KING EGLON,

115

LXXIV. |

inc FP GLON.

HE Israelites remembered
their promise for a few
years, and served God,
and would not worship
the idols around them.

But after a time they forgot God,

and Joshua, and all he had said to

them, and their own promise, and
began to rebel against God again.
The Israelites forgot God, but He
remembered them still. One day,
when they were worshipping their
idols, they saw an angel coming to
them from God. He came to tell
them of their sin, and of God’s
anger. He told them of their dis-
obedience and rebellion; and said,
that now God would not be with
them, to help them to conquer their
enemies, but would leave them to
themselves. ‘This was very sad, and
all the Israelites wept for sorrow.
They had no friend, no father, no
kind God now, because they had
forsaken Him, and He had turned
away from them. But the Israelites
knew that God would hear prayer,
and they went and prayed to Him.

They confessed their sins, and asked
for forgiveness, and offered a sacri-
fice. Were they right to do this?
Yes; when we sin, we can have
pardon in Jesus, and by him alone:
and if we pray to Him in faith, He
promises to take away our sins, and
to renew our hearts by His Holy
Spirit. God heard the Israelites’
prayer. He gave them judges; wise
men who helped them to conquer
their enemies, and taught the people
to love and serve the Lord.

But again the Israelites did

 

 

 

| wickedly, and then God sent cruel

enemies to fight against them; and
they cried to Him, and He heard
them. LHighteen years they served
Kglon, the cruel and wicked king of
Moab. At last, God sent the Israel-
ites a man to help them, whose
name was Ehud. The Israelites
had a present to send to Eglon, and
they asked Ehud to take it to him.
Ehud made a dagger, and hid it
under his clothes, and went to
Moab. When he came to the king,
he said he had a secret thing to tell
him alone; so Eglon sent away his
servants. glon was sitting in his
own room, a summer parlor which
was very cool and pleasant; and he
thought himself safe there, for he
did not know why Ehud had come.
When they were alone, Ehud took
out his dagger, and thrust it into
the king’s body, and killed him;
and then Ehud ran out of the room,
and locked the doors and escaped.
None saw Ehud go; and when the
servants found the doors locked,
they thought their master was
‘asleep; so they did not goin. Many
hours passed, and then the servants
began to wonder why the king did
not send for them, and, at last, they
took a key, and opened the door.
What did they see? The king
lying upon the ground, dead?
Ehud soon came back again,
bringing many soldiers with him;
and the Israelites fought: against
the Moabites, and conquered them.
It was God who delivered the people
of Israel from their cruel enemy,
and He was pleased to do so by the