"As for me and my house, we will serve the lord."--_Joshua 24:15._
THIS morning you heard how God gave the children of Israel victory over
Jericho. After that He gave them more victories. None of the heathen
people could stand before them. They took their towns, and drove the
heathen out, and had the fields and gardens and houses for their own.
Then Joshua was to divide the land among them, and fix what cities each
tribe should have for its own.
[Illustration: FALLING OF THE WALLS OF JERICHO.--Josh. 6:20.]
All the chief men of each tribe came to him, and the Lord taught him
how to fix the places for them to dwell in. The children of the good
Joseph had the very best lot of all, as his father Jacob had wished.
It was just in the middle of the country, and was full of beautiful
corn land. Two tribes and a-half lived on the other side of the river
Jordan, on the edge of the desert, but where there was fine grass for
their cattle. The tribe of Judah had a very hilly, rocky part of the
country; but they loved it, because it was where Abraham had lived and
now lay buried.
[Illustration: DIVIDING THE LAND AMONG THE TRIBES.--Josh. 13:6, 7.]
[Illustration: JOSHUA CAPTURING THE CITY OF AI.--Josh. 8:18, 19.]
[Illustration: JOSHUA COMMANDING THE SUN TO STAND STILL.--Josh. 10:12,
13.]
And up all the hills they planted vines, where fine large grapes grew;
and in the valleys were plenty of corn-fields. All over the country,
people had each man his own house, with his vine and his fig-tree to
shelter it, and olive-trees in his garden, and a field to grow corn
in, and hill-sides near, where he might keep his cows, goats, and
sheep. The rocks and the hollow trees were full of wild bees' nests; so
that indeed they found it, as Moses had told them, a land of corn and
wine--a land that flowed with milk and honey; and they were very glad
to be there, and to rest after their long wandering in the wilderness.
After they had had a quiet rest, their first sorrow came. It was that
their brave leader Joshua had grown old, and felt himself near his
death. So he called all the chief men together, and told them over
again how much God had done for them; and that if they would serve Him
and keep His Commandments, all would go well with them. "As for me
and my house," he said, "we will serve the Lord." And all the people
promised too. They said they would serve the Lord, and would not go
after other gods, but would keep His Commandments.