The Tupelo journal., 1905-08-04

| his fathers words. repeated over and
over again: THE Lord hath spoken
good concerning thee and thy seed.
Only be patient, nay on. and wait in
faith on Him And then he recalled
the vision he had had while yet In Ger
ar, and how the Lord had spoken unto
him, saying:
Unto thee and unto thy seed. / will
give all these countries. and | will per-
form the oath which I sware unto Abra-
ham thy father; and I will make thy
seed to multiply as the stars Of heaven,
and will give unto thy seed all these
countries; and in thy seed shall all the
nations Of the earth be blessed; be-
cause that Abraham obeyed My voice.
and kept My charge, My command
ments. Ny statutes and My laws"
The fierce spirit within him smoldered
and died away. In the face Of Gods
promises, in the light of his fathers Ell
ample, he could wait. He would not
right his own wrongs. He would wait on
God. And thus did faith again win the
victory, and preserve as a heritage to
his seed the blessings promised OF God.
Quietly facing his followers, who were
still burning for revenge, he said:
Let us restore the well, as Abraham,
our father, left it."
my master" interposed the chief
steward, pardon, I pray thee, my bold
ness; but of what use will it be to redig
the well, ,seeing that the Philistines will
surely come and rob thee of thy re-
ward?"
I'VE must leave that with God. Our
duty is to restorethe well to its refresh
ing ministry" Isaac replied with firm
but gentle voice.
The chief steward accepted the stu
alton with as good grace as possible,
and soon had the men busy removing
the dirt and rock with which the well
was choked. And while the work went
on Isaac turned back to meet the main
company of his people.
"Didst thou find water?" was the first
anxious inquiry of Rebekah.
I'VE have found the well which my
father dug, but it has been filled up and
we could get no water. But the men are
busy cleaning out the dirt and rock,
and there will be an abundance Of water
when the work is finished"
A relieved look came into the woman's
face, and she said, with a sigh:
Il wish we might remain here in
nnooa ~ ~ 80 h Sc m ondor;p .
ut is as God wills"
NAY, rather, it seems as the Philis-
tines will" was the impatient response.
Some of them have this day been spy
ing out our movements"
An anxious look came into the face
Of Isaac, but his only reply was:
God has promised us the land, and
will make a place for us somewhere,
where we may live at peace"
Further conversation was inter
rupted by arrival at the well, and the
work of pitching the tents and prepar-
ing for the night. Before dark enough
of the dirt and rock had been removed
to obtain a scant supply of water,
and with the promise of IN abundance
as soon as the work was completed in
the morning, the camp settled down
for the night, while the focks and
herds spread out over the valley and
browsed under the watchful eyes of
the herdmen. Thus the night passed
~uneventfully and the next day the
work en- the well was completed and
| AooIyc ord hands ond no0nln Cntt1OA
down c~ontentedly in the spot, hoping
to be left in peaceful possession.
On the morning of the third day
Isaac was aroused by angry voices
and the sound of violent conflict. He
caught the words:
"The water is ours"
Rushing from the tent he found his
herdmen engaged in fierce conflict
with some Philistine herdmen who
had come thither with their locks
and had taken possession of the well.
The struggle was sharp but short, the
Philistines being worsted in the fight.
and when Isaac came up he found his
men preparing to drive the strangers
and their flocks away.
Nay, my sons" spoke up Isaac,
treat not thine enemies so. Draw
water that their focks may drink.
None shall come to a well of Abraham
and turn thirsty away"
"Well, it's our water" doggedly
muttered the Philistines as they
watched their thirsty 1ocks drink.
we will not suffer strife owe its
possession" spoke up Isaac. Take it.
and the Lord reward thee according
to thy deserts"
And again that day found Isaac NOV
ing down the valley, where he again
| digged a well and found water. And
there he rested in peace and content
ment until the Philistines, Jealous of
his prosperity, again disputed with
his herdmen for the possession of the
splendid well. And SO he removed
from thence and digged still another
well, and as the days came and went
and no troublesome Philistine appear
ed to claim the new found water sup
ply, Isaac called his people together
and after the feasting and merry-mak-
ing, he said:
1--WE shall call the new well Reho-
both, for the Lord hath made room for