Sweet stories of God; in the language of childhood and the beautiful delineations of sacred art

Front matter

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1 1899"

Chapter II. The Great Flood; And A Great Tower

In the course of time, when there came to be more folks in the world, they grew fond of sin. They did not love God, or try to please him. And God was wroth with them, and said he would send a flood that would drown the world, and there should not be any dry land left for men, beasts, or birds to live on.

But though most of the folks at that time were as bad as they could be, there was one good man in their midst, and

1 . XT 1 THE ARK#

his name was JNo-ah.

And God loved No-ah and told him what he meant to do. And God bade No-ah build an ark.

This was a boat. It was to be made large, with rooms in it, and a great door on its side. And it was to be quite high, and to have a roof on top.

And God told No-ah when the ark was done he and his sons and their wives should go in it.

And he told No-ah to take in with him two of each kind of bird and of beast, and of bug, and of things that crept, and to take care of them in the ark so long as the flood should be on the earth ; for all that were not in the ark would be sure to be drowned.

So No-ah set out at once to build the ark; and it took him a great while to build it. When not at work on the ark, he would talk of God, and of his plan to send a flood to wash sin out of the world, and would urge the folks to give up their sins, and lead good lives. But they paid no heed to his words, and went from bad to worse all the time that No-ah was at work on the ark.

When it was done God told No-ah to come in-to the ark, for he saw he was a good man who had done his best to serve him, and to bring the birds and beasts with him. For in a few days he would send the rain on the earth, and all that was left on it would be drowned.

So No-ah did as God told him. And when he and his wife, and his three sons and their wives, and the birds and the beasts, both small and great, had passed through the great door of the ark, God shut them in.

At the end of a week the rain set in, and did not stop for more than a month. The rain seemed to pour out of the sky, and all the springs, the large and small streams, and the great seas, rose up and swept through the length and breadth of the land. They came to where the ark was, and went round and round it, and rose so high that the ark was borne from its place and set a-float on the great wide sea.

Then those who had paid no heed to No-ah, but had kept on in their sins, were in a sad plight. The flood had come, and they knew now that all that he had told them was true. How glad they would have been to go with him in the ark. But it was too late. They ran in wild haste to the tops of the hills in hopes to find there a safe place. But still the floods rose and rose till there was no place for them to go, and all those not in the ark were drowned, and there was not a bit of dry land in the whole wide world.

But God took care of No-ah, and those who were with him, and kept them safe till the floods went down. At the end of five months the sea had gone down so much that the ark stood high and dry on a mount known as Ar-a-rat. It stood there for at least two months, and at the end of that time the

The Great Flood ; and a Great Tower.

sea had gone down so that tops of high hills could be seen here and there.

And No-ah sent forth a ra-ven, and the bird flew this way and that, but came not back to the ark.

Then No-ah sent forth a dove, that he might find out if the ground was yet dry. And the dove flew here and there in search of green things, but found not a tree in sight, and naught but cold hard rock, and so she flew back to the ark and No-ah put out his hand and took her in.

At the end of a week No-ah sent out the dove once more, and at the close of the day she came back with a leaf in her mouth.

As soon as No-ah saw the leaf he knew that the waves had gone down or the dove could not have

THE RE-TURN OF THE DOVE.

found it. And he knew that God had sent the dove back to him that he might know the ground would soon be dry.

In a few days he sent the dove out for the third time, but she did not come back; and No-ah was sure then that the ground was dry, and that God meant that for a sign that he should leave the ark in which he had been shut up so long.

And God spoke to No-ah and told him to come out of the ark, and to bring out all that had been in there with him. And No-ah did so, and he built up a heap of stones as A-bel had done, on which he laid beasts and birds, and burnt them, which was the way in which man gave thanks to God in those days.

And No-ah's heart was full of praise to God, who had kept him, and those who were near and dear to him, safe from the flood, while all the rest of the world was drowned.

And God told No-ah and his sons that they should rule on the earth, and might kill the beasts and use the flesh for food. Up to this time those who dwelt on the earth had lived on the fruits of trees and such things as grew out of the ground, and did not know the taste of meat.

And God told No-ah that he would send no more floods to drown the world as this one had done.

The Great Flood; and a Great Tow er.

And he gave Noah a sign that he would keep his

word, so that when No-ah saw it he would have no

fear of a flood.

And this sign

was the rainbow, which God

set up in the sky

as a bow of hope

to No-ah and to

all the world.

No-ah lived

for years and years af-ter the flood, and died at a ripe old age.

The tribes of No-ah grew so fast that the world was quite well filled once more.

And you would think they would have been

glad to serve God, and to do right in his sight. But their hearts were full of sin, and they went on as those had done who were drowned in the flood.

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The Great Flood ; and a Great Tower.

At this time all those who dwelt on the earth spoke but one tongue; that is, they used the same kind of speech.

Now these tribes did not stay in one spot all the time, but would pack up their tents and move from place to place as they chose.

And as they went to the east they came to a plain in the land of Shi-nar. And they said, Let us make brick and build a high tow-er that shall reach up to the sky. And let us make a name, so that when we go from this place it will be known what great men were here, and what great deeds they could do.

And they set to work to build it. God,

who read their hearts, knew that sin was at work there, and that the tow-er they meant to build was not to serve him in, or to add to his praise. So he

BUILD-ING THE TOW-ER OF BA-BEL.

was not pleased with their work, and chose a strange way to stop them. He made them all at once speak in strange tongues. This one could not tell what that one said, and they made such a noise that it grew to be just a ba-bel of sound. And that is why it was called the tow-er of Ba-bel.

Chapter III. Abraham \ The Man Of Faith

There dwelt in the land of Ur a man whose name was A-bra-ham. And in that land the men did not serve the true God, but had set up false gods to whom they paid their vows.

And God told A-bra-ham to leave his home and go to a land which he would show him. A-bra-ham did not know where the land was, but he had great faith, and knew that God would take care of him and bring him to the land he had told him of.

So A-bra-ham took Sa-rah, his wife, and his bro-ther's son, whose name was Lot, and they set out for the land which God had said he would show him.

A-bra-ham was a rich man, and so was Lot, and thev had a great wealth of flocks, and of herds, and of tents. And they each had a large force of herds-men. And these herds-men were at strife.

And A-bra-ham told Lot it was best that they should part ; and he said to him, Choose where thou shalt go. If thou wilt take the left hand I will go to the right, and if thou wilt go to the right hand then I will go to the left.

So Lot looked round and saw that the plain of Jor-dan was rich in grass, and would be a fine place for him and his herds to dwell in; so he made his choice at once, and went to live there.

Two large towns were on this plain, Sod-om and Go-mor-rah. The men in Sod-om were full of sin, yet Lot, though a good man, went to live there that he might have a chance to add to his wealth.

As soon as Lot had gone, the Lord told A-braham that he would give to him and his heirs all that land as far as he could see it. And the tribe of A-bra-ham would be so great that no one could count them.

Now Sa-rah A-bra-ham's wile, had a hand-maid — that is, a maid-of-all-work — whose name was Ha-gar; and she came from E-gypt. Ha-gar did Sa-rah a great wrong, and Sa-rah drove her from the house, and she fled to the woods.

An an-gel of the Lord found Ha-gar there by a spring of wa-ter, and said to her, From whence diclst thou come ? and where wilt thou go ? And she said she had fled from Sa-rah, whose maid she was.

And the an-gel said she must go back to Sa-rah and do as she wished her to do. And he told Ha-gar she would have a son whose name would be Ish-ma-el, and that he would live out of doors and be at strife with all men. So Ha-gar went back to Sa-rah, and in due time God gave her a son, who was called Ish-ma-el.

When A-bra-ham was an old man, God told him that he and Sa-rah should have a son, who should be called I-saac.

One day at the hour of noon, when A-bra-ham sat by the door of his tent, he looked up and saw three men quite near him. Then he ran out to meet them, and bowed his face to the ground. And A-bra-ham bade them sit down and rest, and let some wa-ter be brought that they might wash their feet.

No one in those days wore such shoes as are worn now. Some went bare-foot, and some wore just a sole tied to the foot with strings, which did not keep off the dust and dirt as our shoes do.

So when one came in from a long walk the first thing he did was to bathe his feet, as that gave rest and ease, and when guests came the bowl was brought for their use.

Abraham : the Man of Faith.

And A-bra-ham brought them food to eat, and stood by to wait on them ; and when they had had their fill, went with them to show them the way.

In those days the Lord came down on the earth and spoke with men, and it is thought that one of these three was the Lord, and the two with him were an-gels.

And the Lord told A-bra-ham that he meant to burn Sod-om and Go-mor-rah for the sins of those who dwelt there. This made A-bra-ham sad, and he said there might be a few good men there, and he begged the Lord to spare the towns for their sakes.

THE AN-GELS VIS-IT,

The Lord said he would do so if ten good men could be found there.

And the Lord left A-bra-ham and he went back to his tent. At the close of the day, Lot sat in the gate of Sod-om and two an-gels came there. And as soon as Lot saw them he rose up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground.

Then these an-gels told Lot to take out of Sod-om all those who were dear to him, and flee in great haste, as the Lord meant to set the place on fire.

They were told not to look back, but while on their way Lot's wife turned her head, which was a sign that her heart was in Sod-om, and she died where she stood, and turned to salt.

But Lot and his two girls reached Zo-ar at dawn of the next day. Then the Lord rained fire on Sod-om and Go-mor-rah, and they were burnt up in fierce flame, with all that lived there, and all that grew out of the ground.

In due time God gave A-bra-ham the son he had said he should have.

And the child grew, and as soon as it could eat, A-bra-ham made a 'great feast. And at this feast Sa-rah saw that Ha-gar's son, Ish-ma-el, made fun of her boy, and she begged A-bra-ham to cast him out. A-bra-ham did not wish to do this, but God spoke to him and told him to do as Sa-rah had said,

Abraham : the Man of Faith.

for I-saac was to be the true heir. So the next day A-bra-ham gave food and drink to Ha-gar and sent her and her child out of his house.

And Ha-gar took her boy and went to the waste lands of Beer-she-ba.

And when there was nought for the child to drink, he grew weak, and was like to die. And Ha-gar laid him 'neath a bush and went off and sat down and hid her face, and wept, for she loved her boy very much and did not want to see him die.

And a voice spoke to Ha-gar out of the sky, and said, What ails thee, Ha-gar? Fear not, for God

DE-STRUC-TION OF THE CIT-IES OF THE PLAIN, hath heard the voice of the lad where he is. Rise, lift up the lad and hold him in thine arms.

And the voice told her that her son should be the head of a great tribe. And as she raised her eyes she saw a well of wa-ter, and she ran to it and gave her son a drink and he was soon strong and well once more.

And God was kind to Ish-ma-el, and he grew, and made his home in the woods, and came to have great skill with the bow.

Now it was God's wish to try the faith of A-braham to him.

And he told him to take his son, I-saac, and go to the land of Mo-riah, and lay him on the al-tar he was to build on one of the mounts there. It was not a hard task to kill a lamb, and to burn it so that the smoke of it should rise up to God, like praise from the hearts of men. But how could A-bra-ham take his own dear son, I-saac, and lay him on the wood, and let him be burnt up like a lamb ?

Yet God told him to do it, and A-bra-ham knew that it was safe for him to do as God said.

So he rose the next day and took two of his young men with him, and I-saac his son, and cut the wood the right length, and set out for the mount of which God had told him.

And as they drew near the place he took the wood from the ass and laid it on I-saac's back, and took the fire in his hand and a knife, and the two went up the mount.

Now I-saac did not know what the Lord had told A-braham to do, nor why his fa-ther took him up to the mount. And he said, Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb?

And A-bra-ham said, My son, God will give us the lamb we need.

And when they came to the place, A-bra-ham piled up the stones and put the wood on them, and bound I-saac and laid him on the wood.

Then he drew forth the knife to kill his son. And just then a voice from the sky cried out, A-braham ! A-bra-ham ! And A-bra-ham said, Here am I.

And the Lord told him to do no harm to I-saac, for now he knew that A-bra-ham loved him, since he would not spare his own dear son if it was Gods wish that he should give him up.

And as A-bra-ham turned his head he saw a ram that was caught in a bush, and he took the ram and laid it on the wood, and burnt it in-stead of his son.

At the end of a few years A-bra-ham went to live at Heb-ron. And Sa-rah died there.

When I-saac grew up to be a man, A-bra-ham did not wish him to take a wife from the land of Ca-naan where they served strange gods.

Abraham : the Man of Faith.

So he sent one of his men to the land where he used to live to bring back a wife for I-saac.

And as he drew near to a large town in that land he made his camels kneel down by a well. And it was the time of day when the wo-men of the place went out to draw wa-ter from the well.

And the man whom A-bra-ham had sent, asked God to help him, and to let him know which one of them was to be I-saac's wife. And he said he would ask one of them for a drink, and if she was kind and gave him a drink, and let his cam-els quench their thirst, then he should know that she was the one God chose to be the wife of A-bra-ham's son.

And he raised his heart to God and said, O

RE-BEK-AH AT THE WELL.

Lord God of A-bra-ham, give me good speed this day.

And while he yet spoke a fair young maid named Re-bek-ah went down to the well and came up with the jar she had filled. And the man ran to meet her, and said to her, Let me drink, I pray thee.

And she said, Drink, my Lord, and held the jar in her hand so that he could drink with ease.

Then she said, I will give thy cam-els a drink; and she went down to the well and drew for all the cam-els. And the man stood still, and was yet in doubt if this was the maid whom God chose to be I-saac's wife.

And as soon as the cam-els had drunk their fill, the man took a gold e^r-ring, and two bands of gold for the wrists, and gave them to Re-bek-ah. And he said, Whose child art thou? tell me, I pray thee. And is there room in thy sire's house for us to lodge in ?

The maid said that her sire's name was Bethu-el, and that there was no lack of straw and food, and there was room in the house where he and his men might lodge.

The man was glad when he heard this, for he knew the Lord had led him, and had brought him to the house to which he was sent. And he bowed his head and gave thanks,

RE-BEK-AH JOUR-NEY-ING TO I SAAC

The next day Re-bek-ah and her maids went with A-bra-ham's head man. And they came to the land of Ca-naan.

At the close of the day I-saac went to walk in the fields, and as he raised his eyes he saw the cam-els on their way home, and he went out to meet them.

Re-bek-ah said to the man with whom she rode, What man is this that comes through the field to meet us?

And the man told her that it was A-bra-ham's son, I-saac

Then the maid drew her veil round her so as to hide her face, and came down from the cam-el. And I-saac took her to his house and made her his wife. And A-bra-ham gave all that he had to I-saac; and when he died he was laid by the side of Sa-rah, his wife, in the tomb he had bought at Mach-pe-lah.

And to this day no one has had such faith or trust in God as did A-bra-ham.

Chapter IV. Ja-cob And E-sau

I-saac and Re-bek-ah had two sons. Their names were Ja-cob and E-sau. E-sau was the firstmsasmmsmimmmmamm*mamm

THE MEET-ING OF I-SAAC AND RE-BEK-AH.

born, and in those days the first-born son had what was called the birth-right. This made him chief of all the rest, and heir to the most of his sire's wealth.

When the boys grew up to be men, E-sau took to the fields and to out-door sports, while Ja-cob was a plain man and dwelt in tents. And I-saac was fond of E-sau, who killed the deer, and brought him the meat to eat. But Re-bek-ah was more fond of Ja-cob.

One day Ja-cob had made some food called pot-tage, and E-sau came in from the field and said, Feed me, I pray thee, with that pot-tage, for I am faint.

And Ja-cob said, Sell me thy birth-right.

And E-sau said, I am at the point of death, so what good will a birth-right do me ?

So he sold his birth-right to Ja-cob — which was a wrong thing for him to do — and took the bread and meat, and ate and drank, and then went on his way.

Now there came a time when I-saac was an old man, and his eyes were dim, for he had not long to live. And he called E-sau to his bed-side and told him to go out with his bow and shoot a deer and bring him some of the meat he was so fond of, that he might eat it and bless E-sau ere he died.

And Re-bek-ah heard what I-saac had said to

Jacob and Esau,

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thy

E-sau, and she told it to Ja-cob. And she him, Go now to the flock, and fetch me from two good kids, and I will make such a dish fa-ther loves. And thou shalt bring it to him that he may eat, and that he may bless thee ere his death.

So Ja-cob did as he was told, and brought the kids to his mo-ther that she might cook them in a way that would please the good man of the house.

Then Re-bek-ah put some of E-sau's clothes on Ja-cob, and put the skins of goats on his hands, for E-sau's hands had on them a thick coat of hair. And then Ja-cob took the meat and the bread and went in to his fa-ther.

And I-saac said, Who art thou, my son?

And Ja-cob said, I am E-sau, thy first-born.

I-SAAC SPEAK-ING TO E-SAU.

Rise, I pray thee, and eat of the deer's meat I have brought, that thy soul may bless me.

And I-saac said to Ja-cob, How is it that thou hast found it so soon, my son ?

And he said, The Lord thy God brought it to me.

And I-saac said to Ja-cob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son, and know if thou be my son E-sau or not. And Ja-cob went near to his fa-ther and he felt him, and said, The voice is Ja-cob's voice, but the hands are the hands of E-sau.

And he said, Art thou in truth my son E-sau?

And Ja-cob said, I am.

And he said, Bring near the food, and I will eat, that my soul may bless thee.

And Ja-cob brought it near to him, and he did eat, and he brought him wine and he drank.

And his fa-ther said to him, Come near now, and kiss me, my son.

And he came near, and gave him the kiss. Then the old man asked God to bless this whom he thought was his first-born, and make him great, and give him all good things.

Ja-cob was scarce yet gone out from his fa-ther when E-sau came in from the hunt. And he brought in a nice dish of meat, and said, Let my father rise and eat of the flesh of the deer, that thy soul may bless me.

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Jacob and Esau.

And I-saac said, Who art thou?

And he said, I am thy son, thy first-born, E-sau.

And I-saac shook like a leaf, and said, Who? Where is he that took deer's meat and brought it to me so that I did eat ere this, and bless him?

Yea, and he shall be blest.

When E-sau heard these words he cried out with great grief, and said to his fa-ther, Bless me too, O my fa-ther!

But I-saac said that he could not take from Ja-cob what was now his — though he had won it through fraud.

And E-sau said in his heart, My fa-ther will soon be dead, and then I will kill Ja-cob.

And these words were told to Re-bek-ah, and she sent for Ja-cob and said to him that E-sau meant to kill him, and he must leave home at once and go and stay with her bro-ther La-ban till E-sau's wrath had cooled.

ja-cob's dream.

74 History of the Otd Testament

And Ja-cob went out from Beer-she-ba.

And as he went on his way he came to a place where he thought he would lie down and rest. The sun was set, the day had been a long one, and he was quite worn out. So he put some stones for his head to rest on, and was soon sound a-sleep.

And while he slept he had a strange dream. He saw a flight of steps that stood on the ground, the top of which was far, far up in the sky. And bright an-gels went up and down the steps. And the Lord stood at the top, and said, I am with thee, and will take care of thee, and will bring thee back to this land, for I will not leave thee till I have done that which I have told thee of.

And Ja-cob woke out of his sleep, and said, 'Tis true the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.

And he was in great fear, and said, This is the house of God, and this is the gate of heav-en !

Then he rose up and took the stone on which his head had lain and set it up on end, and he poured oil on top of it. And he gave to that place the name of Beth-el, and made a vow to love and serve God all the rest of his life.

And though he had done wrong, God for-gave him, and he was known as a great and good man.

CHAPTER V s

Jacob and Rachel.

As Ja-cob went on his way to the East he came to a well that was out in the field, near which lay three great flocks of sheep. And there was a great stone on top of the well. And the men who took care of the flocks would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, and give drink to the sheep.

Then they would roll the stone back to the mouth of the well.

Ja-cob said to the men, Whence do ye come?

And they told him.

And he said, Know ye La-ban, the son of Na-hor?

And they said, We know him.

RA-CHEL AND JA-COB AT THE WfiUi.

And he said, Is he well?

And they said, He is well. And there is one of his girls now, Ra-chel, and she comes this way with her sheep.

While Ja-cob yet spake with the men, Ra-chel came up with the sheep that she took care of. And when Ja-cob saw her, he came near, and drew the stone from the mouth of the well, and gave drink to the whole of her flock.