The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1900-11-23

buttress the very sky. 1t is the great
metropolis that commands the noun
tain pass. 1t is Jericho. That city
was afterward' captured by Pompey
and once by Herod the Great and once
again by the Mohammedans, but this
campaign the Lord plans. There shall
be no swords. no shields, no battering
ram. There shall be only one weapon
of war and that rams horn. The
horn of the slain ram was sometimes
taken, and holes were punctured in
1t, and then the musician would put
the instrument to his lips, and he
would run his fingers over this rude
musical instrument and make great
deal of sweet harmony for the people
That was the only kind of weapon
Seven priests were to take these rude,
rustic musical instruments, and they
were to go around the city every day
for six days-one a day for six days
and then one the seventh day they
were to go around blowing these rude
musical instruments seven times, and
then at the close of the seventh blow
ing of the rams horns on the seventh
day the peroration Of the whole scene
was to be a shout. at which those
great walls should tumble from cap
stone to base.
Victory Follows Defeat.
steal instruments pass all around the
city walls on the first day and score a
failure. No so much as a piece of
plaster broke loose from the wall, not
SO much as q loosered rock, not SO
much as a piece of mortar lost from
its place. There" say the unbeliev-
ing Israeites, did l not tell you so?
Why, those ministers are fools. The
idea of going around the city with
those musical instruments and expect
ing in that way to destroy it, Joshua
has been spoiled. He thinks because
he has overthrow and conquered the
spring freshet he can overthrow the
stone wall. Why, it is not pbilosophic.
Do you not see there is no relation
between the blowing CT these musica!
Instruments and the knocking down
OF the wall? 1t is not philOsophic.'
And | suppose there were many wise
acres who stood with their brJws
knitted and with the forefnger OF the
right hand to the foreGnger of the left
hand arguing it all ont and showing
that it was not possible that such
cause could produce such On effect.
And | suppose that night in the en-
campment there was plenty Of calica-
mated for any high military position
he would not have received many
votes. Joshua's stock was down. The
second day the priests blowing the
musical instruments go around the city
and again a failure. The third day
and failure, the fourth day and a
failure, fifth day and a failure, sixth
day and failure. The seventh day
comes, the climacteric day. Joshua is
up early in the morning and examines
the troops, walks all about, looks at
the city wall. The priests start to
make the circuit of the city. They go
all around one, all around twice, three
times, four times, five times, six times,
seven times, and failure. There is
only one more thing to do, and that IS
to utter a great shout / see the Is
raelitish army Strengthening them
selves up, filling their lungs for vo-
ciferation such as never was heard be-
81
feels that the hour has come, and he
cries out to his host, Shout, for the
Lord hath given you the city All to-
gether the troops shout: Down, Jeri-
cho! Down Jericho," And the long
line Of solid masonry begins to culver
and to move and to rock. Stand from
under! She falls! Crash go the wal
and temples, the towers, the palaces,
the air blackened with the dust. The
huZza of the victorious Israeiites and
the groan Of the conquered Canaanites
rommingle, and Joshua, Standing there
in the debris of the walls, hears a
voice saying, There shall not any man
be able to stand before thee all the
days of thy life"
The Savior's Deliverancc.
Only one house spared. Who lives
there? Some great king? No. Some
woman distinguished for great kindly
deeds? No. She had been conspicu-
GUS for her crimes. 1t is the house Of
Rahab. Why was her house spared?
Because she had been great sinner?
No. but because she repented, demon
strating to all the ages that there is
mercy for the chief of sinners The
red cord of divine injunction reaching
from her window to the ground, so
that when the people saw the red cord
they knew it was the divine indication
that they should not disturb the
premises, making US think Of the di-
vine cord of Savior's deliverance, the
red cord OF a Savior's kindness, the
red cord OF a Savior's mercy, the red
cord Of cur rescue. Mercy for the
chief Of sinners. Put your trust in
that Cod opd No lon, cbaII bcfol1