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yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar." He should be able to avenge his own wrongs. Whosoever shall attempt to do it for him, shall suffer the very punishment which ye seek to inflict upon my son. This firm stand, on the part of Joash, seems to have checked at once the attempts against Gideon, and we are not told of their being again made. He received from his father, at that time, the additional name of Jerubbaal, the meaning of which is, Let Baal contend : as if to defy Baal and his followers to carry on a contest with Gideon and those who served the true God.

Every such contest must finally terminate in favor of those who are on the Lord's side. For he is with them, and will sustain them while engaged in maintaining his own cause. Wicked men and the powers of darkness may have the ascendency for a season. God may permit this for wise, though to us mysterious reasons. They may seem to be triumphant. But their triumph is short. We often see this to be the case, even in the course of the few years which we ourselves live. Their triumph, too, is always only an apparent one. They may have some power; but it is only a power, and that temporary and subordinate to the designs and providence of God, over a few of the concerns of this world.

They cannot essentially retard the progress of Christ's kingdom. Their opposition shall only give new impulses to the movements of this kingdom by calling forth its re-acting energy. They may persecute and injure the friends of God in some of their temporal affairs. They may harm their bodies, and take their lives, but they cannot touch their souls. Their eternal interests are secure. The church of the Redeemer is safe. He shall reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. And his followers shall reign with him; by his grace coming off conquerors over their own sins, and rejoicing with him in his final and glorious triumph.

My young friend, are you, like Gideon, on the Lord's side, ready to obey his will, whatever man may do unto you?

CHAPTER XI.

Gideon's army reduced to three hundred. He is encouraged by the dream of the Midianite.

It is not improbable that the Midianites and their allies, learning what Gideon had done at

Ophrah, and it may be, also hearing some rumors of the wonderful vision which he had seen, began to suspect that he and his countrymen were about taking measures to regain their independence. It was deemed important, therefore, that such an effort should be immediately crushed; and, for this purpose, the Midianites, and the other nations that were leagued with them, collected their forces into a vast army, which crossed the Jordan, and encamped in the valley of Jezreel. This was in the tribe of Issachar, afterwards called the plain of Esdraelon, and extending from Scythopolis to Mount Carmel.

Gideon was ready for the emergency. The Spirit of the Lord came upon him, in a superna tural way, endowing him with all needed wisdom, valor, strength, and influence. He caused the summoning trumpets to be sounded in all directions. He gathered round him his own kindred. He despatched messengers throughout the whole tribe of Manasseh, and to the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali; calling upon them to join him immediately with all the forces which they could raise.

In the meanwhile, either from the temporary fears which arose in his mind, in view of the immense hosts of the enemy, or because he wished to inspire the Israelites with an unwavering confidence in their cause, Gideon ventured to ask

of the Lord a miraculous token of success in leading his countrymen to the conflict. "If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth besides, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said."

Jehovah condescended to grant this additional confirmation of his promises to Gideon. The latter, rising up early the next morning, found his request exactly complied with. For while there was no moisture on the ground, the fleece was so full of dew, that, squeezing it in his hands, he wrung from it a bowl-full of water. He wished now to have the miracle reversed, to prove the hand of the Almighty in it in such a way as to satisfy the most incredulous. "Let not thine anger be hot against me," said he, addressing Jehovah, and I will speak but this once. Let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew."

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The next morning brought the result for which he asked, and Gideon forthwith marshalled his forces for the war. They encamped near a well, called the well of Harod, not far from the mountains of Gilboa, on the borders of Manasseh. The army of the Midianites and their allies lay north

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of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley of Esdraelon. Of the Israelites there were only 32,000 men; while the number of their enemies was more than four times that amount, not less than 135,000. But even this disproportion must become vastly greater. "The people that are with thee," said the Lord to Gideon, are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me." The glory of the victory must all be given to Jehovah, and he meant to show, beyond the possibility of a doubt, that his arm alone had achieved it.

Gideon was then directed to proclaim throughout the camp, that whosoever was afraid to encounter the enemy might return. Twenty-two thousand, gladly availing themselves of the offer, withdrew, leaving only ten thousand behind. But even these were yet too many, and must be greatly diminished in number. The mode by which this was accomplished was a singular one.

In making a selection it was important to take those who were capable of enduring great fatigue, and who were men of prompt and alert courage. These traits of character would be indicated by the manner of their drinking from a stream or pond of water, when on a march,—a practice to which travelers in the East often resort. The self-indulgent, slow-moving man, will kneel or lie

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