{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_60793/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_60793","id":"gutenberg_60793","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60793","summary":null,"tags":["Bible stories, English -- Juvenile literature","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\n                             BIBLE PICTURES\n                                   AND\n                                 STORIES\n\n                             IN LARGE PRINT\n\n                             [Illustration]\n\n                                 BOSTON\n                       LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY\n\n                            COPYRIGHT, 1898,\n                                   BY\n                       LOTHROP PUBLISHING COMPANY.\n\n\n\n\nBIBLE PICTURES AND STORIES\n\nIN LARGE PRINT.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nADAM AND EVE.\n\n\nGod made the sun, the moon, the stars, the earth, the sea and all the\nbeasts, birds, insects, plants and fishes. After that He made man, then\nwoman. Adam was the first man, Eve the first woman. He planted a lovely\ngarden and gave it to Adam and Eve to live in. There was every kind of\nluscious fruits in this garden and God was willing they should eat all\nbut one; this He told them they must not even touch.\n\nFor a while they minded God and were happy, but one day they both ate\nsome of this fruit. Then God was very angry and sorry for what they had\ndone. He drove them out of the lovely garden forever.\n\n\n\n\nCAIN AND ABEL.\n\n\nAdam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain, when he got old enough,\nbecame a farmer, Abel a shepherd. They both brought gifts to God. Cain\u2019s\ngift was fruit; Abel\u2019s gift was the very best of his lambs. For some\nreason God liked Abel\u2019s gift, but did not like Cain\u2019s. This made Cain\nhate Abel so much that he killed him.\n\nWhen God asked Cain what had become of his brother he said: \u201cI know\nnot: Am I my brother\u2019s keeper?\u201d But God, who sees everything, had seen\nwhat Cain had done and punished him by making him wander homeless and\nfriendless over all the earth.\n\n[Illustration: CAIN AND ABEL.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FLOOD.\n\n\nA great many years after Cain killed Abel\u2014over a thousand perhaps\u2014the\npeople had grown to be so very wicked that God made up his mind to\ndestroy them by a great flood. But there was one good old man Noah, whom\nGod loved. So He had him build a huge boat or ark and told him to put\ninto it all his own family, and two of every kind of animal on the earth.\nAs soon as Noah had done this, the rain began to fall. It kept on raining\nfor forty days and forty nights until everything was covered by the\nwater, even the highest mountains. Nothing was saved except what was in\nthe ark.\n\n[Illustration: ENTERING THE ARK.]\n\n\n\n\nBABEL.\n\n\nAfter Noah\u2019s death, his sons and their families kept traveling westward.\nBy and by they came to a beautiful plain. They were very tired of\ntraveling, so they rested a long time. The plain pleased them so much\nthat they thought they would like to live there always, and they began to\nbuild a great city and a high tower \u201cwhose top should reach unto Heaven.\u201d\nGod came down to see the city and the tower. The sight made him angry and\nat once he caused the workmen to speak different languages, so they could\nnot understand one another and had to stop building. The tower is called\nBabel because God \u201cdid there confound the language of all the earth.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE TOWER OF BABEL.]\n\n\n\n\nLOT\u2019S FLIGHT FROM SODOM.\n\n\nLot lived in Sodom, a city so wicked that not ten good men could be found\nthere. One evening two angels came to Lot, to tell him that God was going\nto destroy the wicked city and to warn him to flee in the morning with\nhis wife and daughters. Lot and his family heeded the angel\u2019s warning and\nfled to Zoar, a city near by. Then God rained down fire and brimstone\nupon Sodom, until it was burned to ashes. Lot and his two daughters were\nsaved, but Lot\u2019s wife was turned into a pillar of salt, because she\nlooked back at the burning city. This the angels had warned them not to\ndo.\n\n[Illustration: LOT ENTERING ZOAR.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FINDING OF MOSES.\n\n\nIn time there came to be so many Israelites in Egypt that Pharaoh began\nto be afraid of them. So he issued an order that all boy babies should be\nput to death. But one mother hid her baby boy three months. Then she made\na little boat out of rushes, laid the baby in it, and put the boat in the\nwater near the shore. A little while after she did this one of Pharaoh\u2019s\ndaughters came down to the river to bathe and saw the little boat. She\nhad one of her maids wade out and get it. When she saw the little boy,\nshe felt so sorry for him that she took him for her own son. She named\nhim Moses, which means \u201cdrawn out of the water.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE FINDING OF MOSES.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FLIGHT FROM EGYPT.\n\n\nPharaoh made the Israelites work very hard and treated them cruelly in\nother ways. God was sorry for his people, so he came to Moses and told\nhim to go to Pharaoh with his brother Aaron and order him to let the\nIsraelites go away from Egypt to a land He had made ready for them. But\nPharaoh did not care anything about what God told him to do and would not\nlet the people go. So God sent dreadful plagues upon the Egyptians. Still\nPharaoh was stubborn and held out against God until the tenth plague\ncame, which killed the eldest child in every Egyptian house. Then he sent\nthe Israelites out of the land.\n\n[Illustration: SPRINKLING THE BLOOD.]\n\n\n\n\nMOSES STRIKING THE ROCK.\n\n\nAfter the Israelites had been away from Egypt quite a long time, they\ncame into a dry, stony country called the Wilderness, where there were\nno springs of water and no rivers. They got very thirsty, but could find\nnothing anywhere to drink. This made them angry with their leader, Moses,\nso angry that they were going to stone him to death. But Moses asked God\nto help him, saying: \u201cWhat shall I do unto this people? they be almost\nready to stone me.\u201d God told him to take his rod and strike a certain\nrock on Mount Horeb. Moses did so. At once a clear stream of water burst\nout of the rock, enough for all the people.\n\n[Illustration: STRIKING THE ROCK.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE TEN COMMANDMENTS.\n\n\nWhen the Israelites came near Mount Sinai, God said that in three days\nfrom that time he would come down upon the mountain. But none of the\npeople except Moses and Aaron were to touch the mountain. If they did,\nthey would die. They could come up into the mountain and be with Him. God\ndid as he promised. There was a thick cloud all about Him, and fire and\nsmoke, and thunder and lightnings, so the people could not see him. And\nthe mountain shook and the voice of God was heard like the sound of a\ntrumpet, giving to them the Ten Commandments. And the people were afraid\nand drew back from the mountain.\n\n[Illustration: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.]\n\n\n\n\nBEZALEEL AND AHOLIAB.\n\n\nAfter God had given the Ten Commandments, Moses went up into the mountain\nand stayed with God forty days and forty nights. God told him that the\nIsraelites must build Him a house to live in which should be called \u201cThe\nTabernacle.\u201d They must give gold, silver, brass, blue, purple, scarlet,\nfine linen, oils, spices, costly woods, jewels and other precious things,\nfor this house. Bezaleel and Aholiab must build it, because He had\nmade them wise. Moses told the people what God had said. They were so\nanxious to help that they brought more than God had asked for. And God\u2019s\nbeautiful house was soon made.\n\n[Illustration: BEZALEEL AND AHOLIAB.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BRAZEN SERPENT.\n\n\nOnce, almost forty years after they made God\u2019s House, the Israelites were\nvery hungry and thirsty. They said hateful things about Moses and about\nGod too, which was very wicked. So God sent fiery serpents to bite the\npeople. The bite was poisonous, and many died. Then they knew this was\nbecause they had done wrong. They came to Moses and asked him to pray God\nto take the serpents away. Moses prayed. God told Moses to make a brass\nserpent and set it on a pole where all the people could see it. When\nMoses had done this he told the people to look. Every one who was bitten\nwas made well as soon as he saw the brass serpent.\n\n[Illustration: THE BRAZEN SERPENT.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE PASSAGE OF THE JORDAN.\n\n\nAfter Moses died Joshua led the people of Israel. They had come very\nnear to the land God had made ready for them, but there was still the\ngreat river Jordan to cross. They did not know how to get across, for\nthe water was deep and they had no boats. But God had a way for them. He\ntold Joshua to have the priests of his Tabernacle go into the water first\nand stand there. As soon as the feet of the priests touched the water it\nstopped flowing from above and piled up in a great heap. So the people\nwent across the Jordan on dry land. After the priests left the river, the\nwater flowed just as it had before.\n\n[Illustration: CROSSING THE JORDAN.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD\u2019S HOST.\n\n\nWhen the Canaanites heard how the Israelites had crossed the Jordan, they\nwere afraid and shut themselves up in their city, Jericho. The Israelites\nhad to find some way to break into the city. One day when Joshua was\nwalking near the wall of Jericho, he saw a man with a drawn sword in his\nhand. He at once asked the man whether he was a friend or an enemy. The\nman answered: \u201cAs captain of the host of the Lord am I now come.\u201d Then\nJoshua knew it was an angel and fell down and worshiped him. The angel\nsaid: \u201cLoose thy shoe from off thy foot, for the place whereon thou\nstandest is holy.\u201d Joshua did so.\n\n[Illustration: THE CAPTAIN OF THE LORD\u2019S HOST.]\n\n\n\n\nHOW JERICHO WAS CAPTURED.\n\n\nThe Israelites took Jericho in a very curious way. Every day for six\ndays the armed men marched around the city once. On the seventh day they\nmarched around seven times, while the priests blew their trumpets. Just\nas they finished the last march, the trumpets gave a long blast and all\nthe people together gave a mighty shout. Then that strong, high wall fell\ndown flat, and they went in and took the city and burnt it and everything\nin it except the silver and gold and vessels of brass and iron. The\nrest of the people of Canaan were greatly surprised when they heard how\nJericho was captured.\n\n[Illustration: THE FALL OF JERICHO.]\n\n\n\n\nACHAN\u2019S SIN.\n\n\nAi was a city not far from Jericho. Three thousand Israelites went to\ntake it. But some were killed and the rest got frightened and ran away.\nJoshua felt so badly that he went and told God all about it. God said\nthat the Israelites had been beaten because one of them had kept for his\nown some of the silver and gold taken from Jericho. God pointed out that\nAchan was the man who had stolen these things and that he had hidden\nthem in his tent. When they looked in the tent they found them buried in\nthe ground. Achan and all his family and all that he had were stoned and\nburned and a great heap of stones raised over them as a warning.\n\n[Illustration: ACHAN CONFESSING HIS SIN.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE ALTAR ON MOUNT EBAL.\n\n\nAfter Achan had been burned, the Israelites captured Ai and hanged its\nking on a tree. Then Joshua built an altar to God on Mount Ebal of whole\nstones that had never been cut. On the altar he put burnt offerings. On\nthe stones of the altar he wrote the laws that Moses had given to the\npeople when he was alive. Then he got all the people together, men, women\nand little ones, and read to them God\u2019s promises of the good things that\nwould happen to them if they did right, and the bad things that would\nhappen if they did wrong. The people listened carefully to the reading.\nJoshua did this because he had promised Moses that he would just before\nhe died.\n\n[Illustration: THE ALTAR ON MOUNT EBAL.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE CITIES OF REFUGE.\n\n\nIn those old times, when one man killed another, the friends of the dead\nman had the right to kill the murderer. But sometimes it happened that\none person killed another without meaning to do it. Of course it was not\nright that he should be killed for what he could not help. God saw that\nthere ought to be some way of saving him. So he told Joshua to name six\ncities to which such a person could flee and where no one could touch\nhim. These cities were called Cities of Refuge. Three of them were on the\nwest side of Jordan and three on the east. Some say that all the guide\nposts along the way had \u201cRefuge!\u201d \u201cRefuge!\u201d written on them.\n\n[Illustration: FLEEING TO THE CITY OF REFUGE.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE DEATH OF JOSHUA.\n\n\nA long time after the fall of Jericho, when Joshua was an old man, he\nmade all the Israelites come into one place so that he could talk to\nthem, before he left them, forever. He asked them to count over the good\nthings God had done for them, and promised that He would do even more for\nthem than He had already. He told them to be brave, to do as Moses had\nwanted them to do when he was alive, and never to have anything to do\nwith people who worshiped idols. If they did, God would punish them. When\nJoshua had instructed the Israelites in all the good ways, having said\nall that was on his mind, he died. He was one hundred and ten years old.\n\n[Illustration: JOSHUA EXHORTING THE PEOPLE.]\n\n\n\n\nGIDEON AND THE FLEECE.\n\n\nAfter Joshua died, the Israelites forgot God and worshiped idols. So God\npunished them as Joshua said. The Midianites came into the land and the\nIsraelites had to hide from them in dens and caves. Gideon, a mighty man,\nwas threshing corn one day when an angel came to him and told him to go\nand save Israel. Gideon was willing to go, but asked God to show him some\nsign that he would beat the Midianites. So one night God made a fleece\nthat Gideon put on the ground wet with dew while all the ground was dry,\nand the next night he kept the fleece dry while all the ground was wet.\nThen Gideon knew that God would be on his side.\n\n[Illustration: EXAMINING THE FLEECE.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE DEFEAT OF THE MIDIANITES.\n\n\nGideon got together a large army, but God told him that only a part must\nfight. So Gideon picked out the three hundred bravest men and divided\nthem into three companies of one hundred each, and put a trumpet in each\nman\u2019s hand and an empty pitcher and a lamp inside the pitcher. About the\nmiddle of the night they came to the camp of the Midianites and blew the\ntrumpets and broke the pitchers and held up the lamps and cried \u201cThe\nsword of the Lord and of Gideon.\u201d The Midianites were afraid and ran\nabout and cried out and killed one another. The Israelites ran after them\nand drove them out of the country.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cTHE SWORD OF THE LORD, AND OF GIDEON.\u201d]\n\n\n\n\nTHE DEATH OF SAMSON.\n\n\nSamson was the strongest man that ever lived. At one time he tore a live\nlion apart with his hands, at another he killed one thousand men, and at\nanother he carried away the gates of Gaza, a city of the Philistines.\nBut the very last thing that he did was the most wonderful of all. The\nPhilistines had cruelly put out his eyes. At a feast where there were\nover three thousand of them, Samson got a boy to show him the way, and\nthen putting his hands upon two pillars that held up the roof, and\npraying God for help, he pressed upon them with all his might. The\npillars broke, the roof fell. Samson himself and the Philistines were\nkilled.\n\n[Illustration: SAMSON AND THE PHILISTINES.]\n\n\n\n\nRUTH AND NAOMI.\n\n\nNaomi\u2019s home was at Bethlehem. But one year, because there was no food\nthere, she went to Moab with her husband and her two sons. Both the sons\ntook wives in Moab. The wives\u2019 names were Orpah and Ruth. After a little\ntime Naomi\u2019s husband died, then both the sons. Naomi started to go back\nto Bethlehem, and Orpah and Ruth started with her. But Naomi did not\nthink they ought to leave their homes and advised them to stay in Moab.\nOrpah stayed. But Ruth said to Naomi: \u201cWhither thou goest, I will go, and\nwhere thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people and thy\nGod, my God.\u201d So Ruth and Naomi came to Bethlehem.\n\n[Illustration: RUTH AND NAOMI.]\n\n\n\n\nBOAZ AND RUTH.\n\n\nRuth and Naomi were poor. So Ruth went out to pick up the grain which the\nreapers let fall at their work. The field into which she went belonged\nto a rich man named Boaz. He was pleased with Ruth, and let her eat and\ndrink with the reapers. He told her never to go anywhere else, but always\nto come to his field, and he made the reapers let fall some grain on\npurpose for her. So when she came home to Naomi at night, she had a very\nlarge bundle. Ruth went to that field all through the harvest. Afterward\nshe became the wife of Boaz.\n\nSo you see Ruth did not lose anything by staying with Naomi.\n\n[Illustration: BOAZ SHOWING KINDNESS TO RUTH.]\n\n\n\n\nELI AND SAMUEL.\n\n\nOnce a year Samuel\u2019s mother went to see him and always took with her a\nlittle coat. One night, when Samuel was asleep, he heard his name spoken.\nHe thought Eli called him, and ran to see what he wanted. But Eli said\nhe had not called him. So he went back to bed. Again he heard \u201cSamuel,\u201d\nand again he ran to Eli. But Eli had not called him. Still again he was\ncalled and ran to Eli. Then Eli knew that God had spoken and told him to\nsay, \u201cSpeak, Lord, for thy servant heareth,\u201d next time he was called.\nSamuel did this, and God told him of something terrible that was going to\nhappen to Eli and his sons.\n\n[Illustration: SAMUEL AND ELI.]\n\n\n\n\nDEATH OF ELI AND HIS SONS.\n\n\nA little while after God spoke to Samuel, the Israelites fought against\nthe Philistines. They were beaten. Then they took the ark of God from the\ntabernacle and marched against the Philistines. At first the Philistines\nwere afraid of the ark. But they fought bravely. The Israelites were\nagain beaten. Eli\u2019s two sons were killed and the ark of God was taken.\nEli was then ninety-eight years old. He was blind. He was sitting on a\nbench by the roadside when he heard the sad news. He was so overcome by\nthe intelligence he fell over backward and brake his neck. That was what\nGod told Samuel would happen.\n\n[Illustration: ELI RECEIVING THE NEWS OF THE DEATH OF HIS SONS.]\n\n\n\n\nPLAYING ON THE HARP BEFORE SAUL.\n\n\nSaul was the king of Israel. David was a shepherd boy, the son of Jesse.\nHe had a happy, ruddy face that made everybody like him. Besides he was\nvery brave. Once he killed both a lion and a bear that came to eat up the\nlambs in his father\u2019s flock. He knew how to throw stones with a sling and\ncould play on the harp beautifully. One day King Saul was feeling very\nsad and wanted somebody to play to him. He thought music would make him\nfeel better. His servants told him about David. So he sent for him. David\ncame and played so nicely on the harp that Saul forgot all about his\ntrouble.\n\n[Illustration: DAVID PLAYING ON THE HARP BEFORE SAUL.]\n\n\n\n\nDAVID AND GOLIATH.\n\n\nThe Israelites and Philistines were at war. Goliath was a Philistine\ngiant. He used to come out in front of the Israelites every day and\ndare any one to fight with him. He was so big and strong that all the\nIsraelites were afraid to try. One day David came to the camp on an\nerrand, and when he saw Goliath he made up his mind to fight him. So he\nchose five smooth stones out of a brook and put them in his shepherd\u2019s\nbag. Then with sling in hand he went toward Goliath. Goliath laughed at\nhim, but David did not mind that. He threw a stone with his sling. It hit\nGoliath on the forehead and he fell to the ground. Then David cut off his\nhead.\n\n[Illustration: DAVID.]\n\n\n\n\nDAVID AND ARAUNAH.\n\n\nDavid was not a bad man, but he sometimes did wrong and then God had\nto punish him although He was very fond of him. When he had been king\nmany years he had the Israelites counted. This displeased God and He\nsent a plague upon Israel. This plague killed many thousand people.\nDavid felt very sorry to have his people die for his sin and prayed God\nto stop the plague and punish him instead. God told David to go to the\nthreshing-floor of Araunah and make an offering. David went. He bought\nthe threshing-floor and some oxen and wood. Then he built an altar and\nmade the offering. God stopped the plague.\n\n[Illustration: DAVID AND ARAUNAH.]\n\n\n\n\nELIJAH FED BY RAVENS.\n\n\nAhab was a very wicked king, more wicked than any that came before him.\nHe took a wife who worshiped idols and built an altar to a heathen god\nand worshiped this god. So God sent Elijah to Ahab to say to him: \u201cAs\nthe Lord of Israel liveth there shall not be dew nor rain these years.\u201d\nAhab was so angry at Elijah that he had to flee and hide himself by the\nbrook Cherith near the river Jordan. The brook gave him all the water he\nneeded, but there was no food there. But God would not let his prophet\nstarve. He sent ravens to feed him. These ravens brought him bread and\nmeat twice every day; in the morning and in the evening.\n\n[Illustration: ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS.]\n\n\n\n\nELIJAH AND ELISHA.\n\n\nOne day Elijah was traveling through the land, when he saw twelve men\nploughing with twelve yoke of oxen. One of these men was Elisha. When\nElijah saw Elisha, he knew that he was the man God wished him to take\nfor a servant. So Elijah threw his coat on Elisha as he went by. Then\nElisha ran after Elijah and said: \u201cLet me, I pray thee, kiss my father\nand mother and then I will follow thee.\u201d He killed a yoke of oxen and\nmade a feast. Then he said good-by to his father and mother and went away\nwith Elijah. Afterward God took Elijah up to Heaven in a chariot of fire.\nElisha was with him at the time.\n\n[Illustration: PLOUGHING IN CANAAN.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE SHUNAMMITE\u2019S SON.\n\n\nA kind Shunammite woman who liked Elisha made for him a little chamber\non the wall. She made it cosey with a bed and table and stool and\ncandlestick. Elisha used to come to this little room when he got tired.\nNow this good woman had a little boy whom she dearly loved, for he was\nher only child. One morning the little fellow was running about in the\nfield with the reapers. All at once he felt a pain and ran to his father,\ncrying, \u201cMy head! my head!\u201d When the father saw his little son was not\nfeeling well, he had him taken home to his mother. She held him in her\nlap till noon. Then he died. Elisha brought him back to life.\n\n[Illustration: THE SHUNAMMITE\u2019S SON RESTORED.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID.\n\n\nNaaman was a great Syrian general, who had beaten the Israelites in\nbattle. He was very wretched because he was a leper. Now Naaman\u2019s wife\nhad a little Israelite girl to wait upon her, who had heard of the\nwonderful things Elisha had done. This little girl had told her mistress\nthat Elisha could cure Naaman. So Naaman went with his chariot and horses\nto see Elisha. Elisha told him to wash seven times in the river Jordan.\nNaaman would not do this at first, it seemed such a little thing. But he\nfinally changed his mind, and washed in the Jordan and was cured. You see\nhow much good one little girl can do.\n\n[Illustration: THE LITTLE CAPTIVE MAID.]\n\n\n\n\nJONAH AT NINEVEH.\n\n\nGod told Jonah to go to Nineveh and warn the people that their city\nwould be destroyed because they were so wicked. But Jonah ran away to\nsea. There was a terrible storm on the sea, and the sailors threw Jonah\noverboard. They thought he was the cause of the storm. But he was not\ndrowned, for God sent a great fish to swallow him. Jonah was inside the\nfish three days and three nights. Then God made the fish throw Jonah up\non the dry land. After this God sent Jonah to Nineveh. But the people\nwere so sorry for their sins that He took pity on them and did not\ndestroy the city.\n\n[Illustration: JONAH AT NINEVEH.]\n\n\n\n\nHEZEKIAH AND SENNACHERIB.\n\n\nHezekiah was the best king Judah ever had. The Bible says no king\never served God so well. When Hezekiah had been king fourteen years,\nSennacherib, the king of Assyria, marched against Jerusalem. He sent a\nletter to Hezekiah, telling him to give up the city because his God could\nnot help him. Hezekiah took this letter up into the temple. He spread it\nout before God and prayed Him to save Jerusalem. God heard his prayer.\nThat night His angel went into the Assyrian camp and killed one hundred\nand eighty-five thousand of the Assyrians. Soon after this Sennacherib\u2019s\ntwo sons killed him.\n\n[Illustration: HEZEKIAH LAYING THE LETTER BEFORE GOD.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BRAVE HEBREW BOYS.\n\n\nDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were four Hebrew boys who were\nprisoners at Babylon. They thought it was wrong to eat the meat and drink\nthe wine the king sent, and refused both when offered them. They asked\nfor plain food and pure water instead. But the servant was afraid they\nwould grow thin if he gave them nothing else. Then the king would be\nangry at him and he would lose his life. Daniel told him to give them\nplain food and water for ten days. He did so. At the end of the ten days\nthey seemed so much better than those who ate the meat and drank the wine\nthat the servant was glad to do as they wished.\n\n[Illustration: THE BRAVE HEBREW BOYS.]\n\n\n\n\nDANIEL AND THE LIONS.\n\n\nWhen Darius was king at Babylon he liked Daniel so well that he made\nhim the chief officer in his kingdom. This made the other officers hate\nDaniel. They got Darius to make a law that every man who prayed to any\none except Darius himself should be thrown into the den of lions. Daniel\nkept on praying to his God three times a day. When Darius heard that\nDaniel prayed he was very sorry he had made the law. But he could not\nchange it, so Daniel was thrown into the lions\u2019 den. That night Darius\ncould not sleep, he felt so bad. Very early next morning he ran to the\nden. But Daniel was safe, for God had shut the lions\u2019 mouths.\n\n[Illustration: DANIEL AND THE LIONS.]\n\n\n\n\nESTHER BEFORE THE KING.\n\n\nAhasuerus was king of Persia. Esther, a Jewess, was his queen. Haman was\nnext to the king. He was a cruel man, and hated the Jews because one of\nthem, a servant of the king, would not bow down to him. So he got the\nking to make a law that all the Jews in his kingdom should be killed.\nEsther felt very sorry for her people. She made up her mind to save them\nif she could. But first she spent three days in fasting and prayer. Then\nshe went to the king and begged him to save the Jews. The king loved\nEsther so much that he did what she asked. So the Jews were saved from\nthe cruel decree of the king Ahasuerus.\n\n[Illustration: ESTHER BEFORE THE KING.]\n\n\n\n\nDAVID AND JONATHAN.\n\n\nSaul loved David at first. Then he hated him and tried to kill him twice\nby throwing his spear at him. David escaped and hid himself. Now Saul\nhad a son named Jonathan, who thought a great deal of David. It made him\nfeel very bad to see his father trying to kill him. Jonathan thought that\nSaul might get over his anger in two or three days and take David back.\nBut when he was sure that Saul really meant to kill David, he went to\nhis hiding place and told him how he might get away. After they had wept\nand kissed each other and promised always to be friends, David fled and\nJonathan went back to his father.\n\n[Illustration: DAVID AND JONATHAN.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE BIRTH OF CHRIST.\n\n\nOne night certain shepherds were out in the fields taking care of their\nsheep. Suddenly they saw a light brighter than the sun, and in the glory\nof the light, an angel. They felt afraid.\n\nBut the angel spoke to them; he said: \u201cFear not. I have good news for\nyou, and for all the people in the world. There was born to-day, in\nthe city of Bethlehem, a little child who is to be a Saviour; his name\nis Christ the Lord. You will find him lying in a manger.\u201d As he spoke,\nsuddenly there appeared a great company of angels, and they sang: \u201cGlory\nto God in the highest, and on earth, _peace_, good-will toward men.\u201d\n\nWhen the angels were gone back to Heaven, the shepherds said to one\nanother: \u201cLet us go right away to Bethlehem, and find this wonderful baby\nthat the Lord has sent us word about.\u201d\n\nSo they started in haste. When they reached Bethlehem, they found the\nstable, and the manger, and there was the baby with his mother. Then the\nshepherds told what the angels had said and sung. The people wondered\nat it; the mother remembered every word, and thought about what it all\nmeant. Then the shepherds went back to their work praising God as they\nwent, for all that he had told them, and for all that they had seen.\n\n[Illustration: THE BIRTH OF CHRIST.\u2014Matt. ii. 1.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE CHILDHOOD OF JESUS.\n\n\nThe child Jesus grew strong in body and mind. He was so unlike any other\nchild that he was \u201cfilled with wisdom.\u201d God\u2019s favor was with him all the\ntime. When he was twelve years old he went with his father and mother\nto Jerusalem to the great yearly feast called the Passover. Having been\nthere eight days, they started for home. But Jesus stayed behind at\nJerusalem. His father and mother didn\u2019t know it; they supposed him to be\nwith some of the friends. At night when they stopped to rest, they found\nhe was not to be found. They went among the friends and acquaintances who\nwere travelling with them, but they got no news of him; so they turned\nback toward Jerusalem, looking for him all the way. In this way three\ndays passed; then they found their son sitting in the church among the\nlearned men, listening and asking questions. And the people who listened\nwere astonished at the questions which Jesus asked, and at the words\nwhich he spoke. When his parents saw him, they were very much astonished.\nHis mother said to him: \u201cMy son, why did you treat us in this way? Your\nfather and I have hunted for you in great sorrow.\u201d\n\nThen he made this strange answer: \u201cHow is it that you sought me? Didn\u2019t\nyou know that I must be about _my_ Father\u2019s business?\u201d\n\nThey didn\u2019t understand what he meant; they forgot that their son was not\nsimply a boy; he was God. But he came at once from the church, and went\nhome with them, and obeyed his father and mother in everything. But his\nmother never forgot any of the strange words that he spoke.\n\n[Illustration: THE CHILD JESUS.\u2014Luke ii. 40.]\n\n[Illustration: JESUS IN THE TEMPLE, TEACHING THE DOCTORS.\u2014Luke ii. 46.]\n\n\n\n\nMINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.\n\n\nWhen Jesus had grown to be a young man, there came a minister through the\ncountry about Jordan, preaching to the people that they repent and be\nbaptized. Some thought he was the Christ for whom they had been waiting.\nBut he said to them: \u201cI baptize you with water, but there is coming one,\nso much mightier than I, that I am not even worthy to untie his shoes\n[this was the work of the lowest servant]; He will baptize you with the\nHoly Ghost and with fire. He will make clean the hearts of his people.\nHe will gather them in as wheat is gathered into the garner. But the\nwicked will be like chaff which is burned up, with a fire that cannot\nbe put out.\u201d Many other solemn things, also, this minister preached to\nthe people. A man named Herod, ruler over part of the country, was angry\nwith John because he had been reproved for many sins, among them marrying\na woman whom he had no right to marry; and he put John in prison. But\nbefore that happened, one day, when John had been preaching and baptizing\nmany people, Jesus came, and asked to be baptized also; and as he was\npraying, a wonderful thing happened. The Holy Ghost came down out of\nheaven in the form of a dove, and rested on Jesus, and a voice out of\nheaven said: \u201cThou art my beloved son; in thee I am well pleased.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nJESUS AT NAZARETH.\n\n\nWe find Jesus to-day in Nazareth, where he lived in his boyhood. It is\nthe Sabbath-day, and he has gone to church, and stands reading to the\npeople from the Bible. He read in the book named Isaiah; read about\nhimself. These are the words: \u201cThe Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because\nHe hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent me\nto heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,\nand recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are\nbruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.\u201d When he had read\nthese wonderful words he closed the book, and gave it to the minister,\nand sat down. All the people looked at him, wondering what he would\nsay. Then he began to talk. He told them that the promises he had been\nreading to them were fulfilled. All listened and wondered at the tender\nand beautiful words that he spoke. They whispered to each other, saying,\n\u201cIsn\u2019t this Joseph\u2019s son?\u201d Then he said to them: \u201cYou will surely remind\nme of the proverb, \u2018Physician, heal thyself.\u2019 Do some of the wonderful\nthings here that we have heard of you doing in Capernaum. But, remember,\nno prophet is highly thought of in his own country. Remember that during\nthat time of famine in Israel, when it didn\u2019t rain for three years and\nsix months, there were many widows, but the prophet Elijah was sent only\nto one at Sarepta, a city of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel\nwhile the prophet Elisha lived there; but Naaman, the Syrian, was the\nonly one that was cured.\u201d\n\nThis preaching made the people angry, and they started up in wrath and\nthrust him out of their city, and wanted to push him headlong down the\nhill on the top of which Nazareth was built. But just there he showed his\npower, in passing quietly through the crowd of angry people, holding them\nback by the power of his gaze, and went away.\n\n[Illustration: JESUS IN THE TEMPLE, READING THE BIBLE.\u2014Luke iv. 16.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE DRAUGHT OF FISHES.\n\n\nJesus stood by the shore of Lake Gennesaret, and the people pressed\nabout him, to hear him talk about God. He saw two ships near the water;\nthey were empty, for the fishermen to whom they belonged were gone to\nwash their nets. One of the ships belonged to a man named Simon. Jesus\nstepped into it, and when Simon came asked him to push out a little from\nthe shore; then he sat down in the ship and taught the people. When the\nsermon was over he said to Simon: \u201cPush out now where it is deep, and\nlet down your net.\u201d Simon answered: \u201cWe have been at work all night,\nMaster, and have caught no fish; but we will do as you say.\u201d So they\nlet down the net into the water, and at once it became so full of fish\nthat it began to break. Then Simon and the other fisherman called to\ntheir partners, who were in the other ship, to come and help. They came\nand filled both the ships with fish; then the ships began to sink. Simon\nPeter, seeing that, fell on his knees and began to pray; he said: \u201cDepart\nfrom me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.\u201d He meant that he was not worthy\nto be near the Lord. He was astonished and frightened, and so were the\nothers\u2014James and John, and they were the sons of Zebedee. Jesus spoke\nkindly and tenderly to Simon; he said: \u201cFear not; after this you shall\ncatch men.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: MIRACULOUS DRAUGHT OF FISHES.\u2014John xxi. 4.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE CENTURION\u2019S FAITH.\n\n\nNext we find Jesus at Capernaum. A certain Roman military officer lived\nthere, who had a servant lying very sick. The officer loved his faithful\nservant. He saw that he was going to die. He had heard of Jesus, and he\nsent some of the elders to him, begging that he would come and cure the\nsick man. The messengers came to Jesus and urged him to go at once to the\nsick one; they told him how kind the officer had been to their people. He\nwent with them. When they were near the house, other friends came out to\nmeet the Saviour, and presently the officer came himself. He told Jesus\nthat he did not feel himself worthy to have so great a man in his house;\nthat he did not want to trouble him to go there, and at first he thought\nhe ought not even to come to him, troubling him. He begged that Jesus\nwould just then and there speak a word that should cure his servant. He\nsaid that he was a man in authority, having servants who obeyed orders.\nJesus, he believed, had but to give orders, and his invisible servants\nwould obey him. Jesus wondered at his faith.\n\nHe turned, and said to the people who were following: \u201cI haven\u2019t found\nsuch great faith as this in all Israel.\u201d Some of those who had been sent\nto Jesus, now reached the house where the sick man had lain, and behold\nhe was well! This story is also told in Matthew viii. 5-13.\n\n[Illustration: THE CENTURION.\u2014Matt. viii. 8.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE WIDOW OF NAIN.\n\n\nOnce Jesus went to the city of Nain. His disciples went with him. Many\npeople followed him. As he reached the city gate he met a funeral\nprocession. It was a long procession, for the young man who was dead had\nbeen his mother\u2019s only son, and she was a widow. The people were very\nsorry for her. Jesus, when he saw her, felt very sorry for her, too.\nHe spoke to her. He said, \u201cWeep not.\u201d Then he went towards the frame\non which the dead body was laid, and touched it; and the men who were\ncarrying it stood still, and Jesus spoke to the dead. He said, \u201cYoung\nman, I say unto thee, arise.\u201d Immediately the dead man sat up and spoke\nto Jesus; and Jesus called his mother to him. This wonderful thing made\nthe people afraid; they said, \u201cA great prophet has come among us.\u201d And\nthey praised God for sending him. This story was told all over the\ncountry, and for many miles around. When the people came together they\nsaid, \u201cHave you heard how that poor widow who lives in Nain had her son\ngiven back to her after he was dead?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: JESUS RAISETH THE WIDOW\u2019S SON.\u2014Luke vii. 14-15.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE FRIEND OF SINNERS.\n\n\nJesus was invited to dine with a man named Simon. While at table, a poor\nwoman came in and poured sweet-smelling ointment over the feet of Jesus,\nweeping so that she washed his feet with her tears. Simon did not like\nthis, for the woman was very wicked. He thought if Jesus were a prophet\nhe would know what sort of a woman this was, and would not allow her to\ntouch him. Jesus saw these thoughts in his heart, and told him he had\nsomething to say to him. Then he told him this story: \u201cThere was once a\nman who was owed by two men; one owed him five hundred pence, and the\nother fifty. Both were poor, having nothing with which to pay their\ndebt. The good man knowing this, forgave them both. Tell me, which of\nthem will love him most?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said Simon, \u201cI suppose the one who owed the most.\u201d\n\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Jesus, \u201cthat is true. Simon, do you see this poor woman? You\ngave me no water to wash my feet, but she has washed them with her tears,\nand wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but she continues to\nkiss my feet. You did not even anoint my head, but she has anointed my\nfeet. Now I tell you this: her sins which are many, are forgiven, for\nshe loves me very much. If people feel that they have but little to be\nforgiven, they have but little love.\u201d Then he spoke to the woman; he\nsaid: \u201cYour sins are forgiven.\u201d Those who were sitting with him at table\nbegan to say among themselves, \u201cWhy, who is this man who can forgive\nsins?\u201d Jesus spoke again to the woman; he said: \u201cThy faith hath saved\nthee; go in peace.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: MARY MAGDALEN ANOINTING THE FEET OF JESUS.\u2014Luke vii. 38.]\n\n\n\n\nRETURN OF THE SEVENTY.\n\n\nSeventy people were sent out in many directions to tell the people of the\nLord Jesus. They had blessed meetings. They came back filled with joy.\nThey told Jesus that they had found even devils who had to obey their\nwords when they spoke in his name. Jesus told them that he had long known\nthat Satan would be subject to him. Also he promised them that nothing\nshould hurt them in their work, neither that serpent Satan, nor any of\nhis helpers. But he reminded them, that though they had such great power\ngiven them, there was something better than that for them to rejoice\nover forever: that their names were written in heaven. Then Jesus, with\ngreat joy in his heart, thanked God that he had hidden many things from\nthe worldly-wise and the selfishly prudent, and had made them known to\nthe humble-hearted who were willing to be like little children and learn\nof him. He reminded his disciples that no man knew about the mysteries\nof God, but that all things were delivered to him, and that no one could\nunderstand the Father unless he made him plain to their hearts. And he\nsaid to those disciples aside, \u201cBlessed are the eyes which see the things\nthat you see; many prophets and kings desired to see them, but were not\npermitted.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: AND WHEN YE COME INTO AN HOUSE, SALUTE IT.\u2014Matt. x. 12.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOOD SAMARITAN.\n\n\nA lawyer once asked Jesus who was his neighbor, and Jesus told him this\nstory:\u2014\u201cOnce a man went from Jerusalem to Jericho, and on the road he\nmet a party of thieves. They stripped his clothes from him; they wounded\nhim, and at last went away, leaving him lying half dead. A little while\nafter a certain minister passed that way; he saw the man, but he crossed\nthe street and went on. Then there came a Levite; he stopped and looked\nat the poor man, and then he too crossed the street and went on his way.\nThen there came a Samaritan; he stopped and looked at the poor man, and\nhis heart was filled with pity. The man was nothing to him, not even\none of his own nation; but he bound up his wounds, pouring oil and wine\non them to soothe the pain; then he lifted the man to his own horse and\ntook him to a place where he could be cared for. In the morning before he\nwent on his journey, he took from his pocket some money, and gave it to\nthe host, and asked him to have the sick man taken care of. If he had to\nspend money, when he came that way again he would pay the bill.\u201d\n\n\u201cNow,\u201d said Jesus, \u201cwhich of these three people do you think treated the\npoor man like a neighbor?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhy,\u201d said the lawyer, \u201cthe one who took care of him.\u201d\n\n\u201cThen,\u201d said Jesus, \u201csee that you follow his example.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE GOOD SAMARITAN.\u2014Luke x. 33.]\n\n\n\n\nIMPORTUNITY IN PRAYER.\n\n\nAt one time when Jesus was with his disciples they asked him to teach\nthem to pray. Having talked with them about the Lord\u2019s Prayer, he\nillustrated prayer by the following:\n\nSaid he: \u201cSuppose you had a friend to whom you should go one night at\nmidnight, and ask him to lend you three loaves of bread, for a friend\nhad arrived unexpectedly, and you had nothing for him. Suppose he should\nanswer, \u2018Don\u2019t trouble me; I\u2019ve shut my house for the night, and my\nchildren and I are in bed; I can\u2019t get up and attend to you.\u2019 Now I tell\nyou, though he wouldn\u2019t attend to you on account of friendship, yet if\nyou persist in urging your need he will get up and give you what you\nwant. Now I say to you: ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall\nfind; knock and it shall be opened unto you. Every one that asks shall\nreceive; he who seeks shall find; to him who knocks it shall be opened.\nSuppose your son asks for a piece of bread, would you give him a stone?\nSuppose he asks for a fish, would you give him a serpent? If he ask for\nan egg, would you give him a scorpion? Now, if you with evil hearts and\nignorant minds, yet know enough to take care of your children and give\nthem proper things, don\u2019t you suppose that your Heavenly Father knows\nwhat you need, and will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?\u201d\n\n[Illustration: SECRET PRAYER.\u2014Matt. vi. 6.]\n\n\n\n\nWARNING AGAINST COVETOUSNESS.\n\n\nJesus had been talking about the loving care of the Heavenly Father, and\none of the listeners interrupted him with a request that he would talk\nto his brother and get him to divide equally between them the property\nthat had been left. Jesus asked him who he thought made him a judge, or\na divider over them; and then, by the story he told them, he showed the\ncovetous thought that was in the man\u2019s heart. He reminded them that the\nimportant thing in a man\u2019s life was not to have a great deal of property.\nSaid he: \u201cThere was a certain man who grew rich; his harvests were so\ngreat that he wondered what he should do with all his grain. At last he\ndecided to pull down his barns and build larger ones, and then say to\nhis soul, \u2018Soul, you have plenty of food, enough to last you many years;\ntake your ease, eat, drink and be merry.\u2019 But just then God spoke to him;\nHe said, \u2018Foolish man, this night your soul shall be called to leave the\nbody; then who will have all these things which you have provided?\u2019\u2014Now,\u201d\nsaid Jesus, \u201cthe man who plans for himself, laying up treasures for\nhimself, and has none of the riches that God could give him, is like this\npoor, foolish man in the story.\u201d Then He turned to His disciples and\ntold them that living meant more than simply keeping the body alive and\nclothed.\n\n[Illustration: CONSIDER THE LILIES HOW THEY GROW.\u2014Luke xii. 27.]\n\n\n\n\nWARNING AGAINST FORMALISM.\n\n\nJesus was traveling through the cities and villages on his way to\nJerusalem, teaching as he went. One day a man asked him if many would be\nsaved. He said all must strive to enter in at the straight gate, for many\nwould try some other way and would not get in. He said, \u201cIt was like a\nfeast spread for guests; and when once the master of the house had closed\nthe door, no more could get in. Those who stood outside saying, \u2018Lord,\nLord, open the door for us,\u2019 would only be answered with \u2018I don\u2019t know\nyou.\u2019 They might answer, \u2018We have eaten and drank with you, and you have\ntaught in our streets,\u2019 for some of these people who would not follow\nJesus had sat at table with him and heard his teachings. But he said\nthe answer to any such would be, \u2018I don\u2019t know you; go away, you are\nwicked people.\u2019\u2014Then,\u201d said Jesus, \u201cthere shall be weeping and gnashing\nof teeth;\u201d Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob would be inside, but those who\nwould not come to him by the right way would be thrust out. People from\nevery quarter shall come together and sit down in God\u2019s kingdom. The\nGentiles, who were the last to hear the good news, shall be among the\nfirst in heaven, and some of the Jews (God\u2019s dear people who would not\nlove Him) will not get in.\n\n[Illustration: JESUS EATETH WITH PUBLICANS AND SINNERS.\u2014Mark ii. 16.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE GOSPEL FEAST.\n\n\nOne Sabbath-day Jesus was taking dinner at the house of a Pharisee. He\ntalked with the people at the table about humility of manner at the great\nfeasts which were given in those days. Then one of the company said to\nhim, \u201cBlessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.\u201d I do\nnot think he meant heaven, but rather the kingdom that he hoped the\nMessiah would set up on the earth. Jesus answered him in the form of a\nstory about a man who made a great supper, sending out many invitations.\nWhen everything was ready he sent for his guests to come, and every one\nof them sent an excuse. One said he had bought a piece of ground and\nmust go and see it, and begged to be excused; another said he had bought\nfive yoke of oxen, and was going to prove them; another said he had just\nbeen married and couldn\u2019t come. When the servant came back and told his\nmaster he was angry. He told his servants to go out quickly through the\nstreets and bring all the lame people, and the blind people, and the poor\npeople of every sort. So the servant did as he was told; but he said to\nhis master, \u201cThere is room yet.\u201d So the master told him to go out in the\nhighways and hedges, and coax people to come to the supper, and fill the\nhouse, for none of those who were first invited should be allowed to\ntaste of the supper.\n\n[Illustration: JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES ON THE ROAD TO C\u00c6SAREA.\u2014Mark viii.\n27.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE PRODIGAL SON.\n\n\nJesus once, in teaching the people, told this story: \u201cA man had two sons;\nthe younger of them asked his father to give him the part of the property\nthat would finally belong to him. So the father divided his wealth\nbetween them. A few days after that the younger son went a long journey,\ntaking all his money with him; but he wasted it in wild and foolish\nliving. When it was all gone there came a great famine to that country,\nand the foolish young man had nothing to live on. He went looking for\nwork, and a man hired him to take care of swine. He was so hungry that\nhe was willing to eat the husks that the swine had for food; and no one\ngave anything to him. Then he began to think of his home, and to remember\nhow his father\u2019s servants had plenty to eat, and here he was starving!\nThen he said, \u2018I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him,\nFather, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am not worthy to\nbe called your son; let me be one of your hired servants.\u2019 So he went on\nhis journey home. When he was yet a great way from the house, his father\nsaw him and ran out to meet him, and put his arms around him and kissed\nhim. Then the son said, \u2018Father, I have sinned against heaven and against\nyou; I am not worthy to be called your son.\u2019 But the father said, \u2018bring\nthe best clothes in the house for him to wear, and put a ring on his\nhand, and shoes on his feet, and have the fatted calf killed, and make a\nfeast, and let us eat and drink and be merry; for my son was the same to\nme as dead, and now he is alive again; he was lost, but now he is found.\u2019\nAnd they were merry.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON.\u2014Luke xv. 20.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.\n\n\nIn order to explain to his disciples that there were two worlds for\nsouls, Jesus once told them this story:\u2014\u201cThere was a rich man who wore\nelegant clothing and lived richly every day. There was a poor, sick\nbeggar, named Lazarus, lying at his gate. He wanted the crumbs which were\nleft from the rich man\u2019s table. His body was full of sores, and the dogs\nused to come and lick them. One day this poor man died, but God sent\nhis angels and carried him to heaven. Then the rich man died, and was\nburied. His soul went to hell. One day, while he was in that place of\npain and torment, he looked up, and away off he saw heaven, and Lazarus\nthe beggar was there, with his head on Abraham\u2019s bosom. He called to\nhim: \u2018Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip\nof his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this\nflame.\u2019 But Abraham said: \u2018Son, remember that while you were living you\nhad plenty of good things, while Lazarus suffered at your gate. Now he is\nhappy, and you are suffering. And, besides, there is a great gulf between\nyou and us, so that if we wanted to come to you we could not; neither can\nyou come here from that place.\u2019 Then the rich man said, \u2018I pray you send\nhim to my father\u2019s house to tell my five brothers about this dreadful\nplace, so they need not come here.\u2019 But Abraham said, \u2018Why, they have the\nstory of that place. Moses wrote about it, and the Prophets wrote about\nit; let them read it.\u2019 But the rich man said, \u2018O, Father Abraham, if one\nwent back to them from the dead, they would repent.\u2019 \u2018No,\u2019 said Abraham,\n\u2018if they will not believe God\u2019s own word, as Moses and the Prophets wrote\nit in the Bible, neither would they believe if one went to them from the\ndead.\u2019\u201d\n\n[Illustration: LAZARUS AT THE RICH MAN\u2019S DOOR.\u2014Luke xvi. 19.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE TEN LEPERS.\n\n\nOne day Jesus, on his journey to Jerusalem, passed through a village in\nSamaria. He saw ten men who had the leprosy; they kept away from all\nother people, as the law obliged them to. But when they saw Jesus, they\ncalled out with loud voices, \u201cJesus, Master, have mercy on us!\u201d Jesus\nsaid to them, \u201cGo show yourselves to the priest.\u201d This was what people\nwho were cured of leprosy were obliged to do before they could go among\nthe people. The priest had to give them a certificate to say that they\nwere cured. As these ten men turned to go to the priest, as Jesus had\ntold them, suddenly they found that they were well. One of them, as soon\nas he found it out, turned back and followed after Jesus, and when he\nreached him he bowed down at his feet, thanking him and praising God. He\nwas from a Samaritan village; not one of the Lord\u2019s chosen people, but a\nGentile. Jesus said to him, \u201cDidn\u2019t I cure ten men? Where are the nine?\nNot one of them came back to thank me, except this Samaritan.\u201d Then he\nsaid to the kneeling man, \u201cArise, and go on your way; your faith hath\nmade you whole.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: JESUS CURING THE TEN LEPERS.\u2014Luke xvii. 14.]\n\n\n\n\nWHOM THE LORD RECEIVES.\n\n\nWhen Jesus was on earth he met some people who thought that they were\nperfect, and they despised other people. One day he told them this story:\n\u201cThere were two men who went to the temple one day to pray. One of them\nwas a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee said, \u2018God, I thank\nthee that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or\neven as this man beside me. I fast twice in the week, and I give a tenth\nof all that I have.\u2019 Then the publican prayed: he did not even go close\nto the holy place: he kept his eyes on the ground, and he struck his\nbreast, which was a sign of deep humility, as he said, \u2018God be merciful\nto me, a sinner\u2019\u2014I tell you,\u201d said Jesus, \u201cthat man went back to his home\njustified, rather than the other, for every one who thinks too well of\nhimself must be humbled; but those who are humble God will exalt.\u201d\n\nThe rest of the story is about some very little children being brought\nto Jesus. His disciples tried to have them sent away, for they did not\nunderstand Jesus; but he called the little ones to him and said: \u201cSuffer\nlittle children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the\nkingdom of heaven. Truly I say to you, that any one who will not receive\nthe kingdom of heaven with the faith of a little child shall never enter\nthere.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN.\u2014Luke xviii. 10.]\n\n\n\n\nZACCHEUS THE PUBLICAN.\n\n\nThere was a man named Zaccheus, a rich man, a tax-gatherer, who wanted\nvery much to see Jesus. One day, when Jesus was passing through the\ncity of Jericho, Zaccheus, who was a small man and could not see over\nthe heads of the crowd who were following Jesus, ran ahead of them and\nclimbed into a sycamore tree. When Jesus reached the tree he looked up\nand said, \u201cZaccheus, make haste and come down; I want to go to your house\nto-day.\u201d Then Zaccheus hurried down and joyfully took Jesus home with\nhim. But the people murmured about it; they said, \u201cHe has gone to visit\na wicked man.\u201d Then Zaccheus talked with Jesus; he said to him, \u201cLord,\nI mean to give the half of all my goods to the poor; and if I have taken\nanything from any man wrongfully, I will give him back four times as\nmuch.\u201d Then Jesus said to him, \u201cThis day is salvation come to your house.\nYou are a Jew, a son of Abraham; you shall have the promised gift.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nJUDAISM OVERTHROWN.\n\n\nJesus, one day, talking with his disciples, said to them: \u201cTake care that\nyou are not deceived. There will be many coming in my name, saying, \u2018I\nam Christ, and the end is near;\u2019 but don\u2019t follow after them. When you\nhear of wars and disturbances, don\u2019t be frightened; these things must\nfirst come, but the end is not at once. Nation shall rise against nation,\nand kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be great earthquakes, and\nfamines, and pestilences, and fearful sights; and great signs shall there\nbe from heaven: and before these come, people will persecute you, and put\nyou in prisons, and you shall be brought before kings and rulers, for my\nname\u2019s sake. And you will have a chance to testify for me; but you need\nnot plan what you shall say, for I will give you words that your enemies\ncan neither answer nor resist. You will be betrayed by parents, brothers,\nrelatives and friends, and some of you will be put to death; and you will\nbe hated by men for my sake; but not a hair of your head shall perish. Be\npatient to the end, and your souls shall be saved. When you see Jerusalem\nsurrounded with armies, then know that desolation is near. Then let them\nwhich are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let them which are in the\nmidst of it depart out, and let not them which are in the countries enter\nthereinto.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: JESUS FORETELLS THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE.\u2014Matt. xxiv.\n2.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE LORD\u2019S SUPPER.\n\n\nIt was the evening before Jesus was to be crucified that these things\nhappened which are in our lesson to-day. Jesus sent Peter and John to\nmake ready the supper, that they might eat it together. He said to them:\n\u201cWhen you get to the city of Jerusalem, a man will meet you, carrying a\npitcher of water; follow him and stop at the same house. Tell the man of\nthe house that the Master told you to ask him where the guest-chamber was\nin which he could eat the Passover with his disciples. He will show you\na large upper room, furnished. In that room make all things ready.\u201d It\nall happened just as he said, and they prepared the supper. When Jesus\nand the twelve disciples sat down he said to them, \u201cI have longed to eat\nthis Passover with you before I suffer, for I will not eat of it any more\nuntil it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.\u201d Then he took up the cup\nand gave thanks, and said, \u201cTake this and divide it among yourselves,\nfor I say unto you, I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the\nkingdom of God shall come.\u201d And he took bread and gave thanks, and gave\nthe bread to them, saying, \u201cThis is my body which is given for you; do\nthis in remembrance of me.\u201d After supper he took the cup and passed it to\nthem, saying, \u201cThis cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed\nfor you.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE LAST SUPPER.\u2014Matt. xxvi. 26.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE CROSS.\n\n\nAt the place which is called Calvary, our Lord was crucified, and on\nthe cross with him hung two thieves, one on each side. The soldiers\ndivided his clothes among them, casting lots which should have them. He\nprayed for them all; he said, \u201cFather, forgive them, for they know not\nwhat they do.\u201d The people and the rulers stood about him, looking at\nhim and mocking. They said, \u201cHe saved others, let him save himself if\nhe is Christ, the chosen one of God.\u201d And the soldiers also mocked him,\noffering him vinegar to drink, and saying to him, \u201cIf you are the king\nof the Jews, save yourself.\u201d Then they wrote on a tablet in Greek, and\nin Latin, and in Hebrew, \u201cThis is the King of the Jews,\u201d and hung it\nover the cross. One of the thieves joined in the mocking, saying, \u201cIf\nyou are Christ, save yourself and us;\u201d but the other thief reproved him,\nasking him if he did not fear God, since they were suffering the same\npunishment. \u201cThey,\u201d he said, \u201cdeserved their punishment, but the other\nhad done nothing wrong.\u201d Then he spoke directly to Jesus: he said, \u201cLord,\nremember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.\u201d And instantly Jesus\nanswered him in these words, \u201cVerily I say unto you, To-day shalt thou\ndwell with me in Paradise.\u201d These things happened about twelve o\u2019clock.\nFrom that time until three o\u2019clock the earth was dark; the sun hid away.\nWhen Jesus cried out with a loud voice, he said, \u201cIt is finished;\u201d and\nthen, \u201cFather, into thy hands I commit my spirit;\u201d and having said this,\nhe died. Just then the veil which had always hidden the inner temple\nsplit in two from top to bottom.\n\n[Illustration: THE CRUCIFIXION.\u2014John xix. 25.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE WALK TO EMMAUS.\n\n\nThe third day after Jesus was buried, two of his friends walked to a\nvillage named Emmaus, which was about seven miles from Jerusalem. As\nthey walked along they talked together about the sad things that had\nlately happened. At that moment Jesus himself came along and joined them,\nbut they did not know him. He asked them what it was they were talking\nabout, and why they were so sad. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him\nif he was a stranger in Jerusalem that he had not heard the strange,\nsad news. He asked them, \u201cWhat news?\u201d And Cleopas answered: \u201cWhy, about\nJesus of Nazareth; he was a mighty prophet; his words and his deeds\nwere wonderful; but our rulers condemned him to death and crucified him.\nWe hoped that he was the one who was to redeem the people of Israel;\nbut this is the third day since these things were done. Some women who\nwere at the grave this morning, told us a strange story; they say his\nbody is not there, and that they saw angels who said that he was alive;\nand some of our friends went to the grave and found that it was as the\nwomen said, but they did not see him.\u201d Then Jesus said to them: \u201cO what\nfoolish people. How slow you are to believe all that the prophets wrote\nabout this! Did they not tell that Christ must suffer these things and\nthen enter into his glory?\u201d Then he began with the books that Moses\nwrote, and explained what he and the other writers had said about\nChrist. When they drew near to Emmaus the stranger acted as though he\nwas going further, but they begged him to stop with them, as the day was\nnearly gone. So he stopped with them, and as they sat down to the table\ntogether, suddenly something opened their eyes to know that it was Jesus\nwho sat with them. He took some bread and blessed it, and gave them some.\nThen he vanished out of their sight.\n\n[Illustration: JESUS AND THE DISCIPLES AT EMMAUS.\u2014Luke xxiv. 30.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE SAVIOUR\u2019S LAST WORDS.\n\n\nThe disciples and friends of Jesus were together talking of him and of\nthe wonderful story that he had risen, when he appeared to them again and\ntalked with them. He reminded them that the things which had happened\nwere the very ones which he had foretold, and which were told in the\nBible would happen. Then he explained the Bible to them and gave them\nwisdom to understand what he said. He showed them how it was written\nthat Christ would come, and suffer and die, and rise again on the third\nday, and that repentance and forgiveness of sin should be preached to\nall people, beginning at Jerusalem. Then he told them they were the\nwitnesses that all these things had taken place. Then he assured them\nthat he would send to them that which the Father had promised they should\nhave, and they were to wait in Jerusalem until God sent them a special\npower.\n\nThe last story that we have of the life of Jesus on earth was when he led\nhis disciples out to Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, blessed them,\nand was parted from them and carried up into Heaven. Then the disciples\nworshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and now they\ncould be found continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.\n\n[Illustration: JESUS APPEARS TO HIS DISCIPLES.\u2014Luke xxiv. 30.]","title":"Bible pictures and stories in large print","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":11460}