Chapter XLVII: A Great Victory

Soon after the smiting of the Rock, out of which God made water to flow for the people's thirst, another difficulty came.

As the great company of the Children of Israel travelled on, some enemies, called, Amalekites, came out against them, and tried to conquer them.

So Moses called Joshua and told him to choose men who could fight, to go against the Amalekites; and that he would go to-morrow to the top of the hill with the Rod of God in his hand.

So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses and Aaron and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

So Moses stretched out his hand with the Rod of God in it, and then the Children of Israel prevailed and conquered, but when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

But poor Moses got very weary, and his hands seemed very heavy, so that he could not hold them up any longer!

But Aaron and Hur thought of a very good plan. They took a large stone for Moses to sit on, and they stood by him and held up his hands, one on each side, and his hands were steady till the sun went down.

And Joshua had a great victory over Amalek, because God fought for them.

And God told Moses to write it down in a book, and tell Joshua about it, that He would utterly destroy the Amalekites.

We read afterwards in Deuteronomy xxv. 17, that God had been specially angry with the Amalekites because they had attacked the Israelites when they were faint and weary, and had smitten the hindmost and weak ones in the camp instead of fighting bravely with the strong.

It seems to me that we may take this first battle of the Israelites as a sort of picture of Satan's temptations and buffetings.

He attacks us where we are weakest. He perhaps tells us that God has forgotten us for a little while, that we are like those weaker Israelites in the camp, who were particularly exposed to the enemy!

Then what must we do, when we feel Satan is too strong for us?

We must, like Joshua, resist with all the fighting power at our disposal; and like Moses we must take the Rod of God—the rod of faith and prayer—and go up on the hill top and get nearer God!

Do you wonder what the hill top is for us?

It is kneeling in our room and asking Him to help us.

It is looking up with our hearts, and saying one word of faith to Jesus!

And when they had gained that great victory over Amalek, Moses built an altar to God, and offered a sacrifice, and he called the name of it—

"Jehovah-Nissi," which means "The Lord our Banner!"

Here is a hymn which has comforted and cheered numbers of people who have found Satan—like Amalek—very strong!

Why should I fear the darkest hour,
Or tremble at the Tempter's power?
Jesus vouchsafes to be my Tower!

Though hot the fight, why quit the field?
Why must I either fly or yield,
Since Jesus is my mighty shield?

I know not what may soon betide,
Or how my wants shall be supplied;
But Jesus knows, and will provide.

Though sin would fill me with distress,
The Throne of Grace I dare address,
Since Jesus is my righteousness.

Though faint my prayers and cold my love,
My steadfast hope shall not remove,
While Jesus intercedes above.

Against me earth and hell combine:
But on my side is power divine:
Jesus is all, and He is mine!

XLVIII. Caleb's Daughter

The old man whom you see in this picture is Caleb, one of the two faithful spies who brought a good report of the land of Canaan.

So when after forty years, the land was divided among the people, Joshua blessed Caleb and gave him Hebron or Kirjath Arba: and Caleb drove out from it three giants, and he made his home there.

There were still many enemies round him, so Caleb sent his soldiers to fight against Kirjath Sepher, and promised that the man who took the city should have his daughter Achsah for his wife.

So Othniel the son of Kenaz was the successful one. At length the wedding day came. When Achsah was starting for her husband's home, she begged Othniel to ask her father to give her a field as a wedding present.

Caleb seems to have agreed to this; but Achsah knew he was rich as well as loving; so she alighted off her ass, and ran to his side, "Give me a blessing!" she said. "You have given me a south land—give me also springs of water!"

And he gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.

* * * * * * *

Jesus says to us to-day, "How much more shall your Father which is in heaven, give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him."

XLIX. The First King

So the child Samuel grew up and became a prophet of the Lord, and he judged the people and helped them in all their difficulties, by encouraging them to seek God and trust in Him.

But the Children of Israel often turned back from the Lord and followed their own ways, even making idols for themselves like the Canaanites had.

This grieved Samuel very much, because he knew that it would make God very angry with them.

At length Samuel was getting to be an old man, and the people got tired of being judged by his sons, who were not very good and faithful young men, and they asked Samuel to make a king to rule them, and go to war with them as they saw other nations do.

This was the greatest grief of all to Samuel, because the Lord was their King! But nothing that he could say would turn them from their wish to have a king whom they could see, and who would lead them to battle against their enemies.

The Lord told Samuel that he could do as the people asked; but that in choosing an earthly king they had rejected the Lord, who had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, and delivered them from all their foes.

There was at this time a man of the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Saul. He was a very handsome young man, and was so tall that he was head and shoulders above everyone else. His father's name was Kish.

One day, the asses belonging to Kish strayed away and got lost, and Saul and his servant went a very long way to seek for them.

They searched for a long time, but could not find them. At last, the servant suggested that they should go to the prophet who lived near the place to which they had travelled, for he thought perhaps he might tell them where to find the asses.

So they came to the city where Samuel the prophet lived, and when they made enquiries, they found that Samuel was going to offer a sacrifice there that very day.

Now the Lord had told Samuel that He would bring the young man who was to be king to him, that he might anoint him.

So Samuel met Saul and invited him to dinner, and told him that he wanted to speak to him presently, and that he should go back to-morrow. "And as for the asses," he said, "that were lost three days ago, they are found!"

So when they had eaten their meal, Samuel and Saul went on the housetop and Samuel talked with him for a long time; and early the next morning Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on Saul's head, and told him he was anointed to be King over God's inheritance.

He told him also that he was to go to Gilgal and wait there seven days, until he came down to him to offer a sacrifice to the Lord.

But now, children, we come to Saul's first disobedience. Saul waited seven days, but he forgot that God's prophet had said "wait seven days, even till I come to offer the sacrifice," and when Samuel delayed to come for a few hours, Saul took upon himself to offer the sacrifice.

Then Samuel came! And Saul hurried out to meet him. But Samuel drew back from his greeting, and told him he had been very disobedient, and that the Lord would choose someone else to be the king; one who would keep God's commandments and love Him with all his heart!

So Samuel went back to Gilgal, and Saul went to fight against the Philistines.

* * * * * * *

By and by God sent another message to Saul by Samuel the prophet, and this was the message: "Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, I remember what Amalek did to Israel . . . when he came up from Egypt, now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not."

So Saul went to fight against Amalek and conquered them; but again he was disobedient. He saved the king and did not kill him as he had been commanded, and he also saved all the best of the sheep and oxen.

Then the Lord said to Samuel, "It repenteth Me that I have made Saul king, for he hath not kept My commandments."

And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the Lord all that night.

And when Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, the king hurried to him and told him he had done all that the Lord had told him to do!

But Samuel stopped him. "What is the meaning of this bleating of sheep that I hear, then?" he asked.

And Saul said, "The people saved the best to sacrifice to God!"

And Samuel said, "Do you think that the Lord has as much pleasure in sacrifice as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king."

And as Samuel sorrowfully turned away, he knew that he should never see Saul's face again.

This is a very sad and solemn story, children.

Let us all be aware of little disobediences, lest they should grow into greater ones.

God will dwell in the humble and contrite heart, which trembles at his word. He will give grace to the lowly.

Let us pray, as David did in Psalm cxix., "With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments!"

And then this promise shall be ours: "He that doeth the will of God abideth for ever!"