The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1907-03-15

Sutinies ne n MS n~ouSeh0ld would
become the special object Of perse-
cution. he refused to listen to the
voice of his son. And Gideon had
slipped away o afterwards and
had come to the place Of the wine
press, where he had secretly placed
a portion of the wheat harvest.
Bright and early the next morn.
ing he began the threshing cheere6
by the thought that even If the en-
envy did discover its hiding place and
seize it, it were better for him to
be thus occupied than to be mingling
with the worshipers OF Baal at
home.
Along towards noon as he paused In
his work and looked out from behind
the rock he was startled to see sit.
ting under the oak a man. He had
heard no u approach, and he had
kept sharp lookout all morning to see
that no one crept in upon him un-
awares. And yet in some mysterious
way this stranger had gained his re.
treat and was reclining under the
tree as though he had been there all
morning. The ewcomer caught Gid.
cons startled look, and before the
latter could ask who he was or with.
err he had come, he greeted him with
the s~alutation:
The Lord Is with thee, thou
mighty man of valor."
Who was this man that he should
speak so Familiarity and so ~reassuring.
y? Surely he vas not of the enemy,
as his face and raiment plainly
showed. Recovering his composure,
Gideon said: "Sir, If the Lord be with
us, why, then, is all this befallen us?
and where be all his muscles which
our fathers tell us of, saying: Did
not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?'
But now the Lord hath forsaken us,
and delivered us into the hands of
the Midianites.'
As he spoke Gideon felt the eyes
OF the stranger searching him and
even while he was charging God with
desertion he became conscious of the
sin of Israel which had brought all
the evil upon them. In confusion and
shame he let his eyes fall and stood
silent. Why should he be so abash.
ed in the presence Of this stranger?
he asked himself, and then the
thought came to him: This must be
some N sent from God. But the
voice of the stranger reused him.
60 in this thy might, Gideon, and
thou shalt save Israel from the hand
of the Midianites; have not l sent
thee?"
"Wherewith shall | save Israeli"
exclaimed Gideon incredulously. 'Be.
hold my family is poor in Manasseh,
and ! am the least in my fathers
house."
Again came the confident reply Of
the stranger:
Surely | will be with thee, and
thou shalt smite the Midianites as
one man."
The heart Of Gideon leaped within
him as the stranger thus continued
to address him. Gould this be the
Lord himself" he asked himself, and
then eager to test him and know
that OF a surety 1t was the Lord who
was speaking with him he looked up
half ap~pealingly, and said, in faltering
voice:
IF now | have found grace in thy
sight, then show me a sign that thou
talkest with me. Depart not hence,
| pray thee, until | come unto thee
and bring forth my present and set IL
before thee
With quiet dignity came the re-
ply:
4 will tarry until thou come
again"
And Gideon fastened away and made
ready a kid and u~nleavened cakes OF
an ephah of flour: the flesh he put
in a basket and he put the broth in 4
pot and brought 1t unto the stranger
under the oak and presented it to him.
Then in accordance with his instruc.
tions he took the flesh and the I'm
leavened cakes and laid them upon
the rock and poured out the broth.
and then while he beheld the stranger
reached forth his STAFF and touched
the offering and behold there rose
fire out of the rock and consumed 1t.
And even while Gideon beheld. the
Lord--for now he knew 1t was none
other than he-arose and departed
out Of his sight.
Gideon fell upon his face, a great
fear being upon his. and he cried
out:
alas, o Lord God! for because
have seen thee face to face"
But even while he lay there trem.
bling there came a voice from above
him, saying:
peace be unto thee; fear not.
thou shalt not die" A quiet peace
and confidence stole into his heart.
He arose and builded an altar and
w~orshiped, saying: For inasmuch
as he hath called me to deliver his
people,"
Kaiser William = Mafehnaksr