The Tupelo journal., 1905-09-22

HIS troubled SPIRIT.
~@NN HIS HIS, tn npag ITS went n,
E- -- six years He re-
called the Unfair dealings of Laban
of how time and time again he had
changed his wages, and how in spite OF
it all he had prospered.
God hath given me these he
thought, gratefully, as he lifted his
eyes toward Heaven. The glittering
field of stars seemed to speak to his
heart message of hope and certainty.
Why need he fear when God had
spoken good concerning him? He re-
membered how six years before he had
determined to return to Canaan, and
again the longing seized him to 60
back. But what of Laban? He feared
him. What should he do? In his per-
plexity and anxiety he lifted his heart
to God, and cried:
ooh, Lord! Whittier shall | turn?"
And in the stiffness of the night a
voice came to him out of the heavens,
and said:
Return unto the land of thy IA
theirs. and to thy kindred; and will
be with thee"
AS the day broke and the ascending
rays Of the advancing sun greeted him
like messengers of good omen he
felt the purpose of a new confidence
and hope taking possession of him,
and acting at once upon the words
which the Lord had just spoken, he dis
patched one of his servants with a mes
sage to Rachel and Leah, calling them
to the field to him. And when thew
had come and he had told them all, with
the loyalty and devotion of true wom-
anhood they both exclaimed:
Whatsoever God hath said unto
thee, do"
"Yea. why should we tarry?" said
Leah; lis there yet any portion of in
heritance for us in our fathers
house?"
Nay worse than that" Rachel ex-
claimed, bitterly, I'VE are counted Of
him as strangers. And hath he not
sold US, and quite devoured also our
dover. All the riches which God hath
taken from our father, that is ours,
and our children's."
But when shall we go?" Jacob
asked. getting back to the real mat
ter in hand.
"At once! Today" urged Rachel
Father Laban and the boys left early
this morning to shear the sheep, and
will be gone some days"
And so it was arranged, and hasty
preparations were begun at once for
departure.
During the work of packing up
Rachel discovered an earthenware jar
which she some time before had bor-
rowed from her father, and returning it
to his tent, her eyes fell upon the
images of her fathers gods standing
in their place of honor over his couch
Brought up as she had been in the
atmosphere of the heather worship, 1t
is not strange that these images hell
over her peculiar power, from which
Jacob and his devotion to the true
God had net been sufficient to wean
ACl. oilE DSlIC' NN III 0IoO . ood. d2id
yet there was still the strong supersti-
ton and admiration for the symbols
of her fathers religion. They were
about to depart to what to her was
a strange land and unknown people.
Did they not need the favor of all
the gods? She bowed herself in wor-
ship, and then, as she arose, long
ing seized her to take the images
with her She reached up and took
them in her hands and as she did so
the words of Jacob came to her which
he had spoken that morning as she
and Leah had started back to prepare
for the journey.
BE sure" he said, that We take
nothing that belongeth to Lahan, thy
father, lest he should have just cause
against u.s."
"But he meant household goods and
such like" she argued with herself,
as she concealed the images under ler
robe. ARD, anyway, these are the
family gods, and they belong to Leah
and me as much as to anyone else
But" said a voice within, lit will
offend Jacobs God" AMI she remem-
bered how Jacob had told her that
there was but one God, and He an in
visible one, and that it was displeasing
to Him for them to have images and
to worship them.
But why can't / have both?" she
exclaimed. impatiently. why cant
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