The Tupelo journal., 1905-08-25

my son." said the father. when ia
cob appeared IN response to his moth.
er's summons, thou shalt not take q
wife of the daughters of Canaan
Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house
of Bethuel, thy mothers father; and
take thee wife from thence of the
daughters of Laban, thy mothers
brother. And God Almighty bless
thee, and make thee fruitful, and null
tiply thee, that thou mayest be null
titude of people"
The old man paused. AS his son
stood before him the consciousness
that in him were to be realized all the
peculiar blessings promised unto Abra-
ham swept over him, and, placing both
his hands on the young mans head,
he continued. fervently:
yea, my son, God shall give thee
tho blessing of Abraham; to thee and
to thy seed with thee; that thou may
stranger, which God gave unto Abra-
ham"
AS Jacob came out of his fathers
tent slight rustic in the bushes to
one side attracted his attention, and
he caught feeting glimpse of one
of Esau's servants. The incident un-
nerved him. Had the fellow been spy
ing upon him? Would he report to
his master? Would Esau follow him
Such were the anxious queries which
filed his heart as he made the final
preparations for departure.
And in the meantime, what of Esau?
The angry resolve of the morning,
made under the wicked goading of his
wife, has given place to sober Sec
ond thought. What would his father
say should he take Jacobs life now?
No, he would wait until the old man
had died, then he could carry out
his revenge without restraint. But
Judith was insistent for immediate
vengeance.
Here are your bow and arrows;
here is your knife. Now go! Don't
be weakling. A postponed ven-
geance seldom drinks the blood of the
enemy"
Esau pushed the excited, vehement
woman to one side and the bow and
arrows went Gathering to the ground,
but the knife still remained in her
hands. Flourishing it wildly, she cried:
IF you don't do it, I'll go and do it
myself" and the angry woman turned
as though she would start off at once
to execute her threat, but at that mo-
ment a man burst into their midst, and
breathlessly exclaimed:
Jacob is leaving for Haran. Isaac
has blessed him and sent him to thy
mothers people, there to seek wife" ;"
"Ha, did l not tell you that he would
escape thee?" cried the woman, taunt-
ingly. Had you sought him out this
morning, as l urged, you would not
have lost your opportunity.
Esau, chatting under his wife's words,
moved uneasiiy, and turning to the
servant, asked:
when was Jacob going to start?"
cat once, think To-day"
What is IT, hinder thy following
him and Staying him in the wilder
ness? Thy father need never know.
He viii think some wild beast hath
slain him." again broke in the woman.
Esau hesitated. The plan appealed to
him. Judith noted the indecision, and,
quickly picking up the bow and arrows
she thrust them into her husbands
hands, and fiercely cried:
Go! Avenge thy wrongs, now or
never!"
And without word Esau slung bow
and arrows over his shoulder, thrust his
long knife into his belt and started forth
and was soon out of sight Well did he
know the pathway which Jacob would
take Experienced hunter that he was,
and used to trailing the fleet antelope
over the hills and through the valleys,
how could human prey escape him? Yes,
here were footprints that had passed
that way not many hours before. Ere
nightfall he would come upon him. He
would note his resting place and slay
him in the darkness. Thus thinking
Esau pressed forward on Jacobs trail,
while the latter, urged on by his fears,
swiftly pursued his journey.
But father said that the blessing of
Abraham should be given me and that |
should inherit the land given to him."
Jacob said to himself as he tried to reas-
sure himself and quiet his fears. Every
rustic in the bushes as he passed made
him start uneasily. Every dark object
he saw as he cast nervous glances be-
hind him took human shape and seemed
to be relentlessly pursuing him. But the
words which his father had spoken in
blessing upon him kept ringing in his
ears, and tended to calm him.
Surely he exclaimed, at last, "the
God Who has given these promises is
able to keep me in the present peril"
And he paused weary and breathless by
the side of great rock. He felt he
could go no farther. But what if Esau
were close behind? Dare he pause in
his fiight?, Dare he take one moments
rest? He started forward, and as quick
ly stopped as the thought swept over him
again that God would help him. He
leaned against the vines creeping over
the rock. They parted and he fell pre-
cipitately into narrow recess in the
rock which the vines had completely hid
den. So startled was he by the sudden
ness of it all that he did not hear the
hurried footsteps as they passed. He
did not see Esaus tense, cruel face as he
sped by. He did not hear his muttered
oath as he exclaimed: "He cannot be
much ahead of me now" But Jacob as
he lay there dazed and bruised had a
strange feeling of calmness come steal
inO into hic hoort woc IL tho opcu,or