The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1900-11-22

AA0 AolAS On Ills Lace anu USSluS 10
whine. and he says, 20 Lord God,
wherefore hast thou at all brought thin
people over Jordan to deliver us into
the hands Of the Amorites, to destroy
us? Would to God we had been con-
tent and dwelt on the other side Of
Jordan. For the Canaanites and all
the inhabitants of the land shall hear
OF it and shall environ us round and
cut OFF our name from the earth"
am very glad Joshua saidthat Before
it seemed as if he We're supernatural
being and therefore could not be an
example to Us, but find he is a man,
he is only man. Just as sometimes
you lind man under severe opposi-
ton or in a bad state of physical
health, or worn out with overwork,
lying down and signing about being
defeated. l am encouraged when
hear this cry of Joshua as he lies in
the dust. God comes and rouses him.
How does he rouse him? BY compli.
mentary apostrophe? No. He says
Get thee up. Wherefore liest thou
upon thy face?" Joshua rises, and,
warrant YOU, with a mortified look.
But his old courage comes back. The
fact was that was not his battle. If
he had been in it he would have gone
on to victory. He gathers his troops
around him and says: Now, let us
go up and capture the city of All. Let
us go up right away" They march
on. He puts the majority of the troops
behind a ledge of rocks in the night,
and then he sends comparatively small
regiments up in front of the city. The
men OF All come out with a shout. The
small regiments of Israelites in strata
gem fall back, and fall back, and when
all the men CT All have left the city
and are in pursuit of these scattered,
or seemingly scattered regiments.
Joshua stands en- rock-I see his
locks flying in the wind as he points
his spear toward the doomed city, and
that Is the signal. The men rush out
from behind the rocks and take the
city, and it is put to the torch, and
then these Israelites in the city march
down, and the flying Israe!ites return,
and between these two waves CT Is
raelitish prowess the men of All are
destroyed, and the Israelites gain the
victory; and while 1 see the curling
smoke Of that destroyed city on the
sky. and while l hear the huzza of the
1sraelites and the groan of the Ca
NANTES, Joshua hears some. ching
louder than it all, ringing and echo
ing through his soul, There shall not
any man be able to stand before thee
all the days of thy life"
No Place to Stop.
But this is no place for the host Of
Joshua to stop. Forward, march,"
cries Joshua to the troops There is
the city of Gideon. 1t has put itself
under the protection of Joshua. They
send word: ''There are five kings
after us. They are going to destroy
us. Send troops quick. Send us help
right away" Joshua has three days
march, more than double quick. On
the morning of the third day he is be-
fore the enemy. There are two long
lines Of battle. The battle opens with
great slaughter, but the Canaanites
soon discover something. They say:
THAT is Joshua. That is the man
who conquered the spring freshet and
knocked down the stone walls Of
Jericho and destroyed the city of All.
There is no use fighting" They sound
a retreat. and as they begin to retreat
Joshua and his host spring upon them
like panther, pursuing them over the
rocks, while the catapults of the sky
pour vo.ley of hai!stones into the val
ley, and all the artillery of the heav-
ems, with bullets of iron, pound the
Canaanites against the lodges of Beth :
boron. "Oh," says Joshua, ''this is
surely victory!" But do you not
see the sun is going down? Those
Amorites are going to get away after
all, and then they will come up some
other time and bother us, and perhaps
destroy us. See, the sun is going down.
Oh, for a longer day than has ever
been seen in this climate!"
| Look out when a good man makes
the Lord his ally. Joshua raises his
face, radiant with prayer, and looks
at the descending sun over Gideon and
at the faint crescent of the moon, for
you know the queen Of the night
sometimes will linger around the
palaces of the day. Pointing one hand
at the descending sun and the other
at the faint crescent of the moon. in
| the name of that God who shaped the
worlds and moves the worlds he cries:
Sun, stand thou still upon Gideon,
and thou, moon, in the valley Of
Ajalon!" They halted. Whether it was
by refraction of the suns rays or by
the stopping of the whole planetary
system do not know and do not care.
leave it to the Christian Scientistl
and the infidel scientists to settle that
question, while tell you have seen
the same thing. WHAT" say you.
mot the sun standing still?" Yes.
Ihe same miracle is performed nova
days. The wicked do not live out half
their day, and their sun sets at noon.
l