登陆注册
5410400000029

第29章 The Conquest of Canaan(3)

Heber was away,but his wife Jael was at home.

She had heard of the battle.She knew that the man before her must be Sisera,for he looked like a foreigner and his helmet was of gold and he ordered the woman about like a man who is accustomed to give orders.And so Jael gave her unwelcome guest to eat and to drink,and then,as the man was plainly exhausted,she told him that he might rest on some rugs on the floor.Meanwhile,so she promised,she would keep watch and if any Jewish soldiers came near her house,she would warn the Egyptian that he might escape.

Sisera believed everything Jael said,and soon he was fast asleep.

Then Jael took a large spike(such as was used in those days for a tent-peg)and she drove it through the eye of Sisera and she killed her enemy on the floor of her own home,and she ran to the soldiers of Barak and proudly told them of what she had done.

That was the end of the story.For Jabin,without his trusted general,was forced to make peace and once more the Jews were free and they were very proud of what Jael and Deborah had done for them and they bestowed great honours upon them.

Unfortunately such periods of comparative rest seem to have been very bad for the general morale of the people.The worship of Jehovah,as it had been ordered by Moses,asked for eternal vigilance.But it is not easy to be interested in spiritual affairs when our lives are comfortable and when we do not have a single care in the whole wide world except the problem of how to spend our money as pleasantly as we possibly can.

And those stories which have come down to us from the days following immediately upon the defeat of Sisera show clearly how the great God of the wind-swept desert had been completely forgotten and how His laws were held in contempt by the younger generation,which ate and drank and generally amused itself without a thought for the problems of to-morrow.

Take,as an example,the unpleasant tale of Micah,the only son of a rich widow,who lived in the village of Ephraim.Micah stole money that belonged to his mother,but when she found it out,she not only forgave him,but ordered the gold and the silver to be melted and made into an idol as a present for her darling boy.

Micah liked the shining plaything,and he had a little tabernacle built inside his house and then he hired one of the members of the tribe of Levi (who were the hereditary keepers of the real tabernacle)to become his own private priest and officiate for him,so that he would not have to leave his house when he wanted to go to church.

All this offended horribly against the ancient laws,as they had been revealed to Moses.

It even shocked the other Jews,who by this time were none too pious.

Micah,however,was rich,and did as he pleased.

But one day his house was broken into by some people from the tribe of Dan,who were travelling westward,looking for fresh pastures for their cattle.They stole Micah's golden idol and carried it to their own village.

As for the Levite who was supposed to be Micah's priest,he ran away as soon as the image was gone,and offered his services to the man who had just robbed his master.

Jehovah certainly had cause to be displeased,and he soon showed his resentment.

He sent the Midianites against the land of Israel.They came every summer with dreadful regularity and stole the barley and the grain that stood in the fields.They spread such terror among the Jewish villages that the inhabitants used to flee to their mountain caves as soon as the first of the Midianite bands appeared and often remained there all winter.At last,in utter despair,they did not even bother to raise further crops.Soon there was famine in the land and people began to die from starvation.

Only here and there a man of stout heart still cultivated his fields,and among those was a certain Joash,who was the father of Gideon.Joash himself was none too faithful to the laws of his country.He,too,worshipped the strange gods who had been dear to the hearts of the original inhabitants of the land.His son,however,who like Deborah and Joseph,could make prophecies,had remained faithful to the old creed.

When his father erected an altar to Baal,young Gideon (encouraged by a dream in which an angel made a rock devour some food which he had placed before it)got up in the middle of the night,knocked down the ugly old idol and on the same spot erected an offering-place to the service of Jehovah.

In the morning when the people of the village in which Joash lived discovered the broken pieces of stone and realised what had happened,they ran to the house of Joash and they shouted that he must punish his boy for his terrible sacrilege.

Fortunately,Joash was a man of some common sense.He said that if Baal were really as powerful as people claimed,he would undoubtedly kill Gideon for what he had just done.But Gideon continued to live quite happily and at the end of a few weeks,when nothing at all had happened,the neighbours changed their mind.In this way,Gideon,who became known far and wide as Jerub-baal (or the Baal-altar-smasher),became a popular hero,whose fame spread to the other cities.

When at last the Midianites became so bold in their attacks that the Jews were forced to take the offensive or perish altogether,it was quite natural that Gideon should be asked to be their leader.He gathered some sort of army together in the ancient plain of Jezreel and tried to drill it into shape for the coming campaign.The spirit of his troops,however,was very bad.They were not really interested in the war.They had grown soft.They wanted to return to their snug caves and preferred hunger to physical hardship.

When Gideon asked them openly whether they would like to go home,the majority shouted,“Yes!the sooner,the better!”

同类推荐
  • 我的世界我做主

    我的世界我做主

    《魅力英文:我的世界我做主》为英汉对照典藏版。非常适合中学生、大学生及对英语学习充满热情、抱有热望的人们来了解英文欣赏英文。该书收录了百于则经典哲理美文,其内容涉及青春、爱情、理想等方面,从不同的视角阐释了人生的种种道理。在面临挑战、遭受挫折之时,《魅力英文:我的世界我做主》会给您以力量……
  • 职场商务英语看这本就够

    职场商务英语看这本就够

    本书分为职场办公篇和商务篇两大部分,包含100余个模拟场景,近千个对话。场景对话只精选最常用的句型,让你学以致用,拿起就会说。职场商务英语并不可怕,只要每天学习一点本书的内容,你就会发现其实职场英语很简单。想要成为职场英语达人,本书一本到位,看这本就够了。
  • 出国英语一本通

    出国英语一本通

    本书共7章内容,依次为“出国行程”“出国留学”“出国旅游”“出国商务”“国外定居”“国外购物”“回国返程”。这些章节包含86个话题,涵盖最常用的场景对话,为您出国之旅做最佳语言沟通的准备。
  • 圣经故事(纯爱英文馆)

    圣经故事(纯爱英文馆)

    《圣经故事》是生活亚、非、欧三大洲交界处的古代希伯来民族数千年历史长河中集体智慧的结晶,也是犹太教、基督教(包括天主教、东正教和新教)共同的正式经典。它构成了西方社会两千年来的文化传统和特点,并影响到世界广大地区的历史发展和文化进程。
  • The Querist

    The Querist

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
热门推荐
  • 铁甲血未凉

    铁甲血未凉

    险途戈壁苍茫,大漠如烟。目之所及,除了零星的骆驼刺和孤零零的胡杨木能偶尔闪出一点点绿意,余下皆是一片沙黄之色。就在大唐玉门关的方向,飞奔而来三匹高大的骆驼。骆驼狂奔,速度不输健马。因为飞奔,顺着驼身的体毛,热汗雨点一样四散飞溅,骆驼“咻咻”的喘气声,即使在十几丈外仍然清晰可闻。领路的骆驼背上坐着一名身穿囚衣的女子,镣铐加身,俊俏的眉宇间,杀气凛烈。她身后的两匹骆驼上的骑者,则是一身衙役打扮——不错,此二位正是玉门关的两大牢头——秦诏和叶素。前面的女子一边奔跑,一边将随身的零碎物件丢弃在沙地上。
  • 折翼追日

    折翼追日

    年少轻狂只为追心中的梦想,错过了还能追回吗?
  • 痞子遇见妞

    痞子遇见妞

    一个防狼踢却将自己踢进狼窝……她单纯的认为,以身体为道歉的代价足以让自己远离那头恶狼,但惹上他注定一辈子都逃不出他的手掌心……他,拥有无害的绝世容颜,却是个又痞又色的腹黑男。她,外表阳光清纯,却是个有点小暴力的疯癫伪纯女。某男:成为我的猎物就得乖乖的!某女:哼!女汉子能屈能伸,想纠缠,滚远点!当腹黑男变身温柔哥,女汉子也hold不住啊!说是远离他,可是……可是奴家真的做不到啊!A:“话说痞子遇见妞,到底是偶然还是久别重逢?”B:“嘿嘿,人家当然是久别重逢啦!”A:“文文到底是搞笑还是苦情?”B:“嘿嘿,你看了不就知道鸟!”A:“说话给爷痛快点!!”B:“本文讲的是一个超级专情傻男人,亲手杀了自己的老婆孩子还有他自己,还大义凛然的说,没事,这辈子没了,我们还有下辈子……尼玛,来世他们是在一起了!可却也磨难多多、苦情多多。什么被下咒、鬼缠身的一大堆……也不知到底是他欠她的,还是她欠他的,纠纠缠缠的,剪不断,理还乱的!哎呀,人家也说不清啦!爷,您进来看看就知道啦!”PS:本文小搞笑、小狗血、小清新还有一点小灵异……胆小勿进哟!A:“滚回吧!”B:“诺……各位爷们,记得收藏啊!!薄荷爱你们!么么哒!”A:“贱人就是矫情!不过,看她那可怜样,就赏她个收藏吧!
  • 重生:朕的二嫁皇妃

    重生:朕的二嫁皇妃

    本文虐渣男,踩恶女,男强女强,有宠有虐,结局圆满,欢迎入坑。前世,欧阳青萱下有幼弟要护,上有蛇蝎要斗,疲倦一生,结局凄惨。这一世,重生后的她再无束缚,喜怒无常、心狠手辣,成了人人忌惮的疯子。可是却有人偏偏不怕,跟在她的身后,怎么也甩不掉。小剧场一欧阳青萱:“你为什么总跟着我?”某男回答:“因为为夫刚刚向老天许愿,赐我个媳妇,然后你就出现了,所以我们的姻缘是天定的,娘子你就从了为夫吧。”欧阳青萱:“很好,其实刚刚本姑娘也向老天许愿,赐我张人皮来做屋里的装饰,然后你就出现了。”某男深情不悔:“若能在娘子的屋中与娘子夜夜相伴,为夫这副皮囊,娘子拿去便是。”欧阳青萱:“谁说是我的屋子。”某男:“?”欧阳青萱:“是阿宝的屋子。”然后,某男顺着欧阳青萱的目光看到了院中角落里的狗窝。小剧场二某年某月某日的重逢,某男捧起欧阳青萱的脸,含情脉脉地开口:“我知道是你,不管你变成了什么样子,我都会认出你。还记得当初竹林中的那一面吗?我记住了你为我痛心的眼神。相信我,我永远不会忘记。”欧阳青萱面无表情,一脚踹开某男。某男抚胸做心痛状,面露不解:“为何这般对我。”欧阳青萱冷笑:“本姑娘记得,你当时是个瞎子。”某男:糟糕,装瞎的事露相了。*****正式版简介*****北琉国帝君大婚,宴请各国使臣,婚礼声势浩大,奢华无比。琼浆玉露,玉盘珍馐;丝竹声声,歌舞不休。席间恭贺声此起彼伏,喧闹处笑意盎然。在无人留意的角落,却有人硬生生捏碎了手中的玉瓷酒盏。垂下的墨发掩盖眼底的猩红,指间滴血的伤口隐隐作痛。可有人知道,那帝君身旁坐着的凤冠霞帔、风华绝代的凤后,曾是他的妃、他的妻。--初次相遇,他满身伤痕,蜷缩在墙角,倔强地不肯落泪;而她巧笑嫣然,沐浴在月光下,飘飘若仙子。他们互不相识,却有着一个共同的身份,邻国质子。她天生神眼,无意中预见了他的命运,多次致他于死地,却又每回救他于水火。他忍辱负重,只为有朝一日,能血洗前耻,一掌天下。一次次的交锋,一次次的接近,终是心的沉沦。她助他得了国,覆了天下。而他却灭了她的国,弃了她。--冷宫一场大火终是了结了多年的羁绊,意外的重生给了欧阳青萱新的生命,在崎岖的路口,欧阳青萱选择前行,可是过去却在一个个阴谋的交织中成一张巨大的网,她深处其中,逃脱不得。
  • The Love of Ulrich Nebendahl

    The Love of Ulrich Nebendahl

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。汇聚授权电子版权。
  • 血荒记

    血荒记

    一棺一世界,一海一星辰;一广袤无垠的修行界,大到无法想象!这是一座古老的庞大世界,一直以来,众多修士踏上修行之路,甚至修仙之路……修行界,一共有九万九千九十九颗庞大的星辰,待到归来之日,形成九九连星,一把剑,穿过了九九连星,一句古老的话语传出:黑暗源头,虽我犹仙……
  • 木叶之春野樱的豪杰物语

    木叶之春野樱的豪杰物语

    重生为火影中的春野樱!没有系统,没有外挂,只能依靠自己的拳头打出一片天下。猿飞日斩:忍者是什么?春野樱:写作忍者,读作狂战!这就是我春野樱的极武忍道,看我用这一双铁拳!紧紧的抱着你的大腿,打死我也不会放手......六道佩恩:我听闻木叶有斗神这号人物,其人铁拳可摧山搅海,勇猛可力敌尾兽,就是你吗?小樱:是我!是我!没错!就~~~是我!漩涡鸣人、宇智波佐助:确定没有和‘逗神’搞错了吗!新书《木叶征服之最强雷武》
  • 暮葵

    暮葵

    语未成章,司马青衫;碧落茫茫,如隔云端;夫君思汝,秋水望穿。
  • 公子无双是佳人

    公子无双是佳人

    夜刹天生异象,却被父母算计亲手送上解剖台。抱着同归于尽的想法自爆,以为就此了却一生,不想竟在异世重生,从此开启一个属于她的传奇征程……
  • 废柴倾世之少主请接嫁

    废柴倾世之少主请接嫁

    有人告诉我,关于时间线,关于菡萏之心,有一个美丽的传说。倾世之妆,朱雀为聘。心之所爱,吾之卿卿。君是安,华夏古武世家第一继承人,一生憧憬自由,前世死于最信任的人之手。一朝穿越,身无斗气,明珠蒙尘,受制于人。不知澜幽,朱雀之地掌权者,夕幻大陆最隐秘的隐世宗族少主,神秘势力之传承者。玄武之伤,青龙之变,他与她的邂逅,绕成日后的缱绻。轮回谷冒险,生死相依,她为他卸去伪装,他为她献出真心。她是他一生挚爱,噬心痕的证明,菡萏之心的跳动,终将她的心防攻溃。她含泪与他相拥,眼泪,有时候是一种无法言说的幸福。随他前往朱雀,却因废柴之名遭人诟病。金鳞岂是池中物,一遇风云变化龙。魅央宫现,独步天下。我自玲珑笑群芳,不慕春光,不染凄凉。她以一己之力接下各方挑战,坐稳主母之位。彼时,他与她,一个绝代风华,一个名动天下。四方涌动,争端各起。为守护菡萏之心,她不惜以命相护,携手同伴,毅然踏上了未知的旅程…