The Newtown bee., 1888-08-17
Achsah's Portion.

Achsah's Portion.
 "Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water" JOSHUA XV, Is, l9
 Paul, in a letter to Timothy. speaking of the Scriptures, says, ssAll Scripture is given by inspiration of God. And is prof itable for doctrine, for reproof, for cor rection, for, instruction i'll righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thor [ oughly furnished unto all good works" They have well been compared to 3 field in which is hidden rich treasure, for which we are to dig and, if we are faithful in our search, we shall be richly rewarded. May the Spirit aid us, for we are told that ssI'he natural man receiv- eth not the things of the Spirit of God, they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spir- itually discerned.'
 You will remember that of the 12 men sent up by Moses to search out the land of Canaan and bring back a report to their brethren, but two, Caleb of the tribe of Judah and Joshua of the tribe of Ephraim, were faithful to their trust. They only were willing to trust the Lord fully and in His strength go up at once and overcome their enemies. They tell their brethren" Weare well able to over- come them, their defence is departed | from them; the Lord is with us.'' For this they came near losing their lives. ' ou remember, too, how angry the Lord was with His people and, had it not been for tie intercession of Moses, He would have | then and there destroyed them all. He did send them all back into the wilderness to wander for 40 years, until that whole generation passed away, except Joshua and Caleb. He had promised them an en- trance into the land, because they trust ed Him and had d"wholly followed Him." At length, after all their weary wander l ing, the children of Israel come once more to the borders of the land of Canaan.
 Moses, who had been so long with l them, has gone and Joshua is now, under
 God, their leader. They enter the land
 and after Joshua, as commander, has vir-
 tually taken the country and the
 tribes have each received their allotted
 that which had been promised him by Je- hovah himself, the mountain to which they had been directed and upon which they stood, as their eyes looked out over this fair land for the first time.
 Coming, as they had, from the plains of
 Egypt, how fair and beautiful must this
 land of hills and valleys, mountains and streams have appeared to them. This
 mountain, upon which was situated the ancient city of Hebron, the highest city
 of Palestine, was 600 feet above Jeru-
 salem. Here, before the city, was the
 burial place of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. Was it
 at all strange thing that they should come and stand upon this spot, endeared
 to them by all these sacred associations ? Moreover, this was their own, not only
 by the promises of God to their fore : fathers, but by actual purchase.
 Abraham, the ssfriend of God, the ia ther of the faithful had bought of the
 owner this field containing the cave for
 possession of burial place and it was
 made sure, ages before. Was it at all strange that the faithful Caleb should ask for this, to him, sacred portion of
 the land over which his feet had trodden
 on that memorable,errand? Moses, 'sthe man of GOd," had declared, HssSurely the
 land upon which thy feet have trodden
 shall be thine inheritance and thy chil- t dren's, because thou hast fully followed the Lord.'' Fortyffve years have passed
 since his eyes first beheld this land and
 he reminds Joshua that he was then com paratiyely young man and now is old ' yet his strength has been wonderfully
 preserved and, if he will give him this on which he has set his heart, he will be able . to drive out his enemies, if the Lord will be with him as he has said. So Joshua ' blesses him and gives him his inheritance Caleb rejoices in his portion and at once r sets about conquering the inhabitants ;he ! is successful in driving out the giants from Hebron and presses on to take the ! outposts. Debir, another stronghold l close at hand, supposed to be but six : miles southwest of Hebron. it's ancient l name Kirjath Sepher, city of learning ol ! book city, is now to be conquered. Calet had daughter who must have been very l beautiful, for her name, Achsah, means s adorned or lovely and, wishing to test !, the loyalty and prowess of the officers
 of his bands, he offers her hand in mar
 riage to him who shall take this city. 9th x niel, q young man belonging to the same family, cousin of Achsah, accomplishes
 the difficult feat and he obtains the prize
 And Othniel is a man every way wor
 thy this sacred trust. He was not only : {. man of indomitable courage and patriot z ism, but it is said, ssthe Spirit of the Lort ! was upon him. and, when the childrei
 of Israel were oppressed by some of thu
 surrounding nations. Othniel delivered , them and judged Israel, His influence : was so great that for 40 years they en : joyed uninterrupted pence and prosperity
 As it is customary in Oriental countriel :, for d father to bestoW upon his daughtei | q dowry at the time of her betrothal
 Achsah moves her prospective husband : to ask for her ssfield.' The year O ! her betrothal draws to close. She il
 about to leave her fathers house and sh,
 comes to him with reverence and hu \ mility. ssWhat wilt thou, asks the Joy
 ing father as she bows before him. Thi
 dear lamb of his old ago is aboutsto leay' ' him and his heart is very tender. Hoy he will miss her from his home. He