The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1905-10-13

found the fire stu burning on III
altar. and the last remnants OF N
sacrifice being consumed. but search &
the vicinity had failed 20 discover tn
missing a Had he been capture,
or Killed by the lurking C~anaanites
the sons asked themselves. and dee,
remorse filed their hearts at th,
o thought That was a night which
brought them face to face with theil
tnmost selves aud when. as the llehi
was breaking in the east. their father
u returned TO the camp, they eagerly wei.
coined him. ready to listen to what he
O might have to say and willing to fol,
D. low his advice.
In answer to their inquiries as 10
where he had been he explained that
= after he had offered sacrifice on the
o altar, he had gone to the towering
~tereblnth tree which overlooked the
site Of Shechem that he might more
fully view the surrounding country and
contemplate their future course.
And while there the Lord met me,
and said unto me: Arise, 20 up TO
Bethel, and dwell there; and make
there an altar unto God, that appeared
unto thee when thou heddest from the
face Of Esau, thy brother"
Let us go at once, then" exclaimed
the brothers. to whom any move now
seemed better than staying in that
place.
Nay. but we cannot go until we
have prepared ourselves to meet our
God, Jacob declared. solemnly. THE
place to which We have been told to
20 Is El-the house of God-~lt is
the place whore God met me nearly 30
years ago, when ! fed from home; II
is whore God gave me His promises
Of blessing. And He hath kept me and
blessed me and returned me to this
land, but before We go up to Bethel
We must needs purge ourselves. We
must put away the strange gods that
are among us, and put off from us the
garments which were seized with the
spoil Of ~Shechem."
The o IA moved ~uneasily and looked
guilty down upon their fine raIment
Ih'y remembered how z]ealously and
with superstitiOus awe they had gath
cred the idols Of the people of shechem
ana mad set them up in their tents.
their prolonged stay near Shechem
ana their presence at many Of the t
heather feasts had familiari2ed them .
With the worship Of these idols, and
they had thought TO preserve them and S
worship them. =
Bring them all here to me-" he -,
concluded, Both the images and the /
and the ornaments which |
are the symbols Of thy idolatry.' v
The command of Jacob created no
small stir among the people Of his
household and among the servants.
out there were none who dared to dis. n
'bey, and one after another they came h
the idols big and little, the =.
garments, and the earrings and orna. \
nents. Even the I'M and chill. {
iFen OF the Shechemites caught the L
Of the movement and brought Il
images and ornaments which they :
lad concealed about them. The bean
rev until 1t stood level with Jacobs a
lead' and the people all stood about >,
deserving him and wondering what he
would do, Mounting the pile and
the idols under his heels. he
ried.
These gods are no gods at all. for
mere Is but one God, the God Of
heaven, the God of Abraham. and of
aaac and OF Jacob. See that We utter.
' put these things away from Won |
nd turn to the true God. for it is only
you seek and follow Him that He
Ill be near you to deliver you
hachel standing with the rest heard tn
le words. She remembered the a.
nascs Of her father which still rested VI
Thin her tent. During all these TT;
ears she had kept her secret from tn,
acob, not daring to let him know 49,.
lat she had been guilty Of taking r.
lem, But must she-could she, give nc
lem up? 10
is there one who is Withholding ~.
lsht OF that which is displeasing to
od,' she heard Jacob say. to
She felt that the words were meant ter
r her She dare not look IN. bui
e was certain his eyes were search.
( her out. and would learn her So.
e. With a nervous, frightened cry ma
G fed to her tent and soon an fine
with the images in her hands 49,:
d while the eyes of all were fastened '''
ION her she brought them and threw sin
EN- upon the pile. Then her coufu the
IN and shame overcame her and she a.,
Il IN a helpless heap to the ground 'lie
COD was first at her side. and as he dut
Mt over her he whispered: aft,
My love, even the gods of Labap
ulu not save us. Come, let us bury NV
ese denominations at the foot of the act
RED tree OF the shechemites where chi
"a appeared unto me last night"
d lifting her to her feet he led her
wards the distant spot. first placing
her hands the images she had lust van
'ught, and he himself Selling 9th.
. And the sons and he women ard tina
children and all the rest, inspired rich
thelr example, also filled their hands a. =,
the pile until not an image. or -,
lament or garment was left, Thus d D'
en- the long procession led by ia. mer
ana Rachel wended its way t;oo
wards the tprebInth ,rno n.. ~