received the answer, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou standest is holy.'

The fall of Jericho was connected with extraordinary marvels and wonders. The conquest of the first Canaanitish city did not depend on the courage of the Hebrew warriors, or on the strategy of Joshua, but it was to be marked as the work of the Lord's own will and might. It was indeed calculated to terrify the heathens and to encourage the Hebrews. The Lord commanded Joshua to besiege the city. Its gates were shut, its walls closely watched; no one was allowed either to enter or to go out. The Hebrew army encompassed Jericho as with an iron grasp. For seven days the siege lasted: once on each day the Ark of the Covenant was borne by the priests from the camp at Gilgal round the walls; seven priests preceded it, blowing a blast on their silver trumpets, and the armed men followed in solemn silence. On the seventh day the Ark was carried round seven times, and at the seventh long blast of the trumpet, Joshua called out to the people, Shout! for the Lord has given you the city.' A great war-cry rose up into the air, the walls of Jericho fell down to the ground, and the Hebrew warriors rushed into the town. Then followed the work of destruction which sounds so terrible to our ears. The affrighted and panicstricken people fell beneath the weapons of the invaders; even women and children were slain, old and young together, nor was the cattle spared. But the spies did not forget the promise they had made to Rahab; they went into her house, brought her out with all her family, and led them safely to the camp. They alone of their whole race were allowed to dwell among the Hebrews. The city

of Jericho was burnt; only the vessels of gold and silver, of brass and iron, were saved for the holy Tabernacle; and Joshua proclaimed publicly, Cursed be the man before the Lord that raises up and builds this city Jericho; he shall lay the foundation thereof with his first-born, and with his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.'

64. CAPTURE OF AI AND STRATAGEM
OF THE GIBEONITES.

[JOSH. VIII. IX.]

The next point of Joshua's attack was the town of Ai, north-west of Jericho and south-east of Beth-el, which was probably then a holy place of the Canaanites. He sent spies up to the mountains to explore the country, who, seeing but few of the enemies, augured an easy victory for the Hebrews. Only three thousand men went up to the attack; but the people of Ai rushed furiously upon them, slaying some and driving the others back to the camp. It was the first signal defeat, and the Israelites were utterly dismayed. Joshua rent his clothes, and fell upon the ground before the Ark, praying to the Lord for help, and wailing bitterly in his despair. What hopes could the chosen people cherish? What glory would they bring to their God? The voice of the Lord answering Joshua told him, that some of the devoted treasures of Jericho had been secretly appropriated by one of his soldiers, and that until the offender had been discovered and punished, the Hebrews would feel the Divine displeasure. Joshua then called all the people together, and announced the will of God. On the following day, when the twelve tribes were assembled, the trial by lot commenced; the tribe of Judah was taken, then the family of the Zarhites, then the household of Zabdi, and last of all the lot fell upon Achan.

Joshua called out the disobedient man and said, 'My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.' Achan did not attempt to conceal his sin, but confessed that he had taken from the spoil a valuable Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold fifty shekels in weight, and that he had hidden these things in and under his tent. Joshua's messengers found the objects as they were described, and brought them before the Lord,' that is, to the door of the Tabernacle. Then the whole congregation led Achan into the valley of Achor, with his sons and his daughters, and his oxen and his asses. There the men and beasts were stoned to death, and then burnt, together with their tent and the spoil unlawfully taken at Jericho. huge pile of stones was raised up over the remains, as a monument of the Lord's anger.

The city of Ai now fell an easy prey to the eager Israelites. It was to be taken by stratagem. Joshua divided his soldiers into two parts, sending the larger number by night to the mountains, westward of the town, on the road to Beth-el, where they were to lie quietly in wait; whilst he himself, at the head of the other part, encamped in a plain at the northern side of the town. When the king of Ai saw, in the morning, the advancing Hebrews, he summoned his soldiers and marched boldly out to meet the enemy. Joshua awaited their approach, and then suddenly, as if seized by a panic, turned round with his men, and fled in hot haste towards the desert. The heathen army pursued them exultingly, until they touched the sandy tracts of the desert. Joshua then raised his mighty spear, brandishing it aloft; and when it was seen by the men lying in ambush in the west of Ai, they rushed, without check or obstacle, into the unguarded city, and set it on fire. When the pursuing hosts looked.