Grandfather. They were much alarmed, for Gibeon was a place of importance, and the people of it were noted for their bravery. The king of Jerusalem was called Adonizedek, which means the lord of righteousness. Perhaps he was descended from Melchisedek, king of righteousness, who was the king of Jerusalem in Abraham's time. If so, he was unlike his forefather in character. He paid no respect to the sons of Abraham. He sent to other four kings, the kings of Hebron, of Jarmuth, of Lachish, and of Eglon, saying, "Come unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon, for it hath made peace with Joshua, and with the children of Israel." So these five kings assembled their forces together, and marched against Gibeon, thinking probably that the people of that place would fall unassisted, for the Israelites would not bring themselves into danger to succour them. The Gibeonites thought differently. When they saw this formidable army coming against them, they sent to Joshua, saying, "Slack not thy hand from thy servants; come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the Amorites that dwell in the mountains are gathered together against us." Regarding Joshua as a type of Christ, this petition of the Gibeonites teaches us in every difficulty to look for help to Him who alone is able to help us at all times. Joshua and all his mighty men of valour prepared to march to the defence of their allies. The Lord spoke to Joshua, and these were the words he said, "Fear them not, for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not

a man of them stand before thee." So Joshua set off very quickly, and marched all night.

George. What was the use of his doing that when God had promised that he would conquer the enemy.

Grandfather. He shewed by his diligence that he believed that promise. The more firmly we trust in God, the more careful will we be to do our duty, for the promises of God are intended to encourage our endeavours. A complete victory followed. The five kings and their

armies were completely defeated. They fled both to the north and to the south, and were pursued by the Israelites and slain. Notwithstanding the great slaughter among the Amorites by the sword of Israel, the Lord slew more of them by a miraculous hail storm. It was miraculous because it discomfited the enemy only, and gave no annoyance to the Israelites. Then Joshua prayed to the Lord that the sun and moon might stop in their course, that night might not come on before his day's work was done. Boldly, before all the people of Israel, their leader gave the command, "Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and thou moon in the valley of Ajalon." This speech shows the strong faith of Joshua. If what he said had not come to pass, the people would have thought him mad. But it did come to pass; the sun stood still until the destruction of the Amorites was complete.

Johnnie. How long did the sun stand still, grandfather?

Grandfather. A day, we are told; so that day would be double the length that it otherwise would have been.

It is thought that it was in midsummer, when the days there are fourteen hours long; so the length of that wonderful day would be twenty-eight hours.

George. But it is not the sun that moves, grandfather; it is the earth; yet Joshua told the sun to stand still.

The

Grandfather. Astronomy was not so well understood then as now; and if Joshua had commanded the earth to stand still, not a man in his army would have understood him; they knew nothing of the daily revolution of the earth upon its axis. The sun was at that time believed to move, and the earth to stand still. Scriptures speak in the language that was generally understood at the time they were written; the sun is spoken of as rejoicing like a giant to run his race. Every one who heard Joshua command the sun to stand still would understand quite well what he meant, and would be able to tell whether the event verified his words. If he had lived in our day, he would have used different language to express his meaning.

Marianne. It was a very splendid miracle; but I have been wondering, grandfather, what was the use of it, for the battle could have been finished the next day?

Grandfather. It shewed the almighty power of God; -a power which extended not only to the earth, and the things that are in it, but even to the heavenly bodies, which are so far above man. It shewed the folly of those nations who worshipped the sun and the moon; for high as these are placed, yet he is above them, and has them under his control. But we have

not done with the five kings of the Amorites yet. None of them fell in battle; they all fled and hid themselves in a cave near Makkedah. When Joshua was told that they had been found there, he told the people to roll stones to the mouth of the cave, and leave them there; then go to pursue the flying foes, and prevent them from entering their cities. They slew all the Amorites who were scattered abroad; none remained except those who had taken refuge in fenced cities. And all the Israelites returned to the camp to Joshua in safety. There was neither loss of life nor loss of limb among them; and their enemies were so much overawed by their triumph that there was no one who dared to attempt anything, or even to say anything against them.

Johnnie. Were the kings left in the cave to be starved to death?

Grandfather. You need not be afraid, Johnnie, that Joshua would be so cruel as to torture them by a lingering death. They were left in the cave only till their people, who were at large, were all slain; for it was Joshua's practice to do first that which has most need for haste. This teaches us to make the one thing needful our first concern. When the people returned from pursuing their enemies, Joshua commanded the kings to be brought out of the cave. He was obeyed. Then he told all the captains of Israel to put their feet upon the necks of these kings, not that they might mock their fallen foes, but that they might give glory to their God, who had brought so low these mighty men of Canaan.

We believe it to have been in obedience to divine direction that Joshua gave this order. The general then spoke some words of encouragement to his soldiers, telling them to fear no other kings who might afterwards come against them, for so would the Lord do to all their enemies. Then Adonizedek and his four allies were slain with the sword, and their bodies hanged on a tree till the evening, when they were thrown into the cave where they had been hidden. It was made their grave. The same day Joshua took Makkedah, and put to death the king and all the people of it. He next took Libnab, and treated it in the same manner. Then he fought against Lachish, the city of one of the kings who had hid in the cave. It also the Lord delivered into his hand; he took it on the second day, and treated it as he had done the former places. Horam, king of Gezer, went up to help Lachish. He rushed upon his own destruction, for Joshua smote him and his people till none were left remaining. Then Joshua took Eglon and Hebron, cities belonging to two of the five kings. Debir was also taken, and all its inhabitants slain. The whole of the southern part of Canaan was now conquered—that part which afterwards belonged to Simeon, Judah, Dan, Benjamin, and Ephraim. All the people were killed, except the Gibeonites who had submitted, and those who fled to other countries, a plan which many of them are thought to have adopted. Those only remained who had hardened their hearts against the Lord, and believed themselves able to defy the mighty God of Jacob. Their