The Rice belt journal. (Welsh, Calcasieu Parish, La.) 1900-19??, 1907-02-15

donrv towards waywardness on the
mart of the people, and for some time
now he had ceased to require the de-
tailed renort from the elders. Thus
the weeks and months slipped by. and
more and more Joshua and those
ahont him realized that the inhrml'
ties of age were telling upon him.
mo, it will not be long before the
lord will come for me- he said one
day. But l am ready to go for
reace has come to the land and the |
people are wholly given to the serV'
ing of the Lord"
But that night his sleep was tron-
bled, and he beheld strange things IN
his dreams. He thought Moses s'oou
nv 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 start,
The dream troubled him and for
days he studied over it, until 1t seemed
that it must have been a vision ana
not a dream, and that Moses had
really spoken to him. Would the peo'
ME turn from the Lord after he mad
gone? Would they forget his mercles
and blessings and 90 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 VINO
has been so faithful to them
And so Joshua sent his messengers
( through all the land whittier lhe
3 children of Israel had settled, asking
Z that they all come to Shechem. Now
Q Shechem was the place where sol
Z emn convocation had been held wher
. thew had first come into the lane
3 wears before, and the blessings anc
Q the cursings of God had been read II
3 their ears by the Levites. And 1t wa
9 here that Joshua gathered the peopl
( together with their elders and thel
Q officers and judges, and said unit
Q them:
9 "Thus saith the Lord God Of Israel
3 Yonr fathers dwelt on the other sid
9 of the food in old time, even Terai
3 the father of Abraham, and the fathe
2 of Nachor; and they served othe
3 gods. And took your father Apr
2 ham from the other side OF the hoo
3 and led him throughout all the lar
2 Of Canaan, and multiplied his SEE
3 and gave him Isaac. And / gave un
Z Isaac Jacob and Esau; and | ga
2 unto Esau Mount SER, to possess
< Int Jacob and his children went dow
9 into Egypt"
3 Joshua paused in his hasty reVl'
9 of the early history Of the nation, a
3 if there had been any lnattenIioh
Q the beginning, at the mention
& Ecvpt all eyes and ears were turn
. 9 towards him. He then went on
. ranidlv cover Gods wonderful dc
!. Q ipgs with them in Egypt, OF his lie
. 3 ing them out under the hand
a 9 Moses; of his miraculous deliveran
!. 3 and care all through the wildern
& = Journey, and of his bringing them
a 3 Last into the promised land and
a 9 ing them the victory over all u
It 2 enemies.
h 3 Now, therefore" he conciut
Ie 9 fear the Lord and serve him in
IN 5 cerity and truth; and put away
N 2 gods which your fathers served on
~ 3 other side of the food and in Egg
re Q and serve We the Lord. And II 1t S
or 3 evil unto you to serve the l.
2 choose you this day whom ye
n 8 serve: whether the gods which
of z fathers served that were on the o
in 3 side of the food, or the gods OF
ma z Amorites, in whose land We DIV
ed 3 but as for me and my house we
nq serve the Lord"
,Ie The voice of the aged joshua
ma 3 almost a sob as he concluded hi
nd 9 neal, and with difficulty he contr
,rd 5 his feelings, for. as ne was spea
,rd 2 there was but one vision before
of 3 that of Moses standing at his
the 2 pointing at the people and sayif
put "As in former time so Will
ad, Z again turn from the Lord.
eir 3 But all this faded before the
en-. 9 which went up from the peopl
the : they answered and said:
om- 3 God forbid that we should 10
the 2 the Lord. to serve other gods; II
be 5 Lord our God, he it is that oroue
ella 9 up and our fathers out of theta
Egypt, from the house OF boz
80 and which did those great sig
' our sight, and preserved us in
wav wherein we went, and amo
the people through whom we p
'nques1 And the Lord drove out from
OF the NC all the people, even the An