Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-03-24
Ca(rnage
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee, DID,

Los Angeles, Cal, March 1S.-In this
sermon the saving power Of faith and
the influence we may exercise TO bring
others into the kingdom are illustrated
in the familiar story Of Rahab. The
text is Joshua vi, %: "And Joshua
saved Rahab the harlOt alive and her
fathers household and all that she
had
Marvellous are the stratagems by
which walled towns supposed to be
impregnable and fortresses believed to
be .nscalable have been captured. For
ten long years the Greeks, under Aga
memnon. laid siege TO the citadel OF
Troy. At the end of the ten years they |
were no nearer their object than they |
were in The beginning. Then the Gre
cian leaders built a huge wooden horse |
and rolled it up to the gates Of the im- |
passable walls. Then during the night |
the Grecian army and navy withdrew
and sailed away to Tenedos, pretend
Ing that in disgust they had raised the
useless siege. When morning broke |
and the inhabitants looked forth and
saw this wooden horse and noted that
the beslegng army had gone, they
said: "Aha. The Greeks have lied
They have left one Of their gods to
terrify US" So they opened the gates
of the city and in derisiOn rolled In
side Of the walls this wooden horse TO
make sport Of it. But the next night,
while the great city slept, the side OF
that wooden horse mysteriously open
ed. and out of it leaped a swarm OF
Grecian soldiers. They ran to the city
gates and flung them open. Meantime
the Grecian army which had set sail
for Tenedos as a ruse, returned. Inc
besieging soldiers marched in; the
awakening defenders were slain before
they could form in line Of battle, ana
Troy fell. The dlshOnOr Of Helen, who
had been stolen by Paris from Meme
laus, was avenged.
You remember how the Sabines cap
tured the citadel Of old Rome. Day aft
or dav. week after week and month
after month the useless siege went on.
Then what the Sabine army could not
do by direct assault they accomplished
by bribery They went to Tarpeia, the
daughter Of Spurius Tarpeius, COM
mander Of the intrepid garrison, and
said. "If you will open for us the gates
by night and let US capture Capitoline
hill. we will give to you all the wealth
we wear on our left arms" Her cupid
itv was aroused. She supposed that
they would give 20 her their costly
bracelets. which the Sabine soldiers al
WAYS wore on their left wrists. The
g,.fes were opened, and the city fell.
Then the Sabine soldiers came and.
threw upon Tarpeia their heavy war
shields. which they wore upon their
left arms. and crushed the traitress
dead. You remember how Babylon
was captured by Cyrus through strata
gem and how Gibraltar was captured
in 1904 by the English general, Sir
George Rookie. through stratagem. But
of all the strange and weird attacks
ever made upon any fortified town not
ono was so strange and weird as that
employed in the overthrow Of Jericho
the first city to fail before the advanc-
ing armies of the Israelites after they
had crossed over the Jordan and enter
ed the promised land.
This plan of campaign was not map
ned out by Joshua, but by the Lord
God Almighty mself. Once, twice,
thrice. four, five, six times the Israel
ties encompassed the town. Thus did
the besiegers for six days running.
Then on the seventh day the Hebrews
arose very early, for they were TO
march around the city seven times.
When the priests had marched around
the seventh time they blew the trum-
nets and shouted, and the Jericho walls
Ibegan to totter and to fall. Soon the
whole city lay at the mercy OF the III,
vaders. and every man, W man and
child was put to the sword. All were
slain. with the exception of Rahab and
her family, for the Bible says, And
Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive
and her fathers household and all thai
she had"
Rahab's History.
Now. YOU know the history of Ia
hab. AS Rahab has always been takeI
rs the symbol Of the sinner saved b!
grace. | want to describe to you la
hab's reward and how this reward cal
apply in a spiritual and in tempora
! sense TO our own lives. Rahab, on &C
count Of her faith in God, had her ma
: terial reward Not only was she per
:, sonallv saved. but the lives Of her ia
ther and mother and sisters and Droth
:, ers were also saved. You may remem
Der the story of the siege Of Welnsberg
Emperor Konrad III. laid siege to TIL
famous German castle. Week atte
week his army lay encamped betor
those impregnable walls until at las
the garrison was starved into submlS
sion. Then the commander OF Nelh'
berg made an agreement with hol
rad that the fortress and all 1t contain
cd should be surrendered, with the el
ception of the women and what eac
woman could carry away upon he
back. Konrad agreed. On the day
the capi,ulation a wonderful sight wa
seen. When the city gates were throw
open each woman came forth carryin
upon her back her greatest treasur
This treasure was not bag OF gol
but was the body Of her father or hu
band or son or brother. Emperor 40
rad was so touched at their deyotlc
le and love that he allowed these wome
e. with their burdens to go free. Ce
le turies later In the year of 1890 Quee