The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1902-10-23
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson In the International series
for October "a, I9O2-Joshua
and Caleb,
THE LESSON TEXT.
(Joshua l4:5-l5)


s. And the LORD commanded Moses. sc
lhe children OF Israel did. and they divideS
the land.
I. Then the children OF judah came un,S
Joshua In oiIgai: and Caleb the son OF Je.
phunneh the kenez.te said unto him, Thou
knowest the thing that the Lord said untS
Moses the man Of God concerning me and
thee In kadeshbarnea
.. Forty years o.d was when Moses the
servant on the l-orS sent ME from Kadesh
oarnea TO espy out the land: and | brough,
MIN word again as it was in mine heart.
y. Nevertheless ny brethren that went
up with me made the heart of TIE people
melt; but wholly followed the Lord my
God.
.. And Moses sware on that day, saying
Surely the land whereon thy feet have
frodcer saall be thine inhe ritance, and thy
chiioren forever, because thou hast Who'll
ly followed the Lord my God
10. And now, behold, the Lord hath kept
me alive, as He said. these 10 ard five years
even since the Lord spake this worC. ur u
Moses. while the children OF Israel wan
dered In the wilderness: and now, 10, am
this day fourscore and five years old
IL. And yet l am as strong this day as
was In the day that Moses sent me: as my
strength was then, even so is my strength
now, Tor war, both TO go out and to
come In
IL Now therefore C'Ye II, this mountain,
Whereot the Lore s.-,..e N lLdt Gay; for
thou he arGest in that day how the Anakims
were there, and that the cities were great
and fenced: If SO be the Lord will be with
me. then l shall be able to drive them out,
as the Lord said.
l3, And Joshua blessed him. and gave
unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron
for an inheritance.
ID, Hebron therefore became the inher-
itance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the
hehezlte unto this day, because that he
wholly followed the Lord God of Israel
10. And the name of Hebron before was
kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man
among the Anakims. And the land had
rest from war
GOLDEN TEXT.-He wholly followed
the LOrd.-JOsh. 14,II.
OUTLINE OF SCRIPTURAL SECTION.
peIeat and victory .::....... Josh. vii, viii.
Compact with the G!beonites ....Josh. tx,
conquest of southern nCanaan......Josh x
Conquest OF northern Canaan. XII.
me portions unconquered. d......: Josh. xiii.
SaleD claim osh. l4:6- 10
TlME.-B. c. 1i5l, li5o and 1ii5.
PLACE.-Gilgal.
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
The Conquest.-lt took about seven
years to subdue Canaan with anything
like completeness, though the victory
was practically assured in much less
time. Joshua's plan of campaign was
mastery. BY taking Jericho and Al,
and by securing the cities of Gibeon
Beerooth and Chephirah and Kiriath-
jearim through the Gibeonites
(9:1-1S), Canaan was divided into two
parts by line running from Jericho to
the Mediterranean, so that the kings
of the north and of the south were cut
off from cooperating with each other.
Then Joshua first conquered the south
and then the north by the swiftness of
his movements and the impetuosity of
his attacks. All this was done before
the redemption of the promise made to
Caleb.
The Two Campaigns.-Chapte vii. re-
lates the defeat Of a small detachment
of men at All, as the result of the dis
obedience of Achan, who had taken
some of the plunder of Jericho for his
own use; the detection and punishment
of the offender and, with him, the ston-
ing to death of his innocent children.
Joshua was noble servant of God, but
we who have known ChriSt's revelation
of the heart of God cannot believe
that he was right in supposing all the
cruelty and barbarism of those days to
be pleasing in Gods sight. The aext
two chapters relate the taking of Al,
and the stratagem of the Gibeonites.
The accounts of the conquest found in
Joshua indicate two distinct cam
paigns carried on by the nation as
whole, with marvellous success. The
first was in the southern part of the
country, and began with the defeat of
the five Amorite kings. 1t brought
about the complete subiugation of
that part of the country and the ex-
termination of most of the original
Inhabitants. The northern campaign
began with the defeat of the coalition
under Jabin, king Of Hazor, and was.
sweeping victory. The
accounts in Joshua and Judges have
never been satisfactorily harmonized.
Joshua perhaps gives sort of con-
1ensed account Of what really took n |
much longer time than would appear
on the surface.
Caleb's Claim.-"The children of |
Judah drew nigh unto joshua" Caleb
belonged to the tribe of Judah by |
ldoption, for he was not one of the
Hebrews by birth. He was "Calcb-
he Kenezite." ''rhe thing that Je-
,ovah spake-concerning me-" He
,ased his claim on Jehovah's prom
Sc. spoken more than 40 years be-
ore. Forty years old was T." Ca
eb was So years. old at the time OF
his lesson. "My brethren" Caleb
5 referring to the ten cowardlv
pies,-men who had been enemies
o the whole nation. but he speaks
indy and nurses no resentment in
is heart. 81 am as strong this day
s / was:" His life had not been
asy, but it had been pure and good
nd strong, and he assured Joshua
hat he was just as well able to con-
uer the Anakim as ever, though he