Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1907-04-04

setNou 70 ulnu Jobnuh 10 huy ten
dency towards waywardness OH the
part of the people. and for some time
now he had ceased TO require the de-
tailed report from the elders. Thus
the weeks and months slipped by, and
more and more Joshua and those
about him realized that the infirmi-
ties OF age were telling upon him.
mo, II will not be long before the
Lord will come for me- he said one
day. "But am ready to go. for
peace has come to the land and the
people are wholly given to the serv-
ing of the Lord"
But that night his sleep was trou-
bled. and he beheld strange things in
his dreams. He thought Moses stood
by his side and was pointing towards
the people gathered before the taber-
nacle, and saying:
How soon they will forget! How
soon they will forget! AS in former
time so will they again turn from the
Lord"
And as he turned to protest, Moses
vanished from his sight and he awoke
with a start.
The dream troubled him and for
days he studied over it, until 1t seemed
that II must have been vision and
not a dream, and that Moses had
really spoken to him. Would the peo-
pie turn from the Lord after he had
gone? Would they forget his mercies
and blessings and go after the gods
of the people about them? he asked
himself, over and over again
Before go must warn them. My
last message shall be an appeal to
them to be faithful to the God who
has been so faithful TO them"
And so Joshua sent his messengers
through all the land whittier the
children of Israel had settled, asking
that they all come to Shechem. Now
Shechem was the place where sol
emn convocation had been held when
they had first come into the land
years before, and the blessings and
the cursings of God had been read II
their ears by the Levites. And 1T was
here that Joshua gathered the people
together with their elders and theil
officers and judges, and said unto
them:
THUS saith the Lord God OF Israel
Your fathers dwelt on the other side
, of the flood in old time, even Terah
the father of Abraham, and the fathe
, of Nachor; and they served othe
gods. And / took your father Abra
, ham from the other side of the flood
and led him throughout all the Lane
of Canaan, and multiplied his see
and gave him Isaac. And ] gave unit
Isaac Jacob and Esau; and | CAV
unto Esau Mount SER, to possess 1t
but Jacob and his children went dow
into Egypt"
Joshua paused in his hasty review
of the early history of the nation. an
If there had been any inattention a
the beginning, at the mention Q
Egypt all eyes and ears were turne
towards him. He then went on I
: rapidly cover Gods wonderful dea
ings with them in Egypt, of his lead
ing them out under the hand c
5 Moses; of his miraculous deliverance
and care all through the wilderness
journey, and of his bringing them
last into the promised land and gi'
ing them the victory over all thei
enemies.
Now, therefore," he concluded
fear the Lord and serve him In sill
cerity and truth; and put away. tn
gods which your fathers served on tn
other side of the flood and in Egyp
and serve we the Lord. And If II seei
z evil unto you to serve the Lore
choose you this day whom We wi
Z serve; whether the gods which you
fathers served that were on the othe
side of the food, or the gods of tn
2 Amorites, in whose land we dwell
: but as for me and my house we wi
serve the Lord"
The voice of the aged Joshua wa
almost a sob as he concluded his a.
B peal, and with difficulty he controlle
his feelings. for as he was speaking
there was but one vision before hin
that of Moses standing at his sid
pointing at the people and saying:
"As in former time so will the
again turn from the LOTu.
But all this faded before the sbo'
2 which went up from the people
3 they answered and said:
2 God forbid that we should forsaf
5 the Lord, to serve other gods; for II
2 Lord our God, he 1t is that brought
3 up and our fathers out of the land
2 Egypt, from the house OF bondag
5 and which did those great signs
0 our sight, and preserved us in all Il
way wherein we went, and among
the people through whom we passe
st And the Lord drove out from befo
lie us all the people, even the Amorit'
e. which dwelt in the land; thereof
e. will we serve the Lord; for he Is o.
ID God"
- the nQ0nlas