Evening star., 1907-11-02
f0r SUNDAY Scboola.
STAR LESSON FOR NOVEMBER 2.
Rv Re,, 7 F C,:fh,-t n n


INTRODUCTION-A Caleb re
ceiyed his portion the bounds "f the tribe
Of Judah were fixed t.phrs.m and the
half tribe OF Manasseh were located next
tJosH. xvi and XVIII. The concreG Gat:on
then removed from ciigaI to sliioh, where
the tabernacle was set up (Josh Nvii!.lD.
rne remainder of the land was divided
into seven parts under tie Superv 81 u OF
a commission OF three from each tribe
Josh, XViil:s). and the assignment VS.
MADE ly lot in this order-to Benjamin,
Simeon Zebulon, Issacher. Asher. Nap
thali and Dan. When AL this WAS ac-
compiish he'd Joshua selected for his pos
session the city of Tsmmath- Seran. in
Mount Eph:aim, within the bounds OF his
own tribe Josh. X.x:5o. There he estth-
iShed his home. and there, some seven
teen years after. he died and was buried
Josh, Xxiv :30p. TIE >.IVision or the land
having been com rleted. 50 that all the
tribes knew tn alr appointed dwelling
places. attention WIS directed to civil
regulations. designed for the general good.
These were adjusted before the SeVara-
ton that there might he common modes
of justice.
D1VINF,.-Iu this task nothing new
was attempted. There was no call for a
legislative body to make laws Doubtless
there could have been assembled out of
all the tr.bes good and wise men, worthy
Uf confidence WHO would have been able
to d fine human relations and duties in
series of statutes. And it Is probable
that the people would have accepted the
deliverances of such body. But the
government of Israel did not derive its
powers from the consent of the gov
erned.' God had set these people apart
for himself psalm. xXxiii:l2D. He pro-
posed not only to construct their religious
inst tutions, but also 10 regulate their
political affairs. Ii was to be a divine
state, in many respects superior to every
other Deut.. VS.. and in some part cuiars
model for after times. but above all
other cons.dera tons It was to be adapted
to tie future o. Cod people. Hence, al
the foot of Sinai the general features of
the Hebrew commonwealth We're made
known to Moses tEx., XXi:), and by him
reduced to writing. Having entered the
promised land. it only remained for the
people to learn and apply what Moses
had written Daut.. vi:6).
HOMICIDE-Th first thing ordered
to be done was in the interest of human
life, always matter of primary impor-
tance in civil society. AS in the Amer-
can Declaration, the right to live * men
toned before every other right so in the
decalosue the first offense against man is
the taking of life. Geek. XX:13) At the
time Of the settlement there was great
need to enact laws on this point. For
more than forty years the lSrael!tSS had
been under military rule, accustomed to
scenes of blood. Now they would sepa-
rate and enter into the pursuit of peact.
There wou he pTOVOcatiOn and less re
straint. individual interests would sub
ordinate the sp rit Of unity, CO operation
ard mutual forbearanCe. Life might be
put in jeopardy IN two ways-by
the intentional malicious attack Of
another and b. accident. The former
had tpeu the -HU1eGr IGglSij-
ton. The murderer found no mercy in
the code of Moses. Following the cove
nant of Noah Gen. iX:fD, he must be pu-
TO death Uev.. xxiv:l7). but only afler
trial The Intentional ionic d might
even be taken from the aitar eek.
Xxi:14) The land. polluted. coold be
cleansed only by Inc blood OF the s-ayer.
(Numb.. XXxv::5'3D
AVENGE ERA custom preya ling in
the oriental word rendered / eis.atior
necessary In behalf of accidental killing.
Before the Mosaic era the nearest of kin
must avensa the death of slain rela-
tive. This practice, stilI common among
Arabs. may have grown out Of the broth
cry spirit, or it may have been inte red
from avs div!aely imposed Gen. ix::n,
making every man thu l.eepe. Of his fe,
low. Gen, iV:9j While allowa t.e and
suitable under a simple form OF society
like the patriarchal. this mode OF retriDu-
ton could not be permitted without r.
straint in a state Of advan5 ed clVl!lZa-
ton. The spirit Of revcng" must oe curb
eCk- or many innocent persons may Sdf-
fer To effect this six cit % We}e aD-
pointed as asyiums to the involuntary
s-ayer. This regulation had been antici-
Iated very early in the his ory OF the
chosen people CE.x.. XXi:l%l and men
was one of the matters to he adjusted by
Joshua. which had been enioined IN the
writings of Moses. named befo. e, but ar
ranged after the conquest.
WESTERN.-Three of these cites
we're on the west of Jordan. hedesh Was
located in the extreme north, about twvn-
ty-five miles in a direct linz from the SEA
of Galiee Judges iv:io). It's king is
named among the thirty-one tJosl.. Xii:
22) subdued by Joshua. Shcchem was in
the central part. in Mount Ephraim- This
was a very ancient town. receiving It's
name before the tine of Jacob tG -n.,
bIage. when Joshua III ssad Israel Josh,
Xxiv:D. 1t afteTWard beCamn noted in
the national annals. There Rhehoboam
was made king UI Chron., KID. kir-
jath-Arba, i'll the tribe OF Judah, was in
the hill country of the south. also a very
old town (Numb Xii:22D. deriving lis
name from Srrat man among the Ana
kims Josh, XXiv:l5). Aftarward it was
call.u Hebron from one OF me IONS OF
Kohath q Chron.. Vi:2). There Abram
lived Gen. xiii:1SD, and Sarah died Gen,
xXiii:2). There David raigned for sav n
years GI Sam, ii:D. These three cities
Kedesh, Shechem and II -hron-divided the
west Jordan country into nearly equal
districts.
EASTERN.-The three cities east of
the Jordan had been named by Moses,
while Israel was encamped on that side
of the river Deut.. iv:4l-43D. JoshUa's
part, therefore, consisted in rea:irm!nS
what Moses had done. There was one
city in each of the three eastern tribes.
Beer was designated in the tribe of iSau-
ben II was situated on the plain Of
Moab east of the middle of the Dead sea.
about ten miles distant from that body
of water. Ramoth was in Mount Gilead,
IN the tribe of Cad, adjoining Reuben on
the north. The city was about fifteen
miles from the Jordan. nearly opposite
Shachem. Gilead was the obj nctiva point
IN Jacobs flight Gen, XXxi:2D. the
seem Of many important events Il
Chron. xviii:2S) IA med for its spices and
ointments Gen, XXxvii:2J; Jer.. vii:22).
Golan in Bashan was in Manasseh
mountainous r gion Psalms, 1XViii:lI),
thirty-five miles distant from the Sea Of
Galiea The conquest of this nlacH by
Moses (Numb.. NXi::;:0 was regarded as
one of the most notable events in his mill
tary career and was afterward celehrat d
in sacred song PSalmS, cNXAvi:e1D. BeZar,
Ramoth and Goian were all conspicuous
towns