The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-02-17
THE STUFF SUCCESS IS MADE OF
 BY aEQRGE lEMIS RAuES

Men love success. Every right thinking man hates failure, yet there are few careers of individual men, and few histories of nations in which sue cess is unmarred and unmixed with the stain and blot of failure. Into every life some rain must fall. If there were no rainy days with their clouds and murkiness, the days of sunshine would be less bright and less happy.
 Today's passage is bright with the success of the man Joshua. It is rich with the achievement of the nation Israel. But this success and achieve ment rose like the fabled bird called Phoenix from the ash-heap of error and disappointment and failure. To- days passage deals with the rapid succession of events following the time when Moses led his people back to the gateway of Canaan, after the failure of forty years before, and after the floundering in the wilderness during those two score years, fixed as a pen alty upon the nation for faithlessness and disobedience.
 This sojourn in the wilderness had been rather uneventful. Perhaps the outstanding fact of that experience was the plague of the fiery serpents. When Moses asked Jehovah to save his peo- pie from this pestilence he was com manded to make serpent of brass and set it upon a pole where the people could see it. Then one who was bitten could look upon it and live. This brazen snake was a teaching about Christ, though it was given more than q thousand years before his birth.
 In talking to his followers one day the Master said. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. even so must the Son of man be lifted up that whosoever believeth in him may have eternal life"
 Death is great remover of obstacles Every man who was twenty years of failure as pictured in the lesson last Sunday, had died Only three men in Israel, Moses, Kaleb and Joshua, were over sixty years of age.
 Moses now 120, was commanded to assemble his people together and speak to them his last words. He, too, had the brand of failure upon him. He had disobeyed. He had struck the rock with his staff when the water gushed forth. though he had been told only to speak to the rock; and was denied the privilege of leading his people in to the land of their destiny.
 Now military census was taken There was found 10 be 100000 Israeli ties qualified for military service. Je- hovah spoke to Joshua, commissioned him commander-in-ch chief. and directed him to lead his people across the Jor- dan and conquer the land which had been promised them. As l was with, Moses, so will l be with thee.
 This remarkable character who only short time before had been soldier in the ranks WAS now promoted 10 the office of general. His first military order was that scouts. should he sent across the river and bring back re- port on the condition of the land. the strongholdS. roads. mountains and cities
 When he had led his forces beyond the Jordan. he established general headquarters at Gilgal. From this base was carried on a series of operations beginning with the siege of Jerico and continuing through six great marches and as many battles which changed the name of Canaan and made it thereafter the land of Israel.
 The school children of perhaps every civilized country on earth know the story of one of these battles when Joshua commanded the sun and moon to stand still.
 If ever in all history there was Il battle when the sun might well stand still and the day be made longer To make victory complete. it was that day when the soldiers of Joshua were do- ing battle against othe armies of five allied kings. on tae field of Beth-horon. If success had Lot rested with Israel. perhaps the BilLe w49ll never have