The Tupelo journal., 1905-10-20

that night, 4uu Wn1cn u o0tN D. me
mortal, pledging God that II He would
be with me, and keep me, and give
me bread to eat and raiment to put on,
and bring me again to this place IN
peace. that He should be my God"
And He has, hasn't He, father!'
spoke up Joseph, a lad Of some IA
years, who had been listening almost
b~reathlessly as his father related the
experiences Of long ago. And then,
without waiting for his father to reply,
he added, impulsively: "And He shall
be my God, too"
well spoken, my lad" responded
the father, warmly, patting him on the
head. THY brothers here may we'll
follow thy example"
There was no response to this chal.
lenge, and Jacob was too busily en-
gagged in the preparations for the sac
rifice to take note of the shadow
which passed over the faces of the
older boys. Already there was be-
ginning to creep into their hearts .
feeling of jealousy towards the son
of Rachel. 1t needed no very observ-
ing eye to discover the deeper affec-
tion which the father felt towards the
only son of his beloved wife, and to
have him held up before their eyes
as an example made them angry.
And instead of thrusting aside such
unworthy feelings and entering into
the, spirit of the occasion and the Serv-
ice for which they were making prep
arations, they nourished the evil
promptings and hardened their hearts
against the Divine influences, and thus
missed the blessing which might have
been theirs.
But all joined in the solemn serv-
ice, and everyone, the wives and chill.
dren, the servants and their families,
and the women and children who had
been taken captive at Shechem, were
present as Jacob offered the sacrifices
of the best of the sheep and the cat
tie upon the altar.
Even the aged Deborah, the nurse
of Rebekah, Jacobs mother, who when
she had heard that Jacob had re-
turned to Canaan insisted on making
the journey to the place where he was
sojourning, was there, having been
carried up the rocky path to the place
before the altar. Jacob, having fin
ished making the offerings, proclaimed
to all assembled that the God whom
they worshiped that day was the
only God, the true God of Heaven.
HE it was" he went on to declare,
"who spoke to me in this place as
/ fled and said: I am the Lord God
of Abraham thy father, and the God
of Isaac; the land wherein thou Hest,
to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;
and thy seed shall be as the dust OF
the earth, and thou shalt spread
abroad to the west, and to the east,
and to the north, and to the south;
and in thee and in thy seed shall all
the families of the earth be blessed.
And behold. I am with thee. and will
keep thee in all places whittier thou
goest, and will bring thee again into
this land; for l will not leave thee,
until l have done that which I have
spoken to thee Of And God has done
all that He has promised, and will
yet fulfill His word in respect to the
inheritance of the land. Only fear God
and obey Him"
AS Jacob finished and the assembled
people stood in reverent silence-even
the babes in the arms of their mothers
seeming to feel the influence of the
solemn occasion and stilling their cries
the clear. shrill voice of Deborah was
heard, saying:
Hear We the words of Jacob. Now
do I understand the words spoken to
Rebekah by God concerning Jacob,
saying that he should be stronger than
his brother Esau. Stronger in faith,
and mightier in power with God. Unto
him has come the blessing promised
Abraham because by faith he has
claimed it from God. All, that Re-
bekah had lived to see this hour"
Again silence fell and the people
continued with bowed heads while
the smoke of the sacrifice rose heaven
ward. All at once On the outskirts of
the company a sob was heard, and
presently there appeared a Shech-
emite woman with her two children, a
boy and girl, making her way towards
the altar. AS she came before Jacob
she bowed herself to the ground, and
then cried:
"'God's blessing for all the families
of the earth did you say? May not
that blessing reach even me? May
not the God of Abraham, and of Isaac,
and of Jacob, be my God? l would
have my children grow up to know
the true God"
Was there given Jacob in that mo-
nent the faintest glimpse of the per-
feet sacrifice which was to make one
all people in Christ Jesus? Was it
the consciousness of his own guilt
and need and Gods mercy towards
him? Whatever it was, Jacobs heart
responded to the appeal, and he re-
piled, pointing to the slain lamb on
the altar:
Through the sacrifice we all have
acceptance with God. If thine heart
is right toward Him He will receive
thee"
Deeply impressed by all the stirring
incidents OF the afternoon, the com
pany departed, and as Deborah was
borne back to her tent, she remarked
to Jacob:
Surely, it has been good to be here.
Cnd hath mot with nc thjc dov Ncuy